MR. LeVar BURTON, WELCOME TO THE SHOW. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >> Trevor: LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT LeVar BURTON. WHAT A LIFE YOU'VE LIVED. >> I KNOW, RIGHT? >> Trevor: YOUR JOURNEY KEEPS ON MOVING, YOUR STORY KEEPS ON BEING ALMOST REWRITTEN, CHAPTERS KEEP BEING ADDED. WHEN YOU SEE YOUR LIFE, HOW DO YOU SEE IT? >> WELL, I KNOW I'M HERE TO TELL STORIES, I KNOW THAT THAT'S PART OF WHY I'M HERE. I REALLY SEE MY LIFE -- THERE'S A THROUGH LINE FROM KUNTA, AND GEORGE THE CHIEF OF THE ENTERPRISE AT THE OTHER END OF THE SPECTRUM, AND LeVar, THE READING RAINBOW GUY, IS IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT CONTINUUM. SO I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO REPRESENT THE BLACK EXPERIENCE FROM SLAVERY TO THE FUTURE AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN, AND WHAT AN HONOR THAT IS. IT. >> Trevor: IT FEELS LIKE AN HONOR THAT I THINK THE PEOPLE WOULD ARGUE BELONGS MORE TO THEM. YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN SOMEBODY WHO IS NOT JUST PASSIONATE ABOUT BEING IN THE STORIES, NOT JUST PASSIONATE ABOUT TELLING THE STORIES, BUT ENCOURAGING OTHERS TO TELL THEIR OWN STORIES AND BECOME STORY TELLERS IN THEIR OWN RIGHT. >> ABSOLUTELY. >> Trevor: LET'S TALK ABOUT READING RAINBOW. >> OKAY. >> Trevor: WHERE DID THAT PASSION COME FROM? WHERE DOES LeVar BURTON GO YEAH, I CAN MAKE TV AND MOVIES. NO, WHAT I'M GOING TO DO IS BASICALLY MAKE NO MONEY AND GO AND READ TO PEOPLE. >> THAT'S ERMA JEAN, MY MOTHER'S NAME. SHE WAS AN ENGLISH TEACHER AND A SOCIAL WORKER AND MY FIRST TEACHER. I'M A READER BECAUSE OF HER INFLUENCE. MY MOM READ NOT ONLY TO US WHEN WE WERE KIDS. I HAD TWO SISTERS. BUT SHE READ IN FRONT OF US. AND THAT'S A CRITICAL MODELING. I GREW UP IN A HOUSE WHERE READING WAS LIKE BREATHING. SO JUST THE AWARENESS THAT LITERATURE WAS AFTER CRITICAL COMPONENT OF OUR LIFE AND LIFESTYLE WAS REALLY, YOU KNOW, DEMONSTRATED AND POUNDED INTO ME. I LIKE TO SAY IN MY MOM'S HOUSE YOU EITHER READ A BOOK OR YOU GOT HIT IN THE HEAD WITH ONE, BUT YOU WERE GOING TO HAVE AN EXPERIENCE WITH THE WRITTEN WORD. ( LAUGHTER ) >> Trevor: I WONDER IF THERE'S SOMETHING IN YOU THAT IS ALMOST -- YOU KNOW, I LOVE THAT YOU SAY IT'S ABOUT YOUR MOM. I GREW UP IN A SIMILAR HOUSEHOLD. MY MOM READ EVERYTHING TO ME. EVERYTHING TO ME, AND THEN FROM THE BIBLE TO, YOU KNOW, JUST RANDOM BOOKS AS A CHILD GROWING UP, AND I JUST, LIKE, DEVOURED BOOKS. BEFORE I ASKED THE QUESTION, I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW, WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU'RE NOT ENJOYING A BOOK AS AN AVID BOOK READER. DO YOU QUIT? ARE YOU THE 30 PAGES AND I'M OUT. >> NO, I ONLY EVER QUIT READING ONE BOOK IN MY LIFE, NORMAN MAILER'S ARMY OF THE NIGHT. BORED THE SHIT OUT OF ME. >> Trevor: THAT MUST BE A TERRIBLE BOOK FOR YOU TO SAY THERE'S ONE BOOK. ( LAUGHTER ) EVERYTHING ELSE, YOU JUST READ. >> YEAH, ABSOLUTELY, BECAUSE THERE'S A GIFT IN EVERYTHING. THERE'S A GIFT IN EVERY BOOK, RIGHT. >> Trevor: I FIND SOME BOOKS HOLD ME HOSTAGE SO I'LL FINISH THEM BUT I'LL GO -- MAYBE ONE DOESN'T START WELL BUT I FEEL LIKE I HAVE TO FINISH THE BOOK AND I'M A HOSTAGE BECAUSE I'M A COMPLETIONIST AND I NEED TO FINISH THE THING. BECAUSE OF COVID I -- I'M LEARNING TO LET GO. >> YOU DON'T HAVE TO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO. I'M COMPELLED TO BECAUSE I HAVE A HABIT OF PICKING BOOKS AT THAI KNOW I'M GOING TO ENJOY. "ARMIES OF THE NIGHT" WAS AN ASSIGNMENT BACK IN THE DAY IN SCHOOL, AND I HAD TO FAKE MY WAY THROUGH THAT BOOK REPORT BECAUS- ( LAUGHTER ) I COULDN'T DO IT. >> Trevor: OF ALL THE ROLES YOU'VE PLAYED, OF ALL THE PLACES YOU'VE GONE AT FANS, ONE OF THE MOST RECENT AND EXPLODING ON THE NEWS HAS BEEN THAT AS A GUEST HOST OF "JEOPARDY," YOU KNOW YOU'RE BELOVED