Pod Insights IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson Follow your Instincts with Henry Winkler About this episode On today’s episode of IMO, Michelle and Craig welcome none other than… The Fonz! Henry Winkler joins to discuss his lifetime journey with dyslexia, growing up in New York, going to therapy, and, yes, his most iconic roles. Plus, Henry shares his thoughts on parenting and being a grandfather.
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Transcript Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
0:00 Michelle Obama? So let me tell you who the Fonz was, at least to me.
0:02 Speaker 01 I would love to hear it from you.
0:04 Michelle Obama? First of all, sexy. Now, what did I know about?
0:07 Speaker 01 I'm sitting differently in my chair right now.
0:10 Michelle Obama? What did I, at that, at the age, and I can't do the math, but I was young, it did something to me. It's like, woo! Yeah, and the Fonz-
0:17 Speaker 01 Can I just say something?
0:18 Michelle Obama? What?
0:19 Speaker 01 Uh, wait a minute. I just wanna say something. I'm a human being on this earth. I'm an American.
0:23 Michelle Obama? Mm-hmm.
0:24 Speaker 01 Um, I've watched you, over all of these years, be this powerful presence in the universe.
0:34 Speaker 01 And you're telling me?
0:38 Speaker 01 I wanna just say, I don't have to say another word, I can go home now.
0:49 Michelle Obama? This episode is brought to you by Rivian and Progressive Insurance.
0:55 Craig Robinson? Hey.
0:56 Michelle Obama? Craig Robinson.
0:57 Craig Robinson? Michelle Robinson.
0:58 Michelle Obama? So what's the whale for?
1:00 Craig Robinson? This was in your honor. This, you, I'm surprised you don't know what this is.
1:04 Michelle Obama? Okay, tell me.
1:05 Craig Robinson? This is a Vineyard Vines shirt from Martha's Vineyard. And you're trying to get me to be a Vineyard guy, and I'm, I'm trying to embrace it, and you don't even know what this is.
1:14 Michelle Obama? Well, I noticed the whale, and I thought it was very cute, and I thought, oh, he's got a little whale on.
1:18 Craig Robinson? Yes, it is a little sperm whale.
1:22 Michelle Obama? Are you sure it's a sperm whale?
1:23 Craig Robinson? I am, I am.
1:24 Michelle Obama? Okay. You, did you research it?
1:25 Craig Robinson? I did not research it. I can tell what a sperm, you, do you remember back in seventh grade?
1:31 Michelle Obama? That's pretty good, that he can tell what a sperm whale, sperm whale.
1:35 Craig Robinson? I did that report in seventh grade on sharks, whales, and dolphins.
1:38 Michelle Obama? You still remember that? You barely remember anything I tell you.
1:41 Craig Robinson? Uh, but that's 'cause I can remember stuff a long time ago. That's what happens to old people. They remember the old stuff and not the new stuff.
1:47 Michelle Obama? Got it, got it. What else is going on?
1:50 Craig Robinson? Well, uh, so you're, yeah, I understand you're moving the Rivian that we got from-
1:55 Michelle Obama? Martha's Vineyard, too.
1:56 Craig Robinson? Rivian folks.
1:57 Michelle Obama? Yeah, yeah.
1:58 Craig Robinson? The Rivian folks gifted both of us cars, folks, to drive around in, and it's been fantastic. But my sister's moving her car from the Vineyard.
2:07 Michelle Obama? From the vineyard to DC while we're in DC. Cause we're just in the vineyard for the summer.
2:12 Craig Robinson? Are you gonna try and drive while you're in DC?
2:14 Michelle Obama? No, DC would be a hard place for me to drive. Because I still, I still drive in a motorcade when I do drive. So it's just, the only place you can do that is on a small island when it's quiet, right? So, but I think we're, we're gonna have it there so that when the girls come home to visit, there's a car for them to drive. They complained about that the last time. Cause we realized we don't, we don't have a car.
2:39 Craig Robinson? Yeah.
2:39 Michelle Obama? We didn't have a car until we got these Rivian's.
2:43 Craig Robinson? Yeah, right.
2:44 Michelle Obama? So.
2:45 Craig Robinson? Yeah, well, they're gonna really like this. So there's a really neat feature that I would like to say that I figured out, but it's really Aaron figured out, my youngest.
2:54 Michelle Obama? Yeah, it takes kids to.
2:56 Craig Robinson? It takes kids with all this technology to figure out what's going on.
2:59 Michelle Obama? Tell me, because I'm, I never know what's the feature, all the features. Cause there's so many.
3:03 Craig Robinson? When your car is in park, that big screen that you use for navigation and for all the, the functions of the car, becomes like a television. So he can watch, you know, if he, if he actually logged into our TV network, he can watch whatever he wants to watch at home.
3:22 Michelle Obama? You can get all your streaming apps on, on there too?
3:25 Craig Robinson? Every single thing on there.
3:26 Michelle Obama? That's, sounds dangerous.
3:27 Craig Robinson? It does sound dangerous.
3:28 Michelle Obama? Sounds like Rivian doesn't want you ever to leave the car. Rivian's like, you can live here, get a Rivian, save on rent.
3:37 Craig Robinson? And speaking of rent, you know, I, I mentioned to you, I'm, I'm staying in, in Airbnb again this time around.
3:44 Michelle Obama? First, let's stop on that segue. That was a smooth segue.
3:50 Craig Robinson? What do you say?
3:51 Michelle Obama? Speaking of rent, I'm like, okay, all right.
3:57 Michelle Obama? Okay, speaking of rent, I like that. It was impressive.
4:02 Craig Robinson? Thank you, thank you. Yeah, a compliment from you is.
4:06 Michelle Obama? It's so rare.
4:06 Craig Robinson? So rare. So I'm gonna, I'm gonna savor it right now, just savoring it. But no, uh, you know, we are, with Austin being a sophomore, we're embarking on these college trips now.
4:21 Michelle Obama? Oh, yeah. Are you, have you all started that already?
4:24 Craig Robinson? We did, but it, it's just, I think. Now that we have grown accustomed to the Airbnbs, it's just a much more comfortable way to have a main place to camp out, have meals, do laundry, and then go see schools, you know.
4:42 Michelle Obama? Well, you can definitely, because not all college campuses have great hotel amenities. You know, because sometimes they're in small towns and they're off the beaten path. Anyway, let's not digress. We are.
4:58 Craig Robinson? Yes, you go ahead. We're so excited, we can't even talk.
5:03 Michelle Obama? Our guest today, for Craig and I,
5:09 Michelle Obama? Henry Winkler is a household, he was, we grew up with him.
5:14 Craig Robinson? Yes.
5:14 Michelle Obama? We literally grew up with Happy Days, The Cunninghams, The Fonz. And that was just sort of a part of.
5:28 Michelle Obama? All the spinoffs. That was part of our, that was the wallpaper of our life.
5:34 Craig Robinson? Oh, man.
5:36 Michelle Obama? And to have him here, joining us on IMO, is such a treat.
5:41 Craig Robinson? And we're gonna talk about this when he comes out. But all the way from Happy Days to now, he's an author. And, but I wanna, I mean, he's in a show that I happened upon.
5:59 Michelle Obama? Very. Mm-hmm. Yeah, you've been telling me about that.
6:02 Craig Robinson? I've been telling you about it. And I said to Henry when I met him, I got a chance to meet him and say hello, and I was like fanboying all over the place. But I didn't know he was in it originally. And so I went to watch it, and lo and behold, he's in it. And then I watched all the up, it's like four seasons.
