Staying the Course and Final Thoughts

This episode of the Town is presented by HBO Max. For your awards consideration, HBO Max presents DTF Stt Louis. In this darkly comedic series, a love triangle between three adults experiencing middle aged malaise leads to one of them ending up dead Don't miss the series' TV guide is calling transcendent and Audacious DTF Staint Louis is streaming on HBO Max. Watch now This episode is brought to you by FX's loveve story, John F. Kennedy Jror and Carolyn Bassette. The critically acclaimed series explores the undeniable chemistry, whirlwind courtship, and high profile marriage of one of the most iconic couples of the twentieth century with Sarah Pigeon and Paul Anthony Kelly leading a cast including Naomi Watts, Constant Zimmer, Alessandro Navola, and Grace Gummer Called a stunning Portrait of Love by Variety, Loveestory is Emmy eligible in all limited series categories. Now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney plus for bundle subscribers Lie. Alrighty. Please welcome the host of Hot Oes and the third most famous Chicago White Sox fan, Sean Evans Am I right about that? It's it's Pope Leo Barack Obama and then you. Oh, I'll take that. Okay, I'll take that. All right. Jumped over to John Kuseack. Okay Well, You have to give me a little bit of guidance here. I'm here to help you. I'm very excited about this. I'm excited to turn the table. I'm sitting in your traditional spot and you are in the guest B todayon We are going to it's an abbreviated version of the show. We are not doing ten. We are doing five But bomm is in there The bomb is then there, Yes smallaller in volume, but unfortunately for us, very steep ramp up today. Okay And I also this is not a free ad, but I did bring my Pepsit AC just in case. This is one step down from the Conan O'Brien Bring his own Doctor episode, which is my favorite episode Do you have a favorite episode? I mean, that one's up there. I always say, you know, if you're new to the show, check out the Conan O'Brien episode or the Gordon Ramsey episode. Jennif Lawce. Jennifer Lawrence is another Rolph. by Rudolph Paul Rudd is a classic. I think like the Charlie's Thert. you know, I love the show so much. I could probably name like twenty five, thirty favorites, but I always say try with those. If you like those episodes, you'll probably like the show. If you don't like those episodes, stop there. There's nothing for you here. Right. Before we start in on this, I just got to ask, how is your gastrointestinal health? You know what? I think the numbers keep coming back better and better every year. Y your general practitioner is aware of your job. one hundred percent, they have to be. You know, considering what I do. but I think I take better care of myself outside of the show than I otherwise would. So at least I tell myself it's a net positive. Right. Okay. All right. So how we how are we going to start here? All right, so what you're going to do is you're going start at the pickled garlic sriracha. so that'll be the one closest to you and it's very important that you a plug whereere can we find this? ammazon. com. Actually, this is a hot Oes original over here. So hot ones. com hot ones. com hot ones. com Pick you up a pickled garlic sriracha Okay, so we No, I think it's already on there. we kind of o you're already pulling a conan move where you're popping tops and about to p I didn't think that they were going to do that for us, but apparently they have. So red carpet treatment for you, B. I may have been sabotaged here without me knowing Okay, so let's dig into the first one. Here we go Nothing you can handle. them N'mot normally a huge wings guy to be honest I like them, but I don't order them ever You know, I appreciate you taking a ride on the wild side with me today. I know What I Sorry than it looks What type of celebrities And guesss are the hardest to write questions for I do this for a living. I wrad questions in advance. I think about topics I am not eating chicken wings when I'm asking questions. It is a veryer specific Yeah, I think you know, somebody who wouldd be easy to write for would be someone like Idra Alba, right who has this long career in Hollywood, but then, you know, they also do fight training. They also do te. Yeah, exactly. They have all these different interests. So I feel like then you can stack the wings where it feels like the interview is like you're always taking one layer off of the onion with every wing that you do. But then to me the ones that are kind of hard to write for, but I do find them to be some of the most rewarding interviews is There's a genre of Hot O's interview where I feel like we capture Th certain pop stars right before they're about to take off, whetherher that was like a younger Billy Eilish are Olivia Rodrigo, Sean Mendez when we interviewed him back then, these young pop stars who only have one album out. You know what I mean? Like the whole history through which you can look through and research seems just kind of shallow on the surface, or it just requires more digging to get to that full run of show. Well, and that's the beauty of the format is that On a good day, it drops the artice. is that you get that peak the celebrity or the person on the show. beyond what they even want to show you. You know sometometimes you're on the tonight showow and Selena Gomez will drop heral normal persona. Yeah that literally happened to me St screaming at people because she didn't realize it would actually be high And for me, like I that's I love that in interview when you feel like the person came in with a a set of talking points and you have knocked those away. Yeah. And I think that you know when you're in the game like we're in the game, a lot of times the interviews that we do really depend on the generosity of the guest, you