Podcast Summary: Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Episode: Listen Again: Julia Gets Wise with Catherine O'Hara
Date: September 10, 2025
Host: Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Guest: Catherine O’Hara
Podcast by: Lemonada Media

Overview of Episode Theme

This episode marks the celebratory start of Season 3 of Wiser Than Me, where Julia Louis-Dreyfus sits down with icons who exemplify the wisdom and wit that only comes with age. This installment features comedic powerhouse Catherine O’Hara—beloved for her fearless characters, her improvisational genius, and her heartfelt perspective on aging, humor, and womanhood. Together, Julia and Catherine explore the trajectory of their careers, memorable moments of failure and triumph, the evolving role of women in comedy, and the enduring importance of laughter and kindness, both at home and on stage.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Joy of Collaboration and the Pain of Flops

Julia reflects on her early days in the Practical Theater Company and on SNL, describing the thrill of creative teamwork and how a disastrous SNL audition taught her humility and resilience.

• Quote (Julia, 07:56): “That humiliation influenced our whole SNL experience for the next couple of years…if I could do it all over again…well, I can’t. You live, you learn, and whatever. I’ve learned a lot since that cringy day.”
• Core Insight: Joy in comedy comes less from accolades or laughs, and more from rehearsal, creative exchange, and pushing through challenges.

2. Improv Rules for Life: “Yes, And”—But Also, “No”

Julia shares how the foundational improv rule “Yes, and…” (Viola Spolin’s signature technique) remains applicable to relationships, work, and personal growth, but that knowing when to say “No” is just as empowering.

• Quote (Julia, 08:55): “All of life is really a great big improv in the end... Paradoxically, another great thing I’ve learned from the women on this show is that ‘no’ is a complete sentence.”

3. Comparing Comedy Roots: Second City and SCTV

Julia and Catherine recount their similar roots (Second City, SCTV, SNL), the importance of ensemble spirit, and the challenges in historically male-dominated comedy environments.

• Quote (Julia, 10:58): “She’s not just funny, she’s fearless. And that’s an absolute joy to watch.”
• Insight: A shared background in improv and ensemble forces a certain kind of artistic humility and boldness.

4. Aging, Identity, and Perspective

The conversation moves to aging in show business and in life. Catherine is candid about feeling lucky to be alive, and how age can vanish when immersed in creative play.

• Quote (Catherine, 11:13): “I don’t want to say young, but I don’t feel old.”
• Quote (Catherine, 11:36): “At best, maybe they look at me as, like, some adorable old lady. I’m saying at best.”
• Insight: Catherine notes that, on set, age differences dissolve thanks to shared purpose, but wider culture still frames older women in limited ways.

5. Pope Stories and Playful Irreverence

Julia and Catherine swap humorous stories about run-ins with the Vatican—Julia’s surreal invitation to meet the Pope with other comedians (brought together by Stephen Colbert) and Catherine’s Vatican mishap involving a priest, a closet, and a crown. Both emphasize the absurdity and pageantry of Catholic tradition.

• Memorable Moment (Julia, 16:22): “It feels very wizard of Ozzy, you know what I mean? With...the Swiss Guard...they’ve got their costumes that...come walking in with the stripes and the feathers.”
• Notable Joke (Julia via Sedaris, 18:00): The ‘two priests and a cop’ joke, highlighting both edginess and shared irreverence.

6. On Gilda Radner’s Legacy and Early Career Lessons

Catherine credits Gilda Radner with modeling both warmth and comic originality, and for literally opening doors—her own start came as Gilda’s understudy:

• Quote (Catherine, 27:08): “There was no...it was two different worlds, but it was also just one beautiful person...consistent. Like she was just herself on stage.”
• Insight: The ability to fail privately, without the “permanent memory” of the internet, created an environment ripe for experimentation and growth.

7. Gender Dynamics and the ‘Sorry’ Syndrome

Catherine discusses the internalized habit of apologizing for her own creative ideas, shaped by years of not being heard in male-centric rooms.

