Hi everyone, this is Amy Poehler. Welcome to another episode of Good Hang. We have the great Ike Barinholtz joining us today. Ike is... A hilarious, warm, funny mountain of a man that I met back in Chicago many years ago. And I work with him on the movie Sisters. You might know him from the Mindy Project. We did a satirical podcast together called the Chris Chapman Do-Over, where he played a podcast host that, well, is not great. He wasn't great, but he was trying.
The co-creator of a great new show called Running Point with Mindy Kaling. And he is the star of The Studio, which is out now on Apple. And we're going to talk to him about that. Ike is amazing and as always, we like to... Take a minute before we start to talk about people that know Ike or might know Ike's work. Talk to me about questions they think I should. So let's get on Zoom and let's talk to two.
Queens, Emily Spivey, writer at SNL, and Catherine Hahn, actress and hot bitch extraordinaire. This episode is presented by the Toyota Grand High. Life's journey brings constant change filled with exciting surprises, new chapters, and grand challenges. And the Toyota Grand Highlander is more than a vehicle. It's your partner in embracing all life throws at you.
Blinked and the kids have grown up? The third row can fit three adults. From daily routines to life-changing adventures, the Toyota Grand Highlander is up for every grand challenge. Learn more at toyota.com. Toyota, let's go places. So how is your day going? What's going on with you? Where are you right now and how has your day been so far? Well, I'm in my car.
But it's getting hotter and hotter, which is great. I just got my eyebrows done. And that's how much I love Ike, is that I'm showing up in this. in this space. And Spivey, where are you talking to us from? I'm in North Carolina. Everything's fine. I'm still getting over that Fakakta flu. The SNL COVID flu. Right. The scourge that we all got at the plaza. I blame Lin-Manuel Moran. I feel like he was patient zero.
Because everywhere I went, I saw him. All right. Well, we'll get to Ike because you both have worked with him in various ways. And I'm going to talk to him and interview him in just a few minutes. He's going to be so happy, by the way, that you did this. So thank you. What I love is his life.
his enthusiasm the way he falls in love with the project and just has its back from the beginning like I just love how he um is so freaking loyal and faithful to the thing that he's doing that it really inspires everybody else to like be as enthusiastic. Also, there's never a, he never lets the ball drop in any conversation. Like if it's an awkward table, he will keep it up. Like the vibration is very high with.
It's a very high vibration human being, I think. Whenever I've worked with him and he played a character on a show that I did, he was the biggest cheerleader. Just a positive joy bomb all the time. Brought so much to the role. helped really develop this character, and then was completely so supportive and positive the whole time. Showed up for every event, just an absolute gentleman, funny, joy bomb.
And I thank him for that because that was a show that I had created and was running. And he really helped with my confidence. Like I would find myself going, oh, thank God Ike's going to be there today. Like, okay, good. Ike B. Fucking God. You're a God among men. Hansi, by the way, if you have in any way turned off your AC, feel free to turn it on. Oh, thank you so much. What if you just see me? Slump to the side. No, no, do you see the roof? Just the room.
And Polar and I are trying to guess which parking structure you're in. Oh, God. What structure is she in? There's the sun beating down from above. L.A., baby. There it is. LA is so bright. LA is too bright. Yeah, we're just using context clues like from her window to try to figure out where she is. Where is she? God, is that a Vons? No, it's a Gelsen. I mean, I first was really introduced to him. I know he had like such a huge body of work before this, but was on your podcast.
That character that he played on with Dr. Sheila was so freaking brilliant, like so dropped in. I really dig it. I also dig his height and his body. Yes, his height and his father. He's a tall gentleman. And he also has a dad who is new to the biz that we're going to talk about today.
I just want to clarify, you're talking about a show called The Chris Chapman Do-Over, which is on Odyssey, a podcast that we produced, as well as a great podcast that Emily Spivey is the star of called Women Talking About Murder. And they were both... with, with the great Liz Krakowski and Liz and I also made the Chris Chapman do over with our producer Jenna here. And, um, Those are two great examples of like our love of podcasts and us trying to do comedic versions of styles that we love.
And in the one that Ike did, Ike plays one of those guys who can't get it right. And so he has to keep apologizing for the thing he said the week before. Ike was so good at playing a guy who was trying to learn from his mistakes, but who had hot takes and he had to save them. So good. Such a good character. Okay. So the last question I'll ask and let you guys go. Thank you so much for this is I'm talking to Ike and what do you think I should ask him? How are his girls? How is it being?
How is it being a girl dad? Because that's something I really always admired too. Because he has three girls, right? Three girls, yes. Which I think is so cute.
Yes, him and his wife Erica are awesome and awesome parents. And yeah, Spivey, you and I have boys, so it feels very different. Well, yeah, I thank God I had a boy. If I had a girl, I'd be completely... like half crazy i wouldn't know what to do i'm sure you know this but i would love to know what in the birth order in his family where he falls and how that influenced him um
as a comedian and where that all started from for him. Wait, what is everyone's birth order on this call? Where are you and your fam? I'm oldest of three and I have two younger brothers. I'm the oldest. And then I have a younger sister, but people think that I'm the youngest a lot.
Because my sister is so responsible and seems like an adult. And I guess I don't seem like that. Amy, you always seem like the oldest in your family. I am the oldest. So I have to say, because I am, I'm older than my parents. I know. That's what people don't realize about Polar. She's weirdly older than both her parents. But Ike is the oldest in his family. I know that. And his younger brother is also an actor. So it's just two brothers.
