How Issa Rae secured success: Create what you’re passionate about
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Welcome to Most Innovative Companies. I'm your host, Yasmin Gagne, joined by my producer, Josh Christensen. Hey, Yas. Josh, we have a huge guest on today. I'm so excited. So I don't think we want to bore our listeners with our banter right now. No one wants to hear from us. Let's just get right into it. I just have a quick

piece of housekeeping because you're going to want to do this after you listen to today's episode, which is subscribe, rate, and review this podcast. Go on Apple Podcasts. If you haven't already followed, hit that follow button and leave us a rating. So we have a very special guest in our studio today, someone we've interviewed at Fast Company before back in 2017. I don't know if you remember. Of course. I remember that photo shoot actually. But never for the podcast.

Our readers get to hear your voice. Oh, lucky them. We're excited to welcome actor, producer, and entrepreneur Issa Rae to the show. Hello. Thank you for having me and my voice. Thank you for coming. I'm pretty sure that readers have heard your voice before. It's pretty popular. Well, I hope so. Oh, I have nothing to say to that. I have nothing to contribute. So today, I think it's literally the day this podcast comes out, you're launching your own Prosecco. I am.

My dream has come true. I have a Prosecco out and it's called Via Ray. So you got the nice pun with your name. I know. This is the last time, I promise. I'm like, I feel like I'm stretching it out. Well, I read that you rebranded from Issa Ray Productions to Hooray, which I think is really funny. I stole that from

My middle name is Ray, and I'm named after my aunt, who is an artist, and she's had this company, Hooray for the Arts. And so, you know, she passed, but I got to live on through her with Hooray. I always thought it was clever. I was like...

Yeah, I think that's good. That's amazing. So, Issa, before I even ask you about developing VRA, what kind of drunk are you? Oh, I have gotten better. You know, my friends actually named my drunk alter ego Ursula. Ursula.

They said I was very evil, very mean. Like, that would come out. Yeah. I can't imagine that. Thank you. Thank you for saying that. But I think I just wanted conflict. And that's what they would be like, oh, Ursula's here. Do you keep trying to make deals with people? Like, I'll give you some legs for your voice. Yeah. I think that was the gist of it. It's a very weird drunk to be. What can you do for me? And I can, you know.

Which is actually, that's accurate. But no, my friend just complimented me. He was like, I haven't seen Ursula in like decades. That's growth. Josh, what kind of drunk are you? Oh, I'm boring. I'm just a sleepy drunk. Sleepy?

falling asleep at the functions type drink yeah that kind of drunk that's me I gotta keep it down or caffeinate heavily beforehand and then it's like two Aperol spritzes which I need to try with the new brand with the new Prosecco yes absolutely but that's about it but they said like tequila is an upper so what is your do you drink tequila or have you been oh my god no

No, not anymore. Tequila. Tequila's rough. It just makes me, like, queasy. It's too much. Why Prosecco? Because Prosecco has been my signature drink for a while. I associate it with, like, my best moments and kind of my come up, you know? Like, I first was introduced to it by Melina Matsoukas, the director of The Insecure Pilot. Yes. Went to, like, a getting to know you dinner right before she... Oh, that's awesome. I interviewed her for the magazine. Oh!

A couple years ago. So you know how incredible she is. Yeah, she's so cool. She's such a hero of mine. And yeah, we were out for sushi. She ordered it. And I was like, what is that? She was like, you'll see. And it was basically like, to me, an approachable champagne because champagne just felt too like highbrow. Like I didn't feel like esteemed enough or accomplished enough for champagne. And Prosecco was approachably luxurious. Yeah. And so, yeah, I was just like, I want my, I want my,

own. Like I kept on recommending it to people. I introduced it to my friend group. And I was like, I need to stand behind what I'm promoting. So like, why not create one that has a flavor profile that I can stand behind and that I love and that I won't get tired of. Yeah. Did you reach out to Gallo, the wine people? Yes, I did. First of all,

I took a lot of meetings with different people and, you know, some of them were just like, why Prosecco? Can it be this? And I'm just like, no, it has to be Prosecco. And Gallo just got it. You know, working with them has been an absolute dream. That's awesome. You know, it's funny. Some celebrities have alcohol brands. Like, I think J-Lo famously does not drink but has an alcohol brand. For real? Yes.

