Spooky Season, The Cecil & Absinthe Shots with Peet Montzingo

Summary

Detox Retox with Tom Schwartz – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Spooky Season, The Cecil & Absinthe Shots with Peet Montzingo
Podcast: Detox Retox with Tom Schwartz (PodcastOne)
Date: September 9, 2025
Guests: Pete Monzingo (YouTuber, musician, paranormal explorer)

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Overview

This episode kicks off "Spooky Season" as Tom Schwartz and guest Peet Monzingo delve deep into the haunted history of LA's infamous Cecil Hotel and explore the lore and legend of absinthe. Together, they share chilling personal experiences, discuss the fine (and dark) art of boy bands, talk about living with difference (including dwarfism and being a "ginger"), content creation, and creativity under pressure. Amidst laughter, goosebumps, and a few absinthe shots, Schwartz and Monzingo strike a balance between reflection and mischief, setting the tone for a season of all things weird and wonderful.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Spooky Season Vibes and Absinthe Lore

• The episode launches with Tom’s infectious enthusiasm for fall and spooky season, declaring September 1st as his personal Halloween kickoff.
• Absinthe lore is central to the vibe—a ritual, aesthetic, and legendary drink speculated to have hallucinogenic properties.
  • Origins & Mythology: Absinthe, aka the “Green Fairy,” originated in 18th-century Switzerland, beloved by Parisian artists and writers but infamous for rumored psychedelic effects.
  • Scientific Reality: Modern absinthe has only trace psychoactive chemicals (thujone); myth of hallucinations likely caused by very high alcohol content and imagination.
  • Schwartz’s take: “I still like to believe some of the stuff in Europe will make you trip out.” (03:02)
• Ritual described: The slow drip of cold water over a sugar cube into absinthe, creating a cloudy “louche” effect.

2. Meet Pete Monzingo – YouTuber, Musician, Haunted Hotel Neighbor

• Pete introduces himself as “here to tell Tom a little bit about paranormal because we are here across the street from the Cecil Hotel.” (05:38)
• Host describes Pete as “a singer, writer, editor, educator at large...great human being, educational, uplifting, hilarious, and spooky.” (06:09–06:22)
• Banter about their love of Halloween and boy bands sets the tone for playful but sincere conversation.
• Conversation drifts to Pete’s unique family background:
  • Pete traces his ancestry back to Queen Azinga of Angola. (07:51)
  • Discussion of growing up in a family with dwarfism; preferred terms ("little people," not "midget").
  • Monica: "That means she got my brother’s type of dwarfism and my sister-in-law’s type. Usually they die and she made it." (18:35)—celebrating survival and uniqueness.

3. Absinthe Experiences & Placebo Power

• Pete and Tom share personal absinthe tales—Pete describes a wild night in Paris with his brother:
  • “We were like floating around like fairies for the next fucking six hours.” (12:03)
  • Admits, “I’m the kind of person who also just, like, gets in my head...so kind of like a psychosomatic thing.” (13:36)
• Schwartz ties this to a broader idea: when people expect supernatural experiences (ghosts, hallucinations), they’re primed to perceive them.
  • “It’s like you expect you’re gonna hallucinate... you might manifest that.” (13:48)

4. The Haunted History of the Cecil Hotel

• Pete, living across from the hotel, is considered an unofficial expert on the Cecil.
  • Claims: “The Hotel Cecil is now 100 years old as of last December...it has 18 reported deaths. But there have been over 800 deaths total.” (20:46)
  • Shares a harrowing story of seeing someone jump from the roof—never reported anywhere. (21:29)
  • Pete has been banned from entering by hotel owners after his videos spotlighted its grim reputation, even leading to legal threats. (24:08)
  • Discussion about hotel’s recent use as low-income housing after failed attempts at luxury redevelopment.

5. True Crime and Controversy: Ramirez and Elisa Lam

• The hotel is tied to notorious serial killer Richard Ramirez (the "Night Stalker") and resides at the heart of the Elisa Lam mystery.
  • Schwartz references Ramirez’s chilling lack of remorse:

    “His crime showed, and this is a quote, cruelty, cruelty, callousness and viciousness beyond any human understanding.” (25:23)

  • Pete reveals his hairdresser’s father was Ramirez’s cellmate, and she still owns a portrait painted by the killer. (26:00)
• The Elisa Lam case is recounted:
  • Pete: “She goes missing, and…the last known footage of her was in an elevator where she was acting like she was possessed…” (29:56)
  • Schwartz describes the horror of residents drinking from water tanks tainted during Lam’s disappearance:

    “The fact that people reported strange tasting water. They were drinking it, they were bathing in it, gargling…Like that really just disturbs me. 19 days.” (31:24)

  • Pete: “I think it’s a little bit of both”—on whether Lam’s death was supernatural or foul play. (32:58)
• Both discuss the lingering energy, whether dark or just highly charged, in the hotel.

6. Personal Paranormal Encounters

• Pete describes multiple inexplicable incidents since moving near the Cecil:
  • A water bottle flies across the room with no logical explanation. (35:08–35:57)
  • After visiting other haunted locations, he hears someone call his name at night (“Pete…”) while fully awake—“If I were to turn around, I would have seen something.” (37:11)
  • Unexplained knocks on his home’s walls/door at witching hour, prompting him to soon move out. (38:13–39:53)
  • Pete openly recalls a “deliverance” (exorcism-like ritual) to rid himself of a clinging spirit. (40:44)
• Schwartz and Pete debate the dangers—and the thrill—of investigating hauntings:
  • “Would you ever come with me?” (41:41) Schwartz: “I would love to do one with you.”
  • They agree a “spiritual cleanse” would be necessary afterward.

7. Boy Band Days, Creation & Resilience

• Pete’s musical history:
  • He was in multiple boy bands (Zero Gravity, 5 West), describing the intense camaraderie and heartbreak of breakups—like “my first romantic breakup.” (51:24)
  • On the energy of touring: “I mean, I really felt like I was in my element. It was wild. I mean, it was just so special.” (55:31)
  • 5 West achieved international touring, opening for acts like Jason Derulo.
  • The pandemic derailed the momentum—pivoted Pete to content creation after a viral video.
• Viral Video & Content Success
  • Pete’s YouTube and TikTok advice:
    • “Don't have a plan B. Do what you feel like you're born for. Don't take anyone's shit. Do what you feel. And if, even if it doesn't work, just keep going.” (47:13)
    • “Since 2020…explore whatever you want to do and…delete everything else you did before that and pretend like you're just starting.”
  • His authenticity praised:
    • Schwartz: “Your authenticity shines bright when I watch your…channels. It's…not a two dimensional experience. I feel like I get the 3D you.” (48:41)

8. Mental Health, Misunderstanding, and "Isms"

• Pete opens up about neurodivergence, Adderall experiences, and his new single "Isms":
  • “It's about feeling like you're neurodivergent neurospicy. …the miscommunications are incredible with that. …It's like the whole, you know, discrepancies of communicating when you feel like you don't belong.” (56:34)
  • Treats listeners to a brief, vulnerable acapella preview. (57:56)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Absinthe Ritual:
  • “I love the ritual. Traditionally, you place a sugar cube on a little spoon and let it dissolve with cold water dripping down...” (02:40)
• On Absinthe and Hallucinations:
  • Pete: “I was in Europe last year and I was hallucinating...floating around like fairies for the next fucking six hours.” (12:03)
  • Schwartz: “It’s like the placebo effect... Or if we go to Hotel Cecil and you really expect to see a ghost, you might manifest that.” (13:48)
• On the Cecil Hotel’s Death Toll:
  • Pete: “It has 18 reported deaths. ...But there have been over 800 deaths total since its opening. And you don't hear about it.” (20:46)
• On Elevator Incident with Elisa Lam:
  • Schwartz: “To me, it’s such a fascinating case...the last known footage of her was in an elevator where she was acting like she was possessed or weird or something was going on.” (29:56)
• On Paranormal Encounters:
  • Pete: “There was a water bottle on top and...all of a sudden the water bottle, it looks like it got hit...” (35:43)
  • Pete: “I go to close my eyes and I hear ‘Pete.’ ...I knew if I had turned around in that moment, I would have seen something.” (37:11)
  • Pete: “I've had to have a deliverance because of that.” (40:44)
• On Boy Bands and Heartbreak:
  • Pete: “When we broke up, it was like my first romantic breakup...I’ve always been trying to find that sense.” (51:30)
  • “It was everything. …It was an arena tour.” (55:16)
• On Creating Content:
  • “Never give up. …Do what you feel like you’re born for. …Even if it doesn’t work, just keep going.” (47:13)
  • “Good content is good content. You should always just focus on making the best content.” (48:25)
• On Authenticity:
  • Schwartz to Pete: “Your authenticity shines bright...not a two dimensional experience. I feel like I get the 3D you.” (48:41)
• On New Music:
  • Pete (singing): “We’re just sharing isms.” (58:07)
  • Schwartz: “Dude, that's a banger!” (58:12)
• On Happiness & Moving Forward:
  • Pete: “It's definitely like feeling less pigeonholed... But trying to, like, you know, trying to find more of the success in that.” (60:17)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro & Spooky Season Kickoff: 00:00–04:30
• Absinthe Lore & Ritual: 01:13–04:30
• Pete’s Family, Dwarfism, and Representation: 06:30–10:00, 17:37–19:35
• Absinthe Stories & Placebo Effect: 11:54–15:35
• Cecil Hotel History & Deaths: 20:18–24:39
• Richard Ramirez & True Crime: 24:47–27:09
• Elisa Lam Mystery: 28:48–32:53
• Personal Hauntings & Supernatural Experiences: 34:36–44:21
• Boy Bands, Music, Content Creation: 47:06–56:08
• Acapella Preview of ‘Isms’: 57:55–58:14
• Reflections, Happiness, Looking Forward: 60:08–61:10

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Episode Tone & Style

The conversation is candid, friendly, filled with dark humor and real talk, making complex topics accessible and deeply personal. Schwartz balances his signature goofiness and introspection with Pete’s wit and sincerity. Stories blend the mystical and the mundane, inviting listeners into the search for harmony amidst chaos.

