Sam Morril: Jokes, Outrage, and the New Rules of Comedy

1. 0:00 – 0:52

   Cold Open – The Sweaty Entrance

   1. EUEugene0:00

      One of my favorite all-time comedians. Give it up for Mr. Sam Morril. [cheering] There's a lot going on with you. You just came out with your sixth stand-up special since 2020.

   2. EUEugene0:10

      He's worked with comics like Conan and Colbert. He has a Netflix special, Same Time Tomorrow, that tackles everything from awkward conversations to America's gun epidemic.

   3. SMSam Morril0:18

      I still do morning news just to ruin the segment.

   4. EUEugene0:20

      [laughs]

   5. SMSam Morril0:21

      I, I do it all the time.

   6. EUEugene0:22

      You did a good one in Columbus. Tell us what we, we c- we can expect with that.

   7. SMSam Morril0:25

      I'm gonna talk about the human trafficking epidemic in Columbus, Ohio.

   8. EUEugene0:29

      What is going on with the human tra- what are you talking about?

   9. SMSam Morril0:32

      I just kept making up that they had a human trafficking problem in Columbus, and the guy lost it on me.

   10. EUEugene0:37

       Is this a joke? Are you trying to be funny? What are you trying to do?

   11. EUEugene0:39

       We'll be right back after this break.

   12. EUEugene0:40

       And it just didn't... Wait, I was just trying to explain. The audience thought they saw the same thing too.

   13. SMSam Morril0:44

       [laughs]

   14. EUEugene0:44

       Okay, we'll go to break. [upbeat music]

   15. TNTrevor Noah0:50

       This is What Now? With

2. 0:52 – 3:10

   The Art of Being Late (and Pretending You’re Not)

   1. TNTrevor Noah0:52

      Trevor Noah. This episode is presented by Whole Foods Market. Eat well for less. [upbeat music]

   2. SMSam Morril1:07

      Am I sw- am I visibly sweaty? I was... I, I, I was like, I walked-

   3. TNTrevor Noah1:10

      You ran here? Were you running here?

   4. SMSam Morril1:11

      I walk at a brisk pace because I-

   5. TNTrevor Noah1:13

      Oh, New York

   6. SMSam Morril1:14

      ... I hate to be w- late to anything, and I was like, "If I don't walk at a brisk pace-"

   7. TNTrevor Noah1:17

      Oh

   8. SMSam Morril1:17

      ... I'm gonna be late." And I was like, "You can't cab it at this time either." So it's like I, I was like, "I gotta walk it," but.

   9. TNTrevor Noah1:21

      No Citibike?

   10. SMSam Morril1:22

       Oh, dude, I can't ride a bike.

   11. TNTrevor Noah1:24

       Where like at all?

   12. SMSam Morril1:25

       You can. I can, but I'm so bad on a bike. My, my balance sucks. I'm also scared of the bikers in this city. They're so reckless in the bike lane that I-

   13. TNTrevor Noah1:32

       Oh

   14. SMSam Morril1:32

       ... I don't wanna get-

   15. TNTrevor Noah1:33

       Yeah, but you don't need to worry about them when you're one of them.

   16. SMSam Morril1:37

       I do worry about them because I, I would do it during COVID, like on the West Side Highway.

   17. TNTrevor Noah1:41

       Yeah, yeah, yeah.

   18. SMSam Morril1:41

       And they were fucking terrifying.

   19. TNTrevor Noah1:44

       Oh, so you can-

   20. SMSam Morril1:44

       Just zipping by you. I was like, "Dude"

   21. TNTrevor Noah1:45

       ... you just choose not to anymore.

   22. SMSam Morril1:46

       No. Yeah, I can. I, I'm a bad... Dude, I'm, I'm-

   23. TNTrevor Noah1:49

       [laughs]

   24. SMSam Morril1:49

       My motor skills are terrible.

   25. TNTrevor Noah1:51

       It's like I can. [laughs]

   26. SMSam Morril1:53

       I c- I can drive.

   27. TNTrevor Noah1:54

       I choose not to.

   28. SMSam Morril1:55

       I have a driver's license, but I shouldn't have one. I suck. I don't drive.

   29. TNTrevor Noah1:58

       [laughs]

   30. SMSam Morril1:58

       Out of respect for people, I don't drive.
3. 3:10 – 5:40

   Why Driving Tests Shouldn’t Be a One-Time Thing

   1. TNTrevor Noah3:10

      You go straight to the street.

   2. SMSam Morril3:11

      I really failed badly.

   3. TNTrevor Noah3:12

      Wait, so you failed the first time?

   4. SMSam Morril3:13

      My p- my rest of my family couldn't understand it. My brother's like, "You failed?" I was like, "Yeah, I'm not good. I don't know."

   5. TNTrevor Noah3:18

      What did you do wrong?

   6. SMSam Morril3:19

      Yeah, I-

   7. TNTrevor Noah3:19

      What did the guy said?

   8. SMSam Morril3:21

      Everything. I guess it wasn't one thing. They were just like, "You're just bad at this." It wasn't, like, one thing.

   9. TNTrevor Noah3:25

      [laughs]

   10. SMSam Morril3:25

       I wish it was one thing. I suck. I'm terrible.

   11. TNTrevor Noah3:27

       It's the fun- wonderfulest thing to hear. Like, "You're just bad at this. Walk." [laughs]

   12. SMSam Morril3:34

       [laughs] That was what it was, dude.

   13. TNTrevor Noah3:35

       [laughs]

   14. SMSam Morril3:35

       I was like, "This is..." I was embarrassment.

   15. TNTrevor Noah3:38

       [laughs] Oh, man. Wait, so first time, second t- third time.

   16. SMSam Morril3:43

       Third time-

   17. TNTrevor Noah3:44

       Lucky

   18. SMSam Morril3:44

       ... I, I made the woman laugh out of the gate, and she was like, uh, she just liked me. She was like, "Oh, he's cool," whatever.

   19. TNTrevor Noah3:49

       You shouldn't be driving.

   20. SMSam Morril3:50

       I shouldn't have been... I, I suck. I sh- I should be like-

   21. TNTrevor Noah3:52

       I'm not saying you should be, that's what she thought. Yeah.

   22. SMSam Morril3:53

       I should, I should be O for three. But she, I made her laugh, and she was, like, just cool. I don't know. [laughs]

   23. TNTrevor Noah3:59

       [laughs]

   24. SMSam Morril3:59

       I mean, not a good instructor.

   25. TNTrevor Noah4:00

       What is that? The, a laughing jury is not a hanging jury.

   26. SMSam Morril4:02

       [laughs]

   27. TNTrevor Noah4:03

       Oh, yeah? That's the saying.

   28. SMSam Morril4:05

       Is that really a saying?

   29. TNTrevor Noah4:06

       You don't know that saying?

   30. SMSam Morril4:06

       No. Oh.
4. 5:40 – 8:12

   A Laughing Jury Is Never a Hanging Jury

   1. TNTrevor Noah5:40

      the trials and tribulations of what you do. So you go, "Man, I, I've gotta put myself out there, and I've gotta create these ideas and hope people like it, and then half of the time they don't, and then I feel like shit, and then I try it again. And then sometimes they like it, but they didn't use to like it, and then all of a sudden it's popular. And sometimes I'm dead by the time it's popular, and then I'm, you know, it's popular." People wouldn't know what you do. They'd be like, "Are you, are you a painter? Are you a-

   2. SMSam Morril6:04

      That's true

   3. TNTrevor Noah6:04

      ... you write music?"

   4. SMSam Morril6:04

      But instant feedback does, that's what separates us, right? You write a screenplay, you're like, I don't know You write a book, you don't know. You, you don't know till it's... Maybe an editor's like, "This is not good." But I think, I think people get older. That's why I always hear Tarantino say like, "I'm done at 10."

   5. TNTrevor Noah6:19

      Yeah.

   6. SMSam Morril6:19

      Because I think some critics will, will praise work of older directors where it's not their best work, but they're kind of grandfathered in.

   7. TNTrevor Noah6:26

      Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

   8. SMSam Morril6:27

      Where it's like, no, that wasn't a good movie, but they're like, "It's 95% on Rotten Tomatoes." And you're like, "But that sucked." But they're just in, you know?

   9. EUEugene6:33

      Explain that for... Grandfathered in.

   10. SMSam Morril6:35

       Like, they, they were great.

   11. EUEugene6:37

       Mm-hmm.

   12. SMSam Morril6:37

       So they're, people, they're remembering a time when they were great, and now, you know-

   13. TNTrevor Noah6:41

       Where did grandfathered in come from? Because-

   14. SMSam Morril6:42

       I just... God, please don't say it has, like, a racist history.

   15. TNTrevor Noah6:45

       No.

   16. EUEugene6:45

       [laughs]

   17. SMSam Morril6:46

       If I, if I, I'm like, where, where did grand-

   18. EUEugene6:49

       That was a-

   19. TNTrevor Noah6:49

       Oh, according to Google, it's, uh-

   20. EUEugene6:51

       I've come a long way

   21. TNTrevor Noah6:51

       ... it's from American slavery.

   22. EUEugene6:53

       Oh, shit.

   23. TNTrevor Noah6:53

       I'm like, oh, boy.

   24. EUEugene6:54

       Oh, man. [laughs]

   25. TNTrevor Noah6:56

       Ah, shit. Geez.

   26. EUEugene6:57

       Oh, man. [laughs]

   27. SMSam Morril6:58

       But I do think, like-

   28. TNTrevor Noah6:59

       Oh, man, now I hope it is. I, I, I-

   29. SMSam Morril7:01

       Stand-up, you know if you're slipping because the audience will tell you if you're slipping.

   30. TNTrevor Noah7:04

       I think grandfathered in, if I guess-
5. 8:12 – 10:36

   Is Standup Art or Just Really Well-Timed Chaos?

