Maury Povich: Open Relationship? Insulting Muhammad Ali, IVF Journey & More!

(upbeat music) - Is this thing on? Hi guys, welcome back to another episode of Dunflon. Today we welcome a man whose name doesn't just live in pop culture, it defines it. From the newsroom to daytime TV, from serious journalism to unforgettable, you are not the father moments. - Mori Povitch has been making America laugh, cry, and sometimes sprint off the stage for decades. - Wow. - Was that a good end? Was that a joke? - Very good, buddy. Terrific. - Mr. Mori Povitch is on Dunflon. - I know, it's my honor to be with you. - You don't understand, you are the godfather. You have no idea. - Everybody says something like that, and I just, I mean, I'm amazed at how penetrating it's been over all these years. - Six decades. - I know, a long time. - That is me. - But I mean, especially the talk show, you know? Everybody, it's like, it's part of the culture, and I never expected it, and still I'm amazed. - And that's why you're a frickin legend. I'm telling you, because you're so humble about it, and because you didn't seek it out, it kind of found you in a way, which we'll talk about, and you literally made history for, while you're very kind. - Decades, it's just been insane. Can we bring daytime TV back? - You know, it's interesting. I'm doing, believe it or not, I'm doing a documentary on the golden age of daytime talk, which was the 1990s. So that's when 12 of us were on the air. You had 12 daytime talk shows. - Yes. - I mean, we're talking Oprah, Phil Donahue, Geraldo, me, Jenny Jones, Ricky Lake, I mean, Montel Williams, I could go on and on. - Yes. - And it was this decade. - An unforgettable decade. - Yeah. - I feel like the world, especially right now, and this isn't to get like to into that subject, but like, we need something to give us an escape. Like, yes, we have reality TV and stuff like that, but it was nothing like what daytime TV did for us, and it was like, you know, if you were ever having a bad day, you just turn the TV on and guess what? You're gonna watch more, you're gonna, I love Jenny Jones, you know, there was Ricky Lake, there was everybody, that was an outlet. And because right now, everybody's just so focused on religion and politics, it's like, I truly feel, like if we brought daytime TV back, it would help heal America. - You know, you said something that one of the big things I said to my staff about my show, no politics, no religion. - Yes. - We don't wanna do that. Be glad to do, you know, individual stories that have a lot of emotion, a lot of drama, because that's why people wanna watch, but I wanna stay away from religion and stay away from politics. - You can't win, absolutely. And I do the same thing on my podcast. What is it like having a podcast now? Because you're coming from, like, real journalism that you went to school for, that you actually graduated and got a degree in, and now everybody has a podcast. I would love to hear your opinion on this. - It's interesting, I think because most people, for the last 31 years, I was doing this talk show, and they know about that part of my life, and the fact that I've done that, but not many people knew that, you know, I had 25 years in the business before that, as a journalist and worked in a group and raised in Washington, D.C., I worked there, I worked in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia. I was, in fact, one guy, a friend of mine, was writing for Esquire magazine. He said, "My friend, the anchor man, Mari Povitch, I have seen him anchor newscasts in four different cities on four successive St. Patti's days. He's trying to go nationwide, city by city, because that was kinda like my, you know, my Odyssey years, I was just out there trying to make it, make it and make it, and I had to move around, and I had disagreements with management and all this kinda stuff, and then I finally went back to my hometown of Washington, and then this wild Australian, Rupert Murdoch buys the station and brings me to New York to start this crazy show called A Current Affair, and the rest is history. - Do you feel like you defined pop culture, or do you feel like pop culture defined you?" - You know, I think it's a chicken in the egg. I really do, I believe that we came up with this idea, these ideas of three huge themes that made it, the out of control teenagers who would come on the show because they wanted to run the streets, because they hated being home, and they wanted unconditional love, and they wanted to get pregnant at 14. We had that kind of theme. We had the lie detector theme, where significant others would bring on their spouse or a significant other and accuse them of cheating. And so we had the lie detector test, and then of course, the DNA, which was the most popular, but the reason it was successful is because we had an answer, we had a result, and we did it within 15 minutes, not like daytime soap operas, which would take six months to get through these things. - Right, absolutely. Doing those shows, because you mori ran for 31 seasons, so that's 5,545 episodes. That's a lot of episodes, one of the longest running talk show hosts. How did you keep your empathy alive when you saw so many stories that could have just made you jaded? - Well, I think more than anything else, it goes back to my beginnings as a journalist, we're storytellers. And I always found it didn't matter if the theme was the same. I believe that every story had a unique quality about it. And so if you can buy into that, that every story has a unique quality, then your curiosity is there. Once you're