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Speaker 1: Welcome back to she Pivots. I'm Alana Glazer.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to she Pivots, the podcast where we talk with

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Speaker 2: women who dared to pivot out of one career and

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Speaker 2: into something new and explore how their personal lives impacted

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Speaker 2: these decisions. I'm your host, Emily Tish Sussman. Hey, she

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Speaker 2: Pivots listeners Today, I'm absolutely thrilled to have the spectacular

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Speaker 2: and brilliant Alana Glazer on the show. You know her,

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Speaker 2: you love her from Broad City, and you're sure to

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Speaker 2: fall in love with her all over again with the

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Speaker 2: release of her new movie, Babes. Alana is an actress,

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Speaker 2: a writer, a producer, a change maker, and a mom. Today,

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Speaker 2: we're talking about her latest film, Babes, and how her

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Speaker 2: personal experience shapes the creation, as well as her incredible

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Speaker 2: pivot into founding Generator Collective. Alana does what Alana does

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Speaker 2: best in her new movie Babes, where she uses her

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Speaker 2: sharp wit and intellect to explore the multifaceted lives of

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Speaker 2: women and the crazy but beautiful moments of pregnancy and

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Speaker 2: the ups and the downs that come with navigating life.

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Speaker 3: All of it.

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Speaker 2: It's in theaters right now, so grab your friends and

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Speaker 2: get your tickets today. But of course Alana's many ventures

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Speaker 2: don't stop there. Recognizing the need for real, impactful change,

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Speaker 2: she co founded Generator Collective after the twenty sixteen election,

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Speaker 2: and as someone who's worked in politics and is now

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Speaker 2: working in culture change, I absolutely love what Alana is

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Speaker 2: doing over a Generator. She makes politics accessible, engaging, exactly

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Speaker 2: what we need in this political climate. From her advocacy

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Speaker 2: to comedy to motherhood, Alana has always had the incredible

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Speaker 2: ability to bridge her personal experiences with her professional work.

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Speaker 2: I mean, her character was literally named Alana on Broad City.

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Speaker 2: Excited to share this conversation, let's dive in.

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Speaker 1: My name is Alana rose Blazer, and I'm a comedian

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Speaker 1: and an activist.

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Speaker 2: Did you always know that you wanted to be a

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Speaker 2: comedian and actually also an activist?

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Speaker 3: Yes?

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Speaker 1: The activist part now that kind of like unfolded and

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Speaker 1: revealed itself to me. But comedian, yes, in the way

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Speaker 1: that I think people start to understand their gender and sexuality.

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Speaker 1: Around seven and eight. My identity was becoming organized around

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Speaker 1: being a comedian around seven and eight. When when I

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Speaker 1: was a kid, it was like Rosie O'Donnell, Whoopie Goldberg,

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Speaker 1: Robin Williams, Billy Crystal Musty TV Thursdays. It was like

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Speaker 1: that was kind of the vibe those channels were pop in.

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Speaker 1: At the time. There was so much TV to watch.

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Speaker 1: I used to watch hours and hours of TV every day.

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Speaker 1: It was crazy. So my brother also wanted to be

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Speaker 1: a comedian, and my dad was awesome enough to be

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Speaker 1: chill about letting us use the Sony camcorder. So my

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Speaker 1: brother like really put me on when we were kids,

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Speaker 1: and he, you know, we would make sketches from when

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Speaker 1: I was four and he was eight years old. We

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Speaker 1: would make hours and hours and hours of sketch comedy

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Speaker 1: and it was based on SNL. We loved SNL and

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Speaker 1: we loved SNL before we were like old enough to

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Speaker 1: watch and throughout the years and all the generations from

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Speaker 1: like Adam Sandler and Chris Farley and David Spade to

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Speaker 1: like Tim Meadows and Will Ferrell and Cherio Terry and

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Speaker 1: Molly Shannon to Tina and Amy. So we would make

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Speaker 1: these videos in our basement for so many hours. So

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Speaker 1: my grandpa, my mom's dad, Grandpa Dave David Wexler, he

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Speaker 1: would make videos and called it KRIPTV was his like

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Speaker 1: Joke Network, and we inherited it from him and took

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Speaker 1: on that branding and then we had a rebrand GBS

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Speaker 1: Glazer Broadcasting System. Yeah, we were obsessed. We were obsessed.

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Speaker 1: And it's so funny at the time, like Elliott would

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Speaker 1: edit in real time how you one used to do

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Speaker 1: with film cameras where you're like you redo over the

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Speaker 1: tape if you don't like that, take like crazy crazy.

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Speaker 2: Well, when you started broad City, it was just a

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Speaker 2: jump ahead a little bit. Here, wasn't that far off,

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Speaker 2: Like you were doing it as a web series exactly,

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Speaker 2: just sort of taking it upon yourself to organize some

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Speaker 2: ideas and have the gumption to film it and like

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Speaker 2: spend resources on it, you know what I mean. Like

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Speaker 2: when Abby Jacobson and I were making Broad City, we

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Speaker 2: were catering and waiters and nanny ing, and she worked

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Speaker 2: at a bakery and then we worked together at a

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Speaker 2: as sales people at a company that later my character's

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Speaker 2: Alana Weser's job deal Steel Steels, was based on. And

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Speaker 2: we were just like spending all our money on this

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Speaker 2: web series and it was like are we crazy?

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Speaker 1: You know? But even if like all the actualization that

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Speaker 1: came to be of broad City. Hadn't happened, it would

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Speaker 1: have been worth it to do that because we learned

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Speaker 1: so much about like gathering people to make a project.

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Speaker 1: You know, it's really hard to sort of fight entropy

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Speaker 1: in that way and sort of will something to happen.

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Speaker 1: We did it thirty five times. Actually, we had thirty

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Speaker 1: five short films by the end of the two years

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Speaker 1: that we made broad City the web series, And I

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Speaker 1: think that obsession, that obsessiveness of making thirty five short

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Speaker 1: films in two years was what proved our command over

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Speaker 1: the world, Like you can't recast that shit, you know.

