Patreon Preview #333: Hot Takes

Summary

Hey Riddle Riddle — Patreon Preview #333: Hot Takes

Release Date: July 25, 2025

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In Patreon Preview #333 titled "Hot Takes" from the Hey Riddle Riddle podcast, hosts Adal Rifai, Erin Keif, and John Patrick Coan delve into a fiery discussion sparked by listeners' submitted opinions. This episode pivots away from traditional riddles and puzzles, instead exploring the often contentious and passionate world of hot takes. The conversation touches on personal opinions, popular culture, and the subjective nature of taste, all delivered with the hosts' characteristic humor and camaraderie.

1. Episode Context and Introduction (00:02 - 01:32)

The episode kicks off with Adal Rifai questioning the purpose behind their current episode, reminding listeners that they've invited submissions of "Hot Takes." The hosts clarify that the episode is dedicated exclusively to reviewing these bold opinions, evaluating agreement, and potentially inspiring their own spicy viewpoints.

Notable Quote:

• Adol (00:34): "So what we're gonna do is we're gonna review some of people's Hot takes, see if we agree with them and if they maybe spur some hot takes of our own."

2. Personal Hot Takes and Branding Ideas (01:32 - 03:22)

Casey introduces a branding concept intertwining hot takes with the intensity of hot wings, suggesting that both could escalate in spiciness simultaneously. The idea is met with enthusiasm from Adal, who even muses about extending the brand to YouTube and involving celebrities and influencers like Sean Evans from Hot Ones.

Notable Quotes:

• Casey (01:32): "I think we should eat hot wings. They get progressively spicier while the hot takes get progressively spicier."
• Adol (00:54): "Adol. That is such a good idea."

The hosts also share personal hot takes that have stirred reactions. Aaron admits his fondness for M. Night Shyamalan's "Signs," a stance that Adal counters by expressing his general disdain for Shyamalan's later works, highlighting a divergence in their cinematic tastes.

Notable Quotes:

• Aaron (01:43): "For mine, I know that me loving the movie the Village makes people feel insane."
• Adol (02:24): "He made Sideways. He made Lady in the Water. It's basically fables, but terrible."

3. Listener's Hot Take: "Cookies and Cream vs. Oreo" (04:12 - 09:46)

The focal point of the episode is a listener-submitted hot take asserting that "Cookies and Cream and Oreo are not the same goddamn flavor. And Oreo mashed into something is not cookie and cream." The hosts embark on a spirited debate to dissect this claim.

Key Discussion Points:

• Minty vs. Sweet Flavor: Aaron contends that Oreo cookies have a subtle minty undertone, which distinguishes them from the broader "Cookies and Cream" flavor often found in ice creams. However, Adal and Casey challenge this, arguing that regular Oreos lack a pronounced mint flavor unless specified (e.g., mint-flavored Oreos).

  Notable Quotes:

  • Aaron (05:04): "It's just sweet in there."
  • Casey (05:33): "I don't find it minty."

• Dark Chocolate Undertones: Aaron further argues that Oreos possess a dark chocolate bitterness absent in standard Cookies and Cream flavors. Adal counters by clarifying that while Oreos are dark in color, he doesn't perceive a significant dark chocolate taste, emphasizing his preference for high-quality dark chocolates over mass-produced versions.

  Notable Quotes:

  • Aaron (07:04): "The wafer part of Oreos have a slightly like waffle... [with] a bit of cocoa like taste from the dark chocolate wafers."
  • Adol (08:03): "I love dark chocolate and I love bitter dark chocolate. And I just am not getting any of those hints when I'm eating an Oreo."

• Subjectivity of Taste: Adal acknowledges the subjectivity inherent in taste perceptions, likening the Oreo debate to contentious opinions like everyone's experience with cilantro.

  Notable Quote:

  • Adol (06:30): "But you know, taste is subjective, right? Like people's taste buds taste different..."

• Exploration of Oreo Variants: The conversation briefly touches on specialized Oreo flavors like Selena Gomez and horchata, with Adal expressing interest in trying limited editions to potentially resolve his confusion regarding the flavor profiles.

  Notable Quotes:

  • Adol (09:15): "Aaron, get the Selena Gomez ones. So Aaron, get the Selena Gomez ones."
  • Casey (09:26): "They’re like horchata flavored or something. I want to try Selena Gomez."

4. Navigating the Heated Discussion (09:46 - End)

As the debate intensifies, the hosts recognize the potential for an influx of listener feedback challenging Aaron's assertions about Oreo flavors. Adal suggests moving forward to explore more hot takes, indicating that the current discussion might be too polarizing.

