Adam Carolla Show: Alec Baldwin + Megan Daum (Carolla Classics)
Release Date: November 28, 2025
Episode Overview
This Carolla Classics episode, hosted by superfan Giovanni, revisits standout moments from Adam Carolla’s lengthy podcasting run, sampling popular episodes featuring comedy, personal rants, and candid celebrity interviews. The focus is on fan-favorite segments and compelling guest spots, notably a call-in episode from 2010 (“Me and You Show”), an in-depth conversation with essayist and real estate obsessive Megan Daum (2010), and an insightful interview with actor Alec Baldwin (2010). The episode is rich with Adam's signature humor, rants about everyday annoyances, and open, often philosophical exchanges with his guests.
Key Episode Segments & Highlights
1. “Me and You Show” – Adam Fields Questions from Callers
Original Episode: Adam Carolla Show #252 (2010)
[01:16 – 62:44]
Main Themes
- Adam takes unscreened calls, riffing on everything from medical advice to pizza, police enforcement, and personal finance.
- The episode showcases his sardonic humor, libertarian-leaning commentary, and grounded advice.
Highlights & Notable Quotes
On Unqualified Medical Advice
[04:17 – 08:09]
- Caller from Russia: Asks about guests giving “cure-all” health advice.
- Adam:
"If they're not doctors, the only people experienced or qualified to give out medical advice are either doctors or actors. That's what I've learned." [04:41]
- Adam shares his “moderation, common sense, and genetics” philosophy. He notes it’s not inherently wrong to eat healthy, but warns against avoiding real medical treatment for fad diets:
“If you said, ‘I'm going to forego my doctor's advice... and just eat raw foods,’ would it hurt you? I think it would hurt you.” [05:31]
Pizza Rants & Book Plans
[08:09 – 14:13]
- Caller: Suggests Adam write a book compiling his rants and comedic essays.
- Adam:
“Yes, I am working on a book as we speak... My assistant’s at home taking all the thoughts and ideas and rants and distilling them down... I'm making chapters and ten minutes ago I was at home working on my pizza chapter and why pizza was fucked up and what toppings were the best toppings and... all the super important things of life.” [09:07]
- On pizza:
“I just had Domino’s thin crust pizza that my wife brought home about two weeks ago. And it was actually good.” [11:13] “Has anyone ever ate a pizza and went, ‘Why isn’t there anything oozing out of this crust? This is a travesty.’” [12:07]
Cake vs. Pie
[19:48 – 26:26]
- Caller from Montreal: Asks if Adam’s cake animosity extends to his children’s diets.
- Adam:
“So far I’ve not intervened in the cake and pie as far as my children go, but I will force them to love pies at some point or I’ll threaten to disown them.” [20:06]
- Classic Cake vs. Pie Diatribe:
“Pie kicks the ass of cake... Cake gets distributed. Pie—people are waiting in line like hungry Haitians at one of those relief trucks.” [24:33]
City Cleanliness & Graffiti
[26:30 – 30:10]
- Adam laments LA’s increasing graffiti and illegal dumping:
“There’s more graffiti and more trash than ever. We actually use the city as a fucking dump, which we never had in the past.” [27:28] “Why does it have to be so fucking depressing out here?” [29:01]
Police & The Social Contract
[38:44 – 45:08]
- Caller from Fresno: Thanks Adam for ranting about police and revenue-driven ticketing.
- Adam:
“There's a certain portion of society... going to work and we're going to commute to work... take a portion of that paycheck and give it to the city. And in return, you guys keep the order.” [39:37] “It does not say on the side of the car to bully and rape. It says to protect and serve. Please read the side of your fucking door before you get in your car and stop fucking with the people that you're supposed to be protecting and serving.” [43:32]
Motorcycle Misadventures
[31:28 – 38:44]
- Adam relates his epic, rain-soaked, and miserable motorcycle ride to Santa Barbara.
“It was like riding a motorcycle through a car wash... At a certain point I just pissed myself. I said, I’m freezing, I’m dying...” [34:38] "My hands were purple and freezing and still the shape of the handlebar grips..." [36:42]
Miscellaneous Topics
- Why he can’t just “leave the funny in the car” for his wife. [150:16–151:49]
- Honesty about his own rants, everyday complaints, and lack of patience for inefficiency.
2. Megan Daum on Real Estate Addiction, Identity, and DIY
Original Episode: Adam Carolla Show #318 (2010)
[64:23 – 132:13]
Main Themes
- Megan Daum joins Adam to dissect the psychological and cultural factors behind real estate obsession, home improvement, and the emotional resonance of “place.”
- They discuss their oddball upbringings, the trials of single-person home-buying, LA’s absurd housing market, and homeownership as identity.
