
Comedian Nate Bargatze feels a heaviness about being Conan O’Brien’s friend. Nate sits down with Conan to discuss accusations of mundanity, fulfilling his dream of performing at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, designing an amusement park, and his iconic George Washington sketches on SNL. Later, chaos erupts as Conan and his team attempt to level the playing field with gender-equal slang. For Conan videos, tour dates and more visit TeamCoco.com. Got a question for Conan? Call our voicemail: (669) 587-2847.
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Conan O'Brien
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Sona Movsesian
I didn't.
Conan O'Brien
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Nate Bargatze
Hi, my name is Nate Bargetzi and I feel a heaviness about being Conan o' Brien's friend.
Conan O'Brien
All right, now what's the heaviness about Nate?
Nate Bargatze
I think you come with a lot.
Conan O'Brien
You are correct. Give the man his prize money.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah, sure.
Conan O'Brien
Right.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah. Fall is here Hear the yell Back.
Sona Movsesian
To school Ring the bell Brand new.
Conan O'Brien
Shoes Walking blues Climb the fence Books.
Sona Movsesian
And pens I can tell that we.
Conan O'Brien
Are gonna be friends Yes, I can.
Sona Movsesian
Tell that we are gonna.
Conan O'Brien
Hey there. Welcome to Conan o' Brien Needs a Friend. I am Conan o' Brien and Sonoma session is right next to me drinking a massive glass of water.
Sona Movsesian
It is massive.
Conan O'Brien
And you're taking this really weird over articulated sip. And then here's Matt Gourley doing creating characters in real time.
Sona Movsesian
I'm scared of it spilling again. And then Eduardo getting mad at us.
Conan O'Brien
Eduardo is very, very strict about liquids getting anywhere near the electrical ports.
Eduardo Perez
Because both of you have spilled water.
Conan O'Brien
Yes. And you have not.
Sona Movsesian
Oh, I'm perfect. I never spilled. I'm no podcasting. I care about equipment.
Conan O'Brien
You can joke, but it's true. Okay, yeah, you did spill one time. Well, I didn't. Big bag of Deez nuts. Listen, we were. We were listeners. We Were chatting just before we went on mic. Yeah. Sona was doing tons of Deez Nuts jokes. I became.
Sona Movsesian
During a very important meeting, I became.
Conan O'Brien
Irritated and said, what was the beginning of all the Deez Nuts thing? We all started trying to plow into how Deez Nuts got started. And then, Eduardo, you had a theory. Yeah. Dr. Dre on the Chronic album in 1992, had a track called Deez Nuts. Do you think that started it, or do you think. Was it a thing before that and it came from pop culture? I think absolutely. I'm sure it came well before that. But I know that Deez Nuts really took off. Off? When? When did it really take off? Where?
Eduardo Perez
What was the heyday of these nuts?
Sona Movsesian
This is a real nerdy conversation.
Eduardo Perez
And can we have a De Nuts assance?
Sona Movsesian
You don't analyze de's nuts. You just DEZ nuts. Yeah, you just do it.
Conan O'Brien
Now you. You say de's nuts a lot.
Sona Movsesian
I do. I say a lot of, like, guy stuff, like, suck this.
Conan O'Brien
What?
Sona Movsesian
I don't want to say suck my.
Conan O'Brien
Dick, but I sometimes say, you know.
Sona Movsesian
That is what I say. But I felt really gross being, like, very vulgar right away. But, yeah, sometimes I tell people, suck.
Conan O'Brien
My D. And is that a common thing for women to say they have a penis, even if they don't have a penis?
Sona Movsesian
No, it's not common.
Conan O'Brien
I'm.
Sona Movsesian
I'm.
Conan O'Brien
So you're an uncommon.
Sona Movsesian
I'm. I'm unwell, I think is what it is.
Conan O'Brien
So that's a regular thing you've been doing for years, is telling people to suck your dick.
Sona Movsesian
Yeah. And then once on Broad City, Ilana Glaser's character says to another guy, she goes, suck my dick.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah. And did you high five the screen at that moment?
Sona Movsesian
Yeah, it was like, just me.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah.
Sona Movsesian
And so did Caitlin Olsen's character. And it's always sunny in Philadelphia.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah.
Sona Movsesian
This is what I know.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah.
Sona Movsesian
You know, Matt knows Star wars and Indiana Jones. You know this Civil War.
Conan O'Brien
Civil War.
Sona Movsesian
I know suck my dick when a woman says it.
Conan O'Brien
Now, what if our two interests coincided and I was talking about a guy in the Civil War who said suck my dick to General Dee's nuts of the Union Army. Yeah.
Eduardo Perez
General Lando Calrissian was there as well.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah. General Lando Calrissian. Yeah. And all our words, worlds came together, and it meant the end of the world. It was matter meeting antimatter. Meaning, what's the matter? Um, listen, so.
Nate Bargatze
So come on.
Conan O'Brien
What about now? You're a mom now, which still horrifies Me. I know. Have your kids. What happens if your kids hear you? Maybe they're in their room playing with what Soviet toy your husband gave them. And. What? You know, that little.
Sona Movsesian
They play with American toys, too.
Conan O'Brien
Oh, now they have those. Wow. I came there once and there was a little wind up. Gorbachev with lead paint on just says over and over again, what happened to the wall? Where's the wall? But you. So anyway, if you're. If you're attack. Are having an argument and the kids hear it and you shout, attack, suck my dick. Oh, these nuts.
Sona Movsesian
I never say it in a serious setting.
Eduardo Perez
Oh, that's okay. So they're not.
Conan O'Brien
Your house is not a serious setting. I've been to your house. It's not a serious setting.
Sona Movsesian
Yeah, but it's not like I say it jokingly, like, suck me dick, you.
Conan O'Brien
Know, and your kids know the difference.
Sona Movsesian
I don't actually have a penis. And it's. Okay. That's the joke.
Conan O'Brien
Who knows? But my thing is. I know. Okay, just check when you get home. But my question is, I find one. Yeah.
Sona Movsesian
Whoa.
Conan O'Brien
Where have you been? I go months at a time without seeing mine.
Eduardo Perez
I censor myself. But during this conversation, like, you know how RoboCop has that readout? I've had all these things come to mind to say, and I have cut every single one of them.
Conan O'Brien
Not me. I don't have one of those. My screen broke a long time ago.
Sona Movsesian
Clearly, I don't either. What? What are you cutting out? Why would you do that?
Conan O'Brien
I don't know. It's just us, man. We're just having a good time.
Eduardo Perez
A million listeners.
Sona Movsesian
Why am I the only one who. Who says things like this? If you. If you censor, you can't censor. We can't. We don't censor.
Eduardo Perez
I normally don't.
Conan O'Brien
He normally doesn't. But his not censoring is different than your not censoring. He'll think, oh, I could make a lando calorie.
Eduardo Perez
No, that's not true.
Conan O'Brien
But I think I won't this time because she was saying, but you're thinking about. You're talking about dicks. And. And you know.
Eduardo Perez
And that's why I'm censoring myself, because I was going to say, milk these titties. See, that's why I said, you know what?
Conan O'Brien
You should have censored yourself. I know, I know. It's too late now.
Eduardo Perez
I know.
Conan O'Brien
But you know what? That's not a saying. You can't just. Can I just say this?
Eduardo Perez
That's Going to catch on like wildfire.
Conan O'Brien
No, it's not, because it doesn't roll off the tongue. Milk D. But D's nuts. It's just, bang, it's done.
Sona Movsesian
D. No, but that's also. You can say that to a lactating woman, but not every woman's lactating. Every guy has nuts. You could say these nuts.
Eduardo Perez
I think Hitler was missing one.
Conan O'Brien
No, that's. I think that's not true.
Sona Movsesian
You could say Deez nut if someone's.
Eduardo Perez
Lost one.
Sona Movsesian
But with a D nut.
Conan O'Brien
Milk titties. Milk D. N Titties.
Eduardo Perez
Both of you.
Conan O'Brien
Milk. We were talking about. This is very hard to do, Matt, but we were talking about Deez nuts, and you took us down the wrong path, which is next to impossible to do on a discussion of deez nuts. Well, wouldn't it be singular? It would be singular on nuts. Wouldn't it be singular? What? How did deez nuts get boring? There are adolescent kids right now going, this deez nuts conversation isn't panning out. No, I'm not gonna rap.
Sona Movsesian
No. Can we also talk. Deez nuts came out when? 1992.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah.
Sona Movsesian
I mean, she's been going strong for over 30 years.
