Post-Midterm Decompression with LeVar Burton

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11/9/18 - We decompress from our tour and the midterm elections. Plus, the one-and-only LeVar Burton helps us answer listener questions in a special post-election edition of Ask A Man.

Transcript below.

Listen on Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Overcast | Pocket Casts | Spotify.

CREDITS

Producer: Gina Delvac

Hosts: Aminatou Sow & Ann Friedman

Theme song: Call Your Girlfriend by Robyn

Composer: Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs.

Associate Producer: Destry Maria Sibley

Visual Creative Director: Kenesha Sneed

Merch Director: Caroline Knowles

Editorial Assistant: Laura Bertocci

Ad sales: Midroll

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TRANSCRIPT: Post-Midterm Decompression with LeVar Burton

[Ads]

(1:05)

Aminatou: Welcome to Call Your Girlfriend.

Ann: A podcast for long-distance besties everywhere.

Aminatou: I'm Aminatou Sow.

Ann: And I'm Ann Friedman. On this week's agenda we decompress from our tour and from the midterm elections and a very special guest answers questions from our inbox.

[Theme Song]

(1:49)

Aminatou: Hi Ann Friedman. Are you happy to be home?

Ann: Oh my god, home from tour, post-midterms. Wow, biggest break since I was on the academic calendar frankly.

Aminatou: How do you feel about the midterms?

Ann: You know, I feel good honestly. I wouldn't have been sad at the apocryphal blue wave crashing over America but I also did not expect it and a lot of the things that I really wanted to come out of this election happened. Like people I was invested in like Lucy McBath who's been a guest on this podcast won her race in Georgia. Katie Hill outside of L.A. here unseated Steve Knight who's the worst. You know, lots of great ballot initiative stuff happened. I could go on and on and on but so many things to be happy about.

Aminatou: Right. I was also not expecting the blue wave so I feel that I . . . I feel that all the people I care about won or almost won or made some really big change and a lot of down-ballot stuff was winning. I'm thinking about in Houston, Texas you could elect up to 19 judges and 19 black women won those seats.

Ann: Hell yeah.

Aminatou: So that is really exciting to me. I am so happy that Kim Davis, terrible, terrible Kim Davis was elected out of office by somebody who she denied a marriage license to.

Ann: Firmly ousted.

Aminatou: You know, like just desserts. I'm just thinking about a lot of people who are doing incredible work. Lucy McBath who we had on the podcast broke our curse [Laughs] of, you know, all the people who come on this podcast have lost their races I will say.

Ann: Not everyone. [Laughs]

Aminatou: Almost everyone. Lucy McBath has turned that around for us so I am really excited about that. I'm excited to see Stacey Abrams in Georgia not giving up and not conceding. She looked like such a bad-ass, her speech in the middle of the night. I am proud of the race that Beto ran in Texas because I think that once and for all it will tell a certain kind of democratic state that they do not have to elect people who are social conservatives or right down the middle or who are trying to appeal to Republicans. We can run on our values and we can win or come really dang close to it. And so many people turned out in the midterms. If we can keep this energy going and we can have this many people turn out at every midterm we'd do amazing.

Ann: Yeah, I mean and it kind of goes as well for some of the losses, especially in the Senate, were handed to Democrats who had really, you know, bent their message towards like I would say pretty xenophobic ends of where they saw their voting base. So like Claire McCaskill in Missouri, always hate to lose a woman senator I guess, but also some of her talking points near the end of that race as it tightened up I was like I really don't feel that sad about losing you now. It's like, you know, better to have in my mind actually someone like Beto come really close while really hewing to the values that he holds and I would say largely that you and I hold. Better that than coming really close and eeking out a win espousing really horrible jingoistic language frankly.

Aminatou: Right. And in Florida Andrew Gillum lost by a hair as well but he has the brightest future. His concession speech made me cry. It fully made me cry. I had Obama 2004 level chills, like the convention speech chills. And -- but a good thing still happened in Florida, we have people who could not vote who have been to prison having their vote restored.

Ann: Enfranchisement!

Aminatou: Yeah, we love enfranchisement in this family, you know? 27 NRA-backed candidates lost their seats around the country. That's real exciting.

