Speaker 1: Okay, podcast starts. Now, what is up everyone around the globe.
Speaker 1: You're listening to Stradia Lab and I have a story
Speaker 1: to tell. Georgia. Are you prepared for my story?
Speaker 2: I am so prepared. You have no idea.
Speaker 1: Because I have been sitting on the story in such
Speaker 1: an insane way. You know. We went to San Francisco,
Speaker 1: and I said.
Speaker 2: We have talked multiple times in multiple cities, both virtually
Speaker 2: and in person, and you keep being like, I went
Speaker 2: to Palm Springs and I'm like, how was it? And
Speaker 2: you're like, nu, huh huh.
Speaker 1: I've been like, I'll tell you when the cameras are on. Okay, So,
Speaker 1: first of all, Palm Springs kind of sucks. Can we
Speaker 1: start there? So I went to one of those like
Speaker 1: nude gay resorts. It was called Indulge, which is obviously
Speaker 1: so embarrassing whenever you say it. I didn't choose the place.
Speaker 1: Let's just start. I didn't choose it.
Speaker 2: I have a question, is this a p is it
Speaker 2: called in an Indulge?
Speaker 1: Like?
Speaker 2: Correct? Wow?
Speaker 1: And I'm glad you could hear me pronounce it that way.
Speaker 2: You know, of course, what I would have done taken
Speaker 2: it once the further in bulge.
Speaker 1: Whoa, you know, I think you're right. But the problem is,
Speaker 1: I think with it being clothing optional, you know, the
Speaker 1: bulges an't always there because they're always wearing painting suits.
Speaker 1: Maybe in balls.
Speaker 2: Oh that's good anyway.
Speaker 1: So everyone there is elderly. It's sort of a world
Speaker 1: for grandparents, grandpa's in particular, to go to uh. And
Speaker 1: I wasn't. I was. I'm rarely in a space where
Speaker 1: I am the youngest by two generations, and this was
Speaker 1: the case here. So first of all, it's just like
Speaker 1: you're sitting around the pool and you're naked, and you're
Speaker 1: only hearing conversations about taxes and credit card points and
Speaker 1: condo renovations, and like to hear this guy being well,
Speaker 1: we sold our condo in Saint Louis and then we
Speaker 1: bought a condo in Florida, but the taxes were horrible
Speaker 1: in Saint Louis. So but if we do the return right,
Speaker 1: and he can go on for hours about this fucking
Speaker 1: condo in these taxes, and it was driving me insane
Speaker 1: in a way where I was like, please, like be lecherous,
Speaker 1: like why aren't you like trying to have sex with someone?
Speaker 1: It was disgusting. But then the real thing that was
Speaker 1: funny to me is like, so we were there with
Speaker 1: a friend and we went out that night and we
Speaker 1: came back and we're all like going in the pool
Speaker 1: and we were sort of drunk and being crazy and
Speaker 1: we were like taking turns carrying each other like babies.
Speaker 1: So we were.
Speaker 2: Sorry, were you with a big group?
Speaker 1: It was like this particular night, there's just one person
Speaker 1: I'm friends with from New York, okay, and we were
Speaker 1: all carrying each other like baby is ha ha ha
Speaker 1: ha ha. And then there was this one like fifty
Speaker 1: five year old, like sort of stiff businessman who uh
Speaker 1: like you know, just kind of talked like this. And
Speaker 1: we were like, oh, let's bring him into the fun.
Speaker 1: And I went up to this man and I was like,
Speaker 1: do you want to be baby? And he was like yes.
Speaker 1: So that I carried this random fifty five year old
Speaker 1: man naked around the pool as if he was baby,
Speaker 1: and I literally think he's like never had so much
Speaker 1: fun in his life.
Speaker 2: Oh my god. Wait, so then did he sort of
Speaker 2: like loosen up?
Speaker 1: I think he loosened up. He was like having fun,
Speaker 1: and I think to swim. I was swimming him around
Speaker 1: the pool, like, baby, it was where?
Speaker 2: Was it sexual?
Speaker 1: Non sexually?
Speaker 2: Was he there with a partner?
Speaker 1: No, he was there. I mean he might have wanted
Speaker 1: to have sex, to be honest.
Speaker 2: But wow, so you are fully teasing this poor introverted,
Speaker 2: single bachelor businessman who is there. He's like, all I
Speaker 2: want is like some hot young guy with a mustache
Speaker 2: to like, come and be my you know, be my
Speaker 2: one final my one final swing before I finally die
Speaker 2: of old age. And then you come up to him,
Speaker 2: you say, oh, do you want to be baby? He
Speaker 2: he he here my balls. And then he's like, finally
Speaker 2: my dreams are coming true. You take him up, you
Speaker 2: humiliate him in front of everyone. You're literally doing like
Speaker 2: a humiliation ritual, even in front of your drunk New York,
Speaker 2: cool New York friends, and you put him down and
Speaker 2: say that's enough, grandpa, and then you go to your room.
Speaker 1: No, I think he had the time of his life.
Speaker 1: And I really made me be like damn, it was
Speaker 1: an amazing feeling of like gay guys are so crazy,
Speaker 1: like the fact that I'm essentially picking up my dad
Speaker 1: like like this is so weird, and and like to
Speaker 1: hold a naked man in the water is so like
Speaker 1: what are we doing? Like it's literally like, what is this?
Speaker 1: I was blown away by the whole experience and the
Speaker 1: old The next day I woke up and I was
Speaker 1: like half then to see him again and just be
Speaker 1: like hi, like and he was like hi. It was
Speaker 1: really really more intimate than if we had hooked up.
Speaker 2: Oh yes I would. I would say picking someone up,
Speaker 2: swimming around with him and then putting him back down
Speaker 2: is one hundred percent more intimate than hooking up.
Speaker 1: So you know, anybody out there, if you're ever out
Speaker 1: of pool and really want to shake things up, start
Speaker 1: carrying people like baby.
Speaker 2: I think you'll have a last It's very sweet. Yeah,
Speaker 2: so I want to go on vacation. You deserve it,
Speaker 2: but don't I literally deserve it.
Speaker 1: I will say, we need to talk. The pr around
Speaker 1: Palm Springs is too good, Like this place is flop.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I've always sort of suspected that it's so weird and
Speaker 1: people are like, oh, it's just like West Coast Fire Island.
Speaker 2: No, it's not.
Speaker 1: What are you talking about? Do you hear yourself? It
Speaker 1: makes no sense.
Speaker 2: It has always rereaked of desperation to me. I'm sorry.
Speaker 1: To say, yeah, it's just not right. And it's like,
Speaker 1: so you're in a pool, like there also have all
Speaker 1: these rules about being really quiet, Like so all the
Speaker 1: music is really quiet everywhere you go, and everyone's like
Speaker 1: like if you're in a house, they'll call the police
Speaker 1: on you if your music is like audible from the
Speaker 1: other houses. It's like, what is this.
Speaker 2: Here's what I think about Palm Springs. I sort of
Speaker 2: think pomp Springs. It's like, what if Debaucher's gay men
Speaker 2: became wasps in Connecticut. Like it's like the ethos is
Speaker 2: very uh, sort of nimby, but then you are, but
Speaker 2: then you are in a gay destination with palm trees,
Speaker 2: which makes it worse because I'm like, well, if I'm
Speaker 2: gonna be wasp nimbi, uh, you know, woman named Carol
Speaker 2: and her mother Muffy, Like, at least let's be in Connecticut.
Speaker 2: Let's have like a dry steak, you know, let's go
Speaker 2: all the way. But if you're gonna, you know, tease
Speaker 2: me with the promise of sexual debauchery and the pool
Speaker 2: and picking people up, then at least, like, let's go there.
Speaker 1: I was genuinely surprised at how unsexual the whole place
Speaker 1: was I've never been in a place like catered to
Speaker 1: gay men. That was this unsexual, Like I'm actually kind
Speaker 1: of blown away by it, and something's in the air there.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Well, did you ultimately have a good time?
Speaker 1: It was fine. Ultimately it was fine. I read my book,
Speaker 1: you know, I learned a lot about taxes.
Speaker 2: Are you still reading? Uh?
Speaker 1: Still? I mean it was a damn week ago.
Speaker 2: Wait, you're reading uh didion? Or no?
Speaker 1: No? No, no, no, I'm reading our dear friend Dan
Speaker 1: dea Dario's book.
Speaker 2: Oh oh that's right, then, I take back the still
Speaker 2: did you finish it?
Speaker 1: No?
Speaker 2: Oh, my goal.
Speaker 1: I have a job, George, I have a job. Speaking
Speaker 1: of job, oh job, let's being our guest. We have
Speaker 1: the same job, but not right now, but not right now.
Speaker 2: Wow, is such a good introw.
Speaker 1: Please him to the podcast. Kyler Higgley.
Speaker 4: Hello, great transition, guys. That was really seamless. That was
Speaker 4: one of the most beautiful stories I've ever heard. Thank
Speaker 4: you also as your coworker, It's so funny, dude, know
Speaker 4: that you were just sort of babying a man.
Speaker 2: I saw the harassing a coworker. The story of you,
Speaker 2: of what you.
Speaker 1: God we're not coworkers currently right this moment, right because
Speaker 1: I'm allowed to say that.
Speaker 4: Yeah, now we can say whatever we want. Yeah, it's no,
Speaker 4: it's it's inspiring, I would say. And I I also
Speaker 4: feel like every time I see you outside of work,
Speaker 4: I see a whole different side of you. You're a
Speaker 4: different guy. Yeah, in and out of work.
Speaker 1: It's definitely severing spot.
Speaker 2: I need to I need to know what Sam is
Speaker 2: like at an office job. It has always been because
Speaker 2: I get peaks of it, you know, because obviously Sam
Speaker 2: and I will be in that contract negotiation room, we'll
Speaker 2: be talking to we'll be talking to bookers, we'll be
Speaker 2: on on calls together, and I get a peak of it.
Speaker 2: But I want to know what it's like at the
Speaker 2: water coool.
Speaker 4: It's it's very much like I feel like Sam will
Speaker 4: never fully tell you exactly what you like. Really feel
Speaker 4: like there's there's a certain wall that's up that I
Speaker 4: can tell that you're in a little bit of a
Speaker 4: business mode, where like, I know you're going to now
Speaker 4: go home and you know, carry around a fifty year
Speaker 4: old man in the water like baby, But if you're
Speaker 4: at work, you're not like this guy likes doing baby
Speaker 4: with people.
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, that's true. I don't even think about the wall,
Speaker 1: but it's definitely it is. It's there.
Speaker 4: I feel it, probably because I sit next to you
Speaker 4: or sat next to you and I felt the wall.
Speaker 4: And we have a lot of fun and we riff
Speaker 4: and whatever.
Speaker 2: But like you do have a yeah, you also have
Speaker 2: if you don't mind me saying, sometimes Sam will get
Speaker 2: panic in his eyes. Yeah, okay, do you know what
Speaker 2: I mean, Skyler.
Speaker 4: Yes, there's a No, I've seen the panic. We've like
Speaker 4: sometime through things.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's like if and I actually I also have
Speaker 2: a very bad poker face. So this is in no
Speaker 2: way I'm not criticizing it. But sometimes if it's like
Speaker 2: a social situation that is a little bit awkward or
Speaker 2: it's unclear what the next step in an interaction is,
Speaker 2: I'll look at Sam and he'll will truly look like
Speaker 2: you know, Daniel Khalulia and get out.
Speaker 4: Yeah this is my Sam dismount for any conversation that's awkward.
Speaker 1: Well, you know that's true. I've adopted Selave.
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, a lot.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's pretty awesome. Yeah. Do you think you have
Speaker 1: a wall at work? No?
Speaker 4: I think I have too little of a wall at work.
Speaker 4: I feel like I'm too much of just like whatever
Speaker 4: I think I get. So I think I could be
Speaker 4: a little bit more profound. I feel like I'm so
Speaker 4: like amped up in like whatever, and I don't care
Speaker 4: what I say to whoever, and then I feel like
Speaker 4: that will get me in trouble.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it's good, though it loosens everybody else.
Speaker 4: Up right, But that's the That's the other thing is
Speaker 4: because I know that everybody is sort of projecting this like, oh,
Speaker 4: we're in a work environment thing. Oh and there's famous
Speaker 4: people around, so I have to like try to be cool.
