Conan, Sona, and Matt Discuss the LA Fires

Summary

Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

Episode: Conan, Sona, and Matt Discuss the LA Fires
Release Date: January 20, 2025

---

Introduction

In this poignant and heartfelt episode of Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, Conan O’Brien sits down with his longtime collaborators, Sona Movsesian and Matt Gourley, to discuss the devastating wildfires that recently swept through Los Angeles. This episode marks a departure from their usual format, featuring no external guests, as the trio navigates the emotional aftermath of the fires and their personal experiences with loss and resilience.

---

Personal Experiences and Loss

The conversation opens with Matt Gourley addressing the severity of the wildfires, highlighting the immediate impact on their lives. Sona Movsesian bravely shares her personal tragedy:

Matt Gourley (01:26): "Sona, you lost your house."

Sona confirms the heartbreaking loss:

Sona Movsesian (01:26): "Yeah."

She delves into the emotional toll, expressing moments of vulnerability:

Sona Movsesian (01:30): "I really thought I was like, keep it together."

Matt reassures her, emphasizing the importance of expressing emotions during such times:

Matt Gourley (01:57): "You don't have to keep it together."

Sona discusses the challenges of explaining the situation to her young children, Mikey and Charlie, opting to shield them from the trauma by portraying their displaced living situation as a temporary and exciting experience:

Sona Movsesian (02:24): "They think we told them. There's always this like, oh, you should be honest with your kids and tell them. And we're like, no, we're just not going to tell them that their house burned down."

She shares a creative approach to this difficult conversation by emailing her children’s future selves, allowing them to believe they will return to their home once it's rebuilt.

Sona Movsesian (02:29): "I emailed them their future selves... they think we're just living somewhere else until we build a house."

---

Community and Family Support

Matt Gourley and Conan O’Brien explore the broader impact of the fires on their community, expressing both concern and solidarity:

Matt Gourley (05:30): "The number of people I've heard from... is stunning. It's crazy."

Sona describes the destruction in her neighborhood, emphasizing the loss of a close-knit community:

Sona Movsesian (05:30): "Our entire street, our whole neighborhood has just been just destroyed."

Despite the devastation, Sona highlights the unwavering support from neighbors and the importance of community:

Sona Movsesian (06:38): "Everybody that we reached out to is safe somewhere. So that's important."

The trio reflects on their personal connections and the collective effort to rebuild, drawing parallels to past disasters like 9/11, where community resilience shone through:

Matt Gourley (23:23): "It's easy for me to say, but I do think there's... a vibrant community there that I think is resilient and can come back."

---

Coping and Emotional Reactions

The discussion delves into the psychological impact of the fires. Sona candidly talks about her anxiety and the steps she's taking to cope:

Sona Movsesian (36:17): "This is probably the hardest thing I've ever gone through."

Matt shares his support for therapy and the importance of talking about trauma, while Sona emphasizes her reliance on friends and open communication to navigate her emotions:

Matt Gourley (36:40): "There's so many people who are going to have some form of PTSD or whatever."

Sona Movsesian (37:07): "We're lucky in that sense."

Their conversation underscores the significance of mental health support during crises, advocating for openness and seeking professional help when needed.

---

How to Help and Community Assistance

The trio discusses practical ways listeners can support those affected by the wildfires. Conan introduces a resource for finding individuals and families in need:

Conan O’Brien (26:30): "There's a database of the least funded Gofundmes for individual families."

They emphasize the importance of directing aid to those who are most vulnerable and ensure that contributions are meaningful and respectful:

Sona Movsesian (25:30): "I think before people think about sending stuff to us, I think you should definitely look into people who really need it."

Matt and Conan highlight the need for sensitivity when offering assistance, sharing humorous anecdotes to lighten the conversation while still acknowledging the gravity of the situation.

---

Resilience and Moving Forward

Conan, Matt, and Sona express optimism about rebuilding and the enduring spirit of their community. Sona reflects on her love for Los Angeles and her determination to return to normalcy:

Sona Movsesian (32:10): "I just know I've lived in LA my whole life, and I was just... the happiest I've ever been. So I just want to make sure people know. It's a really incredible place."

Matt adds a personal touch, sharing his own journey towards forming deeper connections and the therapeutic nature of this episode:

Matt Gourley (37:55): "This was really special for me to get to talk to you and tell you face to face that I love you."

The episode concludes with a reaffirmation of support and the importance of community, showcasing the strength that comes from unity in the face of adversity.

---

Notable Quotes

• Sona Movsesian (02:24): "They think we told them. There's always this like, oh, you should be honest with your kids and tell them. And we're like, no, we're just not going to tell them that their house burned down."

• Matt Gourley (05:30): "The number of people I've heard from... is stunning. It's crazy."

• Conan O’Brien (26:30): "There's a database of the least funded Gofundmes for individual families."

• Sona Movsesian (36:17): "This is probably the hardest thing I've ever gone through."

• Matt Gourley (37:55): "This was really special for me to get to talk to you and tell you face to face that I love you."

---

Conclusion

This episode of Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend serves as a profound exploration of loss, community, and resilience. Through open and honest dialogue, Conan, Sona, and Matt provide listeners with an intimate glimpse into their personal struggles and the broader impact of the LA wildfires. Their candid conversations not only highlight the challenges faced by those affected but also celebrate the strength of human connection and the unwavering spirit of their community.

---

Resources Mentioned:

• Least Funded GoFundMe Database: Find individual families in need and contribute to their recovery efforts.
• Support Networks: Reach out to local charities and community groups to offer assistance to wildfire victims.

