In short
Podcast Notes: Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend - Episode: Hot Athens
Episode Overview In this episode, Conan O'Brien connects with Stelios from Athens, Greece, who offers to help him "chill out" in the Greek way. The conversation shifts from lighthearted banter about Athens being "hot" to deep discussions about life, travel, and the nature of people.
Key Themes & Discussions
Introduction to Stelios
- Location: Stelios is in Athens, Greece, which he humorously refers to as "Hot Athens."
- Conan's Compliment: Stelios is described as an attractive man, leading to a comedic exchange about the attractiveness of Greeks.
The Concept of "Chilling"
- Stelios's Offer: Stelios expresses that he believes Conan needs to relax, highlighting the pressure of Conan's career.
- Conan's Response: Conan agrees, stating that he feels like he always runs "hot" and acknowledges the toll it could take on his mental health.
Relaxation Techniques
- Coffee Culture:
- Stelios suggests that they sit in a coffee shop, leave phones aside, and engage in people-watching to help Conan chill.
- Conan humorously notes that coffee is a major part of the plan, despite his high coffee tolerance.
- Exploration of Athens:
- Stelios suggests they could visit various local spots, including old neighborhoods and traditional venues.
- The conversation touches on the *bouzoukia*, a traditional live music venue in Athens, described as a mix of misery and joy.
Life Philosophy
- Personal Growth: Stelios shares his life experiences and states that most people are inherently good, a sentiment Conan agrees with.
- Travel as Education: Both Conan and Stelios discuss the transformative power of travel and the connections formed with people around the world.
Humor and Banter
- Comedic Exchanges: The conversation is filled with jokes about various experiences, including humorous takes on the nightlife of Athens and the idea of voyeurism.
- Sexual Humor: Through playful banter, they touch on sex clubs and voyeurism, with Conan expressing a desire to experience life's 'highs and lows' in a humorous manner.
Closing Thoughts
- Gratitude: Stelios thanks Conan for his comedic influence during challenging times.
- Invitation to Athens: The episode ends with a light-hearted invitation for Conan to visit Athens, with promises of coffee, laughter, and deeper cultural experiences.
Key Takeaways
- Chill: The idea of learning to relax and take life slower is a central theme.
- Human Connection: Both guests emphasize the importance of connecting with people, particularly through travel and shared experiences.
- Humor: The episode is infused with humor, showcasing how comedy can serve as a means to cope with life's pressures.
Conclusion Conan O’Brien and Stelios share a humorous yet insightful conversation that delves into the importance of relaxation, human connection, and the joy found in life's simple pleasures. The playful tone and witty exchanges illustrate the essence of Conan's podcast—building friendships through laughter and meaningful dialogue.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:03Conan O 'Brien needs a fan. Want to talk to Conan? Visit teamcoco.com slash call Conan. Okay, Okay, let's get started. Well, well, well. Well, well, well. Hello, Stelios. Welcome to Conan O 'Brien. If it's not Conan O 'Brien. Stelios, how are you? Nice to meet you. I'm fantastic. Nice to meet you, Conan. Nice to meet you, Matt and David. Hi. How's it going, guys? We are doing very well. Where are you right now, Stelios? Tell me where you are in the world. I am in hot Athens, Greece. Wow. Okay. Yeah. It's kind of a hot dude in hot Athens. I was going to say, you're an attractive man, Stelios. Okay.
0:42And so I didn't know if you meant hot Athens, that the temperature is high or that just everyone, which I would believe in a second, including yourself, everybody in Greece is just hot. It's like a walled city of Athens, but it's a special section called Hot Athens where they only let the hot people in. Yeah, yeah. And I will never see it. I believe people are very, very sweaty. Yeah. Okay. If you're into that, they're probably also hot, but there's a nice spread of hot and hot, not hot people in Greece, like everywhere. Yeah, yeah. But this is, I mean, this is fascinating to me because often people ask for my help in some small way.
1:24Can I come and help them do this or help them do that? You, I'm told, think you can help me, but I don't know what you're talking about. No one's disclosed that to me. So why don't you tell me, Stelios, how you think you could help me? Well, sure, I've been watching you for a long time. You do do a difficult job. I've worked on TV, not like you, but I know how nerve wracking can be. It's been years you have been conditioned to be running all day long and doing things. And I think you need to chill, man. Oh, wow. I think you need to chill. I can help you on this. Can I say something, Stelios, and I'm not kidding.
