Hi. I'm Vanessa Beyor and this is my brother Jonah. We're two siblings who love to talk about our childhood and nostalgia and how it shaped us into the people we are today, who are extremely self aware, if I do say so myself. Welcome to how did we get weird? So, Jonah, I feel like you and I recently have been digging back into a local newspaper that we always subscribed to as kids, or our parents always subscribed to, and that is the Cleveland Jewish News. Yes, Cleveland Jewish News, you know, not super religious, but for some reason I started just kind of checking it and now I checked recently, and now I check it and it's like people we went to high school with who are like opening restaurants, or it's like someone building a house that they think is going to actually be like a mini synagogue, and it's like it's all of this kind of like Jewish controversy and I'm loving it and you're absolutely loving it. And just to give some context, this is the paper that has stories about like local Cleveland Jewish people and or like where you would put an announcement of like there's a page of like everyone who's getting barned butt mitzvahed. There's a page of everyone who's getting married. It's kind of like where all the Jews go to sort of dish once in a while. Okay, I'll say it, Jonah. Will an article be written about an extraordinary you know teen? Yeah? And is there an article in our parents guest room in their current house framed called Vanessa's Victory? Yeah? When you recover from the Kemia, they ran a feature. Yeah, I guess I was a senior and I had just so. It talks about how I was Prome Queen and I had bought my dress and I somehow it came up that my dress was read that I thought it was a laundry by Shelley Seagull dress. I had picked this red dress and it felt like very victorious because that was like the year that I was done with my keyma and all that stuff. And she took from that, the author took from that a victorious dress of victorious journey. Vanessa's Victory was the name of the article, which is now, God, I'm going to sound like such an egomaniac. It's now in our parents guest room next to an article of me from the last year similar pose where I was. I guess in the New York Times that was about our show because created it with our guests today. Yeah, I will also say this before we introduce our guests, which we will in a second. And I really want to hear if she had something a similar publication growing up. I just want to say I don't currently look into the Jewish News as much as you do. Jonah. It seems like you're always kind of on their scrolling for the latest news. But every time I go home to Cleveland and I think you do this too, I ask our mom if she saved the most recent edition of Jay Style. Jay Style is the Jewish News is like Style magazine where they style all these people that sometimes Jonah and I know them from our high school. Sometimes we don't, that are wearing stuff from local stores. And if you think I had any idea what tick Norris was before, I don't think tick Norris was there when it was at Beach a place when I was growing up. But they're all wearing stuff from tick Nors. It's like tick Norris is in on it or something. Wow, it sounds like it sounds like tick nerves and must be getting some really good advertising, or maybe they're paying for it or who knows. But it's really fun to see people modeling and hear what they're wearing. And I absolutely adore Jay style. And sometimes our mom does save it for us, but sometimes she forgets. Yeah, our guest today. We're so excited to have her here. She's a writer, actor, producer, and author of the best selling books Gill Grow out of It and I'll Show Myself Out, essays on midlife and motherhood. But you might also know her as the voice of Jesse Glazer in Big Mouth, or for writing on a million shows you love such as Inside Amy shumor Transparent, or for being the show runner of a little show called I Love That for you ever heard of it? Please welcome Jesse Klein. Oh my god, what an incredible introduction. And dare I say I'm really honored to be here. Wow? Well, absolutely honored to have you. Thanks for having me. I know you grew up in Manhattan. Did you have a similar Jewish publication growing up? You know? I feel like, um, like, when you're telling me about these publications, I can visualize them, I know what's in them. I want to read them. Still, I feel like because New York City is New York City, Like both the Times and the Post feel a little bit like Jewish publications, and I hope it doesn't sound like conspiracy theory. For you know, we didn't have like a like a local yokel but I did, in fact grow up in a pretty Jewy home. I'm trying to think of like what, Yeah, it was we had all of the sort of normal little you know, chicagle posters and things like did you have like a publication that shared if whose bar about mitzas were happening, or what local Jewish people were getting married or anything like that, or was that just sort of more of a word of mouth. Yeah? I mean I'm also you know, old as hell, so you know, it was still word of mouth, like town crier sort of situations going on. Although I will also say growing up, oddly enough, most of my friends were not Jewish, even though I was in a high Jewish density population. Interesting, so you didn't have like the barn about mitzas every weekend in seventh grade? No, I'm one of the few Jewish people I know who didn't. Yeah, I didn't go to a ton of them, and I controversially didn't have to have one of my own. Yeah, regretted to this day, I feel like it could have been a blast. We can still do it, we can actually one day out of the writer's room or well, I always thought maybe I could be one of those like mature Jewish women. He's like, I'll do it when my when my son does it. Oh you you can do it together? Like, oh my god, was that a fad? That was something that was happening. I feel like I know in the last like like five to ten years, like I knew like Jewish