---

Disclaimer: This summary is based on a fictional transcript provided for illustrative purposes.

Transcript

[Conan O'Brien]

Fall is here Hear the yell Back to school Ring the bell Brand new shoes Walking blues Climb the fence Books.

[Matt Gourley]

And pens I can tell that we.

[Conan O'Brien]

Are gonna be friends.

[Matt Gourley]

I can tell that we are gonna be friends Hello. Welcome to Conan O'Brien needs a friend. It is a massive understatement to say this is a special episode or a unique episode. We are doing this episode without any guest. This is the first time we've all been together since the wildfires broke out, and there's a lot to discuss and to process. We don't usually do this, but I'm just going to say the date. It's Thursday, January 16, 2025. Fires broke out. I believe it was a week and two days ago. Right? Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

Tuesday night.

[Matt Gourley]

Tuesday. I think it started Tuesday afternoon and then got worse and worse and worse throughout the day. And we've all had our own experiences, but really we have to start by acknowledging that. Sona, you lost your house.

[Sona Movsesian]

Yeah.

[Matt Gourley]

And they're, you know, I thought I.

[Sona Movsesian]

Would last longer before I started crying. Sorry.

[Matt Gourley]

Well, listen, this is the.

[Sona Movsesian]

I really thought I was like, keep it together.

[Matt Gourley]

Well, you don't have to keep it together. You don't have to keep it together. There's, you know, you and I have texted a lot and talked some on the phone, but words just seem so stupid when somebody lost their home. So it's not stupid.

[Sona Movsesian]

It means a lot when you check in and just everybody texting. I haven't been. Been able to even respond. There's people who've texted that I haven't even talked to in years. It. It feels really good at a time like this to feel like people are thinking about you. Yeah. So it's nice. So don't.

[Matt Gourley]

Well, let's, let's lead with. Let's lead with tack. Your husband and your boys.

[Sona Movsesian]

My boys?

[Matt Gourley]

Mikey and Charlie. What do Mikey and Charlie know? Do they know anything?

[Sona Movsesian]

They don't have a clue about what's going on. They think, they think we told them. There's always this like, oh, you should be honest with your kids and tell them. And we're like, no, we're just not going to tell them that their house burned down. I think that that's probably the. For us, the right thing to do. I, I gave them emails when they were babies, so I emailed them their future selves and I said, this is what happened to this house that you were born. You came into when you were first born, in the first three year and a half years of your life. But they think we're just living somewhere else until we build a house. And they're really into construction. So like Mikey's like, I'll drive the cement mixer and Charlie can drive the excavator. And it's like, you're not gonna build it.

[Conan O'Brien]

Like they're not gonna find out about their new. The old house till they're 18. I get the email so.

[Sona Movsesian]

Well, I don't know about 18.

[Matt Gourley]

How old are they now? They're three and a half.

[Sona Movsesian]

They're three and a half. And they're. Honestly, we're living with my parents right now. They're getting toys every day. I don't think they've ever been happier.

[Matt Gourley]

Cuz people are just. Everyone's saying, oh my God, the boys, the boys, the poor boys. And they're just, they just know. I mean, I used to think this way about snowstorms when I was a kid. I was just good news. And the people, it didn't matter what happened to anyone else if school was canceled. So in their perspective, all they know is there's going to be some fun construction.

[Sona Movsesian]

Yeah.

[Matt Gourley]

And they get to build the house.

[Sona Movsesian]

Yeah, yeah.

[Matt Gourley]

Which I think you should let them do.

[Sona Movsesian]

Okay, well, they can get licensed and I don't think they can.

[Matt Gourley]

I think they can, but can I ask? And again, I'm not. Just. How these things unfold is such a mystery. I know that for all of us. I was here working on Tuesday. We weren't podcasting, but I was meeting with writers and we were talking about the Oscars and we were working on that with that team and I got a phone call from my wife saying, well, there's some smoke. And I remember thinking, well, we've been through this before. We've been evacuated. There's also been smoke and we haven't been evacuated. So there's very much a. It's part of life in la. And so I wasn't thinking that much about it. And then the next thing I know, she was like, we've been evacuated. And so I went from here to, you know, whenever we went to a hotel and I went to sleep that night thinking, cause we live in the Palisades. And I just remembered thinking, I'm pretty sure that our house will go. And it did not. But just the number of people I've heard from, people I know personally who lost houses is stunning. It's crazy. And I know you're in Altadena and it must be the same thing where it's not just you. You must know so many people.

[Sona Movsesian]

It's our Entire street, our whole neighborhood has just been just destroyed. It looks, it's hard for me to look at pictures. It looks really. Almost apocalyptic. There's just nothing there. And we've been talking to all our neighbors. Everyone's okay, but it is, you know, we, we really loved that community. And it's. Yeah, it's really sad that it's all gone. Yeah, I think that's the thing too, is that you're. You're really sad for other people who also lost their houses. And so you just, you all kind of like commiserate together. I'm on a group with like 70 other people from Altadena on a WhatsApp group, and we're all talking about what the next steps are. So that's keeping us busy. But you're right. It's just the number of people I know who lost their homes is. I mean, it's like, it's just unthinkable. It's. It's. It's crazy. But thankfully we, everybody that we reached out to is safe somewhere. So that's, that's important. But it is. Oh, it sucks.

[Matt Gourley]

Is there anything I'm. Is there anything that you're doing now that at least helps you feel like you can take steps? Like, I don't what the process of. I've been locked out of. We've been. No one gets close to our neighborhood. I don't know when we'll get back to our neighborhood. But you've got this other consideration of, okay, what are the steps involved? Meaning, do you. With insurance claims, things like that?

