WEBVTT - INTERVIEW: Jordan Klepper On Comedic Journalism, Engaging With Both Sides, New Comedy Special + More 0:00:00.400 --> 0:00:02.480 Wake that ass up in the morning. 0:00:02.600 --> 0:00:04.680 The breakfast Club Morning. 0:00:04.720 --> 0:00:08.520 Everybody is the j Envy just hilarious. Charlomagne the gud 0:00:08.600 --> 0:00:11.080 We are the breakfast Club. We got a special guest 0:00:11.160 --> 0:00:11.800 in the building. 0:00:11.880 --> 0:00:13.480 Yes, indeed, Jordan. 0:00:13.200 --> 0:00:15.760 Klepper yelcome, Thanks for having me. How you feeling I'm 0:00:15.760 --> 0:00:16.400 feeling real good. 0:00:16.520 --> 0:00:16.720 Yeah. 0:00:16.800 --> 0:00:18.239 I love the way you came in here already. Because 0:00:18.239 --> 0:00:19.680 I was joking, I was like, you what six four? 0:00:19.720 --> 0:00:21.200 And then Charlam, I was like, really you win, and 0:00:21.239 --> 0:00:22.960 you said Charlomage must be around six to one and 0:00:23.520 --> 0:00:23.880 say that. 0:00:23.800 --> 0:00:24.520 He's not live one. 0:00:24.560 --> 0:00:27.280 I said five to one, five five one, right, I 0:00:27.360 --> 0:00:29.080 was being generous my joke in my head. I was like, 0:00:29.120 --> 0:00:30.560 I'll make a joke about four to six, but I'll 0:00:30.560 --> 0:00:31.480 give him a little bit more. 0:00:31.480 --> 0:00:33.600 I said five to one. What did you say you were, 0:00:33.680 --> 0:00:36.680 charlamne on five six? That's what I said, live five six? 0:00:37.360 --> 0:00:39.000 You are no five six. 0:00:39.080 --> 0:00:41.080 Actually five seven, but I just say five six to 0:00:41.080 --> 0:00:42.080 make people feel comfortable. 0:00:42.479 --> 0:00:43.159 Well, if you know. 0:00:43.080 --> 0:00:45.199 Whatever reason I say five to seven, they argue with me. 0:00:45.240 --> 0:00:47.000 So I just say five six, And even though you 0:00:47.000 --> 0:00:48.960 said five six, I'm arguing with you right now, right 0:00:49.360 --> 0:00:51.559 is that the brim if you put the brim away up, 0:00:51.560 --> 0:00:52.680 you're including the brim, right. 0:00:52.680 --> 0:00:54.200 But see, that's what I thought with you. I'm like 0:00:54.240 --> 0:00:55.960 with the hair, you might be six four. I was 0:00:55.960 --> 0:00:56.840 thinking like six one. 0:00:57.080 --> 0:00:58.680 That is fair the hair. The hair gives me an 0:00:58.720 --> 0:01:00.560 extra couple of inches five six. 0:01:00.600 --> 0:01:05.319 With heels, well, you wear heels you when you actually 0:01:05.319 --> 0:01:05.679 wear them? 0:01:05.840 --> 0:01:06.760 Okay, I'm six five. 0:01:06.760 --> 0:01:10.040 Okay. I broke my sesamoid bone. 0:01:10.600 --> 0:01:11.440 Have you heard of it? 0:01:11.440 --> 0:01:13.959 It's I didn't either. It's called it's the kneecap of 0:01:14.000 --> 0:01:17.959 the toe. Wow, I got I got another. Let me 0:01:17.959 --> 0:01:19.640 tell you if you want old man stories right now, 0:01:19.640 --> 0:01:21.560 I broke my sesamitie bone by standing on. 0:01:21.560 --> 0:01:22.160 It for too long. 0:01:22.160 --> 0:01:23.040 I don't even know what that is. 0:01:23.120 --> 0:01:27.520 It's it, really, I broke about my standing. I'm just 0:01:27.600 --> 0:01:28.440 I'm that old now. 0:01:28.520 --> 0:01:29.880 Wow. Yeah, And I mean that's. 0:01:29.760 --> 0:01:31.240 A big deal for you because you are, you know, 0:01:31.760 --> 0:01:34.880 probably one of the best field journalists out here, if 0:01:34.880 --> 0:01:35.479 not the. 0:01:35.360 --> 0:01:38.039 Best, the best, one hundred percent the best. I'll take it. 0:01:38.319 --> 0:01:38.600 I do. 0:01:38.760 --> 0:01:41.240 And you have the new one fingers fingers, fingers, the 0:01:41.280 --> 0:01:45.520 post fingers, the post maggot, the next generation that have 0:01:45.680 --> 0:01:46.400 to affect you. 0:01:46.520 --> 0:01:46.880 It does. 0:01:47.480 --> 0:01:49.440 Yeah, No, I I mean literally, if you watch the 0:01:49.480 --> 0:01:51.760 special right now, you will see I'm only shot from 0:01:52.080 --> 0:01:56.560 like the halfway up. Uh and if anything gets awry, 0:01:56.680 --> 0:01:58.960 like I can't move or get away from people. 