My Interview with Larry King

It was a great honor to appear on Larry King Now and be mercilessly grilled by the broadcasting legend himself. Larry is a great sport, and I had a blast. Check out the interview above!

My talk at XOXO

My friend Andy Baio was kind enough to invite me to speak at this year’s XOXO Fest. I was completely honored to do so — XOXO is a one-of-a-kind event where some of the most interesting creators on the internet speak about the personal stories behind their creative projects. (My personal favorites: ContraPoints, Open Mike Eagle, and Lisa’s amazing talk from 2015.)

In my talk, I cover a lot of ground – the dark history of Oregon, the origin story of Adam Ruins Everything, and the narrative and argumentative tricks we use on the show to try to change minds. Most importantly, though, I talk for the first time about the limits of our show’s message and method — the times that we’ve failed to convince those who most needed convincing, how that’s made me think differently about the goals of the show, and what the phrase “preaching to the choir” now means to me. That potion begins at 17:27 in the video; click this link to watch starting at that point.

2018/2019 Tour: See Me LIVE in Your City!

This December and January I’m taking my brand new show MIND PARASITES on a 24-city tour! I’ve been working on this show for a year, and I’m incredibly excited to finally take it across the country: It’s a brand new hour of never-before seen material that combines standup comedy with a psychedelic biology class, taking you on a tour of some of the weirdest organisms in nature, and revealing the cultural parasites that seek to control your mind and behavior.

Update: Sadly, these dates had to be rescheduled because of conflicts with Adam Ruins Everything’s production calendar. Stay tuned for updated tour dates for 2019!

Adam Ruins Everything on Netflix

Big news: Adam Ruins Everything is now streaming on Netflix! The first batch to go up is a great big glorious grab bag of 20 episodes from our first two years; I’m told that more will be added in the future. (In the meantime, every episode we’ve ever made is still available to buy on Amazon and iTunes.)

And after you’re done catching up, get ready for new episodes coming this November on TruTV!

(And hey, while you’re on Netflix, check out the new season of Bojack Horseman – a little bird told me I play a little bird on it!)

Adam Ruins Everything in the Pacific Standard

The Pacific Standard’s Andy Dehnart has written a thoughtful piece on how our show attempts to use comedy to change minds:

It’s that sense of humanity that makes the show work. There is so much resistance to having our ideological and filter bubbles popped that we protect them and fight off any perceived threats. But instead of coming at our bubbles with sharp swords of facts and judgment, Adam Conover sidles up in his own bubble, tells us a story, mocks himself, and lays out some facts. He’s humble, informed, and human. With that combination, he’s demonstrating a formula we might all use to attract, not repel, each other.

(Not too humble to post this flattering pull-quote on my own site, of course!) There are also some interesting thoughts in the piece on the pitfalls of satire, which has been shown to reinforce existing beliefs rather than puncture them.

My appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher

Last week I appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher. We discussed the upcoming season of Adam Ruins Everything, the Catholic Church abuse scandal, and the real cause of California’s wildfires. See the clip above; and another clip here.

I’m an Innocence Project Ambassador

Nearly four years ago, we featured Chris Fabricant and the work of the Innocence Project on Adam Ruins Forensic Science. Today, I’m very happy to say that the Innocence Project has asked me be an Innocence Ambassador. If you’re not familiar with their work, Chris and the team of lawyers at the IP work to free innocent people who are suffering wrong imprisonment, using the legal system to fight back against the immense injustices of our criminal justice system. It’s important work that literally changes lives; I’m proud to offer them my support, and I hope you will too.

I Was Very Upfront About Our Emmy Awards Campaign with Gold Derby

Gold Derby interviewed me about Adam Ruins Everything and our Emmy campaign:

“Emmy voters, drop us a nom!” declares Adam Conover, a contender for Best Informational Program and Best Nonfiction Writing for the truTV series “Adam Ruins Everything.” The series comically debunks myths and misconceptions that viewers may take for granted, and in its previous season it even tackled award shows, so Conover understands the value of an awards campaign. “I’ll just be real upfront and say, toss us a nomination if you think the show deserves it because I’d sure appreciate it.” Watch our exclusive video interview with Conover above.

Check out the video above for the full interview.

I’ll be at XOXO in September!

I’m very excited to reveal that I’ll be giving talk at this year’s XOXO Festival in Portland, OR this September! For those of you who don’t know, XOXO is an incredible event featuring some of the coolest independent artists and creative people from around the Internet. I’ve been a fan for years and I’m over the moon to be invited. Register for your chance to attend!

I Sh*t You Not! – Issue One

The first issue of my newsletter, I Sh*t You Not, is here! Why start a newsletter in 2018? Well, as I write:

I’ve had enough of social media. What was once a promising new way to communicate with your fans and loved ones has become a screaming wind-tunnel that sucks your words away before the people you care about even have a chance to see them. It’s time to get back to basics. If you took the effort to subscribe to this newsletter, I’m guessing you give a shit about what I have to say. That means I give a shit about making sure you get to hear it. That’s what we’re doing here – direct communication.

If that sounds appealing to you, subscribe today.