Peeping Cooper

Summary

Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend — "Peeping Cooper"

Episode Date: May 7, 2026
Guest: Cooper Shields (Architectural Historian)
Host(s): Conan O'Brien, Sona Movsesian, David Hopping

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Episode Overview

In this playful and insightful episode, Conan O'Brien and his co-hosts chat with Cooper Shields, an architectural historian from Ohio. The conversation winds from the oddities and joys of historic preservation, to how architectural taste reflects personality, to Conan's hopeful dreams of having a plaque on his childhood home—while keeping the banter distinctly Conan: dry wit, absurd hypotheticals, and plenty of mild self-deprecation.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What Does an Architectural Historian Do?

[01:39-03:04]

• Cooper explains his work in cultural resource management, surveying buildings potentially impacted by federally funded development.
• He often wears an orange vest and takes photos of structures—which tends to alarm homeowners.
  • Quote:

    “When you’re driving around in a car with an orange vest on, taking photos of people’s houses... you get some weird looks.” — Cooper Shields (03:15)

• Most confrontations come from homeowners rather than developers.

2. Public Perception & The ‘Peeper’ Joke

[03:14-04:27]

• Conan and Sona riff about Cooper possibly being a “serial peeper” using his job for cover.
  • Quote:

    “You could be a serial peeper who got into this. ... You talk a nice game about preservation and surveys, trying to lull people into this sort of NPR fog of it’s all legit.” — Conan O’Brien (03:27)

• Cooper wryly plays along, specifying his photos are for official purposes, and never uses a zoom.

3. Architectural Preferences: Embracing the Unloved

[05:30-07:20]

• Cooper favors “historically underappreciated styles”—brutalism, postmodernism, and late modernist buildings, often dismissed by the public.
  • Quote:

    “I like to say that I prefer historically underappreciated styles. ... Weird stuff that isn’t the coolest to the ... normal observer.” — Cooper Shields (05:30)

• Conan jokes about brutalism:

  “You like a home that can’t be baby proofed ... where the nursery has spikes coming out of the floor.” (06:19)

• Boston City Hall—famously divisive—is cited as an example, with Cooper noting even his wife (also an architectural historian) appreciates it.
  • “It’s been voted like the ugliest building in the country. ... Multiple times.” — Cooper Shields (08:40)
  • “Has it come around? Is it that our views have changed and now you appreciate it? Or do you appreciate it because no one else likes it?” — Conan O’Brien (07:11)
  • Cooper admits there’s “a chance I’m trying to be a little bit sneaky about that” by being a contrarian. (07:20)

4. Meet Cute: How Cooper Met His Wife

[09:07-09:24]

• Cooper and his wife (also in preservation) met at Ball State University, alma mater of David Letterman.
• Sona and Conan joke about their “romantic” overlapping in the field and the presence of Letterman on campus.

5. If the Hosts Were Buildings…

[14:56-18:24]

• Cooper matches each host to an architectural style and specific building:
  • Conan: Team Disney Building (LA)—postmodern, “larger than life...purposefully in your face, accepts it.” (15:10)
    • Conan reacts: “People need to go on a website and look up Team Disney Building. That’s what you think I am? A building suspended by cartoonish dwarves?” (16:32)
  • Sona: The Gamble House (Pasadena)—Arts and Crafts epitome, “gorgeous.” (16:52)
  • David: Early prairie-style Four Square—“simple, but still just like a nice place to be.” (18:02)
    • Conan: “Something you’d pass a thousand times and never think twice.” (18:17)

6. On Historic Registries and Plaques

[18:41-24:13]

• Conan investigates how one gets a building on the National Register of Historic Places, especially linked to a person.
• Cooper explains that usually the person must be deceased for this kind of recognition.
• Conan pushes back:

  "When you go to London, you see plenty of those blue plaques ... some of them, they're not. They're still alive and they're touring, for God’s sake.” (19:58)

