Fail Again: Kumail Nanjiani’s New Ambition

Fail Again: Kumail Nanjiani’s New Ambition

From Fail Better with David Duchovny by Lemonada Media

February 24, 2026 · 55 min

About this episode

Kumail Nanjiani discusses his transformation into a leading man and how he approaches life with more presence and joy.

This episode originally aired August 13, 2024 When I first met Kumail Nanjiani, we were on set on the X-Files, chasing down the shape-shifting Were-Monster. Since then, I’ve seen Kumail undergo his own transformation — into a leading man and big-screen superhero, playing memorable characters with depth, heart and humor. Only, he doesn’t always see it that way. We chat about his love of the X-Files and how he’s recently found new ways of approaching his life, relationship and career with more presence and joy, rather than stressing about the outcome. Follow me on Instagram at @davidduchovny. Stay up to date with Lemonada on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia. Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium. And if you want to continue the conversation with other listeners, join the My Lemonada community at https://lemonadamedia.com/mylemonada/ For a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and every other Lemonada show, go to lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: David Duchovny

Guest: Kumail Nanjiani

Topics covered

  • transformation
  • career
  • relationships
  • presence
  • joy
  • comedy

Keywords

  • Kumail Nanjiani
  • David Duchovny
  • X-Files
  • transformation
  • career
  • relationships
  • comedy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Lemonada Media

Books & works: X-Files

More episodes of Fail Better with David Duchovny

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Fail Better with David Duchovny podcast page.