♪ >> announcer: tonight on "late night with seth meyers," chat and music from ben platt, cnn chief political correspondent dana bash, an all-new "closer look, featuring the 8g band with jeff bowders and w, seth meyers >> seth: good evening, i'm seth meyers and this is "late night. how is it everybody doing tonight? that sounds good let's get to the news. president biden traveled to camp david this weekend on an extended august vacation luckily he managed to get out of there right before the taliban took it over the taliban yesterday entered

the city of kabul and took control of afghanistan's presidential palace. most americans watched in horror while some americans watched for tips the taliban has officially declared victory in afghanistan nearly 20 years after the u.s. invasion. though it was just rude to use the banner [ light laughter ] in a new interview, secretary of state tony blinken discussed the taliban's rapid takeover of afghanistan, but not before trying every other possible topic. "so who is watching 'white lotus?'" president biden has announced plans to send more than 5,000 troops to afghanistan as u.s. forces continue their withdraw from the country. though, i'm not sure it makes sense to send people to a country to get people out of that country you know what it's like, you ever try to leave a bar with your friends and you're all outside and one guy is still inside talking to somebody so your friend goes in to get that person and then they don't come out and before you know it, you're

there for another 20 years it's like that former president trump released a statement on friday amid the deteriorating situation in afghanistan and, yeah, he's enjoying this. supreme court justice stephen breyer turned 83 years old yesterday. seven of the other justices wished him a happy birthday with clarence thomas writing the dissent. new jersey governor phil murphy is facing criticism for taking a vacation to italy amidst a spike in coronavirus cases he knows he can get that food in jersey, right? they're state flag is sausage and peppers. [ laughter ] today was director james cameron's 67th birthday. and he celebrated the same way he does every year, by not releasing "avatar 2. the fast food chain wendy's announced last week they will open 700 so-called ghost kitchen that's only prepare food for delivery orders and it will not include a dining room for

customers. and in case you've never seen a wendy's dining room, here's what it looks like. [ laughter ] and finally, authorities in new york are looking to question a couple after an mta train operator allegedly let his girlfriend drive the d-train last week through multiple subway stops and she was so bad at it that none of the passengers noticed and that was a monologue, everybody. we've got a great show for you tonight. he is an emmy, grammy, and tony award-winner, who's latest album, "reverie," was released on friday. ben platt is back on the show to chat and perform for us. and she is cnn's chief political correspondent and co-anchor of "state of the union with jake tapper and dana bash. dana bash will be here but before we get to all that, the taliban have regained control in afghanistan amid a chaotic u.s. evacuation, bringing a tragic end to a 20-year, bipartisan foreign policy disaster that american officials of both parties bear responsibility for, in which they have repeatedly lied about. for more on this, it's time for "a closer look."

♪ >> seth: the crushing reality of the so-called global "war on terror" is that some of the highest ranking officials involved in it now admit that it was a colossal failure and that's a reality we should all grapple with presidents, politicians and foreign policy elites of both parties deserve blame for this calamity in his new book, "reign of terror," author spencer ackerman writes, "in 2020, i asked stanley mcchrystal, the former joint special operations command and afghanistan war commander, if the war on terror had been worth it 'it would be impossible to argue that it was,' he answered. 'the outcome just hasn't been positive enough to argue that.'" that's not an anti-war activist saying that, that's the former commander of the war in afghanistan saying the 20-year war on terror was a failure. it's like if kevin feige said "honestly, i have no idea what's going on in the marvel cinematic universe none of it makes sense t i mean, they all have superpowers, but every fight comes down to karate what the hell? right? of course in reality the only thing feige has to apologize for is not putting vince vaughn in "loki. you missed a huge opportunity to

create some buzz and reunite the greatest comic duo since laurel and hardy. "buddy, buddy, buddy and i say that because there are three of you." [ laughter ] i'm sorry to reference 2005's "wedding crashers. that movie's so old, it came out four years after the start of the war in afghanistan a comment like that from mcchrystal, the idea that the so-called "war on terror" has been a 20-year failure, should provoke some serious introspection and soul searching on the part of washington elites and yet, somehow i can't exactly imagine the people responsible for this calamity looking inward and holding themselves accountable for it george w. bush is too busy in his art studio trying to, i don't know, get a dog's eyebrow right. it's so strange that sandwiched between james patterson's co-author and new england's newest party promoter, we have a former president who's just okay at painting. also were the dogs supposed to look like him? i'm not crazy, right doesn't it kind of look like the dogs have bush's face? and that expression of his that says, "i don't know the answer to your question."

