Epstein Bill Has Trump & Co. Freaking Out & Melania Delivers AI War Cry | Sebastian Maniscalco

Summary

The Daily Show: Ears Edition — (November 21, 2025)

Episode: "Epstein Bill Has Trump & Co. Freaking Out & Melania Delivers AI War Cry | Sebastian Maniscalco"

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Main Theme

This episode, hosted by Ronnie Tank (Roy Cheng), delivers a satirical roundup of the latest political headlines, focusing on the fallout from the newly passed Epstein File Transparency Act, Melania Trump's bizarre speech on AI warfare, and Sean Duffy's retro airline civility campaign. The show also features comedian Sebastian Maniscalco, who discusses his new Hulu special, arena comedy, and his old-school comedy sensibility.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Epstein File Transparency Act & Trump’s Team in Disarray

(01:51 – 05:02)

• Trump signs the “Epstein File Transparency Act” in an apparent move to clear his own name but does so awkwardly, prompting more ridicule than reassurance.

  • Notable quote: “Unfortunately he signed the bill like this. Not again.” (01:51) – Ronnie Tank
  • Ronnie jokes the only thing revealed by the signing was Trump's inability to avoid suspicion.

• Pam Bondi opens an investigation into Democrats’ Epstein ties, seemingly at Trump's Twitter command.

  • Bondi struggles to explain her reasoning, giving a rambling, repetitive answer about “new information.”
    • Notable quote: “What changed since then that you launched this investigation?” —“Information that has come for information. Um, there’s information that, new information, additional information.” (02:34)
  • Ronnie mocks this: “Perfect answer. It was perfect. What? What part of information in the infam where you got information do.” (02:49)

• FBI Chief Podcaster Kash Patel is parodied for apparently trying to look invisible at the press briefing.

  • ”I’ve heard of a thousand yard stare, but this dude looks like he could see to China right now.” (02:56) – Ronnie Tank

• Trump’s personal lawyer, Lindsey Halligan, fails basic legal procedures — not showing the indictment to the full grand jury.

  • Ronnie delivers: “It turns out their unqualified lawyer up the case. … This is how Legally Blonde would have gone if it was real.” (04:10)

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2. Elon Musk & AI Egos

(05:02 – 05:50)

• Elon Musk’s Grok AI proclaims Musk is among history’s top minds — besting da Vinci and physically outpacing LeBron James.
  • ”Musk’s lean and wiry physique, while not Olympian, places him in the upper echelons, and he edges out LeBron James in, quote, holistic fitness.” (05:02) – Michael Kosta
  • ”Elon Musk is in better shape than LeBron James, and that shape is trapezoid.” (05:32) – Ronnie Tank

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3. Melania Trump’s Surreal AI Battlefield Speech

(05:50 – 06:47)

• Melania Trump, oddly, addresses troops warning about AI’s transformative effect on warfare, sounding both robotic and ambiguous.
  • ”AI will alter war more profoundly than any technology since nuclear weapons. The shift from soldiers to machines is already underway.” (06:12) – (Melania/Clip)
  • “The new Terminator movie is weird as hell…maybe she’s just waiting to see who wins and then declare her allegiance.” (07:00) – Ronnie Tank

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4. Airline Civility: Back to the ‘50s’ — Or Not

(07:10 – 12:21)

• Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy launches a campaign to return manners and “civility” to air travel — focusing on passenger etiquette rather than airline dysfunction.

  • “Are you dressing with respect? Are you saying thank you to your flight attendants and your pilots?” (07:45) – Michael Kosta quoting Duffy
  • Ronnie satirizes: “Are manners the most important thing for the FAA to be dealing with right now? This would be like if in the middle of Vietnam, Henry Kissinger said, ‘Hey, everyone, just here to say chew with your mouth closed.’” (08:03)

• The team parodies a retro airline PSA celebrating a forgotten ‘golden age’ of flying.

  • “Flying was a bastion of civility, but today…” (08:46) – Sebastian Maniscalco (as narrator)

• Extended live “report” from Reagan National Airport: Michael Kosta riffs on wanting only the perks (“steak dinner…Coca Cola with cocaine”) of 1950s travel, while rejecting the era’s discrimination.

  • Rapid-fire bit on outdated, sexist terms Kosta wishes he could use for flight attendants, to which Ronnie responds, “No…no…no.” (11:41 – 11:59)

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5. RFK, Jr.: Secretary of Health & Vaccine Conspiracies

(13:18 – 14:25)

• Satire of RFK Jr. as Secretary of Health, reviewing his questionable promises about vaccine guidance.

