Episode Transcript
Welcome back to sort of sophisticated, the podcast where sounding smart is actually more important than being smart. Let's go. I'm Pete and Amanda. Hi, Amanda. Hello. How are you? I'm good. Um, folks, Amanda's Audi is on vacation this week, so she brought her in instead. So we're gonna see how this goes. This is a little weird. Oh yeah. I'm not gonna lie. Yeah, it's a little weird. Why are we talking about my Audi? Yeah. Uh, we're not ta uh, severance. Have you seen severance? Oh, I have not. Severance season two just finished. Oh, it was amazing. You need to watch it. Okay, oh, watch it to find out about my name. Your in and Audi are separated and they don't understand each other. Oh. So when you come in the studio, imagine if you didn't know anything about your outside life, huh. And then when you go outside the studio, imagine if you didn't know anything that occurred. Oh, that's weird. Yes. Huh. Right. So you're sort of like stuck in two different worlds. Oh, weird. Um. Hey, I have a gift for you. Can we start with a gift? I got a gift. Okay. Can you open what I just put in front of you, please? I guess I can. Why? Oh yeah. Why'd you get me? Why'd you get me a gift? Uh, 'cause it's fun. Okay. And 'cause it has to do with what we're talking about today. Oh goodness. Oh goodness. 'cause we're taking it back, Amanda. Like back, back, like far back. Like when America was just a little baby back, baby back, baby back, baby back. Outback. Yes. Oh, there's a quote. There is, there's a quote. Okay. Ready? Yes. Peeky. Peaky. What does it say? What does it say? Never let the truth get in the way of a good story by Mark Twain. That's it. Let's go Mark Twain. Is this how you're telling me that it's okay to be a level seven liar? No, I'm telling you, we are storytellers. We never let the truth get in the way. Get in the way of a good story. We're storytellers which he can then embellish. Yes. To be a level seven. That is my point. Storyteller. I love it. Mark Twain, the original storyteller. That's what we're talking about. The guy who brought us. Tom Sawyer. Huckleberry Finn, and like the million quotes that get slapped on mugs and Instagram captions all the time. Um, do you know why I picked that quote, Amanda? Yeah. 'cause you're a level seven liar and it resonated with you. Is that right? That's exactly why. Oh, really? I picked that quote, but he's not 11 seven liar. No, you are. That's why it resonated with you. You have this thing where you think like, it's not all about lying. It's, it's about engaging our audience. Embellishing. Yes. So it doesn't matter if we're on a one or a seven. If we're engaging, we have a good story to tell. Okay. Fair. All right. Okay. Fair. Um, but also, do you know why we're talking about Mark Twain? No. Is it because Tom Sawyer Island's on Disneyland? Yeah. I wish. Shout out. Shout out to Disneyland. Uh, no. My brain's still on the previous episode. Next year. Next year, 150 years since he wrote Tom Sawyer. That's crazy. Oh. That's a long time. 150 years lot of time, right? Yeah, I know. But wait, what You said next year? I did say next year. So why are we talking about it now? Um. 'cause I'm a child. Uh, that's why we're talking about it now. I just kidding. No, you're prepping. You're getting ready. What are we getting ready for? I'm a year in advance. I can't wait. I can't wait to open, open my Christmas present. No. So Ron Cher now, uh, the same guy who wrote Hamilton Uhlin, Manuel Miranda's? Yeah. Like Broadway Musical Hamilton. Yes. So he wrote a book called Hamilton. Right. He just published a new book on Mark Twain that just dropped three weeks ago. Oh. It's out one, did you already order it? Are you gonna read it? I did. Totally. Nearly 1000 pages of glorious one sleep inducing reading to be exact. Wow. A thousand pages. Yes, I know, right? That's a, that's a lot of pages. Yeah. And but also side note. Yeah. What isn't the minimal also gonna make this into a Broadway musical so I can, I don't know, skip a thousand pages and get the short version. Not even close. No. Okay. No. Right. Um, a thousand pages, it's gonna be a lot to get through, but I'm gonna get through it lot because I'm committed. Okay. Okay. You are, if anyone can do it, it's gonna be you. So it's absolutely gonna be me. Um, I don't even know how it took us this long to do. Mark Twain. We've talked about Mark Twain a lot. By the way, like we, how on our, on our, uh, our Truth About Lies episode. Totally. We talked about Mark Twain, huh? Yes. That was a whole thing for sure, because he was like cracking jokes. It's like, I love how you remember that. Yeah. He was a badass. Okay. Quick background on Mark Twain, right? Like anything from politics, religion, death, debt, Mark Twain did all like the original comedian, literally the original comedian, right? I don't think I've ever heard of Mark Twain being called a comedian. No. 'cause people thought he was an author, but he was seriously, like life's super storyteller. Anything that made life complicated. He found a way to like, poke fun at it and make it like he would've like, honestly would've been the best person to do this. Literally this like podcast. Podcast with, okay. Yes. That would've been our guy for sure. So tell me, tell you what, why is he such your idol? cause I love him. Oh, okay. 'cause he's the ultimate storyteller. Okay, fine. Thus the mug. So then dare I ask why does learning about Mark Twain make us so cultured and curious? Oh, you absolutely dare. I don't know if I do. Oh, you dare you ask. I did ask. Just do it. I did. Um, okay. Because his mustache was the best mustache ever. Okay. Did he have a mustache? I mean, guess everybody would be like, he the biggest white handlebar mustache ever. Really? Okay. Okay. No bullshit though. Okay. Enough about that. Okay. I think when I think about him, I think about the truth. I think about hypocrisy. I think about like, he made us laugh. Amanda, he made us squirm. He made us like, like do all the uncomfortable things all at the same time. He held a giant mirror to America's face and made us look at ourselves naked. Who doesn't wanna look at yourself naked? I mean, let's be honest. I wanna look at myself naked all the time. Yeah. Oh, Peter, I have this problem. Yeah, I have a problem. I'm not gonna lie. Um, sarcasm, skepticism, and all the jokes. I mean, it still helps us like read between the lines today, like with our own problems. Not even back then. Like this guy's, my idol, never took himself too seriously. Laughed all the time. And he helped people understand themselves and like the world around him, like at a little bit deeper level. Just like sorta, just sorta just sorta. Do you get my point? I do. Do you see why he should be sitting on the couch with us smoking dope? I do. Okay. So just to make sure I got this straight though. What, for today's episode, we're gonna unpack Twain's