(upbeat music)
- Hi and welcome to Smartfem and Friends.
I'm your host Lea Woodford and with me today is my dear
dear friend, Randall Kenneth
Jones. - We're here.
- Finally finally it happened. - We got here.
- Oh my god Randy, what a whirlwind.
- What a journey.
- It's been.
For those of you who don't know, Randy,
I'm calling you Randy. - Yeah call me Randy.
- Randy wrote this amazing book, "Show Me"
and god we've been best buds ever since.
- Well before it actually came out.
- I know.
- Before it came out, so it's been out
for a little while now.
- But and now you have a podcast.
- I do have a podcast.
I am truly the smartfem and friend.
I am the classic because I am the friend.
- You are totally. - I'm on the right show.
- Yes you are, you're definitely a friend.
But I really wanna talk about the way,
the way that you interview people because it's different.
I really love the way that you look
for the good in everybody and can we talk about,
'cause some of the people in your book,
a lot of people like Sean Hannity,
that was kinda surprising.
- But, when I talked to Sean, we established the political
aspect quickly, I said we're not gonna talk
about politics, I wanna talk about the human being.
I have actually never met anyone who has met Sean
personally who didn't like him.
We have to talk to people and understand I don't wanna just
find out why people do what they do or what they do,
I wanna find out why they do it
because I'm naturally curious.
So I'm not digging in a way that seems unnatural.
I just wanna know.
So with Sean I just wanted to kinda find out who he was
and why he did what he did.
And he loves it.
He loves the hoopla, he loves the challenge,
he loves the energy, he loves the discussion,
he loves the disruption, he loves it, he lives for it.
- Okay, I get it.
But now we're gonna have to go back to one of our friends
from the 80s and you know I'm not sure what page
it is in the book, Pat Benatar.
I love that story. - She hit me
with her best shot.
♪ Hit me with your best shot ♪
♪ Why don't you hit me with your best shot ♪
♪ Hit me with your best shot ♪
♪ Fire away ♪
- Okay you have to tell our viewing audience about this.
'Cause it's a history.
- It's ridiculous.
So I went to the, I'm from Columbia, Missouri,
I went to the University of Missouri
and I call this my first real
entrepreneurial moment, my first big idea.
This is 1982, Pat Benatar's coming to town,
to Columbia, Missouri to do a concert
at the University of Missouri
and I'm doing singing telegrams.
I'm doing singing telegrams for a living
and I decide I want to meet her.
Now this is the 80s, there's no internet.
I'm in the middle of nowhere, I'm in the Midwest.
I mean, we don't think we're gonna meet
the famous people that we see on MTV.
But I get this idea, I'm gonna send her
a singing telegram, oh wait, I'm gonna perform it too.
Went through the proper channels,
got it officially approved, arrived at the venue
with six dozen balloons.
I'm dressed as Prince Charming, in purple brocade,
it was hysterical and the 80s mustache and everything.
I'm led to the back and performer mode just kicked in.
I had rewritten hit me with your best shot,
bounced her around on my knee, sang the song, magic.
I had said to her, I said, "Pat, you know,
"no one in Prince Charming's kingdom
"is gonna believe I was here if you don't bring
"the camera back in and take a picture."
The camera comes back in.
"Oh and will you sign my copy."
I brought two copies of the telegram.
She said, "Only if you'll sign mine first."
I mean, class.
I didn't stop smiling for six months.
Pat Benatar changed my life.
We all have the power to change people's lives.
She changed my life 'cause she proved to me
that I could have ideas, I could make them work,
and perhaps I could survive
and thrive outside of my hometown.
Love my hometown, but I could thrive.
33 years later,
- I know, I love this.
- I was backstage with her.
Took me three years to set that interview up,
face to face with her.
Said, "Do you remember our back story?
"Did they tell you our back story?"
She said, "No, do we have a back story?"
I take the copy of the telegram, the photo,
I slide it across the table.
