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Mallory Rubin
Foreign. And welcome to House of R. A Ringer verse podcast on the Ringer podcast network. I'm Mallory Rubin and I'm here with my number one, ride or die till the end always Joanna Robinson.
Joanna Robinson
It's because she thinks I'm a goat.
Tyson Apostol
All lowercase, all caps.
Mallory Rubin
Greatest of all time, baby.
Joanna Robinson
Hell yeah.
Mallory Rubin
And it is the thrill of our lives to say that we are joined today for a special crossover event. A team up of our own design. The pod has spoken. Is here. Tyson is here. Riley is here. And that means the silver Trickster and the Wolf of quiet pines are here holding hands.
Joanna Robinson
Beautiful.
Tyson Apostol
That's how we do it. We don't get to record in person too often, so this is really recorded in person.
Joanna Robinson
This is the first time Ashley's here in spirit, I should say.
Tyson Apostol
Absolutely.
Riley McAtee
She's in the air on route.
Joanna Robinson
Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
Maybe we. Carlos, through the. The magic and power of editing, we can get a little producer Ash pop up at some point on the graphics package in the middle so that Ashley is actually here with us on the. On the final cut. We are going to explain what today's episode is.
Riley McAtee
I feel like it's a challenge. It's become a challenge of, like, who
Joanna Robinson
will break first flesh that when Ozzy was hitting on you. This is. This is even more of a. Whoa.
Mallory Rubin
Who's that? The blue eyes.
Riley McAtee
Oh, my God.
Tyson Apostol
The thing is, is I could do this forever. This is nothing to me. I could.
Joanna Robinson
Incredible.
Tyson Apostol
I'm very comfortable with myself and with Riley.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, I. We can tell your bond is very important.
Tyson Apostol
He's going to make the challenge. Okay. It sounds like you did challenge me to go the entire three hours.
Joanna Robinson
This is like an immunity challenge. This is for. This is for immunity.
Mallory Rubin
Exactly.
Tyson Apostol
But Riley, if I am making you hands on your allies, if you are uncomfortable, I'll take. I'll remove my hand. You want me to remove my hand?
Riley McAtee
No, it's fine.
Mallory Rubin
Beautiful. Yeah. Riley's super delighted and thrilled. I mean, I.
Tyson Apostol
We, like, routinely, we love to touch
Mallory Rubin
each other during podcasts. Like, let me feel how soft your skin is today. Once again, like a rose petal. Like a baby's bottom. Beautiful. Delightful.
Tyson Apostol
Oh, he broke first. No, he.
Riley McAtee
No, I rotated.
Tyson Apostol
You complimented.
Riley McAtee
I rotated.
Mallory Rubin
And you knew that was strategic.
Tyson Apostol
You knew when you complimented that you swung my hands.
Riley McAtee
No, I didn't.
Tyson Apostol
I rotated and also reviewed the tape.
Mallory Rubin
We are.
Joanna Robinson
Yeah, I'm sorry. It was Jonathan who actually stayed exactly.
Tyson Apostol
When I was a challenge. Everybody that shook my hand on the challenge was like, how are your hands so soft? But you're so good.
Mallory Rubin
But after they told you how manly and firm your handshake was.
Tyson Apostol
No, no, they never told me that. But I do. I'm 47. Of course I learned how to shake a hand. But look at no calluses, nothing pretty soft.
Joanna Robinson
Wow. The power move they'll like, slide afterwards just to make sure.
Mallory Rubin
Oh, that is nice. It's wonderful.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah. People are surprised that I'm so good at reality game show challenges with having no calluses and super soft hands. I was like, I avoided manual labor most of my life.
Mallory Rubin
So there are many superpowers. We will learn more about Tyson's moisturizing routine, Riley's comfort with physical contact with his co host, and the flow of this delightful podcast right after this. This episode of hasslevar is presented to you by Target. Call it all trainers. The Pokemon and target collection celebrating 30 years of Pokemon is almost here and the lineup is kind of incredible. A few are sure to be fan
Joanna Robinson
faves, Pokemon starter jackets, mystery water type, Pokemon bottles, and even caboodles.
Mallory Rubin
Which feels perfect because Pokemon has always been about sharing the adventure and Target is bringing fans together to celebrate that spirit. Spirit.
Joanna Robinson
The first drop is in store May
Mallory Rubin
2 online May 3 with the second drop June 6.
Joanna Robinson
Explore now@target.com.
Tyson Apostol
This episode is brought to you by the Active cash credit card from Wells Fargo. That's a mouthful, but this, that's because it packs a lot in. Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases with it, big or small. So whether it's buying tickets to the game and grabbing a coffee, it earns unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases. Say it with me. The Active Cash credit card from Wells Fargo. Be a 2 percenter. Learn more at Wells Fargo.com active cash
Mallory Rubin
terms apply okay, Silver Trickster Wolf of Qua Pines. Thank you for joining us on the house of our. Listen, we're trying to play it cool. This is the most excited that I've ever been about anything. When you guys did your pod about the Zach Brown episode and you were like, oh, you know, who would you be like, actually excited to have come to the beach and to meet. I remember this pretty vividly because your answer was quite surprising. Do you remember what you said?
Tyson Apostol
Yeah, I do too.
Mallory Rubin
Carly Rae Jepsen.
Riley McAtee
I'm a big fan.
Mallory Rubin
It's like I've known Riley since he was a junior in college and, and this is a thing that I have learned about him today. But I was there listening and I was thinking my answer for this would be Tyson. Yes, my answer for this would be Tyson and Now here we are together in person at last.
Joanna Robinson
My answer would be Riley.
Tyson Apostol
I also do believe, and I could be wrong, that the reason I am here at the ringer and at the Pot has spoken is partly on.
Mallory Rubin
That's right.
Tyson Apostol
Because of you.
Mallory Rubin
That's right.
Tyson Apostol
Is it all because of you?
Mallory Rubin
I mean, it was my suggestion. You're my favorite Survivor player of all time. Thank you. As you know, as the Internet knows and thought, you know, who's just great at talking and also knows a lot about Survivor and who is just Boston Rob.
Tyson Apostol
But we can't get him.
Mallory Rubin
He's busy. He's tied up. You know, he's got a lot going on. But what we do here at the
Joanna Robinson
reverse, we solve problems.
Mallory Rubin
We hunt for solutions, you know?
Tyson Apostol
Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah. So what a just genuine thrill. I mean, we've all been together on Zooms before.
Riley McAtee
Yes.
Mallory Rubin
But never a person.
Tyson Apostol
Never.
Mallory Rubin
You guys are in LA for the finale. Tease your coverage. Plug your coverage.
Tyson Apostol
Oh, man. Okay, so we've got this.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
Then we are going to the live finale. First live finale since not even Winners at War was live. They said it was live, but before that it was a live reveal of the winner.
Riley McAtee
It was a remote. Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
But via. Yeah. Remote. They literally for Winners at War because it was Covid.
Mallory Rubin
Right.
Tyson Apostol
They sent every contestant a laptop, and on the laptop they had one little button.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
And you pushed the. They had one icon in the center and you pushed that and it did all this stuff for you. And literally you sent him a video of you in whatever you wanted to wear for the finale, like doing reactions, like Brady Bunch intro reactions.
Riley McAtee
It wasn't even live.
Tyson Apostol
No, the only live was Tony and Natalie and Michelle.
Riley McAtee
Oh, wow.
Tyson Apostol
Everybody else we filmed before that, they still paid us our finale fee and they would.
Joanna Robinson
Did they give you direction? They're like, now look shocked. Now look.
Tyson Apostol
No, they were just like. Just do a bunch of different reactions. If we need something different, we'll do it. So, like, I did, like.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah.
Riley McAtee
This is. Some more I have not heard before. I thought you guys were all on.
Tyson Apostol
Nobody was.
Mallory Rubin
Huh.
Tyson Apostol
And I kind of preferred it. There was some tension there. I'm sure that season 50 contestants. There's some that would rather not be here for the live finale that will be there.
Joanna Robinson
Are you so excited to see that in person?
Mallory Rubin
Yeah. The rage and resentment would even go over.
Tyson Apostol
But I also have tension with players who are going to be there. They weren't on 50. There's players that are going to be present that are gonna walk the red carpet. We're gonna do red carpet interviews. We're keeping the camera rolling in case somebody skirts us on purpose or in case somebody air the beef. Air the beef. And maybe there's somebody that comes in and we like them, we dislike them enough to just be like, well, here they are. Thanks for coming.
Mallory Rubin
We have no questions for you.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah, come on down. Next.
Riley McAtee
I will let you handle all this. I have no en.
Tyson Apostol
Any beef preview for us for 50 or for me?
Joanna Robinson
For you at 50.
Tyson Apostol
No, I don't. I'm going to be professional because I am a journalist.
Joanna Robinson
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
Unbiased. I have questions prepared for even my enemies. And if they choose not to be professional or cordial, that's on them.
Joanna Robinson
I think I have the most questions for my enemies. To be honest with you, I feel
Mallory Rubin
like it would be a huge honor to be your enemy. I mean, obviously I would rather be your ally and friend, but like, to earn your wrath is an incredible. To be like, relevant enough to earn your wrath is honest, honestly an achievement.
Tyson Apostol
But then in all my contracts moving forward, your name is in there as someone who will not be present at the thing I'm being present at.
Mallory Rubin
Damn, look at that.
Joanna Robinson
Except for this finale where you can't control it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Tyson Apostol
Although I did message CBS and say, please don't sit me next to these people. And they said, noted. Wow.
Joanna Robinson
Oh my God. I just imagine CBS trying to do like a wedding like style. Don't sit this person next to this, like triangular.
Tyson Apostol
I don't think people are bold enough to tell CBS what they want. Most of us.
Riley McAtee
Yeah, yeah.
Mallory Rubin
Give us a little a fit preview. What are you guys wearing on the red carpet? You breaking out of tux?
Riley McAtee
No, I was just gonna wear. They said smart business casual.
Tyson Apostol
Smart business casual, so.
Riley McAtee
Which is kind of a lot of words. Yeah, smart. Smart Business casual is a little business casual.
Mallory Rubin
What are you wearing?
Tyson Apostol
I'm wearing a western dress shirt off white with a leather vest with a leather blazer.
Joanna Robinson
Incredible. Is there fringe anywhere? It's incredible.
Riley McAtee
No friggin go to the store.
Mallory Rubin
It sounds like you have some shopping style.
Tyson Apostol
No, I'm leaving it open because of the business.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah. Okay.
Tyson Apostol
If it were formal, I would have a bolo. Yeah, fantastic. So I'm doing that. I was going to wear cowboy boots because it makes me taller than 6:3, which is what I am. And with Jeff Probst rolling in at his 59 or 510 and me at 6 5.
Mallory Rubin
You love to loom on him.
Joanna Robinson
You love to loom on him.
Mallory Rubin
Posterized.
Tyson Apostol
Jeff, you say loom I say lord over. Lord over someone is a good move. Anyways, so, yeah, we've got that. We're going to be on the red carpet. All the former winners that will be there, which we have the list already.
Riley McAtee
Yeah, I can look at most of
Tyson Apostol
them should be on the red carpet.
Riley McAtee
I don't know if we're allowed to say.
Tyson Apostol
I don't know if we're allowed to say. There was no disclaimer. There was no disclaimer at the end of the email. So I think that technically, by law, you know how it's like read this whole email and then by law, you're sworn to secrecy and you're like, wait,
Mallory Rubin
I should be in the format.
Tyson Apostol
Right.
Mallory Rubin
See this here in motion, the mind of a producer always looking for every
Tyson Apostol
loophole that should be at the front.
Joanna Robinson
I didn't tell you, you can't read all the emails. And then she tells me what's in them. And that's a fact.
Mallory Rubin
Every partnership has its first flow.
Joanna Robinson
Like, you know, these screeners expired two days ago. Joanna, did you read the email? No, I just clicked on the link.
Riley McAtee
Yeah, there's no. I can bargo on this. I mean, but I haven't seen it like reported.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah, I haven't either. So I. Although I do have some gossip for us.
Mallory Rubin
Drop, spill the tea.
Joanna Robinson
Let's.
Tyson Apostol
First of all, we're going to do everybody who's already been eliminated from Survivor. Pre. Pre show. Yeah. Then all five finalists after the Life finale, we're going to be in the audience. Ashley and Riley are sitting in the lowly press up at the top. I'm in the winners down in front, which I don't know where it is. And then the lore is that I got an email that said every winner from the past has been invited. On social media today I saw Richard Hatch say I never got invited. Oh, check your spam because it did come from some weird email addresses.
Riley McAtee
Oh, did it?
Mallory Rubin
Interesting.
Joanna Robinson
Richard. Well, hopefully someone at CBS reached out to him after he.
Tyson Apostol
Well, because people are also wondering about Brian Heidek.
Mallory Rubin
Sure.
Tyson Apostol
And there's. So anyways, not all the winners will be there, but supposedly they all got invited as per the invitation I received in my. I think it went to Updates. My updates folder, not my primary folder.
Mallory Rubin
Okay. Do you think anybody has as cool of an outfit planned as you have? Probably not.
Tyson Apostol
I don't think people are as bold enough to.
Joanna Robinson
What if Boston Rob shows up in the exact same fit?
Tyson Apostol
No, Boston Rob would never.
Mallory Rubin
Boston Rob and Jonathan are going to have matching outfits. You know, after Jonathan studied in his nick.
Tyson Apostol
Because it's two for one at Men's Wearhouse.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, I get the deal, guys.
Joanna Robinson
Jonathan's not coming in, like, a silken robe. No.
Tyson Apostol
He's probably a T shirt with his homemade joggers.
Mallory Rubin
I love the patches, the different colors. I'm into it. The pot has been. I mean, the pot has always been great, but this season has just been God tier, just incredible.
Riley McAtee
It has been.
Mallory Rubin
It is like, you know, podcast universe. There's a lot out there, a lot of coverage every week. Something we talk about at the ringer.
Joanna Robinson
I really just like for podcasts in general.
Tyson Apostol
Me neither.
Mallory Rubin
Wow, guys. What?
Joanna Robinson
That's not true. But I really actually don't listen to that many podcasts. But you guys. You guys are appointment viewers. Yeah, it is after the episode. I watch your podcast.
Mallory Rubin
Must watch multiple times per week every week, which is like, a hard thing to get people to form that relationship with what you make. Because there's just so much shit out there, like, and so many things everybody can choose from every week. And we genuinely. I mean, this is something that can get us into talking about season 50 a little bit. Like season 50 itself has really felt like you can't wait to watch. Not only the anticipation, but if you wait, it will be spoiled for you. So it has had that, like, zeitgeist animating monoculture effect. We're talking about it. We're texting Wednesday night about it. We're on group chats where people are texting about it. This is definitely the most Thursday morning
Joanna Robinson
water cooler conversation in real time.
Mallory Rubin
People in my life, they're like, did you watch last night? Here are all my thoughts. And then it's like, gotta carve out the time immediately for the POD has spoken. And I've loved the approach with the exit interviews this year and the moments where you've done, like, the merge extravaganza, et cetera. It's just been a blast. So if anybody out there is not already a POD has spoken, super fan. Now's the moment.
Joanna Robinson
You guys get the best exit interviews.
Mallory Rubin
Oh, no question.
Joanna Robinson
Everyone just sort of like, lights up when they talk to you. And then I also love how you sort of decompress after the exit interviews. You discuss what they said, which no one else really does. And I. I love that.
Mallory Rubin
It's just.
Tyson Apostol
We just came up with that. Yeah.
Riley McAtee
Because it was like, we. We were like, well, we needed to pad the runtime of one of them.
Tyson Apostol
You know, we were like, we're like,
Riley McAtee
we need a little bit More to make the pod feel worthwhile.
Tyson Apostol
Can I charge Spotify for a full podcast for a 15 minute exit interview? I don't.
Mallory Rubin
It sounds like you're the expert at reading the fine print. You know, you can try.
Tyson Apostol
So we padded it and we've gotten a ton of questions.
Riley McAtee
We've gotten that feedback.
Mallory Rubin
It is great. And I also love how, like, you can kind of cool count every time on Ashley coming in and saying something unbelievably like heartfelt, deep and emotional.
Riley McAtee
She's such a great foil to us cynics.
Mallory Rubin
Incredible. The haiku. Yeah. The nicknames from Coach. I mean, you know, we've already said him a couple times, but Silver Trickster, basically. He called you Loki, God of mischief, which, like it tracks. It feels wolf of quiet pine.
Riley McAtee
I still don't know what it means. Which is kind of how I prefer it.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, exactly. Really know what it means. That's an amazing one.
