"AOC: LIVE in Brooklyn"

Wait, wait, is the announcement over?

No one, huh? Oh, did he finish?

He finished.

Okay, great. That means we can start.

Ten o'clock show. Ten o'clock show.

Ten o'clock show. Ten o'clock show. Ten o'clock show. Now, do we remember what city we're in? Do we remember what city we're in?

We're in Brooklyn. We're in Brooklyn. We're in New York. New York City. New York City.

It's a ten o'clock show.

People might be a little tight. Tight. We'll have some good energy. Energy.

Vocal exercises. Vocal exercises.

Oh!

Eye contact, eye contact. I got it.

Eye contact, you ready? Eye contact.

And what is the name of the show we're doing?

Oh, the show?

It's SmartLabs! Smart,

Labs.

Labs.

You're gonna switch.

I'm sitting over there? Yeah.

I'm sitting there.

Where do you wanna sit? I sit down. I sit in the middle. That's okay, because you guys are seated. Because tonight's my guest, so I get the couch.

Yeah.

You don't know, you don't know. Yeah, why is that good news?

Yeah, why is that, I feel like, yeah.

Jason!

No, but I'm telling you, it's a good guest.

Yeah!

This is our last show here in Brooklyn. Yes. And I know, we're bummed to leave, believe me.

Well, wait, hang on, what are you guys doing tomorrow?

Yeah, that's a good point.

We'll do like a little matinee. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Oh, we should've done that.

Everyone's gotta rest tomorrow, you've gotta go to church, you've gotta go to...

Whatever I do.

Yep.

I like to talk about things that we go through on tour, because we've never been on tour before, and one of the things is like touring and traveling, we stay in the same room, which is true. True story. The same suite, everywhere we go. Yeah, we stay in the same hotel room. Yeah, and so far, everyone we've been to, every city we've been to, out of the three rooms, I've gotten the handicapped room.

Yeah.

And so... By the way, true story.

True story.

It's just crazy luck.

Yeah.

So the shower is level with the floor, and it's a hand thing, I'm like, what? Like, it's no showerhead.

Which is fine, it's just, right, yeah.

He's yet to complain.

Yeah.

I saved it for here. Right, I know. Yeah, so I complain.

Why do you wanna do it in front of all these thousands of people, just to make us feel bad?

Well, here's the other thing that I didn't talk about, which is, I don't know how you guys feel, but like...

Oh, get real.

No, like, when you go out to eat at a restaurant, and you order, first of all, the waiter comes around and he's like, would you like bottled water, or tap water, or whatever? And if I go, I'll have bottled water, and everybody else will be like, hey, it's great. And then he brings a glass for every single person. Right. And you're like, I don't know, it's selfish, but I'm like, you ask...

What part of that bothers you? I wanna get down...

Well, just whatever you want. You order that drink, but know that it was the thing I ordered.

Okay, I know, but is it the money?

No, it's not the money.

Angel loves a sweet.

Yeah.

I, um...

And, by the way, the point is, the point is that's happened when the cookies came the other day. And you're like, look, there's cookies. And this one's like, I don't want any. Let me have one.

So...

Right?

Yeah, and the cookies were next to eight plates of food.

Okay, so let's just get something clear. So if you've listened to the podcast, you know that Jason has a very dangerous relationship with food.

No, I don't, I just don't eat like, I don't eat like King Arthur.

No. No, but you don't need to talk about it all the time. And I can't wait.

I just find it fascinating.

I'm gonna pay for your, whatever, your psychiatry when they deal with this, because it's so fucked up. And we live in a world where everybody's always talking about food, and is it gluten-free, and the thing, and the thing, and how many calories, blah, blah, blah. Who fucking cares?

Yes, you wanna know what happens when I eat gluten? It's a disaster.

You're so close to tears. Look at him.

But like, say what you had ordered.

Okay, so I ordered a burger and a steak.

Keep going.

That's true, that's true. Just split. No, no, you ordered a hamburger and a steak, and a bowl of cream corn something, and a salad. And blueberry pancakes. And blueberry pancakes.

It's not even the same meal.