know, and what they're willing to share. So I think it works two fold. I think number one, you have these spicy hot chicken wings that can serve as like a disruptive element like in the PR driven flight pattern of the guests But then on top of it, we put together what is hopefully this thoughtful career spanning interview. So I think those two things kind of coalesce, like those two forces come together to likeike you were saying, you know, that what's it like to have a beer with this person's show in a lot of ways, I feel like we invented it. And honest and I said this when you were on the town. likeike if there was just eating wings. The show would not be the success that it is. You are very good at what you do and you use the format to get what you want out of the interview which is great. Thankk you. And that's' coming for you So So let's get real here. Which guesss were faking it they were not impacted as much by this but they were doing a stick. They were doing not Conan, not that. They were like, oh my God, this is so hot, but you can tell they were kind of faking it. You know what? I think it goes the other way around. First off, you can't fake it, as you'll find out Okay today. Like sometimes youll you can tell someone's like really, really holding it in. Like a funny memory that stands out in my mind was Ferrell, who was like so stoic. in the interview. And then when we cut, he was almost like, arere the cameras's off? And I was like, yeah, and he was like, I like let it all out and almost became like another person. How much vomiting have you cut out of the show You know what? Thankfully, never on set. I've heard some stories. Nice the first. Yeah, let's go. let's break new ground. Let's break You've never cut anyone vomiting out of the show. No, neverever You can't air that. No one would go on the show if they saw that. Right. And but to me it's like funny is funny. I think like in the edit, maybe you would edit Scarlet Jhanson or Charly Staron a little bit differently than you would edit Bertt Kryiser, for example. Yeah, you know I would have thought someone would publicist was the most difficult know Honestly, now it has gotten to a point where publicists are so nice to us. L I used to when we first started the show, publicists were always like public enemy number one on set. I felt like and I kind of get where they're coming from now, but as you know like a young ambitious person who believed in this thing before anyone else did. Ely on, you know, like publicists would be crowding the table. They'd have like a million questions They'd want to look at the interview. What kind of questions are you asking? you know, like that sort of thing. But I think, you know, we were so small time that we could kind of get pushed around. And what I'm really thankful for now is publicists now love having their clients on the show You only do how many episodes do you do? We do thirty six a year. So like I'm like a little less than a on and you have PX. times that many people wanting to be on the show Right. tootally. It's kind of like our magazine cover that we're dropping once a week, but you know, I think I don't know what they enjoy more as that get or the fact that they can see this client who's been maybe such a terror to them over the years. G their in revenge. Yeah, get their just doue on it. Yeah yeah, yeah I know, I'm sure that's true for many of the publlicers. Wh Which guests were you most nervous about There's certain environments that can kind of feel like a playoff game versus a regular season game. I remember Gordon Ramseay, that was a situation where the internet had basically peer pressured us into a room together. So I knew that the stakes were really high for it. I knew that people would be very interested in it. And then you have this added layer of Gordon's reputation, know The way that he is going to tear our sauces apart.ing at you. That the wings. Yeahah, exactly. So there was all of this pressure that I had built up in my head. But then when he came in, he was honestly amazing and popped the hood on the whole thing and he's become a friend of the show and personersal friend of mine in the time since. And then I'm very thankful because you know, I'm a talk show obsessed kid who then somehow was able to host a talk show himself. And Conan O'Brien was a major influence for me. So then when you have somebody, you know like reflected back from your own history appear on your show, that always feels like a big deal. Jimmy Kimmel in the same vein, Adam Carroll in the same vein. It's like when you get to see your life reflected back at you on your own show, those are also special moments. and then you have this like, oh, I hope they like me. L I hope I'm doing good enough for them to respect me too then That can add a layer of anxiety that's different from most interviews All right, let's do another one. Here we What are we doing next This is the Piclas and scorpion Over here from hot and saucy Typically number five in our lineup. But today it'll be the second wing we have. Do ever get any do you ever get any data on how much the show impacts the sale of particular sauces? Here's all I know is that hot sauce companies seem to be very, very excited. Well think about the universe of big gets in the hot sauce world. Right, right. There's hot ones and then there's five rungs down. Exactly. I'd imagine it's good for them. Now this one It's nice 'cause it has some sweetness up front It has that Habanero burn on the other fine. This is honestly that's not I'm talking about Everything's fine. All right Cool Okay. I get it. Yeah, you learn things over the course of this situation, which is Hot sauces can be a little misleading. Like I was saying sweet up front. Right. but then kind of a party in the back. Oftentimes on the show when you're celebrating