And his dad. And now his dad. That's something I would love to hear about what that is. And also, I feel like they all live here. So he has these huge Sunday dinners with everybody all the time. And it feels like. It just feels so wholesome over there that just kind of like a Sunday roast. with all your relatives coming over. Like it sounds like, I mean, it's so far from what my Sundays, my family spread out all over the country, but.
I always feel like a tenderness towards that. It feels really sweet. I love a man who likes to eat. I don't trust a man who doesn't eat. It's weird. Okay. We'll have fun talking to Ike. I can't wait to hear it. Thanks. And I can't wait to have you guys on this too. And so we get to talk well about you behind your backs too. So, okay. Love y'all. Miss you. All right. Love you guys. Good to see you, Han. Before I pass out. And then.
Oh, no. There she goes. Oh, no. She wowed. I know. This message is brought to you by Apple Card. Apple Card is a no-fee credit card that gives you daily cash back every day. 3% back at Apple and 2% back on every purchase made with Apple Card using Apple. Apply for Apple Card in the wallet app on your iPhone today. Subject to credit approval, variable APRs for Apple Card range from 18.24% to 28.49%.
based on credit worthiness. Rates as of January 1st, 2025. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank, USA, Salt Lake City branch terms and more. Wait, Ike, look at the... The fake food? Fake food. This is all my personal collection. You are one of the great collectors of fake food in North America. Wait, this is fake food for my house. Oh, my God. Look at the garlic. Fake garlic. I'm obsessed with this tiny Nutri-Grain. Can I have one? Oh, really? Why don't you open it up?
Wow, there's actually a... There's a weird Japanese Nutri-Grain thing in there. I can't prove this, but I feel that the people who make these are perverts. You know, I mean, there's something mildly perverted about it in a good way. Oh, you know what? Can we talk about that? You know that we have a theory that there's a difference between pervert and creep. Oh, yeah. Perverts can be great. Agree. Some of our greatest Americans have been perverts. FDR, hands down the best president.
Huge pervert. This is exactly why I wanted you here. We've got Ike Bernholtz and we're off to the races. But to your point, perverts can be good. Creeps almost always are bad. Yeah. And perverts... You know, people are so afraid of creeps that I think they can overcorrect and they can scoop up perverts. Yes. When they should just scoop up the creep. Welcome back to Justice for Perverts.
When I hear the word pervert, I go like this. Like for those people that are listening and not watching, I just get a little smile on my face like a little pervert. A little pervert. Sweet little pervert. You know, someone who's just like, I don't know, doing their thing. Again, consensual adults. Consensual adults. Everyone's into it. Sitting on cakes and they all like whatever they like to do.
No, kink shame. I do not kink shame. I might kink shame a little bit just because it's a waste of a delicious cake. Okay. That's right. Because you love food. I love food. I take it very seriously. And when I see someone sitting in it. touching themselves. I'm just thinking like someone really put love into that cake and spent time baking. But to your point, I love a good pervert creep.
No, thank you. No, thank you. And it's kind of like good art. Like you know it when you see it. You know the difference between a pervert and a creep. Do you think that we have a higher tolerance for perverts because of our age? I think it's a generational thing. I think the younger generations don't have as much. love for perverts, but they're young. You'll get there, guys. Give us a chance. I can also tell you this. Sometimes
Perverts can become creeps. 100%. I had a friend who I loved, and he had a dad who I actually liked a lot. But I remember going to their house as a kid, and the dad had Playboys. And I was like, amazing. This is the greatest thing in the world. And then his parents got divorced. And then the next time I went over there, he had Hustler under there. And then you're like, ugh. Because Playboy, you're like, when you're a whatever, eight-year-old boy, you're like.
This is great. Hustler, you're like, that's pee. We're talking about pee now, which is not great for a young man. I think what you're trying to say is that every creep. But not every pervert becomes a creep. Could not be more well said. I believe it was Mark Twain who first coined that phrase. Yeah, you said that to me at the Mark Twain Awards. You can't, when you gave-
When we gave each other awards at the Mark 20 Awards. I whispered and I hugged you and said, congratulations. How's my hair piece, by the way? You look incredible, Ike. This got woven into my head this morning. Looks gorgeous. What kind of glue do you use on that? This is just good old Elmer's. Good old Elmer. Picked up at right age. You know, paste it on there. It's a glue stick.
So it's not like I don't have white glue all over my head. Do you like wearing wigs, by the way? No, I hate it because I have like seven hairs left in my head. You do not. Well, yeah. But whenever they pull them out, like the clips, it just – that hair comes out. You worry. Yeah. I have so much fake hair in my head right now. And it's. Wild. Like if I took it all out right now and laid it on the table, it would look like. a regular person's hair, but I need so much.
fake hair to look like I have even normal hair. You are a great wig wearer though. Like when you used to like old UCB, SNL sketches, you really wore a wig better than anyone. Better than anyone in this whole town. Well, let's get really get started. Yes. Okay. Let's be real and get this interview started. Let's be real. Ike Barinholtz is here. Ike, we met when.
