EMMY NOMINEE: John Oliver on the Success of “Last Week Tonight” and His Comedy Journey (February 2024)

Summary

Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist

Emmy Nominee: John Oliver on the Success of “Last Week Tonight” and His Comedy Journey

Aired: September 13, 2025
Guest: John Oliver

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Episode Overview

Willie Geist sits down with John Oliver—Emmy-winning host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight—for a candid, witty, and revealing conversation set at McHale’s, a famed Liverpool supporters’ bar in New York City. The episode traces Oliver’s journey from ardent Liverpool FC fanatic and aspiring comic in England to Emmy dominance in American late-night comedy. Oliver shares insights into his creative process, reflections on success, and the personal significance of comedy and sport, all with his trademark quick wit and self-deprecating humor.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Football Obsession and Family Ties

[02:51-10:51]

• Liverpool FC as Family Legacy: Oliver discusses being a die-hard Liverpool fan, a legacy from both sides of his family. “My granddad had a season ticket and so it was not a choice.” [08:13]
• Watching at Home: Prefers watching games at home, where he can react authentically and text fellow fans.
• Passion, Pain, and Sportsmanship: Oliver recounts how deeply defeats affect him, like when he coped with an England loss by walking the entirety of Central Park. “I walked around the entirety of Central Park twice, the whole thing, just to try and walk off that comment.” [04:10]
• Meeting Mohamed Salah: A hilarious awkward encounter—“Nice to meet you, Mo. I’ve protected your fish so no one would touch it.” [05:57]
• English Football vs. American Football: The ties between English clubs and their cities are deep and non-transactional: “Owners of NFL teams... have decided to move them. That’s not something you could do in England without people being murdered... European football teams are intrinsically linked to the cities they're in.” [08:33]
• Fenway Sports Group: Nuanced view about Liverpool’s ownership—appreciative of their stewardship but wary about the influence of extreme wealth from oligarchs and sovereign funds. [09:45–10:51]

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Emmys, Success, and the Value of Humor

[10:51-13:39]

• Emmys as Armor: Oliver expresses gratitude for the show's avalanche of awards: "It's a suit of armor in pointy gold form." [13:03]
• Being Played Off is Fun: Cherishes the comic moment of being 'played off' at the Emmys more than the win itself—“Holding an award isn’t funny. Being played off is funny.” [11:56]
• Joking About Competition: Good-natured ribbing of fellow late-night hosts about award show categories and competitive shuffles. [13:29]

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Crafting Last Week Tonight: The Process Behind the Comedy

[14:11-21:11]

• Deep Dive Approach: Unlike weekly fast-turnaround segments, most Last Week Tonight stories take six weeks to research and write, involving extensive input from all staff—researchers, footage producers, writers, and legal teams. "You can’t build your jokes on sand... Otherwise it all falls away." [16:18]
• Lawyers as Allies: Legal review is part of the process, allowing the show to “take aggressive swings” with confidence. [18:45]
• Immediate Turnover: Once an episode tapes, production immediately pivots to the next, creating a “meat grinder” but a satisfying creative challenge. [20:39]

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Thoughtful Comedy, Impact, and Staying Surprised

[22:45-24:29]

• Success of Deep Dives: Oliver is “pleasantly surprised” that in-depth, often niche, comedic investigations attract wide audiences: “We talked about Chuck E. Cheese for 32 [minutes]. So now, we go much narrower and much deeper... and the fact that people respond to it is a constant source of pleasant surprise to me.” [23:01]
• Aggregator of Journalism: Sees the show as bundling “excellent reporting” into forms people can digest, especially topics “people would be interested in if it was explained to them.” [23:46]

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John’s Comedy Roots and Creative DNA

[25:04-37:13]

• From Cambridge to Comedy Central: Oliver charted his course through the Cambridge Footlights with Richard Ayoade, early stand-up, and a “dream job” at The Daily Show.
• Leaving The Daily Show: The move from correspondent to host (after substituting for Jon Stewart in 2013) was “massively terrifying,” but Stewart encouraged him to seek his own show. [25:12]
• Quick Ascent: He felt at home at The Daily Show, committing “full throttle.” His field piece “Civil War reenactments” is remembered for slapstick disaster and his colleagues’ focus on comedic payoff, not his safety. [31:38]
• Family Influence: His grandfather, a Liverpool native with a mischievous sense of humor, was a formative influence: “He taught me to behave badly as a kid... When you’ve got an adult who’s a bad influence, you’re like, ‘Oh, this guy’s incredible.’” [34:49]
• The Buzz: Describes the addictiveness of hearing laughter and the unique satisfaction of comedy: “The electrical feeling of people laughing at it and then your body having this response of, well, I need more of that. I’m literally describing heroin as I’m talking.” [37:18]

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Stand-Up, Awkwardness, and The Limits of Success

[37:55-44:59]

• Stand-Up as Calming: Stand-up is Oliver’s most relaxing pursuit, even as it terrifies others. The pandemic’s impact—losing the camaraderie of creating comedy—was more distressing than performing without an audience. [38:06]
• Embracing Discomfort: Enjoys awkwardness, onstage and off: “Once you’ve bombed a hundred times, the audience loses its capacity to hurt you anymore... You can’t hurt me any more than they did above a pub in Mosley in 1999.” [41:03]
• Award Show Host? Claims he’d be a disastrous Oscars host due to self-destructive streak and inability to flatter—“It doesn't seem fair to just go to ruin everyone’s evening. Would it be fun? Yes, it would be really fun, Willie. Part of me to ruin an entire Oscars—oh my God. My grandad would be so proud.” [43:16]

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TV Industry Bits: On Jon Stewart, Letterman, and Hosting

[47:03–47:50]

• Garfield Jokes & Showbiz Fatigue: Hilariously riffs on mandatory celebrity interviews: “Four minutes is going to be a really long time.” [44:59]
• On Jon Stewart's Return: Surprised but excited that Stewart will return as Daily Show host for the 2024 election. “That is a show that needs a host. He certainly is a very, very good one.” [47:21]

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Football at McHale’s: Connection, Nostalgia, and Childlike Joy

[48:31–56:44]