2:06this message. I am so ready for this message right now because of, I've enjoyed a very, been lucky, very fortunate, crazily fortunate to enjoy a very nice career. But it has been a lot of work. I, I am, I run hot. I am always activated and on. I will do a show, a 20 minute show for anybody I meet in the street until they surrender and leave or run away. I think that on the inside, all the plumbing is probably just ravaged by years of high pressure and various acids released through the cells. So yes, I am ready to chill and Stelios coming right now, you might be my angel. You might be my Grecian angel.
2:59How are you going to do it, Stelios? I'm your mom. Look at the way he's chilling. I know. You know, all I can see, Stelios, is you from the collarbone up. But even that much, you're managing to show incredible chill. Everybody do the Stelios. You are... I'm also with my underwear from the... Like you do. Please, don't excite me. Are you not on your underwear there? I wear, yes, I'm just in my underwear, but I wear 15 layers of underwear. They're all corduroy and various burlaps. I'm not a chill dude and it's time we get one life. I know that, Stelios, and I just want to chill. How would you accomplish that?
3:38Let's say I came to visit you in Athens. How would you chill me out? Please do, okay, first of all. It'll be nice for you. I don't know if you've been here, but you haven't been here on a show. I have never been to Greece. Come on, Conan. And my daughter just went there. She stayed in hostels and backpacked and slept on friends' couches. And she went to Athens and she loved it. She's been dreaming about going there because she has read all the Greek myths and everything, loves it. I've never been. Conan, it is the cradle of civilization that is collapsing right now. So you should come You know I thought that was Pittsburgh But Let's agree to disagree I think Yeah I mean You can come over here And I'm gonna take you out And we're gonna go for a coffee Okay You're gonna leave your phone aside You're gonna leave everything aside And we're just gonna People watch And chat And chill We have a long history of philosophy in this country Yes And we like to talk a lot And we like to spend a lot of time Drinking coffee I like how you want to chill me out But it seems like there's a lot of The first thing you're saying is Lots of coffee, constant coffee But I metabolize coffee I can drink three coffees and go to bed So I have that gene There you go, same We can do decal at the end of the day if you want But the point is, it's not the coffee We say coffee, but you can drink whatever you want The point is to sit for hours in one table with one order and look at people, chat, and start getting, you know, this tipping point of like, oh, I got to do things, I got to do things.
5:27Now I'm here, there's a tipping point and you just let go and you chill. So I can help you do that. I love this. I believe him. I love this. And I'm going to tell you something else. your whole vibe a word i don't use often because i think it's uh entrenched firmly in the early 70s but your whole vibe is relaxing just in the time i've been talking to you i think my heart rate has dropped 30 beats per minute that is a compliment i feel so much more relaxed just sitting here yeah yeah yeah well you're always pretty relaxed that's true you don't give a shit about anything yeah um uh stellios i like this idea and tell me a little bit about yourself are you with someone are you single because i would imagine this vibe you have this chill stellios vibe would play very well with anyone of either sex in hot athens i am with somebody yes I love somebody.
6:34Although today was a weird day, but let's see. Okay. Hold on. You went spot on there without knowing. The laser now, the T-Rex saw a movement and is turning towards it. Was there an argument today? Much more than that, but we're trying to fix it, so I'll be okay. Oh, man. Okay. Is this person in the house right now or have they evacuated? No, no, no. Okay. It's okay. If I can help you with that, let me know, because I'm very good repairing relationships. What if that's the twist? You go to Athens and you help him. And through that, you've learned to chill because you've had to teach the chillmeister to love again.
7:14Wow. Wow, this is a great screenplay you just wrote. I know. I hope it never is made. It's called Hot Athens. Yeah. What about, because you say people watching, is there anything other than people watching? Because I can people watch for a little bit. It's very hard for me not to get involved. That's the problem. I don't just watch people. I watch people for a little bit and then I go over there and I get involved. Conan. Yeah. This is my favorite trait of yours. This is the thing I connect with you. That's why I watch your travel shows because I love just going in a place and start talking to strangers.
7:55And this is how I've traveled for years. I was talking to anybody I have a great ability to do that and I connect with you on that. And we will do that. And that can be done in a chilled way. It doesn't have to be, you know, we can go crazy. We can do bits together. You can do your bits, obviously. Oh my God, you make it sound like it's a condition. Of course, you'll probably have your, you'll have your fit that you have every now and then. And I'll put a wallet on your tongue. you'll be treated I'll let you do your thing and whatever yeah no you're not wrong you're not wrong that I have these comedic seizures that just bum everyone out but but I I'm wondering would we go anywhere besides the coffee shop or would we would I go all the way to Athens and just hang with you in the coffee shop where else do you think we might go well there's there's a lot of interesting places to visit It depends how much deep you want to get in the culture and the honesty of it, you know, true things.