legacy. Oh, we're unpacking how he managed to be hilarious, Uhhuh and heavy all at the same time. Oh, he was hilarious and heavy. And maybe why he still matters and what this new Sure. Now Bio brings to the table. That's exactly what we're doing. Okay. This is it. That's good. We'll bring it all together. Let's go, let's get into it. Okay. Well, before you, do you need to do Word of the Day first? I know. Okay. Uh, are you ready? I got one. Okay. Do you have one or can I I don't have one. Okay. I, I know nothing about this topic and I don't have a word of the day. Welcome. Sometimes you throw a word of the day at me, like, really fast, like, I got one today, blah, blah, blah. Alright, so today's word of the day is Reparative. Reparative. Reparative to rebarb. Someone rebarb as an adjective. Yes. Yes. Rebar. Reparative is an adjective. Good for, oh, thanks. Your Latin is working. Um, it means something that's off putting unpleasant or just kind of ugly, huh? Yes. Should I say it? Say what? Be nice. What are you talking about? I mean, you're the one who picked the word. I just can't help it. You can't help. What? It just fits you so perfectly. Oh. And there it is. I knew that was coming. Okay. I need to start checking definitions before I take words. No, I don't think so. Yes, I like it better this way. Okay. Wait, I have a question. Am I offput unpleasant or kind of ugly? Which one is it? Or all three. So this is A, B, C, or d. D is all of the above. Okay. I hate you very much. Just kidding. Can we start now? I joke. I joke. Yes. Okay. But you're gonna work it in, so I'm, I'm not, it sounds like you just already worked it in. Okay. You're ba you're basically gonna find a way to check it. I get the dollar. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. This is not fair, but, okay, fine. Reparative people don't really get off the hook, so. Okay. History time. History time. Let's go. Uh, we're rolling it back to the beginning. How far is the beginning? 1835. Oh, mark Twain. That is quite a ways to go. That, that is quite a ways, that is quite a ways ago. Baby. Uh, board in a place called Florida, Missouri. Yeah. I don't know. That's even, is that real? Like Florida, Florida, Missouri. I looked it up. Trust me. It's Florida is a thing. Oh, I'm literally gonna go Google it. No, it's, it's real. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Fun fact, he wasn't even born. Mark Twain. His birth name was actually Samuel Langhorn Clemens. How do you like that? He was number six out of seven from like kids standpoint. He was Right. Okay. And grew up in a place called Hannibal, Missouri, about 30 miles southwest of Florida. Not like Florida. Florida of course, but the town of Florida in Missouri. Uh, yeah. Super easy. All very confusing already. Okay. Hannibal was right on the banks of the famous Mississippi River. That of course would later inspire both Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. Let's go. That kinda makes a little sense. It does. Right. But I have questions already. Yeah, of course you do. I know you always have questions. I do. And I uh sort of have answers. Great. So we're gonna start just with like the name change. Like, is it just a stage name? Was he just not feeling the Samuel? Why, why change? Why change? Yeah. Would you wanna be called Samuel Langhorn? Clemens? I mean, I wouldn't back in the 1835. Sure. No. It sounds like somebody who gets murdered. Like, like No. Yes. And, uh, sorry. Uh, the body we found was, uh, one of Samuel Langhorn Clemens, uh, we pulled him out of the, uh, Mississippi River. Okay. Um, see, actually that Okay. Okay, so before he was an author, he had a bunch of different jobs., Do you remember the episode we did on Ben Franklin? Yes. Yeah. Okay. Like one of my favorites? Yeah. He had all the jobs, right? Yes. He did all the things. So, Samuel Langhorn, Clemens basically did all the things too. Printer's apprentice. Oh, ring a bell. Okay. Type setter, riverboat pilot. A soldier. Thank you very much for about five minutes. A gold prospect. A gold prospect. Well, as, as, as, and a journalist. Okay. Yeah. So he was quite the jack of all trades. Yeah. You know what he was. But a master of none, polymath. He was polymath. Right. It was totally okay. But then why did he actually change his name? Or maybe even easier, when did he actually change his name? Right. Okay. Let's get sophisticated. Can I get sophisticated for a second? Yes, absolutely. Okay. So he actually never legally changed it. So it's just a stage name then? It is. Absolutely. So it was common back in the 18 hundreds for aspiring journalists. The last job he had to have pen names because it gave them room to like be bold. Right? Like more controversial. Yeah. Your pseudonym without dragging Yes, yes. Without dragging their real name or respectable name into this whole thing. Right. Okay. Okay. So Samuel picks Mark Twain around 1863 when he started working out west, like when he left Florida, Missouri and came to Arizona, California. Just kidding. I You get right. Well he starts write writing for newspapers and stuff like, so he starts working out west and like needs to come up with an fair Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. But was like, was he inspired by like what? What brought about Mark Twain? Okay, this is wild. Okay, so. The name Samuel Clemons doesn't really like scream like frontiersmen, right? Like, I mean, Samuel, that was I, Samuel Clemmens maybe. I dunno. Okay. Okay, fine. Mark Twain on the other hand, sort of gives the whole like, river rat social critic, like standup comic Mark Twain. Yeah. Right. Mark Twain. Yes. Thank you. Yeah. See, even the way you just said it. Okay. Makes sense. Okay. So if you think about it, he was like, he was like branding himself like a badass mofo. Like before that was even a thing. Fun fact. The phrase Mark Twain, it's a phrase. It actually meant something to riverboat captains back in the day. Huh? So there was some uh, Methodist Madness, but Oh, oh totally. Oh, what did it mean? Yeah. Okay. So it was actually a measurement for two fathoms deep. A fathom is six feet, so two fathoms deep is 12 feet. I know. Super sophisticated. I told you I was gonna get sophisticated. Right. Which means a safe depth for riverboats to keep going forward on the Mississippi. So it's like the steamboat version of saying like, we're good. Keep going. Okay. Okay. But I don't really get it. Okay. Okay. So the riverboat guy in charge of, so he would just yell Mark Twain? Yes. Yes. Oh, so the riverboat guy in front of the boat, I think he was called like a Leadman, or I, I don't know, the front boat guy. Sure. Back then he would scream Mark Twain. Absolutely. Huh. If If the river depth was at least 12 feet. So the captain knew that he could keep going. But how did the name become used from measurement? Like how did Mark like, like the phrase Mark