Ilana Glazer asks about God

Summary

Podcast Summary: Handsome Episode – Ilana Glazer Asks About God

Episode Information

• Title: Ilana Glazer Asks About God
• Podcast: Handsome
• Host/Authors: Tig Notaro, Fortune Feimster, Mae Martin
• Release Date: January 28, 2025
• Description: In this episode, Ilana Glazer poses a profound question to the hosts: "Do you believe in God?" Tig, Fortune, and Mae delve into their personal beliefs, experiences with religion and spirituality, and the intersection of faith and science, all while sharing humorous anecdotes and engaging in thoughtful discussions.

---

1. Welcoming and Casual Banter (02:00 – 28:07)

Opening Conversations: The episode kicks off with the typical warm welcome from Fortune Feimster at [02:00], setting a friendly and informal tone. The trio engages in light-hearted banter about everyday mishaps, such as Fortune being awakened by a Charlie horse ([02:19]) and Mae Martin's humorous take on grocery shopping and meal planning challenges ([02:31]).

Humorous Anecdotes: Throughout the initial segments, the hosts share personal stories and jokes, establishing camaraderie and showcasing their comedic chemistry. For instance, Maе reminisces about her father's quirky pronunciation of "Titanic" ([07:45]), and Tig Notaro discusses her unique stage-ending phrase, "Anyway, my name's Tig" ([09:17]).

Work and Projects Updates: The hosts also provide updates on their current projects. Tig talks about her documentary on Andrea Gibson, which recently got into Sundance ([24:50]), while Mae shares her upcoming music album and performance plans ([53:03]). Fortune discusses her tour and Netflix special, "Crushing It" ([52:27]).

---

2. Introduction of Ilana Glazer's Question (28:07 – 28:35)

Background on Ilana Glazer: Ilana Glazer, known for co-creating and starring in the Comedy Central series "Broad City," along with her work in films like "Rough Night" and the Tony Award-winning musical "A Strange Loop," introduces today's profound question: "Do you believe in God?" ([28:07]).

Hosts Respond: Mae expresses her excitement to hear the hosts' perspectives on this deep and personal topic ([29:16]), setting the stage for an in-depth conversation.

---

3. Hosts' Perspectives on Belief in God (28:35 – 54:56)

Tig Notaro’s Perspective ([29:26] – [31:32])

• Agnostic Stance: Tig begins by stating she doesn't believe in God ([29:26]). She elaborates on her agnostic views, highlighting the complexities of the universe and the improbability of a deity merely doling out fate and morality ([29:32]).
• Science vs. Spirituality: She discusses how scientific understanding leads her to question traditional notions of God, yet acknowledges that the intricacies of existence leave room for some form of higher power or energy ([31:02]).
• Definition of Belief: Tig reflects on the word "believe," noting how it can ignite strong emotions and conflicts when differing beliefs clash, sometimes even leading to wars ([40:13]).

Mae Martin’s Perspective ([29:37] – [51:40])

• Personal Spirituality: Mae shares her nuanced view of God as a blend of science and spirituality, seeing God as the source energy encompassing life and consciousness ([30:31]).
• New Age Influences: She touches on contemporary spiritual practices like crystals and tarot, relating them to a broader, more individualized concept of spirituality ([37:53]).
• Childhood and Faith: Mae recounts her childhood experience of embracing Christianity earnestly for about six months, including humorous anecdotes like talking to Jesus through a calculator ([41:20]).
• Balancing Good and Evil: She ponders the coexistence of good and evil within the concept of God, questioning how negative emotions fit into a benevolent higher power ([38:39]).

Fortune Feimster’s Perspective ([29:21] – [44:07])

• Struggles with Religion: Fortune discusses her complicated relationship with religion, influenced by her Southern upbringing where the church plays a central role in community life ([35:17]).
• Hypocrisy in Organized Religion: She expresses frustration with the perceived hypocrisy within religious institutions, citing examples of judgmental behaviors that contradict the teachings of love and kindness ([35:17]).
• Personal Belief: Despite distancing herself from organized religion, Fortune maintains a personal belief in God, rooted in optimism and the desire for spiritual comfort ([37:53]).
• Impact of Religion on Social Dynamics: Fortune comments on how religious beliefs can both foster community and create divisions, leading to fear and misunderstanding ([43:34]).

Ilana Glazer’s Input ([48:00] – [51:40])

• Spiritual Force Concept: Ilana shares her belief in a spiritual force that constitutes life itself, viewing God as the energy binding Earth's organisms into a single entity ([48:00]).
• Human Connection and Joy: She relates God to the collective human experiences of joy and connection, such as laughter and dancing, emphasizing the intentional design behind humanity's capacity for unity and resilience ([48:00]).
• Judgment and Design: Ilana distinguishes between positive human magic and the destructive systems that divide us, attributing the former to divine intentionality ([48:00]).

---

4. Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Tig Notaro on Agnosticism:

  "I mean, it's just like when you get into all the mechanics of how the world works and animals and nature and how complex everything is, it's like, how the hell." ([29:32])

• Fortune Feimster on Personal Belief:

  "I do believe in God, but again with an asterisk of. It's just a personal belief because it makes me feel better." ([37:53])

• Mae Martin on Spirituality and Science:

  "I feel like quantum theory and things like that. That as we especially recently we're making these huge leaps in our understanding of reality and, and I feel like at some point that we're gonna cross that bridge into spirituality where science and spirituality meet up." ([31:01])

• Ilana Glazer on Human Connection:

  "Comedians when people are laughing together, that's a spiritual. That's God to me." ([48:00])

• Mae Martin on Childhood Faith:

  "I went to an Anglican school and I just decided, like, yeah, I. Christ is my savior and I got a little calculator and I would maybe I was younger than 10... I would like, talk to Jesus through the calculator." ([41:56])

• Tig Notaro on the Word "Believe":

  "People get so triggered because you believe something... you believe that... and then people freak and start wars because you believe..." ([40:13])

---

5. Insights and Conclusions

Diverse Beliefs and Common Ground: The discussion highlights the diverse beliefs of the hosts, ranging from agnostic to personal spirituality, showcasing the plurality of perspectives on God and faith within a comedic framework. Despite differing views, Tig, Fortune, and Mae find common ground in valuing community, personal growth, and the comfort that belief systems can provide.

Intersection of Science and Spirituality: A recurring theme is the intersection of scientific understanding and spiritual belief. The hosts explore how advancements in science can both challenge and complement spiritual concepts, leading to a more nuanced and personal interpretation of divinity.

Critique of Organized Religion: The hosts collectively critique the hypocrisies they perceive within organized religion, advocating for a more individualized and compassionate approach to spirituality that transcends rigid doctrines and fosters genuine human connection.

Personal Experiences Shaping Belief: Personal anecdotes from Mae about childhood faith and from Ilana about the essence of human connection underline how individual experiences and relationships deeply influence one's belief in God or a higher spiritual force.

