early in their careers. pete buttigieg in a candidate conversation about politics, parenting and a controversial billionaire. what do you think of elon musk? >> very interesting guy. >> then the newest visitor to the white house michael and never heard about his time and we all still have that? >> any doubt in your mind. >> later to perform is now on the growing empire and beef with barack obama is byron allen. >> the president of the yatunit states is nothing more than hired help. >> you had a few clunkers in recent years. that's not perception. that's reality. >> i've been feeling stronger than ever now in my life. >> how would you rate yourself as a chef? >> i'm not doing that with you christopher wallace. with billions of infrastructure dollars to handout, some say he's the most powerful transportation secretary ever and at age 40 pete buttigieg is the youngest member of the biden cabinet, all of which may help explain why he's the surrogate for democratic candidates. as you travel the country, what are the chances democrats will hold on the house and senate? >> i can't get into the campaign side too much because i'm here in an official capacity but let me say this. we have a great story to tell as an administration and part of what i do, whether i'm in washington or whether i'm out on the road is try to connect the dots between the decisions the president made, the biden harrharris e administration and working across the aisle and what that means. things that are making a difference in people's lives along with good paying jobs. and i think that's a story we need to keep telling because as usual in politics, there's a lot of noise. there's a lot of negativity. there is a lot of effort to divide and distract and one of the things i love about my particular set of responsibilities in transportation is it's specific. it it's concrete and an area where people understand what it means in their everyday lives. >> it's interesting because facts are that voters are the biggest concern is the economy and inflation. prices are up 8.2% over last year. the federal reserve has raised interest rates 3% since march. here is house republican leader kevin mccarthy on all that. >> when you go to the store, eggs are higher. you have milk higher. your gasoline price is higher. it's the democrat policies that brought them. >> question, why shouldn't voters hold the democrats who were in control of the white house and house, control of the senate, why shouldn't they hold you responsible? >> very simple. what we're doing is helping with the cost of living and because what house republicans are proposing will hurt. what kevin mccarthy and his colleagues proposed is strip away the inflation reduction act that would mean higher costs for prescription drugs. it would mean higher cost of energy. we know that the cost of living and inflation is a challenge here in the u.s. just as it is around the world in the wake of covid. but we also know that the measures we're taking to make life easier, to make budgets easier for american families is the right path and the other way, their way of more tax cuts for the wealthy. economists believe that could make inflation worse. any time anybody wants to debate what to do about inflation, i'm here for that debate but we have heard nothing from the other side that is actionable. >> respectfully, sir, you have heard something that spending more than $3 trillion in federal spending at a time when demand so out strips supply because of supply trend problems -- >> but hold on, right? >> no, let me ask the question. that spending $3 trillion added, boosted demand, boosted inflation that the inflation reduction act isn't going to actually reduce inflation for the next couple of years and that because you were so slow, you, administration and federal reserve, everybody in terms of dealing with inflation, now you got to over correct and we'll m success? >> the investments in the infrastructure law are investments in the supply side. yeah, the issue is demand came back. people got back to work. there was money in americans pockets and supply struggled to keep up. all right. that's the basic root of the inflation pressure we have here. a big part of why supply struggled to keep up is for example on the transportation side, the fact our supply chains and transportation infrastructure needed to be updated for years. so do we regret rescuing the american economy and actions that brought unemployment under 8%. >> what about inflation? >> nobody likes inflation. the president identified it as his top economic priority. i heard nothing. literally nothing by way of concrete proposals what to do and what we're doing concretely is creating more breathing room for american families. everything from americans from gas to drugs. >> let's start small. we have video i can put out there and i enjoy. this is you leaving a meeting at the white house by bicycle to go back to your department as the secretary of transportation. question, how often do you ride a bike around washington? >> probably not as often