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Speaker 1: And the first webisode we put out it was called

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Speaker 1: making Change.

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Speaker 4: Dollars.

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Speaker 2: Oh, I don't have any cashman side wonderful? Kay I?

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Speaker 1: Actually I have a ten if you could give me

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Speaker 1: eight back or we're good. Yeah, that's perfect. Thank you

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Speaker 1: so much. Yes, have a good day. Okay. And this

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Speaker 1: is for the bagel.

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Speaker 2: Thank you a lot.

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Speaker 5: What the you doing?

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Speaker 1: You make casture the holes for I just said thank

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Speaker 1: you for the bagel. And right after that, Paul w

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Speaker 1: Down's and Luccia on Yellow, the two of the three

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Speaker 1: creators of Hacks, the third being Jenstatski wrote us and

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Speaker 1: they were like, this is something, this is good, and

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Speaker 1: they told us. I'm now remembering they told us about

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Speaker 1: Ali Shakat and Elliott Page at the time had this

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Speaker 1: project at HBO, and Luccia was like, you should try

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Speaker 1: to like send this over to that team so they

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Speaker 1: can see and if it goes, you could be writers

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Speaker 1: on it. That was like what we That was what

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Speaker 1: we were hoping for, to get a writing job as

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Speaker 1: a duo, you know, like really couldn't have I don't

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Speaker 1: like maybe maybe yes, could have dreamed. But like it's

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Speaker 1: years later, it's like fifteen years later, and I still

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Speaker 1: kind of am processing that the miracle happened and what

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Speaker 1: we started the web series. I was twenty two. We

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Speaker 1: ended the TV shows thirty two, and that was five

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Speaker 1: years ago, so like fifteen years later, I'm like, damn, damn.

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Speaker 1: You know, it's like it's still kind of shocking. But

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Speaker 1: we learned everything. We learned how to line, produce, show

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Speaker 1: run right, direct, and act. And in that process of

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Speaker 1: finding it, Amy Poehler had found you guys.

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Speaker 2: I mean, given the fact that you had started imitating

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Speaker 2: these incredible years of SNL right with Amy, I mean

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Speaker 2: could you even believe it? Like, what was the first

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Speaker 2: interaction in did you fall over? Oh my gosh, I

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Speaker 2: have like chills thinking about it's so crazy.

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Speaker 1: Oh my gosh. And she just texted us actually this

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Speaker 1: like oral history of Broad City. It's like such the

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Speaker 1: characters are almost like our little babies, you know, all

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Speaker 1: of us at this point where we're like, oh, you know,

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Speaker 1: like the characters and also young Abby and me not

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Speaker 1: even knowing what was ahead. You know, it's so so wild.

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Speaker 1: Amy was one of four people who started the Upright

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Speaker 1: Citizens Brigade Theater. She and the UCB Improve and Sketch

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Speaker 1: Group came from Chicago, planted themselves in New York and

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Speaker 1: built this theater which became This is when like comedy

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Speaker 1: used to be like real binary. You were either like

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Speaker 1: Jim Carrier Robin Williams, or you were a stand up

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Speaker 1: you know in clubs, or you were on SNL. And

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Speaker 1: then like there became this like alt comedy scene and

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Speaker 1: uh kind of kind of intersecting with like mumblecore, where

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Speaker 1: like weirdness was allowed to kind of come up. And

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Speaker 1: that's when like UCB was kind of getting into the

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Speaker 1: planting its seeds in the New York comedy scene and

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Speaker 1: making this like sort of third space, this third weirder space.

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Speaker 1: And my brother was going to NYU and I was

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Speaker 1: still in high school, and he was like telling me

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Speaker 1: about this scene emerging, and we like planned to get

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Speaker 1: into it when I got to the city. So Amy

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Speaker 1: was one of the founders of UCB, and my brother

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Speaker 1: and I and Abby at the same time time had

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Speaker 1: been taking classes there. And I think it was almost

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Speaker 1: like we prepared for the opportunity to meet her because

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Speaker 1: we asked her to be in our thirty fifth webisode,

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Speaker 1: this the finale, and so then we have this like

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Speaker 1: huge portfolio of work that she could look at, and

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Speaker 1: we didn't ask her to be a part of it.

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Speaker 1: We asked her to you know, feature in it. It

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Speaker 1: was a cold ask, and we were like a generation

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Speaker 1: a part where our teachers had been her students. Before

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Speaker 1: she got on SNL, way before Parks, she was teaching improv.

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Speaker 1: This was like funny, like funny enough, I think years ago,

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Speaker 1: like in her I don't know whatever press periods, she

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Speaker 1: was always like I could always fall back on teaching

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Speaker 1: improv again always, you know, can you imagine taking improv

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Speaker 1: from Amy Poehler like that is magic and then also

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Speaker 1: also funny because like, sure, I can idealize her, but

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Speaker 1: she was probably a human being and complex and tired

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Speaker 1: at some points or annoyed at some points, Like that

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Speaker 1: is just so funny to imagine. So our improv teacher,

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Speaker 1: like the head of UC at the time, had been

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Speaker 1: her student, and we were like, would you ever consider

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Speaker 1: forwarding an email to her? You know, like we didn't

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Speaker 1: even like ask very directly, but he was like, yeah,

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Speaker 1: she's gonna love this. And then it turned out she

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Speaker 1: had heard about us already. And then the ass was

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Speaker 1: so I think finite and specific and you could grasp

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Speaker 1: it right. It's a one scene featuring in one scene,

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Speaker 1: and we'll shoot it wherever, wherever the hell you want.

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Speaker 1: So she chose around the corner from her house. She

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Speaker 1: has two boys under four years old. At this point,

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Speaker 1: she and her baby and her youngest her nanny, walked

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Speaker 1: around the corner from her apartment. We were already set up,

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Speaker 1: ready to go, and we got her out in an hour.