curious, that means that you're doing your job the best. And so therefore, I just found out that if I could just find a unique aspect in every single story, it was new to me. - I love that outlet, because I was just telling them before you came. It's like, how do you interview people that have had thousands of interviews? And to me, it's like, I just always want to learn something new. I want to find out something new about them. So you're saying that is complete confirmation. - No, absolutely, to me, the best interviewers are those who are curious. Those who are able to listen and be able to bounce off what the interviewee is saying, not necessarily, you know, let's go to the next question. Let's go to the next question. You just go with the flow. - Yeah, you may get a conversation. - Yeah. - I love that. - And that's the best dinner. I've found that whether it be in news or whether it be in talk, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what the platform is. The object is the same. - Is there an interview that you've done in your life that has stuck with you, like that you think about often? - Well, there are some interviews. Well, I'll give you an example. - Listen, nobody wants to give their money away to ridiculous bank fees. It's your money. You shouldn't have to pay somebody just to keep it in an account. That's why I like what time is doing. There are no overdraft fees, no monthly fees and no minimum balance fees. You can also get 5% cash back on your time card in a category you choose, like gas or groceries, while building credit through your everyday spending with no credit check. And if you're ever in a pinch, SpotMe lets you overdraft up to $200 fee-free. To me, banking should make managing your money easier, not nickel and dime you every chance it gets. 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Listen and follow unpost with me, Dr. Mary Claire Haver, wherever you get your podcasts. - Years and years, my father was the sports editor, a sports writer for the Washington Post for 75 years. So I kind of grew up in sports. I used to do a local talk show in Washington. And I was lucky enough to have Muhammad Ali on the show. - Oh my goodness. - And so, and he was great. And so because of Ali being on the show and my father who covered Ali in a lot of his fights, I had the two of them on my show. And I'll never forget, it was one of the great faux pas that I've ever had in my life. So I'm there and I'm looking at Ali as bright and smart as he is. I mean, he was the quickest. He was the, not only was he articulate, but he was quick and just so fast to be able to get his thought out. So I said to him, because he was fighting, he's still fighting at the time. I said, "Champ," I said, "You know, I know stories about other fighters." And I was referencing an old fighter named Bo Jack, who was a middleweight champion. I said, "Bo Jack, you're not going to end up like Bo Jack, because you know, he ended up shining shoes on the streets of Miami." And he looked at me and said, "You just stereotyped me. What do you kid me?" And he went off on me like, and he says, "You're not as smart as your daddy. Your daddy would never say anything like that." And I went, "Oh my gosh, you're right. I just stereotyped their champion of the world. I can't believe it." So there are things you want to take back, but at the same time, okay, live TV, it happened. And you know, I was able to say, I was sorry, but at the same time, I went, "Wow, Mori, you really made a big bad one there." But you learned a lesson. Sure. Absolutely. He taught you-- I mean, I was like 31, 32 years old. Yeah. He taught you literally probably one of the greatest lessons, where you think. Absolutely. Thank the question out before you speak. I don't think I've ever stereotyped anybody since. Absolutely. That'll definitely set you straight. So let's go back to your dad, because you did just touch base on your dad. And you are one of three parents-- I'm sorry, you are one of three children. Yeah. And you guys all have like a-- you guys grew up in a journalism fan. Yeah. Yeah, it's really crazy. My brother, my late brother, he died at 87, but he was my dear older brother. He was the lawyer for the law firm that represented the Washington Post. Wow. You know, and all of its stuff with-- you remember the-- when the Pentagon papers went to the Supreme Court and everything else, he represented the Post in many issues. So my sister became the first women's senior-- first senior-- women's senior editor at Newsweek Magazine. And her husband was the editor-in-chief of Business Week Magazine. And my father was the sports writer at the Post for 75 years, and I am who I am. So it was kind of a delicate house of cards media family. You never know what was going to happen. But, you know, we just ended up loving this business so much. What an awesome legacy. Yeah, I mean, and it was great. And, you know, I-- you know, it's very interesting. You, on the other hand, you've done it all by yourself. Yeah. Right? Yes, sir. You ran away at the age of 14? No, you've done your research from the school. No, I know about you, but-- Can't handle your stepmother. Oh, yeah. Your mother dies when you're-- what, an infant almost? She'd left the house, yes, at-- or she left me at three months, but yes, yes. But here's the thing. So let's talk about your dad again, just for a split second, because, you know, he was a legend at the Washington Post. So did that inspire you? Or did you always-- did you feel like you always had to, like, live in his shadow? Well, it's interesting about living in the shadow. I