Adam Carolla - Comedic Pragmatism | Real Talk With Zuby Ep. 307

Adam Carolla is an American radio personality, comedian, actor, podcaster, and New York Times bestselling author. Adam joins Zuby to discuss his upbringing, his start in comedy, and shares his thoughts on the political and cultural landscape in the US today.
Timestamps:
(00:00) Introduction
(08:04) Adam’s self determination
(15:03) The power of pragmatism vs victimhood
(20:37) Adam’s introduction to comedy
(24:22) Achieving comedy success
(44:10) History of ‘The Man Show’
(45:37) The changing media landscape
(47:36) 2024: entertainment meritocracy
(50:50) Political correctness in comedy
(54:42) The future of the US
(56:33) California’s allure
(1:00:04) The future of State politics
(1:02:25) The crisis of masculinity
(1:08:48) Safety as an ideology
(1:14:08) Outro
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[@etoya7304]

Great guest! Have loved Adam ever since his Love Line/ MTV days! One of the very few men remaining with common sense. This was a treat. Thanks!

[@ZubyMusic]

You're welcome! Thanks for listening.

[@morrisjarz]

This episode needs more likes. Click the 👍 The world needs more people like Adam.

[@stevenkoehler6018]

Excellent interviewer. He lets his guest talk and asks good questions

[@psychonautseventen2249]

Adams story is amazing. I've been a fan for decades. Thanks fellas for a great interview!

[@ZubyMusic]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@RILEYLEIFSON_UTAH]

Adam is the embodiment of common sense and speaking truth...while emerging from the trenches of hard work. No nonsense and no bullsh*t. I remember listening to Love Line in 1996 at the age of 13 and thinking; 1. He's hilarious and quick witted. 2. He's unique. Nobody in his world says the things he says and believes. I wish society would take notes and let him guide us back from the edge of insanity. This would would be a farrr better place if we had 100 more just like him. 💯

[@shellwirtful]

Loveliness! Adam is fantastic

[@scottmiller1531]

Never been a fan of Adam's blind spot when it comes to Jimmy, but I get it now. This really put their relationship into focus. Great interview Zuby.

[@jjlpinct]

Yes, definitely

[@TheSilverJedi]

I came here to say the same thing. Kimmel is a putz but he’s Carolla’s putz, I suppose. You have to respect that kids of friendship and loyalty.

[@MasterMalrubius]

Let's get it on! Gotta get it on! No choice but to get it on!

[@A-Cat-in-Dogtown]

Mandate get it on!

[@martindylan3332]

Adam is the best. His political rants are the best.

[@justthinkingoutloudwtracie1482]

Fabulous conversation

[@josephhuman7390]

GREAT GREAT INTERVIEW!!! I subscribe to Adam's podcast, first time I listened to this guy, he did a Awesome job he let the guest speak, I am now fan Zuby, Great job

[@maikaimakena9424]

Love ❤️ Adam he’s a working class HERO

[@davidkulmaczewski4911]

I watched one clip and knew I had to see the whole conversation. Top notch.

[@steves1588]

Played youth football in SoCal at the same time as Adam.....the team wind breaker was essential to being on the team. The fact that this man did not get one blew me away. Every kid had one. Humble beginnings make success. Nice work Adam.

[@4057hofft]

Such a great long form show. Ive heard these stories from Adam's book, but not in this great of detail. These are nuggets you cant get!

[@vickidale6385]

As an Adam Carolla fan, thank you for a great interview!

[@ZubyMusic]

You're welcome!

[@dwightdehart8143]

I’ve been listening to Adam since 1996.

[@sigg3504]

What a great Adam Carolla story. I've always liked him, but now I really like him.

[@bentaylor216]

Really great interview. Always a pleasure when an interviewer listens properly and asks pertinent questions.

[@4057hofft]

I wanted to add, adam made a vision board in his head, and it came true. It really works

[@jharrelson]

Adam is a comic genius and a very humble human.