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Speaker 1: My parents drove from Long Island and we filmed out

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Speaker 1: the back of their car. The director and DP of

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Speaker 1: that episode shooting a camera out the trunk of the

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Speaker 1: prius and Amy and us were running down Cherry Lane.

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Speaker 1: I mean, just crazy without me, save yourself.

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Speaker 3: You just leave her one set in my bag a lot.

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Speaker 1: I mean, I'm telling you, it's like still, I'm just like, damn,

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Speaker 1: was that a dream? You know, Like I'm so oh

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Speaker 1: my gosh, so grateful for these memories in my mind

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Speaker 1: and body. So we had a good time, Like we

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Speaker 1: had a We got along very well and like lightly

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Speaker 1: touched on expanding and we were like already planning to

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Speaker 1: pitch it and writing a pilot to uh to pitch

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Speaker 1: and go to LA for a couple months and try

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Speaker 1: to sell it. And I feel like Jonah Hill was

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Speaker 1: like also looking at the web series and we were

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Speaker 1: like yeah, Like Jonah Hill is like you know, asked

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Speaker 1: about it, just like yeah, yeah, and she was like okay,

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Speaker 1: all right. But then afterwards we like sent her the

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Speaker 1: episode and we had created these parties around a season

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Speaker 1: one and a season two, so we had this event

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Speaker 1: around the season two and people were like dying that

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Speaker 1: she was on screen when we showed it, and then

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Speaker 1: we formally asked her if she would want to attach

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Speaker 1: as executive producer and she did and we were planning

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Speaker 1: already to go to La and pitch it, but this

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Speaker 1: time we were bringing Amy with us and it was phenomenal.

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Speaker 1: We met her after that, after she agreed to be

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Speaker 1: a part of it, and we had a pitch in

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Speaker 1: a script, but we really needed her scope and her purview.

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Speaker 1: We met up for lunch and she had like a

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Speaker 1: legal pad with notes about what she loved about thirty

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Speaker 1: four of the webisodes and that I was like floating

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Speaker 1: out of my body.

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Speaker 3: Before they knew it.

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Speaker 2: Broad City was picked up and greenlit by Comedy Central,

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Speaker 2: and it quickly had a cult following.

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Speaker 3: Throughout its five season run.

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Speaker 2: The show received critical acclaim and has been ranked among

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Speaker 2: the best television shows of the twenty tens. Night They

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Speaker 2: are the creators, writers, and stars of Comedy Central's Great

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Speaker 2: broad City.

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Speaker 6: Plea was welcome.

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Speaker 3: Ho me tell you're sending a lot of geyser. Come on,

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Speaker 3: I've not seen the show.

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Speaker 4: It is very funny.

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Speaker 2: I probably it's called broad City.

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Speaker 1: You can watch it Wednesday night, ten thirty on Comedy Central.

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Speaker 3: That's Abby and Alana everybody.

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Speaker 2: But I feel like there's so many pieces in there

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Speaker 2: that are applicable for people in any industry in any phase,

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Speaker 2: Like you know, you guys were scrappy and putting it

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Speaker 2: together and you willed it and you put the work

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Speaker 2: in and you put it together and there's this dream

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Speaker 2: icon Amy Poehler, and you found a way not just

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Speaker 2: to get to her, but also to make it workable

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Speaker 2: for her.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and like there's this like the scrappiness is something

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Speaker 1: that I'm still accepting about myself. And I have to say,

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Speaker 1: like it's kind of entire like a sense of entitlement,

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Speaker 1: Like shouldn't it be more like streamlined or sleek the process?

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Speaker 1: Like even this movie Babes Babes was as scrappy as

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Speaker 1: making broad City, the web series like crazy. And Pamela

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Speaker 1: Adlon is so scrappy too, And Michelle Buto has been

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Speaker 1: doing comedy for twenty three years. I mean we just

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Speaker 1: did Hoda and Jenna the other morning and it was

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Speaker 1: like a trivia question she used to do, like stand

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Speaker 1: up in a strip club and her payment was like

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Speaker 1: hot food, you know, like we have just And Pamela

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Speaker 1: is the scrappiest, Like the texture of her voice is

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Speaker 1: her character, you know what I mean, Like she's down

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Speaker 1: to get down and dirty, and like you know when

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Speaker 1: we were making Babes. I was like, damn, like I

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Speaker 1: wish this was. It was an indie movie, it was

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Speaker 1: a small budget. We made it like hardcore. And Jeff

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Speaker 1: Kimmer cinematographer, an elegant man, a man of beauty, like

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Speaker 1: made this movie look like it cost twenty five million dollars,

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Speaker 1: thirty million dollars. It looks like a nor Efron movie,

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Speaker 1: or a or a Rob Reiner or a jud movie.

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Speaker 1: But like it was so scrappy and it was seven

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Speaker 1: million dollars. It was a scrappy indie movie that especially

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Speaker 1: in New York City. Your dollar doesn't go afoot in

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Speaker 1: New York City. And I don't know talking about this

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Speaker 1: today and like remembering how that was actually the sort

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Speaker 1: of like I'm thinking of guitar string, like the vibration

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Speaker 1: on which we were meeting Amy, It's like that's who

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Speaker 1: I am.

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Speaker 2: As I do these interviews, it's always so interesting to

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Speaker 2: live in both the past and the present with each guest,

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Speaker 2: to listen to them as they discover their connections between

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Speaker 2: what they did pre pivot and how it brought them

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Speaker 2: to this moment. After the advertisements, Alana talks about her present,

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Speaker 2: her latest project, Babes, which lives in that same guitar

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Speaker 2: string she spoke about in Doing What She Does Best.

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Speaker 2: Alana and her co writer Joshua Binowitz ridge the complexities

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Speaker 2: of friendship, pregnancy, and parenting, all while being hilarious and

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Speaker 2: deeply honest. It's a movie that showcases the wit and

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Speaker 2: intelligence we all know and love for Milana more after

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Speaker 2: the break. Okay, So I want to hear about Babes

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Speaker 2: as a parent and specifically as a mom of three.

