AYA CASH Took Trips to Monasteries

Summary

Podcast Summary: "AYA CASH Took Trips to Monasteries"
Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers
Release Date: November 12, 2024

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers, hosts Josh Gad and Ben Schwartz sit down with actress Aya Cash to delve into her unique upbringing, family vacations, and personal experiences that have shaped her into the person she is today. The conversation weaves through Aya's childhood memories, her parents' unconventional lifestyles, and her adventures that include trips to monasteries.

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Lin Manuel Miranda's Shout-Out and Show Dynamics (00:00 - 07:16)

The episode kicks off with a humorous exchange between Josh Gad and Ben Schwartz as they discuss a recent shout-out from Lin Manuel Miranda on Late Night. Lin Manuel mentions how his son enjoys listening to the podcast "Family Trips" at bedtime, albeit slowed down to 0.75x speed. This leads to playful banter about sounding like "a couple of drunks" when not sped up.

Josh Gad (00:08): "Lin Manuel Miranda says his son likes listening to family trips at night right before bed..."

Ben adds his personal touch by mentioning how he listens at double speed to take notes for songwriting, joking about their conversational style.

Ben Schwartz (01:01): "I listen to our show at double speed because I take notes to write the songs."

They also touch upon their upcoming Halloween plans, with their children choosing creative costumes like Zeus and Cookie Monster, showcasing their familial camaraderie.

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Introducing Aya Cash and Initial Banter (07:36 - 08:03)

Aya Cash joins the conversation with a warm greeting, immediately noting how Josh and Ben resemble twins. This light-hearted moment sets a friendly tone for the interview.

Aya Cash (08:03): "Hello. Hey."

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Aya Cash’s Family Background and Childhood Memories (08:05 - 16:37)

Aya delves into her personal history, recounting her childhood experiences in San Francisco. She shares a poignant memory of her mother getting divorced during a family vacation to Taos, New Mexico.

Aya Cash (09:09): "the first thing that comes to mind is my mother getting divorced on our vacation."

She describes her parents' brief marriage of about a year and the impact it had on her upbringing. Aya highlights her father's multifaceted life as a Buddhist teacher and former musician who once dealt drugs, painting a picture of her unconventional family dynamics.

Aya Cash (11:55): "my dad is now a Buddhist teacher and lay priest, but he was a musician... he dealt drugs."

The conversation touches on the liberal bubble of San Francisco and Aya's interactions with differing political views during her college years.

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Parenting Styles and Personal Growth (16:37 - 31:01)

Aya discusses her parents' separation and eventual reconciliation, emphasizing a significant bonding moment when her father had a severe accident before her wedding. This event brought her parents closer, fostering a harmonious family environment despite past conflicts.

Aya Cash (17:44): "my parents didn't get along for most of my childhood... they all just meet downstairs... ready to face the day."

She shares insights into her father's unique Buddhist-inspired parenting methods, where he would encourage her to see him as an individual rather than strictly as a father, fostering a sense of independence and self-awareness in Aya.

Aya Cash (14:12): "he would make me look at him... see me as not your father."

Aya reflects on the challenges of co-parenting and the memories of family trips, such as the long drive to Taos and friendships formed during these excursions.

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Silent Meditation Retreats and Personal Development (31:01 - 35:17)

The discussion shifts to Aya's personal experiences with silent meditation retreats. She recounts her first solo retreat, highlighting the initial struggle to maintain silence and the profound sense of accomplishment she felt upon completing it.

Aya Cash (29:05): "I felt so good. I felt so, like, open."

However, Aya candidly shares how the effects of the retreat were short-lived once she returned to her regular life, grappling with the challenge of integrating newfound mindfulness into everyday interactions.

Aya Cash (30:10): "I've destroyed myself. Everything that I learned, it's all gone."

Josh relates by sharing his own experience with meditation, emphasizing the difficulty of maintaining the serenity achieved during retreats in the chaos of daily life.

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Aya Cash’s Insights on Spirituality and Relationships (35:17 - 41:07)

Aya elaborates on her balanced perspective towards spirituality, emphasizing skepticism rooted in her observations of ego and cult-like behaviors. She values the essence of Buddhism as a personal journey rather than a prescriptive path for others.

Aya Cash (32:01): "I have a lot of nice people around me who knew what it was like... but you also."

The conversation touches on Aya's complex relationship with her grandmother, Pauline Betts Addie, a former tennis champion with a colorful past. Aya describes Addie as both a champion and a challenging figure, providing a nuanced view of her familial relationships.

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Investment Anecdotes and Family Dynamics (41:07 - 54:01)

Aya recounts an amusing yet frustrating story about her Uncle Gary, a tennis teacher who became a multimillionaire by investing in a video game company. Despite their skepticism, Uncle Gary's gamble paid off, illustrating the unpredictability of investments and familial trust.

Aya Cash (53:35): "Gary hit the big time. And now he's doing well. But it still gets very good deals on hotels."

This segment highlights the blend of humor and life lessons derived from family interactions and unexpected financial successes.

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Trips to Monasteries and Personal Relationships (54:01 - 57:36)

Aya shares stories from her childhood vacations to monasteries, where her father met her stepmother. These trips were a blend of spiritual training and unexpected romantic developments, adding layers to Aya's family narrative.

Aya Cash (55:15): "my dad would take me on vacation. And he was talking to this woman... made her his wife."

They discuss the challenges of maintaining relationships within spiritual communities and the impact of these experiences on Aya's perception of love and commitment.

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Final Fun Questions and Closing Thoughts (57:36 - 63:05)

The episode concludes with a rapid-fire round of personal questions. Aya reveals her ideal vacation as adventurous and her preferred mode of transportation as the train, highlighting her love for civilized and scenic travel.

Aya Cash (57:45): "Adventurous."

She expresses a desire to vacation with Coach Taylor from Friday Night Lights, emphasizing her appreciation for nurturing and supportive relationships.

Aya Cash (58:10): "Probably Coach Taylor and his wife from Friday Night Lights."

In a humorous exchange, Aya jokes about potentially starring in her own sitcom, blending her personal life with her professional aspirations.

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Notable Quotes

• Josh Gad (01:09): "Who have no respect for your time."
• Aya Cash (14:12): "Let me look at someone outside of the construct of the job, the situation, whatever it is."
• Aya Cash (17:44): "I'm gonna keep my cash. But sure enough, Gary hit the big time."
• Aya Cash (32:01): "I'm very skeptical of a lot of spirituality, even though I grew up in it."
• Aya Cash (58:10): "Probably Coach Taylor and his wife from Friday Night Lights."

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Conclusion

This episode provides a heartfelt and humorous exploration of Aya Cash's life, shedding light on her family's unconventional dynamics, personal growth through spiritual practices, and memorable trips that have left lasting impressions. The candid conversations offer listeners a glimpse into the complexities of balancing family relationships, personal beliefs, and professional endeavors.

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Listen to the full episode here to hear more about Aya Cash's fascinating journey and the delightful banter between the hosts.

Transcript

[Josh Gad]

Hey, Pashi.

[Ben Schwartz]

Hey, Sufi.

[Josh Gad]

I don't know if you saw that. We had a guest on Late Night who shouted out the podcast.

[Ben Schwartz]

Oh, no. Who was it?

[Josh Gad]

Lin Manuel Miranda.

[Aya Cash]

Oh.

[Josh Gad]

Lin Manuel Miranda says his son likes listening to family trips at night right before bed, and Lin wants to slow it way down for him. So his son listens at 0.75. Ooh. And so Lynn says we sound like a couple of drunks who are calling each other Pashi and Sufi. But he also said his son only wants to listen to people he knows, and that's only, at this point, been Josh Gad and Ben Schwartz. And so Lynn says he's heard those multiple times. Both good episodes. I should know.

[Ben Schwartz]

But, yeah, I will say our producers were throwing some names at us recently, and Ben Schwartz made the list. And I was like, we had Ben Schwartz. And someone was like, well, should we have him again? And I think Lin Manuel, Miranda's son.

