Insights From Ed's Castmates & Collaborators

Summary

SNAFU with Ed Helms

Episode: Insights From Ed's Castmates & Collaborators

Airdate: July 8, 2026
Host: Ed Helms
Guests (in order of appearance across clips): Mike Schur, Jenna Fischer, Angela Kinsey, Rainn Wilson, Jake Johnson, John Oliver, Tom Hanks, Trevor Noah, Kal Penn

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Episode Overview

This episode of SNAFU serves as a joyful, reflective montage, pulling together behind-the-scenes stories and candid camaraderie from Ed Helms’s collaborators across his career—including fellow cast members and writers from The Office, improvisers from UCB, and colleagues from movies and late night TV. The central theme is looking at the human side of legendary screwups and creative process, with humor and warmth underpinning each conversation. It’s a nostalgic, laughter-filled celebration of the mishaps and memories that bonded these collaborators, blending group therapy for humanity with fresh perspectives on history's biggest SNAFUs.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Magic and Mayhem Behind The Office

Guests: Jenna Fischer, Mike Schur, Angela Kinsey

• Set Culture & Camaraderie ([02:01]–[09:47])

  • The cast reminisce about the tight-knit, distraction-free environment of The Office, which fostered creativity and authentic relationships.
  • Jenna Fischer:

    "I miss being silly with you. Like, we would get so silly. Like, I would walk past you and we would just make up a new noise..." ([04:31])

  • Mike Schur highlights the “tapestry of mundane small moments” that built intimacy among the cast, such as waiting for camera setups or spending all day shooting conference room scenes:

    "...our experience of making the show is actually this whole tapestry of mundane small moments of just experiencing each other." ([04:42])

  • They stress the unique collaborative spirit, with no ego or competitiveness, and a shared pride in their collective creative product.
    • Ed Helms:

      "It was collaborative. It was not competitive." ([09:17])

    • Jenna Fischer:

      "We always say it was a real creative collaboration. From the writers room to the crew to the cast, we were all working together to create a product that we were proud of." ([09:27])

• Joining The Office ([07:42]–[09:47])

  • Newcomers like Ed Helms and Mike Schur felt warmly welcomed by the established cast, in contrast to experiences on other, more cutthroat sets.
  • Fun memories shared of group scenes and “candy bag” talking heads—extra monologues disguised under fun names to make extra work more playful.

2. The Art of the SNAFU—Naming the Blooper

Guests: Jenna Fischer, Mike Schur, Angela Kinsey, Jake Johnson

• The panel reflects on the power of euphemisms: calling failures “snafus” and bloopers makes them feel lighter, much like The Office writers called long monologues “candy bags.”
  • Mike Schur:

    “Euphemisms make hard things a lot easier.” ([10:26])

  • Jenna Fischer:

    “Even the word snafu is kind of fun.” ([11:24])

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3. Finding Andy Bernard—Character Creation

Guests: Mike Schur, Rainn Wilson, Ed Helms

• Behind Andy Bernard ([12:18]–[17:38])
  • Ed Helms credits Mike Schur for helping him discover the voice and mannerisms for Andy Bernard, inspired “directly from people I grew up with in Connecticut.”
    • Ed Helms:

      “…the character Andy Bernard on the Office never would have clicked for me without you. And you were such an instrumental part of helping me find his voice…” ([14:09])

  • Mike Schur describes Andy as:

    “The sort of preppy, like, Good Time Charlie guy who went to an Ivy League school and just wanted to be liked…” ([15:19])

  • Shared laughter over specific improv moments, like Andy eagerly joining in a drunken Indigo Girls singalong—relatable Connecticut nostalgia for Schur.

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4. Comedy as a Force for Change—Satire, Cartoons, and Media

Guests: Mike Schur, Rainn Wilson, John Oliver, Trevor Noah

• Lessons from Boss Tweed and Political Satire ([17:38]–[23:07])
  • Schur and Rainn Wilson discuss how comedy and editorial cartoons historically punctured political power more effectively than formal journalism.
    • Rainn Wilson:

      “Comedy is often a more powerful weapon… a more direct way to make people understand something about government and corruption…” ([18:04])

  • Modern context: fragmentation of the media landscape makes it harder for satire to land national punches, but truly “exceptional work” still percolates to the top.

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5. Mishaps in Movie-Making: Filming Tag

Guests: Jake Johnson, Mike Schur, Tom Hanks

• Absurd True Story: Jeremy Renner broke both arms during a stunt and returned to the set the same day to keep filming. ([23:32]–[25:17])
  • Jake Johnson:

    “…if I break my arms, I’m in a hospital room… I’m expecting visitors… I’m not going back to work.” ([24:51])

  • Shared laughs about on-set mischief, including Hannibal Buress sabotaging a church scene with a fart, and disappointments over a “private jet” that was basically a “Greyhound airplane.”