as i should. i like to practice what i preach and i like to be on two wheels especially as we got out of the swampy summer days, i try to be on the bike more often. i'd be lying if i said that's my daily computmute but depends one day of the week. >> is it a security issue? do you have people travel with you on a bike down the bike path? >> it's a little unconventional for security detail but they figure it out. >> do drivers ever look around and see the secretary of transportation in the bike lane and honk? >> i get some funny looks sometimes. that one time when a cabinet meeting that i road home from, i had to stop and wait for the security details' vehicles to catch up because at rush hour downtown washington d.c., you're actually quicker on a bike than you are in a car. >> so what was your biggest sup prize taking over transportation? i know you've been the mayor of a city but this has got to be a lot of new territory for you. >> certainly the range of what the department does. there is trains, planes, automobiles, the things i would act on when i was there but we oversee the pipeline and hazardous safety administration, u.s. mer cchant marine academy. so many elements what the department is in charge of. there are a lot of things to get on top of in this job. the other thing that's different is just the nature of the federal inter agency. when i was mayor, i understood the different coroners of the administration that i led. it was small enough i could get my arms around it. here, we spend a lot of time, i think anybody in federal service does, navigating our own organization because it can be so complex. >> have you studied traffic? the reason i ask this is how many times have you driven along on a road and there is suddenly a backup and, you know, you crawl along for ten or 15 minutes and then it starts to move and moves faster and there is no obvious thing, there is no accident. whatever. and i think to myself, why was that backup there? i assume there has to be a science to traffic? >> oh, yeah, there is an entire science to this and we have a lot of research partners and research institutions in massachusetts. it's really interesting. i could geek out on this for a couple hours if we had time. >> please don't. that would be a bad traffic jam. >> but a lot of it is just human nature. human psychology. the fact if even one of us gets distract the thanks can cascade through us. the fact we pause and look at something odd or an accident or something. >> you're kind of a nerd, aren't you? >> i love this stuff. i am. yeah. look, so many kids -- i think for a reason that i can't quite exp explain, from early childhood get fascinated with anything related to transportation, trucks, cars, planes, trains, boats, all of that. half the kids' books we have at home are about these kinds of things. there is something very human about taking an interest in this. >> what do you think of elon musk? >> very interesting guy. very intelligent. agree on some things, disagree on some other things but i'll say this, he's built a company that's the biggest maker of electric vehicles in the country and handle as very big part of the space program, too. >> it seems like administration had a contentious relationship with elon musk. he says that you guys should get out of the way when it comes to electric vehicles. tax incentives are unnelscessar. he's under investigation by the justice department according to reports because supposedly he's made claims about his self-driving vehicles that may be exaggerated. and i wonder, i mean, is your feeling that he's a problem. >> yeah, look, obviously, it's puzzling to say the least whether you have a company that cooperates with the federal government and benefits from subsidies and have leadership saying federal government should get out of the way and have nothing to do with us but frankly, that's happened a lot with people in the business world. i try to really think of this in terms of calling balls and strikes. when an industry partner is helpful, we want to work with them. and when they're causing a problem or when they have gone on the wrong side of any kind of rule, then we have our enforcement responsibilities and we have to do both at the same time whether a high profile company or a company nobody heard of, that's how we approach these things. >> up next, the man known as secretary pete gets real about his future and how becoming a parent has changed him. >> i can't sing and i'm not much of a dancer, and so occasionally, at 7:00 in the morning i'm asking myself what am i doing? 