• Explaining Liverpool’s Culture: Offers commentary on Liverpool FC, manager Jurgen Klopp’s profound influence—“Football is the most important of the least important things.” [49:57]
• Transatlantic Sports Fandom: Shares that he adopted the Jets after moving to the U.S.—“I picked the Jets and the Giants won the Super Bowl. Oh, great. … No, this is about right. Okay. Jets it is.” [51:18]
• Sport vs. Awards: Puts the emotional weight of football above accolades: “The heart is saying, I don’t know what this guy’s talking about. It's Liverpool. ... It lifts you out of yourself.” [52:23, 53:11]
• Legacy and Parenting: Forcibly recruits his kids as Liverpool fans; recalls connecting with his father at matches. [54:09–55:08]
• Soccer in America: Optimistic about U.S. men’s soccer’s future, noting increased young talent: “For the first time, there are some legitimately very good American players that are young.” [56:29]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Attention diminishes me. I’m better when no one’s looking.” – John Oliver [03:13]
• “If [my kids] don’t like Liverpool specifically, they cannot have football as far as I’m concerned.” [03:54]
• “There can’t be a friendship when there’s an affection imbalance on that level.” —on meeting footballers he idolizes [07:16]
• “It’s a suit of armor in pointy gold form.” – On winning Emmys [13:03]
• “You can’t build your jokes on sand, right. Otherwise it all falls away.” – On grounding comedy in research [16:18]
• “Being played off [at the Emmys] is funny. And when things are funny, those are my favorite moments.” [11:56]
• “Once you’ve bombed a hundred times, the audience loses its capacity to hurt you anymore.” [41:03]
• “Would it be fun? Yes, it would be really fun, Willy. Part of me to ruin an entire Oscars—oh my God. My grandad would be so proud.” [43:16]
• “Football is the most important of the least important things.” – Quoting Jurgen Klopp [49:57]
• “It’s childlike joy. It lifts you out of yourself.” – On watching Liverpool [53:11]
• “This is my life now. I don’t know if that's good or bad news, but nothing has ever made me feel like this.” – On discovering his love for comedy [36:18]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:51 – Introduction to football fandom; Liverpool and family legacy
• 04:10 – Handling sports losses and emotional intensity
• 08:33 – The centrality of football in Liverpool culture and city identity
• 10:51 – On Emmys, award show moments, and valuing humor over honors
• 14:11 – The writing and research process for Last Week Tonight
• 23:01 – Gratitude for audience embracing complex comedy journalism
• 25:04 – Leaving The Daily Show; terror and excitement of new beginnings
• 31:38 – Breakout Daily Show field piece and ethos on comedy
• 34:49 – Grandparental influence and the importance of laughter in family
• 37:55 – The “heroin”-like euphoria of making people laugh
• 38:06 – Stand-up as relaxation and therapy
• 41:03 – Learning to love comedic failure and discomfort
• 43:16 – On why he’d be a disaster hosting the Oscars
• 47:21 – Thoughts on Jon Stewart’s election-year return
• 48:31 – At McHale’s: live football watching, Klopp, and Liverpool lore
• 52:23 – Liverpool fandom vs. Emmy wins
• 53:11 – Childlike, elemental emotion attached to football memories
• 54:09 – Passing fandom to his children

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Episode Tone

John Oliver’s style infuses the whole episode: quick, self-deprecating, whip-smart, heartfelt, and honest. Conversation flows between sharp comic riffs, deep personal reflection, and incisive cultural observation.

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For Listeners New and Old

This episode is a portrait of John Oliver as both comedic craftsman and passionate sports devotee, blending behind-the-scenes revelations, showbiz stories, and sentimental ties to home and family. Whether you’re a Last Week Tonight fan, comedy nerd, or football obsessive, you’ll find wit, wisdom, and unexpected depth.

Transcript

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[Willie Geist]

Hey guys, Willie Geist here with another episode of the Sunday Sit down podcast. My thanks as always for clicking and listening along. Very excited to bring you my Conversation this week with John Oliver, the host of Last Week Tonight on HBO and HBO Max obviously embarking on the new season of his new satire show in the middle of a presidential election year. We'll talk about that and all these Emmys he's won, including very recently for Last Week Tonight, between himself as host for the writing and for the series itself, they've won 16 Emmys for last Week Tonight. He also, by the way, won three when he was on the Daily Show. He had a memorable stint in 2013 filling in for eight weeks as host of the Daily show when Jon Stewart was away directing a movie. And as you'll hear him talk about, a lot of people watched him do that and said, oh, he's not just the correspondent. He he could sit alone and host a show. And now we got Last Week Tonight came up through comedy, growing up in Birmingham, moved to London, went to Cambridge to this incredible society effectively of comedy that gave birth to Monty Python, among many others. Very, very smart, very fast and very funny. I think you're going to enjoy our conversation that's really about much more than his show. It's about everything going on in the world and his rise and and a great storyteller, I have to say. A little background. John and I got together at a place called McHale's in Midtown Manhattan, known to be a Liverpool bar, meaning it's where fans of Liverpool supporters go to watch the matches in the Premier League. Now, John Oliver, lifelong from birth, Liverpool fan, passed down from his family and he is a intense fan.

[Interviewer/Host]

I'll just say that as I think.

[Willie Geist]

You'Re about to find out, knows everything about the team, past, current, future and is very excited because Liverpool right now as we speak, sits at the top of the table, meaning they're in first place in the Premier League. These are good times to be a Liverpool fan. So we went to a place where he felt at home for a great conversation. Right now on the Sunday Sit down podcast with John Oliver.

[Interviewer/Host]

Great to see you, man.

[John Oliver]

I'm about to shut down now. Oh, you're gonna get up. Yeah, that's right. The pre talk was fun. Let's just. I'm just gonna remove any discernible personality and then just shut down.

[Interviewer/Host]

You were so charming there.

[John Oliver]

Yeah.

[Interviewer/Host]

Before we started.

[John Oliver]

That's not for camera. Some people come alive when the cameras turn on. I die inside.

[Interviewer/Host]

I noticed when the lights came up you sort of stop.

[John Oliver]

That's right. That's right. It diminishes me. Attention diminishes me. I'm better.

[Interviewer/Host]

Well, let's do our best environment. Yeah, sure, let's, you know, let's talk about something that might make you feel comfortable, which is football.

[John Oliver]

Yes.

[Interviewer/Host]

And we are in McHale's Bar which is the home of Liverpool supporters, Right?

[John Oliver]

Correct, yes.

[Interviewer/Host]

And do you come and watch the.

[John Oliver]

Home of Liverpool supporters is Liverpool, just to be clear.

[Interviewer/Host]

Fair.

[John Oliver]

The kind of. The kind of imperialism that McHale's bar is doing in New York. I don't think as much as they would love to claim this is the whole of Liverpool, it just isn't the whole Liverpool is that way fair.

[Interviewer/Host]

That's a fair point. But yes, the New York City.

[John Oliver]

New York. The New York City home of Liverpool. That I will accept.

[Interviewer/Host]

So will you be in here watching games from time to time?

[John Oliver]

No, I'll be at home watching games always.

[Interviewer/Host]

Yes.

[John Oliver]

So yeah, I, I still have little kids so I like. I'm trying to force them into liking football and liking Liverpool specifically. If they don't like Liverpool specifically, they cannot have football as far as I'm concerned.

[Interviewer/Host]

That's it.

[John Oliver]

That was the rule in my house. So yes, I watch it at home also when things don't go well, I don't handle that well. You don't want to be around people saying, hey, it's just a game thing. Well, don't say that to me. Never say that to me. After England lost once in the World cup, my wife said before the game, in my defence I'd said if England lose we should probably think about other things to do this afternoon because I'm not going to be, you know, at my best as a human being and in the kindest way they lost. And she said, well, you know, it is. I love you. It's just sport, isn't it? Which is true objectively. That's true. And I walked around the Entirety of Central park twice. The whole thing. Just to try and walk off that comment. Is it your sport? Let's see. I'm gonna walk until this pain goes away. I'll see you when it's dark.

[Interviewer/Host]

And once wasn't enough?

[John Oliver]

Once did not do it. One loop makes sense, doesn't it? Not even close. Maybe the second one.

[Interviewer/Host]

You basically did like a half marathon to knock off the pain.

[John Oliver]

That's right. Like those Olympics walkers, but just focused on the floo. Just. Can I organize thoughts in my head so that this thing that shouldn't hurt me as much as it just did doesn't.

[Interviewer/Host]

I love that you have to be home where you can be explosive around your children, but not here with strangers.

[John Oliver]

Yeah. And also I can engage more in the group text I have with your friends. That's important as the game goes on so that we can just check in on each other's.

[Interviewer/Host]

Well, you should be doing pretty well this year. Right? Top of the table.

[John Oliver]

Yes.

[Interviewer/Host]

Right.

[Willie Geist]

Salah's injured.

[Interviewer/Host]

Are we worried about that As a long term proposition?

[John Oliver]

Yes. Worried about that constantly. I'm worried about his mental and physical health constantly.

