Joy 101: Hasan Minhaj

“In frats, everyone is having sex, but no one is in love. But on the competitive Bollywood dance team, everyone’s in love, but no one’s having sex." —Hasan Minhaj Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb is Presented by CVS. Shop your local CVS, right around the corner. Experience the full conversation on the "Joy 101 podcast with Hoda Kotb" wherever you listen to podcasts. For more information, please visit us at www.joy101.com/podcast https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.joy101.com%2Fpodcast&data=05%7C02%7CBrianBurton%40iheartmedia.com%7Ced282fb6ce2244f4092308df1052e7d4%7C122a527e5b714eba878d9810b495b9e3%7C0%7C0%7C639247620421915682%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=%2BAVcFvScJeWWCxxxgzRd3mh%2FZ5RnWtI0OW2iIq6lQ4g%3D&reserved=0 See omnystudio.com/listener https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:11Hoda Kotb?

  Hey guys, welcome to the Joy 101, the podcast. I'm so excited about our guest today. His name is Hassan Minaj. He's a comedian. Now, if you're a fan of The Daily Show, you probably know exactly who I'm talking about. If you watched the White House Correspondents' Dinner a few years ago, you may know who I'm talking about. If you like Netflix, he had a special called Homecoming King. But he's got something so cool. This comedian has something so cool that is coming out now, and it's called Best of the Best. Okay. So what I love about this show that's coming out is it's all about a coming of age. When you go to college and you first get there. So think back, if you went to college, what

• 0:55Hoda Kotb?

  it was like when you first arrived. Okay. I remember mine so vividly, right? So I had a roommate. I didn't know who she was. So we walk into the room, me, my mom, my dad, my brother, my sister, and there is a girl named Kelly, who's my roommate. And she walks in and she sees all of us in, in the room. And I remembered thinking to myself, like, who's this family? And she's thinking, who's this family? And we are about to live in two twin beds in a single room. And her name was Kelly Irwin. And the funny thing is, my brother and sister and I have a nickname that we call each other, which is Irwin. We call each other. When I call my sister, I say, hey, Irwin. And when she calls my

• 1:37Hoda Kotb?

  brother, she says, hey, Irwin. And we, we put our notes on Christmas cards. It's to Irwin, from Irwin. And the only way we know it's from us to us is because of the handwriting. Anyway, this girl's name was Kelly Irwin. So we, of course, burst out laughing and we knew it was meant to be. And Kelly and I lived together for two years there. And it was all of the things that happen when you start off in college. Like, how do you make it work? Who's this person? Well, Hassan is a guy who is playing a professor in this movie. It's a great one to see. But what's even more interesting about him is his life and his career, and how he came to this particular place, how he came to this peak

• 2:17Hoda Kotb?

  of comedy through his upbringing. And I'm so excited to talk with Hassan Minaj. This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human. Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb is presented by CVS. I've realized that joy doesn't always come from those big moments. Sometimes you find it on the most ordinary day. I'll pop into a CVS for toothpaste or paper towels, and it never seems to be just a quick errand. Maybe I'll grab a delicious Well Market Trail Mix or wander over to the Joy Word Collection. That's part of the fun. So the next time you're checking something off your to do list, stop by your local CVS pharmacy.

• 2:58Hoda Kotb?

  You might go in for one thing and leave with a little more joy. Visit your local CVS pharmacy, sponsored by CVS. Every purchase is a financial decision. So it's worth asking, what am I getting out of this? If you're using the Chase Freedom Flex Card, you can maximize your cash back on things you need. More ways to earn, more ways to get rewarded. Sign up for the Chase Freedom Flex Card. Learn more at chase.com/getflex. This is a paid collaboration with Chase Freedom Flex. Cards issued by JP Morgan Chase Bank, N A Member FDIC. Subject to credit approval. Offer subject to change. Terms apply.

• 3:35Speaker 01

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• 4:12Speaker 01

  now at youbeauty.com. That's the letter U, B E A U T Y dot com. Try You Beauty today.

• 4:21Speaker 02

  I'm Melissa Jelton, host of the What Happened to Her podcast. We're kicking off the season with the Sandra Birchmore story, a case the police wrote off as a suicide in a snowstorm. Her family never bought it, and the man they suspected wore a badge.

• 4:36Speaker 03

  You never know who that devil is because he's wearing a disguise. Sometimes it's a police uniform.

• 4:42Speaker 02

  And you can get access to all episodes 100% ad-free with an iHeart True Crime Plus subscription exclusively on Apple Podcasts, available only to iHeart True Crime Plus subscribers. So don't wait. Head to Apple Podcasts, search for iHeart True Crime Plus, and subscribe today.

• 5:00Speaker 04

  This is your girl, TS Madison, coming to you loud, live, and always and forever in color from The Outlaws Podcast. National Coming Out Day is in October, and we've got stories from all your favorite LGBTQ celebrities to celebrate. Check out our episode with comedy legend Wayne Brady.

• 5:16Speaker 05

  My daughter was actually the one, she said, Dad, you may be pansexual.

• 5:20Speaker 04

  The iconic Billy Porter. And Terrell Grace and I talk about family and show the family post coming out.

• 5:26Speaker 06

  I don't like statements like that. That's Dad, or that's Grandma. No, no, no, no, no. It should never come at the cost and expense of your own sanity and your own mental health.

• 5:33Speaker 04

  Download the free iHeart Radio app. Search Outlaws with TS Madison and listen now.

• 5:39Hoda Kotb?

  So I want to talk about Best of the Best with you, Hassan. I'm so happy you're here. I'm thrilled to be here. Because this is a movie that it's all about. It's about a ton of things. It's about coming of age. It's about going to college. It's about, it's about parents, about all the things. And I want to get into it. But first, I want to talk to you. So one of the questions I love to ask, one of my favorites. First of all, is I didn't know you were this tall. I get this all the time. What, how tall are you? I'm 6'1" with hair. You're 6'1"? Why did I not know that? I've seen you on The Daily Show. I've seen you do many things. Yes. And nobody told me? Maybe you're not standing next to people who... Or maybe I'm not like, standing with my shoulders back. But I get it a lot. Okay. Now, what does that mean when people say that? How should I take that? As a major compliment.

• 6:24Hoda Kotb?

  Okay. Because you give, like, regular-sized guy, not tall guy. And when I meet you in person, it's like, wow. Okay. So anyway, one question I love to love that somebody from The Wall Street Journal asked me once, and I remembered going, oh, this is an interesting question. I've never been asked this. So he said to me, close your eyes. Okay. And he said, and imagine yourself walking into your childhood bedroom, the bedroom of your seven, eight, nine, 10, 11-year-old self. And I want you to look around the room, and I want you to describe what you see, what posters are on the wall, what sheets you had on the bed. Was there anyone else in the room? Was it neat or messy? What was

• 7:09Hoda Kotb?

  on your shelves? So what, what, what was yours? I mean, it's so funny, as you were saying that, I literally was imagining mine. It was a very 90s kid. So it was very, it was, it was extremely pop culture. What did you have? What posters? We're talking about, you know, our 90s icons. We had Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen. I grew up in Northern California, so... So you loved, yeah. Yeah. So, but, but, so obviously, they were the best. But I was a huge Sacramento Kings fan, so I had Chris Webber, Jason Williams. All sports. Yeah. Yeah. But mainly basketball. Okay. My, my parents, I grew up in an immigrant household, so my parents were very strict. Yes. So like, I would go to some people's houses, and they would have, like, you

• 7:53Hoda Kotb?

  know, scantily clad... Girls on the wall. Women on the wall. And I thought it was the most insane. Yeah. It was the most insane thing ever. You were like, what is going on? Your parents let you do this? Okay. So your parents are strict. They were like, you can have sports, guys. They were like, athletes are totally cool. Athletes are totally cool. Books? Do you have books on the shelves? Books, yes. I was... What were you, was there anything that comes to mind? You know, this is gonna sound funny, but my favorite authors, funny enough, was Beverly Cleary. Beverly Cleary was one of my favorite authors. Oh, really? Okay. Fudge, Super Fudge was my favorite. And funny enough, I did an event for her years later, as an adult.

