Kareem Rahma: Content Overload

Summary

Podcast Summary:

What Now? with Trevor Noah – Kareem Rahma: Content Overload

Date: May 14, 2026
Guest: Kareem Rahma
Host: Trevor Noah

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the whirlwind world of content creation with Kareem Rahma, the innovative mind behind viral vertical video series like "Subway Takes" and "Keep the Meter Running." Together, Rahma and Noah unpack what it means to create authentic content in an era of oversaturation, viral obsession, and fleeting attention spans. Woven throughout are warm, laugh-out-loud anecdotes—from subway fame to immigrant family arguments—delivered in an engaging, open, and honest back-and-forth, true to the spirit of the show.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Evolution and Intention Behind Kareem's Shows

• Authenticity over Virality

  • Kareem emphasizes that his viral shows originally stemmed from personal curiosity and entertainment, not from a quest for virality.
  • “Virality literally was not even... it wasn't even the slightest sliver. I wasn't like, oh, this is gonna go viral... It had nothing to do with that.” (07:46, Kareem)

• Peak Content Saturation

  • Kareem believes we've hit “peak saturation” with short-form, unscripted vertical videos and laments the cloning of formats by media companies more concerned with volume and monetization than substance (09:13).

• Owning Your Work

  • Kareem advocates fiercely for creators owning their IP and warns against predatory media companies:
    • “The people that sign those contracts are usually in really bad deals... The company will own the IP. It's just a whole different...” (10:33, Kareem)
    • “I just want young people that do see my path as a viable path because it is, it's a great career... Both of my shows have, like, changed my life, but they've changed my life because I like what I'm doing. Yeah, I own them.” (11:06-11:16, Kareem)

2. The Age of Fake Realness & Trust in Media

• The “Fake is Fake, Real is Real” Crisis

  • Trevor argues that fake “real” content chips away at our societal trust, making it harder to discern reality in life and media alike (12:08-13:52).
  • “...every time the public comes into contact with fake things masquerading as real things, it undermines the very foundation that society's based on.” (12:49, Trevor)

• Berenstain Bears, Mandela Effect, and Collective Memory

  • The pair riff on the “Mandela Effect” and how fans misremember core elements of “Subway Takes”—believing it started with randoms instead of booked guests, a false memory stemming from how internet fame reshapes perception (16:46-17:59).

3. Social Media, Bullying, and the Creator's Mindset

• Can You Be Bullied on the Internet?

  • Trevor’s controversial view: online “bullying” is not the same as in-person bullying, since you’re not captive—“what you are doing is experiencing the people who do not like you on the Internet” (21:00-22:46, Trevor).
  • Kareem disagrees, explaining his own experience with negative comments and how he learned to step back from engaging with trolls (20:59, Kareem).

• Comments Culture & Playful Controversies

  • Kareem enjoys the sophisticated yet ridiculous debates that break out in his comments:
    • “I call it the most sophisticated show about the stupidest subjects.” (25:16, Kareem)
    • Example: “Only gay people should be allowed to have dogs in New York.” (25:17)

4. Arguing as an Immigrant Pastime & Social Glue

• The Art of the Friendly Argument

  • Both reminisce on the joy of raucous, but benign, arguments in immigrant families as a marker of affection and community—contrasting with America’s tendency to only argue about serious topics (27:10-28:18).
  • “One of the national pastimes of most immigrant communities is arguing... about football, who's the best footballer, who's the best team...” (27:10, Trevor)

• Group Chat Warfare

  • Kareem tells a hilarious story of instigating fights over bachelor party destinations (Denver!) and moving debates from chat to email for longer, more formal arguments (29:13-30:34).
  • “I would write these formal emails to the committee and say, I think that this is a bad decision.” (30:25, Kareem)

5. Fame, Recognition, and Identity

• Being 'the Guy'
  • Both share comedic anecdotes about being misrecognized in public (Noah as Don Lemon, The Weeknd, or Bruno Mars; Kareem as “the subway guy”) (40:08-41:44).

6. The Craft and Mechanics of Kareem’s Shows

• Booking Guests

  • Kareem details his “vibes-based” approach to booking non-celeb guests—seeking interesting people (comedians, writers, non-profits) who deserve a bigger platform (47:53-49:14).
  • Celebrity guests are inbound; he aims for icons and “living legends,” but always in small doses to preserve the show’s DNA (49:19-50:49).

• Production Logistics

  • “Keep the Meter Running” was initially expensive ($2,000/episode) due to paying cab fares and meals, but was essential for authenticity (75:55-76:53).
  • The show’s return will feature longer, more immersive episodes (20 minutes) on YouTube (77:24).

• Subway Show Structure

  • The vetting process for takes—ensuring originality, avoiding duplicates, and filtering out over-preppers (122:01-123:35).

7. Content, Hollywood, and Building Your Own Machine

• On Hollywood’s Risk Aversion

  • Trevor outlines three problems:
    • Everyone’s in a race to be second (copying what works)
    • Studio execs mostly don’t want to get fired.
    • Consolidation has killed risk and discovery (99:19-103:21).

• Creator Independence

  • Both stress the importance of building and owning creative work outside traditional systems, even as “the machine comes knocking” trying to assimilate unique projects (96:27-98:23).

8. The Deeper Meaning: Belonging, Identity, and Fatherhood

• Seeing People’s Full Stories

  • Kareem and Trevor both comment on how his shows “remind us to see people not only as you meet them, but as full, complex beings” (84:03-86:12).
    • “The person happens to drive a taxi… but this is who they are.” (85:41, Trevor)
  • Touching stories of New York cab drivers with wild hidden talents and ambitions (86:12-87:55).

• Immigrant Aspirations and the American Dream

  • Kareem describes his journey as the “American story”—from Cairo to comedy, shaped by immigrant hustle, wanting to be a businessman, and eventually embracing who he really is (88:34-89:37).

• Fatherhood and Generational Change

  • Kareem discusses the late-blooming joys of being a “girl dad,” the emotional evolution post-birth, and ties to his own relationship with his father (110:26-114:31).
  • Warm storytelling around immigrant dads, lack of “lovey” relationships, and tough love mentality:
    • “No, there's no such thing as being, like, lovey with your dad. Did they provide for you? Did you respect them? … Then you have a great relationship.” (80:49-81:06, Trevor)
    • “He was an argue friend... I was close with him in that way.” (79:49, Kareem)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“Virality literally was not even... it wasn't even the slightest sliver. I wasn't like, oh, this is gonna go viral... It had nothing to do with that.”
— Kareem Rahma, 07:46

“Every time the public comes into contact with fake things masquerading as real things, it undermines the very foundation that society's based on.”
— Trevor Noah, 12:49

“I call it the most sophisticated show about the stupidest subjects.”
— Kareem Rahma, 25:16

“One of the national pastimes of most immigrant communities is arguing... about football, who's the best footballer, who's the best team...”
— Trevor Noah, 27:10

“I'm not a journalist... Journalism as a major is so easy.”
— Kareem Rahma, 55:01

“I'm just gonna build my own machine. I'm just gonna do my own thing. And then because of the success of that, the machine goes, ah, Kareem, yes, we've always believed in you...”
— Trevor Noah, 96:27

“The show's really about, like, how to be a better man. It's about fatherhood. It's about the American dream, and it's about immigrants. It's really just about... It's an American story.”
— Kareem Rahma, 89:06

“[On fatherhood] Honestly, like... I'm grateful it's a girl, cuz it's... being a girl dad's cool.”
— Kareem Rahma, 112:12

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Important Timestamps

• 00:04 – 00:54: Opening banter, show themes, the “Arab Patriot.”
• 02:20 – 03:40: Kareem on being subway-famous in NYC.
• 06:37 – 11:52: “Content about content,” motivation behind making shows, media company pitfalls.
• 12:08 – 13:52: Trevor on fakeness in online content and societal trust.
• 16:46 – 17:59: Mandela Effect and fans misremembering Subway Takes.
• 21:00 – 24:52: Online bullying vs. real-life bullying, Trevor and Kareem’s opposing takes.
• 25:16 – 26:42: Comment section debates and show’s “most sophisticated show about the stupidest subjects.”
• 27:08 – 28:18: Arguing as community glue in immigrant families.
• 29:13 – 30:34: Kareem’s group chat fights and bachelor party story.
• 40:08 – 41:44: Recognition in public, mistaken identities.
• 47:53 – 50:49: Principles behind guest selection and celebrity appearances on Subway Takes.
• 75:55 – 77:24: The cost and production of Keep the Meter Running; authentic connection with cabbies.
• 84:03 – 86:12: Trevor on seeing people’s full stories, Kareem illustrates with cab driver memoir anecdotes.
• 96:27 – 98:23: Building your own creative machine, resisting Hollywood’s pull to water down originals.
• 99:19 – 103:21: Trevor on Hollywood’s “race to be second” problem.
• 110:26 – 114:31: Kareem on fatherhood, bonding, ambivalence, and surprise.
• 122:01 – 124:23: Vetting process for “takes” on Subway Takes, keeping the content authentic.

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Episode Tone & Style

The episode maintains a genuine, funny, and insightful conversational style, blending cultural critique with wit, warmth, and a dash of absurdity. Trevor Noah’s probing, playful approach meets Kareem Rahma’s self-deprecating candor and quick banter, making the conversation flow like a late-night hangout—where important ideas are never far from playfulness.

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For Listeners Who Haven’t Heard the Episode

This episode offers a rich behind-the-scenes look at the honest creative process, the struggle between authenticity and virality, and the joys and absurdities of modern life—especially as seen through the eyes of immigrants and creative misfits. Whether you care about content creation, cultural commentary, or just want to hear two funny, thoughtful people riff about life, family, and the internet with radical candor, this one’s for you.

Transcript

[Kareem]

The show's really about like how to be a better man. It's about fatherhood. It's about the American dream and it's about immigrants. It's really just about. It's an American story and it's awesome.

[Trevor Noah]

It's a fully American story.

[Kareem]

I want my nickname to be the Arab Patriot.

[Trevor Noah]

Could just be the Patriot.

[Kareem]

But okay, there's a lot that sounds like a movie with like John Krasinski shooting people in Saudi Arabia.

[Trevor Noah]

This is true. It's crazy how John Krasinski now been that guy, right?

[Kareem]

Cause he's buff now.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, but still I'm just like. It's funny how it like one minute if, if you left the earth at like the peak of the office, right. And then you came back now and you'd be like Jim is shooting people now.

[Kareem]

That's the guy.

[Trevor Noah]

It's such a.

[Kareem]

He might be in a movie called the Patriot. Yeah, maybe he is Mandela effect.

[Trevor Noah]

Could be. Could be the Arab Patriot.

[Kareem]

The Arab Patriot. I don't really want to be called.

[Trevor Noah]

This is what now with Trevor Noah.

[Kareem]

What's a booster? Somebody that steal clothes from the store and sell at a discount price.

[Trevor Noah]

It's like community service.

[Kareem]

I Love Boosters is the must see movie of the summer.

[Trevor Noah]

Starring Keke Palmer and Demi Moore in

[Kareem]

a crazy heist comedy set in the cutthroat fashion world. The Velvet Gang.

[Trevor Noah]

They're boosting from my stores.

[Kareem]

Critics are hailing I Love Boosters as wildly hilarious and outrageous, provocative and really fun. Come on, let's take all of it. I love Boosters. Rated r. In theaters May 22nd.

[Trevor Noah]

Get tickets now.

[Kareem]

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[Trevor Noah]

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[Kareem]

I. I think it is weird that I walk and eat. I don't think it's weird. I don't see that many people walking.

[Trevor Noah]

Nobody walks and eats.

[Kareem]

I walk and eat all the time. I did it yesterday with a like a breakfast burrito.

[Trevor Noah]

Nobody walks and eats anymore. Like, like a full on. Do you two hand burrito or one hand burrito?

[Kareem]

One hand.

[Trevor Noah]

Because if you two hand burrito Even

[Kareem]

walking, you wouldn't catch me.

[Trevor Noah]

You'd look like a crazy person.

[Kareem]

You can't catch me with two hands.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay, one hand. Burrito walking.

[Kareem]

Burrito walking.

[Trevor Noah]

What is it about your life that you are so unable to sit down and eat?

[Kareem]

I feel like I'm fairly busy at the moment. This is not, like, permanent. Oh, okay.

[Trevor Noah]

This is not like your vibe.

[Kareem]

No, it's not like always, but it's probably been for the past, like, three years.

[Trevor Noah]

So if I see Kareem in the streets eating, I'm like, things are going well.

[Kareem]

Yeah, yeah, exactly. I just gotta keep the momentum going.

[Trevor Noah]

Do you feel really busy right now? Yeah, it seems like you're doing like, a ton. I see you everywhere.

[Kareem]

Yeah. Thank you.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, no, it's good. No, in a good way.

[Kareem]

No, no, it's really good. It's. Well, that's what's happened. I ran into a guy on the train today and he was like, hey, you're the guy. And I'm like, yeah, I'm the guy. And he was like, talking to me and. And he talked about this. He's like, I see you everywhere. And he's like, I like watching your videos when I'm on the train. Which is really meta. Yeah, like, he watches my videos on the train.

[Trevor Noah]

Can you ride the train?

[Kareem]

I do ride the train and I always get stopped.

[Trevor Noah]

But, yeah, because it's. It's weird. Like, how long have you been in New York?

[Kareem]

15 years.

[Trevor Noah]

So I've only been in New York for. What is. What are we now, 10, 26 or 10 11, maybe 11, 12 years. I always found, like, the subway had a simple rule. And that rule was, nobody looks at each other, nobody talks to each other, nobody engages. You know what I mean? It was like, it's a. It's a simple staple of the subway. And then. And then on my way here, I was thinking about this and I was like, man, it's weird to be a celebrity of the subway. Because then that means, like, the subway people know you as the guy that they should be engaging with, and they do. So people talk to you on the subway?

[Kareem]

They do. It's actually pretty awful. But I'm still not ready to, like, commit my life to Uber rides everywhere.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no city bike, my friend.

[Kareem]

Oh, yeah, I do that.

[Trevor Noah]

Join me on the bike.

[Kareem]

I have my own E bike.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, wow.

[Kareem]

And I'm ripping because I live in Brooklyn, but I work in Manhattan and I take a 40 minute ride.

[Trevor Noah]

You're one of those?

[Kareem]

Yeah, I rip.

[Trevor Noah]

You have your own E bike.

[Kareem]

Yeah. And it's sick.

[Trevor Noah]

I've always wondered who those people are.

[Kareem]

That's me. And then.

[Trevor Noah]

And what. What is it? A van move? What is it?

[Kareem]

No, it's called Aventon. It's pretty basic. Yeah, but it's fast and it gets me to and from work every day. Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Is that temperature that you don't ride at?

[Kareem]

Yeah, anytime it gets cold.

[Trevor Noah]

What's cold?

[Kareem]

Today's good. Today I would do.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

But anything colder than this. Also, if it was raining all day, like, if it was properly raining, I wouldn't do proper pouring, then I would.

[Trevor Noah]

10 degrees Celsius, that's my cut off,

[Kareem]

which is like 35, 40.

[Trevor Noah]

No, I think it's higher.

[Kareem]

10.

[Trevor Noah]

10 is. Yeah, 10's 40s, maybe.

[Kareem]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, you're right. 10.

[Kareem]

That's reasonable.

[Trevor Noah]

That's like my cutoff. That's where I.

[Kareem]

So that's what you use?

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

Do you take the train ever?

[Trevor Noah]

Almost never.

[Kareem]

Because you would get stopped all the time.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, no, no.

[Kareem]

It's.

[Trevor Noah]

No one. No one bugs me on the subway.

[Kareem]

Really?

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. I'm not the subway guy. When you look at me, you don't see the subway guy. I see you.

[Kareem]

I see there's similarities.

[Trevor Noah]

You know what I mean?

[Kareem]

It's a little relevant.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no. I see you and I'm like, he's the subway guy. He's just like. No, it's. What do you mean? I don't think it's awful at all. I think it's the greatest thing in the. You know what? You know why? Another thing, I was. I was thinking, I was talking to a friend about this, and I was like, it feels like in the era that we live in now, your videos are almost a dying breed of Internet content. Because. Let me know if this makes sense to you. I feel like now people are making content to get people to watch the content, but they're not making the content anymore. Does this make sense? So it's like. Okay, let me try and explain this. Like, when somebody made Game of Thrones, they made Game of Thrones to, I assume, tell a good story. And then the byproduct of the good stories, that people read it or watch it, that's the byproduct of telling a good story. But then I think some people with the Internet now, they make content to get people to watch the content so that they can just have more people so they can make more content. But when you actually look at the content, you're like, what is this? Yeah, it's just content that Keeps you watching so that they can keep on, but it's not actually good.

[Kareem]

No, I. Are we recording right now?

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

Oh, amazing. I didn't even know we started.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, yeah.

[Kareem]

I thought we were having a nice chat.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, and then we're going to switch.

[Kareem]

I thought we're going to be like, action. I thought, okay, we will, Kareem, welcome to the show. Let's see what I said. All of that other stuff. We'll figure out if I said anything bad.

[Trevor Noah]

You said the subway. Shit. I heard you, man. I still said people on the subway are trash.

