Write Down the Stupid Thoughts with Jon Stewart
IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson
In this episode of 'IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson,' Jon Stewart joins as a guest, reflecting on his career in political satire,
Key takeaways
- Jon Stewart reflects on the emotional weight of living in the White House and how stepping out felt like liberation.
Main topics
- The emotional experience of living in the White House
Notable quotes
"You feel the weight of that house in every room and every piece of furniture."
Conclusion
Jon Stewart's candid reflections on his career, family, and creative pro
Transcript preview
Speaker 2 (0:00) What was the feeling like? Speaker 3 (0:02) Because it is a crucible. You feel the weight of that house in every room and every piece of furniture that exists in that house. And the responsibility I imagine is it is a weight you bear every day that you walk through there. Speaker 5 (0:19) The Speaker 3 (0:19) day you walk out, is that, is the experience one of liberation? Is it one of exhale? Are Speaker 5 (0:28) you now interviewing me, Jon Stewart? Speaker 3 (0:31) No, this isn't going to make it into the show. Speaker 2 (0:47) How you doing? Speaker 5 (0:48) I am doing good. I'm Speaker 2 (0:49) a Speaker 5 (0:49) little chilly, you know. I will share with our listeners that our little studio, our spot, is freezing cold all the time. It's Speaker 2 (0:58) freezing. You know, that's interesting because I'm usually the one who's cold. Out of all four of us left in the house, I'm the one who gets cold, but I'm not cold. Speaker 5 (1:09) I'm freezing. I Speaker 2 (1:11) think it's because I'm sitting. Maybe I've got more lights warming me up. Speaker 5 (1:15) I don't think that's it. No. But anyway, tell us about your Airbnb this time. Is it big? Is it small? Speaker 2 (1:23) It's actually more manageable. It's more manageable this time around. But, you know, I like this place because off every single room, there's a balcony. Speaker 5 (1:34) So Speaker 2 (1:35) no matter what time of day, you can find the sun. Speaker 5 (1:38) Have you gone out on the balcony since you've been here? Yes, Speaker 2 (1:41) I Speaker 5 (1:41) do. Speaker 2 (1:42) Are there little chairs Speaker 5 (1:43) if you like taking a cup of tea? Is there a view? What are you seeing on your balconies? That's Speaker 2 (1:47) the beauty of Airbnb. It's all furnished. So everything is set Speaker 5 (1:52) to go. Speaker 2 (1:52) So every part of the house you can live in. Speaker 5 (1:55) So what's the best view of Speaker 2 (1:58) this city? Speaker 5 (2:00) Oh, you get a city view. You get a Speaker 2 (2:02) city view. Now we're not that high up. So it's a little obstructed on the sides, but right out of the back, you can see. Speaker 2 (2:11) most of Hollywood. Speaker 5 (2:13) That's cool. Speaker 2 (2:13) Yeah. You Speaker 5 (2:14) are really an urban adventurer. Speaker 2 (2:16) Yeah, I love it. So proud of you. I've been a city kid my whole life. So Speaker 5 (2:19) proud of you. Yes, thank you. Well, Speaker 2 (2:22) I tell you, the Robinson household is going to be really excited about this. I Speaker 5 (2:26) think everybody is going to be excited about this one. Speaker 2 (2:29) Yeah. Austin and Aaron, for those of you who haven't listened to our show, I talk about them all the time, but they are 16 and 14. So they're just getting to the point where they watch. newsy type shows. And they love Jon Stewart. Speaker 5 (2:47) That's who we have, y'all. We have Jon Stewart here with us today. The tables have turned. Speaker 2 (2:54) He Speaker 5 (2:54) is now in the guest seat. Let's do an introduction and get Jon out. Let's get him Speaker 2 (2:59) out here. All right. Jon Stewart is one of America's foremost voices in political satire, known for his 16-year run on The Daily Show. and his recent return as its host and executive producer. And Monday nights are perfect because the boys stay up to watch The Daily Show Monday through Thursday. But Monday, it's on for an hour. The rest of the days it's on for like half an hour or so. I just thought I'd throw that out there. I'm just letting Speaker 5 (3:30) you talk. He Speaker 2 (3:31) is also a dedicated social activist whose