Adam Conover ruins weight-loss tonight on his hit truTV show Adam Ruins Everything.
The episode takes an in-depth look at the reasons people can actually get FATTER when they’re on low-fat diets, and why it doesn’t make sense to count calories.
We spoke to Adam last week about what’s coming up in the new season, and why the hit series shows people love to learn.
On the show, he and the rest of the Adam Ruins Everything team attempt to clear up common misconceptions across all sorts of fields, educating people using the things that matter most — facts.
What fans of the show might not realize is that Conover comes by his geek credentials honestly. His father is a marine biologist and is now a Vice President of Research at the University of Oregon, while his mother a botanist who ran a science museum.
Even his little sister is a particle physicist and science reporter.
For Conover, it wasn’t easy to choose a career in comedy — as it would mean turning his back on his other big love, philosophy.
“It was difficult,” he told Monsters and Critics. “I wanted to go to grad school for philosophy, and I didn’t get much encouragement.
“My advisor was like, yeah, you could go to grad school. But my college comedy group started picking up. I realized this comedy thing was working out, so I could pursue that.”
Still, the decision wasn’t easy. “It was sad for me at the time, because I loved the life of the mind and learning, and I was sad to leave it,” he says.
“But I had a sense at the time that I think I can do comedy and philosophy. They have a lot in common, so I can talk about issues. They’re both about working with ideas.”
Adam Ruins Everything, which began as a CollegeHumor web series, has turned out to be the perfect melding of Conover’s interests, though he admits that, “For a couple years, I felt like the f***-up of the family. My sister got her Ph.D., and I’m making web videos.”
Those videos, however, have given his family bragging rights. “It benefits them quite a bit. My dad mentioned that people will say, hey, my kids love that show. A lot of his colleagues’ kids like the show, so it gives him some good ice breakers.”
While Adam Ruins Everything segments frequently go viral on the internet, Conover modestly says he doesn’t think his show has had the impact of some others.
“I don’t think we’ve moved the needle of society,” he says. “When John Oliver did his net neutrality segment and the chairman of the FCC responded to it, I was like, that’s incredible.”
This season promises to tackle another batch of tough subjects. While the topics cover a broad spectrum, fans can appreciate the series’ continuing storyline.
“As far as a theme, we always pick a journey that Adam can go on, and it’s funny how much people don’t mention that,” he says.
“But we take Adam’s relationship to some interesting places. We have a really interesting Emily and Adam episode coming up. I don’t want to spoil it, though.”
Adam Ruins Everything airs Tuesday nights at 10/9c on truTV.