getting past a sauce, it's like a wrestlers celebrating and not realizing that someone's coming from behind him with a chair Speing of WWE, Are there you famous guy Now now are there things that you would like to do, appearances you'd like to make that you haven't been able to yet? I know you did a Subper Bowl commercial, but like You want to, you know, do a guest spot on SNL. Do you want to like You're all the first pitch of the World S series. something cool. Yeah. I mean, all of those things are amazing. I've gotten to do so many cool things, you know, through this cartoon existence that I have. You know, a couple weeks ago, I went back to my almaater at the University of Illinois. I gave the commencement speech. had an eyele. Chance already. whichich was super exciting. I'm throwing out a ton of first pitches, but like, yeah, obviously that would be amazing Maybe, you know, you can be aspirational since so many of my dreams have come true already, you know? like hosting the Oscars, you know, the first pitch there were some jokes because YouTube's gonna air the Oscars. There was some stuff that went around. say I got av you wererittney Broroski go host the Oscars. Exactly. So there's those things that I kind of hope for. I've always loved I'm a big college football fan so that free game show on ESPN to be like the celebrity guest picker is something that I've always wanted to do. Oh, that's a no brainer. I'm shocked you haven't done that. Well, I need a foball Illinois' just got to win some more football games and then we'll get that stage. Yeah. But so many exciting fun things and I feel like As a matter of just routine, there's a bucket list moment that happens to me like every day Every week, it seems like at this That's very cool When you guys were first conceiving the show Was it always wings? or were there other things you thought might be fun to watch people eat until they squirm? We'd had some pressure from other people. L our first idea was wings. It's actually amazing when I looked back on it because it was just kind of the first idea we had. You know, I'd never made a show before. And then we kind of just drew an arrow and hit a bullseye with our first pilot sketch that we put on paper And over the years, I think there have been like some pressure and then like once it got popular, you know, they're be like a fast food company that'd be like, well, what if we did this and you know, write you this check to do it or whatever. But at the end of the day, I always think that Wings are the proper vessel for hot sauce. It's something that everybody knows, everyone understands. It's easy to substitute in a vegan option if you need to. And then it's also just kind of like a funny food that looks good on camera. in a lot of ways, I think we just snapped the Rubik scoobe into place the first time we started planning it. And your first guest was a wrapper Y Tony Yeo from G Unit actually. And how did that together What was that pitch like? Honestly, it was a situation where I think he owed us a favor because that I mean, that's really what it comes down to because even if you have an idea, that doesn't mean that you can ever get that plane off of the ground. And then oh, here are these guys that have never made a show before that have this concept, this pitch of eating increasingly spicy chicken wings over the course of the interview. like when you have a pitch And then you offer that caveat along with it. there's no guarantee that anyone will take the bait. And especially early on, we were basically conning people into coming ono the show And I'm very thankful now that that's turned around. Everybody that comes on hot ones knows what they're getting themselves into and I no longer have sad awkward moment where I'm trying to like convince them of the show while they're there on set, looking at me Stic Right, right, right One of the things I like about the show also is that you do your research and you ask questions that are based on the research and sometimes feel like they are coming out of nowhere until the guest says, Oh, you did your research So I would like to ask you The ideal go to order is to eat at Whole Foods You've done your m You know what? I like the hot bar. I don't cook like at all. So I But what at the hot bar? I'll tell you exactly what at the hot bar. So I'll go and I'll get a scoop of rice and then a protein on top of that rice. Then I fill in the middle of that cardboard container with a vegetable medley, some boiled broccoli, whatever but lots in the veggies. And then we're getting into the sixty seventy dollars range now. Oh yeah, yeah, A scoop of mashed potatoes is twenty two bucks. like they do it on volume. So you do have to be careful. like very dense foods can tip the scale in a very serious way. And then I'll do like a scoop of something fun so that'll be like some mac and cheese, there's some pasta. you know, I get a little naughty with it at the end. So That's what I have. It's almost like one of those like vanilla strawberry chocolate kind of ice cream things where I've got rice and a protein vegetables and then something fun. And then you go and get dessert, you hit the wine bar, it's a whole evening. You know, I do I get a raspberry iced tea or a peach ic tea. That's what I do too. That'll be like the whole order right there Do you believe in Big foot I like to believe in big folks. So I think that that's like a slightly different thing, but this is good. I don't know who you talk to. I'm trying to do the math in my head right now. You know by asking the question, you have put it out there that you do I believe in Bigfoot. Yeah, well, like I like the idea of going out to search for Bigfoot. I like the idea of believing in Bigfoot. You know there's a logical part of my brain that's like, well, if there's Bigfoot somebody who've