Conan O'Brien
He's been going strong.
Sona Movsesian
She's been going strong. That's impressive.
Conan O'Brien
Okay, I want to say before this has taken down another unceremonious path, talking about. We were talking about the beginning of a great American phrase, and I thought that was a worthwhile discussion, and I'm glad that we did it. I don't think milk these titties is going to become a thing.
Eduardo Perez
Oh, you'll see. I think we should.
Conan O'Brien
I think we should sell Team Cocoa Merch with that phrase.
Eduardo Perez
And I get 100% of the income of that because I not only pointed that.
Conan O'Brien
Should it then be parentheses lower down the tea and not Deez Nuts? Yeah, I think so. To incorporate the earlier, more popular phrase to give a turbo boost to the milk. These titties.
Eduardo Perez
I don't think it needs it. I think milk Deez Titties works on.
Conan O'Brien
How about we make them both one polyester, one cotton, and we see if it catches on.
Sona Movsesian
You can't milk nuts.
Conan O'Brien
Well, you can, actually. All right, we'll take a break. We just found out that our funding from PBS has been cut. Says right here. And, Sona, you go and read up on some basic biology. Let's get into it. Yeah. Well, my guest today very. I mean, Sona, what are you. Sona. I'm sorry, what's that?
Sona Movsesian
Nothing. My RoboCop thing. Is going off.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah.
Sona Movsesian
And I'm saying no, no, no.
Conan O'Brien
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Sona's editing herself. It's time to call now. I really want to please. Believe it or not, my guest today is a hilarious comedian who's currently on his Big Dumb Eyes world tour. God, he's good. Tickets are available@nate bargazzi.com. we're thrilled he's here today. I love him. Hilarious comedian, lovely fellow, Nate Borgozzi. Welcome. We've known each other a long time. I met you. What was the year that you first came on my Late Night Show?
Nate Bargatze
2008. You were my first late night appearance. Yeah, it was late night coming.
Conan O'Brien
I think I saw somewhere you were describing the experience of pulling up to 30 rock and you hadn't done a late night show before.
Nate Bargatze
No.
Conan O'Brien
Were you NER nervous about that?
Nate Bargatze
Well, you said that. This is where I didn't know New York. They go, limo's gonna come pick you up. But it's just a town car. But I'm from Nashville, so I'm like, you just are throwing the word limo around. I'm expecting a real limo. Yeah, but it was just a town car. You're like, all right. You know, I mean, I was still excited, but it was like, all right, a little deflating. I thought it was gonna be a limo.
Conan O'Brien
And then you want to put your head through the window like you're on prom night. He was wearing, I remember he came on and he was wearing. Wearing a low cut dress.
Nate Bargatze
Yes. Yeah.
Conan O'Brien
He's all excited for prom in a corsage. Yeah.
Nate Bargatze
They. So then we pulled up front. It was me and my wife. And then all the. There's people got cameras taking pictures of the guests that are going to be on Conan the coming out of the car. And so right when they pull up, I'm like, ah, this is not going to be good, you know, because I'm just. My first time doing late night there. Julie Lewis Dreyfus, I think was on the show. So they're looking for that. And then I come out and right when I walk out, one of them goes, it's nobody. And yeah. And then one. One guy did take a picture. He didn't even hold it up to his eye to make sure. He just kind of held it.
Conan O'Brien
Shot it from his chest.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah. And he goes, I guess just because he saw me, he's like, yeah, might as well just see if some. Maybe.
Conan O'Brien
And then you can hear him press delete.
Nate Bargatze
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
Conan O'Brien
It's a very audible sound. Trust me. Many of paparazzi has deleted the. While I'm standing there, you know what.
Nate Bargatze
Happened, too, on my first one with you? Because I said, with comedians, if we mess up on stage because you're up there alone. And so when you usually, like, right when you get off stage, if you did said something wrong, you're saying it to whoever. The first person comes near you. Because you just haven't talked to anybody. And I messed up. No one would even be able to tell. But in my head, I knew I messed up a joke. And when you came over and you're like, neighbor, I got you. And you're like, all right, whatever. And then you shake your hand again. I go back to you. I think I messed up that one joke. And you're like, I don't. All right. And then we just walked back. Like there was. It wasn't like. It was a. You know, it was like I stumbled a word.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah, yeah.
Nate Bargatze
But I remember just. I always tell people that story. Like, the first thing I said to Conan when he comes over, I'm like, I think I messed up. You're like, I don't. All right, it's all good.
Conan O'Brien
It's all good.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Conan O'Brien
But also, I'm a huge fan of yours, and it's nice. Cause I've encountered you a bunch of times out in the world. You were at the snl, and I don't know if you remember. I mean, I certainly remember it, but I got invited by Martin Short. Like, do you want to come have dinner with Steve and I are going to have some caviar and champagne the night before the 50th, you know, to sort of pre game. I thought he was joking about the caviar and champagne. And I show up and it's the two of them there, and you're there, too. And I don't know about you, but I will never be jaded about Steve Martin and Martin Short. Do you know what I mean? And so I was just, I think, like, you just happy to be there, you know?
Nate Bargatze
I was, yeah. I just happened upon. I was walking out and they were like, hey, we're going up to have dinner. They didn't. I didn't. They didn't tell me you were coming. And they just said, we're going up to have dinner. And I was, yeah. And they're like, I was actually funny. I was. I was going to meet Spade.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah, yeah.
Nate Bargatze
And then you're like, all right, let me go out there. And like, I just went up there, sell them a little bit, and I'm kind of like, I gotta. You know, I gotta get out of here. Yeah. And. But it's crazy because you're talking to Steve Martin. Martin short, and then Conan, then you come, and then you're like. I mean, it's just sitting there. You're like, this is the most thrilled dinner. I've never had caviar. That's the first time I had caviar.
Conan O'Brien
I'm not a fan of caviar. I don't know if you were. You. Did you like it?
Nate Bargatze
I liked it there. But I could have been swept up in the moment. I'm not against.
Conan O'Brien
It's off brand for you.
Nate Bargatze
Yes, yes. And I could have just been in that moment being like, it's the best thing ever.
Conan O'Brien
I was really happy because we got to hang out a little there. And then after the Oscars, I go to this after party. I think it was a Vanity Fair party. And I run into you and a friend, and we just. I think I talked to you guys for a long time. I felt, like, safe with you guys. Like, this will be nice. I can hang out with these guys.
Nate Bargatze
We did, too. Yeah. And I think comedians are kind of just tend to go. I don't. You know, because when you had those parties, you're like, I don't know what I'm gonna say to.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah, yeah.
Nate Bargatze
Half these actors. Like, I don't. You know, it's like. But with us, we just went over there and we all just hung out, and it was the best.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah.
Nate Bargatze
Just found a corner and then just chewed the fat.
Conan O'Brien
It was really fun.
Nate Bargatze
There's a safety when you fill it with other comedians that you're like, you know, you're not gonna say anything wrong where. That no one's gonna get mad or.
Conan O'Brien
Not that you said two things that were wrong and I got real mad. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Nate Bargatze
But those are, you know, you said.
Conan O'Brien
My lips are thin and unappealing.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah, I know.
Conan O'Brien
Talk about my prominent eye vein.
Nate Bargatze
That's why I told my buddy Nick, I go, I think we got to get out of here. Conan's pretty upset.
Conan O'Brien
I've been delighted for everything you've made happen. You are spectacularly funny. You talk a lot about how you're all about normal. You're just a normal person. You're exactly average. And I think you've been very good at comedically exploring that realm. And I understand what you're saying, but you're also not. You are insanely talented. When I watch you do comedy, you have such a natural style that I Don't think your heart rate increases at all. When you go from backstage to you get up on stage, I think you burn maybe 3 calories the whole set.
Nate Bargatze
Definitely. I put on calories.
Conan O'Brien
I'm always watching you gain weight. Usually around the middle.
Nate Bargatze
He's getting bigger by the end of it.
Conan O'Brien
But, you know, there's. And there's such a economy of words. There's not a wasted word anywhere in there, but it appears as if you're just talking about what's on your mind. And I know there's a lot of thinking and work that goes into that, but you make it look like anyone can do this. And I think that in that way, you are anything but average. I think you are quite singular in your ability to.
Nate Bargatze
On the greatest. Average.
Conan O'Brien
Yes, you are.
Nate Bargatze
That's what I have a special called the Greatest Average America.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah, I was talking about Tennessee with.
