Aziz Ansari

Summary

Good Hang with Amy Poehler

Episode: Aziz Ansari
Date: October 14, 2025
Host: Amy Poehler
Guest: Aziz Ansari (with a guest segment from Rashida Jones)

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Episode Overview

In this lively episode of Good Hang, Amy Poehler is joined by comedian, writer, and filmmaker Aziz Ansari. The conversation weaves through Aziz’s childhood in South Carolina, his rapid academic ascent, early comedic influences, the golden memories of Parks and Recreation, the craft of directing and cooking, and the philosophical twists of modern life—from tech dependency to the nature of comedy in today’s world. Rashida Jones opens with a loving, nostalgic segment, reflecting on their shared history and feeding Amy questions to ask Aziz, adding warmth and humor to the reunion.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Reunion and Nostalgia With Rashida Jones

00:25–11:52

• Rashida and Amy reminisce about their time as cast “aunties” on Parks and Rec, feeling protective of the younger cast members like Aziz and Aubrey Plaza.
• Amy and Rashida share their seasonal fashion moodboard game, identifying “frugal chic” and (jokingly) “functional flat front fall” as current favorites.
• Rashida details Aziz’s cultivated, curious aesthetic—his love for art, food, and global adventures.
• Rashida teases Aziz’s culinary talents: "He cooks me dinner all the time. My recent favorite is...Chicken 65. It’s an Indian dish that’s bright red and delicious." (09:57)
• The segment closes with friendship, longing, and jokes about TikTok dances.

2. Aziz’s Early Life: From South Carolina to NYC

12:44–21:57

• Amy and Aziz settle into a New York City autumn, sparking nostalgia for their younger selves and comedy beginnings.
• Aziz recounts skipping grades as a child: "In the middle of first grade, they just called my parents. ‘We gotta get him out of here. He needs to go to second now.’" (16:29)
• He describes being the only Indian kid in his small South Carolina town, and the complex expectations tied to being labeled “the smart kid.”
• A pivotal anecdote: as a child, Aziz had a Southern accent and was once the star of a school play alongside the only other Asian student. (18:17)
• Amy and Aziz reflect on the courage of Aziz's father in immigrating to the US and how that adventurous spirit passed down to Aziz: “There was something in my dad... And I think I had a similar thing where I always wanted to go somewhere bigger.” (19:41)

3. Comedy Roots & New York Hustle

21:57–25:32

• Aziz shares the serendipity of starting standup at NYU, inspired by friends’ encouragement and his ease with public speaking.
• He recalls late-night shows at UCB and booking his own standup showcases, where he first met Amy in person.
• Amy marvels at how "We could all just, you know, sleep all day and then go to do a show at 11 o’clock on Monday night." (22:42)

4. Breakout Success: Human Giant, Parks & Rec, and Showmaking

25:32–29:12

• Aziz discusses sketch comedy’s unique production challenges, and how a viral sketch (“Viral Videos”) led to his casting on Parks and Recreation.
• Amy highlights the “Avengers Assemble” casting style of Parks, reminiscing on the magic of the cast chemistry.
• Aziz reflects on the ensemble’s culture: "Not only funny, but just the best people I've ever met in my life." (26:13)
• He credits Amy and Mike Schur as role models for showrunning: “It was the best role model I could ever have.” (26:54)

5. Best Parks Memories & Bloopers

29:13–32:48

• Favorite set memories include the iconic "treat yourself" catchphrase (now “everywhere—on cocktail napkins and in Kmart”), on-set dance breaks, and blooper reels.
• Hardest scene to film? “Is she going to go powder her vagina?”—a lunch scene with Adam Scott and Mo Collins that broke the cast. (30:32)

6. Phone Detox & Avoiding Digital Overload

33:28–36:22

• Amy explores Aziz's minimal relationship with tech. He’s been without email for 10 years and primarily uses a flip phone.
• “I think it just gives me more space to think... I heard that Tarantino doesn’t even have a phone. Chris Nolan doesn’t have a phone. Maybe there’s something to it.” (34:28)
• Azis and Amy worry about the coming AI/chatbot era: “It’s outsourcing, critical thinking... I was reading some article...it’s making everyone a little more basic.” (37:08)

7. Marriage, Love, and Standup Today

37:33–38:54

• Aziz talks about life changes since getting married: “All the other stuff doesn’t really matter to me anymore. This person is everything to me.” (38:14)
• He’s planning future standup with new material about marriage and possibly parenting in the works.

8. Transition to Directing: Master of None & Good Fortune

40:59–44:52

• Amy and Aziz marvel at the “different time” of early Netflix, where a brown lead was radical and creators had creative freedom.
• The difference between acting and directing: “Just acting is a much different, simpler gig. When you’re directing, you’re just deciding everything.” (43:01)
• Aziz lights up describing the joy when actors elevate material: “When Keanu and Seth...were doing something that was cracking me up...those moments are super fun.” (43:05)

9. On Set With Keanu, Seth, and Keke: Making Good Fortune

44:52–49:45

• Keanu is just as cool and kind as fans imagine. “He looks like he drove from an anime movie straight into reality.” (45:01)
• On letting actors improvise: "If you cast the right people, it’s all gonna come together in a gel in a nice way...” (46:51)
• Aziz loves rehearsing to maximize creative freedom on set; even Keanu was game for improvisation.
• Both Amy and Aziz joke about secretly wanting action movie roles, but worrying they’d be "too silly" as villains.

10. Food, Family & Cooking as Heritage

52:16–57:49

• Aziz shares his culinary evolution: raised on both Indian and Southern food, he cooks at home almost every day now.
• Azis spent the COVID lockdown learning his mother’s recipes, creating homemade cookbooks he gifts to friends, and emphasizing the importance of passing down family dishes.
• “Learning like, home food that comes from your family. I think that’s something important to pass down...a piece of your family history.” (57:50)
• He even worked in Italian kitchens for Master of None research, boosting his kitchen confidence.
• Chicken 65, a favorite for both Rashida and Rashida’s son, earns a shout-out as the ultimate crowd-pleaser for kids—with a warning about food coloring-fueled energy spikes!

11. The Role of Comedy and Collective Laughter

59:58–62:53

• Amy and Aziz talk about what makes them laugh today—mostly memes his wife finds and classic films like The Apartment.
• Aziz laments the decline of theatrical comedies and the unique energy of communal laughter: “It’s so much better to be in a group and laugh...streaming a movie and being on your phone at the same time is not the same thing.” (62:44)
• They both wish for a resurgence of big-screen comedies and celebrate the “unplugged” magic of live performance and movie theaters, where “you’re not allowed to be on your phone.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On growing up gifted and out-of-place:

  "We got to get him the fuck out of this first grade thing. He needs to go to second now." —Aziz Ansari (16:30)

• On Parks and Recreation magic:

  "All of us...just the best people I’ve ever met in my life." —Aziz Ansari (26:13)

• On on-set pranks and inside jokes:

  "If I could try to get someone to break... You're pretty high up on that. Agree. He never cracked up." —Aziz Ansari (28:09)

• On parental courage and the immigrant spirit:

  "There was something in my dad... I think I had a similar thing where I always wanted to go somewhere bigger." —Aziz Ansari (19:41)

• On digital minimalism:

  "I don't have email. I haven't had email for, like, 10 years." —Aziz Ansari (33:45)

• On AI and ChatGPT culture:

  "It’s outsourcing critical thinking. It’s making everyone a little more basic." —Aziz Ansari (37:08)

• On love and marriage:

  "I just feel like all the other stuff doesn’t really matter to me anymore. This person is everything to me." —Aziz Ansari (38:14)

• On passing down food heritage:

  "Just learning home food that comes from your family... It’s a piece of your family history that I think is cool to try to preserve." —Aziz Ansari (57:50)

• On the golden joy of collective laughter:

  "It's so much better to be in a group and laugh... Streaming a movie and being on your phone... is not the same thing." —Aziz Ansari (62:44)

• Amy on TikTok and technology:

  "My relationship with my phone has just gotten deeper and more intense." —Amy Poehler (34:51)

• Closing Ad-Lib:

  "Turkey sandwich. I'm so happy that you came." —Amy Poehler (63:12)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Topic | Summary | |-----------|------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------| | 00:25 | Rashida’s intro | Welcoming nostalgia, fashion chat, Aziz's traits| | 09:57 | Rashida on Aziz’s cooking | Chicken 65, anecdotes about Aziz the chef | | 12:44 | Amy & Aziz in NY | New York autumn, early adulthood nostalgia | | 16:29 | Aziz skipping grades | Childhood, being the “smart kid” | | 19:41 | Aziz on family legacy | Immigrant courage and sense of adventure | | 22:02 | Comedy beginnings | First shows, UCB, and meeting Amy | | 25:32 | TV breakthrough | Sketch comedy, Human Giant, landing Parks job | | 26:13 | Parks & Rec ensemble | Cast chemistry, learning from Amy & Mike Schur | | 28:09 | Parks bloopers & memories | Funniest behind-the-scenes moments | | 33:28 | Phone detox | Aziz's minimalism, flip phone life | | 37:08 | The dangers of AI | Chatbots, loss of critical thinking | | 38:14 | Marriage reflections | Change in priorities, marital bliss | | 40:59 | Directing vs Acting | Challenge and joy of leading Good Fortune | | 45:01 | Keanu the legend | On-set stories from Good Fortune | | 47:01 | Process of rehearsal | How prepping actors boosts creativity | | 52:16 | Food & heritage | Southern and Indian upbringing, home cookbooks | | 57:50 | Importance of family recipes | Passing down culinary history | | 62:44 | Group laughter | The magic of theater and live comedy | | 63:14 | Running phone bit | Amy’s kid bit, Aziz’s playful callback |

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Final Thoughts

The episode is a tapestry of camaraderie, memory, and curiosity. Aziz Ansari opens up in Amy’s presence, weaving humor into reflections on identity, craftsmanship (in both food and film), and the evolving landscape of pop culture and technology. Good Hang lives up to its name—a sincere, funny, and heartwarming catch-up you don’t want to end.

