"Trevor Noah"

"Trevor Noah"

May 27, 2024 1h 1m Episode 203
Hop on your underwater moped, because Trevor Noah joins us this week to talk about thread count, a pocket of nothing, and the trappings of American fame and popularity. So come along and learn how knowing people works… on an all-new SmartLess.

Listen and Follow Along

Full Transcript

SmartList is brought to you by Audi. It's not every day you get excited by a new car, but the all-new Audi Q6 e-tron is more than a new EV.
It's a new way to experience driving. Embrace the thrill of the drive with effortless power, serious acceleration, and the most advanced tech of any Audi ever.
With an all-new panoramic digital stage and legendary Audi performance, it's impossible not to love the all-new Audi Q6 e-tron. I should know.
I drive one. Learn more at AudiUSA.com.
Whether you're traveling, advancing your career, or just love learning, speaking a new language can create incredible opportunities. Rosetta Stone makes it easier and more immersive than ever.
I'm excited to learn Spanish. I took Spanish in high school, but I don't remember a lot of it.
But the reason is I live in California and there are millions and millions and millions of people that speak Spanish and I love it. I love to learn.
I love challenging my brain. I learned piano for so long, which is like a language.
So that part of my brain is already excited

to learn more languages. And so I'm super excited to see what's in store for Rosetta Stone and my Spanish speaking abilities.
SmartList listeners can grab Rosetta Stone's lifetime membership for 50% off. That's unlimited access to 25 language courses for life.
Visit rosettastone.com slash smartlist to get started. Lowe's knows that taking on more projects should be rewarding.
That's why loyalty members get more every day with rewards for every home or business purchase. Plus, shop weekly member deals and get access to free standard shipping.

So what are you waiting for?

Join for free today.

Lowe's, we help you save.

Loyalty program subject to terms and conditions.

Details at lowes.com slash terms subject to change. well listen um i'm really thrilled to be here with you two today.
I didn't think I was going to make it. What happened? JB, he was close.
He almost didn't make it through the weekend. And then the doctor, they decided to revive him with two almonds.
Yeah. Brought him back to life.
And they come and they go, clear, pop, pop. Yeah.
I was a little lightheaded yesterday. Yeah.
Brought them back to life. And they come and they go clear, pop, pop.

Yeah.

I was a little lightheaded yesterday.

But two nuts in my mouth really, they fix a lot.

Brought you to life.

I know how you feel.

Welcome to Smart Life.

Smart Life.

Smart Life. smart smart

smart

smart

smart

smart

hey JB

JB before Rob

Rob show yourself again

real quick

just let's see

Arm Yerv

and he said

JB

Rob says

Deshaun I've got your

favorite sports team

on my head

it says spaghetti

That's very good. Says spaghetti.
That's fun. Isn't that fun? It's fun.
It's good, clean fun. It is good, clean fun.
So good morning. Good morning, Jason.
First things first. Please, you know I'm obsessed with medical stories.
Please tell me what happened to you three, four days ago well i'm still in it unfortunately you feel like crap well it's just the things things things things are loose okay oh jesus and uh you know it's i i think what it is god bless my wife she is more on top of the health stuff than you are even um which i guess is not that high of a bar to leap over considering you you mainline meatloaf and and everything um but so she gave me this uh something some sort of supplement for longevity right it's like a peptide or some some some something or other new that huh new No, no, no. Yeah, just a couple weeks ago.
Okay. And then she had me take even a little bit more last weekend, and that's what did it.
Oh, wow. I'm pretty sure that's it.
For sure. Well, first of all, we ruled out immediately food poisoning.
Yeah. Right.
Because it would have had to have been bad lettuce well because you would have had to eat so so that's off the table i know i mean it was like flu the flu like if you'd had like a stomach bug it would have moved right you by now no it's still yeah i'm fatigued and i can't eat and like and look how puffy eyes are too. It's like whatever this thing is, I got to stop it, which I'm doing.
Yeah, yeah. Okay, very good.
It'd be great if the longevity thing killed you. I mean, I just...
She did say she got a deal on it. A deal.
Well, I'm glad you're feeling better than you were before. Yes.
Oh yeah yeah i had to cancel a day of work i haven't done that for a long time yeah uh but you guys are very very sweet you're you're just you know you guys you guys are a couple of the good ones i don't care what they say oh yeah yeah and you're you're and you're incredible at reading ads did you guys just win an award for your ad reading? Did you guys? I think we all did. Well, wait, am I a part of it? Yeah.
You want to get to our host? Yeah. And so, you know, this guy is a media titan.
He's incredibly smart, incredibly funny he uh is responsible for um one of my favorite shows um i was i was very sort of not nervous but it's this show has gone through a couple of hosts and i was hoping that it would uh land on somebody uh even better and they have um and And he's got multiple irons on the fire.

This guy's just, he's cycle high, I think is what they say.

You know, he's doing tons of stuff, and it's all fantastic.

I'm going to let him tell you about it, but I'm very, very excited.

He said yes to doing this today.

Any guesses?

I can't.

I have no idea.

Yeah, I'm meteorizing.

He's a, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's started in stand-up.

I'm't. I have no idea.
Chris.

He's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he started in standup.

An additional hint.

He hosted a political comedy show on Comedy Central.

First name starts with T.

Last name starts with N.

Trevor Noah.

Everybody, it's Trevor Noah. It's Trevor Noah.
It's Trevor Noah. I mean.
What's going on, everybody? Hey. Hi, everybody.
From the original sort of lead-in or set-up, I thought it was like, this is like a newscaster. We got like Walter Cronkite coming in.
I was confused for a moment. I genuinely thought it was someone else.
Yeah, usually I write these things. But this freaking job I've got in New York, it's really cutting into my prep time.
So this interview is going to be even worse than the normal ones. Yeah, I was thrown.
But then you said the name. Then I was like, okay, we're good.
You're like, oh, it's me. It's still me.
I mean, let's start right there. I mean, did you feel the pressure I felt when you were going in there to take over this incredible show? Yeah.
I mean, so here's the thing. When I was going in to take over The Daily Show, I don't think I felt the amount of pressure that I should have felt because I didn't grow grow up with The Daily Show.
And I met Jon Stewart just as a, you know, sort of a stand-up comedian meeting another stand-up comedian. You know, we, and I mean, we still talk about that now.
You know, now that Jon has gone back to hosting the show, we'll still share the stories of how, ironically, the other day we were on the phone and I was saying to him, it's funny that we've gone full circle. When we first spoke, it was on the phone and I was traveling through like Dubai and England doing comedy shows.
And then now when we spoke and he's host again, I'm traveling and I was literally in Dubai calling him, having another conversation. It's literally gone full circle.
So it's been, but I wasn't, yeah, I wasn't't nervous and then i think after the first few episodes then the nerves kicked in which is strange normally it's the it's the other way because now you've got a better idea for what it is than you did then yeah oh yeah definitely and the and and a better idea of what people how people reacted to it you know that that was i think that was the biggest because it's so important it's like this great it's it's sort of this this trojan horse that's on that's on a network you know like it's it's helping all the medicine go down a little bit easier the medicine that's so vital for all of us to be taking in definitely definitely what what's um what joke really kills in dubai huh that's an interesting and then tell us what joke You can't tell in Dubai. so what joke really kills in dubai so i whenever i travel um you know for my shows it makes it a lot harder but what i love to do is find comedy that i could only do in that region yeah so i always try to find something you know whether it's an observation whether it's experience, but just something that you could only say in Dubai and then someone who's not living there would go, wait, what does that mean? So I'll try and tell a few jokes that have an Arabic punchline.
I'll play with something in that world. Isn't Dubai that super like, aren't they incredibly, isn't everybody incredibly wealthy? Hang on, let's go for the definition of it.
Go ahead, Sean. Combine it again.
Isn't Dubai that kind of wealthy place? Try to be less articulate. Go ahead.
Have you ever been outside the United States? Of course. I know Dubai.
Sure. Of course.
What kind of jokes do you tell about, isn't like every single human being there super wealthy? Yeah, well, I mean, the Emiratis are pretty wealthy. But then most of the audience is expats.
I think it's like 90%. Yeah, 90%.
It's one of the most diverse audiences you'll perform for. Oh, that's so great.
I love that. Did you ever get up there when you were coming up in South Africa? Did you ever get up there and were any of your dates up in that area? Oh, yeah, yeah.
Like when I had to take over the Daily Show, I had to let go of a bunch of dates that were happening around the world. So I just got a foothold into touring all over the, you know, all over the planets.
I've had to do that a lot, let go of a lot of dates all over the world. Because I just didn't want to, because I didn't want to see my...
I want to know, you know, when you first came on the scene... Why is the sky blue? Sorry.
Was that not it? Yeah, that's not it. That's because it's a reflection of the...
Ocean. Continuing.
So, Trevor, when you first came on The Daily Show, that was my first discovery of you. I was like, oh, what a glorious, wonderful discovery of this man.
Oh, thank you. But before that, bad on me, I didn't quite know.
So, like, where you came from or what you... Nor should you know, yeah.
So what was life before that and what led you to getting that job?