[Josh Gad]

Would say, would love that. I think Lin Manuel even more than. And be like, get him in here.

[Ben Schwartz]

I listen to our show at double speed because I take notes to write the songs.

[Josh Gad]

Right.

[Ben Schwartz]

And if I'm ever listening to us at regular speed, it sounds like we're two drunk guys.

[Josh Gad]

Yeah. Who have no respect for your time.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah. So I apologize to everyone out there, but that's just me. That's how I roll.

[Josh Gad]

Mulky. We talked about the great game Mulky.

[Ben Schwartz]

Oh, such a good game.

[Josh Gad]

Someone said they ran to their computer to correct us when listening to the story, which was. It's Finnish. They claim Mulky is Finnish. It's not Norwegian or Danish.

[Ben Schwartz]

I thought I would have said Finnish, but okay.

[Josh Gad]

So you do confirm it's a Finnish game.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah, I mean, I guess I can only confirm 100% because this person ran to the computer to correct me, and I'm happy to be corrected. Also, I will say we've got a lot of love for Finland. You ran the Helsinki marathon. So we in no way, shape, or form meant to disrespect Finland.

[Josh Gad]

Oh, we love Finland. We did not want to take them from you. Finland. Congrats on Molki. It's a great game. I saw someone say, oh, my God. Josh Meyers taught me how to make an umlaut on their keyboard. Because you had a very instructive thing. I don't think anybody ever knew that. I certainly didn't, and I've already forgotten.

[Ben Schwartz]

So you just hold it down. You hold down a letter, and then you see all the possible derivations of that letter.

[Josh Gad]

It's amazing. You change people's lives. It's a couple of things. We're recording this before. Two things that will have happened when you're listening, Halloween and the election. Anyway, we won't belabor that. But I do wanna say we're running into Halloween, and I think anybody who's listening with kids know that they do not lock it down. They have a lot of thoughts about their costumes, and then they change it a bunch. But I think we're at this place where I think Ash is gonna be Zeus, Axel's gonna be an old lady, Addie's gonna be Cookie Monster. That's where we're at as of this recording.

[Ben Schwartz]

Great. Excellent choices.

[Josh Gad]

Did I talk to you about how Ash is super into Greek gods right now?

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Josh Gad]

He said to me the other day with great pain and regret, you know, my problem is I can never remember the difference between Cersei and Medusa. And I was like, it's okay, bud.

[Ben Schwartz]

He's like, yeah, he'll get there.

[Josh Gad]

He's like, all right. Yeah.

[Ben Schwartz]

Also tell him it's Circe.

[Josh Gad]

Circe. Circe. Well, I think that might be dad Error there. Okay. Yeah, my standup special's out. You know, we don't plug a lot of other stuff. Check out dad. Man Walking on Max. You can stream it on Max.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah, I saw it live, but I am looking forward to seeing it on my couch.

[Josh Gad]

There's a bit about you.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah.

[Josh Gad]

And your veganism. And I feel. And I'm happy so far because I feel as though, you know, I'm always worried about people. I don't actually have any issue with thinking that I've attacked them. And thus far, no vegans are upset by my vegan material.

[Ben Schwartz]

I will say I did a vegan comedy show out here in Los Angeles a couple years ago when mom and dad were here to. Signitaro was the headliner at the Dynasty Typewriter Theater. And one of the organizers of that show sent me an email to be like, I was really worried when I was watching your brother's special, and he sort of started in on the vegan stuff, and I thought he was gonna be punching down. And at the end of the day, was very happy with it.

[Josh Gad]

Oh, that's great. I did. You know, I should note, you're a vegan. I love you very much. Director of the special, Neil Brennan, vegan.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah.

[Josh Gad]

And I. You know, one of the things is always when you're messing around with these specials is you want to just find the right tone. I don't Want to take the jokes out, but I'm always wondering, is there a thing I can. And I added, you know, the sort of tag of the vegan section is how much better you look than I do. So I think that's ultimately all the vegans want to hear, is that there's a. It's worth it.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah. Yeah. Neo was vegan well before I was. And I remember the first time hearing he was vegan, he had a new name for meatballs. Do you remember what that was?

[Josh Gad]

No.

[Ben Schwartz]

Murder Balls. Oh, yeah.

[Josh Gad]

Murder Balls.

[Ben Schwartz]

Getting into this sort of Halloween and Thanksgiving spirit, I'm very excited. There was a horror movie that came out last year called Thanksgiving.

[Josh Gad]

Yes.

[Ben Schwartz]

Which I haven't seen, but I've heard good things about. And we've got a mutual friend, Jill Benjamin, who is a big horror movie fan. And for a year now, and I'm so delighted. None of my sort of horror movie friends have seen this movie, but I've had the idea to have a Thanksgiving dinner, and then we watch the horror movie Thanksgiving. So that's happening this Friday, and I'm very excited.

[Josh Gad]

So you're going to do a Thanksgiving dinner at your home?

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah, we're gonna do all the fixins, and some people are gonna bring, you know, it's a bit of a potluck thing to save me some of the work, But I feel like it's a perfect dinner party theme event, and I'm hoping that this movie holds up.

[Josh Gad]

I hope so, too.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah.

[Josh Gad]

Also, you're coming out for the Thanksgiving show. Once again, that's a family tradition. You, mom and dad are in Thanksgiving show, and we double tape. We do two shows on Wednesday. We tape the Wednesday show, and then a couple hours later, we tape the Thanksgiving shows so that people don't have to work on Thanksgiving. And I believe on the Wednesday show, where you'll also be in town, I think we're going to have an accomplished vegan chef.

[Ben Schwartz]

Oh, sort of.

[Josh Gad]

Maybe it's going to be, you know, that's me sort of olive branching to the vegan community for the fact that I was joking about him.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah. But I think you're already in their good graces.

[Josh Gad]

I think so, too. I was worried. I thought if they were gonna be really mad, I was gonna say, hey, I'm gonna go vegan. Relax. And now I don't have to.

[Ben Schwartz]

You'll get there.

[Josh Gad]

You'll get there. You'll get there. I do think eventually I'm gonna get there. Yeah. And that's about all I have to say. I'm very. I really enjoyed Aya Cash. She was a wonderful conversation.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah.

[Josh Gad]

Really a unique upbringing in the Bay Area. It's a super fun conversation. And should we get to it? What do you think?

[Ben Schwartz]

Let's just get to it.

[Josh Gad]

Yeah. What are we doing anymore? Let's get to it. Thanks, everybody, for listening. Here's Jeff Tweeny.

[Ben Schwartz]

Family trips with the My brothers family.

[Aya Cash]

Chips with the mind.

[D]

Here we go.

[Josh Gad]

Hello.

[Aya Cash]

Hello. Hey.

[Josh Gad]

Good morning.

[Aya Cash]

Good morning. Oh, my God, you guys look like twins.

[Josh Gad]

We do, yeah. We've kind of. And also, I can make it worse. I can put on glasses fully, but that's not helpful for anybody.

[Aya Cash]

It's adorable. Adorable.

[Ben Schwartz]

He's been real quick. He's been, like, threatening that he needs glasses. And I haven't seen. Are those your glasses?

[Josh Gad]

These are just like, cheaters. They're like 1.5s, but, yeah, I need them.

[Ben Schwartz]

But they look like they're your kids. Glasses also doesn't.

[Josh Gad]

Well, they want to get as much. As much as I like to match with you, I like to match with my child even more. I'm very excited. I hope I'm not stereotyping or jumping to conclusions, but I feel like when people grow up in San Francisco with parents who have the jobs I have read your parents had in your bio, I just feel like it's going to be a real fertile ground.

[Aya Cash]

I mean, Rob asked me, he was like, I hope you have some good stories. And I said, the first thing that comes to mind is my mother getting divorced on our vacation.

[Josh Gad]

So there you go. All right. Yeah.

[Aya Cash]

Fertile.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah.

[Josh Gad]

How old were you? Yeah. Where do you go for a divorce vacation?

