Adam Carolla Show: Eli Roth + John Popper (Carolla Classics)

Date: October 3, 2025
Summary by [Podcast Summarizer]

Episode Overview

This episode of The Adam Carolla Show (Carolla Classics) features a lively blend of classic live performances, banter, and interviews with notable guests from previous years, including director Eli Roth and musician John Popper (Blues Traveler). The episode revisits a benefit event held at Adam’s Malibu home with musical performances and candid conversations among Adam, John Popper, Michael “Fitz” Fitzpatrick (Fitz and the Tantrums), Howie Mandel, and more. The second half highlights an interview with Eli Roth discussing his films and the creative process, punctuated by the show’s trademark irreverence and wit.

1. Live at Malibu Benefit: Performances, Reflections, and Music Industry Insights

Segment: [01:26] – [29:09]

Setting the Stage

• Adam introduces a benefit event at his Malibu home supporting Children’s Hospital, featuring a stellar line-up: Susanna Hoffs, John Popper, Michael Fitzpatrick, and Fitz and the Tantrums.
• Adam’s opening monologue sets the irreverent, energetic tone:

  “If you like music, entertainment, life… put your hot dog down—pick up your Mangria, and make your way down to the loge here… Susanna Hoffs will blow you away with her sound and humble beauty.” — Adam ([03:19])

Performance: Susanna Hoffs

• Hoffs delivers an acoustic set, including “A Hazy Shade of Winter,” impressing the crowd and earning praise for her solo abilities.

Conversation: Michael Fitzpatrick (Fitz and the Tantrums)

Topic: Authenticity and Artistic Growth

• Both Adam and Fitz examine the challenge artists face in resisting outside pressures to cater to audience expectations or commercial demands:

  “Nobody artistically should think about what people want from them… when you start curtailing it to that audience, you end up with kind of a minivan.” — Adam ([12:11]) “You’ve got to be brave enough to take those chances… we could have made a really safe record… but at least you can feel proud that you evolved.” — Fitz ([11:37])

Topic: Growing Up in LA and Its Impact

• Adam and Fitz riff on the unique “asshole all-star team” that Los Angeles produces, with native Angelenos tending to be more grounded.

  “I've always thought… LA is like an international asshole all-star team.” — Adam ([16:32])

Topic: Finding Your Voice and Artistic Path

• Fitz reflects on his late-blooming musical career and feeling grateful for success achieved with maturity:

  “I spent most of my adult life pounding the pavement in LA, couldn't get arrested as a musician… I truly let it [the dream] go completely in my soul, and it actually started to happen.” — Fitz ([21:06]) “People that make it a little later in life, the cement has dried in their brain… all the people that have the success later on in life… you just are who you are.” — Adam ([25:37])

2. John Popper: On Stage & In Conversation

Segment: [30:05] – [64:57]

Performance: John Popper and Blues Traveler

• Acoustic songs from John Popper delight attendees, with Adam and Fitz praising Popper’s harmonica mastery and underappreciated singing.

Conversation: John Popper (Blues Traveler)

Topic: Musicianship vs. Public Perception

• Adam notes Popper’s virtuosity on the harmonica can overshadow his strong, soulful vocals:

  “His problem with his career is his voice is amazing… but he’s so good on the harmonica that his voice gets a backseat.” — Adam ([14:49])

Life as a Working Musician

• Popper recounts the odd, roundabout journey to success—starting harmonica late, bouncing through schools, and only finding his calling after feeling like a misfit.

  “The harmonica, I was good at right away… my parents said, well, that's a nice hobby, but you're gonna have to get a degree.” — Popper ([74:03]) “If you've heard of them, they've made it… You don't realize how many bands there are.” — Adam ([28:06])

Tales from the Road

• Popper shares anecdotes of playing with other bands, the strange random encounters that come with touring, and the long, hard work to “critical mass.”
• The segment is peppered with self-deprecating humor, warmth, and a shared sense among guests that “late” or hard-won success engenders gratitude and humility.

Notable Quotes:

• (On LA's industry kids):

  “I had my own private yarmulke collection… I was this skinny Catholic kid who just wanted to be Jewish so badly.” — Fitz ([18:51])

• (On performing):

  “Once on the tracks, you're just on for the ride of your life.” — Popper ([60:39])

3. Howie Mandel Joins: Mental Health and Mangria Revelations

Segment: [34:02] – [56:55]

Topic: Mental Health, OCD, and Work

• Howie, surprisingly buzzed on Adam’s Mangria, speaks candidly about coping with OCD, anxiety, and his constant need to stay busy:

  “If I take a minute and don't do anything, then I have to deal with me. And I do anything not to deal with me.” — Howie Mandel ([39:21]) “I'm so aware of how fucked up I am. Ignorance is bliss. I wish I was more blissful.” — Howie Mandel ([39:51])

• Adam reframes Mandel’s self-perception, arguing that functioning with issues—and making the effort to maintain relationships and career—deserves recognition:

  “You're one of the nicest… best looking… physically fit [people]… You're all there.” — Adam ([43:16], [54:07])

Humor and Humanity

• The conversation deftly weaves in humor, as Howie Mandel jokes about Mangria’s compatibility with Zoloft and rambles in wine-induced honesty, while Adam offers both playful insults and genuine support.