It's funny.

You know, I'm never offended by that.

And I don't know.

Some people apologize for that.

Again, I find it's quite common for people to say that in America.

They'll say, I'm sorry, I didn't know you.

Right.

It's a strange thing.

Because it's such a massive platform.

We feel badly that we didn't follow your career

before you got the big thing.

Yeah, but surely you don't know somebody

before you know them.

That's how knowing people works.

I'm always intrigued by that.

I'm writing that down.

But now you can't walk down the street, I'm sure.

That's how knowing someone works.

Do you think Einstein, he apologized to physics

before he learned it? Yeah, right. Right.
But you were crushing it in stand-up such that you met with John, yes? Yeah, so it was really random. So I started comedy in South Africa, performed there my whole life.
I was lucky enough that we... What part of South Africa were you? So I was born in Johannesburg, raised in Soweto and Johannesburg.
And then that's where I did most of my comedy. We didn't have a comedy club.
So just to give you a bit of a backstory, I'm assuming you know, but if you don't. So during apartheid, free speech was illegal in South Africa, right? And so you weren't allowed to gather.
A group of black people weren't allowed to be in one space. And there were all these laws.
So stand-up comedy, obviously, is one of the first things that's outlawed in any place that restricts speech. Wow.
So we didn't even have comedy clubs. We didn't have anything.
And then once democracy started in 1994, all of a sudden there was a just like a boon of of new you know a boon of people being like can we sit together can we laugh together can we god that must have been exciting and comedy blew up in in the most informal places you know comedy was this huge um explosion and you were how old at that time no so i only i I only got into comedy. In 94, I'm six years old.
I only got into comedy when I was 20, I want to say 21. Okay.
And it was still new. Like, you couldn't make a living from comedy, which I loved about it.
It really was something that everyone was doing. It wasn't like in the U.S.
where people would do comedy so they could get a sitcom, so they could become a movie star. No, there it was.
You do comedy because you like comedy. There is no part.
And also escape the horror of their upbringing. Oh, yeah.
I think that's what all comedy is, even in the U.S., to be honest with you. Yeah.
I think everyone's doing comedy to escape their horrible upbringing. But you actually wrote a book about it too, right? Yeah, yeah, I yeah yeah i did yeah i did which became a uh what did it sell like three million copies i don't know i i don't like numbers to be honest well it did very well no no no i mean this honestly i you know you know why i don't like numbers when they're good and i don't like them when they're bad right so you and me why don't you like them when when they're good because if you live by the good numbers

then you must die

by the bad numbers

yeah

absolutely

I think if you're creating

you should just create

and then

very good

I'm so with you

then you're not at the effect

of outside circumstances

so

so

so Trevor

so walk me through

so you come

you come up

in a place

that is almost

you know

that has just

a very new comedy scene

if you will

yeah

and

now you go

you start touring

you do lots of great stuff

Thank you. almost, you know, that has just a very new comedy scene, if you will.
Yeah, yeah. And now you go, you start touring, you do lots of great stuff, then you take over The Daily Show and you just absolutely explode into the comedy world.
When you go back to South Africa, is it safe to say that you're kind of like the first big South African comedy star? Oh, yeah. Is there a lot of pressure associated with that? You know what? Not pressure.
Not pressure. It's so much fun, man.
It's hard to explain. So the difference between the two places, I find in America, fame is almost like royalty.
Right. That's why people apologize if they may be unaware of if you had some beforehand.
Yeah. I was not aware that you are of your car.
I apologize for my liege. Silent knave.
Were they... In South Africa, it's just like people know you.
Everyone just treats you like you're part of a big family. That's how it feels.
And was it equally welcoming when you came back and you were now famous or were they like oh were they sort of circumspect and like let's see if he changed i was pretty well known before i left south africa so it was just like oh congratulations you've gone and put us on the world stage doing something that's great wow so tell me about i imagine when you were doing a bunch of touring, you got used to life on the road and all the bumps and bruises that go along with it. And then you got this incredibly prestigious job.
And I'm sure we're making a whole hell of a lot more money than you were before and getting used to thread count, nice candles and soaps and the lot. How has it changed you and made you more soft now and it's tougher going back out on the road? I know you're playing arenas and stadiums and stuff, but is the old Trevor still alive? It's funny.
My life went the other way around. When I first started The Daily Show, I was actually earning less than I was doing stand-up around the world.
I was working hard and I was doing pretty well. So it was really taking the job because of the challenge and the opportunity.
As for the thread, I think my life became a little bit worse because now I was in New York in the winters walking down the street in like a mini blizzard,

walking down like 11th Avenue.

I don't know if you've been to the Daily Show studios in New York. It is one of the worst parts of New York.

Like in one of the worst parts ever.

And it's not like worst part, just to clarify for the listener,

in that it's dangerous.

It's just more that it's shitty.

It's really shitty. Dangerous would be better because then it means people are there to do something to you yes exactly this is like a waste it's like a barren wasteland of nothingness it is such a fucking nothing yeah it's just a pocket of nothing um so tell us about the meeting with john and how and how that whole sort of idea sparked in john and how he approached you and what that conversation was like.
So I got a call. I was, you know, it's one of those moments where you remember exactly what was happening, but not because of how momentous it was in that moment, rather because of how random the thing is that I was doing.
I was in London. I was doing my first tour of the UK.

And on this particular day,

I was standing in Harrods,

the mega department store that sells everything.

And when I say everything, I mean everything.

You all probably know it.

And I couldn't afford anything in Harrods.

Maybe like, you know,

maybe some of the croissants, I don't know.