[Interviewer/Host]

Why do I think you're not joking?

[John Oliver]

I'm not remotely joking. I met him once at the time 100 thing. I kind of had to write an introduction for him and I turned him earlier. He was going to be sitting next to me. So he's like, his name tag was just next to me. I was just looking at his name tag thinking, he's going to be here in a second. I couldn't fathom how I was going to interact with someone I love that much. And they served food and then he turned up and the first thing I said to him was, nice to meet you, Mo. I've protected your fish so no one would touch it. And you could see his head thinking, well, I'm definitely not eating that fish now. Because that's the thing that someone says after they've just touched my fish.

[Interviewer/Host]

Did you. As those words left your mouth, did you try to grab them?

[John Oliver]

Yes, of course. Just go, oh, that's not a thing. No, no, no, no, no. That's not a thing to say to another human being. Why would his ears want that? No, no, no, no, no, no. Come back.

[Interviewer/Host]

And you had a lot of time to come up with something.

[John Oliver]

Frankly, I'd come up with a lot of things. And then my body decided, don't worry, I got this one. Let's make this about the fish protection situation. That's what he wants to hear. He's going to turn up and go, I hope this stranger has addressed the presence of my fish.

[Interviewer/Host]

I take it you didn't strike up a friendship from there then?

[John Oliver]

I don't think a friendship was ever going to be appropriate. There can't be a friendship when there' an affection imbalance on that level. Which is not to say that he didn't care about me, though. He would absolutely be allowed to do that. It's more that I can't. I cannot interact with footballers.

[Interviewer/Host]

Right.

[John Oliver]

Because it's too much. Because I love them too much. I want to be them too much. So there is nothing to say at all.

[Interviewer/Host]

And you were a bit of a footballer growing up, is that fair to say?

[John Oliver]

I think. I think physically a bit of a footballer is both harsh and fair. I think my coaches would say, yeah, you're a bit of a footballer. Are you a whole footballer? No. Are you enough of a footballer? Not even for this team? Are you a bit of a footballer? Yes. And that bit is mainly in your mind, not the rest of your body? Yeah, I loved it more than anything else.

[Interviewer/Host]

Yeah.

[John Oliver]

Yeah.

[Interviewer/Host]

And you. So you grew up, you were born in Birmingham?

[John Oliver]

Yep.

[Interviewer/Host]

Grew up just north of London. But a Liverpool fan because of your parents?

[John Oliver]

Yeah, my whole family, both sides are all from Liverpool. So, yeah, my granddad had a season ticket and so it was not a choice.

[Interviewer/Host]

Can you speak to an American audience who is maybe more obsessed with American football, to the passion that you feel as a family, as a fan, as a supporter of Liverpool and what it's like over there.

[John Oliver]

I mean, it's just. It is so important to the city. I don't know that that's not true of certain NFL. It does feel like owners of NFL teams have, even to the anger of the cities those teams have been in, decided to move them. That's not something you could do in England without people being murdered. That's not. I know people were angry when the Browns moved to Baltimore, but the people that did it are still alive. Right. I'm not saying they should have been killed. I'm saying if you cared enough, you would have done it. Yeah. It is in English football teams are. Or European football teams are intrinsically linked to the cities they're in. And so the feelings I have for Liverpool now are that it's. Especially as someone who lives thousands of miles away is it really is a connection to home. Right. You're watching games at the same time as your friends are. So it's like your days. It's a way to synchronize your days in a way.

[Interviewer/Host]

And we're happy with the Fenway Sports Group, the guys who've run it for the last 13, 14 years.

[John Oliver]

That's a complicated question, Willy. I think if you ask Liverpool fans, they would never be happy. Liverpool was a mess before they came in, so I'm very happy with what they've become. I think it's very important to remember, not to get too Drake related, but we started from the bottom.

[Interviewer/Host]

Now we're here.

[John Oliver]

Now we're here. And we didn't start from the bottom. We started from like sixth, but it felt like the bottom.

[Interviewer/Host]

Point taken.

[John Oliver]

So, no, they have done a lot. The tricky thing in football European style is that there is an influx of Saudi oil money, Russian oligarchs and Fenway Sports Group are going to struggle to compete with that money. Now, should you try and compete with that money? I think arguably you shouldn't because it makes football non financially sustainable and it makes it, at best, morally gray.

[Interviewer/Host]

You had a great moment at the Emmys where you just won two more. Congratulations.

[John Oliver]

Thanks.

[Interviewer/Host]

Where you were trying to sort of run out the clock for Anthony Anderson's mother. And you did what?

[John Oliver]

Well, yeah, I just. I love it when they play people off at the Emmys. I love it. And so that's the most exciting thing is to get to be played off. I couldn't. The first time it ever happened was amazing. Just thinking, I'm talking till that music starts. Because as a kid, all I've wanted was not to win something, it's to be played off. So I knew I was gonna do that.

[Interviewer/Host]

You're sick, by the way.

[John Oliver]

So I just, I just thought. I thought I'll talk until Anthony Anderson's mom starts yelling at me. And so I just started naming little football players. And it was nice to see Trent Alexander Arnold get some.

[Interviewer/Host]

Yeah.

[John Oliver]

It feels like it's been a while since Trent has been mentioned at the Emmys. I don't know if it was the first time. It shouldn't have been. But it's an inverted fullback role now, Willy, I think Hollywood needs to understand the right back role is changing now.

[Interviewer/Host]

Right.

[John Oliver]

And it's largely because of what Trent is doing.

[Interviewer/Host]

And you will not be silenced.

[John Oliver]

No, no.

[Interviewer/Host]

Very brave.

[John Oliver]

Very brave.

[Interviewer/Host]

It says so much about you that you take more glee in being played off probably than holding the award.

[John Oliver]

Oh, way more. Because holding an award isn't funn. Being played off is funny. And when things are funny, those are my favorite moments.

[Interviewer/Host]

Now it is 19 Emmys for you for this show. 28 for the show altogether. The math on that through 10 seasons is like 2.8 a year. I don't even know how that works, how there are that many Emmys to give a show for.

[John Oliver]

Getting into fractions.

[Interviewer/Host]

Was that helpful?

[John Oliver]

People would round up or down. I appreciate. I respect. It's around 2.8. Knowing quietly it's 2.8.

[Interviewer/Host]

A rate of 2.8 per year. Does that ever get old for you to be recognized that way, or is it just.

[John Oliver]

No, no. It was absurd the first time and it's been absurd most recently. And I'm massively grateful for multiple reasons. One, it's objectively nice, and two, it does feel like building a slight suit of armor around us as a show so that we can continue to exist. But I'm very grateful for any academy voter. Please understand that you are. You are personally stopping HBO from canceling this.

[Interviewer/Host]

Please keep doing it as long as you're up there.

[John Oliver]

As long as you're up there. This is. It is. It's a suit of armor in pointy gold form.

[Interviewer/Host]

Another season.

[John Oliver]

Another season. You can't. It would look so bad if you were to cancel this now. If it's just me and two fists, you've got a clean headshot.

[Interviewer/Host]

What was amazing too, is they created a new category this year to sort of boot you out of the late night talk show group.

[John Oliver]

I think that category already exists. We just got.

[Interviewer/Host]

You got shifted around.

[John Oliver]

Right.

[Interviewer/Host]

You got punted into it and then you still win a couple. Do you hear from your buddies? Do you hear from Seth and Kimmel and all those guys? Like, give us a break. How about one year?

