geoff: Best known as a talk show
host in the bright and shining
face of of bravo TV, Andy Cohen
is opening up in a new book
about his latest adventure, life
as the father of two kids.
Amna nawaz has that
conversation.
Anna: Before he oversaw a
reality TV empire, Andy Cohen
grew up in St Louis, and worked
as a producer at CBS news.
Later landing as a programming
executive at bravo TV where he
helped launch the popular "Real
housewives" franchise.
>> I don't have an issue with
you.
I never had an issue with you.
Amna: In its 17 years on the
air, the brand stretched to more
than 10 cities, reaching
millions of fans.
Cohen first stepped in front of
the camera in 2009, hosting the
late-night talk "Watch what
happens live."
Known for its celebrity guests,
boozy moments and spilling
secrets.
>> What is the hardest drug?
Amna: His profile has only grown
--
>> That just seems like an odd
thing to say.
Amna: Hosting the network's
reunion specials, launching his
own radio channel on Sirius XM
and writing a series of
best-selling books.
His latest "The daddy diaries:
The year I grew up," chronicles
his day-to-day life, and
celebrity run-ins, in the year
he welcomed daughter Lucy to his
family, joining his son Ben.
We recently sat down to talk
about family, work, and what
made him want to write another
book.
>>.
-- >> I love writing.
It's my fifth book.
It's my third installment of the
Andy Cohen diaries series, which
was inspired by Andy Warhol's
diaries, which I absolutely
loved.
Which are very name droppy.
They're very celebrity heavy and
they are very much New York
stories.
And this is all that with the
overlay of having two kids as a
single dad.
Amna: Anyone who follows you
online has seen your beautiful
family.
But tell us tell us about your
kids.
>> My kids are great.
They are four and one.
The four-year-old loves being an
older brother.
I was writing the book during,
everyone says terrible twos, but
it's really terrible threes.
Amna: Three is worse than two.
>> Terrible.
Amna: Three's like a
professional two year old.
>> Exactly.
Yes.
So, you know, we have some knock
down drag outs during the summer
months of the daddy diaries.
Vacations over, ok?
I know my way around a group of
real housewives which can be
infuriating and exhausting.
You can't get off the couch.
Ok?
Is that a deal?
So, you know what, I jumped
right into toddler fits.
Amna: Not that disimilar.
>> Exactly.
You just let it play out.
Amna: You write about the
decision to have kids in the
first place.
You refer to this is the year
that you grew up.
How are you different now than
you were before?
>> Starting in the happy way, I
mean, I'm just a more grounded
other person.
When you publish your diaries,
you really look at what you do
every day and say, okay, this is
my life or this is my life that
I'm putting out there for
consumption.
And I got to the point where I
thought, is this all there is?
It's fun, everything is really
fun.
But I wanted to be grounded.
Amna: You've also said your book
is a bit of a statement on sort
of pop culture.
>> I think so.
Amna: And how much things have
changed.
There's one line in the book
where you say housewives are,
often are offensive on some
level, but the line has moved
over 16 years.
How has it moved?
>> Producing a show about a
group of politically incorrect
and spoken women --
>> That's my opinion!
>> In 2023, in the age of cancel
culture, people being offended
by things you didn't know you
could be offended by, is a
challenge.
So it has changed a lot.
Amna: Just the brand itself
which is very much an empire, it
has changed so much since the
first season.
They were living in town houses,
they were not their own
celebrity brands.
Now they are full glam.
You have a huge convention with
thousands of people.
They are their own celebrities.
Because of the show.
Why do you think we have this
fascination with this kind of
television?
>> I think it is the modern so
bro -- modern so Barbara.
It is the soap opera of our
time.
I know that people who don't
watch it, it's very easy to look
at the clips and say and have a
judgment.
But I think that the reason it's
still on the air is that it's
about friendship and motherhood
and being a wife and a sister
and family, and a whole lot
more.
And there are things that ground
it in real -- in relatability.
It's also sometimes very
aspirational.
If it was just a drink toss or
an offensive comment, it would
not still be on the air, I
promise.
There's no way.
Amna: Would you let your kids
watch the show one day?
>> Eventually.
Absolutely.
Amna: Would you ever let them
star in their own reality show?
>> I would prefer that they not.
And by the way, the people
always say to me, would you ever
star on a reality show?
Amna: Yeah.
>> This is as close as I would
get.
This is a year in in my life,
but I am in control of the edit.
Amna: Did you edit yourself a
lot in this?
>> I edited myself, but I also
pushed myself.
This is my fifth book and I know
and I learned in my first book
you have to push yourself.
This is the most vulnerable I've
ever been in a book.
Amna: I got to ask this, too,
because you, in the reunions you
host with these housewives and
your own show on watch what
happens live, you are a very
skilled interviewer.
>> Thank you.
Amna: Because you know how to
get people to share things that
they probably wouldn't share
otherwise.
>> Yes.
Amna: What makes a good
interview for you?
Do you do that?
>> I was a producer at CBS news.
So I not only learned how to
produce an interview, but I
learned how much time, four and
a half minutes of TV time is,
when they're telling me in my
ear.
That's actually a lot of time to
get something out of someone.
So that was important training
for me.
But also, I think a genuine
curiosity is important.
Amna: It does give you a
platform to talk about the
things that you really care
about.
>> Yes.
Amna: You talk about lgbtq
rights.
You talk about politics.
Do you feel that's just
something you want to do or do
you feel like that's a
responsibility right now?
>> As a gay American and as a
jewish American, two groups
really under fire right now, I
feel like if there are issues
facing my community, I speak up
about it.
Never did I think that people
would be fighting drag queens.
Amna: Why do you think we're
seeing that right now?
>> I think it's a distraction
from what's really going on, and
it's a way to fire up on your
base.
Let's hate on the trans
community and drag queens, two
marginalized roots of people.
And I'm sorry, but the biggest
issue facing the world is not
whether drag queens are
performing.
It's not an issue.
Amna: You've talked about the
heaviness too, that comes with
being a single father.
>> Yes.
It sounds like you are in a good
place.
Are you ready for a third kid?
>> No.
You are joking, right.
>> We can talk about it later.
>> I am dancing as fast as I
can.
>> Andy Cohen, author of "The
daddy diaries."
Thank you for coming.
>> Thank you so much.
>> You can hear more online with
Anna's lightning round of
questions, from his dream guests
to his favorite guests.
That is on our Instagram page.