141: Lower 48 with Dan Mintz | Soder Podcast | EP 138

July 16th through the 18th I'm going to be at New York comedy club in Stamford and then Montreal just for laughs I'm going to be there July 25th at Club Soda doing an hour. So it's going to be you know Mostly the Netflix hour if you didn't hear it. I didn't go to Montreal on the tour plus some new jokes But then after that it's all me working on new stuff So I will see you in Albany July 31st and first at the Albany funny moan Just go to dance order dot com. What am I doing? Just go to dance order dot com after Albany go to dance order dot com It's all there. We all put it up put them on the road Working on a new hour. So come check it out. I hope you like it. There's gonna be some real humbingers on there It's gonna be some real shitty ones, too. So just come see it. Come watch it get birthed Watch me push them out On the road, but thank you for watching the podcast I think in the history when they do the Ken Burns documentary of podcasting And they zoom into the you know Where it's like in the tooth and the early 2000s. Yeah, that's interesting It'll one of the things that they'll talk to us about like the Civil War vets will be like the regret Yeah, there's just like a slow slow song playing being like did you like I regretted everything I said yeah but you're I'm excited to see this special the what the special. Oh, yeah, yeah, well rounded entertainer. I love an idea of an animated special Yeah, thanks. I think it turned out. I don't know if Pam sent you the link But I'm excited to watch it and I will watch it because it comes out today We had to push the release Yeah, yeah, we just start recording. Yeah, okay, cool. I'm here with Dan mince I I'm doing a better job of introducing people because I just jump into a conversation And then the listeners go like hey, who the fuck are you talking to I was wondering yeah Because then it feels like a school project when you go I am Dan and this is but Our side I get you on the show to you. I've been a fan of yours for years You're standing up back in the day like mid-2000s The group that you would run with were like you Malini jazzle that there was like so many awesome Comedians and I was like at the creek in the cave coming up or whatever But you guys were like my favorite some of my favorite to watch because of how good I mean you've worked on some fucking awesome shows You're the voice of Tina Belcher. You've had a hell of a career. So it's fun now. Do you like that? You're like? Kind of going back out on your own and being like hey, I'm gonna do my cuz your last stand-up was mid-2000s, right? I really I released an album and it is in 2014 2014 so yeah, great album. Oh, thank you by the way go check it out You can go download it. It's just an album. There isn't like a special along with it. It's on Spotify. Yeah, it's fucking hilarious Thank you. Thank you. You're a fantastic joke writer And that's what I think like is missing especially now in 2026 Mm-hmm. It's just like one of those albums. This is hardcore jokes and not like a thing You know, I mean I'm glad when the style turns away from what I do because I need less worry about new Competition. Yeah, absolutely. Did you when did you feel like that happened like when the style turned away from just straight up set up punch? You know, I'm so out of the loop Sure It was almost like other people what they would say to me They would say oh, it's so rare that someone does one liners which I don't think people used to say no, and I realized that's kind of how I realized But yeah, it just I mean it takes so long to write there's a reason why it's like 10 years to release my album and then Do a special well one liners aren't like I'm more of a kind of like a story story or personal comic Mm-hmm. I think that's easier because really just like taking what happened and making it funny versus like constructing a One-line joke is people don't understand. It's like meticulous. It's like a ship in a bottle Yeah, I mean that there's a lot of just Waiting until you think of an idea and then you have and then you're like oh now I now I have nothing until my next one and you know With with like stories and narratives you can build off of what you wrote for sure I will say I think everything seems everything seems easy if you know to do it and hard if you don't and like I've tried telling stories on stage before And I just realized I tell stories like a regular person Yeah, I was like where you know a regular person's funny story is the funny things at the end and it's all build up and like no one wants to sit through Five minute build up so I'm like and I'm like you know because when I started doing doing Bond you know headlining sets. I wanted to build a time sure But I just it's just a skill like I have to start over and learn how to do that and how fucking hard is it to do 60 of one-liners that seems like it's got to be like You have to like you know I think all of us have note cards or some sort of way to know what our set is but I feel like on a one-liner comic you would have to have like 40 or 50 bullet points. Yeah, I mean I have It is hard to to remember if I really if I'm if I'm doing the same set for a while I'll remember but whenever I'm changing stuff. It's like I it's not worth yeah trying to remember all this So I'll have my my no cards, but um, but yeah, it's you know, it's like Three to four jokes a minute. So that's so much like I have bits that go like I have a joke that goes seven minutes And then you hear that and you're like it I don't know like I think it's given me anxiety Because I would be like oh look I need five other ones to get just to 15 minutes Did you were you always interested in one-liner styles like growing up? Was that your favorite kind or did you find like you just did that the best? I just found it did it the best. Yeah, you know when I started I just did everything and I don't even remember what happened But after like a year or two that's I was only doing one liners So you weren't like growing up being like oh, I want to be you like watch like someone that does a one-liner and you're like that's my style You like kind of found it yourself. Yeah, I mean, I guess I didn't I was so I so hardly watch stand-up growing up Yeah, I would probably wouldn't even I'm sure I've seen one-liner comics sure I probably didn't even think about the different styles Until after I was doing it. I mean, I get the one thing I guess that what that I was like my favorite thing as a kid that would be my biggest influence was like deep thoughts on SNL Yeah, Jack handy was yeah, which was amazing, which is those were always how you could tell who the smarter kids were Because like the dumb loud kids like me. We liked Matt Foley and we like Attack of the masturbating zombies or like the or head wound Harry You must be the same age as me because yeah, Matt Foley was like that's what it was, but that was like the litmus test Yeah, we're the loud kid in school and really I liked Matt Foley But I was more of like I was really big into Dana Carvey So I liked the voices. Yeah, I liked the impressions. Yeah, but But really SNL at that time you could gauge who is who yeah, because the people that liked Matt Foley are like oh monster trucks You know slim gyms and mountain dew are mountain full and then like deep thoughts with Jack handy your go You drink tea and you're only at 13 years old That's like those people who are like I could go for a nice chamomile right now It seemed like the more intelligent. Yeah, but you grew up in Alaska. Yeah, yeah, that's In Anchorage Anchorage, Alaska from one to eighteen. Yeah, I mean zero to eighteen. Yeah One was a laboratory But growing up there I lived in keen eye for a summer and so I knew that yeah, I did a cannery. Oh cool Just like my aunt lived up there. She worked at a hospital in keen eye Yeah, so I went up there and like lived up there and it's a different place. Yeah I mean, I mean Anchorage is definitely different from keen eye sure Anchorage is the big city Yeah, we went there on like the all our off weekend and then it was yeah Oh, this isn't a big city. Yeah, I mean, I'm from Denver and it was like I went to Anchorage. I was like this is a tiny city Yeah, but it is the big city. It is you it is a normal life in terms of going to the you're not hunting for your food Yeah, people don't realize that. Yeah, even though it is a normal