Speaker 4: And I feel just generally this whole like apparatus that
Speaker 4: we're in, be it Hollywood or industry or whatever, it
Speaker 4: like forces you to sort of just be fake in
Speaker 4: certain ways. And I just want to be like, hey, everybody,
Speaker 4: like we're you know, we're chilling. I'll say things in
Speaker 4: meetings that people are like, I can't believe you said
Speaker 4: that in the meeting, and I'm like, well, what like
Speaker 4: we were thinking it. We don't care. I don't what's
Speaker 4: the problem we are. I'm a comedy writer, you know
Speaker 4: what you hired me for.
Speaker 1: I'm always like doing math of like should I speak up,
Speaker 1: Like is it like worth it to speak up about
Speaker 1: this thing I disagree with? And then usually I'm like, no.
Speaker 4: You're right. I mean, yeah, I don't have that calculus,
Speaker 4: and I just kind of say whatever, and I should
Speaker 4: be a lot better about just, you know, guarding myself
Speaker 4: because you never know who really hates you.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but M say lovey.
Speaker 2: There's a sort of currentcy like when I'm at a
Speaker 2: non When I have a non comedy job, like you know,
Speaker 2: an office job, the best thing you can be is
Speaker 2: like the funny one, the class clown named that office.
Speaker 2: But when you have a comedy job, it's almost like
Speaker 2: the way to say yourself apart as being the professional one.
Speaker 2: And everyone's like wow, he's like really like put together
Speaker 2: in this like sea of clowns.
Speaker 4: It's true.
Speaker 2: That's actually I feel like I'm I every writing job
Speaker 2: that I've had, it's sort of like I'm actually much
Speaker 2: more rewarded when I act normal because people are like
Speaker 2: grateful that someone is being the adult in the room,
Speaker 2: whereas when I have a non comedy job, everyone's like,
Speaker 2: George is crazy. He changed the slack avatar to Amelia Perez.
Speaker 4: Oh you know, those slack bits really hit with you know,
Speaker 4: office talk.
Speaker 2: About a straight topic. Actually, this is something I need
Speaker 2: to really like go along on. Yeah, but slack bits
Speaker 2: like when someone says one mildly thing on a slack,
Speaker 2: mildly funny thing on a slack and then it is
Speaker 2: a full forty five minutes of people just posting cry
Speaker 2: laughing emoji and then like one like tiny yes, and
Speaker 2: it's like someone will be like, ugh, lunch ran long today,
Speaker 2: and then someone will be like what is this Italy
Speaker 2: And then someone's like, oh my god, Mama Mia, and
Speaker 2: then someone is like missus signor, and then everyone is
Speaker 2: just like commenting with like Italian flags and like crying
Speaker 2: laughing emoji. And then everyone at the end of the
Speaker 2: week has a meeting where they're like, what were the
Speaker 2: best things that happened this week? And someone's like, well,
Speaker 2: when George said that thing about Italy, that was so
Speaker 2: great for morale, and everyone's like, you know, we should
Speaker 2: maybe do an Italy themed birthday for Marcia, whose birthday
Speaker 2: is next week. And everyone's like, oh my god, that's
Speaker 2: such a good IDEA Italian fla, Italian fla crying emojic
Speaker 2: crying emoji.
Speaker 4: Yeah. I when I worked in the Onion, we had
Speaker 4: slack and I did this thing where I changed my
Speaker 4: avatar to the CEO who we all hated, Jim Spamfeller.
Speaker 4: I'll say it publicly, we all hated him.
Speaker 2: Oh my god, the worst.
Speaker 4: He's a really bad guy. I changed my profile picture
Speaker 4: to him, and like my name to his, and I
Speaker 4: would just like start dming people that they were fired
Speaker 4: and even would check in my freak. I'm just like
Speaker 4: and people are like, you can't be cause they you know,
Speaker 4: your boss is for everybody out there who uses slack,
Speaker 4: your bosses can see it. People probably know that, and
Speaker 4: they're like, you could get in trouble for this, And
Speaker 4: then I'm like, yeah, but there's no way anybody really
Speaker 4: cares that much. And also if I do whatever, I
Speaker 4: kind of have that feel because it's like my aspiration
Speaker 4: is to not ever have a job, even though I
Speaker 4: always want money, but like, oh yeah, freedom sounds so awful.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I think the secret is consistency. I think if you're like,
Speaker 2: if your sort of thing is that you know, you
Speaker 2: like doing like trollish slack bits and everything, people like
Speaker 2: get used to that and then they're like, oh, that's
Speaker 2: classic Skyler. The issue is if Sam or I one
Speaker 2: day wake up and do that right without having set
Speaker 2: the expectations that like that's our vibe.
Speaker 1: It would simply not go. Well, I'm not I cannot
Speaker 1: do a prank in any way, shape or form. Wow,
Speaker 1: which is weird. There's almost a part of me now
Speaker 1: where I'm like, I do see.
Speaker 4: The jo it's fun. It's fun if you don't, if
Speaker 4: you're not like genuinely Also, people have to know that
Speaker 4: you have a good heart about it and it comes
Speaker 4: from a good place and you're not like really gonna
Speaker 4: hurt anybody's feelings. So there's a lot like I don't
Speaker 4: consider myself a prank guy, quote unquote, but I do
Speaker 4: like introducing chaos to what could otherwise be monotony.
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, I get that.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you also want to project a little bit of
Speaker 4: fear around you, a little bit, just so people aren't
Speaker 4: entirely sure what you're gonna do or say you.
Speaker 1: Heard it here first, folks.
Speaker 4: Project that's my advice anybody who's trying to break into
Speaker 4: the industry.
Speaker 1: Make people fear you fear. I do think.
Speaker 2: I think my version of that is like in a
Speaker 2: social setting, I will suddenly say something incredibly like biting
Speaker 2: about a mutual friend, just like I'll just be like,
Speaker 2: we love that she's always struck me as pretty stupid,
Speaker 2: and then everyone will be like really taken.
Speaker 1: Aback, Yeah, yeah, it's tough. I'm actually not thinking about
Speaker 1: the wall again, and I'm like, I'm surprised because like
Speaker 1: when I'm in a like non comedy job, the wall
Speaker 1: is crazy. Like I almost go into those and be like,
Speaker 1: how can I like literally not let them know a
Speaker 1: single thing about me? Like almost like a challenge.
Speaker 4: It's true. No, it's true. I mean at a non
Speaker 4: comedy job, I will do minimal work and not care
Speaker 4: about anything, and I don't care if you like me
Speaker 4: or not, Like it's I'm not enjoying my time. And
Speaker 4: so I like will be like, well, whatever, I'm a
Speaker 4: I'm a bad employee here because this means absolutely nothing.
Speaker 4: I worked this shipping job where they were like it
Speaker 4: was all just numbers and I was data refining like severance,
Speaker 4: and I was like, oh, I don't I have I
Speaker 4: don't care at all. How could you make me care
Speaker 4: about this? This is just a waste of everybody's time.
Speaker 1: I've had two jobs where I was closeted at because
Speaker 1: I was like, well, what if they just don't need
Speaker 1: to know.
Speaker 2: When when you say closeted, you are you actively talking
Speaker 2: about like having a girl friend or just not mentioned not.
Speaker 1: Talking about anything about it. Yeah, and like so one
Speaker 1: of them was like the moving job. I was at
Speaker 1: this moving company that a lot of comedians in New
Speaker 1: York work at, and like but like comedians that don't
Speaker 1: know me, like you know what I mean, right, and so,
Speaker 1: and it was like either comedians or like psychopaths, and
Speaker 1: they were all like real horny, straight guys like like
Speaker 1: and like always being like nice, like wait, not just.
Speaker 4: About what like if they're moving.
Speaker 1: Like an ass walking by, Yeah, okay.
Speaker 4: It'll be like look at that fucking ass. It's so
Speaker 4: crazy actually, because yeah, I am there. I just don't
Speaker 4: get why we need to sure you notice an ass.
Speaker 4: I don't get why it needs to be communicated about
Speaker 4: in such a way as is sort of absurd to me.
Speaker 1: No, the moving vibe, it was obviously it's like a
Speaker 1: little it's very homo erotic because they're all getting each
Speaker 1: other horny and being like I was fucking this girl
Speaker 1: last night, and it was like fucking awesome, and like
Speaker 1: this is like.
Speaker 2: You need to expand this character.
Speaker 4: There's like the Glitterists and the Labia Majora and the Manora.
Speaker 4: We all the parts, every part was working everything of
Speaker 4: a straight guy.
Speaker 2: Oh the Labia Minora. Yeah, dude.
Speaker 1: But they would literally do it all the time because
Speaker 1: it was like the only way to pass the day.
Speaker 1: It was like, I guess we could make each other
Speaker 1: horny by like, well.
Speaker 2: Here's the other thing, though, is that actually, among a
Speaker 2: group of straight movers, I think talking about women is
Speaker 2: actually one of the few things that can connect everyone,
Speaker 2: because what are you gonna do, Like, you don't want
Speaker 2: to bring up politics, you don't want to bring up
Speaker 2: like what you're doing outside of work, you want to
Speaker 2: bring up your family life. So I think it's actually
Speaker 2: like it's like the equivalent of gay guys talking about
Speaker 2: top forty music or.
Speaker 1: Like yeah, drag race or something, or yes, I.
Speaker 2: Actually drag race is too close to politics. Even I
Speaker 2: would say.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, it did feel like Okay, I'm like in
Speaker 1: their space and I don't want to be like I'm
Speaker 1: actually gay, right, so I'd just be like yeah, look
Speaker 1: at that, be like yeah, was.
Speaker 4: There any ever, Was there ever any like hint of
Speaker 4: anybody being like, hey, you don't seem to call out
Speaker 4: the asses like we do.
Speaker 1: There was never a call out like that because I
Speaker 1: also was like very quiet and weird. Because I was
Speaker 1: also a bad mover, Like it's not something I'm good at,
Speaker 1: it's not in my skill set. I was always like
Speaker 1: I can't lift really heavy things. I was like, I
Speaker 1: can run. I'll run the stairs, like there's cardio. Does
Speaker 1: that help? And then so I was like doing this.
Speaker 1: I would bring the boxes up the stairs. I was like,
Speaker 1: my my deal. But like they I treat I was
Speaker 1: like very much like the dumb, weird boy. Okay, so
Speaker 1: it was okay that I was quiet.
Speaker 4: They were like, I don't know what's going on with him. Yeah,
Speaker 4: that guy does stairs and he doesn't like.
Speaker 2: Ass essentially, and then it was always kind of hind
Speaker 2: is Actually being quiet is one of the biggest kept secrets.
Speaker 2: Like I used to think that being quiet would make
Speaker 2: people think I was weird or something. When you just
Speaker 2: get used to someone being quiet, you're like, oh, he's
Speaker 2: the quiet one.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's kind of awesome to be the quiet.
Speaker 2: One and you can go unnoticed so easily, Like it's
Speaker 2: so much better than trying to fit in.
Speaker 4: Also, when you're quiet, because my partner's very quiet in
Speaker 4: social situations or can be, everybody gets to like project
Speaker 4: their own thing onto you and will be like, oh
Speaker 4: my god, that's sounds such a nice guy. He's just
Speaker 4: so twiet and he you know, he likes birds and
Speaker 4: you know he he grew up in Maine. It's just
Speaker 4: like they'll just make up shit about you. Yeah, and
Speaker 4: it's just like I haven't said any of this. You
Speaker 4: just like filled what you assumed I was for no reason.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Also, I used to think my default used to be like,
Speaker 2: oh someone's being quiet, they must be boring or have
Speaker 2: nothing to say. I don't know, especially being in spaces
Speaker 2: where in New York or whatever, where people are also
Speaker 2: like dressed well and look cool. Like if someone like
Speaker 2: that is being quiet, then I'm immediately like, oh, they
Speaker 2: think I'm stupid, Like they they actually are so cool
Speaker 2: and sophisticated that they have nothing to say to me
Speaker 2: because I'm such loser. So if you just like go
Speaker 2: in quiet and smoldering, maybe with a nice jacket, you're set.