Highlights & Notable Quotes
Daum’s Real Estate Obsession
[68:20 – 69:58]
- Megan:
“I’m a houseaholic. It feels like an addiction. I can’t start my day without looking at the real estate sites online, even if I’m not looking for a house.” [68:20]
- Adam admits to a similar impulse—touring Madonna’s former home despite being in no position to buy:
“It was like... at that point, a lease on a new Jetta would have been considered a bold financial move for me. And I was like, ‘I could get some guys together...’” [74:35]
On LA’s Housing Frenzy
- Adam:
“Houses that sold for $350k four years earlier were $550k and you just saw it going to market for $910k.” [76:56]
The “Inheritance That Wasn’t”
- Adam:
“She sold the house for about three and change. No, I didn’t get my eight grand back. I do like those conversations you have with people where they go, ‘Wait a minute, I returned that sweater.’ And you go, ‘You never returned the sweater.’... but they don’t take the next step: ‘Oh, I guess I didn’t.’ But they don’t say, ‘I will now.’” [79:44]
- Megan relates her own financial scramble and moving from New York to Nebraska, $78k in debt.
On Homeownership and Identity
[98:36 – 119:01]
-
Adam on why he’s obsessed with his home:
“I grew up in such squalor and such a shitty house and in such fucked up conditions that I can’t stand it now. Like I can’t stand when something should be different or changed.” [98:47]
-
Megan on home as self-expression:
“Isn’t it interesting—the way what’s in your house, it supersedes what you wear? It’s the ultimate expression of yourself. I don’t think people know me unless they’ve been in my house.” [98:36]
-
Adam’s “fruit roll-up on the ceiling for 35 years” anecdote:
“There’s still a piece of fruit roll-up stuck to the ceiling. Those are the Corollas.” [102:57]
DIY Stories & Contractor Rants
- Both swap DIY horror stories—pulling up tile with butter knives, restoring old houses, patching in tiles and wood.
- Adam:
“Contractors are hacks. Even if they’re not hacks at what they do, like, some are like physically good—mentally, no imagination...” [106:58]
Trends vs. Timelessness
- Adam:
“Here’s the problem with trends: they come and they go. I don’t want people to walk in in 20 years and go, ‘Oh, 2003.’... Your job is to put it back like you’re restoring a car. 1925 means 1925.” [123:28]
Sentimentality & Criticism
- Adam:
“My problem is, is I see the bad in everyone. I see the flaws in every product. The glass is always sort of half empty, and all I do is kind of Ebenezer Corolla... I was the guy complaining even when I was supposed to be ripping bong loads and screwing chicks.” [150:24]
Daum’s LA Times Column on Carolla
[126:17 – 129:08]
- Megan reads from her 2007 LA Times op-ed defending Adam’s class commentary and unique comedic voice:
“Carolla’s primary subject has always been about class, the mannerisms and material ambitions that accompany the great American pastime known as socioeconomic striving.” [128:13]
“To listen to Carolla is to sit in an acid-tongued anthropology lecture... and you want to take notes.” [128:38]
3. Alec Baldwin on Comedy, TV, and the Art of Biting One’s Tongue
Original Episode: Adam Carolla Show #313 (2010)
[132:50 – 164:13]
Main Themes
- Alec Baldwin, at the heyday of 30 Rock, joins Adam for an engaging, candid chat about fame, Hollywood’s shifting landscape, typecasting, politics, creative gratification, and personal philosophy.
- The conversation is both funny and self-reflective, illustrating Baldwin’s wry self-awareness.
Highlights & Notable Quotes
On Animated Films & Hollywood Hustle
- Baldwin discusses his hustle for animated film voice roles, joking that “the real panty [sic] for gold” is animated movies.
“You can count [meetings] on one hand every year. So I’m going to meet with some folks about voiceover for an animated film, which is like the real panty for gold... I’m going to get $40 a day and all the coffee I can drink.” [133:07]
30 Rock, TV, and Media Change
- Adam:
“Are you—have you made your peace with [30 Rock’s modest ratings]? I mean, have the Emmys helped soften the blow?” [135:20]
- Baldwin explains the upside of critical acclaim and a devoted audience, even if ratings are smaller than some sitcoms.
