Podcast Summary: Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend

Episode: The Tallest Thing in Marrakesh
Release Date: October 30, 2025
Host: Conan O’Brien, with Sonam Obsessian & Matt Gourley
Guest: Yasmina, Moroccan doctor living in Brussels

Episode Overview

This episode explores — in Conan’s signature playful and self-deprecating style — what would happen if he, a tall, pale Irish-American, visited Marrakesh. Through a lively conversation with Yasmina, a doctor originally from Marrakesh now living in Brussels, Conan delves into Moroccan culture, food, marketplace haggling, and the comedic hypothetical of being the “tallest thing” in Marrakesh. The episode is full of humorous asides, gentle teasing, cultural curiosity, and inventive riffs.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Yasmina’s Background & Moving to Brussels

• Yasmina grew up in Marrakesh and moved to Brussels for affordable medical school.
  • “I went to Brussels because medical school is cheap here.” (02:01, Yasmina)
• She misses Morocco but made the choice for her parents and her future.
• Conan expresses admiration for her wisdom in pursuing education where it’s affordable.

2. Conan: The Tallest Thing in Marrakesh

• Conan asks if he’d fit in if he visited Marrakesh.
  • Yasmina immediately quips: “You’d be the tallest thing there.” (03:32, Yasmina)
• The group riffs on this idea, joking that Conan would be taller than mountain ranges and inanimate objects.
• Yasmina adds he’d “have the whitest tone,” to which Conan playfully responds.

3. Moroccan Culture & Life in Marrakesh

• Yasmina describes Marrakesh as more laid-back, open, and light-hearted than other Moroccan cities.
  • “We don’t really take ourselves seriously, which is perfect for you, I’m guessing.” (05:14, Yasmina)
• The teasing, joking spirit of Moroccan culture is highlighted:
  • “People from Marrakesh tease a lot, so you wouldn’t know whether they’d be like, laughing with you or teasing you.” (04:10, Yasmina)
• Conan feels he’d fit right in, being used to both bullying and being bullied.

4. Imagining Conan in Moroccan Attire

• Yasmina introduces the “jalaba,” a traditional garment.
  • Conan would look “like in a mini-skirt” due to his height. (06:04, Yasmina)
• Group riffs: Conan in a marketplace, in a jalaba-turned-miniskirt, possibly with heels and a clutch.
  • “So now I’m picturing myself walking through Marrakech... I’m wearing a mini skirt and maybe high heels...” (06:16, Conan)

5. Moroccan Food, Irish Jokes, and Finger Eating

• Yasmina describes couscous (staple on Fridays) and tagines as Marrakesh mainstays.
• Joking about the Irish palate:
  • “I have a very close Irish friend who thinks that couscous is crushed cardboard... but I’m not gonna be taking lessons from a guy whose ancestors fled because there was no more potatoes.” (07:17, Yasmina)
• Conan affectionately defends Irish cuisine, but admits “plenty of dishes in Ireland taste like cardboard, and are cardboard.”
• Discussion about traditional eating with your hands:
  • Yasmina: “You’d have to be very good with your fingers because you have to pick up, like, have a piece of bread...”
  • Conan (flirtatiously): “I think it’s very erotic to eat food with your hands and your fingers and be sucking on your fingers to get the sauces off.” (09:19, Conan)
• Yasmina offers him a fork.

6. Family Life & Meeting the Parents

• Yasmina has parents and an older brother in Marrakesh, a younger brother in Canada.
• Conan insists on meeting the parents before eating finger food with Yasmina.
  • Sona: “You have to ask permission...” (10:31)
  • Conan, mock-formally: “What are your intentions? I’m going to eat some couscous with my fingers.” (10:37)

7. Getting Along in Marrakesh — And Camel Antics

• Yasmina promises Conan would get along with her parents, even though her mom doesn’t speak much English.
  • “I do use... my face to convey all... I don’t need English to communicate with people. I kill with two-year-old kids.” (15:06, Conan)
• Jokes about Conan breaking the house and “being the biggest thing they’ve ever seen.”
• Yasmina suggests Conan could “bond with the camels,” since both are tall and ginger, and jokes about a camel mistaking him for a mate (16:36 – 17:14).
• Conan spins this into more camel and miniskirt humor.