life. You still have the winter Darkness and the summer light. Yeah. Yeah. Was that a weird thing for you to adjust off of when you left when you came to the lower 48? You know, I don't I don't remember thinking about a much until You know now move that California and when camping the first time which I always loved Like oh it gets dark at like seven p.m What am I supposed to do till I do it tired at like two a.m Yeah, like it didn't just took for granted in Alaska This light I mean twilight at least like all night and you can just at any hour do anything it really is It's startling. Yeah, when you first go there because I was there like made a august So it was the the sunlight thing The first night I was there. I was drinking at my aunt's friend's house because I was 19 and we were drinking And my my aunt's friend we're in the backyard spoke to cigarette. He's like what time do you think it is and I was like 930 and I was being like liberal about like yeah, I know we're up north and it sets late So 930 and he's like it's two in the morning. Oh wow, and I like I had to sit down Like it fucked me up so bad that I was yeah No, it's not what do you mean? And I looked at you know It's like I don't think everybody has cell phone back then. So I like went look to the clock. I was like oh damn It is and then it's just like a weird thing of When you move when you go into the winners I'm sure it's like there's an adjustment period But after I left Alaska that summer and I moved back the first time I had a night that was dark It fucked me up. It made me like fall asleep very fast Did you have a any kind of change when you moved to California besides just that camping trip? - Well, I mean, I didn't move right to California, you know, after college. And I guess college also starts on the fall, so it's a good time to adjust, but-- - Oh yeah, you went to Harvard, so you go immediately to Alaska to Massachusetts. - Yeah. So that's gotta be of-- - I mean, if anything, it was almost felt colder because I'd to walk everywhere and I'd encourage you to drive everywhere. And I, for some reason, I should have known better, but the only time I'd ever been down to the contiguous is lower 48. - I was trying to root it out. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Alaskans call us the lower 48. - Yeah. - That's how they refer to us or the South. - Yeah. - My boss at the cannery is like, "Well, you're from the South." And I was like, "I'm from Colorado." And he's like, "No, you're not." But yeah, the lower 48 is great. So we're moving to the lower 48. - Yeah, I had only, I mean, we visit all of Tommy a family down here, my parents, we don't have deep roots in Alaska, anything. - Sure. - And every time I'd been down here, it was either the summer or if it was the winter is like Florida or California. So I just didn't even realize there was like winter down here. And I think I like only brought like shorts and stuff. - Yeah. - It's Boston. It's like, "Oh, no, this is just as bad." - That's really funny that you just think, "Well, it's Southern, so it's gotta be warm." What is it near the equator? No, it's very far away. What made your family move to Alaska? 'Cause you said you don't have deep roots there. What put your family up there? - I mean, my dad grew up in Burbank. - Okay. - Mom grew up in Boston and they met when they were in college and they'd stayed together and it wouldn't through my dad going to law school. And he just found a job, he's only gonna go up for one year. This is, you know, fears far as born. And it was doing environmental law. - Oh cool. - Like a one year fellowship. And they just liked it so much. They stayed and then they're still there. They don't think they're gonna retire anywhere else. - Are you a big nature family? Like, do you guys go, I mean, 'cause you have Denali, you have like, you know, like incredible parks there. - Yeah, I mean, we're from Alaska, but we're also Jewish. So it's kind of like, by, by, it's kind of, by Alaska standards. - Yeah, yeah, we go there for the fish, but I don't really enjoy much of the things. I don't like the environment. - Yeah. - That is, I've never thought about what a perfect recipe to make a comedian is take a Jewish family and raise them in the wilderness. You're like Northern exposure. - Yeah, exactly, yeah. - I'm like, I can't fucking act. Which by the way, was the character Northern exposure, was he a Jewish doctor? - Yes. - Yes, so that makes so much more. - You live Northern exposure. - Yeah, unfortunately, they took the idea for my sitcom, like, well before I. - Yeah, you go, I lived it and you went back in time and did it. Did you ever watch that when you were a kid? - Yeah, yeah, I watched it every week. I don't remember much about it, but. - Okay, yeah, 'cause, you know, it was a sitcom in the 90s where a doctor moves to Alaska and has to kind of deal with the things of Alaska, but obviously they like, you know, make everything way Alaska. Because that's the funny part about Alaska is, people think you're just like living out of a shack on the side of a mountain and you're like, "Now, there's like McDonald's and stuff." - Yeah. - That's one of the things that blew my mind about Alaska, and as a kid, I'm interested to see what it was like for you growing up there. Summer is here. Time to sweat. Or go swimming. It's like a thing. You should take a lot more advantage of as an adult. I'm trying to. I'm calling up Jay all the time and being like, please kind of come over and gain a ball into your pool. And I'll wear some fresh ass Mac Weldon's. Mac Weldon's are bathing suits that just fit great. You can show a lot of thigh. You don't want to show a lot of thigh at all. 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I'm in, I just turned 43, which does hurt to say out loud for the first time. I don't know why, you know. If you know me, 42, number one favorite number. So hell yeah, what a year. And now it's over and 43 following. It's just like, I mean, it's stuff's gonna hurt more this year. I just know it. But thanks to Zach Dock. If I have any of those aging problems, I can just go find a doctor. Zach Dock.com is an app where you can find a doctor in network in your area and get an appointment. Pretty damn quick, which is always the great thing when you're like, oh, 'cause the hardest part about finding a doctor is, where the hell do I start? I don't know, I don't know doctors. I think I know a doctor. But honestly, I bet you could check them up and you'd be like, dude, he's a masseuse. And I'd be like, oh man, he's not a real doctor. But if you want a real doctor, use Zach Dock. It's a free app and website. 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So if you wanted to go to McDonald's, it's almost like a nice night out. Well, maybe, I mean, in Anchorage, yeah, if you go out further, it's like crazy. Yeah, it was like, and this is in 2002, it was 10 bucks for a number one. Okay, I don't, yeah, I don't think it's like that in Anchorage, but it was definitely more, it's like LA. It's like usually when you go from LA on the road to the middle of the country, it's like a nice, everything's on sale. And it's not like that when you go to Anchorage. Yeah, yeah, you go there and you're like, oh, everything is, why is it as expensive as New York City? Because they also, when you, you know, I found that fascinating, it was like one of the guys I worked with kind of told me because I was stupid. He's like, well, you look at the shipping routes and it has to be boated in because of how the Rockies split up and come into Canada. It's such a nasty terrain that they can't take trucks. Yeah, that makes sense. So they have to ship it. But Alaska is one of those places where I'm like, how have I not gone back to do shows? Yeah. Because I do, I loved it. I loved being up there. I thought it was the most beautiful place on earth. Yeah, especially in the summer. Yeah. Like, I think is it hard for you to find nature beautiful when you grew up in the best place for it? You know, I used to be kind of a snob about it. Absolutely. I would like roll my eyes at anything down here. Yeah, and they're like, hey, we're going to go out to Western mass where you go up, you know, and you go, cool, I don't care. But we're not. We're not. I did kind of start to appreciate like, especially like the Rocky Mountains. I guess you're from Denver, there is. I almost think like the thing