But I believe you. Now I can't legally, but I'll always have a bottle in my hand. Trust and believe. Did you have a hand in marketing the product? Of course. Because it says, taste what yacht shit is all about. Yes. You know, I normally wouldn't.

That was definitely shared with me. I wouldn't necessarily tout that, but if that's what you want, then great. But even in their help in marketing this project, they're obviously so familiar with me and what I love, and y'all shit is my shit. Y'all shit is your shit. Never been on a yacht. No, me neither. Never in life? No. No, dude, we're not successful. You're in New York. No, dude.

- You don't have to be, what do you mean? - I don't know, the Circle Line I think is the closest. - The what? - The Circle Line is probably the closest. - I don't even know what that is. - What is the Circle Line? - It's just a tourist boat that goes around Manhattan. - Oh, I think I saw that the other day and I was like, I wanna go on that. - It's cute. - It's cute. - They have signs that say eat lobster on a boat, stuff like that. - And I would do that immediately. - Every day. - Excellent advertising. - When I graduated, they held our senior dance there, but people were also getting married on the boat.

I was like, we have ruined this wedding. I would be fucking pissed if some high schoolers were at my wedding that I did not know. Yeah.

That's crazy. I mean, that's warning to all of you listening. Do not book the Circle Line for your wedding. I mean, like, look, all about saving money on your wedding, but don't be that cheap. No. That's true. Yeah. Book a yacht. Actually, it's their fault. It's kind of on them. Yeah. Book a yacht and get Issa's Prosecco. That's what you need to do. Exactly. I like where your head's at. But I want to say,

I want to talk about the other businesses that you've sort of invested in or promoted. And I know there's Sienna Naturals. Yes. Coffee brand called Hilltop Coffee. What is your kind of investment philosophy? What do you look to back? I look to back things that...

Things that I love and things that I need, you know, things that I want. So like Sienna Naturals, I wear my hair naturally a lot and taking care of it is very hard. And I happen to have a sister-in-law who was like testing products to make her hair Caroline and tested them on me like I was a constant guinea pig. And I watched her do that for a while.

And then she was like, do you want in this? And I was like, absolutely. I use the products. You're actually making products for me that work for my hair, for C hair and have that as a focus. So that was natural. Hilltop, I wanted a coffee shop. Like I wanted to start a coffee shop specifically because that's where I write like constantly. And there was never one in my neighborhood. And I was telling this to my business manager for years and he found a collaborative partner for me. So there's that. And then obviously my love for VRA. So I typically collaborate with,

with people, but VRA is something, with the exception of Gala, where it is like, for sure, like I'm going all in for this. Right. So you sort of meet people that you like, figure out if there's some synergy. Whereas with this one, you obviously found some synergy. Yes. I can't believe I used that word twice. No, I think that's... Absolutely terrible. But like... It's apt. Yeah, it's out there. Keep on synergy. What else is synergistic that you were going to say? I forgot. You don't remember? I forgot. You were so in your head about saying... I know. I know.

It's because we did an article recently about the worst office taboo words. That's like a March Madness style bracket and synergy became the number one word. I'm for sure guilty of that. Circle back. We all are. Circle back. I like intentionally don't say that. I had never heard that phrase until it was used. And then now it's hard for me like to not say it. My editor, David Lidsky, is always yelling at me. He's like, it's articles, not content. Yeah.

