WEBVTT - TODD Farewell 0:00:05.120 --> 0:00:09.160 Hello everybody. It's Brian Baumgartner here and I played Kevin 0:00:09.200 --> 0:00:12.840 Malone on the Office, and I also host this podcast. 0:00:18.960 --> 0:00:24.400 Hello everybody, and welcome to another episode of The Office 0:00:24.440 --> 0:00:28.440 Deep Dive. In fact, it's our final episode of The 0:00:28.520 --> 0:00:33.200 Office Deep Dive. As always, I am your host, Brian Baumgartner, 0:00:33.440 --> 0:00:35.839 and today we're going to do something a little different. 0:00:36.360 --> 0:00:39.559 You're going to hear from me, maybe more than you 0:00:39.640 --> 0:00:42.400 want to. But what I wanted to do today was 0:00:42.479 --> 0:00:46.160 to look back and finally tell the story of how 0:00:46.320 --> 0:00:50.080 all of this came to be, how this podcast came 0:00:50.120 --> 0:00:52.760 to be. And then I want to look forward into 0:00:52.960 --> 0:00:56.520 our vision for where this podcast goes next, for where 0:00:56.560 --> 0:00:58.760 it goes into the future, and let you know how 0:00:58.880 --> 0:01:03.960 excited we all are for our next iteration, which to 0:01:04.040 --> 0:01:07.280 be clear, will be available on the very same channel 0:01:07.520 --> 0:01:09.679 that you found this episode today. You don't have to 0:01:09.680 --> 0:01:13.040 go download a new podcast or go looking for me 0:01:13.120 --> 0:01:16.440 somewhere else. You'll find me in the very same place 0:01:16.520 --> 0:01:20.600 that I have been for the last year. But today 0:01:20.840 --> 0:01:26.880 is February eight and this podcast I launched started almost 0:01:27.080 --> 0:01:34.080 exactly one year ago today February ninth. Now I'm gonna 0:01:34.120 --> 0:01:38.600 go into the numbers, because you know I'm a numbers guy. 0:01:38.640 --> 0:01:41.039 I'm gonna go into the numbers over the last year, 0:01:41.120 --> 0:01:44.399 which are staggering and humbling to me and a little bit, 0:01:44.440 --> 0:01:48.840 but I want to start first. Back in September of 0:01:49.040 --> 0:01:54.400 twenty nineteen, now that is two and a half years ago. 0:01:55.200 --> 0:01:59.480 That's where this started. I was shooting a movie in Columbus, Georgia, 0:01:59.680 --> 0:02:04.120 a Drick Jesus available on all streaming platforms today, and 0:02:04.320 --> 0:02:08.560 I get a call from Ben Silverman saying he wants 0:02:08.600 --> 0:02:12.440 to talk to me. Now, if Ben Silverman calls and 0:02:12.480 --> 0:02:15.720 says he wants to talk to me, I make time 0:02:15.840 --> 0:02:19.800 to answer the phone. And I was on the East coast, 0:02:19.880 --> 0:02:22.160 he was on the West coast, and we agreed on 0:02:22.680 --> 0:02:26.640 eight thirty pm on the East coast, five thirty his time. 0:02:27.240 --> 0:02:32.440 And I get on the phone and I'm introduced to Lingley, 0:02:32.600 --> 0:02:35.440 who works for Ben. And Ben is on the phone 0:02:35.840 --> 0:02:41.200 and he says, look, we've been working with Spotify about 0:02:41.680 --> 0:02:46.320 doing a podcast on the office, and I want to 0:02:46.680 --> 0:02:49.800 know your thoughts or if you have any ideas about 0:02:49.840 --> 0:02:53.480 how we might approach a podcast on the office. And 0:02:53.480 --> 0:02:55.880 I said, well, this is amazing, and we run through 0:02:55.880 --> 0:02:58.800 a couple of ideas, and LNG has some ideas and 0:02:58.840 --> 0:03:01.520 Ben has some ideas, and I'm like, Okay, this is great. 0:03:02.080 --> 0:03:05.960 I'm in Columbus, Georgia, and I'm I'm I'm a little 0:03:06.000 --> 0:03:10.320 busy right now shooting this movie, so let's talk as 0:03:10.360 --> 0:03:14.839 soon as I'm back. So I return home and Ling 0:03:15.400 --> 0:03:19.400 contact me about having a meeting at their offices, and 0:03:19.440 --> 0:03:21.680 I'm thinking, Oh, I'm just going up and we're just 0:03:21.680 --> 0:03:24.920 going to kind of continue the conversation about the podcast. 