Speaker 4: I always have to say, try to do that, and
Speaker 4: I feel like it doesn't track like I'm Sometimes I
Speaker 4: try to go like, oh, if I'm in a situation
Speaker 4: where I feel uncomfortable or whatever, I try to go like,
Speaker 4: I'll just be quiet and then I'll seem cool, and
Speaker 4: I feel like it's not working and everybody can just
Speaker 4: tell I'm like uncomfortable.
Speaker 2: I'm not going.
Speaker 4: Enough, you know what I mean, Like I haven't crossed
Speaker 4: the threshold where I'm like, oh, people are just gonna
Speaker 4: think I'm cool if I'm just not talking. But I
Speaker 4: think everybody's detecting that I'm feeling social anxiety.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think you know. One thing that I was
Speaker 1: surprised with about you is I feel like you're in
Speaker 1: like life and and at work you're very You're like
Speaker 1: you're talking a lot, you're big, And then I actually
Speaker 1: think on stage you get like you do kind of
Speaker 1: do like the cool quiet Oh wow.
Speaker 4: Interesting, I feel like I'm I honestly it changes night tonight.
Speaker 4: But well because on stage sometimes I'm like, oh, I'm
Speaker 4: just like really tired because it will be the end
Speaker 4: of the day. But like, yeah, I can play big
Speaker 4: and small on stag. It just depends on the stage.
Speaker 4: I guess because I was in Chicago over the weekend
Speaker 4: a laugh actory, I was screaming, you know really yeah,
Speaker 4: so it helps it's a big room.
Speaker 2: Oh my god, there is nothing better than than going
Speaker 2: big on, like if it's not your default, like sometimes
Speaker 2: you're like, oh, this is my night. I'm really going
Speaker 2: to become like you know Rory Scovell, right, like I'm
Speaker 2: just going to start screaming.
Speaker 1: Well, it's like, George, I love when you go into
Speaker 1: accents or something like, I'm like, yeah, I love it
Speaker 1: a character George.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, when I oh my god, yeah, I think Also, Sam,
Speaker 2: what you're I think the time that you saw me
Speaker 2: to a said it was literally two people in the audience.
Speaker 2: Was that the only time I feel like in person,
Speaker 2: I believe. I think it was just a two persons
Speaker 2: the only time and we were and I was just like, oh,
Speaker 2: I have nothing for.
Speaker 1: These Well that was a nightmare.
Speaker 4: Yeah, so I think that's what it was. I was like, Oh,
Speaker 4: I don't really have I think that I'm always like
Speaker 4: exactly what the energy of the crowd is. So if
Speaker 4: they're well, you're a mirror, I'm a mirror.
Speaker 1: I that we did a show where there were only
Speaker 1: two people.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's fun really like actually two people.
Speaker 1: Like actually two people. And it was actually one of
Speaker 1: those things where I was like fuck this, Like I
Speaker 1: was so mad and it was like a Sunday night.
Speaker 2: Did you think they were maybe going to cant because
Speaker 2: I get so angry when people don't cancel show.
Speaker 1: I was so I was like, clearly this is canceled, this,
Speaker 1: canceled this, and they were like, let's start whoo And
Speaker 1: I was like, what year is it? What? How how
Speaker 1: far we've come? And yet this is still happening sort.
Speaker 4: Of sort of back down to earth in a it's
Speaker 4: such a humbling city.
Speaker 1: La, such a humbling city, Like I'm not a big deal.
Speaker 2: But you know what though, that what you realize is
Speaker 2: like that never ends. Like I have been on shows
Speaker 2: with literal celebrities, you know that are like dropping in
Speaker 2: or something, and they will perform in front of seven people.
Speaker 2: It's and that actually is liberating to be like this
Speaker 2: is not This doesn't mean I'm a loser. It just
Speaker 2: means I'm part I'm in community with you know, Jenny Garoppolo.
Speaker 4: Right, It means that the whole this whole community and
Speaker 4: everything that we do is for loser.
Speaker 2: Exactly, yes, exactly exactly.
Speaker 1: Well, I even I mean even our show. Sometimes I
Speaker 1: see people come on that I'm like, you're like very successful, yeah,
Speaker 1: and now we're making you do this yeah.
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, And it's just like yeah, crawl on the
Speaker 4: floor and bark like a dog and eat this like
Speaker 4: slop from the ground. You know, fucking whoever is the
Speaker 4: most famous person?
Speaker 2: And I like say, I feel that way about literally
Speaker 2: actors doing press, Like you're you're telling me Meryl Streep
Speaker 2: still has to do a round table.
Speaker 4: This is actually something that I've been thinking about a
Speaker 4: lot lately, the idea that now if you if you
Speaker 4: used to want to be famous, you'd have to go
Speaker 4: on a show with a guy who was on cocaine
Speaker 4: and he'd be a big band there and blah blah blah,
Speaker 4: and you talk about your thing and you maybe do
Speaker 4: a little bit or whatever. And now it's like, oh,
Speaker 4: you want your movie to have press, you better eat
Speaker 4: hot wings with the like you have to. It's all
Speaker 4: this like crazy bullshit that nobody care. You're like, are
Speaker 4: you gonna talk about the role at all? How did
Speaker 4: you prepare? How do you get into character? It's like no,
Speaker 4: like I'm gonna throw hot wings at you and you
Speaker 4: have to eat. It's insane.
Speaker 2: No, I actually think it's one of the ways that
Speaker 2: like comedy has one, but in a bad way. Every
Speaker 2: single thing now is like retweet retweet, like everything is comedy.
Speaker 2: Everything is like a sketch or a bit.
Speaker 1: And even on top of that, alt comedy has one.
Speaker 2: Yes, old comedy has one, because you know, guess what's
Speaker 2: completely all comedy making Viola Davis eat hot wings like that?
Speaker 2: Is it the idea that she that that anyone has
Speaker 2: to do that?
Speaker 4: Well, it's it's of a larger, greater issue where every
Speaker 4: like even you know, not to get too serious, but
Speaker 4: like culture itself are pology takes itself, all of it
Speaker 4: like nothing's taking itself seriously anymore. This whole country is
Speaker 4: just like, yeah, we're just a big joke, doesn't matter.
Speaker 4: Who cares said that doesn't matter. It's like, well, no,
Speaker 4: you can't be you can't be comedy. We can be comedy.
Speaker 4: We can't have everything be comedy because then nothing matters
Speaker 4: at all.
Speaker 1: It's everything's irony pilled I, Georgia, are you watching the
Speaker 1: season of drag Race? Yes, I want to explain so
Speaker 1: There's this queen right now named Joella and she is
Speaker 1: like really really not doing well, and but she is
Speaker 1: so so confident and she keeps to literally tell other
Speaker 1: girls of their face like I hope you're not lipsticking
Speaker 1: against me because I'm gonna fucking beat your ass and like,
Speaker 1: but meanwhile, she's like can barely like dance or turn
Speaker 1: or whatever. Like she told girls their talent was bad,
Speaker 1: but she did like the most basic like I'm the
Speaker 1: queen I snatched the crown song you've ever heard, and
Speaker 1: so I've like she makes me feel a rage that
Speaker 1: is like unhealthy. And but I've been like going to
Speaker 1: Reddit to be like, Okay, let's see, let's see what
Speaker 1: other people are saying, can't do that, And people are like,
Speaker 1: finally TV is back. What finally reality shows are reality
Speaker 1: ing again? And I'm like, not everything's a bit oh right.
Speaker 4: They're just like, oh, well, it's bad and it's good
Speaker 4: and I like that it's bad.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's bad and it's crazy and it's good TV.
Speaker 1: And I'm like, it's not good TV, Like I mean
Speaker 1: in the sense it's like comedic, but it's like these
Speaker 1: girls work their whole fucking lives to get here. This
Speaker 1: is like their big moment. I don't know. It bums
Speaker 1: me out in a weird way. I don't know. They
Speaker 1: have that distance, like they're not real housewives. They're like
Speaker 1: trying to do something.
Speaker 2: They're trying to do. Wonder if it's like, is our
Speaker 2: only form of resistance to be the most humorless version
Speaker 2: of ourselves. It's like, if everything is a joke, then
Speaker 2: is the most radical thing you can do to like
Speaker 2: wear a black turtleneck and a scarf and walk into
Speaker 2: a room and be like, well, I thought that was absolute,
Speaker 2: you know, I thought that production of the Seagull was
Speaker 2: middle brow direk.
Speaker 1: Well, like, then you'll be Jeremy Strong and yeah.
Speaker 2: But no, because Jeremy Strong, it becomes a meme.
Speaker 1: That's it, Jeremy that you can't you can't.
Speaker 2: Yes, yeah, it like goes into the comedy machine and
Speaker 2: you're just spat out and you're a joke again.
Speaker 4: Yeah, either either you're in control of the joke or
Speaker 4: you're not. Like it's yeah, it's really it's it's fucked up.
Speaker 2: It's really impossible.
Speaker 4: Because it's like because the way even like the literal
Speaker 4: like evil people that we have seen in the news lately,
Speaker 4: we're like, are still just like, well, haha, it's ironic.
Speaker 4: I don't know. I don't know. I was being random.
Speaker 1: It's like, yeah, what is that?
Speaker 2: No, And and it's one thing to make those jokes
Speaker 2: in public and to be like, okay, I'm trying to
Speaker 2: you know, trying to get my reposts for the day,
Speaker 2: but it actually has now I've internalized that mode so
Speaker 2: much that I can't watch the inauguration without being like
Speaker 2: Millennia slaying with that hat.
Speaker 4: Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2: It's not like I'm thinking, oh god, everything is so depressing,
Speaker 2: how do I make it funny? And then I like
Speaker 2: spit out some joke. It's like my default mode is
Speaker 2: chicken chop date.
Speaker 4: Right, It's like I'm not even internalizing anything emotionally. Yeah,
Speaker 4: But then it's also then you feel then I feel
Speaker 4: like a deep emptiness inside of me. And then and
Speaker 4: then it's like, well, what am I then going to like,
Speaker 4: as you said, be serious, because that nobody likes that.
Speaker 4: Everybody's like that's so annoying. And then everybody will be like, well,
Speaker 4: that person thinks they're so self important and pretentious, and
Speaker 4: I don't want that either, and I'm just trying to live.
Speaker 2: Man.
Speaker 1: Wait, this is okay, this is exactly I'm realized. I'm
Speaker 1: being the quiet kid on social media. Like I'm literally
Speaker 1: I'm like being quiet, yeah, because I'm like, this is
Speaker 1: this is too much like like everyone being super ironic
Speaker 1: and like gay guy about like serious things and everyone
Speaker 1: being like really sincere about serious things. I'm like, both
Speaker 1: are wrong? Right?
Speaker 4: How do you do both?
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'll be quiet.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna start. I'm gonna take a video of myself
Speaker 2: rolling my eyes and then saying shut up and just
Speaker 2: posted whenever I see anything on social media.
Speaker 1: Like you, George. I know we can't necessarily get into it,
Speaker 1: but you had a screed this week that was so juicy.
Speaker 2: What was my screed?
Speaker 1: When you posted about like everyone sharing misinformation.
Speaker 2: And oh god, moment of weakness.
Speaker 1: It was so good. Actually, I was glad.
Speaker 2: I want everyone to know I am on the verge
Speaker 2: of posting a screen every moment of my life.
Speaker 1: I am.
Speaker 2: I am in manifesto mode and everyone is lucky that
Speaker 2: I have some level of self control and I only
Speaker 2: do it once a year.
Speaker 4: George, I feel.
Speaker 3: You so much, man, everything No, Like it's crazy how
Speaker 3: I feel like a like you know, like a guy
Speaker 3: and like the basement watching everyone and be like a
Speaker 3: voiceover of American Cycle or something and just being.
Speaker 2: Like these people walking around me like don't know anything.
Speaker 2: Like that's how I feel every day.
Speaker 4: You always have to be like, let me ask you,
Speaker 4: do you feel unknowable to your fellow man?
Speaker 1: Yes?
Speaker 2: Yeah, and guess what they are unknoble to me?
Speaker 3: Mmm.
