Hasan Minhaj

Summary

Podcast Summary: Joy, a Podcast with Craig Ferguson featuring Hasan Minhaj

Release Date: June 17, 2025
Hosted by Craig Ferguson
Guest: Hasan Minhaj

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of Joy, former late-night host Craig Ferguson sits down with acclaimed comedian and political commentator Hasan Minhaj to explore the sources of joy amidst modern societal challenges. Hosted at Kids Super Studios in Brooklyn, New York, the conversation delves into themes of immigration, generational shifts, the evolution of comedy, and the personal journeys that shape happiness.

---

Immigrant Roots and Generational Perspectives

Craig Ferguson opens the discussion by reflecting on the immigrant experience, noting how both he and Hasan's parents navigated new cultural landscapes. He highlights the tension between maintaining cultural identity and adapting to American societal norms.

• Ferguson (04:03): “I'm an immigrant. And so my kids are in the same position you are. They kind of get a little frustrated with my kind of gung ho, rah rah America stuff.”

Hasan Minhaj expands on this, describing how his parents' arrival in America in the early 1980s contrasted sharply with the dynamic, technology-driven America he grew up in.

• Minhaj (05:35): “By the time I came of age to live in that America, it had changed significantly. From running Ms. DOS to JavaScript and Python, everything evolved.”

The conversation underscores the inevitable generational shifts, with younger generations often rebelling against their parents' cultural expectations to forge their own identities.

---

Evolution of Comedy and Stand-Up Journeys

Transitioning to comedy, Minhaj shares his inspiration drawn from legends like Chris Rock. He recounts his early days juggling jobs while pursuing stand-up, highlighting the challenges and triumphs of performing at open mics.

• Minhaj (32:21): “Chris Rock was the one that was talking about all the things that would get you either fired or sent to HR—politics, war, sex, relationships. That was what I wanted to do.”

Ferguson reminisces about his own stand-up experiences, including memorable, albeit challenging, performances that shaped his comedic style.

• Ferguson (34:00): “I was booed off stage between punk rock bands in London, but I knew I had to do it again.”

Both comedians emphasize the importance of resilience in stand-up, viewing failures as stepping stones to success.

---

Navigating Late-Night Television and Political Comedy

A significant portion of the dialogue revolves around the nuances of hosting a late-night show. Ferguson shares anecdotes from his tenure, discussing the delicate balance of humor and politics.

• Ferguson (46:07): “When I did a political joke, I had to balance it out. It became a thing, and I ended up personalizing my comedy more to connect with the audience authentically.”

In contrast, Minhaj embraces political comedy, using his platform to address pressing societal issues head-on.

• Minhaj (58:15): “When interviewing politicians on my podcast, I aim to break their media-trained personas and get genuine responses.”

The exchange highlights differing approaches to political humor—Ferguson’s restraint versus Minhaj’s direct engagement.

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Parenting and Personal Fulfillment

Discussing fatherhood, both hosts reflect on how parenting has redefined their perceptions of joy and responsibility. Ferguson humorously exaggerates the challenges of raising children, while Minhaj shares heartfelt insights into the emotional rewards of being present for his kids.

• Ferguson (39:04): “My kids are like big orchids in the jungle—pregnant every ten years!”

• Minhaj (42:11): “Holding my daughter, I thought about all the times I felt abandoned and vowed to be present for her.”

This segment underscores the transformative impact of parenting on personal happiness and priorities.

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The Art of Comedy as a Coping Mechanism

Both Ferguson and Minhaj discuss comedy as a vital tool for coping with life's adversities. Minhaj describes stand-up as his "cheat code," providing a sense of control and sanity, especially during tumultuous times like the pandemic.

• Minhaj (26:22): “Comedy is essential for my own sanity. It's something I'll do until I die.”

Ferguson echoes this sentiment, viewing comedy not just as performance but as an intrinsic part of his identity.

• Ferguson (37:13): “I used to do stand-up until my late-night show ended, and then I went back to it because it was the only place I felt I could be myself.”

---

Podcasting and Engaging with Public Figures

In discussing his podcast, Minhaj explains his unique approach to interviewing, aiming to represent the public's curiosity and skepticism.

• Minhaj (56:44): “I want to be a stand-in for the public, asking questions that resonate with everyday people.”

Ferguson humorously contrasts this with his reluctance to engage with politicians, citing challenges in getting genuine responses outside his comedic framework.

• Ferguson (58:07): “Whenever I've interviewed politicians, I find myself getting a little frustrated. I don't want your message, I want you.”

This highlights the innovative ways comedians like Minhaj are redefining political discourse through media.

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Closing Thoughts

As the episode wraps up, both Ferguson and Minhaj reflect on the evolving landscapes of comedy, media, and personal fulfillment. They emphasize the enduring power of humor to bridge generational gaps, address societal issues, and foster genuine connections with audiences.

---

Notable Quotes

• Craig Ferguson (04:03): “I'm an immigrant. And so my kids are in the same position you are. They kind of get a little frustrated with my kind of gung ho, rah rah America stuff.”

• Hasan Minhaj (05:35): “By the time I came of age to live in that America, it had changed significantly. From running Ms. DOS to JavaScript and Python, everything evolved.”

• Hasan Minhaj (32:21): “Chris Rock was the one that was talking about all the things that would get you either fired or sent to HR—politics, war, sex, relationships. That was what I wanted to do.”

• Craig Ferguson (34:00): “I was booed off stage between punk rock bands in London, but I knew I had to do it again.”

• Hasan Minhaj (58:15): “When interviewing politicians on my podcast, I aim to break their media-trained personas and get genuine responses.”

• Craig Ferguson (39:04): “My kids are like big orchids in the jungle—pregnant every ten years!”

• Hasan Minhaj (42:11): “Holding my daughter, I thought about all the times I felt abandoned and vowed to be present for her.”

• Hasan Minhaj (26:22): “Comedy is essential for my own sanity. It's something I'll do until I die.”

• Craig Ferguson (37:13): “I used to do stand-up until my late-night show ended, and then I went back to it because it was the only place I felt I could be myself.”

• Hasan Minhaj (56:44): “I want to be a stand-in for the public, asking questions that resonate with everyday people.”

• Craig Ferguson (58:07): “Whenever I've interviewed politicians, I find myself getting a little frustrated. I don't want your message, I want you.”

---

Conclusion

Craig Ferguson and Hasan Minhaj deliver a thought-provoking and humorous exploration of joy in today's complex world. Through personal anecdotes and insightful dialogue, they illuminate how comedy, family, and resilience contribute to finding happiness amidst chaos. This episode serves as both an inspiration and a reflection on the enduring human spirit.

Transcript

[Craig Ferguson]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Tom Yamas]

Taking over the helm of NBC Nightly News, a 75 year old broadcast. It's a great responsibility. Good evening, I'm Tom Yamas. You have to go out there to bring people at home. Closer to the store. Wildfires continue to be a threat. With that massive hurricane comes the massive response. The best reporters in our business know how to listen. And when you listen, you get the truth. For NBC News, NBC News, I'm Tom Galamas. That's what we do every night.

[Hasan Minhaj]

NBC Nightly News with Tom Yamas. Evenings on NBC. We're leaving today and entering a world.

[Craig Ferguson]

Of Cinderella, castle sightseeing, Tron light cycling, jungle cruise, bunning, pirate swashbuckling, Everest climbing, Dapper Denning, soaring, soaring. Fireworks, show of.

[Hasan Minhaj]

I'm not crying.

[Craig Ferguson]

You're crying. World of favorites. For whatever you love, infinite worlds await at the most magical place on earth.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Walt Disney World World Resort.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and safeway. Now through June 24th. Score hot summer savings and earn four times the points. Look for in store tags on items like General Mills cereal drumstick, frozen treats, outshine fruit bars, Oreo cookies and Capri sun pouches. Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event long savings. Enjoy savings on top of savings when you shop in store or online for easy drive up and go pickup or delivery subject to availability restrictions apply. Visit Albertsons or Safeway.com for more details. Are you still quoting 30 year old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. And every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the now it pays to Discover. Learn [e-mail] credit card based on the February 2024 Nielsen report.

