Hi, readers, it's Bowen. You'll notice we're doing a feed drop of the first episode of this season of Stradio Lab, hosted by George Severies and Sam Taggart. They are now part of Big Money Players and we're so thrilled to be network siblings with them. If you like class culturistas even just a little bit, you'll probably love Stradio Lab, so please subscribe if you haven't already. This episode features me and Matt Rodgers as guests. We posit some pretty groundbreaking things as far as straight culture goes, and we hope you enjoyed this episode. Okay, bye, Welcome to Stradio Lab, an intellectual podcast about straight culture and also a stupid podcast about nothing. Don't say that, it's just true. I don't want to lie to our listeners. I'm George Severies and I'm Sam Taggart and this is Stradio Lab. Podcast starts now. Okay, podcast starts now. What's up everybody, and welcome to Stir Radio Lab. Back from the grave. You thought we were dead, but actually we were training and we're stronger than ever. And I just want to say the old s Radio Lab can't come to the phone right now why because she doesn't get out of bed for under three million dollars. Wow? Say that. And I just want to say for the listeners at home, this podcast has always been about a few things. It's been about straight culture sort of. It's been about making a podcast entirely. It's been about transparency. And in the spirit of transparency, I want to say that we are um coming off of doing a full intro that completely messed up due to technical difficulties, So we are sort of emotionally raw. We are on edge in a way that I would say, I'm physically bleeding from multiple in multiple parts of my body. I'm breaking out in hives. I'm bleeding, but it's uh, what's it called when it's psychological? Um, not bleeding, munchild, I'm bleeding, but it's Munchausen. I'm bleeding. Psycho Stomatic is the word I was looking for. I am actually I actually bleeding in my limbs are falling, but it's all in my head. Yeah, George is actually hosting a collaboration between bleeding and Munchausen. Finally, the two girls teamed up inside of George's body collab of the season, and that's why I'm excited a partner. I'm excited to partner with Munchausen for the launch of the collab between Psychosomatic Limb Falling and Podcasting. So I have to say, George, when you were speaking a moment ago, it actually did start to cut out. And I see the fear that I could feel from our guests today and myself included, Well, it was there. Here's what I'll say from now on. Technical difficulties are not a big deal. If something happens and let's say I have to switch my WiFi again, everyone's gonna be chill about it. I think that's a great rule. Then why does everyone look frightened? I'm laxed because I feel like we were nothing but chill when you were figuring it out. I was on the verge of having a mental breakdown the entire time. I've been relaxed this whole time until now. Now I'm pissed off. Okay, now I'm pissed, and no, I'm sam. You were saying THEO. You know, on one level, it's a podcast about straight culture. On another level, it's about radical honesty. And then on the yet third level, it's kind of a horseshoe theory where the radical honesty becomes almost toxic dishonesty. I just want to see the question for this season, season three, which is starting today, the first season sponsored by Munchausen, is where do we go from here up exactly to the tippy top? Baby, I'm talking prime time NBC podcasting. I'm almost like, should we just bring in the guests? And and I feel like there's this pressure to reintroduce, to re launch, and in fact, our sponsored Munchausen has done all that for us, and I think it's time to just dive right in. Wait, I want to say before we dive right in, you should that we don't need this pressure. We don't feel pressure because you know what, a season three of a podcast, what does that mean? Let's start there doesn't mean anything. Well, that's a slippery slope if I've ever heard one. I want to say one thing before we start. Okay, I have missed you, seeing you on my screen, being with you every week. It is the greatest honor of my life to have a professional relationship and a collaborative relationship with you. And it is an honor to be back this time Wild Bleeding George. You are the Munchausen is talking. Honestly, my my makeup is running, but when Munchausen is acting up, all of us are sponsored by Munchausen. Each of us have munch chosen in different ways. We actually each have munch chosen by proxy to someone we have chosen. I'm poisoning Sam, Sam is poisoning bow When Bowen, it's poisoning Matt. Every goddamn day. Pantom threat over here. Not for lack of trying. T t um okay, George. Um, it's a pleasure to be hosting a podcast with you again. Um, I've been lost this summer without you, and our personal and professional relationship is one of the strongest in my life. And I just want to say so often this summer I feel like if I do not talk to you, I will in fact collapse And I maybe will text you kind of in the middle of the day something that's that's a small thing. Maybe I'll send you something I found funny, or maybe I'll say like oh l O L to something, and then sometimes you rightly will respond appropriately, be like oh ha ha, and then I will be crushed because in fact I was trying to start a two hour long conversation and I realized, in fact, what I'm missing is a recorded podcast. Yeah. Yeah, I'm not a great texture to be honest. Yeah yeah, I don't feel like engaging. I just sort of leave it. Yeah, it's not a good quality. I don't take pride in it, but it's just a fact. Matt and Bowen, how has your professional relationships strained your friendship immensely? Yeah, a lot um. I mean, and I'll tell you something, And it got really hard once we signed our big deal with Heart. And I say, when we signed our big deal with I Heart, I don't think we really made too much of it on the mic. So I feel this is this is your first mistakes even talking about it. And you know what I feel is almost like Lindsay Lohan saying I could hear myself, I could hear everyone being annoyed with me, but I couldn't stop when she's talking about Regina all the time, and to me, Regina is my heart. Yeah. Well, Katie Herron said that Lindsay Lohan didn't say that it was I it was improvised. No. Tina Fey, Dame Tina Fey wrote those words through Katie Harron and don't you forget it? No, it was a kind of Christopher guest type thing. Tina Fe has talked about this, that entire movie was improvised. She's never said that, George, she has never said. When you watched The Parent Trap, did you think Lindsay Lohan actually had a twin? A lot of people thought that this is a This is a really important question. It says a lot about you. I mean she did. Didn't she talk about a professional relationship strange? Let'll tell you something. Yeah, she got, she got the big film and suddenly her twin was dead. Talk about a relationship strained. Lindsay Lohan with herself. Oh my god, God, I have nothing to had. Well, let's bring in our guests, shall we? Okay, this has been such awkward humor? No, no awkward humor, no random random not don't stop it. You're you're tipping it. Don't I'm tipping it. I gotta I'm getting excited. Can we be brought in? I think it's time to bring in our guests? And why do you feel that it's time? Please give a warm welcome to Style Superstar Carson Cressley and they always hilarious. Michelle Visage so are we who do you think do you think that Carson is? Like I was just thinking, are we as gay as Carson? Yeah? Yeah, yes, yes, but for our time the standards are different. We are we are to Carson what Carson was in his time. We are now parentheses dey, yeah, parentheses derogatory and and and a big joke and a big joke. Well, I do think you know, in fifteen years or whatever, there will be new gay podcasters on the scene and they'll be like and welcome to the stage, like the hilarious Matt Rogers, and it will be like inherently like like they won't have said anything mean, but it will be like that's meant to be mean, and it's like, hey, you're making fun of right. It's like when they call him a style superstar, that's like meant as a hurtful insult. I think anyone watching, anyone watching derogatory, anyone watching and he's wearing like it's a Liberati cave style superstar, and he's like, how superstar? Literally he's crying. He's back with glitter stop and the whole areas air quotes Ross Matthews. But yeah, I do think Georgia, right, I do think it's time to bringing our guests. Should we bring them in? I mean that's the question everybody's lips, all of America wants to know, should we bring them in? You know, I think there's almost there. I I'm sending something very productive about the tension of they are half in, half out. Yeah, and there's a queerness. There's a queerness to that. Yeah, it's sort of well, it's it's definitely like anti sort of border. It's sort of saying like it literally does what's up with that? That is what is happening right now? Yeah, and it's what's crazy is like even internally, like even though they're not speaking on it because they haven't been invited to um, I feel that our guests, like when we say should we bring our guests, they assume the position of guests who have not been brought in. But then when we fake bring them in, they assume the position of guests that haven't brought in. And it's sort of like they need to examine why they're like believing these borders. You know, it is it's work they have to do themselves, and it's work we can't do for them. So it's very much like you know, the dog is used to the cage. You open the cage, the dog still wants to be in the cage. Oh my god. Sorry, And so it's not you know. Even now, I'm like, I'm like, you know, they could actually speak up right now, but they are not. Even though they have already spoken in the past, they now suddenly are back in the not having been brought in stage