WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.180 Welcome back to The Deep Dive. Today we're diving 00:00:02.180 --> 00:00:04.960 into something, well, pretty unique. It's a journey 00:00:04.960 --> 00:00:08.500 that takes us from mainstream sketch comedy all 00:00:08.500 --> 00:00:11.619 the way to Tibetan Buddhist cosmology. Yeah, 00:00:11.679 --> 00:00:13.060 it's quite the mix. We're looking at Charles 00:00:13.060 --> 00:00:15.599 Duncan Trussell. Duncan Trussell. Actor, stand 00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:17.260 -up comic, but as you said, those labels, they 00:00:17.260 --> 00:00:19.179 don't really cut it, do they? Not even close. 00:00:19.379 --> 00:00:22.600 I mean, his path in digital media, it's really 00:00:22.600 --> 00:00:25.539 something else. So our mission today, basically, 00:00:25.539 --> 00:00:27.960 is to sift through the sources and figure out 00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:31.039 how he went from, you know, the usual comedy, 00:00:31.179 --> 00:00:34.240 route acting, writing, stand up. The grind. Exactly. 00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:37.899 The grind. How do you go from that to. being 00:00:37.899 --> 00:00:40.920 this this major voice online and also maybe the 00:00:40.920 --> 00:00:42.719 most surprising part a real presence in spiritual 00:00:42.719 --> 00:00:45.100 conversations right and i think that's the puzzle 00:00:45.100 --> 00:00:46.899 we need to sort of piece together for you the 00:00:46.899 --> 00:00:49.880 listener how does one person's career realistically 00:00:49.880 --> 00:00:54.359 span writing for like fuel tv's stupid face remember 00:00:54.359 --> 00:00:57.210 that oh yeah High volume stuff. High volume sketches. 00:00:57.350 --> 00:00:59.969 Yeah. And then roles in Curb Your Enthusiasm, 00:00:59.990 --> 00:01:03.670 but also become this burgeoning spiritual teacher. 00:01:03.829 --> 00:01:06.069 That's the term used grounded in Tibetan Buddhism. 00:01:06.370 --> 00:01:09.450 That's a leap. It really is. But the thing is, 00:01:09.469 --> 00:01:11.489 it's not just two separate tracks running side 00:01:11.489 --> 00:01:15.109 by side. No. No, it's like. The way he blends 00:01:15.109 --> 00:01:17.510 them is the career. It's the product. You see 00:01:17.510 --> 00:01:19.430 it most clearly with his podcast, The Duncan 00:01:19.430 --> 00:01:22.090 Trussell Family Hour, the DTFH, and definitely 00:01:22.090 --> 00:01:24.010 with The Midnight Gospel on Netflix, which he 00:01:24.010 --> 00:01:26.750 co -created. Ah, okay. The Midnight Gospel. We'll 00:01:26.750 --> 00:01:28.730 get to that. Yeah, absolutely. But this whole 00:01:28.730 --> 00:01:30.590 deep dive, it really boils down to understanding 00:01:30.590 --> 00:01:33.450 how he managed to weave together comedy, some 00:01:33.450 --> 00:01:35.810 really complex stuff like Vajrayana metaphysics, 00:01:35.849 --> 00:01:38.950 and just effective communication. Yeah. Making 00:01:38.950 --> 00:01:40.890 it all accessible. Okay. So let's start at the 00:01:40.890 --> 00:01:43.109 beginning then. Lay the groundwork. His early 00:01:43.109 --> 00:01:45.390 comedy career. Because like you said, that discipline, 00:01:45.609 --> 00:01:47.349 that's kind of the bedrock, isn't it? Totally. 00:01:47.409 --> 00:01:49.689 It funded and structured everything else later 00:01:49.689 --> 00:01:52.450 on. Yeah. So Charles Duncan Trussell, born April 00:01:52.450 --> 00:01:55.989 20, 1974, Asheville, North Carolina. He's 51 00:01:55.989 --> 00:02:00.090 now this year. And he started out focused squarely 00:02:00.090 --> 00:02:03.689 on the traditional path. Stand up, writing, acting. 