[Craig Ferguson]

This is me, Craig Ferguson. I'm inviting you to come and see my brand new comedy hour. Well, it's actually, it's about an hour and a half and I don't have an opener because these guys cost money. But what I'm saying is I'll be on stage for a while anyway. Come and see me live on the Pants on Fire tour in your region. Tickets are on sale now and we'll be adding more as the Tour continues throughout 2025 and beyond. For a full list of dates, go to thecraigfergusonshow.com See you on the road, my dears. My name is Craig Ferguson. The name of this podcast is Joy. I talk to interesting people about what brings them happiness. Welcome to the Kids Super Studios here in Brooklyn, New York. I am here in the tent and I am Craig Ferguson and I am the host of the Joy podcast. Every time there's a Joy podcast, I'm the host. But I'm the host today, so that counts. My guest today has not taken shit from every politician he's interviewed, which I think is quite a pedigree. He's a great comic and a great interviewer. And he's here and his name is Hasan Minhaj. Enjoy. We were talking about how at a certain point in the day.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

I have to move to decaf because I can't get up on my peeing. This is all in front of you, man. I'm. I'm from the future. And where are we going?

[Hasan Minhaj]

What's happening?

[Craig Ferguson]

Well, in the future, when you're my age, you'll have to go up and pee like two, three times a night, even if you don't have three. Well, maybe not three. What are you a doctor? Your cop? What's going on?

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah, my mother is. My mother.

[Craig Ferguson]

Your mother's a doctor?

[Hasan Minhaj]

She's a physician. Oh, that's right, she's a physician.

[Craig Ferguson]

No, here's the thing I was going to say to you because we were talking about this beforehand.

[Hasan Minhaj]

What's up?

[Craig Ferguson]

Right. So your parents were immigrants.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yes.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right. And I'm an immigrant. And so my kids are in the same position you are. They kind of get a little frustrated with my kind of gung ho, rah rah America stuff. Because I don't know if your parents are the same, but I'm like, you know, if someone converts to Catholicism, they feel like they should be a little more Catholic than people who are just like grown up Catholic. I'm kind of like that. And I think a lot of immigrants are like that.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah. There's a. With the first generation, they're very.

[Craig Ferguson]

We're here, we're here, we made it here. Yeah, yeah. And now it's gonna be fine.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah. Look at this. Grand Central Station.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah. Crushed ice. Root beer with crushed ice.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Unbelievable. And the kids are like, you know, there's a guy pissing right here. Yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

Ah, there's guys pissing everywhere.

[Hasan Minhaj]

But look at this.

[Craig Ferguson]

It's kind of. It's an interesting thing because I wonder if I, you know, if I'm, you know, putting into my kids house that in order for them to rebel against me, they have to rebel against every cause. Of course it's Their duty as the next generation to rebe against whatever morals and values and mores that I have. Yeah. Do you find that. Do you think you did that with your own parents or is it, oh.

[Hasan Minhaj]

We'Re starting this hot?

[Craig Ferguson]

Well, why not? I mean, we could do that or we could look at the idea. Because the culture that your parents come from is Indian culture. So it might be. You rebel against that or. Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Okay. So I think really, what if, if I'm going to zoom out philosophically, what, what actually happened was.

[Craig Ferguson]

That's very good.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah, yeah, let's zoom it out.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, Philosophically as well. I'm very, yeah. Very happy about it. Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Let's pull out on the camera.

[Craig Ferguson]

Who's a philosopher is my favorite thing.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Oh, God, let's not do this.

[Craig Ferguson]

Okay. All right, go ahead, zoom out. Philosophy. All right.

[Hasan Minhaj]

I think the big split was they came here. My dad got here in 1982. I think he had a vision and certainly America was a particular way. And by the time I came of age to live in that America.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, it changed. Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

So I think when he came, they were running Ms. DOS as the operating system and now it's JavaScript and Python and. Yeah, it's all sorts of. It just changed.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And so what I, what I really was rebelling against to some capacity was I think they had a very fixed understanding of what this country is and can be and what it can provide.

[Craig Ferguson]

I think that's a generational thing. I think it's a generational thing for everything. I mean, that happens. I mean, I, I have.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And I don't blame them for this. Like, Right. Like, who am I to.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, I mean, it'll happen to you too. You have kids.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Absolutely.

[Craig Ferguson]

You know, but your kids are young and, you know, and as they grow up.

[Hasan Minhaj]

But, but I, I got seven. I have a seven year old. I have a five year old. I can only. I can already feel it.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, yeah, it does happen.

[Hasan Minhaj]

So, So I don't know if you have this with the restaurant QR code. You sit down at a restaurant, right? And you go, hey, can I get, Can I get a menu, please? And I will scan the QR code.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And I'll just start.

[Craig Ferguson]

Welcome to my world. Yeah, it's like, I get so. I get angry, like, what, What? What?

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

Would you like a receipt? Yes, I would.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yes, I would.

[Craig Ferguson]

You like my address?

[Hasan Minhaj]

Or when they cut down a tree and give me a piece of. Give me a piece of papyrus that I had a. That I'm about to purchase something or I did purchase.

[Craig Ferguson]

I still get angry at the Starbucks people when they ask me for a name. I'm like, I, I want a coffee. We're not friends, you know, and it's like, do we have a name for the coffee?

[Hasan Minhaj]

No, we don't.

[Craig Ferguson]

Coffee is the name for the coffee. And I feel like I'm slowly losing my grip on the. On the world.

[Hasan Minhaj]

You're losing the plot a little bit.

[Craig Ferguson]

A little bit. I still like vinyl, you know.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Well, my thing is, is that I didn't opt in, Mr. Thai Restaurant. I didn't opt in for the QR code.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right.

[Hasan Minhaj]

I came to have lunch with you, right. Not to have you and me be on our phone.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right. And this moment, the data grab that they're taking all of your stuff and see.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah. And they go, just pay, just pay on your phone. I go, please don't make me do this.

[Craig Ferguson]

Well, I think that's great though, because that you're embracing the crankiness. Pretty young. Pretty young. But that's good. Roll into it. Make it part of your life. But of course, that kind of dissatisfaction and borderline misandry I think is. That's what makes a comedian though, isn't it?

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yes, we are very good at complaining.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, it really is.

[Hasan Minhaj]

We're just complainers is what we are.

[Craig Ferguson]

Humorous complainers.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Humorous complainers. So when people say we're philosophers, we're not actually providing any solutions, really. We're actually just very good cranks.

[Craig Ferguson]

Well, you know, here's the thing though. I would dispute with you that philosophers of any stripe have provided any solutions anyway. I mean, I mean, that's true.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Maybe, Maybe just. They clarified. They clarified.

[Craig Ferguson]

You know, even then, I don't know, I mean, like, this is me being contrarian because it's. Yeah, but the idea of, you know, like Socrates saying, now look, I'm. My. Any philosophy I know is, forgive me, is Western philosophy. You may know more about. Sure, sure. Philosophy. So. But Socrates certainly knowing the right questions to ask. I'm like, well, I don't know if that's enough, is it? But apparently it was. And then here's the thing. I was thinking about Socrates recently in Cancel Culture.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Okay.

[Craig Ferguson]

So I have this theory, like, you know, when Athens was popping off 500.

[Hasan Minhaj]

BC BCE.

[Craig Ferguson]

All these philosophers were there and I feel like it was like gigs. I think it was like the comedy seller. Oh, people would go, are you going to see Socrates?

[Hasan Minhaj]

You know, he's working on 15, right?

[Craig Ferguson]

He's doing a 15 minute set, the, you know, the Parthenon or something. And I feel like it was probably like that. It was, like, entertaining for people.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Sure, sure, sure. And doing the Parthenon was a theater gig.

[Craig Ferguson]

That's right.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Parthenon was the beacon. You gotta get.

[Craig Ferguson]

It's the beacon. Or maybe it's the. Maybe it's the garden.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Maybe it's the garden. Right?

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But there's the cellar, where you work out your little bit of philosophy before you go in. And I feel like that happened a lot throughout the years of human history. I think that, like, here's my. I pitched this as an idea to you that even, like, now my background is in Christianity, yours is in Islam. But when we were getting taught about Jesus and they would say things Jesus had said, I'd be like, really? That's not really that great a thing to say. But my guess is delivery was great. And then so I'm guessing saying when Jesus said in ancient Aramaic or whatever language, he said, you know, getting through the eye of the. A rich man getting into heaven is like getting through a camel. Getting through the eye of a needle.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Of a needle.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, yeah, I bet. Delivered correctly in the right language. That's probably a great joke.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Got it. Yeah, yeah, he's definitely. Probably. Amazing mic technique. Great at an act out.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right? I'm projecting.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Projecting.

[Craig Ferguson]

No microphones.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah, yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

Like 5,000 people, no microphones. Let's see that. Yeah, yeah, Mr. Daily show, let's see that. Right, right, right, right. Do you have. Do you have. Is your background very secular or were you brought up quite.