[Aya Cash]

Taos, New Mexico.

[Josh Gad]

Oh, wow. I've spent time in Taos.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah, so have I.

[Josh Gad]

Now, do you think she. Obviously, we need to go back a little bit. Do you think she had any sense the divorce was forthcoming, like, while she was packing for that, or do you think.

[Aya Cash]

I feel like they got married on the way there and divorced on the way back? I mean, it was not a long marriage. I think they were married maybe a year. So. Yeah, I don't. I doubt she had any sense. I just remember on the drive back, like, waking up while sleeping in the back of the van, like, to, like, fighting. And then I never saw my stepfather again except, oh, wow. Until I say again, until they got back together, like, eight years later.

[Josh Gad]

And now. Are they currently together?

[Aya Cash]

No.

[Josh Gad]

Okay.

[Aya Cash]

They went back to Taos, so we've started. Oh, God, my poor mother. Yes. No, they are no longer together.

[Josh Gad]

Okay, so let's Take it back to the studs. You're born Bay Area?

[Aya Cash]

Yeah. San Francisco proper. I know everyone says they're born in San Francisco and they're really born in Marin, but.

[Josh Gad]

Yeah, that's good. And I do think, I imagine the distinction is very important to those of you who are born in San Francisco proper.

[Aya Cash]

Very much. My husband, when I met him, said he was from San Francisco. And I said, where? And he said, palo Alto. And I was like, blasphemy.

[Josh Gad]

You were like, did you notice how that had a different name? That wasn't San Francisco exactly. Yeah.

[Aya Cash]

So I was born in San Francisco.

[Josh Gad]

And so your parents, what did your parents do?

[Aya Cash]

So my mother is a poet and a novelist, but she had many jobs. Like most artists. She's had many other jobs all throughout my life. And she also did strange writing assignments for money as well. So, like, When I was 16, I came home and there was a Playboy on our coffee table. And she had, I think Playboy or Penthouse. She had written an erotic short story. And she was like, they pay like two grand. That was a huge job for her. So, yeah, so both writing jobs and, like, she was the accountant for an auto body shop at one point. You know, she's done sort of everything. She was also a musician. She met my dad. He fixed her flute because my dad was also a musician for a while. And then my dad is now a Buddhist teacher and lay priest, but he was a musician in, like, a Balinesian gamelan. He dealt drugs. Yeah.

[Josh Gad]

So you're everything people from the rest of the country think. A person who grew up in San Francisco is 100%.

[Aya Cash]

The liberal bubble is also very real. I remember meeting Republicans in college for the first time and actively being like, I should make out with one of these. That's going to be a different experience.

[Josh Gad]

I mean, it's almost like, I think in if you're trying to meet someone in San Francisco, it sounds like you just pretend like your flute is broken and there'll be a guy who can probably fix it and fall in love with you.

[Aya Cash]

Yeah, I mean, fix your flute sounds like it's definitely referencing something, but non musical.

[Ben Schwartz]

Does a Buddhist teacher father have a different approach to being a father than most other fathers? I feel like ours would raise his volume when he needed to sort of correct us. And I don't.

[Josh Gad]

No one, no one who watched our dad parent from a distance thought, I bet he's a Buddhist.

[Aya Cash]

What did your dad do?

[Ben Schwartz]

Yelled, yeah, but he worked in, like, for a living in banking and, like, international trade, finance.

[Josh Gad]

Like a vay. A job that to this day, I can't explain to people in finance.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah.

[Josh Gad]

I think they're always surprised that I came from a dad who worked at a bank, and they like, oh, what kind of banking? And I'm like, that's. Now that's a little unfair that you would ask. Yeah, yeah.

[Ben Schwartz]

There was an old. What was counterfeit traitor? There was a. There was a movie or a song about a counter. Yeah. But we always referred to our father as a counterfeit traitor. And whether or not that was real or not, I.

[Josh Gad]

He traveled like a spy. It was based on the fact that he would go to exotic places.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah.

[Aya Cash]

So he has another family somewhere. You've.

[Josh Gad]

You've discovered on Truth and I. You know what? I'll be very frustrated if I find out he's a Buddhist with them. Yeah.

[Ben Schwartz]

And if. And if that family also has a podcast that talks about families.

[Aya Cash]

So is your reference. Is your dad maybe My dad. I have the Buddhist. I have the other side.

[Josh Gad]

Oh.

[Ben Schwartz]

I mean, hiding in plain sight. Yeah.

[Josh Gad]

So. Yeah. So what was his parenting style?

[Aya Cash]

Well, he did this thing with me when I was a kid. This is like the most Buddhist thing was that he would sit me down for periods of time every. I don't know, every few months. I don't know how often we did it, but he would sit me down, and he'd make me look at him, and he'd go, okay, I want you to see me as not your father, and I'm gonna look at you as not my daughter, and we're just gonna see each other as these two humans outside of the construct of our relationship. And that was like, looking back, that's such a beautiful thing and sort of such a gift to be able to separate in some way from your parents. But then when I was a teenager, he would try to discipline me, and I'd be like, whatever, you're not my dad. I don't need to listen to you. So I backfired on him eventually.

[Josh Gad]

How old were you the first time? Do you think he did that?

[Aya Cash]

I feel like, very young. Like six.

[Josh Gad]

That's a very six years old. I mean, I can see the danger in it, but it seems like a very cool thing to do with your kids.

[Aya Cash]

Yeah. And I think that's, like. I feel like I have to remind myself of that sometimes just in my normal life, of, like, oh, we can. Let me look at someone outside of the construct of the job, the situation, whatever it is. And that's very helpful because we get sort of Locked into those ideas of who people are and based on either what they do or their relationship to us. And it's helpful to sort of zoom out.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah.

[Josh Gad]

Did you guys have. Did you have siblings?

[Aya Cash]

No. Okay. Nobody was together long enough to have siblings. My parents were together.

[Josh Gad]

How long were your parents together?

[Aya Cash]

I think maybe two years.

[Josh Gad]

Okay.

[Aya Cash]

I think that they definitely wanted to have a kid. Like, they made me on purpose, and that was it. They don't make a lot of sense together. They're both very, very different.

[Josh Gad]

How often in your life have you. Obviously, they got divorced when you were very young. How much time have you spent with both of them as an adult? Oh, isn't it at the same time?

[Aya Cash]

At the same time. You know, they didn't. They didn't get a. This feel. It's so crazy, but I feel suddenly I'm like, oh, God, what are they gonna be okay with me sharing? But fuck it. The podcast is family trips. Get on board.

[Josh Gad]

I should have taken you to Disney World.

[Aya Cash]

My dad was in a very bad accident right before my wedding, so about a year before my wedding. And my. That actually really bonded all of us. Like, my parents didn't get along for most of my childhood and didn't, you know, they co parented. But when my dad had his accident, sort of, my mom obviously was really supportive, and I went to San Francisco to be with him in the hospital for a long time. So I was there a couple months. And that also bonded my mom with my stepmom. There was just, like, a sense of, like, we're all in this together. And then by the time my wedding rolled around, my dad made kind of a miraculous recovery, partly because I think of his meditation practice. He had a traumatic brain injury, and even in the icu, while his body is convulsing, he was saying, let's go into this, like, with his hands together. Like, he. You know, that's a. It was wild to see. But at my wedding, I remember sitting in the front seat of the car with my husband driving, and my mom, my stepmom, and my dad were all in the backseat, like, laughing and chatting, and I'm just sobbing quietly in the front. Cause it was just such a beautiful moment to hear them all together just getting along. And now they get along great.

[Josh Gad]

That's fantastic.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah.

[Josh Gad]

Did you think before you were sobbing, do you think that was a thing you knew you had wanted or would enjoy hearing that much?

[Aya Cash]

Yeah. I once said, I've never seen you guys happy together. Like, I don't understand how they ever Ended up together. And they sent me a photo of the two of them laughing together from before I was born, before I ruined it all.

[Josh Gad]

Do you worry that they went to like a mall and got one, you know, like got one of those treated photos. They were in a saloon, which makes me think it was maybe staged.

