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Audio for sleep by hatch. Hi there. I'm Wills.
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And I'm Josh. Welcome to the Nightly from Hatch, where your late night thoughts go to rest.
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You know what, Josh? I have something I'm looking forward to.
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This is exciting. Tell me more.
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It's really exciting. Well, there's. There's a. There's good news and there's bad news.
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Okay, hit me with. Give me the good news first.
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No. Okay, the good news.
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Or. Or you can do bad news. Most of the time, people say bad news first. Give me the good news first. And then I'm just gonna kind of like, lose focus when the bad news hits.
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Yeah, let's avert it. The good news is that tomorrow I'm going to be chatting with Bob the Drag Queen on this very show. Can you believe it?
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Is the bad news that I am not part of this.
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The bad news is that you're. Baby.
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I was very sad that I could not attend. My wife and I are big Bob the Drag Queen fans.
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I really like him and I think he's awesome. And I watched some of his seasons of Drag Race because I was watching it earlier this season. I don't feel like I have, like, a parasocial relationship with him and that I'm not. I don't, like, listen to his podcast or whatever. There's something about him that really makes me feel like I'm like, that's just like my friend. Which I think is, of course, part of his massive appeal. But I was thinking that earlier, I was like, I feel like he's someone I know.
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He also feels like close to the community of people we do know in real life. Right. Like, I think he and Matteo Lane are good friends and collaborators. And, like, we saw Marison. I saw Bob do a standup show at a venue not too far from us. And so there are some people that feel like, oh. Even though they're not, Whether they're very, very famous or not, they feel either closer or further from, like, oh, I would never meet that person. They probably never even go to a city that I've ever been to.
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Yeah. But I think I'm like, he lives in la, right? Is that wrong?
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I think so, but maybe I'm wrong. He has lived here.
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I also think. Because I think what I learned from watching his season of Drag Race is that he got his start doing stand up in Brookly. I think that's for sure part of it.
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Who is this celebrity that you think that you're like, I can't imagine ever meeting this person on Earth.
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Oh my God on earth.
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I have a place to start.
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Yeah.
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Daniel Day Lewis.
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Oh, that's a good one. Do you think. What do you think would happen?
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Can you imagine just like running into Daniel Day Lewis at like Stevie. No, he's like dressed like Hercules or like Zeus or something.
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Part of this is like someone. It's like. Well, he just feels a bit otherworldly.
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Yes, I think that's a big part of it. Like he's a big time star of like a different generation than I am and feels like artistically dedicated and otherworldly in a way that I'm like. That's not a man who like interacts with the world in the same way. He's not standing in line for brunch.
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You know what I. Well, this is reminding me of now, something that I. A video I saw. It's not the same at all, but he is also a bit otherworldly, which is Benedict Cumberbatch. Yeah, but did you see the video of him getting mad on his bike?
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No, I.
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There was a video that I saw of him and he's basically in a screaming match with a stranger on the street who had. Had gotten mad at him. He's cycling, but someone was recording and it's him with like the. The like face, not mask, but that like half, kind of like almost bandeau top that men wear around the bottom of their face.
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The, like gator.
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Yeah, the gator. And he's in one of those. In a helmet and he's like screaming. They're like screaming at each other. And I was like, damn, that is. See, that's like I would never expect.
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Yeah. I have a friend who is an actor, comedian, writer, who like went to theater school with Benedict Cumberbatch. And that still feels fake to me.
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I know he's just cycling around.
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Even though it's real. I know it's real. I'm not saying he's lying. I'm like, no, he didn't go to school. He came to Earth in a spaceship and started acting.
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Yeah. An alien laid an egg and then he was born out of it.
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He hatched out of it. Yeah. And was a great actor. Yeah, that's such a good one. Because there are some people even who feel very famous where you're like. I could see walking down the street in like a upscale shopping district and seeing them in a fancy store or something. But I. But Daniel Day Lewis does not fit that for me.