6:24 Michelle Obama? You got hooked.
6:26 Craig Robinson? Often running.
6:27 Michelle Obama? All right, well, I'm looking for, I'm gonna catch up on Barry. Because you've been raving about it.
6:31 Craig Robinson? But let me give him the proper introduction. Henry Winkler has over 50 years, 50, 5-0 years of success in Hollywood. And continues to be in demand.
6:46 Craig Robinson? And not only as an actor and a producer, but as I said, an author. He's is a bestselling author of children's books that are wonderful. His autobiography, Being Henry, The Fonz and Beyond, was a New York Times bestseller for 11 or 10 or 11 weeks there.
7:06 Craig Robinson? And then we just found out he is gonna be celebrating his 80th birthday.
7:13 Michelle Obama? Major milestone.
7:14 Craig Robinson? Major milestone, but.
7:17 Michelle Obama? And he looks just as handsome.
7:18 Craig Robinson? He's, I mean, he looks the same. I mean, I mean, he could have worn a leather jacket here.
7:24 Michelle Obama? We should have asked.
7:26 Craig Robinson? Yeah, well, now, well, let's, let's just stop talking and bring him out. Henry Winkler, please, come on down.
7:38 Michelle Obama? What a handsome man.
7:41 Craig Robinson? So nice to have you here. Oh, my gosh.
7:45 Speaker 01 He feels so short.
7:48 Michelle Obama? Yeah, most people don't realize we are a tall people, the Robinsons and Obamas. My husband is tall, of course.
7:55 Speaker 01 But I just wanna say, if you grew up with the Fonz, you grew up really good.
8:00 Michelle Obama? I did.
8:01 Speaker 01 Yes, you did.
8:02 Michelle Obama? I really did. We, you know, we, we lived a wholesome life and Happy Days and The Fonz were a part of that.
8:09 Craig Robinson? And you, you should know, we were only allowed an hour of TV a day.
8:17 Craig Robinson? So on Thursday night?
8:18 Speaker 01 I'm honored. Tuesday night?
8:20 Craig Robinson? Tuesday night?
8:20 Speaker 01 Doesn't matter what day, as long as you were there.
8:23 Michelle Obama? That's right.
8:23 Craig Robinson? Tuesday night, our hour was dedicate, half of our hour was dedicated to you.
8:28 Speaker 01 Thank you.
8:29 Michelle Obama? Well, thank you for being here.
8:31 Speaker 01 Thank you for asking me.
8:32 Michelle Obama? And, and spending your birthday week with us.
8:34 Speaker 01 Yes. Well, this is a great way to start on, on my birthday week. Part of the celebration. You said to me, I should celebrate now for the entire year.
8:45 Michelle Obama? That's what, yes.
8:46 Speaker 01 This is the kickoff.
8:47 Michelle Obama? Eighty is one of those, that's where you, you deserve a year of celebration.
8:51 Speaker 01 I deserve new knees, is what I.
8:55 Michelle Obama? You're moving, you're moving around pretty, pretty well.
8:58 Speaker 01 But I get out of the, I get out of bed and I go make a cup of coffee.
9:02 Craig Robinson? Okay.
9:02 Speaker 01 And then I have to go back to the bed and invite my knees to come with me. You know, they're still lounging.
9:10 Craig Robinson? Oh, man, that's great.
9:12 Michelle Obama? How are you feeling? I mean, what, what is, what is entering your eighties feeling like for you? Besides waiting for your knees?
9:20 Speaker 01 Okay, I'm very grateful. Uh, you know, people keep asking me, am I gonna retire? Or have you retired? And I think that is like the furthest thing from my imagination. I will retire when I am not able to do.
9:37 Michelle Obama? That's right.
9:38 Speaker 01 Again, more.
9:39 Craig Robinson? Right.
9:40 Speaker 01 Do you know, I just, I think that it is deadly.
9:44 Craig Robinson? Yeah.
9:44 Michelle Obama? Do you get up every day with a schedule? Are you working five days a week?
9:49 Speaker 01 I, I work a lot. I have several jobs. I do a wonderful show on the History Channel called Hazardous History.
9:58 Craig Robinson? Yes.
9:58 Speaker 01 Which, when they presented it to me, I just loved the facts of it. I thought, this is outrageous. And.
10:09 Michelle Obama? Let's tell the listeners the premise just so that they know, because you just got picked up for a second season.
10:14 Speaker 01 Yes, we did. We, we did eight. Uh, it did, it did so nicely because people watched. We were now picked up for thirty.
10:22 Michelle Obama? Yeah.
10:23 Speaker 01 And, okay, so here is the premise, I hope it's not a, a sponsor. 7-Up.
10:31 Michelle Obama? Mm-hmm.
10:32 Speaker 01 1927.
10:33 Craig Robinson? Yep.
10:34 Speaker 01 Bubbly, citrusy.
10:36 Michelle Obama? Yeah.
10:36 Speaker 01 And the.
10:37 Michelle Obama? Refreshing, supposedly.
10:39 Speaker 01 And the, the tagline was, "We will take the edge off." Because it was laced with lithium.
10:46 Michelle Obama? Oh, God.
10:46 Craig Robinson? Oh, no.
10:47 Speaker 01 So, just one fact of what we did, either to make money or thinking we're helping human beings.
10:55 Michelle Obama? Take the edge off with a little crack.
10:57 Speaker 01 Yes.
11:00 Speaker 01 Yeah.
11:00 Michelle Obama? And that was legal.
11:01 Speaker 01 And that was at that time legal.
11:03 Michelle Obama? So you, so you got hazardous history.
11:06 Speaker 01 Right.
11:06 Michelle Obama? So you're still working a lot.
11:07 Speaker 01 Our newest children's book came out on September 30th.
11:11 Michelle Obama? Is this your 40th?
11:12 Speaker 01 This is the 40th.
11:13 Michelle Obama? The 40th children's book.
11:15 Speaker 01 Right. Now, here's something. I did not know I could do this.
11:20 Michelle Obama? Yeah.
11:20 Speaker 01 And what I learned was that there's more than one way to do anything. I have a wonderful partner, Lynn Oliver.
11:28 Michelle Obama? Yeah.
11:29 Speaker 01 She types, I talk. Then she has an idea, I wait, she types. Then she reads it to me and we argue over every word. And since 2003, we have 40 children's books. The newest one is Detective Duck. This little duckling who dreams about being a detective. And she's an environmentalist.
11:52 Michelle Obama? And she, it's, she's a she.
11:53 Speaker 01 She's a she.
11:54 Michelle Obama? I love it. I love it.
11:56 Speaker 01 And powerful.
11:57 Michelle Obama? What age group are you targeting?
11:59 Speaker 01 This is for emerging readers.
12:01 Michelle Obama? Oh, yeah.
12:01 Speaker 01 So I would say 5, 6, 7. Then the next series is 7, 8. And then we have 4th grade to 7th grade.
12:13 Michelle Obama? Wow. Well, congratulations. And, you know, let's, just to put that in context, when you talk about that you were doing something that you never thought you could do.
12:23 Speaker 01 Right.
12:24 Michelle Obama? And that is writing because you-
12:26 Speaker 01 Or reading.
12:26 Michelle Obama? And reading because, can, please share with our, our listeners.
12:31 Speaker 01 Okay, so I talked about this-
12:32 Michelle Obama? Yeah.
12:33 Speaker 01 Like until the cows come home, but I am dyslexic. And I could not read. I read my first book at 31 because I said, "I have to, I have to read a novel like everybody else on the earth."