  • "As long as RFK is a man of his word, we should be fine." (13:49) – Ronnie Tank
  • In reality, CDC’s website is edited under his tenure, now saying “studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.” (14:08)
  • Ronnie quips, “Just to be clear for everyone watching, vaccines don’t cause autism, but eating the needle does cause RFK voice.” (14:25)

• Follows with a parody of a medical drama, “RFK Hospital,” where absurd “treatments” prevail (e.g., giving raw milk instead of X-rays).

  • “Give him 20cc’s of raw milk and get the fluoride out of his water now.” (16:06) – Michael Kosta

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6. Interview: Sebastian Maniscalco

(19:06 – 32:12)

Arena Comedy & Production

• Sebastian’s new special, It Ain’t Right, filmed at Chicago’s United Center "in the round".

  • ”You sold more tickets than the Chicago Bulls the night before. Crazy.” (20:17) – Ronnie Tank
  • ”End of the day, you just want to go home and say, ‘he was funny.’ But I like to make it an experience for people and put some money into production…make it look like it’s a show business.” (20:39) – Sebastian Maniscalco

• Discussion about the challenge of making arenas feel intimate:

  • “Comedy is best enjoyed in a comedy club…but for me, having it in an arena for the first time, it was a challenge.” (21:06) – Sebastian
  • Preference for theater tapings next time for variety and intimacy.

Old School Showbiz & Social Media

• Both recall when comics passed out flyers, instead of promoting on social media:

  • “I was passing out flyers…asking people to sign a notebook with their email address.” (28:46) – Sebastian

• Sebastian’s and Ronnie’s nostalgia for classic, well-dressed show business:

  • “You dress better than your audience. Have a costume.” (31:24) – Sebastian
  • “When Prince came out…you never seen anybody that looked like that with the hair and mittens. He looked like he was ready to perform.” (31:20) – Sebastian
  • Ronnie: “If I wear a suit on a flight now, people think I’m gonna fly the plane…Whose wedding do you go to?” (31:26)

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• “Unfortunately he signed the bill like this. Not again.” – Ronnie Tank (01:51)
• “What part of information in the infam where you got information do?” – Ronnie Tank (02:49)
• “Elon Musk is in better shape than LeBron James, and that shape is trapezoid.” – Ronnie Tank (05:32)
• “AI will alter war more profoundly than any technology since nuclear weapons…” – Melania Trump (clip, 06:12)
• “Are you dressing with respect? Are you saying thank you…?” – Michael Kosta (07:45)
• “Are manners the most important thing for the FAA to be dealing with right now?” – Ronnie Tank (08:03)
• “Just to be clear for everyone watching, vaccines don’t cause autism, but eating the needle does cause RFK voice.” – Ronnie Tank (14:25)
• “You sold more tickets than the Chicago Bulls the night before…” – Ronnie Tank (20:17)
• “You dress better than your audience. Have a costume.” – Sebastian Maniscalco (31:24)

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Significant Segment Timestamps (MM:SS)

• 01:51 – Epstein Bill signed, Bondi’s “investigation,” Trump world in chaos
• 05:02 – Elon Musk’s AI praises himself, beats LeBron James in “holistic fitness”
• 06:12 – Melania Trump’s AI warfare speech
• 07:45 – Sean Duffy’s civility proposal for air travelers
• 10:06 – Michael Kosta’s 1950s airline “report”
• 13:18 – Segment on RFK Jr., vaccine conspiracies, CDC website changes
• 15:02 – “RFK Hospital” comedy sketch
• 19:06 – Interview with Sebastian Maniscalco (career, arena comedy)
• 28:46 – Nostalgia for old-school comedy marketing, flyers and email lists
• 31:24 – Dressing up in show business

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Overall Tone & Style

• Sarcastic, irreverent, and fast-paced, blending news satire with meta-humor about the changing worlds of media, politics, and comedy.
• Frequent character bits, parodies, and quick-shifting banter among hosts and correspondents.

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Transcript

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[Michael Kosta]

When cool creamy ranch meets tangy bold.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

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[Michael Kosta]

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[Sebastian Maniscalco]

McDonald's for a limited time at participating McDonald's. You're listening to Comedy Central.

[Michael Kosta]

From the most trusted journalists at Comedy Central.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

It's America's only source for news. This is the Daily Journal. Your host, Ronnie Tank.

