Work in Progress: Carson Daly

Carson Daly has been a defining voice in pop culture for more than three decades, but despite his warmth, humor and openness in front of the camera, behind the scenes, he's struggled with potentially career-crushing anxiety.
Carson opens up about his first panic attack which took place in his TRL dressing room and how he went from thinking he was “broken” to becoming a leading voice for mental health. 
Find out how he's turned his self-awareness into a superpower and uses his mental health toolkit to help others, even on live TV.
Learn more about the Project Healthy Minds World Mental Health Day Festival at https://www.projecthealthyminds.com/

 

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey everyone, it's Sophia. Welcome to Work in Progress. Welcome
back to Work in Progress friends. This week we have
a guest that I admire so much, who I also

(00:21):
have some major blast from the past overlap energy with
and a future upcoming project with two. Today we are
joined by Carson Daily. You know him as a defining
voice in American media for more than three decades now.
Where I first encountered him was on MTV's Total Request Live.

(00:43):
I will never forget what it felt like to go
with One Tree Hill to TRL for the first time
and look through those windows in Times Square and be like,
are all these people here to see us? What? He
went on to be the late night host of Last
Call with Carson Daily, and today he is the longtime
host and producer of the Emmy winning hit series The Voice.
But beyond all of his incredible media success, Carson is compassionate.

(01:08):
He has such an easy rapport with artists and guests
and people he meets out in the street. Because he
is such an open human being and a kind man,
He's chosen to offer his platform to really bold and
honest conversations about mental health. First, sharing his experience with

(01:28):
generalized anxiety disorder and severe panic attacks, and emerging as
a leading advocate for destigmatizing mental illness, which, by the way,
we should call mental healthcare mental fitness. Perhaps that commitment
of his is reflected in his work with Project Healthy Minds,
where he serves on the board of directors and he
hosts the nonprofits annual World Mental Health Day gala, which

(01:52):
is a landmark event that blends storytelling, performance and philanthropy
to access care. And this year, I will be joining
Carson and other advocate that he has gathered for World
Mental Health Day twenty twenty five, and I can't wait.
Beyond his incredibly impressive public and philanthropic career, he and
his wife are raising four children, and he grounds himself

(02:14):
in major dadhood and make sure that he talks to
his kids about their mental fitness and healthcare too. I
can't wait to dive in with Carson day.

Speaker 2 (02:33):
Hey, how are you good? How are you?

Speaker 1 (02:36):
Oh, I'm good. It's so nice to see you. I
just love that we get to do this today, you know,
ahead of your big event, and also the fact that
we're talking about the future and we share such a
particular blast from the past young career history together, Like

(02:57):
for me coming out of college a year early and
starting work on One Tree Hill. I don't think it
hit me that the show was this kind of major
deal until we came to t RL. Yeah, and I
remember looking through the windows and being like, are all
these people here for us?

Speaker 2 (03:14):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (03:14):
Yeah, and it was so surreal. So you, you and
the and the whole early part of your career also
have such a special place in my heart for my own.

Speaker 3 (03:23):
Oh that's that's so special to hear, thank you, and
it's and it's mutual, you know, watching you know, Hillary
and you know, and just you know, even just the
success of those shows at that time, I don't know,
there there was an immediate sort of linkage to the
audiences between what we were doing at MTV and then

(03:44):
what was happening on the networks in the same demographics
and to see the same you know, we were all
sort of playing to a similar audience, and we felt
very like all the boats rise in the harbor, and
so that that was a special time for everybody, I think, you.

Speaker 1 (03:57):
Know, yeah, yeah, it was really cool. Well, it's interesting
to think about the past because I don't share that
kind of history with everyone who comes on the show.
But I do like to ask people about their young life.
And I'm especially curious about this for you because of
the work you're doing in the mental health space and
because of the leadership that you've you know, you've chosen

(04:21):
to kind of take on for audiences. I think it's like,
it's just such a cool thing for a human to
do when you've got so much on your plate already.
But I always wonder if folks I sit across from,
like yourself, you know, who are doing amazing things in
the world, if they got to go back and hang

(04:42):
out with their young selves, you know, like if you
got to walk on to whatever playground you frequented when
you were nine or ten years old and hang out
with kid Carson, do you feel like you would see
things in that child that really show you a through
line to them man you are today, you know, I
do know.

Speaker 3 (05:02):
It's a great question, and it's and it's recently I've
been doing a lot more reflecting, even going back to
my childhood, which of course is a very strong therapeutic
thing to do.

Speaker 2 (05:12):
But yeah, you know, my quick.

Speaker 3 (05:14):
Answer when I think of myself, if I could, you know,
go into that playground at nine is I know now.

Speaker 2 (05:19):
How I was feeling then, you know, I lost my
dad when I was six.

Speaker 3 (05:24):
And was too young, I think, for it to resonate,
and my mom quickly, pretty quickly remarried my stepdad. So
I had another man in my life by the time
I was ten, who ended up being just this incredible influence.
I always say that God blessed me with two wonderful fathers.
But as I have discovered my own sort of mental

(05:47):
health history later in life, like Monday morning quarterback, looking
back on everything, I realized that a lot of the
sort of looking for, like where did this like nervous,
this anxiety that I have. Now I've been diagnosed with
generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder. Yeah, and I and
I and I find myself trying to trace it, like, well,
where is it?

Speaker 2 (06:08):
Because I lost my dad? Is it? Is it nature?
Is it nurture? And of course we know now it's
kind of a combination of all those things.

Speaker 3 (06:13):
And so I've discovered a lot about my childhood only
sort of recently, which is interesting.

Speaker 2 (06:20):
But I was always a really nervous kid.

Speaker 3 (06:22):
And to answer the question, I would go to that
kid on the playground and give him a big hug
and tell them it's gonna be okay.

Speaker 2 (06:27):
You're gonna be okay.

Speaker 3 (06:29):
You're gonna you're gonna develop an incredibly beautiful sense.

Speaker 2 (06:33):
Of faith with God.

Speaker 3 (06:34):
You're gonna you're gonna have a beautiful family one day.
You're gonna experience lots of love. You're gonna go through heartache,
but you're gonna have you know, the assets and tools
to eventually get on the other side of it.

Speaker 2 (06:46):
It's gonna be okay.

Speaker 3 (06:47):
Because I found myself when I was young really kind
of asking that question, like and even through my young
even through like my time at MTV, there was so
much anxiety that I didn't hadn't dealt with yet that
at the end of the day, I think I was
asking my am I going.

Speaker 2 (07:00):
To be okay? I'm not sure I am, because I
don't know what's going on up here.

Speaker 1 (07:04):
Yeah, gosh, that's really powerful. You know, the healing that
comes with learning and understanding how to your point, this
sort of combo platter shapes you as a person. I
think there's such a relief when you start to understand
why you feel a certain way or what your diagnosis is.

(07:29):
It's really amazing. You know so many of the things
you said I want to dive into. But I'm so
touched by the way you just talked about your dad
and your stepdad, because a kid losing his father at
five is such a profound tragedy, and with the way
I hear you talking is an acknowledgment of that, but

(07:51):
also so much gratitude for what came after.