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6. Early-Career Hangouts: UCB Theater Days

Guests: Mike Schur, Tom Hanks

• Nostalgia for Comedy Beginnings ([30:32]–[33:06])
  • Anecdotes of their formative years performing in UCB’s “old strip club” venue, haircuts on stage, and how those communal experiences fused long-lasting creative relationships.
    • Tom Hanks:

      “We were performing in an old strip club where sometimes you’d be doing a show and people would get up and leave and you’re like, did I do a bad job? No, they just thought they were coming to a strip club and were very confused…” ([31:50])

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7. Transitioning in Late Night: The Daily Show Evolves

Guests: Trevor Noah, Mike Schur

• Rotating Hosts & Satire as Therapy ([34:07]–[39:13])
  • Trevor Noah and Schur bond over their Daily Show years; Noah describes the anxiety and growth of shifting from correspondent to host in the show’s current, collaborative incarnation.
    • Trevor Noah:

      “So to get to try something new creatively and something so exciting and to get to look to [Jon Stewart]… it’s beyond a dream come true.” ([37:03])

  • The emotional toll of satirizing nonstop chaos—but also catharsis:
    • Noah:

      “Being forced to find the humor in it somewhere is my therapy. It is redeeming it, really.” ([39:00])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On bloopers as bonding:

  • Jenna Fischer:

    “That’s what we did, Ed. We would just laugh all day together.” ([04:18])

• On what made The Office special:

  • Mike Schur:

    “Those and some of those conference room scenes were like, that’s where everybody’s together. Like everybody’s. And those had a really special energy…” ([07:14])

• Character formation:

  • Ed Helms:

    “If I could use a wish, it would be to go back and shoot a conference room scene all day…” ([05:34])

• On media’s power:

  • Rainn Wilson:

    “Comedy is often a more powerful weapon… than actual news.” ([18:04])

• On returning after injury:

  • Jake Johnson:

    “If I break my arms, I’m… not going back to work.” ([24:49])

• Comedy nostalgia:

  • Tom Hanks:

    “We were just comedy larva wriggling around.” ([31:34])

• The Daily Show as group therapy:

  • Trevor Noah:

    “Being forced to find the humor in it somewhere is my therapy. It is redeeming it, really.” ([39:00])

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• The Office Memories and Culture: [02:01]–[11:24]
• Character Creation – Andy Bernard: [14:09]–[17:38]
• Satire, Comedy, and Media: [17:38]–[23:07]
• Stunt Mishap in Tag: [23:32]–[26:21]
• UCB Comedy Roots: [30:32]–[33:06]
• The Daily Show’s Evolution and Emotional Impact: [34:07]–[39:13]

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Final Thoughts

This “montage” episode of SNAFU distills a sense of why comedy connects people, both among performers and to audiences. Through their war stories and gentle ribbing, Ed Helms and his collaborators display the collaborative, supportive, and resilient spirit that powers great comedy—and helps everyone survive life’s biggest (and funniest) SNAFUs.

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Transcript

[Ed Helms]

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[Mike Schur]

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[Tom Hanks]

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[Kalpen (Kal Penn)]

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[Tom Hanks]

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[Bethenny Frankel]

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[Mike Schur]

Hello, SNAFU fans. Or as I like to call you, snafooligans. Come on, that's a cool name, right? I hope you're keeping cool this summer. And as we wade through this horrifically sweltering El Nino, I've got something even hotter for you. This brand new clip episode curated by the Snafu team. And by Snafu Team, I guess I really just mean me putting on different hats and using different silly voices with each hat. Um, now that I think about it, is maybe kind of sad. But anyway, this summer, to tide you over until our new season arrives, we're going to be releasing a whole series of montage episodes tied to a certain theme or just collective nuggets of Snafu Laden wisdom. And to kick things off, I thought we might want to begin with a fun romp down memory lane with a bunch of my guests, who also happen to be my wonderful collaborators on film and TV projects over the years. So if you didn't catch the behind the scenes banter before, now is a great time to tune in and devour some bite sized morsels about what it was like to pal around with Angela Kinsey and Jenna Fisher when we had downtime between scenes on the Office. Or how Mike Schur, one of the Office writers, helped conjure the character of Andy Bernard based on one of his own acquaintances. Maybe hear a little bit about Jake Johnson recalling how when we were shooting the movie Tag Jake, Jeremy Renner literally broke both arms doing a stunt and then returned to set to keep filming that same day. Yeah, it's insane. He's a superhuman. That's why he's an avenger. Anyways, sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of Snafu. Insights from my castmates and collaborators. Let me ask a. A very, I think, very pressing question that all of our listeners and viewers are probably wondering right now, which is how much do you miss working with me on a daily basis?

[Ed Helms]

Oh, my gosh, I miss the Office a lot.

[Mike Schur]

I know.

[Ed Helms]

I mean, we spend our days, Our job now is watching the show. And it always just brings up so many memories of working together. And you know how many bloopers there are? Oh, yeah, there's so many. Because we would just laugh all day together. That's what we did, Ed.

[Jenna Fischer]

I just miss. I miss being silly with you. Like, we would get so silly. Like, I would walk past you and we would just make up a new noise, like,

[Mike Schur]

oh, my God. It's like all the stuff off camera, the life experience of that whole time period, which was just had this kind of larger umbrella feeling of like, wow, we're all part of something really great and that's like super special. But then we're also having these really mundane, lovely moments on the set just talking about each other's lives and families and like, I don't know, just the little. Those little quiet moments or sitting at our trailers, like, waiting for a camera set up or it's like that, that's, I think something that, like, fans don't always understand is that, like, our experience of making the show is actually this whole tapestry of mundane small moments of just experiencing each other.

[Ed Helms]

I mean, it's an intimacy, you know, of togetherness, of constant togetherness.