• Cooper admits there’s no law against just making and posting plaques anywhere, though the actual registry is stricter.
• Conan: “I want homes that I’ve lived in in New York. ... This building, this Larchmont Studios where magic was made. Yes. ... They should probably be made of a durable paper...” (20:56)
• Cooper’s wife Abby could help—she works as a National Register reviewer for Ohio, and Conan wants her on the plaque case. (21:53)
• Conan fantasizes about surreptitiously hanging out by his own future plaque:

  “Imagine hanging out and having a plaque and being like, oh, oh, I guess that's me.” (23:01)

• Conan jokes about putting false claims on plaques, and the lack of oversight:

  “Does someone fact check that shit?” (23:22)

  • Cooper: “Probably not. ... I think you can just go to a trophy manufacturer and they'll make you a plaque.” (23:38)

7. Memorable Banter & Episode Wrap-up

[24:13-25:04]

• Conan praises Cooper: “You started slow, as I did in life. ... Absolute joy talking to you. ... You’re very funny. You have a dry wit, you’re clearly very intelligent, and I think you're doing something cool.” (24:36–24:53)
• Commitment to follow up on the plaque plan.

---

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On architectural style appreciation:

  “I like to say that I prefer historically underappreciated styles.” — Cooper Shields (05:30)

• On being a contrarian:

  “There’s a chance I’m trying to be a little bit sneaky about that and think that you’re a contrarian.” — Conan O'Brien (07:28)

• On buildings as personalities:

  “If I were to be a building ... what kind of style do you think we would be?” — Conan O'Brien (14:56)
  “Team Disney Building ... suspended by cartoonish dwarves?” — Conan O'Brien (16:32)

• On plaques and historic status:

  “I guess I’d like you to look into it some more. I’d like a way to have a plaque put somewhere with my name on it, on some structure. And I’d like it to be while I’m alive.” — Conan O’Brien (21:53)

• On self-deprecating career importance:

  “I don’t think my job is important. ... Together, we’re wasting America’s time.” — Conan O'Brien (04:35)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:39] — Introduction to Cooper Shields and his work
• [03:05] — “Peeper” banter and public reactions to surveyors
• [05:30] — Cooper’s favorite architectural styles (brutalism, postmodernism)
• [07:28] — The contrarian angle; Boston City Hall discussion
• [09:07] — Origin story: How Cooper met his wife, Ball State, and David Letterman
• [14:56] — “If we were buildings” game (hosts as buildings)
• [18:41] — Getting on the National Register, plaques, living honorees
• [23:01] — Conan’s dream of “accidentally” hanging out by his own plaque
• [24:13] — Conan’s compliments and closing remarks

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Tone & Style

• Playful, self-aware banter
• Dry, absurdist Conan humor—mock authority and whimsical hypotheticals
• Cooper’s understated, nerdy wit provides an ideal foil
• Moderate architectural insights accessible to a non-expert audience

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Summary

This episode of "Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend" blends nerdy deep-dives and irreverent comedy. Listeners get a feel for the unsung world of historic preservation, why some maligned buildings might deserve a second look, and how our tastes and careers (even the “unimportant” ones) shape who we are. There’s a recurring thread about wanting to be commemorated—with Conan’s persistent, comic fixation on securing his plaque while still very much alive—a facetious but endearing bid for legacy.

Transcript

[Cooper Shields]

Foreign.

[Conan O'Brien]

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[Sonam]

Yeah, like all the time.

[Conan O'Brien]

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[Sonam]

Oh, no.

[Conan O'Brien]

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[Sonam]

Oh, yeah, all the time.

[Conan O'Brien]

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[Cooper Shields]

Bull spin.

[Conan O'Brien]

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[Sonam]

Conan O' Brien needs a fan. Want to talk to Conan? Visit teamcoco.com call Conan. Okay, let's get started.

[Cooper Shields]

Hey, Cooper. Welcome to Conan.

[Conan O'Brien]

Over.

[Cooper Shields]

I need a fan. Howdy.

[Conan O'Brien]

Hey, Cooper. How are you?

[Cooper Shields]

Good. How's it going?

[Conan O'Brien]

It's going pretty well. I have a few scratchings about you right here. You are Cooper Shields, and it says here you're an architectural historian from Ohio. That's about all I know about you.

[Cooper Shields]

That is true.

