“I Do This Too”

Summary

The Tony Kornheiser Show – “I Do This Too”

Date: December 17, 2025
Host: Tony Kornheiser
Production: This Show Stinks Productions, LLC

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Episode Overview

This episode of The Tony Kornheiser Show blends classic Kornheiser banter with seasonal reflections and robust guest interviews. Tony, Michael, and Nigel open with talk about winter weather, old clothes, and memorabilia before launching into their regular sports picks segment with Chuck Todd (and Reginald the Monkey). The episode’s highlight is an in-depth conversation with New Yorker editor David Remnick, focusing on the Netflix documentary marking the magazine’s 100th anniversary and offering a behind-the-scenes look at journalism and publishing.

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Table of Contents

• Opening Banter: Weather, Clothes, & Nostalgia
• Sports Talk: NBA Cup, Golf, & Memorabilia
• Football Picks with Chuck Todd & Reginald the Monkey
• Feature Interview: David Remnick on The New Yorker Documentary
• Mailbag, Listener Letters, and Holiday Reflections
• Notable Quotes & Moments
• Key Timestamps

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Opening Banter: Weather, Clothes, & Nostalgia

Main Theme: The warmth of familiar routines.

• Tony, Michael, and Nigel express gratitude for caramels sent by Greg Garcia and reminisce about thinly-sliced roast beef from a classic Long Island deli (04:51).
• The weather gets top billing: Tony laments the sudden cold snaps and discusses his winter gear, contrasting his new “hipster” Patagonia jacket with his trusty but ugly 30-year-old Eddie Bauer "Lillehammer" coat.
  • “[My old jacket is] a sickening green... I've used it for over 30—I use it 10, 12, 20 days a year. It still works. It’s hideous. I know it’s hideous, but it works.” (07:17)
• They poke fun at high-end winter brands (Canada Goose) and chat about wearing “lined pants"—the best, if least fashionable, clothing Tony owns.

Nostalgia:
Tony reflects on collecting matchbooks from restaurants and hotels throughout his life—a tradition now nearly extinct. He wonders, “What do restaurants give out now as keepsakes? Matchbooks were a travelogue of my life.” (12:07)

• Michael compares it to collecting golf scorecards and concert ticket stubs, noting the shift from tangible memorabilia to digital receipts (13:53).
• Tony muses whether to throw out the collection or turn it into art, revealing a deep affection for old-school tokens of experience.

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Sports Talk: NBA Cup, Golf, & Memorabilia

NBA Cup:
Tony lambasts the new NBA Cup, calling it a marketing ploy for global audiences rather than a real accomplishment:

“The NBA is chasing soccer, which has global dominance… But here, [basketball isn’t king].” (03:49)

Golf:

• Tony relishes a brisk December golf game—unaffected by frozen tee boxes and greens, but still enjoying the ritual.
• Discussion of golf’s relationship to weather and the treasured routine of getting out on the course even if it's 40 degrees, provided there’s no wind:
  • “Wind at 45 kills you. No wind this time of year – that’s the key.” (09:43)

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Football Picks with Chuck Todd & Reginald the Monkey

Chuck Todd’s Weekly NFL & College Picks

[Starts ~19:38]

Tony welcomes Chuck Todd, who breaks down NFL lines and college bowl scenarios. Key points:

• Chuck laments his season record, chuckling about being “just under .500”—a running joke.
• On the playoffs: “Part of the road to the Super Bowl is who survives. You have to stay healthy.” (23:43)

Notable Picks:

• Seattle vs. Rams: Both lean Seattle for home-field and crowd noise (21:19).
• Commanders vs. Eagles: Chuck likes Washington with the points in a divisional matchup, recalling the unpredictability of such games (22:29).
• Chicago vs. Green Bay: Chuck laughs at the Packers being a road favorite, calling for the home dog (23:49).
• Denver vs. Jacksonville: Chuck takes Denver, wary of Jacksonville’s performance at Denver’s altitude (25:45).

Reginald the Monkey’s Segment
[Starts ~33:00]

• Humorous segment with an elaborately fictional monkey “making picks,” including fake sponsorships (“Jinko olive oil: Buy it or else.” 33:59).
• Reginald goes with Philly -6.5, Green Bay -1.5, and Baltimore -3, using whimsical “logic” rooted in photos and imaginary history.

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Feature Interview: David Remnick on The New Yorker Documentary

[Interview starts ~38:16]

Main Theme: A candid, humorous examination of what it’s like to be the subject of journalism after decades being the one asking the questions.

• The Documentary Process:
  • Remnick shares how documentarian Marshall Curry employed classic interviewing techniques—like silence—to elicit revealing answers:
    • “He asked a question and then just sat there silent… Finally I said, Marshall, I do this too.” (39:43)
  • A.J. Liebling’s psychoanalyst-like method is cited as inspiration: “They don’t say a word and wait for the other person to fill the silence.” (39:58)
• Vulnerability & Vanity:
  • Remnick is candid about the discomfort of watching oneself age on screen:
    • “I looked at the movie and thought, God, you are so much older than I ever imagined. We all posture.” (42:15)
  • Discusses wardrobe and his lack of concern for fashion despite working at Conde Nast (“I wear jeans and a sweater... pandemic changed everything in the office.” 42:56).
• Behind the Scenes at The New Yorker:
  • Opens up about editorial challenges, the magazine’s place as a literary time capsule, and the forward-looking threat of AI and declining long-form reading:
    • “What I have to face... the work we’re doing is in complete defiance of every trend...” (50:04)
  • Tony notes the documentary’s nostalgic tone and worries about the future of print magazines; Remnick is realistic but hopeful.
  • On the New Yorker’s mission: “We're blessed with resources... and an ownership that wants us to be at our best and freest. There’s a great liberation in that.” (52:08)
• Personal Side:
  • Remnick describes keeping his family at arm’s length in the doc, devoting off-hours to guitar lessons as stress relief. He jokes about not being “good enough to torture anybody else” with his playing (46:50).
  • Ends with Tony’s admiration for the documentary: “It’s the best magazine, maybe the only magazine that can survive.” (53:05)

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Mailbag, Listener Letters, and Holiday Reflections

Seasonal Vibes:
The show closes with a moving mailbag segment, spotlighting letters from listeners. Highlights include:

• A heartfelt note from a hockey referee about grieving his father and finding comfort in the show (55:08).
• Other listeners share memories of family, funny animal mishaps involving mice, and weather tales from around the country (including minus-30 degrees Alaska).
• The hosts reflect on community, tradition, and humor as sources of connection during the holidays.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• David Remnick on documentary interviews:
  “Marshall, I do this too.” (39:56)

• On aging and self-image:
  “God, you are so much older than I ever imagined… My God, you look like a stegosaurus on some sort of barbiturate.” — Remnick (42:15)

• Tony on the NBA Cup:
  “Don’t make this into the Final Four. It’s not. The winner will be forgotten by Friday.” (03:50)

• Nostalgia and memorabilia:
  “This is the travelogue of my life, these matchbooks.” — Tony (12:07)

• Remnick on creative outlets:
  “I’m good enough to enjoy it, but not to torture anyone else having to listen to me [play guitar].” (47:04)

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Key Timestamps

• General Chatter, Roast Beef, & Greg Garcia Plug: 02:08–03:00
• NBA Cup & International Growth: 03:35–04:35
• Matchbook Nostalgia: 12:07–15:21
• Chuck Todd NFL Picks: 19:38–32:50
• Reginald the Monkey Picks: 33:00–36:14
• David Remnick Interview: 38:16–53:48
• Mailbag, Listener Tributes: 54:25–end

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Tone & Takeaway

The episode is affectionate, witty, and rich in nostalgia—balancing Tony's signature curmudgeon humor with genuine warmth. The Remnick interview is a masterclass in how to talk about legacy media honestly without self-importance, offering listeners a rare inside look at the intersection of journalism, personality, and the enduring value of great storytelling.

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If you didn’t listen: This episode is a quintessential Kornheiser blend: equal parts sports, humor, and life reflection, with an unusually thoughtful dive into what it means to document and be documented. Whether you care about the New Yorker, the NFL, or just like hearing funny people talk about old coats and matchbooks, “I Do This Too” hits the sweet spot.

Transcript

[Tony Kornheiser]

Hi, it's Tony. On today's show, we'll get football picks from Chuck Todd and Reginald the monkey. We'll also catch up with David Remnick, my longtime friend. He's the editor of the New Yorker about the Netflix documentary celebrating the 100th anniversary of the New Yorker. But first, commerce.