and yet, as tragedy unfolds in afghanistan, the political world is of course engaged in finger-pointing for what has been a generational bipartisan failure that presidents and politicians of both parties bear responsibility for for example, over the weekend, former trump secretary of state mike pompeo tried to claim this would not have happened under the previous administration, but got called out by fox host chris wallace. >> it looks like the biden administration has just failed in its execution of its own plan the plan should have been, much like we had, was that we would have an orderly conditioned spaced way to think about how to draw down our forces there i can assure you, were i still the secretary of state with a commander in chief like president trump, the taliban would have understood that there were real costs to pay >> you were the first american secretary of state to ever meet with the taliban and you talked about how they had agreed to join us in the fight against terrorism. do you regret giving the taliban that legitimacy?

do you regret pressing the afghan government to release 5,000 prisoners, which they did, some of whom are now back on the battlefield fighting with the taliban? >> chris, you make peace with your enemies chris, we never trusted the taliban. you can ask them yourselves. we didn't take the word of the taliban. we watched their actions on the ground when they did the right thing and they helped us against terror that was all good. and when they didn't, we crushed them >> seth: all right first of all, there is literally a picture of you meeting with a taliban leader the trump administration had released from prison that's from november nine months ago. it's not some ancient photograph from 30 years ago that we had to unearth by digging through microfiche at the national archives and then smuggling it out in a rolled up copy of the constitution like nic cage in "national treasure." although, i would give anything to hear nic cage say the word "microfiche. "there's a secret message written by benjamin franklin's ghost and it exists only on microfiche!" "national treasure," three years

after the beginning of the war in afghanistan [ light laughter ] second, you think the trump plan would have been more orderly than what's happening now? you guys are the ones who wanted to withdraw by may i have a hard time believing trump would have done it in a more orderly way since nothing he ever did was orderly. he couldn't even withdraw from an umbrella in orderly fashion instead of armchair generals engaging in craven political point-scoring, what we need right now is everyone calling for the u.s. to accept as many afghan refugees as possible. that includes, afghan who worked with the u.s. army, but it shouldn't be limited to them we should welcome anyone who wants to come. >> what should the biden administration be doing for the people of afghanistan right now? >> every afghan who is interested in doing so, should be given asylum inside the united states. this should be an urgent process. this should be fast tracked and the logistics of it can be in part the responsibility of one of the greatest logistical organizations on the planet, which is the united states military, and in particular the united states air force.

the idea that -- what the biden administration is doing is helping get out afghans who worked for the united states military or served the united states occupation. that is a moral floor that is functioning as a moral ceiling working with the united states should not be a condition of acceptance by american refugee admissions people. >> seth: that's exactly right. taking in as many afghan refugees as want to come here and granting them asylum is the bare minimum we can do and we should be doing it as fast as possible and we have the logistical capability to do it. i know it's not the same, but when i got my vaccine at a fema site, i was in and out in 20 minutes with a shot in my arm and a cdc card, that for some reason doesn't fit in my wallet. and i know today probably isn't the right time to plug a product, but i'm excited to announce "my wallet," the new awkwardly sized wallet, built specifically to hold your vaccine card "my wallet," order now to receive a free pair of "my weird pants. the only pants with pockets big

enough to hold my wallet anyway, the point is, we should be marshalling the same logistical prowess to take in as many afghan refugees as quickly as possible. the priority and yet, for some reason the process for many afghans, including those who worked with the u.s., has been a nightmare for example, "the atlantic" detailed the plight of one interpreter who worked alongside nato combat units. his first visa application, like those of so many others, was denied on spurious bureaucratic grounds. his second attempt hung in limbo for years as he tried to track down the human resources department of the military contractor that had employed him and that subsequently went through several changes of ownership and name holy [ bleep ] just let them come here. screw the paperwork and the red tape why are we putting them through a process that's more complicated than trying to switch your verizon bill to a new address? "no, i don't want to upgrade to the triple-play package. i just want to move my service i know -- i don't want to add a phone line i'm just moving. i do not know my account pin number no, i do not know my 11-digit billing code

