Adam Carolla Show – January 24, 2026

Guests: Jo Koy, Mark Steines, Alison Rosen, Bryan Bishop
Selected Classic: ACS #1155 & 1170
PodcastOne / Carolla Digital

Overview

This double-classic episode of The Adam Carolla Show compiles highlights from two fan-favorite recordings: one featuring the full core gang (Adam, Alison Rosen, Bald Bryan) and a later show with comedian Jo Koy and TV host Mark Steines. The episode showcases the show’s signature blend of irreverent humor, personal stories, social commentary, comedic rants, and improvisational bits—plus calls from listeners sharing their worst job experiences. There’s also an extended dissection of how masculinity, handiwork, and parenting are changing, and a satirical look at public service announcements and diversity in entertainment.

1. Family, Shopping Fails & Credit Card Hijinks

[01:00 – 19:38]

Key Points:

• Adam shares a story about shopping at Lowe’s with his daughter, Natalia, and the sticker shock of her instantly picking the most expensive chandelier.
• Anecdotes about kids’ lack of concept of value or age, leading to absurd conversations.
• Adam attempts to get a Lowe’s store credit card to save 10%. He invents his annual salary on the spot—and is denied at $55,000 but instantly approved after claiming $500,000.
• Group riffs on the social stigma of store loyalty cards: Ralph’s Club Card is “lip herpes,” Lowe’s Card is “genital herpes”.

Notable Quotes:

• Adam: "Your Ralph’s Club card… is big fat lip herpes. Mine is underside of my ball sack. No one’s gonna know." [07:37]
• Adam (credit card fail): "I just blurt out any number I want… yelled $500,000… and she went, ‘Well, now you qualify.'" [12:36]

2. Book Sales, Family Apathy & Motivation

[17:07 – 20:50]

Key Points:

• Adam’s mom repeatedly asks for a free signed copy of a book she’s in, rather than buy one—prompting a discussion about support, motivation, and how people do what they want in life.
• Brian Bishop echoes the lack of public knowledge about how book sales and rankings work.

Notable Quotes:

• Adam: "People usually do what they want to do in life. It’s my sort of junkie theory—motivation makes you find a way." [19:07]
• Brian: “If they're gonna buy ten copies, don't dissuade them—there’s things called bonuses!” [17:54]

3. Old-School Riffs: Dogs, Bad Jobs & Class Pay

[20:50 – 32:38]

Key Points:

• Reminiscing about the now-rare sight of dogs tied outside supermarkets, as opposed to “everyone’s dog everywhere” today.
• Listener calls about their worst jobs—Roach extermination in sweltering Palm Springs, cleaning animal hospital kennels.
• Adam details his construction crew experience: “Punishment jobs” (hardest, dirtiest work) pay less than cushier, colorful-job-title roles.

Notable Quotes:

• Adam: "The donkey gets paid way less than the singing minor bird." [32:08]
• Adam (dog care): "People rely heavily on the fact that dogs can't talk… you can cut some corners with a dog." [35:16]

4. Weapons of Teen Destruction & Paintball Nostalgia

[37:22 – 39:59]

Key Points:

• Paintball guns: If Adam’s wild childhood friends had access, “it would have been a nice non-lethal move” compared to the actual violence (knives, flaming marshmallows).
• Rural pranks—slingshotting signs—lead to riffs about farm-field cutouts and the marvel of their unmarked survival.

5. Parenting, Pop Music & Modern Childhood

[44:44 – 53:40]

Key Points:

• Adam’s daughter’s fascination with “Sex Therapy” by Robin Thicke leads to discussion about kids absorbing pop culture and the inevitability of being exposed to One Direction and Katy Perry, whether parents want to or not.
• Reflections on how kids “mirror” adults and the challenge of keeping up with their influences.

6. Bald Bryan’s Movie Review: "In a World"

[58:08 – 63:22]

Key Points:

• Bryan enthusiastically reviews “In a World,” a comedy written, directed, and starring Lake Bell, calling it possibly his "favorite movie of the year."
• Alison adds that the film's father-daughter story is drawn from Lake Bell’s real life.
• Group praises the film's subtlety, personal voice, and calls for more "genuine comedies."
• Rotten Tomatoes score mentioned (over 90%).

Notable Quotes:

• Bryan: "Honestly, it's why I go to the movies… this movie was great. Some laugh-out-loud moments and so, so observant." [60:43]
• Adam: “I’m all just about the car stuff. Never really got into the movie-making stuff with her.” [62:30]

Timestamps:

• Bryan’s review in detail [58:08–62:01]
• Alison's backstory on Lake Bell [60:06–60:39]

7. The News with Alison Rosen

[64:58–78:18]
Sample Headlines:

• Diana Nyad swims from Cuba to Florida at age 64 without a shark cage, sparking jokes about shark safety, jellyfish, and brave Cubans.
• "Fifty Shades of Grey" casting announced; Drew’s disdain for the book discussed.
• Walkie Talkie skyscraper in London melting cars via focused sunlight; Adam riffs on the relentless destructiveness of the sun.
• Clichés in pop culture (“a love letter to Chicago”) and changing buzzwords (from “on acid” to “on steroids” to “on crack”).