• 8:31Speaker 05

  For Beverly Beverly Cleary and I didn't know she's this huge YA icon for young women. But those two books comedically as a writer meant so much to me. They were so funny and interesting and about siblings and fighting and um both of those books were so but she's one of my favorite authors as a kid.

• 8:52Speaker 05

  She also did, I think, I believe she also did Little Mouse on the Motorcycle, correct?

• 8:55Hoda Kotb?

  I think she did.

• 8:56Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 8:56Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 8:57Speaker 05

  So she was one of my favorite authors as a kid.

• 8:59Hoda Kotb?

  Little Mouse on the Motorcycle.

• 9:00Speaker 05

  Yeah, um, uh, so, so, yeah, books, comic books.

• 9:04Hoda Kotb?

  Okay.

• 9:04Speaker 05

  Graphic novels.

• 9:05Hoda Kotb?

  So what were you, what'd you do for fun when you were a kid? Did you shoot hoops?

• 9:08Speaker 05

  I was, I was a basketball player. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, I, I, I grew up like, kind of like on a American suburban cul-de-sac.

• 9:14Hoda Kotb?

  Sure.

• 9:14Speaker 05

  So my father's an organic chemist, my mother's a physician at the VA. Um, I had a, a fun little cul-de-sac of kids and so, yeah, we'd ride bikes and.

• 9:22Hoda Kotb?

  So tell me, you have so many interesting parts of you.

• 9:24Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 9:25Hoda Kotb?

  But I want to start with one part that I find super interesting, which is at least if, I don't know if this is true, some stuff written up isn't. But you and your dad grew up together.

• 9:34Speaker 05

  Primarily, yes.

• 9:35Hoda Kotb?

  Through your eighth birthday, is that right?

• 9:38Speaker 05

  Yeah, so, so my, my mother essentially was, she was studying to complete her residency rotations. Um, and so me and my dad stayed together, so she, I, obviously I was born here. Um, my sister was born here as well, but I was, I was born here. My mother was finishing her residency rotations in New York. And then came to Stockton, did rotations there and then finally came to Davis where I grew up.

• 10:07Hoda Kotb?

  So.

• 10:08Speaker 05

  So I would see her a little bit as I was, I was growing up and I didn't know this, this was the thing, you just, you don't know. I remember when she was doing her residency in Stockton, I would go stay with her sometimes on the weekend. And she had a roommate. So it's this, it's this really, it's this really like fascinating thing to be like, I'm staying with my mom. But she also has like a room, so she simultaneously is like a woman, but she's also like a college sophomore, you know?

• 10:34Hoda Kotb?

  Tell me, cause this is interesting, growing up not with your mom day in and day out.

• 10:39Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 10:39Hoda Kotb?

  So how did you get mothered? Like, because I think every kid, I mean, we love both of our parents, obviously.

• 10:46Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 10:46Hoda Kotb?

  But how did, how did your, was your dad also mothering?

• 10:50Speaker 05

  Was my dad a mom? So here's the thing.

• 10:54Speaker 05

  Uh, yeah, my dad is, was, was, was my dad, I mean, he was, he's, he's the source of a lot of my comedy. Um, ob- obviously generational divide.

• 11:05Hoda Kotb?

  Sure.

• 11:05Speaker 05

  He's coming to the States. My dad came to the United States in nineteen eighty-two, uh, to be an organic chemist at the Cal EPA. And I feel like I'm like a throwback. My dad had this job his entire career. He did it for the full thirty-five years.

• 11:19Hoda Kotb?

  So he started there and retired from there?

• 11:21Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 11:22Hoda Kotb?

  Oh God, that's cool. That was that generation did that though, right?

• 11:25Speaker 05

  Yeah, but, but I, but I also like went to his retirement party and this was the past decade and so we all had like iPhones, but they, they also have pensions. So it's this weird thing where like, I'm, it's simultaneously nineteen seventy-eight and he's like, he's got this job at Ford Motor Company. And but then also, you know, what's the wifi here at the Cal EPA? So these two things are happening at once, but yeah, my dad was an organic chemist for thirty-five years. Um, uh, coming to the States for the first time, I'm part of the, I, I, I, you know, a lot of us, we're called third culture kids.

• 11:55Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 11:55Speaker 05

  Right? We're navigating, I can speak two languages, I can switch between those two things.

• 11:59Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 12:00Speaker 05

  And I can simultaneously go to New Delhi and hang out with my family and my cousins and then.

• 12:05Hoda Kotb?

  Be totally comfy.

• 12:06Speaker 05

  And one hundred percent then be here and, you know, fit in with anyone.

• 12:09Hoda Kotb?

  So with your mom, and just one more thing, cause I just find it so interesting, cause you're such, obviously, an awesome, well-adjusted human.

• 12:15Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 12:16Hoda Kotb?

  And you have a beautiful wife, wonderful kids.

• 12:18Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 12:19Hoda Kotb?

  How, how, like on Mother's Day, like just normal things that come up and just normal things in school.

• 12:26Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 12:26Hoda Kotb?

  How, how was that for you as a, as a kid? Cause I mean, I'm sensitive to this only because, you know, for my kids, they're, now they're seven and nine. And me and, this is different, but me and their dad aren't together, so I, I'm very like, I want to make sure there's enough love coming from everywhere. And he's very involved, but on Father's Day, there are kids who come up to my kids and go, where's your dad? Do you have a dad? And I was like, no, he's here, so he'll pick him up from school.

• 12:53Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 12:54Hoda Kotb?

  But how did it feel in those early years?

• 12:57Speaker 05

  Yeah, so I'll give you an example, like one, there's this, there's this memory that I have, that I've told my mother about this. Um, I used to go to this preschool called Mary Hill Preschool, which is still in Davis, California, and I remember she dropped me off to Mary Hill on a Monday. But then she had to go drive back to Stockton to go do, again, she's doing her residency and her rotations there, right? Um, and I remember that Mary Hill had this big glass window at, near the entry and then the play area was there. And I remember being four and seeing her walk to, you know, the Nissan stanza, that was our car that we had. And she had to drive back to Stockton. I remember like bawling, like crying for so much.

• 13:40Speaker 05

  Because I missed her. I really missed her, you know, and, and, and God bless my dad, but he, he's really not my mom. You know, and I've told my father this, they're always like, you know, hey, you know, you should love your parents and be there for your parents and, you know, it's, it's, it's important before everyone dies. You know, like, hey, say your piece. I've told my father point blank, I love my mother more than you, you're, you're cool, it's all good, dad, I respect you, like. Much respect to you, Mufasa, but I'm, I'm telling you, this is not your story. This is really the story of Seema, you know? Um, and so, so I, I've told her how much I missed her, uh, and she knew that, but I, I will say this.

• 14:20Speaker 05

  What, what overpowers that memory is, is I'm so lucky to have a mother that really saw me. So when people ask me this question all the time, they're like, how did you become a comedian? How did you pursue this career? How did you, you know? From a young age, and this is so, so sweet, I have, I still have this box of, that my mother kept of old drawings that I had. Ninja Turtles that I would like actually draw like to a T. And the fact that she has these pieces of paper that I would just have from nineteen eighty-nine.

• 14:54Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 14:55Speaker 05

  I think about now that I've been a professional stand-up comedian, now twenty years of my life, the majority of my adult life. So many of my fellow comedians, when you, when you think about this little broken toy inside of them. Um, and they felt not seen.

• 15:11Hoda Kotb?

  Wow.

• 15:12Speaker 05

  And I'm very lucky that I had a parent that really saw me.

• 15:16Hoda Kotb?

  Wow, wow.

• 15:18Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 15:19Hoda Kotb?

  That's cool.

• 15:19Speaker 05

  And so I don't know if you ever feel stressed about that, like.

• 15:23Hoda Kotb?

  That's really good.

• 15:24Speaker 05

  I think it's, it's worth considering.

• 15:26Hoda Kotb?

  And he's, I should say, he's there a lot, like he flies in, I, I guess I'm a little sensitive to them, I'm like, oh, are you, are you good? But this is very, very, very reassuring. And I was also thinking, how cool to be you, to have a mom. Who is so wildly successful and who's showing like, this is what a woman is, this is how a woman operates. This is what we do, we can mother and we, like, I love that part two. What did she teach you? What did your mom teach you about?