Humor as a Bridge: Throughout the heavy discussion, humor serves as a bridge, allowing the hosts to navigate complex and sensitive topics with levity and relatability, maintaining the podcast's signature blend of comedy and meaningful conversation.

---

6. Closing Remarks

The episode concludes with the hosts reflecting on the enriching conversation about belief and spirituality, interwoven with their usual humor and light-heartedness. They encourage listeners to continue exploring their own beliefs and to appreciate the diverse perspectives that make up the human experience.

---

Note: Throughout the episode, the hosts interject with humorous stories and updates about their personal projects, maintaining a balance between deep discussion and comedic relief. The inclusion of notable quotes provides listeners with memorable insights into each host's personal stance on belief in God.

Transcript

[Fortune Feimster]

Some people just know they could save.

[Tig Notaro]

Hundreds on car insurance by checking Allstate First.

[Mae Martin]

Like, you know, to check and make sure you have plenty of candles before holding that big seance you've been planning for the next full moon.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah, checking first is smart. So check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate. This content is intended for audiences in the US Only. Savings vary. Terms apply Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates, Northbrook, IL when it.

[Mae Martin]

Comes to grocery shopping and meal planning, I've got this problem. I want to eat healthier, but it's a struggle. It feels so much easier to order a pizza than cook up a meal at home. But I realized that the problem wasn't that I didn't want to cook, it's that I didn't have fresh ingredients and foods that excited me to cook. That all changed thanks to Hungryroot. It's the easiest way to eat healthy.

[Tig Notaro]

Hungryroot helped me and they can help you. They've got easy recipes full of tasty ingredients. Like, I tried the Southwestern Protein bowl with Avocado Crema and it was tasty.

[Mae Martin]

You're gonna love Hungry Root as much as we do. Take advantage of this exclusive offer for limited time, get 40% off your first first box. Plus get a free item in every box for life. Go to hungryroot.com handsome and use code handsome. That's hungryroot.com handsome code handsome to get 40% off your first box and a free item of your choice for life. Hungryroot.com handsome code handsome.

[Thomas Willette]

This is a Headgum podcast.

[Mae Martin]

Chatting with friends on the Handsome Pod. Chatting with friends on the Handsome Pod.

[Fortune Feimster]

Cheers.

[Mae Martin]

Cheers.

[Fortune Feimster]

Welcome to the Handsome Pod. I'm Fortune Feemster.

[Tig Notaro]

I'm your co host, Tig Notaro.

[Mae Martin]

And I'm Fortune and Tig's co host, Mae Martin. You guys, another early morning app for us.

[Fortune Feimster]

I know. I was awoken at 6am this morning by the agony of a Charlie horse in my calf.

[Tig Notaro]

Oh, those are a good time.

[Fortune Feimster]

I haven't had one in so long.

[Tig Notaro]

You lucky dog.

[Fortune Feimster]

It was. I was.

[Tig Notaro]

It is the weirdest part problem to get. And I was telling Stephanie once that I would love to see somebody get a Charlie horse when they're going up to accept an Oscar.

[Mae Martin]

Oh my God.

[Fortune Feimster]

Just holding their calf.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah. Or walking down the aisle to get married. And they're like.

[Fortune Feimster]

That'S gnarly. I just like kind of stretched, I guess. And then it was like, isn't it.

[Tig Notaro]

Supposed to be low potassium.

[Fortune Feimster]

Is it? Yeah.

[Mae Martin]

Dehydration.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Mae Martin]

So it feels like your muscles just turns to concrete for a second. It's so weird. Yeah, like.

[Fortune Feimster]

Yeah, I don't like that kind of horse.

[Mae Martin]

So were you screaming?

[Fortune Feimster]

No, because I was trying not to wake Jacks up. So I was just. Just silent, like holding myself.

[Tig Notaro]

Oh, God.

[Fortune Feimster]

Braced up, like whimpering in silen or.

[Tig Notaro]

What if you were having a one night stand?

[Mae Martin]

Yeah.

[Tig Notaro]

God, I'm so out of that loop. Like, what is it? One night? Yeah, you're like, lying in bed with somebody and then you're just like, love thinking of an awkward Charlie Horse moment.

[Fortune Feimster]

It sucks. And then. And then it. Like I finally got it to go down and then I just laid there and then kind of moved my leg and it came back and I was like, no.

[Mae Martin]

Oh, that's the worst.

[Tig Notaro]

I just picture it with, like, metal teeth just clamping onto you. Yeah, that's the worst.

[Mae Martin]

So then you. Did you get back to sleep after that?

[Fortune Feimster]

Yeah, I passed out. And when it woke up, I was limping.

[Mae Martin]

Oh, man.

[Tig Notaro]

Wow, it really took you down.

[Fortune Feimster]

It took me down. I'm going to have to eat more Edible arrangements.

[Mae Martin]

Edible Arrangements?

[Tig Notaro]

Are you already eating a good amount?

[Mae Martin]

Wait, what's an edible arrangement?

[Fortune Feimster]

It's the fruit. People send people fruit baskets that are dipped in chocolate.

[Tig Notaro]

Oh, well, and also, aren't they in a. Like a bouquet? Like a flower? Like a bouquet of flowers.

[Mae Martin]

I know what you mean.

[Fortune Feimster]

It's supposed to look like a bouquet of flowers, but it's fruit.

[Tig Notaro]

That's how you eat fruit is you order. I'm kidding.

[Mae Martin]

I'm going along with your bit.

[Fortune Feimster]

Fortune. Good lord, I did. I did have a little. Have you ever seen those little baby apples? Big. Yeah, I ate one of those last night and I was like, my fruit for the day.

[Tig Notaro]

Did I tell you the song I wrote for Max and Finn? And they sing it in the morning. Don't forget to have your morning fruit. Your morning fruit. Yeah. I feel like there might be a little more to the song, but there's gotta be more.

[Mae Martin]

My dad used to sing every morning and he'd go, I'm a banana, I'm a banana. And then I'd get kind of anxious because I knew this part was coming. I'm a banana, banana banan. And then he'd like, freeze on banan. And he'd stop moving in the kitchen, like frozen. And I'd have to go up to him and then he'd like a frozen banana, like A frozen banana. Yeah. It was exciting.

[Tig Notaro]

And he made this up.

[Mae Martin]

I think this was an original of his. Yeah. And he'd kind of hold the bananas and make them his ears.

[Tig Notaro]

Now, do you know, I don't know what accent I'm singing. Marnen Fruit. You're Marnen Fruit?

[Mae Martin]

Yeah. That's like.

[Tig Notaro]

Is it good?

[Mae Martin]

Yeah, it's like a good. It sounds like Shrek. Marnen Fruit.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah. Well, when I am talking to Stephanie in the Marnons, you know, I can hear Max and Finn in the background singing that they're having. They're marnin fruit. They're marnin fruit. I'll have to find out what the rest of the words are of my original tune, please.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah, I like how you're saying I have to find out. Like, you gotta ask someone. Someone else.