Ann: Hell yeah.

(6:10)

Aminatou: Texas sent its first ever Latinas to Congress. Texas, can you believe it? Sylvia Garcia and my friend Veronica Escobar! So this is, you know, I don't know. It's like if you follow -- if you are a Run For Something and Sister District fan you had a great night. More than 100 women won their Congress races. That's the first time ever. And that's not nothing. Like that's actually amazing.

Ann: Yeah. And when you think about okay, why do we care about elections? We care about elections because we care about building a more just world for everyone. And this election had a lot of positive -- I mean shout-out to Massachusetts yes on 3 affirming that trans people are here and they exist, fuck you Trump, and they are like welcome to live full lives in public and in private in Massachusetts. Like that is what that vote really said. And between that and the vote for felon enfranchisement in Florida it basically says like okay, this is not just about who are the people making laws in elected office? This is about what do we value and what do we believe as a state, as a community? And on that level there is a lot to be really, really pleased about too.

People who are really, really upset right now I think are people who got super-invested in a handful of races that were really kind of national-level darlings and were not looking at this as a really long game, as a pipeline issue, like that sort of thing.

(7:52)

Aminatou: Right. It feels good to win but more than that the real victory for me is talking to so many people who were first-time voters or people who, you know, they were like "I did not pull my weight," or "I didn't vote in 2016." And not in a shamey way but in the real way of like okay, I am invested now and I'm going to keep doing the work. And that has been -- it's been awesome. It's been awesome to meet so many people knocking on doors who are committed to doing this. It's been awesome to see just the energy and the momentum that we can have. You know, people always think of midterms as boring elections. Look at the record number of people who turned out. We can keep this going. This is momentum we can keep going.

You know, having a president that you like is very amazing and it's great but races -- having good politics means caring about more than just who is president or who is in a big national office that you care about. The people that are on your school boards, people that run for sheriff, the people that run for judges, those people affect your day-to-day so much more than you realize and this is how we keep a healthy democracy all around. So I -- you know, I am excited to see this level of commitment moving forward. I think about voting like I think about vaccination, you know? It's harm reduction. It's all harm reduction. This is what we're doing here.

Ann: [Laughs]

Aminatou: Sometimes you don't have to be excited about who is on the ballot to show up. That is a different story. So this is the . . . it means a lot. And also there are awesome people, like I watched a Jacky Rosen speech and, you know, she did it in a ball room at Cesar's Palace and she talked about how she was a cocktail waitress there in the casino.

Ann: Oh my god.

Aminatou: You know, and it took her 40 years to make it down the hall from being a cocktail waitress to being the person that's being celebrated in the ball room. I was like thank you Vegas, like yes. So it's just, you know, we have people who love where they're from. They're not -- they're in it because they care about where they're from. There are people who have working class roots, all of these things, who are running for office and this makes me happy. We're seeing it all around the country.

(10:05)

Ann: Yeah. I mean and I really think too about the ways in which . . . like okay, the pipeline is really exciting. I think about all these candidates and now office holders in some cases I'm excited to follow for years and years. But I also think about the change that we all made in terms of how plugged into the system and how knowledgeable we are about how to make change in this way. Like a friend of mine who I will not name was not planning to vote in 2016 until I rang her and then she went and voted. And this year when I texted her and I was like "What's your voting plan?" she responded immediately with the whole plan. You know, like leveled up.

Another friend who after 2016 was like "I'm so distraught. I don't know what to do. Politics isn't my thing." And I was like well, it better become your thing pretty quickly. That person was organizing buses of people to go canvas as of last week. And I really just feel that is some of the change that we carry forward as well, like we have built skills that we're going to need to use in 2020. And think about how much better we're going to be in two years.

Aminatou: I feel good about this. I feel good about my own personal resistance network. Everybody left it on the field. People were flying all around the country and knocking on doors and organizing buses. This matters so much more to me than who is winning, like I will be perfectly honest about that. It has given me hope that we will either get to a place where the people who represent us share our values or that we will leave a better world for the people who come after us. So I'm all into it. Being a good ancestor, we're doing it.