[Hasan Minhaj]

I was brought up quite religious.

[Craig Ferguson]

Oh, really?

[Hasan Minhaj]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

Cause I know next to nothing about Islam.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Really? Really?

[Craig Ferguson]

Honestly.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah. For me, though, you know, honestly, I felt from a young age, my Bluetooth was on.

[Craig Ferguson]

Really?

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah. I kind of. I did feel there's gotta be something more than what. What I'm seeing here.

[Craig Ferguson]

Sure.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And surely what's happening right here. This doesn't make a lot of sense for me either.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right.

[Hasan Minhaj]

So in a weird way, the unseen made more sense to me than what I was seeing. Does that make sense? Yeah, of course it makes sense. I know it sounds a little weird.

[Craig Ferguson]

No, it doesn't. Not to me. Which should worry you more. But I think that makes sense to me. I think the idea of seeking some kind of. I mean, it started for me young as well. There's gotta be more to it than this. Honestly. I think for me, when I was really a little kid, I think America represented that. I wonder, you know, that it was a place where, you know, there was more going on Just possibility.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Possibility.

[Craig Ferguson]

And the fact that they would. You gotta remember, like I grew up in Scotland in the 1960s.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Right.

[Craig Ferguson]

While America was going to the moon. I mean.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Oh, interesting, right?

[Craig Ferguson]

We weren't getting a lot of information about the civil rights marches and stuff, but we got a lot of TV about going to the moon. And I was like, oh my God.

[Hasan Minhaj]

So. So for you. Did you at that at a young age you felt, I gotta. I gotta go there?

[Craig Ferguson]

Oh yeah, for sure. Yeah. No, it was a thing. Just all the cool everything.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Stuff happening.

[Craig Ferguson]

Cool was American and, And the like. I am totally a product of American cultural imperialism. No doubt about it. I am Coca Cola branded Ford Motors victim of advertising. And I'm happy to be it. But that's definitely what I am. And it's. When I project this onto my children, they're less. I'm not saying they're anti American or anything like that, but they're less enamored by the things.

[Hasan Minhaj]

I'm enamored by the shiny stuff. That was really.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah. I was taken in by a lot. And I still am. I still am taking them by. I like it.

[Hasan Minhaj]

You know, is it weird if you're. When you're. Do your kids ever go, we should look at. Look at Europe. Look how beautiful. And you go, that old place.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Cuz Americans have the opposite.

[Craig Ferguson]

They.

[Hasan Minhaj]

They love the inst. I call them the Instagram countries.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Paris is an Instagram country. Scotland. Instagram. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So. So those countries, to me, they're just c. They're. They're like whisper Castle. Instagram country.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right.

[Hasan Minhaj]

You know Lady Margaret. No, Lady Margaret. You must like. They're just.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Old period pieces. And you go there with your, you know, your boyfriend or girlfriend and take an Instagram photo.

[Craig Ferguson]

It's all. It's almost like my wife says this about rednecks in America as well. He said like posh people in Britain have the same names as American rednecks. When you say, you know, Benedict Cumberbatch as lord. Sure, yeah. And then you see that same name in America, Benedict Cumberbatch. You know, it's like, hey, Benedict. It's like the same people. The hyphenated name thing in Britain, very posh in America, outdoor trampoline. You know, it's. It's kind of a thing.

[Hasan Minhaj]

That's a great bit.

[Craig Ferguson]

You know, I think I might work it up.

[Hasan Minhaj]

All right, work it out.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and safeway now through June 24th. Score hot summer savings and earn four times the points. Look for in store tags on items like Kinder Bueno, Cheese It Crackers, Oscar Meyer lunchables and Just Bear chicken bites. Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event long savings. Enjoy savings on top of savings when you shop in store or online. For easy drive up and go pickup or delivery subject to availability restrictions apply. Visit Albertsons or Safeway.com for more details.

[Craig Ferguson]

Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile.

[Hasan Minhaj]

With the price of just about everything going up, we thought we'd bring our prices down. So to help us we brought in.

[Tom Yamas]

A reverse auctioneer which is apparently a.

[Craig Ferguson]

Thing Mint Mobile Unlimited Premium wireless everybody.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Get 3030 better to get 30 better.

[Craig Ferguson]

Get 202020 better get 2020 everybody get.

[Hasan Minhaj]

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[Jenny Garth]

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[Tom Yamas]

Taking over the helm of NBC Nightly News, a 75 year old broadcast. It's a great responsibility. Good evening, I'm Tom Yamas. You have to go out there to bring people at home closer to the store. Wildfires continue to be a threat. With that massive hurricane comes the massive response. The best reporters in our business know how to listen and when you listen you get the truth. For NBC News NBC News I'm Tom Gonlis. That's what we do every every night.

[Hasan Minhaj]

NBC Nightly News with Tom Yamas evenings on NBC.

[Craig Ferguson]

Hello, this is Craig Ferguson and I want to let you know I have a brand new stand up comedy special out now on YouTube. It's called I'm so happy and I would be so happy if you checked it out. To watch the special just go to my YouTube channel at the Craig Ferguson show and this is right there. Just click it and play it and it's free. I can't. Look, I'm not going to come around your house and show you how to do It. If you can't do it, then you can't have it. But if you can figure it out, it's yours. Now you and I are part of a fairly exclusive club.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Okay, talk to me.

[Craig Ferguson]

White House correspondence. That's. You did it when?

[Hasan Minhaj]

2017, Trump's first year presidency.

[Craig Ferguson]

Well, he wasn't there, though.

[Hasan Minhaj]

He wasn't there. Of course he didn't show up. Yeah, yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

Does. He wasn't interested.

[Hasan Minhaj]

He went to the year Seth Meyers did it. He attended as a guest.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right.

[Hasan Minhaj]

But he didn't.

[Craig Ferguson]

He wasn't there the year I did it. But that was 2008.

[Hasan Minhaj]

He was a guest. He just showed. He just showed.

[Craig Ferguson]

I think he was there. I'm not sure, but.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Okay.

[Craig Ferguson]

But he wasn't. I didn't reference him in the act.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Famously bad room, right? Or did you feel like the room? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

Did the sound system work for you?

[Hasan Minhaj]

No, it's just as shitty as you would imagine.

[Craig Ferguson]

I mean, I feel like they could get it better than that.

[Hasan Minhaj]

I mean, you are at a Hill 10 in Washington, D.C. and it feels like it.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right?

[Hasan Minhaj]

Totally.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah. The sound system was awful. I don't know if you know this about me, but I have an accent, apparently.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

Which, you know, that was a little tricky, too. I mean, it went okay.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

But I felt like it was. I felt like it was like a dream.

[Hasan Minhaj]

It did feel like a dream.

[Craig Ferguson]

Seeing famous people out there, but in weird kind of.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah. Because what you're seeing is you're. You're like. There's. There's Wolf Blitzer.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And there's a man named Wolf Blitzer.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Which is a very funny thing.

[Craig Ferguson]

That's right. There's a man named Wolf.

[Hasan Minhaj]

There's a man named Wolf, you know.

[Craig Ferguson]

Everyone doesn't have a problem with.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And he kind of does look like a wolf a little bit. A little bit.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah. And he eats raw meat. Yes, he does.

[Hasan Minhaj]

He does.

[Craig Ferguson]

Maybe.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Maybe.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Who knows? We can't confirm or deny, but they'll be like Wolf Blitzer and then they'll be like the cast of Grey's Anatomy.

[Craig Ferguson]

So it's like.

[Hasan Minhaj]

You know what I mean? It's this weird, you know, or it'll be like this person played president on tv and then.

[Craig Ferguson]

And then there's a real.

[Hasan Minhaj]

The actual chief of staff for the president is here. It's this. It's a very strange.

[Craig Ferguson]

Who are the big politicians there when. When you were there?

[Hasan Minhaj]

Well, he famously did not want anyone from the administration to be there. So then there were just other Members of Congress. So it became. It became this whole, like kind of flashpoint. Who will show up, who will not show up.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right. So it became a politicized.

[Hasan Minhaj]

A politicized thing.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right.

[Hasan Minhaj]

But to me, I thought, I mean, that's just great comedy fodder.

[Craig Ferguson]

It kind of is. Because it's a conflict.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Because it's all just tension.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

You know, and I think, I don't know if you chatted with Colbert or Seth Meyers. Like a couple of the people who had done it before, I had talked to.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And they told me the room sucks.