[Tig Notaro]

I do. I have to ask Stephanie and Max and Finn because I. I wrote the song, I got it in everyone's head, and then I left for Toronto and forgot the song. That's what I was doing was I was telling them, don't forget to eat your morning fruit when I'm gone. Like, I tried to, like, come up with a little catchy tune. And then, you know what?

[Mae Martin]

It worked.

[Fortune Feimster]

That's how I think of my dad, when in my childhood was singing in the morning and making breakfast.

[Mae Martin]

Really? Yeah, me too. That was like a big part of say, would he. Was he the one that would take you to school and stuff?

[Fortune Feimster]

They would switch off. Sometimes it was him, sometimes my grandmother, sometimes my mom. It took a village. But they divorced when I was 12. So my memories are very, like, sporadic. But I just remember some singing when he woke us up and then making scrambled eggs.

[Mae Martin]

I remember that my dad used to pronounce Titanic. Titanic just to make me laugh. And I thought that was the funniest joke I'd ever heard. I was like 8 years old and I was like. Like, it blew my mind because I was like, that's not how you say. And he was like, I know, I'm joking. But he'd say the titnic. I don't know why we were talking about Titanic all the time, but I don't know.

[Fortune Feimster]

I saw that musical Titanique.

[Mae Martin]

Oh, yes. Yeah, yeah.

[Tig Notaro]

What is that?

[Fortune Feimster]

I don't know if it's still going or not, but it was in New York and it was a play about the Titanic with Celine Dion as the narrator. Oh, and she. She called the Titanic the Titanique.

[Mae Martin]

Guys, I saw Cheryl Lee Ralph last night.

[Fortune Feimster]

Oh, yeah?

[Mae Martin]

Yeah. Friend of the pot. Well, I didn't speak to her, but I saw her at the out 100.

[Fortune Feimster]

Aw.

[Mae Martin]

Or yeah, she was getting like ally of the year and she made a rousing speech that was. So she's like an orator. Like, I wanted to elect her president. And then so she did this beautiful speech and I really liked. She ended the speech by going, I am Sheryl Lee Ralph. Good night. She was great.

[Tig Notaro]

So wait, were you nominated or did you win something or what was going on?

[Mae Martin]

No, I just. I just.

[Tig Notaro]

Was just an invitation.

[Mae Martin]

Just an invitation. Yeah. And yeah. Anyway, I really like the idea of ending a speech. I am May Martin. Good night.

[Fortune Feimster]

I am May Martin.

[Mae Martin]

We're ending a stand up set like.

[Tig Notaro]

That, but a lot of comedians will say, I have been, and then say their name and then leave stage. Which I've never done that. I've never done that.

[Fortune Feimster]

I haven't done that either, actually.

[Tig Notaro]

You know what I used to always end my sets with when I first started? The first few years, I'd say, anyway, my name's Tig. And then I'd walk off stage anyway. And yeah, anyway, my name's any.

[Mae Martin]

Whatever that was.

[Tig Notaro]

Anyway, my name's Tig. And then I'd wander off the stage and I had this idea where I'd love to grab just show after show ending of me saying, anyway, my name's. Anyway, my name's Tig. Just back to back, a little montage of it all. Because it took me a while to realize that I was saying that. And I think I was saying it even at a point where people were buying tickets to see me. Like, it didn't. It didn't make sense for me to be like, anyway, my name is Tig.

[Mae Martin]

That's funny. I've been. Is. Is funny to me. Well, I've been blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah, yeah. Like it's. And you've been a past tense. Yeah, thing.

[Fortune Feimster]

I'm no longer.

[Tig Notaro]

Yes, I'm moving on now.

[Fortune Feimster]

I like when Shirley wins awards because her award acceptance speeches are so phenomenal.

[Mae Martin]

It was like, it was a big crowded room. It wasn't like a sit down thing. Everybody was kind of. And so nobody could hold the crowd's attention. This is also like a bunch of drunk gay people. It's like herding cats. But they. But when Cheryl Lee Ralph went up, everyone went silent and was like listening. And then a lot of fans of the POD came up to me because they were serving nuggets at the, at the event. They reserve chicken nuggets.

[Tig Notaro]

What is nuggets? Oh, oh, Nugget. Oh, chicken nugget. I see.

[Fortune Feimster]

Yeah, that's fun.

[Mae Martin]

And. But they're like people.

[Fortune Feimster]

Big fans of the pod. But you're not one of our 100 no games.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah, you're not one of the hundred. But people kept coming up to me and being like, oh, you must be excited. And I was like, oh, should I? And they were like, the nuggets. And I was like, what? And I realized, like, everyone knew this about me, that I love breaded chicken from talking about it on the pod.

[Fortune Feimster]

That's so funny.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah.

[Fortune Feimster]

Sometimes you forget what you share.

[Mae Martin]

Oh, my God.

[Fortune Feimster]

I know that about me.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah, I know it's so confusing. But it also happens to me when I. Right when I get off stage, which I think we've talked about, how, like.

[Mae Martin]

Right when you go.

[Tig Notaro]

Right when I get off, people be like, oh my God, blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, what? Yeah, like, you said that on stage. Did I?

[Fortune Feimster]

Yeah, like your brain kind of goes into a different.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah.

[Fortune Feimster]

Like dimension.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Fortune Feimster]

May. Are you back doing. You're back doing stand up?

[Mae Martin]

Yeah, yeah. I'm loving doing improv right now, but I am. I. I need to start doing more sets. Like I do a couple a month at Largo. But I need to push myself, I think, and figure out what I'm. Yeah. Because what have I. What have I got? Nothing really. I. I've got like some stuff about if I. How I feel like I have the memory of holding a live chicken, but I don't think I've ever held a live chicken. You know what I mean? It's all a little weird and existential. And then I got the bear story, of course, but yeah, you know, and some child.

[Tig Notaro]

Maybe you've seen somebody hold a live chicken.

[Mae Martin]

I must have. But it's like I. I know the feeling of, like the greasy feathers, the heart pounding, the scratchy little feet. I can feel it. But I don't think I've ever held a live chicken. So maybe in a past life.

[Tig Notaro]

Well, you are a little cowboy, so you might have had a ranch.

[Mae Martin]

Wait a second. Yeah, you're right.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah. Past life. Ranch.

[Fortune Feimster]

Ranch owner.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah.

[Tig Notaro]

Ranch hand.

[Mae Martin]

I said at work when I was. I was filming, I was like, I'd like to be in a western. And then my co stars started laughing and I said, why are you laughing? And she said, no, you're not. You're not gonna be in a western. And then she said, you'd get your leg caught in a lasso and get dragged behind the horse. I was like, oh, come on.

[Fortune Feimster]

She doesn't know you're a little cowboy.

[Mae Martin]

Who said this to you?

My co star in the show I just filmed. But I thought, all right, yeah.

[Fortune Feimster]

And take your. You're working out a bunch of material, right?

[Tig Notaro]

Still, I have been working on material, but I've kind of taken a beat. I just keep having this feeling of, like. I think I want to be saying something or, you know, I don't know.