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For New Listeners

Whether you’re obsessed with true crime, paranormal lore, resilience in the face of difference, or simply fascinated by the creative hustle, this episode captures the wild, weird, and warm spirit of “Detox Retox.” Come for the ghosts, stay for the heart.

Transcript

[Tom]

Foreign.

[Host]

Did I scare you?

[Schwartz]

I'm sorry for that. Was that cruel? I'm just excited here. I'm tempted to put the tree up already. Guys. It's my favorite time of the year. It's fall. My local CBS has decked the F out. And decorations technically for you summer lovers. We still have a few weeks of summer, but count your day, summer lovers, because fall is here. That's right. Sunday Fun day parlays Pumpkin spice. Hooray for the holidays. Pour one out for the holidays. But for some horror. Spooky season is the reason for this episode. As far as I'm concerned, it starts September 1st. Technically I'm waiting until October 1st for the decorations to go up, but mentally, I'm already covered in cobweb. Yeah, you wanna know what my brain sounds like right now? Let me show you a little sneak preview.

[Tom]

Earth, Air, Fire, Water. Air.

[Schwartz]

Yeah, you guys get the reference? Love the craft. One of the all time classic fall October movies. The original, not the remake. All the remake's not bad either, but yeah, man, I got a special episode I won't yap too much. We're gonna go downtown Los Angeles to one of the most haunted hotels in all of la and we're gonna chill with its unofficial ambassador, Pete Monzingo. Maybe you're one of his 22 million YouTube followers. He's a singer, writer, musician, performer, great human being. Love his content. Have you guys ever tried absinthe? By the way, can we talk a little bit about absinthe? It's, you know, it's steeped in lore to me, is very magical and ritualistic. I dig absinthe. So absinthe is a strong emerald green spirit born in 18th century Switzerland. Made from a mix of wormwood, anise and fennel. Nicknamed the Green Fairy. Became the go to drink of artists, writers, cool ass Bohemians in the 19th century in Paris. What a time to be alive. By the way. Vibes were vibing. But it fueled some awesome myths that it caused hallucinations or even madness. Absinthe, Madness in reality. All right, I don't want to be a buzzkill, but it just had a really high alcohol content. It carried an aura of danger because of. Wormwood contains trace amounts of thone, which is the culprit for all of these myths. Thone is a psychoactive chemical found in plants like sage, wormw, mugwort. Yeah, but it's the culprit for its supposed mind bending effects. You know, the doses are so small, it doesn't really have the magical effect at Least not here in the US where it's highly regulated, apparently. Allegedly. And I still like to believe some of the stuff in Europe will make you trip out. We're gonna trip out a little bit. Maybe you've heard the term. Yeah, absent madness. But originally it was used medicinal. And a French psychiatrist flawed experiment linked wormwood to insanity, leading to public panic bans in the early 20th century. So, yeah, man, I'm excited to drink some absinthe, hang out with Pete, and we're gonna vibe out. I love the way it tastes. It's got a nice flavor. Licorice. And I love the ritual. Traditionally, you place a sugar cube on a little spoon and you let it dissolve with cold water dripping down into the absinthe and it creates like this cloudy, milky drink. And it's very cool, man. It's steeped in lore. Just like the Cecil Hotel, which is allegedly the most haunted hotel in Los Angeles. I've been close to there. It does have a weird energy. I won't say a dark energy. Maybe it's a figment of my imagination or just all of the stories and history seeping in to my psyche, but I'm gonna stop yap. I'm gonna go down there. So get out your sugar cube, some cold water and some absinthe, and let's drip, drop our minds into a spooky little loosh. Next stop, the Cecil Hotel.

[Host]

Pete Monzingo.

[Pete Monzingo]

That's right.

[Schwartz]

What are we doing?

[Pete Monzingo]

I have no idea, Pete.

[Host]

It's Spooky Season commencement. That's what I'm calling it.

[Tom]

Yes, it is.

[Host]

Okay, I don't start on October 1st. I start on September 1st.

[Pete Monzingo]

As you should.

[Host]

We're high fiving. We're downtown LA. Wait, do you want to introduce yourself first?

[Tom]

Yes.

[Pete Monzingo]

My name is Pete Monzingo. I'm here to tell Tom a little bit about paranormal because we are here across the street from the Cecil Hotel.

[Host]

Literally across the street. You guys might know Pete from YouTube. He's a singer, writer, editor, editor at large.

[Pete Monzingo]

At large.

[Host]

And he's a great human being. And yes, we are literally across the street from Hotel Cecil.

[Schwartz]

And I thought it was still open.

[Host]

It's not open.

[Pete Monzingo]

No, it closed in 2020.

[Host]

It closed in 2020.

[Pete Monzingo]

Or no, 2017.

[Host]

Actually, you guys probably know Pete, but if you don't, after this podcast, go watch his videos. They're so good. Educational and uplifting and hilarious and spooky.

[Pete Monzingo]

And spooky.

[Host]

So spooky.

[Tom]

Yes.

[Host]

I love, I like, I'm partial to your spooky videos. Yeah, but we're doing the damn thing. Okay.

[Pete Monzingo]

And it's Halloween now, so it's Halloween every day here.

[Host]

Honestly, as far as I'm concerned, it's Halloween right now. Yeah, I'm gonna go home on a macar with pumpkin.

[Pete Monzingo]

What are you gonna be this year for Halloween?

[Host]

I haven't thought about it yet. Maybe a Backstreet Boy. I really want to see the residency at the Sphere. Have you seen this?

[Pete Monzingo]

No, but I want to too.

[Host]

Me too. By the way, Pete was in a boy band. We're going to talk about that later. Well, multiple boy bands. Yes, yes.

[Pete Monzingo]

Fortunately and unfortunately.

[Host]

Yes, we're going to talk about that. I'm very jealous because I always low key, had like this closet pipe dream of being in a boy band. I could see it back in the TRL days, you know, when NSYNC and Backstreet Boys were charting. Trl? Carson Daly. What you know about that?

[Pete Monzingo]

I mean. Wait, what's trl? Is that Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls?

[Host]

No. Total Request live on mtv. Oh, I just aged myself. Wait, how old are you?

[Tom]

18. You guys.

[Host]

Oh, my God. Wait, I want to ask you something. I don't want to get right off the top. I don't want to get too heavy.

[Tom]

Okay, Okay.

[Host]

I want to keep things light. But I want to ask you, how does it feel to be a part of the black community? I think you've seen enough tiktoks to know what I'm talking about.

[Tom]

I am dead.

[Pete Monzingo]

Did you see the video? I did.

[Host]

No, I didn't see your.

[Pete Monzingo]

Oh, thank God.

[Host]

Oh, I didn't see it.

[Pete Monzingo]

Well, basically.

[Tom]

Okay.

[Pete Monzingo]

My great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great great grandmother is Queen Azinga Angola. So you can actually see like a tree chart in the other room where you can trace it down my family line to me.

[Host]

Oh, you have receipts and lineage.

[Pete Monzingo]

I sure do.

[Host]

You guys, I was making a kind of a cheap joke. This is. I was alluding to a TikTok trend that started back in like May.

[Tom]

Yep.

[Host]

Do you know what I'm talking about?

[Pete Monzingo]

Absolutely.

[Host]

And yes, essentially, like red haired people. I won't call you a ginger.

[Pete Monzingo]

You can. No, Ginger.

[Host]

Ginger got inducted, accepted into the black community because it's like there was, you know, much like them. There's some parallels. You guys have been othered, if you will. Is that okay for me to say that?

[Pete Monzingo]

Yeah, it's like.

[Host]

I mean, it's like in some, in, in some parts of the world, bullied, fetishized or Even, like, that part's fine, though.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

I'm just kidding.

[Host]

That's the absinthe talking.

[Pete Monzingo]

I know, right?

[Tom]

Yes.

[Host]

We're drinking absinthe.

[Tom]

Oh, God.

[Host]

We're going to talk about it. But no, but it's like, there's some parallels there. And on the surface it's funny, but there are some deeper, you know, parallels.

[Pete Monzingo]

There are really?

[Host]

Have you experienced this, by the way?

[Pete Monzingo]

I mean, like.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

Just because of the color of your hair, people want to touch your hair.

[Tom]

Yes, yes.