Speaker 2: I'm literally like how you see you interact with someone
Speaker 2: in real life and you're like we're friends, I've known
Speaker 2: you forever, blah blah, and then it's like, wait a minute,
Speaker 2: you fel for you know, like what the essentially what
Speaker 2: is the equivalent of like a viral post. That's like
Speaker 2: if I post this, I don't grant Mark Zuckerberg so
Speaker 2: to my face, and this is happening just like on
Speaker 2: a daily basis, and I just have to like scroll
Speaker 2: past that and be like, hey, like want to get
Speaker 2: a drink later. Meanwhile, I know that this person is
Speaker 2: a complete moron.
Speaker 4: Right, oh god, But then just stay engaged with it
Speaker 4: because I have, you know, we have internet job, and
Speaker 4: I also am just addicted to Twitter and stuff. To
Speaker 4: stay engaged with it. You go, well, this is bad
Speaker 4: for me, so I should be off of it. And
Speaker 4: then also you go, yeah, it's bad whatever on an
Speaker 4: individual level, but this is what is happening with everybody.
Speaker 4: So what am I supposed to do? Just be like, oh,
Speaker 4: well I don't engage with that. I don't care whatever.
Speaker 4: It's like, Well, it doesn't matter whether you do or don't.
Speaker 4: Culture is still like devolving anyway, and you can just
Speaker 4: be not aware of it and you're still going down
Speaker 4: that toilet train. Man, I am so fun to hang
Speaker 4: out with, such a fun conversation.
Speaker 1: It's awesome, George. I just have to say the sentence
Speaker 1: where you were like, you're in your thirties, like you
Speaker 1: are not young enough to like be stupid and you're
Speaker 1: not old enough to be stupid about the Internet, Like.
Speaker 2: Well I did say sorry, I do stand by this.
Speaker 2: I'm like, no, if you're in your if you're like
Speaker 2: let's say twenty seven through forty, okay, you are like
Speaker 2: at this point you should know how the media ecosystem works,
Speaker 2: Like you are not eighteen who like you know, is
Speaker 2: like grew up with it, you know, grew up with
Speaker 2: it and doesn't know any different and can't remember newspapers
Speaker 2: and you're also not like a boomer who is confused
Speaker 2: by it all because it's so new, Like, how how
Speaker 2: have you not developed media literacy? How do you literally see?
Speaker 2: I mean like a post that is and a not
Speaker 2: the one that I sent you Sam, that's like about
Speaker 2: the air quality in LA And it's a post that
Speaker 2: is an anonymous text message where someone is saying lung
Speaker 2: doctors I know are saying you should do this, like
Speaker 2: lung doctors. You are someone with a bachelor's degree.
Speaker 1: Lung doctors, you know. And the way that this image
Speaker 1: like deteriorated as it got screenshotted in share and it's.
Speaker 4: Like, what are we doing? Yeah, that was fucking crazy.
Speaker 4: One time my friend shared a post the same thing
Speaker 4: that was one of these you know, that sort of
Speaker 4: holistic to alt right pipeline that's like, oh, we're so
Speaker 4: the rfk's of he's the king of these people.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 4: My friends one time shared a post that, uh was
Speaker 4: like things that they that hurt your body that they
Speaker 4: like don't want you to know about, and it was
Speaker 4: just like, you know, uh, prescription medications, Uh, you know,
Speaker 4: fast food is like a long list of actual stuff
Speaker 4: and then in like sort of close to the bottom
Speaker 4: of the list. One of them was legitimately feminism was
Speaker 4: one of the things, and this is this was a
Speaker 4: feminist person that like it, believes like just shared it
Speaker 4: and I replied being like feminism WT Like what the fuck?
Speaker 4: She was like, Oh, I didn't read the whole thing.
Speaker 1: And I'm like, oh my god, and I love I.
Speaker 4: Love her very much, but I'm also like, what are you?
Speaker 1: What is going on?
Speaker 4: We gotta do better.
Speaker 2: This is cut. Well, here's the Okay, we do need
Speaker 2: to I want to do our first segment. I want
Speaker 2: to get into your topic. But yeah, one last thing
Speaker 2: I want to say. I was talking to Sam about this, Like,
Speaker 2: I think a lot of this boils down to people
Speaker 2: thinking everything needs to be done publicly. It's like you
Speaker 2: can read something and then not also tell everyone you
Speaker 2: read it. We read things all the time. I consume
Speaker 2: things all the time. I consume TV shows, books, articles, whatever.
Speaker 2: Just because you read something doesn't mean you then have
Speaker 2: to repost it, right, Yeah, if you're a little unsure
Speaker 2: about it, just take a beat.
Speaker 1: Take a beat.
Speaker 2: There is this idea that like something is more legitimate
Speaker 2: or real if it's done in public, whether it's reading, learning,
Speaker 2: having a conversation like shouting at a friend. It's just
Speaker 2: like it's fine to not ever to not have everything be.
Speaker 4: In public, right, I mean, and obviously like it makes
Speaker 4: it less legitimate, right because it's like, yes, well you're
Speaker 4: also performing it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm right exactly.
Speaker 1: Oh well we took down culture. Wow, that was easy.
Speaker 4: We fixed it.
Speaker 2: That was awesome.
Speaker 4: That's what we do.
Speaker 2: See you in twenty twenty eight.
Speaker 1: Okay, let's sar our first segment, Scyla. Our first segment
Speaker 1: is called Straight Shooters, and in this segment, we're going
Speaker 1: to ask you a serious of rapid fire questions to
Speaker 1: gage your familiarity with and complicity in straight culture. It's
Speaker 1: baically this thing or this other thing. And the only
Speaker 1: rule is you can't ask a single follow up question
Speaker 1: or we will post about it.
Speaker 4: Okay, I agree to your terms.
Speaker 1: Okay, Skyler a novella or a Nobella Peace Prize, Nobella Pie.
Speaker 2: Guitar Hero or Inbox zero Guitar Hero.
Speaker 1: Okay, y'all you guys, folks or comrades.
Speaker 2: Comrades, the US open or the UPS is closed.
Speaker 1: UPS is closed. Luca Guadanino or San Pellegrino.
Speaker 4: San pellogrino, because I don't know what the first one was.
Speaker 1: Oh wow, let's return to we're returning to this. Yeah,
Speaker 1: circle back.
Speaker 2: French kiss or the stench of piss French kiss?
Speaker 1: Wow, Okay, sipping lacroix, or kissing a boy, kissing a boy?
Speaker 1: There you go.
Speaker 2: My book is out in paperback. Or my tooth is
Speaker 2: full of dental plaque.
Speaker 4: Oh god, my tooth is full of dental plaque.
Speaker 1: Wow.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Well, we rate our guests on a skill of one
Speaker 1: to one thousand doves. And I think there was a
Speaker 1: real confidence. And it's your first time on the podcast,
Speaker 1: and and yet you were considering, you weren't just guessing blindly.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go nine hundred and twelve duves.
Speaker 4: Wow.
Speaker 1: Nice. Almost nine to eleven.
Speaker 4: Damn.
Speaker 1: I know you would have really.
Speaker 4: Liked I really would have loved it. It was nine
Speaker 4: to eleven. But that's okay. No, it's like one more.
Speaker 4: It's like the day after.
Speaker 1: So he loves nine to eleven, Georgia. I don't know that.
Speaker 2: Is this like to say more?
Speaker 4: I love nine eleven? I was you know, I was
Speaker 4: in the tower.
Speaker 1: He was in the towers.
Speaker 2: Oh that's fun.
Speaker 4: Yeah, he loves it. It's oh, let's spread that that
Speaker 4: I was in the tower. Yeah, yeah, I could. I
Speaker 4: could probably tour off that.
Speaker 1: Who was that one guy who's the comedian Steve Steve?
Speaker 4: Yeah yeah, I don't know why he said. I would
Speaker 4: have just kept at that point.
Speaker 1: Oh keep it up. No one's back checking.
Speaker 4: I mean he's he's eating away at and whatever I
Speaker 4: have a question about.
Speaker 1: I can't.
Speaker 4: I can't ask questions about the game.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 4: Now, well, I feel like I got like blade runnered,
Speaker 4: like where I got intake form? Was this uh psychological
Speaker 4: yes test?
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's exactly what it is. It's sort of a test.
Speaker 2: It's a test. It's sort of like only we know
Speaker 2: what your answers say about you. We would never make
Speaker 2: that public. That would be against hippa. Okay, but it's
Speaker 2: you know, it's sort of uh, you can't if you
Speaker 2: think too hard about it, then you can't trust the
Speaker 2: results anymore. It's like hitting your knee with that little
Speaker 2: thing that the doctor has and then testing your reflexes.
Speaker 4: Yeah. So if I feel like it was like a yeah,
Speaker 4: a deep peek into my subconscious, but will never truly
Speaker 4: know what it means because it can't be translated into
Speaker 4: note words that humans understand.
Speaker 1: No correct, but people, people will see, people will see
Speaker 1: something in you.
Speaker 4: You guys are doing big work here.
Speaker 1: I'll say that, thank you. Should we get into.
Speaker 2: The topic, George, I would, I would adore that.
Speaker 1: So, Skyler, you texted me this morning two topics, and
Speaker 1: I don't know which one you've landed on or if
Speaker 1: there's a secret third one that you've changed your mind
Speaker 1: had gone to. But I would love to hear what
Speaker 1: your topic is.
Speaker 4: Okay, here's a secret third one that it's speaking to me.
Speaker 4: The most hometown pride.
Speaker 1: Ooh, I love that hometown pride and what speaks to
Speaker 1: you as straight about that?
Speaker 4: I think that the idea of a great feeling about
Speaker 4: your hometown or like a strong hometown pride, it feels
Speaker 4: so for lack of a better term, normy pilled where
Speaker 4: you don't have anything else to build your pride or
Speaker 4: identity off of, or if it's like a big portion
Speaker 4: of your identity that's not from one of these cities
Speaker 4: that already have a big amount of pride, the Chicago,
Speaker 4: New York whatever I'm talking like anywhere else, it feels
Speaker 4: like very like a lot of people I think myself
Speaker 4: included have certain traumas directly associated with where they're from,
Speaker 4: because it can be some like whatever place, and I
Speaker 4: feel hometown pride is just this like thing that sort
Speaker 4: of means nothing and also feels a little like jingoistic
Speaker 4: a little, and so it just feels very straight. It
Speaker 4: just feels very like I have not actually made that
Speaker 4: much analysis of why I feel the way I feel,
Speaker 4: and I just am gonna be into fucking you know wherever.
Speaker 4: Oh I'm from Boston, Okay.
Speaker 1: Okay, Yeah, there is something where it like very quickly
Speaker 1: turns to anger or something that really defensive.
Speaker 2: Yeaheah, you're not. I mean, obviously, people in big cities
Speaker 2: also have pride. I'm not saying if you're in New
Speaker 2: York or you don't say, like, I'm from New York.
Speaker 2: But but there's something about the hometown pride of smaller
Speaker 2: places that is like you are ready to fight.
Speaker 4: Right, Yeah, George, where are you from? Where'd you grow up?
Speaker 2: So I mostly it's I mostly grew up in Greece,
Speaker 2: but then I spent seven years or like six and
Speaker 2: a half years in America in New Jersey and a
Speaker 2: very sort of like middle of the road suburbia in
Speaker 2: New Jersey, and so hometop ride was always very interesting
Speaker 2: to me because in my mind, I was like, Okay, well,
Speaker 2: the years I spent in New Jersey, that could have
Speaker 2: literally been anywhere, like it had no defining elements. And
Speaker 2: then when we moved back to Greece when I was
Speaker 2: in high school, and that was genuinely such a big
Speaker 2: difference in my life, and I was speaking a different language,
Speaker 2: and I was so aware of like my Greek heritage everywhere,
Speaker 2: and it's drilled into you that we came from the
Speaker 2: ancient Greeks and like modern democracy was invented in Greece
Speaker 2: and blah blah blah. And so it was so shocking
Speaker 2: to me when I moved back to America to see
Speaker 2: people be proud of Wisconsin. No offense, but I was
Speaker 2: just like, wait, But to me, I would never think
Speaker 2: of if my two hometowns are Greece and New Jersey,
Speaker 2: Like New Jersey was just sort of like a waiting room, right,
Speaker 2: you know what I mean?
Speaker 4: No, exactly, It's well, and that's also you know, there's
Speaker 4: ethnic identity and ancient history involved in that and all of.