0:01:58.960 --> 0:01:59.960 So it was broke during the special. 0:02:00.080 --> 0:02:00.880 Broke during the special. 0:02:00.960 --> 0:02:02.840 Oh you can't do that when you run the Maga crowd. 0:02:03.440 --> 0:02:06.600 Now, no offense to the Maga crowd. But they're also 0:02:06.640 --> 0:02:09.280 slow movers too, so you know I can I can 0:02:09.360 --> 0:02:12.280 usually outmaneuver them. I can use my privilege to lord 0:02:12.320 --> 0:02:14.840 it over them, or I use the four security guards 0:02:14.880 --> 0:02:16.800 to get between me and them if things get hairy. 0:02:17.040 --> 0:02:18.160 I enjoyed the special. 0:02:18.960 --> 0:02:21.760 It's you talking to the younger I guess generation of 0:02:21.800 --> 0:02:24.560 Magna because fifteen percent of what young. 0:02:24.400 --> 0:02:28.200 Men, Yeah, young men shifted right this election, and there 0:02:28.240 --> 0:02:30.440 was a shift. There was a shift right from the 0:02:30.600 --> 0:02:34.519 entire youth generation. Like women shifted right, but men especially 0:02:34.560 --> 0:02:37.000 moved into the Maga camp. And so we were we're. 0:02:36.919 --> 0:02:38.799 Curious, why, like what was it about that. 0:02:38.880 --> 0:02:41.320 It doesn't it doesn't feel like the cool thing on 0:02:41.360 --> 0:02:45.320 a campus to to believe in you know, anti abortion, 0:02:45.440 --> 0:02:49.720 reproductive rights or you know, essentially it's the anti hippie movement. 0:02:49.760 --> 0:02:51.000 But there was a movement, so. 0:02:51.120 --> 0:02:53.520 Like, let's get there, Let's go to a turning points event, 0:02:53.600 --> 0:02:55.920 Let's go to a UFC fight, let's like talk to 0:02:55.960 --> 0:02:56.720 some of these kids. 0:02:56.800 --> 0:02:59.360 I watched it and I when I finished, I was like, 0:02:59.560 --> 0:03:02.000 I still didn't hear a logical reason. 0:03:02.040 --> 0:03:03.120 It just felt like vibes. 0:03:03.800 --> 0:03:07.000 I think, yeah, I think it still is vibes. 0:03:07.400 --> 0:03:10.000 The large question was like, is there an ideology behind 0:03:10.080 --> 0:03:10.720 this shift? 0:03:10.760 --> 0:03:12.520 And I think the answer is no. 0:03:13.120 --> 0:03:15.040 I don't think you have a lot of kids who 0:03:15.080 --> 0:03:18.600 have conservative ideals, So there's some religion comes in or 0:03:18.639 --> 0:03:22.440 whatever those ideals are. But I think mostly they see 0:03:22.960 --> 0:03:26.120 they see people finding success on TikTok and the social 0:03:26.120 --> 0:03:29.040 media space being conservative, and that gives them an identity. 0:03:29.080 --> 0:03:30.720 They see it as a little bit punk, that gives 0:03:30.720 --> 0:03:33.920 it an identity. So I think like they're moving towards vibes, 0:03:34.000 --> 0:03:36.520 which I think for the left they can get those 0:03:36.600 --> 0:03:39.040 vibes back, but they're just not engaging with that generation. 0:03:39.160 --> 0:03:39.400 Jordan. 0:03:39.440 --> 0:03:41.440 I would have to ask why why did you want 0:03:41.480 --> 0:03:44.200 to waste your time and talk to Maga younger? 0:03:45.280 --> 0:03:47.760 A waste of time? I think it's a good exercise. 