Twain. Okay. Okay. So it makes sense. I dunno. It's like a name. No it's not. You think it's a name? Mark is a name. No, mark. Mark. Mark. Mark is a measurement. Mark is a measurement, not the name. And then Twain was the old English word for two. In this case, two fathoms Deep. Make sense? Mark Twain. It wasn't ever a name. That's wild. Yes. Yeah, it's Is that the fun fact of all fun facts? I guess It is, right? It's the best. It really is. So then this guy's like, yeah. Like I'm gonna go Mark Twain. Yeah. Well, okay. So I guess I kind of get the whole name change, right? I get where it came from, right? That was thing. Thing. History of it. But it's great because like it, that is the best fun fact. It is. People know Mark Twain, but they have no clue. No. What it was, it came from, its actual Samuel Lang Foghorn. Like, do you remember Foghorn Lakehorn? Well as, as Asay? No, from the old, old like eighties. Like, okay. Sorry. No. So he changed his name. So he was a little bit more Frontiery. Yes. But was he like hiding who he was because he wanted to hide. Like, his writing, he didn't want people to know it was from him. Kinda like the Ben Franklin and Silence Dugan or Oh, oh, no, no, no, no. I like where you're going with that. No, he just, people knew who he was already. Like, he wasn't like hiding anything. Uh, it was more about creating a voice that sort of like, quote unquote fit the stories he wanted to tell. He was creating a character. Yes. Okay. Think about it. Right. Okay. He was trying to navigate like some messy shit, like some dangerous social stuff for the time, for sure. But he was also doing it, like I said at the beginning with like sarcasm and comedy, so people didn't realize it so clearly, and this Mark Twain persona sort of fit what he was trying to do. Okay. So kind of like Shakespeare and how did Oh, exactly. Shakespeare write the plays. Okay, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But then how did he get famous? Like, was he famous before he died? Because I feel like everyone has to be dead before they're famous. Oh my God. No, he actually was, this is the first per, he was, this is the first person who got famous all right. Before he died. Okay. I need a little bit more detail than that. Yeah. Right. Like, like, like, like he got famous how did become famous like in his lifetime. He was famous. Famous. This, this goes against all of our things that we were thinking. But he was famous as Mark Twain, not as Samuel Clemens. What? Who gives a shit? It doesn't matter. Yes. He got famous. He kind of does. He made a lot of money then he lost a lot of money, then he made a lot of money, then lost a lot of money. All right. And he did it over and over again about a hundred times. Yeah. Really? Are you? Take us down this journey. I'm gonna get there. Okay. But we're gonna do, we gotta like do childhood shit first. Okay, so his dad, John Marshall Clemens a lawyer by the way, and then subsequently a judge. Okay. Think like smart stern John Marshall Clemens dies when Samuel was only 11 years old. So he has to leave school and start working to help his mom and his bros. And SISs, right? And his mom, Jane Clemens, you gotta love Jane, right? Was kind of like polar opposite of dad. So funny. Like super expressive, like the funny part, right? So Twain always said, and I quote, she had a sharp wit and a big heart, and a lot of his humor and storytelling instincts probably came from her. Who are we kidding? So, smarts from dad wit from mom. He grew up scrappy. He was like, like, you know, I mean, he's out on the streets of like, wherever, where, what was it? Florida, Missouri. Missouri. Like 1850. Like he was a, he was a badass. Okay. So he starts working as a printer's apprentice, right? Like competing with, uh, good old Ben Franklin to pay some bills. Basically setting type for newspapers while slowly learning, of course how storytelling works. Then he starts bouncing around. First New York, then Philadelphia, then St. Louis working as a type setter and occasionally writing little sketches. Like think of the like OG Saturday Night Live. Like this guy's doing Saturday Night Live in like 1855. Okay. But he didn't really like find his thing to like the early twenties. When he trained to become Amanda, a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River. Are you telling me that was the first job he actually liked? Oh, he loved it. Like who wouldn't wanna be a riverboat pilot? He's like 20 years old. Right? Like adventurous, making money, doing what he loves. Why not? Right? I mean, is that kind of when he figured out the Mark Twain thing that is, or was he Mark Twain before that? No, that is exactly when he figured it out. It all comes together. Yeah. He just parked it in the back of his brain somewhere. But then, so the Civil War starts in 1861 and basically that shuts down riverboat traffic like immediately. Like think COVID. Right? Same thing. Civil War done Nothing going up and down the Mississippi. Uh, and here's where things go off the rails. So next, he like briefly joins the Confederate militia, not because he was super committed to the Army or anything, but because everyone was picking sides and he didn't wanna be left out. So he lasted about two weeks before realizing like he wasn't a war guy. Like he wasn't a soldier. Are you just allowed to leave? Like you're allowed to just piece outta the confederacy. I, yeah. I feel like this abandonment or something, or like, you get like strung up by your thumbs. I think I, I think so. I got, I can't think you're right there. He abandoned, he abandoned his post. Um, no. So I had to look that up. So he never actually joined the, what's called the Confederate army. He joined the voluntary militia and then like figured out he wasn't interested in fighting a war. So he like, he made love not war, you know what I mean? That kind of guy. Okay. Yeah. So he goes out west and starts mining silver in Nevada. That is not being a. Riverboat pilot? No. He go, no. 