[Pete Monzingo]

I mean, people always are commenting on my hair. They're always wanting to touch my hair. I'm, like, walking on the street and people are rolling on their windows, like, oh, my go. Your hair color, like. And then the worst part is that when I moved to la, it was at a time where, like, gingers were very. Like, they. They weren't in commercials, they weren't in movies. They weren't. And I came to LA to be an actor at first. And so, like, the fact that now that I am, like, a creator, not an actor, and then now it's cool to be a ginger, I'm like, okay, what's happening?

[Host]

Where was this credibility when I needed it?

[Pete Monzingo]

Exactly.

[Host]

It's like, you get now, you know, back in the day, you had people driving by. Do you have a soul?

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

And making cheap south park jokes and stuff like that, but.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

Did you experience any bullying and stuff growing up as a kid because of the color of your hair?

[Pete Monzingo]

I would say not until I came to la, really, but it was. I mean, you know, when you're in a dwarf family, usually the jokes are on the dwarves.

[Host]

Yes.

[Pete Monzingo]

Yeah.

[Host]

Yes. And we're gonna talk about that. We can talk about it right now. How's your mom?

[Pete Monzingo]

She's okay.

[Host]

She's okay.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

She was in and out of the hospital again, so.

[Host]

Okay. I'm sorry to hear that. You guys. You guys have. So.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

You come from a family with dwarfism, and that's, like, one thing you feature on your YouTube channels a lot. It's uplifting.

[Tom]

Hey. Hi.

[Schwartz]

How's it.

[Host]

It's okay. Should we stop and say hi?

[Pete Monzingo]

We should.

[Tom]

Hey.

[Host]

All right, we're gonna pause, guys. One sec. We'll pick back up. Guys, what is up?

[Schwartz]

It's Schwartz, your official unofficial ambassador of going to the grocery store, spending $290, then getting home and ordering takeout because you don't feel like cooking by the time you've unpacked all the groceries. Yeah, we're not doing that anymore.

[Host]

Okay.

[Schwartz]

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[Host]

We're back.

[Tom]

We're back.

[Host]

The absinthe's kicking in.

[Pete Monzingo]

I've never been drunk in my life.

[Host]

Any hallucinations yet?

[Tom]

I don't know.

[Host]

It's a myth. But it's, it's a, it's a fun myth to embrace.

[Pete Monzingo]

Only in America. It's a myth because I was in Europe last year and I was hallucinating because I made my brother and I do a shot of absinthe and then we were like floating around like fairies for the next fucking six hours.

[Host]

So that's the common lore. The common myth is if you drink absinthe, you hallucinate. It's been dispelled for the most part because. So there's. Okay, in, in absinthe there's an ingredient called wormwood.

[Tom]

Okay.

[Host]

And the, and the psychoactive component in there is called thuhon.

[Tom]

Through whom?

[Host]

Thuhone.

[Tom]

Through home.

[Host]

And that's the one that's supposed to make you see the green fairies, but I guess over the years it's been dispelled and they said people just hallucinated because they just drank too much. And, and the OG stuff, maybe some of the stuff that you had in Europe still has a very high apv, very high alcohol content. So if you drink enough of anything that strong, you're probably going to hallucinate.

[Tom]

Wow. Yeah.

[Host]

Wait, can you tell me about your experience drinking it? You were in Paris?

[Pete Monzingo]

I was in Paris. We were at the Paralympics with. And I went with my brother.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

And we, I was like, andrew, let's go to the bar because we leave in two Days. And we have to have, like, a crazy night. And so we go to the bar, we get absent because he's like, whatever you want. And I'm like, all right, well, if he's giving me the opportunity, I'm going to just fuck him up. And Me, too.

[Host]

That was your first choice?

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

I do everything for reactions. So honestly, I'm like, he's gonna, like, lose his shit. And he did. And I'm so happy. No regrets.

[Tom]

Wait, did you.

[Host]

So, wait, are you half joking, or did you actually feel some sort of visuals when you did it?

[Pete Monzingo]

No, I did.

[Schwartz]

You did.

[Pete Monzingo]

But I'm the kind of person who also just, like, gets in my head.

[Host]

So kind of like a psychosomatic thing.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

I'm like, oh, wait. Oops. Maybe like, after you said that, I'm like, okay, I totally would believe that. I, like, did that to myself somehow.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

The placebo effect a little bit. It's like you expect you're gonna hallucinate. Or if we go to Hotel Cecil and you really expect to see a ghost, you might manifest that.

[Pete Monzingo]

Well, that's. That's the. That's different.

[Tom]

Yeah. Though.

[Host]

Yes.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

No, we're gonna get into that.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

If that's cool with you.

[Tom]

Yes.

[Pete Monzingo]

Yes.

[Host]

But, no. Contrary to popular belief, I don't think. Well, you just. I'm. Now you've thrown me for a loop. Pete. Pete says he hallucinated in Paris on absinthe. I mean, I love the lore. Now I just want to know more about your experience. I don't say, you know my experience. That's so cliche. Don't say you saw a green fairy.

[Pete Monzingo]

I did not. I just saw my brother. He's pretty much a green fairy.

[Host]

Okay. No, it's like. It's kicking in now. All of a sudden, I want to paint something and I want to chop one of my ears off. Oh, no.

[Pete Monzingo]

As long as it's one of yours, not mine.

[Host]

Van Gogh. Van Gogh reference.

[Tom]

Oh, God.

[Pete Monzingo]

I don't.

[Host]

Van Gogh, the artist.

[Pete Monzingo]

I mean, I know he's an artist, but.

[Host]

Well, he's famous, like, for drinking absinthe and, oh, writing. Terribly sad, Dear John letters.

[Pete Monzingo]

And do you think that is part of a success? Absinthe is.

[Host]

Well, like we talked about earlier.

[Schwartz]

Pain. Pain.

[Host]

Not necessary for great art. But it does help fuel great art.

[Pete Monzingo]

I believe that.

[Host]

Right. Yes. And Pete is in pain because he's painstakingly edit. Editing a video right now.

[Tom]

Yes.

[Host]

But it's gonna be a classic. One for the ages.

[Tom]

Yes.

[Host]

One for the ages. By the Way I tried. So we have all the classic stuff here, guys. Sorry for no video. We have the sugar cubes. We have absinthe. We tried to get the loosh. It's when. So when you add the water to it, it gets that milky opalescence. It's called louche. It's from the. It's when the oils from the. The anise are released.

[Pete Monzingo]

How do you know all of this?

[Host]

Well, I used to love absinthe. I have one of those traditional absinthe dispensers. And, yeah, I was an absinthe guy.

[Tom]

Wow. Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

I would never have guessed, by the.

[Host]

Way, randomly, before I came here. And I didn't go looking for it. This happened organically. I saw one of your videos. It was what you. It was a YouTube short. You trying Adderall for the first time. And it was so funny because it took me back to when I was in college and. Do you remember taking Adderall for the first time?

[Tom]

Yes.

[Host]

Yes. Can you tell me about it?

[Pete Monzingo]

I called my doctor and I said, I just had a coffee when the Adderall kicked in, and I feel like I'm gonna die. And he goes, don't drink coffee again. You're really sensitive. You're only on 5 milligrams. But I think we need to make sure that you. We, you know, moderate your. Your intake of caffeine. And so naturally, when he said that, I'm like, I'm gonna drink coffee every day from now on because it was such a rush, but don't do that.

[Host]

You chased your first Adderall with caffeine?

[Pete Monzingo]

Yeah, I just didn't know. I didn't ask the pharmacist anything because I didn't know you're supposed to. I was like, 19.

[Host]

What did you. What did you. Did you utilize it or do you just go about your day?

[Pete Monzingo]

I utilized. I ended up utilizing it because I was like, okay, if I take it when I need to, like for homework or for projects, because I was in college. And then now, though, unfortunately, I feel like I have to take it every day.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

But I'll go back to that.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

The first time I took it, I waited and I procrastinated. So the night before for a biochemistry final in college, and I was crying and I called my friend Kayla because I knew she had Adderall in a last ditch effort, and I took one and I went into the Matrix.

[Tom]

Yep.

[Host]

I studied all night to edm. Sorry. I don't know why I'm getting excited. And I know I ended up Getting like a B plus just for cramming.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

The night before.

[Pete Monzingo]

Worth it.

[Host]

Accumulative final too. So everything we learned all year and then.

[Pete Monzingo]

Did you try it ever since?

[Host]

I dabbled.

[Tom]

Okay.

[Host]

But I was like, you know what? I had a really good experience. I think I'm going to leave on a high note.

[Tom]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Host]

I don't want to make a Costanza reference because I don't know if you'll get it. Seinfeld.

[Pete Monzingo]

Oh no, I wouldn't see.

[Host]

Yeah, he didn't know what TRL was. Total request Live.

[Pete Monzingo]

I live under a rock.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

But yeah, you, your. We took. Oh, we. Oh, before we stop talking. Your family has dwarfism. Yes. And well, the preferred nomenclature is little people or.

[Tom]

Yes.

[Host]

Not never.

[Pete Monzingo]

Never.

[Host]

Yeah, never.

[Pete Monzingo]

That's like saying ginger exactly by the.

