February 8, 2022 • 48 mins
Brian pulls back the curtain to talk about his journey into podcasting and what it has been like to make The Office Deep Dive. Then, he sits down for one last interview with his co-author and Executive Producer Ben Silverman to talk about their last year revisiting The Office - and the possibilities of the future. And don’t worry, Brian isn’t going anywhere. Come back next week to this feed to hear the very first episode of Off The Beat.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, I'm Glory Adam, host of Well Read Black Girl.
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Subscribe now and listen to the Move the Sticks podcast
on the I Heart Radio app, on Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts. Hello everybody, it's Brian Baumgartner
here and I played Kevin Malone on the Office and
(01:44):
I also host this podcast. Hello everybody, and welcome to
another episode of The Office Deep Dive. In fact, it's
our final episode of The Office Deep Dive. As always,
I am your host, Brian Baumgartner, and today we're gonna
(02:07):
do something a little different. You're gonna hear from me,
maybe more than you want to. But what I wanted
to do today was to look back and finally tell
the story of how all of this came to be,
how this podcast came to be. And then I want
to look forward into our vision for where this podcast
(02:28):
goes next, for where it goes into the future, and
let you know how excited we all are for our
next iteration, which, to be clear, will be available on
the very same channel that you found this episode today.
You don't have to go download a new podcast or
go looking for me somewhere else. You'll find me in
the very same place that I have been for the
(02:50):
last year. But today is February eight and this podcast
I launched started almost exactly one year ago today February ninth. Now,
I'm gonna go into the numbers, because you know I'm
a numbers guy. I'm gonna go into the numbers over
(03:13):
the last year, which are staggering and humbling to me
and a little bit. But I want to start first
back in September of twenty nineteen, now that is two
and a half years ago. That's where this started. I
was shooting a movie in Columbus, Georgia. Electric Jesus available
(03:34):
on all streaming platforms today, and I get a call
from Ben Silverman saying he wants to talk to me. Now,
if Ben Silverman calls and says he wants to talk
to me, I make time to answer the phone. And
I was on the East coast, he was on the
West coast, and we agreed on eight thirty pm on
(03:57):
the East Coast five thirty his time, and I get
on the phone and I'm introduced to Lingley, who works
for Ben. And Ben is on the phone and he says, look,
we've been working with Spotify about doing a podcast on
the office, and I want to know your thoughts or
(04:20):
if you have any ideas about how we might approach
a podcast on the office. And I said, well, this
is amazing. And we run through a couple of ideas
and LNG has some ideas and Ben has some ideas
and I'm like, okay, this is great. I'm in Columbus, Georgia,
and I'm I'm a little busy right now shooting this movie,
(04:41):
so let's talk as soon as I'm back. So I
return home and ling contact me about having a meeting
at their offices and I'm thinking, oh, I'm just going
up and we're just going to kind of continue the
conversation about the podcast. This is the idiot that I am.
And I drive up and oh, I have this errand
(05:02):
and it's taking me a little extra time and send
an email saying like, oh, you know, I'm gonna be
a little bit later than I said, and um she says,
no problem, no problem, And so I get to their
offices and I walk into a conference room much like
the conference room at dunder Mifflin, about the same size
(05:24):
and shape actually, with a giant table in the middle.
And I walk in and there's I don't know, twelve
to fifteen people around the table, but it feels like
fifty to me, and there's a spot at the head
of the table which is clearly for me, and clearly
they have been waiting there in this room for me,
(05:45):
and so I think, oh, this was not what I thought.
I thought we were having a casual conversation about how
to maybe pursue this podcast. And then the next thing
that happens is lying introduces me to the table as
the exact producer of this podcast, The Office podcast for Spotify,
and I think, well, that's not exactly where I thought
(06:07):
we were at this moment either. I hope I thought
of something good to say, because now I feel completely
on the spot and I had this idea we could
have put together a podcast which would have been a well,
we could have done a professorial explanation of why the
(06:30):
Office is so great and all of the people who
put it together are so great, and and lectured two
our listeners. This this that idea was not so interesting
to me. But what was interesting to me was questions.
And the question that I had, which was a true
and real question at the time, was why is the
(06:54):
office bigger now than it was when we were a
hit on NB See through conversations, most notably I would
say Rain Wilson definitely, Oscar nuon Yez and Angela Kenzie
and Jenna Fisher as well, but most notably Rain and
I would talk and be like, man, I'm getting noticed
(07:16):
a lot more in airports again now, like it felt different,
like palpably different in the world. And my question was
true and legitimate, which is why. So this is November
of and so we began work right away on this approach.
But there was something that I knew that we needed.
(07:38):
We had an essentially an eight hour order from Spotify.
We knew we wanted to do us to talk to
the key people involved. So immediately I go, well, we
need some people's blessing and we need their agreement to participate.
So I contact Greg Daniels and I asked for or
(08:00):
his blessing and participation, and he not only agreed to
participate and gave me his blessing. He was genuinely excited
right away, and I thought, Okay, well we've got Greg
which that's dad, that's huge. And then I contacted Rain
Wilson and Steve Carrell and Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey
(08:23):
because they had started Office Ladies and John Krasinski and
I wanted to try to get some of our key
people on board. Every single person I contacted said yes,
I'm in. But I contacted Rain Wilson early and I said,
will you sit down with me? And he says yes,
But after the first of the year, I'm going to
(08:45):
be shooting this movie. I'm gonna be incredibly busy. I
would love to do it. Can we do it now? Not? Well, sure, yes,
we're We're prepared. And we talked for over two hours,
and I had had this idea that if we're talking
to everybody, aren't people gonna want to hear more from
(09:10):
these people than just this eight hour story. Well, immediately
after this interview, Laying turns to me and says, we've
got to release these full interviews. We we have to
because see, for us, there were two parts. One was
to tell the story, but the other thing that was
so exciting to me was to let people get to
(09:35):
know the real people behind the roles that they had played.
And I felt like that by me conducting these interviews,
that you were going to hear these people in an
unfiltered way and in a way that you had never
heard them in a standard interview setting before. So we
(09:58):
released Oral History of the Office through Spotify, and people
seem to really like it, and we won a Webby
Award for an Oral History of the Office and a
Webby Award just basically just know this. It's like the
oscars of podcasts. Okay, that's that's at least how it's
been explained to me. And you know, all of us
(10:20):
were incredibly satisfied with the attention that in Oral History
of the Office got because we put our heart and
our soul into it. But I still said, we have
to release these interviews. By the time we had completed
interviewing folks for an Oral History of the Office, we
had over a hundred hours of recorded interviews. I was like,
(10:45):
we're just going to cut that down to eight and
throw away over ninety two hours. See, there's some of
the math at work, and that's where the Office Deep
Dive was born. In a year plus. We've done seventy
three podcast episodes over the last year. We've never taken
a week off. We had forty eight guests, sixty three
(11:08):
call in guests, So listeners like you who have called in,
and we have total downloads of over twenty six million,
that is staggering to me and deeply, deeply humbling that
not only did you tune in for Steve Carrell and
John Krasinski, but you tuned in for people that you
(11:32):
may never have heard of before this podcast. I mean
Greg Daniels interviews still one of the highest listen to
of all and crew members Debbie Pierce, Laverne, Kara Kusi.
