Transcript: Michelle Obama on Good Hang with Amy Poehler

Hey everyone, welcome to another episode

of Good Hang. I am Amy Polar and I'm

very excited to introduce our guest

today. It is Michelle Obama. Wow, we

talk about some really cool stuff today.

We talk about HGTV and how much we love

it. We talk about the time that I

drooled in front of her. We talk about

bedtime. We talk about allergies, which

is what I currently have right now,

which is why I'm sounding so sexy and

sophisticated. But um before we start

this episode, we do what we always do,

which is we ask someone that knows our

guest really well or is a fan of our

guest or is familiar with our guests

work to give me a question to ask them.

And who better to ask about Michelle

than her older brother Craig. So Craig

Robinson is joining us, the co-host of

their new podcast, IMO, in my opinion.

So let's welcome Craig Robinson to the

studio.

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[Music]

Everyone, I'm very, very excited to have

Craig here, who um is Mrs. Obama,

Michelle Obama's brother. Do you call

her Mrs. Obama?

See, this is what I mean. You just

quickly make me laugh. I only call her

Mrs. Obama when I'm mad at her. Yeah,

exactly. When you're Or yes, when you're

when there's a formal request. And and

and I don't call her that. I call her I

don't even call her Michelle. I call her

Meech. That's right. I heard that.

Meech. So, it's been that way for since

she was a kid. Yeah. Yeah. And you guys

are close in age. We're 20 months

apart. And And let me I wanted to back

up and say, you know, every time we have

somebody on our show, they're trying to

figure out what to call her. And it's

really entertaining to watch people

either say Mrs. Obama or the first lady

or uh Yeah. or and and she wants them to

she wants them to call her Michelle.

Okay, good. I got But if anybody but if

anybody asked me, I always say call her

Mrs.

Mrs. Obama.

It's funny though. You know what what it

what that brings up for me is in in an

interesting way is and kind of what you

guys do in your podcast, which I love so

much, is there's like the public version

of everyone. Everyone has a front-facing

version of themselves and then they have

the family version of themselves. And

like doesn't matter how what changes in

your life. Yeah. You're the family

version pretty much your whole life.

Yes. And you're the oldest. I am the

oldest. Shout out to the oldest. I'm the

oldest, too. And the oldest hardest job.

It's tough. No bless. You know, I know

my mom had favorites and I was the one.

Okay. So, you were your mom. Yeah. The

brother. The boy is I was the one. I was

the one. And Meech

always jokes about the fact that my mom

lived in the White House. She went on

all of these wonderful trips, state

dinners, and all that. And all she

wanted to know is when's Craig coming?

It pisses her off and love it. So, as

the eldest child, we know the

responsibility we have. Absolutely. I

have a younger brother. Okay. And he's

three years younger. And you you guys

have the same situation I have, which is

just like boy, girl, you know? So you

grew up together but apart like you know

you had you were this you were like

together all the time but you probably

had different friends different interest

like you didn't have to share a lot.

Well did you we actually shared a lot.

Oh okay. Not we shared toys. We shared a

bedroom. Okay. We shared a bedroom from

the time I can remember until I got to

high school and my parents were like,

"All right, we got to get this big dude

his own bedroom."

But we used to have beds that that the

heads were headto head and it was a

little table in between. And then when

we got a little older, my grandfather

built in the same room a panled tea so

we had separate bedrooms. Yeah. But the

it didn't go all the way to the ceiling

so we could hear each other. And then we

had a playroom in the front for the two

of us. And we would spend hours at night

just talking and laughing. Is it tough

being so tall?

Because I feel like you have to be nicer

than maybe you want to be sometimes.

Sometimes. Sometimes you do, but it is

great being tall except in a couple of

situations like airplanes and buying

clothes off the rack. Yeah. It's really

hard. Yeah. Um, but for the most part it

is, it's so good. It's so good. And you

know, you know what people do to you

when you're tall? They assume you are in

charge and are smart. Yeah. They're

like, "Come on." They're like, "Finally,

a a real leader is here." Yes. Yes.

Unfortunately, we can make mistakes in

Yeah. in society. You know what I'm

talking about? What do you What do you

mean?

I don't I trust every tall person in

government.

But it it No, it's really fun. But I do,

you know, every now and then I'd like a

cute pair of shoes instead of a size 15.

But um you know what 15? 15. 15. It's

embarrassing, but I'm used to it. I'm

used to it. But if you notice, yeah,

when we sit together, you are taller

than I am because my torso is very

short. It's all legs. It's all legs.

That's why the plane is an

That's a nightmare. And and you know

some guy I mean if I could afford like

one of those fancy sports cars I

wouldn't be able to fit in it. You

should have like a business card that

says I'm all legs baby.

People be like wow I've never heard that

and it's the funniest thing I've heard.

That's great. I'm all legs. Well he's

all legs you know. So you know those

kind of people. All legs baby. I've got

what I would give to be all legs. If I

was all legs, it would just be legs up

to my neck and then a head and that's

it. Okay. So, we have this we're doing

we do this thing here where we kind of

talk to somebody before we talk to our

guest about any questions that you think

I would be, you know, the right person

to ask um today. Anything big or small

that you think um I should ask your

sister? Yes. Yeah. So, I I was thinking

about this because I watched your show

and I was absolutely thrilled to to be

here. So, I was thinking about what

would be a good question for you to ask

her because see my sister is when she

gets asked a question, you ask her

what's the one thing she gives you six

things. I was like, we didn't ask for

six things. Give us one thing. So, maybe

if you do it, she might obey. Okay. I

would say ask her what is the one

thing that she would share with the rest

of the

world that our parents gave

her? So, let me rephrase it. What is the

one thing that our parents gave you,

Michelle, that you would like to share

with the rest of the world? One thing.

