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Oh so when I started thinking about who

has had some of the greatest impact on

the global vision of what health and

wellness and empowerment looks like this

person’s name came to mind first

Brooklyn please welcome our WW 2020

visionary conversation before the first

lady of the United States

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it’s funny

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whoa this does this feel like you just

feel like deja vu all over again for you

because you were here wearing those bag

Balenciaga gold boots

yeah Barack is like weirdos boots what’d

you do with those boots I was like they

put away honey just settle it’s just

thing when you wear a pair of boots like

that you you you it’s really like they

go to the Michelle Museum that’s right

you know you don’t walk around the

street match anything with those boots

yes barely get on stage and but does

this feel familiar so I know 20 was 20

19 your year or what it was crazy

it was unexpected yes it was a good year

that’s because Michelle Obama’s book be

coming I know everybody in there has it

it wasn’t just the best-selling memoir

book of the year it’s the best-selling

memoir of all times and what that says

to me I think it’s like now eleven point

seven million probably twelve since

we’ve been sitting here billion what it

says to me is that it’s such an

extraordinary time to be a strong

confident assured and above all else

well a woman in the world today

absolutely I mean so many people saw

themselves in my story it’s also a time

for owning our stories and I think

that’s part of what resonated with PSA a

lot of people came up and said well you

were so vulnerable you was it hard for

you to tell

sorry to tell your truth there were

things you covered that were difficult

like trouble in your marriage in trouble

having getting pregnant was that hard to

do and my response is no that’s my story

I embrace every aspect of who I am

because as I’ve said I like my story I

like all the highs and lows and the

bumps in between yeah yeah and I think

that you know what we learn from that is

people are they are they gravitate to

other people’s vulnerabilities mm-hmm

they we gravitate to one another when we

see the best and the worst in ourselves

because it makes us feel human mm-hmm

you know and I think people connected to

the humaneness of the story what

happened that you could never have

anticipated on the tour I mean didn’t

you all do 30 cities we did 34 cities we

did Europe you know tour in Europe but I

think that and I won’t say that it was

surprising because we’re feeling it here

you know is that people are hungry for

connection they’re hungry for community

what’s happening here is that there are

people gathering together they’re moving

outside of their individual lives and

the loaning loneliness that can come

with social media obsession and

Instagram worlds we feel lonely and when

we come together in a space like this

you know for whatever the reason whether

it’s to hear about a book or to talk

about health or to see Oprah it reminds

us that we are not so on a like and

people are hungry for that and it’s that

hunger and I don’t take any credit for

it I don’t I don’t think you know I

think we underestimate the the desire

for people to feel a connection to each

other I know all of the riddle in this

room paid money to come out to give up a

Saturday we know all that Saturday me

and as I said ain’t nobody twerking on

this stage

you know people are talking and having

conversations but the the current

climate speaks down to people you know

we think that people don’t want to talk

about books and talk about deep things

and to you know really be

self-reflective speaking of a current

climate you know one of the things that

you have now become famous forever for

is that when they go low we go high and

that ain’t always easy you know it’s not

always easy and what I wanted to ask you

that in this climate where low has taken

new lows yeah how do you maintain a high

and not appear to be passive and not

lose your equilibrium because low is

gone lower yeah yes well because going

low is easy which is why people go to it

it’s easy to go low it’s easy to lead by

fear it’s easy to be divisive it’s easy

to make people feel afraid that’s the

easy thing and it’s also the short-term

thing and for me you know what I learned

from my husband what I learned in eight

years at the White House is that this

this life this world our responsibility

and it is so much bigger than us right

so what I have to keep in mind is

usually when I want to go low it’s all

about my own ego you know it’s not about

solving anything it’s not about fixing

anything it’s about seeking revenge on

the thing that happened to you yeah and

when you as Oprah you talk about purpose

yes what it’s all about and my purpose

on this planet is not to just take care

of my own little ego you know there is a

bigger purpose for me out there so when

I respond to something I have to think

about that light I’m trying to shine

what role model am I trying to be what

what are the words that I’m gonna say

and how will it affect young people who

are looking at me but that’s the bigger

picture that puts you in a position to

think high because if you’re thinking

about the long term you don’t take the

short-term measure of getting even with

