June 2, 2025 • 51 mins
Kate and Oliver are pinching themselves, as they host the most PRESIDENTIAL episode ever!
First Lady Michelle Obama joins the revelry with her brother Craig Robinson about life before and after the White House.
From their childhood memories, to how they’ve reconnected recently through their podcast, to Michelle’s Netflix binge (hint: Kate is in it)...
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hi, I am Kate Hudson and my name is Oliver Hudson.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
We wanted to do something that highlighted our.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Relationship and what it's like to be siblings.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
We are a sibling. Railvalry.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
No, no, sibling. You don't do that with your mouth.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Revely.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
That's good, Ollie. Missus Obama said very clearly that she
wanted casual vibes.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Is on the bottom. Scott Jennings from CNN on top.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
I'm so excited right now.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
I know.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
Wait, you guys got dressed up.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
No, I'm telling you right now, I'm dressed.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Up and I'm wearing sweats. I feel I am.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Not dressed up. I'm wearing my nikeout.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
I am looking at who's got a suit on?
Speaker 5 (01:08):
Yeah it's Oliver, dude, and you got your hair slicked
back shirts.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
On at least underneath that.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
I have never seen Oliver like this.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Listen, like ever.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
I look at you. You're so handsome.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Okay, my sister brings out the best and.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
Everybody your fifth boy suit on.
Speaker 6 (01:28):
I'm wrapping both so I got you know, but then
you know, look, I got Craig on the bottom.
Speaker 7 (01:33):
Oh, you got shorts on the bottom, all right, all right,
and I got so bad.
Speaker 8 (01:41):
Oh my gosh, god, I laughed so hard when I
when I turned on my screen, I was like, Oliver,
this was a clear directive.
Speaker 6 (01:52):
No, I know, I just I just worked out and
I came home and I'm like, I gotta do something.
And then I put this on and looked at myself
and I was like, oh my god, I look like
Scott Jennings from you look like a movie star.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
What we thought we were on the wrong zoom. I
was like, oh my god, like, don't turn here.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
I am so happy to have you on. I'm so excited,
Craig Michelle can't wait to get into like yeah, growing
up and your childhood and how fun. And thank you
for coming on our podcast. We're saying you were having us.
I'm excited. We're excited too, very hold on it.
Speaker 6 (02:35):
Before we do get started. This suit is actually represents
my my litigious nature as well. Because I know you've
got your podcast. I am all right, you guys are brothers.
Just we did this five years ago, so expect to.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Hear from our lawyers.
Speaker 6 (02:51):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Obviously you're biting, and that's fine, Yes we are.
Speaker 7 (02:57):
We're biting hard. But you know, I really liked the
name of your sibling, Revelry.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
That's a really cool.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Play, Craig. I got really excited going into your history.
You've got quite the quite the stats, and now as
a fake basketball owner on running point, I got really
excited because I really got to go deep into like
your history of basketball. I mean, you still hold like
(03:29):
records and stuff.
Speaker 7 (03:31):
I'm hoping that's that some young whipper snapper comes along
and breaks those records so we can stop talking about it.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
This is like prehistoric history. But I appreciate it, Kate.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
It was so cool.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
I loved it. It's amazing.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
How are you enjoying playing a basketball Maven?
Speaker 2 (03:48):
I love it. I love it. It's so much fun.
There was one day where I was on set and
it was me and like forty five very handsome men,
and I was like, Mindy Kahling just knew I was
the right girl.
Speaker 4 (04:04):
It's not a bad situation, Kate.
Speaker 5 (04:06):
You know that was my whole feeling about having a brother,
a big brother that was in basketball, because I was like,
that's where I met half the guys I dated when
I was little. You know, I was like, you go
to the game and you're like, oh, who's scoring more?
And then and then I'd have my brother to be like,
how's this dude? Is he he's new?
Speaker 4 (04:27):
Is he cute? Is he nice? He'd give me the
thumbs up.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
You know, I thought you were going to say who's
scoring more? Like you or me? That's what I thought.
Speaker 5 (04:37):
It sounded like she was going there trying to keep
it clean, trying to keep it clean.
Speaker 4 (04:42):
But Kate, I am a huge fan running point.
Speaker 5 (04:45):
That's it's it's it's on my top list that you
know you were killer in it.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
It is funny.
Speaker 5 (04:51):
The cast is I don't want a fangirl out, but
the cast is amazing. Storylinees good, good good. I'm ready
for season two.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Yeah, thanks for saying that. We are. We are too
where they're in the writer's room right now, and it's
really it's going to be such a fun season. So
I'm really excited. So, you know what, I'm just happy
to have a job. You know, Hey, that's how we feel.
What means you want to do the podcast?
Speaker 4 (05:17):
Uh?
Speaker 5 (05:18):
You know, I mean, first of all, our team asked,
and you.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
Know it starts there.
Speaker 5 (05:25):
We've got our audio hub, higher Ground Audio, and it
was it's useful for the UH, for for the for
the brand to have a always on, you know, good show.
And I think everybody was scared to ask me to
do it, to spend this much time. So they thought
(05:50):
a great hook, which is my It's been my life
as first lady. Nobody wants to ask me anything directly,
so they asked Craig.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
They were scared.
Speaker 4 (05:59):
They were scared.
Speaker 5 (05:59):
They were like, she's not gonna want to do this,
and she's not gonna want to be out there this much.
So they got the call saying, well, what if you
did something with Craig And they were ready to make
the argument, and.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
I was like, that sounds fun.
Speaker 5 (06:13):
I would love to spend more time with my big
brother and chop it up. He's one of my favorite people.
He has to do all the heavy lifting anyway, so
just like being a big brother, you know, he's doing
all the work.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
So I wish it was that way for me.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
And oh my god, wait a minute, hold on, like.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
No, I'm lying all he's doing a lot of heavy
lifting the podcast.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Yeah, he's been doing.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Most of the heavy lifting.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Oh god, we're in the same because I've been. It's crazy,
you know.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
What's so wonderful is really getting to spend that time
with your brother and you don't even really like I
didn't even realize when Oliver and I got into it's
just sort of like a silly idea like, oh, let's
start a podcast, you know, and and when we didn't
realize like how deep we were going to go into
our relationship and how much more time we were spending together.
(07:11):
And in adulthood, you got your kids and you got
your life and you, I mean, look at you're huge.
Both have huge lives, and you don't realize that you
don't really spend the time actually having these long connective conversations.
And it just brought Allie and I so much closer and.
Speaker 6 (07:29):
You feel like that you feel like you guys have
actually it's an allocated time to actually be brothers sister.
Speaker 7 (07:36):
I do, especially Oliver because you know, when Meesh and
Barack were living in the White House, I was coaching
at Oregon State for most of that time, and it
was just hard logistically to be in the same place, right,
So we would we would play a game once a
year in Washington, d C. And do a service day with.
Speaker 4 (08:00):
It was always around Thanksgiving and.
Speaker 7 (08:02):
It was always around Thanksgiving, so we'd have Thanksgiving dinner
and that was really the only time during the year
that we could get together and talk and my mom
would be there, and so that was really nice. And
then we try and do something in the summer. So
it was like two times a year we'd see each other.
But now we get together at least once a month,
sometimes twice a month, and we are talking talking about
(08:25):
some really fun things, some really serious things, and and
and we're helping people out there who have sort of
these everyday issues that we've gone through, and it's been
so much fun.
Speaker 5 (08:38):
We are really interestingly enough of both people people, you know,
I always say I don't get tired of people. I
think that's probably one of the reasons why we our
family survived, you know, eight years in the White House,
ten years if you include running and you know what
(08:59):
life is post I really do enjoy having conversations with people.
It gives me energy. And this and Craig is the
same way. You know, both really very curious. We both
really have strong opinions. You know, this is the way
we grew up talking around the kitchen table. We do
(09:20):
it with our own kids. When we do get together
a lot of it. You know, nobody's like running out
to play games. We're sitting around with all our kids
of all these different ages, and everybody wants to know
what everybody else is thinking, you know, So there's just
a lot of storytelling, and so it's we were kind
of like we're getting to do what we like to
(09:40):
do best and sharing it with the world and hopefully
helping people.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
So it's been a really really fun experience.
Speaker 6 (09:49):
And how much you have to filter yourself, you know,
just given sort of who you guys are, what you
have to have to represent, you know what I mean,
Like I'm a pretty unfiltered person. You have to filter
yourselves and sometimes not say the things that you want
to say.
Speaker 4 (10:05):
You know, Craig, probably I don't.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
I don't have to.
Speaker 7 (10:11):
And and I think the best part about this podcast
is the fact that the world's getting to see my
sister as sort of a normal, regular person who's giving
her normal regular opinions that she would give if you
were sitting at her kitchen table. So it doesn't feel
like she's filtering it. But I will say that in
(10:35):
when they were in the White House and the sort
of a couple of years before when they were running,
I did feel like I had to be careful of
what I said and did. So I don't I feel freer,
But I was more free than they were because when
people ask me questions they were I could always, you know,
(10:56):
it was always at a press conference on why my
team was playing so badly?
Speaker 1 (11:00):
So I I could be very frank. Then that's funny.
Speaker 6 (11:04):
It's funny you bring that up, because that was actually
gonna be a question I had that the extended family
beyond who's in the White House now has to button
it up a little bit because you're representing something, you know,
I mean, you got to sort of shut it down
if you are wild crazy.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (11:21):
Fortunately I've never been that wild and crazy. I of
the two of us, I've probably would be the most,
the more conservative.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
If if if they.
Speaker 7 (11:32):
Hadn't been in the White House, I would be Nobody
would know who I was other than you know, a
coach who you know probably got four technical files his
whole career.
Speaker 5 (11:45):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Did he did help recruiting?
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Uh?
Speaker 9 (11:50):
But half the kids the other half it It it
helped in the It helped from the standpoint that I
had name recognition and if you have name recognition. That
is half the battle, because you're going up against guys
(12:12):
who've won hundreds of games, right, and the key is
getting into the living room with those kids. And if
I could use the fact that I was Michelle Obama's
brother or Barack Obama's brother in law.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
That was I used it good.
Speaker 7 (12:30):
But as you can imagine, you know, forty eight percent
of the people were probably like, ah, now I'm not
sending my kid to play for him. So so you
could feel, you could feel for the most part, I
would say ninety I would say eighty percent of.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
The time it was positive. It was really positive, and.
Speaker 7 (12:55):
It got us in with some kids that we wouldn't
probably wouldn't have gotten in on.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Just to switch gears a little bit, Michelle, you said
when my parents didn't have a lot of money, but
they gave us everything that matters. And Craig you echoed
that by saying your upbringing was rich in values. And
I'm you grew up in the South side of Chicago
and is it just you two?