(11:40)

Ann: And I would say no matter what, like if you are feeling upset in the wake of the midterm results, I would say whatever the thing that you are upset by make that your issue to work on for the next year. So if you were like oh my god, gerrymandering, we didn't stand a chance, like okay, why don't you get involved with Sister District and support down-ballot races that are meant to make inroads in states that are badly gerrymandered? Or if your whole thing is like oh, funding, this candidate just didn't have it, get your PAC game together. Like whatever it is, whatever you are feeling can be the catalyst for how you start to be involved in 2019 and 2020.

Aminatou: Right. And also if you have friends that are professional organizers this is also the time where you should show them a lot of love, kindness, and good energy and just abundance. Because, you know, I turn into my own little organizer weeks before elections and it always humbles me to realize that people do this for a living 24/7. This is what they dedicate their lives to. So I'm so thankful for those people in our lives because they . . .

Ann: Sheroes and heroes.

Aminatou: I know, sheroes and heroes. And they do it and they don't always expect to win but, you know, they wait until every single vote is counted. They work until the job is done and they show up every day day in and day out and I'm so thankful for all of the CYG organizers that are listening.

Ann: Yes, we love you. We met many of you on tour, we see you, and we thank you.

[Music and Ads]

(16:10)

Ann: So in the spirit of maybe taking a slight break after all that we've had going on we have a special treat this episode. So you remember how a few months ago we took the week off for 4/20 and handed the episode over to some men we love to do emotional labor and answer questions in our inbox for us? [Laughs]

Aminatou: I love it. It was the best.

Ann: Well we're going to do that with the second half of today's episode and the man who will be answering questions from our inbox is none other than LeVar Burton.

Aminatou: Yes!

Ann: Okay, so LeVar Burton if you're not familiar was on Reading Rainbow, Star Trek, Roots. Iconic actor but also he is the host of a podcast called LeVar Burton Reads. And basically what he does is he uses his voice -- one of the all-time greatest reading voices -- and reads a different short story every episode which is like the most relaxing thing. Having LeVar Burton read you a story is the best. So that's what he's up to now. He's also out on tour right now and here's what he has to say to the listeners who sent us questions in our inbox.

[Interview Starts]

Ann: LeVar Burton, welcome to Call Your Girlfriend.

LeVar: Thank you Ann.

Ann: I want to start with a few questions that are books-oriented.

LeVar: Oh yay.

Ann: Because I and many of our listeners grew up with Reading Rainbow but we also have a few listener questions that we're going to throw your way because this is our Ask a Man episode where we outsource some emotional labor for answering our listener dilemmas to men we love and respect.

LeVar: Ooh, okay.

(17:50)

Ann: So yeah, so first of all I couldn't find a reliable citation for this on the Internet but I feel like it is the conventional wisdom that men don't read as much fiction. And I found a few articles kind of aping this and on an anecdotal level I think that it is generally true that especially older men in my life tend to be less interested in fiction than maybe some of the women in my life.

LeVar: I think that's changing generationally though.

Ann: Yeah, I would love to hear you talk about that.

LeVar: Well if you doubt there are men reading fiction then you just haven't been to a Comic Con. [Laughter] You know what I'm saying?

Ann: Sure, sure.

LeVar: There's a whole -- and I do believe it's generational. This generation is very much into feeding your imagination which I think is fantastic.

Ann: Do you have advice for people of any gender who are adults in part of your life that you would love to see reading more? And how do you cultivate that?

LeVar: It's really easy. I believe that because our reading choices are driven by our passions right? So what is it that you're passionate about? There's bound to be some information, either factual or informational or inspirational that you can find around that subject.

Ann: So start there. Start with the individual.

LeVar: Yeah, start with the individual. Yeah. Parents ask me all the time "How do I get my kid to read more?" I ask them "Do you know what your kid is passionate about?" Obviously you do, you're their parent, or you should. So I've always said if your kid loves superheroes then damn it buy your kid comic books because it doesn't matter to me what the gateway drug is to becoming an addict and it's our passions that drive that appetite.