And I was standing in front of an underwater moped. Like an underwater scooter thing.
Like you ride it like a motorbike, but underwater. I have one.
Yeah, don't bore Will. He's got one for him and all four boys.
Wait, an underwater moped? Okay. Yeah.
Yeah, you see, this is what my brain was doing. At that exact moment, my brain was doing doing the same thing i was just standing there staring at it going what is this why is this and why don't i try and get one and you have to hold your breath while you ride the bike no it has a little bubble you know like those old um those old uh sky what do you call it like the diving before they had the tanks yeah yeah just put a bubble over your head it has that it has It has a bubble.
And then my phone rang and there was some long number. I had no clue what's...
And I answered the phone because I don't owe anybody money. And the voice on the other end was like, hey, is this Trevor? And I was like, yeah.
And he's like, hey, this is Jon Stewart. I was like, okay.
And he was like, Jon Stewart, I'm a comedian from America. I was like, oh, okay.
And he's like, you've never heard of me.

It's fine.

Well, I've seen some of your stuff online.

And you're like, sir, I don't know you.

And he said to me, yeah, I saw some of your stuff on YouTube.

And I want to know if you want to,

would you ever consider coming and doing stuff in the US?

And I was like, yeah, not really.

Maybe, I don't know.

And he's like, well, I work on a show called The Daily Show.

And I was like, oh, I think I've heard of that.

Because I had seen it on CNN International

because we didn't have it on other channels in the world.

And I was like, oh, yeah, I've heard of it.

And he's like, oh, as you should have, young man.

He's very funny, you know, John.

Yeah, I love John.

Yeah, and then he invited me.

He's just like, come and hang out.

I think you're funny and I like the way you see the world

come and hang out with me when you get a chance

and so at first I said no

I was like I've got the tour

and he's like he said are you saying no

what did he say he said are you saying no to the

trappings of American fame and

popularity who are you young man

I said no

I've got a tour I'll see you when I see you

and he said well if you're in New York

look me up and I said definitely thanks for the call

it's nice to hear from you

Thank you. And he said, well, if you're in New York, look me up.
And I said, definitely. Thanks for the call.
It's nice to hear from you. And then I went to New York, I think six months or eight months later, he called me again.
He's like, I hear you're in town, but you didn't look me up. And I was like, oh, Jesus, this guy's relentless.
Wow. So you hadn't told your agent about this phone call who would have probably No, I think they gave him my number because they were like, it's Jon Stewart.
What if you had hung up the phone with Jon Stewart and then the woman at the desk at Harrods said, Sir, your underwater moped has been paid for by Mr. Stewart.
And you're like, fuck, I gotta go do this. This guy's a baller.
This guy, yeah, I gotta go. Oh, I mean, then you say yes immediately, right? Yeah, of course.
Yeah, then it's like a full on. So he tracks you down eight months later in New York.
Yeah, and then... He says, come have coffee.
He said, come to the show and hang out. Yeah.
Just hang out. And that's all I did.
I went there. We hung out.
I remember them talking about like John Boehner or something. And then I was like, what is this world? What is going on here? So you had no idea about the political landscape in America? I knew the larger, the larger.
In the rest of the world, we keep up with American politics, you know, on a big scale. But the finer minutia, you know, of filibustering and, you know.
Sorry to interrupt again, but the John Boehner story, it wasn't about him crying in some kind of like hungover with like red wine on his teeth.

Yeah, I think it was then.

It was around that point.

Yeah, okay.

So you didn't really learn all the specific small-time Cretans

that populate the house.

No, I did not.

Gotcha.

We'll be right back.

Guys, we all need to drink water every day.

I mean, we have to drink water to stay alive, right?

So why should it be boring?

Like, I like sparkling water because it didn't have all the sugar

and the added, you know, chemicals and everything like that that soda has.

So sparkling water gives you the bite that you're looking for.

But with Waterloo sparkling water, you get a little flavor in it,

like a fruit flavor,

and it's so delicious.

With authentic flavors and lively carbonation,

Waterloo sparkling water brings full flavor artistry.

What's flavor artistry, you ask?

It's all about custom-crafting,

multi-sensorial flavor experiences

of aroma, taste, and mouthfeel

that make you say,

wow! Waterloo waters are crafted, not formulated or off the shelf, just purified sparkling water and non-GMO project verified natural flavors with zero calories, sugar, or sweeteners. I love it because guess what? I've been open about this.
I've gotten kidney stones, so I have to stay hydrated all the time. I constantly drink water all day long, and it does get boring until Waterloo.
The flavors are so

delicious. The black cherry is delicious.
I had it. It's so yummy, and it feels so good going down.

Give Waterloo Sparkling Water a try. Look for Waterloo Sparkling Water next time you shop.

Learn more about the flavors from Waterloo Sparkling Water at drinkwaterloo.com You and we deserve snacks that are better for you and incredibly delicious and that's where Skinny Pop popcorn comes in. Skinny Pop uses quality ingredients to bring you the light and tasty flavors you love.
The original ready-to-eat popcorn is made up of just popcorn kernels, sunflower oil, and salt. That's it.
In addition to the original popcorn, Skinny Pop also offers a variety of delicious flavors from white cheddar to sweet and salty kettle popcorn. Skinny Pop popcorn is always non-GMO gluten-free, and there are many vegan options too.
So stop everything and add Skinny Pop to your grocery list. It's okay.
We'll wait. So for me, whenever Scotty and I are going to watch a movie at home, I mix the original popcorn with the kettle popcorn because the kettle is a little more sweet, but the original is a little more salty.
Do you get what I'm going for? It's kind of like how I cut my apple juice with water. Anyway, Skinny Pop popcorn.
Deliciously popped. Perfectly salted.
Shop Skinny Pop now. Our show is sponsored by BetterHelp.
Hey guys, everybody should have a support system, right? Who's your support system? My support system, as you well know, talk about all the time, is Scotty. And of course, my two besties, Will and Jason.
Whenever I have a problem, an issue, I talk to them about it. And if they're not available, I will talk to a therapist and I've been going to therapy for a long time and it's always great.
So think about your favorite leaders, mentors, and idols. They don't have all the answers, but they do know when to ask questions or seek support from their community.
In a society that glorifies hyper-independence, it's easy to forget that we're all better when we have a support system behind us. Therapy can be a source of support for any area of your life.
It's time to shift that focus from doing it all to knowing that we're better when we ask for help. BetterHelp is fully online, making therapy affordable and convenient, serving over 5 million people worldwide.
Access a diverse network of more than 30,000 credentialed therapists with a wide range of specialties. Easily switch therapists anytime at no extra cost.
Build your support system with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash smartless to get 10% off your first month.
That's betterhelp.com slash smartless. All right, back to the show.
What year did you come to the U.S.? I think this was 2015. Okay.
So 2015, and then you're doing a comedy tour, Jon Stewart's hassling you, and at the time, what kind you into? Like you're, so, you know, this is actually interesting. I remember somebody asked me, they said to me, when the Daily Show happened, they said, so are you going to, they said, are you a political comedian? You know, the Daily Show is very political.
And I said, oh, no, no, no, I'm, I'm not, I genuinely was like, I'm not a political comedian. I don't even, I don't think of myself that way.
When I spent a little time in the US, I came to realize that what I thought of as non-political humor would be considered ultra-political humor in America. Because here the average person doesn't, I think it's changed since Trump, but back when I first got to the US, most people didn't engage in politics.
People would literally say, I don't follow politics. I don't get involved.
I don't follow politics. Right, right.
Yeah, whereas in South Africa, what we consider a basic level of commenting or being involved in the system, we don't think that's political. For us, political is marching in the streets, freeing people from prison, like protesting the system.
That's being political. Because in most parts of the world, just being engaged is sort of your civic duty.
That's the baseline. No matter where you're, South Africa or Dubai, isn't it full of rich people or something? Anyway.
Right, that's the spot. But I'm so fascinated that John and the rest of the brain trust over there thought that you would be a great choice to take over a show that is a mix between comedy and politics so it necessitates a full understanding of the comedy world, a full understanding of the political world such that you can blend the two together, find the nuance, find the irony, and wrap it all up in, you know, a bunch of jokes for half an hour or more.
Like, talk to me about how, did they explain to you what their expectations were and how you needn't worry about not even being from here and haven't lived here in a long time? And how did that go? Well, initially, it was, I always describe the story as feeling a lot like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In that I popped in, I had a great time with John.
And I said to him, I was like, this is, I like what you guys are doing, I guess, but this is not for me um and then we laughed about