because we have really good boundaries. Um so please welcome, without further ado, from the hit film Fire Island, Bow and Yang and Matt rogerses you live in love you to local girls. How the hell's it going? You guys really are living love you to local today? A little bit? We're not. We are and it's getting loca or and loca or as we go. Oh my god, mass loca. Matt, you us woke up? Tell us about that? Well, as you all know, we attended the Lady Gaga a concert last night at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and I, as a result of staying up late after the concert and even getting into it with somebody, I woke up a little bit late today. Yeah, it's like sexually or violently? Can you tell us? Well, I got into it sexually with someone and it was decidedly not violent. Huge is someone we know. No, it was a Bartol. That's so fun. Oh my god, I feel like I feel I feel like this is Matt look at me. Congrats. Yeah, I'm sorry. I thought Sam was gonna agree with that. It was I agree with. I think there's a world where he can both agree that it's very and say congrats for tender. To be a supporting character is yes, they have found my Steve may have found my. Yes, and in some ways it's but he told me, he told me he has partnered. Okay, okay, well, well that could work. Yeah, I mean this is real. Yeah, I mean in the reboots, Steve is PAULI. Actually he's dying. Hold on, hold on writing down that idea for a rom com ken it work with someone who's partner. Oh my god, that's the title partnered work uncoupled, Write that down, uncoupled. Oh smart, smart, smart, starring Styles superstar Carson Cressley and the hilarious Imagine imagine if rom com with them? That would be kind, that would be fun, That would be really fun playing themselves, not to be like the most simple minded sort of a to be um, you know, unimaginative on the globe, right, But should we just sort of talk about should sort of get into the fact that we were at Chromatical last night? Yes, and maybe not just I think we have to and we have to. CHROMATICA is the is a huge album for this podcast because it it came. I mean, I would say the entire release cycle, if you're gonna call it that of that album was was you know, was tracked painstakingly by the pod. I remember we had Amy Zimmern to talk about Lady Gaga as a concept when um Stupid Love came out, and she said something I think is very wise, which is the promise of Lady Gaga is like, if Lady Gaga fails, then the twenty tens were for nothing. Wow. It's like the reason why we have faith in Lady Gaga is because we have to believe there was some point to the twenty tents. It sunk cost fallacy. It's like when you go, you know, I've spent I've spent too much time on this thing already, and if I quit, then that that would have been a waste of my time at that point. If you quit, it's like, well, what was the point of What was the point of Obama? What was the point of marriage equality? What was the point of HBO's Girls. It's a slippery slope. That is so true. I think that last night Lady Gaga proved that the times. I completely agree. That's what I felt. That's what I think ultimately happened last night was she in singing her songs, made us all dance and remember and um. When I was leaving the concert last night, I thought back to all the times when I first heard those amazing songs, and I thought, this was a time capsule. It was a journey, both in a literal and figurative suns. It was an emotional journey as well as a journey to another plan. And not just the capsule, but a cap stone thank you, as in it was the conclusion of the tens. Now we can finally move on. Now can begin, can truly begin? I was going to decade begins. Now decades Yeah, Oh my god. It's it's like it's like how, only it's like how It took Lady Gaga three songs last night to say act one. And let's talk about that, and let's talk about linear storytelling. Let's talk about yes, because none, but there's flashbacks in the first season. How dare if you're fact checking my co host, this is not our house. This is not our house. If he says it's not linear, its linear? Has the concert with yellow jackets or fleabag? I think I think it was succession. I think it was purely linear, purely linear, because she gave us prologue, acts one, before and finale, which is classically which is a classic structure. That is you're right, it is a classic structure and it is succession um finale, my final act finale? Did she even call the first three songs? She knew what she was doing. It made it better that than without expecting it. You saw the words act one, Yeah, when actually the way I felt when I saw the words Act one, I I immediately was like, oh so this I thought this was a concert and actually it's a story and that really I screamed. I said, I didn't know I was seeing a film today. I thought I was seeing a concert. What do we think? The story was? Okay, that's a really great that's great, that's great. So it starts when she's in a thing that sort of a cafcoon and it's bad romance. So she's okay, I think she's kidnapped in Berlin. Yeah, she's in the basement. She's in the basement. I just want to say, to be clear, I know the answer. I know what the story is. So I'm just like listening to see if you guys got it. I want to hear Sam do it. Yeah. No, I'm saying I'm listening, but I do know. So at the and I will confirm if you're right, you're gonna fact check. I just want to say, the story is whatever the whatever the viewer. Sam keep going. Okay, So she's kidnapped and she's in the basement of Bergheim and they're playing her songs upstairs, which is crazy because she knows all the words of them. So she's sort of seeing you along and she's like and so. So then that's her prologue, is like, we're starting here, and then it's sort of her journey out of Bergheim. Um, so it's act two, Act one, all right, So that's the prolog. It's like, let's start there. You think act one as a prologue. No, no, no, Sam needs to keep going because he's dead on right. Okay, So that's the prologue and then the act one. Um, so that was sort of Alice. Okay, so that was about identity. That was about identity. Yeah, so she was clearly going undercover to get out of Bergheim. She was like, my name isn't oh yeah, but it's not. But it's also not Stephanie, nor is it Gaga. Oh my god, she has munch houses for names. Okay, so she's going undercover. Is not Alice to leave bar him? So far, so good, so far, ten out of ten so far, okay. So then it gets to Act two and that's sort of when we get to um caramatic a two into nine on one, so that actually she had escaped, but she had PTSD for being locked in the basement too long. So then she had to pop a nine on one yeah, because of Yeah, and I'm so sorry to interrupt, but exactly I was gonna say, it goes from identity to trauma, which is such a classic narrative in that order to But she's calling nine one one because she lives in a country where dialing one doesn't summon the police, it summons social workers. And she goes and she she wants she wants help with her mental with her mental health. It's not capaganda. People are saying nine one one is copaganda, and I just want to say, no, it's not. It's so they don't workaganda. It's social work aganda, which is what we need more of now more than ever. We really need more social workers to stand up in the world propaganda for in the world of chromatica. Nine one one is for the nationalized mental health care line. It's not for the cops. Yes. So then after that she realizes that she needs to put on a show um, because she realizes that she needs art to to sort of be her therapy because the social workers weren't supported enough economically to give her the support that she needed. So that's when she gets to the piano and sort of sings some songs because she's like, maybe this will help. Does it correct? That is the story? Why is that? Why is the piano madd trees? Why is the piano like a gnor old wood? Oh? Um? Because she made it. She made herself. So you think you think it's she made it herself, not because it's a climate change may. Yeah. No, she doesn't really care about there was, no there was. She doesn't care about Lady that does not care about the planet. That's why she's leaving it. That's when she abandoned. In that way, it's very Taylor Swift getting on her private jet because she's like, oh, there's climate change, I gotta go. Yeah, yeah, I'm not gonna be stuck here. Yeah. Big. She's like big time demons to fight. Lady Gaga was actually quoted as saying, we have to get off this planet. Yes. So then she sang the songs on the piano, and then it gets to um um fine the finality. Okay, so the finale. I sort of read that as her learning that it's not about um social workers helping you, it's not about art helping you. It's about commercial success helping you. That's the only way you can fill the emotional hole caused by being tied up in the basement at Berkheim, which is why she got Ariana Grande on the track. She said, how do I get a hit? She said, put her on the damn track. I'm cashing in baby, and her that was her I heart deal moment. That was the Lady got got sold out. But that is actually a very powerful narrative that you have just well, and then obviously the Cherry on Top being ending withhold My Hand and sort of being like this song, you know, couldn't be further from Berkheim. We are gone that that is in the past. It's not just said it's the natural endpoint of commercialization. It's like, she's singing this song that sounds personal and it is for a movie that is literal military propaganda. So it's like it's it's the Cherry on Top. She's like, okay, and now here's my new work inspired by the journey I just took. That made me realize the only way out of identity and trauma is through commercial enterprise. And that's right. It's called Hold My Hand and it is for Top Gun Maverick and guess what, and guess what You're going to gag for it? And boy did we I did gag for it. Actually