Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers

Episode: "BRIAN BAUMGARTNER Played With Alligators"

Date: September 30, 2025
Hosts: Seth Meyers & Josh Meyers
Guest: Brian Baumgartner

EPISODE OVERVIEW

In this engaging episode, Seth and Josh Meyers welcome actor Brian Baumgartner (best known as Kevin from "The Office") to share his favorite stories about family vacations, growing up in Georgia, and his unexpected brushes with wildlife. Baumgartner opens up about childhood adventures, sibling pranks, brushes with alligators, competitive crabbing, and why snorkeling is the heart of his family travel memories. He also reflects on his recent travels, golf obsession, and what it means to have a truly solid family.

KEY DISCUSSION POINTS & INSIGHTS

1. Recent Travels: Ireland, Weddings & The 40 Foot (00:08 – 13:01)

• Irish Honeymoon Adjacent: Brian discusses a recent wedding trip to Ireland with his wife Mackenzie, technically over a year since they married.

  • Explores the “honeymoon vs. vacation” debate if it happens after 12 months (00:41).
  • Highlights their spontaneity—landing, grabbing a hotel, and immediately heading to the famed “40 Foot” swimming spot, inspired by the show Bad Sisters (01:46).
  • The magic of Irish stoicism: “No one has that yelp of like, oh, my…they’re just very quiet…” (02:42)

• Road Tripping Across Ireland:

  • Hiking in Wicklow, exploring Kenmare, the Ring of Kerry, Dingle, and up to Galway (04:43–05:11).
  • Rental car adventures: Narrow roads, driving on the left, and the “car inhale” trick to feel skinnier when squeezing by others (05:11).

• Pubs & Traditional Music:

  • The quest for authentic Irish “sing song” nights (06:02–07:13).
  • A magical night in a tiny Dingle pub: “One woman just sang acapella for a minute while the musicians tried to catch up to her… it was so, so lovely.” (06:49)

• Galway Disaster:

  • The pitfalls of last-minute travel bookings in busy cities—nowhere to stay or eat (09:45–13:01).
  • “Plan ahead for Galway. Everybody should have gone to Sligo.” (12:56)

2. Guest Introduction & New Ventures (13:01 – 19:04)

• Podcasting with Legends:

  • Brian’s new golf podcast “We Need a Fourth” with Cooper Manning and Kenny Mayne.
  • Meeting Cooper Manning for the first time as podcast co-hosts: “Zero minutes. Like, I’m telling you…” (14:31)
  • On the Mannings’ reputation as hilarious and legendary: “He is the one of one Manning.” (16:07)

• Golf Tournament Memories:

  • Tahoe’s American Century Championship: celebrity karaoke, Charles Barkley lap dance.
  • “You snapped a photo of Charles giving me a lap dance...an email from your BlackBerry. That’s how I knew I didn’t have it.” (21:13)

3. Childhood & Family Dynamics (26:23 – 34:28)

• Atlanta Roots:

  • Growing up in Sandy Springs, right outside Buckhead, Atlanta—shared with younger sister (26:23–27:56).
  • Sibling pranks: green paint and leprechaun-themed mischief (28:18).
  • On his close relationship with his sister and her intelligence: “She is super smart, way smarter than I am now.” (28:54)
  • Only grandchildren for both sets of grandparents, creating holiday “pressure” and competition (29:31).

• Parents & Education:

  • Dad: doctor and medical educator at Emory University, prioritized family life over private practice (30:50).
  • Transparent about finances and college choices: “You’re going to go to Emory University… because it was free” (32:09).
  • Pursuing theater instead, earning a scholarship to SMU (33:09).

4. Vacation Stories: Islands, Alligators, & Crabbing (34:28 – 45:21)

• Spring Breaks in the Caribbean:

  • Regular snorkeling trips to various islands, focus on the water more than luxury (34:36–35:22).
  • “We had our own snorkel masks…wanting to replicate that experience now with my kids.” (35:28)

• Fear & Exploration:

  • Brian’s childhood fear of sharks, “still scanning the horizon 100% of the time,” yet his kids are fearless (37:05).