[Aya Cash]

Well, also showing my age that you couldn't really do the like photoshoppy things back when I asked for this. So, you know, no AI involved.

[Josh Gad]

So you, I mean, so it doesn't seem like you would have any memory of a trip with both of them. Like a vacation.

[Aya Cash]

Definitely not, right? No, no.

[Josh Gad]

When you're sharing, you know, when you are getting co parented, did you have very different. Did you go on vacations and were they different based on the parent?

[Aya Cash]

Yeah, I really don't remember a lot of them. I remember the trip to Taos where I also. I went to Taos and we brought this girl, Jaisa, who was my neighbor, who became my best friend and sort of surrogate sister, like taught me to share and things like that. There's a video of me on an Easter with her and every time she finds an egg, I'm screaming, I made that egg. That's my egg. A little only child energy and figuring out, oh, not everything is you. And so JSA came with us on our trip because she had a family situation that was sort of not bad. Just her mom wasn't around, so my mom kind of adopted her for a few years and she was three years older than me and we went on this trip to Taos all together. And the biggest thing I remember from that trip was getting there and I was very boy crazy from a very young age. And I remember there was a boy there and he was like, you're the cute one. But Jace has got a better personality. I remember being like, great, I need to work on the personality, the score.

[Ben Schwartz]

On being the cute one.

[Aya Cash]

I mean, I mean, oh, I was such a cute kid. I don't know what happened. But now we need full beat for a zoom. But back in the day.

[Josh Gad]

What was it? Was it a summer trip to Taos or a winter?

[Aya Cash]

Yeah, yeah, summer trip. Very hot. I think there's. I have like an im. You know when you think you have a memory, but it's really a memory of a picture. Yes, there's like a picture memory of I had long, long blonde hair growing up and there's a picture of me sort of shirt off in shorts, just like very sort of, you know, waking up from a nap in the backseat of the van. My stepdad had a van that we drove, and it was very hot. I don't remember air conditioning.

[Josh Gad]

A drive from San Francisco to Taos seems like a very long drive.

[Aya Cash]

Yeah. Long enough to break up.

[Josh Gad]

Yeah.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah.

[Josh Gad]

They say really, you really wouldn't want to be on firm ground in your relationship before you van it. From the Bay Area to Taos.

[Aya Cash]

Have you guys ever done, like, a cross country road trip?

[Josh Gad]

We never went cross country. Yeah, I mean, I did. Not with our parents.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah, I did a solo one with my dog, which was great. I had to be in New York for a few months, and, yeah, it was fabulous there and back. I really loved it. But I took my time. More on the way going east than coming back. But it's great out there.

[Aya Cash]

Yeah, My husband and I did it a few years ago and loved it. Our dog hates the car, though, so now we can't do it anymore because she just sits there and shakes the whole time, and we would never put her through it.

[Josh Gad]

Did she. Did you have the dog for the first road trip or.

[Aya Cash]

No.

[Josh Gad]

Okay, got it. Right, right, right. I was wondering if you were finding out on the way. Hey, we're gonna take a quick break and hear from some of our sponsors. Support for family trips comes from Airbnb. Hey, Baji.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yes, Sufi.

[Josh Gad]

We got our Pittsburgh trip coming up.

[Ben Schwartz]

We do. I'm fired up. And one of the reasons I'm fired up is because once again, we have booked an awesome Airbnb and we're just going to be hanging out in one of Dad's old neighborhoods. Dad's old stomping grounds.

[Josh Gad]

Look, we used to stay at hotels. It was great. No complaints about it. But this is something special because we're a family. And I feel like last year at our Airbnb, it felt like the way we were family when we were growing up. We would all just meet downstairs. We would get some bagels from a local place down the street, brew some coffee, and we were just ready to face the day.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah. And if you, you know, if we're out and about and we get home, you might want to just throw on the TV and see if there's a game on or play some Scrabble, play a board game. And just be in that shared space and be together, be in a home away from home.

[Josh Gad]

And being in a living room with mom and dad is very special. Especially not their living room, which is covered in dog dander and gives me an allergic reaction. Some trips are better in an Airbnb when you're traveling with a group of friends. Maybe you're traveling with a large family or an extended family when you're looking for an authentic or local experience. Book your next awesome trip. [e-mail] support comes from Rocket Money. Hey, Pashi.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yes, Sufi?

[Josh Gad]

What do you think? Americans spend a month on subscriptions? Give me a guess. I don't know.

[Ben Schwartz]

$62 a month?

[Josh Gad]

More like 300.

[Ben Schwartz]

What?

[Josh Gad]

That's a big difference. And this is the problem. Most Americans agree with you. They think it's about 62. Turns out it's 300. That means it's like $238 that they're not accounting for every month. And Pashi, you know me. You know, I sign up for dumb subscriptions and then forget that I have them.

[Ben Schwartz]

I do, too. I've done it. I've like, there's like a movie I want to watch. And it's like, well, you can get it for free if you get this free trial on this channel that you're never gonna watch again. And I'm like, yeah, give me the free trial. I'm gonna remember to cancel it. And then I don't remember to cancel it. And then 18 months later, I look at a credit card bill and I've been paying $7.99 a month for 18 months to watch a middling movie.

[Josh Gad]

So here's the thing. Rocket Money is a personal finance app. It's gonna help find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions because you don't wanna do that on your own. It monitors your spending, helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings. Get alerts if bills increase in price, if there's unusual spending activity, or, you know, if you're just close to going over a budget that you set on Rocket Money.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah, the new goals feature automatically saves money for you without you having to think about it. Whether your goal is to pay off credit card debt, put away money for a house, or just build your savings, Rocket Money makes it easy.

[Josh Gad]

Rocket Money has over 5 million users and has saved a total of $500 million in canceled subscriptions, saving members up to $740 a year when using all of the app's a premium features.

[Ben Schwartz]

So stop wasting money on things you don't use. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to rocketmoney.com tripping that's rocketmoney.com trips rocketmoney.com what is it? Suf trips when you're driving cross country? Are you guys conversationalists? Are you listening to music? Is it books on tape? Is it? Let's. What's your audio approach?

[Aya Cash]

I would say like music and podcasts. My husband is not like a. A consumer of things, whereas I need something on at all times. Like I like to fall asleep to a podcast. I walk around with a pod. I'm constantly like inputting something so I don't have to sit with my own thoughts. And my husband's much healthier and likes to be, I guess it's called present to the moment. So I would probably just be listening to podcasts constantly on a road trip. But he makes us stop and listen to music and even. I'm gonna say it, guys. Even Silence.

[Josh Gad]

Yeah, he likes silence.

[Aya Cash]

Silence. Yeah, he does a lot of. He's been on a bunch of silent meditation retreats and I just went on my first one and I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to fall asleep without something.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah.

[Josh Gad]

How was it? How many days was your silent retreat? I have friends who do this.

[Aya Cash]

Five days or five nights? Six days. And it was great.

[Josh Gad]

You love it.

[Aya Cash]

Much easier. Yeah. Shockingly.

[Ben Schwartz]

Were you there with your husband or was it a solo thing?

[Aya Cash]

No, I took my friend Kelly, but we don't. You don't. We didn't talk. So we went to a hot springs before and after so that we could sort of, you know, download, be there for each other. But we didn't speak during. And we're both. I'm a. Weirdly, I am a rule follower. I've realized, like, I want to think I'm a rebel, but I'm like, okay, I do this thing. I mean, today I went and bought extra headphones to try to fix this audio problem that I thought we were going to have. I don't, like, I don't know how to not follow the rules. So on the retreat, I guess like certain people came with each other and would sort of like engage a little bit. And Kelly and I were like, eyes down. We're not interacting at all. But it was actually just so nice not to talk.

[Josh Gad]

So is there someone guiding, though? Is there someone guiding the meditations?

[Aya Cash]

He's talking, so you're hearing a mix. Sometimes they're self guided. It's also. I did it in this place called Vallecitos, which is the most magical property ever. It's in the, in, funny enough, New Mexico.