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it's fineeeeeeee! ugh! advil dual action fights pain two ways. advil targets pain at the source, acetaminophen blocks pain signals. advil dual action. introducing the new sleep number climate360 smart bed. the only smart bed in the world that actively cools, warms and effortlessly responds to both of you. our smart sleepers get 28 minutes more restful sleep per night. proven quality sleep. only from sleep number. pete buttigieg became a household name in 2020 when he surprised people becoming the mayor of indiana becoming a contender for the democratic no, ma'am ni-- nomination. his ambition for higher office is still there. do you still want to be president? >> i wanted to be president enough to run for president. although, i didn't ever run because it was a thing i wanted to have. i ran because there was a moment where i thought what i had to offer matched what the moment called for. and that's how i think about running for office. i've used that process to run for office before and i've use that process, that decision process to decide not to run for office before and i know it sounds like the right thing to say politically, it is the right thing to say politically and true i don't know what the future looks like or whether those stars will ever align in the future. what i do know is i already have a job and it's a great job. we already have a president and i believe we have a great president and i'm proud to be part of a team led by the president and vice president. >> but you're certainly not saying the moment and man might not match up again. >> i'm not ruling out. i'm 40. i don't know what is going to happen in the future. i know that i've been entrusted with this amazing opportunity and responsibility to help shape the infrastructure we're going to be living with and working with and counting on for the rest of our lives. >> there are figures, substantial figure whose say quite bluntly joe biden should not run for president in 2024. let's listen a few of them. >> we need a new generation, we need new blood in the house, senate and white house. >> i do not think did the should run in 2024. i'm sick and tired of that generation being in power. we got to move on? >> the decision is above my pay grade. there is one person that gets to make that decision. this president and administration have been repeatedly underestimated and delivered. it's hard to think of any period since fdr when there has been this much legislative success. >> so you don't think there is a need for generational change? >> i belong to a generation that's excited about the future and i'm excited about having colleagues and mpartners from m generation on capitol hill in congress in the administration but i don't think any one generation has a monopoly on good ideas. >> can i bring up one last subject with you? >> sure. >> you and your husband august of last year 2021 became the parents of twins, a little boy and a little girl and at the height of the supply chain crisis, you took off two months of parental leave and you took some heavy fire about that from some republicans. >> the guy was gone. okay? the guy was not working because why? he was trying to figure out how to chest feed. >> if you're the secretary of transportation, you get your ass to work! >> i understand the benefits of parental leave. the question is, even for cabinet secretaries dealing with crisis that affect the american family? >> so first of all, i was always there to deal with anything that needed my attention. secondly, i want to pmake very clear, i'm accustomed to working very, very hard when i was mayor in this job. when i was deployed to af afgha afghanistan, before that when i was in business. i'm used to working very, very hard. i never worked as hard as i did during those weeks chastin and i were taking care of our newborn premature infant twins. my workday started about 3:00 a.m. and it was beautiful, rewarding work. but there is this attitude that is still out there that parenting is not work, that it's some kind of vacation and i think part of my responsibility include -- right alongside my professional and policy responsibilities, which i never set aside, part of my responsibility also is to send a message that our entire society should take parenting more seriously than moms and dads should both have an option for parental leave and should take it when it's available. let me also say there were times when i left the icu bedside and went into another room and shut the door behind me and opened the laptop and set a background with some flags and the zoom was disrupted by a background that was obviously a hospital room and got on with my job. i'll put my work ethic against that of any of my critics any day. >> forget the politics. on a personal level, what are the biggest lessons from being the parents of these two precious little babies for the last year? >> well, it changes you. it changes you in so many ways and it adds just a dimension of joy to your life that i can't even describe. things i can't believe for example, i don't -- i can't sing and i'm not much of a dancer and so occasionally at 7:00 in the morning, i'm asking myself what am i doing while i'm singing and dancing in order to keep my son entertained while he's eating bananas just to get him kind of energized across the kitchen counter just thinking what is happening to me? >> what do you sing? >> so there is this song that once you hear it, it will never get out of your mind. it's part of this eros vision, the