0:03:47.840 --> 0:03:48.920 I think more people should do that. 0:03:49.000 --> 0:03:50.920 The reason I say that is because you're not going 0:03:50.920 --> 0:03:52.920 to get the answers you like, probably and you're probably 0:03:52.960 --> 0:03:53.800 gonna get threatened a lot. 0:03:53.960 --> 0:03:57.200 Sure, yes, I mean the first answer health insurance. My 0:03:57.400 --> 0:03:59.280 job is to be able to talk to other people. 0:03:59.280 --> 0:04:00.520 And if I don't do my job, I don't have 0:04:00.520 --> 0:04:01.600 health insurance and I. 0:04:01.560 --> 0:04:02.280 Have weak bones. 0:04:02.480 --> 0:04:06.280 So we've established that for this six foot nine frame, 0:04:06.400 --> 0:04:08.640 I need that health insurance. But I think what I 0:04:09.360 --> 0:04:12.280 like about it. I mean, I'm lucky I get to 0:04:12.320 --> 0:04:13.960 go out there. I'm not a journalist, I'm a comedian, 0:04:14.160 --> 0:04:17.800 so I get to push, I get to ask follow ups, 0:04:17.960 --> 0:04:21.240 I get to cavort and try to find something that reveals. Right, Like, 0:04:21.720 --> 0:04:24.080 my job out there isn't to convince people of one 0:04:24.080 --> 0:04:25.800 way or the other. I think my job is to 0:04:25.839 --> 0:04:29.200 find something that is revealing. Like for this special, we 0:04:29.279 --> 0:04:31.400 talk to a kid. And I always find it fascinating 0:04:31.400 --> 0:04:32.680 to go to a campus and just see, like what 0:04:32.960 --> 0:04:34.840 actually is happening. CNN will tell you one thing, but 0:04:34.960 --> 0:04:36.480 until you go to Texas A and M and talk 0:04:36.480 --> 0:04:38.560 to a kid, do you actually understand what it is? 0:04:38.760 --> 0:04:40.520 Like we talked to a kid about like why he 0:04:40.560 --> 0:04:42.880 was obsessed with Charlie Kirk and why he was he 0:04:43.000 --> 0:04:44.640 was going to a Charlie Kirk event. What is it 0:04:44.720 --> 0:04:48.320 about this this guy? And he literally articulated, like I 0:04:48.320 --> 0:04:50.880 have a hard time with my words. I like to 0:04:50.920 --> 0:04:53.480 listen to what he says. I like to memorize it, 0:04:53.520 --> 0:04:55.680 and then I have his words and his ideas, and 0:04:55.720 --> 0:04:59.120 it's like it's comedic in the special, but I think 0:04:59.160 --> 0:05:01.440 above that, it's it's just revealing, Like when you're like, 0:05:01.680 --> 0:05:02.320 why do these people? 0:05:02.400 --> 0:05:03.960 Why are they drawn to this? It's like that kid 0:05:04.040 --> 0:05:05.240 set it right there. 0:05:05.320 --> 0:05:07.839 He didn't even know that he's being somewhat comical, that 0:05:07.920 --> 0:05:11.560 you're just memorizing ideas so you can regurgitate it, but 0:05:11.600 --> 0:05:14.000 it's very human. He was like, he feels lost without that. 0:05:14.120 --> 0:05:17.039 So for me, it's always always compelling to go where 0:05:17.080 --> 0:05:19.080 the story is and to talk to folks about. 0:05:18.920 --> 0:05:22.560 It, and that part, in particular reinforce something that I 0:05:22.600 --> 0:05:26.240 truly believe. People wake up every day and wait for 0:05:26.400 --> 0:05:28.919 other people to tell them how to think and feel 0:05:28.960 --> 0:05:31.480 about them. Of course, they have no opinion about nothing, 0:05:31.839 --> 0:05:35.279 but they'll go online see their favorite person's opinion on something, 0:05:35.360 --> 0:05:36.520 and now that's their opinion. 