Behind the Show | Al Madrigal on What Makes a Great Field Piece

Summary

The Daily Show: Ears Edition – Episode Summary

Title: Behind the Show | Al Madrigal on What Makes a Great Field Piece
Host/Author: iHeartPodcasts and Paramount Podcasts
Release Date: February 10, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of The Daily Show: Ears Edition, longtime editor Marc Paone sits down with former correspondent Al Madrigal to delve into the art of crafting compelling field pieces. Al shares his journey on The Daily Show, the intricacies of producing engaging segments, and his favorite moments from the show.

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Al Madrigal’s Tenure on The Daily Show

Al Madrigal recounts how he joined The Daily Show through connections made during his stand-up comedy career. Starting in season two (around 1997), Al worked his way up from doing guest sets to becoming a full-time correspondent.

[02:35] Al Madrigal: "He hit me up for a guest set. Then he hit me up for another guest set. So this is like guest sets over years."

Balancing his career with family life was a significant challenge. Al frequently flew between Los Angeles and New York, striving to maintain a presence on the show while being present for his children.

[05:14] Al Madrigal: "I was missing my family terribly and I was missing so many of the kids' functions. It was one of those regrets I probably should have just moved everybody out."

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Creating Compelling Field Pieces

Al shares the essential tips and strategies that contributed to his success in producing memorable field pieces:

1. Be Genuine and Respectful: Establish rapport with interviewees.
2. Prepare Thoroughly: Use tools like the “Colbert Notes” provided by Rob Riggle to guide interactions.
3. Stay Objective and Clear: Maintain a clear point of view without imposing personal biases.
4. Incorporate Humor: Find the funny in every situation to keep the audience engaged.
5. Flexible Storytelling: Adapt on the fly to unexpected developments during field reporting.

[13:10] Al Madrigal: "These are the tips...always be asking yourself, what's my point of view on this subject?"

Al emphasizes the importance of capturing authentic moments and ensuring that conversations remain natural and seamless, even if responses are recorded at different times.

[16:03] Al Madrigal: "Good field pieces are made when you say something, they say something, and then I say something back. That's funny."

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Favorite Field Pieces and Anecdotes

Al reminisces about some of his favorite segments, highlighting both the creative process and memorable interactions:

1. Latinos in Austin, Texas & Chicano Studies in Tucson:

   • Al discusses interviewing Texas Congresswoman Debbie Riddle about her controversial stance on establishing a second class of non-US citizens for jobs like home care.
   • In Tucson, Al exposes the banning of Mexican American studies, leading to a heated exchange with school board member Michael Hicks about racial identity and representation.

   [20:44] Al Madrigal: "I asked him, 'Am I three fifths of a person?' He goes, 'I think you're more a quarter of a person.'"

2. Chicken Boxing in Louisiana:

   • Al visits an arena where chickens are trained for boxing, presenting a satirical take on animal cruelty and legislative absurdities.

   [23:03] Al Madrigal: "What you really need to know...always live in the edit."

3. Cinco de Mayo and Political Rallies:

   • Reporting from a politically charged Cinco de Mayo celebration, Al navigates the convergence of cultural festivities and political activism, leading to humorous misunderstandings and cultural observations.

   [25:23] Al Madrigal: "My Spanish is no bueno."

4. Ambassador Bridge and Manufacturing Insights:

   • Al investigates the construction of a bridge owned entirely by an individual and the implications for local economies and international relations.

   [35:03] Al Madrigal: "They say a lot of things, sometimes in French, and they buy our milk at Sam's because Canadian milk is very expensive."

5. Tank Manufacturing in Ohio:

   • Highlighting the redundancy in military manufacturing, Al humorously portrays himself as a used tank salesman, critiquing government spending and military priorities.

   [42:14] Al Madrigal: "I crushed cars driving a tank. This job was so amazing."

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Insights into the Production Process

Al provides an insider’s look into the production dynamics of The Daily Show, emphasizing teamwork, creativity, and adaptability. He discusses the challenges of coordinating with producers, correspondents, and the editing team to ensure each segment resonates with the audience.

[39:20] Marc Paone: "We’re like movie magic."
[39:25] Al Madrigal: "Do you really want to tell me what you did? You can't shoot on any bridge."

Al shares anecdotes about creative problem-solving, such as reenacting scenes at non-traditional locations and using clever editing techniques to simulate live interactions.

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Reflections on Work-Life Balance

A recurring theme in the conversation is the struggle to balance a demanding career in television with personal life. Al expresses regret over missing significant moments with his children due to the rigorous travel schedule.

[08:34] Al Madrigal: "I should have been here for every single morning meeting...I should have lived a block away."

Despite these challenges, Al cherishes his time on the show and appreciates the professional growth and friendships forged during his tenure.

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Conclusion and Future Endeavors

As the interview wraps up, Al updates listeners on his current projects and future plans. He mentions his role on George Lopez’s sitcom and his involvement in writing and developing TV shows for CBS. Additionally, Al invites fans to attend his stand-up comedy shows across various cities.

[43:10] Al Madrigal: "I'm on George Lopez's sitcom, which is the best gag ever. And I also write, so I have a CBS overall deal. Please come out and see me just stand up. It'll be fun."

Marc Paone expresses his appreciation for Al’s contributions and encourages him to stay connected with the Daily Show community.

