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Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist

Nate Bargatze on Success in Comedy and Nateland’s Expansion

Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist

NBC News

Politics, News, Celebrity, Music, Broadway, Society & Culture, Interview, Movies, Pop Culture, Tv & Film, Technology, Tv

4.54K Ratings

🗓️ 5 April 2026

⏱️ 69 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Nate Bargatze has become one of the most successful stand up comedians of his generation, going from performing for a single audience member to selling out arenas nationwide. In this conversation from January 2025, Nate Bargatze sits down with Willie Geist during the first ever Sunday Sitdown Live to discuss his rise in comedy, the expansion of the Nateland brand, and what has fueled his steady climb. Plus, he answers audience questions and reflects on how relatability has remained central to his success. (Venue sponsored by City Winery.)

Transcript

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0:00.0

Hey, guys, Willie Geist here with a very special episode of the Sunday Sit Down podcast.

0:10.7

My thanks, as always, for clicking and listening along.

0:13.7

Boy, do I have a treat for you today?

0:15.8

Not only is my guest, the hottest stand-up working in the world right now.

0:22.8

He and I also had our conversation in front of a live audience. His name is Nate Bargettze, and he was the guest on our very first

0:29.1

Sunday Sit Down Live. So what is Sunday Sit Down Live? Well, we invited you, the audience,

0:35.3

to come sit in the room while I did one of these interviews. We held the

0:39.0

interview at the amazing city winery in New York City, right on the Hudson River, one of the most

0:44.4

beautiful venues in all of New York. They were incredible hosts to me and to Nate. And you could

0:50.0

buy a ticket and sit in the room. And I was stunned as I met all the people who came

0:54.3

through the door how far they traveled. Genuinely, I thought, be some of my friends and

0:58.7

family from New Jersey, maybe some folks from the Upper West Side. If we're lucky, we get a little

1:03.0

Brooklyn. No. People said they came from San Diego. They came from Idaho and Houston and Miami

1:10.2

and Knoxville and Pick Your City.

1:12.6

I think it was 32 different states.

1:14.5

People came from Canada.

1:16.1

And they bought tickets to the show.

1:17.8

They bought a plane ticket and a hotel room.

1:20.0

So, honored and humbled that people would do that.

1:22.3

So hopefully we gave them what they paid for and then some because Nate, just one of the most naturally funny people that I've ever met. So we share something in common, which is that we are fans of Vanderbilt University Sports. I went to Vanderbilt. He grew up just outside of Nashville. His mom worked in the ticket office. His uncle was an announcer and a coach at Vanderbilt. So he has deep ties.

2:01.9

So we've been Vanderbilt fans since before it was cool. Now we're having a great basketball season. Our football team was good last year, beat Alabama. It's become a little fashionable. But we go back. We've suffered. We've suffered for this success. So Nate was so generous to agree to do this in front of an audience. And boy, can you think of a better guest, a guy who stands in front of massive crowds for a living and entertains them? If you don't know,

2:07.8

Nate is a guy who sells out arenas. He has sold out Madison Square Garden, Bridgestone Arena in

...

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