women of a certain age who had not been button mitzfood and and we're like coming to their Judaism later in life and we're like, I'll do it with my child, which it sounds so annoying for the child it does. It feels a little bit like mom or dad like let me have my day. Yeah. Like it's like when a mom is like also in a wedding dress that her daughter's wedding, Like that's someone show feels a little bit keep every one their day. Well, Jesse, let me ask you this. This is something that I do that I don't know if you do. I think most people don't do this. When I like go on vacation somewhere, I'll start reading the local paper there and then I'll check it a lot when I'm not there. Like I go to Martha's Vineyard with my wife maybe once every two years, but I checked the news they're like once a week, and I'm like up on like all of the local controversies and reading all the comments that people arguing about like the Airbnb new by laws, Like you just want to stay connected with that Martha's vine your lifestyle even when you're not there. There's something about just having like absolutely something that doesn't affect me at all, but but but reading about all of these people's strong opinions about it that it's just incredibly fascinating to me. I don't know, do you have anything like that? I think this is maybe not something everyone does. I don't I'm trying to think. I mean I do have the weird thing of like it's not quite the same, but you know when you when you travel somewhere and then you're like you check the weather on your iPhone and you like added as a location to your iPhone to be like checking the weather before you get there, and then I like leave those places on and every now and then I'll just be like, how's the weather in that place I went to six years I do, Oh, it's sixty there, it's sixty here. Yeah, but yeah, why am I doing that? I don't know. I just want to know what it's like. It's similar but is very specific. You were like, Jesse, do you ever do this to checking the weather? Isn't the same, but I would say the level of irrelevance is I would say, almost as not sure, like what's the urge to do it? I don't know totally. I hear that. As you both know, I was recently in Australia and I kept checking the time, like I would check the time in Cleveland. I would like check the time everywhere, just because it was so fun to look at what time it was. You know, what can I tell you? Even asa while you were in Australia, there were a couple of times where I wanted to text you and then I was like, wait, what time is it in Australia? And then I realized I didn't know, And I also like, couldn't I couldn't be bothered to calculate it, and I kind of just googled it. But I was well, here's the thing on your phone. You have a world clock thing, which I always forget about, and man, did world clock come in handy this time around? Basically I do what you do with weather with world clock, where I keep that world clock in the time was it? And I'm going everywhere I've been in the past ten years. I can find out what time it is and then just know it. What was Okay? I feel like this could planned maybe in a word for like most boring podcast conversation ever, But what was the time difference between Sydney and Los Angeles. It was nineteen hours ahead in Sydney, so it was essentially the next day in Sydney. And I will tell you it almost made the jet lag less because it felt like it was just like five hours earlier in Sydney. Interesting because it was five hours earlier the next day. Oh my god, that's like a real brain breaker, is like what, Yeah, it's so confusing. And the other thing that's crazy is I came from Cleveland. I went from Cleveland to Sydney, and Cleveland's on East Coast time, so Cleveland's three hours later than here. So Cleveland's actually three hours closer in time to Australia, but it feels like it's eight hours different. It basically is something where it's like it feels more different even though it's more similar. I wish I hadn't just said that, because I think I got it wrong. No, I don't know. I'm going I'm going to go down a rabbit hole about like jet lag when you make it almost all the way around. Yeah, the clock. I'm so bad with geography. IM like, because you go west to get to Australia, I flew from Cleveland to l A to Australia. Whereas like if you go to Europe when I lived in New York going to Europe. Sorry if everyone thinks I'm such a sophisticated globe trotter, Jet Center, jet Center, I think both were both. Like going to Europe from New York, you go like it's five or six hours. It's like going to l A, you know, or California anywhere. You prefer going to Europe from l A. Honey, you got across the whole continental USA. If for my money, I mean, look, if you want to get into transcontinental routes, they're leaving me behind. I'm so confused. I feel like, yeah, I don't even understand. I'm not living the sophisticated, jet setting, globe trotter lifestyle and you are. Vanessa. This is a Manhattan born and bread and now she's the best selling They're going to like events for Curated again. I mean, if you want to start lobbing accusations, I'm gonna just say when you went to the New Yorker Festival, I did feel like that was the height of sophistication. Thank you so much. A sophistication of the New Yorker Festival. I know, right, well, I guess this is a group of sophisticates. All of us are just Audrey Heppard and Breakfast a Tiffany with our long cigarettes. Yes, you gave a Ted talk, Jonah, Jonah did. I wasn't asking him. Jonah gave a Ted talk in Cleveland. I'm going to call it what was a while ago, maybe ten years ago? This is a sophisticated group. Wow. And I'm drinking a coffee right now and it's almost five o'clock. Wow, Because I love an Americano. How will anyone be able to relate to this podcast? And it's just so filled just the intelligencia, sophisticate sophisticates, all these sweet little sophisticates. Oh my god, Jesse, I have a question for you, which