SNL 50: Seth Meyers

Summary

Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist: Episode Summary - SNL 50 with Seth Meyers

Release Date: February 13, 2025

In this vibrant episode of "Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist," host Willie Geist engages in an insightful and entertaining conversation with Seth Meyers, the acclaimed host of "Late Night with Seth Meyers". Celebrating Seth's eight-year tenure on Late Night and his recent milestone hosting SNL's 50th episode, the discussion traverses Seth's latest projects, including his debut children's book, family dynamics, and the evolution of his late-night show, especially during the pandemic.

Introduction to Seth Meyers and His New Children's Book

The episode begins with Willie introducing Seth Meyers, highlighting his successful transition from "SNL" to "Late Night," and commending his unique segments like "A Closer Look" and "Corrections." Willie enthusiastically mentions Seth's new children's book, "I'm Not Scared, You're Scared," emphasizing the personal touch Seth infused by collaborating with his young children.

Willie Geist [01:20]:
"He did find time to write a new children's book. It is called I'm Not Scared, You're Scared, which he wrote for and with his three very young children."

Creation and Inspiration Behind the Book

Seth delves into the inspiration behind his book, clarifying that while it was written during the pandemic, it wasn't directly influenced by it. Instead, it stemmed from his experiences as a parent navigating his children's fears and his desire to create a story that resonates with both kids and parents.

Seth Meyers [04:59]:
"As a parent, you start feeling fear in a way you did not think it was capable. And you're surrounded by these human beings that are slowly finding the things they're afraid of."

He discusses the collaborative process, including the critical yet supportive feedback from his wife and children. Seth shares humorous anecdotes about his children's candid reactions, highlighting their genuine engagement with the story.

Collaborating with the Illustrator

A significant portion of the conversation revolves around Seth's collaboration with illustrator Rob Sayo Jr. Seth praises Rob's ability to bring the story to life visually, noting how the illustrations perfectly complement the narrative.

Seth Meyers [07:03]:
"My editor suggested Rob is so perfect, and I agreed. It's been an amazing process with him."

Family Dynamics and New Beginnings

Seth opens up about his expanding family with the arrival of his third child. He humorously contrasts his experiences with two sons and a newborn daughter, expressing both anticipation and amusement at the new dynamics a baby girl brings to their household.

Seth Meyers [11:25]:
"She's very watchful and very thoughtful. And I think part of it is her saying, you know what, you guys got a lot going on."

He shares endearing stories about his children's interactions, including his eldest son's playful claims of crediting him for the new baby, adding warmth and relatability to the discussion.

Evolution of "Late Night with Seth Meyers"

The conversation shifts to Seth's role as a late-night host, exploring how his show has evolved over the years. Seth highlights the challenges of maintaining comedic relevance, especially during the pandemic, and the adjustments made to keep the content fresh and engaging without a live audience.

Seth Meyers [17:37]:
"When you have a show like this, you try very hard not to be the second or third best at something... you try not to be a cheap copy of any of them."

He praises the authenticity and trust built with his audience, emphasizing the importance of transparency and embracing imperfections in his performances.

Innovative Show Segments: "A Closer Look" and "Corrections"

Seth delves into the intricacies of his show’s signature segments. "A Closer Look" is lauded as a deep dive into the day's news with a comedic twist, demanding a high level of creativity and wit. Meanwhile, "Corrections" serves as a candid response to viewer feedback on platforms like YouTube and Twitter, where Seth addresses both praise and criticism with humor and grace.

Seth Meyers [25:19]:
"Corrections was born out of making a 15-minute standup act about my week's show."

He explains how these segments not only engage the audience but also allow him to connect on a more personal level, showcasing his ability to adapt and innovate within the late-night format.

Balancing Professional and Personal Life

Throughout the episode, Seth offers candid insights into balancing a demanding career with family life. He reflects on the lessons learned from managing a live show during unprecedented times and the support system that enabled him to thrive both professionally and personally.

Seth Meyers [12:05]:
"Having been able to speed it up and take more creative risks... it was a lot of it was fairly exhilarating."