[Host]

That was at the top. I said that jokingly. I would never call you a ginger. Yes.

[Pete Monzingo]

I don't care.

[Host]

But it is, it is disparaging. Yes. Okay. Yeah, that's what I thought. But family's doing okay.

[Tom]

Yeah, they're okay. Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

I'm really excited cuz my niece just turned 4 and or 5. Oh God, I'm turbo uncle. But she finally got offered trach. Well, she still has a trach, but she doesn't have to be hooked up to a machine anymore. So she actually has double, double dwarfism which is a 25% chance for her. And that means she got my brother's type of dwarfism and my sister in law's type of dwarfism and usually they die and she made it and so she's one of the few out there in the world.

[Host]

That's a beautiful thing.

[Tom]

It is.

[Host]

Thank you for the education, by the way. I've never even heard of that.

[Pete Monzingo]

Yeah, it's crazy.

[Host]

So it's, it significantly increases your chances or it reduces your. No. Increases your mortality rate a thousand percent. Oh my God.

[Tom]

Okay.

[Pete Monzingo]

And my brother is a type of dwarfism that like is not in the books. So he's his own type. He gets to name it and everything. And so he decided to have children, which is fine because he ended up healthy and his wife is very healthy. But then the, the youngest, my youngest niece ended up just getting really an unfortunate, you know, luck of the draw.

[Schwartz]

Yeah, well, I'm sorry to hear that, but it's okay.

[Pete Monzingo]

Yeah, she's persevering.

[Host]

She's persevering. She's not, she's, she's thriving.

[Pete Monzingo]

She's thriving.

[Host]

Not just surviving. Yeah, she's thriving.

[Pete Monzingo]

She is.

[Host]

I love to Hear that?

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

It's uplifting, like your videos.

[Pete Monzingo]

Thank you.

[Host]

I love your videos. I'm fangirling out a little bit. I've known. I've known you for a while. I know.

[Pete Monzingo]

Wait, the Hills. Wait, what is it? The Hills? What's the new one?

[Host]

That was a predecessor, actually. I think you could say our show. Well, you could say all the shows like that were a derivative of the OG Housewives of Orange County. Well, our show was actually. We had the same executive producer, Bill Langworthy, that was on the Hills. He did Vanderpump Rules the first nine seasons, actually.

[Tom]

Wow.

[Host]

Yeah. So history there. Yeah, a little reality TV history.

[Pete Monzingo]

That's cool.

[Host]

Wait, did you watch our show?

[Pete Monzingo]

Well, I watched, you know, bits and pieces, the big parts.

[Host]

Don't say that.

[Pete Monzingo]

I'm not gonna say it.

[Host]

Don't say the word.

[Pete Monzingo]

I don't know you're talking.

[Host]

Don't say the s word.

[Pete Monzingo]

I'm not.

[Host]

All right, this is Spooky Season commencement kickoff. It's going down right across. Right across the alley from Hotel Cecil. Can you tell us a little bit about this place? I feel like you're an expert.

[Tom]

I am.

[Host]

You might be the go to expert in Los Angeles.

[Pete Monzingo]

Okay. A year ago, you could type in a GPS Pete Monzingo, and it would route you to the Hotel Cecil on every maps online. Not anymore, though, since I kind of slowed down on the content. But the Hotel cecil is now 100 years old as of last December 21, 2024. So it is actually. It has 18 reported deaths. Reported deaths. But there have been over 800 deaths total since its opening. And you don't see it. You don't hear about it. You only hear about the things that have, like, made the news. And since I've been here, even in the last year, I've seen, or I would say year and a half, I've seen somebody jump off the roof. Never reported, never online, never anything I could ever find. And I, like, go in the depths, you know, rabbit hole style.

[Host]

You witnessed this from your. Your apartment here?

[Tom]

Yes, I.

[Pete Monzingo]

Yes. I was standing right there looking up, and I'm, like, at the window open. I'm like, stop, stop. Don't help. Like. And I was calling 911 and he jumped, and then they carried off his body. And, like, not a trace. Like, nothing you can find the news didn't report or anything.

[Host]

From the top floor on the roof. Yeah, I'm looking at the roof right now, guys.

[Pete Monzingo]

You can see the. The fire escape on the right there. You see all the balconies.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

And that's what Elisa Lam's path was to the girl from 10 years ago.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

Which I want to talk about a little bit. Yes, there's been.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

So that's interesting. Reported. Yeah. 16 reported.

[Pete Monzingo]

18.

[Host]

18 reported. I know about the first suicide in 1931, I think it was. I did a little. I did a show. I did a shallow dive. So a woman checked into the hotel and she later jumped from a window and unalived herself.

[Tom]

Yep.

[Schwartz]

I can.

[Host]

Pete, I'm, like, literally taken aback. I don't even know what to say. You witnessed that with your own eyes.

[Pete Monzingo]

I've witnessed. I mean, I was held at gunpoint there. I was.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

Wait, we can't just brush over that. Can you talk us up to that moment? What were the moments leading before? Were you doing when you're doing a video?

[Pete Monzingo]

Okay, so basically, where it stood last, when they reopened the building, it was a grand reopening for the low income homeless. Because before that, before COVID the owners, they have a pro for profit business, and they wanted to completely redo the entire hotel and do a rooftop pool and bar and like, all this weird. That's actually kind of disrespectful because of Lisa Lamb and all of, like, the deaths and stuff. Like, I would never be up there lounging, chilling, getting that, like a drink right next to the water tanks. Like, that's weird.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

And so when Covid happened, they struck a deal with the Skid Row Housing Trust, where basically they didn't have to worry about, like, remarketing, redoing anything, and they saved, what was it, like, 80% on redoing the entire building to just kind of code so that they can get people in there and then have, like, a profit without trying. And that's why they repainted the. The signs on the side of the building, because they didn't. They wanted to be really inconspicuous. And so I started, like, talking about this online in my videos and things, and the owner ended up trying to do a cease and desist on me. And then insider did, like, a whole report, like, and pivoted me against the owner. And then we were, like, talking at each other, and then they banned me from going into the building. And then as soon as I realized I was banned, I was like, I have to go in tomorrow. So then I went in the next day. I was like, them, I do what I want.

[Host]

Wait, this is insane. You've made a name for yourself? Well, a reputation, for better or worse. Oh, My God.

[Pete Monzingo]

And so it's like they.

[Host]

They accused you of running a smear campaign against the hotel almost or, like, tarnishing it. Yeah, they're trying to rebrand. Yes, it's.

[Pete Monzingo]

Yeah, they weren't even rebranding at that point because it was like they had given up on it. They didn't want to put in the work and the money because they're like, oh, we'll just sign off on the. The homeless. But the thing is, the homeless are now moving out because it's safer on the streets than it is at the Cecil Hotel.

[Host]

Really?

[Tom]

Yes.

[Schwartz]

Wow.

[Host]

So it's haunted in a different sense of the word now.

[Pete Monzingo]

It's all the sense of the word.

[Host]

Listen, it has a fascinating history. I know. Richard. Richard Ramirez, the night stalker, stayed there, I think his room Fact checked me. 14th floor.

[Tom]

Yep.

[Host]

Yes, 14th floor. By the way, you guys, the night soccer back In, I think, 84 and 85, he went on a vicious, nasty killing spree where he raped and murdered many women. Super twisted. I was reading some stuff from his trial, by the way. His trial began in 89, and in September he was convicted of 13 murders and a variety of other twisted crimes. And two months later, he was sentenced to death. Do you know about this?

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

And this. This struck me with the judge saying that his crime showed, and this is a quote, cruelty, cruelty, callousness and viciousness beyond any human understanding. And he never expressed any remorse. I think is the last thing he said was, big deal. Death always went with this territory, which is like. That haunts me a little bit.

[Pete Monzingo]

You know what's even crazier is that. Well, I mean, that's crazy as is. But my hairdresser person, Pete, has great hair. Thank you so much.

[Schwartz]

We should have video.

[Host]

He has the best. And we'll come back to this.

[Tom]

Okay.

[Pete Monzingo]

I was telling her about the hotel Cecil and all of this, and she ended up telling me her dad was a cellmate with Richard Ramirez. And she would only. Well, not only go to see Richard Ramirez, but she would go obviously see her dad, too. But she had some sort of connection, she thought, with Richard Ramirez to where he painted a picture of her or of some sort of picture and he gave it to her. And she has it still in her house to this day. And she's like. I mean, at me. It's just like the weirdest parallel.

[Schwartz]

Wow.

[Pete Monzingo]

And I'm like, can I see it? And she said, yes. And I, like, went over to her house and I saw it and I'm like, can I please Post about this. Can I please like interview you? And she's like, no, no, no, no. Don't even say my name.

[Tom]

Wow.

[Host]

Yeah, it's controversial. I. I don't know if it was the Night Stalker, but I swear in some sort of twisted. I can't even believe, like, he had a fan club. I know he had a fan club.

[Tom]

Who?

[Host]

Women who were weird cuz I. Apparently they thought he was handsome. He looks demented to me. He's one of the scariest looking I've ever seen.

[Pete Monzingo]

I agree.

[Host]

Yeah. And he just looks. He just looks. Do you think people are. Do you think people are born evil or can be born evil?