8. Market Haggling Tips

• Conan worries he’d be spotted as obvious tourist in Moroccan markets and get overcharged.
• Yasmina’s haggling tutorial:
  • “If they say, this is a thousand [dollars], you have to go, well, I’ll give you zero... Tourists go, if it’s a thousand, they go, 900... You really have to go really low.” (18:52, Yasmina)
• Conan’s idea: “I’m actually going to say things like, that’s the worst lamp I’ve ever seen. I hate that lamp. And I would never want that lamp in my house...” (19:55, Conan)
• Yasmina admits she would do the haggling for Conan, and the group jokes about whether she could be trusted not to con him.

9. Yasmina: Career and AI Fears

• Yasmina is a radiologist, which she jokingly calls “a fake doctor.”
  • “We don’t know medicine. We don’t know how to treat. We just go, oh, that’s not good...” (21:18, Yasmina)
• She’s mostly in abdominal and breast imaging.
• Conan asks if she’s worried about being replaced by AI; Yasmina says she’s not concerned for herself as she’ll be retired before that happens (22:22).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Yasmina (03:32): “You’d be the tallest thing there.”
• Conan (06:16): “So now I’m picturing myself walking through Marrakech, like, through a bazaar... I’m wearing a miniskirt and maybe high heels... and a clutch...”
• Yasmina (07:17): “I’m not gonna be taking lessons from a guy whose ancestors fled because there were no more potatoes.”
• Conan (09:19): “I think it’s very erotic to eat food with your hands and your fingers and be sucking on your fingers to get the sauces off.”
• Yasmina (18:52): “If they say, this is a thousand, you have to go, well, I’ll give you zero... you really have to make it the least possible. Like, almost insulting.”
• Yasmina (21:18): “We don’t know medicine. We don’t know how to treat. We just go, oh, that’s not good.”
• Conan (22:42): “No, I’ve been replaced by AI — this is an AI Conan you’re talking to right now.”

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|---------| | 02:01–02:22 | Yasmina explains why she moved to Brussels | | 03:32–03:55 | Conan would be "the tallest thing" in Marrakesh | | 04:10–05:31 | Teasing and humor in Marrakesh culture | | 06:02–06:43 | Moroccan clothing: jalaba, and Conan in a miniskirt | | 07:08–08:48 | Food, couscous, Irish jokes, finger food etiquette | | 09:41–10:48 | Family, meeting the parents | | 16:36–17:29 | Conan and camels: “long legs, short torso, Ginger...” | | 18:52–20:19 | Haggling in Moroccan markets | | 21:06–22:15 | Yasmina as a radiologist, “fake doctor” jokes | | 22:22–22:53 | AI in radiology | | 23:17–23:59 | Wrapping up, plans to meet in the future, Conan’s appearance |

Episode Tone

The conversation is quick-witted, warm, and rooted in mutual curiosity. Conan’s playful vulnerability (“I’m just as happy if people are laughing at me”) and Yasmina’s dry humor shine throughout. The tone is friendly, adventurous, and irreverent, with Conan’s self-parody and Yasmina’s teasing in perfect sync.

For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This episode is a laughter-filled, culturally curious exploration — part improv comedy, part travel show, always deeply human. It’s a memorable trip through Marrakesh as seen through Yasmina’s eyes and Conan’s wild imagination, inviting the listener to imagine what would happen if Conan, a “giant, ginger camel in a miniskirt,” tried to haggle in the souks and meet a radiologist’s family. The witty banter and open-minded cultural questions make this a standout “fan call” episode.