efforts were instrumental in passing landmark legislation, including the PACT Act and the 9-11 Victim Compensation Fund Bill, securing vital support for veterans and first responders. He currently hosts the podcast, The Weekly Show. Speaker 5 (3:54) Okay. Speaker 2 (3:54) And without further ado, Jon Stewart. Jon! Speaker 3 (4:04) Thank you Speaker 2 (4:05) for being here. Speaker 3 (4:06) Welcome. Thank you so much. That was lovely. I was listening back there to what you were saying, and I thought, oh, my God, did I die? It Speaker 5 (4:16) was a eulogy. No, you were alive. We're happy to have you here. And thank you, Greg, Speaker 3 (4:23) obviously, for letting me stay at the Airbnb. I so appreciate it. Speaker 2 (4:26) It's really nice, isn't it? Speaker 3 (4:28) It's lovely. Although Speaker 2 (4:29) I have to tell you, no Speaker 3 (4:30) disrespect, but if you are in an Airbnb where every room has a balcony, That's called a hotel. So I apologize. I don't know what they told you. I don't know how much they charge. But you're living in a hotel. Speaker 3 (4:45) Oh, Speaker 5 (4:46) my God. But have Speaker 3 (4:47) fun. Speaker 5 (4:48) Yeah. How are you doing? How are Speaker 3 (4:52) you guys doing? It's lovely to see how you guys look great. Thank you. You look rested. You look healthy. You do, too. I Speaker 2 (4:59) feel Speaker 3 (4:59) healthy. But you're doing Speaker 2 (5:00) better than we are because you're only working one day a week. Let me tell you something. If I had Speaker 3 (5:04) known that. Speaker 5 (5:05) If I had known Speaker 3 (5:06) that. Speaker 5 (5:07) Like the daily thing is kind of a ripoff. It Speaker 3 (5:11) kind of, it ground you down to a nub a little bit, but this one day a week thing has been revelatory. I Speaker 5 (5:16) can't, when I look at, you know, talk shows, comedians, folks who are on every night, I can't imagine. That's the first thing. Ellen used to say, you should do a talk show. You should do, I was like, there's why? Why would I go from what I was doing? to another thing that is really scary and hard. Speaker 3 (5:35) It's hard for me to explain to you the kind of pressure that, you know, comedians and talk show hosts face. It's not something I don't think you'd be able to bear up to. And so I agree. There's a lot of times, a lot of people say, what's the most important job in the world? And they go, I don't know whoever took over for Ellen. Speaker 5 (6:00) But it is hard. I mean, you've got to come up with something. You've got to have an opinion about the world every day, especially your commentary. But Speaker 3 (6:08) not hard. It's a real gift for performers when you come up. Speaker 2 (6:15) You Speaker 3 (6:16) know, there really is, there's a ladder. And you really do make your bones Speaker 1 (6:20) doing Speaker 3 (6:21) the hard work, the kind of grunt work of comedy. you know, driving from Rochester to Buffalo and then, you know, down again over to Hartford and doing all those comedy clubs and all that. So when the opportunity ever presents itself for a regular gig where Speaker 5 (6:38) you Speaker 3 (6:38) can live in one place and maybe like raise a family, it really does, it feels like kind of you made it to the island. You've been in the life raft, but you kind of made it to the island. doing that whole thing. Now, did Speaker 5 (6:53) your mother say, well, that's wonderful, John. I'm so glad that you are. It's an interesting question. Speaker 3 (6:59) And also that idea of like, you know, did your parents encourage you? And I was like, Speaker 5 (7:04) now Speaker 3 (7:04) say that again. What's that? What is that word? Encourage? I mean, they knew I lived in the house, but, and I also, I had the advantage of my parents split when I was probably 10 years old. So at that point. You really are. Your mom was Speaker 5 (7:18) holding it down. She was Speaker 3 (7:20) holding it down. Yeah. Her mantra was, we will not lose the house. Yes. You know, because we had, this was. 71, 72. So this was just in that era of I'm okay, you're okay, feminine mystique. Suddenly there was a consciousness in America for women that, oh, if my husband is an ass, I don't have to take that. Right, right. And so that's what happened. Had she worked before? She was