Nate Bargatze
Well, then thank you for saying all that stuff. Okay, that's not. Yeah, yeah. I'm just gonna go into, like, a Tennessee bit now. I don't even address.
Conan O'Brien
I'm not gonna do a bit. I wasn't gonna do a bit. Hold on a second. Let me black out this tooth. Yeah. If those revenuers come from us. Still there. I had to get that out.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah, no, it was good.
Conan O'Brien
Well, I meant everything I said. But I also. I love how. I don't think so many people are altered by fame. You seem like someone who has not changed in any way.
Nate Bargatze
I hope not. I mean, it's. Yeah, you just do crazy things. But I live in Nashville. I live. We live in a cul de sac. I mean, we keep everything as normal as we can, and moving back home was a big part of that. But I appreciate that about the words because it is. It is conversational, and people think it's just like I'm up there just talking. But it's. I'm not a great. I've never was a crowd work person. I can't. I'm not good with. I don't like. I like knowing what I'm doing. It's very planned, and I know what I'm going to get on with, get out with. I make sure it's all trained like it is. Yeah, it's a whole.
Conan O'Brien
Well, I'm going to be boring for a second because this is something I want to know. And sometimes I think there might be people out there that think, oh, don't you know when Conan talks about comedy? Or they might think it gets too nerdy and in the weeds. But I'd love To know what your process is when you think of these ideas. Do you sit down and write it out? Or is this something. And you edit it and you work it, or how does it work? How does Nate Rogazzi do this?
Nate Bargatze
I write the. A lot of times I come up with the funny part first. Yeah. And so I'll put that maybe in my notes on my phone, but I don't write out outside of that. Then I just think about it and I just. And I'm really big on how you present it in the transitions and how you get. I think that's something that I've learned over time, that it's like the jokes. You know, when you write a script or anything where you want to go. Joke jokes are the easiest thing for comedians especially is like, that's going to be easy. We can go throw a script down and Everybody can pitch 500 jokes on it. But it's making it make sense and making it flow, and that's gotta flow. And that's the part that I'll let it sit in my head. I just kind of think about it all day and I just. Like, there'd be different times. I'm like, oh, you know what? I'll put that there. And maybe I grab one little. I had a joke, the big one that I talked about. So I had a joke buying iced coffee with milk at Starbucks that everybody talks about. So I tried originally write a. Come up with a joke about how. And with milk, you don't buy it. Like, I never have it unless, like, a woman was in my house. So my mom, we had milk. And then the little bit. The hour I was lived alone till I met my wife, there was no milk. And then back my wife, now we have milk.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah.
Nate Bargatze
So it was just. I try to make that a whole.
Conan O'Brien
This is the service women provide. Yes. With them comes milk in many ways. In many ways.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah. They're good. This is what. They have milk. So it's like. It's just in them, you know.
Conan O'Brien
Ironic that the providers of milk also insist milk be present. But anyway, we'll get into that later.
Nate Bargatze
This is funny. This is the part I go, no, you can leave this in. Yeah, yeah. But anyway, so it was some. It was the idea of that. And then I could never make it work as its own joke. So in that Starbucks joke, I just. I put like, I've never bought milk publicly in the history of my life. So all of that whole. You hope it's going to be this big chunk, and it's not.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah.
Nate Bargatze
And it becomes one sentence in a story, but that really expands that story. So I grab a lot of stuff for parts. And you go, all right, well, that can't. That's. Obviously. It's not good. It didn't work. As good as. This is the best it's ever worked.
Conan O'Brien
To be honest, by the way. It's.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah.
Conan O'Brien
And so on is a tough audience. He said, lying. You talk about little jokes. You had a. It's a small. It's not like a big hunk, but you have this small run where you talk about how you'd be a terrible time traveler because you'd go back in time and you wouldn't be able to prove that you were from the future. Cause you don't know how anything works. And I. The minute you laid out the premise, I, like, lay down on the floor and said, okay, I love this premise because it's true. I mean, I love jokes about history, and I'm kind of fascinated by history. I work that vein a lot. But I also know that if they sent me back in time, I would be of little use. But you talk about how you couldn't prove it because you'd say, oh, no, we have something called cell phones. Well, how do they work? I don't know. And I thought the ideas are so fantastic because, A, they're true, and they're really elegant. And you, obviously, you put yourself down a lot, which appeals to me because I was always very comfortable making fun of myself. If I do find out that I've hurt someone's feelings, if I ever found out that I really did bother Matt or Sona, I think I would be sick to my stomach.
Nate Bargatze
Oh, yeah, we should tell you then.
Eduardo Perez
Some things.
Conan O'Brien
Can't hear you. Eduardo just killed the. Something's wrong.
Sona Movsesian
I can hear him just fine.
Conan O'Brien
No, no, I can't hear him. No. I think it's on the wire on my end.
Eduardo Perez
We'll just start making a list.
Conan O'Brien
But anyway, I know that I agree with that.
Nate Bargatze
I would feel mortified if I hurt someone's feelings. And that's why I was. I always wrote it inwardly. Like, if you make fun of yourself, you can go as far as you want. But there's. There's a. There is a something. You gotta. You can't. You gotta. You can make fun of yourself, but you. You have to do it. You just have to show love is what I've learned over time. So, like, even if you talk about your family or wife or even yourself, you have to at least show some love or people won't go with it. When I first started doing jokes about my wife, which is. It was. I could tell when they. When I was younger, they were like, well, why are you even married? You're like, well, this is not coming out the way it's supposed to be coming out. Then, yeah, I need to. And you have to have that balance where I can make fun of her, but me. And I kind of do it through me a little bit more. And as long as you're making fun of yourself and putting yourself as the, you know, the loser, I think you're right.
Conan O'Brien
When you talk about love coming out of it, affection, being good natured about it, I think those are all crucial. And you can't come up with that as a formula that I think has to be in you. That has to be part of your personality. And I know you were raised. I mean, you've talked a lot about it. There's probably nothing I can bring up on this podcast that you haven't discussed, but your childhood, your parents having really strong values and imparting that to you.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah, yeah.
Conan O'Brien
You did this. I mean, this great thing that I thought was hilarious where you're over at friends houses and you're watching. They're gonna watch a movie.
Nate Bargatze
That's Friday 13th.
Conan O'Brien
Friday the 13th. And you stood up and said, I cannot watch this. You do the jokes. It's really.
Nate Bargatze
I mean, I forgot blanking on it now.
Conan O'Brien
Oh, you say, I know.
Nate Bargatze
I say, I'm not allowed to. I don't think I'm allowed to watch this.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah, and you're.
Nate Bargatze
And I thought other people would join in.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah. And you stood up.
Nate Bargatze
We were not 17 like it said we're supposed to be.
Conan O'Brien
Right. You were 16 and a half. Yeah, but my favorite part, you say that and the woman, the mom there comes in and says, well, maybe we just don't tell your parents. And you say, well, that's going to be hard because I just phoned them and they're on their way. Such a great joke.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah.
Sona Movsesian
Blay, I've been to your apartment many times. Look, I don't know if you know this, but I'm an interior decorator now.
Conan O'Brien
I've heard.
Sona Movsesian
Yes, Specifically with Ashley.
Conan O'Brien
And you have great taste.
Sona Movsesian
I think you need to. To zhuzh it up a little bit.
Conan O'Brien
Okay.
Sona Movsesian
Especially your sofa. Your sofa is horrendous.
Conan O'Brien
I play a lot of video games. Honestly, the couches are sagging and it's. My back is really hurting, so I really could use some new furniture and your help in picking out something that's going to look nice and it's going to last me for a long time.
Sona Movsesian
I picked out a few sofas that I think might fit your vibe a little bit.
Conan O'Brien
Okay.
Sona Movsesian
This has a recliner, it's got lights on the bottom and it's got cup holders.
Conan O'Brien
I like this a lot. Now, would you see me as a leather guy or a cloth guy?
Sona Movsesian
Look, I run hot.
Conan O'Brien
I'm sweaty all the time.
Sona Movsesian
Me dad. You know what? I'm not even gonna make fun of you for that. Cause so am I.
Conan O'Brien
High five.
Sona Movsesian
That's what friendship's all about. Sweating together. Let's see the next one.
Conan O'Brien
Ooh. I like this a lot. I like the speaker in it. I like the color, I like the cloth.
Sona Movsesian
But here's the thing.
Conan O'Brien
I don't want to go to the store to pick this up.
Sona Movsesian
I understand. And this is the beauty of Ashley. Ashley provides fast, reliable white glove delivery right to your door.
