During Marketplace’s LA Roadshow, Kai Ryssdal sat down with actor, writer and producer Amy Poehler as well as veteran TV producer Norman Lear to talk about their careers.

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For Lear, fights with network executives were the norm. But for Poehler? Not so much.

“Because there’s a lot of different outlets for television now… people that want to be a bit more provocative know that they have a place and a home in cable,” Poehler says.

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But Lear and Poehler weren’t always big-time TV producers. Lear’s family had to make it through the Great Depression. Growing up, Poehler says her family always had to keep track of money too.

“When no one really has any money, everybody knows how much money everybody makes,” Poehler says.

Even though money comes a little easier for Poehler these days, she admits her career sometimes seems like a bad boyfriend.

“Your career will never call you back, it flirts openly with other people. It’s never gonna marry you…. It likes it when you ignore it.”

Bill Youngblood

Listen to the full conversation with Poehler and Lear, from our stage show “How I Learned the Business of Creativity,” in the audio player above.