[Dan]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Dan]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Dan]

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[David Remnick]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

Previously on the Tony Kornheiser Show. So there was no danger to its life and it was squeaking then. I just assumed at some point it would gnaw off its tip. But I called Michael. I wanted to get it, but I didn't want to get bitten by the mouse. And the mouse was all the way in the back under the sink and was not going to be easy. I just told Michael this I didn't expect. What then happened?

[Michael]

Well, I come to the front door.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, with tongs.

[Chuck Todd]

Tongs.

[Michael]

I got the grilling tongs.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is General George Washington and you're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show. All right. So we have a lot of small things to deal with before we get to the guests today. First is to thank Greg Garcia. Greg Garcia sent us each other. Michael and Nigel and I sent us caramels. And they're lovely. They're just so good. And they sent a bunch of them. So thank you to Greg. I appreciate that.

[Nigel]

Can I give a plug for Greg?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Sure.

[Nigel]

Because he's coming back with Nate Bogazzi to, to Washington at the. Is it the Capital One Arena? Is that what we call it now?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Who knows?

[Nigel]

Whatever that is. The old Verizon center, the MCI Center. It's a.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's always. It's the place downtown that's always named after some phone company. Right. Bank.

[Nigel]

It's, it's right like the April 2nd and April 3rd. So circle those dates and make sure.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I'm going to go.

[Nigel]

Yeah, you're going to go.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, I'm going to go at the beginning. I'm not going to see Greg open. Yeah. And then I'm going to leave. I mean, you know, field trip. Yeah. How late can I stay up? I mean, you know, I don't stay up. The NBA cup, which is foolishness, was finished last night. Thank God. It was on prime tv. I have prime tv. I watched some of it. I watched the first half and then I said, this is enough for me. I really actually don't care the next one. They haven't won anything in 52 years. They want anything. And that includes no cup, no shop credit, no glassware. They haven't won anything and they won. So I'm happy for the Knicks. And today on the ESPN website, there's a picture of some action. And the caption writes, the Knicks win their first NBA Cup. Like what? Like it's been three. There's three NBA Cups out there.

[Michael]

You have to start somewhere.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Stop their first NBA Cup. Like, don't make this into the final four. It's not. The winner will be forgotten. Today's Wednesday by Friday. And it's, it's just. It's an attempt to get money from foreign developers who want the names attached to the NBA. It's an attempt to get money and attempt to get worldwide stature. I mean, what is the NBA chasing? It's different than the NFL because basketball is played everywhere. Football is not played everywhere. The NFL is chasing small markets. I mean, big markets, but small markets. Not, not global dominance. Yeah. And the NBA is chasing soccer, which has global dominance. Is global dominance everywhere. But Here. Everywhere but here.

[Michael]

And what has happened to the last two cup winners?

[Tony Kornheiser]

They've lost in the first round of the playoffs, so it's not great. So anyway, I mean, I don't want to talk about that. I want to thank again. Did I. I don't know if I mentioned this. I did talk about Sean Reese coming here and. Right. Oh, did I mention how great the roast beef was?

[Nigel]

You said it was very mins.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Roast beef, sliced thin, rare. It's a deli. And Lynbrook, Long island. That has been around at least 80 years, maybe more than that. Roast beef was their signature dish. Just fabulous. You. You had some.

[Michael]

I did, yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It was great.

[Michael]

You had it for lunch.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Just great. I'm very grateful for that.

[Nigel]

Did Jesse get any small little bites?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Small little bites. I need to talk about the cold. It is not nearly as cold this morning as it was on Sunday morning and Monday morning. Tuesday morning, it's not as cold. But there's a lesson here. I mean, it was 27, I think, when I took the dog out this morning, which is cold, but it's not windy. It's not unpleasant. I bought. Have I talked about this? I've talked about the winter coat that I bought. An over. Not an overcoat, but a sort of casual coat to keep you warm in the winter. By Patagonia.

[Nigel]

Okay.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Patagonia is Michael. What a hipster brand at the moment. It's been around for 100 years mostly.

[Michael]

You'd recognize it for a very distinct, distinctive logo that you'd see on fleeces, recycled fleeces, often through the 90s, 2000.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. So I don't have that.

[Nigel]

Used to have a store in Georgetown.

[Michael]

They did, yes. Right by the canal.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. I don't think it's as pricey as Canada goose.

[Michael]

Not as pricey as Canada goose. I'm sure they have some offerings that are close to it, but it would always be on par with like a, you know, north. A north face.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Nigel]

How much does a Canada goose jacket? Like a thousand dollars.

[Tony Kornheiser]

There are a lot of money. Women's got three, of course. Yes.

[Michael]

Three for the patch.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, he's got three. So I got this thing and it's fine. It's a sort of a gray, blue color. It's fine. You know, I've worn it with the dog in the 30s, right. In the 30 area temperatures, but it wasn't.

[Michael]

How long is it?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Comes down mid thigh. Mid thigh.

[David Remnick]

Okay.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It wasn't adequate in the really, really cold weather. I mean, I knew that. And I had sweaters on underneath. I knew that it wasn't going to make it, so I went back to old reliable Lilly hammer jacket. It still works, which I've had for over 30 years now. It's hideous. I know it's hideous, but it works. It. I had it for Norway.

[Michael]

Describe the color.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The color is a. It's a sickening green. A dark sickening green. Right.

[Michael]

It's a spicy mustard mixed in just.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, it's. I mean it's a really. It's not as old as I am, but it's. We've had it. I've used it for over 30. I use it 10, 12, 20 days a year.

[Michael]

I like that it comes out once for us. It comes out once every five to ten years where you say you. It's cold enough, you need to wear this. And then you go to the pocket and you find tissues.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Tissues and things for the dog when the dog poops. And biscuits and Red Cross. No. And things from actually from Norway in some of the pockets. From some of the pockets? Yeah. I mean souvenirs and stuff like that. It still works. It's still it. What do you want from a coat in the winter? You want to keep you warm.

[Nigel]

Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's great. Now, I didn't really. I wore it today. I didn't need it today, but I needed it yesterday. I needed it the day before. And I bought this. It's over 30 years old. I don't know if there's. If the, the ability to keep you warm fades. It hasn't faded with this jacket. I don't know.

[Nigel]

I would think it's.

[Michael]

I don't know. I think it depends on the material. Like if it was a, you know, down jacket and something happens to the, the filling that it might not keep you as warm.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't know if it's a down. I don't know what it is. I know I bought it at Eddie Bauer over 30 years ago. And the other thing I bought at Eddie Bauer last year, the lined pants which I am wearing now, These are the two greatest pieces of clothes. They're not attractive. These are the two greatest pieces of clothes. You're getting closer to Florida. I've ever bought, I've ever bought. I own. They're great, you know, so I'm happy for that.

[Nigel]

The Lillehammer jacket to me is like a great left handed reliever.

[Michael]

Yes.

[Nigel]

You see like 85 years old. Give me the lefty.

[Michael]

You have to be at the right spot in the order.

[Nigel]

Right. Still get you two outs.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, yeah. You don't Want to abuse it? You don't want to wear it when it's 36 degrees. No, no, no. You can put on Patag 30. You go Patagonia down to 26.

[Nigel]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But when, at 6? Yeah, at 6.

[Nigel]

That's when you got to bring him in.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. The manager comes out, goes to the bullpen and brings in, brings in that particular jacket, the Lilly Hammer jacket. It's just fabulous. Yeah.

[Michael]

But with this cold start to December, we have just jumped right into middle of the winter weather.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. It's not supposed to be this cold, but it's not going to be.

[Singer/Chorus]

Right.

[Nigel]

It's going to be like 50 today, though.

[Michael]

But we lost the last two weeks where we'd be on average at 50. 50, 51 is a high. Did I mention barely going to get that today and tomorrow?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I, I played golf last Saturday. Steve Rose and I went out. We were the first ones out. We played in three hours and five minutes, which nothing beats that. It's wonderful. It was about 40 degrees at its height. 40 degrees, but there was no wind. So it's okay. That's the key. It's okay. Wind. Wind at 45 kills you. No wind this time of year.

[Michael]

When you jump out on a golf course, you feel the hills when you go in and out of these little hollows where all of a sudden the temperature drops. So there's a different level of humidity.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, this is two things I should say. One is every tee box was frozen. Yeah, frozen. So hit it off the deck. I had to. No, I, I, Steve Rose taught me to do this. Take out the T marker and in the hole that is used, insert a T. It's going to be a little bit lower than you want, a little more wobbly than you want, but you're going to get a certain amount of elevation that 2, all the greens were frozen. So if I actually occasionally hit a pretty good approach shot, it went, it's off. It goes to the back in a row. I didn't hold the green on any shot. I had some that I thought, wow, that was pretty good. I was over on everything, which allowed me to practice that the sand wedge, you know, shot where you pop it up in the air. I'm terrible at it.