Conan O'Brien
That's great. I think when I see this, it's not just a new sof new life.
Sona Movsesian
It'S a new beginning.
Conan O'Brien
I love it.
Sona Movsesian
Visit your local Ashley store or head to Ashley.com to find your style.
Conan O'Brien
As a T Mobile member you can take the perks with you because you're traveling with magenta status.
Sona Movsesian
That's cool.
Conan O'Brien
I love saying it.
Sona Movsesian
I know I could tell.
Conan O'Brien
Ask me my status.
Sona Movsesian
Hey Conan, what's your status?
Conan O'Brien
Magenta status. It starts the moment you take off with free inflight wi fi so you can stream your favorite show on the go. Plus you're covered with 15 gigabytes of high speed data in over 215 countries and destinations with experience beyond plan.
Sona Movsesian
That's cool.
Conan O'Brien
I mean this magenta status sounds amazing. Blay, tell me. I think you get magenta status. What's it entail? What's included in magenta status? Yeah, I have T mobile. I have had T Mobile for a long time. I love it. And you know, when we went to Thailand I got great coverage and great high speed data which means that I could. I hear it's up to 15 gigabytes. That's. How did you know? That's the word on the street. Wow. I hear people going 15 gigabytes. Yeah, that's incredible. Yeah, but it was great. I was connected and it really helped. Well, this sounds great. Find out how you can experience travel better@t mobile.com Travel Today qualifying plan required WI fi where available on select US Airlines terms and conditions apply. This is an advertisement for better help. BetterHelp is fully online now. I talk about BetterHelp a lot. Cause I'm a believer that people should get talk therapy. A lot of people are having issues out there. Some are in crisis. Some just have issues that they want to discuss and get out in the open. And the best way to do that is to talk to somebody. And BetterHelp makes therapy affordable, convenient. You can easily switch therapists anytime at no extra cost. That's important so you don't feel awkward about, am I stuck with this therapist? How do I break up? As the largest online therapy provider in the world, BetterHelp can provide access to mental health professionals with a diverse variety of expertise. So people that are good at all different kinds of therapy. Our listeners get 10% off their first month@betterhelp.com Conan that's betterhelp. Betterhelp.com Conan your stuff is really funny. And I don't see crazy exaggeration in there. A lot of it feels true. I will crazily exaggerate when it's necessary, but I have found that the hardest laughs come out of something that really happened.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah. Yeah, it's, and that's the fun part is like trying to figure out how to, because you can have little moments. And so how do you, like, even in that moment is like, it's a funny idea that the kid that I called my parents and then I went home is what really happened. And then, but then it's like, how do you tell that in a way that's like not just a fun, you know, like your friend at his school. Oh, my kid went into this real fast.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah.
Nate Bargatze
So it's, and that's the presentation of it. And like tell them on the journeys, like, because it's one little thing that you're like, everybody's had happened to them, but it's, how do you package it so they go along with it. You know, one joke that I had that I wouldn't tell you is when I did, when you were here in la, when he first in TBS and I had a joke about getting in a fight, my buddy took a, we took a bite out of his hamburger and then he thought some, he just immediately thought someone else did it at the restaurant. And he got up to go fight him and we had to like, calm him down. And it's a, it's a whole story with, and, but I, this was back when I, I sent that joke into Letterman to do it and they told me it was mundane. And so I had to look up. I didn't know what mundane meant. And so I was in my Head. I'm like, I bet it's not great. Like, I don't, you know, I picture.
Conan O'Brien
You carrying a dictionary.
Nate Bargatze
Oh, yeah.
Conan O'Brien
I was on a rope around your neck.
Nate Bargatze
I looked at it. So mundane wasn't good. It wasn't a flattering thing. But then I was, you know, I think I just did yours. I couldn't do that. You sweat me doing all these late nights. But then I went to you and you let me do it. And that always meant the most to me because I told Letterman this. He was mortified. Like, I'm glad. I was glad to, like, it felt. It was like I, you know, because there was a joke that I was like. Once I learned what mundane meant, I was like, well, I don't think it's that. Yeah, but it's you. You've always let comics us come on your show and do stand up and was very pro stand up. And so you were.
Conan O'Brien
Oh, well, I'm, I'm glad it all worked out the way my perspective is always different. I've had standups, many standups thank me for their time on the show. And I think, what are you talking about? You came in Nate four times and you were really funny for six minutes. Made the show better and brought your talent and put your shoulder to the wheel. And that was six minutes that I didn't have to sweat. So it's not that I didn't. You were doing me a favor too.
Nate Bargatze
That's true.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah. You should present me. And frankly, I found that story very mundane.
Nate Bargatze
He told every all the writers. We got a mundane one tonight.
Conan O'Brien
I think I said it in your intro. Our next mundane comic hails from Old Hickory, Tennessee.
Nate Bargatze
Don't worry, folks. He doesn't know what that means. I come out.
Conan O'Brien
Thank you. It reminds me of this great. Thank you. You came up and you were holding the dictionary like, what? You remind me a lot. And this is the highest compliment I can pay any standup or any comed. You remind me a lot of Bob Newhart in that your stuff is. I'm sure you've heard this before, but very seemingly simple and delivered very quietly and as if it's just occurring to you in a very humble way with a straight face and the jokes are beautiful and you just reminded me of a Bob Newhart joke. Bob Newhart has this joke which is, you know, I don't really like country music, but I don't want to condescend to those people who do. And by the way, if you like country music, condescend means to talk down to it. And I always thought, like, that is a perfect. I've said this before, but a really good joke, you can riff and you can goof around, and it's like, there can be a good spirit to it, but it's very. It's like packing peanuts that come when you open a box. There's not much to it. A really good joke feels like a diamond in your hand. It has weight. It's like a little gold ingot. You can feel it. That's a joke. Newhart's joke. And your jokes feel like, oh, no, no, no. This has actual value. You can write this on a stone and hand it to people in, like, 500 years from now. It's still gonna be funny. You've got so many of them. You're crazily prolific. And I think one of the times you came on our show, you had. I think you came on a second time or a third time pretty quickly after.
Nate Bargatze
After the first time.
Conan O'Brien
After the first time, you came back pretty soon, and people were saying, well, you can't come back that quickly because how.
Nate Bargatze
Manager told me. I didn't tell him. They. They. Well, you just had Melaney, so this is a long term. Lainey just did it. Melaney came back pretty quick. Like, I mean, like. Like, you know, three months or something like that. And so then y' all were doing more auditions. This comedy club, Eastville. And I was like, oh, I want to try to do it again. And my manager at the time, which they were great. I mean, they, like.
Conan O'Brien
But they.
Nate Bargatze
They're. They're. They're like some of my favorite managers, but they all just is back in the day, New York days. And they were. They go, you can' again. And I was like, why not? And they go. They don't let people come back. I go, well, John Melania just came back not saying I was even Melaney, but just, like, being like, well, I just.
Conan O'Brien
There's a shot. Give it a shot.
Nate Bargatze
And so they go, no. And then I just got. I was like, well, I'm gonna go try to get on the thing. So I just did the. I went and did it and the audition, and I got it without them. They found out I wasn't gonna tell them. I was just trying to see if I could get on the show and then have them find out with me on the show, because they. They have. My own managers were like, no, it was very funny to be your own. Your own team's like, I wouldn't even try again because we got lucky. With that first one. So let's not. Let's not push it.
Conan O'Brien
You should probably just. Yeah, you should go work at the.
Nate Bargatze
Steel mill now, because John Mulaney did it. You're no John Mulaney.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah.
Nate Bargatze
All right. I think we know what we're talking.
Conan O'Brien
These are great managers. You want to do comedy some more?
Nate Bargatze
Yeah.
Conan O'Brien
Isn't it something you do once and then you work the fields?
Nate Bargatze
They were. They're the best. Sure. Yeah.
Conan O'Brien
And I guess you're still not with them.
Nate Bargatze
No, I'm not with them anymore.
Conan O'Brien
Well, I guess they really are the best, then.
Nate Bargatze
They're the best. It's. I had the most fun stories. Like, it's. It's like they're. You know, it's. When you first get managers, you're like, they're. They're just very fun stories. And so then I went and did it, and then they. They. Conan, your people called, which I didn't know they were going to do. And they go, all right, we got Nate tonight on and whatever. And so then he's like, so you got it? I go, well, you told me I couldn't do it again. And so then he came down and he was. And then we did it, and he.
Conan O'Brien
Took a commission on the thing that he didn't get you.