00:02:04.219 --> 00:02:06.760 Even music. He really did cover the basses. He 00:02:06.760 --> 00:02:09.460 did. And that foundation, working in the trenches, 00:02:09.639 --> 00:02:11.500 it wasn't just about being funny. It was about 00:02:11.500 --> 00:02:13.759 learning the craft, the collaboration, the structure, 00:02:13.879 --> 00:02:16.419 especially in TV production. That whole toolkit 00:02:16.419 --> 00:02:18.780 was essential for what came later. And you really 00:02:18.780 --> 00:02:20.900 see that commitment when you look at his early 00:02:20.900 --> 00:02:23.680 credits. It's dense. He wasn't just popping up 00:02:23.680 --> 00:02:26.840 occasionally. He was writing, contributing consistently. 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:29.800 He knew the industry from the inside. Absolutely. 00:02:29.819 --> 00:02:33.020 Like for Fuel TV's Stupid Face, he wrote and 00:02:33.020 --> 00:02:34.740 appeared in... sketches for two whole seasons. 00:02:34.900 --> 00:02:37.039 That's a lot of content. It is. Think about the 00:02:37.039 --> 00:02:39.840 pressure new concepts week after week. That teaches 00:02:39.840 --> 00:02:42.419 you to think fast, find the joke, even in weird 00:02:42.419 --> 00:02:45.520 premises. And that skill, you hear it all the 00:02:45.520 --> 00:02:47.680 time in the podcast, free -flowing style. Okay, 00:02:47.719 --> 00:02:50.020 so that rapid fire training then kind of paved 00:02:50.020 --> 00:02:52.319 the way for appearances on, let's say, more premium 00:02:52.319 --> 00:02:55.120 platforms. Showtime, Comedy Central. Exactly. 00:02:55.759 --> 00:02:58.419 Showtime's La La Land, Comedy Central's Nick 00:02:58.419 --> 00:03:01.349 Swardson's Pretend Time. And he was in both seasons 00:03:01.349 --> 00:03:04.189 of HBO's Funny or Die Presents, which was pretty 00:03:04.189 --> 00:03:06.889 well regarded. Right. And Guest Spots, too, placing 00:03:06.889 --> 00:03:09.949 him right in the thick of it. MADTV, that late 00:03:09.949 --> 00:03:12.919 night sketch scene. And even curb your enthusiasm. 00:03:13.240 --> 00:03:15.039 Yeah, getting a curd credit, that definitely 00:03:15.039 --> 00:03:17.860 gives you traditional comedy validation. It shows 00:03:17.860 --> 00:03:20.280 he was a working pro before he really leaned 00:03:20.280 --> 00:03:22.639 into the digital space. But even back then, there 00:03:22.639 --> 00:03:25.979 were hints of something else, right? Trying to 00:03:25.979 --> 00:03:28.759 mix comedy with bigger ideas. Yes. The sources 00:03:28.759 --> 00:03:31.539 mentioned this pilot he hosted for Comedy Central 00:03:31.539 --> 00:03:34.240 called Thunderbrain, a comedy science pilot. 00:03:34.460 --> 00:03:36.560 Comedy science. Okay, that's interesting. Isn't 00:03:36.560 --> 00:03:39.680 it? It suggests, like... Way back, he was already 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:41.840 interested in tackling complicated stuff, science, 00:03:42.099 --> 00:03:45.199 facts, and making it funny, making it accessible. 00:03:45.319 --> 00:03:47.639 It kind of foreshadows the whole DTFH approach, 00:03:47.860 --> 00:03:50.840 where you can jump from neuroscience to, I don't 00:03:50.840 --> 00:03:53.680 know, Bigfoot, to a stand -up bit. And he wasn't 00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:55.280 just in front of the camera. He was working behind 00:03:55.280 --> 00:03:57.460 the scenes, too, consulting, writing. That's 00:03:57.460 --> 00:03:59.659 right. He was a consultant and writer for Jason 00:03:59.659 --> 00:04:02.199 Sudeikis when he hosted the MTV Movie Awards 00:04:02.199 --> 00:04:05.879 back in 2011. That's a big gig, shaping the voice 00:04:05.879 --> 00:04:08.740 for a major live show. Definitely. So you add 00:04:08.740 --> 00:04:11.300 it all up, the sketch writing, the TV spots, 00:04:11.560 --> 00:04:13.819 the consulting, plus he was regularly touring 00:04:13.819 --> 00:04:16.639 as a stand -up, performing at big festivals like 00:04:16.639 --> 00:04:19.579 Just for Laughs in Montreal, Moontower in Austin. 