what is my dog's middle name?" "hey, what is your middle name?" "he doesn't know." and those attempting to flee now in the face of the taliban onslaught are dealing with the same chaos and confusion, as nbc reported over the weekend. >> we went to a processing center today, a private kind of pop-up office where there was two people with a computer in front of them. and the office was packed with afghans coming in who were trying to navigate their way through the u.s. state department's website all the documentation that they need to provide is in english. they need to be in multiple copies and a lot of the people who were coming in certainly didn't speak english. because it's not just translators. you have security guards and you have contractors and cleaners. not all of them speak english and can navigate their way through a website. >> seth: why are we making this so [ bleep ] complicated you need to navigate a government website with multiple copies of your personal records in a packed office with just two people at a computer

so basically, it's the dmv we just re-created the dmv and no one should ever have to go through that. the last time i was at the dmv, i waited in line so long, i grew a mustache and they ended up putting the wrong name on my license. [ laughter ] and then my license was too small to fit in my new "my wallet." the tragedy that is unfolding now is the culmination of a two decade long legacy of failure left behind by politicians of both parties who repeatedly withheld the truth from the american people. when bush first announced the invasion of afghanistan 20 years ago, the goal at the time, according to bush and the politician that supported the war, was to retaliate against al qaeda and the taliban regime that was shielding it and to prevent future attacks and as the war dragged on, bush continued to insist the u.s. was succeeding in its mission. >> i said a long time ago, one of our objectives is to smoke 'em out and get 'em running and bring 'em to justice we're smoking 'em out. they're running. and now we're going to bring 'em to justice >> seth: remember when the president routinely used the phrase "smoke 'em out" like he was in an episode of "branded?

and i'm sorry to drop a "branded" reference, but sometimes you gotta pander to the people who are too old for the mah jokes. [ laughter ] hope you guys liked it [ laughter ] throughout the war, bush promised that the u.s. would not repeat the history of failure that had beset past empires in afghanistan. >> the history of military conflict in afghanistan has been one of initial success, followed by long years of floundering and ultimate failure we're not going repeat that mistake. >> seth: the very thing they told us wouldn't happen is exactly what happened. he sounds like he's describing his own battle with a poncho "we had some initial success followed by floundering and ultimate failure, but we won't be deterred. next we're going to try an umbrella hat." "umbrellas are not easy either just fyi." they knew early in the war that the danger of failure and instability was very real and behind the scenes they even admitted they had no idea what to do about it

secretary of defense donald rumsfeld wrote in an internal memo only six months after the war started, "we are never going to get the u.s. military out of afghanistan unless we take care to see that there is something going on that will provide the stability that will be necessary for us to leave. "help!" he wrote he literally wrote the word "help" with an exclamation point. you know, the same way you text your spouse when you're trapped in a conversation at a dinner party that you desperately want to get out of. "rick has been talking about his metal cover band for 20 minutes. they're called 'age against the machine. help!" the bush administration kicked off a 20-year bipartisan tradition of lying about the war in afghanistan and shielding the american people from the truth to what was really happening we know that from blockbuster reporting in 2019 from "the washington post," which got its hand on a confidential trove of documents called "the afghanistan papers," in which senior u.s. officials from both parties admitted they had been lying about the reality about how the war was really going for example, a three-star army general who served as the white house's afghan war czar during the bush and obama

