What Now? With Trevor NoahKareem Rahma: The Cost of the Attention Economy
EVERY SPOKEN WORD
145 min read · 28,831 words- 0:00 – 1:20
Intro
- KRKareem Rahma
[upbeat music] The show's really about, like, how to be a better man. It's about fatherhood. It's about, uh, the American dream, and it's about immigrants. It's, it's really just about, it's an American story, and it's awesome.
- TNTrevor Noah
It's a fully American story.
- KRKareem Rahma
I w- I, I want my nickname to be the Arab Patriot.
- TNTrevor Noah
Could just be The Patriot, but okay.
- KRKareem Rahma
Nah, there's, there's a lot, that, that sounds like a movie with, like, John Krasinski shooting people in Saudi Arabia or something like.
- TNTrevor Noah
This is true. It's crazy how John Krasinski-
- KRKareem Rahma
[laughs]
- TNTrevor Noah
... has now been that guy, right?
- KRKareem Rahma
It's 'cause he's buff now.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, but still, I'm just like, it's funny how it, like, o- one minute, if, if you left the Earth at, like, the peak of The Office-
- KRKareem Rahma
Right
- TNTrevor Noah
... and then you came back now, and you'd be like, "Jim is shooting people now?"
- KRKareem Rahma
That's the guy. He might-
- TNTrevor Noah
It's, it's such a-
- KRKareem Rahma
He might be in a movie called The Patriot.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, maybe he is.
- KRKareem Rahma
Mandela effect.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, could be.
- KRKareem Rahma
[laughs]
- TNTrevor Noah
Could be. The Arab Patriot.
- KRKareem Rahma
The Arab Patriot.
- TNTrevor Noah
Hmm.
- KRKareem Rahma
I don't really wanna be called that.
- TNTrevor Noah
[laughs] [upbeat music] This is What Now? With Trevor Noah. [upbeat music]
- 1:20 – 2:07
Walking While Eating in New York
- KRKareem Rahma
I, I think it is weird that I walk and eat. I don't think it's weird. I don't see that many people walking and eating.
- TNTrevor Noah
Nobody walks and eats anymore.
- KRKareem Rahma
I walk and eat all the time. I did it yesterday with a, a, like, a breakfast burrito.
- TNTrevor Noah
Nobody walks and eats anymore.
- KRKareem Rahma
Breakfast burrito. I know.
- TNTrevor Noah
Like a, like a full-on-
- KRKareem Rahma
A literal burrito
- TNTrevor Noah
... do you, do you two-hand burrito or one-hand burrito?
- KRKareem Rahma
One-hand, baby.
- TNTrevor Noah
If you, 'cause if you two-hand burrito-ing-
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah
- TNTrevor Noah
... and walking-
- KRKareem Rahma
You wouldn't catch me two-hand
- TNTrevor Noah
... you'd look like a crazy person.
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah, you can't catch me with two hands.
- TNTrevor Noah
Okay.
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah.
- TNTrevor Noah
One-hand burrito walking.
- KRKareem Rahma
One-hand burrito walking.
- TNTrevor Noah
What, what is it about your life that you are so, um, unable to sit down and eat?
- KRKareem Rahma
I, I feel like I'm fairly busy at the moment. This is not, like, permanent.
- TNTrevor Noah
Oh, okay, this is not, like, your vibe. This is just-
- KRKareem Rahma
No, it's not, like, always
- TNTrevor Noah
... a temporary thing.
- KRKareem Rahma
But it's, it's probably been for the past, like, three years.
- TNTrevor Noah
So if I see Kareem in the streets eating, I'm like, "Ah, things are going well for him"?
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah, yeah, exactly. I just gotta keep the momentum going.
- 2:07 – 3:18
Becoming “The Guy” Everyone Recognizes on the Subway
- TNTrevor Noah
Do you feel really busy right now?
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah.
- TNTrevor Noah
It seems like you're doing, like, a shit ton.
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah.
- TNTrevor Noah
I see you everywhere.
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah. Thank you.
- TNTrevor Noah
You know? Yeah, no, it's good. No, in a good-
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah
- TNTrevor Noah
... in a good way. No, really.
- KRKareem Rahma
No, no, it's really good. It's, well, that's what's happened. I, I ran into a guy on the train today, and he was like, "Hey, you're the guy." And I'm like, "Yeah, I'm the guy." And he was, like, talking to me, and, uh, and he talked about this, he's like, "I see you everywhere." And he's like, "I like watching your videos when I'm on the train," which is really meta.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
Like, he watches my videos on the train.
- TNTrevor Noah
Can you ride the train?
- KRKareem Rahma
I do ride the train, and I always get stopped, but-
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, because it's, it's weird. Like, how long have you been in New York?
- KRKareem Rahma
15 years.
- TNTrevor Noah
So I've only been in New York for, uh, what is, what are we now? 10, 26, or 10, 20, 11 maybe.
- KRKareem Rahma
Which is pretty good, yeah.
- TNTrevor Noah
11, yeah, 11, 12 years. I always found, like, the subway had a simple rule, and that rule was nobody looks at each other, nobody talks to each other, nobody engages. You, you know what I mean? It was like, it's a, it's a simple staple of the subway.
- KRKareem Rahma
Mm-hmm.
- TNTrevor Noah
And then, and then on my way here, I was thinking about this, and I was like, man, it's weird to be a celebrity of the subway because then that means, like, the subway people know you as the guy that they should be engaging with.
- KRKareem Rahma
And they do.
- 3:18 – 4:50
Trevor Discovers Kareem Is an E-Bike Guy
- TNTrevor Noah
So people talk to you on the subway.
- KRKareem Rahma
They do.
- TNTrevor Noah
Oh, man.
- KRKareem Rahma
It's actually pretty awful.
- TNTrevor Noah
That's rough.
- KRKareem Rahma
But I'm, but I'm still not ready to, like, commit my life to Uber rides everywhere.
- TNTrevor Noah
No, no, Citibike, my friend. Come join me.
- KRKareem Rahma
Oh, yeah, I do that.
- TNTrevor Noah
Join me on the bikes, my friend.
- KRKareem Rahma
For short. No, no, I'm, I'm, I have my own e-bike.
- TNTrevor Noah
Oh, wow.
- KRKareem Rahma
And I'm ripping. 'Cause I live in Brooklyn, but I work in Manhattan, and I, I take a 40-minute ride every day.
- TNTrevor Noah
You're one of those.
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah, I rip over.
- TNTrevor Noah
You have your own e-bike.
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah, and it's sick.