we would just man because john and i just we get along we really you know there's there's comedians where you click with them and your rhythm and your vibe is is almost completely sympathical you just you're just in it i'd like to find the person that doesn't get along with john stewart though i mean he's like an all-time great guy yeah but the comedy is like you know when when it comes to comedy, I find there's a, it's like music.

There's a, all musicians

can play together, but some musicians can create magic together. And when you find comedians that you share that with, it's pretty special.
Well, there's beats and rhythm. Go ahead.
As you can see, I'm still looking. We've got them on a separate volume.
I'm still on server, don't worry. Sean, real quick, Sean, real quick, any follow-up questions about the Chocolate Factory? It's not a real place, but if you have anything that you'd like to...
Isn't that full of people who like chocolate? I have a thousand questions about the Chocolate Factory. Oh, my God.
Last night, I made an ice cream sundae, and I didn't have any whipped cream, so I made whipped cream. Oh, great.
Oh, my God. Are you writing a screenplay about it now? Hey, Trevor, would you venture to say that actually coming here, kind of a follow-up to what Jay was saying, that being an outsider gave you your perspective almost a bit of an advantage, I would suggest, because you don't have American politics or what we've sort of takes for granted as to how the system works and what the dynamics are between the different, the left and the right, if you will, just to make it as basic as possible.
Because you come in with a different perspective and you just take it as face value like oh this is a clown show yeah you know as opposed to being somewhat padded with understanding the whole political system and that it's kind of a joke anyway so i think i think it's a it's a massive it was a massive disadvantage and an advantage you. The disadvantage is people don't like anyone

who doesn't look like them or sound like them

coming to tell them anything about them.

So I spent weeks getting random death threats and letters.

People hated how I said controversy.

And then it was, you know...

The word controversy?

Controversy.

Yeah, controversy.

But did you really get death threats, Trevor?

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's, I mean, that's quite, it's like, it's par for the course I've learned.
As soon as you comment on American politics in a public forum, that's pretty much what happens to you. So that was a disadvantage.
Here's something I don't get about the whole phoning in or emailing in a threat, a bomb threat or a death threat. Like, aren't those the exact kind of threats you don't need to really worry about because who the hell would warn you before they play? Like, I don't, I'm certainly not belittling it whatsoever, but I'm always like, I can't believe that someone will clear out an entire office building if they get a bomb threat.
It's like, well, if they want to put a bomb in there, they're probably just going to do it and not tell you about it. The irony that you look so much like Ted Kaczynski right now while you're saying this is fucking killing me.
No, I just, you know, I get that they've got to empty the building for insurance reasons because there's going to be a record that they received the threat. So to that, did you ever feel genuinely threatened in a way that was not just a sort of a random kind of...
Sure, of course. I don't know.
I mean, it's... Yeah, there's a latent level of anxiety that comes with anybody threatening you.
And again, I need to state, I don't think it's that uncommon. I'm pretty certain all the other late night hosts have gotten death threats.
It's just, it varies, varying degrees. Kimmel gets one a day, I think.
I've threatened Kimmel twice this week already myself. On the beginning of Will and Grace, we used to get death threats all the time.
Ah, they used to. In 1998.
So back then, was that like people sending... Just for shitty jokes or...
Yeah, people. You know, we have fun, Trevor.
We do. We just have fun.
No was because wait what was the question what were the threats about it Will and Grace oh no yeah they were written on yeah people took the time to sit down there's one this wasn't a death threat one of the greatest letters we ever got was this woman wrote in to Will and Grace took the time got a pen paper wrote, paper, wrote it, got a stamp, mailed it.

Remember this before the internet and everything?

There's a lot of effort to really share with somebody

how much you hate them.

But this one woman wrote in and she said,

you know, we're all going to hell.

You should be ashamed

for putting this on television.

You are all horrible people.

But I love the show.

I just don't know what, I just don't like what it's about

oh wow and could you send me an a by 10 yeah can i get some tickets for the april 12th show the craziest thing that's so fucking crazy i guess it stands to reason that you would get threats i mean do you get threats immediately upon doing it i guess i'm sure that a lot of the threats were we can all take our pick what they could be about.

You're a lefty.

Yeah.

Right. upon doing it, I guess I'm sure that a lot of the threats were we can all take our pick

what they could be about. You're a lefty.

Yeah. Right?

You're a liberal.

And also you're in, I mean, 2015

I mean, you were

the kerosene had been put

on the dumpster and it was about to burst

in flames. That's exactly it.

12 months later. It was the beginning

of Donald Trump and everything that America now lives in as a normal state. Yeah.
Man. So that was the majority of your material, and so they're going after the person that's...
I mean, think about that. So you're right.
You started, you came to America, as Jay says, right at the beginning of the... They were just putting the kerosene, the kindling on the dumpster fire that we all now live in.
That's been your experience of America. Let me just say, we've had some good times here, dude.
Yeah. I'm now amended with, if I get the time machine, what I'm doing is I'm grabbing Trevor and I'm taking him back to like the mid-90s into the mid-2000s.
Because we had some, we had a lot of fun. It looked like a lot of fun.
It really was. It looked like a lot of fun.
I don't want you to get the wrong impression. Happy days are here again soon.
I promise. It's also wild that people, instead of just not watching you or listening to this or watching that or whatever, they take the time to watch.
Just turn the channel. Instead of just turn the channel.
Yeah, but you know, at the time, it was so hard launching The Daily Show that I actually preferred having those people than not. I was like, okay, we have these people.
You've got an enemy. No, not even an enemy.
I was just like, we have viewers. These people right right are passionately watching the show right and we need every single person to watch so there was actually one guy i reached out to um there was a guy who was tweeting vitriol at me on you know just just on the daily he was like you know you're a piece of trash and you'll never make it and if i ever meet you in the streets and i dm'd this guy and i said to him hey man i i want to understand like why do you hate me so much I've never met you I've never said anything about you or your life I'm just trying to understand this and I've never seen a faster switch of tone he immediately was like oh hey dude oh um it's not personal and I have nothing against you I just thought it was funny to pile on and and he said in all honesty I have nothing against you I actually.
I actually think you're quite funny, but I don't think you're going to succeed. I think the show will fail.
Wonderful. And you're going to burn and crash and burn.
Wonderful. And then I said to him, okay, let's make a deal.
If I'm still on the air in six months, you'll stay on as a lifelong viewer. And then if I'm gone, I will retweet your tweet and I'll say you were right.
And he was like, oh, deal. And then he was like, good luck, man.
I'm wishing you the best. And then six months later, I DM'd him again.
I was like, yo, are you still watching? And he's like, oh, the show's gotten so great. And you know what he made me realize? Crazy.
That's amazing. No, but you know what he made me realize? I'm honestly eternally grateful to him because he made me realize that most of, not all of, but most of the, just most of the poisonous infighting that you have in America is due to the fact that most people are speaking past each other, not to each other and with each other.
100%. Like people don't actually engage.
People don't see each other as human beings. It's all a theoretical exercise.
But you'll be surprised to find that most people, when you sit down with them and actually, if you're forced to have a conversation where you connect, people start to see each other as humans that exist beyond their political affiliation. And a lot of assumptions going on too, always assuming.
And it's just a game. It's like sports fans.
I think American politics has become like sports where you say everything to the opposing fans, but you don't mean it, mean it, but you go like, this is the purpose of what we're doing. We're here to tell them that they need to die and we want to kill their players and we hate everything they do and the ref is biased when he rules in their favor.
But when you meet in a grocery store, then they're humans because they're doing the same thing. They were basically exaggerating to make a point, you know? But yeah, when you get face-to-face with it, they get a little bit more real.
Yeah, I mean, I hate Manchester City as a football club. Wait, what? Yeah, I hate Man City.
Uh-oh. Trevor's signing off.
But I love Pep Guardiola, and I love Holland, and I love Kevin De Bruyne. Why would you hate...
I've never met anybody who has a... Because I'm a Liverpool supporter, a massive Liverpool supporter.
I'm a Liverpool supporter, but I don't hate Manchester City. Well, just because they're going to beat us.
Oh, yeah, but I mean, they've spent the money, and it's like, I get annoyed, but I... You see, it's funny.
Like, for me, the rivalries are more games that I'll think of. But Manchester City, I find...
My point was, I say I hate them, but then I like all the players on the team. I like Pep Guardiola.
I like Holland. I like De Bruyne.
I like Phil Foden. I like all their players.
So I don't really hate them. But I have to because they're...
I do hate the Boston Bruins. That's a hockey team.
That I do. I do hate the Boston Bruins.
Send me your team that I do I do hate the Boston Bruins