And if she starts to do two things, I

go, you can say, "See, your brother was

right." You said you were gonna give You

said you were gonna

give 15 things. You can make up whatever

number feels good at the time. I can't

wait. Did you ever coach Michelle on any

team? No, ma'am. Are you kidding? She

can't be coach. She's uncachable. She's

not coachable. No, I'm just kidding. I

You only time I coached her is when we

were playing together. Yeah. Does she

you know sometimes as the oldest

sometimes I have a younger brother so

and and no he doesn't always want to

hear my ideas isn't it isn't that and I

have good ideas you not only do you have

good ideas but he probably thinks he has

good ideas but he wants you to listen to

his ideas and he'll listen to my idea if

it comes out of someone else's mouth

sounds like we have the same sibling but

if it's if it's not said by me he'll

heal but sometimes He doesn't want me to

like tell him anything. Oh, listen. It

was It was perfect yesterday. I was glad

we were we were on set. Yeah. Yeah. And

there were four people left around and

we were talking about something and I

said something to my sister and as soon

as I said she gave me a look and then uh

3 minutes later she said the exact same

thing. Fortunately, our four camera

people over there were cracking up

because I was like, I just said that.

What is going on? She said it again.

Yeah, it's a little that little sister

thing. But she will tell you that it was

hard growing up being a little sister

because she used to be Craig Robinson's

little sister and now I'm Michelle

Obama's big brother and it is way easier

being Michelle Obama's big brother.

Way easier. Yeah. Yeah. It's nice to

have a big brother. I always wanted an

older sibling. Didn't you? Didn't you

Don't you wish you had an older sibling

to take care of you, Craig? All legs

baby. All legs Craig. All Legs Baby is

here to be your older sibling if you

need one. Oh my god. I am here. I am

here for it. You can always reach out

to. And also, don't you wish the last

thing I'll I'll finish up with is you're

you're a two kid family. I am too. Don't

you wish there was one more sibling so

you could talk about the other sibling,

too. Just one more. Just occasionally

you could call and go, "That's funny.

I've never thought about that, but that

is a great idea." I'm sure my younger

brother wants that. Just one more

person. Well, Meech always wanted She

wanted like the Brady Bunch family.

Yeah, I was happy with the way our setup

was, but that was cuz I was the oldest

and the favorite. So, we don't we're not

about But that's a great That is a great

take. I hadn't thought about that. Just

one more. But then what about what

happens when it's twoonone and you can

get a dud. The third one can be a dud.

We know that, you know, you're playing

with fire. Like, you guys did really

well. Two successful and interesting,

smart, curious people. The third one

could have been.

You never know, but we'll see. We'll

ask. We'll see. Um, okay. I am so

appreciate you coming here. Thank you so

much. And congrats on your podcast in my

opinion, which we're going to talk about

today. And, um, I think we got

everything we need, right? Are we going

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Okay, I want to start with allergies

because

and I feel some people she's emotional.

It's like no, I have allergies. Start

with allergies, too, because I have

allergies, too. Bad out here in Los

Angeles. Yeah, I got off the plane and

Did you take anything for it? I take

allergy medicine every day. Does it trip

you out? Like, does it make you feel No,

it doesn't. But I find that when I get

off of it, um, you know, you have to

build back up. So, I just stay on it. We

travel so much. We're everywhere all the

time. So, you never know. It's spring

somewhere. Something's blooming. Have

you ever done a netty pot? I have done

that, but I don't do it. I I've done it,

but it doesn't make a huge difference. I

mean, I I like Nasinex, you know. I like

the nose spray. If I do that every day,

I don't know if there's a limit to how

much you're supposed to do it, but I

keep it going. I'm sure it's on the

bottle somewhere, but but I should look

at that bottle. I haven't looked at that

bottle in years. It's funny that we talk

about allergies cuz I lost my voice a

couple days ago and I had a real it was

like a living stress dream that I would

not have my voice for this podcast and

now you and I are both doing podcasts.

That's crazy. First of all, thank you

for being here. Thank you for having me,

Michelle Obama. And also, I haven't seen

you in a second. Incredible. Thank you.

I know that that's not as important, but

you look incredible. Thank you. It's

called peace of mind. You look hot. A

sorry. So, let's say that again. Okay. I

know it's early in the day, but um but

yeah, we're both doing jobs now where we

have to talk a lot. Lots of talking.

How's it going? I you know um as my mom

passed last year, but she would say this

is exactly what you should be doing

because I talk a lot. We talk in our

family. Yeah. I've noticed that the

Obama family, everybody talks. Malia,

Sasha, we all have many opinions. Yes.

And we share them openly. So why not

have a podcast where I'm sharing my

opinion? Well, when we saw each other, I

mean, I have such I have many many

memories of course of getting to do

luckily getting to do a bunch of things

with you and one of the most fun things

when you came into parks and recreation.

So cool. I was just my my assistant

who's young, she's a baby. We were just

saying I was saying in the car ride over

I said I haven't seen I don't think

we've seen seen each other since Parks

and Wreck. And she was like you were on

Parks and Wreck. I was like yeah I'm

kind of a big

deal. I mean okay do you have a memory

of that day? I'm sure you didn't cuz you

were probably in the middle of your

workday. But I have a very strong memory

about something. was a blur because the

thing is is like I'm not an actress and

I'm running lines and trying to figure

out I mean you can't be a good actress

on top of everything else but I'm I was

nervous. I was like you know I want to I

want to get it right but I want to be

myself in a natural way. So it was very

much a blur. What do you remember? Okay.

Well I do remember one the very first

take. Uhhuh. So yeah we were busy. We

were like hitting a bunch of places that

day. You were perfect. You got your

line. You hit your mark, you said your

line, and my character Leslie Nope is

supposed to be overwhelmed by seeing you

and I, Amy Polar, was also very jazzed

and I went to say my line and I

drooled. Do you not remember? I'm so

glad you don't remember. I full on

drooled. And did I did I say something

about you? Did I notice you drool? Total

pro. You just were like you just looked

like, okay, maybe this is a choice.