- TNTrevor Noah
I've always wondered who those people are.
- KRKareem Rahma
That's me.
- TNTrevor Noah
[laughs]
- KRKareem Rahma
And then, and then-
- TNTrevor Noah
What, uh, what, what, what is it? A VanMoof? What is it, a-
- KRKareem Rahma
No, it's called Aventon. It's pretty basic.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
But, um, it's fast, and it gets me to and from work.
- TNTrevor Noah
Every day?
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah.
- TNTrevor Noah
Is there a temperature that you don't ride it?
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah, anytime it gets cold.
- TNTrevor Noah
What, what's cold?
- KRKareem Rahma
Like, today's good. Today I would do.
- 4:50 – 6:18
Why So Much Internet Content Feels Empty Now
- TNTrevor Noah
it feels like in, in the era that we live in now, your videos are almost a dying breed of internet content because, uh, let me, let me know if this makes sense to you. I feel like now people are making content to get people to watch the content, but they're not m- making the content anymore. Does, does this make sense?
- KRKareem Rahma
[laughs]
- TNTrevor Noah
So it's like, okay, let me, let me try and explain this. Like, when somebody made Game of Thrones-
- KRKareem Rahma
Mm-hmm
- TNTrevor Noah
... they made Game of Thrones to, I assume, tell a good story.
- KRKareem Rahma
Mm-hmm.
- TNTrevor Noah
And then the byproduct of the good story is that people read it or watch it.
- KRKareem Rahma
Mm-hmm.
- TNTrevor Noah
That's the byproduct of telling a good story. But then I think some people with the internet now, they make content to get people to watch the content so that they can just have more people-
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah, yeah, yeah
- TNTrevor Noah
... so they can make more content. But when you actually look at the content, you're like, what is this?
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah.
- TNTrevor Noah
It's just content that keeps you watching so that they can keep on, but it's, it's not actually good.
- KRKareem Rahma
No, I, I, I, are we recording right now?
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
Oh, amazing. I didn't even know we started.
- TNTrevor Noah
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
[laughs] I thought we were having a nice chat. Um-
- TNTrevor Noah
Oh, and then we're gonna switch. [laughs]
- KRKareem Rahma
I thought we were gonna be like, action.
- TNTrevor Noah
And action.
- KRKareem Rahma
I thought, okay, we, well, all right, that's great.
- TNTrevor Noah
Well, Kareem, uh, welcome to the show. Uh-
- KRKareem Rahma
Let's see what I said all of that other stuff. We'll, we'll figure out if I said anything bad. Um-
- TNTrevor Noah
You said the subway's shit. I heard you, man
- KRKareem Rahma
I still think it's-
- TNTrevor Noah
You said people on the subway are trash
- KRKareem Rahma
[laughs] No, no, I remember what I said about the-
- TNTrevor Noah
[laughs]
- KRKareem Rahma
Keep the subway out of your mouth.
- 6:18 – 8:23
The Problem With Viral-First Short Form Content
- KRKareem Rahma
To what you were saying, though, I was just drafting a little diary entry-
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah
- KRKareem Rahma
... about how I think that people should stop making short form unscripted vertical video shows.
- TNTrevor Noah
Oh.
- KRKareem Rahma
I think we're at peak saturation, and what I talked about in this little diary entry is, you know, when I started my shows, which is Keep the Meter Running-
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah
- KRKareem Rahma
... and Subway Takes, I did it because I thought it was a great idea, and that I would entertain myself doing that great idea.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
Virality literally was not even, it wasn't even the slightest sliver. I wasn't like, "Oh, this is gonna go viral. This is a perfect, you know, equation. This is a genetically modified organism that will go viral." Like, it, it had nothing to do with that, and like you're saying, the outcome was virality. But it wasn't the intention. The intention was to make the best entertainment possible-
- TNTrevor Noah
Mm-hmm
- KRKareem Rahma
... for the forum which I use the most, which is a phone. So-
- TNTrevor Noah
Ah, okay
- KRKareem Rahma
... that's, I, I love the phone. I use the phone like it's television. I still watch television, I still watch movies, but I use the phone like it's a little television in my pocket. I wouldn't watch a TV show. That's, that's the thing, like, when I see people on flights watching-
- TNTrevor Noah
Yo, man
- KRKareem Rahma
... a full TV show or a movie
- TNTrevor Noah
Can I tell you, those people, I, I would, if I could, I would have a list of their names.
- KRKareem Rahma
[laughs]
- TNTrevor Noah
And I would make sure that they never get hired in any serious position.
- KRKareem Rahma
[laughs]
- TNTrevor Noah
If you get onto a flight and you plan to watch, I've seen people watch a full Marvel movie, like I'm talking like Avengers: Infinity War, on a tiny little five-inch screen, but like serious, and then they clip it in front of them.
- KRKareem Rahma
That's crazy.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, I'm like, "You s-"
- KRKareem Rahma
They don't even clip it. Sometimes they just go like this.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
They put it like this.
- TNTrevor Noah
You shouldn't be hired in any, like, serious position in life.
- KRKareem Rahma
No, you shouldn't. But, but that's the thing, is that I'm making entertainment for the flight. I'm making-
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, but you're making it for the phone
- KRKareem Rahma
... I'm making it, that's what I'm saying.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, exactly.
- 8:23 – 10:58
The Rise of Fake “Independent” Media Companies
- KRKareem Rahma
going in with an intention of making the best work possible-
- TNTrevor Noah
Mm-hmm
- KRKareem Rahma
... and entertaining yourself, and hopefully entertaining other people, and the big, the big problem, what gives it a bad name today, and I agree with it, is that so many people are jumping in with this mindset, the intention is, "I'm gonna make a viral short form show."
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
It's not, "I'm, I have this amazing idea I need to get out of my body." It's, "I, I wanna go viral. I wanna monetize." And I think the biggest perpetrators of all of this is not, like, independent people, independent comedians, independent whoever, 'cause everyone's trying to, like, do something. Like, if you're a stand-up comedian and you start a show, the goal for you is to gain more exposure so you can sell more tickets to your live show.
- TNTrevor Noah
Right.
- KRKareem Rahma
There's a new crop of, like, little media companies, though, that are popping up, and I have big problems with them, 'cause they have bad contracts. They take advantage of young people.
- TNTrevor Noah
Oh, shit, I didn't even know this. This is a thing?
- KRKareem Rahma
Oh, yeah, dude, half of the, half of the s- the, the, the feed slop you see of, like, someone-
- TNTrevor Noah
No.
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah, stan-
- TNTrevor Noah
Are you serious?