[Kareem]

No, no, I remember what I said about keep the subway out of your mouth. To what you were saying, though. I was just drafting a little diary entry about how I think that people should stop making short form, unscripted vertical video shows. Oh, I think we're at peak saturation. And what I talked about in this little diary entry is, you know, when I started my shows, which is keep the meter running and subway takes, I did it because I thought it was a great idea and that I would entertain myself doing that. Great idea.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

Virality literally was not even. It wasn't even the slightest sliver. I wasn't like, oh, this is gonna go viral. This is a perfect equation. This is a genetically modified organism that will go viral. It had nothing to do with that. And like you're saying the outcome was virality, but it wasn't the intention. The intention was to make the best entertainment possible for the forum, which I use the most. Which is a phone. So I love the phone. I use the phone like it's television. I still watch television. I still watch movies, but I use the phone like it's a little television in my pocket. I wouldn't watch a TV show. That's the thing. When I see people on flights watching, yo, man, a full TV show, I

[Trevor Noah]

tell you, those people, I would, if I could, I would have a list of their names and I would make sure that they never get hired in any serious position. If you get onto a flight and you plan to watch. I've seen people watch a full Marvel movie. Like, I'm talking like Avengers, Infinity War on a tiny little 5 inch screen. But like serious. And then they clip it in front of them.

[Kareem]

It's crazy. Yeah, I'm like, they don't even clip it sometimes. They just go like this. Yeah, they put it like this.

[Trevor Noah]

You shouldn't be hired in any, like, serious position in life.

[Kareem]

But. But that's the thing, is that I'm making entertainment for the flight.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. But you're making it for the phone.

[Kareem]

I'm making it. That's what I'm saying. That's the difference, is that there. Put some respect on my name.

[Trevor Noah]

Exactly.

[Kareem]

You know what I mean? And I think that is the big difference between going in with an intention of making the best work possible and entertaining yourself and hopefully entertaining other people. And the big problem, what gives it a bad name today, and I agree with it, is that so many people are jumping in with this mindset. The intention is I'm gonna make a viral short form show.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

It's not. I have this amazing idea I need to get out of my body. It's. I wanna go viral, I wanna monetize. And I think the biggest perpetrators of all of this is not like independent people, independent comedians, independent whoever. Cause everyone's trying to like do something. Like if you're a stand up comedian, you start a show, the goal for you is to gain more exposure so you can sell more tickets to your live show.

[Trevor Noah]

Right.

[Kareem]

There's a new crop of like little media companies though that are popping up and I have big problems with them because they have bad contracts. They take advantage of young people.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh shit. I didn't even know this. This is a thing.

[Kareem]

Oh yeah, dude. Half of the, half of the, the, the feed slop you see of like. Yes.

[Trevor Noah]

Are you serious?

[Kareem]

Someone standing in the park, they look like they're just like a guy with an idea. But most of the time those are shows funded by these new media companies that are.

[Trevor Noah]

Explains it.

[Kareem]

Creating 30 of these.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah, that explains.

[Kareem]

And the whole goal is get big, keep it cheap, get big. Don't worry about the quality, don't worry about the format, Don' about the idea. Just get the numbers up and monetize it. And, and the people that sign those contracts are usually in really bad deals because they get taken advantage of. They usually like hire young kids or college people or people just starting out in their careers. They don't own any of the ip. Like the company will own the ip. It's just a whole different and, and I really, I'm not saying this is like a curmudgeon. Like I'm like, oh, stop making shows.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Kareem]

I just want young people that do see my path as a viable path because it is, it's a great career. I'm so. Both of my shows have like changed my life, but they've changed my life because I like what I'm doing. Yeah, I own them. I own the ip, I own the shows. No one can tell me what to do. No one takes a cut of my money, with the exception of my managers, which is. You know, they do. They have a job, so they do that. But there's, like, if I want to adapt Subway Takes into a TV show. If I want to adapt, keep the meter running into a movie that's on me, like, it's not another company that's controlling it. So I've been thinking about this a lot, and I do think also that the audience is kind of sick of seeing the same thing over and over and over. But when they see a Subway Takes or they see it, keep the meter running. It's an original idea. It's not like at Washington Square Park.

[Trevor Noah]

Right, right.

[Kareem]

The rest. That's another thing I don't understand. Why are all the shows at Washington Square Park?

[Trevor Noah]

You know, my favorite thing is about those is the fake. Like, catch the person.

[Kareem]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, hey, would you mind telling me how much you earn?

[Kareem]

It's crazy.

[Trevor Noah]

How much do you earn? About, like, $20 million. What do you do? Well, I sell chicken feed, and I. Oh, my God, how do we get into that business? And you're like, yo, you saw the person coming. You saw the thing set up. That's what I mean. It starts to feel like everything is a. Everything's fake. That's what it feels like. But everything is trafficking and real. And this is a take of mine that's a little extreme, but I genuinely believe it. I think every time the public comes into contact with fake things masquerading as real things, it undermines the very foundation that society's based on. Does that make sense?

[Kareem]

It does.

[Trevor Noah]

Like, I feel like in society, we're supposed to trust that fake is fake and real is real so that we can all have an agreement about what we should or shouldn't be thinking or experiencing or feeling. And I think it bleeds into politics. Like, if you go. If you watch a show where there's a husband and wife who prank each other, and you're like, oh, this is cool. They always prank. And then at some point, you're like, wait a minute. Are they. Are they setting this? The guy doesn't just walk into the room and the balloon falls on his head. This is. Oh, I think this is set up now.

[Kareem]

Yeah, yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Then you start going, I don't trust anything. And I've seen this happen to people in my life. I've seen this happen with me. People go, oh, yeah, I don't know. I don't. Cause that thing was fake. So this thing's probably fake. And then you see like a police arrest and you're like, I don't know, this could be staged as well. And then you see like a couple fighting on the train and you see some shit go down somewhere else and you're like, ah, it's probably one of those fake videos. And it's interesting. You. You just start to, you start to build like a, like a resistance to caring about anything that could possibly be happening. I don't know, maybe it's extreme, but,

[Kareem]

you know, I, I think that there is a necessary suspension of disbelief, which we do in fiction storytelling all the time.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

And I do think that if it's like a harmless act, you know, like this prank stuff, honestly, if it's entertaining, personally, I don't really care if it's real or fake because it's entertainment. It's like reality television. For years we were like, is it real? Is it fake? What is real? And we all know that it's kind of scripted. It's like, you're gonna fight with this person. This is gonna, you know. But we've all accepted that that's okay because it's kind of harmless and it's, you know, we're all engaging in the same story. Where it gets dangerous is when it is inherently political or has some sort of covert operation or is it makes you believe something that's not real, but it creates a real emotion which is really dangerous. You know, that's Pizzagate and that's all this other stuff that like, can create a real world effect. So I think, I think when it's like, I, at least for me, and I'm pretty media literate, so I can see something and really sit and say like, damn, is this real? And like, look at the people's faces and be like, okay, it's staged and sometimes it makes me. It makes me. It makes me like it a little bit less. But generally I'm like, it's okay. They're providing me some entertainment.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Kareem]

But that's just me. And maybe I'm like, have a more chill relationship with it. But with, with my shows in particular, like, like, for example, when I turn to someone, I say, so what's your take? Yeah, I already know who that person is. I don't necessarily know their take and I don't know what I'm gonna say at all.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Kareem]

But I know the person and I've never tried to make it seem like I do know the person. Although some people in the comments will be like, man, I Wish when the show was random people, but it's this Berenstain Bear effect. Are you. Do you know about that effect?

[Trevor Noah]

No. No.

[Kareem]

So bear. It's like the Mandela effect.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah.

[Kareem]

It's the same effect where they're like, I miss. When the show is normal people, like random strangers. But it was never random strangers. It was always me booking. Oh. I would always book.

[Trevor Noah]

That's interesting.

[Kareem]

Yeah. It's always been booked so now since day one. But they go, I missed. When it was. When it was random people.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Kareem]

But I respond, it was never random people.

[Trevor Noah]

Wait, but do you.

[Kareem]

Do you.

[Trevor Noah]

Do you think that that's people experiencing the. What is a Bernstein bear, by the way? What is that?

[Kareem]

Because there's. So there's these cartoons called the Berenstein Bears.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Kareem]

And for as long a current cartoon. It's like when I was growing up.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Kareem]

I was like, about a family of bears.

[Trevor Noah]

What are you, 86?

[Kareem]

80? Yeah. I'm 86 years old.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Kareem]

I'm surprised he didn't say 85. Hal. Is that genuine laughter?

[Trevor Noah]

No, that is.

[Kareem]

Okay.

[Trevor Noah]

That's a joke. Come on. I love that.

[Kareem]

Where's the joke thing? Where's the. No, no, no. There's like, we're gonna have a laugh track on this one.

[Trevor Noah]

But you born in 86, right?

[Kareem]

86.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay, cool. Yeah. Now I'm just trying to figure out which cartoons. So Bernstein Bears. What was the. What was this?

[Kareem]

So there. There. There is a entire, like, theory.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

That it was spelt B E R N S T E I N. Okay. Bears.

[Trevor Noah]

Yes.

[Kareem]

And everyone's like, I remember being the Berenstein Bears.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

But I. Apparently it's spelled B E R N S T A I N. Something like that. I don't know if these are the exact ones, but everyone has a collective amnesia. And, like, you'll see all these Reddit threads that are like. I swear there was a time when

[Trevor Noah]

it was spelled different.

[Kareem]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

I promise you.

[Kareem]

And there's Reddit threads and there's people, like, they switched them all out. People are like, it must have switched. You know? And that's what they have with my show also. What is the Mandela effect?

[Trevor Noah]

So the Mandela effect was when. I think it was Nelson Freeman. Wasn't it? When people.

[Kareem]

Morgan Freeman played Nelson Mandela.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, yeah.

[Kareem]

Is that what it is?

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. Morgan Freeman played Nelson Mandela. And then people were just like, that is Nelson Mandela. And then.

[Kareem]

No, I think it's. I think.

[Trevor Noah]

Wasn't that it?

[Kareem]

I think it's something like. They think that Morgan Freeman played a movie. Played a role in a movie as Nelson Mandela. But there is no movie.

[Trevor Noah]

There is no movie.

[Kareem]

Exactly.

[Trevor Noah]

Huh.

[Kareem]

It's also. There's another guy.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, no. Morgan Freeman definitely played Nelson Mandela.

[Kareem]

Then we gotta figure out what the Mandela does.

[Trevor Noah]

Can you guys check this for us? I'm pretty certain. I'm pretty certain Morgan Freeman played Nelson Mandela because I think I remember him doing Nelson Mandela's accent. That's. That's the only reason I think this happened. I don't even know about the movie.

[Kareem]

Well, what is the mad.

[Trevor Noah]

But I, I. I generally track people who do Nelson Mandela's accent. No, this is a random.

[Kareem]

You're just. You're the co. You're like. You're the guy. I promise you're the guy.

[Trevor Noah]

It's like a rent. I. If it. If it is this, then clearly it got me. And it's the most powerful effect.

[Kareem]

Well, everyone falls.

[Trevor Noah]

So what does the Mandela effect have to do with. Okay. Reporting. So in relation to Nelson Mandela. Yeah.

[Kareem]

Paranormal researcher reported having vivid and detailed

[Trevor Noah]

memories of news coverage of him dying. Anti apartheid leader, President Nelson Mandela, dying in prison in the 80s.

[Kareem]

Oh, okay. Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Wait. The Mandela effect is from him dying. Oh. I guess now the Mandela effect is people not knowing what the Mandela effect is. Well, that's what the new Mandela effect is under.

[Kareem]

It's like a collective amnesia where we all think this thing or we all

[Trevor Noah]

have an idea of something.

[Kareem]

There's another one. That's Sinbad. Do you remember?

[Trevor Noah]

That's what I know that the.

[Kareem]

The. Where he played a genie. There's no movie.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

[Kareem]

There's no movie.

[Trevor Noah]

That one I know of.

[Kareem]

But do you. Do you remember the movie?

[Trevor Noah]

No, I never had that, though. I always thought it was Shaq that played genie.

[Kareem]

Shaq did. He played one.

[Trevor Noah]

Kazam, wasn't it?

[Kareem]

What was it? I think he was Shazam.

[Trevor Noah]

Shazam.

[Kareem]

But he might have been. So Sinbad was supposed to be Shazam. And I think Shaquille o' Neal was Kazam.

[Trevor Noah]

Kazam.

[Kareem]

Yeah, but there's no Sinbad.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Kareem]

But anyways, people think that the show Subway Takes.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. Used to be random people on the subway, and it was never random people

[Kareem]

on the subway because I set out to make a talk show.

[Trevor Noah]

So, Wade, what do you think happened then?

[Kareem]

I think that some people, like, just. They just have this weird memory.

[Trevor Noah]

No, I'll tell you what I think happened. Can I pitch it at you? I think what happened was, at some point, the algorithm decided to push your episodes in a certain way. And the episodes that people started seeing more of were the familiar faces. So now you were going, gwyneth Paltrow or Sterling K. Brown or. And then people went. Because they didn't know the other people. You knew them when you booked them. Yes, but because they didn't know the other people, they thought it was some random person from the subway. So they went, oh, this guy meets random people on the subway and says, what's your take?

[Kareem]

Right, Right.

[Trevor Noah]

But now it's a celebrity. I don't like the show. Why is Jason Bateman here?

[Kareem]

Well, and sometimes I clap back at those people and I say, you only get the celebrity episodes because you like watching celebrity content. I was like, the algorithm gives you what you want, you take it there. I like to clap back, but I am taking the. I have Twitter fingers, and I've given my privileges up. So now I'm not in the comments anymore.

[Trevor Noah]

Wait, really?

[Kareem]

Yeah, man.

[Trevor Noah]

What changed?

[Kareem]

I mean, do you get bullied on the Internet, or does everyone love you? I feel like everyone loves you.

[Trevor Noah]

Well, okay, I have a controversial opinion on this. I do not necessarily believe that you can be bullied on the Internet.

[Kareem]

100% disagree.

[Trevor Noah]

Well, here we go.

[Kareem]

I've been bullied on the Internet.

[Trevor Noah]

I don't think you can be bullied on the Internet. Okay? I'll tell you why. I think being bullied is something that does not offer an option. Okay? So when you are bullied physically, you are being bullied. You do not have an option to not be there. You do not have an option to opt out. You do not. There is no option. You are being bullied. Okay? When people say they're being bullied on the Internet, I go, what you are doing is experiencing the people who do not like you on the Internet. However, you are ignoring all the people who do like you on the Internet. So you're saying that you are being bullied on the Internet, but really you're just being tapped into everyone's brains. And people don't like Papa John's. So that means every day, Papa John's is being bullied on the Internet, people don't like United Airlines. Every day, United Airlines is being bullied.

[Kareem]

You can't bully a corporation, people.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, no, you see? You see? You see?

[Kareem]

Now you can't bully a corporation.

[Trevor Noah]

No, but what I mean is. What I mean is you can be mean to it. What I mean is the bullying itself for me requires, like, a power dynamic that I don't think exists on the Internet. Right. So I do think kids like let's say in school, I think kids can be bullied on, like, little text groups because they still go to the school, and then, like, the kids make fun of them. And then. So I do think you can be digitally bullied. I'm not saying you can't be, but when it comes to. It's Internet bullying, I realized there were two things that changed my life. Genuinely changed my life. So when I first started hosting the Daily show, people hated me. I mean, some people still hate me now, but this was, like, just, like,

[Kareem]

huge swath of people. Yeah, this was.

[Trevor Noah]

They were just like, why? Why did you kill Jon Stewart and take his job? Then I was like, jon Stewart is not dead. That's the Mandela effect. Right? So I was now the host. People just every single day was just like, hate this guy. Hate this guy. Hate this guy. Hate this guy. Then there was. There was, like, a few people who were particularly, like, hateful. And so one day, I messaged one of the people. I DMed one of them, and I said, hey, man, why do you hate me so much? What did I ever do to you?

[Kareem]

Jesus, this is fascinating.

[Trevor Noah]

And this guy responded. It was the craziest. Tone shift was like, hey, Trev. Hey, man, I don't hate you at all. I just saw everyone hating you, and I thought it would be cool to jump on the bandwagon. I swear to God, I was like. And I thought it would be cool to jump on the bandwagon. I actually think you're pretty funny, but I do think you're gonna fail at the job. So anyway, nothing personal. This is. Welcome to the Internet. And then I went, wait, so you are just. You're part of this, like, mob coming after me, and you don't actually care? And he was like, no, I'll jump onto any train, and I'm gonna do this to somebody else. And it's nothing personal at all.

[Kareem]

That's. Well, that's one guy.

[Trevor Noah]

And it was a guy. He was in Canada, actually. And then I sit in the dm. I said, so you really think I'm not gonna do well in this? He said, yeah, you're gonna fail. He said, in fact, I predict in six months, you'll be canceled. And I said, okay, let's make a deal. I said, in six months, if my show's canceled, I will publicly tweet you and say, you were right. I shouldn't have done this show. And I said, and if the show's not canceled in six months, promise me that you'll be a fan of the show. And you'll just watch always. And he was like, oh, easy deal, I'm in. And then we just, like, became Twitter friends afterwards because my show wasn't canceled. So that was the first one. It made me realize that half of the people who are quote, unquote bullying, you don't realize that they're throwing one pebble at you and you're experiencing a boulder. Right. The second thing I realized was, I mean, a really simple one. I just went into my Twitter account and I said, disable offensive and mean comments. And I was like, wow, the Internet's a much better place.

[Kareem]

They love me now. They love me.

[Trevor Noah]

You just don't read the comments section.

[Kareem]

Yeah, well, no, that's what. I Don't read the comments or you fire back. I used to. Well, no, I was firing. I've been firing back for three years. Look, I'll say the majority of the comments are engaging in a productive and fun way because the show is. I call it the stupidest show. No, I call it the most sophisticated show about the stupidest subjects.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, I like that.