We met in, I can tell you, pretty much like the exact year. It was like 1996. I had just started taking classes at ImprovOlympic, which was your former theater. And you guys had just left like... five months before I started to go start UCB. Maybe it was a year, but whatever. You guys had left and UCB was already kind of like the cool thing. And I remember they were like, hey, there's a Amy Poehler and Matt Besser coming back to teach a workshop. at improv olympic at like 11 a.m on a month
So I had a day job and I lied to my boss. I was like, I have the flu. And, and I went and. No one, like for some reason, it was just me and three other people. And Matt Besser was like, yeah, we can't do this with this few amount of people. And so I remember you were like, why don't we just.
smoke a joint in the green room. And I was like, I did. Yeah. So unprofessional. And I was like, this is the coolest person I've ever met in my life. Like, like I'm obsessed. This is incredible. And then you guys came back and did the workshop and.
I remember the first half of the workshop was you teaching us, just getting in there and doing scenes. And I was like, this woman is the greatest improv teacher I've ever seen in my life. Like, oh my God, I love her. She's the greatest. And then the second half was Besser.
who was trying to teach us the Mortal Kombat form, you know? Yes. And the group of improvisers that were doing the workshop, we were all bad. We were all, like, very young and green and trying to get – and the form wasn't going well. I'll never forget Matt Besser. God bless him. He goes at one point. I should have done something else. You said it out loud. That's never a good sign when your teacher...
Says out loud. Yes. Yes. But, but I was still like, it was such an amazing memory for me because it was really when I first. I immersed myself in our world, and it was always cool. And then whenever, like, you know, I'd be at a friend's house watching Conan, and you would, like, come up and do it, but I'd be like, she taught us in a workshop, smoked a joint with her. Oh, my God. You started when you were 18? I was 18. Yeah, I went to college for a year at Boston University and just did not.
Enjoy it, was not going to class, was very distracted. And I knew I wasn't going to go back. I knew I was being drawn to acting and... I went to go randomly see the ImprovOlympics 10th anniversary show, and I believe you guys shot a video. And I was just blown away by seeing you guys. Saw McKay for the first time. Tim Meadows specifically was so funny in that show that I was like, I am signing up for classes tomorrow. So that was kind of my journey from.
Do you ever think about finishing college? I am going to try to enroll. Have you seen the film Back to School with Rodney Dangerfield? I'm going to try to do that. No, I, you know what? That is something that like, I just. I don't know if it is for everyone. You know what I mean? I think college used to be, at least when I was there, it was a thing where everyone went and it was just a fait accompli. They would go to college, you would get a job.
And I think that's changed a little bit. Yeah. And to me, I'm just kind of like. Yeah, it's never something I was longing for. Yeah. I mean, I just find your brain so huge. You're a super, super smart guy. I mean, we'll get to it, but you basically won. I mean, you won Jeopardy. I won Celebrity Jeopardy.
And then I did, I went on regular Jeopardy and I did win. You won a regular Jeopardy. Yes, yes. So when you were first in Chicago, and by the way, I'm wearing Chicago. Like my heart is melting. It's just beautiful. And that's like a vintage one, but it's nice. It's real.
We love Dave Stassen. We love Dave Stassen, folks. Your writing partner, co-creator. Wonderful man. With you of Running Point. Yes. Great show that's coming out, or out, is out. It's out. It's out with Kate Hudson, Mindy Kaling also producing on that. And you guys are huge basketball fans. Can we talk about the bulls? I mean, no, I don't know where to start, but. The current bulls or the great bulls of my youth? Because I will say this, growing up in Chicago in the 90s.
was so remarkable that... I am so fortunate that I've inoculated myself from any sport. The Bulls have been terrible now for a while. It's the worst, it's the lowest point for Chicago sports. Across the board, every team is terrible. And I want them to do well, but I don't live and die by it because I had so much of a run in the 90s that I'm not like, oh, even if the Cubs went to the World Series this year and they lost, I wouldn't be like, damn it. I feel like the 90s gave me.
such a wonderful joy that I still hold onto it and I'm able to watch. Sports with a very healthy. Do you remember the first time you saw Michael Jordan and did you ever meet him? Yes and yes. First time I saw him live, I went to a Bulls game before he was on the team, when it was all Orlando Woolridge. I saw him his second season before he got hurt.
Or his third season, after he came back for the first time. And it was crazy. It was such a phenomenon, especially in Chicago, before he really blew up. And then I met him years later at a health club, and I was holding a, you know, Archie magazine, Archie Comics. Yeah, Archie Comics. I was holding like a Jughead Digest. 12, and he walks in. I just froze. How old were you? Oh, God, maybe a little. 11. I don't want to say like 17. I was reading Jughead. It was actually Slaughterhouse-Five.
That's creep territory. That's not pervert. That's creep. That's creep. That's true. So, but I just walked up to him and held up my Jughead digest and he just looked at it and signed it. So you have it signed still? I have it signed still. It's still at home. And yeah, I love him. I love him. I love, too, that he has lasted so long. That documentary that came out was so great and a whole new generation of people.
Never saw him play live. Still understand how wonderful he is. Well, as we continue to talk about sports, I just want to say that underneath my Chicago Bulls sweatshirt is this. Because look at this. Oh, that's really good. much is it is it um i loved him so i loved him so much that was the 80s celtics were the 90s bulls yes yeah they they kept us going
He was amazing, and I know there's like a nine-part Celtics documentary that's coming out right now. Bill Simmons. Bill Simmons. Bill, we cannot wait to see this documentary. Do you know he's from Boston, Bill Simmons? Yes, of course. Bostonians are like Canadians. Bostonians are like, love to say they're from Boston and they know everyone from Boston. Canadians are the same way. Very true. They're like, you know, Brian Adams is Canadian. It's like, okay.