[Josh Gad]

Okay. That's where my wife's from, so we.

[Aya Cash]

Spent a lot of time there. Yeah. So it's in like the bottom of the Rockies, like on the tip top of New Mexico. And it's just stunningly beautiful. And, like, you have. It's like being in a Disney cartoon. Cause the animals aren't afraid of you. So you have the little chipmunks, like, coming up and putting their little paws on you and begging for food. And there's deer, there's wild horses. I mean, it's just. It's an incredible landscape. So that helps keep you present. Cause you're kind of just tripping out. My dad always said that he got into Buddhism cause it was better than drugs. You know, he, like, did all the psychedelics and then found Buddhism and was like, oh, I'm getting the same thing. But it's like, you know, inside out rather than outside in.

[Josh Gad]

Right. And then you're not. Two days later, you probably feel better as opposed to, like, crashing.

[Aya Cash]

Depends on the drug. I mean, some of them have nice calm downs.

[Josh Gad]

Yeah, that's true. Did you. Did you feel. When you left the silent retreat, did you feel exceptional? And then my follow up is, how long did that last?

[Aya Cash]

I was so, like, proud of myself. I felt so good. I felt so, like, open. And I called my husband just, like, happy tears. He's like, I've never seen you so joyous. And then two hours later, just crashing down. They had asked me to go to Comic Con to announce a spinoff that I'm doing of the boys. And I said, no, I'm going on silent meditation retreat. You know, Comic Con, silence, but I'll make a video. So then I came out of my retreat and did the thing you're not supposed to do, which was I looked at my phone and I started responding to, like, the congratulations and the Instagram message. I mean, I went on and I just destroyed myself. And two hours later, I'm just sobbing and being like, I've ruined it all. Everything that I learned, it's all gone. And my dad was like, no, no, no. It's like, this is. You don't know how it's changed you. So I feel like, no, I'm not fixed is the answer.

[Josh Gad]

My wife did a meditation thing, and the same thing felt. And by the way, this, though, was entirely my fault. Then I, like, picked a petty fight with her, like, four hours later. And she was like, what is wrong with you? Like, I'm working on myself. And I'm like, yeah, all right. Sorry.

[Aya Cash]

But the truth is, like, you can't. It's coming out into it. Like, you can't expect other people to have had the experience that you've had. Like, you kind of, you know. Kelly got on her phone and her husband Was like their fridge broke and is like trying to get her to deal with like the minutia of the new fridge. And she's like, what the fuck? So I. Yeah. And I feel like watching Josh and my dad and my stepmom, everyone come home from retreat. Like, you know, I. I have a lot of nice people around me who knew what it was like. But you also.

[Josh Gad]

Would you ever do it with your husband? Was that something? I mean, if he's done it and you've done it, was there a reason you didn't want to do it together?

[Aya Cash]

I think just to have my own experience on the first retreat and to like, take the pressure off of. I have a little like a, like a splash of codependency, a little a dropper or two of. You know, I was worried about my friend Kelly the whole time. Like, how's she feeling? Is she okay? Pooping in the outhouse? You know, I get nervous about other people's experience rather than trusting them to take care of themselves. And so I think it was also, like, let's like, not worry about each other. The real reason I did it is I want to go on retreat with my dad before he dies, because I want to. I've never been on retreat with him, and that feels very. And my husband has. So I would like to do that.

[Ben Schwartz]

I wonder if you'll see your dad and you'll just be like, oh, he's so much better at this. Like, he's so much better at meditating that meditation envy.

[Aya Cash]

I see him get mad when, like, the warriors lose. Like, I also feel like I get the other side of spirituality where, you know, like, I grew up around all these people and I've seen like, ego. I've seen. I don't have a lot of. I'm not cult susceptible because I've seen all the people that get put on pedestals be humans. So I've always been very skeptical of a lot of spirituality, even though I grew up in it. But they say this great thing on retreat, which is don't teach Buddhism, be the Buddha. And I think that's why I like Buddhism is when it's done right, it's not about, like, you have to do this. I'm not, like, everybody has to go on retreat. And like, I just. And now I talk like this because I feel like, very sensitive. You can just, you can just like live a good life. And people might be like, oh, why is so and so happy? Or, you know, what are they doing? Rather than be like, you have to do This. I also think different things work for everybody. So I'm not. I'm not an evangelist by any means.

[Josh Gad]

That is also that voice. You should. I mean, it was very fun, briefly, but I don't think anybody would enjoy you as much if you talked like that all the time.

[Aya Cash]

Are you sure? I was thinking of starting an old me fence where I just.

[Josh Gad]

You know what?

[Aya Cash]

You're selling me on it, you know, asmr. I don't know. Yeah, I'm. I'm getting older. The ladies in our business don't work that. Don't work into their. Oh, no. Now we're starting to work into our 50s and 60s, so maybe I won't have to do ASMR for second career.

[Ben Schwartz]

I mean, if you do, it sounds like a pretty easy way to go. If it's just. If it's just the noise and the soft, gentle noise and fingernails. I feel like that's. Yeah, I do that.

[Josh Gad]

I feel like. Is there something. Just because you mentioned the boys and you're so excellent in it, and is there something. I feel like there's almost something Buddhist about when your character gets a prequel, because. You know what I mean? It's like, weirdly, a reincarnation, and it must be lovely, because, I mean, I'm assuming you did not expect that to be forthcoming.

[Aya Cash]

No, I don't think we want to see more Nazi. No, I mean, I think it's actually. It's. If I'm gonna be totally and completely honest, it's just us, right?

[Josh Gad]

Yeah.

[Aya Cash]

I was like, oh, this will be, like, a great retirement job. Like, it'll be like, it's a great job. And then I read the script, and I was like, oh, no, this is actually my dream job. This is such a fun take on this. I think the. You know, I was satisfied with how the boys ended with Stormfront. Like, I don't think she deserves to have. But then when I read the script and how they are doing it, I was like, oh, this is great. And I just really trust those writers. And, yeah, it is a reincarnation. She's 100 years old and doesn't age, though, so I don't know if she needs to be reincarnated. She just keeps going.

[Josh Gad]

I like, by the way, the most honest part of that, which makes me really, truly believe the scripts are good, is that you acknowledged basically, like, you were gonna do it either way.

[Aya Cash]

Oh, totally. Are you kidding? As I just said, ladies in our business sometimes get kicked out. I was like, great. I have a job. I've Already started pottery. Like all middle aged ladies. I'm like, great, I'll just, I'll make my weird pots.

[Josh Gad]

And you barely heard the phone from the agent because your pottery was spinning so fast.

[Aya Cash]

Oh, absolutely. It takes a lot to get me out of the pottery studio at this point, to be honest.

[Josh Gad]

Are you really doing potter pottery?

[Aya Cash]

Yeah, I really am.

[Josh Gad]

When did you really start?

[Aya Cash]

2 and a half years ago.

[Josh Gad]

Do you love it?

[Aya Cash]

I love it.

[Ben Schwartz]

You have your own. Do you have your own wheel?

[Aya Cash]

No, I go to a studio and like, half. It's like retired women just like gossiping and it's delightful. It's a wonderful, wonderful, safe space for me.

[Josh Gad]

Yeah. Where is your. Is your mom still in the Bay Area?

[Aya Cash]

Yeah, my mom's in the Bay Area. Both my parents are still in the Bay Area.

[Josh Gad]

I was saying we've had a great many guests who, like, grew up in the Bay Area, and it does. Almost all of them, I think both love it and are like, there's a lot going on in the Bay Area right now.