[@user-yy2bb6bi3z]

I have heard these stories on ACS a thousand times with jokes but this was the first time I have really heard the depth of Adam's abandonment... His parents should be ashamed of themselves.... his mom is gone and never admitted her atrocious behavior but his 92 year old father is still here and has never heard these stories or his show or his movies and still won't acknowledge how he failed him...... 😢

[@nickseason]

At least he became an amazing trumpet player after practicing for 80 years

[@99guspuppet8]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ this video resulted in me just absolutely loving Adam Carolla ……. Let’s all go to Sugar rock Candy Mountain

[@hexn00b52]

Goood times. Met him at Galpin. Good dude.

[@robertklein3890]

Let’s get it on

[@laserant]

Excellent interview. Very nice

[@ZubyMusic]

Thanks for listening

[@redmuskratt]

You were on the show?? I'll be watching that next.

[@AndrewWilliams-kw6bc]

AWESOME ! Feel the same about Arnold, was devastated

[@scottpulver]

Been watching Adam since I was in my 20s ... Which is a long timd now ... he's awesome

[@FitforLife2024]

Nice show!!

[@NinjaKittyBonks]

The Zubinator and Adam... good stuff to be had, I'm sure. My moderator duties should be clear for this, so will drop by and stay 🐈

[@rpg_haven]

Been a fan since the Loveline days, Adam is the best. The Man Show and Crank Yankers are still hilarious today

[@garyfitz6038]

First I've heard of you or this podcast. Must say you conducted a great interview kept me tuned in even tho ive heard this story from the MAN Adam Carolla 1000x lol.

[@brettmuir5679]

It is so weird listening to Adam basically introduce himself from his own studio he built 15 years ago. Thanks Zubi for spreading the word about good people

[@josephhuman7390]

Yes hahaha it is, I feel it was a good interview, but it was odd because he's in his studio explaining who he is. Hahaha

[@blueladyb1097]

Great interview

[@ZubyMusic]

Thanks!

[@dalevintage]

It's creepy how much of Adam's childhood life and mentality mirror's my own experience...that was life for many of us "broken home" kids through the 70s & 80s. A lot of us had to grow up fast...

[@formats007]

This warms my heart, you 2 are the best!

[@leslielearnorth]

I went to College at Pasadena City College- listened to KRoq ( and Mark n Brian AND the Mighty Met, KRoq was a baby…) every day on my way to school on the 210 Freeway. Feel like I grew up with Adam for sure. His stories take place in the world I grew up in.also- I totally forgot about attending comedy traffic school in Pasadena!!! It was it Covina?? Idk but that was def early 80s … crazy

[@pinballpsycho]

Great conversation all around. Thanks!

[@blairl6304]

Love Adam, have literally grown up watching Adam in all his different forms - started listening to LoveLine on the radio while I was unloading trucks on the night shift of my very first “real” job. Then saw him on the TV version of LoveLine, saw Crank Yankers, The Man Show, listened to his radio show when he replaced Howard Stern after Howard went to satellite. Then listened to Adam as he become a pioneer in the podcasting space - my favorite show currently is “Adam and Drew” - I love the chemistry they have together. I’m 41 years old now, I started listening to Adam when I was 16, on “Live 105” in the San Francisco area…while unloading trucks. Incredible. Wish I could communicate to Adam just how big of an impact he’s had on my life. Thanks for all the hours of entrainment Adam, as well as the viewpoint of a wildly pragmatic person!

[@D-Fens_1632]

Get it on.

[@Sagemeister007]

Great interview. He's a common sense totally opposite of his buddy Jimmy Kimmel.

[@subzippo]

Its mind blowing to me that anyone needs an explanation about The Man Show. It was amazing for its time and what it did. I also would expect and conservative worth their salt to at least know it for Kimmel doing black face.

[@danielleal1037]

Man, what Adam said he lacks in intelligence when it comes to school matters is something he’s got a ton of in many other areas of his life, without a doubt.

[@brendonroche4195]

“Safetyism” 100% been saying this for years in the mining industry.. All pervasive

[@SaviorMoney]

How does Adam not slap Jimmy Kimmel? Seriously - how?

