Aziz Ansari

[00:00] This episode is brought to you by Allstate. Checking Allstate first could save you hundreds on car insurance. Not checking your pockets before putting clothes in the washer? [00:09] Oof. Enjoy your freshly cleaned and completely destroyed earbuds. Yeah, checking first is a good plan. So check Allstate first for an auto quote. It could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate. Potential savings vary subject to terms, conditions and availability. Allstate North American Insurance Company and affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois. [00:29] Hello, everyone. Welcome to this episode of Good Hang. I'm very excited about my guest today. It is Aziz Ansari. So great to have Aziz here in the studio to talk about the past, the present, and the future. And we're going to talk about a lot of stuff today. We're going to talk about... [00:44] The fact that he skipped first grade because everyone thought he was so smart. We're going to talk about him growing up as an Indian boy in the South. We're going to talk about Parks and Rec, of course, and all our memories there. And we're going to talk about his cinematic directing debut, Good Fortune. Lots to get into. But before we do that, we want to speak to somebody who knows our guest, who has great feelings and things to say about our guest, and who has a question for me to ask our guest. [01:14] and [01:15] We just have my wife, my beautiful, beautiful wife, Rashida Jones, joining us today. Rashida, I miss you. I love you. [01:23] Let's get going. Can you hear me? [01:25] Rashida, can you hear me? [01:28] Uh-oh, she can't.

[01:34] This episode is presented to you by Paul Maliv. Some of the best memories you'll ever make are around the dinner table. You'll never regret trying out those new recipes that may or may not go sideways or putting on a spread so big that your in-laws are still talking about it years later. [01:49] Brownie points. So when it comes to the dishes, it's nice to know that there's a product that works as hard as you do. Palmolive Ultra removes up to 99.9% of grease, leaving your dishes sparkling clean. Visit palmolive.com. Shop now. [02:13] This is a disaster. Okay. [02:18] How are you guys over there? [02:21] Am I the over there? Oh, I can look at your face now. Yay. Oh, you couldn't see me before? It was a side view. Oh, no, it's a terrible view. No, it was great. It was great. This is just more direct and intimate. Bones. [02:39] Polos. [02:40] We just had a tech fiasco. [02:43] Fiasco. [02:44] We had a snafu. I mean, it still is a miracle that you can talk to each other in live time. Yeah. Like across regions. So I'm going to I'm going to stick with that story. I still can't believe that we have airplanes. Exactly. Exactly. So there you go. [03:03] This is a miracle. Our meeting today is a miracle. Where are we talking to you from right now?

[03:14] room. [03:15] Okay. [03:16] In London. Well, what makes a sitting room? [03:20] What's a sitting question? Lots of places to sit and kind of no other functionality. Like we were just kind of sitting and staring at each other, you know. You're in London. I'm in London. Oh, I miss you, friend. I miss you, too. I'm talking to Aziz today and I'm having a lot of I'm having a lot of nostalgic feelings today. I feel that I really miss. [03:47] I really miss us. [03:49] As a cast. Same. And I kind of feel like we are his aunties a little bit. We are definitely. Totally. You especially. It was the education of Aziz. I'm sorry. It was sort of like the alternate title for Parks and Recreation. I know him and Plaza feel like they were babies. Our babies. They were our babies that we raised. [04:13] Our beautiful family. The four of us. [04:19] you, I think has like a very specific perspective. [04:22] cultured aesthetic. I'm loving the color brown that you're wearing. Thank you so much because [04:29] Somebody told me they didn't like this color. I don't remember what it was. And I was like, I do. [04:35] I don't know why. It's like very 70s to me. And I was wondering what you think the color of fall is. [04:44] I always ask Rashida these questions because she knows. She's in the know. Well, there's a palette because, you know, like when you have – have you ever done your makeup test where you're like an autumn or spring or summer? Yeah, I think – I'm an autumn. You're an autumn. You are such an autumn. You're a summer, I think. I think you're right, and I wanted very much to be a winter. It's kind of the story of my life. You love summer polos, but you love summer. I do, but the colors feel a little –

[05:12] I don't know, not substantial. Too playful. Yeah, they feel a little juvenile. And I remember looking at the palette and saying, I think I'm a winter. And then TikTok said, no way. No, ma'am. They said, Blondie's not allowed. [05:29] Okay, so that's an autumnal color that you've got going on. This, I would say like an olive green, a wine, like a Merlot color is very the color of autumn. Maybe even like a mustard as an accent. I can't even get anywhere near those colors. They do not work for me. And with that in mind, what do you think is the fashion of the season? What should we be wearing? Okay. Should we say that we do this? Yeah. [05:59] And Rashida and I, and we try to like name how we're going to dress basically. [06:06] And it's steeped in either like a country or a vibe. [06:12] Or like a trend or like an anti-trend. What have been some past ways that we have... [06:20] We've got, we've, we've named the seasons. I can think of a few, um, but, um, [06:25] high school art teacher. [06:27] High school teacher, Japanese winter. Tired ballerina. Tired ballerina. [06:35] What's the last one that we kind of found from TikTok? It was like frugal chic. Frugal chic. Frugal chic. Right. Like make your own salads, bring them to work. Wear the same gorgeous sweater every day. Shop your closet.

[06:52] What do we think is happening this fall? [06:57] fall. [06:58] We're like, ooh, ooh. [06:59] I was just in Paris, which of course, always the fashion's so good in Paris and the way that like girls wear trousers, like it just is, it's hard to describe why they look so much better on them than anybody else. There's like always like a front, maybe it's front pleat fall. [07:16] Okay. You know what? Gen Z loves their front pleats. I don't need any more help down there to feel full. [07:26] No more cleats in the front. Agreed. Agreed. Okay, never mind. How about flat front? Functional flat front. Functional flat front fall. [07:35] Okay, you heard it here first, guys. Hashtag trending. Okay, you know, we always like to talk well behind our guests back about our guests. What do you love about Aziz? I'm sorry. Aziz is... [07:49] He's a very... [07:51] insatiably curious human being. He loves to absorb energy. [07:58] Art, food, fashion, film, food. [08:02] traveling. He's so open to experience. And I love people who are like that. I would say that you're like that too. And then of course, he's just... [08:14] so funny and I always want his take on something. Um, [08:19] That makes it [08:20] he's a pleasure to be around in that way. Yeah. I feel like you two have probably gone and done some groovy things together. Like, yeah.

[08:33] We've been in a lot of countries together. Yeah. [08:36] Yeah. And I love being in Japan with Aziz because he'll just bust out the best accent and just order in Japanese. What? Full, perfect accent. Yes. He speaks Japanese? Yes, a little bit. But his accent's so good that he convinces people that he can speak fluently because his accent's so good. Whoa, that's cool. Yeah, very cool. [09:06] speaking another language [09:08] I just feel so bad that I don't. Like I make it about myself. Fire of envy. Shame. Well, people should know that you studied French for a while. [09:18] A month? [09:20] Babe, a month more than other people, honey. [09:24] Okay, so what question do you have for our guest Aziz today? What do you think I should ask Aziz? Anything you want to know? Yeah, I was, you know, I was thinking about something that would light him up that he'd want to talk about. [09:37] And again, as we mentioned, Aziz is an extremely cultured individual. And, you know, there's probably stuff that people don't. [09:46] really know about him. [09:47] One thing is that he's an excellent chef and also he loves... [09:52] Food. So A, what's his favorite thing to cook? [09:55] And B, what's his favorite thing to eat? Love that. [09:59] I love that. Has he ever made anything for you? All the time. He cooks me dinner all the time.

