[English]
Hi, I am Caleb Hearon,
and this is my last meal.
Every person has exactly
two things in common.
We all got to eat and
we're all gonna die.
Today's guest is a writer,
actor, podcaster, and standup
comedian whose debut special
model comedian comes out on HBO
Max September 19th in college.
He often frequented the Bear
Cloth Center for Learning and
Writing at the Meyer Library
at Missouri State University.
Caleb Hearon,
welcome to the show.
Hey, Josh.
Thanks for having me.
Of course.
I know education is
very important to you.
Tell me how you found out about
the value of the writing center.
Okay, Josh.
So my, when I got dropped
off at college mm-hmm.
I'm assuming you know
this, um, when I got
dropped off at college,
I, my mom dropped me off.
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
We moved my stuff into my
dorm, uh, outside of the dorm.
I came out to her as bisexual.
And, uh, I was
like, I'm bisexual.
And she was like, crying.
She's like, am I
gonna have grandkids?
I was like, it's really not
about you at the moment.
And then I sent her away
and then I went, I got on
Grindr, which I had already,
but I got on Grindr, went
to a, the dorm next to mine,
hooked up with a guy, uh, who
was like a sophomore there.
And when after we hooked up,
he was brushing his teeth.
Because there was
a sink in his room.
I know some of 'em
had sinks in the room.
Shout out Missouri State.
He was brushing his teeth
and he was like, you really
gotta use the writing center.
It's an incredible resource.
He was like an ra And
I was like, I will.
And I did.
That's incredible.
That's great.
That's building community
and building life skills.
I love that he
was doing his job.
Yeah, we hooked up
and then I went to the
writing center a lot.
'cause I was a sociopolitical
communication major.
I just wrote a lot of papers so
I had to use their help a lot.
But yeah, that was the
first thing I learned
about college man.
Incredible.
Not funny.
What a life.
What a life to live.
What?
Hey, shout out Missouri State.
Go Bears.
Uh, my Chance, who works
on my show is here.
He went there too.
But yeah, we, we love
Missouri State Chance,
how long did it take for
you to hook up with an ra?
Um, still waiting.
Yeah, still waiting.
He'll get there one day.
Well, well hold on.
Let you know.
Let's, let's, Hey man,
people, one of those like
military students who's
there as like a 30-year-old.
Yeah.
Yeah.
A non-traditional with
the rolly backpack.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
Great.
Um, thank you for
being here, by the way.
Thanks for having me.
I'm very excited.
Have you thought about
your last meal before?
Uh, yes.
Often I think about meals
pretty much constantly.
I'm never not
thinking about a meal.
I really am.
I'm, I'll be at a meal
talking about my next meal
with whoever I'm with.
Uh, sometimes I'll be eating
food thinking, man, I wish I
was eating a meal right now.
Yeah, absolutely.
It's like I, I can't, obviously
I can't stop and I love it.
Um, but yeah, I've
thought about it.
I've thought about
it quite often.
Did anything that made your
list today surprise you?
Were there any deep cut pulls?
You're like, oh, I didn't know
I felt that way about that dish.
I don't know if you have people
express this to you often, but
I didn't want to stress your
staff out, so I tried to keep
it very logistically easy.
No, you were probably the
first person to ever say
that and I, I genuinely think
that says a lot about you
and where your value slices.
I was like, what are these
people gonna do if I say
something complicated?
So I'm like picking places
and it's all stuff I love.
I love, I have a reason I
picked every one of these
things and I'll talk about
it, but I was thinking
like he's got some poor.
He's got some poor staff
person driving around in like
a beat up Toyota Corolla, like
putting shit in their trunk.
Yeah.
I gotta make it easy.
No, you are absolutely
correct that that does happen.
Um, the, the worst thing
is when people just say
pizza from New York.
Yeah.
And then, and then we have to
say like, what kind of pizza?
Where in New York?
What are you talking about?
So you were incredibly
descriptive.
Like, I wanna say that
was a very empathetic
move of you to do that.
Uh, how often do you
think about death?
Okay.
Often, but I've gotten
way better about it.
I used to be, dude.
I used to be.
So is there a better and worse?
Well, yes, because I used
to be obsessed when I was
really, really depressed.
Shout out to depression.
Shout out to being a
sophomore in college.
Shout out.
Depression is
sponsoring this video.
Yeah, yeah.
The little, the little,
uh, skeleton finger that
tickles the title card.
I'm familiar.
Um, I, I know that, I know
that Death and Depression
are, uh, are our big
sponsors of the show.
Yeah.
Um, yeah.
I thought about it so much that
I was like, paralyzed by it.
Mm-hmm.
And like very depressed.
And then it made me a
hypochondriac for a while,
and then I kicked that.
I was like, no more.
I can't be doing this.
I kicked a hypochondria
and biting my nails
in the same year.
Cold Turkey on both
or used patches?
No, I, I used the
patches on both.
I said, no more.
This is ruining you.
But I used to think about
death in such a negative
way, and then I started to
think of it as a. Do Okay.
This might be
helpful to somebody.
Mm-hmm.
This is how I kicked
my fear of death.
Okay.
I'm being dead serious.
I started to think of, uh,
death as like a, you know, when
you hang out with people all
day, like you had like a whole
day of hanging out with your
family or something, and then
you, um, drive home alone and
you like have the windows on.
It's really nice.
You listen to music by
yourself and you're so glad
that you just saw everybody.
You're like, oh man, it was
so nice to see everybody, but
I'm so glad to be doing my own
thing now, and I'm assuming I'll
see them again at some point.
But I guess kind of, who knows?
I started to view death
as that to be like, oh,
I just left a great hang.
Maybe I'll see them again.
Maybe I won't.
But now I'm just kinda doing my
own thing for a second and that
really helped me get over it.
But I was thinking about death
like every minute of every day.
That's actually a really
beautiful sentiment.
I think it might have been
Ramdas who said death is like
taking off an uncomfortable
shoe at the end of the day.
God, I hope that'd be
a fantastic, yeah, it's
probably not true, but
kid isn't that beautiful.
That's incredible.
He's probably full of shit,
but God, wouldn't that be nice?
I remember there was like a,
maybe when I was in like fourth
grade, I came home from a soccer
game and I was like sobbing.
I was so upset.
And my mom was like, what?
What?
What is wrong?
What happened?
And I was like, I'm just
like, when you die, do
you get to play soccer?
And she was like, fuck.
She was like, I don't know.
So I've been, it's been
on my mind for a while.
Uh, you ready to eat?
I'm ready to eat.
Let's do it.
Caleb, for the first course
of your final meal on Earth,
we have the crispy buffalo
wings with homemade ranch.
These were inspired by
Ye Rustic Inn, but they.
Did refuse to give us
their actual sauce.
So this is all homemade.
Did they really?
Yeah.
Can you talk to your boys,
small businesses, knock it off.
We're trying to help you out.
Agreed.
And a can of Dr. Pepper,
but then also we have one
more surprise dish for you.
Okay.
Just as a gift from the kitchen.
Okay.
Oh my God.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Let's cupcake.
You went, you went on Royal
Court with Brittany Broski and
she served you store-bought
cinnamon rolls and lukewarm
chili, Brittany, because
she's a terrible host.
She's just rude and churlish
and so we wanted to make you
the Candy City Delight fresh.
She's a, sorry.
I'm not mythical kitchen girl.
I'm sure I'm not
mythical kitchen girl.
I mean, good girl.
Brittany, I love you.
So much.
I'm so sorry they did this to
you, girl, because this already
looks way back, Brittany.
I'm so sorry you
did that to Caleb.
Britney, because
now we had to come.
Correct.
Oh my God.
Okay.
Dig it.
There's a secret ingredient in
chili and I'm wondering if you
can, uh, identify it if, yeah,
if, if you have any, if you
have any knowledge of me at all.
I think I know what it's,
have you ever had, uh,
uh, CINON roll with chili?
I never have.
No.
Oh, it's such mid Midwest
depending on what part of
the Midwest you're from.
Mm-hmm.
You guys put some
grape jelly in there.
What's up brother?
Let's go.
Let's go.
Puts some grape jelly in there.
Why do you put grape
jelly in chili?
It thickens it.
It makes it sweeter.
Are you, did you
enjoy your bite?
I did enjoy my bite.
Wow.
Oh, fair.
So then what is there to ask?
Hey, fair point.
No, it's um, it makes it
thicker, it makes it sweeter.
It's really nice.
Grape grape jelly
also for meatballs.