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Speaker 2: I was so excited when I heard about this film.

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Speaker 1: Babes is the story of two best friends who are

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Speaker 1: in very different places their lives. Don played by Michelle Buteaux,

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Speaker 1: has two kids and a husband, sort of a standard situation,

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Speaker 1: and my character Eden is a free spirit and spontaneous

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Speaker 1: and naive, completely clueless to the responsibilities that it takes

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Speaker 1: to have a child. And when she gets pregnant by

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Speaker 1: a one night stand, she decides to keep the baby

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Speaker 1: and it tests the friendship of Eden and Down played

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Speaker 1: by me and Michelle Buteau, this movie is I gotta

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Speaker 1: tell you, gotta be honest.

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Speaker 3: It's hilarious.

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Speaker 1: It's so funny you're missing jokes in the theater it's

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Speaker 1: worth seeing in the theater to laugh with your damn neighbor,

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Speaker 1: and then the cries sneak up on you. People keep

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Speaker 1: telling me I did not know I was gonna be

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Speaker 1: crying three times, and I'm loving it. I'm starting to

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Speaker 1: get addicted to those tears.

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Speaker 4: Crying my eyes out. I just got out of the

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Speaker 4: New Babes movie. It was like a release premiere thing,

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Speaker 4: and they did like a Q and A in the beginning. Anyway,

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Speaker 4: Alana Glazer and Michelle Buteau. I love this movie so much.

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Speaker 4: It really touches on like how friendships change after one

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Speaker 4: or the other have a baby in the most beautiful

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Speaker 4: way possible. Bitch. All I can say is, go watch

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Speaker 4: it now, bitch, go watch it. Really.

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Speaker 1: Am I pregnant? Yeah, single mom? She may not keep the.

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Speaker 2: Baby in choice right right? Single that's friend gets so

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Speaker 2: screwed over in adulthood.

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Speaker 1: You and me, we're family. I'm scared of the decision

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Speaker 1: I made, but it just feels like destiny, and this

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Speaker 1: is Destiny's in file.

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Speaker 2: The baby.

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Speaker 1: So I am taking more pleasure in this press period

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Speaker 1: for my new movie Babes that I have in press

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Speaker 1: periods prior. I'm taking more genuine pleasure, enjoying it more

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Speaker 1: than I have before.

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Speaker 6: West twenty twenty four. I am beyond thrilled to be

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Speaker 6: here with the team behind Babes. Your movie was wonderful.

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Speaker 6: I love so much about it, in particular your chemistry together,

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Speaker 6: your friendship. It just like radiates off the screen and

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Speaker 6: it filled my heart.

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Speaker 2: Oh boy, this movie is so good.

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Speaker 5: Thank you.

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Speaker 6: And it's so funny, and you're so good in it,

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Speaker 6: and I'm just I'm thrilled to death for it.

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Speaker 1: Thank you. Yeah, it's are you? Are you excited?

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Speaker 4: Boy?

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Speaker 1: It's coming out? When is it coming out? It's coming

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Speaker 1: out in select cities May seventeenth, and expands and expands

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Speaker 1: the twenty fourth.

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Speaker 4: Did you yourself? Personally?

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Speaker 5: Everybody is DJ Envy, Jess, Hilarious, Charlamage, the guy.

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Speaker 3: We are the breakfast club. We got some special guest

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Speaker 3: in the building who keep a job.

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Speaker 1: Both from the new film day. Also, press is like

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Speaker 1: such an insane part of the job.

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Speaker 3: But to do it with Michelle we have been just left.

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Speaker 1: Its sloopy.

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Speaker 2: I don't I haven't figured out my dosage yet, but

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Speaker 2: I don't need it.

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Speaker 1: Just do press, you know what I mean? So Babes

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Speaker 1: is interesting.

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Speaker 2: I feel like this through line between Broad City with

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Speaker 2: a number of pieces that you did in between and

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Speaker 2: then coming now to Babes. Like the reason that I

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Speaker 2: do this podcast is to kind of show like the

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Speaker 2: intersection of personal and professional when we have this narrative

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Speaker 2: that everything professional we do is just for professional factors,

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Speaker 2: like that's a good job, it's a good movie, like's

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Speaker 2: I made that decision, And then we also try to

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Speaker 2: cover up things when we make them for personal reasons,

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Speaker 2: so like if you leave the workforce to like have

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Speaker 2: a kid or take care of a sick parent or

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Speaker 2: move or something, we like come up with these ridiculous

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Speaker 2: reasons why we did instead of just saying why we

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Speaker 2: made these choices, Like how have you thought about this

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Speaker 2: intersection of personal and professional?

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Speaker 1: I feel like there's this conversation ten years ago of

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Speaker 1: like women compartmentalizing, and it like feels so like harsh

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Speaker 1: and untrue and binary to me of kind of what

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Speaker 1: you're saying of like separating these pieces and keeping them distant.

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Speaker 1: It has been hard to sift through and organize and

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Speaker 1: understand and hold all of it because Abby's name is

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Speaker 1: Abby and my name is Alana and that was our

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Speaker 1: character's names. And I chose Wexler and that's my mom's

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Speaker 1: maiden name. And Abbie chose Abrams for her character's last name,

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Speaker 1: and that's her grandma's made a name. I think a

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Speaker 1: big something that's been that feels very different for me

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Speaker 1: in a personal sense is that broad City was like

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Speaker 1: this character that I wished I could be. She was

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Speaker 1: so free and she was so wild, you know. And

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Speaker 1: I think, especially once Broad City became a thing, even

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Speaker 1: a web series that people knew, but especially on TV,

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Speaker 1: like a sort of painful self awareness kicked in where

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Speaker 1: I was not as free as the character was. And

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Speaker 1: with Babes it's been it's been so you know, broad City.