And I'm like, that's actually so true. I hate content. So, Isa, I want to talk about your media company, Hooray. Tell me about growing the business. I mean, beyond changing the name, like, what did you set out to do with the production company? I wanted to make it all-encompassing. I wanted to make an ecosystem, which I'm sure is on your list of overused office words. But, like, even the expansion of the company has...

been an actual progression of things that we were kind of already doing. So, for example, with radio, which is the audio everywhere company that sits under Hooray. Like that is one of our main businesses is music supervision, which was so popular on Insecure and which was an opportunity for me to learn about the business and then work with experts. Still such a good soundtrack. Yeah.

Thank you. The Insecure soundtrack. Shout out to Kier Lehman. One of the best. Incredible mentor, collaborator, all those things. And then obviously we were doing podcasting just via audio storytelling. And that also falls into it. And then there's the management company, Color Creative, which started out as an opportunity to find artists.

up and coming voices and try to replicate the model that I had with Awkward Black Girl, where it's like you create the piece of work and you get people excited about it and hopefully then sell it to a network. And so we were funding pilots for the cheap, for people that we believed in, writers that we believed in. And then, you know, that got them noticed and represented. But sometimes they would come back to us and be like, hey, me and Denise, who I found a color creative with, to be like, hey, you know, you guys were so central in

getting us these opportunities, like, can you still, like, I have a manager, but can you still help us? And so we were like, we should just do this officially. And that's how Color Creative kind of transitioned into a management company run by Talitha now. And so all of these businesses are just extensions of things that we're doing or spaces that we want to get into.

Did you always have this kind of entrepreneurial streak? Like, you know, obviously you're an incredible creative and incredible showrunner, but you've set up quite a big business with this. With help. I think it's because of, you know, I've always been a collaborator in that way. And so I wouldn't do this if I didn't have capable people that I believed in. But I guess to answer your question, like, I know that that's come from the Internet. I feel like anybody who's created from the Internet has to do so many things. And you have to be savvy in certain areas and learn so much. And I think that's

because that was my starting place, like, it so much felt possible. Yeah. You know, and it felt attainable. It's just like you're building something from nothing and showcasing it. And so why not replicate that with other areas of the business? So some of Haray's work includes Rap Shit, the series, but you have some awesome future projects down the pipeline.

If I may say so, Nice White Parents is one of my favorite. This is such a good production. Tell me about that. I mean, it's an incredible podcast. And, you know, we were just excited for the opportunity to turn that into a community. I lived a block away from that school.

Are you serious? In Carroll Gardens. Yeah. I mean, until I moved. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, what a great story to know. It's just about like, how do we tell that story now? Yeah. In present day. And so much has changed even since that podcast was done. How do you pick what creative projects you want to focus on? How do you find that IP?

Honestly, I mean, I work with an incredible team, so they're always on the lookout and, you know, reading books that haven't been released yet or, you know, reading pitch pages for books that they're interested in. And, you know, I obviously have my own projects that, like, I'm passionate about. And so it's just a matter of sometimes reaching out to the author or talking to agents. It's just being proactive. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. So when we interviewed you back in 2017, which is obviously like everything's changed for

Only a few major things have happened in the world since then. But in the interview, you said you talked about how a black person could never pitch something like Seinfeld, like a show about nothing. And I'm curious whether you think the environment or expectation for black creators has changed or not really. Well, now it's changed back. I think it's regressed. Really?

Really? A thousand percent post-strike when they're going to do less shows and, you know, now like kind of broaden the scope of what's released, I guess, to maximize audience potential. I think now in that way where we could appeal to niche audiences before, like I don't think

that that'll be the case. So I stand by that statement now because everything has to be super high concept that's going to be made. Like even I, as a creator, I'm navigating that, you know, like what I want to make next. Do you like being in front of or behind the camera? I like being behind the camera. What do you mean? Like there's... I like being in front of the camera when it's like...

I love ensemble projects I've discovered. Yeah. I have worked on so many. I can't talk about it, I guess, because of the sag. But I guess in my past, I've worked with a lot of, like, people that I'm fans of. So, like. Yeah. Playing opposite of, you know, a legend like Jeffrey Wright or.

