Luke Russert | "Person to Person" with Norah O'Donnell

hi I'm Nora O'Donnell and this is Person to Person Our Guest today is Luke Russert let's go live at Capitol Hill NBC's Luke Russert is there Luke Russert is an Emmy award-winning reporter and now an author in 2008 he was thrust into the spotlight after the death of his well-known father this is Meet the Press with Tim Russert renowned journalist and moderator of Meet the Press Tim Russert after his moving eulogy in front of future presidents sitting senators and other dignitaries I love you Dad and in his words let us all go get him he took a job at NBC News first as a youth correspondent then cutting his teeth on Capitol Hill covering Congress but after eight years of following in his Father's Footsteps he decided to forge a path of his own leaving everything he's known behind to travel to 67 countries over three years he documents his journey in his new book look for me there greeting my father finding myself we sat down with him ahead of Father's Day for an intimate person-to-person conversation [Music] Luke Russert it's so good to see you thank you for being here thank you so much for having me it's an honor the band's back together the band is back together yes how have you been I've been well I've been well it's been really rewarding to have this book out in the wild it's a beautiful book um it's fun to read and of course knowing you and your family I learned a lot along the way and it's hard to believe it's been 15 years since your dad Tim Russert died yeah it's been 15 years and I think about him every single day but with the passage of time it has gotten a little bit easier as I mentioned in the book and I think back just all that has happened in my life and where the country has gone over that time and I often think about what would Tim say right now what would dad say right now but I'm fortunate enough to get into those meditative spaces where I think about that and then almost converse with him so that's been really rewarding yeah given the politics of the last uh several years in our last couple elections I think about Tim a lot yeah about what Tim would have to say about kind of the current state affairs kinds of questions he would ask I mean I think about him a lot too as my former boss at NBC I do want you to read from your book if you don't mind I put a little a little note in here and highlight it let me see if you don't mind what do we got there sure I take a moment backstage to think Tim Russert died at the height of his career he died as the nominees for the 2008 presidential election were being settled on after historic primary season he died as television media reached its Pinnacle in the last hours before a new digital world he died just after his son graduated from a Jesuit college he died days after praying the Vatican he died in his favorite season summer he died on the Friday before his favorite holiday Father's Day the man who wrote books about fatherhood which caused so many people to reconnect with their Dads actually died on Father's Day weekend A fitting ending yeah I mean it gives me the chills hearing you um read it and of course when I read it I thought about that because we're yeah just around Father's Day I got a question from somebody and they said were you ever angry about your dad passing away were you ever consumed by anger because that happens for a lot of people when they're experiencing grief why me why did this happen and those words that I just read have always in a sense given me Comfort the timing was poetic you knew my father you always had good timing that was one of the things that he always would try to do yeah and uh I think that's one of the reasons why uh while I've been very sad over the years at times I was never angry because I almost said if he had to leave that was a good time to go how do you honor him on Father's Day it's interesting of the remembrances so that I always think about the birthday and then obviously the day he passed and there's Father's Day Father's Day for a long time was really the most difficult one for me but then I was lucky uh some friends of mine made me a Godfather I'm a Godfather to a few kids and I try to hang out with my friends and their children and you see the twinkle in the eye of a young child and they're playing baseball or go to a park or something like that I I get what the whole holiday is about and that's brought me a lot of Joy but I understand there's a lot of folks that they turn off their social media on Father's Day uh companies now say you can opt out of ads about Father's Day so I get how it's hard it was hard for me for a long time but I was thankfully able to channel that and see the beauty of another generation coming up and what it means yeah I mean your dad not only in writing those books Big Russ and me about his own dad he was really so proud to be your dad he would frequently do the Today Show at 707 right in the morning and sometimes MSNBC would ask him to stay later and he said no I have to take Luke to school and he was insistent on it he was very protective of those moments and people asked me to say what is the greatest gift your dad ever gave you and I always say it was time but it was honest time and in the time that we shared together it was very inquisitive about my life it was very friendly would ask questions about my friends he would sort of try and craft the whole circle of what his son was going through what his best friend was going through and offer his