9:06We could get to the Acropolis and here and there and I'll be nice and everything. But the real deal happens again, first in coffee shops, second in not just any hip hop coffee shop and stuff. We're going to go down to places that are old people smoking inside and just slugging one another. And they just are miserable and then suddenly very joyful. And it's a whole human geography over there, underground scene you can explore. And also we could go to the bouzoukia, which I normally hate and I don't like. And I'll explain the concept in a second. But with you, I'd go in a heartbeat because we're going to laugh a lot.
9:53What is it? What is the bazooka? The bazooka is basically venues for live music, specific live music. Okay. It's been happening for years here. It's almost like a tradition. It is a tradition, really. Most of the times they have really, really bad Greek music with really cheesy. It's like a soap opera for live music, basically, in my view. But what you can appreciate and see and enjoy there is that shit is going down. Like people go in normal. Sometimes I say miserable because we're the kind of people in Greece that we have extreme misery in our daily life and extreme joy at the same time. Oh, wow.
10:39Okay. So I think in my view, this is what characterizes us, this duality of the worst kind of complaining and very joyous behaviors. So in there, people drink and it's where they used to break plates. I'm sure you know the stereotype. Oh, yeah. Which was true before. It's the Zorba, the Greek kind of caricature. But there's some truth in it, which is live life to the fullest. That means, what is it Zorbus says, the whole catastrophe, meaning the good, the bad, the highs, the lows. Everything. You know, it's all happening. You've got to embrace it all. Exactly. They're mostly drunk in there, but yeah.
11:22Oh, well, that's all that. Yeah.
11:34Here's what you've told me so far, Stelios. I'm just going to sum it up. You want to take me out and really relax me. That involves, we go somewhere together and we drink a ton of coffee and stare at people awkwardly. Then you say, we go from there into a basement where there are very old men who hit each other. Then you say, we move on from that to a place that has the very worst music. Stelios, if you were a tour guide, I think you'd be beaten over the head with a soft Greek cheese. Correct. I did ask if you want the real experience or not, though. I do. And listen, I do. I'm, you know, I'm in for it.
12:12The only thing I wish is that there was some kind of sex club. You know, you completely... Where is that? Let's talk about the sex club. It's full of it. Full of it. Okay. Come on. You can go to sex clubs if you want. Yeah, I mean, I can't really do anything. And when I mean can't, not because of my marital contract, because I'm physically unable. I was neutered about six years ago. Actually, it was 36 years ago. But that's not important. What's important is that I need sex to be part of this just because I'm a voyeur. There's a word for it in our language. Creep. I'm a creep. And so I want that to be part of my travels.
12:48So just work that in. It could be a coffee sex shop where the sexual acts are happening. and I'm sipping coffee in a corner or old men are having sex, I'll do that too. I don't care. We can go to places that are organized to give you this experience. But also, if you want to be a real creep, you can go to beaches because we have, it's the Mediterranean Sea now. Okay, now you're talking, I am a real creep. Okay. You know, you're talking to an expert skier, like an Olympic skier and saying, would you like to try the double black? What are you talking about? That's all I do. So I'm down with that.
13:20You're talking about a nude beach? No, no, I'm talking about people sometimes in Greece, because a lot of people live there with their parents because we're poor. And people go to, they don't have where to go have sex with their girlfriend. So they find spots around a beach or, you know, some places like that. Mostly the beach or a nice view area. And they go have sex in the car. So if you want to be a real creep, you can go creep on the window. Yes, I want to look in the window of a car where people are having sex. I think that's a reasonable request How do you feel about Greek jail? Well That was my next point If you want to get arrested I might move on to other kinds of sex As long as there's sex I'm okay Jail sex, car sex You know, I want to experience life The highs, the lows The whole catastrophe You know what, I have a request of you Stelios, which is I want you to make me a tape that I can play for myself when I'm trying to go to sleep.
14:25Which is Stelios just talking to me because you have such a soothing aura and voice, doesn't he? Yeah. I mean, just a voice. It's like, Conan, you know. Conan. Well. Conan, listen. Go to sleep. Joe Pera has done this perfectly. Who? Joe Pera. Oh, the comic Joe Pera. Has it? Has done this perfectly. Has he? Yeah. Can you give Conan just a little good night message that we can use for him every night when we tuck him in here at the studio? Because they're always trying to calm me down. What if you just made a little thing very quickly that just calmed me down? Sure. If you want to see the face of a 37-year-old Greek man with a beard to calm you down at night and put you to bed, I'll do that for you.
