It's the Brian Laird show on WNYC. I'm David first, filling in for Brian. And to end the show today,

a little fun on this Friday morning. We're going to look at late night. In particular, the life and

legacy of the former king of late night TV, Johnny Carson. The centennial of his birthday just passed

in October. Johnny Carson, of course, hosted the Tonight Show for nearly 30 years before he

passed away in 2005. He's the only late night talk show host who's been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Carson entertained generations of Americans over those three decades, launched the careers of

countless comedians, people like David Letterman, Joan Rivers, Richard Pryor.

He brought on music legends like Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley.

He also invited Jim Henson's Muppets onto the show, including on an episode hosted by Kermit the Frog.

But Carson also brought political heft and substance to his widely viewed program, talking about social issues of his day, even if he felt

that it wasn't always the job of an entertainer to do so.

And some of those moments really jump to the forefront of our thinking as we see what has

happened with Stephen Colbert being canceled and Jimmy Kimmel being taken off the air over this past year.

Joining us now to talk about all of this is Mark Malkoff, comedian, and host of the Carson podcast.

He's out with a new book titled Love Johnny Carson, One Obsessive Fans Journey to Find the Genius Behind the Legend.

Mark, welcome to WNYC.

David, it's good to see you.

Thanks for having me.

And we want to hear from you during this chat, too.

Any fans of Johnny Carson and the Tonight Show out there,

maybe you have a childhood memory of being allowed to stay up late at night and watch him.

What really stands out from those memories?

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