Final Thoughts and Future Endeavors

As the conversation wraps up, Seth touches on his aspirations beyond late-night hosting, hinting at future stand-up endeavors and projects. He expresses gratitude for the evolving landscape of entertainment and his excitement for what lies ahead.

Seth Meyers [29:30]:
"I've started going out last summer again, and it was super exciting to get back on stage."

Conclusion

Willie Geist and Seth Meyers conclude their engaging dialogue with mutual congratulations and heartfelt thanks, leaving listeners with a deeper understanding of Seth's multifaceted career, his heartfelt approach to parenting, and his unwavering commitment to authenticity in his craft.

Willie Geist [31:07]:
"You can find Seth's new book, I'm Not Scared, You're Scared. In stores or online now, wherever you get your books."

This episode offers a comprehensive look into Seth Meyers' personal and professional journey, enriched with humor, sincerity, and insightful reflections, making it a must-listen for fans and newcomers alike.

---

Key Quotes:

• Seth Meyers [04:59]:
  "As a parent, you start feeling fear in a way you did not think it was capable."

• Seth Meyers [07:03]:
  "Rob is so perfect, and I agreed. It's been an amazing process with him."

• Seth Meyers [17:37]:
  "When you have a show like this, you try very hard not to be the second or third best at something."

• Seth Meyers [25:19]:
  "Corrections was born out of making a 15-minute standup act about my week's show."

• Seth Meyers [29:30]:
  "I've started going out last summer again, and it was super exciting to get back on stage."

This structured summary captures the essence of the conversation between Willie Geist and Seth Meyers, highlighting the key topics and memorable moments while adhering to the provided guidelines.

Transcript

[Narrator]

It was late past midnight when they broke into the farmhouse.

[Seth Meyers]

Never in a million years would you think that you'd see your parents house taped off by that yellow tape. And they said, you remember I'm dead.

[Narrator]

At being killed, they left behind a wall of blood and a clue that took a case of double murder on a long, strange trip.

[Seth Meyers]

She looked at me and she said, I'm screwed.

[Narrator]

Murder in the Moonlight, a new podcast from Dateline.

[Willie Geist]

Listen to Murder in the moonlight for free starting Monday, February 17 or unlock new episodes right now by subscribing to Dateline Premium on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Dateline premium.com.

Hey guys, Willie Geist here with another episode of the Sunday Sit down podcast. My thanks as always for clicking and listening along. I am very happy to bring you this week my conversation with the always hilarious, the always charming my buddy Seth Meyers, host of Late Night with Seth Meyers for eight years now. Did you know that? Eight years he took over for Jimmy Fallon, who took over for Conan O'Brien, who took over for David Letterman. It's a pretty impressive chain of comedians and he's putting his own stamp on it, doing segments like A Closer look, which can be 10, 12, 14 minutes, rendering the day's news with jokes, not an easy lift. And a more recent ad called Corrections, something that goes up on YouTube. He shoots it every week. It's become very popular, where he just sits and basically reads through mostly hateful, some flattering, but mostly hateful comments on YouTube about him, about his show on Twitter. He keeps a running tally all week and answers the criticism point by point. If you haven't seen it, it's great. He talks about doing the show during the pandemic up in the attic of his house, which is really his kids playroom, kind of living the way we all were living, trying to work in the middle of family in a slightly claustrophobic house or apartment perhaps. But he did find time to write a new children's book. It is called I'm not scared, you're scared, which he wrote for and with his three very young children. One so young probably didn't contribute. Addie, who was born just last fall, he's got two boys. They are mentioned in the book, they are thanked in the book and he says central to the making of the book. So that explains why Seth and I are doing this interview at the children's section of the New York Public Library. Very cool to be in the New York Public Library. It's open for business. If you're in New York. It's beautiful. It's cool. All the branches are great. We found ourselves on 53rd street down in the children's section. So it was a little bit like back to school night where it was 2:40 something men sitting on smallest chairs surrounded by children's books. Always a great time with Seth Meyers right now on the Sunday sit down podcast.

[Seth Meyers]

Seth, good to see you.

It's great to see you. Thanks for having me.

It's great to see you. Outside the COVID testing line.

That's where we see each other. Yeah. And we do a little. We do the gentleman pull down, you know, after. After we test. After we test now, of course. And it's like closer. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Quick catch up. And so now here we are.

