"Kareem Rahma"

12:33Sean Hayes:And when he said that, do you feel like he was telling you, like, get in the zone? Like, lock in? Find the zone? Like, it was encouragement? Like, hey, get in the zone. Study harder in school. Yeah.

12:43Will Arnett:Now, all right, so then, all half-joking aside and all that, would you be surprised if there was a mainstream declaration from the government that we have in fact, we can confirm that this is more than a possibility and kind of get ready for this multi-year kind of trickle rollout information to really make this legitimate and substantial. Like they're here. I think the impact on society, I think it would destroy society. I think more so than like anything else because I think religion like - Yeah, no, it would be gone. Science would be gone. Everything would just... But, like, what about... Somebody said last night that, you know, there's a...

13:36Will Arnett:What if there's a possibility, let's say, that there's a group of wise men there in the government that is trying to figure out the best responsible way in which to condition the public to this inevitable reveal. And that, you know, Steven Spielberg's next movie, it's coming out at the end of this year, is called Disclosure. Like, it's going to be an enormous film, and it is about, from what I can gather from the trailer, the public finally being told. And it's probably funded by the CIA. I'm not even kidding. And I'm saying maybe this group was... They pulled Spielberg in and said, hey, listen, could you help us out with...

14:13Will Arnett:Could you cover the pop culture end of this? And just start to...

14:16Sean Hayes:We need you to feed... Give the pablum to the people so that they can kind of...

14:21Will Arnett:They're not so ambushed when it comes out and it's, you know. I think people, no matter what the news is, they'll just keep scrolling. I mean, there could be aliens among us right now. They'll just keep scrolling. I think that's the conditioned, you know. You don't think it's going to, it won't jar them out of it and they'll think, eh, that's probably not real. I don't think so. No, I think people will like seek out alien porn and like they'll do like, it'll be more.

14:45Sean Hayes:Porn is always on the cutting edge of everything. They're always first on everything. I mean, even engagement with, you know, ghosts and stuff. It's always porn. It is always. Porn's always first. But I think that this movie is probably crazy timing and the launch. I do think the CIA's, I sound so insane. I probably sound like the most insane guest you've ever had.

15:08Will Arnett:No, no, no. Okay, good. We've had worse. Okay, good. Okay. We haven't aired those, but... But I think that the CIA has been known to use movies to promote, oh, we're going to war in the Middle East.

15:23Sean Hayes:By the way, they would always do, you know, the government would make film. They would decide what kinds of films should be made at times of war. They dropped leaflets. And to sort of, you know, garner support and lift people's spirits and get them feeling patriotic, and that's not new.

15:40Will Arnett:All right. So, mister, where to begin?

15:45Sean Hayes:Where to begin? I mean, yeah. What kind of statement is that? It's over. I mean, we've gone, we went, how do we claw back?

15:56Will Arnett:Start us, take us, walk us towards, you know, you're now sort of this, you know, one of these forward voices in pop culture today. How did it all kind of start? Did you, was this a goal? Like, you started in Minneapolis, yes. You got a journalism degree, maybe, yes. and then a business degree? Yeah, that was a failure. I didn't finish that. And then you travel out to New York in pursuit of? Just not living in a small town. It was really a classic. And it was kind of like a, let me go out east and strike gold in the same way that there's a Silicon Valley rush and the gold rush. I was like, oh, I'm going to go to New York.

16:44I'm going to get rich and famous. and that was a long time. That was 15 years ago, so.

16:50Will Arnett:Any industry you had focused on or it was just like that town has a lot of different ones. We'll see what hits. At the time, I was very much into like entrepreneurship in this like, the social network had just come out. I was like, oh, like that's like, that was cool. Remember for a while, that was really cool. It was really cool to be like a tech founder. And I was like, oh, that's the way you do it. And all these young people were making so much money. And I was like, oh, I think I should be a tech guy. Right. Take technology, use your creativity, your insight, your savviness, and see where the two could intersect.

17:31Will Arnett:But really the ultimate goal was to strike it rich. Yeah, it was definitely in pursuit of, yeah. I was like, let me. And I did the opposite. I did the exact opposite because I got a job at Vice. and Vice pays you, it's like they get a three-for-one deal. So they get like three 25-year-old kids. They pay you in cocaine.

17:54Sean Hayes:Is that what you're going to say? They do. They actually do. At least holiday bonuses are paid in cocaine. I remember Christmas, it was like, here's a bag of blow. And I was like, oh, cool. This is so cool. This is so interesting. But can I pay my rent with blow?

18:12Will Arnett:So you're at Vice and you're doing marketing stuff with them maybe? Yeah, I'm doing like content development and marketing and kind of like launching new shows. And I was never the talent, but I wanted to be the talent.

18:26Sean Hayes:Were you working with like Shane and Eddie and all those guys? Yeah, and at the time it was like 75 people, so we were all in the same room. And I was listening to them on the phone. And I'm like, whoa, this is so cool. Like it really was like getting, that was a real MBA in business. Cause I'm like sitting in this room with Shane and Eddie and, and Saroosh and all these guys. I'm like listening to them. I love Saroosh. He's awesome. He's such a good guy. Like I just saw him the other day. He's the greatest guy. He's so cool.

18:52Will Arnett:He's so cool. Well, from a marketing standpoint and, and also a content thing, I mean, that was such an exciting company and, and hearing about it, seeing it coming and, and, and, and getting on board and kind of following it was, you guys did a great job at that. It was really cool. It was really cool. And it felt like we were doing something. Like, it was like...

19:10Sean Hayes:And Spike was around a bunch there, too, wasn't he? Yeah, he was. Yep. He was, like, the executive creative director, which meant that he just, you know, got to say that. And he would hang out. Like, he would just say... That, which is, I was like, that's such a cool job.