• Quote (Catherine, 41:12): “I would start most ideas with, ‘Sorry, this might not work, but what about this?’... The sorry. Always a sorry.”
• Julia’s Insight (40:34): The struggle to pitch ideas with confidence lingers from early career marginalization—something she’s still consciously battling.

8. SCTV vs. SNL: Creative Process and Culture

The women discuss the differences in the creative process between SCTV (more relaxed, collaborative, experimental) and SNL (frenetic, fiercely competitive, and driven by live performance).

• Quote (Catherine, 37:06): “We had no sense of anybody watching the show...my dad thought I was just making a big mistake.”
• Insight: SCTV’s freedom allowed for extended experimentation and reworking of material, while SNL’s high stress fueled quick, often brutal, decision-making.

9. Working Moms and the Balance of Art and Family

Both describe the joys and anxieties of raising creative children and the choices they made about working, with Catherine at one point stepping away from her career to focus on family.

• Quote (Catherine, 53:31): “I didn’t really work much...at that age [five and eight], two weeks is the limit [being apart]. Same for kids.”

10. The Power of Humor and Kindness in Relationships

Humor emerges as essential glue in long relationships—romantic, familial, and professional.

• Quote (Catherine, 60:01): “Laughing, making each other laugh is a very sexy thing.”
• Insight: Both cite their marital longevity and happiness as rooted in shared laughter and kindness.

11. Reflections on Aging & Advice to the Young

Catherine answers Julia’s rapid-fire questions with humility and warmth:

• Advice to her 21-year-old self (Catherine, 62:39): “Good for you, you nervy little thing.”
• On aging (Catherine, 64:31): “Let you find out for yourself...I don’t want to taint it for you. And I don’t want to tease you in case it’s not as good as what I’m getting.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On ensemble comedy (Catherine, 32:13):

  “That cockiness at that age...you’re not really...together, so you surround yourself, if you’re lucky, with really good, talented people... It’s a great mix of great confidence and, oh my God, take care of me.”

• On improvisation fearlessness (Catherine, 51:10):

  “Chris Guest would never repeat a thought between takes. Crazy. As an improviser, just so free thinking.”

• On sense of humor in families (Catherine, 56:16):

  “It’s a gift. It’s a gift you either get given or you don’t. I don’t know how you get it on your own.”

• Julia, on failing upward (29:15):

  “If you’re trying something, it could fail miserably, but you have to be willing to take that risk. And if it does, then you do it again and you try something else...”

• On the “Sorry” habit (Catherine, 41:12):

  “I’ve said sorry to a key on my...computer. If I hit the wrong one. Sorry.”

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening Reflections on Comedy and Improv: 00:01–09:00
• Career Parallels & Comedy Origins: 09:00–13:00
• Pope Stories and Irreverence: 13:00–18:00
• Gilda Radner and Early Influences: 26:23–30:13
• The Value of Failing Before the Internet: 29:05–30:13
• SCTV, SNL, and Gendered Dynamics: 36:17–41:12
• Apologizing for Your Ideas: 41:12–42:05
• Motherhood, Working, and Family Ties: 52:02–56:10
• On Humor as a Family and Romantic Foundation: 56:16–60:58
• Advice and Reflections on Aging: 62:22–65:00
• Closing Banter and Family Jokes with Julia’s Mom: 67:09–72:58

Conclusion

This conversation between Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Catherine O’Hara is both a celebration and a reflection: a deep dive into the nuance of aging, the specificity of women’s experience in comedy, the transformative power of ensemble work, and the joys of not taking oneself too seriously. The wisdom here is both explicit—advice to younger selves—and implicit in the stories of resilience, creative courage, and the unapologetic assertion of one’s own space. It’s a testimony to the enduring power of laughter, experimentation, and saying “yes, and”—while also knowing when to say “no.”