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Yeah, no, not at all. I mean, the. What the first person I thought of, which is like, so obvious that I don't even really want to say it is like, Beyonce. I, like, could not imagine seeing her, like, of course, anywhere. Basically, I would be completely like, yeah, just absolutely shocked, because I don't think that would ever. It wouldn't ever happen. But I do, like, the more what you're kind of getting at, which is people who maybe aren't even necessarily, like, extraordinarily famous, but still have this quality about them that just is like, you're not a human in the world.
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Right, right, right, right. There's just something about the way you move that makes it feel like not. Not that you're. And I don't. It's not like a thing of like, oh, this person's too rich or fancy or famous. They would get mobbed doing normal stuff. I mean it in terms. Which is kind of like, you're like, oh, if Beyonce went anywhere, just like, on the street in any city in the world, people would be like, that's Beyonce. We're gonna swarm her for autographs and stuff. But, like, there are other people that you're just like, I don't know, like, how. How do they get from point A to point B? I can only imagine them teleporting.
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Okay. I have one that I actually think is very interesting because, similar to Bob, this is someone that we know. Julio Torres.
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Yes. I. And I know Julio, exactly. He's so brilliant and talented, but he is for sure a person that you're like, oh, I think I've been on the subway with him going.
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Or I can't imagine on the subway
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with Julio going to and from a show years ago. But it's like, also, right. You imagine Julio, eyes closed, dissolving into a fine mist that refracts light of all colors and wavelengths and then appearing somewhere else.
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And this is part of his whole brand. And for those of you who don't know, Julio Torres is a former SNL writer, very, very talented comedian, awesome person. And his whole brand is that he's kind of a bit like otherworldly, basically.
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But Space Prince. Right?
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Space Prince is like his. Like, at. On Instagram. But it's like, he is someone where I'm like, you should never step foot in a cvs.
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You should go to an apothecary.
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Like, not.
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And not one of those places, like, in a hip neighborhood where they're like, apothecary. And you're like, that's a drugstore. You want. I mean, a. Like a person with a cauldron. Straight up cauldron involved. Yes.
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A mortar and pestle. Like, they're making pastes, they're making salves.
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That's right.
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That's where he belongs.
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Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble.
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Literally.
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Yeah, that's what I want to see. Oh, this is so good. Okay. Are there any people that you're like, this person I can really imagine fitting into my life?
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I thought you were just, like, walking down the street. I'm, like, fitting into my life. Okay.
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Yeah, yeah, yeah. But even in that. And someone that you're like, oh, this. I see this person being, like a friendly neighbor, you know, that you would see on the street and you would wave.
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Who I thought I could, like, so see walking down the street or, like, shopping somewhere, like Meryl Streep. To have her as a neighbor would be, like, just perfect. I feel like.
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It feels like you would, you know, she would have, like, a big, beautiful apartment right above you in your normal sized apartment, and you would. You would knock on her door and you'd be like, hey, Ms. Streep, we're having a little party on Saturday. It's my birthday and it's not gonna go too late, but I don't want to. Jill's like, oh, that's okay. Thank you. I'm out of town anyway.
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But this is never a problem.
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You know, I'm. I am kind of a night owl myself. And you're like, thanks, you're the best. She's like, and call me Meryl. And you're like, I won't, but thank you.
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Yeah.
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Just that you would say that means the world to me, Ms. Streep. Meryl.
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I just can see her, like, walking around. But who do you think? Who else?
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I'm trying to think of who seems really, like, normal walking around. Well, you know, who I've seen in all sorts of scenarios around New York City, like, including on the subway, which I think is the mark of really being like, is when you're on the subway or the bus.
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I wonder if you're going to say who I think you're going to say.
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Okay, want to do it on three?
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Sure. Yes. One, two, three. Sarah Jessica.
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Michael. Sarah. Okay. Ooh.
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I was going to say we both.
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Both. Sarah.
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I would think that Sarah Jessica Parker is known for. She's like. She's holding it down the subway is what I've heard.
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Yeah.
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Michael. Sarah. I can definitely see walking around.
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He's very walking around.
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He's flopping around.
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He's confident. He's. Yeah, he is out there.
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He's linking around.