[Mike Schur]

Yeah.

[Ed Helms]

And I think if I could go back and relive a moment. Like, if, you know, I got a genie in a bottle and I could use a wish, it would be to go back and shoot a conference room scene all day. Cause when we would see those on the script or on the call sheet, and we would be like, oh, God, we gotta be in the conference room all day.

[Mike Schur]

It's gonna be a slog day all day.

[Ed Helms]

But those were the days that created the moments you're talking about, Ed.

[Mike Schur]

Totally.

[Ed Helms]

Those little laughs, the shares, the sweatiness together, all of it.

[Jenna Fischer]

I also think because we weren't on a huge lot, you know, there was no distraction, you know, people didn't walk off to a commissary. We were just all in this little bubble, this tiny space where we got to be creative together. It kind of reminded me a little bit of that energy you have in your early days with your improv group or your one act play, because there was no one else. There was no shiny object to go off and look at. It was just us. Like, I loved it when you would play your banjo and Creed would bring in his guitar and we'd hang out in the parking lot, you know.

[Mike Schur]

Yeah. And it's funny you bring up those conference room scenes because those were particularly special because most of the time, we're not all together. Right. Most of the time, we're just doing little scenes with, like, one or two other characters, and that's the bulk of our work. But then the table read was always a special moment. Every Tuesday morning was the table read of next week's script or two weeks. I forget the timing. But then.

[Ed Helms]

Oh, it was one week.

[Mike Schur]

It was one week.

[Ed Helms]

One week. It was less than a week's notice.

[Mike Schur]

Yeah, but those are the moments. Those and some of those conference room scenes were like, that's where everybody's together. Like everybody's. And those had a really special energy, like just a little buzz to them. And like you said, when they were all day long and they get a little dull and they start to slow down, everybody's trying to just hang in there. That's like some of the just most human hangout.

[Ed Helms]

Ed, you had a really unique experience joining the show because you actually joined in Stamford. So you didn't start off in the Dunder Mifflin bullpen of the Scranton Dunder Mifflin bullpen. And then you came over. What was that like for you to kind of like, soft launch into the show? Like, you worked with John, you worked with Rasheeda, you worked with Chip.

[Mike Schur]

Yeah, well, sorry, Jenna, I'll be Asking the questions today.

[Ed Helms]

I forgot whose podcast we were doing.

[Mike Schur]

No, I love the question. I always tell people, like, that was such a gentle entry for us because of exactly what you're saying. Like, you know, Rasheeda and I started at a time when the show was hot. It was season three, and you guys had already just kind of, like, created this incredible thing. And so we were intimidated, but also felt kind of so warmly welcomed, both by the writers and all of you. Everyone's energy was so lovely.

[Ed Helms]

That's so sweet.

[Mike Schur]

It really could have gone the other way. I'm sure a lot of other shows, there's, like, more. It's more cutthroat, or it feels more like, ah, the new people, like, let's let them. They have to prove themselves. But I just felt so, like, all of my butterflies and anxiety just washed out so quickly because everyone. All of you were so lovely right out of the gate, which is a testament to all of you and the vibe that got created.

[Ed Helms]

It was collaborative. It was not competitive.

[Mike Schur]

Totally.

[Ed Helms]

There was not, like, a weird ego competitiveness going on on that set, which was so great.

[Mike Schur]

Absolutely.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. It was always, you know, we always say it was a real creative collaboration. From the writers room to the crew to the cast, we were all working together to create a product that we were proud of. And I think. I mean, I think you feel that when you watch it, and I think that's why people keep enjoying it, is you're seeing a group of people having a great time.

[Mike Schur]

There's a warmth there that's real, and I think that comes through the camera. Since 1950, there have somehow been a whopping thing. 32 broken arrow incidents. This includes theft.

[Bethenny Frankel]

Wait, wait.

[Mike Schur]

Yeah. Raising hands.

[Ed Helms]

What?

[Jenna Fischer]

32 super DUP nukes.

[Mike Schur]

Super gone super duper nukers.

[Ed Helms]

32 super nuclear weapons.

[Jenna Fischer]

O.

[Ed Helms]

Now I know why they call it broken arrows. Because when you say, you know What? We have 32 broken arrows, you're like, oh. If you say we have 32 lost nuclear weapons, you're like, wait, so stop.

[Kalpen (Kal Penn)]

What?

[Ed Helms]

Say again?

[Mike Schur]

Euphemisms make hard things a lot easier. Oh, man. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 32.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's why Greg called all of our talking heads candy bags. You know, I forgot that he said that he always felt bad giving us pages and pages of extra monologues. So he was like, I'll name them something fun. So he named them candy bags.

[Mike Schur]

I loved those. I loved doing those talking heads and, like, coming up with, like, new riffs and, like, the candy bag alts, like, all the different Versions of our talking heads. It was like getting a window into the writers brains. I just remember loving the math of those jokes and always trying to think about how to heighten them. And they'd have to kick me out of those talking heads.

[Ed Helms]

But to your point, naming all the extra work a candy bag.

[Mike Schur]

It's a trick.

[Ed Helms]

Definitely made it go down easier. And also calling all our screw ups bloopers makes them sound fun too. Like, oh, that was a blooper. Like that's just a broken arrow.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean, even the word snafu is kind of fun.