Nate Bargatze
I like it.
Conan O'Brien
Trust me. I've had my experience with that in the early days. You can't do that. Oh, I understand. It's happening. Send the check to 1515 Wilshire Boulevard. Okay. You called me a loser. Yes, you are. Send the check just to me, not to anyone. El.
Nate Bargatze
So I used to have another manager that, when I first got it, I would call his office and his. His. His wife was the secretary. And then he would answer the phone, or she would answer it, like, let me see if he's in. And it would be like, 35 seconds. Minute you'd be waiting, and then she'd be like, he's not here. And then one day, he invites me to his office. His office is in his garage, and her desk is touching his desk. So then you're like, where were you for the minute? And it was. It had another one where the guy would. He would answer his phone, and you could tell it was his voice. And he'd be like, answering for his name. And then you'd be like, oh, is he there? Nate calling? He goes, let me see if he's in. And then you hang up. And again you wait a minute. And he goes, hey, yeah, I'm in. You're like, yeah, that was. You you're acting like your own secretary. Like, you go.
Conan O'Brien
I used to love. In the old days. It was fun. I would, When I got treated like that, to say, was it someone else's turn with the phone booth? I was pictured. These people in a phone booth. Yes, yes. It's quite busy here at Talent company. You called it a good time. Hey, buddy, buddy, buddy. That's your third quarter. When are you gonna get out of the way so I can make my call? My wife's in labor. Your wife's in labor? Come on. Well, the reason most people don't repeat that quickly is that they build up a really good set, and it takes a long time for the well to refill. And to your credit, you're. And I'll say this about John Mulaney, too. You guys are crazily prolific. Which brings me to my next point. You have had. I can't walk five feet in America without seeing your face. You are a huge success, and I'm wondering how you're processing all of that.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah, it's very different. I think you get used to it or you're not used to it, but, you know, some of the hardest parts of this is when you don't know if they know you, because then I can't. I don't know what to do. I'm either going to be a lunatic to this person or, like, why is he acting like he has control of the whole room? Or are they our fans? I don't know. So I always thought, well, if I can get everybody to know, then I'm a little more in control. So if you walk in a room, you can just be like, hey, what's up? And you kind of know they know you. So you can kind of make everybody feel like a fun room, and we're all friends. And so when you're in that middle phase where it is straight up 50, 50, if you. I can't tell if. Are they. You know, do they know? And then you'll be like, I'm a comedian. They're like, yeah, I know. And you're like, well, you gave off. Like, you didn't know at all, Right? And so I.
Conan O'Brien
You're screwed either way. If you say, hi, yeah, I ordered a coffee, and it's for Nate Bergaz. Yeah, we know. Yeah, you're Nate. And so. But if you say, we are. I ordered a coffee, and I think you know who I am, a dick, too.
Nate Bargatze
So, yes, it's a hard balance in an overall perspective, how I try to handle it. That's A deeper feeling is like, I really try to remind myself that it's not about me. And so I'm living a life of service. Right before I go on stage, I remind myself, this has nothing to do with me. This is not about me. It's not a celebration of me. It's a show for everybody in that crowd, and I need to do the best show for them. That's great. And so that. That's how I of. I. I learned that once I. I did. So, starting out, I always wanted to play Bridgestone arena in Nashville, and it's our arena. And so, you know, 20 years, I, like, I didn't really think I would get there, but I kind of daydreamed. You know, I was handing out flyers in New York City and all this stuff, and you're coming up and you're like, oh, man, what if I can do this one day? And then that was sort of the.
Conan O'Brien
Bucket list thing I want to do. Bridgestone Arena.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah. Yeah. It was just kind of far away. And you. You know, it's kind of dangerous. It's like, I'm not. It's a. It's a goal that your. Your goals should actually be simple. They should be like, you'd be embarrassed if you can't get them, and then your dream should be embarrassed to say them out loud. And so you just kind of have. Your goals are like, I'm trying not to hand out flyers. Yeah. Well, what do I got to do to stop that? And that's a. That's a realistic goal because you're like, it's just a guy.
Conan O'Brien
One level. It's achievable. Right.
Nate Bargatze
And so you can then figure out, all right, I got to do this. How do you get on late night? And then once you get in late and you're like, all right, I've kind of got in. So if I keep doing late night and get tv, I can do cruise ships if I have to. Like, you can do whatever with, you know. But then when I did Bridgestone and we sold the most tickets ever.
Conan O'Brien
250 people.
Nate Bargatze
250 people. It's a big room.
Conan O'Brien
I just looked it up. It's a very. He says arena, and that's cute, but I guess.
Nate Bargatze
It'S. It's a horse arena that. There you go. And I'll see.
Conan O'Brien
I've got a small dream.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah.
Conan O'Brien
No, how many people is it? Bridgestone arena.
Nate Bargatze
It was 19,365. And then. So. But it's that night I remember having a feeling of like. Like, what what am I like? What do you. You know, I've been looking at that dream for 20 years. And so then you're like, well, what is there? What am I looking at now? You know? And then you just got to kind of find. And what I've started with, like, my NAT Land company, is like, you just find something else that you. You realize, like, oh, I need to have something else. Yeah. And you put it out there, then have a daydream and do the same. Do the same thing. See if it happens.
Conan O'Brien
This is amazing. You're gonna make you call it an amusement park.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah, I guess. I guess I'm gonna find out. I'm gonna call it.
Conan O'Brien
This was not amusing at all. Yeah, I was not amused.
Nate Bargatze
We want to be a decent park.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah.
Nate Bargatze
Just where people.
Conan O'Brien
You set the bar low.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah, Yeah.
Conan O'Brien
A place you can go.
Nate Bargatze
We're a little bit above a Buc.
Conan O'Brien
Ees.
Nate Bargatze
Like, it's Bucky's. Then we're just a little bit above Bucky's.
Eduardo Perez
A bee Amusement park.
Conan O'Brien
Well, I mean, good luck with that. And, yeah, I just love the idea of you looking at different. People are going to be making sketches and drawings of different rides and things, and you're going to be saying, no. Or a little more of this.
Nate Bargatze
A little bit more steeper.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah, steeper.
Nate Bargatze
More dangerous.
Conan O'Brien
More dangerous.
Eduardo Perez
Is there a mascot? Is it. Is there going to be, like, a mascot of you?
Nate Bargatze
I don't know. Look, I mean, this is so. This is. We're very early, obviously. This could all crumble and fall apart and goes nowhere. The idea of it is like, theaters. I don't think theaters are like, you know, they're not going away. Like, people love going out and to do stuff, and there's just not stuff for them to go do. So if you can go make movies where a family can go out. I love taking my daughter to the movies. It's a great experience. A lot of this Hollywood. I was Hollywood out here, but it's like they've gotten so far off where they're either making an animated movie or a horror movie, and there's nothing really to go to. And then a lot of stuff's on Netflix. Not so you just kind of at home. So I think experiences is something that, you know, you're seeing. Even younger kids really want to do experiences. They want to go do something. You know, the idea of, like, my. We used to get dropped off at the theme park at Opryland, and you could just go hang out with your friends all day, and you want to like I want to give that to a parent because that's like even for that kid. Like they get to go be around their 15 year old friends and yeah, it's part of growing up and it's the fun aspect and have a safe place for them to go do that where you know you, you know you can trust they can do it. Like you know I like the old timey like people worked at Ford, their whole family worked for Ford. Like you know the idea of that where people just worked at this company and they had real pride. You see like a older person that worked for like a Ford. They will defend Ford to their death. And I like, I loved, I love the like pride of whatever they did that it was like a company.
Conan O'Brien
My first car that I bought was a Ford and the first new car.
Nate Bargatze
That I had, I had a lot.
Conan O'Brien
Of crappy old cars.
Nate Bargatze
Your Ford Taurus.
Conan O'Brien
My Ford Taurus, yeah. And guess but they just found was.
Eduardo Perez
Involved in a crime.
Nate Bargatze
Did you try to take it for insurance reasons?
Conan O'Brien
No, I'm telling you this is a true story. 3 days ago I get a message from Jason Chalemmy who's been with me forever, who's my right hand and he said he knew someone who worked over at Warner Brothers and he asked them to drop by their parking garage and just look around and they sent back photos of the 92 Ford Taurus that I owned that I had through. I got that show. I mean I got that show. It is a show. It's a super high output. I got that Ford Taurus. I got that Ford Taurus when my my 20s and I had submitted a packet to the Simpsons and didn't know it was going to happen. And I was so cautious about money but I just decided I'm getting a new car and I get a 92 Ford Taurus. And then I got the job at the Simpsons. So that became my car in la and I had all these adventures in that car and it became a standard thing that everyone knew about me.
