Conan’s Wife Liza Introduces “Significant Others’ Season Two | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend
Conan here and uh I'm just going to say. this is a special segment yes it is. because we are joined by my wife Liza. Powell O'Brien and everyone far prefers. Liza to me yep that is pretty much true. right oh so true everyone says to me. when they meet Liza she's fantastic yeah. and the emphasis is on that she is the. one who is fantastic yes and I'm tired. of it so we're going to I'm going to cut. what you going to do oh I'm going to cut. this one down to size you brought her on.
the podcast to do this yeah how are you. betrothed I feel like if I was around. everyone as much as you're around them. they would the balance would shift back. no nope absolutely not no I don't think. I don't I can say that with confidence I. don't know you but I know. him you know lies a bit I chose him so. what does that tell you that's true. that's true of all the men in the world. you chose this one they were all at my. dispos they were all at your disposal.
everyone Matt Damon they were all lined. up mat I don't know it's. just I'm thinking of him of course from. Team America I'm not. Damon anyway let's pull this thing. together. because Liza likes to spend as little. time with me as possible and so the fact. that she's here means there's a reason. and uh I am very proud of the fact there. are many things you do that I'm very. proud of uh but uh your tolerance for me. is a great source of Pride but um you.
have made this podcast that uh I think. is stunningly good I love it and I'm not. just saying that many people really like. this podcast it's called significant. others and we thought this was a good. time to talk about it because it's. Valentine's Day you know you're so in. love with. me I do appreciate being recognized for. that it's your greatest achievement is. your love for me true it confuses. everyone no and your podcast uh though I.
wouldn't describe it as a romantic. podcast but it is about couples uh. couples Dynamics significant others how. they sometimes it's a husband and wife. uh these are famous couples sometimes. it's uh it could be a father daughter. there's a power Dynamic and how that all. works sometimes positively sometimes. negatively often positively and. negatively is that a fair description. yeah it is I think you're right that. it's not romance is not at all part of I.
mean sometimes there are romantic. stories but mostly they're stories of um. sort of complicated Partnerships yep um. which spoke to me I don't know. why well it's so funny cuz you I often. contrast your podcast with mine uh ours. is is is SE of the pants um absolute. nonsense Liza Works uh I'm always seeing. her pretty much.
uh in her study in her small study uh. that is often also occupied by several. cats that Hate Me by the way but you. were always in there reading like 60. books studying crafting these episodes. you get very cool people to do the. voices you also use a bunch of the. people here at Team Coco and you really. make these things beautifully and uh. then I'm also a little put off that you. have a fantastic podcast voice that is. far superior to mine I don't know why I.
I'm the one with who's doing the podcast. first cuz your voice is so terrific. that's nice thank you you know you've. influenced me because season one I love. season 2's premiering I haven't heard a. bunch of these yet and I know that. you've been working on them but I uh for. example Jenny and Carl Marx Carl Marx's. wife and what their relationship was. like and because you were doing all this. research when you were done with one of. the books I read it I had never read a.
book about Carl Marx uh and his. relationship with his wife Jenny but. that's a husband and wife team uh where. you can really see how as a couple they. worked with each other then there are. other teams like Billy strahorn and Duke. Ellington tell us about that Billy. strahorn Duke Ellington was um I think. has been referred to as the first gr. American composer he was just. unbelievably talented and you know.
forget the fact that he was um you know. violently discriminated against his. entire life but even outside of that his. accomplishments are spectacular so he. kind of had this Empire almost of of. music and he had all of these different. he had different versions of his band. and he was touring all the time and kind. of stretching himself really thin and he. he met this kid named Billy strahorn who. was 21 who had wanted to I don't want to. give the whole story away um but he had.
wanted to be a concert pianist and he. was a prodigy he was incredibly gifted. used to play the piano in the um he he. and his family lived in a boarding house. and uh the prostitutes who lived next. door um had a piano and he would go play. on that and earned Sor I know and earned. earned enough money when he was quite. young to buy himself piano lessons. anyway so he got into this Conservatory.
in in Philadelphia and his dream was to. be a concer Pianist and and he was. basically told you can't because you're. black so he was looking for other ways. to express his musical abilities anyway. he auditioned kind of for Duke Ellington. and Ellington was like oh this guy is. special and um what strahorn could do. was he could play in the style of anyone. so he could play in the style of Duke. Ellington and then became his sort of. standin his band leader his collaborator.