[10:05] Everything. My [10:07] My recent favorite is he makes this thing. It's like, it's an Indian dish that's, [10:11] specifically for children so i love it uh called chicken 65 and it it's it's bright red because of the like the pepper powder and it's [10:22] Delicious. Yum. [10:25] Yeah. Ooh, I want to talk to him about that. And I want to talk about kitchen gadgets in general. I just got for myself, I like to every once in a while get myself a kitchen gadget so that I can continue to encourage myself to cook. I just got really long, thin tongs, like not your grabby tongs, but those long ones where you can turn a delicate mushroom. Wow. I wish we were hanging [10:55] I really want to do a TikTok dance with you. Oh, yeah. Listeners, Rashida sent me a TikTok dance and said, I wish we were learning this together. And I watched it and I was like... [11:04] I don't think I'd be able to learn it. 100% could do that. [11:09] It looks so cool because they're such good dancers, but they're very simple steps. [11:13] You know no one is a bigger fan. Could you do the TikTok dance and send it to you? By myself? I will. I'll send it to you. I'll send it to you. Just don't show anybody. I'll send it to you. Do that thing where you make yourself three people. You know how you can do an effect where you can look like three people? Yes. Let's do that. Maybe your team, after they fix your audio issues, can help me do that. Yeah. We're going to split this in a three, and you're going to be your own backup singer. I'd love that. Best career.

[11:43] Thank you, Bones, for doing this. So happy to see you. Miss you so much. I know. And love you. And have fun with Aziz, Zeezers. Baby Zeezy. As I call them. Baby Zeezy. All right. Thanks, friend. Love you. Love you, too. [11:56] This episode is brought to you by Uber Eats. Beauty emergencies are bound to happen. How many times have you, oh, I don't know, dug around in your purse and pulled out mascara and thought it was lipstick? [12:09] And then all of a sudden you got mascara on your lips and you're like, this is not the kind of look I want to bring to the very fancy dinner party that I'm about to have. So now that Sephora is on Uber Eats, you can get all your beauty essentials delivered for the same price as in store. Plus, treat yourself to $10 off when you spend $50 or more on your first Sephora order on the Uber Eats app. Order Sephora on Uber Eats today. Offer ends October 30th. One order per customer. [12:39] terms apply. See app for availability. Delivery fees may apply. God, this is like New York right now. I know. It's so nice to be. People don't know we're recording in New York right now in the fall. Yeah. Wait, is this on now? Yeah, we're on now. Oh, whoa. Okay, good. I'm glad I didn't drop any racial slurs, as I tend to do when I usually see you. Right away, when you see me. Yeah, right away. We usually say, what's your favorite right now? And then I say my favorite, and then we start [13:09] We dropped that for this year. Yeah, no, we're rolling. And all we've been talking about is New York in the fall. That's it. New York in the fall, baby.

[13:20] But when you come here, do you ever want to live here? Well, you still spend time here. Yeah, I feel like I don't live anywhere. I'm always just running around. But visiting New York is fun because you come and you get a quick hit. You do all your favorite stuff. You see all your friends. [13:39] I'm too old now. Yeah, I know what you mean. Your little ZZ is all grown up. I know. My ZZ is just an old man now. I know. If you watch, whenever I see old parks things, I was like, I didn't know that me and Aubrey did a show when we were little kids. Like, it's really. How old were you when you started on the show? I was 13 in 2001. And then when we finished, I just turned 18. I got my driver's license like in the middle of the run. [14:09] Playing Tom Haverford on Parks and Rec. Yeah. It is true, though. You look like a baby. You were a baby. [14:18] I didn't know anything. Yeah. The first seasons, I didn't know how to act or anything. I should not have been on television. NBC should have been like, we've got to get, is there any Indian guy that's done more acting? Can we get out and play this guy? I want to get into this, too, because it feels like when we've met each other throughout, like, in a bunch of different ways. [14:39] in a bunch of different places. But New York City, I will say, feels like, and I don't know if you feel this way when you come here, that you are reminded of when you were young. There is a feeling here, like if you were here when you were young, when you come back, you feel younger or something. You remember your younger self. You're trying to get back that energy. You remember, you remember being out late and all this kind of stuff. Yeah. And because you were an NYU kid.

[15:09] Like in high school or? No, I grew up in South Carolina. So I, you know, there was no outlet for anything like that. Yeah. You know, it was like, you know, you could dip and spit into a mountain. You could spit into a cup and everyone laughed. I just drank Mountain Dew and dipped. That's all I did in high school. And did you ever throw four wheelers? Were you in a play? I was in plays when I was a kid. I remember there was some play I did. [15:39] like a cowboy, and I was doing like a big southern accent, and I remember I just crushed, and kids were coming up to me afterwards like, do it again, and it was like one of those things I remember. So were you a funny kid? Yeah, I liked to be funny in class, and... [15:55] Yeah, anytime there was anything that involved public speaking or something, I was always super comfortable. I remember when I did something where I was six years old, I had to speak in front of the whole school, and it didn't baze me at all. I don't know why. It's so funny. Yeah. Okay, so when I was in school in South Carolina, right? This was in the 80s. Yeah. So a lot of these people had never even seen Indian people before, and I skipped first grade. I did skip first grade and second grade. [16:25] my parents and they're like uh we gotta get him out of here he's too smart he already knows all this stuff i don't know if it's this this other culture you're from or what's happening but we gotta get him the fuck out of this first grade thing he needs to go to second now get him out of my class he's embarrassing everyone else then i went there and uh i went to second grade and it's a little school so like i'm like you know and there's like 30 kids in each class i grew up in

[16:55] like, oh, this little brown wonder kid. And so, like, I'm on the radio and all this stuff. No, I'm on the radio. [17:05] There's a recording somewhere. And when I was a little kid, I had, like, a southern accent because that's where I grew up. Sure. And that's where I'm around. So I vaguely remember being on some radio program, and I was like, my name's Aziz Ansari, and I'm a first grader at Marlboro Academy. [17:25] You become the smart kid. Were you the smart kid? I think so, but I think it kind of annoyed me in a way. Like I didn't want to be painted with a certain brush. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. I bet. I bet people are just projecting a lot of stuff on you. Then I went to the school in 11th and 12th grade, which is like a science and math school. And it's a public school in South Carolina called the Governor's School. And there, it's like all the smartest kids from all over South Carolina. [17:55] That was like smoking weed and telling dumb stories. And they were like, what happened? I thought you skipped first grade. Yeah, 11th grade. You need to go back to 10. Expecting, but yeah, they kicked you back down. Yeah, I mean, we talked a lot about it when we first met, like this idea of growing up [18:12] In South Carolina in the 80s as a young Indian boy, one of probably the only in your class figuring out. Not one of the there in like first and second grade. I sometimes forget this. There is this Thai girl. Her name was Tisha, which does not sound like a Thai name. And they used to always be like, what's up with you and Tisha? I'm not kidding. I remember there was a play in like first grade.