• 15:57Speaker 05

  Oh my God, this is so great. And I know mom's gonna, you know, my mom loves you.

• 16:01Hoda Kotb?

  I, tell me your mom's name.

• 16:02Speaker 05

  So my mom is Seema Minhaj. If you could say.

• 16:04Hoda Kotb?

  Seema, Seema Minhaj, oh my God.

• 16:07Speaker 05

  We love you.

• 16:07Hoda Kotb?

  We love you.

• 16:08Speaker 05

  Hoda loves you. Obviously, no, I love you.

• 16:10Hoda Kotb?

  First of all, I've loved you too for a long time. Okay, so tell me about Seema.

• 16:14Speaker 05

  So, so, I, I really, the thing I love so much about her, Hoda's, is she was so, and is. Um, her grittiness and resilience is something that I just really, really admire. I remember, this is what I mean by like grittiness, some of my first early open mic gigs. I didn't have a car. Uh, I was working part-time at Safeway, again, not trying to brag, not trying to be elitist. I was a courtesy clerk, that, bagger. Um, some people call me a bagger at Safeway and the Von's parent company, we are courtesy clerks.

• 16:53Hoda Kotb?

  Courtesy clerks.

• 16:54Speaker 05

  We're not baggers.

• 16:55Hoda Kotb?

  Okay, got it.

• 16:56Speaker 05

  We're courtesy clerks. So I was a courtesy clerk representative at Safeway and I didn't have a car at the time, but my mother knew that I had this gift of gab and I. Wanted to pursue comedy. My father actually didn't want me to really pursue comedy, but my mother, again, like I said, saw me.

• 17:11Speaker 05

  One of my early gigs, I needed a ride to the gig. And I didn't know this at the time, and this is, this is what I mean when I talk about resilient. My mother was working at Kaiser at the time. And the hospital that she worked at was going through some layoffs. And she was laid off. And the day I had a gig, she was laid off. But she still drove me to my gig. And didn't tell me that she had gotten laid off.

• 17:42Speaker 05

  You know, I'm a, I'm a grown man now. I know what it's like to hit speed bumps in your career. I know what it's like to, to have gigs and, oh my God, I'm testing for the movie. Now I'm in the movie. They've replaced me at the table. You know, to go through that, you're moping, you, you take that time to process.

• 17:57Hoda Kotb?

  Yes.

• 17:57Speaker 05

  And for my mom, to have, you know, this really prestigious job that defines her, that she worked so hard for. For her to hit this speed bump. And still drive me to essentially, a bar gig. So that I could pursue my dream.

• 18:14Hoda Kotb?

  Wow.

• 18:15Speaker 05

  She showed me what it means to be a provider, a caregiver, a protector. Hey, you're still, I wasn't a child. I was, you know, 19 years old. But for her to say, this isn't your problem.

• 18:26Hoda Kotb?

  Wow. By the way, that's big.

• 18:28Speaker 05

  It's big.

• 18:29Hoda Kotb?

  I think we spend so much of our lives waiting for the big moments, the birthdays, the vacations, the milestones, but the truth is, some of the happiest moments show up on the most ordinary days. So like this, I'll stop into a CVS because I need one thing. Somehow the best part of the trip is never the thing I came for. So maybe I'll grab a delicious well market snack, or maybe I'll wander over to the Joyward Collection. It's really full of fun, cool, seasonal decor, thoughtful little gifts. And those little discoveries that make you so glad you stopped in. I have to tell you, if you're an extra care member, you're going to save on things you're already buying and those extra bucks really do add up.

• 19:13Hoda Kotb?

  Just watching that total go down at the checkout never, ever gets old. I know life's busy. We're all juggling a lot. And that's why I think those little unexpected moments of joy matter so much. So, the next time you're running errands, stop by your local CVS pharmacy. You may go in for something you need, but don't be surprised if you leave with something that simply makes your day a little brighter. Visit your local CVS pharmacy, sponsored by CVS. Halloween has a funny way of making you buy things you'd never normally buy. A 10 foot skeleton? Sure. A full size fog machine? Why not? Three bags of candy that somehow become six bags of candy? It happens.

• 19:55Hoda Kotb?

  Which brings me to the Chase Freedom Flex Card, the savvy decision that will earn you more cash back on the everyday purchases, plus the extraordinary Halloween tricks and treats. With Freedom Flex, you earn even more treats on your Halloween and everyday needs. You get 5% cash back on popular rotating quarterly categories, 3% on dining and drugstores, and 1% on all other purchases. More ways to earn, more ways to get rewarded. That's no tricks, all treats. More ways to earn, more ways to get rewarded. So sign up for the Chase Freedom Flex Card. Learn more at chase.com/getflex. This is a paid collaboration with Chase Freedom Flex.

• 20:36Hoda Kotb?

  Cards issued by JP Morgan Chase Bank, N A Member FDIC. Subject to credit approval. Offer subject to change. Terms apply.

• 20:45Speaker 01

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• 21:29Speaker 01

  Try You Beauty today.

• 21:31Speaker 02

  I'm Melissa Jelton, and in my new podcast, What Happened to Her? I'm bringing you new stories and conversations every week. Stories about women whose deaths were too quickly ruled a suicide. She was starting to get worried and get scared for her safety. Stories of survival. The only difference between me and her, frankly, was a little bit of luck because by all rights, I should be dead. Cases that everyone else called closed. They can't convict her, right? Like she has so much evidence. These stories all start in the same place. With a woman failed by a system that didn't believe her, that didn't protect her, that didn't see her.

• 22:14Speaker 01

  No child should ever experience that. And we were babies. She did all of these brave things and came out and spoke about it and he got a year.

• 22:23Speaker 03

  You never know who that devil is because he's wearing a disguise. Sometimes it's a police uniform.

• 22:29Speaker 02

  Listen to What Happened to Her on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 22:36Speaker 05

  I'm Hamza.

• 22:36Speaker 04

  And I'm Martin.

• 22:37Speaker 05

  And we're the hosts of Out of Character. It's a podcast. I know there's a lot of them to listen to these days. How are you going to get to us? Well, there's a specific reason why you should listen to us.

• 22:46Speaker 04

  We are the best podcast in the entire world. I swear.

• 22:50Speaker 05

  I know, bold. But why don't we list some of the things we might talk about on a regular episode?

• 22:55Speaker 04

  So sometimes we'll talk about, I don't know, the Uber driver we just had.

• 22:58Speaker 05

  And how nice they were, or if we tipped them or not. Come and find out.

• 23:03Speaker 04

  Sometimes we'll talk about that weird news story from last week.

• 23:06Speaker 05

  It's the one you're thinking about. Trust me. Or maybe we'll talk about music and what's happening in the underground or drama in music or, TV shows, or the Met Gala and what the actors wore. What we're saying is we're not afraid to talk about everything under the sun. And if you want to see what that's like, come join us.

• 23:23Speaker 04

  It's a place where everyone can hang out, anyone.

• 23:25Speaker 05

  Wherever you're from, whatever you're like, you're welcome. Listen to Out of Character from Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network.

• 23:32Speaker 04

  On the iHeart Radio app, Apple Pods, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 23:36Hoda Kotb?

  Talk about, because this is good for parents too. Your mom saw you. There are lots of parents who probably listen to their kids' dreams and think, sweet, that's a sweet hobby. You know, you can do that on this side kind of thing, especially when it comes to, you know, as a parent, you want your kid to be secure. And to have a life that they're not struggling. So when you say your mom saw you, how, tell me about that piece of it. And I know that your, your dad was fighting it, obviously, because I think it's a very practical thing. Like, okay, that's not why we came here, buddy. You're not going to go tell jokes at the bar. So tell me about your, how that worked.

• 24:11Speaker 05

  So, so, to give my dad credit, because I think about this, I have a son and a daughter. And I think the way he parented me and he fathered me was, you know, really, I'm not here to be your front man. We're not friends.

• 24:24Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 24:25Speaker 05

  I, I don't know if we, we are friends at all currently. I take him to a lot. I take him to everything. I've taken him, I've taken him to Jeopardy. I've taken him everywhere. I've taken him to Disneyland.