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Sarah Jessica Parker is Good. And she owns a shoe store that she, like, works a shift at, like, weekly.
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Yeah, see, she's out. She's out.
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Not like a dsw, Like a little.
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She owns a DSW franchise. Can you believe?
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She owns a Foot Locker and she
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works a shift there.
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She has a Foot Locker franchise.
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Find her. It's on Fulton street.
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When the new Jordan 5 retros drop, you've got to go buy them from Sarah Jessica Parker.
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She has her lanyard on and her polo and she's ready to work. Let's say that.
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And she actually is a referee.
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Yes, she.
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She's an active referee.
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Ref. Not a lot of people know that. She's out. She's about. She has lots of hobbies. Okay, well, speaking of celebrities, I have something I want to talk about tonight.
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Gone.
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Okay. I wonder how long ago this was. Maybe a year or so ago. Maybe a little bit more. Who knows? I don't. Basically, Jemima Kirk, famous celebrity, took to her Instagram and did. I don't know if she did this, like, more than once, but she took to her Instagram and she did a like, Q A, basically. And she. It became a bit like memed, where she gave these responses that, to me, I literally feel are, like, prophetic. Like, I feel like it's like. I think about some of the stuff she said all the time.
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Like what? Like, what wisdom did she impart?
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Okay, the first major one that I say all the time is the question that someone asked her was, are you queer? And her response was, what the hell, Sure.
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I think that's beautiful.
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And I say, what the hell, sure all the time. It's so funny to me. What the hell, sure. Like, it's just like a appropriate.
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And that's so funny too, because I bet too many people. It doesn't. It doesn't register as a reference.
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Yeah, I'm sure it doesn't. But it definitely registers as something because of the amount that I say it. But I think it's just, like, so apt in so many situations to me, both positive and negative, where it's like,
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sure, it can mean so much.
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I can be saying, what the hell, Shores? And like, ugh, I have to do this thing that I don't really want to, but what the hell, sure. Or it can be like a martini on a Friday night. What the hell, sure. Like, let's go crazy.
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You know, why wouldn't you? It is really versatile, and I think it's really versatile. I think your performance of both of those was, like, spot on.
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Thank you. The other One, the question that was asked is advice to unconfident young women. And she says, I think you guys might be thinking about yourselves too much.
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Pierce through the heart.
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I literally think about that all the time. If I'm like, if I am feeling anxious about a conversation I had the night before or something, I just. I'm like, you are thinking about yourself too much. And it's. I mean, it's just almost. It's almost always true.
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I've never heard it in response to that particular question before. You know what I mean? Like, that context makes it even more impactful where you're like, what should I do if I'm not confident? And it's like, stop thinking about yourself. And it's like, oh, that's practically like Buddhist wisdom.
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I know there is something about her. She tapped into it, but that's like my mantra.
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It feels so good to be like, no one's thinking about me right now.
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It literally feels amazing. And it's almost always true. And then if I'm like. Even if it's not like the person is weird for thinking about me, I
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didn't ask them to do that. Nobody did.
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And like, in those contexts, though, where I'm like, over going over something, I'm like, ruminating or whatever, I'm always like, literally, if roles were reversed, I would never be thinking about the thing I'm thinking about. And truly, if I was, it would be strange and odd.
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The piece of advice I always give to, like, younger friends, especially about work stuff, if they're like, I did this, should I follow up with another email? I, like, haven't heard back? And I'm always like, what would a person do?
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Literally.
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Yeah. And I think that is, like, so helpful to me to be like, what? Would a person be mad if I did this? Like an average, reasonable person? No. Or. Or maybe. Yes. Or would a. If. If a person did this to me, am. Would I be like, that's normal.
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Literally?
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Usually, yeah. Yeah.
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And also those things, like, for example, the email or something that's like, so weighted but actually are, like, very normal things to do. It is also the thing of. You're like, okay, what's the worst. The worst case scenario is basically that the person doesn't respond and you're like, I'm already sitting in a situation where the person isn't responding.
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So totally correct.
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Let's try one last time and then move on.