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Listen for: Rich stories from the set of Parks and Rec, hilarious kitchen tales, thoughtful takes on digital life, and the creative heart of modern comedy—a must for fans of Amy, Aziz, and anyone who adores that Parks magic.

Transcript

[Aziz Ansari]

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[Amy Poehler]

Not all customers will qualify. See site for important safety info and additional details. Hello, everyone. Welcome to this episode of Good Hang. I'm very excited about my guest today. It is Aziz Ansari. So great to have Aziz here in the studio to talk about the past, the present, and the future. And we're going to talk about a lot of stuff today. We're going to talk about the fact that he skipped first grade because everyone thought he was so smart. We're going to talk about him growing up as an Indian boy in the south. We're going to talk about Parks and Rec, of course, and all our memories there. And we're going to talk about his cinematic directing date. Good fortune. Lots to get into. But before we do that, we want to speak to somebody who knows our guest, who has great feelings and things to say about our guest and who has a question for me to ask our guest. And we just have my wife, my beautiful, beautiful wife, Rashida Jones joining us today. Rashida, I miss you. I love you. Let's get going. Can you hear me? Rashida, can you hear me? Uh oh. She can't. This episode is brought to you by Palmolive. Some of the best memories you'll ever make are around the dinner table. You'll never regret trying out those new recipes that may or may not go sideways or putting on a spread so big that your in laws are still talking about it years later. Brownie points. So when it comes to the dishes, it's nice to know there's a product that works as hard as you do. Palmolive Ultra removes up to 99% of grease, leaving your dishes sparkling clean. Visit palmolive.com shop now.

[Rashida Jones]

This is a disaster.

[Amy Poehler]

Okay, how are you guys over there?

[Rashida Jones]

Am I. Am I the over there? Oh, oh, oh. I can look at your face now.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yay.

[Amy Poehler]

Oh, you couldn't see me before.

[Rashida Jones]

It was a side view.

[Aziz Ansari]

Oh, no.

[Amy Poehler]

It's a terrible view.

[Aziz Ansari]

No, it's great.

[Rashida Jones]

It was great. This is just more direct and intimate.

[Amy Poehler]

Bones, Polos. We just had a tech fiasco.

[Rashida Jones]

Fiasco.

[Amy Poehler]

We had a snafu.

[Rashida Jones]

I Mean, it still is a miracle that you can talk to each other in live time.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah.

[Rashida Jones]

Like, across regions. So I'm going to. I'm going to stick with that story.

[Amy Poehler]

I still can't believe that we have airplanes.

[Aziz Ansari]

Exactly.

[Rashida Jones]

Exactly. So there you go. This is a miracle. Our meeting today is a miracle.

[Amy Poehler]

Where are we talking to you from right now?

[Rashida Jones]

I'm in, my friend. I know this.

[Aziz Ansari]

Every time I talk to you, I.

[Rashida Jones]

Feel like I'm in my friend's sitting room.

[Amy Poehler]

Okay.

[Rashida Jones]

In London.

[Amy Poehler]

What makes a sitting room? What's a sitting room?

[Rashida Jones]

Lots of places to sit and kind of no other functionality, like, where you're just kind of sitting and staring at.

[Amy Poehler]

Each other, you know, you're in London.

[Rashida Jones]

I'm in London.

[Aziz Ansari]

Ah.

[Amy Poehler]

I miss you, friend.

[Rashida Jones]

I miss you too.

[Amy Poehler]

I'm talking to Aziz today, and I'm having a lot of. I'm having a lot of nostalgic feelings today.

[Rashida Jones]

I feel that I really miss. I really miss us as a cast.

[Amy Poehler]

Same. And I kind of feel like we are his aunties a little bit. We are definitely, totally you. Especially the education of Aziz.

[Rashida Jones]

I'm sorry, Was sort of like the alternate title for Parks and Recreation.

[Amy Poehler]

I know him and Plaza feel like they were babies.

[Rashida Jones]

Our babies.

[Amy Poehler]

They were our babies that we raised.

[Rashida Jones]

Our beautiful family, the four of us.

[Amy Poehler]

Before we get to Aziz, who, like you, I think, has, like, a very specific, cultured aesthetic. I'm loving the color brown that you're wearing.

[Rashida Jones]

Thank you so much. Because this. Somebody told me they didn't like this color. I don't remember who it was. And I was like, I do. I don't know why. It's, like, very 70s to me.

[Amy Poehler]

And I was. I was wondering what you think the color of the. Of the color of fall is. I always ask Rashida these questions because she knows she's in the know.

[Rashida Jones]

Well, there's a. There's a palette, because, you know, like, when you have. Have you ever done your makeup test where you're like, an autumn or spring or summer?

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah, I think I'm in autumn. You're in autumn. You are such an autumn.

[Rashida Jones]

You're summer.

[Amy Poehler]

I think I. I think. I think you're right. And I very. I wanted very much to be a winter. It's kind of the story of my life.

[Rashida Jones]

Summer polos. But you love summer.

[Amy Poehler]

I do, but the colors feel a little. I don't know, not substantial, like, too playful. Yeah, they feel a little juvenile. And I want to, you know, and I remember looking at the palette and saying, I think I'm a winter. And then TikTok said, no way.

[Rashida Jones]

No, ma'.

[Aziz Ansari]

Am.

[Amy Poehler]

They said, blondie's not allowed. But okay, so that's an autumnal color that you've got going on.

[Rashida Jones]

This, I would say, like, an olive green. A wine, like a merlot color is very the color of autumn. Maybe even, like, a mustard as an accent.

[Amy Poehler]

I can't even get anywhere near those colors. They do not work for me. And with that in mind, what do you think is the fashion of the season? What should we be wearing? Okay, so people should know. Yeah. So every season, Rasheeda and I and we try to, like, name how we're gonna dress, basically.

[Rashida Jones]

And it's steeped in either, like, a country or a vibe or like a trend or like an anti trend.

[Amy Poehler]

What have been some past ways that we have. We've named the seasons. I can think of a few. High school art teacher.

[Rashida Jones]

High school art teacher. Japanese winter.

[Amy Poehler]

Tired ballerina.

[Rashida Jones]

Tired ballerina. What's the last one that would just. That we kind of found from TikTok. It was like, frugal chic.

[Amy Poehler]

Frugal chic. Frugal chic, Right?

[Rashida Jones]

Like, make your own salads. Bring them to work. Wear the same, like, gorgeous sweater every day.

[Amy Poehler]

Shop your closet. Shop your closet.

[Aziz Ansari]

Closet.

[Amy Poehler]

What do we think is happening this fall?

[Rashida Jones]

Pretty much just like, a double F, like, functional fall. Or like, ooh, I was just in Paris, which, of course, always the fashion so good in Paris and the way that, like, girls wear trousers, like, it just is. It's hard to describe why they look so much better on them than anybody else, but there's, like, always, like, a front. Or maybe it's front pleat, fall.

[Amy Poehler]

Okay, you know what? Gen Z loves their front pleats. I know they're helpful, and I don't need any more help down there to feel full.

[Rashida Jones]

No more pleats in the front. Agreed?

[Aziz Ansari]

Agreed. Okay.

[Amy Poehler]

How about functional, functional, flat front.

[Rashida Jones]

Functional flat front full.

[Aziz Ansari]

Okay.

[Amy Poehler]

You heard it here first. Guys, guys. Trending. Okay. You know, we always like to talk well behind our guests back about our guest. What do you love about Aziz? I'm sorry?

[Rashida Jones]

Aziz is. He's a very insatiably curious human being. He loves to absorb art, food, fashion, film, traveling. Like, he's just. He's so open to experience, and I love people who are like that.

[Amy Poehler]

I would say that you're like that too.

[Rashida Jones]

And then, of course, like, he's just so funny, and I always want his take on something that makes it. He's a pleasure to be around in that way.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah.

[Aziz Ansari]

What?

[Amy Poehler]

I feel like you have. You two have probably gone and done some groovy things together.

[Rashida Jones]

Like, we've been in a lot of countries together.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah.

[Rashida Jones]

And I love being in Japan with Aziz because he'll. He'll just. He'll just bust out, like, the best accent and just order in Japanese with a full, perfect accent.

[Amy Poehler]

Yes, he speaks Japanese.

[Rashida Jones]

Yes, a little bit. But it's his accent so good that he convinces people that he's can, like, speak fluently because his accent's so good.

[Aziz Ansari]

Whoa.

[Amy Poehler]

That's cool.

[Rashida Jones]

Yeah, very cool.