'cause he doesn't care. He's just popping around. Okay. He's just like, whatever, figuring it out. Whoever takes him. Right. Um, and by the way, in Nevada, he didn't find any silver. Um, yeah, spoiler. Uh, but he did land a side hustle and started working, writing funny columns for something called the Territorial Enterprise, a newspaper in Virginia City. He wrote in Nevada. In Nevada, Virginia City, Nevada. Actually, it was very complicated. I'm so confused. Hysterical. Right. Oh my God. And that's kind of where like writing all started for him. Okay. So he like failed at everything else and became a writer. Yes. Yeah. Feel like it's the, did did he, did he really fail at everything else? Was he just experiencing life? Amanda, I Okay. Fair. Right. Okay. Fair. He was living in figuring it out. Yeah. So the mining career bombs, his military thing was like, sort of an afterthought. Burned through like three different jobs in six years. You're absolutely right. And then by the time he's 30, he's building his brand part, river rat, part philosopher, and part smart ass. And evidently it worked. It totally worked. It set the stage for his first major story, the Jumping Frog of Calas County. Do you remember this thing? I've never heard of this. The book that totally made him famous. Did you didn't read this? No. Yes, in middle school you did. No, no. I'm gonna look up this picture. Oh my God. Please look it up. You totally read it. Everybody did. It's basically a story about a gambler, a con man, and like a really competitive frog, and it totally blew up. People love this. So he kept going. He writes his next book that mattered anyway, called The Innocence Abroad. Another huge hit basically entitled Americans traveling through Europe and trying to be cultured again. Should've been on our podcast. Thank you very much. He could've literally done the France episode, right? He would've been perfect. Yes. Right. Would've been perfect. Did you look it up? Did you find Calvers stem? I did. I don't think I've read that. You did? Yes. You, Amanda? I don't think so. Oh my God, I don't think so. Okay. Can you do me a favor? Yep. Can you please read it to your children? Okay. As homeschool project? Okay, fine. I'll read it to them, but. I mean, they've already read Tom Sawyer. They did. So like when, when did he, like your children have read Tom Sawyer. Yeah, it was on the reading list. But when does that happen? Like I thought that those were his like claimed fame. Tom Sawyer. Huck Finn. No. So he got famous before then, but then of course he even goes bigger. I told you he got famous. Famous, like while he was alive. This is no bullshit. Right? So 10 years later, so we go to 1876, that's when Tom Sawyer was published. And that's the reason we're basically celebrating the hundred 50th anniversary next year. Um, fun fact. Do we wanna get technical? Can I get technical with my fun fact please? Sure. Okay. He actually finished writing it in 1875. So technically you could say that like. But when was it published? I feel like that should be, I'm, I was trying to fun fact this to make it sound like we were sophisticated enough to say this was us hundred 50. No, because he wrote it this year. No, he published it next year. Okay. Um, I just reread it. Actually. Super fun book about this kid growing up by the Mississippi who gets like in a bunch of trouble. Basically exactly how Samuel Langhorn, Clemens grew up, um, gets into fights, fakes his own death, finds a buried treasure, and then somehow convinces his friends to paint a fence for him. Uh, totally fun. Please. Everybody read it. Highly suggested. I would put it on my top like a hundred list of books you have to read before you die. For sure. Really? Huh? You wouldn't? Yes you would. I don't know what, I've never like actually given thought to my top a hundred books that I read. You have not, no. Amanda Houston, who does I have, I. Clearly you, not only do I have a list, I've like read like 71 of them. Like I'm like far through the list. Oh yeah. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Um, I'm gonna keep going. 10 years later, in 1885, he publishes the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and that Amanda was the moment that changed American literature for, okay. It's one of the first novels ever that was written in entirely what you would call like the vernacular, which is basically like what we, like how we talk on our podcast. Like we just like riff, right? Not like using big literature or big words of the day or anything like that, right? Like this was like genius, for the time. Like he used the character of Huck to disguise talking about all the shit that mattered in society back then, like, race and slavery, freedom, shit nobody else was doing at the time. 'cause they were too scared to do it. It was like way darker. Your, your kids have not read this yet, right? No, not often. Okay. No, no. Do not, I do not suggest it. Like, it's super raw. It's funny af but like totally uncomfortable. I would not have them read it until they're a little bit older. It's this like one of the books that gets banned by schools. Oh. Oh. All the time. Really? Yes. If you think about it might be the most like Mark Twain thing ever, right? Like, that's exactly what he would want. He would love the controversy. Uh, it like, it says the N word like 200 times. Oh, a lot. A lot. Yes. And nobody knows how to deal with it anymore today. And that's what makes it so awesome. He had this weird and kind of excellent way, in my opinion, of like shoving shit in the face of society in a way that somehow made it acceptable to talk about and people didn't know what was hitting them. Like Super Gene. Like honestly, Amanda, I don't know if you really know everything Behind the idea of this podcast, but that was what it was born from. It was born from like Mark Twain being like, so. Smart. Ay, but like really smart about what he was saying and that's why I wanted, knowing what he is saying, but doing it in a funny way. In a funny way. That was very thoughtful. Yes, absolutely. Uhhuh. So he was a great writer, but was he like Edgar gr Poe with his life was like a mess outside of his writing. Um, yes. The Pope Catholic, of course. Yes, of course. I just feel like the creative ones, right? 100%. The ones who have chaotic. Yes. Yes. So why was his life so chaotic? It was out of control, right? I told you. Did he marry his like young cousin? No, he didn't do anything. Oh, checking. Oh my God. We gotta go. I love the editor PO episode. Okay. Um. 'cause he just made a shit ton of money and then lost it and then like made money and lost it. Like over. But how does he lose money? Yeah, because he was dumb, um, gambling. Yeah. He was way more than no hook and blow. Absolutely right. Amen. Right. Again, my idol. No. 'cause remember the whole idea? He was a polymath, right? So he was like, he was an inventor. Like he wasn't just a writer. So what he would do is he'd make a shit ton of money writing. But then he would, come up with a new idea and then wanna start a new business. The business would flop. He would subsequently lose all money. Got it. Right. Then he would've to write it over and over nonstop. It was like actually crazy. 