[John Oliver]

No, they had a break. They had a break this year and they lost to Trevor. Noah. Look what happened. They all thought they were second. Then Trevor pointed out they weren't. I think they're all gradually understanding it was better when we were there. Then it could be, oh, I was just one vote away. Sure, there you were.

[Interviewer/Host]

Tell yourself that. Right? Little farther down the table than they thought they were. So season 11, as we sit here right now, a few weeks off, I think the day this airs will be the premiere February 18th.

[John Oliver]

Oh, good.

[Interviewer/Host]

Tell me about how you're feeling about doing the show you do, which is a heavy lift every week during this election year. Is there a relationship between the content you'll be putting out and this election?

[John Oliver]

I mean, we do, yeah. We used to do a heavy lift each week. Now it takes about six weeks to write and research each story. So now it's like a heavy Six week cycle. The stories just move like that. I mean, previously we have felt like we've had to respond in the main body of the show to the election. I'm not sure that's going to be as true this year because I don't know if there's anything unknown about these two men. I think the kindest thing I can say about this choice of two candidates, I think we're all aware of what we've got here. I don't know if they're going to be able to truffle out anything fascinating about the unexpressed thoughts of either guy. So I'm hoping that US Elections, as you know, Willie, tend to take up a lot of the air in the room and they can be complicit in doing that. This election cycle feels like. I don't know what the argument is going to be to just focus on a horse race between two well known horses.

[Interviewer/Host]

Is that a relief to you in some way? Because it strikes me that you enjoy doing the other stuff more.

[John Oliver]

Yeah. So I think hopefully we'll be able to protect the main body of our show from whatever's happened on the campaign trail that week and then we'll just deal with that right at the start of the show as quickly as we can.

[Interviewer/Host]

And so you've already set in motion what you're gonna be doing for these first couple of episodes. Thinking through the top for this new season.

[John Oliver]

Yeah, we have a pretty good idea. I don't know what we'll do exactly for the first episode. We have a good idea of the story, some of the more complicated stories that we're gonna be doing as the year goes, and hopefully the election will not ruin that.

[Interviewer/Host]

I think people who love you and love the show would love to hear just the process of how these pieces of comedy journalism. I don't know, how do you describe it?

[John Oliver]

Comedy. Comedy.

[Interviewer/Host]

Just comedy.

[John Oliver]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Interviewer/Host]

There is a journalistic quality. There's revealing truth.

[John Oliver]

There's so many journalism underneath it. Like you can't build your jokes on sand, right. Otherwise it all falls away.

[Interviewer/Host]

So the process begins when for a show, I'm thinking of, let's say you're Elon Musk, your last episode.

[John Oliver]

Oh, okay.

[Interviewer/Host]

Shall I pick a different one?

[John Oliver]

No. I thought you just said, let's say you're Elon Musk.

[Interviewer/Host]

No, no, no.

[John Oliver]

Okay, great. I have some things to say to the camera. They're gonna be really problematic. I got some views.

[Interviewer/Host]

And this is the forum. So what, what's the political welfare holds.

[John Oliver]

Back production what do people find hard to deal about that? And I'm still angry about that guy in the cave in Thailand.

[Interviewer/Host]

There we go. We've got the PR clip, John Oliver, and I think we're good to go. But the process, how you think about it, how you work through to show.

[John Oliver]

So we'll have like everyone pitches stories at the show, everyone. And then if there's something that intrigues us, we'll give it to a researcher. They'll take that story for a week to check that it's been reported accurately, whether things have changed that affect the story right now. Then if it kind of clears that early test, we'll give it to a footage producer to find out if there's any footage through which we can tell the story. Then at that point we'll add writers to the process. By that point, the footage department, the research department, will have packets, hundreds of pages of material that the writers can distill and they will write an outline of the story. Then Tim Carvell and I, who I run the show with, will put the outlines together into one outline. Then they will go and write a draft based on that combined outline. Then we will combine those drafts and then we're at the final week of production.

[Interviewer/Host]

I mean, I think people who watch 30 minutes, they go, oh, he's good. He's just kind of, he's out there off talking. I mean, off the cuff. I mean, not off the cuff, but like, I don't think anyone would fully appreciate what goes in to putting one of those together.

[John Oliver]

Yeah, I hope that that's illustrative and not disappointing, that when you hear they go, wow, that much work goes into that end product. Feels like there are some shortcuts that.

[Interviewer/Host]

Would be advisable there just became less impressive somehow.

[John Oliver]

That's right. Six weeks to get to that. It's like when a chef says, oh, this is a four day process. I mean, a sandwich is quicker and as good.

[Interviewer/Host]

Yeah. I mean, just thinking about how you put these things together, and I know you've made jokes and you did in that Emmy speech too, about. Once you've crafted it, letting some lawyers read through it, what's the push and pull like there?

[John Oliver]

I mean, there is both push and pull for sure. And then I think we're trying to get ourselves onto the same page. And I appreciate, appreciate what eventually the lawyers are enabling us to do is stand on rock solid ground. Right. Which means that you can take aggressive swings with jokes and with points that you're making in the story, knowing that you are Right. I think, yeah. The only tension comes in degrees of caution. Right. I think that that is sometimes where there is whether the lawyers want you to say something a certain way or whether you must say something a certain way. And the second part of that is really important. Whether lawyers want something to happen that is of no concern to anybody. Whether. Whether it's absolutely imperative that you make sure that a certain amount of pushback is put in that is, that makes the story better. And we're always reaching out to the companies and the individuals that we talk about anyway because you want to build in their pushback to the body of the show.

[Interviewer/Host]

Do you expect some kind of response from these. I mean, people have talked about the John Oliver effect and all that stuff. I know you've been kind of dismissive of that. But the fact that these do impact, have real world impacts. That's not the goal. I know. No, but it's.

[John Oliver]

And in terms of response from the company that we're talking about, again, those responses should be in the piece. Yeah, right. We should have pushback from them or from their lawyers so that we're already a few steps ahead there in terms of what happens to the show after we've done it. That point, honestly, we're out. We've already moved on again. We're doing six shows at a time. So as soon as we have finished taping the show, we will go across the road to our offices and read the drafts that have just come in for the next week's show. So I'm immediately worried about next week.

[Interviewer/Host]

Turn the corner.

[John Oliver]

I've moved on.

[Interviewer/Host]

Wow.

[John Oliver]

Yes.

[Interviewer/Host]

I didn't realize the process moved that fast.

[John Oliver]

Yes. Yes. It's a bit of a meat grinder.

[Interviewer/Host]

Is it exhausting in some ways?

[John Oliver]

Yeah, it's definitely exhausting, but a good kind of exhausting. You know, it's fun. It's fun to be constantly challenged and to constantly see what the staff can come up with because we've, we've changed the process a lot over the years. And so it is exciting to see what they can do when you give them the time and the resources to attack a really complicated story and try and make it fit for human consumption.

[Willie Geist]

Hey, guys, thanks for listening to the Sunday Sit down podcast. Stick around to hear more from John Oliver right after the break.

[Interviewer/Host]

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[John Oliver]

Driving experience and refined performance.

[Willie Geist]

Discover it at your local Mazda dealer today.

[Movie 'Him' Trailer Voice]

Today from producer Jordan Peele. The movie him asks the question, would you sell your soul for greatness? What are you willing to sacrifice? Activate my this Friday, you want what I have. You have to take it from me.

[John Oliver]

What if I say no? Kill, but don't push me.

[Movie 'Him' Trailer Voice]

Experience fear like never before. It's time for me to show you exactly who I am. Directed by Justin Tipping. Rated R under 17 unemitted without parent Only in theaters Friday. Get tickets now.

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[Willie Geist]

Welcome back. Now more of my conversation with John Oliver.