[Craig Ferguson]

It does suck. I didn't talk to Stephen or more Seth about it. Yeah. I talked to Drew Carey and Jay Leno about it.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Okay.

[Craig Ferguson]

You know, that's a generational thing. It's like these guys have done it before.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah, they've done it before.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it is bad.

[Hasan Minhaj]

But, so, so, but, but, but actually. And you know, this. Once you. Once, you know, because it's all about expectation. Once, you know. All right, so what is the gig? So they go, look, it's a casino gig.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Like, okay, that's exactly. I know what this is.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

So when they all told me, look, it's, it's. You are doing a hotel ballroom gig. You've done a wedding here, You've done a set at a bar mitzvah. You know what this is?

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, you do.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And so, and so that was the first note that leveled my expectation. Then the second thing that Steven told me, which was, you're going to bomb in the room, but play to camera one, you're playing to everyone else. And that was my whole unlock.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah. Did you bomb in the room? I don't think you bomb.

[Hasan Minhaj]

I think. I think I did. Okay. But when I worked it out at the Cellar, it certainly wasn't that. That.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right, but the Cellar is like maybe the greatest venue on earth.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Right, but, but I'm working it out. The Cellar. But I'm also doing these, like, very deep cut references, you know.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right.

[Hasan Minhaj]

So and so forth from MSNBC is here and like the 10 o' clock crowds, like, what the. You. Are you really making a joke about, you know.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

The 10 a. 10pm Anchor on Sienna, you know, but yeah, I'm making a Don Lemon joke right now.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right.

[Hasan Minhaj]

You know, and so anyways, once, once I kind of leveled that. I just knew. And you know, this from. From late night. Just play the camera one, kind of play to the room a little bit, and it's for everybody at home.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And then just kind of Stand in it. Who.

[Craig Ferguson]

Who did you run into? Who produced your. Your. Your. I'm gonna say late night show. Cause that's kind of. I feel like. Sure, sure. It's like, because for me, getting the right producer for these things is like, if you get it wrong, you're never gonna do it.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah, it's never gonna work.

[Craig Ferguson]

It's never gonna work.

[Hasan Minhaj]

I'm lucky, man. I. I found early on when I was doing open mics stuff, I found a really great comedian friend of mine named Prashant Venkata Ramanajam. He became kind of a co writer, co producer, we would do together. And at the time, I didn't know that would be kind of like my future collaborator, but we really were like two musicians working together.

[Craig Ferguson]

That's great.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And it was so. So he knew my voice. He also knew how to kind of control me editorially. He knew, you know, he's going off the rails a little bit, but let him, let him. And then. All right, we'll get to the idea here. He also helped me clarify a lot. Hey, what are you trying to say here?

[Craig Ferguson]

Right. Yeah, I had a great producer as well. I had a guy, Peter La Salle, who was my guy. And Peter used to say to me, especially about jokes, he'd say, is it worth it?

[Hasan Minhaj]

You know, interesting.

[Craig Ferguson]

And I would, you know, some days, some days it was worth it. You know, some days it was worth, you know, there was going to be trouble, but the joke was worth it. And some days you'd go, you know this joke. It's okay.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Is it true? You just use bullet points for your monologue.

[Craig Ferguson]

Is it true? Yeah. That's incredible. It got that way. I mean, what happened was it was a process. What. You know, this is like, you turn up and there's. Everybody from the corporate is there, and they want it to be a certain way. And you have long conversations about the set. Like anyone gives a fuck. Although this is the nicest set, I think.

[Hasan Minhaj]

No, this is.

[Craig Ferguson]

This is amazing.

[Hasan Minhaj]

But this is the exception. This is not the rules.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, this is true. And. And actually. And no one ever talked to me about this set. I just turned up and I was like, this is the most. This is great. Anyway, you have these long conversations with corporate about set. And then they would write because I was doing a broadcast, late night show.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

And I. Nobody knew who I was. You know, I was just like, I had won some. It was like I won a competition. So they. I came in and they had all these writers who were like, you know, all but like cigars and little visors, typewriters. And they weren't.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Got it.

[Craig Ferguson]

They would write me jokes like, hey, you guys see the playoffs? And like I didn't even know where the fucking playoffs were. I don't know what they're talking about.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

But I would walk out and I'd do this with my tie and I'd go, hey, did you guys see the playoffs? And everyone's like, like the, you're not connecting with this.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

And I would make fun of me doing that and, and the me making fun of me trying to be a late night host became the show. But I think that with these shows and I think it's what these.

[Hasan Minhaj]

But did you know there was two things I, I just got to tell you this because we're, we're finally getting a chance to hang in real life. There was two things that I think you did that were so amazing that I think I didn't realize were brilliant tools that you should always, always, always keep, no matter what. Number one thing that I love that you did, which is you subverted all expectation by acknowledging that nobody knew who the you were and where you were in at night. I, you know, you, it's, it's 12:35am you know, you acknowledged my wife didn't.

[Craig Ferguson]

Even know there was a show after letter. That's what she didn't even know.

[Hasan Minhaj]

That's what I'm saying.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, I got the show after letter. But yeah, I didn't know there was one.

[Hasan Minhaj]

But, but, but, but actually playing low status is the thing that is the most countercultural thing you can do. So, so when people go, like comedians are rock stars, I go, no, no, we've lost.

[Craig Ferguson]

Don't do that, don't do that, don't do that.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Right now. It's actually the, one of the worst things you can do.

[Craig Ferguson]

It's setting yourself up for some problems.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah, yeah, there's a lot of problems. So that, so that was number, number one and then number two that I, I realized was so brilliant is just meet the moment where it is. And so even you doing little things where you would come up to the camera and like tap the lens and you're just with the form to let people know, hey, I'm a person. I'm really here. I'm in a studio. That joke didn't work. Or did. Or hey, are you, are you home?

[Craig Ferguson]

Like, yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

All of that breaking the form gave you this real liberation, which was super inspiring for you, I think.

[Craig Ferguson]

Well, I thank you. And I think was.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And I Try to remind myself still to this day that you, both you. And there's this other comedian that you should. I don't know if you've met Rory Scoville.

[Craig Ferguson]

Oh, I know exactly who you're talking about. He's a great comic.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah, he's a brilliant comedist.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yes, he is.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And he is a reminder of. This is a live art form. You know this, right?

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

We're actually just performing live on stage. So perform live and be be aware of. Okay, this is a wooden table and we're in this.

[Craig Ferguson]

I think that's why it draws so many troubled people, because it actually. And this. When you ever read these surveys and say the thing people are most frightened of is public speaking, I'm like, then I have no idea what that must be like, because I would sleep on a stage. The most comfortable I get is getting up on a stage and I'm like, no, Evan's. All right. That or you know, at home, you know, under a blanket. These are the two happy places.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Oh, those are your two modes.

[Craig Ferguson]

That's it. At home, under a blanket. Or that. Because I think that, you know, you know what the rules are, at least I do.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

You know, it's like, be. Be funny.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Right.

[Craig Ferguson]

Or. Or it's over. Did you. When you started out.

[Hasan Minhaj]

What a weird survival mechanism, though.

[Craig Ferguson]

It is a weird thing because we.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Still have this need to do it. Before we started recording, we were talking about how the pandemic. I realized not being able to do comedy. I thought it was my only discernible skill set and ability to make money. That's what I thought. Okay. I have to do this because I got fired from every other job that I've had in my life, so you better be good at this.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right.

[Hasan Minhaj]

But I actually, because of the pandemic and not being able to perform during the pandemic, I go, I actually need it for my own sanity.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And I think I'm actually going to do this until I die.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

For better, for worse.

[Craig Ferguson]

That's when you're a real comic. There was a. There was a time, I think probably it still exists a little bit, but there was a time certainly in like the 80s and 90s when people were only comedians to get a sitcom. You know, a lot of people, there was a huge comedy, but like now.

[Hasan Minhaj]

In the 1980s, you had your Drew Carey moment.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right? Exactly all that. But Drew was one of those guys. I mean, Drew's a stand up, but once he got his show, that was his thing, you know, was to get the Drew Carey show. He's a good stand up. He's actually a really good stand up. But he, I don't think he really does it anymore. Like, I can't envisage a life. People still say to me, no, like, well, you still do stand up. Like, it's like going to Eric Clapton. You still play the guitar.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

That's wrong with you. You can have your own orchestra. Yeah, but I play the guitar. That's what I do.

