Roy Wood Jr.

Summary

Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson (sometimes)

Guest: Roy Wood Jr.

Date: January 21, 2026
Summary by Podcast Summarizer AI

---

Episode Overview

This episode welcomes comedian, writer, and former Daily Show correspondent Roy Wood Jr. for a conversation that weaves together fatherhood, coming-of-age in Birmingham, standup comedy’s gritty realities, the power and limitations of jokes, and his evolving career in media and writing. With co-hosts guiding the discussion (and some appearances by Conan O'Brien and Alison Roman), Roy opens up about his memoir The Man of Many Fathers, lessons learned from a challenging upbringing, life as a comic in the South, and reflections on political comedy in a shifting cultural landscape.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Fatherhood and "The Man of Many Fathers"

• Roy shares the origins of his memoir’s title: Losing his father at 16 left him piecing together who his dad was and, by extension, who he himself is, often with help from a "village of men" throughout his life.
  • "When you lose a parent early is that you don’t get a full picture of them because they were never their whole self to you as a teenager." (04:01)
• On becoming a father and breaking cycles:
  • "Once I had a child, I became a little more obsessive with deciphering who he was... so I could find those parts within myself and make sure I’m not passing on the wrong things, behaviorally speaking, without being consciously aware of it." (04:24)

2. Growing Up in Birmingham and Finding His Way

• Roy describes a precarious but loving childhood split between his parents’ households, living in a gang-territory neighborhood, and how a backyard basketball hoop granted him neighborhood "carte blanche."
  • "That basketball goal, you know, that changed everything… it kind of gave me a bit of a carte blanche in the hood where... you’re not gonna bully me for my candy money." (18:54)
• Dodged gang violence and crime as a latchkey kid, and talks about witnessing the human condition (and despair) on Greyhound buses and city streets.

3. Standup Comedy: Education, Hardship, and Grit

• Starting at 19 in the South, Roy opened for older comics, often encountering headliners on the decline (and their vices):
  • "Within the first three years of standup, I saw every drug, you know, addiction, women. Like every vice you can name. I’ve seen someone grappling with that—food, whatever." (07:42)
• “Road comics” vs. “city comics”: city comics get sharper faster from more stage reps, but road comedians gain broader maturity witnessing all possible career outcomes, from success to bitter disappointment.
  • "You’re judged solely on tonight... I think it’s that way for comics the entirety of their career." (52:34)
• Facing racism and danger in Southern clubs, camaraderie with fellow comics helps them survive—both professionally and sometimes physically.

4. Resilience, Setbacks, and Early Humor

• Roy candidly shares getting arrested at 19 for credit card theft, thinking his future was over, turning to comedy, and getting a second chance through probation.
• Early exposure to the seriousness of violence—contrasting different cultural responses to trauma, especially the difference in how schools handle shootings in Black communities vs. high-profile white tragedies like Columbine.
  • "Where I grew up, there would be a shooting, there would be a dead classmate sometimes, there was no counselor... Just move the desk and you proceed with your day." (23:06)
• Struggled to work dark social commentary into jokes as a young comic:
  • "You’re not buying anger and indignation against America from a kid that young. Because you should still have hope and optimism." (24:45)

5. Comedy as Social Commentary—The White House Correspondents Dinner

• Correspondents Dinner 2023: Roy describes the high-wire act of roasting politicians and media.
  • He accepted the gig without hesitation, seeing it as a comedic rite of passage, but says he wouldn’t do it again unless Trump returned (“That was chaos... It’s not something I would ever do twice.” [30:41])
  • Assembled a writer’s room and crafted material with head writer Christiana Mbakwe Medina.
  • Reflects on who can "get away" with biting jokes based on public trust in the comic (“If you took any of Ricky Gervais’s Golden Globe sets and gave it to a comic of lesser status, there’s more outrage. Because we don’t know the messenger.” 26:37)
  • Notable quote:
    • "If you convert all these kids, is there many kids left to be murdered? Come on. Don’t we like school shootings? Yeah, we’re not doing nothing about it. So let’s start cheering for them. ...Oh, you’re offended? Well then pass legislation." (25:39–26:15) [referring to his controversial WHCD joke]

6. Parenting, Hope, and Honest Conversation

• Struggles with how much to shield his son Henry from harsh realities—and how much to openly discuss (homelessness, consequences, systems, mental health).
  • "I’m torn between how long do you shield your child from the world before you have crippled them, and then what’s too soon to let them know about the world, and then you run the risk of scarring them." (42:00)
• Emphasizes teaching benevolence, realistic optimism, and emotional management over shielding from the truth.

7. The Craft of Standup and Joke Writing

• Roy describes learning comedic rhythm in college impromptu speech classes and how tweaking voice, volume, and timing produces laughs.
  • "When I would give those speeches, I always got a laugh. … That was like the first open mic. ...You’re just thinking about ways to enhance your words. It’s joke enhancement." (57:47–58:27)
• On joke delivery and surprise:
  • "Don’t we usually laugh when we’re surprised and delighted? … You can dial knobs at the seemingly inappropriate place." (58:44–58:58)

8. Writing and Acting: The Next Chapter

• Roy expresses growing passion for writing film and TV, but still sees acting as secondary:
  • "I love writing, bro. I’ve fallen in love with writing film and writing TV—film especially… If I could act in things that I’ve written, then I think that’s the most guaranteed way to get the most interesting pieces of myself on film." (61:35, 64:15)
• Grateful for high-profile acting opportunities (Space Force, Only Murders in the Building, comedies alongside Jon Hamm, Steve Carell, Steve Martin):
  • “To do something different... there’s a romantic comedy that I’m in, Love Brooklyn... That was fun. Because that’s not the normal thing that I am offered.” (63:18)

9. Have I Got News for You — Satire in the Modern Era

• Describes his CNN panel show as "what your local news would be if your anchors had three drinks" (66:24) and stresses the importance of balance, live audience energy, and accountability for guests of all political stripes.
• On surviving media/late night shake-ups and the broader landscape of comedy under political pressure:
  • “I don’t think the Correspondents Dinner as we know it... will return to that under this particular administration. ...They’re stress-testing how much they can reshape the idea of humor as a whole." (38:23)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Fatherhood and Legacy

• Roy Wood Jr. [04:24]:
  "Once I had a child... so that I could find those parts within myself and make sure I’m not passing on the wrong things, behaviorally speaking, without being consciously aware of it."

On Early Standup & Comedy’s Harsh Lessons

• Roy Wood Jr. [52:34]:
  "You’re judged solely on tonight... for comics the entirety of their career, which is why I think we have that degree of paranoia of perfection."

On Racial Disparities in Responses to Tragedy

• Roy Wood Jr. [23:06]:
  "Where I grew up, there would be a shooting... there was no counselor... Just move the desk and you proceed with your day."

On Comedy’s Social Limits

• Roy Wood Jr. [25:39–26:15]:
  ["If you convert all these kids, is there many kids left to be murdered? ... Oh, you’re offended? Well then pass legislation."]

On Hope for the Next Generation

• Roy Wood Jr. [40:55]:
  "You show your child that they are the hope. It's not about waiting for it to come to you. It's about being that thing."

On Comedy and Vulnerability

• Roy Wood Jr. [51:14]:
  "If I bomb on the student comedy night... who cares? ...No one knows that I just ate shit five blocks away."

On Writing and Creative Control

• Roy Wood Jr. [64:15]:
  "If I could act in things that I’ve written, then I think that’s the most guaranteed way to get the most interesting pieces of myself on film."