[Jake Johnson]

It's a snafu, guys.

[Mike Schur]

It's just a snafu.

[Jenna Fischer]

Whoopsie.

[Mike Schur]

Whoopsie doozy. Today my guest is one of my oldest and dearest comedy pals. He's a writing legend. SNL, the Office, co created Parks and Rec, Brooklyn, 9 9, the Good Place, Rutherford Falls. And by the way, he directed tons of all those episodes as well. And oh, don't let me forget, out of all of us who worked on the Office, he was also the best actor. Yeah, he's the one who brought the legendary Mose Schrute into all of our hearts and nightmares. Of course, he just got a very well deserved star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And at this point, I'm pretty sure NASA might be trying to name a planet after him. Please welcome Mike Shore. Hello, Mike.

[Rainn Wilson]

What a wonderful introduction. Thank you. I mean, thank you first of all for highlighting my acting. Cause I think, you know, that's the legacy that I hope to leave this earth with more than anything else.

[Mike Schur]

I don't think you get enough credit for your acting and I don't think you act enough. I think you need to be in more stuff.

[Rainn Wilson]

I will take any acting job that requires me to A, remain mute and B, run along the side of a car like a dog.

[Mike Schur]

Let's talk about moats for a second. Because what went into your choices, the choices that you made as an actor, was that something that like the writers room really kind of broke down and was like, it'd be really funny if he was just sort of spooky and almost like a horror movie character just sort of popping up? Or was it was that just your own brain sort of chewing on it and then showing up to set and being like, I'm gonna get weird.

[Rainn Wilson]

Certainly the way that Greg Daniels and the writers wrote, and I'm putting that in quotes, wrote the character of Mose was spooky and weird and just kind of off my choices as an actor I would describe as coming From a white hot panic. Just pure panic. Just no one had told me what to do. I didn't know what to do. I'm not an actor. And I just did anything. I just did anything that I could think of in the moment. And people kept finding it amusing. And so I just kept panicking and doing whatever came to mind.

[Mike Schur]

I love it.

[Rainn Wilson]

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[Mike Schur]

It was a gift to all of America. So thank you, the world, really, truly.

[Rainn Wilson]

Sure, yeah.

[Mike Schur]

I'm really eager to dig into this snafu with you today. But before I do, I just wanted to tell you something because I was thinking about, you know, we've known each other for 20ish years, and we've collaborated very closely in many different ways over the years. And I've talked about you in publicly, in interviews a lot over the years. And I realized there's something that I kind of say when your name comes up in interviews frequently, but I don't know that if I ever said it directly to you. And I was like, I gotta tell Mike this. I gotta get on the record with Mike Schur and let you know that the character Andy Bernard on the Office never would have clicked for me without you. And you were such an instrumental part of helping me find his voice and shaping who he became. And that whole process, all of our fun little huddle ups and just hard laughs and brainstorming sessions about who Andy Bernard could be and why Andy was funny or what made him funny. And it's just like one of my favorite memories of show business.

[Rainn Wilson]

That's so kind of you to say. I mean, I will say that you joined the show in season three, and the plot was that, you know, Jim had moved to a different office, and the office that happened to be chosen was in Stamford, Connecticut. And I grew up in West Hartford, Connecticut, which is maybe an hour and change north of Stamford. And I just instantly knew Andy. I grew up with Andy a lot of Andy's, and it was a very familiar character to me. The sort of preppy, like, Good Time Charlie guy who went to a Ivy League school and just wanted to be liked and was just desperate for. Was maybe a little clumsy in the way that he went about it, but had a good soul and a good heart. And I just remember thinking the combination of that character description and you as an actor, I was like, oh, I know. I get this. I get this. I know exactly who this guy is. And I do have a lot of, as I'm sure you do, specific memories of little moments of, like, figuring out the exact right little mannerism or sort of prepster little turn of phrase or something that he would give. There was the episode where you all get drunk in the office, having to work late at night.

[Mike Schur]

Oh, yeah.

[Rainn Wilson]

And you start singing an Indigo Girl song off.

[John Oliver]

Yeah.

[Mike Schur]

Closer to Fine.

[Rainn Wilson]

Closer to Fine.

[Bethenny Frankel]

Great song.

[Rainn Wilson]

And then Jim chimes in and you pop up and go, tuna, like, so excited that he also knows all the lyrics to Closer to Fine. I mean, that's. That was my childhood. That was exactly. My childhood was like sitting around with my friends and listening to that album in particular.

[Mike Schur]

That's really where I think our friendship forged. Like, that's when I met you was coming onto the office set and just immediately, like you were one of that handful of people that put me at ease immediately.

[Rainn Wilson]

Oh, I'm so glad.

[Kalpen (Kal Penn)]

Yeah.

[Mike Schur]

I mean, it's just. Yeah, it's awesome.

[Rainn Wilson]

It was a good time. It was a very fun, fun time in, I think, all of our lives. It felt like we were just in a very creative world with a bunch of creative, fun people. And our only job was to figure out what was the funniest thing that could have happened at any given moment.

[Mike Schur]

That's exactly. Our only job was to make each other laugh as hard as possible.

[Rainn Wilson]

Yeah. And I mean, there's no better job.