about Alaska and in the North and Canada is it's like sparse. So every, you know, the plant trees are a little smaller. They're just things just don't grow as much. And there's something amazing about in the Rockies, you have kind of the same terrain, but like just lush meadows. Yeah, it's very thick, especially. Well, that's also something what's interesting, you know, grown up in places that people think they know about. But everyone thinks Denver is this like, you know, you're on a mountain and you're like, you're in the Great Plains. So everything's like very flat and then you hit the mountains. But I did the same thing you did when I moved to New York and everyone was like, we're going to go skiing and I was like, skiing. I was like, with what? And then like Vermont and you're like, those are ice hills. You need to go to the Rockies of Colorado. Yeah. There is like a snooty thing when you go up around beautiful nature. Yeah. Because I had, you know, my whole family is from the Bay Area in Northern California and they get very like big sir and like the story is they're like, you don't know. Yeah. All right, there's other good nature elsewhere. Yeah. I think that's something that's interesting for like people who are in the nature but don't travel. Yeah. They get very smarmy and like, you've never seen it. It's like, I think you've seen it. Yeah. Because I'm sure I would go to like the Andes and be like, oh, these are crazy. Yeah. You know, yeah. Because I'm a mountain, I'm a mountainfile. Yeah. And I don't even like the mountains when I look at Colorado. Oh, wow. Was that a thing? Like my mom, my, I had a stepdad that was very, very active. But I wasn't. Did you have family members that wanted you to go do more nature stuff and were you like, can I just sit inside and watch TV? No, no, no. When I said like we're not, we're Jewish or not as in nature. Sure. We're still pretty into nature. OK. And you're saying compared to it? by Alaska standards. - Oh my God. - We're not like insane. Yeah. - Alaska has the standards that are unreachable. I'm the guy in Alaska that moved to a plot of land, built a shack, then built a second house. - Oh wow. - And then built, and this is over the span of like 25 years. And then built a nice house, but he did it all himself. - Oh yeah. - That's what Alaska is the guy that's like, well, I moved up to Ketchikan and I didn't have much. - Yeah, that's definitely not our family, but we were always very, and I was just, still I'm into like hiking and skiing. - Oh, that's awesome. - And going to Harvard, did they think you came out of like the wilderness? - Yeah, I mean, it was cool like going to, I feel like I'm all, like when I was in Alaska, like I felt exotic for being Jewish, and then when I left Alaska, I was like exotic for being from Alaska. - Yeah, that's fun, that's what a fun way to feel. - Yeah, I mean the anti-Semitism in Alaska has to be through the roof. I'm not gonna act like, I listed a beautiful state or whatever, eaties, isolated. That's where you find stuff where I don't think they're gonna be knowing what the Tories and exactly, you know, they're not like, you're not up in Alaska and they're like, happy yum computer. I got you some apple sauce so you can have a sweet ear and dip the hollum bread in it. - No, definitely, I did not encounter a lot of like, what, actual anti-Semitism, because I'm like, I will say, yeah, you know, like in class, when they're, you know, they're in sex added and like, you know, circumcision is common among, you know, the Jewish tradition, everyone like turns to look at me. It's like that kind of thing. - I would turn back and go, what do you guys, what do you guys have? You guys all have breakfast burritos in your pants? Get the fuck out of here. Oh, I'm the only one that cleaned up. My people, honestly, and this is, you know, and I've said this before on previous episodes, especially with my friends who were Jewish, I was a kid in the American suburbs that grew up on stand-up comedy and Mel Brooks and stuff. So I wanted to be Jewish. So when I found out that circumcision was like a Jewish thing, I was like, well, all right. I was like, guys, turns out at the Hartford Hospital, they thought I was one of the chosen ones. But I do, you really do wonder like in Alaska, like the idea of you bringing up Hanukkah to them and they're like, what do you mean? - Yeah, I remember the teacher like in the second grade, my dad come in and tell the class of Hanukkah and stuff like that. - That's really funny. They go, I brought one in, they go, excuse me. They go, we gotta real life Jewish, man. Here's gonna explain the, how they burn oil. - Just like a tanker. Just like one of those fish tankers. Yeah, is that a thing where you like moved to Boston and then you moved to California and you're around more Jewish people that you realize like, oh, damn, we were out there on our own. - Yeah, it always seems odd to me that like so many people, everywhere I've lived since Alaska, so many people are Jewish. It's like not, it's not like the first thing you think about with someone. - And yeah, and I wonder, was that a big thing? And like how many of your brothers and sisters do you have? - I'd be younger brother. - Okay. - Seven years younger, yeah. - So you guys, oh, damn, seven years younger. So he got to really, you were the older older brother. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Does, how does that affect you guys being close? 'Cause you're out of high school, you're out of the house by the time he's up with him? - Yeah, yeah, exactly. So he was always, you know, a little kid to me. - Yeah. - And then, you know, time to college, then he goes college, and then it was kind of this amazing experience, you know, once he was an adult, we're both like talking to him and like, wow, there's this guy who thinks like me. That's what I thought I was the only one in the world that thinks like this. - That's really fun. - That's very cool. - I'm an only child, so I'm like a kind of like obsessed about the idea of having a sibling in the house. - Yeah. - Whether you're too close to him, you know, my fiance Katie grew up very close with her brother, and she kind of sees how I interact with my mom. It was a single mom and I was an only child, and she'll come away and be like, oh, I couldn't have handled that. And I was like, you don't really, 'cause like, I think what's interesting about a sibling is you have someone to kind of confirm your reality in a way to go like, hey, is mom crazy? - Yeah. - And you have someone to go, yeah, like mom's a little crazy. - Yeah. - But when you're an only child, it's like you're living under a dictator. - Yeah, oh wow. - It's like she was like Kim Jong-lun. - Yeah. - So the whole time I was like, she made the stars of the moon. - Yeah, I'm like, I don't know. And then you get older and you meet other people and they kind of confirm, did you have that relationship with your brother even though there was seven years in like a part? - No, not really that. I mean, I think having the seven year difference and being the oldest is kind of psychologically, you have the only child mental, I think, yeah. - Yeah, 'cause you were like, I mean, you were seven when your brother's born and you're kind of like, hey, I get used to how stuff was around. - Yeah, yeah. - And now there's a baby. - Well, seven is almost old enough that you're like excited about it. - Oh yeah. - And I don't remember being jealous, I remember like having a new pet. - Sure. - Oh yeah. - Where you go? - Something to play with. - Yeah, I got a little brother, I got a little, little man that I got to mold. I mean, I think it's awesome that you, did your family know you were gonna be a comedian? You know what I mean? - Yeah, definitely not. I think anyone that knew me as a kid growing up surprised. I mean, anyone knows me now that doesn't know me that well surprised 'cause I'm shy. - Yeah, but hilarious. - Well, thank you. - I mean, again, go listen to his album on Spotify. The special should be out now well-rounded entertainer animated. Does the animated thing help you with like, you know, you said you're shy. - Yeah. - Obviously a big part of a special is performance. - Yeah. - Does that kind of go, does that kind of take stuff off your plate? Where you go, oh, I just get to do my jokes. - Oh, I mean, it definitely took pressure off. I mean, that's not really the reason enough