Yep.

And we're in a children's library.

Here we are.

Who would have thunk?

Yep. And we have permission. I want to stress.

Yeah, we didn't bust in. It's not as creepy as it may appear.

No.

You, my friend.

You know who I saw in the children's library? No. Kids. Geist and Meyers. I know they have kids, but they weren't with them. They were just hanging out.

No children. Yeah, they came in like after hours a little bit too.

And like the guards knew em. You get the sense it's a. I don't know. Anyway, keep it to yourself.

It was just a wave and they let us right in. We actually are here because you are a children's book author. Congratulations.

Thank you very much.

I mean, it's obvious why you've written a children's book. You have three adorable children.

I have three kids.

What made you want to sit down and enter the fray as a kid?

I loved children's book. And then there was a long gap where I didn't think about them at all. I'm not. It didn't even occur to me to pick up a children's book and then, yeah, you have them and you start reading them. And it's maybe my favorite. Of the faces my children make, my favorite is when they're listening and focused on a story when they're engaged. And not just because they're quiet for half a second, but that, you know, when my kids do that, it makes me really happy. And also, you realize there are very good children's books and then there are ones that are less good. And I thought I could aim for the top 30%. Like, somehow I don't think I'm, you know, first time out, but I did want to tell a story that had a beginning Middle and end, and hopefully would engage kids and hopefully be about something that maybe parents wanted to talk to their kids about.

As someone who's been through a lot of children's books, you most certainly are in the top 30%.

Thank you.

I'll put you squarely.

It's a little late to get that quote on the back cover, but maybe for the next one.

This is in the top quartile of books I read. Yes. We did it for the paperback. So let's talk about the story. I'm not scared. You're scared. Was this born of an experience with your kids or something else that you wanted to say?

It was written during the pandemic, but it was not in any way, shape, or form inspired by the pandemic. It was mostly just you have kids, and as a parent, you start feeling fear in a way you did not think it was capable. And you're surrounded by these human beings that are slowly finding the things they're afraid of. And you're watching both how they process their fear and how you, as a parent, try to help them through those fears. And also as a parent, how there are things you're so happy your kids are afraid of, like crawling up on a thing that's too high or, you know, they don't want to run into traffic because they are scared of what might happen. So it was kind of a book where the two different characters had different ideas about whether or not they should be afraid of things and how sometimes one is right and sometimes the other is.

So clearly you have some people to review this book in your house, your wife and your children.

Yep.

What were the early reviews of this when you gave it to them?

I started by telling them the story as a bedtime story as I was working through it even before I sat down to write it. And there were a few times where the older one said, that's too scary. And no part of this book wanted to. It's about fear. But I didn't want anyone to be too scared to read it. So we pulled back on a lot of that. And then he wanted a producer credit. And I said, we don't have those for books. That's not even a thing. And he's like, I'm pretty sure. And then his agent. And then we're just going. There's a back and forth. Wow.

Yeah, that's.

I don't. I'm not legally allowed to talk about it right now. They do. I dedicated the book to my three kids, and they. When they show it to people, they Immediately flip to that page. Cause I do think they think it's like they also worked on it.

Right.

Yeah.

Right.

But, yeah, so it was fun to read it to them. And then as I showed them pictures, I think they. And again, I should. When you write a book, when you only do the writing, it's amazing that they pair you with an artist who does all the hard work. And Rob Sayo Jr. You know, when he was sending me the art, it was both a thrill for me to see it and it was a thrill to show it to the boys.

Yeah, that's. So obviously, I was telling. My wife writes these books, too. It's such a companion piece because you can write a story, but you don't know what it's gonna look like, which is arguably as important. So how did you find the artist, and what did you think when you saw the early sketches?

My editor, Margaret, had said, when you turn in the manuscript, and that's her words, I don't want people to think that I say manuscript about my kid's book. She said, when we get your manuscript, I will give you a choice of artists that I think might pair up really well. And then she read the first draft and said, I actually think it's really just this one person. Rob is so perfect. And I looked at some of his stuff, and I agreed. And so it's been an amazing process with him.