[@99guspuppet8]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ love and gratitude

[@99guspuppet8]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ jimmy Kimmel does the best he can

[@brettmuir5679]

To quote Adam Carolla, "we love each other...we LOVE each other"

[@brookerangel-legris]

Excellent episode. I’m new here and just subscribed 😊

[@marklong7959]

The crazy thing now is instead of not keeping my kids from playing football, I am here trying to keep my girls off of social media

[@TimBitts649]

When I was younger, I was watching Johnny Carson interview Joan Rivers. I loved her comedy. Genius, so funny. Johnny knew comedy, of course, knew them all, all the great and not so great comics of his era. Johnny was Christian background, Joan was Jewish of course. Johnny turned to Joan and said something like: "Why are there so many great Jewish comics?" Joan got very defensive, then listed a bunch of great Christian comics like Bob Hope, so Johnny moved on. He didn't want to argue the point. But Carson was right: Jews are a very small population in America, but have made incredibly huge comedy contributions to America, almost too great and too many to mention. Louis Armstrong story: Great musician, genius level. My ancestors were mid-West settlers who were white, like Little House on the Prairie tv folks. There was a piano in every house when I was a kid, long ago. White women were given every chance and opportunity to develop their musical talents in the earlier era, but they created almost no music of any lasting value. I don't know why that was, but it was what it was. Black musicians on the other hand, had almost no money, had very limited access to musical instruments. Yet the musical achievements of black Americans in that era was staggering and huge....much like Jews in comedy. So talent is equal? All groups must have the same outcomes? Bill Murray the old actor once made a movie with Michael Jordan, where the two played basketball. Michael of course, ran circles around Bill, so Bill made a joke about Michael Jordan being a "ball hog"...."Ball hog?" That's a very funny way of saying, incredible genius level talent.

[@homeagain9692]

It didn't just superseded freedom. It superseded common sense

[@phatos_says]

Literally crying over the trophy story. 😭

[@user-yy2bb6bi3z]

Zooby shows intelligent ,black men are still around and can rap and think intelligently and grasp what it means to be a function member of society and responsible......WTG

[@aaronrhawbaker626]

First time ever seeing this host. Do you always do interviews on the guests set? That’s kinda weird but you did say you were just on his show. At least they turned off the tvs behind him lol. Adam is awesome

[@PBSteelerNationBarCrawls]

Yo Ace Man.. that Diet word you say seem so yesterday, otherwise. Great Interview !!!

[@BigDaddyDru]

Diet? 😂😅

[@PBSteelerNationBarCrawls]

@@BigDaddyDru Coke Zero

[@noreenhoban9408]

Always wanted to know where does the "funny" come from? So many comedians talk about a funny parent or a funny uncle.

[@majorkade]

I see this disconnect in Asheville, too: liberals going on about diversity, but they like their nice homes in all-white, wealthy areas.

[@crimony3054]

Not Taco Bell Material ☝

[@ThomasRedecker]

Austin Texas has made a left turn and needs to be cleaned up.

[@ExecutiveZombie]

Gang. Gang. (818) ☀️😎😂

[@dancallahan7066]

Clickie clickie the like

[@LN-Lifer]

Adam speaks of his childhood as if it was something unique to only him

[@morrisjarz]

It's the luck of the draw. Not everyone is born into that situation. He wasn't acting like he's the only one.

[@JordanAsMaxim]

Can I just put it out there that I hate the whole “for those that don’t know you, tell us who you are from the start” Waste of time.

[@ephraimwinslow]

Y'know why you can't float entertainment off of already ubiquitous social messaging? 'Cuz nobody's gonna pay to hear a repackaged lecture that's already literally been wallpapered onto their local bank branch for about 6 months every year. Comedy is about saying what everyone's thinking but won't say. Repeating what everybody's forced to hear against their wishes *one more time* instead is devoid of value. Even if you actually take yourself seriously as an "activist"? You're preaching exclusively to the converted, and are of no use to your own cause. If you are a modern day MSM comedian? You are the thing in your kitchen you never use.