Speaker 2 (07:53):
Absolutely. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (07:54):
Do you find that with that loss and other things
in your life that the attitude practice figuring out what
the silver lining is even of the worst outcome, enables
you to to kind of metabolize those things in a
different way.

Speaker 2 (08:10):
Yeah, for sure.

Speaker 3 (08:11):
And I think it's really about for me, it's about
having perspective. And it could be on something that's you know, sad,
like losing something very gnarly like looking a parent and
the impact that that has on a young child, or
it could be something almost menial in your day.

Speaker 2 (08:26):
And a lot of my stuff is sort of faith
based in a.

Speaker 3 (08:29):
Weird way, because I just feel like it's important to
zoom out, and so I'm always like this, well, things
could be worse. I mean what, I'm not the only
one that lost a parent, you know, I'm not the
only one that lost this job.

Speaker 2 (08:44):
I'm not the only one. People.

Speaker 3 (08:45):
There's so much suffering going on in the world. I
mean people's dispositions as are fellow humans. There's so much
pain and strife out there that sure I can metabolize
this given the compare and contrast, but I think it's
important for me to do that because especially in like
our business, where there's you know, not a lot of

(09:06):
outside self analyzation happening. I've always benefited from just being like, wow, man,
I'm so lucky.

Speaker 2 (09:12):
Like but I had success late in life too. You know,
I was broken my twenties.

Speaker 3 (09:16):
I Valley parked, I had multiple jobs, you know, I
didn't have money for my parents. I was like a
rock and roll alternative DJ, living in all over California.

Speaker 2 (09:25):
And then I got to MTV and like, so.

Speaker 3 (09:27):
I kind of had this this cavalier, care free attitude
where was like, I don't know, this is all this
is just all gravy to me.

Speaker 2 (09:33):
You know. I've I've been.

Speaker 3 (09:35):
I've been twenty three and you know, lived on seventeen
thousand dollars a year and found happiness with friends and
family and life. So as my life has gone on
and I've been really lucky to.

Speaker 2 (09:45):
Do a lot of cool stuff.

Speaker 3 (09:46):
I've tried to not lose sight of what's really important
in life, and I do think going back to that,
dealing with anything tragedy or otherwise, it really helps to
just keep in mind the reality of what so many
people are going through, not just here in this country, but.

Speaker 2 (09:59):
Sort of all the world.

Speaker 3 (10:00):
And it's pretty easy to find gratitude if you can,
if you can expand.

Speaker 1 (10:04):
Like that totally. You know, it's really interesting you talk
about it as a spiritual practice, because I think there's
there's an obvious tie to whatever spirituality a person identifies with.
I've had some people ask me why I'm I'm so
passionate about service work, and to me, I really have
learned that community organizing is also a spiritual practice for sure,

(10:28):
Like I have my traditional version of it, and then
I've come to learn that like the way I understand,
you know, gratitude for being on this earth, the way
I keep things in perspective, like you said when I
zoom out, is to remember that like being on this
planet as a human is literally a community activity, and

(10:53):
we live better in community regardless, like you said, regardless
of sort of where you fall on any any scale,
you know, fiscal, geographical, or whatever. Healthy community can really
be the lifeblood of a person, for sure, And so
it's really cool to hear you talk about the way
you always try to remember yourself in community, like almost

(11:17):
in comparison. And I don't mean the you know, the
comparison is the thief of joy comparison. I mean like
just remembering to consider other people, remembering to be grateful
for everything happening in your life, the good and the bad.
That's that's really special.

Speaker 3 (11:32):
And I think I really like what you're saying, and
I'm envious of it, and it's something I've thought about
recently doing more of.

Speaker 2 (11:39):
You know.

Speaker 3 (11:40):
It's one thing to just have the thought of like, well, yeah,
my life's not so bad, so many people have it worse,
and then kind of move on with your day. It's
really a much richer, deeper next step to do the
hard work and to get into community and to I
think that the best thing you can.

Speaker 2 (11:55):
Do is service.

Speaker 3 (11:57):
I'm in such an admiration of people who are in
service to others in any form, you know, as simple
as just taking time out of your day to help
somebody too. You know the Catholic Pope that like was
washing the feet the minute he became hope of the
poor or in any denomination.

Speaker 2 (12:16):
There's so many.

Speaker 3 (12:17):
Examples of acts of service and we see it all
over the place.

Speaker 2 (12:21):
Simple volunteering and that that's stuff that.

Speaker 3 (12:24):
I I really want to do more of because it
makes me feel so good. It gives me a real
sense of like, like to your point about not just
giving back because it's a catchphrase, but like I'm now
really participating in my important role in this community on
this planet, and and again to scale, it can be
whatever somebody can offer, like whatever you can do. No

(12:47):
one's judging that, but it's it's I admire that it's
better than sitting on the sidelines. And that's not to just,
you know, to despair somebody who isn't in a volunteer program.
But I know that I would sleep better at night
and feel better about myself to be a part of
that wheel that is in service to others.

Speaker 1 (13:08):
Yeah, well, but I think you know, even knowing that
I'll see you soon at World Mental Health Day, it's like,
what an amazing way to take what you've both been
given and earned and offer it out, you know, you
just said like your twenties were tough, and I I
think sometimes you know, people in these public life positions,

(13:33):
you're not you know, you're not public until you're doing
decently well, so nobody really knows your struggle. And it's
like even even for you to talk fondly about, you know,
bopping around trying to be a DJ figure it all out.
I mean, what a what a wild journey were you?

Speaker 2 (13:49):
Just?

Speaker 1 (13:50):
Were you that passionate about music? Did it feel like
a calling? Like when it was so hard? What kind
of kept you on it?

Speaker 2 (13:58):
Good music?

Speaker 1 (13:59):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (14:00):
Music, I just had it like it was just the
life blood of my soul, always has been. I actually
think it's tied to sort of the sort of visceral
nature that I experienced, like when I have a panic attack.
I've always talked about having panic disorder and sort of
the physiological things that occur when you're having a panic attack,

(14:21):
and those are things that you can talk about and
learn about and deal with. There's tools for that, and
they're all they're all there. But there's another side of that.

Speaker 3 (14:29):
I mean, I think I was hardwired this way and
a lot of that side that, the visual reactions, the heartbeat,
the level of cortisol and excitement as it raises quickly,
almost as fight or flight. There's a beautiful sort of
superpower side to that that I experienced that I love
and I remember that at a very young age it

(14:49):
was and music was what drew that.

Speaker 2 (14:52):
Music like literally like moved me any lots.

Speaker 3 (14:55):
Of different types of music too, And so as I
got older, I was like, oh, man, like I just
want to be around music. And I didn't really play it,
but I loved it so much. I love the way
it made me feel. I love the way it you
know that I could play it and other people would
react being a DJ, and so yeah, I thought. As
I was trying to drop out of college and trying
to figure out, my parents were like, well, if you're

(15:16):
not in college, you're on your own. It's like okay,
And I've got roommates and I'm negotiating, you know, rent
and these all these things that young people do and debt.

