The Adam Carolla Show: Adam Carolla & Michael Yo LIVE – Florida’s Iguanas & Growing Up Poor

Date: February 9, 2026
Location: Live at the Orlando Funny Bone

Episode Overview

In this raucous live episode, Adam Carolla and guest Michael Yo take the stage in Orlando for an uncensored, wide-ranging night of stand-up, storytelling, observational humor, and a spirited round of "Blah Blah Blah" (Celebrity Blog Quote guessing). Longtime news guy Rudy Pavich joins the show, providing topical stories that launch Adam and Michael into signature rants about personal history, America's cultural quirks, growing up poor, societal trends, and the unique oddities of Florida. True to Carolla’s brand, the night is a mix of sharp wit, irreverent takes, nostalgia, and candid social commentary.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. In The News: From Bill Gates to Trans Athletes

(00:44–35:45)

• Bill Gates & Jeffrey Epstein

  • News update: Bill Gates expresses regret over time spent with Epstein and attempts to distance from controversy, but Adam isn’t having it.
  • Adam ruminates on the public’s tendency to regret “all the fun stuff” only after getting caught (03:03).
  • Adam Carolla [03:08]: “No one ever regrets staying up all night studying or hydrating... You regret the fun, so everyone regrets fun.”
  • Adam questions Bill Gates’ nerdy image versus sexual appetite, likening his attitude about sex to how he personally feels about food—if you grew up deprived, you’re always hungry for it even if you get rich.
  • Notable Metaphor [06:18]: Food scarcity as an analogy for sexual appetite among nerds/wealthy men.

• Airport Drinking Laws & The Inanity of Local Rules

  • Adam and Rudy recount travel woes: couldn’t get a Bloody Mary at an airport lounge before 11 a.m. on a Sunday, but could get one immediately on the plane.
  • Adam Carolla [12:22]: “Once you clear security, it’s just on. It’s international fucking waters. It should all be the same.”

• Mayor Karen Bass & Ceremonial Leadership

  • Rudy brings up LA Mayor Karen Bass’s alleged softening of fire reports to avoid city liability.
  • Adam launches into an epic 8-minute rant skewering “ceremonial” leaders prioritizing optics and events over real work. Calls out LA’s selection of Bass (and, by extension, Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom, etc.) as prioritizing representation over competence.
  • Adam Carolla [15:08]: “Are you lying? Are you incompetent? Stupid or liar? ... You fucked up royally and everything burned to the ground.”
  • Asserts real governing is “aqueducts fixed and shit coming out of fire hydrants,” not gay pride parades or ribbon cuttings.

• Medical Lawsuits & Gender Transitioning Minors

  • News: A young woman wins a $2 million settlement for being allowed a double mastectomy as a minor.
  • Adam rails against the surge of gender reassignment for teens, claims much of the advocacy was based on “made up shit.”
  • Adam Carolla [27:25]: “Somebody decided men were women and women were men... If anyone dared raise their hand and go, I disagree—that got their career destroyed.”
  • Discusses the rapid collective enforcement of social orthodoxy (“nobody believed it—they were just scared and went along”), referencing even the Pope going along with it.
  • Tangent on cultural conformity, how public sentiment can be manufactured and sustained by fear of ostracism and loss of status.

• Transgender Athletes in Women’s Sports

  • Algerian boxer at Paris Olympics is revealed to have a Y chromosome and to be on hormone therapy.
  • Adam and Rudy lampoon the scenario, Adam suggesting it’s just another thing “we were right about from the beginning.”
  • Adam Carolla [34:39]: “She looks like a dude, Number one... the Italian chick got punched in the face—it was like, ‘I’ve never been punched that hard in my life.’”

2. Florida Oddities: Falling Iguanas and Local Color

(39:32–51:45)

• Adam shares first impressions and bizarre news about Florida’s iguana problem, where cold temperatures cause iguanas to “fall out of trees.”
• Jokes about Floridian solutions (“Take them to the fire station, drop them off with your kids... get some chili while you wait!”) and contrasts California’s junkies falling out of trees with Florida’s reptiles.
• Observes how “everything with ‘Cuban’ in front of it” (cigars, coffee) is held as superior, sarcastically questioning the logic.
• Recounts peculiarities at airport baggage claim—including witnessing a drug-sniffing dog with, notably, a “boner,” and the handler loudly proclaiming the dog is colorblind after a black traveler is profiled.
  • Adam Carolla [44:48]: “I’m not a weirdo, but you cannot avert your gaze when a dog gets a boner... Boner height, sitting on that chair... this fucking dog, his dick keeps coming out.”
• Problems of being an older man: “piss spot” on new jeans moments before taking the stage, proposing “crotch blowers” for men over 50 in public restrooms.

3. Growing Up Poor: Stories and The Lasting Mindset

(51:45–71:13)

• Adam and Michael Yo trade stories of childhood deprivation versus adult success.
  • The idiosyncrasies of old habits not dying—wilting at covering the cost of a hotel minibar, despite current wealth.
  • Adam Carolla [53:04]: “I spend thousands of dollars on shit I don’t even know about... but won’t spend $13 for a bottle of Jaeger in the minibar.”
• Divorce and Child Support
  • The surreal contrast between Adam’s own thrifty upbringing and modern LA child support expectations:
    • Adam Carolla [53:40]: “They’re like, how much? $19,000? Carolla did not spend $1,900, me AND my sister, combined.”
• The “upper sheet” anecdote
  • Adam’s shock at a friend asking for a top sheet—a sign of being “fancy.”
  • Adam [56:00]: “What do you do with a fucking upper sheet? What is that, pita bread? Who uses an upper sheet? I started calling him ‘Danny Two Sheets’.”
• The ketchup packet drawer, food stamps, and S&H Green Stamps
  • Michael admits his “ketchup supply” was just takeout packets; Adam discusses the hell of opening soy sauce packets.
  • A deep dive into loyalty stamp programs—“one of the greatest gatherings of losers in the San Fernando Valley”—obsessing for years over trading books for “outdoor gear we never used.”