I was, I really did. I actually love and I have stand Hold My Hand for months now and you're a trailblazer and me a full day. I was shocked at how how much she sold it. I mean, to take that song she sold it. I was like, there's no way she can make me like the song. And there I was when many are calling a seaside from born this way that she filed through the drawers and I I was like, what do I have for top gun Maverick, I have this one, maybe this well, maybe I'll just try to give this one a whirl again. And then she ended her chromatica ball with the song and I have to sing a tour that she had all the time in the world to perfect, and and this is what we got. It was a wonderful show. But you have to imagine, you have to imagine that the entire time she knew that she actually it wasn't even about public health. Her canceling the tour. It was like, I don't have the finale song. And then once Hold Once Hold My Hand became such a global hit. She was like, we can go out on the road. I know how I'm going to end the show. I have my Beyonce's halo, I have my torch song that will end all my concerts going forward. And that is what the concert was about. The journey to find my hand Hold my Hand was the capstone, the capstone to the capstone. Hold my Hand is again. It's like it is the end of her work, and it is the end of the work of it I would say it is a loss of innocence. It's like this is there's no it is post postmodernism. Well, and that's why it's such a gen z anthem. Exactly when she saw Jennifer Connolly get off that boat and her hair was still perfect, she said, I'm so inspired. I'm inspired by the love I saw between Tom Cruise and Jennifer said. No, I'm no longer than I've changed. I can start my new decade now, but only after I record this song that I've had for a while. She called the Blockheed Martin and said, boy, have I got a track for you? Boys. Yeah, you're about to catch some big checks because Missiles are going to be on the menu again. I'm not even hiding, I'm not even kidding. I cannot wait for this to be over so I can listen a home Matt. Please don't say you can't wait for our podcast for Goring to be over. That's really hurtful. That's like really hurtful. Wait where network sisters? Now? I cannot wait. I'm edging not just that you can't wait for to be over so that you can listen to Hold My Night, one of the greatest songs the song that started this decade. If I'm that we can all agree on. Okay, wait, I want to say, everyone go around, I'm gonna be my mom right now, Everyone go around and say their favorite moment from the concert. Go I loved but first, I loved for a dancing moment. I loved replay and when you loved another song. I loved a couple other songs I love. I thought it was really specially we all got to listen to Shallow Together live absolutely and I loved. I woke up yesterday morning, the day of the concert, and I decided. The first thought I had was I'm going to like hold my Hand. I did not care for that song before I woke up yesterday and chose peace and love for hold my Hand the Power, and I was like, I'm gonna be I'm surprised that you didn't say Enigma, enigmas whatever? Oh who was I with? That was like standing Enigma? Well, I do stand enigma, but it wasn't me last night, but I said, I said, I'm gonna be off book by this. But by the concert I learned every single word and it was amazing. It was an amazing song. That's it. Okay, that's that's meat. Well, I have to say I enjoyed every part of the concert, and I've already expressed that my favorite part was holding my hand. But if I had to sort of just you know, pick another favorite, I would say that I absolutely and I'm I actually got some flak from our readers, which is what we call the fans of our podcast, for not standing replay the way everyone else was. And replay was fabulous last night. It was so fabulous. That being said, I think that while Shallow was incredible, I have to say, always remember us this way was giving. I completely loved Always remember Us this way, loved it, loved it, loved it, loved everything she did at the piano, and like I also did get my life to that acoustic thousand Doves Like a thousand, which the host of this podcast do not know. We don't know. But then someone did, right she did. She changed the lyrics. She changed the lyrics. It was it was the Sam and George gas lighting edition of the song. She she did different lyrics so that we would look stupid because she's mad that we haven't had her on. I want to say, in response to Matt, always remember us, this stupid love and with always remember us this way. I actually when she started the song, it didn't fully hit me what what she was singing. And my first thought was, Oh, she's covering a classic song, a classic song that's like the confidence. Who would have thought that? It was not even the song from the soundtrack that didn't win the Oscar. Wow. She didn't even do any covers. She didn't do any does, no covers, no guest stars, and and honestly no weird like mash ups or anything like. It was very much like one song after the other. Wait, but have you have you guys ever heard um the Story of One Bone? And I went to go see the Telor Swift World tour and she had famously she famously had many guest stars and the most iconic guest star that she brought out was to walk to walk the runway during style was oh yeah, And then she came out you got that, David James, And it was just like who I complimented at an Emmy's party last year. I said, in treatment was spectacular, you were so good in that And she did not want to talk to me at all. She was like, thanks, just let's say this about let me say this about the Intreatment reboot starring the Duba who I think. I think she's one of her talents. But here's what I'll say. The marketing of that show. If you look at the poster for it, she is fully wearing a snatched model look to play. The looks like everything like an ad for like I don't know. She's wearing the dull chinkabana Beyonce bell the key on it. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes she is. She is literally done in every single She's just she's at home infessionally, and it's like Trinity of the Talk walks in and she's like, let's get to a girl in her own house. So your father reduced miss famous line. Alright, So George was moment and I'm sorry to be uh kind of cliche, but my favorite moment was when she said, if they come for gay marriage in this country, you know what will happen? What will happen? No, we don't know, No one knows. That was you know what's going to happen. And then my second favorite moment was when she said, after talking about how much difficult do we have all seen in the last two years, she said, but we have seen so much kindness and positivity, and no one classed people were like where. It was like literally the opposite people. No one like this. They did. They did the this emoji I'm doing it's the light I confused emoji. Yeah. And that moment was when they found polio in the sewage in your Yeah. When she said yeah, when she said kindness, she meant polio. We have seen so much and then she came out of so much disease. Every time she spoke to the audience, it made even less sense than the time before. Unconnected, no point did she pat and I have this joke, uh, kind of an inside joke. In fact, we talked about certain people that we'll talk about someone and we'll say, you know, they need to be tagged in the say one single thing that makes sense challenge. And I would say Gaga needs to be tagged, and let's say one single thing that makes sense challenge. It's true. I yeah, that stuff was really making me laugh. I wanted almost more of it, um because what you want from her as cookie cookiness. Someone did someone did like I have to say, against my will, I did chuckle once. One posted a photo of the crowd last night and then and said there could be people in the room, and I was like, that will never get old. It's so funny. Also another thing that she said was she was like talking about her memories of Jersey and being like in the Boardwalk, come on, I've had my good time, remember that one who could forget? Who can forget the beach? The commitment to Jersey rather than just being like giving it a shout out and then mostly talking about New York. The commitment to Jersey. She was like, what about those sopranos? It was funny Jersey. I think I think they. I think every pop star who performs there is told you cannot mention New York City before Jersey. Like when we when Matt and I saw Taylor Swift there, she like barely talked about New York either. All she did was say, Wow, it's so great to be in Jersey tonight, like never mentioned New York once except in Welcome to New York. I think she did say like and who is here from New York? And the entire crowd screamed and she was like okay, and that this, and then she I think she probably did like an hashtag awkward uh segue into Welcome to New York, you know, and speaking of awkward segways, first we will do after let me finish, which we will do after. Sam says his best moment, I was like, wait, I'm literally being erased right this second in front on my own podcast. This is so crazy, very suspect, Okay, very suspect. Well, very inconsidered it, and thank you, I think um honestly, honestly, the top moment for me was I'd already been mentioned seeing shallow with everybody was so crazy when she literally goes into the like hall and it was like she's doing it, She's doing the thing we all did for like years, Like this is so crazy. I could not believe amazing. That was like seeing a way all jump in the ocean. Like I was like, I didn't think I would see this in my life. Like that was like being on the moon. Like I was like, I'm I'm there. That's also how I felt when she did the CHROMATICA two and that was the other one I was going to say. I was like, oh my god, I listened to this so many times and now I'm here and it's happening. It was. It was breathtaking. I was moved. I