[Ronnie Tank]

Welcome to the Daily Show. I'm Roy Cheng. We got so much to talk about tonight. Melania tells AI to be best. The Epstein files caused Pam Bondi to glitch the and Sean Duffy thinks your airport outfit looks like shit. And he's not wrong. Let's get into all of it with another installment of the worst wing.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

What a bunch of losers.

[Ronnie Tank]

Last night, Trump signed the Epstein File Transparency act into law. It was the first step towards proving that there's no connection between him and Jeffrey Epstein. Unfortunately, he signed the bill like this. Not again. So now this bill is a law. It's fully legal. Or as Megyn Kelly would probably call it, 16. In the meantime, Pam Bondi has opened a new investigation into Epstein's relationships with Democrats. And it's not just because Trump ordered her to on Twitter for the whole world to see. No, that's not why. She had a perfectly good explanation for that that she's not nervous about at all.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

What changed since then that you launched this investigation?

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

Information that has come for information. Um, there's information that new information, additional information.

[Ronnie Tank]

Perfect answer. It was perfect. What? What? What part of information in the infam where you got information do. Also at the briefing was FBI chief podcaster Kash Patel, who seems to think that if he stands still long enough, we won't notice that he's a part of this whole thing. I mean, I've heard of a thousand yard stare, but this dude looks like he could see to China right now. Hey, Cash, could you check in on my family in Malaysia while you're at it? I mean, what's my mom doing? Actually, no, don't. Don't look at my mom. But Pam Bondi isn't the only Trump official investigating Democrats. And it up. We also got Lindsey Halligan, whom Trump made his personal lawyer after he saw her on a golf course in a suit, which sounds like a joke, but it's not. She's now a US Attorney leading his crusade against James Comey, and she's crushing it.

[Michael Kosta]

The case against former FBI Director James Comey may be in jeopardy. Lindsey Halligan, the inexperienced prosecutor President Trump handpicked for the job, but it was never tried. A criminal case admitted she never showed the entire grand jury the indictment it was supposed to have approved.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

It's a mistake that could end up getting the case thrown out entirely.

[Ronnie Tank]

It turns out their unqualified lawyer up the case. I mean, this is how Legally Blonde would have gone if it was real. It's like, well, I've never tried the case before, but I'm gonna do my best. Case dismissed. You are disbarred. Roll credits. In her defense. How is she supposed to know she has to show the indictment to the whole grand jury? Okay. They almost never show that part on suits. But let's move on to one of Trump's friends who never gets anything wrong. Elon Musk. He's been away for a while, but this week he was back at the White House for a state dinner. And I'm glad Trump and Elon made up, because love him or hate him, Elon is the richest guy in the world, so you have to love him. And if you doubt Elon's greatness, just ask his own AI.

[Michael Kosta]

After some apparent reprogramming, Elon Musk's Grok AI is now telling users that Musk ranks Among the top 10 minds in history, rivaling da Vinci or Newton. Grok also claims that Musk's lean and wiry physique, while not Olympian, places him in the upper echelons, and that he edges out LeBron James in, quote, holistic fitness.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

That's right.

[Ronnie Tank]

Elon Musk is in better shape than LeBron James, and that shape is trapezoid. I mean, AI is everywhere. When it came time this week to speak to troops about AI warfare, Trump sent the obvious choice from the White House to do it.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

First Lady Melania Trump offering a warning about the impacts of AI on the battlefield.

[Ronnie Tank]

Melania Trump. What is the first lady doing talking about AI and warfare? I mean, she should be doing normal first lady things like calling kids fat or calling kids druggies or calling kids stupid, but okay, let's see what she has to say about this. AI will alter war more profoundly than any technology. Since nuclear weapons, the shift from soldiers to machines is already underway. Autonomous helicopters, swarming drones, and Rakon aircraft are here now. Fighter less jets and autonomous bombers are on the way.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

Happy Thanksgiving.

[Ronnie Tank]

Thank you.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

Wow.

[Ronnie Tank]

The new Terminator movie is weird as hell. I mean, I can't even tell if she's for or against this future that she's describing. Like, maybe she's just waiting to see who wins and then declare her allegiance. She's like, the robots will destroy us. And that, good or bad, we'll see. And finally, big news from the Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy. The FAA has had a lot of problems recently. Worker shortages, system failures, mixing up the sky and the ground. But luckily, Sean's got a solution that will fix everything.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

The Department of Transportation is urging airline passengers to be on our best behavior.

[Michael Kosta]

Let's bring civility and manners back. Ask yourself, are you helping a pregnant woman put her bag in the overhead bin? Are you dressing with respect? Are you saying thank you to your flight attendants and your pilots? Are you saying please and thank you in general?

