How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan | What Now? with Trevor Noah Podcast

1. 0:00 – 5:58

   Comedians' Issues and Neal Brennan's Origins

   1. TNTrevor Noah0:00

      There are few people I know who have spent more time in comedy than Neal Brennan.

   2. NBNeal Brennan0:04

      Mm-hmm.

   3. TNTrevor Noah0:04

      Like, few human beings.

   4. SPSpeaker0:05

      Mm-hmm.

   5. TNTrevor Noah0:05

      And when I say comedy, I mean every level of comedy. TV-

   6. NBNeal Brennan0:09

      Administration.

   7. TNTrevor Noah0:10

      [laughs]

   8. SPSpeaker0:10

      [laughs]

   9. NBNeal Brennan0:10

      Yeah, no, really.

   10. TNTrevor Noah0:11

       Paperwork.

   11. NBNeal Brennan0:12

       No, really. [laughs]

   12. TNTrevor Noah0:13

       Scheduling.

   13. NBNeal Brennan0:14

       You are that guy. [laughs]

   14. TNTrevor Noah0:16

       Club comedy. Neal Brennan has been in the, the trenches of the trenches. So I was gonna ask you about this, but, like, I feel like there is no comedian who does not have something wrong with them.

   15. SPSpeaker0:30

       Oh-

   16. TNTrevor Noah0:30

       No, no good comedian, actually

   17. SPSpeaker0:31

       ... I learned that from The Daily Show.

   18. TNTrevor Noah0:33

       [laughs]

   19. SPSpeaker0:33

       I was like, "All these people are insane."

   20. NBNeal Brennan0:34

       [laughs]

   21. TNTrevor Noah0:35

       [laughs]

   22. SPSpeaker0:35

       But I was like, "These are not normal people."

   23. NBNeal Brennan0:37

       Yeah, yeah.

   24. TNTrevor Noah0:37

       Yeah, like, there's a... And, and it doesn't matter what it is. It, it might just... It might be your family.

   25. SPSpeaker0:41

       Mm-hmm.

   26. TNTrevor Noah0:42

       It might be your, the, the, the country you lived in. It might be just a neurodivergent thing that you have in your own head, and you grew up in a fine world where-

   27. NBNeal Brennan0:49

       What's funny is doing my, I do a podcast called Blocks where I have people on, and we talk about the, their issues.

   28. TNTrevor Noah0:54

       Yeah.

   29. NBNeal Brennan0:55

       And I know that they're not the real issues.

   30. TNTrevor Noah0:57

       [laughs]
2. 5:58 – 11:40

   Big Families, Sibling Dynamics and Access

   1. TNTrevor Noah5:58

      Whenever I think of big families, I I don't know. I, I'm, I'm torn. You, you, you know my family, like, brothers are split, right?

   2. NBNeal Brennan6:05

      Right.

   3. TNTrevor Noah6:05

      So I have two younger brothers. One is 10 years younger, one is 20 years younger.

   4. SPSpeaker6:08

      Wow.

   5. TNTrevor Noah6:08

      So for all intents and purposes, it feels like we were all single kids in a way.

   6. SPSpeaker6:12

      Mm-hmm. Yeah.

   7. NBNeal Brennan6:12

      Mm-hmm.

   8. TNTrevor Noah6:12

      But then we all occupy an age position.

   9. NBNeal Brennan6:15

      Yeah.

   10. SPSpeaker6:15

       Yeah.

   11. TNTrevor Noah6:15

       You know? So I do feel like the eldest 'cause of age.

   12. SPSpeaker6:18

       Yeah.

   13. TNTrevor Noah6:18

       But not because-

   14. NBNeal Brennan6:18

       Has your mom's parenting changed a lot?

   15. TNTrevor Noah6:21

       So I would say she's changed, but not her par- So her ability to execute her parenting style has evolved with age. Like, I was talking to my youngest brother about this the other day. It's like, I don't think my mom's vibe changed, but when I was young, she could chase me.

   16. NBNeal Brennan6:39

       Hmm.

   17. TNTrevor Noah6:39

       When my brother was naughty, she couldn't chase him as much as she could chase me, so I think she then had to adapt.

   18. NBNeal Brennan6:45

       Yeah.

   19. TNTrevor Noah6:45

       But over a long distance, she always got me.

   20. NBNeal Brennan6:47

       Sure. Yeah, yeah. [laughs]

   21. TNTrevor Noah6:47

       She always got me. Um, but I, I always wondered, like, in a big family, like, 'cause I, I craved it most of my life, and then I would meet people in mega big families, and they would say, "Oh, I felt forgotten. I felt like there wasn't enough love to go around." Like, did, did you feel like that? I-

   22. NBNeal Brennan7:03

       There ... Yeah, I think just it's a resources issue. Now, having said that, the, the economist Thomas Sowell used to say, uh, there are no, uh, solutions, there's only trade-offs, which I think is just true about everything. So there's no, there's no one thing like, that's better. 'Cause then only children, there's, like, downsides to only children apparently.