[Sona Movsesian]

We put in an insurance claim. It's all this stuff. And people are sending us so much stuff about property taxes, about, you know, what you could do with your mortgage payments, about signing up for fema, signing up for this, signing up for that. And it's. I think I just, I want my kids to go back to their school, which is fine.

[Matt Gourley]

The school's okay.

[Sona Movsesian]

Yeah. Tax back at work. I'm back. I. I want like normaly. And then we'll probably end up having to rent a house for a while and then, you know, figuring it out. You. It's just. There's like a thousand questions. It's crazy. How many? Yeah.

[Matt Gourley]

And you can't process it all at once.

[Sona Movsesian]

No, you can't. And that's the thing. It's just there's so much to do and, you know, I don't like doing anything. And now I have to like, fill out forms.

[Matt Gourley]

Right.

[Sona Movsesian]

And I have to think about things.

[Conan O'Brien]

Especially in the state. You're in. I can't imagine having to do that stuff that's already awful.

[Matt Gourley]

But sometimes is that helpful to engage in. Like okay, this is a tangible thing I can do that gets us to the next step. Rather than just sit and think about, perseverate, worry about what's happening.

[Sona Movsesian]

It's just so much stuff to think. I mean also I realized I'm not good under pressure. We saw the flames from the ridge near our house and we, we and I, we had a friend who's. Whose husband works in the LAFD and she's like you should probably just evacuate. And then. But everything was moving east and we're west. And then all of a sudden at 3:30 when we were at my mom's house, there was an evacuation order for our area. And then my alarm company called around six and they're like the sensors in the living room and in the master are picking up movement. And I thought oh, is that. Can you tell if it's a person or what is it? And she's like we can't tell. And I asked her, I was like are they flames? And she didn't know. And then we just, I hung up and I was like I think my house is currently on fire. And it was, it. I was just sitting in my car just like sobbing and I was like oh my God. My, my house is on. Just on fire. And then my parents house got evacuated and so Tack and I were like I and I like grabbed Charlie and Mikey out of the bed and I just put him in and I'm like let's just drive south. I don't know where we're going. So we went to Orange county and we just stayed there and we made the boys think we were on vacation. And so we were like.

[Matt Gourley]

Sent me this great video of them on the beach. Yeah, just having a wonderful time.

[Sona Movsesian]

Your boys having a blast? Yeah, they're just totally clueless, which is nice. It's nice to be around them because they have no idea what's going on. And I think they're one of five, they're two of. We're one of five families in their school that all lost their homes. So you know it's going to be interesting for them to go back to school and I, I hope people don't treat them any different. You know, we want to just sort of keep things the same. I just want to fast forward to six months from now where like I look back on all this stuff and I'm like it's okay, it's all just stuff. And then, you know.

[Matt Gourley]

But can I ask, did you have a chance, before you left your house, did you have a chance to get anything?

[Sona Movsesian]

I took some stuff. I took, like, the very important, like, family heirloom jewelry. I took my grandma's ice bucket, which is like, it's not just. It's so you could get it on ebay. It's not like it's specialized bucket.

[Matt Gourley]

But I went back in and got my Crocs, One of them. I got one of my Crocs, one of them.

[Sona Movsesian]

Well, we got.

[Matt Gourley]

I really like the left Croc, but. You got some heirlooms.

[Sona Movsesian]

We got some heirlooms. But there's a lot of things I think about that are gone, and that makes me really sad. I had a personalized Kobe autograph picture. That's gone.

[Matt Gourley]

That's right. He was on our Tonight Show.

[Sona Movsesian]

Yeah.

[Matt Gourley]

And I remembered. I introduced you to him and said, this is your number one fan. And he was so nice to you.

[Sona Movsesian]

He was really nice. And he signed an autograph for Mia, my brother. And then when we met Jimmy Carter and he signed the photo, I had that one. That's gone. There's just a lot of little things that are nothing I can't live without, but I don't want to. I just. I really miss that stuff. And it's also. It's weird. When we were in Orange county, we, like, packed up our stuff and we're like, everything we own is just in our car right now. And that's a very weird thing to think about that, like, all of your possessions, everything that is something that you've accumulated over the last 40 years, they're all gone. And all you have left is whatever's in this van. And it's just really sad.

[Matt Gourley]

I think, too, there's a mantra everyone has now, which is correct, which is, oh, it's just. And as long as we're okay and as long as my family's okay. And that's true. But you also have to acknowledge it's a loss. It's a loss because it's not so much the stuff itself. It's what it signifies. It's the memories. And you have to process that. You can't skip over, you know, we're all okay. You can't skip right to that and stay there because you are going to feel all these things.

[Sona Movsesian]

I know. And it's weird. It does feel like you're kind of grieving and you realize, like, I mean, I wish I took, like, I had a bin full of the boys like, first three years, like, little things that I wanted to keep forever. And that's gone. But, you know, and then you're, like, holding out. Maybe we'll go back and, like, we'll find things that we, like, in the rubble of whatever's left. And we'll just like, find something and just be really happy that things still exist. So we're. We're also waiting when we can go back. I mean, the National Guard is everywhere, and so we can't go to our house. And, you know, the air quality sucks and everything's just ash. But, you know, I think.

[Conan O'Brien]

And the fires are still burning. That's the crazy.

[Sona Movsesian]

Oh, yeah. You know what?

[Conan O'Brien]

55% contained.