0:03:24.960 --> 0:03:28.160 This is the idiot that I am. And I drive 0:03:28.280 --> 0:03:30.720 up and oh, I have this errand and it's taking 0:03:30.720 --> 0:03:34.720 me a little extra time. And send an email saying like, oh, 0:03:34.800 --> 0:03:36.840 you know, I'm gonna be a little bit later than 0:03:36.880 --> 0:03:40.280 I said, and um she says, no problem, no problem. 0:03:40.400 --> 0:03:44.320 And so I get to their offices and I walk 0:03:44.400 --> 0:03:49.120 into a conference room much like the conference room at 0:03:49.200 --> 0:03:52.440 dunder Mifflin, about the same size and shape actually, with 0:03:52.680 --> 0:03:55.680 a giant table in the middle. And I walk in 0:03:56.120 --> 0:04:00.200 and there's I don't know, twelve to fifteen people around 0:04:00.240 --> 0:04:03.760 the table, but it feels like fifty to me, and 0:04:03.800 --> 0:04:06.280 there's a spot at the head of the table which 0:04:06.320 --> 0:04:10.480 is clearly for me, and clearly they have been waiting 0:04:10.800 --> 0:04:14.440 there in this room for me, and so I think, oh, 0:04:14.520 --> 0:04:17.680 this was not what I thought. I thought we were 0:04:17.720 --> 0:04:22.360 having a casual conversation about how to maybe pursue this podcast. 0:04:22.720 --> 0:04:25.000 And then the next thing that happens is lying introduces 0:04:25.040 --> 0:04:29.040 me to the table as the executive producer of this podcast, 0:04:29.120 --> 0:04:33.080 The Office Podcast for Spotify, and I think, well, that's 0:04:33.120 --> 0:04:35.799 not exactly where I thought we were at this moment either. 0:04:36.560 --> 0:04:40.080 I hope I thought of something good to say, because 0:04:41.279 --> 0:04:46.279 now I feel completely on the spot And I had 0:04:46.360 --> 0:04:51.040 this idea we could have put together a podcast which 0:04:51.520 --> 0:04:54.200 would have been a well, we could have done a 0:04:54.240 --> 0:05:00.200 professorial explanation of why the Office is so great and 0:05:00.640 --> 0:05:03.880 all of the people who put it together are so great, 0:05:04.120 --> 0:05:08.919 and and lectured two our listeners. This this, that idea 0:05:09.040 --> 0:05:11.839 was not so interesting to me. But what was interesting 0:05:11.880 --> 0:05:16.000 to me was questions. And the question that I had, 0:05:16.080 --> 0:05:19.320 which was a true and real question at the time, 0:05:20.000 --> 0:05:25.200 was why is The Office bigger now than it was 0:05:25.400 --> 0:05:30.159 when we were a hit on NBC. Through conversations, most 0:05:30.200 --> 0:05:33.800 notably I would say Rain Wilson, definitely, Oscar nun Yez 0:05:33.880 --> 0:05:37.480 and Angela Kenzie and Jenna Fisher as well, but most 0:05:37.520 --> 0:05:41.560 notably Rain and I would talk and be like, man, 0:05:42.560 --> 0:05:45.719 I'm getting noticed a lot more in airports again now 0:05:45.839 --> 0:05:50.839 like it felt different, like palpably different in the world. 0:05:51.240 --> 0:05:55.719 And my question was true and legitimate, which is why. 0:05:55.880 --> 0:06:00.720 So this is November of and so we began work 0:06:01.040 --> 0:06:03.520 right away on this approach. But there was something that 0:06:03.560 --> 0:06:07.000 I knew that we needed. We had an essentially an 0:06:07.040 --> 0:06:11.320 eight hour order from Spotify. We knew we wanted to 0:06:11.320 --> 0:06:14.799 do was to talk to the key people involved. So 0:06:15.080 --> 0:06:19.560 immediately I go, well, we need some people's blessing and 0:06:20.040 --> 0:06:24.600 we need their agreement to participate. So I contact Greg 0:06:24.680 --> 0:06:30.800 Daniels and I asked for his blessing and participation, and 0:06:30.839 --> 0:06:34.239 he not only agreed to participate and gave me his blessing. 