Re-Air: Embrace Your Eccentricities & A Petri Dish of Creativity | Rainn Wilson

Mayim Bialik (0:04)

Hi, I'm Mayim Bialik.

Jonathan Cohen (0:05)

And I'm Jonathan Cohen.

Mayim Bialik (0:06)

And welcome to our Breakdown. Today, we're going to revisit an episode that we did with Rainn Wilson. You most likely know him from his iconic role as Dwight on The Office. We're huge fans of Rainn here at Mayim Bialik's Breakdown, not because he was our very first in-person guest of all time after the COVID lockdown, but he's someone that we would consider one of our earliest spiritual guests. He talked about his meditation process at a time when I really knew very little about meditation. He talks about the tools that his faith have given him in finding his path and identity, especially in the midst of massive fame, and also the similarities between recovery as a journey and spirituality as a journey.

Jonathan Cohen (0:50)

Rainn also discusses his nerdy childhood and how he eventually embraced that side of himself to channel acting roles as a misfit and someone who didn't fit in. He also discusses the evolution that therapy has provided to every area of his life.

Mayim Bialik (1:07)

It's really a beautiful conversation. Also, since Rainn was last on Mayim Bialik's Breakdown, he's launched his own mental health and spirituality podcast, which we highly recommend. It's called Soul Boom with Rainn Wilson. It digs deep into life's purpose, our human experiments as spiritual beings, and spiritual tools for modern problems. It also gets ridiculously silly. It can border on chaotic. He sits down with actors, comedians, psychologists, scientists, spiritual teachers, and everything in between to talk about life, meaning, and in some cases, idiocy. The show is really equal parts funny, it's curious, it's irreverent, it's thoughtful, and Rainn and his guests find levity in really the biggest issues through comedic, psychological, scientific, and spiritual perspectives. If you enjoy the kind of conversations that Rainn and I have had together, that Soul Boom is definitely the show for you. Watch or listen to new episodes of Soul Boom with Rainn Wilson on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. You are going to love it.

Jonathan Cohen (2:08)

And remember, check out Mayim Bialik's Breakdown on Substack to join the growing Breaker community and get access to ad-free episodes and bonus content you cannot get anywhere else.

Mayim Bialik (2:19)

And now we hope you enjoy our look back at the conversation we had with Rainn Wilson.

Evening. Buyers Remorse. Buy a new car? I'll be moving in.

Rainn Wilson (2:31)

Let's get started.

Mayim Bialik (2:32)

Sorry, I think there's been a mistake. I bought it from Carvana.

Rainn Wilson (2:35)

You what?

Jonathan Cohen (2:36)

Yeah, great price.

Rainn Wilson (2:37)

I even have seven days to love it or return it. So there's no...

Mayim Bialik (2:40)

No, no Buyers Remorse.

Jonathan Cohen (2:42)

More like Buyers Rejoice.

Rainn Wilson (2:44)

I guess I'll let myself out. Congratulations. I mean it.

Mayim Bialik (2:49)

Buyers Rejoice. Buy your car today on Carvana.

Jonathan Cohen (2:51)

Limitations and exclusions may apply. See our seven-day return policy at carvana.com.

Mayim Bialik (2:54)

Break it down. I know you from Six Feet Under and I was an enormous fan of that show and of you. I know that you were on an extremely popular, important show that really changed the face of a lot of television. I'm just, I'm not a watcher of most television.

Jonathan Cohen (3:15)

She's a little behind in her pop culture.

Mayim Bialik (3:18)

But I'm allowed to still be an enormous fan of yours. I've seen clips. I know what you do and how funny you are.

Rainn Wilson (3:25)

Do you want to just take like 21 minutes and 30 seconds right now, just watch an episode? No.

Jonathan Cohen (3:31)

Just get it over with. Yeah.

Rainn Wilson (3:32)

We could just, in fact, that would be a great podcast is watching The Office with Mayim Bialik, 200 episodes.

Mayim Bialik (3:41)

I've also never seen Gilmore Girls. I've never seen Friends.

Rainn Wilson (3:44)

Yeah.

Mayim Bialik (3:45)

I've never also seen Top Gun, which I'm told is a must see.

Rainn Wilson (3:48)

I've never seen Top Gun. We could watch it together. Oh my God. Anyway. It's a new podcast. Rainn and Mayim watch movies they haven't seen together.

Mayim Bialik (3:57)

I should also say that in 2009, you founded SoulPancake. You created a space where people from All Walks of Life discuss and question what it means to be human.

I got to be part a little bit of the world of actors outside of acting. When I was on Metaphysical Milkshake with you and Reza Aslan, and we talked, I mean, you talk about some very, very deep things. And we talked all about, do we still need religion?