Joanna Robinson
But it does capture something about you.
Mallory Rubin
Right?
Riley McAtee
Capture something.
Joanna Robinson
It does. Really.
Tyson Apostol
But now Ashley's was the ashen Harold. Is that just lazy? Because her name is Ashley and Ashen.
Riley McAtee
I was wondering that. Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
You'd have to ask Coach about his process.
Tyson Apostol
I'm sure he was inspired by Harold, though.
Mallory Rubin
Is a very. That's a like. That's a strong. Yeah. Being a herald is a very powerful position.
Joanna Robinson
These are really good.
Mallory Rubin
I love that. I can't believe you guys got Coach Nick Daves very jealous.
Joanna Robinson
Outstanding.
Tyson Apostol
Well, he was selling them.
Mallory Rubin
I know.
Tyson Apostol
And then he texted me and said, can you help me sell these?
Riley McAtee
It was a plug.
Mallory Rubin
And you did. You ran through the exact process and the 10 minute get to know you're a real.
Tyson Apostol
No, I didn't. I'm just a friend helping a friend. Because that's what we do. You know, you have a platform. You share your platform with the people you love. And if they ever can share their platform with you, they reciprocate the favor. Love it. And he texted and said, I want to come on the podcast and doing these nickname certificates, I'll give you a nickname. And I said, I'll have you on the podcast, but Riley and Ashley need a nickname.
Mallory Rubin
There you go.
Tyson Apostol
And I was not expecting a nickname for myself because I was like, Tyson's such a strong name anyways.
Joanna Robinson
Apostle.
Tyson Apostol
Tyson Apostle.
Joanna Robinson
Pretty great.
Tyson Apostol
Let's get Riley something more powerful.
Riley McAtee
Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
McAtee is great.
Tyson Apostol
McAtee is also very strong too. So I. Mine was a freebie. The deal was he needed to give Riley and Ashley a nickname.
Joanna Robinson
I didn't know that he was doing Certificates for it. So it's sort of like when you buy like a square foot of land in Scotland and you're a laird or something.
Riley McAtee
It was like a star named after you. Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
What would be more meaningful though? Having a star named after you or a coach nickname?
Riley McAtee
We have a family coach nickname.
Mallory Rubin
Joe had a family crest painted for us here. The apple Wars. You know we have matching apple tattoos.
Tyson Apostol
I'm a red apple person.
Mallory Rubin
Hell yeah. My guy. Let's go.
Tyson Apostol
I'm gonna tell you why.
Mallory Rubin
Cuz green apples taste like. Unless they're cooked in a pie.
Tyson Apostol
They're very. Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
And they cut your nose.
Tyson Apostol
They are pie apples. I'll eat a green apple sometimes, but the texture is too hard to bite into. They're classically more of a solid, denser apple.
Mallory Rubin
Snap.
Joanna Robinson
It's a delicious snack.
Tyson Apostol
No, you're talking about red apples.
Joanna Robinson
No, I'm talking about green apples. Granny Smith apples. A nice little snack.
Tyson Apostol
No, stop. No. Granny Smith apples. You're gonna put them above.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
The Honey Crisp. The Pink Lady.
Joanna Robinson
Correct.
Mallory Rubin
These are my favorite too. Sugar Bee.
Tyson Apostol
The Sugar Bee. The. There's so many.
Mallory Rubin
I knew I could count on Tyson.
Tyson Apostol
Cosmos is cosmos.
Mallory Rubin
You're conspicuously quiet.
Tyson Apostol
There's so many. That's because he's a little quiet pie. He's a green apple guy. And now he can't say it because of how strongly I've positioned.
Riley McAtee
I have an even worse answ.
Joanna Robinson
I didn't even like apples at all.
Tyson Apostol
Apricots.
Riley McAtee
I have a stone fruit allergy. I can't eat them.
Mallory Rubin
Apples.
Tyson Apostol
I can eat them if they're cooked.
Riley McAtee
If they're cooked. It's fine.
Tyson Apostol
Apples are a stone fruit. I thought they were.
Riley McAtee
It's a lot of stone fruits set me off. Apples definitely set me off.
Tyson Apostol
And you just don't like apples. And you've told everyone.
Mallory Rubin
Make your throat itch.
Tyson Apostol
Yes.
Mallory Rubin
I'm developing a little bit of. That hasn't stopped me.
Riley McAtee
Throw it in like lips and stuff. And there's some other random ones too.
Tyson Apostol
So. Yes.
Riley McAtee
Peaches, plums, cherries
Mallory Rubin
and apple allergy.
Tyson Apostol
Lips.
Joanna Robinson
That's what happens when I eat mangoes. So you can't. You can't eat apples. Which looks nicer.
Riley McAtee
I can eat them if they're cooked. Which is really odd.
Tyson Apostol
No problem with Joanna.
Joanna Robinson
This is too green.
Mallory Rubin
She doesn't like warm fruit. I don't. So the best way to consume a green apple is obviously.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah. But then the thing too is she is right here about the warm fruit. Is that if you're going to Have a dessert. Yeah, have a fudgeing cake. Well, like, why are you turning fruit?
Mallory Rubin
I love a pie. What about like a peach cobbler over a cake?
Tyson Apostol
Oh, yeah.
Mallory Rubin
If I had to choose pie over cake, though, as always, my answer is why not both? Because I'm a glutton and I like to indulge.
Tyson Apostol
But you're going to eat the cake.
Mallory Rubin
I have had. I have had at 10:30 at night the last three nights, a giant slice of strawberry shortcake from Porto's and it's fucking delicious in the morning. Mallory text was just like, my stomach really hurts. Do you think too much your stomach ache? No, I totally. That's just probably too much food, period. And maybe like too much heaping cream at like 11 o'.
Joanna Robinson
Clock.
Mallory Rubin
I don't know.
Joanna Robinson
So Tyson is pro red apple but anti cooked fruit, so I consider that a wash in the apple world.
Mallory Rubin
Well, it's like we found a way forward. We found a way to work together.
Tyson Apostol
Isn't that a like a banana cream pie or something?
Joanna Robinson
Delicious. Chocolate cream pie. Delicious.
Tyson Apostol
Sure. Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
Oh, I love a chocolate rice pie with some.
Tyson Apostol
It's fine.
Mallory Rubin
Like a lemon sea lime.
Riley McAtee
I mean, citrus pies I'm not into.
Tyson Apostol
I just prefer like if you're gonna go dessert, go full blown dessert where it's just like fat, sugar and. And gluten like that I very much agree with. That's the three secret ingredients of delicious dessert. Adding fruit is just like we got forced to have fruit at lunch when my mom put them in the lunchbox and told me, you have to eat the fruit and then you can help yourself to the other stuff. Like, I already did that.
Joanna Robinson
It's probably because your mom put a red delicious apple in your lunch.
Mallory Rubin
Well, red Delicious is. We're not here to.
Tyson Apostol
We're not standing for a red Delicious. Come on, Come on. Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
Here's what we're gonna do today.
Joanna Robinson
Do you eat along with your dad?
Tyson Apostol
I do.
Joanna Robinson
Okay.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
Despite the green apple divide, I'm taking
Joanna Robinson
Tyson's dad on team Green.
Mallory Rubin
Great. You can have them. Yeah, you can have them.
Tyson Apostol
Two versus what? Eight billion. How many people are in the world?
Mallory Rubin
I already have 7 billion and change
Joanna Robinson
win in the apple wars earlier this year.
Mallory Rubin
Sam Witwer. Sam Witwer voices wow.
Joanna Robinson
Team Green.
Mallory Rubin
He did come out as Team Green. Pod.
Tyson Apostol
You know, sometimes these Hollywood types don't
Mallory Rubin
know what they're talking.
Joanna Robinson
Do you not consider yourself a Hollywood type?
Tyson Apostol
I've never lived.
Mallory Rubin
Man of the people.
Tyson Apostol
I'm a man of the people.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Joanna Robinson
You don't Wear bolo ties to the Survivor premiere?
Tyson Apostol
Never. No, I'm button. Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
I can't wait to see what outfit you end up wearing after hearing about his outfit. It's gonna be great.
Riley McAtee
I gotta go to the store, like I said.
Mallory Rubin
All right, guys, here's what we're doing. We've already talked about the apple wars. We've talked about fashion. We've talked about how wonderful the polo is.
Riley McAtee
Will we talk about Survivor?
Tyson Apostol
I was gonna tell him what I was gonna wear so that we would match. And then I was like, you're putting
Mallory Rubin
too much pressure on him.
Tyson Apostol
No, I was like, we should just wear what represents ourselves, our personalities. So I'm just gonna let Riley show up. So even if I'm in black and off white and he is in blue,
Joanna Robinson
is it a blue button down?
Riley McAtee
It's a green button down.
Joanna Robinson
It's a green button down.
Mallory Rubin
Okay.
Joanna Robinson
I like it.
Mallory Rubin
That's nice.
Tyson Apostol
Okay, thank you. Ozzy's gonna flip for your eyes.
Joanna Robinson
That's what I'm saying. The green is gonna make the eyes pop.
Mallory Rubin
I'm trying to remember. I was at your wedding. It was lovely. I cried like a baby when I saw you take a bride.
Tyson Apostol
That's cool. I probably didn't want to go.
Mallory Rubin
Did you say take? I saw you take a bride. I went, that's right. Sick invite.
Tyson Apostol
I should have brought Tyson as my plus one.
Joanna Robinson
It was in San Francisco. It was one of the best cities in the world.
Mallory Rubin
You were light blue, right? Or like a grayish blue. I'm trying to remember.
Riley McAtee
It was kind of like a brighter blue.
Mallory Rubin
It was lovely.
Tyson Apostol
There's literally like seven people in my life that I talk to more than once a week. That's fine.
Mallory Rubin
Riley's one of them.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
Why didn't you invite Tyson to your wedding? Before we get to today's actual rundown, let's talk about that. Let's look through that. I promise you, Joanna will be invited to my second wedding when I get to Princeton.
Riley McAtee
Marion, I promise you'll be invited to my second wedding.
Joanna Robinson
Which blush is more intense, this one or the hand holding blush?
Mallory Rubin
If you knew he was in store for this when he showed, if the
Joanna Robinson
wedding were happening this year, you would invite Tyson 100% years ago.
Riley McAtee
This. This is one of the weird things about when you. Because we booked our, like, our wedding venue way in advance, so we were sending invites, hearing a lot of excuses, or at least save the dates, like over a year in advance. And it is one of the weird things. The wedding was in 2023. And so we were sending him by.
Tyson Apostol
So even a year before, I would have still known you for a handful of years.
Riley McAtee
Two years.
Joanna Robinson
Two years.
Tyson Apostol
Two years. Yeah. Okay. No, I'm just doing the math in my head to see if actually.
Riley McAtee
When's the acceptable wine.
Joanna Robinson
Maybe he couldn't handle the devastation if you declined. He didn't want to set himself up for that disappointment.
Tyson Apostol
I am notoriously a shut in, but I do believe I would have gone to Riley's wedding.
Mallory Rubin
I mean, I love to not go to this, but I went to your wedding.
Tyson Apostol
I don't get offended by almost anything anybody does.
Riley McAtee
And you're offended by this?
Tyson Apostol
No, I'm not. I'm telling you, don't feel bad. I'm harassing you.
Riley McAtee
Okay.
Tyson Apostol
I can see on your face that you're in a tough spot. I'm not offended. I love you exactly the same as I loved you before.
Joanna Robinson
If you're on Tyson's enemy list, you've really fucked up.
Mallory Rubin
Wow.
Joanna Robinson
Yeah. You don't get offended easily, but you do have an enemy list, and that's where people who've really crossed you.
Tyson Apostol
No, it's more because I feel like I'm gonna get in a lot of trouble for this, probably. I feel like these are the type of people that are bad for society in general. And so I'm looking at them being like, I don't think some of the ways you. Some of your level of entitledness. Entitlism.
Joanna Robinson
Entitlement.
Tyson Apostol
Entitlement, yeah, whatever. We can squabble all day long over words if we wanted. It doesn't sit with me. And maybe other people see it disgust you.
Riley McAtee
Yeah, it's inappropriate.
Tyson Apostol
People on our podcast have loved the mileage we've gotten.
Riley McAtee
Disgusting.
Mallory Rubin
Keep it going for years.
Tyson Apostol
It is absolutely disgusting.
Joanna Robinson
That's the exit interview I'm most excited for, to be honest with you.
Tyson Apostol
We haven't been blocked. Joe has notoriously been blocking any. I've been checking any fan or outlet that has spoke negatively of former contestants and former contestants who say they haven't even said anything. Anybody that's crossed him.
Joanna Robinson
Rizzo, like, right. He blocked Rizzo.
Tyson Apostol
He probably blocked. Really? He blocked Savannah.
Riley McAtee
Tiffany for sure.
Tyson Apostol
Blocked Tiffany for sure. And a lot of fans are coming out and saying he blocked them. And listen, if that's what you need to be mentally healthy, then great, that's fine, whatever. But, like, you also are gonna create more top chatter, so.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, social media can be gnarly. Not for everyone.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, not for everyone.
Joanna Robinson
I genuinely cannot wait to see you Talk to Joe. I'm really excited for him.
Tyson Apostol
He's gonna love me. That's the thing, is that he's gonna come up.
Joanna Robinson
Oh, I know he will.
Tyson Apostol
He invited me to his Halloween party last year out of the blue, which is like, I don't even know the man. He invites me out to the Bay Area for a Halloween party, and it's crazy to think that someone like that, like, they have a special moment in their life. And I've known him for. I don't even know him. I know of them. And they invite me to something special like a Halloween party and.
Joanna Robinson
But not their wedding.
Mallory Rubin
Your beloved, by all I know.
Riley McAtee
Way to bring it back.
Tyson Apostol
You earned it. Come on.
Riley McAtee
Yeah, you were.
Tyson Apostol
I forgot about that. Oh, man.
Joanna Robinson
Sorry, Riley.
Tyson Apostol
So, in a way, Joe and I are maybe closer.
Joanna Robinson
Yeah, it's true. What a great season of television. Survivor 50.
Mallory Rubin
This is fantastic. We're not going to do, like, a lot of season 50 finale. Look ahead, both because, you know, as mentioned, you guys are doing wonderful work on the podcast, but also because there's gonna be a very short shelf life after this episode drops before the finale. But we are gonna, like, celebrate the season a little bit together and just talk about some of the highlights to this point, what we've seen so far.
Joanna Robinson
Right?
Mallory Rubin
So it's Tuesday of finale week. The finale is yet to air. But we have not seen the finale.
Joanna Robinson
We don't know anything.
Riley McAtee
We have not.
Tyson Apostol
We have not seen it.
Mallory Rubin
Great. Okay. Fantastic. And then after we talk about season 50 for a little bit, we're gonna do a little nerd culture. Survived, if you will. This is why you're the best. This is why you're the all caps Goat.
Tyson Apostol
In early seasons, they used to call it the merger.
Mallory Rubin
Nah.
Riley McAtee
Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
So much better.
Tyson Apostol
Isn't it funny? The merger.
Mallory Rubin
Very strange.
Tyson Apostol
Season one, they called it the merger. I remember.
Riley McAtee
I mean, they banged a gong when they went to tribal council. They were just trying stuff that's like a real.
Mallory Rubin
Just Facebook, you know, lose the.
Joanna Robinson
The.
Mallory Rubin
Let's just merge merger. And we're gonna talk, you know, about all of the fictional universes that we love. And we're really just this. Honestly, this is just an excuse for us to hang out for a few hours. That's what this is. I hope that people enjoy it. We've been talking about Survivor as much as we can.
Tyson Apostol
Some people would use a wedding as an excuse to hang out with some.
Riley McAtee
Here he goes.
Joanna Robinson
But some people prefer a podcast and think a podcast is more intimate than a wedding.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, this is the true communion.
Tyson Apostol
Do you think that Right, that's probably like, it's not gonna compare to the thing we do every week.
Joanna Robinson
So when we gaze into each other over zoom, it's a different thing altogether.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah. Was that why it's just like, inviting?
Riley McAtee
It's weird because so much time passes between the invites and the actual wedding, and then you're kind of. Oh, you thought there was talk of
Tyson Apostol
me not being here by the time your wedding rolled around.
Mallory Rubin
Is that what you thought that you knew were this person anymore?
Riley McAtee
I feel like I regret not inviting you.
Tyson Apostol
Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you to feel like that.
Mallory Rubin
I did. That's why I've brought it up six times.
Riley McAtee
I'll just have to get married again.
Tyson Apostol
Riley, you can solve it.
Mallory Rubin
Can you guys renew your vow renewals?