0:06:34.720 --> 0:06:39.120 He was genuinely excited right away, and I thought, Okay, 0:06:39.320 --> 0:06:44.880 well we've got Greg, which that's dad, that's huge. And 0:06:44.920 --> 0:06:49.480 then I contacted Rain Wilson and Steve Carrell and Jenna 0:06:49.520 --> 0:06:52.760 Fisher and Angela Kinsey because they had started Office Ladies 0:06:52.960 --> 0:06:56.559 and John Krasinski and I wanted to try to get 0:06:56.640 --> 0:07:01.279 some of our key people on board. Every single person 0:07:01.320 --> 0:07:05.760 I contacted said yes, I'm in. But I contacted Rain 0:07:05.800 --> 0:07:08.440 Wilson early and I said, well, will you sit down 0:07:08.480 --> 0:07:11.240 with me? And he says yes, But after the first 0:07:11.240 --> 0:07:13.800 of the year, I'm going to be shooting this movie. 0:07:13.960 --> 0:07:16.680 I'm going to be incredibly busy. I would love to 0:07:16.760 --> 0:07:22.880 do it. Can we do it now? Not? Well, sure, yes, 0:07:23.120 --> 0:07:28.600 we're We're prepared. And we talked for over two hours, 0:07:29.080 --> 0:07:32.200 and I had had this idea that if we're talking 0:07:32.200 --> 0:07:37.200 to everybody, aren't people gonna want to hear more from 0:07:37.240 --> 0:07:41.440 these people than just this eight hour story. Well, immediately 0:07:41.560 --> 0:07:46.800 after this interview, Lane turns to me and says, we've 0:07:46.840 --> 0:07:50.680 got to release these full interviews. We we have to 0:07:51.280 --> 0:07:54.400 because see, for us, there were two parts. One was 0:07:54.440 --> 0:07:57.000 to tell the story, but the other thing that was 0:07:57.120 --> 0:08:02.280 so exciting to me was to let people get to 0:08:02.440 --> 0:08:07.600 know the real people behind the roles that they had played. 0:08:08.280 --> 0:08:12.720 And I felt like that by me conducting these interviews, 0:08:13.480 --> 0:08:16.560 that you were going to hear these people in an 0:08:16.640 --> 0:08:20.040 unfiltered way and in a way that you had never 0:08:20.160 --> 0:08:25.760 heard them in a standard interview setting before. So we 0:08:25.800 --> 0:08:29.720 released Oral History of the Office through Spotify, and people 0:08:29.760 --> 0:08:33.600 seem to really like it, and we won a Webby 0:08:33.640 --> 0:08:37.040 Award for an Oral History of the Office and a 0:08:37.080 --> 0:08:40.600 Webby Award just basically just know this. It's like the 0:08:40.640 --> 0:08:44.640 Oscars of podcasts. Okay, that's that's at least how it's 0:08:44.679 --> 0:08:47.280 been explained to me. And you know, all of us 0:08:47.320 --> 0:08:52.880 were incredibly satisfied with the attention that in Oral History 0:08:52.920 --> 0:08:56.400 of the Office got because we put our heart and 0:08:56.559 --> 0:09:00.480 our soul into it. But I still said, we have 0:09:00.600 --> 0:09:03.839 to release these interviews. By the time we had completed 0:09:03.960 --> 0:09:07.000 interviewing folks for an Oral History of the Office, we 0:09:07.080 --> 0:09:11.600 had over a hundred hours of recorded interviews. I was like, 0:09:12.559 --> 0:09:15.559 we're just going to cut that down to eight and 0:09:15.720 --> 0:09:19.800 throw away over ninety two hours. See, there's some of 0:09:19.800 --> 0:09:23.000 the math at work, and that's where the Office Deep 0:09:23.040 --> 0:09:27.680 Dive was born. In a year plus, we've done seventy 0:09:27.760 --> 0:09:31.319 three podcast episodes over the last year. We've never taken 0:09:31.360 --> 0:09:35.720 a week off. We had forty eight guests, sixty three 0:09:35.920 --> 0:09:39.960 call in guests, so listeners like you who have called in, 0:09:40.679 --> 0:09:44.440 and we have total downloads of over twenty six million. 0:09:45.160 --> 0:09:51.720 That is staggering to me and deeply, deeply humbling that 0:09:52.800 --> 0:09:55.760 not only did you tune in for Steve Carell and 0:09:55.840 --> 0:10:00.319 John Krasinski. But you tuned in for people that may 0:10:00.440 --> 0:10:04.319 never have heard of before this podcast. I mean Greg 0:10:04.440 --> 0:10:09.920 daniels interviews still one of the highest listen to of 0:10:10.080 --> 0:10:16.679 all and crew members Debbie Pierce, Laverne, Kara KUSI those episodes. 