- KRKareem Rahma
Of someone standing in the park, they look like they're just, like, a guy with an idea, but most of the time, those are shows funded by these a- new media companies that are-
- TNTrevor Noah
Oh, that explains it
- KRKareem Rahma
... creating 30 of these.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, yeah, yeah. That explains it.
- KRKareem Rahma
And the whole goal is get big, keep it cheap, get big. Don't worry about the quality. Don't worry about the format. Don't worry about the idea. Just get the numbers up and monetize it. And, and the people that sign those contracts are usually in really bad deals, because they get taken advantage of. They usually, like, hire young kids or college people or people just starting out in their careers.
- TNTrevor Noah
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
- KRKareem Rahma
They don't own any of the IP. Like, the company will own the IP. It's just a whole different... And, and I really, I'm not saying this as, like, a curmudgeon, like, I'm like, "Oh, stop making shows."
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
I just want young people that do see my path as a viable path, 'cause it is. It's a great career. I'm so happy. Uh, both of my shows have, like, changed my life. But they've changed my life because I like what I'm doing.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
I own them. I own the IP. I own the shows. No one can tell me what to do. No one takes a cut of my money, with the exception of my managers, which is, you know, they do, they have a job-
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
- KRKareem Rahma
... so they do that.
- TNTrevor Noah
Right.
- KRKareem Rahma
But there's, like, if I wanna adapt Subway Takes into a TV show, if I wanna adapt Keep the Meter Running into a movie, that's on me. Like, it's not another company that's controlling it. So I, I, I've been thinking about this a lot, and I do think also that the audience is kind of sick of seeing the same thing over and over and over, but when they see a Subway Takes or they see a Keep the Meter Running, it's an original idea. It's not like at Washington Square Park.
- TNTrevor Noah
Right.
- KRKareem Rahma
Right, the rest. They're, that's another thing I don't understand. Why are all the shows at Washington Square
- 10:58 – 15:02
Why Original Ideas Still Stand Out Online
- KRKareem Rahma
Park?
- TNTrevor Noah
[laughs] You know what my favorite thing is about those, is the fake, like, catch the person.
- KRKareem Rahma
Oh, yeah, yeah.
- TNTrevor Noah
"Oh, hey, would you mind telling me h- how much you earn?"
- KRKareem Rahma
It's crazy.
- TNTrevor Noah
"Oh, how much do you earn?" "Uh, uh, about, like, uh, $20 million a year." "What do you do?" "Well, I, uh, I sell chicken feed." And like, "Oh my God, how do we get into that business?" And you're like, yo, the, you saw the person coming. You saw the thing set up. That's what I mean.
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah.
- TNTrevor Noah
Is that it, it's, it starts to feel like everything is a, everything's fake.
- KRKareem Rahma
It is. That is-
- TNTrevor Noah
That's what, that's what it feels like
- KRKareem Rahma
... it is. Yeah.
- TNTrevor Noah
But everything is, is trafficking in real.
- KRKareem Rahma
Mm-hmm.
- TNTrevor Noah
And this is, this is a take of mine that's a little extreme, but I genuinely believe it. I think every time the public comes into contact with fake things masquerading as real things, it undermines the very foundation that society's based on.
- KRKareem Rahma
Mm-hmm.
- TNTrevor Noah
D- does that make sense?
- KRKareem Rahma
It does.
- TNTrevor Noah
Like, I, I feel like in society we're supposed to trust that fake is fake and real is real, so that we, we can all have an agreement about what we should or shouldn't be thinking or experiencing or feeling. And I think it bleeds into politics. Like, if you go, if you watch a show where there's a husband and wife who prank each other, and you're like, "Oh, this is cool. They always prank..." And then at some point you're like, "Wait a minute, are they, are they setting this up?" Uh, the guy doesn't just walk into the room and the balloon falls on his head. This is-
- KRKareem Rahma
Mm.
- TNTrevor Noah
[laughs] Oh, I, I think this is set up now.
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah, yeah.
- TNTrevor Noah
Then you start going, "I don't trust anything." And I've seen this happen to people in my life. I've seen this happen with me. People go, "Oh, yeah, I don't know. I don't... 'Cause that thing was fake, so this thing's probably fake." And then you see, like, a police arrest, and you're like, "I don't know, this could be staged as well." And then you see, like-
- KRKareem Rahma
Right
- TNTrevor Noah
... a couple fighting on the train, and you see some shit go down somewhere else, and you're like, "Ah, it's probably one of those fake videos." And it's interesting. You, you just start to, you start to build, like, a, like, a resistance to caring-
- KRKareem Rahma
Mm-hmm
- TNTrevor Noah
... about anything that could possibly be happening. I don't know, maybe it's extreme, but, you know.
- KRKareem Rahma
I, I think that there is a necessary suspension of disbelief, which we do in fiction storytelling-
- TNTrevor Noah
Exactly
- KRKareem Rahma
... all the time.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah.
- 15:02 – 17:41
The Berenstain Bears & The Mandela Effect
- KRKareem Rahma
But they go, "I miss when it was b- when it was random people."
- TNTrevor Noah
Okay.
- KRKareem Rahma
And I'm like, it w- but I respond, "It was never random people."
- TNTrevor Noah
Wait, but do you, do you, do you think that that's people experiencing the... What, what is a Berenstain Bear, by the way? What is that?
- KRKareem Rahma
Because there's, so there's these cartoons called The Berenstain Bears.
- TNTrevor Noah
Okay.
- KRKareem Rahma
And for as long as-
- TNTrevor Noah
This is, like, a current cartoon?
- KRKareem Rahma
N- it's, like, when I was growing up.
- TNTrevor Noah
Okay, got it, got it.
- KRKareem Rahma
And it's, like, about a family of bears.
- TNTrevor Noah
How old, what are you, 86?
- KRKareem Rahma
80, yeah, I'm 86 years old.
- TNTrevor Noah
Okay. [laughs]
- KRKareem Rahma
I'm surprised you didn't say 85, pal. Uh.
- TNTrevor Noah
[laughs]
- KRKareem Rahma
Is that genuine laughter?
- TNTrevor Noah
No, that is. That-
- KRKareem Rahma
Okay, that's a good joke
- TNTrevor Noah
... I joke. All right.
- KRKareem Rahma
Put it on the-
- TNTrevor Noah
With a joke. Come on, I love that. That's like-
- KRKareem Rahma
Where's the joke thing? Where's the-
- TNTrevor Noah
No, no, no. That's like for-
- KRKareem Rahma
Are we gonna have a laugh track on this one?