All right, you got that one. Fine. You should leave with Martin Short, maybe. Can you tell us a little bit about... Yeah, so Running Point is – it's a story inspired by the life of Jeannie Buss, who is the owner of the Lakers, who I've actually gotten to know over the years and who really is like – I imagine like most owners of sports teams like –
have like satanic rituals where they worship Moloch and they're billionaires and stuff. She's just like a normal person. You know, it's like a family business. And and she's so like forthcoming and wonderful. And her life really is crazy. I mean, she's the only female owner in a in a incredibly male dominated field and running a legacy team, one of the most important teams in the league. And so we thought. that a family comedy or Mindy Kaling felt like a family comedy.
world and thought of Dave and I and brought it to us. We obviously worked with her on the Mindy project years ago and we really loved her and hadn't worked with her in forever. And so the three of us just kind of talked about what it could be and what we think it is. Yeah, that was like three years ago. And it's doing really well. It was, yeah. Number one, baby. It was number one on Netflix, baby. Shout out Papa Ted. We love you, Papa Ted.
For those people who are just listening, we just dabbed. We dabbed in honor of Ted Sarandos. We dabbed. We did the Netflix dab. Running point is canceled. Oh, no. You just got a text. It was the dab. Little dab will do you, is what they say. A little dab will not do you. A little dab will do you in. A little dab will do you in.
Oh my God. You do a lot of things really well. You write, you produce, you act, and they're all, like, you have a lot of skills that you can do really well. How do you... I guess the question is... Which one right now is the one that's like... turning you on the most, which is the one that like, because you just were in as an actor and it's a problem. Why did I say that? I'm so bad at this. I seriously don't know how to ask questions. Like what are questions?
Hey, there's one. That's a question. What are questions? Because on it, but, but I guess what I'm trying to get at is people, I don't think enough people know how much you write. I'll say that. Yes. I. Right now is a very blessed time where I love shooting and acting and being on set and production. That is fantastic.
As you get older, you know, I'm at that age right now where my kids still want to, like, hang out with me a little bit. And they still, like, they're going to be gone soon. They're going to be teenagers that just don't want to hang out with me. You have so much time until they're a teenager.
They're still little. Yeah, but yeah, the oldest is like, she's like 11 going on. Yeah, yeah. And it will, I know it will go fast. So right now, like in this little phase of like writing and spending, I think also too, we've kind of. through the years, through COVID, we figured out how to like really focus a writer's room and be very effective with our time. Like I'm sure like it parks, you know, you remember like.
oh yeah, they're coming in at 10 and they're leaving at 10. You know what I mean? Like it's long, long hours. It is a little bit better now where you can kind of manage your time a lot better, target a lot more, still put in the time, but be able to cook. It was to like cook dinner at night for the kids and eat like a giant just bucket of food. That is like the fun zone.
And that will hopefully change at some point because in a few months I'll be like, I need to get out of here. I need to be on set. Yeah. I don't think, you know, maybe for people that aren't too aware when you're on set. filming something. It's kind of when you have the least amount of control of your time. You have to surrender completely. And you're looking at a...
12 hour day. 12 hour plus days. If you're acting too, you're getting into hair and makeup. If you're shooting far away, you know, you're waking up. And that's when it can get rough, but then you're exhilarated because you're on set and you're funny and you're with all the fun people and stuff. So, but right now the zone I'm, I'm really loving is being creating and being at home.
I remember with Parks, I mean, the best thing about it was the immersion into the world. And the worst thing about it was just so much time away. Like, I really had to figure out how to. Um, balance having little kids and being on set. It is not easy. It's hard. And we're lucky too. Like we're shooting running point in LA. I got friends that are like, Oh yeah, I'm going to, uh, uh, Newfoundland. for four months to shoot like a sci-fi show that's really tough that's where you're like oh man
love acting or, you know, need to do it and go. And that, that's the rough one. Okay. And then to get to the other thing that you're doing, because I'm very excited to watch this, the studio. With our good friend, Catherine Han. We love her. I remember you told me years ago, you were like, do you know Katherine Hahn? And I was like, no. You're like, you would love her. And you were right. Catherine Hahn is...
And she's a good example of someone I met in my 40s. You know, you think you've kind of met your friends for life. And Catherine and I, we just kept hearing about each other. And I was a big fan of her work. And I knew her work. And then she came on Parks. Paul Rudd was like, you don't know Katherine Hahn? And he said, oh, you two are going to. And we just immediately – and she is one of my dearest friends and so funny and so talented. People are –
on Instagram. Like, like if someone posts like a trailer for the show, like every reply is like, mother, mother, I'm coming for you. I love you. You know why? Because her applause did the kissy kissy. Oh, I know. It did a little bit about witches, witches, kissy, kissy, witches. The original show was called Kissy, Kissy, Witches.