[Amy Poehler]

Is it weird that every time I hear about other people speaking another language, I just feel so bad that I don't, like. I make it about myself.

[Rashida Jones]

Fire of envy. Same.

[Amy Poehler]

Well, people should know that you studied French for a while. A month, babe. A month more than other people, honey. Okay, so what question do you have for our guest Aziz today? What do you think I should ask Aziz? Anything you wanna know.

[Rashida Jones]

Yeah, I was. You know, I was thinking about something that would light him up that he'd wanna talk about. And again, as we mentioned, Aziz is an extremely cultured individual. And, you know, there's probably stuff that people don't really know about him. One thing is that he's an excellent chef, and also, he loves. So, a, what's his favorite thing to cook? And B, what's his favorite thing to eat?

[Amy Poehler]

Love that. Love that. Has he ever made anything for you?

[Rashida Jones]

All the time. He cooks me dinner all the time. Everything. My. My recent favorite is he makes this thing. It's like. It's an Indian dish that's specifically for children, so I love it called Chicken 65. And it's bright red because of the, like, the pepper powder, and it's delicious.

[Amy Poehler]

Yum.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah. Ooh.

[Amy Poehler]

I want to talk to him about that. And I want to talk about kitchen gadgets in general I just got for myself. I like to every once in a while, get myself a kitchen gadget so that I can continue to encourage myself to cook. I just got really long, thin tongs. Like, not your. Not your grabby tongs, but those long ones that you. Where you can turn a delicate. A delicate mushroom.

[Aziz Ansari]

Wow.

[Amy Poehler]

I wish we were hanging out together right now.

[Rashida Jones]

I miss you.

[Amy Poehler]

I miss you too.

[Rashida Jones]

I really want to do a TikTok dance with you.

[Amy Poehler]

Oh, yeah, Listeners, Rashida sent me a TikTok dance and said, I wish we were learning this together. And I watched it, and I was like, I don't think I'd be able.

[Rashida Jones]

To learn it 100% could do that. It looks so cool because they're such good dancers, but they're very simple steps.

[Amy Poehler]

You know, no one is a bigger fan. Could you do the TikTok dance and send it to me by myself?

[Aziz Ansari]

I will.

[Rashida Jones]

I'll send it to you. I'll send it to you. Just don't show anybody. I'll send it to you.

[Amy Poehler]

Do that thing where you make yourself a three people. You know how you can do an effect where you can look like three people?

[Aziz Ansari]

Yes.

[Amy Poehler]

Let's do that. Let's.

[Rashida Jones]

Maybe your team, after they fix your audio issues, can help me do that.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah, we're going to split this in a three, and you're going to be your own backup singer.

[Rashida Jones]

I love that. Best career.

[Amy Poehler]

Thank you, Bones, for doing this. So have you.

[Rashida Jones]

Miss you so much and love you and have fun with Aziz Zezers Baby zz, as I call them. Baby zz.

[Amy Poehler]

All right. Thanks, friend. Love you.

[Rashida Jones]

Love you, too.

[Amy Poehler]

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[Aziz Ansari]

God, this is. This is like peak New York right now. I know.

[Amy Poehler]

It's so nice to be. People don't know. We're recording in New York right now in the fall.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah. Wait, is this on now?

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah, we're on now.

[Aziz Ansari]

Oh, Whoa. Okay, good. I'm glad I didn't drop any racial slurs as I tend to do when I. When I usually right away. When you see me right away, we usually. So, what's your favorite right now? And then I say my favorite. And then, yeah, we just start hanging out. Yeah. So, God, thank goodness we dropped that tradition.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah, no, we're rolling. And all we've been talking about is New York in the fall.

[Aziz Ansari]

That's it.

[Amy Poehler]

New York in the fall, baby. But when you come here, do you get, like. Do you ever Want to live here? Well, you still spend time here.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah, I feel like I don't live anywhere. I'm always just running around. But whenever I come, like, visiting New York is fun because you come for. And you get a quick hit. You do all your favorite stuff, you see all your friends. But if I stay too long, it's too crazy. I'm too old now.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah, I know. You mean your little ZZ is all grown up. I know. My ZZ is just. He's an old man now.

[Aziz Ansari]

I know. If you watch. Whenever I see old Parks things, I was like, I didn't know that me and Aubrey did a show when we were little kids. Like, it's really. I know.

[Amy Poehler]

How old were you when you started on season one?

[Aziz Ansari]

I was 13 in season one. And then when we finished, I just turned 18. I got my driver's license, like, in the middle of the run.

[Amy Poehler]

A lot of people don't know that you were 18 when you were playing Tom Haverford on Parks and Rec.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

It is true, though.

[Aziz Ansari]

It is.

[Amy Poehler]

You. You look like a baby. You were a baby.

[Aziz Ansari]

I didn't know anything.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah.

[Aziz Ansari]

The first seasons, I didn't know how to act or anything. I should not have been on television. NBC should have been like, we gotta get. Is there any Indian guy that's done more acting that we can now play this guy?

[Amy Poehler]

I want to get into this, too, because it is. It feels like when we. We've met each other throughout, like, we've.

[Aziz Ansari]

We've.

[Amy Poehler]

In a bunch of different ways in a bunch of different places. But New York City, I will say, feels like. And I don't know if you feel this way when you come here, that you are reminded of when you were young. There is a feeling here, like, if you were here when you were young, when you come back, you feel younger or something. You remember your younger self.

[Aziz Ansari]

You're trying to get back that energy. You remember being out late and all this kind of stuff.

[Amy Poehler]

Because you were an NYU kid.

[Aziz Ansari]

I went to NYU and I started doing comedy then.

[Amy Poehler]

Were you doing comedy, like, in high school or.

[Aziz Ansari]

No, I grew up in South Carolina, so there was no outlet for anything like that. You know, it was like, you know, you could dip and spit into a Mountain Dew.

[Amy Poehler]

You can spit into a cup and everyone laughs.

[Aziz Ansari]

I just drank Mountain Dew and dipped. That's all I did in high school.

[Amy Poehler]

And did you ever.

[Aziz Ansari]

We were in four wheelers.

[Amy Poehler]

Were you in a play?

[Aziz Ansari]

I was in plays when I was a kid. I remember there was some play I did, and I Don't know what the play was, but I played like a cowboy, and I was doing, like, a big Southern accent. And I remember I just crushed. And kids were coming up to me afterwards, like, do it again. And it was like one of those things. I remember.

[Amy Poehler]

So were you a funny kid?

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah, I like to be funny in class. And, yeah, anytime there was anything that involved public speaking or something, I was always super comfortable. I remember when I did, like, something where I was like, six years old, I had to speak in front of the whole school, and it didn't phase me at all.

[Amy Poehler]

I don't know why it's so funny.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah, because. Okay, so when I was in school in South Carolina, right, this is in the 80s, so, you know, a lot of these people had never even seen Indian people before. And I. I skipped first grade. I did skip first grade and second grade. Like, in the middle of first grade, they just. They call my parents. They're like, we got to get him out of here.

[Amy Poehler]

He's too smart.

[Aziz Ansari]

He already knows all this stuff. I don't know if it's this. This other culture you're from or what's happening, but we got to get him the fuck out of this first grade thing. He needs to go to second now.

[Amy Poehler]

Get him out of my class. He's embarrassing everyone else.

[Aziz Ansari]

Then I went there and I went to second grade, and it's a little school. So, like, I'm like, you know, and there's like, 30 kids in each class. I grew up in a town of, like 8,000 people, so they're like, oh, this little. This little brown wonder kid. And so, like, I'm on the radio and all this stuff. No, it's on the radio. There's a recording somewhere. And when I was a little kid, I had, like, a Southern accent because that's where I grew up and that's where I'm around. So I vaguely remember being on some radio program, and I was like, my name's Aziz Ansari, and I'm a first grader at Marlboro Academy.

[Amy Poehler]

When you're told at 6 that you're a smart kid, then you become the smart kid. Were you the smart kid?

[Aziz Ansari]

I think so, but I think it kind of annoyed me in a way. Like, I didn't want to be painted with a certain brush. You know what I mean?

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah, yeah, I bet. I bet people are just projecting a lot of stuff on you.

[Aziz Ansari]

And then I went to the school in 11th and 12th grade, which is in, like, a science and math school, and it's A public school in South Carolina called a governor's school. And there it's like all the smartest kids from all over South Carolina. And there I was just like this dumb kid that was like, smoking weed and telling dumb stories.

[Amy Poehler]

And they were like, what happened? I thought you skipped first grade.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah, 11th grade. You need to go back to Ted expecting.

[Amy Poehler]

But yeah. They kicked you back down.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

I mean, we talked a lot about it when we first met. Like, this idea of growing up in South Carolina in the 80s as a young Indian boy. One of probably the only in your.

[Aziz Ansari]

Class figuring out not one of the. In, like, first and second grade. I sometimes forget this. There was this Thai girl. Her name was Tisha, which does not sound like a Thai name. And they used to always be like, what's up with you and Tisha? I'm not kidding. I remember there was a play in, like, first grade. There was like. It was a play, and for some reason there was Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, and it was me and Tisha. We were the stars, you know. Oh, oh, diversity. No, no. Me and Tisha in Bennettsville in like 1988. Leads. Leads of this mysterious play where there was Mickey and Minnie Mouse, but there was always like, oh, you know.