advice where I I welcomed it or was needed or might try to nudge me in ways he thought would be beneficial but people would ask him you know what's your biggest accomplishment he said when I'm gone from this Earth the only thing I really truly will be judged on is how good of a father I was and he believed that and I think that is something that I certainly carry with me and am very much aware of of that love and that Bond well he was my boss for many years he came loved you I know came to our wedding uh which was great and I know he would uh saddle up to the bar at the restaurant many times the super mug that's right and have the supermarket and I can remember I had twin children in 2007. yeah and then in 2008 well I was later in 2007 I was pregnant again and I was embarrassed I had to tell him and I had to tell him and Jeff said why are you embarrassed to tell Tim he'll think it's great and I can remember going into Tim's office and I think I was in his office for about an hour and I remember him saying if I had ever had a girl I would have named her Riley and so when I got home from work Jeff said how the you know meeting the Tim going to say oh he was great I mean he kept going on and on we had this long conversation it was probably the longest conversation I'd ever had with him that's fun and and then I told him the story and of course I have a daughter named named Riley and would touches on something that I learned after he passed away there were so many folks that reached out to me and they said you know I was going through a typical situation or I was having a child or I lost somebody or had a job switch and your dad was so kind to me and understanding and I think especially in the media world where you see that struggle between work-life balance I mean you think about it from 35 000 feet it's kind of crazy you have to go into your boss's office and be like oh I'm so sorry I'm bringing in another child into this world which is a joyous beautiful thing to do right yes and he was conscientious at an understanding of that and uh that's the perspective I miss the most your dad's book Big Russ and me and I remember when that came out it ends with a letter to you and he writes Luke Mann along the way you'll hit some hurdles and experience some setbacks I will always be there for you but remember while you are always always loved you are never never entitled yeah as Grandpa likes to say the world doesn't owe you a favor you do however owe this world something to live a good and decent and meaningful life would be the ultimate affirmation of Grandpa's lessons and values yeah yeah how do you feel about that now it's such a beautiful letter but it's a letter that to be honest with you I did struggle with at times I thought it was a letter of great expectation being placed on shoulders you know how am I supposed to do that Dad you're not around to guide me anymore and a lot of my book is about that is the journey to get to that place but ultimately what I realized is that here's somebody who was at the top of his career who you're somebody who was around popes and presidents and prime ministers and seemingly had it all when he was going out onto the under his next life and the most important thing to him was just living a good honest and meaningful life you know one of the things he used to always say is Luke 12 48 Biblical scripture to him much is given much is expected and I struggled with that for a long time what is expected do I have to do great things do I have to be just as good as you Dad better than you did and I realized that no it was what's in that letter just be a good human being just be kind and that's the the greatest thing you could ever do in this life and I I that that now resonates with me I'm not afraid of it like I was for some time all right when we come back we're going to talk to Luke about his world travels and finding his own identity that's next [Music] and we're back with Luke Russert all right your new book look for me there grieving my father finding myself have you found yourself I like to say I'm a work in progress but the most important thing was on that journey I got to a place of Peace in regards to losing dad and that was a real milestone for me because I struggled with his grief for a long time I didn't even know that I was struggling with his grief for a while but as I started to travel I realized that one of the things I had done right after he passed away is I jumped into the hard work of of being on network news and the greatest cure for misery was hard work I thought and while I enjoyed the success that came with work and I enjoyed being on Capitol Hill and learning so much about American government I never really grieved dad and it wasn't until I traveled the world and became conscious of that that I was really able to take a step forward and being more at peace as far as me still work in progress there you know what we're all and I thought actually that's one of the most touching things about the book I mean not only is it so honestly written and it's beautifully written your vulnerability really shines through and the idea that you kind of have to live up to or think you have to live up to some sort of expectations that either you've made up or you think other people have made up and you're really trying to keep talking about finding yourself finding inner peace I kept underlining those words do you feel more at peace I certainly do and I think one of the things that I mentioned is I leave the