Those episodes. People are listening to them just as much
as they're listening to some of the well let's just
(11:55):
call them household names. So thank you for indulging us
and and for listening to those people who without them,
the office would certainly not be what it is. It's
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claim your seventy five dollar credit before March one. Indeed
dot com slash office deep dive terms and conditions apply.
(13:48):
Need to hire you need, indeed give us attention. We
need everything you've got as Waiting on reparations would beat
the ill podcast student every Thursday, politics and wordplay. We
fight for the people because they got us in the
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from the left enclave to what the neo kanse every
(14:10):
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(15:03):
The moments that people gave me throughout the last year,
moments that I never knew about Mike sure telling me
that basically Steve Carrell saved people's jobs. I will never
forget Mike Scher saying when Steve was confronted with the
idea of reducing the cast and his response was no, no, no,
(15:27):
no no. I didn't know that from Laverne are head
makeup artist telling me during the writer's strike about Greg
Daniels writing a personal check to everybody on the crew
because he wanted them to feel valued and he knew
what a difficult time they were going through during the
(15:48):
writer's strike at the holidays. I will never forget that.
And I didn't know that before two Phyllis and Alison
Jones being reunited after so many years, Me and Steve
having the opportunity to face time with Billie Eilish after
she won fifty seven Grammy Awards the night before or whatever,
(16:13):
and then hearing from so many of you the greatest
gift that the office gave me, truly, and I mean
this is being approached by fans who let us know
how important it is for them to tell us that
the Office has given them comfort during a very difficult time.
(16:35):
The fact that the show has connected with people and
continues to connect with people so strongly and has brought
them comfort during times overseas, serving in the military, being
hospitalized for a significant illness, having a family issue that
they needed comfort for that the Office has brought them comfort,
(16:56):
and that people telling me giving me the gift of
telling me that the Office has brought them comfort during
a difficult time. That is the greatest gift that the
show has given me. And this podcast has given me
being able to connect with so many of you who
called in, who wrote in questions, who had genuine curiosity
(17:18):
about something, or just wanted me to know that the
Office has given them comfort and that they continue to watch.
Is I mean, how could that not be humbling? And
I have to tell you this alright, my mom. My
mom listens to everything. Okay, let me be clear. She
listens to everything all of the podcast, and she rarely
(17:41):
responds or makes comments about them. But she told me
that her absolute favorite episodes were the call in episodes,
hearing from so many of you. So I think that
is a testament to one, well, my mom being cool,
(18:01):
but also that everyone who has an opinion has value
and that you guys have listened and responded to Again,
not just the big stars of the office, but to
everyone who worked on or was a fan of the show.
You know, this podcast also has provided me with so many,
(18:24):
uh incredibly surreal and beautiful moments. I've been to Scranton
twice since this podcast journeys begin. What's better than that
being able to go back to Scranton not just once,
but twice through this process. As many of you know,
(18:45):
I wrote a book, Welcome to dunder Mifflin. Myself and
Ben Silverman co authored the book with Greg Daniels, who
wrote the foreword. We talked to Chris Hasten, who took
so many of the pictures never before seen picture that
are included in the book. And went back to Chandler
Valley Studios are old home and walking in like it
(19:09):
had been so long and like I had just been
there yesterday. I mean truly like goose bump moments. Seeing
Tom Melby, the guy we worked with all of those years.
Every single day he manages the stage there, and he
showed up in the parking lot with his dunder Mifflin
Warehouse shirt on for us and telling us Ben Silverman
(19:33):
and I about how he has to keep replacing the
wind screen that he puts over the gate so that
people don't just stand there and take pictures because now
there are other shows and other shoots that are happening there.
So he puts up a windscreen so that people can't
stand there on the street and take pictures and be loud,
(19:54):
and that he has to replace that because people come
with a knife and they slit a hole in the
windscreen so they can pry their care they can pry
it open so they can get their camera in to
take pictures of the front of well fictional dunder Mifflin.
But the front of Chandler Valley Studios was so awesome
to be back there. So many incredible moments that have
(20:17):
happened over the last year, and I'm so proud of
this podcast and the conversations that I've been able to
have with people. And look, I want to continue to
talk to people. There are still more people from the
office that we haven't spoken to. But I wanted to
expand the podcast, and I wanted to talk to more
(20:37):
of my other friends in the business and meet new
friends who have worked on classic television shows and entertained
me for years. I worked with a French director for
a number of years in the theater, and he taught
me an important lesson. You may have heard this before
from me, but this is obviously it's made an impact
(20:58):
to me. And he talked at me that comedy exists
off the beat, that there's a predictable rhythm that a
lot of comedy falls into, but the true comedy, things
that really make us laugh or surprise us happen off
the beat. And Greg Daniels, then, I mean, the circle
(21:21):
is so clear. Greg Daniels talks about that a lot
with the office that he wanted to disrupt the predictable beat,
the predictable timing of how things would happen, because he
felt like that would surprise and delight audiences right from
Pam and Jim getting engaged in the rain at a
(21:44):
gas station, right not in the most romantic bridge with
a babbling brook nearby, with flowers and flutes and no,
that that surprising moment could bring more beauty than anything else.
So my next podcast, that's what I decided to call
it Off the Beat, because I want to talk to
(22:04):
people throughout television, other entertainers, other comedians, eventually other figures
from the sports world, and talk to them not about
what everybody talks to them about their Emmy wins. We'll
talk about that, but the moments that happened in their
life off the beat, the unexpected moments that happened for
(22:27):
them that truly make them one who they are and
to make the choices that they make in their art
or in their sport. So as we move forward, I'm
so excited because I want to keep talking about folks
who worked on the office. I have a couple of
guests that I am I was so excited, but you
(22:48):
know a lot of them now are known for other
works as well. So that's where we're going with this podcast.
And I am so excited to continue to explore the
same questions that we've been asking, but explore them with
different artists who have excelled in their own areas of
expertise for years and years, that have entertained us in
(23:10):
one way or another, or at least that entertained me. Commune.
It is my show, after all, right. I want to
finish this look over the last year with my good
friend Michem Padre, my co author of Welcome to dunder
Mifflin Ben Silverman. I want to welcome him back onto
the podcast. Here I mean, look, he's the reason that
(23:34):
The Office exists in the United States. There, I mean,
that's just a fact. He is the reason that, you know,
the show and his insights on well, not just helping
to put this podcast together and participate in allowing himself
to be interviewed for I think four sessions, but also
him and I working on this book together, and I
(23:56):
wanted to talk a little bit more to Ben about
about the last year together. So there it is, and
here he is. Everybody Welcome, Ben Silverman, Bubble and Squeak.
I love it. Bubble and squeak on Bubble and Squeaker
(24:22):
Cookie at every month left over from the night before.
Oh my god, I miss you. I know. How's it going.
It's great. What mic are you using? Is that like
(24:42):
your headphone Mike? Yeah, it's my headphone Mike with the
burly tones of Brian b Um. Ben. I'm so excited
to be talking to you yet again. One year after
The Office, Deep Dive launched. Now The Office, as we've
(25:03):
talked about a lot, it started as as an underdog show, right,
we were like the little engine that could. So much
has changed now after all of these years. You don't
have to convince anybody to watch the show anymore. And
now you and I we've written a book about the show.
(25:27):
How does it feel to be a best selling author?