Mm-hmm.
Grape jelly for meatballs.
Grape jelly for chili.
What meats doesn't
grape jelly go with?
I don't know that there is one.
Maybe chicken.
Yeah, maybe you put
grape jelly chicken.
Little grape jelly chicken away.
I think that's the only meat
I have put grape jelly on.
This is really good.
Oh, Brittany, I'm so sorry girl.
You're getting cooked alive.
Yeah, Brittany.
Oh, this is horrible.
I refuse to apologize for this.
Uh, this was other, oh,
Brittany remind me the
people who cooked it.
So I think Lily
was the architect.
Mine, the chili Lily.
We have an incredible staff.
They do all the work.
I just get to sit here and yap.
And I'm incredibly
grateful for em.
Can Lily hear me right,
hear me right now?
Uh, yeah.
She's on a headset.
Lily, this is so good my love.
You don't have to respond.
Don't worry.
She's doing the Brittany breast
right now, now responding.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Me not hearing a response
and getting insecure.
Don't worry.
No need to respond.
Lily.
Um, I'm gonna ask about the
wings because I know your mom,
Kelly has said she could quote.
Solve Iraq and Iran by, right?
Yeah, by flying over with a case
of Miller Lights and homemade
chicken wings and ranch.
Yeah.
Do you think you got
your activist streak
from your mother?
She's obviously
very talented at us.
This woman, this is the most
special person on her, to me.
I love her so much.
She's so wonderful.
What happened was she came
on my podcast for the second
time and the night before
we were at dinner and she
was like, how you been?
You know?
I'm like, oh, I'm good.
I'm just.
I'm really, you know, spinning
out about the world as usual.
Mm-hmm.
And I was like, you
know, Iraq and Israel
and the bombs and shit.
And I, I'm just really
worried about it.
And I was specifically going
on a rant about, um, when
we bombed, um, Iraq with
those planes, took off from
Missouri, the Air Force
base by my, by my hometown.
And I was like, God, it
just feels like these really
expensive planes flying over
a bunch of people who don't
have healthcare and can't
afford their houses to go drop
bombs on other poor people.
It just feels insane.
And I'm telling her
this and she goes, yeah.
Well, I'm thinking
about going out drinking
with Jen this weekend,
and then she comes on my
show the next day and she's
like, I think, you know,
we were talking about Iraq
and um, Iran last night.
Iran never entered the
conversation, but then she,
she, yeah, she goes, I'm
gonna send chicken wings
and Miller Light and fix it.
Incredible.
I think that's, that's the
sort of Midwest hospitality.
Yeah.
That you really, a nation
of people who really
don't drink alcohol.
Fantastic.
Yeah.
I'm completely addicted to her.
She's the coolest
person who's ever lived.
Um, but yeah, I, um, maybe,
I don't know if I got an
activist streak from her, but I
definitely, um, wanting to fix
things with food I got from her.
I respect that sign of which
please dig, dig into the wings.
I'm curious how, how we did
compared to you rusting.
'cause they are probably the
best in la I'm, I'm mad with
them now though, that they, that
they did You guys like that?
Oh, I am your own priorities.
You can, we never
wanna pull rank.
We never wanna ask
for anything special.
I do.
Well, I should call them.
Okay.
These are, yeah.
Incredible.
Do you have a chicken
wing eating strategy?
It just depends.
You're seeing one right
now that I don't think
I've ever done in my life.
I love that.
It's your last meal.
You gotta live here,
you gotta experiment.
But this is the important thing.
When you're eating a
chicken wing, you gotta
push it off a little bit.
Mm-hmm.
You do this one, sometimes
you can do both, like right.
And then you dip, and
then you just, yeah.
You going side mount.
I go straight.
Right now in the middle,
right down works.
Mm-hmm.
Was this Lily again?
Mm-hmm.
Lily combination of people.
This might have been Tony.
Only Lily.
Only Lily.
You did an amazing job.
Give her all the credit.
She, she's the
headphone producer.
The chef gets all the credit.
Oh no.
This is incredible.
And the ranch is so good.
Your mom used to work at
bars growing up, right?
She did while she was going
to nursing school and raising
two kids as a single mom.
My mom, yes.
Raising two kids by herself.
Uh, working three jobs and
going to nursing school.
Um, she's an absolute hero.
And never had the balls
to do comedy though.
And, um, never too late mom.
She would bring home
chicken wings from the bar.
So it was my favorite food
because she would come home
with them and then we'd get
to, you know, eat together.
And also it was like mom's home,
so it's actually mom whole day.
And she smelled, one of the
jobs she had was, she worked
at a bowling alley, and so
she smelled all the time
when she came home, watch
odd times I'd be asleep and
she'd come like, give us a
hug while we were asleep.
She smelled like, um, cigarettes
and stale beer and fried food.
And I was like, ah.
So now still to this day when
I walk into a bowling alley,
I'm like, it feels like, oh, it
sounds like as far as parents
go, like a truly heroic effort.
And you one time called DFS
on her because she took your
PlayStation away and said
that she abused you and then
caused a bunch of home visits.
Did you come for the king?
Don't miss, do you remember
the first time that you had
that adult sit down with your
mom and you're like, Hey.
As an adult now through a
retrospective lens, I understand
how much you did, and I'm sorry.
Was there ever
that conversation.
No.
No.
Yeah.
I mean, there's been a
bunch of 'em, I think
like a lot in college.
I don't know if that happens
for a lot of people in college.
Yeah.
I, I'm assuming that it does,
but really in college, just
like trying to pay my bills
and get myself everywhere
and also do my laundry.
Yeah.
And like feed myself and
do all this stuff that
she was helping with.
I was like, man, that
I can't believe she had
us, you know what I mean?
I, I distinctly remember
one phone call in college.
I'm sorry, this is crazy.
I was like, why didn't
you have an abortion?
I was like, seriously?
What?
Damn, what were you thinking?
Having kids?
'cause she was.
Young.
She had my brother when she
was 17, she was a child and she
would, we are very, very broke.
And I'm like, what the
hell were you thinking?
And she's like, no, no.
I just thought we
figured it out.
And we kind of did.
And I was like, rock
on girl, whatever.
That's kind of like a
laissez-faire attitude that
I. Maybe respect in a way.
I think it's cool as hell.
Meanwhile, I'm not having kids
until I'm like certain that
I have nothing else to do.
I've got like enough
money in the bank.
Yeah.
Wanna be with someone for
quite a while, you know?
What's your motivation
behind wanting to have kids?
Because I, I think especially
like I, I grew up in from a
really poor background, single
parents, both them die pretty
early and I know damn well
that a lot of my motivation
is, oh, I can do this better.
Yeah.
And I don't feel good about
that motivation, but I'm
wondering where your comes from.
Yeah.
Well, you were born in Maryland.
Uh, he knows the bio.
And then you, and then
you came out here.
Did you come up here with
your parents or was there a
different I made, I made one
stop between Maryland and here.
What was the pit stop?
Kansas City, Missouri
for five years.
Knock it off right up.
No, you did not.
There's videos of me,
there's, there's videos and
photos of me and a little
chiefs beanie, you know.
Are you serious?
I'm not serious.
Yeah.
What part did you live in?
I think it was called
like Gladstone or
Brookstone something Stone.
Brookside or Gladstone.
Those are called Gladstone.
Gladstone.
Gladstone, yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Oh, wow.
In the Northland, apparently.
That's crazy.
I don't remember much about it,
but it's kind of, you didn't
have me on this show sooner.
I agree.
Actually, now it's, you're
kind of starting to look
bad to me a little bit.
Yeah, no, I get that.
I hear that a lot actually.
Yeah.
Because we have all
these things in common.
I wish we could do
it back, but yeah.
Well, let's just
make this one good.
I guess it's good.
I guess I feel like the mood
is soured, but you know,
we can, we can get it back.
Oh, I'm gonna be negative
the rest of the shoot.
Yeah.
Um, okay.
So why do I wanna have kids?
Same deal.
I think I can do a, I think I'll
never do better than my mom did.
I could do better than my dad
with my hands tied by my back.
God, God love him.
He just was not good.
He should not have had kids.
Um, this is making my nose
run, so we'll be dealing with
that for the rest of the shoot.
Love y'all.
Um, yeah.
Could do better than my dad.
Truly.
I, I, it would be, I
impossible to imagine being
as bad of a parent as my dad.
He just was not, he
just wasn't good at it.
He refused to talk to me
like a kid in some ways.