a special ed teacher. So she taught gifted program, special ed program. She was a teacher. And then she'd also taught younger kids. Speaker 5 (7:56) Yeah. Speaker 3 (7:57) Had done that in New York City, in the Bronx, where she grew up in Washington Heights as well. Speaker 1 (8:08) She Speaker 3 (8:08) did it for a little bit in El Paso when my dad was in the army. She taught in Texas for a little bit. And then a little bit when she came back. But so we were only, there was only, we only knew of two families that had divorces. Speaker 5 (8:22) And Speaker 3 (8:23) the other family. Lost the house. Speaker 5 (8:25) Yeah. Speaker 3 (8:26) So we weren't going to lose the house. And she, to her credit. Speaker 5 (8:31) Didn't lose the house. Speaker 3 (8:32) Put it on her shoulders and went out. Speaker 5 (8:34) Yeah. And Speaker 3 (8:35) became what they called a teacher of teachers. She began to give seminars to other teachers. And then became like an assistant principal. And really worked her way through there. Did you Speaker 5 (8:47) know that about your mom when you were 10, when your dad left? and he left you all high and dry. Did you understand the situation that you guys were in at the time? I was just glad Speaker 3 (9:03) that the, honestly, like, that the yelling had stopped. I mean, honestly, it's one of the greatest things about, and it sounds counterintuitive to talk about, one of the best Speaker 4 (9:12) things about divorce. Speaker 3 (9:13) Let me tell you something. Speaker 5 (9:14) If you're Speaker 3 (9:15) ever Speaker 5 (9:15) in this position, Speaker 3 (9:16) get yourself one of these divorces. They're Speaker 2 (9:18) fantastic. Speaker 3 (9:21) You know that feeling when you're trying to sleep and a car alarm is going off? Yeah. And there's no real rhythm to it. You can't quite get into it. You can't even use it as white noise. The feeling that you get in your soul when it stops. Yeah. That's what it was like. Right. Okay. But I was. I wasn't aware of the psychological trauma that she had been taken. You're just glad the noise has stopped. Speaker 2 (9:49) See, I was going to ask you which one of them is funny, but now that doesn't seem appropriate. The one Speaker 3 (9:56) that drank. See if you can guess. Speaker 2 (10:01) But do you think your humor developed out of sort of as a. coping mechanism or were they funny? My grandfather Speaker 3 (10:13) probably was a pretty funny guy, but my Speaker 2 (10:16) maternal Speaker 3 (10:17) grandfather, Nathan, my son is named after him. And he was just a character, lived to be 94, died when he got a stroke playing poker with his friends in an OTB at 94 years old, smoking. Speaker 1 (10:33) He's Speaker 3 (10:33) just one of those dudes. Born in China, raised in China. Family was wealthy till the Japanese took over China and then they had nothing. And he, you know, he used to say to me, when I had the money, I lived very well. But without money, I did not. And I was like, that's profound. That sounds right, yeah. But so, but I... I mean, it's like anything else. I think sometimes, I think it's just how I'm wired. Speaker 1 (11:03) And Speaker 3 (11:03) I don't know that it was a response to anything more than it was just, these are the genetic Speaker 5 (11:12) wirings Speaker 3 (11:13) that I've been given. Speaker 5 (11:14) What's your relationship with your siblings? Were you guys tight growing up? Speaker 3 (11:20) Well, so I have two, so my... So he remarried. And then I have an older brother. Yeah. And we have a very good relationship. So we're very close. But I never lived with, you know, the other guys. And it was born of such complexity. Yeah. Speaker 5 (11:35) I Speaker 3 (11:36) don't know how your family's history is run, but like. Speaker 5 (11:38) Oh, everybody's got a history. Yeah, it gets. Yeah, yeah. Speaker 3 (11:41) It's Speaker 5 (11:41) gnarly. It happens. Uh-huh. Speaker 3 (11:44) I will tell you this. I can remember as an 18-year-old doing the landscaping. at the apartment, because I worked for a landscaper in the summer, doing the landscaping at the apartment building that my father lived in with his new family that we had not been told about. That's how complicated, that's how complex it can get. Yeah, Speaker 5 (12:08) you know, and I hate to say, yeah, I know a few people who are in that, you know, but, you know, when you grow up in the world, folks do some stuff. Speaker 3 (12:16) That's right. Speaker 5 (12:17) You know, but I bet you were pissed. Speaker 3 (12:20) Oh. If you think I did a good job on the landscaping, you mean, believe me, there were some divots. Speaker 5 (12:27) Yes. Yeah. Speaker 3 (12:29) You know, you don't, I think. Speaker 3 (12:33) I think to a large extent, I did not clock any of the damage until much later. Damage Speaker 5 (12:41) to yourself? Yeah, to your psyche or to your soul or to any of those things. Speaker 3 (12:46) You don't really reckon with it Speaker 5 (12:49) until Speaker 3 (12:49) much later. And I was relatively oblivious to Speaker 5 (12:56) a lot of it. We also come from a generation where nobody talks about anything. Kids are just, you know, like they don't, there was a generation where you thought kids were just, they weren't taking in anything. Right. And that if you didn't talk to them about it, it just didn't bother them. You know, it's Speaker 4 (13:14) the same thing. Our parents weren't worried about what Speaker 5 (13:17) we Speaker 4 (13:17) were Speaker 5 (13:17) doing in life. You know, now you. drop your kids off to college. There are college tours. You take them, you unpack them, you take them to lunch. None of us. It's like you go to college and it's like, how am I going to get there? You know, and I, luckily I had him. So my dad was dropping him off, you know, but there, you know, there's just no coddling, no conversation. Speaker 3 (13:37) Do you, do you wonder, you know, there was always a mindset for me, which was, I was going to remedy that. that when I had, Speaker 5 (13:47) because Speaker 3 (13:47) of the feeling ultimately of being estranged from your father, which is, you know, for a kid, it's a big deal. But once you have kids, it becomes a bigger deal. I think that's when I really started to reckon with it. Speaker 5 (14:04) Yeah. Speaker 3 (14:04) Because you go, wait a minute. Speaker 5 (14:06) Yeah. Speaker 3 (14:06) So I love this thing this much. And to just walk away from that. Speaker 5 (14:12) And do that, yeah. Speaker 3 (14:14) Insanity. Speaker 5 (14:14) Yeah. Speaker 3 (14:15) But I keep wondering. the steps I've taken remedially, what am I doing wrong? How much margin of error do I have? How will my seeking to remedy those wrongs create new wrongs? Yeah, Speaker 5 (14:31) yeah. It's like we're going too far in the extreme. I think that's something that our generation has to reckon with. Speaker 4 (14:43) And Speaker 5 (14:43) now... we're over parenting in some ways, you know? And Speaker 3 (14:48) I also think, and they had this, you know, my dad was a, you know, he was a depressive and, Speaker 5 (14:52) you know, Speaker 3 (14:53) and I make no, you know, I've come to terms with whatever it was. And I can remember when he was dying, he had Speaker 5 (14:58) dementia. Speaker 3 (14:59) I remember we, he and I were estranged. And when I knew he was passing, so I went to see him. And I remember thinking, you know, Speaker 3 (15:15) I felt badly for him, this man who was going through this difficult time and the family that clearly loved him that were going through this time with him. But I did not feel as though that was a part of me in any way. I just felt like this poor man, Speaker 5 (15:34) these Speaker 3 (15:35) poor folks, I hope it's not. too bad for them. I hope it's not too bad for him. But it was a relationship that, you know, when you talk about bitterness or anger or those things, I didn't, it was a relationship drained of that through estrangement and apathy. Speaker 5 (15:54) And Speaker 3 (15:54) it just, it withered. So by the end there, you felt it for the human condition of it, but not for the familial condition of it. Speaker 5 (16:13) This episode of IMO is brought to you by our sponsor, Midi Health. Craig, you would be surprised at how little most women know about the care of our bodies. Yeah. Speaker 1 (16:26) I think it's really important that women are talking about it because we're helping each other navigate the many, many challenges that come. The hormone changes is not just about hot flashes and night sweats. It