Notable Quote:

• Adol (09:46): "All right, let's move on because I think that one was too hot."

5. Conclusion and Call to Action (09:49 - End)

The episode wraps up with a playful sign-off from Adal, directing listeners to continue engaging with the content and teasing future discussions. While the main content centers around the "Cookies and Cream vs. Oreo" debate, the episode exemplifies the hosts' ability to turn a simple opinion into a lively and entertaining conversation.

Notable Quote:

• Adol (09:49): "Hate riddle. Riddles. Clue crew, listen to the rest of the episode now by starting your free 7 day trial at patreon.com/heyriddleriddle."

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Summary:

In "Hot Takes," Hey Riddle Riddle shifts its focus from traditional puzzle-solving to engaging in a lively debate over a listener-submitted opinion about Oreo flavors. The hosts navigate personal preferences, subjective taste perceptions, and the challenges of reconciling differing viewpoints. Through humorous exchanges and spirited discussions, the episode underscores the podcast's versatility in handling diverse topics beyond riddles, all while maintaining an entertaining and relatable dialogue for its audience.

Transcript

[Adol]

Does anyone remember why we're doing this episode? What did we say that made people submit their Hot Takes to us?

[Aaron]

We asked them to.

[Adol]

We asked them to. But what was the context? Do anyone remember the context?

[Casey]

Yeah. What was the impetus?

[Adol]

Oh, Casey. Does Casey remember Casey doing a deep breath?

[Gemma]

I don't remember why you asked. I even remember the things you said after you said you gave the example of Pringles being your favorite chip. I remember everything. But why somebody said that.

[Adol]

Hey, it doesn't matter because people submitted a lot of Hot takes to us.

[Aaron]

I'm so excited.

[Adol]

So what we're gonna do is we're gonna review some of people's Hot takes, see if we agree with them and if they maybe spur some hot takes of our own. It's gonna be an all Hot Takes episode.

[Casey]

I think maybe I'm just trying to really focus on branding. I think we should eat hot wings. They get progressively spicier while the hot takes get progressively spicier.

[Adol]

Adol. That is such a good idea.

[Aaron]

I've never done it before.

[Adol]

That is such a good idea.

[Casey]

Thank you.

[Adol]

We should put it on YouTub.

[Aaron]

We should get celebrities. And we don't do it. And then we hire Sean Evans from Hot Ones.

[Adol]

Two first names. Oh, Hot Ones, the show. God, I love that show.

[Aaron]

Anyways, what was your idea?

[Casey]

Oh, Hot Ones. And we just show pictures of different people named Juan who are smoke shows.

[Adol]

So for whatever reason, people submitted some hot takes to us. And I guess if you want to see if you have future Hot takes or if these inspire some of your Hot takes, you can email us hrrpodcastmail.com, put hot takes in the subject line, and we might use them for a future episode of Hot Takes if you, indeed, we care to do so. But here are some hot takes.

[Aaron]

This one, before we start, do you, either of you have any hot takes that get you in trouble? Like what, off the top of your head? For mine, I know that me loving the movie the Village makes people feel insane.

[Casey]

I love that movie.

[Aaron]

It's so good.

[Casey]

It's so good.

[Adol]

Yeah. I feel like that's early enough in the Shyamalaniverse that if you like to say you love when I say that.

[Aaron]

People grab, like, old pitchfork. People will literally go crazy when I.

[Adol]

Well, I think that M. Night Shyamalan in general sucks, and I think he's.

[Aaron]

No, Signs is amazing.

[Adol]

No.

[Aaron]

Yes.

[Casey]

Oh, no Signs is very good. One of the most reactive scenes, when the alien walks by at the birthday party in Mexico, it sends shivers out.

[Adol]

Are we talking about the same movie? Signs. The movie about the aliens swing away, that comes to Earth and their only weakness is water supply. Contaminated planet is made 75% of.

[Casey]

Yeah, well, Mel Gibson can do no wrong.

[Adol]

He's a wrong. I do think that people correctly identified that, like M. Night Shyamalan, to a certain degree, is kind of a one trick pony. And the more movies he made, and then I felt like maybe Signs in the Village were like, early on, fine movies, but really he knocked it out of the park with his first movie. And then he made stuff like. What was the Paul Giamatti one?

[Casey]

Sideways.

[Adol]

Thank you. He made Sideways.

[Aaron]

And they're like, lady in the Water.

[Adol]

Lady in the Water.

[Casey]

Lady in the Water.

[Adol]

They're like, this is not about a.

[Casey]

Hotel, a motel that has all fairy tales. It's basically fables, but terrible.