[Michael]

Banging it across the green.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, it went the other way and across.

[Michael]

Got to play the short hop.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's, you know. So I want to get to one other thing, thing in my life. I, I don't think I'm a hoarder, but some might, some might think I'm a hoarder. I don't think I am, but I have collections of things. And one of the collections that I started doing when I was in my teens, 20s, it's a long, long time ago, was collecting matchbooks from places I ate at or visited. Matchbooks. I have two large urns with, I would say, 400 matchbooks, maybe more. And I needed to light something last night, so went to the. Went and picked out, you know, something from arts in Las Vegas. Art apostrophe s, I'm sure the finest dining in that building, you know, But I don't even know. I mean, I don't remember. Arts says Arts. Las Vegas. Been in Las Vegas a lot as a kid. Nobody smokes anymore. Very few people. Matchbooks, they're not. And restaurant restaurants anymore.

[Nigel]

No.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You walk into the palm, you used to be able to get a great little keepsake. It's. What do you get now? How do you remember? Like, these are. I don't remember Arts, but I'm sure there are a lot of places in there that I would look at and know the city, if not the restaurant, that you don't have some sense of it. These. This is the travelogue of my life, these matchbooks. And they are not. I just realized last night. I haven't realized this before. You don't get these anymore. Do restaurants give anything out of a keepsake nature that one can collect?

[Michael]

I think you can get, like, a cocktail napkin, and you could hold onto those. But when you think about the matchbook, part of that would be. Then you would display it at your house, either in your urn or. If you were the type of person who do this, you'd put it out on a table just so you could show off a little bit of. I've been to this restaurant in New York. I've been here, and I wish I'd.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Learned to do that. I never did that. I have them all in urns. You know, big glass urns.

[Nigel]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I mean, and then.

[Michael]

So some people turn these into art.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Just gonna throw them out, Right.

[Michael]

You know what? I probably will. But it's also something that I remember from my childhood because we. Do you remember when Maggie used to get into the matchbooks, you actually had to put Saran Wrap over the COVID of the earth.

[Tony Kornheiser]

She would destroy the matchbooks. She would destroy them. She'd open the ones that could be opened and the individual matches fell out.

[Nigel]

That was her.

[Tony Kornheiser]

She did that. Just ripped up the others. Yeah. Very annoying. And we had to put Saran Wrap on the top of it. Yeah. But these are, again, this is the travelog of my life.

[Nigel]

Yes. And it's.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And I never thought about it until last night.

[Nigel]

It's from a bygone era. I mean, it's.

[Michael]

Yeah, but I think this is very similar to, you know, holding on to golf scorecards, where you can just sort of, you know, keep a map of your travel.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But they're still making golf scorecards.

[Michael]

Yes, but not as many people use them. And that is the keepsake. The same way that you might get teas from a certain golf course or the push, you know, the push in ball markers. But I was thinking about this just in terms of concert tickets that you'd hold on to. Paper stub.

[Nigel]

Yeah, yeah. Because a QR code really is something that you can, you know, use for nostalgia.

[Michael]

Print out Live Nation.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And I don't. I don't think that I'm alone in this. I really don't. I think there's a. Millions of people who have these keepsakes, take them for granted until they don't exist anymore. They don't.

[Michael]

So for you, you could actually go. It might be a fun activity for you to go through these matchbooks and Maybe pick out 10, 20, 50 that represent different pockets of your life. And we could turn those into a shadow box. Or you could get those commissioned into just a nice piece of art where they get.

[Chuck Todd]

Really.

[Nigel]

Yeah, I could take it over to Frame Bridge.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I mean, I've got. What have I got? Well, you know, there's two different styles. Again, there's the one that opens and the matches are inside. And then there's the box, which is different. So you'd have to compress it, press it down. You'd have to do so. Yeah, I could probably get those framed. I could get a collage. You know, there are places there that. That I don't know if they exist anymore. Well, there's like the original Joe Stone crib in Miami. Like, everybody knows that. I'm sure I've got that.

[Nigel]

But places in New Orleans, the old.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Great restaurants, hotels, golf courses even.

[Nigel]

It was.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I collected matchbox matchbooks. I did.

[Nigel]

Yeah. Because you're not a smoker.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No.

[Nigel]

Never been a smoker.

[David Remnick]

Right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I was a long time ago, but it's.

[Chuck Todd]

It.

[Nigel]

But people who aren't smokers, back in the day, that's what you did, just grab matches.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It was a keepsake again. They're in these. I've never seen anybody else do that. I guess other people do it as well.

[Michael]

Probably not to vote the level that you have, but. Yes, People hold on to these hundreds and hundreds.

[Tony Kornheiser]

All right. Okay, we'll take a break. Chuck Todd. When we return, I'm Tony Kornheiser.

[David Remnick]

This is the Tony Kornheiser Show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

See mint mobile.com youm're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show.

[Tim Wildsmith]

Have I got a story for you. Now I was only five years old, excited and awake on the night before Christmas. My most favorite of of all days when lo I heard a noise downstairs so I crept out to catch a.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Glimpse.

[Tim Wildsmith]

And there I found my mother dear with Santa locking lips.

[Singer/Chorus]

Ho ho ho.

[Tim Wildsmith]

He said to me Go back to sleep. This is just a dream. No, no, no, said I to he. Remove your hands from my mother, please. And he said, look, son, it's me. Oh, I think my dad is Santa Claus.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This is Tim Wildsmith, our friend. Nashville, Tennessee. One of the highlights of my holiday season, he writes, the past couple of years has been the messages I've received from fellow Littles telling me how much they love this song and hearing you, Michael and Nigel, laugh along, of course. Is Bootsy old enough to listen to this one yet? Thanks for another great year. The show means the world to me. Happy holidays, everyone. From Tim Wilesmith playing in Chuck Todd. Chuck reaches Mount 500 and then slips back wins. Wins. Last night wins Pittsburgh. Last night puts him to 3 and 4. 52 and 53. You know, on the course of the year. Now, do you feel terrible about this, or is it. Does it give you greater resolve?

[Chuck Todd]

I thought it was worse than 3 and 4. So I'm just sort of. You know how you just sort of like, oh, my record was three and four.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, yeah, three and four.

[Chuck Todd]

I was two and five.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Unless I got it wrong, you were three and four.

[Chuck Todd]

I'll take it. I'll take it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Chuck Todd]

But I'll tell you, that song just reminds me, like, can you imagine we were teaching little kids about mommy kissing Santa Claus? Just sort of let it go. Just sort of let it go. I. So, I mean, like, by the way, Santa makes the round, God only knows what kind of STD Santa could be traveling around the country. Like, that whole thing is just sort of one of the weirder things we've. We celebrate by the innocence of youth.

[Tony Kornheiser]

All right, this week's picks with Chuck Todd and Reginald the monkey are brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Make every moment more. So I'm going to give you some games. This line is flipped. It is. It has gone from plus to from minus to plus to minus. It's the Los Angeles Rams who looked so good beating Detroit at Los Angeles on Sunday. They have the Thursday night game. They travel for the Thursday night game to Seattle. A very good team. Seattle did not look good beating the Colts, but Seattle has a very good record. Now, for reasons unknown to me, the Rams are a road favorite giving one and a half in Seattle Thursday night. Who you got?

[Chuck Todd]

I'm. You know, it seems like whoever is crowned the NFC's best lays an egg the following week, right?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yep.

[Chuck Todd]

We had it with the packers, we had it with the Eagles. Now it's the Rams turn. And so, I mean, this is definitely a buy low spot with Seattle. Give me Seattle.

[David Remnick]

At home.

[Chuck Todd]

At home.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Getting points. Getting points on a Thursday.

[David Remnick]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Chuck Todd]

It seems like a. Seems like a good bet.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Chuck Todd]

Right. I would assume that's where you'd be, right?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I would be because I know how loud it is there and I also know that it can be cold. And the Rams. No, I don't like him in this spot.

[Chuck Todd]

They're not outdoors. That's sort of the only question mark about them is how many outdoor games are they going to have to play in the playoffs. Right. That'll be the key to whether they get there.

[Tony Kornheiser]

If they lose this game, they're probably out as the number one seed for this week. But you know, there's going to be two more weeks after then it's the Bears.

[Chuck Todd]

Right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

The Bears might be the lead. I think Philadelphia is at Washington. Everybody got this wrong. Last week. The Washington team had a resurgence.

[Chuck Todd]

What was that?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, this is a Saturday game. Philadelphia on the road is a 6 1/2 point favorite. Philadelphia look very good, but I hasten to point out they beat the Raiders. The Raiders stink. So who you got in this one?