administration said in 2015, "we were devoid of a fundamental understanding of afghanistan we didn't know what we were doing. what are we trying to do here? we didn't have the foggiest notion of what we were undertaking. the u.s. foreign policy apparatus should not approach afghanistan the same way i approach trying to install a wireless router. connect the router to a broadband gateway from your isp by inserting the ethernet cable to the port located on the back of the tp-link extender? i don't have the foggiest notion of what i'm undertaking. do you know how this works why am i asking you? and instead of being honest and telling that to the american people, officials cherry-picked and misrepresented the data to make the war look like it was going much better than it actually was for example, an army colonel who served as a senior counter insurgency adviser to u.s military commanders in 2013 and '14 told government interviewers "every data point was altered to present the best picture possible surveys, for instance, were totally unreliable but reinforced that everything we were doing was right and we

became a self-licking ice cream cone." what is that a thing? a self-licking ice cream cone? that sounds like something that would get pitched on an episode of "shark tank" where everyone laughs, but then mark cuban invests and then three years later you hear that it somehow sold for $1 billion to apple and you go to a party and all your friends have self-licking ice cream cones. "try it, it's called the i-cone. it's siri enabled. it tracks your steps." the majority of americans want the forever war in afghanistan to end should have ended a long time ago. ending it now is the only option but one thing we can and must do right now is accept as many refugees and grant as many afghans asylum as we possibly can as quickly as we can and if there is anyone left in politics or the media who disagrees, who fear mongers about taking in as many refugees as we can, then when election time comes, i hope voters will - >> smoke 'em out >> seth: this has been "a closer look." ♪ >> seth: we'll be right back with ben platt ♪

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sweats, chills, muscle aches, or coughs, or if you plan to or recently received a vaccine. ♪ nothing is everything ♪ now is the time to ask your dermatologist about skyrizi. ♪ >> seth: sitting in with the 8g band this week, he's a los angeles-based drummer and

author who has played with artists like shakira and paul gilbert he is the founder of the award-winning drum education website, drum discipline academy. for more information, check out drumdisciplineacademy.com and check out his latest solo album titled "mission," available everywhere jeff bowders is here welcome to the show, jeff. our first guest tonight is a tony, grammy, and emmy award-winning performer, singer/songwriter, and actor you know from the critically acclaimed series "the politician" and broadway's hit show, "dear evan hansen. his sophomore album, "reverie," is available everywhere now. please welcome back to the show, ben platt. ben, how are you >> hey, seth, how you doing? nice to see you. >> seth: nice to see you too it's been five years since you were last here and it was the beginning of the ben platt era it was your first talk show appearance >> it was my first -- yes, my first ever late night moment i was very, very nervous and sweaty and you looked exactly the same except maybe like a little more sun kissed

>> seth: thank you very much for saying that. and i don't know if you remember, but on your way out the door that day i said, "by the next time i see you, you better have an emmy, a grammy, and a tony," and you lived up to it >> and it's only because you said those things to me that any of them happened so i really appreciate it. >> seth: i was fishing for that and i got you on the hook. so this is really -- we've talked when you were here before about how you perform a lot with your family. that was something you did growing up and you know, like a lot of us spent time with family over what was a difficult year did you -- in 2020, did you spend a lot of time with them and was that a nice safety net for you? >> it was wonderful. yeah i moved home when the whole thing started and moved into my childhood bedroom and lived with my parents which was a brand new experience as a pseudo-adult and i got to write my whole album from there, so i got super inspired by like all of my

posters and decor and yearbooks and all of the places that i had been and i got to see my parents as people which i feel like is this weird transition that happens for all of us as we get older, but it was sort of expedited, i think, for a lot of us during the pandemic and certainly for me too >> seth: so, it sounds like your childhood bedroom is fairly well preserved? would you describe it as a shrine to ben's youth? >> it's pretty untouched they didn't necessarily like spruce it in any way, but they also didn't, like, mess with it or turn it into a gym, which i really appreciate. it's -- we got like all my broadway posters like "pippin" and "caroline, or change," and there's a big picture of me and beanie feldstein, my best friend, from prom. we went together all of my, you know, all of my two soccer trophies from when i was like 7 years old a couple of my bar mitzvah centerpieces, which were also giant "playbills." so it's a very theater-friendly room the one thing that i never identified with is that my wallpaper is like a bunch of old, like, cartography like, it's a bunch of maps and it was because i went away to camp one summer, and my mom was like, "as your birthday gift, when you get home from

