David Sedaris on When You Are Engulfed in Flames - The John Adams Institute

On September 23, 2008, The John Adams Institute hosted an evening with David Sedaris. The humorist and author of Me Talk Pretty One Day and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim brought his entourage to Amsterdam for the Dutch publication of his latest collection of wisdom, When You Are Engulfed in Flames. Sedaris instructed the John Adams audience on how to buy drugs in a North Carolina trailer and how to pretend you attended Princeton University before the birth of Jesus Christ. Sedaris, the best selling author of all time, was soon after accused by The New Republic magazine of making up some of his autobiographical reminiscences.
Moderator: Tim Overdiek Deputy Editor in Chief at NOS
In cooperation with: Lebowski Publishers
Photo: Robert Banks
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[@elainemagson213]

David starts at 7 minutes in.

[@michellemunoz2047]

Thank you!

[@judeirwin2222]

THANK YOU for this. What an effing boring lead in.

[@LockStoppageSandwich]

@@judeirwin2222 Boring for a retard 😂………Sure. Were the words too big for you dumbass 😮 !!!!!

[@mortalclown3812]

Bless you!

[@susanh326]

Thanks

[@granthurlburt4062]

For me, one of the most important characteristics of writers is taking down pompous asses. It takes a good mind. Too many people think simply being knowledgeable or speaking English correctly is pompous but it's not if you have a sense of humour and aren't a bully about it. Sedaris skewers pompously gloriously. And is also knowledgeable with well-spoken English.

[@LazyIRanch]

He's very much like a modern day Mark Twain, which got me wondering if he's ever won the Mark Twain Award for writing. It seems he hasn't yet, which seems wrong. I can't think of another American humorist more deserving of that honor. In 2001, Sedaris was awarded the Thurber Prize for American Humor and named Humorist of the Year by Time magazine. He has also earned three Grammy nominations for audio versions of his works, and in 2008 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Binghamton University in New York. I think the only reason he didn't win those Grammys was that the twats who run that show were afraid of being eviscerated by his acceptance speech repartee.

[@judeirwin2222]

Grant...you mean, "skewers pomposity".

[@TheJohnAdamsInstitute]

Sorry everyone, we are pretty new to the add business on KZbin. Fixed it.

[@annwalker8907]

Such a treat, he’s a treasure❤

[@mikeclark7429]

Ignore complaints about too many ads. May have been a problem at one time, certainly not now. I don't even recall if there was an ad tbh.

[@ameliagrace515]

Thank you for sharing this!

[@leeleeturn]

My favorite comedy writer

[@juliehobbs7938]

The bit about his sister checking her phone messages made me laugh out loud!

[@JJ-fr2ki]

49:10 The best Q & A interview with Davis Sidaris I’ve ever heard and I’ve been following him for decades.

[@EBSJones4]

Really enjoyable. Thanks. I'll never be able not to think of Sedaris whenever I hear the name 'Nicaragua' again.

[@RatPfink66]

Kneehairagua

[@michaeldillon3113]

I feel the need to search the lanes of west Sussex to check if David really does spend hours picking up litter ! ? Thank you Mr Sedaris - you bring joy and laughter into people's lives ✌️

[@granthurlburt4062]

He was given an award for it by the Queen in a ceremony including other recipients of the same award.

[@chloekey8043]

And the garbage truck was named for him

[@hurdygurdyguy1]

25:04 ... 🤣 As an Art major in college I had an Art History class right after lunch in which dozens and dozens of slides were shown in a darkened room. Instant Snoozeville! I lasted half a semester before dropping out (a bit problematic when it's required for your degree 🤣) 29:20 ... I work most Junes in Israel on an archaeological dig, the director is an American who is fluent in Hebrew but I always smile to myself when listening to her talk with her Israeli colleagues who speak with a decidedly Israeli accent while the director has the most American East Coast Hebrew imaginable! 🤣 1:04:29 ... this is the double edged sword rock groups and singers fall under, have a hit and you have to perform it over and over and over and over until you're probably sick of it! Robin Williams is doing some standup and asks the audience for a character for him to do and you can hear a shout from the back "Mork!" and Williams screams, "NOOOOOOO! I don't do that shit no more!!" 🤣🤣🤣

[@LazyIRanch]

I recall taking a class in Chinese philosophy at the local community college, as I had become fascinated by philosophy and had already taken what few classes the college offered in the subject. My dad didn't offer me financial assistance to attend a "real" college, and when he saw my choices of philosophy and art classes, he smugly felt reassured at not offering assistance in furthering my education, even though I also took all the required math, science, and language courses too. Anyway, I so wanted to learn about Chinese philosophers, but the professor was impossible to understand to anyone who didn't also learn Mandarin-style English while living in China. The students all looked like deer-in-the-headlights as he lectured, all of us hoping his writing on the whiteboard would be helpful, but alas. It looked like a stereotypical handwritten doctor's prescription. I brought a tape recorder to class so I could try to decipher his speech later, to no avail. I dropped the class, along with at least 15 other students. Now, 40 years later, I have a 30 year old son with schizophrenia, who has learned to manage his disease by studying Taoism. When I get stressed about something, he tells me to "be like water". Life is strange! 🤔

[@TSquared2001]

What a concept. Christmas shopping in February.