• Crabbing & Alligator Encounters:

  • Vivid description of “chicken on a string” crabbing in Georgia and Florida marshes (40:18).
  • Tense family legend: accidentally attracting an alligator, who then appears to strategically cut off their escape (41:45):

    “There is a massive alligator on the end of this chicken. And it starts rolling and doing all the alligator things. And of course… we kept throwing it back in…” (41:45)

  • Parental absence, running zig-zag to escape:

    “We all knew…run zigzag. So we just ran, all six of us, zigzag down the road to escape the alligator…” (43:09)

5. Extended Family Shenanigans (55:00 – 59:57)

• The Wild Single Uncle:

  • Uncle “X” in Florida: shrimping at midnight, chasing armadillos, learning about off-the-grid living (55:00).
  • DIY shrimping explained—lights on boat, netting shrimp by hand, filling up five-gallon buckets (56:18).

    “There was not a lot of any sort of meat fish that was bought ever, ever. It was all…so in that regards, I totally support that.” (57:18)

• Crabbing with Reluctant Kids:

  • Attempts to recreate crabbing with his kids, who want nothing to do with chicken on a string (59:19).

6. Wildlife, Safety, and JAWS Anxiety (35:07, 47:00, 50:31)

• Real Sharks in Georgia:
  • First time ever seeing a shark in the surf; realization that sharks (and alligators) are now closer than ever (50:31).
  • Ongoing anxiety from Jaws as a kid; “There’s a whole generation of people that that movie did it…” (47:19)
  • Seth jokes about tourism on Martha’s Vineyard exploiting Jaws legacy (48:16).

7. Golf Passion & Scottish Pilgrimage (64:00 – 71:02)

• Golfer Cred:

  • Seth: “Multiple athletes told me that night, like, Brian’s a great golfer.” (64:14)
  • Brian shares what it’s like to compete against real athletes at celebrity tournaments.

• St. Andrews, Scotland:

  • Fulfilling a lifelong golf dream: playing the Old Course with his podcast co-hosts for “We Need a Fourth.”

    “It is one of one… it is magical. And to do it with those guys... so much fun.” (67:06–68:47)

8. Speed Round (71:11 – 73:09)

• Brian’s Quick Takes:
  • Ideal vacation? “Relaxing.” (71:20)
  • Favorite means of transport? “Plane.” (71:26)
  • Dream family to travel with? “The Simpsons.” (71:37)
  • Would take his daughter if stranded on a desert island (71:47).
  • Pitch for Atlanta? “A great place to grow up. That’s true.” (71:58)
  • Grand Canyon? “No, not…no…I mean, are you with you? I’ll go with you.” (72:18–72:24)

9. Humorous Grand Canyon & Hoover Dam Chat (73:01–74:47)

• Seth’s candid take on the Grand Canyon:

  "It is everything you think and nothing more." (72:39)

NOTABLE QUOTES & MOMENTS

• On Irish Swimming Culture:

  “No one has that sort of yelp of like, oh, my…they’re just very quiet.”
  — Brian, (02:42)

• On Performing for a Room of Performers:

  “It’s really fun when people are like, you know what? I’m not gonna be intimidated by the fact that some of the people at this wedding do this for a living…”
  — Seth, (08:29)

• On Growing up in Atlanta:

  “I was actually, like, a really good kid. I think any of my mischievousness I took out on her, but more in, like, mild prank ways…”
  — Brian, (27:58)

• On Wild Family Vacations:

  “There is a massive alligator on the end of this chicken...this was an intentional maneuver by the alligator.”
  — Brian, (41:44)

• On Jaws & Generational Anxiety:

  “There’s a whole generation of people that that movie did it, it did that for me…”
  — Brian, (47:19)

• On the Grand Canyon:

  “It is everything you think and nothing more.”
  — Seth, (72:39)

TIME-STAMPED HIGHLIGHTS

• Irish swimming adventure: 01:46–04:02
• Tiny music pub in Dingle: 06:07–06:49
• Galway “no room at the inn” fiasco: 09:45–12:56
• Charles Barkley lap dance story: 20:06–21:16
• Sibling prank: leprechauns: 28:18–28:54
• Legendary alligator encounter: 41:44–43:09
• Midnight shrimping with uncle: 56:10–57:56
• 50th Anniversary of JAWS/real shark sighting: 50:31–51:15
• St. Andrews golf pilgrimage: 66:56–68:47
• Lightning round Q&A: 71:11–72:26
• Grand Canyon honesty: 72:39–73:35

EPISODE TONE

Fun, nostalgic, self-deprecating, warmly teasing—filled with sibling banter and comical takes on travel mishaps and childhood memory.

RECOMMENDED FOR…

Fans of "The Office," golf/celebrity podcast crossovers, those who grew up in the South, or anyone nostalgic for childhood vacations both wholesome and hair-raising—plus anyone looking for a reminder that travel stories are often best when a little something goes spectacularly wrong.