Sona Movsesian
Yeah.
Conan O'Brien
And it always got a laugh. It would come up a lot of times with celebrities where they would say well I drive a, I just got a new Ferrari or something. They go, what do you drive, Conan? I'd say 1992 Ford Taurus SHO super high output. And it would get a laugh. And I'd be like no, I'm being honest. That's what I really have.
Eduardo Perez
What are you going to do with it now that you.
Conan O'Brien
I want to get it, I want to chronicle but I want to get it. Rehabbed and bring it back, and I'm so excited. It is covered in grime. This person took photos, which we can post. It is covered in dust, but it's got its inspection sticker from 1992.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah, it was just on a lot.
Conan O'Brien
It's in the parking garage at this moment at Warner Brothers. I don't know why they haven't towed it away. We did a bit with it when I went through the whole Tonight show thing where I'm coming to work and I assure the audience, I think there's a little tension with NBC right now. And we shot this thing where I pull in to the parking lot and suddenly all this gunfire breaks out and all these squibs went off in my car, and it blew holes in my car.
Eduardo Perez
Are those holes still there?
Conan O'Brien
Their holes are still there. And its claim to fame is that the clutch is stripped because Brad Pitt did a bit with it once and got in it and peeled out, which I didn't know he was gonna do. It's got a stick shift, and it's this Ford Taurus with a stick shift. That's the novelty. And he peeled out in this thing like the F1 Superman that he is. And later on I noticed, oh, the clutch is all fucked. Brad Pitt fucked up my Ford Taurus. And who can say that Brad Pitt fucked up my Ford Taurus? So I want to bring it back. Maybe you and I will take a ride around it.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah, I would love it. I like a stick shift. I have a stick shift.
Conan O'Brien
I do, too. Yeah.
Nate Bargatze
I had a joke. If you ever want to. If you want to valet and leave your car up front, just drive a stick shift. Because they don't.
Conan O'Brien
They don't want to.
Nate Bargatze
Like, I mean, if they're younger, they don't know how to do it, and if they're lucky, they got, like, a cook in the kitchen that's like. That hasn't done, like. He goes out, he's like, all right, everybody turn around. Don't look at me. No one. No one look at what I'm doing. Because he's got to get back into it. He used to. It's how he learned. But he's like, give me a second. It's been a while. Turn your backs.
Conan O'Brien
Hold on. Put buckets over your heads. I have to ask. Ask you because a couple things. One, you talk a lot about these restaurants that were your favorites when you were a kid, and they're still your favorites. Like, you talk a lot about Applebee's, places like that. And I was thinking, I Relate to this, because when I first came out to la, I think I was pretty. I was not a worldly person. But I remember when I first. When I get out of college, I come out to LA and I was so excited. There was a Denny's across the street from where I worked. And I could. I remembered it dawning on me, no one's in charge of me anymore, and I'm making my own money. I can go to Denny's anytime I want. And I felt like I was the King of the Nile, you know? I felt like the greatest. And I would go over there and I'd be like, I'll have an extra large Coke and no one can stop me. And I'm 22. You'd think I'd have been a little more sophisticated, but I've always had a soft spot.
Nate Bargatze
I relate to those places so much. I think I have a big problem because of that reason. Like, he was like, getting all this fast food I like. Not that you can't eat it, but I eat it so much. And it's that aspect, because no one can tell me I can't do it.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah.
Nate Bargatze
Because growing up, if you went to McDonald's or went out to eat, it was kind of like a big night. It wasn't like you weren't getting it all the time.
Conan O'Brien
Right.
Nate Bargatze
So it was a big deal. And then once I. You. You live on your own and you make your own money, and then you're like, well, I just got. I mean, I can go to McDonald's, like, at any point. And now we've got down a little slippery slope.
Conan O'Brien
I had. My dad was a lovely man and never got angry. But when he did get angry, it was always about the smallest thing. And I remember my brother Justin tells me this story, but he got us food from McDonald's, and we came in and we were. And I mean, again, I cannot stress enough what a lovely man my dad was. But he starts unpacking all the McDonald's food, and then he realizes he got the Chicken McNuggets, but the guy forgot to put sauce in. And he's looking around for the sauce, and he's getting more and more uptight. And you can see him gritting his teeth. And then he opens up the bag and the kid forgot to put the sauce in. And he just. He starts shiv, like, shivering with anger. And he just went, shithead. I'm like, this is a guy who, if I came in and said, dad, I just totaled the family station wagon. He'd be like, well, I'm glad you're safe. Yeah. But it was the smallest thing.
Nate Bargatze
Jesus. If you wrap your head. Because if you're. Once you accept that you're going to do this, too.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah.
Nate Bargatze
It's like, that's what's so frustrating when you're like, I'm going to eat chicken nuggets. I was like, oh, honey mustard.
Conan O'Brien
I'm going to have that sweet and sour.
Nate Bargatze
Whatever. Sweet and sour sauce. Whatever. They got hot mustard. I'm a big fan of hot. But then. Yeah. And you. You just have it all pictured, and then when it's not there. Here. The only reason you're eating chicken nuggets is for the sauce.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah.
Nate Bargatze
You're not eating them.
Conan O'Brien
They're just a vessel.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah.
Conan O'Brien
Chicken anywhere.
Sona Movsesian
Eat a dry nug.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah.
Conan O'Brien
Hard path.
Nate Bargatze
Are your. Yeah. Your house ketchup. Like, you're just, like, so disappointing.
Conan O'Brien
No, I know that my dad, a very good man, is. Is in heaven right now, and. And God is saying to him, you led an exemplary life. But about the McNuggets moment and my dad is probably holding his ground. Yeah.
Eduardo Perez
No, he's in heaven. He's just eating all the sauce, but.
Conan O'Brien
Makes my dad angry. The guy's up there, too. He died two years later in a terrible shootout. I made that up. I don't know what happened to that kid. They have one job. Murdered him.
Nate Bargatze
God. They have one job.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah. I have to bring up what I believe is the Washington sketches. They gotta be in the Smithsonian. Those are works of art. I was blown away by that, as was everyone. I was so happy that it went viral. I was curious before this interview, and I checked it out. It's like 28 million people have watched it. I mean, it's just. And it's great because it's all true. That's what I love about it. It's all true. And in that Newhart spirit, all of it is exactly accurate. And it's touching on some really powerful stuff with Kenan. And it's done just perfectly. It's really.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah. I was reader and Mikey Streeter side on Mikey Day.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah.
Conan O'Brien
Just great. Just really great. And is it fun when you go out there with a sketch that good? It must be really fun to do that in front of a crowd at snl. Yeah, well, that's especially the first time.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah.
Conan O'Brien
You know.
Nate Bargatze
Well, it almost didn't make it because during the table read, I did it and I like. I'm so. I just, you know, used to performing for a live audience. So when it's Just everybody's kind of quiet and you're reading like. I'm not reading it. It very fun because it's like, it's just awkward. And so when we got for the dress rehearsals, it was on the maybe side and I really liked it. And I was. Because I knew. I was like, it'll do good once I'm in front of a crowd. Like, I just need, like, timing, you know, it's hard to have timing. And Lauren put it in at the. He was like, all right, we can try it last. And then we tried it last. And dresser was on the destroyed. And then move up to third.
Conan O'Brien
Now here's my pet peeve. Did Lauren enunciate? He. Lauren reads the stage directions at the read through.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah.
Conan O'Brien
Did he enunciate or was he eating food at the time?
Nate Bargatze
He is. Popcorn. Little popcorn.
Conan O'Brien
Popcorn. He used to have popcorn. And he used to have, like, carrots. And you'd work all night on a sketch and be like, this is a perfect sketch. And then I'd forget. It depends. But Lauren, if he was in a. Having the little hankering for something, you know, like we open on and then crunch, crunch, crunch.
Sona Movsesian
I love that you still remember that.
Conan O'Brien
Oh, I do. And I feel like swallow and insane. The directions. And you'd be a key direction. Like, like what the audience sees immediately that he's dressed as an astronaut. And Lord would say the audience sees immediately. And then people aren't laughing because they don't know he's an astronaut.
Nate Bargatze
They don't know he's an astronaut. Why is he in space?
Conan O'Brien
Yeah, exactly.