   23. TNTrevor Noah7:24

       Yeah.

   24. NBNeal Brennan7:25

       Um, the ego, and they don't know how to share. They don't know how to interact or whatever. Eh. Or, but they're very loved, maybe too loved.

   25. TNTrevor Noah7:35

       Mm-hmm.

   26. SPSpeaker7:35

       Mm-hmm.

   27. NBNeal Brennan7:36

       Um, I, I don't, so I don't, I think you could persuade me either way. I think if a kid's loved, that's good. If, if, but I wasn't necessarily, like, didn't get the most love from my dad necessarily, uh, specifically. My mom, like, wanted to-

   28. SPSpeaker7:53

       Yeah

   29. NBNeal Brennan7:53

       ... c- but, like, had to cook or whatever.

   30. TNTrevor Noah7:55

       Yeah.
3. 11:40 – 15:35

   Neal's Father, the Will, and Letting Go

   1. TNTrevor Noah11:40

      What, what was it like for you when your dad passed away? Because y- you know, you, you, you share very openly in your special-

   2. NBNeal Brennan11:46

      Yeah

   3. TNTrevor Noah11:46

      ... about how, like, and I think you and I have connected a lot on this, growing up in a home with a man who's very violent with his alcohol, with ... Like, it's a terrifying existence.

   4. NBNeal Brennan11:56

      Yeah.

   5. TNTrevor Noah11:57

      And I think you and I, I don't, I don't know, we bond around this.

   6. NBNeal Brennan11:59

      Yeah.

   7. TNTrevor Noah11:59

      I think a lot of our comedy is shaped by this or this feeling. But I, I've always wondered, what did it feel like when your dad passed away?

   8. NBNeal Brennan12:07

      It w-, you know, the interesting thing was, like, we'd kind of made peace prior to him dying.

   9. TNTrevor Noah12:14

      Mm-hmm.

   10. NBNeal Brennan12:14

       The, and then he did the thing with the will, which is in Three Mics. Um, but-

   11. TNTrevor Noah12:19

       For, for those who don't know, what, what, what'd it-

   12. NBNeal Brennan12:21

       Uh, I, uh, Netflix is a streaming platform.

   13. TNTrevor Noah12:25

       [laughs]

   14. SPSpeaker12:25

       [laughs]

   15. NBNeal Brennan12:26

       And I have a special on there called Three Mics.

   16. TNTrevor Noah12:27

       This guy's the worst. [laughs]

   17. NBNeal Brennan12:28

       It's one of my three specials. There's one called Three Mics, one called Blocks, and one called, uh, Crazy Good, which is the newest one. Pretty popular. Uh, my dad, we never really got along, and then he died and g- left money in his will to everyone but me.

   18. SPSpeaker12:43

       Mm.

   19. NBNeal Brennan12:44

       Uh, so it was just painful. That part was painful. Um, but we, I, I just don't, I... It's weirdly, like, doing Three Mics got it out of me.

   20. TNTrevor Noah12:57

       Huh.

   21. NBNeal Brennan12:57

       Got the pain out of me. It used to weigh down on me.

   22. SPSpeaker13:01

       Mm-hmm.

   23. NBNeal Brennan13:01

       It used to be, like, a cause of anger.

   24. TNTrevor Noah13:03

       Yeah.

   25. NBNeal Brennan13:03

       And now it just, f- either from doing Three Mics or s- something, I just can kind of see the positive in that... And I actually wrote him a note before he died of, like, I appreciate the socioeconomic position he put me in, meaning, like, I got to go to NYU. I paid for, uh, some of it, but, like, NYU's not cheap.

   26. TNTrevor Noah13:26

       Yeah.

   27. SPSpeaker13:26

       Mm-hmm.

   28. NBNeal Brennan13:27

       Um, anything was possible.

   29. TNTrevor Noah13:29

       Right.

   30. SPSpeaker13:29

       Mm-hmm.
4. 15:35 – 21:11

   Is Comedy Cathartic? Comedians and Wellness Culture

   1. SPSpeaker15:35

      I'm curious, 'cause you, you guys are both comedians. I'm not.

   2. NBNeal Brennan15:38

      Mm-hmm.