   1. SMSam Morril8:12

      so he changed the ending. Like, originally in the ending, he doesn't get out.

   2. TNTrevor Noah8:16

      Oh, shit.

   3. SMSam Morril8:17

      Yeah.

   4. TNTrevor Noah8:17

      In the original movie.

   5. EUEugene8:18

      Mm.

   6. SMSam Morril8:19

      Yeah. Uh, Lil Rel's character in the, the original, he doesn't get out, and people were like, "This fucking sucks. We wanted... We don't want him to lose in the end."

   7. EUEugene8:26

      You want him to get out.

   8. SMSam Morril8:28

      It's, it's like a more artsy ending, but I think, like, you're just rooting for him so hard at that point that you're just like, "Nah, he's gotta get out."

   9. TNTrevor Noah8:34

      You know, so this is something I've, I've struggled with philosophically. I've... I sometimes wonder if Hollywood has made people less resilient in life because it's conditioned us to believe that there are always happy endings.

   10. SMSam Morril8:48

       Well, there was that movie that just came out, and I'm sorry if I'm spoiling it, but, uh, you know, they made, I think it was Danish, the original. Speak No Evil.

   11. TNTrevor Noah8:55

       Yeah.

   12. SMSam Morril8:55

       Remember that one?

   13. TNTrevor Noah8:56

       Yeah.

   14. SMSam Morril8:57

       S- the, the Danish version, and I'm sorry if it's not Danish. It's from that part of the world, but, uh-

   15. TNTrevor Noah9:01

       They don't get offended on that side.

   16. SMSam Morril9:02

       No.

   17. TNTrevor Noah9:02

       You're good. You're good.

   18. SMSam Morril9:03

       Yeah. The movie is so fucked up, and it's, like, the darkest ending you'll ever see, and then they made an American version, or maybe it was, it was James McAvoy. Maybe it was British. I don't know. But came out in America. And I was like, this is, this is, like, a happy ending.

   19. TNTrevor Noah9:15

       Yeah, it's a happy ending.

   20. SMSam Morril9:16

       I, I, I enjoyed both, but yeah. I mean, there's something to be said, like, I don't know. Like, we, yeah, we, we're conditioned for that. You're right.

   21. TNTrevor Noah9:24

       Every single fairy tale, almost every single, but I think every single fairy tale that we know of from Disney was rewritten from a fairy tale that had a grim ending.

   22. SMSam Morril9:36

       I think-

   23. TNTrevor Noah9:36

       Well, I think it was the Brothers Grimm, but it was like, they all, like... And I don't know which one did what, but I, like, apparently, like, Snow White just dies in the one. And then Cinderella doesn't-

   24. EUEugene9:46

       Snow White

   25. TNTrevor Noah9:46

       ... like, it doesn't end well

   26. SMSam Morril9:46

       People still get offended about, people were still mad a couple years ago about kissing, uh, they, they're like, she k- they kiss a passed out woman in Snow White.

   27. TNTrevor Noah9:53

       [laughs]

   28. SMSam Morril9:53

       That was, like, a big thing. That was-

   29. EUEugene9:55

       The same, the same people that are worried about a passed out woman being kissed were not worried about a teenage girl going on a voyage on a catamaran by herself in the Atlantic Ocean.

   30. TNTrevor Noah10:05

       Who? Moana?
6. 10:36 – 14:10

   Hollywood Endings vs. Real Life Disappointment

   1. SMSam Morril10:36

      I didn't see the Snow White one. I tried to joke about this. It did not work at all. I, I like-

   2. TNTrevor Noah10:39

      What was the joke?

   3. SMSam Morril10:40

      W-

   4. TNTrevor Noah10:40

      Let's try to fix it. We got a-

   5. SMSam Morril10:42

      Listen, I don't, I don't think it's fixable. I like it. I think it's good.

   6. TNTrevor Noah10:44

      Oh, then it's fixed.

   7. SMSam Morril10:44

      But, but it doesn't work. But so I say, um-

   8. EUEugene10:47

      [laughs] What do you mean doesn't work?

   9. SMSam Morril10:48

      It doesn't work, and it doesn't work, like, anywhere. I feel like both sides are like, "meh."

   10. TNTrevor Noah10:51

       [laughs]

   11. SMSam Morril10:51

       So I say, uh, so my angle was how they're like, Snow White, I, you know, I didn't see the Snow White movie. It, it, uh... They say it, and it's, I'm not the target demo obviously, but I didn't see it, and they say it bombed 'cause it was woke. And I was like, "Well, let's make some non-woke Disney classics." So my idea was The Little Mermaid, but instead of, uh, instead of looking for a prince, she just does a bunch of swim meets, and the whole movie is dads who are like, "My daughter's gotta compete against this shit. She's not a girl. She's a fish. It's not fair."

   12. TNTrevor Noah11:17

       That's a great premise.

   13. SMSam Morril11:18

       Yeah. [laughs] He didn't say joke. He said premise.

   14. TNTrevor Noah11:20

       No, that's a great premise, though.

   15. SMSam Morril11:21

       Yeah.

   16. EUEugene11:21

       It's going somewhere.

   17. TNTrevor Noah11:22

       Yeah, it's going somewhere.

   18. SMSam Morril11:23

       It's going somewhere. I like the idea that it's like-

   19. EUEugene11:26

       Yes

   20. TNTrevor Noah11:27

       Wait, wait, wait

   21. SMSam Morril11:27

       ... that it is rational. It does make sense that a da- but also I feel like I'm kind of, is it making fun of both sides? I don't know why it's not working. It's w-

   22. TNTrevor Noah11:33

       Okay.

   23. SMSam Morril11:34

       What was-

   24. TNTrevor Noah11:34

       I, I'll tell you why I think it's not working.

   25. SMSam Morril11:35

       Yeah.

   26. TNTrevor Noah11:35

       I'll tell you why I think it's not working.

   27. SMSam Morril11:36

       Please.

   28. TNTrevor Noah11:37

       Sometimes I find with comedy, the reason a joke won't work is not because the joke doesn't work, it's because the people are still dealing with the current release of the joke.

   29. SMSam Morril11:46

       Mm.

   30. TNTrevor Noah11:46

       So they can't... The punchline, so oftentimes in comedy, the punchline has to release you from reality.
7. 14:10 – 17:42

   Writing Jokes in a Society Addicted to Rage

   1. TNTrevor Noah14:10

      mo-

   2. SMSam Morril14:10

      Yeah

   3. TNTrevor Noah14:10

      ... when you can find an audience, or when you can take an audience to a place with you that no one should rationally be in-

   4. SMSam Morril14:16

      Yeah

   5. TNTrevor Noah14:16

      ... that's the greatest, that's like... You know what I mean.

   6. EUEugene14:19

      Yeah. That's a sadistic part of being a comic.

   7. TNTrevor Noah14:22

      I-

   8. EUEugene14:22

      You want to see how far this can go, where it can go, and when it's going to end.

   9. SMSam Morril14:26

      Yeah. I mean, y- y- you definitely, when you have a, a joke, you stretch it a- as possibly far as you can take it.

   10. EUEugene14:31

       Which say what, you, you searching for the cul-de-sac.

   11. TNTrevor Noah14:33

       Yeah.

   12. SMSam Morril14:33

       Yeah.

   13. EUEugene14:33

       You wanna drive, drive, drive and go, "Mm, the road is finished. Sharps. See you guys next time."

   14. TNTrevor Noah14:38

       Yeah.

   15. SMSam Morril14:38

       Yeah. Yeah.

   16. TNTrevor Noah14:40

       So when you, when you... Uh, one thing I, I wa- I want, I wanted to chat through with you is, like, I go, "You are..." Man, how can I put it? Like, you're one of the most honest comedians I know.

   17. SMSam Morril14:53

       Gee, thank you, man.

   18. TNTrevor Noah14:54

       And what I mean about that is, like, as a human, I don't know you that well, but what I mean by comedian is as a comedian, you're the, one of the most honest comedians I know.

   19. SMSam Morril15:02

       I care way more about comedy than I, uh, me as a human, so this is great.

   20. TNTrevor Noah15:05

       Yeah. [laughs]

   21. SMSam Morril15:06

       That's more important.

   22. TNTrevor Noah15:07

       [laughs]

   23. SMSam Morril15:08

       'Cause one time you described me as like... I remember I did The Daily Show, and you were like, "He, you, this guy's a great guy." And I was like, "Fuck, does that mean I'm a hack?"

   24. TNTrevor Noah15:13

       [laughs]

   25. SMSam Morril15:13

       Jesus, whenever-

   26. TNTrevor Noah15:14

       Oh, no, no

   27. SMSam Morril15:14

       ... a comic calls you nice, you're like, "Ugh."

   28. TNTrevor Noah15:16

       No, no.

   29. SMSam Morril15:17

       [laughs]

   30. TNTrevor Noah15:17

       But I mean, that was, like, great person.
8. 17:42 – 21:03

   The Tribalism of Taste – Why No One Likes Anything Quietly

   1. TNTrevor Noah17:42

      It's a-

   2. SMSam Morril17:42

      But Louis gave me a tag once, and I remember being like, "Holy..." It took a joke from here to here.

   3. TNTrevor Noah17:46

      [laughs]

   4. SMSam Morril17:46

      It's cr- it's a joke that I used to have a joke where I said, you know, I don't even remember if I'm, I'm gonna butcher it, but it was like, I said, "Uh, I think women look at sex like, uh, buying a car, where they're like, 'Uh, can I see myself in this long term? Is it safe? Is it reliable?' You know? And then men look at sex like parking a car. Like, 'There's a spot. There's another spot. Uh, oh, I have to pay? Never mind.'"

   5. TNTrevor Noah18:07

      [laughs]

   6. SMSam Morril18:07

      And then the line Louis gave me was, "Handicapped. Uh, yeah, what the hell? I hope no one sees this." [laughs]

   7. TNTrevor Noah18:12

      [laughs] Oh, cool.