'cause like the fact he was smart enough to like, oh, I'll just write another book and make, make a million dollars and do this all over again. That's what was amazing about Mark Twain. And that's not why he became famous because he No, was awful at every other thing. No, he became famous 'cause of his writing. Yes, absolutely. No. And before he died, yes. Massive celebrity, Amanda, he hung out with presidents of the United States, like multiple presidents with S Right. He used to get invited to dinners with the German Kaiser. The Australian Emper, I don't even know who these people are. The Prince of Wales, he got an honorary degree from Oxford University and would regularly have tea at Windsor Castle with a king and queen. Like he knew people don't ask me, uh, by the way, who the king and queen were in like 1850. I have no Fri idea. No clue. Queen Elizabeth, somebody, somebody, and, and King George the fifth or fourth or third or whatever it was, I don't know. But he knew people, so he was popular. Oh, oh my God. Like, like, uh, Ariana Grande, like popular. Okay. Yes, he was. And he hung out with all the famous people. He did. Yes. But was that because of his writing? Like everyone just idolized him? No, it was because of his comedy. That's the thing, right? Like, think about it. Okay. People didn't take him very seriously as like the philosopher and the thinker. Like a lot of people. Weren't as sharp. Remember Shakespeare? You said, like you were asking me like Yeah, it's kinda like Shakespeare. Yeah. Yeah. Same exact thing. So a lot of people just thought he was funny and so they missed the whole fact on the social commentary of life. So we were like, oh my God, I just love him. He's so funny. He's so quirky. He's just like, and they didn't get the smack in the face part. And that's like, what was awesome about him is he was, he was like a under the radar guy. And so people appreciated his humor without quite understanding everything that Mark Twain was, huh? Yeah. All right. I know, but what, like how long was he famous for? 'cause he started in his like thirties. Mm-hmm. So I'd assume until he died. Until he died, which was 1910. So he was about 75. 75, huh. Wow. I hate you when you do the math thing on me. It makes me feel, um, it's my only incapable cool gift. I know. It's actually an awesome gift. Yes. Um, fun fact. You ready for fun fact. Okay. Well, not like fun facts, but a fun fact. Okay. Okay, so he was born, the year Hailey's comment came. Do you know Hailey's comment? Like that comment that comes. Okay. Okay. You've heard of Hailey's comment, uh, and he always said he was born in the same year. Haley's comment came through. Oh, okay. Yes, in, uh, whatever it was, 1835. He always said that he would go out with Hailey's Comet too. That's crazy. Amanda, check this out. As luck would have it in 1910, the day after he died, Hailey's come, came back. That's crazy. It has not been back since. Since 1910. Since 1910. Guess the next time it's gonna come back. I have no idea. Yeah. Next time it's gonna be close to earth. 2061. Wow. It's been here, Amanda. Twice. That's it. The day he was born. The day slash day after he died, never been back again. And he predicted it. Talk about poetic timing. Uh, it's the weirdest thing ever. Right? It's like he just like, mic dropped his own life story. It's, it's, it's crazy. It's kind of nuts. Like who there is. I don't think there's another human being on earth that could say that. I really don't. That's true. Yeah. I know. I would agree. That's Mark Twain. Thank you very much. Alright, we good on the history or are we gonna start talking about book stuff? I, I bored myself to death with history. What is next? Well, let's talk about the book. Oh, shit. Let's go. Yeah. Ron Cherno. Okay, I'm ready. Um, full disclosure, it was just released and I haven't read it yet or anything. Um, you have not read it? Of course. Why? Why would I even ask it? I would not have, I just let, let me ask formally, have you read the book, Amanda? I have not. Okay. Remember Right, I'm ready because why would you read a thousand as a Broadway show, right. As a mother and a business owner and a podcast host. Yeah, sure man. Just go ahead and read a thousand page book. I don't dunno how you do it all, but you do good job about So don't, because I don't have to do as many things and this an audio book, I can audiobook it, but let's audiobook that shit. Okay. I do wanna Swer that says I'm in my audio book era. Oh. I've been in my audio book era for 10 years. Really? Oh, it's like amazing. Why did you share this? I'm crazy about it. Oh, so good. I read like 50 books a year through. It's so good. That's all I read back and forth. Yeah. Like from work? Yeah. Oh yeah, yeah. All the time. Um, it's genius. Okay. But let's be clear here. We like looked up enough shit online to like make sure like we read all the reviews. Like we're, we can give you a sort of sophisticated review on this whole thing. Am I right? Can we do this? Couldn't have. Yes. Let's go. Okay, fine. Okay. So sure. Note remember like from the beginning, he's the guy who wrote Hamilton, um, which made. Lin Manuel Miranda. Totally rich. Also, by the way, Amanda, very reparative, if I may say so. May I say that? Well played. Thank you. Well played. Thank you very much. I added it. Okay. Even though you got it first. Um, he just finished his newest book on Mark Twain. Thank you. It's getting buzz people. We're getting buzz, but is it good buzz or bad buzz? It's good buzz because it's buzz is not always good. Is it? Is there a thing called bad buzz? Yeah. Oh, what, who gets bad buzz? I mean, they always say, well, I've had a bad Amanda. I'm gonna let's bad buzz. Bad buzz. I had a bad buzz the other day. I'm like, I mean, I know they say all press is good press, you know? Yeah. That's bad. Press is still good. Press whatever. That's sure. No baby, but he's got good press. Okay. He does all right. He's written a lot of good, but he's famous. I mean, Sureno Hass been famous in his lifetime, you know what I mean? We should, you know what? We should do a podcast episode on Ron Sureno. Oh, should, okay. Um, yeah, so he does a good job. He leans into like the good and the bad parts. He doesn't just do the like, oh, super clever guy in Woody, white, sue version, right? Like, no bullshit. Like he like, lemme quote a like a reviewer online. He goes deep into twain's grief, the debts, the failed inventions, the broken relationships, deaths of family, and somehow still shows how Twain used humor to survive at all. My idol. Oh shit. I totally forgot to talk about his kids. Didn't I? I didn't talk about his kids yet. You did not. I did not. I didn't realize, I didn't like to ask. Have he had kids? Oh, bad shit happened. Uh oh. Yeah. Amanda, this guy was like, plagued. This is like, oh, we're going. So again, it's like we're going Edgar ground Pope. Every person has a little bit of life. No, listen to this. You're, no, this is, this is gonna one up. Everything. Are you ready for this? Okay. Ready? Okay. So first his only son, Langdon, died of diptheria when he was 19. Diptheria. Diptheria. Okay. I don't know what that is. You have to look it up. I don't, it's some shit some airborne illness. I don't know. He gets, he gets diptheria. It's like Covid. Okay. 19 months old. And I guess like Twain blamed himself his whole life. 