W. Kamau Bell Is Trying To Stay Optimistic | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

this gig you're working on now you're a. guest correspondent yes on this ABC show. that you were uh a fan of already called. what would you do I mean yeah this show. what would you do it's been on the air. it's for like 15 Seasons it's one of. those shows that like a lot of people. don't think about but if you describe it. to them they're like oh yeah I've seen. that show it's like it's John konas sets. up these sort of like uh prank things. but always with like a sense of like. will people help and so it's been on the. air for a long time it's big on social. media it's big with ticktockers but it's. like so because there's all these short.

clips of seeing people in awkward. situations uh trying to figure out what. people would respond to the situation so. I've seen it and thought it was a good. show but never in any way thought that I. would be invited to be a part of it but. I got a call cuz uh to because the. skills that I think I've developed over. the years seem to be applicable to this. so and I got to film it in Mobile. Alabama which is my which is my dad's. Hometown so so you said I want to film. this did you choose mobile or was it. just a nice coincidence it I mean they. knew I was from mobile they they chose. it for me yeah okay I think also cuz. John was like I'm not going to Alabama.

yeah so and you can only film it in. certain States because you can't do uh. hidden camera shows in like you can't do. them in California so of course you can. do them anywhere in the South because. the laws are just you like so there are. no laws yeah so you can so so some of. the things I mean the times I've seen. the show I think I saw one where there. was a either a pregnant woman or a woman. pretending to be pregnant and her. husbands or her partner's berating her. for like you got to lose weight and. they're just trying to see if anyone is. going to do anything yeah.

and uh it's nice because I always like. it obviously when when people rise to. the occasion yeah I think it's sort of. you know we live in this time of like I. mean it's been overstated it's the most. divided it's the most polarized D and it. just sort of shows that like people will. generally step up if they if they if. they can help in some small way you know. it's not assembling a crossbow level of. help but if there's some sort of like I. can tell you to like I see you being. taken advantage of let me help you out. so yeah it's a it's it is heartwarming. at a time of heart it's heartwarming at. a time of heart colding in this country.

are you a uh uh this gets tricky but I. always lean slightly optimistic even. during these times and sometimes I get. for that but I do read a lot of. history and I'm reading a book now about. uh 19th century and an election where. the country's completely divided and one. side thinks the other side cheated and. there's a lot of misinformation and. Samuel Tien thinks that he won the. presidency and but there's this massive. fight between Hayes and TI and I'm.

reading it and going oh we've been here. before like I keep reading things and. thinking we've been here before the. difference being now that we have the. internet but I I try to always maintain. some calm but unfortunately my rallying. cry is hey everybody things have always. been kind of. shitty take it easy it was re you know. there was a lot of misinformation. cruelty you know and just overall crud. for hundreds of years and uh that. doesn't seem to cheer people if the. country can overcome Sam Tien yeah you.

all remember how hard that was during. the it was a big deal it was a big deal. people were bringing uh you know weapons. to Congress anding each other can't even. imagine and I was reading about it and I. was thinking wa wait a minute this is. madness this is you know we've done this. before can't believe we've been doing. this podcast for 5 years Lots changed in. the world I don't know we have flying. cars now do we time transport A lot's. changed but you know what there's also. things that haven't changed you know. what I'm talking about no Great Taste of.

M light hasn't changed it was the. original light beer and to this day for. my money it's still the best one it's. good I'll fight anyone that disagrees. will you well not with my I'll have. someone fight for me m light has more of. the taste you want less of the stuff you. don't yeah yep undebatable quality Great. Taste only 96 calories that's good it's. the beer that strips away everything you. don't need holds on to what matters most. a light beer that tastes hello like beer. yeah not like water that's just kind of. beer yeah exactly I don't like that.

that's a bad name for a beer too water. that's mostly beer the original light. beer since. 1975 that's right times change but you. can always enjoy the great taste of. Miller Light tastes like Miller time I. came up with that get Miller Light. delivered right to your door visit. millerlite.com. Conan or you can find it pretty much. anywhere that sells beer celebrate. responsibly Miller Brewing Company. Milwaukee Wisconsin 96 calories per 12. ounces I always feel like optimis. optimism only means something if people. are doing the work to make the optimism.

make sense so I think that like I think. some people like to use optimism as a. way to sort of go I it's going to be. fine anyway back to uh love at first. sight or whatever that show is you know. like Anyway back to this video this guy. getting this crud out of this ear uh but. I think that if you're not literally and. I'm you know doing the work to make. things better or you're not in some way. putting yourself out there to help then. the optimism is ill founded but as a. student of History you also know like no. country is on top forever so I feel like.

we might be in the like so I think the. world might be fine but America might be. like you know. over we. Jesus at all the time we have for. today wrap things up now how come that. makes me laugh but wait a minute how. come how come but then the question is. what is it what does it mean when they. say it's over like sometimes people say. to me oh there's going to be a Civil War. and I say well it's not going to be. 1861 where the country's divided over a. fairly defined Mason Dixon line and.

you've got northern and southern states. it's going to be oxnard's fighting with. Malibu like it's going to be I'd like to. see that exactly. but you know what I mean it's yeah I. don't understand how there's a and then. I also feel like yes people are really. riled up but they're they're also going. to want to still be able to go to their. ATM and get their money and then uh go. to that movie they want to see or. whatever they're going to want to go to. that restaurant they want I I don't I. don't see what it looks like what is. what is is the Civil War going to look.