12:45 Michelle Obama? Right.
12:46 Speaker 01 And you find out, and I tell children, every child I meet, whether they want to hear it or not, how you learn has nothing to do with how brilliant you are.
12:58 Michelle Obama? Yes.
13:00 Speaker 01 There are so many dyslexic human beings on this earth. One out of five children have some sort of learning challenge that are doctors and dancers and plumbers and everything.
13:13 Michelle Obama? Yeah, well, tell us about little Henry Winkler. I mean, your parents, tell us about their background, where you grew up, what, you know, what life was like for you.
13:26 Speaker 01 We lived above our means. We had an apartment in New York City.
13:33 Michelle Obama? What part of New York?
13:34 Speaker 01 Seventy-eighth and Broadway. I went to PS eighty-seven, right down the block. The little boy that I wrote about first, Hank Zipser, went to PS eighty-seven, lived in my apartment.
13:46 Michelle Obama? Did you, did you feel accepted? Did you, did you feel like a part of that community?
13:53 Speaker 01 That is a great question. I never felt accepted, but also, part of it must be the learning challenge, and part of it must be my delayed emotionality, which I now know is true, because I had to protect myself, because every time I left my bedroom with a smile. Thinking, hey, okay, let's be today. I was in a war zone.
14:20 Michelle Obama? Yeah.
14:22 Speaker 01 I was yelled at for something that I wasn't even, I had no idea what I did.
14:27 Craig Robinson? Yeah.
14:27 Speaker 01 And, and I'm not saying, oh my God, woe is me, because I'm having a pretty great life. I'm just saying, this was the way it was. So I stayed in my room and pretended I was Paul Anka.
14:40 Michelle Obama? Paul Anka, okay.
14:41 Speaker 01 Rubber bands around pencils, and I sang, put your head on my shoulder, I lip synced it, you know, and of course, gave a lot of speeches as I won Academy Awards.
14:55 Michelle Obama? So you had.
14:56 Craig Robinson? So you knew you were gonna be an actor.
14:57 Speaker 01 I wanted it so badly, I could taste it.
15:01 Michelle Obama? Did you articulate, did you tell your?
15:03 Speaker 01 Every minute of every day.
15:05 Michelle Obama? And what did your, your parents say?
15:07 Speaker 01 Why do you think I bought my business over here? And I said, besides being chased by the Nazis, Dad, was there like a bigger reason than that? He wanted me to take over the family business, buying and selling wood. He wanted me to buy and sell mahogany. The only wood I was interested was hollywood. And I was told I would never get there.
15:31 Michelle Obama? Wow, wow. So how did you?
15:34 Speaker 01 But I'm here.
15:34 Michelle Obama? You are.
15:35 Speaker 01 Sitting at this table.
15:36 Michelle Obama? How did you keep your dreams alive through all of that?
15:39 Speaker 01 That is a good question. I'm not sure. All I know is, I just kept it. I kept the fires burning. Somehow, I, I found enough wood to keep that fire burning.
15:59 Craig Robinson? This segment is brought to you by Progressive Insurance, a brand that believes homeownership is more than just a place to live. It's about fulfilling your dreams, unlocking a future full of possibility, and building the life you've always imagined. So what was the most exciting thing for you about buying your first home?
16:22 Michelle Obama? You know, I think it was the fact that we could do it, you know?
16:25 Craig Robinson? Right.
16:27 Michelle Obama? I remember it fondly, right after we got married. Barack and I fortunately were in a position where we had enough money saved where we could buy our first condo. And I think the process of looking for it, you know, going from house to house, I, I hadn't even really. Lived on my own until then because I lived above mom and dad's house in the rental above the house. So I hadn't, I had never gone house hunting. And that process was, was a lot of fun. And I did it with Barack. We were newlyweds. It was exciting. It felt
17:10 Michelle Obama? like the beginning of the future. So, yeah.
17:13 Craig Robinson? And, and do you remember the, the highlight of when you found the con, that first condo?
17:20 Michelle Obama? Well, we started narrowing down. We were looking in Hyde Park. We knew, we knew the neighborhood in Chicago that we wanted to live. And so as we looked, we were able to narrow down to a specific development that we really loved. We saw a couple of units in that development. It was called Eastview Park and it was right off of the lake. And after a couple of outings, we decided, you know, this area, because it was enclosed, it was private, there was a private, you know, driveway area. So it felt quiet, but it was still a series of apartments. We could imagine the girls playing out in the yard and the children, because then we didn't know we were going to have girls, but we knew we wanted to have a family.
18:05 Craig Robinson? Right.
18:05 Michelle Obama? So, yeah, we were able to narrow it down to that unit. And then we started really asking our Realtor to find really good places in that unit. And we saw two.
18:16 Craig Robinson? Okay.
18:16 Michelle Obama? And we narrowed it down to the one that we have. And the big exciting part about that was, it was really right down the street from where you lived.
18:27 Craig Robinson? Four houses down.
18:28 Michelle Obama? Four houses down.
18:29 Craig Robinson? Four apartments down. And it, it reminds me of what I found exciting about our first place was very similar. Just the fact that you're looking for a place to live. But I remember our place, if you remember, it was a duplex condo and it had the spiral staircase to go down to the family room.
18:49 Michelle Obama? I remember going to visit that before, because I went to one of the, when you guys were closing in, you Brought, I think, me and mom to come see it.
18:57 Craig Robinson? Yes, that's right.
18:58 Michelle Obama? And I thought that duplex piece was very sophisticated, yes.
19:01 Craig Robinson? It was very sophisticated and it was really neat having that feeling of of homeownership, you know, and buying your first home gives you the freedom and control to build the life you've always imagined. And Progressive is here to support that journey every step of the way. Owning a home isn't just a financial milestone, it's the confidence that comes from achieving a lifelong goal and the freedom to build the life you've always imagined. Progressive supports first time home buyers by helping them attain their first home and navigate the journey with online tools and resources as well as financial support.
19:44 Craig Robinson? Through a $7 million commitment toward housing initiatives in 2024, Progressive empowers people to turn a house into a home, one that reflects who they are and what they hope to achieve. Explore more tools, resources, and guidance at progressive.com slash open the house to see how first time homeowners can find support along the way.
20:15 Michelle Obama? That reminded me a lot of what our mom used to say is that you have to treat every child as an individual. She used she used to say that and she said, you know, I'm not raising children, I'm raising people. And so.
20:32 Speaker 01 Just that phrase alone.
20:33 Michelle Obama? Yeah.
20:34 Speaker 01 Is the beginning and the end.
20:35 Michelle Obama? Yeah.
20:36 Speaker 01 If you look at it that you're not raising children, you're raising people.
20:40 Michelle Obama? Yeah, yeah.
20:41 Speaker 01 It will completely change the way you approach.
20:44 Michelle Obama? Exactly.
20:44 Speaker 01 That job.
20:45 Michelle Obama? Exactly. And having a philosophy of parenting.
20:48 Speaker 01 Yes.
20:48 Michelle Obama? Is important. I mean, yeah, we live in a society, people, you know, they people want folks to procreate. They want to stop people. They want to take choice away because they want us to be parents and and and bring forth life. But rarely do we have conversations of about what it means to be a parent.
21:08 Speaker 01 Right.
21:08 Michelle Obama? Why do you want to be a parent? Because you have to know your own motivations for why you're bringing life into this world.
21:16 Speaker 01 I think that is probably rare.