thought that way about holding my hands. For sure, I said, oh my god, this song that I liked today, she's doing it southing that I liked it today also. And to be the most basic, rain on Me was such a damn sleigh. I was jumping up and down. Stupid Love is a better song. What. I was shocked that she didn't end on Stupid Love because I'm sorry. Rain on Me has a feature that was like being played from the speakers. You like to end on something where you're hearing like a recorded uh featured artist. That seems so anti climactic to me. I couldn't believe she couldn't pull any special guests to come out and do that. Even if it wasn't Ariana like not, there couldn't be anyone I agree with that. I was like, yet, surely someone's coming. You couldn't fly in like Pooh, he'd love to be around these games. And she doesn't do this. She's never done this, not once, not in the since the Begs, not since the Fame Ball. She does not pull out special guests because I think she also thinks it's very important for people to associate her sharing this stage with someone else, and that only that person only being Tony Bennett for now. You know what about Bradley Cooper? Sure, and Bradley like after she's in a movie with him. But I'm sure she didn't bring up Beyonce for telephone. Ever she brought out like, you know, fucking Florence for hey girl. You know she just doesn't do that. Not true, little monsters. No, I know you're right. I ultimately was not expecting her to bring out anyone like which is why it would have been the biggest gag of ball if she surpassed those expectations. Of course, of course, the bigg what be if there was. I believe that gaging is the future. Blag them, well, gag you gag yourself big too good away, that is the greatest. Yeah. And if you gag too hard now you even answer up? Oh my god, dress some water bit Jesus Christ, protect the voice, Protect the voice. Now should we do our first segment or should we bring our guests? Yeah, I don't think I'm ready to bring it out. Yeah, Carson and Ross have been waiting for Keep them in limbo, Keep them in limbo. Carson, you're a great hunt a style superstar, style superstar. And I thought when you just I thought when you just went that was your Carson. It's time to be real it. No, my phone's over there, but one of us can do it. Do it. I didn't get a notification that, oh yes, it's trying to real. Okay, make sure it's a good photo of me too. Hold on and Sled, don't don't cut this out in the audio. They're gonna be really good. This is gonna be the little trailer re release on Instagram. Um, okay, if god o, you know what something that has happened literally since we've been on hiatus. Be real quick thoughts each go. I think it's boring, but I like it. It's boring, and it's boring now quickly became boring, but I'll still do it. It's like I wish it would be boring. Oh my god, real, more like bow Real. Our first segment it's called Straight Shooters, And in this segment, we gauge your familiar Oh this is my favorite segment. In we gauge your familiarity with and complicity and straight culture by asking you a series of rapid fire uh questions where you have to choose one thing or another thing or intact sometimes a third thing, and the one rule is you can't ask any follow up questions about how it works. Kapeche. This is I'm not even kidding, my favorite segment in podcasting history. It's so good, so you on the level. And I just want to say that means the world coming from you. Thank you. That means so much because so many people in our podcasting life have told us we'd never be good enough. And they said you're a freak and a loser and nobody. And I said, well, you just wait, because we've got a segment of our sleeves that's gonna rock everyone's world. Honey, if they ain't pay in your bills, pay them bitches, no mind. And I just want to say smartypically specifically to Matt Rogers and Bone Yang, you know who paved the way for so many of us here at the office. I we noticed that what you guys did when you had guests as you asked questions, and we thought, how can we put a twist on that? What if the questions are just words? Essential? That's essential? Yeah, that's essential? Is um and it's and it's almost it's almost a commentary. It's a commentary on the idea of asking questions, Oh my god, you're so right at you you No, I'm not okay, no, No, he's obsessed taking away edging me. Okay, here, here we go. Boy's chromatic a ball or basketball? Marjorie Taylor Green or Anya Taylor Joy, Any Taylor Joy, Anya Taylor Joy. I see dead People or I've seen Deadpool one and two. I said that so far. Matt and I are in totally. Yeah, that's really cool. Bodies bodies, bodies or location, location, location location, Okay, it's true. Ignorance is bliss or knowledge is power. Ignor ignorance bliss. You're can teller, Miles teller or if you want to tell her, tell her yourself, if you want to tell yourself, Okay, f X is the air Noah bomb Box, the squid in the whale or C. S Lewis is the Lion, the Witch and the wardrobe. C. S Lewis, I've not seen I'm not yet seen the bear. I apologize. Stacy's mom has got it going on? Or our father who art in heaven Hell it would be thy name saying wow, um, I think that was pretty good. I think that you got I want to say, seven hundred and fifty six doubs. No, not everyone can say that, well, well, we have to leave the kind of logic of school work. This isn't you know, we're not in class in some cultures, In some cultures is seven hundreds something can be actually even better than than than a thousand. Well, because sometimes less is more, right. That's something Lady Gaga taught me. Do you think Lady Gaga has ever thought less as more or did you do you think she thought? No, the piano has to well, you know, you have to wear this bug costume, Shallow, the bug costume. We have to talk about the bug costume. While she's saying shallow, that was really something it was sell for. It was dragon ball Z I love. It's not really about wearing the bug costume. It is about wearing the bug mask for Shallow and then taking it off and being like, and now we're done being like. That was specifically for Shallow. It wasn't like for this chapter of the concert. I actually was dressed as a bug just for Shallow, and she took it off so she could get real to always remember us that song, because it was it would be disrespectful to sing always remember us this way dedicated to Tony Bennett's wife dressed as a man of the Wasp. Well, yeah, well I actually think I do see a segue from the bug to our topic. Yeah, should we tell you? Yeah? Okay, our topic is. The topic is and randomness? Randomness? Wow? But on the graphic you get you guys can do awkwardness and then like in smaller and a smaller font and random and random. Don't I don't want to random disease because I don't think it's like parenthetical, but I think it's like um, a subhead it's yeah, yeah, well one implies the other. And please please listen to Bowen when he says that because he has a very visual and he needs it. He needs it to make sense visually, just like I need thinks to make sense. Sonically, Bowen is the eyes and I am the ears. You understand which one of them? You understand? Which one of us is the eyes and which one of us is the ears? Would you say, mm hmmm, I don't know? Both pretty balanced? I think. Well, canonically Sam is the mat on the and George is the Bowen? Yeah? Sure? Or which makes you the Sam is the salmon and George is the George? That I would know because I would say that I'm the same. I'm not saying like, who are you? Who are you? You're not perfectly saying one thing over the other. You are simply one thing over the other. And it's also like to sit there and so like it's like even just like bring up bones, like visual eye. It's like we're we are like Matt and I are both wearing tank tops on the zoom and George are both sort of like in like kind of well lit, clean white spaces with like and just scurried away and showed he was wearing underwear. George, are you wearing only underwear? I'm actually wearing a loungewear from H and m oh. I love that brand. Um so our topic. I'm wearing underwear, are you Yeah, I'm in a tank top and underwear. We wait. Actual, I didn't have sex because I had to say it with me Molly Dick. But but we really enjoyed each other. That's all really good. Sometimes enjoying each other is sex. You know. I really like just kissing. Do you people love kissing? I love kissing. I love being so romantic. I love making out a ball. That's why when you gag and slay in the whole world. Okay, let's hear. Let's I want to I wanna. I want to hear a kind of maybe not so much a definition, I want to put you on the spot, but kind of what you think of when you think of randomness and awkwardness. And then on top of that, why it is a straight topic to you. I think on a sensibility level, like awkwardness and randomness are paired together because they um acknowledge how little sense the world makes, which is great, but it doesn't cope with it in any way except to say that's awkward or that's random. And then I think, honestly, Sam Tagget, when I first met him, what was like ten years ago, like with someone who clued me into like this bit of like going okay, like that's like I think that that kind of like in a nutshell sums up awkward randomness. Like it's like, oh, no comment, you know, like that kind of thing. Sure, sure, sure, I think that straight people. And to talk about it this decade again, the twenty they sort of could feel that queer was going to become cool, and they were like, what's the way that we can be queer? Oh, not make any sense. So they started to do like so that you know, they started to get like a little awkward and random because it threw a wrench into ordinariness. And I think that they started to sort of be awkward and random professionally and commercially because I think that it was the closest they could get to being queer. Interesting. Okay, so you're saying