• 24:34Hoda Kotb?

  Did he love Jeopardy?

• 24:35Speaker 05

  I'm a great, he loves, he loves Jeopardy.

• 24:36Hoda Kotb?

  I bet that was like home run.

• 24:38Speaker 05

  Yeah, totally. Totally. I've taken him to everything.

• 24:43Speaker 05

  But I will say, the thing that he, the subtext, the overt text was no to everything. That's what he was actually telling me when I would ask, like, no. But the subtext of what he was trying to teach me was, hey, I'm just trying to prepare you for the world. And the world that you're about to enter, for better, for worse, is, when you become an adult man,

• 25:10Speaker 05

  you're going to have to provide value to the world in some way. And you're going to have to provide so much value that people are willing to pay you for that.

• 25:18Speaker 05

  You know, you're protected here unconditionally, right? No matter what your math scores are or not, but I'm telling you, you know, I have a PhD in chemistry. You have to earn a particular, you have to get a particular mark past that. In order for you to be hired as an organic chemist or an engineer, like you, this is the reality. So, you know, Simba and Mufasa, we'd have this butting of heads for a long, but I get it now. I get this now that I have a son.

• 25:41Hoda Kotb?

  What did he want you to do?

• 25:43Speaker 05

  You know, he just wanted me to, to, to have something that felt secure.

• 25:47Hoda Kotb?

  Like what?

• 25:49Speaker 05

  Lawyer.

• 25:49Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 25:50Speaker 05

  Doctor, engineer, something that felt guaranteed. And I think what, what he didn't realize coming to America in the eighties, this country has changed wildly in 40 years. And the, the, the part of the American dream textbook that he didn't end up reading is that that textbook got ripped up and flipped upside down in many different ways. And so for a lot of people that pursued the, the LinkedIn lunatic path to success, is they found out that, you know, there is no such thing as a safe job.

• 26:16Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 26:17Speaker 05

  That, that, that really changed.

• 26:19Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah, interesting.

• 26:20Speaker 05

  You know, and,

• 26:23Speaker 05

  So, so to try to pad yourself from any downside risk is actually a fool's errand.

• 26:30Hoda Kotb?

  Oh, that's interesting.

• 26:30Speaker 05

  So he, you know, coming from a world where you're just trying to survive. He wanted me to pick a career based on playing defense. Pick something where you can't get hurt. And my mother, funny enough.

• 26:41Hoda Kotb?

  By the way, I have chills from that statement. That's a really, by the way, that's for everybody right now.

• 26:45Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 26:46Hoda Kotb?

  So pick a career where you're kind of on defense, where you're almost bulletproof. Like it doesn't matter what this is, but I'm gonna get a paycheck. I'll have insurance.

• 26:54Speaker 05

  Yes.

• 26:54Hoda Kotb?

  This will carry me through.

• 26:56Speaker 05

  Yes.

• 26:56Hoda Kotb?

  Okay, okay, keep going.

• 26:57Speaker 05

  And, and me pursuing comedy was the opposite of that.

• 27:01Hoda Kotb?

  Opposite of that.

• 27:01Speaker 05

  But what's, what's really interesting is growing up in Northern California, being a child of the Silicon Valley.

• 27:06Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 27:06Speaker 05

  You know, I got to see up close at the time, there's these companies called Hewlett Packard, Intel, you know. Again, I'm dating myself, IBM. These were these huge companies where overnight people were becoming Silicon Valley millionaires, you know. Meet so and so, he's a software developer. He makes these things on a compact disk. Put it inside your computer and boy, oh, boy, are you connected to the world wide web. You know, and then we cut to right, package, you know, this, you'd cut to full screen. So tell me more about this. This is Netscape Navigator. Uh huh, Netscape Navigator.

• 27:41Hoda Kotb?

  Netscape, oh my God, keep going.

• 27:42Speaker 05

  You know, you've, you've, you've done packages like this, Hoda, you know, you know. So it's the internet. Is it here to stay? No one knows, you know. And so this is the nineties. This was the early nineties where I got to see these, these, these immigrants that come to this country and, and come up with these huge innovative ideas. And then overnight you would see, oh, wow, like these things are ubiquitous in the entire world and all that sort of stuff. What's my point? My point is, is that I got to see this entrepreneurial spirit. And my mother, from learning this from my grandmother, both of them had this amazing entrepreneurial experience. And my grandmother brought over my sister. Uh, my sister, you know, spent some time being raised in India and then came over here.

• 28:27Speaker 05

  And then we grew up together when I was in the third grade. But my grandmother, who lived with us for several years, had this amazing entrepreneurial experience. So she, you know, we would get the Sacramento, be the newspaper. She would see the coupon section and she would see these little things. And she could piece together these little deals of like, hey, what is zero percent down? What is MSRP? What are these things? Wait, is it true? If we go to like the Toyota-thon, you get this particular.

• 28:53Hoda Kotb?

  Oh, she did all that?

• 28:54Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 28:54Hoda Kotb?

  Oh, my God.

• 28:55Speaker 05

  This is my grandmother.

• 28:56Hoda Kotb?

  That's cool.

• 28:56Speaker 05

  You know, and so she had this entrepreneurial experience that I see. Just this natural proclivity that my mother had as well. And so my mom could see the vision. She could see that like, oh, so you go to a comedy club and then who's the photo of that on the wall? Oh, that's the photo. So eventually you can headline this club. There's a, there's a path here. And she just had this really great way of seeing a problem, working backwards.

• 29:19Hoda Kotb?

  So interesting and such a practical way of looking at comedy.

• 29:23Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 29:23Hoda Kotb?

  Did she know you were funny? Did your dad think you were funny? Who thought you were funny in your house?

• 29:28Speaker 05

  Um, they, they certainly saw me as, as someone who had like ADHD, you know? He's just hyperactive. He can't finish anything. He's constantly late. Um, even this happened with us off camera. You came in to say hi. I was like, hey, I'm, I'm, I'm getting ready. Like, I'm like trimming my beard. This is a lot, like Hoda's coming in to hug me. I'm like trimming my beard. This is a lot. I, this is too much. So they knew me as, and that still is me. I'm someone who's very easily overwhelmed. I'm kind of like a border, border collie, just hocked up on six shots of espresso. That still is me. Um, but I, I did have a unique way of seeing the world.

• 30:00Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 30:00Speaker 05

  I did think things were weird or strange and I would point them out.

• 30:05Hoda Kotb?

  And did your parents get it?

• 30:07Speaker 05

  No, they didn't get it. They just thought I was weird, you know? And, um, the term that's used at school is he's random, like he's random. Um, which is just funny. You're just being kind of quirky and, and funny. So, but kids at school said I was random, whatever that means. Um, but comedy was the first place where I could take all these disparate ideas.

• 30:27Hoda Kotb?

  Yes.

• 30:27Speaker 05

  Transmute them into something useful. And then people would show up at these bars and these clubs and pay you money. It felt like magic.

• 30:34Hoda Kotb?

  So you're on, you're at a bar.

• 30:36Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 30:36Hoda Kotb?

  You're doing your gig. Your mom even drops you off one day.

• 30:39Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 30:39Hoda Kotb?

  What was it like to stand up, not in front of your friends where you could probably get a laugh, but in front of people who didn't know you and get the laugh? Tell me what that felt like for you as a young, as a young comic.

• 30:49Speaker 05

  It was very life affirming.

• 30:51Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 30:52Speaker 05

  You know, you talk about having kids. I don't know if you feel this way and you and I can connect just as parents. When I look at my kids, there's two things I just, that I wish for them. The first is, is

• 31:04Speaker 05

  I know they're watching me, the way I, I would grow up and I would watch my mom. So anytime I see them watching me, I just want to be an example of what I want them to be in this world. So what I mean by that is I want to show them that I don't get angry. I don't yell. I'm good to their mother. I'm good to their grandparents, their auntie, their uncle. Dad is, uh, kind. He's generous. He's virtuous. Like the, the proudest moment for me as a father was, um, my, my son in kindergarten had to make these drawings. They said, draw a photo, a picture of you with your mommy and a picture of you with your daddy.

• 31:47Speaker 05

  And my son drew a picture of me with my forerunner, the SUV that I have that we go on camping trips together. And he wrote, dad is careful.