somebody right here and now today

because it makes you feel good in the

moment if it’s not gonna fix a problem

if it’s not

I’m gonna move the needle then you’re

not going high you’re just being selfish

yeah I was going to ask you that because

you know when you are the rock star that

you are

and yes when you’re filling stadiums all

over the world you’re a rock star just

take it just take it no yes not just

rocks are rock star role model world’s

most admired woman when you are that

well you carry all of those titles does

that affect how you then make decisions

the is that now a part of what you think

about before you make a decision or have

an intention I don’t know that it’s any

different today but I feel like I have a

risk but when you I believe that when

you are a public figure

I believe this that when you have any

level of a Fame or if you have a

platform I believe and I always have

believed that I have a responsibility

with that platform and I think about

kids I care a lot about young people and

I know that what we say what they hear

come out of our mouths all of us but me

in particular because they’re paying

attention that it has a lasting effect

and I am a mother I’m a mother I care

about kids first so I think deeply about

what kids are hearing me say so yes I do

I take that very seriously and I take

the words that I say to children very

seriously you know when I’m with a young

person I want them to hear me I want

them to hear me see them it’s important

for them to know that this person who’s

so famous and has this platform thinks

that they are beautiful and smart and

kind and good yeah as I said earlier

that everybody just wants to know that

you hear me yes and that you see me

what’s the best advice do you think

you’ve given your daughters oh gosh I

give them so much advice they’re so sick

of me you know now that they’re in

college I have these tech

ding did I ever did I tell you to

remember little things like you are

eating some green things aren’t you what

is the thing that over the years was a

running theme in your house that you

said over and over there you know what I

tell them is what I continue to tell

themselves is that they have to walk

their own walk you know they they cannot

define themselves by looking at each

other or looking at me or their dad they

have to take the time to get to know

themselves give themselves a moment to

figure out who they want to be in the

world not who they think I want them to

be not what the rest of the world says

about them but to really think about how

they want to shape their lives and how

they want to move in this world so I

don’t want them measuring themselves by

external influences and for young girls

that is hard to do oh no that is a very

hard thing to do and everybody should

understand that is responsibility its

industry larger it drives me crazy hard

when it was hard with just cable TV when

you’re watching all the images and in

music videos it’s I don’t know

exponentially difficult yeah with with

social media when you’re comparing

yourself to everybody on social media so

I constantly have to remind them that

they have to live in their own skin and

that takes time too and I try to make

sure they understand that that that

unfolding of understanding who you are

it it is a journey of becoming you don’t

know it all in your 20s no you don’t you

just started to go something right how

did you do that in the white house where

you have access to everything and

everybody in the world I think it’s

difficult for people no matter where you

are in your trajectory you want to do

have a better life than your parents you

want your children and live comfortably

everybody does but how do you not spoil

children when they have access to

everything it it was easy for us you

know because we don’t think they deserve

it you know it’s about

it wasn’t a difficult thing to do you

know no the way me and Barack were

raised I mean first of all you got to

have a mate that shares your value so it

starts way back to who you pick you got

to have a good picker because if you all

don’t come to parenting with the same

kind of values and understanding that

stuff doesn’t isn’t parenting giving

kids things is not parenting is that it

is a verb it is an active engaging thing

and that means you got to know you your

kids are and each one of them are

different right so you can’t just apply

the same principles to the first one

that you did to the second one because

they come here totally different so we

you know we didn’t just show up in the

white house you know we I’m Michelle

from the south side of Chicago a little

bitty house I got nice clothes and

jewelry now but my mother made my

clothes you know I mean we were raised

with that’s enough you know you’d be

grateful for what you have you don’t

look at the next thing you’d be happy

with what do you have and that’s how we

work in the White House that didn’t

change because we moved to a different

house you know the house didn’t define

us

it’s the values that defined us amen

amen for us so I heard we read this

although you know we can’t believe

anything we read but I know

Malia’s third year Harvard and you all

all together as a family dropped Sasha

off we did we dropped Malia off too

yes we all did okay and I heard with the

motorcade with the motorcade tried to

hide it but it was there it’s hard with