is that when you were a kid, because I know as an adult it happened all the time, But when you were a kid, were you ever like in a local newspaper or or a national newspaper for anything. I was not in a newspaper. However, when I was in fifth grade, Sesame Street came to my school and did one of those little like documentary segments, you know, where they would like like they just have like little films about like kids doing stuff. And my fifth grade class did a class spelling be get ready for a big brag? I want it? And so then they reverse engineered the storytelling because it's film, and they like filmed me like studying for the time I was. I'm saying is I was kind of singled out to be spotlighted because and so then I was on Sesame Street. And you can view this clip on YouTube. Oh if you google Sesame Street spelling bee I think anyway, Also, it's put it put on the website for the for the listeners, and it's kind of like a mini doc about you because it's sort of like shows you studying as if you like, as if they didn't know yet that you were going to win. Correct, correct, And you can see little me with my ponytail and my bangs and my braces just blasting through a very easy spelling. Be Yeah, Jesse, what was the winning Where do you have to spell? Do you remember? I believe it was embarrassed, which is very fitting. Embarrass is a tough that's a tough word. I feel like I still would struggle with that word. It was the hardest word, for sure. I can't wait to watch it. And that's so exciting that they came to your house and everything and we'll just watch it for two seconds. I really am curious. There I am, There she is, that's her. That's little me. Oh my god, Jesse, this is incredible. What's funny is that when I see these kids, I remember almost all of their names really less Charlie. That's Bobby, that's Garrett. I don't remember their names. But anyways, and then I have some friends in here, and my friend Orange is there. That's my teacher Diane. That girl's name is Daniella. Well you just spelled bus. So it's some really high stake stuff going on in here. I will also say if you're looking at this video and thinking this is an awkward little girl, I want you to know this is the best I looked for a really long time, and it was really straight downhill from here. Dizzy whoa, Oh my god, you're so happy. What a hero. All these kids are cheering for you. What it's absolutely exclusive. You have a cool little jacket on Jesse, So we're like big Bird or anyone like that at this So this is more know and I do believe that when they said sesame st first of all, you guys are really heroes for indulging that ultimately not very compelling piece of films. I thought it was incredible. The thing is that's most telling when I watch it now is like and again not to dig my age, which I'm very proud of, and you're like, oh, this is like an old piece of footage. It is like almost the same quality as when you see like videos of like old New York where people are like un horse and buggies. It's very it's very shaky and old. I disagree. I think it's pretty incredible to see you victorious and that's such a fun video. That's a great it's nice that it exists. And I don't know who put it on YouTube, but Douglass, well, you know, I don't know if you did. But we didn't have like a video camera growing up, so we just have like video, like we have this one video of Jonah and I when we were kids, like giving out are like contact information at the library for the police. And it was like this thing that they did because like kidnapping was like a concern when we were kids, and so like the police, you had to go to the the library and like share your information, so like to say your name, your phone number, your address, and it's like and Jonah is so cute as the shuge classes and they're like what's your name and he's like like it's like cute. But it's one of the only pieces of video footage we have from when we were kids. I feel like it's nice to have that stuff that you didn't I know. Yeah, we didn't have a video camera either, so yeah, this is I think, maybe, as they would say, the only extant piece of footage of me as a child. Yeah. I just always think about how it must be so different for kids now because they had like now that people have access to phones. There's so much video footage you can want to me because maybe because we don't have that much, it's so interesting to watch yourself as a kid. Yeah, I mean, forget even video footage. I feel like there's not even that many photos totally, totally and now like I have like seventy billion photos and videos of my child on my phone. Yeah, who knows, who knows? Who knows? How this will affect us? All going to be great? Well, we're gonna do We're gonna take a quick commercially break. Okay, I just made that up. Just made that up. Yeah, i'd supported all right, Jesse, This is that right back with Jesse. Fine, and we're back now, Jessie. We are really excited to talk to you today about a little topic. We asked you to bring in a little topic, as we always do, and you picked snoopy snow cone machines. Now, why are those important to you? Okay? Where to begin? I guess with the fact that when I was a kid, I would say I watched I would come home from school and I watched about I'm gonna say, seven to nine straight hours of television. And I don't think that's an exaggeration or an overcount because when I was a kid, and this will tap into whoever is in my demo. It came home and it was like Ducktails, he Man, Shira, ThunderCats, facts of Life, different strokes, spends in then like a quick break for like just a silent dinner with your family, like family ties. It was just like you could just go, there's so much So yeah, that was all like just getting loaded in every day for years and years. And then the ad that I remember. There's so many toy ads. You're exposed to so many of them, you know, one or two of them, as I like to say, like certain things get like burned into