job and the idea is okay there's going to be this aha moment there's going to be this relatory just thing that's going to happen right around the next Bend but that's not how life Works life is a a long journey I journaled all the time I would write down bits and pieces of what I learned in different countries and how it affected me and what I thought about it but the most important thing I learned was become more comfortable and uncertainty and the more comfortable I got in uncertainty the more I was able to see things for what they were which is hey you know no one's expecting you to be Tim Russert you're a 22 year old kid when he died people want you to be will you in the most comfortable way you can in the most important person in your life your dad he would want that and so it took me a while to get there because especially as a Young Man you often think of vulnerability as weakness right because you're taught on the sports field don't be vulnerable be tough be protected go forward in a way in which you're not going to be exposed don't have unforced errors Etc and what I learned is that no by opening myself up by being more vulnerable I actually got to a place of understanding which was hey why do I think this way or you know what you did go through something difficult it's okay to be sad it's okay to be anxious that's a natural reaction all the story and ignoring that had happened over all those years that's a lot of weight and that's going to catch up to you he did have these familiar phrases that he used to say all the time I mean every time I would see him in the NBC Bureau he would say what do you know yeah what do you know and in many times I would you know pull in late to something I would think oh my gosh if I run into Tim he's going to ask me what do you know and so I would sit in the car and make a phone call so that I'd have some scooplet in order to deliver to him in case I ran into him on the way back through the hallway by his office back to my office he was known for sort of those frequencies what do you know go get him was another one that he used to say all the time what a country what a country that he's adopted from my grandfather which is very neat one of the things you talk about in the book is covering Capitol Hill covering John McCain forging a friendship with him and then wanting to go to Vietnam to see of course where he was held as a prisoner of war for five years it was one of the most incredible visits I made on this journey and I'd gotten to know John McCain he was a he told vicious jokes and it was a very funny guy especially as a young man when I was in my 20s talking to him was always a real treat he had a nickname for you uh Skywalker that's right and what was you know I always respected from a young age the fact that he had spent all that time in the prison camp and that he had also had a chance to leave early because of who his father was and he didn't he said no I'm going to leave here in the order which I came and when I went and I saw that prison cell and you see how dark it is how just scary and decrepit and it most humiliating and just it is so full of fear if anything else I I don't think I could have lasted three hours and the fact that he lasted all those years it really resonated with me as well you can say what you want about somebody politically but when they talk about their War experience what they went through it's uh it's it they're all Patriots they really are Faith of my fathers to me is one of the most searing books I've ever read where he talks about his time as prisoner of war and while a lot of this book is about grieving your father and finding yourself you do travel with your mom as you point out for the first time in your third you know in your 30 years right you find yourself traveling with your mom and for people who don't know your mom Maureen orth is a celebrated brilliant journalist right and an Intrepid traveler he is herself and you have um a bit of a complex relationship with her I do and it's one that I explore in the book the easiest way to explain it is that my dad was the good cop and she was the bad cop and growing up that was difficult for me because I didn't understand why she was so hard on me and one of the beauties of traveling with her was even though it was my early 30s I finally got to understand who she was independent of that role of Mom and when I traveled with her and I saw how curious she was I saw the motor that she had how she never taken over an answer how she was Fearless I subtly understood oh here's somebody that worked so hard her entire life for everything she had but also wanted me to see the ways of the world and also wanted me to know that you you gotta engage and you gotta be tough and you got to be proactive if you saw sort of a kid that you're in this bubble don't get too spoiled be be aware and it's been greatly beneficial for our relationship I totally understand where she was coming from now all those years where I may have been a little bit mad at her as a as a young kid yeah I so related to her in so many ways and I'm so in awe of your mother truly um and part because when I was traveling with Donald rumsold after 9 11 and we're in Tajikistan of all places I turn around and there's your mother traveling alone in a place that yeah no man or woman would really want to travel alone to and that's her and after 9 11 happened she said I want to get to the bottom of this because there's got to be something else at play aside from just the