[18:42] Minnie Mouse and it was me and Tisha. We were the stars, you know, oh, diversity. No, no. Me and Tisha in Bennett'sville in like 1988. Leads, leads of this mysterious play. But there was always like, oh, you know, were you excited in a way to expand your horizons and go to New York? [19:04] Yeah, I always, it's so interesting, I was thinking about this, you know, the fact that my dad... [19:10] left, you know, my family... [19:12] is all from the southern tip of India, up until me and my dad. [19:17] left India and went to... [19:20] uh, like he first came to Jersey and he was doing like, you know, residency or whatever. [19:25] And, you know, really, I was thinking about this a couple weeks ago. It was how remarkable it was and how scary that must have been to come over there and not know anything. You know, this is before Internet, FaceTime, nothing. If you're there, you're really gone. And same with my mom as well. Did they come over together? My dad came first, and then my mom came later. [19:45] But... [19:46] I was just thinking about how there was something in my dad. I asked him about this, and he was like, oh, I always wanted to go. And it's weird because I grew up in South Carolina, and I think I had a similar thing where I always wanted to go. [19:58] somewhere, you know, bigger with more stuff going on. Yeah, you had that same like drive to see more of the world. Yeah. And luckily, I went to school in New York, which is the greatest place to be if you have that kind of feeling. So when you're leaving South Carolina, you apply to NYU, you apply, you're like, I'm gonna go to business school. I yeah, I didn't know what I wanted to do. This is how dumb I was. Yeah, business seems to be the major that a lot of men who don't know what

[20:28] Oh, maybe I'll start my own business and I'll major in business. That's how silly I was. And then I get there and there's all these kids that are talking about Goldman Sachs. I don't even know what Goldman Sachs is. And I'm completely confused. And I had friends that were in Tisch, the film and television school. I was thinking about switching to that or maybe the Gallatin school where you make up your own major. But I never really got it together, the little combination of laziness. And I also started doing stand-up like the summer of my freshman year. [20:58] sophomore year and just saying, I'm just going to do something with stand-up. At the least, I'll be a comedian that does comedy clubs and that's fine for me. How do you go do stand-up? What makes you go do stand-up when you're in college? It was one of these weird things. I was in school my freshman year and I was just sitting around and telling stories and people were laughing. Someone was like, oh man, you should try to do stand-up. And then a week later, the same thing happened. It was like one of these weird, maybe the universe is saying something. And then I went to a comedy club. I went to the comedy [21:28] I saw a show and I was like, I think I can do this. And I tried it and [21:32] I wasn't great. I did well. Mm-hmm. [21:36] But I was very comfortable with it, and I really enjoyed it, and I just wanted to get good at it. I just wanted to get better. I never thought about anything further about acting or any of that stuff. I just wanted to get good at this. And it really goes back to what you were saying earlier, where you get that high of like, you know, I want that feeling again. Yeah. And so I started there, and then it just kind of went from there. Well, when we met, do you remember the first time we met? I was trying to think today. I mean, I don't remember anything anymore. I have so many friends who are like, where did we first meet?

[22:06] First times I remember meeting you was, so the UCB Theater, and there was a Monday night stand-up show at 11. [22:13] Which is like a tough slot. Monday at 11 is not the prime slot. But they were doing a stand-up show. And Matt Besser, who was part of UCB, asked me if I would want to do the stand-up show. And I started doing it. And I was booking like my favorite comedians. And I would host it every week. And it really took off. And I remember one week you came. And I was like, whoa, like you just came to see it and said hi. And that's one of the first times I remember. [22:43] is I remember meeting you by seeing you on stage. That's back when we could all just sleep all day and then go to do a show at 11 o'clock on Monday night. Yeah. Then you go on and you do... [22:54] You create your own sketch show. Yeah, we did the sketch show on MTV, yeah. Yeah, and that was kind of like 2007, which was such a cool time for, I think, for comedy at the time, because you had MTV and Comedy Central and all these places like taking big risks on green apples. Yeah, and Adult Swim and all these things. Were you on Adult Swim? No, but that was around and things like Tim and Eric. Yeah, and it was like, here's this kind of niche vibe. [23:24] give them a show for, you know, like, let's see what they can do for a couple of seasons. Yeah. And so that show was Human Giant. Yeah. And you wrote, and what did you learn from doing a sketch show? Sketch show is really hard. Yeah. I mean, you know, that's one of the hardest things to do, because especially even just from a production standpoint, you know, everything is different. There's no consistency. You're always doing new costumes. It's new locations. It's really a hard thing to do. And writing sketches is really hard.

[23:54] that I wrote, I think we all kind of wrote together, but it was one that I really liked, and it was one that Greg Daniels and Mike Schur saw, and it was because it was on YouTube or Funny or Die or whatever, and that was what got me the gig on Parks. Yeah, and was it Shutterbugs? No, it was called Viral Videos, and the premise was me and Rob Hubel, and we were on a talk show that Paul was hosting, and Hubel had just made a viral video, uh... [24:24] And because he he did a video where he cut his penis off and it went viral. And he was like, so excited. I got, you know, two million views. And he's like, oh, we have this other guy's name, you know, Kevin Kreisler. He has a viral video, too. And it's me. And I got like 40 million followers. And all I did was just make funny faces. [24:44] And so he has to reckon with the fact he has to come to just make funny faces. He's done something a little bit more extreme. [24:54] And but that's what Greg and Mike told me they saw. And they're like, oh, because a lot of people don't know you were the first person hired for parks. Yeah, I met with them. And what was that meeting like? Do you remember it? Well, it was so mysterious what they're up to. Yeah, I had a meeting with them and I told them, I don't know what you're doing, but whatever it is, that would be a dream job. And I. [25:17] And, you know, this was like when The Office was on and Mike and Greg were both involved in that. And that was, you know, my favorite show like that on the air. And so I told him, whatever you're up to, let me know. And then, of course, you know, when it all came together with you and Rashida and everything. And I'm kind of learning when I was talking to Plaza when Plaza was here. She was talking about like her meeting with them, too. Yeah. Yeah. Very famous story. Yeah. Yeah.