[Pete Monzingo]

Is this wicked?

[Host]

I haven't seen wicked yet.

[Tom]

No.

[Host]

Do you think. Okay, like a psychologist would say, it's a combination of nature and nurture, genetic predisposition, environment, life experience. Essentially biology loads the gun and then your environment pulls the trigger. But I don't know.

[Schwartz]

I don't know.

[Pete Monzingo]

I think it's like, like me, I'm a twig. I'm so skinny. I've tried so hard to like, you know, be a bodybuilder, gain weight, all these things and it's like, you can do it. But I think DNA does play a point where it's like, well, good luck though. Yeah, but like you can. But is it worth the time? Like maybe that's kind of how he was of. Like maybe inherently that's just kind of his DNA and then he just kind of ran with it or something.

[Host]

In, in, in. In the philosophy of Theravada Buddhism, they say human beings are not born with a blank slate. Essentially, some people are born good regardless of their good or bad environment or good and bad behaviors of their parents. Some people are born bad regardless of their good or bad environment or good and bad behaviors of the parents too. That was a mouthful. But did it make sense?

[Tom]

Yeah, yeah.

[Host]

Which. I don't know. I like to lean towards the latter.

[Pete Monzingo]

That. That's what you think.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

I mean, yeah, I'm a. Listen, I'm a. I'm an exercise physiology major. I have a science background. But I do, I do think some people are just born wicked. I don't know. Good callback. But yeah, but can we talk about Elisa Lam?

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

Just for a little bit. I know it's been covered like odd Nazi ad nauseam on the Internet. We've all talked about it. But it's like, to me, it's such a fascinating case. It really is. So can you tell everybody a little bit about it?

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

So 2013. Elisa Lam was a girl who came down from Canada who was just kind of, like, coming to LA for the first time.

[Host]

21 years old.

[Pete Monzingo]

Yeah, 21 years old. And she was looking for a cheap place to stay. This is back when it was Stay on Main and Hotel Cecil. So Hotel Cecil were for the residents, and then Stay on Main was for, like, they were trying to rebrand in a creative way that was legal. So they had a separate entrance for Sam Main. And so Lisa Lam was like, oh, downtown la, that's where you go downtown. Like, that's where everything's just usually at. So she booked that hotel because it was really cheap. She didn't know it was Hotel Cecil, but she had a room with a couple other people. It was like a hostel at first, and then she started acting kind of strange, and then she ended up getting her own room, which I'll have to show you, Tom. Her room you can see from here.

[Host]

You can?

[Tom]

Yes.

[Host]

Oh, my God.

[Pete Monzingo]

And basically, long story short, she goes missing, and the. They look at security footage, and the last known footage of her was in an elevator where she was acting like she was possessed or weird or something was going on.

[Host]

I'll post the video for you guys if you haven't seen it. But there's a whole documentary, too. But it was. It was really uncanny and eerie to me. It almost looked like she was possessed or having. Maybe she would. I can't make a joke. I was gonna say maybe she was drinking. No, that's not funny at all. No. But it looked like she was really talking to someone. It did, didn't she? It was really eerie.

[Pete Monzingo]

And some people say that they can see, like, a foot, you know, like an apparition. Yeah. Or. No, like. Like. Like a shadow or something. On the end of what looks like someone's foot.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

And then in other footage, it's not there, so it makes me wonder, like, if it's been tampered with.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

And there's just so many other. And I have my own thoughts about it, too, living across the street. And, like, it's. It still is wild to me.

[Host]

You know what? You know what really sticks with me and haunts me, if you will? It's like, the fact that she was in there, I think, for 19 days. She climbed up into the water tank. It was not locked or bolted down. She was in there for 19 days. And then I guess a maintenance worker discovered her because, like, they were investigating the low water pressure and strange taste in the water.

[Pete Monzingo]

It was yellow.

[Schwartz]

It was yellow.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

I I like, I, by the way, I like thinking about this.

[Tom]

It.

[Host]

It really haunts me, you know what I mean? Like the fact that people reported strange tasting water. They were drinking it, they were bathing in it, gargling with that water. Like that really just disturbs me. 19 days. Like can you imagine if you're one of those people who was there during that time?

[Pete Monzingo]

No, I'm like, why didn't anyone say anything earlier? I know, like, and they had a full investigation. Like there were like. It was pretty much like the SWAT team, you know, not really, but like the LA lapd, like the top people were on this case for two weeks and then they just like gave up.

[Host]

It was ruled an accidental drowning.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

And they said she was bipolar and they said that she hadn't taken her medication. But it's. I don't know, it's controversial.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

Like the lingering questions, how did she end up in the tank? Why did she go in there?

[Pete Monzingo]

Well, and what I think is they trace your scent up to that, the like the sixth floor balcony right here. But there are so many. Like they're like the cameras and work and we didn't know, but there are cameras on top of this building. There happened.

[Host]

There's no security footage of her going in there.

[Pete Monzingo]

No. And I'm like that there's something weird here because not only there's are no camera footage from any of the downtown L. A buildings all around the fucking Cecil, but it's also just all the units. Like I'm one unit right here. But There are like 100 units on facing there. And it is weird and very noticeable. If anyone were to climb up there, everyone would see it and someone would call some sort of, you know, call 911 or call somebody. And I mean it's, it's doesn't check out to me.

[Host]

Do you lean more towards foul play or supernatural stuff?

[Pete Monzingo]

I think it's a little bit of both.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

What do you think?

[Host]

I. I think I tend to agree.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

It's fascinating.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

If you watch the video, it's disturbing too.

[Pete Monzingo]

And I, I used to like be such a skeptic with all of that. But like ever since I moved in here, I would start noticing things at the Cecil, like things moving or never apparitions, but definitely like curtains moving or like lights or just a ton of stuff. And that's kind of when I started shifting my perspective on the Elisa Lam thing is because I'm like, okay. At first I was like she was bipolar. And then I'm like, okay, based on What I've seen with my eyes. Maybe it's a mix, maybe it's. I don't know anymore.

[Host]

The building does have an energy, a presence. I've never been in there. Right, but you've spent a lot of time in there. It does have, would you say a negative energy?

[Pete Monzingo]

Yes. Okay, the top floor specifically?

[Host]

Yes, the top floor. And like, I don't know, some people are like, I, I. Based on what I know, I'd be like, that building's cursed. But other people will say it's like a self fulfilling prophecy shaped by years of tragic press coverage and stuff like that, you know? But I don't know. Why do we feel, why do we.

[Schwartz]

Feel compelled to visit haunted spots?

[Pete Monzingo]

Is it the mystery?

[Host]

The mystery? Yeah, the, the endorphins. The adrenaline rush too.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

Also, it's just like, I don't know when, when, when facing, you know, the existential dread. We're all gonna die someday. It's like. You hope there's an afterlife. I don't know. I believe in ghosts.

[Tom]

Me too.

[Host]

Do you?

[Pete Monzingo]

Well, lately, in the last five years. Yeah.

[Host]

Have you ever had like a remarkable ghostly encounter?

[Tom]

Yes.

[Pete Monzingo]

Here actually, after I did a ghost investigations, I came back here and there were like three big things that happened in this. Where you're, where you're at right now.

[Schwartz]

I had a little.

[Host]

Wait, can you talk about it if you're not comfortable?

[Pete Monzingo]

Oh, I should talk about it.

[Host]

Oh, okay.

[Pete Monzingo]

The first one was the first day I moved in and I, I didn't even know about the Hotel Cecil because I, I just moved here because it was the cheapest spot I could find. And I was, I didn't have a place to live.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

And so I'm like, okay, I'll just do this. And then when I'm at my housewarming party, everyone's like, you know the Hotel Cecil? And that's kind of where it all started for me. But that first day I had a roommate and we had this old TV right here in front of us in the living room. And there was a water bottle on top and it was half full and it was like 1pm all the windows were shut. No wind, no fan on, nothing. We're just watching tv and all of a sudden the water bottle, it, it looks like it got hit and it went all the way to like the thermostat where the keys are there. Like from there to there, that's like.

[Host]

Guys, just so you know, it's like 10ft maybe.

[Pete Monzingo]

At least.

[Host]

At least 10ft.

[Pete Monzingo]

Yes.

[Host]

So it wasn't just like a subtle tip over. The windows were closed. Yeah, there's not a strong ac. And I mean, there's ac, but it's not like enough to nothing.

[Pete Monzingo]

And that's never. And I've been here so long and like, that's never happened since at all.

[Host]

Did you get that feeling in your spine or did you get that?

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

Even though I didn't believe in ghosts at the time, I was like, it must be some weird thing.

[Host]

From a physics standpoint, it's not possible.

[Pete Monzingo]

It's not.

[Host]

But it happened. It happened, witnessed it.

[Pete Monzingo]

And then nothing happened after that until I started posting online and I started getting into the Hotel Cecil stuff. And so that's actually how I launched my YouTube channel is just paranormal content. TikTok was more family, but YouTube was more paranormal. And so that I got back from my first trip across the country where I went to 25 different haunted locations and then I, like, landed in the mother of all asylums and I did a collab there. And then the day I came back, not only was all my footage corrupt and I lost all my hard drives, my computer didn't work anymore. My phone footage from that location was corrupt as well. But that night I got into bed and I heard. I. I've never heard this in my life. I go to close my eyes and I hear Pete. And I'm facing out the window. My bed's like, on the other side of the wall right there.