00:04:20.060 --> 00:04:22.800 So he really put in the work, mastered the traditional 00:04:22.800 --> 00:04:25.300 forms. Exactly. And I think mastering that craft 00:04:25.300 --> 00:04:27.779 gave him the confidence, the structural know 00:04:27.779 --> 00:04:30.639 -how, and maybe the conversational flexibility 00:04:30.639 --> 00:04:33.379 to then break the mold later on. Okay. So that 00:04:33.379 --> 00:04:35.199 feels like the perfect pivot point. He built 00:04:35.199 --> 00:04:37.199 this solid foundation and then he took all that 00:04:37.199 --> 00:04:39.600 skill and poured it into the thing that really 00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:42.660 defines him now, the podcast. Yes. Section two, 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:45.319 the Duncan Trussell Family Hour, the DTFH. This 00:04:45.319 --> 00:04:47.959 is the core, the ongoing heart of it all. And 00:04:47.959 --> 00:04:50.379 the scale is just... Huge. How many episodes 00:04:50.379 --> 00:04:52.980 are we talking? The source says over 600 as of 00:04:52.980 --> 00:04:55.000 September last year. Think about that volume. 00:04:55.379 --> 00:04:57.740 Hundreds and hundreds of hours of these deep, 00:04:57.740 --> 00:05:00.980 winding conversations. Wow. And it wasn't his 00:05:00.980 --> 00:05:03.379 very first podcast venture, was it? He had something 00:05:03.379 --> 00:05:06.639 before that. Correct. He dipped his toes in first 00:05:06.639 --> 00:05:09.379 by co -hosting The Lavender Hour with Natasha 00:05:09.379 --> 00:05:11.920 Leggero. She's a fellow comedian. They dated 00:05:11.920 --> 00:05:14.079 for a while, too. Right. I remember that. That 00:05:14.079 --> 00:05:18.279 ran until early 2012. So he got his reps in figuring 00:05:18.279 --> 00:05:20.759 out the long form audio thing before launching 00:05:20.759 --> 00:05:24.000 DTFH solo. And the format of DTFH, it sounds 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:27.860 simple on paper. Invite interesting people, talk 00:05:27.860 --> 00:05:30.560 for an hour. Eclectic guests, open conversation. 00:05:30.779 --> 00:05:33.300 That's the description. But yeah, the magic isn't 00:05:33.300 --> 00:05:35.699 the format itself. It's the range, the sheer 00:05:35.699 --> 00:05:37.939 breadth of who he talks to. Okay, let's talk 00:05:37.939 --> 00:05:39.699 about that guest list because it really tells 00:05:39.699 --> 00:05:41.319 the story, doesn't it? It's like a map of his 00:05:41.319 --> 00:05:43.819 brain almost. And it caters perfectly to that 00:05:43.819 --> 00:05:46.779 listener, like you, who wants diverse knowledge 00:05:46.779 --> 00:05:49.339 quickly. Totally. It's like an intellectual hub. 00:05:49.500 --> 00:05:51.899 So you've got this core group of fellow travelers, 00:05:52.120 --> 00:05:55.240 comedians, podcasters. People like Joe Rogan, 00:05:55.240 --> 00:05:57.459 Dan Harmon, Joey Diaz, Burt Kreischer. The usual 00:05:57.459 --> 00:05:59.639 suspects in a good way. Yeah, Natasha Ligero 00:05:59.639 --> 00:06:01.920 too, Jessa Reed. And then more intellectual types 00:06:01.920 --> 00:06:04.360 within that sphere like Christopher Ryan, Danielle 00:06:04.360 --> 00:06:06.779 Bilelli. Those conversations often feel very... 00:06:06.939 --> 00:06:09.959 Personal, funny, story -driven. But then, and 00:06:09.959 --> 00:06:11.920 this is where it gets really distinctive, he 00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:16.100 deliberately pivots. He brings in serious, high 00:06:16.100 --> 00:06:19.639 -level, 100 % spiritual teachers, scientists. 00:06:19.779 --> 00:06:22.819 This is the key differentiator. You might get 00:06:22.819 --> 00:06:25.720 a wild, hilarious Joey Diaz episode one week. 00:06:25.779 --> 00:06:28.339 Raucous energy, yeah. And the next week, it's 00:06:28.339 --> 00:06:32.399 this incredibly deep, quiet conversation with 00:06:32.399 --> 00:06:35.110 someone like Ram Dass. Wow, Ram Dass. Especially 00:06:35.110 --> 00:06:37.470 getting him before he passed away, that lends 00:06:37.470 --> 00:06:39.310 serious weight to the spiritual side of the show. 00:06:39.490 --> 00:06:41.810 Absolutely. And that pairing, the profane and 00:06:41.810 --> 00:06:44.110 the profound side by side, that's the entire 00:06:44.110 --> 00:06:47.129 appeal. You can go from earthly problems to cosmic 00:06:47.129 --> 00:06:50.029 truths in like one podcast feed. Who else? You 00:06:50.029 --> 00:06:52.709 mentioned scientists. Yeah. The cognitive neuroscientist 00:06:52.709 --> 00:06:54.769 Amishi Jha talked about mindfulness research. 