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Key Takeaways

• Authenticity and Humor: Essential elements in creating engaging and memorable field pieces.
• Preparation and Adaptability: Importance of thorough preparation coupled with the ability to pivot during live reporting.
• Work-Life Balance: Highlighting the personal sacrifices often made in high-pressure careers.
• Creative Problem-Solving: Innovative approaches to overcome production challenges and deliver impactful stories.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Al Madrigal on Joining the Show:
  “He hit me up for a guest set... It was like guest sets over years.” – [02:35]

• On Missing Family:
  “I was missing my family terribly... It was one of those regrets I probably should have just moved everybody out.” – [05:14]

• Field Piece Tips:
  “What's my point of view on this subject?” – [13:10]

• On Authentic Conversations:
  “Good field pieces are made when you say something, they say something, and then I say something back. That's funny.” – [16:03]

• On Language Barriers:
  “I asked him, 'Am I three fifths of a person?' He goes, 'I think you're more a quarter of a person.'” – [20:44]

• Reflections on Production Challenges:
  “Do you really want to tell me what you did? You can't shoot on any bridge.” – [39:25]

• Future Projects Invitation:
  “Please come out and see me just stand up. It'll be fun.” – [43:10]

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This episode offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the making of The Daily Show’s field pieces, enriched by Al Madrigal’s firsthand experiences and personal anecdotes. Listeners gain valuable insights into the blend of humor, research, and human connection that defines the show’s impactful journalism.

Transcript

[Al Madrigal]

You're listening to Comedy Central.

[Marc Paone]

Hey, everybody. This is Marc Paone, longtime editor at the Daily show, once again back with a former Daily show correspondent. I was, I should say, one of your favorites. One of my favorites. And senior Latino correspondent.

[Al Madrigal]

That's right.

[Marc Paone]

Comedian, actor, entrepreneur.

[Al Madrigal]

Yes.

[Marc Paone]

Renaissance man.

[Al Madrigal]

Yes.

[Marc Paone]

Al Madrigal.

[Al Madrigal]

How are you? When you say long time, exactly how long have you been here? Because I know you keep track.

[Marc Paone]

I started season two.

[Al Madrigal]

That's insane.

[Marc Paone]

And this is season seven. 97 was my first day because for.

[Al Madrigal]

A while, I think you would call as a joke, all jokes, we call John the new guy. And he had been here like 16 years. And we became, I mean, as you do in the field department, which is where I did a lot of work when I was here, because I was here from the years of 2011, I believe. I started full time at the beginning of 2012. Shared an office with Jessica Williams, who's just crushing it. I'm so happy for her. It's kind of cool to see everybody go on and do things. But I was here from 2012 to 2000, end of 2013, full time. And then another, like half year or half year, like on and off part time until John left. And then I dribbled into.

[Marc Paone]

Dribbled a little bit into.

[Al Madrigal]

Trevor.

[Marc Paone]

Trevor.

[Al Madrigal]

Yeah, just drib. Just dribbling. Dribbling.

[Marc Paone]

So how did you get the gig? I don't remember.

[Al Madrigal]

I got the gig because. And this is a be nice to everyone you meet thing. I got the gig because a guy hit me up to do a guest set on a show in Miami at the Coconut Grove Improv, which was an insane comedy club. Go around the country from 2005, 2004 till 2010. I would. That's how I made a living. Primarily. I was acting in some TV shows, but I would do stand up on the road and people hit you up for guest sets. The guy that hit me up was Adam Lowett, a comedian from Florida who's going to be there at the time, who was also a producer at the Daily Show. He went on to be an executive producer, has done many incredible things.

[Marc Paone]

He's in LA now, in LA with.

[Al Madrigal]

Two wonderful children and his wife. And we're still close and stay in touch. But he hit me up for a guest set. Then he hit me up for when I was in New York for another guest set. Then he hit me up for another guest set. So this is like guest sets over years. And then finally when we were at Caroline's in New York, he said, you know, I Think it was my act was sort of skewing this way. And he goes, you'd make a great Latino correspondent. He goes, I know just how to pitch it. So we waited for a dark week, which the show has weeks on and weeks off. It's very difficult to do a daily show like they do. It's sort of, you know, it's amazing that John did it as long as he did. And we're going to do it the Thursday of a dark week when he's in. So.

[Marc Paone]

Working dark week.

[Al Madrigal]

Yeah, a working dark week. So we have Hallie Haglin, who is a newish writer at the time. She's gone on to be EP of things and rose to the ranks here. And some very, very funny. So Hallie Lowett and I, we write this piece on Debbie Riddle, who's a congresswoman from Texas who wanted. And it's amazing how this is in 2011 and nothing has changed. She wanted to establish a group of non US citizens, like a second class of citizen that could work as home care workers. So nannies, gardeners, chefs and you know, anyone else that you'd want some sort of Latino taking care of your things so that they could work without employment laws.

[Marc Paone]

Right.

[Al Madrigal]

So you wouldn't have to pay them minimum wages or anything like that. And then this was in Texas. So we did that piece that got changed. So we rewrote it and I auditioned and it went well. John took me over here where I was sort of waiting in one of these little side guest rooms and said, congratulations and get ready for a lifestyle of women and drugs. I'll never forget that John Oliver, he always used to give you a great impression of people at Daily show convention. Mr. Oliver, the piece that you did on Australian gun reform, that's no women, no drugs. And so I came in full time. I had a 9 year old and 6 year old. I think when I got the gig. It's crazy.

[Marc Paone]

And you were. And they're in Los Angeles.

[Al Madrigal]

And they're in Los Angeles, so you're not moving them. I flew back and forth. My 9 year old or whatever he is at the time said. I said, we got a great job and I got a great job and it's going to be a good money for the family, good opportunity. I said, opportunity and he didn't get it. And then I said, good money and can lead to other things. It's a great job. And I said, we might need to move to New York. And he'd just gotten into a new school and made friends and he was at that age where friendships really started to form and he really did look at me and he goes, what if you went? And we stayed here? And that's what happened for two and a half years is I flew back and forth and back and forth and then I'd go do field pieces. In 2012 I, I think I tied a record for John Oliver Field Pieces and mine was in a non like I guess I, because that was a convention year but I tied a record for field Pieces. I was out on the road constantly. So when I wasn't flying home, I was flying for the show and I mean a lot of miles men and John Hodgman and Lohan and I would go out and do standup. I've got to text John Hodgman, he's one of my favorite people. So I would go on the road with Hodgman and just had the best time. But I was missing my family terribly and I was missing so many of the kids functions and you know, it's such an important time in their life. And I was, you know, if ever had to go two or three weeks without seeing them, I was just absolutely devastated. And I was sleeping under my desk because I would take red eyes, which is the worst, the absolute worst is you'd never want to take a red eye ever if you can avoid it at all costs. It sets me back for like two days after that. So I, I felt like during my time here I was never really operating at 100% and I was, you know, it's like one of those regrets thing. I, I, I probably should have just moved everybody out. I also did something really stupid and I moved to Dumbo in Brooklyn.