It's it's so fun and truly one of the things
I tell people first about myself when they meet your father. Yes,
New York biselling author. Yes, no, I absolutely I introduced myself.
Actually it is now My first first name is New
(25:49):
York Times tessell author Ben Silverman, so that it's something
I'm running with. I've taken on so much new kind
of creative authority and ownership of my my life process.
It's fabulous, right. I just played golf in this LPGA tournament.
But when they introduced me on the first tea, there's
(26:12):
like the same introduction that they introduced me at at
every golf turn, you know, emmy winning, blah blah blah.
And I made them change it right on the spot.
I made them add New York Times best selling author
to my introduction, just because it at least it makes
me seem smarter than I am. I think it makes
you seem smarter, and that's why I am enjoying it.
(26:34):
I found it to be one of the more validating
runs I am um, you know a little sad that
our great partners at our book company did not print
the millions of books that they should have because there's
so much pent up demand. And these books are now
trading on eBay at a premium because they're impossible to find.
And I just wanted to make sure that all of
(26:56):
your fans and the fans of this great podcast know
that there will be a new printing of the book
ordered by HarperCollins that is going to hit the shelves
around March due to some of the supply chain issues
affecting all industries. And you should just pre order now
and get excited because the book will be out. It
(27:17):
is already trading at a premium. It's almost like its
own n f T at this point. It is creating
so much value for that first wave of buyers and
readers who won't let the copies go. Buying the book
is like buying an n f T. You heard it here.
How many of the initial order did you did your
family order? Was it like two thirds of the question?
(27:40):
No question that that we put a huge dent into
that official supply, but I assumed it would have been
an infinite supply knowing the extended Silverman families love of
the book, and their friends love of the book, and frankly,
anyone who needed a Christmas President entered my house and
(28:01):
saw the book and demanded a copy. Hi. I'm Hillary Clinton,
and I'm excited to be back with a new season
of you and me both. You know, when we started
this podcast, we were going through some tough times, and
(28:23):
let's face it, we still are. But I am a
firm believer were stronger together. So please join me for
more conversations with people who will make you think, make
you laugh, and help us find a path forward. Listen
to you and me both on the I Heart Radio app,
Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. What grows
(28:55):
in the forest trees, sure no one else grows in
the forest are imagination, Our sense of wonder, and our
family bonds grow too, because when we disconnect from this
and connect with this, we reconnect with each other. The
forest is closer than you think. Find a forest near
(29:16):
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and I am Troy millions and we are the host
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(29:38):
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The knowledge is in death and the questions are always
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(30:21):
your podcasts. What memories were brought up to you through
(30:44):
writing the book, What memories about The Office came came
back to you? I definitely I wish I had spent
more time enjoying the creative process and not the rigamar
role around the show, which is kind of where I
did all my you know, my work, like my blocking
(31:06):
and tackling, was very much on the kind of moat
around the show to protect it and allow its creativity
to just, you know, flourish without challenges. And I wish
I had been on the set more and been around
it even more to enjoy it. And as it was
going on, we were always kind of fighting for it.
(31:29):
So I'm almost enjoying it more now, you know. Someone
asked me how I was doing. An old friend from
Europe was asking me about, you know, how I was,
and I was like, you know, I've been really happy
since The Office became the most watched show in modern
or maybe the history of television. And he goes, I
(31:49):
understand that, and I'm I'm very it makes me happy. Yeah,
how was it for you? Because I know I've talked
a lot about how Amy saying it was. I mean,
there are so many people that I talked to for
the podcast and we talked to for the book that
we hadn't seen in a long time, like people that
I love and love spending time with. Uh. I just
(32:12):
wanted you to talk a little bit from your perspective
about how it was reconnecting with those people once again
on the process of of the book on the podcast. Well,
part of me had avoided asking any of our colleagues
and collaborators for kind of anything um post show. I
(32:34):
had no problems calling you all the time and asking
to stay in your guesthouse or to play golf. But
I did, you know, feel uh, some wonderful connectivity and
making those calls, which I was nervous about was like
I hadn't called It was like calling an old girlfriend,
you know I had. Yeah, Yeah, I had such a deep,
(32:58):
profound relationship ship for ten years and then we kind
of broke up for a little bit to go do
our own projects or new things or you know, you know,
move off into the world. And so then reconnecting through
the book and the you know, collected love of the
show and our experience on it was really great and
(33:20):
I was happy to do it and I've kind of
since dropped any of my hesitation about doing it as well,
and it's been a great exercise in in appreciation and
and remembrance and you know, the present day. And also
because we're all living the same experience, which is the
show's relevance, UH continues to expand and and touch new generations,
(33:43):
including our own children, you know, which I never thought
would be possible because our kids were like born at
the end of the show. Yeah, I to me, that
was well both the most delightful um and the thing
that made me the happiest. I think through this whole experience,
(34:04):
I talked about calling Greg Daniels and calling Steve Carrell
and Rain Wilson and these guys about trying to get
them to participate. Would they participate in this podcast? Were
they interested in going back and telling this story, And
how incredibly excited one that everybody was, and to how
(34:24):
generous everybody was with their time. I mean, I remember
you were there when I spoke with Steve Carrell, and
I think we we we talked for three and a
half hours in in in front of the mics, and
then we finished and you said goodbye, and I we
talked to Billie Eilish, and then I said, Okay, I'm
(34:47):
gonna I'm gonna go, or Steve, I'll walk you out
to your car. And we we walked down to his
car and then he and I stood by his car
for thirty minutes. You were like, where did Brian go?
Where did he? Where did he go? He just wanted
to keep talking about the show. And I was like,
we could have done this upstairs and I could have
recorded it, Steve. But I mean that to me was
(35:09):
so amazing that that I think everybody had the same
curiosity that we did, which is why is the show
become so big? Now? What happened? Like, let's go back
and really dive into it, and everybody seemed to want
to totally and um great example, and I think no
one had asked, you know, and and so like we
(35:32):
gave the book, gave people a format, and the podcast
gave people the environment. And I think the phone calls
were just the excuse. You know, they were looking to
take that experience to the present day, and we were
experiencing it through the show's popularity in the present day,
(35:52):
but we weren't like experiencing it together, you know. And
I know there had been some kind of zoom bomb things,
but these were in depth, conversation, pointed and specific around
our histories together. Do you have any specific memories, uh,
about your initial talks with Spotify about getting an oral
(36:13):
history of the office out into the world. Do you
remember anything about that conversation or how they felt about it.
I thought Spotify was like Microsoft. I just thought it
was like this big corporate thing, and I knew that.
It took me like three or four hours just to
figure out how to subscribe or download or utilize it
on my phone. But but once I did and I
(36:33):
heard they were open and looking for podcasts, they seemed
like a cool thing. I thought they were like kind
of the Netflix, e h of of that world. And
we brought it up and um, you know, our incredible
team including obviously Diego and Ling and the and the
crew and Liz helped us build it out and we
(36:59):
we pioneered whole genre and format. It was great, But
I remember, no, it was. It was and we had
to build it out and do what we do as producers,
which is really make sure that they knew the story.
And we built out a deck and we built up
material and we showed the narrative, and we really thought
through what the episodes could look like, who could participate,
why they participate, how we could break it down, and
(37:21):
a lot of work went into it. I mean, it
was a highly produced experience and at the corner stone
of it and the key is who's going to host
it and drive it? And that was great that we
did it together. Brian. You know, you were immediately the
only person, uh that we could come up with who
would say yes, and we reached out and no, but
(37:45):
having you build it with us from the beginning was amazing.