[Kareem]

And people are engaging in a sophisticated manner about that. Only gay people should be allowed to have dogs in New York. And there are conversations happening. Some people taking it seriously, some people taking it seriously. But as a bit.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah, some people.

[Kareem]

Full on bit. And like, that's not a real. It's not a real thing. Like, there's no world in which only gay people.

[Trevor Noah]

Right, right, right.

[Kareem]

Have dogs. But.

[Trevor Noah]

But the take is.

[Kareem]

Is, well, it's hilarious. Yeah, but. But in the comments, somebody's like, okay, so for this to work, there needs to be blah, blah, blah. And another person's like, okay, so if only gay people have dogs, let's say that's 1% of New Yorkers. So that means this many dogs. So that would reduce the number of dogs by this many. And, like, people are doing real analysis and research. And I love it because there's not really a place, I think, in America at all to have a civilized, yet still kind of like rambunctious conversation. In the same way that it used to feel like you could get a bunch of people to have dinner and they would have slightly opposing beliefs and you would have a good time and be like, man, I love that. Like, I loved dinner with so and so because he's insane. Like, he's stupid. But I loved the conversation. You know, you used to be able to have that conversation. At least I did. And now I feel like you can't have that conversation. You're just like, this person is awful.

[Trevor Noah]

Do you think you had a yearning for that coming from an Egyptian household?

[Kareem]

Dude, I stand in front of my TV with my arms crossed behind my back watching CNN at 7am Like I have the old school Arab dad mentality. And so when I used to see my dad like interacting with his friends, they were all. So they were, they were always arguing.

[Trevor Noah]

Always.

[Kareem]

Yes. It was never a moment where they weren't.

[Trevor Noah]

I'm so glad you said that. This is, this is a thing that I've been trying to explain to many of my like American friends who sort of have no recent immigrant family. Everyone came here at some point, but they don't have any recent immigrant family. And I go, one of the national pastimes of most immigrant communities is arguing. Yeah, but like arguing for the sake of arguing. But like in a really, really fun. It's about football. Who's the best footballer, who's the best team, who's the best coach. And then it moves to like. But it's always benign, you know. Oh, where do you get the best hummus? Well, that's not homos. You can't even count that with a passion.

[Kareem]

Yeah, yeah, like a real passion arguing.

[Trevor Noah]

You don't know food. We don't know food. And you get.

[Kareem]

And they don't talk for 24 hours.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, but, but like that thing, it's funny that you say that because I would say this to my, my friends, especially like my American friends, I'd go, I sometimes feel like Americans need to fight more seriously about things that are less serious so that they can just enjoy the fight. Not every fight can be about like war in Iran. These are big fights, guys.

[Kareem]

This is too big and it's exhausting.

[Trevor Noah]

Health care, yo, that's a big fight.

[Kareem]

Just fight about small things. Yeah, you know, I mean every once in a while I will just choose violence and lob something into the group chat that I know is just going to piss. Like literally sitting last night on my couch and I said to my wife, I go, I think I'm going to start a little fight in the group chat. And she goes about what? I was like, I'm not sure yet, but like it's been awfully quiet.

[Trevor Noah]

This is a family group chat.

[Kareem]

No, no, this is just like my closest friend.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, just a group.

[Kareem]

They're mostly actually white and they would not really. I mean I do it all the time. I instigate a fight and then everyone does fight, but it's over taxed, but it's fine. Because it's still a good fight. And then maybe one person will leave a little bit hurt, but it's like, it doesn't matter. And I do. Yeah, I miss that. I mean, I've said before, like, my favorite hangout is a dinner with, like, four to six people that are all smart but maybe don't agree on everything and just having four hours of arguing.

[Trevor Noah]

What did. What did you throw into the group chat? What did you say?

[Kareem]

I don't remember. I have to look. Oh, well, this a recent one.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

This isn't yesterday's, because I think yesterday I got distracted, and she was like, don't do that. And I was like, okay. But one time, somebody was choosing where we should go on a bachelor party.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Kareem]

And they chose what I thought was an awful place. And everyone else went, okay, yeah, sounds good. Like, great. And I go, denver sucks. Why would we go to Denver? Wow. And then they were like, you can't. And then they were like, you can't do this. Like, he's on the chat, and I'm like, the bachelor party's not for the Bachelor. It's for us. It's for his friends. Also, as a good friend, I want him to have a memorable time of his life, and you guys are bad friends for letting him choose Denver. Also, who said the Bachelor gets to choose? The Bachelor doesn't get to choose. The bachelor gets to come, but his friends get to choose. And so I. I went as far as to write several emails. So it started in the group chat,

[Trevor Noah]

it exploded, and everyone moved into email.

[Kareem]

And then I moved into email because I wanted to write longer arguments with the help of, you know, editing software and, you know, be able to use Grammarly and such and, like, make sure. So I would write these formal emails to the committee and say, I think that this is a bad decision.

[Trevor Noah]

And then where did you guys end up going?

[Kareem]

Denver.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, man.

[Kareem]

I lost. I eventually because somebody was like, you're starting to hurt his feel. Like somebody was like, hey, he's really stressed out.

[Trevor Noah]

But. But I was.

[Kareem]

I don't think he's really stressed out and his feelings are starting to get hurt. And I was like, I'll lay off. And actually, we had a great time. I think it was right outside of.

[Trevor Noah]

I don't think you're wrong, though. Not about the Denver thing, but about. I don't think the Bachelor is supposed to choose right.

[Kareem]

I don't think.

[Trevor Noah]

I think it's supposed to be the best man. Isn't that, like, the job of the best man? Is like, your job is to plan the bachelor party. And then who was the best man?

[Kareem]

This other guy who was going with the flow. And the bachelor. The bachelor's excuse was he was like, I don't want to, like. I don't want to, like, trouble you guys with traveling to, like, another country. I was like, dude, we are dying to go anywhere else. Like, let's not go to Denver.

[Trevor Noah]

What time of year was it?

[Kareem]

It was a beautiful time of year. It was like May, I think, or June.

[Trevor Noah]

Huh?

[Kareem]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

But Denver, bachelor, you live, you learn. I mean, I like that as a. But you see, the. The more important thing to me is the fight.

[Kareem]

Yeah, the fight was awesome.

[Trevor Noah]

You've just got to, like. You just got to fight, man. You've got to argue. You have to. That's that thing. I remember when I went. When I went to Egypt, I was lucky. So I. We were in. We were in Qatar for the World cup, and then there were, like, a few days where there were no games. And then my friends were like, let's just go to Egypt. We're this close. We'll never do it. Let's just fly. And it was like, a few hours. We popped over to Egypt, and it really felt like, you know, those old, like. I don't even know what those movies were called comedies, but it was like American Pie and those. It was like a road trip. Anything could happen, right? It was like that. And we just went. And then we're like, we gotta go to the pyramids. And then we're in the pyramid.

[Kareem]

Yes.

[Trevor Noah]

And then we're like, is that a KFC next to the pyramid? And we're like. We go into the KFC next to the pyramids. And then we. And then we're getting stopped by cops randomly in the middle of the night for fun. Yeah. And they weren't like, threatening or anything. They were just curious, I guess.

[Kareem]

I'd like to check out the ideas.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah. Just checking stuff. And then the next thing you know, we're having dinner with random people that we've met, eating a meal at like, 11pm at night, midnight. You know what I mean? But, like. But the one thing I discovered wherever I went in Cairo. Arguments.

[Kareem]

Yeah, Just yelling.

[Trevor Noah]

Just great arguments. Everyone fighting about every single thing. At dinner, at lunch, in a hotel lob. But in a. Like a. It made me feel like I was home.

[Kareem]

Yeah. Is that how it feels in South Africans?

[Trevor Noah]

Come on, man. It doesn't matter where you are in Africa. Full on. Full on. As soon as things get boring, you're hanging out with your Ghanaian friends or Nigerians, just be like, who's got the best Jollof? And then we're on.

[Kareem]

Yeah, just drop a little fight. Just drop a little fight. Everyone needs it. I remember when I was, like, inviting a bunch of people to Cairo, and I wrote, it was like an faq, and the last cue was, why is everyone yelling? And the answer, I had a bunch of questions, why is everyone yelling? And I said, we're not yelling. This is just how we talk.

[Trevor Noah]

I like that.

[Kareem]

That's it. It's just loud, obnoxious. Go like this loud.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, Just. Just get into it.

[Kareem]

And everyone. Everyone does look like this.

[Trevor Noah]

I will say that, though, like, the one difference I think between. Well, maybe it's because I'm familiar with it. I feel like Africans look less angry when they're in the argument.

[Kareem]

They definitely do. They. They look. They. I mean, they're. Yeah, they look less angry in general.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

Arabs, for some reason, do look. I'm Arab. I sometimes look in the mirror. I'm like, I look kind of angry. Not right now with this face, but, like, usually like, oh, yeah, yeah. And that's just my thinking face.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, that's the face.

[Kareem]

It's not an angry face. But I'll sit at the computer and I'm like. And I'm like, oh, sorry. People might think, yeah, that's.

[Trevor Noah]

That's the face. And, like, a little bit more angry, a little more intense.

[Kareem]

Has a little. Yeah, there's a little intense. Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Whereas African arguments, they have, like a big. Sometimes you even struggle to know when the person is really angry or in, like, a joyful angry. Don't go anywhere because we got more what now? After this. This message is a paid partnership with Apple Card. Imagine this. You're at a checkout counter. You're ready to pay, when you realize you don't have your wallet. Dun, dun, dun. You could drive all the way back home and you could get it. But you remember that you have your Apple card on your iPhone so you can tap to pay with Apple Pay. Imagine that. No need to carry a wallet. But, you know, one of the things I do like about having my card on my phone is we live in a world where you lose your card and then you don't know where it is. And then you're like, what do I do? Well, if your phone is connected to your card and your card is connected to your phone, you know what's going on. The best thing about having the Apple card connected to your phone is you Know what every transaction is? You know, like sometimes you're like, what did I spend this month? The Apple card will show you one month. I had spent an obscene amount of money ordering videos online. Just videos? They were just videos.

[Kareem]

What kind of videos?

[Trevor Noah]

That's not the point. The point is, I knew that I didn't want to order those videos anymore because I'd spent too much money on was videos on how to not spend money online.

[Kareem]

I felt like I'd been duped.

[Trevor Noah]

Point is, Apple showed me what I was spending my money on, and I was able to change my spending habits. And you can do it too. I earn up to 3% daily cash back on every purchase with my Apple card. That's unlimited daily cash back no matter where I shop. Apply for Apple card in the wallet app on your iPhone. Subject to credit approval. Apple card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Salt Lake City branch terms and [e-mail] you know when the weather finally turns and everyone suddenly remembers they have friends? Well, that's when you know it's time to get outside, fire up the grill, and start planning all those sunny gatherings, pool days, weekend hangouts, Mother's Day, brunch, graduation, all of it. And what I like is keeping it simple. That's why I go to Whole Foods Markets, because they make gathering easy. You've got quality meat, fresh organic produce, and those seasonal bakery treats that somehow disappear before the guests even arrive. Hmm, I wonder who that was for the grill. It's all the good stuff. Organic chicken breast, 365 by Whole Foods Market. Lean ground beef, ready to cook, kebabs. That's the kind of setup where even if you're not a grill expert, people still respect what you're doing. Oh, and then you round it out in produce. Avocados, heirloom tomatoes, strawberries, mangoes, raspberries. Suddenly your table looks like you planned this for days. And if you want to go a little further, the desserts do the work for you. Mango yuzu, chantilly cake, strawberry pretzel cream pie. Those are the moments where people stop talking and just eat. Ooh, ooh. Oh, I almost forgot. This is one of my favorite options. You let Whole Foods Market do most of the work. Prepared foods has everything. Quiche lorraine, deviled eggs, family sized salads, cut fruit, veggie trays, you name it. You just show up relaxed and people assume that you've been cooking all morning. And then you act you've been cooking all morning. And if you really want to take it easy, well, then let Whole Foods Market Catering. Handle it all. Same quality, same great ingredients, just none of the stress. Because at the end of the day, it's not about the grill. It's about the people around it and who prepared it.

[Kareem]

Me.

[Trevor Noah]

Thank you very much. I'll take all the credits. Shop for all your summer favorites at Whole Foods Markets. If you're trying to be a little more intentional about what you wear day to day, well, Quince can help you with that. They've got pieces that feel easy, comfortable, and still put together. The fabrics feel elevated. The fits are clean. It's the kind of clothing where you don't have to think too hard, but you still look like you did. And I've realized that's actually the goal. You don't want to be standing in front of your closet negotiating with your clothes. You just want to put something on and get on with your life. Quince makes that easier. Think 100% European linen shorts and shirts starting at $34. Lightweight, breathable, especially when it's warm, but still structured enough that you don't feel like you just rolled out of bed. And what surprised me is how they're able to price everything. It's about 50 to 80% less than what you'd find at similar brands because Quince works directly with the factories and cuts out the middlemen. So you're getting premium materials just without the mockup. I picked up one of their linen shirts recently, and it has been in constant rotation. Don't get me started on those sweaters. Oh, so comfortable. You know, it's just those pieces that just work. You can wear it out. You can wear it casually. It's comfortable, it breathes. And every time I put it on, I'm like, okay, this feels like I made an effort and it didn't cost what I thought something like that would. That's the balance. I like clothes that feel good, look good, and don't make you overthink it. So refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to quince.com what now for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada, too. That's Q-U-I-N c-e.com what now for free shipping and 365 day returns? Quince, Before I forget, the subway. Subway hot. Is it hot? It is. Subway takes, right?

[Kareem]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

You see, that's a Mandela effect. I thought it was like subway hot takes.

[Kareem]

There's a lot of people that call it Subway hot takes.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

I don't know why I don't know why either.

[Trevor Noah]

I guess because we just think it's a hot take.

[Kareem]

It's always shocking to me.

[Trevor Noah]

Why would that. That shouldn't be shocking.

[Kareem]

Like, hey, Subway Hot Takes. I'm like, that's.

[Trevor Noah]

That's.

[Kareem]

That's me. Oh, yeah. I think people also call me that.

[Trevor Noah]

They call you Subway Hot Takes.

[Kareem]

There's. Oh, Subway Takes. Or this is my favorite one. You're the guy. I go, that's it. That's the conversation.

[Trevor Noah]

That's good, though.

[Kareem]

It's great.

[Trevor Noah]

That's when you know you've made it.

[Kareem]

You're the guy.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

Do people do that to you?

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

No, no.

[Trevor Noah]

They will. They will. So what will happen to me is. But I have to. I have to be careful. Sometimes people will say to me, hey, man, are you the guy? And then I used to go, which guy? And then they would be like, the guy from tv. And then I'd be like, which show on tv? And then it would seem like I'm trying to pull things out of them. So then at some point, I thought, let me just. Let's expediate this conversation. Let's get it going. They go, you the guy? And be like, yeah, yeah, it's me. And then they'd go, why did you leave cnn? I'm like, who. Who do you think I am? And then some people would think, genuinely would think I'm Don Lemon. I've never seen the resemblance.

[Kareem]

Oh, I don't see Don Lemon at all. I was gonna say that this is the first time that I've seen a resemblance, but I could see the Weeknd.

[Trevor Noah]

So I get the weekend. I get the weekend in Europe all the time.

[Kareem]

Oh, cool.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, that's a good one to be. People will come up to me, and then they will go. The craziest was in Stockholm. I was there at the exact same time that he was doing shows. I was doing shows. And in the streets, people. People were coming up. They were just like, hey, I'm so excited to come to your show tonight. And I was just like, yeah, man. I was like, damn, everyone's coming to my show.

[Kareem]

That's so funny.

[Trevor Noah]

And then, like, my show was sold out luckily. But then afterwards, I found out, oh, the Weeknd's in town.

[Kareem]

They thought you were able.

[Trevor Noah]

They did.

[Kareem]

Good guy.

[Trevor Noah]

They did. So, yeah. So the weekend I get. And then sometimes from far, Bruno Mars.

[Kareem]

Like, a tall one.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, well, they don't know how tall Bruno Mars is. That's the thing I've learned.

[Kareem]

He's a short Man.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

So people.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, Bruno. Bruno. No, no, Bruno. Bruno's fully short.

[Kareem]

Mandela effect.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no. I know. Bruno Mars. Bruno Mars is a short man, but Torlin's like, his vibe.

[Kareem]

Yeah. He's a.

[Trevor Noah]

You know, feel like you look up to Bruno when you're standing next to him. Even though he's shorter than you, he radiates. But you're gonna do subway hot takes in. In Cairo, right?

[Kareem]

Yeah. I mean, here's the thing about. Also about Cairo, which I love. I was born there, and it feels like a home to me. There's not a ton of, like, amazing news. There's a lot of news. There's a lot of good news. You know, there's like. There's news.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Kareem]

But I was on a panel in Cairo, and I just, like, lobbed it out and was like, would love to do it in Cairo. And then the next day, there were four news articles that said.

[Trevor Noah]

You're doing it in Cairo.

[Kareem]

Yes. That said, next stop for subway takes Cairo. And so now I am going to go, because that is how I base. A lot of my life is based on where people want me to go. So I was like, all right, they want me here. I guess I'll go. But it was really fun. I was shocked. The next day, it's like, Kareem Rama says, next stop is Cairo. And I'm like, so I'm going to Cairo.

[Trevor Noah]

I mean, I feel like you should do it everywhere in the world. I've seen the ones. You've done London.

[Kareem]

I've done London.

[Trevor Noah]

So you've done the Tube.

[Kareem]

I've done Paris.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, you've done. I didn't know you did Paris.

[Kareem]

Done Berlin.

[Trevor Noah]

See, I didn't know these things.