- TNTrevor Noah
Um, but you were born in '86, right?
- KRKareem Rahma
'86, yeah, yeah.
- TNTrevor Noah
Okay, cool. Yeah. No, I'm just trying to figure out which cartoons. So Berenstain Bears, what was the, what was this?
- KRKareem Rahma
So there, there, there is a entire, like, theory-
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah
- 17:41 – 24:30
What the Mandela Effect Actually Is
- SPSpeaker
okay. Um, reporting, so in relation to Mel- Nelson Mandela-
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah
- SPSpeaker
... this paranormal researcher reported having vivid and detailed memories of news coverage-
- TNTrevor Noah
Of him dying
- SPSpeaker
... of anti- anti-apartheid leader President Nelson Mandela dying in prison in the '80s.
- KRKareem Rahma
Oh, okay. Yeah, I remember that too.
- TNTrevor Noah
Wait, the Mandela Effect is from him dying?
- SPSpeaker
In prison.
- TNTrevor Noah
Oh, I, I guess now the Mandela Effect is people not knowing what the Mandela Effect is.
- KRKareem Rahma
[laughs] Well, the-
- TNTrevor Noah
That's what the new Mandela Effect is
- KRKareem Rahma
... no, but un- un- it's, it's like a collective amnesia where we all think this th- or, like, a lot of people-
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, we all have an idea of something that did not happen
- KRKareem Rahma
... and there's another one. There's another one that's Sinbad. Do you remember Sinbad?
- TNTrevor Noah
That one I know. That, the, the, the, the genie.
- KRKareem Rahma
There's no movie
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Okay. That-
- KRKareem Rahma
There's no movie
- TNTrevor Noah
... no, that one I know of.
- KRKareem Rahma
But do, do you remember the movie?
- TNTrevor Noah
No, I, I never had that, though. I always thought it was Shaq that played, um, the genie.
- KRKareem Rahma
Shaq, Shaq did. He played one-
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah. Kazaam, wasn't it? What was it?
- KRKareem Rahma
I think he was Shazam.
- TNTrevor Noah
Shazam.
- KRKareem Rahma
But he might have been K- So Sinbad was supposed to be Shazam, and I think Shaquille O'Neal was Kazaam.
- TNTrevor Noah
Kazaam.
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah, but there's no Sinbad movie [laughs] .
- TNTrevor Noah
Okay [laughs] .
- KRKareem Rahma
But anyways, people think that the show Subway Takes-
- 24:30 – 31:40
Why Kareem Thinks Hanging Out Is a Skill
- KRKareem Rahma
some people taking it seriously but as a bit.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
Some people full on bit. And, like, that's not a real, it's not a real thing. Like, there's no world in which g- only gay people can have-
- TNTrevor Noah
Right, right, right
- KRKareem Rahma
... have dogs [laughs] in New York.
- TNTrevor Noah
But, but the, but the take is, is-
- KRKareem Rahma
Well, it's hilarious.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
But, but in the comments somebody's like, "Okay, f- so for this to work, there needs to be blah, blah, blah." And another person's like, "Okay, so if only gay people have dogs, let's say that's 1% of New Yorkers."
- TNTrevor Noah
[laughs]
- KRKareem Rahma
"So that means this many dogs, so that would reduce the number of dogs by this many." And, like, people are doing real analysis and research, and I love it because there's not really a place, I think, in America at all-
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah
- KRKareem Rahma
... to have a civilized yet still kind of, like, rambunctious-
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah
- KRKareem Rahma
... conversation. In the same way that it used to feel like you could get a bunch of people to have dinner, and they would h- they would have slightly opposing beliefs.
- TNTrevor Noah
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
- KRKareem Rahma
And you would have a good time and be like, "Man, I love that. Like, I loved dinner with so-and-so because he's insa- like, he's stupid, but I loved the conversation." You know, you used to be able to have that conversation, at least I did, and now I feel like you can't have that con- you're just like, "This person is awful."
- TNTrevor Noah
Do you think you had a yearning for that coming from an Egyptian household?
- KRKareem Rahma
Dude, I stand in front of my TV with my arms crossed behind my da- back watching CNN at 7:00 AM. Like, I have the old school Arab dad mentality. And so when I used to see my dad, like, interacting with his friends, they were all so, they were al- they were al- always arguing.
- TNTrevor Noah
Always.
- KRKareem Rahma
Yes. There was never a moment where they weren't.
- TNTrevor Noah
So, so this is, I'm so glad you said that. This is, this is a thing that I've been trying to explain to many of my, like, American friends who sort of have no, um, recent immigrant family. Uh, everyone came here at some point.
- KRKareem Rahma
Mm-hmm.
- TNTrevor Noah
But they don't have any im- recent immigrant family, and I go, "One of the national pastimes of most immigrant communities is arguing."
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah.
- TNTrevor Noah
But, but, like, arguing for the sake of arguing, but, like, in a really, really fun, it's about football. Who's the best footballer? Who's the best team? Who's the best coach? And then it moves to, like, but it's always benign, you know?
- KRKareem Rahma
Mm-hmm.
- TNTrevor Noah
Oh, where do you get the best, uh, hummus? Well, you, that's not hummus. Oh, you can't even count that place-
- KRKareem Rahma
But with a passion.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah. And then you fight-
- 31:40 – 42:01
University, Community & Meeting Different People
- TNTrevor Noah
at lunch, in a hotel lob- but in a, like a ... It made me feel like I was home.
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah. Is that what, how it feels in South Africa too?
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, Africans, come on, man.
- KRKareem Rahma
Just-
- TNTrevor Noah
It doesn't matter where you are in Africa.
- KRKareem Rahma
Grinding.
- TNTrevor Noah
Full on, full on. As soon as things get boring, you're hanging out with your Ghanaian friends or Nigerians, just be like, "Who's got the best jollof?" And then we're on.
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah, you just drop a little fight.
- TNTrevor Noah
Just-
- KRKareem Rahma
Drop a little fight.
- TNTrevor Noah
Just
- KRKareem Rahma
Everyone needs it. I, I remember when I, I was, like, inviting a bunch of people to Cairo, and I wrote, it was, like, an FAQ. And the last Q-
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah
- KRKareem Rahma
... was, "Why is everyone yelling?" And the answer, I, I, I, like, I had a bunch of questions. It was, "Why is everyone yelling?" And I said, "We're not yelling. This is h- just how we talk."
- TNTrevor Noah
I like that.
- KRKareem Rahma
That's it. It's just loud, obnoxious, go like this a lot, and-
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just, just get into it
- KRKareem Rahma
... and everyone does, uh, everyone does look like this.