Riley McAtee
Yeah, we'll do a vow renewal.
Joanna Robinson
Do a vow renewal in Phoenix. Because then this shut in will come.
Mallory Rubin
Do it in Fiji and then like, invite all of us.
Tyson Apostol
We can go to Fiji together. I'll be wherever. Riley, if you need me. Mean, I'll show up when you need me to show up.
Riley McAtee
All right, I'll let you know.
Tyson Apostol
Okay. But also, don't feel bad.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, yeah.
Riley McAtee
I'm just gonna keep bringing it up over and over again.
Tyson Apostol
Clearly, it's the full. It's the bringing it back full circle. Like, I never know when this podcast is gonna end, but you have to end on a full circle moment. So I have. This is it. So I'm just gonna keep bringing it up and at some point, the podcast will end after one of my wedding nods.
Mallory Rubin
Well, you'll exactly right.
Joanna Robinson
It'll be after wagyu pastrami. That's right.
Mallory Rubin
That's right. Joanna went shopping for us today. We have that to look forward to at the end of the episode.
Tyson Apostol
Do you want to preview it on the pod?
Riley McAtee
We're like recording it in.
Joanna Robinson
Riley can open that door.
Tyson Apostol
Riley's like, rocky audience,
Mallory Rubin
Let this be a lesson. Everything is content. Never forget that.
Riley McAtee
All right.
Joanna Robinson
Did you think I was just bringing us a snack for later?
Riley McAtee
I thought it was going to be lunch.
Tyson Apostol
No. And then we were going to go on after and be like, hey, guys. No, this is the.
Mallory Rubin
The whole thing on camera for everyone to watch.
Riley McAtee
Okay, great.
Mallory Rubin
We're gonna do a little collab on Instagram. Great work on Instagram as well, by the way. Incredible stuff. Fact checking the coach quotes this season.
Joanna Robinson
So good. Incredible. Wonderful.
Mallory Rubin
Yep, that's Riley on the highlight front. Best twist. What was the best twist of the twists? We've seen so far. Cause maybe some twists await in the finale. Best twist of the season so far.
Tyson Apostol
I mean, honestly, the Mr. Beast won only because it worked.
Riley McAtee
No. Yeah, see, that's such a.
Tyson Apostol
Only because it worked. Had it. Had he not hit heads and had gone home, Rick Devins goes home flipping the coin flip or a vote or
Riley McAtee
if no one had volunteered and it
Tyson Apostol
had been a rock draw into a
Riley McAtee
coin flip, coin flip, send somebody home.
Mallory Rubin
A lot of cowards sitting there, not ready to step up.
Tyson Apostol
There's a lot of ways it could have gone wrong. And it went perfectly, Right?
Mallory Rubin
Yes.
Tyson Apostol
And so it worked and it was exciting. And somebody's getting 2 million this year, which is like a million dollars in 2013, which is they need to up the prize.
Mallory Rubin
Overall, I feel like this season should have been like 5 million.
Tyson Apostol
But the thing is, is that Friends with Matt Van Wagenen.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
And after Winners at War, I said, why don't you keep the prize at 2 million? He said, because viewers don't give a about that. They're going to watch regardless of what it is. So why would we give somebody value?
Joanna Robinson
Add to us 1mil is still pretty
Riley McAtee
high compared to a lot of competition reality shows.
Mallory Rubin
That's true.
Riley McAtee
Like what do you get on traders?
Tyson Apostol
Isn't like 50, 200k? Never watch 200k that they might have to split?
Joanna Robinson
Well, it depends how much you earn over the course of the season.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah.
Riley McAtee
But then they just give you the money anyways. I saw the first season, you know, they just said they were like, yeah, you didn't get it, but we're just gonna up. Which I suspect is what they may
Mallory Rubin
have done with this Mr.
Riley McAtee
Beast twist. It'd been so funny if they've been like, oh, well, guess it's just 1 million and you're going home.
Joanna Robinson
I thought that it was the best twist, obviously, just because it was like a nice showcase for Devens, obviously a great player, a great showman, a big moment for him. And then in terms of like in the post, Zack Brown sort of celebrity overexposure, the way that Mr. Beast sort of was just like kind of there and happy to be there, but not dominating anything, I thought was a really good sense of like celebrity.
Riley McAtee
That was nice.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, I agree. That's my pick too. And I think you guys are right that like, it could have gone another way. But overall, I have loved watching the season because it has felt like such a shared event. And I think that the twists and the celebrity incorporations have been mixed at best in terms of their Success. We'll talk about some of the ones that didn't work as well for us in a minute. Maybe the other three kind of.
Joanna Robinson
But every other attempt at it, there's
Mallory Rubin
been a misread from Jeff in real time about what was going to be like, quote unquote iconic. Like, obviously, obviously Blood Moon is iconic.
Riley McAtee
The most memorable.
Mallory Rubin
And it's like, wait, what? And obviously you guys chronicled this at the time. Just like do a 17 person vote. It would have been anarchy and it would have been delicious.
Joanna Robinson
I also loved your idea of like instead of these other random celebrities have. Have veteran Survivor players. That was Riley's idea, right?
Riley McAtee
Boomerang Idol was set up up for it. It's like it's the JT Idol.
Tyson Apostol
So send it to someone else. And partly the reason for that, the reason that would work so well is because they want to. If they're applying for Survivor, guess what, they're fans of Survivor.
Mallory Rubin
Yes.
Tyson Apostol
So that's why when we get new era contestants on the pod has spoken. They're so fucking pumped to be there. Like they're. We've. I've had so many contestants be like, my goal after Survivor was one thing and that was to be on the pod has spoken. So thank you so much. And so like with Riley and you
Joanna Robinson
see with Riley Mac on a day
Tyson Apostol
that you can't be there.
Mallory Rubin
Tyson, look how blue those eyes are.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah.
Joanna Robinson
Who is that?
Tyson Apostol
So I agree that that would've. Cause that would you need like production to come out and be like, so Zach Brown, he's a country star and he's pretty big and when he comes out, everybody flip out. Could you do that?
Mallory Rubin
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
Like they. I'm sure there were conversations before some of the celebrities stuff where they were like, yeah, be excited.
Joanna Robinson
Can I just say that I'm like, there's this one reaction shot from Emily where she's just like really disinterestedly clapping. I'm like, I can't believe that made the edit incredible.
Mallory Rubin
Cut around that. I've loved you tracking and then following on gasping at all. The true celebrity at the heart of season 50 is Survivor. So when that has been said and I think that's why the Mr. Beast thing did work.
Joanna Robinson
And actually it was like a Devin's moment.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, exactly. It was like the, the, like the decision to be bold and especially because it came on the heels coincidentally ultimately, like. But Devin's leaned in of these massive shows from him at Tribal multiple episodes in a row. And then it just felt authentically. Not because Jeff Said it was going to be but authentically memorable and, like, so we will be talking about it. Unlike the blood moon, which will only come up to be, like, ridiculed and mocked.
Tyson Apostol
I don't even fully remember how the blood moon worked or they just drew anything.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, but that's in my.
Joanna Robinson
The next question, which is worst twist Twist. Well, any of the sort of like by chance split tribe stuff. That's what screwed, like, the Aussie and Cere alliance and that's what screwed, like, Genevieve, this sort of arbitrary divvying up the tribes. No chance to sort of form relationships, which is a whole, like a huge part of Survivor. And so I, I hate that. I hate anytime they do that same.
Riley McAtee
Jeff has talked about, like, wanting these smaller divisions because it's like, oh, you have nowhere to hide, you know, in a smaller tribe.
Joanna Robinson
Right.
Riley McAtee
But I think it's actually the complete opposite. Right. If you have a small tribe and it's like five people, once you know where three votes are, it's over. If you get three that are strong, you're good. But if it's 17 people, then it's complete anarchy.
Tyson Apostol
I won the 17 person tribal council and 14 people get votes and you're just like, okay, how many people can we have going home? Like, I want, like, that's what you want. You want, like seven names. You want Jeff to be like, okay, so and so, so and so. Now it's so. So it's tied 1 to 1 to 1 to 1 to 1, to 1 to 1 before the next person gets
Riley McAtee
their first Borneo status.
Tyson Apostol
Because the second you get. Get as a Survivor contestant, if you are not protected, the second you get one more vote than you expect to get, it's you going home.
Joanna Robinson
That's actually one of my favorite, like, reaction shot moments when, like, someone at tribal just gets that one extra one that doesn't. They're like, that's it.
Mallory Rubin
Curtains, guys. The worst twist.
Tyson Apostol
Come on. Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
Was Jimmy Fallon. Jimmy Fallon took out my beloved Christian. My Christian. Well, I think it's. It's, it's amplified because of my affection for Christian, who was done so dirty by this. But I honestly would have felt this way about. I think anybody being on the other end of this. It just sucked. Was it? And it bastardized something sacred about Survivor, which is you never write your own name down.
Joanna Robinson
And like, the.
Mallory Rubin
I really loved the point you made about just like robbing the player of agency because no matter what the twist is, what the attempt to put a wrinkle in the game is, because it's like, I get it. You want to try to keep it fresh, cool. Like, we're on season 50. We're on year 25. Let's keep it fresh and interesting. You've got to always leave room for the person to try to save their game. And, like, he was robbed and deprived of that possibility. So I like Christian, actually. Christian got it. He got to go on Jimmy Fallon and receive his apology.
Tyson Apostol
Yes, you need.
Mallory Rubin
I am still awaiting your apology. Jimmy Fallon. What the fuck was that?
Joanna Robinson
Don't hold your breath.
Mallory Rubin
God damn it.
Tyson Apostol
And also, like, Jeff, throughout the season and maybe over the course of the last handful of years, has always been like, you guys, we're doing what we want over here. You guys can criticize, and we're not gonna change. We're confident with what we do. And my argument is, Cause he's like, you can pick it apart and be negative and all this stuff, and if you wanna be miserable, go watch a different show. We're critics, we're fans, but we're also critics, and we're looking at the thing and saying, could it have been something better? Like, I'm not faulting you for trying a thing. Try a thing, but when you try it and it doesn't work, you can acknowledge that. That's okay to acknowledge, and then also, don't do it again. Do something different. And so I think that there's, like, a lot of discourse of just like, oh, just watch the show. Go watch something else, or whatever. We love to watch the show. We love to see the new wrinkles.
Mallory Rubin
Yes.
Tyson Apostol
But when they don't work, could somebody just be like, you know what? We probably won't do it again.
Joanna Robinson
And I do think that more wrinkles, more of the twists this season failed than not, like, more of the stunts.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah, all of them, except for Mr. Beast. And that could have.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah. I think the season was propelled by the strength of our affection for the figures on the show. Like, we just have. And maybe that takes us to our next prompt, which is, like, the most emotional moment of the season, you know? And there have been no shortage of moments that really tugged on the heartstrings and I think deeply impacted not only the other contestants on the season, but viewers. What stands out to everyone the most now? Like, what is the thing when you think back on the season that you're like, man, that hit me hard. And I'm thinking about it still.
Riley McAtee
For me, it's Ozzy talking about his dad, Oscar. He'd gone into this season saying, oh, I want to play Like Oscar now. And it just seemed like that was him saying, I want to be a new version of Ozzy. Right. His name is Oscar. We didn't know that his dad's name was also Oscar. And so when he had that whole segment where he talked about that, that really moved me.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, I was crying watching that. The. The Devins hammocked conversation about that Joe,
Tyson Apostol
where Joe actually hated his guts and Joe was still, like, moved. And Rick, even in his exit press was like, I didn't know Joe hated me so bad. I would have cried to somebody else.
Mallory Rubin
They're good now. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Joanna Robinson
What's your emotional. Do you get emotional washing Survivor?
Tyson Apostol
I don't. I mean, I get. I don't get emotional watching Survivor. I think part of it is that I'm jaded. I've played it four times. Like, I understand some of it. And I also have been in those emotional moments where, like, everything feels heavier out there. It's all amplified because you have nothing.
Joanna Robinson
Right.
Tyson Apostol
So it's like.
Joanna Robinson
And you're not eating, you're not sleeping.
Tyson Apostol
It's like quitting sugar for five years and then having a piece of candy. You're like, that was way too sweet. I can't like. And that's how every emotion is out there. And so. But when I'm watching and also I'm Gen X, we don't have highs or lows. We're constantly like, I could be like, this is. I'm raging upset right now. And you can't even tell.
Joanna Robinson
Yeah, you're still mad about not being invited to the wedding.
Tyson Apostol
Exactly.
Riley McAtee
So.
Tyson Apostol
But that said Ozzy, I could feel because I've been in a position where Ozzy has how bad he wanted to win. I think on blood versus water, when I got started inching closer to the end, I was like, I failed at this twice already. I've been in positions where I'm like, I'm the best person out here. I should be able to figure out how to win this thing. And I can't. Like, why can't I? And Ozzy now, his fifth try and he's been so close. I'm sure that all of that was building on him, plus his desire to talk about how he has changed and all of that stuff. And we saw it multiple times. We saw him crying about his father and how he wanted to do that. We saw it on his exit where he's like, that stung. And I don't think that a lot of people's exits, especially in the new era, aren't that Powerful and aren't that emotional. And even his exit press was very pointed and emotional and a lot of people were like, you did it to yourself, Ozzy, Sure. But also, you can tell he's still reeling from getting voted out of season 50.
Joanna Robinson
And doesn't it make. That's my answer too, is Ozzy at tribal. And it was, it makes it all the more tragic that he did it to himself. And we all watched him do it.
Tyson Apostol
We all watched him. It's a lifetime of regret.
Joanna Robinson
Yeah, we watched him do it in real time where we're just sort of like not just not playing his idol, not just trusting his, you know, trusting his allies when he shouldn't have or whatever, but the Aubrey moment where we're all just sort of like our jaws are dropping in real time as we're watching and we're like, you know, and that's why you. One of the reasons why you watch Survivor, you watch for people to succeed, but you watched for them to fail as well. And in very human ways, it was hubris. It was like all these different things that led him to do that. So when he was just devastated at tribal, I was devastated for him. You know, like, I, I, I couldn't blame everyone else for taking their shot at him, but I was just like, this is, you know, and no one should win just because they want to. No one's saying that, but it's just like, you know, separating him from Cere, who did so much to protect him all season and, and Cere needed him as well. And that just like, that devastated me because once Ozzy goes, then I'm like, ceri's in so much danger and she's so important to me. So. So that's my answer too.
Mallory Rubin
That's my runner up pick. I think for all those reasons, it hit me really hard and I was not actually expecting to have this deep of an emotional connection to Ozzy this season. Like, I've always had fun watching Ozzy play, but then I saw the haircut and I was like, no, the haircut was an incredible choice. I respected and I loved it.
Joanna Robinson
Very memorable.
Mallory Rubin
I just, yeah, it was really. This kind of brings me into my actual pick, which won't surprise any of you people who know me and my Survivor passion as well. You've heard this from me before. We have monthly planning meetings for actual work reasons, and I spent 45 minutes on this when we had it. Riley's like, don't we have, like, planning to do?
Tyson Apostol
We did, but we're out of time.
Mallory Rubin
Exactly. Colby, one of the great loves of my life, but, like, it's less about
Riley McAtee
that, is that he didn't cast a vote.
Mallory Rubin
It was about the way that Survivor is genuinely unique in the way it allows us to feel the passage of time, you know?
Joanna Robinson
And I think that's why Ozzy, like, knowing Ozzy as, like, a young man and similarly, like.
Mallory Rubin
Like, it was just. Man, like, it takes you back to watching Colby when he was, like, Captain America, young hotshot, and could do everything well. And the journey across time, like, those periods of being, like, insecure and pissed at himself for not being as good as he used to be, and then the, like, grace and humility and wisdom, that was just, like. I don't know, it was really moving. The way you could just feel, like, watching the flow and evolution of his years and his game and his. His life, and, like, to feel those. The passage of that time so authentically for him. And then, of course, you look at everybody else's faces and they're just sitting there, like, weeping because they know what it means to end this for him.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Mallory Rubin
Like, how many shows can give you that feeling?
Tyson Apostol
And I think it wasn't. I mean, we saw on Ceri's exit, we saw it on all these Legends exits where they were just like, we're devastated because we know they're devastated and because we know that this is their last one. The last one, probably for this guy. And Colby. I didn't have hardly any interaction with him on Heroes vs. Villains. I got eliminated early, never got to the merge to see them. I saw him at the after party in New York, and he was pouting the whole time, and I even asked him what was wrong, if he was okay, and he was just like, I'm over it, whatever. And. And he called. He got my number from Coach and called me a couple weeks before he got voted out and said, the Pot Is Spoken is the only podcast I listen to. I can't imagine anybody from the Survivor world not wanting to be a part of what you got going on there. And I just want to say, like, keep doing your thing, because it's amazing.
