Podcast Summary: SNAFU with Ed Helms

Season 4, Episode 6: Mike Schur and Tammany Hall

Release Date: November 12, 2025
Host: Ed Helms
Guest: Mike Schur (comedy writer, producer, actor)

Overview

In this lively episode, Ed Helms welcomes friend and celebrated comedy writer Mike Schur for a deep-dive into one of history’s most infamous political SNAFUs: New York’s Tammany Hall and its legendary boss, William “Boss” Tweed. Blending humor, contemporary parallels, and sharp insights, Ed and Mike unpack how a club built for “the common man” became synonymous with American political corruption—and how media and satire took down its greatest villain.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Mike Schur’s Comedic Legacy and Friendship with Ed Helms

• Opening Banter
  • Ed introduces Mike as not only a comedy legend (SNL, The Office, Parks and Rec, Brooklyn 99, The Good Place), but also the best actor from The Office thanks to his portrayal of Mose Schrute.
  • Quote:
    • “My choices as an actor I would describe as coming from a white hot panic. Just pure panic. …I just did anything that I could think of in the moment. And people kept finding it amusing.” —Mike Schur (03:41)
• Their Collaboration on The Office
  • Ed gives credit to Mike for helping shape Andy Bernard, saying, “The character Andy Bernard on The Office never would have clicked for me without you.” (05:08)
  • Mike reflects on knowing “many Andys” growing up in Connecticut, seeing Andy as a loveable, preppy “Good Time Charlie.”
  • The two reminisce about creative brainstorms, forging a friendship over laughter and character-building (07:03).

2. Setting the Stage: What Was Tammany Hall?

• Tammany Hall Explained

  • Ed draws the analogy: “Part fraternity, part Mafia, part city council… The Sopranos, only instead of a strip club, the front business was City Hall, right?” (09:57)
  • Tammany was more than a building; it was the Democratic political machine running NYC for a century.
  • Political Machines Defined
    • Tammany was a political machine: the organization that decided who got jobs, contracts, and often who won elections (10:02).

• Origins in Societies & Secret Clubs

  • Modeled after and pushing back against the aristocratic societies like the Freemasons and the Society of the Cincinnati—“a deliberate fuck you to all of these aristocratic clubs” (13:11).
  • Appropriated Native American symbolism, parties, parades—“rowdy, populist, a bit campy or silly… and probably quite a bit cringe as well.” (13:56)
  • “As long as there have been societies, there have been people seeking to form organizations that secretly control things.” —Mike Schur (11:44)

3. Tammany’s Pivot on Immigration and Irish Voters

• The Irish Wave
  • Ed details the influx of Irish immigrants (1.6 million between 1820–1860), Tammany’s initial xenophobia, and their “180-degree” shift for political gain (16:21).
  • “Irish immigrants meant Irish votes, and votes meant power. And so Tammany did a 180, and they did in fact, roll out the welcome mat…” (16:31)
• Political Calculus vs. Exploitation
  • Ed pushes Mike: Is this smart politics or ugly exploitation?
  • Mike:
    • “They were smart enough to understand that there were waves crashing on the shores of America and they could either try to fight them or surf them. And they decided to surf them.” (17:21)
• Modern Parallels
  • Discussion of parallels to contemporary politics and how giving out turkeys secured votes (18:24).

4. Boss Tweed: Rise, Rule, and Cartoonish Corruption

Tweed’s Early Path

• Born in 1823, Tweed started as a volunteer fireman—a world of “street gangs with hoses,” wielding local power (24:22).
• Rose as alderman, congressman, “deputy street commissioner” (an especially “mobbed up” job in Mike’s words), controlling contracts and jobs (25:49).

The Industrialization of Corruption

• “He basically industrialized political corruption in New York City.” (27:23)

• The Mechanics:

  • If you wanted a job or a contract, you paid Tweed and voted (often multiple times under different names).
  • The board of aldermen—known as “The 40 Thieves”—was already notoriously corrupt; Tweed merely scaled it up.