[Sona Movsesian]

They are eaten in what?

[Conan O'Brien]

Palisades is 22% or something. As of today.

[Sona Movsesian]

Yeah. Contained.

[Conan O'Brien]

That's it.

[Matt Gourley]

Yeah.

[Sona Movsesian]

The thing is. And this is. I was telling Blay about this yesterday, Me and Erica Brown went shopping and, like, the third. Because I need a whole new. I need all new things, Everything new. And we went. And it kind of, like, was brought up when I was checking out somewhere that my house was gone. And she's like, oh, we give a 20% discount to victims of the fire. And me and Erica were like, we have to call all the stores we just went to just be like, do you give a 20% discount? But then it's awkward. Cause you go to a store and you're just like, my house burned down.

[Matt Gourley]

Also. Do you need to. Do they want you to prove that?

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah. How do you do that?

[Matt Gourley]

I have a piece of roof that I keep in my wallet. I mean, I don't know what the hell they're talking about.

[Sona Movsesian]

Well, then sometimes. But also, it's like, an awkward thing to bring up. It's like, hi, how are you doing? It's like, my house burned down. Do I get a discount?

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, usually it's like you get a free birthday meal at Denny's and you just show your id.

[Sona Movsesian]

I know. And then Erica was like, stop saying your house burned down. Say you were displaying. She just wanted me to use a different wording.

[Matt Gourley]

No, I think burn down gets you the discount. I mean, I've been displaced, and I do not deserve a 20% discount. Can you imagine me going around, ah, I've been displaced. I have to live in a pretty nice hotel, and so I demand the 20% off.

[Conan O'Brien]

Sir, this is a frozen yogurt establishment.

[Matt Gourley]

Sir, you're buying a Rolex. I don't want to pay full price. And it's Patek Philippe to you, sir. No, it's, it's, it's, it's absolute fucking craziness.

[Sona Movsesian]

It's just nuts, dude. Just like go around just being like, hi, so the other stores are giving discounts. Like, can I get a discount here? When my house burned down. And at first it was like, you know, it's hard to say, oh, my house burned down. I would cry every single time. And then I just like got to a point where I was like, hi, my house burned down. What kind of discounts you got for me?

[Matt Gourley]

Yeah, you'll be doing what if you're doing that five years from now when you live in a beautiful new home and you're thriving and you've written like your third best selling book and you pull up in a, you know, in a, like a. You pull up in a BMW. Hey, house burned down. I'm getting some unleaded gas. Looking at the price, let's just knock 20 off that. When did your house burn? Five years ago. Oh, I also won the lottery last week.

[Sona Movsesian]

Oh my God.

[Matt Gourley]

No, but it's, it's, man, it's, it's, it's. It's been very hard to process. I, I don't know about you, but it's also just. Well, I'm going to switch to you for a minute, Gorly, because you know, I know that you were in. There was a while there where I was pretty certain. Oh, Pasadena. I don't think that looks good. And I know your house. I just thought, is this gonna get you too? And I guess you, it, it, it didn't get to you, the fire, Is that right?

[Conan O'Brien]

No, we were very lucky. We got really close to the evac warning zone and it was heading down the arroyo, so we did pack and leave, but we, that's all. I mean, we just, we were.

[Matt Gourley]

Are you back in your house now?

[Conan O'Brien]

I am. The girls are still down at Momo's in Long beach where the air is clean.

[Matt Gourley]

I know.

[Conan O'Brien]

Cause that's the other thing is this talk about the air quality index being okay, but that doesn't account for certain leads and asbestos toxins in the air and stuff. So. I don't know. I wear a mask outside my house even though it's blue skies and there's ash and everything. But it's just weird. Did you guys pack and I couldn't.

[Matt Gourley]

I was here. I was.

[Conan O'Brien]

You couldn't be bothered.

[Matt Gourley]

I was. Yeah, I couldn't be bothered. I was like, don't I have people that do these things for me? No. I got a call from Liza, my Wife at work. And she said, okay. They told us we gotta go. And I said, okay. She said, I'm just gonna grab like two T shirts, two pairs of socks, two pairs of under whatever, a pair of jeans. I said, great. She said, do you need me to take anything else? And I said, just grab the EB White letter off the wall, which is this letter that I. When I was 16, I wrote E.B. white a letter about how much I admired his writing and how I aspired to try and make something of myself. But I was afraid of criticism because I'm thin skinned. And he wrote me back this beautiful note and it signed E.B. white.

[Conan O'Brien]

And P.S. if a fire happens, take this.

[Matt Gourley]

Take this. Yeah. And so that's kind of. I said, grab that. But I didn't think about anything else. And I, I don't know why I get into. And I think I've always been this way. I think I was, you know, I can channel when I first moved out to LA and I had a, had a. On Cochrane avenue, had a $380 a month apartment and a 1977 Isuzu Opal that I bought at the airport for no money. And I just always channel like, yep, I've been there before and I was really happy. And I just have this kind of, if I, if that whatever, if whatever something happens, I'm not going to get another Isuzu Hope. And I'm sorry, I'm not going to.

[Conan O'Brien]

Get to that height again.