[Kareem]

Chicago.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, this is great. You should do. You should literally do everywhere in the world.

[Kareem]

I want to. But some places, like you were saying, like, Japan, I don't think they're gonna like me there because they.

[Trevor Noah]

No, I don't.

[Kareem]

I think have a nice culture.

[Trevor Noah]

No, I think you're wrong, actually. You know.

[Kareem]

You know, you're not, like, allowed to do anything on the ground. No, no, no, no, no. That.

[Trevor Noah]

I don't. I think that's an unfair mischaracterization of, like, Japanese people. I think they're very. They're very aware of, like, another person's space. You know, they're very considerate. But when we were on, like, when I've been to Japan multiple times with my friends, and when we're on the train talking, no one's like, shh. There's no. Like, people aren't even looking at us. Like, why are you speaking? And obviously we also consider it so we're not speaking extra loud. I think you could do Subway takes in Japan.

[Kareem]

So it's more of like a. Like they are policing themselves.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. And you would.

[Kareem]

They're not gonna judge you.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. I think it's the. Because it's a cultural thing.

[Kareem]

Right.

[Trevor Noah]

The society's doing it, so you're the anomaly. By talking slash whatever, they'll let this

[Kareem]

chaos agent on the train.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, but I don't think you'd bring chaos. You'd just be a guy having a conversation in the corner.

[Kareem]

I know, but I have big body language.

[Trevor Noah]

No, you'd be fine.

[Kareem]

It'll be fine. Well, I do. I do want to do Tokyo. I. I've. I made a concerted effort because every time I go to London, I get so much love. Like, it's crazy. I'm like, I'm like, I'm. I feel like I'm famous in London. You know that joke? Like, I'm big. I'm big overseas.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

Like, that's a literal reality for London specifically. So I've, like, doubled down on my commitment to that city. So now I'm going every quarter to. To shoot episodes there. So now it's like, that is the second home of Subway.

[Trevor Noah]

That's beautiful, man.

[Kareem]

But then, you know, selfishly, I also have not seen a ton of the world. I've seen a good amount of the world. But I would love to go back to Tokyo.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

Haven't been to, like, Brazil. Like, Rio would be amazing. There's so many places that I want to go. Even in the US what's the worst

[Trevor Noah]

thing that's ever happened to you in the subway trying to do one of your shows?

[Kareem]

Honestly, people are so nice.

[Trevor Noah]

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing's ever happened.

[Kareem]

No, literally, people are. I mean. No, that's. That's really good.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, I mean, it's good for, like. It's good for a life going in the right direction. It's bad for, like, not bad for that question. Yeah. For not having a story.

[Kareem]

Yeah. I don't have a story. I don't have a good. I mean, I guess one time, like, there was a little confusion as to who a person was that was filming us. So there was a. There was a guy on the train filming me.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

With another guy doing subway takes.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Kareem]

And then a more like a less stable person was also on the train.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

And he saw that guy filming and for some reason got Mad and slammed the phone out of that guy's hand. But then that guy thought that the guy, the slammer, was my bodyguard and that he was like, no. And he was like, dude, I'm so sorry. I didn't know we couldn't film. I didn't know it was a close set. I was like, I don't know that guy at all. And so there was a little bit of, like, Spider man meme. Yeah. That was probably the worst situation where I was like, wait, that guy's not with me. Is he with you? He's like, he's not with me. I was like, oh, and who was that guy? He's just a protector.

[Trevor Noah]

I love that kind of so much.

[Kareem]

And then he slammed the phone, and then he kicked it all the way to the other side of the train. It was. It was. It was intense.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, man. I love those moments. I just. I don't even. I don't even think I can explain to you how much I love those kinds of.

[Kareem]

You can see it in your head, right?

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, because it's.

[Kareem]

It's.

[Trevor Noah]

It's. To me, that's pure comedy. It's just like. It's. It's. It's written flawlessly when it just happens in life.

[Kareem]

It was so good.

[Trevor Noah]

It's like, you. Do you know him? No, I don't know him. Who's the. But they. Because he did the right action for Bodyguard.

[Kareem]

He was an aggressive bodyguard, though.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, but he still. It was the right action. Slap the phone. Kick the phone away. This is what you would think. You'd just be like, yo, man, that Kareem guy, yo, he's got aggressive bodyguards, but they do their job.

[Kareem]

Yeah, yeah, exactly. That's what happened. Yeah. So that's. That's the craziest thing that's happened. But I mean, the other thing about the show is it's amazing because it's. It is literally the best. Like, and I don't want to call it networking, but, like, I feel like I have friends, so many friends. Because I go to London, I meet, like, 25, 30 new people every single time I go.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

I go to Berlin, I meet 25, 30 people. Paris, like.

[Trevor Noah]

Right.

[Kareem]

And at this point, I still do all the booking. So, like, it's. I DM people, I find them, blah, blah, blah. And so I make. I feel like I have so many friends. You know what I mean?

[Trevor Noah]

That's really great, actually.

[Kareem]

Yeah, it's really. That's like one of the big, like, people are like, will you ever stop doing the show. And I'm like, inevitably, yes, of course, like, everything must end. But I'm like, that's the thing that I'm gonna miss the most is, like being able to meet 20 people in three days or whatever. Like 20 cool people who are comedians or independent filmmakers or whatever. And it's almost like speed dating. You know what I mean?

[Trevor Noah]

How do you. How do you pick them?

[Kareem]

It's like a vibes based situation. Yeah. It's not like, really, it's not. It's definitely not quantitative at all. So there's zero. I don't look at anyone's followers or numbers at all. That's complete. Doesn't matter at all. What I try to do, though, is I try to book people who feel like they deserve a platform.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Kareem]

And deserve. Not deserve, but need, like, some exposure. Right. So. So I try to choose, like, independent comedians. I try to choose writers and, and. And. And authors and filmmakers and like, and then maybe people like some nonprofits. Like, I try to curate this list kind of in the same way that a magazine editor would edit a magazine. Like, I looked at it like a magazine instead of like a page. So I try to choose people based on, like, are they interesting? Do they have something to say? And then what are they working on? And can I be of service? Essentially? Because when I was starting out, like, I would have wanted to be on Subway Takes because it would have felt like I was doing Fallon or, you know, Conan or whatever. Like I was doing standup on one of those shows. And that. That's what it feels like to me. Is. Is. Is really important, Is like, are you working on something? Could you use the additional exposure? And are you cool, nice person, really,

[Trevor Noah]

like, that's really what happens when the celebrities come on. Is that them? Is that inbound?

[Kareem]

Oh, yeah, that. That one's just. That one. That one's also really difficult because we get. I mean, we get a lot of inbound. Like a ton.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

And all of them have been inbound so far. And I've been not really trying to, like, book anyone or manifest anyone. Like, everyone's like, who's your dream guest? And I keep saying Ben Affleck because it's just a good answer. And he is kind. You know, he is my dream guest. He's amazing. I think Ben Affleck's the best, but I haven't reached out to him yet. But. But choosing because. Because I try to keep the DNA of the show alive. So having one celebrity out of every, like, 15 to 20 guests is a very Low ratio. And it really means, you know, 20 or 30 celebrities a year. And that one is just mostly based on, like, who have I always wanted to meet?

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Kareem]

You know what I mean? Like, if it's like, I try to do, like, icons, you know? We had the last interview with Jane Goodall, which is amazing. Before she passed away, obviously. Ethan Hawke and Spike Lee and Jason Bateman. Like, kind of like legends, you know, like living legends or just people who I think are hilarious. But also, what's the definite. Now I'm rambling, but, like, who is a celebrity now? Like, like, is Eric Andre a celebrity?

[Trevor Noah]

What I mean is. I mean, people whose success was sort of defined before the Internet era.

[Kareem]

Okay.

[Trevor Noah]

That's generally what I mean.

[Kareem]

Okay, good. That's exactly like.

[Trevor Noah]

Like, their fame came from movies or music or. It's like.

[Kareem]

Yeah. I'm usually. I'm just like, who do I. Who do I like? I have an opportunity to meet my heroes.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

So let's pick them.

[Trevor Noah]

Do you think you'll ever release the. The. The missing Kamala Harris one?

[Kareem]

I haven't. I'll show it to you if you want to come over.

[Trevor Noah]

That's, like, all I want to see.

[Kareem]

Okay, I'll show you it. I have it on my phone. Watch. I get robbed after this. It's in the cloud, guys. It's securely protected in the cloud. Yeah, I don't think I'll ever release it. It just seems like it's unnecessary. I mean, I could release it.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay, wait, what do you mean by unnecessary?

[Kareem]

To release it?

[Trevor Noah]

Because now I'm like, whoa, how bad was this thing?

[Kareem]

Well, what's the point of releasing it? She's just a civilian.

[Trevor Noah]

Is she, though?

[Kareem]

I don't know. Just leave her alone.

[Trevor Noah]

I don't think that's how it works.

[Kareem]

Wait, she ran and lost?

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. Yeah. No, no. But I don't think that just makes you a civilian.

[Kareem]

She's a civilian now.

[Trevor Noah]

Rocky lost the first movie. That didn't make him a civilian.

[Kareem]

Yes, it did.

[Trevor Noah]

No, it didn't.

[Kareem]

Yes, it did. If you lose, you're a civilian. And you're homo. You're a civilian.

[Trevor Noah]

No, you're a superst.

[Kareem]

It's like. It's a different thing, I guess. It doesn't provide any value for anyone.

[Trevor Noah]

Because let's put it this way, if Kamala Harris shows up at, like, a rally or says, I'm doing a thing, people will show up. They won't be like, who's this civilian lady trying to mobilize people?

[Kareem]

Do you know what I mean, I know, but it's not newsworthy.

[Trevor Noah]

No, I don't. I'm not even thinking about the newsworthiness of it. I just go look on my side. I'm just curious.

[Kareem]

I'll show you.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay, cool.

[Kareem]

But does the American public need to watch it? Do they need to know something?

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, no, no. That I'm less. I'm less concerned.

[Kareem]

People have said that the American public deserves to see it.

[Trevor Noah]

That's an interesting one.

[Kareem]

There have been comments. There have been some comments from some people that are like.

[Trevor Noah]

Because they go, you have this piece of information that sort of affects American politics and culture. And by not releasing this, that I'm

[Kareem]

technically, I'm complicit in a cover up. That's the exact words you are.

[Trevor Noah]

That's my take.

[Kareem]

Don't.

[Trevor Noah]

My take is you don't get me started on. You are complicit in a cover up.

[Kareem]

I am not complicit.

[Trevor Noah]

As a journalist, you have an obligation.

[Kareem]

I'm not a journalist.

[Trevor Noah]

People call you that. You know that, right?

[Kareem]

And I always tell them I'm not.

[Trevor Noah]

No. But I think it's crazy. Some people literally will be like, oh, the journalist. I don't know when this happened.

[Kareem]

About me.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah. But I don't know when this happened. But there's this weird thing that started happening in American news and culture where the people who were tasked with doing a certain job then started claiming other people had the job and then would judge them for not doing the job that they had given them, even though it was never their job. So it first started, you know, it became apparent to me when it was about comedians. I started seeing a lot of articles being written about comedians, myself included. But it would just be like, oh, why aren't more comedians speaking about the da, da, da? And I was just like, wait, wait, what is happening here? A journalist is asking why comedians are not speaking out about whatever issue they want them to speak out about. But I was like, but you are a journalist. You work for a large publication that is informing people. Why are you not writing about it?

[Kareem]

Yeah, they're writing about you now.

[Trevor Noah]

They're writing about the person not writing about, essentially. Yeah. But I was like, I don't know. And then I started finding it. I remember someone complaining about like MrBeast's show, and it was a journalist and they were saying, MrBeast's show is a terrible. You know, it's like, it's the worst of a. Why does he not show the better sides of America? And why Is he not trying to uplift the. I was like, but what are you writing about? What are you. You are the. You are the publication. Do you know what I mean? And I've seen a few with you where people would be like. They try and put you in, like, journalist land because of the level of guest you're getting. On occasion, they'll be like, oh, but you should be like, how do you even think of that? How do you think of that? That quote, unquote pressure in that way.

[Kareem]

I just respond honestly. Yeah, like you're doing yourself a disservice by saying this about yourself. Because I'm literally just a jokester. I'm a clown. I don't even believe in what I'm saying, which is really true. Like, if. If I actually 100 agreed or 100 disagreed with every opinion.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

On the show.

[Trevor Noah]

Right.

[Kareem]

I would probably be a maniac. Because first of all, there's no such thing as 100% on either side. On either.

[Trevor Noah]

And that's what makes it good.

[Kareem]

And that's the joke.

[Trevor Noah]

That's what makes.

[Kareem]

That is the point of the show. Yes, it is. Like, here's.

[Trevor Noah]

I have to 100% disagree. 100%.

[Kareem]

And half the time I've never thought about these things and will never think about them. And Also, forget about 100% agree or 100% disagree. What about. I literally don't care at all.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

I just do not care. Whatever you just said sometimes doesn't even make sense, and then I just pick an option and let them explain it to me. And. And it's just. It's just funny because. Because I did go to journalism school, which maybe is a reason that.

[Trevor Noah]

Wait, wait, wait.

[Kareem]

You did? I did.

[Trevor Noah]

This guy's burying the lead here. But I was a journalist.

[Kareem]

I chose it because this guy's out

[Trevor Noah]

here talking about another journalist. Guy's an actual journalist.

[Kareem]

I couldn't tell you one thing about journalism.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, but you are qualified. Did you finish journalism school?

[Kareem]

I finished, but I, I.

[Trevor Noah]

You are a journalist.

[Kareem]

No, but I. With an emphasis in advertising.

[Trevor Noah]

If we were.

[Kareem]

And I only worked in advertising.

[Trevor Noah]

Wait, wait, wait.

[Kareem]

I never worked. Wait, what exactly?

[Trevor Noah]

Journalism school with an emphasis in advertising.

[Kareem]

Yes, because what does that mean? Of the game, baby. I'm ahead of the game. I've known for a long. That we are compromised as an industry. And I said, you know, I'm gonna get ahead of this and learn both the things. But journalism's easy.

[Trevor Noah]

Wait, wait, wait. But let's go back.

[Kareem]

And I'm sorry, I'm probably gonna get fucking chalamed over this. I just said, journalism is easy. I take it back. I'm talking directly to the camera. I take it back.

[Trevor Noah]

You know, you can't take it back.

[Kareem]

Journalism's not easy. What I meant was it's an easy major in college.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay, I'm just gonna let you know. You can't take it back. Timothee Chalamet, he even said in his. When he said ballet and opera, and then he said, no shots at the ballet community, and he tried to take it back. You can't take it back. You said, journalism's easy. And that's it. It's done. By the way, Timothee Chalamet wasn't wrong, by the way. I just don't think people like the flippancy with which he said the thing.

[Kareem]

They don't like the truth.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no. I think it's how the truth was delivered.

[Kareem]

Also, I have worked in newsrooms. I know journalism is not easy. I know that. Journalism as a major is so easy.

[Trevor Noah]

What makes it easy? Easy.

[Kareem]

It's easy compared to all the other majors.

[Trevor Noah]

I never went to university, so I don't know, like, what.

[Kareem]

And you're a journalist. Look how easy it is.

[Trevor Noah]

This guy.

[Kareem]

It's true, man. Look, the major is easy. It is. I don't know how I can describe it as easy other than when I went to school and they were like, you have to choose a major. I was like, what is like? I had a friend who was like, studying to be an engineer. I had another friend who was studying to be a computer scientist. Another friend that was studying to be a fucking doctor. And they were always studying.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

And then I was like, I don't want to be always studying. I want to be hanging out. Like, how can I just hang out during college? That sounds way better than studying. And I asked a bunch of people, and they were like, well, journalism is a pretty easy degree. I said, great, I'll just do that. I didn't choose it because I'm passionate. I chose it because it was there. And I was a junior and I needed to pick a major to graduate from college. I did Generals for two years. Generals are like when you don't have a major. So I spent two years just dabbling in America.

[Trevor Noah]

A little bit of everything.

[Kareem]

Yeah. A little American history, a little this,

[Trevor Noah]

but look where it got you.

[Kareem]

Yeah, but none of this is related to school. Honestly, I didn't learn the damn thing in school. I went because it was fun. I. I stand by that.

[Trevor Noah]

Personally, I think Most people should go to school not to learn something per se, but to experience the community and the vibe of all the people you wouldn't otherwise meet. Yeah, I think school is still like one of the few melting pots that exists. Well, I don't know if it'll be for a while with. With how they're coming after it. But, you know, I. I genuinely think that I'm like, yeah, just go to school. That's the only reason I would want everyone to go to university and stuff. Yeah, it's just you go meet people that you would, you know, it's their subway takes.

[Kareem]

Yeah, yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

You meet 20 to 30 people that you would never know. Now you've got friends in Berlin, friends in London, you know.

[Kareem]

Yeah, no, it's. I worked at the New York Times. Maybe this is why people think I'm a journalist. I worked at Vice, I worked at the New York Times, but I wasn't a journalist at either.

[Trevor Noah]

What were you doing there?

[Kareem]

I was behind the scenes. I was doing content development. Essentially what I do now for myself, which is thinking of new formats and new video series ideas, and then I would give them to a journalist or some other entertainer. Did any of them blow up or nothing like that? I invented.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

But I was always like in the room and. And sometimes it was just based on like a small project. Like, I remember, I remember one time at the Times we had this. It was like, I think it was like a four part series on ISIS or something, I think, I can't recall. And they were like, how do we get more reach on this? Like, it's super expensive. We produced this thing. It took like seven months. Like, what do we do? And I was like, like, I have an idea. Let's translate it into like five languages. And everyone was like, that's a really good idea. And so we did translate it into like Arabic, Spanish, I think Portuguese or French, whatever. And it did really well. I mean, it got five times the viewership that an English language video would get. You know what I mean? It was something as simple as that. That, that was like, now we should do this for other videos that are global news, because it's global news, so it kind of makes sense.