- TNTrevor Noah
E- I, I will say that, though, like, the, the one difference I think between ... Well, maybe it's because I'm familiar with it. I feel like Africans look less angry when they're in the argument.
- KRKareem Rahma
They definitely do. They, they look, they, I mean, they're, they're ... Yeah, they look less angry in general.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
Arabs for some reason do look ... I'm Arab. I sometimes look in the mirror, and I'm like, "I look kinda angry."
- TNTrevor Noah
[laughs]
- KRKareem Rahma
Not right now with this face, but, like, usually I'm, like, if I'm-
- TNTrevor Noah
Oh, yeah, yeah, there, there's ... Yeah, that's the face.
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah, and that's just my thinking face.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, that's the face.
- KRKareem Rahma
It's not an angry face.
- TNTrevor Noah
That's the face.
- KRKareem Rahma
But I'll, I'll sit at the computer and I'm like, and I'm like, "Oh, sorry." [laughs] Like, people might think I'm angry.
- 42:01 – 42:22
The Funniest Moments Happen Naturally
- KRKareem Rahma
It was, it was, um, it was intense.
- TNTrevor Noah
Oh, man, I love those moments. I ju- I don't even, I don't even think I can explain to you how much I love those kinds of moments.
- KRKareem Rahma
You can see it in your head right now.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, because it's, it's, it's-
- KRKareem Rahma
And I'm like-
- TNTrevor Noah
... to me, that's pure comedy. It's just like, it's, it's, it's written flawlessly-
- KRKareem Rahma
[laughs] Yeah
- TNTrevor Noah
... when it just happens in life.
- KRKareem Rahma
It was so good.
- TNTrevor Noah
It was like, "You, do you know him?" "No, I don't know him." "Who's the per-" But they, 'cause he did the right action for a bodyguard. [laughs]
- 42:22 – 52:40
Why Kareem Chooses Guests Based on Vibes, Not Followers
- KRKareem Rahma
Uh, he was aggressive bodyguard, though.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, but he still-
- KRKareem Rahma
Just, he probably goes, "Psh"
- TNTrevor Noah
... it was the right action. Slap the phone, kick the phone away.
- KRKareem Rahma
[laughs]
- TNTrevor Noah
This is what you would think. You'd just be like, "Yo, man, that Kareem guy, yo, he's got aggressive bodyguards."
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah, super.
- TNTrevor Noah
"But they do their job."
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah, yeah, exactly. That's what happened.
- TNTrevor Noah
You know what I mean?
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah. So that's, that's the craziest thing that's happened. But, I mean, the other thing about the show is it's amazing because it's, it is literally the best, like- And I d- I don't wanna call it networking, but, like, I feel like I have friends, so many friends
- TNTrevor Noah
Oh, that's great
- KRKareem Rahma
'Cause I go to London, I meet 25, 30 new people-
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
- KRKareem Rahma
... every single time I go. I go to Berlin, I meet 25, 30 people. Paris, th- like-
- TNTrevor Noah
Right
- KRKareem Rahma
... and at this point, I still do all the booking, so, like, it's, I, I DM people, I find them, blah, blah, blah.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
And so I make, I feel like I have fr- so many friends. You know what I mean?
- TNTrevor Noah
That's really great, actually.
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah, it's really, that's, like, one of the big... Like, people are like, "Will you ever stop doing the show?" And I'm like, "Inevitably, yes, of course. Like, everything must end." But I'm like, that's the thing that I'm gonna miss the most, is, like, being able to meet 20 people in three days-
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah
- KRKareem Rahma
... or whatever. Like, 20 cool people who are comedians or independent filmmakers or whatever, and it's almost like speed dating. You know what I mean? Like, I'm-
- TNTrevor Noah
How do you, how do you pick them?
- KRKareem Rahma
It's like a vibes-based situation.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah?
- KRKareem Rahma
It's, it's not, like, really, it's not, uh, it's definitely not quantitative at all, so there's zero, I don't look at anyone's followers or numbers at all. That's a complete, doesn't matter at all.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
What I try to do, though, is I try to book people who feel like they deserve a platform-
- TNTrevor Noah
Okay
- 52:40 – 1:04:29
Why People Miss Disagreeing Without Hating Each Other
- KRKareem Rahma
the other majors.
- TNTrevor Noah
I never went to university, so I don't know, like, what, what-
- KRKareem Rahma
And you're a journalist
- TNTrevor Noah
... what makes-
- KRKareem Rahma
Look how easy it is.
- TNTrevor Noah
[laughs] This guy.
- KRKareem Rahma
[laughs] It's true, man. Look, the major's easy. It is. I don't know how I can describe it as easy other than when I went to school and they were like, "You have to choose a major."
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
I was like, "What is a..." Like, I had a friend who was, like, studying to be an engineer. I had another friend who was studying to be a computer scientist. I had another friend that was studying to be a fucking doctor, and they were always studying.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
And then I was like, "I don't wanna be always studying. I wanna be hanging out. Like, where, what, how can I just hang out during college? That sounds way better than studying." And I asked a bunch of people, and they were like, "Well, journalism's a pretty easy degree." And I said, "Great, I'll just do that." I didn't choose it 'cause I'm passionate. I chose it because it was there, and I was a junior, and I needed to pick a major to graduate from college. I did generals for two years. Generals are like when you don't have a major. So I spent two years just dabbling in American-
- TNTrevor Noah
A little bit of everything.
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah, a little American history, a little this, a little that.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, but look where it got you.
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah, but none of this, uh, is related to school, honestly. I didn't learn a damn thing in school. I went because it was fun. I, I stand by that personally.
- TNTrevor Noah
I think most people should go to school not to learn something per se, but to experience the community and the vibe of all the people you wouldn't otherwise meet.
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah, I, I-
- TNTrevor Noah
I think school s- is still, like, one of the few melting pots that exists.
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah.
- TNTrevor Noah
Well, I don't know if it'll, if it'll be for a while with the, with how they're coming after it, but, um-
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah
- TNTrevor Noah
... you know? I, I, I genuinely think that. I'm like, "Yeah, just go to school." That's the only reason I would want everyone to go to university and stuff.
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah, because it's fun.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, it's just you go meet people that you would-
- KRKareem Rahma
For sure
- TNTrevor Noah
... you know, it's their Subway Takes.
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah, yeah. [laughs]
- TNTrevor Noah
You meet 20 to 30 people-
- KRKareem Rahma
They've never read it, yeah
- TNTrevor Noah
... that you would never know. Now you've got friends in Berlin, friends in London, you know?