00:06:55.110 --> 00:06:58.230 The visionary artist Alex Gray. Rick Doblin from 00:06:58.230 --> 00:07:01.050 MAPS talked about psychedelics. Graham Hancock 00:07:01.050 --> 00:07:02.910 digging into ancient mysteries, even political. 00:07:02.990 --> 00:07:05.329 figures like Andrew Yang, and Dr. Drew pops up 00:07:05.329 --> 00:07:07.670 too. Okay, hold on. That range is staggering. 00:07:08.149 --> 00:07:10.629 To be able to talk meaningfully with Dr. Shah 00:07:10.629 --> 00:07:14.509 about neuroplasticity, then shift to Graham Hamcock 00:07:14.509 --> 00:07:17.829 on, say, ancient civilizations, and then have 00:07:17.829 --> 00:07:20.649 Ram Dass on discussing service, Dressel has to 00:07:20.649 --> 00:07:23.509 be genuinely curious and, frankly, pretty smart 00:07:23.509 --> 00:07:25.649 to navigate all that. He has to be. He's the 00:07:25.649 --> 00:07:28.750 bridge. He takes these complex, sometimes esoteric 00:07:28.750 --> 00:07:32.250 ideas and makes them feel... relatable, accessible, 00:07:32.629 --> 00:07:34.670 often through humor, but always with respect. 00:07:34.930 --> 00:07:38.040 So the DTFH becomes this kind of shortcut for 00:07:38.040 --> 00:07:39.819 people who are curious about everything. Pretty 00:07:39.819 --> 00:07:41.980 much. It's like an intellectual sampler platter. 00:07:42.060 --> 00:07:44.660 It respects that desire for broad knowledge, 00:07:44.779 --> 00:07:47.139 but filters it through this very personal, honest, 00:07:47.240 --> 00:07:49.740 funny lens. It kind of democratizes access to 00:07:49.740 --> 00:07:51.740 big ideas. And it's not just talking heads, right? 00:07:51.819 --> 00:07:53.680 There's music too. Yeah. The sources mentioned 00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:55.420 musical features like the way in the Sundays. 00:07:55.620 --> 00:07:58.399 It just reinforces that open art, culture, science, 00:07:58.540 --> 00:08:01.180 spirituality, comedy. It's all part of the conversation. 00:08:01.399 --> 00:08:03.439 The full spectrum of being human, basically. 00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:06.279 Exactly. Which naturally. Leads us right into 00:08:06.279 --> 00:08:08.459 the next section because that spiritual dimension 00:08:08.459 --> 00:08:11.439 isn't just part of the show. It's kind of fundamental 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:14.160 to its identity now. Right. So beyond the comedian, 00:08:14.220 --> 00:08:17.459 the actor, the sources explicitly call him a 00:08:17.459 --> 00:08:20.160 burgeoning spiritual teacher. And they specify 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:23.439 the tradition Tibetan Buddhism. Yes. That's the 00:08:23.439 --> 00:08:26.500 specific framework he references and works within. 00:08:26.660 --> 00:08:28.740 But there's a really important nuance here. One, 00:08:28.860 --> 00:08:31.899 he makes himself. Which is? He pushes back hard 00:08:31.899 --> 00:08:34.740 against being called a Buddhist comedian. Okay. 00:08:35.129 --> 00:08:37.830 Why is that distinction important? I think it 00:08:37.830 --> 00:08:39.669 signals that he doesn't see his spirituality 00:08:39.669 --> 00:08:44.330 as like a gimmick or material for jokes. It's 00:08:44.330 --> 00:08:47.490 a genuine framework for his life, for understanding 00:08:47.490 --> 00:08:50.210 things. And that seriousness then comes through 00:08:50.210 --> 00:08:52.269 in the conversations, even when they're funny. 00:08:52.370 --> 00:08:54.210 That makes sense. He's a comedian who happens 00:08:54.210 --> 00:08:56.490 to be Buddhist, not someone using Buddhism for 00:08:56.490 --> 00:08:58.809 comedy. OK. But for listeners maybe not familiar 00:08:58.809 --> 00:09:01.549 with terms like Dharma or Vajrayana metaphysics. 