---

Key Timestamps

• [04:01] – Roy on not knowing his father fully, piecing together his identity.
• [07:42] – Candid stories of vices and failures seen backstage in standup’s early years.
• [18:54] – The “basketball goal” story and childhood in Birmingham.
• [23:06] – On normalized school violence and lack of support for Black students.
• [25:39] – Controversial Correspondents Dinner joke and the “pass legislation” punchline.
• [30:41] – Why Roy would (or wouldn't) do Correspondents Dinner again.
• [40:55] – Parenting: fostering hope, honest talks with his son.
• [51:14] – Coping with failure in early standup.
• [61:35, 64:15] – Writing vs. acting: creative goals and openness to new roles.
• [66:24] – Describing "Have I Got News for You" as news “if your anchors had three drinks.”

---

Episode Tone & Style

Conversational, candid, and reflective—Roy shows warmth, insight, and wry humor throughout the episode. Hosts and guests frequently digress into personal narratives, providing depth and context, all in a warm, mutually admiring tone with occasional irreverent laughter and self-deprecation.

---

For Listeners: Why This Episode Matters

This episode is a master class in how adversity, loss, and the hustle of comedy can forge introspective, nuanced commentary on race, fatherhood, media, and the importance of both humor and realism. Roy Wood Jr. gives a rare, honest glimpse into how comics make meaning from hardship, why comedy still matters—even as the lines of acceptability shift—and how generational hope starts with honest conversation.

---

For full impact, listen to Roy’s voice as he delivers hard truths and hard-won jokes. But if you only have this summary, you’re still getting the many layers beneath Roy Wood Jr’s laughter.

Transcript

[Conan O'Brien]

Wellness doesn't have to be some big production. You want simple. Nature's Bounty makes it simple. Magnesium glycinate for your bones and muscles, probiotic 10 for billions of live cultures and vital heart for a little extra heart support. Adding these to my day just feels like an easy way to take care of myself. Learn [e-mail] Nature's Bounty it's in your nature to thrive. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Paragould is the destination for luxury home. They have the largest ever selection of design's best brands making it easy, inspiring and convenient to shop. Heirloom quality furniture, lighting, decor and more for every style and space. They're the first to bring these brands together in one place. They offer free fast full service delivery on most items, complimentary design services and extraordinary customer service at every step. Shop in store and [e-mail].

[Roy Wood Jr.]

You ain't talking over car key like 300 car keys.

[Alison Roman]

Jesus.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

You can't.

It's worse than a boo.

[Conan O'Brien]

Welcome back to where everybody knows your name. I've been excited all day to welcome Roy Wood Jr. You know him from his many projects, from his stand up specials to the Daily show for which he was a correspondent from 2015 to 2023. Right now he's hosting the weekly news and entertainment panel show have I Got News for your on cnn. He's also written a memoir called the man of Many Fathers which is out now. So here's my conversation with Roy Wood.

[Alison Roman]

Jr. Hey, we're talking about kids and being a father. Can we jump into your book? I know there's so much else to talk about, but I A man of many fathers?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yes.

[Alison Roman]

Just I think I was raised by someone who loved me, adored me. Both parents. But my father I'm talking about, but was never emotionally there. I knew he was proud of me and I knew he loved me, but there was never that arm around my shoulder going ho ho ho. We are men. I never got that. So I was always really unsure until we had a conversation in my 40s, you know, I wouldn't even really look at myself in the mirror without kind of being furtive. It was so strange.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Even with everything that you had done by your 40s.

[Alison Roman]

Yeah, my silhouette today is not that much different than my silhouette back then. But I had to fake being who I was is how I felt.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Nice.

[Alison Roman]

So I would always be. I could stand talking to you for a while, then I'd have to pretend to go to the bathroom, or I'd say, I'm going to go out and have a cigarette or something. It was very hard for me to sit still until later. So, anyway, I'm always fascinated about. Because I think I was trying to, in my life, figure out how to be a man, what that meant to me, you know? So that's different than what you're talking about. But I love the idea of a man of many fathers.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Well, but I mean, my father for what you delayed until your 40s, I.

Never got because my dad passed when I was 16.

So you have to start piecing things together. I think the thing that sucks is that when you lose a parent early is that you don't get a full picture of them because they were never.

Their whole self to you as a teenager.

They're still pieces of themselves and emotions.

That they're gonna hide.

And then you're trying to put it together through other people who also only saw a particular prism of him as well. You know, I had a gang of half siblings. I. I had a gang of journalists that worked with my dad or worked under him or he mentored them or whatever. So they all gimme a little peace. But ultimately, all of that stuff tells.

Me more about who he is and.

Less about who I am. And once I had a child, you kind of become, or at least I.

Became, a little more obsessive with deciphering who he was, for better or for.

Worse, so that I could find those parts within myself and make sure I'm not passing on the wrong things, behaviorally speaking, without subconsciously being aware of it. Without being consciously aware of it.

[Alison Roman]

Yeah. Cause not a lot of people do that. And we do pass on our incompletes.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah.

I think there's this triage that happens on yourself when you have a child and you go, all right, well, I'm gonna do all of these things with them. Okay, well, who taught me those things? Oh, damn. It wasn't my pops.

Well, if it wasn't him who taught.

[Alison Roman]

Yeah.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

And then you start thinking, and it's just a collage of motherfuckers who just all. Some for a day, some for a lifetime, just all dropped into your life, in particular time periods. And I was like. I was really blown away and humbled by how lucky I've been to have.

A village of men that really poured in.

And it's not a shade, you know, I start the book about my mom. It's not a shade on women in my life, but I had My mom. So I didn't inherently seek out women or like. But not having a dad, you're always looking for a dude or a sort and you know, like with standup comedy, you know, I started in 98 and.

I started at a time in the south, you know, in Alabama and Florida.

Where as a new comic.

I'm 19, I'm opening for 40 year old, 50 year old men.

I'm babysitting headliner.

I was 19 when I started.

And you're opening for. It's a, you don't know. Every week it's somebody different. I've watched headliners, children backstage.

Hey man, I got custody this week. I don't have a babysitter. I brought my daughter with me on a row.

Just when you get off stage, stay in the green room with my daughter.

Make sure she doesn't.

And it's me at 19 watching a 5 year old. So through those men, subconsciously you seek guidance, you seek advice and some of them see potential in you and they.

Throw you a bone of a decent idea or a decent way to go about living.

But I think the cool thing about standup was that you sometimes meet people. I met people on the road who were some.

A lot of them were on the backside of their career.

And seeing how people process.

Failure in that regard.

I'm trying to be kind. But your career is not what you would have hoped for it to be.

You're touring, you're making money and yeah, that's great.

It's not a lot of guys. It's less than a thousand people that.

Do this every weekend.

So you're blessed, I guess.

But you could see the frustration in their faces and it showed up backstage.

[Alison Roman]

So do you think anger too?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I saw alcoholism and every drug, you know, like within the first three years of standup, I saw every drug, you know, addiction, women. Like every vice you can name. I've seen someone grappling with that food, whatever.

So when I started getting some degree of success then I became a lot.

More conscious of that. I really think that city comedians get sharper faster because they have more reps.

[Alison Roman]

I've read you said that. Why?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Because they get more repetitions in a single night. So they are sharper, faster on the craft of comedy because there are more.

[Alison Roman]

Clubs they can go from here to there to there in the city.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Me down south, open mic is once a month per city. At that time, there was no comedy.

Scene the way it is in Nashville now or even Atlanta now.

25 years ago, there was two clubs. So the idea of you don't get.

On stage as often in the south, but you see every possible way this shit could end for you, from good to bad.

I've had a front row seat to.

Every possible conclusion to this job.

Standup comedy. So by the time I get some degree of success or some degree of.

Acclaim, I know where the potholes are and I know how to avoid them.

Or I'm more keen on avoiding them than I would say a comic who has only cut their teeth in a single market and doesn't go out nearly.

As often as I do.