   3. SPSpeaker15:38

      Is comedy really that cathartic that... 'Cause, like, hearing Neal, you say, like, "I released this thing. I surrendered it, and now I can put it behind me." Is the work that-

   4. NBNeal Brennan15:47

      Some of it is

   5. SPSpeaker15:47

      ... is the work that-

   6. NBNeal Brennan15:48

      You, you just say it so much that it's, in a weird way, you'll relate.

   7. TNTrevor Noah15:52

      Yeah.

   8. SPSpeaker15:52

      Yeah.

   9. NBNeal Brennan15:52

      It's, like, material you don't believe anymore.

   10. TNTrevor Noah15:55

       Yeah.

   11. NBNeal Brennan15:55

       It's like you just, Chappelle has an observation that jokes are like tires.

   12. SPSpeaker15:59

       Mm-hmm.

   13. NBNeal Brennan16:00

       That they just, the tread wears out. And if I'm doing a show about my dad, you just, after a while, it's like, "Uh, what?" So there's partially that, which is just sort of like, um, getting tired of saying something. Um, and I would say it's more from the spiritual stuff of, like, releasing it.

   14. SPSpeaker16:19

       Okay.

   15. NBNeal Brennan16:19

       But there was, before the spiritual stuff, there was this idea of, like, yeah, I don't know, I think I just sort of, like, talked it out. Have you, you talk less personally than I do, but, but your earlier shows were a little more personal.

   16. TNTrevor Noah16:31

       I, yeah. Yeah, I actually, so I used to speak more personally, and then I realized also-

   17. NBNeal Brennan16:35

       Won't make that mistake again.

   18. SPSpeaker16:36

       [laughs]

   19. TNTrevor Noah16:37

       No, I, I think there was a, there's a, there's sort of a weird idea I s- I adopted in and around taking over The Daily Show, and it was like, "Don't make it about you."

   20. NBNeal Brennan16:44

       Mm.

   21. SPSpeaker16:45

       Mm-hmm.

   22. TNTrevor Noah16:45

       Do you know what I mean? It was like, okay, it's about the show. It's about the work. It's about the, you know. And, and now on the other side of it, now I'm going back into more personal material. Now I'm going back into, um... But it's funny. I, I, I've, I never thought it, I never thought it was cathartic.

   23. SPSpeaker16:58

       So even, even in your early work-

   24. TNTrevor Noah17:00

       No, no, no

   25. SPSpeaker17:00

       ... when you were sharing about-

   26. TNTrevor Noah17:01

       No, I-

   27. SPSpeaker17:01

       ... like, your experience being mixed race and what-

   28. TNTrevor Noah17:03

       I'll b- no

   29. SPSpeaker17:03

       ... it wasn't, you were just-

   30. TNTrevor Noah17:04

       I'll be honest. I don't-
5. 21:11 – 29:13

   Polarization, Context Collapse and Private Texts

   1. TNTrevor Noah21:11

      there was a time in comedy where one thing comedians all shared was comedy, right?

   2. NBNeal Brennan21:19

      Mm-hmm.

   3. TNTrevor Noah21:20

      It didn't matter, uh, like who you were, where you were from, what you did, Black, white, old, young, woman, man. It really didn't matter. It didn't matter. We, we had this thing where we would go into a comedy club, and it was like comedy time.

   4. NBNeal Brennan21:30

      Yeah.

   5. TNTrevor Noah21:31

      And we all just had comedy. And then I, I noticed over the past few years, and it's funny, I'm less worried about it for comedy and I'm more worried about what it means for society is, I've noticed a creep of polarization even in comedy. Like, comedy used to be everyone does everything and they're comedians, and someone will get on stage and say the craziest joke that is whatever, you know?

   6. NBNeal Brennan21:54

      Yeah.

   7. TNTrevor Noah21:54

      It can be anything, misogynistic, racist.

   8. NBNeal Brennan21:56

      Yeah.

   9. TNTrevor Noah21:56

      You name it, but it's within the confines of comedy. Like, they're using the tools to make a joke about it.

   10. NBNeal Brennan22:01

       Yeah.

   11. TNTrevor Noah22:01

       Right? And then now comedy's slowly becoming like, oh, well, those people, that, that's their politics. We don't do comedy with them. And, and these people, we don't do comedy with them. Uh, like-

   12. SPSpeaker22:12

       Mm

   13. TNTrevor Noah22:13

       ... do you think politics is gonna end comedy as we know it?

   14. NBNeal Brennan22:17

       Um, I, it is. Well, it's cult- it's the world. Like, I've known Joe Rogan 30-plus years, and I didn't know his politics until nine years ago. B- And it's not because they were, they, he didn't have any. It's just 'cause you didn't know. You literally didn't know what somebody's politics were-

   15. TNTrevor Noah22:39

       Yeah

   16. NBNeal Brennan22:39

       ... until, I, I'm gonna say 2008. The internet, social media. And then once social media started, then it became like T- Twitter and dunking on people.