21:18 Michelle Obama? Yeah.
21:19 Speaker 01 I actually, I've never considered that.
21:22 Michelle Obama? Yeah.
21:24 Speaker 01 I just did, you know, because it just seemed like the right
21:28 Michelle Obama? Right thing to do.
21:29 Speaker 01 to do. I never looked at it in that way before. And I never heard other people say that before, really. Why am I a parent? Why am I doing this?
21:40 Michelle Obama? It becomes a thing you want.
21:43 Speaker 01 And then love.
21:44 Michelle Obama? And, right. You want, and, and your philosophy of parenting changes based on your reason. If you're having a child because you want to be loved, well, now you're looking for a friend. You're looking for this baby to be something for you.
21:59 Speaker 01 Right.
22:00 Michelle Obama? If you are looking for somebody to live out your dreams,
22:03 Speaker 01 Right.
22:03 Michelle Obama? to be what you weren't. Now that means that you are not going to see who this child is because you already have a sense of what you want them to be.
22:12 Speaker 01 Right, other than who they are.
22:14 Michelle Obama? You're not going to leave them any room because you need them. As your father, I wanted you to run the business.
22:19 Speaker 01 Right.
22:20 Michelle Obama? Well, he had made up that, his,
22:21 Speaker 01 That's right.
22:22 Michelle Obama? His decision up before he even got to see who you would be.
22:26 Speaker 01 Right. And I don't even know how the decision of what I wanted came to me. I always say that it was just a thing I needed to do. I don't know why.
22:40 Michelle Obama? Well, because kids are snowflakes. They all, we're, we're all grains of sand.
22:44 Speaker 01 Right.
22:45 Michelle Obama? And we come here with, I think, a certain level of temperament built in
22:51 Speaker 01 Right.
22:51 Michelle Obama? to our DNA.
22:52 Speaker 01 Right.
22:53 Michelle Obama? Because I, we, I think if everybody looks inside, we figure out, well, how did I, how was I that person? How did I know as a kid to be that? How did I know?
23:02 Speaker 01 How did a person grow up and invent corduroy? How did they know?
23:06 Michelle Obama? That's right. That's right. And they might have been thinking as a three-year-old, corduroy is my thing. And I don't know where it came from, but I'm,
23:13 Speaker 01 And it feels good.
23:14 Michelle Obama? It feels so good.
23:15 Speaker 01 Yeah, I like to wear it inside out.
23:19 Michelle Obama? But if you have more than one kid, you realize that they are different.
23:24 Speaker 01 From different planets.
23:25 Michelle Obama? Craig and I, we were raised in the same household.
23:28 Speaker 01 Right.
23:28 Michelle Obama? From the same parents, same set of experiences. He's a boy, I'm a girl. We are very different people. And our parents would say that was apparent the minute we could come, even before we could communicate. But if you're not looking for that difference, if you're not looking to understand your baby.
23:49 Speaker 01 Right.
23:49 Michelle Obama? To understand that part of parenting is that you have to be listening to them and watching them because they are telling you who they are.
23:57 Speaker 01 Yeah.
23:58 Michelle Obama? Very early on, which is why you knew. Because you came into this world, I believe, as an actor, as a creative, as a, and maybe that's why your learning is different, right?
24:11 Speaker 01 My learning is through my ear.
24:12 Michelle Obama? Yeah.
24:13 Speaker 01 So when you say listening.
24:14 Michelle Obama? Yeah.
24:15 Speaker 01 I, I, I have to listen because that's how I learn. And reading is so difficult even now because you don't lose your dyslexia. You just learn to negotiate.
24:26 Craig Robinson? Yeah, yeah. It's, and it's fascinating that you developed into an actor where you have to read.
24:33 Speaker 01 Oh, I chose a profession.
24:35 Michelle Obama? Yeah, how did you do that?
24:36 Speaker 01 You know what? When, there's a will, there's a way.
24:39 Michelle Obama? Yeah.
24:40 Speaker 01 You want it bad enough, you figure it out. I write it over and over and I, when I get a script. Now, if I do one script, I must read it and read it and read it, underline it in yellow, let it go in. When I'm doing a series, it's like you're, you're working a muscle.
25:00 Michelle Obama? Yeah.
25:00 Speaker 01 All of a sudden, by the 11th show, I can rub the script on my body and it goes in.
25:07 Craig Robinson? Hmm.
25:09 Speaker 01 You know, it, oh, it's an amazing process.
25:11 Craig Robinson? So you're, you're, so the Fonz role, let's talk about that.
25:14 Speaker 01 Okay.
25:15 Craig Robinson? Because that, that was.
25:16 Speaker 01 It changed my life.
25:17 Craig Robinson? It changed your life.
25:18 Speaker 01 Yeah.
25:19 Craig Robinson? Changed our lives.
25:20 Speaker 01 Thank you.
25:21 Craig Robinson? But it, it really did. So you're, you're, let's go before you get that role. You're, how did it come about that you auditioned for that? And then?
25:31 Michelle Obama? And were you acting before? Did you start in high school?
25:34 Speaker 01 I was in New York City. I went to, I have a master's degree in acting. I don't know where I got the nerve, but I applied to, with, with, I've got into one college out of 28. I'm in the bottom 3% academically. I applied to the Yale School of Drama. I just thought it was really important to know as much as I could so that I had some kind of foundation.
26:01 Speaker 01 I stayed for a year and a half in the repertory theater. I got $172 a week. I'm a professional. Went to New York, couldn't get hired, did commercials.
26:13 Craig Robinson? Okay.
26:14 Speaker 01 For supermarkets, Sanka Coffee, American Airlines. And then I did The Lords of Flapbush. And then somebody said, you wanna be known to New York? Stay here. You wanna be known to the world? Go to California.
26:33 Speaker 01 Big decision.
26:36 Speaker 01 Went to California. Second audition.
26:39 Michelle Obama? How old were you?
26:40 Speaker 01 Now, I am, um, I am, in 19, it's 1973. I landed Terrafirma, California, September 18th. My birthday is October 30th. I have no idea how old I am.
26:57 Michelle Obama? I know, right? It's like, Craig, you're the math guy.
27:00 Speaker 01 No!
27:01 Michelle Obama? Or it's someone with math.
27:03 Speaker 01 No, somebody will tell me. Somebody is gonna write in. They're gonna write in and you're gonna know in a couple of weeks. You're gonna get the mail.
27:13 Michelle Obama? You were in your twenties.
27:14 Speaker 01 All right, 27.
27:15 Michelle Obama? Okay, let's just say that.
27:18 Speaker 01 I said, well, you know, I can't go and I can't be in a series because I was trained for the theater. And Joan Scott said, would you just go? Okay. I drive to Paramount in my rented Capri. It's green because I love green. It's like a little sports car. I walk in the room. Everybody is famous. I've seen them all on TV. Wow. My heart sunk. Now it's my turn. I go in. My hair is down to my shoulders. I have a sweat stain that looks like the Hudson River is under my arms.
28:00 Speaker 01 And I see the man, Pasquale. He's going to read with me. He's going to read the other role. I only have six lines. And I don't know where it came from, but here is another lesson I learned. Go with your imagination, whoever is listening to us right now. Go with your imagination. I looked at Pasquale and I said, hey, don't look at me like that. I changed my voice. I'm looking at him. I'm a scared, short Jew. I'm playing a tall Italian. I see the script up in the air. I walked out of the room on my birthday, October 30th, 1973. Tom Miller calls me, one of the producers from Milwaukee.