[Ronnie Tank]

Are manners the most important thing for the FAA to be dealing with right now? This would be like if in the middle of Vietnam, Henry Kissinger said, hey, everyone, just here to say chew with your mouth closed. Okay, but Duffy's right. We should all be more civilized, including the President, who just today posted Hang the Democrats. Does that sound polite to you? No, it should be, please hang the Democrats. Thank you. But they are really committing to this civility campaign. They even released a whole video about how they want to take air travel back to. To the golden age.

[Michael Kosta]

Come fly with me.

[Ronnie Tank]

Let's fly, let's fly away.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Air travel is a miracle of American ingenuity. We respected the dignity of air travel and the men and women who made the dream possible. Flying was a bastion of civility, but today.

[Ronnie Tank]

Yeah, get him him up. Hey, I mean, it's nice. It's nice to see Americans being physically active. I know flying isn't as classy as it was in the 1950s, but at least with these passengers, 911 is not gonna happen again, all right? Cause no way a bunch of terrorists can defeat four angry Karens in their pajamas. They're gonn. I got a box cutter, too, bitch. For more on the new airline civility efforts, we go live to Reagan National Airport with Michael Kosta. Michael. Michael. What's the mood over there?

[Michael Kosta]

Oh, man, it is great, Ronnie. I'm glad Sean Duffy's taking air travel back to the 1950s. Everything was better back. Men wore hats, women's Boobs looked like torpedoes and cigars didn't cause cancer yet. It was the best.

[Ronnie Tank]

Okay, well, the 1950s weren't good for everyone, obviously.

[Michael Kosta]

I don't mean the racial stuff. We're not gonna go back to that.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Blah, blah, blah.

[Michael Kosta]

Sean Duffy only wants the classy airplane stuff from the 50s, like dressing up and sitting in huge seats with lots of legroom while you eat a steak dinner with old school Coca Cola that has cocaine in it.

[Ronnie Tank]

Wait, where do you get Coca Cola? With Cocain.

[Michael Kosta]

Well, this one was kind of a DIY situation.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Woo. Huh?

[Michael Kosta]

Blah. This fat cat is zooted.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

Woo.

[Ronnie Tank]

Okay. Hey, Costa, I think you misunderstood this campaign, right? You're not getting extra legroom and you're not getting a steak dinner.

[Michael Kosta]

Well, if we're out of steak, lobster's fine.

[Ronnie Tank]

No, not. There's no lobster, you get nothing. Sean Duffy just wants travelers to be more civil. He's not doing anything about the actual airplanes.

[Michael Kosta]

Okay, that's fine, I guess. As long as I can still walk up to the gate 10 minutes before a flight and pay cash for a one way ticket for me and my gun, that will still be nice.

[Ronnie Tank]

No, the airports aren't changing either, okay? You still gotta do TSA and all that security shit.

[Michael Kosta]

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. So I have to be in the 1950s, but the airlines get to be in 2025?

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

Yes.

[Ronnie Tank]

I'm sorry.

[Michael Kosta]

Well, can I still call the stewardess, Toots?

[Ronnie Tank]

No.

[Michael Kosta]

Can I call her Dame?

[Ronnie Tank]

No.

[Michael Kosta]

Doll face?

[Ronnie Tank]

No.

[Michael Kosta]

Kitten?

[Ronnie Tank]

No.

[Michael Kosta]

Sugar tits?

[Ronnie Tank]

No.

[Michael Kosta]

Sugar breasts?

[Ronnie Tank]

No.

[Michael Kosta]

Toots.

[Ronnie Tank]

You said that one already. You can't call them any of the many, many derogatory yet somehow commonly used terms for women in the 1950s.

[Michael Kosta]

You know, this makes me so. Makes me so mad. That's it. I'm gonna go change into Crocs and punch a baggage handler.

[Ronnie Tank]

Michael, you can't do that either.

[Michael Kosta]

You're right.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

You're right.

[Michael Kosta]

Right. This is 2025. I'm gonna save it for the plane.

[Ronnie Tank]

Michael Costa, everyone. When we come back, we find out about the latest hit show so Don.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

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[Ronnie Tank]

Welcome back to The Daily Show. We've been talking a lot about Trump cabinet members, but one we haven't mentioned yet is RFK junior Secretary of Health and Harriet Tubman of Measles. Back when he was trying to get confirmed, he made a lot of promises to Senator and actual medical doctor to Bill Cassidy.