[Mae Martin]

Right. But then, like, sometimes you gotta just talk about mountain goats. But then for.

[Tig Notaro]

For sure.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah.

[Tig Notaro]

But you feel this when you're nagging about. Yeah, I'm. I'm feeling a nagging thing of.

[Mae Martin]

That's exciting, as a fan, because I'm like, oh, if you got a nagging thing, like, something's going to come up and. That's juicy.

[Tig Notaro]

We'll see. I mean, I don't know. I mean, I might just want to do an hour of talking about mountain goats. But I have started writing something here in Toronto and.

[Mae Martin]

Is it about us?

[Tig Notaro]

It's about me and you.

[Mae Martin]

Oh, my God.

[Tig Notaro]

Fortune has nothing to do with it. It's just about me and you. And it's.

[Mae Martin]

Wow. Just deconstructing every neck.

[Fortune Feimster]

Cowboy.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah.

[Fortune Feimster]

Little cowboys.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Mae Martin]

That's exciting.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah.

[Fortune Feimster]

May, you don't. I don't know if you know this, but Tig and I, on a pretty little episode, both revealed how much we want to learn how to tap dance.

[Mae Martin]

I'm sorry, what? Seriously?

[Fortune Feimster]

Yeah. And then the three of us will host the Oscar. The Oscars?

[Mae Martin]

Okay, I'm gonna say something crazy, but I don't think that's outside the realm of possibility. If the three of us really focus our manifestation powers and we visualize us hosting the Oscars and tap dancing.

[Fortune Feimster]

Yeah.

[Tig Notaro]

I think it could have bad news.

[Mae Martin]

I have bad news.

What?

[Tig Notaro]

I don't think it's gonna happen. But we still have to plow forward and learn to tap.

[Mae Martin]

Do you know how to tap dance?

[Tig Notaro]

Me?

[Mae Martin]

Imagine if I was like, yeah, of course. No, I don't know how to move my body at all, really. It's. It's fused. It's. I feel like my joints are fused.

[Tig Notaro]

Like, you're not a dancer?

[Mae Martin]

No, but the other day I went on YouTube and searched John Travolta. Saturday Night Fever tutorial. Dance tutorial. What? Yeah. And I thought, I'm gonna learn it and bust it out when you least expect it.

[Tig Notaro]

Well, can you show us what you've kind of learned already?

[Mae Martin]

I want to polish it. Well, it's just the way his hips move. Okay.

[Fortune Feimster]

Magic May.

[Mae Martin]

Well, Magic May, it's a lot of like. It's like. It's like a lot of this.

[Fortune Feimster]

Yeah. Oh, my.

[Tig Notaro]

Wow.

[Mae Martin]

Okay.

[Fortune Feimster]

That's gonna get us the Oscars.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah. So Fortune and I will be tap dancing, and you'll be doing. How is it that we're talking so much about John Travolta on this podcast?

[Fortune Feimster]

But, yes.

[Tig Notaro]

You'Ll be gyrating Travolta.

[Fortune Feimster]

We did say in our fantasy scenario that Tig and I would be tap dancing and you would be playing the guitar, maybe.

[Mae Martin]

Oh, interesting. Because you don't.

[Tig Notaro]

No, I think May was doing is like actually doing a monologue.

[Fortune Feimster]

Oh. Saying stuff. And we're tapping around.

[Tig Notaro]

We're just tapping our feet. Faces off.

[Mae Martin]

Okay.

[Fortune Feimster]

So get ready for this world.

[Mae Martin]

Is this gonna be like a routine like in. Like in Singing in the Rain or something? Like, where, you know, one of you will, like, point to one you know, and then someone does a bit, and then you point like you. You trade back and forth?

[Fortune Feimster]

I think it depends on how good we are at our lessons.

[Mae Martin]

Okay, well, are you expecting us to.

[Fortune Feimster]

Tell the instructor this is for the Oscars? Even though the Oscars hasn't tapped us for tapping. For tapping.

[Mae Martin]

Some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking all state first.

[Tig Notaro]

Like, you know to check your piano is tuned before inviting your friends over.

[Fortune Feimster]

For a night of sing alongs. Yeah.

[Mae Martin]

Check in first is smart. So check all state first for a quote that could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate. This content is intended for audiences in the US Only. Savings vary terms apply. Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois.

This time of year, I love to get cozy. That means slippers around the house, hot tea, a little fire in the fireplace. But most importantly, you need your cozy outfit sorted out for the ultimate cold weather necessities. Made from premium materials, you gotta check out Quince.

[Tig Notaro]

With quints, you can treat yourself to true quality at an affordable price.

[Fortune Feimster]

Something everyone needs in their closet.

[Tig Notaro]

Quince's iconic Mongolian cashmere sweaters, which start at $50. Their super soft fleece sweatpants are a major upgrade to whatever you're lounging in right now. And their wind resistant, responsible down jackets are perfect for keeping warm no matter what you're looking for. All Quince's Items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. I got some of those soft fleece sweatpants.

[Fortune Feimster]

It's been wintertime cozy time on the couch. And man, were those Things comfortable, luxuriate.

[Mae Martin]

And coziness without the luxury price tag. Go to quince.com handsome for 365 day returns plus free shipping on your order. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com handsome to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com handsome.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah, we're gonna approach everything. When we go get our new suits, when we go learn to tap dance, we're gonna be like, and this is for the Oscars.

[Mae Martin]

Yes. Yeah.

[Tig Notaro]

And so they will just assume we got the gig, but we are just. Yeah, maybe we just lunatics in Hollywood.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah.

[Fortune Feimster]

And they'll say, when does it air? And we're like, you know. Yeah, in the spring.

[Mae Martin]

What if it just gets back to the Oscar? Like, we just start telling our peers, oh, yeah, you know, handsome pots hosting the Oscars this year. And then we. It's. And it just, like, becomes reality because.

[Tig Notaro]

Okay, well, let's get it started. Let's get it started. I have some really exciting news.

[Mae Martin]

Uhoh. What?

[Tig Notaro]

The handsome pot is hosting the Oscars.

[Mae Martin]

Oh, my God. No way.

[Fortune Feimster]

How many of my tap dancing lessons.

[Tig Notaro]

Okay, we get to it, and we're.

[Mae Martin]

Going to open with a big number.

[Fortune Feimster]

Allah. Billy Crystal days.

[Mae Martin]

That's what we would do, right? Billy Crystal was the best.

[Tig Notaro]

Top hats, canes.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah. Would we, like, make jokes about the people in the crowd the way they always do?

[Fortune Feimster]

You have to make. You have to make a couple.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah. We go, well, Paul. Paul Mescal's here. Hope he's eaten his morning fruits.

[Tig Notaro]

Are just inside jokes from the pie. Yeah.

[Fortune Feimster]

We're all like, yeah.

[Mae Martin]

Goes. Yeah.

[Fortune Feimster]

Is everybody sitting a pineapple apart?

[Mae Martin]

Yeah. Just crickets in the audience.