Made me smarter, but was
not, you know, helpful.
I would like to do that.
And I also think like so many.
People I don't like are
having like six and seven
kids and like repopulating
the earth and their kids might
turn out to be really cool.
Plenty of people turn out to be
different than their parents,
but I'm like, I wanna raise
like cool little kids, you know?
Yeah.
I wanna raise like fun,
nice human beings who
like do cool stuff.
I think it'd be good.
Do you think I shouldn't?
No, no.
I. What do you think?
What did you get from that look?
You think I gave you a look?
That, what do you think
I should have said?
I shouldn't have kids.
What do you think?
I shouldn't have kids or I
think should, no, I think
you should have kids.
Nice.
I think if you want kids,
I think that's the most
important thing to having kids.
And like you said, it seemed
like your dad really didn't
wanna have kids and your
mom was at least indifferent
enough to not ab bore you.
And I think that's beautiful.
That's, you know what I mean?
How long have you and
your wife been together?
Uh, only married for like
eight months, but together for
like five and a half years.
Long time.
Why not kids?
Uh, we're
alright, grandma.
Fine.
We're, we're trying.
I'm just, I'm, I'm in the,
the, I'm at the driving range
almost, you know, every night.
Well, two nights a week, one
night a week we get tired.
Um, you're doing dr.
You're at the golf, dr.
You're driving golf balls.
That was a metaphor
for us having sex.
Oh, nice.
This didn't come through.
I thought you meant I can't.
My wife 'cause I'm
at the driving,
sorry man, I can't give
up the driving race.
You know what, I know.
I went, I went too
many layers deep.
Um, that's so funny.
I'm no Kelly hair and I don't
have the comedic timing.
Um, I'll get her pregnant once
I stop golfing so damn much.
That is something I'd say
no, we, we are like actively
in the process of trying and
we're, we're both like very
aligned on it, but yeah.
Have you ever gotten close
to finding that person
that you think you wanna
have kids with or no?
Mm.
I don't know.
It's a complicated, uh,
it's a complicated question.
I've recently found someone
that I could imagine
myself having kids with.
Is it like a romantic
person or like a surrogate?
Yes, yes.
It's a romantic person.
Imagine it was a surrogate.
I'm like, yeah, I saw a
woman the other day who just
looked like she could do it.
Um, I don't know.
I do have mini
surrogates in my life.
I mean, all these lesbians,
you know, so don't many of
'em I've got, I could, I
could practically, I could
pick up the phone right now
I think, and get a lesbian
to go down to the clinic.
But who are, who are the
top three lesbians in your
life right now that you
think would surrogate?
It's tough 'cause they're
all career ladies.
Mm-hmm.
But, and so they all wanna act
and stuff, you know, I think you
then have to find the one whose
career trajectory is going down.
Oh, that's, God, that's easy.
Okay.
Um, my top three lesbian friends
whose careers aren't going well.
Yeah.
Correct.
Okay.
And this is my camera.
Yeah.
Okay.
Um, no, I dunno.
There's so many lesbians
that I'd like to have
kids with, actually.
I feel very, do you know
those guys who have that
sickness where they want to
have kids, like as an illness?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Where they have to, they
want, they're like, I
want a hundred kids.
Yeah.
I low key understand
them just from like sheer
kind of narcissism that
like need to spread.
No, no.
Their's is narcissism.
Mine's not about like
spreading my seed or
something sick like that.
But I do go, God, all these
lesbians and I would have such
beautiful children, you know?
I think it'd be so fun to
be like, oh man, that's
my kid with that one.
You know?
Who's this person not?
Not asking you to name names,
but how did you realize that
this might be a person that
you wanna have kids with?
What are you looking for?
He has, uh, many wonderful
qualities, but I think when
I think about raising kids
with someone or starting
a family with someone in
general, not even just
kids, just like operating a
household like day to day.
Yeah.
Patience is the thing that
I'm like, yeah, when something
goes wrong on vacation or
when your kids are being
really annoying or just a
lot of life situations, call
for someone to just be like.
Okay.
That'll be fine.
You know what I mean?
That's, that's the thing that
I love most about my wife.
I'll say that like I.
Asians I married.
What?
Patience.
I thought you said Asians.
I was like, no, Jewish.
Uh, you said I love that
about my, I go Asian.
Uh, no.
She's like, I, I feel
like I'm married up, like
morally, like I married up
in character in a way that is
really aspirational for me.
Are you debauch?
Am I debauch?
That's the weirder
question than Asian.
Yeah.
Yeah.
What's your wife's race
and also are you debauch?
I've been a debas, lecherous.
Cantankerous, like
a lot of us is.
Um, but no, she's somebody
who I think just has like
a very direct, beautiful
moral compass that makes me
want to be a better person.
Yeah.
You know, and I think
transmitting that to kids is
like when we both have kids.
They're gonna be best friends.
They're gonna play together.
That's beautiful.
What you said about your wife,
I don't want to graze over that.
If you ever put that five
iron down, you guys are gonna
start a beautiful family.
God, one day if you just put
your driver back in with the
caddy, you guys are gonna have
a beautiful family, I think,
Caleb, for the second
course of your final meal
on earth, we have the
pork belly burn to ends.
This has been shipped out from
slaps barbecue in Kansas City.
We have the pickles, the
beans, the mac and cheese,
the baked potato casserole
thing I've never had before.
Little bit of white bread,
some extra sauce on the side.
And then on the West coast
barbecue front, we have moose
craft barbecue, poblano,
Oaxaca sausage with both
of their barbecue sauces
and some pickled chilies.
Yeah, this means so much
to me that you pick this.
Do you like this place?
I love this place.
It's the best barbecue
in LA in my opinion.
That means the world to
me, especially coming from
Kansas City, one of the
great barbecue cities in the
barbecue, uh, uh, triangle.
I know I love, well, kin
city barbecue is incredible
and I shout out to slaps.
I'm so glad they
sent you all this.
Their pork belly burns are
not always on the menu.
It slaps isn't necessarily
where I would send someone who's
never had Kin City barbecue.
Mm-hmm.
But it's where I would
take someone if they were
like, what barbecue would
you have for lunch today?
For real?
Yeah.
I wouldn't go to one of
the crazy spots with a
line down the street.
This place often does
have a line, but this is
more to me like when, you
know, the, the landscape
of barbecue in Kin City.
This is where you go to
like, just have lunch.
Yeah.
You know what I mean?
I respect that so much, man.
I can, I can't wait to dig you
this, it looks so goddamn good.
Okay.
Let's, I really, really
hope you like it.
Oh, they're so nice there too.
I love them.
Oh.
I'm so mad that everyone
else in here isn't
eating this right now.
Someone come, where's Lily?
Willie Li, come here back.
Lily, would you
come here please?
Right here, Lily.
At this point, it's like, no,
this is so, and y'all, Ooh.
So how did you, I wanna
know how you got this here.
Can you, will you just
tell me that briefly?
Yeah.
So they, they shipped it here,
vacuum shield, and it was our,
uh, it was whole and then we.
Cut it up, crisped it up in the
oven, then let it sit in the
sauce like, 'cause the burnt
end is sitting in that heat
and the sauce for a long time.
Yes.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
This makes me proud
to be an American.
I wanna thank you
for saying that.
'cause right now I do
feel politically right now
that's a scary thing to say.
Yeah.
And I wanna thank
you for saying that.
No, I do, I do know
what you mean though.
There are, I never feel more
like, like, uh, bald eagle,
soaring in the background
country music rising.
Yeah.
Than when I'm at a barbecue
restaurant in Missouri or
Texas or North Carolina and I'm
sitting out there and everyone's
just like smiling and eating.
So too much food in the heat.
Yeah, I like that.
This is also like
a very unique part.
Of American culture that
doesn't exist roughly
anywhere in the world.
Well, I get mad sometimes.
It's funny 'cause you were
talking earlier about Orange
County and people having
a very particular idea of
Orange County and they go,
oh, orange County is rich
white people or whatever.
Mm-hmm.
People paint the whole
middle, uh, part of the
country as just like, oh,
just like, you know, ignorant
white people or whatever.
And they do it with
Kansas City too.
And I'm like, Kansas
City is such a profoundly
influenced black city.
Kansas City's like 20 to
30% black depending on.
Like what's going on with
the census at any given time?
It's a jazz capital
of the country.
Like Ja, the jazz history in
Kinsey is a very black history.
Barbecue is extremely black.
And so I get really annoyed when
people are like, oh God, I don't
know if I wanna come over there.