She, she knew immediately what it was.
Her mouth fell open.
She said, "I don't just remember the telegram,
"I remember you."
One of the most incredible things I've ever heard.
But here's the best part, I got to say thank you.
I got to tell her what she did.
I got to tell her what she meant to me.
She was more than music, she changed my life.
And you know, 'cause you've heard me say this many times,
it is, we are too connected now, it's too easy
to reach people and get messages.
A teacher, we love teachers, I love teachers.
My fifth grade teacher,
- My daughter's a teacher.
- Mrs. Patsy Wat from Bridgeport, Missouri
is still my champion.
If you have a teacher who has meant something to you
or a mentor, contact them and let them know.
You know, just like Pat was my mentor.
She didn't even know it.
- Well you were a gorilla marketer in the 80s, who knew?
- I was many times actually dressed as a gorilla
doing singing telegrams.
I was kind of literally the gorilla marketer.
She is so special and she's coming on the podcast.
- Oh, let's talk about the podcast.
Should we talk about?
- Yeah.
- Tell me, tell our viewing audience about your podcast
'cause it is hysterical.
- Well what happened is I started with the book,
I was interviewed a series of people
and really discovered that celebrities
were starting to say yes to me.
Peggy Post from The Emily Post Institute,
Suze Orman, Erin Brockovich, Jungle Jack Hannah,
Sonny Jurgensen hall of fame quarterback,
and the book came out and then people were saying
wow it would've been really fun to hear the interviews.
And I thought, I think we have the technology
- We do.
- to make that happen and I was mentored beautifully
from the team on The Nice Guys on Business.
- I love Doug.
- Yeah, Strick and Doug mentored me
and launched the podcast.
And now you get to hear it.
And but for me, see the whole thing,
the interviewing thing is a drug.
- Right, I feel you. - Yeah it's a drug,
it's a drug - I feel you.
- No it's a drug and but the interviewing thing is a drug
and I cannot believe I get to meet new people.
- You met Lisa Guerrero.
- Lisa Guerrero who is just ridiculous.
Okay, let's say what it is, I spoke at your conference
and you had me follow the brilliant, articulate,
gorgeous, stunning, best message ever Lisa Guerrero.
I had to follow her.
- Who but you could do it?
- Well you know, I was. - You pulled out
the big guns though.
- Yeah I did.
- Pulled out the big guns.
- But you know Ginger Zee from ABC News
is just absolutely a perfect human being.
She's so gracious and she's so kind.
G.W. Bailey, Erin Brockovich did it,
Sam Champion's done, but he's done the show.
But the thing is what's interesting,
you don't have to be famous.
And I know I have the reputation for being
sort of the guy that the celebrities talk to
and they do and I'm grateful.
But they always talk to me as people.
- I think. - They talk to me as humans.
- But you make it fun for them.
And you're not so star struck.
- And I care.
Oh, no, no, no, I can be pretty star struck.
If the love, if there's the love there,
I will show the love.
I mean, I don't hold back.
- Well you know. - A lot of shows
are about how much I love you.
But that's a good thing.
- I think everybody wants to be recognized.
But you know we have to tell the Barbra story.
- Barbra?
- Corcoran.
- I was gonna say, Streisand?
I wish there were a Barbra Streisand story.
- Hey, she's not dead.
- Yeah I know, we need her, I would treat
you well Barbra Streisand. - I love Babs,
I love you Babs. - I would treat you well.
I would treat you very well.
- We better tag team Babs.
- Barbra Corcoran, I start to blush when I just,
we're going into PG-13 territory here.
- That's okay.
- She's so special, so wonderful and so unpredictable.
I did an interview with her on the phone, so I knew her
and I knew how easy she was to talk to.
I was very comfortable with her.
She immediately put me at ease.
Because at that time I was writing
a column for a newspaper that became the book.
And so they wanted to run to promote the event,
they wanted the column to run first
and then I went to the event to hear her speak.
