Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

Episode: D’Arcy Carden Returns
Date: December 1, 2025

Episode Overview

In this vibrant return episode, actor and comedian D'Arcy Carden joins Dax Shepard and Monica Padman for a wide-ranging conversation brimming with humor, candor, and thoughtful insights. The trio dives deep into D’Arcy’s recent projects—her travel show, Broadway debut, working with Maya Rudolph in "Loot," and her evolving career arc from nanny to scene partner with Bill Hader ("Barry"). Themes of friendship, self-diagnosis, creative fulfillment, relationships, and the messy beauty of being human are interwoven throughout, as are D’Arcy’s signature self-deprecation and warmth. Listeners get a genuine, behind-the-scenes sense of D'Arcy’s artistic journey, struggles, and joys, plus some memorable detours into ADHD, concerts, and the meaning of sympathy.

Key Discussion Points

1. Reunion and Nickname Banter

(03:11 – 05:00)

• Dax, Monica, and D’Arcy kick off with laughter about nicknames (Darby, Darbles) and their friendship dynamics.
• “Darbles is cute. It sounds like a friend of Bam Bam’s or Pebbles on the Flintstones.” – Dax [04:00]

2. D'Arcy’s New Travel Show

(04:05 – 08:25)

• D’Arcy reveals she’s filming a top-secret travel show with Sherry Cola for HGTV, focusing on unique vacation rentals across the U.S.
  “We are checking out vacation rental properties. Let’s say they are very unique.” – D’Arcy [05:20]
• Reflection on travel’s bonding power and behind-the-scenes crew connections, particularly with "Good Place" veterans.

3. On Ghosts, Haunted Houses, and Fear

(08:01 – 10:18)

• The trio riff about haunted tourism, belief/disbelief in ghosts, and how fear interplays:
  “I don’t believe in it, but just in case they’re real, maybe I do.” – D’Arcy [08:51]
• D’Arcy admits she’s more disturbed by horror movies than the paranormal, sharing a specific OCD-ish compulsion:
  “There’s an image from ‘Signs’ of, like, an alien on a roof that somehow has connected with my brain when I wash my face.” – D’Arcy [10:12]

4. Mental Health Labels, Diagnosis, & Sympathy

(12:26 – 16:22)

• An in-depth, candid exploration of self-diagnosis in our social-media saturated culture (ADHD, OCD) and how it can trigger those with diagnosed conditions.
• Dax unpacks society’s sympathy “policing”:
  “I think we all have this policing nature that we don’t want anyone to get sympathy for something they don’t deserve.” – Dax [15:14]
• They dig into the finite vs. infinite nature of empathy, referencing a childhood “warm fuzzy” book:
  “But the warm fuzzies were infinite. And now everyone starts trading these cold pricklies…” – Dax [17:22]

5. ADHD, Time Blindness, and Personal Systems

(18:00 – 23:00)

• The conversation turns to living (and coping) with ADHD tendencies and time blindness—distinguishing between medical labels and cultural habits.
• “For an ADHD person like himself, there’s only now and not now.” – Dax (quoting Trevor Noah) [22:15]
• D’Arcy shares her personal solutions and her husband Jason’s role as the “time check” enforcer.

6. Marriage, Relationship Dynamics, and Long-Term Love

(23:00 – 27:05)

• Insightful, humorous excavation of D’Arcy and Jason’s 20 year relationship.
• “I’m baby, he’s daddy…Whatever it is, it works for us.” – D’Arcy [24:26]
• Reflections on meeting young, resisting fate, and the normalization of relationship “hall passes.”

7. Pop Culture Obsessions & Concert Addiction

(28:02 – 33:01)

• Dax out’s his own and Delta’s Sabrina Carpenter fandom, concert-going anxieties, and D’Arcy’s concert addiction: “I go to so many concerts. I go to too many concerts. One a week, honestly.” – D’Arcy [31:30]
• Monica: “I think this is a good addiction. It’s not very harmful.” [32:13]

8. The Art and Anxiety of Acting

(39:08 – 41:00)

• D’Arcy describes the most nerve-wracking episode she ever filmed: the “Janet’s” episode of "The Good Place": “It felt like the weight of the show was on my shoulders for one episode. And it was a lot of pressure.” – D’Arcy [40:25]
• Discussion about awards, imposter syndrome, and navigating high-stakes performance anxiety.