19:24Will Arnett:David Cross was kicking around a little bit, too, wasn't he? That was early days. He wasn't there at that point. Yeah. Okay. No, I was there in 2012. Yeah. And then, and from there, you go to the New York Times? Yes. Yeah? Yeah, yeah. And for them, you did what? Less Coke, I bet. I did the same thing. A lot less Coke. A lot less Coke. It was kind of like, that's why I quit. Of course. The Times was like, we just pay money. And I was like, money can't buy Coke. It's Christmas, and I haven't seen my blow yet.

19:57Sean Hayes:Did I not perform this year? Emailing the editor-in-chief, I'm like, hey, dude, I'm going to quit unless I get a little bonus here.

20:05Will Arnett:So what were you doing for, what'd you do for New York Times? I was doing the same thing. I like helped start Times Video, which now makes film and television and kind of the podcasting and all that stuff. So I was like laying the groundwork for all that. And, um, and it was really cool. But then I, I did, so this is like, I think I was like in New York for like maybe seven or eight years. And at that point I was like, okay, I know enough people. I have enough information and knowledge and like maybe some access to money that I can actually go start my thing, like my own media company. And that was a massive failure.

20:38But I did do that for a couple of years.

20:41Will Arnett:What was that first swing and miss? It was, well, there was like a couple in a row, but it was a long at bat. There was a, yeah, it was, there was like, it was three strikes, those three strikes. And then I was out. And that's when I was like, maybe I'm not so good at being like a CEO or an entrepreneur. And maybe I should just be like, do what I'm good at, which it seems like hanging out, I'm really good at hanging out. Podcasting, you guys are just hangout guys. Yeah, just interviewing and having conversations.

21:09Sean Hayes:We're hanging out kids, for sure. So I was like, maybe I should try my hand at that. But the first swing and a miss was something called NYC.TV. And the idea was to do public access television on the internet. Which I was like, that's a clever little something something. And it just didn't work. And then I shifted that into something called Nameless Network, which was like, do you remember like NowThis News? Like these, they kind of like made like thousands of viral videos every month that would be like, this guy is selling yams in Japan on a street corner dressed as a cat. You never saw like videos.

21:47Will Arnett:No. They were like short, like two minute videos and it would just be like big text on a screen and it would be like, this school in Turkey is offering free haircuts to young people.

21:58Sean Hayes:So just like, I mean, real attention grabbers. Yeah. I mean, stuff that's really mattering to people. Yams in Japan, haircuts in Turkey. I mean, and you're telling me that this did not take off.

22:13Will Arnett:And we will be right back.

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25:32And now back to the show.

25:35Will Arnett:so then uh a few swings and misses and then uh and then you say well maybe i should just grab a camera and a microphone get in front of it and start doing what comes natural which is just kind of being a man of the people and and and see what see what comes so what was that what was that first thing that kind of grabbed and the you could feel the momentum moving and this this this may be working the the first big hill was a show that i created and this is a time when there there was no shows. There was no short form, unscripted, vertical video shows. And I say that, and it was just like, everyone was making content, but there was no show in this thing.

26:15But I decided to make a show, and I was like, why isn't there just a TV show that's distributed on TikTok and Instagram? And it was called Keep the Meter Running. And it was this concept where I would hail a cab and just tell the driver to take me wherever they want. And it was always insane. It would just be so crazy. Like one time I hailed a cab.

26:35Will Arnett:So the taxi driver has it flipped on him or her where they're not being told where to go by the person in the back, but you get to take me, the passenger, wherever you driver want to go and just keep the meter running and tell me about why you like this place. Yeah? Yeah, yeah. I would just go take me to your favorite place and keep the meter running. And I would end up like, one time I ended up like in New Jersey on a helicopter with this guy from Morocco. and he was literally just drinking and driving. No way. Drinking and driving, really? Wow. But yeah, he had a pint of Malibu, which I thought was an interesting choice.

27:09That is a boo. Right, right, right. It was nice. The white bottle, it's smooth. Sure.

27:14Sean Hayes:So you do that, so you do the keep the meter running for a while. Yeah, I do like 20 episodes. And still going? Yes, and now it's back. The meter's still running on this. The meter, well, I had to stop because at the time it was my first thing and I was a massive failure, remember? and I had no money. And those episodes were, obviously when you tell a guy, keep the meter running and he goes, let's go on a helicopter ride in New Jersey. By the end of the day, you spent literally$2 ,000. Sure. Right. And so I could only do, I spent all of my money. Oh my God. And then I was like, I have to put this on pause.

27:45And then I was like, and now it's back, except bigger. Now it's like YouTube. It's like 20 minute episodes. Sure. It's crazy now. I'm so surprised. How do you get them to, because I know a lot of cab drivers that I, the cabs I get in. Oh, do you, Sean? You know a lot of cab drivers. They don't, no, they, they don't want to talk. What? Yeah, they don't want to. Huh. They all want to talk. They all want to talk. Just not to Sean. Oh, all right.

28:12Will Arnett:No. Sean, what do you mean? Well, maybe I don't, maybe I don't talk. They're usually on the phone and they want to just keep their conversation going on their phone. I just assume they want, they don't want to chat. Oh, they love, you can't tell them to stop talking. Especially when you got the camera going, right? They hang up. Yeah. Just, maybe just bring up like, Like, just be like, so how about, you know, like politics? Don't bring up medallions.

28:34Sean Hayes:No, I've just figured that that's a real hot topic.

28:37Will Arnett:So what was the first sign that people were watching keep the meter running? How did you find out? Legitimately the next day. So like I posted the video and I turned my phone off because I was like another failure. I was conditioned to just fail at that point. When you say post it, what did you throw it up on? I put it on TikTok and Instagram. Okay. of which you had already some followers. But not a lot, like 30 ,000, you know? Right, enough. And so enough to like... Yeah, for them to then send it out to their folks and that's how viral happens, right? Oh, hang on a second.