[Trevor Noah]

So. So you working in these, I mean, these are. These are like institutions. I know Vice was the challenger brand, you know, but the New York Times is like, that's the New York Times. What, what makes you leave and what, what gives you the gall, as they would say. The gall, my man. What gives you the gall to think that you can Survive without the New

[Kareem]

York Times I had always wanted. When I moved to New York, I want to be like an entrepreneur. Like, I came here in search of. I was like, when people went out west to search for gold, yeah, I did the same. I was like, except I went east because I didn't know. I knew one guy in New York and I was like, that's enough to get started.

[Trevor Noah]

Because you were growing up, you were in the Midwest.

[Kareem]

Yeah, I was in Minnesota.

[Trevor Noah]

Minnesota, right.

[Kareem]

And. And I remember I was inspired to leave Minnesota because I went to Europe for the first time. I went to London, I went to Berlin, I went to Zurich randomly and I went to Florence, Italy.

[Trevor Noah]

Why did you go to Zurich?

[Kareem]

I had like a. Like a. My girlfriend, my ex. Girlfriend's like, brother in law, some random person. So we went, okay. And I went on this like three month trip, or maybe it was only two months. And I got back to America and I was like, I gotta get, I gotta get out of Minnesota. Shout out Minnesota. I love Minnesota. But that trip, I was just like, I don't belong in this kind of city. I belong in a big city. And so that's why I came to New York. But the intention was always to be like a businessman or an entrepreneur. That's what I didn't have any desire to be a journalist or a comedian or anything. I just want to be rich. So I came here to get rich. And I immediately got poor. Poorer than I already was because I worked at Vice. And Vice wasn't even intentional. Like, I was just like, where should I work? And somebody was like, like, you should work advice. I go, cool. What is that? Didn't even know what media was. Didn't understand journalism, had. And I even went to journalism school. But they put me in the advertising area where I was like, yeah, I get this part, like sell things.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

And you know, after I worked at Vice, which was like getting an MBA in media, I was with 125 year old people and I had zero friends. And then all of a sudden I had at least 125 year old acquaintances. Still not friends, because they were mean to me because I was fresh off the boat from Minnesota. And then the Times called and they were like, I'd been working there for about two and a half years. And the Times was like, hey, do you want to work here? And I was like, will you pay me more? I didn't even care that it was in New York Times. I legitimately didn't care. I just go, will you pay me more money? And they go, yes. I said, I want this number. I'll tell you what the number was. It was a hundred thousand dollars.

[Trevor Noah]

I like it clean.

[Kareem]

Clean.

[Trevor Noah]

Not six figures.

[Kareem]

I said, exactly. Not a penny more.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

I said, give me 100k and I'll do it. And they go, okay, call my mom. Guess what? I make six figures. Hey. She's like, wow, really? I'm like, yeah. Later, find out that they had budgeted, like, 140k for the role. But I came in, my goal was to get 100k different 6 figures. But I was like, whatever, man. Like, I just need 100k, which I got. And so anyways, what gave me the gal to leave? Gall. Gal to leave the gal.

[Trevor Noah]

That's how I know it. Maybe in America, it's gal. I don't know.

[Kareem]

I just. The gall. The gall. I think it's the gall.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, it's the gall.

[Kareem]

The gall. I was. I was just. I felt like I was ready. I knew enough people. That's really what it was. The biggest thing is I knew enough people.

[Trevor Noah]

But it's the opposite of chasing money, though.

[Kareem]

Yes.

[Trevor Noah]

But, like, why would you leave the six figures to go and, like, make Internet videos? Because it's not like the money was apparent.

[Kareem]

Well, there. There's still a time in between that where I set out to, like, start my own business.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

Which I did. It was a media business still. It was still in the same realm. And that still was. The goal, was still to get rich. And I did not again, so many times. There's also a whole history of this going back to when I was 14. This has been my number one priority

[Trevor Noah]

in my life, is to get rich.

[Kareem]

Yes. Until I turn 33.

[Trevor Noah]

What did you start with at 14?

[Kareem]

Mowing lawns.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, very nice.

[Kareem]

Yeah. I used to haul this big lawnmower. Like, my dad would drive me around. I had one client.

[Trevor Noah]

Wait, that's it?

[Kareem]

And I got fired. And then. And then I started over.

[Trevor Noah]

How do you get fired from mowing lawn?

[Kareem]

He just like, I don't need you anymore. What?

[Trevor Noah]

How do you not need someone to mow your lawn? What happened here?

[Kareem]

I don't know, man. I don't remember. Huh? I cannot say without my lawyer here. I cannot say. Okay, okay. Oh, yeah. This one. Yeah, yeah. Okay. I don't know what happened, but I remember this old man, he was just like, yeah, I think I just did

[Trevor Noah]

a bad job at mowing lawn.

[Kareem]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

That is like the simplest, most obvious thing. You push the machine, it cuts the grass, the job is done.

[Kareem]

It was a huge yard.

[Trevor Noah]

Even better.

[Kareem]

And I didn't have a driver's license.

[Trevor Noah]

I don't think that. That there's no correlation between those two things.

[Kareem]

I think I was scheduling issue. It was a scheduling issue.

[Trevor Noah]

So, okay, cutting grass.

[Kareem]

Fired. Fired.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

And then McDonald's, and then telemarketer, and then mortgages.

[Trevor Noah]

Telemarketer.

[Kareem]

All of these things.

[Trevor Noah]

What were you selling?

[Kareem]

Furnace and duct cleaning.

[Trevor Noah]

Furnace and duct cleaning.

[Kareem]

Yeah. Hello, this is Kareem with Home Place. Furnace and duct cleaning. Do you have an average 2,000 square foot home or less?

[Trevor Noah]

I do not.

[Kareem]

Careem, I'm not getting you going. No. Are you serious?

[Trevor Noah]

And then what? And then what do you try and do?

[Kareem]

Well, how big is your house?

[Trevor Noah]

So, okay, let's go. 2200 square feet.

[Kareem]

2200 square feet? Yeah. Okay. So, yeah, that's about average. That's about 2,000 square feet. And have you had your furnace and dust duct cleaned before? I don't.

[Trevor Noah]

I don't even know if my furnishing duct gets cleaned.

[Kareem]

Well, you definitely need it. There's like, all the bacteria and germs in your house, all the dead air, all the bacteria. Like, that's how things travel. You got to get it clean so that the air that's circulating throughout your home is. Is clean. Oh, yeah. Hold on. Let me get a quote for you, Amanda. $80. Okay. So we can have someone out there for 80. $80. How's. How's tomorrow looking for you?

[Trevor Noah]

Damn. Look at that. I've hung up on people like you all the time.

[Kareem]

It was so fun.

[Trevor Noah]

As soon as the person, like, says, I'm from, gone.

[Kareem]

This is a different era, though.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, this was a different time.

[Kareem]

Well, this was kind of special.

[Trevor Noah]

No one knew who was going to call because.

[Kareem]

Because they were. Now they're, like, kind of automated, and they're. They're from other. They're from, like, you know, they're outsourced.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah.

[Kareem]

Now I was like, I'm from Minnesota, sitting there reading a lowrider magazine. I'm in a room this big with 10 other people my age who are all making $10 for every sale that they get, plus our minimum.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah.

[Kareem]

There was a leaderboard. It was kind of like boiler room, except really sad and depressing. I like this because we were making, like, 80 extra dollars a week. But this guy Joe, close friend of mine, he was a killer.

[Trevor Noah]

What did he do differently?

[Kareem]

Dude, he was just so good. He was so cocky, and he treated it like a joke. And sometimes people would, like, be Mean to him. And then he'd just be me right back. He was awesome. It's my good friend.

[Trevor Noah]

He was like the top of the leaderboard.

[Kareem]

Yeah. He was a man. He was such a cool.

[Trevor Noah]

Where's Joe now?

[Kareem]

I don't want to talk about it.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay. Yeah.

[Kareem]

All right.

[Trevor Noah]

We just move on.

[Kareem]

He got in a bad. Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, sorry, Joe.

[Kareem]

He's an okay guy. He's a great guy. Anyways, all of these things happened, and then. So I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed.

[Trevor Noah]

I. Yeah.

[Kareem]

My whole life has been failures. Really. I'm, like, not exaggerating. It's been hard. And then at 33, Jesus, here I was like, I have to stop. I just had this imposter syndrome. I have to stop pretending I am a CEO or a businessman or an entrepreneur or that I know any of these things. Like, I have to stop trying to get rich quick, because now I'm 33 and everything has failed, and I need to try something new. And the thought of, like, emailing for a living for the next 50 years was really scary to me, especially because I wasn't good at it. Like, my emails are still bad. I email, like, Jeffrey Epstein.

[Trevor Noah]

That's probably why you lost the Denver argument. You switched to your weak side.

[Kareem]

No, no, because that one. I was using some assistance.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, okay. Okay.

[Kareem]

I was using assistance on those because I needed to make a really good case. Okay. But my normal emails.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

Are really. When I saw Jeffrey Epstein's emails, I was a little concerned.

[Trevor Noah]

They were terrible.

[Kareem]

That's how I typed.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, it was, like, all lowercase.

[Kareem]

That's how I type. Like, oh, man. Like, if you were like, hey, what time are you coming? I'd be like, soon. That's all I'd say. Did you find the place? No. Send help.

[Trevor Noah]

I have the opposite issue. My. My texting is too formal.

[Kareem]

Really?

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. My younger brother always. He's like, yo, man, you need to, like, you need to loosen up. I don't abbreviate anything I don't like. Thank you. You know when people just write Ty,

[Kareem]

that's what I do.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, no, no, no, no.

[Kareem]

You're right. Thank you. All right.

[Trevor Noah]

Thank you. I think.

[Kareem]

Don't tell me to do periods.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, I do. I do. I put periods in. Yeah, no, I do. No, I put the. We call it a full stop, but a full stop where the full stop needs to be. I have double spacing after a full stop. Because you can't just, like, put one space journalist. No, because my mom. So when I was Young. My mom ran her own, like, comp. Like, business from home. And she would type a lot. She was, like, in real estate, and she would type a lot. And then I would have to type things with her and help her.

[Kareem]

Oh, cool.

[Trevor Noah]

So she would go through the work. So I'd be like.

[Kareem]

Like.

[Trevor Noah]

To whom it may concern, dear sirs slash madam, I would like to inform you of an issue that has occurred. So I couldn't, like, I couldn't be loose with things. I couldn't. You know what I mean? So when texting comes into my life, I'm already, like, well versed in the arts of, you know, formal conversation.

[Kareem]

Do you sign off?

[Trevor Noah]

I do.

[Kareem]

That's nice. I like that.

[Trevor Noah]

I do a sign off genuinely. Like, I like. I.

[Kareem]

So you'll put dash, Trevor.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, I'll put, like.

[Kareem]

That's cool.

[Trevor Noah]

You know, like a little Trevor or tea or gods or, you know, and then I have to try not do that with people. One of my friends even said to me once, hey, I know that you know it's me, so stop using my name when you start the text, please. Cause I will do that. I will message you and I'll go, hey, Kareem. And then you'll go, yes, obviously it's me, because it's my phone. Cause people will message me all the time and be like, yo, what are you doing this Friday? And I'm like, like, yo, who?

[Kareem]

Yeah, yo.

[Trevor Noah]

Yo, you're just gonna yo me.

[Kareem]

I do that when I call people. You do it like, you would have my number. And I go, yo, Trevor, it's Kareem. And you'd be like, I know.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, yeah, I do that all the time.

[Kareem]

But I love doing that.

[Trevor Noah]

No, that's.

[Kareem]

I think it's so. No, because it's fun.

[Trevor Noah]

That's hilarious.

[Kareem]

Or. Or. Or. Or they'll call me and I'll go, this is Kareem. And they'll be like, I called you.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, that's brilliant. Yeah, no, you see, that's good. That's.

[Kareem]

I like to establish that as me.

[Trevor Noah]

That's good. I like that.

[Kareem]

What if it's an imposter? No, no, no.

[Trevor Noah]

I like that, actually. I like that. Especially in the age of AI. Exactly.

[Kareem]

You need to make sure that they know.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, you need to. You need to throw in a little spice just to throw off the algorithm. I like this. I like this. Okay, so.

[Kareem]

So then I just. I was like, I can't. I love this, like, total just departure from what we were talking about. And then we both Pick up exactly where we left off.

[Trevor Noah]

Where we left off, which is an

[Kareem]

Ace 33, failing at everything.

[Trevor Noah]

No more CEO.

[Kareem]

And I was just like, I have to do something that I think I'm actually good at.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

And like I was saying, I went to college to hang out, and most of my life, I've been extremely good at that. It's the best thing. It's the thing that I'm best at. It's the thing that I'm most comfortable with. I didn't play sports. I hung out. I didn't have any college clubs. I hung out. Everything in my life has been geared around hanging out.

[Trevor Noah]

I like this.

[Kareem]

So I was like, what kind of job. Job is a hangout? Yeah. And I was like, comedians seem to be hanging out all the time. They're always hanging out. Like, their job is to hang out.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

So I was like, maybe I'll do that. And so I went to Upright Citizens Brigade, and I. I always thought I was funny. I always felt funny. I always knew I could do it. I always played at the top of my intelligence. Even in these, like, conversations with my friends, it was always like, how, you know, keep the joke elevated and play at the top of your intelligence. But I did comedy school because I just felt like I wanted to have something on my resume.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Kareem]

And that would provide some legitimacy that I could say, like, I am a comedian. Or I could say that what I didn't want to do was, like, be, like, aspiring or I just started. So, like, I just enrolled in school. I did all of the improv, I did all of the standup. I did all of the sketch. I did all of the writing. Oh, wow. I did more than you're supposed to do, probably. But I did all the classes. I spent a ton of money, and. And at the same time, I was, like, doing the things. Like, I was doing the training, but I was also, like, booking shows. I was going to shows. I was performing on shows, and just getting a feel for what I really liked. And eventually, like, it's. I just. I've always been an Internet kid. Like, from day one, it's been my favorite thing, aside from hanging out. So then I was like, let me make some videos. And then from there, it was like. Like figuring out, you know, what was, like, a repeatable thing. Because I. I remember I did get some notoriety for making this short film with my friend New York Nico. We. I. We did this film together. It went to Tribeca. That was the first time I felt like I was like, oh, I actually did like, right away. It's my first big project, and it was right away in Tribeca, right away with this great director. I was like, oh, shit, maybe I am good at this. Like, that was. That was the least amount of, like, convincing I've had to do.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

And I don't feel like an imposter at all. Like, I wrote the movie. I was in the movie. I went to Tribeca. Like, I didn't fake anything. Like, it just worked. And that gave me my first little bit of courage. And then right after that, I did keep the meter running, and that thing just exploded. It was so cool. And again, it came from this place of, like, emotional attachment to my father, who passed away when I was 20. Right. When I was in college.

[Trevor Noah]

Because your dad was a. Was a taxi driver, right?

[Kareem]

Yeah, my dad was a cabbie for, like, five years. So he wasn't a cabbie forever, but when he first moved to America, he was a cabbie. I didn't even know him as a cabbie.

[Trevor Noah]

Right.

[Kareem]

But I found myself seeking out wisdom from whoever was driving me to point A to point B, and. And I think it's a very. It is a very common experience that you get in a car ride with a. With a cabbie, and they're like, almost like a Sherpa or a guru.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Kareem]

Or a monk.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

They've always got, like, this thing, and I'm like, man, these guys have the secrets to the universe. Like, how. How are they so chill? How are they not having road rage? Sometimes they have road rage, but, like, you know, and talk about the. Talk about the. Like, hanging out with an immigrant and talking about politics or anything. They don't stop talking.

[Trevor Noah]

No. No. There's. I've never met a single taxi driver anywhere in the world who has no opinion. It just. It just doesn't exist. Yeah, there's not. None will be. Like, I don't have an opinion on that.

[Kareem]

Exactly. No, no.

[Trevor Noah]

They will give you an opinion.

[Kareem]

Yeah. About anything.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

How do you feel about Putin?

[Trevor Noah]

It does not matter.

[Kareem]

They've got an opinion, and that's awesome.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

And so I did that show. I did the first 20 episodes, but it was so expensive to produce.

[Trevor Noah]

So I need to understand why, because I've always read this, but I've never understood why it was so expensive. It seemed like it was beautifully shot, beautifully made, and all of that. But what made the show so expensive to the point that you couldn't do it anymore?

[Kareem]

Well, have you ever paid for a cabbie's meter when you Tell him to take me wherever you want.

[Trevor Noah]

No, I've never done that.

[Kareem]

Yeah, well, how much was it?

[Trevor Noah]

What would it get to?

[Kareem]

Oh, dude, it could easily get to 800 to 1200. I think I had a $1400 day once. Cause we're just driving and we're taking our sweet time and they weren't ripping me off. Like, it's not like, this is just.

[Trevor Noah]

That's the price of keeping the meats running.

[Kareem]

Yeah. Because we would literally do these crazy things. Like one time I went from Manhattan to Queens, ate at this restaurant. Also that was a big problem is I'd also cover the meal. And I was covered in the meal for me and the cabbie. Plus my crew.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Kareem]

Plus over ordering a little bit for the video.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Kareem]

Make sure you get.

[Trevor Noah]

All right, so you make sure you get all the food in it.