Did you expect the book or the podcast to be
to be a hit? Did you feel that there was
an appetite to hearing our story. I really did. I
I did not to be gross about it, but I
just felt like we had not told the story from
(38:06):
the collection of great people involved, and that there was
a tremendous fandom that had been built around the kind
of Office universe, and and you're seeing it with the
Office experience in Chicago, which is it's amazing kind of
experiential project going on there with with the show, and
you see it with our book, and you see it
(38:28):
with the the show's continued. You know, airings and repeatability
and and viewer expansion. You know, each successive age group
kind of falls in love with it. And so I
think it had in my mind so much potential, and
also because I knew it was us doing it and
that we would do it to its potential, and that
(38:50):
we would know that we would be connected enough to
the material to actually tell it as insiders as opposed
to kind of maybe miss Larry some of the psyche
of the show. Yeah, we started the journey of of
promoting a book as authors do, and you and I,
(39:12):
along with Greg Daniels, who wrote the foreword, got invited
to do something very very special to me, but I
know that it means even more to you. We were
invited by the Street Why to do a live talk
talk to me a little bit about sty and what
(39:34):
that specifically means to you. It was such a fun,
uh fun thing to do, even if it virtually you
me and Greg. Greg and I are New Yorkers and
have real passion and love for the city and both
grew up with intellectual parents of the city who spent
(39:56):
a lot of time hearing music. Are going to UM
concerts or lectures at at that Why where we did
our event, unfortunately not in the theater, but in you know,
the virtual world. And my own father had written a
composition in honor of an incredibly important guy to me,
(40:18):
a man named Hermann Sandler who family were super tight
with our family, um and he had been murdered in
the nine eleven attacks. And my dad composed music and
Sting sang the sonnets that my father had composed to
and written. And it was just an amazing evening and
(40:40):
celebration of my lost father and Herman Sandler and my
my real father in in Stanley, Silverman and you know,
my immediate community. And so when we were asked it
speak at the y and link tells Us, I was like, wow,
this is uh cool. You know, this is deep. And
(41:00):
I knew Greg would love it because it's his backyard,
right you know. Well I did just a little looking
authors at st Y Truman, Capodi, Arthur Miller, Paul McCartney,
who wrote a book of poems, and you and me. Yeah,
(41:21):
I mean, I mean, really, what else can you say
except for that Send me that list, Send me that
list that will now be a part of your bio,
your introduction. Gend me that list on a list of
authors who have appeared at the ninety second Street by
including Yes, something tells me our names may not show
(41:43):
up in the same way. I don't think they'll be.
They will not be cross reference backed by Paul McCartney
or the Capodi Estate as they retell their story. Yeah,
don't see that. I want to. I want I want
to leave you with this. From the very beginning, I
started asking a question I asked you before. I don't
(42:05):
know if now a year and a half since we
first spoke, if your answer is different. What are you
most thankful for from your entire experience on the office? Wow?
I think I'm thankful in it in a kind of
(42:28):
miss American way. For the joy it's brought so many
different people and the place that's played in their lives
as a sense of comfort and warmth and the familial
and that people look to it to provide them that
(42:49):
and share it with their friends, and that that's a
pretty amazing thing to feel. It's really nice to see
that and connect to people about that and to enjoy
their enjoy him, you know, is of something well beyond
any kind of material relationship or uh, you know, validation
(43:09):
from some kind of superficial edifice, just the kind of
one to one fan a fan, you know, anecdote to
anecdote that connects people's feelings of the show back to
you or to me or anyone involved in the show.
Is really a nice is it is a really nice
thing to have in your life. Yeah. You know, Greg
(43:33):
wrote the last line of the show, there's beauty and
ordinary things. Isn't that kind of the point. And I
think that that mantra, that that idea has given people
such comfort and have seen such truth in the show. Yeah.
(43:57):
I think for me, that's the last thing thing. That's
why I keep talking about at it. I think it's
because of the comfort that I've heard from people. Um,
thank you, Ben Ben Silverman for coming on. You know,
none of us would be here. I would I wouldn't
have a mic in front of me right now, I
wouldn't be a best selling author. Uh. And I know
(44:20):
I certainly would not have been on the office had
you not, with your trademarked tenacity, decided to wrangle Ricky
Gervais into a Starbucks and and start all of us
on this journey. I think all of us who worked
on the show, and uh, and I've been a part
(44:43):
of this show and every show that has come out
of it owes you a debt of gratitude for that
you were. You weren't just in the room where it
happened to borrow a phrase, You kind of were the
room that happened. Thank you, Thank you. I can't thank
you and brother, and I so enjoyed the great friendship
(45:04):
we have deepening through the process of the podcast and
the process of the book, and I know the best
is yet to come, and I just love it so much.
It's been awesome, and I'm excited that you're going to
give me a couple of strokes next time we play,
because it's been rough losing you on eighteen uh in
great frequency. I just want everyone here to know that
(45:27):
Stars closed the show, and Brian will be closing this
show as he closes every golf course hole as in
number eighteen, by draining the putt and beating his friend Ben.
I love you, brother, Thank you, good luck associating the strokes.
Thank you well, folks. That does it for our look
(45:58):
back over or all the incredible things that happened since
The Office Deep Dive launched one year ago. And thank
you Ben for stopping by and well, of course for everything.
But don't worry, gentle listeners, this isn't goodbye. It is
not the end of the road. Forget that. It is
(46:20):
a new beginning. Next week we will be taking the
Office Deep Dive off the beat and it is bound
to be a great time. The first episode amazing. So
I will see you then next Tuesday, same time, same place.
I cannot wait. The Office Deep Dive is hosted and
(46:49):
executive produced by me Brian Baumgartner, alongside our executive producer Langley.
Our producers are Liz Hayes and Diego Tapio. Our themes song,
Bubble and Squeak performed by my great friend Creed Bratton,
and the episode was mixed by seth Olansky. Look for
(47:22):
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and they see you. They're fearless. Guide is this fascinating world?
(47:44):
Find a forest near you and start exploring a Discover
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felt left out, and for people who moved to this country,
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Learn how it belonging begins with us. Dot org brought
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(48:28):
And I'm Julianne Robinson, an Emmy nominated director of Bridgeton
And we are the hosts of Lady of the Road,
a funny and inspiring podcast where we have conversations with
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We talk about money, health, relationships, you name it, from
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Each week, we journey together through the cultural moment where art,
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We need everything you've got fast Waiting on Reparations we
beat the podcast tune in every Thursday, politics and wordplay.
We fight for the people because they got us in
the worst way. From the Hill Cooper, the Bombay to Kanya,
(00:41):
from the left enclave to what the neo kanse Every Thursday,
the heavy conversation and to break us off with some
break because we're waiting the Rea. Listen to Waiting on
Reparations on I Heart Radio, app, Apple podcasts or wherever
you get your podcasts. You can watch the NFL playoffs
like a and or you can prep like a scout
(01:02):
if you listen to the award winning Move the Sticks podcast.
The show is hosted by me, Daniel Jeremiah and my
partner Bucky Brooks. The two of us are bringing the
knowledge from a career as NFL talent scouts to the
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for the Super Bowl, the Draft, and kick off next fall.