[25:47] those guys going out and getting people and bringing them in and talking about, like, we're going to do something very cool. I mean, it didn't even feel like there was a ton of auditioning. It was more just them picking people that they thought was funny. Not only funny and funny. [26:04] I feel like all of us, whenever we see each other, do interviews, kind of say this kind of stuff ad nauseum, but it's so true. But also just the best people I've ever met in my life. Yeah. Like, really, I cannot believe it because we've all done other stuff. And, you know, not everybody's, you know, look, we've all done other stuff. I don't talk about everything the way I talk about parts. You know, you do something. Some people, there's different energy, not necessarily mean or bad, but just something like we all just clicked. [26:34] And just to pay respect to you and Mike, you know, when I did Master of None with Alan and as I become a director, I, you know, what I learned from you and Mike in terms of how to lead. [26:47] I mean, I can't thank you enough. It was the best role model I could have ever had. [26:54] You know, when I started watching your podcast, and so then Parks Clips started coming on YouTube, and... [27:03] When I watch it, sometimes I just think about us making it. Same. And it's funnier for me to watch the bloopers because that feels more like my experience. [27:12] And, oh gosh, some of those things that came up, I hadn't thought about in so long. They were cracking me up. I saw this clip. It was, I don't remember the context of the episode or whatever.

[27:22] But, [27:23] It's we're in Ron's office. [27:25] And me and Donna... [27:27] There's something called bluish and, and, and Ron has a side of bronze and bluish. [27:32] So me and Retta started going, Ron's in Blush. Ron's in Blush. And then I jump on the table, Ron's in Blush. And me and Retta's dancing is getting crazier and crazier. And we're just dancing all over Offerbett, doing all the crazy stuff. And they showed that. That was what we shot. And then they showed the scene as it aired. And it was just like, Ron's in Blush. And they cut. [27:59] That's also my favorite thing. It's like. [28:01] I mean, I love trying to, if I could try to get someone to break. You're pretty good. I don't, you know. Yeah. Pepperman's pretty high up on that. Agree. He never cracked up. And, oh, man, I love, there was a couple of times where I almost, where I got, like, I think he didn't laugh, but I think his mustache went up a little bit. And I remember one thing that you wrote. It was an episode you wrote. I was doing that puppy voice. And then the puppy started looking at his mustache. [28:31] I like your mustache. [28:33] I'm just a little puppy. And it all, I think it almost got it. It almost got it. You're so right. I mean, the set up there was like you had a chance to play around. Like you got to try your stuff. I mean, the fact that that. [28:50] Treat yourself is used on, you know,

[28:53] cocktail napkins and in Kmart and like it's everywhere. And I went to some ice cream place one time and they're like, treat yourself to a sample. I was like, can I have a sample? I was like, please don't, please don't connect this. Luckily, the person didn't put them together. Yeah. I mean, that's become part of the lexicon. And I can remember that moment, which, by the way, it's so funny in that moment, treat yourself because you guys say, [29:23] 2011. And I'm like, oh my gosh, 2011. Remember that? And then there was one in the future. 2014. It's 2025. What's happening? But I remember that episode deeply because [29:39] It felt like it was a great example of the writers and the producers realizing like what [29:45] made you laugh? What made Aziz laugh? What would be fun for us? That's what they started doing so well. Yes. I think the more they got to know us, it was such a good group that you could just be like, well, what happens when we put these two together? And then, of course, we had the greatest people coming in. [30:06] and doing bit parts. They were all just so funny. And the characters... Another clip I watched that... And I think, you know, talking about breaking... [30:16] This. [30:17] is the hardest scene I've ever had to film. [30:21] In my entire acting career. And it's on YouTube, the blooper of this. And it's me and Adam Scott.

[30:30] And we're having lunch with Joan Calmetso. Yes, the great Mo Collins. Mo Collins, who always is just so funny. And she said, we're ahead of lunch, and she says, I'm going to go powder my nose, amongst other things. And then she walks away, and then Adam comes to me and goes, and Ben is supposed to say, dude, is she going to go powder her vagina? And we couldn't do it. [31:00] anything where me and Adam were like, just let's just film the rest of the stuff and we'll come back to that. We'll just come back because we couldn't do it. And then it's just the most absurd task because you'd be like, OK, no, no, we got it this time. OK. All right. All right, guys. Ready? OK. Amongst other things. [31:17] Is she? Oh! You know we could have said, dude, she had to go powder her vagina. We couldn't get through it. And Moe was so funny doing it, how she was, like, stumbling out of the table every time. Yeah, and then she'd add some other thing. And you're like, you can't do that. I just steeled myself. And now you just did this other funny thing. That's not fair. I love a blooper. I love bloopers in general. I love a blooper. Yeah. [31:47] It was so fun. Oh, and you know what I also wanted to say when we're in the parks and recreation world for a second? My kids loved Aziz. They're in their late teens, and when they see you on TV, they go, oh, is turkey sandwich in this? So, yes. My kids were little when I was shooting that show, and they would come and visit. And Aziz, you're really good with kids.

[32:17] I don't know. It's funny. You realize sometimes with kids, with, with people and kids, either people like come on too strong and just like want to, [32:25] want to interact and kids are like, or they just, you know, they don't know. They're like, hello, young person. But Aziz would basically do these bits with them that would make them laugh so much. One of them is you would walk by my oldest and pretend to be on the phone with his best friend. [32:47] What was his name? Watson. Watson, that's right. Hey, Watson, what's going on? No, I'm just on set. [32:55] Wait, he's talking to my friend? He was like five years old. And the other day, you were just like doing funny bits with them. And one day you were holding or eating a turkey sandwich and they started laughing and pointing at you and saying, turkey sandwich, turkey sandwich, whatever. And you loved that. I just remember you thinking it was so funny. [33:25] I did want to talk to you today about your relationship to your phone. [33:31] What is your relationship to your phone now? I try to stay off... [33:37] Everything as much as I can. How do you do that? Teach me your ways. I am... [33:44] I have... [33:46] I don't have email. I haven't had email for like 10 years. Incredible. Yeah, but I have an assistant. Okay, all right, but still, that means that... And there's also stuff like, you know, like, I have a flip phone, and if I get really lost, I got to either...

[34:01] ask people or just call my wife and be like, hey, I've had to do that before. Like call my wife and to the point where she's like kind of used to it. And, you know, I hail taxis. And if there's not a taxi, sometimes I'll call and be like, you know, there's not one around. So you don't use like an Uber app? [34:19] No apps. Usually in London, there's taxis all the time. Yeah. You can hail them. And here, too. Yeah, yeah. In New York, yeah. Well, why do you have that kind of relationship with your phone? It just gives me more space to think. I mean, I heard something about, like, Tarantino doesn't even have a phone. Chris Nolan doesn't have a phone. I was like, whoa, those guys are able to get a lot of stuff done. Maybe there's something to it. It does feel like the... [34:41] The eventual next step will be just that, will be people breaking up with their phones in that way. It's pretty consuming. Yeah. [34:49] Yeah, but that's just me. I don't know. No, I relate, and I'm genuinely asking because I feel like, [34:56] My relationship with my phone has just gotten deeper and more intense. I remember one time on Parks you told me something about how your phone fell in the pool or something, and you didn't have for a couple days. You're like, this is the greatest thing ever. Yeah, it definitely feels like something that has taken over. It's going to be really interesting, this generation, like Gen Z and Gen Alpha, who have grown up. [35:16] With a phone in their hand. I saw a Gen Alpha kid one time at the airport, and they had a flip phone. I guess it was like, because some parents get their kid a flip phone. I'm going to get you a flip phone. Sure. So I saw that, and then I had mine, and I saw the kid, and I went like this and dapped her flip phone, and she was completely confused.