Margot and Ryan, those kind of things and watching people be in their element. I like that part of being in front of the camera, but I could easily also just watch from behind the camera too. How has the strike affected you? Both the writer's strike and the SAG strike now. I mean, the strike has affected me like it's affected everybody else. Obviously, work stoppage, not being able to talk about projects that I really am proud of and the like, but I stand by it, obviously. The changes that the writers got were essential and I've

give so much props to them for having the foresight to see like some of the ills of our industry. Yeah, well, some of the AI stuff that's come up is insane. It's so scary. And, you know, I wasn't thinking about that. And I wasn't thinking about how it would affect...

me as a writer, like the competition of the industry. And, you know, I think studios should also be scared. I think development executives should be scared. I think people who are embracing it should obviously use it wisely, but like just be very aware of what the possibilities are and what that means for like our work and the copyright of our own work. Is there any way that AI is used that you think could actually be useful or do you think it's generally like, you know? Absolutely. I think if as a writer, if

you can sometimes getting something down on the page, like to start, you're sewing your head. And so if you could have a prompt that where you can like dictate, this is what I'm thinking, spit something out, like, and then you're editing it. Absolutely. That could be a game changer in terms of just starting, you know, getting past the intimidation of it. I think that's a really good idea. I'm going to do that with my next draft. Yeah. I mean,

And then, yeah, I think that like anything that kind of makes the industry just more approachable and attainable to get started for new writers, for diverse writers to find opportunities and level the playing field, that could be great. But again, it's it could while it could level the playing field, it could also drastically like change the balance of things. You actually just talked about something interesting, which is the fact that you think, you know, especially post-Strike, these stories that might be more niche stories.

may get cut out. I'm curious. I want to hear more about that. And then I want to hear a little bit about sort of what other big changes you're seeing going on in the industry. Well, I think

The elimination of, I guess, monoculture has for sure affected what determines the success of a series. Like, there are clear, blatant hits. Like, Netflix will tout Wednesday is a huge success. But then there are certain times when you're like, oh, I don't know where this show lands. And now it's canceled. So, like, and then...

so many of these creators don't even have access to their data. And then not only that, now that it's taken off the platform, like when things started getting taken off platforms, I was like, oh my God. And it made me realize like, I have nothing tangible. Totally. I have nothing. I don't have, maybe I have season one of Insecure on DVD. Yeah.

And that was gifted to me, but if my show disappears-- - That's a terrible gift. Like for whoever gave it to you. That's like an insane gift to give you.

It was probably like one of my elders. And now, to be fair to them, that's like all I have. That's a physical representation of this show. And so my heart goes out to people who are just like, I made all of this. Like I poured my heart and soul into this and I don't have a copy. And I imagine like networks would be courteous enough to be like, yeah, we took it off the platform. But here you go. Here are all the files. Yeah. But there is something about like.

having something tangible as a creator that I have, I'm exploring about how to just leave a mark outside of just the digital footprint that we've been able to have. But I forgot your question, 'cause that was-- - Oh, I was just asking about the kind of broad predictions for the industry following the SAG strike. So you talked a little bit about niche shows not being-- - Yes, yes. I think obviously with less shows, that means less casting opportunities,

While the writers were able to fight for more minimums, I mean, for minimum staffing rooms for writers. Again, that means there's less stuff to work on because everything is so expensive. So just less opportunities. I think that there would just be in the same way that the 90s to the 2000s, there were less diverse shows on the air. I think that's for sure going to be a casualty of it all. So that's one of the bleak situations.

so depressing. It is. It is. But we'll see. I mean, it also depends on who's in charge and what people are looking for. But I've honestly already seen it. Really? Yeah. I've seen so many shows go away. You've got to give us a show that went away that shouldn't have. That shouldn't have? I was actually really sad that the show about the Lakers got canceled. Oh,

winning time winning time didn't get a chance to like thrive yeah and like the cast on that was so talented so good and it comes from you know the brilliant Adam McKay I'll say Southside I love the show Southside though I think Yalo and Bashir are hilarious and just conceptually that was something that was like small and very specific and I was devastated that that got cancelled yeah and I also

- I also think the weird thing is that so many specific stories still have resonance with people who are not from that community, right? - Yeah, absolutely. And will ultimately inspire the next generation of people who wanna tell stories. So it affects the future in some ways too. - I wanna talk about your own creative journey and I'm curious, what is the first thing you ever wrote that made you feel like, "Oh, this is it. Like I can do this."