9. Thespian Range – Drama, Broadway, and Improvisational Roots

(46:20 – 50:54)

• D’Arcy recounts her childhood Broadway dreams and her recent turn on Broadway in “The Thanksgiving Play,” contrasting theater’s repetition with improv’s ephemerality.
• “I’m allergic to the second time, which is a terrible quality.” – Dax [50:14]
• Insights into what it’s like to keep performances fresh across 100 Broadway shows.

10. Evolving Roles: From Nanny to Scene Partner

(52:19 – 57:16)

• D’Arcy and Monica bond over transforming from nannies to professional peers with previous bosses like Bill Hader and Dax.
• Honest description of lingering hierarchies and shifting power dynamics in creative relationships.

11. Recent Notable Roles & Collaborators

(62:45 – 65:17)

• On "Handmaid’s Tale":
  Monica: “They cast Darcy and Tim [Regan]…Regarded so highly comedically that they brought in for the end of the most intense show…” [62:28]
• On "Loot":
  “It’s so fun to see [Adam Scott] kind of go back to douchebag. Yes. And this is such a particular kind of douchebag on the show.” – D’Arcy [65:54]
• Gushing about Maya Rudolph’s influence: “When I first watched Maya on SNL, I don’t even know how to explain this. It’s like I saw my family…She made me feel like I belonged…” – D’Arcy [66:58]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

D'Arcy on Her Long-Term Marriage:
“I’m baby, he’s daddy…Whatever it is, it works for us.” [24:26]

On Sympathy and Self-Diagnosis:
“We all have this policing nature that we don’t want anyone to get sympathy for something they don’t deserve.” – Dax [15:14]
“But what is sympathy? What does it do for you?” – D’Arcy [16:22]

On Acting Pressure:
“It felt like the weight of the show was on my shoulders for one episode. And it was a lot of pressure.” – D’Arcy [40:25]

On Her Relationship to Maya Rudolph:
“She’s my favorite. She’s my weird sister in a way that I’m like, If you told 19-year-old D'Arcy that…” [67:43]

On Broadway Dreams:
“I had my little kid eyes only set on Broadway.” – D’Arcy [46:30]

Important Segment Timestamps

• 03:11 – 05:00: Reuniting, friendship nicknames, and energy
• 05:20 – 08:25: D’Arcy’s new HGTV travel series details
• 08:51: Ghost beliefs and fears
• 10:12: D’Arcy’s OCD adjacent story about "Signs"
• 12:26 – 16:22: ADHD/OCD discussion, sympathy politics
• 22:15: Trevor Noah analogy—the ADHD sense of time
• 24:26: D’Arcy and Jason’s “baby and daddy” dynamic
• 31:30: D’Arcy’s “too many concerts” line
• 40:25: “Good Place” Janet-centric episode pressure
• 46:30: Broadway childhood aspirations
• 50:14: Dax: “I’m allergic to the second time”
• 62:28 – 65:17: "Handmaid's Tale," comedy actors in drama, "Loot" with Adam Scott and Maya Rudolph
• 66:58 – 67:49: Maya Rudolph’s inspirational influence

Episode Highlights

• Honest reflections: D’Arcy shares how her relationship dynamics have evolved, struggles with time management, and her career journey from child Broadway dreams through UCB improv and onto hit TV series.
• Humor and vulnerability: The group navigates complex topics—sympathy, self-diagnosis, creative anxiety—with warmth and wit, capturing the "messiness of being human."
• Behind-the-scenes insight: Get firsthand anecdotes about acting challenges, friendships in the industry, on-set dynamics, and the weird realities of show business.
• Celebration of creative community: D’Arcy’s gratitude for working with comedic heroes, friendship with Maya Rudolph, and the importance of “finding your people” in entertainment.
• Recurring motifs: Time blindness, the finite/infinite nature of empathy, the drive to create and perform, and the complicated allure of nostalgia and personal growth.

Closing Thoughts

This episode is a robust celebration of D’Arcy Carden’s journey as an artist and human, packed with laughter, touching personal anecdotes, deep dives into the quirks of brains creative and distracted, and the value of friendship and chosen family. Dax and Monica’s welcoming, irreverent style brings out the best in D’Arcy, making this a must-listen for fans of comedy, acting, and real talk about the challenges and triumphs behind the spotlight.