That was a different, no, that was a different meal. And then, and then these chocolate chip cookies, they said fresh, like, yeah, who's not gonna get that?

You don't wanna be rude, right?

I don't wanna be rude. Anyway, he shamed, he tried to shame me, which put me on the attack, I will admit to that.

And then, out of spite, he decided to eat it all.

Yeah. And he's like, can't get over it.

But then you ate some of it.

I had a corner of a cookie, just to release the valve. You know, I mean, you start to look at something, and then, if you build up-.

I honestly can't believe. we're in Brooklyn, we're talking about this.

I know, but you are the king, Jason, you are the king of, nah, nothing for me. What do you got there? Yeah. Right.

And Sean, on the other hand, he will go to people's houses and bring McDonald's with him. Absolutely.

Right?

Oh.

I'm-.

Show, show, show him your trick if you're constipated.

I just do this.

Get up.

I do this.

This works, guys.

And food, it's tricky for you, because also you get real snacky at night now. Yeah. Well, I mean, I don't know,

well, listen, well, let's, go ahead. You got me, she heard it.

Gummies, I mean- Guys, it's legal.

It's legal now.

Yeah.

I mean, why do I have to hide that?

It's just like- No, no, you don't.

Guess what? It's like going down to the corner and buying a sixer or a beer. There are more dispensaries in California than Starbucks.

Yeah, it's true.

Yet, I still will not tell my kids that Daddy enjoys a gummy.

Inflammation.

What's amazing is people used to get, I feel like when we were growing up, people would get high, like at my age, you get high and you watch, like, the song remains the same, Led Zeppelin, or you'd-.

They'd know what it is.

Yeah. And then like-.

Yeah.

But, like, Jason, takes a gummy and watches MSNBC.

There's something so super weird and sad about that.

No, but Jay got me on them, and they really work, and they're very healthy, and the only thing-.

Stevia sweetened gummies.

Yeah. Stevia, yeah. And he will, the only time, the only time I will find golf interesting is he will put it on, and I'm like, what is this? Blop, 10 minutes later, I'm like, this is amazing.

It's legal here, yes?

Yeah.

It's like, let's get on with it.

What's crazy is how much about, like, our eating habits and stuff, they obviously know from listening to the podcast.

What else are we gonna talk about? I don't know. We're not journalists. We're not smart.

No.

We're just people that eat and sleep, like everyone else.

It's so true.

It's so boring. Well, again, we do wanna say thank you for allowing this to happen, and that you guys-.

Very excited, very excited.

lives a lot in D.C.,

and in fact, at 29, she was the youngest elected ever to the Congress. Guys, welcome Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez! Oh my God!

Wait a minute. No way! Yeah!

Oh, my God!

Oh my God! What? Woo! How are you? Hi!

Thank you so much! This is you. Thank you! This is you right there. My goodness!

Hi, everyone!

You guys! Oh, my gosh! A hero! Wow!

Oh, my gosh!

I mean, see, this kind of stuff blows our mind. Here we are, just three ding-dongs. This is crazy!

You came to talk about golf with us? Yes!

I wish you brought on somebody with opinions! Right.

Golf.

We're gonna get him tonight. We're gonna get him out of her. I got questions and stuff like that. Well, first of all, are you currently in town, or did you come up for this? Or how often do you get to live in your home city and versus living in D.C.?

So, this is one of the most common questions I get asked. It depends on the year.

Off to a great start!

Do you take the express train to D.C.?

I don't know, it's gonna be better. Are you on a gummy?

I will not disclose.

No, I'm kidding. But are you?

It's like semi-legal in New York.

Copy.

Is it really only semi-legal?

Yeah, yeah, it's decriminalized.

So what does that mean?

It's decriminalized, it's medically legal, and it's like on the way to becoming.

So wait, so you can buy it legally? If you smoke it, it's illegal?

No, no, you can own it.

Can you use it?

You can use it. It's decriminalized, but decriminalized, you can't buy it in a shop yet.

Oh, right, all right. But we're on our way. Yeah, or you can buy it in an alley.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Or a park! Or a park! Or a park! Or a park!