Speaker 4 (13:27):
Yeah? Yeah, and you too, And.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
What did your parents do? I mean, I'm sure a
lot of people know this already, but for those who.
Speaker 4 (13:34):
Don't, yeah, well, our dad worked. He was a blue
collar city worker.
Speaker 5 (13:41):
He worked for the Chicago Water Filtration Plan and he
was a pump operator, you know, worked in the boiler
room making sure that the water pressure was just so.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (13:54):
And my mom was a stay at home mom until
I went to eighth grade. I'm a year and a
half younger than Craig, and so my parents made the
decision early on that it was important for their values
for my mom to stay home and spend time with us.
So she was very involved, very you know, hands on mom.
(14:17):
I've written about her a lot in my second book,
The Light We Carry, just really trying to share a
lot of the wisdom that she had. You know, she
wasn't a child psychologist. Our parents didn't get didn't go
to college. They were high school educated, very smart people,
but they just, you know, they both just had some
real common sense approaches to parenting. And part of that was,
(14:42):
you know, she wanted to be the one feeding stuff
into us because she didn't necessarily trust that, you know,
a babysitter or a daycare center would you know, give
us the kind of leg up that she wanted us
to have. So they made the financial sound sacrifice and
so we didn't. You know, we lived off of one
(15:03):
income until my mom went back to work when I
was in high school. So she was, you know, up
at the school, involved in the PTA, you know, a
very engaged, stay at home mom, and that, you know,
that left a big imprint on us, you know, having
(15:23):
as the first person who was shaping us, somebody who
really loved and cared for us and knew we were smart,
and being smart, working class black kids, you would get
a lot of people that would assume that you weren't
as smart as you were. You know, she she really
(15:43):
needed to be the advocate to make sure that we
had the right teachers and that.
Speaker 4 (15:48):
If the school, which was we went to the public
school around the corner.
Speaker 5 (15:51):
You know, our parents didn't have money to send us
to a private school, so it was important for her
to make sure that the teachers were on point.
Speaker 4 (15:59):
I remember in.
Speaker 5 (16:00):
Second grade, I tell the story. Then I went into
my second grade class and the teacher was just it
was a chaotic class. She wasn't focused, she didn't give
out assignments, she wasn't good with kids. And I knew
this in second grade and I would come home for
lunch and say, you know, some's not right in this class.
(16:20):
We don't have homework, We're not getting real clear assignments.
I felt like I was missing something, and my mother
went up to the school and before you know it
was I was taking a bunch of tests and then
I passed out of the second grade. Within the first
month of being there. I was a third grader. And
I think that alone, that one act, you know, just
(16:42):
at an early age of having a mother who was
who trusted my voice, who was smart enough and feisty
enough to go up to the school see what was
wrong and advocate for some change.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
You know.
Speaker 5 (16:57):
I mean, those are stories I could we could both
tell you millions of stories of that throughout our young years.
That gave us like a good foundation to fight for ourselves,
to know what we were worth. And that was something
that you know, I think played a huge role in
us being the confident, competent individuals that we are today.
Speaker 4 (17:21):
But that came from two folks who didn't go to college.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
She sounds amazing, They're OK.
Speaker 7 (17:29):
The thing that I remember most about my parents that
I try and incorporate with with our kids is that
they never put the pressure on us to get good grades,
right They always said, just do your best, because your
best is going to be good, right, And it was
(17:49):
so matter of fact that it just empowered you to
be like, okay, if I work hard enough. It was
processed rather than results oriented. And to learn that at
an early age. And now you see people are teaching
that now, you know, fifty years later, sixty years later.
It's it just it was so empowering.
Speaker 5 (18:11):
So well, it was a little more than that, Craig.
I mean, you know, Mom used to say, look, I
went to school, I got an education, so this is
on you.
Speaker 4 (18:20):
You know, you better value it.
Speaker 7 (18:22):
You know.
Speaker 5 (18:23):
I mean as early as a kindergarten when we started kindergarten,
our mother gave us alarm clocks and she was like,
you have to work yourself up.
Speaker 4 (18:33):
You you have to want this more than I do.
Speaker 5 (18:37):
And she was there. She'd be up in the morning.
It wasn't like my mom ever slept in. But her
whole notion was if if you were doing this for me,
getting an education, playing basketball, achieving, it won't last, so
you better do it for you. And that's something you
know again that I try to implement with my kids.
(18:59):
It's like, don't get the a for me, you know,
don't want this stuff for me. You have to want you.
You have to want to be excellent, your best, because
this is who you are. And like I just as
a parent now, I just think, how did my parents,
because you know, they didn't necessarily get that from their parents,
(19:21):
you know, I think they spend a lot of time
trying to do the opposite of what their parents did.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
Yeah, we talk We talked about that a lot.
Speaker 5 (19:29):
You know.
Speaker 6 (19:29):
I think you can go a few different ways well too.
You know, you either are sort of not wanting to
become your parents or you're wanting to emulate. I think
there's a little bit of each. You know, I think
we're our kids are so smart. I think we don't
give enough credit at such a young age.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
They are.
Speaker 6 (19:45):
They are absorbing, they know what's going on. And you know,
Kate and now were the opposite. We we didn't want
to be We didn't we wanted to be with our kids.
We didn't want to leave our children. We wanted to
have a really solid unit. Were your parents strict?
Speaker 4 (19:58):
No? No, I mean because.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Socially you were allowed to kind of do your thing,
and you know, advocac.
Speaker 4 (20:04):
I guess's got a different way you.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
I don't feel like I.
Speaker 7 (20:08):
Was just going to say, here's where you raised in
the same household and have two separate experiences. Because me
being the oldest and and a little of this is
my own personality, I felt like my parents were strict.
Speaker 4 (20:25):
I mean, how so tell tell, tell me more.
Speaker 3 (20:28):
You know what I'm going to say. You know what
I'm going to say.
Speaker 7 (20:31):
We were allowed to watch one hour of TV a day.
That's strict. Just think about that one hour of television.
I mean it wasn't like it was a bunch of
channels either, So it was like one hour of TV.
And then you know that I had to be home
(20:53):
at a certain time. I had to come home during
the day. Like if I went to the basketball court
at ten in the morning, I could not stay until
dinner time. I had to come back every hour and.
Speaker 3 (21:08):
A half to two hours or so.
Speaker 5 (21:10):
So yeah, but that was because Mom wanted to make
sure you were alive. I mean that was like a
straight up to make sure that you weren't in a fight.
Speaker 4 (21:17):
I mean, we lived in the hood.
Speaker 7 (21:19):
I'd played two games, I'd have to run home say Mom,
I'm okay, yell up to her, I'm okay.
Speaker 3 (21:26):
And then run.
Speaker 7 (21:26):
Back and get back into the game. And I thought
that reasonable stuff. You had to go, he got.
Speaker 4 (21:35):
To go back.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
It was just like.
Speaker 7 (21:38):
My sister never came outside. I thought that was pretty
pretty fair. But it's just it's it's just our different perception, right,
Like I felt like I was. It was stricter for me.
Now I'm not saying it was. You know, it wasn't
prison or anything, but I felt like my parents made
(22:00):
me accountable for the time that I was spending during.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
The day, right all the time.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
Yeah, yeah, you felt.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
It's also like a part of it. It's interesting too
because it's also like, you know, the ages that that
probably was happening. I'm assuming that was like like middle school.
Speaker 5 (22:20):
It was, and even before middle school, you started going
to the courts at ten yeah, old, I mean I
was young.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
I was, it was. It was.
Speaker 7 (22:30):
It was really interesting because we had bikes and we
couldn't ride them off the block, and then at a
certain age my mom felt comfortable and we could ride
them off the block, and then I you know, it
was just they just doled out the.
Speaker 4 (22:45):
The you just had to earn.
Speaker 5 (22:46):
You had to earn the next level of responsibility, and
it sounds like.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
My situation with my son right now, who's who's thirteen
going on fourteen. They have these electric bikes. Now, they're
not like normal bikes that I just wish all the.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Kids on everybody.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
They're basically like little motorcycles. And my son just wants
to go. He just wants his independence. And I'm like,
your mom, I'm like, you don't leave the neighborhood. Okay,
you can go past this area. Okay, now you can
go there. And I've got a little like tracking device
on him, but I'm so strict. And my brother, on
(23:24):
the other hand, has his kids that they like are
on motorcycles and they're like in West Hollywood.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
And I'm like, what are you doing?
Speaker 2 (23:33):
So I have the issue of having to deal with like, oh, well,
my cousin gets to go, you know. And I'm more like,
I'm more like missus Robinson where I'm I'm so I
can understand your mom's fear.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
My real quick. My middle kid, it's called a sir on.
Speaker 6 (23:53):
Basically it's a it's a dirt bike, but it's electric, okay.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
And and I he's.
Speaker 6 (23:58):
Like, I'm going to go on a bike ride. Then
he shows me video he's in a ride out and
that sounds there's like a hundred different people on ATV's
motorcycles and they just command the streets. Yeah, one of
those he's like wheeling through like Supulvida and will Shure.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
I'm like, what the fuck are you?
Speaker 4 (24:21):
Oh my god, it's like you're fifteen.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
What he's like? It was? It was great. I was
on a ride out. I'm like, oh my lord, Okay,
maybe that's even too far for me.
Speaker 6 (24:32):
But here's the thing though, It's interesting, and I wanted
to ask this actually, like have you seen your children?
Both of you guys sort of emulate you and at
the same time do some things that.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
They don't want to be you know what I mean.
Speaker 6 (24:44):
They're looking at mom and dad and being like, you
know what. I love you guys, but I don't want
to do it that way.
Speaker 5 (24:49):
Oh my god, where do we begin? I mean, yes, I.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
Mean, obviously they grew up in a special situation, Craig.
Speaker 6 (24:57):
You know you're a little bit a little bit different,
but you know, sure there's moments where they're like, damn,
like you guys, got to chill.
Speaker 1 (25:02):
I do not want to be like that as a parent.
Speaker 4 (25:05):
Mm hmmm.
Speaker 5 (25:06):
Yeah, yeah, I mean, you know, I think as especially
you know, our daughters are twenty five and twenty three.
They are young adult women, but they definitely went through
a period in their teen years where it was the
push away, you know, we want to you know, I
mean they're still doing that as and you guys know,
(25:29):
this is the children of parents who are known. You know,
you're trying to distinguish yourself. I mean, it is very
important for my kids to feel like they've earned what
they are getting in the world. And they don't want
people to assume that they don't work hard, that they're
just naturally just handed things. They're very sensitive to that.
(25:52):
They want to be their own people. You know Malia
who started in film, I mean her first project, she
took off her lab name and we were like, they're
still going to know it's you, Malita, you know, but
we respected the fact that, you know, she's trying to
make her way. But now as they're older, I think
(26:12):
they they are embracing our parenting principles. They you know,
they they they have a clear understanding of why we
did a lot of what we did. They understand us
as full human beings. Now in the same way that.