   8. SMSam Morril18:13

      So Louis took it over the top. I was like, it was already killing.

   9. TNTrevor Noah18:16

      Yeah.

   10. SMSam Morril18:16

       But then he gave me that one extra line. I was like, "Oh, shit." And, uh, I end up doing that joke in the movie Joker. I did like 20 jokes, but he was like, "Oh, that's perfect." And I was like, "All right." But Louis gave me that line.

   11. TNTrevor Noah18:26

       Yeah.

   12. SMSam Morril18:26

       I already had a handicapped angle I tried, but hope no one sees this just Perfect amount of words. There's certain things you can't substitute word choice for, you know?

   13. TNTrevor Noah18:34

       No, you can't.

   14. SMSam Morril18:34

       So yeah, Louis, uh... I love, like, pure comics, 'cause he'll watch and he'll be like, "Oh, what if you did this?" Like, he's so interested in jokes. I love-

   15. TNTrevor Noah18:43

       But that, but that's what I mean-

   16. SMSam Morril18:43

       So when you say, like, comics are nice to each other, 'cause that's the language we speak is jokes.

   17. TNTrevor Noah18:47

       But, yeah, but that's... I, I don't think that that's... I don't think that's the case as much as it was before, partially because I think stand-up comedy became... Stand-up comedy for a long time was the, the bastard child of entertainment.

   18. SMSam Morril18:58

       Yeah.

   19. TNTrevor Noah18:58

       Right? And it didn't, doesn't matter where you're from in the world, there was always like, "Oh, and the comedians."

   20. SMSam Morril19:03

       Mm-hmm.

   21. TNTrevor Noah19:04

       And then in many countries, comedy started having this ascendancy-

   22. SMSam Morril19:07

       Oh, yeah, when porn stars started doing stand-up, I'm like, "We're the last stop? The hell?"

   23. TNTrevor Noah19:11

       [laughs]

   24. SMSam Morril19:11

       You went from that to this?

   25. EUEugene19:13

       Which porn star was this?

   26. SMSam Morril19:14

       Oh, uh, well, well-

   27. EUEugene19:16

       [laughs]

   28. SMSam Morril19:16

       ... Stormy, Stormy Daniels was one. There's been a few. I don't wanna name too many names.

   29. EUEugene19:19

       She did stand-up?

   30. SMSam Morril19:19

       Yeah, there was a brief, short-
9. 21:03 – 24:55

   Comedy During the End of the World (Literally)

   1. SMSam Morril21:03

      a plane. I'll go to Lake Placid for two days. I'll disappear with..." Three days, with my friend. We just went there and just chilled. We're like, "We'll paddleboard." I was miserable. I, the current took me. I c- I had to, like, I had to, like, swim to the side and hitchhike back to the place I was staying at.

   2. TNTrevor Noah21:16

      No way.

   3. SMSam Morril21:17

      Yeah, I was... I, I, I came back early. I hate it. I'm like, "I need the city. I need the energy of the city." I don't know. I'm bad.

   4. TNTrevor Noah21:24

      And then back in the club.

   5. SMSam Morril21:26

      I w- [laughs] I, I'll take, I'll take nights off the clubs now, and I'm touring a lot, so, like, I do... And I'll spend an extra day in the city. I'm like, "Let me experience the city, too."

   6. TNTrevor Noah21:33

      Yeah.

   7. SMSam Morril21:34

      'Cause I did the tour bus the first part of the year, uh, for the second time.

   8. TNTrevor Noah21:36

      Oh, yeah, you're one of those... Oh, man, I remember you tried to convince me on this, and I-

   9. SMSam Morril21:40

      Did I?

   10. TNTrevor Noah21:41

       You did. You did.

   11. EUEugene21:43

       So it's a real bus.

   12. TNTrevor Noah21:44

       Sam loved... I mean-

   13. SMSam Morril21:45

       I loved the tour bus

   14. TNTrevor Noah21:46

       ... you, you explain it, because-

   15. EUEugene21:47

       Yeah

   16. TNTrevor Noah21:47

       ... you, I'm not gonna sell it well, so I want to, I want to you, I want you to-

   17. SMSam Morril21:50

       Well, I don't need to sell it to b- I mean, I, I don't want to sell it too hard, 'cause the, the people take them, I don't get a bus. You know, they're hard to get.

   18. EUEugene21:55

       [laughs]

   19. TNTrevor Noah21:56

       Then I'll, then I'll sell it for you.

   20. SMSam Morril21:56

       These are hard properties, these buses.

   21. EUEugene21:58

       [laughs]

   22. TNTrevor Noah21:58

       Right. I said to Sam-

   23. SMSam Morril21:59

       Yeah

   24. TNTrevor Noah21:59

       ... one day, I was, I was complaining, I was... Well, not even complaining, I was just like, "Oh, man, I'm tired," 'cause I was flying around.

   25. EUEugene22:04

       Yeah.

   26. SMSam Morril22:04

       Yeah.

   27. TNTrevor Noah22:04

       He's like, "You know, you gotta get to the airport, then you get to the next airport, then the thing that drops you off, and the..." And then Sam went, "Oh, man, I just ride on the bus."

   28. SMSam Morril22:11

       Yeah.

   29. EUEugene22:11

       Hmm.

   30. TNTrevor Noah22:11

       So the first thing I thought was, like, a Greyhound.
10. 24:55 – 28:40

    Rooftop Shows, Parking Lots, and the Comedy Survival Era

    1. TNTrevor Noah24:55

       [laughs]

    2. SMSam Morril24:55

       I said, "Segura pooped on the bus?"

    3. EUEugene24:56

       [laughs]

    4. SMSam Morril24:56

       He goes, "Yeah, he hot boxed it be-..." He, he put it in a... A- And my camera guy also, he did poop on the bus. I was furious at him. I was like, "Dude, you got..." 'Cause we were in Nashville, and it's my fault. I was like, "Let's get hot chicken, it's Nashville."

    5. TNTrevor Noah25:10

       Oh my goodness.

    6. SMSam Morril25:11

       He... This, my, my camera guy is like a jacked giant dude-

    7. TNTrevor Noah25:13

       Oh, geez

    8. SMSam Morril25:14

       ... who eats like four hot chickens. I was like, "Dude, I don't care how big you are, you're gonna..." Hot boxes the bus, had to... I made him like... I was like, "Dude, you gotta go to a gas station. You gotta throw that out. You can't make the driver throw that out."

    9. TNTrevor Noah25:23

       Damn. What, he emptied it out himself, like physically?

    10. SMSam Morril25:26

        He put it in garbage bags they would do it. This is gnarly.

    11. EUEugene25:29

        Wait, how does it work?

    12. SMSam Morril25:30

        I, they would poop in a garbage bag and then-

    13. EUEugene25:32

        'Cause I know in an airplane, it kind of flies through the sky and it lands on whoever.

    14. TNTrevor Noah25:36

        No, what are you talking about? Man, they got a container.

    15. EUEugene25:38

        Okay.

    16. SMSam Morril25:39

        Really?

    17. TNTrevor Noah25:39

        You think planes are just like pooping everywhere?

    18. EUEugene25:41

        [laughs]

    19. SMSam Morril25:41

        Honestly, I thought the same thing. I'm gonna be honest.

    20. TNTrevor Noah25:42

        Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

    21. SMSam Morril25:44

        'Cause I figured it would disintegrate before it came down, right?

    22. EUEugene25:46

        I thought the, I thought the-

    23. TNTrevor Noah25:46

        You think that they're just spraying shit

    24. EUEugene25:47

        ... sound is when the plane opens underneath and goes khh.

    25. TNTrevor Noah25:50

        Wait, no. Wait, really?

    26. EUEugene25:51

        No.

    27. SMSam Morril25:52

        I really thought that.

    28. TNTrevor Noah25:53

        I, I hope that my version is real because the way I thought it... I thought there was a container.

    29. EUEugene25:57

        Okay. Listen to this sound. Khh.

    30. TNTrevor Noah25:59

        Yeah. That's the, like they're using a vacuum to pull the... You think planes are just spraying sh-
11. 28:40 – 32:18

    New York in the Pandemic – Sirens, Tents, and Existential Fog

    1. TNTrevor Noah28:40

       I'll tell you why.

    2. SMSam Morril28:40

       We're really teaming up on him here this episode, the pooping, this.

    3. TNTrevor Noah28:43

       [laughs] I'll tell you why. I'll tell you why.

    4. EUEugene28:45

       [laughs] The bus.

    5. TNTrevor Noah28:45

       Number one, I don't like it when people leave any type of stench on the leather of the, of the-

    6. SMSam Morril28:51

       Mm

    7. TNTrevor Noah28:51

       ... of the seats and the, you know, the, the workout equipment.

    8. EUEugene28:53

       Like, don't you put a towel when... Don't you come with-

    9. TNTrevor Noah28:54

       Yeah, but I don't like that they leave a smell. I don't like that.

    10. EUEugene28:57

        Trevor, what must they leave?

    11. TNTrevor Noah28:58

        Th- that's my point. I don't like... I'm not saying that they should or shouldn't. I'm saying I don't like that they leave. So for me, I do not wish to be a leaver, okay? I don't wanna do that. I also don't like it when, like, people are smelling up a place. So I think to myself, "Let me not be contributing to the smell of this place. I can shower before I come here, and then I'll shower when I'm done with the workout." And the post-workout shower is a quick one because you've already, like, washed the bacteria off. All you're really doing is, like, a quick super rinse with a bit of soap, and you're done.

    12. SMSam Morril29:25

        He's considerate. He's, he's a considerate guy.

    13. EUEugene29:28

        I think if the shower's gonna be short, I should be the first one.

    14. TNTrevor Noah29:30

        No, because you slept the whole night.