[Matt Gourley]

I'm not. But, but very, I don't know, I get it on almost very calm about that and the material world and things like that. But then I also know if the reality came, there's my perception of how I would feel and then how would I really feel if that had happened and we got really close? I mean it was right up to our line of our house. And then you just, I don't know, I could easily be here saying we don't have our house. And like I say a lot, I've spoken to many of my friends who lost their homes and so I don't know, you can't know how you would feel if that happened. So I have, you know, the possible illusion that I would say, well, it's just stuff. But no, I'm sure I would be devastated and emotional for a lot of reasons, but it's just, it's such a confusing time and obviously it's just, what can we all do for people? If only I knew someone who had lost their. Oh, right, you were mentioning. No, but like I'm saying is what you know, that's the question is how can. What can we do for you? You know you're loved. You've got all of us here, money aside. Oh, and money.

[Sona Movsesian]

And I need money.

[Matt Gourley]

Money and food.

[Sona Movsesian]

I need lots. Can I live in your house? Can we all come live in your house?

[Matt Gourley]

Can I just set the parameters first? Oh, money aside, Food aside, clothing aside.

[Conan O'Brien]

Oh, love and affection aside.

[Matt Gourley]

Love and affection aside. Sheltering you in any way at any one of my 19 mansions scattered.

[Conan O'Brien]

Any further contact aside.

[Sona Movsesian]

Yeah.

[Matt Gourley]

Is there anything I can do for you? And also I'm letting you go.

[Sona Movsesian]

Oh no.

[Matt Gourley]

Is this a bad time?

[Sona Movsesian]

No. Bad time.

[Conan O'Brien]

I mean you might as well pull off the band aid.

[Matt Gourley]

Here's what I'm saying. The band aids bothly torn off. Let's go the rest of the way.

[Sona Movsesian]

I need this. I know. I'm like am I? Am I?

[Matt Gourley]

I had to make a decision. You were Gorly. And he does so much in the.

[Sona Movsesian]

Editing for you for so long. Yeah.

[Matt Gourley]

Albert Conan firesona on podcast where she talks about losing her home. I'm looking forward to that headline.

[Conan O'Brien]

I know.

[Sona Movsesian]

Oh, I am really glad your house is because the Palisades is also very, very scary.

[Matt Gourley]

Yeah.

[Sona Movsesian]

And I really was worried you were going to lose it. And I know you're not attached to the things in your like you're saying you are. I'm very attached to the things. And I think also if you lost yours it would overshadow mine a lot. So in a way I'm like just really happy that you're okay.

[Matt Gourley]

I'm going to have mine destroyed. That makes you feel better.

[Conan O'Brien]

This is the ultimate. I get to talk last thing that you guys do. You know, you get the last.

[Matt Gourley]

So you say you lost your house. Did you? Well, guess what.

[Conan O'Brien]

Oh my God.

[Matt Gourley]

My leg kind of hurts. So I think I win. Well you are. It's funny because people I think, I hope it comes through but this is a real relationship. Yeah. You and I have been. I mean Gorly, I don't barely know the guy.

[Conan O'Brien]

I mean I wouldn't even hear it say that about myself.

[Matt Gourley]

Johnny come lately. Icy to the touch but.

[Conan O'Brien]

Well, if you just touch me once.

[Matt Gourley]

Maybe you'd know dad rubbing that icicle. But you know, you've got us and we will all help you in any way we can.

[Sona Movsesian]

Thank you.

[Matt Gourley]

And I do think that this is. There's no way to fast forward through this. It's gonna be a day to day thing for you for quite a while.

[Sona Movsesian]

I do I know we talked about Altadena a lot and we joked about it a lot, but it was. It is a really special place. It was an incredible place to raise my kids. And I just. I hope. I hope we find a way to get back there. Even after all this. I just know I've lived in LA my whole life, and I was just. That's the happiest I've ever been. So I just want to make sure people know. It's a really incredible place. It's an incredible community. The people there are just amazing. The way that also Los Angeles is just banded together is as someone who is from here and girls, I know you're from here too. It's really inspiring. It's beautiful. It's. It's uplifting. There's just little bright spots in. In all of this shittiness and, you know, the way the city.

[Matt Gourley]

So many people have risen to the challenge and been remarkably generous and human. And I lived in New York during 9 11, and I'm seeing the same thing again, where people ask each other, you know, how are you doing? How are you? Where do you live? Are you okay? And had that conversation this morning at Bricks and Scones, which is the coffee place right next to us. You just start asking people, how are you? Where do you live? Are you all right? Are you okay? And it does. These things do bring sometimes the worst out of people, but often the best out of people. And I was remembering, we. You know, the last time we did our outdoor Chilchums podcast was from Sona's backyard in Altadena, which is a really nice memory. And what I remember most is what a great time we had, but also that your neighbors came by. You had neighbors coming by to say hi, Austin's.

[Sona Movsesian]

Yeah.

[Matt Gourley]

And there's a vibrant community there that I think is resilient and can come back. Yeah, I mean, it's easy for me to say, but I do think there's.

[Conan O'Brien]

I think there's such a will to bring that city back. It's not just a faceless city. You've seen so many people talk about how much they love Altadena, and I think that they are the city. So the houses may be gone, but they'll bring them back and they'll keep the city. When I heard you lost your house, I just felt like, desperate to do something for you. It's so hard to know how much to offer to people in this situation, because you feel some. They must be bombarded with this. Are they being overloaded? But anything you would Ever need. I think people, all your friends, would be desperate to help you guys in any way. You know.

[Sona Movsesian]

You know what? I am in a. We. We're really lucky. Our family is here. They're all in la. We had no shortage of places to go, which is very. We're very fortunate for that. There's a lot of people who don't have anything and don't have any connections. And I think before people think about sending stuff to us, I think you should definitely look into people who really need it. Like, the boys have more underwear than they've ever had before. They have more socks. I can't stress how many toys they have now. I think they just think that that's their life now. Every day a package comes and there's more to toys and they're just like, this is the best. We're living at Yaya's house. They're like, just eating. She's feeding them constantly. They're eating. They're having more screen time and watching more TV than they ever have before. Like, so they're, they're happy. We're. We're happy if they're happy. So we're. We're okay. I mean, is there.