00:09:01.669 --> 00:09:03.669 Yeah. Can you break those down a bit in this 00:09:03.669 --> 00:09:05.889 context? How do they show up in a podcast? Sure. 00:09:05.970 --> 00:09:08.769 So Dharma, broadly, is the Buddha's teachings, 00:09:08.889 --> 00:09:12.129 the path, the truth. Bhavarana is a specific, 00:09:12.250 --> 00:09:14.490 quite advanced school within Tibetan Buddhism, 00:09:14.750 --> 00:09:17.370 sometimes called the Diamond Vehicle. It uses 00:09:17.370 --> 00:09:21.110 complex techniques, visualizations, and deals 00:09:21.110 --> 00:09:23.730 with really profound ideas about the nature of 00:09:23.730 --> 00:09:26.610 reality, like emptiness, illusion, non -duality. 00:09:27.039 --> 00:09:29.720 Big stuff. Big stuff indeed. How does that translate 00:09:29.720 --> 00:09:32.139 into podcast chats? Well, the sources say these 00:09:32.139 --> 00:09:34.259 teachings, the Dharma, aren't just discussed 00:09:34.259 --> 00:09:36.480 theoretically. They're brought up specifically 00:09:36.480 --> 00:09:38.919 for dealing with daily life and exceptionally 00:09:38.919 --> 00:09:41.720 difficult or rare circumstances. Okay, so applying 00:09:41.720 --> 00:09:44.759 ancient wisdom to modern problems. Exactly. Trussell 00:09:44.759 --> 00:09:47.240 and his guests might use these Vajrayana concepts 00:09:47.240 --> 00:09:49.379 like the idea that things aren't as solid as 00:09:49.379 --> 00:09:51.919 they seem or that the self isn't fixed as tools. 00:09:52.120 --> 00:09:55.139 Tools to process stress or world events or even 00:09:55.139 --> 00:09:57.279 personal grief and trauma. And the humor connects 00:09:57.279 --> 00:10:01.019 to that. Directly. The sources say that DTFH 00:10:01.019 --> 00:10:04.399 humor often draws on high -concept Vajrayana 00:10:04.399 --> 00:10:07.559 metaphysics. Which sounds intense. But it means 00:10:07.559 --> 00:10:09.360 he trusts the audience. He can have a serious 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:12.120 discussion about, say, reincarnation or Tolkis, 00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:15.120 and then pivot to something totally absurd and 00:10:15.120 --> 00:10:17.919 hilarious. It's that mix again. And he grounds 00:10:17.919 --> 00:10:20.399 it by referencing his influences. Yes, absolutely. 00:10:20.820 --> 00:10:23.419 He connects the ideas to his mentors and key 00:10:23.419 --> 00:10:25.980 figures. We already mentioned Ram Dass. He also 00:10:25.980 --> 00:10:28.779 frequently references Chegem Krumpa, who was 00:10:28.779 --> 00:10:30.860 a very influential, sometimes controversial, 00:10:31.059 --> 00:10:33.940 Tibetan teacher. It shows he's working within 00:10:33.940 --> 00:10:36.519 a specific lineage, not just making things up. 00:10:36.600 --> 00:10:38.580 That grounding feels important. It's not just 00:10:38.580 --> 00:10:41.019 talk. There's a practical application, even community 00:10:41.019 --> 00:10:43.179 building, right? He leads meditation sessions. 00:10:43.460 --> 00:10:45.399 He does. He hosts a weekly meditation and mindfulness 00:10:45.399 --> 00:10:47.820 discussions for his Patreon subscribers. Okay, 00:10:47.879 --> 00:10:50.379 that's significant. It really is because he's 00:10:50.379 --> 00:10:53.080 taking these practices, which historically might 00:10:53.080 --> 00:10:55.360 have been kept more private, more within dedicated 00:10:55.360 --> 00:10:57.320 spiritual communities, and he's putting them 00:10:57.320 --> 00:11:00.440 right out there on a modern digital subscription 00:11:00.440 --> 00:11:04.029 platform. It's like democratizing spiritual practice 00:11:04.029 --> 00:11:07.330 itself, using Patreon, blending the entertainer 00:11:07.330 --> 00:11:09.590 role with the, I don't know, the guide or teacher 00:11:09.590 --> 00:11:12.950 role. Precisely. And that whole commitment synthesizing 00:11:12.950 --> 00:11:15.330 deep talk and actual practice is what ultimately 00:11:15.330 --> 00:11:17.990 led to the most visually ambitious translation 00:11:17.990 --> 00:11:21.789 of his work, The Midnight Gospel. Ah, yes. Section 00:11:21.789 --> 00:11:25.450 four, the animated show. For anyone who only 00:11:25.450 --> 00:11:27.600 knew the podcast, this must have been... Something 00:11:27.600 --> 00:11:30.779 else. And the way it was made is key. It's the 00:11:30.779 --> 00:11:33.980 aha moment. The show wasn't written in a traditional 00:11:33.980 --> 00:11:35.960 sense. They took actual recorded conversations 00:11:35.960 --> 00:11:39.080 from DTFH episodes. The podcast audio. The podcast 00:11:39.080 --> 00:11:41.700 audio itself became the dialogue for the animation. 