It was like. I'm doing a show where me and another wizard kiss. I don't think it's. Wizard kiss. Wizard kiss. Wizard kiss actually does sound like a pristine show. Who would be the guy that we would like to see you kiss in wizard kiss? Do you remember Bull from Night Court? Richard Mull? I'm going to say, who would we want to see you kiss and wizard kiss? It would be like- Do you want like a younger guy? I met Timmy the other night at the Laker game. Should we get Timmy? Oh my God, I would-
Binge. She's adorable. If you and Timothee Chalamet kissed in a new show called Wizard Kiss. Timmy, if you're around, give me a call. And you guys are casting spells and every once in a while you go. Critics are like, this is the worst show ever. It's the end of peak TV. It's over. So many executives are fired because of this green lighting. But how about Timmy Shallon, Timothy Shallon? He's got the.
good speaking of michael jordan yeah that's i that's i thought of you when i thought i was like that's that's my guy right there okay and i promise we'll cut this part because i could talk about it forever but you know i'm kind of into the enneagram which is this like thing that tells what personality you are. And Ike is at Enneagram 3. So is Jenna, our producer. So is Tina, so is Seth. Achiever, right? Threes are like...
Get it. Win. Yes. Be the best. Yes. I would say that Timmy's speech is ultimate Enneagram 3 energy. He recently gave a speech at the SAG Awards where he basically said, I want to be the greatest. I loved it. And I loved it too. He wasn't like, I want to be the greatest, like Brando. He's like, no, I want to be like Michael Jordan and Michael Phelps.
And Viola Davis. Viola Davis, yeah. It wasn't just to acting. It was this whole spectrum of things. Yeah, no, he's got the goods, man. He's making mustaches great again. He really is. I saw him at the Laker game. He had a beautiful mustache. He looked great. Who grows a great mustache? Henry Cavill. Yeah. That thing is incredible. Yeah. Yeah. It's like thick and strong. Mine is not great. Mine looks like a guy that like is killed very early on by Liam Neeson in one of the tapes.
That's like, I don't know what I'm like, like, yeah, like that. It's like thin and wispy and I will grow it out sometimes. And, like, no one likes it. It's not. Have you ever grown a full beard? I had one, like, literally two weeks ago. It looked like I was very, like, was I an imam? Was I a rabbi? Somewhere in between. I don't know, but it was.
very long and, and, and, and thick and, and quite frankly, gross. I got to like, once it gets past a certain point, once you're dealing with, you know, what's that smell? Oh, I had cereal. Like, you know what I mean? It's disgusting. So, yeah, so I shaved it, and then my daughters were like, we missed the beard. Oh, they liked it? And I'm like, too bad, yeah. Did Erica like it, your wife?
I think at first it was kind of like, oh, this is nice. She's like, oh, there's a stranger in the house. She was like, oh, no. Don't chase me. Don't chase me. Don't chase me. The money's in the safe. Leave me alone. Oh, fine. I'll take off clothes. Fine. For every five minutes. She says some long, complicated thing. For every five minutes, I don't tell you the code to the safe. I'll take off one article of clothing. Bearded man that doesn't live here that's not my husband.
You're like, wait, what's the rule? Let's just watch TV. Come on. Okay. But she liked it. She didn't mind it. No, she didn't mind it. And it was cool. But then it just got. Like I think for the premiere of Running Point, I showed up. And also when you're an actor, people are like, what are you shooting? And you're like. Like, are you in the Revenant part two? You're like, no, I'm just, I got nothing going on. You brought up Catherine Han. And we do this fun thing on Good Hang where.
Before we have our guest in, we do a little Zoom, a little fun Zoom with people that know them. Wow. And we talk well behind their back. Ooh. It's almost like this is your life a little bit. It's a little bit like. You know, the idea is that you don't really know who's going to show up and who's going to pop in. And so we did a Zoom with Catherine Hahn and – Michelle Obama. And Michelle Obama. Who are you going to say? Sorry.
With your first wife, Michelle Obama. Oh, yes, yes. And we did it with Katherine Hahn and Emily Spivey. Oh, my God. And we got to talk about you. And they had questions for you. Oh. And Han, Spivey's question was about your daughters. Like, what is it like to be the dad of three girls? You know, you're a girl dad, as they would say. I'm a girl dad. I'm a girl boss. And that's problematic. I'm a girl interrupted. It is.
You know, I grew up in a house with boys, just me and my brother. And it is a delight. Like it is like, you know, and again. I'm in that zone where they are really like still little and they want to play and they are asking me questions about the world. You know what I mean? And I am very well aware of the fact that there will be a time where they're just like. They won't even be texting. They'll have like a chip in their brain and be like, dad, I'm shipping right now.
But I have a vision of like, you know, Peyton Foster getting married. To each other? Jesus. Sorry, no, not to each other. And you, first of all, you love to cry. You're a big crier. Oh, Jesus. Yes. And that might, I don't know if that's a girl dad thing, but it's definitely an Ike thing. Yeah. You love to cry. Yeah. I feel like, and I have this vision of you dancing with one of them and then the other sister.
Tapping out. Like that's. I'm going to. I know. You're going convulsions right now. That's the part about girl dads which I. Are you trying to make me cry? And then you're like. And then your grandfather's ghost. and he tells you he forgives you. I think we're similar in this way, which is you live very big. You take big swings and you love that about people. And you are definitely that kind of.
You're a party pumper. Yes. I think we both are. I'd like to say we share that in common. We like a good time. We like. Trying to, like, get the party going, the energy going. Like, I've been to a million parties with you, small and big. And when Ike shows up, like, it's like. We're getting started. Come on, let's cut loose. Yeah. And have you always been like that? Do you think that just like that was your from day one vibe? I remember like when I was like.