20 cars well they think we had him do

less cars okay so it had to drop off it

was it’s always good for any parent who

dropped off kids there’s the busy part

of drop off which is like okay all right

and I’m that person while Barack is like

trying to put together a lamp I’m like

girl you cannot keep all these clothes

you brought a hundred shoes and you live

in a dorm so you can you can pick ten I

mean this is what I’m doing it’s like

pick 10 shoes you cannot bring all those

shoes and she was supposed to do that

before we got there which was winnow her

clothes

but see she didn’t understand what dorm

life was and I was like girl you got

three inches of a closet and so you

gotta figure this out so if there’s that

busyness of trying to move in and pack

unpack and fold clothes and clean up a

little get it all together and so when

you’re busy with the busy stuff you’re

not thinking about the emotional stuff

so usually we then drop them off get

them in the dorm then we take them out

to lunch somewhere and that’s like our

last lunch and when the emotions come is

when we are getting in our cars and

getting on a plane and leaving our

babies and they’re going somewhere where

they will now live that’s when it hits

you it’s like we all start choking up it

was just late and just like this is the

time when I know you’re leaving yeah and

so we all you know try to hold it

together we tried to hold it together to

get her in the car so she wouldn’t start

crying and then me and Barack we bawled

like babies

you know Barack has that get that ugly

loud cry like you know he did that at

but we as a graduation like we’re

sitting there he had his sunglasses on

and and speeches are happening and you

know we’re all chatting and we hear and

we look down like are you okay he’s like

he’s gonna kill me for telling that

story all that you don’t tell them don’t

tell them

so this year is the first time you all

have been empty nesters and what’s that

light and it’s so easy a job is it oh no

it is really good cuz doesn’t the actual

energy of a house change ya know what

I’m saying is that parenting takes up a

lot of emotional space and you know my

husband was busy being president so I

don’t think he understood how much time

time and energy

don’t we wish yes

just vote y’all that’s all I’m saying

just vote but anyway we digress but you

know I put a lot of time and energy to

parent think these girls in the White

House because I wish we were trying to

make their lives normal you know so that

meant weekends were always a pain right

could you had to worry about what party

they were going to whether there was

alcohol and who was doing what and I had

to know who the parents were so you’re

trying to do that as first lady I mean

every weekend for me was hard just

following these little girls around and

they’re gone thank God they are off

living their lives as my mother used to

say sometimes you you just need to get

out there and live your life and have

your mistakes where I can’t see them

because I’m tired of watching you walk

at all you know she was there you don’t

follow them on social you know no no now

we have a lot of people who do you know

that was like no I’m serious

we have my communications director every

not group all the young people in our

lives that I mentor they all follow the

girls you know they’re their bigger

brothers and sisters who are grown it’s

like they’re watching and they they’re

the ones because it’s better for them to

be checked by somebody other than me you

know I also had to learn how to parent

with a balance of kids who have Secret

Service right so you have no matter what

am I saying right you don’t know what

I’m talking about right you know when

there’s a Secret Service you know how

that goes it’s like no you don’t but

they’re neither did I but you’re trying

to make sure that these men and women

who are following them around that the

girls can trust so I had to get my

information about what they were doing

or not doing just the same way everybody

else from other parents and other kids

who will tell on each other you know

that takes that that takes some energy

and now all that energy I can now place

back on me

and figuring out my next chapter you

know how I want to spend the rest of my

life what I want to do what I to 2020

vision is and Beyond exactly exactly

exactly so do you all actually now how

do you have more time for each other

just yes yes so and more emotional time

really more emotional energy I mean it’s

just me and him and Bo and sunny at

dinner and there’s only they don’t talk

the dogs don’t so we’re celebrating 28

right it’ll be 28 28 years yeah now

that’s real time your husband recently

posted a message y’all see this message

that he posted on Michelle’s birthday on

social media and said he said that in

every scene you are my star and you have

called him your soul affirming partner

is it more so now 28 years as opposed to

earlier years does it just keep getting

better or it’s it’s more seasoned it’s

it’s all of that you know I mean and

this is what I try to tell young people

it’s it’s you know marriage is hard and

raising a family together is a hard

thing it takes a toll but if you’re with

the person if you know why you were with

them you know you understand that there

was a friendship and a foundation there

that may it may feel like it goes away

during some of those hard times but it