Or a park. Okay, so, your place in D.C., do you get a budget for housing, or you gotta spend that yourself? No, this is a discussion.

I wanna know, too. I have 10,000 questions I could ask you, because I'm the dumbest person alive.

Wait in line!

The detail, like, it is crazy, it is really interesting, because most people who get elected to Congress are independently wealthy before they run.

I wanna get into that, too.

So if you're a normal person, and you get elected, there's no housing allowance, so you have to pay two rents, and...

Your place at home and your place in D.C.

Yeah, or when I got elected, my job right before, was that I was bartending, and there's...

What was the bar, shout out to?

Shout out to the taco shop on Union Square, which is still there. Really?

Hey, some people know it!

So you have to pay for two places. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you're doing it, when you go there, you're doing it on a bartender's salary. Was the last salary you...

Yeah, so basically, there's kind of this weird period where, after you get elected, your first paycheck comes at... Congress, you get paycheck monthly, okay? You get paid once a month. And so your first paycheck comes at the end of your first month in Congress. So, like, how do you tide yourself over?

You last that first month, yeah.

Yeah, like, these are things that... And a lot of your colleagues, like, don't have to think about it. Right. So, they're, like, these interesting little challenges.

And are you...

But I rent, I rent in New York and in DC. I'm a tenant, okay?

And you're not allowed to take money from constituents to help you out. I'm thinking, I'm putting it in terms of, like, college athletes and stuff. Like, you can't take money from sponsors and alumni and things like that in college.

No, I mean, in theory, you're not.

Exactly, all right, all right. And do you have to drive yourself?

I drive, yeah. Or sometimes, sometimes I'll fly, too. Or sometimes I'll take the Amtrak, which is what I do a lot, too. Now, what about...

Yeah, shout out to Amtrak. back there. I got Amtrak.

Good for you. Now, what about...

And Metro North, too, while we're at it. Yeah!

All right, so now, did you, wanna do this from an early age? No. Or was it, when you were working with the Bernie Sanders campaign, you saw some stuff that you thought, well, maybe that's... Yeah, well, you know, I never thought.

that I would be elected to public office. I also didn't think that someone like me or with a background like mine could really get elected to public office.

And that young, too, 29,. that's youngest ever, right?

It's the youngest woman ever. I mean, you had, like...

Yeah, I mean, how old were you when you started to get involved and you did your first primary or whatever? You were, like, 27?.

I was 27 when I started running.

That's crazy.

Yeah.

I mean, 27,. Sean, you were making millions of dollars a year on Will and Grace.

And, by the way, and still renting. Yeah! No, no!

Yeah.

No, you blew through it all. Oh, I blew through it, yeah. Wait, I wanna know, like, I don't know how any of, like, I'm, like I said, the dumbest person in the world, and how, always...

Here, nobody disagreed. I know. The entire audience.

Nobody...

Not one person. All we get, from whatever news source we get, is how, I'm probably jumping way ahead, but I just wanna get there.

No, please, let's get all over the place.

Yeah, yeah. All we get from the TV, and wherever we get, our news, whatever you watch or read, or whatever. You too! Is, that... Is that, it's always at a standstill.

Well, I mean, I think the thing is, is what we need to take a look at is that there's a lot of meeting in the middle. It's just about the things that we don't like. So there's a lot of bipartisan consensus around militarism and around Wall Street bailouts and around, you know, helping out corporations and shorting the middle and working class. There's a lot that goes on that passes, that gets done to advance that.

But doesn't, isn't newsworthy or something, or we don't hear about it?

I think, I mean, we don't... If we do hear about it, we don't like it. But there's a lot that goes on that, you know, I just don't think... It's really about, like, what are we doing to affect people's lives and to improve people's lives in a way that's felt.

Yeah.

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And now, back to the show.

So then let's say there's a subject that you would like to pull one of the Republicans over and meet in the middle and have some bipartisan consent on and then have a piece of legislation. How does that happen? Do you call somebody who you think might be the most pliable on the other side and say, hey, let's have coffee? Or do you text? Or do you text?

Okay, honestly.

How does this part work?