wanted to be a print journalist like him. Yeah. But there were only two papers in town, the post where he worked, had a nepotism policy. You couldn't-- if you were of the same family, you couldn't work at the paper. Why is that? I'd never heard of that. Well, I think maybe because there's this-- the Graham family owned the paper and they didn't want, you know, more-- more of this relative stuff on the paper, I guess. And then the only other paper, the Washington Star at the time, they wouldn't hire me because my name was Povitch and my father was the big star of the competing paper. So I kind of gravitated to TV because I got the-- at the age of, like, 16, I got this job as the assistant to the baseball broadcaster for the Washington Senator's baseball team. And as soon as I started hanging around TV, I mean, I was addicted. I just knew, I mean, I didn't want to do anything else. But I think what was cool about you getting into TV is most people want to be the story, but you were interested in the story. Yeah, I wanted to be-- I wanted to find the story. You wanted to tell other people's stories. I wanted to be there. I wanted to observe those stories. And I was very fortunate because growing up in Washington, the nation's capital, my first job, once I got out of school, was being a radio reporter. So if you're a radio reporter in Washington, you might cover Bank robbery one hour, and you might be in the United States Senate covering a story the next hour. You might be at the White House, or you might be at a fatal car accident. In other words, local and national, it was the same thing if you were working in Washington, DC. So therefore, I was exposed to so much at such an early age. Yeah. I mean, I mean, one of the first big stories I ever did in 1963 was go to Andrews Air Force Base and watch Jacqueline Kennedy come off that plane in that bloodied pink suit. Oh gosh, okay. With her husband's body in the back of the plane. Oh my goodness. How did that make you feel in the morning? I can just-- I mean, talking about it right now, I can remember the night. I can remember the plane Air Force One. I can remember everything about it. And that was 37. That was almost 60 years ago. Wow. That moment in time is just how you have been there is. And then to be in Washington for the aftermath of the Martin Luther King assassination and the riots to be there for the anti-Vietnam War demonstrations throughout the town for many, many years to be there for Watergate, the biggest political event that we've-- that I've ever covered. And you know, it-- you grew up real fast. Well, do you ever take a moment to reflect on all of these experiences that you've had and just kind of tell yourself, like, pat yourself on the back? Like, I lived that. I was there for a while. Yeah, I mean, yeah, I mean, I mean, it's interesting. So if for the last 30 years I've been there in a talk show, okay, and people ask me all the time, "Oh, do you regret not covering?" I only regret not being at really big events, really big stories. What is considered a really big story for you, though, because you've been at a ton of big stories. I know, for instance, well, I would have-- I think I would have liked to have been around the presidential-- Gotcha. --election stories. I certainly would like to have been around January 6th. I would love to have been there to see that for myself instead of witnessing it on television. I would like to have done that. But for the most part, I can tell you this, buddy, I wouldn't want to be in that end of the business today. No. I wouldn't want to be in the news business too tough. No. You can't practice it the way I used to practice it the way my wife, Connie, Chung practiced it. You can't do it anymore. Quite frankly, those days have passed us by. Do you think that we'll ever have a chance of bringing that back? I do have a feeling as to where we have a chance. And that is the viewers haven't given up on local news. So local television stations, local newspapers, wherever you get your local news, most people think it's honest, it's fair, it's true, it's what happened. And so, therefore, if we can start to expand that feeling out again to a national effort because it exists locally. I mean, you turn on your local news, you believe what you're hearing. Right. I also believe that the difference between the way that the news was back then and how it is now is we didn't have the internet. Of course not. I feel like the internet has ruined so much. Well, it's blessed us with so much, but again, it's also ruined so much. You and I wouldn't be around without you. Right. Exactly. I definitely wouldn't. You would. You were around long before then. I mean, I see your numbers on Instagram and YouTube and TikTok and the Mari show still has huge numbers on those platforms, but at the same time, a lot of bad things happen on the internet. Yeah. And you know, I walk through the park. I walk through Central Park all the time. And I walk in my dog and walk in my dog. and everybody in the park is on their phone. And I'm telling you, if I don't bump into them, they're gonna bump into me. - Right. - They don't even look around. They don't even smell the roses. - A lot of people don't look up from their phones anymore. And you know, I just feel like the world, if we just came together and we're able to sort of try to heal together instead of being at each other's throats like everybody is. I think it would just make life so much better. And I just feel like the internet creates that divide though because everybody can have a freaking opinion, you know? Mari, is this your