it’s something that you can that we

always come back to and we’re coming

back to that point where we see each

other again

you know because some of the hardest

times in our lives we just we just

escaped it we survived it you know we

went through a tough time we did some

hard things together and now we’re out

on the other end and I can look at him

and I still recognize my husband he’s

still the man that I fell in love with -

who I value and I respect and I trust

he’s been an amazing father through so

much he is he shows up what he has shown

up well in the world and it’s he has

been who he promised he would be to me

and so that has been tested over 28

years you know so what I tell young

couples is that you got to hang in there

you know you can’t quit the minute it

gets hard because this this thing of

living life and building a life together

is a naturally hard thing to do so you

can’t quit when it’s hard because then

you’ll miss the good part and I do joke

you know and some people hate when I say

this but if you live long enough to be

married for 40 years 50 years which is

what we’re working towards if you get to

a point where eight eight of those years

are bad ten of those years are bad

wouldn’t you take those odds you know

but that’s what marriage is you can have

chunks of hard bad times and if that’s

how you define your marriage by just the

hard times then you’ll miss the the the

truth of what’s really there so you were

so open in becoming when you talked

about it or was a boo-boo

they went to therapy and therapy really

was an eye-opener for you and for him

what we all need to reflect and it’s

very hard to do it in a marriage with

the person you’re trying to work on

sometimes you need an objective person

to just hear you out you know you may

not be right you may just want to get it

out and so we have him sitting there

listening to you get it out sometimes

that helps it’s like I don’t know about

yourself I talked about this it taught

me that I am responsible for my own

happiness that I didn’t marry Barack for

him to make me happy no one can make me

happy you know so my disappointments

were about what I thought he should be

doing for me giving to me when I hadn’t

really done the work to figure out what

did I want and how do I go after what I

want on my

you know if I’m gonna show up equal in

this partnership I have to be able to

make myself happy

and so I had to stop focusing on what he

wasn’t doing and started thinking about

how to carve out the life that I wanted

for myself with or without Barak and the

more I did that the more I succeeded in

defining myself for myself the better I

was in my partnership and isn’t that for

you the cornerstone of your own wellness

program is defining your own happiness

and working towards that but one of the

things I said this earlier what I tried

to tell my girls is walk your walk you

know that’s been my mantra one thing I

do every year I started doing right

after the White House is taking a

retreat and I think some of the people

who some of my girlfriends who’ve gone

on a retreat we go to this place where

you’re essentially walking for four

hours it is it’s hard and my friends who

don’t know what it is are usually mad at

me

by the middle of it that’s that place

where you get up at 5:00 in the morning

actly and one of the lessons of walking

for that long because it’s rare that you

have to walk and these are hikes this is

up mountains and down streams and

valleys and all you have is a Camelback

with some water and some hiker is

telling you it’s water water water and

you’re just like shut up just shut up

with that water when is it over this

hike but you’re hiking with other people

and what you realize is that not

everybody has their own way of hiking

some people can get up the mountains

fast some people are fast on the flats

some people are slow and methodical

about how they walk and I always found

that when I was not enjoying my walk is

when I was comparing my walk to somebody

else in the group and I had to sort of

start telling myself over these four

hours stop comparing yourself to the

person walking ahead of you or behind

you walk your walk do your walk why are

you here how fast do you need to go how

how fast do you need to take that

incline to get through it because if you

do what she did in front of you you

won’t make it so for me the

such that I always have to tell myself

is what is my journey what what is my

definition of health for me not what I

see in a magazine you know because the

the people in magazines don’t look like

us they do they don’t even set it up to

look like us they don’t even look like

that right so I sometimes I’m at a photo

shoot

you give urine looks around the photo

shoot at last sort of shoot I counted 47

people oh yeah those are yeah yeah this

is also rich people’s problems talking

about photo shoots right and in my photo

shoot girl there were like a hundred

people yes it requires so many people

did youdid make you look like this right

people somebody put these bracelets on

me and then they moved one over there

and I was like why’d you move that one

what did why that one but who’s got time

to figure it out they just push her out

on stage just get out there was sort of

my walk but some it’s somebody else’s

walk to this way I was talking to Tina

Fey recently and she said that she she’s

at a stage now where she appreciates