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I love that I have a celebrity interview quote that I've been thinking about a lot recently as well. May I share It.
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Yes.
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My friend Jesse David Fox, who works at Vaulter with New York magazine, he has a podcast called Good One where he interviews comedians and comedy writers, actors. And he interviewed Katt Williams a few years ago. And it's a great interview. It's like, really in depth and thoughtful. And Katt Williams is a fascinating character, a fascinating person, but also kind of
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a character who kind of plays up.
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But this was like, he said some stuff that was like, so outside the way I think about things. And I'm gonna like, I don't think I'll have this verbatim, but the spirit of it I am conveying as exactly as.
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Wait. And for the uninitiated, Josh, do you want to explain who Katt Williams is?
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Yeah. Katt Williams is like a comedian and actor. He really blew up in like the late 90s. He's done like over a dozen specials for various outlets. And he was in the Keke Palmer and Sza movie, One of Them Days. He was very funny in that.
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Yeah.
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And he's like, extremely prolific and has like, this projects just incredible confidence with his performance and the way he talks about things. He said a lot of really fascinating comedy stuff and like life stuff in the interview. Like, he said intentionally that he closes his sets with like, the dirtiest stuff because he thinks it will, it will like, inspire the people in his audience to go home with like, the date they came with and like, be intimate with one another.
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Oh, my God.
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She like, does that on purpose.
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I love that.
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It's so fascinating. And I'm like, whoa, what a. An interesting thing to consider and carry.
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Yeah. It's just something I would have never in my entire life thought of while I've performed. Stand up comedy is like, you know, I, I've never been like, you know what I want the audience to do? Get sexual after this.
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And then also it would never occur to me that, like, I could facilitate that by the power vested in me.
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So funny. I mean, it's kind of sweet.
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I think it's really.
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He's like, I just want everyone to feel good.
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Yeah. It's not just like, about sexuality. It's like he's like, I want the people in my audiences to like, think about connecting with each other and like being present with each other. If you can make that happen with a stand up comedy performance, that's spectacular.
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Yes.
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Anyway, the other thing that he said that I think about the most frequently, he was talking about how when he starts a big tour, he doesn't like, write an hour of material and Then bring it to the stage. He doesn't like, work out material in smaller venues. He just kind of is like, night one, we're flying by the seat of our pants. And, like, maybe he has some ideas, but it's not like a script at all. He just goes in and is like, let's go. Here's what I've been thinking about.
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That's crazy.
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And Jesse said, the interviewer said, do you ever worry that the people who go to these early shows on the tour aren't getting the same refined, powerful material that the people at the end of the tour get? Like, they're seeing a different show and it might not be as polished or as there might not be as many jokes and laughs in it, you know? And Katt Williams said, the most sincerely confident thing I've ever heard a person say in my life. And he goes, I never worry about that. Because think about it this way. If you buy a ticket to see a Knicks basketball game and the Knicks lose, you don't ask for your money back. That's just like, one of the things that can happen.
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Yeah. And they still put on a show, by the way.
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Yeah. They show up, they play. Isn't that fascinating?
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I think it's really cool. I think that even thinking about it in terms of, like, winning or losing is that it's like, I think it's cool to see someone in process.
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Yes.
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The hard thing with Stand up is that with the Knicks or with sports, part of what you know, is that they could lose. I think oftentimes, if you'll buy tickets to Stand up shows, they are expecting to laugh. And I also will say this. I bet that people are laughing no matter what when he's doing this.
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100%. I bet it is very rare that Cat Williams performs and the audience is like, wow, he just wasn't giving it his. Like, he just didn't have it in him tonight.
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Yeah.
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But it is. It. Stand up is not necessarily an art form that people see in big numbers. To watch process. Right. Like, it's not like a jam band or like a jazz quintet where you're like, I want to watch them find it live.