[Hasan Minhaj]

You know, but it's also like. And I didn't realize this and I don't know if it was like this in the 90s, but, but showbiz and I think this is old as time is such a fickle, not real thing.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And so to me, I've been now doing it 20 years. It to me stand up to me is the cheat code to everything.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Is the only thing I feel in control of. Minus the pandemic where, where it was taken away.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah. It was everybody but.

[Hasan Minhaj]

But it's the only thing that I go, I, I, I'm telling you, I can do this.

[Craig Ferguson]

Let me tell you a true story.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

When I got. I was doing the Drew Carey show, so I did that until the early 2000s. And when I got the late night show from doing some kind of thing, I hadn't done stand up for about 10 years. I'd been doing independent movies. I'd been doing things. And you didn't have the time to.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Do it or you didn't want to.

[Craig Ferguson]

I just kind of moved away from it. Maybe I just didn't. It's not that I didn't need it. I didn't think about it.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Oh, interesting.

[Craig Ferguson]

And then I was writing movie. I had a writing deal at Paramount and I was writing movies and I was making movies and I was working in movies and tv. And when I got the job in late night, I realized that CBS would. First of all, they owned me for everything. I couldn't make a television appearance or a movie appearance or anything without their permission. That was part of the contract. And I knew they didn't owe me for live performance. And I knew that if I screwed up, they'd cut my throat and dump me in the east river without really even thinking about it. It wouldn't be a thing. But I knew that if I was gonna have any autonomy. Cause I figured this show might make me more famous than I had been. If I was gonna have any autonomy, I would have to go to standup. That was the only place where I would exist as Me. And that's when I went back into it again. I started when I got the late night show. I was, you know, I started doing, you know, the Chuckle Huts and the Yuck Yucks and all that. You back into it again on the weekends.

[Hasan Minhaj]

You would do this.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yep, yep.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Holy shit.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, because. And I actually had people say to me, why are you doing this club? You have a TV show where the comedians in this club want to be on your TV show. Yeah, like, yeah, but I need it. I need it, you know? And actually, at the time, I really did need it. I needed the money, too. They weren't paying me anything. I was like, you know, oh, shit. They pay you eventually, as you know. But when you start out. Yeah, not so much. But I wanted to talk to you about how you came to it, because you correct me if I'm wrong, but my. My. My read of you is that you saw comedy that you liked and that's what pulled you in.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yes, it was.

[Craig Ferguson]

It wasn't just the kind of survival school ground bully thing. It was like. It was. You saw comedy. That's it. Was it Chris Rock? Was that it?

[Hasan Minhaj]

Chris was the one. And it was the. Oh, that's allowed. Oh, you can do that.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

So what I mean by that is, like, at the time, I was bagging groceries at a grocery store chain called Safeway.

[Craig Ferguson]

I know the store.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Okay, Okay.

[Craig Ferguson]

I don't recall.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Depending on where I go, the Safeway off Maze Boulevard, the parent company's Vons. But yeah, depending on where I go and I'm doing standup, I'll. I'll change it to Kroger's or Albertsons or whatever. But I was a courtesy clerk at Safeway, which was very funny, by the way. They call it courtesy clerk. I'm just bagging. I'm bagging people.

[Craig Ferguson]

Sounds really good. I like courtesy Clark.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah, sure, sure.

[Craig Ferguson]

It sounds like a comic book character.

[Hasan Minhaj]

I'm in waste receptacle management. Oh, got it. All right, so you're a garbage man.

[Craig Ferguson]

You're garbage.

[Hasan Minhaj]

So I'm bagging groceries. But anyways, I did that, and then I was selling printers at Office Max. And if you've worked in corporate America, if you've had any job in corporate America, there is this decorum that really is like jail. It really is like prison. And so it was a holdover of what I had to do in school and kind of, hi, how are you? There's, you know, the. The niceties of life. And, yeah, you can't. You can't talk back To a superior, that's your manager. You can't say, you know. So I remember being in college and this is where kind of Destiny and Kiss, all these things are meeting at the same time. High speed Internet and kind of Napster, Limewire, illegal torrents. Right, The Internet. Now other people would download things illegally. I would never do that. Because downloading legal, that's illegal. Not stealing.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right, right. I would do that.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah. And that's a criminal offense.

[Craig Ferguson]

That's right. We do not endorse that and we don't do that.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah, yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

The Kid Super Studio Never.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Never. And then on every DVD when it says, the FBI, we're watching it, say, they're watching you.

[Craig Ferguson]

So don't you.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Don't you dare.

[Craig Ferguson]

$250,000 fine, five years in jail. That's no joke.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah, Just for, you know, just for copying Mission too.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah. Yeah. Have you seen it?

[Hasan Minhaj]

Not even that great.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

So why. It's not worth the, it's not worth the fee.

[Craig Ferguson]

You know, I preferred Mission Impossible one that you did. Yeah, yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

It's a great movie.

[Craig Ferguson]

So you're bagging groceries.

[Hasan Minhaj]

I'm bagging groceries. And I'm. I'm in college and I'm a buddy of mine. Shows me Chris Rock's never scared. And it's a great special. It's a phenomenal special.

[Craig Ferguson]

He's a great comic.

[Hasan Minhaj]

He's a great comic. But, but what he was talking about were all the things that would get you either fired or sent to hr. Politics, war, George W. Bush, sex, relationships. These are all like, just taboo things you cannot say. And yeah, man, he, he just was saying it. And I, I go, that, that to me is what I, I want to do that. I feel all those things. I say all those things with my friends. I want to do that. I got to do that. That. How do I do that? And I just started Googling. I went on google.com and how do you even.

[Craig Ferguson]

So how did you start? Did you go.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Literally started just going, yeah, open mic, you know, at the Sacramento punchline.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, that's amazing.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah. And just started there.

[Craig Ferguson]

So, like, what's your first open mic? Like? I mean, because I, I, yeah. So how long did you do?

[Hasan Minhaj]

You, you only get to do three minutes or five minutes.

[Craig Ferguson]

That's crazy. So I, I take that long to say good evening.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah, I had three jokes. I think the joke was I was living at home at the time. And this dates me. It was a joke about having landlines and, like talking to a girl on the phone.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And Then, you know, I think the jokes was something. Why are you breathing so heavy? And then say you're a dad. Hang up.

[Craig Ferguson]

So that's the crux of the jokes. Yeah, yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

I mean, I'm 18 years old, right? So it's like, you know, so it was just the, you know, dad breathes heavy, you know. Okay, Rebecca. You know, he hangs up. So it's like a stupid, stupid joke. But I remember kind of connected and. Yeah, once you get that.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

That hit.

[Craig Ferguson]

Do you know, it's the weird thing. Do you remember the first time you died on stage?

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah. I mean, that was probably maybe the second or third set.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah. But the first.

[Hasan Minhaj]

So did your first set go good? The first one went good for me. I got. I got just enough.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, I got just enough of a hit. Yeah. A little bit of the juice, like, oh, I'll come back. But you know what I think is weird is that because I remember the first time I died, which was spectacular.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah. I feel like you're very good at bombing.

[Craig Ferguson]

Oh, I'm fabulous at it. No one can be shit like me. That's great.

[Hasan Minhaj]

I love that.

[Craig Ferguson]

But I remember how. I mean, it was bad. Like the audience were chanting, oh, it was a punk rock festival in London.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Oh, geez.

[Craig Ferguson]

And I was going on between the bands. You ever had that thing where you go on. Do some comedy between the bands? So I go on between. I don't know, the Spitboys.

[Hasan Minhaj]

By the way, have you had musician. Musician friends that ask. Ask you to do.

[Craig Ferguson]

Lars from Metallica said to me, hey, do you want to open for us? I'm like, are you out of your mind?

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah. This is selfish. You should tell Lars.

[Craig Ferguson]

How much do you hate me, Lars? What the would you want me to do?

[Hasan Minhaj]

I love you. They have no desire to see you love me, Lars.

[Craig Ferguson]

Your fans hate me, and I'm not even there. Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Lars from Metallica asking you to do that. That's the destination wedding.

[Craig Ferguson]

That's right.