Ann: Right. I also wanted to ask about in terms of the things you are drawn to, both the things that you select for your podcast and the things that you are picking up to read. You know, lately what has been sparking your interest or drawing your attention?

(19:58)

LeVar: Because I'm producing this podcast I'm reading a lot of short fiction because that's what the podcast is about. I read a piece of short fiction in every episode. So my reading right now is really dominated by finding selections for the show. There's a bit of form that has to be adhered to in terms of the length of the story and that I like it. Those are the . . . [Laughs] the main criteria really. It's got to be a piece of literature that I want to read aloud, because it's a different experience just reading the story in my head.

Ann: Do you also like being read to?

LeVar: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Ann: I think that is such a basic human love. I mean I could listen -- I was saying to Gina earlier I could listen to someone read me stories 24/7 if it were an option.

LeVar: Yeah, I love being -- who doesn't love being read to, right? I do. Yeah, it's one of the great joys of being human.

Ann: Do you have a favorite story that you've read so far on LeVar Burton Reads?

LeVar: Wow, so many.

Ann: So many favorites?

LeVar: Yeah. The story that we led the series off with, Bruce McCallister's story Kin -- K-I-N -- about a young boy who hires an alien assassin to take care of a problem for him, it fulfills what I believe are the hallmarks of a really terrific short story in that compelling characters are there in a setting that is appropriate and interesting. There's a beginning and middle and end and the author makes that happen in 30 to 35 pages. That's real mastery. And as a bonus in a lot of the short stories I love there's an unexpected twist at the end.

(21:45)

Ann: I love that, you know, being able to kind of reverse engineer why did this story grab me in just 30 pages?

LeVar: Yeah. Yeah, right.

Ann: So are we going to see you onscreen anytime soon?

LeVar: Yes, although I can't tell you exactly when but I just completed a few months ago work in a series for Jordan Peele's company called Weird City. That's a science fiction comedy anthology. It's going to be broadcast on YouTube, on YouTube Premium, but that's as much as I know. I don't have any other information as to when. But I am loving -- I loved being back in front of the camera after a long spell away and I'm looking to do more acting.

Ann: Oh, fantastic. I'm going to ask you some of these listener questions that we've received.

LeVar: Mm-hmm.

Ann: And they . . .

LeVar: And I'm speaking for all of mankind now in my answer?

Ann: Listen, I think . . .

LeVar: [Laughs] That's a hell of a burden.

Ann: Here is how I would phrase it.

LeVar: Okay.

Ann: You are speaking for yourself.

LeVar: Okay, good.

Ann: Yeah, you are speaking for yourself as a compassionate and empathetic individual and that is -- that's all. That's all we ask.

LeVar: That I can do.

Ann: The first question we wanted to ask you because you've been a working artist for so long and it's a question about managing finances as an artist. Here it is: "I'm a freelance violinist living in Germany and I'm on a really tight budget at the moment but I'm also trying to put more money into developing my solo profile. Some months I make next to nothing; other months I make several thousand and I frequently have to wait up to three or four months to get paid for concerts. How much is safe to invest in my career without risking not being able to cover rent two months out?"

LeVar: Wow.

Ann: A struggling artist question.

(23:35)

LeVar: [Sighs] Got to eat. We've got to eat and pay the bills. That's a hardcore cold truth about this life. You have to find that balance. You really do. And questions like these for artists are always best answered from that place of stillness, right? Where you can tap into your own inner wisdom and guidance and discern the truth about what direction you need to go, left, right, or straight ahead. And that's such an individual thing. You really need to tap into your soul for answers like that. Did I dodge that? [Laughs]

Ann: No, I mean -- well I'm not going to let you dodge it because I'm going to say I'm wondering if you had a phase of your career where you had to make a similar calculus?

LeVar: Hmm. I feel like it's a calculus that I'm always running in my head, right? I avoided the starving artist syndrome in my career. I got my first job as an actor when I was 19. I was still in college. And Roots changed my life and the trajectory of my life and so I really haven't had to struggle. There have been periods of decision as to, you know, which direction I go, which job I take, which job I turn down. Those things are an everyday part of the process of being an artist. And there have been times I've kicked myself for the decision I made and I try not to regret. I try and wrap my arms around the idea that everything happens for a reason, right? Even the things that suck. That there's something in there for me to learn and grow from, right?