   17. TNTrevor Noah22:51

       Uh-huh, uh-huh.

   18. NBNeal Brennan22:51

       And did you see so-and-so's tweet?

   19. TNTrevor Noah22:53

       Uh-huh.

   20. NBNeal Brennan22:53

       And that's, that's, I'm triggered, and that's inappropriate, and that's, they're gonna pa- and now I have to like mute them or I have to not like. I've actually thought, "Can I like this tweet?" 'Cause there's gonna be some sort of-

   21. TNTrevor Noah23:07

       Those people who will see that you liked it.

   22. NBNeal Brennan23:08

       Yes.

   23. TNTrevor Noah23:09

       Yeah.

   24. NBNeal Brennan23:09

       And then y- we're all part of so many different groups that we've always been, but it just kind of didn't, they weren't, you didn't wear them all all the time.

   25. TNTrevor Noah23:17

       Yeah.

   26. SPSpeaker23:17

       Mm-hmm.

   27. NBNeal Brennan23:17

       Now it's almost like the, there was a Daily Show joke, I think, where they had the, like the, uh, the Formula 1 or the NASCAR sponsorships.

   28. TNTrevor Noah23:25

       Right, right.

   29. NBNeal Brennan23:26

       Uh-

   30. TNTrevor Noah23:26

       But it was all the badges of-
6. 29:13 – 36:34

   Cancellation, Shane Gillis and Trevor's Response to Backlash

   1. TNTrevor Noah29:13

      Do you think it's hurt comedy as a whole?

   2. NBNeal Brennan29:16

      No.

   3. TNTrevor Noah29:16

      Okay.

   4. NBNeal Brennan29:17

      I don't, I mean, I don't, there's no comedy, first of all, it's never been more popular. Uh, it's never been more lucrative. So this idea that comedy's being hurt or cancel culture or any of that stuff, it's like everyone I know that I wanna do a joke like, "Yeah, you gotta be careful as a comedian, 'cause, you know, you could say something and then somebody will clip it, and then next thing you know, you'll be doing arenas."

   5. SPSpeaker29:38

      [laughs]

   6. NBNeal Brennan29:38

      Um, it's everyone I know that gets canceled, it's, you get canceled up. It's like a, it's like a, it's the crucible. It's like how are you gonna respond to this?

   7. TNTrevor Noah29:47

      Yes.

   8. SPSpeaker29:48

      Mm-hmm.

   9. NBNeal Brennan29:48

      And then that's-

   10. TNTrevor Noah29:49

       Yeah

   11. NBNeal Brennan29:49

       ... how people judge you. And if you, if you cower and go, "Ah," and genuflect and, or if you ignore it or if you double down or-

   12. TNTrevor Noah29:57

       Yeah

   13. NBNeal Brennan29:57

       ... there's, like, ways to do it, but it makes the audience trust you more, I think.

   14. TNTrevor Noah30:02

       Yes. Um, I remember, um, I bumped into Shane Gillis, and, um, and I remember chatting to him, and I was like, and I, and I genuinely mean this, I was like, "I, I'm so proud of Shane Gillis as a human being and as a comedian," because he got fired off of SNL. People discarded him. They're like, "He's out."

   15. NBNeal Brennan30:23

       Mm-hmm.

   16. TNTrevor Noah30:24

       Then he amassed a huge amount of fans-

   17. NBNeal Brennan30:26

       Yeah

   18. TNTrevor Noah30:27

       ... who were like, "Yeah."

   19. NBNeal Brennan30:28

       Mm-hmm.

   20. TNTrevor Noah30:28

       "Bring more."

   21. NBNeal Brennan30:29

       He's a prime case we were talking about.

   22. TNTrevor Noah30:29

       They were like, "Bring more racism. Bring more." They were like, "Do, do the thing that"... And I'll never forget his first shows that he booked, I think it was at The Stand, actually, in New York.

   23. NBNeal Brennan30:39

       Mm-hmm.

   24. TNTrevor Noah30:39

       Shane comes out and he basically addresses the fact that people f- have come there to see racist jo-

   25. NBNeal Brennan30:46

       Yeah

   26. TNTrevor Noah30:46

       ... and he's like, "That's not what I do."

   27. NBNeal Brennan30:47

       Say noodle like a Chinese person.

   28. TNTrevor Noah30:49

       Yeah. And, and he, and he didn't. And then he g- he subverted the whole thing, and he joked about it. And then he... And even now, like I go, genuinely, Shane Gillis is one of the people where, and I don't think anyone, quote-unquote, let's say, has an excuse, but he would've had an excuse to be an asshole. Shane was like, "No." He's like, "Hey, man, I made some jokes. You didn't like them. I'm still gonna make jokes." And genuinely now, I think he's one of the best comedians working in the world.