29:15Sean Hayes:Walk us through there, JB. I can't wait to hear your understanding of how the fuck this is.

29:20Will Arnett:Isn't it an exponential dissemination of... I noticed you didn't say the word algorithm in that. You actually said that the French. I saved that for later. Oh, yeah. That's his closer. It's such a great idea. So you put it up and you turn off your phone. You turn on your phone later that night and. Well, I go to the bodega the next morning. And at this point, I just turned my phone back on, but I didn't log. Like I didn't open the apps. I went to the bodega and the guy goes, oh, you look so familiar. And I go, I don't know. I'm a loser. I've been here a million times. Like I've literally been here.

29:54I look familiar because I see you every day. And he goes, no, you look so familiar. And then he goes, taxi, you're the taxi guy. You did the show. And I was like, what? And I opened my phone and it has like 2 million views. No way.

30:07Will Arnett:In a night. Yeah. And so many like thousands of comments. And I was like, holy shit, it actually worked. And it felt like that moment where I was like, I did something that for the first time ever, people responded to it. And it was doing exactly what I thought I could do well, which is hang out. And I was like, oh my God, like maybe I'm finally found my thing. Yeah. You know, I called my mom. I was like, I know what I'm going to do for a living. I'm just going to hang out with other people. And so you immediately tried to double down, triple down, have another episode. Bought a Ferrari first.

30:42Sean Hayes:Bought a Ferrari that morning. This is going to pan out. Yeah. Well, that's bad. What year now?

30:50Will Arnett:The new episode, the new season is premiering soon. It's the 19th, right? May 13th, whatever that is. May 13th, yes. I think this is the 11th today. I think it's in two days. Yeah. So what season is that? This is like the first official season of, I'm bringing my thesis of making television and putting it on YouTube. But like, it's not a YouTube show because it is television quality production and television storytelling. And like we have, you know, I went to like the Russian Turkish bathhouse with a guy named Eugene and his friend Boris. We'll get into that later.

31:30Sean Hayes:Let's talk about the show. It's the show. Oh, oh, oh, sorry. And, you know, do that. I'm producing, I produced a play for an Irish cab driver named Irish John. That's not his name, but, you know, I call him that. And he goes, I have a one-man show. and I go, what's this all about? So he takes me to his basement. He shows me this one-man show. I go, cool, let's put it in a theater. So, you know, performing in front of 300 people, all self-produced, looks like a stand-up special. And, you know, go fishing with a Korean guy named Young in Bear Mountain and sketch. And just, it's really remarkable.

32:09And the whole kind of through line of the show is like how to be a better man. Like how to be a better brother, how to be a better father, how to be a better friend. It's all, because these guys have like the secret to the universe. In, you know, like you're driving for 12 hours a day, your life is hard, you're sending money home, or you're just supporting your family. And they like have this fatherly wisdom. I don't know if any of you guys lost your father early. I lost mine when I was 20. And I started like having these convos with these cab drivers because I felt like they had some advice for me.

32:43Will Arnett:Right. You know, and I didn't have Will's number yet, so I couldn't call him. I couldn't call him for advice. Sean didn't lose his dad.

32:52Sean Hayes:His dad got lost. Yeah. This is true. Wow, that's really remarkable, man. That's so cool. Yeah, that's really cool.

33:00Will Arnett:And then so then tell us about, since Subway Takes happens, you get an idea for that and you figure you can do it at the same time simultaneously? Well, I had run out of the money. because the other show was costing like$2 ,000 per episode. And so I was like, okay, this whole short form unscripted thing is really working for me. What's another version of that which is less expensive? And again, like... Sorry, let me just stop you for one second. Educate me and our listener, because this might be fascinating. It certainly would be to me. How do you run out of money doing that show? Because I guess the question is, how do you monetize a show like that?

33:43Will Arnett:So you put it up on Instagram and TikTok. How were you even thinking you could get paid for that? How does a creator get paid for that? Can you advertise against those little short-forms?

33:54Sean Hayes:Yeah, like the guy, he sees your first episode. It's got 2 million views overnight. Are you seeing that in real time in dollars coming to you? No, I'm seeing zero dollars. That's the problem.

34:06Will Arnett:That's my question. How would you even hope to monetize that? How would you get paid for that? You would want a brand to essentially say, I love what you're doing. Hey, do you want to pay? In every episode, do you want to use your Chase debit card or credit card to pay for the cabbies bill? Or do you want to communicate using WhatsApp exclusively with their families and your friends? So you'd want someone to underwrite the series in the same way that a streamer or a production company or a network would underwrite. It's brand-funded entertainment. So you were pursuing that and getting no bites or you just didn't know to do that yet?

34:42I didn't know to do that yet. And I also was like so overwhelmed and just kind of, I was in panic mode. Like I don't know what to do with this. And actually the first thing I did was like, I was like, okay, maybe this should be a TV show instead. And like I should get money from someone in Hollywood. Right. And, but that whole rigmarole, I went on like a wild goose chase with that. I was like, I don't want this. Yeah, it was taking too long. And in the meantime, I was like, let me start another thing. While this is baking in the TV world, let me start another thing to kind of like continue my work.

35:16Will Arnett:But what made you think that second thing would be something that you would be able to monetize and get money out of? I didn't really think about that either. It was really more so like, this is making... I'm really noticing a trend here. Yeah, this is...

35:29Sean Hayes:You thought, I'm not making any money with the thing. This thing's costing me money. What I should do is interview Jason Bateman on the subway, holding a MetroCard instead of a microphone. That'll do it. It worked. I'm here. It did. I love, JB.