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Speaker 1: I learned absolutely everything I've learned. I learned everything I

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Speaker 1: know about this business from Broad City. We made fifty episodes,

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Speaker 1: and ending broad City choicefully was like also kind of

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Speaker 1: a miracle, you know, creatively, I think as artists it's

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Speaker 1: a rare opportunity to be able to choose an ending.

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Speaker 1: And with Babes, I mean, just the pleasure I took

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Speaker 1: in the process, having gone through all the training in

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Speaker 1: the boot camp of broad City, it was like it

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Speaker 1: was so fun I felt like I was returning to

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Speaker 1: camp actually, and it was really fun. And I think

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Speaker 1: my character of Eden and Babes like I'm pushing less

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Speaker 1: and more just like being being her more rather than

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Speaker 1: like conjuring and adding and jumping and leaping. You know,

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Speaker 1: it was I think I had a sense of being

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Speaker 1: enough much more during Babes than in Broad City. And

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Speaker 1: now my daughter's three, having a real kiddo, not just

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Speaker 1: like a new born baby, I feel so rooted, and

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Speaker 1: I feel like in the same way that I continue

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Speaker 1: to discover things about my kN and she keeps unfolding

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Speaker 1: and uncovering herself to me.

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Speaker 2: I find the same thing with the movie.

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Speaker 1: It's meaning. You know, we made the movie, we fucking

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Speaker 1: did it, But then it's layers of meaning keep uncovering

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Speaker 1: themselves to me, and it's magical.

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Speaker 2: Well, this is a really interesting point about like the

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Speaker 2: personal and professional that you did get to end it

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Speaker 2: on your own terms. Was it because there were personal

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Speaker 2: factors at play like that you were just done? I mean,

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Speaker 2: as you're talking about them, thinking, oh my god, I cannot.

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Speaker 2: I mean, I was not as funny or talented as you,

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Speaker 2: But like if I had put something out that was

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Speaker 2: a version of my twenty two year old self. I

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Speaker 2: would have been cringe mortified by it immediately.

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Speaker 1: Yes, yes, and like I'm you know, it's like I

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Speaker 1: actually like haven't watched it since it aired, because it

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Speaker 1: is like the most intense, nuanced specific photo albums or

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Speaker 1: home videos. You know, it's like personal to me, and

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Speaker 1: it's like I'm laugh and I'm crying. It's like so

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Speaker 1: so emotional, but like it cracks me up. I love it.

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Speaker 1: I am so proud of the series and of this

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Speaker 1: as art and as a record of a time. But

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Speaker 1: then there's also this cringe factor just that time has

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Speaker 1: passed and that we're human and that I'm like X

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Speaker 1: number of years further along my personal timeline. You know.

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Speaker 1: We also felt like we had so thoroughly covered our

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Speaker 1: twenties and wanted to push these characters into their new chapters,

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Speaker 1: but not cover those chapters. You know. Creatively, we really

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Speaker 1: were like this has been so funny and good and

436
00:23:28,040 --> 00:23:30,280
Speaker 1: we are so proud of this, and it really felt

437
00:23:30,359 --> 00:23:32,960
Speaker 1: naturally like it between us came to an end. You know,

438
00:23:33,040 --> 00:23:37,320
Speaker 1: our contract was for seven seasons, and it was a

439
00:23:37,359 --> 00:23:40,879
Speaker 1: really uncomfortable and painful conversation A series of conversations that

440
00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:43,000
Speaker 1: we had to have to end it, but it felt

441
00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:46,080
Speaker 1: like we really again. I was thirty two by the

442
00:23:46,119 --> 00:23:48,960
Speaker 1: time the TV show ended twenty two when the web

443
00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:51,120
Speaker 1: series started, so a third of my life I had

444
00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:54,959
Speaker 1: been in this broad city vortex, which I loved and

445
00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:58,120
Speaker 1: I still love, but had had to pull my head

446
00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:00,000
Speaker 1: out of the sand to see who else I am

447
00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:02,679
Speaker 1: and how we started this conversation, you know, where I'm like,

448
00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:06,800
Speaker 1: these patterns they're not me, you know, they're not me.

449
00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:08,720
Speaker 1: And my husband and I talk about it with just

450
00:24:08,760 --> 00:24:10,600
Speaker 1: each of us, both of us all the time, where

451
00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:14,040
Speaker 1: it's like these anxieties, these stories, even these desires and

452
00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:16,880
Speaker 1: hopes and dreams. Like I also had tricked myself into

453
00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:20,639
Speaker 1: thinking that productivity was an identity, you know, or a

454
00:24:20,640 --> 00:24:23,560
Speaker 1: personality trait or something about me. And I've always been

455
00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:27,840
Speaker 1: ambitious and generative, but there's such external factors and such

456
00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:32,240
Speaker 1: like capitalism embedded in encouraging productivity, you know what I mean,

457
00:24:32,359 --> 00:24:35,040
Speaker 1: Like I don't want to be a worker twenty four

458
00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:36,679
Speaker 1: to seven. I also just want to be like a

459
00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:40,240
Speaker 1: mushy pile that my kid can jump on, you know,

460
00:24:40,359 --> 00:24:44,280
Speaker 1: Like it's I'm so I feel so grateful for having

461
00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:46,639
Speaker 1: the opportunity to have a healthy kid, because it's just

462
00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:50,200
Speaker 1: like those moments where the way that you think life

463
00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:51,440
Speaker 1: is organized just isn't.

464
00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:54,840
Speaker 3: Life always has a way of surprising us.

465
00:24:55,119 --> 00:24:58,000
Speaker 2: I never thought i'd leave politics, but then I had

466
00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:01,200
Speaker 2: my three kids and everything changed. As for a lot

467
00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:04,200
Speaker 2: of the opposite happened to her after the twenty sixteen election,

468
00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:07,280
Speaker 2: and she made another of her pivots into political organizing.