seen Bigfoot, but I love the idea of getting lost in the mission to try to find Bigfoot. I believe in the idea of Bigfoot more than I believe in Bigfoot But then also too just as like a comedic figure, it's kind of fun. It's kind of fun to think about Bigfoot or wonder about Bigfoot. So And what's your what's your biggest pet peeve about Flying over travel Um Man, there are so many. sometometimes sometimes I don't like when they give you more information than they need to while you're on the plane. like especially during a delay. like I remember like one time they're like telling us that it's delayed because of catering or whatever. and it's already been delayed an hour and fifteen. And I'm like, almost don't tell me that because that's fine. Like we don't need catering on the plane. Like you're like, Oh, you're opening it up She's a to the population a little bit too much and letting us talk amongst each other, and then they'll be like, oh, well now it's a mechanical issue.ike now it's this, now it's that. But like you guys kind of made the problem because you've thrown like eight different things at us. And then also too, like if you're on a plane, I'm always trying to sleep, like I'm in a red eye right after this. If the pilot's talking too much about like weather conditions and the wind and like the humidity when you land or whatever likeike I'm always like, dude, I'm just trying to sleep Like one I just wanna hear my podcast. Yeah Exactly Just trying to listen to the town over here. Find his foot mine is funny flight attendant Funny flight Yeah, yeah,, get on the phone, tellell a joke. yeah All right, so Before we go to the next one You must have many guests Wh Do the show Leave And then text or DMU later. Yes do those look like? What are the best ones after the fact Well how many of them involve their bathroom experience after appearing on the show? Rarely, but sometimes. sometometimes when I see people later on, I'll get the backstory on whatever they went through. Like I remember like, seeing Matt Damon later and then he told me this story about he's like dude, I felt good walking out. and then he's like, I had just hit the bathroom and just boom his. like so I'll hear about these stories. When you were later hanging out with Matt Damon Yes, I'm at an event. Yeah yeah. We were in Hollywood over here of course. But I don't know, I could probably pull like the last one from a hot one'ess guest right now A. This was just a couple days ago from the comedian Tom Sagura and she said He said, u, I wish you and I had a kiss like Kiki Nice. So what I think ends up happening is, you know, we go through this experience together and it goes one of two ways. either we become like friendriends for life through trauma bonding over the wings of Dath, theyd want to see me again. Yeah. Which besides Can O'Brien, which three guests have you had the most chemistry with Hm Bye onent up there for sure. I think like W wororking with Kiki Palmmer, it's always like a one plus one equals three su The Kiy Palmer fan cllub is here You know what I loved interviewing was Viola Davis? I really loved interviewing Viola Davis. I have not seen that episode. Paul Rudd, I think is like another one who like immediately understood what we were doing and got me. But there have been a lot over the years. and I think that that's, you know, kind of the magic of the show is that you have this skeical or this spectacle of celebrities eating scorching hot chicken wings then It can also have this wholesome, like almost sentimental note to it that is almost like a comfort watch like're I don't know, like watching a ninety sitcom or something This episode is brought to you by Holiday In by IHG Everyone knows Holiday Inn, right? Or they think they do? Because though they have the same name, they've got a whole new energy. They kept the global icon status and upgraded pretty much everything else We're talking modern rooms with real reset mode vibes Spaces that feel like your living room, just a little more low key chic. And dining done right from breakfast to dinner and drinks Whether you're traveling for work or getting away for a minute, it's comfort that hits different. So yeah, holiday in It's a new day and a new stay. Book your next day at holidayin. com Adobe Firefly is the all in one creative studio with AI powered image and video editing for today's creative process buuilt for creators of every kind. Firefly helps you generate, edit, and experiment fast Because the asks aren't getting smaller The budgets aren't getting bigger, and the timelines, o yeah, still tight With all the best creative AI models in one place, Firefly brings your ideas to life. Unlock a better way to make with Adobe Firefly All right, let's do it What are we doing next? So we're onto eight dragons This one again, very sweet up front, but Let's not celebrate it too early this time. Okay See where it's going pretty hot No. be up for my first I say of the evening. No time like the presode Let's make some noise, by the way. We have a lot of practice, Tough to just come up here and the first time, but you're doing great I think you're big nice Um Honestly, the the previous one was worse. But again, let's not get out in front of. Let's not. Yes Let's not Um Okay You were a broadcast journalistm guy? I wasn't kidding What's happening Totly normal, toorly normal Long leash on this show.. Someone's going invvent a pill someday. that's gonna let people do this without any repercussions. I hope not. I know. So will be over. Yeah broadast journalis a maj said you wanted to be in TV prereferably late night. When talk to young people these days Any of them wantan to work in late night or do they all want to be you? Well, that's interesting because I was back in Almaater recently and I've made a couple visits over the last year. And