I think I discovered that about my parents. You know
(26:33):
when I went away to college.
Speaker 4 (26:35):
You know, the.
Speaker 5 (26:36):
Issues that I had that I thought they should work on.
My father should have been more aggressive in dealing with
his MS, and he should have done this, and he
should have done that. You know, I was that know
it all kid in high school. But by the time
I got to college and saw more of life, I realize,
you know, parents, our parents are flawed. There are heroes,
(26:56):
we love them, but you start seeing them as humans
and start appreciating them. I think our kids are moving
into that. But they definitely our daughters wanted They didn't
want to be little princesses in the White House. They
wanted to push the envelope. They needed some rope. They
wanted to try some things. They wanted to be out
(27:17):
in the world. And I knew that under the circumstances
they needed to have more rope.
Speaker 4 (27:23):
Then I probably would have given them if I were
my mother, right.
Speaker 7 (27:28):
And conversely, Oliver my kids when they my two older kids,
when they were teenagers, Mesi and Barakra in the White House,
and I was coaching at Oregon State, which is in Corvallis, Oregon,
which is a town of like twenty thousand. Because I
was the coach there, I was probably more strict because.
Speaker 4 (27:50):
Oh, you were strict. Craig was crazy strict.
Speaker 7 (27:53):
Well, but it was you know, I'm not only raising
my two kids, but I'm raising fifteen other people's kids too.
So you know, if if my kid was out, if
my kids were out doing something crazy, then I not
only do I have to adjudicate that, then I have
(28:15):
to I have to also answer to the fifteen kids
who I'm coaching, who I don't who I was strict
on too, write So it was a little bit different
from me and and and like I said earlier, you
guys when they were in the White House, I was
always very careful of the image that we portrayed because
(28:38):
I didn't want to be that brother or brother in
law who was in the paper for doing something stupid
all the time.
Speaker 9 (28:45):
Right.
Speaker 7 (28:46):
So so I was definitely a stricter parent. But I
will tell you my dad always said, you know, if
you just parent, if you parent when your kids are young,
you can be friends with them later when they're thirty
years old.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
And it's so true.
Speaker 7 (29:08):
And he said, if you try and be friends with
them when they're if I'm try and be friends with
you young, then I got to parent you for a
longer period of time. And it is really true, Kate,
because our two older kids, it's like now we still
they still come to us for advice, but it's more like,
I won't say colleagues, but it doesn't feel like parents.
They because they're they're they're thirty three and twenty nine,
(29:31):
and they're often on their own doing their own thing,
and it's so nice to sort of not have to
worry about them, you know.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Isn't that such an amazing thing when your kids grow
up and you're like, wait, I think I did a
good job. You know, yeah, wait a minute, they're doing
really wonderful and yes, And my biggest thing, because Rider
is now twenty one, and my biggest thing when I
see him be able to be his own, his own
advocate and and able to resolve conflict for himself in
(30:13):
any other situation, whether it be with his girlfriend, whether
it be with a friendship, whether it be with a professor,
I'm like, oh, he I gave him. You know, there's
nature obviously, you know, which is I think huge, But
but but you do I do feel like a little
bit like I gave him some tools to be able
to handle himself, and and and and and he's happy
(30:37):
and like that. I don't know, it's it's a wonderful
thing to see because you know, I feel like when
they get older, it's that hard moment of like is
there life? Like how are they going to take on
their life as an adult?
Speaker 6 (30:52):
And right, well, that's why I think that I think
that we have lost so much grit in our world.
Speaker 8 (30:59):
You know.
Speaker 6 (30:59):
I just I read a book on Lewis and Clark
and Gaunted courage and just these these these men, these
people who went and did these things. I mean, it
was incredible what they had to get go through. Our
kids don't have that anymore. Everything is sort of given
to them. Were this coddling of America or coddling of
(31:19):
the world, you know, so and it's hard to give
them that now you kind of have to just let
them go and say, okay, you got to go figure
it out. Yes, we have tracking devices on our kids,
which is sort of like I'm kind of go in
between that because I'm like, is this fucking cool? And
then we're like tracking our children? We had we had
none of that. It was like just go figure it out,
(31:40):
and we had to just figure it out. Now everything
is sort of right at your fingertips, you know, it's well,
I Oliver.
Speaker 4 (31:46):
I agree.
Speaker 5 (31:47):
I mean, I think that that's and I think having
these conversations are important because I think parents are confused
and and afraid because we have so much information, and
I think that that does us in in terms of
feeling comfortable letting our kids experience the world, because we
(32:11):
hear all the bad things about the world, and then
we think the world is really a bad place, and
so we have to shield our kids and protect them,
and we have to advocate for them. And it comes
from a good place. It comes from a place of
real love and concern. But I'm a proponent of you know,
(32:34):
when we rob our kids of the ability to try
and experience and make some mistakes, we rob them of
the ability to build confidence and the grit that you
talk about. And we do it out of love, but
we do it for our own sake sometimes as parents,
because we don't want to feel the pain of seeing.
Speaker 4 (32:53):
Them go through hard things because it's hard on.
Speaker 6 (32:55):
Us and love. But then there's that there's a fine
line between sort of love and fear, and we crossed
into that fear. Oh, I'm just scared something's gonna happen
to you. Do not go out or do this because
I'm afraid. I'm afraid when the reality is, you know,
look should happen. Yeah, lie, sometimes we can't control it.
(33:17):
But statistically, we live in a safer world than we
did thirty years ago.
Speaker 5 (33:21):
And no one wants to believe that statistic, you know.
I mean, my husband talks about that all the time.
I mean, if you know, he makes the point that
if you wanted to pick any time in human history
to be born, you'd pick now, you know, the amount
of war out there, famine, hunger, medicine, you know. I mean,
(33:42):
you just go down the list of all the things.
The crime rates are lower than they have been, but
because we hear more about everything, no one wants to
believe it, you know. I mean people have the watch apps,
so you know, on your phone you get a ding
every time somebody reports a crime, right, you know, that's
just too much information. So people think that are in
(34:04):
very certain neighborhoods because they have crime Watch, that their
communities aren't safe, and they want to keep their kids
in the backyard and have organized play dates and make
everything sanitized. But you know what, kids aren't They aren't
even getting into arguments with each other. Kids aren't even
you know, they're not allowed to just play in the
(34:25):
streets and have their own arguments. That's why when Craig
says that, you know, we grew up strict, I mean no,
we you know, we went outside in the morning, especially
in the summer.
Speaker 4 (34:37):
You went your parents didn't know.
Speaker 5 (34:39):
They knew you were across the street or around the block,
but you weren't in front of the house.
Speaker 4 (34:44):
You were off with other kids playing and having adventures.
And we both did that.
Speaker 5 (34:49):
Now, yeah, you had to check in, you know, because
we had parents who were at home. But the truth
was is that what how we structured our day as
early as ten years old was totally on us and
all the other kids in the neighborhood. We had to
organize ourselves. We had to resolve battles we had, We
had fights, we had to you know, we had to
(35:11):
break things up. The whole goal was don't get the
parents involved, you know, because that meant the fun got
shut down and everybody would have to go home and
now you were just stuck in the house. Our mom
was home, but at a point she went to work,
and you we'd be at home by ourselves very early on,
you know, and there there was a stove, cigarettes, matches
(35:34):
there were you know, I mean, yeah, you know, it's
all gonna be there, but kids. We have to give
our kids the chance to work through and problem solve
on their own, which but that means that sometimes they're
gonna make a mistake. Sometimes they're they're gonna light the match,
and sometimes it's better to let them light the match
(35:54):
and then have the conversation or have them see what
happens when the match is lit, because they're going to
learn more from that. Craig and I grew up like that. Yeah,
there were there were some expectations because Craig was.
Speaker 4 (36:09):
Older and you know, he was a boy.
Speaker 5 (36:12):
But we are of the generation where our parents required
us to own our lives earlier than we are doing
for our kids. And I think that made me a
more competent, confident, capable young woman. You know, I was
on the bus going to the I chose a high
(36:34):
school that was on the other side of the city
because it was a magnet high school. Public school is
one of the best schools in the country. I knew
I wanted to go to college. I didn't want to
go to the neighborhood school. And in order for me
to go to the school, I had to take two
city buses. I had to leave the house at five
point thirty in the morning. I was commuting with adults.
(36:55):
But it was like a wonderful experience. And if my
parents had been today's parents, which would have well, i'll
drive you, or you won't go, and you'll.
Speaker 4 (37:03):
Go to the school. That's safer for me.
Speaker 5 (37:07):
There's a whole lot of learning and confidence building that
I got. Taken Chicago public transportation every day to get
to school. I would wake up at dark and get
home at dark because that's how long it took to
get to and from school. I think about whether or
not I would let my kid do that now. I mean,
(37:29):
today's parents would be worried about that. Right we're carpooling
and picking up and so now parents are tired and
exhausted because they're doing a lot of extra parenting, extra
physical work because we're afraid to let our kids do
some of the stuff on their own, especially if they
(37:52):
live in a big city. And we need to talk
about what our kids are missing by us parenting from
our own feel Yeah, and.
Speaker 7 (38:01):
You know I talk about how in my opinion, hence
the name of the show, I feel like parents are
trying to curate this unbelievable experience for their kids. Like
we didn't have our lives curated for us, and I'm
sure you didn't when you were growing up. You just
(38:21):
like just thrown out there and you figure it out.
And I think these days parents are trying to overcompensate
for their kids by sort of making this experience for
them be the be the best and only experience possible.
Speaker 1 (38:42):
That's a great point, Such a great point.
Speaker 6 (38:44):
I mean, I'm dealing with my kid and getting into
college now, and I can't even believe what has to
happen with hiring this person and bringing on this person.
Speaker 1 (38:54):
I'm like, just write an essay and do the applications.
Why is this so nutty?
Speaker 6 (39:00):
Mean, I understand that you have to have extracurriculars and
you have to I'm like, just what is all this?
It's highly competitive, I get it, but you know, it
just seems like a lot.
Speaker 2 (39:10):
It's wild before we could we have limited times. I
have a couple I have a couple of questions like
in cons likely. Did you guys ever fight?
Speaker 4 (39:19):
Oh yeah, And when you.
Speaker 2 (39:21):
Did, did your parents leave it up to you guys
to resolve or did they.
Speaker 7 (39:25):
Get always won the fight. She was the youngest, she
always won, and I let her win and we all
let her win. And then that's how she got to
be so bossy.
Speaker 1 (39:38):
She will she's still bossy with you.
Speaker 7 (39:42):
Oh yeah, oh yeah, absolutely absolutely. That's why I am
always the perfect name for our podcast, because it's in
her opinion.
