0:00
Yeah, see, that's that's starting to bloom. What do you think, Bill?
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0:16
Hey, what's going on, everybody?
0:16
From First We Feast, I'm Sean Evans, and you're watching Hot Ones.
0:18
It's the show with hot questions and even hotter wings.
0:21
And today, I'm joined by Al Roker.
0:23
He's the longtime host and weatherman at NBC's The Today Show, a 13-time Emmy winner and bestselling author.
0:29
You can also catch him on the new web series Cold Cuts, where they pile on the meats, cheeses, and toppings.
0:33
Al Roker, welcome to the show. Sean, good to see you. Sean, good to see you. Sean, good to see you.
0:39
Popping some cameras, that's a vet right there. see them. They're there.
0:42
You put them there for a reason. Let's use them.
0:46
In 2015, I saw you eat the world's hottest chip live on TV, and you kept a poker face all the way through.
0:51
So, I take it you're pretty good with spicy food.
0:55
I but it was a small amount.
0:57
You notice I didn't eat the whole thing.
0:59
You know, so that's the secret to anything, I think, when you especially doing food television.
1:03
You take a bite, you don't eat the whole thing. Right, right, right.
1:06
Get that bite, take it down, get your feet, send it to commercial. Exactly.
1:11
All right, Al, you ready to get it going? Yes, sir.
1:23
And you'll start at the handle. At the handle. Oh, I see. Of of the board there. Mhm.
1:34
So, you can't have an Al Roker interview without discussing The Today Show.
1:38
You've been involved for more than 20 years.
1:39
It's one of the longest-running, most successful television shows in history.
1:42
And then, The Today Show is unique in that you'll do these segments live around a screaming crowd.
1:46
When you think of all the bizarre faces to face you've had with civilians on the street, is there a story that stands out?
1:53
Well, I had this was years ago.
1:57
There was a a guy holding a sign that said Chris, will you marry me?
1:59
And I thought oh, this is great.
2:02
I'm going to go over and I'm going to say hi.
2:03
And my producer said may you don't do it.
2:04
Don't do what do we what does he know?
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I know what he So I go up to and I say, so you love Chris.
2:11
He goes, well, I love Chris, but I love Jeff more.
2:13
And with that turns to the guy next to him and gives him a big big open mouth kiss.
2:17
And I looked at the camera and said, see they won't even show you that on Will & Grace.
2:25
Uh they went ahead and they wrote me into Will & Grace where just Jack and Will show up at the Today show to protest something and they end up kissing on the Today show. Wow.
2:35
So art imitating life imitating art.
2:37
And then you can't spend 40 years on live TV without having some big gaffe, without swearing on live TV, without breaking something.
2:44
What's that Al Roker's story?
2:46
Well, one of them I I I was trying to say warm air mass and and and I said a warm ass.
2:54
And so that that made the rounds very nicely. It was good.
2:58
Another time I was covering a hurricane, Hurricane Wilma.
3:02
There's a camera guy holding me down and I literally went down like a ton of bricks. I've seen that clip. Yeah, oh yeah. It's it's everywhere. Everywhere. We're okay. WE'RE COMING INSIDE. YEAH, do that Al. idea. That's a good idea.
3:15
you just held on to that wrought iron gate? Mhm. You're so real tender. I like that one.
3:25
So I had the honor of being an upcoming guest in your show Cold Cuts where we made sandwiches together and I know that you're a food obsessive yourself.
3:31
When you think of all your cross country adventures, what do you think is the best regional burger in America?
3:39
You know, it's funny because it wasn't regional. It hadn't gone national.
3:41
But when I had my first Shake Shack burger, I thought, yes. Oh my gosh. This is amazing.
3:50
And then speaking of Shake where does having the Roker burger on the menu rank in your list of professional accomplishments?
3:58
It It's pretty high up there.
3:58
I mean, you know, that you have a creation that people actually are going to pay money for and like it was was like high praise.
4:09
And you seem to be one of the more curious diners when your crew was covering the Sochi Olympics.
4:12
Did you make any food discoveries out there?
4:16
Uh there was this this cheesy bread.
4:19
And it wasn't anything fancy, but it was great, you know.
4:22
So, I mean, you'd finish It was one of those addictive things where you eat it and that's great. Okay, that's enough.
4:28
And then, like an hour later, you're back in your hotel room and it's like I need me some cheesy bread.
4:36
Oh, daddy needs cheesy bread.