Speaker 2: This and by the way, being proud of being from
Speaker 2: Greece is also reactionary and also quasi racist if done
Speaker 2: the wrong way. Like I'm not saying sure, like literally
Speaker 2: being proud of like Greek statues and like the Adonis
Speaker 2: is you know, it's it's skip hopping a way to
Speaker 2: being all right, Like right, I get that. But there's
Speaker 2: something about like, Okay, let's think of this one thing
Speaker 2: that I that is a completely random fact about myself
Speaker 2: that it just so happened that this is where my
Speaker 2: parents gave birth to me and have that be the
Speaker 2: number one thing about myself. That's almost like it's almost
Speaker 2: like giving up before you can even make an effort
Speaker 2: to do something right.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and you're Sam, You're from Misser. I moved around
Speaker 1: a lot, Okay, Michigan, like Virginia, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio.
Speaker 4: Oh okay, so just Midwest generally.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm mid West generally with a little bit of Southern.
Speaker 4: Do you feel pride?
Speaker 1: Never? Because I moved so much that it was always
Speaker 1: like everywhere I went, people would be like, well, this
Speaker 1: is how we do things, and I was like not everywhere,
Speaker 1: Like I like had too much, you know for a
Speaker 1: small town in Indiana, I had too much global knowledge
Speaker 1: right where I was like, well, I've seen a place
Speaker 1: with a mall in Virginia, and actually they like there
Speaker 1: are whole new stories you haven't even heard of.
Speaker 4: Right, everybody who lives in a place, they do think
Speaker 4: that that place is that They're like it's the best mall,
Speaker 4: like oh, we have the local joint, like, uh, Freddie's.
Speaker 4: Oh my god, the food at Freddie's the best to
Speaker 4: sauce you've ever tasted. You go, there's a million Freddy's
Speaker 4: and you don't even know.
Speaker 1: I think also the moving Skyler is like part of
Speaker 1: the wall where I like would go and be like
Speaker 1: because I was sort of taught like when you move,
Speaker 1: you are wrong, like they are right, because you'll be
Speaker 1: like that's not really how things work, and it's like no, no, no,
Speaker 1: they are right. You are joining their town. So I
Speaker 1: would be like sh like be quiet until you figure
Speaker 1: what's going on, and then just sort of be like, yes,
Speaker 1: I also love to go to that coffee shop right
Speaker 1: like after school or whatever. Like there was something about
Speaker 1: like they are always in the right, the customer is
Speaker 1: always right.
Speaker 4: Right.
Speaker 2: I also think it's like I know that people who
Speaker 2: you know move somewhere as adults and then pretend they're
Speaker 2: from there get a bad rap, like it would be
Speaker 2: like me pretending I'm like a New Yorker and wearing
Speaker 2: and being like so hometown pride on nine to eleven. Yeah, obviously, However,
Speaker 2: I actually think there's something too having hometown pride for
Speaker 2: a place you actively chose to live in, because it
Speaker 2: says more about your personality. Like I remember, after moving
Speaker 2: around as a kid, the first place I as an
Speaker 2: adult was the Bay Area, which I have no like
Speaker 2: personal connection to, but I did feel like it was
Speaker 2: where I made my first like sort of chosen community
Speaker 2: is where I had my first like I really felt
Speaker 2: kind of like an ownership over the neighborhood. I lived
Speaker 2: in the places that I frequent in, the people that
Speaker 2: I knew, and so I felt like I was If
Speaker 2: I would ever were ever to, like, let's say, root
Speaker 2: for a sports team or something, I would much I
Speaker 2: would be much more likely to root for like a
Speaker 2: San Francisco based team than like a New Jersey based one,
Speaker 2: because that was just where my parents happened to live
Speaker 2: at the time. I was like happy to live in
Speaker 2: San Francisco. I chose it, and I liked it, so
Speaker 2: obviously I'm like more happy.
Speaker 1: You're saying biological family versus chosen family.
Speaker 4: Yes, biological city and chosen city. I feel the same
Speaker 4: way about Chicago. I grew up in Salt Lake City.
Speaker 4: I moved to Chicago. I have way way more pride
Speaker 4: for Chicago than I would of Salt Lake City because that,
Speaker 4: I mean cultural differences aside. I still I chose here,
Speaker 4: and I moved here at twenty and I became a
Speaker 4: person in this city, and it feels like a much
Speaker 4: more real city where people are sort of intended to
Speaker 4: live and try to be their own person, where like
Speaker 4: where I grew up is just like this is what
Speaker 4: is So it's the most this is what we do
Speaker 4: here city of anywhere in the United States.
Speaker 2: I would say, yeah, you're also pointing to an important thing,
Speaker 2: which is like the idea of having hometown pride is
Speaker 2: almost like saying that was the real me there, and
Speaker 2: so like that's it's like that those are my roots,
Speaker 2: That's what I'm proud of. Whereas I'm like, no, this
Speaker 2: is the real me. I've worked very hard to pass
Speaker 2: as like normal in New York, Like you know what,
Speaker 2: you know.
Speaker 4: What I think it is too. I think it's also
Speaker 4: like the same thing of being like, well, I'm a
Speaker 4: Saveris and I'm a Taggart, like just like being all
Speaker 4: about like lineage, which is like, yeah, but you are
Speaker 4: as an individual and now I'm thinking about it individualism
Speaker 4: versus collectivism and changing my tune a little bit, but
Speaker 4: you as an individual, you as an individual, that doesn't
Speaker 4: mean anything like being like what, this is what we've done,
Speaker 4: this is who we are, this is what I'm It's
Speaker 4: like that is true on a certain level, but on
Speaker 4: another level, it's just like you you are not a
Speaker 4: part of any of that that had nothing to do
Speaker 4: with you. You're a result of it, and you can
Speaker 4: acknowledge that, but it just you know, But I also
Speaker 4: I don't care about family. I'm adopted, so I don't
Speaker 4: have any sort of I don't have any like specific
Speaker 4: like oh my name, my family name, my blood whatever.
Speaker 4: I don't give a fuck about any of that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm like, I think the weirdest something happens also
Speaker 1: as you age that I've noticed among peers where it's
Speaker 1: like even the people that were like I fucking hate
Speaker 1: my hometown, like you give them like eight years and
Speaker 1: they're like I actually love this town in Michigan, and
Speaker 1: they're like, actually, it's like a really nice place to
Speaker 1: raise children, and it like becomes this thing where like,
Speaker 1: don't get me wrong, like where my parents live in
Speaker 1: Michigan now is very nice because it's like on the
Speaker 1: water and blah blah blah that you're like, oh, this
Speaker 1: is cute and I see it now, but I still
Speaker 1: would never live there, Like I couldn't, Like what would
Speaker 1: I do?
Speaker 4: Right, There's I mean, there's more to life we chased.
Speaker 4: I think we're also I don't know, from being ostracized
Speaker 4: in one way or another, moving around or whatever. We're
Speaker 4: like chasing a certain high that you just cannot get
Speaker 4: in Michigan on the lake unless you like jet ski
Speaker 4: a lot or something.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's tough. I don't know, George, how do you
Speaker 1: feel about that?
Speaker 2: No, it's I'm I was struck by what Skyler said
Speaker 2: about like individualism versus collectivism, because I do agree that
Speaker 2: that that sort of complicates the argument that we're making,
Speaker 2: right that it's like, well, yes, we can't completely leave
Speaker 2: behind who we are and only be this like you
Speaker 2: know the architect in the fountain Head, Like, yes, we
Speaker 2: are all part of the community we came from. We
Speaker 2: are all part of our family in some way. Everywhere
Speaker 2: we've lived like stays with us. So what So, okay,
Speaker 2: what is the right amount to respect your past? That question?
Speaker 4: It's like my main struggle in life.
Speaker 2: I was about to be like, it's what makes you you,
Speaker 2: but it's not. That's it's not, but it is. I
Speaker 2: think like how happy you are at any given time
Speaker 2: has to do largely with how you have chosen to
Speaker 2: incorporate your past with your present, because you can get
Speaker 2: way caught up in like nostalgia of what has come before,
Speaker 2: or you can ignore it so much that you that
Speaker 2: it's almost like a trauma that you've severed, and then
Speaker 2: you're being this like dead eyed, like forward looking person.
Speaker 4: Well, I have a lot of thoughts about this because
Speaker 4: I also think that this is sort of I think
Speaker 4: the whole past present thing is is is sort of
Speaker 4: the definition of like what I have been creatively or whatever,
Speaker 4: because like you know, all my stand up is about
Speaker 4: mormonn adoption whatever, all that bullshit. So all of that
Speaker 4: I have very complicated feelings about and trauma around, and
Speaker 4: so you want to sort of like decry that and go,
Speaker 4: I'm not I'm not these things or whatever. I'm not
Speaker 4: fully defined by them. And at the same time, it's like, well,
Speaker 4: if everything that I have done is either a reaction
Speaker 4: to this or not, either it is a reaction to this,
Speaker 4: So you have to respect the things that have defined you.
Speaker 4: But I also don't know if you get so bogged
Speaker 4: down in them where it's just like I don't know.
Speaker 4: You can only be who you are, and you can
Speaker 4: only be where you're from, and you can acknowledge that
Speaker 4: you didn't have a choice in that and then take agency,
Speaker 4: But then also can't just be like fuck it, like
Speaker 4: I don't give a shit about any of this.
Speaker 1: This is so like something about this is carry Bradshaw to.
Speaker 2: Me, there's something like really something about it is like
Speaker 2: we'll talk about someone who doesn't have a past, literally
Speaker 2: where is she from?
Speaker 4: Meanwhile across town?
Speaker 1: Well, it's sort of like is it possible to have
Speaker 1: a future without a past? Like something so like is
Speaker 1: it possible to look at where you've been from and
Speaker 1: felt and feel nothing about it? Like can I ever
Speaker 1: forgive big?
Speaker 4: Yeah?
Speaker 2: Well this is interesting though, like the idea of that
Speaker 2: there is being defined by your past in a hometown prideway.
Speaker 2: And there's being defined by your past in a UH
Speaker 2: resentment way, Yes, there are. It's you can also be
Speaker 2: so driven by your grievances about your past that that
Speaker 2: also defines you. And so is that.
Speaker 1: Like?
Speaker 2: Is that straight or gay? Also? And is being neutral
Speaker 2: about your path like like basically a rank from gata
Speaker 2: strait being attached to your past in a hometown prideway,
Speaker 2: being attached to your past in a resentment way, and
Speaker 2: having completely neutral feelings about your past in a Carrie
Speaker 2: Bradshaw way.
Speaker 1: Well, obviously it's straight to care about like to love
Speaker 1: your past. Yes, it's gay to.
Speaker 2: Hate your past, to hate your past. And then neutral
Speaker 2: is by I've never met a by person who's neutral.
Speaker 1: I don't know if anyone is neutral.
Speaker 2: I guess neutral is the wrong word. I think I
Speaker 2: mean more like acceptand no, it's no, it's the opposite
Speaker 2: of acceptance. It's like having a block, you know what
Speaker 2: I mean. I think that traumato.
Speaker 4: I also think that is defined by like how much
Speaker 4: did you, for lack of a better term, hate your past?
Speaker 4: Which a lot of people I think go through this
Speaker 4: life experiencing UH and they don't have any sort of
Speaker 4: resentment of where they're I've just been like saying on
Speaker 4: stage recently, like how is everybody's childhood good?
Speaker 1: Bad?
Speaker 4: Or neutral? And a lot of people will just be
Speaker 4: like good. It's like, oh, yeah, so there's not when
Speaker 4: there's not something to repel against in your hometown, Freddy's
Speaker 4: is the best place and you don't really need anything else.
Speaker 4: I think that it comes from a lack inside of
Speaker 4: myself that I felt like I wanted to issue where
Speaker 4: I was at and get too. Not that that lack
Speaker 4: was bad, but I did need to fulfill something.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's it could have been tight to love the hometown.
Speaker 4: Could have been awesome. I think if we were, if
Speaker 4: we were all in our hometowns not talking about this
Speaker 4: at all, I bet there is and you know we're
Speaker 4: probably all you know in cells or whatever, but sure,
Speaker 4: I think maybe we're all a lot happier because we're
Speaker 4: like a little dumber.
Speaker 1: Little dumber, probably maybe got a little house. Yeah, who knows.