[Kareem]

Multiple stops. Yeah, you tip the restaurant. Because I'm like, like I show up with cameras.

[Trevor Noah]

You've got a camera and you got a crew and you got a whole thing and. Yeah, yeah.

[Kareem]

So as, as at that point I had experienced zero success, but I was spending like I was hbo.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

I was like, maybe I'm a movie producer and it like, like now I could probably self fund it and I'd be fine and it would be like a loss and whatever, but it was like $2,000 an episode, which is crazy in most parts of the world and also like not advisable as a person starting their career.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. When you have no money.

[Kareem]

$2,000 every time I make something with no plan to recuperate. Like to recoup.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

And. But it was my favorite thing I've ever done in my life.

[Trevor Noah]

But you're doing it again, aren't you?

[Kareem]

Yes. And now it is back 20 minute episodes. So the first, the first iteration was six minute episodes.

[Trevor Noah]

Got it.

[Kareem]

Now it's 20 minute episodes. They're on YouTube and they're. They're even bigger. They're bigger, they're bigger, they're better, they're crazier. And it's just like I took the short form show.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Kareem]

And I went and I just turned it all the way up so it's, you know, Russian Turkish bathhouse with Eugene and Boris, who's his friend that he just brought along for some reason. It's bowling with Norman. It's fishing. It's doing stand up comedy and recording a flute album with Cathandra. It's. It's salsa dancing with Homero. It's literally traveling the world without ever leaving the city.

[Trevor Noah]

That's beautiful.

[Kareem]

And that is magical. That's what's magical about New York. And it's also what's magical when you just tell someone, what do you want to do today? And I have zero input. And I learned so many things. It's like, they're like fathers to me. Cause they have all this fatherly advice. You know, As a man, you still want advice. Are your parents alive?

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

And you probably call your dad and you're like, what do you think I should do in this situation?

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, I call my mom, but. Okay.

[Kareem]

Cause Dad's like, bad advice.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, no. I think his. I think we're so different that the advice that he would give me is almost. It's just like, from a random place, if that makes sense. Like, my mom knows me so well, and we are so similar in our personalities. Not in the way we act in the world, but we're so similar that when my mom says something, she can say it from, like, the place of knowing me. If I ask my dad for advice, he'll just say a thing from his point of view in the world, and then I can process or not process that. Do you know what I mean?

[Kareem]

Your dad's like, who is this?

[Trevor Noah]

No, my dad is very Swiss.

[Kareem]

Remember?

[Trevor Noah]

He's Swiss German.

[Kareem]

So he's like.

[Trevor Noah]

He's very precise.

[Kareem]

Trevor who. He's very, very precise.

[Trevor Noah]

But he'll give me advice. Like, he'll be like, this is the thing. And that's how I see it. But. But I'm like, ah. There's no.

[Kareem]

Like, you need a. You need a Balkan caviar.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. Where's. Where's like the. Where's the. You know what I mean?

[Kareem]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that makes sense.

[Trevor Noah]

Where are the edges in this?

[Kareem]

Okay, so you guys.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. So on. Wait, on your side. So you were very close with your

[Kareem]

dad, I'm assuming then I was, like, not close to him. And I was close to him in the same. In the way that I like to argue.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Kareem]

Like, he was an argue friend. Right.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Kareem]

But he was a great guy. And I did. Yeah, I was close with him, but, like, it wasn't like a lovey relationship. It was more like, can it ever

[Trevor Noah]

be with, like, an Arabic dad from that time?

[Kareem]

From that time? No. Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Because it feels like there's generational, like, chasms that we just have in society where even with most. I would say with most African kids, there's one generation where there's no such thing as being, like, lovey with Your dad?

[Kareem]

No.

[Trevor Noah]

You know, I remember once, man, one of my favorite experiences ever was one of my cousins. We were walking out of the house, and my cousin was just like, I don't even know what happened. And he was just like, we're leaving. And then he said. He was like, I love you, dad. And then his dad was like, oh, good luck. It's just like. And in that one moment, I think we both. We just like, yeah. What were you doing?

[Kareem]

So funny.

[Trevor Noah]

What were you doing? It's. It's so.

[Kareem]

There's a. I came from that.

[Trevor Noah]

You know what I mean? So, like, Middle Eastern, you know, Arabic dads, African dad. There's a generation where it was like, there's no such thing as being, like, lovey with your dad. Did they provide for you?

[Kareem]

Yes, exactly.

[Trevor Noah]

Did you respect them? Did you do the things you were supposed to do? Are you ready to be the man of the house? Then you have a great relationship.

[Kareem]

I remember I was, like, 11 years old, and I was like, dad, I really want, like, a PlayStation. And he was like, like, that's for kids, huh? I was like, dude, I am a kid. He was like, no, you're not.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, you were living.

[Kareem]

You're about to be building. Building my lawnmower business. But, yeah, it's. It's. It's like. And I like that tough love sometimes. Because honestly, you know, I'll get in a cab, and the guy's like, how are you? And I'm like, honestly, I'm not that good. And he's like, what's wrong? And I'm like that. Because that's how. Also, that's the other thing about how cab. Cab rides start.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

So you get in, he says, how are you? Most of the time you go, I'm good. And you look at your phone, and then it's over. But if you decide to say, honestly, I'm a little bad. My wife is, like, a little bored with me, and she thinks I'm annoying. That cabbie is about to give you a hell of a lot of romantic advice on how to fix your marriage. And it's good. It's actually good advice. But. So I look at these guys like fathers. Like, there's a bunch of different. I have so many different fathers now, and they've kind of. And that is like, the emotional engine of the show is that I'm meeting a dad. But it's not a setup. It's not like.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, I know what you mean.

[Kareem]

Yeah. But, you know, you might see an Internet show that's like I don't have a dad so I'm gonna find one in a catch. For me it's just like the feeling of like that a Bourdain would just have when he goes into a city. Like I'm curious and I want some knowledge and so that's what I do. And I just like let whatever happens happens. And yeah, it's my favorite thing in the world and I'm so glad to be doing it again and I'm so glad that you know that. I hope people like it.

[Trevor Noah]

Don't press anything. We've got more. What now after this,

[Kareem]

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professional monitoring at SimpliSafe.com sxm or with promo code sxm Outdoor deterrence requires a Simplisafe Active Guard Outdoor Protection plan starting at $49.99 a month. Visit simplisafe.com licenses for alarm license information. Tennessee 20. I think one of my favorite things about the show and I'm sure people will like it, is it's crazy to say this, but it reminded me to see people not only as you meet them, but like assuming that they are as you are. And what I mean by that is I definitely know that I've Been guilty in my life of seeing some people in the way that I just see them when I meet them. So, like the taxi driver, they'll just be like a taxi driver. Sometimes we'll connect because the guy's from an African country somewhere. Now we're talking about, like, Sadio Mane. Oh, yeah. Remember that World cup and remember this thing in Africa? Couple names that's different. And. And now we sort of. But it. But it's. When you would meet a stranger, you confine them to the reality that you know them in, but you never think to yourself that they're bowling or recording albums, or you just go like, they're a taxi driver. And you're like, yeah, but what do they do for fun? Who do they love? What makes them laugh? How do they. And I don't know, man. I think especially when we live in a world where we are all being flattened, doesn't matter who we are, we are all being flattened down to one idea of ourselves and one idea of others. I do think it's beautiful to have an example of something that goes like, oh, no, no, no, no, no. The person happens to drive a taxi.

[Kareem]

Yes.

[Trevor Noah]

But this is who they are.

[Kareem]

Yes. There's a difference.

[Trevor Noah]

You know what I mean?

[Kareem]

And it is. It's so. Every time I'm just shocked at how, like, they're. They're, you know, even if they're not millennials, and some of them are millennials. Like, you know how. Yeah. You're like, I have a podcast, I have a TV show. I'm a writer, I'm a this. And then they're also like that.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, they're exactly like.

[Kareem]

But. But, you know, I don't think we think in general of, like, blue collar workers or people as, like, having multiple side hustles or, like, they're literally trying to get by just like we are.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

And they have dreams like, Caandra, dude, this guy has written two memoirs that they're pretty good. One of them is his own life story. He grew up in, like, a mountain village in Nepal with no shoes and had to beg to get his first pen from, like, a Swiss tourist who gave him it as a gift as a little boy. And now he has a memoir. He has another book of just stories about his passengers. So he's interviewed 700 of his passengers.

[Trevor Noah]

That's beautiful, man.

[Kareem]

Dude, it's crazy. And he also plays the wooden flute, and his dream is to do standup. And I'm like, man, this guy's incredible. He's really incredible. And I had the best time with him, you know, I had so much fun and the episode turned out amazing and. And you just forget. And then like Iris John. Irish John's incredible. Irish John has been a cabbie for 40 years. He's just retired now. He has a one man show called off the Meter, which is about his 40 years driving a cab in New York City.

[Trevor Noah]

That must be fascinating.

[Kareem]

So funny, so many funny stories. He was also involved in politics. Cause he was, he's Irish, so he was involved with the IRA during the period when that was happening. And he has all these stories about his involvement with the IRA and just an amazing one man show. Which is why when I heard the story that he has this one man show, I was like, let's make it a special and release it as part of keeping meter running. And so we're produced this one man show.

[Trevor Noah]

I was literally about to ask you if you see any future where you're gonna help produce some of these ideas that you're bumping into with these people who wouldn't otherwise be able to have them produce.

[Kareem]

No, I think, I mean they've all, like many of them have. Yeah. Whether, say, you know, I don't want to do anything unless someone asks me. Yeah, yeah. You know what I mean? It's not a charity. And I'm saying that because sometimes they're like, I don't need help. And I'm like, great. But if somebody says I need help with money, I would help figure out a way with money.

[Trevor Noah]

I've seen you do Gofundme.

[Kareem]

And then if somebody's like, hey, I want to produce this one man show, then I'm like, like, great. That. Let's film it like. And let's film it because it deserves to be documented.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

You know, like, like it, it's, it's, it's this little bite of the American dream, which I feel like I have been able to so far achieve. I feel like I've done it. I was born in Cairo, my parents are both immigrants. And I feel like my dad did not achieve it. My mom didn't. I mean, and, and maybe they did achieve it it through having a successful son.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, I would argue they did.

[Kareem]

You know, they never achieved theirs, but they did achieve a version of it, which is that I have, I'm able to do what I want to do.

[Trevor Noah]

Right.

[Kareem]

And support my family and make a name for myself. And so if I can help other people achieve their. Just a nugget, you know, just a bite of the apple that is more than enough for me. Like, that feels good, you know? And the show's really about, like. Yeah, it's about. It's about how to be a better man. It's about fatherhood. It's about the American dream, and it's about immigrants. It's really just about. It's an American story. And it's awesome.

[Trevor Noah]

It's a fully American story.

[Kareem]

I want my nickname to be the Arab Patriot.

[Trevor Noah]

You could just be the Patriot.

[Kareem]

But. Okay, there's a lot that sounds like a movie with, like, John Krasinski shooting people in Saudi Arabia.

[Trevor Noah]

This is true. It's crazy how John Krasinski has now been that guy. Right?

[Kareem]

Cause he's buff now.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, but still, I'm just like. It's funny how one minute if you left the earth at the peak of the office, and then you came back now, and you'd be like, jim is shooting people now.

[Kareem]

That's the guy.

[Trevor Noah]

It's such a.

[Kareem]

He might be in a movie called the Patriots. Yeah, maybe he is Mandela effect.

[Trevor Noah]

Could be. Could be the Arab Patriot.

[Kareem]

The Arab Patriot. I don't really want to be called that, but I guess if I was gonna be a patriot, I'd want to be the Arab Patriot.

[Trevor Noah]

No, I like that.

[Kareem]

Just because it's a little. It's also, like, a little divisive to. To the proper Patriots.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay, okay, okay, okay.

[Kareem]

I'm like, I love America, yes, but I'm an Arab. And then they're like, damn. Damn it. He does, doesn't he? He does love America and he is there. Fuck. Like, it doesn't work with their. Their model of, like, being a proud American.

[Trevor Noah]

Yes. Yeah, Yeah. I mean, could they have an idea of what the person is supposed to look like and be like.

[Kareem]

To be a proud American?

[Trevor Noah]

Yes.

[Kareem]

Like, what if I am proud of the version of America that I'm working on?

[Trevor Noah]

One of the biggest fights I got into, it was like, a fun fight, but there was a. I was doing shows, I was on the road. This was many years ago. And one of the people in the audience said to me, said something. I made a joke about America. And this one guy was like, shut up. You know, don't make jokes about America. And I was like, why not? And he said, cause you're not American. And I said to him, I said, yeah. I said, in fact, I think I should. I have more right to make this joke because I've chosen America. I was like, you didn't choose it. I was like, your mom just shut you out, and then you're American. I chose this country. Can you say the same? And he was like, whoa, what would you say? And I was obviously joking with him, but I was like, but it was interesting because he said after us, and he wasn't an asshole at all. We were just having. We were having a good natured fight. And then the guy said to me afterwards, he's like, man, I never thought

[Kareem]

of it like that.

[Trevor Noah]

He's like, I never thought to myself that these people are like choosing America. You know what I mean? They're choosing to make money in it. They're choosing to make something of themselves and pay taxes. Yeah, they're choosing America. And he's like, I never chose America, you know? And I even said to him, I was like, have you. What are you choosing it based on? Have you been to other places? You're saying it's the best, but have you gone somewhere else to. I've been other places. And then I'll be like, yeah, and I'm choosing it.

[Kareem]

What now?

[Trevor Noah]

You know?

[Kareem]

And the guy was like.

[Trevor Noah]

And we laughed and we had fun. Cause I find that's the biggest thing I find going back to the bullying and the Internet, I find, like in real life is people. Yeah, people are a lot more. I don't know, they just. They're not more human.

[Kareem]

Yeah, that. But that's also a great example of the kind of. Because you can. It's not even change minds, but you can like have someone see a different way. Like, he, he might not even have his mind changed. He might just be like, you've got a good point. And then that point, he thinks about that point for a while longer and then maybe he sees other points or he sees immigrants in different ways. Like, maybe he's still a prick, maybe he's not.

[Trevor Noah]

He wasn't even to be honest. That's why I say, like he was during the heckling. He was a good natured heckling. I enjoyed it. It was a good. Like, he wasn't being an asshole in any way. He was just like. We were going at it and it was fun.

[Kareem]

That is fun. But I feel like some.

[Trevor Noah]

But I don't think it would have been fun if it was on the Internet. That's what I mean.

[Kareem]

Yeah, it probably wouldn't because you can't read the tone.

[Trevor Noah]

And there's other people, you know. So I find when you share a physical space with other human beings, you are less likely to think of them as other because you're sharing the same space already. We've both chosen to be in this Comedy club. We've both chosen to engage in this moment. We've both chosen. We've both chosen. Do you get what I'm saying? And then inadvertently, you become more the same than you would have been otherwise,

[Kareem]

which is why being around people is important.

[Trevor Noah]

That's. I think one of the things I love most about your work is it. I don't know how to articulate this properly, but it's like, there are some things on the Internet that do not feel like they're about people, even though they involve people. And then your show, like, okay, so let's say, like, subway takes. I'm pretty certain I'm not the only person who feels this. It makes me want to speak to people on the subway because I feel like they might have an opinion or an idea on the world. Right. The same thing with Keep the Meter Running. It made me want to talk to taxi drivers. Cause I was like, I wonder what this person thinks. I wonder what that person. But it connects you to a side of humanity that I think a lot of the time the Internet doesn't. A lot of the time. The Internet, I feel, treats people as objects. You can do a thing to a person. You can play a prank on them, you can, you know, make them angry, you can scare them. But they themselves are just, you know, a device that gets you to your end goal. They aren't part of it.

[Kareem]

Right.

[Trevor Noah]

Does that make sense? And your work, for the most part, feels, yeah, they're props. But with you, I go, your work wouldn't survive without, like, the people. In a good way, for sure.

[Kareem]

Yeah. I mean, it's really like, it's about having fun, honestly, in the real world. Like, obviously it's on video, but I am having fun. That's good, man.

[Trevor Noah]

That's the best way.

[Kareem]

It's really amazing. And I am so, so, like, grateful and fortunate and happy and excited that I get to have fun. It's literally what I set out to do, like, hang out, and now I'm hanging out full time for a living. And it just couldn't have gone any better. And I, I, I'm, I'm really lucky that, that people love the shows. Like I said, it was never about going viral. It was about, let me try to do what I think is cool and what I think is fun and what I think will work, and hopefully people like it. But I remember before, so. So keep the meter running one on hiatus. And then I was like, okay, I need to find an idea while this is on pause to do, because I was Like, I had this ambition of making a TV show and pitching and blah, blah, blah. And obviously, Hollywood is not chill at the moment. So it was like, went on hiatus. And while I was on hiatus, Hollywood is not chill. I mean, I had a baby, my whole life changed, and then eventually, Hollywood is not chill. It's really not. It's really not. That's why we're here. And you know what's ironic, though, is

[Trevor Noah]

the machine is going to come for you. Because this is what I find happens all the time, is people, People are rejected by the machine. Then there are some who beg the machine to welcome them in. Then there are others, like yourself, who go, I'm just gonna build my own machine. I'm just gonna do my own thing. And then because of the success of that, the machine goes, ah, Karim, yes. We've always believed in you. I've always been a big fan of your work. Kareem, please. We'd love to produce this. We'd love it. We love it. Keep the meter running. Let's do it together. But instead of taxi drivers, private jets. Yes, yes. Instead of New York, we do it in Switzerland. Yes. Karim, imagine this. Yes. And now. You know what I mean? And then they slowly take your idea and they just like, twist it and stretch it and warp. And then by the end of it, you're like, wait, this is. Does not keep the meat around.