4:36
Get daddy some cheesy bread. Oh, hey Ivan, come here. Cheesy bread.
4:43
Putin probably has tapes of me ordering cheesy bread.
4:48
All right, so this next one is the Pirate's Lantern.
4:52
So, when I was a broadcast journalism major at the University of Illinois, my senior professor, shout out John Paul, said that my real calling was as a weatherman.
5:00
And obviously, things have worked out quite a bit differently, but sometimes I fantasize about what that might have been like doing local news in Central Illinois.
5:08
So, with that in mind, Yes, sir.
5:10
we put together a weather segment for you to critique.
5:12
It would be such an honor if you could tell me if I have what it takes to make it in this game.
5:18
And so, without further ado, ROLL THE TAPE.
5:25
BUST OUT YOUR BUCKET HATS AND BOARD SHORTS, FOLKS, because we're in for an epic heatwave sweeping across the country this week.
5:30
Whether you're in Barrow, Alaska, or Boston, Massachusetts, it's going to be a hot one today.
5:36
Up in Chicago, there are reports that Lake Michigan has reached a boiling point.
5:41
You can poach an egg off Navy Pier today.
5:45
And then, down in Texas, temperatures of 120, 125, 130 degrees.
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Schools are closed and what's this? Yep.
5:55
Texas Pete says it's too damn hot to go to work today.
5:59
Out in California, sunny with a chance of death wings as we say in the meteorology community.
6:03
Back to you Natasha and Jinx in the studio.
6:08
Stay cool out there internet. What do you think?
6:13
I I I I think it's very disturbing.
6:16
I just I just the the exploding wings uh and and the bottles of hot sauce over Texas.
6:22
Uh that that it's it's a that's a sick somebody was a sick little puppy who came up with those graphics. I'm very impressed.
6:28
I think you need to refer to the map a little more.
6:30
I think but that's not a big deal.
6:36
Uh the other thing that I was impressed with was your enthusiasm and and and the fact that you were wearing a a teenager suit.
6:44
I think that would Yeah, kind of an athletic fit. Exactly. Exactly. See, I like it roomy.
6:50
I like you know, I like to have a little room to breathe.
6:51
That's you know, but that's me. That's just me.
6:54
And then you know what I always thought was interesting and I'm wondering if you have any insight is I always thought that weather was such a specialized skill.
7:01
It was really a sink or swim moment for a lot of the students in the broadcast because there's no safety net.
7:07
You know, they just toss it to you live and you don't have that prompter.
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You're just off green screen.
7:10
You're working off monitors.
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It's opposite your instincts.
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What do you think of that?
7:14
Do you ever have those thoughts? I You know what?
7:17
I don't I don't think about it and I think that's why I've actually been able to fool people as long because it it it is basically an ad lib situation.
7:26
You don't write a script. Your map is your script.
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So, you just kind of wing it. See what you did there.
7:41
So, this next one is the Son of Zombie.
7:44
Ooh, that sounds dangerous. Is it true about milk?
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Cuz I've always been told about milk.
7:48
Milk is a good way to cleanse the palate a little bit, but nothing's going to totally save you, you know.
7:54
Just kind of dampen the flame. Exactly, exactly.
7:55
So, here on Hot Ones we often ask celebrities what it's like to be name-checked in hip-hop lyrics.
8:02
And you're pretty unique in that you've been name-checked for decades, from Das EFX in the '90s all the way up to Pusha T on his latest album.
8:08
So, with that in mind, I want to pull some of the most iconic Al Roker hip-hop lyrics.
8:12
I'm wondering the ones you like, the ones you don't get, maybe they resonate with a certain time in your career, and we can just go from there. Does that sound good?
8:21
It would be cuz that would be great because I don't really know them.
8:25
So, I'll introduce you to these. Okay. All right.
8:27
So, this first one is from Jay-Z. Okay.
8:29
It's off of a song called Hate.
8:29
My hustle's so Russell, I stretch work, yoga.
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You know I got it down, dog, Al Roker, I used to knock pounds off.
8:38
That's That's I guess he's referring to when I I've lost weight.
8:39
So, it's uh that's And from Jay-Z, that's uh high praise indeed.
8:44
I want to go by like Al R, but it doesn't have the same That would be your rap name?
8:49
Yeah, it would be Al R because it's not See, it doesn't really work.
8:54
This next one is from Pusha T, and it's off of a song called If You Know, You Know.