    15. EUEugene29:32

        When you, when you've actually worked out-

    16. SMSam Morril29:33

        So you're getting dirty sleeping

    17. EUEugene29:35

        ... you've stewed.

    18. TNTrevor Noah29:35

        You don't get dirty sleeping? What are you doing in your sleep?

    19. SMSam Morril29:37

        Traveling.

    20. EUEugene29:37

        Hold on. So you-

    21. SMSam Morril29:38

        Sweaty traveling. No, you're probably right

    22. TNTrevor Noah29:39

        ... guys, you're sweating-

    23. EUEugene29:40

        So wait, wait, wait, wait

    24. TNTrevor Noah29:40

        ... the whole night.

    25. EUEugene29:43

        Wait. So when you wake up, the morning shower-

    26. TNTrevor Noah29:45

        Yes

    27. EUEugene29:45

        ... is the one where you put the most effort.

    28. TNTrevor Noah29:47

        Yes.

    29. EUEugene29:47

        More soap, more-

    30. TNTrevor Noah29:48

        Exactly
12. 32:18 – 35:04

    Algorithms Are Predicting Your Soul (Badly)

    1. SMSam Morril32:18

       a, a really long answer here, but my, I think I liked that-

    2. TNTrevor Noah32:21

       It's part of Cost Sam

    3. SMSam Morril32:21

       ... I liked that it was all-

    4. TNTrevor Noah32:22

       There's no rush

    5. SMSam Morril32:23

       ... I liked that it was all on me, so I liked that part of it.

    6. TNTrevor Noah32:27

       Yeah.

    7. SMSam Morril32:27

       And holy shit, my mom at that time was like, "Please, just be a writer." And I'm like, oh, my God, thank God I didn't pursue just being a writer, 'cause it's so much harder to get stuff made.

    8. TNTrevor Noah32:34

       Yeah, no, it's-

    9. SMSam Morril32:35

       She thought that was this-

    10. TNTrevor Noah32:35

        No, no

    11. SMSam Morril32:36

        ... she thought writer-producer was the safe route, which maybe at that time it was, but now stand-up, at least I can make my own career for the most part. And, uh, I just liked... Yeah, and I, and then I got into stand-up. You know, you listen to it, and I would, I liked albums. I liked, there's something intimate about the jokes, like, just being in your head. You know, as oppo- watching's cool-

    12. TNTrevor Noah32:57

        Mm, mm

    13. SMSam Morril32:57

        ... but I always liked, I remember hearing, like, Pryor, Carlin, Chris Rock alb- Chris Rock albums were very big. Dave Attell, like, those albums where they were just like, wow, Rock would... You said something about me before, which I take as a high compliment, where, you know, you, you say the wrong thing, but then kind of get them on your side.

    14. TNTrevor Noah33:16

        Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

    15. SMSam Morril33:17

        Rock is maybe the best ever at that. I mean-

    16. TNTrevor Noah33:19

        Yeah

    17. SMSam Morril33:19

        ... I mean-

    18. TNTrevor Noah33:19

        Every, every premise was wrong.

    19. SMSam Morril33:21

        Yeah.

    20. TNTrevor Noah33:22

        And by the end of it, you were like, oh, no, we were wrong to not think that in the first place.

    21. SMSam Morril33:26

        Yeah. It was, he had so many bits like that, where I was just like, g- I mean, I, I love so many of his takes. I mean, Bigger & Blacker and, uh, Bring the Pain were, like, fucking crazy. Those are crazy albums, you know? So, uh, I remember listening to a Chris Rock album as a kid. I probably got, like, half... I was probably 11. I probably got half the jokes.

    22. TNTrevor Noah33:46

        Damn.

    23. SMSam Morril33:46

        But my mom just saw, she just heard me laughing. She's like, "What the hell is he listening to?" And she grabbed it, and she put the headphones on, and I just saw this look of horror on her face.

    24. TNTrevor Noah33:55

        [laughs]

    25. SMSam Morril33:55

        And 30 seconds later, she laughed. And I was like, that's fucking beautiful that a joke can do that.

    26. TNTrevor Noah34:00

        That's amazing that she could.

    27. SMSam Morril34:02

        She loves him. I mean, she, she respects comedy very much, so that's, that's also influential when you see what makes your... 'Cause when you're a kid, you're, you know, rebelling at first.

    28. TNTrevor Noah34:10

        Yeah, yeah, yeah.

    29. SMSam Morril34:10

        But then you get to a certain age, and you're like, well, what makes my parents laugh? This is kind of cool that they're in on it, too. That my mom's not gonna like everything I do, obviously. But, uh, I would see her laugh at stuff, and she loved, like, Mitch Hedberg. She loved dry jokes. She loved sarcasm and-

    30. TNTrevor Noah34:24

        Do you, do you think that shaped your comedy? 'Cause I mean, you're, you're on the drier edge of, of the comedy spectrum, I'd say.
13. 35:04 – 38:21

    Why Everything Feels Like Winning or Losing a Culture War

    1. TNTrevor Noah35:04

       But-

    2. EUEugene35:05

       [laughs]

    3. TNTrevor Noah35:05

       ... our version, I would say, for me, of a dick joke, and that is I'll make my mom reluctantly laugh at a religious joke.

    4. SMSam Morril35:10

       Right.

    5. EUEugene35:10

       Mm.

    6. TNTrevor Noah35:11

       And she'll, she'll laugh, and then she'll go, "That's not funny."

    7. SMSam Morril35:15

       [laughs] My mom does the same thing.

    8. TNTrevor Noah35:16

       She does the same thing?

    9. SMSam Morril35:17

       Yes.

    10. TNTrevor Noah35:18

        Yeah.

    11. SMSam Morril35:18

        She, i- i- but then you're like, but I got the reaction.

    12. TNTrevor Noah35:21

        Yeah.

    13. SMSam Morril35:21

        So it's-

    14. TNTrevor Noah35:21

        And she'll be like, "No." My mom, my mom said to me, she's like, "No, you, you forced me. I didn't want to laugh."

    15. EUEugene35:25

        You're like, "Too late."

    16. TNTrevor Noah35:26

        Then I said, "But you laughed. You found it funny." She's like, "I didn't find it funny. You tricked me. I don't like that."

    17. SMSam Morril35:31

        Yes.

    18. TNTrevor Noah35:31

        Then I'm like, "I didn't do anything. I just told you a joke." She's like, "No, no, I, there's nothing funny about what you said." I'm like, "But you laughed."

    19. SMSam Morril35:37

        And they get mad when they make the act, but then they're like, I feel like they're kind of also into it a little bit. I had a joke about her, 'cause she's such, such a worrier, dude. I mean, we were talking about this before the pod, but I mean, she worried about every- I was walking down the street with her once, and we saw a dead bird, and I was like... And she goes, "Ew, dead bird. Don't touch it." And I was like, "Don't, are you really telling... I'm an adult. Like, you think I'm gonna pick up a dead bird and be like-

    20. TNTrevor Noah36:00

        Oh, I thought this was, like, a child story.

    21. SMSam Morril36:01

        No, that's a, I was an adult.

    22. TNTrevor Noah36:03

        [laughs]

    23. SMSam Morril36:03

        And my mom saw, I saw a dead bird, and I go, "Ew." And she goes, "Don't touch it." And I was like...

    24. TNTrevor Noah36:07

        [laughs]

    25. SMSam Morril36:07

        I was in my 20s. I was like, "Are you kidding me?"

    26. TNTrevor Noah36:10

        [laughs]

    27. SMSam Morril36:10

        Like, that's her level of worry.

    28. EUEugene36:12

        She's like, "Sam, like-"

    29. SMSam Morril36:12

        She worries so mu- so we were talking about COVID before, and like, oh, my God, having a mom, a, having a hypochondriac mom during COVID was like, "I know. Look, I'll never see you again. Whatever you want."

    30. TNTrevor Noah36:22

        [laughs]
14. 38:21 – 41:55

    Book Bans, Context Collapse, and the Death of Nuance

    1. TNTrevor Noah38:21

       time.

    2. SMSam Morril38:21

       So I remember cabs were going by, and some creepy kid just kept riding by us on a bike, and he did it, like, five times, and we're like, "D- I mean, should we move?"

    3. TNTrevor Noah38:30

       [laughs]

    4. SMSam Morril38:30

       And it was so creepy. It was, I was like, I mean, he's a kid. We shouldn't be scared of him.

    5. TNTrevor Noah38:33

       [laughs]

    6. SMSam Morril38:33

       But, like, there's a reason you use kids in horror movies.

    7. TNTrevor Noah38:35

       Yeah.

    8. SMSam Morril38:35

       It was, like, scary. He just kept circling us, and we're like, "I guess we just-"

    9. EUEugene38:39

       He was happy to see other humans.

    10. SMSam Morril38:40

        He was happy to be around us, too, maybe. I don't know. But yeah, it was-

    11. TNTrevor Noah38:43

        It was... Oh, man

    12. SMSam Morril38:43

        ... it was a dark time.

    13. TNTrevor Noah38:44

        That's, you see, that, that's when you knew who, like, loved comedy.

    14. SMSam Morril38:48

        Oh.

    15. TNTrevor Noah38:49

        There were comedians during COVID, they were like, [coughs] they're like, "I'm not stopping."

    16. SMSam Morril38:55

        Yeah.

    17. TNTrevor Noah38:56

        You were doing it in parking lots.

    18. SMSam Morril38:57

        I was, my main thing was roofs. But yeah, I did a lot of parking lots, but roofs were my big thing during COVID.

    19. TNTrevor Noah39:02

        Rooftop thing.