Mallory Rubin
Incredible.
Tyson Apostol
And that was it.
Joanna Robinson
I will say that I did not respond. You know, I have a different relationship to Colby than you do, and I respect his place in your life. I did not respond, like, very passionately to his gameplay this season, but his exit interview with you guys, I thought was extra. I, like, all of a sudden, I was just, like, really into Colby and his point of view and all of that. And then and then I got kind of sad.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah. There was just such, like, introspection and, like, really honest reflection about, like, what the show has meant to him. I. I just thought it was really cool.
Tyson Apostol
And I think that.
Mallory Rubin
And he looks great.
Tyson Apostol
He's just super hot. Yeah. And I think that that comes with these players that have been around for 20 years. Like, nobody feels that way towards a Rizzo right now.
Joanna Robinson
Right.
Mallory Rubin
But it's wild to think about. Like, what's the version of this for
Tyson Apostol
Rizzo in 20 years, 15 years.
Riley McAtee
I really like Rizzo, but I don't think anyone's ever gonna feel about him the way anyone feels about Colby.
Tyson Apostol
Sure. But that's the thing.
Joanna Robinson
Maybe.
Mallory Rubin
But, like, who knows?
Joanna Robinson
Ozzy, when he first showed up, was just like, you know, this guy that I never thought that I would get emotional about years later.
Tyson Apostol
And also the kids who are watching Survivor for the first time and maybe their favorite player is Rizzo. And then maybe in 10 years they're on the show and then they're like,
Riley McAtee
it's just such thing, a different vibe. They're just so. They're so different to me.
Tyson Apostol
But also society's changing, Riley. And if you can't get on board, then cinema.
Riley McAtee
Sorry.
Joanna Robinson
From Gen X.
Mallory Rubin
He could have shared pearls of wisdom like that in his toast at your wedding if you'd invited him. It's something to think about.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
Mvp. MVP of the season so far. Obvious caveat for this one. Most of all, that whatever happens in the finale could change our pick for this. But who carried the season? This can be about entertainment value. It can be about the quality of their gameplay and anything Riley Siree. That's my pick as well.
Joanna Robinson
Mine as well.
Tyson Apostol
Mine as well. The way that she was a target from day one, everybody knew she's dangerous. They still let her go because she's so. She's filled with so much warmth as a person. When you go to her and you're like, I know. I have to target her. And she smiles and she laughs and she gives you a hug and you're like, no, nevermind, I'm with her. And she made everybody feel like that. Every single person felt like that. And that's her power. And then she led the game as this, like, warm, joyful mafiosa who was just like them. Yeah, now it's them.
Riley McAtee
Yep.
Mallory Rubin
Incredible.
Tyson Apostol
Now it's them.
Mallory Rubin
Right?
Joanna Robinson
And not. Not my person.
Mallory Rubin
Don't.
Joanna Robinson
Don't come after my team.
Mallory Rubin
And if you say my person's name out loud, you're fucking gone dead.
Riley McAtee
You don't even know she. It wasn't obvious even who her person was. You know, people would go to her and be like, how about Ozzie? And she'd be like, yeah, sure. And then as soon as she shuffled them off, it was like, okay, that
Joanna Robinson
person's gonna go, yeah, yeah.
Mallory Rubin
You've talked about this with, like, your personal stories with working with Saree and the Survivor game that you guys played and the way she. She sussed out just with one look. Like it is really like a type of witchcraft that we're witnessing. Watching her play. I loved when you guys had drew on and he described it as like a season of intuitors. But then, like, she is chief among them. The intuition is just like at a Pantheon level of, like reading people their language, their intention, being able to suss out not only the lies, but the desire and, like, how that motivates people to behave. I mean, playing the extra vote, obviously, like, you know, know, shortly thereafter, the journey ended still, but knowing for sure to play the extra vote. And you could say, and like, I think this is very fair. And you guys talk about this. Well, like, maybe the math tells you to do it regardless, right?
Tyson Apostol
Still, there's something the math tells you to do it.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, but because it's Surrey, you're like,
Tyson Apostol
he didn't play his idol. The math was telling him you probably
Mallory Rubin
not like, you're not going to get
Tyson Apostol
a chance to play an idol that's going to hit that certain.
Joanna Robinson
For me, almost it's like, it is Siri, but it's also the siree Ozzy Rizzo combination because use its proper name. I refus.
Tyson Apostol
You don't like.
Joanna Robinson
It's the Billie Eilish serie Ozzie Rizzo accommodation. But like, Rizzo is this, like, new kind of annoying, but, like, I'm also rooting for him guy who's. Who's geeking out and fanning out about people, but also playing a cutthroat game. And we saw that he did quite well in 49 and he's just like, genuinely like studying at the feet of Sari, but will cut her when he needs to. And then Ozzy as this person who's just sort of like, I've hitched my wagon to the star. She's protecting me and I respect that. And whatever she tells me to do, I'm gonna do, like all of that together. Just like, it was a really delicious combination.
Mallory Rubin
When she came back that time, he was like, I'm so glad you came back, so tell me what to do. I would have Done. The other thing, it was just kind of like an amazing encapsulation of the.
Joanna Robinson
I would have gotten it really wrong,
Tyson Apostol
which we also were like, was that wrong?
Mallory Rubin
No, I agree.
Joanna Robinson
Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
I would have gone the other way
Tyson Apostol
to be like, wow. Thank you.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah.
Joanna Robinson
Thank you so much.
Tyson Apostol
Thank you for telling me the thing to do.
Riley McAtee
I mean, I think it was. Was the right move for sere.
Tyson Apostol
Sure.
Mallory Rubin
For sure.
Tyson Apostol
But also it showed, like, a certain amount of humility in Aussie, to be honest. To be like, oh, man, I'm an idiot. I was going to do something different than what you said and I respect you enough that this is the thing.
Joanna Robinson
It was just so, like, I don't know.
Mallory Rubin
I love all of that bummer that she's not going to win.
Riley McAtee
Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
That's so sad. Like, she really deserved to win this season.
Riley McAtee
She always was going to have a very.
Mallory Rubin
Doesn't mean the eventual winner doesn't deserve it.
Tyson Apostol
Right?
Mallory Rubin
She really deserved to win.
Riley McAtee
Well, she was always going to have this super narrow path. The final three. This was something we talked about early on. It was like, well, how do you even see her getting to the end? And then something I was so impressed by was that she figured it out. She was like, I can get Ozzie to take me to the end. That was.
Mallory Rubin
She would have.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah.
Riley McAtee
And that's why. I don't know, I came into this season with obviously just a sky high estimation of Sari. And I think that there's a good argument that this is actually her best game. And it's like my.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
Respect for her is actually daunting.
Riley McAtee
She said it.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
And honestly, too, I believe that the reason Ozzy blew up his game at Aubrey was because he was like, I'm going to the end with Saree and if my resume is not bold, for sure. For sure, then I am gonna be in trouble. And so he started too early.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah. Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
He started too early to try to beat Sari in the end.
Joanna Robinson
I will say that having just watched Australian Survivor and Parvati and Saree were playing so closely together in that game, that's just like one of my favorite seasons of Survivor I've ever watched. It was so good. Sorry, Jeff, but, like, that season of Australian Survivor was really good.
Mallory Rubin
My favorite season.
Tyson Apostol
I fire at you passively in an article that's gonna come out in past months.
Mallory Rubin
Exactly. Yeah. My favorite seasons of Survivor are all of Tyson's seasons and then baby versus Goliath. That's it.
Tyson Apostol
Thank you. David versus.
Riley McAtee
You are on some really good seasons, actually.
Mallory Rubin
You are on incredible seasons. But are they incredible because you're on them?
Tyson Apostol
There's a common animator chicken egg and
Mallory Rubin
something to think about.
Tyson Apostol
All four of them are historically ranked in the top 10 seasons of all time. And yeah, I told you that.
Joanna Robinson
Fishbag sent me a list. They were all up there. The top of the list.
Mallory Rubin
I have to be. Fantastic stuff. Well, this gets to something else we wanted to talk about which is do
Tyson Apostol
we want to give some honorable mentions to the characters? Because I do believe there's a lot of people driving the season. I know we criticized the season, the cast we were promised, this cast of celebration of the eras. We didn't get that. But the whole asterisk I put on it was, we have enough characters in the season. It's going to be fine. We're going to enjoy it. It's going to be entertaining. So Christian Devins, they did their thing. Emily, she did her thing.
Riley McAtee
Coach did his thing.
Mallory Rubin
The coach really did his thing.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah, amazing. The haiku, exactly what I wanted. And Saree, she did her thing. Obviously we already said her. Ozzy fucking pushed as hard as he could. There were so many of these people that went out there and some of them at the detriment of their own game made sure that they were having fun and leaving their mark on season 50.
Mallory Rubin
Agree.
Tyson Apostol
And so I think like all of those people need to be mentioned. I'm sure I'm missing some people.
Mallory Rubin
Most players had a really cool, fun moment. Not everybody, but like a lot of people and like the, the way that the dynamics and history not only that we have with them but that they have with each other manifested. Like to your Rizzo superfan point, one of my favorite moments of the season was when Rizzo pulled coach aside and was like, we slay dragons. And at rival, not at camp. Because it's an iconic. It's just an incredible line, like amazing stuff from Rizzo. But because you could, you felt like, okay, super fan is saying this to somebody he has watched and adored and he's like, it's my moment to try to reign this guy in. And you know, and I actually tried, but you can stop it. I think I tried. I know you tried.
Tyson Apostol
I got close. I got close.
Mallory Rubin
Still one of the all time moments in the history of the show. Don't wear the feathers in your hair.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah, I am shocked at that. How many people really that resonates with like to me it was just like the best. Don't look like a prick. Be sympathetic enough. But don't be so sympathetic that everybody lumps me in with Coach all the time. Like I need to distance myself but also be sympathetic to a friend and someone who I think is a good person, but I don't subscribe to his entire belief system. And that was literally what I was aiming for when I was was giving that speech. I was like, I just have to go like direct as possible.
Mallory Rubin
I mean, it's very memorable and incredible. If you were giving Riley advice on how to play, what would you tell him? How do you think Riley would do on Survivor?
Tyson Apostol
I mean, I think he'd be fine. I haven't seen him in. I haven't seen him in situations where someone's rubbing him the wrong way or in controversy.
Joanna Robinson
Are you sure you haven't?
Riley McAtee
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
Are you sure if I have? He would be amazing. He would be amazing. And with a little coaching like any. Keep your mouth shut. Keep your fucking mouth shut. Like how hard is that to do to.
Mallory Rubin
For the wolf of Quiet Pines, it's second nature.
Tyson Apostol
Like that's literally like any future Survivor player. Yeah, just keep your mouth shut. Like what are the reasons you're sharing in your confession?
Joanna Robinson
Yeah, you gotta start telling.
Tyson Apostol
But the way the new era moves or the way that the game has evolved is that if somebody has told you information, everybody probably already knows that. And if you've told somebody information, everybody also probably already knows that. So now there's no lying to anybody. And that's the line that's very difficult for these new players is like I told Mallory a secret and now Joanne Joanna's asking me kind of the same vein, trying to. I have to now be honest because I don't know if she's cross examined or not. And so the safe side is to then just air it out and then it's done. So if you can keep your stuff to yourself. Yeah, you're good.
Joanna Robinson
Riley, do you think you'd be good at Survivor?
Riley McAtee
I think I'd be good at the game and bad at the show.
Mallory Rubin
Interesting. Yeah, that feels right to me.
Tyson Apostol
I feel like I could actually give you more pointers. Have you thought about going on the Reward by yourself?
Riley McAtee
Yeah, I haven't thought about it. My favorite thing, man, we are waiting for someone to do that.
Joanna Robinson
I think you're too like level headed to. They want the care.
Tyson Apostol
Exactly, exactly.
Riley McAtee
I don't think they would ever cast me. They would never.
Tyson Apostol
Cat.
Riley McAtee
Well, one, because I probably have said too many mean things about the show. Even though I love the show and I think it's the gold standard of reality tv.
Joanna Robinson
But Survivor podcast, but they Basically.
Mallory Rubin
I mean, they almost did that a few seasons ago and they had six podcasters on. This actually gets me to something I wanted to pitch to you.
Tyson Apostol
Okay.
Riley McAtee
Which is I have a pitch about this too.
Tyson Apostol
Okay, great.
Mallory Rubin
We're going to talk in a second about the opposite of this, which is like, hey, it's really fun when we do returning seasons. Like, let's do them more often. When should we do it again? What should the theme be? We'll come back to that in a minute. Do we need a complete clean slate? I think that I, I, I, I love Survivor. So every season, even if it takes me a little while to warm to the cast, I end up finding people to root for who I'm invested in. But I think, I think there's a case to be made that recent seasons is we've skewed too far in the. I'm a super fan. I grew up studying at the knee of all of my Survivor favorites. I'm a scholar. I've got my own, like, advanced analytics on how to do jury selection, jury duty, Survivor cast it with people who've never seen the show. I love it because not only are they thinking about how everyone else plays, which again is like, in some ways nice. I've modeled my game off X. Right. Tyson's my hero. Lovely. Same. Too many people are thinking about how they're gonna play as television characters because they've studied the media side of it. I think we need a reset. I think that it's become a little too navel, gazy and self aware in that respect. And it would at least be interesting to go back to square one and say you've never seen the show. You don't know what people are expecting out of it. Go play true social experiment again. What do you think?
Tyson Apostol
I love the idea as a fan, as a viewer, like, yes, we have to have that from the perspective of production. Yeah, partly. I believe the reason that they have the super fans on every season is they're the easiest ones to control. If you're a big Jeff Prost fan and Jeff Prost is telling you to shut up, you're gonna shut up.
Joanna Robinson
You say, yes, Mr. Jeff.
Tyson Apostol
You say, yes, Mr. Jeff. If Jeff is telling you to jump, you're jumping and you're respecting all of the process the entire time. And when you get voted out, you're not absolutely devastated. You're overjoyed that you even got the opportunity. Cause you already won. And so all which is a family show now and you want everybody to be happy and all of that. And so I think that that is why. And we also, like, on a smaller scale, we experience that on the podcast where if we have people that are huge fans of the pod has spoken on, we know it's gonna be a great positive show where we're having fun. Whereas if you get someone who maybe hates our guts because of whatever thing Riley said in the past, I don't
Riley McAtee
think anyone hates our guts.
Tyson Apostol
I could find Riley.
Joanna Robinson
You're so comfortable, though.
Tyson Apostol
But the thing is, is that it's the same. Some people don't agree with all of Jeff's decisions. Some people feel like people are jaded. People have been slighted by either production in some way that we are not even aware of. And so those people coming back, they're gonna have that chip on their shoulder. And that chip on their shoulder can make excellent tv, but it also makes a difficult person to wrangle when you need to wrangle em.
Joanna Robinson
Interesting.
Riley McAtee
So question for you. Would you want this season to look like the new era Season have looked where you have kind of the base game of Survivor and then they've added these layers to it. Right. You have immunity idols. Now you have Billie Eilish boomerang idols. Now you have a shot in the dark. Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
Or do you want it to look
Riley McAtee
more like the original, like furatrist stuff?
Joanna Robinson
I want to watch killing chickens.
Riley McAtee
Yeah.
Joanna Robinson
That's what I want to see.
Riley McAtee
Eating a rat.
Mallory Rubin
And then I want to see Ty take his chicken mark and save him. I want that offended.
Tyson Apostol
But do you want a villain there that's going to kidnap the chicken and eat it in secret?
Joanna Robinson
Yes.
Mallory Rubin
I mean, I'm at war with myself on that one because it always makes me sad. But it is good TV. It is good TV, you know, and.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah. And they've also already filmed 51. They're on their. Their back just recently, right?
Riley McAtee
Yep.
Tyson Apostol
If Jeff is on the red carpet and we talk to Jeff, I'm gonna ask him if 51 is a continuation of the new era or if the evolution is now something different and what he predicts it will become. Yes.
Mallory Rubin
I like that you like that.
Riley McAtee
I thought it was a joke.
Joanna Robinson
Can I like new. New Coke? Can I make a suggestion for returning season? And I'm sure they've contemplated and tell
Mallory Rubin
us how often you want them. Yes.
Tyson Apostol
We talked enough about yours.
Mallory Rubin
I think so.
Tyson Apostol
I would love that. We've talked about that on the podcast. Like we need a person that's just figuring out real time how to play this game rather than have studied it.