35:46Will Arnett:I loved your episode. I thought you were recording. Oh, man, I did too. What a fun time I had there. If you guys have not seen Subway Takes, and I haven't seen Keep the Meter Running yet. I can't wait to watch that. Me too. Oh, I need both of you guys on there. Tell people with Subway Takes what the concept of that is. So Subway Ticks is essentially like a two-minute talk show on the train where I interview local stand-up comedians, regular comedians, musicians, writers, directors, anyone who I find kind of interesting. And also people like Jason Bateman.

36:17Sean Hayes:Right, and then you had Jason on. Yeah, we had to balance it out. It must have...

36:21Will Arnett:You can't appreciate the big ones unless you get a couple of clunkers. I found him kind of interesting. I was just like, he's kind of interesting. He worked a miracle in the editing room. Interesting.

36:32Sean Hayes:I'm curious about the details of your episode with JB. Well, okay, concept, but I really want to know, what station did you guys get in? Yeah, what did you guys do? What train were you on and where did you get? We were Lower East Side. Yes, we were in Chinatown on the F train at East Broadway. Wow. Yes, I remember.

36:52Will Arnett:I had to boil my entire body after that.

36:54Sean Hayes:Jason, the look on your driver's face when you said, take me there.

37:00Will Arnett:He said, let you out here? I said, no, no, no, hang on. Just keep the door closed for a minute. Jason brought an extra pair of pants and an extra shirt. And some plastic to sit on. He called it his train clothes. That's what he called it, his train clothes. And he was wearing white latex gloves. And I was like, why are you wearing those? That sounds right. I love the train. I'm in the MetroCard.

37:22Sean Hayes:So you go, you decide, all right.

37:25Will Arnett:But the concept is, listener, is that he has somebody come on and just give one hot take on something. Right. And Kareem decides whether he's 100 % on board with that or in opposition to that. For instance, my dumb ass hot take was, I think all dogs should wear shoes. 100 % agree. 100 % agree. But then the interview is, well, why do you agree and why do I think they agree? Basically, I just think, you know, so that, you know, you don't want them to walk into your place and track in all the poo they like to walk around in. Yeah. So anyway, but so that's kind of the concept, and it's a two-minute concept, and it's pleasurable, and we're popping around the city.

38:12Sean Hayes:Do you think dogs, if dogs go to a play, they should go backstage? Yeah.

38:19Sean Hayes:And see the artist. Sorry, we'll get into that later. but Kareem can we do a hot take to you like cause I I just thought of this when you popped on about that show and I was like doing Broadway shows you know those rickshaws that are super fucking loud at night like shouldn't there be a law against the sound of those people volume ceiling 100 % agree yeah there's too much noise pollution in New York City oh Sean is this our segment called old man gripes what are we doing What are we doing? Yeah. Shouldn't those damn kids slow down in the neighborhood? No, he's right. It's too damn loud. I agree.

38:58You're so synonymous with New York. I just thought, you know, what do you think about, like, because I don't have any skin in the game with Mom Donnie. Like, I don't know if he's good or bad or anything. I don't live, you know, I'm just here part-time working. But somebody complained that it's because of Mom Donnie that their snow banks weren't clear. I'm like, the snow, when there's a blizzard, there's never, you can't clear all the snow. Yeah, where do you want them to put it? Yeah. Well, being the mayor of New York is the worst job in America. Yeah. Because everyone's just mad at you no matter what you do.

39:25Right, for sure.

39:26Will Arnett:For sure. It's a historical big L. I would never do it, although I might. Have you ever had somebody that— Uh-oh. Have you ever had somebody— Talk about breaking fucking up in here. I would only do it as a joke, and then I would accidentally win, like, you know who? Our boy. Yeah, yeah. Like, whoopsies, I'm the mayor now. Just trying to sell a book. Yeah. has anybody come on and not had a take and then you had to say alright well I'll do one well didn't you go through the vetting process Jason yes yeah I was given a heads up but you know I'm a professional I came prepared don't you have don't you have some of these people come on and just like yeah I couldn't think of anything should I see if Jason Bateman had any other ones that we didn't use yeah did I oh did I pitch you some I don't know let me check my email So they go to someone on my team, and then I don't, it's like somebody approves that they're good.

40:23Sean Hayes:Right. And then... Like just some Gen Z kid? Yeah, pretty, literally. Literally young lads.

40:33Will Arnett:What's the last one you disagreed with? Oh, dude, I don't know. I don't know. You're doing one, what are you doing, one a week? No, we post one a day. No. What? I post one a day. Yeah, it's my goal. So then you're doing one a day to keep up with the output. No, I'll shoot like 10 in one day. No way. And it's really a miserable day. It's an awful day. I'm like a real working blue-collar guy. I'm underground all day. I'm sweating or it's too cold or it's too hot or the train's not working or somebody's trying to stab me. How do you do it? Yeah, it's really tough. Don't you find that, am I just an introvert?

41:09Will Arnett:Little lunch pail guy over here. Am I just an introvert that needs to refill my talk tank? a lot or does everybody go through sort of like a social exhaustion like me sometimes? Like, how do you not run out of being, you know, chatty by doing 10 episodes in a day? How do you keep it going like that?

41:31Sean Hayes:Will's raising his hand. Well, I've got a thought on this, which is always, you know, when you go and you do interviews and stuff and doing what we do and you have to go on talk shows. And when I realized that I don't have stuff to talk about, it's because I haven't been out in the world. And so a lot of people we know, including us or whatever, spend these times in this world. And we're not out in bubbles. And you're not engaged in a real way. And about 50 years ago, I would say, like, I want to experience life. And that's why I'm always on the move and doing stuff. I swear to God. I know how boring that's.