4. Eli Roth in Studio: Filmmaking, Tech, and Horror as Metaphor

Segment: [133:45] – [155:41]

Topic: Aftershock & Evolution of Filmmaking Technology

• Eli Roth discusses his film Aftershock, shooting on low-cost DSLR cameras, and how digital tech has democratized indie filmmaking.

  “The camera literally cost $2,500… things like Avid, Final Cut, the sound mixing, all that stuff that used to be so expensive is so cheap now.” — Eli Roth ([138:33])

• Adam posits that while democratization allows more voices, the “flood” of low-quality work is inevitable. Roth counters that the “cream still rises.”

  “It's exciting… makes everyone step their game up. Sometimes in that flood of shit you get one diamond.” — Eli Roth ([139:35])

Horror as Moral Laboratory

• Allison probes Roth about the symbolic intent of his horror; Roth explains Aftershock is about societal collapse and moral choices under pressure:

  “Aftershock was about the collapse of society… the fragility of what we have… all about moral choices.” — Eli Roth ([157:25])

• He describes using true disaster stories as inspiration for terror and catharsis, linking genre to parable.

On Tarantino and Material vs. Talent

• Roth and Adam heap praise on Quentin Tarantino’s writing—and Christoph Waltz’s ability—highlighting that great material unlocks great performances:

  “If Tarantino is never born, Christoph Waltz is doing local [TV]… doing the best he can with material being provided by a hack, but the material’s the real difference.” — Adam ([151:26]) “[Quentin] never takes an easy way out… he squeezes that part of his brain.” — Eli Roth ([155:44])

5. Comedy Interludes, Culture Riffs, and Show Highlights

Throughout the Episode

• On Service Dogs: Adam and Brad Williams riff on absurdities in social accommodation, as Brad describes a flight where the cabin lights couldn’t be dimmed because a passenger’s “service dog” was afraid of the dark ([97:54]).
• On Black People Sneezing: Adam launches a recurring humorous aside about never having seen a Black person sneeze, pondering cultural and genetic differences with delightfully uncomfortable banter ([185:01]).
• Bathroom Etiquette Anecdotes: The episode closes with Adam’s hilarious story of the perils and logistics of needing to “go” in a public place, deftly combining physical comedy with social awkwardness ([190:38]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps):

• “If you’ve heard of them, they’ve made it… You don’t realize how many bands there are.” — Adam ([28:06])
• “I'm so fucked up. Not, I don't mean. I'm not talking about drunk… If I take a minute and don't do anything, then I have to deal with me.” — Howie Mandel ([39:21])
• “Nobody artistically should think about what people want from them… you just become a big beige blob of shit.” — Adam ([12:11])
• “His problem with his career is his voice is amazing… but he’s so good on the harmonica that his voice gets a backseat.” — Adam ([14:49])
• “[Quentin] never takes the easy way out… he squeezes that part of his brain.” — Eli Roth ([155:44])
• “Aftershock was about the collapse of society, the fragility of what we have… all about moral choices.” — Eli Roth ([157:25])

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:26] – Malibu Benefit Live: intros, crowd banter, overview
• [03:32] – Susanna Hoffs live performance
• [09:36] – Adam & Michael Fitzpatrick: On musicianship and audience pressure
• [13:41] – LA music scene and growing up in LA
• [30:05] – John Popper performance, discussion of harmonica mastery
• [34:02] – Howie Mandel on OCD, mental health, humor
• [56:55] – John Popper, post-performance discussion
• [133:45] – Eli Roth segment: filmmaking, horror as metaphor, Tarantino

Tone and Content

The episode is fast-paced, witty, and highly self-aware—loaded with Adam’s signature rants and comic exaggeration, yet grounded in candid talk of mental health, struggle, and the creative journey. The banter with guests like Howie Mandel and Eli Roth is loose, authentic, and surprisingly vulnerable. Musical guests and their performances serve as both entertainment and springboards for deeper conversations about art, fame, and authenticity in a cynical world.

Takeaways for New Listeners

This Carolla Classics episode serves as a microcosm of Adam Carolla’s podcasting style: blunt, playful, poignant, and deeply human. The conversations are equally likely to veer toward the absurd (bathroom and allergy anecdotes) and sincere (artistic insecurity, mental health, gratitude for success). Listeners will come away entertained—and perhaps with a deeper appreciation for the grit behind artistic achievement.