[35:35] Can I see your flip phone? God, this thing doesn't even work that well. Wow. [35:46] phone going off and I checked and nothing was going on. But it was another dude that had a flip. And then we just started talking. And he... [35:54] We were talking about all this and just joking about how, like, oh, what do you do when you get lost and all this kind of stuff. And, you know, classic flip phone guy combo. And then he said, you know, the thing I think you got to avoid now is the chatbot. And I was like, oh, 100%. Okay, let's talk about that. The AI? Not the AI. What's chatbot? Chatbot. Or I think I'm not even calling it right. But the thing where you type the chat GPT. I call it chatbot. But it's chat GPT. See, I don't even know the name. I completely agree. [36:24] you know [36:26] It's outsourcing critical thinking. It's making everyone's opinions kind of saying, this is my feeling, you know, and I think people using it instead of Google. Most of the time it's wrong. And it's just kind of like telling you what you want to hear. You can keep asking you questions. And, you know, someone showed me some commercial where it's like someone said, like, how do I make a dinner for this girl that makes me? I'm like, well, I would rather someone call someone and ask someone or maybe have some sort of conversation. [36:56] It just seems like it's like outsourcing. It is. Thinking and it's like killing some bit of humanity. Yes. I don't know. It kind of makes you. I was reading some article where it said like it's making everyone a little more basic.

[37:08] Ooh, yeah, that's real. I think that's real. I've always found you, Aziz, to be a very curious person who's kind of interested in why we do things. You're very interested in the why of why people make choices, and I feel like definitely the last few stand-up specials that I've seen you do definitely have that feeling. Are you doing stand-up right now? Are you out doing it at all? [37:38] after the movie in like October, November. And do all new material? I've been doing stuff about like being married and... [37:47] you know, [37:48] I would try and like have a kid and talk about that stuff. So what's it like being married? [37:54] Is it fun being married? No, I love my wife very, very much. She's great. She's the greatest thing that's ever happened to me. Yeah, you've met her a handful of times and yeah, she's great. How did you meet? We met in London and, you know, we did long distance for a while. And yeah, I was like, all right. How has being married changed you? [38:16] I just feel like all the other stuff doesn't really matter to me anymore. You know, I'm just like, oh, wow, this this person is everything to me. And just to have that person to come home to and told that that that's. [38:29] it kind of makes everything else seem like it's less important. I mean, sorry. I love it, Aziz. I'm so happy for you. I'm excited to hear what you say on stage about,

[38:40] marriage and relationship because, um, [38:44] I've always known you to be a [38:47] a person who's, um, [38:49] Who has a lot of love to give. [38:54] Oh, thank you. Get those tears going, Aziz. [38:57] Let's get those tears going. Chop, chop. [39:04] This episode is brought to you by Visible. How many of you are currently listening to this podcast on your phone? If you are chronically online, like we all are these days, your wireless network should be too. With Visible, you get unlimited 5G data and unlimited hotspot, all powered by Verizon's 5G network. The perks of big wireless for half the cost. Visible isn't just a wireless plan, it's unlimited wireless designed to always keep you connected and no contract holding you back. [39:34] Switch today at visible.com. Plans start at $25 a month. Or get our premium Visible Plus Pro plan and save $10 on your first month when you use promo code HANG, an exclusive offer for podcast listeners. Terms apply. See visible.com for plan features and network management details. [39:53] This episode is brought to you by K18. So you've tried a million different hair masks only to watch your results literally wash down the drain? Well, you should know that K18 Molecular Repair Hair Mask actually reverses damage. Thanks to the patented K18 Peptide, you'll get strong, soft, bouncy hair in just four minutes. Color, bleach, heat, however your hair's been damaged, this totally transforms it from the inside out. Shop at Sephora or get 10% off your first purchase

[40:23] 2018hair.com with the code Amy. [40:26] So you're saying with Hilton Honors, I can use points for a three-night stay anywhere? Anywhere. What about fancy places like the Canopy in Paris? Yeah, Hilton Honors, baby. Or relaxing sanctuaries like the Conrad and Tulum? Hilton Honors, baby. What about the five-star Waldorf Astoria in the Maldives? Are you going to do this for all 9,000 properties? [40:49] When you want points that can take you anywhere, anytime, it matters where you stay. Hilton for the stay. This episode is brought to you by the Container Store. I'm going to let you in on a little secret. The Container Store? It's not really about the containers. It's the lifestyle. Less chaos, more calm. I just love how their experts design systems that actually work for you. Whether that's your closet, your kitchen, or the drawer you've been avoiding. Yeah, you know the one. [41:19] How much calmer you feel. Visit the Container Store in store or online at ContainerStore.com to get organized today. [41:30] Before we talk about Good Fortune, your new film, which looks amazing, and holy shit, the cast is great, and you wrote and directed it. It's so good. When you were doing Master of None, Master of None feels like a show with Alan Yang that you created. Yeah. [41:45] It feels like when I was looking up and going over your stuff and being reminded of it, it almost feels like a different time in television that it was pre-COVID. Yeah, I mean, it's like a time capsule in New York now, that show. You know, it's about 10 years old now. Yeah. We were making it. And that was when Netflix first came out. And this was a time when Netflix was like, you remember, people would be like, oh, there's a new Netflix show. Yeah. You know, they had so few. Yeah.

[42:15] Yeah. [42:24] And yeah, and they let us kind of really do what we wanted. Like, you know, when people talk about, oh, you know, getting notes, they hadn't even hired people to give notes yet. You know what I mean? And then the first season did really well. So the second season was like, yeah, just keep doing your thing. And it was just a radically different time. And now streaming and making shows and all these things have become much, much different. Yeah, the whole industry is so different. And I remember you guys feeling excited about – [42:52] doing that, what was it like to leave an ensemble and then be the lead of a show? Well, that's the other thing about Parks, is Parks is not only you're on this great show, but everything's taken care of. Like, you just show up, and you're like, treat yourself! Good night! See you, Aziz! Thanks so much! Great day at work! And that is not what you do on Masternum, not what I did on Good Fortune. You have to pick... People, I think, sometimes... [43:21] They're like, what is directing? It's kind of a vague thing. And it's really, you're just deciding everything. You're like, okay, where does the scene take place? Okay, a restaurant. Okay, let's go drive around and look at how many restaurants are going to pick the restaurant. What are the people wearing? You're making so many decisions. You're crafting everything, and you're there. And you have to, you know, I'm writing everything, too, so you have to write it, and then you have to figure out how everything's going to look and make all these decisions, and then you have to edit it, and you have to make sure it all works. And