awkward and random was the painting of the fingernails of It's interesting because I think there are two interpretations of this. It's like, on the one hand, you have what you're talking about, like awkward and random humor were I'm thinking Napoleon Dynamite. Yes, that's perfect, okay. And then on the other hand, to me, another element of this is like seeing something and interpreting it as awkward in random like seeing something out in the world, and to me, what that is is you are uncomfortable, but you don't want to work on that, so you just put a name on it, call it random, call it awkward, and then you don't have to deal with it. Exactly. If someone is like saying something to you that is making you question something, or or like that's something you haven't heard before, something that is new. Then you can just kind of be like, oh, that's so random, instead of being like, well, maybe hear that person out. Maybe you're just not understanding maybe it's random to you because you've never challenged yourself in your life. The dismissiveness of random, the dismissiveness of and yes, this is, this isn't this is one of the most amazing conversations I've ever had. I'm not choking academic. It's very academic, but it is. I do think that is the that is the issue with the tens. I think is that the world was changing too fast for people to make sense of it. The only way they could was by calling things random and awkward, right, and not coping and not just moving on. But I think that's where like the humor comes from, because it's like, so Sudie Green was telling me about this roommate she had her freshman year of college, where um, the way she laughed was to go like this, what the fuck? Every time she laughed said what the funk at the end, And I think that's something that's what the fuck? That is straightness, that that is a straight way of like understanding the world of or reacting to something. Yes, because it is. You are not even allowing yourself the vulnerability of laughing. You are immediately painting yourself as superior because you're actually by saying, what the funk you are? Like what is that? Like, I'm I'm better than that. I'm not even going to address that, and it's like no, just laugh. Yeah. I wonder if that was freshman year. I wonder if that was like it's free. I wonder if that was like a freshman year thing of like I'm trying to have a thing or this is something I'm picking up right now because I'm a little nervous. Hashtag awkward knockward. Maybe they were the awkward one, And I would really want to check in with that girl to see if she still does that, because if she does and that's actually what she does, like that's like, you know, naturally, how she laughs and expresses that she finds something funny, that person needs to be studied. And there could be a hundred people in a room, but there can only be one that's that random. Yeah, well, okay, here's the question I have, because you know, we're lumping these two things together. Can a person be awkward without being random? Can a person be random? Without being awkward. Absolutely, well, if they're awkward all the time, it's not random. Wow, wow, I kind of love it. What she's actually a sl Unfortunately, that's actually queer. It's it's given. It is giving Napoleon Dynamite in a way, like I could I feel like the character that was missing, and Napoleon Dynamite was the one that was like who I love it? Actually? Um wait, wait, can somebody be random without being awkward? Um? Yes, yeah, Okay, we don't need to explore that one. For that, Okay, my next thought, okay, here here this one out. Okay, and for my next thought, Okay, So people in the twenty tens, I think it was sort of a top down thing. I think the media was telling them that it was noble to be awkward and random, and so people that were like maybe feeling a little outsider leaned into it because they were like, actually, if I'm if I own it, if I have awkward and random pride, I'm actually the intellectual in this place. I'm actually the humorous one, and I'm the hero of this story. Yes, and that caused sun Dance movies that cost Hitchfork albums that caused uh yeah, I mean even just like Zoey Deschanel in her version one, I mean it caused blog culture that cause everything it caused like too much personality and headlines. It's everything, and I feel like it has I forgive. The usage of the term trickled down into gen Z behavior where it's like, oh, we're proud of being like like they take pride or power in feeling like antisocial, even more so than like we were in Yes. I think almost we've swung too far in the other direction, where now um, randomness and awkwardness were we claimed to such a degree yes, that you kind of want to be like, okay, let's rein it back in yeah, because sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it's it's one thing to be random, and it's another thing to just not make any fucking sense. Like if you don't make any sense, I don't care, Like I'm gonna walk away from you. I would even say, I would even say a perfect example of someone in the twenty Times who was in the twenty tense it was random but not awkward was Gaga when she first started out like Kermit the Frog dress, like all these crazy things. You're like, what the fuck, But she wasn't being awkward about it. She was like committing herself to the bed while being random, and it always made sense to her. It was random to us, but it was always a comment. Yes, but do you know when? Do you know what the one thing she did that was interpreted as awkward, Joe Calderon, that was awkward, That was that was awkward, That was not just random random, and not even random, Not even random, Joe Calderon, was the definition of when when randomness and awkwardness combine, that's when you get to cringe. Oh wow, wow, wow, my my thesis maybe mats the George this So really I think we really excavated something. I understand the world better now. I really wait, I just want to as a counter you know things now that I didn't know then. Then Okay, So if if random and awkward are straight, does that mean normal is gay? Wow? I think there is. I think there's a normy counter culture and gay culture right now. Not even a counter culture. I think I think it's just a culture. It's your genius. But no, no, no, But I like, awkward and random are normy counter cultures. So it's not like they're not normal. They are offshoots of normal the fact that awkward and random exist. It makes the normal hegemony stronger. Wow. For awkward and random to exist, because it only props it up more totally, awkward and random is have to Awkward and random have to exist in opposition to something, and that's something is and that entire ecosystem is straight. It's not like one is queer and one is straight. The entire ecosystem of normal and then normal and then things in opposition to normal. I'm gonna draw it out. I'm gonna draw it out. Yes, Okay, so it's a ven diagram. This is where Bowen is the eyes and then okay, so you see awkward and normal are two separate circles, but they are in the Venn diagram, the bigger ven diagram of I'm taking a screenshot so that we can post this, and I do think, I do think. What would you could do is you can make those circles in her lap and in the middle is cringe because cringe is at the heart of straight. It is you know, Bowen. Have you considered making them in her lap? Yeah? Yeah, I'm gonna. I'm gonna think about doing that. Weight Awkward and normal overlapping is not cringe. You were saying awkward and random. Right, I'm sorry, I may being not the eyes. I was having a difficult time series. Oh I see what you're saying random. Yes, yes, yes, that's random. Yeah. Oh okay, thank you for them. And this is cringe. Okay, all right. I'm like, you're literally making like a map for the beginning of some sort of book. I think we write this, I need an oral history from Napoleon Dynamite to Juno. Well, so you're going more prestige also where it's like there is also like yeah, yeah, I think of Napoleon Dynamite as prestige, but I think random and I love them and they raised me in many ways. But I think you can't talk about random without talking about Lonely Island. I do like hot Rod, Like hot Rod was almost peak Internet random humor because like in a commercial like do you remember like cool Beans remix while in the middle of hot Rod, it's not it's not Lonely is As. You know what the awkward random origin is what Homestar runner. Wow, you're damned so fucking correct. Okay, here is my this is my origin of awkward and random. That is like you know, it's like, it's like this professor that studies really kind of niche things and it's and it's going to say something. Really, are you ready? It is the it is the Amanda Show sketch the Girl's Room where one of the girls always says, I like eggs. Oh my god. Honestly, it's it does come for awkwardness and randomness. It's the the generation that was old enough to appreciate Napoleon Dynamite and like high school, their children shows were the kind of things that were like eggs. Yeah, but like like Gill, like Gilly, like being such a thing for so long was because people in their childhood had a trauma because they were watching kids shows where it was like I like eggs or or or And in fact, I'm not realizing so much of the Amanda Show was like that, the one where she would always like whack Drake Bell in the face a hill billion moment moment. Another UM member Laurie best Denberg that that fucking segment on all guys like that was this full slate but it was random. Okay, how about the Andy Milanakas show Vital Infamation Ye random? And so much MTV programming at the time, and we love them, but we hate them for what they did to our friends. But like adults swim stuff and back in the day like Aquitine Hunger Force, I was like, oh, random, it's the fries or talking to the meatballs or what you know, Like, I don't know, this is tough. This is to like good Burger, Like