I really think a good host is just a connector. I'm more traffic cop than star. My job is to get people on and off the program, and hopefully keep the audience entertained.

You watch Bono in a room - and we're talking about a room of thousands swarming around him - he'll take every single person and make that moment about them. You can pat him on the back or pull his arm, he's not looking away from the person he's talking to.

News channels have always had interview shows, but we need different kinds of interviews with different kinds of interviewers - interviewers who bring different life experiences to the table.

I'm pretty rough around the edges, but I'm a very open person.

For a Jewish Puritan of the middle class, the novel is serious, the novel is work, the novel is conscientious application why, the novel is practically the retail business all over again.

I grew up as a sports fan, and I know that a hall of fame is very different than an award for being the best of the year. It's a nod to the longevity of our accomplishment.

Given my age, I am pretty near the end, probably, of my career as a writer, a scholar, a teacher. And I wanted to speak of things I will not be able to do.

It's really irritating. Even people who like my work sometimes come up to me and say, 'I usually don't like female comedians, but your material is great!' It makes the job prospect more daunting. Funny is funny, you know?