And then director yelled cut. Mike Sher,

whoever, Morgan Sack, whoever was

director, yelled cut. And I was like,

did I just drool? And you're like, you

did. You did. That happened. That

happened. I don't I didn't I don't know

if I saw it, but Yeah. And I was real

drool. What? What happened? Why the

drool? My um I have very active saliv

salivary glands. Do you really? I do.

Okay. There. When I go to the dentist,

real active, Michelle, just talking and

drool comes out of your mouth. Now that

those are some active glands, active

glands under control right now.

And so, yeah, when I go to the dentist,

they're always like, "Whoa, easy." Yeah.

They have the extra large suction tube

for you. They've got an Amy tube. You're

joking. But they do. Do they really?

They have to put in two tubes. This is

this is this is some tea right here.

Totally breaking a heavy drooler and

needs special dental supplies.

I don't like the dentist. I've talked

about this. Well, not if you have drool

issues. So, I remember doing that to you

just to make you feel better. Well, you

did. You did. I figured, well, she's

drooling, so I can't be any worse. What

could I do wrong?

As long as I just stand up straight,

you'll be good. I do not remember the

draw. Oh my god. Why? But I'm going to

think about that. I'm sorry. I want you

to always associate that with me now.

But but it was such a fun that was such

a fun time because u not only was I

getting to do the job that I loved, but

it was a time when it felt like

everybody wanted to stop by and be part

of the show that was about public

service. And it was a different time

where there was this ability or

lightness, I think, in many ways, to

just put a bunch of different people

together in a room and they don't agree

and they still find a way to work

together. Oh, do you remember those

times? You remember that? I don't That's

a long time ago. But um I was thinking

about that because there is a um there

there's a there's a you you just said

you're not an actor but you are

constantly speaking and performing and

with the podcast it's a completely

different way of performing. It's almost

like unraveling. That's right. Getting

like almost unlearning. What are you

unlearning about all this stuff that

you're trying to kind of like jettison

and let go of that you you know stuff

you had to learn or put on that now

you're unlearning? That's a good

question.

Um you know not trying to get things so

perfect. Um you know as first lady the

the eight years even beyond um the the

the stakes were so high. Yeah. Right.

Um,

and you know, Barack and I, our team, we

felt like we didn't have room to get

anything wrong. And in this setting, you

know, I can be loose. Um, I can stutter.

I can um misspeak sometimes, even though

I'm sure that will make news. Um, but I

just feel like there's room to breathe.

And maybe some of that is my age.

Maybe some of that is that now that I'm

in my 60s, what more do I have to prove?

How how much more do I have to do? And

let's just let's just live. Let's just

talk. I think women should stop

improving themselves.

I think we and I think we're like, you

know, like when you're in a race and

you're really really far ahead and you

just want to just pause for a second to

let people catch up. It's like enough

enough of the improving and that's it's

too much, you know, and and fellas, you

know, why don't you try it? Just we're

just we'll just take a break. We're

going to walk a little slower, catch on

up, and let's keep running. But it's so

real. I mean, all we I mean, we do this

to ourselves all the time. We're just

like, I got to get more efficient more,

more, more, more. And I think sometimes

like we should try less, less is more.

Yeah, we should try. But we, you know,

you don't feel your confidence as a

woman. At least I didn't until now. I

mean, and and I say that out loud

because I know that there are young

women in their 30s and 40s trying to get

that perfection thing right. We always

feel like we're not doing enough. We're

always harboring guilt. Yeah. Um, and

it's not until now that we can look back

on this lifetime of accomplishments and

say, "Look, maybe maybe I did know a

thing or two." Um, maybe I can slow

down. Maybe I can take a break. Um, but

I think be we're harder on ourselves

um than anyone can be. And I agree, I'm

having those conversations with myself

every day. It's like, slow down. It's

okay. You don't have to get this right.

you can make some mistakes maybe. Um,

and and you've got some wisdom to share

finally. You know, I feel confident in

the wisdom that I have to share. That's

awesome. I mean, I wouldn't Do you would

do you agree? I would I wouldn't go back

in time. I would not. No. You know, 20s

and 30s are really hard. Would you trade

that stomach? I would trade the stomach

and the collagen and a little bit of the

ability to stay up late. Like I can't

believe how I stayed up so late. You

know, I never did. But you I never I was

always sleepy, you know. I I just want

the Are you sleepy? Are you Are you

sleepy energy? Do you love bedtime? I

love bedtime. Tell me about your bedtime

routine. What time do you like to go to

bed? And how do you like to go? It's

embarrassing. And I, you know, I go to

bed as soon as I can. Me, too. I'm

thinking about bed right now. It's 10:30

in the morning. I like Barack and always

I agree. Yeah, I can't wait. Well,

Barack and I, we usually have dinner at

around 6:30. Perfect. And he's a night

owl. Oh. So, if we if we have guests,

I'm good. If I'm with people, I'm up.

I'm awake. I can do this stuff. But

after we've had our catchup conversation

and we've had our together time and all

of that, I'm looking at the clock and

he's looking at me. He's like, "Really?

It's 8:00." I was like, I just

incredible. I'm just so ready, you know?

So, I'm like I I like it's not you, it's

me. It's time. It's time for bed. And I

get so giddy. I wash my face. I get into

the cool sheets because the room has to

be cold. Yeah. What temp are we talking?

68. Incredible. Yes. Can't be higher

than degrees, you know. And then he's

freezing. I was like, just put on some

socks. Do you have a do you have a what

kind of do you like a tempropedic

mattress or and what kind of pillow

situation are you I like um I I'm not

sure the brand of the mattress. Uh I

should know but I don't. We need to know

that for your podcast. You need to get

yourself a free mattress. I'm mention

it. You can get a free mattress.

I didn't even think of that. Right.