send me your letters

I don't give a shit

fuck you

I fucking hate them

more than you fucking

like hate me

Trevor

now have you

have you since now

become

is following politics

a hobby for you now

do you enjoy it

or now that you now that you're out of there do Yeah, you don't need to be in the swamp anymore. So I don't follow politics as a hobby.
What I try to do is understand which conversations can exist beyond the noise. I often try and explain to people when I'm having conversations with them is, so the most interesting thing about the US system for me is the fact that it leads people to believe that there are only two ways to do something.
You know, it's Republican and it's Democrat. And I've never understood that framing, to be honest with you.
I've never even how how newspapers will report and and these are like distinguished newspapers they'll write a story that leads with democrats win with and it's a law that's changed when i but i go no that that that should just be the law has changed and that should be how you report it it shouldn't be that it's a win for somebody or a loss for somebody else it's a lot of the the media. It's a lot of the media, how they frame everything.
So I follow it now to try and understand where the issue lies and the politics ends. Because issues are real.
Politics are how we try and solve the issues. But politics is not real.
It's not actually a real thing. But Trevor, and I'm not being coy here at all.
Maybe this is, I think you've probably noticed in this country, certainly, that there's not a lot of appreciation in any aspect of life for nuance in this country. Yeah.
You're either on this team or that team. Yeah, and it's very binary, and it's always a sort of a zero-sum game.
That is part of the American experience. You win, you lose.
There's no nuance. That is true.
That is true. I will say, you know, if you want to liken it back to sports, I always say to my American friends, I go, I see why soccer was never the most popular game and might never be.
It's because in soccer, we have a draw. We sometimes say, you know what? Neither team won, neither team lost.
This was a great game. Everybody go home.
It's winners and losers. And so if politics is also about winners and losers, then nobody wants to concede because it automatically means that they've lost.
Which isn't a good way to have politics. As opposed to compromise.
Yeah. Politics should never be about winning or losing.
It should be about compromising and then, you know, understanding that the majority... It's even strange.
Do you ever think about it? When you look at America's results, I'm always shocked at how states are called blue or red, and then you look at the number, and it's like 51%, and people confidently say, well, that's a red state, and I go like, but it's 49% blue. Right.
Or vice versa. Everything's half and half, yeah.
Everything's right in the middle, Yeah. Well, if you think, and this is true, I think, for politics in general, and so I don't mean to come off as completely naive, but the idea that the actual politics are more important than the policy is absurd.
Right? All of the politics is supposed to be a mechanism by which we sort of, that sort of drives policy. right? And that it should be what people are concerned about, what the actual issues are.
And they're not. They're much more invested in the game of it.
And as you said, the win or lose of the game. Yeah.
But a lot of that I will blame, you know, to what you said, Sean, is like, I think the media has to take a lot of blame for that because the media has enjoyed turning it into a game right and the media has enjoyed turning it into a spectacle and so if they reinforce that narrative then i find lawmakers you know one of the most interesting um experiences i had when i first came to america was i i went to new hampshire for the primaries. And this is literally, I've been in America for barely a year.
Now I'm in New Hampshire, you know, and Vermont and all of these places. And I will never forget seeing, there were two politicians who were, you know, on the stump, and they were giving their speeches and it was vitriolic.
And they were, you know, this person is going person's gonna destroy the country they're gonna do this day and then in the evening i saw them at a diner and the two of them were sitting together laughing and they were like how's your family how's everything going since i was a kid i don't understand that yeah it's it's in many ways it's almost like wrestling it's like american politics you see these people in the ring and it's like triple h i'm gonna rip you limb rip you limb from limb. And as a fan, you're like, yeah, kill him, kill him.
And then only to find out that like your favorite wrestler who hates the other wrestler in your mind is actually great friends and is the godfather to their child. I think American politicians don't do a, they don't do the country a service.
They do it a disservice by not showing everybody that they do get along, that they go out together, that they have meals, that they're friends, they're at each other's weddings. Also, I think language is important too.
Like when, you know, whatever president, a Republican or Democrat says, who's ever in office, they say, well, the Democrats thought blah, blah, blah, or the Republicans thought blah, blah, blah. And it's like, you have to say the Republicans in Congress feel this way, or the Democrats in Congress.
Because what happens is it generalizes everybody. Well, I'm a Democrat.
Well, I'm a Republican. You know, now you're telling me that we all think that way? No, it's just the lawmakers think that way.
You know what I mean? That's a good point. And also think about the idea that, look, it's the spring of an election year.
Of course, and again, at risk of sounding completely naive, of course they have to pit them against each other because they need to drive ratings because we know that all of it is driven by commerce. Everything in this country is driven by commerce.
And so if there's no race, if there's no, they have to say so-and-so's leading by this. If the election were today, these are the weak spots.
He's ahead. She's ahead.
He's going to crush. He's not going to crush.
They have to keep us in the game. Yeah, they just have to be more discerning.
Yeah, because they need us to watch the commercials in between. So if you really want to get mad at it, get mad at CNN and MSNBC and Fox and all of them because they're're just all they're doing is in service of commerce that's it yeah yeah it's completely in service of com if i would if i break it down into three levels i'll go you know on the media side i wish they would stop turning it into the spectacle that they do but they probably won't as you say because they can't the money's there yeah well that's what they want to get you know once you turn it into a sport you, it changed everything.
Sports get the best ratings in this country. So if they can turn it into a football game, they'll do it.
But on the ground as well, I think as people, that's something that I found strange coming to America, is how people would say, I am a Democrat. I am a Republican.
And I'd be like, what? What does that mean? Where I come from, people just talk about how they voted, but they are not the thing. Right.
You know, and I think I think if you take yourself away from being the thing, you allow yourself the opportunity to either be disappointed by the thing or step away from the thing when it is necessary. You know, because it shouldn't be a sport, you shouldn't be I am a like, I am a Liverpool supporter is correct.
We will go up and down with Liverpool. Yeah.
politics, you should just say, I voted for this and then I voted against it. And it's like, I'm not that thing.
Well, imagine we lived in a world where you can just, all you did was you weren't voting. There was no such thing as a party.
And you just voted on issues. Yeah.
Right. We'll be right back.
Have you met All Modern? All Modern thinks making your space modern with fresh furniture and decor should be easy. That's why All Modern's team of modern-obsessed experts hand vets each design for quality.
And not to mention they offer fast and free shipping. Yep, that means you can upgrade

your home in days, not weeks.

