Ed Helms on History’s Greatest Screw Ups
The Daily Stoic
Daily Stoic | Wondery
4.6 • 4.7K Ratings
🗓️ 30 April 2025
⏱️ 77 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
You might know Ed Helms as Andy Bernard from The Office or Stu Price from The Hangover movies—but did you know he’s also a serious history buff? He’s especially fascinated by history’s biggest screwups, better known as SNAFUs ("Situation Normal: All F**ked Up"). In today’s episode, Ed joins Ryan to unpack some of these epic blunders, explain how history became an escape for him, and share why learning about the past can be surprisingly therapeutic.
Ed Helms is an actor, comedian, podcast host, and author. Ed has starred as Andy Bernard in The Office, Stuart Price in The Hangover trilogy, We’re the Millers, The Lorax, and much more. He hosts the podcast SNAFU and just released his book SNAFU: The Definitive Guide to History’s Greatest Screwups.
You can follow Ed on Instagram and X @EdHelms
🎙️ Listen to Ed’s podcast SNAFU
📕 Pick up a copy of SNAFU: The Definitive Guide to History’s Greatest Screwups
📚 Books Ryan recommended to Ed:
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
Night of the Grizzlies by Jack Olsen
River of Doubt by Candice Millard
The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough
A Night To Remember by Walter Lord
His Majesty's Airship by S.C. Gwynne
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Transcript
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| 0:09.3 | Look, launching a business is hard, running a business is hard, getting customers, keeping |
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| 1:15.1 | Who can I talk to? |
| 1:16.9 | Can anyone relate to what I'm going through? |
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