I'm always interested in talking to the broadcast journalism students, especially like what kind of internship are you doing and whatever? Because in my day, like the path was always like, o, well, you're going one man band You're going to get a job in some regional news room and maybe you And crush it in Durham, North Carolina. and then if you crush it there for a couple years, maybe you can make it to Kansas City, Missouri, and then if you crush it there for a few years, maybe you can crack a market like San Diego or Dallas and then work your way to the coast in some way And now when I talk to kids because you know, there's all these big players in the game right now and I'll be like, oh, like what internship did you do? And they're like, Ohh, I was working with YouTube on their NFL partnership. And I start to think like, wow, The track and like a broadcast journalism can like lead you to such a better place like when you start off. than you do right now. But I think Just in general, I start to think about maybe I'm almost like maybe kids these days want to be like ed or like they want to be like K snat or something. you know, like maybe now I'm kind of the establishment talk show host and that's like the new exciting thing. Yeah, like I'm the old dinosaur over here U, But I do think that that is 's probably true where if you're a young creative person or like U a broad an aspiring broadcaster I don't think that hosting the tonight S show is the topop of the mountain or they I don't think they think of it that way or like anchoring the NBC nightly newews. you know, like I just don't think that those are like the North Star top of the mountain things that people are reaching for. I do kind of bemoan that a little bit as somebody who grew up idolizing these hosts and like having my first real eye opening experience, you know, like watching the beginning of David Letterman and the curtain's open and he takes the stage and the Ed Sullivan Theatater' sold out and there's the lights camera action of it all. And that' monoculture. Yeah, exactly. All of those things. Everybody knows who David Letterman is. And as successful as you are, A lot of people don't know you are. They will never know who you are. And you could be the most famous person on the internet and there's a'll be like Society that doesn't know you are. That's the downside. A hundred percent. So I do kind of Think about those times and miss those times. And I also think that those are good rings to reach for if you're a broadcaster or want to be someday. But if we're just looking at the reality of the situation, I think both you and I would agree on that. You mind if I take my jacket off? Yeah, go ahead No, yeah yeah. You don't have to ask. You're the host, though Youoodre running this thing. I'm gonna start sweating. I'll take mine off too. I'm gonna start sweating. It's bad Um All right, so You were an architecture tour guy. I was arrchitecture. Give me your top three ranking of skylines. Oh, well, I think skylines. Number one is Chicago. That is the best That's the best skyline in the world. You have the river that runs through it. you have Lake Michigan. It's all set back. You have Grant Park that almost serves like a front yard. and then the city burned down in eighteen seventy one. and what that did was gave this G new opportunity for all the great architects to build whatever they wanted. So you have all these different architectural styles that all run against each other and it's like So perfect. I love it. I miss it. I mean, you can't not put New York City in those top three Yeah New York City belongs that. like if you look at it from the Jersey side, you look at it from the Brooklyn side, it's amazing. they building My all time favorite building is in Chicago. It's called threeree thirty three Wacker, designed by Ch Patterterson and Fox in nineteen eighty three. And it's a great example of contextualism with an architecture. Okay. you're a boat tour. If you're on the boat tour right now, I'd ask you to look to your left and notice how the curve in the building actually matches the curve in the river as well as the shade of green on the building It's an example of contextualism and architecture. It's the river being reflected back at you. W in the form of a building. And I always thought that that was like so amazing and so cool and a reminder that you should always be like looking around and be curious about the things because I'd walked by that building a million times. and then when I understood the story, I saw it with fresh eyes and I'm sure the fifth graders on their tour were really enamored of that fact. No respect for architecture. I could no, I could I could this is where I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing now if not for that. Like that really taught me audience capture, you know, like just doing those day in and day out and doing those boat tours in front of, you know, like one hundred fifty people five times a day all summer long And then oh, then the next One is I'll keep them all the US. but I like I like San Francisco skyline as well. So that's that's how I I'd put a Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and in that order. Youre good You collect baseball cards? Yeahah, for better or worse. I do. yeah So I have a ten year old who's collecting baseball cards. us your give us your prize possession Oh, well I I'm like a I'm somebody who rips packs and they tell you like that's the worst thing that you but I'm not in here to make money. I'm in it for the love of the game. I just like to collect. So I do that. so I'm not like out there like catching individual cards, but I do have like, you know, this serial number like one of one suuper frractor Ronald I Kuna junior, Rokie card ao with on card auto, you know And then I'll like look it up and