[Aya Cash]

The Bay Area that I grew up in, though, was great. I grew up on 19th and Castro. I had like, parades out my window. It was wonderful. And like, it was just. It was wacky. And there was just a lot that was really fun about it. And now I don't know. I don't know what's real and what's just the stories that we tell about a place. Like, people are like, oh, my God, you live in New York. Are you okay? I'm like, I'm fine. Like, yeah, there's stuff, but there's stuff everywhere. The experience of New York is not the online discourse of New York. And I feel the same about San Francisco, where it's like, yeah, there's a lot of intensity there. But I grew up, I worked at a youth hotline in high school and I worked in the Tenderloin. And it was intense back then too. But you. But it's also, I don't know, I just feel like we tell a lot of stories. I realized that the biggest lesson I learned from actually being on the boys was the difference between online space and real space. Like, online space, people were crazy. People, like, threatened to kill me. And I was like, I don't fly. I'm not actually a Nazi. You know, it's terrifying. I've never had a bad interaction with a fan in real life. It's always been lovely. And I was like, oh, that's not the real world. And I feel like the same thing about San Francisco. Like, yeah, there's some crazy stuff going on in certain places. And it's also still a city filled with people who are living their lives and living them well.

[Josh Gad]

I've lived in New York for 20 plus years and I always like, certain neighborhoods are way better and other neighborhoods are worse. But there's parts that, you know, when I moved here in 2001, you definitely couldn't walk through that are now filled with like high end fashion boutiques. So it does sort of move around.

[Aya Cash]

And that's a bad neighborhood. So I, you know.

[Josh Gad]

Yeah, But I also said, you know, people, I'm always like, as much as New York's changed, it's still the most like New York of any place in the world. It's not like someone else now is better at being New York than New York, so.

[Aya Cash]

Oh, I completely agree.

[Josh Gad]

How long have you lived east?

[Aya Cash]

Almost 20 years.

[Josh Gad]

Oh, you've been out here this whole time? Look at you.

[Aya Cash]

Yeah, yeah, I never, I was in LA for a couple months, a year when I was on a show out there, but I never, I never moved. I am like, I'm too weak to be in la. I feel like if I like stayed in la, my value system would be totally messed up. You gotta be strong to be in la.

[Josh Gad]

So you're morally weak. It's not. This is so.

[Aya Cash]

Yes. Oh, so funny. No, no, no. Easily swayed. Yeah, I just feel like I would. When I go out there, I start to like, value things that I don't actually value because it's just a part of the culture and not that all LA is like that just like the business side of la and I have plenty of friends who are out there and it doesn't infect them in that way. They're able to like live in the LA that is great, which is like great food and there's really interesting people everywhere. But, you know, when you go to too many parties.

[Josh Gad]

Josh is a very, a lover of LA and a very, very robust, healthy, outdoorsy fella. And I feel like he would be hamstrung in New York City.

[Aya Cash]

Totally.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah, I think so. I think that's the case.

[Aya Cash]

Do you live in LA now?

[Ben Schwartz]

I do, yeah. I'm in Hollywood and I think it's really nice and I love my friends and. Yeah, and there's also like, there's gnarly parts of some of them. I can walk down to the Chinese Theater and sometimes I'll do that walk from my house and walking down the length of Hollywood Boulevard is pretty rough. But I also feel like there's Something important about seeing that and being conscious of it and not just turning away from it. I also, I will say, as a guy, I feel a lot safer. I wouldn't send my wife on that walk solo a lot of times.

[Josh Gad]

Or, like, you should almost. Even if it's nice, you should never send a spouse on a solo walk. I just think, like, saying, like, I feel like it would be a good time for you to go. Even if it's a beautiful sort of pastoral setting.

[Aya Cash]

Oh, my God. I feel the total opposite. So I'm like, I send my husband out all the time.

[Josh Gad]

Do you tell him? Do you literally tell him, like, off you go?

[Aya Cash]

Oh, I'm like, I'd like to be alone in the apartment today. Can you please leave 100%? Are you kidding? That's why we've been together almost 20 years.

[Josh Gad]

That's amazing.

[Aya Cash]

Take some space. Yeah.

[Josh Gad]

Where you went to. So you started in the Bay Area, you ended up in New York, and you went to school in the Midwest.

[Aya Cash]

Yeah. I don't know why it's so funny. It was a very strange choice to suddenly move to Minnesota.

[Josh Gad]

Did you know acting at that point? Were you on that track?

[Aya Cash]

Yes, I definitely knowed acting back then. I was, you know, acting. Yeah, I know.

[Josh Gad]

Your guidance counselor said, I think you knowed.

[Aya Cash]

And I. Yeah, I know. And you may get nodes from singing. Yes. I went to school and it was the first year of this program at the University of Minnesota with the Guthrie Theater. And I had, like, this idea that I would, you know, this sort of, like, pioneering spirit, like, I'm going to be the first class, and we'll shape the program. And then I remember, like, year three, they were like, yeah, we don't have anything planned for this year. And I was like, we all were like, no, you better plan something. We didn't just come here to, like, putz around in the negative 60 degree windchill. Yeah. So I went to Minnesota, which was actually great. And a good lesson. You know, it was the 2000 election that was wild. And I learned a good lesson because I was. I really, you know, people think I'm joking. I really hadn't met a Republican. And I was. I was really rude in, like, the common areas as the. Really. As the election results came in. And then I got nasty notes on my door for weeks. And instead of it being like, oh, my God, these people, I went, oh, yeah, fair enough. I was kind of an asshole. And, like, I just didn't believe it was kind of like, I was like, I didn't believe that even though I was seeing results come in, I didn't know anyone as, like, a person who felt that way or who was voting that way. So all of a sudden I was like, oh, these are real people all around me. And I've been just like, trashing them. And I deserve a little, you know.

[Josh Gad]

It is a very good thing to learn and better at that age, certainly, than.

[Aya Cash]

I also voted for Nader, guys. So, like, a lot of less.

[Josh Gad]

I know some Naders. I have a lot of close friends who are Nadir. So, yeah, different time. Different time. You were a huge.

[Ben Schwartz]

You were a big seatbelt girl.

[Aya Cash]

Yeah, yeah, seatbelt also. I really loved direct to consumer marketing for drugs. Cause he was also responsible for that.

[Ben Schwartz]

More voices, more choices.

[Aya Cash]

Yeah, yeah.

[Josh Gad]

I think you spend. You drive. You take one drive from San Francisco to Taos in the back of a van with no seatbelt, and you're like, nader's my guy.

[Aya Cash]

Absolutely. It was solidified then, and I needed a better personality. And I thought Nader would be the one to.

[Josh Gad]

Oh, you'd so much personality.

[Aya Cash]

Oh, my God.

[Josh Gad]

Gives me some ralph Charisma. Nator.

[Ben Schwartz]

Did you take any trips around the Midwest in your time there?

[Aya Cash]

Not really. I went to. I feel. Oh, God, why am I. I forget how to do, like, press in terms of, like, what I'm supposed to keep private. So we. Anyway, we. Whatever. We. I drove to Wisconsin once to, like, see a play, and we, like, stopped at a strip club. And I remember that with my boyfriend. And I had grown up with, like, San Francisco, like, empowerment strip clubs. My best friend came out to me when she was 18 and she was like, you know, so I went to the strip club with women, which is a very different experience. Women in San Francisco versus, like, a Midwest strip club with my boyfriend. And I walked in and they were like, it's free if you get on stage. And I was like, nope, here's my five bucks. And I just remember being like, this is not. This doesn't feel good. This feels, like, bad in some way. And. Yeah. And then I never. I didn't. That's a lie. I went to a strip club after that, but not much. Not much. I was the best woman at a good friend's bachelor party.

[Josh Gad]

I was. I was so worried. You were like, I was the best woman at the strip club. So I went back because I was the best. And everyone agreed.

[Aya Cash]

Yeah.

[Josh Gad]

When was the first time? Do you remember the first time you got on a plane or the first time you flew overseas?

[Aya Cash]

I think the first time I flew overseas was probably in college when I did a semester abroad in England. You know, we didn't have money growing up. I know people think San Francisco is like, this, like, crazy expensive. It wasn't when I was growing up.

[Josh Gad]

You didn't have poetry money.

[Aya Cash]

Yeah. You're either really rich or really poor. If you're a poet, like, you're either so rich, you don't need poetry. There's no tweener or. Yeah, there's nothing.