Right. Just say it once. Your house will

be filled with mattresses. Okay. I'm

going to find

out. I'm going to find out. Thanks for

the tip. Yeah, you got it. Okay, so

you're in bed com sheets. You know what

do you have on the bedside table? Uh we

got it's a it's a lamp. It's uh my phone

chargers. Um my glasses, my reading

glasses. Uh water. Um are you still

read? Are you a book reader? Are you I

cannot read because I love sleep so

much. I realize if I want to read I have

to be sitting up. Okay. It doesn't put

reading puts me to sleep. was like,

"Yes, it does." Like one sentence I'm

like "And

the so it's, you know, it it's then I

don't remember where I am. I don't do

the I don't listen to podcasts because I

don't hear it. I'm asleep. I my head

hits the pillow and I'm out." Any sleep

aid like any like even like a a ginger

tea, a melaton? I don't need an aid. I

need I just need to put my head on the

pillow. Do you wear socks to bed? Nope.

Mm- Do not like socks. Do you like

pajamas or sometimes night gown

situation? Depends on how hot I am and

we're at that stage, you know. Some

sometimes I get in the bed and I'm

freezing and other times it's like, "Oh

my god, take my skin off." It's like

the the change in temperature is wild

for any woman any time, but especially

it's a battle with a partner, right?

because he's always cold and I'm like,

"Do not touch." And sometimes I wake up

hot and I'll wake him up. Did you touch

the thermostat? Do you touch the

thermostat, didn't you? He's like, "I

didn't. I swear to God." He now knows.

He's afraid of the thermostat. I said,

"I don't care what you do. Do not touch

anything in this room after I touch." Do

you wear an eye shade or ear plugs?

Fantastic. Also, I want to know what's

going on.

Are you a light sleeper or

um No. Mhm. Do you talk in your sleep or

snore? No. Let's just say that.

Incredible. I don't know. You're a

really good sleeper. I don't Side

sleeper, back sleeper. Side sleeper.

Okay. Got it. And now I'm at the age

where I'll wake up and my shoulder sore.

Don't get me started. I had frozen

shoulder a couple years ago. Oh, you had

the frozen shoulder. And guess what?

Nobody knows what causes it. And there's

nothing you can do about it. You know,

like every ailment for women in their

50s, they're like old. They're like,

"Yeah, I guess it just hurts." And it's

like, "How long is it going to hurt?"

And they're like, "I guess forever,

maybe." Do you do yoga? I do yoga. It

did unfreeze. It goes through like a

period, you know. But are you a um I'm

doing this. Can you do push-ups? Yeah, I

I I do. How many push-ups do you uh

Well, now I do I do them on my knees. I

I don't This is another thing. It's like

I don't need to, you know, do regular

push-ups. I have nothing to prove. But I

can do push-ups on my knees. I can do a

lot of those. But you can do regular

push-ups, too. I can, but it's hard. I

think my arm length I don't go all the

way down. In fact, you know who pointed

that out was Ellen because my first term

she ch she challenged me to a push-up

competition. I'm the first lady, you

know, and she heard that I worked out

and she was like, "You count." So, I'm

on her show doing push-ups and I did

more push-ups than her, but she still

says, "I didn't go down all the way."

But anatomically, I don't think I really

can. My arms are very long. Yeah. And

she's a much smaller person than me. I

was just talking to Craig about this

that smaller people I mean, we like

them. Some some of the small people are

our best

friends. It's so cute. I don't know. I

don't trust What do you mean? Pocket

people. We love them. Just right up

under our arm. They just they fit right

there. Condescending a little bit. It's

just a little pocket. Just right here.

Right up under my arm. It's like, look

at you down there. Little friend. Little

friend. So, what did you and Craig talk

about with height?

Well, basically like this idea. It is

true. In fact, I heard you talking to

Kylie Kelsey about it. Two tall women.

It was like It is true. And I was

talking to Quinta recently about being

smaller. She's a She's a little tiny.

Ding ding ding. We're tiny. And yeah,

Dink. You make noise when you move. We

do not make noise. Okay. We don't We

don't live in the woods. I think I

thought I heard squeaking. Nope. We

don't squeak like squirrels. Okay. We

don't gather nuts. We don't wear funny

hats and do dances in the woods. We're

regular people. Um but but um being a

tall woman is different than being a

tall man. Well, were your parents tall?

They were not. They were not. My mom was

maybe tall for her age, for that a for

that generation. Maybe she was 56, 5'5.

Yeah, that's not My father was 5'9, 510.

No way. Where's the height coming from?

I think it's nutrition.

That's what we told them, you know, and

because there's a whole generation of

cousins of ours, with a few exceptions,

we're all tall and our parents are kind

of average. And then our generation of

kids are a little taller. Um, and uh,

our, you know, who knows

what we all drink, you know, like

everything had milk in But my my mom

smoked during her, you know, that was

when you didn't know about smoking, seat

belts, drinking. She did all of that.

And we always said, you know what? We

could have been somebody had you taken

care of yourself a little bit better.

What I like about you and what I feel

like is your family is like teasing is

your love language. Oh, for sure. Same.

For sure. Can you explain how important

it is to be able to tease people that

you love? Oh my god. This is funny

because both Barack and Craig will say

that I don't let them tease me. See, we

have a deal, Barack and I, in our

marriage, and it started very early.

It's like, I can tease you, but you

cannot tease me. You know, so when he

does, I was like, "Oh, oh, oh, oh, wait

a minute. What's going on here?" And she

he's like, "I'm teasing you, right?" I

was like, "None of that." Cuz he likes

to tease. Oh my god. Yeah. But when um

me, Malia, and Sasha are all of us are

together,

he doesn't stand a chance. We

mercilessly go after him. So yes,

teasing is our love language. And I tell

him that I said, "When I tease you, it's

like me, you know, it's like a love

tap." It is. But but it's kind of true.

It's like the more you know someone, the

more safe you feel around them, the more

you can poke. And manners are for people

we don't really know. Yeah, that's

right. And it's just like like I for me

in my family when people are being nice

it's like what's wrong? Yeah. Because

what did I do? What did I do? What do

you want? Well, it started with our

parents. They're both silly. My mother

went through a period of time where she

would just scare us.