42:04Will Arnett:You're fucking break. So you're out there walking around with your fucking hands tucked in your pockets, just like squinting around town. One hand. How the fuck do you think I'm going to smoke? I'm taking it all in. Hey, good morning, man. How you doing? Have a good day, huh?

42:16Sean Hayes:No, I'm serious. I'm not saying that I'm more down to earth or anything. What I'm saying is that I realize that you have to get out there. Sean and I have talked about this a number of times. And Jason, you're a lost cause because you're at home or in the golf course. And so like, that's okay. How the fuck would you have anything to talk about?

42:37Will Arnett:I could fill you in on what MS Now's new programming strategies are.

42:41Sean Hayes:No, but it is true. I think that there is something to that, right? Just being engaged. I don't care who you are, just being engaged in the world.

42:48Will Arnett:Having stuff to say. I get it. Yeah. Yeah. Is that true, Karim? Is that your fuel? No, I mean, I'm having fun. Like, I really am having a lot of fun. I have such a fun job. Both of my jobs. You're great at it. Hanging out with cab drivers, hanging out with people like you guys. Like, it is the, I'm blessed as a person. Like, I have the best job in the world. and everything that I've done thus far has been totally independent. So I really have no notes. I have no development. I'm just doing the fun part of the job, which is the making of it. And that's all I do. And it's really amazing. And I have a lot of energy.

43:25That's how we feel. Amen.

43:26Will Arnett:What would five years from now look like if it continued on this angle of success? What's your hope for where things go with this? like to, well, go ahead. I really don't know. I mean, I'm kind of just playing a bike here. Orient Express.

43:47Sean Hayes:Just upgrading the train line. Or gondolas, yachts. You know, Leo DiCaprio's yacht. I could just have a permanent spot on there. That could be fun. You just talked to him for 10 episodes. I could. Yeah, that would be, well, no, I talked to his wonderful guests. I'm sure you guys have been on his yacht. I'm not. But like... But I imagine, yeah, kind of going, Jay, what you were saying, which is like you do have, I love that you did identify, what you term as hanging out is actually engaging with people and talking. Yes, and being curious. And that's what you like to do, and that's what you're good at, and you're curious, and you do have a point of view on a lot of stuff, which is great and interesting.

44:27Sean Hayes:And so I guess the evolution of that is taking that and going, and you talk to cab drivers and doing the thing, take me where you want to go and then talk to people on the subway and then would it be kind of going broader, going around the world, engaging with people in different cultures? I mean, I imagine you'd be

44:46Will Arnett:really good at that. Exposing all of us to other parts of the world and other cultures of people. Yeah, that's a great idea. We need that. Well, but you know, Keep the Meter Running feels like a Bourdain-esque, like people have said, this reminds me of Bourdain and subway takes, it reminds a lot of people of a talk show like Fallon or Seth Meyers or whatever. So like I kind of get to play in both worlds and that's really cool. We're doing a live show for Subway Takes Live, which is really fun and interesting to me. How would that work? People come and do what you did, except it's like the audience is giving the takes and then there's like a panel.

45:20Like it would be us four on stage and people would walk up to a mic and say,

45:25Will Arnett:Oh, that's cool. I think this and then we would all go, no, you're an idiot, blah, blah, blah, blah. That's a great idea, yeah, yeah. Have there ever been some dust-ups there on the train? Because I remember, you know, we were just, we were riding on, we didn't have a shooting permit or anything like that. We were just on the train. Cameras were rolling, a couple of cameras, and these, you know, two guys holding these weird mics and talking, and somebody might be recognizable. And have you ever had, like, a weird subway passenger, like, bother you and your guest? Not with anyone, like, with anyone famous.

45:57It's been always, it's always a pleasure to see. Like Woody Harrelson was literally kind of took over the train car and he started interviewing other people. And there were all these people like, and he was just surrounded by people and just putting this mic in their faces and asking them questions and really creating a circus like in the car and everyone loved him. We'll be right back. Getting a good deal is kind of a big deal. So get this, Prime Day is coming June 23rd through the 26th with all the best deals you've been waiting for. Prime Day delivers more than great prices. It delivers that big deal feeling.

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48:45All right, back to the show. The timing of that concept and you and doing all of this is really great because we're at an apex of people wanting to connect again. And so it probably has a lot to do with that.

49:02Will Arnett:And the lost art of conversation too. Everyone's kind of getting all their itches scratched just online and with their own little devices. In five-second increments. Yeah, they're not talking to people. And that's why I always think that the 100 % agree, 100 % disagree. like there's no middle for me. And it is really kind of like an exploration of what it means to 100 % disagree but still have a funny, casual, engaging conversation. Like I personally don't really have that many opinions. Like I'm pretty mellow. But in the show, it's like, it's a challenge for me to be like, well, here's why I disagree.

49:42But it's kind of a showcase that you can, yeah, like have fun doing this. But there was one funny thing. It was like a regular episode that I was filming. And there was a passenger on the train filming us film, which is completely fine, like great. This other guy on the train slapped the phone out of that guy's hand and then kicked it across the car all the way to the other side. And then that guy that got his phone slapped out of his hand looks at me and he's like, I'm so sorry, dude. And I'm like, why? And he's like, your bouncer just kicked the phone out of my hand. And I was like, that's not my bouncer.

50:20That's just a crazy guy that for some reason decided that you shouldn't film me. And there was like this confusion where everyone was kind of pointing at each other. Like whose bodyguard is that? Or like do you guys know each other? No one knew each other. It was really funny and like confusing. But that's the closest call.

50:36Sean Hayes:Did the guy who slapped it, did he ever explain his position as to why he did it? No, he would just yell something about like Jesus and walked away. Oh, that makes sense. That tracks. Wait, but I wanted to ask Will. Will and Sean, what would your take? Like, if you were on the show and I said, what's your take? What would your take be? Well, we know Sean's. Something about rickshaws. Oh, yeah. Sean said the rickshaw. Yeah, yeah.