Speaker 3 (39:58):
She will tell you.
Speaker 7 (40:00):
She we would we would get into an argument and
she would throw things at me.
Speaker 3 (40:03):
She would punch me in the back for no reason.
She would.
Speaker 7 (40:07):
And I never fought back, and I rarely raised my voice,
and I never told on her.
Speaker 2 (40:16):
And you were both very athletic, Yeah.
Speaker 6 (40:19):
She was.
Speaker 7 (40:20):
She was with me all the I mean, the reason
why I was a good athlete was because I had
her to practice with. And and when my dad would
come home from work, and and and and me talked
a little bit about him working for the city, so
he was a shift worker, so there were only like
certain parts of the month where he worked days where
he could come home and play with us, and she
(40:41):
would be right out there with us. And and could
do anything I could do. She could do everything I
could do. And but but we didn't fight that much.
We we got into fights, but we didn't fight that much.
And and what we what we fight about now as
adults is is like my lack of communication.
Speaker 3 (41:03):
Right, Like I'm a guy.
Speaker 7 (41:04):
She'll ask me, Hey, how's how are the kids doing?
I'm like, fine, they're doing fine.
Speaker 3 (41:09):
What are they doing? They have a game tonight, that's it.
And I don't.
Speaker 7 (41:11):
I don't elaborate unless she asks open ended questions. Yeah,
so I she she that that frustrates her. That frustrates
my wife, That frustrates all It frustrates my daughter.
Speaker 3 (41:23):
All the women in my family are frustrated by that.
But that's it.
Speaker 7 (41:26):
That's really the only thing that that we we fight.
Speaker 4 (41:30):
I mean, but our parents did believe in staying out
of it.
Speaker 5 (41:34):
I don't know about you, you you guys Oliver and Kate,
but you know, they they they expected.
Speaker 4 (41:40):
That's just like with life, you resolve it, figure it out.
Speaker 1 (41:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (41:44):
Yeah, they didn't want to hear it. If we ever,
if there was any ever thing going on and someone
was telling on if anyone told on anyone, we were
all in trouble.
Speaker 5 (41:52):
That's that's how I do it. That's how Malia and
Sasha will tell you the same thing. You know, there
are many times we heard them in their rooms in
the White House because their rooms faced each other, and
then there was an outer door and you'd hear the
outer door slam, and then you'd hear a lot of
angry whispering.
Speaker 4 (42:11):
I said, if you don't and Mom, if she.
Speaker 5 (42:15):
Hears this, and I would say, I would just think, exactly,
that's exactly this.
Speaker 2 (42:21):
White House. Oh you guys, we have to wrap. Thank
you for coming on our podcast. I can't wait to
your podcast.
Speaker 7 (42:42):
All right.
Speaker 4 (42:42):
That's that. That's next up. That's like we have more.
Speaker 2 (42:46):
We have we have much more of the pack.
Speaker 4 (42:49):
We can just we can just continue the conversation.
Speaker 2 (42:54):
And where are you in the same place where you are?
Are you different?
Speaker 7 (42:57):
Now?
Speaker 4 (42:58):
I'm in d C.
Speaker 3 (42:59):
And I live in Wisconsin. If you can believe that,
Oh you're.
Speaker 2 (43:03):
I just played a woman from Wisconsin. I just did
a full Wisconsin accent. I feel like I killed it.
But you'll be the judge of that.
Speaker 3 (43:11):
I can't wait. Is it out yet?
Speaker 2 (43:14):
No Christmas Day?
Speaker 3 (43:15):
Okay?
Speaker 2 (43:16):
Yeah, yeah, Chris, He'll wait for Christmas.
Speaker 4 (43:19):
And Oliver next time, I want to see you in
a T shirt.
Speaker 1 (43:22):
That's normally what I wear. I mean, I honestly like
I look like a slab.
Speaker 5 (43:26):
But did your hair slick back? Usually like that? I
mean Pagel in it too. You're very cute and I'm
very I'm very honored that you put on your silk to.
Speaker 6 (43:36):
Eye and you Well, if we see each other again,
you're going to see me in my my just real garb,
which is pretty much just a T shirt.
Speaker 2 (43:43):
Which is getting worse as he gets older. It's embarrassing.
Speaker 1 (43:47):
I'm changing my style.
Speaker 2 (43:48):
Is this just it's like Italian. He's leaning into our
Italian heritage. It's it's very extreme. It's a lot of
gold chains.
Speaker 7 (43:57):
Oh, track suit, you got to get the.
Speaker 1 (44:02):
Like SERGIOI track suits stuff.
Speaker 5 (44:06):
Yeah, of course, thank you guys in the bar for us,
thanks for letting us bite off of your show.
Speaker 1 (44:16):
Yes, yeah, yeah, Well you know.
Speaker 2 (44:18):
You're so nice to you and to get to know you, Michelle,
You're so inspiring and we just we just love you, Michelle.
And and also I have a Robinson in my family,
so you know your latest name?
Speaker 1 (44:32):
Have you Greg?
Speaker 6 (44:34):
By the way, have you play ball? With Sandler. Sandler
is a great friend of ours. And I know he
just played with Barrock. You just played ball with him, Brock.
Speaker 4 (44:42):
They golf, but.
Speaker 3 (44:44):
You know, he just golf.
Speaker 4 (44:45):
He just go yeah, because Black is.
Speaker 5 (44:47):
Retired, he's you know, he doesn't want to pop his achilles.
Speaker 2 (44:51):
Well listen, I guys loved every second of this. Thanks
for jing here.
Speaker 5 (44:55):
We'll see you soon, you guys, thank you so much.
Set it up please again.
Speaker 6 (45:03):
I've never been ready, more ready in my life. And
I can't wait to see you guys, to see what
I'm gonna wear.
Speaker 10 (45:07):
So yeah, it's gonna be good. All right, Well later guys,
but oh jeez, she's the best. They're they're awesome.
Speaker 1 (45:19):
That was not long enough.
Speaker 2 (45:21):
I know we needed like another hour. I have so
many questions, I have so many things, but.
Speaker 6 (45:29):
It's nice to have just a candid, fun conversation that's
flowy and you know what I mean. It's it's I
don't think we have enough time to sort of hit
all the things that we want to talk about because
there is so much. You know, they want to get
into politics at all, you know what I mean, like boring,
but I did want to talk about the hypocrisy in
(45:50):
politics a little bit, but.
Speaker 1 (45:53):
They're just cool.
Speaker 3 (45:56):
I know.
Speaker 2 (45:56):
It's so nice. It was so nice to actually like
It's also like one of the things that I do
love about this podcast. I love that there she's doing
it with her with Craig, with her sibling, and but
it's like you actually get to talk about it. It's
about the things that actually formed you, that are the
(46:19):
foundation of who you become. I mean, so many people
know so much about about Michelle and President Obama, and
you know, she's written her memoir, she's written a memoir,
she written books. There's so much about her that people
do know. But when you get her and her brother
together and you start talking about how they grew up
together or what that experience like together, it's just a
(46:42):
completely different feeling. It doesn't it doesn't, it doesn't matter
what the politics are.
Speaker 11 (46:49):
I know, you know, and and I am trying to
get I just wanted to get into, you know, the
decision making behind in her opinion, Like, my god, my
life is about to change.
Speaker 6 (47:00):
I know, it's exciting, but here we're here. Now she's
such a cool, grounded, you know, worldly personable human. It's like,
now I got to live in this white house. Now
I got to raise our girls like this. Holy fuck,
there's stress that.
Speaker 1 (47:14):
Might have been involved with all that. I wanted to
sort of get into that stuff.
Speaker 2 (47:18):
Yeah, but she but she fell in love with a politician,
a career politician.
Speaker 1 (47:22):
Yeah for sure.
Speaker 2 (47:23):
So I mean you'd kind of know, you know, going
into that, what that is. And I think what I
what I love about both of them, and we've had
I've had the opportunity of meeting them a couple of times,
but I I they are very grounded people. Their kids
are great and you you it's like it's like when
(47:46):
you it's like removing the politics from the person is
very hard when people are in politics because they're in
the position of making decisions for your wellbeing, the country
as well being, you know, and so it can be
you know, you you you kind of are entering this
very polarizing existence. You're going to be loved and you're
(48:09):
going to be hated, right and your kids know it,
and your wife is going to know it, or vice
versa your husband if you choose to be in politics.
So like when you meet certain politicians that are just
very grounded and like cool and have a very really
interesting are very open with you know, where they come from,
(48:30):
what their life is like, what their life experience has been.
You you know, you can't help, but be like that
is a huge part of trusting who you have, like
kind of really running things. Michelle. Also, I really believe
that no matter what anybody thinks about husband and wife,
it's like any husband and wife in the world. When
you clump couples together as if they're one, it's like
(48:55):
everyone in the world, Like, just put yourself in that position,
like am I my partner? Am I my husband?
Speaker 7 (49:03):
No?
Speaker 2 (49:04):
I'm very different, very different people. And just because you're
with someone and love someone, doesn't mean you have differences
of opinion, doesn't mean that you agree with everything, doesn't
mean that you would lead in the same way. It
does mean that you have like a mutual found respect
and love and attraction and all these things that are good.
But it's like there's this weird thing that happens in
(49:24):
politics where it's like you are one, when in fact
it's we know behind the scenes that it's very opposite.
And Michelle would probably be a very different leader than
even President you know, Obama would be. And I always wonder,
like I really do think she would be an incredible politician. Yeah,
(49:47):
but I don't think I'm not. I don't think she
ever that would be ever anything that she would do.
I don't know.
Speaker 6 (49:52):
The real headline of the interview was that twice she
talked about how good looking I was.
Speaker 1 (50:00):
That's true, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (50:06):
I knew you were going to say that.
Speaker 6 (50:08):
Yeah, it was just I think I think there was
a moment where she was just stunned about you know,
it's like, oh my god, this guy is handsome. You
know what I'm saying, because I think I resemble Brock
like a little bit, right.
Speaker 2 (50:22):
I think it was more like you've never worn a
suit ever, And she was probably just kind of giving
you some validation as to like you really should.
Speaker 1 (50:33):
Clean up those charity. It was a charity.
Speaker 2 (50:39):
It was more like it was more like you should
maybe lean into this more because it's nice.
Speaker 1 (50:45):
Yeah, that was awesome.
Speaker 2 (50:50):
I hope we get to talk to them again.
Speaker 1 (50:51):
Me too, Yeah, me too.
Speaker 2 (50:54):
Well I invited I invited us on their podcast, so
maybe I.
Speaker 1 (50:59):
Know, maybe maybe we'll get lucky.
Speaker 4 (51:01):
All right, Well, I got a show to go.
Speaker 1 (51:03):
Do you have a great set? A great set?
Speaker 2 (51:06):
Thanks? Thanks, what a great episode. I hope everybody loves it.