[Amy Poehler]

Were you excited in a way to expand your horizons and go to New York?

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah, I always. It's so interesting. I was thinking about this. You know, the fact that my dad left. You know, my family is all from the southern tip of India up until me and my dad left India and went to, like. He first came to Jersey and he was doing like, you know, residency or whatever. And I, you know, really, I was thinking about this a couple weeks ago, how remarkable it was and how scary that must have been to come over there and not know anything. You know, this is before Internet FaceTime. Nothing. If you're there, you're really gone. And same with my mom as well.

[Amy Poehler]

Did they come over together?

[Aziz Ansari]

My dad came first and then my mom came later. But I was just thinking about how there was something in my dad. I asked him about this and he was like, oh, I always wanted to go. And it's weird. Cause I grew up in South Carolina, and I think I had a similar thing where I always wanted to go somewhere bigger with more stuff going on.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah, you had that same drive to just see more of the world, basically.

[Aziz Ansari]

Luckily, I went to school in New York, which is the greatest place to be if you have that kind of feeling.

[Amy Poehler]

So when you're leaving South Carolina, you apply to nyu.

[Aziz Ansari]

You apply.

[Amy Poehler]

You're like, I'm gonna go to business school.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah. I didn't know what I wanted to do. This is how dumb I was.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah. Business seems to be the major that a lot of men who don't know what they want to do pick.

[Aziz Ansari]

Like, my uncle has a business. I was like, oh, maybe I'll start my own business and I'll major in business. That's how silly I was. And then I get there, and there's all these kids that are talking about Goldman Sachs and all that stuff. I don't even know what Goldman Sachs is. And I'm completely confused. And I had friends that were in Tisch, the film and television. I was thinking about switching to that or maybe the Gallatin School where you make up your own major. But I never really got it together. The little combination of laziness and. I also started doing standup, like, the summer of my freshman year. And I distinctly remember sitting in a class in my sophomore year and just thinking, I'm just gonna do something with standup. At the least, I'll be a comedian that does comedy clubs. And that's fine for me.

[Amy Poehler]

How do you go do stand up? What makes you go do standup when you're in college?

[Aziz Ansari]

It was one of these weird things. I was in school my freshman year, and I was just sitting around and telling stories, and people were laughing. Someone's like, oh, man, you should try to do standup. And then a week later, the same thing happened, and it was like one of these weird. Ooh, maybe the universe is saying something. And then I went to a comedy club. I went to the comedy solo, which I still perform at all the time, and I saw a show, and I was like, I think I can do this. And I tried it, and I wasn't great. I did well. But I was very comfortable with it, and I really enjoyed it. And I just wanted to get good at it. I just wanted to get better. I never thought about anything further about, you know, acting or any of that stuff. I just wanted to get good at this. And it really goes back to what you were saying earlier, where you get that high of like, oh, I want that feeling again. Yeah. And so I started there, and then it just kind of went from there.

[Amy Poehler]

Well, when we met, do you remember the first time we met? I was trying to think, today. I mean, I don't remember anything anymore.

[Aziz Ansari]

I have so many friends who are like, when did we first meet? I mean, one of the first times I remember meeting you was so the UCB theater. And there was A Monday night standup show at 11, which is like a tough slot. Monday at 11 is not the prime slot, but they were doing a standup show. And Matt Besser, who was part of ucb, asked me if I would want to do the standup show. And I started doing it, and I was booking, like, my favorite comedians, and I would host it every week. And it really took off. And I remember one week you came and I was like, whoa. Like, you just came to see it and said hi. And that's one of the first times I remember meeting.

[Amy Poehler]

That's what I was gonna say is I remember meeting you, seeing you on stage. That's back when we could all just, you know, sleep all day and then go to do a show at 11 o' clock on Monday night.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

Then you go on and you do you create your own sketch show.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah, we did the sketch show on MTV. Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah. And that was kind of like 2007, which was such a cool time for, I think, for comedy at the time, because you had MTV and Comedy Central and all these places, like, taking big risks on Green Apples.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah. And Adult Swim and all these things. Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

Were you on Adult Swim?

[Aziz Ansari]

No, but that was around and things like Tim and Eric, and it was.

[Amy Poehler]

Like, here's this kind of niche vibe. Let's give them a show for, you know, like, let's see what they can do for a couple of seasons.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

And so that show was Human Giant.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

And you wrote. And what did you learn from doing a sketch show?

[Aziz Ansari]

Sketch show's really hard. Yeah. I mean, you know, that's one of the hardest things to do. Cause especially even just from a production standpoint, you know, everything is different. There's no consistency. You're always doing new costumes, it's new locations. It's really a hard thing to do. And writing sketches is really hard. But there was one sketch I did that I wrote. I think, you know, we all kind of wrote together. But it was one that I really liked, and it was one that Greg Daniels and Mike Schur saw that ended, and it was because it was on YouTube or funny or Die or whatever. And that was what got me the gig on Parks.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah. And was it Shutter Books?

[Aziz Ansari]

No, it was called Viral Videos. And the premise was me and Rob Huebel, and we were on a talk show that Paul was hosting, and Huebel had just made a viral video because he did a video where he cut his penis off and it went viral. And he was, like, so excited. I got 2 million views. And then he's like, oh, we have this other guy. His name's Kevin Kreisler. He has a viral video, too, and it's me. And I got, like, 40 million followers, and all I did was just make funny faces. And I was like.

[Amy Poehler]

And so he has to reckon with the fact he could have just made.

[Aziz Ansari]

Funny faces, and he's done something a little bit more extreme. And, yeah, it was a fun sketch, but that's what Greg and Mike told me they saw. And they were like, oh, shakay. Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

Because a lot of people don't know. You were the first person hired for Parks.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah, I met with them and. Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

What was that meeting like? Do you remember it?

[Aziz Ansari]

Well, it was so mysterious what they were up to. I had a meeting with them and I told them, I don't know what you're doing, but whatever it is, that would be a dream job. And. And, you know, this was like, when the Office was on, and Mike and Greg were both involved in that, and that was, you know, my favorite show like that on the air. And so I told him, whatever you're up to, let me know. And then, of course, you know, when it all came together with you and Rasheeda and everything, and.

[Amy Poehler]

Well, I'm kind of learning. When I was talking to Plaza, when Plaza was here, she was talking about, like, her meeting with them, too.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah, yeah. Very famous stories. Yeah, yeah, I know.

[Amy Poehler]

And it's kind of funny. I kind of forgot the Avengers Assemble feeling of those guys going out and. And getting people and bringing them in and talking about, like, we're gonna do something very cool. I mean, it didn't even feel like there was a ton of auditioning. It was more just them picking people that they thought was funny.

[Aziz Ansari]

Not only funny. And I feel like all of us, whenever we see each other, do interviews, kind of say this kind of stuff ad nauseam, but it's so true. But also just the best people I've ever met in my life.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah.

[Aziz Ansari]

Like, really, I cannot believe it. Cause we've all done other stuff, and, you know, not everybody' know, look, we've all done other stuff. I don't talk about everything the way I talk about Parks. You know, you do something, and some people, it's a different energy. Not necessarily mean or bad, but just something. Like, we all just clicked, and there was a vibe that worked with all of us. And just to pay respect to you and Mike, you know, when I did Master none with Alan, and as I become a director, what I learned from you and Mike in terms of how to lead. I mean, I can't thank you enough. It was the best role model I could ever have. Cease.

[Amy Poehler]

Cece.

[Aziz Ansari]

You know, I, I. When I. I started watching your podcast, and so then Parks clips started coming on YouTube, and when I watch it, sometimes I. I just think about us making it same. And. And the. It's funnier for me to watch the bloopers, because that feels more like my experience. And. Oh, gosh. Some of those things that came up I hadn't thought about in so long. They were cracking me up. I saw this clip. It was. It was. It was. I don't remember the context of the episode or whatever, but it's. We're in Ron's office, and me and Donna, there's something called blue. And. And. And Ron has decided Bronze and blush. So me and Retta start just going, ron's in blue, bronze and blue. And then I jump on the table. Bronze and blush run. And me and Retta's dancing is getting crazier and crazier, and we're just doing. Just dancing. Dancing all over offer, but doing all the crazy stuff. And they showed that that was what we shot. And then they showed the scene as it aired. It was just like, runs in blue. And they cut. That's also my favorite thing. It's like. I mean, I love trying to. If I could try to get someone to break, like, you're pretty good. I don't, you know. Yeah. Pretty high up. Up on that. Agree.

[Amy Poehler]

He never cracked up.

[Aziz Ansari]

And, oh, man, I love. There was a couple of times where I almost. Where I got, like. I think he didn't laugh, but I think his mustache may have just went up a little bit. And I remember one thing that you wrote. It was an episode you wrote. I was doing that Puppy Boys, and then the. The puppy started licking his mustache, and I was like, I'm at the punching. I like your mustache. I'm just a little puppy. And it all. I think it almost got.

[Amy Poehler]

It almost got. You're so right. I mean, the setup there was like, you had a chance to play around. Like, you got to try your stuff. I mean, the fact that Treat Yourself is used on, you know, cocktail napkins and in Kmart and, like, it's everywhere.