big music contest -- >> the big musical song contest. >> this absurd song that -- >> you want to give us a couple bars? >> for that you'll have to p participate in breakfast time in our house. it's catchy, our kids love it for whatever reason. it's become part of the ri ritual -- >> i thought you'd say baby shark. >> i'm sure that's next. one of hollywood's most successful characters michael imperioli takes us behind the scenes. >> that's like going from college to play for the yankees on the world series or something. effortlessly responds to both of you. our smart sleepers get 28 minutes more restful sleep per night. proven quality sleep. only from sleep number. there's nothing like volunteering at the fire department. there's nothing like hitting the waves. but with my moderate-to-severe eczema it hasn't always been easy,... ...since my skin was so irritated and itchy... ...and even worse with all my gear on. now, i'm staying ahead of my eczema. there's a power inside all of us to live our passion. and dupixent works on the insie to help heal your skin from within. it helps block a key source of inflammation inside the body that can cause eczema. so adults can have long-lasting clearer skin and fast itch relief. serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. healing from within is a powerful thing. ask your eczema specialist how dupixent can help heal your skin from within. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ come seek the royal caribbean. right now, the worst place to be is stuck in-between. accelerate your investments or pull back? change the plan or stay the course? that's why northern trust is here. with specialized expertise... a history of success through every economic climate... and proven strategies rooted in data and analytics. giving you more control. clarity. and confidence. for now and whatever's next northern trust wealth management. welcome back to "who's talking." not every actor can say their first movie role was in a classic. not every actor can say their most famous role was in one of the most popular tv shows ever. and now michael imperioli is checking into hit show on our sister network hbo. so, your new role is starring in season two of the "white lotus." you play a businessman named dominic and you go to sicily with your elderly father and your college grad son. let's take a look. >> flirting is a pleasure of life. >> you're 80 years old. >> but the women i desire remain young. you can relate to that. >> i just want to inform you my good friends here, they're going to be visiting me this week. coming and going. >> they come and go. >> bye. >> i see. >> well, that looks like fun. >> lots of fun, yeah, lots of fun. >> who is dominic, what's his st story? >> dominic is a hollywood producer and studio exec. his marchriage is falling apart basically because of his sex addiction. his marriage is about to end. his wife is supposed to be on the trip with him and his daughter and they decided not to come and he's at a very difficult place in his life. >> how big a draw was it for you that the entire show was shot in sicily? >> huge. huge. that's a huge draw. when they said that shooting in sicily like okay. >> is your family from sicily? >> a tiny slice of my family is. most of my family is from rome and surrounding part of rome, yeah. >> so speaking of family, your dad was a bus driver. >> yeah. >> your mom worked in a public school. >> yes. >> and i'm told that on the night before you were headed to college, the night before to go start premed that you tell your parents i can't do it. i want to be an actor. first of all, is that true? and secondly, if so, how did they react? >> it's totally true. i think they knew that i did have an interest in acting. part of me -- because i was going to go to state university in albany. part of me really wanted to be in new york city in manhattan. i just felt like i belonged there and part of me really said i wanted to go to one of the better acting schools. >> and they didn't give you grief or push back? >> no, i think they knew that's where i was headed and they've been supportive. i'm fortunate a in that respect. >> it worked out because at the age of 23 you get a small part in the classic mob movie "good fellows" you play a kid nailed good spider. let's take a look. >> you wanted a drink. >> i just asked you for a [ bleep ] drink. >> i thought you said you wanted ice. >> no, no, no, what do you got me on. >> [ bleep ] mumbling sturterring little -- you know that. [ gunshots ]. >> now he's moving. >> now he's moving. first of all. >> very, very much. italian american living in new york this was 1989 when we shot it, that's like going from college to play on the yankees in the world series or something, you know? >> and i got to ask you about that because there you are, behind the camera there on the set with you in that scene, joe peshi who is not friend of you, robert denero. i think that is intimidating and thrilling. >> the stakes were really high. marty made me feel so comfortable from the moment i met