You know?
I'm like, no, come on.
What are you talking about?
Like some of the best
parts of our country
are from black culture.
No.
In places like Kansas City,
I learned about woman town
in Kansas City from a podcast
that you did with a gay
Missouri historian come on.
Which was like incredible.
Like you're really, you're
putting your culture on the map.
Lesbianism, my culture of
lesbians, I'm gonna eat all
of this and be safe, all that.
I'll do it with you.
My culture of lesbians.
Yeah, no woman town is this
really interesting, um, thing
that happened in like the
eighties and nineties where a
bunch of lesbians were like,
we're gonna build a utopia.
And they mean build it.
I mean these are lesbians we're
talking about, so they're like.
And nailing shit, you
know, I've seen 'em do it.
It's crazy.
It's crazy how handy they
are with shelves and things.
Um, so they, they go to all
these women's festivals,
you know, like Louis Fair
and stuff, and they're like,
Hey, we're building a, and
they're putting, they're
writing in the lesbian like
publications, come to Kansas
City, we're building a utopia.
And they bought up a bunch of
properties and started like
fixing up houses together.
And the running joke at the
time, my friend Stuart Hines
was telling me he is a gay
professor in Kansas City.
But he was telling me that
the joke at the time was,
if you're a man and you
drive through Woman Town
duck because they'll shoot.
And it was just like a
super like pro woman.
I was researching for some
characters that I was writing,
um, and talking to a bunch
of these older lesbians who
were around that community
when they were making it.
And it's still a very gay
neighborhood in Kansas City.
Kansas City's a very queer city.
Um, but yeah.
Really, really interesting.
The political right seems
to have co-opted the entire
Midwest for themselves
and the narrative.
Mm-hmm.
Do you think you're taking
it upon yourself to try and
kind of reverse that in a way?
I'm just telling the truth.
Sure.
That it's not like that
they can't have it.
We're for, I'm from there.
We're still over there.
And so they, it's so
convenient for them that
they want it to be theirs.
They wanna be like, this is
this, this whole they, they
like to do that thing where they
share like the red map that's
like all land and they're like,
look how red this country is.
And it's like,
that's empty land.
You moron.
Even though that
red, that could be.
38% blue and that is still
representative of like
millions of individuals
that have hopes and dreams
and souls and aspirations.
Yeah.
And live in community there.
And are your neighbors
and are your neighbors
I the electoral college.
The electoral college has to go.
It's not working for us.
It's bad.
It's bad.
It's bad.
It's bad, it's not working.
And I think it's so
silly and stupid.
Like most people, most people
don't even vote the, and,
and the ones that do don't
have any clear ideology.
I, in my standup specialist
coming out, I talk about
this like, most people
in this country aren't
Democrat or Republican.
They're like a secret
third thing that's
even more psychotic.
You can't like.
You can't actually
pin them down.
The trying to paint like
the whole Midwest and south
as being like one type of
way is very silly to me.
Um, and the, the smartest
like sharpest, coolest left
activist that I, uh, have
ever met and learned the
most from live in Missouri.
Yeah, because they're so
embattled, they need, it's
like actually crucial to
their day-to-day lives.
Then I moved to Chicago and,
you know, I love Chicago dearly,
but a lot of the activists I was
around were just kind of like.
We're chilling.
Yeah, yeah.
Because it wasn't
so existential.
Sure.
It just wasn't.
They're brilliant.
They're very, very educated.
But the, the things I learned
about activism from people
working in, uh, leftist
politics in Missouri are still
the most important things
I learned about politics.
I love those people.
Can I give you a sausage?
Would you, I'm
really excited now.
You dodged me.
You dodged me earlier.
Right before we cut about God.
I did.
I dodged.
You didn't wanna
talk to me about God.
What's your faith?
None.
You know?
Faith, no faith.
Did you ever think about it?
Nah.
Never crossed your mind.
Ready to go on
course number two.
You think I'm not gonna ask you,
you about God in the next one.
No.
No, no.
I'm, no, no.
That wasn't, I was
literally stopping.
So you would ask me about
God in the next one.
Okay.
Um, I grew up.
Jewish, but by culture
and not faith necessarily.
Okay.
I found out that all of my
Jewish grandmas, everyone, ones
who kept kosher just straight,
did not believe in God one bit.
Mm-hmm.
They're like, this is here.
This is a cultural tradition.
Our family fled Lithuania
from the pogroms in the 1880s.
This is what has kept us
sort of alive as a family,
are these traditions,
but no actual theology.
It's not until recently I
started thinking about that.
I grew up right next to the
second biggest evangelical
mega church in America.
Thank you Saddleback.
Uh, Saddleback Church.
Mm-hmm.
In Orange County.
Love their work.
Have you, are you
familiar with 'em?
No.
Okay.
Thank God.
Uh, Jesus.
Like, no, they got me, but like
actively tried to be converted.
I, I remember going to
a friend's house and his
family was serving KFC and
I reached to grab a piece
of chicken and his dad.
Grabbed my hand and said,
in this house, we thank our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
for our meals, and if you
would like to partake in
this bounty of Kentucky Fried
Chicken, you will do the same.
That's awesome.
He knew I was Jewish.
That's awesome.
It was awesome.
And then I ate it and I
threw up on his trampoline.
Yeah.
A bunch of cole slaw.
That's awesome.
With the same coming in and out.
That's awesome.
I hope you don't cut.
When I did that to you
before we started the show.
No, you, you tried to bring
out the food and I said, we
pray so, and now you said you
were gonna cut it, but please
don't let him out because
we're gonna actually, we're
actually, we'll shoot a pickup
later just so we get it clean.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But what about you?
I know you grew up in a
big evangelical church,
but it sounds like
it was your decision.
It wasn't like any family.
My mom's, she has always
been, she's very nice person.
She's a Christian.
She reads the Bible, but she's
never gone to church 'cause
she was working so much and
raising kids that she was
like, the last thing I'm
doing on my Sunday morning.
Is getting dressed up
and going to a building
to be told how to act.
God wouldn't want that.
She's like, no, he rested.
Like it was just
never her thing.
And so, but I, all my friends
were going to church and so
I was like, I wanna fit in.
So I started like
sending myself to church.
And my mom was, I, I think I
do genuine, she would never
say this, but I genuinely
think she was little.
Like, ha you know, I think,
I think she was like, you're
kind of like a loser, you know?
Being like, what do you
mean you wanna go to
church two times a week?
Freak you're like a kid.
You know?
Yeah.
That, I mean I see that
from her perspective.
Yeah.
But it was also where all
my friends were hanging
out and I went to one of
those cool megachurches.
Do you see that?
That I hope the camera
caught that like incredible
juice pop from that sausage
get the instant replay.
I really didn't.
I really wanted to just get into
it and not cut it with a egg.
'cause I think that's the
proper way to eat that sausage.
You're correct.
And it looked really cool.
I hope the camera
shows what I saw.
Um, but yeah, all my friends
were hanging out there.
They were like giving
out iPods and shit.
Was there a moment when
you really knew like,
oh, this isn't for me.
I gotta get out.
Yeah, there were a couple.
First of all, I read the Bible.
That's, yeah.
It's a bad start to kid stomach.
That one that's big.
I'm, I'm dead serious.
You read that thing
front to cover and you
go, this is bad shit.
I really like Revelation.
I loved it, man.
You go, this shit's crazy.
Another one was, I remember
in youth group one time I
asked, we, there was a, um,
Hey, this is gonna be sad.
There was a kid that,
uh, killed themselves.
Mm-hmm.
And I'm so sorry to bring
that up, but they, I asked
at youth group, you know, we
were talking about it, we were
having a discussion, which
is actually quite healthy
and good, but I was like, you
know what happens to someone?
Who, uh, who like
commit suicide.
And they were like,
well, unfortunately
they do go to hell.
And I was like, okay.
Insane to just stare
at someone's face and
say that truly crazy
about like their friend.
And then I, and then I remember
I was like, okay, let me take
it a step further and see
if I really understand this.
And then I was like, I was
maybe in like middle school,
I was like, what about someone
who's born in genuinely
never heard the word of God?
Like never, no one
ever witnessed to them.
They're like a far
corner of the world.
And I, I'm not kidding you, my
very otherwise, like reasonable
youth pastor, like a reasonable
guy who exists in the world.
It was like, well, the
Bible says that we should
know by the wind and the
trees that God is real.
And I said, this is
fucking stupid, man.
I was like, I'm so
sorry, but that's crazy.