[Aziz Ansari]

And I went to some ice cream place one time, and they're like, treat yourself to a sample. I was like, can I have a sample? I was like, please don't. Please don't connect this. Luckily, the person did put.

[Amy Poehler]

Didn't put them together.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah. I mean, that's become Part of the lexicon. And I can remember that moment, which, by the way, it's so funny in that moment. Treat yourself. Because you guys say, treat yourself, 2011.

[Aziz Ansari]

And I'm like, oh, my God.

[Amy Poehler]

Oh, my gosh, 2011. Remember that?

[Aziz Ansari]

And then there was one in the future that was like, treat yourself, 2014. It's like, it's 2025. What's happening?

[Amy Poehler]

But I remember that episode deeply because it felt like it was a great example of the writers and the producers realizing, like, what made you laugh, what made Aziz laugh, Like, what would be like, a. What would be fun for us. Like, that's what they started doing so well.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yes. I think they just. The more they got to know us, it was such a good group that you could just be like, oh, well, what happens if we put these two together? And then, of course, we had, like, the greatest people coming in and doing bit parts that were all just so funny. And the characters. Another clip. I watched that, and I think, you know, talking about breaking this was. Is the hardest scene I've ever had to film in my entire acting career. And it was. And. And. And if It's. It's on YouTube. The. The blooper of this. And it's me. And do you remember the scene? It's me and Adam Scott, and we're having lunch with Joan Calamezza.

[Amy Poehler]

Yes. The great Mo Collins.

[Aziz Ansari]

Mo Collins, who always is just so funny. And she said, we're head of lunch. And she says, I'm gonna go powder my nose, amongst other things. And then she walks away. And then Adam comes to me and goes. And then Ben is supposed to say, dude, is she gonna go powder her vagina? And we couldn't do it. And this is the only time, I think this ever happened on Parks or anything, where me and Adam were like, just. Let's just film the rest of the stuff, and we'll come back to that. We'll just go back to the. Because we couldn't do it. And then. Because. Because it's just the most absurd task. Because you'd be like, okay, no, no, we got it this time. Okay. All right. All right, guys. Ready? Okay. Amongst other things. Is she. You know, he could have said, dude, she had to go power her vagina. We couldn't get through it.

[Amy Poehler]

And Mo was so funny doing it. How she was, like, stumbling out of the table. Yeah.

[Aziz Ansari]

And then she'd add some other thing, and you're like, you can't do that. I. I just steeled myself. And now you just did this other Funny thing. That's not fair.

[Amy Poehler]

Oh, wait. I love a blooper. I love bloopers in general. I love a blooper.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah. But watching these park bloopers was. After I watched your thing, it put me on the algorithm. It was so fun.

[Amy Poehler]

Oh, and you know what? I also wanted to say, when we're in the parks and recreation world for a second, my kids loved Aziz. They're in their late teens, and when they see you on tv, they go, oh, is turkey sandwich in this? So, yes, my kids were little when they. When I was shooting that show, and they would come and visit, and, Aziz, you're really good with kids, and you do a thing that they love, which is you kind of like, I don't know. It's funny. You realize sometimes with kids, with people and kids, either people, like, come on too strong and just, like, want to interact, and kids are like. Or they just, you know, they don't know. Or they're like, hello, young person.

[Aziz Ansari]

But.

[Amy Poehler]

But Aziz would basically do these bits with them that would make them laugh so much. One of them is. You would walk by my oldest and pretend to be on the phone with his best friend.

[Aziz Ansari]

What was his name?

[Amy Poehler]

Watson.

[Aziz Ansari]

Watson, that's right. Hey, Watson, what's going on? No, I'm just on set. Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

And my oldest would just kind of listen and be like, wait, he's talking to my friend. Like, he was, like, 5 years old. And the other day, as you were just, like, doing funny bits with them, and one day you were holding or eating a turkey sandwich, and they started laughing and pointing at you and saying, turkey sandwich. Turkey sandwich, whatever. And you loved that. I just remember you thinking it was so funny. And the other thing I just wanted. You mentioned your algorithm and your phone taking you to Parks clips. I did want to talk to you today about your relationship to your phone.

[Aziz Ansari]

No.

[Amy Poehler]

What is your relationship to your phone now?

[Aziz Ansari]

I try to stay off everything as much as I can.

[Amy Poehler]

How do you do that? Teach me your ways.

[Aziz Ansari]

I don't have email. I haven't had email for, like, 10 years.

[Amy Poehler]

Incredible.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah. But I have an assistant.

[Amy Poehler]

Okay. All right. But still, that means that there's also.

[Aziz Ansari]

Stuff like, you know, like, I have a flip phone, and if I get really lost, I gotta either ask people or just call my wife and be like, hey, I'm.

[Amy Poehler]

I don't know where I am.

[Aziz Ansari]

I've had to do that before. Like, call my wife and be like. And to the point where she's, like, kind of used to it, but. And if you Know, I hail taxis, and if there's not a taxi, sometimes I'll call and be like, there's not one around.

[Amy Poehler]

So you don't use like an Uber app usually.

[Aziz Ansari]

In London, there's taxis all the time. You can hail them. And here too. New York. Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

Well, why do you have that kind of relationship with your phone?

[Aziz Ansari]

I think it just gives me more space to think. I mean, I heard something about, like, Tarantino doesn't even have a phone. Chris Nolan doesn't have a phone. I was like, whoa, those guys are able to get a lot of stuff done. Maybe there's something to it.

[Amy Poehler]

It does feel like the eventual next step will be just. That will be people, like, breaking up with their phones in that way.

[Aziz Ansari]

It's pretty consuming and. Yeah, but that's just me. I don't know.

[Amy Poehler]

No, I relate. And I'm genuinely asking because. Because I feel like my relationship with my phone has just gotten deeper and more intense.

[Aziz Ansari]

When you were turning on parks, you told me something about how your phone fell in the pool or something and you didn't have for a couple days. And you're like, this is the greatest thing ever.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah, it definitely feels like something that has taken over. It's gonna be really interesting. This generation, like Gen Z and Gen Alpha, who have grown up with a phone in their hand.

[Aziz Ansari]

I saw a Gen Alpha kid one time at the airport, and they had a flip phone. I guess it was like. Cause some parents get their kid a flip phone. All right, I'll get you a flip phone. Sure. So I saw that, and then I had mine and I saw the kid and I went like this and dapped her flip phone. And she was completely confused.

[Amy Poehler]

Can I see your flip phone?

[Aziz Ansari]

God, this thing doesn't even work that well. But another thing is, one time I was eating in a restaurant in London and I heard my phone going off and I checked and nothing was going on. But it was another dude that had a flip. And then we just started talking and he. We were talking about all this and just joking about how like, oh, what do you do when you get lost? And all this other stuff and, you know, classic flip phone guy combo. And. And then he said, you know, the thing I think you gotta avoid now is, is the chatbot. And I was like, oh, 100%.

[Amy Poehler]

Okay, let's talk about that.

[Aziz Ansari]

The AI. Not the AI chatbot. Or I. I think. I'm not even calling it right. But the thing where you chat GPT. I call it chatbot. Yeah, but it's chat GPT. See, I don't even know the name.

[Amy Poehler]

Agree.

[Aziz Ansari]

I think this is, like, you know, it's outsourcing, critical thinking. It's making everyone's opinions kind of saying, this is my feeling, you know? And I think people using it instead of Google, most of the time, it's wrong. And it's just kind of like telling you what you want to hear so you can keep asking your questions. And, you know, someone showed me some commercial where it's like, someone said, like, how do I make a dinner for this girl that makes. And I'm like, well, I would rather someone call someone and ask someone or maybe have some sort of conversation, a human thing. Like, it just seems like it's like outsourcing thinking, and it's like killing some bit of humanity. And I don't know, it kind of makes you. I was reading some article where it said, like, it's making everyone a little more basic.

[Amy Poehler]

Ooh, yeah, that's real. I think that's real. I've always found you, Aziz, to be a very curious person who's kind of interested in why we do things. Like, you're very interested in the why of why people make. And I feel like definitely the last few standup specials that I've seen, you do definitely have that feeling. And what is it? Are you doing stand up right now? Are you out doing it at all?

[Aziz Ansari]

I'm just been promoting the movie now, but I think I'm gonna go out after the movie in, like, October, November and do new.

[Amy Poehler]

All new material or do.

[Aziz Ansari]

I've been doing stuff about, like, being married, and, you know, we're trying to, like, have a kid and talking about all that stuff.

[Amy Poehler]

So what's it like being married? Is it fun being married?

[Aziz Ansari]

No. I love my wife very, very much. She's great. She's the greatest thing that's ever happened to me. Yeah, you met her a handful of times, and, yeah, she's great.

[Amy Poehler]

How did you meet?

[Aziz Ansari]

We met in London, and, you know, we did long distance for a while. And, yeah, I was like, all right.

[Amy Poehler]

How has being married changed you?

[Aziz Ansari]

You? I just feel like all the other stuff doesn't really matter to me anymore. You know, I'm just like, oh, wow, this. This person is. Is everything to me. And just to. To have that person to come home to and told that that that's. It kind of makes everything else seem like it's less important.

[Amy Poehler]

I mean.

[Aziz Ansari]

Sorry.