that she has moved through life in a few

different body shapes yeah

what do you appreciate most now about

your body it’s mine all mine and it’s a

healthy body that works every day and I

try hard not to judge it and it is

different I mean you have to get to know

your body because what this body is at

56 isn’t this I can’t do the same thing

that I did when I was 36 it’s not the

same body we we are we’re living things

we’re not machines you know we run out

of gas we need fuel we need sunshine and

light we have to take care of ourselves

and when you don’t as you get older just

like any living thing it begins to fail

on you and for me I’m trying to figure

out what is that balance that I need to

make sure that the this body that God

me that I’m taking care of it the best

that I can and that it will serve me

well as I get older and that isn’t doing

that what I did at 30 does not take care

of this body at 56 so I can’t look at

some little kid in the gym next to me

and even wanna walk her walk because

she’s 30 you know and I’m 56 with a 56

year old body and I love my body you

know and as a as a as a child of growing

up with a person with a father with a

disability who could not walk my father

would have given anything to have any

one of my legs for me to judge that and

not to just embrace it and be happy that

I’m alive moving able to move hmm I

haven’t L myself appreciate what what

God gave you and take care of that yeah

be and be balanced about it I like that

you so freely speak the number 56 yay

for me because you have been around

women we all have and men to like oh I’m

not gonna say the number oh my gosh I’m

turning 40 and oh my gosh I’m trying

turning 50 you never had any of that we

we are so ridiculous as women you know

we were working with we were struggling

with so much you know just the notion to

the other thing we don’t want to talk

about our age and then we want to act

like we should look like we did when

we’re 20 you know when I’m sorry men

y’all can look any kind of way you know

and it seems to be okay it’s it’s I told

my daughters because as they’re getting

older they start to judge themselves and

you know it’s interesting when they talk

about well I couldn’t fit in my jeans

that I had last year and I said but

you’re a whole nother year older you’re

now becoming a woman you don’t have a

child’s body that’s like saying you know

at 20 I’m really upset that I couldn’t

wear my favorite overalls anymore when I

was 10 yeah you know that’s as

ridiculous as it is at 56 to think that

I should look like I did when I was 36

or for anyone to judge me

like that or to judge a woman like that

we’re aging a nice culture where people

are trying to stop it yes and then you

have all of these frozen faces yes and

let me tell you when you’re old now this

is another thing most people I mean

you’re in a photo line and everybody

looks the same and you’re like didn’t I

just meet you no nope y’all just have

the same lips right and the same

forehead and the same yeah let it go but

we have to embrace our change and I’m

lecturing to myself truthfully ladies

because I do I struggle with this too

you know I struggle with looking at the

mirror going mmm well whoa oh and I hate

I hate looking at myself I hate

listening to my voice I hate watching

myself on tape because I’m constantly

judging myself too just like everybody

else really are you still I was gonna

ask you is there any self-doubt left yes

I remember when cuz I I opened or

interviewed you at the very first tour

stop in Chicago remember that really

little nervous we prayed backstage

because I was the first one and I

remember you were anxious and I read

somewhere where you said you weren’t

even sure people would show up yeah

exactly it’s like you know I mean I

lived in a cocoon of the White House for

eight years I knew sort of kinda that

people maybe sort of like me you know

might might be interested in the book I

don’t know you know the people who have

read you guys I say I wasn’t really

I wasn’t fishing for a compliment not

everybody likes me though you know some

people think I’m the devil incarnate you

know I mean you know when you’re in the

politics you get the good and the venom

too you know and that’s why in the book

I remind people look people called me

all kinds of things when when I was when

I was campaigning for Barack when it was

a competition they called me on American

and this stuff sticks with you men

talked about the size of my butt you

know there are people who were telling

me I was angry

you know you that stuff hurts you know

and it makes you sort of wonder what are

people seeing you know you know that

that stuff is there and look I’m a black

woman in America and you know we’re not

always made to feel beautiful you know

we’re you know so there’s still that you

know there’s still that baggage that we

carry and not everybody can relate to

that but yes there is baggage that that

I carry just like anybody else I was

wondering if touring the world filling

arenas and stadiums around the world

helped to release some of that

self-doubt the release doesn’t come from

the adoration or the the book sales the

work is still from within that’s the

thing you know it’s yes it is it’s the

voices in my head it’s not y’all it’s me

you know it’s me changing the the

playbook the the the recording in my

head that was that has been played over

and over again and that’s what a lot of