[Conan O'Brien]

Tell me what an architectural historian does.

[Cooper Shields]

Yes. So there are a few different facets an architectural historian can be. A lot of them are like the educational side, teaching, researching and whatnot. And the side I'm on, I work for a cultural resource management firm and a lot of what we do, so most of my company is actually archaeologists and there's 10 or so of us. And a lot of the projects that we do are government mandated surveys. So when a project is done in the US that requires that uses federal money, it triggers a cultural resource survey. And so that makes sure that the project doesn't negatively affect any of our cultural heritage, whether that's architectural, historic or archaeological. So what we'll do, what I do in the above ground section, as we call it, is you do just survey work. So is that roundabout gonna necessarily impact that historic house that's sitting on that corner? If it is, what can we do. To mitigate it? Can they move it slightly? Can they move the house? Can they move the project?

[Conan O'Brien]

House.

[Sonam]

Developers must hate you.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, you must be hated by. It says here you've been attacked by many developers.

[Cooper Shields]

It's mostly homeowners.

[Conan O'Brien]

Homeowners.

[Cooper Shields]

Yeah. When you're driving around in a car with an orange vest on, taking photos of people's houses.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Cooper Shields]

You get some weird looks.

[Conan O'Brien]

Well, I hope so.

[Sonam]

Way to be a peeper.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, I mean, that's the thing, is you could be. Cooper. You could be a serial peeper who got into this? And you talk a nice game up front about preservation and surveys, trying to lull people into this sort of NPR fog of it's all legit. But you're a guy in an orange vest, which, by the way, is not mandated by your job. That's your choice.

[Cooper Shields]

It's branded, but it's not. It's optional.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you're. And you're taking some creepy pictures.

[Cooper Shields]

I never zoom.

[Conan O'Brien]

These are not historic homes you're photographing often. These are homes that were.

[Cooper Shields]

They're apartment. They're apartment buildings. Yeah, apartment buildings.

[Conan O'Brien]

They were built in the 1980s.

[Sonam]

College dorms.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, college dorms. I have concerns about this sorority and its historical value, sir. It was built in 1993.

[Sonam]

Oh, man. He does such important work. And look, Woody. Well, look what we've done to him.

[Conan O'Brien]

Is it that important?

[Sonam]

Yes, it is.

[Conan O'Brien]

Listen. And Cooper, I don't say that to in any way denigrate you. I don't think my job is important. And so I think to. Together, we're wasting America's time.

[Cooper Shields]

Are any of us actually important in the grand scheme of things?

[Conan O'Brien]

I would say. I don't know. I mean, I think there's some actors. Big A list actors that are very important.

[Sonam]

Oh, what? Okay.

[Conan O'Brien]

I just wanted to throw that out

[Cooper Shields]

there, if that's the route you'd go for that. But.

[Sonam]

Okay, doctors. Your dad was a doctor and your mom was a lawyer.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, but he wasn't in a movie, and neither was my mom. You know, a DiCaprio, that's like a very important person. And I don't want to talk about this anymore. It's just so obvious. This sounds very cool. Like, you must have architectural styles that you like, architectural styles that you favor over other styles. What are the kinds that you really like? That's true. What gets you all hot and bothered?

[Cooper Shields]

So I like to say that I prefer historically underappreciated styles. So things like brutalism, postmodernism like late modernist, like 1970s, 80s, kind of weird stuff that isn't the coolest to the. You know, to the normal observer, but

[Conan O'Brien]

it's not the gorgeous Victorian house that's surrounded by stately elms. Brutalism. You're talking about giant blocks, Right? And poured concrete. Concrete and concrete. Yeah, of course. And, you know, like a giant sleep slice of a window. Right. And a really shiny floor and hard surfaces. You like a home that can't be baby proofed. Is that right?

[Cooper Shields]

That's true. It's all danger.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah. You like a house where the nursery has spikes coming out of the floor.

[Cooper Shields]

They're concrete spikes, but, yeah, you have to be specific. Boston City Hall, I think, is a really cool building.

[Conan O'Brien]

Oh, come on.

[Cooper Shields]

It's cool. I was in it last year. It was great.