• 31:57Speaker 05

  And, um, for my friends who are watching this, who know how bad of a driver I am.

• 32:05Speaker 05

  Like for my son to see that, um, and to think that I'm careful, even though I really am not. Like I'm so bad. I'm a horrible driver and I have such bad ideas. I think the, the drawing that he made was the forerunner that we have. I take him camping all the time, just so we can have some time together, just me and him. So we'll go to upstate New York and just camp for a day or two. And so it's us with the fire, um, and like we're roasting marshmallows. But he sees me do these things with him. And I tell him like, hey, don't be so close to the fire. Don't do this. Hey, this is a Swiss army knife. Be careful.

• 32:42Hoda Kotb?

  Be careful.

• 32:43Speaker 05

  Um, but I grew up in a house, like I said, I grew up around cousins and aunts and uncles. For a lot of us first generation kids, life is about, did the visa go through? Your auntie's gonna stay with us for some time, vice versa. Think you're constantly playing defense.

• 33:00Hoda Kotb?

  Constantly playing defense.

• 33:01Speaker 05

  So the world is filled with uncertainty and the world is kind of unknown and dangerous.

• 33:07Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 33:08Speaker 05

  And for him to see the world as the opposite, it's filled with joy and it's safe.

• 33:12Hoda Kotb?

  Filled with joy.

• 33:13Speaker 05

  Man, it just, it, it really filled my heart up.

• 33:16Hoda Kotb?

  Wow.

• 33:17Speaker 05

  Um, but to get back to your thing about what comedy meant to me and that first laugh meant to me. That first laugh really meant to me, everything in my life finally made sense. So the joke clicks and all of a sudden I'm hearing an audience, you know, they can affirm or deny through their

• 33:37Hoda Kotb?

  Sure.

• 33:38Speaker 05

  laughter or their silence. And, um, it was this very affirming feeling to be like, I'm not crazy. You see what I see.

• 33:48Hoda Kotb?

  Wow, that's cool.

• 33:50Speaker 05

  Or this thing that was inside of my head that didn't make sense.

• 33:52Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 33:53Speaker 05

  I showed you to see it through my eyes and you're agreeing with me. And that little bite was, was a very affirming thing.

• 34:00Hoda Kotb?

  Did, I mean, you, you wound up on Jon Stewart's show. You out, you wound up on this, with this incredible career.

• 34:08Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 34:09Hoda Kotb?

  At what point in your career does it feel like I made it? Like, wow, I'm on the Daily Show. Wow, I'm on whatever.

• 34:18Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 34:19Hoda Kotb?

  What does it, when does it, when did you feel like, okay, this is, this is mine. Now I've got this.

• 34:25Speaker 05

  You know, uh, for me, and I don't know if it felt like this for you in your career. Career wise, it really was.

• 34:34Speaker 05

  Um, do I have it? Am I good enough to do it? And, um, you can lie to yourself.

• 34:42Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 34:43Speaker 05

  You can kind of delude yourself, but there are these really, and it's what I love about comedy. There's these little benchmark moments. There are these little mini almost competitions within.

• 34:56Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah, tell me.

• 34:56Speaker 05

  Stand up. What I mean by that is that like at comedy clubs, they'll have funniest, funniest person in San Francisco competition. You know, stuff like that, you know? Funniest guy in Westchester and it's happening at McDougal's Bar or whatever it is, right? At, at every chuckle hut across the country, there are these arbitrary little like talent night, you know? And I, I started in Sacramento and San Francisco. And I remember around 2008, there was this funniest person in San Francisco competition. While 94.9 is a bit, is the big radio station.

• 35:26Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 35:27Speaker 05

  And they had this thing called Comedy Jam. Comedy Jam is a huge outdoor concert where some of the biggest comedians comment headline. 20,000 people show up and they do this competition to see who's the funniest local comedian who can come open for these comedians. Now, at the time I'm doing comedy, Hoda, these are some of the names that were doing comedy in San Francisco. Ali Wong.

• 35:48Hoda Kotb?

  Oh, jeez.

• 35:49Speaker 05

  W Kamau Bell.

• 35:50Hoda Kotb?

  Okay.

• 35:50Speaker 05

  There are these huge names. And so we all compete at this thing called fun, you know, funniest in San Francisco competition. Uh, while 94.9 Comedy Jam, the radio station puts this on at the San Francisco Punch Line and they did this big competition night. And so the lineup is like 16 comedians.

• 36:09Speaker 05

  And the top three advanced to then this radio competition and people vote online for who should open, but I won that night.

• 36:16Hoda Kotb?

  You you won the whole thing?

• 36:18Speaker 05

  I won that night out of that batch of sixteen. And then I won the whole thing and I got to open.

• 36:22Hoda Kotb?

  Oh, my god.

• 36:23Speaker 05

  Comedy Jam. And and that was that that was an oh, my god. So so so so Hoda, you know.

• 36:28Hoda Kotb?

  Yes.

• 36:29Speaker 05

  Yes, the moment that I got on the Daily Show. Yes, the moment I fully had health insurance. All these things matter, but it was this thing. And I think it's important because it's what what I wish for in my children. I'm sure you see this sometimes with with especially with my young son. He goes, I can't do this.

• 36:44Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah, what do you say to that?

• 36:45Speaker 05

  Well, the thing is, is it's this is something I can't I can't CC him confidence on the email.

• 36:50Hoda Kotb?

  I know.

• 36:51Speaker 05

  Like, that's something he has to get himself. There's a lot of things I can get for him, you know? I can get us tickets to Universal Studios. I can get us on Jurassic World, the ride. I can do that. Daddy can do that. But like, your own belief in yourself is something that you have to you have to earn that on your own. And.

• 37:10Hoda Kotb?

  That's hard, I know.

• 37:10Speaker 05

  And that's hard.

• 37:11Hoda Kotb?

  I always tell my kids, I try to tell them, I go, you know what, guys? I go, thoughts become things because my kids were riding and like, I'm gonna fall, mom, I'm gonna fall, I'm gonna fall, I'm gonna fall. I'm like, pause. I go, you are gonna fall.

• 37:22Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 37:22Hoda Kotb?

  Because you've said it seven times.

• 37:23Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 37:24Hoda Kotb?

  If I've been on a bike, I remember being a kid on my banana seat thing and I was like, oh, my god, I'm gonna fall, I'm gonna fall. And you can see it and it actually happens.

• 37:32Speaker 05

  Totally.

• 37:32Hoda Kotb?

  I go, but I go, try this. I go, say, I'm gonna glide.

• 37:36Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 37:36Hoda Kotb?

  Say, I'm gonna glide.

• 37:38Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 37:38Hoda Kotb?

  Because there's something, your thoughts really do become things.

• 37:42Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 37:43Hoda Kotb?

  But you're right about the confidence piece because I have one very confident child and one that isn't.

• 37:48Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 37:48Hoda Kotb?

  And it kills me because I'm trying to figure out how to build that. You don't think there's a way that we can aid?

• 37:56Speaker 05

  You know, Hoda, I don't have the answer. But what I do know is that people ask me all the time.

• 38:01Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 38:04Speaker 05

  You know, I I in in comparison to most comedians, I have a general, I have generally a more positive outlook on life.

• 38:09Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 38:10Speaker 05

  Um, you know, not to get, but this is a real conversation. You know, this wouldn't, I could never really talk to you like this on television. I'm now at a point in my career where I've seen a lot of comedians and colleagues of mine commit suicide. We've lost many of our fellow comics to that. And there is a particular cloud of darkness and loneliness to going out on the road, being away from family and loved ones. Musicians have had this as well. You're onstage, you have these super high highs.

• 38:38Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 38:38Speaker 05

  And these super low lows. And people ask all the time, hey, why? Why?

• 38:43Hoda Kotb?

  I do it.

• 38:44Speaker 05

  Why do why did it? Why does this happen to musicians and comedians so much? And I think it's that it's the severity of the two.

• 38:49Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 38:50Speaker 05

  The the love is so high.

• 38:52Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 38:52Speaker 05

  It's it's not natural to have three hundred people on their feet, a thousand people on their feet, twenty thousand people screaming. And now there's arena musicians and arena comedians. And then now you're just in a Hyatt.

