On This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Nathan for You and HBO’s new comedy The Rehearsal, Nathan Fielder has played a stiff, socially inept agitator that can barely get through a conversation.

The amount that Fielder’s real personality informs his character is a mystery. But Fielder has used his bizarre comments and awkward silences to destabilize his interviewees, joining a wave of comedians that try to get authentic reactions in an age of careful-crafted “reality” television.

And now, on The Rehearsal, Fielder is adding a layer of absurdity, as he helps people rehearse difficult social situations with paid actors and perfect sets of real locations.

With the second episode of The Rehearsal out today, New York Magazine features writer Lila Shapiro joins us to discuss how Fielder’s over-controlling personality is paradoxically creating some of the most spontaneous moments on television.