[Chuck Todd]

So I want to be on the Eagle side, but don't. Isn't this the game the commanders win when they're bad? Like a couple years ago, the Eagles were really good and yet they won this. They lost this game to the commanders. Do you remember that? I don't think it was almost in this okay. Area.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Chuck Todd]

I just, you know, this a divisional game. Familiarity. I don't know. Give me the points. Give me the commanders and the points.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I think I'd go the other way on this one, but I would have gone the other way on Sunday. So I would have been wrong. Green Bay is at Chicago. Wilbon will be there. So all is right in the city of big shoulders. Green Bay is a one and a half point favorite. They beat Chicago in Green Bay. I don't know, on a, like a last second throw or so. I mean, it just wasn't much.

[Chuck Todd]

It was an interception. It was an interception.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I mean, Chicago could have won that game. They could have won it at Lambeau. Green Bay minus one and a half third straight road favorite.

[Chuck Todd]

Boy, I don't know why the packers are still a favorite here without Micah Parsons.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's right.

[Chuck Todd]

With the injuries on their offensive line.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No tight end.

[Chuck Todd]

Right. With their number two tight end. Boy, the pack. By the way, these injuries have really started to accumulate for them. So reminder, that's part of the. Part of the part of the road to the super bowl is who survives.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's right.

[Chuck Todd]

More than anything else. I have to take the Bears here. I can't believe they're underdog at home. I got to take the home dog here.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, one more home dog. Carolina. Tampa Bay at Carolina. Tampa Bay minus three. I have to say, I don't really understand. Tampa Bay has done nothing but lose the last six weeks. They lose? What are they, one in five or something like that? They're just. They're not. They're not what they were. They're not who they were. Carolina just lost. That was a bad loss. And I don't think Carolina is any good, but I don't think Tampa. I'm surprised. Tampa Bay is a three point favorite.

[Chuck Todd]

Yeah. And it's on the road. It's in Carolina.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Chuck Todd]

They're not bad at home. Carolina's been okay at home and they sort of feel like they do this every other week. So they. They lose to New Orleans this week, last week. Give me, you know, is this going to be a losing record that wins this division?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I think not. I think. I think It'll be a 9 and 8. I think it'll be.

[Chuck Todd]

It'll be a 9 and 8.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's what I.

[Chuck Todd]

And they'll host a playoff game against what? Either Green Bay or San Francisco.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And they'll lose. And they will lose.

[Chuck Todd]

Yeah, that. That they'll definitely give me. But give me Carolina in this. Give me the home dog again. That's three. Three, three of the home.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's four. It's four.

[Chuck Todd]

I take four.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Seattle, Washington, Chicago, Carolina. It's four. Here's a home favorite. Denver. Jacksonville at Denver. A game I didn't think would be much six weeks ago and now looks like a much bigger deal.

[Chuck Todd]

It's a one seed, right?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, it could be.

[Chuck Todd]

Jacksonville could get the one seed.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It could be. Well, Denver. Yeah. If they beat Denver. I don't know what the weather is like in Denver, but it's. Jacksonville is a warm weather team. If it's cold, who knows how that affects them? Jacksonville is one of the two or three biggest surprising teams of the year this year. And Liam Cohen must know what he's doing. Jacksonville plus three at Denver.

[Chuck Todd]

Yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm betting against the altitude that that's the bigger problem for Jacksonville will be the altitude. So give me. Give me Denver.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Gonna take Denver. Okay. New England is.

[Chuck Todd]

You believe in Bo Nix now? You believe in Bonick?

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, I don't believe. I mean, I think that's a good team. I think Sean Payton knows what he's doing. I think Bo Nix is fine, but I don't think Bo Nix is as good as Drake. May. I don't.

[Chuck Todd]

Why is Sean Payton succeeding and Pete Carroll is not?

[Tony Kornheiser]

I imagine there's better talent and Pete Carroll is in his first year and Sean Payton's in his second year and had a year to look around or maybe two years. Maybe it's his third year.

[Chuck Todd]

So you think Pete Carroll gets another year?

[Tony Kornheiser]

If he wants it. If he wants it. He may not want it. I think he will. Yeah. We'll see.

[Chuck Todd]

Okay.

[Tony Kornheiser]

New England is at Baltimore. A few weeks ago, I wouldn't have thought this was a meaningful game. It is a meaningful game. If Baltimore wants to make the playoffs, they have to win this game. To sweep. They have to sweep New England, Green Bay and Pittsburgh. At Pittsburgh. I don't like those chances. New England's coming off a loss first time and I don't know, two and a half months. They had 110 in a row. New England at Baltimore, New England getting three.

[Chuck Todd]

I feel like during the Brady era, Baltimore was one of those teams that had New England's number. Didn't they, didn't it feel like that, that they, you know, Baltimore seemed to. When they got to New England, knew how to beat a Belichick team. I don't know what to make of the Ravens. I was surprised by how easy they won last week.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Shut out. They shut out Joe Burrow. They shut him out.

[Chuck Todd]

Yeah. And is that a Joe Burrow problem or was that the Ravens defense suddenly from 2000 returned?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, that would, I mean, that would be unusual since you hadn't seen it all year. You hadn't. So I don't know.

[Chuck Todd]

And Lamar, Lamar still doesn't look like he's 100%.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Nope, nope.

[Chuck Todd]

I'm, I'm. Give me, give me the Patriots.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Patriots plus three. First road team you pick, San Francisco is at Indianapolis on Monday night. Indianapolis going to throw that guy out there again. Maybe he'll get carted off this time. It was remarkable, amazing that he played so well. But San Francisco is going to have a week to prepare specifically for him. San Francisco is a six point favorite on the road against a team with a winning record.

[Chuck Todd]

Can I just say, watching Philip Rivers play, I never felt more seen as a middle aged man than seeing his gut in that jersey.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Chuck Todd]

When you know, I was like, okay, I'm glad to know that you can see his gut in a jersey too. Just the way you would see my Gut. If I were. Whenever I think I'm wearing a jersey with a number on it. I think the sports movie's over. I think this, this. Give me, give me San Francisco.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's a good phrase, the sports movie. I feel the same way you do that. This one, this is it.

[Chuck Todd]

This is, you know, it was nice. I think it was really excellent of Seattle to play a really poor game to make us interested.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Chuck Todd]

You know, drama. You know, it probably means he did sell. He did get Netflix to buy the rights. Right. I would say don't we see this. Right.

[David Remnick]

We'll call it.

[Chuck Todd]

It's not the rookie. We'll call this the veteran. Right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know, something like that. It's a good written right now. Story like this is being written right now. 44 year old grandfather playing in the league. Okay, I'm going to give you the four college games. You can pick or choose any one or none or whatever you want.

[Chuck Todd]

Okay.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I'll just read them out loud. First, Alabama is at Oklahoma and for reasons that I don't understand, Alabama is a one and a half point favorite. Miami is a three and a half point underdog at Texas A and M. Texas A and M was unbeaten until Texas beat them in the final game of the season. Tulane is getting 17 and a half at Ole Miss. Lane Kiffin won't be there. Somebody else will be there. That's 17 and a half and James Madison. Welcome to the College football playoffs. Plus 21 at Oregon. Plus 21. That's a lot. That's a lot. You like any of them?

[Chuck Todd]

So the two games that I'll let you count against my record.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Chuck Todd]

Is I will take Oklahoma in the points.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Chuck Todd]

And Miami in that hook.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Chuck Todd]

And I will just say I know I'm going to be a homer in Miami.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Chuck Todd]

But Miami is always a really good underdog in big games. They're terrible frontrunners, they're terrible favorites. But when they're underdog role, that's usually a pretty good sign. So that would, that, that's my excuse there and something's amiss. Do you remember last year the Ohio State, Tennessee first round game had Ohio, had Ryan Day lost that game. He was going to get fired, right?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Probably. Probably. Yeah.

[Chuck Todd]

If he loses this game, I think.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He could get fired too.

[Chuck Todd]

I think could suddenly be interested in the Michigan.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So when Kaylin DeBoer, when you see him standing up at a lectern and saying, you know, I'm here, this is where I'm going to be, I'm here and I'm thinking to myself, well, I don't know. I mean those fans are who they are and if you lose this one, I'm not sure they won't send you. As soon as they can, big M's in the mail. Just say go, get out of here. Get out of here.