[Fortune Feimster]

I love this plan for us.

[Tig Notaro]

I am down for it, mate.

[Mae Martin]

I do think that I should learn that Saturday Night Fever thing, though.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah. I mean, why? Why wouldn't you? I don't know how you've gotten this far without it, honestly.

[Mae Martin]

I know.

[Tig Notaro]

But you did. How much time did you devote to this tutorial on YouTube?

[Mae Martin]

Oh, I'm really just at the very beginning. But I did learn the Beyonce. Texas Hold'em. Like country dance. I learned that in its entirety.

[Tig Notaro]

Can we see that? We have time. You can't drop that and then not show us a little something. Okay. Fortune's gonna sing it.

[Mae Martin]

Okay. Okay. Let me see if I remember.

[Tig Notaro]

Okay, Start from the beginning.

[Fortune Feimster]

I don't know the words. I gotta see if I remember Texas. Oh.

[Mae Martin]

Wait, is this John Travolta?

No, this was Texas Holden, but I'M forgetting it. Suddenly, Beyonce's gonna go.

[Fortune Feimster]

She sees this rendition.

[Mae Martin]

Okay, I'm gonna practice it up and send it to you. I actually did it at a party in front of a bunch of people.

But I listen, if we are hosting.

[Tig Notaro]

The Oscars, I think that's even good enough to present in the. You know, I'm not gonna rehearse, you know, like humming the words you don't know, just really dialing it in.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah.

[Fortune Feimster]

Oh, my God, I love it.

[Mae Martin]

I like that thing where they were. Billy Crystal would put himself in. In the movies, you know, like. Oh, yeah, that was the best. Like whatever was nominated, he'd kind of edit himself into it.

[Tig Notaro]

So they. They would. That feed would go to Toronto to. I mean, to Canada, to the.

[Mae Martin]

The Oscars.

That feed. Yeah, yeah, yeah. International broadcast. Yeah.

[Tig Notaro]

I didn't know.

[Mae Martin]

It's everywhere.

[Tig Notaro]

The. The Oscars are everywhere.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah.

[Fortune Feimster]

I have no idea.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah, it was.

[Tig Notaro]

You had no idea. Fortune, really? No.

[Fortune Feimster]

I didn't know if Canadians were watching the Oscars.

[Tig Notaro]

I didn't know if it was outside of the US I didn't know if.

[Fortune Feimster]

They were up there in their. With their ketchup chips.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah, it would depend if we could, you know, get electricity into the igloo that night or not. But I would stay up like late.

[Tig Notaro]

But, I mean, you can't get certain things out here. Like, I can't. I. There's certain whatever streaming and network or news, and I can't. I can't get up here. Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want.

[Fortune Feimster]

The Oscars.

[Mae Martin]

And I got to stay up late past my curfew. But that's when my. Famously when I was a kid, my mom, we were watching the Oscars and she was saying, this singer is such a terrible performer. He's so. He's just got his eyes closed. He's the worst showman. And we were like, that's Andrea Bocelli and he's blind. Anyway, she didn't know he was.

[Tig Notaro]

She wasn't familiar with him.

[Mae Martin]

No, she. She didn't know that he was blind.

[Fortune Feimster]

Eyes closed.

[Mae Martin]

And then the other Oscar's memory inside the other Oscars memory I have is my brother and I were in the basement and my mom was like, we were in the middle of playing a board game. And then my mom was calling to us saying, guys, guys, Bob Dylan is performing at the Oscars. You've got to come up and see this. And my brother just goes, why do we have to see that fuzzy haired asshole? I don't know why. He was only 14 or something. I was like, what?

[Fortune Feimster]

He had some feelings about Bob? Yeah.

[Mae Martin]

I think he just didn't like getting interrupted from his Monopoly game or whatever.

[Fortune Feimster]

Don't let him see my hair.

[Mae Martin]

Those luscious locks.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah. Has he seen Fortune's hair?

[Fortune Feimster]

This fuzzy asshole.

[Tig Notaro]

I know you guys know this, but the documentary that I've been working on got into Sundance and is there at the festival.

[Mae Martin]

Yes.

[Fortune Feimster]

Yeah, you are.

[Tig Notaro]

Right now. It's about my dear old pal, Andrea Gibson. Andrea and I are friends of 25 years.

[Mae Martin]

Oh, my God.

[Tig Notaro]

Met in Boulder, Colorado. And I remember I was backstage at a show. It was like basically a variety show. And, yeah, I met Andrea and people were like, oh, yeah, Andrea's a poet. And I was like, what's that? Interesting. Yeah. I mean, obviously knew what a poet was, but I'm looking at this. This tatted up, you know, androgynous creature thinking, interesting. And then Andrea gets on stage and just destroys the place. I mean, destroys the place with tears and laughter. And it just changed my view on poetry from that moment on.

[Mae Martin]

I'm excited that they'll, like, the documentary, will get a whole new audience and reach people who might not be into poetry or think they're not, and then they have their minds blown. Yeah.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah. And Andrea is really one of the funniest people I know. Just so deeply funny and. But this documentary is following their. Their Life with stage 4 ovarian cancer diagnosis and just mind blowing. Truly, truly mind blowing. This film.

[Mae Martin]

That's exciting.

[Fortune Feimster]

Got it done pretty fast. Is it because of just where Andrea's at, health wise, trying to get it completely? Yeah.

[Tig Notaro]

I mean, we were reaching a point in the discussion about what to do, how long to film, and then realizing how amazing if we wrap it up now and Andrea can see this movie. And we submitted it to Sundance without telling Andrea. Oh, my God. We didn't tell Andrea that we were potentially wrapping up the film and submitting it because if it didn't get in, we didn't want to let anybody down or have any sort of disappointment. And it truly got in unanimously. That's what the festival told us. That I GUESS There were 11 people, and they said it was unanimous and really exciting that this movie got made and is so well received and congrats, man.

[Fortune Feimster]

Yeah, but that's really cool.

[Tig Notaro]

Really, really excited. And it's been a lot of compartmentalizing, too, because it's been quite a. A year that we've all been navigating behind the scenes, so. But anyway, should we get to our questioner yes. Let's do it.

[Mae Martin]

Today's questioner is a comedian, writer, actor and activist who co created and starred in the Comedy Central series Broad City. They starred in films including Rough Night, False Positive and Babes, and produced the Tony Award winning musical A Strange Loop. Ilana Glazer is asking today's question.

[Thomas Willette]

Yeah, hi, Tig and May and Fortune. Alana Glazer here. My question for you is, do you believe in God?

[Fortune Feimster]

Oh, deep, deep. I just, I did after midnight with Alana back before the holidays and Alana is so great. And after the show, we sat on the couch and chatted for a while and I'm, I realized because I don't know her well that she does like to just dig deep right away.

[Tig Notaro]

Like, what did you get? What'd you get into that was so deep?

[Fortune Feimster]

Just kind of talking about, like therapy and.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah, I love it.