Speaker 2 (15:24):
Yeah, I always had this voice.

Speaker 3 (15:26):
It was just like stay close to the music, Like,
just stay close to the music because happiness, happiness. I
didn't I wasn't brought up thinking like oh, you got
to like go get a job and get like a
big fat salary and like get a house and you know,
be wealthy and like that. Those are the stepping stones
to the totality of happiness in life.

Speaker 2 (15:42):
I never subscribed to that. I was never taught that.

Speaker 3 (15:44):
In my mind, it was just like stay close to
the music man, like wake up every day and sort
of love what you do and you're already going to
be winning.

Speaker 1 (15:51):
Yeah, and now a word from our sponsors who make
this show possible. Do you remember the first record you bought?

Speaker 3 (16:08):
I remember I had. I don't remember the record. So
I have a sister. I'm fifty one now. I have
a sister three years older, Quinn, and we're very close,
closer now now than we were in Santa Monica in
California where we grew up in high school. We were
a little different. But she had albums and I remember her.
She had Rick Springfield Working Class Dog. She had a

(16:31):
Talking Heads album that I used to listen to. I
she had London Calling by the Clash, which became a big,
big album for me.

Speaker 2 (16:38):
And then I had some tapes. I was really into
Michael Jackson and I had it was weird, Like my
mom is from North Carolina.

Speaker 3 (16:48):
She's from the South, and she was an actress and
so I don't know what her background was. She's an
army brat, but her musical taste was sort of all
over the place and then it became army. It was
like having from James Taylor to James Brown, Like we
had a lot of souls, but then a lot of
singer songwriter seventies, Fleetwood Mac and all that kind of stuff,
and I just Eagles. I mean, I grew up with
all of that, and it's obviously great stuff and stuff

(17:10):
that I still love today. But yeah, there's a lot
of music played in my house and yeah, just great
memories of it.

Speaker 1 (17:17):
Oh, it's so fun. Yeah, you're taking me back. It's
like my all the motown I listened to with my mom.
My dad was a big Eagles fan. Like I remember
driving around LA with certain songs of it, you know,
like the Temptations blaring or Hotel California and summer. It's
so cool. It's really, it's really amazing how music can

(17:40):
take you back in a way, and that era, you know,
when you helmed tro even when our show came out,
like the music was such a big deal and the
new video would drop or we'd get a crazy sink.
I mean, my god, I remember we got we got
off of her very first album ever. We got an
Adell song on our show. My all were like, who

(18:01):
is she right? This person? Oh my god?

Speaker 2 (18:04):
Right?

Speaker 1 (18:04):
Yeah, and it just I don't know, it was such
a cool era. When do you feel like you realized
TRL was really a cultural phenomenon, Like did you know
from the minute you booked it it was a career
breakthrough or was it more when you saw what the
show was becoming that you went, oh, holy, I'm going
to be really part of music history now.

Speaker 2 (18:26):
Yeah, it was really more the latter.

Speaker 3 (18:27):
I mean when I got to MTV, you know, they
had just bought that big studio in Times Square.

Speaker 2 (18:32):
It's funny. When I got there, I was the radio.

Speaker 3 (18:35):
I was the nighttime dist jockey at a station in
Los Angeles called the world famous Kayock, which is like,
you know, the country's most influential alternative rock station. And
it was for a young DJ that was like the
dream job. And so I had that job when I
was like twenty three.

Speaker 2 (18:49):
I worked six to ten and.

Speaker 3 (18:50):
I in my hometown, and that was like you could
have killed me right then and there you know, like
I was at my in my habit to this day,
one of my greatest jobs of all time love kar Rock.
But when I got to MTV, they were going through
There was an article in the La Times I think
the year I got there in ninety seven or eight,
and they were like, what happened to the m and MTV?

Speaker 2 (19:08):
They were really there wasn't up.

Speaker 3 (19:10):
They were starting to do a lot of scripted stuff
and the network was changing, and so we bought this
Today show like ironically enough Space and Times Square, and
I got there and they brought in DJs from with
musical backgrounds. Prior to my term, a lot of the
VJs that I grew up watching were really people that

(19:32):
would go to LA and try and parlay whatever cable
success they can get to into you know, acting, and
so they kept like losing. The turnaround was not good
for a lot of the VJs. So the management decided
they would go to like radio and find like more
ambassadors of music, more people that were and so they
found me a ke Rock and like, you know, you

(19:53):
seem to know all these bands, you want to come
and just do basically music on television.

Speaker 2 (19:56):
We had this new studio and.

Speaker 3 (19:57):
I said absolutely, and I went and so it was
like this playground of like here we have New York City,
has this incredible backdrop, We have this new studio that
they want to do a live premiere, you know, one
or two hour show their flagship show out of you know,
like a like a Today Show or like a sports center,
Like this is going to be at the epicenter of
the network. VMA's fashion me allowed all the programming is

(20:19):
going to sort of run through this show. It'll be
a place for music videos and so me and like
to other people just kind of sat down and really
formatted Total Requests Live, which at the end of the
day was just this video countdown show, but it would
be the hub for all of these things that would
come through fifteen to fifteen Broadway. So to answer your question,
like it all happened, we built it because we loved it.

Speaker 2 (20:40):
And we're all so young at MTV.

Speaker 3 (20:42):
I mean, the executive preuser of The Voice, that's a
singing show that I host now in NBC, Audrey Morrissey,
like she and I go back to MTV.

Speaker 2 (20:49):
There's so many directors.

Speaker 3 (20:52):
And people working in our business that like had we're young,
and like we're given all this responsibility and money, not personally,
but like to build out these shows, you know, to
like go to Cancun for spring break, and we were
all like in our twenties producing cable television.

Speaker 2 (21:07):
It was pretty wild. So just through doing that, like
if you build it, they will come sort of method. Yeah,
one day I was a kid with a sign here,
I skipped going from Jersey.

Speaker 3 (21:19):
Next day like I'm from Connecticut, I'm from LA and
then it's just like cross the street, I'm from Puerto Rico.
And it was like, you know, eminem and then hip
hop sort of exploded in New York around that time,
so a lot of things were happening and trl that
little show just sort of found itself at the epicenter
of it.

Speaker 1 (21:39):
Yeah. It also was exciting, I mean to watch and
then wildly to be on eventually with you guys, because
it felt really spontaneous. It was not like not like
created spontaneity, you know, not like you see on reality
shows where they're like, well you're all going to go
to dinner and get in a fight about this. Yeah, say,

(22:00):
you know, like it felt justly unpredictable.

Speaker 2 (22:03):
It was. It was because we didn't know what we
were doing. It was just like live. It was live
as live gets and live.

Speaker 1 (22:08):
Everyone was super unfiltered to your point, everyone was young,
and I respect the and I miss a little bit
that lack of polish, Like social media has made everyone
so anxious about looking good, saying the right thing, not
saying the wrong thing. Everybody's like a little weird now.
And you guys, it just felt right, It felt fun

(22:34):
at the time. Were you a little nervous about it,
or because people weren't so used to clickbait, backlash, whatever
fills in the blank. Did you also feel a little freer.