[Hasan Minhaj]

How dare you be the self.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right, right, right. It's not gonna happen anyway.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah, yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

So I'm at the. Between the bands.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

And I thought I'd be fine. I was like. I was a kid. I was about 18 years old. Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

I'm wearing a kilt because I thought that would be funny.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Amazing.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah. But I was so frightened that my knees were shaking. And it was all these cockney punks in the front row and they're like, his knees are knocking. His knees are knocking. And they started chanting. The whole audience were shouting it. His Knees are knocking. His knees are knocking. Boo that. And I came off stage after, like, literally got booed off stage. And I remember it clear as a bell.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

I go backstage and went, I got to do that again. I was like, I don't know what odd pathology exists.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Did you fight growing up? Were you a fighter? Did you ever get into fist fights?

[Craig Ferguson]

Yes.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Okay. So I've, I've, I've been in two or three fights, but I didn't know I was in the fight fight, Right. So I got hit by a friend. I go, hey, like, yeah. So I didn't know I was in the fight, but I have friends that were fighters that would actually fight and, and tussled with young men. And they told me the, the high of, like, you hit or you, when you get hit, and then you kind of. I've never felt that, but I have felt the, the rush of, oh, anything could happen. And.

[Craig Ferguson]

Well, that's the truth about any fight, whether it's, whether it's a war between superpowers or, or two guys in a bar, once it starts. And anyone who will tell you this, yeah, once it starts, you don't really know where it's going to go.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Right?

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah. People like to, you know, say, well, we know this is going to be over by Christmas.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

Is it? Okay, let's see how it's going to go.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

And I, I, I ab. I am terrified of violence. I hate it. And I've been involved in it a couple of times, you know, when I was a young man. And I, and you never used.

[Hasan Minhaj]

So I, I would.

[Craig Ferguson]

A gun.

[Hasan Minhaj]

No, I didn't see you as a Second amendment guy, but you never used it as a, as a deflection. I would always, sometimes be. I played basketball a lot growing up, and I remember I had glasses, I got Lasik. But I was thinking about this. I was like, oh, yeah. I would also use comedy as a way to get out of.

[Craig Ferguson]

Sure. It doesn't always work, though. That's the problem.

[Hasan Minhaj]

I remember it would work, though, a couple times with me. Like, it would be these, like, guys would go for a rebound and use their elbows. I had these big glasses. I go, whoa, whoa, easy on the moneymaker.

[Craig Ferguson]

Oh, nice.

[Hasan Minhaj]

You know?

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And they kind of, they'd kind of start laughing.

[Craig Ferguson]

Self deprecation.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

No, I, that's a, It's a good trick I've seen people use in Hollywood as well. Is that false beta move.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

You know when you get some studio executive and you go, yeah, yeah, it's kind of like, it's an interesting game of chess with especially around like obvious self unaware alphas.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Correct.

[Craig Ferguson]

That's kind of fun to play that game.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah. And. And I didn't realize at the time, it's also, you know, us as comics were very good at dialing in and assessing what. What are we really doing here? You know, what's actually going on. And so that I think I didn't realize at the time, these were little things that I was doing from a young age.

[Craig Ferguson]

Do you see it, do you see it with your kids? I mean, because there's definitely a moment in my life that changed kind of everything. There's been a couple of them, but becoming a father is like, it's a real kind of satori. It's a real kind of like everything changes.

[Hasan Minhaj]

How old are your kids?

[Craig Ferguson]

I have a 24 year old and a 14 year old. So Scottish people, we are kind of like, you know, the big orchids in the jungle, they just. Every 10 years and everything gets pregnant. That's how Scottish people mate. That's how it's done. So every 10 years, you know, it doesn't matter who you are. And as you're sitting there.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Sure, sure. Gotcha.

[Craig Ferguson]

You're pregnant.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Like an eclipse, kind of.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, exactly. So, right. You can tell it's coming and you can get out the way. But. But yeah, my.

[Hasan Minhaj]

So 2037, we should expect something again.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, I think that's when it's gonna happen again. I don't know if there's anything left. I think now at this point it would just be like nothing will happen. Maybe the table gets, you know, has a period. So that's it. So. But having the kids was something that I think all of my. The way that I looked at it, especially as they got a little older run about when your kids are actually. When they start kind of becoming much more themselves. There's not just this little slug. You have to kind of wipe and move and wipe and move. It's like there's more stuff going on.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Wiping butts and feeding.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah. My God, how many shoes have you tied so far this year? Like, my God, my God. These idiots can't tie the shoes.

[Hasan Minhaj]

I suppose kids nowadays have loafers, but I'm also shocked. It's also crazy how winded I get tying the shoes where I'm like, I'm like, why am I panting?

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Tying a pair of Converse All Stars.

[Craig Ferguson]

Well, I, I mean that should feel like I'm. That's a deep cut though. Putting Converse on a child. That's. That's. That's a lot. Are you talking about on you or on the child?

[Hasan Minhaj]

Both.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah. Because I. I was like, here's my. My fitness test is this. If I don't get out of breath tying my shoes, I'm good. Oh, you're gonna need a collection.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah. I don't check my bmi.

[Craig Ferguson]

If I can cut my own toenails, we're all right. Everything's fine. It's okay.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah. I mean, look, I think the cool thing about kids, and I think Mulaney was talking about this, but I loved the way he articulated this was when he was holding his first. He was. He goes, oh, there you are. Like, I've been looking for you. And I do get. I got that feeling with them of like, oh, I didn't. I didn't have to do all these other things for attention and love and.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yes.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And all that stuff. Oh, there. It's. It's. It's here.

[Craig Ferguson]

There is an amount of service now involved in your life that you didn't have before. Yeah, it's. That's what I. I feel like that's. Something really changes. And I think that the idea. You know, I used to, like. And like every young man, I was like, I'm. I'm not gonna have kids.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

And then I had kids. I was like. Like, I can't believe I waited so long to have kids. It seems strange to me, but, you.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Know, I have a lot of friends that don't have children, and. And, you know, I respect, like, I respect everybody's choice, but. And. But one thing that was really powerful for me as a. Just a. As a performer was I remember holding my daughter and thinking about all the times I had felt as a child being abandoned, even as an adult. I called so and so. They didn't call back. I reached out for so and so. They never texted back. And that pain you sometimes feel of like, oh, man, I needed you there, and you didn't really, you know, or you were. You were in a different place. And that extending of an olive branch and when you don't get it back and guys, we hide it really well, but I remember holding her and my son when he was born. Porn. And being like, I'll be. I can be the person that texts you back. Like, I'll be that for you.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, that's.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And that's kind of beautiful.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Of like.

[Craig Ferguson]

Did you experience a lot of that when you were a kid? Did you feel abandoned when you were.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Little as you know, as immigrants were, were in transit. So you know, we, we come. My mom's doing a residency so there was a lot of stuff that was interesting.

[Craig Ferguson]

Your mom went back to India, New York.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And then she was doing a residency in Stockton and, and then, you know, she came to Davis and then we, so there was a lot of stuff that was in, you know, the immigrant story is almost like a mini house renovation of like you're never fully unpacked and you know, I, Is the kitchen done? Is it that.

[Craig Ferguson]

See that's kind of. My kids have been through that as well. I mean we've had like half a dozen houses in the last 10 years. Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

So you're just kind of, you know.

[Craig Ferguson]

It becomes kind of a habit. My wife got mad at me about it. She's like, we're not moving it.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

Because we moved around a lot. And I think it does, I think because she's not an immigrant, but she's the child, the grandchild of an immigrant and so there is that kind of understanding of it. Yeah, it's, it's an odd thing.

[Hasan Minhaj]

So that I think maybe that was my, my joy is like you can count on me and, and I don't know, I can't do the balance sheet. I don't have the Excel spreadsheet for the rest of the world.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right.

[Hasan Minhaj]

But I can be that for you and maybe that's enough.

[Craig Ferguson]

I think that's, I mean it. I think it is.

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[Tom Yamas]

Taking over the helm of NBC Nightly News, a 75 year old broadcast, it's A great responsibility.

[Craig Ferguson]

Good evening.

[Tom Yamas]

I'm Tom Yamas. You have to go out there to bring people at home closer to the store. Wildfires continue to be a threat. With that massive hurricane comes the massive response. The best reporters in our business know how to listen. And when you listen, you get the truth. For NBC News, NBC News, I'm Tom Galamas. That's what we do every night.

[Hasan Minhaj]

NBC Nightly News with Tom Yamas. Evenings on NBC.

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At California Psychics, we know that sometimes you can wake up thinking.

[Jenny Garth]

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[Craig Ferguson]

Know if I'm in the right career.

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[Craig Ferguson]

You know Jim Gaffigan, right?