[Marc Paone]

Any kind of commuting walk to the.

[Al Madrigal]

Show that would have been the smartest thing I have my buddy I grew up with who had a place and that seemed to make sense to me. But I never should have committed to anything. I should have lived a blocked away. I should have been here for every single morning meeting. Like the dad and me talking to my son who's now 22 living in San Francisco. It's like first guy there, last guy to leave. Like I didn't know any of that. And here I am like a 40 year old man. And I know my work ethic is amazing and I do a lot of things but I should have been here very first thing. And I also was given bad advice from the existing correspondence because like Monvi rolled in at 1pm every day. Jones and like I was, we were getting advice from people that had just Been here, barely were in the building.

[Marc Paone]

Right.

[Al Madrigal]

And I should have just been at that morning me, I had nothing else going on. I didn't have a kid. I was trying to get ready for school or anything like that. There was no excuse for me not to be here. Showered with a pen in my hand, ready to go.

[Marc Paone]

Right.

[Al Madrigal]

And that's what I would have done over again. It would be a different situation. But again, I just, I love, love, loved my time here, even considering. But at some point it came to an end because a lot of celebrities and famous people come to this show. And I remember Rory, who was the ep, and John, you know, right hand person at the time. And Albanese, he pawned off Jason Katums and Kathy Katums on me and Jason Cadence from Friday Night Lights. And we were maybe with you editing a piece. The correspondent goes and sits in the edit. And I was showing them how we did a piece. I believe it was the Bridge to Nowhere, the Canadian bridge thing that I did.

[Marc Paone]

I was gonna bring that piece up. The Ambassador Bridge. Great, great piece, Great piece.

[Al Madrigal]

And it really was fun.

[Marc Paone]

That was really fun to cut too.

[Al Madrigal]

Yeah. So we are doing that and he comes in. I meet Jason Katums. He has a TV show called about a boy and cast me in it. I'm pretty confident that NBC, like, he just insisted that I was in it. I auditioned four times. Like, are you sure?

[Marc Paone]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Al Madrigal]

The guy just gave me this great gig. So then I got to. I went to John. I'm like, who had kids? I think has kids exactly my children's age. And I went to him.

[Marc Paone]

His kids are like 22, 19, something like that.

[Al Madrigal]

22 and 19.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Al Madrigal]

So I went to John. I go, I miss my children terribly and I need to go. And I really wasn't here for very, very long. You know, I was always telling.

[Marc Paone]

Right. And then they would other correspondence you sporadically after that.

[Al Madrigal]

But I was always telling new correspondents when they came in because I had a little bit of crossover with Roy and with Ronnie and Desi and definitely Klepper and Hassan. I would always tell him, like, stay on the show for 100 plus episodes. That's where you start to really get recognized. And I just couldn't, I couldn't. I was. I was desperate to hang out with my wife and kids. I'm not good on the road. I love standup. That's why I got in this. I just don't love flights with connections. I don't love hotel soaps. That's what I bonded With Jon Stewart over. Yeah, I was.

[Marc Paone]

I think John had that in his background.

[Al Madrigal]

I think foreign. Let's think about it. Am I the only. I know there's been other stand up comics, but Wyatt was more alternative. John Oliver was a little bit more skewed, more alternative. I'm like the only club comic other than John Stewart. Ronnie doesn't count. Roy. Roy Wood Jr.

[Marc Paone]

Wait, why doesn't Ronnie count the Australian?

[Al Madrigal]

Who knows what's going on over there?

[Marc Paone]

Roy. Yeah, Roy. Roy definitely has been on the road.

[Al Madrigal]

Oh my gosh. Roy. Roy is. He's one of the best people. And yeah, Roy. Ronnie's, you know, actually major comic with three Netflix specials. I'm just talking about like, in terms of like American clubs coming up. I think it's just me, Roy and John.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah. And a lot of the others did like, came from like improv sketch and improv acting.

[Al Madrigal]

I still have. Rob Riggle gave me his Colbert Notes to come in.

[Marc Paone]

Right? The Colbert Note. The famous Colbert Notes.

[Al Madrigal]

Well, I would pass. I pass those on then to every single person. I think I was just texting.

[Marc Paone]

Was it 14? 14. How many?

[Al Madrigal]

It was like I just texted it to these guys. I'll read them to you right now. These are. So I was on a TV show with Rob Riggle called Gary Unmarried. He played Gary J. Moore's brother. I've been on so many sitcoms, you have no idea. That's the other thing. Let's see. Ronnie and Costa. Okay, this is the list. So this is from Rob Riggle. This is a email.

[Marc Paone]

This is the original Colbert Notes.

[Al Madrigal]

Original Colbert notes that I. He gave to Riggle. I asked Riggle for. He gave them to me. And I've since passed them to Ronnie Roy Klepper. And then they've gone and passed.

[Marc Paone]

I know Desi has them.

[Al Madrigal]

Amazing.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah.