[Chuck Todd]

My haircut today. And he had the one of the chat show ESPN chat shows on. And Fine Bomb was on.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Chuck Todd]

And Fine Bomb made a really important point about that Kalyn DeBoer answer. He goes, you know, if you're staying in Alabama, that's a pretty simple sentence to say. And then you just sort of move on. He goes, it seemed to take him about 20 minutes to let you know he was kind of sort of okay and definitely going to be here. And like he was being so weird about it that it made you think, is there something we don't know?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Is it possible? Yeah. This is what we would ask ourselves. Is it possible that there have been communications through, you know, that Michigan has Talked to Kaylin DeBoer or his people and that, you know, he's saying just give me a week or so. Let me see what happens here. Let me see what happens with Oklahoma, by the way.

[Chuck Todd]

It's not lost on me. Have you seen, if you look at his resume, it's Midwest total. It's, it's Northern Dakotas.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Chuck Todd]

He's not a Southerner. No, I have no doubt.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, they'd be happy if he left.

[Chuck Todd]

And I think, and my guess is he and his family would be happy living in Ann Arbor.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Then what happens of course is Lane Kiffin calls up LSU and the governor and says, yeah, I'm going the other way. I'm going Alabama.

[Chuck Todd]

Say this, I don't, I don't want to give all those points. Take all those points in James Madison or anything like. Or that guy landing Oregon. If they, if they won by 40, it wouldn't shock me. They could put an ugly numb. They're more likely to run it up. I don't know what to make Ole Miss, I don't. That would, that's what scares me about that, about betting on that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I'd be incredibly surprised. I'd be incredibly surprised if they didn't.

[Chuck Todd]

I assume they win. But yeah, I think it wouldn't surprise me if it was a one score game for longer than was comfortable.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It would surprise me if they didn't win by a lot. But we'll see. All right, good luck. Thank you. We'll talk to you next week.

[Chuck Todd]

See you, bud. Bye.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Chuck. Todd and if we just gave you Chuck Todd, that's more than enough. But we do so much more than that. We give you a monkey. See the monkey he's scritch, scritch scratching.

[Dan]

Watching his iPad Smoking and laughing Hanging.

[Tony Kornheiser]

With Bud Grantapping tap tapping on his purple attache Sing along everybody. Reginald's got the vice by two Sometimes he throws and he's had too much Johnny Walker Lou. He had a bad week. He had had a good week. He was 2 and 1 after being 1 and 2 for like eight weeks in a row. Now he's.03. Last week he's 16 and 29. It's. It's bad times for the monkey.

[Nigel]

It's bad times for the monkey. I went down to the National Zoo to, to meet with him and he was involved in a very serious meeting. As we just talked about, it's not been a good year for no betting. He's well under 500, has taken a huge hit financially.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I didn't realize how he's on the games.

[Nigel]

Yeah, he's. He's betting on his own games. This is own his own money.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes. That's why it's pretty serious. What are you, a monkey?

[Nigel]

Exactly. So the folks that Reginald was talking to are going to be his new financial backers.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Who are they?

[Nigel]

Well, as part of this deal, it means he's going to have a sponsorship for his appearance with us on the show. So if it's okay, I just like to read this for him right now. Reginald is proud to be sponsored by the good folks of Gin Company Olive oil. It's the best olive oil you'll ever try. Reginald is the only celebrity to endorse this famed singer. Johnny Fantaine is a huge fan of this product as well. Jinko olive oil from the heart of Sicily to your kitchen table. Buy it or else.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's wonderful. So it's wonderful.

[Nigel]

Hopefully it gives them some stability financially. Now, the first match we gave him was Philadelphia giving six and a half at the Washington football team Saturday game. Saturday game on Netflix. I know you'll be watching he that.

[Michael]

Or Emily in Paris for you.

[Nigel]

He pulled out a photograph of him traveling down the Nile on a barge to see the land of the Pharaohs. Joined by Greg Luzinski, Eric Lindros and Kyle Schwaber.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He's going Philly.

[Nigel]

He's going Philly. And laid the six and a half for that one. Okay, well, next match we gave him was Green Bay giving one and a half at the Bears. I believe that's also a Saturday match. Isn't it?

[Tony Kornheiser]

It is, yes.

[Nigel]

This was a very old photograph he showed me from a newspaper of him competing in a jitterbug contest alongside Ray Nitschke, Forest Gregg and Jerry Kramer. Not sure who actually won the competition.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's such a big man to do the jitterbug.

[Nigel]

Well, apparently they loved it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

When they toss their partner, they toss their partner, they're out the door.

[Nigel]

So take Green Bay and lay the one and a half. And the final match he gave him was the Ravens at home giving three to the Patriots. And Reginald just pointed to a banner that hangs. I had not seen this in his flat. A banner that hangs on his wall that says crab cakes and football. That's what Maryland does. Of course, the famous line from Wedding Crashers. Didn't know if you knew that Reginald was a producer for that movie.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I did not know that.

[Nigel]

He lives that philosophy. So Maryland football, Baltimore. He will take the Ravens.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's great. This week's picks with Chuck Todd and Reginald the monkey have been brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Make every moment more. We will come back with the editor of the New Yorker, sportswriter, former sports writer at the Washington Post, and a dear friend over a long period of time, David Remnick, to talk about the documentary on the hundredth year, right, 100 years of the New Yorker, which Michael saw and I saw.

[Michael]

Maybe he'll bring out the guitar.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, yeah, he's apparently now playing. I mean, he's going to take Keith Richards place at some point. I'm Tony Kornheiser, guys.

[Dan]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

Good different.

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[Tony Kornheiser]

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[Tony Kornheiser]

You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show. The Tony Kornheiser Show. This is John Ross, who writes greetings again. Thanks for playing my mailbag song from time to time. Makes me happy. Gives my realtor more reasons to text me, which also makes me happy. Back during COVID I was stuck at home like everyone else, unable to work the weddings and events that usually fill my calendar. I have a small recording studio at home. I've always loved Christmas music, so I decided to keep myself busy recording an album and called it the COVID Christmas. If listeners want to hear more of the record or add it to their holiday rotation, stream for free on Spotify and available on Apple Music. This is a song by John Ross called Send us a Savior, Michael. If people like John Ross want to send in their original music to get it played on this high quality podcast.

[Michael]

How they do it, send us your music by emailing it to [e-mail] plays.

[Tony Kornheiser]

In my longtime friend whose talent I admire much better than I now the editor of the New Yorker, David Remnick, who's identified, much to my great delight, identified at one point in that documentary as David Remnick, sportswriter, just makes me so happy. And my son is here who actually reads the New Yorker and will interrupt me at certain times. Yeah, let me. Yeah. Not the fiction, of course. Apparently nobody reads the fiction. Let's get to the important thing here, which is you had to agree to do this. You are a smart guy. You know, it's fraught with peril. How did they sell you on doing.

[David Remnick]

Was with real peril? Because, you know, Tony, we both for many, many years have been on the other side of the pencil and we know the tricks.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[David Remnick]

And the first time this guy, Marshall Curry, who's a very smart documentary filmmaker who did a fantastic thing on Newark politics called Street Fight, which a documentary I love. He's sitting across from me and he's doing that move where he asks you a question and I answered it and then I stopped answering because my answer was finished. But he did that move where he just went silent because what ordinary citizens do because we're, you know, we're needy people and we want to please the person across from us is you keep talking.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, you do. Yes.

[David Remnick]

And you guess when you get in trouble because you're trying to please your interlocutor. And he looked at me and I looked at him and Finally I said, marshall, I do this too.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know.

[David Remnick]

My favorite New Yorker writer of all time was A.J. liebling, who wrote about boxing and World War II and so on. And the way he began an interview with anybody was the same way psychoanalysts begin a session is they don't say a word and they wait for the other person to fill the silence. So. But I was wary of it, you're right. Because they're around so damn much, we just let them in the office for day after day after day.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. How many days, how many weeks, how many months? How long were they in there filming?

[David Remnick]

Well, you can see the change in the seasons during the thing. They were there on and off for many months. So that's when you get the good stuff.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. At what? Yeah, this is. Bob Woodward always outlasts everyone. Bob just sits there and people eventually just tell him everything that they, that they have. At what point, if ever, if ever, did you become oblivious of the cameras?

[David Remnick]

I think you'd be a fool to be oblivious. I mean, you go into a meeting with. When you're, you're mic'd up and yeah, you'd be a fool, you're not paying it and you know, did you see that Vanity Fair piece about Susie Wiles, the Chief of Staff?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes, I just read about that yesterday. Yes. Do you know, do you know that she's Pat Summerall's daughter?

[Chuck Todd]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Is that amazing?

[Chuck Todd]

Yeah.

[David Remnick]

Isn't that great? Isn't that great? And that's, by the way, that's part of why Trump appointed her. Cuz that's his era, right? He's watching Madden.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Madden. If Summerlaw and Madden were still alive, they'd be the Secretary of Defense and Commerce.