- 1:04:29 – 1:06:49
Trevor Noah’s Extremely Formal Text Messages
- KRKareem Rahma
Like, if you were like, "Hey, what time are you coming?" I'd be like, "Soon." That's all I'd say.
- TNTrevor Noah
[laughs]
- KRKareem Rahma
"Did you find the place?"
- TNTrevor Noah
Oh.
- KRKareem Rahma
"No. Send help."
- TNTrevor Noah
I have the opposite issue. My, my texting is too formal.
- KRKareem Rahma
Really?
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, my younger brother always, he's like, "Yo, man, you need to, like, you need to loosen up." I don't abbreviate anything. I don't, like, thank you. You know when people just write T-Y?
- KRKareem Rahma
That's what I do.
- TNTrevor Noah
No, no, no, no, no, no.
- KRKareem Rahma
You write thank you.
- TNTrevor Noah
I write thank you. I think about-
- KRKareem Rahma
Don't tell me you do, don't tell me you do periods.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, I do. I do.
- KRKareem Rahma
Oh.
- TNTrevor Noah
I, I put periods in.
- KRKareem Rahma
[laughs]
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, no, I do.
- KRKareem Rahma
No.
- TNTrevor Noah
I put the, the, the, the, we call it a full stop. I put a full stop where the full stop needs to be. I have double spacing after a full stop, 'cause you can't just, like, put one space. Um-
- KRKareem Rahma
Journalist.
- TNTrevor Noah
No, because my mom, uh, so when I was young, my mom ran her own, like, com- like, business from home, and she would type a lot. She was, like, in real estate, and she would type a lot, and then I would have to type things with her and help her.
- KRKareem Rahma
Oh, cool.
- TNTrevor Noah
So she would go through the work. So I would be like, "To whom it may concern, Dear Sirs/Madam-"
- KRKareem Rahma
[laughs]
- TNTrevor Noah
"... I would like to inform you of an issue that has occurred." So I couldn't, like, I couldn't be loose with things.
- KRKareem Rahma
Right.
- TNTrevor Noah
I couldn't, you know what I mean? So when texting comes into my life, I'm already, like, well-versed in the arts of, you know, formal conversation.
- KRKareem Rahma
Do you sign off?
- TNTrevor Noah
I do.
- 1:06:49 – 1:07:13
Feeling Like a Failure at 33
- KRKareem Rahma
talking to you.
- TNTrevor Noah
No, no, you need to, you need to, you need to throw in a little spice-
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah
- TNTrevor Noah
... just to throw off the algorithm.
- KRKareem Rahma
To make sure.
- TNTrevor Noah
I like this. I like this. Okay. So-
- KRKareem Rahma
So then I just, I was like, I can't, I love this, like, total Just departure from what we were talking about.
- TNTrevor Noah
[laughs]
- KRKareem Rahma
And then we both pick up exactly where we left off-
- TNTrevor Noah
Where we left off, my friend
- KRKareem Rahma
... which is at age 33, couldn't even-
- TNTrevor Noah
Failing at everything, no more CEO.
- KRKareem Rahma
[laughs]
- 1:07:13 – 1:12:55
Turning “Hanging Out” Into a Career
- KRKareem Rahma
And, and I was just like, "I have to do something that I think I'm actually good at."
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
And like I was saying, I went to college to hang out, and most of my life, I've been extremely good at that. It's the best thing. It's the thing that I'm best at. It's the thing that I'm most comfortable with. I didn't play sports, I hung out. I didn't have any college clubs, I hung out. Everything in my life has been geared around hanging out.
- TNTrevor Noah
I like this.
- KRKareem Rahma
So I was like, "What kind of job is a hangout job?"
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
And I was like, "Comedians seem to be hanging out all the time." They're always hanging out. Like, their job is to hang out.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
So I was like, "Maybe I'll do that." And so I went to Upright Citizens Brigade, and I, I, I always thought I was funny. I always felt funny. I always knew I could do it.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
I always played at the top of my intelligence, even in these, like, conversations with my friends.
- TNTrevor Noah
Uh-huh, uh-huh.
- KRKareem Rahma
I was always like, how, you know, keep the joke elevated and play at the top of your intelligence. But I, I did comedy school because I just felt like I wanted to have something on my resume.
- TNTrevor Noah
Okay, got it.
- KRKareem Rahma
And that would provide some legitimacy that I could say, like, "I am a comedian," or I, I could say that. I, I didn't-
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, yeah. No, I, I know what you mean
- KRKareem Rahma
... what I didn't wanna do was, like, be, like, aspiring or I'd just started. So, like, I just enrolled in school. I did all of the improv. I did all of the stand-up. I did all of the sketch. I did all of the writing. I-
- TNTrevor Noah
Oh, wow
- KRKareem Rahma
... I did, I did more than you're supposed to do probably. [laughs] But I did all the classes. I spent a ton of money, and at the same time, I was, like, doing the things. Like, I was doing the training, but I was also, like, booking shows. I was going to shows. I was performing on shows and just getting a feel for what I really liked. And eventually, like, it's-- I just, I, I've always been an internet kid. Like, from day one, it's, it's, it's been my favorite thing, a- aside from hanging out. So then I was like, "Let me make some videos." And then from there it was, like, figuring out, you know, what was, like, a, a repeatable thing.
- TNTrevor Noah
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
- KRKareem Rahma
Because I, I remember I did get some notoriety for making this short film with my friend New York Nico. We d- I, uh, we did this film together. It went to Tribeca. That was the first time I felt like-- I was like, "Oh, shit, I actually did," like, right away. It was my first big project, and it was right away in Tribeca, right away with this great director. And I was like, "Oh, shit, maybe I am good at this."
- TNTrevor Noah
Mm-hmm.
- KRKareem Rahma
Like, that was, that was the least amount of, like, uh, convincing I've had to do.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
And I don't feel like an imposter at all. Like, I wrote the movie. I was in the movie. It went to Tribeca. Like, I didn't fake anything. Like, it just worked, and that gave me my first little bit of, um, courage. And then right after that I did Keep the Meter Running, and that thing just exploded immediately.
- TNTrevor Noah
That, I mean-
- KRKareem Rahma
It was so cool, and again, it came from this place of, like, emotional attachment to my father, who passed away when I was 20, right when I was in college.
- TNTrevor Noah
Because your dad was a, was a taxi driver, right?
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah.
- 1:12:55 – 1:13:57
Bringing Keep The Meter Running Back
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
And but it was my favorite thing I've ever done in my life.