AND IT'S A WONDERFUL FEELING, I'M SURE. >> ALSO. >> Trevor: IT'S NOT A CRAZE. MAYBE YOUR FANS MIMIC YOUR CALM, BUT IT'S LIKE YOU HAVE A VERY CALM VOICE. LIKE, I LIKE LeVar FOR THIS JOB. EVERYONE WANTED YOU AND LOVED SEEING YOU THERE. THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT THAT WORLD, MAYBE THE "JEOPARDY" OF IT ALL OR THE INFORMATION OF IT ALL THAT PEOPLE ASSOCIATED WITH YOU. WHAT DID THAT MOMENT FEEL LIKE YOU EXPERIENCING THE LOVE OF PEOPLE FOR THAT? >> YOU KNOW, WE DID A KICKSTARTER SEVERAL YEARS AGO, AND I DISCOVERED THEN THAT THE GENERATION OF ADULTS NOW WHO GREW UP ON READING RAINBOW, THEY WERE DOWN WITH WHATEVER IT IS I WANTED TO DO, AND THE SAME WAS TRUE WITH THIS "JEOPARDY" THING. I MADE IT PUBLIC THAT I WANTED IT FOR MYSELF, THAT IT MADE SENSE TO ME, AND THEY WERE ALL ABOUT IT. WELL -- AND IT MADE AS MUCH SENSE TO THEM AS IT DID TO ME. >> Trevor: RIGHT. >> AND, SO, THEY WANTED IT FOR ME AS MUCH AS I WANTED IT. THE CRAZY THING IS THAT WHEN YOU SET YOUR SIGHTS ON SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, THEY SAY BE CAREFUL OF WHAT YOU WISH FOR BECAUSE WHAT I FOUND OUT IS THAT IT WASN'T THE THING THAT I WANTED AFTER ALL. WHAT I WANTED WAS TO COMPETE. I MEAN, I WANTED THE JOB, RIGHT, BUT THEN, WHEN I DIDN'T GET IT, IT WAS, LIKE, WELL, OKAY, WHAT'S NEXT? AND, SO, THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT HAVE COME MY WAY AS A RESULT OF NOT GETTING THAT GIG, I COULDN'T HAVE DREAMT IT UP. IF YOU HAD GIVEN ME A PEN AND PAPER AND SAID, WELL, SO WHAT DO YOU WANT THIS TO REALLY LOOK LIKE? >> Trevor: RIGHT, RIGHT. >> IF IT DOESN'T INCLUDE "JEOPARDY," I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO. >> Trevor: THAT'S THE SHIP WRECK THAT LEADS YOU TO THE MAGICAL ISLAND. >> THAT'S RIGHT. >> Trevor: WE FOCUS ON THE SHIP WRECK. WE DON'T THINK ABOUT THE ISLAND IT GOT US TO. >> THE ISLAND IS WHERE YOU MEANT TO BE ALL ALONG. >> Trevor: I WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOU MAKE -- I KNOW YOU'VE GOT A PRODUCTION COMPANY. YOU'VE HAD A PODCAST FOR SEVEN YEARS READING BOOKS. YOU STILL EMBODY EVERYTHING THAT YOU LOVE IN LITERATURE. I WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO THINK OF A WAY -- I KNOW I'M GIVING YOU ALL THE WORK HERE. BUT THERE'S GOT TO BE SOME SORT OF GAME SHOW IN AND AROUND BOOKS. THERE'S GOT TO BE SOMETHING IN THAT WORLD. >> WE ARE WORKING ON CREATING EXACTLY WHAT THAT IS. >> Trevor: I DESERVE THE CREDIT FOR IT. I KNOW I SAID IT LATE BUT I FEEL LIKE NOW THIS IS ONE OF THOSE WHERE I FEEL LIKE YOU HACKED MY MIND. >> AND NOW I OWE YOU MONEY? >> Trevor: NO, JUST CREDIT. >> CREDIT. >> Trevor: YOU CAN JUST SAY DEVELOPED BY ALL THE PEOPLE -- AND SAY AND TREVOR, LATER, BUT ALSO DEVELOPED BIRCHLTS BROTHER I WOULD BE HAPPY TO GIVE YOU CREDIT BECAUSE THE THING IS, I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT HOSTING ANY OTHER GAME SHOW OUTSIDE OF "JEOPARDY." BUT NOW, HAVING -- THEY WENT IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION WITH THEIR SHOW, WHICH IS THEIR RIGHT, AND NOW I'M THINKING, WELL, IT DOES KIND OF MAKE SENSE, LET ME SEE WHAT I CAN DO. SO WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE RIGHT GAME SHOW FOR LeVar BURTON WOULD BE. >> Trevor: I LOVE THAT. >> YEAH. >> Trevor: NOW YOU'RE WRITING YOUR STORY INSPIRED BY ANOTHER STORY. >> INSPIRED BY ANOTHER STORY. >> Trevor: I LOVE THAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING ME ON THE SHOW. >> TREVOR NOAH, YOU ARE A NATIONAL TREASURE. YOU ARE THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS AND WHAT YOU DO WITH YOUR PLATFORM IS REALLY REMARKABLE. >> Trevor: I APPRECIATE YOU SO MUCH, BROTHER. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. >> YEAH. >> Trevor: YOU CAN LISTEN TO THE LEVER BURNT READS POD CAST AT LeVar BURTON PODCAST.com OR WHEREVER YOU