They're funnier faster than me, but I'm more mature. Does that make sense? I just think rogue comics, you know, you have guns pulled on you, you're paid in drugs, people walk out, you're.

Called the N word on stage.

Like just every weird hurdle you could name.

[Conan O'Brien]

Who.

[Alison Roman]

I mean, sorry. I just marvel at standup because my background was basketball and I got team spirit and ensemble right there in high school. So when I went and got Cheers or any of those kind of show are ensemble shows. That's my home. That's where I'm comfortable. You are a gunslinger on stage all by yourself. First off, how do you get the courage to do that? Where did that come from? But who had your back when you had people slinging all sorts of crap your way early on?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

It's you and the other comedians, if you're lucky.

Yeah, like, if, like, you know, the comedians, you're kind of. It's a weird fraternity that on this.

Day and this night, we are in this together. We must both leave this venue safely or we must both make sure that we get paid, you know, in the more senior comic stands up for the younger guys to make sure that they get their bread.

And, you know, if you're working with a female opener, you trying to make sure that some weirdo in the room isn't following her back to the car. Like, just whatever. Like, I don't know, you just look at it as just. This is just. This is a day at the job. Tomorrow would be different.

[Alison Roman]

You sure get a big chunk of life. You're not leading a sheltered life.

[Conan O'Brien]

Moment.

[Alison Roman]

You get to see humanity and all that's.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

You know, I started when I first started, bro.

I was on the Greyhound. I used to ride the Greyhound to get to gigs. I didn't have a car yet. I remember being on. I call it the Dog, but I remember being on the Dog and customs.

Would come on the bus and start.

Checking IDs, like just looking.

Or they would. The drug dog would come, do a lap through the bus, and then somebody would be politely asked off the bus, cuffed up, and then you continue on to your next destination. Where was this it? That's it. This is Jacksonville, Florida. Yeah, I mean, I remember Parris Island, South Carolina. East Coast Marine Corps Training Boot Camp.

Or whatever it's called. The bus would stop sometimes at Parris island and pick up Marines that.

That quit or got injured, whatever it is. You went into that building trying to be Marine.

You were no longer a Marine.

And you're just sitting there and you're.

Just watching these young kids, man, 18, 19, same age as me, just getting on the bus and just some crying, some elated because they feel like they.

Escaped something, but just, I don't know.

The bus and public transit, it's a very fascinating way to see the human condition playing out in real time. And so many people having so many different experiences concurrently together. The airport's another place like that, too. Like, I don't know if you've ever. Like, I feel like two of the most distinct flights in this country, in terms of the uniqueness of the passengers, is flights to Vegas and flights to Orlando, which in a way are kind of the same side of a coin in terms of the type of place they are.

But also two of the most unique.

Flights are flights from Vegas and from Orlando. And the energy and the.

Like, just the energy suck and the frustration or the sadness or the anger. Like, it's two totally different flights from the same to and from the same cities, but with the same degree of exasperation and exhaustion.

I've seen couples that I know for sure weren't going to make it on some of those flights. You're just like, ah, God.

[Alison Roman]

I had such an innocent, if that's the right word. Growing up. I grew up in Arizona. My father was an archaeologist and the head of a museum and a research center. And all the people working there were either Hopi or Navajo. So I got this early, kind of. There are many things, cultures, many ways to go through life and have spirituality in many different ways. And then my kind of violence and bigotry came from the Hopi and the Navajo really didn't care for each other that much. But I'd be in my friend's car who were Hopi, and we'd pull up next. They would pull up next to a car full of Navajos, and they'd roll down the window and say, hey, want to fight room. The cart full of navos went hold on. Yeah. And then they drive someplace and they tell me to wait in the car and then they go wail on each other, just, you know, fists and wrestling and.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

No weapons.

[Alison Roman]

No weapons. And then they get back in the car and it's going to see later.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yep.

And they never made you choose a side?

[Alison Roman]

No, they wanted me to stay in the car. This wasn't. But that was my upbringing as far as the real world. And it was so kind of innocent.

[Conan O'Brien]

I missed a lot of things.

[Alison Roman]

Real world stuff that would have been nice to have known early on. But I did get that you're not alone. You're not the deal here. There are many people on this earth and they're all different and they're all the same. And so, you know, I probably saw.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Too much growing up. But I don't know what my parents were supposed to do otherwise. I mean, my parents were together, they were married, but they weren't together, if that makes sense. So, you know, I had two younger half siblings. So my pops would spend more time at their house. You know, he'd split the week over there with, you know, with that family, you know. So on the days where my mom had grad school or law school, I was latchkey, bro. So I'm out in the neighborhood, I'm doing it, I'm doing any and everything. This is third grade, fourth grade. I'm out the door in Birmingham.

This is in Birmingham at this point. I was latchkey in Memphis, but it.

Was a lot less mischief because we were in an enclosed apartment complex.

And so when you're in an apartment.

Complex, you kind of know everybody.

But when you're in just an open.

Neighborhood on the west side of Birmingham and you can go anywhere you want, well then anything can happen. You know, it was gang territory. And you know, the gangs were pretty rough.

They for the most part didn't bother me and my buddies.

Cause we were kind of young.

One of the, I'd say one of the most important purchases my mother ever.

Made was a basketball goal for our yard because there was a public park around the corner.

But sometimes there'd be a shooting or a stray bullet. And some people got shot sometimes. And so, you know, I don't want you over there because basketball breeds argument.

It breeds guns. And so just don't go over there.

If you're gonna hoop, hoop.

Here at the house we had a.

Two car garage and if you played.

Off the driveway into the dirt, it.

Was basically half court.

We had tall, super tall, like three, four story tall, these big Acorn oak trees or whatever. And it created shade over the court. So we essentially had a half court shaded basketball court in the thick of summer with a breakaway rim and a plexiglas backboard.

[Conan O'Brien]

Oh, that was the real deal.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

So it's the best hoop on the west side. So Gangster Disciples, which was the gang.

That was prevalent in our neighborhood, they.

Were cool with a lot of the people that came over the hoop. And so over the course of a summer, I essentially met every potentially terrible.

Person in the neighborhood.

And you see me and you correlate.

Me to the basketball goal. And so now it kind of gave me a bit of a carte blanche in the hood where I know I'm not gonna get my sneakers stolen, I'm not gonna get my hat and my jacket stolen. You're not gonna bully me for my candy money. You're not gonna take my Laffy Taffies. When I come out the corner store, I can cut through the projects to get to computer class.

Cause there was a public library on the other side of the projects.

And the only way it's either cut.

Through the projects or take a 30.

Minute detour in a 95 degree heat index. So which one do you wanna risk?

So that basketball goal, you know, that changed everything.

I live two doors down from an.

Active, you know, what do you call it when it's a crack house. Cause technically they're selling drugs, but nobody's.

Doing the drugs there.

Cause there's like, you got like a drug house where people go to smoke. And then you have a crack house where we just do distribution, don't do it. And take out.

Only I don't know the drug words.

But on the other side of our house, there was a house that got raided every two months by swat. That was the neighborhood.

[Alison Roman]

And you had kind of a.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

That community. That community. We lived on a dead end street. I could walk comfortably around the neighborhood with my little school fundraiser sign up sheet and hey, Ms. Turner, we selling candy logs. Would you like to order a pecan log to support Ramsay football?

Like whatever, you name it.

So when you get on a bus at 19 and you see a police dog come sniffing down the aisle.

Oh, okay.

Yeah, that's what we're doing here.

Okay, whatever.

I mean, I remember middle school, you.

Know, there were gangs that would come to fight the gang at our school.

And it's kind of like you with the Navajos.

Like, I'm not in the gang, so I'm just gonna stay over here. Yeah.

Oh yeah, they're fight. Oh yeah, the blood. What's happening out there? Oh, yeah, the bloods came to fight.