[Josh Gad]

You didn't get one of those good union poet jobs.

[Aya Cash]

Poet laureate is basically the only one who makes money. Yeah. No, we didn't do a lot of plane travel. Oh, I used to go to. My grandmother taught tennis in D.C. so that was like, the vacation was my mom shipping me off to tennis camp where my grandmother taught.

[Josh Gad]

Was your grandmother, like, a great tennis player?

[Aya Cash]

Yeah. Yes. She won Wimbledon.

[Ben Schwartz]

Are you kidding?

[Josh Gad]

That is the greatest latest reveal in the history of this podcast. Also, the hesitation. Really? I have so many points for the hesitation. It was literally like you were thinking, was she good? I don't know. She didn't win it twice.

[Aya Cash]

Well, there's a reason why she didn't win it twice, as she would say. So she also won the US Open four times.

[Josh Gad]

Oh, my God.

[Ben Schwartz]

Jesus.

[Josh Gad]

What was her name?

[Aya Cash]

Pauline Betts. Addie.

[Josh Gad]

Okay.

[Ben Schwartz]

Oh, my.

[Aya Cash]

And she.

[Ben Schwartz]

Gosh.

[Aya Cash]

So she also didn't have money growing up, and tennis is a very rich sport. Like, she used to sleep on the beach, and she ended up winning Wimbledon and then was, like, in conversation with this other female tennis player, this is in the 40s, and was like, they only got. I think she got $400 and a lease on an apartment for winning Wimbledon. It wasn't the kind of money that you get now. So she was still broke, and she and this other tennis player were talking about doing a tour to make money, like exhibition games, and the Tennis association got wind of it. They didn't even do it yet. And they kicked her out. So she wasn't allowed to play Wimbledon again because you had to be an amateur to play Wimbledon back then. So she had to turn pro in order to make some money at it and to actually earn a living. So she, like. Yeah, she was never. She ran with a crazy crowd. She was friends with Shirley Temple. I think she dated Harpo Marx. She had, like, a crazy life. But she wasn't like a rich. Like she had. She was sort of in this world, but not wealthy of that world. Yeah.

[Josh Gad]

And were you close with her?

[Aya Cash]

Close. She was a disappointing tennis Player. I will say that two handed, four hand. And she wasn't like a warm. She wasn't into kids. Like she had four. Cause that's what you did when you were of that time period. And she had a. She even adopted one of her kids. But she wasn't like a super motherly grandmotherly. She didn't wanna be called grandma. So I called her champion for champion. That was the name she requested.

[Josh Gad]

I mean, that tells you everything. Yeah. If you were writing a book of fiction and there was a grandmother character who made her granddaughter call her champion, you would feel like you know everything about her.

[Aya Cash]

Yeah. And she like, she always had like coke and lucky charms for me, which I was very into. Cause I wasn't. We didn't have a lot of sugar in my household as a kid. So I like. As soon as I got any like lunch money, I just like bought candy. I should have gout. I didn't eat vegetables for most of my childhood and I just ate candy. So that's a real.

[Josh Gad]

I will say that's a common. Bay Area. I remember, you know, Andy Samberg, who's from Berkeley, basically said like he was late in life before he realized like carob wasn't the top line candy. You know what I mean?

[Aya Cash]

What is. Carob's not even good for you, is it? It's still terrible taste.

[Josh Gad]

It's just like bad. It's like. I think it's just trying to turn kids off of candy like writ large.

[Ben Schwartz]

Or they've figured out like we have this stuff and like dogs won't eat it if we put it in dog food. Let's tell Bay Area kids. It's like it's candy.

[Josh Gad]

We have it and we don't know how to get anybody to eat it.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah.

[Aya Cash]

Yeah. But we were consuming like massive amounts of soy, which is not great for you. It was like everything was soy all the time. Milk, tofu, champy.

[Josh Gad]

We had one of those as well. Our mom's mom, whose first name is Addie. She was.

[Ben Schwartz]

And we called her Addie because she didn't want to be grandma. And she didn't.

[Josh Gad]

She hadn't won shit. I should say. Like, that's the other thing. She never won shit. So we couldn't call her like champy or King or anything.

[Ben Schwartz]

But she also the only children.

[Aya Cash]

She never once shit. And I was like, what an interesting thing to know about your grandmother.

[Josh Gad]

Never once.

[Ben Schwartz]

That's amazing.

[Josh Gad]

And by the way, she looked down her nose at people who did.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah. A lot of women say they don't and she actually never did. But she never liked. She didn't like children who weren't her own children. So she didn't really care for us that much until we became young adults and could have conversations with her.

[Aya Cash]

I feel like I'm maybe an Addie. I don't like children that aren't mine either, and I'm not having any.

[Josh Gad]

So you've really. You've kind of got all your bases covered.

[Aya Cash]

Yeah, I'm like, call me when you're ready to, like, go vintage shopping. Like, we can come on down to.

[Josh Gad]

The pottery shop with me and. Me and the ladies.

[Ben Schwartz]

Would you stay with Champy or were you like sort of an overnight student, like, camper at the camp?

[Aya Cash]

No, I stayed with Champy. She had like a little two bedroom condo somewhere in Bethesda, and I would stay with her. And my uncles all taught tennis, so they were around too.

[Ben Schwartz]

Okay.

[Josh Gad]

Were they all teaching in the, like, sort of under Champions auspices? Was it a family tennis camp? Wow.

[Aya Cash]

Yeah, it was kind of like a family tennis camp. And my. I can't get in. We don't have enough time on this podcast to get into the story of my uncle, but my uncle was a tennis teacher for many, many years and ended up, like, teaching a lot of very high profile people and they like, he was sort of their poor friend, let's just be honest. But they would take him places, like to Aspen and things. And one of them, all right, I'll do it quick. One of them was like, I'm going to make sure you're taken care of. And he had him invest in his video game company. And for years, Gary would be like, you gotta invest in this. We can split the profits when it all comes to. And for years my husband and I were like, this is insane. There's no paper trail. There's no nothing. But Gary didn't have any more of his own money to invest. So anytime he got an opportunity, he was always reaching out. And he invested his life savings into the company. And for years we'd be like, oh, okay, that's money down the drain. And then the company sold a couple years ago for, I think, $7 billion. And Gary went from teaching tennis full time in his late 60s to becoming a multimillionaire.

[Ben Schwartz]

Gary Bravo.

[Josh Gad]

Gary Bravo.

[Aya Cash]

Gary and I invested $0 into that and saw nothing.

[Ben Schwartz]

Wow.

[Josh Gad]

I mean, it is, it's look one, I would say, never take investment advice from an uncle. If it's Uncle Gary, that's double red flags.

[Aya Cash]

And he also had like a Tom Selleck mustache. And he was. He's like a great prototype uncle. He's a sweetie pie too. I trusted him. I just didn't trust the situation. It felt very much like I would be on Scam Goddess telling that conversation.

[Josh Gad]

And also another red flag for me would be like an older gentleman talking about a video game company. It seems like. Right. It's like if an older person came to me now to talk about dogecoin or something, I would say, you're being scammed, and this is a pyramid scheme, and I don't want to add to your. Your failures.

[Aya Cash]

Yeah.

[Josh Gad]

Good for Uncle Gary, though.

[Aya Cash]

Yeah, great for Uncle Gary.

[Ben Schwartz]

Have you taken any trips? Has he brought his Uncle Gary brought young trips.

[Josh Gad]

Shared the largesse.

[Aya Cash]

Uncle Gary does not like. He's kind of like, great, I don't have to teach when I don't want to. But he still, like, stays at the New Yorker Hotel and brags about his 150 a night when, like, hotels are so expensive in New York, you know, he's just not, like, into it, which is great. I mean, I think it's wonderful. Uncle Gary, if you're listening, donate it all when you die. Donate it all.

[Josh Gad]

Well, you really came through. You know, I had high hopes.

[Aya Cash]

This is true. I didn't even tell you my other vacation stories were at monasteries. Cause that's where my dad would take me on vacation.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah. You got a quick monastery story for us?