8:57
Dance contest for the smokers, I predict snow, Al Roker, if you know, you know. Yeah, I don't know.
9:03
I don't know what it means.
9:05
I I don't My My My 19-year-old called me and said, "Dad, really? Pusha T?" And I'm like, "Okay. First, who's Pusha T?
9:13
And secondly, I don't know what you're talking about."
9:16
Then I I I Googled and found out he's got a beef going with Drake. Right.
9:21
Uh and and so, I think I think it basically is because my last name rhymes with a lot of words. Mhm.
9:29
You know, it it it works.
9:34
So, this is Los Calientes. Uh-huh.
9:36
We put it in our sandwiches, too. Yes. Yes. Okay. So far, so good. so good.
9:50
Are you doing better than you thought you would now? I think I am.
9:52
I heard whispers that you were a little I was I was planning to stop at three.
9:56
That's what That was my That was my game plan.
9:58
Look at you now, you can't. Look at me. All right, Al.
10:00
We'll be What would Puss in Boots say?
10:03
It says, "Dropping the pounds like Al Roker." That's right. That was Jay-Z. Oh. Ow. All right, Al.
10:10
We have a recurring segment on our show called Explain That Gram, where we do a deep dive into I guess Instagram, pull interesting pictures that need more context.
10:15
So, I'm going to bust out some pictures.
10:17
I'll show you them, and then you just tell me the bigger story. Does that sound good? go to the laptop. Laptop, please.
10:25
Look at how high-tech this is.
10:25
It's a guy in a weird Where's Waldo shirt. This is Bill. Hey. Hi, Bill. Hi. Wow.
10:33
Are you impressed with what's going on here, Al?
10:35
I'm actually more impressed that Bill had the guts to wear that shirt.
10:38
I had a shirt like that when I was seven. That's great. That's very nice. Al Roker.
10:44
It's like you're a canary that met a jailbird. What is that?
10:49
Last time I saw somebody wearing that was like Curly Howard in the Three Stooges. Keep going. Sorry. All right, Al.
10:57
What was a bigger challenge for you?
10:59
Running the marathon or when you set a Guinness World Record by doing the weather for 34 hours straight?
11:07
Uh I think running the marathon was harder. Really? Yeah.
11:09
And and by running, I mean, I finished.
11:14
If you look at the guy next to me, he was faster. Uh you know what?
11:18
I was almost demoralized when a guy ran past me, no lie, backwards juggling. Oof. Al, really? Tough pill to swallow. Seriously. Come on.
11:31
Uh uh the doing the weather for 34 hours.
11:33
Once you get past like the first hour, then you're you're good.
11:36
I will tell you an interesting story about that. Sure.
11:41
Uh, because we had never done anything like that.
11:42
After I got my first break, which was after a couple of hours, I had to use the restroom.
11:48
Uh, except our audio guy forgot to turn the mic off.
11:51
So, I believe I'm the first guy to actually live stream on the internet. Oh, this smells hot. Mhm. Oh, yeah, I can tell.
12:07
Yeah, as soon as you bite into it, you know.
12:11
Having flashbacks to the world's spiciest chip.
12:15
Yeah, see that's that's starting to bloom. What do you think, Bill? Yeah.
12:26
So, you've been a fixture on morning TV for more than two decades.
12:28
You also have an interesting relationship with late night.
12:31
In fact, you once had the record for the most guest appearances on Conan O'Brien.
12:36
But I'm curious about your relationship with David Letterman.
12:38
What can you tell people about what it was like to do local news across the hall from him?
12:46
Yeah, we'd be on our show live at 5:00 would be on while David Letterman was taping his his late night show. And he would come in.
12:53
He'd bring it like one time I remember he brought in Zippy the chimp on the mobile monkey cam. That was a a chimpanzee.
13:00
And it was on skates with a live pack on its back and a camera on its helmet.
13:05
And it comes skating into the studio. It was crazy.
13:10
One time he came in and said, he goes, "Hey Hal Gurney."
13:12
Uh, the director, "How is Al Roker doing the weather?"
13:14
And he literally they took a camera and he walked across the studio and came in and busted in and did weather with me.
13:22
Crashed your live broadcast.
13:24
Letterman started as a weatherman, you know.
13:25
So, to the point where our anchor guy, this guy Jack Cafferty, who didn't find it all that amusing, tried to get them to lock the studio, you know, so that and as somebody pointed out, yes, but you see if there was like say, oh, I don't know, a fire, we can't get out.