your brain where it's like death Star to the core. And I just remember seeing the ad for that commercial. First of all, like snoopy, big yes from me. So I'm assuming you picked it because you're familiar with it. But it's a little house and it showed like kids are loading you put like ice in it, and then you put syrup in it, and then you there's like a little what's this thing called sorry COVID Right, like a crank is a crank crank handle that you crank and then out the back door of the house. It's making a little a little like Italian crushed ice for you and so. And then I also remember the last few notes of the jingle for I just remember it was like some of the boa and then we go Snoopy snow Cone Machine, and I was like, Oh, it's everything I love. It's Italian ice, it's summer, it's Snoopy, It's a toy. I just like wanted it. I just wanted. It's so bad, and I think it was probably on the pricier end of toys. And I asked for it and we couldn't afford it or whatever. Here's the sweet, little happy coda to the story. Decades later, I like mentioned my parents somehow we're talking. At some point I brought up Snoopy snowcown Machine, and I think for my thirty one birthday, my parents got me a Snoopy snowclaw machine. I think it still exists. Oh my gosh, it does exist. It was so sweet, amazing. Yeah, it was invented in nineteen Yeah, you basically explained it's been around for more than forty years. Perfect collectible gift for Peanuts fans and old all nuts fans. Now, well, I don't want to ding the thing that I'm talking very lovingly about, and I really did appreciate getting it as a gift. It does not it does not work though. It doesn't work that well. Yeah, interesting that well, I mean maybe you know what it might work better. I didn't have like the fancy fridge at home that gives you crushed ice, right, so I think I was trying to crush like large traders and put it in there. Yeah. It's like a little plastic candle. It's not really built for that. Yeah, to withstand that level of pressure. Did you have friends who had them? I don't think I had a friend who had it. It was just the thing that I felt like was like the most elite. Yeah, this is like the gifts you're given if you're super super love like. I wanted that more than like other kids. I remember, we're remember the craze for like cabbage patch kids. I know, you never like that horny for a cabbage patch kid, you know what I mean? Did you have one or same? I never really got into cabbage patch kids. They didn't seem that. Yeah. I just never was like you had this thing you were really into that, like polished rocks or something okay, we never got it to work. One year for Hanukah, I got a rock tumbler from the Nature Company if you remember that store and you were supposed to be able to tumble. I think rock tumblers are like a kind of common toy and it's basically okay, go ahead, go ahead, because well, my kid is super into like crystals and gems and rocks, and like my parents bought him a rock tumbler like last year from I don't know it's made by like National Jear. I don't know who makes it or if it's the same one that you had, But it actually felt kind of it was just very involved. Yes, like I couldn't deal with it, so I was like, gave it to Ashstad to deal with it. Was you figure them out? And I just remember it like got plugged in. I thought it seemed like a cool idea and I thought it was something that like it would go for an hour and polish a rock. But it was like going in this extra rumor house and I was like, Mike, when is this going to be done? He was like, oh, it has to be on for three straight days. Wife. I was like, what are you talking about anyway? And then it was like never got finished. And I actually just two weeks ago it was like cleaning out this extra room and the rock tumbler is still in there. I couldn't open it. I couldn't figure it out. I just was like, this is a bill of goods. I a hundred percent remember us being like, okay, you just put these it what looks like rocks that have like a like the shiny part isn't showing yet, so that's why you put them in the rock tumbler. Policy will get rid of the for lack of a better word, skin, and you'll see the beautiful rock underneath. And by the way, so rude. I remember it said I'm the thing semi precious stones and I kind of I m at to look that up in our World book Encyclopedia and saw like, oh, this means they're they're absolute crap. What's so funny about your rock tumble twos? And we kept it in the basement, which was like a not finished basement that was like kind of scary and just gross. And yeah, I'm surprised you remember that, Johnah. I don't remember what we ended up doing with it, but it was like, yeah, you couldn't get it to work. It also could be maybe dangerous, like you were sort of like, what's what am I doing here? And yeah, I think those rock tumblers. If anyone knows of a company that makes one that is an absolute garbage, please please please. I think you're right those rock tumbers are a real bit like it hasn't bill of goods. I literally just threw it it, But I also could not bring myself to throw it out. I'm like, what if I need this? What if you have beautiful, semi precious stones, You're just not taking advantage of. Jonah had friends growing up who had snoopy snow cone what I was really into? I feel like I was sort of into those. But then I also kind of when I was too old, got into easy bake ovens, Like I was like a little too old for those, and I saved up money and I bought one, and then I remember being in my bedroom like and I made those little cakes you can make in them. There's something really fun about Troy where you can like produce food produced food. Yes, I really you know. I also remem're seeing like the easy bake of an ad. Now here's the thing, and I really wanted one. Yeah, And there were two things that were three things. One was it produces food too. Well, maybe it's just the two things. But the thing that was also so appealing