0:05:36.600 --> 0:05:39.440 Man, I'm sure you guys feel this stress like I 0:05:39.480 --> 0:05:40.680 remember when I was hosting a. 0:05:40.640 --> 0:05:41.800 Show before the Daily Show. 0:05:41.839 --> 0:05:44.080 I would wake up every morning and I'd grab my phone, 0:05:44.080 --> 0:05:46.400 I look at the news, and I realized it was like, 0:05:46.640 --> 0:05:49.720 the first thoughts I have of the day are somebody else's. 0:05:49.920 --> 0:05:52.279 It's somebody else's opinion, somebody else's take. It's like I've 0:05:52.279 --> 0:05:55.279 given no space to actually have an opinion on the 0:05:55.320 --> 0:05:56.040 world whatsoever. 0:05:56.160 --> 0:05:57.720 And I think that's very much the case. 0:05:57.800 --> 0:06:01.480 And in fact, you can't compete in a collegiate space 0:06:01.520 --> 0:06:04.120 without having some sort of social media presence or connecting. 0:06:04.160 --> 0:06:06.200 So these kids aren't giving space to figure out what 0:06:06.240 --> 0:06:07.479 the hell they want to think about. 0:06:07.520 --> 0:06:10.159 First, I was gonna ask that not a threatening part? Yeah, 0:06:10.160 --> 0:06:11.560 how many times have you been threatened? 0:06:11.600 --> 0:06:15.520 Whether it's calls, people in person, emails, texts. 0:06:16.600 --> 0:06:20.720 I mean that happens a lot, the emails, the calls. 0:06:21.400 --> 0:06:24.680 There's been threats on family members, which would ain't is 0:06:24.720 --> 0:06:28.440 not super fun. I think out in the field ten 0:06:28.560 --> 0:06:31.200 years ago, I'm not going out there with security guards. 0:06:31.360 --> 0:06:32.840 You know, you can go out there as a comedian 0:06:32.880 --> 0:06:35.239 talk about politics and not be afraid of getting punched. 0:06:35.600 --> 0:06:39.279 But Trump era comes in, people get more upset. Upset 0:06:39.560 --> 0:06:42.000 Trump says like, you you're a patriot, fight back. These 0:06:42.000 --> 0:06:44.200 are the enemy of the people. And it was during 0:06:44.279 --> 0:06:47.240 his first first run for president that like, we went 0:06:47.279 --> 0:06:50.200 to a school board meeting and are having a conversation 0:06:50.240 --> 0:06:52.080 and I get bum rushed by somebody who's just mad 0:06:52.120 --> 0:06:55.320 that we have a camera there. And since then we 0:06:55.440 --> 0:06:57.839 keep adding security guards. I was there on January sixth, 0:06:58.040 --> 0:07:00.760 and that got Harry. We got to the security guard, 0:07:00.800 --> 0:07:03.039 they got pushed. There's flash bangs going off. They're like, 0:07:03.080 --> 0:07:05.000 we can't stand here. We need to get on a train. 0:07:05.200 --> 0:07:08.080 Like it's sort of the new reality. And most people 0:07:08.080 --> 0:07:10.480 I talked to are great. They want to talk, they 0:07:10.520 --> 0:07:12.920 are they want to be on DV, they want to engage. 0:07:13.240 --> 0:07:16.200 But you have it now where people have been weaponized 0:07:16.240 --> 0:07:18.600 by the most powerful men on the planet who says 0:07:18.600 --> 0:07:20.680 like you can do something, you should fight back. These 0:07:20.680 --> 0:07:22.760 are the bad guys, and all it takes is a 0:07:22.800 --> 0:07:25.520 couple of bad ideas for those guys to feel themselves 0:07:25.600 --> 0:07:27.240 and go after you. 0:07:27.320 --> 0:07:29.840 What's the crazy experience you that that you've had so far? 0:07:30.200 --> 0:07:33.760 I mean JA six was pretty wild. I was up 0:07:33.800 --> 0:07:38.280 there for Jay six. I was working on J six 0:07:38.280 --> 0:07:40.000 all right. Charlatne I was working there. 0:07:40.160 --> 0:07:40.720 I was out there. 0:07:40.760 --> 0:07:45.520 I was out there. You know what the funniest moment 0:07:45.560 --> 0:07:46.440 on Jay six. 0:07:46.400 --> 0:07:48.440 Outside of the hole trying to overthrow the government and 0:07:48.480 --> 0:07:51.080 you know, crapping on Nancy Pelosi's desk. Outside of that, 0:07:51.320 --> 0:07:55.440 I'm literally interviewing people. And we've been there before, and 0:07:55.720 --> 0:07:57.480 we knew sort of like, we don't want to get 0:07:57.560 --> 0:08:00.160 trapped on the onslaught, so let's stay outside. 