interview or am I an interviewer? - No, I'm more interested in you than me, you see. - Well, then I need to come on your podcast. - Please. - I would love to, let's talk about it. - Can you do that? - Yes, can we talk about your podcast? - Yeah, my podcast, so this podcast, it came about because you know, some people came to me. Holly Mirabella, my producer, it'd come to me and some others and said, you know, if you're interviewing, people know of you interviewing these people, you can spread your seed. I mean, come on. - Yeah. - I mean, you had all these years interviewing people in the news and people who made news. I mean, so it's kind of an eclectic podcast where, I mean, I interview rappers. - That's amazing. - Writers. - I love that. - I mean, I interviewed a great rapper named Dave East, recently, okay? - Yeah, and now. - Haley loves him. - You're kidding, really? - Yeah. - So, I interviewed Dave East and all of a sudden, you know, the comments on Instagram when we put out the clips of, hey, more, he's still alive. I thought he died. I thought he died with Jerry Springer. I mean, all this kind of stuff is going on. - That was terrible. - Yeah, I mean, you know, and then all these great compliments about, you know, Mari, Mari is one of us. And, you know, secretly, Mari is really one of us. - Yeah, it's all the, I don't want to stereotype anybody, but, you know, the DNA test and you are not the father, they can relate, you know what I'm saying? The younger generation, they're just always-- - But, you know, I mean, when I first started doing talk, and this is like 1991, when I first started, we went to Nashville for a week, and let me tell you, we had this, we used to have these young artists on. Guess who was the young artist we had on? Alan Jackson. - Wow. - And he was just like, this is 35 years ago. - Wow. - We had a group called Diamond Rio, which was a big deal. - Yes, I love Diamond Rio. - See, so all of the, and so I got very attached to the country early on, and yet at the same time, I'm trying to get Jay-Z on the talk show, and I try to do all this other stuff. - I love that. - Yeah. - That's amazing. I love that you have always just, you've never been judgemental, and you have always accepted all walks of life. - Absolutely. - I took a page from your book with my podcast, where I do exactly that too. I have rappers on, I have writers, journalists on, I have, you know, just an eclectic group of humans, because I really feel like in order to be good at being a talk show host, you have to have an open mind. And do you think that that's what's gotten you so far in this industry? - Absolutely, absolutely. I don't understand judgemental people. - Right. - Really don't, I don't get it. Why do you judge people like that? I mean, I want to think that there's good, there's some good in everybody and things like that. But, you know, there's so much negativity, and I just can't go there, I'll tell you a story. In my career, there were some station managers and executives that did me wrong. I thought did me wrong. And I had a list of about five of them. And I said, boy, if the time ever comes, I'm going to get revenge one by one over the years. They all got fired. And instead of applauding, I felt sorry for them. - Aw. - And I mean, you know, that's just me, I guess. - You have a sweet soul. - You think so? - I do, I can tell. - I'm going to tell my wife that. - Ah, please, I love Connie. Let's talk about Connie. - Connie is the best. - We try to get pregnant. - Aw. - And this is, I'm telling you, this is over 30 years ago. And so Connie had to take time off from CBS and it became a big story that we were trying to get pregnant. And late show guys, you know, Jay Leno and everybody was kind of making fun of a wonder of Maureen Connie doing it tonight. Where was this? You know, doing all this kind of stuff. To the point where Fox had this great show called In Living Color. Years. - Amazing show. - Okay. They did a skit on Connie and I in bed trying to get pregnant. And Jim Carrey played me. - Oh my gosh, I have to see that. - I mean, it was the only part. So we had, you know, and there was all kinds of press and all kinds of stuff. And so we finally adopted because it couldn't, we couldn't do it. - But still adopting is just, - It's the best. - It's amazing. - Wouldn't take it back now. - It wouldn't take it back. - That's amazing. - And so anyhow, I know what you have gone through. - Thank you. I appreciate that. - And it's tough. - It is tough, but at the same time, it's like you just put it in God's hands. And if it's meant to be, it's meant to be. And if not, we can always adopt. So I'm totally open to adoption too. - I'll tell you, I'm a big fan of adoption. - Are you? Can you take me on that adoption journey a little bit? - Sure. I mean, it's, you know, it's interesting, we have this son. He's now 30 years old. Connie is, first of all, Connie says, when we're starting to adopt, Connie says to the lawyer that we're hired. So we want a child who is half Chinese and half Jewish. And the lawyer says, you won't live long enough. (laughing) Nobody comes up like that. - Right, right. (laughing) It's not gonna happen. So we have this guy. And he's, he's just spectacular. And, and he's now 30. He's engaged, he and his girlfriend have been together for like nine or 10 years. - Oh. And did you guys go public back then with adopting? Did you let everybody know you were adopting? Or did you keep it private? - You know what happens? The tabloids find out. The national inquirer found out. - That's such an invasion of privacy. - Unbelievable. I couldn't