• 39:05Hoda Kotb?

  Yes.

• 39:06Speaker 05

  Hotel, like.

• 39:07Hoda Kotb?

  Right.

• 39:07Speaker 05

  On a bike yourself.

• 39:08Hoda Kotb?

  Right.

• 39:09Speaker 05

  With the Coke Zero, you know, like that you got from the lobby. Like, it's a very weird.

• 39:15Speaker 05

  You know what I mean? Thing, right?

• 39:17Hoda Kotb?

  Oh, god.

• 39:18Speaker 05

  Like, haven't you had to do that where you're like at up front? And then like now you're just like at a Hyatt in Charlotte, you know? And everyone's like, Hoda, it must be so glamorous. You're like, everything's closed and I'm just kind of eating these like peanuts that are twelve dollars that are in the minibar. What what what am I doing? Yeah.

• 39:34Hoda Kotb?

  One thing that I struggled with.

• 39:36Speaker 05

  I guess I'll watch the Shawshank Redemption.

• 39:38Hoda Kotb?

  Oh, my god, I love that movie.

• 39:40Speaker 05

  It's on TNT, so.

• 39:41Hoda Kotb?

  Watched it a million times over.

• 39:43Speaker 05

  Here goes my next nine hours. So I'll watch this with commercial break.

• 39:45Hoda Kotb?

  I did struggle.

• 39:46Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 39:47Hoda Kotb?

  I did, not to bring it down, but I did struggle with knowing that when you do have a public facing job, often.

• 39:52Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 39:52Hoda Kotb?

  Not often, but it happens as you, all the best of you.

• 39:56Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 39:56Hoda Kotb?

  Is distributed to all kinds of people.

• 39:59Speaker 05

  Right.

• 40:00Hoda Kotb?

  And then you put the key in the door to get home and everyone's like, hey, and you're just like, okay. And you're fake playing with Legos and you're dialed out and you're on empty and you're on fumes and you try, it's not like you're saying, oh, like, but you don't have it to give.

• 40:17Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 40:18Hoda Kotb?

  And for me, it was like trying to find the place in between where, which is one of the reasons I stepped away from the Today Show too, was because I was thinking of your time pie. It's carved up how much.

• 40:32Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 40:33Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah. Who gets what?

• 40:34Speaker 05

  Yep.

• 40:34Hoda Kotb?

  And you only get one time pie. You don't get to keep saying, let me just get another one. It's like, no, no, this is the one.

• 40:39Speaker 05

  This is it.

• 40:40Hoda Kotb?

  This is the one. How do you make sure that your kids and your wife get enough of you, given your kind of public facing job?

• 40:48Speaker 05

  I I have gone through the same thing in terms of, you know, my both touring and filming schedule. There's this thing, I don't know if you've ever heard of it, the Pareto Principle, the eighty twenty rule, which is.

• 40:58Hoda Kotb?

  Tell me.

• 40:58Speaker 05

  Sometimes twenty percent of the work you do generates eighty percent of the results. So, for example, you may, during different spurts of your career. You were like, this block that I do on, you know, the morning show or this book I've written has gotten me these dividends.

• 41:16Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 41:16Speaker 05

  But I'm I'm spreading myself thin in all these other ways.

• 41:20Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 41:21Speaker 05

  I've done the same thing, you know? A few years ago, it was probably one of my biggest years touring. Like, I was, you know, fifth show at Radio City Addit.

• 41:31Hoda Kotb?

  Wow.

• 41:31Speaker 05

  You know, really making a a run and and was was on the road a lot, you know, did

• 41:38Speaker 05

  sixty something cities, a hundred plus show, you know? It was a lot of the year. It was and it was really big venues and was starting to do, you know, arenas, hockey arenas in Toronto and stuff like that.

• 41:49Hoda Kotb?

  Jeez.

• 41:50Speaker 05

  Um, but I was away from my young daughter a lot and my son was just born. We were just coming out of COVID, right? And I had to think to myself, I remember I went over this, I looked at the touring sheet when it was all said and done, going into the next year. And I was thinking to myself, okay.

• 42:13Speaker 05

  Do you need to do a hundred and eighteen shows?

• 42:17Speaker 05

  What if you were to focus on thirty five of the biggest markets? You know, I I love you, Boise, but when I said, thank you so much, I'll see you, I don't know if I'm gonna see you guys again. I'm because of you. You know, love Lincoln, Nebraska, love you guys. But do I have to go back to Lincoln, Nebraska? You know, there's two Dakotas, I don't have to go back. I've been, you know, it was cool. We had a nice time. But what but what I mean by that is that, like, hey, I can do thirty cities and that's still a lot.

• 42:45Hoda Kotb?

  Right.

• 42:46Speaker 05

  But I can now be see my children grow up and be there for them to make memories because that that time is finite. And you're right, Hoda, I think about this now. I'm in my forties and you know this coming from the news business. I obviously work in political satire and we're social commentators, but time and energy is finite.

• 43:07Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 43:08Speaker 05

  And.

• 43:09Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 43:09Speaker 05

  We are just, I am just one human.

• 43:11Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 43:11Speaker 05

  And I can't tackle everything that is in both the news feed of the news cycle, but the news feed of life. Like, can I be at every?

• 43:21Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 43:22Speaker 05

  Meeting and thing? Or do I dial in and go like, I want to be there for you in this way? So for for example, this year, I helped coach my daughter's basketball team.

• 43:31Hoda Kotb?

  Oh, cool.

• 43:32Speaker 05

  You know, I want to be a part of that. I want to load up the basketballs in the trunk.

• 43:36Hoda Kotb?

  Oh, that's so fun. How was that, by the way?

• 43:37Speaker 05

  It was amazing. It was amazing. You know, they they they need a lot of work.

• 43:43Speaker 05

  Getting second grade girls, just getting five of them to, we gotta go this way. And we gotta put the ball in the hoop and then like, hey, we don't, we don't have to all be around each other. The ball can be passed, so you could actually, you could, that's right. So Katie, if you just go eight feet there, she'll pass the ball to you. You don't actually have, you don't have to run up to her and grab it, you know?

• 44:08Hoda Kotb?

  My daughter's played too, and I know it's like, the other way.

• 44:10Speaker 05

  Yeah, the other way.

• 44:12Hoda Kotb?

  The other way. Not that basket, they're looking at me and, you know, running and.

• 44:15Speaker 05

  Yeah, but but but I also realized, like, the beauty of all of that was, the gift of it, I realized, was, oh, it's the packing the car with my daughter.

• 44:24Hoda Kotb?

  Oh, that's good.

• 44:25Speaker 05

  And packing all like the drinks and snacks for the other girls, getting it to the gym, unloading it, shooting around with her early, being a part of dysfunctional practice. It's absolute chaos. But then loading the balls back into the net, putting that back in the trunk.

• 44:43Hoda Kotb?

  So interesting. God, that's what that's what it is.

• 44:46Speaker 05

  Like, life, that's the thing. I realized that was the whole thing. I thought I was gonna have this whole, like, Pat Riley, like, like, you know, be in my, like, suit and no, it was, yeah, I'm not gonna be the girl's Pat Riley. It was, it wasn't about that. It was about having this, like, contained.

• 45:03Hoda Kotb?

  I think we spend so much of our lives waiting for the big moments, the birthdays, the vacations, the milestones. But the truth is, some of the happiest moments show up on the most ordinary days. So like this, I'll stop into a CVS because I need one thing. Somehow, the best part of the trip is never the thing I came for. So maybe I'll grab a delicious well-marked snack or maybe I'll wander over to the Joyward Collection. It's really full of fun, cool, seasonal decor, thoughtful little gifts and those little discoveries that make you so glad you stopped in. I have to tell you, if you're an Extra Care member, you're gonna save on things you're already buying and those extra bucks really do add up.

• 45:47Hoda Kotb?

  Just watching that total go down at the checkout never, ever gets old. I know life's busy, we're all juggling a lot. And that's why I think those little unexpected moments of joy matter so much. So the next time you're running errands, stop by your local CVS pharmacy. You may go in for something you need, but don't be surprised if you leave with something that simply makes your day a little brighter. Visit your local CVS pharmacy, sponsored by CVS. Halloween has a funny way of making you buy things you'd never normally buy. A ten-foot skeleton? Sure. A full-size fog machine? Why not? Three bags of candy that somehow become six bags of candy? It happens.