to me about it was that it had the little light in it. Do you know what I'm talking about. There's like a little light that's on inside, which I like an oven light, like a little oven lake. Yeah. I always, I mean, you know, like everyone else, I've always been very fascinated by a tiny, tiny light bulb. But here's my question, how did that work? How was that safe for children? I think it had super low power, and I think you bought with it, like just the heater is at a small heater. It was like a mix you mix with water and then you made one Maybe there were a few different flavors, but one chocolate cake that was about like half an inch high, Yeah, I remember, yeah, and like maybe five inches in diameter, and you made that little cake and I remember being like, well, I've on my own just baked cake, like this is incredible. But then you wonder if the heat is so low again, heat now is low enough to be safe? Is the heat high enough to be I guess if they're giving you a little food, Like I was just thinking food poisoning, But there must be no live proteins that could spoil. Maybe it's just something no now I need to do. I'm gonna go down a rabbit hole about this. In my mind, you're essentially putting a packet of hot chocolate right right into a little dish, mixing it with water or And that's kind of the level I feel of cooking. That's happening of cooking you're doing so so part of me is like, is there even anything in there that's like you would get sick if it didn't that you would get sick. Yeah, isn't even really food? Probably not right. When you say you were a little too old for it? What don't age? You were talking and I remember I was past the age that I don't remember really using it with friends. I sort of just bought it saved up money. I'm gonna say I was and I know this doesn't sound super, but I'm going to say I was maybe twelve or thirteen, so I was sort of past the age. I don't know. I just feel that I bought it truly because I was like, I need to start making food, Like, don't taking care of myself. I remember going to the toy store with like my dad or something, and it was on sale. I had saved up like it and it was on sale for sixty ninety nine or something like that, and I remember being like, Okay, getting a deal with Rocks. But also I remember the feeling of being Okay, easy bake up and is great for ages eight and up. That track. I remember the feeling of being at a toy store and I hadn't been at one for a long time because I was a little too old for them. And I remember being like lightly like, oh, I don't know that I should be here, and then just being in my room kind of making the gigs with myself and being like, is this what I should be doing? This isn't the picture that's on the box. Hell alone, on the box there's these two little girls with bows in their hair, and yet here I am kind of a young one was the loneliest number. Sounds like those cakes were a little bitter sweet Vanessa, nice one, Jonah. I'm curious, like, do you remember this? Because I've tried to look this up online. I can't find anything. But there's a kid who went to our high school whose dad was in an ventor, and I feel like there's a commercial for this thing he invented all the time. It was called the five minute ice cream maker, and it was like you couldn't make ice cream at home, and he came in and spoke to our class and he was like, you could really make it in three minutes. But because I ever, and I can't find anything about the five minute ice cream maker online and I'm concerned that I made it up but at all familiar to you? Or was it four kids? Yes, it was for kids and they could like make ice cream somehow, and I don't know exactly how it works. This does not sound familiar to me. However, it is triggering. And so far as and so far as I know that people can buy an ice cream maker, that that is like an achievable thing I get, or people can make ice cream at home, something about me is I love ice cream, but I've I've always been like how that I don't understand all these ice cream makers. I don't like what I am so with you. It feels like a laboratory, retail thing that can only exist outside of the home. Jonah, what were you going to say? Because I'm gonna go on for a long then before I have a lot of Me and my wife Vicky have a lot of kitchen gadgets, like we have an air f our, we have a item mix, we have a soda stream city. Then there's some that are food processors. Then there's some that are a lot harder to use, like like the dehydrator. I was like, I'm gonna make me my own dried mangoes. Guess what turns out it's actually a lot cheaper to buy them, a lot easier. Yeah, And I'm concerned. And so the dehydrate is cool, but it's a big production. It takes a long time, and I'm concerned that the ice cream makers like that I'll get it, be will be really excited I'll make it. I'll be like, for the money and time I spent, I could just buy it, buy an ice cream that tastes way better. Yeah, I don't know how much are we supposed to achieve in this one, Like there is something weird about an ice cream maker too. For example, when I'm watching a cooking show and they decide to make ice cream and they use the ice cream maker, you know how sometimes it really sad, But how just them. I'm talking about on a Chopped or some some show like that, and then they go decide to use the ice cream maker and then they're like, it's not coming out right, And I'm like, if they can't even do it? But also so many people have been derailed by like by the ice cream maker. But I'm also like, is that how ice cream is made? I truly don't know the answer to that. And our dad's friend Ivan Platt created or he started East Coast Custard, which is a custard machine that he I think invented. I could be getting something. He invented this custard machine. It's a hugely popular chain of custard. Don't get it confused with ICE's gonna say, what are we what hairs were splitting? How did he invent that? And also is that so we should have