[Amy Poehler]

I love it. Aziz, I'm so happy for you. I'm excited to hear what you say on stage. About marriage and relationship because I've always known you to be a person who has a lot of love to give.

[Aziz Ansari]

Oh, thank you.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah, get those tears going, Aziz. Let's get those tears going. Chop chop. This episode is brought to you by Uber Eats. Facing a beauty emergency? Need a last minute gift gift? Don't panic. Sephora is now available for delivery on Uber Eats. You can now get all your beauty essentials delivered in as little as 25 minutes for the same price as in store. Plus, treat yourself to $10 off when you spend $50 or more on your first Sephora order on the Uber Eats app. Order Sephora on Uber Eats today. Offer ends October 30th. One order per customer. Additional terms apply. See app for availability. Delivery fees may apply. This episode is brought to you by HubSpot, the customer platform for growing businesses. Nobody likes spoilers unless it's your customers telling you exactly what they need. Yet most businesses miss these signals. The hints dropped in emails, the messages hidden in call logs and chats. All of it trapped in the digital ether. But with HubSpot, you get this data all in one place so you can grow your business. And spoiler alert. The more you know, the more you grow. Visit HubSpot.com today. This episode is brought to you by ebay. On ebay, every find has a story. Like, if you're looking for a vintage band tee. Not just a tee, the band tee. You wore it everywhere until your ex stole it. Now you're on ebay. There it is. Same tea from the same tour. The things you love have a way of finding their way back to you. Especially on ebay. Shop ebay for millions of finds, each with a story. EBay. Things people love. Before we talk about good fortune, your new film, which looks amazing and holy shit, the cast is great and you wrote and directed it. It's so good. When you were doing Master of None, Master of None feels like a show with Alan Yang that you created. It feels like when I was looking up and going over your stuff and being reminded of it almost feels like a different time in television that it was pre Covid.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah, I mean, it's like a time capsule in New York now. That show, you know, it's about 10 years old now when we were making it. And that was when Netflix first came out. And this was a time when Netflix was like, you remember, people would be like, oh, there's a new Netflix show. You know, they had so few and so every show got their shine. And, you know, when Alan and I made that Show. The idea of, like, whoa, this guy that's got the brown face is starring in the show. Like, that was, like, not really happening, you know, And. Yeah, and they let us kind of really do what we wanted. Like, you know, when people talk about, oh, you know, getting notes, they hadn't even hired people to give notes yet. You know what I mean? And then the first season did really well, so the second season was like, yeah, just keep doing your thing. And it was just a radically different time. And now streaming and making shows and all these things have become much, much different.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah, the whole industry is so different. And I remember you guys feeling excited about doing that. What was it like to leave an ensemble and then be the lead of a show?

[Aziz Ansari]

Well, that's the other thing about Parks is Parks is not only you're on this great show, but everything's taken care of. Like, you just show up and you're like, treat yourself. Good night.

[Amy Poehler]

See you, Z.

[Aziz Ansari]

Thanks so much. Great day at work. And that is not what you do on Mastronaut. Not what I did on Good Fortune. You have to pay. You know, people, I think sometimes, you know, they're like, what is directing? You don't really. It's kind of a vague thing, and it's really. You're just deciding everything. You know, you're like, okay, well, okay, where. Where does the scene take place? Okay, a restaurant. Okay, let's go drive around and look at however many restaurants. Gotta pick the restaurant. What are the people wearing? You're making so many decisions. You're crafting everything, and you're there. And then. And you have to, you know, I'm writing everything, too, so you have to write it, and then you have to figure out how everything's gonna look and make all these decisions. And then you have to edit it, and you have to make sure it all works. And it's a much more involved process. And just acting is a much different, simpler gig.

[Amy Poehler]

What part of directing surprises you that you like so much?

[Aziz Ansari]

I just love these moments where you've written something and you have your actors and you had it in your head a certain way, and then someone does something a little surprising or it just goes to another level and. And, you know, when I was looking at some behind the stuff scenes from Good Fortune, and I really enjoyed the stuff where I wasn't acting and I was just over the side and, like, you know, it was like Keanu and Seth, and they were doing something that was cracking me up, and I was just, you know, laughing and, you know, trying not to mess up the scene. And those moments are super fun. I mean, there is another. There's a scene where they're, like, riding in a car, and they were like, okay, do you want to follow them in the van, be on the radio? I was like, oh, those radios always cut out. I'm just gonna hide in the backseat. So I was, like, curled up like this, and I was just, like, yelling jokes. And, you know, Seth and Kiana, so iconic. And, like, hear them say the jokes, like, the way you have it in your head, but also a little funnier when it really feels like you're a little kid playing. Those are the best parts. You know what I mean?

[Amy Poehler]

Totally. And also to allow yourself to still do that, because sometimes I think, you know, when you're working on anything that you created, no matter, it doesn't have to be a film. It can be anything that you made, and you, like, hand it over, and people then start to work on it. It's hard to not. To not be too rigid about it. Like, you have an idea of how it's gonna go, and it's supposed to go that way. And the reason why we work with other people is to collaborate.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah, yeah. And to play like that and to see what they have to say. And I love collaborating with actors, which is something I learned from our experience on parks. You know, Mike and all the writers, they would take all these little things, like, oh, Offerman's into woodworking. Maybe that. Oh, he plays a saxophone, maybe, you know, And I've always spent a lot of time trying to get to know the people that I work and try to figure out how to put more of them into it and try to understand who they are to help write the character better, make it feel more like them.

[Amy Poehler]

Let's talk about good fortune, because that cast is. Okay, so first of all, is Keanu, as nice as he seems?

[Aziz Ansari]

He's the best.

[Amy Poehler]

He seems incredible.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah, he's the best. And he's, like, the sweetest guy, but he's also, like, the coolest guy in the world. Like, he kind of balances both things. Like, you know, we'll do, like, rehearsals at my house or whatever, and Keanu will show up, like, on a motorcycle. Like, he looks like he drove from an anime movie straight into reality. And he gets out, he's wearing, like, all black. He's got, like, a backpack from the future. He takes it off. He's got boots on, and he's just the coolest. And me and Seth are just like.

[Amy Poehler]

I mean, I don't know. I don't like that Keanu's still driving a motorcycle. I want him off that motorcycle for insurance purposes.

[Aziz Ansari]

Riding that motorcycle. I'm like, I want him. No, no. He loves his motorcycle. Yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

And Seth and Kiki you've worked with before.

[Aziz Ansari]

Aki is the best. You gotta meet Keke. Keke is one of my favorite people ever.

[Amy Poehler]

I have met Keke.

[Aziz Ansari]

You have?

[Amy Poehler]

I got the privilege of doing her podcast.

[Aziz Ansari]

Oh, you did? We did her podcast too. It was so fun.

[Amy Poehler]

So fun. Keke and I have had dinner, not to brag by ourselves, just the two of us.

[Aziz Ansari]

Whoa. She's, like, in Australia now, we rarely get to see each other.

[Amy Poehler]

She works all the time. She's so. She is so naturally funny. I've described Kiki. She is a movie star. Hilarious.

[Aziz Ansari]

She once told me her aunt died in a way that was really funny. And I was like, how did you do that? I'm laughing. And you just told me. Told me your aunt died.

[Amy Poehler]

She is so quick. She's so sharp. She's so talented. I mean, she's just as good a singer and performer as she is an actress.

[Aziz Ansari]

We had this scene where me and Kiki are dancing, and I was, like, working with some choreographer, and then Kiki's just like, oh, yeah. And then just does all this crazy stuff. And I'm like, yeah, she is.

[Amy Poehler]

She's so talented. And, I mean, the cast is really awesome. How did you. I guess, like, how did you let everybody play and experiment on the. Like, was. Was it a. Was it that kind of set? Like, did you.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah, I mean, I think, look, if you cast the right people, it's all gonna come together in a gel. In a nice way. And, you know, I spent a lot of time rehearsing with everybody, so we.

[Amy Poehler]

Kind of go, okay, so you like to rehearse?

[Aziz Ansari]

I like to spend a lot of time. So we. Cause, you know, when you're actually on set, that is precious time. When the camera's rolling to get to that moment, it's so precious. And you always don't have enough time. Blah, blah. So the more time I can spend with these people beforehand and rehearse and kind of make sure everything sounds right beforehand and, you know, rewrite things to make it really sound like them. Then when we get on set, there's just less. We're already kind of almost there. Yeah, but of course, once you're there in the place with the clothes and everything else, you come up with new ideas. But, you know, all those people, they're so, you know, Kiki and Seth, they're really comfortable with improvising. And Keanu. You know, Keanu. At first, I think Keanu was a little intimidated, I think, because, you know, he's not as a comedy guy as much as me and Seth, but he got into it, and he would improvise and stuff a little bit. And I told Seth, I was like, could you imagine if, like, we did an action movie? How awkward we'd be? Like.

[Amy Poehler]

I'm gonna push back on that because I feel like we would be great in an action movie because I want us to be able to do more action.

[Aziz Ansari]

Really?

[Amy Poehler]

Don't you wish you could do a film where you get to just say one line a day?

[Aziz Ansari]

Oh, yeah. Keanu barely speaks in those witnesses.

[Amy Poehler]

That's what I mean.

