Conan O'Brien Says Modern Politics Rewards People With 'No Soul'

Conan O’Brien has spent decades making us laugh at everything from late-night chaos to presidential scandals, but he says the current political moment has pushed him past the funny. Speaking at The New Yorker Festival, the comedian admitted,“I get very angry and depressed.”It’s a rare moment of candor from someone who built a career on absurdity, and it’s resonating with anyone who’s felt worn down by the news cycle.

His explanation is where it gets interesting. O’Brien argued that politicians need“a soul,”meaning an internal set of boundaries about what they will and won’t do to win. Someone has figured out that stripping all that away makes you faster, he said, comparing soulless politicians to cars engineered for maximum aerodynamics. He pointed to a controversial Vivek Ramaswamy campaign ad as an example and called the current environment“the most nihilistic thing”he’s ever seen.

Even so, O’Brien isn’t giving up on comedy. He finds value in smaller, more human moments, like the internet series Subway Takes, where real people share delightfully unhinged opinions about everyday life. Do you think politics has gotten too depressing to joke about, or is comedy exactly what we need right now? Drop your take in the comments.