[Mike Schur]

Mike Scher. That is the story of Tammany hall and Boss Tweed, the biggest, baddest, most corrupt machine New York City ever built. Do you have any sort of, like, larger, big picture takeaways?

[Rainn Wilson]

I. For.

[Mike Schur]

For me, I was really struck by the role that media played in this story, and particularly the role of comedy cartoons. Right. It wasn't the cops or Congress or even rival politicians who brought down Bus Tweed. It was journalists and cartoonists.

[Rainn Wilson]

I will. I'll say a couple things. Number one is one of the best things about this country, this screwed up, messed up, messy, complex country that we live in, is that in the First Amendment, it says very clearly the government cannot put you in jail for or prosecute you in any way for speaking up and saying what you believe. And it also says that the media is free. And because of that, we have a system by which newspapers in history and television shows and radio programs and other media outlets are allowed to point out and make fun of and highlight corruption in government. That has always been true. It is, in theory, I would say, still true today. When I worked at Saturday Night Live, which was my first job, Jim Downey, who's probably the greatest political satirist, he's the Thomas Nast of His day really wrote the famous debate speeches sketches between Bush and. And. And Gore in 2000. And, you know, the famous. The first debate sketch involved, you know, summarize your campaign in one word. And Al Gore. Daryl Hammond, as Al Gore said lockbox, and Will Ferrell as George Bush said strategery. And that line stuck to George Bush so thoroughly. He did have a lot of malaprops in his day, but there's a large number of people who believe that he really said that, that he really said strategically at one point. There's a lot who believe that Sarah Palin said, I can see Russia from my house. She didn't. Tina Fey said that as Sarah Palin on snl. And that. That tradition that is very much in the Thomas Nash tradition, right, is the. There's a difference between the way people understand the world we live in and the country we live in from dry media reports about fraud and corruption and everything else, and the way that we see it through comedy. And comedy is often a more powerful weapon and a more direct way to make people understand something about government and corruption and fraud and whatever else is going on than actual news. And I. That. That's all I was thinking of as you were telling this story is this. Thank goodness that this country allows us to do that, because I believe that is the most effective way often for people to come to understand what their political leaders are doing. That's what Thomas Nast did to Boss Tweed, and that's what Jim Downey and other folks have done to politicians through SNL cold opens over the years.

[Mike Schur]

Do you think that culturally we actually kind of underestimate the power of jokes? Can humor still land a knockout punch? I'm thinking about south park right now appears to be puncturing the armor of this administration in a startling way.

[Rainn Wilson]

I mean, the media landscape in which we currently live is so much more fractured. You know, at the time, Harper's Weekly was probably the most powerful and important institution in media. And obviously there's, you know, there's barely newspapers anymore, and now there's barely kind of TV. There's no monoculture in TV anymore. We're now in this TikTok, Instagram Snapchat world where things are very, very fractured. Everybody has their own algorithm. So the question to me isn't whether humor can be as potent a tool anymore. It's whether the. The delivery mechanisms that we are employing now can actually deliver a piece of satire to the world that way, or whether people are so siloed off that they'll. That, you know, People, the, the, the. A large majority of the public won't ever see the same thing. That's my fear.

[Mike Schur]

I know exactly what you mean. And I feel that sense of sort of fractured culture that speaking to. But I still have this feeling, and it may start be transitioning into more of a hope at this point, but a feeling that truly exceptional work, whether it's a South park episode or a particularly keen clip of standup, the cream still rises to the top and it can still permeate those silos.

[Rainn Wilson]

I would, I would hope so, because I think if the story of Boss Tweed teaches us anything, it's that, you know, that is what is needed in these moments. What's needed is a voice of satire and clarity and perspective that can cut through and present in a single picture or a single comedy sketch or a single joke. What it would take a scholar, you know, hours to properly relay a picture of a greedy person as a vulture devouring democracy is a lot more effective in a single blow, in a single coup than a lengthy article or a six part series in the New York Times or something like that.

[Mike Schur]

Put in some applause and roaring.

[Jake Johnson]

Three to four minutes of hard applause.

[Mike Schur]

Yeah, exactly. Standing ovation. Sound effects. Jake Johnson's here. Yes, we of course became acquainted on the movie tag, which was just a goddamn delight. How fun was that? I mean, we had our ups and downs on the production, but it was, it was a hell of a lot of fun.

[Jake Johnson]

Apart from Renner breaking both his arms during a stunt.

[Mike Schur]

Oh, my God.

[Jake Johnson]

Remember that crazy day in the church?

[Mike Schur]

Of course I remember that.

[Jake Johnson]

Insane.

[Mike Schur]

Okay, so just for the listener, we're doing this scene where Jeremy Renner is chasing us and he's on. He does that Fred Astaire chair move where he's, you know, where you like stand on the back of a chair and then let it fall down and then you keep going. Only the sort of bit was that this was a stack of like 30 chairs. So it was like 20ft tall. Yeah, it was high up. And he sort of falls down, but in a controlled way off on this stack of chairs and then keeps running. And he was wearing a harness to make the fall smooth and not harmful to his body. This. There was some malfunction. He landed on both his arms. Both of his arms broke.

[Jake Johnson]

Yes.

[Mike Schur]

And he went to the hospital and was back on set that afternoon.

[Jake Johnson]

Shocking.

[Mike Schur]

Still shooting. Do you remember that?