he um wrote a ton of music for him. including the anthem that I think most. people think of when they think of Duke. Ellington which is Take the A train that. was actually a great story which I. that's just amazing iconic P yeah so. anyway and he was um he was gay and he. was very determined to live openly and. so he was um which at that time is. unheard of it was it wasn't entirely. heard of but it made it very difficult.
for him to be a star in his own right. because that was still um a disadvantage. so wow um anyway so that's a really. that's a great I mean listen there the. they're what's interesting is I'll often. know one of the names but not both right. and then uh like Benedict Arnold I know. that name you did Ben Benedict Arnold. and Peggy shippen I had heard a little. bit about Peggy shien uh that's a. fascinating Story how those two work. together in positive negative ways I.
love that you cast as Benedict Arnold uh. you you cast Andy. RoR which resonates me resonates with me. in so many ways the series opens up so. many different great ideas about how. people uh help each other also can get. in the way um and how it's a dynamic. everything's a d a dynamic yeah I mean. we talk a lot about how that idea of. perhaps and that um. uh is it a Coan there's a like there's.
some there's some piece of ancient. wisdom I don't want to misdescribed um. that talks about how everything's. basically dependent on how you frame it. so right this thing happened it's. tragedy at the same time maybe it. prevented something else from happening. that would have been worse and um I. think these stories are all about that. kind of uh this is the worst matchup. ever although they did help each other. in this way way and right right I just.
think that makes it more interesting and. more true I think it's really it's. really human to want things to be simple. and I think there's a lot of. oversimplification that happens all the. time especially now and this um kind of. doesn't allow for that these stories. allow for a complicated narrative but. you listen to them and they're great. stories and I come away and I sort of. wanted I always want to know more about. you know I mean the nich.
that's such a great one Elizabeth forer. n and friederick n and she was really. you know the a lot of this I owe to the. books that I do read that you know. there's usually some take by the auor. author that's really helpful and and the. one that I really appreciated with that. was that um you know his big thing was. all about this will to power that like. you're supposed to will yourself into. the best version of yourself that you. can be and she really embodied that in. way that was terrifying and um she was.
incredibly. ambitious and he was he's been. misunderstood a lot I think and I'm not. claiming to be the one who understands. him best at all but he was. anti-nationalist he didn't believe in. statehood he had lived through war and. thought it was abhorent and he is you. know his sister marries a an anti-semite. who's trying to found a pure racist. colony in Paraguay he thinks that. disgusting he stopped speaking to them.
and then by the end of his life he was. so incapacitated that she finagled away. to become his um you know caretaker his. minder his power of attorney all of that. and used him kind of as a prop that she. would walk people past and she was. hanging out with fascists and Hitler. came funeral this what you're going to. do to me I cannot I'm picking up so many. good. pointers I plan on becoming. incapacitated and I know Liza is just. going tooming.
more. incapacitated but what I'm saying. is I don't always ask you to carry me to. the toilet but um you don't always ask I. don't always ask sometimes I should. anyway we got off track my point is I. love your podcast and I'm not saying it. because you're making me which you did. no she's got a gun. um that begs a question season 12 Conan.
and Liza episode yeah that episode well. that's the one where I'm in a wheelchair. incapacitated this is months from now. and uh Liza is bringing people by and. she's promoting me as a great. nationalist figure. um all those great aphorisms that you've. Rec they usually involve nonsense words. exact don't be a jibble when you can. Bibble yeah uhuh I be who I be there was. a big refrain last night it was a lot of. I be who I be please no one needs to.
know about our private popey and. changing you try singing that to the. Game of. Thrones we were rewatching Game of. Thrones and I insist on singing loudly. My Own lyrics which is I be who I be and. I and Li is like you've got and my son. is like if you do that again we're not. watching this that's the. significant other and then I be who I be. be so now they don't even watch the. openings anymore as beautiful as they. are a uh we watch it for the nudity.
anyway ruin things I am a Ruiner you're. you're you're a Ruiner uh but anyway I. love that you've gotten everyone at at. Team Coco oh my God we'd be lost without. every gy Adam bla Eduardo hopping ER. Brown hay chills they've all read lines. for the episodes Erica Brown no really. ER you got Erica Brown on a she refuses. to do a microphone but she does it cuz. she likes Liza oh my God I can I don't. think I can ever ask her for anything. again I think I used up all of my credit.
with her for the rest of time oh my God. she did not enjoy the experience but she. sounds great Ted danen was here. recording something and nicest man I've. ever met well he's right up there with. me tall drink of water easy on the too. yeah I know still got on television for. a long. time both of us cool the coolest guy I'm. a good bartender anyway what uh.