[43:50] It's a much more involved process. Yeah. And just acting is a much different, you know, simpler gig. [43:58] What part of directing surprises you that you like so much? I just love these moments where you've written something and you have your actors and, you know, you had in your head a certain way. And then someone does something a little surprising or it just goes to another level. And, you know, when I was looking at some behind the stuff scenes for good fortune and I really enjoyed the stuff where I wasn't acting and I was just over the side. [44:20] and like, you know, it was like Keanu and Seth and they were doing something that was cracking me up. And I was just, you know, laughing and, you know, trying not to mess up the scene. And those moments are super fun. I mean, there's another there's a scene where they're like riding in a car and they were like, OK, do you want to follow them in the van, be on the radio? I was like, oh, those radios always cut out. I'm just going to hide in the backseat. So I was like curled up like this. And I was just like yelling jokes. And, you know, Seth and Keanu are so iconic. I could like hear them say the jokes like the way you have it in your head, but also a little funnier. [44:50] When it really feels like you're a little kid playing, those are the best parts. Yes. You know what I mean? Totally. And also to allow yourself to play. [44:58] still do that because sometimes I think when you're working on anything that you created, no matter, it doesn't have to be a film, it can be anything that you made and you hand it over and people then start to work on it, it's hard to not be too rigid about it. You have an idea of how it's going to go and it's supposed to go that way. And

[45:18] The reason why we work with other people is to collaborate. Yeah, yeah, and to play like that and to see what they have to say. And I love collaborating with actors, which is something I learned from our experience on Parks. You know, Mike and all the writers, they would take all these little things. Like, oh, Offerman's into woodworking. Maybe that, oh, he plays a saxophone. Maybe, you know. Yeah. And I've always spent a lot of time trying to get to know the people that I work with and try to figure out how to put more of them into it and try to understand who they are [45:49] Let's talk about Good Fortune because that cast is... [45:52] First of all, is Keanu as nice as he seems? He's the best. He seems incredible. He's the best. He's the sweetest guy, but he's also the coolest guy in the world. He kind of balances both things. We'll do rehearsals at my house or whatever, and Keanu will show up on a motorcycle. He looks like he drove from an anime movie straight into reality. He gets out. He's wearing all black. He's got a backpack from the future. He takes it off. He's got boots on. He's just the coolest. Me and Seth are just like, oh. [46:22] I don't like that Keanu's still driving a motorcycle. I want him off that motorcycle for insurance purposes. Oh, he's always riding that motorcycle. I'm like, oh, all right, man. I want him off that motorcycle. Yeah, no, no. He loves his motorcycle. Yeah. And Seth and Kiki, you've worked with before. Kiki is the best. You've got to meet Kiki. Kiki is one of my favorite people ever. I have met Kiki. You have? I got the privilege of doing her podcast. Oh, you did? We did her podcast, too. It was so fun. So fun.

[46:52] Greg. [46:53] By ourselves, just the two of us. [46:56] She's like in Australia now. We rarely get to see each other. She works all the time. She's so naturally funny. I've described Kiki. She is a movie star. Hilarious. She once told me her aunt died in a way that was really funny. And I was like, how did you do that? I'm laughing. And you just told me your aunt died. She is so quick. She's so sharp. She's so talented. [47:23] performer is she is an actress. We had this scene where me and Kiki are dancing, and I was, like, working with some choreographer, and then Kiki's just like, oh, yeah, and just does all this crazy stuff, and I'm like, oh. Yeah, she is. She's so talented, and, I mean, the cast is really awesome. How did you, I guess... [47:40] How did you let everybody play and experiment on that? Was it that kind of set? Yeah. I mean, I think, look, if you cast the right people, it's all going to come together and gel in a nice way. And I spend a lot of time rehearsing with everybody. Okay, so you like to rehearse. I like to spend a lot of time. Because when you're actually on set, that is the most precious time. When the camera's rolling, to get to that moment, it's so precious. And you always don't have enough time, blah, blah, blah. [48:10] spend with these people beforehand and rehearse and kind of make sure everything sounds right beforehand and, you know, rewrite things to make it really sound like them. Then we get on set. There's just less. We're already kind of almost there. Yeah. But, of course, once you're there in the place with the clothes and everything else, you come up with new ideas. But, you know, all those people, they're so, you know, Kiki and Seth, they're really comfortable with improvising. Yeah. And Keanu, you know, Keanu at first, I think Keanu was a little intimidated, I think, because, you know, he's not he's not as a comedy guy as much as me.

[48:40] Seth, but he got into it and he would improvise and stuff a little bit. And I told Seth, I was like, could you imagine if we did an action movie? How awkward would it be? [48:51] I'm going to push back on that because I feel like we would be great in an action movie. Because I want us to be able to do more action. Really? Don't you wish you could do a film where you get to just say one line a day? [49:10] Keanu barely speaks in those movies. That's what I mean. You know, when I was a kid, my favorite movies were all action movies. My favorite movies were like Terminator 2 and Die Hard. I mean, I still love those movies. Those are some of my favorite movies. But I loved action movies as a kid. When I was a little kid, I liked comedy and all this stuff. I feel like once you start talking, it's diminishing returns. Once you actually start talking in film, everyone's like, oh, that's how they talk. Oh, they're saying that. But if you never talk. [49:40] movie? What's the action movie? I would like more of like a Bourne identity. Oh, whoa. Just walking through the streets of a European city. I like that. Leather jacket. I feel like everyone would, like if I did that, everyone would go like ha ha ha. I came on the street. Well, that's sometimes people send me stuff that's more serious. I'm like, they're just going to think I'm too silly to be this guy. It's going to hurt the movie. I can't do it for you. I know what you mean. I can't show up as the villain and people aren't going to be like, he's too nice.

[50:10] She's going to change her mind. [50:13] I do think it's amazing when people decide to do a 180 as an actor, and then they play someone really horrible. And you're just like, oh, no, we love that person. And now they're – Some people can do it. Some people can do it. Even when Keanu and I, one day we were doing some press stuff together, and there was like a room that I was waiting in in between, and it happened to be like, John Wick weekend. And I was watching some of the Wick stuff. I was like, wow, I can't believe he did this, and then plays this very silly guy at my movie. [50:40] Yeah. It's really impressive. He just also has a great reputation for being a wonderful person, Keanu. Like, it just seems like, you know, those kind of things can. [50:51] just [50:52] get out into the world. And he just seems like he's handled his giant fame and his like very long, um, [51:01] Yeah, he's been in the game for a long, long time. Yeah. I mean, when I was... [51:06] about to meet him, I did like a little film festival and I was rewatching like Parenthood. Parenthood. I just saw rewatch Parenthood on the plane. It's so good. It's incredible. It is. It's so good. During that weekend, with the John Wick weekend, they showed Parenthood too. And I was watching in between and I was just like, wow. Very different. John Wick and Parenthood. Yeah, I know. Are there films that you go back to that are like your comfort watches? Like if it's a rainy day