[Jake Johnson]

And I'll tell you, we've talked about this, but there are certain things you've said that are not for Jake breaking your arms and returning to shoot a scene in Tag. Not for Jake. If I break my arms.

[Mike Schur]

Not for Jake.

[Jake Johnson]

I'm. Hold up for a while. I'm in a hospital room. I'm expecting visitors. I'm expecting a lot of. You were so brave for doing that. I'm not going back to work. And then do you remember he has to throw coffee, I think, at me.

[Tom Hanks]

Yeah.

[Jake Johnson]

Where I run by him and he throws, but he had to use his broken arm. And I was like, I would like to complain about the fact that I need to slide on the ground, but I can't do that because he's throwing something at me. I think, April. Okay.

[Mike Schur]

Because he's doing another stunt. With broken arms.

[Jake Johnson]

With broken arms. That, to me, was really wild. Do you remember the scene in the church also when it was you, me, Hannibal, and probably Ham, but I'm not sure. And Hannibal farted on camera and then got upset with us when we laughed as if he were the ones not being professional and said, come on, man, stay in it.

[Tom Hanks]

I do.

[Jake Johnson]

And I said, I can't.

[Rainn Wilson]

You can't.

[Jake Johnson]

That's impossible to do.

[Mike Schur]

I do remember that. That was. That was pure sabotage. Oh, my God. There were so many hard laughs on that set. So many ridiculous experiences. And then this is. This is like, we'll probably cut this because this is like some. Some celebrity whining. But I remember being so excited because they're like, hey, we got a jet for the whole cast. And we're going to. That's how we're going to travel on this press tour. So we're all flying together. And I'm like, oh, this is great. We get private airports, luxury jet. It was like a battered old.

[Rainn Wilson]

Like.

[Mike Schur]

Like a school bus with wings.

[Rainn Wilson]

Literally.

[Mike Schur]

It was like a 1970s, like, Southwest retired airplane. And it was such a piece of junk. It was like, I mean, okay, please

[Jake Johnson]

don't cut that, Ed.

[Mike Schur]

And I just remember being like,

[Jake Johnson]

oh, yeah, this is Tag.

[Mike Schur]

Just the disappointment. It's like we're getting to the end to the. Oh, we're at a private airport. Like, this is going to be so great. It's so fun and great. And then we get on and it's like, oh, these. The seats are torn. Like there's rats running around in this airplane. What is going on? I would rather be on a Greyhound. It smells like cigarettes.

[Jake Johnson]

It was a Greyhound.

[Mike Schur]

This plane hadn't been cleaned since people smoked on planes.

[Tom Hanks]

It was a Greyhound.

[Mike Schur]

It was a Greyhound airplane is what it was.

[Jake Johnson]

Yeah, that's great. I do. That's Great stuff, man.

[Mike Schur]

Hi.

[John Oliver]

How are you?

[Mike Schur]

I'm awesome. It's so good to see you.

[John Oliver]

Yeah, it's really good to see you, too.

[Mike Schur]

We worked together a very long time ago, and you've done so many incredible things since then, and I am enormously proud of you and proud to know you.

[John Oliver]

Thank you. I feel the same way about you. It's been half a lifetime since we worked together.

[Mike Schur]

Yeah, pretty much. When was that you were your Daily show at tenure? I started in 2002 and went to 2006.

[John Oliver]

I was 99 to 2003. Okay.

[Jake Johnson]

Yeah.

[Mike Schur]

So we overlapped about two years, maybe a year and a half.

[John Oliver]

And two years that we just happened to win a Peabody.

[Mike Schur]

Oh, yeah, that's right.

[John Oliver]

I don't know. Coincidence? I don't know. You tell me.

[Mike Schur]

I don't think so. That's why this. This is our first collaboration since then, and it's going to win a Peabody. Like this actual episode.

[John Oliver]

Not gonna win. Not gonna win.

[Mike Schur]

That's what we do. That's how we do it. So you and I collaborated on a number of segments in our Daily show days, and one of the ones I am most proud of is, in fact, a Dan Tabursky segment, a delightful little number called Guns for Tots. Explain the premise of this segment we did for the Daily Show.

[John Oliver]

It was this guy who wanted to make sure. What was he doing?

[Mike Schur]

Libertarian.

[John Oliver]

Yeah, he was a libertarian guy, and he was protesting the existence of a law that was trying to keep guns away from kids. If you had a squirt gun, you had to paint it bright pink so it didn't look like a gun. So some kid didn't get shot by accident by a cop, and he was just up in arms.

[Mike Schur]

He felt like this was government overreach 100%, that the government would have the audacity to interfere with someone's right to arm their children. And this is all true. This is real. This is the real stuff that we did a satirical piece about. But the real premise was this guy had a very provocative toy drive called Guns for Tots, in which he gave toy guns two children in Harlem, New York. And we went and covered it, and

[John Oliver]

we treated him like. Like.

[Mike Schur]

Like the hero.

[John Oliver]

He's a warrior. He was a justice warrior.

[Mike Schur]

Yeah, justice warrior.

[John Oliver]

He was, like, making a difference, that guy.

[Mike Schur]

I'll never forget our. The. The segment closed with him talking about how he wants to. He can't wait to buy guns for his children. His own children.

[Jenna Fischer]

And we.