[Michael Kosta]

Mr. Kennedy and the administration reached out.

[Ronnie Tank]

Seeking to reassure me regarding their commitment.

[Michael Kosta]

To protecting the public health benefit of vaccination. CDC will not remove statements on their.

[Ronnie Tank]

Website pointing out that vaccines do not cause autism. Well, that's a relief. You definitely don't want people reading unverified conspiracies about vaccines on the official CDC government website. So as long as RFK is a man of his word, we should be fine.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

The CDC walking back its previous guidance on vaccines, updating its website to say claims that vaccines do not cause autism are not evidence based. The webpage now reads, studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism. Studies supporting a link have been ignored by health authorities.

[Ronnie Tank]

Okay, no, no. It is true that RFK promised to not do that, but his friend the brain worm didn't promise shit. Just to be clear for everyone watching, vaccines don't cause autism, but eating the needle does cause rfk. Voice either way, we seem to be stuck with RFK as health secretary, even though his medical advice is not something you're ever gonna see on Grey's Anatomy or the Pit. Although they did just announce one new hospital show that's going in a different direction this fall.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

We got another one.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Status.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

He's bleeding out. We're losing him.

[Michael Kosta]

I decide when we're losing him.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

A groundbreaking new medical drama.

[Michael Kosta]

We lost him. Time of death, 5:22. Cause of death, the COVID vaccine. God dang it.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

RFK Hospital.

[Michael Kosta]

Sick of that.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

The only. Only hospital brave enough to follow the medical advice of America's health secretary.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

Sorry.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Trying to squeeze in lunch.

[Michael Kosta]

What are we looking at?

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

We have a patient with a strange virus that's weakening his immune system.

[Michael Kosta]

Interesting. Has he been swimming any raw sewage?

[Ronnie Tank]

Not that I know of. That's your problem right there.

[Michael Kosta]

Haven't spent a few hours in fecal matter creek. He'll be better in no time.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Led by a doctor who knows that medical science doesn't have to be based on anything in particular. Come on.

[Michael Kosta]

I told you, never interrupt me when I do pull UPS in jeans.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

Sorry, but we have a patient with a fractured clavicle. Should I administer painkillers and give the patient autism?

[Michael Kosta]

No, thank you.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

Well, should I take an X ray.

[Michael Kosta]

And give the patient more autism? Give him 20cc's of raw milk and get the fluoride out of his water now.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

At RFK Hospital, they're making America healthy and hot again.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

Wait.

[Ronnie Tank]

There's something I have to tell you.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

I have the measles.

[Ronnie Tank]

It's okay.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

So do I.

[Michael Kosta]

And so do I.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

It's fine. He's giving medicine. A taste of its own medicine. And giving healthcare the shake up it needs.

[Michael Kosta]

Smoothie.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

And when tragedy strikes, he answers the call.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

School bus hit a deer in I60. Dozens are arriving in critical condition.

[Michael Kosta]

How long ago?

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

35 minutes.

[Michael Kosta]

We can still save that deer meat.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Let's move, people. Come on, let's go. RFK Hospital. Premiering after an all new episode of CSI Epstein Files.

[Ronnie Tank]

Thank you, Michael. When we come back, Sebastian Man Scowko will be joining me on the show, so don't go away.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

The who's down and who Newville were making their list, but some didn't know. Walmart has the best brands for their gifts. What about toys?

[Ronnie Tank]

Do they have brands kids have been wanting all year?

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

Yup.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Barbie, Tonys and Lego.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

Gifts that will make them all cheer.

[Ronnie Tank]

Do you mean they have all the brands I adore?

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

They have Nintendo, Nespresso, Apple and more.

[Ronnie Tank]

What a bad.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

So the who answered questions from friends till they were blue. Each one listened and shouted from Walmart. Who knew sharp gifts from top brands for everyone on your list in the Walmart app.

[Ronnie Tank]

Una silla de masajes puede pares er extravagante Ocho configuraciones differentes intensidada justable a de mascale y se siente tam bien si. Una silla de masajes puede pareser extravagante y dos bueno a un mas. Extravagante. Welcome back to the Daily Show. My guest tonight is a record breaking comedian, actor and podcast host. His latest special for Hulu is called It Ain't Right. Please welcome comedy legend Sebastian Maniscalco. Thank you.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Very nice.

[Ronnie Tank]

Thanks for coming on.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Thanks. Thanks for having me. Appreciate it. First time on the show.

[Michael Kosta]

Yeah.

