Willie Geist Says He Does a 'Gut Check' with His Kids Before Interviewing Celebrities (Exclusive)

Geist tells PEOPLE he knows when his kids' "enthusiasm is real and when it's being nice" about his upcoming interviews for his Sunday Sitdowns ahead of No. 300 with Matt Damon

Willie Geist has plenty of cool dad stories.

Speaking with PEOPLE ahead of this week's episode of Sunday TODAY with Willie Geist — where he will talk to Matt Damon in the television journalist's 300th original Sunday sit-down interview — Geist says that he loves when he can impress his kid with someone he's chatting with.

"I'm definitely pushing 50 at this point, so when somebody who is on the younger end of celebrities come in, I do a gut check with my kids," Geist, 48, tells PEOPLE of his two kids, 14-year-old George and 16-year-old Lucie.

"They said I had to interview Machine Gun Kelly, which turned out to be one of the best experiences we've had on the show, challenging and fun. And then there was Sydney Sweeney, when I mentioned it, my daughter was like, 'Oh my God, you're going to have Sydney Sweeney on?!'"

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Related: Willie Geist Says Son 'Clammed Up' When Given the Chance to Meet Dwayne Johnson: 'It Was Too Much'

Laughing, he adds, "I can tell when her enthusiasm is real and when it's just her being nice to me."

Geist, who also co-anchors MSNBC's Morning Joe, says that parenting comes up "all the time" in his chats with celebrities, having the advantage of longer conversations than the quick promo-hits that television journalists often work with.

"I've found lately that I have kids around the same age as the kids of the people I'm interviewing. So it really bonds you together, talking about your kids, especially your teenagers. I was interviewing Kate Hudson a couple months ago and she was talking about how her son had gone off the college and what that's like, and that's coming for me in a couple of years. I had a similar conversation with Michelle Williams."

The conversations mark how far he's come, both in his career and as a father of two and husband to Christina Geist.

"I started on Morning Joe in 2007, which was exactly the same year that my daughter was born. She's 16 now. So we've been doing Morning Joe for 16 years," he reflects. "This early morning, sort of relentless schedule is all that I and my family have ever known."

One of the perks of the lifestyle he has enjoyed is "being home at night" to spend time with his family.

"I'm home at night and have been since they were babies. I've been there at dinner time. I've been there at bath time, been there for tuck-in time and reading books. So I feel very lucky to trade-off," he notes.

"We all make different sacrifices and I feel so lucky to have been there for so much. Haven't missed a lot of games, haven't missed a lot of performances, haven't missed a lot of concerts. Now as you enter the teenage years, you come home and they're out with their friends," he laughs. "But this wild schedule has allowed me to be there for so much and I think that's a huge blessing."

Geist credits his wife's hard work in parenting as well, noting she's been "a savant since the day my daughter was born."

"I've always followed her lead. But I think it's important to us both to always be supportive of the kids, but also not to be overprotective of your kids — not to keep them in a bubble and to go out in the world and have some failures and to encourage the things they love to do."

"My son, for example, is a great musician. He's a drummer and a keyboard player, and it's not a talent I have at all, but the minute he started showing interest and promise in that, we totally encouraged him to continue to do it and open the doors"

Geist says the couple has always prioritized "not having your mind made up about who your kid is going to be."

"Seeing the person they become as they grow up, to me, that's the great joy of being a parent. To be there and watch them become the people they're going to be, and whether it's what your fantasy or whatever was or not, what they come up with is so much better."

The journalist is proud that his kids are "individuals."

"They're funny and smart and talented and fun to be around," he says. "And for me, it's just so important to be the person who encourages them to be whoever they're going to be."

Sunday TODAY with Willie Geist airs Sundays on NBC at 8 a.m. ET. You can catch his 300^th original Sunday sit-down interview with Matt Damon this weekend. 

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