camp, i'm going to make your room like mature and older because you're going to middle school and i want you to feel like you're growing up." and i was like, "oh, cool, awesome. and then her interpretation of that was to give me like a black comforter and, like, maps all over the room. so i was like, "do you know me at all, mom? but it's very untouched. >> seth: based on everything you've shared with me, ben, i believe your future is sea travel >> exactly and how right she was. >> seth: i think my family, my parents, half preserved my childhood bedroom and then added a work desk that has the oldest printer you've ever seen like, they made this decision in the mid-2010s and yet they somehow found a printer from, like, the '80s >> well, i bet aesthetically least. >> seth: it's beautiful and loud, which is really nice >> that's what you want from your electronics as disruptive as possible. >> seth: you mentioned beanie and you know you mentioned having this really strong friend support system the last time we talked

when you work on something like an album, does that come into play are you lucky to have people to bounce stuff off >> absolutely. especially noah galvin, who is my boyfriend and who i spent most of the pandemic with as well you know, he -- getting to play the music for him and let it just be kind of something just for us, for my friends and for my family and, you know, see how much they love it and listen to it in their own lives. like, leading up to the release definitely relieves a lot of the anxiety and worry that comes with putting something out that has so many little personal nuggets and experiences in it, that you, you know, worry if people will understand or connect to or feel like they see themselves in. so for the people that matter the most to already be, kind of, listening to it and jamming to it and appreciating it, it makes that feel smaller in a good way. >> seth: i can imagine, too, you can constantly tinker with something like an album before you put it out do you have now a sense of relief that that part is over and that it's out for people to enjoy? >> so much so. yeah i think, like i always -- or i guess i've only had this experience really one other time when i put out my first album. but, of course, in the days leading up to the release, i was

listening pretty obsessively and just trying to really -- you know, before you put anything out, i feel like you want to really feel like you know it and you know exactly what it is that's about to be in the world before it belongs to everybody else because i find that once it's everyone else's, i'm not as inclined to listen on my own so i was kind of, like, soaking up the end of that experience. and of course, i find little nitpicky things and, you know, as you grow even since, you know, things have been finalized and mastered, things still change in life and you have new perspectives and new ideas but in terms of as a snapshot of when it was made and what part of my life i was in, i do feel it's a good example of that. and i feel very authentically me so i'm happy with where it ended up >> seth: i imagine you have a whole new relationship with an album when you go out and start touring with it, which you've just announced you're going to do is that --i mean, just in general for someone like you to get in front of an audience again must be exciting but also to do it with this really personal work must be cool >> absolutely. i feel like much like any other

performer during this, you know, horror two years terrible time, i've been like really just craving that live experience and having that connection with people in the room it's what i grew up doing. it's how i started working and how -- sort of, my comfort zone, my and so at the end of the day these are all meant to really be performed. and so i think they only really feel like they've reached the finish line and they're, like, fully realized when i get to actually sing them for live human beings >> seth: not -- you know, touring is one thing you know, another that you have an intense relationship with is obviously broadway do you look more forward to being on stage again one day or just the simple pleasure of being back in a broadway audience as a, you know, viewer? >> honestly, equally i mean, i think first i'd love to, like, rip the band-aid off by being a patron and an audience member, because that's, like, my favorite activity in the world.

and i think i -- that's like my favorite thing to do to just, you know, process or any time i need any kind of relief when i was living in new york for the last, you know, eight or nine years. it was always to try and go see a broadway show. and i think much like going to restaurants and just so many things that felt so small or so ordinary to us now feel like little adventures and, like, roller coasters every time we do them and i think to the end of nth degree, seeing a broadway show is going to feel like this entirely new experience. so i'm very hungry to do that. and then, of course, after that, get back up there myself for sure >> seth: we're also very excited that you're sticking around to do a song from the new album thank you so much for that and congrats on the album and thanks for being here. >> thank you so much thanks for having me and thanks for letting me sing for you. >> seth: all right, "reverie" is out now. and the "dear evan hansen" movie will be out on september 24th. stick around for a performance from ben later in the show we'll be right back with dana bash. ♪