to choose to do it. I had other reasons, but I was glad, you know, once I realized, yeah. - That's a better set. - Yeah, absolutely. And then the animation process, are you like there with them every step of the way, watching it, how it like looks? - Yeah, I mean, I was, I hired BenoBox to do it. - Which does Bob Burgers, they do, I mean, they are like, they are Bob Burgers. They're the ones that have made it the whole thing. They're fantastic. - Yeah. - BenoBox is fucking unbelievable. The one time we had a show, I had a show at Fox. We were working with them, and they understand animation in a way that you're like, oh, you guys are the premiere place to do it. - Yeah. - It's awesome. I'm glad you did it. That's so cool, you did it. Was that a relationship through Bob's Burgers? - Yeah, absolutely. - Where you're talking to them and you're like, hey, I kind of want to do a standard special. - Yeah, I mean, initially, so first I did like a three-minute animatic, so to just, I wasn't sure it would be good. It would look good. And that was actually, technically, that was through Lauren's, the creator of Bob's, like his production company, but is using, you know, hiring animators that I knew from the same company. And then I just loved how it looked. So I'm like, okay, it's worth paying for the whole thing. - That's awesome. 'Cause it is a very heavy investment to do a special in animation. It's like, is it a 60-minute special? - It's like 46. - Yeah, that's it. - And when people go, he didn't do 60. It's like, motherfucker, he made it. - How much it costs? It would have cost the same cost as Furngully to do a full hour. With the Bob's Burgers, you know, you get the role of Tina. Did you know Tina Belcher was gonna be as iconic? - You know, I was excited almost for the wrong reason because I thought it was like a really funny gimmick that I'm playing this middle school girl who is the best character on the show. - Yeah, well, you're very kind. - I can come up to fan fiction about Bob Jr. touching butts. How do you not like Tina Belcher? Tina Belcher to me is the most relatable out of all the characters in Bob's Burgers. - Yeah, and that's a surprise because I've come around to that view. It did not seem that all. - Yeah. - It would be that at first. - Did you think like, oh, I'm just gonna play this weird girl. - Exactly. - It's gonna have my voice. - Exactly. - Super into horse, I'm gonna play horse girl. - Yeah, exactly. And I thought it was just, I thought it was like, a kind of like, Steve Urkel character that was like for, just for laughs, like a weird person for laughs, which was great and I was happy to do that. And then, and then it came out and I was like, nobody's really commenting on this being, nobody's like, this is an amazing gimmick. You know, no one cared about that. - Yeah, you thought it was gonna be a bit where everyone goes, well, who's up with the nerdy daughter? - No one cared about that. And then over time, and this is just a hundred percent due to the writers being great writers. It was like, I realized this was like a multi-dimensional, super relatable character. - I mean, the heart of the show. - Yeah. - It really is like, you watch an episode of Bob's Burgers and you feel for Tina. You're like, "Man, Tina's whatever they're going through." - Yeah. - 'Cause I think Tina, out of the characters, cares is the most anxiety. - Yeah. - Out of everything. - Especially out of the kids. - Yeah. - The other kids are just wild, Charles. - Yeah, yeah. - You know, and I mean Eugene Merman and Sarah Silverman is those, it's just like, I mean, Christian Shaw, sorry, in my bad Christian Shaw. Christian, another Colorado. - Sarah Silverman is on it. - Yeah. - Sarah Silverman's in it. I mean, the voice, your guy's as roster, is unbelievable. Everybody on that show. It's like, you look at it and you're like, it's a who's who. - Yeah. - But Christian Shaw, you and Eugene, is just like, unbelievable as the kids. - Yeah. - But yeah, you look at Tina and you go, well, she's the one that's always worried. - Yeah. Yeah, she's like the POV for the audience. - Yeah, I really think you really do get, especially the way that the age she's at, where she's at in school, like the characters that they have around her, because she's at that age where kids are starting to become cool. - Yeah. - You're interested in the opposite sex. - Yeah. - And so it's great. Do you have like, have you called people as Tina before, like friends or like left messages? 'Cause I feel like if I was an iconic character, that would be a fun thing. - I mean, people definitely ask to do that. - Yeah, like voice memos. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Is it annoying? Are we like, I don't want it to be like? - No, it's a, by all, the only thing that is stressful is when they don't tell me what to say, and they're just, just say whatever, like just to write it. - Give me a direction to go. Because it is a thing, has anyone on the phone with you been like, you sound like Tina Belcher. - Every once in a while, it's pretty rare for people to be real. - Like customer service? - It's happened one time, and it's always just like, I don't even remember exactly what it was, but it's always just like, well, - Sometimes with these ad reads, it really, you can just be like, oh, I'm getting older. I'm getting older, but half of that is awesome. And then half of that is like, well, there's a lot of adult stuff that I need to know how to do. Life insurance being one of them, well, check out ethos. Ethos can help you get life insurance, and they can help you get it fast and easy. 100% online. You can get a quote in seconds, apply in minutes, same day coverage, no medical exam. Just answer a few simple health questions, and you can get up to $3 million in coverage. Some policies are as low as $30 a month, and you'll get your lowest rate from their network of trusted carriers. Ethos has 4.8 out of five stars on trust pilot. So if you're a trust pilot, Gurley, you know those are some sick ratings. Take 10 minutes, get covered today with life insurance through ethos. Get your free quote at ethos.com/soder. That's ethos.com/soder. Application ties me very, rates me very. Trust pilot rating is of 6125. - And it's always just like, I don't even remember exactly what it was, but it's always just like, well, now like I can't be that aggressive with trying to get my customer service thing I want, you're like, "My cable's out." And I'll kick the shit out of you. And they go, "Is this Tina Belcher?" And you're like, "I'll rub your butt. Is this please?" I'll write fanfiction about you. I've always wondered that because it's a voice that isn't, you're obviously ramping it, or you're making it more of a voice, but it's your voice. - Yeah. - It's not like a thing where you're putting it on. - Yeah. - It's just the way you talk. So it's gotta be moments where people in public are like. - Yeah, I mean, it definitely, I like it like I'm shy so and I don't get recognized that much. So any attention makes my day. - Yeah. - But yeah, it is, it is interesting that it is, I mean, they shift the pitch up like quarter tone, that's basically my voice. - But that's where you can tell that they just basically go, like, "We're gonna make you a young girl, but we're gonna take your voice." So there has to be moments where people are talking and they're like, "Man, this is gonna, I'm gonna sound crazy." You sound exactly like Tina Belcher. And then you're like, "I am Tina Belcher." Hello, Dan Minnes, Tina Belcher. It's like a fun introduction where they're like, "Oh, you're fucking me up." I don't know, man, I always think it's funny when people are like that there's like a humanity in it of hearing someone's voice and being like, "I know who you are." Like I've had that, you know, H. John Benjamin, I forgot where I was, he was, I was in public and he was by me talking and I was like, "Who's doing a perfect archer?" And I looked over and I was like, "Oh my God, that's actually H. John Benjamin." He was just like, it was like at this party in Brooklyn and he was like, well, you know, he's got such an iconic voice that you're like, you hear that and you're like, "Oh, it's Bob's Burgers," or if you're an archer, you're like, "Oh, that's archer." Yeah, that's always, I think the thing about cartoons that I've loved is that sometimes just these people's voices but they're their characters. So then they see the person and you're like, "Well, I'm not that character." Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's almost like wrestling. Where you're like, "Hey, I'm not that wrestler. I'm actually like a man that walks around that has his own life." I mean, the gender swap does make it easier for people to separate me, I think. Yeah, 'cause there's two, 'cause also. Yeah, John Roberts. John Roberts, who goes the mom, but that's like a voice he puts on. Yeah, I mean, we had different ways of getting to doing the same thing. Sure. He was already, he was doing that voice, that's like his mom, doing the voice of his mom and he was doing that on YouTube and Lauren loved it and hired him for that as the mom. Or as I was actually just supposed to play a boy and I changed it to a girl and kept the voice. How did you find that out? Did they tell you? It was actually very stressful because I got a message from Lauren saying, "Hey, calling back." And I was like, you know, been a while since we taped the pile presentation. Sure. This is weird. I'd always would just hear from, you know, Lauren's producer or my agent. And why am I here? Never the creator. Yeah. And I was like, I bet what this is is the show got picked up but they're not keeping me on the show. Sure. Very normal thing to think. You get any kind of phone call from the boss. From the boss. Yeah, and I'm out. Yeah, and I just, I took me a while to call back 'cause I just didn't want to. Yeah, yeah, to lay the inevitable. Get that call. And then when I called, I mean, of course, the first thing he says, I call him about castings, like here it is. And like, do you want to change your voice to a girl? Well, you know, okay, I'm definitely going to your cast. And I have a bit before been not exactly recast girl, but I went out for a part and they, and I've got changing the character to woman. So I was like, Oh, so this is the thing you've bumped up against before. You've been bumped up against a woman. You've got mother fucker. What are you guys trying? I'm a man. I'm a man. And you're screaming I'm a man to the vote. I did, that's what I did. I'm like that. I'm an open man. I'm a man. But then he quickly said, but it will still be you. And then I was like, okay, I just don't do any other voices. And he said, that's fine, it'll be your voice. And I was very relieved. I was also very skeptical. I was like, well, it's your show, do whatever you want. I didn't think that would work. - There is a level of trust that you have to go like, all right, whatever you want. You're shit. I don't know all of that. - Exactly. And then they sent me the animation test. I think it was just Tina doing my standoff, just to see it as like. - Oh, that's fun. That's got to be really fun to watch. I'm curious. - Yeah, the video is anywhere. - If you have that, you should put it out on your YouTube channel. - Yeah, yeah. - To go along with it. 'Cause that's really fun. - Yeah. - Just to see your jokes done by Tina. - Yeah, I guess that's great. I gotta get that. - Yeah. - And yeah, and then it's like this actually works. And you know, and that was what I found out later. I actually was not too far off of the truth because I didn't found this out until years later. But like, so originally it was just two kids. - Sure. - And John Benjamin, you know, got me this job and changed my life. 'Cause I had just met him. We were writing on Demetri Martin's show important Demetri Martin show. - Yeah. - And. - Man, you've written on fucking bangers. - I've written on a lot of stuff. The, yeah, that was the most fun. - One of the best, I mean, yeah, pimped just pop. That's, yeah. - It's up there with 30 Rock is. - Oh, thank you. - It's one A1B is the, I think the best, best comedies of all time. - Yeah, it was amazing. - And that's just a big deal though. - And I know people get fucking really weird about that. But to me, it goes to Rock, Veepe, and I can do this with it. - I mean, it's amazing, 'cause Veepe was starting to overlap like the, whatever you wanna call it, like, woke era. And the things that we were still allowed to say, and write, that like you wouldn't have been able to on a new show. - Yeah, where I think they were really letting you take, but the, I think the brilliance of it was with Veepe, was that there was this like, sometimes shows really love to be like, we're fearless and you're like, shut up. Veepe was just like, oh no, this is the world. This is what Selena Meyer moves through. - Yeah. - And all this crazy shit, you know, with her daughter in the Secret Service, and then then we're getting pregnant, and like stuff from the later seasons that you go like, I could see if this was a new show that I'm not letting you do that. - Yeah, yeah. - But it was, I like when a show, and I think always Sonny's one of the only shows left that has that carte blanche of love. - South Park. - South Park, but South, no one's ever get, South Park's in its own, it's on its own planet. - Yeah, yeah. - No one will trade, tell Tray and Matt Stone what the fuck to do. - Yeah. - Tray and Matt are always gonna do with it. - Yeah. - And they're the last of that. - Yeah. - They're the last of the Mel Brooks's, who just go like, you know, Mel Brooks has that story where he was like, every time I got notes from a network, I'd go, great, and then I just wouldn't do 'em. - Yeah. - And it's like, that's what you could tell Tray Parker and Matt Stone are the last of, yeah. - Of like, cool. But Veepe felt a little like that. 'Cause I also think you guys were on such a fucking run. - Yeah. - The show just kept getting progressively better and better. - I mean, I think so. I was, I mean, I was only there for, for the end. - Okay. - And was that, was that, was that, nerve-wracking joining a show like that after the train had been on the tracks? - Well, Veepe wasn't, so you know, started, it was all British writers. - Sure, I mean, the creator is British. - Yeah. - Probably why they skewer American politics so well. - Yeah. - It's because it's an outsider's perspective. - Yeah, they see bullshit. - They're not like invested. - Yeah, the Americans have this like a Manchurian thing with patriotism, where at a certain thing you go like, I do love America, but a British person can be like, oh, this is broken, you're all idiots. - Yeah, yeah. So I think that helped a lot. And then, I like, all the British writers left the show. I don't know, I have no idea what the history, I mean, they were leaving on top, so there's their choice, obviously, but HBO one, keep doing it. And they brought in Dave Mandel, who's an amazing genius to, and he kind of, and again, his first year, I still wasn't there. I came the next year. But he, it's such a hard thing to take a pre-existing thing and bring in. - What's a new chef? - Yeah. - You have like the same menu. - Yeah. - And the chef has to cook it the exact same, if not better. - Yeah. I mean, the biggest change, I think he may have. it was it was more joke dance. - Sure. - And I. - I would do a rewatch because I would love to see if you can actually see the like per, I think it's Michelle Wolfe has watched it five times. - Uh-huh, oh. - As we have like rewatches and just bands her favorite show. - Yeah, cool. - We'll be like, oh yeah, you gotta rewatch it. But I need, I'm due for a rewatch of VEEP. - I think that's a change. And I also, for me, I started watching Day Mandel's season because for, I haven't really been watching it and it was like I had a meeting to bring the show. So watch that first. And then I went back and watched the rest. So for me, like his season, even though it wasn't the first, it's the first I watched. And the rest is like, oh, interesting. There's not, it's like so funny, but there's just fewer jokes for a minute. And then, but then of course, when you look at comments, most people watch the first and then people will always complain about a change. - Yeah, always. - But I think he did an amazing job, like sticking the landing, or it's not a landing, but sticking it. - But we're really keeping it. - Keeping it moving. - Yeah. - Keeping it moving is so difficult, especially because when you lose someone as important as that, and all the writers leave, and you're bringing in someone, like I said, like a new chef, you go, well, is the kitchen trained? Can they do that? And it really, it really doesn't, it's hard to tell. You watch and you go, I didn't