it's just got like an absurd kind of resale value. So like that's maybe like the crown jewel. But as a Chicago White sox fan, if you pull like a Jose A Breu, Frank Thomas, like Duo auto or whatever, you know, like those are always exciting moments and that's the itch that I'm trying to scratch whenever I do it. Have you ever Barack Obama to be on the show Um, I'd guys could talk about Chicago sports I think there was like I mean, at some point I remember like some strange conversation about like seecret Service and like the wings. L I remember there was like some logistical thing likeike you could legit try to It was logistical thing that we were like trying to work out. but I don't know like how deep into the game it got. You know, like I don't know how close the booking ever came, but I do remember having some discussions about like how wing preparation would have to be different in the event of that interview Oh, well, Still could happen. It still happen around. Who's your dream guest you haven't gotten orr who someone who keeps saying no So I think I might have said this is the first time I did the show with you, but Tom Cruise like needs we talked about Yeah. Yeah. And I just think he was kind of like made in a lab for it and like we could make it more extreme or Tom Cruise And I know I said this before, but he would go to a place where he would rise above the spice. Yeah, right. There is some Thatons or whatever they are that will ward off the spice and he will just sit there and eat them all I'll try to just match his energy. So I do think that there's like a good thing here, but also do I think like over the years we've caught so many of our white wheel guests. Yeah. And there' been a lot of guests who are maybe like knows for years and then became a yes, you know, I remember like Early on, we'd be trying to book Stone coold Steve Austin like every single season And then that was just like wasn't available Well, I think I think it's just like like I'd never blame anybody for swerving on the wings because like You know, we are asking you to do this thing. You know, there is ever no what they' have things get Tom Hllinsiff for not doing SNL all these years. He does an interview, says he's dlexic and can't read the cucard. Yeah, whichich I understand too. like as a letterman fan, there was always this thing where like he was like, I'd never doing SNL because I just don't think I'd be good at it. And like I think in this time, there's everybody, you always are like chasing the opportunity and you can never say no to the opportunity But there is something special about like knowing yourself and then just passing it on it because you're like,h, I don' I don't think it's for me. All right, I put this off long enough. Let's wing every stall tactic the pexid has dissolved and just in time. And this is what a yogurt that is here? I think it's now a melted ice cream because it had more of more of an architecture So do you recommend a little What I was the bomb Well, I would definitely make sure that you save enough to be able to go in after that. I'm going to try a little Ping where a pallet. Yeah And then and backstage I had a they gave me a Iice cream popsicle it was good prep. I don't know All right time will tell I guess So here we go, here we go. What is special about the bob? So as you'll find out It is very hot, very uncomfortable, but then it's also rather disgusting in its taste There's like a mole element. Holy wow. Oh my Godd Iicubing. Yeah That happens That's my body saying. What's the fun? rememember backstage when you were telling me I have this theory that people are faking it Oh Oh my go I know the pain I know it. That's really bad. H Oh my go Can't even ask you lived in a house that Scottty Pippen owned Yeah like And then just be careful around the eyes Don't touch the eyes So it's tough for me to talk to, but Yes, How are you okay I got my ten thousand hours in. So I did right after college Me and my buddies, we all moved into this spot And yeah it was owned by Scotty Pippen. It was notally furnished. by the way, I'm notisting you It' a great We used to throw amazing Halloween parties. Did you ever hang out with him No, I've never met him before in my life J just wrote reck. You it on your show. Just wrote rent checks to him. That's funny What's your favorite Chicago sports moment? I think, um holy shit This is this is not enjoyable. I know, I know But it's getting a little bit better, right Like think about how intense it was when you first tried it My garling milk. half lifeife on it littleittle moments that stand out and just be careful around the eyes. Don't touch the eyes, okay? But I'm righting The two thousand five Chicago White Sox, the Grand Slam by Paul Canerico, the Scott Penic walk offff. I loved in the Super Bowl with the Bears, Devin Hesker taking that opening kickoff back And then u Maybe this is worse than normal, right? Someone sabotaged us. No This is the Hot ones. YouTube getting back at me for every shitty thing I've ever readen. Yeah over don' know and ye Yeah. I will put you up And I brought my family to the final four this year for the University of Illinois. That was a lot of fun too. So those are Three great Chicago sports moments also the year that the bears had This last season, all those amazing fourth quarter comebacks My mount Rush more of Chicago Sports moments. How do you feel about the bears potentially moving to Indiana? I disgusted by it. So we'll see how it all plays out. Pretty gross, but what can you do about it? I mean My thing on it is I get it. like soldier field, it's hard to get in. It's hard to get out, But it is iconic and those nighttime playoff games are amazing. and I have so many great memories there. So like the idea that there has to be this move or whatever like I have a problem with everyone