Here's your iPod, sir. I, I
was like, I'm taking my latte
and I'm hitting the road.
This is crazy.
I just couldn't believe it.
And that for me was
one of the times that
I was like, no chance.
As I get older, I just start
craving that amount of faith and
I don't know if it's certainty.
Some sort of purpose community.
I know you went through like
this very heavy atheist phase
where you were just posting
on Facebook about the Flying
Spaghetti Monster and you were
hosting a, you were hosting
film screenings of atheist
films for the youth group kids.
Yeah.
Did you show them
the movie Jesus Camp?
No.
Jesus Camp was a
little bit after that.
Mm-hmm.
So we were already out of,
but I showed them, um, well
now I feel bad that I put his
work on 'cause he's gone nuts.
But Bill Maher, the,
that, that movie I was
showing all my Christian
friends and being like.
So what do you have to say?
You know, like trying to
like ruin their faith.
Yeah.
Um, as a teenager, but I, I
truly, I think like what I
want more than anything all
the time is just connection.
I'm like chasing connection.
I wanna connect with people.
It used to, I think when I
was a little bit younger, I
was wanting people to like me
really badly and I was mistaking
that for chasing connection.
I was like, everyone
needs to like me.
I can connect with plenty
of people who don't like me.
I think it happens all
the time, you know?
Yeah.
But I just want to connect
with people so badly that I'm
like, yeah, I could, I could
see myself ending up in a
religious movement on accident.
Where do you actually stand
in terms of theology though?
Like, if you were to say,
does God exist or not?
Or is that question even
on top of your mind?
Yeah, I think, uh,
to me, God is, uh, an
energy and like a force.
I think God is like, I,
I do think that generally
humans have within us.
Now, some of us bury it and
some of us destroy it, and
some of us put greed ahead of
it, but I think humans at a
baseline are fundamentally good.
There's a force in the universe
that pushes us to want to
be good and do good, and to
love people and to be nice.
And I think that force is God,
but I don't think God's like
a person in the sky, like, you
know, raining down judgment.
And I don't, I'm, I'm heaven,
maybe hell absolutely not.
Makes sense.
There's no such thing as hell.
Makes no sense.
There's no such, there's nothing
you could do on this Earth
that would be proportional
to an eternity of anything.
If it was really down
there, we would've found it.
With strip mining, I'm, you
know, we would've just gotten
there and I, yeah, I do a
lot of drilling for oil.
Sure.
Yeah.
You know, I didn't know
that about, so I, the side
hustle has some drive.
Uber, you.
Mine for oil.
I'm mine for oil, and
I'm happy to do it.
And the reason is because,
are those ducks recovered yet?
No.
No.
Well, whatcha gonna
do, but they're ducks.
They're ducks at certain point.
Who fucking cares?
I don't care about 'em at all.
Um, but I do, I drill,
I drill, I drill.
And I, I think I would've
found something down there.
I think so.
Yeah.
The way that we're drilling.
Yeah.
Has the fracking company,
has that taken off yet?
Is that public knowledge?
If we, we don't have to
talk about the fracking
company if you don't want
to, if it's not public.
But I, I would love for
you to tell them about it.
Where's my publicist?
She's here somewhere, isn't she?
Caleb, for course number
three of your final meal on
earth, we have the Bucatini
with Gule from Hippo.
We have the crab fried rice
from love to eat Thai Bistro.
Then the Sichuan green
beans from Shang la Can I
offer you some fresh grated
cheese on top of your buin?
I'm actually okay without
cheese, but I would, I
would love to do it for
you if you would allow me
to give you some on yours.
I, I, yeah.
Okay.
Fabulous.
Thank you.
Do you want me to hold that?
Yeah.
Are you ready?
Okay.
Say when maybe we could put that
some Italian music over this.
This is way harder
than you think.
Huh?
Am I doing this the right way?
Sorry, I'm listening
to the Italian music
in my head or whatever.
When it's like the Gond test.
Uh, you watch Eurovision?
No.
What?
Why?
What's that?
You don't know about Eurovision?
It's the Super Bowl of That's
the singing one International.
Yeah, it's, oh yeah.
No, I've never seen it,
but I know about them.
They have like the freakish
people from Finland and
stuff that do their songs.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So you're talking about, uh,
cha Chacha by Kara should
have won in 2023, but.
Did not.
It's actually pretty
upsetting to me 'cause I was,
I dressed like him for the
next Eurovision party though.
Yeah.
We rented out our
favorite dive bar.
I wore chain mail.
Yeah.
That's enough cheese.
Thank you so much, much.
Yeah, yeah, yeah,
yeah.
I don't, I find, um,
I find it very scary
when Europeans gather.
Nothing good happens
when they do.
I'll tell you that
historically we shouldn't
let them get together.
And when they do,
I feel very scared.
Either Paganism or fascism.
Yeah.
Neither one.
It's like, don't touch me.
Yeah.
I don't like it.
Or when they sing even
it's like, give stop it.
I don't know.
I like the, I like the
sexy bisexual Italian
rock bands though.
They're funny.
Sexy by bisexual
Italian rock bands.
Moskin, they won in 2021.
Incredible year.
Why am I have to tattoo?
Well.
This is incredible.
One thing I tried to do with
my dishes was I thought,
ma'am, so many people might
watch this 'cause you guys
have such a big following.
Thank you.
Have a very successful show.
I appreciate that.
Really means a lot
that you've said that I
wanna congratulate you.
Um, but so many people might
watch this and if they come to
LA I don't, I won't, don't wanna
give dishes from restaurants
they can't get into, you know?
Okay.
I'm like, oh, these are things
I love that I actually ate
when I lived here, hippo.
Great restaurant, good
pasta, get a whole high
go sit on the patio.
Yeah.
It's a great place.
Why not out there?
Out there in the sticks though?
Depending on where you live, you
gotta get out to Highland Park.
That's true.
You know, that's really true.
I do, I do love the Bucatini.
With the guanciale and I will
say it's, um, it's, it's taken
on a lot of sauce, the bini,
so it's a little overcooked.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
The noodles are too soft.
Sure.
So when I asked you that, Hey,
we, we got this driven over from
HaBO, the chef made it fresh.
Yes.
But we couldn't fire it fresh.
Yeah.
And the noodles are
gonna be overcooked.
So if you could not.
Pay any attention to that.
You decided then that you
were going to do that?
Yes, sir. And do you wanna know
why I made that, that call?
I would love to know, because
I often will do this thing
on interview shows where
I accuse someone of being,
you know, homophobic or
Republican or whatever.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You, in all seriousness, before
the cameras rolled for this
segment, you called me a hack.
Um, you called me a hack.
No, I said many people were
saying you have hack tendencies.
You called me a hack.
And so I'm trying to do that
to go to you out of saying
that the pasta was overcooked.
You know, I came in here
with nothing but respect
for you and your staff.
Um, the way you've
treated me has been crazy.
Yeah.
Um, it has been so crazy
with respect and kindness
since we did that with
respect and kindness.
Yeah.
How do you think you've
remained so bulletproof with
all the crazy shit you say?
Is it because people know
that you have a really good
heart, but I'm a comedian.
I feel like I'm supposed to say.
I'm supposed to be
saying edgy stuff.
Don't you feel I, there are
certain things that you say
that end up being Republican
coded as in, and I don't think
it should be this way, say it,
but saying that I'm a comedian,
I should be saying edgy stuff.
Yeah.
There's a very different
type of comic than you that
generally says those things.
Yeah.
But in the same way that
Republicans have tried to.
Intellectually
colonize the Midwest.
Do you think they're doing
that with edgy comedy?
I think it's very funny that
leftists, like we get, so like
the thing that the right says
all the time about like queer
people and trans people and
like leftists is they're we're
like woke scolds or something.
I'm like, if you hung out
with some of the trans
women I hang out with.
You would hear the most
vile shit you have ever
heard in your, I mean,
these people are nasty.
They're really funny and they're
joking about everything and
it's really, really, I mean,
it cracks me up, but I just
think, yeah, I don't know.
I just wanna be funny.
And I think if, if in a couple
years people go, that guy is so
annoying, I'd go, no worries.
Go.
Hey, rock on.
You know?
Especially a healthy
way to think about it.
Well, whatever, you know, you
can't do everything forever.
Hard pivot here.
I'm twofold.
To find a segue, you're
writing a movie directed by
Lily Wakowski about your dead
dad called Trash Mountain.
Yeah.
What do you want people
to take away from that?