[Chuck Todd]

Yeah, exactly.

[David Remnick]

The country might be better off.

[Chuck Todd]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So you never become oblivious of the camera, did you? Did you see daily rushes if they have such things?

[David Remnick]

No, it's his movie. It's his film.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So you didn't have a deal, you didn't have last.

[David Remnick]

Right, that'd be like your profile subject, getting to see your notes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, but you could have asked, you could have said, I'll do this, but I want to have refusal.

[David Remnick]

But then it's. Then it's a ridiculous project. Then it's my movie, not his.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, so then let's get to the questions that everybody wants to know. And by everyone, I mean, I mean me. Yeah. Did you dress special for it? Did you consult anyone? Not the vanity. What are the vanity issues that you had?

[David Remnick]

Well, I looked at the movie and I thought, God, you are so much older than I even imagined. We all posture.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's why I never watch pti. Never? Never.

[David Remnick]

My God, you look like a stegosaurus on, you know, some sort of barbiturate or something like that.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right, right.

[David Remnick]

But there you go. There's no escaping. And at a certain age, who cares?

[Tony Kornheiser]

So. But I will bet, I would bet that there was a point where you said, I'm gonna be on today. What should I wear? What should I wear?

[David Remnick]

No, I just know. Well, of course, you think about it. But you should see my closet, Tony. I work at Conde Nast, but you never know.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So it's not. It's not a Wilbond closet.

[David Remnick]

One time in my life, and I've been working with Anna Wintour for many years, you know, in the same building. We're friendly, and I know her. I know her pretty well. She. Once I came, I had to come. I forget why I had to wear a suit. But this is an occasion as rare as, you know, Halloween comes once a year, and that's when I wear a suit. And she looked me up and down like, you know, a drill sergeant, and she. An imperceptible nod of approval. That was the highest compliment I've ever gotten about what I've worn. But I wear jeans and, you know, a sweater to work every day. You know, I think also the pandemic changed everything in the office. It just made it some of the old. Well, first of all, going in five days a week, you know, unless you're at Goldman Sachs, I don't know who does that. And, in fact, you ever move from your house?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, I mean, I go to the studio. I now go to the studio two or three times a week.

[David Remnick]

But, I mean, you don't have a fake studio. Like half the people on TV do.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I have a studio at home. Sure.

[David Remnick]

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's amazing.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. I mean, anybody can do that. It's just a camera. I mean, you decide what you want in the background or the company tells you what they want in the background. In my case, I just change things all the time because I know that people take screenshots of it and want to know, well, who made that?

[David Remnick]

They're obsessed with this. They're obsessed with this.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. And I get that. You know, I get that. But I mean, there is. Look, they're making a movie. It's not a home movie, and it's going to be on tv, and it's the New Yorker, and you're going to be in it. And in fact, you are the only full person in it. You are the only person who is not just being photographed doing their work. I mean, you. You're. As Jeannie said, you're the star of it. Right? You're the star of it.

[David Remnick]

Only because you and Jeannie know me. I mean, there are people in there. You know, they're glimpsed. You're right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[David Remnick]

Go from person. You know, John Lee Anderson is working the. He's showing up in Damascus and Syria.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, yeah. And Roz Chast is sitting down, and I'm thinking to myself, this woman is brilliant. But I don't think we could have a conversation.

[David Remnick]

No, you could. It's. But it would not be like any other conversation you've ever had.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, just. So. Okay, so the personal things, the guitar, which I. I didn't know. The bicycle, the peloton did. Was there any reluctance? Does it. Did anybody in the house say to you, oh, no, no, no, don't do this, or, oh, yes, yes, yes, my wife.

[David Remnick]

Yes, my wife Esther. And she said, you can do what you want, but you could be in the kitchen and you can be in the office, and that's it. And I'm not in this thing. That's fine.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right?

[David Remnick]

That's okay.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right.

[David Remnick]

And you know, the guitar, you know. You know this thing called Track Star Online, Tony, where I do put headphones on you and they make you guess the name of the performer or the song.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, I don't know.

[David Remnick]

So I just was on this thing and. And I think they, you know, they obviously feed you the music that you would know better, which is, for me, a kind of boomer rock, you know, era stuff, but I know that stuff really well, and I'm obsessed with it. And my favorite escape from work is the guitar lesson I take on Sunday afternoons with this incredibly lovely guy. Now it's online more often than live, and it's just a total escape. And I. Instead of, you know, you're sitting at the computer hour after hour, and instead of smoking cigarettes or what other people do to take a break, I just pick up the guitar and some Danish kid on YouTube teaches me how to play one song or another properly or some odd, you know, Japanese guy.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Are you any good? Are you good at it?

[David Remnick]

I'm better than you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, yeah. I mean, total incompetent and a boob. I can. I tried. When I was in my 30s, I brought somebody in to help teach me piano who said to me, your tone deaf, stop. You know, it's never going to work.

[David Remnick]

So, you know, I would Say I'm good enough to enjoy it, but not to torture anybody else with having to listen to me.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right, right.

[David Remnick]

And for a while, I was in a band called the Sequoias. Really, in my 50s and into my 60s. Yeah, we weren't, you know, anything approaching good, but it was fun, you know. You know, get on the subway and take a guitar to Brooklyn to some rehearsal place and muddle through some stone song. And it was abysmal and. But it was fantastically fun. So, you know, I don't do that enough in my life. I just work all.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Mitch Albom does that all the time. Mitch album. Mitch Albom plays in a band called the Rock Bottom Remainders with Dave Barry.

[David Remnick]

Are they still around?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, they play every once in a while. Dave Barry, who said to me once, as he said to 10,000 other people, why do you play Glory? And he says, because you can take a guitar, throw it on the ground, and it will give you the first three chords of Gloria.

[David Remnick]

Well, it's only three chords. And they're the same three chords over and over and over again.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right. So it works.

[David Remnick]

But you know what, Lou. You know what Lou Reed once said? Lou Reed said rock and roll is two or three chords. And if you have a fourth chord, it's jazz.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Late. Great Lou Reed.

[David Remnick]

By the way, the Christmas music that you were just playing is great. Yeah, but the Christmas music, you gotta know. You gotta play the Dylan Christmas album. What are you missing here?

[Tony Kornheiser]

We're not allowed. I mean, we'd have to pay millions of dollars. We are allowed to pay. Yes. We are allowed to pay independent artists who want their music on. And we can do that. We don't have to pay them.

[Chuck Todd]

Right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

But we have to. If you take known, you know, commodities and you play them just like I would, because I would play. Yeah. I play Van Morrison every single day. And then I would owe Van Morrison $20 million. So we don't do that. Did you, at any point. At any point, did you have a particular fear as to how you were going to be portrayed? Was there one thing we said to yourself or you said to your wife, Ooh, I shouldn't have done that.

[David Remnick]

You know. Yeah, of course. But the vanity was the greater fear.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[David Remnick]

I mean, if I'm being honest. But look, what I feared was, how are they going to do this? Because it's a magazine with a long history. It's changed a lot in certain ways in the last 15 years because of technology. And we've added a lot to it. So you Know, podcast, doing what you're doing, and video. And how do we deal with the web and all these things? How do we deal with the Internet? But I thought the guy, you know, in an hour and a half's time, got a lot of humanity and information in it. I mean, I. I think it's fair to say that it's not a takedown that's. And it's. It's more celebratory. More celebratory than anything else, but. And I hope people, you know, look at that and they stumble across it and they maybe pick up the New Yorker and read it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's lovely.

[David Remnick]

I think the big. The big thing that I have to face, if I'm being honest with myself, is the work that we're doing is in complete defiance of every trend that you know to be true, whether it's the diminishment of reading because we have that thing that's in our pocket which challenges it all the time, or, you know, now the Next, you know, 16 Wheeler coming around the corner is AI. What's that going to do to people's behavior and how they absorb information, how they seek it out? It ain't the world, you know, that you and I started in with, you know, the Washington Post, the New York Times, three networks and blah, blah, blah. So vastly different. Vastly different media universe.

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, I watched it. I love that technique that they use when they went back in time and the years went backwards. I really enjoyed it. I thought it was wonderful. My only fear was that it was nostalgic, that it wasn't looking forward, that it was looking backwards. And, you know, that wonderful scene which begins and ends the movie where some guy on a newsstand is putting the New Yorker into the slots, that had great appeal for me. But I don't know about going forward. If anybody picks up magazines, if anybody reads magazines, if you just take it on the subway because there's a certain look that you want to project. I don't know that there's a lot.