Speaker 4: Not that you're dumb to love your hometown, but I
Speaker 4: think a lot of the people who do love their
Speaker 4: hometown are pretty dumb. There is a correlation, right, They
Speaker 4: like have an American flag up.
Speaker 2: I just want to say I actually I know that
Speaker 2: we're generally talking about like smaller towns, smaller cities, but
Speaker 2: I actually would extend that to people that are from
Speaker 2: i don't know, in New York or Los Angeles orch Icago.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Well, like, I actually think it's equally annoying, if not
Speaker 2: more so, when someone you know grew up in the
Speaker 2: Upper West Side and is obsessed with being from New York.
Speaker 1: No, I'm like genuinely so jealous of those people in
Speaker 1: a way that is like kind of unhealthy, Like it's
Speaker 1: almost being jealous of someone with like really rich parents.
Speaker 1: Like I'm like, yeah, I'm so jealous that you got
Speaker 1: to like start fulfilled, like you get to love your
Speaker 1: hometown and you get to be in New York City. Right,
Speaker 1: I'm like that's not fair.
Speaker 2: But then a lot of those people, it's so difficult
Speaker 2: to satisfy them. Like I know so many people that
Speaker 2: like I remember like going to college and being like
Speaker 2: so enamored with being on a big campus and all
Speaker 2: this stuff. And then I would meet people that are
Speaker 2: from Manhattan and they're like, oh, this is just like
Speaker 2: my high school. Like wait, you know, like.
Speaker 4: Yeah, there's too much stimulus out the gate. But yeah,
Speaker 4: feel similar resentments. I just feel I'm so resentful sometimes
Speaker 4: of anybody who's not where I'm from, Like from where
Speaker 4: I'm from, where I go, like, you don't know what
Speaker 4: it was like, it's like so weird. That is indescribable
Speaker 4: until you go there and then go just like man,
Speaker 4: just being from like oh from I'm from Chicago and
Speaker 4: everybody like goes there and loves it's just oh, sounds awesome.
Speaker 4: So much culture, you know, so many things, you're worldly
Speaker 4: without ever really trying. It's harder for people to be
Speaker 4: like ignorant about the existence of other people. It's ultimately
Speaker 4: good to be exposed to a lot of people, and
Speaker 4: if you're not, it's very like what so that pride
Speaker 4: is at least warranted. But then it then it feels
Speaker 4: like if you're prideful of those places, it kind of
Speaker 4: feels like you're sort of flashing all the money that
Speaker 4: you have in my face. It's like, oh, yeah, I'm
Speaker 4: from a great place and I love that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I'm cool and smart. Yeah yeah, It's like.
Speaker 2: Well, right, I mean, hometown pride only works if you're
Speaker 2: at least the underdog.
Speaker 1: Right, Yeah, I mean when people stay they're from LA.
Speaker 1: Don't even get me started the way that I'm just like, okay,
Speaker 1: so you have it all. Like like when especially when
Speaker 1: people are from LA and then go live in New
Speaker 1: York and they're like, god, I love New York And
Speaker 1: it's like, so you just like grew up sort of
Speaker 1: like knowing about everything, having access to everything. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: now you still have access to Like I'm like, you.
Speaker 4: Have it all. Yeah, I don't know the people. I
Speaker 4: haven't even met that many people who are from LA.
Speaker 4: It seems very because everybody we know is from not here.
Speaker 4: It seems like a lot of those people then are like, yeah,
Speaker 4: I mean I didn't need to leave LA. This is
Speaker 4: where everybody ends up eventually, so we can all be
Speaker 4: set on fire. But like those people seem to like
Speaker 4: have want for nothing as much or just be like
Speaker 4: I'm also thinking of like probably just rich people. That's
Speaker 4: everybody that I've met that is from LA was pretty rich.
Speaker 1: Sure. Oh that's so interesting.
Speaker 2: I've been surprised many times meeting people from especially when
Speaker 2: I was younger, because I met a bunch of people
Speaker 2: from LA when I was in college because I went
Speaker 2: to college in California and I initially would think, like, wait,
Speaker 2: why are you not like hiding Montag like, because in
Speaker 2: my mind, everyone that's from LA is on the hills.
Speaker 2: And then you realize that, of course, as many viral
Speaker 2: Instagram posts have reminded us during the Wild Players, not
Speaker 2: everyone in LA is Heidi Montag. And I know so
Speaker 2: many people that are exceedingly normal slash middle class slash
Speaker 2: whatever that are from LA And it's actually jarring to
Speaker 2: you because then you actually meet someone who's rich from
Speaker 2: Dallas and they are so much more weird. Oh one
Speaker 2: of them who's like middle class from LA.
Speaker 1: No, that is true.
Speaker 2: They don't know how to act a genuinely Yeah, damn.
Speaker 1: Me, I can't believe you.
Speaker 4: Brought up Dallas. It's not real. Shots fire. Now I
Speaker 4: feel like I also wasn't trying to claim that everybody
Speaker 4: from LA is rich, obviously, I just feel like the
Speaker 4: pieces you were. No, I'm saying that everybody from LA
Speaker 4: is poor and they should get more rich.
Speaker 1: Everybody from LA is perfect.
Speaker 2: That's literally true. Everybody from LA is perfect.
Speaker 4: No, let's be real, though, Let's be real. It's well
Speaker 4: like whatever, rich, poor, perfect, whatever, But everyone who is
Speaker 4: from LA is going to hell and we know now
Speaker 4: and we know that there.
Speaker 2: Everyone from New York is going to heaven.
Speaker 1: Wow, I love that. Huh ah.
Speaker 2: Well, I mean sorry to bring up more serious things,
Speaker 2: but there is you know.
Speaker 1: I know this is such a serious day.
Speaker 2: Hometown pride. I just want to say, like hometown pride
Speaker 2: taken to its extremes, white supremacy basics literally well literally,
Speaker 2: it's like that's where like you know, debates about the
Speaker 2: Confederate flag come from. It's the people being like, well
Speaker 2: we think it's racist. No, we think it's just hometown pride.
Speaker 1: Well and even just like get out of my town, person,
Speaker 1: I don't know, yeah exactly. It's very uh yeah.
Speaker 4: It's I mean, it's identity built around like externalities that
Speaker 4: are then taken to the extreme where you don't consider
Speaker 4: that because you can be like, oh I am this,
Speaker 4: and then when you push everything else away and being
Speaker 4: like I am so, I am so that, I'm so
Speaker 4: happy to be that. Then it's like again like going
Speaker 4: back to like not the individual thing where you're like,
Speaker 4: so you think you're this larger thing, but then you
Speaker 4: think everybody else outside of your collective isn't a part
Speaker 4: of the collective. So It's like individuality in this way
Speaker 4: is good because then you can think of everybody as
Speaker 4: individuals instead of just your collective being the one individual
Speaker 4: and everybody else part of an outgroup. It's tribal, makes sense. Yeah,
Speaker 4: it was a convoluted way to say tribal, isn't it.
Speaker 2: And also, I mean, obviously sports fandom is part of
Speaker 2: this whatever. But then also being proud of famous people
Speaker 2: that are from where you are from. Yeah, I mean
Speaker 2: obviously when I was in New Jersey, like Bruce Springston
Speaker 2: was a huge presidence. So like, if you're from Minnesota,
Speaker 2: you think you have like a relationship with Prince. It's
Speaker 2: like not really. He probably would have found you like
Speaker 2: pretty boring.
Speaker 1: But at the same time you do.
Speaker 4: He's like, Prince could have walked where I walked. You
Speaker 4: don't understand, and that means something for some reason.
Speaker 1: Well, it's like it's almost like mass hysteria. Like everyone
Speaker 1: in Minnesota is like Prince's ours. So princes like played
Speaker 1: more and princes like posted more, and Prince is like
Speaker 1: just in the culture more. So you're like, I guess
Speaker 1: I love Prince more, and you kind of do.
Speaker 4: But you're also you're also being like because he's from
Speaker 4: that same place. We're talking about that collective like identity thing.
Speaker 4: You go, well, that makes me part Prince, you know,
Speaker 4: if he's from the same place as me, Prince's part me.
Speaker 4: There's a tiny bit of me and Prince and a
Speaker 4: tiny little bit of Prince in me, and that makes
Speaker 4: me feel like I can somehow believe in myself more.
Speaker 1: I mean the way that will go as a hold
Speaker 1: on Chicago, my needs to be Like when I lived
Speaker 1: in Chicago, I loved will Go more than I've loved
Speaker 1: anything in my life.
Speaker 4: Yeah, and in a way that was like I look
Speaker 4: back on that and.
Speaker 1: I'm like, who was I Like, Don't get me wrong,
Speaker 1: I still like it, but like I'm not like fucking
Speaker 1: crazy about it, right, Like I was like, you know,
Speaker 1: run me over with.
Speaker 4: A truck, will go, like please, it's I mean anything
Speaker 4: like and especially because so much has come there, come
Speaker 4: from there, anything from there, people are gonna feel that
Speaker 4: way about the fact that Michael Jordan, like the the
Speaker 4: one city with the most pride got to have Michael Jordan.
Speaker 4: It's like, come on, It's like giving a person that
Speaker 4: already has ADHD like a bunch of cocaine.
Speaker 2: You also can't help yourself, Like, for example, I had,
Speaker 2: I came up, I started comedy in Boston. It's not
Speaker 2: interesting why I was there. I just happen to be
Speaker 2: living there and I started comedy there.
Speaker 4: That sounds it's not interesting.
Speaker 1: I was Thered School.
Speaker 2: Okay, thank you, Sam, and I have no special I
Speaker 2: don't know hometown pride for Boston, but when I hear
Speaker 2: another comedian started in Boston, I go wild. I'm like, oh,
Speaker 2: we are part of this. And that's actually a way
Speaker 2: in which hometown pride. Yes, it's biological family, but it
Speaker 2: also is chosen family because you think you're family members
Speaker 2: with Prince, Like, it's actually chosen family in this way
Speaker 2: where you're all in a commune together raising your children together.
Speaker 2: M Yeah, you know what I mean.
Speaker 4: I think there's also that comedian thing too, of like, yeah,
Speaker 4: we chose to do the same thing in the same place,
Speaker 4: so we probably had And this is the good part
Speaker 4: about any group similar struggles. We can relate over this.
Speaker 4: I'm probably traumatized by the similar things, and so you
Speaker 4: can understand uniquely the contours of what my feelings are
Speaker 4: because you had that experience, and that is what everything
Speaker 4: creative we do writing or whatever is trying to get
Speaker 4: to with other people. And then when somebody has that
Speaker 4: experience where it's like, well, if you have the same
Speaker 4: experience as me, I don't need to write a joke
Speaker 4: explaining what that experience is for you. You just are
Speaker 4: there with me. So like we don't even need that.
Speaker 4: So the connection that we are trying to make across
Speaker 4: humans and try to be less unknowable to our fellow
Speaker 4: man is like already there. So you can be like, oh, yeah,
Speaker 4: same place, same people. So I might be coming around
Speaker 4: on hometown pride, but I am straight.
Speaker 1: So whatever. Yeah, No, there's well, and it's like our
Speaker 1: hometown pride is gay, like where we're like.
Speaker 4: It's just pride.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we've invented gay pride literally.
Speaker 1: Because it's like where I'm not gonna be proud of
Speaker 1: where I'm from, I guess I would have gay pride.
Speaker 2: Well okay, but literally what you're saying, it's true. It's
Speaker 2: like any kind of cultural pride, like if we have
Speaker 2: pride in the fact that like like our Bruce Springsteen
Speaker 2: is Judy Garland, like it's just because like she has
Speaker 2: been chosen as the saint literally the community and that's literally.
Speaker 1: Why like Stan culture fights so hard.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah wow, stand culture is just hometown pride for
Speaker 2: people who are not from anywhere.
Speaker 1: Interesting, right, But I also think that pride without borders.
Speaker 2: Yeah wow wow, No, it's.
