Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Episode: Julia Gets Wise with Roz Chast
Release Date: November 19, 2025
Podcast by Lemonada Media

Episode Overview

Season 4 of “Wiser Than Me” opens with Julia Louis-Dreyfus in conversation with beloved cartoonist Roz Chast. Julia, herself recently affected by the loss of her home and treasured possessions in a wildfire, finds comfort and kinship in exploring laughter, anxiety, aging, and the art of confronting life’s absurdities—both through Chast’s work and their candid conversation. Their wide-ranging discussion covers Roz’s childhood, the roots of her humor and anxiety, parenting, marriage, the realities of caregiving, and the strange intimacy of family life.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

The Personal Cost of Loss and the Power of Humor

• Julia recounts losing her home and keepsakes to the Pacific Palisades fire ([01:43-08:50]):
  • The devastation of losing "everything," including a cherished private cartoon collection.
  • Cartoons, for Julia, represent “distilled joy, wit, and profundity.”
• Cartoons as a salve: “It’s so odd, the things that are precious to us, isn’t it?”
  — Julia Louis-Dreyfus ([07:55])
• Roz Chast is introduced as a master of capturing life’s anxieties and hilarity.

Childhood, Anxiety, and Becoming Roz Chast

• Roz admits her childhood was lonely and suffused with hypochondria ([15:20-18:54]):
  • Overprotective parents, fear of illness, and being an only child formed her worldview.
  • “I just fucking hated being a kid. Just really hated it.”
    — Roz Chast ([15:20])
• The Merck Manual—her introduction to endless medical anxieties.
• Parental approach: Her mother’s trauma (having lost a child before Roz) translated into high anxiety and fear.

Comedy Born from Anxiety

• Julia observes Roz’s unique ability to transform inner anxiety into joy for others.
• Roz reflects: “There’s some relationship for me between anxiety and hilarity... everything seems to alternate between like hilarity and anxiety.”
  — Roz Chast ([12:44])
• Shared stories of uncontrollable laughter—especially when it’s “the worst time to laugh.”
• Childhood “club against mothers” and realization that her home life was not universal ([27:25-28:42]).

Negotiating Aging

• On turning 70: “Every moment that I’m not in pain or that somebody I love is not in pain or that I’m not dealing with some crisis just feels like, whoa, fantastic. Whoa, that rocks.”
  — Roz Chast ([11:29])
• Growing older equals dodging ‘asteroids’—setbacks and losses.

Artistic Process and The New Yorker

• Inside the New Yorker cartoonist workflow ([33:04-34:37]):
  • Submitting weekly "batches" of cartoons with a highly selective acceptance rate.
  • “If they can do something else, they should do that. …Don’t do this. …This is when you don’t have anything else that you can do.”
    — Roz Chast ([34:08-34:37])
• The drive to keep creating: “Unlike being an athlete or a dancer, you can continue… there’s always new stuff to learn.”
  — Roz Chast ([34:59])

Parenting, Suburbia, and Self-Doubt

• Roz’s discomfort moving from New York City to Connecticut; learning to drive as an adult and her “car hypochondria.”
• Stories of “failing” at typical suburban mom activities—breaking up bags of ice at field day, school volunteer moments, and feeling out of place ([49:16-50:44]).
• “There is this weird part of you that says, you give up everything, if you're not that, then there’s something wrong with you.”
  — Roz Chast ([52:09])
• Parenting styles: Learning from books to strike a “third path” between over-control and passivity:
  • How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk, and Stop Struggling With Your Child ([56:14]).

The Sex Talk, Generational Wisdom, and Transitions

• Julia and Roz swap painfully awkward stories about explaining sex to their children ([60:24–64:04]).
  • “I feel like I’m dreaming.” — Roz Chast, quoting her daughter’s reaction ([63:54])
• Parenting as a verb—a shift understood over the generations.