    20. SMSam Morril39:02

        Yeah, I w- I loved it. I got really hooked on it because it was, like, I mean, I don't know if, I think I got worse at comedy because it was hard to tell what was hitting. 'Cause you're like, you're like, what, you're, you're doing the math in your head. We're like, "That hit on this roof, but it didn't hit on this roof." Like, I'm doing roofs in Bushwick. I'm doing them in the Lower East Side. I'm doing them in, in Hell's Kitchen. I'm just-

    21. EUEugene39:20

        Only works on the 32nd floor. [laughs]

    22. SMSam Morril39:25

        [laughs] Dude, it was, it was a confusing time. And also, you know, some nights it would be packed, and some nights, you know, 18 people, but people were desperate.

    23. TNTrevor Noah39:32

        Yeah.

    24. SMSam Morril39:32

        They were desperate. I remember reading this book, f- I forgot the title. It was about these, like, ancient settlers, and they w- and it's like h- do- how, like, music just got them through the winters, and I was like, "Oh, shit, people ne-" This is the same way. Okay, they'd be freezing, but they'd be playing music, and they'd just gather around, and it was like, "Oh, this is keeping us going." And I felt that way about comedy a little bit because I saw people laughing. I was like, "Holy shit, that guy ne- that joke wasn't even that good, but that guy needed to laugh."

    25. TNTrevor Noah39:56

        I feel like-

    26. SMSam Morril39:56

        That's why I had a hard time telling what was good. I think people, like, wanted... It was the same way-

    27. TNTrevor Noah39:59

        Oh, they would, yeah, yeah, yeah. I completely see

    28. SMSam Morril40:00

        ... it was the same way people came out right after COVID. Like-

    29. TNTrevor Noah40:03

        I was about to say, yeah

    30. SMSam Morril40:03

        ... they were coming to shows like I'd never seen.
15. 41:55 – 46:38

    The Rat War – Exterminators with Hockey Sticks

    1. SMSam Morril41:55

       I was like, "I don't think it's, I don't think it's The Simpsons that's breaking me right now."

    2. TNTrevor Noah41:58

       [laughs]

    3. SMSam Morril41:58

       "I think there's some other sh-," you know?

    4. TNTrevor Noah41:59

       Yeah, but we didn't, we, we never, like-

    5. SMSam Morril42:00

       Yeah

    6. TNTrevor Noah42:01

       ... we never... Those are, those are, like, the moments I think of where as, as a comedian-

    7. SMSam Morril42:05

       We bottled up a lot

    8. TNTrevor Noah42:05

       ... yeah, I go, everyone just went back to it never was a thing. Whether you for-

    9. EUEugene42:14

       People love to forget

    10. TNTrevor Noah42:14

        ... forget what you believe or don't believe.

    11. EUEugene42:16

        Yes.

    12. TNTrevor Noah42:16

        Forget everything. Forget vaccines.

    13. SMSam Morril42:18

        Yeah.

    14. TNTrevor Noah42:18

        Forget COVID, even as real or not real.

    15. SMSam Morril42:20

        Yeah.

    16. TNTrevor Noah42:20

        Just remember a time when we couldn't go outside and a lot of people were dying, okay?

    17. SMSam Morril42:25

        People from Florida, you can skip this part of the podcast, but, uh-

    18. TNTrevor Noah42:28

        [laughs]

    19. SMSam Morril42:30

        You lucky bastards.

    20. TNTrevor Noah42:31

        Oh. [laughs]

    21. EUEugene42:32

        [laughs]

    22. SMSam Morril42:32

        You had a great time.

    23. TNTrevor Noah42:34

        Oh, man.

    24. SMSam Morril42:34

        You had a great time during COVID.

    25. TNTrevor Noah42:36

        [laughs]

    26. SMSam Morril42:36

        Remember, I'd do a weekend once in a while-

    27. TNTrevor Noah42:37

        Oh, man

    28. SMSam Morril42:38

        ... in like Florida or Texas, and I'd be like, "I'm grateful to be working right now. This is crazy."

    29. TNTrevor Noah42:42

        Oh, man.

    30. SMSam Morril42:42

        But I'm like, "You guys know what's happening in New York right now? You're, like, reporting news. You're like-
16. 46:38 – 49:22

    How Pain Becomes Punchlines (and When It’s Too Soon)

    1. SMSam Morril46:38

       Christ. I still have rough ones there sometimes, dude.

    2. TNTrevor Noah46:40

       No, no, no, but, but rough is part of comedy.

    3. SMSam Morril46:42

       I love it, yeah.

    4. TNTrevor Noah46:42

       No, no, rough is part of comedy. I mean, like, Dave Chappelle taught me you can go to a show and bomb. It doesn't matter how great you are. That's part of comedy. You working the craft. I'm not saying that.

    5. SMSam Morril46:51

       Yeah.

    6. TNTrevor Noah46:51

       What I'm saying is your comedy is for everyone. What I mean by this is I've seen somebody who considers themselves Republican, conservative, whatever, go, "I love Sam Morril."

    7. SMSam Morril47:00

       Oh, thanks, man.

    8. TNTrevor Noah47:00

       I've seen somebody who goes, like, "I, I'm a full on liberal Democrat. I love Sam Morril." I've seen someone go, "I don't care about politics. I hate both sides. I, I love Sam Morril." And I go, "Oh, man, this guy is keeping something that society's losing more and more of."

    9. SMSam Morril47:16

       Hm. Well, I said earlier, like, I, I don't see the, I see myself as, like, an entertainer, so I, i- if, I, I'm, my goal is to kill the room and, you know, be who I am. Like, you're not gonna, you know, compromise yourself and pander, but I think they, the crowd is too smart. They can tell if you're pandering, so you have to just be you, and if it works, it works. But, you know, some, sometimes it's not for everybody. I, I see some shows and I'm like, "Oh, that joke's not for everybody, but I like it, so I'm keeping it."

    10. TNTrevor Noah47:43

        Yeah.

    11. SMSam Morril47:44

        Every once in a while you get, like, one or two of those per special. But, uh, no, it's hard, man. It's hard to stay true to who you are and still connect. 'Cause you get older and you're kinda just like, "I don't, I wanna do this joke. I think this joke is funny. I think there's something here." And I, I'll get stubborn with it and I'll keep hammering it. Like, I have some jokes that I think are, I don't wanna call them, like, crowd pleasers, but they're, they're for everybody.

    12. TNTrevor Noah48:09

        Yeah, yeah.

    13. SMSam Morril48:09

        They're a little safer.

    14. TNTrevor Noah48:10

        Those are the hits.

    15. SMSam Morril48:11

        You need to have those safer jokes to get to the ones I'm like, "This one's a little unsafe. This, is this gonna work? I don't, I like this a lot." But, you know, it also, it depends on the crowd. Like, I have a whole new chunk on going to Amsterdam and not getting into the Anne Frank House. They wouldn't let me in, and it was a long story, and I was like, I was so mad when they didn't let me in. And then I was like, "Oh, wait a second, I'm gonna get a bit." Whenever something bad happens to me in any way, even, that's not even that bad. What happened to Anne Frank was worse, let's face it.

    16. TNTrevor Noah48:36

        [laughs]

    17. SMSam Morril48:36

        But, uh, I was upset too. But, uh, I had a rat in my home last month, and I live on the 14th floor of a, of a nice building, so I was shocked to see a rat, and I was so upset, but then I was like, y- that, comedy's the one thing that you're like, "I'm gonna get a joke out of this."

    18. TNTrevor Noah48:50

        Yes.

    19. SMSam Morril48:50

        That's the one thing that, like, if I don't get a joke out of this, I suck. If I, I'm telling my mom about it on the phone and she's laughing so hard because I'm making jokes about the rat and stuff, and she was like, "You'll get a joke out of this." I said, "I'll get a joke." So it's- It's exciting to, to, you know, write new stuff. Like, I hate bombing, but like, I don't know, I still love, I love doing this still. You, I get, every once in a while I'll do too many shows and I'll get like, I'll be like, "Oh, I, I don't, I don't, I don't wanna do a show." And I hate when I feel that way. I try to stay

17. 49:22 – 52:40

    Breakups, Bitterness, and Joke Half-Lives

    1. SMSam Morril49:22

       very excited about like, so I try to not overdo it-

    2. TNTrevor Noah49:24

       Mm-hmm

    3. SMSam Morril49:25

       ... so I can stay, "Oh, I'm so excited to go on tonight," you know?

    4. TNTrevor Noah49:28

       Speaking of excitement, why weren't you let into the Anne Frank House?

    5. SMSam Morril49:33

       'Cause it, it's a hot ticket apparently. Uh, I booked, I booked the walking tour, which-

    6. TNTrevor Noah49:39

       Wait, wait, wait. There's a stay-in tour?

    7. SMSam Morril49:41

       There is. Well-

    8. TNTrevor Noah49:41

       Where you can stay inside the closet.

    9. SMSam Morril49:43

       [laughs] No. They want, they want you to buy, they want, it's like a house and then there's apparent- I didn't know there was a walking tour. Um, but yeah, I, uh, the line I said to the lady was, uh, I was, I was under the impression she was cooped up. I didn't know there was a walking tour.

    10. TNTrevor Noah49:57

        Damn. [laughs]

    11. SMSam Morril49:58

        But, uh, and I was like, "Oh, this is a bit. I got a bit cooking."

    12. TNTrevor Noah50:01

        [laughs]

    13. SMSam Morril50:01

        So I kept going with it. But, uh, I kept going and I got a long bit out of it, but now I'm, I'm going back to Amsterdam next month and I'm like, "I better fin- I, I want another part to this bit. I want part two." I get in, I, I posted like a joke how I, I didn't get in, and the Jewish mafia came after me. Like, like Amy Schumer, Jessica Seinfeld, they're like, "What can we do?" I was like, "What do you mean, what can you do? I'm..." [laughs]

    14. TNTrevor Noah50:23

        You, you, you're like-

    15. SMSam Morril50:24

        Do you have a hookup for the Anne Frank House? They're like trying to help. I'm like, "What? I don't know."