[Al Madrigal]

And they still hold up. So I've. Hey, Al. So I found Cold Bears notes for me on things to think about when doing a field piece. Number one, do we want to be saying this to everybody? Burn tape. Tape is cheap. Keep talking and keep them talking. Two, break up questions. Don't let them see where you're going. Three, play the silence. Four, match energy with subject. Five, discover things in the moment. Be aware of when those discoveries happen. Happen. Six, always be asking yourself, what's my point of view on this subject? Seven, you have to think it's funny. Find a way to make that happen. Eight, get clear on three to five things you want your subject to say. And don't let them leave until you get Them. That's very important. 9. Understand the real point. What's behind all of this? What are you saying? And that was like when I was here on the show, I think there was a shift. It's like we didn't want to just be making fun of things. It's easy just to shoot down. You want to also post solutions. Yeah. And then 10 characters. Key. Understand your point of view on the issue and you will be able to react spontaneously in the moment. That's it, bro. These were the tips.

[Marc Paone]

And the most important one. Told you was leave your soul at home.

[Al Madrigal]

Oh, yeah. Gave me when I started and they helped. Hope they help you. All the best, Riggles. Yep. So that's it. And then I learned a couple other ones. I remember Riggle told me, whatever you do, don't let Stu Miller drive. These guys don't have cars. We go out there and they get a rental car and they're in Manhattan. I'm like, what are you doing? This is like an eight point turn. Just get out of the car.

[Marc Paone]

That's hilarious.

[Al Madrigal]

None of them know how to drive. And then if they're in Manhattan without a vehicle, it's crazy. So it's just like, give me the keys, I'll drive.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah.

[Al Madrigal]

I'm not gonna do this.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah.

[Al Madrigal]

And then what was the other one that was just hilarious? It was check your soul at the door. Oh, John Oliver grabbed me. This is day one. He goes, I'm gonna tell you the only thing you really need to know. He goes, always live in the edit.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah.

[Al Madrigal]

So you could be sitting there if you like. If you think of something witty. That was from 15 minutes ago.

[Marc Paone]

Just do it.

[Al Madrigal]

Just do it. And we can put it in.

[Marc Paone]

Right?

[Al Madrigal]

So, you know, good field pieces are made. When I say something, they say something and then I say something back. That's funny.

[Marc Paone]

Right.

[Al Madrigal]

And so there has to be this exchange and back and forth. So you're always searching to cobble together as many of those moments as you possibly can.

[Marc Paone]

That's what I'm for. That's what I do.

[Al Madrigal]

You're the cobbler. Yeah.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah. I mean, you'll, you'll. I mean, I've always said that to, to correspondents, it's like, just remember, you can start over. You can do any. You know, it's all. Just think about that. It's. It's not happening live. It's not happening live. You know, and if you're. But you. You feel like it's happening live. But remember that, you know, because I can, you know, we don't we never. We never misrepresent people. But no, we will take, you know, I'll take like a stronger yes, you know, to a question you ask. I might, you know what I mean? Like that sort of thing. I might.

[Al Madrigal]

It really isn't a gotcha thing. You're not asking people to say anything they haven't said. Yes, they've already said it.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah, they've already said it. And then we're not misrepresenting them at all. But I like to create what seems like a seamless conversation in a piece, even though the sentences might be coming like 10 minutes apart.

[Al Madrigal]

Sitting down with everybody. I sat down with, I always was a nice guy. I know some correspondents had different strategies when approaching a subject. Like Jones. Barely talk to him.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah, he would not engage until the camera stopped.

[Al Madrigal]

I go, hey, how are you? I'm Al. This is gonna be a piece of cake now. I'm funny. You're not funny. I go, so I just needed to keep it straight. So if you're going to make a joke, I'm just gonna have to stop and have to redo it because I'm not going to use it. So I just would love you to speak in nice concise chunks and just say what you're going to say. Straight answers. If I tell you to tighten something up, I'll need you to tighten it up. So you'll see me do things. Do things for three or four times. I'm going to have you do things three or four times. Then the other thing is, if I ask you a question, you need to respond with the question in the answer. So I asked you what my favorite color is. You say, my favorite color is blue.

[Marc Paone]

Okay, so you have to use it later.

[Al Madrigal]

Yes, I have to use it later. Without me in it. And yeah, then I would go on and there was a couple more, and then at the end of a piece, we'd always go, okay, just a couple wild lines. Can you say these for me? Right, maybe, yeah.

[C]

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[Marc Paone]

So let's talk about your field work.

[Al Madrigal]

Oh, shit, yeah.

[Marc Paone]

What was your favorite? The favorite. Your favorite piece of all that you've done, you did.

[Al Madrigal]

I think the. Just because of how it magically came together. When you do a field piece, you go and you have a joke session. You try to anticipate what people are gonna do. I did a lot of fun. I mean, top five, definitely Latinos in Austin, Texas. All these, by the way, still hold up where my second one was Tucson. Michael Hicks, who passed away.

[Marc Paone]

That Tucson was the book band.

[Al Madrigal]

That was Chicano studies band.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah, yeah, that was a great one.

[Al Madrigal]

That got national news. And that was my second piece.

[D]

Across the country, public education is failing. But in Arizona, lawmakers have found the solution to the biggest problem facing their.

[Marc Paone]

Arizona's governor, Jan Brewer just approved a.

[Al Madrigal]

Bill banning ethnic studies classes in public schools.

[D]

And using this new law, the Tucson school board banned the K12 Mexican American studies program. School board member Michael Hicks.

[E]

My concern was a lot of the radical ideas that they were teaching in these classes, telling these kids that this is their land. The whites took it over. And the only way to get out from beneath the gringo, which is the white man, is by bloodshed.

[D]

When you sat in on these classes, what types?

[E]

I chose not to go to any of their classes. Why even go? Why even go? I based my thoughts on hearsay from others, so I based it off of those.

[Marc Paone]

So the school board in Tucson banned Mexican Americano studies. Right. And you spoke to a councilman there.

[Al Madrigal]

I spoke to the school board member named Michael Hicks. And he said, what was it? He.

[Marc Paone]

Well, the best part about was you said, you asked him, what about African Americans?

[Al Madrigal]

Yeah, yeah.

[Marc Paone]

And he said, yeah, that's fine. And you said, well, I'm a black kid. Teach me about.

