He is trying to illustrate a conversation in which the same words keep producing different answers. In the A24 documentary You Can See Everything, Fielder questions Elizabeth Holmes about what Theranos’s blood-testing device could actually do. Their exchange reminds him of Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on First?” routine. He plays it for Holmes, who laughs but initially struggles to identify the central pun.
The baseball joke, without needing to know baseball
The first baseman is literally named Who. The second baseman is What; the third is I Don’t Know. One comedian asks who plays first base, expecting a person’s name. The other replies “Who,” correctly naming the player. To the questioner, that sounds like another question rather than an answer. Neither side is changing the subject on purpose, but the misunderstanding grows.
Abbott and Costello made the routine famous in American vaudeville, radio and film. The National Baseball Hall of Fame preserves and explains it. The joke relies on words functioning as both ordinary questions and proper names; its speed and the straight-faced insistence make it funny.
Why this joke in a documentary about fraud?
Holmes founded Theranos and was convicted in 2022 on investor-fraud charges. Filming began in 2023, 34 days before she reported to prison. Fielder, known for Nathan for You and The Rehearsal, co-directed the documentary with Lance Oppenheim. A24 released it in US theaters on October 16, 2026.
Fielder wants to know whether the device really performed the promised tests, or whether Holmes is describing what she believed it might eventually do. Reuters described his persistent questioning on October 21. The distinction matters: past performance and future potential are different claims. Fielder uses the old routine as a comic model for why his questions never seem to settle the issue. The sketch itself, however, is deliberate wordplay; it cannot prove anyone’s intentions in real life.
The joke about explaining a joke
Reviews describe Holmes laughing along yet missing, at first, that Who is the first baseman’s name. Billy Evans, her partner, interprets her response as evidence that she thinks differently. That adds a second layer: Fielder introduces a sketch to explain miscommunication, and then finds himself explaining the sketch as well. An educational demonstration becomes another communication problem.
A real October 19 discussion in r/nathanfielder singled out the scene as one of the film’s funniest. That documents some audience engagement, not a measured global viral phenomenon. The official A24 page confirms the film’s theatrical release; it does not establish a streaming date.
The answer
Fielder plays “Who’s on First?” because he thinks he and Holmes are talking past each other. The twist is that a routine designed to clarify the confusion creates a fresh version of it. He wanted to explain why the conversation kept looping; now even the explanation needs explaining.
References (6)
- A24, film page and October 16 theatrical release
- National Baseball Hall of Fame, explanation of Who's on First?
- NPR/WLRN, October 16 review of the scene
- The Ringer, October 16, the comedy scene
- Reuters, October 21, Holmes and Fielder's dispute about the device
- Reddit, October 19, viewer discussion of funniest moments
Scene descriptions are based on independent published accounts, not a claim to have watched the complete film. Interpretation is kept separate from the criminal conviction and from audience reactions.