[Interviewer/Host]

Is it gratifying to you, John, to know that a show that is so substantive and sometimes esoteric in the topics that you pick up has been so successful? I'm not just talking about Emmys, the viewership and it spreads online that there is a place for that and a reward for that somewhere?

[John Oliver]

Yeah, I can't, I can't quite understand how we've got away with it. The second show we did ever we did about the death penalty because we thought it would be funny even just to try. It's such a ridiculous thing to try and do for your second show. And we did it for 12 minutes and that felt like a long time. Now we wouldn't talk about anything for 12 minutes. You couldn't get into any kind of detail in any sub. We talked about Chuck e. Cheese for 32. So now, now we are. We go much narrower and much deeper on stories and the fact that people respond to it is like a constant source of pleasant surprise to me.

[Interviewer/Host]

I feel that way actually myself. Oh, isn't that great? There's a big audience for that.

[John Oliver]

Yeah. I think, you know, because I think you hypothetically think it's people would be interested in how our organ donation system works if it was explained to them. And I think there is incredible journalism done that doesn't necessarily get the attention that it deserves. Right. So I think at times we can be a useful aggregator of excellent reporting and put it into a form that people can actually ingest when they might not feel as inclined to read a long data heavy ProPublica article, then we might be able to add some bells and whistles. That makes that easier to watch.

[Interviewer/Host]

And I feel like the comic timing is so important, which is to say sort of journalism, journalism reporting. And then you just, out of left field, you make some absurd reference to bring us back a little bit.

[John Oliver]

That's right. Just to give you a little bit of a break. Carrot. Carrot. Carrot. Eminem. Carrot.

[Interviewer/Host]

Finish your carrots. So when you got this job, it's. You left the daily show in 2013, I believe, right? Just over 10 years ago. Yeah, A lot of it, I think. And the people at HBO would say they watched you fill in for John. Right. And then said, oh, he can carry a show.

[John Oliver]

Yeah.

[Interviewer/Host]

Was it terrifying in some ways for you to leave that safe family of the Daily show and step out on your own?

[John Oliver]

Massively terrifying, because I've been protected for eight years by Jon Stewart. Right. I've been in his womb. Revolting image as that is. But it was. It felt like a very safe place to be completely protective of Comedy Central. You know, I felt that he had faith in me, that made me feel confident. And, yes, it was incredibly intimidating and unsettling, to be honest, to. To leave and strike out on my own without him kind of feeling his presence over my shoulder.

[Interviewer/Host]

Did you hesitate at first?

[John Oliver]

Oh, yeah, yeah, for sure. I hesitated because it seemed crazy. And he'd said before he left to go and direct his film for the summer, he said, when I come back, we need to talk about what you're going to do. And that was horrible to hear because all I wanted to do was stay. It was my dream job. All I wanted to do was stay there forever for nothing to ever change. So to have someone say, yeah, this is about to finish, was a bit of a gut punch. But his point was, like, once you kind of have the precious, you're not going to want to give that precious up. And I really vehemently disagreed with him before that precious in my hand. And he goes, yeah, this is kind of shy. It's nice to have. And so he was right. And so, yeah, we started those conversations when he got back.

[Interviewer/Host]

It's something else entirely, is it not, to step out on your own from being in that ensemble where you can lean on other people, just even comedically, I would think.

[John Oliver]

Yeah. Because there was such joy at the Daily show in being part of the kind of engineering team that put that show together. Right. But there is definitely a different kind of feeling to get Inside that car and drive was really fun to work for the driver. But when you put the pedal down and it moves, it is a kind of exhilarating feeling that's hard to give up.

[Interviewer/Host]

Yeah. You said the Daily show was your dream job.

[John Oliver]

Yeah, sure.

[Interviewer/Host]

Something you'd thought about for a long time. So when you got that call that they wanted you to come audition and be on the show that you dreamed of being on, were you surprised? Number one?

[John Oliver]

Yes.

[Interviewer/Host]

And thrilled and terrified and all of those things?

[John Oliver]

Yeah. Because they. It wasn't even come audition. They were just asking people to put things on tape. Right in. As I was in London, put something on tape, sent it, and then thought, I never need to think about this again. It was kind of fun to do that tape. And then they said, come to New York. And I'd never been to New York before. So I got on a plane, turned up here, like, stayed just up the road, thought, where shall I go for my first New York experience? Went to Applebee's, not realizing there's more than one Applebee's there. I am thinking like, I'm Robert dinner, a taxi driver. I'm having some pancakes.

[Interviewer/Host]

Was that your first meal in New York?

[John Oliver]

Oh, fantastic. The true American experience right here in Midtown. Yes.

[Interviewer/Host]

That's great. Perfect.

[John Oliver]

Yeah, it's a good apple. Midtown Applebee's. If you want the quintessential New York experience as a tourist, the Midtown Applebee's is a must. So then, yeah, then I turned up, like, did an audition with John, and then they said, would you like to live here? What does that mean in general in New York one day? Sure. And they said, well, how soon could you move? And so I went home, put my stuff in storage. It's still there in South London. Still in the storage container in South London. And then I haven't really. I've barely been back.

[Interviewer/Host]

Isn't that amazing?

[John Oliver]

Yes. Crazy.

[Interviewer/Host]

And was there any doubt in your mind that you had to come do this? No, that was it.

[John Oliver]

There was no doubt in my mind that I had to come and do this, because what John was doing with the dad show was the gold standard of comedy about news at that time. There was nothing better. So. And my manager said to me, go. They will fire you after three months. That's what happens in America. It's a great pep talk from someone who's literally your representative. Right. You won't have to stay there long because you'll be fired after three months. And so I thought, okay. So that's why I just came with two bags, like a little British Fievel. And I thought, oh, I'll be back. I'll be back in England by September.

[Interviewer/Host]

Like a semester abroad.

[John Oliver]

Yeah. That's how I felt. I thought, I will try and, like a sponge, collect as much of this experience as I can and then maybe try and do something like this back in England. And then I never left. As soon as I got here, I felt totally at home in a way that I hadn't felt at home.

[Interviewer/Host]

Yeah.

[John Oliver]

So, yes, it was an incredible experience and I never wanted to leave, which is why it was so hard to do that.

[Interviewer/Host]

And you. You were kind of a hit right away, listening to John talk about it now and, you know, kind of a.

[John Oliver]

Hit, I think, is fair enough, like, bit of a football kind of a hit.

[Interviewer/Host]

Like, oh, I lowercase qualify everything just to protect myself. But you listen to John talk about it and others who, producers of the show, they're like, he kind of had it right away. Did you feel that way at the beginning? Like, I fit here. This works?

[John Oliver]

Yeah, probably. To be totally honest, it felt like, yeah, it felt like I fit in in a way that, again, that I hadn't fit in to other places. And it was, again, the gold standard. So I felt very, very comfortable kind of committing to it full throttle. And all I wanted to do was that. It was around the time that so many other Daily show correspondents were going and doing. I think you would see other correspondents kind of going and doing sitcoms or bits in movies. All I wanted to do was the Daily Show. That's all I wanted to do. I didn't want to do anything else. Even when I was hired to do Community as a little bit part on that, I wanted to make it very clear I can't do this full time because I have my dream job. So I'll do this whenever I'm free. But whenever the Daily show is on, I want to be in that building helping make the show because it's the happiest I'd ever been.

[Interviewer/Host]

I love your first field piece, Civil War reenactments on the Union side, I should say.

[John Oliver]

You're welcome.

[Interviewer/Host]

You were on the union side. And it didn't go quite as planned, although then it turned into something hysterically funny.