0:07:59.760 --> 0:08:01.320 Of where everybody is. 0:08:02.520 --> 0:08:06.360 Quite frankly, we're like, where's the one place nobody is congregating? 0:08:06.400 --> 0:08:08.520 And it was outside of the African American History Museum. 0:08:08.760 --> 0:08:10.800 Nobody was going there. So we were like, we will 0:08:10.800 --> 0:08:12.600 meet up here and then we will go and find 0:08:12.640 --> 0:08:15.160 people to interview. We start walking, we find this guy 0:08:15.280 --> 0:08:17.760 swinging a pitchfork and I go up to the man. 0:08:17.800 --> 0:08:19.120 I start talking to this man. 0:08:19.200 --> 0:08:19.720 Oh, that's the guy. 0:08:20.000 --> 0:08:22.840 That's the guy we got to make TV here, you know. 0:08:22.880 --> 0:08:25.760 And that guy's got a pitchfork, he's he's throwing it around. 0:08:26.680 --> 0:08:29.120 That still hilaris, And nobody was outside African Americans. 0:08:31.360 --> 0:08:34.000 You know, where are we gonna go? Yeah, African American Museum. 0:08:35.160 --> 0:08:38.080 Do you want to engage with American sins of the past? 0:08:38.880 --> 0:08:40.600 Let's take a crap on the desk of the Capitol. 0:08:40.640 --> 0:08:41.400 What do you say? 0:08:42.520 --> 0:08:44.920 So we're talking to this guy swinging a pitchfork and 0:08:44.960 --> 0:08:48.400 he's ranting about revolution, and another man comes up. He 0:08:48.440 --> 0:08:50.480 sees the camera and he just starts. He's just swearing, 0:08:50.559 --> 0:08:54.040 He's just obscenity man, and he's yelling so loud that 0:08:54.120 --> 0:08:57.480 pitchfork man stops the interview. He shushes him, and then 0:08:57.480 --> 0:09:00.360 he says, this man doesn't speak for me, which then 0:09:00.480 --> 0:09:03.320 leaves me grateful to the more level headed man swinging 0:09:03.440 --> 0:09:06.400 up his ark and he makes eye contact with me 0:09:06.480 --> 0:09:08.560 and he rolls his eyes as if to say, like, 0:09:08.600 --> 0:09:10.760 can you believe this evan guy? And I was like, 0:09:10.800 --> 0:09:12.600 oh yeah, that's it. Like even this guy is like 0:09:12.600 --> 0:09:14.120 these guys are too crazy for me. Can we just 0:09:14.160 --> 0:09:16.560 have a conversation? And you're like, right, we can actually 0:09:16.559 --> 0:09:19.600 find a little bit of common ground if there is 0:09:19.640 --> 0:09:21.520 that crazier person there, you know. 0:09:21.559 --> 0:09:23.679 Refreshment memory. I don't what the hell was happening on 0:09:23.720 --> 0:09:25.920 January sixth, before the insurrection. What was everybody there for? 0:09:26.120 --> 0:09:27.560 Well, they were there to certify the vote. 0:09:28.320 --> 0:09:31.880 But Trump then preempts it by having a huge rally 0:09:31.920 --> 0:09:35.280 at eleven o'clock, and so everybody comes out. Rudy Giuliani's there, 0:09:35.360 --> 0:09:39.480 and so everybody comes to watch the giant Trump speech, 0:09:39.720 --> 0:09:42.199 but everybody leaves halfway through, not everybody. Half the folks 0:09:42.280 --> 0:09:45.679 leave halfway through to start moving towards the Capitol, which 0:09:45.760 --> 0:09:48.000 then we saw, we saw the Proud Boys march on 0:09:48.040 --> 0:09:48.960 the Capitol. I mean, it was. 0:09:48.960 --> 0:09:49.959 A wild day. 0:09:49.960 --> 0:09:53.800 It was not a surprise though, as a cable comedy show, like, 0:09:54.080 --> 0:09:56.040 we knew to be at the Capitol. We were right 0:09:56.080 --> 0:09:57.719 there when they pushed in, because we're like, this is 0:09:57.720 --> 0:10:00.320 where everybody's going. This is where they said they're going. 