Conan O’Brien joined former U.S. Sen. Dr. Ben Sasse (R-NE) and American political analyst Chris Stirewalt for a conversation on Sasse and Stirewalt’s new podcast, “Not Dead Yet.” The podcast’s title alludes to Sasse’s battle with terminal cancer. The former senator, a committed Christian, has drawn commendation from many for his faith in God and the stalwart attitude with which he is facing the end of his life.
“Ben, I am pulling for you with every cell in my body,” O’Brien told Sasse at the end of the interview. “You are a quality human being. And let me know what I can do for you, you know, seriously. You got my number, so keep me in the loop, ok?”
Conan O’Brien Tells Ben Sasse and Chris Stirewalt How He Stays Grounded
In addition to being a former U.S. senator, Ben Sasse was formerly director of White Horse Inn, president of the University of Florida, president of Midland University, and executive editor of modern reformation at Sola Media.
In December 2025, Sasse publicly announced that he had stage 4 pancreatic cancer and knew that he would die from it. He has appeared on some podcasts recently to share his thoughts on the gospel and his perspective on the end of his life.
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Chris Stirewalt is an American political analyst and commentator who has covered elections and political trends for major news outlets, including Fox News, NewsNation, and The Dispatch. It was through his work covering politics that he got to know Sasse.
Conan O’Brien is an American comedian, writer, and television host known for his decades-long late-night career, including “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” “The Tonight Show,” and “Conan.” He hosts the podcast “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend,” starred in the 2024 travel series “Conan O’Brien Must Go,” and starred with Rose Byrne in the 2025 movie, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.”
The “Not Dead Yet” episode with O’Brien aired March 4. In the introductory podcast episode, released on Feb. 25, Sasse and Stirewalt explained that the title of the podcast comes from “Monty Python” (that is, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”).
“The hard part for the post-production staff is how often I vomit while we record,” said Sasse, who is undergoing chemotherapy and is on morphine. He has said his “torso is chock full of tumors.”
“I’ve had a lot of people who I’ve interviewed who have wanted to throw up while I was talking to them but never this frequency and never with this kind of enthusiasm,” Stirewalt told him.
“And this one’s not because of you, which is fresh for you,” Sasse replied.
Conan O’Brien joined former U.S. Sen. Dr. Ben Sasse (R-NE) and American political analyst Chris Stirewalt for a conversation on Sasse and Stirewalt’s new podcast, “Not Dead Yet.”Click to Post
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