[Al Madrigal]

Yeah, teach me about slavery.

[Marc Paone]

And he just started digging this.

[Al Madrigal]

Yeah, he just dug himself in such a major hole. He was a perfect person because.

[Marc Paone]

And you. I remember you asking him, am I three fifths of a person? He goes, I think you're more a quarter of a person.

[D]

Yeah, I'm a black kid. Try to teach me about slavery without.

[Al Madrigal]

Me feeling resentment towards white people.

[E]

How am I going to teach you about slavery? Slavery was.

[D]

How did I end up here?

[E]

Slavery was a. I gotta figure out how. Okay, the white man did bring over the African.

[D]

And what kind of jobs did we do?

[E]

The jobs that you guys did was basically slavery jobs.

[D]

So after we were freed, we got to vote.

[E]

Yes, you got. Well, you didn't get to vote until later.

[Al Madrigal]

And we were equal.

[E]

Almost equal.

[Al Madrigal]

What we were like sort of a half or three fifths.

[E]

My personal perception of it, I Would say, you're probably a quarter.

[Al Madrigal]

It was insane. And that was my.

[Marc Paone]

And that got a lot of attention.

[Al Madrigal]

That was nasty.

[Marc Paone]

You got in trouble for it, if I remember.

[Al Madrigal]

You got in deep shit.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah. Do you remember chicken boxing?

[Al Madrigal]

Oh, yeah. Chicken boxing was ridiculous.

[D]

In 2008, Louisiana came to its senses and outlawed the barbaric sport of cockfighting. And the chickens of that state finally had some peace. State senator Elbert Guillory.

[F]

We've outlawed cockfighting. Those blood sports are no longer attractive in Louisiana. I'm not a fan of cockfighting, but I'd love to go and watch some chicken boxing.

[Al Madrigal]

I'm gonna stop you right there. You just said chicken boxing.

[F]

Yes. Chicken boxing in Louisiana is still not legal, but we're fighting to make it legal.

[Al Madrigal]

You meant to say chicken boxing.

[F]

I meant to say chicken boxing. Human beings put gloves on and box. Chickens can put gloves on and box.

[Al Madrigal]

Chicken boxing was in Appaloosa with Berger and they were trying to ban. They did ban cockfighting. And now guys were trying to introduce chicken boxing. And they made little gloves. And I went out to the park here.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah. And they had an arena. The guy took you.

[Al Madrigal]

I took to arena. And I go to this guy, like.

[Marc Paone]

A really nice little like mini Madison Square Garden. It was like amazing. That are really.

[Al Madrigal]

That was crazy. And I look, I was out with these guys on. Clearly they were training roosters to do the cockfighting. And they put. It's horrible. They put razor blades on their claws and they're vicious. They're like training pit bulls or anything like that. And I go, hey, man, to the side. I go, if this was real, which one of these roosters would win? And he goes, if it was real, like it is real. Like an idiot. And then me and Burger were on traffic on our way to the cockfighting ring. And this dude looks at me and I'm a Latino in a suit in a rental car and looks at me, looks at me in the eyes and starts running at the car and I go, burger, Burger, go, go, go. Like that. There's been a couple moments where I've been like, we're gonna die right now.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah. I was gonna ask you about that.

[Al Madrigal]

In times you felt Richmond, Virginia, at Barack Obama announcing he was gonna run again? I think on Cinco de Mayo.

[Marc Paone]

You mean for the second time?

[Al Madrigal]

Yeah, for the second time.

[Marc Paone]

Oh, the Cinco de Mayo piece. I remember that one.

[Al Madrigal]

I almost got beat up cuz everyone was drunk.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah.

[D]

Do you think you can keep this enthusiasm up until November?

[Al Madrigal]

I think I can, cuz I'll drink Corona like it's water.

[F]

Drink B like it's water.

[Al Madrigal]

Drink vodka like it's water. Tequila like it's water.

[D]

Can you keep it up until November? Oh, absolutely.

[Al Madrigal]

Are you kidding me? I come here all the time. I'm fired up.

[D]

Are you pumped up because you think Barack Obama will finally be able to not worry about this combative Congress and he can actually be progressive in his theoretical second term.

[Al Madrigal]

I smell weed. Those misdirect.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah, the misdirect where you go in, you set it up. You think it's. You've set it up to our audience as like, I'm going to this young people's Obama rally that you think it is. And it's a Cinco de Mayo party.

[Al Madrigal]

And it turns out these Obama supporters love Latinos. Yeah. And you're like. And just as much as they love drinking again.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah, we used to do that with the St. Patrick's Day parade, like on a yearly basis, we'd figure out. Or like a suit, like when the Giants won the super bowl, we'd go down there and think, you know, we'd think it was like. We'd act like it was for something else and talk to the people.

[Al Madrigal]

There was a time that I went out with Stu Miller to Phoenix and the guy we lined up wouldn't speak to us.

[Marc Paone]

Bailed at the last second.

[Al Madrigal]

Bailed at the very last second.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah. That's how we're going to.

[Al Madrigal]

He's not coming. And then we just had to improvise and we joined a rally. And I remember riffing, John, my Spanish is a little rusty, but what I think he said was, you know, like.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I cut that one. I cut that one. I remember that. The guy says his whole speaking Spanish and then you just.

[Al Madrigal]

Guy speaks, he says heartfelt in Spanish to the camera.

[Marc Paone]

It's a political rally.

[Al Madrigal]

We're hard working people. And we just. And this is SB 1070, right? It was like. Yeah. And he said, we're hard working people. We really, you know, don't deserve to be villainized, you know, and we don't have to.

[Marc Paone]

We don't have the subtitles. So if you don't speak Spanish, you don't know what he's saying.

[Al Madrigal]

Yeah. And then I go, john, my Spanish is a little rusty. But I think what he just said was his. About his girlfriend.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah, like that he would.