Speaker 2 (22:50):
It's all we knew at the time. I mean, you know, granted,
culturally things are quite different, but it was also had
a very well natured, you know thing about it.

Speaker 3 (22:58):
This is diversity in its finest. I mean, this is
what it's like really reserved for. And I always took
as sort of host of the show really more about
hosting that space in the real world when multiple genres
and these worlds were coming together. You know, hip hop
fans and you know, a little teeny bopper, you know,
Mandy Moore, eleven year old girl. You know, I felt

(23:21):
like the big brother of the show.

Speaker 2 (23:23):
Like it was my job.

Speaker 3 (23:25):
It felt like the quad at lunch at Samo where
I went to high school, where there would be like
you know, all sorts of walks of life, you know,
and I'd.

Speaker 2 (23:34):
Be like, hey, come here, man, have you met this guy?
Like I was always that guy.

Speaker 3 (23:37):
Like almost like djang Like I would play you know,
public Enemy, and then I would always use it like
a Beastie Boys record to bridge me to get back
into rock because it was you.

Speaker 2 (23:46):
Know, like fusion, Like I feel like that's kind of
who I am and my at my core, it just
as a person, you know, on or off camera. So
it's kind of the perfect job for me.

Speaker 3 (23:54):
And I took it sort of serious to make sure
that inside that space of TRL, Yeah, things did get
a little dangerous. Like we thought it would be a
good idea to have Mark Wahlberg and Eminem when they
first met, like have an exchange, you know, like the
Late Night Show did when one guest was leaving another
guest was coming, because you know, Mark was a was
a white rapper and who was a very successful actor
and here's m promoting eight mile and they definitely have

(24:16):
something in common. Could there be a good TV moment
there and no, there wasn't. There was a very volatile,
like a memorable moment that was, you know.

Speaker 2 (24:24):
Pretty much a train crash whoop seek. Yeah, but like
it's unlike today to your point about social media, like
it's okay.

Speaker 1 (24:32):
It was okay when you talk about bridging genres, bridging
groups of guests, and like how you looked at it
almost like the quad. You know, you think about that
classic scene from Clueless where Share is telling Tay like
who all the clicks are Yes, But instead of saying like,
these people don't associate with each other, you were like everybody, yes, yes,

(24:52):
me hang and yes I've read you know you've called
yourself the babysitter for the latch Keig kids of America.
I don't think that's actually exactly how it felt. Like
you were the cool senior everyone could trust in high
school and also you like took care of us all
of our parents were at home when we were watching.

Speaker 2 (25:12):
There was a little bit of that like and I didn't.

Speaker 3 (25:14):
Yeah, I never wanted to, Like I I it's weird
now because I sort of I've said before, I think
I got caught up in the vapor trail of the
success of the show and the Backshot Boys and kid
Rock and like whoever else, Brittany. That was never my intention,
you know, like I executive produced that show. I was
in meetings like changing the graphics and like trying to

(25:35):
figure out how to like Disney was stealing our numbers.

Speaker 2 (25:38):
Like I was. My brain was somewhere else.

Speaker 3 (25:41):
I had been, like you know, in the music department
at k Rock, like trying to break like crazy alt
rock bands. So it was it was important to me
that like people got along and felt safe and had
a good time, because that's just who I am. So
you know, American Bandstand was a show for my mom.
For the boomer generation, it was the first time they

(26:02):
could come home from school and see their peers on television,
Like you couldn't see other teenagers.

Speaker 2 (26:06):
And like, oh what are they wearing, Like oh it's
bell bottoms. Oh look at how they're dancing. Look a out.

Speaker 3 (26:10):
We see it now, TikTok, Like everybody sees too much, probably,
but that was a special time and I think trl
my era there captured a little bit of that, and
I get that from when I see people to this
day that are just like, oh I grew up with you,
or like you were like my babysitter or whatever. And
I'm like, I take that like that very pridefully, like
I'm honored of that, and and.

Speaker 2 (26:31):
I'm glad special that QUAD was a communal, inclusive place
where we had fun and and are all better for
it totally.

Speaker 1 (26:44):
And then I think that, you know, there's so many
incredible aspects to it, right, the fact that you were,
as you said, executive producing the show, really introducing generations
of young people to great music, really giving artists a platform.
I mean, there was nothing else like it. And I
think sometimes when everything looks so great, people don't know

(27:06):
how hard it is. They don't know about the hours,
they don't know about the pressure. And as you've opened
up about your mental health journey, you've actually talked about
how your first panic attack was in your TRL dressing room. Yes,
and you know, we've touched on some milestones like the
loss of your dad when you were five, and this,

(27:27):
you know, struggling to make it in music journey that
you had. And then TRL happens and everything looks great
like you're by all means crushing it for anybody looking
at you, and then you experience this major scary thing
where you know, your body doesn't feel like your own.

(27:49):
Looking back on that, do you think those things are
tied together? Do you feel like you really understand what
triggered it? Like how did you how did you process
it then, and how do you feel about it now?
I guess is my I had.

Speaker 2 (28:04):
No idea what was happening. Yeah, I had no idea.

Speaker 3 (28:07):
I really had no idea what it was a physiological
feeling of like losing my mind. And you know, this
immense moment in time, I can hear the crowd getting
ready for TRL, like very specific stuff. I remember there
was an old commercial with like a woman in a
bathtub and like I don't know if you remember this,

(28:28):
or you might be too young, but she's in a
bathtub and like the kids are a bubble bath and
like the kids are crying, and.

Speaker 2 (28:35):
Of the delivery guys. M.

Speaker 3 (28:36):
Kettel's like all these like stimulated things are happening, and
she starts spinning and it's like, cal gone, take me away.
She's you know, it's like a prolotion or something. And
I always thought about that commercial because in my first panic.

Speaker 2 (28:46):
Attack, that's what it felt like.

Speaker 3 (28:48):
It felt like uncontrollably in my mind all these things
are happening, and I've experienced what we know now to
be derealization and this incredible sense of fight or fight. Now,
this is all years before I've on the therapy and
sort of learned that the model of anxiety is an
actual real thing. So at the time you experience panic
disorder or panic attack, for most of us, you go

(29:10):
to the hospital and you do the EKG. You have everything,
and then ultimate doctor comes to the room and goes,
you're fine. And in my case, my doctor Greene, who
still a buddy of mine, he got me out of
the table in the gown office, like, come sit in
my office and he's like, how's your life?

Speaker 2 (29:25):
Like everything okay? Like you might be burning it offends
and empty, like what's going on?

Speaker 3 (29:28):
And that was the beginning of sort of understanding that
I need to make some lifestyle changes. I have a
whole lot to learn, and I have a lot to
discover about myself. And then that's really where your journey
is from the moment you experienced let's say, in my
case that panic attack at TRL that was my first
big red flag mental health symptom. From the time you

(29:50):
have somebody has a symptom of a mental health issue
twint to actually go and get help. The time that
elapses in this country is twelve years. I mean twelve years, Sophia.
That's crazy. Like if you know, if you fell on
the playground or fell at work and you know, hurt
your hand, how quickly would you be in urgent care
to see if you have a broken and you'd be
there and within the hour, you know, Like, yes, we

(30:12):
don't look at mental health the same way we look
at physical health these days, and that's a big part
of our push to help break that stigma, to normalize it.