[Kareem]

Let me tell you. In the pitches, there were like, is there, you know, could we make it a competition show? And I'm like, you want them to compete Squid game? You want to do squid games? You want blue collar, working class people who I think are heroes, all of them. You want them to compete on television for what? Fuck off, man. Literally, fuck off. And it was all these things that I was just like, I can't find a home for this. I want to keep it pure. And I also think, you know, with the success of Subway Takes, the reason I, like, I know this project is pure at heart because I could be doing literally anything. And I'm choosing four years later to go back to where it all started and do the same thing that I was doing four years ago with no celebrities, no money, still in the cars, still driving around. It's still hard work. I still don't have a place to piss. I still have no studio. They don't have a place to piss either. And it's just like, it's still gritty. Nothing's changed.

[Trevor Noah]

It is what it was four years later.

[Kareem]

And the version for tv, and I don't Hate Hollywood. I love going to the movie theater still. I see movies, I see blockbusters, I see regular movies, I see indies, I watch tv. I think, like the top of our conversation, there is a place for this.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

And there is a place for, like, come over, watch a movie.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely.

[Kareem]

And I. I wish they would, like, learn is really it. You know, when you see someone like, like a teenage. Like if you had a son and he was a teenager and was, like, smoking weed and like skipping school, you'd be like, you're doing bad things, you're hurting yourself. That's what I feel like about Hollywood is I feel like it's smoking weed, it's getting drunk, it's not. Not doing what it's supposed to do. And I just want it to succeed. But they're not succeeding, and that's okay. They can, they will. Eventually somebody maybe will realize something or the industry will change or there will be new industries like there are every day, you know, like. Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

I think there are three things that I spend a lot of time trying to understand the failings of Hollywood and there are three things that always stick out to me. One is what my manager said to me very, very long ago when I was even, like, trying to go into Hollywood. I was like, this is not my thing. I like stand up comedy. I still love standup comedy more than anything. And one day I was like, why does it feel like everyone's making the same show or everyone's trying to do the same thing? And he said, you have to understand this about Hollywood. In Hollywood, everyone's in a mad dash to be second.

[Kareem]

That's so good.

[Trevor Noah]

And so he said, you will spend all your time trying to convince people in Hollywood that something's a good idea. They won't see it, they won't accept it, but let it become big somewhere. You will see everyone now try to do it. So you look at a show like the Office right before the Office. Mockumentaries aren't really a thing in that way. You know, they aren't like network television.

[Kareem]

Yeah, they're like niche.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, they are niche. The Office comes in, blows. And then you literally now could not stop counting the shows that are mockumentary. You know, Parks and Rec, Modern Family, you name it. Like, everyone's like, do they look at the camera with a quirky expression? Whoa, we'll take it. Everyone starts doing it, right? You go, oh, we'll make an old show. We'll make. No, no, no. Game of Thrones. The period after Game of Thrones where people were making old shows where, you know, it's like, my brother would never stand for this and will die. Everyone's making it. So that was the first thing that.

[Kareem]

The race to be second is crazy.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. Everyone is in a mad dash to be second in Hollywood. So one Marvel movie will mean everyone's now going to make them. Everyone's going to make a superhero. Something. The second thing was told to me by somebody who works inside, like, the studios and stuff. And he said, do not take for granted how everyone in this business is just trying to not get fired. So they don't wanna make the wrong choice. They don't wanna do the wrong thing. They do whatever they think their boss thinks is right. They don't wanna shake anything up because all they don't want to do is get fired. They're not trying to make the most beautiful thing, even if they want to. By the way, I'm not even like slamming them, but they are so afraid of losing the job that they just don't. They don't move. That was the second thing. And then the third one, I think is more institutional. I think you can draw a direct line, like, let's say, just in the movie business, you can draw a direct line between the monopolization of movie theaters and studios with the decreasing quality of films that we get. All right. One of my favorite stories is the story of Back to the Future. Back to the Future is one of the most successful movies ever made, like, box office wise. But that movie didn't start as number one, didn't start as number two. You know what I mean? If you watch its earnings at the box office, it does the opposite of every movie today. It starts here, and then it slowly creeps up, creeps up, and it just keeps going up. And then when I was reading why, one of the big things was movie houses, like, you know, cineplexes were owned independently. And a lot of the people who owned them just loved movies. And they were like, what is this story? That looks interesting. We'll take it. And they just put it in. It was like a random shot in the dark. It wasn't part of a franchise. It wasn't part of a. And then word of mouth grew it. And they had space in the cinema and they let it grow and then it becomes one. Now it's an obvious story, but look, just go to a cinema or look at any. When was the last time you saw them taking a chance in that way? They don't, but it's because it's all like part of the AMC chain and part of the Regal chain and part of the. You know what I mean? When you put those three things together, you see why Hollywood isn't exactly in a place to make. It's the antithesis of art, right?

[Kareem]

Totally. And it's just, I'm like an optimist, you know what I mean? I go into life being like, maybe that original vision won't come back and maybe what's here now won't stay, but something will replace it. And it might be smaller, it might be different. I don't know what it's going to be, but I see it happening now with so many people being like, well, I'm going to do it myself. I'm going to put it on YouTube. I'm just going to grow my, like, exactly what you're saying. I'm going to build my own thing. And if Hollywood does come a knock in and says, like, hey, we love this idea, what else you got? Do you have a competition show? I might go, yeah, I do have a competition show. It's not this one because it's not a competition show, but I might have one. It doesn't. I'm like platform agnostic, you know what I mean? I think of it all as different audiences, different formats, different. There's different reasons. Like, I. I made a micro budget indie feature film that I wrote, produced and starred in and it's now streaming on mubi. Why? Because I just felt like I wanted to. Like, I felt like that wasn't a thing that I wanted to do.

[Trevor Noah]

I like this.

[Kareem]

Yeah, it's a nice little film. It's like a walk and talk. It was super low budget and I just was like, I want to make a movie. I want to. Like, I've never done that before. Like, let's make a movie movie. And so I figured out how to make a movie and it was awesome. And I would love to make another movie, but I don't want to write it because it's so much work. Writing.

[Trevor Noah]

You just want to hang.

[Kareem]

Dude, that is so true. Like, writing is not hanging out.

[Trevor Noah]

No, it's not. It's.

[Kareem]

Although I had a co writer, I had a co writer, Mary Neely, which made the whole thing a lot easier. Yeah, because you know how we wrote the movie? She'd come over, we'd hang out for a day, we'd write 10 pages and then we'd see each other again in like three weeks.

[Trevor Noah]

Hanging out another ten pages.

[Kareem]

Yeah, but it was hanging out. I forced it into becoming hanging Out. But me writing alone, dude, I can barely.

[Trevor Noah]

It's a terrible experience.

[Kareem]

I mean, I don't. That's like. You're a stand up. I don't know how.

[Trevor Noah]

No, it's a terrible experience. I've never done that.

[Kareem]

But you write stand up jokes.

[Trevor Noah]

I write on stage.

[Kareem]

Oh, yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

I've almost never written anything. I've never written anything down.

[Kareem]

Wow.

[Trevor Noah]

I write on stage.

[Kareem]

You're a freestyler.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, no. It's more that I have ideas in my head and then when I get to the stage, I go, all right, let's. Now that's what the comedy club is for, is let's now see which ingredients work better or don't work. This word did not work. That sentence did not work. That idea worked. Let's move the sentence around. Let's move the words around. Let's do it again. Let's do it again. Let's do it again. That's. That's how I do it. But I don't. The only. It's not like a fancy thing. It's because my writing is too formal. So once I start writing, don't laugh at me, cream.

[Kareem]

I'm thinking of you writing.

[Trevor Noah]

I've even tried, like, journaling. You know, when people go, you should journal. I get stuck in, like, the grammar. So, like, my journal will start, Will be like. It'll be like, journal entry. I'll put like the date and then I'll go like, so another day, another thought, here we are. And then I'm like, what are you doing? I'm like, you never. You don't think like this. But when I. When I start writing, my brain goes to like, well, this is how it should be. And there's a structure. And so I can't. I can't write anything and be chill. When I was at the Daily Show, I developed a system where I would just, like, talk the things and then we'd put that down because as soon as I got to, like, a keyboard. Nah, man.

[Kareem]

It was like you were working.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no.

[Kareem]

You were sending a UN course.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, no, no, no.

[Kareem]

Have you ever had the artist's way?

[Trevor Noah]

The artist's way?

[Kareem]

No. It's this pretty good book and it has a series of workshops in it. And one of the things that might be helpful for you is that they're like, write these pages every morning. Three pages of whatever you want. It doesn't have to be jokes.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, yeah.

[Kareem]

It doesn't have to be diary. It doesn't have to be anything. You could just write the same word.

[Trevor Noah]

Yes.

[Kareem]

And then throw it away. And it is supposed to help you get away from. I don't know if everyone has that problem, but it's supposed to get you away from the idea that writing is meant to be read.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, I don't think I have that issue. I don't think of people having to read it. It's like I've been trained so much in a particular thing. When I tell you, I think you

[Kareem]

can break the habit, man.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay. But your habit has to. Your habit has to surpass, like, how many years you did the thing for. I wrote thousands and thousands of letters as a child. This was like part of my, like part time jobbing. There are sentences and there are structures that are in my brain when I see it written down. I can't, I can't.

[Kareem]

This is so funny to me.

[Trevor Noah]

It's like. It's like I was doing gymnastics from the age of 11 and now you're saying, like, let me teach you how to just randomly fall. I can't fall. I balance. This is what I do.

[Kareem]

Oh, well, maybe there's no hope.

[Trevor Noah]

I'll try. I'll try, I'll try.

[Kareem]

Don't try.

[Trevor Noah]

No, I'll try. I'll try. For the sake of hope.

[Kareem]

Only do it if you want to.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, I'll try because I want to see what will happen.

[Kareem]

I just want to. I want you to jot something down. I want you to read all of Jeffrey Epson's emails and be like, I can do this. I can do this. It's really. It frees you. It frees you.

[Trevor Noah]

Yes. Maybe if he focused on the grammar, he would have been a better man. Maybe that's the first step. Maybe if you know where the period should be, maybe you would stop. Maybe that's what it is.

[Kareem]

Cleanliness is next to godliness.

[Trevor Noah]

There it is.

[Kareem]

Including in the emails.

[Trevor Noah]

There it is.

[Kareem]

I'm just thankful that you're not an all lowercase guy.

[Trevor Noah]

No, I'm not.

[Kareem]

You know any all lowercase guys.

[Trevor Noah]

I do. Yeah, I do.

[Kareem]

How old are they?

[Trevor Noah]

20.

[Kareem]

Okay. I have a friend who's like 43.

[Trevor Noah]

No.

[Kareem]

And has a kid.

[Trevor Noah]

No.

[Kareem]

And he's all lowercase. And I. This might be the first time that he knows about this, but brother, you gotta.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. That's not.

[Kareem]

You're an adult man. It's time to use proper caps lock at the very least.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, no. At the beginning of a sentence at least.

[Kareem]

Yeah. You don't have to use periods or.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, no. But just, just Start it off as if you knew the sentence was beginning.

[Kareem]

There's a real tone when it's all lowercase.

[Trevor Noah]

There really is.

[Kareem]

It's a real, like, I'm a little bitch.

[Trevor Noah]

It's just like at an age, it's wrong.

[Kareem]

It's really.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. If you're young. It's like, I do not care for the constraints that society has created for me.

[Kareem]

Yes.

[Trevor Noah]

But when you're old, you're just like, what happened? Did you forget? Did you never know?

[Kareem]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no. I think you need to.

[Kareem]

You're not punk.

[Trevor Noah]

You should go into the group chat and you should say this.

[Kareem]

He has thin skin. He has really thin skin. Skin. I'm just kidding. You don't have thin skin. I don't want to offend you. And I. I have. I have told them. I have told them. I just think at a certain point. Oh, man, you know what? I switched from all lowercase to regular. Caps lock. And look at me, 33.

[Trevor Noah]

Here you are now.

[Kareem]

Same.

[Trevor Noah]

Finally successful.

[Kareem]

Exactly. And I think it might have had something to do with.

[Trevor Noah]

It changed everything.

[Kareem]

It changed everything.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. Now, now. Your daughter would be proud.

[Kareem]

Dress for the job you want. Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

How is that going, by the way? How's fatherhood treating you?

[Kareem]

It's honestly the most amazing thing I've ever done in my life.

[Trevor Noah]

Don't say that. Because everyone says that.

[Kareem]

I'm not.

[Trevor Noah]

That's boring.

[Kareem]

At first. I didn't say that. I would be on podcasts and people would be like, you have a kid? And I'd be like, yeah, it's all right. Literally.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay, great.

[Kareem]

I would say that.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Kareem]

You know, up to. Up until about a year, when I really genuinely was.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

Honest. I was like, it's good.

[Trevor Noah]

What changed?

[Kareem]

I think with men, or maybe just my experience. Yeah. You know, the mom and the baby have a relationship.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, yeah. Yeah. Okay. No, no, this is real. I think this is for nine months.

[Kareem]

I mean, it's not paying rent, but is living in her style.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, no. This is. This.

[Kareem]

I talk and they have a feeling and they feel each other's heartbeat, they feel each other's bodies, and then it comes out and they are bonded.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Kareem]

And then it looks at me and I go kind of weird looking. Why does the head look like that? Is the head not perfect? Like, I'm just like, I want a perfect head and. And it's just crying. It doesn't care about me because I don't provide milk. I don't provide anything. I don't even provide barely any Warmth, big guy. But, you know, why would she want to hug me when she could hug her mom? So all of these things make it feel like almost like there's a stranger in the house.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Kareem]

And of course I loved her, right? Like, I loved her, I felt deep love for her. But when she started treating me like I was a human. You know what I mean? It's almost like when we started seeing the human in each other, right? That's when it became like, it is a cliche because it's true. It became something that is, like. So. I don't know. It's weird, man. It's really weird. It's shocking how much I love her. I've never loved anyone more than her.

[Trevor Noah]

That's beautiful.

[Kareem]

In my life. Yeah. It's the best thing I've ever done.

[Trevor Noah]

That's really, really beautiful.

[Kareem]

It's really unbelievable. And honestly, like. Like I'm grateful it's a girl, cuz it's. It's just. I don't know how. Dude, being a girl dad's cool.

[Trevor Noah]

Well, you don't know what the alternative is. Well, I'm happy for you.

[Kareem]

Imagine.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, no. But I'm happy. I'm not. I'm not saying I'm not happy, but I'm saying you.

[Kareem]

Yeah, but the relation. I don't know that I think you.

[Trevor Noah]

You would be. There's another universe where you're sitting opposite me being like, oh, and I'm grad's a boy. Because, man, being a boy dad, you're

[Kareem]

just playing devil's advocate, but everyone knows a girl dad is a special thing. Ask Kobe.

[Trevor Noah]

No, I'm, I'm not.

[Kareem]

I'm not.

[Trevor Noah]

That's a crazy one to say ask. But I'll ask Bam at a bio. That's who I will ask.

[Kareem]

Google about Kobe.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, no. I think, I think I hear what you're saying, but I think all of them are special because they just. You know what I mean? So I think. I think there's a world. But I, I, you know, it's funny. I want to talk to an, like, an expert about this because I, I know we had Arthur C. Brooks on the podcast, and, and he talked about small things that we take for granted in relationships. One of them being, for instance, that women, I think, receive more oxytocin from eye contact than men do. And then it made me wonder, like, with babies, maybe there's something there where when women are, like, looking at a baby, they're actually getting something that maybe men aren't in the Same way. And maybe we're not designed to get it because of, like, back in the day. We're supposed to be, like, running out and going and fighting and something. So, like, you can't have that feeling. I don't know.

[Kareem]

Or you look someone in the eyes and it means you want to fight.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, yeah. This is true.

[Kareem]

Predators now.

[Trevor Noah]

You're like, gotta fight my baby.

[Kareem]

No, but when I look like, it's also just weird to, like, look when I look at her in the eyes, and I do now.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Kareem]

I'm, like, so weird because, like, I can see myself just really weird to, like, look at. It's a weird. It's just a weird.

[Trevor Noah]

You're looking at a version of you.

[Kareem]

Yeah. It's a weird thing that you can't experience unless it happens. You know what I mean? Yeah. I never actually even really wanted kids. Kids. I was always like, if it happens, it happens. Yeah. That was my whole vibe. And. And then I had one and I was like, this is the coolest thing that's ever happened to me. But I was. I was never like a baby crazy guy. And I never was like, I need to be a dad. I have friends that are like, want to be a dad? So.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Kareem]

And I was like, I could take it or leave it, but now that I've had one, I do want more. And I would love, in an ideal world to have a bunch, but I think it's because it's not an ideal world. It's impossible to have a bunch for me.

[Trevor Noah]

But how many does your partner want?

[Kareem]

I think we're both gonna go for, like. She's cool with one more. Okay, I'm cool with one more. Do you have any.

[Trevor Noah]

It's crazy that. No, I don't, but this was crazy that it was like. There's a time when it was just like, 6.

[Kareem]

I would love that.

[Trevor Noah]

You would.

[Kareem]

I would love it.

[Trevor Noah]

What would you love about it? How many. How many siblings are you in the. Are you.

[Kareem]

I have a brother and sister.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay, so you wanted three. Oldest, Youngest, middle.

[Kareem]

I'm oldest.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Kareem]

How are you?

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, I'm oldest of three boys.

[Kareem]

Okay.

[Trevor Noah]

And when we're like, huge gap. 10 years. 10 years.