28:44 Speaker 01 It was set in Milwaukee because of Tom Miller. And he said, would you like to be part of the show? I said, if you let me show the emotional side to this guy. When he takes off his jacket, who does he have to be cool for? They said, yes. I said, yes.
29:00 Michelle Obama? Wow, wow. The Fonz was born.
29:04 Speaker 01 The Fonz was born.
29:05 Michelle Obama? So you were nothing like the Fonz.
29:07 Speaker 01 I am nothing like the Fonz. I met people like the Fonz at school dances. And I immediately became blind. And I said, I hear you. You sound so tough, I cannot see you. I'm just going to feel my way right out the door.
29:30 Speaker 01 Please.
29:33 Speaker 01 Whoa.
29:34 Michelle Obama? Well, but for listeners, people, because now generationally, we can't assume everybody knows what Happy Days is.
29:40 Speaker 01 No.
29:40 Michelle Obama? And the Fonz.
29:41 Speaker 01 Fifty years old.
29:41 Michelle Obama? So let me tell you who the Fonz was, at least to me.
29:44 Speaker 01 I would love to hear it from you.
29:46 Michelle Obama? First of all, sexy. Now, what did I know about?
29:48 Speaker 01 I'm sitting differently in my chair right now.
29:51 Michelle Obama? What did I, at that, at the age, and I can't do the math, but I was young, right? I was under 10, right? To think, okay.
29:57 Craig Robinson? You were 11.
29:58 Michelle Obama? 11, all right.
30:00 Craig Robinson? No, no, no, yes.
30:02 Michelle Obama? So I was young.
30:02 Craig Robinson? Nine.
30:03 Michelle Obama? I was young, preteen. And I saw on the screen, the coolest. You did, you read tall.
30:11 Speaker 01 I did.
30:12 Michelle Obama? You read.
30:13 Speaker 01 People said, oh, my God, I thought you were taller.
30:15 Michelle Obama? Six three, yeah.
30:16 Speaker 01 It's so true.
30:16 Michelle Obama? You read 6'3". Think, and even cooler version of John Travolta, right? Black, jet black. Before John Travolta. Thick, black, luscious, Italian hair. Who knew, right?
30:33 Speaker 01 I had it imported from Milan.
30:36 Michelle Obama? Slicked back, right? So the Fonz is on his bike, black leather jacket, gray t-shirt underneath.
30:43 Craig Robinson? White t-shirt.
30:43 Michelle Obama? White, gray.
30:44 Craig Robinson? Yeah.
30:45 Speaker 01 It's close.
30:46 Michelle Obama? Cool. Just leaning up, because even before you had the black jacket, at one point, you changed to that tacky jacket.
30:54 Speaker 01 No, that was the first jacket.
30:55 Michelle Obama? That was the first jacket.
30:56 Speaker 01 You were right. Very hard to be cool in cloth.
30:58 Michelle Obama? In cloth, which, did you make that change?
31:02 Speaker 01 No, no, no. Gary Marshall went to ABC. And with the network, we were in, the network was in the bottom. It was the third network. There were only three at that time in, on television. And he said, you know, he could be very hurt if he rides his bike and he knocks over in cloth.
31:21 Michelle Obama? In cloth.
31:22 Speaker 01 They said, when he's in a scene with his bike, he can wear leather.
31:26 Michelle Obama? He's got that black leather, and I remember that change.
31:29 Speaker 01 Yeah.
31:30 Michelle Obama? Because I think it did something to me. It's like, woo!
31:34 Speaker 01 Can I just say something?
31:36 Michelle Obama? What?
31:36 Speaker 01 Wait a minute. I just want to say something. I'm a human being on this earth. I'm an American. I've watched you over all of these years, you know, be who you are, be this powerful presence in the universe.
31:55 Speaker 01 And you're telling me?
31:58 Speaker 01 I wanna just say, I don't have to say another word. I can go home now.
32:03 Craig Robinson? Wait till Stacy hears this.
32:05 Speaker 01 I don't care. I'm gonna play it for her. Just that segment. Okay, I'm sorry.
32:14 Michelle Obama? But Fonz was also, not only was he handsome, but he was the strong, silent type.
32:20 Speaker 01 You just said was.
32:22 Michelle Obama? Well, we're talking about the Fonz.
32:23 Speaker 01 Oh, yes, right, of course.
32:24 Michelle Obama? Right. Henry Winkler continues to be, I told you when you walked out.
32:28 Speaker 01 Yes, you did.
32:28 Michelle Obama? Very cute.
32:29 Speaker 01 Yes, you did.
32:29 Michelle Obama? Very cute.
32:30 Speaker 01 Yes, you did.
32:31 Michelle Obama? Yes, I did, and I meant it.
32:34 Michelle Obama? But the strong, the character type, which was, he didn't say much.
32:39 Speaker 01 Right.
32:39 Michelle Obama? Until he said something.
32:40 Speaker 01 That's right.
32:41 Michelle Obama? He was usually the moral order of Happy Days. The sort of, you know, sock hoppy kind of, wasn't the bully.
32:49 Speaker 01 He was who I dreamt of being.
32:52 Michelle Obama? But everybody was terrified of him. And, but he had a heart of gold.
32:57 Speaker 01 Yeah, right.
32:58 Michelle Obama? And you slowly got to see that part of him.
33:01 Speaker 01 Right.
33:01 Michelle Obama? So Fonz became, was really the heart of Happy Days. You know, in a very interesting way. So that's just the explanation of how powerful your character and how, how well you embodied that. Because it was sexy, cool, good-hearted.
33:19 Speaker 01 Good-hearted.
33:19 Michelle Obama? Tough guy.
33:20 Speaker 01 And loyal.
33:21 Michelle Obama? And loyal, loyal to a fault.
33:23 Speaker 01 I loved my friends. I loved the Cunninghams. They were the family I did not have in that mythical place.
33:39 Craig Robinson? Craig Robinson here. And as the holiday season comes closer, it's time to plan our holiday travel. And you know, As our family gets older, it makes it harder for all of us to cram into one hotel room for an extended period of time. So we have six or seven adult-sized people traveling simultaneously now that the kids are getting older. So we need a little more space. We need a little more freedom. That's why booking a stay on Airbnb makes so much sense for our family. You know, imagine heading to South Carolina with friends for a cozy fall
34:19 Craig Robinson? weekend, or taking the family to Orlando over the Thanksgiving break. Instead of being stuck in a hotel lobby or eating takeout food on the bed, which can be kind of fun, you've got a living room to gather in, a kitchen to cook these great holiday meals and make memories. You even could cook out outside, which I love doing in the fall weather. It makes the trip feel warmer, more personal, and way more memorable. It's those little things, more space, more privacy, and staying in the coolest parts of town that make an Airbnb trip better than a hotel.
35:00 Craig Robinson? Welcome back to IMO. We made it, folks. It's December. The holiday hustle's just starting to wind down, which means it's a perfect time to switch into new year, new moves mode. What's one big move you want to make in the new year? Whatever those big moves are, you need a plan. You need a strategy. You need a partner. You need Shopify. The end of the year is when you review your yearly numbers, clean up your strategies, and lay the foundation for what's next. They help you plan, launch, and grow so that the start of 2026 is way ahead of the game. With Shopify, you can keep track of everything from the palm of
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37:39 Craig Robinson? Now, I think I know the answer to this, but I want to ask you, did being the Fonz change Henry at all?
37:47 Speaker 01 No, he did while I was playing him.