believe it. Everything was closed. It was a closed adoption and everything else. Nobody knew anything. And all of a sudden, the national inquirer finds out everything. And the only way we could keep it quiet was I had to, we had to give the inquirer an interview after the fact. - They did that to Rosanne too. - They did? - Yes. I feel like they bullied people into like, we have this information about you. If you don't give us an interview, we're gonna out you. - Right. - That's so wrong. That's terrible journalism. - Yeah, well that was way back, you know, 30 years ago. - They could never do that now. - No. - No, it would never fly. - No. - But, I mean, it's a blessing. - It is a blessing. - Adoption is a blessing. - Absolutely. - And I, and you have two kids of your own too. I asked if I'm a previous marriage. - They're much older. I have four grandchildren of them. And you know, they're doing great. My daughter Susan and Amy and they're terrific. And so we're a blended family. - Yeah, yeah, we're a blended family. - I think, I think that says it all. - I love that though, that's so awesome. - So take me back to the first time that you met Mrs. - My wife Connie? - Yes, Mrs. Connie. - Well here's the thing, she, how can I explain this? I'm working, I'm working in Washington as my first TV job and I'm getting to be pretty big. I'm doing sports, I'm doing news and I'm doing a local talk show and I'm okay. And so the news director hires this person as his assistant, fine. Her name is Connie Chung. We don't spend much time about it, you know, a copy girl around the office again. And then what happens is when we really knew Connie was gonna be important was the first job that comes up is a writer's job on the desk to write the newscasts. She wants the job, the news director says, no, you're my secretary, nope, I want the job. And then the second, the news director says you have to, if you want the job, you have to replace yourself. Connie walks out in the newsroom across the street into the bank, looks at the first woman teller, says you wanna be in TV, come with me. Walks her down, gets to the news director, gets this Tell her the job that she had, and she becomes the first job she had in the business. That's amazing. And within a year or two, she's off to work at CBS News. Let's talk about you, but was that what attracted her? Yeah, no, I mean, I was married at the time. She went on to a big career at CBS News in Washington, and then she went to Los Angeles to become a big star anchor for CBS out there. And then I, as I said, odyssey years traveling around the country, I end up as her second banana in Los Angeles. It was destiny. And then at one point, six months after I get there, I had a general manager who hired me, then he was fired, then the new general manager fired me, you know, last hired first fired. And so I'm fired. The only person I know is Connie. And so a bit later on, I mean, the first, in order, I always say this, in order for her to love me, she had to pity me first. Stop it. So we started to date, we never, we dated for seven and a half years. That is a long time before we got married and never lived together. Wow. And did not date exclusively. Okay. You know about that, right? Of course, yes. And so years later, we're dating often on, and I asked her to marry me. She doesn't want to. She asked me to marry. I don't want to. And then she calls me up one day in 1984 and says, we can get married now. And I said, how come? She says, because I found a dress. Uh, I think you guys are soulmates. That is amazing. So that was 40, almost 41 years ago. One thing I love about your podcast with her too is that you are always, okay. So Connie is like, from what I perceive, she's so like, she's kind of bottled up. She's not going to just, she's very poised. And you, on the other hand, say the craziest stuff. And like, get her to react while she's on the podcast. And it is the funniest thing to watch. But you guys ended up having a viral moment. Can we talk about, well, you've had a couple. Oh, yeah. So we did this thing on the podcast where she was going to, I was going to ask her a question. She doesn't know. She was going to ask me. So she picks up this thing in the, in the pot, these various questions. And what, I mean, it's like a, you know, it's like a Chinese cookie or something, it pulls it out. And she says, "Mari, when are you the most sexiest?" And the only thing I said is on Sundays, and she says, "What do you mean?" I said, "What do you mean? You know what I mean?" I mean, it's Sundays with Connie, and she goes, she goes like this. I saw it. And so it went viral, you know. There was also another clip that went viral where you guys were talking about cheating. Oh, yeah. I mean, I understood where you were coming from because I could read between the lines, but I think the internet kind of ran with it, and they, they just turned it into something it wasn't. Yeah, I remember. Can we elaborate on that conversation? Yeah, it was just, it was just, you know, I always used to say when we were seeing each other not exclusively, I said, "You were dating these Hollywood stars." Does she talk about this in her book? Yeah. Okay. She does. And so you, you're dating these stars, and then she says, "Yeah, and you're dating people, you can't even remember the first names." And so I mean, I said, "Oh, we're not going there, Connie, or we're just not going there." I mean, she comes up with some outlandish stuff. I mean, it's kind of, I mean, what do you, what do you think Connie has taught you? Being married to Connie for as long as you have, you