Well, I wanna thank you for
doing that question with care.
Um,
I just love how you teed that
one up and No, I'm playing.
I, my, uh, imagine
I was sensitive.
Um, yeah.
I wrote a movie
about my dad dying.
He was a hoarder.
Which is awesome.
But yeah, it's about, it's about
going home to deal with that.
And it's, um, yeah,
it's a great team.
Colin Avaro is producing
Lily's involved.
Chris Ray, uh, brilliant
director is also involved.
Um, just gonna be, I co-wrote
it with my friend Ruby
Castor, who's a genius.
Um, and we have some really fun
cast attached to it, but you're
never allowed to talk about that
stuff in case it doesn't happen.
Um, but I'm excited.
I think we're, I think we'll
probably make it pretty soon.
I know you said that when
you went to spend weekends
with your dad, it felt like
disappearing into a black
hole, which is like a really.
Heartbreaking thing.
Yeah.
Um, 'cause I grew up going
to a visitation divorce dad,
where it was like awesome.
And I look forward
to that all the time.
But are there any things that
you look back on as an adult
with time with your dad that
you're really grateful for?
My dad showed me
a lot of comedy.
He showed me a lot of
standup, which he should
not have been doing.
I mean, he showed me
Carlin when I was like six.
Damn.
Um, my dad would love
like random shit.
Like he was a huge fan.
He was a fan of
Thurgood Marshall, the
Supreme Court Justice.
He like, he like loved the guy.
He was like, yeah, his
decisions were either they,
they were just measured.
Like, he like really loved the
Supreme Court justice, Thurgood
Marshall and I just like,
he, he respected integrity.
He, he taught me a lot about
like what it means to be a nice
person and like being, he was
very big on like politeness.
Um, which is funny 'cause
he was kind of an asshole.
But yeah, he taught me so many.
Did he, if he was an asshole,
would he agree with that?
Oh yeah.
Yeah.
But he would always, he would
give it like a folksy kind of
like, he'd be like, he'd be
like, he'd be, I'm a little
rough around the edges.
I'm like, you're an asshole.
You know?
Yeah.
Yeah.
And you said your dad was
also kind of depressed and
socially anxious, but people
would often tell you that
you reminded them of him.
Yeah.
When he was young.
Does any part of
that freak you out?
Yes.
That, oh, am I just doomed
to turn into this person who
was obviously such a brighter
light earlier in his life?
Totally.
Dude.
My dad would be
like, when I was.
When he was still alive,
my dad would be like, I
used to be just like you.
Oh, I lit up every room.
And I was like, don't say that.
Have that beautiful
singing voice too.
I was like, yeah, it's
such a scary thing to say.
'cause he's like, yeah.
Then some, something
someday just flipped.
I don't actually feel that
it'll happen to me because I
think the, the big mistake of
my dad's life was that he, he
really gave into the mental
illness and he like really just
was like, well, I'm depressed.
What am I supposed to do?
You know?
And he, like, he allowed himself
to be siloed and I don't even,
you know, I have like a rule.
That when I'm feeling
depressed or I'm feeling
down, it's two to one.
Two to one.
You have to say yes.
And one you can say no, you can.
If you, if Monday night
you wanna stay in the
house, cancel your plans.
Mm. And, uh, you know,
eat horribly, do nothing,
watch garbage, go nuts.
But the next two nights
you're doing something.
You know, and I think those
rules and that like the, the
community and the network that
I have, um, I think that will.
Help me to not ever
become like him.
But that's scary shit to say
to your kid, knowing, knowing
that you're off, you know?
Yeah, yeah.
To to be like, yeah, I
used to be like you, and
then something just clicked
and now I'm depressed
for the rest of my life.
I think I saw that
in both my parents.
That's always been
my biggest fear.
My wife and I were having
the conversation recently of
Are we all sort of doomed?
Mm. But it sounds like you think
that there are actual measures
that you could put in place
that can like stop you from.
Succumbing to that.
You okay?
You wanna talk about
a moment where I sound
kind of Republican?
I do randomly believe in
personal responsibility.
Hey.
Oh, you said it.
Ring the bell,
Caleb, for your final
course of your final meal.
Yeah.
On Earth.
You got the Whole Foods
Berry Chantilly cake.
But we wanted to make it a
little extra special for you.
So you were recently
named the Six Caleb.
You recently named the six
Most influential Creator in the
World by Rolling Stone Magazine.
That is one spot higher than
Mr. Beast, who then rage
tweeted that he couldn't
believe that a person with
only 1 million followers.
It was named more influential
than him, and that the Rolling
Stones were, were mad at him.
And so I know you've been
in Active Peace talks.
Yeah.
We're hoping that this cakes
can sort of seal the deal.
Yeah, that's very cute.
Thank you.
Um, God love him.
I, IJ you know,
he, he called me.
Yeah.
Mr. Beast called me and said,
I'm so sorry about that.
And I said, did he actually,
this is really happened.
He really, he really
did incredible.
He called, he said,
can I call you?
I said, yeah, sure.
He called me.
I said, why the
hell not brother?
He called me.
He was so apologetic.
I said, I leg, I legitimately
thought it was funny.
I thought it was so funny.
Yeah, I laughed so hard.
It meant nothing to me.
I also, by the way, he's right.
It's like, hold on, hold on.
Okay, now we gotta change.
So this is no longer,
sorry Mr. Beast.
This is, sorry.
Comma sign.
Mr. Beast.
Also, I just snuffed the
candle flame out with my hand.
That was beautiful
improv though.
You really, you got that quick.
Sorry, Mr. Beast, you
should blow the camera.
It's only, it's only I will,
but I thought it was funny.
I thought he was right.
I thought the whole thing.
I also don't, by the way,
I don't think the list
was meant to be ranked.
I think they just put it in
order of what they thought
would make people keep reading.
But I thought it was so funny.
I was like, that's hilarious.
And he was very apologetic.
I was like, no worries, dude.
I thought it was funny.
You've made it.
Yeah.
Uh, please.
Are you guys impressed by that?
No one cared.
I did that from so far away.
Thank you guys.
Okay.
Can I cut you a piece?
Yeah.
Do you want from the, sorry,
Mr. B side or the berry side?
Uh, berry side.
So there was some, uh,
berry Chantilly, uh, cake
from Whole Foods Community
backed me up on this.
In the comments.
There was the, uh,
there was some drama.
Because Whole Foods, now
you're thinking, Caleb,
you're a classy guy.
Why did you put a cake
from Whole Foods on the
damn list on the show?
Because the cake is
genuinely incredible and
you can get it anywhere.
So when you're traveling,
it feels like a little,
uh, something familiar.
And they changed the recipe and
they thought we wouldn't notice.
And we did the Chantilly
cake community.
We went.
Yeah.
All of us, the they and we
in this are interesting.
They changed the recipe and
thought we wouldn't notice they
Whole Foods we the community.
Okay, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Apparently it was very simple.
We the Chantilly cake community.
Yeah.
Yeah.
We, the Chantilly
Cake community.
We noticed, we Uproared
and I've heard that maybe
they changed it back.
I don't know if they
did change it back.
I don't know.
I haven't had it in a minute.
'cause when they changed
it, I boycotted silently.
But you're very brave.
The, the history of activism
does run deep into that.
Yes.
If I would could send this cake
to a terrorist group, I think
I could get 'em to stop it.
Just to knock it off.
Pick a terrorist group
and send him this cake
and just write a note that
says, would you guys quit?
Yeah.
And I think they will.
And they would say, sorry,
Mr. Sorry, Mr. Which is crazy.
It's incredible.
Have you been to
Sweet Lady Jane?
What are you doing?
What do you mean?
What am I doing?
What are you doing?
You're trying to talk to me
about another cake when you
just had my cake actually.
Yeah.
No, I can actually, I'm
dead serious right now.
You talked about I'm kind of
earn, I look at what I said
and I'm disgusted by that.
Where is sweet?
Where Sweet Lady Jane?
I don't know where.
Sweet lady Jane and popularized
this cake in LA called
the triple berry cake.
Oh, you think this is a,
this is a knockoff of it.
This is a knockoff and it's not.
That's not as good.
Well, now I'm doubling
down on all the rudeness.
Oh my God.
That's not nearly as good.
But you see how he's been
secretly kind of rude
to me the whole episode
and now it's coming out.
Yeah, it's coming
out very directly.
I've been so passive
aggressive and now I'm bold
because this's about crappy.
That's crazy.