37:52 Craig Robinson? Okay.
37:54 Speaker 01 I had to, I couldn't believe that people were actually talking to me because I was still Henry with a very low self-esteem. So, I couldn't, I liked what they were saying, but it went through me because it couldn't be me.
38:13 Craig Robinson? So it couldn't help uplift that feeling that your parents had started.
38:17 Speaker 01 When I lived my life, I was still that Henry walking around. Until lately, about 10 years ago, I was so confused, I met a therapist. Who if I were to give a gift to, I would have to give her a skyscraper.
38:39 Michelle Obama? Yeah.
38:40 Speaker 01 Because I was a block of Swiss cheese, growing up. And I wanted, I knew I wanted to fill in the holes. And I want to become a block of cheddar.
38:52 Michelle Obama? Yeah, yeah. What did she, how did she do it?
38:57 Speaker 01 The woman says nothing. The woman says nothing. She sits there and I say, "Hey, what about this?" And she said, "Yes."
39:09 Michelle Obama? Yes.
39:09 Speaker 01 "What about that?" "What do you mean?" "I'm not, don't ask me." And then she forces you to look at you. And you know what? All of a sudden, it's not so difficult. It's okay. And I have become strung. I don't know that you brought up Barry.
39:30 Craig Robinson? Yes.
39:31 Speaker 01 I don't know that I could have played Jean Cusinow without going through that process.
39:38 Michelle Obama? What led you finally, 10 years ago, to do therapy?
39:42 Speaker 01 I was completely discombobulated. I just, I, instead of walking a straight line, I was psychologically drunk. I think I was emotionally drunk. And I don't even drink.
40:00 Craig Robinson? Yeah.
40:01 Speaker 01 And I'm telling you, you don't, she asked me a question. In our very first session, she said, "Where are you?" I had no idea what she meant. "What do you mean, where am I?" "I'm sitting here in this chair." "That's wicker and not that comfortable."
40:22 Michelle Obama? By the way. Hello, Wicker.
40:24 Speaker 01 You can put like a cushion.
40:25 Michelle Obama? I know, it's the therapy. Where was the couch? Where was the leather couch?
40:32 Speaker 01 And all of a sudden, I started to answer that question. Over the years, it takes time. You have to really devote time. But it is the greatest time I've spent outside of my children and my grandchildren.
40:49 Michelle Obama? Well, how did, how did therapy, this discovery, the filling up the Swiss cheese holes, creating your block of cheddar? How did it manifest itself?
41:00 Speaker 01 I will tell you. I think the, I mean, I really do have that answer because I enjoy it so much.
41:09 Speaker 01 I'm able to say what I want to say. I'm able to say, I really need this. I really want this. I'm not okay with that. I am perfectly okay with that.
41:27 Speaker 01 As opposed to dance around in some sort of crazy chicken dance. You know?
41:37 Michelle Obama? Asking for you, for what you want in life.
41:40 Speaker 01 Yes, taking my place on my place on this earth.
41:49 Michelle Obama? Not having those tools most of your life, but still building a very long and very successful career. I mean, there was The Fonz, but, and how many seasons?
42:02 Speaker 01 Eleven.
42:03 Michelle Obama? Eleven. No one has 11 seasons anymore. So you spent the bulk of your adult acting life in one of the most successful shows ever.
42:13 Speaker 01 Right.
42:14 Michelle Obama? Playing one of the most successful characters ever.
42:17 Speaker 01 I am so grateful.
42:18 Michelle Obama? And then you go on to produce, direct, continue to act.
42:22 Speaker 01 Produce because I couldn't get hired.
42:24 Michelle Obama? Yeah.
42:25 Speaker 01 Produce because people said, oh, my God, he is so funny. He's so lovely, but he was The Fonz. He's The Fonz.
42:31 Michelle Obama? But there wasn't a struggle in those roles of creation to ask for what you wanted?
42:37 Speaker 01 Always.
42:38 Michelle Obama? How did that?
42:39 Speaker 01 Until about fifteen minutes ago. I'm not kidding.
42:43 Michelle Obama? What did that look like for you to run something? Would you second guess yourself?
42:48 Speaker 01 I would. This is what I will tell anybody over and over again. Your mind, as educated or not as you are, your mind only knows a little. Your tummy knows everything. When you listen to your instinct, you're always in the right place.
43:05 Michelle Obama? I love that.
43:07 Speaker 01 Whether you're at a job interview or you're gonna date somebody for the first time, you get a bad feeling, you go home. You give the flowers back and walk back in the apartment. You know what I mean? Thank you so much. Enjoy your dinner.
43:21 Michelle Obama? Yeah, yeah. So you operated on instincts. You had to learn how to trust your tummy, as you say. Yeah, yeah.
43:29 Speaker 01 You know, my tummy. And I tell that to everybody who will listen.
43:35 Michelle Obama? We're taught the opposite. Think.
43:38 Speaker 01 That's right.
43:38 Michelle Obama? You have to use your logic. There's an answer. There's an algorithm. There's a but.
43:44 Speaker 01 But when you cannot come up with it, you let it justate. And then it comes up in your mind, like the magic eight ball. An answer comes and then your tummy knows if... Is that answer right? It's an answer, but I'm not feeling it. Reason it took me so long to say "it," right? Because I was suppressing a burp. I just want you to know. That's a natural thing.
44:16 Michelle Obama? Oh, okay, just in real life.
44:17 Speaker 01 Just now, in real life. I was just suppressing.
44:19 Michelle Obama? I was thinking, I thought that was a metaphor for something.
44:22 Speaker 01 No, no, no, I did not finish the sentence because I was working so hard not to burp. You can't burp in front of the jacket.
44:30 Michelle Obama? It's true. I was like, this is so deep. He's going deep. And it's like, oh, he's trying not to burp. Thank you. Thank you, Henry. Thank you for that. Thank you for that. I am fascinated with...
44:45 Michelle Obama? How you've worked to be a different parent. And, and you are now a different grandparent.
44:53 Speaker 01 Yes.
44:54 Michelle Obama? And I think, I, I would love for you to share that journey. Because there are a lot of people who grow up in tough circumstances. They were mis-parented. They didn't know, they were un-parented.
45:06 Speaker 01 So you know how that feels.
45:08 Michelle Obama? Yeah, yeah.
45:09 Speaker 01 Right? One knows how that feels.
45:10 Michelle Obama? Yes.
45:12 Speaker 01 So I said that I learned through my ears. So listening, because our children, if you give them a little bit and you say, you know what? I think you're gonna help figure out what the, the punishment or the consequence is gonna be for what you just did.
45:31 Speaker 01 Or, you're gonna figure out what your curfew is. Yeah, I can't live with that. Oh, I can live with that. Okay. And if you don't call, if you're gonna be late, you lose 10 minutes. My daughter, Zoe, went out at 8:00. She was back at 8:20. She lost all of her Saturday night.
45:55 Speaker 01 That poor girl got dressed to go nowhere.
46:00 Speaker 01 But it was her own doing. Oh, my gosh. Hey, I told you. All you gotta do, very few rules.
46:07 Michelle Obama? Yeah. I, again, I think that we were lucky in that we had a mother that was highly adaptable. And it, it changed the way I parented. You know, it was really, you know, you, you realize that you have to, even punishments. You know, how you solve problems between one child and the next, you know?
46:29 Speaker 01 One child will listen. The other child doesn't care?
46:32 Michelle Obama? That's exactly right.
46:33 Speaker 01 Oh, my goodness.