[Al Madrigal]

He was like, he's sorry, baby.

[Marc Paone]

And the guy's just looking at you. It was so good. Well, that's another. That's another Little. A little side note for the listeners. You don't speak Spanish.

[Al Madrigal]

My Spanish is no bueno.

[Marc Paone]

Because I remember like early on when you were at the show, at some point we're like, oh, we can do this piece and we can do it in Spanish. Because over the years we've done a couple of pieces where it was entirely in Spanish. We did one with the Spanish. I went to Mexico City and we did one way back when with Mo Rocca, where they did. The entire show was. The entire piece was in Spanish because they went somewhere where everybody spoke Spanish.

[Al Madrigal]

Oh, yeah, I've been places.

[Marc Paone]

There was a point with you. I remember at some point when they were like, oh, yeah, we can. This will be great. We can actually. We could do the piece in Spanish. And then you're like, I don't speak Spanish. Wait, what?

[Al Madrigal]

Second generation, half Mexican from San Francisco. And I think, you know, when you look back at all the pieces, which was a lot, a lot of them unfortunately still hold up. I think I did a good job of representing the fact that no one can represent all Latinos, because I've said that multiple times. So going on and saying there's no one repping all Latinos. There's it. That person doesn't exist because we can't agree on anything. And that is very true to this day. So, you know, they make fun of you if you don't speak Spanish, but then when you don't do speak Spanish and you don't pronounce things properly, then you're really fucked. There's no winning. So I think I was very clear about that from day one. But I remember doing a press for the movie Night School with Kevin Hart and Tiffany Adish. And it was me, Fat Joe and Kevin Hart doing Miami press.

[Marc Paone]

And they're all expecting you to speak.

[Al Madrigal]

Kevin Hart looks at me and he goes, wait a second, you don't speak Spanish? He goes, it's the only reason you're here. That's the only reason. He started cracking up. He thought it was the funniest thing. He's like, I speak more Spanish than you do. I'm like, well, do you think I'm turn down a free trip to Miami to hang out with Fat Joe and Kevin Hart? No, I'll be here.

[Marc Paone]

Another piece. That was a really, really fun piece and really like, like a feel good piece in a lot of ways.

[Al Madrigal]

They let me do some very silly weird shit.

[Marc Paone]

But this was actually a real. It was a really solid piece. Last Gay Standing, it was called Alabama and Mississippi.

[D]

So who's it gonna be, Cletus or Betis? It was time to see which one of these backwoods, inbred homophobe states will swim the longest against the tide of history. First, let's meet some locals to see whose state has the intolerance edge. In this corner from the state that still has segregated sororities, Alabama lawyer Doug Jones.

[F]

With regard to same sex marriage, Alabama will be the last state to ratify, if we ever ratify.

[D]

And in the other corner from the state with a confederate flag inside their own state flag, Mississippi columnist Slim Smith.

[Al Madrigal]

Mississippi will be last, and we'll get there kicking and screaming all the way. I wish it weren't true, but it is.

[Marc Paone]

So the whole premise of the piece is, you know, gay. All these states are legalizing gay marriage. Who will be the last?

[Al Madrigal]

Who will be the last? What are the last five states? And he goes, I think it's going to be the deep State, the Deep south and the Deep State. I think it's going to be the deep. You'll cut that out. I think it's gonna be the deep South.

[Marc Paone]

So you go. And it was hilarious because you were like. Cause they both were defending their state to be the last one. They both.

[Al Madrigal]

I think it'll be because we got lots of.

[Marc Paone]

The irony was really because they were both like, yeah, we'll be the last one. I mean, the newspaper guy is like, come on, we still have, like, we still have segregation laws on the books. And then you ask him about sodomy and he goes, he goes, well, it's a. I think he said that Doug Jones says it's a misdemeanor. And you cut to the other guy and goes, oh, sodomy's a felony.

[Al Madrigal]

Yes, that's right.

[Marc Paone]

And they're all trying to outdo how shitty their state is.

[Al Madrigal]

This is hilarious. And then we were in Birmingham and we were in Jackson. And that was the thing is that had we been in this deep, I'm cut you off. But we were in those two cities and that affected the piece and we had no idea.

[Marc Paone]

But keep going, right, because then you went out to Waffle Houses.

[D]

All right, that's it. We'll settle this the old fashioned way in a Waffle House, y'all.

[G]

I want everybody to know we met two years ago at a Waffle House. And I just want to say, would you, Michael, would you marry me? This is our anniversary. And I just wanted to know you're not. If you would do this, because this is very special to me.

[Al Madrigal]

Yes.

[D]

Was that clapping okay, Mississippi, last chance to bring some authentic anti gay redneck venom.

[G]

I want to say in front of everybody, I want to ask you sincerely, would you marry me?

[Al Madrigal]

Yes.

[Marc Paone]

Yes.

[Al Madrigal]

Yes. Yeah.

[D]

Seriously, these are the two gayest states in the union.

[Marc Paone]

No. But the point of the whole thing was everywhere they went, nobody gave a shit.

[Al Madrigal]

Everywhere they went, no one cared at all. And actually, in.

[Marc Paone]

In the Waffle House, they applauded when he proposed.

[Al Madrigal]

Applauded. And a little boy said, you can't do that here. But not yet. But you can do it here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. And he rattled off all the states where you could get legally married as a gay couple.

[Marc Paone]

Oh, I didn't know that.

[Al Madrigal]

And then they would applaud. And then I had a very interesting conversation with a guy next to me who I was waiting in the Waffle House because I'm. And this was when Obamacare was coming out. But he told me his wife was a waitress. He was waiting for her to get off her shift, and she made $2.67 per hour. And then they let her keep her tips. And then he was anti Obamacare, but they didn't have health care at the Waffle House. I'm like, but you see how this can help you. So I just remember that. And I remember.