Subscribe now and listen to the Move the Sticks podcast
on the I Heart Radio app, on Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts. Hello everybody, it's Brian Baumgartner
here and I played Kevin Malone on the Office and
(01:44):
I also host this podcast. Hello everybody, and welcome to
another episode of The Office Deep Dive. In fact, it's
our final episode of The Office Deep Dive. As always,
I am your host, Brian Baumgartner, and today we're gonna
(02:07):
do something a little different. You're gonna hear from me,
maybe more than you want to. But what I wanted
to do today was to look back and finally tell
the story of how all of this came to be,
how this podcast came to be. And then I want
to look forward into our vision for where this podcast
(02:28):
goes next, for where it goes into the future, and
let you know how excited we all are for our
next iteration, which, to be clear, will be available on
the very same channel that you found this episode today.
You don't have to go download a new podcast or
go looking for me somewhere else. You'll find me in
the very same place that I have been for the
(02:50):
last year. But today is February eight and this podcast
I launched started almost exactly one year ago today February ninth. Now,
I'm gonna go into the numbers, because you know I'm
a numbers guy. I'm gonna go into the numbers over
(03:13):
the last year, which are staggering and humbling to me
and a little bit. But I want to start first
back in September of twenty nineteen, now that is two
and a half years ago. That's where this started. I
was shooting a movie in Columbus, Georgia. Electric Jesus available
(03:34):
on all streaming platforms today, and I get a call
from Ben Silverman saying he wants to talk to me. Now,
if Ben Silverman calls and says he wants to talk
to me, I make time to answer the phone. And
I was on the East coast, he was on the
West coast, and we agreed on eight thirty pm on
(03:57):
the East Coast five thirty his time, and I get
on the phone and I'm introduced to Lingley, who works
for Ben. And Ben is on the phone and he says, look,
we've been working with Spotify about doing a podcast on
the office, and I want to know your thoughts or
(04:20):
if you have any ideas about how we might approach
a podcast on the office. And I said, well, this
is amazing. And we run through a couple of ideas
and LNG has some ideas and Ben has some ideas
and I'm like, okay, this is great. I'm in Columbus, Georgia,
and I'm I'm a little busy right now shooting this movie,
(04:41):
so let's talk as soon as I'm back. So I
return home and ling contact me about having a meeting
at their offices and I'm thinking, oh, I'm just going
up and we're just going to kind of continue the
conversation about the podcast. This is the idiot that I am.
And I drive up and oh, I have this errand
(05:02):
and it's taking me a little extra time and send
an email saying like, oh, you know, I'm gonna be
a little bit later than I said, and um she says,
no problem, no problem, And so I get to their
offices and I walk into a conference room much like
the conference room at dunder Mifflin, about the same size
(05:24):
and shape actually, with a giant table in the middle.
And I walk in and there's I don't know, twelve
to fifteen people around the table, but it feels like
fifty to me, and there's a spot at the head
of the table which is clearly for me, and clearly
they have been waiting there in this room for me,
(05:45):
and so I think, oh, this was not what I thought.
I thought we were having a casual conversation about how
to maybe pursue this podcast. And then the next thing
that happens is lying introduces me to the table as
the exact producer of this podcast, The Office podcast for Spotify,
and I think, well, that's not exactly where I thought
(06:07):
we were at this moment either. I hope I thought
of something good to say, because now I feel completely
on the spot and I had this idea we could
have put together a podcast which would have been a well,
we could have done a professorial explanation of why the
(06:30):
Office is so great and all of the people who
put it together are so great, and and lectured two
our listeners. This this that idea was not so interesting
to me. But what was interesting to me was questions.
And the question that I had, which was a true
and real question at the time, was why is the
(06:54):
office bigger now than it was when we were a
hit on NB See through conversations, most notably I would
say Rain Wilson definitely, Oscar nuon Yez and Angela Kenzie
and Jenna Fisher as well, but most notably Rain and
I would talk and be like, man, I'm getting noticed
(07:16):
a lot more in airports again now, like it felt different,
like palpably different in the world. And my question was
true and legitimate, which is why. So this is November
of and so we began work right away on this approach.
But there was something that I knew that we needed.
(07:38):
We had an essentially an eight hour order from Spotify.
We knew we wanted to do us to talk to
the key people involved. So immediately I go, well, we
need some people's blessing and we need their agreement to participate.
So I contact Greg Daniels and I asked for or
(08:00):
his blessing and participation, and he not only agreed to
participate and gave me his blessing. He was genuinely excited
right away, and I thought, Okay, well we've got Greg
which that's dad, that's huge. And then I contacted Rain
Wilson and Steve Carrell and Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey
(08:23):
because they had started Office Ladies and John Krasinski and
I wanted to try to get some of our key
people on board. Every single person I contacted said yes,
I'm in. But I contacted Rain Wilson early and I said,
will you sit down with me? And he says yes,
But after the first of the year, I'm going to
(08:45):
be shooting this movie. I'm gonna be incredibly busy. I
would love to do it. Can we do it now? Not? Well, sure, yes,
we're We're prepared. And we talked for over two hours,
and I had had this idea that if we're talking
to everybody, aren't people gonna want to hear more from
(09:10):
these people than just this eight hour story. Well, immediately
after this interview, Laying turns to me and says, we've
got to release these full interviews. We we have to
because see, for us, there were two parts. One was
to tell the story, but the other thing that was
so exciting to me was to let people get to
(09:35):
know the real people behind the roles that they had played.
And I felt like that by me conducting these interviews,
that you were going to hear these people in an
unfiltered way and in a way that you had never
heard them in a standard interview setting before. So we
(09:58):
released Oral History of the Office through Spotify, and people
seem to really like it, and we won a Webby
Award for an Oral History of the Office and a
Webby Award just basically just know this. It's like the
oscars of podcasts. Okay, that's that's at least how it's
been explained to me. And you know, all of us
(10:20):
were incredibly satisfied with the attention that in Oral History
of the Office got because we put our heart and
our soul into it. But I still said, we have
to release these interviews. By the time we had completed
interviewing folks for an Oral History of the Office, we
had over a hundred hours of recorded interviews. I was like,
(10:45):
we're just going to cut that down to eight and
throw away over ninety two hours. See, there's some of
the math at work, and that's where the Office Deep
Dive was born. In a year plus. We've done seventy
three podcast episodes over the last year. We've never taken
a week off. We had forty eight guests, sixty three
(11:08):
call in guests, So listeners like you who have called in,
and we have total downloads of over twenty six million,
that is staggering to me and deeply, deeply humbling that
not only did you tune in for Steve Carrell and
John Krasinski, but you tuned in for people that you
(11:32):
may never have heard of before this podcast. I mean
Greg Daniels interviews still one of the highest listen to
of all and crew members Debbie Pierce, Laverne, Kara Kusi.
Those episodes. People are listening to them just as much
as they're listening to some of the well let's just
(11:55):
call them household names. So thank you for indulging us
and and for listening to those people who without them,
the office would certainly not be what it is. It's
(12:15):
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(13:25):
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dot com slash office deep dive terms and conditions apply.