[Fortune Feimster]

Benefits of that and like. Yeah. Just sort of chatting about the pressures of the business and, you know, taking care of yourself, basically.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah. I'm excited to hear your guys's answers to this question.

[Fortune Feimster]

All right. I do we believe in God.

[Tig Notaro]

I have to say. Oh, I don't.

[Mae Martin]

I'm not doing this pod anymore.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah.

[Mae Martin]

Were you scared?

[Tig Notaro]

No. Because when I say, when I say that I don't. I also don't like to be so concrete.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah.

Yeah. Are you more agnostic? You're like, oh, I don't know.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah. I mean, because. Yeah, it's just like you, when you get into all the mechanics of how the world works and animals and nature and how complex everything is, it's like, how the hell. But then it's also like there can't possibly be just a God who is just doling out these mind blowing, you.

[Mae Martin]

Know, what if you got hit by lightning right now?

[Tig Notaro]

Struck that.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah.

[Tig Notaro]

I still would feel the same way.

[Mae Martin]

He'd be like, that was a freak out.

[Fortune Feimster]

You'd be like, yeah, the lightning came through. Yeah.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah.

[Mae Martin]

I feel like there's. It whatever. If there is a God, it's something like science is going to be part of that. Like there's some, like maybe there's some energy source and we're all part of that energy. And like that's what you would call God is like the source energy or something like that.

It does feel.

[Tig Notaro]

It feels very scientific and then not scientific. It's like God feels like when you walk into a church or you meet certain people who are religious and talk about God, they feel they can feel so removed from science with their thinking. And yet when I Look at the world in a scientific way. It makes me think there would have to be.

[Mae Martin]

Right.

[Tig Notaro]

You know what I'm saying?

[Fortune Feimster]

Right.

[Mae Martin]

So for you, like science makes you doubt God, but also science is partly evidence of God because you're like this is too crazy. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know what you mean. Yeah, I think so. Like quantum theory and things like that. That as we especially recently we're making these huge leaps in our understanding of reality and, and I feel like at some point that we're gonna cross that bridge into spirituality where science and spirituality meet up. Because like we know that matter behaves differently when it's observed by have consciousness. Like there's things that are so mind bendingly crazy that it's like, yeah, maybe it'll. But I think that all leans more towards like we're all God. Like, you know what I mean? We're all.

[Tig Notaro]

Thank you.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah. Just us three. I mean us three. Yeah. And Thomas. And Thomas.

[Tig Notaro]

Did you know that an estimated 5 billion plastic hand soap and cleaning bottles are thrown away each year? And if that's not bad enough, most cleaning formulas are 90% water which is heavy to ship leading to excessive carbon emissions. Plus those products are often filled with nasty ingredients like chlorine and ammonia. That's a lose lose situation for you and the planet.

[Mae Martin]

I love Blueland because it's good for me and good for the planet. I've tried other eco friendly cleaning products and been disappointed in their ability to clean tough spots around the house. Blueland gives me the powerful clean I've been looking for. Plus their products are refillable and have a cohesive beautiful design that looks great on your counter.

[Tig Notaro]

Blueland is trusted in over 1 million homes including mine. Blueland has a special offer for listeners right now. Get 15% off your first order by going to blueland.comhandsome you won't want to miss this. Blueland.comhandsome for 15% off. That's blueland.comhandsome to get 15% off.

[Mae Martin]

This episode of Handsome is brought to you by Wild Grain. Wild Grain is the first baked from frozen subscription box for artisanal breads, pastries and pastas.

[Fortune Feimster]

Wild Grain actually sent me some of their plant based boxes and it was delicious.

[Tig Notaro]

I made some pasta, it tasted great and it was delivered right to our door. We baked some wild grain bread as a little side and it was baked.

[Fortune Feimster]

And ready to eat in under 25 minutes.

[Tig Notaro]

So are you ready to bring all your favorite carbs right to your doorstep? Be sure to check out Wild Grain so you can begin building Your own box of artisanal breads, pastas and pastries for a limited time. Wild Grain is offering our listeners $30 off the first box, plus free croissants in every box when you go to wildgrain.com handsome to start your subscription. You heard me. Free croissants in every box and $30 off your first box when you go to wildgrain.com handsome. That's wildgrain.com handsome. Or you can use the promo code Handsome at checkout.

The Father, Son, the Holy Ghost. There's usually three, but I wonder.

[Mae Martin]

Trinity, you were both raised religious. Like, I wonder. I know as queer people, like, it's a complicated relationship with religion itself, but I wonder. I. I also see all the benefits of community and spirituality as well. But for sure, what was your experience like and how do you. And where'd you land on it?

[Fortune Feimster]

Yeah, I mean, in the south, there's a church on every corner. Such a part of the culture and also the social fabric. If you live especially in a small town, like, a lot of community revolves around church and a lot of social things and vacation Bible schools and Sunday school and trips. Like, my mom's gotten back active in the church again and she's doing all these social things. But so I grew up having to go every Sunday. And as I got older, I think the thing I struggled with, with church was I would be taught these things of, like, you know, as a kid, you're taught the simple teachings of Jesus, like, be good to one another, do as. Do unto others as, you know, whatever, have them do unto you. And, like, all these principles of, like, morals. And then I would see other people acting a certain way and being, like, very pompous and hypocritical. And I hated that. It really bugged me because I would see these, these people, like, saying, like, alcohol's bad or, like, this is bad or this is evil. And I'm like, yeah, but you're. Your behavior, like, you were hammered.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah.

[Fortune Feimster]

Last weekend in public. You know what I mean? And. And so that was always a big struggle for me, was the hypocrisy of it all. And that was.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah.

[Fortune Feimster]

Long before I realized I was gay. So that was a whole other conversation once I came out. But when I. But I did have this, like, want and desire to believe in God and to have that personal thing that didn't involve the structure of church.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah.

[Fortune Feimster]

And as I got older and I moved to LA and I came out then, I went through a long period of time where I was like, oh, well, now that I'm gay, I'm must not be allowed in church. So I didn't go for many, many years. But my belief in God remained. And I do believe in God, but again with an asterisk of. It's just a personal belief because it makes me feel better. You know, I think mine is rooted in optimism, hope, having someone to, like, talk to in times of need and wanting to see my grandmother again. And someone could come tomorrow with a bunch of, like, facts where I go. That's valid, you know?

[Mae Martin]

Yeah.

[Fortune Feimster]

You know, I don't know, but it makes me feel good.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah.

[Mae Martin]

It feels like a lot of people I know have like, a kind of. Including me, probably like a kind of New Agey, Like. Like, people talk about, like, their guides or, like, you know, like, that they're. I hope that there's some benevolent force that's like that. That wants you to succeed. That's like, doing. That's like. Can hold you when you're, like, when you. When you can't. When you're so depleted that there's, like, nothing in the tank that you can ask for support from the universe or whatever. Like, I feel like a lot of atheist people that I know actually have that. Like, it's a. Yeah. Especially, like, the younger generations and stuff. There's, you know, you got your crystals, you got your tarot, you got your. And I think it's a similar thing. Just hoping that there's, like, that there's.