women a lot of you that’s why I take

take what what childr

en hear from me you

know I take that very seriously because

my voice becomes the part that the

recording in their head so what could

that voice possibly be saying to you at

this point that brings self-doubt it’s

always are you working hard enough is

there you know are you using this

platform

or a good purpose are you focused on

what other people need are you getting

outside of your own ego that’s you know

we’re constantly checking that with the

work that we’re doing I mean I just

spent a year on a book tour talking

about me

it feels like that’s enough now let’s

talk about somebody else’s story now

we’re where are these girls who are not

going to school because you know what in

the end that’s why I’m here I’m not here

to talk about my story or to talk about

my journey I’m here to shine a light on

other young women and that’s your the

big work I had that’s the big I feel

that that’s the work that speaks to me

you recently released a companion to be

coming it’s called the the journal

lovely for discovering your voice I gave

away many for Christmas thank you and

I’ve been keeping a journal you know

since about 15 years old I love some of

the questions you include in here you

say if you could have a conversation

with a loved one who has passed away

what would you ask him or her I’m asking

that of you you know I wish I knew they

like on I wish I had taken the time to

get to know my grandparents full stories

because a lot of what I talk about are

my impressions of what my grandparents

must have been going through I talk

about my paternal grandfather dandy and

he was kind of a crotchety old man I

read about and now that I’m older I can

look back and think why was he so angry

but it it was because he was a brilliant

black man in the era of segregation and

Jim Crow who could not realize his

potential and he was probably very

bitter about that and imagine how that

would imagine how that would feel I wish

I was old and I wish I had been old

enough to sit down with him and ask him

what you know what he went through how

did he how did he survive living through

a world that had such limited

expectations for him when he knew that

you know there was so much more for him

yeah I would want to unpack that so that

I could get to know

him better and the reason why I put this

kind of stuff in in the journal is

because this is what our stories are and

I want particularly young people to know

that there’s time now to have some of

those conversations with the elders in

your life because the more you

understand their stories their journeys

their pains and their hurts you get to

understand who they are in a full sense

and then you judge less and you’re more

empathetic I wish I understood my elders

a bit more but we grew up in an era

where you don’t ask nobody question you

know don’t ask

dandy that right you know you’re you

wish if you could have a conversation

that’s who it would be and I do that

with every single one of my grandparents

describe your perfect day beginning with

breakfast and ending with dinner mmm

well we beat somewhere warm we’d be in

Hawaii and or someplace warm yeah and

I’d wake up and have a workout I’d be

outside I do you do buddies do you do

breakfast I generally don’t I’m not a

big breakfast person you know I I

probably wouldn’t have breakfast I would

go out on a long walk where I could see

the ocean and some mountains that are

you love to hell I love to be outside

because so much of our lives we don’t we

don’t have the freedom to just be

outside anymore because of security so

for both Barack and I crave a chance to

be outdoors and I would take a long walk

and I would come home and I would have

lunch with my husband and I would sit on

the beach and I’d read or I talked to

some of my girlfriends because I love

living in my community I love to have

people around our house is usually full

of people do you still cook No

not a stick of cooking that is not one

of the things that I need in defining

myself I don’t need the cook it’s not on

my personal list now I know for you like

to cook but I like to cook what I want

to yes I don’t ever want to okay like I

could make some hot water for me and

since I can cook you can’t cook yes I

like proved it and cook for y’all you’ve

you’ve been fed by me you don’t do it

anymore

no and he doesn’t either no he doesn’t

either how do you look after yourself

after a bad day that’s another one of

your journal how do I look after myself

after a bad day I tune out the world

that is making me feel bad because it’s

usually something external I just take a

break from what’s usually do you watch i

watch TV but I watch like I like HGTV I

wouldn’t I you know and I got into this

habit because I never wanted to like get

caught watching something where I would

be mentioned or my husband so that

cancels out like most of the news right

right so I didn’t know news how do you

all monitor Newsies we get clips and I

watch I get news on my feed and I’d kind

of tune and I have a whole

communications team so when something

goes down they was like you need to see

this so I generally and I had to learn

how to do that in the White House

because if you don’t block it out it can

eat you up and if I come to your house

like the TV is not gonna be on all over

the house no no you go to Gail’s house