(13:48):
Need to hire you need, indeed give us attention. We
need everything you've got as Waiting on reparations would beat
the ill podcast student every Thursday, politics and wordplay. We
fight for the people because they got us in the
worst way, from the Hill Cooper, the Bob Bay to Kant,
from the left enclave to what the neo kanse every
(14:10):
conversation and to break us off with some break because
we wait in the Listen to Waiting on Reparations on
I Heart Radio, app Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get
your podcast. Look to your children's eyes to see the
true magic of a forest. It's a storybook world for them.
You look and see a tree. They see the wrinkled
(14:31):
face of a wizard with arms outstretched to the sky.
They see treasuring pebbles, They see a windy path that
could lead to adventure, and they see you. They're fearless. Guide.
Is this fascinating world? Find a forest near you and
start exploring and discover the forest dot Org brought to
you by the United States Forest Service and the ad Council.
(15:03):
The moments that people gave me throughout the last year,
moments that I never knew about Mike sure telling me
that basically Steve Carrell saved people's jobs. I will never
forget Mike Scher saying when Steve was confronted with the
idea of reducing the cast and his response was no, no, no,
(15:27):
no no. I didn't know that from Laverne are head
makeup artist telling me during the writer's strike about Greg
Daniels writing a personal check to everybody on the crew
because he wanted them to feel valued and he knew
what a difficult time they were going through during the
(15:48):
writer's strike at the holidays. I will never forget that.
And I didn't know that before two Phyllis and Alison
Jones being reunited after so many years, Me and Steve
having the opportunity to face time with Billie Eilish after
she won fifty seven Grammy Awards the night before or whatever,
(16:13):
and then hearing from so many of you the greatest
gift that the office gave me, truly, and I mean
this is being approached by fans who let us know
how important it is for them to tell us that
the Office has given them comfort during a very difficult time.
(16:35):
The fact that the show has connected with people and
continues to connect with people so strongly and has brought
them comfort during times overseas, serving in the military, being
hospitalized for a significant illness, having a family issue that
they needed comfort for that the Office has brought them comfort,
(16:56):
and that people telling me giving me the gift of
telling me that the Office has brought them comfort during
a difficult time. That is the greatest gift that the
show has given me. And this podcast has given me
being able to connect with so many of you who
called in, who wrote in questions, who had genuine curiosity
(17:18):
about something, or just wanted me to know that the
Office has given them comfort and that they continue to watch.
Is I mean, how could that not be humbling? And
I have to tell you this alright, my mom. My
mom listens to everything. Okay, let me be clear. She
listens to everything all of the podcast, and she rarely
(17:41):
responds or makes comments about them. But she told me
that her absolute favorite episodes were the call in episodes,
hearing from so many of you. So I think that
is a testament to one, well, my mom being cool,
(18:01):
but also that everyone who has an opinion has value
and that you guys have listened and responded to Again,
not just the big stars of the office, but to
everyone who worked on or was a fan of the show.
You know, this podcast also has provided me with so many,
(18:24):
uh incredibly surreal and beautiful moments. I've been to Scranton
twice since this podcast journeys begin. What's better than that
being able to go back to Scranton not just once,
but twice through this process. As many of you know,
(18:45):
I wrote a book, Welcome to dunder Mifflin. Myself and
Ben Silverman co authored the book with Greg Daniels, who
wrote the foreword. We talked to Chris Hasten, who took
so many of the pictures never before seen picture that
are included in the book. And went back to Chandler
Valley Studios are old home and walking in like it
(19:09):
had been so long and like I had just been
there yesterday. I mean truly like goose bump moments. Seeing
Tom Melby, the guy we worked with all of those years.
Every single day he manages the stage there, and he
showed up in the parking lot with his dunder Mifflin
Warehouse shirt on for us and telling us Ben Silverman
(19:33):
and I about how he has to keep replacing the
wind screen that he puts over the gate so that
people don't just stand there and take pictures because now
there are other shows and other shoots that are happening there.
So he puts up a windscreen so that people can't
stand there on the street and take pictures and be loud,
(19:54):
and that he has to replace that because people come
with a knife and they slit a hole in the
windscreen so they can pry their care they can pry
it open so they can get their camera in to
take pictures of the front of well fictional dunder Mifflin.
But the front of Chandler Valley Studios was so awesome
to be back there. So many incredible moments that have
(20:17):
happened over the last year, and I'm so proud of
this podcast and the conversations that I've been able to
have with people. And look, I want to continue to
talk to people. There are still more people from the
office that we haven't spoken to. But I wanted to
expand the podcast, and I wanted to talk to more
(20:37):
of my other friends in the business and meet new
friends who have worked on classic television shows and entertained
me for years. I worked with a French director for
a number of years in the theater, and he taught
me an important lesson. You may have heard this before
from me, but this is obviously it's made an impact
(20:58):
to me. And he talked at me that comedy exists
off the beat, that there's a predictable rhythm that a
lot of comedy falls into, but the true comedy, things
that really make us laugh or surprise us happen off
the beat. And Greg Daniels, then, I mean, the circle
(21:21):
is so clear. Greg Daniels talks about that a lot
with the office that he wanted to disrupt the predictable beat,
the predictable timing of how things would happen, because he
felt like that would surprise and delight audiences right from
Pam and Jim getting engaged in the rain at a
(21:44):
gas station, right not in the most romantic bridge with
a babbling brook nearby, with flowers and flutes and no,
that that surprising moment could bring more beauty than anything else.
So my next podcast, that's what I decided to call
it Off the Beat, because I want to talk to
(22:04):
people throughout television, other entertainers, other comedians, eventually other figures
from the sports world, and talk to them not about
what everybody talks to them about their Emmy wins. We'll
talk about that, but the moments that happened in their
life off the beat, the unexpected moments that happened for
(22:27):
them that truly make them one who they are and
to make the choices that they make in their art
or in their sport. So as we move forward, I'm
so excited because I want to keep talking about folks
who worked on the office. I have a couple of
guests that I am I was so excited, but you
(22:48):
know a lot of them now are known for other
works as well. So that's where we're going with this podcast.
And I am so excited to continue to explore the
same questions that we've been asking, but explore them with
different artists who have excelled in their own areas of
expertise for years and years, that have entertained us in
(23:10):
one way or another, or at least that entertained me. Commune.
It is my show, after all, right. I want to
finish this look over the last year with my good
friend Michem Padre, my co author of Welcome to dunder
Mifflin Ben Silverman. I want to welcome him back onto
the podcast. Here I mean, look, he's the reason that
(23:34):
The Office exists in the United States. There, I mean,
that's just a fact. He is the reason that, you know,
the show and his insights on well, not just helping
to put this podcast together and participate in allowing himself
to be interviewed for I think four sessions, but also
him and I working on this book together, and I
(23:56):
wanted to talk a little bit more to Ben about
about the last year together. So there it is, and
here he is. Everybody Welcome, Ben Silverman, Bubble and Squeak.
I love it. Bubble and squeak on Bubble and Squeaker
(24:22):
Cookie at every month left over from the night before.
Oh my god, I miss you. I know. How's it going.
It's great. What mic are you using? Is that like
(24:42):
your headphone Mike? Yeah, it's my headphone Mike with the
burly tones of Brian b Um. Ben. I'm so excited
to be talking to you yet again. One year after
The Office, Deep Dive launched. Now The Office, as we've
(25:03):
talked about a lot, it started as as an underdog show, right,
we were like the little engine that could. So much
has changed now after all of these years. You don't
have to convince anybody to watch the show anymore. And
now you and I we've written a book about the show.