So what's it like to actually. You had the vision. You had an idea of what it might look like to, like, see this thing. Right now it's gonna be on a shelf. It's on a shelf in this library. What's that like for you?

You know, we've got some copies out to friends who have kids, and I am almost embarrassed how happy it makes me when they tell me their kids like it. If they say the kid wants to read it twice, that is really high praise. And so it's fun. It's fun to know that it's gonna be in stores and people are gonna be able to buy it. And. And the other thing about kids, Terrible liars. You know what I mean? So when they tell you they like it, I think it's true.

No question.

Yeah.

If it's bad, they let you know.

Like, I should note, this is based on the fact that my kids have been with this book for a very long time. Over a year and a half as far as the story. And when the book came, they were really excited, and they've read it a bunch. But the other night, in front of me, and this is just speaks to how they're bad liars. The three year old said to the five year old, should we read daddy's book? And the five year old went, um, and I just said, don't be polite. Don't fake politeness with me. Like, should we read? I feel like, let's take a break.

Don't patronize me.

Yeah, I'll just. If you don't want to read it, that's fine.

In fairness, they've been through it a few times.

They've read it a bunch of times. The book holds up.

So the kids, as you say, are brutal critics. But so can parents be reading children's books? We were discussing a little bit early. We've been through a lot of them. Some are great, some aren't so great. Did you feel like there was a specific area of need in the children's book lane or was this just like an idea you had? And I'm gonna write it in my voice.

I think there's nothing missing in the world of children's book. It was more aiming for the kind of book that I liked, that there was a story that was engaging. There were parts for a parent play. If you're the kind of parent who likes to do voices. My kids don't like it when I do voices. They don't like it takes them out of it. I think so. And I also wanted it to be one of those books that hopefully, if your kids love, won't drive you crazy if you have to read it 10 plus times. Because there's that kind of book which is genuinely great for a kid. And then as a parent, you want to pull your hair out when you're reading it for the 10th time. So hopefully it avoided any of those sort of irritating pitfalls.

[Willie Geist]

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

[Al Roker]

Hey, everybody, I'm Al Roker from the Today Show. Let's kickstart your wellness journey with the all new Start Today app. Everything you need for a healthier you. All in one place. Fitness challenges for all levels, meal plans that are easy and delicious and so much more. It's built to fit your lifestyle and our experts will guide you every step of the way. Come on, let's do this.

[Narrator]

To subscribe, download. Start today from the App Store on your Apple device Now. Terms apply. Cancel anytime through Apple under profile settings.

[Savannah Guthrie]

Every morning, we choose how to begin our day. I think about the people at home. They tune in because they are curious. They care about their world and they care about each other.

[Narrator]

There's always something new to learn, whether a news event or a new recipe. And when we step through the morning together, it makes the rest of the day better.

[Savannah Guthrie]

We come here to make the most of today. We are family. We are today.

[Narrator]

Watch the Today show with Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin, weekdays at 7am on NBC. This week on Meet the Press, as President Trump focuses on his global agenda and questions grow about Elon Musk's role in reshaping the federal government. Kristen Welker sits down with National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Senator Andy Kim, only on MEET THE Press. Listen to the full episode now.

[Willie Geist]

Wherever you get your podcasts, welcome back. Now, more of my conversation with Seth Meyers.

[Seth Meyers]

So we're talking about your audience, your kids at home. You have a new member of the audience.

We do.

Congratulations.

Thank you very much.

How is it with three versus two?

It's not that bad because she's a beautiful full of light lump. She's not going anywhere.

Right.

And she's sleeping. So if you have a baby that sleeps, you realize that's kind of the least of your worries because she can't move around. So you, if you put her somewhere safe, you're sort of good to go. But we realize, I also think we have this little girl and we have these two boys and she's very watchful and very thoughtful. And I think part of it is her saying, you know what, you guys got a lot going on. You take care of them. And then maybe in time for my bat mitzvah, I'll be a holy terror. But, you know, just brace yourself for that.

It is sort of like the calm before the storm where she's mobile before.

And I think we forgot because when you have your first again, having a baby is the scariest thing that's ever happened to you. And so because she was our third, that we were like, oh, yeah, we got this. And we forget that she's going to grow into a person with her own ideas about things.