    16. TNTrevor Noah50:28

        [laughs]

    17. SMSam Morril50:28

        All these Jews were like hitting me up like, "We must do something." I'm like, "It's not that big a deal. I'm just making a... I'm gonna go to the Van Gogh Museum. It's fine. It's not-"

    18. TNTrevor Noah50:34

        Yeah, but you see, okay, so now let's po- let's pause and this is what I mean about you. This is, this is exactly what I mean, is like you have a, man, it's, it's, it, superpower might be the wrong word, but it's almost like a-

    19. SMSam Morril50:46

        Yeah, geez, let's, let's dial it back here. What are we-

    20. TNTrevor Noah50:48

        Yeah, no, no, no. Okay, that's what I'm saying. The wrong, it might be the wrong word. Here's what I think it is. You are almost less allergic to the things that a lot of people in society are now allergic to.

    21. SMSam Morril50:58

        Mm.

    22. TNTrevor Noah50:58

        You with me?

    23. SMSam Morril50:58

        Mm-hmm.

    24. TNTrevor Noah50:59

        So what I think a lot of people-

    25. SMSam Morril51:00

        As a Jew, I never hear that, so. [laughs]

    26. TNTrevor Noah51:02

        So-

    27. SMSam Morril51:02

        We complain about everything

    28. TNTrevor Noah51:03

        ... but this is what I mean is-

    29. SMSam Morril51:04

        Yeah

    30. TNTrevor Noah51:04

        ... this is, this is what I mean is you, you go, you don't get into the Anne Frank Museum, whatever. Now the people around you are responding like, "Ah, how could this hap-" You, you get, they, they, there's a reaction.
18. 52:40 – 56:02

    Growing Up Loud in a Quiet Family

    1. SMSam Morril52:40

       work

    2. TNTrevor Noah52:40

       ... like never worked?

    3. SMSam Morril52:41

       Well, look, it's not a science.

    4. TNTrevor Noah52:42

       [laughs]

    5. SMSam Morril52:42

       Like, sometimes you just, yeah, it just never works.

    6. TNTrevor Noah52:44

       I think it is a science.

    7. SMSam Morril52:45

       You think so?

    8. TNTrevor Noah52:45

       And I think that's how you treat it, yeah.

    9. SMSam Morril52:47

       Oh. Uh, I, I, no, c- I, if it were a science, I think I would know before I was on stage.

    10. TNTrevor Noah52:53

        No, but, but that's what science is if you think about it, for the most part. Like, science is constantly running an experiment to try and figure out why the thing does or doesn't-

    11. SMSam Morril53:00

        Mm

    12. TNTrevor Noah53:00

        ... and then you're trying to narrow down why one element does... You know what I mean? It's process, it's a process of elimination for the most part. So you're going, "This causes this reaction. Is it because of this or is it because of that?" And then you try to m- you try to move what the correlation is, and then you try and figure out if this is causing this or if this is just happening because this is happening at the same time. And that's why I think it is a science in many ways.

    13. SMSam Morril53:19

        Mm.

    14. TNTrevor Noah53:19

        It's a social science, you know? So you're going, you might find like you change one thing. That's what I love about comedy. You change one word in that whole joke, all of a sudden it work. You might find changing it from, "I felt like a UPS package," versus, "It was like a UPS package." You, you, you never know what happens-

    15. SMSam Morril53:37

        I feel like I felt personalizes it too much. To me, that makes it sadder.

    16. TNTrevor Noah53:41

        Mm-hmm.

    17. SMSam Morril53:41

        I felt. I, I, I try to remove feeling. I think when I feel in a joke, the joke's not funny. I have to be a little numb to it at this point. Like, that's why breakup jokes, they hit so much harder like six months after as opposed-

    18. TNTrevor Noah53:52

        Yeah

    19. SMSam Morril53:52

        ... to like a week after. 'Cause it's too real. They're just like, "Oh, that's sad." You know? They f- they feel for you. They're like, they feel like they almost shouldn't be laughing sometimes too, I think. I think they can-

    20. TNTrevor Noah54:01

        Yeah

    21. SMSam Morril54:02

        ... sense the rawness of it.

    22. TNTrevor Noah54:03

        No, that's true. Yeah, that, that's true. But what I'm saying is sometimes... That's what, that's what I, I think is magical about comedy, is we sometimes don't even know, like we have an assumption, right, as comedians, and then we'll do a thing. We've all had that. You tell a joke, and you're, you're trying to get to this part of a punchline, and the audience loves like a random thing that you didn't even cons- you don't even realize the words that you're saying are eliciting something. And sometimes you go, "What? W- w- why are, why are they laughing? What are they... " Y- I- I'm sure, have you ever experienced that? And then an audience member goes, "Man, I loved how you said that." And you're like, "Oh, I wasn't trying to say that, actually."

    23. SMSam Morril54:42

        Yeah, you stumble backwards into one.

    24. TNTrevor Noah54:44

        That can-

    25. SMSam Morril54:44

        That's a gift. That's a g- when that happens, that'll happen in stories sometimes. Sometimes I'll, you ever have like a story where you're like, "I know the ending. I know what the ending is."

    26. TNTrevor Noah54:51

        Yes.

    27. SMSam Morril54:51

        "And now, now that I know of an ending that works, I can now experiment for like two minutes in between and see what's funny."

    28. TNTrevor Noah54:57

        Mm.

    29. SMSam Morril54:57

        'Cause I don't know yet. So yeah, I had, yeah, I had a whole thing about the rat, and I, I didn't know it was funny until I just kept saying it. But I had one of the exterminators kept describing the rats as smart, and for some reason that kept hitting.

    30. TNTrevor Noah55:09

        [laughs]
19. 56:02 – 1:00:18

    Adoption, Identity, and Becoming the Fun Uncle

    1. SMSam Morril56:02

       the way. [laughs]

    2. EUEugene56:02

       Well, those things, rats-

    3. SMSam Morril56:02

       I only had one

    4. EUEugene56:02

       ... you get with it.

    5. SMSam Morril56:04

       Can't really bring a woman home either way. You're like, [laughs] "I just have one rat. It'll be fine."

    6. TNTrevor Noah56:08

       [laughs]

    7. SMSam Morril56:08

       "We'll close the door." But, uh, no, it was disgusting. I can't, I, I was-

    8. TNTrevor Noah56:12

       Did you see the rat, or did you see the droppings?

    9. SMSam Morril56:14

       Both.

    10. TNTrevor Noah56:14

        Oh, man.

    11. SMSam Morril56:15

        I saw him. He was a fat dude, too. Ugh, he was big.

    12. TNTrevor Noah56:17

        On a high floor.

    13. SMSam Morril56:19

        14th floor. Yeah. It d- look, it's New York City, so it doesn't matter. I asked, I was asking the building, they were like, "Yeah, like every building has, has them. You just gotta be nervous about the walls, if there's a hole anywhere they can find." But, uh, it's so gross.

    14. TNTrevor Noah56:31

        Yeah, they, they chew through the drywall in America.

    15. EUEugene56:34

        No way.

    16. SMSam Morril56:34

        Yeah.

    17. TNTrevor Noah56:34

        Yeah, because we use bricks m- for most-

    18. EUEugene56:36

        Yes

    19. TNTrevor Noah56:36

        ... of our housing, so there's no... But here, the rat can just chew through the wall and then-

    20. SMSam Morril56:40

        It's so gross.

    21. EUEugene56:40

        Just like in the cartoons.

    22. TNTrevor Noah56:42

        Oh, yeah, I didn't think about that.

    23. EUEugene56:42

        Yeah, like that little woop, woop, woop.

    24. TNTrevor Noah56:43

        Yeah, yeah, yeah.

    25. SMSam Morril56:44

        Oh, you wanna hear the most violating shit the rat did to me? I had one of those CamelBak backpacks, you know, with the straw that you sip.

    26. TNTrevor Noah56:50

        [laughs]

    27. EUEugene56:50

        Oh, ah.

    28. SMSam Morril56:51

        He nibbled the straw down-

    29. TNTrevor Noah56:52

        [laughs]

    30. SMSam Morril56:52

        ... for the water, and I was like, "Oh, this is so violating."
20. 1:00:18 – 1:03:50

    Touring Burnout and the Tyranny of “More”

    1. EUEugene1:00:18

       been a rat ever since?

    2. SMSam Morril1:00:19

       No. This was like a month ago. I hope there's not. I mean, jeez, I... Yeah, no, that was awf- it was an awful experience. It's just, you know, 'cause you just don't, it's your home. You wanna walk around barefoot and feel good, you know?

    3. TNTrevor Noah1:00:31

       It's weird how rats, they are smart, by the way.

    4. SMSam Morril1:00:34

       [laughs]

    5. TNTrevor Noah1:00:35

       Just generally.

    6. SMSam Morril1:00:36

       They are smart.

    7. EUEugene1:00:36

       Can you recognize this guy?

    8. TNTrevor Noah1:00:37

       No, no, no.

    9. EUEugene1:00:37

       Was he the first exterminator?

    10. TNTrevor Noah1:00:38

        But they, but they are smart.

    11. EUEugene1:00:40

        [laughs]

    12. TNTrevor Noah1:00:40

        Somet- sometimes I wish we could, like, just negotiate with, like, what we consider pests.

    13. SMSam Morril1:00:44

        Yeah.

    14. TNTrevor Noah1:00:45

        'Cause, like, rats are really smart. Apparently, they make great pets. They're really easy-

    15. SMSam Morril1:00:48

        Yeah

    16. TNTrevor Noah1:00:48

        ... to train.

    17. SMSam Morril1:00:48

        But God, it's weird when people have a rat as a pet.

    18. TNTrevor Noah1:00:51

        No, it's weird because we think of rats as weird.

    19. SMSam Morril1:00:53

        Yeah.

    20. TNTrevor Noah1:00:54

        I agree with you. I'm-

    21. SMSam Morril1:00:54

        Well, they're filthy. Those are, like, different types of rats.