The Gangster Disciples today.

Oh, okay. Yeah. First period's gonna be extended about 20.

Minutes while they figure out who was doing what. They don't want classes changing while they're fighting.

Geography's 20 minutes longer. Like.

That was life, man. You know, I used to talk about how it was a joke I could never get to work because there was too much empathy after Columbine. But the idea of.

[Conan O'Brien]

Wait, wait, wait, start this again.

[Alison Roman]

No, I gotta get this. I gotta get this.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

I know that came out the wrong way.

[Alison Roman]

No, no.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

So you're already understanding why this joke never worked.

[Alison Roman]

No, no, I wanna get it, though, please.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

There was Columbine, as I feel like.

We recognize it as our society is one of the first mass shootings, especially.

School shootings, that sent our country into a different type of conversation and dialogue.

About mass shootings and gun control.

So the joke was always not about.

The tragedy of Columbine, but the question of. I came up in a school system where a kid got shot at school every other week, right?

And if you tally them all up.

Probably more than Columbine. And if you tally up this school.

System or this school system, these all predate Columbine. And so the joke was a larger.

Conversation about how America only cares about.

[Alison Roman]

Groups of people, white people being shot.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Well, I didn't even say white. I just said groups. Because this was also at the same time, what was the show where the white boy would show up and fix your house and give your house a nice. There was one of those home makeover shows. This is the Ty Pennington. And this was the beginning of the Ty Pennington come fix your house. And we put up porch and we blindfold you. And they're little.

[Alison Roman]

Right, right, right.

[Conan O'Brien]

Oh, right.

[Alison Roman]

I'm sorry.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

And they would always do it for like septuplet fit. Like, oh, you had eight babies at once. All right, you get a house. But you with three kids, one by one, who cares? And so the idea of there being these tragedies, Right. I say that to make the point that where I grew up, there would.

Be a shooting, there would be a dead classmate sometimes there was no counselor. There was no candlelight vigilant. There was no discussion about it.

You would just come in the classroom and their desk would just be empty.

And then eventually the teacher would just.

Move that, like, would retetris the classroom so the desk didn't look like some.

Sort of living memorial.

And you proceed with your day. And I Think that normalcy is more.

Of a telltale on how the system failed, failed a lot of black kids, you know, but the idea of so much rough stuff being the norm, it just was. You went to church, you went to the boys Club. You had enough positivity in your life. You saw good role models. So, you know, I'm very fortunate, man. I'm very fortunate. Cause I didn't grow up in full despair. I grew up in a rough neighborhood. But I had a great, you know, for whatever my parents were to one another, they were never that to me. So I felt loved and appreciated. And so you look at how, you know, as we mature as a society, and you start seeing how we now handle these traumas, and we try to be a little bit more careful now. But, you know, everything I was trying to equate at that time, and these were early jokes, and it was nothing.

Like those types of jokes were jokes.

I was never gonna be able to pull off at the time because I was 20. I looked 14. You're not buying anger and indignation against America from a kid that young. Because you should still have hope and optimism. Why are you on stage griping? Because you didn't get a grief counselor after your shooting. You know, like, that's a dark kind of joke anyway. And nobody like. Once Americans started getting empathy, it became harder to make those types of jokes. You can pull it off, but you have to be a comic that really dives into the darkness.

[Alison Roman]

I loved your joke at the correspondence dinner where you said something about a school shooting and the room went, oh. You know, like, oh, well, then pass legislation.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah, I butchered it. But trans people are not trying to convert your children. If they did that, there wouldn't be any children left to shoot, Al.

Something like that.

And then. If you convert all these kids, is there many kids left and murdered? Come on. Don't we like school shootings? Yeah, we're not doing nothing about it. So let's start cheering for them. Let's celebrate. Like, oh, you're offended?

[Alison Roman]

Well, then pass legislation.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah, that. That was. The correspondence dinner was interesting because I didn't.

I didn't feel like I had the equity to do a lot of those jokes. Cause nobody knew who I was. Like, you know, the Daily show, but you may not watch it enough to know me. And I think part of what a comedian is and isn't able to get away with.

[Alison Roman]

Boy, that's true, isn't it?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Is based on, like, if you took.

Any of Ricky Gervais's golden Globe sets.

And gave it to a comic of lesser status. There's more outrage. Yeah, because we don't know the messenger.

Yeah, Kimmel got away with a lot.

Of shit at the Oscars in his monologue that maybe only John Mulaney could put.

Like Mulaney can get away with a lot because Charm face.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, they couldn't possibly be offending you.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Correct?

It's the Colin Joe song. Don't you like me like it's that.

[Conan O'Brien]

I've just learned about a serious but rare heart condition called attr Cardiac Amyloidosis, or attrcm. If you have ATTR cm, you may experience symptoms related to heart failure like breathlessness and swelling of the legs, but also have issues that seem unrelated, like carpal tunnel. There's a treatment option that may help called Atrube or Acharamatous. Atruby is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with ATTR CM to reduce death and hospitalization due to heart issues. In a study, Atruby helped slow the progression of ATTR CM and reduced heart related hospitalizations by 50% when compared to people not receiving ATRuby. Tell your doctor if you're pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding and about the medications you take. The most common side effects were mild and included diarrhea and abdominal pain. If you have attrcm, talk to your cardiologist about attruby or visit attruby.com that's a T T R U B Y dot com to learn more. Brought to you by BridgeBio Everywhere you turn, it's New Year, New Me. But growth isn't a glow up trend, it's a practice. Grow Therapy helps you do the real work with licensed therapists who meet you where you are, not where somebody else says you should be. You can search by what matters to you like insurance, specialty, identity or availability, and get started in little as two days. And if something comes up, you can Cancel up to 24 hours in advance at no cost. There are no subscriptions, no long term commitments. You just pay per session. Whatever challenges you're facing, Growth Therapy is here to help. Sessions average about $21 with insurance and some pay as little as $0 depending on their plan. Visit growththerapy.com Ted and Woody today to get started. That's growththerapy.com Ted and woody growththerapy.com Ted and WOODY availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan. A New Year, Colder days this is the moment your winter wardrobe really has to deliver. If you're craving a winter reset, start with pieces Truly made to last season after season. Quince brings together premium materials, thoughtful design and enduring quality so you can stay warm, look sharp, and feel your best all season long. Their outerwear is especially impressive. I am a huge fan of quince. I've said it before. I have several items in my closet. I especially love my Mongolian cashmere full zip sweater. Maybe I'll try it in a quarter zip next because my producer tells me it's popular with Gen Z. Refresh your winter wardrobe with quince. Go to quince.com Ted and Woody for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q-U-I-N c e.com Ted and Woody free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com Ted and Woody.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Now correspondence Journey.

That was a good time, but that was. That was chaos. It's not something I would ever do twice.

[Alison Roman]

Did you think twice about saying yes when you were asked?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

No, absolutely not.

You're offered.

You have to do like, it's like almost a calling. Like there's no, I don't want to say there's no greater gig in comedy. I don't want to make it sound like you're serving your country.

[Alison Roman]

No, ballsy. That's a very ballsy gig.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

I'd put it right up there with the Apollo Theater. I think performing at the Apollo Theater is definitely a real time reaction.

[Alison Roman]

I read you said that. And it's sink or swim, right? It's like they either love you or they are gonna take you down.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah.

I think I would argue the Apollo.

Is still a tougher audience than the correspondence dinner because at least at the correspondence dinner, half the room, just off the political alignment, half the room is gonna laugh at the joke because it's anti them. And as I oscillate between sides.

You'Re never gonna have all the room.

You're only gonna have, at best, half the room.

Apollo is.

You don't have any of the room.

But if you do it right, you.

Can get all the room.

