DAVID GREENE, HOST:
So what scares you? The things that scare us sometimes reveal more about our character than we'd probably like to share. Member station WNYC recently asked people for a list of their biggest fears. And over the next few weeks, we're going to share them. Here is former White House director of communications - for all of 10 days - Anthony Scaramucci.
ANTHONY SCARAMUCCI: Divorce attorneys - my divorce attorney was fantastic, by the way. I mean, he's literally become a very close friend. A lack of communication with my own children - when you go through a divorce and you get a little bit of he said, she said, there could be some alienation. And in fairness to the kids, if the situation is very stressful, they could want to pull away or check out on their own for their own self-preservation. So, you know, that would really be a rough one for me.
Returning to Washington - I was laughing at the president the other night, where he was saying that he thought the real estate people in New York were animals until he got to Washington, D.C. And he realizes these people are a bunch of babies. I mean, they're just the worst people I've ever met in my life. I mean, these people do not serve the public interest. There's a very good reason why the American people voted out levels of the establishment and brought in President Trump.
Losing the ability to be useful to my family or the society - I got raised to be fairly independent. I had a paper route when I was a very young kid. I was hustling for dough while I was in college. I was hustling for dough while I was in law school. I've been working in one way, shape or form since I was 12, 13 years old. And so I'm never retiring, OK? I like the game. You know what I mean? I don't know if you want to call Dr. Kekirkian (ph) or whatever his name is that, you know, was killing people. But I sort of don't want to be here if I'm not really functioning and capable of helping others.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: So what would be your dream? Do you die at your desk or something? Like, how would...
SCARAMUCCI: Well, I want to die like Nelson Rockefeller.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: How's that?
SCARAMUCCI: You don't know how he died.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: No, I don't.
SCARAMUCCI: He died in bed in flagrante delicto.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Got it.
SCARAMUCCI: Got it.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Yeah.
SCARAMUCCI: And they had to haul him out of there. And so that's how I want to die. Is that bad?
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GREENE: Anthony Scaramucci is the former director of communications at the White House. And that was an excerpt from the new podcast "10 Things That Scare Me." You can hear the rest of Scaramucci's fears in other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts. "10 Things That Scare Me" comes to us from WNYC Studios.