[Aziz Ansari]

You know, when I was a kid, my favorite movies were all action movies. My favorite movies were, like, Terminator 2 and Die Hard. And, I mean, I still love those movies. Those are some of my favorite movies. But I loved action movies as a kid when I was a little kid that, you know, I was. I mean, I liked comedy and all this stuff, but I feel like once.

[Amy Poehler]

You start talking, you. It's diminishing returns. Like, once you actually start talking in film, everyone's like, oh, that's how they talk. Oh, they're saying that. Like. But if you never talk, like, which.

[Aziz Ansari]

Are you trying to be? Like, in a Fast and the Furious movie, what's the action movie?

[Amy Poehler]

I would like more of, like, a boring identity.

[Aziz Ansari]

Whoa.

[Amy Poehler]

Just walking through the streets of a European city. I like Leather Jacket, but I feel like everyone would get, like if I. If I did that. Everyone go like.

[Aziz Ansari]

Well, that's a. Sometimes. Sometimes people say, send me stuff that's more serious. I'm like, they're just gonna think I'm too silly to be this guy. It's gonna hurt the movie. I can't do it for you.

[Amy Poehler]

I know what you mean. I can't show up as the villain.

[Aziz Ansari]

And people aren't gonna be like, she's too nice. She's gonna change her mind.

[Amy Poehler]

I do think it's amazing when people, like, decide to do a 180 as an actor and then they play someone really horrible, and you're just like, oh, no, we love that person. And now they're playing.

[Aziz Ansari]

Some people can do it.

[Amy Poehler]

Some people can do it.

[Aziz Ansari]

Even when Keanu and I, one day we were doing some, and there was, like, a room that I was waiting in in between, and it happened to be, like, John Wick Weekend and, like, I was watching some of the Wick stuff. I was like, wow, I can't believe he did this and then plays this very silly guy in my movie. And it's the same guy. It's really impressive.

[Amy Poehler]

He just also has a great reputation for being a wonderful person. Keanu, like, it just seems like, you know, those kind of things just get out into the world. And he just seems like he's handled his giant fame and his, like, very long.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah, he's been Relationship. Relationship a long, long time.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah.

[Aziz Ansari]

I mean, when I was about to meet him, I did, like, a little film festival and I was rewatching, like, Parenthood and Parenthood.

[Amy Poehler]

I just rewatched Parenthood on the plane. It's so good.

[Aziz Ansari]

It's incredible.

[Amy Poehler]

It is.

[Aziz Ansari]

It's so good. During that weekend with the John Wick weekend, they showed Parenthood too. And I was watching it in between, and I was just so very different. I love that.

[Amy Poehler]

Wicked Parenthood.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah, I know.

[Amy Poehler]

Are there films that you go back to that are, like, your comfort watches? Like, if you're. If you're. If it's a rainy day and you're like, I'm gonn on a movie. Do you like to watch films?

[Aziz Ansari]

I love watching films. And there's definitely, like, a film nerd element to my wife, to my life. And, yeah, the movies I go back to a lot. I love, you know, working on this. And all the time when I'm writing, I revisit a. I revisit, like, being John Malkovich a lot. I love that. I love Eternal Sunshine, Spotlight Love.

[Amy Poehler]

Eternal Sunshine.

[Aziz Ansari]

Those two I visit a lot lot. I love those. And I love watching just older movies, too.

[Amy Poehler]

Me too. I mean, I. I feel like the. The joy of getting older is like, looking back and realizing, oh, there's a lot of stuff I still haven't seen, you know?

[Aziz Ansari]

Oh, yeah. It never ends.

[Amy Poehler]

I know.

[Aziz Ansari]

I know. And that's the thing that got me into being more diligent about watching film was, you know, I realized, oh, all these directors that I love, whether it's like, Scorsese or Paul Thomas Sanders, whatever, they've seen every movie. And I was like, that can't be a coincidence.

[Amy Poehler]

I mean, I gotta be honest. Sometimes it's overwhelming. Like, the way people. Films talk about films definitely makes me feel, like, stressed.

[Aziz Ansari]

Oh, I had to go on, like, TCM or whatever. And I was like, hey, man, I might get some things wrong here because, like, Scorsese will be like. And the person that did the craft services here, you know, he was making these ham sandwiches that had this special kind of cheese that. That everybody loved. And Greta Garble didn't like them. So he. For her, he would do it with turkey. And you totally don't know.

[Amy Poehler]

I was like, I don't know.

[Aziz Ansari]

I don't know. It.

[Amy Poehler]

I know. It's just. And it definitely feels like that feeling like when you have an oral exam.

[Aziz Ansari]

In school, like watching Parks and Recreation and, you know, any Polish kids called a Zen. Sorry, Turkey sandwich. How do you remember all this?

[Amy Poehler]

I know it's intense. Okay. Speaking of food, though, turkey sandwich and food. I want to talk to you about food.

[Aziz Ansari]

Sure. Okay.

[Amy Poehler]

Before we wrap, because I feel like the food. Your relationship to food is. Is ties into and to the bigger idea of you, like, trying to open yourself up to a lot of stuff in life, like, being curious.

[Aziz Ansari]

Sure.

[Amy Poehler]

You growing up, what was the food you were eating growing up?

[Aziz Ansari]

My mom would cook Indian food, and there was a woman that took care of us. Her name was Ms. Beulah, and she cooked Southern food. So there would be Indian food, like biryani or whatever, and then there'd be, like, chicken and dumplings. Incredible. Weirdly, I think would eat a little bit of both. So I grew up on Southern food and Indian food.

[Amy Poehler]

Okay, and then when did you become. When did you. You start realizing, like, I actually care very much about what I eat, and I want to learn how to cook and be a good cook.

[Aziz Ansari]

It's interesting you ask, because I think people think of me as, like, oh, it's easy. And that was all the restaurants. No, I actually, like, just cook at home all the time now. I love to cook, and that. I think it happened a lot of it was during COVID I started cooking more and more, and it was kind of what our day was based around. It's like, oh, we're gonna cook. Because I was in London during COVID and the farmers markets and stuff didn't close, and you kind of walk around and so food bec. A way to kind of structure your day a little bit. But during COVID I wanted to learn all my mom's recipes, and so I asked my mom to help me. Cause Indian food's very intimidating.

[Amy Poehler]

Oh, big time.

[Aziz Ansari]

But it's not as. Wait, do I ever send you those cookbooks? I make. I make these cookbooks for friends. I gotta send you one. Sorry.

[Rashida Jones]

No.

[Aziz Ansari]

I'll send you all of them.

[Amy Poehler]

Wait, wait. So you transcribed your mom's recipes?

[Aziz Ansari]

Not all of them, but every year during Christmas time, I make this. I'm so sorry I haven't sent it to you. I'll send it to you. No wor. But, yeah, whatever. I've been cooking that year, and I started during COVID and then I just kind of kept it going.

[Amy Poehler]

Oh, that's awesome.

[Aziz Ansari]

But Indian food's what I really love to cook.

[Amy Poehler]

What makes Indian food, like, for a person just cooking, like, hard to cook?

[Aziz Ansari]

Why is. It's nothing hard. It's just, you know, I would ask my mom, like, oh, how much of that coriander powder did you put in? It's like, I don't know. I didn't. You know. And you're like. And you're scared that you're gonna mess it up. But it's not like baking, you know, where, like, oh, if you put, like, a teaspoon too much, it's not really gonna screw it up too much. And the other thing that's super helpful is YouTube, if you can. Cause there's all these people, like, you know, aunties and stuff in India that have YouTube channels, and they show you how to cook everything. And seeing it visually makes it a little less intimidating. Yes. And you just gotta do that first trip to the Indian store and get. I always think that term's kind of funny. That's what everybody calls, like, the Indian grocery store. They call it the Indian store, but that sounds like you're going and buying Indian people, which is not. No, you're not. It's just ingredients. But you just gotta get. Get all the stuff and they keep in the pantry. And then it's like, oh, yeah. Everything's like, oh, yeah. Slice some onions and some little ginger, garlic, and then some spices, and then maybe a tomato. And then you put the chicken in, stir it around 20 minutes, and it's done. Yeah. Wait, can I tell you? So I cooked for Rashida, like, a week ago. She lives really close to me, and her family came over, and she brought her little kid, and she was like. I was like, cooking Indian food. And she's like, can you make something for him? Something not too intense? I was like, oh, yeah, I got it. I gotta make him chicken 65. That's like. It's like Indian chicken nuggets almost. They're like little pieces of chicken. Little kids love it, and every kid loves it. And so I made him chicken 65. And he ate it, and then he started going crazy. He just, like, had so much energy. And then I realized it's because the chicken 65, they put red food coloring in it to make it bright red. And the red food coloring has that dye and it makes the kids go crazy. Go crazy.

[Amy Poehler]

It got them pumped up.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah. So now whenever they come over, I just make a bunch of chicken 65 and he goes nuts.

[Amy Poehler]

Well, it is so funny they say that because we do a thing here on the podcast where we like to talk to somebody before the podcast. We talk, well behind their back. And I get a question. And I just talked to Rasheeda.

[Aziz Ansari]

Oh, well.

[Amy Poehler]

And Rasheeda just told us that you made her chicken 65.

[Aziz Ansari]

She loves it. She's like. She was like, let's come for dairy again. I was like, what do you want? She's like, chicken 65.