Nate Bargatze
It's a moon landing skit.
Conan O'Brien
No, read. Read it yourself. Don't just listen to Lorne. Yeah. If he had been eating, they wouldn't have known that you're George Washington and you're talk you the truth. Hello, my people. This isn't funny. This blows. Who cares about weights and measures? Hey, you're hosting the Emmys.
Nate Bargatze
I am.
Conan O'Brien
They are very lucky to have you. And you're going to have a blast.
Nate Bargatze
I'm excited. That's what I want to. Yeah. Talked about you killed it on the Oscars. So it was. It was. It was very fun that night too, to see you. Just because it was like, so perfect. Perfect. And it was so fun. And then it was like that. It's even like after that party, like, you're just like, oh, yeah. You know when you're like, this dude killed it. Like, it was the best.
Conan O'Brien
That was nice. That was fun.
Nate Bargatze
And yeah.
Conan O'Brien
But then being. You're gonna You're. They're fortunate. We're in an era where not everybody, the good people don't always get to do it. And I think it's great that you're doing it. I think you're gonna have. You're gonna have a really fun time, and people are going to be very happy that you're doing it so well.
Nate Bargatze
Thank you. Yeah, I'm excited. Is there any, like, you know, I've not watched all the shows. That's the. That's part I got to get on that.
Conan O'Brien
Oh, yeah, you got to watch the shows. And I know this.
Nate Bargatze
I. I mean, I know generally.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah, you just.
Nate Bargatze
I've seen all the commercials.
Conan O'Brien
That's enough.
Nate Bargatze
I feel like that should count. Is that enough?
Conan O'Brien
Yeah, just only the commercials.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah.
Conan O'Brien
You should do all your jokes about the commercials that air around the shows. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because if you make yourself happy, it's going to be fantastic. And that's the only thing, the only trick is make yourself happy.
Nate Bargatze
We have some pretty fun ideas for some stuff, so I'm looking forward to it. And it's. The monologue is, you know, that's just with kind of doing stand up. So it's like I'm. I'm looking at. Luckily, I've had. I had a couple jokes that I had that kind of can fit in this kind of scenario. So then you're gonna be able to put that in there and then just really work on the monologue. And, you know, it's like, I think we have some sketch stuff because you don't have as much time as you. No, that's what's. I think it's like 12 minutes or something like that.
Conan O'Brien
You know what the thing is, it's not total. Yeah.
Nate Bargatze
So that's like, like. And it.
Conan O'Brien
Well, I think you can get more. Because you're Nate Bragazzi. I think you can get more time. But.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah, you don't want to be.
Conan O'Brien
No, exactly. But the other thing is, I always remind myself the times I've done award shows, when I would do the Emmys or when the Oscars. I'd always remind myself, this is not my show. This show is about other people. I'm here to perform a very specific job. Cause people would come up to me and say, hey, why don't you switch the category? So, like, hey, it's not my. You know, how come this takes so long? Or what was that about? I'm like, it's not my show. My job is to just do the best I can with the time I have. And really try and make it fun. And so, yeah, it's not a lot of time. When you boil it down, it's less time than people think it is. But you're gonna have a great night. Night. And you should just enjoy it.
Nate Bargatze
I. I tell you what, I've been very happy with cbs, like, because, like, we had joke. We were shooting some promos and some of the jokes that they. That, like, some of the producers and they have written were very, very funny and self deprecating. And I could tell they were written with me in mind.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah.
Nate Bargatze
Like, so I was very, you know, excited to be like, you know what? I think CBS is like, they get it and they're gonna. At least for this Emmy. Like, they're. They understand and like, they're being like, yeah, just go be you. And I don't feel like there's any, you know, just from that phase of. And the promos we shot were very funny. I think they're.
Conan O'Brien
It's real simple.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah.
Conan O'Brien
They know that they have a great host. They do. They know that. And they want you to be happy. So make yourself happy with everything you do in this show. And it's gonna be the best Emmys ever. Seriously. So honor to have you here. I'm so happy for you.
Nate Bargatze
Thank you.
Conan O'Brien
You're a great guy and you're crazily talented, and I'd love to. I'm gonna get that Taurus repurposed, and I'm taking you to the Denny's and Gower Gulch in Hollywood, which is where I used to go back in 1985 when I was just getting started.
Nate Bargatze
Oh, yeah.
Conan O'Brien
And it was. And I ate hundreds of pounds of food. There was very quickly exactly the same, too.
Sona Movsesian
They haven't redone anything back to that place.
Conan O'Brien
I thought I went back when we were doing the podcast. You and I went back.
Sona Movsesian
Yeah, we did.
Conan O'Brien
And we had a feast.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah.
Conan O'Brien
This was like four years ago, so. And I were in this Denny's four years ago, and we had a blast.
Sona Movsesian
Yeah, it was fun.
Conan O'Brien
And I was like, you know, I used to come here, and they're like, we don't care. I sat right over there. Okay. Knock yourself out. But continued success with everything. Hey, please come back anytime you want to talk about anything because I'm a. Your biggest fan.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah, I would love that. Thank you. Thank you for everything you've done in my career. You played way more of a part than you might think you did, but you've played a giant part in my career, so I'm very Aware of what.
Conan O'Brien
I've done for you. And now that you're in the big money, I want compensation. $600.
Nate Bargatze
I'll fix the clutch. I'll fix the clutch on the tor de pit. The clutch.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah. All right, Nate. Take care.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah, but.
Conan O'Brien
You know, I think the relationship I have with my team has been a critical part of the phenomenal success.
Nate Bargatze
Yeah.
Conan O'Brien
Of con. O' Brien needs a friend. For sure. And maybe my late night career. David, you know, you see me with my team. I care about my team. You actually do. Yeah. And don't say actually do. You actually do. I stand by that. I show a lot of caring and concern for my people. Justworks is an easy to use, intuitive HR platform that helps small businesses support their people. And that's what I'm all about. You love supporting people. Yes, I do. Quiet. Okay. Whether you're hiring, you're fired. Whether you're hiring. Can I have more money now? Getting payroll, expanding globally, or handling confusing compliance stuff? Justworks has you covered. You can hire and manage international talent without juggling extra platforms, paperwork, or licensing fees. I hate that stuff. Of the licensing fees. I'm up all night with that stuff. And your team gets access to premium benefits like health insurance, 401k, and commuter perks. Plus, with transparent pricing, you'll always know exactly what you're getting and what you paying for. Go to justworks.com to learn more. They do your human resources right, so you can do right by your people. Just works for your people. If you're a custodial supervisor at a local high school, you know that cleanliness is key and that the best place to get cleaning supplies is from Grainger. Grainger helps you stay fully stocked on the products you trust, from paper towels and disinfectants to floor scrubbers. Plus, you can rely on Grainger for easy reordering. So you never run out of what you need. Call 1-800-GRAINGER Click grainger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done. 3, 2.
Sona Movsesian
I'm saying no one says it that way.
Conan O'Brien
And we're back. We're back. And this is now a segment out of nowhere that's happening because Sona won't stop talking about this. Sona goes back on the attack about how you can't milk Dee's nuts. I explained that. Yeah, I think you can. Matt, this is quite unusual. Came in on my side. And then Eduardo, I said, sorry, I'm in tears over what place. Well, let's.
Nate Bargatze
We gotta cover that, guys.
Conan O'Brien
Let's reconstruct what just happened in Dealey Plaza so that the listeners know what's happening.
Nate Bargatze
Get out the red yarn. Go ahead.
Conan O'Brien
In Spanish.
Nate Bargatze
You know.
Conan O'Brien
Are you gonna be okay, Eduardo? Yes. It's ridiculous. You're crying. Yeah. It's referred to as leche. It is? What is it? You know, sperm. Male sperm is referred to as. It's referred to as milk.
Eduardo Perez
Yeah, but why are you quibbling? Because your whole thesis is premised upon the fact that you're a woman saying, suck my dick.
Sona Movsesian
No, I'm saying you can't milk a dick.
Conan O'Brien
But you. You can. But you can't suck your dick. Whose side are you on? I'm uncoated.
Sona Movsesian
Well, this is the United States of America. I understand what they do in Mexico, but you can't.
Eduardo Perez
It's metaphorical.
Sona Movsesian
No one, no guy says milk duck this.
Conan O'Brien
You don't know that. What are guys that work on the farm routinely probably refer. You know, who knows what they say? But what. I'm. Blay. What did you have?
Eduardo Perez
Blay came in very earnestly.