[Tig Notaro]

A reason you bought that crystal that.

[Mae Martin]

Hoping there's a reason that these tarot cards.

[Fortune Feimster]

Yeah, I like believing in something.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah.

[Fortune Feimster]

Because what I hate is when religion is used as a weapon. And that's been happening for centuries. You know, wars have been fought over religion of, we're right, you're wrong. We know the way. You don't know the way. That's where I get really frustrated with religion. It's not a weapon. It shouldn't be a weapon. It shouldn't be an us and them.

[Tig Notaro]

And what blows my mind is when you think about the actual word believe. That's what you believe in May. That's what you believe in fortune. This is what I believe. People get so triggered because you believe something. Like somebody told you something, like, about religion or spirituality or whatever it is, and you accept it. You go, I believe that. And then people are like, you believe that? And then. Yeah. And then all the way to war starting because you believe, you know, somebody's doing something. You're like, I don't believe that. I believe this and that. And people freak and start wars because you believe something.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah.

[Tig Notaro]

It's so crazy to me.

[Mae Martin]

What always bumps for me, even as a kid is like the definition of faith is like believing something despite evidence to the contrary. Kind of.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah.

[Mae Martin]

And that. I can't. I'm like, no, if you give me evidence to the contrary, I'll adjust my.

[Fortune Feimster]

Like.

[Mae Martin]

If you know what I mean. If there's hard evidence, you gotta be open to evolving your belief system. But you know that John Lennon song, God, from his solo career? It's so good. It's. Start the opening line. God is a concept by which we measure our pain. Come on. That's a great line.

[Tig Notaro]

He wrote some good lines in his time. He wrote some good fan over here.

[Mae Martin]

Big fan.

[Tig Notaro]

Big fan.

[Fortune Feimster]

I don't like the, like, cherry picking of the Bible. That bothers me a lot too. This, like. Oh, well, it says in this verse this. And you're like, yeah. This is a lot of things that don't apply.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah.

[Fortune Feimster]

These times.

[Mae Martin]

Like, you're not allowed to wear buttons on Wednesday or whatever. And.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah.

[Mae Martin]

But it's like, I don't think that's in there.

[Tig Notaro]

God says this Thursday.

[Fortune Feimster]

That's a sin.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah. I think I've said this before, but because my parents are staunch atheists, like, much more than me. And I would say have a pretty pessimistic worldview there. My dad said humans are just up little monkeys and all of reality and creation is just like somebody spilled a yogurt and the bacteria proliferated and that's the world. So.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah.

[Mae Martin]

Anyway. But when I was about 10, I decided to rebel and become super Christian for like six months. And I.

[Tig Notaro]

What?

[Mae Martin]

Yeah, I went to an Anglican school and I just decided, like, yeah, I. Christ is my savior and I got a little calculator and I would. Maybe I was younger than 10. I must have been like seven or eight. But I remember I would like, talk to Jesus through the calculator, like, and. And. And it would piss my parents off so much.

[Tig Notaro]

That's so funny.

[Mae Martin]

My dad said that he believes if you zoomed out on the whole universe and all the galaxies and everything, you would see that all the stars and constellations form an image of a giant insane clown rocking back and forth. So that's their worldview.

Creepy.

[Tig Notaro]

He could be right. I mean, when I see people that. You know, my. My first girlfriend's parents have been a positive experience in my life as far as deeply religious people. And then my friend Beth and I used to live next door To. In Austin, we lived next door to this family that was deeply religious, Christian, involved in their church, but really, really extraordinary examples of human beings. And you can kind of sometimes get a little concerned or scared or. Which is so crazy. Like, when you find out somebody is so deeply religious, trigger fear. And it's. It's really unfortunate.

[Fortune Feimster]

Yeah. It's sad when someone's belief system makes someone feel like, oh, well, now they're not gonna like me.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah.

[Fortune Feimster]

Or now they'll actually hate me. Yeah. And that's. That's a part of the religious experience that bums me out.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah. I really like how in Judaism, I feel like they're like, doubt is built into their faith. Like, it's part of it. Like that healthy doubt and constant kind of questioning. I like that.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah.

[Mae Martin]

How can there's a silent be in doubt? Sorry.

[Fortune Feimster]

My mom is a United Methodist. She makes sure everyone knows that. That's like the modernist church split over the. The gay agenda. I don't know what the word is, where one group of people did not want gay people to be involved in the church or the clergy or believe in gay marriage, any of that stuff. And the other united part did. So the church just completely split. The church that I grew up in is the United Methodist Church. And luckily, I'm very proud that they stayed a United Methodist Church and. And believed in that. And, you know, some people left the church and went elsewhere because of it. But, you know, I go that I. My mom has me go with her when I go home for the holidays and I make videos and, oh, my.

[Tig Notaro]

God, I saw one of your videos. It was so, so funny.

[Fortune Feimster]

I can't remember going to church with my mom.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah, it was so funny.

[Fortune Feimster]

I joke that, like, oh, I gotta go to church, and. Oh, yeah. But when I'm there, it's just a simple mess. Like, the preacher is a great guy, and he's doing a sermon about really relatable things and just trying to be a good person. And I'm like, I can get down with that for sure.

[Mae Martin]

I love, like, myths and stories and stuff. So I always have. I always. I always have a pretty nice time. I used to go with my grandma, too.

[Fortune Feimster]

I just have all this knowledge of church that I don't know what to do with. And I'm like, it is so weird to have so much knowledge of a thing that you're not really a part of anymore. But, like, I was there in church, like, singing all these hymns. I knew. Saying the Lord's Prayer that I knew it's so funny. But yeah, I don't know.

[Mae Martin]

Did you ever learn the Lord of the Dance that him. It always. It was like a banger when I was. It's like all I remember is goes, it's hard to dance with the devil on your back.

[Fortune Feimster]

It is hard.

[Mae Martin]

I am the Lord.

[Tig Notaro]

I think it's hard to dance with.

[Fortune Feimster]

Anyone on your machine song.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah.

[Fortune Feimster]

It's hard to dance with the devil on your back.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah, it does sound like Florence and the Machine.

[Tig Notaro]

Should we hear what Alana has to say?

[Mae Martin]

Yes, please.

[Thomas Willette]

I do believe in God. What does that mean? I don't know. I believe that there is a spiritual force that created the universe. But it's not like different. You know what I mean? It's like it is life itself. It is the planet Earth. I mean specifically, like, it's like. I don't know about the whole universe, but I see God as like the force that. The destiny of. Why planet Earth is the one organism. It is all the people, all the animals, all the fucking bugs and plants as one organism. Us being here now, to me, that is God. Truly. We're comedians. When people are laughing together, that's a spiritual. That's God to me. Fucking sex dancing. The. Not to promote my Santa special, but the human magic that we. That comes up, you know, and fights through this like weird, like cancerous system that divides us, that is an intentional design. That isn't God. That's something else. But the humanity that like arises like it. Like a flower rising through the cracks of a brook Brooklyn sidewalk. Like, that's God to me. Does that answer your question? Does that answer my question?