0:10:16.880 --> 0:10:19.520 People are listening to them just as much as they're 0:10:19.520 --> 0:10:22.880 listening to some of the well let's just call them 0:10:22.880 --> 0:10:28.720 household names. So thank you for indulging us and and 0:10:28.800 --> 0:10:32.560 for listening to those people who without them, the office 0:10:32.720 --> 0:10:54.520 would certainly not be what it is. The moments that 0:10:54.960 --> 0:10:59.080 people gave me throughout the last year, moments that I 0:10:59.240 --> 0:11:04.160 never knew of out Mike Sure telling me that basically 0:11:04.200 --> 0:11:09.080 Steve Carrell saved people's jobs. I will never forget Mike 0:11:09.160 --> 0:11:12.559 Schuer saying when Steve was confronted with the idea of 0:11:12.600 --> 0:11:18.160 reducing the cast and his response was no, no, no, 0:11:18.160 --> 0:11:24.160 no no. I didn't know that from Laverne, are head 0:11:24.280 --> 0:11:29.000 makeup artist, telling me during the writer's strike about Greg 0:11:29.080 --> 0:11:32.520 Daniels writing a personal check to everybody on the crew 0:11:33.000 --> 0:11:35.880 because he wanted them to feel valued and he knew 0:11:35.880 --> 0:11:38.680 what a difficult time they were going through during the 0:11:38.679 --> 0:11:42.679 writer's strike at the holidays, I will never forget that, 0:11:42.720 --> 0:11:48.359 And I didn't know that before two Phillis and Alison 0:11:48.440 --> 0:11:53.880 Jones being reunited after so many years, Me and Steve 0:11:54.160 --> 0:11:57.880 having the opportunity to face time with Billie Eilish after 0:11:57.960 --> 0:12:02.680 she won fifty seven Grammy Awards the night before or whatever, 0:12:03.640 --> 0:12:06.120 and then hearing from so many of you. The greatest 0:12:06.320 --> 0:12:10.640 gift that the Office gave me, truly, and I mean 0:12:10.720 --> 0:12:15.720 this is being approached by fans who let us know 0:12:16.679 --> 0:12:21.880 how important it is for them to tell us that 0:12:21.960 --> 0:12:25.320 the Office has given them comfort during a very difficult time. 0:12:26.000 --> 0:12:29.240 The fact that the show has connected with people and 0:12:29.280 --> 0:12:32.880 continues to connect with people so strongly and has brought 0:12:32.960 --> 0:12:38.360 them comfort during times overseas, serving in the military, being 0:12:38.400 --> 0:12:43.560 hospitalized for a significant illness, having a family issue that 0:12:43.640 --> 0:12:46.480 they needed comfort for, that the Office has brought them comfort, 0:12:47.240 --> 0:12:50.720 and that people telling me giving me the gift of 0:12:50.800 --> 0:12:54.080 telling me that the Office has brought them comfort during 0:12:54.080 --> 0:12:57.280 a difficult time. That is the greatest gift that the 0:12:57.280 --> 0:12:59.920 show has given me, and this podcast has given me. 0:13:00.080 --> 0:13:03.320 Being able to connect with so many of you who 0:13:03.480 --> 0:13:08.559 called in, who wrote in questions, who had genuine curiosity 0:13:08.640 --> 0:13:11.760 about something or just wanted me to know that the 0:13:11.800 --> 0:13:14.440 office has given them comfort and that they continue to 0:13:14.480 --> 0:13:19.280 watch is I mean, how could that not be humbling? 0:13:19.880 --> 0:13:23.000 And I have to tell you this alright my mom, 0:13:23.120 --> 0:13:26.319 My mom listens to everything. Okay, let me be clear. 0:13:26.640 --> 0:13:31.000 She listens to everything all of the podcast, and she 0:13:31.120 --> 0:13:35.760 rarely responds or makes comments about them. But she told 0:13:35.800 --> 0:13:42.000 me that her absolute favorite episodes were the call in episodes. 0:13:42.320 --> 0:13:45.560 Hearing from so many of you. So I think that 0:13:45.960 --> 0:13:51.120 is a testament to one, well, my mom being cool, 0:13:51.679 --> 0:13:56.400 but also that everyone who has an opinion has value 0:13:56.440 --> 0:14:00.280 and that you guys have listened and responded to a again, 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:03.240 not just the big stars of the Office, but to 0:14:03.360 --> 0:14:07.360 everyone who worked on or was a fan of the show. 0:14:08.000 --> 0:14:14.280 You know, this podcast also has provided me with so many, 0:14:14.640 --> 0:14:22.200 uh incredibly