469
00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:10,199
Speaker 2: When we come back, a lot of talks about founding

470
00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:19,920
Speaker 2: Generator Collective and what's ahead with this year's election looming. Okay,

471
00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:21,960
Speaker 2: I want to make sure that we're also cover your

472
00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:23,680
Speaker 2: pivot into starting Generator.

473
00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:27,119
Speaker 5: So twenty sixteen hit and Donald Duck as I like

474
00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:31,600
Speaker 5: to call him, was elected president, and I found myself

475
00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:36,720
Speaker 5: questioning things the way what this country is, who.

476
00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:40,399
Speaker 1: I am in it? And I think also as a

477
00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:43,679
Speaker 1: white person, I like really had to look at the

478
00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:49,760
Speaker 1: system operating as intended and you know, you know, rather

479
00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:52,119
Speaker 1: than being like, but this is awful, and it's like

480
00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:55,560
Speaker 1: it actually was truly built this way or organized around

481
00:25:55,680 --> 00:25:59,760
Speaker 1: this principle. And so I think, like my values that

482
00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:02,840
Speaker 1: I I grew up with and also you know, expressed

483
00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:06,760
Speaker 1: on broad city started, I started seeing them more clearly

484
00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:10,280
Speaker 1: and being able to claim them and claim my role

485
00:26:10,440 --> 00:26:13,520
Speaker 1: in advocacy and activism. And you know, we did a

486
00:26:13,560 --> 00:26:17,160
Speaker 1: lot of different things. Generator as a collective had conversation

487
00:26:17,280 --> 00:26:19,879
Speaker 1: like I, I'll host conversations with you know, I was

488
00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:23,639
Speaker 1: lucky to talk to Gloria Steinem and Amanda Winn and

489
00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:27,240
Speaker 1: Eric Holder and Jumanni Williams, the public Advocate for New

490
00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:29,960
Speaker 1: York and Cynthia Nixon when she was running against Cuomo,

491
00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:35,680
Speaker 1: which was an unbelievable Mitzvah dance party is called Jenny Socials,

492
00:26:35,800 --> 00:26:39,080
Speaker 1: where we dance for twenty or thirty minutes at a time.

493
00:26:39,119 --> 00:26:41,200
Speaker 1: Then we take the little breaks to get cheat sheets

494
00:26:41,240 --> 00:26:44,159
Speaker 1: for the voting booth for whatever upcoming election is next.

495
00:26:44,600 --> 00:26:47,119
Speaker 1: And then when COVID hit, we actually were on tour.

496
00:26:47,680 --> 00:26:49,680
Speaker 1: I was doing a stand up tour in every city

497
00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:52,879
Speaker 1: I was going to adding a Jenny Social onto that city.

498
00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:56,040
Speaker 1: Because of lockdown, we couldn't do these Generator conversations. We

499
00:26:56,040 --> 00:26:59,680
Speaker 1: couldn't do Jenny Socials, So we pivoted to digital messaging

500
00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:02,280
Speaker 1: and owned our sweet spot there. We found that we

501
00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:05,399
Speaker 1: can actually reach more people with cheat sheet for the

502
00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:09,240
Speaker 1: voting booth as digital graphics and cover more ground. You

503
00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:11,720
Speaker 1: can actually take this cheat sheet into the voting booth

504
00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:17,520
Speaker 1: in Key States. Welcome to microdos democracy parrot by Generator. Okay,

505
00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:21,120
Speaker 1: we are exhausted. Every four years we get screamed at

506
00:27:21,160 --> 00:27:24,159
Speaker 1: for months about the upcoming presidential election and it's just

507
00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:28,200
Speaker 1: it's just gross and a blows. So we're here because

508
00:27:28,200 --> 00:27:30,880
Speaker 1: we don't want to trip balls on democracy next year.

509
00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:34,000
Speaker 1: We want a microdose, take a little bit consistently over

510
00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:36,920
Speaker 1: time to create foundational change. As a white led organization,

511
00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:39,359
Speaker 1: we hear a generator collective are in a safer position

512
00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:40,320
Speaker 1: to call out white people.

513
00:27:40,359 --> 00:27:40,960
Speaker 4: So here goes.

514
00:27:41,880 --> 00:27:45,600
Speaker 1: In twenty twenty, forty one percent of white millennials voted

515
00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:50,080
Speaker 1: for Trump. What have you read a voting plan yet?

516
00:27:50,119 --> 00:27:52,840
Speaker 3: Because it's not nothing. It's like who are you voting for?

517
00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:53,600
Speaker 4: Work? Are you witting early?

518
00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:55,480
Speaker 1: Are you voting asentee? Are you voting in person?

519
00:27:55,840 --> 00:27:55,919
Speaker 4: Like?

520
00:27:56,320 --> 00:27:59,640
Speaker 1: Make about a plan today? So you heard it here first,

521
00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:02,400
Speaker 1: going to keep the House and keep the Senate. And

522
00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:04,439
Speaker 1: this is the year that the most Gen Z and

523
00:28:04,480 --> 00:28:06,440
Speaker 1: millennials are going to turn out for the mentrumps.

524
00:28:08,840 --> 00:28:10,399
Speaker 2: You know what? So I'm asking people like, what is

525
00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:12,879
Speaker 2: like the big thing that was so big that it

526
00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:16,280
Speaker 2: cataclysmically changed your perspective and then you change your career.

527
00:28:16,680 --> 00:28:20,119
Speaker 2: And I anticipated COVID coming up a lot, and it does.

528
00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:23,800
Speaker 2: But something that came up that comes up more than

529
00:28:23,800 --> 00:28:28,160
Speaker 2: I anticipated was twenty sixteen and the election of Donald Trump.