said 41 years, what is the biggest lesson that you think Connie has taught you in marriage? Because obviously something's working, 41 years? I know exactly what it is. I mean, I know exactly how to play it for the last 41 years in our life. I am Mr. Chong. Oh. I am not Mari Powich. I am Mr. Chong. The first time that we, when we got married, I was living in Washington. She was living in New York. She was working at NBC. And so she was living in this apartment, and I would come up on the weekends. It's kind of like you two, you know? You don't see each other for a while. And he's in the same city as me right now. And you're still not seeing each other. Well, we try too, but it's just, you know, when you're working, you know how to. So I come, and I'm working in Washington, and I come up, and there's the door man at her building, and I said, my name is Mari Powich. I'm Connie Chong's husband, oh, you are. And he calls up and said, Mr. Chong is downstairs. So that's the way it's been for 41 years, and that's the way I wanted to continue. But to be so secure, most men would hate that, you know what I'm saying? And you are just like so in awe of your wife. My wife made a lot more money when we got married than I did. Wow. And I was the full support of my girls, and she helped me in that area when they were going to college. I mean, you know, there are times, everybody thinks, because you've been successful so long, it was always that way. Right. It wasn't. I mean, I was fired. I was this. I mean, I bummed around. I mean, I had a lot of failures along with the success. But I think that's what made you the man that you are today, and shout out to Connie Chong for being a real one. This is what we give her her props on that story that you just told us. So let's bounce off the fact that you were just talking about how you were, you know, broke in certain aspects, and that you weren't as big as you had wanted to be. What is the most humbling moment for you in life before you hit it big? I'll tell you what it was. We use Shopify for our storefront at bunnyxo.com. And one thing I've learned from running an online store is that you definitely don't have to be an e-commerce expert to get started. I think a lot of people get intimidated by the website side of starting a business, but Shopify makes that part so much easier. One of my favorite things is having everything in one place when you're running a business. You already have a million things going on, so the last thing you want is for managing your storefront to be one more thing to stress about. Shopify makes it easy to get your store launched, manage it, and actually focus on selling. They also have pre-built themes and an AI site builder that can help you create a professional looking storefront without having to build a website from scratch. And if a friend asks me about starting a store before the holidays, I tell them, don't wait until Black Friday. Get it launched. Learn what works for you, and have everything ready before that holiday traffic starts coming in. If you're ready to launch your business before Black Friday, go to Shopify.com/bunny to start your free trial. That Shopify.com/bu and an i.e. Go to Shopify.com/bunny today to hear your first. We were mentioning my father. My father was probably the most red writer in all of Washington DC, whether it be a political writer or a sports writer, everybody read my father. He was a big name. And so after, in Los Angeles, when I got fired from this station, I was also getting a divorce. And I had to call my parents and tell them because I knew when I was getting fired, so it was going to end up in the paper. And so there we're going to see it. So I called up, "Few, call to my father." And I said, "Dad, I got some bad news and some bad news." And I told him I was getting fired and that I was getting divorced. And I was scared to death what his reaction would be. And there was this long pause, and he said, "Get all the sharp instruments out of the house and come home and give your mother a hug." Oh, my goodness. That I never expected that out of him. I mean, this was a, you know, a dominant guy. I mean, our family was always from the top down. I mean, it was like, you know, you did what your parents said or else. I mean, it was, and I couldn't believe that he had that kind of sensitivity in that moment. And that was exactly what you needed. That like made me tear up a little bit. That's really a beautiful story. Can we talk about your mom for a second? Because I feel like we're always talking about dad and his family. I know. And my mother had a great line about that because with my brother and my sister and me, and we were always attached to my father and every time it was, what we were mentioned, it was always about my father. My mother used to say, "You poor, motherless children." That's how she looked on it because she was a housewife and she was a mom and a wife. And she raised us because back then, my father, because he was a sports writer, he would travel, you know, maybe a third to a half the year following the baseball team or following this event or that sporting event. And so, therefore, he wasn't around that much, and so my mother had to be the mother and the father. She kept it grounded. Yeah. What's something about your mom that the world doesn't know that sticks with you every day? I tell you, I still remember, I still remember something. And when I was, I was kind of a mischievous kid. Among the three, I was kind of the middle child, mischievous. And I'll never forget I did something wrong at around 10 or 11 years old. And she was