aren't orange soda? Yes exactly. It's like, what is the joke with who loves orange soda? Killer's range soda? I do? I do? I do you? That's funny, very random? You know what else this is bringing? Wait, this is actually I'm having a huge insight. Okay, I'm actually skitches that this is related to the overreliance on just references. Like just because something is a reference doesn't make it interesting or funny or insightful, but it does make it random. If you just reference something, it's and that's like the orange soda thing. It's like, okay, great, now we know this is a joke. Whenever they mentioned orange soda, you just know to laugh. Yeah, yeah, can I can I be really random right now? Yeah? If you're not awkward. We found out that Trump has violated the Espionage Act. They did find top top secret info at marl Large. Are you reading Twitter while you're you're reading No, no, no, no, I'm my literally popped up on my phone as a notification, and I literally it was like this, and then it went it lit up like that because I saw the news headline, can I tell you something, Matt. When I saw your face change, I thought you were offended because I made a light joke about you saying, um, interlap And I literally this entire time thought that you were mad at me because I said that. No, I'm not mad at you. I said interlap you. He said that, so he was mad at I've been thinking this entire time how much I love you. I've actually been thinking at this entire time, especially last night, and I was so excited. I was like, I love everyone here. I'm sorry to be a fucking idiot, but I loved everyone last night. I actually and when you when you guys had your when you guys had your earnest moment in the beginning, I loved that. Last night. I felt an overwhelming almost um I would say it was almost a sadness in the knowledge that I will never be able to express to each person how much they mean to me. It was so special. Yes, you last night, Bone and I had a very we had a nice moment, a nice moment, quick quick quick things in each other's ears, very quick affirmations of love to each other. It's very important. It's very important. It's gotta do I I can't recommend it enough. And you guys did that earlier and it was so beautiful. Even if it was sort of a little bit of a joke, I knew it was real. Sam and I have been doing it more and more. I would say. I also like, there's just something. I mean, when I'm in a room with Sam, I feel safer. It's true. That is the ultimate carbons Fanza starts now, um, but yeah, I do feel like I have to explain less to George and he just sort of understands. It's like, that's where I'm coming from. It's really nice. Earnestness is the least awkward. Sometimes it can be awkward, but it's the least random thing. Well, you know that awkward if the receiving party is not committing to list honny. You know, awkwardness and randomness are literally a reaction to being genuine and be real, Like fear. It is a complete fear dased response, so like, yeah, of course, it's like why is Napoleon Dynamite written like that? Or why is sorry Juno written like that? Because they can't say what they mean. But by the end, Juno does say what she means exactly, thank you. That's my point, you know what, if you know you know what? My favorite, my favorite part of Juno is at the end when um, she says to Michael Sarah like, I just like you're you don't even really try. You're so cool and you don't even really try. And he says, I try really hard. Actually, you know, I actually complete You're right, and I completely take back my examples. It's what is a good example of what I'm saying. It's like using it as a defense mechanism, like using awkwardness and randomness as a defense mechanism. The character of Juno does that. The character of Juno, I would say, it's even like yeah, it's almost like the ethos of the movie rather than the actual movie itself. It's like, yes, there's a certain distance, like it doesn't like you in too close, which I guess is why it works ultimately, because then it's even more rewarding at the end when they do get earnest. Yeah, it's sort of a sort of a commentary on random not not song. They sing a song with each other, which is the most intimate thing you can do. Like, they sing a song together, which is so you know, that song is peak random in terms of the lyrical content. The political content is random, and and for your band to be called the multi Peaches is random. But they were but that they had a shared sense of humor and they were sharing it with each other, and there is intimacy, and that they're also supposed to be children. Their flawed, they're dumb, they're supposed to have bad, bad taste and whatever. We're almost like, okay, not everything is random, you know what I mean, Like we're sort of putting everything in random and it's like somethings are weird and that's different than random. Actually, um and Sam is petty. Sam is really mad. No, this is why I try to pour my heart out to him. He's like, first of all, bitch, not everything's random. First of all, I think I think we can look. It's my job in this podcast sometimes stop us from getting carried away, because it can start to feel like you know, yes, that that that that, and it's like, actually not all that. So sometimes, like I think we're a lot of humor, and some humor is silly but not inherently random. I love silly. I love silly love of course, I mean it's politically necessary. I love silly. I love stupid. I don't really like awkward. I don't like awkward or random. Um okay, wait, I have on do you count? Like I'd say, like Nathan for You is awkward, but it's awkward done really well the way I was going to say that exact same thing. It's awkward. Yeah, it's like it's awkward sort of in the same space as like improv, where it's like, yeah, when it's bad, it's horrible, but when it's good it is sort of magical. But it's awkward in a very controlled way, in a way that is that leaves you watching it questioning the reality of things. I think it transcends awkward. I don't think awkward is the right label. I do think it is a It is a commentary on awkward in random much like Juno. Nathan for You is very much the Juno of show that's been off the airplane. Yea, yeah, Okay, No, see Nathan for You is cringe. Okay, okay, okay, okay. Neither of you uses cringe to comment on awkward It takes awkward to the most heightened place so that you see the truth. Okay. And also it's it's not using it's not um it's not using awkwardness as a crutch like many of these things that we are. It's not using awkwardness. It's about awkwardness like it is an investigation of awkwardness more so than relying on awkwardness as a crutch because at a loss for other things, exactly, And a perfect example is an early episode of Nathan for You where he works with a gas station attendant and then it goes great, and at the very end, the gas station attendant, out of nowhere, starts talking about how he drinks his grandson's peace sometimes and it comes it really comes out of nowhere, and then Nathan Fielder like, I think, I think, I think this is a real moment. But it's one of those things in the show where you're like, is this real? But Nathan Fielder, the real person is like wait, what, like what are you talking about? And that is awkward, random and cringe. All three it's all three and one thing, the Holy trenity, awkward, random, and cringe and no one's done it since The Office. Thank you, Steve, Thank you you are an icon. Everything you've done to the community is awkward. Yes, yes, that is actually such a great example that that we hadn't touched on is actually mockumentary in general is like, oh my god, George, you're so right. Yeah, like when done well, like to me, Christopher, Guests movies are like the biggest pleasure. It's like the perfect movies because much like Nathan for you, they actually are it's about the subject of those things rather than using them as crutches. Whereas The Office at its worst, not always at its worst, is just using awkwardness and randomness. Well it uses it as like a sprinkle because like I think The Office is a good show, and then like like I need like way less of Jim being like random, like yes, weird, Like Jim is one of the worst parts of right, And I feel bad saying that because you kind of need him to even have The Office because like it's so like when you think of the Office, like probably top three things you think about is Jim looking at the camera like but but Jim is Jim is awkward, and Dwight is random. Yes, yeah, and Michael and Michael Scott is correct. Yes. Wait, one tiny little footnote is about when we were talking about improv briefly. Improv in fact, is the definition of random because it's literally give us a topic. Like it's literally pick a random thing and then build something around it. Yeah. Wait, I have a question. Yeah, do you guys think John Grazinski is hot? Yeah? No, I don't either. I mean, he seems lovely, just doesn't He just doesn't do it for me. But it's fine. Much like many of these I heard he is not lovely. I heard he's well then there you go. Yeah, that's what I've heard. Jims has Juma says he's an absolute and that's fact checked. I do think that much like many of these guys. And this is I'm not saying anything new, but I'm like, yeah, he was hot when it was like a surprise that he was hot, He's not hot now that he's like funded by the CIA. Yeah, like to look at him in the office and be like, you know what kind of round them that I find him hot? Now that it's awkward, that's awkward admitting with my wife. You know what's weird? Like it's like The Office had John Krasinski become hot leading man, and Parks and Rec had Chris Pratt become hot leading man exactly, but we're not seeing anything from uh, thirty Rock. Where is the hot leading man from thirty Rock? Why isn't Jack McBrayer in the Marvel cinematic? In what I want to know? I think that's really what I'm saying. You know, I think