00:11:41.919 --> 00:11:44.679 The visuals, the story, the sci -fi chaos, all 00:11:44.679 --> 00:11:47.639 of that was created afterward, inspired by and 00:11:47.639 --> 00:11:49.840 laid over the existing conversations. So you're 00:11:49.840 --> 00:11:52.139 watching this character, Clancy, voiced by Duncan, 00:11:52.320 --> 00:11:54.559 go through these wild psychedelic adventures 00:11:54.559 --> 00:11:57.519 on alien planets. But what he's saying might 00:11:57.519 --> 00:12:00.500 be from a real profound interview about death 00:12:00.500 --> 00:12:03.100 or love or reality. Exactly that. It creates 00:12:03.100 --> 00:12:05.279 this incredible hybrid genre. The source calls 00:12:05.279 --> 00:12:08.019 it a high concept postmodern sci -fi sitcom. 00:12:08.220 --> 00:12:10.379 That sounds about right. And the visual style 00:12:10.379 --> 00:12:13.759 is just as contradictory. You have this intense, 00:12:13.759 --> 00:12:17.700 often chaotic, colorful animation, high stakes 00:12:17.700 --> 00:12:21.460 action. But the dialogue underneath can be incredibly 00:12:21.460 --> 00:12:25.570 calm, meditative. That tension is Trussell's 00:12:25.570 --> 00:12:27.710 whole thing, isn't it? The wild comedy and the 00:12:27.710 --> 00:12:29.629 structured dharma. And he didn't do this alone. 00:12:29.769 --> 00:12:32.049 Pendleton Ward was involved. Co -directed by 00:12:32.049 --> 00:12:34.789 Pendleton Ward, yeah. The genius behind Adventure 00:12:34.789 --> 00:12:37.669 Time, which makes perfect sense. Ward has that 00:12:37.669 --> 00:12:40.409 visual imagination, that elasticity needed to 00:12:40.409 --> 00:12:43.129 match the intellectual twists and turns of Trussell's 00:12:43.129 --> 00:12:45.250 conversations. And Trussell used the show to 00:12:45.250 --> 00:12:47.690 spotlight his own teachers, too. He did. He brought 00:12:47.690 --> 00:12:49.850 his actual meditation teacher, David Nickturn, 00:12:49.990 --> 00:12:53.379 onto the show well. his voice and wisdom. And 00:12:53.379 --> 00:12:55.580 Nickturn himself was a student of Tugum Trungpa. 00:12:55.879 --> 00:12:58.600 So that lineage is right there, embedded in this 00:12:58.600 --> 00:13:00.759 mainstream Netflix hit. That's pretty amazing, 00:13:00.860 --> 00:13:03.500 bringing esoteric ideas right into pop culture 00:13:03.500 --> 00:13:05.740 like that. But he didn't completely leave traditional 00:13:05.740 --> 00:13:07.919 acting behind, did he? He still does voice work. 00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:10.179 Nope, still active. He guest starred on that 00:13:10.179 --> 00:13:12.860 HBO animated show Animals, voiced a character 00:13:12.860 --> 00:13:15.509 named Dave. Described as the moth that experiments 00:13:15.509 --> 00:13:18.309 with neon for the first time. Chuckles. That 00:13:18.309 --> 00:13:20.330 honestly sounds like something Clancy from the 00:13:20.330 --> 00:13:22.409 Midnight Gospel would encounter. Doesn't it? 00:13:22.470 --> 00:13:24.889 And more recently, he's got a role in Fox's animated 00:13:24.889 --> 00:13:28.269 series Cropopolis. He plays Hippocampus. Described 00:13:28.269 --> 00:13:31.690 as a physically incapacitated fish -like genius. 