Was she born? This is an important question for you.

Yeah.

In a medical setting.

She. Well, it's an interesting question. We had a home birth, so I mean, hopefully you count that. But I was born in a hospital. She was born in a bathtub as planned.

Right. That's what I meant.

Yeah. I mean, as a comedian, it's a little disappointing that more didn't go wrong. But it did. I mean, I'm happy for her. I'm happy for the mother.

Guess there won't be A second Netflix special off this.

Yeah, no, they don't. Nobody's gonna watch a special called Planned Home Birth Skip. No, but it's great. I was. I've been saying to people, you know, I would never have gone for this if it was our first. I just would have been too scared about the idea of having a baby at home. But we had great people with us. And because of having it at home, like, it was way more miracle than medical. And she was born at a perfect time, like, you know, 11 o'clock at night. She slept between my wife and I in bed.

Oh, man.

And the boys woke up in the morning and it was better than Christmas to say, oh, my God, you guys aren't gonna believe this. You gotta go check out mom's room. And so everything about it was great. And while you're so happy with the first kid to have people checking in on you every two hours, this time you just kind of didn't need to. You could hear her, she was fine and it was great.

And you have instinct now. You know what to do, right?

My wife would ask that, she's allowed to respond to that. If I said on national television, I have really good instincts when it comes to being a parent. I never have to ask follow up questions to a spouse about how this works or where this goes.

If you say that here, she'll change the locks on you. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Not a good idea.

No, no.

And the boys are good with her. They're happy.

The boys are great. Most of her is a brother this close to her face, just looking at her, talking to her. And they are, again, they don't know what's coming either because she's not taking or ruining or breaking or wrecking anything. But they are very much in love. And my oldest did say that he really wanted a baby sister. So he much in the way he takes credit for my book, he will also tell people, yeah, this was my idea. So I probably shouldn't complain considering he's trying to take credit for a baby that my wife delivered.

In my family, we have a lot of all boy situations.

Yeah.

And there's always, I don't know if it's relief or some feeling of, okay, we've got some more female energy in the house.

Yes.

Was there some of that?

It does feel like it's just gonna add another dimension to the whole thing. And I'm fascinated too. Cause I grew up, I only had a brother and then I only had boys. And now I have this new thing and I just can't imagine it's not going to be anything other than this gigantic gift where sort of late in life you realize what it's like to grow up with a girl in the house.

You know, it's great. I have a daughter.

Yeah, you're going to love it. She's older, right?

She's 14.

Gotcha.

She just went to her first high school dance. It goes from infant to first high school dance real quick.

Yeah, well, that. Well, for us it is, because she's going to one this weekend.

Is she really?

So literally for us, was that fast. I mean, the guy's really nice. So he was very asked, we met.

Him, very polite, rented a limo, the whole thing.

Yeah. But the thing is, I don't know if you've ever tried to put a car seat in a limo. They're not built for it.

So you've got the book, you got the new baby, and you just celebrated eight years of late night. Congratulations.

Thank you.

I remember when you started 2014 and you had the stand up monologue and your suit and the whole thing and just to watch the evolution of it.

Yeah.

I feel like just watching even last night of the casual nature that allows you to sort of react to a moment. If it doesn't go well, it's almost funnier. Like there's just. You've opened part of it's the pandemic, but you've opened up and pulled back the curtain so much. People trust you to do that.

I think it's, you know, talking about how you can find the joy in mistakes or things that don't go well. I think when you started the show or when I started the show, I saw the audience every night as the thing you had to conquer or win over. And now and again, it's not just a journey I was on, but the audience as well. They got to know me, they know my tastes, they know at which level they can trust us to deliver a show. And so when things go wrong, we're all in it together. I don't feel like I've let them down or, you know, this isn't, you know, I don't feel like anyone's gonna stand up and say, I was here to see a professional operation. Like they enjoy being part of the very authentic process of making a TV show. So it's great. And I think it was all sped up to some degree, obviously by the pandemic. The show probably changed. It changed a great deal through the first six years and probably changed just as much in the last two years based on everything we went through, but having been able to speed it up and take more creative risks based on the fact that we obviously did it for so long with no audience has been, you know, worst possible reason, but a lot of it was fairly exhilarating.

