Production of the Sound of Young America is supported in part by Ask MetaFilter.

Thousands of life slow questions answered online at ask.metaFilter.com

And by Humber College, offering a two-year diploma program dedicated to comedy.

Students learn stand-up, improv, acting, and writing skills

and perform in the heart of Toronto.

At Humber, we make funny people funnier.

More information at HumberComedy.com.

I'm Jesse Thorne, live on tape from my house in Los Angeles.

It's the Sound of Young America from MaximumFund.org and PRI, public radio, international.

It's the Sound of Young America. I'm your host Jesse Thorne. Welcome to the show.

This week on the program, one of my favorite comedy personalities in the world, the great Andy Richter.

For years, he was the sidekick on late night with Conan O'Brien

before he left to do acting in Hollywood.

He finally decided to leave the topsy-turvy world of a career as an actor

for the stability of a job as the sidekick on the Conan O'Brien tonight show.

I think we pretty much all know how that went.

Among other things, I'll talk to him about what it was like to make the show

after they knew it was on its way out.

In some ways, it was exciting and liberating but also sad.

But it also made it hard when you actually had to fill in the slots where the jokes go

to talk about much else, you know, as sort of, you know, sitting calmly in a house that's on fire

and talking about the day's headlines.

...