00:13:32.070 --> 00:13:35.389 Okay. A fish -like genius. Fits the brand. It 00:13:35.389 --> 00:13:37.950 seems to. So yeah, his unique voice that blend 00:13:37.950 --> 00:13:40.710 of smarts and vulnerability, it's still in demand 00:13:40.710 --> 00:13:42.919 for conventional animation too. Which brings 00:13:42.919 --> 00:13:46.460 us, I think, to a really crucial part of understanding 00:13:46.460 --> 00:13:50.220 him, the personal context. His own life story 00:13:50.220 --> 00:13:52.360 isn't separate from the work. It kind of fuels 00:13:52.360 --> 00:13:55.019 that openness, that vulnerability we see. Completely 00:13:55.019 --> 00:13:58.379 foundational. Section 5, personal context and 00:13:58.379 --> 00:14:00.659 resilience. The reason DTFH and the Midnight 00:14:00.659 --> 00:14:03.179 Gospel feel so authentic is because he practices 00:14:03.179 --> 00:14:05.539 what he preaches about honesty, even when it's 00:14:05.539 --> 00:14:07.500 incredibly difficult. And the biggest example 00:14:07.500 --> 00:14:09.639 of that has to be his health crisis. Without 00:14:09.639 --> 00:14:12.850 a doubt. December 14, 2012. He goes on his own 00:14:12.850 --> 00:14:16.070 podcast, DTFH, and announces in an episode titled 00:14:16.070 --> 00:14:19.149 just unbelievably bluntly, oh, high ball cancer, 00:14:19.269 --> 00:14:21.389 that he's been diagnosed with testicular cancer. 00:14:21.649 --> 00:14:23.610 Wow. Just puts it right out there. Puts it right 00:14:23.610 --> 00:14:25.350 out there. No press release, no stepping away. 00:14:26.350 --> 00:14:30.049 Uses his own platform in real time to talk about 00:14:30.049 --> 00:14:32.789 this terrifying, life -changing thing. It goes 00:14:32.789 --> 00:14:34.629 back to what the sources said about applying 00:14:34.629 --> 00:14:37.429 Dharma in exceptionally difficult circumstances. 00:14:38.009 --> 00:14:41.080 He turned his crisis. into a public lesson. And 00:14:41.080 --> 00:14:44.139 thankfully, it turned out okay. Yes, the treatment 00:14:44.139 --> 00:14:46.620 was successful. He gave an update just a couple 00:14:46.620 --> 00:14:48.500 of weeks later, December 28th, confirming he 00:14:48.500 --> 00:14:51.720 was okay. But that whole sequence, the raw honesty, 00:14:51.820 --> 00:14:54.779 the quick follow -up, it cemented this idea that 00:14:54.779 --> 00:14:57.779 the podcast wasn't just talk. It was a space 00:14:57.779 --> 00:15:00.480 for processing the real, messy, scary parts of 00:15:00.480 --> 00:15:03.200 life using these philosophical tools he explores. 00:15:03.440 --> 00:15:05.299 It must have changed the relationship with his 00:15:05.299 --> 00:15:08.059 audience, made it much deeper. Had to. It proved 00:15:08.059 --> 00:15:10.139 the open conversation thing wasn't just a tagline. 00:15:10.200 --> 00:15:12.580 It became about shared vulnerability, maybe even 00:15:12.580 --> 00:15:14.840 collective processing. And on the personal front, 00:15:14.980 --> 00:15:17.039 we know a bit about his family, too. He has a 00:15:17.039 --> 00:15:19.700 brother and his mother passed away. Yes, a brother 00:15:19.700 --> 00:15:23.440 named Jeff and his mother, Deneen Fendig. Died 00:15:23.440 --> 00:15:25.919 in 2013. She comes up quite a bit in his work, 00:15:25.980 --> 00:15:27.899 actually. Seems like she was a big influence, 00:15:28.019 --> 00:15:30.220 both emotionally and comedically. His relationships 00:15:30.220 --> 00:15:31.879 have sometimes overlapped with his work, too, 00:15:31.960 --> 00:15:34.419 right? Natasha Leggero? Yeah. Dated Mary Lynn 00:15:34.419 --> 00:15:37.399 Rajskoob, another comedian. And Natasha Leggero, 00:15:37.419 --> 00:15:39.440 who co -hosted The Lavender Hour with him. He 00:15:39.440 --> 00:15:42.340 was also linked with Cork Keegan, a model. But 00:15:42.340 --> 00:15:44.559 his current life seems more settled. Married 00:15:44.559 --> 00:15:47.580 kids. It does. Married Aaron Trussell in 2018. 