Celebrities should be trained in podcasting. I don’t need more of them to launch any, because apparently it’s now just a stepping stone to launching your own cellphone service. But if A-listers want to keep showing up on my favorite podcasts, I need them to come correct. They need to have an anecdote or two. I should learn something about them. There should be a moment or two when I think they and the host are actually friends. Podcasts are casual, sure, but there needs to be some readiness; A willingness to play. In short, they need to watch Ayo Edebiri on Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend and take notes.
Watching Edebiri’s rise has been an absolute pleasure. Not only is she incredibly talented and deeply hilarious, but she’s also rad and pretty grounded. I don’t know her personally, but being genuine is hard to fake, and her demeanor is on display whenever she walks into a room. You see her staring at a cackling Prince William with awkward surprise and think, “She’s just like me.” Hell, I saw her sit between Tina Fey and Conan O’Brien on John Mulaney’s talk show, could feel the nervous energy emanating from her, and loved her even more. When I saw that she was appearing on Conan’s podcast, it became appointment listening (especially after Dustin threw it my way, breaking his tradition of Conan-Blocking me on this site).
Edebiri is funny from the moment she introduces herself on the pod, using the moment to reference something that happened before they started recording, joking that her optimism toward being Conan’s friend is hopefully not a misguided optimism, and we’re off to the races from there. What follows is an interview that is insightful, hilarious, and inspiring. We get a look into Ayo’s head, in a way that is so goddamn charming you want her to be the guest on every episode going forward.
Yes, Conan has prepared questions (though he incorrectly claims that Ayo won an award for directing an episode of The Bear despite only being nominated, something she rolls with), but they still require interesting answers. He is also good at pivoting and picking up loose threads, and she went right along with him every time. She talks about hating red carpets (more relatability), not wanting to speak in front of students at her former high school (fair), and how much luck plays into people’s Hollywood success (inspiring honesty). She even points out at one point that she used to ruin her mom’s Tivo by recording old episodes of Conan, but never gushes once!
It’s just a delight. I want all the wonderful things for Ayo Edebiri. Do I want to see a Barney movie? Not really. Will I have my butt in that seat if Ayo writes one? Hell yeah. Now I’m the one who’s gushing, and I don’t care. Ayo Edebiri has a massive career in front of her, and it will be wild to look back on interviews like this in the future and talk about how she was so ready to meet her moment.