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Yeah. But I mean, I do think it's really cool. Like, but I also have to concede that I'm coming at this from the point of view of someone who does stand up. Is that, like, I do think it's really cool to watch someone in process. Ultimately, for the most part, I say that sometimes it's like, maybe not, but. But it's interesting. Like, I've had, like, I remember one time, like, my dad was at some event, whatever, I don't know what it was, and John Mulaney performed or he went to go see. I forget what it was, but he was basically like, oh, it wasn't that good. Like, da, da, da, da. And it's like, well, I. As a stand up, I was like, I'm sure he was trying new stuff out because, like, you have. Everyone has to. And especially with bigger comics, it's like, how do you do that, really, in a way that is like, without, like, letting people down or whatever.
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And your celebrity kind of comes with you wherever you go. Right. So it's like, if you see someone that you've never heard of before and they're like, pretty funny and they're kind of feeling it out, you're like, oh, that was kind of fun. But if you see Jerry Seinfeld and you're like, oh, this stuff wasn't quite there, then it's like a big disappointment. I think often.
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Yes.
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Or could be.
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It could be. But, I mean, I think it's, like, generally cool that he does it that way that Cat Williams does that way. And I think it takes a lot of, like. That is also someone at, like, the top of their game or someone who's very talented can. Is, like, kind of the only person who can do something like that.
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Yeah.
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Yeah. I don't know. What do you think about it?
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I'm really interested in it because I do think on one hand, there is a lot of beauty in saying and vulnerability in presenting a work in progress to an audience. And then I think there's like an electricity. I imagine, as a performer, to not tell them it's a work in progress.
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I can't imagine.
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I know, because that I love seeing a work in progress show, whether it's like theater or music, completely comedy, or seeing a show in previews even. And you go, oh, this is in previews. My wife and I saw the Groundhog Day musical in previews, and there was, like, kind of a long break because a technical element, they still hadn't, you know, it was inconsistent. So they had to figure out how to make it work. And it was like, oh, this is. This is part of it. And that's okay. We knew that going in. But to be like, the tour starts tonight and not say, this work in progress, to just be like, we're hitting the ground running, and then to have just to like, present the work in its, like, germinating form to people is I, like, wonder how people react and I imagine it's largely positive but I bet there are some people that walk out going like, man, the Knicks lost.
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Yeah, damn the next loss and I wish I had, I wish I could get my money back.
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Yeah. Yeah.
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Well, on that note, this has been a lovely night and I'm gonna say goodnight to you, Josh and I'm of course gonna say goodnight to Jemima Kirk because she's just, yeah, she's imparted me with wisdom in ways that you cannot possibly believe and I really have to thank her for that.
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I think that's really beautiful. And I'm gonna say good night to you, Wills and I'm also gonna say goodnight to both Kat Williams and thanks for his wisdom and wherever you are, Daniel Day Lewis. To learn more about our phone free light and audio experience, head to Hatch Co. You can also follow us at hatchpodcasts.
Podcast Summary: The Nightly – "Imagine Meryl Streep As Your Neighbor"
Date: May 30, 2026
Hosts: Wils Pelton & Josh Gondelman
Produced By: Hatch Podcasts
This cozy episode of The Nightly dives into the endearing and often surreal ways we think about celebrities—those who seem impossibly otherworldly and those who feel almost neighborly. Wils and Josh trade playful, meandering late-night thoughts on pop culture, parasocial relationships, memorable social media wisdom, and the odd comfort of imagining icons like Meryl Streep living next door. They also discuss standout life advice and reflections from celebrity interviews, all wrapped in the show’s signature warmth and wit.
Memorable Quotes:
Notable Exchanges:
Notable Exchanges:
Notable Quotes:
Throughout, Wils and Josh maintain a warm, witty, and gently self-deprecating atmosphere—inviting listeners to reflect on their own late-night thoughts about celebrity, social anxiety, and the comfort of seeing “famous” people just being people.
The episode winds down with each host bidding goodnight—not only to each other, but also to the celebrities discussed, acknowledging the unexpected wisdom and comfort gained from knowing (or imagining) these public figures in everyday settings. Whether offering practical advice about self-consciousness or unpacking the “process” of creativity, this episode leaves listeners with a sense of connection—both to the world of celebrity and to their own nocturnal musings.