Mallory Rubin
But I feel like that's doing injury
Joanna Robinson
selection for like the O.J. simpson trial. Like, it's so hard to find someone who doesn't even like, well, here's what
Tyson Apostol
you need to do. You need to cast for a job, a remote job that you're not going to have your phone Survivor. But all the cast. Yeah. You do it on Craigslist and you're just like, okay, we'll interview you. So their impression isn't that they're going on Survivor so they're never studying.
Joanna Robinson
Must love pooping in the ocean.
Tyson Apostol
They're never studying it and just be like, well, I think it would even
Mallory Rubin
be okay if people knew what Survivor was.
Tyson Apostol
But the problem, seen it. The problem is they're gonna binge watch it for three or six months.
Mallory Rubin
Take away.
Riley McAtee
Are they?
Mallory Rubin
Did you, you asked them to do it and then immediately they go, there's no period.
Tyson Apostol
Was encouraged by my dad to try out for the show. He said, I think you'd be really good at Survivor.
Joanna Robinson
So we owe it all to the green apple lover, your dad.
Mallory Rubin
And you said, you, I don't, I don't know how to trust your in your wisdom.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah, I said, you should try out. It's your favorite show. And he said, well, one of us has, has a family business to run. One of us has kids to take care of, responsibilities. Some of us have bills to pay. Some of us have. And he listed all the reasons he could not go and all of those reasons. I didn't own any of those. So I said, well, no, but you
Mallory Rubin
did have a deep V T shirt that would become instantaneous.
Tyson Apostol
And I said, nobody gets on these shows. So I wrote the most asinine email I could possibly think just to prove my dad wrong. Just to be like, I sent him an email. I did the thing and never heard back. Like that was my plan. I hit send. I literally get a phone call like 10, 15 minutes later. Wow. From Noelle and casting. I was in Las Vegas on a Tuesday morning because my friend had a job in Las Vegas. He's like, I had a free hotel. I was like, okay, I'll come down. I got nothing going on. I'm in Vegas. I get this phone call. I'm like, hey, what's up? And they're like, hey, this is Noel from casting. Shout out, Noel.
Mallory Rubin
Noel, shout out Noel.
Tyson Apostol
And she's like, you're from Vegas. I was like, no, it's 2008. No self respecting person. No. She's like, but it's Tuesday morning. What are you doing in Vegas? On Tuesday morning, I was like, I'm also an adult. I can do whatever I want. I'm 28.
Mallory Rubin
And she knew you were perfect.
Tyson Apostol
And she's like, are you real?
Mallory Rubin
And I was like, incredible.
Tyson Apostol
I don't. And she's like, we're gonna fly you out to California. But first. And, like, I treated it as a huge joke. But the second I started going through casting, the casting department would send you DVDs of seasons they thought would resonate with you the most.
Riley McAtee
Okay, so which way did they send you?
Tyson Apostol
They first sent me Pearl Islands to watch Johnny Fairplay. Then after they met me, incredible. After they met me, they were like, never mind. You're a lot more than that. So then they had me watch Micronesia. They had me watch China for Todd.
Mallory Rubin
And
Tyson Apostol
I think those are the three I watched. I watched Pearl Islands. I watched Micronesia. I watched. Yeah. And I watched that China. And then when you were in casting, they watched. We watched Micronesia the entire season in a conference room in one, the whole day. There were, like, 40 people trying out for Survivor. They've just been in. So the casting process. They'd take you to the double tree in Santa Monica.
Mallory Rubin
Okay.
Tyson Apostol
And they used chocolate chip cookies.
Joanna Robinson
Yeah, I was gonna say fresh cookies.
Tyson Apostol
You'd show up, and they would have walkie talk. They. People with walkie talkies, they're like, talk to no one unless you're approached by someone with a walkie.
Mallory Rubin
Okay.
Tyson Apostol
You walk in. It's the first time you see the person you've been on the phone with in person. Noelle runs up. Oh, my God. I can't believe it's in person. And she's, like, kind of looking at me like, do I look the same as my video and my photos and stuff? And she's like, okay, I'm gonna check you in. You're under an alias. I think I was like, Timothy Anderson or something. Same initials. That's a trade secret.
Mallory Rubin
Love that.
Tyson Apostol
And now I know they send you to your room, and you're there for a week, and they're like, answer your phone. We're gonna call you for anything. Here's your schedule. You have breakfast from 7 to 8. You have gym from 9 to 10. You have pool time from 11 to 12. And then you have lunch from this, and you have this. And then anytime you get a phone call, we'll tell you which room number to go to to go to your interview all week long. And you're in groups. There's 40 or 50 people there, but you're with, like, 12 people making these rounds. So you're at breakfast. And I learned very quickly, like. Like, I gotta get talked about. I need people to talk about me in their interviews.
Mallory Rubin
Okay.
Tyson Apostol
So it's being able to talk about people that you cannot communicate with because they have all the walkies. They're watching you. You do not talk in the buffet line. You don't ever talk. You have no interactions. Any interaction. Even if it's eyes, they'll come in and be like, wow. And then they kind of corral you around the hotel at your things. So I don't even know why I'm talking about this. Why am I talking?
Mallory Rubin
Why it would be so hard to do the jury duty.
Tyson Apostol
Why it'd be so hard to be the jerk. So they're giving you to that. They're giving you seasons to watch in the hotel on your downtime. And then they're also just not do that.
Mallory Rubin
They could just, like, have you watch Game of Thrones.
Tyson Apostol
Well, why wouldn't you do that if they're like, okay, well, if it's gonna help me win a million dollars, why wouldn't I say production wouldn't.
Joanna Robinson
If production could keep you from watching
Tyson Apostol
it
Riley McAtee
for a different shower production.
Mallory Rubin
Or like, either. Yeah. The COVID of another show.
Tyson Apostol
And then they were.
Mallory Rubin
Or they just, like, they're like, you're offline. And because these people have not seen Survivor in this scenario, they're not motivated to skirt that to, like, form their zoom alliance or whatever. Cause they don't know that that's necessary because they've never watched Survivor.
Joanna Robinson
Can I give you my returning season pitch?
Tyson Apostol
Yes.
Mallory Rubin
And how often you want returning seasons to be a part of this? Like, do you want them every couple seasons?
Tyson Apostol
How frequently you didn't answer that question.
Mallory Rubin
I love a returning season. I mean, my blend, like, returnee player, that counts as an attribute. That's always a fun one.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
How so? Like, you want, like, by 45 or even sooner, these hints are out there. Like, Jeff, like, you're not gonna have to wait long.
Joanna Robinson
55. Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
I'm hearing the rumor mill.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah. Tell us.
Tyson Apostol
In next year's filming cycle, which would be 53 or 54. New Era All Stars.
Mallory Rubin
New era All Stars.
Riley McAtee
That's what they should have done for 48.
Joanna Robinson
I'm not sure. Here's my idea.
Mallory Rubin
Interesting.
Joanna Robinson
Instead of blood versus water or whatever, let's call it oil and water. And it's. The tribes are made up of people who famously hate each other.
Mallory Rubin
Rivals.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah, rivals like return. Like players that hate each other or people in real life that are like enemies.
Joanna Robinson
Yeah. A team of rivals. You all love that.
Tyson Apostol
Okay, so not like a customer at big o tires and the mechanic at big o tires.
Joanna Robinson
No, it's ozzy and coach.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah. You'd have to find finally name your tree so that you can play them.
Tyson Apostol
The most historic arch nemesis for me would be sierra, which would be an amazing pull. That would be great if they got her to return.
Mallory Rubin
But wait, so in this. In this formulation, your par. Your teammates right. With your rival, like, you have to work together. You're on the same tribe.
Tyson Apostol
You tether them with either a shared idol or a secret. They go on a journey together. Something that forces them to absolutely have to work together together. Maybe you vote out pairings initially.
Joanna Robinson
Ooh, I. I liked the.
Mallory Rubin
The double.
Joanna Robinson
The double elimination.
Mallory Rubin
That was good.
Joanna Robinson
I thought that was good.
Mallory Rubin
That was great. I think that's a great idea. I love it. I would like a returning season at a minimum every five seasons.
Tyson Apostol
Oil and water. I like that name better than rivals, which is what everybody's.
Riley McAtee
Who's.
Mallory Rubin
Oil and water is great. And you can get, like, a salad dressing in to sponsor it.
Joanna Robinson
You're always thinking, what is Paul Newman doing? He's dead.
Mallory Rubin
But, like, let's get applebee's back in there, you know?
Riley McAtee
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
Olive garden has a vinaigrette. Famous vinaigrette.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah. And the breadsticks. Or so I. So I hear, right? I love a breadstick. Why not? This is great. New era all stars would be fun. I just. I like the mix across the. The eras, though. If it gave Christian a chance to play and hopefully win again.
Tyson Apostol
He's not.
Riley McAtee
New era all count.
Mallory Rubin
I guess that's true.
Joanna Robinson
I just want new era all stars.
Mallory Rubin
New era would just be so from 40 to 41 to 50.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Riley McAtee
41 through 50.
Mallory Rubin
I would like to see Jesse back.
Joanna Robinson
I understand the thought process behind that because you're trying to, like, make those people feel like legends, which they don't feel like.
Tyson Apostol
Makes them feel, like, stickier.
Riley McAtee
I feel like they should have done new era all stars for 48 to mirror the original all stars season, which was season eight. And then you could have still done 50 and had maybe some of those people and some others. And so then you would have. You would have been building those legs.
Joanna Robinson
Legends, right?
Mallory Rubin
Who's a new era all star?
Tyson Apostol
Right.
Riley McAtee
There aren't any because they haven't played.
Mallory Rubin
Jesse is wonderful. Q. Q is Q. Would be great. Bring Rachel back.
Tyson Apostol
Carolyn.
Mallory Rubin
Carolyn is a must.
Joanna Robinson
No question.
Riley McAtee
That's what we thought for 50 and she went on Traders, so that's a bummer.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah. Be great.
Joanna Robinson
But she was so good on trainer.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
All right, well, when are we getting Christian back then? We need to get Christian.
Tyson Apostol
I think historically too, if you watch it and it's never is, you have a big drought of non returning seasons.
Joanna Robinson
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
As a theme or a big. A big. Yeah. Big drought of returning seasons. They do a big block and then they start doing either like the captains are here or everybody that got medevaced last time or. Or half and half fans versus favorites or second chances. Like they. Then they pepper all those in and then they stop them. And I think we are now entering an era of. Of more returning seasons where I think we're gonna get at least every two film cycles.
Joanna Robinson
Wow.
Tyson Apostol
I believe we will have returns.
Joanna Robinson
So like every third season.
Tyson Apostol
One out of four. Every third, three to four seasons.
Mallory Rubin
I would not mind that.
Riley McAtee
That's kind of my proposal, which is that it should be basically an Olympics cadence. So you get like the summer Olympics, which are the real Olympics, more or less.
Mallory Rubin
Oh, my God.
Joanna Robinson
Shots fired at Bob's letters.
Riley McAtee
So you get like. You get a full over super G once every four. Okay, hold on. Don't get distracted. Don't get distracted by the Olympic stock.
Mallory Rubin
Let's see you do the skeleton. Right.
Riley McAtee
But you get. So you get like.
Joanna Robinson
How's your triple X?
Riley McAtee
A summer.
Joanna Robinson
Sorry.
Mallory Rubin
I'm sorry.
Riley McAtee
Listen, you get a summer and winter. You get. Every four years we'll do a full returnee season. And every two years we'll do like a half one which is, you know, fans versus favorite or blood versus water or something in that realm.
Mallory Rubin
I mean, I like it. It could start to feel like too much, but for now.
Riley McAtee
Well, that's the thing.
Tyson Apostol
And when it feels too much, then they just stop. That's what they've done historically.
Riley McAtee
So that's once every eight seasons you get a full returnee season.
Mallory Rubin
I'd like a best to never win season. I think it's time for that. We can call it second chances as long as.
Riley McAtee
I mean, they just have to get sari first and then they can book the rest.
Tyson Apostol
So who else? Rob Sestronino.
Riley McAtee
Cestrinino would be good.
Tyson Apostol
Anybody who's ever.
Riley McAtee
I mean, Cestrinino should have been on this season too. In the hands of the fans.
Joanna Robinson
Except he did Traitors.
Tyson Apostol
No, he was on 50 though, too. He was in. And I do news AF with him. We have a news podcast. He would have gone on season 50 and foregone the guaranteed pay of traitors.
Riley McAtee
Right.
Tyson Apostol
He's like, they had. They had me. They had me. I would have done that. But now, like, I have to do this for, like, I. So. And maybe I shouldn't have said that, but, like, he was ready to go.
Mallory Rubin
All right, well, let's get him in there. There's a lot of stories for people
Tyson Apostol
who, like, like, supposedly called, like, 200 people.
Mallory Rubin
Thought they were.
Tyson Apostol
And the only way you're going to keep people on the line is convince them that they are in.
Joanna Robinson
They are definitely in.
Tyson Apostol
Which then also leaves a very bad taste in a lot of people's mouth.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah. Tough to piss off 176 people. How about.
Joanna Robinson
How about returning season 50 is like, we meant to have you on 50.
Tyson Apostol
Sorry, you were on 50. Jeff's also said that. He said, like, some of the people that went through the process that we just couldn't find space for, we're going to get back to them. So. Which I believe, like, you have to. Otherwise you do then fully piss off 170, or however many. Whatever the number is. Because other shows, I get called for a show, and they're like, hey, you want to be on our show? I was like, yeah, when do I find out? And they're like, you're on.
Mallory Rubin
Do you want this conversation?
Tyson Apostol
Did you say yes? Because if you said yes, this is you. And you're like, oh, well, I expected to get jerked around for six months and then told that you went a different direction, because casting is like a puzzle, and sometimes not all the pieces fit. And even though you thought they would, they ended up. And I was like, I don't need the whole analogy. I just, like. And that's what it is. And so when you go through casting,
Joanna Robinson
sometimes Noelle gets you.
Tyson Apostol
You don't believe the cookies of the double tree.
Joanna Robinson
And sometimes she's like, the pieces just didn't fit.
Mallory Rubin
Sorry.
Joanna Robinson
Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
176 people didn't get cookies, which I
Tyson Apostol
ate at the Doubletree. Delicious.
Mallory Rubin
When they're warm. Wonderful.
Tyson Apostol
About 28. There's a. So we went into a conference room. I came watch the show.
Joanna Robinson
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
They were like, we're watching all of Micronesia for, like, eight hours. I went out to the lobby. So first of all, I made a little bed at the front. I was like, everybody needs to see me. So I made a little bed at the front of the chairs because everybody was, like, so scared to talk and stuff. Coach was at the very back. He had his black fingernails, black toenails, toe rings. He had it all. And I was like, okay, that guy's like a mixture of Daniel Day Lewis in Last the Mohicans. And I had another one.
Joanna Robinson
Wow.
Tyson Apostol
I forget.
Mallory Rubin
So high praise for Coach. Now he's gonna method act the rest of the world.
Tyson Apostol
So I go out and I'm like, this is gonna be great. So I go out and I'm like, hey, my company's in the. In the conference room right now. Give me all the cookies you have currently. And they gave me, like, 20 something cookies all for you. I have this bag. I walk in, everybody sees this bag of cookies. Everybody's looking so hopeful. They think I'm passing them out. I go to the front, and I ate all of them on purpose in front of everybody, where everybody can see. Other people exited, and I told the people I was going to the bathroom. So they let me out. I brought the cookies back. Other people were like, ooh, I want a cookie. They went out. Guess what? There's no cookies. Now they have to wait for the next batch.
Mallory Rubin
That's unbelievable.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah. Pretty good play.
Riley McAtee
This is the best food related story I've heard about your casting.
Mallory Rubin
That's really cool.
Riley McAtee
Which is the one where they were all on their phones. Do you remember this?
Tyson Apostol
You've talked about this one? Yeah. So I go up. So the first time I meet Jeff Probst, they put us in this. They're like, go to the top.
Joanna Robinson
You lord it over him.