So whether you're updating your living

room with a plush new sofa, setting up

an alfresco dining area with a modern

table and chairs, or designing a cozy

fireside retreat, All Modern has

everything for your modern outdoor escape

all in one place. That's modern

made for real life. Shop now at

allmodern.com or visit them in store

in Linfield and Dedda, Massachusetts

or in Austin, Texas.

Hey guys, do you ever open up your underwear drawer

and just go like,

oh, you know what?

That's the same underwear I've been wearing for a year.

But you're too lazy to do something about it like I am

until you have to,

until there's like holes and stuff in it.

Well, switch up your underwear when you do

with skims.

Thank you. year, but you're too lazy to do something about it like I am until you have to, until there's like holes and stuff in it.
Well, switch up your underwear when you do with Skims. Yeah, the much loved brand makes underwear for men now too.
Try Skims cotton three inch boxer brief. They're the perfect weight, the perfect classic cotton feel, and the design is nice and simple.
Hitting the gym, wear the stretch five inch boxer brief. It gives you all the movement you need for working out.
Don't think you're a briefs guy? The lightweight, sleek, and super comfy Skins stretch brief will change your mind. So I got the boxer brief in three different colors and they're great.
They fit perfectly and I like that it's snug. You know, I don't like loose, like, underwear on me, so it's nice and snug.
It's Skims. It's the best.
Shop Skims Men's at skims.com and Skims stores. Let them know we sent you.
After you place your order, select the podcast in the survey and select our shop in the drop-down menu that follows. Hey, guys, you want to know an easy genius hack to improve your life? Eat more Reese's peanut butter cups.
Uh. Sure, there are countless life coaches, gurus, and thought leaders out there, but none of them are sharing this simple secret.
Eating a Reese's peanut butter cup brings a burst of joy to your day. They've got the perfect ratio of sweet chocolate to salty peanut butter that's sure to satisfy, and there's no wrong way to eat one.
It's all about whatever makes you happy. I should speak, right? I love them.
Shop Reese's Peanut Butter Cups now at a store near you. Found wherever candy is sold.
And now, back to the show. Noah, so what about hosting? Like, do you still want to is it something like you're like I did it I'm moving on to something else oh no or like would you do you have aspirations to host the Oscars, the Emmy, like award shows well you've done the Grammys how many years now oh that's right I forgot MTV and the Grammys has been fun I've done the Grammys.
How many years now? Yes. Oh, that's right.
I forgot.

MTV. The Grammys has been fun.
I've done the Grammys a few times now. Now, were you a huge music fan before that? You mean was I human? That's a strange question.
Who doesn't like music, Jason? No, but I mean, some people are obsessed with it. Jason doesn't know what humans do, dude.
Well, maybe a better question would be,

has your passion for music increased since you've been behind the curtain? By the way, I apologize. Of course I've watched Sean the Grammys.
I completely forgot. No, no, no, no.
You're fantastic. You know what? Can I establish you're not right earlier in the presentation? No, no, no, no.
Don't do that to Sean, guys. Don't do that.
I know what he means. And I'll tell you why, Sean.
It's funny. I don't think the Grammys is the same as like the Emmys or the Oscars or any of those shows.
Well, I'm an actor, so I'm like, I watch those more. Yeah, but also the Grammys is like hosting a concert.
You know, the Emmys and the Oscars and all these other awards, they do feel like an award show. The Grammys just feels to me like a concert yeah so I I've definitely developed a greater appreciation for artists seeing them rehearse, seeing how hard it is to get everything right, seeing them do it live that's what's definitely increased and then also my palettes, like every time I'm at the Grammys I discover a new artist that I now become a fan of.
What about a full genre? Yeah, definitely. Are you a fan of country now? I listen to way more country now than I ever did.
You know what I mean? Everybody, like the Luke Combs, you name it. I just got into it because you would hear the song so many times in rehearsal and you'd see how amazing it could be.
And then you fall in love with it. That Tracy Chapman performance.
Oh, my God, I just amazing things. I cried my eyes out.
I know. I know.
Incredible. I'm not a huge, a lot of the music of the Grammys is not really my taste, generally.
What do you mean? It's all kinds of music on the Grammys. No, but I'm such a, like, 90s indie rock fan.
Oh, right. So they would have awarded your bands yeah if it was like built to spill and dinosaur jr and the pixies i would have been like ah great um but uh but then i watched that tracy chapman and you just forget what an unreal talent she is yeah sure what is what is what is what is the what is the phone number that you've that you've gotten from hosting the grammys all these years that you're most proud of? Which artist? What famous rocker do you now have on your phone? Oh, I don't have anybody's number, to be honest with you.
You don't go up to the phone, hey, hey, hey, it'd be great to hang out. I was in a band.
You can have my number. I would gladly take your number.
This is a strange say but like so i i always found it strange that people would try to be friends just because they're in in a similar space so i don't know how to explain it you're famous i'm famous we should hang out yeah but but okay so this is what this is what would happen to me all right um you you would all probably understand this um i remember when i first came to america and and now i would get invited to events because you know part of the daily show and you go to these events and everyone would be like, oh, we should hang out. You take my number.
Take my, oh my God, Trevor, we got, we got to hang out sometime. We got to get a coffee.
We got to get a coffee. This guy, this guy's great.
We got to get, let me get your number. Where are you? Oh yeah, I'm there.
I'm there all the time. We got to do it.
And I would give people my number. And in my head, I was like, wow, I'm making so many friends.
These people are so friendly. This is amazing.
And then I would hear nothing from them. I would message them.
I would hear nothing. They wouldn't respond at all.
People, by the way, people in Hollywood change their numbers all the time. I don't even know who.
Everyone has a new number all the time. And then what would happen was, this was one of my favorite memories.
I met somebody, and this has happened a few times. I met the same person at another event, maybe like a year later.
And they're like, oh, my God, Trevor, this is, oh, man, how have you been? Congratulations. Man, we got to hang out.
Let me get your number. Let me get, and I was like, I think you have my number.
And they're like, no, no, no, I changed phones and I got a whole thing. Didn't your number? I was like, my number didn't change.
They're like, no. And then I put my number in on their phone.
And you know when you type it in on the screen? Yeah, it shows up. Then my name just popped up.
And I was like, you have my number. Yeah, yeah.
And I'm like, wait, what? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then what did Justin Theroux do? Oh, let me tell you.
Okay, I have the greatest Jason Bateman story for me at least.

For me at least.

This is one of them.

I don't know if you remember.

This is easily, easily my favorite memory of you.