Um that was just with pranks, just

scaring, right? She she would just pop

out of places and we're little, you

know? I mean, it was just a period. I

don't know what she was doing, but it

got progressively a little more

demented. Um Craig will tell the story

that you

know, he was maybe 10, 12. Um he's

taking a shower. We have one bathroom.

My mother goes in while he's taking a

shower and lays on the floor like she's

dead.

She just lays out. Amazing. And he turns

off the shower and opens up. And you

just hear the

Ah. And I come in and she's cracking up

and he's wet with a towel. He's like

weepy. Mom, that's not funny. She's just

like, "That was pretty funny."

And then one night, and we were little

when she did this, we had this voodoo

mask. It was a Halloween mask. I mean,

it was neon. It had hair and teeth. I

don't know. It was the middle of the

night. It We had long gone to bed. And

she just walked to each of our rooms and

she said with the mask on and said,

"Michelle,

no. Michelle, no." And woke me up. And I

was like, and then she's like, "Shh, I'm

going to your brother's room."

I'm like, "Lady, yeah, what are you

doing all day?" She's trying to keep it

interesting. You know, that was our

household. All right. So, we, you know,

we got it honest. Marion is coming with

the pranks. Marion, um, can I say

something about what I've read about

your family, which is, and why, if I

may, like I, you know, I didn't have the

pleasure to meet your mom, but she

seemed like such a loving mom. Yeah.

Yeah. And you're a very loving mom. And

I come from a very loving mom. And I

talk about it a lot that like a

blessing. It is. Not everybody gets a

loving mom. And a loving mom is like

this warm

place to keep coming back to that it

almost is like if you have a loving mom

you're 90% ahead of the game and it's

tough when you don't and you have to

find your love other places which you do

and you can be certainly be a loving mom

if you don't have one. But it feels like

your mom was so loving. Yeah. And what

what did she teach you about being a mom

like when I know you're she just passed.

Yeah. What? And she was she was really

with you during a lot of mothering in

the White House. Like what did you learn

from her about being a mom? Great

question. I love talking about my mom. I

love talking about my parents. And I was

so glad to have told some of her story

in my second book, The Light, before she

passed, so that I could give her her

flowers when she could see it, you know.

Um, but my mom loved kids and she I

think at the core of her being was this

understanding that every kid was

special. I mean, she loved us for sure,

but she loved all kids that she came in

contact with. Um, we didn't have a lot

of money. Um, but my parents made the

choice that my mom would stay home with

us. Um, and she didn't use that time

frivolously. I mean, she wasn't just

looking after us. She would come up to

school and help kids that were

struggling. Um, teach kids that, you

know, be the the room mom before they

were there were room moms because she

just believed in the power and

intelligence that little people, as she

called them, brought into the world and

she just wanted to feed into that and we

got a lot of that. But that, you know,

why I'm such an advocate for for kids is

it comes from my mom because she fully

believes that we underestimate kids and

that we, you know, we we don't come here

uh that we as adults are the ones that

mess them up, that all kids are born

into this world really special. And so I

felt that, right? And I think that's one

of the reasons that that's where

confidence began for me is sitting at my

kitchen table, me and my brother, uh,

with a mom who really really loved our

voices. She liked to hear our thoughts.

She thought we were funny. We made her

laugh. We felt special in her presence.

And sadly, we needed that because as

kids, black kids, poor black kids, there

would be a lot of people who would try

to dim the light that she was pouring

into us. So, we had an abundance of it,

which allowed us to steal ourselves for

what was to come. probably prepared me

in ways I couldn't have imagined for th

those White House years, that time in

the spotlight because I was still um

fortified with the light she had given

me all my life. So I could handle a lot

of the negativity. I could handle the

stress and the pressure. So I agree with

you and you know I I think we were

blessed. Yeah. Uh and to whom much is

given and much is expected. Mhm. So just

I just try to pass it on. And part of

IMO is like it's a way to share a lot of

that wisdom that she taught us to pass

it on. You know, the girls listen and

they're like, "Man, you know, you're

telling everybody things you tell us

every day." And I'm like, "Yeah, now you

you hear it, right?" She's like, they're

they're both like, "Wow, mom, you're

kind of making sense." I was like, "I've

been telling you this for 23 26 years. I

always say this with my kids too. Like

your kids one day are like you know uh

you know the guy you like uh what my

kids say the other day that made me

laugh. He's like um uh you met Tim

Robinson.

I was like

yes. They're like you know him mom. I'm

like yeah I've met him. They're like

they looked at me like whoa impressive.

Yeah. Yeah. I do that Amy too. You know,

every now and then I make a good point

to them and I was like, "Do you know who

I am? I'm Michelle Obama."

People That's right. People line up for

my advice. And you you're walking away

like I'm stupid. It's like I Yeah. I've

written

books. I've given speeches.

The whole world has listened to me. And

I can't get you to just do what I told

you to do yesterday. No. So, no, it

happens to the best of us. They keep us

humble.

I'm going to take a lip balm break for a

second before. Oh, lip balm break. And

I'm going to take a tissue tissue break.

Oh, yeah. It's very important. Do you

need something for the saliva?

[Laughter]

I'm just gonna spit into a cup. Are you

ready for this?

It's a Spatoon, you know. I haven't seen

one of those in a

while. Have you seen the fake um the

fake food we have here? You know what?

It's amazing how I did see that and I

just turned around, you know, but yeah,

it takes a minute. I mean, this I just

want to because it's a special day. I

brought decision here. Why the food?

Because it's a special day. I brought

two new fake foods and thanks for

asking. Those are new. Uh, this is a a a

roll that opens up and you can put coins

inside. Oh, or I do. Oh. Oh, we got to

We should buy All right, my team. We

should find food and send it to Amy. Oh,

this is a candle. That's a kissy. It's

food. That's a thing. It's a thing that

is shaped like food. And Michelle, we're

definitely not going to cut this out.