all the TV oh yeah no all the TVs are

yeah now literally so that when you go

for room-to-room it’s on air oh no that

would drive me crazy that would SAP me

of

that was good inside yes so you you you

don’t know watch watch news but what is

your favorite TV show oh god I have a

lot of favorite TV shows I love blackish

and groaning and all the issues I love I

love comedy you know I started watching

shits Creek Netflix hilarious it’s kind

of the take off like modern-day take off

from Green Acres for young people that

was a show that was on a long time ago a

long long time ago yes so I like

comedies I love the marvelous mrs

Maisel I like that too

I like yeah I love TV I love watching TV

I probably watch a little too much TV I

wasn’t listening to myself I was there’s

this question mrs Kennedy told a story

a long time ago about watching a

congressman’s wife sneaking silverware

from in her bag at the White House so

I’m wondering if you saw any weird

behavior you witnessed at a White House

event Oh God yeah people you know

because people usually are nervous when

they come to the White House so like if

there’s a party people usually over

drink because they’re nervous right

because they don’t know what to expect

but you can see and the drinks at the

White House are strong so we have seen

some people falling out and I’m not

gonna mention any names but uuy we’ve

seen some Spanx and some stuff okay

who’s the most fun to sit next to at a

steak dinner

Stephen Colbert was a fun dinner date

because he’s so cute and charming any

smart so he actually knows what’s going

on

so and he’ll say things in your ear you

know that are in place stop it

we’re not supposed to be laughing

it’s time so he was up he was a lovely

dinner date and I don’t think he knew

that he was gonna be sitting next to me

I don’t even think he understood why he

was invited so he tells this story he’s

like and then I looked up he looked at

his wife he’s like I’m sitting next to

Michelle Obama and he said all she says

she said was don’t embarrass me so I

like her what’s the last new thing you

mastered the last new thing I mastered

I don’t know okay that’s hard the last

new thing I master I don’t I’m drawing a

blank here maybe I need to master

something I just started yoga and there

you like it I do I do because this is

something I need because I’m getting old

so I got to be flexible I think is the

most important thing the older you get

the more important it were so there are

all these crazy yoga poses that you know

like they went the day before yesterday

and they were trying to have us do

something where chin was on the ground

they kicked their legs up and I was like

I’m about to talk to Oprah I cannot have

a bruised chin how do they explain to

people because I’m trying some stupid

yoga pose I was gonna ask you my next

question was what is the last thing that

you did that made you feel genuinely

older Oh any conversation with a young

person you know here’s one just personal

sentiment I have a godson who you know

is just got his permit and his mother

sent me a video of him behind the wheel

and dad just tripped me out because I

was like no one should let that little

boy Drive he’s on the road I mean he was

the kind of kid like the girls would go

over his house when they were little and

they come back with scratches on their

face because he was a wild little boy

when he was little and I would come home

and it’s like oh he must have been it we

call him boots you must have been a

bujji’s house because your face is all

scratched up he’s driving that made me

feel old seeing the young people in my

life because to be like this yeah

watching them out in the world you know

buying groceries having conversations

about life like they know something that

makes you know the thing about young

people though it’s like their baby comes

out you know it’s like my children that

can be all elegant and saying

interesting points and then I get a

FaceTime because somebody doesn’t know

how to get a stain out of their duvet

cover and I’m like oh

is still a baby because you don’t even

know how to do laundry right yet so but

that kind of stuff makes me feel I was

asking earlier Julian was out and she

was talking about her superpower is

dance hmm what is yours I don’t you know

I have a hard time thinking about it as

a superpower but you know I

I hope it’s making people feel seeing

you know I hope that that’s my

superpower that I make the people that I

come in contact with feel seen and heard

especially young people I hope I have

that power to make them feel relevant

and whole you know and and deliver it to

them what I didn’t have when that what

was that when I was that age like the

sense of importance and relevance in the

world I hope that’s my superpower

I hope my superpower is empathy you know

I try very hard even in these times to

understand what people are going through

when they’re angry or hateful or when

they’re doing things that just don’t

feel right I try to stand in their shoes

and say there’s got to be something

there’s got to be a context that I can

understand that helps me see how you see

the world so that I can connect with you

on some level and I think that’s one

thing that’s missing in all of us you

know it’s just the ability to stand in

somebody else’s shoes and understand

their pain their hurt their fears their

loss and to see them beyond their anger