[Marc Paone]

But the nice thing about the piece was it kind of. It just reminded you, Pete. It reminds you of, like, a lot of these issues. People don't care. It's all the people in power and in the government that make big issues out of these things, that nobody gives a shit about it.

[Al Madrigal]

And that's why I just really wish we could have some sort of secure nationwide voting on major issues like that, like referendums. Let's talk about guns. Like, all right, who wants rifles to exist for hunting? And then let's get rid of automatic weapons. Do we need those? We don't.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah. Even gun owners want to get rid of that stuff.

[Al Madrigal]

It's like 80%.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah. It's not.

[H]

GEICO makes it easy to get affordable renters insurance in as little as 90 seconds. And then you'll start to wonder why everything else isn't so fast. Like, why does it take so long to do the dishes? A meal that's gone in three requires 45 minutes worth of dishes. Doesn't make sense. But it does make sense to get renters insurance through geico. That way that pile of dirty dishes and the other things you love are covered. Get more with geico.

[Marc Paone]

I guess we can talk a little bit more about the bridge piece that's right.

[D]

People of Michigan are gonna have to pay for the entire. Wait, what did he just say?

[Al Madrigal]

Michigan will pay nothing for this bridge.

[D]

Define nothing.

[Al Madrigal]

Zero. Zero dollars, zero outlay, zero risk, zero liability. Define zero. No cost to Michigan at all. Absolutely nothing to find nothing again.

[D]

But nothing probably means something, especially when you consider how many times America has been burned by slick talking Canadians.

[Marc Paone]

Look, when politicians tell you that this ain't gonna cost you nothing, grab your wallet, grab your money and run.

[Al Madrigal]

Break wide.

[Marc Paone]

Dude.

[Al Madrigal]

The Canadians are saying they're gonna pay for this bridge, but I don't trust them. And they say a lot of things, sometimes in French, and they buy our milk at Sam's because Canadian milk is very expensive. True story. What does that have to do with this? Nothing.

[D]

Canada is offering a Trojan horse.

[Al Madrigal]

Oh, you think they're gonna hide a.

[D]

Bunch of Canadians in there and they're just gonna jump out and attack us.

[Al Madrigal]

Once the bridge is complete?

[D]

No, no, it's not going to be Canadians.

[Al Madrigal]

It's going to be Chinaman.

[D]

Yeah, I just want Americans on that bridge. I don't want a Trojan horse delivering China steel and Chinamen.

[Al Madrigal]

Just FYI, I don't think anybody's using Chinaman anymore. That was one of the best.

[Marc Paone]

That was. That was a great piece. And the people that you talked to were so funny.

[Al Madrigal]

I had a guy.

[Marc Paone]

I just remember that. I remember the Tea Party guy. No, the ex Black Panther guy.

[Al Madrigal]

Pulled out who. In my town.

[Marc Paone]

I run this town and he run that town. And then when you tell him, when you go back to all of them to tell him that the bridge is owned.

[Al Madrigal]

I don't want to tell you how to run your Black Panther business, but.

[Marc Paone]

The bridge is owned by an individual, like a family that owns the bridge. And this is why.

[D]

Matty Maroon.

[Marc Paone]

And he goes, Yeah, I know that. And he falls on and he goes. He goes all about these politicians. And I just. I'll never forget this image. He pulls out this ginormous wad and.

[Al Madrigal]

I just go like this. What?

[Marc Paone]

This ginormous wad that's like. It must be 4 inches thick of cash. And he waves it around going, it's all about the cash. That guy's got like thousands of dollars in cash.

[Al Madrigal]

He was so big.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah, he was a giant.

[Al Madrigal]

And I go.

[Marc Paone]

And he's like, I run this town. Yeah, I know that guy owns the bridge. So what?

[Al Madrigal]

I don't want to. They had paid them off course. We were in a.

[Marc Paone]

And the woman. Do you remember the housewife?

[Al Madrigal]

Yeah. She's like, and the milk prices.

[Marc Paone]

And they come over here, you know. You know, they come over here to buy their milk. You know that, right?

[Al Madrigal]

What does that have to do with any of this? I don't know, but. And then there's the Chinese. The guy, the tea partier guy, who goes. He said, chinaman. And I go, hey, just FYI, I don't think they're calling up China anymore. And I go. And they. I think this got cut out. I go, they prefer oriental.

[Marc Paone]

Yes, that did get cut out. Because I remember that was. That's a joke that we all wanted to keep, but they cut it out as we went alone. They were like, yeah, that's a little too much. It was funny.

[Al Madrigal]

And then we got to do that stylized Clint Eastwood Chrysler 300 piece with the steam. I drove around in GoPros with GoPros attached to the car.

[Marc Paone]

Then we did the bridge section, the Eminem thing. The Eminem, Yeah. If I remember, you found a toll booth we couldn't shoot, but you faked it.

[Al Madrigal]

Oh, my gosh.

[Marc Paone]

So the toll booth, remember?

[Al Madrigal]

Yeah.

[Marc Paone]

You keep. Cause we have you driving.

[Al Madrigal]

You can't shoot on any. Because of Homeland Security. You can't shoot on anything.

[Marc Paone]

But in the piece, you keep driving on the bridge and trying to talk to the toll booth collector.

[D]

I'm here to talk to Matty Maroon.

[Al Madrigal]

The guy who owns a bridge.

[Marc Paone]

475, sir.

[D]

Thank you. So, yeah, the guy who owns the bridge is named Matty Maroon. Is sort of this Monopoly. I'll be back. Hi, it's me again. As I was saying, I want to.

[I]

Talk to Matty Maroon.

[Al Madrigal]

Oh, fine.

[D]

Denise, don't you think it's a little odd that one man owns a bridge?

[Al Madrigal]

You need to stop around. Go and watch this piece again. We found a New Jersey Six Flags and made their ticket booth look like a toll booth.

[Marc Paone]

It was great. Even had cars going by in the background.

[Al Madrigal]

It was such a brilliant production. And then I remember John coming in the edit bay, and he goes, how did you do this?