13:40
So, not such a great idea.
13:43
That's what I was going to ask, you know, for the news director, for the production staff, did they find humor in Dave crashing the set or was he a bit of a nuisance?
13:52
Well, they may not have found it funny. We loved it.
13:54
I can tell, you know, cuz that's one of the great internet rabbit holes to go down.
13:57
It's to go look at these vintage clips.
14:00
So, I highly recommend them cuz there's no way we can clear them.
14:01
But, you always seemed you always seemed to have a great sense of humor about the whole thing and then sometimes there was a weird energy elsewhere. Come on.
14:11
I mean, you're on network television with David Letterman, one of the funniest guys going. I mean, please.
14:18
That for a kid who wasn't even supposed to be on TV, uh that's gravy.
14:27
I can sense trouble already.
14:32
It's kind of almost a ashy type of smell. There's nothing. Nothing.
14:41
Now I can start to feel it. Mhm. Now it's coming.
14:45
Yeah, see I can feel it on my lips.
14:45
See, this is where I think we're on the outer elements here.
14:48
See, cuz it's going to be lingering now.
14:52
It's approaching that level. Yes, I can sense it now. I can sense it.
14:55
So, you've had remarkable longevity in the game, which spans now over 40 years.
15:00
And while I can confirm that you are every bit the gentleman that you appear to be, I think it's safe to say that you've also made some conscious decisions along the way to avoid the cliché pitfalls of fame.
15:08
So, as someone who's come in intimate contact with almost every celebrity, I'm curious about your takeaways when it comes to fame.
15:17
Do you think it's getting harder to enter that machine and then come out the other side with your humanity intact?
15:25
Well, I think it it I think it depends on uh what you want.
15:28
I like being on TV, but you know, I've got another part of my life.
15:32
I've got my family, friends.
15:32
Uh so, I don't feel this need to be on all the time.
15:37
I don't feel the need to I mean, I share some stuff on social media, but I you know, I you know, there's people who are on constantly, you know, and it's like once you start go down that road I think it's hard to pull back.
15:51
What did you learn about being a public figure after a gastric bypass surgery?
15:55
Because you do seem to be a very open about that.
15:59
Well, you know, you don't see a lot of old fat people.
16:02
Uh and I had at the time had young kids.
16:04
My dad was not to be a downer, but my dad was dying of cancer.
16:08
And he said, "The only thing I'm worried about."
16:10
He goes, "I I I I I've got a good wife.
16:11
I've had I have beautiful children.
16:14
Uh the only thing I'm really worried about is you.
16:18
You know, that I'm not going to be here to help you raise your kids.
16:19
So, I need you to promise me you're going to lose weight."
16:22
And I promised him and I would go every morning to the show in the morning, but I'd go see him at Sloan Kettering before the show.
16:30
And when I came I'd come back and visit him in the afternoon.
16:31
When I came back, he had lost his ability to talk and he was gone 2 weeks later.
16:35
So, I owed it to him to do that.
16:43
I have a feeling this may be the last one.
16:46
Do you have to be careful that you don't rub your eyes or anything when you're doing this? You ever done that?
16:52
I have made every mistake that you can make.
16:54
And there's a lot of reasons that you need to thoroughly wash your hands after Hot Ones, if you catch my drift. Yes. Ooh. Well.
17:16
You You some people think that you play it safe on air, but there's also a faction, including a whole section of Reddit, that thinks that your quips are brilliantly coded, like a Drake diss.
17:26
You have to call in a forensics team to decipher it.
17:28
Any comment on the anatomy of an Al Roker on-air clapback?
17:33
Uh I Gee, I don't I don't know.
17:33
I I I You know, here's the thing.
17:39
I I think people are giving me a lot more credit because I don't I don't really think about it.
17:42
Life's too short, you know, it it pops in.
17:44
If if I think I can say it and I'm not going to get in trouble, I say it.
17:48
You're around long enough, there you've got enough lines in the back of your head to fit almost any situation.
17:54
Can I just say one thing? Yep.
17:56
I I one of my favorite one of the best lines we were when we're doing our show Cold Cuts, you had the one of the best lines.
18:01
The question, when you and I don't know if you've shared this with your viewers, what's the one question that people the the weirdest question that somebody's asked you?
18:09
How's your butt hole doing?
18:13
Yeah, that's a That's a good one.
18:13
I see that I I see I see I see a line of t-shirts out of that.