it is so hot and truly, like is just whatever is so hot? Is Jonathan from thirty Rock Mole Pincholi a sweetheart in real life? And is I'm so attracted to him deeply? And I want to say, like Juilliard, like he's like a real wonderful Wait which one Jonathan oh when started his career as hot leading man? No, well that's someone who started his career as a hot leading man. The premise of what I was saying, Hans, if you listen, was that it's someone from the show who then became a hot leading man. It's someone it's someone that like was not put there to be hot. And then people were like, wait, that person is hot, right? Yeah, thanks, but thanks I you're gonna get glimpse into my relationship with Hans, which is really a very flirt very flirting. God, I had no idea. It's sort of random when you are wanting to flirt with someone and you're nasty to them, you know what I mean. I guess I was thinking. It's more like sounds like illegal, Like it's like you're like flirting with like a coworker, you know what it means, like you should it sounds yeah, it sounds like we should call nine one one and not the one in CHROMATICA. Yeah, I'm talking jail time Darling. Kim Petra said, Problematique, Problematique, that should be my album? When what are we gonna do about her? There's no time? Can you say that again? Problematique that should be my album? What the fuck? I mean? Why are we laughing? Why are we laughing? We laughing at the metal? Amazing? It's amazing. Are were laughing on on a meta level? At Yeah, Well, I think the funny thing is that there is this person Soudo knows that did that. It's not like that's the funny thing. But also there's, um, there's an SNL sketch that I think is also I'm sorry but this is before my time, but there's ob cessily strong and Scarlett Johnson dressed up in like nerdy clothes going to a museum. They're like going in front of this dinosaur skeleton and then like you know, someone's explaining what the dinosaur is, and then both of them it's piece of a pot and both of them are like, okay, giant, what have you been? A giant turt under the dino? And everyone's gonna be like, um, that happened, you know, like it's like, but why are we laughing at that? Because we're laughing at that kind of the idea because those people are so we know those people and they're like annoying and we wanted someone to make fun of them for a long time. And also in the peg, so that so that happened is exactly what we were saying of like seeing something that seeing something that makes you uncomfortable or as somehow um foreign and then not knowing bring it down to your level by being like okay, okay, I guess so uh are we all? We all saw that? And those people that those people thinking they're funny, It drives me crazy, like just being like, well that happened, like okay, don't sell you that, and or like that kind of like jokes. So I guess that's not a joke. Okay, I guess we're having this converse. It's very like Midwestern like barbecue humor. My mom, you always go to the Midwest when you want to sell something. Honey, I've earned it, I've spent my time there. I I don't need it anymore. I know. It's just I guess I'm always thinking of like my parents friends and like the ones that I think they're funny. I'm always like, oh no, here we go, and it hurts every time. Sorry, sorry, if sorry, If you're okay, if you're listening to this podcast and you're my parents friend, I'm sorry. I'm but you're not funny. But you're not funny period. And if you listen to this and your instinct is to go, well, he said that that happened, that you're proving his point. Stupid, stupid, idiot, fool, go back to cost to my parents. So what are the so so, what are the correct ways to react to things? I feel this way. I feel sad, I feel happy, I feel scared, yeah, be honest about your feelings. For once. It's Renee Brown. Label the feeling, because then it shapes the experience. Okay, just say how you feel, because the word bingo defines the experience theory. Because guess what by saying so that happened, you're literally taking making yourself even you're putting even more distance between what between you and what you're experiencing. You should be putting, We're gonna always remember something this way if you say, well, that happened every single time, Like to always remember something this way, you have to have a way like not just the way you not just a standard. Even just saying after something happens, I'll always remember us this way. That locks it in. That's it is. It is literally the opposite of so that happened. Because imagine if literally what was his name in the movie Jackson Maine. If if Jackson Maine pissed himself on stage with the Grammys and Ali literally just going so, I guess that happened. Okay, wait, but if that actually happened, I would be laughing. That wouldn't be the funniest thing I had ever seen. It cuts to her happened, Okay, and then just one part where she's like, I guess this is adulting, Like we're making laugh so major plot point in any movie like that Titanic thinking, uh that that happened. Okay, so I guess we're sinking. Now do you know you literally do you know what we're literally describing? What say it with me? Marvel? Oh my god? Really this is what Marvel is. Marvel is the ultimate triumph of awkward and random random. Yes, yes, the Celestia stone is being combined with the grouper biotics sense and we have to go and then like literally you'll cut to a raccoon exactly like right, yeah, yeah, yeah, And I am grout. Okay, wait I am. I am Guardians. I hate Guardians and Boone and I famously out of Guardians of the Galaxy of Volume one because if I had to hear that tree, so I am grout one more time and people will be like, oh my god, that is so funny. He is grouting, it's all he says. That is so stupid. I mean, I am grout. The concept of I am grout is one of the most politically regressive things aesthetically that has ever happened in our culture. The fact that I am meant to find it funny that a tree says, I am grout not to be the automan, but Guardians is a slay and also and then I'll tell you but they're also trying what they're trying when they bring out like baby Grout because now there's this thing of like, oh, we're re energizing because I'm thing is a baby now like baby Yoda. And it worked with baby Yoda because it's so baby Groot because something is a baby now. Her name is Groa her name, and she Grog is the cutest thing that's ever been made. And ever it is a triumph of artistry, of puppetry of cinema is so powerful. Figure you everyone needs everyone needs a baby grow g Everyone needs one, Like honestly, it's there. It's amazing to bring on a vacation. You can dress them up like baby Yoda slash grow Gou is something that like I would love, like I would like to tell my past self about, like I'd be like, hold on, baby, because in a few years there's gonna be a baby Yoda and you're gonna love it. Yeah, earnestly, I'm so happy that baby Yoda exists. I really am I it's so important. Yeah, I think baby Yoda, we haven't really seen this type of um like sort of fantasia around like a toy since tickled me almost and this one and this one wasn't going to kill you pick memo was killing people? Say that, oh, given seas to all the kids. And then the parent said the kids, So I guess that's normal. Now I would go, well, five dollars later, need five dollars later, and my kid is dead. I need a drink. I need a cocktail. Honey, where's the bar. That's another like like that. Honey, where's the bar? Huh? Where's the bar? I don't need a cocktail yesterday? Oh? I mean we need to leave it. We need to leave this planet yesterday. Yes, I love that. I love those types of people. They're they're fun to me. Wine. But George, what are you thinking about? George thought? No, you're like so, I truly am just. I would say, I would say intellectually, the things that have been put into my brain throughout this recording are making it about to burst. You're exhausted. It's been very stimulating. This is I'm sorry to say. Everyone is making such good points, and I and I and I feel this almost coked out energy of having me sip up. No no, no, we we we can slow it down, we can pump the brain. I mean no, no, no no, no, please, I know what I'm doing. Oh, trust me. Intellectual intellectual intellectual rigor is his wine. Don't talk to me until I've had my intellectual rigor. Honey, where's the library? That's what George is saying. I've actually been dying for an ic coffee this whole time, and now it's like three, but I slept until literally, so this still my morning. What do I do? I asked my I just want to say your morning can look like anything. Yeah, And honestly, at night coffee is one of those beautiful things you can get. I actually love a night coffee. Um, should we wait? I think we have to do our final segment, which is actually crazy because we have another recording. Actually, who are you recording with next? Wouldn't you like to know? You told us yesterday who it was? Shut up? I forgot, but I forgot. It's someone I really like. It's someone you both really like. Someone that will UM believe? Have you believe in? Gagging is the future Whitney Whitney Whitney gag with somebody. I want to people the sight with somebody just coming on the pot. You put that out it was toxic. We're gonna dub that, um happen. No, that's that's Deadpool humor, which is talk about toxic, which is where random meets cruelty. We're actually just actually we're gonna just bleep the name that Matt said so that we can witness the aftermath while not offending anyone. Can I tell you, guys, one more one more awkward thing? Yes, yes, Okay, So this is the secondhand story. But um, from one of the movers at my when I used to work as a mover, there was this guy who loved, like got all of his humor from sort of internet culture and it was really bad. But he was talking to the client and he was talking about how like this couch was gonna like be kind of