51:02Will Arnett:Willie, what's— About New York? No, no. One of mine is that I think that the dancing part of the wedding is the worst part. I didn't even do it. It should be dinner. At my own wedding. And then you just... I didn't dance with my wife on our own wedding because I hate dancing so much. I didn't know that. I don't know that. Is that true? Yeah. That's how much... Jason, at that moment, it's not about you. I'm so uncomfortable dancing. I know it, but I just... I told her early on... That is profoundly unkind. I know, but I just... I couldn't do it. I'm calling Amanda.

51:35Sean Hayes:I'm calling Amanda today and I'm going to take her out dancing.

51:37Will Arnett:Yeah, go for it. I encourage you. Go for it. Please. I encourage it That's so that's a hard line but I was saying not at your own wedding Jason I'm saying Yeah you're just saying at any wedding Like it should just end at dinner like you just go have a great night everyone like thanks for calling the wedding I 100 % agree with that And then it's always a forced thing the DJ's like playing like Little John and the East Side Boys from like 2002 and you're like dun dun dun dun and no one wants to be there and yeah so that's like or like I have another one which is that I think and this one I think will be problematic, but I don't like street art and graffiti.

52:15And I would rather just look at nice, beautiful buildings.

52:20Sean Hayes:Okay. Yeah, that's a good one. But a lot of people are going to get mad at me for that. What, really?

52:24Will Arnett:People are great defenders of graffiti? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Street art, graffiti. Aside from the people that actually do it, you're saying people that just observe it are big fans of it? I think so. I think that there's a cohort of people that think that it's nice, yeah. I enjoy it. See?

52:43Sean Hayes:I have too many, but all of mine get me in trouble. All of mine are terrible. First of all, I think I should be deputized to be able to give out, just to the parking part of the police department, I'd love to give out tickets. Oh, you would love to give out tickets. I'd love to give out tickets and also moving vehicle tickets. That's a good idea. Citizens. And I also think that we should be able to report when, like, you know, like when, like, the cops who do a great job, but when they pull people over and then they obstruct traffic and it's unnecessary.

53:13Will Arnett:Yeah, they don't need to hang out into the other lane. I mean, I guess they're doing that to protect themselves as they're up at the window. But why don't you go around to the passenger window and then you don't have to hang out in the traffic. I don't even mean on a freeway or anything.

53:23Sean Hayes:I mean like on a regular street, especially in New York. You know, when you're in New York, although I am, so I don't want to criticize NYPD because I do. It's a rough, tough job.

53:32Will Arnett:It would be nice if they deputized us to give out maybe three citizen tickets for moving violations a month. So you can't abuse it. You just get three. So the three most egregious things you see when you're driving, you're allowed to put the little Kojak light on on top of your car and go get them. I think it would be nice if you could also get Sean's. Like if Sean wanted to ticket the loud rickshaw guys. Yeah. He could give. Like we should all be active citizens. Like why don't we have a little bit of power? We all have phones.

54:01Sean Hayes:We're taping people anyway. We might as well be able to use it. But then I thought about it. Here's the flip of it. I was thinking about this yesterday. And then I'm like, how many yellows have I squeezed while driving through an intersection? And I'm not immune from it myself. And so then I kind of walked it back. But I have so many takes on shit. I do too. Wait, there's two that I just don't have. One is, I don't know if this is a fake post on Instagram or not, but I read that New York is looking into making a law, looking into making it a law to traffic the sidewalks like they do the streets so that fast people walkers walk on the left, which I think is really a great idea.

54:39Especially in New York, it's a bummer

54:41Sean Hayes:when people stop in the middle of the street and you're like, hey man, and also watching their phone.

54:45Will Arnett:Or people walk four wide on a sidewalk so you can't get around people. Four wide's crazy. If you're a group of more than two, you have to go kind of two by two, kind of single file. Here's my hot take.

54:56Sean Hayes:Here's what I think. If you want to post anything on the internet, comment, whatever, anything, we have to know your name, your address, your phone number. And your face. No anonymous. No anonymous posting. No anonymous anymore. And I think that that would, I think it would change the world immediately. I think so too. Everybody, you have to, there is a record, and we know that they can do it because things like the blockchain where you can trace absolutely everything, where you know everything. And so if we applied that same logic to that. That's great. So you can't go on to anything. You can't make any comment.

55:31Sean Hayes:You can, but we know your name, your address, your phone number. And by that, we'll be able to decipher where you work, who your family is, all that sort of stuff. And you are held so that because if I make a comment, everybody knows who I am. And so then I get held up to this crazy high standard that everybody else is not held up to. Yeah. But wait, here's my other take is Jason commented on me the other night when we were at dinner that when you order a dessert for yourself and then the waitress comes over with spoons for everybody at the table and you're like, wait, no. Everybody passed on ordering dessert.

56:08I ordered dessert and when offered, everybody else is like, no, I'm good. I don't want any dessert. And then everybody spoons the shit out of your fucking dessert. I'm like, no, get your own dessert. Good take. I agree. If you did not opt in, you don't get a spoon. Unless it was specified,

56:23Sean Hayes:bring us the sundae and bring everybody a spoon. That's right. Otherwise, no. Don't give us a spoon. Shout out to Odeon. Remember we had that so we did have that the other night at the Odeon. Right. Well, well started. I started because I said I want to get a sundae and it was like, ooh, and I go, everybody get your own dessert. You're not fucking. That's right. That's right. You almost have to announce it. This is my treat this weekend. You have to announce it. I don't want you dipping in the fucking butterscotch. And Jason was like, don't get the donuts. I got two orders of donuts. He fucking, his face was buried I had six of them.