surreal and beautiful moments. I've been to Scranton 0:14:22.560 --> 0:14:27.320 twice since this podcast journeys begin. What's better than that 0:14:27.600 --> 0:14:30.680 being able to go back to Scranton not just once, 0:14:31.240 --> 0:14:34.920 but twice through this process. As many of you know, 0:14:35.680 --> 0:14:39.400 I wrote a book, Welcome to dunder Mifflin. Myself and 0:14:39.440 --> 0:14:43.480 Ben Silverman co authored the book with Greg Daniels, who 0:14:43.520 --> 0:14:47.240 wrote the foreword. We talked to Chris Hasten, who took 0:14:47.440 --> 0:14:50.800 so many of the pictures never before seen pictures that 0:14:50.840 --> 0:14:55.000 are included in the book, and went back to Chandler 0:14:55.120 --> 0:14:59.760 Valley Studios are old home and walking in like it 0:15:00.120 --> 0:15:04.240 been so long and like I had just been there yesterday. 0:15:04.320 --> 0:15:09.840 I mean truly like goose bump moments. Seeing Tom Melby, 0:15:09.920 --> 0:15:13.240 the guy we worked with all of those years. Every 0:15:13.280 --> 0:15:16.440 single day he manages the stage there. And he showed 0:15:16.520 --> 0:15:19.920 up in the parking lot with his dunder Mifflin warehouse 0:15:19.920 --> 0:15:23.800 shirt on for us and telling us Ben Silverman and 0:15:23.840 --> 0:15:28.120 I about how he has to keep replacing the wind 0:15:28.200 --> 0:15:31.240 screen that he puts over the gate so that people 0:15:31.320 --> 0:15:34.120 don't just stand there and take pictures because now there 0:15:34.120 --> 0:15:37.160 are other shows and other shoots that are happening there. 0:15:37.600 --> 0:15:40.960 So he puts up a windscreen so that people can't 0:15:41.000 --> 0:15:43.800 stand there on the street and take pictures and be loud, 0:15:44.560 --> 0:15:47.560 and that he has to replace that because people come 0:15:47.720 --> 0:15:50.960 with a knife and they slit a hole in the 0:15:50.960 --> 0:15:54.160 windscreen so they can pry their car, they can pry 0:15:54.200 --> 0:15:56.200 it open so they can get their camera in to 0:15:56.240 --> 0:16:00.400 take pictures of the front of well fictional dunder Mifflin. 0:16:00.480 --> 0:16:03.680 But the front of Chandler Valley Studios. Was so awesome 0:16:03.800 --> 0:16:08.000 to be back. There so many incredible moments that have 0:16:08.080 --> 0:16:12.560 happened over the last year, and I'm so proud of 0:16:12.600 --> 0:16:15.400 this podcast and the conversations that I've been able to 0:16:15.440 --> 0:16:18.640 have with people. And look, I want to continue to 0:16:18.680 --> 0:16:21.400 talk to people. There are still more people from the 0:16:21.440 --> 0:16:24.720 office that we haven't spoken to, but I wanted to 0:16:24.800 --> 0:16:27.920 expand the podcast, and I wanted to talk to more 0:16:28.320 --> 0:16:31.200 of my other friends in the business and meet new 0:16:31.280 --> 0:16:36.360 friends who have worked on classic television shows and entertained 0:16:36.800 --> 0:16:41.440 me for years. I worked with a French director for 0:16:41.480 --> 0:16:44.240 a number of years in the theater and he taught 0:16:44.280 --> 0:16:46.160 me an important lesson. You may have heard this before 0:16:46.280 --> 0:16:48.640 from me, but this is obviously it's made an impact 0:16:48.840 --> 0:16:54.680 to me. And he taught me that comedy exists off 0:16:54.680 --> 0:16:59.040 the beat, that there's a predictable rhythm that a lot 0:16:59.120 --> 0:17:03.560 of comedy falls into, but the true comedy things that 0:17:03.720 --> 0:17:08.639 really make us laugh or surprise us happen off the beat. 0:17:08.720 --> 0:17:12.639 And Greg Daniels, then, I mean, the circle is so clear. 