Speaker 1 (51:11):
I know we do, know we made any headlines, but
it's okay. I already love you, Love you by
Hi, I am Kate Hudson and my name is Oliver Hudson.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
We wanted to do something that highlighted our.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Relationship and what it's like to be siblings.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
We are a sibling. Railvalry.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
No, no, sibling. You don't do that with your mouth.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Revely.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
That's good, Ollie. Missus Obama said very clearly that she
wanted casual vibes.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Is on the bottom. Scott Jennings from CNN on top.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
I'm so excited right now.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
I know.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
Wait, you guys got dressed up.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
No, I'm telling you right now, I'm dressed.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Up and I'm wearing sweats. I feel I am.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Not dressed up. I'm wearing my nikeout.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
I am looking at who's got a suit on?
Speaker 5 (01:08):
Yeah it's Oliver, dude, and you got your hair slicked
back shirts.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
On at least underneath that.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
I have never seen Oliver like this.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Listen, like ever.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
I look at you. You're so handsome.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Okay, my sister brings out the best and.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
Everybody your fifth boy suit on.
Speaker 6 (01:28):
I'm wrapping both so I got you know, but then
you know, look, I got Craig on the bottom.
Speaker 7 (01:33):
Oh, you got shorts on the bottom, all right, all right,
and I got so bad.
Speaker 8 (01:41):
Oh my gosh, god, I laughed so hard when I
when I turned on my screen, I was like, Oliver,
this was a clear directive.
Speaker 6 (01:52):
No, I know, I just I just worked out and
I came home and I'm like, I gotta do something.
And then I put this on and looked at myself
and I was like, oh my god, I look like
Scott Jennings from you look like a movie star.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
What we thought we were on the wrong zoom. I
was like, oh my god, like, don't turn here.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
I am so happy to have you on. I'm so excited,
Craig Michelle can't wait to get into like yeah, growing
up and your childhood and how fun. And thank you
for coming on our podcast. We're saying you were having us.
I'm excited. We're excited too, very hold on it.
Speaker 6 (02:35):
Before we do get started. This suit is actually represents
my my litigious nature as well. Because I know you've
got your podcast. I am all right, you guys are brothers.
Just we did this five years ago, so expect to.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Hear from our lawyers.
Speaker 6 (02:51):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Obviously you're biting, and that's fine, Yes we are.
Speaker 7 (02:57):
We're biting hard. But you know, I really liked the
name of your sibling, Revelry.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
That's a really cool.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Play, Craig. I got really excited going into your history.
You've got quite the quite the stats, and now as
a fake basketball owner on running point, I got really
excited because I really got to go deep into like
your history of basketball. I mean, you still hold like
(03:29):
records and stuff.
Speaker 7 (03:31):
I'm hoping that's that some young whipper snapper comes along
and breaks those records so we can stop talking about it.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
This is like prehistoric history. But I appreciate it, Kate.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
It was so cool.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
I loved it. It's amazing.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
How are you enjoying playing a basketball Maven?
Speaker 2 (03:48):
I love it. I love it. It's so much fun.
There was one day where I was on set and
it was me and like forty five very handsome men,
and I was like, Mindy Kahling just knew I was
the right girl.
Speaker 4 (04:04):
It's not a bad situation, Kate.
Speaker 5 (04:06):
You know that was my whole feeling about having a brother,
a big brother that was in basketball, because I was like,
that's where I met half the guys I dated when
I was little. You know, I was like, you go
to the game and you're like, oh, who's scoring more?
And then and then I'd have my brother to be like,
how's this dude? Is he he's new?
Speaker 4 (04:27):
Is he cute? Is he nice? He'd give me the
thumbs up.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
You know, I thought you were going to say who's
scoring more? Like you or me? That's what I thought.
Speaker 5 (04:37):
It sounded like she was going there trying to keep
it clean, trying to keep it clean.
Speaker 4 (04:42):
But Kate, I am a huge fan running point.
Speaker 5 (04:45):
That's it's it's it's on my top list that you
know you were killer in it.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
It is funny.
Speaker 5 (04:51):
The cast is I don't want a fangirl out, but
the cast is amazing. Storylinees good, good good. I'm ready
for season two.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Yeah, thanks for saying that. We are. We are too
where they're in the writer's room right now, and it's
really it's going to be such a fun season. So
I'm really excited. So, you know what, I'm just happy
to have a job. You know, Hey, that's how we feel.
What means you want to do the podcast?
Speaker 4 (05:17):
Uh?
Speaker 5 (05:18):
You know, I mean, first of all, our team asked,
and you.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
Know it starts there.
Speaker 5 (05:25):
We've got our audio hub, higher Ground Audio, and it
was it's useful for the UH, for for the for
the brand to have a always on, you know, good show.
And I think everybody was scared to ask me to
do it, to spend this much time. So they thought
(05:50):
a great hook, which is my It's been my life
as first lady. Nobody wants to ask me anything directly,
so they asked Craig.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
They were scared.
Speaker 4 (05:59):
They were scared.
Speaker 5 (05:59):
They were like, she's not gonna want to do this,
and she's not gonna want to be out there this much.
So they got the call saying, well, what if you
did something with Craig And they were ready to make
the argument, and.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
I was like, that sounds fun.
Speaker 5 (06:13):
I would love to spend more time with my big
brother and chop it up. He's one of my favorite people.
He has to do all the heavy lifting anyway, so
just like being a big brother, you know, he's doing
all the work.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
So I wish it was that way for me.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
And oh my god, wait a minute, hold on, like.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
No, I'm lying all he's doing a lot of heavy
lifting the podcast.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Yeah, he's been doing.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Most of the heavy lifting.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Oh god, we're in the same because I've been. It's crazy,
you know.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
What's so wonderful is really getting to spend that time
with your brother and you don't even really like I
didn't even realize when Oliver and I got into it's
just sort of like a silly idea like, oh, let's
start a podcast, you know, and and when we didn't
realize like how deep we were going to go into
our relationship and how much more time we were spending together.
(07:11):
And in adulthood, you got your kids and you got
your life and you, I mean, look at you're huge.
Both have huge lives, and you don't realize that you
don't really spend the time actually having these long connective conversations.
And it just brought Allie and I so much closer and.
Speaker 6 (07:29):
You feel like that you feel like you guys have
actually it's an allocated time to actually be brothers sister.
Speaker 7 (07:36):
I do, especially Oliver because you know, when Meesh and
Barack were living in the White House, I was coaching
at Oregon State for most of that time, and it
was just hard logistically to be in the same place, right,
So we would we would play a game once a
year in Washington, d C. And do a service day with.
Speaker 4 (08:00):
It was always around Thanksgiving and.
Speaker 7 (08:02):
It was always around Thanksgiving, so we'd have Thanksgiving dinner
and that was really the only time during the year
that we could get together and talk and my mom
would be there, and so that was really nice. And
then we try and do something in the summer. So
it was like two times a year we'd see each other.
But now we get together at least once a month,
sometimes twice a month, and we are talking talking about
(08:25):
some really fun things, some really serious things, and and
and we're helping people out there who have sort of
these everyday issues that we've gone through, and it's been
so much fun.
Speaker 5 (08:38):
We are really interestingly enough of both people people, you know,
I always say I don't get tired of people. I
think that's probably one of the reasons why we our
family survived, you know, eight years in the White House,
ten years if you include running and you know what
(08:59):
life is post I really do enjoy having conversations with people.
It gives me energy. And this and Craig is the
same way. You know, both really very curious. We both
really have strong opinions. You know, this is the way
we grew up talking around the kitchen table. We do
(09:20):
it with our own kids. When we do get together
a lot of it. You know, nobody's like running out
to play games. We're sitting around with all our kids
of all these different ages, and everybody wants to know
what everybody else is thinking, you know, So there's just
a lot of storytelling, and so it's we were kind
of like we're getting to do what we like to
(09:40):
do best and sharing it with the world and hopefully
helping people.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
So it's been a really really fun experience.
Speaker 6 (09:49):
And how much you have to filter yourself, you know,
just given sort of who you guys are, what you
have to have to represent, you know what I mean,
Like I'm a pretty unfiltered person. You have to filter
yourselves and sometimes not say the things that you want
to say.
Speaker 4 (10:05):
You know, Craig, probably I don't.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
I don't have to.
Speaker 7 (10:11):
And and I think the best part about this podcast
is the fact that the world's getting to see my
sister as sort of a normal, regular person who's giving
her normal regular opinions that she would give if you
were sitting at her kitchen table. So it doesn't feel
like she's filtering it. But I will say that in
(10:35):
when they were in the White House and the sort
of a couple of years before when they were running,
I did feel like I had to be careful of
what I said and did. So I don't I feel freer,
But I was more free than they were because when
people ask me questions they were I could always, you know,
(10:56):
it was always at a press conference on why my
team was playing so badly?
Speaker 1 (11:00):
So I I could be very frank. Then that's funny.
Speaker 6 (11:04):
It's funny you bring that up, because that was actually
gonna be a question I had that the extended family
beyond who's in the White House now has to button
it up a little bit because you're representing something, you know,
I mean, you got to sort of shut it down
if you are wild crazy.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (11:21):
Fortunately I've never been that wild and crazy. I of
the two of us, I've probably would be the most,
the more conservative.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
If if if they.
Speaker 7 (11:32):
Hadn't been in the White House, I would be Nobody
would know who I was other than you know, a
coach who you know probably got four technical files his
whole career.
Speaker 5 (11:45):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Did he did help recruiting?
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Uh?
Speaker 9 (11:50):
But half the kids the other half it It it
helped in the It helped from the standpoint that I
had name recognition and if you have name recognition. That
is half the battle, because you're going up against guys
(12:12):
who've won hundreds of games, right, and the key is
getting into the living room with those kids. And if
I could use the fact that I was Michelle Obama's
brother or Barack Obama's brother in law.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
That was I used it good.
Speaker 7 (12:30):
But as you can imagine, you know, forty eight percent
of the people were probably like, ah, now I'm not
sending my kid to play for him. So so you
could feel, you could feel for the most part, I
would say ninety I would say eighty percent of.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
The time it was positive. It was really positive, and.
Speaker 7 (12:55):
It got us in with some kids that we wouldn't
probably wouldn't have gotten in on.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Just to switch gears a little bit, Michelle, you said
when my parents didn't have a lot of money, but
they gave us everything that matters. And Craig you echoed
that by saying your upbringing was rich in values. And
I'm you grew up in the South side of Chicago
and is it just you two?
Speaker 4 (13:27):
Yeah? Yeah, and you too, And.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
What did your parents do? I mean, I'm sure a
lot of people know this already, but for those who.
Speaker 4 (13:34):
Don't, yeah, well, our dad worked. He was a blue
collar city worker.