- TNTrevor Noah
But you're doing it again, aren't you?
- KRKareem Rahma
Yes, and now it is back 20-minute episodes.
- TNTrevor Noah
Okay.
- KRKareem Rahma
So the first, the first iteration was six-minute episodes.
- TNTrevor Noah
Got it.
- KRKareem Rahma
Now it's 20-minute episodes.
- TNTrevor Noah
Mm-hmm.
- KRKareem Rahma
They're on YouTube, and they're, they're even bigger. They're bigger, they're bigger, they're better, they're crazier, and it's just like I took the short form show-
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
- KRKareem Rahma
... and I went and I just turned it all the way up. So it's, you know, Russian Turkish bath house with Eugene and Boris, who's his friend that he just brought along for some reason. [laughs] It's bowling with Norman. It's fishing. It's doing stand-up comedy and recording a flute album-
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
- KRKareem Rahma
... with Cacandra. It's, it's, it's salsa dancing with Homero. It's, it's li- it's literally traveling the world without ever leaving the city.
- TNTrevor Noah
That's beautiful.
- KRKareem Rahma
And that is magical. That's what's magical about New York, and it's also what's magical when you just tell someone, "What do you want to do today?"
- 1:13:57 – 1:20:10
Learning Life Advice From Strangers
- KRKareem Rahma
And just, and you, and I have zero input, and I learn so many things. Every, you know, it's like they're like fathers to me because they have all this fatherly advice.
- TNTrevor Noah
Mm-hmm.
- KRKareem Rahma
You know, as a man, you still want advi- Are your parents alive?
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
And, and you probably call your dad, and you're like, "What do you think I should do in this situation?" And like-
- TNTrevor Noah
No, no, I call my mom, but okay.
- KRKareem Rahma
Okay. [laughs] Because Dad's, like, bad advice?
- TNTrevor Noah
No, no, no, I think his ... I think we're so different that the advice that he would give me is almost, is just, like, from a random place, if that makes sense.
- KRKareem Rahma
[laughs]
- TNTrevor Noah
Like, my mom knows me so well, and we are so similar in our, in our personalities. Not, not in the way we act in the world, but we're so similar that w- when my mom says something, she can say it from, like, the place of knowing me. If I ask my dad for advice, he'll just say a thing from his point of view in the world, and then I can process or not process that. Do, do you know what I mean?
- KRKareem Rahma
Your dad's like, "Who is this?" You know, he's like-
- TNTrevor Noah
No, my dad is very Swiss and very-
- KRKareem Rahma
He's like, "It's, it's Trevor"
- TNTrevor Noah
... you remember, he's Swiss German, so he's like, he's very precise.
- KRKareem Rahma
Trevor who? [laughs]
- TNTrevor Noah
He's very, very precise.
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah, he's-
- TNTrevor Noah
But he'll give me advice. Like, he'll be like, "This is the thing, and that's how I see it." B- but, but I'm like, "Ah, there's no, like-"
- KRKareem Rahma
You need a, you need a Balkan ca- cabbie.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, where's, where's, like, the ... Where's the ... You know what I mean?
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. That makes sense.
- TNTrevor Noah
Where are the edges in this? Where's the vibe?
- KRKareem Rahma
Okay, so you got your mom, though.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah. So on, oh, wait, on your side, so you were very close with your dad, I'm assuming then.
- KRKareem Rahma
I was, like, not close to him, and I was close to him in the same, in the way that I like to argue.
- TNTrevor Noah
Okay.
- KRKareem Rahma
Like, he was an argue friend.
- TNTrevor Noah
Right. Okay.
- KRKareem Rahma
But he was a great guy, and I, I di- yeah, I was close with him, but, like, it wasn't, like, a lovey relationship. It was more like a-
- TNTrevor Noah
Can it ever be with, like, a, an Arabic dad from that time?
- 1:20:10 – 1:32:45
Why Taxi Drivers Always Have an Opinion
- TNTrevor Noah
people not only as you meet them, but like assuming that they are as you are. And what I mean by that is I definitely know that I've been guilty in my life of seeing some people in the way that I just see them when I meet them. So like the, the taxi driver, they'll just be like a taxi driver.
- KRKareem Rahma
Mm-hmm.
- TNTrevor Noah
Sometimes we'll connect because the guy is from an African country somewhere. Now we're talking about like Sadio Mane. "Oh yeah, remember that World Cup? And remember this thing in Africa a couple n-", that's different. And, and now we sort of... But it, but it's when you would meet a stranger, you confine them to the reality that you know them in, but you never think to your- yourself that they're bowling-
- KRKareem Rahma
Mm-hmm
- TNTrevor Noah
... or recording albums.
- KRKareem Rahma
Mm-hmm.
- TNTrevor Noah
Or you just go like, "They're a taxi driver."
- KRKareem Rahma
Mm-hmm.
- TNTrevor Noah
And you're like, "Yeah, but what do they, what do they do for fun?"
- KRKareem Rahma
Mm-hmm.
- TNTrevor Noah
"Who do they love?"
- KRKareem Rahma
Mm-hmm.
- TNTrevor Noah
"What makes them laugh?"
- KRKareem Rahma
Mm-hmm.
- TNTrevor Noah
"How do they..." A- and, and I, I don't know, man. I think especially when, when we live in a world where we're all being flattened, doesn't matter who we are, we are all being flattened down to one idea of ourselves-
- KRKareem Rahma
Mm-hmm
- TNTrevor Noah
... and one idea of others. I do think it's beautiful to have an example of, of something that goes like, "Oh, no, no, no, no, no. The person happens to drive a taxi."
- KRKareem Rahma
Yes.
- TNTrevor Noah
"But this is who they are."
- KRKareem Rahma
Yes.
- TNTrevor Noah
There's a difference.
- KRKareem Rahma
Exactly.
- TNTrevor Noah
You know what I mean?
- KRKareem Rahma
And it is s- it's so, every time I'm just shocked at how like they're, they're, you know, even if they're not millennials and some of them are millennials, like you know how, yeah, you're like, "I have a podcast. I have a TV show."
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
"I'm a writer. I'm a this."
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
And then they're also like that.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, they're exactly like that.
- KRKareem Rahma
Like, but, but you know, I don't think we think in general of like blue collar workers or-
- 1:32:45 – 2:02:06
Why Comedians Laugh at Different Moments
- TNTrevor Noah
drivers, private jets."
- KRKareem Rahma
[laughs]
- TNTrevor Noah
"Yes, yes. Instead of New York, we do it in Switzerland."