[Conan O'Brien]

I don't care why you were arrested. That's not important to me.

[Cooper Shields]

It was a conference. Thank you.

[Sonam]

I.

[Conan O'Brien]

Sure. We were all arrested. It was the peepers conference.

[Cooper Shields]

Back to that.

[Conan O'Brien]

You had giant X ray specs on. You're all rounded up together. Look, Cooper, they're onto you. And I'm onto you. No, that is. I mean, I grew up with that building. That building was built when I was a very young boy. And I just never liked that building. Has it come around? Is it that our views have changed and now you appreciate it? Or do you appreciate it because no one else likes it? Ah, that's it.

[Cooper Shields]

So. Okay, so there's a chance that I'm trying to be a little bit sneaky about that and think that you're a contrarian.

[Conan O'Brien]

You're a contrarian. Correct.

[Cooper Shields]

Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

Oh, everyone hates.

[Cooper Shields]

I was vindicated because my wife, who is in the same field as I am, we were at that conference last year in Boston, and Abby and I, we were just walking around in awe. And so it's not just me, and it was also everyone there. It was also a conference on modern architecture. So it might have been a bit skewed in the audience, to be fair.

[Conan O'Brien]

I haven't been there in a really long time. I think the last time I was there was when I.

[Cooper Shields]

You were arrested?

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, why? No, I actually was punched in the face. And I had to go later on to some. They called me in for some reason to give testimony or something about beatings and who deserves them and who doesn't. And I deserved one.

[Cooper Shields]

That's an expert witness.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah. Oh, look at. Okay. Yeah, yeah. Just to describe what's happening here to the listener, Sona had just pulled up a picture of the Boston City hall and showed it to myself and then to David. So when you heard right now. Huh?

[Cooper Shields]

Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

See? Uh huh. Yeah. That's what was happening.

[Cooper Shields]

It's been voted like the ugliest building in the country.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Cooper Shields]

Multiple times.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Sonam]

Oh God.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah. It's a crime. It's a crime. And you're wrong. You know what I love is that I love that your wife does the exact same thing that you do. That's so I picture you meeting you both reached for the same orange vest and your hands touched and you were like, excuse me. And she was like, excuse me. And then you went, oh my God. And your glasses fogged up. What happened?

[Cooper Shields]

So we met in. We met in grad school.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Cooper Shields]

We both went to Ball State University in beautiful Muncie, Indiana.

[Conan O'Brien]

Wait a minute, Ball State? That's David Letterman's college.

[Cooper Shields]

That is David Letterman's alma mater.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yes. Any college that spits out a David Letterman is okay by me. So very cool.

[Cooper Shields]

She saw him on campus multiple times and I think it turned into kind of what's that massing of students over there? And it's. Oh, it's David Letterman.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah. I don't get that. When I go to Ball State and wander around. Why would you? I walk around and I hope that people come up to me and they don't.

[Sonam]

Okay.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Sonam]

You didn't go there.

[Conan O'Brien]

No.

[Cooper Shields]

Okay.

[Conan O'Brien]

But I've been. I just constantly hang out there hoping that I get some of that vestigial Letterman love, you know, When it comes to snacks, know what's a real crowd pleaser? Don't even try. I'll tell you.

[Sonam]

Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

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[Sonam]

Oh yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

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[Sonam]

I go with a classic strawberry flavor. I love it. I could have a thousand of them.

[Conan O'Brien]

And David, I recently tried the crunchy one. I had the honey oat flax one and it was incredible. It's so funny. I heard a crunch and then I heard you just moaning with pleasure. Yeah. And I ran in and you were devouring a crunchy. A nutrigrain crunchy. And you seem so happy. I was fine. Nutritious and always delicious Nutrigrain bars, your favorite store or online retailer today. And look for new Nutri Grain Crunchy bars and stores near you. If you're trying to be more intentional about what you wear dayto day, Quint can help with that. They got pieces that feel easy, comfortable and still put together. The fabrics feel elevated and the fits are clean. Think 100% European linen shorts and shirts from $34. Lightweight, breathable and comfortable. Everything is priced 50 to 80% less than what you'd find at similar brands. Quince works directly with ETH factories and cuts out the middleman. I love it when they cut out the middleman. I hate the middleman.