A play in church. A play in church? Yeah. Was it like the story of Jesus? No, it was about, it was like kind of dragging my congregation. Because we had like old dramatic people. Like it was always drama in our church. And yeah.

So, like, I created, I made a play that was a soap opera. How old were you? I was 11. That's awesome. And then it was the, and then the reverend was just like, oh, that was so good. Like, people, like, seeing it on stage. People liked it. People were laughing at themselves. Oh, good. People weren't like, I'm going to kill this child. No, they were like, ah! I'm sure somebody was. I'm sure people, like, were.

whatever, boycotted the church after that. But no, they were very supportive. And like seeing people laugh at jokes that I had written was like, oh my gosh, this is so cool. I want to do this. Did you always feel like, and also, you know, this is like kind of from my personal background, but like I wanted to be a writer forever, but I also know that almost sounded like wanting to be an actor. You know what I mean? Like your family's just like, yeah, so law school. Yes, exactly that. It feels so...

so intimidatingly unattainable because like so many people want to do that and you're just like well what is it about me and my writing that'll stand out and have an opportunity you know like why me but if you want to do it like what else are you supposed to do yeah yeah it's true you gotta try you gotta try it I can't pretend like I don't want this so yeah how did you find mentors I had

amazing teachers from high school on, like, and especially in college. Like, I had great teachers who were encouraging. And so when I did feel like, oh, I can't do this, this is an impossible job. Like, they were the ones encouraging me and showing me, like, resources and examples of people who did make it and, you know, who pursued it. And make it has so many different definitions. And for me, I had to determine, like, what that meant to me, like, what I was satisfied with achieving.

My last question for you is you had a memoir come out in 2015, I think, right? Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl. A lot has changed in your career since then, but how do you think you have changed as a person? I'm so glad nobody saved my writing from 10 years ago about myself. I'm saying, like, that's, again, the bane of my existence. I'm proud of having written it. But it's so interesting because, like, with some of the shows that I've done, like, I can revisit that and be like, oh, yeah.

I know I've grown and I would do these differently, but I'm not going to read my fucking book again. I'm not going to look at that. I'm not going through those chapters. I don't remember a lot of what's in there. I just know that there's stuff that defines me as a, like there were works from when I was like 23 to whatever. 20, I was almost 30 when the book came out, but like the writings were like from 23 to 28 maybe. And so, so much has changed. I'm a different person. I'm so much also. Exactly. Yeah.

I was so much more, I guess, obviously confident in myself now. And then even my sense of humor is a bit different, you know? Really? Yes, I think I was more, I don't know, like there was also like the edgy time when you're like, you're saying the craziest thing you could. Classic 20, classic, like, yeah. And yeah.

Even like, I don't know, I'd like to think that my humor is just a bit more refined. There's so many obvious jokes in there and I'm just like, "Girl, shut up." I just know they're there. So anytime someone will screenshot a passage, like I'm reading a book, I'm like, "Just put it down."

But again, I'm proud of who I was. And buy the book. Yeah. And buy the book. Check out my book in stores. Target. It is 99% off. Drink some Prosecco. Yes. Try and read that book at the same time. Get through it. No, just get fully in character as a 25-year-old. Drunk. Sollywood-ed. Yeah.

So it's time to wrap up the show with Keeping Tabs. This is a segment where each of us shares a story, a trend, or a company that we are following right now. And Issa, we're going to start with you because you're our guest. Okay, lucky me.

There's the Love is Blind reunion just came out. I need a community because I don't like my friends. I'll text you. You've come to the right place. It's just this season was exceptionally bad.