(25:27):
How does it feel to be a best selling author?
It's it's so fun and truly one of the things
I tell people first about myself when they meet your father. Yes,
New York biselling author. Yes, no, I absolutely I introduced myself.
Actually it is now My first first name is New
(25:49):
York Times tessell author Ben Silverman, so that it's something
I'm running with. I've taken on so much new kind
of creative authority and ownership of my my life process.
It's fabulous, right. I just played golf in this LPGA tournament.
But when they introduced me on the first tea, there's
(26:12):
like the same introduction that they introduced me at at
every golf turn, you know, emmy winning, blah blah blah.
And I made them change it right on the spot.
I made them add New York Times best selling author
to my introduction, just because it at least it makes
me seem smarter than I am. I think it makes
you seem smarter, and that's why I am enjoying it.
(26:34):
I found it to be one of the more validating
runs I am um, you know a little sad that
our great partners at our book company did not print
the millions of books that they should have because there's
so much pent up demand. And these books are now
trading on eBay at a premium because they're impossible to find.
And I just wanted to make sure that all of
(26:56):
your fans and the fans of this great podcast know
that there will be a new printing of the book
ordered by HarperCollins that is going to hit the shelves
around March due to some of the supply chain issues
affecting all industries. And you should just pre order now
and get excited because the book will be out. It
(27:17):
is already trading at a premium. It's almost like its
own n f T at this point. It is creating
so much value for that first wave of buyers and
readers who won't let the copies go. Buying the book
is like buying an n f T. You heard it here.
How many of the initial order did you did your
family order? Was it like two thirds of the question?
(27:40):
No question that that we put a huge dent into
that official supply, but I assumed it would have been
an infinite supply knowing the extended Silverman families love of
the book, and their friends love of the book, and frankly,
anyone who needed a Christmas President entered my house and
(28:01):
saw the book and demanded a copy. Hi. I'm Hillary Clinton,
and I'm excited to be back with a new season
of you and me both. You know, when we started
this podcast, we were going through some tough times, and
(28:23):
let's face it, we still are. But I am a
firm believer were stronger together. So please join me for
more conversations with people who will make you think, make
you laugh, and help us find a path forward. Listen
to you and me both on the I Heart Radio app,
Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. What grows
(28:55):
in the forest trees, sure no one else grows in
the forest are imagination, Our sense of wonder, and our
family bonds grow too, because when we disconnect from this
and connect with this, we reconnect with each other. The
forest is closer than you think. Find a forest near
(29:16):
you and start exploring. I Discover the Forest dot Org,
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Listen to Ernie Leisure on the Black Effect podcast Network,
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(30:21):
your podcasts. What memories were brought up to you through
(30:44):
writing the book, What memories about The Office came came
back to you? I definitely I wish I had spent
more time enjoying the creative process and not the rigamar
role around the show, which is kind of where I
did all my you know, my work, like my blocking
(31:06):
and tackling, was very much on the kind of moat
around the show to protect it and allow its creativity
to just, you know, flourish without challenges. And I wish
I had been on the set more and been around
it even more to enjoy it. And as it was
going on, we were always kind of fighting for it.
(31:29):
So I'm almost enjoying it more now, you know. Someone
asked me how I was doing. An old friend from
Europe was asking me about, you know, how I was,
and I was like, you know, I've been really happy
since The Office became the most watched show in modern
or maybe the history of television. And he goes, I
(31:49):
understand that, and I'm I'm very it makes me happy. Yeah,
how was it for you? Because I know I've talked
a lot about how Amy saying it was. I mean,
there are so many people that I talked to for
the podcast and we talked to for the book that
we hadn't seen in a long time, like people that
I love and love spending time with. Uh. I just
(32:12):
wanted you to talk a little bit from your perspective
about how it was reconnecting with those people once again
on the process of of the book on the podcast. Well,
part of me had avoided asking any of our colleagues
and collaborators for kind of anything um post show. I
(32:34):
had no problems calling you all the time and asking
to stay in your guesthouse or to play golf. But
I did, you know, feel uh, some wonderful connectivity and
making those calls, which I was nervous about was like
I hadn't called It was like calling an old girlfriend,
you know I had. Yeah, Yeah, I had such a deep,
(32:58):
profound relationship ship for ten years and then we kind
of broke up for a little bit to go do
our own projects or new things or you know, you know,
move off into the world. And so then reconnecting through
the book and the you know, collected love of the
show and our experience on it was really great and
(33:20):
I was happy to do it and I've kind of
since dropped any of my hesitation about doing it as well,
and it's been a great exercise in in appreciation and
and remembrance and you know, the present day. And also
because we're all living the same experience, which is the
show's relevance, UH continues to expand and and touch new generations,
(33:43):
including our own children, you know, which I never thought
would be possible because our kids were like born at
the end of the show. Yeah, I to me, that
was well both the most delightful um and the thing
that made me the happiest. I think through this whole experience,
(34:04):
I talked about calling Greg Daniels and calling Steve Carrell
and Rain Wilson and these guys about trying to get
them to participate. Would they participate in this podcast? Were
they interested in going back and telling this story, And
how incredibly excited one that everybody was, and to how
(34:24):
generous everybody was with their time. I mean, I remember
you were there when I spoke with Steve Carrell, and
I think we we we talked for three and a
half hours in in in front of the mics, and
then we finished and you said goodbye, and I we
talked to Billie Eilish, and then I said, Okay, I'm
(34:47):
gonna I'm gonna go, or Steve, I'll walk you out
to your car. And we we walked down to his
car and then he and I stood by his car
for thirty minutes. You were like, where did Brian go?
Where did he? Where did he go? He just wanted
to keep talking about the show. And I was like,
we could have done this upstairs and I could have
recorded it, Steve. But I mean that to me was
(35:09):
so amazing that that I think everybody had the same
curiosity that we did, which is why is the show
become so big? Now? What happened? Like, let's go back
and really dive into it, and everybody seemed to want
to totally and um great example, and I think no
one had asked, you know, and and so like we
(35:32):
gave the book, gave people a format, and the podcast
gave people the environment. And I think the phone calls
were just the excuse. You know, they were looking to
take that experience to the present day, and we were
experiencing it through the show's popularity in the present day,
(35:52):
but we weren't like experiencing it together, you know. And
I know there had been some kind of zoom bomb things,
but these were in depth, conversation, pointed and specific around
our histories together. Do you have any specific memories, uh,
about your initial talks with Spotify about getting an oral
(36:13):
history of the office out into the world. Do you
remember anything about that conversation or how they felt about it.
I thought Spotify was like Microsoft. I just thought it
was like this big corporate thing, and I knew that.
It took me like three or four hours just to
figure out how to subscribe or download or utilize it
on my phone. But but once I did and I
(36:33):
heard they were open and looking for podcasts, they seemed
like a cool thing. I thought they were like kind
of the Netflix, e h of of that world. And
we brought it up and um, you know, our incredible
team including obviously Diego and Ling and the and the
crew and Liz helped us build it out and we
(36:59):
we pioneered whole genre and format. It was great, But
I remember, no, it was. It was and we had
to build it out and do what we do as producers,
which is really make sure that they knew the story.
