Judd Apatow’s Guide to Failure and Success (Fail Better with David Duchovny)
Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso
Higher Ground
4.8 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 12 November 2025
⏱️ 56 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today, we’re sharing an episode from Fail Better with David Duchovny, featuring filmmaker and writer Judd Apatow. Together, they trace the arc of Judd’s career, from Anchorman and Bridesmaids to Superbad and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, before diving into his new visual memoir, Comedy Nerd: A Lifelong Obsession in Stories and Pictures.
Throughout their conversation, Judd reflects on what’s driven him all these years—not the need to prove he’s funny, but the desire to understand if he has anything to say in the first place. It’s something David relates to as a writer, and it runs through the pages of Judd’s new book: a collection of everything he’s made and gathered while trying to make sense of this life he’s made.
They also talk about the sting of bad reviews, why they’ve both stopped Googling themselves, and how Judd’s documentary on Garry Shandling became a final act of friendship and legacy.
Hear more episodes of Fail Better with David Duchovny wherever you get your podcasts, or head to https://lemonada.lnk.to/failbetterfd
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This message comes from FOSFeminista. |
| 0:03.5 | When you give to Fos Feminista, your dollar goes far. |
| 0:07.0 | It provides essential services and health care for women and girls worldwide. |
| 0:12.5 | Learn how your gift can be matched five times at Fosfeminista.org slash podcast. |
| 0:22.1 | Lemonada. Lemonada. |
| 0:22.1 | It's an episode. |
| 0:23.6 | Hey, everyone. |
| 0:33.1 | Today I want to share an episode of the podcast, Fail Better, with David DeCovny. |
| 0:37.9 | It's an excellent series from our partners at Lemonada that charts how some of today's most creative and influential people think about failure, persistence, and what it takes to keep going. |
| 0:49.3 | This talk features the legendary writer-director Judd Apatow. |
| 0:53.6 | As some of you may recall, Apatow appeared on Talk Easy back in 2022. |
| 0:58.3 | We talked then about how he found his footing in comedy, the mentorship he received from the late Gary Shandling, the legacy of freaks and geeks and, well, just about everything else. |
| 1:09.2 | But this fall, Judd came out with a brand new book. |
| 1:11.8 | It's a visual memoir called Comedy Nerd, |
| 1:14.8 | a lifelong obsession in stories and pictures. |
| 1:17.7 | It's the springboard for this recent conversation he had with David. |
| 1:21.3 | Throughout their conversation, Judd reflects on what's driven him all these years. |
| 1:25.8 | Not the need to prove that he's funny, but the desire to understand if he has anything to say in the first place. |
| 1:31.8 | A talk that winds his way through his own experiences with failure, hoarding memorabilia, |
| 1:37.3 | and how he keeps on creating at a breakneck speed. |
| 1:40.4 | And so if you like today's feed drop with David and Jud Appetowow, you can find the show Fail Better, wherever you are listening to this right now. |
| 1:49.2 | You can also watch Select Episodes available on YouTube. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Higher Ground, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Higher Ground and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.