[Hasan Minhaj]

Of course.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah. Right. So I was talking to Jim years ago, and I. I was talking to him about comedic style, and he was talking about he, you know, Jim works clean. I mean, like, famously so. Any, like, he. He cusses like a normal human when he's offstage, but he works clean and he makes it a family friendly show. And I was like, I'm intrigued by that. And he said, I did it at first to see if I could do it. And then it became a stylistic choice. I liked it. I kind of liked doing it that way. And he does it and I mean, he's fantastic.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah, yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

And I made. When I had had that conversation with him, I thought I was doing late night at the time, and. And late night, because you're working every day. Politics was. Every day. Politics is the thing, you know, every day there's gonna be something you can talk about. So you talk about it.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah, yeah, sure.

[Craig Ferguson]

But it was just at the time, just as I was getting out at late night, it started to go on fire. I mean, it really became polarizing and people really got upset about.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah, this was like war in Iraq, war in Afghanistan, war on terror, all of it.

[Craig Ferguson]

Oh, geez. So as I'm coming out of it, I said, well, in stand up now, this is around 2016, I was like, like, I'm not going to do any more politics ever, Ever. I'm never going to talk about. And I don't. And I still don't. And what's interesting, because I know that you don't shy away from that at all. You were happy to run Right at it.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Totally.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah. It's interesting to me because I wonder how it feels. Do you? Because I used to get hit with this in. When I was doing late night. If I did a. An anti Republican joke, I'd have to find an anti Democrat joke to balance it out. Like standards and practice would say to me, oh, wow, you have to balance them.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Got it, got it.

[Craig Ferguson]

And so it became a thing. I don't think that happens anymore. I don't think they would say to you, you have to do that. Do you feel like, is it something that helps or hinders or just unavoidable because you're a political animal and you.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah, for me it's almost like what I love about the form is if you have friends that journal, it's the same thing. Why they encourage long form writing is sometimes I'll write to myself what is actually happening in my head and it helps me figure out what's happening and I'll just keep writing until I. That to me is the point of the business.

[Craig Ferguson]

It. Right.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Is to actually what the. Do I actually believe and whether the position is contrarian or not. Just what, what do you actually think? Or it's. This is another style of joke you can do, which is, oh, this is the way it is. What if they did it like this, right? Can you imagine if they did it this way?

[Craig Ferguson]

Right?

[Hasan Minhaj]

And it's just now you're painting a picture in a new way. So to me, that's the whole thing of how can I misdirect and how can I. I solve this? They're little puzzles to me. How do I solve this little puzzle?

[Craig Ferguson]

But what I think is quite interesting about it is that right now is if you do the, if one reads the room, it's like there's, you know, say I went into a room and it was a bunch of Glasgow Rangers supporters and a bunch of Glasgow Celtics supporters. I'd be like, I'm probably not going to talk about soccer today, you know, and I feel a little bit like that.

[Hasan Minhaj]

But you don't get excited at the prospect of going, let me see, see.

[Craig Ferguson]

How much I can get away with.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Let me see. Oh, for sure.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah. But. But I, I'm kind of like, I'm not sure that my line is.

[Hasan Minhaj]

You.

[Craig Ferguson]

Know, what, hey, what about the, those, the wheels on cars or something? You know, it's like, sure. I feel like, not that I've done my many wheel things, but the.

[Hasan Minhaj]

You got 20 minutes on wheels.

[Craig Ferguson]

I. I wish I did. The idea, I think for me is I just became more personal, I became more anecdotal, I became more. I kind of went that way and I actually liked it. I found that, oh, look, I mean, I have reserves of pain and sadness and upset that I feel like I'm the Saudi Arabia of unhappiness. Do you know what I mean? I have so much fucking.

[Hasan Minhaj]

The oil reserves.

[Craig Ferguson]

Normal people don't understand just how much.

[Hasan Minhaj]

I ramco level of sadness.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right, Exactly. I can keep going and keep going.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And never run and never run out. Liquid gold of sadness.

[Craig Ferguson]

And I think that the. I wonder if, if it. Do you think it affects your. Yeah, I mean, it's bound to affect how you appear in the world. Does it bother you?

[Hasan Minhaj]

No, man. You know, really what I've come to come to terms with and the reason why I love putting out, working on a new hour and putting out a special is almost like Wimbledon or Tennis. It's like, let me just control the parameters of the game.

[Craig Ferguson]

Okay.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And I'm sure you maybe have this with your kids, which is there's social media and then there's this. And then.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, you gotta.

[Hasan Minhaj]

So, so now you're playing decentralized warfare.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right, Right.

[Hasan Minhaj]

So wait, so. So, so we're in a ditch. We're fighting Pre World War I style and then. And now we're also doing drone. Drone warfare.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right.

[Hasan Minhaj]

It's like I want to pick the parameters. And so what I love about the stage is there is a very. To the best of my ability, we've set the stage, we've set the parameters of what this is.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And I like that. And I hope I can keep it that way. And I'm sure you had this with film. Film is a different medium.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yes.

[Hasan Minhaj]

You know, yeah, you can be a piece of shit. You can be shittier. You can be. You can be an archetype of a character. Stand up. It's a different thing. They think they're seeing Craig and they're seeing the inner workings of Craig. And so I love just.

[Craig Ferguson]

Are you. When you're doing a stand up, are you. Is that like. Is who's. Is that Hasan or is that. Is that like stage? Hasan is different from real Hassan?

[Hasan Minhaj]

I think it's a little bit of both. Yeah, I think it's a little bit. It's a little bit of both.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And that's what I love. I mean, the whole form is joking, not joking. Joking. Yeah, yeah, I'm joking, not joking. Yeah, I'm sorry, not sorry.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, I think that's true. I mean, it's like, but let me just say this.

[Hasan Minhaj]

This is the problem is that I think Americans, and this is why when people talk about. They have a very difficult time understanding paradox. Indians, we understand the world as paradox. You go to India. I mean, it's. It's literally the movie. Everything everywhere, all at once.

[Craig Ferguson]

People.

[Hasan Minhaj]

You go to a street in Delhi, someone's being born.

[Craig Ferguson]

My favorite movie of recent time. You've seen Rrr.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Of course. That's incredible.

[Craig Ferguson]

Greatest. It's incredible movie. Unbelievable movie. Yeah. I wouldn't have brought it up, but. But I. I just. I'm. See, when I watched that movie, I was like, man, it is much harder to be a movie star in India than it is. These guys are dancing and singing and doing things.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

Acting and being really good and handsome and sound like me.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

You have to do.

[Hasan Minhaj]

You have to be everything. You have to be a superhero.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah. It's unbelievable. It's unbelievable.

[Hasan Minhaj]

It's unbelievable. It's unbelievable.

[Craig Ferguson]

It's unbelievable what these guys are doing.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah. And so what's interesting, though, is that even, like life in India, it has so many multitudes and there's so much chaos that. Yeah. You understand that there are things that are paradoxical. America is very much about, well, we have to solve a paradox. And so you can't solve a paradox. You have to just embrace it. Do you understand what I'm saying?

[Craig Ferguson]

I do. And I feel that what's quite interesting about it as well is that. And. And you make an interesting observation about Americans as an American. Yes, and I do that too. I'll sometimes say about Americans, well, I'm a fucking American and Donald Trump is an American and Hasan Minhaj is an American. And I feel like here it's much harder to figure out who you're gonna upset next. Or it used to be, I think. Now I think the truth is, is you're pretty much going to upset everybody at some point. The trick is to not do them all at the same time.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah. You know, don't set off all the landmarks.

[Craig Ferguson]

It is kind of an interesting thing because when I made a decision not to do politics, it was my friends who were on the left assumed I had moved to the right.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Oh, interesting.

[Craig Ferguson]

And my friends who are on the right assumed I was on the right and just wasn't talking about it. And it was really interesting. It was like, why? But I'm not talking about it. So they make a decision about it.

[Hasan Minhaj]

But is it also, like, the older I get too? Which is. I'm not here to also just talk about the day to day cartoon characters that take up the headlines.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And you know this with the late night show, every day those characters change. They'll take out Dick Cheney, put in Stephen Miller. These are just characters.

[Craig Ferguson]

I know. I have to say, though, one of the greatest days in the history when.

[Hasan Minhaj]

He got shot on the vent.

[Craig Ferguson]

Joke writing, Dick Cheney's lawyer got shot in the face. Nobody died. Everybody's happy.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Great joke there.

[Craig Ferguson]

Oh, my God. It's like you hardly had to go to work that day.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And duck hunting is very funny.