so mad at me. She came up with a broomstick to my room. And she said, I'm going to hit the hell out of you. And she did. - Laurie, what did you do? - I can't remember what I, I can't remember. It could have been anything, I don't know. I was kind of a pissy kid, you know. But I'll never forget my mother, my mother, not my father, my mother. I mean, I had my mother, my father used to wash my mouth out with soap because the first time I use the F word at that dinner table. - Not the dinner table, Laurie. - Well, I told you I was a mischievous kid. - I love that though. I think your mischievousness is what has, and your wit also in your interviews. Like you can, that mischievousness still carries with you now. - Yeah, I think it, I think it's, yeah, I think it's part of me. - It's your charm, it's part of your charm. - Yeah, I'm a little bit that way. - I love that. So here, let's talk about how I discovered you. I didn't discover you from the Moripovic show. - Really? - I discovered you on a current affair. - You did. - I was obsessed. I watched it. - Wow. - All the time, a current affair was my jam. - It was the reason why I became a success. If it wasn't for that show, Murdoch brings me, I'm anchoring the local news in Washington in 1986, and I get a call to go see Mr. Murdoch in New York. I don't know the guy, he owns the station. He comes up, he introduces me to these Australians. All of these wild, crazy Australian producers that he had brought over from Australia. And he says, "I have this idea for a show." I said, "Yeah." I said, "We're going to call it a current affair." And I said, "So what is it?" He says, "Well, you'll figure it out with these guys." And I said, "What do you mean?" He said, "And not only that, knowing that you're commuting with your wife, you now you're going to be living with, or you'll find out whether you can stay together or not." And so that's how it all happened. We had these crazy wild stories that we were doing that were so different than everybody else was doing. I mean, the stories we would do that network news divisions would have those stories in the trash can. They wouldn't even touch 'em. But as soon as we got successful, all of a sudden, all the network news shows were doing the same stories we were doing. Jim and Tammy Faye Baker, all the scandals that were going on. This, I mean, it all led to, of course, OJ and the Bronco and everything else. I mean, it was Joey but a Foucault. It was. - What a time to be alive. We have so long ago that I love it all because I grew up in that era. So that's my childhood, you know? But I mean, I believe that a current affair walked so TMZ could run. TMZ is literally what a current affair used to be. - Oh no, and by the way, he worked on those shows. - Did he? - Of course he did. He worked on Inside Edition, maybe a current affair after I left. - Wow. - That's where he came from. - Wow, okay. - It's all an extension. - Wow. - And that's what it is. - TMZ would not exist without a current affair. - Without you. Without morey the God order. - You know what, I still see these clips. You know, Charlie Sheen has a documentary out. - I'm excited, I haven't watched it yet, have you? - I watched the first part, guess what? - There I am, anchoring a current affair on the Charlie Sheen on documentary. - I love that. - About him and Kelly Preston. - Have you ran into Charlie? - No, I don't know Charlie. - You don't know him? - No, no, no. - Well, why not? - Why would I? - I don't know. - No, I don't know. - You have more of a reason to run into him. - I don't know. - Look, I know, I know you're back. - But I don't think I've seen it. - But I know you're back round. - Oh, don't tell anybody, nobody knows. - Yeah, but I'm just kidding, I'm kidding. - And I know Charlie. - No, Charlie's rep-- (laughing) - Are you still typing me? - No, I'm not saying anything, buddy. - Are you still typing me? - No, I'm never saying anything like that. - It's totally planned with you. That's amazing. - All right, so let's switch gears because you have, you've retired now in 2022. What does a day for Mori look like in retirement? - Okay, I don't know if I've read this about you. I'm a morning person, I get up very early. - What it's very early for you? - Six. - Wow, that is early. It's very early. - I get up around six, I take the dog out to Central Park or in Montana, I take the dog out, in Montana, you don't take the dog out, you let the dog out. And then I made my own breakfast for 60 years. - What do you eat for breakfast? - Eggs every morning. - Like, well, how do you like 'em? 'Cause I'm an egg connoisseur. - I like 'em scrambled, I like 'em over, I don't like 'em up. - I like 'em poached when I can find the right poacher. (laughing) - So you don't like running eggs? - Can you teach me how to poach 'em perfectly? - I just get 'em poached for me, I can't do it. The poaching is an art. - It is. - It really is an art, you cannot-- - Connie can do it, I can't. - Connie can do everything, I love her. - I know, I know. - I love how much you love her though. - Yeah, well, she doesn't poach eggs for me because she's not a morning person. And she gets up, you know, at a crack at 10. - You know, something like that. - And so go after my own heart. - So then I take the dog out, then I come back, and then I start reading, you know, whether it be on the phone, and we still old farts that we are, we still have newspapers coming in the print version. - Oh, that's a dying art too. - Yeah, I mean, you don't read the paper anymore, you read on your phone. - Everybody does. - And so, and then I play a lot of