[51:36] love watching films and there's definitely like a film nerd element to my wife and to my life and and um uh [51:44] Yeah, the movies I go back to a lot. I love, you know, working on this, and all the time when I'm writing, I revisit like Being John Malkovich a lot. Yes. I love that. I love Eternal Sunshine, Spotless Mind. I love Eternal Sunshine. Those two I visit a lot. I love those. And I love watching just older movies, too. Me, too. I mean, I feel like the joy of getting older is like looking back and realizing, oh, there's a lot of stuff I still haven't seen. [52:14] It never ends. I know. I mean, that's the thing that got me into being more diligent about watching film was, you know, I realized, oh, all these directors that I love, whether it's like Scorsese or Paul Donald Sanders, whatever, they've seen every movie. And I was like, that can't be a coincidence. I mean, I got to be honest, sometimes it's overwhelming. Like the way people who make films talk about films definitely makes me feel like stressed. Oh, I had to go on like TCM or whatever. And I was like, hey, man, I might get some things wrong here because like Scorsese will be like. [52:44] here. You know, he was making these ham sandwiches that had this special kind of cheese that everybody loved. And Greta Garbo didn't like them. So for her, he would do it with turkey.

[52:56] Totally. I don't know. I don't know it. I know. It's just, and it definitely feels like that feeling like when you have an oral exam in school. I was watching Parks and Recreation, and you know, any Polish kids call the Ziz Ansari turkey sandwich. [53:14] Okay, speaking of food though, turkey sandwich and food. [53:18] I want to talk to you about food. Sure. Okay, before we wrap, because I feel like the food... [53:24] Your relationship to food ties into the bigger idea of you trying to open yourself up to a lot of stuff in life, like being curious. Sure. [53:35] You growing up, what was the food you were eating growing up? [53:38] I, my mom would cook Indian food and there was a woman that took care of us. Her name was Miss Bula and she cooked Southern food. So there would be, you know, Indian food like biryani or whatever. And then there'd be like chicken and dumplings. Incredible. Weirdly, I think would eat a little bit of both. So I grew up on Southern food and Indian food. Okay. And then when did you become, when did you start realizing like, I actually care very much about what I eat and I want to [54:08] because I think people think of me as like, oh, Aziz, he knows all the restaurants. It's like, no, I actually just cook at home all the time now. I love to cook. Yeah. And that – [54:17] I think it happened and a lot of it was during COVID. I started cooking more and more and it was kind of what our day was based around. It's like, oh, we're going to cook because I was in London during COVID and the farmer's markets and stuff didn't close and you kind of walk around. And so food became a way to kind of structure your day a little bit. Yeah. But during COVID, I wanted to learn all my mom's recipes.

[54:39] And so I asked my mom to help me because Indian food is very intimidating. Oh, big time. But it's not as good. Wait, do I ever send you those cookbooks I make? I make these cookbooks for friends. I got to send you one. It's all right. No. [54:52] I'll send you all of them. No way. So you like transcribed your mom's recipes? Not all of them, but like every year, like during Christmas time, I make this. I'm so sorry. I haven't sent it to you. I'll send it to you. No worries. But yeah, I just whatever I've been cooking that year. [55:09] And I just kind of kept it going. Oh, that's awesome. But Indian food is what I really love to cook. What makes Indian food, like for a person just cooking, like hard to cook? Why is it? It's nothing hard. It's just, you know, I would ask when I'm like, oh, how much of that coriander powder did you put in? It's like, I don't know. I didn't, you know, and you're like, but, but, and you're scared that you're going to mess it up. But it's not like baking, you know, where you're like, oh, if you put like a teaspoon too much, it's not really going to screw it up too much. And the other thing that's super helpful is YouTube. [55:39] that have YouTube channels, and they show you how to cook everything. And seeing it visually makes it a little less intimidating. And you just got to do that first trip to the Indian store and get – I always think that term's kind of funny. That's what everybody calls it, the Indian grocery store. They call it the Indian store. But that sounds like you're going and buying Indian people. No, you're not. It's just ingredients. Ingredients. But you just got to get all the stuff, and they keep it in the pantry. And then it's like, oh, yeah, everything's like, oh, yeah, slice of onions and some little ginger garlic and then some spices and then maybe a tomato. [56:09] 20 minutes, it's done. Wait, can I tell you? So I cooked for Rashida like a week ago. She lives really close to me and her family came over and she brought her little kid and

[56:22] She's like, I was like cooking Indian food. And she's like, can you make something for him? Something not too intense. I was like, oh, I got it. I'm going to make him chicken 65. That's like, it's like chicken, like Indian chicken nuggets almost. They're like little pieces of chicken. Little kids love it. So every little, and then every kid loves it. And so I made him chicken 65. [56:38] And he ate it, and then he started going crazy. He just, like, had so much energy. And then I realized it's because the Chicken 65, they put red food coloring in it to make it bright red, and the red food coloring has that dye that makes the kids go crazy. Go crazy. It got them pumped up. Yeah. So now whenever they come over, I just make a bunch of Chicken 65, and he goes nuts. Well, it is so funny that you say that because we do a thing here on the podcast where we like to talk to somebody before the podcast. We talk well behind their back. Okay. [57:08] to Rashida. Oh, well. And Rashida just told us that you made her Chicken 65. She loves it. She's like, she was like, let's come for Daryl again. I was like, what do you want? Chicken 65. She loves it. And, and, you know, in many ways, we both, Rashida and I feel like we were your auntie at times on that show. And I know Rashida and you guys like, and she was talking about like how, [57:38] that you are, like what she really respects about you is the way that you're a curious person, always trying to learn more about that. [57:47] yourself and the world. And her question was, and she was saying you're a very, very good chef. Chef or cook?

[57:57] What would you say? Chef? Cook? Probably cook. Cook a little more. Chef seems like someone else has to call you a chef. I'm not that good. I'm not that great. If you get the right hat, you become a chef. You just put it on. But as a cook, she wanted me to ask you, what is your favorite thing to cook? [58:15] I love to cook Indian food, and I love cooking stuff. I think there's something special about the food you ate growing up and the food your family made and – [58:25] I think there's some, you know, one time I went to India and I stayed for a little extra time and I asked my family, I was like, oh, who's like really like kind of the mean cooks? Like, who can I learn from? And I stayed for a couple of days with some people that were a little bit distant relatives, like my aunt's sister or something like that. And they showed me so much stuff. [58:45] They were cooking in their home and showed you? Yeah. And just learning like home food that comes from your family. I think there's something special about it. [58:55] important to pass down. And, you know, my own parents, you know, they're all healthy and everything. But, you know, you start thinking about their time and just like, oh, wow, like it's a piece of your family history that I think is cool to try to preserve. I feel like you also took cooking lessons somewhere else, too. Did you go to Italy or? In season two, a Master of None. That's right. That also gave me a big [59:17] help to be comfortable in the kitchen. So it made it less intimidating. But season two took place in Italy. So before we filmed it, I went and lived in this town in Italy. And I learned Italian a little bit. And I worked in these kitchens and these places. And these people did not really know who I was. And I was like, yeah, I'm working on a TV show. And they're like, oh, okay. But they let me work in the kitchens. And I learned a lot from these people that were