Speaker 2 (30:21):
Because I was somebody who lived for over.

Speaker 3 (30:23):
A decade with this feeling like I was broken, Like
there was my brain.

Speaker 2 (30:28):
I thought, like I really thought I had problems.

Speaker 3 (30:31):
And then on top of that, I love the age
where we didn't talk about mental health when I was
growing up and my only fame of reference was was
One Floor Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the movie like straight
jackets and lobotomies and like taking pills that make you
like you know non I'm like there was a real
black and white thing.

Speaker 2 (30:48):
Like I was like, if this.

Speaker 3 (30:50):
Is happening, I'm feeling these ways, I'm feeling I have
no idea what it is, and something's really wrong, and.

Speaker 2 (30:56):
I don't even know how to articulate it to somebody.
I'm a communicative person.

Speaker 3 (30:59):
I could go on to my mom, but I didn't
even know how to explain it at the time. That's
why sharing these stories has really become such an a powerful,
powerful tool, because it wasn't until I read a story
that Kevin Loved, the basketball player, wrote about having a
panic attack during an NBA game. I was like, Oh
my god, that's exactly what happened to me during a
tr like a high profile, a high stress event, same thing,

(31:23):
and he articulated it so well, and I was like, yeah.

Speaker 2 (31:25):
Me too, Like that was me too.

Speaker 3 (31:27):
And I feel like, you know, the more I've told
my stories, that that's the response I get, especially in
the last you know, however long it's been almost ten
years now.

Speaker 2 (31:38):
Like in the airport, it's like fight club.

Speaker 3 (31:40):
Like I've been on TV every day since nineteen ninety
seven in some capacity doing something stupid with videos or whatever,
you know, my chop it's the dumb lucky to do
it like whatever it is on in the middle of
the night on a late night show introducing you to
a band, whatever it is.

Speaker 2 (31:53):
But like more people now it's like fight club in
the airport.

Speaker 3 (31:58):
So I'm an la extra JFK. Everyone was like, hey, man,
thanks for talking about that mental health. Like the mental
health thing is the thing, and it really makes me
realize how many people are suffering in silence, and I
don't want them to I want them to see, like, oh,
if you can see that loser on TV that you've
seen for twenty years on TV, that you thought had
a perfect life, if you can learn like realize that,

(32:19):
like it's a struggle for him still every day and
like he's got things to work through and they're no
different than working out in this gym. You know your body.
It takes work. And if someone else can, if I
become that, like hey, if that loser can do it,
I can do it. Then That's why like having conversations
like this is so it almost goes back to what
you were saying about service and community. Like it feels

(32:42):
like I'm so happy to answer anybody's questions that they
might have for me about dealing with mental health in
service to them.

Speaker 2 (32:50):
I don't know if it'll be useful information, but.

Speaker 3 (32:52):
I'm so willing to share, even at the risk of
somebody thinking, you know, I'm an a whole or crazy
or whatever label they want to give me.

Speaker 2 (32:58):
I don't really care.

Speaker 1 (33:00):
Now a word from our sponsors. We exist in a
world where anything you say someone's going to criticize you for.
But you keep going because of the people, like the
folks who've come up to at airports. You keep talking

(33:23):
because you don't want people to feel alone. And it's like,
whether it's mental health, whether it's a relationship struggle. You know,
obviously it happens to men as well, but I think
especially for women the importance of speaking up about, you know,
harassment or assault. It changes the shame other people feel

(33:45):
because suddenly they don't feel alone. And you know, you
said that when this first started, you thought that you
were broken. To learn that you aren't changes everything. When
did you when did you get different language for that?
Like what did you learn about mental health or anxiety

(34:05):
or panic disorder, or maybe maybe all of it that
helped you understand that it's an experience, a condition beyond
your control, that it's not your fault, that nothing's nothing's
quote wrong with you, Like when did you start to.

Speaker 3 (34:20):
Get that probably the best day of my life getting
that that affirmation and information, and that was when I
was diagnosed. God, I wish his name will come to me.
But the first doctor I saw was in LA. He
was a former director of psychology at U c l
A and has a has like an og really smart
guy and in learning about him later, has lots of

(34:44):
great early connections to cognitive behavioral therapy. And as I
sort of researched where I needed to go to speak
to talk about all this CBT.

Speaker 2 (34:55):
To me personally, it's all personal stuff. You know some people. Yeah,
so this is just what worked for me. I kind
of wanted to cap it.

Speaker 3 (35:04):
I was like, let's let me go talk to somebody
for twelve weeks and like, let's see how this goes.
And so when I went and first sat down with
the doctor and I think I filled out like a
questionnaire and and then it was just like, uh, okay, yeah,
I know you have GAD, so let's come in there,
we'll talk about that. And then looks like you have
some panic disorder, he said, it's so mildly.

Speaker 2 (35:24):
I was like, wait, what's GAD?

Speaker 3 (35:25):
Like this is a thing, Like he's like, I have
no oh, like it just came back your blood, your
laps came back and you you have okay, yeah, you
tested positive for COVID and you've got oh, you've got
some pneumonia. Like it was like that sort of language
to me, Like now all those nights of feeling broken
and go like, oh, what's what's gad that's the thing,
like like being like it's And then through the process

(35:47):
of learning about the model of anxiety, going back in
history and learning about animals and learning about fight or
flight and learning about all.

Speaker 2 (35:54):
Of these things, you learned that.

Speaker 3 (35:56):
And I learned that which I never knew it was
I wish I had that it is possible for your
brain to play tricks on your body.

Speaker 2 (36:04):
That's a thing. That's a thing.

Speaker 3 (36:07):
Yes, your brain can tell your body there's an imminent
thread to you in the same exact way you and
you will experience that physically, in the same way as
if it really was if there was a bear right
here and I'm hiking ye in Malibu and like, there's
a that same physical reaction.

Speaker 2 (36:27):
It's as real.

Speaker 3 (36:29):
So that was a big language breakthrough, therapeutic moment for me,
not only learning about anxiety but also realizing that when
I started to feel these physical reactions, I could get
to the place where I knew like, oh that's not true.

Speaker 2 (36:43):
It's not true.

Speaker 3 (36:45):
And that's a really big discovery that you're like, Wow,
the brain's pretty freaking powerful.

Speaker 1 (36:52):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (36:53):
And then I loved it.

Speaker 3 (36:54):
And then I sort of you know, at least I
love all my therapy and it didn't like it wasn't
a quick fix all I didn't.

Speaker 2 (37:00):
I still had to fight through.

Speaker 3 (37:04):
You know, I've talked about like when I wake up
every day even now, I feel like I have a
cookie sheet filled with water and I have to like
walk gently to not slash the water over.

Speaker 2 (37:14):
That's kind of my gad baseline.

Speaker 3 (37:16):
And then it's like more information comes in my day
and oh you've got to do this, and you got
to host this and you gotta fly here, and I
start to get a little like am I gonna be okay?