Let's meet in the middle. A little bit of all of it.

Do you say, try this, gummy, and then let's talk about it?

A little bit of all of it. Sometimes it's, sometimes, you know, there are group chats. Like that's, oh yeah, that's a thing.

Oh, put me in one. Yeah.

Wait a minute, that's a dick pic.

But sometimes, you know, the house floor that you see on C-SPAN or at the State of the Union, that's where we go to vote every day. And so it is kind of like a high school cafeteria.

When you see you guys getting, talking next to one another, you're not talking about sports or whatever. Like you're saying, hey, I want to talk to you about this. I mean, it's a little bit of policy.

You're talking about policy and things you're trying to do, and there should, maybe you should make it more like a musical number. Like, make it, you know what I mean? In the cafeteria. Sean? Five, six, seven, eight.

Well, I'm making bills.

So anyway. Any time.

Yeah, you don't have to ask him twice.

I mean, I feel like some folks, they'll use,

Congress people.

They'll use, I mean, they use the same things that everybody uses, you know? Yeah. They'll use, they'll either use iMessage,

Is it as rough? Because we obviously don't. I would do really well there. What's that?

The informal part? I know, I think I'd do really well there. I think that, yeah. I think you would.

I think you would.

Informal, and then you're on group chats. Yeah. And you know what I mean?

It really is a lot of schmoozing.

It's a lot of schmoozing, Jason.

A lot of schmoozing. No, wait, what is it?

Can I do it? Yeah.

So when people are trying to sort of like, figure out, since it's every, excuse me, every two years for Congress as opposed to six years, Senators? Yes. Yes, okay. And four years for President, right?

Oh, my God. I'm Canadian and I know that. No, I know.

It's a constant turnover, so how do you keep track of who might be a pliable member of the other side? And the sort of long-winded question, which I'm prone to do associated with this is,

Why are you answering your own question while?

It's a thing. Just ask her a simple question.

and then let her answer it.

When you got there, it was so exciting for a lot of people for many, many reasons. Did you find that you were either really embraced or not, based on all the press coverage that you got the second you got there? Was it helpful or hurtful?

It was, in terms of internal dynamics, it's actually hurtful, because what happens is that you're sitting right next to a person and it's a really bizarre experience, because, so there's something called a cloak room.

Oh, here we go.

And...

Harry Potter!

Yes!

There's a lot of Harry Potter-esque elements. It's not Harry Potter shit, no.

No, but he's right. It does sound dope as hell.

So you have the house floor, like what you see in the State of the Union, but there are these rooms attached to the house floor and there is a Democrat's cloak room and there's a Republican cloak room. And so you go in through the cloak room and there's like, there's rules about being on the house floor. You can't wear coats. And so you put your- Chewing gum? Back in the day, you could put your cloak room, you could put, I mean back, chewing gum.

Wait, wait, wait. Why can't you wear a coat on the Senate floor? Or on the house floor?

There's pretty strict dress codes.

Yeah. You cannot wear a coat?

Yeah, you can't wear a coat.

Why?

You can't wear a coat. You can't wear denim. Until very recently, women could not wear sleeveless dresses.

Oh.

Yeah, it's just, you know, it's old school like that. And so they have these things called cloak, they're cloak rooms, where back in the day, kind of, you know, in the 1800s and whatnot, members of Congress, they would drop their cloaks there. There used to be chests where you put it up and you pull out huge bottles of booze and put the booze in the thing before you went on the house floor. Your little booze cubby.

They don't have those anymore.

They don't have those anymore.

Booze cubby.

Yeah, it was like little cubbies. But that's how it was. And so that's like this informal socializing space.

Well, Jimmy Jordan must love the house floor.

Can guys go sleeveless?

That's an excellent question.

That's, sorry, that's a question from our friend Justin Theroux.

Asking for a caller, JT from New York.

All right, now, so again, jumping all over the place. You talk about the floor and then the rooms off to the sides. It makes me think about, I wanna go to January 6th for one second. I have a question about why did they all leave once they got in? Is it because they couldn't find you guys?

They were hiding in the cloak room. In the cloak room.