   29. NBNeal Brennan31:10

       Mm-hmm.

   30. TNTrevor Noah31:10

       And when you watch his comedy, I don't care what you are, by the way, conservative, liberal, whatever you think you are, Shane Gillis is funny. But I also think it's amazing to see somebody who is able to withstand the, the, like, the, you know, the, the horde that supports the worst instincts.
7. 36:34 – 44:55

   Listening, Disagreement and Staying in Each Other's Lives

   1. TNTrevor Noah36:34

      No, I am very sensitive, and I feel all of it.

   2. SPSpeaker36:36

      But I, I, I wouldn't have ... No, I'm like, but you don't, like, it-

   3. TNTrevor Noah36:39

      No. So, okay

   4. SPSpeaker36:40

      ... you don't see it.

   5. TNTrevor Noah36:41

      There's a, so there's a few things that have ... You asked me this question, and I, I realize there's a few things that have helped me understand this. And, and it's funny, 'cause I, I think, Neal, you'll have something similar but different because of your upbringing. So first of all-

   6. SPSpeaker36:53

      Mm-hmm

   7. TNTrevor Noah36:53

      ... I grew up in a house and in a country where there was a lot of violence, right? And so when I was a child watching this, I never once looked at it and went, "Yeah, this is, this is right."

   8. NBNeal Brennan37:05

      This is right, yeah.

   9. TNTrevor Noah37:05

      I even talk to my mom now, and I go, "Why would you get so angry when you were hitting me?" And she's like, "Because you wouldn't listen." I'm like, "Yeah, but why do you get angry, though?" I was like, "You know, you could've just, like, done it as, like, a, 'All right, kid, here comes your punishment.'"

   10. SPSpeaker37:17

       Mm-hmm.

   11. TNTrevor Noah37:17

       And then she would say, she's like, "I was so frustrated," and I was like, I was like, "I know I, you know, cut something open. I know I dismantled the TV. I know I burnt down a room. I kn-", whatever I did.

   12. NBNeal Brennan37:26

       Mm-hmm.

   13. TNTrevor Noah37:27

       But even me as a child, I would go, "Huh, that was not ideal."

   14. SPSpeaker37:31

       Mm-hmm.

   15. TNTrevor Noah37:31

       "But I'm not gonna lose my cool over this." And then I'd get my beating, and then I, I would cry, and I'd feel it. I'd feel everything. But the thing that would stick with me is how it didn't make sense for people to lose their cool. And I'd, you know, I'd, I'd talk to my friends about them. We have these big fights. But I go, every one of our parents, especially African parents, but I mean, I know, you know, how Neal grew up. Yo, parents were beating kids, and this was, like, a normal thing. And now we joke about it. You'd be like, "Oh, you pray there's no shoe around," and you pray.

   16. SPSpeaker37:59

       Mm-hmm.

   17. TNTrevor Noah37:59

       Like, Eddie Murphy had those jokes.

   18. NBNeal Brennan38:00

       Mm-hmm.

   19. TNTrevor Noah38:01

       And, and we all laughed about it. But I think I grew up watching this going, "Huh, this is not, it doesn't seem to be ideal."

   20. SPSpeaker38:07

       Mm-hmm.

   21. TNTrevor Noah38:07

       "And it doesn't seem to get where I'm going." So maybe what I did a little too much was I internalize it, so I keep it in me. But then what I do is I, and that's where ADHD helps, I'm having six conversations now at the same time.

   22. SPSpeaker38:19

       [laughs] Okay.

   23. TNTrevor Noah38:19

       So you're speaking to me, and I'm listening to what you're saying, and then I'm sort of going to, like, one tree-

   24. NBNeal Brennan38:25

       Yeah

   25. TNTrevor Noah38:25

       ... which is, like, "Okay, how do I agree with you? How do I disagree with you?"

   26. NBNeal Brennan38:27

       Mm-hmm.

   27. SPSpeaker38:28

       Mm-hmm.

   28. TNTrevor Noah38:28

       "What's happening here? What's not happening here? Do I connect with you? Do I not connect with you?"

   29. SPSpeaker38:31

       Mm-hmm.

   30. TNTrevor Noah38:31

       "Can I see your humanity?" And I always go, if I see you as a person, which I do with most human beings on this Earth-
8. 44:55 – 52:11

   Offense, Context and Choosing Your Anger

   1. SPSpeaker44:55

      Yeah, but I also think, like, there's some things that people should be sha- listen, I like shame. I'm not like Brennan.