530
00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:32,080
Speaker 2: It actually comes up a lot. And like in in stories,

531
00:28:32,119 --> 00:28:34,119
Speaker 2: I didn't think I would hear. I mean, yours is

532
00:28:34,119 --> 00:28:36,280
Speaker 2: about founding a political organization, so I thought I might

533
00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:37,960
Speaker 2: hear it. I don't know, but you know, you know,

534
00:28:38,200 --> 00:28:42,000
Speaker 2: it really does come up a lot, which indicates to

535
00:28:42,040 --> 00:28:43,400
Speaker 2: me when I think about when I kind of put

536
00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:46,240
Speaker 2: my political strategists hat back on that there's something very

537
00:28:46,320 --> 00:28:49,760
Speaker 2: visceral for women about that moment. It's not intellectual, but

538
00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:53,960
Speaker 2: it's actually visceral and emotional. And although we get into

539
00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:55,840
Speaker 2: like you know, this polling and this horse racing and

540
00:28:55,840 --> 00:28:59,320
Speaker 2: the strategy right now talking about the presidential that thing

541
00:28:59,440 --> 00:29:03,040
Speaker 2: will take over when we get into the fall. I'm

542
00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:06,200
Speaker 2: hoping and that it's not going to be an intellectual moment,

543
00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:08,160
Speaker 2: but it's going to be a visceral moment.

544
00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:12,640
Speaker 1: I hope you're right, because I don't want him in

545
00:29:12,760 --> 00:29:17,400
Speaker 1: office again. But you know, it's just I think, like

546
00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:21,719
Speaker 1: the to once again see in the past seven months,

547
00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:25,520
Speaker 1: the system operating is intended, this harsh way in which

548
00:29:25,520 --> 00:29:29,360
Speaker 1: the world works, and we've accepted for so long, and

549
00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:32,480
Speaker 1: it's just it's tough. And like what you say about

550
00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:36,880
Speaker 1: the youth and this headline being a theme, a recurring themes,

551
00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:39,720
Speaker 1: it's just the one thing that's different is that we're

552
00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:43,320
Speaker 1: communicating at a higher speed and higher volume than we

553
00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:46,480
Speaker 1: ever have before in human history. But I'm definitely just

554
00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:49,960
Speaker 1: like in comedy, I'm trying to grow with my generation

555
00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:53,200
Speaker 1: and keep you know, entertaining them and making them laugh,

556
00:29:53,240 --> 00:29:56,400
Speaker 1: but also making a space in comedy, making a space

557
00:29:56,560 --> 00:29:59,920
Speaker 1: for them to reflect and feel, and in politics, make

558
00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:04,520
Speaker 1: a space for people to have the minimum civic engagement

559
00:30:04,600 --> 00:30:07,560
Speaker 1: they need to change the system at a foundational level.

560
00:30:08,240 --> 00:30:09,880
Speaker 2: So what is that going to look like for you

561
00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:12,000
Speaker 2: over the next couple of months. You think you're going

562
00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:15,240
Speaker 2: to stick with the online content, you know, I don't

563
00:30:15,280 --> 00:30:17,760
Speaker 2: really know, Like I know we're sticking with the online content.

564
00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:19,160
Speaker 2: I know we're going to be doing.

565
00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:23,160
Speaker 1: Some We did also like a microdos democracy series where

566
00:30:23,440 --> 00:30:26,120
Speaker 1: you know, people don't want to be like tripping balls

567
00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:30,520
Speaker 1: on democracy and it's like vote vote and forced into

568
00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:33,040
Speaker 1: a corner. So I believe we will be doing a

569
00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:36,360
Speaker 1: cheat sheet for the voting booth and or a microdos democracy.

570
00:30:37,080 --> 00:30:40,200
Speaker 1: But damn, this year, like things have really changed. You know,

571
00:30:40,320 --> 00:30:44,120
Speaker 1: things were I think clear until I don't even know

572
00:30:44,120 --> 00:30:46,080
Speaker 1: how to say this, but things have changed. I mean

573
00:30:46,120 --> 00:30:49,280
Speaker 1: things have changed in the past seven months that have

574
00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:52,600
Speaker 1: made I think the task at hand even more nuanced

575
00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:55,920
Speaker 1: than before. People were like struggling to get it up

576
00:30:56,120 --> 00:31:00,640
Speaker 1: for Biden in twenty twenty even and it's different. The

577
00:31:00,680 --> 00:31:04,480
Speaker 1: landscape has changed. And something you know, so funny to hear, like, well,

578
00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:07,320
Speaker 1: the youth even engage in politics. Oh my god, now

579
00:31:07,360 --> 00:31:11,440
Speaker 1: we've seen eight years later, they're running politics and they're

580
00:31:11,760 --> 00:31:15,600
Speaker 1: resisting the two party system within from within from the

581
00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:18,600
Speaker 1: White House, like these young people who are working in government.

582
00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:21,280
Speaker 1: I think those young people know more than I do.

583
00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:23,880
Speaker 1: And the thing that I know that I know is

584
00:31:24,080 --> 00:31:26,720
Speaker 1: how to say something funny and quickly. But it's like

585
00:31:26,760 --> 00:31:29,600
Speaker 1: the ingredients for the stew are all there, but like

586
00:31:29,640 --> 00:31:31,080
Speaker 1: the proportions are changing.

587
00:31:32,120 --> 00:31:34,760
Speaker 2: So what is one thing that at the time you

588
00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:37,240
Speaker 2: thought was like a total negative, Like I'm never going

589
00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:41,120
Speaker 2: to get myself out of this I'm done, and now

590
00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:44,080
Speaker 2: you see it in retrospect. It really launched you to

591
00:31:44,120 --> 00:31:44,800
Speaker 2: where you are now.