Speaker 2 (37:23):
And it starts to get a little more wobbly.

Speaker 3 (37:24):
And now when the water starts to slash over the
cookie sheet, that's kind of the panic setting in. And
that's that model for me for years could have led
me to sort of a gore phobia. I mean, I
was headed in the direction because what we do is
we shut off our world to get smaller. You know,
I would have panic attacks. I had one an Aspen, Colorado.
I was like, no, that's a trigger. I better not
go to altitude. Not going to altitude. Oh I had

(37:46):
to one in this restaurant. Not going there long car rides.

Speaker 2 (37:50):
So I can't. I'm going to be stuck. I would
be able to get out. Like I can't do that.
I start canceling plan to shrink life. It starts to
shrink your life.

Speaker 3 (37:57):
And I swore this is happening simultaneously with you know,
making a commitment to therapy and really learning about this
and trying to help myself and develop tools. I may
have promised to myself that I would not let this
thing strength my life. And yeah, and I'm so glad
I made that commitment.

Speaker 1 (38:13):
Yeah, do you feel extra passionate about that? I mean,
obviously you deserve not to have your life shrunken just
for you. Sure, but you were talking earlier about your family,
and you know, to have a big family, to be
a dad to four kids, I would imagine there's also
kind of a like a mission in fatherhood where you say,

(38:35):
I've got to make sure I don't model fear of
my own mind for my children. Total, I've got to
make sure I model healthy communication, having a tool kit,
going to therapy, like things that will raise healthy people
who maybe won't have to deal with as much as
our generation is. You know, like, how do you think that.

(38:56):
Do you talk to them about anxiety?

Speaker 2 (38:57):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (38:57):
Absolutely, I talked to them about my Yeah, my sixteen
year old for the last three years has has come
to our project Healthy Minds, Big gallon that we do
in New York City.

Speaker 2 (39:06):
I mean I talk.

Speaker 3 (39:07):
I have three girls. I have girls five, eleven and thirteen.
I'm a big communicator. I mean I I every time
there with me, much to my wife's chagrin of rolling
her eyes because it's like, oh God, here's another like
teachable moment.

Speaker 2 (39:21):
You know.

Speaker 3 (39:21):
I'm like, your mom graduated from Wisconsin. She's smart, she's
got the degree I dropped out of college. You go
to her for homework and you come to me for
the University of life. I'll teach you how to you know.

Speaker 2 (39:33):
I taught my thirteen year old girl she was going
to like a Sabrina Carpenter concert. I'm like, yo, you
know how to do when you get out of the garden.
You got to go get a hot cup of coffee.

Speaker 3 (39:40):
Don't you have to drink it, but just hold on
to it because that can be a weapon if you
see somebody sketchy and there's a problem.

Speaker 2 (39:45):
But oh, that's really smart, dad. How do you know that.
I'm like, University of Life. You don't. They don't teach
you that in college.

Speaker 1 (39:50):
You're like, we used to be in these streets.

Speaker 2 (39:52):
Yeah, exactly, And so yeah.

Speaker 3 (39:56):
Like any moment that I can make it a teachable moment,
and I do. I'm so lucky that New York, which
is just like my favorite city, is my backdrop for
that because there's so much diversity, and there's so much
to point to and so much culture and so much
about you know that. I try to teach my kids
about life and like, so again, like I find myself saying,
you know, don't be like me.

Speaker 2 (40:14):
You know, I have.

Speaker 3 (40:15):
A I probably am not as worldly traveled as I
might have been because I am a bit of a
homebody because I still don't like it makes me nervous,
you know, But I don't want them.

Speaker 2 (40:27):
To be like that.

Speaker 3 (40:27):
So I'm like, open your wings, fly, go see experience.
Travel is the best educator, meet people, love people, talk
to people.

Speaker 2 (40:35):
There's nothing better than that.

Speaker 3 (40:37):
And I think I talk about it more passionately because
I didn't really have anybody talking to me like that,
because again it's generational. My dad was like, get a
fucking job, you loser, Like oh yeah, Like, yeah, you're
gonna go to like you know, you're gonna able to
Redding Festival and watch a bunch of bands like do
you know how much that plane ticket is there?

Speaker 2 (40:53):
Where are you gonna stay? How are you gonna eat?

Speaker 3 (40:55):
Like I can hear my dad in my head, and
like you know, I try and be more encouraging to
my kids of like, yeah, man.

Speaker 2 (41:03):
Go do it, but also get a goddamn get a job.
I say that too. Yeah, well you have to kind
of do books like you said. It's really that balance
is so important, right, I mean yeah, Balance to me
is just like I don't have money, rooms for much
room left for tattoos. But that's always been one I
wanted to get, was balance, because it's it.

Speaker 3 (41:24):
Keeps coming back to me in so many ways. But
it's such a beautiful thing to find that in whatever
duality you might be talking about, that harmonious point is
usually in the middle, right, it's we're missing it now
culturally politically, but that delta that there's that sweet spot
in the middle, that that where we find balance and

(41:44):
we've gotten to the or the fulk room if you
think of, you know, two kids on a teeter totter
and we're just teeter tottering so much now, but it's
that fulkroom, like that's where the love is and.

Speaker 2 (41:57):
I don't know, that's a that's a good place to be.

Speaker 1 (42:00):
Yeah, it's beautiful. Also, I just I love the word
choice because folkrum is such a good one and I'm like, see,
look at us college dropouts still on top of it,
nailing the SAT terms.

Speaker 2 (42:12):
Okay, right, what was that on the SAT know? Because
I didn't take it, I don't.

Speaker 1 (42:15):
Know, I feel like it probably would have been you know,
you you mentioned that you involved the kids in Project
Healthy Minds, and we were talking about how we're going
to see each other soon at World Mental Health Day.
Can you tell our friends at home about the project,
how you got involved? You know, what are the what
are the goals of the festival, Like, give us a

(42:36):
little bit of info.

Speaker 2 (42:37):
Yeah, totally. So, you know, when I made a conscious.
There's a There was a moment that on the Today
Show where they I sort of was outed with my
story about my anxiety, and they did a piece on me.
Which is weird.

Speaker 3 (42:48):
When you are, you know, work for a news organization
and you usually report on entertainment stories and news stores,
you don't ever really want to be the subject.

Speaker 2 (42:55):
But in this case I was.

Speaker 3 (42:57):
I'm like the al Bundi of the Today Show, like
anything with mental health or bad backs. I have back surgery,
like any like Dad problem, like Dad bought, can't lose
the weight in the middle, par like that's my that's
like that's my sweet, that's my jam. On this Today Shop,
I cover that right. And so mental health became right

(43:18):
around the pandemic. I had made a conscious decision that
I wanted to really get some skin in the game,
and so I met this guy, Phil Shermer, who went to.

Speaker 2 (43:27):
Michigan and was a go getter.

Speaker 3 (43:30):
Worked He was like the youngest intern for the Economic
Council in the White House in the Obama administration. He
had like worked the Black Rock for seven years.