Caregiving, End-of-Life, and How Society Fails the Aged

• Chast describes the agony, black comedy, and logistics of caring for aging parents.
  • “It was all new information to me.” ([73:21])
• “If you don’t contribute to the economy, why don’t you just fuck off and die?” — Roz Chast’s indictment of the U.S. neglect of elderly care ([71:01]).
• Recommendations for others facing caregiving: “I would recommend reading your book” (Julia, referencing Roz’s memoir Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?) ([72:36]).

Marriage, Independence, and Joy

• Chast’s longtime marriage, the independence between spouses, and finding balance ([75:02-76:44]).
  • Her and her husband’s divergent passions (New York City vs. Halloween).
• “One of the reasons why we’ve been married a long time is that … it’s not like some crisis … it’s like, you do this, I’ll do that.” ([75:53])

Meaningful Reflections and Quickfire Wisdom

• Something Roz regrets missing: Turning down a chance to see Madonna in NYC, 1979 ([77:05]).
• Spent too much time on: Cooking, notably the “rock pizza” debacle ([77:40-78:33]).
• Looking forward to: Thanksgiving and family togetherness ([78:43]).

Colors, Cartoons, and Creative Legacy

• Julia likens Roz’s work and persona to zinnias: “They’re hearty, and they’re very colorful. …You remind me of zinnias.”
  — Julia Louis-Dreyfus ([79:51-80:03])
• Mutual admiration and the importance of humor in healing.

Bonus: Judith Bowles Segment

• Julia calls her mother, Judith Bowles, to reflect on Roz Chast’s wisdom and their own generational communication around taboo topics like sex ([80:22-END]).
• Judith recounts her own mother’s only sex advice: “Oni men liked it.”
• Both conclude on the marvel and importance of language, humor, and wise women.

Notable Quotes

• “Every moment that I’m not in pain… just feels like, whoa, fantastic. Whoa, that rocks.”
  — Roz Chast ([11:29])
• “I just fucking hated being a kid.”
  — Roz Chast ([15:20])
• “There’s some relationship for me between anxiety and hilarity… everything seems to alternate…”
  — Roz Chast ([12:44])
• “If you don’t contribute to the economy, why don’t you just fuck off and die?”
  — Roz Chast ([71:01])
• “I feel like I’m dreaming.” (after getting the sex talk)
  — Roz Chast ([63:54])
• “Cartoons are like poetry in a way… distilled.”
  — Julia Louis-Dreyfus ([05:03])
• “It’s so odd the things that are precious to us, isn’t it?”
  — Julia Louis-Dreyfus ([07:55])
• “One of the reasons why we’ve been married a long time … you do this, I’ll do that.”
  — Roz Chast ([75:53])
• “You remind me of zinnias.”
  — Julia Louis-Dreyfus ([79:51])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:43] Julia on losing everything in the fire, cartoons as life's "salve"
• [09:20] Roz enters; mutual admiration between Julia and Roz
• [12:44] Roz on the interplay of anxiety and hilarity
• [15:20] Roz's childhood: “I just fucking hated being a kid.”
• [27:25] Childhood realization of family dysfunction
• [33:04] Behind the scenes at The New Yorker
• [49:03] Transition to the suburbs and parenting in a new environment
• [56:14] Roz's recommended parenting books and parenting styles
• [60:24] The awkward parent–child sex talk
• [68:23] End-of-life care, grieving, and societal failures
• [75:02] Lessons from parents' marriage; the value of independence in her own
• [77:05] Regrets (“I missed Madonna at a club”), life wisdom, and what’s next
• [79:51] Julia's visual metaphor: Roz as colorful, resilient zinnias
• [80:22–85:57] Judith Bowles’ reflections and family lore

Tone & Style

The tone is warm, self-deprecating, and candid, punctuated with dark humor and deep empathy. Both women move fluidly from laughter to vulnerability, modeling the value of open, honest, and wise intergenerational conversation.

For New Listeners

This episode is a masterclass in finding comic relief amid anxieties, in cherishing laughter and connection, and in learning from those who’ve lived deeply. Through Roz Chast’s honesty and humor, Julia Louis-Dreyfus helps illuminate the wisdom and irreverence that get us through life’s hardest moments—proving again that we are, indeed, “wiser together.”