Tyson Apostol
No, I go in. We're in a suite. So you go in, you have, like, progressively more important interviews. And at a certain point, it's the Jeff Probst interview. And it's literally. I think it's Jeff Probst, it's Mark Bernadette, and it's a half circle of all the producers. And they're all sitting there, and Jeff's like, hey, what's up? And I was like, oh, my grandma's gonna be so pumped that I got to meet Joe Rogan. Like, I'm still treating it like a joke. So I was like, I bet people mistake him for Joe Rogan sometimes. This is funny. And, oh, my God. Jeff's like, yeah, tell us a little bit about yourself. And so I start to answer, and all of them are on their phones. They're all just like, like. And I know they're doing it on purpose, but also, like, it's annoying and it's disrespectful, and I don't like it. And so then, like, I answer, and there's like a weird pause, and then somebody else chimes in, asks a Question. I start answering it, and then everybody starts, like, down on their phones again. And so I'm like. And I was like. And it's throwing me off my game. And they're designed to test you. Like, they're testing different personalities differently in all these interviews. And there's a craft services table there. So I literally. I stand up, I scoop as much snacks as I can from the craft service. I say, I'm gonna be in my room. You know where I'm at. If you really wanna talk to me, then, like, come get me. And the one guy's like, I actually really like you. And I was like, you know where to find me. And I leave, and I go to my room, and I just head down. I have all these snacks now, And I get a call from Lynn Spillman immediately, just like, that was fucking amazing. Like, they cannot believe that you just did that. Like, the entire room is talking about how wild that was that you just left.
Mallory Rubin
Was it because of your. Your. Your bold behavior or because they're like, how does this guy have room for more food after eating 20 cookies?
Tyson Apostol
It was the bold behavior. I think that they were testing to see if I really was as confident as I portrayed myself to be. And so, like, some people were in there. They were a sweetheart. Like, they pumped me up. They made me feel so. And I was like, yeah, that's what they needed for me.
Mallory Rubin
But they were trying to break you.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah, and they were trying to break me.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
And it was just, like, constant.
Joanna Robinson
And you broke them and so with snacks.
Tyson Apostol
Well, then they, like, pray. Like, Lynn was just like, that was amazing. So then the next interview, they, like, had me back in a similar situation. The first thing I did was go to the craft service and eat some food. And I'm eating food while they're asking me questions, and Lynn's over in the corner. Like, stop eating the food. Like, it's. Now it's bad.
Riley McAtee
Now it's go.
Mallory Rubin
Time to answer the questions.
Tyson Apostol
Incredible. Incredible.
Mallory Rubin
Anything else on season 50 before we get to our nerd culture crossover?
Tyson Apostol
Well, do we have what returning season? Do you have any good ideas?
Mallory Rubin
Yeah. Riley and you wanted to talk about who from season 50 were most eager to see back. So we've hit that a little. You know, some obviously desires to see some to replay again.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah. Quickly. My returning season ideal would be, like, me.
Riley McAtee
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
Plus 19. Tyson Apostle Survivor super fans.
Riley McAtee
Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
Damn. Tyson.
Riley McAtee
The Redemption island setup.
Tyson Apostol
Tyson Apostle. Redemption Island.
Mallory Rubin
Okay, so we have four members of the cast right here.
Tyson Apostol
Sounds like. Yep.
Riley McAtee
Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
I could never Play Survivor.
Tyson Apostol
You're willing to help me win.
Mallory Rubin
Can't do it. I actually, I think of all the
Joanna Robinson
non Tyson people at this table, I think Mallory would be best at Survivor.
Mallory Rubin
I think I would be worst because I get too hungry. I can't. I just. Your body might break down.
Tyson Apostol
The mind would be going, there's so many people now. There's so many people that are like, I could never do it. It's so hard. I'm watching it. I was like, have you seen the level of incompetence from some of these players? You're in a group and they're not going to let you die.
Mallory Rubin
I just get so cranky when I'm hungry and then I yell at people
Tyson Apostol
and then, yeah, that sounds like if they're watching, you're on. You are on. Yeah. It's all a ruse.
Mallory Rubin
You like Final Four? Final Four. One of us has to make fire. One of us goes out of fire, that's fine. But we stayed true till the end.
Tyson Apostol
Yes. Honor and integrity.
Mallory Rubin
Honor and integrity. Alliance, hear me out. What do you think?
Tyson Apostol
Can we pull it off? I do believe no one ever plays this honor. You need a season of all honor. Integrity of all people who believe that their moral code is higher than others.
Riley McAtee
Tony Joe's would be incredible and you watch them fall, it'd be so good.
Mallory Rubin
Dark side.
Joanna Robinson
Yes.
Mallory Rubin
It's just a season full of Anakin Skywalker on Mustafar.
Tyson Apostol
You know, that's it. Yeah, I do know.
Mallory Rubin
Underestimate my power.
Joanna Robinson
Riley, what is your idea for returning season?
Riley McAtee
So I love your idea to cast people who have not heard of the show. I don't think that they're going to do that. I think they're going to keep casting super fans, which is why I think it's time to bring back a fans versus Favorites season. Because those original fans versus Favorites seasons, those weren't fans. They were just like new guys. Some of them didn't really know who the Survivor players were on that season. That was in the heavy recruiting era, which I actually like a lot of the recruits and think that they could go back to them. But if you are going to cast all these super fans, let's do a new fans versus Favorites.
Tyson Apostol
True fans versus Favorites. That would be fun.
Riley McAtee
Which I feel like because we're already getting that dynamic a little bit. Like that's what Rizzo is serving on this season.
Tyson Apostol
I know what you could do is new era returnees and legends and call it fans versus favorites.
Joanna Robinson
And who would they cast for legends, do you think? Who's a good legend to put on the show.
Tyson Apostol
I'm retired.
Mallory Rubin
Come on.
Tyson Apostol
I'm retired from the show.
Riley McAtee
Number 10, you gotta go back one more time to go on our award by yourself.
Tyson Apostol
I get asked all the time. And honestly, like, I love playing the game. It's so fun. It's so fun. Like, it's everything that I enjoy. It's strategy, it's mind games. It's watching people crack. It's cracking people. It's yourself trying to not crack. Plus, you're stripped from everything. I just don't think I have the desire anymore to really try to win.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
Like, to really do every single thing in my power to win. I just don't have it. I'm 47 almost. I don't give a shit. To talk to somebody I dislike. Like, I'm just not gonna do it. Like, this is why you gotta come back.
Mallory Rubin
What if they.
Joanna Robinson
What if they did get Sierra, though? Is Sierra the one that could get you back?
Tyson Apostol
No, I don't think so. Because she's probably got two decades of animosity build up towards me and I don't really feel that way. Like.
Joanna Robinson
Like, if you have your mission.
Mallory Rubin
Incredible.
Tyson Apostol
If that's what it was. I would specifically. And I got. And I sniffed it out. I would try to contact Ciara before. And there is part of me that was like, should I get Sierra for the podcast? Should we have Sierra? I don't think she watches the show, though.
Riley McAtee
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
Cause she'll do interviews sometimes about how pathetic it is that there's still people
Riley McAtee
who watch the show that I don't think she watched.
Tyson Apostol
No, she thinks it's pathetic that there's former players. And I think it's pointed at me. It's pathetic that there's former players that like, have made a living and still talking about it all the time and
Joanna Robinson
hosts a podcast on the Radar network
Mallory Rubin
who are beloved by all, inspiring legions.
Tyson Apostol
But the thing is that's funny about that is that's on a Survivor interview. So it's like, oh, so you came back to talk about how stupid Survivor people that link. And it's like, also, that wasn't my plan. Like 2008, I wasn't like, you know what? I envision my entire board like this. It's. And it worked out perfect.
Joanna Robinson
But that's like, that's what a lot of people.
Tyson Apostol
I mean, especially people are aspiring to now. John. I get calls from Jonathan that are like, I want to do what you and Rob do. Like, how do I get paid just to be Myself and I was like, be cooler.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
Have you tried being like me? Like, no, like. But like, Rob's answer is like, it takes time. Like, you got to go back on shows. You got to keep going on shows. You got to be present. You got to have like this and that and then you've got to also have the arc. And there's a lot to it and a lot of it's luck. A lot of it is just so. But that is the goal, I think, as the new era players, like, part of the goal is like, I can not really work as my future career.
Mallory Rubin
Sure.
Joanna Robinson
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
Just.
Joanna Robinson
Do you feel like you're like, there's only downsides to you going back? Is that something that you feel?
Tyson Apostol
No, not necessarily. I think that Winners at war, they gave me such. I was done after I had won. I was like, the chances of me winning again are very slim. Winners at war came along, I was like, yeah, you know, it's been seven years. Maybe I should play again. Let me see. And they. The edit they gave me was almost God tier. Like, just like everything positive. I never looked like a doofus. I always looked like I was out there fighting and trying my hardest. And literally halfway through the season, you're like, there's only two people that could win this. Tyson from Exile or Tony. Yeah, like, the edit was like I was getting a full winner edit all the way through the season until I was dead. And so I was like, so do I trust that that will happen again? Hopefully, probably, maybe a little bit, but you never know. And so that's not really my fear. It's just I really just think I'd get out there and be like, I'm just not willing to put in the time with the people I don't necessarily gel with. And you have to. And if you're not willing to do that, then you're already like shooting yourself in the foot a little bit.
Mallory Rubin
But once you were out there, don't you think the instinct would just take over?
Tyson Apostol
I don't think so anymore. I don't think so anymore. It would have to be a truly life changing.
Joanna Robinson
Not everyone has your killer instinct, Mallory.
Mallory Rubin
I just really, I think I feel
Tyson Apostol
like I would get out there, I would get out there and I would try, but I wouldn't try my absolute hardest. There's things I would miss because in my brain, like, strategically there's things I would just miss or not care to do and just hope for the best. And even though that's poor gameplay, I just like, I just don't have the bandwidth to carry. I'm like an old cranky man, but
Mallory Rubin
then that becomes part of the narrative, right?
Tyson Apostol
Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
Tyson 5.0.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah. He's in Kirkland jeans and his Kirkland jeans. That's like the final metamorphosis is wearing Kirkland brand jeans.
Mallory Rubin
Man, you spoiled Riley's new outfit for. Yeah, for tomorrow after show the Kirkland
Joanna Robinson
jeans is gonna go Costco to go shopping. It was to Costco, right?
Riley McAtee
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Where I get all my clothes.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, yeah.
Joanna Robinson
Rotisserie chicken and.
Mallory Rubin
Yep, sounds pretty good. Actually. We do have some pastrami coming, but first we're gonna do our little nerd culture crossover.
Joanna Robinson
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Tyson Apostol
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Riley McAtee
this episode is brought to you by
Tyson Apostol
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Riley McAtee
So which one are you trying first?
Tyson Apostol
Find two good creamers at your local retailer in the creamer aisle.
Mallory Rubin
Okay. Survivor Is entering the nerdverse. Came up with a few fun prompts. They're all pretty weird.
Tyson Apostol
Survivor is part of the nerdverse.
Mallory Rubin
I agree. The nerdverse is wide. It's a big tent, and everyone is welcome. Yeah, we love to nerd out together, and it's all part of the fandom universe, for sure. No question. If you have an answer that you're excited about for any of these prompts, a nomination, Great. Throw it out. And if not. That's fine. That's fine as well. Here's the first one.
Tyson Apostol
Wait, I should have a laptop for this part.
Mallory Rubin
Yep. Whenever you're ready to use somebody else's laptop as a prop, you just let us know. You just let us know.
Tyson Apostol
No, I have my laptop here somewhere.
Mallory Rubin
Do you want it?
Tyson Apostol
No, you sent me the. Do you want an.
Mallory Rubin
An iPad? Do you want a phone?
Joanna Robinson
You got all up here, right?
Mallory Rubin
All up here in the.
Tyson Apostol
You sent me the prompts. I looked at it.
Mallory Rubin
You were like, I'm ready to roll.
Tyson Apostol
Can I come up with something on the fly for in all of these? My answer was, if I can't, I will. Look at Riley.
Riley McAtee
Great.
Mallory Rubin
The bond. Look at the bond and the trust. That is beautiful.
Joanna Robinson
Do you guys want to hold hands again?
Mallory Rubin
I think you should probably. Yeah, hold hands. Beautiful, beautiful.
Tyson Apostol
Yours are soft. His are soft, too.
Riley McAtee
Yeah, I don't do anything.
Mallory Rubin
What's your moisturizing routine?
Riley McAtee
Nothing. I have no routine.
Mallory Rubin
Damn, what a brag. Look at that power of use.
Joanna Robinson
You've got a kiddo. Like, I feel like when you've got a small kid, you're constantly, like, also
Mallory Rubin
the glow, the glow, the glow.
Joanna Robinson
Aren't you constantly, like, slathering your child in various ornaments?
Mallory Rubin
Like, you have, like, desitin on your hands from, like.
Riley McAtee
Yeah, we have, like, desitin.
Mallory Rubin
Skin goddess Oiler.
Riley McAtee
We were doing, like, like some moisturizer with him when they're, like, really, really little. But not in a long time now. So. No. I don't know. Just changing diapers, I don't imagine.
Joanna Robinson
Just naturally luminous Riley McAfee.
Mallory Rubin
Just get Ozzy and hear those eyes. Who's that? Okay. What nerd culture inspired twist should have been a part of season 50. Would anyone like to go first here? I have some I'm excited to throw out to the group if nobody else wants to. To go first. But if anyone else would like to jump in, please do.
Tyson Apostol
I want G to go first.
Riley McAtee
Yeah, go for it.
Mallory Rubin
Okay.
Joanna Robinson
I want Riley to go first.
Mallory Rubin
Do you have.
Riley McAtee
Well, I did think about this, but I Wouldn't say I'm like, excited, not
Mallory Rubin
thrilled about your ideas.
Riley McAtee
About my ideas.
Mallory Rubin
Maybe when you tell you how great they are, tell us an idea you're disinterested in, you'll be excited.
Joanna Robinson
I'm disinterested in the mediocre idea you came up with.
Riley McAtee
Well, I don't know. I was trying to think of, like, something with the one ring in Lord of the Rings because it feels like, you know, it's like a trinket kind of like it's a real.
Mallory Rubin
Know your audience moment from Riley.
Tyson Apostol
Smart.
Riley McAtee
And so. Well, yeah, I mean, you said the nerdverse, so I was wondering if there's like a one ring advantage where it's like an idol that you play, but then at the next Tribal council, you get an additional vote or two against you or something. Right. Because, you know, you can put the ring on and turn invisible and get safety, but then you get that attention from Sauron or whatever. So I'm like that. That's the sort of thing I was thinking of.
Mallory Rubin
And then a few tribals later, you're like, I can still feel the blade, the oracle blade. Like this.
Tyson Apostol
I was thinking that same exact twist. Except for Sonic the Hedgehog rings. Still, though, when you use a ring, you have less rings to, you know.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, beautiful.
Riley McAtee
You get the rings, like, knocked out of you, and then if it happens again, you're out of the game.
Mallory Rubin
That's a good one. I like that. I like that. And I also like the Sonic ones,
Tyson Apostol
which I just came up with that just barely. I didn't even think about it at all.
Mallory Rubin
All as promised. As promised. Okay, here's mine. Because of the timing, this is the Mandalorian and Grogu release week, and it's also the Survivor 50 finale release week.
Tyson Apostol
You've already seen this film.
Mallory Rubin
We have. We screened it. Yes. We will be potting about it on Friday and seeing it again on. On Thursday, but we've seen it once so far.
Tyson Apostol
Okay, say no more.
Riley McAtee
Yeah, embargoed.
Mallory Rubin
We'll say no more. Obviously not. You know, that's a Disney property, so there's not, like the Paramount family synergy there. But you know what?
Tyson Apostol
I'll tell the Disney that Michael Eisner's still there.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, the. You know, Jimmy Fallon got to fuck up this season, and he's an NBC guy, not a CBS guy. So, like, this is possible. All right, so here are the three possibilities for what shape this could take. Let me know if you like any of these. One is the. In honor of Greef Karga, the do the magic hand thing, baby. Advantage, where you can use the power of the Force to emphasize empty every single bag at camp. Every single bag.
Joanna Robinson
You can.
Mallory Rubin
All of the objects as though you were using the Force come out of every bag, everything. And you can use it whenever you want. You don't know, like, oh, I've got wait for this person to go and then I'm gonna pretend to do the bag. It's whatever you want, everyone. And as mentee, as many advantages as you find do you get to keep. All of them are yours.
Tyson Apostol
Do the players know that you are going through the bag or do they go to like a confessional and they're like, okay, here's so and so's bag. Go through it if you like. How does that work?
Mallory Rubin
You tell us. Because is there ever a period of time where all of the bags, every single bag would be away from all of the contestants?
Joanna Robinson
It would be like a horrible disadvantage if you.
Tyson Apostol
They could make it happen for you if that. If you wanted it to be a secret, they could make it happen. Production could pull someone or it could pull the tribe or do something. They could figure out a way where you could. If that was the advantage that you were given.
Riley McAtee
Do they pull multiple people for confessionals at the same time? You could just pull and then. Okay, okay, but.
Joanna Robinson
So the answer is they don't know that you rifled through their bag and took all of their. They don't know who now has all. And that's a I love you, but that's a way overpowered move.