him. he made me feel like i belonged there and i was an actor. i've been studying trying to get work for six years so i wasn't like coming out of nowhere. it meant a lot and i worked really hard and prepared myself really well and most of whamp v testament lookworking with lege here and allowing them to be free to say what think want and respond how they want to respond is pretty amazing. >> the big three, were they nice to you or ignore you like here is a kid doing the scene. >> they were really nice. i didn't engage in a lot of chitchat. i didn't want to talk -- the last thing i wanted to do was talk to them about acting. that's not what they want to hear. >> michael, you still didn't get joe peshi his drink. >> that's why -- without that there is no scene. >> there you go. >> the crazy thing i wound up going to the hospital on the second scene. do you know that? what happened to me? the second scene i get killed, right? >> yes, right. >> so i'm walking over to the -- >> right. >> -- the table and i have blood packs, right, which they set off remotely. >> right. >> and i'm supposed to go flying back into the bar and hit the ground. three bullet holes and they have a stunt devil. i said no, i want to do my own stunt. i don't do my own stunts anymore. i'm perfectly happy for the stunt man to do his job but back then i wanted to do everything. so i do the stunt. the squibbs go off, the blood packs go off and i hit the bar and the glass in my hand shatters and slices open two of my fingers badly. so i'm on the ground and robert is looking down on me like it looked really bad and i was like man, i'm afraid to look at my hand. we got to get you to the hospital. so we go to the hospital. production assistant drives me and i walk in and i see like an orderly or nurse coming at me with his eyes open and i said yeah, i'm doing a movie with robert dinero, code blue, stat, get a -- whatever they start saying all these things i don't understand. i said no, no, i cut my -- sir, calm down. i'm in a movie. sure, you're in a movie because i have three bullet holes in my chest and it's queens, new york and they think i'm about to die. they think i'm dcrazy and wheeling me into trama and finally they start going into my shirt and see the hires and squibb. i said i told you i'm dog ing a movie and cut my fingers. they're like oh, okay, be with you in awhile. >> three hours. >> two hours later, they stitch me up and i go back and two more takes. i think the take in the movie is the first take. when we come back, michael has more great stories you don't want to miss including how his first day on the "sparanos" was almost his last and later, i ask byron allen how this moment is a teenage comedian on "the tonight show" stranchanged everything. >> i'm on the team with my best friend. my best friend is half black half jewish abdula buys afro sheen half off. looking at your full financial picture. this is what it's like to have a comprehensive wealth plan with tax-smart investing strategies designed to help you keep more of what you earn. and set aside more for things like healthcare, or whatever comes down the road. this is "the planning effect" from fidelity. science proves your best sleep is vital to your mental, emotional, and physical health. and we know 80% of couples sleep too hot or too cold. introducing the new sleep number climate360 smart bed. the only smart bed in the world that actively cools, warms and effortlessly responds to both of you. our smart sleepers get 28 minutes more restful sleep per night. proven quality sleep. only from sleep number. hybrid work is here. it's there. it's everywhere. but for someone to be able to work from here, there has to be someone here making sure everything is safe. secure. consistent. so log in from here. or here. assured that someone is here ready to fix anything. anytime. anywhere. even here. that's because nobody... and i mean nobody... makes hybrid work, work better. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ come seek the royal caribbean. michael imperioli is best known for "the sparanos" winning an award he later threw away. don't worry, we'll hear about that. we start with the first day on the job. >> here you are with the great james. >> you want to be get caught, cowboy-itis. want to be a big bad guy? >> i was worried --? shut up! >> can i try and explain to you? >> i don't know, tony. it's like just a [ bleep ] regularness of life is too [ bleep ] hard for me or something. i don't know. >> do you remember that scene? >> yeah. >> that scene. >> i do remember that scene. i like that scene a lot. >> so we talked about going from college ball to the yankees. you're playing with joe demaggio here. >> oddly, i didn't know jim or his work when i got the job. so it wasn't -- he wasn't like the star he became, you know what i mean? he was another character actor like everybody only the show. i knew most of the cast like other things. >> when did you realize this is -- >> you know, we clicked right away, you know? the first day of work i had to drive him. i didn't