Five, like my parents would have like friends over for dinner and I would. after dinner to walk around and be like, let me see your cigar. Like, you know what I mean? Like I was like doing bits and like imitating Indiana Jones and stuff. And so like, I do love, you know, being around people I love. Sitting around like a bunch of your friends, like doing bits and laughing and.
a few drinks. Like that is a very, very fun time and I'm not stuffy. Again, I'm a lot like Rodney Dangerfield. You really are. I really am. And let me just ask anybody under the age of 53 about Rodney Dangerfield. Okay, let's take a water break. Nice Stanley. I wish Stanley was a sponsor. You can get him. Do you have a Stanley too? No, this is a Yeti.
She had Yeti as a sponsor, but an actual Yeti. I love my Stanley so much. I know it's basic. Well, maybe not. Stanley, if you're a sponsor, it's not basic. It's not basic. It's the opposite. It's a wonderful way to drink. But if you're not a sponsor, I know it's kind of basic bitch Stanley stuff, but there's something about the weird like baby bird. It's so satisfying. It's strange. So I feel like you're, like, you're, Emily and Han and I were talking.
about your enthusiasm for life and for projects. Like when you come onto a set. When you say yes to something, one of the best things about you is people know you're going to commit. Yeah. Where did that feeling of like, where did you learn that idea that you had to commit? And what does it do for you? That's, I'm going to say that's, I think from.
from our old improv days i think that's a big part of it is uh i mean just like a basic level like You know, I will give Mick Napier some credit on that one, because I remember Mick, who was like a famous... Chicago improv director and guru. I remember I was taking classes with him one time. And I think early on when I would do improv, I was like a lot of bit of a sideline guy. Like I would kind of come on and say like a funny line from the side. And he was like.
get in there, man, get in there, you know, do weird shit, be weird. And I think that kind of. improv training is learning to not be afraid of failing. So as you develop as a improviser, you start to learn that like, oh yeah, even if this scene is bad, you got to commit, man. You got to like go all in. You got to just. You got to do it. And I think that kind of just bled into, you know, the way I look at work. I will say I'm very lucky. I'm, you know.
by and large, doing projects that I love. You know, if I was doing... the sound of freedom too. You know, I don't know if I'd be like, Hey everybody, I got a food truck. Yeah. Um, you know. But, you know, and again, most of the things I do are comedy and stuff. And I do think it's very important that, you know, when you're on set.
should be loose it should be yeah you know it should be people should be ready to laugh and and and you know but you bring it over to not just your work but your life too like when you're in something you're really in it yeah yeah you really are in Yeah, you know, again, I think it's just because I'm lucky that people I'm hanging out with are like...
our friends are great friends. You know, the people we know are wonderful people. And so I'm, I don't know. It feels like, I think we're only here for a couple minutes and it's good just to kind of. throw it all out there. You know what I mean? It's a hard, it's a good lesson to learn early. I always try to tell my kids this too. Like if you can.
get past the fear of being cool, like you said, or failing or being cool. The coolest people are the people that are like, take the biggest swings and go for it. And just kind of. It's a hard lesson to learn to just get over being embarrassed, but you don't mind being embarrassed. You also have to go through, I think, a lot of embarrassment.
things like you know what I mean like I shit my pants on the L one time you know what I mean and like it was a nightmare like I've been in countless bad improv scenes and movies that didn't work and episodes of TV that were just like what you know what I mean like I've had tripped at an airport like you know what I mean like all these things I think add up and kind of
They give you metal, I think. People probably know who maybe have listened to you on other podcasts, but you talked about being in Boom Chicago, which is like you performed in Amsterdam with Jordan Peele. Seth Meyers. Seth Meyers. Josh Meyers. Liz Kikowski. Liz Kikowski. Josh Meyers. All these great people over there. How long were you there? It was almost two years.
It was crazy. It was a crazy party time. Did you celebrate Y2K in Amsterdam? I did. What was that like? Cocaine-y. Very cocaine-y? Very cocaine-y from what I remember. Cocaine. But it was Dutch, so it was like. Cocaine. Cocaine. Cocaine. It's like regular cocaine. It's just more condescending. It's just more to the point. It's more directed to the point. It's more direct. Yes. Yeah. But it was really, it was a great time. It was just, you know.
really fun people. I was really young. I was like 22. I'd never been to Europe before. Um, we were doing like the theater was like becoming like a thing where like the prime minister would come and we would have. huge audiences. And it was just, it was like the ultimate party and we're all like still friends. And it was really, really fun. That sounds so great. I might go back this summer, but I would go back with my family, which would be interesting. You know, like.
Hey girls, this is where I took too much ecstasy and vomited before I saw Oasis. Yeah, I picked the pill out of the vomit and ate it again. This is a different time, guys. This is like 1999. Please don't judge me. This is before you could get another pill. You only had one. You had to get it out. But it wasn't on trees. Are you going to see Oasis again? Do you want to? I would like to see Oasis.
Do you think that Oasis, I mean, I'm curious if Oasis, will they tour? Are they going to make it to the thing? I think they will make it. They seem to have like- They're pumped? I think they're pumped and I think they need the money very bad. There's an amazing clip, if you can find it, of Liam.
making a little cup of tea. And he's just like, you know, back in the day, I had four people doing this for me. I had one person holding the cup, the other person putting the bag, and the other person getting the water, the other person handing it to me. Now I have to do this fucking shite by myself. That's why there's no more rock stars. It's really a good look.