But if you left now, we could
still have a functional episode.
Yeah.
Uh, so now I have
nothing to lose.
No, I just really, I think
you're awesome and I really
enjoyed hanging out with
you, but you clearly have
a real boiling hatred
for me under the skin.
Yeah.
And the cake thing was a,
the mask slipped my friend.
I didn't, the comment
the commenters will
prove me right on this.
I normally don't
blow up like that.
And, and I lost my cool there.
We gotta get this guy
to the golf course.
I need blow up some steam.
I, I was thinking about
what Mr. B said, and like
you said, he is correct.
Mm-hmm.
You only have a
million followers.
You also are incredibly
influential though.
Barely a million.
You are a lot more influential
than your followers would belie.
And then I was thinking.
You could have way more
followers and you've
actively made choices not to.
I don't want more followers.
Love that for you.
Don't.
Please don't cut that.
I Please stop following.
No, I don't want more followers.
Graham, get outta here.
What do I need?
I'm chilling.
My bills are paid.
I sell.
I get to do shows.
I do the size of
venues that I like.
My, my staff is paid.
My family is sick.
I'm like chilling.
I'm chilling.
I don't want more.
I like really?
I'm actually very scared.
Um, if you want an earnest uh,
note, I had a big crash out
to my friends recently 'cause
with the HBO special coming
out and some of the work and
stuff, I'm very grateful 'cause
I like making stuff, you know?
Yeah, yeah.
I like being in movies and
I like working with people
and collaborating, but I'm
like really scared 'cause I
don't want to be more famous.
I really, really,
really am scared of it.
I think it's, um, I've seen
people get very famous that
I know, and I really view it
as a process of isolation.
And you just, a hundred
percent, it's like you're
standing on a landmass
and it becomes smaller and
smaller under your feet until
you're on an island of one.
You can't go grocery
shopping, you can't go to a
concert and be left alone.
You can't go get a coffee
without it being strange.
I really, really, really am not.
Dying for more of it, but
it's, it's kind of, I can
understand why people would
be annoyed to hear me say that
if they were, because then
here I am doing this shit.
You know what I mean?
Yeah.
I'm on Your show is a huge show.
I'm doing like a standup
special where I stand up
there for an hour and talk.
I just like it.
I like making stuff and I
wanna make people laugh.
I'm very scared of fame and
so I try very hard to thread
this needle of like, okay, I
do have a public career and
that's insane of me for someone
who says they don't want more
followers, but I try to just
be like, well, I don't have to.
I don't have to try to
constantly be growing
it end over end.
Do you know what I mean?
After climbing the mountain,
what's left for me?
But lightning, I've been
saying that You took
that from me, bitch.
That's my quote.
You took that.
That was your high
school yearbook quote.
High school yearbook quote.
I authored that.
The, the world seems to be
getting worse, you think?
So?
The, the phone, the
phones are killing people.
The AI is making us dumb.
The oceans are acidifying.
All this.
What,
what gives you hope
for the future?
Um, yeah, I guess it
is getting pretty bad.
You just thought about it?
Well, shit, uh, no.
I feel bad for
bursting the bubble.
Oh, damn.
I hadn't thought
about it though.
Yeah, I know.
Things were going pretty well
until the, they changed the
cake and I think that's when it.
That's when it started.
You're kidding.
But wait until the
Barry Chantilly heads
get ahold of this.
I mean, they're gonna be in the
comments letting you know we
had a real moment of crisis.
Um, what's giving me hope?
Like people, you know, I
think people are, I think
people are mostly nice.
I really do think, like,
you read all this stuff
about how like everyone's
antisocial and everyone's
this or that, and then you
go, we go out and you're
like, Hey, how's it going?
And they're like, oh good.
What about you?
It's like people
are generally nice.
You're reading it on your phone.
Yeah.
It's killing you.
You, you, I think if you
go out into the world with
an energy of wanting to
meet nice people, yeah.
You, of course you interact
with some crazy annoying people.
Sure.
But for the most part,
you meet nice people.
I do think we're mostly
good, and I think that what
gives me hope is the idea
that, um, whether I'm right
or wrong, maybe I'm just
really naive and dumb and I'm
totally at peace with that.
But I really do think
people mostly wanna do good.
And I think that we will,
even though we're in
a really weird moment.
I, the reason I think that is
'cause even people who support
really bad evil stuff, they
do believe that they're good.
You know what I mean?
And I, and I think that their,
their desire to be good,
even though they're wrong and
being bad is that's important.
'cause it means they
want to be good.
So if we can just, it's so that
can be harnessed and directed.
Yeah.
If we can just show them that,
you know, it's like you're
actually not doing good even
though you want to so badly.
That's obviously the
hard part that I don't
know who's gonna do it.
Probably not me, I'm busy.
But, um.
Somebody's gotta get into that.
You have an HBO
special coming out?
Well, I have an HBO
special coming out.
I can't be worried about stuff.
Other stuff.
It's a different military
conflicts and things
like that or not?
Absolutely.
Yeah.
But if you guys could stream
my HBO special, I think that's
the first step in healing.
Got Caleb here in
model comedian?
Yes.
And it's out on September 19th.
It's on September 19th on HBO.
Sure.
But you don't think the
world conflicts are gonna
be going on after that?
No.
So the special comes
out September 19th.
Sure.
And then I think war
ends on the 20th.
That makes sense.
Yeah.
No more war after the 20th.
I got the plugs,
uh, switched up.
I would say war ends.
19th.
You're special out on the 20th?
No.
Yeah, it's special out 19th as
a result, war ends the 20th.
That makes more sense then.
And then by
Halloween, no famine.
And then I think everyone's
housed by January.
Yeah.
That's, that's my plan.
That's what your
publicist sent me.
That's what my publicists
are telling people.
Sure.
So, but you guys have to
stream, you know, if you
don't stream, we can't do
anything about houselessness.
Yeah.
That's, that's a tough thing.
Thing.
So please stream.
What do you think
happens when you die?
I have a real fear
that it's nothing you
ever think about that.
Think about, yeah.
Yeah.
You ever think about that?
I'm almost like a 99.7%
certain in my own politics.
And in spirituality.
God, that would be tough.
That the case.
Wouldn't that be silly?
All this for nothing.
Like taking off a
shoe though, you know?
Or driving home from your
friends, except, yeah.
Forever.
And the thing about
taking off the shoe is
that you get to watch TV
or something afterwards.
You know, it's real tough to
be like, you take off the shoe
and then it's nothing, and then
you fall into a black hole.
It's like, okay, I'll
keep the shoe on.
Yeah.
Um, what do I think
happens when we die?
I really hope it's
something nice.
I kind of have been
flirting with the idea
recently that maybe everyone
goes to a good place.
And that no one gets punished
for anything that they did
here and that it's just like,
oh, we all get there and we
all kind of go like, that
was crazy that you did that.
You know?
But they're good in the,
you know, they're good once
they get there that they
go, yeah, I'm sorry y'all.
What was I thinking?
All those people that tried
to do good but ended up doing
bad in their effort to do
good, they kind of get up
there and they're all healed
in this universal love.
And if it's nothing,
I'm gonna be so pissed.
'cause what was all this about?
Can I ask you a question?
Go ahead.
What do you think of me?
What?
Well, I will say that that
is the second time you've
asked me that and knowing each
other for about 68 minutes.
What do you think of me?
Sure.
Uh, no, I think you are.
No, no.
Don't answer.
Don't answer.
No, I'm gonna answer.
I think you could have
done anything that you
wanted in this life.
I think you were that gifted.
Logos, pathos, ethos.
Like you have every
single trapping of
somebody who could have.
Frankly conquered the
world and done bad things.
Evil.
A little bit.
Yeah.
Life is long.
You know, life is long.
You could still be pivoting,
become, uh, lead, uh,
legal counsel, counsel
for British Petroleum.
Yeah, something like that.
I know you'd do it.
Um, but I'm very glad
that you've chosen
to use those skills.
For comedy, and I think you
have incredible deductive
powers to use that for your own
happiness, not your own power,
which I think is very important.
Well, that's very sweet.
I, I did, when I said it, I
thought maybe we would come
to kind of a funny place where
you did like a joke and then
you said something very sweet,
which was extremely nice of you.
And I do appreciate that.
Do you want me to do it?
We can do another take.
Do you wanna do a take
where we do a joke?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Okay.
And then you guys just
decide what you wanna use?
Yeah.
Yeah, sure.
Okay.
Okay.
You guys ready?