have a driver's license, you know, but i didn't tell anybody that because christopher's job was to drive tony. >> right. >> but michael didn't know how to drive. how hard can it be? it's a movie you know what i mean? it's a tv show. >> it's still a car. [ laughter ] >> i wound up crashing the car. i had to drive backwards down the sidewalk with trees on both sides and extras running out of the way delivering dialogue tony soprano. i did it four times, the fifth time right into the tree. the air bags go off. jim's head snap -- the first day i met the guy. there is smoke. people are running. and i'm like they're going to fire me, man. this is really bad. >> they are. >> i look over and he's laughing hysterically. jim loved when the wheels fell off, you know what i mean? >> in season five you accuse tony of sleeping with your fiancee adrianna. >> right. >> and he decides he's going to whack ya? >> right. >> you lied to me. you were snorting coke with her. she admitted it. so what? every once in a while [ bleep ] problems. you sent me to north carolina so you can [ bleep ] my girlfriend. >> what kind of animal do you think i am? >> the thought never even entered my head. >> okay. so there is good news coming out of this scene. one, tony backs off. he doesn't kill ya. two, you win an emmy for your work that season including that episode. and then you throw your emmy in the garbage? >> it was more of a symbolic gesture. so we won the emmy, we won for supporting actress and the show for the first time won best show after five seasons. >> okay. >> it did not win best show until that year so everyone was in a good mood and we, you know, we had went to the governor's ball and the hbo party and had our own party at the hotel and wound up in someone's room and it's like 5:00 in the morning and my wife, you know, she said to me, you know, i bet you're very proud of yourself, huh? people congratulating you and making a big deal over you, fussing over you, kissing your butt. she said i'm not impressed. if you had any balls, you'd take that statute and throw it in the garbage. i didn't want to do that but i had to show some bravado. i said i didn't care about that. i took it -- this is the peninsula hotel in beverly hills, the trash con. not like i went into a compost thing and stuffed it in. so i took it and put it in the garbage pail in the hotel room and we went to sleep and woke up and i said i'm oldrdering me breakfast and coffee and she said don't forget to take your emmy out of the garbage can. >> so the final season you get in a bad car accident and tony decides he now is going to take you out. >> i mean. >> pretty amazing. >> such power. >> here is the question. it's season seven and the series is about to end anyway but i got to think that's still a hurry. >> no, not at all. no. it would have hurt if it was season three definitely. but by then, we were almost at the finish line so it was -- i thought it was a really -- david told me about a year before, i think, how it was going to go down. i thought it was a brilliant way to, you know, both for both characters, you know, to close their relationship in that way because it really showed where tony had gone, you know. >> how far he had fallen. basically, he kills ya because he thinks you're going to flip on him like a lot of other people have. >> which may very well have happened, who knows. christopher by then was really struggling with heroin addiction, which we all know is really destructive and really dangerous and, you know, by that -- when you're -- if you're that far gone, anything can happen, you know? so but i thought it was a really, really cool way to end their relationship. >> any doubt in your mind what the ending meant? >> you know, i've gone back and forth. i still don't know. i always thought he died, right? >> for folks who may not know the three of you didn't watch it, he's in a dine wer with his family and the music playing "don't stop believing" and suddenly goes to black. >> goes to black. there is this guy in a member's only jacket walks in and out and sits at the counter. someone that does hits won't stay around that long. that doesn't make sense that theory and then it's like then i thought maybe it's just what you see is what you get. that's the end of the story. there is no dying. there is no what if. there is no what happened tony. it ends right there. i don't know. it mysterious. people ask me that all the time. >> i got to think that's question number one. >> that's question number one. th this is 15 years down the road. >> coming up the man that says bluntly he wants to own the biggest media company in the world.> coming up the man that bluntly he wants to own the biggest media company in the world. enable ai cameras that spot factory issues in real time, using next-generation speed. and deliver ultra-capacity 5g coverage that's years ahead of the competition. t-mobile for business has 5g that's ready right now. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ come seek the royal caribbean. bipolar depression. it made me feel trapped in a fog. this is art inspired by real stories of bipolar depression. i just couldn't find my way out of it. the lows of bipolar depression can take you to a dark place. latuda could make a real difference in your symptoms. latuda was proven to significantly reduce bipolar depression symptoms. and in clinical studies, had no substantial impact on weight. this is where i want to be. call your doctor about sudden behavior changes or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants can increase these in children and young adults. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. report fever, confusion, stiff or uncontrollable muscle movements, which may be life threatening or permanent. these aren't all the serious side effects. now i'm back where i belong. ask your doctor if latuda is right for you. pay as little as zero dollars for your first prescription. ♪ i had a bad relationship with my student loan. the interest was costing me... well, us... a fortune. no matter how much we paid it was always just... there. you know? ♪ so, i broke up with my bad student loan debt and refinanced with sofi. turns out we could save thousands. break up with bad student loan debt. refi and you could save thousands. plus, we're paying off up to a million dollars of student debt. enter at sofi.com/million sofi get your money right. my next guest has been breaking barriers his whole life. the youngest comedian to appear on "the tonight show." the first african american to own a 24-hour news network. byron allen's story of how he went from comic to media mogul is fascinating, and that's where our conversation begins. >> let's start in 1979. >> yeah. >> you're 18 years old. you're still in high school, and this is what you're up to. >> i'm on a team with my best friend. my best friend is half black, half jewish. abdullah steinberg, buys afro sheen wholesale. wears his yarmulke tilted to the side. >> you were the youngest comic to get a stand-up slot on "the tonight show" with johnny carson. how on earth did that happen? >> wow, that was 44 years ago. that's insane. i had hair then, clearly. you know, i started doing stand-up comedy when i was 14 years old at the comedy store, and it was great. they had monday night tryout, and one night, jim mccauley saw me, johnny carson's talent coordinator, and he offered me the show. i was 17 at the time. and i turned him down, and my mother said, why? why did you turn him down? i said, you know what? i'm not doing this just to do it one time. this is a -- it's a marathon, not a sprint. and so i did a couple weeks before i graduated from high school, and it was a lot of fun. i had a great time. >> let's talk about your mom because she was a tour guide at the nbc studios in burbank, and for a while, i think around the time that you're 13, you would hang out at the studios after school because your mom couldn't afford child care. and is it true that you would wait in the parking lot for johnny carson to arrive? >> oh, yeah, i would wait. i would go from studio to studio. i would watch bob hope do his specials. i would watch red foxx tape sanford and son. then i would watch flip wilson do the flip wilson show and johnny carson tape his show. i used to go and wait for him to pull into his parking spot. and i'd say, hello, mr. carson. good to see you. and probably over a three or four-year period, he'd got to know my name and say thank you, byron, because i would give him feedback on his jokes. i would say, i like that joke last night. that was very funny what you said the other night, mr. carson. this was funny. and he appreciated that. i wasn't stalking him, but i was close by. we had a good time. >> all right. folks may also remember you because you used to travel the country doing offbeat stories for a show that got to be quite popular called "real people" on nbc, 8:00 on wednesday nights. let's take a look. >> would you mind telling me what you're doing? >> you'll see. >> ever since high school, ben has entertained thousands of people and party-goers around utah. >> you imagine breaking in and looking at this? ♪ >> all i knew is that i was more shook than that zero. >> so at what point, byron, and it may have been the point when you were riding the bucking bronco, or whatever that is, bull, or it may have been the point at which you're upside down in the plane. at what point did you realize that you were more interested in being in the business side of show business than the show side of show business? >> you know, i realized early on that it was not show business. it was business show, and i to juxtapose those two words and really study the business and approach it as a business. and that's when everything changed for me. but i also realized i didn't control my destiny, and i wanted to have control over my destiny. so i made it a point to get to know all the people who owned and operated the television stations around the country and all the major advertisers. and i knew if i brought those two together, i could do as many shows as i wanted. >> so