even, I didn't even really know that. I didn't know there was that big of a shake up. I just thought they obviously added the writers. - And the writers are lost writers. - That's just my observation. I don't know how that could have been. - But I definitely would like rewatching that. - Yeah. - You know, the older I get, the more I go back, and I watch shows for different reasons. I think I used to just watch shows 'cause I enjoyed 'em. But now, from a creative aspect, I do love watching 30 Rock, and being like, I wonder how long it took him to get to that part of mine. - Yeah, yeah. - 'Cause, you know, there's all these stories about Tina Fey keeping the writers room, and being like, we can beat that joke, we can beat that joke. And I, it's so weird in an age of instant, everything, and everything's AI, so everything can be made instantly. It's like, you really do see the quality of a show when you're like, I can tell they were in there all night, trying to beat a couple jokes, because the jokes are so good that you're like, they had to have been that one where they're like, all right, we got it, we can move on. - I mean, that's the issue with, you know, studios being like, well, you know, White Lotus was just like, one person wrote that. It's like, yeah, there are definitely shows where you only need one person, and they're great shows. But there's also the types, it was like 30 Rock, or, you know, any 90s, you know, friends-- - Yeah, you need a lot of writers to do that kind of comedy, and you're just not gonna get that kind of show. It's not willing to pay for a lot of writers. - Say for a room of 12 guys who are, you know, girls, ladies and men who are throwing jokes, because, you know, I remember when I met, I started stand-up in Tucson, Arizona, and they did like a benefit for the club, and all these old people that used to work there, and one of them was a writer for Seinfeld, and I was just drinking beers with them. I was like an open-micre, and I was like, I thought Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld wrote. Seinfeld, he's like, no. He's like, are you kidding me? There's like a chorus line of all of us writing, and he told me the two episodes he wrote, and I was like, and I went back and I watched, and I was like, oh, he did. Like, oh, his name's on there as a writer. So I do think it's interesting, 'cause a lot of times you're right, the mic whites, and they go, oh, White Lotus is just one guy, or true detective, that first season. They were like, oh, he wrote all that, and you're like, that seems even Vince Gillian on Breaking Bad, people don't realize, he had a whole crew. Like, obviously, he's the creator of that show, but we need better writers rooms, but studios don't wanna invest. - Yeah. - We're in this age now where they go, well, you just make it, and we'll. - Yeah. - Like, that used to be a big thing for guys, kind of like you that were like, hey, I'm a little shy, I don't wanna go out and do all this stuff, but I can write jokes. I know a bunch of guys like that, and you're like, well, put 'em in a room, then you can make a fucking fantastic show. - I really, you know, this week I've been really interested with all the commencement speeches. Have Ben, I was telling him before you got here, all the commencement speeches in college, have been like the Google CEO, or like these tech people, and what's really funny to me is they're giving these commencement speeches, and they're talking about AI, and they're getting booed. - Yeah, I think about that. - It's been great. I highly recommend it to anybody, go Google it, go look it up, it's very funny, 'cause you're watching these like CEO, very wealthy men who are just used to everyone saying yes to them, and all these college kids are like, "Fuck you, you're taking our fucking job!" And they're going, but it's a great tool. And they're like watching them. I think the most interesting part of me is watching the crack and seeing the humanity come out of them and being like, "Guys, stop being mad at me." - Yeah, yeah. - But you're seeing that where you're like-- - Yeah, I gotta watch this. - Oh, dude, do you think AI is gonna fuck up writers rooms? - I mean, it's impossible to predict how technology will, in the future, as in how-- - Yeah, that's why there's no cell phones in any of future movies from the '80s. - Yeah, I know. - No one gets to cell phones. - I mean, I'm very stressed about it. - Yeah. - I think it really is this very stressful thing, because it's like AI isn't creative. - Yeah, but-- - It just mimics what it already knows. - But the brain is a computer, so technically-- - Yeah, they can get it to where it is. - Yeah, yeah, I don't think, I mean, every time I check in like to like, what can it do? How much, how close it to replacing me? It's like not there yet, but you just never know what the next model's gonna do. But the idea of you going in and checking in and being like, are you replacing me yet? - Yeah. - And it's like, no, I'll be back in six. - Well, just say, like, can you write 10 jokes in the style of "Dandman's" and see what it does? But, I mean, when I first tried that, like, first of all, I was like, before I do this, what if it's a great joke, would I do that in my act? And I was thinking like, well, I, if it can consistently do that, then I'm just retiring, 'cause it's a point. - Yeah, this thing-- - I originally do a couple, I guess, if a friend gave me a couple. But then what I realized is like, so it's like, oh, this is a terrible joke, terrible joke. Oh, wow, this is a great joke, I'm so fucked. And then, I, but then I Google it and it's like, oh, just someone's tweet. And I felt better, but I also, I'm like, okay, well, you can never use something at road because you won't know if it's stolen from someone. And you don't want that to be your excuse. Like, I'm so sorry I stole your joke. I was using it. (laughing) - But that is, you know what's interesting about that is that's an inherent feeling and comedy before you die. You know, that's like, you hear the stories about David Tell. That's what he calls other comics. 'Cause he goes, does anybody do this joke? And AI doesn't do that. AI just goes, here's that joke. And you go, oh, you took another joke and just gave it to me. And I think that is a thing of like, I think the reason it scares me so much is because the people that run these studios and the people that are in charge of making this stuff aren't creatives anymore. - Yeah. - They're all hatchet men. They're all like numbers guys. Like studios want to bring in guys who go, hey, you can spend this much and you'll make this much. And all the board members will be very happy. - Yeah. - But what they don't realize is they're killing the small amount of creativity that they actually have in the room by drinking the budget. - Yeah. - It's like we don't have to pay eight writers to write the show anymore. - Yeah. - We don't make the show good. Obviously the actors and the people that made it, but it's like the people, the guy who grew up in New Hampshire that knew this joke about this place in New Hampshire that you reference in the show, that is a great joke. It's like you're not gonna get him. You're gonna cut him out for a computer that's just gonna mimic someone else's. - Yeah, it is, you know, in theory, like if they're really good analysts and number crunchers, then they'll be able to figure out this is the part. You cut the budget and this is where you don't cut the budget. - Exactly. - But I think they're just, from there, if you're not actually in the writers room and kind of seeing the process up close, I think there's too much noise in the data for them to realize that's why this show is better than this show. - Yeah, I mean, you know what it is? It's like we're in such an age where there's so much like technologies made so much stuff convenient, you know, like finding a movie or ordering food or buying an album, you know, it's like all this convenient stuff that we misinterpret it that it can also do the heavy shit. Where you go, I don't know if it can do the heavy shit, 'cause even the entertainment stuff, it fucks up so much. And I think people don't, you know, people want GLP1 stuff. They don't wanna go to the, they don't wanna watch their diet and exercise and do the old school route of like, I'm counting my calories, I'm exercising five days a week. They wanna go, I'm gonna take this shot. - Yeah. - And now I get sick when I think about food. I just won't eat food, and I'll have a, and it's like, there are people that need that. There are, you know, I'm friends with people that struggle with their weight. And you do know that there are some people that that could help, but it feels like people are using a nuclear bomb to swat a fly. - Yeah. - Where they're going like, oh, this is the, oh, I can do it. And I'm skinny now, and I have like this benefit, but it's like, I feel like that's happening a lot in comedy right now where people are going like, well, it's GLP, want it. We'll just, those fucking cut it, we know, it's just a shot. We'll AI it. You know, we were talking about someone special when we won't say who's, but this guy was like, they fucked up the filming. The guy goes, I'll just clean it up with AI. And you go, don't do that. 