[Matt Gourley]

I mean, that's the other thing too, is we could find out and plug it in, but if there's a. A charity or there's a place that makes sense.

[Conan O'Brien]

One thing I found that's been very helpful is there's a database of the least funded Gofundmes for individual families.

[Matt Gourley]

Yes.

[Conan O'Brien]

And so you can find people that need help.

[Matt Gourley]

My wife. My wife has been on to this and I shut it down because I was like, I was thinking of taking up golf and I want to buy those. No.

[Sona Movsesian]

Oh, my God.

[Matt Gourley]

I like a guy who doesn't even.

[Sona Movsesian]

Colors are showing. What are you doing?

[Matt Gourley]

Are you doing donating money to people that really need it?

[Conan O'Brien]

I set the clock the minute this happened of like, how soon till it's.

[Matt Gourley]

Possible I could one day play golf. In which time clubs would need to be procured. No, she, she found that and it's amazing. It's amazing.

[Conan O'Brien]

It's very findable, I think.

[Matt Gourley]

Well, obviously it can get sensitive. What's the right. Where's the right place to give money? If you can give money or to donate? And we need to be sensitive about that. We will do research maybe in the links that connect to this episode, give some suggestions, but there are so many different ways. What happened?

[Sona Movsesian]

The links that connect to this episode.

[Matt Gourley]

It'S just, it's cute.

[Sona Movsesian]

It's Cute. It's just in the. It's going to be in the summary of the episode.

[Conan O'Brien]

It also links our connections to the episodes, so.

[Sona Movsesian]

It's okay. It's okay. It's not your fault.

[Conan O'Brien]

It's fine.

[Sona Movsesian]

It's not your fault.

[Conan O'Brien]

This is a different episode. Yeah, it's okay.

[Sona Movsesian]

It's fine. We should have given you a script. Anytime links are mentioned, we should just tell you exactly how to say it. And that's on us.

[Matt Gourley]

I think the burn I just suffered.

[Conan O'Brien]

Oh, my God.

[Matt Gourley]

Is every bit as bad.

[Conan O'Brien]

Well, there'll be.

[Matt Gourley]

As the one that attacked your home.

[Conan O'Brien]

There'll be links connected to this episode.

[Matt Gourley]

To donate to Conan if you want to. I think now, after the way I was just attacked for. Okay, maybe am I fluent in this new techno world? New of the last 40 years, maybe not techno world, but I've now been humiliated, and I feel I deserve compensation.

[Sona Movsesian]

You have a GoFundMe.

[Matt Gourley]

I have a GoFundMe to help me, Conan O'Brien, recover from this dastardly blow. I know the minute I start talking, why do I. Why didn't I. What am I gonna learn? Let you do it or let you do it? Because when I try and do it, it's.

[Sona Movsesian]

You're doing a really great job.

[Matt Gourley]

You're talking to me like something, like I'm damaged.

[Sona Movsesian]

I'm doing so good. Look at you. And then we threw the word link in there, and there's a. Got you all frazzled. That's okay.

[Matt Gourley]

When this episode comes true through your machine.

[Conan O'Brien]

Oh, no.

[Matt Gourley]

And you're tuning it to get the right frequency, look for a linkage.

[Conan O'Brien]

Just try this. Charity links in the show notes.

[Matt Gourley]

Charity links in the show notes. Yeah, yeah. But I know you, and it's the right thing to do. You're going to keep all of my blundering and stumbling in there. You're not going to edit it. So I look good, and I applaud you for that because it's going to make a lot of people very happy.

[Conan O'Brien]

That's what keeps this.

[Matt Gourley]

And can I say something? I cannot tell you how many people go, are you really that bad? And I say, it's not a bit. I honestly don't know how this. This world works. They. That is a common thing people say to me is, no, just. Just tell me something. Is that they want to know if Jordan Schlansky's real. And I go, yeah, he really is. And they go, and when you talk about, like, tech stuff, are you really that bad?

[Conan O'Brien]

I may be the most like regressed technological person on a podcast. Which is fairly technically advanced.

[Matt Gourley]

Right. Well, that's why I surround myself with people who know.

[Sona Movsesian]

I love that your son is very. So fluent in it. And it's almost like God played a joke on you.

[Matt Gourley]

Yeah. My son is very gifted at these things and I. He enjoys it so much. When I'm trying to do something, I do become. It is Zoolander, where they're looking at the computer and he just enjoys it and he won't jump in and go, here, I'll do it. He'll go, so what you're trying to do there? What you doing? Well, I'm trying to see if I can clear this screen. Yeah. So is that why you're hitting the plastic part? The COVID Just tell me what to do. No, no. Why don't you tell me what it is you're trying to do? So he just tortures me. Oh, man, he's a genius at it.

[Sona Movsesian]

Good. He's learning.

[Matt Gourley]

Yeah. There is. God gave him a wonderfully foolish father for him to enjoy. And. But is your. Is your. Your greater family then? We talk about this a lot and we joke about it a lot. How connected you are to your family and your mom and dad. But it's also this great gift right now.

[Sona Movsesian]

Yeah.

[Matt Gourley]

That. That you have these people in your life. That they're so close. You know, I've been living so far away from my family for so long.

[Sona Movsesian]

Yeah.