0:17:13.000 --> 0:17:17.040 Greg Daniels talks about that a lot with the office 0:17:17.080 --> 0:17:22.960 that he wanted to disrupt the predictable beat, the predictable 0:17:23.000 --> 0:17:26.560 timing of how things would happen, because he felt like 0:17:26.680 --> 0:17:31.800 that would surprise and delight audiences right from Pam and 0:17:31.880 --> 0:17:35.800 Jim getting engaged in the rain at a gas station, 0:17:36.480 --> 0:17:41.680 right not in the most romantic bridge with a babbling 0:17:41.760 --> 0:17:45.880 brook nearby, with flowers and flutes and no, that that 0:17:46.119 --> 0:17:50.439 surprising moment could bring more beauty than anything else. So 0:17:50.520 --> 0:17:53.000 my next podcast, that's what I decided to call it, 0:17:53.520 --> 0:17:55.720 Off the Beat, because I want to talk to people 0:17:56.240 --> 0:18:02.440 throughout television, other entertainers, other comedians, eventually other figures from 0:18:02.440 --> 0:18:06.080 the sports world, and talk to them not about what 0:18:06.160 --> 0:18:10.160 everybody talks to them about, their Emmy wins. We'll talk 0:18:10.200 --> 0:18:13.600 about that, but the moments that happened in their life 0:18:14.040 --> 0:18:18.280 off the beat, the unexpected moments that happened for them 0:18:18.359 --> 0:18:22.320 that truly make them one who they are and to 0:18:22.640 --> 0:18:26.080 make the choices that they make in their art or 0:18:26.119 --> 0:18:29.920 in their sport. So as we move forward, I'm so 0:18:30.040 --> 0:18:33.240 excited because I want to keep talking about folks who 0:18:33.240 --> 0:18:35.959 worked on the office. I have a couple of guests 0:18:36.000 --> 0:18:38.960 that I am I'm so excited, but you know a 0:18:39.000 --> 0:18:42.760 lot of them now are known for other works as well. 0:18:42.960 --> 0:18:45.960 So that's where we're going with this podcast. And I 0:18:46.040 --> 0:18:49.879 am so excited to continue to explore the same questions 0:18:50.240 --> 0:18:54.320 that we've been asking, but explore them with different artists 0:18:54.400 --> 0:18:59.119 who have excelled in their own areas of expertise for 0:18:59.280 --> 0:19:01.840 years and years, that have entertained us in one way 0:19:02.000 --> 0:19:05.840 or another, or at least that entertained me. Commune. It 0:19:05.960 --> 0:19:09.639 is my show, after all, right. I want to finish 0:19:09.680 --> 0:19:12.879 this look over the last year with my good friend 0:19:13.800 --> 0:19:18.160 Michael Padre, my co author of Welcome to dunder Mifflin 0:19:18.520 --> 0:19:21.320 Ben Silverman. I want to welcome him back onto the 0:19:21.359 --> 0:19:24.840 podcast here. I mean, look, he's the reason that the 0:19:24.880 --> 0:19:28.520 office exists in the United States. There, I mean, that's 0:19:28.560 --> 0:19:31.399 just a fact. He is the reason that, you know, 0:19:31.480 --> 0:19:34.680 the show and his insights on well, not just helping 0:19:34.720 --> 0:19:39.280 to put this podcast together and participate in allowing himself 0:19:39.400 --> 0:19:43.320 to be interviewed for I think four sessions, but also 0:19:44.040 --> 0:19:46.720 him and I working on this book together, and I 0:19:46.720 --> 0:19:50.160 wanted to talk a little bit more to Ben about 0:19:50.359 --> 0:19:54.240 well about the last year together. So there it is, 0:19:54.640 --> 0:20:04.840 and here he is. Everybody Welcome Ben silver Man, Bubble 0:20:04.840 --> 0:20:11.920 and squeak. I love it. Bubble and squeak on Bubble 0:20:11.960 --> 0:20:15.800 and Squeaker cookie at every month, left over from the 0:20:15.960 --> 0:20:29.440 night before. Oh my god, I miss you. I know. 0:20:29.680 --> 0:20:32.600 How's it going? It's great. What mic are you using? 0:20:32.760 --> 0:20:35.720 Is that like your headphone? Mike? Yeah, it's my headphone 0:20:35.760 --> 0:20:42.920 like with the burly tones of Brian b um Ben. 0:20:43.080 --> 0:20:47.040 I'm so excited to be talking to you yet again. 0:20:47.600 --> 0:20:53.439 One year after The Office, Deep Dive launched. Now the Office. 