46:34 Michelle Obama? I tell this story all the time about Malia and Sasha when they were, they were probably seven and, and three at the time. And Barack was traveling. So I was at home trying to get the girls to bed. They were, they were great kids, but this was one night that they were just being rambunctious and I was like, get ready, it's time to take your baths. And no one was listening and I was in my frustrated mommy time. And I said, well, that's it. You know, no one listens to me. I'm done parenting. You, you seem like you guys have this all figured out and you can do this on your own. So have at it. My oldest daughter, Malia, said, oh, no, mommy. You know, I could, I can't do without you.
47:19 Michelle Obama? And this is what I'm thinking, yeah, this is what I wanted. I wanted her to realize that she needed me. She said, so she immediately started taking off her clothes and it's like, mommy, no, I don't know what I could do without you. Sasha, my three-year-old, was sitting on the stairs watching all this. She took her blankie and she turned around and went back upstairs to watch TV. As if to say, like, thank God. At last, this is what I wanted from you, lady. I am three, I can handle this. I'm going back upstairs. And she got five steps up and I was like, if you don't turn around and get back down here. And I was like, well, it worked for one, didn't work for the other.
47:58 Speaker 01 Now, let me ask you a question. Are those characteristics in those young ladies now?
48:03 Michelle Obama? Yes.
48:03 Speaker 01 Exactly who they were?
48:04 Michelle Obama? Yes, they have to. My younger daughter has, she wants to learn her way. You know, she, she, she doesn't want to be told
48:15 Speaker 01 Right.
48:15 Michelle Obama? That this is how you do it. We tell her, but she's got to learn on her own.
48:20 Speaker 01 We have seven grandchildren. They are from 16 to nine months, completely different human beings. One is a dancer, one is in the theater, one is a mathematician. One of them wants to be an athlete and is on his way. The little, um, uh, three-year-old is enchanting. Knows that she walks through the world and moves air. You know? One is Ethel Merman. I'm telling you, it's unbelievable.
48:54 Michelle Obama? How has it been being a grandfather?
48:57 Speaker 01 It's different.
48:58 Michelle Obama? Yeah.
48:59 Speaker 01 And it is, it's enchanting. It's enchanting to hear each one say, hi, Papa. And each one gives you a hug differently. But they all give you a hug. And they know that I need to have that hug. Oh, my God. One of them, you know, the 16-year-old. She's beautiful and she FaceTimes me. Say hello to Roy. Oh, hello, Roy. Or she wants to put like a mask on me, you know. Don't do it. Don't do it.
49:35 Michelle Obama? On your FaceTime, you become a rabbit or something.
49:38 Speaker 01 Yeah.
49:40 Michelle Obama? She loves that, huh? She's like, don't you dare turn me into a rabbit.
49:44 Speaker 01 Like my daughter. My daughter used me like a gardening tool when there was a young man around.
49:50 Michelle Obama? How so?
49:51 Speaker 01 Just walk by him. Just walk by him. You're on television. Let him see that. All right. Don't say a word. You were in the water, boy. Okay.
50:02 Speaker 01 I'm not kidding.
50:03 Michelle Obama? Just move through.
50:04 Speaker 01 Just move through. Do not look. Do not look.
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51:28 Craig Robinson? Well, you know, here on IMO, we like to take questions from our listeners.
51:32 Speaker 01 Okay.
51:33 Craig Robinson? And hopefully give them a little bit of advice. And I think we have a perfect question from you that's coming from-
51:41 Michelle Obama? For you.
51:41 Craig Robinson? For you, not from-
51:42 Speaker 01 I knew what you meant. I knew what you meant. Brother, sister, I saw it. I saw it happen right in front of me.
51:47 Michelle Obama? It was just like, do I let him? Do I let him let that go? I feel like I'm helping him.
51:53 Speaker 01 You know what? I understand and really, God bless you.
51:56 Craig Robinson? Yes, thank you very much. But we have a question from a listener in Colorado.
52:03 Speaker 01 Oh.
52:04 Craig Robinson? Terry in Longmouth.
52:06 Speaker 01 They get to wear sweaters.
52:07 Craig Robinson? Yes.
52:09 Speaker 03 I have five adult children. They are all married and have their own kids. My question to you is, how do you parent your kids as adults? When my adult children come to me with struggles they are having, I sometimes find myself at a loss as to how to help them or how much I should be trying to help them. I'm curious what you think our place should be in supporting them.
52:30 Speaker 01 Okay. All right, so number one, you really don't have a place in parenting your adult children. Two, it is so difficult to shut up.
52:43 Michelle Obama? Yes, it is.
52:44 Speaker 01 You want to say to, what are you kidding? You're holding your kid that way?
52:51 Speaker 01 What are you feeding them? Okay, that's, what do you mean? She only eats cereal.
52:58 Speaker 01 All right, when you're at a loss, you say, I am so sorry. I'm at a loss. Because you don't want to say something that will not be the authentic. That is my feeling. When they come to you, my daughter, also, talk in short sentences. A parent will talk in paragraphs.
53:26 Michelle Obama? I do that.
53:26 Speaker 01 You will watch the eyes glaze over like ham.
53:37 Craig Robinson? We're all laughing because we've done it.
53:39 Michelle Obama? Oh, my God.
53:40 Speaker 01 Short sentences. And they will hear you.
53:43 Craig Robinson? Yeah.
53:44 Speaker 01 And I also say, as a parent, with, you know, just at the beginning-
53:50 Speaker 01 You, your job is to repeat the same sentence for 18 years.
53:58 Michelle Obama? Yes.
53:59 Speaker 01 Every day.
54:00 Michelle Obama? Yeah.
54:02 Michelle Obama? It's true. It's so true. And then one day, in their 40s, they're like, wow, you were listening.
54:11 Speaker 01 It is, that is so true. I cannot even tell you.
54:15 Michelle Obama? Well, it's like the toughest thing in the world is to, um, and Craig and I, we talk about this a lot, is part of raising people.
54:26 Speaker 01 True.
54:26 Michelle Obama? And adults is.
54:27 Speaker 01 The hardest job on the planet.
54:28 Michelle Obama? The hardest job is that, the goal is to, as quickly as possible, give them the tools to think and problem solve for themselves.
54:38 Speaker 01 To be who they're supposed to be.
54:40 Michelle Obama? Right, right. And also to give them some confidence that they can do it. And it's a, it's a hard thing to do as a parent, to try not to fix everything for them before it's.
54:52 Speaker 01 I'm, uh, guilty of that.
54:54 Michelle Obama? Yeah, I, I am too. I mean, Malia was with us. She was, we're staying with a friend and they, whenever they have a chance to stay in a nice house, they do. They're just like, we're coming over, you know? We're just to take a bath and to have nice towels. And so they wound up staying over last night because they stayed too long. And so they were sleeping in these beds. She got up and she's like, oh, sleeping in nice sheets. It's the best thing ever. I immediately say, you don't have nice sheets? You know, what do you, what do you need? Um, my, my, my baby doesn't have nice sheets? And she was like, mom, my sheets are fine. You know, it's like, my apartment doesn't have air conditioning. If they're too nice, they suffocate.
55:38 Michelle Obama? My, my point being is that I was immediately.
55:41 Speaker 01 I'm with you.
55:41 Michelle Obama? I try, I wanted, I felt her discomfort and I wanted to fix it. Um, and you have to resist the urge.
55:50 Speaker 01 You have to resist.