• Memorable Comparison:

  • “He’s basically Norm, but on the streets of 19th century New York and also not afraid to just hit you with an axe.” —Ed Helms (22:32)

The Courthouse “Piñata” and Graft Gone Wild

• Courthouse originally budgeted at $250,000; Tweed balloons the bill to $12 million (modern $200M+) with padded contracts (34:00).
• “One carpenter supposedly got paid $360,000 for a month’s work. …The courthouse became less a civic building and more a pinata stuffed with taxpayer cash.” (34:36)
• “At what point does corruption stop being shocking and just become like slapstick comedy?” —Ed Helms (36:06)
• Mike notes: It always collapses because “no one ever, ever, ever says, I have enough now… They just never do. Because it’s a psychosis.” (36:23)

5. The Downfall: Satire, Media, and the Power of Pictures

• Media Brings Tweed Down
  • The New York Times publishes exposés, but it’s the satirical cartoons by Thomas Nast in Harper’s Weekly that devastate Tweed’s public image (43:13).
  • Tweed’s infamous quote:
    • “Stop the damn pictures! I don’t care much what the papers write about me. My constituents can’t read, but they have eyes.” (44:35)
• Bribery and Integrity
  • Tweed tries to bribe the Times with $5 million to hush the story; publisher declines, saying:
    • “I don’t think the devil will ever bid higher for me than that.” (46:34)
• Collapse and Aftermath
  • Tweed is indicted on 204 counts, convicted, briefly escapes custody, flees via Florida, Cuba, to Spain—allegedly caught due to Nast’s cartoons. Dies in prison, 1878 (47:17–50:02).
  • “It’s great to know that even back then, when the criminal needs to flee somewhere, where do you go? Florida.” —Mike Schur (48:11)

6. Tammany’s Legacy and the Endurance of Satire

• Tammany Hall continued to sputter on through the early 20th century; its end came with FDR’s anti-Tammany reforms (50:07).

• Media’s Enduring Power

  • Ed: “Wasn’t the cops or Congress…It was journalists and cartoonists.” (51:07)
  • Mike reflects:
    • “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…” (53:42)

• Comedy, Satire, and Truth

  • Mike draws throughline from Nast to SNL cold opens—how satire forms public memory (“strategery” and “I can see Russia from my house” becoming associated with politicians thanks to sketch comedy) (51:07–53:42).
  • But in today’s fragmented media, can jokes still land a knockout punch? Mike worries about algorithmic silos, but Ed remains hopeful:
    • “Truly exceptional work… still sort of permeates those silos.” (54:56)

• The Essence of Satire:

  • “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.” —Mike Schur (55:30)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “My choices as an actor I would describe as coming from a white hot panic. Just pure panic.” —Mike Schur (03:41)
• “Irish immigrants meant Irish votes, and votes meant power. And so Tammany did a 180…” —Ed Helms (16:31)
• “You could either try to fight the waves or surf them. And they decided to surf them.” —Mike Schur (17:21)
• “He basically industrialized political corruption in New York City.” —Ed Helms (27:23)
• “Stop the damn pictures! I don’t care much what the papers write about me. My constituents can’t read, but they have eyes.” —Boss Tweed, as quoted by Ed Helms (44:35)
• “Thank goodness that this country allows us to do that [satirize the powerful], because I believe that is the most effective way…” —Mike Schur (53:42)
• “A picture… is a lot more effective in a single blow… than a lengthy article or a six part series.” —Mike Schur (55:30)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Reminiscences on The Office & Comedy Legacy: 02:43–08:03
• What Was Tammany Hall?: 09:01–11:07
• Early Immigration, Changing Strategies: 13:11–18:47
• Boss Tweed’s Rise: 22:18–34:36
• The Corruption Machine, Courthouse Scandal: 34:00–38:10
• Satire & Tweed’s Downfall: 43:01–47:17
• Tweed’s Escape & Capture: 47:43–50:02
• Tammany’s Legacy & Media’s Role: 51:07–56:10
• Mike Schur’s Upcoming Projects: 56:20–57:59

Closing: Reflections and What’s Next

After drawing both historical lessons and comedic parallels, Ed and Mike discuss Mike’s new show ("Dig" with Amy Poehler, based on “Excavations”), upcoming projects with Ted Danson, and share mutual appreciation for their friendship and creative partnership.

Summary by SNAFU Podcast Summarizer.
For fans of American history, politics, and comedy, this episode delivers a rollicking tour through the world of Tammany Hall, corruption, and how satire became the ultimate tool for accountability.