[Fortune Feimster]

Does that answer my own question? I mean, that is the thing for a lot of people. It is a personal relationship of it maybe doesn't mean the thing that you're taught. It is that old man in the sky thing. It's like whatever it means to you, whatever like you were saying, may iteration the universe, spiritual and spirituality, whatever. If it makes you feel better, do better, get through something good for you.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah, I'm. I'm always open, intrigued when somebody like curveball find out. When I find out they are religious or Christian or whatever it is, I'm like, oh, right. Interesting, interesting.

[Mae Martin]

I'm like. I mean, I'm sort of. On any given day, I'm kind of in the same camp as Alana. But then some days I'm like, well, isn't. How can we just say that all the good stuff is God? What about all the. All the bad stuff? That must be God too. You know, the anger and fear, that's got to be part of it. Like, we ascribe, like, moral values to essential human feelings. Anyway, I don't know. Anyways, I've been tig.

[Tig Notaro]

What'd you say?

[Mae Martin]

Anyways, I'm tig. You know, the way you end your sets.

[Tig Notaro]

Yep, yep, just got that. He was just reminding me also of when people say things like, forget the past or why are you bringing up the past? You live in the past, don't you know? Not that it sounds like everybody's telling me I live in the past, but that argument of leave the past in the past. And I find that interesting because there is good in the past. And so when you conjure up old memories from the past, nobody's like, why are you bringing up these good memories from the past?

[Mae Martin]

Leave it behind.

[Tig Notaro]

Leave it behind. Just move on. Something about that reminds me of, like, you kind of do have to have the good and the bad, that balance, because you should be able to talk about the past and what was hurtful and memories. And then you also should be able to talk about good memories and the times you laughed your face off. And they're all equally as important and they all feed each other.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah, I have a lot of friends who've done ayahuasca or like, dmt. These, like, really intense psychedelics that are becoming popular as, like, kind of ways to exercise trauma or. And so many of them have the same experience of, like, meeting some benevolent kind of source energy, like, especially dmt. I. You watch videos of people, they. Most people say, like, I.

[Tig Notaro]

Have you done it?

[Mae Martin]

No, never done dmt. In my teens, I did acid and things like that. But yeah, this. Everyone unanimously pretty much is like, oh, yeah. I confirmed for myself that there's something more going on. And I. And I kind of. And I met some energy that I felt, you know, held by. I mean, some people are like, I just saw a snake with my dad's head or whatever. But most. Mostly people are like, having this profound experience. But I don't know if that's just a brain chemical thing or if that's a real. Are we landing on. We're landing on. Hey, to each their own.

[Fortune Feimster]

It's a personal decision and who knows? But also, why don't we get ghost? You know what I mean?

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah, Ghost.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah, Ghost. I think when we host the Oscars, we should just have this conversation about God on stage.

[Fortune Feimster]

It'll be a real fun way to wild tap dancing.

[Mae Martin]

So out of breath, all of us.

[Fortune Feimster]

I did, like, Alana's onesie outfit.

[Mae Martin]

Me too.

[Fortune Feimster]

That made me go hallelujah.

[Tig Notaro]

Well, that was once again a grand old time. I feel like we could have had some, we could have clanked some whiskey glasses and continued discussing for a while.

[Mae Martin]

Me too.

[Fortune Feimster]

I'm on tour doing, working it out shows where I'm writing new material. And so I have some fun shows coming up in California, in Ontario and Oxnard, California in the month of February, and Irvine, California, if you want to kind of see how the sausage is made. And yeah, gross jokes. Oh, and then I'll kick off my tour in Savannah and Charleston, South Carolina, a bunch of places. So those are on my website, but check out my Netflix special, Crushing It. I think you'll like it.

[Tig Notaro]

I know you will.

[Mae Martin]

I've got my, my album, my music album coming out soon. And so I'm doing. Yeah, check out my social media for details because I. But I'm doing some, four really big fun shows, one in New York, one in la, one in Toronto and one in London. Playing, playing the album and telling stories and doing Third Eye Blind covers. You know, things like that. Yeah, it'll be nostalgic. It'll be. I'll be apologizing for existing throughout it because I have imposter syndrome about doing music. But I think it'll be fun.

[Fortune Feimster]

Own it. Own it, my friend.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah. Yeah, okay. No, it'll be. It'll be great. No, it will be.

[Fortune Feimster]

It will be.

[Mae Martin]

Yeah.

[Tig Notaro]

I'm just wandering around the planet. I'm intermittently working on new material and then intermittently staying home and writing something that may or may not see the light of day. Also, the Andrea Gibson documentary Come See Me in the Good Light.

[Fortune Feimster]

Get your hands. And merch.com handsomepod.com because we love seeing it out there in the world.

[Tig Notaro]

And send us pictures of yourselves dressed head to toe in handsome merch, please.

[Mae Martin]

And keep sending in your questions for the pretty little episodes.

[Fortune Feimster]

Oh, yes.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah, we love hearing the listener questions. Those are so great to answer and rate. Review the podcast. Check out our YouTube page where you can see May doing the John Travolta moves and the Beyonce moves.

[Mae Martin]

Incredible work.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah. You can also see my wrinkled shirt. And share episodes with friends, family. Build the community. Let's keep doing this. And until next time, time keep handsome.

[Mae Martin]

Handsome is hosted by me, May Martin, Tig Notaro, and Fortune Feimster. The show is produced, recorded and edited by Thomas Willette. Email [e-mail] and please follow us on social media at. Handsome Pod.

[Tig Notaro]

What a podcast.

[Mae Martin]

What a podcast that was a Headgum podcast.

[Tig Notaro]

Some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking Allstate First.

[Mae Martin]

Like, you know to check where the world's biggest potato chip is located before heading out on that cross country road trip.

[Tig Notaro]

Yeah, checking first is smart. So check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate. This content is intended for audiences in the US Only. Savings vary terms apply. Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company and.

[Ago Wodom]

Affiliates Northbrook, Illinois hi guys, I'm Ago Wodom. Check out my new show, thanks dad. Now on Head Gum. I was raised by a single mom and I don't have a relationship with my dad. And spoiler, I don't think I'm ever gonna have one with him because he's. He's dead. But I promise you that's okay. Because on my new podcast, I sit down with father figures like Bill Burr, Kenan Thompson, Adam Pali, Hasan Minhaj, Tim Meadows, Andy Cohen, and many, many more. I get to ask them the questions I've always wanted to ask a dad. Like, how do I know if the guy I'm dating is the one? Or how can I change the oil in my car? Can you even show me that? Or better yet, can you help me perfect my jump shot? I am so bad at basketball. Oh my gosh. Maybe. Maybe I'm bad at basketball because I don't have a dad. But subscribe. Subscribe to thanks dad on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pocket Cast, or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes drop every Monday.