0:20:53.480 --> 0:20:56.280 As we've talked about a lot, it started as as 0:20:56.280 --> 0:20:59.280 an underdog show, right, we were like the little engine 0:20:59.280 --> 0:21:06.480 that could. So much has changed now after all of 0:21:06.520 --> 0:21:10.160 these years, you don't have to convince anybody to watch 0:21:10.160 --> 0:21:14.880 the show anymore. And now you and I we've written 0:21:15.119 --> 0:21:18.480 a book about this show. How does it feel to 0:21:18.560 --> 0:21:23.359 be a best selling author? It's it's so fun and 0:21:23.640 --> 0:21:27.760 truly one of the things I tell people first about 0:21:27.800 --> 0:21:33.879 myself when they mean your father, yes, New York biselling author, Yes, no, 0:21:34.119 --> 0:21:38.160 I absolutely, I introduced myself. Actually it is now My 0:21:38.280 --> 0:21:42.200 first first name is New York Times testselling author Ben Silverman, 0:21:42.640 --> 0:21:46.480 so that it's something I'm running with. I've taken on 0:21:46.800 --> 0:21:50.040 so much new kind of creative authority and ownership of 0:21:50.160 --> 0:21:55.160 my my life process. It's fabulous, right. I just played 0:21:55.920 --> 0:22:01.119 golf in this LPGA tournament. But when they introduced me 0:22:01.160 --> 0:22:04.159 on the first tea, there's like the same introduction that 0:22:04.200 --> 0:22:06.639 they introduced me at at every golf turn, you know, 0:22:06.800 --> 0:22:09.880 Emmy winning, blah blah blah. And I made them change 0:22:09.920 --> 0:22:12.480 it right on the spot. I made them add New 0:22:12.560 --> 0:22:17.159 York Times best selling author to my introduction just because it, 0:22:17.320 --> 0:22:19.800 at least it makes me seem smarter than I am. 0:22:19.960 --> 0:22:22.920 I think it makes you seem smarter, and that's why 0:22:23.080 --> 0:22:26.159 I am enjoying it. I found it to be one 0:22:26.200 --> 0:22:30.359 of the more validating runs I am. Um. You know 0:22:30.400 --> 0:22:33.680 a little sad that our great partners at our book 0:22:33.680 --> 0:22:36.639 company did not print the millions of books that they 0:22:36.680 --> 0:22:39.800 should have because there's so much pent up demand. And 0:22:39.880 --> 0:22:42.760 these books are now trading on eBay at a premium 0:22:42.800 --> 0:22:45.639 because they're impossible to find. And I just wanted to 0:22:45.680 --> 0:22:49.080 make sure that all of your fans and the fans 0:22:49.080 --> 0:22:52.600 of this great podcast know that there will be a 0:22:52.760 --> 0:22:56.800 new printing of the book, ordered by HarperCollins that is 0:22:56.880 --> 0:22:59.639 going to hit the shelves around March. Due to some 0:22:59.720 --> 0:23:03.760 of the apply chain issues affecting all industries, and you 0:23:03.800 --> 0:23:06.520 should just pre order now and get excited because the 0:23:06.520 --> 0:23:09.480 book will be out. It is already trading at a premium. 0:23:09.520 --> 0:23:12.240 It's almost like its own n f T at this point. 0:23:12.320 --> 0:23:14.600 It is creating so much value for that first wave 0:23:14.640 --> 0:23:17.639 of buyers and readers who won't let the copies go. 0:23:19.160 --> 0:23:20.879 Buying the book is like buying an n f T. 0:23:21.560 --> 0:23:25.640 You heard it here. How many of the initial order 0:23:25.760 --> 0:23:28.800 did you did your family order? Was it like two 0:23:28.880 --> 0:23:35.280 thirds of the question? No question that that we put 0:23:35.560 --> 0:23:39.120 a huge dent into that official supply, but I assumed 0:23:39.160 --> 0:23:42.320 it would have been an infinite supply knowing the extended 0:23:42.359 --> 0:23:46.360 Silverman families love of the book and their friends love 0:23:46.400 --> 0:23:50.040 of the book, and frankly anyone who needed a Christmas 0:23:50.080 --> 0:23:53.400 President entered my house and saw the book and demanded 0:23:53.400 --> 0:24:19.920 a copy. What memories were brought up to you through 0:24:20.359 --> 0:24:25.040 writing the book? What memories about the office came back 0:24:25.080 --> 0:24:31.359 to you? I definitely I wish I had spent more 0:24:31.359 --> 0:24:36.800 time enjoying the creative process and not the regular role 0:24:36.920 --> 0:24:39.280 around the show, which is kind of where I did 0:24:39.320 --> 0:24:43.320 all my you know, my work, like my blocking and tackling, 0:24:43.400 --> 0:24:46.600 was very much on