This is important. Um, the reason why I

pick these things, they're all It's very

willy-nilly, but it's about texture. M.

It's

about uh hand feel. And now that one is

a candle. Yeah. But squeeze this. I

brought this for you. You are a strange

creature.

Yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah. No, it's a thing.

It's a squishy thing. Squishy, but it's

a cheeseburger. Now, you come across

these things in life and you're like, I

got to have this hamburger thing. I have

a I have a guy who sources No, I'm just

kidding. I have a gentleman who goes

across the world and he sources these

for me. travels. Yes. Right now, you're

not collecting like artifacts or you're

you're looking for food that are things

like what is this? What is this? Oh,

it's a tiny whipped cream. It is. But

what it does it do something? No. Oh,

okay. I guess it gives joy. It brings

joy. Okay. I didn't know if they all had

secondary us. Well, one of them here,

I'll show you this. And this is a

crochet. I think Cheeit the company Chee

It sent Maybe they'll send me more. I

bet they will. This is like you should

get a little mattress like your

mattress.

You know what you should do is you and

Craig should just have a mattress behind

you the whole time. Never mention it and

be like I guess and then but Cheeit sent

me free Cheezits cuz I talked about this

but this is a box of Cheeit and there's

a Cheeit inside. It's a little fake

Cheezit. Fake Cheezit. Wow.

Strange. Very strange. Very strange.

I'll take that. Well, I'm glad you

pointed that out because when I went for

the tissue, I was like, "It's food.

Wow." And then I just let it go. Yeah.

It's okay. I'll make sure you see it.

So, Craig as Craig, we asked Craig what

to ask you, and it's kind of in in in um

in uh the area of what we're talking

about, which is he said, "What is the

one thing that our

parents, you know, gave us?" Like what

is the one thing that you think about

when you think about what our

parents, you know, passed on to us that

you

Oh, I I I think

um always show up in the world in a in a

way that would make them proud, you

know. Um be the the the person in the

world that they were to you, right?

That's two things. Oh, okay. I thought

that was just a a variation on a theme.

said you would give more than one thing.

Oh, he did. He say that. That's because

he was mad because we did something

yesterday and he only gave one answer

and I gave two and he felt jipped. See,

I mean I But he's right. I mean, you

know it. Yes. So what? I have many ideas

in my head. I told you I like to talk.

Sorry. There is no such thing as a one

thing. There's nobody Nobody really

means that. Not only does nobody mean

it, but you do. You're really good at

this and I believe this. I don't ever

think you have to answer the question

that was asked. That's Did I answer the

question though? I did answer the

question when I wasn't trying to not

answer the question, but I understand.

Yeah. Well, we learned that in all of

the White House. I mean, so many times

in interview. I'll ask you something. I

always say that to young women. Don't

you do not have to answer the question.

And just keep talking because you know

before you know it, time's up.

But like even just in your everyday when

someone's like, you know, if someone

goes like, you know, do you come, you

know, do you come here often? You don't

have to answer that and you go, "Where's

my spatoon?"

That's always a good distraction for

you, Amy. When you mention your spatoon,

if you want to get out of a date,

that'll really throw him. Tell me about

it. Tell me about it. Um, what are you

Okay, so where your podcast is is is a

place where you're connecting. Um it

sounds like you're listening to um

listening to a bunch of podcasts too and

stuff like that, but what is something

that you're listening to, watching,

reading, going to when you really want

to kind of

disconnect, check out and just have fun,

which is most of the time these days. I

know. And I It's tough to stay in. It's

tough to stay in. So what are you doing

when you want to zoom out? my uh version

of golf to Barack because he's got golf

on all the time. That's like his back.

He says it's my background noise. So, my

version of that is HGTV. I love HGTV.

Let's talk about it. House Hunters.

Incredible. There's something so

soothing about the arc of that. Yeah.

You know, Yeah. You look for a house.

There's There's We just like looking at

people's houses. You're at the bottom of

House Mountain. You're like, I could be

It could be any house. And but don't you

do you prefer when the budget is a

lowbudget house or a high budget house

because sometimes I feel away, you know,

especially House Hunters International.

Okay. I'm obsessed with House Hunters

International. First of all, every place

looks so I'm like, "Wow, you can get

that for that money?" Like, I'm always

blown away by what you I think about

that, too. Like,

wow, move to Morocco, I guess. Cuz like,

but you're like, "They're never going to

get anything with that budget." And then

you see like a nice they get something

with a budget. And don't you like the

way people have such high expectations

with a low budget? Like these aren't

marble. It's like but you want to pay

$100 a month, you know? I want a month.

Why would you give and then the real

estate agent is in especially in the

foreign countries are incredulous. It's

like, oh, you want a yard for a large

dog, you know? I I love it though. Do

you like when people get what they want

or do you like when you watch them have

to slowly come to the realization that

they've overreached? Oh, yeah. I love

that. That's what I love. Yeah. So, they

go in too low, they want too many

things, and you're like, that's not

going to happen for you. You know,

you're going to be living above that

bar.

And then, do you like any HGTV makeover

stuff? Oh, love all the makeover stuff.

I love um uh Rock the Block, you know.

What's that? I don't know that one. Oh,

you don't know? No. Well, this is when

they get all the designers from all the

other shows and they come on to one

block of newly built houses from scratch

and they compete for rooms to see each

week like they'll do the living room and

the kitchen, right? So, the designers go

in, they have a week or whatever to redo

that area, and then they're judged by

other designers, and then they win, and

they collect points until they finish

the whole house.

It's It's an amazing concept. That seems

like the highest budget in the world.

That's what I'm thinking. It's like I

think that the whole time it's like, how

do you do that? Rock the block. How are

you affording? I mean, they are

literally renovating. They they they

start with a frame and they, you know,

do the kitchen bed, master bedroom, the

master bathroom, the yard. Wow. The

exterior and the the exterior facade.