[Sonam]

Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

So you're getting premium materials without the markup blay. You've been quincing it up lately.

[Cooper Shields]

I have.

[Conan O'Brien]

I got three of these 100% European

[Cooper Shields]

linen relaxed short sleeve shirts. And it's getting warmer outside. And these are breathable. They fit me really well.

[Conan O'Brien]

I've noticed you've looked better lately. Thank you. And no slam on how you used to look. When I first met you, you were a mess. And now, now that you're wearing quints, your game has jumped nine levels.

[Cooper Shields]

That's right. Thank you very much.

[Conan O'Brien]

And they're.

[Cooper Shields]

And they're extremely comfortable and I love them a lot.

[Conan O'Brien]

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[Sonam]

Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

You know, you can sneak one under your partner's pillow as a way of saying, I'm thinking of you. Oh, that's so nice. Yeah. If I did that, my wife would be like, hey, this is nice. You love me. You do love me after all. Yeah, It's a mini that can bring some big can vibes. It really can. Sure. Coca Cola mini can, big deal. Now available on the go. What do you think if I were to be a building or sona. A building or David Hopping, what kind of style do you think we would be?

[Cooper Shields]

Yes, Yes. I thought about this.

[Conan O'Brien]

You just said that like a villain.

[Cooper Shields]

Indeed. Yeah.

[Sonam]

And you thought about this?

[Cooper Shields]

I thought about it, yeah.

[Sonam]

Cool.

[Cooper Shields]

So, Conan, so for you, I'm going the postmodern style. Why is that so very avant garde, kind of late 20th century. And the. The building in specific specifically that I thought about is the Disney building, the Disney headquarters in la. It's very bright, it's very larger than life, and it's very kind of in your face, purposefully in your face. Accepts it.

[Conan O'Brien]

Wait, is this the one that has like the Dwarves? The seven dwarves, the seven little people? Does it have them?

[Cooper Shields]

It does.

[Conan O'Brien]

Wait, no, that's not it.

[Sonam]

That's cool.

[Conan O'Brien]

That's the Disney Concert Hall. That would be flattering. Show me this other Disney building.

[Sonam]

I think it's just the Walt Disney Office building.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, Type in ugly shit in LA

[Cooper Shields]

Pop. Team Disney Building.

[Conan O'Brien]

What's that?

[Cooper Shields]

Team Disney Building. Team Disney is the actual name.

[Conan O'Brien]

And why. Why do you think I'm this building? Be honest.

[Cooper Shields]

So postmodernism was kind of in a response to modernism, Just like international style, early 20th century.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, the way Post Malone is a response to a guy named Malone. Yes.

[Cooper Shields]

Malone. Right. Perfect timing.

[Conan O'Brien]

Oh, for God's sake. Oh, my God.

[Cooper Shields]

And it was done.

[Conan O'Brien]

That's what you think I am? Seriously, people need to go on a website and look up Team Disney Building. That's what you think I am? A building suspended by cartoonish dwarves?

[Cooper Shields]

Well, when you think too hard about it, it gets a little weird.

[Conan O'Brien]

All right, well, okay. And what about Sona?

[Cooper Shields]

So, Sona, I like the Gamble House, which is in Pasadena. It's the. It's the epitome of arts and crafts style.

[Conan O'Brien]

You know what?

[Sonam]

Gorgeous.

[Conan O'Brien]

I love arts and crafts. Can I see a picture of that, please? Come on, Eduardo. What are you doing over there?

[Sonam]

Doc Brown's house in Back to the Future as well.

[Conan O'Brien]

That's a beautiful house.

[Sonam]

It sure is. This is much better than the Team Disney building.

[Conan O'Brien]

That's a gorgeous house. Yeah. Who lives there?

[Cooper Shields]

I think it might be a museum.

[Conan O'Brien]

It's a museum now.

[Sonam]

Yeah. No one lives there.