56:54Will Arnett:Now, Kareem, with all of this really cool, very well-deserved success, what has changed in your, I'm presuming, very sort of down-to-earth, man-of-the-people life? Have you, Will, joked earlier that you -

57:10Sean Hayes:Like, upgraded your air conditioner? Right.

57:14Will Arnett:Or is it still taped to the window in red tape? Look at that. Don't worry about it. Well, that's another big take that I have when I was installing this. I was like, it is shocking that they let me do this in New York. And if I'm taping mine, that means that they're— And then I started looking around. There's like people that their air conditioners are being held up by books. Some people have a little piece of wood. And I'm like, there's not a standard process. I agree.

57:41Sean Hayes:I agree. There's a guy over there that has like a couple of textbooks. I can see, I'm like, and it's so scary because now I can't walk around New York City without thinking about my own self putting in my air conditioner. And you guys obviously see how good of a job I've done. I know, I remember, I remember, Kareem, the first time I put an air conditioner in my window in New York and thinking, this is freaking lunacy. This thing can go at any time. I just did this. I'm an idiot. And this thing is going to fall on somebody and kill somebody. And it's not like the windows are nice. The windows are flimsy.

58:16The windows are flimsy windows. They're made out of saran wrap, essentially. And it's just terrifying. And there's no screws. None of this, there's no tools. This is just like the windows holding in place.

58:27Will Arnett:So you haven't gone to mainstream air conditioning. What have you treated yourself to? I mean, there's a lot less anxiety in my life about what I'm supposed to be doing for a living. And that is really scary because I also started doing this when I was 33, which is later than many people, like many comedians or these social media kids, you know, they start when they're like 22, 21, 25. They were in their college improv group. So to start at 33 and take like this massive bet and then have it work out, it's shocking. And every day I'm just like, I'm shocked.

59:06Sean Hayes:It's not shocking. It's not shocking. You're a smart guy and you are really funny. And do you refer to yourself as when people say, You don't say creator, do you? No, no, no, no. I say entertainer. Because I also make movies. I wrote a movie, produced it, starred in it. That's out on MUBI. I make music. What's that called? I'm in a rock and roll band. The movie's called Or Something.

59:27Will Arnett:Or Something, okay. And it's a feature film. It's my first feature. And we can find that where? On MUBI, M-U-B-I. M-U-B-I, okay. That's like 2B. I want to ask whether or not you have that. Do I have MUBI? No. And then you say you're in a band too? No. Yeah, I'm in a rock and roll band called Tiny Gun. That's amazing. Are you singing? Are you drumming? Are you guitaring? I sing. Yes. Wow. That's amazing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's kind of like a punk, like Pixies. Yeah. We love Pixies. The Pixies meets the Strokes kind of situation. Oh, yeah. That's cool. You're speaking my language. Yeah, give us a listen.

59:58It's Tiny Gun. I want to come. Hundo P. Hundo P. We played Outside Lands. Last year, we played Outside Lands, a Newport Folk Festival. It was really fun. Yeah. Do you guys hear those sirens? Yeah. Yeah, of course. Yeah, it's hard not to.

1:00:10Sean Hayes:Yeah, they can excite you from your air conditioner. Well, that's a ticket. It's Sean. It's Will and Sean. Sean on his rickshaw. It's Jason Bateman on his motorcycle. I'm so, honestly, I'm so inspired by how much different stuff you do and how many creative swings you take at once. That's really cool. I think it's awesome. I think that that is, you're doing the very thing that I was talking about, that I wish I could do more. You're taking chances and you're engaging in life in such an awesome way. I think it's dope as hell, man. There's some cultural relevance and help to it as well. It's amazing.

1:00:44Sean Hayes:It's amazing. It's really cool. You guys are, that feels like, it's such a compliment coming from you guys, honestly. No, but you're not catering to the lowest common. Like, you're trying to do something. Not necessarily sort of worthy in the sense of, like, you know, helping humanity. But you are, in a way, you are sort of engaging and keeping conversation going and provoking thought. and just, I don't know, I think it's really rad. Bringing folks together. It's that classic playing at the top of your intelligence situation, which I feel like because so many people are not doing that, I was like, let me just be a little bit different and try to be the smartest version of what this thing limits you to, which is a phone, tiny screen, vertical.

1:01:26Like, let me try to do the smartest thing possible.

1:01:29Sean Hayes:Yeah, and you're not prancing around in a Speedo. You know what I mean? You don't want to see me in a Speedo.

1:01:34Will Arnett:Wait, where do I find that? And selfishly, you're giving us ding-dongs that are like promoting stuff this really great, fun, creative stop on our press tours to go talk to folks. Yeah, I want to have you guys on. I want to come to, I wanted to create. I would have all three of you on at the same time. Ooh, that'll be lit.

1:01:54Sean Hayes:But here's the thing, Jason did it. I want to do, just to one-up him, obviously. Of course. Double-lap. Of course, of course. Double-lap. Four minutes. No, let's get you out. Let's get you next time you're in New York. I'm there. I'll be there. I'll be there. All the time. I live there half the time. Great. Then we'll do it literally any time. Like, I'll step out of the house, you know. Can we take the 1-9? Is that okay? Yeah, I was going to say, what would be your subway? What the hell is that? You know, like, what do they call it? The 1 now? It used to be the 1-9 on the west side, you know, the red line.

1:02:21Sean Hayes:Oh, I've never been over there. Really? I'm an east side guy. We can do the east side too. It's like, no, no, no, I'll come to you. I'll come to you. No, we'll take the six. That's fine. No, no, no. I'll come to you. But fuck it. I'll take the F. I don't give a shit. Wait, I also want to say something that, so I, this has nothing to do with what we're talking about. Although it kind of does. But like going back, I don't want to tout, flute my own horn, toot my own horn, toot my own flute. I think that's the phrase. I don't want to toot my own flute. But I want to say this here in case anyone from the Emmy, what are they called?