[Aya Cash]

I just remember I would go on vacation. My dad met my stepmom at a monastery called Tassahara, where she was in training to become a monk. And we would go, and you'd have to work when you were there. So, like, I would work in the kitchen, and our vacations would be on this, like, beautiful monastery. And then he was talking to this woman with a shaved head way too much one times. And I kept being like, stop talking to that woman. Stop talking to that woman. And then he brought her home and made her his wife.

[Josh Gad]

Did the hair grow back?

[Aya Cash]

The hair grow back? She's got beautiful curly hair.

[Josh Gad]

So that I guess if you're in training to be a monk and then you meet a gentleman, that's like the end of the monk game.

[Aya Cash]

You're like, yeah. Oh, yeah, you can't. Yeah. No. And he definitely, like, you know, talked her into getting frisky there.

[Ben Schwartz]

Was it a silent retreat that they met at? He was breaking all the rules.

[Aya Cash]

I don't think it would silent or they weren't silent in that, but either way, let's just shout apology to My whole family for this.

[Josh Gad]

How old were you when they met?

[Aya Cash]

9. 8 or 9. It was around the same time that my mom and her husband got divorced on that Taos trip.

[Josh Gad]

Got you. So they were getting divorced, and then your stepmom came into the game, and she's still married to. She's.

[Aya Cash]

She's still there. And they both teach Vipassana Buddhism.

[Josh Gad]

That's great. I wonder what the moment is when you basically meet someone in your Hmong training and have to go tell the brass. Probably a different word than the brass. Basically say, I'm out. It's not gonna happen for me.

[Aya Cash]

Yeah. I mean, I think she was young. She was probably, like, 28 when it happened. So I think better to know then.

[Josh Gad]

Than, oh, yeah, that's too Young to Monk.

[Aya Cash]

Yeah, they're also too young to monk. Too young to monk. Beautiful.

[Josh Gad]

Yeah, yeah. When I send that script over, just put it top of your pile, Keiya.

[Aya Cash]

I'm in. I can't really play champion. The story of her life. She was, like, a very tall blonde, so Too Young to Monk will be my breakout role.

[Josh Gad]

Thank you so much for joining us. This has been great. And I haven't seen you in so long. I can't believe we never crossed paths in the city. Hopefully, I'll keep my eyes out for you. All right, before you go, Josh is going to ask you the questions. All our guests.

[Ben Schwartz]

All right, here we go. You can only pick one of these. Is your ideal vacation relaxing, adventurous, or educational?

[Aya Cash]

Adventurous.

[Ben Schwartz]

What is your favorite means of transportation? Train. Plane. Automobile.

[Aya Cash]

Definitely train. Very civilized. Yeah, train.

[Ben Schwartz]

If you could take a vacation with any family, alive or dead, real or fictional, other than your own family, who would you like to take a family vacation with?

[Aya Cash]

Probably Coach Taylor and his wife from Friday Night Lights.

[Josh Gad]

Great call.

[Aya Cash]

Genuinely, I want them to take me on vacation, treat me like a child. But also maybe a little inappropriate cuddling.

[Josh Gad]

I was on. My wife and I were in. We took a train trip through Switzerland. And what I remember most about that trip is every night we would watch Friday Night Lights. So it was like, the most beautiful country in the world, and it was still what it's like. What's the best thing to do in Zurich? Watch Final Episode, Season five.

[Aya Cash]

Such a good show, man.

[Ben Schwartz]

Such a good.

[Aya Cash]

I've embarrassed myself in front of all of them. I can't keep it together.

[Josh Gad]

I feel like I have, too. And I think that they've all. I think they maybe are ready emotionally to move on.

[Aya Cash]

Yeah.

[Josh Gad]

And they weren't. Actually.

[Aya Cash]

I'm gonna Pull them back.

[Josh Gad]

Yeah, I'm gonna pull them back.

[Ben Schwartz]

I was thinking that I just got married, and we were talking about, like, maybe going back and watching Friday Night Lights, like, leading up to the marriage, but instead we watched baby reindeer, which was totally different and different vibe going.

[Aya Cash]

Very intense.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah. If you had to be stranded on a desert island with one member of your family, who would it be?

[Aya Cash]

Well, I have to say my husband.

[Josh Gad]

Yeah.

[Aya Cash]

Because he'd be upset, but can he bring the dog?

[Josh Gad]

Yeah, sure. I think that's.

[Ben Schwartz]

What if it was your husband or the dog?

[Aya Cash]

He knows this answer.

[Josh Gad]

Okay.

[Ben Schwartz]

And you're from San Francisco. Would you recommend San Francisco as a vacation destination?

[Aya Cash]

100%.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah.

[Aya Cash]

Maybe don't stay downtown at this very moment, but yeah. Yes. San Francisco's beautiful.

[Ben Schwartz]

I love it. I love it so much. I love how neighborhoody it is.

[Aya Cash]

Yeah, it's great. There's still some weird. There's still some weird.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah. And then Seth has her final questions.

[Josh Gad]

Aya, have you been to the Grand Canyon?

[Aya Cash]

I have not.

[Josh Gad]

Do you want to go?

[Aya Cash]

I do. My friend Colby just hiked the Grand Canyon, which I am not that person, but I want to believe. And again, the silent meditation retreat. I watch TV and fall asleep to podcasts. Then I go away for five days without speaking, reading, writing. I feel like I have to be thrown into those things. So I feel like I would love to hike the Grand Canyon.

[Josh Gad]

You maybe need to be thrown into the canyon, and then you go, I.

[Aya Cash]

Need to be thrown. Yes. Perfect. And this is my suicide note.

[Ben Schwartz]

No, I think dropped off at the bottom. If someone helicoptered you in and dropped you at the bottom and said, you got to get out of. And then you'd have to.

[Aya Cash]

It's great, right? It's great.

[Josh Gad]

We just went. It was great. We just went. But we didn't do any of the grand hiking or anything.

[Aya Cash]

So you also said we just went in that tone of. We did not enjoy it.

[Ben Schwartz]

No.

[Aya Cash]

When your voice goes up a little.

[Josh Gad]

We went.

[Aya Cash]

It was fun.

[Josh Gad]

I loved it. But I also don't like. I'm not. You have to go. I loved. Is that a fair assessment?

[Aya Cash]

It's like a Buddhist retreat.

[Josh Gad]

Yeah.

[Ben Schwartz]

Yeah. We were also, in defense of the Grand Canyon, we were there for a fantasy football draft. So we had our fantasy football draft on the rim of the Grand Canyon and only had really a couple hours there. And it's a place that you could certainly spend over a week. And. Yeah, I feel like there's more to do. We scratched the surface, and I'm Eager.

[Aya Cash]

To go back Rimming the Grand Canyon for Fantasy Football week. Sounds like a dream.

[Josh Gad]

You can see Aya in Rimming the Grand Canyon and Too Young to Monk. They're both out later this year.

[Ben Schwartz]

No, but you will be able to see her in the franchise coming out soon. Congratulations on that. And yeah, the boys spin off, which is. When does that come out?

[Aya Cash]

Who knows? We haven't even started yet.

[Ben Schwartz]

But it's coming.

[Josh Gad]

Thank you, Aya. Really lovely to see you again.

[Ben Schwartz]

Thank you. Bye bye.

[D]

Aya Cash is from San Francisco. 100% says that you should go. Other people say that it's their home when they're really from the bay. Used to travel straight across the land to see her mother's mother that is mother grand. They worked on her fore and back hand. Had coke and lucky. I called a champion because she was an actual champion.

[Ben Schwartz]

Such a champion.

[D]

Four counting four US Opens and Wimbledon. Uncle Gary, he taught tennis too. Cause his mom was champ. So that's what you do. He told I everything he knew about a ship that could come in. An investment opportunity in a video game company. Aya said, you do you, Gary. I'm gonna keep my cash. But sure enough, Gary hit the big time. And now he's doing well. But it still gets very good deals on hotels.