[Kareem]

Wow.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. So it's like complete generational.

[Kareem]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

So your parents were like, we'll get around to it.

[Trevor Noah]

So I was. We. I'm from my dad and my mom, and then the two of them have a different dad. Yeah. But it's. It's. What's crazy is when you have such a big gap it's almost like you're all single kids. You just have your own. You know, there was never, like, a toy issue. There was never a. You're all doing your own thing. You're not even at the same schools at the same time. You're not in high school at the same time. You're not in. You know what I mean?

[Kareem]

Yeah. And the difference between 20 and 10 is crazy.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

No, it's not. It's completely.

[Kareem]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Kareem]

My brother and sister, we're all, like, very close in age, and I. I don't know. It's not. I don't even look at it from, like, I want them to have siblings. I look at it as, like, I want a bunch of little kids hugging my legs. Like. And then I also could be a more sensitive.

[Trevor Noah]

So, you know, that's a much cheaper way to achieve your dream.

[Kareem]

But then the fast forward part, when I'm like, 70.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

I like. And I look at a table of my kids, I'm imagining that that feels as good as when I see my baby. You know what I mean?

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, yeah. Okay.

[Kareem]

I feel like seeing the adults, you're like, damn, I did this. Like, they're all happy and like, hopefully, you know, like, do you ever wonder

[Trevor Noah]

what happens to the people where, like, all their kids hate them?

[Kareem]

Yeah. Or if your kids are uncool and you hate them?

[Trevor Noah]

I don't think your kids. I think if your kids are uncool. This is a complete reflection on you.

[Kareem]

You don't think there's parents out there that are like, my kid's a loser, and I don't like that kid.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, but I think it's on you. That's my take. It's completely on you. Like, 100% on you. Because here's the thing. You cannot make the human being, but you have almost complete control as to what that human being interacts with. So what movies are they first watching as a child? What books are they reading? What games are they playing? Where are they going? What clothes are they wearing? What. Like, this is all you putting in raw materials. The world is going to have an impact, but I don't know if. If there's any parent who's like, my kid's a loser. I'm like, yeah, you made a loser. I'm not saying they're not a loser.

[Kareem]

I think they're all loser. That's. That's happening.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, but I'm saying you made a loser. Right?

[Kareem]

You made it.

[Trevor Noah]

You made a loser.

[Kareem]

It's on the parents. It's on the parents.

[Trevor Noah]

You made a loser, man. I'm sorry.

[Kareem]

Do you want a kid? Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

I'm like you. I'm agnostic. I'm like.

[Kareem]

You're like, if it happens.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, if it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't. And I'm just like. You know, because sometimes I meet kids, and I'm like, these things are beautiful and wonderful, and then sometimes I meet them and I'm like, this is like the spawn of Satan. I don't wish for this.

[Kareem]

I was always super ambivalent. I was always like, meh.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

You know what I mean? I was like, whatever. I don't care. Like, people would be like, look at my baby. I'd be cool. Very cool.

[Trevor Noah]

Babies are boring, to be honest with you. They are.

[Kareem]

They are.

[Trevor Noah]

I never understand why people look at my baby.

[Kareem]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

The worst. When they show you pictures of a baby and you're like, every baby looks a version of the same. They're like, no, it's cute. My one is extra cute.

[Kareem]

It's like.

[Trevor Noah]

It's not. It's really not.

[Kareem]

Yeah, I've. It's like, when you get a dog, I've. Like, then you start noticing other people with dogs.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh.

[Kareem]

So now that I have a baby, I'm like, now you see, I see other. I see you now have baby eyes. Dude, it's so weird. I'll be like, in the airport, and I'll be like, oh, look at that cute little kid. Which is so weird. You know what I mean? Like, I'll, like, notice little kids and, like, be like, oh, that one's so cute. Yeah, it's. But it is. And. And when Karina, my. My wife was pregnant, like, I started to notice.

[Trevor Noah]

With Kareem and Karina.

[Kareem]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Wow. Yeah. Damn.

[Kareem]

Pretty nice.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Kareem]

But then I started noticing pregnant people.

[Trevor Noah]

It's nice until people are, like, trying to call you in a house or in a space or like, how many times do people shout?

[Kareem]

1.

[Trevor Noah]

And then you both respond, karina. Karin.

[Kareem]

No, not all the time.

[Trevor Noah]

It's not ideal.

[Kareem]

But I had a funny prank about naming the kid Karima.

[Trevor Noah]

That would be good.

[Kareem]

It's a good prank.

[Trevor Noah]

You see, now that's good.

[Kareem]

I know that's confusing.

[Trevor Noah]

That's fantastic.

[Kareem]

Kareem, Karima and Karima.

[Trevor Noah]

No, you see, now, that's worth having a kid for full.

[Kareem]

And if it's. Ideally, I would time it to the next leap year so it could also have a funny birthday.

[Trevor Noah]

Jesus.

[Kareem]

So Karima born on leap year, and it's like, what's your name? My name's Karima. When's your birthday? Oh, it only happens once every four years. 29th of February. So sad. Like, that's a sad life.

[Trevor Noah]

That's actually the greatest life, by the way. Leap year baby, anything.

[Kareem]

Anything weird baby birthmark, Cool birthmark.

[Trevor Noah]

No, like, they just say, you know, your name, your anything. It just creates some resistance in life that will add a little spice to your existence. It won't be easy necessarily, but it'll be like, what's your name? Karima. I'm sorry, already you've engaged somebody, right? What's your name? John.

[Kareem]

John.

[Trevor Noah]

We move on with our lives. There's no pause, there's no nothing. What's your date of birth? 29th of February. 29th of February, right. Wait, you're a leap year baby. They've made friends, right?

[Kareem]

Spice of life. Spice of life is to have parents that are evil.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. And you've got to have parents who are willing to like, just.

[Kareem]

You know what I mean, push the limit.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. Just give you a little.

[Kareem]

Give you a little edge.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay. But you didn't go with the prank name.

[Kareem]

No, I went with like a beautiful name that I really love. Yeah. But I'm already thinking of an answer for the next one.

[Trevor Noah]

All right, good intention, but, you know, whatever.

[Kareem]

Yeah. Are you gonna come on the show?

[Trevor Noah]

Which show?

[Kareem]

My show?

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. Which one?

[Kareem]

Subway Takes. Oh. I thought, unless you wanna come on

[Trevor Noah]

the cab ride, keep the meter running.

[Kareem]

I can also take you on a cab ride.

[Trevor Noah]

I would actually love to go on a cab ride.

[Kareem]

I'm sure I could find.

[Trevor Noah]

That's like one of my favorite, favorite, favorite. I was actually, when I was thinking of your show, I was going, I hope you do a London version. London cabbies might be my favorite cabbies in the whole world.

[Kareem]

They're unbelievable.

[Trevor Noah]

Have you seen what they have to do to become cabbies in London?

[Kareem]

It's called the Knowledge. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

And it is truly the knowledge.

[Kareem]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

It's human AI contained in a tiny little beautiful black box that has a turning circle that no vehicle should possess.

[Kareem]

That's incredible.

[Trevor Noah]

These guys know everything. Every time I'm in London in a taxi, I will ask them for a recommendation for food, for a show for. And they'll just. They'll just go off.

[Kareem]

They know everything.

[Trevor Noah]

They just know everything.

[Kareem]

It's also crazy cuz you go, it's on the corner of the.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Kareem]

No, it's on the corner of Middle Ditch and High Street.

[Trevor Noah]

Is that next to the Fish and Chip Shop. And then you're like, yeah, all right.

[Kareem]

Then.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. And then they're just, and they just,

[Kareem]

and then they're off. It's so magical. Yeah, they have to memorize every, you know, every, they have to memorize every street.

[Trevor Noah]

Yes, every single street.

[Kareem]

Isn't that crazy?

[Trevor Noah]

But what I love is that because of that I feel like they also have this ability to recall. That's what I mean. They'll tell me about passengers who really love a thing. And so they go, they're like a, like a real human aggregator of information. And they'll say to you, they'll be like, well, a lot of people have been talking, they were talking through the glass backwards at you through the speaker. So this was like the shout things a lot of people have been saying. It's a really great experience. You gotta go there. You got, yeah, a lot of people are loving it. You got, you got to get out there. Well, I don't, I've never been. But a lot of, a lot of my passengers have been saying, it's great. And every time I pick up someone, they said they're great. And you're like, oh, shit. Okay. Yeah, they're amazing. They are truly, truly amazing.

[Kareem]

No, they're, they're incredible.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. Yeah. No, I love that. So I would, I would do it. Would I come on Subway Takes? I, I would, but I, okay, let me ask you this. How, how would you, and actually how do you insulate people from sort of coming on to try and have a take?

[Kareem]

Like, what do you mean?

[Trevor Noah]

I can only assume some people come on Subway Takes thinking like, yeah, I'm gonna say this because it'll get a response. And then you probably have to step in and be like, uh, that's, that's not what we're doing here. How do you, how do you keep it authentic, for lack of a better word?

[Kareem]

I, I, I like have a little bit of a process. So my producer, Rami, he's a young man. Young Rami, that's his nickname. Uh huh. I give everyone a trump nickname now, but usually nice. So like Young Rami.

[Trevor Noah]

Young Rami. And he is Young Ramy. He's so young. So young. You know, doesn't look that young when you meet him, but he's a young man.

[Kareem]

Young man.

[Trevor Noah]

Young Ramy.

[Kareem]

Wow. He's gonna like that. He's gonna like this clip. He's gonna like this clip. Cuz he is young. He's a young. Stand up. So he synthesizes the takes, he receives them.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Kareem]

He's the first to receive them.

[Trevor Noah]

Got it.

[Kareem]

He checks for duplicates.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, so no one has a take that another person has. I like this already.

[Kareem]

He checks for duplicates. He also likes gets clarity. If somebody's like,

[Trevor Noah]

okay.

[Kareem]

He's like, what does that mean?

[Trevor Noah]

Okay. Okay.

[Kareem]

If it means nothing, he's like, get a new one. And if it means something, he's like, okay. That is interesting. So. So he kind of vets the takes and has this little process of elimination where.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

Because some people come on and they're over prepared.

[Trevor Noah]

That's what I mean.

[Kareem]

Which is awful.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, that's what the. Okay, okay. This is what I mean.

[Kareem]

Yeah. I don't like when someone. Because it's if, if they send. If it's like Rami's getting the take and it's like this long.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay.

[Kareem]

I'm like over prepared.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay, got it.

[Kareem]

That's. You're coming on to do a bit every once in a while. We'll like plan a bit or something. Somebody will be like, I have this idea. I want to do this.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay, got it.

[Kareem]

And then I'll be like, okay, that's a funny idea. It's never been done before. Let's do it. So that's really it. It's just like a little process of that. And then when we meet in real life, I'm like, so, what is it? And you're like, blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, okay, great. And then we just do it.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, okay. Well, join me.

[Kareem]

But if you have a bit.

[Trevor Noah]

No, I don't, I don't want to do a bit.

[Kareem]

You don't want to.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, I definitely don't want to do a bit. I'm so bited out.

[Kareem]

You're done.

[Trevor Noah]

I'm bited out, my friend.

[Kareem]

I'm tired from bits. Yeah, I'm just like, there's nothing to be bidding about.

[Trevor Noah]

No, it's not, it's not even that. It's just I, I, I'm, I'm. I'm in a stage of, of my life where I am in the pursuit of. Of the least bitty things possible. Do you know what I mean?

[Kareem]

But still funny. Yeah, but you just don't like bits.

[Trevor Noah]

But not like bits. I don't want. I don't wanna. Yeah, I'm just liking the I'm in a bit phase. Oh, I like this.

[Kareem]

I love bits.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, bits. I mean, they are great when you're in the mood for them.

[Kareem]

It's a great bit.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, but when you're not, when you're A bit less.

[Kareem]

Yeah. You're just not feeling the bit.

[Trevor Noah]

I think I'm just bited out. I mean, you know when you do like late night for so many years, every day of the week is a bit. It's like, what's the bit? What bit are we doing here? What's a bit? Do we have a bit for this guest? Do we have a bit for that? Do we have a bit for that thing? You gotta do a bit for this. We got an. Needs to be a bit. Needs to be a bit. This is just like too many bits.

[Kareem]

That's my dream meeting.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

What you just described. I would love to sit in a

[Trevor Noah]

meeting and say that, hey, man, you're welcome. But after many, many, many, many years of doing it, every single day of the week, you go like, I. Have you ever talked to people who like work at like a kfc?

[Kareem]

Yes.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. Have you asked them whether they like want to eat kfc, Right?

[Kareem]

Yeah, they don't. You just go like, that's so sad.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, it's like, it's not about the chicken itself. It's just, yo, man,

[Kareem]

I'm done. That's so funny.

[Trevor Noah]

I'm done for now, right? Yes. So for now in my life, I'm bit.

[Kareem]

So when you see a great bit. Oh, do you still say, do you still say that's a great bit?

[Trevor Noah]

No, I love it.

[Kareem]

I mean.

[Trevor Noah]

Cause funny is funny. Good is good. I don't have that, but I do think I've been a little desensitized, so I might do that. Unfortunately, I'll be like, that was a good bit. Well executed bit.

[Kareem]

Well, I'm not gonna do a bit if you're not gonna do it.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, no, no. I'm saying I'll it do. Just say that is a good. When I see a bit, I'll just go, that is a good bit.

[Kareem]

You deliver it in a neutral tone.

[Trevor Noah]

I find I no longer have the like the thing that comes out of me spontaneously because I'm constantly monitoring for the bit to occur.

[Kareem]

You say it how you would type it.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah. I go, that is a good bit.

[Kareem]

That is a good bit.

[Trevor Noah]

That is a fantastic bit. This happens to stand up comedians all the time. If you look at like standups who've been doing standup for a very long time, at some point they don't laugh at most things. They go, go, that's funny.

[Kareem]

That's a good joke.

[Trevor Noah]

They'd be like, yo, that was. Yo, that was.

[Kareem]

That's funny. Yeah, I've seen people that's funny as yo.

[Trevor Noah]

That's a good joke. No laughter.

[Kareem]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

So then the laugh actually starts to come from where it wouldn't have come. Like if you, if you watch comedians in the back of a comedy club watching comedians, they laugh when the audience isn't laughing, like, you know what I mean?

[Kareem]

They laugh.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, they're laughing on the 1 and 3. Audiences laughing, you know, on the 2 and 4.

[Kareem]

Yes.

[Trevor Noah]

And comedians will just like laugh at a random thing and you know when a comedian's watching cuz they'll laugh at a moment when no one else is

[Kareem]

laughing, you know, so, yeah, I love.

[Trevor Noah]

So I'll come. I'll come. I'll. I'll do it.

[Kareem]

Yeah, come on, don't do a bit.

[Trevor Noah]

I'll. Maybe we'll do a bit. No, maybe you will reignite my love and my passion for.

[Kareem]

I don't do bit.

[Trevor Noah]

You a bit, guy. You can't say you don't.

[Kareem]

I know, but I only want to do a bit with someone who wants to do a bit. I won't make you do a bit.

[Trevor Noah]

No, no, you won't make me. You could inspire me.

[Kareem]

I could make.

[Trevor Noah]

You could inspire me to do a bit. Wouldn't that be an amazing story? The comeback of the bit, huh?

[Kareem]

Trevor, Noah, come back.

[Trevor Noah]

Be like a documentary at Tribeca. He's like, I thought bits were over in my life. And then I met this guy Kareem, and let me tell you something, he's

[Kareem]

so good at voices.

[Trevor Noah]

Let me tell you something. He got me doing bits again, that guy Kareem. Oh, he got me back in the bits. It could be the beginning.

[Kareem]

Beginning.

[Trevor Noah]

This has been great, man.

[Kareem]

Thank you so much for having me.

[Trevor Noah]

Thank you very much.

[Kareem]

Great bit. It's a bit over.

[Trevor Noah]

This is great.

[Kareem]

That's it.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Kareem]

Okay, great.

[Trevor Noah]

No, man, thank you.

[Kareem]

Thank you so much. That was so fun.

[Trevor Noah]

It was too much fun.

[Kareem]

Crazy that you didn't tell me that we were recording.

[Trevor Noah]

I mean, we roll kind of nice. Because otherwise it's. You see, that's another thing. I don't really want someone to like go like that thing. Yes.

[Kareem]

No, it's really cool to roll into it like that. I've actually. That's never happened to me before.

[Trevor Noah]

I appreciate it.

[Kareem]

Yeah, yeah, just roll.

[Trevor Noah]

And then if someone goes like, oh, I don't include them. We don't include. It's not, it's not a trick or anything.

[Kareem]

A lot of fun.

[Trevor Noah]

I just don't want someone.

[Kareem]

Right, right.

[Trevor Noah]

To start because I've seen people do that. So you go like, oh, we read, let's begin. And then I watch them change their posture.

[Kareem]

I know what you're talking.

[Trevor Noah]

And then they go, well, Trevor.

[Kareem]

Oh, the minute the camera comes out, freak out.

[Trevor Noah]

Well, Trevor, it's funny you ask me that. What now with Trevor Noah is produced by Dayzero Productions in partnership with SiriusXM. The show is executive produced by Trevor Noah, Sanaz Yamin and Jess Hackle. Rebecca Chain is our producer. Our development researcher is Marcia Robiou. Music mixing and mastering by Hannis Brown. Random other stuff by Ryan Harduth. Thank you so much for listening. Join me next week for another episode of what Now.

[Kareem]

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[Trevor Noah]

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[Kareem]

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[Trevor Noah]

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[Kareem]

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[Trevor Noah]

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