You've talked about this before, but I think when you started it was like, okay, this is what a late night show is. Yeah, I come out in my suit, I do my monologue and I go sit down, I talk to a guest, and at some point you're like, this isn't what I'm good at.

Yeah. Nowhere do you realize the audience never reviews it that way. They never say, you know, I was very impressed. He walked right to the desk every time the guests came out. He shook their hand, he got them in the chair. All the things I was focusing on, nobody cares about. So it did. With that said, I think if I had started right away doing the show I'm doing today, if I'd come out in, you know, jeans and a flannel and was this sort of loose with everything, people would have thought I maybe wasn't treating it with the proper amount of respect. So that's what I mean is you have to, you know, you do kind of put on a few levels of layers of base coat before you can build a show like this. But it's been nice to have the time, have the patience to get to the place where we're doing the favorite, my favorite version of the show we've done.

And I mean, you get to flex your weekend update and your writing muscles with a closer look, which is, that's a big lift. I mean, if you watch 12, 14 minutes of like, process and synthesize what happened in the news and distill it to something funny, I don't think people fully appreciate to do that on a nightly basis. It is, it's a lot.

It's a lot. I mean, the fact that we do it on a nightly basis makes us better at it. You know, like, the reps have been so important. And because it's 12 to 14 minutes, we also, it takes up a huge chunk of the real estate in our show and we know that every day. So at least we're not running around trying to find a three minute bit for here or six minute bit for here, and knowing our energies are going to go into that at least makes you eager to get to the office, get working on it. It is a big lift, but I think it's one we really enjoy doing and we feel like we're getting Better.

At how has the transition been from the Trump years where you really could be board in every night on that, to obviously there's no shortage of news. But it's an entirely different political climate.

Well, obviously it's strange because you never hear from Trump and we thought he maybe would still do stuff and. Nope, just very quiet underground quiet retirement.

Yeah.

I hear he's working on a series of novels. Actually. They're like fantasy novels. That's terrible. So the thing, the biggest difference is at no point I feel like does news break anymore between when we tape and when the show airs. You know, we do the show and during the pandemic we actually moved up our taping time a little bit earlier out of necessity. But we're taping now at 4 in the afternoon. And now certainly sometimes world events will happen and I think our audience is aware that we have this actual logistic region. We can't cover it. But it used to be that stuff would, it would have been crazy I think during that past administration to say let's do the show at 4, because I think too many people would say okay, but just so you know, at 4:15 this is gonna happen. At 4:45 there's this tweet. At 5:15 there's a. And so it's been, I think, and it's not like we're living through easy times, but at least there's not this sort of self inflicted noise coming from leadership.

So when you come in, just so you understand your process, because it is a big, it's a lot to go through.

Yeah.

So you come in, you meet with your writers and you have to figure out, well, exactly.

So it's every morning I wake up, I know we're not supposed to talk about this. You and I come here, we have an hour conversation. Film, no kids.

Yeah, but we do.

Then I go to the office and basically there's Sal Dot Thiel who writes Closer look, head writer for that. He'll have a draft of Closer look and a lot of it is adding in jokes, adding in bits, finding things we should take out because maybe there's something else that's breaking later in the day that is coming in and they obviously don't want to go too long. And then we just have a very short conversation about the guests on the show. I don't like to over prepare for my interviews. They're not, you know, it's seven, eight, nine minutes. It's not something like this. It's not a podcast. You have a very short amount of time with interesting people. And I feel like if you can ask the right questions and be a good listener, it goes really fast. And it's better to be loose and sort of agile with it than drill down as to what you want to accomplish. And then the show, which is the most fun hour of my day, was.

There ever temptation to sort of like, do you look around at the other late night shows and they're playing games and they're doing wacky stuff and they're playing beer pong and all that stuff? At the beginning, was there some sense of like, oh, I'm like, late night, I gotta be doing that kind of stuff, or was it like, I need to be true to what I am?