him on the show. What's the difference between how that is made and how ice cream is made? I go, what, what's the actual way that ice cream is made? It's got to not be from one of those little machines, because that's something when I think about how ice cream is made, it I honestly get like an uncomfortable feeling in my body, like I don't. It's just for something that we love so much and I love to consume, Like it does seem just like it should just be something that is put in the freezer and frozen. But that's not what the processes. And I kind of know that, you know what, I know that the saying is, don't want to know how the sausage is made. I don't want to know how the ice cream is man like that. I love that, but I do also want to say, haven't you also seen people who are like, I'm going to make ice cream in my own freezer, and they put ice in something, and then they put salt in something, and then they freeze it with like another bag of just like water next to it. Or there's so many ways to make ice cream, but I go, what is the standard way? When I'm going to my local grocery store and I'm buying a pint or a cord or whatever of ice cream, how was it made? How was it made? I think it's made in bigger batches, and it definitely isn't made by one of those ice cream machines that's you know, messing people up on. But I just don't know. I honestly, I'm with you in the sense that I don't want to know in some ways, but in other ways, if there was a video like my favorite videos from Sesame Street to bring it back there where they're making the crayons. Oh, we've watched that video of how crayons is made is obviously, I mean, one of a classic. You're one of the most satisfying pieces of film ever made. I could watch it forever, And I could watch lipstick being made forever. I could watch and if there was a video like that about ice cream, which I'm positive there's a million of them, I would watch it. Do you know what's also, by the way, just really quick watch a google how marbles are made? Also very fun, Jesse, really quick. What are your thoughts on non dairy ice cream? How do you feel about it? Oh? I mean this was a hot topic in my house just the other day because a friend came over and they brought like a million pints of ice cream and realized one of them was vegan and it was a mistake, and he was furious and I was like, no, no, no, it's it's okay. But yeah, like all the kids were just eating. Didn't want to eat it. But then I got desperate and off the other night and I ate it. I don't know. I mean, honestly, I was at the end of the day. Am I really going to pretend there's something I just with sugar in and I'm not eating? Not really, That's how I feel. Fair Enough, We're going to take a quick commercial break, but we'll be Jesse Klein. Okay, Jesse, Welcome to the last segment of the show, and the Most Wild, the most Wild. We're taking our way through all of the most urgent topics. Okay, so now we're going to play a little game Jessers called legit monor unnecessary ground legit moan, necessary groan. This segment was inspired by a now defunct column in our local paper growing up theme of the show, The Cleveland Plain Dealer. There was a segment called Monday Moaning that we used to read when we were younger, where every Monday the paper would print extremely petty complaints that their readers had. We used to find them funny as kids, and they're even funnier today. So we picked three from their archives and we're going to decide. They stopped doing this column about ten years ago. So these are from again from the archives, and we're going to decide whether each one is a legit moan or an unnecessary grown Oh my god, every pleasure center has been activated for me. Let's do this. Okay, great, Johnah, would you like to read the first one? Sure? So this one is from Dina, Ohio. And this one is pretty personal, I would say for Monday moaning. So here we go. I'm upset because my husband didn't even bother to tell my seven year old daughter to respect respect. This is already really problematic respect my birth This one is kind of almost hard to read. He is so worried about his parents, whom she never sees, he makes sure she calls and takes her to buy a present. He's so worried about his parents I think birthday whom he never sees. He makes sure she calls and takes her to buy a present. I'm guessing for his parents my birthday that that nothing. He slept all day and watch football. He promised to take her to the store for her mama and didn't. I should have been like his mom and demanded and made them afraid. Right, not my style? Another birthday for me? Who cares? Sad? Wait? I want to make sure I understand this. She's upset her husband and bother to respect her birthday, to get their child involved in her birthday right. Her husband is so worried about his parents that their daughter never sees he makes sure their daughter. She's saying, there's no respect for her birthday. He didn't take her to the store, but for his parents birthdays, he takes her to the store. He makes sure she calls. She's saying, his parents get a lot more quote unquote respect for their birthdays. And she yeah. Now, can I split my vote here and say that the style in which this letter is written is for me a real grown However, underneath the grown, I do feel there is what is it a legit mode? Yeah, I mean, once you get to the dot dot dot, I'm like, could you edit your letter? Hunt? These people love to never edit. Just edit your letter. But on the other hand, I will say I do have some sympathy for feeling like it is up to the husband slash dad to get like the kid to do something for the birthday. And I say this again as the mother of a seven year old who wakes up every morning and goes fo day isn't as if it's Christmas Day. But it's not like they don't know where they are. It's his responsibility. Sure, yeah, you should help this kid celebrate mom's birthday. She's working so hard. I agree. I agree. I think that's a