It's also a horrific memory, but now I laugh at it.

I can't remember yesterday, so chances are high.

I was invited to a Netflix party before one of the Emmys.

It was for like a whole bunch of nominees before the Emmys. And Ted Sarandos was hosting this event and everyone's gathered.
And it was, I mean, it was star-studded. It was crazy.
And you don't see these people all the time. That's the misconception everyone has is that if you're on the same same platform you just hang out right i was i was just standing there you know and i look across the the garden where this event's being held and i see jason and i'm like oh my god and i've i've loved you forever i go easily one like my favorite comedy performance i mean all of you are in different things like sean i used to watch will and grace with my mom it's okay no no no okay Don't throw the compliments away.
I mean, all of you are in different things. Like, Sean, I used to watch Will and Grace with my mom.
It's okay. No, no, no, no.
It's okay. Me a little bit more? Don't throw the compliments away.
I mean it. Like, literally, the timing, the cadence, everything.
Will, everything you do on, like, BoJack Horseman. So I love comedy.
I love the technique. Less, right, with Sean and Will? Yeah, I mean, I mean this honestly.
Going forward. You're easily one of my favorite funny people ever.
But at that time, Ozark just it was my life it was the best it was anything i had seen that had flipped the whole genre of like you know drugs one of my favorite comedies too i thought it was very funny actually so so i i see you and you see me standing across the way and you look at me and you just gave me like a a little,, hello. Hey, man.
And I was like, oh, damn, okay. And so I walked over to you and I said, hello.
And you were very kind. And you're like, hi.
And I immediately went to, I was effusive. I said, I love everything you do.
And I just, I went and I said, you did this. And I was like, I love game nights and I love this.
And I was just listing everything off because I love, I genuinely love them all.

And, but then I said, I said to you, I said, oh, and most recently you crushed it.

You know, I didn't think Ant-Man was going to be good.

And it was phenomenal.

And you listened to me break down the whole Ant-Man everything.

And then, and then you paused.

And I swear it was like you had written this. Your face, you went like, huh.
And he said, do you think that I am Paul Rudd? And I will never forget that moment. And I went, no, I thought that Paul Rudd was you.
That's a great saying. But it's true.
I was like, I gave him your performance is how good I think you are. I just, anything good he did, I was like, it should be Jason Bateman, I guess.
I strive to be Paul Rudd. And we just stared at each other awkwardly for a moment.
And you said, huh, did you come here because you thought I was someone else? And I said, no. But you said Ant-Man.
And I said, I would rather say that I'm racist and you all look the same than admit that that happened. And then we just stood there awkwardly for a moment.
And you were very nice. We just stood there and I said, well, one day we'll meet again,

hopefully under different... And what I should have said is, don't worry, I'll never remember this because I know how to pour cement over bad memories.
JB, do you remember that? I do not. He doesn't remember anything.
By the way, don't take it personally. No, no, no.
All I know how to do is remember dialogue. My brain at an early age was formed into that being a one-trick pony.
I can remember dialogue. What about a Coke dealer's number? Yeah, yeah, still.
Do you need some? Yeah, you remember that. Yeah, you remember.
Wait, 20-some years. Do you remember old dialogue, though? No.
I have a great delete button, too, so that I have room on my drive for tomorrow's. To not remember the other things.
Oh, he's one of the all-time great dialogue memorizers. Incredible.
But I'll go to a movie with somebody, and two days later, I'll talk to that person, and I'll go, you know what I saw a couple days ago? You've got to see this movie. Right.
I've done it a dozen What does that mean? I do that too sometimes. I'll do it to Scotty.
I was at this movie. He's like, I was with you.
I mean, it's terrible, but maybe it's good because I'm with somebody who feels so comfortable. I mean, it blocks out the bad memories, right? Early onset? That could be.
It could be just a trace. Why are you saying early? When you think you're young? I'm not that young.
Just slide a fucking compliment into yourself. Oh, here's another one.
Here's another one before you carry on. This was, can I just say, so, you know, obviously I'm a huge fan of the podcast and I understand the format, but here's the thing.
I didn't know that the surprise guest was really a surprise thing. Yeah.
Okay. We didn't know you were going to come on.
We've only broken on a couple times. Yeah.
So we were at the Vanity Fair Oscars party. Right.
Yeah. And I saw it.
Yeah. And Will walks by.
Will walks by. You walked straight to me, Will.
But you walked to me with the confidence of somebody who knows that I'm coming onto the podcast. And you were like, hey.
And then you said, yo, I'm so excited. And I didn't know what.
I was like, oh. And then I was like, I'm so excited to chat to you.
And then as I said that, Jason was behind you staring at me like I had killed his whole family. But he couldn't hear anything, by the way.
He was just staring at me. And I said, I'm so excited to chat to you about Formula One.
And then we started talking about Formula One. Interesting.
It was funny that you said that. Now that I remember you saying that, and I was thinking like, man, he's really into Formula One.
He's really honed in on me on the Formula One. And he's been looking.
I was panicking. I was like, oh, I screwed the whole thing up.
I screwed the whole thing. And then I was like, oh, let's just get into Formula One.
And you did look at me like, man, this guy really went deep into Formula One in the middle of an Oscars party. Right out the gate.
And then you walked away and then Jason came up to me and he said, please, you didn't say anything. You don't fuck this up.
You're the surprise guest. You don't fuck this up.
I didn't say anything. I didn't say anything.
And then he walked away.

Did you say that to him, JB? You said hi.

Yeah.

It's funny.

I had somebody else at the thing as well that same night after you, Trevor.

I won't say it is because I don't know whose guest it is.

Come up to me and somebody I've known a long time.

And I go, what's up, dude?

He goes, I'm coming to talk to you on your stupid podcast.

And I go, well, I didn't know that asshole.

Oh God.

And he's like,

oh, sorry,

sorry,

sorry.

Rockwell did that too.

Poor guy.

Oh yeah,

Rockwell did,

oh fuck.

Do you like getting

gussied up like that,

Trev,

and going out

to those kind of events?

By the way,

Trevor,

let me just tell you something.

You looked

really good on Sunday.

You looked very sharp.

Yeah,

thank you. Thank you.
I've never heard that term, gussied up. Gussied up.
Yeah. Yeah.
We got some beauties here in this country. Oh, I like that.
You ever been to Illinois? No? Okay. No.
No, I've been everywhere, actually. Yeah.
No, I do enjoy it. Yeah.
I mean, I went to, so in South Africa, in school, you wear school uniform your whole life. So I actually like dressing up like that because I feel like it's no stress.
I go, yeah, you put on the pants, you put on the jacket, and you know you're doing it right. We're lucky.
Women have it so tough. Yeah, they do.
They've got to find the gown and then those shoes on. Yeah, I wear comfortable shoes.
My toes are all individually spaced out. It's wonderful.
You know, I think that when you said women have it so tough, they were expecting something a little more than the shoes and the gown. But okay.
Well, in childbirth. This is how we get into it.
This is how we get into it. This is the entree.
The stuff they've got to deal with. Trevor, I want to, you know, I brought it up at the start of talking about Africa and I want to know how often you get back to Africa.
I'm so, I've never been. I've never been either.
I want to go. And I feel like I'm depriving myself.
I really want to go. This is the same thing.
This is the same thing I get in most of my hate mail. When are you going back to Africa? Oh, no.
Well, can I let me just add that. Can I go with you? I want to go because you're kind of like the dude.
Do you get back often? I go back all the time. Yeah, I'm there all the time.
I go especially like since I left The Daily Show, I get to go back a lot more. You know, I spend time with my mom, spend time with family.
I'm there, I would say I'm there like every two months. Really? That's so nice.
That's great. Yeah, I love it.
How long a flight? 16 hours from New York and then 20, it becomes like a weird 25-ish hour journey from LA. Wow.
So yeah, it's 16 hours direct South African Airways, right? Yeah. No, no, no.
It actually Unites is the only airline that flies there now. Oh, wow.
Yeah. So, you know, life giveth and life taketh away.
Yeah. And America, your new adopted home, generally, what's your take on it? Oh, I love this place.
Do you like it? Do you have favorite places? Oh, I love this place.