[D]

This is amazing.

[Al Madrigal]

And we looked at each other, and.

[Marc Paone]

We'Re like movie magic.

[Al Madrigal]

Do you really want to.

[Marc Paone]

Yes.

[Al Madrigal]

Tell me what? He goes, no. He walked out and he walked back in and goes, fine, just tell me what you did. You can't shoot on any bridge. So that's kind of a reenactment at a New Jersey Six Flags. And if you look closely, the same production van drives through three times, faking traffic. It's all sound effects for the horns.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah. Yeah. That was a fun.

[Al Madrigal]

That Was really fun.

[Marc Paone]

Fun piece.

[Al Madrigal]

And she was a great actress, too.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah. The last one on my list of my favorite series, of course. Tanks. Tanks. Tanks.

[Al Madrigal]

Oh, I get to drive tanks.

[D]

Tanks, Tanks, tanks. Little tanks, big tanks. Does your country need tanks? We got more tanks than we know what to do with at Big Al's Western Tank Emporium. And they're not just for attacking Africa. They could do it all. Juicing, printing, packing, clutter, and, of course, navigating traffic. We will not be undersold because I'm Al Madrigal about tanks. We may invade you with a ground war and destroy the tanks we sold.

[Al Madrigal]

You in the first place. There's a place in Kasoda.

[Marc Paone]

Where you.

[Al Madrigal]

Can drive a tank. I think I've shot machine guns so much on this show, I shot a tommy gun in there that didn't even make the piece. They're like, do you want to go shoot a Tommy gun? I'm like, yeah, sure. I'll just shoot a tommy gun. And then I got to drive these tanks. But the thing. Such a weird place.

[Marc Paone]

So the. The piece for the listeners. The piece was. They were. There's a.

[Al Madrigal]

The United States government is still buying tanks. There's no.

[Marc Paone]

Well, there's a factory. The story was. There's a factory in Ohio. I think some of the details on that.

[Al Madrigal]

It's manufacturing tanks.

[Marc Paone]

Manufacturing tanks. And it's all. And it's all. It was all part of some pork from some Ohio senator.

[Al Madrigal]

Yes. That's coming. Miles Kahn.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah, Miles. And so this factory keeps. And you talk to a general, if you remember a retired general who's like a retired general. We don't need any more. We don't need any more tanks. We got plenty of tanks.

[Al Madrigal]

I was up here.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah. And so they keep building. And the factory has, like, 80 employees. It wasn't, like, a ton of people. But this guy makes a big stink about like, we can't shut down the factory. We can't lose these 80 jobs. And so there's all these extra tanks, and they just put them in this graveyard out in Utah.

[Al Madrigal]

There's a tank graveyard, which they all collect all this great, ridiculous amount of money.

[Marc Paone]

So then we end the piece with you like a used. Well, you. Like a used car salesman trying to sell tanks.

[Al Madrigal]

Don't I get.

[Marc Paone]

And you get in a tank and you start crushing. You go like, you gotta get a tank. It's, like, the best. And then you crush, like, toys and stuff.

[Al Madrigal]

They had me crush two Saturns.

[Marc Paone]

Oh, wait, you crush cars. That's Right.

[Al Madrigal]

I crushed cars driving a tank.

[Marc Paone]

That's right.

[Al Madrigal]

This job was so amazing.

[Marc Paone]

They bought some beat up old used cars and you crushed them.

[Al Madrigal]

And I got. But there was a lady.

[Marc Paone]

Tanks. Tanks.

[Al Madrigal]

This place has a woman. Like they have these attractive woman in a bikini that was like supposed to rub your shoulders while you drive the tank. I don't know. Who wants this?

[Marc Paone]

I don't remember that.

[Al Madrigal]

No, she didn't make the piece, but that's what this place was.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah, it was.

[Al Madrigal]

It was like chicks in.

[Marc Paone]

Where was it?

[Al Madrigal]

Like North Carolina, Automatic rifle.

[Marc Paone]

It was in the Carolinas. Where was it?

[Al Madrigal]

It was in Minneapolis.

[Marc Paone]

Oh, wow.

[Al Madrigal]

Like an hour and a half outside. I think it was like Kasoda, Minnesota or something.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah. All right, so I guess we're running out of time here.

[Al Madrigal]

Yeah. I gotta go rehearse.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah.

[Al Madrigal]

Great seeing you.

[Marc Paone]

You are doing. You're now Lopez. Look, Lopez versus Lopez.

[Al Madrigal]

Yeah. I'm on George Lopez's sitcom, which is the best daughter Mayan. And I play a stoner on a multi cam, which is the best gig ever. And I also write, so I have a CBS overall deal. So I write TV shows and develop stuff for cbs and then I'm back out on the road doing stand up. So please come out and see me do some stand up comedy. I think I have a bunch of dates. Austin, Chicago, Milwaukee.

[Marc Paone]

Website.

[Al Madrigal]

I should put things on a website. This is. You're gonna be the only people who know, so please come out and see me just stand up. It'll be fun.

[Marc Paone]

Glad to have you back in the building.

[Al Madrigal]

Love being back in the building.

[Marc Paone]

Yeah.

[Al Madrigal]

All right.

[Marc Paone]

Need to come more often.

[Al Madrigal]

Sure. Anytime. If only there were Latinos were in the news.

[D]

Explore more shows from the Daily show podcast universe by searching the Daily Show. Wherever you get your podcasts, watch the Daily show weeknights at 1110 Central on Comedy Central and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount plus.

[Marc Paone]

Paramount podcasts.

[I]

Check Engine Light on. Take the guesswork out of your Check engine light with O'Reilly Variscan. It's free and provides a report with solutions based on over 650 million vehicle scans verified by ASE certified master technicians. And if you need help, we can recommend a shop for you. Ask for O'Reilly Veriscan today.

[Al Madrigal]

Auto parts.