'Cause I was researching this. I found that apparently Twain didn't like. Bundle him up on a carriage ride when he was like cold outside one morning before he got sick. And he totally thought that was the reason his son died. Like it's terrible. He that like stuck with him his whole life. I mean, it's a serious bacterial infection that usually affects the mucus membranes of the nose and throat. So I don't think it was because he didn't bundle him up. Well, thank you very much Bacterial. Thank you Dr. Houston. I really appreciate that. You're welcome. Thank you. You're welcome. But back, we're back in 18 whatever, 60, 70 I, okay. So then check this. 20 years later, second child, Susie dies from meningitis when she's only 24 years old. Oh, right, right. So I'm not done. Then eight years later, his wife Livy dies of heart failure, which apparently she had been battling for a few years. And finally, if that's not enough, five years later, his baby Gene, who was epileptic, I guess died by drowning in a bathtub from a seizure when she was 29. Wow. So he was just, yeah. Didn't any kids that like grew up to like, yes. One grown, one Grown child, Clara? Yes. I mean, they were all grown, but they didn't wanna get over 30. No. Nobody got over 34 kids. Only one lived past the age of 29 years old. Didn't really matter. 'cause he dies of a heart attack four months later. What? Yes. Done and done. Clara was the only one who lived till she was like 90 or something, till the late 1960s. Uhhuh another 50 years. Right. So like he has to bury three of his children, his wife. And after that he dies four months later and Clara's alone. And they talk about all this in the book, the new book. Yeah, they do. Absolutely. Wow. Everything, like that's what I'm saying. Sure. No, goes like super deep. I mean, I will say like in Hamilton, like you get more of Hamilton's personal life, whether it's fictitious or not, but it's, I think what draws you into the person and wanna learn more about them. Okay. I don't want anybody not to read. Ron sure knows book on Hamilton, but I read it Amanda. It's. It's a snooze fest. Oh, no, it's amazing. It's amazing that like Lynn Manuel Miranda read what I read and was able to come out with it and was able to come out with what he did. Oh, no, no, no, no. Because I read it and I, and I, you know me, I'm a lover of history. You are. And it was hard to get through, this is, this is one of the critiques of Sureno. Okay. Right. Like some people are saying it's way too detailed. It's too hard to get through, like, to cut to like the humor parts and like the best part of, Twain because he goes into way too much historical context. Oh. Um, this guy, this writer, I love him, but he is not for everyone. Okay. So you have to like, know what you're signing up for. So I should not read it. No. Full disclosure. Like if you're a history rough, like I am. Yes, totally. On the news. News. You're going to read it. If you're not, then don't. Nope. And just listen to our podcast. And that's enough information. Great. Yeah. Oh, no, absolutely. Check, check. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. If you're looking for like witty one liners, yeah. Stay away. Like they're not in here. This is full mess, full crazy. Mark Twain, like man behind the mustache, like 992 pages of glory. But is, but is there anything new that he like uncovers about Mark Twain? Or is there just like another version of his life? Yeah. So yeah. You telling of what he read? Again, I didn't read it yet. I, I absolutely am going to because I am a lover of history. But, I would say, he added the whole angle about how like nobody really quite understood how ahead of the time like Mark Twain really was let me quote something that I, I read online. This book connects Twain's work to today's culture wars, to our obsession with celebrity and to our cancel culture. He frames twain not just as a writer, but as a brand who wrestled with being both adored and totally misunderstood. So Yeah, so this idea of like the depth of Mark Twain, I think is what's new. Nobody really has covered that in any previous book that's been written for him Right. So you're saying it took 150 years until Ron Schau has come along just to make sense of Mark Twain. Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. So to be clear, are we recommending this or not? No. Only if you wanna poke your eyes out. That's what I thought. Right? Like, that's what I thought. No, you, it's, it's a slow burn. Like how about this, Amanda? If we have sophisticated people that are listening to our podcast, yes. I'm recommending it. Read it. If we have the sorta of people, then no, I'm not recommending it. Got it. How's that? Okay. Understood. Um, I have another fun fact. Another fun fact. Oh, oh yes, of course. Okay. My favorite. Cherno said he picked to write about Twain after all these years because after writing about so many presidents for so long, he wanted to write about someone who shaped American culture without actually ever holding power. So someone who shaped culture but didn't have the power because he wrote about Washington. Jefferson, Hamilton, right? He wrote about all these super famous people. So Twain was the first one where he was like, no, no, no. I'm tackling this from a different angle, which I thought was super cool, huh? So he picks a guy who handled his politics with a pen instead of actual power. Uh, totally right. Like the original influencer, Amanda, of course minus the ring light for like all this TikTok generation, totally. So, since Cherno didn't quote Mark Twain at all, what if we did a little bit of famous quotes by Mark Twain? I love the idea of doing famous quotes. Okay. That's the best part of Mark Twain. Okay. King one liners. Well, I just Googled top five. You did quotes? Yeah, because need, wait, did you Google 'em or did you chat? GPT. Oh, sorry. I don't, which one did you do? I Googled you. Google. You still Google? Oh my God. I know I'm so behind the time. You're aging all the time, Amanda. But now, but like Google has, like the AI thing at the top, top. Go with the first one I wanna hear. It's, you know, some sort of ai. Okay. Ready? It says his most famous one, and I quote the reports of my death are greatly exaggerated. And apparently he said this in response to a newspaper report that published that he had actually died. But of course he had not. I, I think that's my most favorite quote that he ever made. Right? Like, that's how he got famous. Seriously. I love this guy. I love how you already know that quote. I totally know. I know all of his quotes. Like, I'm, I know every one of, oh yeah. Okay. Fine. Challenge. Except in number two, by the way. Uh, uh, just so you know, I'm a total tweney. Are you really? Tm. Oh, thank you very much. We're ting that shit. Tweney. Wait, is that like, like what? Tweer A swifter. Oh, swifter. I'm a, I'm a tweener. I'm a tweener. I said tweney. I like tweener better. We'll go tweener, tweener, tweener, tm. Okay, go ahead. Sorry. Number two, gimme another one. Okay. Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. Oh, brilliant. Yes, I know. I mean, I feel like that's really relevant today with everything that's been going on. Like we're just such a divisive world right now. You are. This quote. Mm, chef kiss, pause. You just chef kiss that shit. I did. You, everyone just started like a good solid reminder to like pause and think about why you think the way you think and then maybe consider changing your perspective or being open to a difference of opinion. Can we do, can we do something crazy? What? Can you figure out how to AI mark Twain's voice into this podcast? Oh, that's funny. And he would be like overlay it. Yes. He'd be like a guest host. It would be, I mean, we probably could incredible. Like, Amanda. I have I have excellent ideas. I also have an ego problem. I understand, but like, why can't we figure that out? I. Let's figure that out, please. Thank you very much. Bring Mark Twain back from the dead. And you know him? Yes. Just a, I am into this. Okay, go. Number three. I at everything. I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. Yes. Do you get it? Because he's a polymath. Oh, of course. I get it. Yes. He's a polymath. I, no, his whole life it's always about learning, failing, trying again. He was a little reparative, I'm not gonna lie. Oh yeah. Just a little bit. Yeah, he was, yeah. Okay. That's two for me. Thank you. Yeah, look at that. Okay. Okay. These are pretty good quotes. I, they're excellent. I'm not mad about it. Yeah, you shouldn't be. Oh, this one's even better. What? Never argue with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience. That's why I never argue with you. Wow. Did you just call me stupid? Wow. Wow. I feel like yay. Right. But that's why I'm so kindhearted to you all the time. Oh, so kindhearted clearly. I know. Mm-hmm. Okay. Uh, he was very ahead of his time. He really was. Okay. Um, so you've heard of all these so far, is what I'm hearing. Oh, so far. I all of them a real tweer, four out of four. It's true. It's true. Okay, so then I'm twain. I love that shit. Er a tweer. Okay, I'm scrolling because I wanna find a random one. Okay, go. So this is not top five, but you know, wait, how many more do we got? One more? Is your, one more. One more. More. Okay. Go ahead. Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Oh shit. I don't know that one. You really don't. No, I haven't heard that. Wait, what is that again? Say it again. Say it again. What is it? Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. No. Wait, what does that mean? I, I think it means that the real life is way weirder than anything we could possibly make up. And especially, I mean, have you been watching the news lately? Oh, shit. Right. You know what I love? What? I love the fact that 150 years later, like every one of these quotes still hits like that is true. I think we related it. Absolutely right. Guy's been dead over a hundred years and he's still all over. TikTok captions Amanda, this is nuts. You, any bonus ones or can we just do fun facts? I'm ready to go. I think you can do fun facts. You know, that's my favorite part of the episode. Go mean Because you, honestly, how many did you go? There's probably like 50 of these. I mean, there's a ton of Mark Print quotes. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah. Tell me the fun facts. Fun fact, fun facts. Can we please finally start with a tune on fun facts. Okay. Get ready to memorize. Number one, did you know he was like best friends with Nicola Tesla? What? Like the Tesla? Yeah. No, not like Elon Musk. Tesla? No. Like Nicola Tesla. The Tesla, yeah. Yes. Like, radio, electricity, Tesla. Yeah. Yes. Okay. Check this. He used to hang out in Tesla's lab all the time and he posed for early experimental photos where they were trying like new chemicals, longer exposure times and early forms of x-ray technology. Amanda, Mark Twain was Tesla's muse. They were like taking photos of each. I wonder if they were gay lovers. Do you think they were gay lovers? No. Controversy. Let's go. No, you know they had the great radio controversy. Stop star. We have have great gay lover controversy. Okay, sorry. Alright, I love you. Mark Twain and Cola. Tesla Okay. Number two. I said number two, I make myself laugh 'cause I'm 12 years old still. Okay. He wore white suits, year round. White suits? Yes. White suits on purpose. Yeah. He said I have to look him up. I've never seen a picture of him. Do have not know that? Yes. That, that case brand. Like literally the white mustache and the white suit. He turned himself into a brand before branding was a thing. He looked like Einstein or Ben Franklin. Badass. Mofo not even close to. He had hair. He had hair. Lots of hair. Ben Franklin didn't have fake hair. Hair. No, that was real bad. I mean, badass mean he looked like a wig. No, no. He was getting all the ladies. Okay. Uh, number three, Amanda. He was a terrible investor. I mean, you said he lost a lot of money so that tracks check this. He passed on participating in the invention of the frigging telephone like Alexander Graham Bell. Calls, well, I guess Alexander Bel couldn't call him. Did call him. That's hysterical. Came over to his house, talked to him, said, I have this invention for a telephone. Do you wanna invest? He says, no. I think it's a gimmick out of all the things. Yeah, no, no, that's a gimmick. We're not doing that. That's funny. So yeah, he, yeah, lost. Okay. He also jokes on him. He also patented three inventions. Were they? Yeah. Something called the page typesetting machine, which was obsolete before it worked. A self-pacing scrapbook, whatever the hell that is. But it actually made money on that one and an adjustable garment strap for suspenders. I guess before then, they were just straps, they couldn't adjust. Why would like go to, did he make money on the, like the adjustable suspenders? Because I feel like they're everywhere again. Made some okay on like different, right. Those were the good ones. But like for every invention he like made money on, he lost like a gazillion dollars on everything he, you know, made bad decisions on, lost all his money on a food preservation company. He tried to establish on something called plasma. A powdered food supplement made from skim milk that he thought would alleviate world hunger. Huh. So good idea. Didn't work, lost it all. Not bad. Then had to go write like huckleberry fit to make his money back. So honestly, Amanda, massive ball sack. Like, just went all in on everything when he wanted to. You know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. That's crazy. How about this one? He published President Ulysses Grants memoirs after his presidency. Hmm. So apparently I didn't know this after Grant was president, he was broke and dying. Okay. Twain offered to publish his