else they're doing it. I know. I know. they're out. they're out. I just am' like just stay at Soldier Field. Like I just I love Soldier Field. I have so many amazing memories there. And then I just think that the playoff games, especially now that they're good. I think they're going to be playing January, February games Night game, snow coming down ers in the Divisal series, like all of those in the divisional game, like all of those things amazing, they're awesome, they're special. And here's what else I'll say. A lot of these new stadiums with this kind of like dome year round eventization development built around it, they all look the same to me. Like Soi kind of looks like the Raider stadium looks like the mockup for the chief stadium looks exactly like what the bears are going to build. And I just think in history when we look back on these on these time It'll be like the dome era of the nineteen seventies where all of these things are just gonna be flat, not remembered for any architectural reason, not remembered for any sort of like shared history, memory, or experience thing. They're just optimized for year round eventization and designed to balloon the values of these franchises. So to me, it's like a what I don't like as a west cooast Football fan like the shitty weather on the east cooast and in Chicago. Yeah, right. Beuse it's December, January. I'm watching in my shorts T shirt And you're like, those people are suffering. And now with the domes, you don't get that. You don't other than Green Bay, you don't get they're like, wow, it's an ice boll. And then it'll be like I can't even talk. It'll be like VIP loungeed out You know, corporate boxification of this whole thing A little just came out. No, it's okay. Yeah. You relive the experience and there'll be an encore later, but Let's look at the milk glass half full. Yeah, what is this? That's a chocolate shake actually Somewhat helpful. Yeah I' talk a little bit about your media diet because How much do you pay attention to the business? I mean, I listen to your show and you know, you know that, and I think that it's a good way to what I think that is great about your show is you guys just like churn material. You know what I mean? It's not like, you know, Luas like talking for whatever, like fifteen, twenty minutes about your weekend before you get into anything. L the show starts and you just start churning through the things, you know, So nobody cares what I exactly I like that you know that about yourself. No, that's part of being a host is that kind of awareness. Yeah. So that's what I always like because I feel like then it kind of it turns on the hose to that whole thing and then you know I can just take it all in. But to be honest with you, like you know, there's YouTube shows that I watch. there are some what's the best show for preparing for all ones That's What do you watch to prepare for a guest? Like what other shows Deliver what you want for your show So I think that there are a couple Really good ones. Like if I'm doing like a music interview, there's this interviewer like Zach Sang, who kind of like you is like churning the material and like going through the things. And I'm like, okay, this is like a good way for me to download all Zack Sang, where is he is is the other? You know what I don't even know I just kind of like type But he has a YouTube show. Yeah Yeahah or like a radio show that they se like Yeah. Yeah, and he gets big guests But I also think like a good thing to do is like I think like a great thing is if you have like an SNL u alum and then they're on like David Spad and Dan and Carvey's podcast. Those are always like a really good thing because they're coming in like guard down and like sharing, you know they have that shared history. Eact the S andL people go on Amy Pohler's podcast. Always good. Greatact That's good. And I always look at their disposition towards Amy Pohlar like somebody that they know because if I see that side of them when I'm interviewing, that means I know I'm getting like the best version of them So I always watch those shows or like when there's that kind of alignment. Pete Holes, like I don't know if it's like the most popular podcast in the world, but he's actually like a sneakily like really good interviewer that I feel like you can pull a lot from, not just to guas you, but like, you know, you've become a little more guest centric, a little more guest little driven over the years, And then it's always good to get your perspective to No Hollywood Yeah. Well, just like me, you need proof of concept. Yeah. Before that, you're just tricking Tony Yo into being on the Yeah. ye, yeah I think that those are all good shows. But now I think, you know there's so many good celebrity interview shows on the internet. When we first started, there were almost none. You had the late night shows and then hot ones. so there'd be kind of like this event situation where it's like, oh my gosh, we only ever see Terry Cruz on the late night couches and now here he is on hot ones Now there's like so many of these shows. you feel like it's a little saturated? like Paton Oswald was on Conan's show and Yeah, I I was joking about how like nowadays, you know, Judy Dench has to be dropped into a toilet full of caramel Yeah to do press rounds. So my take on it my take on that overall is like I totally understand what he's saying like It's for you know, to what extent we were involved in that kind of influence or whatever. L For us, the wings always had a purpose. It's a disrupt evelopment designed to take a guest out of their PR driven flight pattern. Like there was an actual problem and solve for it. But I think with the popularity of is like now there's this thing, I get it. I understand continontue. There's this idea that everything has to insert a high concept