    22. TNTrevor Noah1:00:56

        No, but they're not filthy, apparently.

    23. SMSam Morril1:00:58

        Well, that rat was, was really dirty.

    24. TNTrevor Noah1:00:59

        Yeah, no, no, no, but here's the thing. Like, humans can also be filthy if you just leave them in the streets.

    25. SMSam Morril1:01:03

        Hm. You sound like a rat sympathizer, dude.

    26. TNTrevor Noah1:01:06

        [laughs]

    27. SMSam Morril1:01:06

        I don't know.

    28. EUEugene1:01:07

        Same guy who showers before going to the gym.

    29. TNTrevor Noah1:01:09

        No, no, no, guys, listen. Listen to what I'm saying. What I'm saying is-

    30. EUEugene1:01:12

        Mm
21. 1:03:50 – 1:08:25

    The Reluctant Hero of Modern Comedy

    1. TNTrevor Noah1:03:50

       no one was able to have, like, a normal, logical conversation about... It was either you, no books should be banned, or all books should be banned.

    2. EUEugene1:04:00

       Or all books should be allowed.

    3. TNTrevor Noah1:04:00

       And I was g-

    4. EUEugene1:04:01

       Okay

    5. TNTrevor Noah1:04:01

       ... y- y- and I was going, "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Maybe we could just do this on a case by case basis."

    6. EUEugene1:04:05

       Yeah.

    7. TNTrevor Noah1:04:05

       "Maybe we-"

    8. SMSam Morril1:04:06

       But it made these books punk rock. Like, all those books-

    9. TNTrevor Noah1:04:08

       Oh, yeah, no, I know

    10. SMSam Morril1:04:09

        ... were selling out on Amazon.

    11. TNTrevor Noah1:04:10

        No, they got-

    12. SMSam Morril1:04:10

        You go to Barnes & Noble, they have a banned books section.

    13. TNTrevor Noah1:04:12

        Yes.

    14. SMSam Morril1:04:12

        And you're like-

    15. TNTrevor Noah1:04:13

        Yeah

    16. SMSam Morril1:04:13

        ... are they real- they're not really banned.

    17. TNTrevor Noah1:04:14

        No.

    18. SMSam Morril1:04:14

        If I can, if I'm going to them like, "Where, where are the banned books?" They're like, "Oh, they're right, right in the front, right here." So-

    19. TNTrevor Noah1:04:18

        Yeah.

    20. EUEugene1:04:18

        [laughs]

    21. SMSam Morril1:04:19

        ... it wasn't that bad.

    22. TNTrevor Noah1:04:20

        But it be- it just became, like, a, you know.

    23. SMSam Morril1:04:21

        Yeah.

    24. TNTrevor Noah1:04:21

        I, I wanna-

    25. EUEugene1:04:21

        So yours was one of those?

    26. TNTrevor Noah1:04:23

        Yeah, it was.

    27. EUEugene1:04:23

        All right. That's-

    28. SMSam Morril1:04:23

        That's crazy. I bet it helped sales, though. I bet they're like, you know.

    29. TNTrevor Noah1:04:27

        I don't know if it did or it didn't, but it just, like-

    30. SMSam Morril1:04:29

        Yeah
22. 1:08:25 – 1:11:20

    Berlin, Berghain, and Non-Judgmental Parties

    1. TNTrevor Noah1:08:25

       Legend.

    2. SMSam Morril1:08:25

       It killed. They loved it.

    3. TNTrevor Noah1:08:26

       Please tell me you have video.

    4. EUEugene1:08:27

       [laughs]

    5. SMSam Morril1:08:27

       I d- I, I gotta ask my mom if we have video of this.

    6. TNTrevor Noah1:08:29

       Someone had to... You gotta put that in, like, a special, at, at the end of one of your specials or at the beginning.

    7. SMSam Morril1:08:33

       I, you know what? That's not bad. I'll-

    8. TNTrevor Noah1:08:34

       Think about it

    9. SMSam Morril1:08:35

       ... I'll ask them.

    10. TNTrevor Noah1:08:35

        That's, like, an amazing thing to just put in the end or the beginning of one of your specials.

    11. EUEugene1:08:39

        I just... [laughs] Like-

    12. SMSam Morril1:08:40

        It's just, oh, oh, and, and here's another thing-

    13. TNTrevor Noah1:08:41

        Just you coming out in a top hat

    14. SMSam Morril1:08:41

        ... about their wedding, they got married the day of the Puerto Rican parade, so they couldn't get any good pictures. [laughs]

    15. TNTrevor Noah1:08:46

        [laughs]

    16. EUEugene1:08:46

        [laughs]

    17. SMSam Morril1:08:46

        Every picture was just, like, they were just, like, pushed to the side. It was just mayhem in the city.

    18. TNTrevor Noah1:08:51

        [laughs]

    19. SMSam Morril1:08:52

        But, uh, no, it was-

    20. TNTrevor Noah1:08:53

        Oh, man.

    21. SMSam Morril1:08:54

        It was, uh, no, it was...

    22. EUEugene1:08:55

        [laughs]

    23. SMSam Morril1:08:56

        It was definitely, like, you know... No, I definitely wasn't that type of kid.

    24. TNTrevor Noah1:08:59

        [laughs]

    25. SMSam Morril1:08:59

        It was weird that I did that, but I just loved-

    26. TNTrevor Noah1:09:01

        Oh, so that was out of character.

    27. SMSam Morril1:09:02

        It was a little out of character. I just liked... I had a weird thing where, like, I kinda liked musicals, 'cause I was a kid, and I was never, like, a song and dance kid, but I just thought, I was like, "Oh, that, that's, like, a cool New York thing to... That's a cool New York song."

    28. TNTrevor Noah1:09:13

        Huh.

    29. EUEugene1:09:13

        Well, you talk about-

    30. SMSam Morril1:09:13

        I'm gi- I'm giving, like, a cool, this is, like, a cool moment for my parents, clearly they were like, "This is ridiculous," but just let him have the floor.
23. 1:11:20 – 1:14:40

    Why Standup Remains the Last Honest Art Form

    1. SMSam Morril1:11:20

       I'll just get drunk all the time." And, uh-

    2. TNTrevor Noah1:11:22

       You were gonna be that uncle in the family.

    3. SMSam Morril1:11:23

       Oh, I c- I am. I, they have kids and I don't. I mean, I'm totally that g- I mean, I'm not opposed to having kids-

    4. TNTrevor Noah1:11:28

       Mm

    5. SMSam Morril1:11:28

       ... but that, that's where I'm at right now. I am, like, the fun drunk uncle. That's totally what I am.

    6. EUEugene1:11:32

       I was about to say, I spoke to someone who was in a similar situation as you, and they realized when they had half-siblings and they had a stepdad, they saw their mom mothering and they saw their stepdad as a dad, and then they felt, oh, observer of the whole family dynamic, and they saw themselves as a little bit of an outsider at times.

    7. TNTrevor Noah1:11:54

       Oh, that's interesting. Like, it-

    8. EUEugene1:11:55

       'Cause it's your mom. You guys are all together

    9. TNTrevor Noah1:11:56

       ... it's almost like they, it's almost like they watched the family.

    10. EUEugene1:11:58

        Yes.

    11. TNTrevor Noah1:11:59

        Oh, that's interesting.

    12. EUEugene1:11:59

        And they were BFFs.

    13. SMSam Morril1:12:00

        I didn't feel that way. I-

    14. TNTrevor Noah1:12:01

        You, you were in it, though.

    15. SMSam Morril1:12:02

        Yeah. I, I, I feel like they made an effort. If anything, I felt like it got weird for my sister for a minute, 'cause my dad would be like, "Let's go out. We'll do guy stuff." And I'd be like, "Why does she get to come? She's not a guy." You know, I was more like, I was like, I'm like, "I'm gonna make her the outsider," you know?

    16. TNTrevor Noah1:12:14

        Mm.

    17. SMSam Morril1:12:14

        But, uh, no, I, I didn't feel weird. They were, um, they were, they were inclusive with me.

    18. TNTrevor Noah1:12:20

        You were just, like, a full-on... So keeping, keeping with that theme, though, do you, do you revel in being the outsider? 'Cause I mean, like, I feel like different comedians have different vibes in terms of what it seems like they're trying to do, you know? So some comedians seem like they're trying to stay as the outsider in their act.

    19. SMSam Morril1:12:42

        Mm.

    20. TNTrevor Noah1:12:42

        Other comedians are trying to become the insider in the act. You know? It's like, this is all of us. Some comedians are trying to, like, make the audience feel like they're the outsiders and they're the normal o- everyone has... But I-

    21. SMSam Morril1:12:51

        I never f- I never saw myself as an outsider.

    22. TNTrevor Noah1:12:54

        Yeah.

    23. SMSam Morril1:12:54

        I, I always saw myself, like I said, entertainer before, like, trying to bring the room together.

    24. TNTrevor Noah1:12:57

        Yeah, yeah.

    25. SMSam Morril1:12:58

        Like, finding common ground. Like, I always liked comics like that, and I think it probably stemmed from something in my family where I was like, let's, like, we're, we're a family now. Let's, let's get on the same page.

    26. TNTrevor Noah1:13:07

        Let's do this thing.

    27. SMSam Morril1:13:07

        Let's, let's be, let's get a good... If I could get everyone laughing, it felt so good, you know? So, um, yeah.

    28. TNTrevor Noah1:13:13

        So then how do you, how do you find the balance between... So for instance, o- one of my favorite things I, I, I love of yours is your interviews, right?

    29. SMSam Morril1:13:20

        Oh, yeah.

    30. TNTrevor Noah1:13:21

        If you, if... We'll actually play one f- for this episode. Sam Morril on a local news station-
24. 1:14:40 – 1:18:50

    Sam’s Noir Obsessions – The Movies That Still Matter

    1. SMSam Morril1:14:40

       like, yeah, just fake a, just fake that it's fine, you know?