Speaker 4: I mean it is like this. I mean, the stand
Speaker 4: culture thing does speak to this natural craziness of defending
Speaker 4: something that is outside yourself, that's not you. You're building
Speaker 4: your identity around, and it feels like we can do
Speaker 4: that for anything. Where it's like the way the way
Speaker 4: I see people go so hard for Nicki, like so hard,
Speaker 4: the most awful for Nicki Minach, who is not even
Speaker 4: for Nicki who had good hits for like a little
Speaker 4: bit of time a while ago. And I mean, bleep
Speaker 4: it out if the nicky stands are gonna come for
Speaker 4: me bar because I can't do but it's like insane
Speaker 4: to me that level. But like people will do that
Speaker 4: for that or like some town in Idaho. Yeah, but
Speaker 4: at least that's land. At least that's like property that
Speaker 4: you can own. That's different. That's different, but it's like primordial.
Speaker 4: It's just weird like this, like this like self preservation
Speaker 4: has then inside like what we need to do has
Speaker 4: then turned into like I'm gonna get online and bully
Speaker 4: somebody for a K pop band.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, this is why we need to make homes
Speaker 1: more affordable, because people just buy a home. They would
Speaker 1: defend that, and they wouldn't need to defend the humanas true.
Speaker 4: I know, it's almost like you're onto something. We take
Speaker 4: all the housing market back, and then stand culture goes away.
Speaker 1: Because we all have the need to defend. Unfortunately, humans
Speaker 1: have a military.
Speaker 2: No, yeah, it's a militaristic mindset. It's also an ego
Speaker 2: based mindset because I think every single thing you are
Speaker 2: quote proud of, it's almost like you are bringing it
Speaker 2: in and now this is part of me, and now
Speaker 2: this is part of me, and now this is part
Speaker 2: of me, and you're making yourself like bigger and it's
Speaker 2: all feeding into your ego, which then makes you feel
Speaker 2: more invincible and also more offended when someone you know
Speaker 2: attacks some part of you.
Speaker 4: It's so crazy the way I will get I don't
Speaker 4: do it anymore because I'm like kind of aware of it,
Speaker 4: but I feel when somebody really doesn't like something that
Speaker 4: I like and goes hard at it, and then I
Speaker 4: start being like, oh I guess I don't like that person.
Speaker 4: It's like, whoa wait a second, Like that's that's not
Speaker 4: a part of me. I just like it, and they
Speaker 4: hate it, and I go, well, I guess I don't
Speaker 4: like you. You hate Tyler the Creator.
Speaker 1: I hate you. I mean, I think it's a good
Speaker 1: way to sort of weed people out something.
Speaker 4: I mean, it's true, and it does work, but it
Speaker 4: is strange because it's like, well, that's also a third
Speaker 4: party that has nothing to do with us, really, so
Speaker 4: what are we attaching to?
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's hard to tell. This sucks because I actually
Speaker 1: had a point and I lost it. And don't you
Speaker 1: hate that when you're podcasting and you forget what you're
Speaker 1: gonna say.
Speaker 4: That's why I don't have a podcast.
Speaker 1: Damn. It really sucks because it was probably the smartest
Speaker 1: best point yet.
Speaker 4: You know, and I knew that. I knew you were
Speaker 4: going to cap it off with like the smartest best point,
Speaker 4: because you always do that.
Speaker 1: Because you wait till the end for the best point.
Speaker 4: And then it sort of culminates.
Speaker 2: And yeah, you're like, I gotta we knew that was
Speaker 2: happening too, Scott. Scott. We were sort of being like
Speaker 2: hype meant we were like, all right, let's like keep
Speaker 2: this going and make no b Rade points back and forth,
Speaker 2: back and forth, and Sam is gonna come with the
Speaker 2: final home run.
Speaker 1: Yeah. So that's what's really complicated about it pretty much
Speaker 1: is because because it was going to be out of
Speaker 1: the park too.
Speaker 4: What would you say you have the most pride in?
Speaker 4: Is it just gay?
Speaker 1: Is it gay?
Speaker 4: I'm I'm genuinely asking you know about yourself.
Speaker 1: I actually have the point go. This was part of
Speaker 1: kind of what was weird when the fires were happening
Speaker 1: and everyone was like, I fucking love this is my
Speaker 1: fucking city, because I was like, I actually don't have
Speaker 1: a connection to lay and yet I'm living here. And
Speaker 1: it's confusing as like because I can't be like, yeah,
Speaker 1: like we love you because I was like, well, I've
Speaker 1: spent the last year shit talking to La. It would
Speaker 1: be so insane for me now to be like I stand.
Speaker 1: But it's also like don't burn down. Yeah I don't
Speaker 1: need to burn down, and I don't yeah, yeah not,
Speaker 1: I can't.
Speaker 4: It's like I can't talk shit even though I have
Speaker 4: been like now that's over, I'm not gonna If I'm
Speaker 4: being honest, I still don't love it, but I appreciate
Speaker 4: that people who do love it, and everybody should still
Speaker 4: have their houses. But it's still just kind of like, oh,
Speaker 4: I guess I'll just like sit back and then sort
Speaker 4: of just kind of post go fundmes or whatever.
Speaker 1: It was really like, oh wow, eggs on my face.
Speaker 1: Like the person that you've like shit talked for the
Speaker 1: last year get to hit by a car and you're like,
Speaker 1: oh damn, my bad. Did not intend for that to happen.
Speaker 4: Well, it's just like I didn't. I didn't hate you
Speaker 4: like that, and I didn't think anything bad should happen.
Speaker 4: I just didn't, you know, like want to hang out.
Speaker 1: It's kind of like that i'd want you to die.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I didn't feel that way about it.
Speaker 1: But to answer your question, I think I feel it's
Speaker 1: somewhere between maybe a mixture of gay and New York.
Speaker 2: Okay, George, Yeah, I would say I mean I do
Speaker 2: think ultimately, almost in a sort of jokey ironic way,
Speaker 2: I do think it is I love talking about being Greek,
Speaker 2: and it's like a fun thing to talk about, and
Speaker 2: it sets and it like it's fun to almost in
Speaker 2: the way that I feel like this would also be
Speaker 2: the case if I was like a Talian or something like.
Speaker 2: It's like, I am fully just like a white American person,
Speaker 2: So it's funny to pretend that I'm for.
Speaker 4: Well, you gotta like attach yourself to something like even
Speaker 4: if it's irony pilled you still, I mean, and to
Speaker 4: be fair.
Speaker 2: Like I do feel I mean, that is where I
Speaker 2: go home, that is where my family lives. Like I
Speaker 2: go there. It's like I do feel connected to it.
Speaker 2: But I certainly am not like or like I'm not
Speaker 2: an immigrant or like a foreign person in the way
Speaker 2: that like my parents were when they first moved here.
Speaker 2: Obviously it passes American, right, it almost feels like a
Speaker 2: betrayal to use very like American humor to talk about
Speaker 2: how different I am and how Greek I am.
Speaker 4: Right, I feel that way. I feel like, yeah, you're
Speaker 4: sort of resisting the.
Speaker 1: Cause.
Speaker 4: To me, that sounds like you're heading off criticism that
Speaker 4: like nobody's making in your face. But you're thinking that like, okay,
Speaker 4: but Greek people would see it like this, And yet
Speaker 4: I know who I'm speaking to when I talk about
Speaker 4: this stuff, and I yeah, I feel the same way
Speaker 4: about being black obviously, just because it's like a yes,
Speaker 4: I am black and I was raised with that, but
Speaker 4: also like I was adopted and raised by white people,
Speaker 4: so it was always like an in like an all
Speaker 4: white place, so it was always a very outsider thing.
Speaker 4: It wasn't as much of like, I'm black in a
Speaker 4: community of black people and all this stuff. It was
Speaker 4: very like this is sort of for the most of
Speaker 4: the time of problem. And I think I reacted to
Speaker 4: that as a kid and as a young adult, trying
Speaker 4: to sort of downplayed as much as possible or be
Speaker 4: tokenizer all this whatever, and then sort of realizing that,
Speaker 4: you know, I don't want to have that just be
Speaker 4: an accessory in this way, and having realized that and
Speaker 4: understood and respected my past have been like yes, I
Speaker 4: am different or whatever to a lot of different people.
Speaker 4: I feel like my pride sort of centers around like
Speaker 4: understanding who I am with regards to race and culture,
Speaker 4: and I'm like, yeah, I'm this and I have to
Speaker 4: be this way. And I think that I understand all
Speaker 4: the reactions to me from all these different kinds of people,
Speaker 4: and yet I still am myself. I feel like I
Speaker 4: have pride in my own blackness and the way I've
Speaker 4: understood it, and I feel the same way because it's like, well, no,
Speaker 4: I'm not exactly like whatever, but like you know, I'm
Speaker 4: aware of that and I accept that about myself, and
Speaker 4: I think it's good. I think it's okay to be
Speaker 4: prideful about stuff.
Speaker 2: Well, it's also it's interesting, like, obviously my experience is
Speaker 2: in no way directly related, but being proud of a
Speaker 2: marker of difference rather than something that you are in community,
Speaker 2: rather than something that connects you to community is sort
Speaker 2: of an interesting point because I remember, like when we
Speaker 2: lived in the States, I felt different because like my
Speaker 2: parents had accents, like they we didn't know a lot
Speaker 2: of things about American culture that everyone else around me
Speaker 2: and you or whatever. And then I thought that I
Speaker 2: would when we move back to Greece, that I would
Speaker 2: immediately feel an innate part of that community because so
Speaker 2: far I had felt different. But in fact, then when
Speaker 2: we move back to Greece, I felt more American because
Speaker 2: all my references were American blah blah. So all of
Speaker 2: that is to say, to your point, the thing that,
Speaker 2: if anything is connected to any kind of natural pride
Speaker 2: was always like a marker of difference rather than a
Speaker 2: marker of like solidarity.
Speaker 4: Right, and you can still be in solidarity with people,
Speaker 4: but you also understand how much different you are in
Speaker 4: no matter where you go. And it can feel really
Speaker 4: bad sometimes. But I think because it is something that
Speaker 4: feels bad is something you have to accept about yourself
Speaker 4: and be prideful in. Otherwise I think that really sort
Speaker 4: of will ruin you emotionally.
Speaker 1: Yes, so amen, Amen, Well, I know.
Speaker 4: We should we do such a heavy episode. I know
Speaker 4: I'm silly, man. I want people to know that Stradio
Speaker 4: Lab listeners. I like jokes and I'm not always bringing
Speaker 4: it down by talking about the differences between ourselves in
Speaker 4: the past and currently.
Speaker 1: I don't think. I think this was serious but not
Speaker 1: too serious.
Speaker 2: I completely agree.
Speaker 1: I think this was a good level of serious.
Speaker 4: I should have gone with Parkour.
Speaker 2: Wait, I do want to know what your other two
Speaker 2: were parkour and what.
Speaker 1: Else it was gonna be?
Speaker 4: Parkour cults.
Speaker 1: Oh, that's good, it is good parkour.
Speaker 2: Parkour is really good.
Speaker 1: It's really juicy. Parker's juicy.
Speaker 4: But I don't have a lot to say about it.
Speaker 4: You just feels it it.
Speaker 1: I actually have a lot to say about it, really,
Speaker 1: I fully because you're a stairs guy, so you were
Speaker 1: always right, I'm doing the stairs. I'm doing all types
Speaker 1: of shit on those stairs. No. When I was in college,
Speaker 1: I took a documentary making class and like they were like,
Speaker 1: you got to make a documentary about something. I chose
Speaker 1: the Parkour Club. Wow. And I literally like followed the
Speaker 1: parkourp Club And it was so funny because they were
Speaker 1: like not real like but they were like, we're actually
Speaker 1: going to like this other college for like a parkour
Speaker 1: jam jam. And there were like multiple park Corps clubs
Speaker 1: from multiple colleges, and I was like, this is like
Speaker 1: one of the weirdest groups of people I've ever been around.
Speaker 4: They gotta be weird.
Speaker 1: And like, I made this documentary that was like obviously
Speaker 1: so embarrassing and I would love to be able to
Speaker 1: find it again. But the documentary teacher I saw him
Speaker 1: like a year later, and he was like, hey, like
Speaker 1: I actually love your park coor documentary. My two sons
Speaker 1: watch it all the time, and it's like right because
Speaker 1: they're like eight year old boys who just want to
Speaker 1: see a guy do a flip.
Speaker 4: Like it's so embarrassing. How cool I thought it was.
Speaker 4: It's like such a thing because you're like, is guys
Speaker 4: moving so cool? You're amazing, you can be.
