Comedian Russell Brand would probably bristle at being described as a comedian. It’s not that he’s not funny, or doesn’t occasionally perform stand-up. It’s more that in the years since he’s achieved fame, he’s become just as notable for his wonderfully unhinged performances in a number of films, as well as for writing books that sensitively and thoughtfully probe questions about himself, our society, and existence itself. The latest of these is Recovery: Freedom from Our Addictions, and it continues Brand’s string of works that seem rooted less in his desire to make everybody laugh and more to connect with everyone on the planet. The book — which posits that you can use a 12-step program to fix problems and addictions in your life far beyond traditional chemical dependency — made Todd push back against it quite a bit, but by the end, Brand’s argument started to seem more solid. Twelve-step programs are terrifically effective means for forcing us to confront our own weaknesses and dependencies, so why not use them to diagnose issues in bad relationships or toxic workplaces? Brand and Todd talked about his book, yes, but also about his bees, about America’s gun violence problem, about religion, about systems of government, about fatherhood, and about the West Ham football club. It’s a wide-ranging discussion, and Brand’s thoughts on all of these topics are, as always, fascinating.

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