Speaker 2 (43:37):
And like, I meet this guy and he's just like
got his together and he was with logic, who's a
rapper and a buddy of mine, and Logic did a song.

Speaker 3 (43:47):
Which was the National Suicide Hotline, and he did it
on the VMAs and we found out that the when
he did that song, that the national call center experienced
a fifty percent spike in calls, not like a week
later on the heels of Logic doing that song, but
during the VMAs, fifty percent people were calling like there
was And so Phil and Logic were partnering on this

(44:12):
new nonprofit that was going to be around breaking the
stigma of mental health, a millennial driven nonprofit in New York.

Speaker 2 (44:19):
It was a startup. Their goals were simple. They were like,
why isn't there an expedia for mental health?

Speaker 3 (44:24):
Like why why isn't there a door dash? Why is
it so hard to find access to care? This should
be a tech thing. We have to build an algorithm
that like this should be like an app, like you know,
if you need to go talk to somebody, and it
should be really smart and culturally relevant and all the things.

(44:45):
And so I was like, you guys are speaking you know,
music to my ears, And I ended up getting involved
and I'm like, whatever you want. So it was nice
to put all my philanthropic give back eggs in one
place and the people of Project Healthy Minds are great.

Speaker 2 (44:57):
And so this is the third year of our World Mental.

Speaker 3 (44:59):
Health Day and festival and gala and it's just this,
you know, twenty four to forty eight hours of all
really cool stuff and breakout sessions and meetings and you know,
stuff that you can read about, and then I host
the gala at night and well, you know, we give
awards the way and it's just been really like rewarding
to do the work in this space and to share
my story.

Speaker 2 (45:20):
You know.

Speaker 3 (45:20):
It's the suicide part of this has been something that's
really reared its ugly head to me personally in the
last I don't know, a year and a half because
if you look at the spectrum of mental health issues
and it really is.

Speaker 2 (45:32):
That there's a lot out there. But yeah, to learn
and to see how many people are dying by suicide
and what little we know about it, and then my
research and working with the National Suicide Foundations, that's a
that's that really I feel like requires some attention now.

(45:54):
It's it's just really scary and and so yeah, like
we we kind of dive into all of it and
and now have this great app at PHM that people
can go and and uh and.

Speaker 3 (46:08):
Get access to help. There's still a lot of work
to do. It's like it's a moment, but we need
this to be like, you know, a big movement.

Speaker 1 (46:13):
And now a word from our wonderful sponsors to your point.
You know, stigma has to change. It's so weird to
me that we live in a culture that's so obsessed
with physical fitness, but we don't agree. We don't respect

(46:35):
mental fitness. I agree, and in a way we denigrate it.
I actually learned, you know, on on my own journey
and looking through modalities and trying to build out my
mental fitness toolkit. I landed on, you know, the right
therapist for me who happens to be a CBT expert.
And so there's CBT and DBT and I'm like, I'm

(46:57):
a research nerd.

Speaker 2 (46:59):
You know.

Speaker 1 (46:59):
I finally understand that all the things that made me
super weird as a kid, and that made me really
attracted to community service even because it's about other people. Oh,
lets me do something, but it can be about everyone else,
you know. I like, I understand now that that's my
like cute little neurospicy brain being like, oh, I want
to read the white paper, like I want to read
the American Medical Journal report on and like not everybody

(47:21):
wants to do that, but I do.

Speaker 3 (47:23):
You know, yeah you do that.

Speaker 2 (47:24):
And it's like for me.

Speaker 1 (47:27):
You know, learning about not only my stuff, but how
it fits into the larger ecosystem of mental health, what
goes on with people, how they're treated or not. Not
only do we need to change the access, we need
to change the way we think about these things. For me,
I actually think the top of the pyramid of the
kind of person I want to be around, the kind

(47:47):
of person I want to work with, the kind of
person I want to be in a relationship with is
someone who takes care of their mental health. Ye not
someone who pretends it's not a thing they need to.

Speaker 2 (47:56):
Agree, you know.

Speaker 1 (47:58):
And that feels like it needs cultural shift.

Speaker 3 (48:01):
I agree, And I think that reminds me of Dak Prescott,
who has been very vocal about losing his brother to suicide,
the quarterback for the Cowboys, And I remember when that happened,
there was a sports reporter or two that treated it
like a ding like because he was showing so much
emotion and they were making pint. If you're going to
how going to be America's quarterback and show this, you

(48:21):
know and be so you know, like he was crying
in an interview about this, this tremendous, tremendous loss that
he had have and I remember just thinking like, this
is everything that's wrong, like not just in sport, but
like in the world. Like if I were Jerry Jones
or if I was the owner of a national football
and my quarterback, you know, my sort of what we
deem now is like this gladiator on Sunday was impenetrable

(48:45):
to me.

Speaker 2 (48:45):
That's a leadership skill.

Speaker 3 (48:46):
That he that he emoted and that he was honest
and he was vulnerable, and that he is currently dealing
with his mental health. These are the people that you
want to be around. That's who you actually want the
lead your team. Not the guy who puts on the
straight face and does what we've been doing for hundreds
of years and.

Speaker 2 (49:01):
Just you know, pushing it down deep inside and you know, and.

Speaker 1 (49:04):
Just ignore it and then winds up beating someone or
doing something insane.

Speaker 2 (49:08):
It's going to transfer somewhere.

Speaker 3 (49:11):
So, yeah, that's a part of the work that we're
doing as far as breaking the stigma is just yeah,
those really and that's really where the work needs to
still to still go. I mean it also bothers me
in you know, black and brown communities and rural communities.
I mean, first of all, the stigma is even greater
for for a lot of those folks, and their access

(49:34):
to cares harder than others.

Speaker 2 (49:37):
So you know, it's like, I don't know, yeah, we can.

Speaker 3 (49:43):
As much as we want to feel like we're making
some progress, there's still a lot of work to be
done in a lot of areas where people you know,
really really need it.

Speaker 1 (49:50):
Yeah, But I think that's a really important thing. And
I think therapy teaches you that right to be able
to hold the duality of things, to say, we're doing
all this work, and this is our goal list and
this year, this is what we're up to, and we
haven't done enough in these arenas and and we're going
to look at that too, And I think that's amazing.
You know, it strikes me. I've talked about your career

(50:14):
and family and all the wonderful work you guys are
doing with Project Healthy Minds, and then it makes me
think about that first panic attack you had and you
were mentioning, you know, hosting the Voice. Yeah, do you
think that having been through that in a voice of
your own with TRL, does that shift the way you

(50:35):
work as a host because you know the kind of
pressure not only you can feel, but that your contestants
are under. Like does it shift your relationship with the
contestants on the show and how you make sure they're
being cared for?

Speaker 3 (50:50):
Well, now, I know, I know the symptoms and I
know panic and anxiety when I see it, especially in
young people because having lived it for so long. So
I've interviewed a lot of hop stars actually and I
and I've seen it. I've seen it come on like
when they just are sweating all of a sudden. I
mean I can just see it. And so that sort

(51:10):
of dual citizenship, if.

Speaker 2 (51:11):
You will, does buy. I'm very aware of it.