[Alison Roman]

Now, do they know that? Do they know the power they have at the Apollo?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

They come in ready to boot. They're like, you better bring it, baby. Because they know they've been emboldened. Yes, we want you to. Come on, tell them they sucks so they can go get better. The correspondence dinner, though, I think I.

Got the call in January. For an April. For an April dinner.

That year we had just. Yeah. The warriors visited the White House.

[Alison Roman]

Wait, so can I ask, I mean, how's it come?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

It came down from one of the heads of the White House Press Association. One of the members of that group go. They have their meeting. Who. Who do we like? Who should we get?

Let's ask Roy. And they reached out, and you can't.

[Alison Roman]

Because they knew the Daily Show. So they knew from that.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

And we believe you will do the.

Things in a way that will honor the press and the media. And I have a degree in broadcast.

My dad, my two older brothers. So I come from journalism enough to where, you know, I'm not gonna shit on your job. So that was part of it. But they asked, and it was probably.

Two days of thinking it over. And then I reached out to everybody I knew who had already done it, who I had access to. So it's Trevor, Noah, Wanda Sykes, Seth, the entertainer. I sent a message to Colbert. Colbert and I were like, we're not tight like that. But on the Daily show fraternity ness of it. I could send an email and I will get a reply.

So made my outreach, and I was like, all right, let's do it.

[Alison Roman]

Did you make. Put together a room? I don't know how that gig works. You did you put together a room of writers?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah.

Because you can't watch all of the.

News and you don't have every possible time take on the news. And then also the news is changing every week.

To me, what makes the correspondence dinner.

So unique is that it is on that day, in that moment, comedy that perfectly encompasses where the country is right now.

Half these jokes you can't do tomorrow. Half the jokes didn't exist yesterday, and.

You have to figure this out right now.

So, yeah, like, over the course of the next couple of months, I got my head writer, Christiana Mbakwe Medina, who.

Worked over with me at the Daily.

Show, and she was a writer for Trevor for years.

And it's like, I know how you think.

You think she thinks bigger argument. She's not gonna have all of the punchlines, but she knows this, and this is the stress point because the joke is right there in the middle where those two issues intersect, collide. And then you pepper the room with.

People that are joke machines and contrarians and stuff like that. And.

That'S how it went.

And it was a really good time. It was a wild ride. I would never do it again.

[Alison Roman]

And finish that by saying, because if.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Trump was there, I'd do it.

Yeah, if Trump was there, I'd do it.

[Alison Roman]

Well, you kind of do every night nowadays with have you heard the news?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Right? Yeah, yeah. I mean, but have I got news for you. CNN is. But CNN's different though. Cause that's a Saturday night, Ted. Like that's just joke time. And our show is like a remake of a 30 year British legacy. It's their daily show, essentially. So it's working and it does well over here. But we try to be, we try to both side it as best we can with the guests to start. And if you have guests that don't.

Always think like you, then you're naturally.

Gonna get jokes and perspectives that have.

A little bit of pushback.

And to me, that tension, that's good for entertainment.

But nah, I don't think we're. I think the correspondence dinner as we know it, I think Colin Joe sat the last one.

Like where a comedian host.

I don't know.

Especially when you look at the way that the administration is manipulating the media now.

They almost don't have a choice but to not have a comedian or not.

[Alison Roman]

Have the dinner at all.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah. Or face the wrath of the President because he's gonna fire everybody that's in that. Anybody that's at that dinner where jokes are being made about him, you're not.

Gonna get access to the press corps anymore. So now your jobs and question.

[Alison Roman]

I'm horrible at names or remembering things, but who was it that was the comedian at the correspondence dinner when Trump. And you saw him, it was joined by Seth Meyers.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Seth Meyers.

[Alison Roman]

And you saw a joke at his expense? No, no, no. It was. Obama made a joke. And I can't remember I heard who wrote the joke. And it was basically. So you actually set this whole thing in motion because you saw Trump's face go, oh, yeah, yeah. You saw that? I'll show you.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

You gotta give Trump this man. That boy don't let go of an enemy. If he don't like your ass, it's to the grave.

He is gonna come for you. You indicting James Comey. You know, you ain't got nothing on the man. Like that type of shit is. It's unheard of.

It really is unheard of.

This entire last 12 years of political discourse, it's just been revenge for Barack Obama joke.

[Alison Roman]

I can't remember who.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Jokes have power.

[Alison Roman]

Yeah, they do. I remember just finishing up on that one thing. I was doing a lot of campaigning. Mary and I were for Hillary. And somebody knew Trump's sister. And the word from Trump's sister was Donald never loses. Woof. Yeah, woof.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah.

[Alison Roman]

I've even had to drop the old. Well, karma, karma, karma.

[Conan O'Brien]

No, karma's for people who want to get better. Karma is this little road sign.

[Alison Roman]

Hey, you're a little off track here, you know.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah, no, no.

Yeah, we're. We're in a different time now. I just. I don't think the correspondence dinner and it's existing form, I don't think it'll return to that under this particular administration. I don't know how. I mean, humor is. They're stress testing how much they can reshape the idea of humor as a whole and using corporate and fiscal influences to kind of manipulate what forms jokes can be told in. So, you know, were you a little.

[Alison Roman]

Encouraged by the end of the week that Jimmy was back and those two other whatever affiliates.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah.

[Alison Roman]

Put him back on or.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

No.

[Alison Roman]

Temporary.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

It feels like the end of the first Star Wars.

The first being Episode four. That's how I count the Star Wars. I don't have time for this. One through nine nonsense and Rogue One and all of that shit. The first one where it's like, oh.

Yeah, we got a lick. We blew up the Death Star.

Yeah. But they're coming back. So I sit back to see how the Empire will strike back on this.

So, yeah, it's a victory. You know, administration, corporate leaning. You know, company with political leanings leans.

On the joke man, so they can.

Do something that fiscally benefits. Oh, wait, we can't do that. Okay, sorry, sorry, sorry. Sooner or later, going to come back to something else.

[Alison Roman]

Yeah. You've written this book, the man of many fathers, so obviously aimed also at your son Henry in a way. Right. Hoping that this is something that not aimed at, but something that he can read.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

You nailed it.

[Alison Roman]

Yeah.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

The book is for him.

It's not really for y', all, but.

[Alison Roman]

You want to read it. But I do get to read it.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Give me some money.

[Alison Roman]

I'm thinking it as giving Henry money. You. Yeah. But you can't turn to Henry. You're not turning to Henry and say, okay, this is hopeless, or, wow, I'm discouraged about this world. And yet you are a realist. More than way more than because of.

[Conan O'Brien]

Everything you've seen in your life. How do you do the hope part?

[Alison Roman]

How do you do for your. For your offspring? How do you do it for yourself? How do you keep that part of your heart nurtured?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

You show your child that they are the hope. It's not about waiting for it to come to you. It's about being that thing. So you try to talk to them about benevolence and volunteering and being kind and doing for others. You know, man, help me fold these clothes. I'm gonna go donate. These are your clothes, so they're gonna go to somebody else. I much similar to my own upbringing to a degree. You know, I have a. I'm raising a city kid. I'm raising a New York City native. That's what he is. And you're gonna see stuff in that city. You walking down the street, you're gonna see stuff that I can't just explain.

Away as, oh, no, son, come on, let's keep walking.

No, no, let's talk about it. Why was that man on the train behaving that way?

And that becomes a real conversation about.

Homelessness, or it becomes a conversation about.

Mental health and why people aren't necessarily being taken care of. Or we were in a store one.

Day and a guy got tackled by security in front of us and guy.

Got tackled by security in front of.

Us and took out in cuffs.

And then you see the cops, like, shake the bag open or whatever, and it's just all stolen, just stealing. Well, then that becomes a conversation about.