0:10:00.480 --> 0:10:02.720 There's going to be something to happened here. We didn't 0:10:02.720 --> 0:10:04.840 expect them to get inside, but we knew they'd be there. 0:10:05.040 --> 0:10:07.080 For the sake of content, for the sake of clicks. 0:10:07.080 --> 0:10:09.200 Did you think to yourself, hey, we should go in 0:10:09.240 --> 0:10:09.600 with them. 0:10:10.920 --> 0:10:14.440 Luckily, like my inherent fear got in the way there. 0:10:14.559 --> 0:10:16.480 I think it was it was confusing, That's what the 0:10:16.600 --> 0:10:18.840 rules were. I think even at the at the time, 0:10:21.120 --> 0:10:23.200 there was a small fence that got pushed in. And 0:10:23.280 --> 0:10:25.560 even as you're seeing this and you're watching this and 0:10:25.600 --> 0:10:28.920 it's again it's it's half tragic. You're like, this is 0:10:28.920 --> 0:10:30.920 the capital, this is the seat of American governance, and 0:10:30.960 --> 0:10:33.440 I see all these people acting like generals going in there, 0:10:33.520 --> 0:10:36.360 and it's also completely absurd. I saw I interviewed literally 0:10:36.360 --> 0:10:38.680 an old man on a segway trying to go up 0:10:38.760 --> 0:10:43.480 the hill while it's happening. But I'm assuming they can't 0:10:43.600 --> 0:10:45.959 get in right. You're like, they're going to get stopped 0:10:45.960 --> 0:10:48.320 at some point there, but the people just kept coming 0:10:48.480 --> 0:10:51.280 and literally our security guards at one point were just like, 0:10:51.760 --> 0:10:55.200 we're hearing explosions. This is an uncontrolled situation. It's time 0:10:55.200 --> 0:10:55.680 to get home. 0:10:55.960 --> 0:10:57.400 People at the Daily Show, and you said it a 0:10:57.400 --> 0:10:59.959 little while ago, everybody the Daily Show always says something 0:11:00.040 --> 0:11:00.959 that I totally disagree with. 0:11:01.080 --> 0:11:02.920 Y'all say that you're not journalists. 0:11:02.960 --> 0:11:06.040 Y'all are comedians when reality is y'all probably some of 0:11:06.080 --> 0:11:09.559 the best journalists out because you do things like go 0:11:09.640 --> 0:11:13.480 and talk to the other side when other folks really don't. Right, So, 0:11:13.559 --> 0:11:15.880 when do you have an interview people at these rallies, Well, 0:11:15.920 --> 0:11:17.880 first of all, do you think it's fair for y'all 0:11:17.880 --> 0:11:19.240 be able to say y'all not journalists? 0:11:19.360 --> 0:11:20.319 It's definitely a dodge. 0:11:20.360 --> 0:11:23.880 So yeah, thanks for calling that out, you know, I 0:11:23.880 --> 0:11:25.760 mean I think I say that in that the stories 0:11:25.760 --> 0:11:27.720 we get on the Daily Show are stories that are 0:11:27.720 --> 0:11:29.760 brought to us by journalists putting in the work, and 0:11:29.800 --> 0:11:33.280 so that I respect and they work by the code 0:11:33.320 --> 0:11:33.880 of journalism. 0:11:33.920 --> 0:11:37.559 I think what we have we take it very seriously. 0:11:37.720 --> 0:11:40.200 I don't see myself as a journalist, but I take 0:11:40.240 --> 0:11:41.960 going out and bringing back what we. 0:11:41.880 --> 0:11:43.760 See to the show very seriously. 