the kind of moat around the 0:24:46.600 --> 0:24:49.560 show to protect it and allow its creativity to just, 0:24:49.800 --> 0:24:54.000 you know, flourish without challenges. And I wish I had 0:24:54.080 --> 0:24:56.520 been on the set more and been around it even 0:24:56.560 --> 0:25:02.280 more to enjoy it. And as it was going on, 0:25:02.800 --> 0:25:06.000 we were always kind of fighting for it. So I'm 0:25:06.000 --> 0:25:10.040 almost enjoying it more now, you know. Someone asked me 0:25:10.080 --> 0:25:12.960 how I was doing. An old friend from Europe was 0:25:13.000 --> 0:25:15.080 asking me about, you know, how I was, and I 0:25:15.119 --> 0:25:18.199 was like, you know, I've been really happy since The 0:25:18.280 --> 0:25:22.879 Office became the most watched show in modern or maybe 0:25:22.880 --> 0:25:26.160 the history of television. And he goes, I understand that, 0:25:26.240 --> 0:25:32.040 and I'm I'm very it makes me happy. Yeah, how 0:25:32.200 --> 0:25:34.720 was it for you? Because I know I've talked a 0:25:34.760 --> 0:25:36.959 lot about how amazing it was. I mean, there are 0:25:37.160 --> 0:25:40.600 so many people that I talked to for the podcast 0:25:40.640 --> 0:25:43.200 and we talked to for the book that we hadn't 0:25:43.240 --> 0:25:45.359 seen in a long time, like people that I love 0:25:45.600 --> 0:25:48.600 and love spending time with. Uh. I just wanted you 0:25:48.640 --> 0:25:51.920 to talk a little bit from your perspective about how 0:25:51.920 --> 0:25:55.280 it was reconnecting with those people once again. On the 0:25:55.280 --> 0:25:59.120 process of of the book and the podcast. Well, part 0:25:59.119 --> 0:26:05.080 of me had avoided asking any of our colleagues and 0:26:05.240 --> 0:26:10.760 collaborators for kind of anything. Um post show, I had 0:26:10.800 --> 0:26:14.600 no problems calling you all the time and asking to 0:26:14.640 --> 0:26:18.639 stay in your guesthouse or to to play golf. But 0:26:18.800 --> 0:26:24.240 I did, you know, feel uh some wonderful connectivity and 0:26:24.320 --> 0:26:26.679 making those calls, which I was nervous about. It was 0:26:26.720 --> 0:26:29.280 like I hadn't called. It was like calling an old girlfriend, 0:26:29.680 --> 0:26:34.320 you know, I hadn't. Yeah, I had such a deep, 0:26:34.440 --> 0:26:40.560 profound relationship for ten years, and then we kind of 0:26:40.640 --> 0:26:42.280 broke up for a little bit to go do our 0:26:42.320 --> 0:26:45.879 own projects or new things or you know, you know, 0:26:46.240 --> 0:26:49.200 to move off into the world. And so then reconnecting 0:26:49.240 --> 0:26:52.240 through the book and the you know, collected love of 0:26:52.359 --> 0:26:56.480 the show and our experience on it was really great 0:26:56.560 --> 0:26:58.760 and I was happy to do it. And I've kind 0:26:58.760 --> 0:27:02.679 of since dropped any of my hesitation about doing it 0:27:02.720 --> 0:27:05.879 as well. And it's been a great exercise in in 0:27:06.200 --> 0:27:10.679 appreciation and remembrance and you know, the present day. And 0:27:10.720 --> 0:27:13.040 also because we're all living the same experience, which is 0:27:13.080 --> 0:27:17.480 the show's relevance, uh continues to expand and and touch 0:27:17.600 --> 0:27:20.840 new generations, including our own children, you know, which I 0:27:20.920 --> 0:27:24.320 never thought would be possible because our kids were like 0:27:24.400 --> 0:27:29.159 born at the end of the show. Yeah, I to me, 0:27:29.480 --> 0:27:36.679 that was well both the most delightful um and the 0:27:36.720 --> 0:27:38.959 thing that made me the happiest. I think through this 0:27:39.000 --> 0:27:43.840 whole experience, I talked about calling Greg Daniels and calling 0:27:44.000 --> 0:27:47.320 Steve Carrell and Rain Wilson and these guys about trying 0:27:47.720 --> 0:27:50.640 to get them to participate. Would they participate in this podcast? 0:27:50.640 --> 0:27:54.280 Were they interested in going back and telling the story? 0:27:54.400 --> 0:27:59.760