So here's the thing.

Yeah, here's the thing about America is

I think, again, you see nuance is maybe what is lacking sometimes.

I think people take for granted

that you can live in a place where you find it both amazing

and at many times disappointing

depending on what you're experiencing of it. Yeah.
You know, people sometimes walk up to me in the streets and they'll be like, you hate America, you piece of trash, why don't you leave? And I'm like, who said I would not live anywhere I hate? Let's start with that. Secondly, I genuinely find a lot of America amazing.
And I find it's the optimism that is etched into the very fabric of the country that I find amazing. You know, it's an amazing country where black people at a time when they had no rights believed that there was a path for them to get equal rights.
Even that is a strange level of optimism that I think is beautiful and profound. Yeah, considering how they were living, yes, it is.
Yeah, that's exactly my point. Yeah, it's incredibly ambitious and productive.
It has that. And I think it's a wonderful trait to hold on to and to never lose.
And so while America has many faults, other countries have many. I travel all the time, so I'm under no illusion.
I don't think of America as best or worst. I just think every place has the issues that it is dealing with at the time that it's dealing with them.
So you, yeah, no. There's something I've always loved about Americans and America as a place and how different each state and each city is and, you know, I'm eternally grateful to be here.
You're a West Coast guy or an East Coast guy? I split it. I find the East Coast is great for your mind.
The West Coast is great for your body. Yeah.
And I mean your body, not physically, but just like I feel like you breathe a little more. You sleep better.
You eat better. Yes.
It just has a calming effect on you. But the East Coast is great to get your brain just like really stimulated and going.
Yeah, I agree with you. There's a lot.
And I moved here when I was 20 from Canada, so it wasn't that far, but I do agree that there's so many great things, and I give this country a lot of shit, but I've been here a long time, and there's so many great things about this country, and I agree with you, but it's important for us to point out this stuff, you know, to be honest about the shortcomings because it's the only way. Yeah to care for it.
Well, yeah. You've got to think of America like a Boeing airplane.
You should appreciate the fact that it can fly and the fact that it does is pretty amazing. I mean, the fact that this tin can is floating in the sky at 40,000 feet, that's pretty amazing.
That's wild. But if you stop paying attention to it and you don't try and constantly improve it, then the doors might fall off and the landing gears might fail.
And the wheels fall off and it also inexplicably will lose power when it's traveling from Australia to New Zealand and fall 500 feet in a second. The point is, I get what you're saying, but it's like sex too.
It's like even when it's bad, it's still sex, right? Guys, are we saying that? Sure, yeah. Are we going to go with that? I mean, is that the last thing we're going to get Trevor? We can probably workshop that one a little bit after we're done.
I'll need to digest that one. Trevor, you are nine minutes over your obligated time, and I apologize for that.
We love you. We thank you.
What a fucking delight. What an absolute delight.
Hey Trevor, let me get your

number. Let's hang out.
We should do that. I'll let you

know what I meant.

No, but actually because you're a Liverpool fan and an F1 fan.

Like we actually should hang out.

You know, we can just watch the things

and then even if we say nothing, we had a good time.

He's not a bad hand. We actually shouldn't.
I actually

will do it. I actually will.

I like that. Thank you.

Alright. Thank you, sir.
Everyone sir. Hopefully I see you again soon.
Until then, thank you. Yeah.
Thank you so much for having me. God bless.
This is really cool. Thank you, Trevor.
Nice to get to know you. We say in Africa, we say God bless and may Simba always be by your side.
Simba. That's exactly what I was thinking.
Simba. I feel like he's kidding, but I'm going to take him at his word.
I'm going to take him at his word. Thank you, thank you.
Thanks, Trev. See you in Joburg.
Have a great rest of the day. Thanks, Trevor.
Bye. Bye, buddy.
Well, that, you know, listen, I'll tell you what, our best guest at times... I really like that trevor noah i really yeah cool it yeah cool it no i know i really like him for and so is he no i know i i think that he's a special dude i really like him yeah he's smart like i didn't know anything about him i just thought i was a fan just apologize what i probably yeah i apologize to him uh um But he's got, we didn't even, I love talking to him so much, we didn't even get to his podcast on Spotify.
His podcast on Spotify is called What Now? Okay? What Now? What Now? What Now? What Now? And that's on Spotify. And he's on tour right now, like all over the world.
And tickets are on sale through November. So if you're in Singapore, Stockholm, Copenhagen, France, Germany, Rotterdam, Auckland, Melbourne, I mean, the guy is hopping all over the place.
He's like a real international superstar. Yeah, yeah.
Comedy superstar. The real deal.
Most of the comedians that we know who are our friends who we adore, but they're all going to fucking Denver and Omaha and shit, right? Like a bunch of fucking ding-dongs, right? But then you got Trevor Noah and he's in Singapore. I mean, all our fucking stupid American comedian friends can suck it.
Trevor's out in the world, places, right? Sophisticated. Yeah, he's sophisticated to a cool shit.
shit yeah i like talking to people like i learned so much just from a quick hang like that yeah i've also you know been thinking about that city he performed at recently do you guys remember the name of that city oh here comes here comes here comes what are you are you trying to wrap it up already we've've barely talked about him. What do you want to say more?

I love him.

He's super smart.

I want him to come back so I can learn more.

He's excited about his bye.

Let him get to it.

What were you talking about, Sean?

Well, it's a place where a lot of rich people live.

Oh.

Where's that?

Do-bye.

God, he's had that loaded for a half hour.

Smart.

Nice.

Smart. hour smartless is 100 organic and artisanally handcrafted by bennett barbaco michael grant Terry and Rob Armjarf.
Smart

Less.

Hey, friend. Michael Grant Terry and Rob Armjarf.
Smart Less. Hey friends, Jason here.
We're so excited the Smart Less has officially joined the SiriusXM family. We can't wait to announce new surprise guests who we know that you'll love.
If you want to be the first to hear new episodes ad-free in a whole week early, subscribe to SiriusXM

Podcasts Plus on Apple Podcasts or visit SiriusXM.com slash podcasts plus to start your free trial today.

Come into your neighborhood Starbucks to enjoy free refills of hot or iced brewed coffee or tea.

So stop in and stay a while. Your free refill is ready at Starbucks.
Visit starbucks.com slash refills for details. While Hilton is always expected to have top-notch service, you'd be surprised at the unexpected places they're offering it now.
They've partnered with AutoCamp, which offers insanely cool air streams in iconic outdoor destinations. Hilton also has an exclusive partnership with small luxury hotels of the world, providing Hilton Honors members access to luxury boutique hotels across the globe.
And they've added romantic and refined nomad hotels and graduate hotels in your favorite college towns to their portfolio.

Explore all the new ways to stay with those Hilton honors points you've been saving at Hilton.com.

Hilton for the stay.