along with it in order for anyone to watch it And that is not true. Like sometometimes people ask me like, o, what's next for you? Like what's the show after this? or like how are you going to duplicate like the magic pot ones? And I always tell people, my next show is going to be called Just an Interview showh with Sean And we're just gonna in an old fashioned way sit and talk like we used to do. You know, I do think that there is, oh, we need like celebrity plus like high concept in order for anybody to pay attention. but I don't think that's true. The interview is the oldest construct in the history of media. If you can do it well, you'll have a job in this town and that's as big as I think about it. but I do agree with that. but I will say Um There weren't a lot of celebrity interview shows when I first started. and there were like that many good ones at all. Now I do think you have more volume. It's a much more competitive and congested space You are getting a higher quality of interview. Like the bar has been raised a lot over the last decade. Well and the number of guests that are willing to take a risk on shows that are outside of the, you know, the traditional shows It's now accepted bigig stars will do shows like yours.. Whereas even three four years ago It was a shock to see someone like Jennifer Lawrence do hot ones. Right. Now it's kind of a shock if she doesn't. Yeah. think that' I think that that's true So we'll see how it all plays out, but I think that that is kind of like the future and too then you'll have these shows that' like pop off on different platforms or like in different styles, you know, where like Subway takes like this big thing on TikTok. you know, there's all these different ways in which The new ways that we make things and the new ways that we watch things are now kind of filling in all of those spaces and many many times, I think, in really interesting ways All right, so why did we do the worst one fourth Well you're the one sitting here. Well, you say that that's the worst one, but you haven't tried this one. Oh, this is worse than the This is this is me taking the mask off and just being a chicken wing talk show host of Dignity. Okay I want to protect my friend over here The one that I'm being one hundred percent serious. The one that you ate is the worst. The worst is behind us. okay? But isn't this just gonna to reactivate all the awfulness? Possibly. all right. but I think I' had wings before. I think in just a way that it's like you get a splash from the pool, not like you did a cannon bolt in. Okay. Okaykay. 'ause there is currently a ring of fire around my mouth. Yeah. no, I the exact same thing sitting there waiting for a m. My lips are totally on fire, my throat's on fire. So let's do this last one And how are we on time? Are we almost done on time Please We should beluding you I can't believe you do this Twice a week Once or twice, Yeah kind of unbelieable that one as much All good. But let's Let's look at the positive. You are through the wings. I know. I know. All right Last question Big fancy TV Job comes calling. you take it Or do you stay the course and build your digital empire So I'm not just saying this. There's no one in entertainment. There's no one in Hollywood that I would trade places with. Like when I look around, there's nothing that I'd rather have. I love Being the king of this castle, the chair that I sit in has become like the most comfortable lazy boy ever People who I started off making the show with are the exact same people who are making the show with me now. My producer is Ben thank you From the camera guys to my producers, to Sarah Honda, who's here today to Yeah partner, Chris, my editor, it's just become like this family affair. Literally, I've hired my brother to help me out with the research early on and he still works for me to this day. thinkink about the show and how much I believe in it How much I believe in the people that help me build this digital media empire. And then when I think about You know, now we have the keys to it and we're driving the car and I think about all the places that we could take it to There is no one that I'd trade places with now. There's no one that I'm jealous of. And to me, there's no higher thing, like we were talking about. like when I was growing up, it was to host the tonight show and I think that I'm evidence of the way that times have changed And I'm really happy to be where I'm at and I really, truly would not trade places with anyone. Like I'm the lucky. can say what you want you were not going have Donald Trump trying to kick you off the air You can't reason with the sun. trust us, we've tried. This summer, it's time to put that angry ball of fire on mute. Columbia's omni shade technology is engineered to protect you from the sun's harsh rays that can burn and damage your skin. The sun is relentless, but so is our gear. Level up your summer at cololumbia dot com to spend more time outside and less time slathering on aloe lotion You're welcome Columbia, Engineered for whatever R Byan Reynolds here from Mit Mobile I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same premium wireless for fifteen dollars a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities, so do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants switch you to Mint moobile today. I'm told it's super easy to do at mintmobile dot com slash switch. Up frront payment of forty five dollars for three month plan, equivalent to fifteen dollars per month required. intntro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available. taxes and fees extra. Feful terms at mintMobile dot comot So far, so far, I've been able to duck it, but anyone Trump do this. Anyone can get it. That That would be a good w. If Trump said I would like to do hot ones, would you say yes U