[Amy Poehler]

She loves it. And, you know, in many ways, we both, Rashida and I feel like we were your auntie at times on that show. Of course, I know Rasheeda and you guys, like. And she was talking about, like, how, you know, what we were talking about earlier that you are, like, what she really respects about you is the way that you're a curious person, always trying to learn more about yourself and the world. And her question was. And she was, you know, saying you're a very, very good chef. Oh, chef or cook? What would you say?

[Aziz Ansari]

Chef.

[Amy Poehler]

Cook.

[Aziz Ansari]

Cook a little more.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah.

[Aziz Ansari]

A little low key. I'm not.

[Amy Poehler]

If you get the right hat, you become a chef. You just put it on. But as a cook, she wanted me to ask you, what is your favorite thing to cook?

[Aziz Ansari]

I love to cook Indian food, and I love cooking stuff. I think there's something special about the food you ate growing up and the food your family made. And I think there's something. One time I went to India and I stayed for a little extra time and I asked my family, I was like, oh, who's really kind of the mean cooks? Who can I learn from? And I stayed for a couple days with some people that were a little bit distant relatives, like my aunt, sister or something like that. And they showed me so much stuff.

[Amy Poehler]

They were cooking in their home and showed you.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah. And just learning, like, home food that comes from your family. I think there's something special about it. Cause I think that's something important to pass down. And you know, with my own parents, you know, they're all healthy and everything, but, you know, you start thinking about their time and just like, oh, wow, it's. It's a piece of your family history that I think is cool to try to preserve.

[Amy Poehler]

I feel like you also took cooking lessons somewhere else too. Did you go to Italy or.

[Aziz Ansari]

In season two of Mastronauts that also gave me a big help to be comfortable in the kitchen, so it made it less intimidating. But season two took place in Italy, so before we filmed it, I went and lived in this town in Italy, and I learned Italian a little bit, and I worked in these kitchens in these places, and these people did not really know who I was. And I was like, yeah, I'm working on a TV show, and they're like. And then. But they let me work in the kitchens, and I learned a lot from these people that were there, and they were so nice. And it kind of gave me some confidence to kind of start with the Italian food, and then there was a couple of Indian things I could make. But then during COVID I really started. I had more time. I had nothing to do, so I was just like, okay, I'm gonna keep pushing this.

[Amy Poehler]

I always say this. I did not grow up cooking at all, and I had a busy working moment.

[Aziz Ansari]

Who.

[Amy Poehler]

You know, I grew up in the 70s and early 80s, so I didn't have a ton of. You know, we didn't have, like, a cooking family. And I always say it's never too late to start trying because it is very, like, low risk, high reward. Like, try a dish, and if it doesn't work, you just. Nobody knows. You can just throw it away. Like, you can just. And when it does work, you feel, like, incredible repetition.

[Aziz Ansari]

Is the father learning? Yes. Lil Wayne said that. He did. He did, yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

Amazing.

[Aziz Ansari]

I mean, I don't know if he was quoting someone else.

[Amy Poehler]

Maybe, Maybe, maybe. We'll see. We'll look it up. What are you laughing at these days? What are you watching? Reading. I know you're not addicted to your phone. You have a flip phone, but what are you. What do you do to laugh?

[Aziz Ansari]

Where. Where do you go for laugh? What did I watch to laugh recently?

[Amy Poehler]

I know, because it's kind of hard when comedy is your job.

[Aziz Ansari]

You don't watch as much comedy.

[Amy Poehler]

Sometimes you don't. And, you know, when you come from the standup world, we all know that the way standups laugh is they just watch each other and go, nice.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a different thing.

[Amy Poehler]

Yeah, that was funny.

[Aziz Ansari]

What was I laughing at recently?

[Amy Poehler]

I know anything that you do when you're trying.

[Aziz Ansari]

I just. You know, every now and then, my wife will show me some silly Internet thing. She showed me something. It was like. It was like a meme of, like, a dolphin look. It was like looking happy. And it was like me letting the flight attendant know I'm Ready for a snack. And it was a dolphin. Psych. Like just stupid stuff like that.

[Amy Poehler]

Look up that dolphin.

[Aziz Ansari]

I think it's a dolphin.

[Amy Poehler]

I love a meme.

[Aziz Ansari]

Yeah, those kind of things. Movies and stuff. What?

[Amy Poehler]

I know, I mean, smiling.

[Aziz Ansari]

I love some of those old movies like the Apartment. Like just those things just make me laugh so hard.

[Amy Poehler]

You don't, you don't go on TikTok or anything like that, right?

[Aziz Ansari]

No, I never really been on TikTok. I mean, I've seen videos. I'm not like a, you know, I've seen some of the stuff. Some of that stuff has made me laugh. But sometimes I see the stuff I don't understand.

[Amy Poehler]

It's not him. It's not him.

[Aziz Ansari]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Amy Poehler]

Well, it's like a cookie.

[Aziz Ansari]

That's pretty close. But the one my wife sent me, the dolphin had a better smile. I gotta find it. I gotta send it to you later.

[Amy Poehler]

Do you watch anything? Are you watching any shows right now that like, is, you know, I mean, it's an interesting time right now for comedy. I mean, Good Fortune is a great example of like, there's not a lot of just straight comedies out there in the world right now.

[Aziz Ansari]

To be like an original idea. That's a comedy that's in theaters. Like, to have even one of those three now is wild.

[Amy Poehler]

It is.

[Aziz Ansari]

And I, you know, Seth and I were always talking about this, of how we wanted the movie to be theatrical and how, you know, I remember going in New York when I was in school, going to see like Anchorman and you know, 40 oh version, all these movies and just being in like a packed theater and just dying. And I think that's something I miss and I hope it comes back and I hope more people get to make comedies and that we get that back. Because it's so much better to be in a group and laugh. You know, if you go to a live show, you know, if you go to a live show at like a UCB or a standup tour, there's so many people there and you don't realize how much the other people that experience is part of it. Like, you come see me do stand up at a theater, it's, oh man, we're having a great time. But I just came to your house and just started doing stand ups and you're sitting by yourself.

[Amy Poehler]

I'd be like, how did you get into my house?

[Aziz Ansari]

This is not a good experience. This is. But that to me is like the, you know, streaming a movie and being on your phone at the same Time is, like, not the same thing.

[Amy Poehler]

I know. It's back to the phone. It's back to the phone. And the theater is still the only place where you're not allowed to be on your phone.

[Aziz Ansari]

I love going to the movie theater. It's so fun.

[Amy Poehler]

I'm so happy that you came. Aziz.

[Aziz Ansari]

I gotta tell you, whenever I was like, okay, we gotta do this press tour for the movie, I was like, oh, well, I know one thing I'll be looking forward to very much. And that was this. And spend time with you.

[Amy Poehler]

Same.

[Aziz Ansari]

It's always a pleasure when we get to see each other. And thank you for having me.

[Amy Poehler]

Turkey sandwich. I'm so happy that you came.

[Aziz Ansari]

Hold on one second. Hey, Watson. Yeah, yeah, I'm just finishing up the pod. Okay, I'll see you there. What? How does he know us? No, I haven't seen Archie and Abel in a long time.

[Amy Poehler]

What?

[Aziz Ansari]

I don't know. I think they're in their 20s. All right, take care, Watson. Bye.

[Amy Poehler]

Thank you, Aziz Ansari, for coming by and hanging. It was so great to see you and to go down memory lane and talk about all the good things ahead. And now it is time for our Polar plunge. And today's Polar Plunge is presented by BMW Certified. In a world full of uncertainty, BMW certified pre owned vehicles are the real deal. They come with a BMW certified warranty, genuine BMW parts, and an additional three years of 24 roadside assistance. Visit BMW USA.com certified preowned to learn more. So for this polar plunge, I just want to stick up for my phone a little bit. I feel like we've been pretty hard on the phone in this episode and we've talked about how bad it is for us. And look, I agree, but my best friend gives me a lot of things. It helps me track my other friends and send them creepy texts. Like, I see that you're at the airport. Have a good flight. My phone lets me buy things by just going beep. Just sweep. Swiping it across the thing, and you don't even know. You don't even have to take out your credit card. My phone, it just tells me about all the awful news that's happening minute by minute all over the world. And if I missed it, it pops up to remind me. So just take it easy on my ph, okay? It's my best friend, and it's never let me down. But seriously, help. Help me. Help me get away from it. Please help. So today's Polar Plunge was presented by BMW certified. As a BMW certified owner, you received the performance you expect, plus the warranty and assistance you deserve. Learn more@BMW USA.com certified preowned thank you Aziz. Thank you for everyone listening. Good Hang and we'll see you again. Bye you guys. You've been listening to Good Hang. The executive producers for this show are Bill Simmons, Jenna Weiss Berman and me, Amy Poehler. The show is produced by the Ringer and Paper Kite. For the Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, cat Spillane, Kaia McMullen and Alaia Zaneris. For Paper Kite, production by Sam Green, Joel Lovell and Jenna Weiss Berman. Original music by Amy Miles All I ever wanted was a really good hey.

[Aziz Ansari]

Limu Emu and Doug Here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habit, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug. Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us. Cut the camera. They see us. Only pay for what you need@liberty mutual.com Savings Ferry unwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and affiliates excludes Massachusetts.