Riley McAtee
Well, does feel a little overpowered.
Mallory Rubin
Okay, so it doesn't have to be the pick, but like, Grogu's pretty overpowered,
Tyson Apostol
you know, mini midichlorian Jesus, you get blamed for it. Well, my idol's gone. Well, I don't know who has it.
Mallory Rubin
Here it is.
Tyson Apostol
I think because they still wouldn't know
Mallory Rubin
you had all the.
Tyson Apostol
You're not allowed to steal an idol. I guess they already have the knowledge is power advantage. So maybe it's a little too akin to that. I'm just trying to rework it a little bit.
Mallory Rubin
All right, let me throw two others out. We can nix them all. But, like, Grogu is pretty powerful. Okay. The force healing Mulligan advantage. Remember, famously, season one, episode seven comes out like a minute before Rise of Skywalker. We see Grogu force heal grief, Karga, because we're then gonna see the way that force healing comes into play between Rey and Kylo, of course, obviously, famously,
Riley McAtee
famously I remember all this.
Mallory Rubin
You can undo one mistake. The ability to undo one mistake. How would this work exactly? I don't know.
Joanna Robinson
Well, how are you quantifying mistakes? Mistake.
Mallory Rubin
It's up to you. It's up to you to decide. You can.
Tyson Apostol
I mean, there's some mistakes you can't walk back.
Joanna Robinson
One thing Ozzy can't untell Aubrey what he told me.
Mallory Rubin
Well, in this but in this scenario, Ozzy, if he had this.
Joanna Robinson
Go back in time.
Mallory Rubin
Go back in time. It's a mulligan. Mulligan. Yes, it is. It would be in the most powerful advantage in the history of survivor.
Tyson Apostol
Nope. The super idol is akin to this. The super idol where you can play it after the vote's a are red.
Mallory Rubin
True.
Tyson Apostol
So this is like that except for if you don't have anything and presented
Mallory Rubin
by Grogu something to think about. And then the last one is the this is the way creed which I recognize is a little bit maybe too like imperious curse mind control to be like, appropriate. But you can make somebody else do literally whatever you want.
Tyson Apostol
Like, you could have, like your enemy punch them in their face.
Mallory Rubin
You could tell them how to vote if you want. Yes.
Tyson Apostol
You can literally have to face as
Mallory Rubin
hard as you stab sabotage their game. You could be like, you have to go like, throw everybody's bags in the fire and they would like, have to do it. So you could. You could use this any number of ways. You could use it to for positive, for good, to benefit your game, your alliance. Or you could just use it to destroy somebody else's game by making them do something in a very public fashion, in a very costly fashion. This is the way. What do you think?
Tyson Apostol
I like that one the most.
Mallory Rubin
Of course you do. Agent of chaos.
Riley McAtee
Just thinking how you'd use it. Now we figured out how to give them back.
Mallory Rubin
Of course you do.
Joanna Robinson
Like disadvantages in play from everyone goes in the ocean.
Mallory Rubin
Exactly.
Tyson Apostol
You go to the confessional booth and you say, I'm playing this on so and so. And this is what they have to do. So then when they go to the confession, they get this thing that's just like in order to stay in the game so they don't know where it came from. So they can't say so and so did this. In order to stay in the game, you have to do this. And then they go back and they're like, I got a note that said I had to throw a reduced shoe in or else I'm gonna leave. And they're like, like, no, you didn't stop being an asshole. Like whatever it is. Paranoid distrust, triple mind games. And also what you need to do is you need to. You have everybody except for one person's shoe go in the water and it's not yours. You have your shoe go in the water to pin it on them.
Mallory Rubin
Demented. I love it. Yes. Yes.
Tyson Apostol
Because one of my ideas if I ever went back on Survivor was to burn all of my clothes except for my underwear but have remnants of them in the fire but also do that to some other people, but then leave a few people out of it and then be like, we got targeted and bullied. Yeah. And then slowly, like pin it on one person. And everybody would also feel bad for you. Cause you're like, I'm so cold. So everybody's sharing stuff for you. And then you're like the little baby bird.
Joanna Robinson
Yeah. The little orchard.
Mallory Rubin
Oh, my God. Stealing their resources. I love it. Maniacal.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah.
Joanna Robinson
This is why you'd be so good at Survivor.
Mallory Rubin
Let's get out there. You're a tormented person.
Tyson Apostol
Fans versus fans.
Joanna Robinson
You're going to be on with a
Tyson Apostol
bunch of new era people on your tribe.
Joanna Robinson
Speaking of Mallory and Tyson as a super team. This is my pitch which is Dyad in the Force.
Mallory Rubin
I can't believe that Rey and Kylo are with us again.
Tyson Apostol
Tell Riley for the people at home and Riley, I totally understand what you
Joanna Robinson
said about the Force.
Tyson Apostol
Tell Riley.
Joanna Robinson
Star Wars. I'm just using this to mean you hitch your wagon to one person and every immunity either one of you gets applies to the other. But also you can get voted out together but you can get married for the the game.
Tyson Apostol
So you both know that this is happening.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
And it's to everybody or it's just if you get the advantage, you get to choose who to hitch to.
Joanna Robinson
You get the advantage. You choose who you hitch or.
Tyson Apostol
I like that too. I like that too.
Riley McAtee
Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
Really fun because then do you take
Joanna Robinson
like someone who's really good at challenges so you can like hopefully win individual but dual immunity or do you take someone who has like a really good social game so nobody wants to vote
Mallory Rubin
you out, Someone you'd actually like to work with and want to help but also believe in and you can benefit
Tyson Apostol
from their strength because you can't go to the end with that person every time and there's a very high likelihood that that won't happen. So like, does it just happen for one voting cycle? Does it happen for the pre merge?
Joanna Robinson
I think it has to be a post merge. Right. Because that's When Individual immunity. So it's post merge up until penultimate episode.
Mallory Rubin
Well, what if. What if the winner was a team?
Tyson Apostol
So top seven or something like that?
Joanna Robinson
Yeah, top seven.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah. What if you're voting for a team to win potentially, actually, and split the million? Well, then it's like the. I never really liked when they did this on like the challenge. Or you're like, you decide whether to split it. Right. Like when Johnny, you know, decided to keep the money and turned on his partner.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah, tough one.
Mallory Rubin
That was rough.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah. They do do that sometime, I think. I like it. I do think you need to figure out where it ends.
Joanna Robinson
But I like it for longer than one week. I want it like to go for
Tyson Apostol
a few weeks, but the one person gets to choose and the other person has no, no choice in it. So you might choose your enemy. So. Because then you're like, now they're not targeting me, right?
Mallory Rubin
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
Now the war is over fates and
Joanna Robinson
they have to use their alliances to protect me, etc.
Tyson Apostol
Etc.
Mallory Rubin
Well fitting for dyad on the Force because they were enemies.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
And then they became lovers. And then when some force was involved. And these are as, as always connected.
Joanna Robinson
Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
We're kind of a dyad in the Force.
Joanna Robinson
That's what I'm saying.
Tyson Apostol
And what would they. Is that what they would call it? I'm just wondering if we could do some more.
Mallory Rubin
I think if you could do something
Tyson Apostol
bigger, branding, like after the Disney. Michael Eisner, abc.
Joanna Robinson
No one wants to reference. Rise of Skywalker.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, Rise of Skywalker. Pretty tough. Pretty tough to call upon. Reylo.
Joanna Robinson
I like the Eisner. The Michael Eisner.
Tyson Apostol
Michael Eisner. Friday night movie. Friday night. Remember those? That's how I know Michael Eisner. That's the only reason I know that, man.
Joanna Robinson
Do you know what I found out recently? There was like a really cool. I saw this. I think it was a congresswoman. She was dressing down. Someone talking about how theater degrees are useless. And she listed all of these like, crazy, powerful CEOs who got theater degrees. Michael Eisner had a theater degree. That's how he was able to introduce those Friday night movies with such panache and flair.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah.
Joanna Robinson
He's a theater major.
Mallory Rubin
Beautiful.
Joanna Robinson
We love theater.
Tyson Apostol
You never know where your education is going to take you.
Joanna Robinson
Absolutely true.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah, it's true.
Mallory Rubin
A beautiful lesson. We do this also. Could have been in the wedding toast.
Tyson Apostol
Yep.
Mallory Rubin
Could have been in the wedding toast.
Tyson Apostol
Could have been.
Mallory Rubin
Which fictional universe should inspire a future Survivor season theme? Riley.
Joanna Robinson
Riley.
Riley McAtee
I mean, I feel like there's an obvious answer, which is Game of Thrones. You could almost pick like you have the tribal, like you could do like the Starks and the Lannisters and whatever else. But then also that fictional universe is all about political machinations and backstabbing and alliances, more or less.
Mallory Rubin
When you play the game of Survivor, you win or you die. There is no in between.
Riley McAtee
Well, hopefully you don't die, but yes,
Mallory Rubin
it's just right there.
Tyson Apostol
You win or you lose.
Mallory Rubin
They sort of did the Thrones imagery a few seasons ago. Remember, they had the very medieval visual palette and it's like it feels like they're trying to do Game of Thrones, but yeah, they could just lean in and actually do so the.
Joanna Robinson
David Zezlov Warner Bros. Discovery Presents Game of Thrones Survivor.
Riley McAtee
Yeah, no, but could. You know, I feel like there has been a fictional universe that has already inspired a season of Survivor, which is Pirates of the Caribbean. Pearl Islands.
Joanna Robinson
Pearl Islands. Yeah, very good.
Mallory Rubin
Well, there you go.
Riley McAtee
So I guess that one works.
Mallory Rubin
And that was like, we can do it again.
Riley McAtee
Created one of the very best seasons of survival.
Joanna Robinson
I have a similar answer. Only in the sort of tribal idea, the Last Airbender.
Mallory Rubin
Love it.
Joanna Robinson
In which there are four tribes, does
Riley McAtee
one tribe have to be the blue
Joanna Robinson
Fire, Air, Water, Earth Air.
Riley McAtee
Okay, so they all have to be fire.
Joanna Robinson
If you're a fire tribe, you get fire. Nobody else gets fire. You're on the water tribe.
Tyson Apostol
You get clean water.
Joanna Robinson
You have clean water.
Mallory Rubin
Everyone else dies. Legally, I think everyone else dies.
Tyson Apostol
No, no, no, no, no. They used to have to boil it.
Riley McAtee
Yeah.
Joanna Robinson
So you get clean water. Everyone has to boil their water. Yeah, Earth type. They get the best beach, like whatever the best beach is, you know, whatever. And then air, you get shelter and no one else gets shelter. You get protection from the elements and nobody else does.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, you get a truck tarp.
Tyson Apostol
Right. I like that.
Mallory Rubin
That's a great one.
Riley McAtee
Okay, so which of what?
Mallory Rubin
And then when you win, you become the avatar.
Tyson Apostol
Which of what though?
Riley McAtee
If you're on one of those four
Mallory Rubin
tribes, tribes are most powerful.
Tyson Apostol
You can make fire without having the stuff to make fire. If you have somebody like that, I would say water is the most powerful because boiling water for 10 people with one pot sucks. And then you're just drinking hot water in 110 degree temperature all day every day. And it tastes like the whatever you
Joanna Robinson
cooked in the pot.
Tyson Apostol
It's all disgusting.
Mallory Rubin
Plus, if you're on the water tribe, do you get a better bit of ocean to in.
Joanna Robinson
No, that's for the beach tribe.
Tyson Apostol
That's the beach tribe. That's the land tribe. I do think though if with the water tribe, maybe they get a shower
Mallory Rubin
even like plus they can blood bend.
Tyson Apostol
Yep.
Joanna Robinson
Definitely.
Tyson Apostol
They should blood bend and just kill their.
Joanna Robinson
Yeah. So if you're an earthbender, you can lava bend. So you can just sort of.
Mallory Rubin
That's true. Yeah, it's true. I love that Great one. And then you win and you become the avatar. Yeah, fantastic. Okay, that's a great one.
Tyson Apostol
I'm just floating this.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, hit us.
Tyson Apostol
Jumanji, where you get more than one life. Like the modern Jumanji take, where maybe like you have to vote someone out twice.
Joanna Robinson
Oh, video game Jumanji.
Tyson Apostol
And maybe they vote for multiple people. So. So it's like once you have the majority twice. Yeah. The video game jump or three or whatever it is, just be like, okay, yeah, gotta come for em. And then they know you're coming and so now they can battle back a little bit. But they're also weakened because they have maybe they. Yeah, whatever.
Joanna Robinson
Can you send monkeys after the other tribe or something?
Tyson Apostol
Yeah. Or giant mosquitoes or whatever.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, I love that. Giant mosquitoes. Sounds horrible.
Tyson Apostol
I didn't really think it through at all. I just thought that just popped in my brain right there. Maybe there's a way it could work. But you'd still need someone to go home first episode. So how would you do that?
Mallory Rubin
Hmm. I don't know enough about Jumanji to offer up an answer to that, but there's gotta be a way.
Joanna Robinson
But also like if you think about the 90s movie Jumanji or the book or whatever, you prefer the vines that come and swell everything. What if you come back to camp and there's just like they've just covered everything you own in vines.
Tyson Apostol
Sometimes they put your fire out.
Joanna Robinson
Do they?
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, they put your fire out if
Tyson Apostol
it looks like it's going to get out of control.
Riley McAtee
Oh.
Tyson Apostol
But also like you want your fire there. And I would rather have an out of control fire that burned up half the island still than have to try.
Mallory Rubin
So I, I'm. I love in the 4k HD era how beautiful the oceans look. But I do think we're overdue for a visual reset. Dune, Desert planet, Survivor. Let's go to our.
Tyson Apostol
I like that. I do like that.
Joanna Robinson
Do they get still suits?
Mallory Rubin
They get still suits. You have to drink your own piss early on.
Tyson Apostol
Well, yeah.
Riley McAtee
Do you know this bit of a. I think you're gonna say it, aren't you?
Tyson Apostol
I think Season two or three or somewhere in there. They were gonna do an oasis in Jordan.
Riley McAtee
It was season four. Yeah. They're gonna do Survivor already. Arabia.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah. And then some political military turmoil.
Mallory Rubin
Okay. Yeah.
Joanna Robinson
In the famously stable region.
Tyson Apostol
And they had to get out. But they were going to build.
Riley McAtee
No, literally 911 happened.
Tyson Apostol
9 11. Oh.
Riley McAtee
And then they made it so they switched to Marquesas.
Tyson Apostol
They were going to build their own oasis in the middle of the jungle with or in the middle of the desert with palm trees and everything. So, like, literally the visual is going to be like desert as far as the eye could see. Lush oasis in the middle of nothing.
Joanna Robinson
If you do a dune season, should one of the advantages be like a spice advantage or something like that where
Mallory Rubin
you can you get to get high and have a nice night?
Joanna Robinson
Nope.
Mallory Rubin
Better of life. Better.
Joanna Robinson
Better. You can see how everyone is going to vote. Incredible. You get to see what's coming.
Mallory Rubin
Take the water of life, become the Kwisatz Haderach knowledge from all of the past seasons. Great one.
Tyson Apostol
Here's where they should do it. They should do it on them. That in those dunes in Brazil that fill up with water every year. Have you seen the images of that?
Riley McAtee
No.
Tyson Apostol
So it's rolling sand dunes as far as the eye can see. But every year when the monsoons or the rains come in, crystal clear little ponds between every dune, wherever they lead us.
Mallory Rubin
Paradise.
Tyson Apostol
Yes.
Joanna Robinson
Let's go.
Mallory Rubin
I'm into it. I was also going to throw out something about romantasy and the romantasy boom, but didn't really workshop the idea beyond that. And you bring in a dragon and people can fuck on it. I don't. I don't know. I'd watch my life just like, bring.
Tyson Apostol
That's a different.
Joanna Robinson
Bring showmances back to Survivor.
Tyson Apostol
Okay,
Mallory Rubin
Okay, okay. Any other ideas? No one went with again, corporate synergy. No one was like Mission Impossible. No. Paramount. Okay. Tough one. Let's see which character from the following fictional universes would have the best chance of winning Survivor. Let's start with Lord of the Rings. It's your opportunity to talk about Tom Bombadil, if you'd like to.
Tyson Apostol
I do believe that Tom Bombadil's positivity and overall general, like, aura is very Surrey ish, which would win over a lot of allies.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, yeah.
Tyson Apostol
Does he have the cutthroatedness to slice and dice when he needs to?
Joanna Robinson
I don't know. But he does know his way around the forest.
Mallory Rubin
Some musical entertainment? Sure, that would be nice.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
Who are you picking?