Consequences for your actions. And I don't know, man, I'm torn between how long do you shield your child from the world before you have crippled them, and then what's too soon to let them know about the world, and then you run the risk of scarring them. You know, you don't know when your kids are ready to see or hear about certain things. So you just have to have those conversations. I just trust it as the universe presenting that conversation. You know, this is the time to have it. There's a lady with no shirt on on this bus talking crazy. So first let's go through the safety protocols of how you keep distance, how you keep space protocols on eye contact with folks.

[Alison Roman]

Just do that, do that. The icon for me right now.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

What do you mean? No, no, just the idea of your eyes talk before your mouth does.

And if I stare at you long enough, it's going to shift your emotion. And I don't know how that's going to shift a stranger's emotion, because some.

People go, what are you looking at?

And then other people go, oh, well.

Hello, how can I help you?

It invites a conversation. And so you have to be very careful about staring.

You look away. But just staring at somebody and then locking eyes with them, you now have their undivided attention. You are literally plugged into their soul. And do you want the topless person talking crazy to come over and talk? Okay, well, then you probably shouldn't look at them.

Yeah.

You know, and mind you, I'm not a city kid. I wasn't raised in New York. So I can only teach him so much.

I can only give him so much of what I know when it comes to how to move in this world. What's the relationship supposed to be with police? What's the relationship supposed to be with teachers and people of authority?

We were taught, at least I was taught blind authority, blind compliance to all.

Authority figures with no questioning. No, no, I don't agree with that.

I came up in a house where.

I was allowed to present my side of an argument. There's a respectful way to do it.

But if you feel that, and I.

Feel like any authority figure should be willing to listen to that and consider that.

So if you feel like you have.

A case, state your case. But I don't know if I can tell him that for sure with the police. No, he's at that age, man. He's at the age now where you don't know how they're gonna see you. You're nine, you're knocking on ten. A lot of them they cuff up, take em down to the grownup jail and some they let go and they let them go into bodega and call their parents and then they can come get them and it's fine. So there has to be protocols in place. But it's hard to instill protocol without putting in fear. And I think that's the thing that's always difficult. That started with dogs. I generally don't trust dogs. I don't hate dogs, but I don't trust him. I'm watching you to prove that.

[Alison Roman]

You're not gonna bite me.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yes.

Yeah, yeah. It's strictly like just walking down the street. Not if I'm at your house and.

Your dog comes up, I will pet your dog.

But just walking down the street with some dog walker coming by with the.

Dogs, I don't pet that dog.

You don't know that dog. We're on the elevator, don't look at the dog. Interesting thing is that that eye protocol, it's even crazier with wild animals.

[Alison Roman]

I was thinking, is this appropriate to tell you about my dog? He was three when we.

[Conan O'Brien]

He was a bred dog who then.

[Alison Roman]

Started being given away because he was too big and, and then people died and it. So in essence it was a rescue. But this is a beautiful, amazing Australian shepherd. But I made the. I love to with dogs and play with them and wrestle and all that stuff. And the first kind of week we had him and I started to do the rough hops.

[Conan O'Brien]

He locked eyes with me and literally.

[Alison Roman]

I know for a fact he said, you don't want to go there.

[Conan O'Brien]

And it was so fucking clear that.

[Alison Roman]

I backed away and started stroking her. I'm so sorry. I won't do that again.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah, it's trying to figure that out. I'm not. I don't know, I wonder if it's some sort of detachment from love and closeness or some type of shit. But I've just. I've never been a pet person.

I had two guinea pigs growing up. That was cool.

If I ever had a house with.

Some space and a yard, I'd probably do that again. I'd probably get some guinea pigs.

[Alison Roman]

I think New York City would be a hard.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah, it's a terrible place.

[Alison Roman]

Hard place for dog.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah.

It's not. You can do a dog, but like.

Rodents, I don't think it's smart because these apartments are small.

And if you ain't changing that cage.

[Alison Roman]

Yeah.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Every other day that shit get to stanking.

[Alison Roman]

And the kid that wants them doesn't always be changing it.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah.

[Alison Roman]

Pulls on you.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah.

You gotta. My son gonna have to prove to me but a fish for like three years and like show me you can clean a tank or whatever. But I just feel like you're trying to predict what world your kids will be stepping into. And so you're trying to get ahead of it by preparing them. But I think you can't prepare them for particular things. You can prepare them for emotional management. Panic will be there regardless of what the threat or what the issue is. Nervousness will be there, excitement, anger.

So it just all becomes mood management.

And I think that's kind of where I try to zero in on. But that's why it was important with.

The book to like, oh well, where did I learn that? Where did I learn that? Why am I like this? And it was a really, really fun.

Journey to put together. Like it really was foreign.

[Lowe's Announcer]

Go big during Pro Savings days at Lowe's. Buy more and save more with up to 20 off job site essentials like primed finger joint boards. When you spend $3,000 or more. Plus get up to 25% off PVC DWV pipes when you spend $250 or more. Shop Pro Savings days at Lowe's. We help you Save. Valid through 123. Selection varies by location while supplies last loyalty program. Subject to terms and conditions. Visit Lowes.com terms for details. Subject to change.

[1-800-Flowers Announcer]

Looking for a Valentine's gift she'll truly love. 1-800-flowers.com knows what she wants. For 50 years, 1-800-flowers has helped guys like you get it right, delivering millions of fresh Valentine's roses nationwide. 1-800-Flowers offers premium fresh cut flowers backed by their seven day freshness guarantee plus same day delivery when you need them on time. Valentine's is coming up and bouquets are selling fast, so don't wait on this order today at 1-800-FLowers.com. sXM. That's 1-800-FLowers. Com SXM.

[Alison Roman]

When I talk to stand up people who I just admire because I, as I said, I like surrounding myself with ensemble, I usually ask, where did you get the courage? Where did you become courageous enough to stand up on a stage and suffer the slings and arrows? But after talking to you, was it scary for you or was this another part of after your childhood? It was like, no, this'll be all right. This will be easy.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

I enjoy this. Well, that didn't go well.

This baseball I had struck out. Okay, well, I'm gonna go back up to bat tomorrow and try again. I'm gonna watch the set, I'm gonna analyze what jokes didn't do well, figure out where I can tweak em, and then I'm gonna try again.

Now where I changed is I did.

Most of my open mics early on.

Either outside of Tallahassee or I did.

Them at Florida State. I went to Florida A and M across town, but I didn't know anybody at Florida State. So if I bomb on the student comedy night or whatever, who cares? It's fine. Like, I just tiptoe back to campus and no one knows that I just ate shit five blocks away.

[Alison Roman]

How'd it go? Great.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah, perfect. Like that was, that was the early beginnings. The idea that I don't know these.

People and I'm not going to see them again. And I think once I understood and I really learned this lesson at Uptown Comedy Corner in Atlanta, where uptown was an urban room and it was Sunday.

Nights were.

You gotta bring it.

And some nights I did not bring it. You get booed and that's okay.

Or they jiggle car keys to let you know it's time to ride out. Like they would.

You ain't talking over car key. Like 300 car keys.

[Alison Roman]

Jesus.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

You can't talk.

It's worse than a boo. Cause a boo you can go, well, shut up. You ain't shit. Look at your shirt when it's this.

No one hears you, but you could.

Come back to that same club.

Seven days later, they make two tweaks to a joke, gets a laugh. And the audience, even though they're essentially a different group of people from last week, the audience, they don't care that they haven't heard of you or don't know who you are. You're judged solely on tonight. And I think it's that way for comics the entirety of their career, which is why I think we have that degree of paranoia of perfection and gotta work on the joke and gotta polish it.

This hour special's gotta be as good as the one before it. Okay, okay.

All right.

We gotta figure it out.