[John Oliver]

Yes. So it was. I was fighting for the north, although very good people on both sides. And I had a musket with a knife on the end. And the joke, only joke, really, that we had in mind was I would run at the opposing army before they said, which is how I believe the Civil War began. And so I ran as fast as I could in dress shoes, slipped, fell, smashed my face into the ground, broke my nose instantly. And I knew I was at the right place when my field producer called back saying, hey, Oliver's just been hurt. And their first response was, was it on camera? And he said, yeah. They said, is it funny? And he said, very. They went, okay, great, send the tape home. Take him to hospital. So the tape got back before we did. When I got back into the office, it was just laughter echoing around the walls as people just playing it back. Wham, diddle, wham. And that complete lack of care for the physical body and total commitment to what is funny really made me think, I think this is home. Yeah. If your first response is not, is he okay? But how funny was it? Then? I'm in the right place. These are my people, Absolutely my people.

[Interviewer/Host]

They don't care if I live or die.

[John Oliver]

No, no. If you're gonna die, do it funny. Commit to the bit, do it funny, and do it while cameras are rolling.

[Interviewer/Host]

I think for a lot of people, John, you. They met you on the Daily show, right. So they don't really fully understand you, your appreciation for comedy, that you grew up a comedy fan.

[John Oliver]

Yeah, of course.

[Interviewer/Host]

Of all the, you know, not just Monty Python, but you were in the Cambridge Footlights and all those things that sort of brought you to where you are.

[John Oliver]

Yes.

[Interviewer/Host]

Was that a family thing? Was it a funny family? And they all appreciated the comedy?

[John Oliver]

I think it was, in a way. My granddad in Liverpool was really funny and he. He always said he had a very funny war, which was an odd way to describe the Second World War because there were huge laughs around. He was a very funny looking man. He had gigantic ears. He looked like the bfg. And he. It was very clear from him that he valued being able to make people laugh quite highly. He taught me to behave badly. As a kid. He would bang his cutlery on the table and demand food. And as a kid, that's the dream. When you've got an adult who's a bad influence, you're like, oh, this. This guy's incredible. He plays his fiddle to a different tune. So he was. It was very clear that laughter to him was very important. In fact, the last time I saw him, he was in. He was in, like, an assisted living facility. It was clear that he wasn't gonna have long. And my dad. It was just me and my dad with him. And my dad left to get the car and I thought he was on the ground floor. So I thought, I'll just say goodbye and then I'll climb out the window, because that's a stupid thing to do. So I opened the window, climbed out it, and I've kind of tried to get through a hedge to the car park. And the last thing I heard him say was, you're an idiot. There are much worse last things to have a grandparent say to you than you're an idiot. Chuckling to himself when he wasn't wrong.

[Interviewer/Host]

But you gave him a laugh. He did a bit.

[John Oliver]

That's the thing, I guess the thing as death, is you can either have a sincere conversation or you can climb out of a window to avoid one.

[Interviewer/Host]

You gave him a laugh. Now, that's amazing. So you've got a funny household, you've got funny relatives. But when does the idea strike you that this is a way a person can have a life and a career?

[John Oliver]

Oh, has a career. Yes. I guess it was always. Even at school, it was clear it was a good way to connect with people or to diffuse tense situations. I think it was probably when I got to college that myself and my friend back then, Richard Iwadi, we started writing shows together. And the first one that we did together on stage, I remember walking off, we'd written like an hour show of sketches. Walking off stage and feeling different.

[Interviewer/Host]

Yeah.

[John Oliver]

Kind of feeling, oh, this is my life now. I don't know if that's good or bad news, but nothing has ever made me feel like this. So from that point on, I think I decided that that's what I was going to do, whatever came from it. And so after leaving college immediately, just started doing stand up, trying to get any writing job as however bad that I could, and kind of very slowly forging a career in comedy. And so it felt like I had a career as soon as I could sustain myself without having to do other jobs. As soon as I could buy orange juice, that was always. That felt like. Cause that's a luxury item. Orange juice. Right. You don't need orange juice, you need water. So if you can upgrade yourself from water to orange juice, you're playing with the house's money.

[Interviewer/Host]

You made it.

[John Oliver]

Yep.

[Interviewer/Host]

What was that feeling in your hands? The response from the audience?

[John Oliver]

Yeah, I think definitely the response from the audience and the feeling of having communicated something that they understood and agreed to be funny. It was a full expression of yourself. The electrical feeling of people laughing at it and then your body having this response of, well, I need more of that. I'm literally describing heroin as I'm talking. Oh, this is great. But it had that kind of addictive quality of this is a high that I've not experienced before. I must have more of this.

[Interviewer/Host]

And you still get it. We were just talking about I saw you on stage at an event a couple of months ago. You and Seth are out doing a stand up comedy tour. Do you still get that feeling up there that keeps you coming back?

[John Oliver]

It's my favorite thing to do. It's the only thing that actually calms me down.

[Interviewer/Host]

Really.

[John Oliver]

Yeah. I know it is absurd, absurd to say that about something which is many people's literal nightmare. But stand up is if I don't do it for a long amount of time, I get angsty. So it is the one place I can really relax and calm down. And really comedy is is that place for me. It's why Joining the Join the early days of the pandemic as everything was shut down and we're suddenly having to do the show from home. The problem was not not having an audience. The problem was the idea that I would not be able to write comedy with people for people. I didn't mind not having an audience because as long as I had our staff working together to try and try and produce funny material from the abyss of human panic, the idea of that being taken away was truly panic inducing to me. So I didn't mind being stuck in a room. It wasn't ideal, but stuck in a room delivering jokes to nobody. Because at least I was getting to deliver jokes. At least we were getting to work together, even though we weren't together.

[Willie Geist]

Stick around for more of my conversation with John Oliver right after a quick.

[Movie 'Him' Trailer Voice]

Break from producer Jordan Peele. The movie him asks the question, would you sell your soul for greatness? What are you willing to sacrifice? Activate my this Friday.

[John Oliver]

You want what I have, you have.

[Interviewer/Host]

To take it from me.

[John Oliver]

What if I say no?

[Movie 'Him' Trailer Voice]

Experience fear like never before.

[John Oliver]

It's time for me to show you.

[Movie 'Him' Trailer Voice]

Exactly who I am. Kim Directed by Justin Tipping rated R under 17 unimitted without parent. Only in theaters Friday. Get tickets now.

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[Willie Geist]

Edu welcome back now to the rest of my conversation with John Oliver.

[Interviewer/Host]

Is there something that you enjoy, And I think I know the answer to this, about making or basking in the discomfort of the moment a bit, Whether it's yours or the audience's, I love it when I see you up there at certain events and we don't have to name them, it feels like you're enjoying a little bit of awkwardness.

[John Oliver]

I guess the thing is, like, when you've. When you've done that once you've bombed a hundred times, the audience loses its capacity to hurt you anymore. Like, you can't hurt me any more than they did above a pub in Mosley in 1999. You can't do that. There's nothing left. So, yeah, I think lots of comedians find it appealing to see. To either experience a tense situation or to witness their friends do it. I love seeing Seth moments on his show where jokes struggle and you see, like, there's just like, a little. Little soup song of excitement around. You think, look, he's never felt more alive. My editors, whenever jokes bomb on our show, they will, like, pause the screen and say, look at your face. When I've just delivered a joke I'm really excited about to silence, you'll just see, like, a spark in my eyes. Pure happiness. And it goes. There's something about. It's so. It's so ridiculous. I guess it's why I love being played off at the Emmys, because you get so excited to tell a joke, your whole body is like, you're gonna love this. And then they don't. I mean, if that's not funny, I don't know what is.