55:51 Michelle Obama? To fix their discomfort. You have to watch them, I say this all the time. You have to watch the, the, the, the person, the being you love the most, walk straight into a wall that you see. It's like it's a wall. And you're going, you're moving really, you're gonna, oh, you hit it. Oh, my God, I needed to let you do that. That's a hard thing to do as a parent.
56:15 Speaker 01 Well, the one thing you just said is, is I would put in the beginning of all those sentences, give them the confidence to be, when, when a baby is here, when they come and they're, they come full blown.
56:32 Speaker 01 And what you said is the beginning and the end, give them the confidence to meet their destiny.
56:38 Michelle Obama? Yeah, yeah. And if you do that, young, right? So, um, to our listener, to Terry, if you do all that hard work early.
56:52 Speaker 01 Yes.
56:53 Michelle Obama? And early, I mean, I'm talking one.
56:56 Speaker 01 Yes.
56:57 Michelle Obama? Two years old.
57:00 Michelle Obama? Then the question of how do I parent my adult children becomes moot because you won't have to.
57:06 Speaker 01 Right, because you've already done it.
57:08 Michelle Obama? You've given them the tools early on and that, that is the beauty about being the parent of adult children.
57:15 Speaker 01 The only thing is, I, I have to say that my daughter sometimes comes to me with an insecurity that is from the little girl in her. And then I talk to her not as the little girl, but I would say the same thing to the little girl, who is that insecure at 43. And we talk it through and she goes, thanks dad, I have to go and pick up Jed now.
57:44 Craig Robinson? Yeah.
57:44 Speaker 01 I have to go pick up Ace.
57:46 Craig Robinson? Yeah. No, I think that this, this is all really good for Terry. The short sentences.
57:52 Speaker 01 Do we ever get to meet Terry?
57:53 Michelle Obama? No, we're, we're working on that.
57:55 Craig Robinson? We're working on it.
57:55 Michelle Obama? We've talked about following up with our listeners.
57:59 Craig Robinson? And having the questioners actually ask the question. We've talked about that, but.
58:04 Michelle Obama? Terry, you.
58:05 Craig Robinson? So I was.
58:05 Speaker 01 You're talking authentic.
58:06 Craig Robinson? Yeah, so being authentic and, and Meech was saying, get the work done early.
58:11 Speaker 01 That's right.
58:12 Craig Robinson? And I'm gonna bring up something you said earlier, which is what your therapist does. Sometimes you don't say anything.
58:24 Craig Robinson? When they come to you for advice, you ask them what they think.
58:30 Speaker 01 You know what, there is, believe it or not, a book I found when my children were young. It was called Effectiveness Parenting Training. It was something like that. Take my word for it. And what it was, is you only make noise. My son would say, "I am not going to school." And I just said, "Uh huh. Oh. Yeah, I, oh wow, you sound angry." Yeah, and he would screw himself into the bulbs, into the ceiling, and then unscrew himself, get in the car, put on a seatbelt, and say, "Hurry up, we're gonna be late."
59:10 Craig Robinson? Yeah.
59:12 Speaker 01 Don't say anything, you are so right, I'm not kidding.
59:16 Craig Robinson? That is a, that was a Frasier and Marion Robinson tactic.
59:20 Michelle Obama? And for, and for someone who is a talker, like me, that was a lesson that I'm still learning, is to do more, wow, oh, mm, ooh, yeah.
59:33 Speaker 01 But you know what?
59:35 Speaker 01 Just by making those sounds, you tell the, the child, you're hearing them, you're listening, without knocking them off their, um, their path at the moment.
59:48 Michelle Obama? Or telling them how they should feel.
59:50 Speaker 01 Yes, right.
59:50 Michelle Obama? Yeah, our mom was good at that, and, you know, she lived with us in the White House. She came, and that, that, that helped us get through, having a version of you. Funny, sane, grounded, in that house through that experience, kept us all together. For me personally, almost every other day, she, she stayed in a suite of rooms on the third floor. And she would come down to be there for the girls to come home. She never wanted to just have dinner unless we were having company, because she wanted us to have family time, just the four of us. So she'd eat dinner upstairs. But every afternoon after I got home, or every, from a busy day at work,
1:00:35 Michelle Obama? I'd walk up before the kids got home and just sat. And I did the same thing that I always did, I just talked. You know, this happened today. I read this, this article happened and I, you know, I watched the news and I, I just, she would just let me talk. Um, and as the first lady of the United States, just going upstairs to my mommy's room.
1:01:00 Speaker 01 Right.
1:01:00 Michelle Obama? And just letting it all out.
1:01:02 Speaker 01 Right.
1:01:03 Michelle Obama? With her going, wow. Mm, mm.
1:01:06 Speaker 01 Cause the first lady of the United States is a human first.
1:01:09 Michelle Obama? Yeah, yeah. Um, she did that for us our entire life.
1:01:14 Speaker 01 That's amazing. I never had that experience.
1:01:16 Michelle Obama? Yeah, yes, you did now.
1:01:18 Craig Robinson? But you turned out wonderfully.
1:01:20 Michelle Obama? Thank you.
1:01:21 Speaker 01 Well, you know, like at least 87%.
1:01:25 Michelle Obama? Yeah. But this conversation, you know, we shared a lot of don'ts.
1:01:30 Speaker 01 Yes.
1:01:31 Michelle Obama? Um, that your parents.
1:01:33 Speaker 01 This was amazing, this conversation.
1:01:34 Michelle Obama? Yeah.
1:01:35 Craig Robinson? You know, we appreciate you.
1:01:36 Speaker 01 I had no idea what it was going to be.
1:01:37 Michelle Obama? Yeah.
1:01:38 Speaker 01 I was a little nervous.
1:01:39 Michelle Obama? Yeah.
1:01:40 Craig Robinson? Were you?
1:01:40 Speaker 01 Yeah, and I feel like I'm, I'm coming for lamb chops.
1:01:44 Craig Robinson? Yes, that's what we want you to do.
1:01:46 Speaker 01 Yeah, I just, I like, I do and I like mint jelly.
1:01:49 Michelle Obama? Of course, you are of that generation.
1:01:51 Speaker 01 Yes, I am.
1:01:51 Michelle Obama? Where the mint jelly and the lamb chops, that's a thing, you know?
1:01:55 Speaker 01 And if you have Spencer roast, I like a currant jelly.
1:01:59 Michelle Obama? Okay, okay. All right, we're gonna keep that in mind.
1:02:02 Speaker 01 Thank you.
1:02:02 Michelle Obama? You're gonna keep that. This, this has been a delightful.
1:02:05 Speaker 01 Oh, my goodness.
1:02:06 Michelle Obama? Conversation. I mean, you, you are wise.
1:02:09 Speaker 01 Oh, wow, I didn't.
1:02:11 Michelle Obama? You are. Uh, well, hey, it's been 80 years of the built up wisdom that you.
1:02:19 Craig Robinson? Speaking of 80.
1:02:20 Michelle Obama? Oh, yes, we.
1:02:21 Craig Robinson? We actually knew it would be your 80th birthday. So we had a little bit of a something planned for you.
1:02:28 Michelle Obama? Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Henry. Happy birthday to you.
1:02:46 Craig Robinson? And many more.
1:02:48 Michelle Obama? And then we have to sing the black happy birthday. Happy birthday to ya. Happy birthday to ya. This is Stevie Wonder. Happy birthday, happy.
1:03:02 Michelle Obama? Happy Birthday. Happy Birthday. Yeah, go. It never ends. Go, Henry. Happy Birthday. Okay, we can stop there.
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