nuance take on it, and I totally agree. The part to me that I was laughing at this so funny. It's like, I'm upset because my husband tell my seven year old daughter to respect my birthday because person is a terrible writer. Would you be mad if like your daughter wasn't told like, respect mom's respect. I never asked anyone to respect my birthday. I think that what this woman is really looking for is for her husband to respect her birthday. Like, so, let's not make it the seven she is blaming it on her husband, but she's what's the issue here? Doesn't feel like it feels like then she gets into the issue is, which is that he promised to take their daughter to the store for her birthday and didn't and then he's just slept all day on her birthday. It's about the husband, let's not the daughters. I think we could redline the daughter out of this whole thing exactly. I'm furious with my husband. Yeah, we crack that. Okay, so I think we're calling this U legit Vanessa. Do you want to read the next one? So people don't sign with their names, they're kind of anonymous. They just signed where they're from Cleveland, and this person wrote Cleveland. Okay. My pet peeve is those people who fly seasonal flag. My fee is those people who fly seasonal flags instead of the U. S Flag, especially on the holidays. That's like slapping America in the face. Well, we all know where this person was on January six? What what? Wait? So they're mad that just occasionally a seasonal flag is swept out? Now, what do we think of seasonal flag is? Do we think it's like pumpkins or something picturing a flag with like a Christmas wreath on it or something. I think anything printed on a flag that feels seasonal, like a springtime. I don't know. I was confused what exactly a seasonal flag was. And it feels like it's a flag that has more to do with the climate, like the weather outside, then with any kind of specific country or religion. Although maybe you're right there are some that are more Christmas themes. I'm picturing this person driving by, seeing like a flag with like a snowman on it and just getting super angry. But you know what, here's the thing. When I heard the words seasonal flag, I thought that I understood what it meant and saying as it started ricocheting around in my brain as it will do for the rest of my living days, I was like, Oh, the only flag I'm really picturing is like a gay Pride flag, like a rainbow flag. But that's not really seasonal. I don't think that's what this person means, although it could be. I mean, I wouldn't put it past this person, Like what is a seasonal flag when this person can't be tresided? Yeah, I don't know exactly. Our producer Livia was saying maybe a sports team or something like maybe s team is in the super flags, like let's say like Hello Autumn, Happy Mother's Day, trick or tree Easter. In my mind, I made one up that says summer spelled as you m M A h wow. I mean, does that exist. I'm going to make it if it doesn't, mean to hang it in front of my house. I need so badly to sort of see who this person isn't what became of him. But on the other hand, I'm also like, hopefully they're downed. I mean, this person would really be mad if you saw Joon his bedroom growing up where he took the American flag we used to have in front of our house and hung it up upside down. That was a teenage upside down American flag. And we had a Pirate flag on our in front of our house, which they would have lost their mind about. At one break when you were home from college, I think he convinced our parents to put on the like the flagpole that we used to have an American flag up to put a Pirates were absolutely thrilled. That's so sweet that you guys had an American thing. We had it, but we would always forget to put it up and then it would always touch the ground. And I think it was in my room for like all of high school and it was like taped to my wall. I never asked like, hey, do you guys mind if I take off. It's like we kind of stopped hanging it because it was like we were kind of too lazy. Like if we were Christian, I bet we would have done the same thing about Christmas lights. Like I think we just the whole rigamarole of like getting the you know, we could We had a lawn that we had to trim and that was kind of enough. But anyways, the point being, yeah, I think we just sort of forgot about it, and then Jonah found it in his closet and hung up. There are also a bunch of obscure rules around, like handling a flag, which, yes, that's just the thing you care about, seeing us how he was just desecrating it in his bedroom. But it's like it can never like to ground. It's like, yeah, you're not allowed to let it touch the ground. And here Jonah is, now, why do I know this. I lived in a small apartment, we didn't have an American I don't know. I wonder if there's similar rules around seasonal four. There was a big controversy. In fact, Jonah wrote a paper on this, which he I think maybe remember birds. There was a big controversy when we were kids about burning flags. That was like a big thing, and Jonah wrote a paper on it. Consulted with our dad quite a bit, and Jonah wrote a paper where he agreed with the side of why can't you burn it? It's just like a piece of fabric, like, everyone, get over it. It's shown to be somewhere. I mean, I remember your report. I would love to read this report. This is a real hot button issue for some people, and I'm going to say not me. Yeah. So I think that's probably why you know those rules is because for some reason when we were kids, that was kind of a big thing, was like, how you how you're treating the flag, How you're treating the flag? Are you treating that? You're dreating that black and Jonah, he was not buying into it. It's true, Yeah, I I hear you. And then we had a pirate flag. So I think it's safe to say that the writer of that particular letter is a monster. I think we're calling this unnecessary growing right, Yes, this one is totally unnecessary. We're