   2. TNTrevor Noah45:00

      You do love shame.

   3. SPSpeaker45:00

      I like shame.

   4. NBNeal Brennan45:01

      Mm, I'm, I'm-

   5. TNTrevor Noah45:01

      You love shame

   6. NBNeal Brennan45:01

      ... we're into it.

   7. SPSpeaker45:02

      Do you know what I mean?

   8. NBNeal Brennan45:02

      Yeah.

   9. SPSpeaker45:02

      And I'm just like-

   10. NBNeal Brennan45:03

       It's one of my kinks

   11. SPSpeaker45:04

       ... whether you're a comedian, whoever you are-

   12. NBNeal Brennan45:05

       [laughs]

   13. TNTrevor Noah45:05

       [laughs]

   14. SPSpeaker45:06

       ... I don't kink shame, Neal.

   15. NBNeal Brennan45:07

       Great.

   16. SPSpeaker45:08

       I'm proud of you.

   17. NBNeal Brennan45:08

       Fantastic.

   18. TNTrevor Noah45:08

       Of course. So the one place he doesn't shame is kink. Okay.

   19. NBNeal Brennan45:10

       Yeah, yeah, okay.

   20. TNTrevor Noah45:11

       No kink.

   21. SPSpeaker45:11

       I know.

   22. TNTrevor Noah45:11

       Shame, but no kink.

   23. SPSpeaker45:12

       I'm just like, there's some things that if you s-

   24. NBNeal Brennan45:14

       I can follow it

   25. SPSpeaker45:14

       ... if-

   26. NBNeal Brennan45:14

       Either way, I have an erection. Go ahead.

   27. TNTrevor Noah45:15

       [laughs]

   28. SPSpeaker45:16

       [laughs] Okay, Neal. No, I'm just like, there's some things, if you say them, there could be consequence. Like, I know every time I say something, I'm, something I'm trying to teach my kids, something if I've had to learn the hard way is, like, you say stuff, sometimes people get offended. And there's gonna be a backlash.

   29. NBNeal Brennan45:31

       So you're correct in that civil rights are a little wobbly in certain respects, right? And but there's also people, there's, there's a huge incentive to grievance. There's a incentive, it, the, the incentive to being in a conversation used to be somebody make a joke, you'd laugh. The, the incentive was to-

   30. TNTrevor Noah45:53

       Yes
9. 52:11 – 1:01:05

   How Trevor and Neal First Met

   1. TNTrevor Noah52:11

      Neal, let me tell you something. When I met Neal Brennan, so I'll, I'll take you on a little journey. When I met Neal Brennan for the very first time-

   2. NBNeal Brennan52:18

      Mm-hmm

   3. TNTrevor Noah52:18

      ... I was on Twitter, and this was the good old days of Twitter where people were just making jokes.

   4. NBNeal Brennan52:23

      Sure.

   5. TNTrevor Noah52:23

      There was nothing serious on it.

   6. NBNeal Brennan52:24

      Yeah.

   7. TNTrevor Noah52:24

      It was just jokes.

   8. NBNeal Brennan52:24

      Before Cristiana came in and was fine.

   9. TNTrevor Noah52:26

      [laughs]

   10. NBNeal Brennan52:26

       Go ahead.

   11. TNTrevor Noah52:28

       And there was just jokes. And I remember Neal had really funny jokes on Twitter, and I was like, "This guy's funny." And I followed him, and then it said co-creator of Chappelle's Show. And I was like, "Wait, what?"

   12. SPSpeaker52:37

       Mm-hmm.

   13. TNTrevor Noah52:38

       And I went in, and I didn't, I hadn't even, like, watched the Chappelle's Show in that way. I never had cable.

   14. SPSpeaker52:42

       Yeah.

   15. TNTrevor Noah52:42

       I couldn't afford it, all these things. Sob story, whatever.

   16. NBNeal Brennan52:44

       Grew up with a, you know, copper roof.

   17. TNTrevor Noah52:45

       Yeah. You know how it is.

   18. SPSpeaker52:46

       Yeah.

   19. TNTrevor Noah52:46

       You know how it is. Whatever.

   20. SPSpeaker52:47

       Before Prime.

   21. TNTrevor Noah52:47

       Yeah, yeah.

   22. NBNeal Brennan52:48

       Before Prime. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

   23. TNTrevor Noah52:48

       Tough, tough life. Let's keep it moving. But I then went, and I watched the show, and then I showed, saw the first sketch, the, um, black white supremacist, and then you're in the back then.

   24. NBNeal Brennan52:56

       Yeah.

   25. TNTrevor Noah52:57

       Your, like your head explodes and-

   26. NBNeal Brennan52:58

       Mm-hmm.