[Host]

Are you asleep or semi asleep or just chilling?

[Pete Monzingo]

Just laid down. I, like, I didn't even close my eyes.

[Host]

You're fully conscious?

[Tom]

Yes.

[Pete Monzingo]

But I keep tricking myself into thinking that I was, like, part of sleep. But I had to come to the realization that, like, I was not. And I knew in my spine and my soul that I have left since I'm a ginger. If I were to turn around, I.

[Host]

Had to ask permission to laugh. He said, it's okay, it's okay.

[Pete Monzingo]

I knew if I had turned around in that moment, I would have seen something. And at that point, I kind of like did own deliverance on me because I'm Christian, so I'm like, in Jesus name. I'm like, hopefully this works. And I just, like, went to bed.

[Host]

Yeah, you just rolled over. So you said a prayer and you rolled over and went to bed.

[Pete Monzingo]

I. I didn't. I was already rolled over. If I had rolled back over, I'm pretty sure I would have seen, like, something crazy. And I'm like, I'm not going to do that.

[Schwartz]

Wow.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

And then There was one other thing that happened, and then. Do you want me to tell it?

[Host]

Is that okay?

[Tom]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

This happened not even a year ago. And I was sitting here, around here, wherever. Like, my desk was at the time, and I was editing, and it was like 3 or 4am Witching hour, and I had, at the time, my creative director here, and we were, like, really going in on an edit. And all of a sudden I hear a. And we look at each other, and I'm like, did you do that?

[Host]

Like. Like, almost like. Or like, at the door?

[Pete Monzingo]

It was. It was. It was like on the wall, slash, door.

[Tom]

It.

[Pete Monzingo]

It sounded like it was at the door. And sometimes, like, you can hear the units above if they have heels or something. Like, I can kind of now discern, like, what's what. But that was definitely, like, on the wall or on the door. And so I go and. And look, and I. I open out, like, out the door immediately. And it's all, like, lit up. We have sensors out in the hallway. And so again, it's that time of night, 3 or 4am, and I'm like, why? Like, if the lights are on, someone was right here. But it's been like three seconds and no one's here. So I was like, tripping out, and we were just looking at each other. I closed the door and he gives me a look, and I give him a look back, like, yeah, nothing. And then I go to lock the door, right? When I go lock the door, the same thing happens again. And I'm like, do I. Do I check again? I'm like, whispering, like someone can fucking hear us, you know? And he's like, I don't know. And so I open the door immediately, and nothing there again. And I'm like, all right. And then I bought my house a month later. No shit. Seriously? I'm like, I can't do this. Like, it's killing me, you know?

[Host]

So for the listeners.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

Pete has his work studio downtown. It's amazing in here, but he also just bought a beautiful home.

[Pete Monzingo]

Yes, in the Valley, right next to Universal. Well, Universal City.

[Host]

Yeah, Universal City. Okay. It's a great spot.

[Pete Monzingo]

Yeah, it is.

[Host]

How's the house coming along?

[Pete Monzingo]

It's peaceful, which is nice, but it's not haunted. Yeah, I mean, it might be haunted, though.

[Host]

Wait, what? Are you joking?

[Pete Monzingo]

I don't know. I don't know if I'm psyching myself out or not, but there's some things you'll have to come over and check.

[Host]

Well, it's like, okay, one thing that prevents me from going and staying in like a haunted Airbnb or something. There's. Every once in a while I. You hear about spirits or entities that.

[Schwartz]

Can cling to you.

[Host]

Not like inhabit your your. But like cling to you and sort of linger.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

I've had to have a deliverance because of that.

[Schwartz]

Wait, what?

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

You really never talked about that?

[Tom]

But yeah.

[Host]

Like an exorcism or like a low key exorcism.

[Pete Monzingo]

Yes, but I literally like was like. And then like my eyes were rolling the back of my head. I mean, this before I even moved to la.

[Host]

Did you document that?

[Tom]

No.

[Pete Monzingo]

Oh, this is before.

[Host]

That's very intimate in a way.

[Tom]

It was.

[Pete Monzingo]

I mean, it changed me forever, honestly.

[Tom]

Wow. Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

And so that's why I'm like kind of weary about like opening the door to it again. But I'm like, but the views and also like, I'm interested in it, you know?

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

But okay, so I, I like, I love that you think that's a real concern too. I don't think that's a figment of my imagination.

[Pete Monzingo]

You think it's a concern too?

[Host]

Yes. I, I just, I've never, I've. I love watching scary movies and stuff, but I've never really went to like. I don't know how you did what you did across the country. I didn't know you went. I have to go back and watch your old stuff.

[Pete Monzingo]

Would you ever come with me?

[Host]

I would love to do one with you.

[Pete Monzingo]

Okay.

[Host]

But we might have to do like a seance or something. I've Not a sans, but a cleanse afterwards. Yeah, a spiritual cleanse, if you're cool with that.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

Just to be safe.

[Tom]

Yes. Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

I feel intense all of a sudden.

[Host]

Dude, that's really. I didn't know any of this.

[Pete Monzingo]

Yeah, it's crazy.

[Host]

Well, you guys, I've known Pete for a while, but like, I didn't know I'd never done a deep dive with you.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Schwartz]

That's so cool.

[Pete Monzingo]

Have you ever had any paranormal experiences?

[Host]

I did 11 years of reality TV. It was pretty spooky.

[Pete Monzingo]

Fair, Fair.

[Host]

No, I haven't, I haven't. Katie, who's my ex wife and my dear friend, she's had a lot of supernatural experiences. There was one time when me and Katie got our first apartment together on Kings in Santa Monica. She said, I woke up in the middle of the night and I. And I remember I saw like an old man sitting in the chair.

[Tom]

You saw it like.

[Host]

Yeah, like an apparition or something. And I think. I think I drifted off and just went right back to sleep. But it scared the bejesus out of Katie. And from that day on, she said she always felt a presence in there. Not a malignant one, or is that what they say? Malignant?

[Pete Monzingo]

Malicious.

[Host]

Malicious ghosts. There's. There's benign ghosts. And yes, I'm not. Yeah, but she said it was just a neutral one. But it was enough for us to not want to stay there longer than we had to. But I've never. Now, have you ever. So wait, have you ever seen an apparition?

[Pete Monzingo]

I don't know. The only apparition.

[Host]

Drink up.

[Tom]

Absolutely.

[Pete Monzingo]

Please, just like put it in my cup.

[Host]

No, I'm just kidding, you guys. By the way, the absinthe. Well, it's spooky season, but we're like, listen, if we're not going to be able to go into Hotel Cecil and experience the supernatural, we'll just drink enough.

[Pete Monzingo]

Until we see ghosts. Just kidding.

[Host]

No, no. Sorry, you were saying?

[Pete Monzingo]

So I thought like, when was this? It was like 2019 or 2020 or something. The. I had not seen anybody in this hotel since I moved in at all. There was zero of anything. And then I woke up one. One night at like 1 or 2am and I had to pee.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

And I. So I wake up, my bed's right next to my window. And so I open my eyes and I'm like, there's somebody on the balcony at the Cecil. And I'm like, that's not possible. I've never seen anyone here. The hotel is closed. It's been closed since 2017. And I like, I kept blinking like I must be asleep. Must be asleep. And then I'm like, okay. At that moment, his head turns and looks at me and I'm like, how could he even see me? Because my lights are off in my apartment and the Cecil is right across the street.

[Host]

So like eye contact?

[Pete Monzingo]

I mean, from what it felt like, yeah, like his head turned, like almost like in a creepy way. But I'm like, he doesn't look like a ghost. Because I thought that initially I was like, it's a ghost. And I'm like, okay, well, I barely even believe in ghosts. And he doesn't look like a ghost. Maybe he's a homeless person. Maybe like, I don't know what the fuck's going on. And so I was like, okay, I have an idea. If I run from one side of my apartment all the way to the other and I fort giant windows. So I'm like, if his head Turns. As I'm moving from one side to the other, I'm gonna know he's actually looking at me. And then. That's creepy. Doesn't make any sense because the lights are off. How can he see me? And I do that. And his head turns. And, like, on the fourth window, I had a couch in there. And as I'm thinking, he's looking at me as his head turning. I duck behind the couch, and I'm like, what the fuck?

[Tom]

What the fuck?

[Schwartz]

What the fuck?

[Pete Monzingo]

What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? You know, kind of a thing. And then I'm like, wait, but no one's living there. How is this possible? And then I kind of peer up, and he's gone. And he was smoking a cigar. I remember that specifically. He was like a white man who was a little bit shorter and bigger. And then I went to look up online, and there was kind of someone who matched that identity from the same floor of someone who took their life in 1960 something.

[Tom]

Wow.

[Pete Monzingo]

And I'm like, okay, was that that guy? But I still don't think it was, because he didn't look like an apparition. Looked like a human being. So I don't know.

[Host]

By the way, the hiding behind the couch is the realest shit ever.

[Tom]

Right?

