--- description: Josh Lieb, Executive Producer of the Daily Show, has just published his debut novel, I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to... title: A Fake Interview with Josh Lieb image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Business](/section/business/) * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) # A Fake Interview with Josh Lieb by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) Nov 17, 2009 4:28 AM CUT by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) Nov 17, 2009 4:28 AM CUT Josh Lieb, Executive Producer of the Daily Show, has just published his debut novel, [I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to be Your Class President](http://www.amazon.com/Genius-Unspeakable-Evil-Class-President/dp/1595142401/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258431711&sr=1-1 "undefined"). I know him and he agreed to write a fake interview with me so I wouldn’t have to write my blog. What follows is my fault as much as his. SELMAN: Josh, thank you so much for doing this. LIEB: I’m sorry, stranger, I don’t have time to talk about your condition. I’m supposed to be meeting my friend Matt Selm – _wait_. … Matt? Is that you? SELMAN: Uh, yeah. LIEB: Really? SELMAN: Yeah, really. It’s me. Matt. LIEB: Wow. Okay. Hold on. Let me wrap my mind around this. SELMAN: What’s going –? LIEB: I SAID HOLD ON! _(several minutes pass)_ LIEB: Okay, I’m good now. Let’s start over. MATT: Hi, Josh. Thanks for doing this. LIEB: Matt! Wow! You look great. MATT: Thanks. Um, so where did you get the idea – LIEB: I’m sorry. I love you too much to lie to you. What happened? Have you been sick? SELMAN: No. LIEB: Yeah, people usually _lose_ weight when they’re sick… SELMAN: I think I look fine. LIEB: That is such a great attitude! You keep thinking like that, and you’re going to lick this thing yet. SELMAN: What thing? LIEB: Exactly! You tell ‘em! SELMAN: So where did – LIEB: “_What thing_?” he says. That’s a good one. Wait’ll I tell the boys at O’Mallahan’s. SELMAN: Where did you get the idea for “I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to be Your Class President?” LIEB: (_under his breath_) So brave… SELMAN: Okay, look, are you going to spend this entire fake interview insinuating that I look awful? ‘Cause we can end this right now. LIEB: Oh, really? Can we? SELMAN: Yes. LIEB: Well, I think _we_ are forgetting who’s writing this fake interview. SELMAN: Meaning what exactly? LIEB: Check this out. SELMAN: My name’s Matt Selman and I eat poop! LIEB: Ha ha! Wow! That’s not the kind of thing people usually brag about, but okay… SELMAN: That is so not cool. LIEB: Ooh – that stings, coming from an admitted poop eater. SELMAN: I do not now nor have I ever – I EAT POOP! I LOVE IT! POOP! POOP! GIMME MORE! YUM! LIEB: Ha! It’s okay! I heard you the first time. SELMAN: I EAT POOP ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT AND THEN WHEN I GO TO SLEEP I DREAM ABOUT THE POOP I WILL EAT TOMORROW. ME. MATT SELMAN. PLEASE SEND ME POOP CARE OF TIME MAGAZINE. LIEB: Hey, I thought _I_ was the one who was supposed to be plugging here. SELMAN: You’re despicable. LIEB: To answer your question, I got the idea during the writers’ strike. I couldn’t work, my wife was expecting a baby, and I had to pay rent. So I wrote a book. SELMAN: Why don’t you tell us about the plot? LIEB: Why don’t you do it for me? SELMAN: Well, basically it’s about a fat kid in Omaha, Nebraska who everyone thinks is the dumbest boy in school. Even his parents think so. But it’s all an act – in reality, he is an evil supergenius and the third richest person on Earth. He’s just laying low until he’s 18 and he can legally claim his worldwide empire. LIEB: Go on… SELMAN: So he decides to run for class president using the same techniques he uses to overthrow third world dictatorships – blackmail, bribery, etc. But that stuff works a lot better in geopolitics than it does in middle school. LIEB: Geez, Selman. Give away the whole plot while you’re at it. SELMAN: I am _so_ going to kill you when I escape from the world of your imagination. LIEB: Take a number, pal. SELMAN: So who’s it written for? Adults or kids? LIEB: Both. You’ll find it in the Young Adult section of your local bookstore, probably, but the intended audience is both smart middle-school kids and emotionally stunted adults. SELMAN: Like me! LIEB: You said it, Seljerk. SELMAN: You’re a dead man, Lieb. LIEB: Just get on with your little interview. SELMAN: Fine. How did you find the time to – (_sniffs_),,, Huh, that’s funny. LIEB: What? SELMAN: Do you smell burnt toast? LIEB: Me? No I don’t smell anything. SELMAN: That’s weird, I could swear I smell – AAAAAH! AAAAAAAH! AAAAAH! LIEB: Ha ha! SELMAN: AAAAAAAAAAAAH! LIEB: Ha! SELMAN: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! LIEB: Gee, Matt, you sure picked a weird time to work on your golf game. SELMAN: AH! AH! AH! LIEB: So, how’s your _stroke_ coming along? Ha! SELMAN: You muzzerfuzzer! Ah! Aaaaah!!! LIEB: Well, Matt seems to be out of commission, so I’ll finish this thing myself. To find out more about my amazing book “I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to be Your Class President,” go to Sheldrakeindustries.com. There’s a funny video there starring me and Jon Stewart and everything. Right, Matt? SELMAN: Muzzer! Fuzzer! LIEB: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. 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