terrorism factor and sure enough she went to her editors at Vanity Fair and she said the money that is funding the Taliban is coming from this illicit drug trade it is coming from the poppy seeds that are being grown over there I want to go to Afghanistan they go well you can't go to Afghanistan how about Tajikistan right next door and she went there a few months after 9 11 completely Fearless basically on her own accord and I remember I asked my dad at the time I said should we be worried and he was like honestly because I'm worried for the Taliban considering it's your mom that's funny yeah so you're traveling for years you're in your 30s your mom at one point wants you to stop yeah she says she has a mother's intuition she goes you're untethered and where does this end up what are you doing with your life you're kind of just drifting now and at first I was wait that's hypocritical mom because you know you got married later than most women did at your time you had me later you took some time to travel and she said yes but it was between the assignments and whatnot and so I said okay and at first I was tuning around but then I realized she was right and I was also trying to run away from something and that was the grief of losing him because I felt if I ever had to process that grief then he would really be gone and I didn't want to face that [Music] you also write about visiting Jerusalem yeah what did you find there that helped bring you Clarity so I started to write the book and I had this voice in my head that was saying you know you haven't gone to the Holy Land it's a little weird go to the Holy Land go to the Holy Land I was trying to turn it off I don't want to travel anymore and it's like no you got to go to the Holy Land so I end up going there and grew up in the Catholic faith still Catholic and I go into Christ's tomb and I say this prayer you know please show me something show me something show me something man what am I supposed to do with my life I'm writing now and I've had this incredible experience all this privilege what am I supposed to do and it says voice in in my head goes oh he heard you just go pray I said what prayer oh gosh more meditation I've been doing that for so many years and I walk outside and it's night all the stores are closing but there's a guy on the street and he sells yamakas and there's a Buffalo Bills yamaka which of course is my father's favorite NFL team and I said okay Dad there there you are and so I saw that and I go to the Wailing Wall and I have a wonderful moment which is the conclusion of the book but it's it was something where I realized The Importance of Being aware of things aware of signs aware of symbols and open yourself up to that and that was my aha moment but it took a while to get there all right when we come back we will have more with what's next for the question [Music] and we're back with Luke Russert the other beautiful thing about this book is where you went I found myself Googling places that I've never been just to sort of see them so if somebody is looking to travel someplace what's the most important lesson you learned in your travels I think that it sounds so basic but when you go around and you meet people from all different baits and all different cultures it's just be respectful something my grandfather Big Russ used to say it's nice to be important it's more important to be nice and it takes just as long to be nice as someone as destiny mean so that lesson from South Buffalo New York Works worldwide it does work well congratulations the book is excellent thank you what's next for you are you hiring no I uh I like the story do you think you'll go back into television I don't know I like the storytelling space uh whether it's writing another book uh possibly going back into television and doing something in the long form space one of the things I did really learn while traveling is the value of nuance and how often times we try to make things black or white but most of what the world is and what reporting should be is in the gray there's a lot of complicated things in there that need to be explored so I could be of value in that in that space I learned a lot about that I appreciated how you talked about learning patience too on your travels yeah and that's something that as you know in the media business is not something that is it comes right away it's it's a learned trait and I became way more patient part of that was when you're in a foreign country and you can't speak the language and there's no ride for you what are you gonna do you gotta learn how to wait but I also understood that for patients it adds to respect for for a lot of people and uh I often think like is it worth getting all riled up about something take a breath take a pause and only really exert that if you seriously need to well I so respect what you have done in your travels and the lessons that you're sharing with us and congratulations on this book it's not easy to write a book I really appreciate it and such an honor being on with you you know I feel like I've grown up with you Dora you were hired almost the same age I was at MSNBC so you're doing great things congratulations it's wonderful to see 25 I was 25 and hired by NBC 49 now barely Luke Russert thank you so much [Music]

Channel: CBS News

Views: 2,051

Keywords: broadcast news, tv anchor, journalism, journalist, father's day

Id: R4ZWRVpKVbw

Length: 22min 17sec (1337 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 15 2023