Speaker 3 (51:14):
And now I now it's just like hey, let's you know,
I'll go to a commercial break and you know, and
just like you know, take a walk like I know
it's going you know, like just try and or with
the artists on the voice.

Speaker 2 (51:25):
Now, I still have I still get nervous.

Speaker 3 (51:27):
I mean, you know, being on in front of millions
of people is never an easy thing. It's like, you know,
if you get on a plane and you're not a
little bit nervous to fly if something's wrong with you,
you know, it's like it's not a normous no.

Speaker 1 (51:38):
You never get used to knowing what's on the other
side of the camera, to be clear, like for anyone listening,
you never stop feeling nervous about it.

Speaker 2 (51:46):
I'll also never sure it's going to come out of
my mouth. I speak like very freely in the real world,
like I swear a lot.

Speaker 3 (51:52):
I'm stream of conscious. I'm a radio DJ, so I
can edit pretty quick. But and I love live TV
for that. It's exciting and it's a chance to communicate
in a different manner. And I think you can show
a lot more authenticity just by talking without having to
you know, read a tellpomp or whatever.

Speaker 2 (52:09):
But I do that also.

Speaker 3 (52:10):
But yeah, to your point, I think I'm hyper aware
of the of other people's feelings in general, and it's
really a great thing to have to be able to
sense that that somebody else might be struggling, and to
be able to, you know, offer them a couple of
tools or just put an arm around them someone and
just say I know what you're going through, give them
a hug or like say, hey, let's just do some
breathing really fast, like you know you can, like you

(52:31):
can calm your nervous system down pretty quick these days.

Speaker 2 (52:35):
Yeah, just by you know, breathing. I think a lot
of people forget to breathe.

Speaker 1 (52:40):
Yeah, I have to remind myself all the time.

Speaker 2 (52:42):
It's wild. It's a wild ride.

Speaker 1 (52:44):
Yeah, on a pure entertainment level, just because I also
am a really big fan of the voice. You're kicking
off season twenty eight, which sounds nuts and thrilling. Can
you give us just like a little tea on what
we can expect?

Speaker 2 (52:58):
God, it's so much fun.

Speaker 3 (53:00):
I can't believe the show has been on as long
as it's been on and it's just still doing well.
There's so many talented people in the country, and they
have these great stories of you know, wanting to pursue
their dreams and it's never too late, and it's it's
always inspiring to be around. But yeah, seas in twenty
eighth straight you know if Snoop Dogg has been such
an interesting addition to our show because we're a singing show.

Speaker 2 (53:21):
But he's he's just been great he's been really emotional.

Speaker 3 (53:24):
I think he's actually brought a lot to the voice.
So I would point to season twenty eight really just
to watch Snoop Dogg. He really is a wonderful part
of the program.

Speaker 1 (53:34):
Now, I'm glad to hear that. Now for you, and
this could be about work or you know, cause work
or your personal life. What do you feel like is
your work in progress these days?

Speaker 2 (53:48):
My work in progress is I would say two things,
you know, finding balance. You know, my life is just
so I don't have a nine to five. You know,
I just traveled from LA to New York.

Speaker 3 (54:00):
Nine straight weeks commuting for a job, and now that
has stopped, and so my life will be different.

Speaker 2 (54:05):
So it's never the same.

Speaker 3 (54:06):
Yeah, I wake up and I don't know if I'm
at the Universal Hilton or if I'm in my home
on Long Island. I'm tired at odd times because I've
lived this by coastal lifestyle just in the last like
three months. But that'll end, and I'm not going to
complain about it because I can't. And so there's just
a lot of internal dialogue that I have about.

Speaker 2 (54:28):
Finding that fulk room, you know, finding balance for myself.
I'm getting, you know, I structure is good for me.
I need that. I'm excited now that I'll be here
for a minute in New York.

Speaker 3 (54:38):
And I'll I'll be able to you know, I get
up at four in the morning for the Today Show
every day, so I got to put my I read
books to my five year old and we go to
bed a like eight o'clock. And I'm looking forward to
getting back into like a routine is important.

Speaker 2 (54:50):
You know.

Speaker 3 (54:50):
I'll be in my health center and I'll you know,
get back to working out and cole plunge and do
all my things and meditating. And I love to go
to my my church here and the community there, and so.

Speaker 2 (55:02):
You know, my work in progress is really just like
this this holy trinity of physical, spiritual, mental, you know balance,
Like how are these three things in my life? Is
they orbit around me? How am I making sure that
they're all being you know, taken care of, you know,
as part of my prey.

Speaker 3 (55:21):
When I wake up every day, I always say, like,
I want to be the best husband I can be today.
I want to be just one percent better. I want
to be a better father. I want to be a
better global citizen. I want to be a better Christian.
In my case, I want to be a better coworker.
So give you know, thank you God for this new day.
I got twenty four hours. Let's just keep it simple.

(55:43):
Let's not look too far ahead and let me be
the best version of myself for your will. Not to
benefit selfishly for anything. I'm not looking for anything. I'm
gonna wear this black T shirt again tomorrow. But whatever
happens in my day, whatever comes across my desk my phone,
let me be a vessel for good for the world.
And look, the answers that come out of my mouth
be beneficial to others. Those are the things that are

(56:05):
always like works in progress for me in like just
twenty four hour compartments.

Speaker 1 (56:12):
Yeah, that's beautiful.

Speaker 2 (56:14):
That's weird, but yeah, no, I think it's wonderful. It's
just true, you know.

Speaker 1 (56:20):
Yeah, I'm so grateful that, you know, I've gotten to
share some really meaningful moments in life with you. And
I can't wait for a World Mental Health Day. Yeah,
I'll see you there and so sweet. We'll make sure
our friends at home listening to this hang have all
the resources to follow along, you know, online and on
social as well.

Speaker 2 (56:38):
Why don't you just be a psychiatrist at this one
because you're very good at it.

Speaker 1 (56:42):
Thank you.

Speaker 2 (56:43):
You could charge a lot for this, you know.

Speaker 1 (56:45):
I know my therapist isn't cheap, but he's worth every
penny I pay.

Speaker 2 (56:48):
Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 3 (56:49):
You know that you could charge that for your guests.
So it was a really fun conversation. And I really
appreciate it. Your willingness to go there and yeah and
offer the platform for people to have these sorts of
dialogues are so important.

Speaker 2 (57:02):
So thank you.

Speaker 1 (57:02):
I appreciate you too, and I do really mean it.
I think it's so so incredibly impactful when somebody who's
got like a great career they could just keep to
themselves and keep to their families, says like, let me, well,
is this audience for good?

Speaker 2 (57:19):
You know?

Speaker 1 (57:19):
So thank you for that.

Speaker 3 (57:20):
Don't buy the Instagram bullshit. Not everybody's that happy in
that picture. Life doesn't look like that, so don't don't
buy into that. Yeah, there's real conversations to be had
out there.

Speaker 2 (57:31):
And listening to people were so important. So you're the best.

Speaker 1 (57:34):
Thank you, Thank you, my dear. I'll see you soon,
all right.

Speaker 2 (57:38):
By