[Ronnie Tank]

Thanks for coming. Thanks for, thanks for coming on when I'm hosting. Yeah, appreciate it. You look great.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Thank you.

[Ronnie Tank]

Thank you.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

The suit is tight. If I move, I could split something.

[Ronnie Tank]

What do you mean? It looks great in the special. You're so self deprecating about your looks but you look great for like a 75 year old guy.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

I appreciate that. I appreciate that. Thank you very much.

[Ronnie Tank]

Yeah. You're so healthy. You call me so physical, you know, it's such a big part of it.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Yeah, I Like to be physical on stage. I not only like to explain the joke with my voice, but my body. So I kind of grew up talking with my hands and moving my body all around.

[Ronnie Tank]

Yeah, you're best in the business at it. Great. And this is the first. You've done quite a few specials, but this is the first one you've done in arena. Back in hometown Chicago, you did the United Center. That's crazy. The opening to the special looks insane. It's like the whole thing. And you sometimes, when, you know, comics, when they do arenas, they cut it in half and then they go, we did the arena, but you did half an arena. You did the whole goddamn arena. You did it in a round.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Yeah, so I did it in a round.

[Ronnie Tank]

And you sold more tickets than the Chicago Bulls the night before. Yeah, it was crazy.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Yeah. It was really special to do it in my hometown of Chicago. And I like the way you pay attention to detail and production. Yeah. I did it in, like, a triangle stage. It took a lot to figure out, how are we going to make this look different?

[Ronnie Tank]

Yes.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

End of the day, you just want to go home and say, he was funny. Right. But I like to make it an experience for people and put some money into production, whether it be lighting stage, what have you, to make it look like it's a show business.

[Ronnie Tank]

Yeah, it's show business. Yeah. And also, I mean, there's a difference, as you are well aware, between the live show experience and then the tape. And I feel like you executed great on both.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Well, thanks. It's difficult in an arena to have it be intimate. There's 18,000 people there. Comedy is best enjoyed in a comedy club, in my opinion. But, you know, for me, having it in an arena for the first time, it was a challenge. But the way it came out, I thought it was really good.

[Ronnie Tank]

Yeah. I'm so sorry. You're selling so many tickets that you gotta go into someday that you have to do it in the goddamn basketball arena. And you did a great job capturing it. And were you, like, looking to what was kind of like your visual theme for this one? Because your last one was in Las Vegas, I think.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Yeah, sure, we'll get to that. But this one, this one, it's funny. The last one I did in Las Vegas, I was in pain. I had sciatic pain ripping down my right leg. I couldn't move. I was in a tuxedo, which I never performed in a tuxedo before. I tried to do something different in Las Vegas. I said, we're gonna do A throwback to the 60s. I want the crowd similar to the airplane bit.

[Ronnie Tank]

Right.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

I want the crowd to dress up like it's 1960s Las Vegas.

[Ronnie Tank]

Did they. Did they dress up 22 people? It's hard to get those guys to dress up. Cause they're in the shot and it's.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Like, it's hard to get anybody today to dress up, to do anything. I mean, just take a look around. It looks like, I mean. Oh, take a look.

[Ronnie Tank]

No, it's a well dressed audience. A well dressed audience. No, but.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Wasn't talking about you.

[Ronnie Tank]

You can't even tell people to dress up without everyone taking a pussy.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Yeah, look at how upset everybody got. Listen, I'm just saying in general, we were talking backstage about this show business. Like, I like the fact that you did your special and you wore a suit. Now, I noticed the next time around you had, like a collared shirt on and short sleeves. So why the change?

[Ronnie Tank]

Oh, for me, wow. Way the Thor's spotlight on me.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Yeah, well, we're talking about dressing.

[Ronnie Tank]

Yeah. Well, I agree that show business, you should dress up and look nice for it. And I was always inspired by classic American showbiz. So for the last special I did, first of all, I wanted people to look at the new special and know that it was a new one.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Oh, gotcha.

[Ronnie Tank]

And I was worried. I was worried if I just wear a suit, people would be like, we've seen this one before. So.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

But even you, you changed the draper. You had red and then you had green.

[Ronnie Tank]

I changed red to green. Huge. Which. Which no one cares except for us. And we do care. But the other reason. My other reason for dressing in short sleeves is because I have great arms. No, because. No, you don't. You don't. It's because I was trying to capture, for that last special I did in Hawaii, and I was trying to capture this vintage Elvis in Hawaii feel. And so he performed in that kind of. With a layer and all that. So, you know, but. And I mean, were you thinking of, you know, homage to anyone when you were doing this one, visually or. No, you're making your own thing.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

I mean, I wore a red and black jacket just to pay homage to the Chicago Bulls because I'm a huge Bulls fan. But other than that. No, I just wanted to get back to kind of what I do best and is the physicality and the facial expressions and. Yeah, I'm really excited for this to come out tomorrow. So it's a big deal.