   27. TNTrevor Noah52:58

       But then I, like, started res- I was like, "Damn, this guy's funny and he's, he's just been in everything that I love."

   28. SPSpeaker53:05

       Yeah.

   29. TNTrevor Noah53:05

       So I follow him on Twitter, and now I just love his jokes.

   30. SPSpeaker53:08

       Mm-hmm.
10. 1:01:05 – 1:05:32

    Identity, Belonging and Neal's Ease in Black Spaces

    1. TNTrevor Noah1:01:05

       Why do you think, I would love to know, why do you think as Neal you were always more comfortable and more honest in Black spaces than most white people?

    2. NBNeal Brennan1:01:15

       I'd never, I, I'd just never been that racist.

    3. TNTrevor Noah1:01:18

       [laughs] I love how you say "that." [laughs]

    4. NBNeal Brennan1:01:20

       No, 'cause everybody's racist.

    5. TNTrevor Noah1:01:22

       No, I'm just thinking it's funny.

    6. NBNeal Brennan1:01:23

       It's just a matter of degree.

    7. TNTrevor Noah1:01:24

       Yeah.

    8. NBNeal Brennan1:01:24

       So I've just never been that racist. I had access because one, one of my brothers worked at the Wrigley Field, and all of his coworkers were Black. They were always so nice to me. Eddie, Eddie, Michael Jordan, Spike Lee, Arsenio.

    9. TNTrevor Noah1:01:40

       Right.

    10. NBNeal Brennan1:01:40

        I, I mean, this is, like, a creepy story. I'm, like, nine, right? Nine years old. I used to have to, Eddie's on Saturday Night Live. I used to have to run, I, my parents would get home, I used to have to run upstairs to hide to, that I wasn't watching it, right? 'Cause they were, they'd get home, and I'm supposed to, I'm nine-

    11. TNTrevor Noah1:01:57

        Yeah

    12. NBNeal Brennan1:01:57

        ... I'm supposed to be in bed. At a certain point, I say to my mom, "Hey, you need to let me watch Saturday Night Live. It's important." I remember being nine and going, "What are you talking about?" [laughs]

    13. SPSpeaker1:02:10

        [laughs]

    14. TNTrevor Noah1:02:10

        [laughs]

    15. NBNeal Brennan1:02:11

        "It's important." A- again, it's not even like I, it's, it's, I'm so saintly. It's just, like, it's stupid. It's just, like-

    16. TNTrevor Noah1:02:19

        It's illogical

    17. NBNeal Brennan1:02:20

        ... it's illogical.

    18. TNTrevor Noah1:02:21

        Yeah.

    19. NBNeal Brennan1:02:21

        It's like you and I-

    20. SPSpeaker1:02:23

        Mm

    21. NBNeal Brennan1:02:23

        ... immediately, like, I was like, "Oh, I think I know what you're like."

    22. SPSpeaker1:02:26

        Yeah, yeah.

    23. NBNeal Brennan1:02:27

        I don't care about y- I don't care about your anything. It's like I know what you're, you're fucking, you're a very opinionated person.

    24. SPSpeaker1:02:33

        Mm.

    25. NBNeal Brennan1:02:33

        Like, okay.

    26. SPSpeaker1:02:34

        Yeah.

    27. NBNeal Brennan1:02:34

        I'll see you at the next argument.

    28. TNTrevor Noah1:02:35

        [laughs]

    29. SPSpeaker1:02:36

        [laughs]

    30. NBNeal Brennan1:02:36

        Like, there's no [laughs] so it's just, what, it's not, I don't know, I just never really bought that into it in terms of, uh-
11. 1:05:32 – 1:11:09

    Neal's Healing: Psychedelics and Changing His Relationship to Life

    1. TNTrevor Noah1:05:32

       When you, when you became more spiritual, I'd love to know, like you and I, uh, many years ago, on The Daily Show we talked about depression-

    2. NBNeal Brennan1:05:42

       Mm-hmm

    3. TNTrevor Noah1:05:42

       ... and how it affects people differently. And this is before I knew I had ADHD, and then I was like, "Oh, mine's not, like, depression. It's just a byproduct of ADHD at times." I wanna know from you, what do you think some of the biggest blocks were to you figuring it out? Um, you know, in one special you're joking about wearing a, a device on your arm-

    4. NBNeal Brennan1:06:04

       Mm-hmm

    5. TNTrevor Noah1:06:04

       ... that electrocutes you to remind you-

    6. NBNeal Brennan1:06:06

       Ah

    7. TNTrevor Noah1:06:06

       ... to smile and seem-

    8. NBNeal Brennan1:06:07

       Yeah

    9. TNTrevor Noah1:06:07

       ... more affable.