Speaker 5 (13:41):
He worked for the Chicago Water Filtration Plan and he
was a pump operator, you know, worked in the boiler
room making sure that the water pressure was just so.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (13:54):
And my mom was a stay at home mom until
I went to eighth grade. I'm a year and a
half younger than Craig, and so my parents made the
decision early on that it was important for their values
for my mom to stay home and spend time with us.
So she was very involved, very you know, hands on mom.
(14:17):
I've written about her a lot in my second book,
The Light We Carry, just really trying to share a
lot of the wisdom that she had. You know, she
wasn't a child psychologist. Our parents didn't get didn't go
to college. They were high school educated, very smart people,
but they just, you know, they both just had some
real common sense approaches to parenting. And part of that was,
(14:42):
you know, she wanted to be the one feeding stuff
into us because she didn't necessarily trust that, you know,
a babysitter or a daycare center would you know, give
us the kind of leg up that she wanted us
to have. So they made the financial sound sacrifice and
so we didn't. You know, we lived off of one
(15:03):
income until my mom went back to work when I
was in high school. So she was, you know, up
at the school, involved in the PTA, you know, a
very engaged, stay at home mom, and that, you know,
that left a big imprint on us, you know, having
(15:23):
as the first person who was shaping us, somebody who
really loved and cared for us and knew we were smart,
and being smart, working class black kids, you would get
a lot of people that would assume that you weren't
as smart as you were. You know, she she really
(15:43):
needed to be the advocate to make sure that we
had the right teachers and that.
Speaker 4 (15:48):
If the school, which was we went to the public
school around the corner.
Speaker 5 (15:51):
You know, our parents didn't have money to send us
to a private school, so it was important for her
to make sure that the teachers were on point.
Speaker 4 (15:59):
I remember in.
Speaker 5 (16:00):
Second grade, I tell the story. Then I went into
my second grade class and the teacher was just it
was a chaotic class. She wasn't focused, she didn't give
out assignments, she wasn't good with kids. And I knew
this in second grade and I would come home for
lunch and say, you know, some's not right in this class.
(16:20):
We don't have homework, We're not getting real clear assignments.
I felt like I was missing something, and my mother
went up to the school and before you know it
was I was taking a bunch of tests and then
I passed out of the second grade. Within the first
month of being there. I was a third grader. And
I think that alone, that one act, you know, just
(16:42):
at an early age of having a mother who was
who trusted my voice, who was smart enough and feisty
enough to go up to the school see what was
wrong and advocate for some change.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
You know.
Speaker 5 (16:57):
I mean, those are stories I could we could both
tell you millions of stories of that throughout our young years.
That gave us like a good foundation to fight for ourselves,
to know what we were worth. And that was something
that you know, I think played a huge role in
us being the confident, competent individuals that we are today.
Speaker 4 (17:21):
But that came from two folks who didn't go to college.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
She sounds amazing, They're OK.
Speaker 7 (17:29):
The thing that I remember most about my parents that
I try and incorporate with with our kids is that
they never put the pressure on us to get good grades,
right They always said, just do your best, because your
best is going to be good, right, And it was
(17:49):
so matter of fact that it just empowered you to
be like, okay, if I work hard enough. It was
processed rather than results oriented. And to learn that at
an early age. And now you see people are teaching
that now, you know, fifty years later, sixty years later.
It's it just it was so empowering.
Speaker 5 (18:11):
So well, it was a little more than that, Craig.
I mean, you know, Mom used to say, look, I
went to school, I got an education, so this is
on you.
Speaker 4 (18:20):
You know, you better value it.
Speaker 7 (18:22):
You know.
Speaker 5 (18:23):
I mean as early as a kindergarten when we started kindergarten,
our mother gave us alarm clocks and she was like,
you have to work yourself up.
Speaker 4 (18:33):
You you have to want this more than I do.
Speaker 5 (18:37):
And she was there. She'd be up in the morning.
It wasn't like my mom ever slept in. But her
whole notion was if if you were doing this for me,
getting an education, playing basketball, achieving, it won't last, so
you better do it for you. And that's something you
know again that I try to implement with my kids.
(18:59):
It's like, don't get the a for me, you know,
don't want this stuff for me. You have to want you.
You have to want to be excellent, your best, because
this is who you are. And like I just as
a parent now, I just think, how did my parents,
because you know, they didn't necessarily get that from their parents,
(19:21):
you know, I think they spend a lot of time
trying to do the opposite of what their parents did.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
Yeah, we talk We talked about that a lot.
Speaker 5 (19:29):
You know.
Speaker 6 (19:29):
I think you can go a few different ways well too.
You know, you either are sort of not wanting to
become your parents or you're wanting to emulate. I think
there's a little bit of each. You know, I think
we're our kids are so smart. I think we don't
give enough credit at such a young age.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
They are.
Speaker 6 (19:45):
They are absorbing, they know what's going on. And you know,
Kate and now were the opposite. We we didn't want
to be We didn't we wanted to be with our kids.
We didn't want to leave our children. We wanted to
have a really solid unit. Were your parents strict?
Speaker 4 (19:58):
No? No, I mean because.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Socially you were allowed to kind of do your thing,
and you know, advocac.
Speaker 4 (20:04):
I guess's got a different way you.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
I don't feel like I.
Speaker 7 (20:08):
Was just going to say, here's where you raised in
the same household and have two separate experiences. Because me
being the oldest and and a little of this is
my own personality, I felt like my parents were strict.
Speaker 4 (20:25):
I mean, how so tell tell, tell me more.
Speaker 3 (20:28):
You know what I'm going to say. You know what
I'm going to say.
Speaker 7 (20:31):
We were allowed to watch one hour of TV a day.
That's strict. Just think about that one hour of television.
I mean it wasn't like it was a bunch of
channels either, So it was like one hour of TV.
And then you know that I had to be home
(20:53):
at a certain time. I had to come home during
the day. Like if I went to the basketball court
at ten in the morning, I could not stay until
dinner time. I had to come back every hour and.
Speaker 3 (21:08):
A half to two hours or so.
Speaker 5 (21:10):
So yeah, but that was because Mom wanted to make
sure you were alive. I mean that was like a
straight up to make sure that you weren't in a fight.
Speaker 4 (21:17):
I mean, we lived in the hood.
Speaker 7 (21:19):
I'd played two games, I'd have to run home say Mom,
I'm okay, yell up to her, I'm okay.
Speaker 3 (21:26):
And then run.
Speaker 7 (21:26):
Back and get back into the game. And I thought
that reasonable stuff. You had to go, he got.
Speaker 4 (21:35):
To go back.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
It was just like.
Speaker 7 (21:38):
My sister never came outside. I thought that was pretty
pretty fair. But it's just it's it's just our different perception, right,
Like I felt like I was. It was stricter for me.
Now I'm not saying it was. You know, it wasn't
prison or anything, but I felt like my parents made
(22:00):
me accountable for the time that I was spending during.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
The day, right all the time.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
Yeah, yeah, you felt.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
It's also like a part of it. It's interesting too
because it's also like, you know, the ages that that
probably was happening. I'm assuming that was like like middle school.
Speaker 5 (22:20):
It was, and even before middle school, you started going
to the courts at ten yeah, old, I mean I
was young.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
I was, it was. It was.
Speaker 7 (22:30):
It was really interesting because we had bikes and we
couldn't ride them off the block, and then at a
certain age my mom felt comfortable and we could ride
them off the block, and then I you know, it
was just they just doled out the.
Speaker 4 (22:45):
The you just had to earn.
Speaker 5 (22:46):
You had to earn the next level of responsibility, and
it sounds like.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
My situation with my son right now, who's who's thirteen
going on fourteen. They have these electric bikes. Now, they're
not like normal bikes that I just wish all the.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Kids on everybody.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
They're basically like little motorcycles. And my son just wants
to go. He just wants his independence. And I'm like,
your mom, I'm like, you don't leave the neighborhood. Okay,
you can go past this area. Okay, now you can
go there. And I've got a little like tracking device
on him, but I'm so strict. And my brother, on
(23:24):
the other hand, has his kids that they like are
on motorcycles and they're like in West Hollywood.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
And I'm like, what are you doing?
Speaker 2 (23:33):
So I have the issue of having to deal with like, oh, well,
my cousin gets to go, you know. And I'm more like,
I'm more like missus Robinson where I'm I'm so I
can understand your mom's fear.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
My real quick. My middle kid, it's called a sir on.
Speaker 6 (23:53):
Basically it's a it's a dirt bike, but it's electric, okay.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
And and I he's.
Speaker 6 (23:58):
Like, I'm going to go on a bike ride. Then
he shows me video he's in a ride out and
that sounds there's like a hundred different people on ATV's
motorcycles and they just command the streets. Yeah, one of
those he's like wheeling through like Supulvida and will Shure.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
I'm like, what the fuck are you?
Speaker 4 (24:21):
Oh my god, it's like you're fifteen.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
What he's like? It was? It was great. I was
on a ride out. I'm like, oh my lord, Okay,
maybe that's even too far for me.
Speaker 6 (24:32):
But here's the thing though, It's interesting, and I wanted
to ask this actually, like have you seen your children?
Both of you guys sort of emulate you and at
the same time do some things that.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
They don't want to be you know what I mean.
Speaker 6 (24:44):
They're looking at mom and dad and being like, you
know what. I love you guys, but I don't want
to do it that way.
Speaker 5 (24:49):
Oh my god, where do we begin? I mean, yes, I.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
Mean, obviously they grew up in a special situation, Craig.
Speaker 6 (24:57):
You know you're a little bit a little bit different,
but you know, sure there's moments where they're like, damn,
like you guys, got to chill.
Speaker 1 (25:02):
I do not want to be like that as a parent.
Speaker 4 (25:05):
Mm hmmm.
Speaker 5 (25:06):
Yeah, yeah, I mean, you know, I think as especially
you know, our daughters are twenty five and twenty three.
They are young adult women, but they definitely went through
a period in their teen years where it was the
push away, you know, we want to you know, I
mean they're still doing that as and you guys know,
(25:29):
this is the children of parents who are known. You know,
you're trying to distinguish yourself. I mean, it is very
important for my kids to feel like they've earned what
they are getting in the world. And they don't want
people to assume that they don't work hard, that they're
just naturally just handed things. They're very sensitive to that.
(25:52):
They want to be their own people. You know Malia
who started in film, I mean her first project, she
took off her lab name and we were like, they're
still going to know it's you, Malita, you know, but
we respected the fact that, you know, she's trying to
make her way. But now as they're older, I think
(26:12):
they they are embracing our parenting principles. They you know,
they they they have a clear understanding of why we
did a lot of what we did. They understand us
as full human beings. Now in the same way that.
I think I discovered that about my parents. You know
(26:33):
when I went away to college.