[Adol]

The one thing I will say with MH Shyamalan is I think he, like, self produces all of his movies. Like, he doesn't take studio money. So, like, they're technically all like, you know, it's. He is doing things.

[Aaron]

Let's leave him alone. He's making little art projects.

[Casey]

Let's picture his daughter who sang 45 minutes in the Josh Hartnett movies.

[Adol]

Doesn't he have another daughter who's also trying to do M. Night Shyamalan movies? And they're not very good?

[Casey]

Really?

[Adol]

Yeah, yeah. He's got. He's got dueling daughters.

[Casey]

I will say the hot take that gets me in the most trouble is when I tell Gemma that Cristin Milioti is the hottest woman alive.

[Aaron]

I think you just shouldn't be saying that to your wife.

[Adol]

She got big eyes. She got huge eyes.

[Aaron]

I think she had a baby with Bon Iver.

[Adol]

Shit.

[Aaron]

Wow.

[Casey]

Justin Vernon. Fuck.

[Adol]

I'm trying to think if I have hot takes that get me into trouble. I would say that I have, in general pretty bad opinions on most everything. I feel like I'm kind of.

[Aaron]

That's true.

[Adol]

Yeah. Nothing I like is good. And the way that I feel about things is bad. Uh, Casey going, hey. I'm also, like, kind of not ashamed of it. Like that. Like, I like shitty things and I. I don't like a lot of things that most people like.

[Aaron]

Yeah.

[Adol]

But I don't think.

[Aaron]

But you can use a little more shame.

[Adol]

Yeah. I don't think that that's really, like, necessarily, like, a hot take.

[Aaron]

All right, I'm ready.

[Adol]

One of the things I don't know this is a hot take, but what I really, truly, truly want to be done with is like seeing consuming media that is based on existing IP like that. To me, every time I do it, I'm like, why did I do this again? Like, am I gonna go see the newest Jurassic whatever movie? Like, why do I keep doing it to myself? I'm always like, this was a waste of my time. That's not really a hot take, though. I think a lot of people feel that way. Okay, these are from Waffle. Waffle says My cat's name is Magic. Neither of those are hot takes. These are just true facts about the person that submitted the First Hot Take 1. Cookies and Cream and Oreo are not the same goddamn flavor. And Oreo mashed into something is not cookie and cream. Fl what do we think about this hot take then?

[Casey]

What's. So is it like cream? Like milk?

[Adol]

I guess so. I don't know.

[Aaron]

Cookies. When you think of. Is this person saying that cookies and cream flavoring should be like chocolate chip cookies?

[Adol]

I think that they're saying cookies and cream. If you order cookies and cream, it is not the same as ordering Oreo ice cream.

[Aaron]

But is it often Oreos?

[Adol]

I don't know.

[Aaron]

When it's cookies and cream, it's talking like a minty cookie.

[Adol]

This minty?

[Aaron]

Yeah.

[Adol]

Is Oreo minty? Oreo's not minty. Yeah. Chocolate chip Oreo is minty.

[Aaron]

Aromatic. Isn't the inside a little minty of an Oreo?

[Casey]

I don't find it minty.

[Adol]

Are you thinking of mint Oreos?

[Aaron]

No. Isn't it a little.

[Adol]

No. Ariel.

[Aaron]

It's just sweet in there.

[Adol]

Yes.

[Aaron]

But, like, don't the Oreos have, like, a little aftertaste? That is. Aaron, you should see what I'm fucking talking about.

[Adol]

I just truly don't think it does have any mint in it. I'm not.

[Gemma]

Dude, they sell mint Oreos.

[Adol]

They sell mint Oreos? Yeah.

[Gemma]

Because regular ones don't have mint.

[Adol]

Aaron, are you thinking of mint chocolate chip as an ice cream flavor? Aaron.

[Aaron]

I'm thinking about how Oreos have this, like, kick to it that.

[Casey]

Aaron, you're scaring us.

[Adol]

I. Dude, I never. I never expected this to be the direction this hot take took us.

[Casey]

Here's what I'll say. I'm kind of scared, JBC, because I guarantee you we're going to get 400 emails where people are like, no, Oreos are minty.

[Adol]

I guess. Should we look?

[Casey]

Are we. I feel like we might. I feel like I. I know what I taste, and I never taste mint.

[Adol]

I don't have a distinct mint, but.

[Casey]

I feel like, we're gonna get a lot of emails being like, that's incorrect. Aaron was right.