I think I knew that I'd be bad at it and it would look like somebody doing the thing that maybe they were 10th or 11th at, I should say. When I'm a guest on those shows, they are joyous to do as a guest. It's so fun because you. I think any nerves you have about being a guest on a talk show go away. And I think for us, we try to make those go away by letting people know, hey, it's just gonna be a conversation. You have nothing to worry about. But, you know, I think when you have a show like this, you try very hard not to be the second or third best at something that your competition. Not that I consider. I consider them more colleagues in competition, but, you know, you try not to be a cheap copy of any of them.

Yeah, well, you found your own lane.

Hopefully people think we found our own lane.

Yeah.

As the. As the most flanneled, the currently, most flannele.

You mentioned the attic. Those shows. How hard were those shows where. Cause we'd play clips on Morning Joe, we'd come in, you'd tell a really good joke to silence because you were up in the playroom in the attic. As a performer, as a guy who's used to that affirmation from the audience, what was that like?

It was so surreal. The worst part, though, was just having to also deal with the technical specs of putting on a show. You know, I was filming myself on an iPad. I was doing my own sound, my own lights, my own makeup. I had a teleprompter app that was scrolling along the side of the iPad. It was just awful. So to some degree, the actual performing of the show, while surreal, was a relief just to say jokes out loud, even though there was no audience and there was this space, to be honest, about how crazy you were going, because, like, no Other time in my life, you had this firm belief that the audience was going through the same thing, that you were doing a show at home while your kids were downstairs, and you were losing your mind, and you didn't know when anything was going to go back to normal. And the people who you're watching you, who were watching you were going through the exact same thing. So that gave you a freedom to worry less about the instantaneous reaction, knowing that there was a grander reaction out there that you could probably predict.

I remember the first interview at home like this I did was Ben Stiller with these guys and like, no makeup, no nothing. And I watched it back. I was like, oh, I need makeup. And all the things that make a TV show what it is. This is not a good look. So we all had to learn that stuff.

Well, I did. The heartbreaking thing that happened to me is I went to the YouTube comments after a week of doing shows at home, and everybody said, this show, like, just looks terrible. Like, the way it looks is so terrible, I can't believe it's on network television. So then I got an HD camera. Cause I was using my iPad and I used the HD camera and I did one shot with the HD camera and I looked. And everybody on YouTube said, you look terrible because you just. Because again, it's like, I had, like, lights. I bought, you know, Amazon lights.

Sure.

Makeup that I was putting on while, you know, my makeup person in New York was, you know, was like, through an iPhone. And I'm like, is this good? And she's like, I don't know. It's hard to tell. He had a pretty smudgy lens.

We were all living through it.

Yeah. But we were all living through it.

Yeah. Well, the YouTube comments brings us to Corrections, which is another great recent ad.

Yeah. Corrections. Very much born of the pandemic.

Well, it's also, like, to me, it's like the next step from what we were talking about. The looseness of the show.

Yeah.

And it looks to me like just you and your element. Like if someone knew Seth Meyers.

Yes.

Is that you?

Yes. My friends have said it is so funny that you've had a show for eight years and now I watch the thing that is the purest version of you that's on TV, even though it's only on YouTube.

But that was truly. It's just for people who haven't seen it. You just sit and read through the comments. You accept some of the criticism, but mostly don't.

I'll accept if I got a Word wrong. I'll accept if I didn't know that defenestration means to throw somebody out a window. That's a very helpful thing I Learned from a YouTube commenter. I called them jackals. I think they've taken to the name it was born out of making. I think the thing that tipped me over the edge is I said Legos. And there is a brand of person in the world, a bad kind of person, who says, it's actually LEGO bricks. You don't say Legos. So these bad people sort of flooded my Twitter feed. And every time I tried to correct it, I would, without malice or plan, I would make some other mistake that they would call out, which is what you realize. Like, I think I said Lego blocks, for example. They're like, dude. And I'm like, I'm closer, though. Can we just. An effort's being made. And so there was something deeply funny to me about that. If you actually responded to every criticism you got on YouTube, that it would be this never ending. It would never end.

Right?

At no point is the Internet gonna say, you know what, we're good. And so much of corrections now has become this looping back over things I screwed up a million times. And it also. What I love so much about it is it is performative. Like they are now, the people who are engaging with correction. They're performing as people who are angry about mistakes. I'm performing as someone who is frustrated about mistakes. And the best part is I just write, I spend the whole week, like, you know, writing down things that people have told me I've gotten wrong and building what amounts to a 15 minute standup sketch. It's like a 15 minute standup act about my week's show, and we clear the audience out. So it's just the crew and it is. I really look forward to it.