[@NinjaKittyBonks]

You have pointed out problems, but offering zero solutions. How is it one can get those who REFUSE to hear.... to listen? I get that Zuby is "preaching to the choir", to use words I think you are getting at here, but short of driving around town with a giant speaker atop, seeking to reach those who intentionally ignore, what can be done? All that can be done is to flood the landscape (social media) with those whom are avoided, so that an organic change can be allowed to happen. I have had 50+ good faith attempts to reach across the isle and engage with those who are doing all in their power to raise the West to the ground. I do so, not because I am a glutton for endless straw-man, conflated, obfuscated and EXTREMELY bad faith discussions, but because I hope to chip away at the problems we can all see. I have reached a few, to at least a small degree, but that is some success, so I continue to try. I will not say it is not frustrating as hell, but to know that others are out there doing the same thing, helps us all to continue to push back.

[@drockopotamus1]

@@NinjaKittyBonks I think you're both bringing up good points, but I think it's worth noting that society pushes and pulls, by itself, as well. We're seeing a pushback to things like Affirmative Action and DEI, for instance. That doesn't happen unless moderates or the voting majority agree with the pushback. Just to use another example for the "other side", we're also seeing general pushback to such harsh abortion restrictions coming from the right. At the end of the day, I think folks are more inclined to agree with classic liberalism. As in folks should be able to do whatever they want as long as it doesn't negatively impact others. And while we're going to always see extremes, no one side is going to "win" when you have to convince the masses in order to truly get anything solidified. To your point about offering zero solutions, it's worth noting that folks complain without solutions all the time. Take the whole "defund the police" movement. Some cities literally did defund the police. But because they didn't replace that much-needed part of society with healthcare workers or whatever, every single one of them ended up reversing the initiative. It goes to show how knee-jerk reactions don't work. Well-planned social change is required if any "progress" is to be made. And even then, you have to convince people of those solutions. When black communities, themselves, didn't even want less policing, it should be a clear indicator that something about that solution was incorrect from the get-go.

[@NinjaKittyBonks]

@@drockopotamus1 ..... Thank you for a well thought out and considerate response.. 🐈bonk. The reason I mentioned zero solutions, is that it is easy to call out somebody, thing or policy for failing, but that is not offering anything in the counter that would be preferable. That person is and should not be _required_ to provide some alternative, but it makes a far better argument to provide what one considers a solution or at least a better direction, then support it with something. I welcome push back and engagement, but it taxes me when one takes a "this or that does not work, so do better" kind of position. . As for abortion push back, there are some with very harsh restrictions by very few on the right, but there no more than we have seen on the left. We saw a row of 4 leading women in the field of medicine on the Senate floor, who would flat deny ANY "line" of when abortion would be unacceptable. They were each posed the question multiple times and each time, obfuscated the reply. I felt some balance to that was necessary, so I felt the need to elaborate on it. . I do agree that extremes, especially when argued with such MASSIVE gulf between their positions, serves no purpose whatever. It brings me back to the horrible daytime talk shows who seek the most opposing points of view and sets them upon each other for the camera. My biggest issue with those who disagree, is the failure on one or both of their parts to do so in good faith. For if even ONE of them is not doing so, the entire discussion is a complete waste. I have always sought to engage with ANYONE on ANY subject, but when it comes to the prevailing ideology we see that has captured the universities, for example... good faith takes a back seat. When this happens, there IS no reaching any agreement, unless one of them 100% abandons his / her position.

[@leslielearnorth]

You’re talking about our boy Jimmy right?

[@ephraimwinslow]

@@leslielearnorth Correct.

[@NodeEntry]

How did Adam get fat? Wtf?

[@leslielearnorth]

OMG!!! ADAM IS CRANK YANKERS!!?????

[@TomAZ1984]

Yikes. Maybe Zuby should’ve asked how to develop success in having a personality 😴

[@yourgooglemeister6745]

The guy repeats all of his stories in every single interview come up with something new

[@Porcupine19]

If people ask about his background and how he got to where he is, then of course you're going to hear him talk about the same stories.

[@moozillamoo2109]

Comedy might be meritocratic, but comedic shows are not. That's why nobody watches all the late night shows now, because they are not funny. Maybe incorrect to call them comedic shows these days. They are just for propaganda.

[@Ava-ex8og]

Great episode

[@KPNKommando]

Not one discussion on the topic of Cultural Marxism.