But that calculus, it's a part of it. It's like breathing really. And I think in order to survive -- and this is my 42nd year in show business -- I think you have to develop an adeptness at calculating, right? And staying in-tune with what your soul's path is. Because as an artist you have a leg up on everybody else in that you are genuinely tapping into the divine every time you apply your craft. And not everybody gets to do that in their job. [Laughs]

Ann: For real.

LeVar: For real. For real.

(26:05)

Ann: Ugh, okay, next question. It's about books and film centering women and people of color. Here's the question: "I'm teaching world history from the year 1500 to present day," wow, "and our school textbook was written by middle-aged white European dudes. Our next unit is about the scramble for Africa but I would love to hear your recommendations on any topic, historical or current, films, books, articles. What do you recommend for my baby feminists to help educate them from female and person-of-color perspectives? Looking especially for films because they are mad individuals." So these are 14-year-olds that this person is teaching.

LeVar: Wow.

Ann: So how do you counter-program a world history textbook that does not center certain perspectives I think is part of the question.

LeVar: Unfortunately the film lexicon is hardly better than textbooks in that respect. Even films that bill themselves as "the true story" are in some way invented. So you can't rely on film as a medium of study to teach you history. It's for the same reason that you can't rely on textbooks to teach you history because there's a biased point-of-view being presented, and that point-of-view is generally that of aging white males. That's the reality of the world in which we live. I've come to terms with that a long time ago. It's part of what drives my existence, railing against that reality.

Ann: And it's interesting to think about someone who is a teacher explicitly counter-programming that, you know?

(27:54)

LeVar: Right, but that's -- I love that because that's an aware teacher.

Ann: It's interesting because I think about some of the things I've read that have drastically changed the way I viewed particularly US history. A lot of them have been in the realm of fiction.

LeVar: Yeah.

Ann: You know, it has not been a historic account or a historian explains what was really going on.

LeVar: Sure.

Ann: And so I think maybe that is where some of the desire for films or, you know . . . because they're also rooted in story right?

LeVar: Yeah they are, absolutely. I mean our whole culture is rooted in story. So, you know, historical dramas? I like a good costume drama. And as long as you have -- and there are plenty of films even through the golden ages of Hollywood with that skewed white male point-of-view. There are plenty of narratives -- not plenty. There are a number of narratives that feature women. Show your students anything Betty Advis has ever been in, okay? [Laughter] You want to model on a strong woman who's got her shit together, watch a Betty Davis movie.

Ann: Or a strong woman whose shit sometimes falls apart but she's there anyway. [Laughs]

LeVar: Go to Barbara Stanwyck, go to Ida Lupino. Ida Lupino was a director. She's got a very feminine point-of-view, right? That is balanced. I mean Ida -- I thought Ida Lupino was really balanced in her masculine and feminine aspects and she was rare in that she was a woman director at a time when that just didn't exist. Go for the gold. There are women that have always blazed trails in a male-dominated world and they exist. They exist in films as well.

Ann: Does a book or a film leap to mind for you that really helped reorganize or helped change your understanding of some event in history?

(29:48)

LeVar: Absolutely, Roots, the novel. It not only reaffirmed my world view, it validated who I am and why I'm here and what I'm capable of as a part of this American story. There's no novel I've -- or book I've ever read that has represented my trajectory in life more than Alex Haley's Roots.

Ann: Great suggestion for her students as well.

LeVar: Amen.

Ann: Yeah. Okay, next question. This is more of an interpersonal relationships question. "I was hoping I could get some advice on a recent revelation in my life which has compounded some other emotional turmoil. I'm a straight black woman who identifies as an intersectional feminist. I've been married for about nine months and together with my husband for a little over six years. We are high school sweethearts and have only ever been with each other romantically and sexually. Well he recently came out to me officially as pansexual and I feel a swath of emotions. I am proud of him immensely for coming to terms with this fact as he has been conditioned into stoic masculinity since childhood. I am afraid for him as a biracial black man and as someone who will likely have to come out to our families in the future. I feel full of love for him but also terrified at what this means for our marriage. I don't have any issue with his sexuality; my only fear comes into play with the fact that he has never gotten the chance to explore his sexuality since he's only ever been with me. I fear that in the future he may leave me in order to do so. Everything feels so raw and new. Are my fears and uncertainty valid? And what can I do to navigate the situation while supporting him fearlessly and unconditionally?"