• 46:29Hoda Kotb?

  Which brings me to the Chase Freedom Flex Card, the savvy decision that will earn you more cash back on the everyday purchases, plus the extraordinary Halloween tricks and treats. With Freedom Flex, you earn even more treats on your Halloween and everyday needs. You get five percent cash back on popular rotating quarterly categories, three percent on dining and drugstores, and one percent on all other purchases. More ways to earn, more ways to get rewarded. That's no tricks, all treats. More ways to earn, more ways to get rewarded. So sign up for the Chase Freedom Flex Card. Learn more at chase.com/getflex. This is a paid collaboration with Chase Freedom Flex.

• 47:10Hoda Kotb?

  Cards issued by JP Morgan Chase Bank, N A Member, FDIC. Subject to credit approval. Offer subject to change. Terms apply.

• 47:19Speaker 01

  What if one bottle could replace the benefits of eight steps in your skincare routine? Get glass-like skin and your time back with the resurfacing compound by You Beauty. This transformative serum works to visibly brighten, smooth, and even your skin while helping minimize the look of pores, dark spots, and fine lines, all in one multitasking formula. It's breakthrough science and streamlined simplicity in a single step. For science-proven results without the clutter or confusion, shop the resurfacing compound by You Beauty now at youbeauty.com. That's the letter U, B-E-A-U-T-Y.com.

• 48:03Speaker 01

  Try You Beauty today.

• 48:05Speaker 02

  I'm Melissa Jelton, and in my new podcast, What Happened to Her?, I'm bringing you new stories and conversations every week. Stories about women whose deaths were too quickly ruled a suicide. She was starting to get worried and get scared for her safety. Stories of survival. The only difference between me and her, frankly, was a little bit of luck, because by all rights, I should be dead. Cases that everyone else called closed. They can't convict her, right? Like, she has so much evidence. These stories all start in the same place, with a woman failed by a system that didn't believe her, that didn't protect her, that didn't see her.

• 48:48Speaker 01

  No child should ever experience that. And we were babies.

• 48:51Speaker 07

  She did all of these brave things and came out and spoke about it, and he got a year.

• 48:57Speaker 03

  You never know who that devil is because he's wearing a disguise. Sometimes it's a police uniform.

• 49:03Speaker 02

  Listen to What Happened to Her? on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 49:10Speaker 04

  I'm Hamza. And I'm Martin. And we're the hosts of Out of Character. It's a podcast. I know, there's a lot of them going around, but why should you listen to ours? Well, we're only the best podcast in the entire world. And we talk about pretty much everything under the sun. For example, music we're listening to. Underground music, trending music, drama in music worlds. Yes, sometimes we even talk about just everyday mundane situations in our lives, like the cool Uber driver we just had. Or the food we just ate that was surprisingly delicious. Or we'll talk about the Met Gala and the looks that they wore. Are they awesome? Are they trendy? Come find out. Because our opinion matters, and so does yours. And this is a place where all of our minds can come together and connect. So what are you waiting for?

• 49:55Speaker 04

  Come connect with us. Listen to Out of Character from Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network, on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Pods, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 50:02Hoda Kotb?

  I want to hear about Best of the Best. Okay, so talk to me about this, because this is your idea. You executive produced it. You wrote it, you're in it.

• 50:10Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 50:10Hoda Kotb?

  Give me the thumbnail on it, because I think people going to college or those who have kids in college are going to dig it.

• 50:15Speaker 05

  So, so Best of the Best is based on painfully true events, but it is a movie about the competitive world of collegiate Bollywood dance.

• 50:26Hoda Kotb?

  Okay.

• 50:26Speaker 05

  I'm going to say that again, okay? Just so people understand. At universities all across the country, there are kids that compete on Bollywood dance teams. What I mean by that is that there are, not professional, but there are teams at every major university that do a combination of Bollywood, fusion, hip-hop, dance, that put together these ensemble dance numbers.

• 50:53Hoda Kotb?

  Okay.

• 50:53Speaker 05

  And then they compete against other universities all across the country.

• 50:58Hoda Kotb?

  I had no idea, but thank you.

• 50:59Speaker 05

  Yes, so this is similar to like the world of Pitch Perfect and a cappella, where you're like, oh, these kids legitimately care about a cappella. It's the same thing with competitive Bollywood dance.

• 51:10Hoda Kotb?

  Okay.

• 51:11Speaker 05

  By day, they are pre-pharmacy. By night, they are recreating Bollywood dance numbers and hiding it from their parents. And so that like-

• 51:21Hoda Kotb?

  So their parents are not-

• 51:22Speaker 05

  Oh, no, no, no, you don't tell your parents about this.

• 51:24Hoda Kotb?

  Okay, got it, got it.

• 51:25Speaker 05

  And so, growing up in college, it was a big thing that I did. You know, I wanted to, you know, fall in love and see different girls. And it was the first time my culture, South Asian culture, was put on this amazing pedestal. Like, it was a very cool thing on campus. UCLA had an amazing team. UC Berkeley had an amazing team. UC Davis had an amazing team. And so I would kind of go to these competitions and go to the after-party. And, you know, my, my now-wife, she was on one of the, you know, she was in one of the culture shows. And we would like hang at the after-party, and she's like dating somebody else at the time, and I have eyes for her. And I remember during the pandemic, my co-writer, Prashant Mekharanamajam, and I, we created Patriot Act together. But we were just reminiscing about these stories, and we just could not stop cracking up about how like,

• 52:09Speaker 05

  how serious the drama was.

• 52:11Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 52:12Speaker 05

  And we kept talking about like these iconic frat movies. And I was like, was our experience like a frat? It's like, no, because in frats, like, everyone is having sex, but no one is in love. But on the like competitive Bollywood dance team, everyone's in love, but no one's having sex. And that like drama, you know, like the eyes, the yearning, Hoda, the yearning that we had for each other at that age, is so, was so ripe for comedy, but also just so ripe for this coming-of-age story. And so we wrote this film, and it's about these two girls, Mai and Anjali, who go to college. And they go to UCLA, which has one of the, you know, the best collegiate Bollywood dance teams in the country. And they go, and they have this kind of holy shit moment where they go, oh, my God, being on the Bollywood dance team is a huge deal.

• 52:57Speaker 05

  Like, forget playing for the basketball team, but these are the coolest kids on campus, and we need to join the team. And I, I wanted to write a movie that kind of portrayed and showcased what it was like when we went to college and what that was like.

• 53:11Hoda Kotb?

  I love it.

• 53:11Speaker 05

  But this is, it's this really amazing world. When, when I also think about the musical, people talk about the American musical, Singing in the Rain, La La Land, Chicago. I was like, ladies and gentlemen, nobody does musicals the way we do musicals. Like, I grew up watching Bollywood musicals. And so this movie also has like the magical realism.

• 53:28Hoda Kotb?

  Oh, my gosh.

• 53:29Speaker 05

  We are tipping the cap at this iconic legacy of film that has existed for almost 80 years. So some of the music that we have in this movie is incredible. The legendary Aar Rahman, who you know from Slumdog Millionaire, Grammy Award-winning musician, did music for our film. Like, so this movie is this culmination of, not only is it a culmination of all of our stories, for us as these, you know, third-culture kids, but it is this new chapter to what the American musical is. And I'm so honored to do this with Netflix.

• 54:05Hoda Kotb?

  Okay, well, it's, it's out, what, September?

• 54:07Speaker 05

  It'll be out September 18th, worldwide on Netflix. It is the first Bollywood musical that's made in America. I cannot believe-

• 54:15Hoda Kotb?

  You know it's going to catch. You know this is going to be hot.

• 54:17Speaker 05

  And, and, and our cast, Hoda-

• 54:19Hoda Kotb?

  Give it to me.

• 54:19Speaker 05

  My Trey Ramekrishnan from Never Have I Ever. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a big deal. We have an amazing, we are breaking amazing new talent, Priyanka Khediyah from Disclosure Day. She is in the film. You know, and we just, the cast keeps going. We got some of the best dancers in North America. Just watching them do the backflips, like, I already could feel pain in my L4, my R4. Lena Khan, our incredible director from Never Have I Ever and Disney. I mean, the music is incredible.