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♪ >> seth: our next guest is cnn's chief political correspondent and co-anchor of "state of the union," which airs sunday mornings at 9:00 on cnn. please welcome back to the show, dana bash. ♪ >> hi. [ applause ] nice to see you in person. >> seth: i know. thank you for making the trip. >> my pleasure thank you. ♪ >> seth: this is very nice last time i saw you was on a zoom screen. >> i know. i know we're inching, inching back to normalcy >> seth: well, then a very interesting thing though, the tables were turned you came here, and i think a first for us, you were just on a cnn zoom screen. >> i was >> seth: you did a live hit from our dressing room. >> i did >> seth: because, you know, we tape this early in the day joe biden has just spoken. >> mm-hmm. >> seth: -- while we are talking here what was your reaction, not just

to the speed in which the taliban has taken back the country, but joe biden's remarks today? >> they were very focused on what you mentioned in your open, which is that americans are done with this 20 year war, right and, so it was for domestic consumption. it was making the case that as bad and as hard as this is, that if it didn't happen now, it could have happened five years ago. if the u.s. pulled out then, or 15 years ago if the u.s. stays longer but it doesn't change the fact that we still don't know why the execution seemed so bungled, right? >> seth: yeah. >> i mean, the fact that we have these images, but the images tell the story of people who were asking to get out and knew this deadline was coming and didn't get approval, or didn't get the green light and just didn't get taken out before this happened >> seth: yeah. because there's a lot -- been a lot of reporting of people in afghanistan knew this day were coming you know, the special immigrant visa >> exactly >> seth: 18,000 people, at

least, who were backlogged so they knew it was coming and i think another thing to keep in mind, is i don't think a lot americans, day-to-day, think about afghanistan. >> definitely not. >> seth: but, we now have these images that are, sort of, indelible as to what we're seeing and yet, we also have these bad faith arguments by those on the right who are forgetting that the plan that is being carried out right now, was donald trump's plan. >> he put it in place. he set the deadline. well, let me back up he made the agreement inside afghanistan for the pullout. he pulled most of the troops out, save for 2,500, and then set the deadline so the only question for joe biden when he took office, is whether or not he would stand by that, or change things. and when he was vice president, he, i guess, now famously was a very minority voice within the obama administration telling, then-president obama, we should get out now.

and president obama, ultimately decided to stay. but it is just a reminder that now president biden has wanted to get out of afghanistan for quite some time. and that's what he basically said in his speech, that we need to end this, and we need to focus as americans on threats that are much more grave, much more pressing, like china and like russia. >> seth: you reported from inside afghanistan at a time when there maybe was some optimism >> it was so different, seth i was with, then, vice president cheney first we made a surprise trip to iraq, which is a whole different story. but then we went to afghanistan, and the reason he was there, it was because it was the opening of the general assembly. and so it was totally bizarre to go in. i was part of a very small press pool but, he went in, and then we followed to a very small smoke filled room. but there were elected members of the parliament inside afghanistan. and there were women there

there were members of the taliban who were elected, sitting side by side and, i remember thinking, "wow, this is amazing. and wondering if it was fleeting and the answer is yes, because it is, as you said, hubris for america, time and time again, to try to impose ideals and a philosophy on a place that just isn't interested in it and that was proof by the fact that 300,000 -- or however many afghan troops were trained, and they, for whatever reason, just didn't have the will obviously there was fear in there. but they didn't have the will to fight. >> seth: you -- we talked about it you reported in afghanistan. we're very lucky, right now, to have people reporting on the ground, which talking about fear, you know, i will say the safety of my desk is about as much as i would risk >> you and me both >> seth: and your colleague, clarissa ward -- >> amazing >> seth: who's been doing reporting from inside the country, and, you know, there is, sort of, an eight second