    2. TNTrevor Noah1:14:44

       What do you make of the schism that we've seen in comedy? Uh, maybe it hasn't even been inside comedy versus how people have seen comedy. Uh, I feel like over the past, maybe it's been 10 years, five years, I don't know, I- I'm bad with time. People have sort of tried to make it, they go like, "There's this comedy, and there's that comedy."

    3. SMSam Morril1:15:01

       Yeah.

    4. TNTrevor Noah1:15:01

       And they try and put comedians in a place.

    5. SMSam Morril1:15:03

       In a box.

    6. TNTrevor Noah1:15:04

       Yeah, and I don't... I remember, like, like for me, because I was on The Daily Show, people automatically just assumed they knew everything about me. Do you know what I mean? They were like, "Okay, we know who you are. We think we know your politics, your beliefs, your everything, because you're on The Daily Show." It's like presupposed. And if I would tell a joke that didn't line up with what people thought I was thinking, then the people who were like, let's say, on my side, they would go, "That was a mistake." And then the people who were not on my side would go, "Well, I guess every now and again he can be funny, but the rest of the time he's shit." You know what I'm saying? And the craziest moment w- for me was, um, I did the White House Correspondents' Dinner, and it's one of the few places left where everyone is in the same room. Do you know what I mean?

    7. SMSam Morril1:15:51

       They got rid of it, too, right? It's over.

    8. TNTrevor Noah1:15:52

       Yeah. I mean, now, it'll come back, I think. But it's one of the few places where it's like Fox News is sitting right there next to MSNBC, and CNN is sitting right there next to... And by the way, this is something I keep telling people, and I wish more Americans knew about their news, about their politics, about all of these forums. They're a lot more friendly with each other than you are with each other.

    9. SMSam Morril1:16:16

       Yeah.

    10. TNTrevor Noah1:16:16

        Do you know what I mean?

    11. SMSam Morril1:16:16

        Oh, it's, they know it's a game.

    12. TNTrevor Noah1:16:18

        Yeah.

    13. EUEugene1:16:18

        They know it's a game.

    14. TNTrevor Noah1:16:18

        But, like, I- I wish people knew this. I remember one of the first times I experienced this, I had just joined The Daily Show. It was a tangent, but still I was, um, we were on the road in New Hampshire. It was for the, for the primaries.

    15. SMSam Morril1:16:29

        Yeah.

    16. TNTrevor Noah1:16:30

        And I remember Hillary Clinton's staff going out for dinner and hanging out with, um, ah, man, Lindsey Graham's staff.

    17. EUEugene1:16:41

        Hmm.

    18. SMSam Morril1:16:41

        Mm.

    19. TNTrevor Noah1:16:41

        And I remember being like, "Whoa. Don't you guys..." And they were like, "No, no, they get along, and people, they go to dinner and-"

    20. SMSam Morril1:16:49

        "Yeah, we got the night off. Lindsey's in a hotel room with a guy, so we're good."

    21. TNTrevor Noah1:16:52

        [laughs]

    22. EUEugene1:16:53

        [laughs]

    23. SMSam Morril1:16:53

        Uh.

    24. TNTrevor Noah1:16:53

        And they were just like, they went, "We, we get along."

    25. EUEugene1:16:56

        "Bad hot music."

    26. TNTrevor Noah1:16:56

        "What do you mean?" They were, [laughs] they were like, "We get along."

    27. EUEugene1:16:59

        [laughs]

    28. TNTrevor Noah1:16:59

        And so any- but anyway, my point is they-

    29. SMSam Morril1:17:00

        No, I mean, Trump was friends with, with the Clintons.

    30. TNTrevor Noah1:17:03

        Yeah. Exactly.
25. 1:18:50 – 1:52:37

    Wrap-Up – Comedy, Chaos, and What Now?

    1. SMSam Morril1:18:50

       like, I love your joke about trans swimmers. Like, it's one of my favorite..." It's not that joke. It's a different joke.

    2. TNTrevor Noah1:18:53

       Yeah.

    3. SMSam Morril1:18:54

       It's a joke from a Netflix special that went viral about, like, and I was, you know, it was pretty, I just saw so many anti-trans jokes.

    4. TNTrevor Noah1:18:59

       Yeah.

    5. SMSam Morril1:18:59

       And I was like, my mind is trained to go the other way.

    6. TNTrevor Noah1:19:01

       Yeah.

    7. SMSam Morril1:19:02

       I have no bad feelings towards any group in this country. My, my process is what's funny in my head, and it's to think differently a lot of the time with a joke. And I thought it was a funny take defending trans swimmers. Like, the angle was basically like, who give- n- you don't give, people getting mad. I'm like, "You don't watch women's swimming." That was basically-

    8. TNTrevor Noah1:19:20

       Yeah

    9. SMSam Morril1:19:21

       ... the bulk of the angle. But, um- I told the person, I said, "Just so you know, I have a joke in my new special making fun of one trans person. Not all, but one trans person who really hated me." And she goes, "Oh, great." Like, I was like, "I just don't want you to think that I'm, like, some, like, savior. I'm literally just making jokes." That was literally... I, I, I just didn't wanna... I don't wanna get praise where you think I'm something I'm not. So as I said, I have no problem with anybody. I'm good with anybody until a person is an asshole on their own basis, just one person. But, uh, yeah, like, I'll have a joke defending women and then I'll have a joke making fun of women, because that's what jokes are. I think they, they are, they are no one thing. They're whatever pops into my head at that time. If something is, sound shitty and not like me, I'm not gonna tell it.

    10. TNTrevor Noah1:20:07

        Yeah.

    11. SMSam Morril1:20:07

        But, you know, yeah, I had, I had, like, eight minutes of Me Too jokes that were pretty pro-women in a special because to me, that's where my mind was at the time. I thought... I heard a lot of guys doing jokes like, "You can't do anything with women anymore," and I'm like, "Really? You're really having a hard time? Like, you just don't rape. That's really the main thing."

    12. TNTrevor Noah1:20:26

        [laughs]

    13. SMSam Morril1:20:27

        You know, that's what they're pissed about. Like, y- y- it's not that big a deal, so that was where my mind was with the Me Too stuff. And I had a, a story about getting roofied in college. It was, like, a whole thing about, you know, wh- to me, it was a hilarious time to be a man because of how low the bar was for men.

    14. TNTrevor Noah1:20:44

        Mm.

    15. SMSam Morril1:20:44

        You know? So that was where my head was with the Me Too stuff. And then, you know, it's like you go in phases. I have a joke now that, like, I have to, I have to, like, cut 'cause I think it's, women feel it's hitting them too hard, and I'm like, "Damn, I liked it. I just thought it was a funny joke."

    16. TNTrevor Noah1:21:00

        Yeah.

    17. SMSam Morril1:21:00

        But sometimes you have jokes where you're like, "I like this." I have a joke about the WNBA that's, like, pretty pro-WNBA, but women get pissed at that one. I'm like, "Shit, I guess I have to cut this one too." So-

    18. TNTrevor Noah1:21:10

        Yeah, but how do you, how do you decide? I, I, I would love to know how you, how you decide that, because you, like I said, you, you, you're an honest comic and you're doing your thing, but I'd love to know, like, how you ch- how you choose this, especially in a world where everyone's trying to choose it for you.

    19. SMSam Morril1:21:22

        It... The batting average has to be high enough that I'm not keeping it just to be stubborn, you know?

    20. TNTrevor Noah1:21:27

        Okay.

    21. SMSam Morril1:21:27

        So-

    22. TNTrevor Noah1:21:27

        Okay, got it.

    23. SMSam Morril1:21:27

        So, so look, if, if I like it and it's funny, that's part of it, but it's gotta work. If it doesn't work, then something's wrong with it, as you just said with that, as you pointed out with the trans thing. I think you're right. The, the swimming, the one I said earlier in the thing, I think you're right. But, you know, I'll have a joke that I think is really funny, and sometimes it'll kill, and then you're like... I always said if a joke is getting groans in Portland, Oregon, you still got, like, 10 years to tell it in, like, St. Louis.

    24. TNTrevor Noah1:21:53

        [laughs]

    25. SMSam Morril1:21:53

        You know? It's still got some, you still got some legs to go in, in other parts [laughs] of the country, but you're like, "It's catching up," so if you want it to live forever, you might, you might wanna drop it. I think, uh, I think, yeah, I think you just go with your gut ultimately. You ru- I have friends who I really trust who, you know, I tour with Gary Vider, and Gary's such a great joke writer, and I, I'll run jokes by him and be like, "Is this too harsh?" 'Cause I, I don't wanna ever... I didn't feel those jokes about women were pandering to women. I felt they were honest how I felt, and I felt like I can playfully call out men and women, 'cause it's, I'm gonna have more jokes about women because I'm straight, and it's, I date women, so my frustration's gonna be more with women I date than just with my guy friends who I don't [laughs] really fight with that much. But, um, yeah, I mean, some of your relationship jokes are gonna have bite, and they're gonna be like... I always think of them like music. Like, d- it depends on the musician. Like, Bob Dylan's br- Colin Quinn has this great joke about how Bob Dylan, all his breakup songs are like, "Fuck you." Like, you know, uh, "How does it feel [laughs] to be on your own?"

    26. TNTrevor Noah1:22:57

        [laughs]

    27. SMSam Morril1:22:57

        Like, they're so angry. But, you know, I'll li- I listen to Leonard Cohen a lot, and his music, his breakup songs are pretty nice. They're pretty much like, "I fucked up." That's the tone of it.

    28. TNTrevor Noah1:23:05

        Yeah.

    29. SMSam Morril1:23:05

        You know? So-

    30. TNTrevor Noah1:23:06

        This is, it's like it's, it's over now. It's like this is a-

Episode duration: 1:52:37