[59:47] kind of gave me some confidence to kind of start with the Italian food. And then there was a couple of Indian things I could make, but then during COVID I really started – I had more time. I had nothing to do. So I was just like, okay, I'm going to keep pushing this. I always say this. I did not grow up cooking at all, and I had a busy working mom who – [1:00:04] You know, I grew up in the 70s and early 80s, so I didn't have a ton of, you know, we didn't have like a cooking family. And I always say it's never too late to start trying because it is very like low risk, high reward. Like try a dish. And if it doesn't work, you just nobody knows. You can just throw it away. Like you can just and when it does work, you feel like incredible. Repetition is the father of learning. [1:00:30] Yes. Lil Wayne said that. [1:00:34] He did. He did? Yeah. Amazing. I mean, I don't know if he was quoting someone else. [1:00:40] Maybe. [1:00:43] We'll see. We'll look it up. What are you laughing at these days? What are you watching, reading? I know you're not addicted to your phone. You have a flip phone. But what do you do to laugh? Where do you go? For laugh. I know. What did I watch to laugh recently? [1:00:59] kind of hard when comedy is your job. You don't watch as much comedy sometimes. You don't. And, and, you know, when you, when you, when you come from the standup world, we all know that the way standups laugh is they just watch each other and go, nice. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a different thing. They go, yeah, that was funny. What was I laughing at recently? I know. Anything that you do when you're trying to, I just, my, you know, every now and then my wife will show me some silly internet thing. She, she showed me something. It was like, it was like a meme of

[1:01:29] It was like looking happy and it was like me letting the flight attendant know I'm ready for a snack. And it was a dolphin. It's like like just stupid stuff like that. Let's look up that dolphin. I think it's a dolphin. I love a meme. Yeah. Those kind of things. Movies and stuff. I know. I mean, smiling. I love some of those old movies like The Apartment. Like just those things just make me laugh so hard. [1:01:56] You don't go on TikTok or anything like that, right? No, I've never really been on TikTok. [1:02:05] I've seen videos. I've seen some of the stuff. Some of that stuff has made me laugh. But sometimes I see stuff I don't understand. [1:02:12] It's not him. It's not him. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I like a cookie. That's pretty close. But the one my wife sent me, the dolphin had a better smile. I got to find it. I got to send it to you later. Do you watch anything? Are you watching any shows right now that like is, you know, I mean, it's an interesting time right now for comedy. I mean, Good Fortune is a great example of like, there's not a lot of just straight comedies out there in the world right now. [1:02:42] in theaters, like to have even one of those three now is wild. It is. And Seth and I were always talking about this, of how we wanted the movie to be theatrical and how I remember going in New York when I was in school going to see like Anchorman and, you know, 40-year-old version, all these movies, and just being in like a packed theater and just dying. And I think that's something I miss, and I hope it comes back, and I hope more people get to make comedies and that we get that back

[1:03:12] laugh. You know, if you go to a live show, you know, if you go to a live show, like a UCB or stand-up tour, there's so many people there and you don't realize how much the other people that experience is part of it. Like you come see me do stand-up at a theater. It's, oh man, we're having a great time. But I just came to your house and just started doing stand-up and you're sitting by yourself. I'd be like, how did you get into my house? This is not a good experience. But that to me is like the, you know, streaming a movie and being on your phone at the same time is like, [1:03:42] It's back to the phone. And the theater is still the only place where you're not allowed to be on your phone. I love going to the movie theater. It's so fun. I'm so happy that you came, Aziz. Oh, I got to tell you, you know, whenever I was like, okay, we got to do this press tour for the movie. I was like, oh, well, I know one thing I'll be looking forward to very much. And that was this. And spend time with you. Same. [1:04:05] It's always a pleasure when we get to see each other. And thank you for having me. Turkey sandwich. I'm so happy that you came. Hold on one second. [1:04:12] Bye. [1:04:13] Hey, Watson. Yeah, yeah, I'm just finishing up the pod. Okay, I'll see you there. What? No, I haven't seen Archie and Abel in a long time. I don't know. I think they're in their 20s. Take care, Watson. Bye.

[1:04:33] Thank you, Aziz Ansari, for coming by and hanging. It was so great to see you and to go down memory lane and talk about all the good things ahead. [1:04:43] polar plunge and today's polar plunge is presented by bmw certified in a world full of uncertainty bmw certified pre-owned vehicles are the real deal they come with a bmw certified warranty genuine bmw parts and an additional three years of 24 7 roadside assistance visit bmwusa.com slash certified dash pre-owned to learn more so for this polar plunge [1:05:08] I just want to stick up for my phone a little bit. I feel like we've been pretty hard on the phone in this episode, and we've talked about how bad it is for us. And look, I agree. But I... [1:05:22] My best friend gives me a lot of things. It helps me track my other friends and, [1:05:29] And send them creepy texts like, I see that you're at the airport. Have a good flight. My phone lets me buy things by just going... [1:05:40] beep, just swiping it across the thing and you don't even know, you don't even have to take out your credit card. My phone, it just tells me about all the awful news that's happening minute by minute all over the world. And if I missed it, it pops up to remind me. So just take it easy on my phone, okay? It's my best friend. And... [1:06:00] It's never let me down. But seriously, help. Help me. Help me get away from it. Please help. So today's Polar Plunge was presented by BMW Certified. As a BMW Certified owner, you receive the performance you expect, plus the warranty and assistance you deserve. Learn more at bmwusa.com slash certified dash pre-owned. Thank you, Aziz. Thank you for everyone listening. Good hang, and we'll see you again. Bye.

[1:06:27] You've been listening to Good Hang, [1:06:30] for this show are Bill Simmons, Jenna Weiss-Berman, and me, Amy Poehler. The show is produced by The Ringer and Paper Kite. For The Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, Kat Spillane, Kaya McMullen, and Alea Zanaris. For Paper Kite, production by Sam Green, Joel Lovell, and Jenna Weiss-Berman. Original music by Amy Miles. [1:06:52] Starting a business can seem like a daunting task, unless you have a partner like Shopify. [1:06:58] They have the tools you need to start and grow your business. From designing a website, to marketing, to selling and beyond, Shopify can help with everything you need. [1:07:06] There's a reason millions of companies like Mattel, Heinz, and Allbirds continue to trust and use them. [1:07:11] With Shopify on your side, turn your big business idea into... Sign up for your $1 per month trial at shopify.com slash special offer. [1:07:20] The grill is shot. The chairs are held together by optimism. And what happened to the rug? Sounds like your outdoor setup is not ready for patio season. Fix it all with Wayfair. Shop Wayfair for grills, rugs, furniture, and more. With 20 million five-star reviews, room of choice delivery, and experts set up on qualifying orders, it's never been easier to do more for less. Get 10% off your first eligible purchase. [1:07:45] Hurry to Wayfair.com or download the app now.