Brilliant public speaker, brilliant.
And we go up and there's people milling around
and I say "Can we take pictures Barbara,
"as if we know each other?"
I hate those pictures that look like they're posed.
Can we take pictures like they know each other?
Well we're kind of in the reverse situation,
I was on the left and she was on the right.
To mess with me, Barbra Corcorand takes my left hand,
pulls it over and puts it on her right boob.
I will tell you, you can blush so much
you circle out of red into purple.
- Oh really?
- You circle out of red into purple.
- Why wasn't that on TV?
- You circle like, oh, the incredible,
my son was the photographer.
He took so many pictures.
But you know, was she being naughty, yeah.
Was she having fun, yeah.
But what she really did was challenge me.
Okay buddy, you wanna make it look like we know each other
let's see how you handle this.
Then she started and she was working the camera for it
and she's timing how long I left it there.
It was hysterically funny and then what I did
when I got back I thought okay,
I have to go a step further.
So we, my art director, Denise and I, created a Broadway
musical poster for a fake Broadway musical,
Barbra Corcoran in Handled by the Press, a new musical,
with our pictures all over it, sent it up
and she sent me the greatest email response to it
and she endorsed my book when it came out.
She is the shark with the hearts.
I adore her and I adore that sense of humor
and she's given me a killer story and killer photos.
- Yes, I've seen them.
- She's given me the best expect the unexpected story
that I'll ever get.
It's just great.
- Well you know what's fun is you and I kinda ran
in the same circles, you know?
You interviewed Barbra, I interviewed Barbra.
I saw her speak and she is very approachable.
And you know what, she cares.
- Oh and see that is a commonality.
Frankly there are people who say, somebody say,
will you interview so and so?
No they're arrogant.
I won't do it.
There's enough people to help tell their story.
I'm looking for kindness, politeness, courtesy, ideas,
thought, bringing some value to the world.
And it comes from people who do
all sorts of different things.
As I said, you don't really have to be famous
even though people think that.
You really more than anything
have to have a strong story that means something
to me, that will resonate with me
and will resonate to the people who listen to the podcast.
That's the most important thing to me.
- Okay well you know I'm gonna have to talk about
your beloved, Derek.
- Derek, who gets talked about a lot.
My husband, 23 years, we finally got married.
I wish. - Congratulations.
- Well I was telling Ginger Zee, I said,
"You know I finally decided after 23 years
"that you know it was time to get married
"and I was gonna marry him
"and finally go for the Wakefield family fortune.
"I get up the next day,
"there is no Wakefield family fortune."
- You're gonna have to earn it.
- Yeah I have to create the Wakefield family fortune.
- So tell our viewing audience
about Derek and what happened.
- What happened to him?
- Yes.
- Okay, so the Derek saga involves our friend, my friend,
love this woman, Hoda Katb, one of the most
extraordinary people I've ever met.
- Brilliant journalist.
- Well and just, just, the thing is, her, Ginger,
Erin Brockovich, good people, Peggy Post
from the Emily Post Institute.
Truly good, kind people.
Pat Benatar, what's not to love about that?
How many people do we know that are good people?
So I interview Hoda over the phone
for what was once again a column
which went into the book
and Hoda said, "Oh I'd like to meet you.
"You comin' to New York?"
Well yes Hoda, as luck would have it,
I'm coming to New York in two weeks.
You need to come to a live broadcast of Kathy Lee and Hoda.
Now the words live broadcast need to already
set off alarm bells.
- Right, hot seat.
- Yeah so we're in there and it goes great.
57 minutes of great and we had been told
we might go on the show.
Now the book wasn't out so I knew
we weren't gonna promote that.
I can't cook so I knew my - No cooking segment.
- My role was gonna be this guy.
That was it.
We were gonna be that.
So they're at a commercial, this from Hoda
does not mean come up and join me on live TV.
I'm standing there and I'm seeing her do that.