[Mike Schur]

We cut to our amazing editor at the time, Einer had a beautiful little daughter. And in.

[Rainn Wilson]

Do you remember this?

[Mike Schur]

We filmed her playing with a. With a toy gun that had been painted black and looked very real.

[John Oliver]

Looks like a gun.

[Mike Schur]

And it's like the sweetest, most horrifying juxtaposition of a child with what looks like a Glock.

[John Oliver]

Yeah, it's incredible. It's incredible. It's an amazing visual.

[Mike Schur]

I mean, it's crazy how long ago that was.

[Tom Hanks]

Honestly, it's the only time I've ever get any validation. You just reading off those credits made me feel good. I'm like, oh, wow.

[Mike Schur]

I mean, Chris, I didn't even mention your book.

[John Oliver]

You just had a.

[Mike Schur]

You just wrote a book. I have a book.

[Tom Hanks]

You know, look, you and I are now authors. We are best selling authors. Very exciting.

[Mike Schur]

It is very exciting. I'm very proud of us. I was trying to think back to the origin of our friendship and it just, it falls into that huge basket of just wonderful people orbiting the UCB Theater in New York City around like 1999.

[Tom Hanks]

Right in that area. Because, you know, it's interesting, there are certain people that, like Jason Mantzoukas, obviously. We co host this podcast together. I know Jason for many years, but Jason was not somebody that was invited to my wedding, which is a crazy thing because we weren't that close at that point in our. He was definitely a friend. He didn't make that cut. He didn't make that cut.

[Mike Schur]

I was at your wedding.

[Tom Hanks]

You were.

[Mike Schur]

And the whole time I was like, where is Jason?

[Tom Hanks]

Why is he.

[Mike Schur]

This is horrible. Meanwhile, Jason gave a toast at my wedding. As a matter of fact, it's wild

[Tom Hanks]

to me that I talked to him all the time and he was somebody that was not. That was just not a close friend at that moment.

[Mike Schur]

Yeah, but you're so right in that. I feel like there's so many people from that community that I. They somehow like, merged with our DNA at that time. It's like we knew each other when we were just comedy larva wriggling around.

[Tom Hanks]

We were performing in an old strip club where sometimes you'd be doing a show and people would get up and leave and you're like, did I do a bad job? No. They just thought they were coming to a strip club and were very confused for the first 45 minutes of the show.

[Ed Helms]

Exactly.

[Tom Hanks]

They're like, this is great, but when are they going to take off their clothes?

[Mike Schur]

I remember there was a basement that you would get to through a trap door, basically, and the most rookety wooden

[Tom Hanks]

staircase of all Time to get down it.

[Mike Schur]

And you would go down there and it was like a grotto from 16th century Paris. Wet brick walls and dirt floor.

[Tom Hanks]

It was a new city, catacomb, if you will.

[Mike Schur]

That's what it was.

[Tom Hanks]

Oh, I mean, you would see the craziest stuff. And it was only one way in and one way out.

[Mike Schur]

Wait, somebody was giving haircuts down there?

[Tom Hanks]

Well, haircuts down there and on stage. Yeah, one of the. One of the resident teachers there.

[Mike Schur]

Yeah, a legend. One of the original.

[Tom Hanks]

No audience. No audience. Really crazy.

[Mike Schur]

That should have been its own show, the haircut show. Weirdly, it would have found an audience too, I'm sure.

[Tom Hanks]

100%. Actually more palatable than some of the shows that we did experiment with.

[Mike Schur]

Well, as. As one of the OG podcasters and one. One of the greats in the podcasting biz.

[Tom Hanks]

Thank you.

[Mike Schur]

No, truly, like, you've. You've carved out such an awesome niche. It's been so cool to see you do a lot of shows in the studio. You do a lot of shows live, on tour. Do you have a preference?

[Tom Hanks]

I think, yeah. For me, I think there's something really fun about when it's just Jason, June and I chatting with each other. I think that that's always really a blast, and we're not playing for laughs, but when we do it in front of an audience, I like the showmanship of it. I like getting out in front of an audience. I like finding where the jokes are, finding what they find funny, and kind of chasing that, because sometimes also it can get almost. So what I love about the studio is it's so casual that sometimes you are just having a conversation, and maybe that's okay too, but, like, you know, you forget, like, oh, we gotta, like, hit some more jokes, or that one thing is funny. Like, and I didn't even think it was that funny.

[Mike Schur]

Well, are you ready?

[Tom Hanks]

I'm thrilled. I'm such a fan of Snafu. The book was great. I love the podcast.

[Trevor Noah]

This is very cool to be on with you because I was a regular, avid watcher of the Daily show for many, many years while you were on. And you're part of the reason why I wanted to be on the Daily show, admiring your work and John's and Steve and Steven and Sam. It just. Yeah, this is very cool. So thank you.

[Mike Schur]

That is so sweet. Go on.

[Trevor Noah]

Yes. Well, another thing that I specifically like about your performance.

[Rainn Wilson]

Yes.

[Trevor Noah]

Your Everyman likability, your razor sharp witch.

[Mike Schur]

This will all get edited out, but. But I'm loving It.

[Jake Johnson]

Yeah.

[Mike Schur]

So we do have the Daily show in common. It's been. I hate to say this, but it's been almost 20 years since I worked there. Oh my God, that feels insane to me. But you are there now and you've been there a bunch of years.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, 10. Almost 10. Which is crazy too.