1:02:53The Academy? Yeah. Sure. Yeah, we're going, Subway Texas is going for an Emmy.

1:02:57Will Arnett:Is it? Okay. So for your consideration, for your consideration, Subway Takes. But wait, but it's got to be on the telly then. I love that. I love that you just said that. No, they have little ones now. Tiny Emmys? Tiny Emmys for your boy. Isn't that called a Webby? No, it's the Creative Arts Emmy. You can get a Creative Arts Emmy for like short form. Truly. Online. Yeah, like, you know who submits a lot? Like Carpool Karaoke. is a winner of that category. Or the dude with the hot wings. Yes, Sean Evans from Hot Ones.

1:03:33Sean Hayes:So, okay, so Kareem, to be clear, if you happen to be listening to this and you are a voter in the Television Academy, please watch, please check out Kareem's show and consider. Yeah. Thank you. And then you're a tiny gun to listen to. Guys, I'm still out here doing this. I'm still out here shilling for myself. I love it. No one else is going to do it. Good for you, man. I have this opportunity. Let me, I want to see you guys there, first of all. And when we see each other there, we should hug.

1:04:07Will Arnett:Oh, at the Emmys? Yeah. If we're at the Emmys, we're going to hug like hell. Yeah. Yep. That's all hug. That's a phrase, right? Hug, I want to hug you like hell. I want to hug you like hell. I mean, it is though. Oh, that was a really, that was a really good take about men is that we haven't standardized our creeding. So like, I might go up to Will with a hand up in the air, like, what's good, man? I'm not good to see you. I might extend a hand to Jason, and then he's, and it's confusing, or a hug, Sean, and it's, yeah, and it's really confusing.

1:04:34Sean Hayes:We need a standard. My buddy years ago, Ali Farnakian, used to say, you always start Road to the White House, which is just a handshake, and then anywhere you want to go after that. But you always start Road to the White House. This is good advice. So you extend the hand. Always extend the hand. This is called Road to the White House. Be open to getting pulled in. And then wherever you want. You're sure. I always loved it. You should consider driving a cab. That's really good cab. That's kind of cab driver advice that I get. Hey, man, it might get to that.

1:05:05Will Arnett:Kareem, we are thrilled to have you. We love you. We root for you. We're watching you. Keep it going, my friend. Thank you guys so much. This was really, really fun. Really fun for us. And I appreciate you guys letting me be on your show. Seriously. I'll see you. We'll see you back there in the city. We'll see you on the show. I'll see you on the show. I can't wait for it. Thanks, Kareem. Okay, bye, guys. Thank you. Have a good day. Thank you so much for having me. Yeah, I'm shaking your hand. Goodbye. Digital shake.

1:05:33Sean Hayes:There he goes.

1:05:35Will Arnett:Kareem. There he is. Rama.

1:05:36Sean Hayes:He's good. He's so good. Kareem Rama. Yeah, dude. Really great, dude. I love it. Shani, did I invite you on the show?

1:05:43Will Arnett:No, that's right. Yeah, I noticed that right there at the end. You know what I was thinking? I think he's worried about your safety.

1:05:47Sean Hayes:I think that that was it. By the way, I've never rode on the subway. Hang on a second. So maybe that's... I'm trying to do my... I'm trying to do my... I can't believe that face. I'm trying to, hang on, what?

1:05:57Will Arnett:Sean, that's true, isn't it? That is very true, yeah. Is that really true? Never once on the subway in New York City. I mean, if I did, maybe once 25 years ago, but I don't remember it. It's not on purpose, it just hasn't happened. I just don't feel, I'd just rather take a cab. Oh, so it is on purpose. Yeah, oh yeah, it's totally on purpose. I don't even know how they work. I don't even know where they are.

1:06:16Sean Hayes:There is so, I will give you, it is a hack because you spend a lot more time in New York these days. If you have to, it can save you. You get anywhere in like two seconds. But now it works with your navigation app,

1:06:27Will Arnett:like Waze or Google Maps or Apple Maps, whatever it is, you can just say, you know, how do I get there via walking, via car, or via subway? And then when you hit the subway, it'll give you a little map how to walk to the subway, what to do. But it's overwhelming to me because aren't there like 75 ,000? But it tells you the line. No, but it's easy.

1:06:45Sean Hayes:It'll tell you what to do. If you don't know it, it'll tell you what to do. And I'm telling you, you can save yourself hours of being stuck in a freaking car or a car. It's so good.

1:06:54Will Arnett:and it's so safe. Like, what? It's great. Well, that's a little bit of that too. It is great. All right. We'll do it together because I love riding on them. We'll do it next time I'm there. All right. We'll hold hands all the way through it. But you guys should check out those two shows. Very good. Yeah, I will. I've seen a couple of his clips on Instagram and they're always funny and engaging. So funny. Like you said, Jason, it's really interesting that he started, well, you both said it, that he started something out of like, you know, Who would have thought that just conversation would be interesting to people?

1:07:27Sean Hayes:Well, I will say this. I think that there probably are, Sean, a lot of people who think like, hey, I'm interesting and I could just do, I'm going to do a talk show or I'm going to do a thing. And the truth was that he did have an actual talent for it and that he is an engaging person. And he's very authentic and real. Very authentic. Yeah, you know exactly. That's the key. Yeah, you just know who he is.

1:07:49Will Arnett:And I bet he could do it. He could probably take it on the road. He could go overseas. He could do it. He could definitely do one in Egypt because he was born in Egypt. So I would assume that he is by... Ingle! Oh, very good. By...

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