There's like a, but I'm nervous,
there's a semi-circular bench and we've all seen
it on the Today Show, it's actually three parts
that come together and there were four other people
that were already up there and Kathy Lee
and Hoda in the center and she's nodding.
And I'm looking at her and then she's like,
she gestures and nods.
I was like okay, that is the universal sign
for join me on live TV.
So I'm like, this is great.
We're going on live TV.
Derek's right behind me.
I'm getting ready to run up there and right as I start
to go I hear 10, nine, eight, so we're countin' down.
But I've been on stage all my life,
running into plays at the last minute, not a big deal.
So I run up, I get there, I turn around I look
at the semi-circular bench, I find my spot.
I turn around, I thrust myself quickly to get into spot.
The section I sat on was on wheels.
And I am careening to the back wall of the Today Show set.
Out of body experience.
I felt like it was like, I felt like slow motion
because I was so aware - Live television,
isn't it fun? - Live television.
And I'm hearing like three, two.
Derek, good, kind, sweet Derek,
is following me as he should.
Doesn't know the bench has moved,
turns around to sit.
He sits, hits the floor, one and we are live.
- Gotta love it.
- Derek has hit the floor
on live TV. - On live television.
In front of millions.
- In front of millions of people.
So I don't really know exactly what to do
so I just laugh, I laughed hysterically.
I don't know what you do.
What do you do on live TV?
I mean the disaster that could've happened
with more people involved.
And Kathy Lee and Hoda are like man down, man down.
They handled it so well.
So at the end, they get us up quickly
'cause they were moving on.
They usher us out onto the plaza
and I'm standing there looking at him
and I'm like, "Are you okay?"
He's like, "Yeah."
I said, "No, no, are you okay?
"You know that you fell."
I don't even wanna say, in case he doesn't know
what happened to him,
do you know what happened, are you okay?
He looks at me he says, "It's not like
"I'm Steve Harvey and I just announced
"the wrong winner of Miss Universe."
- Wow, wow that came from Derek?
- He's my hero.
Oh that's so Derek.
He didn't care.
- I love it.
- I would still be in therapy.
No you know I would. - I know.
- You know I would. - I know.
- If I fell here now I'd be in therapy.
He, you know the whole idea of when you fall down
you get back up again?
He is the literal proof that that works.
He just didn't care.
What's funny is I tell the story everywhere.
He gets applause in every single group
I go in front of.
He gets huge rounds of applause
and he's never there to experience that.
So now he gets to see it.
- Wow, that's that is, - He doesn't know by the way
well he probably suspected you were gonna ask me
but he doesn't. - Well you know I had to ask.
It's a classic moment.
- How can? - And live television
is difficult.
One of the most, one of the craziest times for me,
I'm going in in my cute little green camo color
Calvin Klein dress and the weather girl's
wearing the same exact dress.
The exact same dress.
Fortunately I accessorized better.
I had a great belt and shoes.
But they mentioned it, oh my god you guys
are wearing the same dress.
It was so funny.
- Well Derek and I were not wearing the same dress.
So that part, - Oh I'm so glad.
- That was very good that we were not
wearing the same dress.
- When it's live, you just gotta roll with it.
- What do you do?
And you can't change things.
But life is live.
- Life is live.
- Life is live and people are watching
and I wanna be Derek.
I wanna get up. - I actually,
I like Randy though, let's stay with.
You know you were at my conference
and you got a standing ovation after
- Lisa Guerrero. - Lisa Guerrero.
Going after Lisa G.
- It was awful.
I mean it was the most intimidating thing
as a speaker I've ever encountered
'cause she's that good.
- So are you. - And her message,
well her message of bravery is so unique
and I think so necessary and but those situations need,
those challenges, that fear I think also
elevated what I did.
I don't think it could've gone better.
And that works for everyone.
Fear has to elevate, fear has to improve.
Fear can either destroy or fear can improve
and in this case, I think fear improved
but there was a whole lot of fear.
