CNN talk show host Larry King (@kingsthings) visited our neighbors to the north to talk to Canada’s CBC-Q host Jian Ghomeshi (@jianghomeshi) (one of the top-rated radio talk show hosts in Canada who was the unlikely recipient of brash treatment by Billy Bob Thornton last year).

It is an engaging and revealing look at King (75 years old, though he claims to feel only 46), his relationship with his father, how he has stayed on top of the talk show empire for an incredible 52 years and how he sees life at the age of 75.  Ghomeshi pays due homage to King, interviewing him with a delicate, introspective touch that analyzes King through the lense of King’s latest book My Remarkable Journey.

The mark of a great interview is one where (despite the fact that the interviewee may have been interviewed countless times in their career), something is revealed about the person that gives an even greater understanding of who they are (and why they are) in this world.  When an interviewee has revelations during an interview and shares those revelations, in the moment, with the interviewer and the audience, that is truly the art of talk.  Ghomeshi does this with ease and grace.   It is a pleasure to watch.  My only complaint is that the interview is so short (another mark of a great interview — you don’t want it to end – like when you’re having drinks with friends at a local bar and shooting the breeze about life).

A few interesting revelations about Mr. King made during the interview:

• King’s father died when King was 46 years old so, in his heart, he stopped aging at that point (a big turning point);
• He considers himself a storyteller and a comedian.  He revealed that he will be doing stand-up comedy at a casino in Vegas next year in June so get your tickets early!
• The secret to his success is, he says: “I don’t do much introspective thinking”
• He remained angry with his father for dying up until he wrote the book this year (his father dropped dead (as King puts it) on a bus telling a joke (is it any coincidence that King considers himself a comedian who loves telling jokes?);
• He’s an agnostic (doesn’t believe in an afterlife) because:  “The more he interviewed people of faith, the less their answers made sense.”  But he adds, almost as an afterthought:  “I hope I’m wrong.  I don’t want to die.  I’d like to go on.  If I had one wish, it’d be to live forever.”
• The one interview that he feels really went “off the rails” and frustrated him (a failed interview) was with late actor Robert Mitchum who he says drove him “nuts”.

King also discusses the dire state of media today (including those who he clearly does not respect like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck – who he calls blowhards) and how he manages to stay on top of his game.

Not only this a great and enlightening interview, but take a look at the studio!  I was sold wit the glowing red lights that make you feel as if you’re floating in the womb (I’m buying red light bulbs today).

When asked by Ghomeshi to share what he’s learned during the process of releasing this book, King pauses for a moment, then nods (as if agreeing with his inner-voice) and answers:

” I’ve learned that I’m still doing something worthwhile.  And that I’ve got something you can’t buy.  I don’t know how to explain… but I think I’m liked.”

That, he is.

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