[Interviewer/Host]

To a. A normal, reasonable human being, they would start sweating and say, this is going terribly. I have to run off the stage.

[John Oliver]

All I would say is, do that 99 more times, and then it'll become fun. You've just got to push through 100 nightmares to get to a dream state.

[Interviewer/Host]

And it's worth it on the other side.

[John Oliver]

It really is. It's absolute euphoria.

[Interviewer/Host]

Can I ask you, John, would you host any of these award shows? Because people say you would be perfect for that because of your lack of fear.

[John Oliver]

I think I would. I don't think I would be. I think I'd actually be very bad for it. Cause so I think I would probably not do that because I know those rooms are a nightmare. And I think it doesn't seem fair to just go to ruin everyone's evening. Would it be fun? Yes, it would be really fun. Willy. Part of me to ruin an entire Oscars. Oh my God.

[Interviewer/Host]

Jesus.

[John Oliver]

My grandad would be so proud. But I think, I don't know if I have the skill to do it both ways. In the way that Kimmel and Seth are particularly good at, right. Of being able to show contempt. Enough contempt for a ridiculous over the top occasion while also allowing people to have a good time. I don't think, I think I have too self destructive a streak to be able to make that a functional evening for everyone. That's why Kimmel is the perfect Oscar hoax, right? Because he's every. My view is that everyone can enjoy it, right. If you like that show, you can, you'll, you'll, you can enjoy what he's doing. And if you think it's absurd as I do, you can see that in his face.

[Interviewer/Host]

There's a certain amount of flattery that goes into the job. But I don't think you'd be willing to.

[John Oliver]

No, I think I'm not. I really hot. When. Before John left for the summer, the thing that I was most worried about was interviewing. Interviewing people. Interviewing especially interviewing actors whose movies I thought were terrible. And I don't think John wants it. That is not a part of the job that he was good at. He was good at everything. He was not good. Sitting opposite someone and going, tell me about Garfield, the movie. There'll be like just tiny flickers in his voice where people start laughing. He didn't say anything. He just said tell me about Garfield. But you can tell his heart's not in it. And yes, those there was, those were the white knuckle moments that summer were looking opposite someone and saying, thinking, well, four minutes is going to be a really long time.

[Interviewer/Host]

Right? Yeah, you've been four minutes.

[John Oliver]

So I'm in absolute awe. I remember talking to one actor who will not name and thinking, I'm getting to the end of the this interview. Now turning to the stage manager Spinney and to kind of get a sense of how long have I done? He said two minutes. This is two minutes. 120 seconds is all that was because I'm out.

[Interviewer/Host]

I've had that moment, by the way.

[John Oliver]

Two. No, no, two minutes left. Two minutes in. Oh, well then I need to mentally pace myself for this. Cause I'm out of curiosity. You must have sat up on this table and thought, please, I know there's five more questions.

[Interviewer/Host]

Not so much on this show, but on other. Sometimes when you do volume sales, when you do a lot of tv, inevitably you're going to have those moments.

[John Oliver]

I've said to Seth, the moments that fill me the most Glee are watching him really work. I always loved Letterman because he felt like he was grandfathered in to have enough. He had enough standing that he could just completely disengage from interviews that he was not interested in. The first time I ever did his show, I can't remember who was on. There was some actor who had some. I think it was like a black and white Shakespeare movie. And they played a clip. It came back in the studio and just looked over and said, good luck with that. Wow. I think you have to have been on TV for 40 years. That's right. To be able to do that and for it to be charming.

[Interviewer/Host]

Right, right. There's a year, if you come after that, you're not allowed to do it. John, this has been my Garfield interview. So thank you.

[John Oliver]

Garfield is in theaters and streaming on film. Fubu.

[Interviewer/Host]

Oh, my God, that was perfect. Thank you. That was so much fun. So we've just got some news that Jon Stewart is going to return to the Daily show to do Mondays through the election.

[John Oliver]

So we. That's right. We're repeating back what was just handed to us on the phone. So I presume Variety is accurate.

[Interviewer/Host]

I've been past the bulletin.

[John Oliver]

Yes, yes, yes, apparently.

[Interviewer/Host]

So what do you think?

[John Oliver]

I mean, that is a surprise. Yeah. That is a show that needs a host. He certainly is a very, very good one. So, yeah, it'll be exciting to see what he does. I do think after 2025, they should appoint a permanent host.

[Interviewer/Host]

It feels that way, doesn't it?

[John Oliver]

Yes.

[Interviewer/Host]

Yeah.

[John Oliver]

I would have hired Roy Wood or Amber Ruffin is very good. But it's going to be very exciting to see John in election year as well.

[Interviewer/Host]

Right.

[John Oliver]

That is. That is watchable.

[Interviewer/Host]

Back in for another bite at the apple.

[John Oliver]

That's right, yeah.

[Interviewer/Host]

Wow.

[John Oliver]

Yeah. Jordan's back.

[Interviewer/Host]

It's back one more time.

[Willie Geist]

So being that we were sitting at McHale's, a Liverpool bar, we had to go downstairs to the bar itself and watch some football. So John and I, me with a pint, he with a cup of tea, sat and watched some football as he explained what it means to be a Liverpool fan, what it means to live and breathe football, as I told him what it means to live and breathe American football. Is a Giants fan. He, by the Way you'll hear is a Jets fan, his adopted team since moving to the United States. So little football chatter at the bar right now with John Oliver.

[Interviewer/Host]

Okay, so, John, who are we watching?

[John Oliver]

So this is Alexis McAllister. He's new this year.

[Interviewer/Host]

Got a corner here.

[John Oliver]

Yes, he's Argentinian, won the World cup, played with Messi.

[Interviewer/Host]

Thank you very much.

[John Oliver]

He's playing. Having to play out of position this year. Yeah, yeah. He's had to play out of position this year because he's ideally not a defensive midfielder, but he's having to play that way. He's very, very smart footballer. And I think, actually we're. If I remember right now, I think.

[Interviewer/Host]

We'Re about to score one nil.

[John Oliver]

Yeah, I think.

[Interviewer/Host]

Well, you don't know because this is live.

[John Oliver]

Oh, that's right.

[Interviewer/Host]

Yeah.

[John Oliver]

Oh, that's what we're.

[Interviewer/Host]

Unless you had a premonition.

[John Oliver]

This is Joe Gobis. He's been with us since he was a kid. So this is Jurgen Klopp.

[Interviewer/Host]

There he is. Sure. Yep.

[John Oliver]

Spectacular manager. Not just in terms of football, but also. I think it might be the same case in American football. They're generally not deep thinkers, coaches. Klopp really is. Yeah, those Jones local lads.

[Interviewer/Host]

You saw that coming. Wow.

[John Oliver]

Yes. Yeah. He's enjoying the pandemic clock. When Liverpool won during the pandemic. Absolutely incredible. He was pointing out, trying to defend the existence of football at that time because it didn't feel like it made any sense. And he said football is the most important of the least important things, which feels like a.

[Interviewer/Host]

That's so wise.

[John Oliver]

Very. It's a. A truly profound thing to say. Absolutely true. It felt also at that moment when it was a way to still forge a connection when people are so fractured.

[Interviewer/Host]

Yeah.

[John Oliver]

Yeah. He's an amazing guy. We're very lucky to have him. And they've had. He's part of Liverpool as a city. Deflected, though not quite as good as it looked. It took. I believe it just comes. Spins up off his leg. Liverpool as a city is a very independent place. It's always felt not really one with England. That's why they don't play the national anthem ever there, because it gets booed. So there's been a long history of very, very charismatic managers going back to this guy, Bill Shankly back in the 60s, and he is really part of that. He seems like he's really taken to the city. Loves him, adores him. I mean, I think there'll be statues of him.