And we built out a deck and we built up
material and we showed the narrative, and we really thought
through what the episodes could look like, who could participate,
why they participate, how we could break it down, and
(37:21):
a lot of work went into it. I mean, it
was a highly produced experience and at the corner stone
of it and the key is who's going to host
it and drive it? And that was great that we
did it together. Brian. You know, you were immediately the
only person, uh that we could come up with who
would say yes, and we reached out and no, but
(37:45):
having you build it with us from the beginning was amazing.
Did you expect the book or the podcast to be
to be a hit? Did you feel that there was
an appetite to hearing our story. I really did. I
I did not to be gross about it, but I
just felt like we had not told the story from
(38:06):
the collection of great people involved, and that there was
a tremendous fandom that had been built around the kind
of Office universe, and and you're seeing it with the
Office experience in Chicago, which is it's amazing kind of
experiential project going on there with with the show, and
you see it with our book, and you see it
(38:28):
with the the show's continued. You know, airings and repeatability
and and viewer expansion. You know, each successive age group
kind of falls in love with it. And so I
think it had in my mind so much potential, and
also because I knew it was us doing it and
that we would do it to its potential, and that
(38:50):
we would know that we would be connected enough to
the material to actually tell it as insiders as opposed
to kind of maybe miss Larry some of the psyche
of the show. Yeah, we started the journey of of
promoting a book as authors do, and you and I,
(39:12):
along with Greg Daniels, who wrote the foreword, got invited
to do something very very special to me, but I
know that it means even more to you. We were
invited by the Street Why to do a live talk
talk to me a little bit about sty and what
(39:34):
that specifically means to you. It was such a fun,
uh fun thing to do, even if it virtually you
me and Greg. Greg and I are New Yorkers and
have real passion and love for the city and both
grew up with intellectual parents of the city who spent
(39:56):
a lot of time hearing music. Are going to UM
concerts or lectures at at that Why where we did
our event, unfortunately not in the theater, but in you know,
the virtual world. And my own father had written a
composition in honor of an incredibly important guy to me,
(40:18):
a man named Hermann Sandler who family were super tight
with our family, um and he had been murdered in
the nine eleven attacks. And my dad composed music and
Sting sang the sonnets that my father had composed to
and written. And it was just an amazing evening and
(40:40):
celebration of my lost father and Herman Sandler and my
my real father in in Stanley, Silverman and you know,
my immediate community. And so when we were asked it
speak at the y and link tells Us, I was like, wow,
this is uh cool. You know, this is deep. And
(41:00):
I knew Greg would love it because it's his backyard,
right you know. Well I did just a little looking
authors at st Y Truman, Capodi, Arthur Miller, Paul McCartney,
who wrote a book of poems, and you and me. Yeah,
(41:21):
I mean, I mean, really, what else can you say
except for that Send me that list, Send me that
list that will now be a part of your bio,
your introduction. Gend me that list on a list of
authors who have appeared at the ninety second Street by
including Yes, something tells me our names may not show
(41:43):
up in the same way. I don't think they'll be.
They will not be cross reference backed by Paul McCartney
or the Capodi Estate as they retell their story. Yeah,
don't see that. I want to. I want I want
to leave you with this. From the very beginning, I
started asking a question I asked you before. I don't
(42:05):
know if now a year and a half since we
first spoke, if your answer is different. What are you
most thankful for from your entire experience on the office? Wow?
I think I'm thankful in it in a kind of
(42:28):
miss American way. For the joy it's brought so many
different people and the place that's played in their lives
as a sense of comfort and warmth and the familial
and that people look to it to provide them that
(42:49):
and share it with their friends, and that that's a
pretty amazing thing to feel. It's really nice to see
that and connect to people about that and to enjoy
their enjoy him, you know, is of something well beyond
any kind of material relationship or uh, you know, validation
(43:09):
from some kind of superficial edifice, just the kind of
one to one fan a fan, you know, anecdote to
anecdote that connects people's feelings of the show back to
you or to me or anyone involved in the show.
Is really a nice is it is a really nice
thing to have in your life. Yeah. You know, Greg
(43:33):
wrote the last line of the show, there's beauty and
ordinary things. Isn't that kind of the point. And I
think that that mantra, that that idea has given people
such comfort and have seen such truth in the show. Yeah.
(43:57):
I think for me, that's the last thing thing. That's
why I keep talking about at it. I think it's
because of the comfort that I've heard from people. Um,
thank you, Ben Ben Silverman for coming on. You know,
none of us would be here. I would I wouldn't
have a mic in front of me right now, I
wouldn't be a best selling author. Uh. And I know
(44:20):
I certainly would not have been on the office had
you not, with your trademarked tenacity, decided to wrangle Ricky
Gervais into a Starbucks and and start all of us
on this journey. I think all of us who worked
on the show, and uh, and I've been a part
(44:43):
of this show and every show that has come out
of it owes you a debt of gratitude for that
you were. You weren't just in the room where it
happened to borrow a phrase, You kind of were the
room that happened. Thank you, Thank you. I can't thank
you and brother, and I so enjoyed the great friendship
(45:04):
we have deepening through the process of the podcast and
the process of the book, and I know the best
is yet to come, and I just love it so much.
It's been awesome, and I'm excited that you're going to
give me a couple of strokes next time we play,
because it's been rough losing you on eighteen uh in
great frequency. I just want everyone here to know that
(45:27):
Stars closed the show, and Brian will be closing this
show as he closes every golf course hole as in
number eighteen, by draining the putt and beating his friend Ben.
I love you, brother, Thank you, good luck associating the strokes.
Thank you well, folks. That does it for our look
(45:58):
back over or all the incredible things that happened since
The Office Deep Dive launched one year ago. And thank
you Ben for stopping by and well, of course for everything.
But don't worry, gentle listeners, this isn't goodbye. It is
not the end of the road. Forget that. It is
(46:20):
a new beginning. Next week we will be taking the
Office Deep Dive off the beat and it is bound
to be a great time. The first episode amazing. So
I will see you then next Tuesday, same time, same place.
I cannot wait. The Office Deep Dive is hosted and
(46:49):
executive produced by me Brian Baumgartner, alongside our executive producer Langley.
Our producers are Liz Hayes and Diego Tapio. Our themes song,
Bubble and Squeak performed by my great friend Creed Bratton,
and the episode was mixed by seth Olansky. Look for
(47:22):
your children's eyes to see the true magic of a forest.
It's a storybook world for them. You look and see
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with arms outstretched to the sky. They see treasure and pebbles.
They see a windy path that could lead to adventure,
and they see you. They're fearless. Guide is this fascinating world?
(47:44):
Find a forest near you and start exploring a Discover
the Forest dot org brought to you by the United
States Forest Service and the AD Council. Look for your
children's eyes and you will discover the true magic of
a forest. Find a forest near you and start exploring it.
Discover the Forest dot org brought to you by the
(48:05):
United States Forest Service and the AD Council. We've all
felt left out, and for people who moved to this country,
that feeling lasts more than a moment. We can change that.
Learn how it belonging begins with us. Dot org brought
to you by the AD Council. Hi, I'm Arden Marine
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(48:28):
And I'm Julianne Robinson, an Emmy nominated director of Bridgeton
And we are the hosts of Lady of the Road,
a funny and inspiring podcast where we have conversations with
influential women about their lives and we get self help
advice because we are always looking to improve ourselves. True story.
We talk about money, health, relationships, you name it, from
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