[Mike Schur]

So badass you guys are. How was this transition? So when I was there, obviously Jon Stewart was the full time host and I was sort of a part of a cadre of correspondence and we did focused mostly on field segments and then the studio pieces with John. But now. And that's kind of how you started too, right? With Trevor.

[Trevor Noah]

Yes, definitely.

[Mike Schur]

At a certain point you transitioned into. Also part of this rotating host formula, which I just think is so cool and I think it's working so well. What was that like? What was that transition like?

[Trevor Noah]

Crazy. There was a period of time where we were kind of testing out some different ideas and we didn't really know what was gonna happen and who the host was gonna be. And then it started to open up a little bit and I kind of threw my hat in the ring and put my hand up and said, hey, put me in coach before I could think about it too hard and just by some chance that they would consider me. And then we, this format came about and John came back to the show and yeah, it was a little terrifying because, you know, being a correspondent, it's not an easy job by any means, but you're, you are, you're in character, you're so I was very accustomed to being on the show as the character of the correspondent and when you're hosting, you're basically yourself. So it was a, it was a whole other type of, type of work and like requires practice and giving it a shot. And so I didn't really know if I could do it, but the team here is so incredible. It's a well oiled machine. Everyone had our backs and we all support one another and we've got John who could not be a more exceptional leader and watching him every Monday is like a masterclass. So to get to try something new creatively and something so exciting and to get to look to him and is. It's beyond a dream come true.

[Mike Schur]

I think comedians in general or comedy people are trained or it's almost like an instinct or a reflex to look for snafus. Yeah, we're always kind of trying to look under the surface at kind of what's going wrong and especially at a place like the Daily show like you're looking for what's going wrong in order to generate satire. I actually found that I loved it, and it was, like, very invigorating. I felt like I was part of a meaningful satirical voice at the show, but it kind of took a toll on me over a long period of time, focusing entirely on a little bit of the darker side of things. And I wonder if you've ever felt that or felt a sense of exasperation. Yeah, it can sort of, like, eat you a little bit. That's what I found.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. Yeah. Well, Ed, I'm dead inside, so I feel nothing anymore. It is gone. I've lost all sense of humanity. No, it is taxing. It really is. And I think for me, I've kind of gone up and down on it. It's a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, a mental rollercoaster, because you're right. There's no escaping it. You can't just bury your head in the sand and be like, well, I'm gonna not pay attention to the news today. But I will say I think some kind of action, even for us, even if it's just finding the comedy in it, even if it's just creative action, it feels good to do something and just talk about it, admit that it's happening in a room full of people who can kind of provide catharsis and support, and we can talk it out with each other. And then also being forced to find the humor in it somewhere is my therapy. It is redeeming it, really. And especially this year.

[Rainn Wilson]

Yeah.

[Mike Schur]

So the Daily show is your therapist, is what you're saying.

[Trevor Noah]

It totally is. It totally is. They should be billing me. I'm sure I'll get an invoice in the mail. I pay them to do the show.

[Mike Schur]

Snafu is a production of iHeart podcasts and snafu Media, a partnership between Film Nation Entertainment and Pacific Electric Picture Company. Post production and creative support from Good Egg Audio. Our executive producers are me, Ed Helms, Mike Falbow, Glenn Basner, Andy Kim and Dylan Fagan. This episode was produced by Alyssa Martino and Tori Smith. Our managing producer is Carl Nellis. Our video editor is Jared Smith. Technical direction and engineering from Nick Duel. Additional story editing from Carl Nellis. Our creative executive is Brett Harris. Logo and branding by Matt Gossen and the Collected Works. Legal review from Dan Welch, Megan Halson and Caroline Johnson. Special thanks to Isaac Dunham, Adam Horne, Lane Klein and everyone at iHeart podcasts, but especially Will Pearson, Carrie Lieberman and Nikki Ator. While I have you don't forget to pick up a copy of my book Snafu the Definitive Guide to History's Greatest Screw Ups. It's available now from any book retailer. Just go to snafu-book.com thanks for listening and see you next week.

[Kalpen (Kal Penn)]

Hey everyone, it's Kalpen. I'm inviting you to join the best sounding book club you've ever heard with my podcast, Hearsay, The Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club. Every episode is I nerd out with amazing guests and dive into the best new audiobooks available on Audible. It's the book club for your ears. Listen to Earsay, the Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club on the iHeartradio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Mike Schur]

Big transfer news today.

[Tom Hanks]

Who's moving me to the couch with Domino's? Best deal ever since they just added stuffed crust.

[Mike Schur]

Any pizza?

[Kalpen (Kal Penn)]

Any toppings?

[Mike Schur]

Now with stuffed crust for 9.99?

[Tom Hanks]

It's a long term contract with no release clause.

[Kalpen (Kal Penn)]

Only 9.99?

[Mike Schur]

Yeah, that sounds like the move. I'm heading straight to Dom.

[Tom Hanks]

Price is higher for some locations. Excludes Excel and specialty pizzas. Select this offer from 615 through 726 online only. Size availability varies by crust type max 7 topping 6 for pan and New York style crust. Minimum purchase required for delivery Prices participation

[Mike Schur]

delivery area charges may vary.

[Ed Helms]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.