00:15:47.799 --> 00:15:50.200 And true to form, he announced he was going to 00:15:50.200 --> 00:15:52.960 be a father not in some magazine, but on Joe 00:15:52.960 --> 00:15:56.120 Rogan's podcast in June 2018. Keeping it in the 00:15:56.120 --> 00:15:58.340 family, the podcast family. Pretty much. And 00:15:58.340 --> 00:16:00.620 now the sources confirm they have three kids, 00:16:00.759 --> 00:16:04.299 two sons and a daughter. So this whole arc, cancer, 00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:07.179 loss, marriage, fatherhood, it's all been part 00:16:07.179 --> 00:16:09.860 of the public narrative shared openly. It underscores 00:16:09.860 --> 00:16:12.299 how the work and the life are just completely 00:16:12.299 --> 00:16:14.960 intertwined from. OK, so let's try to wrap this 00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:17.029 up. Bring it all together. We've really traced 00:16:17.029 --> 00:16:20.629 three distinct yet connected pillars of his career. 00:16:20.889 --> 00:16:22.570 Yeah, I think that's a good way to put it. Pillar 00:16:22.570 --> 00:16:26.789 one, the skilled mainstream comedy pro. The actor, 00:16:26.950 --> 00:16:29.549 writer, stand -up who did the hard yards. TV 00:16:29.549 --> 00:16:34.230 shows like MADTV, touring, festivals. That foundational 00:16:34.230 --> 00:16:37.090 discipline. Pillar two, the influential podcaster. 00:16:37.519 --> 00:16:41.279 DTFH, over 600 episodes defining this unique 00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:43.399 space where comedians, scientists, spiritual 00:16:43.399 --> 00:16:45.500 teachers all get treated with the same depth 00:16:45.500 --> 00:16:48.840 and curiosity, that eclectic range. And Pili3, 00:16:49.139 --> 00:16:51.379 the spiritual guide or maybe teacher in progress, 00:16:51.659 --> 00:16:54.460 rooted in Tibetan Buddhism, actively teaching 00:16:54.460 --> 00:16:56.980 mindfulness, applying Dharma publicly through 00:16:56.980 --> 00:16:59.500 his platform. And the real innovation, the synthesis, 00:16:59.620 --> 00:17:01.740 is how these pillars connect in the content. 00:17:02.480 --> 00:17:05.259 DTFH became the lab where high concept metaphysics 00:17:05.259 --> 00:17:08.099 met comedy. And then, incredibly, that philosophical 00:17:08.099 --> 00:17:10.579 audio became the actual script for the Midnight 00:17:10.579 --> 00:17:13.279 Gospel. Proving that deep conversation can be 00:17:13.279 --> 00:17:15.779 the narrative engine for compelling, even popular 00:17:15.779 --> 00:17:18.259 visual storytelling. It wasn't about choosing 00:17:18.259 --> 00:17:20.200 philosophy or jokes. It was about making them 00:17:20.200 --> 00:17:23.119 inseparable. Exactly. The spiritual insight and 00:17:23.119 --> 00:17:25.299 the weird animated gag, they're not opposed. 00:17:25.880 --> 00:17:27.680 In his work, they're basically two sides of the 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:29.880 same coin. He dissolved the boundary. Which leaves 00:17:29.880 --> 00:17:32.240 us with a final thought, something for you, the 00:17:32.240 --> 00:17:36.539 listener, to chew on. If these really deep, personal, 00:17:36.599 --> 00:17:39.460 philosophical conversations, the kind that used 00:17:39.460 --> 00:17:41.960 to happen behind closed doors, maybe if they 00:17:41.960 --> 00:17:43.960 can be lifted word for word and become the dialogue 00:17:43.960 --> 00:17:47.740 for a hit animated sci -fi show, what does that 00:17:47.740 --> 00:17:50.359 actually signal about where storytelling is headed? 00:17:50.660 --> 00:17:53.309 Yeah, and maybe. Yeah. But what does it say about 00:17:53.309 --> 00:17:56.170 the role of the comedian? Is someone like Trussell, 00:17:56.250 --> 00:17:58.890 who combines that radical honesty with intellectual 00:17:58.890 --> 00:18:01.630 curiosity, becoming a new kind of philosophical 00:18:01.630 --> 00:18:04.289 guide for the modern age, maybe stepping into 00:18:04.289 --> 00:18:06.529 roles previously held by academics or clergy? 00:18:06.789 --> 00:18:09.130 It really feels like that line between entertainment 00:18:09.130 --> 00:18:12.250 and genuine philosophical exploration. It's not 00:18:12.250 --> 00:18:14.329 just blurry anymore. In Duncan Trussell's world, 00:18:14.430 --> 00:18:16.509 it feels like it's been completely erased. Something 00:18:16.509 --> 00:18:18.690 to definitely ponder. Indeed. We'll leave it 00:18:18.690 --> 00:18:19.730 there for this deep dive.