Because there wasn't, like, the focus on people finding their partners, good people finding their partners, just feels like it went out the window for drama. Like, the fact that two people knew each other and dated in the past. Yeah. There are a lot of villains this season. I was on the Love is Blind Reddit. I know. I'm sorry. But I had to find out. Please tell me everything and I'm about to be going off to the dark place. So apparently there was, like, a fourth couple they were following and they filmed. I've heard.

The blonde girl who's in like so many random scenes. Yeah, the guy. The guy who's like a bought in stocky. Yeah, yeah, stocky guy. But apparently something like when she said I don't, he like threatened to kill her.

Sorry, I'm laughing because it's like so nuts. So I think they just scrap a lot of that footage. Yeah. And then they recut it in a way where like, I feel so bad for Aaliyah. She seems like a very nice person. And she's gorgeous. So like she went through all that. And props to her because she could have like went through the process just because. But she knew. Yeah, she knew who she was. Lydia, villain. Who was the...

Uche, huge villain. Yeah, absolutely. Classic guy I would have met age 25 who would have ruined my life. The reality TV show Villain Turns this past year, Scandival on Vanderpump Rules. I wish I had always been obsessed with. I've been a Vanderpump fan since season two. I've watched it live. Yes. I think I've not gotten into Vanderpump. It's worth a binge. It is. I mean, it's so good. It's like 13 seasons.

Okay, I'll go back. Just naturally. If you endorse it, then I will go back and watch it. Yeah, but it was also at the time, so I don't want to, it might be like my book. Oh, it doesn't age well. It does not age well. It does not.

It doesn't. But it's really good television, especially knowing that these are real people who are friends who work in this restaurant. And then I guess as seasons passed, it was like, well, y'all, they acknowledge like we're too rich to work in this restaurant. We don't have to do this anymore. So it just follows these random people. It's the same thing with Selling Sunset. It's just like you don't need, or Below Deck, I was like, you don't need to be, speaking of yachts. Yes, Below Deck I also watch faithfully. But some of them,

need to be on that deck. Some of them need to be on that deck. They do. They need it. So, at least below deck I believe. But selling Sunset, they don't really be selling houses? No, there's no chance. Chrishell doesn't work. Chrishell does not work. No. Chrishell is busy with G Flip. Who I'm...

We need a spinoff reality TV show podcast because it comes up so often on this podcast. Because if you ask me what I'm obsessed with, that's when I get to turn my brain off and just watch with the second screen. I actually write first drafts a lot while watching reality TV, which I know sounds insane. I obviously go edit things. No, I write too with reality TV shows. Really? With big playing in the background? Yeah.

Yeah. Because you don't click to another tab to read something. You're just like, I have this random thing. I'm watching like Floribama Shore from 2017 or whatever. Real Housewives of Salt Lake City has been like a good binge for me right now. That's on the side. I pay attention to Roni. Okay. I was going to say, because I need to pay attention. No, it's just background. It just washes over me. There's some that are like that for me. Selling Sunset. I mean, how much is going to happen on Selling Sunset? Whenever they show the houses, that's when I tune out.

I'm like, I don't care. I'm like, I can't afford this. Yeah, what's the point? And nor can the people that they're showing it to, let's be honest. Please. Talk about it. Do you want to buy this $57 million mansion in the hills? And they're always thinking about it. Yeah, I'll come back to you on it. I love when they have the randomest celeb cameos, like Taye Diggs came on. That's exactly what I was thinking. Yeah.

Yes. Was that Taye Diggs post or, yeah, it must have been post Idina Menzel, right? Post, yeah. A hundred percent. Yeah, because he was like looking for a bachelor pad. Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Yeah. Good for Taye Dix. I love Taye Dix so much. Josh is a big theater nerd, so you just like... Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I went to school for musical theater to begin with and then switched to journalism, so somehow that happened. Wow, what a journey. Sustainability. The theater kid to journalist pipeline is strong. Yeah, it's too strong. I have seen several examples of that. It's wild. You guys, you're in good company. Yep. Josh, what are you keeping tabs on? George Santos. My favorite. Speaking of sociopaths, this guy...