autobiography and as a result it earned Grant's family enough money to live on for the rest of their life after he died. Wow. Yeah, go. Samuel Langhorn Clemens. Mr. Patriotic, saving the man that ran our country. Ulysses s Grant, like General of the Northern Armies. Um, number five. He was obsessed with cats. Why? Cats cat? I don't know. He had 19 cats. Huh? Lot of cats. Yeah. BS A bub and sour Mat B, by the way, Beal's. Aub What above Wasn't that like one of the devil's like ba if you read the Bible bales above. I think it was. Yeah, Google that shit. Um, I quote, if a man could be crossed with a cat, that's another name for Satan. Thank you very much. Right? Yeah. All right. He Represents gluttony. S above. Yeah. Oh my god. Fun fact. I guess that's okay. There you go. I guess that's my devil. Oh man. Because I'm a fat mo. No you're not. Okay, we're gonna try this again. Um, his quote, if man could be crossed with a cat, it would improve man, but deteriorate the cat. That's how much he loved cats, huh? Right. No, obviously not a dog guy. Okay., Number six, he couldn't stand Jane Austen, like Jane Austen. Jane Austen, like the famous writer of Pride and Prejudice and Jane Ire. Right. He once said, Amanda, I quote, every time I read Pride and Prejudice, I want to dig her up and beat her over the skull with her own shin bone. I, I, I Why He hated her apparently so. Yes. That's very tragic. He thought, he thought her writing was boring and overly polite. Uh huh. Yes. Uh, basically the polar opposite of what he was doing. 'cause he was a comedian and like digging on everybody. Yeah. And she was like. Very proper, proper and boring aav. Okay. By the way, like full disclosure, I don't, I love Jane Austen. Like I, like I could read Mark Twain, I could read Jane Austen. That's crazy. I have no problem. Apparently he hated her. Yeah. Okay. Well, she was dead already, so he hated her post. Hu Humorously. Yes. I can't say that word. Okay. And finally, do you know there's something called the Mark Twain prize for American humor? Sure. Didn't it? Okay. Yeah. I mean, up until this episode, I didn't really even realize Mark Twain was a humorous. I know. But isn't that cool that here we are. This is why we learn and get cultured and curious. So it was created in 1998 to honor comedians who of course liked Twain, used humor to reflect on American life. And the very first winner was Richard Pryor. Who, when he received the award said, I'm really honored for a white man to think that I'm funny. And that is perfect. Richard Pryor. For anybody who knows Richard Pryor, I absolutely love it. Um, basically a ton of famous comedians have won it since then. And now most recently, Conan O'Brien just receiving the 2025 award last month. Oh, wow. Go Conan. Congratulations, Conan. Yeah, that's all I got. Fun facts. Ah, I love it. So basically, if I tracked right, this episode, mark Twain was hilarious, but heartbroken. Brilliant, but bankrupt and sometimes just got drunk with Nicola. Tessa Perfect. But before we finish this whole Mark Twain trivia tour, I think we need to do our normal wrap up so that way we all have a few takeaways that make us seem sort of sophisticated. Come on it, of what we wanna talk about. Let's go people, mark Twain. Okay. Um, if you wanna deeper dive into t twin's life, the grief, the genius, the jokes, and think you can handle it. I'm gonna say, read Ron Surenos new biography. I, I think this needs asterisk by it. Like, I don't, I don't know. I don't know. You kinda got a good point. It's a commitment. It is, it is. 992 pages. I'm saying worth it. Uh, or if that feels intense. Okay, fine. Start smaller. Read Huck Finn or the Innocence Abroad, you still get a good sense of style and honesty. And it's just fun to read an author who like calls out society like, I like that. So I highly suggest, or just like pick up like a book on all his quotes and get familiar with his quotes. Like we were, we did five of 'em, but there's like a hundred of 'em. Like, there's lots of quotes. Yes, absolutely. And if you don't do any of it, just remember this. Mark Twain, who was born Samuel Langhorne. Clemens became one of America's most influential writers by using humor and storytelling to explore serious social issues like race, class, and identity. He blended sarcasm and storytelling into razor sharp critiques. That still hit today big time. Totally. He basically lived a thousand frigging lives before becoming a rider, let's be honest. Including his work as a printer, a riverboat pilot, a soldier, well sort of almost. Mm-hmm. And a prospector 'cause he was prospecting. Silver baby experiences that shaped his voice and perspective. His pen name Mark Twain came from riverboat terminology, which was slang for safe water and reflected his roots on the Mississippi River. The good old Mississippi. The Mississippi old Miss the Old man. Have we put over there I am. Okay. And finally, Twain's life was full of humor, but also great personal tragedy just like mine, including the deaths of his wife and three of his four children, which I hope never comes true, which deeply influenced the emotional depth of his later work. All the while the world just saw him. Just a funny guy in a white suit with a kickass mustache, Amanda. And there you have it. Dear listeners, A deep dive into the wild, brilliant, and brutally honest world of Mark Twain. From the mischievous charm of Tom Sawyer to the raw uncomfortable truths in Huckleberry Finn is clear. Twain wasn't just writing about 19th century America. He was writing about us. And if we've done our job right today, people, hopefully you're walking away a bit more sophisticated with a sharper Twain iq. A few quotes to casually drop a dinner and maybe a better sense of why this guy still matters more than 100 years after he dropped the mic and left on the tail of Haley's Comet. Try this quote at your next dinner party. Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. Ooh, thank you very much. Mark Twain, one of his most quoted lines ever. I mean, I love that one. Man, I guess he really was awesome. So whether it was questioning, hypocrisy or roasting the power of the man or finding humor and Heartbreak Twain reminds us all that wit isn't just for laughs, it's for survival. And his legacy wasn't just his books, it was the way in which he was able to see the world for what it really was. It still finding a reason to joke about it. If you enjoy this episode, make sure to subscribe. Leave us a review and pass it along to someone who thinks Twain was just the guy with the white suit and mustache. Or if they didn't know that, definitely pass it on. Until next time. People don't worry if you're still trying to make sense of life. Twain once said, the secret of getting ahead is just getting started. So go out there, stay curious, good ones, and stay skeptical. For T, for Twain's sake. For twain's sake, let's go.