'Cause then next thing you know, you go like, well, I don't wanna film a show. I'll just put my jokes in, and AI will make this, make my performance smoother. And it's like, I don't know, there is a thing, especially a guy like you that writes one liners. - It's like. You know, if you shifted looking it from comedy to music, it's like you write sheet music, and that's so difficult that people don't realize. It's like, yeah, A, I might be able to do it, but it won't be, they don't have the years of learning it like you did. - Yeah. - I don't know. It is like an area where I go, for convenience, I'm all four technology. The heavier shit, I think we really need to chill. And I'm glad these CEOs are getting booed. - Yeah. - I think all CEOs should get booed. But I like that these guys are like, to their face, an overwhelming group makes me very happy. Just 'cause I don't, I don't know. We're in the era of liking bosses. - Well, I don't, I mean, I think we were in that era and that made people aren't realizing that we're not, yeah. - I think that's actually the way to say it is like, there was an era where we're like, look at this guy, what a boss, what a CEO, and there you go. - Like the social network. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. When then you go, I actually think you're kind of fucked up. Oh, you're kind of a dick. Are you poisoning the water and they're like, whatever bro, I'm a boss. If I was a CEO, I would just lean into it. - Yeah. - And be like, why you guys, you guys mad 'em ballin' out so hard with my army of robots? Was there ever a time when you were in Alaska that you were like, I'm just gonna stay here? Did you ever, or were you one of those people that's like, please let me out right now? I mean, I never thought, none of the things I wanted to do or that was really the best place to do it. So I always thought I'd be leaving. - Did you want to be an entertainer? Did you want to be in like. - I mean, there's one thing I wanted to do. - Sure. - And so yeah, and I think teenagers anywhere, other outside of like, I guess if you live here or LA, like wish they lived somewhere else. But now I'm going back, like I love it. And sometimes I think I'll be cool to move back here, especially now that you can kind of live anywhere. - Sure, there are about possibilities. - My wife doesn't think she could handle the darkness, so I don't think. - What's the harder one? Is the winners of the summers, the whole life? - Definitely the winters. And people get like seasonal-effective disorder and. - Like for real life. - It'll be like. - Not a hot girl that like is sad and January. (laughing) And you're like talking about people that actually get mentally affected. - Yeah, yeah. - Is that, did you ever have that? Were you ever affected? Or is it because you grew up? It's kind of like me with the altitude that you ever really affected. - Yeah, not that I know of. I think it's growing up there, yeah. - It really does, 'cause I take people to Colorado and they get headaches and they only had to sit down and stuff and you're like, I'm fine. - Yeah. - But I haven't lived there in 26 years. But yeah, growing up there. So when you took your wife to Alaska, did you take her up there for a winner? - We know. - Or just like in the winter. - I think we went in like April once where there's still snow on the ground. I think she just knows that she couldn't handle it. - She knows that. - Where is she from? - She, I mean, she, she, family moved around with us. She's mainly from Iowa, Davenport, Iowa. - Right, so it's like not similar in any way that she could be like, I can handle that. - Yeah, yeah. - Yeah, that is like the retirement. 'Cause I love Colorado and I've had the same thoughts about like maybe I would come back here, you know, when everything slowed down. - Yeah. - I just wanted to kind of be by myself and read books and shit or be with Katie and the dogs. And I feel like, I don't know. I was one of the only people that I knew that really wanted to get out of there in high school. - Oh really? - A lot of my friends still live there and have great lives and I love visiting them and stuff. But I feel like I was like maybe one of five people that I knew that was like, I'm ready to get the fuck out. - Oh wow. - It's Colorado's beautiful. - Yeah. - There's just no humidity, the weather is great. - Yeah. - You know, it's a little tricky. So it is a place that absolutely, I don't fault anybody for being like, oh, I just want to stay here the rest of my life. But I really had that itchiness. - Yeah, I think more people want to leave Anchorage 'cause it's, yeah, I mean Denver's a big city and it's like closer to stuff. It does feel like there's a lot, I haven't actually researched it so who knows? But it feels like there's a lot of turnover. - It's a podcast, you just keep scrolling out. - Information that's not embedded at all. - I feel like there's a lot of turnover where a lot of the adults in Anchorage move, there's adults and the kids going up there move away. - Well, they, I don't know if this is when I lived, when I lived up there for the summer, but they pay you to move there. - Well, you got the, do you mean the dividend? - Yeah, the dividend. - People don't, if you move to Alaska and become a citizen there, you get like, in '02, it was a $1,600 check. I don't know what it is now. But it was like money from the oil reserve that's up there or something? - Yeah, they basically, when they first found oil and started, you know, in the state, they realized they had all this money. They set aside a bunch of money for basically, for using an emergency. And then the investment income off of that goes, is just, is distributed as a check to everyone. So it's different every year based on the market. And then, and now it's like a third rail, like you can have an emergency and no one's gonna let you touch that money. - Really? - They would need to, they want to get their checks, yeah. - Yeah, they're like, dude, come on. We're having a good year. We're having a bullish market. I need this money. - Yeah, yeah. - But that was kind of the, you know, the, like, sell at the cannery. - Yeah. - Or like, yeah. - Because I was dead broke and they're like, you know, if you move here. - Yeah. - You get like, 1,600 bucks. - Yeah. - Yeah. - Well, I could use 1,600 dollars. - Yeah, I mean, it always, my check always just went to my college funds. - Right. - That is great. When you were at Harvard and people find out you're from Alaska, Harvard is one of those universities where you probably saw, like, legit wasps, like, snooty, like, yeah. I want to say, like, you know, the bad guys from trading places. - Yeah. - They're like, the ones that sing to women. - Yeah. - Where they're like, and of course, there's dull. - Yeah. - I always think of Harvard and Yale like that. 