I was on Cheers I know I was anyway. uh you got him helping out it's just. great I'm very I'm very excited about it. it uh premieres uh on Valentine's Day. and it's called significant others and. that is you that is Liza pow o. Brian run in the. show is that another one of your. aphorisms that is you that is you that. is you says I that makes more sense than. most of them you that's what I would say. and so now someday we'll do one about. you're significant other TCH yeah love.
that would it be about him and how I'm. his about his like love for like karate. and stuff are you the whole thing about. Chernobyl are you going to make it like. a fake one why it's not my thing it's. Li's thing sorry legate will you tell a. story you texted me yesterday I thought. that was great oh my god well yeah so he. went on he's gonna hate me for saying. this but he went on like an intensive. karate weekend which they do twice a. year and always is in different places. and this time it was in Pasadena which. is minutes from our house and he takes.
it so seriously that instead of coming. home and sleeping because there's no. room in the gym he slept in his car for. two nights and in the middle of winter. to be close to the dojo to be close to. where they were practicing but I oh he's. so having an affair yes oh my God every. time I tell Liza I've got an intensive. karate weekend she knows I'm meeting. Murio on Catalina you know what it's. actually it's worse if he's not you know.
what I mean yeah he is though cuz I've. met all his karate friend I mean it's. possible I would I think I'd feel better. if he was having an affair I'm already. thinking that's what I mean you've got. these are very uh these are very. beautifully crafted historical documents. that you've made they're really great. they're really great to listen to you. walk away from each one learning more. yes but I do want you to take a break. from that and do one about Sona and Tech. it's about him sing at his car on his. quote on his on his quote karate.
weekend and it's in there and it's no. and it's in there with you know all. these other great Figures it's in there. with George putam and Amilia arhart and. bar Rustin and Martin Luther King. jrw T and Son Dolly T and Sona yeah. karate weekend I know but you know what. I did see his SUV he had a whole setup. in the back of his car that's what I do. when I go to Catalina to meet Muriel I. put a bunch of karate wait how are you. getting your card I own a c plane okay.
fine I have two different sets of books. you've never have two accountants you've. never seen it Liza is not even angry she. just wants to know the logistics of how. you do it we have talked about this. which is I've sent Eliza which is that. you know if you ever found out that I. was having an affair wouldn't your first. thought be to be kind of impressed at my. time management skills cuz that's all I. ever think about when I watch movies. where someone's having an affair I'm. like what I couldn't keep all that. straight yeah it's true I couldn't yeah.
all that that's I you know what I mean. we we are like just barely hanging on. with our very basic we are very. committed to each other monogamous. relationship but but we can barely more. than enough we can barely keep it going. cuz there's like oh wait who's picking. up our son wait but when are we going to. the airport there's all that stuff who's. taking the dog to the and then the IDE. threw out the manise a big one the other. day I was and also I think it hadn't.
expired but anyway I wanted a tuna fish. sandwich with mayo and suddenly there's. no mayo that didn't go well but my. significant other said I'll make you. some and she made me mayonnaise from. scratch that's a win-win yes and it was. better than the regular mayonnaise wow. so anyway that was a win-win but this is. riveting I can't wait to hear about the. sun your episode but wait a minute what. I'm saying is if on top of all of that I. had to get on the uh plan to Catalina to. meet Murio and bring her the you know.
whatever the avocados she loves to. eat who can keep track of all that. very diverse chased in women yes I was. GNA. say and you know what she you know what. she's really. unpleasant we got yeah why are you late. I had to because I was doing a podcast. where was promoting license why are you. promoting her podcast why can't I have. one hey is that my. avocado sh and she's super old and.
there's nothing sexual about it she is. 82 years old oh that's sweet. yeah she was a nurse in the Korean War. anyway as stupid as this podcast is I. know I'm sorry I'm going to say this I'm. I'm so proud of you I love you I'm so. proud of you and I think this is an. incredible piece of work so I'm excited. about the new season significant others. wherever you get your podcast season two. premiering on Valentine's Day subscribe.
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