Okay.
What do you think of me?
Kay, if you're already
gotten the lightning
round, yeah, let's go.
Let's do it.
Gotta give them options.
Doing this for, what
do you think of me
Ca? Who's the one
person dead or alive?
You'd want to share your actual
last meal with Dolly Parton.
What song do you want to
be played at your funeral?
Um, dynamite.
I don't even know
who sings that song.
Is that acon?
Diana?
Tyo Cruz.
Thank you.
By the way, why is
that Everyone's so
fast on Tayo Cruise.
Dina nailed it up there.
What was your name?
Samara Real is truly,
I went, who does?
At Cruz Crazy Pull.
Yeah, that one.
Yeah.
That's a good song.
What is the gender of Dr.
Pepper?
Uh, Dr. Pepper is a boy.
Huh?
Yeah.
'cause I just love guys and I
just think like, yeah, it's not
that women can't be doctors,
it's not like that at all.
Sure.
No, no.
But I just love guys and
hanging out with guys and when
I, um, when I crack a cold
Dr. Pepper open and I just
feel like I'm with the boys.
Yeah, dude.
You know?
It's got sick ass.
Cheers for real dinosaurs
on, but shout out to
women in many ways.
Why do you love women as well?
Orange Crush is women.
Orange Crush is, and you
know what else is women?
What is that?
Cherry Coke.
Uh, who's your dream
eulogize at your funeral?
Oh, you know, you
know who I want.
Huh?
A Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Oh.
Wouldn't that be nice if he knew
me and he, and he's had really
sweet stuff to say about me.
Yeah, but you would
only want him.
In so far as he knew you
and was able to speak to
your work and character?
Yeah, that it is just that
he'd get like choked up and
he'd do that thing, you know,
that thing that men do when
they're clearly wanting to
cry, but they are embarrassed.
And so they go, they go like,
you know, where they just
like, can't they just try
to like talk through it,
but they're like, oh dang
it, like that kind of thing.
Or you threw a real small hole
in your, like it'd be cool if
he did, like he was so busted
up over my death that he was
doing stuff like that 'cause,
but real not acted or you'd let
him or you'd lead one to act.
No, I feel that his acting
was only a demonstration of
how, how interesting of a
person he was in real life.
Yeah.
Um, at what point during
the Kansas City Chiefs
Eagles Super Bowl?
Did your heart officially break
and know that the game was lost?
Yeah.
I was home by halftime.
I left my friends, we
were having a watch.
I was in Kansas City.
We were having a watch party.
I wanna tell you, before it
even went to half, I had my
crockpot and I was loading it.
I was loading it into
the trunk of my car.
No, the little the, the,
the, the little smokies
with the grape jelly
in the barbecue sauce.
You took that home?
I took, I grabbed, I truly,
it was like, I don't know, we
were down by like a hundred
thousand points or something,
and Jalen Hertz as being like
the sexiest person alive.
He's so sexy.
Him and Saquon Barkley are
being so hot on the sidelines.
Cooper de Jean pick six.
Oh my God.
They're like piling
around over there.
I was in the kitchen just
grabbing my shit angry,
just like grabbing my chips
and I walked and my friends
were like, are you good?
Heading out?
I was like, yeah, put
my stuff in the car.
Went home.
Didn't even watch
the rest of the game.
I was so upset for
two consecutive hours.
I was the only Eagles fan there.
Me and my wife.
Both independent Eagles fans.
Yeah, only Eagles fans there.
We were sitting there
as everybody came up
to us and just went.
Congratulations.
Like we were a 6-year-old
at our own birthday party.
We were hammered.
I made something called bird
juice that was bright green
with Midori in it, and I.
Thank you Mr. Thanks y'all.
And then, yeah, it was great.
Well, you guys are brave
'cause I don't, my, I
host watch parties for
the Chiefs every week.
Uh, and I don't know, allow
anyone who's not a Chiefs fan
to come, you have to cheer
for the chiefs or you can't
come, uh, what's your biggest
fear either being, you know,
like when you sit down on
the toilet and you don't,
you forgot to look inside.
And then if a snake
jumped up and bit you.
Yeah.
Well if you're ever sitting
on the toilet and you
think of this, you could
be really, really scared.
Yeah.
And I often am.
And then, um, other than
that, it's maybe that
I, people don't like me.
Um, this is really like
a one biggest fear.
Yeah.
I'll go snake more.
You'd rather somebody dislike
you, but you're asshole
not be bitten by a snake.
Yeah.
I'm going snake.
I get that.
Yeah.
What was the strongest
bit from your SNL edition?
Uh, you know what, uh, the
two best things ever happened
to me are that I didn't get
that job twice, but I did.
That's the top two.
That was really good.
That was good.
That's the top two.
I, I did though, the first
time I really wanted it.
'cause the first time I
auditioned for SNL was 2019.
Yeah.
And I didn't have any
followers or team or
any career to speak of.
And I was like, oh, I wanna
make comedy and people
actually see it, you know?
And, um.
I had this one bit
called haunted mirror.
It was my closer at the time.
You know, you get a five minute
character set and they, this is
why they flew me out to screen
test, is that they saw this
bit live in Chicago and it was
this woman who she was talking
to her daughters like fr uh,
friends at their sleepover.
And she was like laying down
the ground rules for the house.
And she was like, y'all
just have fun and like,
you know, keep, keep the
noise to a dull reward.
And then, uh, one last thing.
Don't go upstairs and look
into my haunted mirror.
Okay.
And then.
She, she, you know, there's
no one else there, but
I'd go, I'd go, oh, sorry.
What's that, honey?
Oh yeah, there's a mirror
upstairs with a green
glow of its own emission.
Don't look into it.
All right.
Thank you.
Sugar.
What?
And then she kept answering
questions about it, and
it was just all about
this mirror she got.
And she's like, yeah, one
day I brought it home.
The first time I looked into
it, I woke up three hours later
with blood coming from my eyes
and nose and she's telling
about this haunted mirror.
And it was, I don't remember
most of it, but it was a,
I was very, very proud of
it and I loved that bit.
And, um, I didn't get it.
I'm so glad they
didn't find that funny.
'cause otherwise I don't
know if you'd be here.
So that's, I think
it's a real blessing.
Yeah, it was a blessing.
Shout.
Shout out to all my friends
who worked there, but I know
it was a blessing for me.
Um, but yeah, I love that bit.
Finally, Caleb, are you happy?
Yes, I am.
Yes, I am happy.
I am quite happy.
I feel, um, I feel very happy.
I do sometimes wonder
if I'm happy, you know?
'cause you have a day where
you're like really stressed
out and you're like, do
I like what I'm doing?
Am I happy?
Feelings are not
characteristics.
They're things that happen
to you all the time.
So, am I always happy?
No.
Sometimes I'm pissed off.
Sometimes I'm sad.
But I think overall when we
ask if someone's happy, we
mean, do you like your life?
Are you happy to be alive?
Yeah.
Would you like to
continue doing it?
And the answer to all
those questions for
me is absolutely yes.
Caleb, if you wanna
deliver your last words to
that camera right there.
Okay.
My very last words.
I hope everybody
had a nice time.
That's the, I hope
everybody had a nice time.
Wouldn't that be sweet?
That would be really
sweet if they did.
I think those are
really nice last words.
I think so too.
Yeah.
Everyone check out Caleb
Herron, model comedian on
HBO Max nine 19, and then
on nine 20 no more wars.
Tell him about the
the famine ending.
No more war on nine 20.
By Halloween.
No more houselessness.
Um, by the new year?
No, there's Halloween famine.
Halloween Feminines.
And that's also on
HBO Max in 2026.
Yeah, these are all specials
I have coming out this year.
Yeah.
2026. No more unhoused.
Sure.
That's Unless you wanna be No.
Unless you wanna be, yeah.
If you wanna be hungry or
unhoused, you're welcome
to a hundred percent.
Yeah.
On HBO Max.
All on HBO.
Thank you HBO.
We really love you
a hundred percent.
And I wanna thank
Depression for being a proud
sponsor of this episode.
You've always come through.
You're the reason I drive
a 9-year-old Nissan.
So thank you so
much to depression.
Kaylee.
Got anything else to plug?
No, I would just love to hang
out with you again, brother.
With the driving range
or wherever I would,
yeah, driving range.
Just me, you and my wife.
Just hitting in
that driving range.
We all gotta eat and
we're all gonna die.
But in the meantime, check out
our last Meals t-shirt and hat.
Available now at mythical.com.