(31:40)

LeVar: I would ask are his needs the only needs that need to be met in this relationship? And are you okay with continuing to be married to a pansexual man? If that answer is yes then you guys will just work this shit out. I feel you on the yeah, but he hasn't explored this side of himself yet. And if you support that then it's going to take y'all doing changes. And if that's your journey then go for it and endure but always know that you're making a choice by continuing to stay married to this person. And that's a choice only you can make.

Ann: Have you . . .

LeVar: And I'm not advocating leaving him.

Ann: Right, right.

LeVar: I want to make that clear.

Ann: This letter's so tender. I'm wondering if you have ever received some relationship advice that's really stuck with you, particularly about being in a long-term partnership through change which I think is part of the core of this question.

LeVar: Yeah, right. Best advice I ever got about staying in a relationship is probably make each other laugh. Pick a partner that you can make laugh and who makes you laugh because you're going to need it. [Laughs] I just celebrated my 26th wedding anniversary. We've been together for 31 years.

Ann: Wow.

LeVar: And I don't get to be the man I am if I don't marry Stephanie Cozart.

Ann: I love that. We don't talk a lot about romantic relationships on this show. We center other things.

LeVar: Sure.

Ann: But it's a really interesting thing to me when I think about you know that trope of the person that you are partnered with should also be your best friend? There's all this writing about how that is kind of a modern convention, that that was not always the case. I'm wondering what you think about that.

LeVar: Yeah. I married the hottest woman I could get. [Laughs] She's funny. She's smart. We have similar values. Did I mention that she's gorgeous?

Ann: I picked up on that, yeah.

LeVar: I married a goddess. I married a goddess. Genuine goddess. And I don't regret that at all.

(34:05)

Ann: Yeah, I think that the whole trope about that your partner should be a goddess and should be the sexiest person in the world to you and should be someone who makes you laugh, you know, I think there is sometimes this idea that that creates too much pressure on a romantic relationship.

LeVar: Well that's because I think we need to adjust our expectations somehow.

Ann: [Laughs]

LeVar: The nature of romance which is that it is fleeting and in most relationships, most healthy relationships, it's cyclical. It's not always present, the romance. The sexual attraction isn't always the thing that's happening or the most dominant thing -- dynamic in the relationship. If you're lucky you'll fall in and out of love many times over the course of your relationship.

Ann: There are a few questions that we ask most guests on the show, a few lines of questioning. One of them -- and I'm just going to recenter the platonic here -- is about who are the friends that you turn to for support? You know, maybe you can talk about one person who's been a close friend of yours for a long time. We love to hear stories about enduring friendship as well.

LeVar: I have a group of men that are my support, my watchers, my brothers, my back. We get together once a week for about two hours and we are part of one another's lives. But these are the guys that I turn to when I need advice and counsel.

Ann: How did that group come together?

LeVar: It was formed by an old friend of mine, a psychologist, Dr. Steven Johnson. And it's a men's support group. Therapy.

Ann: I wish that for all men that I love.

LeVar: Right? [Laughs]

Ann: Like truly, when I hear . . . it feels like almost this perfect glittering ideal when you talk about that.

LeVar: It's ugly. Sometimes it's -- I mean we hold one another accountable in our respective lives and that's the value of it. And so it's a sacred space where we need to come and bare the truth of what's going on in our lives at any given moment, good, bad, or ugly. That's why we're there, to help one another get through. It's not glittering at all. [Laughter] But it does work. It does work. If you do the work the work will pay off right? And we're about the work.

(36:35)

Ann: What about it being a space for men and particularly maybe like-minded men is so powerful?

