Good Hang with Amy Poehler — Maya Hawke

Date: November 4, 2025
Podcast: The Ringer
Host: Amy Poehler
Guest: Maya Hawke

Episode Overview

In this joyful, free-flowing conversation, Amy Poehler welcomes actress, musician, and writer Maya Hawke. The pair reflect on their shared experience in Inside Out 2, explore the complexities of joy and anxiety in real life and on-screen, reminisce about Maya’s creative upbringing in New York City, discuss the challenges and rewards of being an artist, and celebrate the importance of magic, imagination, and community. The episode is peppered with laughter, memorable stories, thoughtful insights, and a sense of genuine camaraderie.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Friendship and the Little Women Experience

• [02:31 – 07:24]
  • Actress Willa Fitzgerald, Maya’s co-star in Little Women, calls in from Hungary to share her admiration for Maya and recount their meeting in Ireland on set.
  • Willa describes Maya as adventurous and innately curious:

    "I think I'm a very cautious person, and I think Maya is, like, full of just, like, a lust for life and a real sort of, like, verve..." [04:31, Willa]

  • Willa also discusses how Maya’s enthusiasm inspired Willa to join the cast of the medical drama Pulse.

2. Inside Out 2 and Making Emotions Visible

• [09:33 – 11:49]
  • Amy and Maya reminisce about the Inside Out 2 premiere and the personal impact of voicing characters Joy (Amy) and Anxiety (Maya).
  • Maya shares how playing Anxiety resonated with audiences and herself:

    "I've had so many people feel so seen by it... little kids feel so seen by it and it helped them understand their brain better." [10:03, Maya]

  • She talks about creating custom voice recordings for kids struggling with anxiety.
  • Both reflect on the rarity and significance of making a billion-dollar movie that’s also "good for the world." [11:32, Amy]

3. Real-Life Emotions: Navigating Anxiety and Joy

• [11:49 – 15:17]
  • Maya describes learning, through the film, to "invite" her anxiety in, rather than shutting it out:

    "The biggest thing I learned... is to give my anxiety a comfy chair." [12:54, Maya]

  • Amy notes the current zeitgeist:

    "Anxiety might be the defining emotion of our time." [13:13, Amy]

  • The pair discuss the balance needed between joy and anxiety, and the importance of authenticity over "toxic positivity":
    "Babe, things are bad. Things are real bad." [13:43, Amy & Maya]
  • They recall a subtle but powerful moment from the film, where Anxiety gestures for Joy to return:

    "The tiny gesture of that is like what we must try to do during this bananas foster time we're living in." [14:56, Amy]

4. New York City Upbringing, Magic, and Melancholy

• [17:21 – 23:27]
  • Maya explains what it was like growing up as a "New York City kid":

    "I was kind of a sad kid or set point melancholic, you know, like moody and emot and homey. But a New York City kid is awesome. You have so much stuff to look at and do..." [17:32, Maya]

  • She shares vivid childhood memories—treks to museums, the freedom of the subway, and adventures that made her feel grown up, like "bumming cigarettes in the East Village." [20:49, Maya]
  • Maya admits the pressure NYC kids feel "to be interesting, to be adult, to be on the town." [19:15, Maya]

5. Calling to the Arts and Artistic Influence

• [22:03 – 23:27]
  • Maya reflects on her decision to pursue acting despite the pressures and uncertainties:

    "I was really afraid of being an actor because my parents are both actors... I realized that there was nothing else that I was good at and liked. I feel like this is my community." [22:03, Maya]

  • She attributes her "lust for life" to both nature and nurture, recalling an imaginative childhood steeped in artistic magic:

    "My parents are magical... there was just this imagination fostered in me from a really young age." [26:12, Maya]

  • She describes her parents’ influence in rituals, creativity, and viewing the world as a magical place—a “love spell” (drawing a parallel to Harry Potter: [27:39, Maya])

6. Balancing Introversion, Extroversion, and the "Cups" Theory

• [28:52 – 31:16]
  • Maya introduces her personal system for maintaining balance:

    "I see myself as having three cups: the extraversion/socialization cup, the alone time cup, and the with one other person having an intimate conversation cup...I need all three cups to be somewhat full to be functioning." [29:02, Maya]

  • Amy shares her "refrigerator magnets" model for achieving daily balance in life’s domains—work, motherhood, friendship, spirituality, wellness, and relationships. [30:03, Amy]
  • They joke about creating a joint product line out of their metaphors:

    "Cups and Magnets!" [31:04, Amy & Maya]

7. Creative Process, Stranger Things, and Series Finale

• [33:34 – 37:46]
  • Maya discusses filming the final season of Stranger Things and the emotional impact of the series wrap:

    "I cried all day long from beginning to end in these kind of crashing waves... It's shaped me so much." [34:27, Maya]

  • She views Stranger Things’ "Upside Down" as a metaphor for teenage depression/anxiety and sees the journey as one of overcoming through community.