'Cause I had a friend that went to Yale and he would come back home and I'd be like, what is it like? You scored crossbones. But when you move from Alaska to Cambridge and you're at Harvard, was there like this, like, where are you from? You're from Alaska? - It's a big enough campus with enough, like, economic diversity that, like, there's more, there definitely are the stereotypes, people from the movies, but they're not, there's not most of the people that you see. - I'd be fascinated with them. - Yeah. - What's your life like? - Yeah. And, you know, there's definitely, like, the richest people in the world from richest families. But, yeah, I mean, my dad actually went to Harvard. That helped, you know, made it easier for me to get in. - Oh, then you have someone that you have a Sherpa. You have someone that knows the lay of the land. - Yeah, and we actually went to, like, his, his 20th or through union. - Oh, cool. - When I was a whole family, when I was like 13, so I met, like, kids at private schools and I started to kind of learn a little bit about that East Coast culture, but-- - Seeing what they're like, where you're like, you live at school and they're like, I do. - I know, I like, I would, back my parents sent me to boarding school. They're like, you can pick between boarding school or college, but we can't. - Oh, you wanted to go to boarding school? - I mean, just when I met kids from there, it's, I mean, it just, I guess it just, it sounds like, I don't really know what it's like. It sounds like you're, like, independent. - Sure. - You live at school? - You live at independent early, but probably you're not that independent based on the rules, but, yeah. - Well, it's so funny because, like, you wanted to go to boarding school and my threat was military school. My mom was like, I'll send you to Kansas. You'll go to fucking military school. If you know a Sherpa, and you're like, all right, I'm not smoking cigarettes anymore. I'm a good kid now, but it is like, I did not want to go away for school. I was like, dude, I will run away before you fucking put me in military school. I always think it's interesting because, like, when you would come back to Alaska from school, from Harvard, were your friends that were from Anchorage, like, what's it like? 'Cause I was blown away by my friend who went to Yale. He came home and I would just be like, who have you met? Like, what's the craziest person? He knew, like, the CEO of Snapple's daughter. He met a kid, and this was all, like, freshman year shit. And I remember we were hanging out, and he met a kid that was a genius, like, a little certified. That's what's crazy about Harvard and Yale. It's like, you can call people geniuses, but motherfucking geniuses go to these schools, and he met a kid that developed, which is really prominent now, the technology of charging by laying something on it. Oh, wow. So, like, this was 2001, and the kid had developed it and built it. - Yeah, wow. And he, I mean, obviously, I don't know if that's whose thing it was. But my buddy came home and he was like, yeah, in the future, you'll be able just to, like, lay your foot phone on a thing in a little charge. Obviously, I mean, you know, it's smartphones. But he was right, and I was like, damn, that's crazy, you knew about that 25 years ago. Did you have moments like that, where you were, like, meeting kids and then telling people back home, like-- - I mean, I feel like it, so, yeah, I mean, most kids at, like, an highway school are basically their regular people that are just really good at taking tests. - Yeah, okay. - That makes me feel better. - Yeah. - That does make me feel like a lot less dumber, 'cause you're like, I'm horrible at tests. I would have never, like-- - Yeah, exactly. It just, you know, people, the average person underperforms on tests, 'cause they're nervous, or this is awkward constraints. And then people that are just good at it, like, they get into the best schools. And then, but, yeah, but you do have like that, like, you know, 3% of the student population is like, insane geniuses that you'd never meet anywhere else. - Yeah, that's very cool. I don't remember meeting anyone, whereas, like, someone that's exciting to talk about, I feel like, I just, there's so many. I just, like, other people somehow knew, like, celebrities that I just did it to. - Oh, really? - But, yeah, it was, it is, like, interesting now, like, all the, you know, people that I, you know, remember from classes, like, they're, like, you know, writing for the New York Times or whatever, and just seeing their names out there, yeah. - Yeah, that is gotta be fun, that you're like, I remember him from sophomore year. Yeah, this goes really well. writing an op-ed piece with you with your you have two kids when they go back to Alaska with you how because your parents are still up there right yeah do they love that um I mean my my son like loves hiking and he loves like going to his very rustic summer camp so he's very excited to do all this stuff so he's got to be like can we go to grandma grandpa yes the best versus Iowa yeah woof what a fuck it no thanks to the great state of Iowa and shout out George Kiddell from the 49ers but fucking Alaska Iowa I don't even think that's a conversation for a vacation you go please give me go to Alaska yeah I mean that just your it's so your son super into it yeah and my my daughter's final that she's she'll be going to high school so fine do your kids care at all that your teen abelture um no I think they think that it's cool yeah I mean I mean living living in LA it just doesn't mean that's got to be you know it's like um the there's like the you know just at you're never gonna be the most uh successful person at your kids elementary school oh like there's like a a less movie stars yeah your daughter's gonna come home and go like I'm friends with Moana yeah what do you mean like actual Moana we we're in a we're a squash group together like holy shit LA is really the only place that you know like I even think in New York your kids would get more mileage out of you yeah maybe yeah maybe yeah yeah they were you know but yeah you know there's what you know as they extend about you that you're not at like LA it really is like oh that's fun what other projects is your dad off yeah kids are asking that no I remember like from just be all when all I did was stand up in New York and just basically an open mic level sure like the people regular people were so impressed and like to move to LA like the level of the level you have to get to to have people be as impressed anywhere else simply that you like go do open mic stand up it really yeah yeah the thing about LA that always blew my mind was when I started going there regularly and you realize like everybody there's in the businesses somehow yeah like everybody like you'll be at like a gas station in the guy will be like I got a specs trip picked up by NBC and you're like holy shit everyone here works it's part of the reason I didn't want to move there was because I had liked being around regular yeah yeah I liked being or and I I needed to be in a city where I could do stand up a lot yeah this was a city where I felt like no one cares yeah they go like you go like I did well at the comedy seller is like I got off an 18 hours shift we're on the same W train shut the fuck up I liked that about it whereas LA I just felt like everyone was like oh you haven't done enough and you're like yeah I don't know but the older I get the more I enjoy LA yeah the more I go out there and I go oh this is nice it's just less weather yeah probably have a backyard yeah it is yeah it is definitely nice with like you mentioned your dog oh yeah she's going nuts right now she's supposed to come out and say hi to you and like they still like you still they still need like walks and stuff but like it was a mill the night and I have to go about that you don't have to take them on a walk yeah every night she's in this new thing right now I usually fall asleep on this couch while I'm watching TV and then at night she waits for me to go to bed she'll drink an entire bowl of water and then go stand at the door and be like hey you know we got to take an elevator yeah we got to like get in an elevator and go downstairs and it's like two in the morning and yeah and then she just wants to smell stuff and there's a guy there's a guy screaming at you you know and you're like hey all right I'm in my slides please don't attack me yeah but it is that that's what does suck yeah but like little stuff of like Katie and I like jokingly fantasize about the idea of just opening a door and being like go outside yeah it is nice yeah that's like to me that's like you could fly like you could do that I'm very excited to watch the special man I think you're I think you're fucking hilarious I love a ton of the stuff that you've worked on and done check out the special the link is below right now well-rounded entertainer Dan Mint watch it use hilarious I appreciate you coming by and thanks for having me yeah dude I really thank you for having me yeah dude I really thank you for having me [MUSIC]