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! Prompted!by!an!article!I!wrote!for!New!York!about!dealing!prescription!drugs!through!Craigslist,!Pivot! TV!contacted!me!midHJuly!about!appearing!on!an!episode!of!Meghan!McCain’s!new!talk!show,!RaisingMcCain,!which!debuts!this!Saturday,!September!14th,!at!10pm!EST.!In!spite!of!the!fact!that!preparing! for!television!interviews!is!a!shitload!of!work!—!considering!the!amount!of!research!required!not!to! sound!like!an!idiot,!and!the!amount!of!primping!required!not!to!look!your!worst!on!camera!—!I!never! decline!such!opportunities.! So!a!week!later,!I!found!myself!in!the!bathroom!of!an!Italian!restaurant!on!Manhattan’s!Upper!West! Side,!reHtouching!my!JonBenét!Ramsey!style!makeup,!which!had!partially!melted!during!the!long! subway!ride!uptown,!alongside!Meghan!McCain.!At!the!time,!all!I!knew!about!Meghan!was!that!she!was! a!Republican,!had!written!at!least!two!books,!and!was!the!daughter!of!former!presidential!candidate!
John!McCain.!Truthfully,!none!of!these!characteristics!inspired!me!to!like!her.!But!as!soon!as!she! turned!the!faucet!on!and!sheepishly!warned,!“I!don’t!like!it!when!people!hear!me!pee,”!before!tucking! into!a!stall,!her!sincerity!endeared!her!to!me.!Maybe!I!was!harboring!a!few!too!many!preconceived! notions,!I!realized.! Still,!I!wondered!where!the!day!—!and!our!discussion!about!millennials!as!“the!binge!generation”!—! might!lead.!What!I!soon!discovered!is!that!Meghan!McCain!is!an!openHminded,!modern!lady!committed! to!addressing!important!issues!in!a!way!that’s!informative!without!being!boring.! In!honor!of!Raising-McCain’s!premier!this!week,!I!turned!the!table!to!ask!Meghan!a!few!questions!of!my! own—about!her!show,!being!vocal!even!when!her!opinions!diverge!from!her!dad’s,!the!importance!of! failure,!and,!of!course,!twerking,!among!other!things.! Thought'Catalog:!I!was!impressed!to!read!that!you!came!up!with!the!concept!for!Raising!McCain—an! unconventional,!onHtheHroad!docuHtalk!show.!I’m!wondering!what!feedback—negative!or!positive— you!received!during!the!pitching!process,!and!how!it!affected!you.! Meghan'McCain:!Well,!the!idea!really!unfolded!with!my!production!company!and!with!Pivot.!I!had!the! initial!idea!but!they!really!helped!it!come!to!life,!so!I!can’t!take!all!the!credit.!But!the!pitching!process!is! a!horrible!experience.!It’s!soul!killing.! TC:!How!did!you!maintain!the!resolve!to!see!the!project!through?! MM:!I!really!believed!in!the!idea.!Everyone!seemed!to!want!me!to!do!a!reality!show!instead,!but!I! wouldn’t!do!something!like!that—ever.!Pivot!happened!to!be!my!last!meeting!and!I!left!feeling!like!I! had!to!work!with!them.!Finally,!someone!seemed!to!understand!exactly!what!I!wanted!to!accomplish.!
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TC:!What!lessons!from!your!MSNBC!experience!did!you!take!with!you!while!filming!Raising-McCain?! MM:!I!once!thought!I!wanted!to!be!in!politics!and!maybe!work!on!campaigns!again,!but!I!wasn’t!happy! during!that!time.!I!realized!that!I!wanted!to!be!part!of!what!we!have!in!common—not!part!of!the! division!between!left!and!right.!But!I!don’t!want!anyone!to!think!I’m!ungrateful!for!my!MSNBC! experience,!since!I!learned!so!much!about!myself!and!about!what!I!wanted,!and!didn’t!want.!I!figured! out!that!I!don’t!want!to!be!a!pundit.!When!I!was!growing!up,!MTV!News!had!such!a!pivotal!impact!on! me.!It!was!the!first!time!I!heard!discussions!about!AIDs!and!gay!people.!You!know,!when!you’re!having! these!conversations!while!watching!entertainment!that’s!also!informative,!it!changes!your!life.! TC:!As!someone!who!felt!so!deeply!disillusioned!at!one!point!in!early!adulthood,!what!is!your!advice!to! 20Hsomethings!when!it!comes!to!figuring!their!shit!out?! MM:!I!think!failure!is!important!—!it’s!just!part!of!life!and!part!of!the!process.!Everybody!is!going!to!go! through!hard!times.!We’re!expected!to!have!it!all!figured!out—to!leave!college!knowing!exactly!what! we!want!to!do!—!but!I!struggled!a!lot.!So!I!suggest!you!try!things.!I!have!this!square!peg/round!hole! theory!that!you!can’t!force!something!that!isn’t!natural!and!there’s!a!reason!things!don’t!work!out.!I! always!say:!“Rejection!is!God’s!protection.”!I!read!that!on!the!Internet.!I!think!failure!is!just!as! important!as!success.!I’ve!certainly!failed!as!much!as!I’ve!succeeded.! TC:!You’ve!said!that!Raising!McCain!has!allowed!you!to!be!the!“most!authentic!version!of!yourself.”! What!would!you!say!has!been!people’s!greatest!misconception!about!you!to!date?! MM:!I!think!it’s!depends!who!you!ask.!There!are!probably!really!conservative!people!who!think!I’m!a! “fake”!Republican.!I!also!think!a!lot!of!people!assume!I’ve!been!handed!everything.!I!would!never!deny! that!I’ve!been!given!more!opportunities!than!the!average!person!because!of!who!my!dad!is,!but!it’s! been!seven!years!since!my!dad!ran!for!president.!And!it!was!me!and!my!production!company!who! pitched!my!show!and!filmed!for!15!hours!a!day.!If!your!parents!are!famous!and!you!become!a!drug! addict!and!your!life!is!a!mess,!it’s!your!parents’!fault.!And!if!you’re!a!success,!your!parents!get!the! credit.!So!there’s!no!way!to!win.! TC:!What’s!the!best!part!about!your!current!gig,!aside!from!getting!to!wear!Converse!every!day!as! you’ve!noted?! MM:!This!is!my!dream!job.!I!have!a!show!in!which!every!theme!is!directly!related!in!one!way!or! another!to!an!issue!in!my!own!life!and!other!people’s!lives!and!we!go!out!and!explore!it.!I!had!so!much! fun!with!the!camera!crew.!We!became!a!little!family.!I!had!wonderful!guest!hosts.!I!feel!like!I’m!getting! paid!to!be!crazy!and!ask!crazy!questions.!It’s!awesome.! !