[Pete Monzingo]

You're always, like, crying.

[Host]

If you talk to. Behind a couch, you're safe from almost any entity or blankets or dinosaur or anything. No, but it's like, I think skeptics would say that the. The h. The history of the place kind of primes your pump. So it's like the power of expectation shapes your perception.

[Pete Monzingo]

That was before I knew about the hotel.

[Host]

No, no, no, no. I'm just. I'm. I'm not a skeptic, but I think skeptics would say that. You know what I mean? You go in expecting to see ghosts, you're gonna see him. But just based on our conversations today, it's, like, irrefutable.

[Pete Monzingo]

I mean, from my perspective.

[Tom]

Yeah, yeah.

[Host]

And it's like, you didn't. You didn't move here with preconceived notions about starting a supernatural content. No, I know. Obviously, I'm saying, yeah, was this a.

[Pete Monzingo]

Cheap place to live? I'm like, thank God I have a roof over my head, which.

[Host]

Which further corroborates your story.

[Tom]

Yeah. Yeah, man.

[Host]

It's spooky season.

[Pete Monzingo]

Now I know why it's so cheap too.

[Tom]

Okay.

[Host]

By the way, I've always wanted to start a YouTube channel.

[Tom]

Yes.

[Host]

Like, can you just, like, Give us some one on one likes, tips, secrets, things you've learned. Not like a full course here, not you don't have to spill your secrets, but just like for aspiring YouTube artists who are scared to start.

[Pete Monzingo]

Yes. So I would say I actually started my YouTube channel in 2007. Nobody cared.

[Host]

Oh, gee.

[Pete Monzingo]

Yeah, so never give up. Literally, don't have a plan B. Do what you feel like you're born for. Don't take anyone's shit. Do what you feel. And if, even if it doesn't work, just keep going. Try to pivot into new things. And then the nice thing about when TikTok came out is that it changed the algorithm on YouTube shorts, on Instagram Reels, on obviously TikTok, Snapchat, everything. So now you have the opportunity since 2020 to just kind of explore whatever you want to do and whatever kind of catches, you know that there's something there and then just fucking delete everything else you did before that and then pretend like you're just starting and then, you know, like roll with it.

[Host]

This is good advice. It is like listen, how methodical are you about or conscious are you of the algorithm and stuff like that?

[Pete Monzingo]

Very much. I have charts.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

Okay. So you're scientific about it.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

You don't just wing it. Obviously not. You've had a great career. But, but for the listeners, for someone who's listening, who's like, how aware should I be of, you know, best time to post during the day, stuff like that.

[Pete Monzingo]

I mean, I think there is a science to that, but I think at the end of the day, good content is good content.

[Host]

Yes.

[Pete Monzingo]

You should always just focus on making the best content.

[Tom]

Yeah, yeah.

[Host]

And being unapologetically yourself. Exactly what you do so well.

[Pete Monzingo]

You do too well.

[Host]

I mean, thanks, that's really sweet. No, but your authenticity shines bright when I watch your, your shows, your channels. It's like really your truest shelf, your truest self. Sorry, the absence.

[Pete Monzingo]

I know, I'm like stuttering too.

[Host]

No, but I mean that genuinely, your truest self shines through almost. Not almost as if it. It's not a two dimensional experience. I feel like I get the 3D you as I'm sitting right across from you when I watch your videos.

[Pete Monzingo]

Oh, wow.

[Host]

I just wanted to say that that's.

[Pete Monzingo]

Crazy because I did kind of craft, you know, a little bit like my personality. But the crazy thing is is that the crafted part of my personality is actually the closest to me and I feel like I had to get that because when I started Content. Like, everyone was obsessed with my mom, and so I'm like, well, you're not going to start a channel, so, like, if I'm going to continue, I got to, like, make people like me too, you know?

[Host]

Were you an overnight sensation?

[Pete Monzingo]

To most people, they would think that, but absolutely not.

[Host]

As. As the old Hollywood saying goes, an overnight sensation 10 years in the making. Yes.

[Tom]

Yes.

[Host]

Yeah, I like that.

[Pete Monzingo]

I mean, you get it, probably.

[Host]

I do. This is what I'm most excited to talk about. New music. You got a new music? Actually, the supernatural was what I was most excited about. This is what I'm.

[Tom]

Second.

[Pete Monzingo]

Second.

[Host]

Okay, sorry.

[Pete Monzingo]

See, the absinthe is what I was most excited about. But, you know, this is the third most.

[Host]

Pete, new music. Are you writing? You producing?

[Tom]

Yes.

[Host]

Are you always? What's going on in the music world?

[Pete Monzingo]

So I'm still trying to find my footing. Honestly, people think that I started as a creator, and now I'm trying to, like, be a pop. Pop star. And I'm like, no, I started as a pop artist, went to content on accident, and now I'm trying to get back into it. And people are like, you. And so I'm trying to just kind of find my footing. There.

[Host]

You were just for the audience if they. If they don't know. So I know about 5 West.

[Tom]

Yep.

[Host]

But you were in a boy Band before 5 West.

[Pete Monzingo]

I've been in so many fucking boy bands.

[Host]

Oh, my God. How many lives have you lived?

[Pete Monzingo]

I don't know, but enough to where I'm. I'm done now.

[Host]

Can you tell us about the.

[Pete Monzingo]

Just kidding.

[Host]

Can you tell us about the genesis of the first boy band?

[Pete Monzingo]

It was called Zero Gravity, and that's badass.

[Host]

It is such a good name.

[Pete Monzingo]

I actually slightly became manic while I was in that. At the beginning, because it's your face. Because I couldn't sleep. I was so excited. I was having, like, premonitions. I felt like when I, like, was dreaming, and it's like, this is my route. And, I mean, I really thought it was gonna be my future. Like, I thought, we're gonna be the next Backstreet Boys, you know, and we're gonna have a residency. Like, we're like. We planned our whole, like, next 50 years together.

[Tom]

Wow.

[Pete Monzingo]

And it was special. And to me, I'm like, finally, like, a group of, like, a family that's like me.

[Host]

Did you feel that you had a deep connection with your other band members and you guys. Did you guys have momentum?

[Pete Monzingo]

Yeah. I mean, it was. It was. It was Incredible. And then when we broke up, it was like my first, it felt like my first romantic breakup because I had always placed my values in my career and my, my friends and like brotherhoodness. And so it's like I broke up with four of them, plus their families, plus their friends. And like one tried to sue me even back then. And like, it was just all this stuff happening and I was like, like, I haven't been as happy in my life as I've been since like the breakup. And I'm like, I've always been trying to find that sense.

[Host]

It sounds like it was your first love, at least professional first love. And love, love hits hard.

[Pete Monzingo]

It does. I'm like that.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

Wait, so, okay, but you guys had, you had a decent amount of success.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

And then, wait, can we talk about the genesis of Five West?

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

Just like, how did it come to fruition?

[Pete Monzingo]

So it was after my last boy band that everyone disbanded and I was like in a wreck, crying like 13 year old girl, you know, getting broken up with at lunch. And I went on Craigslist and Actors Access and LA casting and I just scoured. I went back to home and home in Seattle and that's when my mom and family were living there still. And I was like, I'm going back here. I'm giving up on everything. My life is over. I'm gonna, you know, like, did you really have despair? Oh my God. I mean, I, I was like, I can't go on. Like, I mean, I know it sounds dramatic, but that's how I was feeling.

[Host]

And that's good for aspiring artists to hear. I feel like.

[Pete Monzingo]

I know. I was like, I know, right? I'm like, I'm gonna write some songs.

[Host]

Don't give up.

[Tom]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

And so, okay, in the first, like, week I was in Seattle, I was like, I gotta find another boy band because I'm now aging out soon. And it's now or never.

[Host]

Oh, you were dialed in.

[Pete Monzingo]

I got so much Botox, I got so much filler. I mean, I can't even tell you. Like, like, my mom went with me because she was like, she's like, wait, if you're going to go, I want to try. And I'm like, mom, you really did.

[Host]

I thought you were making a joke.

[Pete Monzingo]

No, I swear to God, I'm like preventative. Like, I mean, I'll do. They were like, what do you want to do? I'm like, whatever you think. I'm like, make me 18. I'm like, I don't care. This is my last shot.

[Host]

17 again.

[Pete Monzingo]

Exactly. It was like that vibe. So dramatic. And so then I found something on. It was either Craigslist. I hope it was Craigslist, make the story better. Or Actors Access. And it was an audition for a band called five west, and they don't have any of the members yet. The same producer from Big Time Rush and they want to make a TV show out of it. And I was like, that's my thing. Like, I belong on Nickelodeon and I am a singer and I can do all, like, basically Big Time Rush vibes. And so I auditioned and began callback. Callback, callback. And then I got in the band, and then I moved to Nashville and met the boys and we ended up doing a world tour. So we were opening for, like, Westlife. Jason Derulo.

[Schwartz]

Holy.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

Like, just.

[Host]

I didn't realize how big you guys were.

[Pete Monzingo]

I mean, we weren't. People just went for the actual act.

[Host]

You open up. Opening for Jason Derulo is insane.