on the same page that this last one. This one from Beach, Ohio. My moan is about when people leave their shopping carts in the middle of the parking lot. Why can't people take the extra thirty seconds to put their shopping carts in the designated areas located throughout the parking lots. I could not agree with this one more. I think this is a totally legit moan. I feel like I'm doing this and it feels like no one else is doing it, and to me, it's so easy to do, and I am just so on this person's side. Anyone else? What do you guys think? I agree with you except for it's so easy to do, because I will say, where you get to that, You're like, I just shop did all this stuff? A load of the car? I think. Also, it's not like a real baby. But in l a where it does get quite hot, there are times where it's like, you know, I mean, do I always put the car back? You bet? I do worse. But there are times where I'm like, oh man, I would give someone at least five dollars saying this for me. Yeah, Like I don't want to be doing this with taking every last sounds of strength I have. I always put the cart back. It makes me so mad when people don't, because you could genuinely like scrape someone's car. You could do some real damage to the cars. But when somebody who works at the grocery store comes up and it's like I'll grab it, I'm so grateful to that's so nice. I go. This is an everyday hero. It can sometimes be so annoying to do it, but it's it's the right thing for the amount of time it takes. Yeah, you have to. I feel that way to Jonah, where I'm like, am I truly the only person doing this? It's so crazy how many people don't do it. I was just gonna say, there are This might be my version of like reading the local newsletter from Martha's vineyard. But there are times where when I go to the store, I'm thinking in advance about how much I don't want to deal with putting that cart back, and then I will take a basket same dead because I'm just getting a few things. Inevitably, I wish I'd got in my cart too many things. Basket gets so heavy, and I'm like, why didn't you just man up and take the car? Same I would actually say, I subconsciously do that. This is the first time I've spoken about it, because I'm hearing, Yes, presence does for people I really unleash, like the deep important things wow podcasts exclusive. I feel I do that fifty percent of the time. I just don't want to deal with the cart, so I take the basket, and wouldn't you know that basket gets heavy as hell as hell so fast. Well, here's the problem. The other thing is that when you're trying to put the cart back, you know it's supposed to go into the other cart, and I feel like that doesn't cart, and that always feels very frustrating complicated. Yeah, that is where I bail. That is where I bailed, because I go this thing that push it into that thing. It's between the two, like it's in the barrier thing. It's not going anywhere. I've taken this as far as I can take it. That is where I absolutely get right out of there, because I go, I've taken it to its home. It's there, and I will be here all day if I try and push it into these other cars. It's not working for me. I don't know why, and I don't care to stay and find out. You, oh my god, shaken it as far in the really race of life. I am casting le baton. I'm sorry, I still hung up. I'm thinking about your Summa flag. Okay, let me explain it a little bit more. It's all kind of pastel e colors. You know, some people might say that spring, so let's make it more kind of fluorescenty colors. It's just kind of nice. It's kind of fun blues and greens, and it says some Mu in all caps in what looks like black paint. It looks like it was painted on with like a kind of a thick paintbrush, and it just says Summa s U M M A h. I think we should. I would fly a Summa Summa flag. But would you on a dare? Or you would do it like if you're getting paid zero dollar dare? I mean, just make sure Jonah doesn't end up hanging it upside down. I was just thinking that so defiant. Screw you, Summa. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take away from my idea that you'd have to only put that flag out if you're getting paid to do it or you're being dared or something. No, I was just saying that I like your flag so much, I don't need to accept money for it. That's so nice. I was taking away from it. I was lacking confidence about it. But yeah, a flag that just says Summa. I think we've made a product here today. Oh and also I think we all agree that this is a legit moment. Legit. This is the rare legit moment we had a couple of them today. That's pretty right. They're usually all crap, Oh my god, I'm enjoying this one. Well, Jesse, I think that that's the end of the podcast, but we had so much fun. We'll have to have you back, obviously. I sure would love to return. This was so fun. I'm so glad. And can you please tell our listeners where they can't find John Gross Literally, I'm like, you have to say it. Okay, where can they find me? My Instagram, which I don't do anything but occasionally look at Vanessa's Instagram. Is your acquaintance, Jesse Klein, But you can see me Stevanessa's Instagram if you want to go there. Yeah, that's where I am right now. And do you think people could probably read your newest bestselling book? Yeah, they sure can be my newest bestselling book. It's whatever your bookseller should be. And I believe that the paperback of the book, if you prefer that, if you're someone who likes a lighter book like us who can't carry a grocery card basket, I believe it is in paperback. March I'll show myself up. Show myself Up. That's the name of the book. Well, Jesse. This was so much fun. Thanks so much to Jesse for joining us and everyone for listening. If you enjoyed that, please subscribe to the podcast and keep an eye up for next week's episode of How Did We Get Weird, where we will discuss more stories from our childhood and cultural touchstones like the snoopy snowphone machine Hell