The other thing you'll learn, maybe you have already, it's not Legos. If you say it's Lego is the plural, they'll get on you for that.

That was what I said. They're like, if you want to pluralize, you have to say LEGO bricks.

Which I reject out of hand.

Yeah, you just. Because ultimately, the idea of, like, I want to say, so in your world, you walk in and you say to children, clean up these Lego. Get out of town, my man.

Don't get out of town. You're a liar.

Just what are you talking about?

I loved your line of last week when you said people were saying they watch this, but they hate it. And you're like, there's a lot of other stuff on YouTube. Your line was, do you just walk into the grocery store and take the first thing you see?

Yeah. You went to a place that has more choice than anything. I mean, it's not like the old days of TV of, like, there's three channels and nothing to watch. An endless supply of things to watch on YouTube, and yet people are watching it and saying things like, this is too long. You don't get course credit for finishing it. Just stop watching it.

Oh, it's so good.

It's so much fun.

[Willie Geist]

Stick around to hear more of my conversation with Seth Meyers, right after a quick break.

[Narrator]

This week on Meet the Press, as President Trump focuses on his global agenda and questions grow about Elon Musk's role in reshaping the federal government. Kristen Welker sits down with National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Senator Andy Kim, only on Meet the Press. Listen to the full episode now.

[Seth Meyers]

Wherever you get your podcasts, welcome back.

[Willie Geist]

Now the rest of my conversation with Seth Meyers.

[Seth Meyers]

I mentioned your Netflix special, which was a huge hit. And I think to some people who, like, didn't know about, your standup chops were like, wow, yeah. Is that something you're gonna be doing more of?

You know, the only thing in the way I would say is just how when you have a show and you have three kids, it's hard to find the time to actually get something refined to the place you wanna do it again. But I did start going out last summer again, and it was super excited to get back on stage. I mean, obviously, every time I go on stage, I'm a little disappointed about how boring Addie's birth was. But, you know, I gotta move on.

Maybe you can fudge it, add some detail. I don't know.

I think. I think that's fine. That's for her to work out in therapy 30 years from now. And then my dad would just, like, make up the story.

You should let her know as soon as she can understand how disappointing her birth was.

Well, I think my son, my oldest son is now jealous of Lobby Baby. Because when we're in the park, people will say, so that's Lobby baby. And my oldest one says, I'm a hospital baby. And everybody's like, okay, nobody cares. It's like the most common kind of baby.

Do you let him say, but I was almost born in an Uber. Right?

At that point, the people have usually walked away.

They've had enough.

They're so bored by the hospital baby.

Well, congrats on everything, man. It's so good to talk to you.

This was a delight.

This is so much fun.

You want to see? You want to hear an embarrassing thing about my kids?

Yeah. Yeah.

My three year old asked if the, the bear and the rabbit were there when I took the picture. Oh, yeah.

Well, three. That's okay.

Yeah. I don't know.

Is it? I was trying to be generous.

Feels like something a 2 year old would say.

Congrats.

Thanks, man.

Good to see you.

[Willie Geist]

My big thanks again to Seth for a great conversation. For spending some time with me in the children's section of the great New York Public Library. Next time, maybe we'll bring our kids. You can find Seth's new book, I'm not scared. You're scared. In stores or online now, wherever you get your books. My big thanks as always to all of you for listening. If you want to hear more of these conversations with my guests every week, be sure to click follow so so you never miss an episode. And don't forget to tune into Sunday Today every weekend on NBC. I'm Willie Geist. We'll see you right back here next week on the Sunday Sit Down Podcast.

[Narrator]

Now, they had the final answer. Or did they?

[Willie Geist]

Nothing has more suspense than a Dateline mystery. And no one wants to wait to find out what happens next. That's why everyone needs Dateline Premium, where listening is always ad free. You get the whole story and nothing but the story.

[Narrator]

Or do you? Yes, actually, you do.

[Willie Geist]

Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Dateline premium.com.