8. Multi-disciplinary Creativity: Acting vs. Music

• [37:46 – 39:41]
  • Amy probes how Maya balances her acting and music careers.
  • Maya describes both as different "lamps" plugged into the same outlet:

    "Music is really scary and it terrifies me. Performing Live terrifies me... But it's the same power source." [39:34, Maya]

  • She jokes about their growing list of metaphor-products: "Cups and Lamps and Magnets..." [39:48, Maya & Amy]

9. Influences, Fantasy Escapism, and Artistic Aspirations

• [40:09 – 50:57]
  • Maya admits she dreams of writing a musical one day and reveres singer-songwriters like Joni Mitchell, Judy Sill, Adrianne Lenker, and Taylor Swift.
  • She finds comfort in reading and escapist fantasy novels, recently devouring Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (a spicy "dragon college" Romantasy):

    "That was my escapism of choice... hardcore training sequences, very hot guy, good guys are bad, bad guys are good..." [47:45, Maya]

  • Amy and Maya bond over the appeal of "coming-of-age training sequences" in fantasy and note the genre’s enduring popularity as a model of community and resistance.
  • Maya:

    "Almost all of the best fantasy is about humans banding together to take over fascist regimes... an unlikely band of maniacs ... try to build a new world." [50:15, Maya]

10. Joy, Laughter, and Living Forward

• [50:57 – 52:16]
  • Both reflect on the energizing power of big stories, adventure, and fantasy—and their desire to work together again.
  • Amy:

    "Getting the experience of talking about Inside Out 2 with you and getting to know you has been so..." [51:05, Amy]

  • Maya:

    "I would do anything with you... I wanna see more of Anxiety and Joy learning how to work together." [51:05, Maya]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "The biggest thing I learned from doing this and being allowed to be welcomed into the beautiful world of this movie is to give my anxiety a comfy chair."
  — Maya Hawke [12:54]

• "Anxiety might be the defining emotion of our time."
  — Amy Poehler [13:13]

• "Babe, things are bad. Things are real bad."
  — Amy & Maya [13:42]

• "I see myself as having three cups... I need all three cups to be somewhat full to be functioning."
  — Maya Hawke [29:02]

• "'Cups and Magnets!' ... and we could make billions, billions of dollars. And it would be good. Another good billion."
  — Amy Poehler & Maya Hawke [31:04]

• "I've had so many people feel so seen by it... and it helped them understand their brain better."
  — Maya Hawke on playing Anxiety [10:03]

• "I was kind of a sad kid or set point melancholic ... but a New York City kid is awesome. You have so much stuff to look at and do."
  — Maya Hawke [17:32]

• "Music is really scary and it terrifies me... But it's the same power source."
  — Maya Hawke [39:34]

• "Almost all of the best fantasy is about humans banding together to take over fascist regimes..."
  — Maya Hawke [50:15]

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-------------|----------------------------------------------| | 02:31–07:24 | Willa Fitzgerald on meeting Maya, friendship, and Little Women | | 09:33–11:49 | Inside Out 2: Impact, voicing emotion, public response | | 11:49–15:17 | Anxiety & Joy: Lessons learned for real life | | 17:21–23:27 | Growing up in NYC, artistic family, childhood stories | | 28:52–31:16 | Introvert/Extrovert "cups" metaphor & Amy’s "magnets" | | 33:34–37:46 | Stranger Things final season, emotional wrap | | 37:46–39:41 | Comparing acting & music, creative process | | 40:09–50:57 | Artistic dreams, fantasy novels, escapism, the power of stories | | 50:57–52:16 | Closing reflections: collaboration, hope, and joy |

Tone & Style

The episode is candid, whimsical, and often deeply personal, oscillating between laughter and heartfelt reflection. Amy and Maya’s rapport is natural, full of sly jokes, honest admissions, playful metaphors, and mutual admiration—offering listeners both entertainment and insight into the emotional inner life of artists.

For Further Listening/Reading

• Inside Out 2 (film)
• Stranger Things (Netflix series)
• Little Women (BBC/PBS)
• Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (book)
• The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (book)

Summary prepared for listeners who want the heart, humor, and wisdom of the episode—without missing a detail.