[Conan O'Brien]

Well, if it's a museum. So anyone go and just hang out

[Cooper Shields]

if you're courageous enough.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, yeah. You wait until closing time, you say, I have to use the bathroom. And then you hide in the stall. And then when they leave. I've done this at many museums. Oh, my God. I do this a lot at presidential museums. I spent six days at the Dwight Eisenhower Museum. Um, it's really fun. You get to wear his pajamas and stuff and hang out. So. And what? And David. David. What would David be? Man, these guys are making out better than I am.

[Cooper Shields]

So.

[Conan O'Brien]

And remember, it can be a temporary structure. Thought you're gonna say Legos. No, no. It can be like, oh, we tied this together. Cause there was a storm.

[Cooper Shields]

So David's Illinois history, Midwestern. I'm thinking a nice four square, like Prairie style, but early Prairie Style. Just very simple. Understated. Yes, simple, but still just like a nice place to be because they're making

[Conan O'Brien]

warm something you'd pass a thousand times and never think twice.

[Cooper Shields]

Okay, well, those are your words, not mine. Cause I'll tell you something.

[Conan O'Brien]

When you pass that. When you pass my building and you see a bunch of fucking dwarves, you're gonna notice it. You're gonna be like. And a common reaction to me is I don't like what's happening over there. But it did gr. Grab my eye.

[Cooper Shields]

So you're not disagreeing with me?

[Conan O'Brien]

Oh, Cooper, I have a question, because this is something that's near and dear to my heart, and you might be able to help me here. Part of your job, I believe, is writing nominations for the National Historical Registry, Meaning you can help assign historic status, official historic status, and get it on the registry of a building that is linked to an important person. True?

[Cooper Shields]

Correct. So part of my job is oftentimes writing nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, which is the country's official register of buildings we deem worthy of recognizing. Worthy of significance. Sure. And there are a handful of ways that you can deem those buildings significant. And one. One of them is an important person. I think you'll have to die in order for it to, like, work. Well, I don't think there's often times where they're done when people are living.

[Conan O'Brien]

So I'd have to be dead in order for a building to be given

[Cooper Shields]

historic status based on you.

[Conan O'Brien]

Well, I'm gonna say something for a second. I don't think that's true. When you go to London, you see plenty of those blue plaques, and it's to people that some of them are still alive. It's like this is Mick Jagger's home where he grew up. You know, you'll see some things like that. And some of them, they're not. They're still alive and they're touring, for God's sake.

[Cooper Shields]

You could be the case study for the first one in the United States.

[Conan O'Brien]

So. Okay. Cause I'd prefer to be alive. And then which structure would be worthy of historic registry? There's my childhood home in Brookline, Massachusetts. And what else? Of course, there's this various elementary schools, and I'm thinking more than one that I went to. There's the Baldwin School. Then there's the Michael Driscoll School. Then of course, there's Brookline High. Could I get plaques for all of these or is it just a one and done thing?

[Cooper Shields]

So the plaques are things you can just kind of do on your own

[Matt Gourley]

if you want to.

[Cooper Shields]

They're not. The plaque isn't the official part. So we can just make one go tape it up.

[Conan O'Brien]

You know what, David? I'll order one after as my assistant 1 no. Yeah. I want all kinds of plaques. Well, they have to be fairly cheaply made. Cause I'm gonna want a lot of plaques. I want homes that I've lived in in New York. I want homes that I've lived in in Los Angeles. I moved around a lot when I was a young man. This building, this. Oh, Larchmont here, this Larchmont Studios where magic was made. Yes. So across the board, we're gonna need a lot of plaques. They should probably be made of a durable paper. You know, initially rain resistant, but then they. Because we're gonna. I don't wanna spend too much money on. And there's a lot of places. A lot of places need to be. Yeah. I don't know how it all works, but I guess I'd like you to look into it some more. I'd like a way to have a plaque put somewhere with my name on it, on some structure. And I'd like it to be while I'm alive. So can you be thinking about that?

[Cooper Shields]

My wife Abby actually works for the Ohio State Historic Preservation Office as one of the National Register of Historic Places reviewers. So I will. I will. I will take this to her.

[Conan O'Brien]

But wait a minute. It has to be in Ohio. No, I've been through Ohio, but I don't know that I state.