0:11:43.880 --> 0:11:46.000 But I do want an audience to understand the bias 0:11:46.000 --> 0:11:47.880 that we have towards comedy and that we're making a 0:11:47.880 --> 0:11:49.360 show with that point of view. But I think all 0:11:49.360 --> 0:11:51.880 news has a bias, and I do think like in 0:11:51.960 --> 0:11:54.400 modern journalism, I don't think it should be a bunch 0:11:54.400 --> 0:11:56.079 of comedians going out there bringing the stories back. 0:11:56.160 --> 0:11:56.959 Far from it. 0:11:57.120 --> 0:11:59.320 But I do think they could probably loosen up some 0:11:59.360 --> 0:12:01.480 of the rules and ways in which they engage with people, 0:12:01.720 --> 0:12:04.720 because sometimes you see people engaging with the old school 0:12:04.760 --> 0:12:08.280 rules of journalism, not pushing people past their conspiracies or 0:12:08.320 --> 0:12:11.400 their BS, or they're they're weighing both sides where you're like, no, 0:12:11.520 --> 0:12:13.320 that that's BS. You need to call that out, You 0:12:13.360 --> 0:12:15.720 need to use some other way to knock that person 0:12:15.760 --> 0:12:18.439 off their talking points so they can reveal something truthful there. 0:12:18.440 --> 0:12:19.880 And I think as comedians we. 0:12:19.920 --> 0:12:22.520 Have that ability, and at its best it works that way, 0:12:22.640 --> 0:12:26.280 but we're working in conjunction with journalists who are actually 0:12:26.280 --> 0:12:28.520 bringing the story back so that we can have some 0:12:28.520 --> 0:12:29.600 commentary on comedy. 0:12:29.640 --> 0:12:31.640 Is disarming? It is, That's the thing that a lot 0:12:31.679 --> 0:12:33.160 of the journalists don't have. 0:12:33.320 --> 0:12:34.040 One hundred percent. 0:12:34.280 --> 0:12:36.160 Yeah, And at its best it cuts to the quick 0:12:36.200 --> 0:12:38.720 faster than trying to argue with somebody else. 0:12:38.840 --> 0:12:41.400 You know, when you do something like the Maggot in 0:12:41.480 --> 0:12:44.040 Next Generation, do you ever leave to rally thinking damn, 0:12:44.040 --> 0:12:45.280 maybe I'm the one who doesn't. 0:12:45.000 --> 0:12:46.400 Get it, you know. 0:12:48.040 --> 0:12:50.400 I mean, I think I always leave it with a 0:12:50.400 --> 0:12:53.080 little bit more empathy towards the folks that I'm talking with, 0:12:53.440 --> 0:12:55.800 because for every you know, every five minutes on camera, 0:12:55.800 --> 0:12:57.840 there's two minutes off camera where you're talking about something 0:12:57.880 --> 0:13:00.920 that's not political, and you connect with them and they're interesting, 0:13:00.960 --> 0:13:03.760 they're compelling. You find music that you both care about 0:13:03.840 --> 0:13:06.679 or something, and I think like that that softens what 0:13:06.720 --> 0:13:08.480 you think about the people and the interactions that you 0:13:08.520 --> 0:13:10.680 have with those people. I think I usually feel pretty 0:13:10.679 --> 0:13:14.640 steadfast in my opinions. That being said, I do think, 0:13:14.720 --> 0:13:17.280 like no, nobody has the certainty that they pretend to 0:13:17.320 --> 0:13:18.600 have on camera. 0:13:18.320 --> 0:13:19.120 At these rallies. 0:13:19.440 --> 0:13:22.440 Like no, there's a lot of complexity to many many issues, 0:13:22.440 --> 0:13:25.680 but nobody has the guts or the vulnerability to be 0:13:25.720 --> 0:13:27.319 open about it, usually in front of a camera. 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:29.320 Now, you said you want to bring peace in harmony? 0:13:29.600 --> 0:13:30.439 God, did I say that? 0:13:30.520 --> 0:13:30.720 Yes? 0:13:31.480 --> 0:13:31.760 Really? 0:13:31.840 --> 0:13:33.800 Is that true? Oh boy? What did I say? I 0:13:33.800 --> 0:13:34.800 want to bring peace in harmony? 0:13:34.800 --> 0:13:36.679 They said you want to bring peace in harmony? But 0:13:37.440 --> 0:13:39.480 how was that? When every time a MAGA member comes 0:13:39.520 --> 0:13:42.040 you give them a little joke, just a little. 