18:17
You know who would wear one? Bill. Bill what? Yeah. As long as we stripe it. Exactly. Yeah. I'm sorry, I digressed. I'm afraid.
18:39
That's going to cause problems. Wow.
18:45
See, there's no taste of chicken in that whatsoever. This could be a sponge. Pure hellfire. Yeah.
18:54
So, I know that you love the morning-to-morning grind of doing the Today show, but it does seem that you have a special affinity for covering the Olympics.
19:01
It's so storyline-driven, which must be unique for somebody who's a news person and a fan of the games.
19:07
Who is the most interesting Olympian to cover?
19:12
I really enjoyed um Chloe Kim this last in this last No, let me let me back up. I love Chloe Kim.
19:22
But as far as just kind of a breath of fresh air Adam Rippon had probably one of the greatest lines ever.
19:28
Hoda Kotb and Savannah are interviewing him.
19:30
And he's already having a great And Hoda says, "Is there anybody at the Olympics having a better time than you?"
19:37
And he said, "Oh, I don't know.
19:39
Anybody who's won a medal?"
19:43
That was It was so refreshing.
19:44
You know, I I And he's just he's got this joy.
19:48
I saw him at the Time 100 Most Influential Dinner and he just exudes joy.
19:55
Well, not to put any pressure on you, Al, but he did Hot Ones and ran the gauntlet.
20:01
Yeah, but but here's the thing. He's an Olympic athlete. But you know what? I'm a weatherman.
20:06
I sat across the table from him.
20:06
I looked in his eyes just as I'm looking into yours. And you know what? What?
20:13
I see the spirit of a warrior in front of me. I don't think so.
20:22
So, this is the last dab redux.
20:22
We call it the last dab think so.
20:27
because it's tradition around here to put a little extra on the last wing. Are you insane?
20:31
You don't have to if you don't want to, Al Roker. It's okay. No. It's okay. I'm okay. I'm an old man. I don't really care.
20:40
40 years in the game, salute to the legend.
20:43
It is already on the wing though, so it is inescapable, yeah. It's already there.
20:52
Oh, this is one you guys make yourself. Very perceptive.
20:55
Pepper X and chocolate pepper X.
20:55
I have a feeling Never mind.
21:02
See, that was what See, every now and then every now and then but then I hear my WIFE SAYING, "COME ON! STOP IT! HAVE YOU NO DECENCY?
21:14
WHAT ARE YOU SUPPOSED to tell the children?"
21:17
All right, Al Roker, here we are at the end of the hot sauce road, and as we've discussed our many talents to Al Roker, broadcaster, weatherman, author, but the one side we haven't explored is Al Roker the artist.
21:31
I know that your father nurtured a love for cartoons in you.
21:33
You once dreamed of going to the New York School of Graphic Art and Design, and now we're going to put that to the test. Okay.
21:41
We have a graphite pencil, a sketch pad on deck, and if you could, just hit us with a little Hot Ones-inspired doodle Okay. to take us home, Al. Bill? Bill. Thank you, Bill. You're welcome. You're beautiful, man. You, too. Don't go changing.
22:01
Love you just the way you are. Uh, let's see.
22:04
Uh, Hold up that masterpiece.
22:32
Can you explain it to the people out there?
22:36
It's a sunshine with flames coming out of his mouth. That's how hot it is.
22:43
It's hotter than the sun. And you know what? It's beautiful. Hang it up in MoMA.
22:47
Al Roker, all the way through the chicken wing gauntlet.
22:51
Look at you, my man, and you didn't think you could, but I didn't.
22:56
Every now and then, you surprise yourself.
22:59
Al, there's nothing left to do but roll out the red carpet for you, my man.
23:00
This camera, this camera, or this camera.
23:02
Let the people know what you have going on in your life.
23:06
What do I have going on in my life? I have everything.
23:08
I've got I've got the respect Sean.
23:13
I've got the love of Bill.
23:16
And I've got my wife going, "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU ON THIS?" GOOD JOB, AL. GOOD JOB. THANK YOU, BILL. You're a beautiful man.
23:45
Breaking news, Hot Ones fans.
23:45
This is Sean Evans checking in to say there's a major storm of brewing.
23:49
Make sure that you batten down the hatches, stock up on non-perishables, and while you wait out the storm, why not binge watch some old Hot Ones?
24:00
Like, comment, subscribe. Who appreciates you? Me.