No, but like.

Drinking the booze.

But was that, because obviously old Mr. What's-His-Face never called them off. So they didn't leave because of that. Did they leave because you guys were properly stowed away?

Well, the thing that's interesting about the architecture of the Capitol is that, like Harry Potter, like Hogwarts.

Now you got his attention.

It's very Byzantine. It's actually really hard to navigate. And so they couldn't find the halls and the places that you needed to navigate to where member offices were. And so they kind of like busted in and they found some of the main offices, like Pelosi's office and House Leadership's office is there.

And so. Everybody was gone. Everybody was taken away. Like that, to me, that's the unsung, heroic story of all this. Because somebody, and it was probably the Capitol Police, did great work of putting everybody away.

That was a crazy, crazy day. And I think we all.

Oh, was it, Will?

We all.

I was with you on the golf course.

Well, why do you get on your high horse about it with me?

Well, because you said it was a crazy day. Like, well, we get it.

It's funny that you talk about it, and it's funny that you bring it up kind of after discussing relationships with members and Republicans and Democrats. Because right before I left, so Congress was in session this week. And so right before I left, they literally had the last vote of the week and I was just filling something out. So most of the folks were kind of fouled out.

And some Republicans,

I mean, members of Congress in general, kind of funny people.

Are they? Pretty unusual. Are they aware of that?

Yeah.

And so the thing that's interesting is some Republicans are just like, the reality in front of them is completely divorced from the rhetoric and all this other stuff that sometimes they go on TV and say. It's really weird.

And does it feel a little high school-ish where there are people there that are, obviously? I know you don't get along with, they don't get along with you. They can go nameless. But I mean, what happens when you pass her in the hallway, you know?

Like, I mean, yeah.

But I mean, is it really not so dissimilar from high school, where you either choose to pretend they're not walking by, or is there something, is there a snotty look? Is there a snotty side? Is there ever like, hey, you know what? Let's hang out this weekend. We can fix this together, you know?

Yeah, well, I think a lot of it is like high school. And the reason for it is that I think there's just a certain dynamic. when you get like 400 people in like a similar space and like they're literal bells, when the vote's called, the bells ring. It's like high school in a lot of ways. Like, just structured that way.

One second, high school, ah.

Yeah, so high school is.

Is this place.

Is it up a few floors?

Why do they call it high? You know what? We don't have time, but we're gonna.

Double back.

And so some people conduct themselves that way. Some people like actually wanna get to know each other. But yeah, I mean, some, I mean, listen.

But like a high school, if it was a person X and person Y that everybody knew they didn't like each other. and then if on Monday everyone came back to school and the word got out like, oh, you know, over the weekend they talked and they're all good, it would blow the high school's mind and everybody would come back together. So I'm just saying, I mean, I don't know. You know, it'd be a really cool thing. I, you know, I know you're willing.

It actually, okay, it depends on who the member is. Some of them don't care. But some of them really, really do, especially members of Congress who are in swing seats. They're actually very sensitive to the volume of those calls, except it has to be from their constituents. So if you're just calling somebody somewhere else, they're like, I don't care what someone from so-and-so thinks.

I don't even know. But if you get a call from 718, you're answering it. Yeah, 718-347-212s, maybe if you move. 917, 917, 917..

What is it about, something I have not really understood is a lot of these folks that are in positions like yourself could make a whole hell of a lot more money back in the private sector.

All members of Congress make $174,000 a year.

Right, and I bet you, a lot of those who are, a lot of them, very skilled attorneys, could make X number of millions a year. So are they really staying there and holding their job because they have some ideology that they're so passionate about, or they are so altruistic, they want to help the public? I don't get the sense that a lot of them do on the other side, I'm sorry to say. And so why are they there when they could be making all this money back in their district?

Well, a lot of them still do make a ton of money because there's a lot of insider trading that goes on in Congress.

There we go. And, okay, you're not supposed to-.

Not on my watch. You're not supposed to like, say that term.

See, she's having some of the scotch, guys.

We're getting it now. Okay, here's what I'm gonna say.