Speaker 4 (26:35):
You know, the.
Speaker 5 (26:36):
Issues that I had that I thought they should work on.
My father should have been more aggressive in dealing with
his MS, and he should have done this, and he
should have done that. You know, I was that know
it all kid in high school. But by the time
I got to college and saw more of life, I realize,
you know, parents, our parents are flawed. There are heroes,
(26:56):
we love them, but you start seeing them as humans
and start appreciating them. I think our kids are moving
into that. But they definitely our daughters wanted They didn't
want to be little princesses in the White House. They
wanted to push the envelope. They needed some rope. They
wanted to try some things. They wanted to be out
(27:17):
in the world. And I knew that under the circumstances
they needed to have more rope.
Speaker 4 (27:23):
Then I probably would have given them if I were
my mother, right.
Speaker 7 (27:28):
And conversely, Oliver my kids when they my two older kids,
when they were teenagers, Mesi and Barakra in the White House,
and I was coaching at Oregon State, which is in Corvallis, Oregon,
which is a town of like twenty thousand. Because I
was the coach there, I was probably more strict because.
Speaker 4 (27:50):
Oh, you were strict. Craig was crazy strict.
Speaker 7 (27:53):
Well, but it was you know, I'm not only raising
my two kids, but I'm raising fifteen other people's kids too.
So you know, if if my kid was out, if
my kids were out doing something crazy, then I not
only do I have to adjudicate that, then I have
(28:15):
to I have to also answer to the fifteen kids
who I'm coaching, who I don't who I was strict
on too, write So it was a little bit different
from me and and and like I said earlier, you
guys when they were in the White House, I was
always very careful of the image that we portrayed because
(28:38):
I didn't want to be that brother or brother in
law who was in the paper for doing something stupid
all the time.
Speaker 9 (28:45):
Right.
Speaker 7 (28:46):
So so I was definitely a stricter parent. But I
will tell you my dad always said, you know, if
you just parent, if you parent when your kids are young,
you can be friends with them later when they're thirty
years old.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
And it's so true.
Speaker 7 (29:08):
And he said, if you try and be friends with
them when they're if I'm try and be friends with
you young, then I got to parent you for a
longer period of time. And it is really true, Kate,
because our two older kids, it's like now we still
they still come to us for advice, but it's more like,
I won't say colleagues, but it doesn't feel like parents.
They because they're they're they're thirty three and twenty nine,
(29:31):
and they're often on their own doing their own thing,
and it's so nice to sort of not have to
worry about them, you know.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Isn't that such an amazing thing when your kids grow
up and you're like, wait, I think I did a
good job. You know, yeah, wait a minute, they're doing
really wonderful and yes, And my biggest thing, because Rider
is now twenty one, and my biggest thing when I
see him be able to be his own, his own
advocate and and able to resolve conflict for himself in
(30:13):
any other situation, whether it be with his girlfriend, whether
it be with a friendship, whether it be with a professor,
I'm like, oh, he I gave him. You know, there's
nature obviously, you know, which is I think huge, But
but but you do I do feel like a little
bit like I gave him some tools to be able
to handle himself, and and and and and he's happy
(30:37):
and like that. I don't know, it's it's a wonderful
thing to see because you know, I feel like when
they get older, it's that hard moment of like is
there life? Like how are they going to take on
their life as an adult?
Speaker 6 (30:52):
And right, well, that's why I think that I think
that we have lost so much grit in our world.
Speaker 8 (30:59):
You know.
Speaker 6 (30:59):
I just I read a book on Lewis and Clark
and Gaunted courage and just these these these men, these
people who went and did these things. I mean, it
was incredible what they had to get go through. Our
kids don't have that anymore. Everything is sort of given
to them. Were this coddling of America or coddling of
(31:19):
the world, you know, so and it's hard to give
them that now you kind of have to just let
them go and say, okay, you got to go figure
it out. Yes, we have tracking devices on our kids,
which is sort of like I'm kind of go in
between that because I'm like, is this fucking cool? And
then we're like tracking our children? We had we had
none of that. It was like just go figure it out,
(31:40):
and we had to just figure it out. Now everything
is sort of right at your fingertips, you know, it's well,
I Oliver.
Speaker 4 (31:46):
I agree.
Speaker 5 (31:47):
I mean, I think that that's and I think having
these conversations are important because I think parents are confused
and and afraid because we have so much information, and
I think that that does us in in terms of
feeling comfortable letting our kids experience the world, because we
(32:11):
hear all the bad things about the world, and then
we think the world is really a bad place, and
so we have to shield our kids and protect them,
and we have to advocate for them. And it comes
from a good place. It comes from a place of
real love and concern. But I'm a proponent of you know,
(32:34):
when we rob our kids of the ability to try
and experience and make some mistakes, we rob them of
the ability to build confidence and the grit that you
talk about. And we do it out of love, but
we do it for our own sake sometimes as parents,
because we don't want to feel the pain of seeing.
Speaker 4 (32:53):
Them go through hard things because it's hard on.
Speaker 6 (32:55):
Us and love. But then there's that there's a fine
line between sort of love and fear, and we crossed
into that fear. Oh, I'm just scared something's gonna happen
to you. Do not go out or do this because
I'm afraid. I'm afraid when the reality is, you know,
look should happen. Yeah, lie, sometimes we can't control it.
(33:17):
But statistically, we live in a safer world than we
did thirty years ago.
Speaker 5 (33:21):
And no one wants to believe that statistic, you know.
I mean, my husband talks about that all the time.
I mean, if you know, he makes the point that
if you wanted to pick any time in human history
to be born, you'd pick now, you know, the amount
of war out there, famine, hunger, medicine, you know. I mean,
(33:42):
you just go down the list of all the things.
The crime rates are lower than they have been, but
because we hear more about everything, no one wants to
believe it, you know. I mean people have the watch apps,
so you know, on your phone you get a ding
every time somebody reports a crime, right, you know, that's
just too much information. So people think that are in
(34:04):
very certain neighborhoods because they have crime Watch, that their
communities aren't safe, and they want to keep their kids
in the backyard and have organized play dates and make
everything sanitized. But you know what, kids aren't They aren't
even getting into arguments with each other. Kids aren't even
you know, they're not allowed to just play in the
(34:25):
streets and have their own arguments. That's why when Craig
says that, you know, we grew up strict, I mean no,
we you know, we went outside in the morning, especially
in the summer.
Speaker 4 (34:37):
You went your parents didn't know.
Speaker 5 (34:39):
They knew you were across the street or around the block,
but you weren't in front of the house.
Speaker 4 (34:44):
You were off with other kids playing and having adventures.
And we both did that.
Speaker 5 (34:49):
Now, yeah, you had to check in, you know, because
we had parents who were at home. But the truth
was is that what how we structured our day as
early as ten years old was totally on us and
all the other kids in the neighborhood. We had to
organize ourselves. We had to resolve battles we had, We
had fights, we had to you know, we had to
(35:11):
break things up. The whole goal was don't get the
parents involved, you know, because that meant the fun got
shut down and everybody would have to go home and
now you were just stuck in the house. Our mom
was home, but at a point she went to work,
and you we'd be at home by ourselves very early on,
you know, and there there was a stove, cigarettes, matches
(35:34):
there were you know, I mean, yeah, you know, it's
all gonna be there, but kids. We have to give
our kids the chance to work through and problem solve
on their own, which but that means that sometimes they're
gonna make a mistake. Sometimes they're they're gonna light the match,
and sometimes it's better to let them light the match
(35:54):
and then have the conversation or have them see what
happens when the match is lit, because they're going to
learn more from that. Craig and I grew up like that. Yeah,
there were there were some expectations because Craig was.
Speaker 4 (36:09):
Older and you know, he was a boy.
Speaker 5 (36:12):
But we are of the generation where our parents required
us to own our lives earlier than we are doing
for our kids. And I think that made me a
more competent, confident, capable young woman. You know, I was
on the bus going to the I chose a high
(36:34):
school that was on the other side of the city
because it was a magnet high school. Public school is
one of the best schools in the country. I knew
I wanted to go to college. I didn't want to
go to the neighborhood school. And in order for me
to go to the school, I had to take two
city buses. I had to leave the house at five
point thirty in the morning. I was commuting with adults.
(36:55):
But it was like a wonderful experience. And if my
parents had been today's parents, which would have well, i'll
drive you, or you won't go, and you'll.
Speaker 4 (37:03):
Go to the school. That's safer for me.
Speaker 5 (37:07):
There's a whole lot of learning and confidence building that
I got. Taken Chicago public transportation every day to get
to school. I would wake up at dark and get
home at dark because that's how long it took to
get to and from school. I think about whether or
not I would let my kid do that now. I mean,
(37:29):
today's parents would be worried about that. Right we're carpooling
and picking up and so now parents are tired and
exhausted because they're doing a lot of extra parenting, extra
physical work because we're afraid to let our kids do
some of the stuff on their own, especially if they
(37:52):
live in a big city. And we need to talk
about what our kids are missing by us parenting from
our own feel Yeah, and.
Speaker 7 (38:01):
You know I talk about how in my opinion, hence
the name of the show, I feel like parents are
trying to curate this unbelievable experience for their kids. Like
we didn't have our lives curated for us, and I'm
sure you didn't when you were growing up. You just
(38:21):
like just thrown out there and you figure it out.
And I think these days parents are trying to overcompensate
for their kids by sort of making this experience for
them be the be the best and only experience possible.
Speaker 1 (38:42):
That's a great point, Such a great point.
Speaker 6 (38:44):
I mean, I'm dealing with my kid and getting into
college now, and I can't even believe what has to
happen with hiring this person and bringing on this person.
Speaker 1 (38:54):
I'm like, just write an essay and do the applications.
Why is this so nutty?
Speaker 6 (39:00):
Mean, I understand that you have to have extracurriculars and
you have to I'm like, just what is all this?
It's highly competitive, I get it, but you know, it
just seems like a lot.
Speaker 2 (39:10):
It's wild before we could we have limited times. I
have a couple I have a couple of questions like
in cons likely. Did you guys ever fight?
Speaker 4 (39:19):
Oh yeah, And when you.
Speaker 2 (39:21):
Did, did your parents leave it up to you guys
to resolve or did they.
Speaker 7 (39:25):
Get always won the fight. She was the youngest, she
always won, and I let her win and we all
let her win. And then that's how she got to
be so bossy.
Speaker 1 (39:38):
She will she's still bossy with you.
Speaker 7 (39:42):
Oh yeah, oh yeah, absolutely absolutely. That's why I am
always the perfect name for our podcast, because it's in
her opinion.
Speaker 3 (39:58):
She will tell you.
Speaker 7 (40:00):
She we would we would get into an argument and
she would throw things at me.
Speaker 3 (40:03):
She would punch me in the back for no reason.
She would.
