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Kumail Nanjiani | The Blocks Podcast w/ Neal Brennan | FULL EPISODE 35

Neal Brennan | January 8, 2026



Neal Brennan interviews Kumail Nanjiani (‘The Big Sick,’ ‘Eternals,’ ‘Silicon Valley,’ ‘Beta Male’ + much more) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something’s wrong – and how he is persevering despite these blocks.
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00:00 Intro
5:49 Running for President
20:27 Body Image
24:51 Wants to Be #1
26:10 Self-worth tied to career
28:21 Divorcing experience from results
38:49 Relationships
1:05:58 Guilt Regret Shame
1:09:43 Career Dysmorphia
1:34:50 What He’s Done
1:37:05 Movie Question
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https://nealbrennan.com for tickets to Neal’s tour Brand New Neal
Watch Neal Brennan: Blocks on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81036234
Theme music by Electric Guest (unreleased).
Edited by Will Hagle
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Written by Neal Brennan

Comments

This post currently has 33 comments.

  3. @mairamouramiranda

    January 8, 2026 at 10:38 pm

    I feel like the bad voices come from protection. We, as animals, learn from pain. We learn not to do harmful things by being aware of what can hurt us. The problem is that we now face more complex pain signals than a simple burnt or a scare from a predator. For millions of years, our animal ancestors dealt with the fear of literally dying. Now we deal with the fear of being excluded, unloved, not being taken care of, and being left alone to suffer a slow and painful life, in a terrifying broken society. In such an environment, feeling shame and humiliation is much more complex and hard to learn from in a healthy way than purely physical pain. The worst things we can possibly think about ourselves may be actually real. Someone may see the worst in us… But we learn, as we go, that this is not the case 99,9% of the time. And it is much more rewarding to listen to our bliss then to listen to fear, guilt and shame. We have to learn how to dose and navigate these bad thoughts that are trying to protect us from bad exposure and risks of failure. Cause they can cause more harm than protection. But I do feel that they come from defense mechanisms. Our senses are amazing navigation tools, but our thoughts are very limited. Takes time to adjust to complex situations.

  5. @perriergaz3612

    January 8, 2026 at 10:38 pm

    Great interview, but Islam encourages to speak about anything (even so calleD taboos), it's the cultures around it that make up these rules about what to talk about or never talk about. 5 obligatory prayers it's permissible to DO more Brennan 😉 (eg. nawafil, taraweeh, tahaJOUD) much love anD respect to everyone!

  7. @kathybartlett5827

    January 8, 2026 at 10:38 pm

    I never leave comments but I am blown away by the openness, honesty, and vulnerability of Kumail and Neal. The two hardest things in American culture is to feel you have enough and you are enough.

  9. @LooseGooseFM

    January 8, 2026 at 10:38 pm

    I've watched a lot of Blocks episodes by this point but I have not related more to a guest than I have Prismo (Kumail). Thank you for this episode as it has honestly helped me understand myself a lot better.

  22. @TheJoshLange

    January 8, 2026 at 10:38 pm

    "did you tell her you felt better about getting an Emmy nomination than an Oscar one?" XD

    I first saw Kumail on stage in Chicago circa 2003 at the Lyon's Den (Pete Holmes was there too) and he was so uniquely funny. I've been rooting for him ever since.

  25. @weirdloverwilde

    January 8, 2026 at 10:38 pm

    It’s weird to me to see middle aged men struggle with emotional development that has been mastered by 14 year old girls.

    Like we girls are broken and rebuilt 7 times before we are 21. I wanted to throw my phone when Kumail said he didn’t give a shit about NOT living in squalor.

    What happened to this generation of men? Why are they learning this shit in their 40s and 50s???!

  27. @Sugarbear3000

    January 8, 2026 at 10:38 pm

    There's something relieving about hearing celebrities or successful people that have "made it" clarify that making it did not make them happy. Didn't do the trick. It's still an inside job.

  28. @Sarah_Eva

    January 8, 2026 at 10:38 pm

    I'm just sad that "Can't get no satisfaction" didn't flash across the screen when Kumail was talking about not ever being satisfied. Anyhow, great episode!

Comments are closed.

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