let's fast-forward to now. you are now the chairman and the sole owner of the allen media group. let's tick off some of the assets for folks that may not be familiar with the allen media group. how many television stations have you got around the country? >> i think i have about 27, abc, nbc, cbs, and fox affiliates around the country. i own the abc affiliate in hawaii and the nbc affiliate in tucson and on and on and on. so that's a great business. we love that. >> how many cable channels and streaming platforms do you have? >> i think i have about 14 cable networks at this point and probably half a dozen streaming assets. degreeio, local now, the weather channel streaming app direct to the consumer. the weather channel in espanol. the cable networks, we have everything from comby.tv to justice central to the weather channel. it's one of the largest privately held media companies in the world. >> can you put a dollar figure to all of that? >> it's worth billions. it brings in quite a bit of money. it's privately held. i'm very fortunate. the company is -- it's worth quite a bit. >> in 2015 -- >> yep. >> -- after the riots in baltimore. after freddie gray died in custody, the president called out the people who looted the streets and called them criminals and thugs. >> that's right. that's right. >> and here's what you said. you said this. president obama is at this point a white president in blackface. >> that's right. >> black america would have done much better with a white president. >> that's right. >> barack obama a white president in blackface? >> that's exactly right. i said that, and i still stand by that. and what i said was very loud and clear. he criticized those young black kids in baltimore for the wrongful death of freddie gray. >> no. no, he didn't. he criticized them because they looted the stores. >> okay. they looted the stores, and what i said is i am not condoning violence. but before you criticize them, position them to succeed, not fail. don't criticize them until you give them a proper education. don't -- let me just finish. >> you're in the middle of a riot. he can't sit there and change society. >> i understand, but, chris, you got to understand something. why are they positioned like this? you need to address the bigger issue. these kids are sitting there in their position to fail. no proper education, no jobs, no economic inclusion. and by the way, it was the wrongful death, and at a certain point, you have to understand people are speaking out because they are being abused. this is genocide. it's just a slow genocide, but it is genocide. >> so are you and former obama in contact with each other? >> we're not in contact, but i have all the respect in the world for him. listen, you have to understand something. the president of the united states is nothing more than temporary hired help. that person is there to serve us and to work for us, and you have to constantly remind them, you're here because i need you to take care of something. >> i want to bring this full circle because i read somewhere that you said there's a connection, a transferrable skill between being a comedian and being a big businessman. >> that's right. >> and that, you know, a comedian has to be able to read the room, and a businessman has to be able to look and see business opportunities. >> you know what? i think a lot of the same skills i used as a comedian i use in business. just being honest and being open, transparent. people are comfortable with you. and i have a mission, and that mission was clear. you know, when martin luther king was assassinated in april of '68, that was something that was quite traumatic for the whole country. and i got to know martin luther king's widow, coretta scott king, and she taught me a lot. she said to me, byron, as black people in this country, we have four major challenges. number one, end slavery. number two, end jim crow. number three, achieve civil rights. and then she choked up and she said, and number four, the real reason they killed my martin. achieve economic inclusion. and she said, byron, they didn't kill my martin over the speech "i have a dream." they killed him over the speech he gave at stanford university "the other america," where he said there are two americas and one america has access to opportunity, education and economic inclusion, and the other america doesn't. there are two americas, and one america will not survive. and from that point on, i decided that i was going to dedicate my life to building the world's greatest media company to help effectuate change for the greater good and to achieve one america. >> byron allen also told me about his failed bid for an nfl team and why, no surprise, he's more determined than ever to buy another one. you can catch my full interview with byron as well as more of our sit-downs with pete buttigieg and michael imperioli anytime you want on hbo max. thank you for watching, and please join us here on cnn every sunday night to find out who's talking next. >> announcer: the following is a cnn special report