The spirit, like, you know, because technically folks will say, you know, technically this is not a crime. Technically it's not. In spirit, it is. Like, it should not exist, you know?

Because they're privy to some information that's coming down the pike and they buy stock in that company. Exactly, exactly.

And so it is legal, as a member of Congress, it is currently legal, and I've been trying to change this. As a member of Congress, it is currently legal.

Yeah, how is that still there? That's crazy.

And so not only that, but A, there's that, B, there are plenty of members who are so wealthy and get elected that they don't have to, like, a salary is nothing to them. It's really, there's no trade-off here. I find the psychology of it very interesting, too, because I ask myself the same question. I'm like, because the thing is like, it's a real pain in the butt, you know? You lose your anonymity, it can be grueling, people are yelling at you.

Your life is threatened.

I mean, why do this?

Because you walk into a restaurant and they're like, right this way. And I do think, no, but like,

I think that there is a psychology to that where there's a certain kind of power and influence that money can't buy. And there's like a prestige that I think money can't buy. that is part of the psychology of some people. Not everybody. There are legitimately plenty of members of Congress who are just salt of the earth, incredible, amazing human beings.

Love Jamie Raskin. You know, like, amazing.

So, you know, it's not everybody, but there absolutely is that element to it.

So you're spending 99% of your time being super-duper smart, being incredibly generous with your time and your occupation and everything. What do you do to be a dumbass? What is like, are you watching Below Deck? Are you chewing gummies like crazy? What do you do to be stupid?

Okay, so I, you know, because work is so crazy and like emotional, et cetera, I have to watch like dumb television.

What's your favorite dumb?

Please say Ozark when you say that.

And I play.

You know, Murderville, though, is a new show.

Okay, I'm actually excited about that. No.

I'm legitimately, I saw the first commercial for it like a day or two ago, and I'm like, oh, this looks really funny.

That show's rad, by the way.

Seriously, watch Murderville. Very good.

Don't watch it streaming on Netflix right now. It's not a big deal.

Really, really good. It is good. It is good.

Thank you.

You see the way I take the high road, guys? I know.

Oh man, well, I don't know. I mean, I've watched like COVID.

Yeah, Selling Sunset.

Selling Sunset.

Selling Sunset.

I also play video games.

Yes.

PC games, so League of Legends. League of Legends, nice. Like, yeah, no one knows what that is.

And we will be right back.

Nancy's love story could have been ripped right out of the pages of one of her own novels.

She was a romance mystery writer who happens to be married to a chef.

But this story didn't end with a happily ever after.

When I stepped into the kitchen, I could see that Chef Brophy was on the ground and I heard somebody say, call 911..

As writers, we'd written our share of murder mysteries. So when suspicion turned to Dan's wife, Nancy, we weren't that surprised. The first person they look at would be the spouse.

We understand. that's usually the way they do it.

But we began to wonder, had Nancy gotten so wrapped up in her own novels? There are murders in all of the books. That she was playing them out in real life? Follow Happily, Never After Dan and Nancy on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of Happily, Never After Dan and Nancy early and ad free right now by joining Wondery Plus.

Hey, it's Guy Raz here, the host of How I Built This, a podcast that gives you a front row seat to how some of the biggest products were built and the innovators, entrepreneurs, and idealists behind them. Every week, I speak to someone new. Stories like Justin Wolverton's, a lawyer who just wanted a healthy alternative to ice cream. So he created Halo Top in his Cuisinart. Or Todd Graves, who grew his fried chicken restaurant, Raising Cane's, into one of the most successful fast food chains in the US.

And now, back to the show.

Sometimes I like to watch great comedies. One of my favorite is a film they made, a few of, that. one of my friends, a mutual friend of ours, is in. No, no. And this guy who is in one of my favorite comedy movies, comedy trilogies, it's not him.

Oh, wait. But let's thank him anyway. Wait,

Ladies and gentlemen, our friend wanted to say hi, and we're only in town to do this. Charlie Cooper!

Oh my god. Get in, come on, come on, get in there. Sit down, sit down. What? Sit down.

So. I had to fix the light. Oh, thank you very much. His mood is, his mood lighting is an electrician. Oh, my god.