golf. - Yes. - Long leash is important. - Yes, absolutely. - Really? - Yes, sure. - You trust them, long leash is very important. - And I think that's how you build trust. - I think so. - Is having a long leash. If you have a short leash, you're controlling everything that person's doing. - Yeah. - They're gonna, human nature is to rebel. You know what I'm saying? So it's like, I think the longer the leash, the longer the relationship. - The only time I really get upset at her is when I go into the bathroom and things aren't where they were yesterday. - Oh no, are you a perfectionist? - No, she is the perfectionist. Me, I just want to know where the things are that were there yesterday in that spot and not somewhere else in another cabinet and all that. And she's moving things around. - But do you put the toilet seat down? - Of course. - Okay, good. - Yay, but you're a good one. - Oh, I know all about that. - Ah, I love that. - That was an early on lesson. - How did you guys end up in Montana? - Well, I said to Connie one time, and this is almost 30 years ago. I said, we oughta go to Montana. And she said, what do you mean? I said, it's the only contiguous state that I'd never been to. I'd been to why I've never been to Alaska. But I hadn't, I've been to 49, 47 states. I hadn't been to Montana. I said, let's go, let's go buy a home in Montana. She said, don't you think we oughta go there first? She said, well, okay. So, in 1998, we went to Montana. We found a house to rent. We loved it so much. We looked around and my friend said, the best house is this house. I went to the guy, I said, I wanna buy your house. He said, I didn't wanna rent you my house. I didn't wanna rent you my house. And now you wanna buy my house. I said, not only do I wanna buy it, I want you to leave all the furniture. I want you to leave the cars, leave the furniture, leave the boat, leave everything. And he did. Aw, that's amazing. And so we've been there 28 years. Wow. And we found, we created after, 17 years ago, sometimes you're really nuts. And Connie and I created a weekly newspaper in Montana. I read about that. Well, the flathead beacon. And it's one, every award in the state. And it's a great local newspaper. You started out as print. Now it's online. Everybody loves it. Doesn't matter what the political stripe is and the whole flathead valley in Montana. Everybody loves the paper. And even the politicians. Doesn't matter whether you're a public or a Democrat. I love that. Of course it's not making any money. But it's a passion project. So I think it makes you feel good. Legacy to my father and that's what Connie says, so. Absolutely. And those things are priceless. You can't put monetary value on something like that, especially from your background and where you come from. So do you like Nashville? I love Nashville now. I didn't like it at first. Being a Vegas girl, moving to Nashville, it was like, this was a culture shock. Well, you're up all night town, too. Pretty much. Access to anything 24/7, too. People being a lot more modest. So how did you grow to like it? I fell in love with the slow life. It's kind of like how do you go from Washington, D.C. to Montana. Right, exactly. It's like you have to fall in love with-- you have to really get to know yourself in slow places. And I think I had to discover who I was outside of my Vegas persona. But that's why I was so amazed when you told me that you and Connie dated for seven years, because I was like, whoa, that is amazing. How did you do that? I had come out of a marriage and didn't want to get married. And Connie was so involved in her business. I mean, she always says, "I forgot to get married and then I forgot to have a child." She's great. I would love to meet her one day. All right, so I'm going to ask you a closing question, and thank you so much for your time today. No, I loved it. It's been amazing just getting to-- You're very easy to talk to. Thank you. I appreciate that. You've interviewed politicians, celebrities, everyday people. Who taught you the most? Who taught me the most? Who taught you the most of everybody that you've interviewed? That's really-- guess what? That's a good question. Never had it. Yes. Never had it. Really? Never had it. You know, who would you like to interview with, stuff like that? Believe it or not, I think all the people on the talk show-- Wow. You know, after doing news for all those years and then getting into this very intimate talk show, I think those guests brought more out of me than I thought I had. And so therefore, I think that whole experience, that 30-year experience, because of the guests, because of the individual stories, because of the fact with DNA testing that it's possible that I could have gotten another parent into the lives of those kids. Because we all know that a child has a better shot with two parents than one. And those stories, I think, gave me a great feeling of satisfaction. You're such a special human. I hope you know that. No, I hope you know that. And I appreciate you being here and making time to come on my podcast. That's beautiful. Now, you come on on par with Marie Poet. We're coming. Anytime you want. Maybe when we're in Montana, we can do it. That would be great. Thank you, dear. Tell people where they can find your podcast and listen to it. On par, pod, on all of Instagram, whatever, whatever. The podcast is on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, wherever you get your podcast. All of it. Yeah. Marie, thank you so much. I can't wait to hug you. Not me, too. All right. All right. I'll talk to you guys next week. Bye.