Tom Davis is a four-time Emmy winner for his writing for Saturday Night Live. He wrote for the show for fourteen years, including the first five seasons with the original cast. He and Al Franken were comedy partners in the team Franken & Davis for more than twenty years. His memoir, 39 Years of Short-Term Memory Loss will be published by Grove Atlantic in March.

The soon-to-be senator’s longtime comedy partner spills on what happened backstage at Saturday Night Live—and why he’s only now breaking his silence.