Like, that nervousness just never left. But the idea to do it and, like, really try, you know, for me, I didn't feel like I was losing anything.

I thought, man, I got arrested for.

Stealing credit cards when I was 19. So I'm like, I'm going to jail. Y' all finna send me to prison. Let me try this comedy.

And then I get probation. I'm like, oh, word. Okay, well, I guess we're just gonna keep doing comedy.

[Conan O'Brien]

That was 19.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

That was 98. Yeah.

And it was that simple.

And who was your first?

[Alison Roman]

Oh, that guy's funny. I like him. I want to be like him. Did you have somebody before you started that you looked up to and went, I want to be like that?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Sinbad and Rondell Sheridan.

[Alison Roman]

I don't know. Rond.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Rondell Sheridan. He was the dad on that's so Raven for a while, but he was a standup in the 80s and 90s.

And just clean cut, fast paced, up tempo, very similar. Sinbad was a stage stalker, a little more than Rondell, but those two. Cause it was like, oh, wow. Then we got cable and you get.

The HBO free preview weekend. There used to be this thing. I've tried to explain this to young people.

There used to be this thing where.

Once a year, everyone in America had HBO for three days, and it was the free preview weekend.

And that's when HBO would put their.

Best foot forward to try and entice you to subscribe to hbo.

And so it would always be the same HBO free preview weekend would always be the same weekend as some comedian's.

New special that was coming out.

So every year you could see Sinbad. I saw Comics Relief, Whoopi and Lyrian, Robin Williams and all of them. George Carlin was one of the ones.

One of those years.

And that's when I was like, okay.

Yeah, I saw George Wallace.

Comedy Central signs on in early 90s.

And they're showing a fuck ton of George Wallace.

Showing George Wallace and aj, Jamal and Bobby Collins. Like, just all these vets, bro. And I'm like, huh, that seems interesting.

Yeah, I think. Think I could do that? It would be another seven, eight years before I had the courage to try. But I was locked in on standup from the time I saw Sinbad.

[Alison Roman]

You were doing studying to be a journalist at that point?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah, yeah. So, you know, I go to school for broadcast journalism and I wanted to be Stuart Scott. You know, my father was more of a civil rights journalist. He covered conflict and issues affecting the black community.

It's very serious, very astute. Cover real stuff and interview presidential nominees.

And I just want to crack jokes while I watch sports highlights, man.

Kenny Main and Stuart Scott seem to have a ball. So I'm gonna do that, and that's.

What I'll major in.

And I got to college, and part.

Of the curriculum in college is a.

There was a voice and diction class.

And then there was an impromptu speech class. And so we had a class where.

Essentially they made you take it in journalism to teach you as a reporter, how to continue a flow of thought, even on something you don't know anything about. If you're doing a live report and.

You need to continually give information and.

Talk about what you're seeing, and, you know, it helps your improv muscle, basically. So the teacher would give us a random subject every week to do a three minute speech about.

And you had two minutes to prepare. You could go out in the hall and prepare.

This is pre Internet, so there's no Googling on you. There's Internet, but it's in the computer lab 20 minutes across campus. So you're just in the hall, you're.

Going, all right, what am I gonna say about the history of the toilet? Jesus. Okay, what? All that. All right, I'm gonna do that.

And you get your bullet points together in your head, and then you go.

Back into class and you present a.

Three to four minute presentation on the.

Toilet or the history of the sandwich.

Just the most random shit that she knows you know nothing about. But let's see how convincing you can be like that.

And when I would give those speeches, I always gotta laugh. I wasn't trying. I always got a laugh. And that was like the first open mic. Like, that was the first. Oh, I like this feeling. Oh, if I make a face, that buys me 15 seconds. I don't have to say anything. I can just make a face, and that gives me 15 less seconds of talking. If I Make a noise. Ooh, if I.

So you just start thinking about, essentially, without knowing it at the time. You're just thinking about ways to enhance your words.

It's joke enhancement.

You can change the tempo at which you speak.

You can change the volume at which you speak. You can change the pitch at which you speak.

And by manipulating those three knobs, at.

Any time, I would get a laugh. And so that was it, man.

[Alison Roman]

And don't we usually laugh when we're surprised and delighted? Because we didn't see that coming. And that's kind of what you're talking about. You can dial knobs at the seemingly inappropriate place, Correct?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah.

The thing that's supposed to be sad.

You say with a smile.

You know, you play opposite emotions on stuff like that.

[Alison Roman]

Or outrage over.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah.

[Alison Roman]

A sauce that's not coming your way.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah, that used to be my core. So I did morning radio for 10 years, and we would have listeners call in about stuff that they were upset about and whatever, and people would be mad about the most random. Like, it had nothing to do with politics or gun control or women's rights. Man, why they keep charging for sauce, but the nugget's getting smaller. We had a guy call in once, and this is before we knew what shrinkflation was, But a guy called into.

The radio station one time, and he was mad because the Girl Scout cookie box was getting shorter.

And he couldn't prove it because every year he threw the boxes away.

And then he.

Which then gets me. Yeah, man. And it becomes a yes and game. And I'm like, what I don't appreciate about the Girl Scouts is that they charge us for the cookies and then have a picture of themselves on the box. Having a good time with your money. Don't do that. I don't want to see you ziplining.

I don't zip line. I don't get to have fun.

Why y' all having fun? I'm buying these cookies, you raising the price. Should be a picture of you next to an oven just flipping. That's what the Keeble elves do. And so we go through a whole. Like, anytime you see the Keeble elves, they in the tree, they working, they run. You can see we're working hard. But if you tell that thought with.

A straight face, it becomes 10 times funnier.

[Alison Roman]

You had me going this morning. I was listening to the sauce one, and you weren't over the top, but there was outrage.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Oh, I really do hate that.

I really do hate how much they police sauces at fast food. Spots. It's such a stupid, petty thing to be all over about, man.

But that's what we are, man.

We're just a society of penny pictures.

Now.

[Alison Roman]

What about you and acting? I know you're doing it.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

I don't mind it.

That wasn't the response. Did I not say that?

[Conan O'Brien]

No.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

As I negotiate a Fox sitcom.

[Alison Roman]

No, no. That's the requisite disrespect you need for the written word. Word. I love that phrase.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

I love writing, bro. I've fallen in love with writing film and writing TV film especially. And I really think that there's a place for me if I can. If things go right with CNN into next year, I'm hoping it affords me a little bit of a window of time to do writing and to do a little bit of focusing on the creative. I like acting. I enjoy the challenge of doing weird, different stuff. And I don't always get those opportunities. So that's the thing where it's like, oh, okay, well, that was fun.

But it would be nice to do something different, you know, like. And I've been given that enough in.

Spots, but not with my own sitcom yet.

And so for that I'm thankful. Like, I got. I was too on the call sheet.

With Jon Hamm for the Fletch sequel. They did.

That's a blessing. Steve Carell gave me the blessing to.

Be in a scene with him in Space Force.

You do only murders with the two gods. Like, that's dope. You're sitting next to Steve Martin and Martin Short in a green room and running lines and each one of those roles distinctly. You know, I'm thankful when there's opportunities.

To do something different. There's a romantic comedy that's out now. Love Brooklyn, that I'm in with Andre Holland and Nicole Beharie and Dewanda Wise. And to be funny and silly in a romantic. Like, I'm not a rom com guy. But it was fun. That was fun.

Because that's not the normal thing that I am offered. It's usually, hey, we want you to come be on this show and be funny journalist.

I did that for eight years on Daily Show. I'd rather not do that. But then Jonah Hill calls you and goes, hey, would you like to do a scene with mean Count Keanu Reeves? You play a combination of Deion Sanders and Al Sharpton.

I'm in.