really impacts women really greatly. And that's really why I helped found Mitty and why we treat all these women at Mitty Health. Speaker 2 (16:46) Can you tell us What exactly is MidiHealth? Speaker 1 (16:50) Oh, I'd be delighted. So MidiHealth is a telehealth clinic made for women. And we really were founded to really meet the huge care gap for women in perimenopause and menopause, which means we can help guide women through the hormone conversation. Is it right for them? If it is, what formulation to take? But it's actually a lot bigger than that. We really built it to meet women's needs in midlife. Speaker 1 (17:16) you can go to our website, which is joinmidi.com. That's joinmidi.com. And really the website helps you navigate. You can book an appointment right there. We have availability in all 50 states. And you start your journey there. You can come with one question, one issue, or some women come and just say, what should I do? 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Shop online or visit one of their 60-plus stores nationwide today. This episode of IMO is brought to you by Chase Home Lending. When you're thinking about buying a home, it's a major decision, a mix of excitement, nerves, and a lot of questions. I've been there myself, and I know how important it is to have someone in your corner. You know, I was remembering back, I could have used some support when I was shopping for my first home. I didn't know anything. I had saved up enough for a down payment. but I didn't have much else to work with. I knew very little about interest rates, closing costs, or even mortgage insurance. I also had very limited knowledge of how to choose the right home for me. Chase Home Lending offers personalized local guidance from home lending advisors who truly understand and support you in your community. With over 5,000 branches nationwide, Chase is always close by. And as a coach, I've had to lean on many people for advice. And that really made a difference as I was going through the home shopping experience. It was comforting knowing that I could rely on folks who had been through the process and emerged okay. Finding a place to call home is a big step and having someone you trust to guide you can make all the difference. With Chase Home Lending, you get support that feels personal so you can move ahead with confidence. Visit chase.com slash IMO to see how Chase can help you begin your home ownership journey. Member FDIC, equal housing opportunity. Did you always know you wanted to be a comedian or when did that, when did that? Speaker 3 (20:37) Nugget start. It's a great question. It started right after I was fired from everything else. Speaker 3 (20:44) Where they were like, you're unreliable. You Speaker 5 (20:47) can't do anything. And Speaker 3 (20:48) glib. What were some of those jobs? It's Speaker 5 (20:53) one Speaker 3 (20:53) thing to be unreliable. It's Speaker 5 (20:55) another Speaker 3 (20:55) thing to be glib about that. Speaker 5 (20:57) Man. Speaker 3 (20:58) Joking about your unreliability. I had always, I was raised in that same era as you guys, where there was no social media. There was no aspiration to influencing. Speaker 3 (21:15) It was never in the ether of this idea that I'm going to, you know, I'll go into show business or I'll be, but I knew I wanted to create something. Okay. And I started working in this punk club in Trenton, New Jersey called City Gardens, which was this, you know, warehouse in the middle of Trenton. And all these bands would come through like Black Flag and, you know, the Ramones. bad brains and really incredible performers and creative people. And they would be going there only because they were passing between New York and Philly. Speaker 5 (21:48) Yeah. Yeah. Speaker 3 (21:49) But it opened up this world of possibility. Speaker 2 (21:52) Okay. And Speaker 3 (21:53) one day I just decided, you know what? I'm going to sell all my stuff. I'm going to get in the car and I'm going to drive to New York and I'm going to live that life. Wow. And that's kind of- How old were Speaker 5 (22:03) you when you were Speaker 3 (22:04) working in Trenton? So I was 20. 20 through 23 or four before I decided to move up to New York City. And no one was waiting for me.