[@commsculture]

i hate how the adverts kept getting interrupted by some american man talking for a minute or two.

[@dmisso42]

Adblock

[@susanmazzella865]

That's why I stick with BBC baby

[@JoConvoluted]

The bit about speaking tourist French reminded me of Brad Pitt in Inglorious Bastards when he’s introduced as being Italian. 😂

[@DallasNatureLover]

Hugh is CIA. How did it take me so long to figure this out?

[@macswanton9622]

The Hugh Ultimatum

[@0hSoKelli]

At 1:25:40 everyone is like this with their own writings, such as anything in life cause we all want to be as good as others when we are all good. One's own art is beautiful to others compared to what the artist thinks of their own art.

[@TheL0vefool]

this video has way too many ads i couldn’t enjoy it

[@DEPARTMENTOFREDUNDANCYDEPT]

Try Adblock! It works and it's free.

[@kmcg6444]

"She didn't call George Bush a liar." THIS is why we love you, David Sedaris! That and the laughs!

[@carolynrobe5957]

I heard and saw her call the author a Liar.Because she had been "taken in" by him and had defended him...Her pride in herself was wounded. So she got him on her show on false pretences so she could shame him publicly about this falsified "memoir' labelled as such by his editor. That is the exaggerated (?) story I heard. Whereas George Bush is a (polite) war criminal lol.

[@carmenhunters3835]

The amount of adverts is appalling. I gave up trying to enjoy it.

[@pieplanista]

7:22

[@kitclandrover]

Cheers!

[@youtuuba]

I agree with others about the incredible frequency of the ads on this video. I thought that the John Adams Institute was probably a class act, but this video has made me realize that they are no better then their base behavior in this cheap money grab. Shame.

[@carolynrobe5957]

Really? I got no adsa at all....Why? I don't understand ads on KZbin....

[@vanivor]

Love listening to David, but I always see Sheldon cooper in my mind's eye when I hear him.....🤔

[@tablescissors67]

Weird :/

[@holdmeclosertonydanza22]

7:30 You're welcome

[@noname-by3qz]

What is NOS ?? I'm fast forwarding like crazy.

[@tonylang7526]

URIN IDDYUT!!!

[@ellemoreland1681]

volume so low cant hardly hear it

[@kitclandrover]

Turn it up

[@charorly]

Yeah grandma

[@criskheser-john5746]

Agree - ads loud enough & too many!

[@carolynrobe5957]

@@criskheser-john5746 Captions might be your friend.

[@3506Dodge]

The pretentious use of 'authentic' spanish pronunciations by English speakers is hilarious!

[@calumryan6328]

the best selling author of all time? what are you talking about?

[@roringusanda2837]

.... 7:04

[@anthonyrisola6144]

A wonderfully entertaining story read by an engaging author interrupted by" I'VE NEVER DONE CARDIO IN MY LIFE...BLAH,BLAH,CARBOHYDRATES,BLAH.."screamed at me by a meatheaded idiot. A little jarring and a lot annoying.

[@its3Dinmymind]

Whoever is asking the questions is pretty combative

[@macswanton9622]

He felt the pressure to be hetero😏

[@spindletopcenter]

Okay, the India comment was KINDA racist. Still, he hilarious

[@MmCelliste]

That is true...I did think he was playing on those stereotypical perceptions that westerners have about going to those places, fuelled by years of negative images of poverty and deprivation.

[@thinktwice-me7ie]

Still, you not write can

[@alexandramercer9308]

Really.... need that 5 minute introduction... I'll be nice

[@dmisso42]

Love this guy ... but ... Koalas are NOT bears and it's Eem you not emoo.

[@ZakhadWOW]

not to a zoologist it aint

[@magavsschwaga7834]

The trick to writing is not sounding like one.

[@cyclicwiggler7522]

Firstly it's not a video, and secondly the introductions went on so long I became bored and left.....

[@EBSJones4]

You know you can just put the cursor along the 'time line' and click and so get the audio to jump forward? Put the cursor over the picture and click on the line when it says 7 minutes. David Sedaris starts shortly after that.

[@brianwagner8010]

Cyclic Wiggler good riddance

[@katherenewedic8076]

@@EBSJones4 missed point

[@katherenewedic8076]

@@brianwagner8010 missed point

[@ellemoreland1681]

seems like most of his recent books are just repackaged stories from all of the other books.... not really any new stories

[@flossy7258]

7:20