For those who weren't watching, last Friday he walked out of some congressman's office, Tim something, it doesn't matter, some Republican congressman's office, with a baby. And when asked, is that your baby? His answer was, not yet. Yep.

Which is the best answer he could have given in this situation. Well, do you remember his tweet? Do you remember how he announced that he got married? Yes, yes. He was like, R.I.P. Dianne Feinstein, here's my husband. Yeah, basically, my husband and I are devastated. I don't know. It was like, all right, soft launch. Hard launch, I guess. Yeah, hard launch to husband and a baby that he stole, maybe?

We still don't know where this baby came from. I love him. I'm so tired of him. He's doing what's wrong with this fucking country and our politics. Yeah, by far. But you know what? Twitter has been, social media has been, I mean, just like a nightmare this week. Like truly just murder, like so many bad opinions. So much bad. All the time. And that was like a bright spot for me.

for me. I was like, we all think this is funny. Listen, not all heroes wear caves. Sometimes you need George Sanderson. He's going to become an icon, though. Like, in the same way he might, the terrifying version is like he has, you know, the path to presidency. Like, that's it. That's true. So I'm like, persecute him now and then make him a hero. Please give him consequences and then elevate him to icon status.

He's going to be like Rod Blagojevich. Oh, God. This is so much of a rabbit hole. Seems so tame. Wait, who is this? Remember the disgraced Chicago mayor who ended up on The Apprentice? He was the governor of Illinois, wasn't he? Yeah, the governor of Illinois. Oh, my God. He had like the crazy hair. Look at that. This is great. We've been through so much shit that I forgot. I know. That's the thing. You hear about him. You're like, oh, my God.

You're like, that seems fine. Yes. Rob Lagojevich, Anthony Weiner, a.k.a. Carlos Danger. That was a whole thing. That's wild. His name did it for him. Like, he was set up at birth for his destiny. You can't survive a Tony Weiner. You can't make it as Tony Weiner. Tony Weiner. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Huma Abedin's always reminded me kind of of my mom. Yeah. She's so wonderful. His wife, Huma Abedin, I was always like, oh.

I hope you're doing okay. Yeah, that's tough. She has a new book out that's actually very, very good. Oh, wow. You read her book? She was on another one of our podcasts on the book side. But it was a very, very good book. Okay, glad to hear that. Recommend. That's on Josh's book

club apparently. What's your keeping tabs? So we're obviously in a full-blown mental health crisis as exhibited by this podcast. That's a shot at me. Don't put that on me. You're just going to be back from asking me what kind of drunk you are. Yeah.

Someone let Josh have a podcast. And Harvard University has launched a big initiative to try and combat it, and that is to get mental health influencers on TikTok, which just seems stupid.

So backwards. Let's be real. The best way to improve your mental health? Is to go on social media. Yeah. They're trying to go the way of like derm doctors, which have like a moment on TikTok right now. All the dermatologists. Removing ingrown toenails. But for mental health, not so much. Josh. Josh. Oh, we don't need to go down. I don't want to go down that route. Please. Please.

Let's end it there. I feel like Josh really killed the conversation. Just a straight downer. Issa just walked out of the room. She's gone. No, come back. Get Issa's Prosecco. That's the best way to deal with mental health. Drink. Thank you, Issa. An announcement from Issa Rae. Drink Prosecco and you'll feel better.

So that's it for Most Innovative Companies. Isa, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you. This was so much fun. I hope you can get drunk at the end of the day. I will since we couldn't do it here because you didn't pick your idea, but it's fine. Now that I know that you don't drink, I forgive you. Our show is produced by Avery Miles and Blake Odom, mixed and sound designed by Nicholas Torres, and our executive producer is Josh Christensen. Not for much longer. Remember again to subscribe, rate, and review, and we will see you next week.