Dang. I I know. We get I'm really going

in. I love I love a re a Renault. I love

those kind of shows. I love the Why do

you think we like it? I don't I like

that. Why do you like it? Just a

completion like it's there's an end

where something is done. And I like the

before and after. I like the Wow, that

those those floors look much better.

You're an empty neester. No, my boys are

14 and 16. So, we're just at that the

freshman and sophomore. Okay. Just at

that age where we're thinking about

college, but they're still teen boys.

And I'll tell you something, no one's

more tired than a teen boy. They're

exhausted and they're hungry. It seems

they eat like three dinners a day. I was

just saying to someone, having teen boys

is like living with

bears. Because when you wake up the next

morning, there's just crumbs everywhere

and your cabinets are open and

everything's out and the floor and

there's like a ch big chunk out of a

cheese and you're like, "What happened?"

And they woke up in the middle of the

night and they ate again.

That's a good one. They're like bears.

Yeah, that's that's I mean that's scary.

Are you scared in your home?

You know, they're like nice bears.

They're nice bears like little. Well, I

had girls and girls are, you know,

they're, as I'm learning, I was kind of

lucky. They're they're clean and Yeah.

Girls are we're coming back around a

head and shoulders above. Yeah. They

they they make sentences. They have

thoughts and ideas and you can

rationalize with them, you know. I I had

it easy. I I realized I did.

food bill was a lot lower. I don't know

how you do it. I mean, if you if you

don't know the average weekly intake.

Yeah. You know, cuz it shifts with boys.

I mean, they have a growth spurt and

they can drink a gallon of milk in a

day. I mean, how do you live like that?

Yeah. I know. I literally I have a lot

of moms, you know, like who are, you

know, the cost of living is so high,

especially here in California, a lot of

places, and they're like, "My kids are

truly eating more than ever as teens."

And it's like, "What are we going to do

about it?" Do you cook? I love to cook.

I know you don't cook. I do not. But,

you know, I didn't start cooking until

my 40s. I It's never too late, Michelle.

I c I cooked before. Oh, and then you

stopped. Well, I became first lady. And

then you can't cook. They don't let you

cook. Well, I I didn't. I was busy. But

you can't go down and make an But you

can go down and make an egg. There's a

kitchen. Yes. But I'm like, they're

chefs and you do that better than me. I

mean, I'm I'm not, you know, I don't

want to put you out of a job. You can

make the eggs, right? If you were

cooking an egg, they'd be standing next

to you and it would be stressful.

Exactly. That's right. Unless you told

them to leave, they wouldn't be

comfortable with that, right? You know,

I'm sure there are first ladies, first

families that cooked in the White House.

I'm just sort of like, ah, I'm okay not

cooking. I've done it. And now, are you

cooking now? No.

No. It's not on my agenda at all. It's

not among the things that I want to do

in this stage in in life. And what are

you doing now that you couldn't do

before that you get to do now? Uh, or

that you could you had to pause doing, I

should say. I want to try to do normal

things. Yeah, of course. You know, going

for a walk. Um, by yourself. Uh, never

never isish. But if they if they're

further behind, it's like I can still

see you.

I want to be I want to feel like I'm by

myself a little further. They're reading

a newspaper upside down. That's right.

And

uh I'm I'm driving a little bit more.

Excellent. So that and by myself in the

car by myself. Excellent. which is such

like I realized for the first time I was

driving with Malia. We were in Martha's

Vineyard and I'm driving, she turns on

the radio and starts playing some of our

favorite songs and we're singing at the

top of our lungs. I realized I'd never

had that experience with her. I'd never

had that experience with her as a a as a

from teenagers on because they learned

to drive, but I didn't teach them how to

drive. I couldn't drive with them. I

mean, just sort of the basic kind of

bonding moments, you know, we didn't

have time alone in a car, just with me

and my daughter playing the music that

we wanted at the volume that we wanted.

That's why I like the vineyard. I like I

like the islands where we live because

they're small places and people, you

know, they get used to you. They don't

care, right? At certain times of the

year, I can walk into town and just go

shopping. Yeah, I mean I just go into a

store and try on clothes on my own. Go

to the register. Sometimes I forget how

to use my credit card. Well, now you

don't have to. Now you just use Apple

Pay. Just What's that? No, I'm just

kidding. You know Apple Pay, right? I

do, but I don't use it. You don't use

it? No, cuz I Do you have a regular

phone? Can you have a regular phone? I

do, but I'm trying to not do stuff on my

phone. Well, that's a little boomer,

Michelle. I know, but you know, here I

don't want to be tracked. I don't want I

don't want this is a boomer attitude.

Tell me more about it so that I don't

We're done. We're all cooked. We're

tracked. It's happening. There's no like

way to not be where all everyone knows

everything. What does this mean? So you

can I mean, and this is, you know, I'm

not that far behind you. So this is the

blind leading the blind. But you don't

even need a credit card anymore. You

just go beep beep beep. I don't know.

And it's like you're not even spending

money. It's just like beep. It just

goes. See, but that's a problem for me,

you know? I want to know. I don't want I

don't want it to be like it's just like,

you know, and then what if they get your

phone information and somebody else can

take your information and go beep, you

know, and all you before you know it,

you own their identity stolen 15 times

in their lifetime. I mean, you know,

there's no matter worries about that.

Nobody worries. We're all very worried.

Yeah. It's a disaster. Like we're we're

in real trouble. Yeah. We're really in

that picture. I'm trying to hold on. You

know, when all things fall apart, when

the system just crashes. I know. I'm

still going to have cash. I do love

cash. Do you? I love cash. I have old

cash. I have cash that's been in my

wallet untouched probably for a decade.

My kids make fun of me. Don't take it

out. My dad always taught me that. He's

always like, "Always have cash on you."