0:13:41.840 --> 0:13:42.160 Bit, you know what. 0:13:42.240 --> 0:13:45.319 Yeah, I try to deliver peace through the lovely delivery 0:13:45.320 --> 0:13:46.040 mechanism of. 0:13:47.600 --> 0:13:48.000 A joke. 0:13:48.520 --> 0:13:48.720 You know. 0:13:48.840 --> 0:13:51.000 I'd love there to be some peace and harmony. 0:13:51.120 --> 0:13:55.040 But it is a constant balance of you know, I 0:13:55.080 --> 0:13:56.600 want to empathize. I don't want to just be mean 0:13:56.640 --> 0:13:58.680 out there when I talk to other people. But also 0:13:58.960 --> 0:14:02.480 it's I think life is pretty serious right now, and 0:14:02.520 --> 0:14:04.679 I think when I go to some of these MAGA events, 0:14:04.679 --> 0:14:07.080 you see Donald Trump playing to the masses in a 0:14:07.080 --> 0:14:10.640 way that emboldens him to do pretty cruel things. And 0:14:10.679 --> 0:14:13.880 so I don't mind pushing back hard in that direction. 0:14:14.760 --> 0:14:16.440 But I often think the people I talk to I 0:14:16.440 --> 0:14:18.880 have sympathy for because I think they're being weaponized by 0:14:18.880 --> 0:14:20.840 other people who are trying to manipulate them. So that's 0:14:20.880 --> 0:14:22.240 that's where my empathy tends to lie. 0:14:22.480 --> 0:14:25.920 Do you have a struggle with where satire ends and 0:14:26.240 --> 0:14:28.240 responsibility begins with. 0:14:28.320 --> 0:14:30.520 Yeah, I mean I think like that activist conversation is 0:14:30.520 --> 0:14:33.560 a tough one. I don't. I don't. I don't love 0:14:33.600 --> 0:14:33.960 the hat. 0:14:34.000 --> 0:14:36.360 I do think like John is somebody who always says, like, 0:14:36.920 --> 0:14:39.160 you know, this is not ACTIVISTI we're comedians, And I 0:14:39.160 --> 0:14:42.760 think like in some ways that is a that is 0:14:42.760 --> 0:14:44.720 a that is a safety net, but you also sort 0:14:44.760 --> 0:14:47.440 of need that to like not approach work every day 0:14:47.440 --> 0:14:49.080 to think of like what am I trying to change 0:14:49.120 --> 0:14:51.200 in the world. Like I understand where that comes from, 0:14:51.240 --> 0:14:53.080 but it's like the job of the show is to 0:14:53.200 --> 0:14:56.920 find comedy to follow like your passions, the things you 0:14:56.960 --> 0:14:58.960 care about, where you see bs call it out, but 0:14:59.040 --> 0:15:01.200 also like find a way to make it funny and 0:15:01.280 --> 0:15:04.200 interesting and reformat it. I think that is the job 0:15:04.600 --> 0:15:08.080 you get in tough territory when you're like I need 0:15:08.080 --> 0:15:10.320 to I need to be an activist in that moment. 0:15:10.400 --> 0:15:12.960 I don't think that is the place, but I think 0:15:12.960 --> 0:15:15.520 you have to be honest with your desire to be 0:15:15.560 --> 0:15:17.760 a part of that conversation, but also be honest with 0:15:17.920 --> 0:15:20.160 what your skill set is and what your platform is. 0:15:20.360 --> 0:15:22.320 Have you ever spoke with somebody where you actually changed 0:15:22.360 --> 0:15:23.960 their mind by the things that you said and they 0:15:24.000 --> 0:15:25.040 understood what you were saying. 0:15:25.120 --> 0:15:30.280 No, okay, I do tell a story, though it doesn't 0:15:30.280 --> 0:15:31.800 happen in front of the camera. People don't change their 0:15:31.840 --> 0:15:34.840 minds in front of the camera, but off camera gets close. 0:15:35.000 --> 0:15:38.600 I was heckled at a rally by a man who 0:15:38.720 --> 0:15:41.040 was dressed in a brick suit, a suit that looked 0:15:41.040 --> 0:15:43.000 like Trump's Wall of bespoke suit in a hand of 0:15:43.000 --> 0:15:45.280 our mustache. He's known as the bricksuit guy. Trump brings 0:15:45.320 --> 0:15:47.360 him up on stage at lots of his rallies. He's 0:15:47.400 --> 0:15:50.320