[Ronnie Tank]

And what was really cool is if you watch till the End. You will. What the is that? No, hear me out. I'm saying no, I'm not telling people watch to the end because there's this thing where you go off stage and you walk backstage and the camera follows you and then you go. And then you. I don't want to give it away, but you.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Well, my family's there. I have two kids, an 8 year old, a 6 year old, my wife. So they all kind of greeted me offstage and you kind of see us walking into the sunset. So it was. It's nice to have them there to experience all that. I had my mother, my father there, so it was.

[Ronnie Tank]

No, but it's cool. It's cool. And it's something that. And by the way, it's not like you say, goodnight, everybody, and then you walk off stage and they're there. You have to really watch the credits play a bit before they get. And then we see you walk backstage, the door's closed, and it's just you and your kids and your wife. You kiss and you hug and you go off. And I thought that was really nice and sweet and it's proof that I watched your whole special. No, you know what? No, it's these little things that make it cool. Like for my first special, I put a photo of my dad who passed away, and he passed away before I filmed it. And so I put a photo of him in it. Just a photo of me and him when we were kids. And the problem is I put it after the credits being like, here's my homage to my dad. But now Netflix, as soon as the credits roll, it minimizes into. And so nobody's. Everyone's like, what? No one. You have to. It's actually hard to watch. See my dad's photo at the end of the credits. It's hard to watch the credits in Netflix, just technologically.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

Yeah, you can't.

[Ronnie Tank]

They don't let you watch it. Yeah, but you are smart. You made it so that it wasn't all the way at the end.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Well, I haven't seen it on broadcast yet, so they might cut that.

[Ronnie Tank]

They might cut. They might call me. But that's cool. But would you. I mean, would you film it in an arena again? Or would you. Do you want to go back to the theater?

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Yeah, no, I think I'd do a theater next time. The arena kind of did there.

[Ronnie Tank]

What was the challenge of it was.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Well, I mean, for me, it's not really a challenge. I like to move around a lot, so. And that's why I did the triangle stage, because you got the three points and you could kind of go to those three points throughout the show in a circle. You kind of. You kind of like go around.

[Ronnie Tank]

Someone's looking at your ass.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, they're looking at my ass regardless. I really have none. You saw the joke where it kind of bleeds into my legs now. But other than that, I didn't really have a problem doing it in. In this triangle setting. And I really, really like doing it in the round. Just because it's as intimate as you possibly could get it in an arena.

[Ronnie Tank]

Sure. But why is it that you wouldn't do arena for taping again?

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Because I like to do, like you said, something different. You know, I don't want you to.

[Ronnie Tank]

Do the same old thing.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Yeah, same old thing. And you know what? Right now I'm not even looking at what's next in regards to specials. So I'm just taking some time off, relax with my family.

[Ronnie Tank]

And by the way, that's a very kind of, dare I say, old school mentality with standup in that you film it, you put it out there and then, you know, you go away for a bit.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Well, you try to.

[Ronnie Tank]

Yeah, you try to go away.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

But with social media now, and I'm 52 years old, so I didn't kind of grow up with the whole social media thing. You know, if you're not on social media, people don't even think you exist anymore. Right. So you get my social media team calling you got something for us to post today? I'm like, no, I'm hanging out with my wife, you know. Well, can you get like a photo.

[Ronnie Tank]

Of where you're at?

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

It's like constant, you know, So I get it, I get the game. But I also, you know, Chris Rock said to me, if you never leave the room, it's hard to make an entrance. Right. So it's kind of. Kind of what I'm trying to do, but it's hard. It's hard to kind of stay away.

[Ronnie Tank]

Yeah. And so how do you. Again, I kind of feel like you've got this old school sensibility with everything including marketing comedy, where I guess, you know, when I started, I only started in 2009. So you've got, you know, five decades on me in that. But like, when I started, we were just selling live tickets. We weren't trying to get famous on the Internet because you couldn't really. Or at least I wasn't smart enough to figure it out. And so we would try to sell live tickets Live and not worry about the Internet. And I feel like you kind of have that mentality, too. You're not too worried about social media. You kind of, you know, and I guess, do you have a, you know, what is your view on kind of using social media these days to try to.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Well, I mean, listen, you have to use it. I mean, you have to get the word out there, Right? But I come from an era where after shows, I was passing out flyers, right? And I was asking people to sign a notebook with their email address so I could. So I could email the next time I was covered in the town.