Speaker 1: I've talked about the things. George and I talked about
Speaker 1: the siren song of men's wear and how it like
Speaker 1: calls to us even though we know it's unethical and
Speaker 1: we think of it sort of like how an evangelical
Speaker 1: thinks about porn. And that's kind of how the siren
Speaker 1: song of Parkour also does call. Like sometimes when the
Speaker 1: algorithm takes over, I will start getting a couple more
Speaker 1: Parkour clips in there.
Speaker 4: Yeah, well, I feel like it's bad. I feel like
Speaker 4: it was gone and I you know, I watch as
Speaker 4: a kid, and now I see Parkour videos sometimes and
Speaker 4: I go, well, this is bad. That's actually kind of
Speaker 4: how I knew Trump was gonna win because park park
Speaker 4: four is back.
Speaker 2: That's what it is. I would rather watch Parkour videos
Speaker 2: than like most content that served of.
Speaker 1: Course at least amazing point.
Speaker 4: It's so cool.
Speaker 2: But it's literally all I get is like, get drag
Speaker 2: QUI sorry, no offense to wow to talk about right
Speaker 2: wing I literally give me Parkour.
Speaker 4: Not okay, but drag Parkour.
Speaker 2: No, there we go.
Speaker 1: I'm the Parkour Queen of Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2: We are like two seasons away from that happening.
Speaker 1: Of course, everyone's desperate to find anything that makes them unique.
Speaker 1: That's a good one, Parkour, Queen of Pittsburgh. All right,
Speaker 1: should we do our first our final segments? Sam, Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's our final segment, so Skyler. A final segment is
Speaker 1: called shout Outs, and in this segment we pay homage
Speaker 1: to the grand straight tradition of the radio shout out
Speaker 1: to anything that you are enjoying, people, places, things, ideas.
Speaker 1: Imagine two thousand and one, you're at TRL shouting out
Speaker 1: to your squad back home, but about anything that you like.
Speaker 1: George and I will go first, George, do you have one?
Speaker 2: I can think of one. I'm not gonna lie. I
Speaker 2: don't have one right now?
Speaker 1: Do you I have one? Okay, I will locked and
Speaker 1: loaded today.
Speaker 2: Okay, go go go.
Speaker 4: Um.
Speaker 1: Well, I actually have two, but I'm not sure which
Speaker 1: I'm going to land on. Okay, okay, whatever. This will
Speaker 1: not be topical by the time this comes out, and
Speaker 1: that's okay. What's up freaks, losers and perverts around the globe.
Speaker 1: I want to give a huge shout out to FKA Twigs.
Speaker 1: You sexual the album it came out just last night
Speaker 1: and I sat up and I listened to it, and
Speaker 1: I said, damn, this is fucking good start to finish.
Speaker 1: I think she's doing something very interesting where her look
Speaker 1: has never been weirder and her music has never been
Speaker 1: more accessible to me. It's actually very gaga to be like,
Speaker 1: look how weird I look, but look how normal I sound.
Speaker 1: And I think it's a fun thing for her. And
Speaker 1: there's a lot of stuff in there that George specifically,
Speaker 1: I think you would like. There's a lot of sort
Speaker 1: of ray of light vibes, a lot of like interesting
Speaker 1: niche pop references that I'm like, oh, now, this is interesting.
Speaker 1: When a cool girl does cool pop music, you really
Speaker 1: do notice a difference. And I am so happy and
Speaker 1: it's you know, every year of my life, I feel
Speaker 1: like I'm just sort of I'm like, is this the
Speaker 1: year that I have nothing to find joy over? And
Speaker 1: then boom something else comes and I say, look at me,
Speaker 1: go I have reason to live. Thank you FK Twigs.
Speaker 1: I love you. Xoxo, Sam.
Speaker 4: Wow, that was great. I got a lot to say
Speaker 4: about FK Twigs.
Speaker 1: I was very blown away.
Speaker 2: Wow, I'm I'm really excited to listen. I sort of
Speaker 2: think she might be the only person that can save us,
Speaker 2: I think, and not to.
Speaker 1: Pit women against each other, but sort of hearing it,
Speaker 1: I'm like, was the Brat thing like a psychosis?
Speaker 4: Like it wasn't mass well, you know, it's I listened
Speaker 4: to it now, honestly just started actually listening to it now,
Speaker 4: and I'm like, it's good, but it felt like so
Speaker 4: like it was again like with the culture and everything.
Speaker 4: It was so like this is what we are into.
Speaker 4: And there was where I started listening to it back
Speaker 4: then and I was just like okay, but like you
Speaker 4: with moving, I was like, I guess I'm just not
Speaker 4: gonna say anything because if I do, I'll be torn
Speaker 4: to shreds and then people will be like, well then
Speaker 4: what bullshit do you listen to? And I'll be like
Speaker 4: I don't know, I'm all over the place, and I
Speaker 4: don't want to do that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, I still don't get me wrong, I
Speaker 1: still love Brat, but there's something about this when I'm like,
Speaker 1: this is like it's matures. There's something really something to it.
Speaker 1: So George, yeah, what do you think? No, I.
Speaker 2: I do think unfortunately, even though we all I think
Speaker 2: we all earnestly did like Bratt, and I loved it.
Speaker 2: I'm on record, I still isn't to it. Whatever. Unfortunately,
Speaker 2: it got so big that when people do look back
Speaker 2: on it, they will look back on it with embarrassment
Speaker 2: in the way that we look back on like sorry,
Speaker 2: but like the Women's March, that's so truly I went
Speaker 2: to it, and I of course everyone needed to march,
Speaker 2: and like, I don't regret being part of it, but
Speaker 2: you can't not look back on it and be embarrassed
Speaker 2: like it just that is how it is.
Speaker 1: I think you're one hundred percent right, because that is
Speaker 1: I liked it. But then I'm seeing tiktoks that are
Speaker 1: trying me crazy. They're like, quote unquote analyzing the songs
Speaker 1: and it's like, you are the dumbest person I've ever heard.
Speaker 1: Right now, I don't like it. I don't like all
Speaker 1: like that. There were two people dressed up as Apple's
Speaker 1: next to me at the fucking Sweat Tour. Good lord,
Speaker 1: I was furious.
Speaker 4: That's how I feel about Kendrick and Drake's whole beef.
Speaker 4: Now is I still get posts of people like talking
Speaker 4: about it in the terms of like, oh the battle
Speaker 4: and I'm like, that was Can we put it down?
Speaker 4: That was last year? You're still talking about Oh Drake's
Speaker 4: goof Yeah still, and I don't care anymore. That was
Speaker 4: fun for them. I don't care now. It's insane how
Speaker 4: much content I'm still getting about. Oh, you know the
Speaker 4: true hip hop heads.
Speaker 1: No, I don't care.
Speaker 4: I'm not a true hip hop head and I liked
Speaker 4: it at the time.
Speaker 1: Enough of that, Damn. It's tough. Okay, George, whenever you're ready, Yes, yes,
Speaker 1: I will go.
Speaker 2: Okay, what's up, vientophiles and wine drinkers. I want to
Speaker 2: give a shout out to Lambrusco. First of all, let
Speaker 2: me just say I think Lambrusko is absolutely disgusting. But
Speaker 2: what I want to give a shout out to is
Speaker 2: the confidence with which it presents itself. And even though
Speaker 2: I know that every time I have tasted it, I
Speaker 2: haven't liked it. You know you hear you say, Oh,
Speaker 2: sometimes I want to read wine. Sometimes I want to
Speaker 2: be cold, maybe a little maybe a little fizz. Oh
Speaker 2: that sounds kind of nice. Maybe I will get a
Speaker 2: glass Lambersco each time you want to send it back,
Speaker 2: And so I sort of I want to become the
Speaker 2: Lambrusco of you know, writer performers, where even if people
Speaker 2: do not like what I'm offering, they say, oh, I
Speaker 2: wonder what that George has to say. And even if
Speaker 2: each time they keep coming back and keeping like that
Speaker 2: was honestly kind of a flop, they keep buying tickets.
Speaker 2: So I think we only need to adopt the Lambrusco mentality.
Speaker 2: It is much more about a about marketing than it
Speaker 2: is about the essence of it. I think I think
Speaker 2: Lambrusco is the defining drink of the of the Biden
Speaker 2: and second Trump era. We all need to channel our
Speaker 2: inner Lambrusko if we want to be famous in this
Speaker 2: crazy connected world. You guys, shout out to Lambrusco.
Speaker 1: Huge shout out.
Speaker 4: Whoa Wow.
Speaker 1: Okay Skyler, whenever you are ready, Okay, all right, I
Speaker 1: have yeah, I have one.
Speaker 4: Shout out to those really big trucks, the Fords, the
Speaker 4: f four, fifties, one fifties, whatever is the huge trucks
Speaker 4: that the white guys with the Oakley's drive. Shout out
Speaker 4: to those, they're so big. I hope you finally feel
Speaker 4: secure in your masculinity from driving those. I hope that
Speaker 4: you find some sort of meaning in driving a truck
Speaker 4: where you're above everybody, can see everybody, And I hope
Speaker 4: it makes you feel safe. I hope you feel hugged
Speaker 4: and safe inside those huge, huge trucks because they guzzle
Speaker 4: so much gas and it's got to be so expensive
Speaker 4: for you. But what price is too much to feel
Speaker 4: like a real man? And I hope you enjoy driving
Speaker 4: that around and trying to park, and I hope it's
Speaker 4: all worth it, even though I know you don't have
Speaker 4: shit to haul. Shout out to those big old trucks.
Speaker 1: Whoo whoo damn, those trucks really are fucking big, so
Speaker 1: big talk about I mean, I hate to always be
Speaker 1: this person, but I'm like, when will the government step in?
Speaker 1: Never ban these fucking drugs.
Speaker 4: The trucks is like that's second underguns for like those people.
Speaker 4: They want them in those amendments.
Speaker 1: Because I love those like little old trucks. I'm like, oh,
Speaker 1: how cute. Yeah, But those big ones, I'm like, this
Speaker 1: is fucking huge.
Speaker 4: It's again hometown stuff. When I every time I visit,
Speaker 4: I will see because you don't really see them out
Speaker 4: you'll see them more out here. You don't see them
Speaker 4: in New York or Chicago or whatever. I go back
Speaker 4: to Salt Lake. They're huge. People are driving them around
Speaker 4: and they look almost like monster trucks, and you're like,
Speaker 4: why do you need to drive that? What is going on?
Speaker 2: I mean, I do the impression I get of Salt
Speaker 2: Lake City and I have never been there. Is there
Speaker 2: is just so much space that people are like, what
Speaker 2: if we feel it? Like, it's just it's crazy. And
Speaker 2: this is mostly from watching the Real Housewives.
Speaker 4: It's true, it's just it's it's really like weirdly like
Speaker 4: you know, obviously cultish, but like also like way more
Speaker 4: white trash than people think very much, because it's you know,
Speaker 4: the American West shot out.
Speaker 1: Shout out to there too well S Tyler, thanks for
Speaker 1: doing the pod. This has been a real treat.
Speaker 4: Thanks for having me. Hope to see you guys again soon.
Speaker 1: Do you want to pluge anything? We're bad at that?
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, I'm doing a show at Union Hall on March.
Speaker 1: Hey, now our listeners know where that is.
Speaker 4: Y'all know where that is, so if you want to
Speaker 4: come and see me make jokes instead of really like
Speaker 4: getting into it about our deep feelings about who we
Speaker 4: are in the world. Then come to that.
Speaker 5: Yeah, that's all I'm doing, PERF and watch after midnight.
Speaker 5: Why not watch after midnight on CBS and check out
Speaker 5: the Oscars. Check out the Oscars on ABC. They're gonna
Speaker 5: be so mad.
Speaker 1: But yeah, okay, bye bye.
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Speaker 1: Lab is a production by Will Ferrell's Big Money Players
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Speaker 2: Created and hosted by George Severis and Sam Taggart.
Speaker 1: Executive produced by Will Ferrell, Hans Sonny and Olivia Aguilar.
Speaker 1: Co produced by Bay Wang, edited an engineer heired by
Speaker 1: Adam Avalos. Artwork by Michael Philes and Matt Gruff. Theme
Speaker 1: music by Ben Kling