[Cooper Shields]

Every state has a historic preservation office.

[Conan O'Brien]

Okay.

[Cooper Shields]

A state historic preservation office.

[Conan O'Brien]

I am not.

[Cooper Shields]

We can collaborate.

[Conan O'Brien]

I want Abby. May I call her Abby?

[Cooper Shields]

Of course.

[Conan O'Brien]

Okay. I want Abby on this. I want her to be looking into it. And my requirements are a plaque. If I don't have to supply it and someone else is paying for it, I want it to be a plaque, a real plaque. And it should be someplace, I believe, in Massachusetts. And we need to get this done. We need to get it done quickly so I can hang out there and then act like I didn't notice there was a plaque. I mean, imagine being hanging out and having a plaque and being like, oh, oh, I guess that's me. Yeah,

[Sonam]

but you're hanging out right next to it.

[Conan O'Brien]

You got it.

[Sonam]

And you're just acting like you had no idea.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, I'll get, like. I don't know, I'll get a sugar cone ice cream, you know, And I'll just be like, it's good ice cream. Oh, this. I guess that's where I was born.

[Sonam]

Oh, my God.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Sonam]

Oh, God, that's so sad.

[Conan O'Brien]

Who looks into whether these plaques are accurate or not? Let's say I wanted a plaque that said, this is where Conan o' Brien set the record for most touchdowns in a high school football game. Does someone fact check that shit?

[Cooper Shields]

Probably not. I think you can just go to a trophy manufacturer and they'll make you a plaque.

[Conan O'Brien]

I've done that. I've been thrown out of so many trophy stores.

[Cooper Shields]

That's all I think it would be.

[Conan O'Brien]

I've been forcibly walked out of several. Several trophy stores.

[Cooper Shields]

I think the amount of oversight would be dependent on where it's placed because if you put that outside of a. Like a Dairy Queen.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yep.

[Cooper Shields]

I don't think many people would think. Think too strong, but if you put it at, you know, outside of the soldier field, that.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, yeah, people are gonna see it. You're right.

[Cooper Shields]

I gotta pick an incongruent.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah. If my plaque is a just a blatant lie, then it should be someplace quiet. Cooper, this is. I have to say this. This interview started out very quiet. You know, you were talking about surveys. I panicked for a second. And then this turned into one of my favorite interviews in a while.

[Cooper Shields]

So I appreciate that.

[Conan O'Brien]

I mean, you started slow, as I did in life. You started slow and then bang. It was fantastic. Absolute joy talking to you. Seriously.

[Cooper Shields]

Thank you.

[Conan O'Brien]

You're very funny. You have a dry wit. You're clearly very intelligent, and I think you're doing something cool.

[Cooper Shields]

I appreciate it.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, I really do appreciate this. And I do not kidding. I'm gonna wanna hear from Abby. Okay.

[Cooper Shields]

I'll make sure that happens.

[Conan O'Brien]

Okay. All right. Take care, man. Good to talk to you, Cooper.

[Cooper Shields]

Thank you all. I appreciate it.

[Conan O'Brien]

Bye bye.

[Cooper Shields]

Bye bye.

[Matt Gourley]

Conan o' Brien needs a fan 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 Incidental music by Jimmy Vivino Take it away, Jimmy. Supervising producer Aaron Blair Associate talent Producer Jennifer Samples Associate producers Sean Doherty and Lisa Berm Engineering by eduardo Perez get three free months of SiriusXM when you sign [e-mail] Conan Please rate, review and subscribe to Conan O' Brien needs a fan. Wherever fine podcasts are down there,

[Cooper Shields]

I'm

[Conan O'Brien]

just going to say it. There's a Hyundai hybrid for everyone.

[Sonam]

There sure is.

[Conan O'Brien]

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[Sonam]

It's a good one.

[Conan O'Brien]

It is a good one. Hard to beat all those stats. America's Best Warranty claims based on total package of warranty programs. Visit HyundaiUSA.com or call I'm going to give you a phone number. Write it down.

[Sonam]

Okay.

[Conan O'Brien]

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