[Matt Gourley]

That's. That your family is unit is there.

[Sona Movsesian]

It is there. It's also. Look, I love. I love my parents, but the moment I step into that house, I'm a 16 year old angsty teenager. And this time I'm coming with like my kids and my husband. But I'm still like, you regress everything my mom says. I'm like. And I've been there for only like what, like four days? We've been there and I'm just like, oh, I can't. I can't wait. She's cooking a meal for us from scratch.

[Matt Gourley]

Right.

[Sona Movsesian]

You know, and I'm just kind of like, mom, you're just. You don't get it, Mom. It's so much of me just being a kid again.

[Matt Gourley]

You become a brat kind of.

[Sona Movsesian]

I become an asshole a little bit. And I think that that's not healthy for anybody. So I don't know how long we're going to last.

[Matt Gourley]

When am I allowed. And I will respect this.

[Sona Movsesian]

Oh no.

[Matt Gourley]

But when am I allowed to start making jokes about your dad's mustache? I'm just curious. I Mean. And I will respect if you say it's going to be three months or four months. And I love your dad. I love.

[Conan O'Brien]

This is your opportunity to say, like, 10 years.

[Sona Movsesian]

I know, but when we were, like, texting, a part of me was like, well, my dad. You know, my dad can build a house because he's good with wood. Because he's. Because he got my. He carved.

[Matt Gourley]

He carved your. Your brother. Because he wanted a boy, a real boy. And then he became real.

[Sona Movsesian]

Why do I indulge you?

[Matt Gourley]

No, but I don't.

[Sona Movsesian]

What's wrong with me? I thought, don't do it.

[Matt Gourley]

My true sickness is getting other people to start to do the bit themselves about them.

[Sona Movsesian]

I know.

[Matt Gourley]

That's my true evil power.

[Sona Movsesian]

Yeah, but, you know, you don't. Even if I said, oh, you know what? I'd rather you just did it. Yeah, I think you would last.

[Matt Gourley]

Right. But your father's mustache wasn't damaged.

[Sona Movsesian]

Okay, you know what? I think we gotta wrap it up. We gotta wrap it up.

[Matt Gourley]

Is his mustache insured? I don't know. I don't know.

[Conan O'Brien]

Just a mustache.

[Matt Gourley]

Do you realize how happy I'd be if he shaved off half of it and went around saying, I lost half in the fire. I want 20% off, and just put a little smudge there.

[Sona Movsesian]

You can't get the discount.

[Matt Gourley]

Why not?

[Sona Movsesian]

Cause he didn't lose it. It just inconvenienced.

[Matt Gourley]

They don't know that. They see a guy come in with half a mustache. What do they know? Who's gonna challenge that? I challenge you. That looks freshly shaved, not singed. I don't think anyone challenges that look. Maybe I've gone too far. It's possible that I am doing the exact wrong thing at this moment and that I'll pay for it terribly, but just glad he's okay.

[Sona Movsesian]

Oh, thanks. Thanks so much for your concern. You're so nice. What a gift.

[Matt Gourley]

Yes. How's Tack, specifically? Tack is.

[Sona Movsesian]

Tack's fine. I don't know if it's this, like, stoic Soviet thing, but he's like, all right, we gotta fill this out. We gotta do, like, He's. He's sad about his guitars. He lost all his guitars, but one of his friends gave him one, which is really nice. But, you know, he's, like, worried about his random. He's, like, worried about his kettlebell that he got for Christmas. And he's like, God, I hope I find my kettlebell in the rubble. And I'm like, your kettlebell? We could just go get that right now. We could just go buy it.

[Conan O'Brien]

And am I not wrong, a kettlebell is the most likely to survive a fire.

[Matt Gourley]

It's just cast iron.

[Sona Movsesian]

Right. That's why he's like a kettlebell probably survived.

[Matt Gourley]

I hope my fireplace and iron survive.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah. My anvil.

[Matt Gourley]

I hope my bowling ball survived. My God. Solid. Yeah. Well, you know what I think he is? I mean, he's an incredibly cool guy.

[Sona Movsesian]

He's very chill.

[Matt Gourley]

He's very chill and he's very cool and I love him. I admire him and I think he's a good partner to have in a situation like this.

[Sona Movsesian]

He is. He's very worried about me and the boys and how we're feeling. And he's very sweet. And, you know, Okie's fine too. I know people were probably wondering. She's fine too. She's also like, really happy because my dad feeds her a lot of, like, people food. He'll make a whole meal just for oaky. And so she's like, just lounging. The boys are.

[Matt Gourley]

Your dog is having baked Alaska sushi. Yeah, sushi. Anyway. It's incredible.

[Sona Movsesian]

Yeah. But good.

[Matt Gourley]

Baked cordon bleu. Chicken cordon bleu.

[Sona Movsesian]

Oh, my God. So, yeah, Tack is. Tack is. Tak's really. He's the. He's such a great person. He's such an incredible father and husband and he's been really good. So. Yeah, we're very lucky. We're very lucky. We're. I told girls this. I was like, we're the luckiest, unlucky people because we. We have others we can turn to when we need to. So we're very lucky.

[Conan O'Brien]

You've handled the aftermath too, with just such humor and aplomb and honesty too, with how you're feeling. It's amazing. You're. You're amazing.

[Sona Movsesian]

Oh, well, thank you. You're. I do think I. I know there's going to be a point where I have to go, like, see someone, because I think I legit. Every time I hear wind, I, like tense up and it. It's really nerve wracking.