[Craig Ferguson]

Duck hunting. It's got the J sound. It's like everything you got duck Cheney and a hat. Everything would have been, you know, it should be that way every day.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yes.

[Craig Ferguson]

But it's not, of course. And that would be like, you know.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Christmas every day, but almost like an eclipse. Like when. A couple, A couple days ago when Elon and Trump were. Oh, it was great.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

The girls were fighting.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

What a fun day that was.

[Craig Ferguson]

You know what, it was interesting. I remember when that, when they got together, I was like, this has all the success of Brangelina Retinol. And I feel like I was right.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And so.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And then in that case, you just kind of sit back and let.

[Craig Ferguson]

Let it happen.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Let it stew.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, yeah, let it happen.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And then, then let. Let it kind of let the rice cooker explode.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And that's fun too. But. Yeah. Yeah. But I. The older I've gotten is also, I recognize the. There's a demand from the audience to go, help. Help me put this in perspective. And I'm sure they were asking that.

[Craig Ferguson]

I don't think anybody comes to me for perspective.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Really.

[Craig Ferguson]

No, I think that. I think I'm just like, you know, a sad clown in the corner. I don't, I don't think anyone's going, well, what does Craig think? Nobody think. Nobody's thinking. What is Craig? Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

I think people like your look for your wisdom and your wit, but the older I've gotten, I've also realized it is like there is. There's such rich stuff to mine from just life itself.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah. For sure.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And that. And that. And those subjects can be.

[Craig Ferguson]

And the aging process comes at you in a very odd way. Yeah. It's very strange for everybody. It is. It's different for everybody and all that, but it's the same for everybody. Yeah, it's kind of perfect for that too.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah. And then. And then you can kind of slide and vacillate into other random stuff.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

That's fun.

[Craig Ferguson]

One of the things I thought about. But the comedy about the politics thing was if I do politics, people are gonna stop hearing me. You know, I'm gonna stop getting jokes to people. Cause they're only gonna hear the one that made them angry and then they stop listening. And then it took me back to that, what Peter LaSalle said to me in late night, which was, is the joke worth it? You know, is it? You know, and sometimes it is and sometimes it's not. And that's really what I think. Talk to me about your podcast. What are you doing in your podcast?

[Hasan Minhaj]

Oh, man. So the podcast is, is called Huss Minaj doesn't know. But when, when my Netflix show stopped, all these people that I would end up interviewing.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Would still call.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right.

[Hasan Minhaj]

I, I want to do a. Hey, I want you to interview Mimi. I want you to. So I'd get like governors or, you know, members of Senate being like, let's talk. Can, you know, can we do a. Can we talk about this?

[Craig Ferguson]

Right.

[Hasan Minhaj]

I thought this is very unique where it's, it's very strange to be DM'd by like the Secretary of the treasury.

[Craig Ferguson]

Depending on who you are.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah, yeah. Comedian to be like, dmd. Hi, I'm on their social team. Do you want. So I, I was like, what, what do I do with this? Can you get on the phone? Let's chat. And so I said, all right, let me, let me just have the conversation where I can basically be. I'm basically a stand in for the public.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right. Where I just get to ask the questions. Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Hey, this is how, this is how I think I feel about this. I clearly don't know everything there is to know about the subject. But look, let me just be a stand in for the public and just kind of ask you how we feel.

[Craig Ferguson]

It's an interesting thing. It's very rare for me, and you've done a lot more of this than I have, but whenever I've interviewed politicians, I find myself getting a little frustrated. Yeah, sure. I feel like. Because at part of their media training.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

Which right there. That's. They kind of bristles with me. But yeah, part of the media training is they're always told to stay on message.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Sure. Yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

I'm like, I don't, I don't want your message, I want you.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah. And I go, so that's a great talking point.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Can you answer the question, though?

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, I love that.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And, and you sound like a human captcha. But can you tell me, you know, why this makes no sense?

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

You know, and It's. It's. It's those little moments of just like. Like popping the bubble, which is, hey, I know that you do a million zoom calls where you can kind of have these haikus of nothing.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right?

[Hasan Minhaj]

But I. I literally don't know what you said.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, you spoke for. That's three minutes.

[Hasan Minhaj]

None of it made sense.

[Craig Ferguson]

And it's funny. I think it's great that you've got the. That you're. You. You can do that. Because what happens is I start kind of going, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, forget where I am. And. And then I just. It. Fine. Can we. And I always try and cut to a commercial break, but of course there isn't one because it's podcasting.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Right.

[Craig Ferguson]

But it's. But I've never had a politician on here. I don't think I would. I don't think I need to.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah, do what you want, man.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, that's. I think that.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Do what you want. I think that's.

[Craig Ferguson]

I think that's it. Right? And I think the. The thing is, as well, is like, you know, where are you at?

[Hasan Minhaj]

Where are you at? What do you want to do? Yeah, you can literally do anything. We're in Kid Super's tent. We could do. I could literally do anything you want.

[Craig Ferguson]

I like, like Colm Delane's vibe. I like Kid Super. I like it out here. Do you know a guy called Peter Goober?

[Hasan Minhaj]

No.

[Craig Ferguson]

Peter Goober is like, he's a big guy in Hollywood, a big successful producer. He's done other things. He's very successful guy. He owns some giant hockey team, and he's super. He's like a billionaire and all that.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

And. But Goober, I kind of run into him when I was in Hollywood and we used to have lunch every now and again. And when I was leaving late night, I was like, I don't know what to fucking do now. And so I had lunch with Peter and he said he's older guy, and he said, what you have to do is you have to be around young people who have energy and are doing things. I said, okay, isn't that a little weird? He was like, no, no, no, no. He says, yeah, have them around you and listen to what they're saying. Don't do any of it, but listen to it. And you will feel enthused by. By that. And he's kind of right. And I feel like this place and I like being around the energy of that, you know, and people who are trying new stuff.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

So what do I want to do? I Don't know.

[Hasan Minhaj]

That's awesome.

[Craig Ferguson]

I don't know. Yeah, man. This. I like this. I like this. I like talking to you. I like talking to people that I'm interested in talking to.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah, that's great.

[Craig Ferguson]

If I can find a politician that I'm interested in talking to, I'll talk to them.

[Hasan Minhaj]

You probably don't need to.

[Craig Ferguson]

I don't.

[Hasan Minhaj]

I'll be honest with you.

[Craig Ferguson]

It's hard for me to find one.

[Hasan Minhaj]

That I can stomach beyond the talking points.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, it's a very difficult. It's. It's really interesting for me, the joy.

[Hasan Minhaj]

That I get out of it is, again, it's the same feeling I got I get from stand up. Let me just say what I've. What I feel when I read about you in the New York Times.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Let me just say it.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

So we had this general on, General McChrystal, who was like a big general during the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Okay.

[Craig Ferguson]

Right.

[Hasan Minhaj]

So one of my favorite moments from the interview is I go, Mr. General, do you. Are you familiar with the Onion? This is the great sentence. This is a great sentence to say to, like, one of the head of the U.S. army. You familiar with the onion.comtheonion.com satirical.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

He goes, yes. I go. I showed him an Onion headline article, and it says, U.S. army continues to defeat Al Qaeda by killing every single number two in charge. Great headline. General McChrystal goes, the sad part is, we only killed number three.

[Craig Ferguson]

Oh, my God.

[Hasan Minhaj]

And it's just. You know what? It's just fucking incredible.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

I mean, it's just amazing. I mean, I was like, set up. Punchline.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, it's pretty great.

[Hasan Minhaj]

It's pretty great.

[Craig Ferguson]

It's pretty great. It's pretty great. It writes itself.

[Hasan Minhaj]

So 20 years of a meaningless war to get the.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

He didn't know that. He didn't. He didn't get it.

[Craig Ferguson]

He didn't get the joke.

[Hasan Minhaj]

He didn't get the joke. But to me, it's just, hey, if that's all I do. I said my piece. I said how I really feel about it.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

How many people feel about it.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Cool. And. And by the way, that's okay. Like, I'm. I am at peace with that.

[Craig Ferguson]

I think it's great.

[Hasan Minhaj]

I'm very happy with it.

[Craig Ferguson]

Yeah, I think you should be. I'm happy you were here. Thanks for coming.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Thanks for having me.

[Craig Ferguson]

All right.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah, man.

[Craig Ferguson]

Thanks, man.

[Hasan Minhaj]

Yeah.

[Craig Ferguson]

Foreign.

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[Jenny Garth]

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[Craig Ferguson]

Is an iheart podcast.