• 54:46Hoda Kotb?

  You scored with these.

• 54:47Speaker 05

  Kier Lerman, our, our musical supervisor from Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse. When I tell you guys, our soundtrack is just unfucking believable.

• 54:58Hoda Kotb?

  Bumping, bumping. Okay, we're in, we're in. The Best of the Best, September 18th.

• 55:01Speaker 05

  So, so Joy 101, this movie is about joy. And so, and, and it's one of those things too, also, Hoda.

• 55:07Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 55:07Speaker 05

  Coming from my, from, you know, a lot of my comedy is about poignant, personal storytelling. But we wrote the script through COVID, Prashant and I. But one of the things that I also wanted to talk about is, when you talk about getting older and life, pain is a part of it.

• 55:23Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 55:24Speaker 05

  But joy is also a part of life. And one of the things that I wanted to show in our community is that laughter, joy, glamour, the costume design, is also a celebration of what it means to be human. And this, this movie is just an articulation of that. And I'm so excited. This young cast, man, they really taught me so much. And they, they filled me with so much joy.

• 55:52Hoda Kotb?

  Wow.

• 55:53Speaker 05

  It was really a dream.

• 55:54Hoda Kotb?

  Well, you're doing the same to me, so I want to say thank you. You are awesome.

• 55:57Speaker 05

  Thank you, Hoda. This was awesome.

• 55:59Hoda Kotb?

  Thanks, awesome.

• 55:59Speaker 05

  You're the best.

• 56:00Hoda Kotb?

  We appreciate it. All right, guys, that was a great conversation. Um, you know, I like to wrap up our shows with, I don't know, a little lift, a little something to keep you going. So if you're feeling a little depleted and you want an energy boost and you don't want it to be caffeine, I might have something for you. So I've got a little visualization. It's just five minutes, and I think it'll help you out. It's by one of our practitioners on the Joy 101 app. Her name's Kelsey Patel. All right, so if you're driving, please don't close your eyes, okay? If you're at home, do exactly what Kelsey says, and let's see how it works. Again, it's five minutes of your day, so let's give it a go.

• 56:39Speaker 01

  Hi, I'm Kelsey for Joy 101, and this is a visualization practice to help give you an energy boost. So if you have it available, I have one of my favorite essential oils. And if you have an essential oil, I invite you to just take a drop or two in the palms, and then rub your palms together. Even if you don't have one, just follow along with some breath. Take a deep inhale through the nose. And a big exhale, open your mouth. Let out a sigh or a sound. Take three more breaths like that, and allow the inhale to fill you up. And exhale, release. Two more times. And if you don't have an essential oil,

• 57:24Speaker 01

  just imagine your favorite smell coming into the nose and out into the air around you. Last one. If you'd like, you can just take a moment to rub that essential oil on the heart. Maybe a hand on the heart and a hand on the belly. If you're feeling any place in the body that's feeling really heavy or stuck, you can even place your hands there. Maybe the neck, maybe the thighs, wherever it is. Just draw some attention to that part of the body. With your breath, continue to connect, and then settle into a place that's comfortable for you

• 58:07Speaker 01

  for the next couple of minutes. And I'd like you to soften your gaze, if that's comfortable. Just begin to follow an easy rhythm of the breath. A nice inhale, gently lifting the energy up. And an exhale, relaxing and softening into the body. No matter where you are and no matter how you're feeling right now, just trust in this time that you've taken for this practice today.

• 58:39Speaker 01

  Then with your mind's eye, I'd like you to just gently visualize a scene in nature. Anything that comes to mind and just allow yourself to feel a sense of comfort in this place that you've chosen. Yourself feel the energy of the air around you. Listen to the sounds that surround this special place you've selected. What do you feel beneath your feet?

• 59:21Speaker 01

  That you see as you look around? Invite the smells, sounds, the air that surrounds you all the way into your body. Allow yourself to just ask for a sacred boost of energy from this beautiful surrounding that you have created for yourself. Let it feel pleasing to the senses, to the cells inside of your body.

• 1:00:03Speaker 01

  Allowing yourself to feel a fullness from the surrounding and the setting. And then take a moment to bring perhaps one hand to the heart and one hand to the belly. And just take a couple of deep breaths in here. Inhale through the nose. Taking it all in. Exhale, sigh. One more time, inhale. Let yourself fill up here with this seam. Exhale, let it go in even deeper to the body.

• 1:00:44Speaker 01

  Just invite, even if it's 1%, 1% more of a sense of openness, a connection to this day, to the surrounding that you have visualized. And now bringing it into your awareness to let that feeling live inside of you. As you come back into the present moment of the surrounding, where you are right here and now. Feel the earth beneath you and the sky above you, and the walls that surround you.

• 1:01:26Speaker 01

  Taking all of that in as you gently open your eyes and prepare to walk into the next part of your day. Thank you for joining.

• 1:01:36Hoda Kotb?

  Thank you, Kelsey. All right, guys, thanks again for listening to Joy 101, the podcast, and we'll see you next time. I've realized that joy doesn't always come from those big moments. Sometimes you find it on the most ordinary day. I'll pop into a CVS for toothpaste or paper towels, and it never seems to be just a quick errand. Maybe I'll grab a delicious Well Market Trail Mix or wander over to the Joy Word Collection. That's part of the fun. So the next time you're checking something off your to-do list, stop by your local CVS pharmacy.

• 1:02:18Hoda Kotb?

  You might go in for one thing and leave with a little more joy. Visit your local CVS pharmacy, sponsored by CVS.

• 1:02:25Speaker 02

  What if one bottle could replace the benefits of eight steps in your skincare routine? Get glass-like skin and your time back with the resurfacing compound by You Beauty. This transformative serum works to visibly brighten, smooth, and even your skin while helping minimize the look of pores, dark spots, and fine lines, all in one multitasking formula. It's breakthrough science and streamlined simplicity in a single step. For science-proven results without the clutter or confusion, shop the resurfacing compound by You Beauty now at youbeauty.com. That's the letter U, B-E-A-U-T-Y.com.

• 1:03:10Speaker 02

  Try You Beauty today. I'm Melissa Jelton, host of the What Happened to Her podcast. We're kicking off the season with the Sandra Birchmore story, a case the police wrote off as a suicide in a snowstorm. Her family never bought it, and the man they suspected wore a badge.

• 1:03:27Speaker 03

  You never know who that devil is because he's wearing a disguise. Sometimes it's a police uniform.

• 1:03:32Speaker 02

  And you can get access to all episodes 100% ad-free with an iHeart True Crime Plus subscription exclusively on Apple Podcasts, available only to iHeart True Crime Plus subscribers. So don't wait. Head to Apple Podcasts, search for iHeart True Crime Plus, and subscribe today.

• 1:03:50Speaker 07

  Is there an epidemic against literature, more specifically, Black literature? I'm Jequies P. Thomas, and on this season of the Black Lit Podcast, we're outside asking why. They don't want a whole bunch of little elevators, Malcolm Maxes, and Martin Luther Kings running around. And when you look at a lot of different cultures, you realize you need to know where you came from. And considering this is Black Reading Month, the only real question is, what are you reading next? Listen to Black Lit from the Black Effect Podcast Network on our iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 1:04:22Speaker 04

  This is your girl, T. S. Madison, coming to you loud, live, and always and forever in color from the Outlaws Podcast. National Coming Out Day is in October, and we've got stories from all your favorite LGBTQ celebrities to celebrate. Check out our episode with comedy legend Wayne Brady. My daughter was actually the one, she said, Dad, you may be pansexual. The iconic Billy Porter. And Terrell Grace and I talk about family and show the family posts coming out.

• 1:04:48Speaker 06

  I don't like statements like that. That's Dad, or that's Grandma. No, no, no, no, no, no. It should never come at the cost and expense of your own sanity and your own mental health.

• 1:04:55Speaker 04

  Download the free iHeartRadio app, search Outlaws with T. S. Madison, and listen now.

• 1:05:00Speaker 07

  This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.