[Matt Gourley]

There's no way, I mean, so many people are going to have some form of PTSD or whatever. You. However you want to classify it from this.

[Sona Movsesian]

Yeah.

[Matt Gourley]

And so it is. As you know, I'm a huge proponent of. Of it. And I. I don't necessarily come from people that were believers in talk therapy. And I think Freud famously said the only people who are immune to psychotherapy are the Irish. But I do think it's hugely helpful. It would be good for You. And also talk to us about it.

[Sona Movsesian]

Yeah. I mean, we are people. We're in yell therapy, I think Armenians, my people. But we let it all out. We're very much good getting it out. And. And I'm lucky. I have a lot of friends who I just, I, you know, we'll talk to them or text them, and I'll just tell them exactly how I feel. And it's nice to have that comfort to be able to talk to people openly about because. Yeah, it is. This is probably. And it's also good, but this is probably. This is the hardest thing I've ever gone through.

[Matt Gourley]

Yep.

[Sona Movsesian]

And if this is the hardest thing I've ever gone through, then I've been lucky because it's. It's a. You know, I can rebuild, but other people have gone through so much worse. So I'm. I'm lucky in that sense.

[Matt Gourley]

Yeah. Well, I. I'll say this. I have found today to be cathartic for me because I've been thinking about you a lot. So. And on a selfish level, I thought, I really want to get into a room with Sona. We've texted, we've talked on the phone, but I didn't see you until today. And I've just wanted you. I've wanted to be in a room with you and talk to you. And so this was weirdly, even though you're the one who's really been affected much more, a million times more than I was, a billion times more. This was really special for me to get to talk to you and tell you face to face that I love you. Whatever you need. We'll all get you through this. And we are a family. And I'm including. Oh, God, Gorly, don't do it. I'm gonna do it. Adam, Eduardo, Blay, we are a family and also everyone who works here. And there was such a lovely outpouring and I'm not gonna online of people, fans reaching out to wonder how we were doing. That was just bowled me over. We are blessed. We're blessed a million times over with so many fans. So many people are rooting for you, Sona, and thinking about you. And you're gonna get through this with flying colors and I am going to gradually work my way back into mocking and harassing you. It's going to take a long time.

[Sona Movsesian]

It's not.

[Conan O'Brien]

It's begun.

[Sona Movsesian]

It's not going to take a long time.

[Matt Gourley]

You know what? I just. When I say a long time, I mean like many hours.

[Sona Movsesian]

Oh, yeah. That's what I Figured. I knew it. I knew. I knew you were saying it.

[Conan O'Brien]

Spent the last hour doing it.

[Matt Gourley]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I was going to say, is there really evidence? Oh, right. We do record these.

[Sona Movsesian]

Can I just say, also, I'm really, really happy to come back to work because I think this podcast has gotten me through. It's gotten me through Covid, it's gotten me through fertility treatments, and it's gonna get me through this. And I. I love being in this room and talking with you guys and just. I love my. My job and I'm very lucky that I get to have it. So please don't fire me.

[Matt Gourley]

Well, you're really on the line.

[Conan O'Brien]

You saved it today.

[Matt Gourley]

You're not fired today, but. Oh, God, there's this very expensive electric bike I'm thinking of getting with company funds, and that would mean there's no room for you. Do I need this bike?

[Sona Movsesian]

No.

[Matt Gourley]

But I kind of like it because it's a shade of cocoa that I find. I don't know what's wrong with me, but. Love you. We're back.

[Sona Movsesian]

Love you, too.

[Matt Gourley]

We're going to continue to make our foolishness and update you on. I mean, what is this is. We'll update you on, keep everyone listening and how this process unfolds for you. And, you know, we're thinking not just of you, Sona, but everyone out there who's been affected by this. And to all the really incredible people who. From all over the world that have reached out and been so lovely to us, we are blessed people.

[Sona Movsesian]

Yeah. And the firefighters.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Matt Gourley]

I mean, it's unbelievable. And our own Sarah Fedorovich who works here has been working for me for, I want to say close to 30 years, if not 30 years. Her husband Brad help out there fighting these fires. And so, yeah, enough cannot be said about. We have a screwy value system in our country where it's like, look, there's a celebrity. And never has it looked more stupid, our value system than right now than when you see these people that really do put themselves in harm's way to save people's homes, save people's lives. It's absolutely incredible.

[Sona Movsesian]

Yep.

[Matt Gourley]

But, boy, I can't wait till we get back to revering Nate slip. Oh, God, look, a podcaster. He's the true hero. You got that right, buddy. Anyway, everybody out there stay safe and thank you again for all of your good wishes and positive energy.

[Conan O'Brien]

Conan O'Brien needs a friend. With Conan O'Brien Sonam of Session and Matt Gourley produced by me, Matt Gourley executive produced by Adam Sachs, Jeff Ross and Nick Leow Theme song by the White Stripes Incidental music by Jimmy Vivino Take it away, Jimmy. Our supervising producer is Aaron Blair and our associate talent producer is Jennifer Samples, engineering and mixing by Eduardo Perez and Brendan Burns. Additional production support by Mars Melnick Talent booking by Paula Davis, Gina Bautista and Brit Kahn. You can rate and review this show on Apple Podcasts and you might find your review read on a future episode. Got a question for Conan? Call the Team Coco hotline at 669-587-2847 and leave a message. It too, could be featured on a future episode. You can also get three free months of SiriusXM when you sign [e-mail] Conan and if you haven't already, please subscribe to Conan O'Brien needs a friend. Wherever fine podcasts are downloaded.