But, yeah, no, I'll see Oasis. Like, I'm a 90s boy. Me too. They were so fucking cool. So cool. And those brothers fighting all the time. So cool. That was when you could just be like, maybe I'll show up, maybe I won't. Yeah. And, and I mean, I guess you can do that now still, but it just feels more, you'll just get.
sued more. Yeah, if you walk a show. Back then, people would go, hey, come on. Yeah, yeah. Oh, man, it sucks. But I had a great night anyways. Still saw Sabado. They rocked. Sabado. Oh, my God. That's such a deep cut. I love your family. You have a brother who's an actor. Yep. John Barinholtz, great actor, great guy, wonderful family, family man. And now you have a dad who is an actor. Yeah. Emily and Han both wanted to know.
What it was like now to have your dad be on TV. And we, they were asking what your dad did before, which I didn't really know. What was your, was he a lawyer? He was a lawyer for like. 35 plus years. He wanted to be an actor back in the day. And then he auditioned for Second City when John Belushi was there. He wanted to be an actor, but just... was impatient. I was like, ah, I'm going to have a family. I'm going to go to law school.
And he was a litigator for 30 plus years, but he was very supportive of my brother and I. They came to so many improv shows. There was a couple shows that we did with him. We brought him on stage and acted with him, which was really fun. Susan Messing brought him on stage and did a show with him one time. It was crazy.
Well, passion. And I remember like five years ago, he was like, I'm going to retire and I don't know what to do. And, you know, blah, blah, blah. And I remember thinking like, well, move to L.A. and, you know, maybe you could. I don't know, get a line on a show or something or, you know, I'll put you in stuff if I can. And, and, and. A year after that, a friend of a friend is like, hey, would your dad put himself on tape? We're trying to do like a new...
hybrid show where they need a judge. And it sounded insane. Low stakes. I was like, yeah, sure. And so he, he, he, he, they called him and my brother and I put him on tape and I remember filming him and looking at John. It's pretty good. Good read. He gave a nice little performance. And it's like, hey, I'm producing this show. I'm going to cast you down. And that show was jury duty.
huge hit and he's like recognized everywhere he goes now and like god bless him he loves it's like it's his dream he's so uh living his best life and he's in running point he's in the studio he's He was in the accountant part two with Ben Affleck. Oh my God. Yeah, no, he's, he's, he's a working Los Angeles actor and it's amazing. And it's like.
Even when there's times where you're like, like if I'm cooking dinner on Sunday at four o'clock and I got the stove, I got four burners going and he'll come up and be like, Hey, remember whenever you get a chance. For that thing. And you're like, okay. So then you're all of a sudden. You're still taping him? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I mean. So we get to talk. That's too much.
You got to hand that over to somebody else. Yeah. And someone else is not my mom. I'm not going to put her through that. Okay. So we did this podcast that was really fun because we were. We, we, we did a bunch of satirical podcasts. Well, your pitch to me, which I was still like the great pitch is like, don't you want to.
improvise but not have to go on stage after 8 p.m you know you were like like we could just go if we were in a studio and just riffing and i was like oh my god and you were like what if it was a fake podcast Yes. And it's basically one show, your character, Doctor, Doctor? Doctor, Sheila. I think you have to say her name in the form of a question. She's not a doctor. She's not a doctor. She kind of launched it and then.
Her last episode introduced Chris Chapman, which was my character, which was a- I would say he would be a member of the Manosphere. Yes. Right? He's definitely adjacent to some of the podcasts you've heard of. Yeah. Experts who have. supplements and labs and, um, like, uh, a lot of, uh, they do extreme stuff. Yeah. Where it's like, Oh yeah, no, you're supposed to actually sleep in ice. Like you're supposed to – I read that if you sleep for eight hours in case –
It will help your de-inflammation. It's the stuff like that. Or even more, they're like, it'll help with your menopause. That's what they say. And you're like, oh, okay. I'll give that a shot. Okay. But yeah, misinformed, confident. You were incredible at talking extemporaneously as that kind of person. Because like I said from the beginning, when we started. And Liz Krakowski, the co-creator, and I would laugh. We would just say, like, look at Ike go. You are able to talk about.
subjects and go very deep about the conspiracy theories around them. And sometimes I don't know where you left, where Chris Chapman and Ike, there was some blurring lines. They came to me with an idea and they said, we know the effect you have on our society. We know how significant you are. We want you back. And they said, the one thing we are worried about, we're worried that no women will listen. So they said, you want to do the show? You need to get 1% at least female listenership. Right?
The character of Chris Chapman is feeling like the world is, you know, moving too fast and he's trying to catch up and trying to apologize for stuff that he got wrong. And then when he apologizes, he kind of – he gets it wrong again. He gets it wrong again. And I think there is a big part of me like that. Like a lot of the guys that he's inspired by, I think there's a part of – A lot of dudes who there's a component of that. We're like, yeah. smoke weed and like to you know talk about like
Oh, fuck who shot JFK. I want to know who shot RFK. You know what I mean? Like, like that's like, there's a part of that. Now I think all that is kind of gone and it's been replaced by. Well, I think it's always interesting, and this is men and women. I think we both share this, which is I think it's very funny when people act. Super experts. Yes. And then go, hey, I'm just a guy. I'm just a guy. I'm just a guy, man. I'm just a comedian. And it's like, no, no, no. You just told us about how to.
perform a heart transplant. Yeah, yeah. You own that now a little bit. You can't buy that back. So you just said it. Yeah. But now it's like. But you know what? Hey, man, what do I know? I'm just a dumbass. I just got a lot of outtakes. Yeah. Yeah, I'm just a dumbass. And I would say also with women, women are ass.
to also give tons of supportive advice and life advice in a way that if you missed it, you'd be like, I imagine they're a certified therapist. Yes. And you look at them, you're like, oh no, they. They used to own a gym. It is a golden age for those types of people in all fields. Like when you go onto your Instagram. You're to see people that are just like, I'm here to tell you that if you eat oatmeal, you will literally die. And like, they're so confident. You're like.