LeVar: There's a shorthand, right? I would imagine it's the same dynamic in a circle of women, right? You just have a common lens through which you're experiencing life. And there's nothing like knowing you're not alone in this world for a human being. I mean that sense of validation is what we all seek isn't it? Part of it is mysterious for me and I like that about it. I don't know why it's such a powerful dynamic necessarily but it is and I trust that.

Ann: How many years has this group been meeting?

LeVar: Well I've known Steven for forty years?

Ann: Wow.

LeVar: But I've been a member of this Thursday morning men's group for 20 years?

Ann: That's awesome. So we are out on tour.

LeVar: Yeah.

Ann: And you are out on tour.

LeVar: I am. I am. I'm currently out on tour with my podcast LeVar Burton Reads, so I'm coming to cities and reading live. An evening of storytelling.

(37:45)

Ann: So what are the remaining dates on your tour?

LeVar: Tonight I'm in Boston, Massachusetts at the Wilbur Theatre. November 11th I'm in Austin, Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas. Then I go on to Dallas, Texas for November 12th and the Majestic Theatre and then the 14th of November I'm at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta, GA. Come on out and see us. Come on out and see us.

Ann: Tell me what your favorite things about going on tour are and what the most difficult parts of it are.

LeVar: My favorite part is the live performance. My training is theatre and I've spent the majority of my career in front of a camera and this is an opportunity for me to reconnect with a live, theatrical experience which I just . . . ahh, love so much. There are the stories and the authors that I get to talk to during the course of these performances. I read a different short story in every city and the story is determined by the city in large measure because I choose an author who's from or lives in whatever city I'm in. And then every short story will suggest to me a musical instrument that I might employ to provide live accompaniment to the reading of the story. I do an interview first with the author, a conversation, and then we open it up to Q&A. And so it's a real evening about literature, about storytelling. It's a pretty cool evening. What do I not like about it? It's exhausting. [Laughs] Reading aloud the way I do is work. I mean because it requires energy. I use a lot of energy. It tires me out. I've built in -- and I'm doing this in all aspects of my life now -- I'm building in specified, dedicated recuperative time into all of my activities because it's that time of my life. I've lived my life in second gear for 60-plus years and I'm discovering that third gear is a pretty good gear. [Laughter] Fourth gear is -- if you're going fast enough fourth gear is cool. I just recognize now that I don't have to live my life in second gear.

Ann: What does your recuperative time look like? I'm imagining some cucumber slices over the eyes, like full relaxation. [Laughter]

(40:05)

LeVar: It really just amounts to the day after a performance I get to sleep in, right? And even if it's a travel day I get to travel later in the day to the next city.

Ann: And, okay, I have to ask because it's sitting here on the table between us. Tell me about your top essential oils and other hacks for traveling and being constantly in second gear. [Laughter]

LeVar: Okay, travel hacks. Because I travel a lot. I'm on a plane a lot. I try not to check a bag when I travel. Having the right tools is always -- that's the life hack for me, have the right tool for the job. This thermos I carry with me goes all around the world. I always have this thermos and I use the lavender essential oil. It's a natural calmant and it's also a trigger for me. When I put a few drops of lavender in my hands and rub my hands together and heat it up it reminds me to breathe. [Breathing] And slow down. It works for me.

[Interview Ends]

Aminatou: Ugh, LeVar, what a person who lives life so well.

Ann: Oh my god, LeVar "Lavender Oil" Burton forever. [Laughs]

Aminatou: See you on the Internet boo-boo!

Ann: See you on the Internet.

Aminatou: You can find us many places on the Internet, on our website callyourgirlfriend.com, you can download the show anywhere you listen to your favs, or on Apple Podcasts where we would love it if you left us a review. You can email us at callyrgf@gmail.com. We're on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook at @callyrgf. You can even leave us a short and sweet voicemail at 714-681-2943. That's 714-681-CYGF. Our theme song is by Robyn, original music is composed by Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs, our logos are by Kenesha Sneed, our associate producer is Destry Maria Sibley. This podcast is produced by Gina Delvac.

LeVar: Hi, I'm LeVar Burton and I'll see you on the Internet.

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