[Pete Monzingo]

I mean, to me, I thought so.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

But then it's like when no one were, we didn't get the stream. So it's like, oh, we just have money behind us, you know, Oops. So. But we were finally, like, building it, though. You know, we're building modes. And then Covet happened, and then the label was like, everyone go home. And then at my first viral video a week after that, I was like, I'm changing careers, I guess.

[Host]

Do you still have fond memories of five West? The boy bands, like, being on stage, the choreography, Like, I mean, it's.

[Pete Monzingo]

It was everything.

[Host]

It's cool.

[Pete Monzingo]

It was an arena tour.

[Host]

Aren't you happy you did it and you're still doing it. But like, you, like, that's such a unique, rich experience that it's like.0001% of the population will ever get to experience what you've done.

[Pete Monzingo]

Right?

[Host]

Touring as a boy band.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

I mean, I really felt like I was in my element. It was wild. I mean, it was just so special, you know? And we got to go to. Have you ever heard of Butlands?

[Host]

No.

[Pete Monzingo]

So it's. It's kind of like a. How do you explain it? It's like. It's almost like a Dave and Busters.

[Host]

I felt like Beavis and Butthead. When you said Butlands, I was like, he said Butlands.

[Pete Monzingo]

Yeah, exactly.

[Tom]

Sorry. Classic.

[Pete Monzingo]

But it's like a. It's almost like a carnival, but there are like five of them in Europe. And so we did a Butlands tour and it was just like, that's My favorite part, because I got to go to the fucking circus.

[Host]

I know you have stories.

[Tom]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

You already know. I'll tell you off air.

[Host]

Let's redirect this episode exactly. Oh, my God. But that's so cool that you did it. Don't you feel. I mean, you're happy you said yes, right?

[Tom]

Oh, yeah. Yeah. You.

[Host]

Sounds like you've taken a lot of leaps of faith.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

And that's why now I'm fucking tired. I'm like, all right.

[Host]

But you're still. Now you're working as a solo musician, right? Mm, yes.

[Pete Monzingo]

And I have a new song that I've. It's my first song I've ever wrote all by myself, and it's called Isms, and it's about feeling like you're neurodivergent neurospicy. And how the miscommunications are incredible with that. So it's like, oh, we're speaking the same language, like we're meaning the same thing, but you're thinking that I want nothing to do with you, but I'm just trying to build a connection. So it's like the whole, you know, discrepancies of communicating when you feel like you don't belong.

[Host]

Can we get an acapella preview? I'm whispering to pee. You don't have to.

[Pete Monzingo]

Can you keep the whisper in the heart?

[Host]

I would never make you do that.

[Pete Monzingo]

I'm trying to remember how it goes. No, no, no, no, no.

[Host]

I would never put you on the spot like that. I was fully kidding.

[Pete Monzingo]

No, no. I want to, though.

[Host]

Oh, I see that leg.

[Tom]

I know.

[Pete Monzingo]

I'm anxious.

[Host]

I feel like he's revving up, you guys. He's revving up right now.

[Tom]

Just. Okay.

[Pete Monzingo]

I'm so glad that you're sharing your. Look at. Wait, no. Okay, that's not a good part. You should keep all this in because this is so raw.

[Host]

Is it okay?

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

You got a great voice. I know, I know, I know. I'm dead, mind you. I've gave. I've fed him absent. So give. Give Pete a break if he's.

[Pete Monzingo]

Oh, I got it. I'm ready.

[Host]

Okay.

[Pete Monzingo]

Why we complicated? Stop trying to rage bait. Oh, God.

[Host]

Oh, no. You had me. I'm hooked.

[Pete Monzingo]

We're just sharing isms.

[Host]

Dude, that's a banger.

[Pete Monzingo]

Thank you. It is catchy.

[Host]

I mean, I'm serious. I'm not just saying that. That's a. It's catchy.

[Tom]

Thank you.

[Host]

What are we gonna get a Five west reunion tour?

[Pete Monzingo]

Oh, God. There's just a lot of drama.

[Schwartz]

A lot.

[Pete Monzingo]

It's like Vanderpump 2.0.

[Host]

Is it crazy that some significant. Both of us had significant success spawn from Craigslist. I met Tom on Craigslist.

[Tom]

I know.

[Host]

And I moved out to la and then Jax moved in and the rest is history. Tom was dating Kristen. That's.

[Pete Monzingo]

Craigslist is our, like, savior. In a way.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

But also a nightmare.

[Host]

No. For some people, it's a nightmare. The Craigslist Killers. And yeah, not to make light of that. I'm just like. There's like some. There's a dark side to it, but I've had only good things happen to me on Craigslist.

[Pete Monzingo]

How did you find Tom?

[Host]

Well, it was actually. I don't know, I think it was. It was. It was a roommates.com link through Craigslist. Does that make sense?

[Tom]

It does.

[Host]

I think, like, cross linked.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

If that makes sense. And I responded and yeah, he just seemed like a cool dude. He was doing all the things I wanted to do. He was acting. I didn't really want to model, but he was modeling acting. He was in a band. I was like, this dude's cool.

[Pete Monzingo]

Was it the same band he's in now?

[Host]

No, he said like five bands.

[Pete Monzingo]

Okay.

[Host]

I think I forget the name. His first band was Pierce the Arrow, which they had some killer songs back in the womb. I don't know if you can find it on Spotify, but it's one of my favorite songs ever.

[Pete Monzingo]

When did you meet him?

[Host]

Like, it was cool. I first moved to LA back in 2009. Like, he was performing at the Viper Room, like, you know, Johnny Depp's old spot. It was cool.

[Tom]

Wow.

[Pete Monzingo]

That's the first year I came.

[Tom]

09.

[Pete Monzingo]

Really?

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

Oh, dude.

[Pete Monzingo]

When we had a Hollywood video across the street from where my sister was living. That's how old we are.

[Host]

I'm a little bummed. No. 5 West reunion tour. Okay. A lot of drama there.

[Pete Monzingo]

So much.

[Host]

Pete, most importantly, what's making you happy these days?

[Pete Monzingo]

Absinthe.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

No, it's definitely, like, feeling less pigeonholed.

[Tom]

Yeah.

[Host]

You're a master of your craft, but you're versatile.

[Pete Monzingo]

Yeah, it's, it's. It's flexing the versatile.

[Tom]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Pete Monzingo]

But trying to, like, you know, trying to find more of the success in that.

[Host]

You're so good at what you do. But I love that you're going back to music.

[Pete Monzingo]

Me too. Thank you.

[Host]

I'm excited for new music. Wait, have you dropped your isms?

[Tom]

Not yet.

[Pete Monzingo]

I like it. It's gonna be a couple months, probably.

[Host]

Okay, cool. Is there gonna be a music video?

[Pete Monzingo]

Hopefully.

[Host]

It's my favorite medium. I love music videos. Yeah, I love them.

[Pete Monzingo]

It's like a different world. Are you a musician?

[Host]

No.

[Pete Monzingo]

Do you want to be?

[Host]

No, I dislike music.

[Tom]

Okay.

[Pete Monzingo]

Yeah, You're a consumer.

[Host]

Yeah, I'm a consumer. Well, I kind of wish we could go across the street to the. The Cecil now, but I feel like it's almost.

[Tom]

I don't know.

[Pete Monzingo]

We can try. But if we die, then don't blame me. We'll be trapped in there forever.

[Host]

Then we'll haunt the cel.

[Pete Monzingo]

Yeah, that'd be kind of fun. No.

[Host]

Well, dude, this has been so fun. I just kind of want to end it here. I'm sweaty. I got absinthe in me.

[Pete Monzingo]

Turn the AC on.

[Host]

No, it's not even that. It's perfect.

[Tom]

Okay.

[Host]

This has been nice.

[Tom]

It is.

[Host]

Thanks for chilling me on a Saturday night.

[Pete Monzingo]

Thanks for hanging out.

[Host]

Spooky season kickoff. It's official.

[Pete Monzingo]

It's official.

[Host]

Thank you, Pete.

[Pete Monzingo]

Thank you.

[Host]

This is fun as hell.

[Pete Monzingo]

Come back soon.

[Tom]

Okay. Bye.

[Pete Monzingo]

Bye.

[Tom]

Retoxification complete.

[Adam Rippon]

Hi, I'm Adam Rippon, and this is Intrusive Thoughts, the podcast where I finally say the stuff out loud that's been living rent free in my head for years. From dumb decisions to awkward, awkward moments I probably should have kept to myself. Nothing's off limits. Yes. I'm talking about the time I lost my phone mid flight and still haven't truly emotionally recovered from that. There might be too many sound effects. I've been told to chill. Will I Unclear, but if you've ever laid awake at night cringing at something you said five years ago, congratulations, you found your people. Intrusive Thoughts with Adam Rippon is available now wherever you get your podcasts.

[CBS Announcer]

This September, CBS hits are streaming free on Pluto tv.

[Pete Monzingo]

I'm coming in hot.

[CBS Announcer]

For this month only. You can watch full seasons of the CBS shows you love, from the courtroom drama of Matlock to the heroics of Fire Country. Go back to where it all began in NCIS Origins, or watch the hilarious hauntings of ghosts, all for free. Full seasons of the CBS shows you love this month only on Pluto tv. Stream now. Pay never.