- On Tina Fey:
“I owe it all to the show... and I owe it all to Tina and her writing, quite frankly.” [140:45]
TV as a “Lifestyle Choice”
- Baldwin discusses why established film actors turn to television:
“I find that more and more people... take a TV gig and it really is a lifestyle choice that’s driven by their families.” [139:43]
Aging, Enjoyment, & Smelling the Roses
- Alec admits he’s “getting closer” to being able to just relax:
“The older I get, the more I wonder if I want to just enjoy life and enjoy myself, which is very common. I mean, I’m 52 years old, and people who turn into their—you know, once they get into their 50s, you really do want to smell the roses...” [137:37]
Politics & Leadership
- Baldwin on the flaws of government and disillusionment with a “political class”:
“You’ve had Harvard and Yale men in the White House for 22 years. We’ve got to get some junior college guys in.” [147:10] “Americans have become very inured and... accustomed to a political class running the show... I think we need to have the window open and some fresh air come in and some people run for office who are not the usual suspects.” [147:19]
Adam’s Comedy as Complaint
- Adam:
“My problem is, is I see the bad in everyone... all I do is kind of Ebenezer Corolla...” [150:16]
- Baldwin jokingly asks if Adam’s wife thinks he’s funny:
“Does your wife think you’re funny? Does she just crack—does she think you’re the funniest guy in the world?” [150:13]
Adam: “No.” [150:24]
Making Indie Films
- Alec and Adam trade battle-worn stories about how hard it is to make indie films and why both have largely retreated from the hustle.
- Baldwin:
“Most people who know the business know that it’s easier to get a studio to spend $105 million than it is $5 million, right? ... For me, moviemaking has really kind of taken a real back burner now.” [158:28]
Radio & The Power of Audio
- Baldwin:
“Radio is really, really something that I love the idea of—sitting down, and the ideas are really what’s at the fore. So I envy you, Adam, that you get to do this kind of thing.” [159:19] “A good film and even good TV, you should be able to follow it even with the sound off... With radio... you hope you can create a visual for people, as you said.” [161:07]
Notable Quotes With Timestamps
-
“If they're not doctors, the only people experienced or qualified to give out medical advice are either doctors or actors. That’s what I’ve learned.”
— Adam Carolla [04:41] -
“Pie kicks the ass of cake... That's all you need to know. People get in line for pie; cake, you got to spread around.”
— Adam Carolla [24:33] -
"To listen to Carolla is to sit in an acid-tongued anthropology lecture—and you want to take notes."
— Megan Daum reads her LA Times column [128:40] -
“You’ve had Harvard and Yale men in the White House for 22 years. We’ve got to get some junior college guys in.”
— Alec Baldwin [147:10] -
“The older I get... you really do want to smell the roses... I think I’m becoming that person.”
— Alec Baldwin [137:37] -
"Radio is really, really... what I love the idea of—sitting down, and the ideas are really what's at the fore. So I envy you, Adam, that you get to do this kind of thing."
— Alec Baldwin [159:19]
Timestamps for Key Segments
- [01:16] – Kicking off the "Me and You Show"
- [04:41] – Carolla on medical advice from non-doctors
- [09:07] – Book and rant discussion; Pizza chapter
- [19:48] – The epic Cake vs. Pie debate
- [24:33] – “Pie kicks the ass of cake” diatribe
- [29:01] – Rant: LA's trash and graffiti problem
- [38:44] – Police, revenue, and social contract
- [64:23] – Megan Daum interview begins
- [68:20] – “Real estate addiction” confessions
- [79:44] – Adam’s $8k family “loan” story
- [98:47] – “I grew up in such squalor...”
- [106:58] – DIY and contractor skepticism
- [123:28] – Trends in home decor; timeless renovations
- [128:40] – Megan Daum’s acclaimed LA Times column on Carolla
- [132:50] – Alec Baldwin interview begins
- [137:37] – “Smelling the roses” with age
- [143:42] – Adam and Alec on politics and government
- [150:16] – Adam’s “Ebenezer Corolla” self-assessment
- [159:19] – Baldwin: “Radio is really what I love...”
- [164:13] – End of Alec Baldwin interview
Episode Tone & Style
- Unfiltered: Adam remains irreverent, unsparing, and reliably profane.
- Conversational: Exchanges with guests and callers feel spontaneous, relatable, and revealing.
- Insightful: Thoughtful takes on class mobility, psychology of home ownership, career frustrations, and the “art” of comedy and acting.
- Self-Deprecating: Adam and his guests (especially Alec Baldwin) often use humor to undercut their own egos.
- Philosophical: Under the jokes are real debates about achievement, motivation, societal norms, and the value of authenticity.
For Listeners Who Missed the Show
This “Carolla Classics” recap brings together the best of Adam’s sharp comedic commentary, his passion for authenticity (in pizza, home renovation, or show business), and his guests’ remarkably candid insights about fame, personal fulfillment, and the endless search for “what really matters.” Whether it’s dissecting the absurdity of the real estate market, the politics of police enforcement, or the challenge of maintaining relevance in Hollywood, the episode finds humor and wisdom in everyday frustrations—something uniquely “Carolla.”