Conan O'Brien
I was just saying they have almond milk. They have a thing called almond milk. The milk of the nut. The milk of the nut. You're referring to the testicles as nuts and they have their own milk. I know he is, but what. What I'm saying is he. Blay has come in with the proof that nuts can yield milk. That's right. We now have the evidence that in Mexico.
Eduardo Perez
Yes.
Conan O'Brien
Courtesy of Eduardo. Don't let. By the way, sperm is called. Referred to sometimes as leche.
Eduardo Perez
So it's literal and figuratively. There's precedence. There's literal and figurative precedence.
Sona Movsesian
You can't. But no, I'm saying you can't say it in like, a sexual way. Like, hey, I have a bag of almonds. Why can't she.
Conan O'Brien
Nuts. Why can't you? Yeah, why can't you?
Sona Movsesian
Because we're talking about it in the sexual. I don't say suck my dick in like a. Like a. Like a dick is a guy I'm with and I'm like, suck dick.
Conan O'Brien
What? What are you talking. Are you having a breakdown? I know, but what is your problem?
Eduardo Perez
We weren't speaking sexually.
Conan O'Brien
We weren't just. Yes, you were.
Sona Movsesian
You were saying milk these nuts in a sexual way.
Eduardo Perez
You mean.
Sona Movsesian
You meant. You meant jizz it.
Conan O'Brien
Jizz it. You mean milk nuts. What's wrong with you? Jizz it. I was simply saying. And it wasn't in a sexual way. It was someone who had gone to, you know, a center, to have their sperm harvested so that they could use it to one day have a child.
Eduardo Perez
Not me. And farmer gets on a little three legged stool and I just stand there.
Conan O'Brien
You were a cowbell.
Sona Movsesian
What are we talking about?
Conan O'Brien
What does that mean? What I'm saying is an ejaculation does not have to be sexual. You know, it just doesn't. Wait, what you are talking about now you've lost. What do you mean?
Eduardo Perez
It could be journalistic.
Nate Bargatze
What do you mean?
Conan O'Brien
Like, when I read Robert Caro's first book on Lyndon Johnson, I ejaculated several times as a place marker. I didn't have a bookmark. And later on I'm like, where was I? Oh, right, the new deal. Here it is. But the pages would all stick together. They don't all stick together. And you know what? You have to know what to do. You use a green tea to get it off. Guys, I don't want to be taken down a path which I don't think is right for anyone to listen to. But I am just telling you, Sona, that we have once and for all proven. And this is a rare alliance. This is a really rare alliance. You've got over there. You've got Putin with Eduardo, You've got Zelensky over here with Matt, and I'm Trump, and the three of us are in agreement that you can milk D's nuts. Mic drop. Oh, boy.
Sona Movsesian
Yeah, you got that one.
Conan O'Brien
Yeah, we sure did. And you're with me on this one, aren't you, Eduardo? I mean, Eduardo is. And what about you, Bl. Just say yes. I don't even know what we're. I'm not sure what the alliance. Yes, I'm. I'm just. Join the alliance. I'm into it, I guess. Yeah. Honestly, the only thing going through my head right now is I was at.
Nate Bargatze
The first day of school with a bunch of 12 year old parents.
Conan O'Brien
Oh, my God.
Eduardo Perez
All I can think about is that.
Nate Bargatze
I talked to a mom I had never met before and she, like, found.
Conan O'Brien
Out what I did and she was.
Eduardo Perez
Like, oh, our whole family listens to.
Nate Bargatze
The podcast together and we love it.
Eduardo Perez
And so that's all I can think about right now.
Conan O'Brien
Turn it on. I'm really sorry, Giles. Who's the listener? Sorry, Giles. The 12 year old who listened. Sorry. You shouldn't listen to this. And don't milk these nuts. You'll go blind. Well, that's all our time today. Oh, wait a minute. That's not how podcasts work.
Eduardo Perez
Definitely.
Nate Bargatze
We're out of time.
Conan O'Brien
All right. Well, I guess we did some good work today. My God.
Eduardo Perez
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. Episode. You can also get three free months of SiriusXM when you sign up@siriusxm.com Conan and if you haven't already, please subscribe to Conan O' Brien needs a friend wherever fine podcasts are downloaded.
Conan O'Brien
Adam Pally here and I'm John Gabris. We're a couple actors and best friends who you may know as the host of the TV show 101 Places to Party before you die. Now we're bringing you a comedic look. Welcome back at Health and Wellness with our new show, Staying Alive. We'll have guests like our friend actor Jerry OConnell, ketamine therapist Dr. Steven Radowitz, Paul Scheer, Ego Wodem, Gillian Bell, Dr. Doolittle staying alive with John Gabrison. Adam Pally is out right now. Get them a week early and ad free with SiriusXM podcast plus on Apple Podcasts. Did you know that parents rank financial literacy as the number one most difficult life skill to teach? Meet Greenlight, the debit card and money app for families. With Greenlight, you can set up chores, automate allowance and keep an eye on your kids spending with real time notifications. Kids learn to earn, save and spend wisely and parents can rest easy knowing their kids are learning about money with guardrails in place. Sign up for Greenlight today@Greenlight.com podcast.
Guest: Nate Bargatze
Date: September 8, 2025
Conan O'Brien welcomes celebrated stand-up comedian Nate Bargatze for a lively, playful conversation about comedy craft, surviving and thriving in the industry, the joy and strangeness of fame, and the enduring appeal of being authentically average. Throughout, the tone is warm, irreverent, and brimming with self-deprecating humor, with sidekicks Sona Movsesian, Eduardo Perez, and Matt Gourley adding their distinctive banter.
"I think you come with a lot." — Nate Bargatze (01:32)
“One of them goes, ‘It’s nobody.’”— Nate Bargatze (11:24)
“There’s a safety when you fill it with other comedians”— Nate Bargatze (14:38)
“You make it look like anyone can do this… you are quite singular.”— Conan O’Brien (16:22)
“You hope it’s going to be this big chunk, and it’s not... it becomes one sentence.” — Nate Bargatze (20:14)
“You gotta...show love...even if you talk about your family or your wife or even yourself.” — Nate (22:50)
“Once I learned what mundane meant…I was like, well, I don’t think it’s that.” — Nate (29:12)
“Some of the hardest parts...is when you don’t know if they know you.” — Nate (36:39)
“Your goals should actually be simple...your dreams should be embarrassing to say out loud.” — Nate (38:36)
“No one can tell me I can’t do it.” — Nate (46:56)
“Make yourself happy with everything you do in this show, and it’s gonna be the best Emmys ever.” — Conan (55:27)
“You played way more of a part than you might think you did.” — Nate (56:41)
On the absurdity of running bits:
“This Deez Nuts conversation isn’t panning out. No, I’m not gonna rap.” — Conan (08:05)
On his writing approach:
“I come up with the funny part first...then I just think about it all day.” — Nate (18:09)
Conan on joke quality:
“A really good joke feels like a diamond in your hand. It has weight.” — Conan (31:38)
On managing success:
“Now that you’re in the big money, I want compensation. $600.” — Conan (56:51)
| Time | Segment | |----------|----------------------------------------------------| | 01:20 | Nate’s introduction, “heaviness” of friendship | | 02:59 | “Deez Nuts” banter and Sona’s “suck my dick” riff | | 10:04 | Nate’s first Conan appearance—nerves, “nobody” | | 14:18 | Partying with comedians at SNL, Oscars, camaraderie| | 16:22 | Conan lauds Nate’s “average” persona | | 18:09 | Nate on joke-writing process | | 21:47 | On self-deprecation and kind comedy | | 29:12 | “Mundane” joke story (Letterman vs. Conan) | | 31:38 | Conan compares Nate to Bob Newhart | | 36:39 | Nate describes the “in-between” of fame | | 38:36 | On goals, dreams, and Bridgestone Arena | | 42:23 | The rediscovery of Conan's Ford Taurus | | 46:42 | Fast food nostalgia and parental sauce rage | | 49:05 | SNL’s “Washington” sketch and read-through tension | | 52:09 | Nate hosting the Emmys—prepping and expectations | | 55:27 | Conan’s advice: host with joy, make yourself happy | | 56:41 | Heartfelt closing gratitude and mutual respect | | 59:00+ | Return to “milk Deez nuts” and chaotic team banter |
For listeners who appreciate the intersection of silly, smart, and sincere, this episode delivers a winning blend of craft discussion, personal storytelling, and comic camaraderie—plus a healthy dash of immature wordplay that only comics of this caliber could elevate to art.