[Ronnie Tank]

Right.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

And it's very heartbreaking to pass out all these flyers after the show and then go to your car and see the flyers on the ground at the parking lot. So, yeah, but with social media, it's like, you know, you need to do it, but you don't need to do it. In my opinion as much. You don't need to see everything that I'm doing. Look at Tom Cruise. I mean, Tom Cruise is a major star. He has a movie, he comes out, he promotes it, and he dissolves, disappears. You don't see Tom Cruise in his living room watching anything.

[Ronnie Tank]

That's because Scientology kidnaps him afterwards.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

But.

[Ronnie Tank]

Yeah, but I take your point. I take your point. He gets. I love that. Get the away so people can miss you. Give people a chance to. Give people a chance to miss you. And also, I love that sensibility, you know, that kind of like you were saying, dressing up now, and people don't really dress up for show business anymore. I mean, that's the show business that attracted me to America. It was, you know, Johnny Carson, it was Elvis. It was people who put in some effort, not these goddamn amateur hour podcasters in their wife beaters podcasting from a basement. It's like, I. Yeah, it's.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

I grew up on Johnny Carson, too, and I used to watch the guests come out, whether it be Sinatra or Rickles or whatnot, and they. You're in suits. I'm not saying you have to wear a suit everywhere you go. I don't. Right. I do podcasting. Do I wear a suit when I do podcasting? No, but I just say, just like you said, have like a standard of something. It just seems like whatever you feel like doing now, you show up, you know, and it's like, oh, this is me. Well, we might not want to see you. I don't know. Listen, again, I grew up with Prince, Madonna, Michael Jackson. When they got on stage, you knew who was the performer. Right. Just because they didn't look like anybody else in the audience. You know what I'm saying? They took their time and curated, you know? I mean, I don't. I mean, everybody's looking at me like, what's wrong with that? I'm just saying, when Prince came out, it was like, you never seen anybody that looked like that with the hair and the mittens.

[Ronnie Tank]

He looked like he was ready to perform.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Yeah.

[Ronnie Tank]

Yes.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

That's all I'm saying.

[Ronnie Tank]

You dress better than your audience.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Yeah.

[Ronnie Tank]

Have a costume. Yeah. Have something.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Ronnie Tank]

And I agree. I agree completely. Like, now you go on a flight. If I wear a suit on a flight now, people think I'm gonna fly the plane.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Ronnie Tank]

They're like, what are you doing? Whose wedding do you go to? You know, Like. But yeah, I don't know. I don't know how to fix this, though.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

It's not gonna be fixed. It's not gonna be fixed. I mean, you're trying. We're trying. Hey, look, we're doing this, but we're losing the audience.

[Ronnie Tank]

The more we ask people to dress up, everyone.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Yeah, no, this audience is not into it. He's not into it. They're, like, offended. I could feel it.

[Ronnie Tank]

Like.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

I'm just saying, take some time. When you leave your house, we don't want to see you in your pajamas. That's it. That's all.

[Ronnie Tank]

Thank you so much than so much for being on the show. Sebastian, you're the best man. It ain't right. We'll be available on Hulu starting November 21st. It's Sebastian Mans Golf, everybody. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back after this.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

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[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Disney's Lilo and Stitch has finally landed on Disney. Now you can watch the global phenomenon.

[Ronnie Tank]

At home with your ohana.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Be good for one second.

[Ronnie Tank]

You're the devil.

[Michael Kosta]

Lilo and Stitch is verified hot on.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Rotten Tomatoes with an audience score of 93%.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

Lilo and Stitch, also cute and fluffy.

[Ronnie Tank]

Disney's Lilo and Stitch, rated PG now streaming on Disney. And right now, you can get Disney, Hulu, and all of espn with an.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

Incredible limited time offer. Terms apply.

[Ronnie Tank]

That's our show for the night. Now here it is, the moment of.

[Michael Kosta]

Zen people behaving well on the airplane. Be nice, say please, say thank you. Bringing civility back, I think, enhances the travel experience for everybody. And so sometimes you just have to ask people, hey, let's maybe go back to an era where we didn't wear our pajamas to the airport. 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.

[Sebastian Maniscalco]

This has been a Comedy Central podcast.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

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