By the way, Jay, I had no idea.

I had no idea. Did you know?

I did, I did, I did. That was a setup? No, I saw it. I saw it. I saw it.

OK. OK. So Bradley called, and he said, I hear you guys are coming to town. Let's all hang out, because the four of us are very, very good friends. And he said, well, we're only in town for a few minutes.

I just want to say one thing, and then I'll leave. You're not leaving. You're not going anywhere.

You stay.

You're not going anywhere.

I've known all of these people. I met Will in 1998.. And then I met Sean through Alias in like 2000.. And then I met Bateman. And these guys have all been gunslingers for 20 years.

I've been you for 20 years.

So it's so unbelievable that they're sharing their skill set with you.

How lucky are we?

It's just the truth, man.

Will and I lived together in Venice, California.

And it was like, I used to watch this every day. It's like crazy. Hang on.

Let's get into this. I'm sorry. Pardon us.

So Bradley lived in the back of this property. He lived in the back house. How old were you? We were 10.. We were 10..

23..

Wait. I remember the first time I met him was at your place, at your apartment.

Playing cards.

Yeah, playing cards at your apartment. And that's when you lived in the back. And I was like, you were, like, meet my friend Bradley. And you answered the door with boxers on. I was like, hello.

And I was like.

But that's how you always answer the door, right?

Hello. Hello.

That's right. And so Bradley lived in the, we had this building in the back. And we had our friends. Yeah, we lived with Ron Rifkin. And I'm Rifkin.

Oh, boy. Wow.

And we used to see him sometimes in the alley. That's right. Driving that old Jaguar. And then it was so weird. It was California, man.

Yeah.

And then we were doing Arrested. And we were doing Arrested. On the same lot that you were doing. Kitchen Confidential. Kitchen, Confidential.

But the other thing is like, we've all been through it together. Yeah. I mean, that's really the thing. Wait. We used to talk about our dreams, and will we ever be able to fulfill them.

Bradley's thinking of this story. Right? I mean, that's it. Yes, for sure.

100%. Wait, wait.

So Bradley's thinking of this story. He was at my house. This was years and years and years ago. And he's like, hey, I got called to do this musical on Broadway. Will you play through the songs?

Yeah.

Yeah. It's funny, you know, because we do get to do like, this is so bizarre that we're doing this in this way. But it is all about, you remember, we were talking backstage about remembering where you came from and how hard it was and all that kind of stuff. And, Bradley, he directed A Star is Born. Woo!

Yeah, he was the emcee for all of the Warner Brother media, which is the hardest job. He was like the, yeah.

And Bradley came out. And we did this thing. And he played this trailer. We sat there with this crowd, not unlike this. And we sat at the end of the stage.

Yeah. Yeah.

Well, I can only imagine. And that's how a bill becomes a law. Yeah.

I can only imagine how fulfilling, how much deeper and gratifying it is to be able to celebrate a friend's victory when you know what they went through to get that. You're not meeting someone at the peak when you've met someone when they were just at their lowest sometimes.

I'm glad you mentioned Teen Wolf 2, because I took a lot of guts.

Will, Will, Will, she never said Teen Wolf. She didn't say it. She didn't say it. Okay, forget it. Forget it.

I auditioned twice for that movie. You did?

Yeah.

I got callback. I got callback. Sean turned it down twice. Who are some of your gal pals in D.C. like we were coming up that you're now pals with?

I want to know that answer, and then who's your favorite Republican?

Okay, okay.

Good question.

I like that question. Yeah, yeah.

So, I mean, of course, there's Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, like just absolutely incredible. But also, you know, a lot of my friends from when I was working in restaurants and bartending.

So, if you were going to go out in D.C. and really release the valve, because it was a tough week, who's the first call?

Okay.

Release the valve. Okay.

I think he's another- I had some addiction problems, guys.

So, I think another congressman from New York, Mondaire Jones. He's really fun. You know, there's just, I mean, there's just a lot of folks who are-.

Who would be the most likely to give you a high five?

Who's the high fiver?

I bet it's a Republican.

Yeah, I think Republicans.