592
00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:48,720
Speaker 1: I got into NYU kind of by the skin of

593
00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:51,080
Speaker 1: my teeth. I got into like, you know, I applied

594
00:31:51,120 --> 00:31:54,560
Speaker 1: early decision to try to ensure a spot, and I

595
00:31:54,800 --> 00:31:57,880
Speaker 1: got into this, like I didn't get into the normal

596
00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:00,720
Speaker 1: college I was applying to. I got into this like

597
00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:03,320
Speaker 1: general studies program more for like I think kids who

598
00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:05,080
Speaker 1: like went to public school and needed to catch up

599
00:32:05,080 --> 00:32:08,640
Speaker 1: on the basics before going to like the aftroviologe and I,

600
00:32:08,680 --> 00:32:12,000
Speaker 1: you know, I had all this financial aid and like

601
00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:14,400
Speaker 1: had all this like debt for you know, student debt,

602
00:32:14,960 --> 00:32:18,640
Speaker 1: and all of those things were part of what motivated

603
00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:23,880
Speaker 1: me to get into comedy. I wasn't in like, you know,

604
00:32:24,080 --> 00:32:28,600
Speaker 1: a normal program there, and everybody in that school was

605
00:32:28,640 --> 00:32:31,280
Speaker 1: working really hard to get to the college they had

606
00:32:31,280 --> 00:32:34,720
Speaker 1: originally applied to, and the financial aid. I was like

607
00:32:34,760 --> 00:32:38,040
Speaker 1: just obsessed with like working and saving money and being

608
00:32:38,040 --> 00:32:41,160
Speaker 1: able to do, you know, to live and you know,

609
00:32:41,200 --> 00:32:44,640
Speaker 1: then I learned how to make that money for broad

610
00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:47,680
Speaker 1: City and spend it on the web series, and you know,

611
00:32:47,720 --> 00:32:49,840
Speaker 1: it was really freed me up to be in the

612
00:32:49,840 --> 00:32:53,440
Speaker 1: comedy scene night, every night, doing sketch, stand up and

613
00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:57,360
Speaker 1: improv in those early days, starting at nineteen. So you know,

614
00:32:57,760 --> 00:32:59,760
Speaker 1: while I felt like felt like I had been like

615
00:33:00,040 --> 00:33:03,760
Speaker 1: Jack in a way and sort of like renting a seat,

616
00:33:03,880 --> 00:33:07,360
Speaker 1: it was the motivation that really actually catapulted me straight

617
00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:11,120
Speaker 1: into the comedy scene, where I staked out a permanent claim.

618
00:33:11,440 --> 00:33:13,160
Speaker 2: You hit the perfect note, you got it all, you

619
00:33:13,240 --> 00:33:15,640
Speaker 2: nailed it. Thank you so much, Alana, Thank you so

620
00:33:15,720 --> 00:33:18,520
Speaker 2: much for having me. You're just so great to have

621
00:33:18,520 --> 00:33:19,160
Speaker 2: a conversation with.

622
00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:19,880
Speaker 1: I appreciate it.

623
00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:21,000
Speaker 3: You're the best.

624
00:33:23,720 --> 00:33:26,680
Speaker 2: Alana still lives in New York with her adorable daughter

625
00:33:26,680 --> 00:33:29,360
Speaker 2: and husband. I truly don't know how she does it,

626
00:33:29,400 --> 00:33:32,440
Speaker 2: because not only is Babes the hit comedy of the year,

627
00:33:32,800 --> 00:33:35,200
Speaker 2: but she's still running Generator Collective as a way to

628
00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:37,000
Speaker 2: get us politically active and motivated.

629
00:33:37,600 --> 00:33:39,520
Speaker 3: Be sure to go see Babes in theaters. It is

630
00:33:39,560 --> 00:33:41,440
Speaker 3: a must see, so make a whole light of it.

631
00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:43,400
Speaker 2: Get your friends, maybe even sneak in some of your

632
00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:47,000
Speaker 2: snacks but you didn't hear that here, Get some popcorn.

633
00:33:46,680 --> 00:33:49,239
Speaker 3: And tissues and enjoy tag us.

634
00:33:49,240 --> 00:33:51,040
Speaker 2: If you go see Babes, and make sure to follow

635
00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:53,600
Speaker 2: Alana on Instagram at Alana by the way, are you

636
00:33:53,680 --> 00:33:56,240
Speaker 2: as impressed as me that she snagged that Instagram handle

637
00:33:56,840 --> 00:33:59,600
Speaker 2: and her political org At Generator Collective for all the

638
00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:01,320
Speaker 2: latest happenings talk.

639
00:34:01,160 --> 00:34:01,840
Speaker 3: To you next week.

640
00:34:03,920 --> 00:34:07,200
Speaker 2: Thanks for listening to this episode of she Pivots. If

641
00:34:07,200 --> 00:34:09,640
Speaker 2: you made it this far, you're a true pivot So

642
00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:12,560
Speaker 2: thanks for being part of this community. I hope you

643
00:34:12,680 --> 00:34:15,400
Speaker 2: enjoyed this episode, and if you did leave us a rating,

644
00:34:15,600 --> 00:34:18,600
Speaker 2: please be nice. Tell your friends about us. To learn

645
00:34:18,640 --> 00:34:21,400
Speaker 2: more about our guests, follow us on Instagram at she

646
00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:24,480
Speaker 2: Pivots the Podcast, or sign up for our newsletter where

647
00:34:24,520 --> 00:34:27,160
Speaker 2: you can get exclusive behind the scenes content, or on

648
00:34:27,200 --> 00:34:30,080
Speaker 2: our website she Pivots the Podcast Talk to You next

649
00:34:30,160 --> 00:34:36,920
Speaker 2: Week special thanks to the she Pivots team, Executive producer

650
00:34:37,200 --> 00:34:41,960
Speaker 2: Emily eda Velosik, Associate producer and social media connoisseur Hannah Cousins,

651
00:34:42,400 --> 00:34:47,400
Speaker 2: Research director Christine Dickinson, Events and logistics coordinator Madeline Sonovak,

652
00:34:47,640 --> 00:34:51,960
Speaker 2: and audio editor and mixer Nina Pollock I endorse she

653
00:34:52,360 --> 00:35:01,400
Speaker 2: Pivots