[David Remnick]

Of looks on the subway, I'll tell you that. But the fact that your son reads it gives me hope. I know he's not 15 years old.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Anymore, but you're gonna be 40. It's going to be 40.

[David Remnick]

That's fine. The information universe that's out there is both more democratic than we began, in some ways more interesting and varied, and access to audiences is radically different and easier. But is it better? And I think what we're trying to do at the New Yorker, and we're not the Only ones is be. We're blessed with resources and to do it and an ownership that wants us to be at our best and freest. And so there's a great liberation in that. What kills me about some publications that they, you know, look at the Washington Post, which I was at for 10 years and knew for much longer, and it breaks my heart. And it's not the reporter's fault. It's not the editor's fault. They're working their asses off. They want to be as great as they possibly can. But at some point, Jeff Bezos, after being a very good owner for a while, decided that it wasn't his interest to be as aggressive and fearless as the Marty Baron era, much less the Ben Bradlee or Len Downey era. And so that's an opportunity squandered, and that concerns me. So in our own way, I want to juice this orange as best we can to get the most out of it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, it's. It's. It's the best magazine. It's maybe the only magazine that can survive. And I think this will help. I need to ask this. Did the family watch it with you or without you?

[David Remnick]

My wife watched it without me, and I sent it to my kids, and I never mentioned it again. I tread lightly where that's concerned. I want them to have their own lives untrammeled by, you know, their father hulking around in a sweater and telling people this cartoon is funny. Or. Or not.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I loved it. I loved it. Thanks for being on. I loved it.

[David Remnick]

Oh, it's always a pleasure, Tony.

[Tony Kornheiser]

David Remnick, boys and girls. Yes. Yes. Take care, man.

[Chuck Todd]

Be well.

[Tony Kornheiser]

David Remnick, whose job at the New Yorker, where there are enormous egos because these people are great writers. His job is to herd elephants. It is hard to do. We will take a break. We will come back with email and jingle. I'm Tony Kornheiser with Venmo Stash.

[Dan]

A taco on one hand and ordering.

[Tony Kornheiser]

A ride in the other means you're.

[Dan]

Stacking cash back with Venmo Stash. Get up to 5% cash back when.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You pick a bundle of your favorite brands.

[Dan]

Earn more cash when you do more with Stash. Venmo Stash.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Terms and exclusions apply.

[Dan]

Matt's $100 cash back per month. See terms at Venmo Me Stashterms.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show.

[Singer/Chorus]

Here comes Tony's Melbourne.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Cane Bay High School in South Carolina. Different than Tom Masser. Different. Very different.

[Nigel]

We've had that so long. Those high school kids are probably in their 30s now.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, it's lovely. You want to do the Bethesda Bagel?

[Nigel]

Yes, Bethesda Bagels.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We love them.

[Nigel]

You'll as well just go to Bethesda Bagels.com for location in the DC area nearest you. They'll pop on and you'll be thrilled.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Before we get to the mailbag, let me just say, you know my temperatures rise in the jukebox blowing a fuse Heartbeat and rhythm My soul keeps singing the blues Roll over Beethoven Tell Tchaikovsky the news. That's a great, great song. I stole from it once. I said roll over. Valvano tells you the news. Just great. Thanks to our guests today. Chuck Todd, David Remnick, thanks as well to today's sponsors. Remember, you can listen to us on Apple Podcast, Spotify Audacy if you get showed through Apple. Please leave us a review from Andrew in LA and then we don't this is a downer. I'm going to say it's a downer and it's an acknowledgment of something consequential that happened a couple of days ago. And this is the only one we're going to read. I know that the podcast is generally lighthearted haikus about non pressured monkeys, customer wait times, songs about 44 year old quarterbacks, endless reminiscences about endless times and bunkers, but reality hit me in the face this morning. When I was a boy, my parents were close friends with Carl and Estelle Reiner. During the show of show days, I wasn't close with Rob Reiner because being two years older than I saw me as a little kid, Rob's, Carl's and my paths crossed occasionally in LA as we supported similar causes and Rob and I recognized our shared heritage. To hear that his son may have murdered him and his wife is a jolt I did not expect to read of someone I have almost known for 70 years. Go that way. Everybody feels this. Everybody feels that, yes. From Nick LeFave in St. Paul, Minnesota. I've been watching PTI since day one. I've discovered this high quality podcast during the first year of the pandemic. Lucky enough to get a few emails read on the air. You're welcome to share this one at all as well, but it's not the intent behind it. I began refereeing hockey when I was 12 years old. My other brother was a referee. We both played along with our dad. It was our favorite sport. Like so many fathers and sons, we spent countless hours at rinks and on the road to and from those rinks. We talked about how we played and dad would give his two cents. We talked about how we officiated a game and dad would give more than his 2 cents. Even when it was his sons. Dad never quite trusted the refs. In 2001, I graduated college, moved across country, stopped playing, continued to ref without planning it. My father and I fell into a habit where I would call him while driving home after games. He liked hearing if there were any interesting calls, if there was any fun chatter with the players, or if I had to toss a coach. Those were his favorite stories. But the hockey game was just an excuse to talk. We'd always transition to family, live politics, movies, whatever. Some of our biggest laughs, biggest advice happened during those calls. Usually the games were at night. Dad kept me company the entire drive back, which was sometimes more than an hour. I called him the voice in the dark that got me home. I'm writing this now because it's a five year anniversary of my dad passing that day. I was racing 400 miles to the hospital when my sister called and said, I need to say goodbye right now. I wasn't going to make it in time. Pulled into a gas station, we had our last conversation, fittingly over the phone. It was good talk. He was lucid to his oxygen mask. He apologized. Not being able to watch my kids grow up, I thanked them for teaching me how to be a good father. That's hard for me. That was goes on. I wanted to get to that part. Late night in the season, while getting into a car after a game, I saw an alert that the Tony Kornheiser show had a new episode. Without giving it much thought, I hit play. As I started driving for the first time since I started refereeing, I wasn't sad. On the drive home, I was laughing. I don't remember if you were complaining about a busted RV on your block, varmints in your garden and wander Swearo, but you were definitely complaining about something and I was laughing. Nothing will ever replace my dad. He was my best friend. But it always does, as it always does. Time has softened my loss. The show continues to be a joy and hearing you and Michael truly enjoy your time together as father and son helps me remember and appreciate my dad. It's very lovely. That's lovely. Nick Lefave in St Paul Darrell Holiday in Medante, Ontario in Canada Oro Medante in Canada. Over the years that I was serving as an educator, I could only find the time to enjoy PTI with you and Wilbourne as part of my nightly routine to wind down from the day's events. But in the past three years since I've retired, I've added the podcast to my regimen. Whether the topic is golf, mice, moths, customer service, potato farming, or Chessy the dog, you and Michael and Nigel never failed to bring a smile to my face as I happily follow along in my car while I walk around the neighborhood. In the spirit of the season, I want to do express sincere thanks for the joy that you spread among all littles throughout the year. Isn't that nice, Bianca? Merry Christmas. All my best in the year. That's nice. Coming 2026 from Phil Destito in Rome, New York, which is upstate. You had a run in with a mouse over the weekend. So did we. Could this be another attempt at the start of the animal revolution? Unlike your situation where you heard noises coming from the kitchen, I was alerted to our mouse by the traditional method of my wife screaming for me to There was a mouse in our son's room, climbing up the curtains, arming myself with two saucepans and a marshmallow roasting stick. Had my wife close the door and seal me in. The hunt was on. He was on top of the windowsill, perched, watching me with a look on his face as if to say, how you doing? I tried trapping him in the corner with the saucepan, but he leaped from the windowsill down to the floor, landing on all fours, by the way, and dashed for the safety of the bookcase. I was able to corner him again and tried to get him out with the marshmallow stick, to no avail. In preparing for my next attempt, he made a break for the closet with a stick stretch and a dive. I trapped him in the saucepan, getting cardboard underneath the pan. I carried the mouse out front, threw him into a snowbank. That's the last we'll see of him until the snow melts in March. Maybe April. Maybe Happy holidays to you.

[Michael]

So I was a three quart saucepan.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I was in the gym the other day talking about the mouse and a woman said to me, I'll tell you how to get him. Get you get a big bucket of water, fill the bucket with water, put peanut butter around the edges and a ramp up. And the mouse will take the ramp.

[Nigel]

Up, try to eat the peanut butter.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Fall in, and that's it. And I thought, I mean, I didn't really ask. What I wanted to ask was it, well, like you doing this is the living room. Like, where do you get the ramp?