difficult to get into the hallway and it was going to fit awkwardly. And he was like, yeah, it's gonna be pretty awkward, like Deadpool meeting Deadpool. Oh no, I like that premise. I like that. I don't like how hot. Yeah, I actually hate every single part. I'm trying to find something to like about it because he seems nice and well, here's what I like about it. I like the effort. I like that he wrote it. That was a pre written joke. He was on his way, you know, he woke up in the morning and was like, you know what, if if nothing else today, I am going to land this joke. And here we are talking about it. And in some ways he did, Hey, well behaved. Um movers rarely make history, and he made a splash that day. And love him or hate him, it's still an obsession. You know, I'm going to reference that reference humor. Here we go. Um, okay, let's do our final segment. All right, what's the Let's do the final segment. It's my favorite segment in podcasting history. Our final segment shout outs, and then we give a shout out to anything that we enjoy, sort of in the classic style of imagine. It's who hasn't Want And you're at t r L in Times Scores shouting out to your squad back home, anything that you like, give it a shout out. George, do you have one? I could like really wing it. It's actually I just want to say it is by design that we don't think of the as ahead of time, because otherwise they wouldn't be spontaneous. So no one can be mad at us that we quote unquote had two months to prepare for the quote unquote first episode of the season. Yeah, but here's I'm going to do one that is actually so basic that it is a commentary on being basic. Everyone ready, Yeah, what's up, listeners, and welcome the season three of the pod. I want to give a quick shout out to soaking beans. This is something that feels very you. You might say feels very uten or maybe twenty sixteen or seventeen. It's something people you know, it's something you read the Alison Roman newsletter. Let's say, and and she says and she and she kind of makes it a thing of like don't yell at me, I don't soak beans. Sorry, And then you're like, oh, interesting. I guess our debates happening about these and parts of the internet where people don't have to worry about other topics. But here's what I will tell you, listener, is that I just soaked beans for the first time, made them the other week, and guess what the girl is all right, I have never had a creamier line of bean in my life. I made a completely improvised white beans salad and had it for lunch. We're talking corn, we're talking aboutvocado, we are talking uh feta, and we were talking personally and a lemon dressing, and none of that will be possible without a little thing called soaking beans. And it's just shout out to Allison Roman and I wish for the best. Allison is back. She's been back, She's been back, Alison Ben Roman that what I just did is a reference. It's like referenced humorference. We actually are guilty of both random and reference humor. And everyone is everyone no one, no one is making humor to vacuum all the course of course, so making humor? So what what the funk am I saying? Making? Hey? Okay, okay, okay, okay, hold on, hold on, hold on um, I've got one somewhere. Let's see, Okay, I've got it. What's up, freaks, losers and perverts across the globe? I love you and I see you. I would like to give a shout out to the man selling water outside of the CHROMATICA concert last night, because when I got out of that concert. I was overjoyed with joy, but I was feeling parched with water and I was dying, and I said, if someone why is I thought this was a capitalist nation, Why is no one selling water? I'm willing to pay upwards of ten dollars for a bottle of damn water because I am thirsty. And then comes this man who, yeah, it was probably going against the government and probably not licensed. I hope that's okay with everyone. Sometimes I support unlicensed vendors. And he said, I will give you this water bottle for four dollars, and I said I will pay that, and I drank it and I wish I had gotten to because I was so fucking thirsty and getting out of that stadium was a nightmare. I think I will maybe never go to that location again, unless I, of course, have to to see my girl Stephanie Germanata, who I do still stand and I hope to one day be um dead as mentally ill as I was in twenty twenty to fall in love with her next album, just as hard as I fell in love with Romatica. I Love America. Wow. I did not expect it to end on I Love America. That was that was a random left turn with it. Here's what I will say, unlicensed vendors are. In fact, I actually am going of bang pots and pans every day to unlicensed vendors. Yeah, I agree with that. There are some of our nation's greatest heroes, and Andrew Yane tried to come for them, the Truro people. How dare he? How dare he? Wish I could slap him across the face of the Turro. He's one of America's worst people. Act. Yeah, I have to agree. Okay, who wants to go next? I'll go. I have something I can go. Okay, Yeah, it's it's a it's it's a fun one as as as these all have been. And I wasn't questioning until you said that awkward. Hey, hey, hey, um, what's happening? That's the line from one of my favorite singers and Missy Elliott. But that's not my shout out singer. Famously, I wanted to shout out the entire cast and crew up into the Woods on Broadway. I saw this show on Wednesday night with our good friend Matt Whittaker. I'm so sorry, Patrick, there's another good friend of ours. Um, I'm going with Matt. Yes, Matt's going with Matt Whittaker. But I saw this production. Um. You know my favorite Sondheim show, the first Sonheim show I saw on videotape, the Burgend of Peter's version of the original Broadway run. Um, very formative culture for me. I didn't realize. And you know what, shout out to Celestium for sharing with me this beautiful piece of wisdom that the most politically important and impactful art is children's books and anything having to do with children's stories. Because you know what, my favorite thing about Into the Woods is that to show about impact, and that's why it's impactful. Sarah barellis Um, Brian Darcy, James, Katina Miller, Philip stood, gabbing creole. Julia Lester was a great little red um. Any Golden Hoo could forget punk legend and Broadway legend and the golden The mute Lady on Orange is the New Black, which he opens her Mountain sings You're happy, and you go why they make her mute? I loved it by I loved all the listening of the names. I felt like I was like ready for sort of Oscar's playoff music to start. I thought that could have been a saying yeah as someone who's also seen it and is going again because it was just that fabulous. I have to concur with every word that my sister has just said. It's really excellent. It's one of my favorite theater experiences I've had. Do you think Here's my question. I went when Gavin Creole was in fact unavailable and his understudy filled in. Oh, you didn't even see Cheyenne. I didn't even see Cheyenne. But luckily on like some people on the Zoom, I did see Sarah Barrells. I literally went to the show and Sarah was sick, and I literally I looked at my playbill and saw the role of the Baker's wife will be porprayed by someone else, and I almost asked for I literally, but I screenshot it. I screenshoted your story and send it to Matthew and I was like, this could not happen to a less deserving person. This is like, specifically, for that to happen to you. For that to happen to Matt was really hard. And I'm going again on on the twenty three, and I'm I'm Matt Wicker and I are going and you've seen it. I think and so that that that's a testament um and Bowen Yang and I are also going to Celia Michelle and Funny Girl. I need to get but it's gonna be difficult. I'm ready go for it. Take it away. What's up everybody? This is your boy, Matt Rodgers, third time on Tradio. I'm very happy to be here. Thank you to the host for having me once again. I want to give a quick shout out to desk o vie for prep. It allows you not to use condoms, because condoms fucking suck. Who wants to use a condom? It's a whole thing. It's an awkward random oh when you're trying to get it on. Honestly, for me, I just rather stick it in raw, un protected, bareback, if you will. I love raw. I'm prepeted bareback sex and being come inside of myself and coming in other people. Desk o vie for prep allows it to happen. Yes, I'm running the risk of getting other scis always, but that doesn't really matter when I'm having it a great time. So thank you doctors, thank you physicians, thank you people in the lab, scientists, et cetera. Thank you to everyone that's made this possible. Shout out to you desk, all of you for prepare your prescription right now. So that just happened, So not just stand big pharma. That just Matt just talked about sucking. Did anyone else hear that? So I guess we're talking about fucking now? So we're a sex podcast. Okay, all right, you're welcome. Um, I gotta made you all relevant. I guess I'll see myself out. Um, okay, okay, I'm nothing else. You know who is a master of the meta humor of awkwardness and randomness is Mixtalter. Yeah, Meg has mastered it. I was also thinking of Patty in conversation Patty Harrison. Oh yeah, we'll respond to many things as as as fake as eleve eted awkward as I would ko awkward. Well, um, well, thank you for being here to kick off our third season. It's so special to have you guys on our first app. It really means a lot. That really isn't That really is an honor And I just want to say for us as well, And can I just say congratulations on what I know is a big deal. It's a big deal. About you sign and I just want to say I'll always remember us this way. Oh you got when you lock at meum and the whole let not sing us off. Yeah, I mean okay, Matt, you can sing ways. Remember it's a way, good night, bye egg brown gay. That'll happen back back back baa baa food bas