Sopan Deb

On today's episode, I met up with Sopan Deb at the NY Times. We talk about his one-of-a-kind career path, and also therapy (spoiler: don't get a therapist who falls asleep while you are talking to them).

After covering the Trump Campaign for CBS News, Sopan had three paths he could have taken: head to Washington D.C. and join the White House Pres Corps, join the NY Times as a culture reporter, or become a television comedy writer for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. As someone who has a hard time deciding what to order for dinner, I have no idea what I would have done. Probably shake in anxiety until the last minute and decide on the Mac and Cheese.

In the end, Sopan accepted his offer with the NY Times.

Sopan Deb is currently a culture and sports reporter for The New York Times, writing about the intersection of politics and culture, among other topics. Before joining The Times, he covered Trump's presidential campaign for CBS News. You've probably seen several of the NY Times Talks interviews he's hosted, including Stephen Colbert and Hasan Minhaj.

His new book, Missed Translations: Meeting the Immigrant Parents Who Raised Me, is being released and published by Harper Collins and is currently available for pre-order here. Missed Translations will officially be available on April 21st, 2020, at Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Amazon, Indiebound, and pretty much anywhere that sells books. With a foreword by Hasan Minhaj, it's already receiving high-praise and attention.

“Sopan Deb hilariously and truthfully lets us in on the ups, downs, lefts, and rights of trying to understand - as a standup comedian and a journalist - the two grown-up strangers who raised him. It’s a crazy story, but you know. Good crazy. Funny crazy. Read-this-book crazy.”
-Pete Holmes, comedian, podcast host, and author of Comedy Sex God

“As a man who has been a performer and covered performance, Sopan Deb now paints his most important picture yet, the self-portrait.”
-Roy Wood Jr., comedian and correspondent on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah

“Both Moving and hilarious, Missed Translations is not just about exploring culture, family, and love, but also understanding where one comes from in the deepest possible way. It’s a wonderful journey.”
-Jake Tapper, CNN host and author of The Hellfire Club

Sopan is a unique guy. Journalist. Author. Stand Up Comedian. Pianist. He does a lot of things and he does them well. We met about three years ago when we performed on the same comedy show. We've stayed friends, and when I was creating "The Art of Not Making It, " I knew he would be great to sit down with. I texted him about it. He said yes. And here we are. 

As always, please subscribe, rate, and review! New episodes every Thursday. Don't be Sopan's therapist.