[Michael]

Tom and Jerry episode.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Where's the ramp from? You got ramps in your house? Really? Chris in Apex, North Carolina. So are we now replacing Flush the mouse with Froze the mouse? We're not icing the kicker anymore. If he misses, we froze the mouse. If they call timeout in basketball and the player misses a free throw, we didn't ice the shooter. We froze the mouse. Michael, get the trademark and the Johnny O Code ready. We're back for more cash, baby. Steve Gilmore, San Angelo, Texas. The same people who invented unwanted phone updates are the same ones who invented microwave baking. Not a fan, Steve. The sick of fan. Get ready. On the evening of December 17th.

[Nigel]

That's tonight.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Tonight, the brightest object in the sky will be Jupiter. Yes, the largest planet will be shining in the eastern sky next to the constellation Gemini. Best viewing is soon after sunset. And if you have binoculars, a few of Jupiter's moons may be visible. Cold or no cold. Get out there and look. Is it. Is the weather supposed to be accommodating tonight? I'll check on that. The temperature is going to be fine. Yeah, it should be. It's going to be 40. It's just after sunset. Is 6:00 clock 5:30? 6:00 clock 5? Yeah, 5. So what's the temperature going to be? Probably going to be.

[Michael]

It's going to still be in the 40s.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. So. But I don't know if it's going to be clear from. Awesome. Awesome. That's hard. It says the A sounds like the first syllable of omelet. And a SIM is SIM from a SIM card. My name used to be more rare until the Saints traded for an offensive lineman the same name earlier this year. Who dat? And you know who that offensive lineman is with the Saints? Who's that? He is of Romanian descent and he is married to Unescu, the great shooter for the Liberty.

[Nigel]

Oh, really?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Nigel]

Wow.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, I read that last night. On Friday, my non masculine child turned 18 months old. That means she was born on 612 24, 18 months ago. How's that for numbers? She was born at 6:06am Much like Michael attempted with the captain. I too asked to have the official birth time recorded to 6:12am after the woman to whom I'm related by marriage tried yet failed to delay the pushing. She was good sport though. The staff Rooted for 612 too, but vehemently rejected my request to fucking number.

[Michael]

That sounds fun.

[Tony Kornheiser]

606 is also a great time, you know. Seven kitchen outlets, top 3%, Spotify Wrapped, eat it, Drew Holler, whose daughter I learned from the pod also shares the.

[Nigel]

Same why can't they give you the time you want?

[Michael]

Odd number of outlets.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Scott Jerome, Saltier or Salcher, Alaska the Apple Phone update came with a particularly rough week. The first cold snap of the season hit last week with daily high temperatures hovering around. Hello? Minus 30? Yes, minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit. The line from our brand new well froze with leaving us without water. Once the well guy and his crew fixed that. Thanks Frank. The drain from our tub to the septic line froze. No showers available. That wasn't enough. None of our three vehicles would start. This was all within two days. And of course my iPhone started acting like a prima donna, requiring all my attention just to make it do its job. By the end of the week, it warmed up for two days. During that time we received over a foot of fresh snow and then the Mercury plummeted again. Minus 29 was the high today, with the forecast calling for the same over the next five days. I've lived in Alaska for over 21 years, so none of these inconveniences should surprise me. I'm what Alaskans call a sourdough. Sour on Alaska. No dough to leave. The apple thing though, that really put me over the edge. My pipes may freeze. My iPhone should not fight the power. Grandpa, I love this guy. As part of a research project in the Dunlap lab here at University of Alaska Fairbanks, I worked with a team that scanned the brains of 20 sled dogs with a 1.5 Tesla MRI. No complaints as they all got a cookie. Love this by the way.

[Nigel]

Partly cloudy tonight, so.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Phil Lombardo, Rochester, Minnesota. You're welcome. I've referred your podcast to three others. My brother and brother in law, both sports nuts, are now official listeners. However. However, not so much with my wife. I've tried, but our long car rides to western South Dakota or Florida from Minnesota requires I listen to you with earbuds while my wife gets Nicholas Sparks novels on books on tape or endless loops of ABBA over the sound system for to both eyes would feel better. So I've netted you one new listener if my golf math is accurate. A marketing whiz, I guess I'm not. Although your advertising rate should go up by a little, right? Rome wasn't built in a day. Love your pod. And the team need to get the Nicholas Sparks and ABBA fans to make it big. Just saying. Ben Carton. Not Carden. The unofficial official senator here. The official unofficial center. So I hear signatures now. Evercore. This means we need a new saying for when you have to deal with them. How does this one work for you? Expect very inconvenient communication or rejection every time. Yes, yes. That goes on the pile. I feel like that has a nice ring to it. That's very, very nice.

[Nigel]

Well done.

[Tony Kornheiser]

From Joey. Joey in LA in honor of his successful survivalist past. On the hero Handful of Philip Rivers is so old. Jokes for you. Philip Rivers is so old that he showed up in Baltimore for his first Colts practice. Philip Rivers is so old that his opponents watch him on tape by using a VHS player. Philip Rivers is so old that he writes check downs instead of throwing them. Rivers is so old he prefers to bring his own oxygen tanks. Philip Rivers is so old that his helmet radio only receives AM frequency. That's very good. From Brandon Borzelli. Reginald is losing games as badly as Mo Green was losing money with his casino. If Reginald gets paid a visit by Michael with an offer to buy him out, then Reginald better cancel all upcoming massage appointments. Rest assured there won't be a plaque or a signpost of him at the National Zoo. And from Alex Bakai in St. Louis, longtime fan of the podcast, watching PTI since 2005. Oh, this is for Jason.

[Nigel]

Oh, yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So let's hold that for. You gave that to me. If you're out of your bike tonight, everyone is old. Always do wear white.

[Chuck Todd]

They all get involved and they all got their gear already. And so they're gonna be all colored up in the maroon and black.

[Tim Wildsmith]

Have I got a story for you. Now, I was only five years old, excited and awake on the night before Christmas, my most favorite of all days, when lo I heard a noise downstairs. So I crept out to catch a glimpse and there I found my mother dear With Santa locking lips.

[Singer/Chorus]

Ho, ho, ho.

[Tim Wildsmith]

He said to me, go back to sleep, this is just a dream. No, no, no, said I to he. Remove your hands from my. My mother, please. And he said, look, son, it's me. Oh, I think my dad is Santa Claus. So back to bed they made me go But I couldn't catch a wink with the thought of Rudolph and his friends upon my roof I just had.

[Tony Kornheiser]

To see.

[Tim Wildsmith]

So up the chimney I went and there before my eyes the reindeer and that glorious and Santa, I mean dad, about to fly.

[Singer/Chorus]

Ho, ho, ho.

[Tim Wildsmith]

He said to me, get back inside, it's time for me to leave. No, no, no, said I to he, you need some help and your son works free. And he said, all right, come on, hurry. Oh, I think my dad is Santa Claus. We flew around the world.

[Singer/Chorus]

To all the good boys and girl.

[Tim Wildsmith]

Left gifts.

[Singer/Chorus]

Under their trees.

[Tim Wildsmith]

And we ate lots of milk and cookies. The next morning I awoke with a fright had it all just been a dream but when I got downstairs my dad was waiting with a grin and a wink.

[Singer/Chorus]

Ho ho, ho.

[Tim Wildsmith]

Oh, he said to me My secret's out now can you keep it, please? No, no, no, said I to he I've got to tell my friends or else they won't believe when I say I think my dad is Santa Claus.

[David Remnick]

Really?

[Tim Wildsmith]

True, He's Santa. I wonder if I'm gonna be Santa Claus one day.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I mean, it's.

[Singer/Chorus]

There's need all around us and plenty to spare but our hearts won't break the gospel's alive but we're ling to sleep that we just can't shake Dreaming of love and the words we could say but finding the prayer we can pray Send us a Savior to bind up the broken and repair the hole in all of our hearts and tell us a story that all could believe in the kingdom of heaven is coming to earth. Cries of injustice and war without and leaving sound if peace comes with Jesus Then may this love be in his body found we're dreaming of loving the words we could say we're finding a prayer we can pray so send us a of sense Savior to bind up the broken and repair the hole in all of our hearts and tell us a story that all could believe in the kingdom of heaven is coming to earth and now heaven is coming to work. Dreaming of loving the words we could say we're finding the prayer we can pray we're still dreaming of loving the words we could say we're finding the prayer we can pray to send us a Savior to bind up the broken and repair the in all of our hearts and tell us the story that all could believe in the kingdom of heaven is coming to earth and send us a Savior to bind up the broken and repair the hole and all of our hearts tell us the story that all could believe in the kingdom of heaven is coming to earth and now heaven is coming to earth Heaven is coming to earth.

[David Remnick]

Sam.