4. Cheapness, Status Symbols & Parental Poverty

(71:13–79:38)

• Michael Yo confides in buying cheap clothes, wearing a fake Rolex, and his wife’s insistence he not reveal it’s fake.
• Adam’s memory of a college psych class: being mugged for a fake Rolex would be the ultimate irony.
• Michael describes his childhood belief that his PhD engineer dad “worked at the gas pump” at Exxon; Adam one-ups him with his dad’s “special needs teacher” status.
• S&H and Blue Chip stamp programs as a “racket” for the truly poor; a badge of being “down the economic ladder.”

5. 80s/90s Nostalgia and Parental Comparisons: The "Poor House" and DIY Childhood

(79:38–89:45)

• Adam highlights how growing up poor kept you two decades behind on tech, tells of literal car-pushing stories, living with a 13" black & white TV, and hand-carrying loads on motorcycles.
• The generational disconnect:
  • “My son will never know what it’s like to hold a mattress out the window or bump-start a car.”
  • Michael laments kids today won’t endure the terror of calling a girlfriend’s house and having to speak to her dad:
    • [79:47] Michael Yo: “The fear of calling a girl and her parents pick up—they need that, man.”

6. Wild Parental Stories & Absurdities of the Past

(81:55–89:45)

• Adam and Rudy delight in stories of getting physically smacked by their friends’ parents, and neighborhood feuds involving destroyed playground slides ("Mark from the neighborhood actually walked to another house and smashed a kid’s slide").
• Recollections of cluelessness about adult behaviors—realizing later that many neighborhood dads were just drunk.
• Extended vignettes of blue-collar living: Adam’s friend’s dad Rick, a transmission shop owner, his haphazard dirtbike trips and eventual stint in prison—delivered with affection but unvarnished honesty.
• Adam: “He showed up with a Clamato bottle as his cold water bottle... that was Rick's cold water bottle.”

7. On-Stage Banter & "Blah Blah Blah" Game: Guess the Celebrity Quote

(90:00 onward)

• Rudy returns for the “Blah Blah Blah” trivia contest. Multiple rounds where celebrity blog quotes/tweets are read and players must guess the author (all play for laughs, including audience interaction).
• Quotes include hyperbolic political statements and random music enthusiasm—providing springboards for comic asides about American politics, Jamie Foxx’s talents, the Eagles being "one-hit wonders," and Ted Nugent's outrageous lyrics.
• Adam:
  • [91:53]: “If they bring back slavery, I got dibs on Jamie Foxx... he'd just be at my parties playing Ray Charles for everybody.”
  • On Ted Nugent's "Stranglehold": “He wrote that sober. Could you imagine if he did drink? If Ted Nugent ever drank tequila, we would be fucked.” [99:54]
• The game concludes with Michael Yo correctly winning on a Steve Byrne quote, Adam feigning mock indignation.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Adam Carolla [15:08]: “Are you lying? Are you incompetent, stupid or liar? ... You guys let the place burn to the ground.”
• Adam Carolla [34:39]: “Whoever tweeted this to me: Give the gold to Evander Holyfield, who got fucked out of the Olympics...”
• Adam Carolla [53:40]: “How much? $19,000? ... Me and my sister combined didn’t spend $1,900. That's including food and shelter.”
• Adam Carolla [79:47]: “The only thing I wish kids had to go through is the fear of calling a girl and her parents pick up.”
• Michael Yo on fake watches [55:20]: “I got a Rolex on, but it’s fake... I don’t care. Plus, I don’t want to get robbed.”
• Adam Carolla [56:00], on "upper sheets": “Who uses an upper sheet? What is that, pita bread over here? ... I started calling him Danny Two Sheets.”
• Adam [70:01], food stamps anecdote: “What do you need a fucking kayak for? You're on welfare. ... No cat food, losers. People food only.”

Final Thoughts

This episode is a no-holds-barred tour of American absurdity, from local legal quirks and pop culture to the psychology of growing up poor. Adam’s sharp rants and comic analogies highlight the lasting effect of childhood deprivation, while live banter with Michael Yo and Rudy Pavich connects personal experience to cultural trends. The show’s irreverence and raw authenticity come through in every segment, making it as funny as it is revealing.

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:44–03:43: Bill Gates' regrets, fun vs. consequence
• 06:18: Scarcity analogy (food & sex)
• 10:51–13:49: Airport lounge Bloody Mary rant
• 14:26–25:45: LA Mayor Karen Bass, ceremonial vs. functional politics
• 25:44–34:39: Gender surgeries, societal conformity, trans athletes
• 39:32–44:48: Florida’s iguana saga/airport boner dog incident
• 51:45–71:13: Growing up poor, ketchup packets & Green Stamps
• 79:38–81:56: Generational contrasts, analog tech stories
• 81:55–89:45: Neighborhood parents, wild childhoods
• 90:00–107:41: Blah Blah Blah game (celebrity blog guessing)

Tone: Unfiltered, candid, nostalgic, and irreverent—true to Adam Carolla’s comedy legacy.