clip that's going around, right now, as well as a meme that she's addressed. and, again, these are bad faith actors both elected officials and in the media, who are trying to frame what she said. how upsetting is it to you that -- especially when they're attacking the people that are doing the sort of, you know, the boot leather, they're actually being there in real time >> it doesn't -- i don't even have words to describe how upsetting it is, because, you're exactly right. she is there she is on the ground she is reporting, real time, what is happening in the most dangerous of circumstances for anybody of any gender, and here she is as a woman doing it and confronting members of the taliban, who said to her, she was covered, but she needed to be covered more, because you could still see her face she needed to be covered more, because you could still see her fingers. she needed to be wearing gloves. and she's doing her reporting for everybody in the world, particularly americans, with the kis of dangers and these kinds of realities and for all the people who criticize her, i'd like them to go spend five seconds in her

shoes, never mind five minutes, or five days and -- or months, which is what she has done combined she's such a bad ass, seth i mean, i can't say -- and by the way she -- not for nothing, she has two babies at home she's a mom. >> seth: it is -- it is truly -- truly impressive although i have two kids at home, and there are times where that's when i want to go to afghanistan. [ laughter ] >> i hear you. >> seth: yeah. you know -- you know the feeling, where you're like, "i'm gonna go somewhere a little bit more low key." >> i feel. i'm a mom. i'm a mom. yeah, i get it >> seth: so, i want to talk to you, the last time we spoke, you were with a couple of your colleagues and now, a lot has changed for you since then you're co-hosting "state of the union. >> mm-hmm. >> seth: your career began when the news -- technology was certainly different. >> yeah. >> seth: what were your early days in journalism >> well, i started at cnn, right out of college in fact, i was still in school it was my second semester of my senior year. i was living in washington, and i started freelancing. and my first job, job, i got right on my 22nd birthday. and, which is in -- in the summer, right after i graduated.

and it was to work in the tape library. so, that means that there was videotape. >> seth: yeah. >> and there was a library for -- to house that videotape and none of that exists anymore. i mean, we don't do videotape. >> seth: no. >> right it's all -- and so when i tell people that, they're like, "what is that? i said, "you know, the thing that you see in the movies, where they put the -- the, you know, go back and watch "broadcast news," which also the kids don't know what it is [ laughter ] >> seth: exactly >> but that's what -- but that's basically what it was. that was the technology back then >> seth: that's true i mean, i -- i worked as an intern for comedy central in the mid '90s and my job was, literally, running videotapes -- getting in taxis and running videotapes to other parts of the city. it was -- and it's crazy to think back >> that's amazing. yeah >> seth: 'cause, again, you just can't -- you -- none of us can conceive of the fact that our 20s will be ancient history. you know >> ancient, ancient history. i mean, to think that we didn't have -- i mean, we barely had e-mail >> seth: yeah. >> we barely had the internet. we barely had any of that. god, i feel like i'm 100 years old. we should stop talking >> seth: i know. yeah, we should stop let's talk about someone that young people like. aoc. >> yeah. you did -- you did a -- basically an hour special with

her. >> mm-hmm. >> seth: and you've, obviously, interviewed and spent time with many politicians i don't think i'm alone in making the comment that there's something unique about her what did you find in your time with her >> there is. and, you know, you had a cameo -- >> seth: i was very happy to make a cameo thank you. >> -- in that hour, because, when i was doing my -- my research, i watched the interview that she did -- she's sitting right here with you, and there was such a classic moment. i was trying to figure out how to get at the fact that one of the reasons she is so polarizing, and in particular, people on the right are so fixated on her, is because she's so beautiful and she's so young and they don't really know what to do with her and you just nailed it you just went at it in a very, very clever way. so, instead of me figuring out how to ask the question, i just put it right on you. >> seth: thank you >> so, thank you for that. [ laughter ] >> seth: look, any time i can find my way into stuff on other networks, 'cause i'm trying to, like, spread it out. you know yeah >> yeah. well, yeah it was -- it was very welcomed >> seth: but, there is something about her that i feel like, you pointed out, which is that she's also not ashamed of those things

i feel like there, you know, there's this long history of women politicians having to, you know, like, bend themselves towards what we perceive as strengths of male politicians. and she sort of unapologetically doesn't do that. >> my favorite segment in this hour that we did was about that. which is that she said, "there is power in femininity and that's why i own it. i mean, she did a tutorial for "vogue" magazine, where she did her whole beauty routine, including her famous red lips. and not a lot of women politicians would ever do that and the reason is because, for the most part, women conform to the idea of male power, and that's the argument that she was making and it's not even something that ever occurred to me. and i think it's generational. and -- and it's very unique to her, which is part of the conversation that i thought was so interesting >> seth: well, it's always interesting talking to you i really do appreciate you making the trip in person. >> i'm so glad to be here. >> seth: and hopefully we'll see you soon >> yeah.