like I mean I I I you know I think that. I don't know exactly how it plays out. but I do think that there's like if like. when people go to see Rome what are you. going to see when you're what are the. things that that tourists want to see. like the ruins of what used to be so I. think you might be like this used to be. a restaurant I went to now I take. pictures with tourists out here you know. like I think that there's an idea that. like what this country has symbolized in. the world like think about it even just. think about something as simple as. immigration so our I mean that just. feels like they have I'm just keep in. mind they have.

amazing they have the Coliseum mhm and. you're saying that we're going to be. Sofi. Stadium well that's it okay all right I. was picturing like a Cheesecake Factory. that has you know got Vines growing all. over it this was a food court you don't. imagine they had Italian food but also. Greek food but also it's called 7-Eleven. but it was open 24 hours yeah but go. ahead you were making a serious point no. I don't have to do that no no I want to. hear it no I think that like even think. about this like with mtion this country.

was whatever it was because we had the. best publicist going who said if you're. smart somewhere in the world go to. America and you can then make you can. then be the best version of yourself and. so we got credit for a lot of people. coming here to then give us their. talents and then be American you know. yep and now I think if you're if you're. some smart kid growing up somewhere on. the other side of the planet you're like. is that really is America the place I. want to go so then some other place. becomes that place and I don't know what. that look I don't Google every day. what's the new America yeah where are.

they going cuz I I still think when I. travel around that I do think people are. still interested in coming to the United. States no I think I just think but yeah. but I you're just think you're just. looking ahead you're saying I'm looking. post November that's all. I'm Oh I thought you meant the near. future oh we're okay I got till November. I'm just thinking about like a December. first maybe when things have I mean you. know I just don't you know I don't know. what I don't know what happens uh people. ask me to know what happens people.

always go come like actually I get this. question a lot like are you helpful come. out and people want me to be helpful. because I think that means they don't. have to do anything yeah I want you to. be that's why I asked you you I want I. want you to say it's fine so then I can. go yogurt shopping yeah you exactly and. then and that's why I'm I'm like I'm. looking for a gated. community that has three gates yes one. inside the other uh and then you could. say I don't have an alarm system I just. have three gates I have nine Gates.

no I I don't know I I uh I it doesn't. have to be this way like there are. things we can do to make this to make. this country uh better than it is but we. have to be invested in outcomes that are. outside of just if it's better for us in. particular and Americans have a hard. time with that you know so like you. drive through cities and you see sites. of things that go this didn't used to. look like this or these people didn't. used to live like this in this way and. we drive past and you go well good luck. to those people but you know I think. that like we have to be invested in the. success of the community and I think one.

thing that's happened politically in. this country is a lot of people in this. country are really uninvested in. community they're more invested in. themselves right yeah if you could just. well because we are everything is global. now so because of the internet. everything is global and so everybody is. thinking about these Global issues as. opposed. to what it I've got in my four block. radius what can we do to make things. better for people we do to uh to help.

you know there's a person sleeping. outside right there and this is our. neighborhood and what are we. collectively what's our response as a. neighborhood but you're right. everything I think it's very hard it's. very easy for people to Just Surf online. and be made enraged that's my my feeling. these days is that there's a lot of. anger and anger can be very useful it's. a very useful state of mind if it's. applied to something. yes but I think what the world we're.

living in now is anger that you want to. plug it into some kind of crank or you. want to plug it into an outlet and. turned it into something positive but I. think right now we're it's become kind. of a a sport on both sides right and. left just getting incredibly angry and. well I think I think that's I think that. is because of how we again we're talking. about social media and YouTube like. because if you let the algorithm run you. the algorithm will always push you. towards anger yes so the algorithm runs. on us all being like you're you're more. likely to be like I hate that guy and.

click to the next thing than like isn't. that nice so I think that like that's. why it's on both sides is cu because if. you're getting If you're sort of really. like locked in on social media you will. be you you'll be angry all day and. because that's what social media wants. you to be so I think for me I've had to. really like sort of like you know like I. got off of Twitter once uh once I mean. I'm on it but I'm not on it like I used. to be I really thank Elon mus for. breaking my addiction to Twitter that. was a good thing he did there by buying. it but uh it's just like I've of really. being aare of like how much you're sort.

of just going down the Doom scroll you. know because I think that's that's what. social media runs on and I think we've. really that is not helpful to anything. so for me when I post on social media I. try to give people an opportunity to. engage or help instead of just isn't. this sad isn't this terrible yeah or at. least or you know or laugh like isn't. this funny I think isn't this funny is. way better than isn't this sad with no. with no help attached to it right yeah. well I think uh I mean that brings it. back to comedians I think comedians the. real heroes oh.

God isn't that where we were going yeah. that's I think if there's any if there's. any superheroes in this world true I. don't I don't need that Gig if there's. anybody who really I mean the true. Purple Heart winners are the comedians. in basement and nightclubs around this. country no no no no no just specific. ones with podcasts oh podcasting is. really the real yeah that's the real. hero first of all just even getting a. podcast shows that you've really decided. to become a hero yeah yeah and the. heroes used to be late night house and. then about 2 and a half years ago I feel.

like it switched over it's weird who can. say. why.