Notable Quotes:

• Adam: “There’s a million and one reasons why you can’t do X, Y and Z until you get a boner. Then they’re all out the window.” [19:54]
• Adam: “There’s no such thing as an Asian, Hispanic, or black fuck-up, but the cop is always Asian, Hispanic, or black. It’s always whitey fucking up.” [137:40]

8. Comedy Bits: Jo Koy, Diversity & PSA Parodies

[99:29 – 148:28]

Key Points:

• Adam and Jo Koy perform a long improvised, high-energy bit riffing on miscommunications with club security, featuring Jo as Adam's would-be “axeman”/enforcer. The running joke: misusing "ask" as "axe," racial stereotypes, and club lingo.
• Parody of the diversity in public service announcements (PSAs), and how PSAs often feature a Benetton ad-style cast, with jokes at the expense of overly careful casting.

Timestamps:

• Beginning of Jo Koy bit [99:29]
• PSA parody and satirical diversity analysis [126:14–139:56]

9. Manual Labor, Masculinity & Tangible Value in 2020s Life

[151:09 – 166:40]

Key Points:

• Mark Steines and Adam discuss raising kids in a “hands-off” era where building, fixing and practical skills have become optional (an “elective”) instead of a survival necessity.
• Steines shares an emotional story about teaching his son how to cut the lawn on the family tractor after his father’s passing, underscoring the generational disconnect over tactile accomplishment.
• Adam laments how intangibility—of both money and daily activities—fuels emotional detachment and dissatisfaction.

Notable Quotes:

• Adam: “There was a time when men being men was a required course because now it’s an elective.” [156:40]
• Mark: "My oldest one—the 11-year-old—as soon as the deck hit and I put on the blades and he felt that take off… I just saw him light up." [158:56]

10. The Emmy Awards, Comedy Writers, and the Diversity Debate

[168:51 – 192:47]

Key Points:

• Discussion of network vs. cable Emmys: Should there be separate classes because of differences in content strictness?
• HBO dominance, backdrop to critical success of cable and streaming shows.
• The gender disparity among Emmy-nominated comedy writers (16 writers for Colbert, only 1 woman); Adam reiterates his view that men, as a group, are funnier than women—a motif that stirred past controversy.
• Adam and Bryan dig into why more women aren’t writing for late-night shows despite industry pressures to diversify.

Notable Quotes:

• Adam: “These are the most progressive people on the planet… they are less than 10% [female] on their staff.” [191:13]
• Bryan: "Why are 86.7% of Emmy-nominated comedy writers men? There must be a reason… but no one wants to have that discussion." [187:03]

11. Final Anecdotes, Awards Show Satire & Endnotes

[192:47–End]

Key Points:

• Satirical analysis of LL Cool J’s omnipresence at award shows (“the brown parsley next to the plate”).
• Closing with promotion for live shows, Mangria bottle signings, and reminders about Alison Rosen’s podcast.

Memorable Moments

• Adam’s Shopping Cart Salary:
  “I just blurt out any number I want… yelled $500,000… and she went, ‘Well, now you qualify.’” [12:36]

• On Motivation:
  “People do what they want in life. It’s my sort of junkie theory… that’s motivation, you know what I mean?” [19:07]

• Manual Labor & Self-Worth:
  “There was a time when men being men was a required course… now it’s an elective.” [156:40]

• On Hollywood Diversity Pressure:
  “Try to cut that one woman [comedy writer] and see what the network says. Try to come back next year.” [188:17]

• Satirizing PSAs:
  – “There’s always the white chick, the Asian chick, the black chick, and the Hispanic chick. As if the car won’t run if there’s just five white chicks in it.” [126:14]

Tonal Notes

The show runs at peak Carolla: sharp, irreverent, digressive, conversational. There’s a nostalgic tilt to the humor as Adam and his cohosts reflect on changing eras—both personal and cultural. Extended riffing with Jo Koy features edgy, quick-witted improvisation. Mark Steines brings a grounded, genuine note in the discussions of family, masculinity, and satisfaction from building things.

Episode Highlights by Timestamp

| Segment | Description | Timestamp | |---------|-------------|-----------| | Lowe’s story, shopping with daughter | Adam’s parenting, pricing, credit card hijinks | 01:00–15:10 | | Book sales & motivation | Book industry/pay, family support dynamics | 17:07–20:50 | | Listener worst jobs & pay scales | Construction anecdotes, labor value | 26:41–37:22 | | Paintball, childhood pranks | Riff: technology, pranks, nostalgia | 37:22–39:59 | | Bald Bryan reviews “In a World” | Enthusiastic film recommendation | 58:08–63:22 | | News with Alison | Diana Nyad story + banter | 64:58–78:18 | | Jo Koy improv bit | ‘Axeman’, club life, security, race jokes | 99:29–109:53 | | Manual labor, masculinity | Mark Steines/Adam: generational change | 151:09–166:40 | | Emmys, writer diversity | Comedy, women, and diversity in TV | 168:51–192:47 |

For New Listeners

This episode is a classic sampler of the Adam Carolla Show’s mainstays:

• Wry takes on family and modern life
• Blue-collar wisdom and rants on labor
• Candid, polarizing commentary on social topics
• Extended, freeform comedic improvisation
• Honest reflections on the media industry’s quirks

Skip ahead: For pure laughs, Jo Koy’s ‘Axeman’ bit with Adam starts at [99:29]. For cultural rants and insightful social critique, the diversity-in-comedy-writers debate at [168:51] is especially representative.

Final Takeaway

With its blend of self-deprecating honesty, unsparing humor, and direct takes on everything from credit card bureaucracy to Hollywood’s diversity politics, this episode of The Adam Carolla Show delivers a spirited, broad survey of what makes the show beloved—and occasionally controversial—among millions of listeners.