thank you. >> seth: you guys, "state of the union" airs sundays at 9:00 a.m. and noon on cnn. we'll be right back with music from ben platt ♪ ♪ last things last by the grace of the fire and the flames ♪ ♪ you're the face of the future, the blood in my veins, oh-ooh ♪ ♪ the blood in my veins, oh-ooh ♪ ♪ but they never did, ever lived, ebbing and flowing ♪ ♪ inhibited, limited ♪ ♪ 'til it broke open and rained down ♪ ♪ pain! you made me a, you made me a believer, ♪ pre-order now and get up to $200 in samsung credit. ♪♪ (clicking sound) hear that? pre-order now and get up to $200 in samsung credit. ♪ ♪ that's dove's first aluminum-free refillable deodorant our best care for you... for them...

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>> seth: performing, "i wanna love you but i don't" off his latest album, "reverie," here is ben platt. ♪ ♪ i think it suck that you're perfec because you're not perfect for me ♪ ♪ and though you kill me with kindness it ain't the kin that i need ♪ ♪ i know we loo good on pape until you give us a read ♪ ♪ cause when we pul back the curtain there ain't a whol lot to see ♪

♪ i wanna love yo but i don' i wanna need you but i won't ♪ ♪ i begged my heart to star to race when i'm kissing you i say i'm dreaming about your face but it isn't you ♪ ♪ and i'm not tryin to change yo but it's just no in the stars ♪ ♪ i know there' somebody out there to love yo just as you are ♪ ♪ when you finally find that someone who fits you right ♪ ♪ you're gonna se i couldn't be hi no matter how hard i try ♪ ♪ i kno i wanna love you but i i wanna love you but i ♪ ♪ i wanna love yo but i don' i wanna need you but i won't ♪ ♪ i begged my heart to star

to race when i'm kissing you i say i'm dreaming about your face but it isn't you ♪ ♪ i wanna love yo but i don' you gotta let me let you go ♪ ♪ cause i can't look yo in the eye for another day won't stay forever so goodbye is the only way ♪ ♪ i wanna love yo but i don' i wanna love you but i don't ♪ ♪ i wanna love yo but i don' i wanna need you but i won't ♪ ♪ i beg my heart to start t race when i'm kissing yo i say i'm dreaming about your face but it isn't you ♪ ♪ i wanna love yo but i don'

you gotta let me let you go ♪ ♪ cause i can't look yo in the eye for another day won't stay forever so goodbye is the only way ♪ ♪ i wanna love yo but i don't ♪ ♪ i wanna love yo but i don' i wanna love you i wanna, wanna ♪ >> seth: my thanks to ben platt. "reverie" is out now we'll be right back. ♪ ♪

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if you have a rash and other symptoms of an allergic reaction, stop dovato and get medical help right away. tell your doctor if you have kidney or liver problems, or if you are, may be, or plan to be pregnant. dovato may harm your unborn baby. use effective birth control while on dovato. do not breastfeed while taking dovato. most common side effects are headache, nausea, diarrhea, trouble sleeping, tiredness, and anxiety. so much goes into who i am. hiv medicine is one part of it. ask your doctor about dovato-i did. ♪♪ ♪ >> announcer: for more "late night," go to latenightseth.com. follow us on instagram and twitter @latenightseth and be sure to check us out on youtube and facebook head over to itunes to subscribe

to the "late night with seth meyers" podcast. you'll get "a closer look" and more downloaded right to your phone. ♪♪ ♪♪

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>> seth: i want to thank my guests, ben platt and dana bash. i want to thank jeff bowders and the 8g band. stay safe. get vaccinated we love you. ♪ ♪