Speaker 7 (40:07):
And I never fought back, and I rarely raised my voice,
and I never told on her.
Speaker 2 (40:16):
And you were both very athletic, Yeah.
Speaker 6 (40:19):
She was.
Speaker 7 (40:20):
She was with me all the I mean, the reason
why I was a good athlete was because I had
her to practice with. And and when my dad would
come home from work, and and and and me talked
a little bit about him working for the city, so
he was a shift worker, so there were only like
certain parts of the month where he worked days where
he could come home and play with us, and she
(40:41):
would be right out there with us. And and could
do anything I could do. She could do everything I
could do. And but but we didn't fight that much.
We we got into fights, but we didn't fight that much.
And and what we what we fight about now as
adults is is like my lack of communication.
Speaker 3 (41:03):
Right, Like I'm a guy.
Speaker 7 (41:04):
She'll ask me, Hey, how's how are the kids doing?
I'm like, fine, they're doing fine.
Speaker 3 (41:09):
What are they doing? They have a game tonight, that's it.
And I don't.
Speaker 7 (41:11):
I don't elaborate unless she asks open ended questions. Yeah,
so I she she that that frustrates her. That frustrates
my wife, That frustrates all It frustrates my daughter.
Speaker 3 (41:23):
All the women in my family are frustrated by that.
But that's it.
Speaker 7 (41:26):
That's really the only thing that that we we fight.
Speaker 4 (41:30):
I mean, but our parents did believe in staying out
of it.
Speaker 5 (41:34):
I don't know about you, you you guys Oliver and Kate,
but you know, they they they expected.
Speaker 4 (41:40):
That's just like with life, you resolve it, figure it out.
Speaker 1 (41:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (41:44):
Yeah, they didn't want to hear it. If we ever,
if there was any ever thing going on and someone
was telling on if anyone told on anyone, we were
all in trouble.
Speaker 5 (41:52):
That's that's how I do it. That's how Malia and
Sasha will tell you the same thing. You know, there
are many times we heard them in their rooms in
the White House because their rooms faced each other, and
then there was an outer door and you'd hear the
outer door slam, and then you'd hear a lot of
angry whispering.
Speaker 4 (42:11):
I said, if you don't and Mom, if she.
Speaker 5 (42:15):
Hears this, and I would say, I would just think, exactly,
that's exactly this.
Speaker 2 (42:21):
White House. Oh you guys, we have to wrap. Thank
you for coming on our podcast. I can't wait to
your podcast.
Speaker 7 (42:42):
All right.
Speaker 4 (42:42):
That's that. That's next up. That's like we have more.
Speaker 2 (42:46):
We have we have much more of the pack.
Speaker 4 (42:49):
We can just we can just continue the conversation.
Speaker 2 (42:54):
And where are you in the same place where you are?
Are you different?
Speaker 7 (42:57):
Now?
Speaker 4 (42:58):
I'm in d C.
Speaker 3 (42:59):
And I live in Wisconsin. If you can believe that,
Oh you're.
Speaker 2 (43:03):
I just played a woman from Wisconsin. I just did
a full Wisconsin accent. I feel like I killed it.
But you'll be the judge of that.
Speaker 3 (43:11):
I can't wait. Is it out yet?
Speaker 2 (43:14):
No Christmas Day?
Speaker 3 (43:15):
Okay?
Speaker 2 (43:16):
Yeah, yeah, Chris, He'll wait for Christmas.
Speaker 4 (43:19):
And Oliver next time, I want to see you in
a T shirt.
Speaker 1 (43:22):
That's normally what I wear. I mean, I honestly like
I look like a slab.
Speaker 5 (43:26):
But did your hair slick back? Usually like that? I
mean Pagel in it too. You're very cute and I'm
very I'm very honored that you put on your silk to.
Speaker 6 (43:36):
Eye and you Well, if we see each other again,
you're going to see me in my my just real garb,
which is pretty much just a T shirt.
Speaker 2 (43:43):
Which is getting worse as he gets older. It's embarrassing.
Speaker 1 (43:47):
I'm changing my style.
Speaker 2 (43:48):
Is this just it's like Italian. He's leaning into our
Italian heritage. It's it's very extreme. It's a lot of
gold chains.
Speaker 7 (43:57):
Oh, track suit, you got to get the.
Speaker 1 (44:02):
Like SERGIOI track suits stuff.
Speaker 5 (44:06):
Yeah, of course, thank you guys in the bar for us,
thanks for letting us bite off of your show.
Speaker 1 (44:16):
Yes, yeah, yeah, Well you know.
Speaker 2 (44:18):
You're so nice to you and to get to know you, Michelle,
You're so inspiring and we just we just love you, Michelle.
And and also I have a Robinson in my family,
so you know your latest name?
Speaker 1 (44:32):
Have you Greg?
Speaker 6 (44:34):
By the way, have you play ball? With Sandler. Sandler
is a great friend of ours. And I know he
just played with Barrock. You just played ball with him, Brock.
Speaker 4 (44:42):
They golf, but.
Speaker 3 (44:44):
You know, he just golf.
Speaker 4 (44:45):
He just go yeah, because Black is.
Speaker 5 (44:47):
Retired, he's you know, he doesn't want to pop his achilles.
Speaker 2 (44:51):
Well listen, I guys loved every second of this. Thanks
for jing here.
Speaker 5 (44:55):
We'll see you soon, you guys, thank you so much.
Set it up please again.
Speaker 6 (45:03):
I've never been ready, more ready in my life. And
I can't wait to see you guys, to see what
I'm gonna wear.
Speaker 10 (45:07):
So yeah, it's gonna be good. All right, Well later guys,
but oh jeez, she's the best. They're they're awesome.
Speaker 1 (45:19):
That was not long enough.
Speaker 2 (45:21):
I know we needed like another hour. I have so
many questions, I have so many things, but.
Speaker 6 (45:29):
It's nice to have just a candid, fun conversation that's
flowy and you know what I mean. It's it's I
don't think we have enough time to sort of hit
all the things that we want to talk about because
there is so much. You know, they want to get
into politics at all, you know what I mean, like boring,
but I did want to talk about the hypocrisy in
(45:50):
politics a little bit, but.
Speaker 1 (45:53):
They're just cool.
Speaker 3 (45:56):
I know.
Speaker 2 (45:56):
It's so nice. It was so nice to actually like
It's also like one of the things that I do
love about this podcast. I love that there she's doing
it with her with Craig, with her sibling, and but
it's like you actually get to talk about it. It's
about the things that actually formed you, that are the
(46:19):
foundation of who you become. I mean, so many people
know so much about about Michelle and President Obama, and
you know, she's written her memoir, she's written a memoir,
she written books. There's so much about her that people
do know. But when you get her and her brother
together and you start talking about how they grew up
together or what that experience like together, it's just a
(46:42):
completely different feeling. It doesn't it doesn't, it doesn't matter
what the politics are.
Speaker 11 (46:49):
I know, you know, and and I am trying to
get I just wanted to get into, you know, the
decision making behind in her opinion, Like, my god, my
life is about to change.
Speaker 6 (47:00):
I know, it's exciting, but here we're here. Now she's
such a cool, grounded, you know, worldly personable human. It's like,
now I got to live in this white house. Now
I got to raise our girls like this. Holy fuck,
there's stress that.
Speaker 1 (47:14):
Might have been involved with all that. I wanted to
sort of get into that stuff.
Speaker 2 (47:18):
Yeah, but she but she fell in love with a politician,
a career politician.
Speaker 1 (47:22):
Yeah for sure.
Speaker 2 (47:23):
So I mean you'd kind of know, you know, going
into that, what that is. And I think what I
what I love about both of them, and we've had
I've had the opportunity of meeting them a couple of times,
but I I they are very grounded people. Their kids
are great and you you it's like it's like when
(47:46):
you it's like removing the politics from the person is
very hard when people are in politics because they're in
the position of making decisions for your wellbeing, the country
as well being, you know, and so it can be
you know, you you you kind of are entering this
very polarizing existence. You're going to be loved and you're
(48:09):
going to be hated, right and your kids know it,
and your wife is going to know it, or vice
versa your husband if you choose to be in politics.
So like when you meet certain politicians that are just
very grounded and like cool and have a very really
interesting are very open with you know, where they come from,
(48:30):
what their life is like, what their life experience has been.
You you know, you can't help, but be like that
is a huge part of trusting who you have, like
kind of really running things. Michelle. Also, I really believe
that no matter what anybody thinks about husband and wife,
it's like any husband and wife in the world. When
you clump couples together as if they're one, it's like
(48:55):
everyone in the world, Like, just put yourself in that position,
like am I my partner? Am I my husband?
Speaker 7 (49:03):
No?
Speaker 2 (49:04):
I'm very different, very different people. And just because you're
with someone and love someone, doesn't mean you have differences
of opinion, doesn't mean that you agree with everything, doesn't
mean that you would lead in the same way. It
does mean that you have like a mutual found respect
and love and attraction and all these things that are good.
But it's like there's this weird thing that happens in
(49:24):
politics where it's like you are one, when in fact
it's we know behind the scenes that it's very opposite.
And Michelle would probably be a very different leader than
even President you know, Obama would be. And I always wonder,
like I really do think she would be an incredible politician. Yeah,
(49:47):
but I don't think I'm not. I don't think she
ever that would be ever anything that she would do.
I don't know.
Speaker 6 (49:52):
The real headline of the interview was that twice she
talked about how good looking I was.
Speaker 1 (50:00):
That's true, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (50:06):
I knew you were going to say that.
Speaker 6 (50:08):
Yeah, it was just I think I think there was
a moment where she was just stunned about you know,
it's like, oh my god, this guy is handsome. You
know what I'm saying, because I think I resemble Brock
like a little bit, right.
Speaker 2 (50:22):
I think it was more like you've never worn a
suit ever, And she was probably just kind of giving
you some validation as to like you really should.
Speaker 1 (50:33):
Clean up those charity. It was a charity.
Speaker 2 (50:39):
It was more like it was more like you should
maybe lean into this more because it's nice.
Speaker 1 (50:45):
Yeah, that was awesome.
Speaker 2 (50:50):
I hope we get to talk to them again.
Speaker 1 (50:51):
Me too, Yeah, me too.
Speaker 2 (50:54):
Well I invited I invited us on their podcast, so
maybe I.
Speaker 1 (50:59):
Know, maybe maybe we'll get lucky.
Speaker 4 (51:01):
All right, Well, I got a show to go.
Speaker 1 (51:03):
Do you have a great set? A great set?
Speaker 2 (51:06):
Thanks? Thanks, what a great episode. I hope everybody loves it.
Speaker 1 (51:11):
I know we do, know we made any headlines, but
it's okay. I already love you, Love you by
Hosts And Creators
Oliver Hudson
Kate Hudson
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