15:07Okay, start by just saying, Conan, it's me, Stelios, you know. All right, are we doing it now? Yeah. Why not? All right, let's go. Just quickly, it'll be a quick one. hi conan uh it's stelios and i'm here to put you to bed okay now i want you to really i'm not gonna sleep you're just turned on i'm completely turned on i mean you are human viagra stelios wow i mean okay somebody get you a car at the beach let's go the duvet just exploded on my bed So this isn't going to work. Right. Okay. And I don't know. I mean, Jesus, you could read me. You could read the Warren report to me on the Kennedy assassination.
15:52I'd be aroused. Well, you would anyway. Okay. That's the most compliment I've ever received by any man or woman in my life. So thank you. I'm very impressed with Stelius. You are very, I think, I think we're a very thoughtful person. I get the sense that you are a world traveler, someone who is not just a citizen of Greece, but a citizen of the world. And that you've picked up a very mature philosophy of what this life means and how we shouldn't waste it. Is that a fair assessment? It is, yeah. I've had a lot of things happening in my life. from serious disease to traveling around the world for 10, 15 years, 10 unstoppably, 50 countries.
16:40And I've met a lot of people in the streets. They've hosted me in their homes. I've seen goodness in the world, actually. And I have to say this, since we're talking now and people are going to watch us. Most of people in the world are good and nice people. Yes. For real. So I've experienced this day after day, night after night, everywhere in the world. People put me up, gave me food, gave me shelter, and I just met them.
17:12So most people in the world are good. That is what I have also found is that, and because for some reason as humans, we're drawn to the negative. We have a media that feeds us the negative. the negative seems to sell sadly um that is the view we get obviously there are governments and uh systems and hierarchies that can that can turn evil but i do think uh many more people are good than are than are bad in their heart absolutely and so i found the same thing um so i would very much i think we're like-minded uh i would like to go i've never been to athens i'd like to go to athens um have coffee go find the old men go find the bad music but then i want to hit a sex club um i mean i'm gonna take you there though yeah and i want to see some really freaky shit no i i'm not joking as long as they have coffee i drink more coffee at a strip club than anyone you've ever seen um and i'm just i spend most of my time just urinating in the bathroom i miss all the good stuff.
18:19They're like, oh, seven people just oiled up and attacked an ostrich nude. And it was the most erotic thing. And I'm like, well, I was in the bathroom peeing for 40 minutes. But that's what happens. But Stelios, I do admire your sense of calm. And I think I am a firm believer that travel is magical. And I think the fact that you've traveled for 10 years gave you a perspective on life that is invaluable. Exactly. It's the best education anybody can ever get. Yeah. Perspective. Yeah. Travel. See the world. See what's out there. And it's very hard to, as this famous saying, it's hard to hate up close.
18:58Just see people. Go see people and spend time with them. Exactly. I don't know if we're wrapping up, but I do want to tell you something. I do want to actually sincerely thank you from one human being to the other because from your comedy, and I watch you regularly, I've had, first of all, a lot of laughs. And you actually helped a lot of times that I was feeling down and so on. Whenever I'm actually in a bad mood and so on, I do put the podcast on and I put the intros and the outros, not the interviews, to see you guys chat and your beats on the spot are amazing. You have an incredible mind and I have to give you this.
19:43so thank you for your work and your service oh thank you so much I love hearing that it's the only I would say it's the only reason I do it I think I do it because I it's just I can't not do it but I'm really happy when I can make someone feel a little better so thank you so much for saying that that means a lot to me and I think we gotta we gotta take this thing to the next level Stelios sex pub yeah come over man second base first the old men and the bad music and the coffee but Stelios thank you so much and have a great day really nice to meet you guys nice to meet you Conan enjoy thanks to you and be safe and free bye alright bye Conan O 'Brien needs a fan with Conan O 'Brien Sonam of Sessian and Matt Gourley produced by me Matt Gourley executive produced by Adam Sachs Jeff Ross and Nick Leo incidental music by Jimmy Vivino.
20:42Take it away, Jimmy. Supervising producer Aaron Blaird. Associate talent producer Jennifer Samples. Associate producers Sean Doherty and Lisa Berm. Engineering by Eduardo Perez. Get three free months of SiriusXM when you sign up at SiriusXM.com slash Conan. Please rate, review, and subscribe to Conan O 'Brien Needs a Fan wherever fine podcasts are done.
21:11Thank you.
From the publisher
Conan talks to Stelios from Athens to learn how to chill out the Greek way.
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