- KRKareem Rahma
Mm-hmm.
- TNTrevor Noah
"Yes, Kareem, imagine this. Yes, and now it..." You know what I mean? And then they, they slowly take your idea, and they just, like, twist it and, and stretch it-
- KRKareem Rahma
Small
- TNTrevor Noah
... and warp, and then by the end of it, you're like, "Wait, this is, this is not Keep the Meter Running."
- KRKareem Rahma
Let me tell you, in the pitches there were like, "Um, is there, you know, could we make it a competition show?"
- TNTrevor Noah
Oh.
- KRKareem Rahma
And I'm like, "You want them to compete?"
- TNTrevor Noah
Oh, you see.
- KRKareem Rahma
Squid Games.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
You wanna do Squid Games.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
You want blue collar, working class people-
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah
- KRKareem Rahma
... who I think are heroes, all of them, you want them to compete-
- TNTrevor Noah
Yes
- KRKareem Rahma
... on television. For what? Fuck off, man. Literally fuck off. And it was all these things, and I was just like, "I can't find a home for this. I wanna keep it pure." And I also think, you know, with the success of Subway Takes, the reason I... Like, I know this project is pure of heart-
- TNTrevor Noah
Mm-hmm
- KRKareem Rahma
... because I could be doing literally anything, and I'm choosing, four years later, to go back to where it all started and do the same thing that I was doing four years ago, with no celebrities-
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah
- KRKareem Rahma
... no money-
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah
- KRKareem Rahma
... still in the cars, like, still driving around. Like, it's still hard work. I still don't have a place to piss. I still have no studio. They don't have a place to piss either. Uh, and, and it's just like, it's still gritty. Like, it's, nothing's changed-
- TNTrevor Noah
It is what it was
- KRKareem Rahma
... four years later.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
And the version for TV, I, I, and I'm... You know, I don't hate Hollywood. I love going to the movie theater still. I see movies. I see blockbusters. I see regular movies. I see indies. I watch TV. I think, like, the top of our conversation, there is a place for this-
- 2:02:06 – 2:03:25
The Comeback of the Bit
- TNTrevor Noah
So then the laugh actually starts to come from where it wouldn't have come. Like, if you, if you watch comedians in the back of a comedy club watching comedians, they laugh when the audience isn't laughing.
- KRKareem Rahma
Right.
- TNTrevor Noah
Like, they, they, they... You know what I mean?
- KRKareem Rahma
They laugh in the, in between.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah, they're laughing on the one and three.
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- TNTrevor Noah
Audience is laughing, you know, on the two and four.
- KRKareem Rahma
Yes.
- TNTrevor Noah
And comedians will just, like, laugh at a random thing. And you know when a comedian's watching, 'cause they'll laugh at a moment when no one else is laughing.
- KRKareem Rahma
Right.
- TNTrevor Noah
You know? So.
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah, I love laughing.
- TNTrevor Noah
So I'll come. I'll come. I'll, I'll do it.
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah, come on.
- TNTrevor Noah
I would love to, man.
- KRKareem Rahma
Do, do a bit.
- TNTrevor Noah
I'll, I'll... Maybe we'll do a bit.
- KRKareem Rahma
No.
- TNTrevor Noah
Maybe you will reignite my love-
- KRKareem Rahma
I don't want to-
- TNTrevor Noah
... and my passion for bits
- KRKareem Rahma
... I don't want to do a bit.
- TNTrevor Noah
You're a bit guy. You can't say you don't want to do bits.
- KRKareem Rahma
I know, but I only want to do a bit with someone who wants to. But I won't make you do a bit.
- TNTrevor Noah
No, no, you won't make me. You could inspire me to do a bit.
- KRKareem Rahma
I couldn't make you do anything.
- TNTrevor Noah
You could inspire me to do a bit. Wouldn't that be an amazing story? The comeback of the bit. Huh?
- KRKareem Rahma
Trevor Noah comes back-
- TNTrevor Noah
Be like a documentary on Tribeca
- KRKareem Rahma
... Subway Takes a Deep First Bit.
- 2:03:25 – 2:04:10
Trevor Explains Why He Likes Recording Conversations Naturally
- TNTrevor Noah
Oh, this is great. Thank you.
- KRKareem Rahma
That's it?
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
Okay, great.
- TNTrevor Noah
No, man, thank you for real.
- KRKareem Rahma
Thank, thank you so much. That was so fun.
- TNTrevor Noah
It was too much fun.
- KRKareem Rahma
Crazy that you didn't tell me that we were recording.
- TNTrevor Noah
I mean, we, we roll.
- KRKareem Rahma
Kinda nice.
- TNTrevor Noah
'Cause otherwise it's... You see, I, that's another thing I don't-
- KRKareem Rahma
It's really nice
- TNTrevor Noah
... I don't want someone to, like, go like... That thing. Yes.
- KRKareem Rahma
No, it was really cool to roll into it like that.
- TNTrevor Noah
Yeah.
- KRKareem Rahma
I've actually, that's never happened to me before.
- TNTrevor Noah
Well, I appreciate it.
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah. Yeah.
- TNTrevor Noah
You know, we just roll. And then if someone goes like, "Oh, I don't include," then we don't include.
- KRKareem Rahma
Yeah.
- TNTrevor Noah
It's, it's not a, it's not a trick or anything.
- KRKareem Rahma
I had a lot of fun.
- TNTrevor Noah
I just don't want someone-
- KRKareem Rahma
Right, right, to start.
- TNTrevor Noah
'Cause I've seen people do that. So you go like, "Are we ready? Let's begin." And then I watch them change their posture.
- KRKareem Rahma
I know what you're talking about.
- TNTrevor Noah
And then they go, "Well, Trevor." Oh, fuck.
- KRKareem Rahma
The minute the camera comes out-
- TNTrevor Noah
Ah
- KRKareem Rahma
... sometimes people freak out.
- 2:04:10 – 2:04:40
Outro
- TNTrevor Noah
Thank you so much for watching the episode. If you enjoyed it, pass it on to a friend. If you didn't enjoy it, pass it on to your friend still. Let them suffer for a change. And don't forget to engage with us in the comments. Uh, if you wanna, uh, suggest a guest, maybe there's questions you want, maybe there's ideas that you have, you can chat to us. We will read through the comments, and we'll get into it. Either way, I appreciate you taking the time. Thank you for hanging out with us on What Now? And remember, we do this for you, so we would like to hear from you. Till next time. Thank you.
Episode duration: 2:04:42
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Transcript of episode P7-jzyVk6JQ