[Adol]

But you know, taste is subjective, right? Like people's taste buds taste different, taste things differently and like, you know, the cilantro thing and all that shit. So like, I don't know. Maybe, maybe I just don't think that they have like an overpowering mint flavor.

[Aaron]

I don't think it's overpowering. I think it's like a little.

[Adol]

I don't think it's powering at all. Well, well, let's. Hey, let's focus. Let's focus less on that and more on. Does anyone have an opinion on this? I don't think I. First of all, cookies and cream, not my go to.

[Aaron]

You know what I think happens is the dark chocolate flavor. Sometimes that like bitterness is what I'm associating with it.

[Adol]

Okay. I would even go as far as to say that Oreos don't have a single shred of dark chocolate flavor.

[Aaron]

Yes, they do.

[Casey]

Are there dark chocolate Oreos?

[Aaron]

Are you talking about dark chocolate? No.

[Adol]

You think the cookie is dark chocolate?

[Casey]

Aaron, are you describing Andy's guys?

[Aaron]

I'm literally reading off the website.

[Casey]

You're describing Andy's name. Do you eat an Oreo under your pillow at a hotel?

[Aaron]

And a bit of cocoa like taste from the dark chocolate wafers.

[Adol]

I think they are dark in color.

[Aaron]

But you know what I'm fucking talking about.

[Adol]

They truly don't. It's not.

[Casey]

Are you trying to upset me explicitly?

[Gemma]

A milk chocolate flavored cookie?

[Aaron]

It's not a milk chocolate cookie. Crazy. I'm going to fucking flip the table, but I'm about to absolutely lose my fucking.

[Adol]

Are you fucking saying to me, Are.

[Aaron]

You, are you saying to me that that cocoa bitter taste, you think an.

[Adol]

Oreo has a bitter chocolate taste like dark chocolate?

[Aaron]

Just the cookie itself.

[Adol]

Just the cookie. The cookie of the Oreo tastes bitter like dark chocolate.

[Aaron]

It has it. Oh my God. When you have a piece of milk chocolate, it's just the sweetness and it has none of that.

[Adol]

Like milk chocolate and dark chocolate are different.

[Aaron]

If you ever do like a scoop of cocoa and it has that like slight bittery taste, I'd like to leave, please. No, no, no. Are you fucking kidding? Are you messing with me?

[Casey]

I feel like Aaron's messing with. I feel like Aaron's about to be like. And you know how they're spicy and we're going to be like, huh? She's like, oreos are spicy.

[Adol]

You know, Aaron, I am a person.

[Casey]

That despises that's up for debate.

[Adol]

Please help. Despises processed chocolate. I think like American processed chocolate tastes like garbage to me. Adol recently brought me some milk chocolate from Scotland and it tasted so much better, but it was from like a chocolatier. It tasted so much better than like milk chocolate that you would buy like in a. What's a milk chocolate bar? Hershey's. Yeah, yeah, whatever. Yeah. That stuff tastes like poison to me. I love dark chocolate and I love bitter dark chocolate. And I just am not getting any of those hints when I'm eating an Oreo. But, but I am also Aaron, who's not listening to me, thinking of super bitter dark chocolate, which is what I enjoy. So I'm, I'm. I just don't get any of that from an Oreo.

[Aaron]

I think that there is. It has to live in one of those extremes. I'm saying that those, the wafer part of Oreos have a slightly like waffle.

[Adol]

Look what you've done to us.

[Aaron]

Cocoa powder taste to it.

[Casey]

Yeah, I just don't get cocoa powder. I would agree with. Yeah, I would agree with.

[Aaron]

My phone's moving so slow. I'm ordering Oreos to Casey's apartment.

[Adol]

Get the Selena Gomez ones. So Aaron, get the Selena Gomez ones.

[Aaron]

No.

[Adol]

Why not? I want to try them.

[Casey]

Get the pop rock ones. There's pop rock ones, Aaron.

[Adol]

They're like horchata flavored or something. I want to try Selena Gomez.

[Casey]

Aaron, if you get your hands on the Selena Gomez ones, we should sell them on ebay.

[Adol]

Aaron's phone is the apple screen. I want to try the Selena Gomez ones if they have them because I'm not interested in anything else. All right, let's move on because I think that one was too hot.

[Casey]

I don't think we can too contiguous.

[Aaron]

I'm not kidding.

[Casey]

I think Aaron's done.

[Adol]

I want to get to more of these hotels.

[Aaron]

I'm going to be half listening while I'm ordering Oreos.

[Adol]

1, 2, 3, 4. Hate riddle. Riddles. Clue crew, listen to the rest of the episode now by starting your free 7 day trial at patreon.com heyriddle riddle.