[Alison Roman]

Yeah.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

I don't even know what that means, but I'm in. Yeah, like that.

[Alison Roman]

Did Seth direct this as well? Was he the director?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

No, no. You talking about for the Keanu. The Jonah Hill thing. No, Jonah. Jonah directed. Jonah starred and directed. Which is. Yeah. Directing is a level of psychosis I don't ever want to be a part of.

But.

[Alison Roman]

But writing.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

You will. Writing. I love it. I love it. And if I could act in things that I've written, then I think that's the most guaranteed way to get the most interesting pieces of myself on film.

[Alison Roman]

Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

It will work for you.

[Alison Roman]

I think people, standups who know their voice, people who are funny that really, truly know their voice, you can use that voice to write a sitcom.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah.

[Alison Roman]

I'm an actor for hire. And whenever anyone says, let me write something for. For you, it's like, don't let me try. I don't have that voice.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

I gotta travel. I have a. I'll stop right there. I don't even want to say it out loud, but I got some stuff. I know what I want to do.

[Alison Roman]

Right, Right.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

And, you know, you just have to work and create the opportunities for yourself.

[Alison Roman]

Yeah.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

You know, I'm calculated enough to where I feel like these horses that I'm going to bet on would be pretty good horses to bet on.

[Alison Roman]

Any chance I could make money off of you and get in.

[Conan O'Brien]

Have I got news for you. It's so smart because you're talking about.

[Alison Roman]

The real stuff that just happened that week and you have video proof. This is not you picking. Well, you do pick on them, but. But you're picking on what they said, not your interpretation of what they said.

[Conan O'Brien]

And so you get the end.

[Alison Roman]

And I had to stop watching for a while. I have to really moderate myself. Maybe I'll read about it instead of seeing it. And Because I get depressed and angry and da, da, da, da.

[Conan O'Brien]

So you're offering people that same real news and you're going to give them a chuckle and a laugh, but it doesn't undercut your chuckle and laugh.

[Alison Roman]

Doesn't make it okay.

[Conan O'Brien]

You give them relief about what the.

[Alison Roman]

Horror of what they just saw or the reality of what they just saw. I just think it's kind of brilliant.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

I try to tell people our show is what your local news would be.

If your anchors had three drinks.

That's the show. Yeah. It's what happened.

But I'm gonna say it with a.

Little bit of a smirk. We're gonna try and figure out a little bit of how we got to this place. And then more importantly, we try to.

Have on a good balance of guests.

From both sides of political ideologies to kind of have a little bit of balance to the conversation as well. So in that regard, it is the.

Most fun I've had on television.

[Alison Roman]

You know, how much time does that take you? Is that your week?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

A couple days.

You know, we have writers and they're kind of monitoring, setting puzzle pieces in order.

A bunch of.

It's all jello. And then Thursday, Friday, it turns into concrete. So somewhere around late Wednesday, Thursday, I kind of check in. We kind of start talking and figuring out stuff.

What do you think?

Well, you should mention this. And it's less about what to talk about and more about how long to talk about it. We have an hour, so we can cover the entire week. So if you haven't watched any news the entire week, you will be as informed as you were. If you read that Forbes article or Wall Street Journal or whatever else you read, you will know everything that happened. You will know the inside track on how the thing and the causation or whatever. And I'm here to give you just enough information about current events for you.

To pretend that other people know, you know, what you're talking about at a party. Yeah, that's it.

Yeah. And it's fun.

It's easy. I think the best times we have, myself, Amber Ruffin, and Michael Ian Black, who are, you know, co captains, is when we have sitting elected officials on the show. You know, we've had Jasmine Crockett, we've had Tim Burchette. And trust me, it doesn't get any more polar opposites than those two. And black woman with bedazzled Nikes and then just an old dude from Tennessee.

Hey, just.

[Alison Roman]

Do they stick in their corner stubbornly or do they end up having know that they can have fun?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

They try to have a little fun.

I think the audience still wants some degree of accountability.

So, you know, it remains to be seen.

[Conan O'Brien]

Live audience.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

[Alison Roman]

How many?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah, 150.

[Alison Roman]

That's fun. That's great.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Just the right amount.

Like, we're not gonna go sitcom big with like 250, 300 or whatever. I think Oliver has the biggest audience.

I think Oliver's around 200, give or take, somewhere in there.

But.

It'S fun, it's nice, it's cozy.

[Alison Roman]

Yeah.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

And, yeah, it's a good time, man. I'm very thankful that that opportunity came.

My way, because when I left Daily Show, I didn't know what was next. I just knew that for whatever to be next, I need to make that step first. So, yeah, that's what it was.

[Alison Roman]

I've so enjoyed talking to you.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

I'M thankful for.

[Alison Roman]

I was a little nervous going, oh.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Wow, come on, man.

[Alison Roman]

You're so fucking smart. But I've stayed in my corner and I feel great.

[Conan O'Brien]

Usually I sell myself down the tubes.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

No, watch the show, man. I think you'll enjoy this show. Oh, no.

[Alison Roman]

Yes.

[Conan O'Brien]

No, I am.

[Alison Roman]

Are you talking about.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah, yeah, cnn?

[Alison Roman]

Yeah, yeah, no, no, I, I binge three or four. So I'm, I'm catching up.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Good man.

Yeah, yeah, we're on Max or whatever it's called now.

[Alison Roman]

Yeah, no, it's wonderful. And you know what? I'm more importantly than everything is your.

[Conan O'Brien]

Book and your son Henry and what.

[Alison Roman]

A good daddy you're, you know, trying to be or whatever, you know.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yes, sir.

[Conan O'Brien]

Ladies and gentlemen, Roy Wood Jr. You can watch his weekly show have I Got News for your. On cnn. You can pick up his memoir and I encourage that. The man of many fathers at a bookstore near you. That's it for this week. Special thanks as always to Team Coco. If you've enjoyed this podcast, send it to someone you love, subscribe on your favorite podcast app and maybe give us a great rating and review on Apple Podcasts if you're in the mood. If you like watching your podcasts, all our full length episodes are on YouTube. Visit YouTube.comteamcoco See you next time. Where everybody knows.

[Podcast Producer]

You've been listening to where everybody knows your name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson. Sometimes the show is produced by me, Nick Leow. Our executive producers are Adam Sachs, Jeff Ross and myself. Sarah Fedorovich is our supervising producer. Engineering and mixing by Joanna Samuel with support from Eduardo Perez. Research by Alyssa Grohl. Talent booking by Paula Davis and Gina Bautista. Our theme music is by Woody Harrelson, Antony Genn, Mary Steenbergen and John Osborne.

[Paul Scheer]

Hey, I'm Paul Scheer.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

I'm June Diane Rayfield.

[Paul Scheer]

And I'm Jason Manzoukas. And we're the hosts of how did this get Made? A comedy podcast where we deconstruct, make fun of and celebrate the best worst movies ever made. Have you ever seen a movie that's so bad that it's actually good? That's what we're talking about.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

From blockbuster franchises and made for TV.

[Paul Scheer]

Romances to bonkers 80s action flicks and obscure sci fi musicals, we cover it all you can find. How did this get Made? Wherever you get your podcasts and don't forget to follow the show so you never miss an episode.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Idiot.

[Greenlight Infinity Announcer]

Did you know 39% of teen drivers admit to texting while driving. Even scarier, those who text are more likely to speed and run red lights. Shockingly, 94% know it's dangerous, but do it anyway. As a parent, you can't always be in the car, but you can stay connected to their safety with Greenlight Infinity's driving reports. Monitor their driving habits, see if they're using their phone, speeding, and more. These reports provide real data for meaningful conversations about safety. Plus, with weekly updates, you can track their progress over time. Help keep your teens safe. Sign up for Greenlight [e-mail] podcast.