- Well you were amazing.
I'm still getting text messages
and you know you have to come back next year.
- I'm already here, I've already got my plane ticket.
- I haven't even booked the event, that's amazing.
So Randy, today's world is so negative
and I wanna talk about your podcast
because you look for the humanity
and the kind things and the good things in people
and I think we need more, I think that we
are starving for that right now.
- I do too.
Here's what's really great about my podcast
and people look at all the people I've met
and oh what you've come up with,
what you go them to say and the thoughts and the ideas.
I am blessed, I am blessed beyond words
to have that but you know what?
I don't have a patent on listening.
I'm not the only one with the power of thought.
I absolutely did not do anything that everyone can't do.
Everyone can do it.
Everyone can sit down and have a conversation
with another human being with the purpose of trying
to understand who they are.
- But you make it so funny too.
So it's really fun for your audience.
- It can be funny but I mean, yeah I mean there's
some funny stuff. - It's funny but it's fun.
- But I want real.
- Well it is, it's very authentic.
It's a little raw sometimes
and we never know - It can be very
raw sometimes but I like that.
Why would I cover that?
See I think the truth is fascinating.
I think as I'm aging, I'm finding it more interesting
to try to find out who I am.
I'm not afraid of that.
I find that really fascinating.
- Randy this has been so fun.
But I do wanna talk about your recent podcast
about sexual assault, can we go there?
- Yeah, oh no we have to.
And you'll understand more why I think we have to go there.
I went to hear these two extraordinary women,
Wren and Roch, W-R-E-N and R-O-C-H.
They're actually handbag, luxury handbag designers.
That's not really what they are.
They're survivors of sexual assault and college rape.
They do events to raise awareness
and educate about these issues.
I went and I heard them speak
and I stood up and I said, "Ladies, thank you
"for speaking about this."
I looked around and said,
"Why am I the only man in this room?"
- Right?
- And it pissed me off.
And it pisses me off a lot.
I have a 28 year old daughter.
It pisses me off a lot.
I have a mother, I have sisters.
Guys, we gotta get involved in this conversation.
I love girl power, I love it.
But that's why I'm so proud to be involved
with Smartfem 'cause I am a man here
lending my support to an organization
that does so much to empower women.
And they came on.
And it was tough and there were pauses
and there were tears, but it was real
and I was in the room.
- Thank you.
- And I said when we began it, I said,
"Ladies, this is for you but gentlemen,
"don't turn this off.
"It's time for you to be in the room."
We have to be, if we don't educate,
if men are never part of these discussions
how can you educate on consequences,
on morality, on respecting young women?
How can we educate if men are never in the room?
- So true.
- So I wanna thank you for letting me talk about that
because that's something that's just so important to me
and it wasn't necessarily until I saw them speak and it was.
- Well and I'm gonna say while I'm a feminist,
I'm a post-modern feminist and what that means
is I embrace men, we need our male ambassadors.
- And Karen and Laura do too, they do.
And a lot of people don't, you know,
how can you not be a man hater?
- You can't go there. - I adore them.
- You can't go there.
- But yeah, I'm extraordinarily proud of this.
I mean it's just doing the podcast I think in a way,
I get to hear so many different stories
and they're not all easy to listen to.
And there are times as you know
that I will pick stories that I know
are gonna put me in awkward situations
but I have to freely share me.
- You do.
- And I have to feel it and I have to be present
and I have to show other people
it's okay to feel and it's okay to participate.
And it's rewarding to feel
and it's rewarding to participate.
- Randy, you are amazing my friend.
Thank you for coming on the show.
- Truly my pleasure.
I'm very very happy to be here.
I'm very grateful.
- And you're gonna come back again.
'Cause we have a lot more stories with you.
We have a lot more.
- I'm creatin' new stories every single day.
- I know you are, I know you are.
Thank you so much.
This has been Lea Woodford with Smartfem and Friends.
Thanks for watching.