[Interviewer/Host]

Who do you support in football?

[John Oliver]

In American football.

[Interviewer/Host]

I'm a Giants fan. We've had past success.

[John Oliver]

I picked a. When I moved here, you know, genuinely could pick.

[Interviewer/Host]

Sure.

[John Oliver]

Couldn't pick a baseball team because you can't pick the Yankees. Right. So I got to pick and I picked the jets and the Giants won the Super Bowl. Oh, great.

[Interviewer/Host]

You're like, can I draft again?

[John Oliver]

No, no, no. It really felt like no, this is about right. Okay. Jets it is.

[Interviewer/Host]

So you ride with the jets through it all.

[John Oliver]

Yeah, through it all.

[Interviewer/Host]

Through the Zach Wilson and Aaron Rodgers and all.

[John Oliver]

Mark Sanchez butt fumble. Through the, you know, the joy of wishing for Woody Johnson to be happy about something. Through the electrifying. Whatever it was. Six and a half minutes of it. Was it with a flag. Here we go. What's the worst that could happen? How? How?

[Interviewer/Host]

And that was the most jets thing ever. Did they score again?

[John Oliver]

Yeah. Gakpo.

[Interviewer/Host]

Oh my gosh. Would you rather have Liverpool win a big match?

[John Oliver]

Let's say yes.

[Interviewer/Host]

Or win yet another Emmy for the show.

[John Oliver]

But I mean, there's a heart and head talking there, right? Head Emmy's very important as a protective mechanism against being cancelled. The heart is saying, I don't know what this guy's talking about. It's livable. Which do you have a physical response to? And it's like this. This is it. This is the. Yeah. When Liverpool won the league during COVID it was incredibly meaningful to me in a way I can't justify because it, you know, football, sport in general, doesn't matter as much as you kind of feel it does. You know, it's just a game. And when the death count is spiking, you know, it's even less important. And yet it meant a huge amount to me to see Liverpool win.

[Interviewer/Host]

Well, it means less intellectually, but here there's no diminishing that.

[John Oliver]

No, there's no. It's because it's childlike joy. It lifts you out of yourself.

[Interviewer/Host]

Yes.

[John Oliver]

I can still remember going to my first ever game and Liverpool scoring and my dad hugging me and I can remember the smell. I can remember the sound his coat made as he hugged me. And it's just because they scored. So those, those are the. It's those moments.

[Interviewer/Host]

Yes, that's what it is for me. It connects me back.

[John Oliver]

Yeah, exactly, exactly.

[Interviewer/Host]

Childhood, father, grandfather, whatever.

[John Oliver]

It was deeper as you get older. Yes, well, it was kind of just an elemental, like binary joy and pain. When you're a kid, now especially, I will say, living in a different country, that's what it really does. Tether you to the same emotions that, you know, people are feeling and the emotions that. Yeah. That it can stir up from how you felt 30 years ago.

[Interviewer/Host]

And then fun for me to watch my children take up the cause too and feel that same joy and pain with the team. Do your kids watch with you?

[John Oliver]

They do. Yeah, they do. They don't like it when I yell. I understand that. But I've tried to explain to them this is not something I'm in great control of. You don't like the sound of my extreme excitement and joy? What. What about that sound repels you so much? This is me happy. You'd like me to mute that. Oh, okay.

[Interviewer/Host]

You're scaring us, dad.

[John Oliver]

But yeah, no, there was to see them. Yeah. To see them sing Mo Salah's name or there was a guy, he played for us for years, he left it called Bobby Firmino and there was a great song that fans used to sing about him. So if I was in one room and I just shouted out, si, senor. I know that whatever they were doing, they would look up and say, pass the ball to Bobby and he will score.

[Interviewer/Host]

You've done it.

[John Oliver]

I've done it. So you agree this is your team. We're done.

[Interviewer/Host]

That's it.

[John Oliver]

Yeah. You'll have so many choices in your life. This is not going to be one of them.

[Interviewer/Host]

Exactly. Yeah, but it sounds like that's set in stone now. They're on board.

[John Oliver]

Yeah. If they wanted to really hurt me, they would say, I'd like to be a Man United fan. And I'd say, well, it's. And I encourage you to find a household in which that's appropriate.

[Interviewer/Host]

And are they jets fans too? Have you looked at that upon.

[John Oliver]

No, no. They can choose. They can choose anything else but this. Anything.

[Interviewer/Host]

Right.

[John Oliver]

Honestly, they can be a Yankees fan if they want. They just can't choose this.

[Interviewer/Host]

Okay, that's it. That seems fair.

[John Oliver]

Yeah. This guy's crazy. Not a very much adopted.

[Interviewer/Host]

We already for eight minutes.

[John Oliver]

Do you. Do you follow this at all?

[Interviewer/Host]

I bet I do. I do.

[John Oliver]

I think it's going to be quite big here in a couple of years. It's getting there. It's definitely getting there. And I think it will change because for the first time America is going to have actually a good team. I think America's thought it's had a good team in the past. Yes, it's been wrong about that.

[Interviewer/Host]

Yes.

[John Oliver]

He's the greatest thing this is. He's a C minus football player. He's fine. But he's not even.

[Interviewer/Host]

And we've been hearing it for. Yes, 30 years.

[John Oliver]

The new Pele. And the rest of the world's going, he is not the new Pele. Unless there's a different Pele that you're talking about. We do very well.

[Interviewer/Host]

Better than we do.

[John Oliver]

But there are some. For the first time, there are some legitimately very good American players that are young.

[Interviewer/Host]

Okay.

[John Oliver]

Who's very good.

[Interviewer/Host]

Yeah, he's good.

[John Oliver]

But yes, they're everywhere. You got guys playing for Barcelona now.

[Interviewer/Host]

Yeah, I went to. Years ago in Buenos Aires. I went to the.

[John Oliver]

Oh, God.

[Interviewer/Host]

What was the name of the match? The two. The two big teams down there. Yeah.

[John Oliver]

Holy.

[Interviewer/Host]

My sister was living down there and it just happened to be.

[John Oliver]

Was Maradona.

[Interviewer/Host]

No, it was later than that. But it was. I was like, you know, with the fireworks in. In the stadium.

[John Oliver]

Oh, my. And I was like, I would love.

[Interviewer/Host]

I was like, I get it.

[John Oliver]

Have you seen that Maradona documentary?

[Interviewer/Host]

Yes. Phenomenal.

[John Oliver]

Incredible. Phenomenal. Yes.

[Interviewer/Host]

But that was the moment where I got football because I grew up here and played as a kid, but then started playing football and I was like, okay, I see. Got it. You know. Yeah.

[John Oliver]

Yeah.

[Interviewer/Host]

100%.

[Willie Geist]

My big thanks to John for a great conversation and to McHale's in Midtown Manhattan for hosting us. You can check out last week tonight on HBO or streaming on Max.

[Interviewer/Host]

And my thanks, as always, to all.

[Willie Geist]

Of you for listening again this week.

[Interviewer/Host]

If you want to hear more of.

[Willie Geist]

Our conversations every week, be sure to.

[Interviewer/Host]

Click follow so you never miss an episode.

[Willie Geist]

And don't forget to tune in to Sunday Today every weekend on NBC. I'm Willie Geist. We'll see you right back here next next week, Sunday.

[Interviewer/Host]

Sit down Podcast.

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