    10. SPSpeaker1:06:08

        [laughs]

    11. NBNeal Brennan1:06:08

        Yeah.

    12. TNTrevor Noah1:06:09

        This is a real thing.

    13. NBNeal Brennan1:06:09

        Yes.

    14. TNTrevor Noah1:06:10

        And then-

    15. NBNeal Brennan1:06:10

        And then, and then it zaps me, and I smile.

    16. TNTrevor Noah1:06:12

        Yeah.

    17. NBNeal Brennan1:06:13

        That's the cover art on Netflix-

    18. SPSpeaker1:06:15

        [laughs]

    19. NBNeal Brennan1:06:15

        ... is me fake smiling-

    20. SPSpeaker1:06:17

        'Cause the zaps

    21. NBNeal Brennan1:06:18

        ... from being zapped.

    22. TNTrevor Noah1:06:19

        'Cause you've been zapped. Yeah.

    23. NBNeal Brennan1:06:19

        Yes.

    24. TNTrevor Noah1:06:19

        But then now you smile more as a person.

    25. NBNeal Brennan1:06:22

        Yeah.

    26. TNTrevor Noah1:06:22

        You just generally-

    27. NBNeal Brennan1:06:23

        Yeah.

    28. TNTrevor Noah1:06:24

        What do you, what do you think was the ... And it's not the ... Let's start with the thing that you did, but tell me what you discovered that shifted you out from under the cloud.

    29. NBNeal Brennan1:06:33

        It's the, I mean, uh, it's, it's, it's very danger- uh, ayahuasca, 5-MeO-DMT, and then MDMA. It's, I wouldn't recommend it, 'cause it's like, it, the 5-MeO-DMT, I like kinda lost my mind for a couple days. Uh, but I, those in s- in sequentially, that's how I did them, and that's, and they worked for me.

    30. SPSpeaker1:06:57

        Did you do it under guidance or just like by yourse-
12. 1:11:09 – 1:14:20

    Surrender, Balance and Wrapping Up

    1. NBNeal Brennan1:11:09

       But, but even, like, being a mom I'm sure is like really tries your patience.

    2. SPSpeaker1:11:15

       Yeah, yeah. Sure.

    3. NBNeal Brennan1:11:15

       And you could occupy that space of, like, uh, just being aggravated all the time.

    4. SPSpeaker1:11:22

       Mm-hmm.

    5. NBNeal Brennan1:11:22

       Which I think m- a lot of parents did for a long time. Or you can just be like, "Eh, this is c- it's, I, I c- I'm gonna feel this way, and I have to figure out how to deal with it."

    6. SPSpeaker1:11:33

       Yeah, I, I mean, I just, like, surrender.

    7. NBNeal Brennan1:11:35

       Yeah, that's the-

    8. SPSpeaker1:11:36

       It's like, yeah

    9. NBNeal Brennan1:11:36

       ... yeah. No, my girlfriend says that all the time.

    10. SPSpeaker1:11:37

        Yeah, I'm like, "I can't."

    11. NBNeal Brennan1:11:37

        She's like, "It's the most zen thing in the world."

    12. SPSpeaker1:11:39

        Yeah, you just surrender.

    13. NBNeal Brennan1:11:39

        It's just like, I ha- I have a four-year-old. They're gonna be four-

    14. SPSpeaker1:11:43

        Yeah

    15. NBNeal Brennan1:11:44

        ... until he's five. [laughs]

    16. SPSpeaker1:11:45

        And then, and then they're gonna be five.

    17. NBNeal Brennan1:11:47

        Yeah, and then he's gonna be five, apparently.

    18. SPSpeaker1:11:48

        Which is another thing.

    19. NBNeal Brennan1:11:48

        Yeah.

    20. SPSpeaker1:11:48

        [laughs]

    21. NBNeal Brennan1:11:48

        So yeah, which is own and just, like, the surrender and the, the acceptance of, like, this is what it is.

    22. SPSpeaker1:11:55

        Mm-hmm.

    23. NBNeal Brennan1:11:56

        I can either look at it and be, have my fist balled up all the time, or I can just be like, "Okay."

    24. SPSpeaker1:12:01

        Mm.

    25. NBNeal Brennan1:12:01

        "This is, I got, I'm here. I'm here. I might as well enjoy it" which is, uh, the corniest, tritest, uh-

    26. SPSpeaker1:12:10

        Which is scary when you say it.

    27. NBNeal Brennan1:12:11

        I know.

    28. TNTrevor Noah1:12:11

        No, it's hard, but-

    29. SPSpeaker1:12:11

        'Cause I'm, I like to strive.

    30. NBNeal Brennan1:12:13

        It-

Episode duration: 1:14:21