I was going to have a bullet moment, but let me, let me see what, what they're up to. And I like the ones that are like, and by the way, I'm the biggest sucker for this too. Like I, I, I am the audience, but I like people that are like top five ways. Top five ways to... Forgive your partner. It's like number one. Take a moment and realize they didn't mean to do what they did. Number two.
Make a decision to forgive your partner. You're just like, mm-hmm, mm-hmm. You're listening. This is so good. And it's just. It's so surface level stuff. It's just so like the only way to be happy is to choose to be happy and say to yourself, I'm a happy person. And you're like, yeah, yeah. Yes, you are right. It's so, but I am a sucker for, I love a list. I love a list. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Especially workout stuff too. Like I'm like, oh, oh, this is top five ways to like.
to like do sit-ups without doing setups yeah sign me up and then you see like a doctor comment and being like, I'm actually a spine doctor. This will, you'll never walk again. If you do this, you're like, okay.
What do I do here? But then you do research and the spine doctor is actually an actor who played a spine doctor on TV. And he added the word doctor. And if you look a little closely. His last name is Doctor. Yeah, it's spelled a little differently. John Doctor. John Doctor. And yeah, yeah. One of the things we're doing on Good Hang is we're just kind of like... figuring out, you know, these conversations are an attempt to like feel fun and an escape from a lot of stuff.
what do you do? Where do you go? What do you watch? Who do you listen to? What kind of video do you put on? What do you watch to laugh? One of the great things. shows with them that you love. So I have gone through Seinfeld with my kids and they loved Seinfeld. Really? They love it. They do? They love everyone. They love everyone. They love JLD. They love Kramer. They love Kramer's stand-up.
No, I'm joking. He's maniac. But they just love the show. They love the show. And then we started doing the Mindy Project, which they were very into. They got into The Office. Next on the docket is a little show called Parks and Rec, which is – They're going to love it. They're going to like freak out about. So going back and watching those, like watching three episodes of a sitcom that you have seen before.
mother's milk to me like it's so nice it's so relaxing it is it is just it just makes you laugh really hard and also just takes you back to that time you know what i mean you instantly go back to like 2000 And you're like, what a different world, what a different time. So those are the main ones. But I also, like, I love when I see, like, a totally new thing.
You ever see the movie Bottoms? Yeah, so good. I loved that movie. So good. It reminded me of one of my all-time favorite comedies. A very big movie in our house, which... Happens to star one, Amy Poehler. Hamlet two. I'm not even kidding you. It is a- Hamlet 2. Check it out. Masterpiece. It is one of the funniest movies ever made. I've seen it.
dozens of times. It's one of Eric and I's favorites. We always tell people about it. Like, have you seen Hamlet 2? They're like, what? Steve Coogan, the great Steve Coogan. Steve Coogan, literally one of the... funniest men of all time and you and a bunch of high schoolers, Catherine Keener. Um, uh, the bottoms reminded me of that and it came out of nowhere. I'd never seen a lot of those people before. So when I see things like that and then, um,
There is, you know. You do watch, do you do TikTok? I do watch TikTok. You do? I do watch Instagram. Are you a secret TikTok person? Once I learn how to do it. Who do you like on TikTok or Instagram? A lot of chefs, a lot of chefs. work. Do you like all that macho chef stuff where the guy cooks in the woods and the meal? Yeah, there's those guys, but then there's the guys that are like...
shirtless and they're like kneading dough, like putting their face in the dough like it's like a butt. And you're like, it's too much, guys. You're turning them out a little too much. Yeah. Like, I love you so much. Thank you for doing this. I can really say without a doubt this was, you know what? It's a good hang. Oh, my God. It was a good hang. It's a good fucking hang. Please just come back all the time. Let's do it tomorrow. All right, let's do it tomorrow. See you then. Fantastic.
Thank you so much, Ike Barinholtz, Isaac Barinholtz. your legal name. Thank you so much for being on the podcast. I love you. And, uh, you're so hilarious and check out the studio, which is coming out soon or already out depending on when this is out. But, um, I just want to end by saying, you know, when we do the polar plunge, we want to dip into something that changes the chemistry. makes us come alive. And I wore my Chicago Bulls sweatshirt today, but really at the end of the day.
I'm a Celtics girl. Grew up watching the Celtics and love them. And if you have not checked out the great... It's Bird vs. Magic about Larry Bird and Magic Johnson and their incredible friendship, rivalry, competitive relationship, whatever you want to call it. Highly suggest. It's excellent storytelling. Okay. Thank you so much for listening to Good Hang. Love that you're here and we'll catch you next time.
You've been listening to Good Hang. The executive producers for this show are Bill Simmons, Jenna Weiss-Berman, and me, Amy Poehler. The show is produced by The Ringer and Paper Kite. For The Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, Kat Spillane. Kaya McMullin, and Alea Zanaris. For Paper Kite, production by Sam Green, Joel Lovell, and Jenna Weiss-Berman. Original music by Amy Miles.