FEATURE:
In Praise of Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend
IN THIS PHOTO: Conan O’Brien speaking with Tom Holland for The Rest Is History podcast in 2025
before getting onto a topic that is a little left-field, I guess. I recently wrote a feature where I said how it would be amazing to book an event in a great and iconic space like Abbey Road Studios. In 2031, it will be a century since they opened. I said how cool it would be if Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr took part and had a special role in the celebrations. I know Conan O’Brien is a massive fan of the band and I would advise checking out his chat with Peter Asher from 2023. He was recently at Abbey Road Studios to talk all things Beatles for The Rest Is History podcast. It would be amazing if O’Brien was part of the centenary celebrations. It is a long way off but, given the history of the studios and what could occur, it is exciting to look ahead to November 1931. However, I am sticking with Conan O’Brien. Follow Team Coco on Instagram, as this is his little empire. His brand. I wanted to shine a light on the brilliant Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast, in the context of musicians. Hosted with Sona Movsesian and Matt Gourley, it is fantastic. Not only brilliantly funny and interesting, there is such a bond between the three. And the wonderful team. I love the interview on the podcast, though some of the most fascinating are with artists. Jack White sat down with them a while ago and it was this deep and funny conversation. I love music journalism and that is obviously something I do. However, it rare you get podcasts and YouTube channels where artists are interviewed regularly. Hearing different sides to them. A more humorous direction. We have The Adam Buxton Podcast, and he chats with artists, but not many visual ones.
Sticking with The Beatles, I am not sure whether Paul McCartney or Ringo Starr will appear on the podcast. One reason why I think we need more podcasts like this is because I think you get to discover new things about artists. I guess O’Brien interviews more actors than musicians for Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, though he has interviewed musicians, and it is always incredible. These long-form discussions where he will talk about the music, but it also goes off on tangents. I do tend to find a lot of interviews with musicians are quite dry or formulaic. Too much about the music and not especially original. Obviously, the music press is wonderful and you get these terrific interviews. However, it is rare when I listen to an interview or see a podcast where you see these new or established artists in the same setting as you get with Conan O’Brien. Sonia Movsesian and Matt Gourley. Obviously, from a practicality standpoint, it is not convenient for some artists to get their studios in California. They have done some remote interviews, though most of the chats are face-to-face. I am trying to think of British equivalents. Some cool podcasts here, though nothing has the same sense of wonder, occasion and high comedy than Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend. I do hope this year sees them chat with some incredible artists. There are so many I would love to see on there. The ones who have appeared have given me a whole new appreciation of them. I know O’Brien has interviewed Paul McCartney before, though I am not sure he has ever spoken with Ringo Starr. Not to be totally obsessed with The Beatles, but it is infectious when he talks about the band. Indeed, his interest in his guests is another highlight. I am not a big chat show fan, as you get this sofa with guests and it is all very, I don’t know, cloying. Lots of cheering, sycophancy and interviews that are not especially deep or worth listening to. It can feel hollow and grating. Especially with some U.S. chat shows. A podcast like Conan O’Brien’s offers something more intimate, focused and genuine. Less about stroking egos or it being part of the interview circuit. Not to take against British chat show hosts like Graham Norton, but I find the whole thing a bit too sickly.
When it comes to artists, they are not really featured on chat shows as much as actors. They are the music guests mostly rather than being the actual guests. If they do appear, I tend to find the line of questioning is too narrow. We have great stations in the U.K. like BBC Radio 6 Music where you get artists interviewed, though the podcast format lacks something here. It is hard to put into words. Maybe it is my love of Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend and what he does. People might have suggestions of filmed podcasts that offer something similar to what Conan O’Brien, Sonia Movsesian and Matt Gourley deliver. To be fair, little can match the idyllic surroundings of Larchmont in California. It seems perfect there! Before finishing off, I want to bring in an interview from Variety from 2019. The early days of the podcast, we get some insights about what makes it special and why guests love doing it:
“Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” is an irresistible mixture of philosophical discussions about art and life and pure zaniness. It’s a program from the late-night host turned podcasting ringmaster that defies easy characterization, and a show that manages to move seamlessly from moments of hilarity to unexpected instances of confession
What do celebrities like about doing the show?
It’s a chance for them to come in and have this intimate conversation. I remember Lisa Kudrow said to me, “Wait, no hair. No makeup. I’m there.” People can roll in on the way to pick up their kids or right after they’ve had a colonoscopy. That’s the secret: Interview them about two hours after their colonoscopy, when the twilight drugs are wearing off and they’ve been told they’re polyp-free.
You ask your guests a lot of questions about what drives them to achieve at a high level. Why does that interest you?
None of us really knows ourselves. Part of my obsession is I’ve always wanted to know what’s my deal? What’s my problem? If you could get in a time machine
and go back and look at me when I was 10 years old, you’d see a pretty intense kid. Why? Some of these people were really hard on themselves when they were kids, and they’re really hard on themselves now, except now they have Emmys and Oscars and Grammys. That’s remarkable, and maybe it will be helpful to people listening”.
I do think a lot of focus is on actors when it comes to podcasts and interviews. Or the most attention. Series where actors interview one another. Chat shows book them more over artists. Even through we have the music press, I don’t think there are enough platforms where artists are interviewed in a way that is both funny/zany and deep. It is a pity, as we see revealed new layers and aspects. That is why I wanted to shine a light on Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend. A decades-running masterful interviewer and former chat show host, it is a shining example of what podcasts should be. The importance of Sonia Movsesian and Matt Gourley and how they bounce off of one another. I feel this year is going to be another terrific one for the podcast, and I am excited to see what guests are included. More than anything, I am interested in the musicians booked. Not often considered to be as entertaining or worthy a guest as actors, comics or those in other areas of culture and the arts, I find artists to be incredible guests. We get to see them and their music in a new light. Watch some of the interviews that Conan O’Brien has done with musicians and you see that in full force! An absolutely wonderful podcast, I am a big fan of Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend. An essential and engrossing podcast…
LONG may it continue.