I got Maybe I shouldn't have said that

to the We'll cut it out. We'll cut cash.

No, Michelle does not have cash. carry

cash. But but I guess I'm good because I

also have this security guy with gun,

you know, and I still think like that.

It's like, where's my wallet? Did where

are my keys? Your wallet is in your

phone. I don't need it. I know. Okay.

So, but my but continuing with what

we're talking about, you know, I think

it doesn't matter what kind of life you

live. I think any person can have the

feeling like their life is kind of a

dream. Like our lives are a dream.

Things happen to us we don't imagine

could have happened to us, good and bad.

And sometimes we just feel like how did

I get here? Where am I going? All that

stuff.

What do your friendships, specifically

your female friends friendships do to

keep you from like keep your feet on the

ground basically cuz your life has been

a dream. Oh, it's been crazy. Yeah. Um

what what have they done? It's what

haven't they done? I mean,

just, you know, they're the they're I

love to go to my friends homes just to

be normal, to help with the dishes, to

sit down in the yard, to, you know, to

talk about something else other than

whatever is in the news. Um, my friends

are the people who know everything about

me. Um, and they they they only know me

as Michelle. Um it so it's it's

everything. Uh and my family, my

brother, um doing this podcast with him,

the first time we've worked together on

something. I mean just you know seeing

his face and having him on the other

side of the table somebody who can uh

humanize me to others and to myself um

in this sort of position we've been in

that that is uh more powerful and

meaningful probably for me than for a

lot of people um so it's it's it's

it's the air I breathe my friendships

that's why I try to really uh be mindful

about maintaining them and pouring into

them and making sure there's reciproc

reciprocity that they you know and that

they feel seen by me in all of this.

Right. Yeah. I I think what you're doing

I I just speak for myself that you know

the word authenticity is kind of thrown

around a lot but I do think especially

young people they're really looking for

some version of yourself and myself and

theirelves that like feels real because

the world is so crazy. We are in this

simulation that just a lot of people

want to get out of. And I think that is

what's cool about young people is they

keep um reminding us like be real like

we want you. We want realness cuz

everything feels so strange. Yeah. We

want the the the ble blemishes and the

bumps and you know and you know they

want that but the message that we

deliver to them is that you don't you

you can't get that solely on your phone

and that's I think that's the piece that

we can teach them is like yeah push us

to be real but you know I want to push

young people to have real experiences.

Yeah. you know, with real people face to

face because that authenticity that they

see in us comes from that old way of

living. You know, where you, you know,

you meet a person in a bar and have a

conversation, that you talk to people in

the grocery store line, that you are

looking up from your phone and seeing

the world, that you're learning about

people not through their uh, you know,

Tik Tok page, but from a conversation

And you've lost me. Well, tell me where

what what was the thing is the Tik Tok

page. You like the Tik Tok page

information? I love the Tik Tok page.

Okay. So, it's both and are both have

the Tik Tok page cuz you do get some

real dirt. You get a perspective or what

do you get from the Tik Tok page? Do we

have an hour? I don't know. Community

jokes, laughs. No, but I hear what

you're saying. Yeah. You got to balance

with real. You got to rebalance real

people, real things. It it feels like

we're shifting to uh less of that. Yeah.

And I also think laughter. I think like

you got to laugh. Absolutely. You got to

laugh it and and you got to laugh with

your friends. You have like laugh at

yourself. And what makes you laugh? I'm

I'm not fanirling, but you know, a lot

of re re-watching a lot of parks and

wreck, you know. I mean, that's the kind

of humor that I like. community, uh,

Modern Family, Old Seinfelds, you know,

I mean, that tends to be I still find

myself laughing out loud with the

episodes that I've seen over and over

again. Just clever, clever dialogue,

smart plots, you know, just out of the,

you know, good characters. That's what I

love. And you probably watch me and

you're like, "Good job keeping that

drool inside your eye." I Well, now that

I know it's an issue, I'll watch you a

little differently. Yeah. It's like,

whoa, look at her keeping her keeping

her saliva inside. Good. Good. Way to

go. That's my girl.

That's my training. It's my training.

That's where my training comes in.

Well, thank you so much for doing this.

It's been such a pleasure. It's been the

best. Yeah, thank you. Really, really

great. Congrats on your podcast. You as

well and on all your food choices. Thank

you so much. These are all my food

choices. We're going to get something

like this and a mattress. You are going

to get a mattress. You're going to get

all the mattresses you want.

Wow, that was an amazing episode. So

exciting to have her here. And you know,

we talked about so many good things, but

we we talked a lot about sibling

relationships and that is what her

podcast, you know, a lot of it is about.

And um I have a younger brother, Greg.

Um I should have asked Craig if he is

ever called Greg because I know my

brother Greg is often called Craig. But

um I guess I just wanted to take this

polar plunge moment to um speak directly

to my brother Greg and say, "Don't go in

my room and don't touch my stuff. It's

my stuff. Get out of my room. Mom and

dad said I'm in charge and I'm so sick

of it. You have to go to

bed. I love you, Greg. Um, you're the

best sibling ever. Uh, I don't want

another sibling um to talk about you

with. I was just saying that to

Michelle, to be a good host, but um uh

but seriously, it's so great to be your

big sister. And um you know, as the

eldest daughter, um we know uh our work

is never done. And so, um, we'll just

forge ahead. Uh, and, um, I love you,

baby bro. I got you back. Sorry, this

has gone off the rails. Um, okay. Thank

you for listening. Thank you for

listening to this episode. Sorry about

my voice. And we'll we'll be back soon.

Bye. You've been listening to Good Hang.

The executive producers for this show

are Bill Simmons, Jenna Weiss Berman,

and me, Amy Polar. The show is produced

by The Ringer and Paperkite. For The

Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, Cat

Spelain, Kaia McMullen, and Alia

Xanerys. For Paperkite, production by

Sam Green, Joel Levelvel, and Jenna

Weiss Berman. Original music by Amy

Miles.