Joanna Robinson
Do people Sing around, like the camp. You can't air it because of copyright. Correct.
Tyson Apostol
People do sing.
Joanna Robinson
Okay.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah, people do sing.
Mallory Rubin
Beautiful. Let's get Tommy V in there.
Joanna Robinson
A nightly hoot. Nanny.
Mallory Rubin
That'd be great.
Joanna Robinson
Survivor.
Tyson Apostol
But you also then have to balance between are you annoying everyone or are you. And are you annoying the majority or are you like. That's what you're always. You're always calculating the numbers of like.
Joanna Robinson
But I've heard your singing voice and it's perfect and beautiful.
Tyson Apostol
It's really good. Have you seen the Star wars that I used to know on YouTube?
Mallory Rubin
No.
Joanna Robinson
Should I watch it? Wow.
Tyson Apostol
I'm not saying I did all of it.
Joanna Robinson
40 million people can't be wrong.
Tyson Apostol
That's what I'm saying.
Joanna Robinson
40 million. That's.
Tyson Apostol
Isn't that crazy?
Mallory Rubin
That's wild.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah.
Joanna Robinson
Riley, what's your. What's your answer? Lord of the Rings?
Riley McAtee
I don't know. I feel like Lord of the Rings is such a pure like. Like made up of so many pure characters that it's hard for me.
Mallory Rubin
Are you aware of Ha. Sauron who fought Bucks, AKA Halbrand?
Riley McAtee
I'm not.
Tyson Apostol
Not aware either.
Riley McAtee
I don't recognize.
Mallory Rubin
We'll be sending you some. Some random.
Riley McAtee
So is that your answer?
Mallory Rubin
No, my answer is Legolas.
Joanna Robinson
My answer is Legolas.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
Wait, really? Oh, wow.
Joanna Robinson
He doesn't have to sleep. He doesn't have to eat.
Mallory Rubin
Exactly.
Joanna Robinson
Okay.
Mallory Rubin
The amount of days is absolutely nothing for Legos. Plus, what are your elf ears here?
Joanna Robinson
What are your lyc like?
Mallory Rubin
No one's secret from him.
Tyson Apostol
A dwarf could win too, just with pure muscle.
Mallory Rubin
Absolutely.
Tyson Apostol
Like, and. And even a hobbit with disarming and
Mallory Rubin
Legolas and any elf. An unlikely alliance, you know, Fellowship, some might say.
Joanna Robinson
I mean, any elf. But in terms of out of the Fellowship, it's Legolas.
Mallory Rubin
Also, he's a sensation. He's a star. Everyone at home is talking about how great he looks.
Tyson Apostol
Yes.
Mallory Rubin
Imagine the Instagram reels.
Joanna Robinson
Yeah. Imagine him in the deep.
Riley McAtee
V, you're making the argument for why he'd have a target on his head.
Tyson Apostol
It Influencer.
Mallory Rubin
But he's. Oh, instant influencer. And he would do great. The brands would be lining up. So you think Legolas is too big of a target?
Riley McAtee
How old is Legolas in the canon?
Joanna Robinson
I mean, quite old.
Riley McAtee
Like 700 years old or something. Right?
Mallory Rubin
Super old.
Riley McAtee
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
Life experience gets you so far on Survivor because you're able to.
Joanna Robinson
He makes the wisdom of his unlikely alliances. Legolas and Gimli.
Mallory Rubin
Exactly.
Tyson Apostol
Are you able to connect with Every walk of life, the longer you've lived and the more walks of life you can run forever. It's pretty strong. It's pretty strong. Almost not fair.
Joanna Robinson
Deeply unfair.
Mallory Rubin
I mean, I know it's a tough one for Tom Bombadil to know the Legolas is out there. Good stuff. Game of Thrones. Riley, who's your pick here?
Riley McAtee
I'm gonna go with Oberyn. I'm gonna go for a deep cut.
Joanna Robinson
You don't think that he's gonna get too cocky and get caught monologuing just like Ozzy?
Mallory Rubin
Yeah. Oberyn's are real. I didn't play my idol at the end and then my. My head got spoilers. Like, my head got popped.
Riley McAtee
It's true. I don't know though. I feel like the risk of your head getting crushed on Survivor is somewhat less than it is on Game of Thrones.
Tyson Apostol
I've seen the Red Viper Pascal on Game of Thrones. Yep. I've seen half of an episode of Game of Thrones.
Mallory Rubin
Which episode? Which half?
Tyson Apostol
The first half of the first episode.
Joanna Robinson
Okay.
Riley McAtee
Okay. So he wasn't on that one.
Joanna Robinson
He was a pansexual prince.
Mallory Rubin
Sure.
Tyson Apostol
Peter Dinklage was on it. That's the.
Mallory Rubin
Tyrion's a great pick.
Tyson Apostol
I was just gonna say him.
Mallory Rubin
I mean, Tyrion's an excellent pick. I think I picked Arya, but I consider picking Tyrion.
Joanna Robinson
Tyrion jury management.
Mallory Rubin
Tyrion's a great pick. Tyrion would survive any regime change, any alliance change, make it to the end. Knows how to manipulate people, knows how to show them the plan. It's a great pick. Arya.
Tyson Apostol
I only had to watch the first half of to understand who could win Survivor. Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
You also met Arya. Arya, you know, listen, no way.
Joanna Robinson
Arya has a personality problem.
Mallory Rubin
I think Arya would be. I think the spirit of, like, what's west of Westeros gets you out on Survivor in the first place, which is an important first step. Do a lot of people dislike Arya and does Arya dislike a lot of people? Yeah. But then when you build the bond, the Hot Pie Gendry bond, the depth of that devotion is sincere. Also, Faceless man training really comes in handy. And, you know, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives. I feel like a Stark is.
Tyson Apostol
Is like a solid pick in the Bible.
Mallory Rubin
The Bible?
Tyson Apostol
George R.R.
Mallory Rubin
martin's Bible. Yeah. Unfinished.
Joanna Robinson
Arya Stark's not winning.
Riley McAtee
It's very dependent on who she gets paired up with.
Joanna Robinson
Show Sansa, perhaps. Show Sansa.
Mallory Rubin
Sansa would be a good pick.
Tyson Apostol
Not Jon, of course.
Mallory Rubin
Don't want it.
Joanna Robinson
Show Sansa. Show Sansa yeah.
Mallory Rubin
Jon wouldn't want it.
Joanna Robinson
Don't want it. I don't want it.
Riley McAtee
I mean, book John would be fun to watch. Late Show John would be like, you know, the most boring
Joanna Robinson
as hell.
Mallory Rubin
Time to get some incest on Survivor. Something to think about.
Riley McAtee
Can't agree with that.
Mallory Rubin
You're the one who pitched the Game of Thrones. Eric would be great.
Joanna Robinson
Just keeps coming back from.
Mallory Rubin
We don't need, like, the super idols or the Mulligans. With Barrick, it's like building.
Riley McAtee
Bar's unable to be voted out.
Mallory Rubin
I love it.
Joanna Robinson
His fire gets stuffed out. Thoris just like.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah. But then he fire back. That would be fun, too. Thoris would be a great survivor character. Truly Star Wars.
Joanna Robinson
Pick Star Wars.
Mallory Rubin
You know Star Wars?
Tyson Apostol
Yeah, I know Star Wars. I mean, I think Yoda again, life experience, control minds.
Joanna Robinson
I think it has to be a force user.
Riley McAtee
Yeah, yeah, for sure. Feels like.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, yeah. Yoda asleep on the job too much. Oh, I'm just. Sorry. I know the Sith. The Sith Lord is rising. I'm just going to. Let me meditate on it.
Tyson Apostol
Not threatening, is it?
Joanna Robinson
Prequels. Yoda who can bounce around.
Tyson Apostol
That's pretty badass.
Mallory Rubin
The dual gymnastics that would be useful in the challenges. I'm doing Ahsoka. Yeah. My girl.
Joanna Robinson
I'm doing Rey Scavenger.
Riley McAtee
I was thinking
Mallory Rubin
I was considering Rey. The reason I went with Ahsoka is because I think the decision to leave the Jedi Order shows, like, a willingness to make the necessary move without hesitation to. Even if it's tough.
Joanna Robinson
Ray made bread out of, like, some weird dirt in a bowl. Do you remember that?
Mallory Rubin
Vividly. Yeah. And then she got offered all of the other portions for BB8. She was like, nope, never. Ray. Jesus. Same person. Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
Okay.
Joanna Robinson
Loaves and fishes, right?
Mallory Rubin
Taking inspiration from anything there. Mcu, who's your Marvel Cinematic Universe pick?
Riley McAtee
But, like, it's got to be Iron man, right? No.
Joanna Robinson
You think Tony Stark's.
Riley McAtee
I'm mostly picking who I want to see.
Tyson Apostol
They're not giving Tony Stark.
Joanna Robinson
Yeah, they're not giving Tony Stark money.
Mallory Rubin
That's right.
Riley McAtee
Oh, they know who he is.
Mallory Rubin
Okay.
Riley McAtee
That changes it.
Joanna Robinson
He says, I am Iron Man.
Tyson Apostol
He's not gonna be able to not tell them how much he's worth.
Mallory Rubin
Can't help it.
Riley McAtee
You know, Marblehead's like, let me know
Tyson Apostol
if I'm wrong, but can't.
Riley McAtee
Vision just sort of like, yeah, vision. Destroy everybody.
Joanna Robinson
Or my pick, which is Scarlet Witch.
Mallory Rubin
I consider both with us.
Joanna Robinson
I think it's either Vision or Scarlet Witch.
Mallory Rubin
I think Wanda's too moody to.
Joanna Robinson
But Wanda can just change your mind.
Mallory Rubin
She can.
Joanna Robinson
She can mind control anyone.
Mallory Rubin
Then she has some, like, inner turmoil about how she's behaving.
Riley McAtee
The mind control powers feel like, at odds with the basic mechanics of Survivor.
Mallory Rubin
It's true. It really gets you pretty far if you can use the force.
Tyson Apostol
I have a hard time voting against the Incredible Hulk.
Mallory Rubin
Oh, because of sheer terror.
Joanna Robinson
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
He will rip me in half.
Mallory Rubin
Smart. Hulk would be a good. That would be a good.
Joanna Robinson
I mean, state challenge beast.
Mallory Rubin
Challenge beast for sure. But too much of a challenge beast. Like, he's trying to balance on the little ocean.
Tyson Apostol
David Banner. Maybe we just have him be himself and not be hulked out.
Joanna Robinson
He said David Banner.
Mallory Rubin
What about Peter Parker?
Joanna Robinson
TV Hulk. I love it.
Mallory Rubin
What about Peter Parker?
Tyson Apostol
Who is it really?
Joanna Robinson
Bruce Banner, but David Banner.
Riley McAtee
Peter Parker is gonna suffer from the Rizzo problem.
Mallory Rubin
That was my question. Is Peter too, like, Rizzo cinema? People don't want to vote for a young kid.
Joanna Robinson
They don't want to get.
Mallory Rubin
Give the money to a kid.
Riley McAtee
Not going to earn the respect again.
Mallory Rubin
But Peter would be great at playing survive.
Riley McAtee
He's like. He's got the Rizo problem.
Tyson Apostol
You think he's too young?
Riley McAtee
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
Tom Holland, dude.
Mallory Rubin
I know the sympathy vote. He's got the story.
Joanna Robinson
You got to save that story for the.
Riley McAtee
Yeah, you need that story.
Joanna Robinson
Like, Christian's like, I'm alone with my kid.
Tyson Apostol
His girlfriend, the girl he loves, doesn't even understand or know who he is, and he can't tell her. And it's just a whole bunch of stuff, dude.
Joanna Robinson
A lot going on sticky.
Mallory Rubin
Like, I mean, he win every challenge because of the powers. He's sweet. He would earn a lot of, like, affection. I kind of like the idea of, like, throwing out someone like Scott Lang, you know, Ant man, who's, like, too goofy to be taken seriously. But obviously the end, like, could really fly under the radar.
Tyson Apostol
Silver Trickster.
Joanna Robinson
Yeah.
Riley McAtee
And, like, he's got go written all over him. Sorry.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah. Sometimes the goat wins. You know, you get taken to the end and then you just sway enough to jury votes. But I think you need someone with powers at the end of the day.
Joanna Robinson
I just don't think you get past Wanda being able to all, like, control everyone's minds. You can't beat mind control.
Tyson Apostol
It's hard. Could you have Wonder Woman with her invisible jet?
Mallory Rubin
Yes.
Joanna Robinson
And her lasso Truth?
Tyson Apostol
Yes.
Mallory Rubin
She could get information out of that lasso of Truth. Would be super powerful in Survivor.
Tyson Apostol
Is that an advantage? The Lasso of truth should be an advantage.
Mallory Rubin
That could have been advantage.
Tyson Apostol
Can't record. We can't re record this whole thing.
Mallory Rubin
No, we have the mulligan advantage. So you can use the mulligan to just do it there. Okay. White Lotus, eat. You're done.
Tyson Apostol
Amen.
Mallory Rubin
We love White Lotus.
Tyson Apostol
I like White Lotus, too.
Mallory Rubin
But if we were going to say a house of our property, now, we cover White Lotus over on the Prestige TV podcast. But a show that we cover here or a fictional universe that we cover here was going to become the new home. Home for Survivor cameos. What would you pick?
Tyson Apostol
I mean, it's more who I would pick. It's Coach. And where do you put him?
Mallory Rubin
Where are you putting him?
Tyson Apostol
Because he could fit everywhere.
Mallory Rubin
I mean, Shun. Coach would love to be in Shun
Joanna Robinson
Iron Fist, actually probably more appropriate Iron Fist for Coach.
Mallory Rubin
Wow, I love that. Where are you putting him? Where are you putting Coach?
Tyson Apostol
I mean, he can literally. He could go.
Riley McAtee
Yeah. Like, I could see him in, like, a Star wars property.
Tyson Apostol
Star wars property. He's the Lord of the Rings property for sure. Game of Thrones property for sure.
Mallory Rubin
If you let Coach play a Jedi, he would just. He would eat it up.
Tyson Apostol
What about a Jedi who believes he's honorable but is actually.
Joanna Robinson
What about a Jedi who keeps quoting
Mallory Rubin
the dark side Sacred Jedi text? That would be great.
Tyson Apostol
Or just misinterpreted.
Riley McAtee
They're all misquotes.
Mallory Rubin
You know?
Joanna Robinson
Know, I would say the last of us, like, make them mushroom zombies. I love that. Whoever they are, you know?
Riley McAtee
Yeah, yeah. That's fun.
Tyson Apostol
Put it all in different. So you're thinking. I was thinking of main character Coach. Like, put him in somewhere that really matters in the story. But if it's just, like, cameo, let's. Yeah, yeah, I like that Mushroom.
Mallory Rubin
That's the new thing, I think. So we could do yellow jackets for the final season because there's the actual.
Joanna Robinson
On how that feels.
Mallory Rubin
Get Craig Mason. So to that point, put Craig Mason on Survivor. If we really want to go for, like, the Mike White comic, like, who would play Survivor and then be compelled to bring all of their either allies or enemies onto their properties.
Joanna Robinson
Okay.
Riley McAtee
Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
To me, the obvious one is James Gunn, who is a reality TV superfan, and definitely I feel like would play Survivor, put James Gunn on a season of Survivor and then get all of the Survivor cameos in the new dcu.
Riley McAtee
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
Okay.
Mallory Rubin
And it could be like, really? You know, okay, maybe you belong in Peacemaker. Maybe you go in lanterns. Maybe you're in fucking Super Superman. You know, why not?
Riley McAtee
I like that.
Joanna Robinson
Riley, what's your answer?
Mallory Rubin
Game of Thrones.
Riley McAtee
I feel like it's. Yeah, I feel like it is a Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
Mallory Rubin
That would be fun. Night of Seven Kingdoms is a fun one for cameos.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah.
Riley McAtee
Because they. They are on their journey, so they run into all these different people.
Tyson Apostol
You can really, like, slot a bunch of.
Joanna Robinson
I can see Coach in, like, a tavern. You know what I mean?
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, definitely Coach.
Riley McAtee
You, like, run into him, and he gives you some advice, and it turns out, you know, he's been to ET or wherever
Tyson Apostol
he gives you advice, but it's wrong, and it actually ends up being to your detriment. Yeah. Yeah. I think Duncan's like, I don't know
Riley McAtee
if I believe this guy or not. He seems like maybe he knows.
Tyson Apostol
You know what I want from the cameos, though? We have the White Lotus cameos, and you're all like, oh, there's somebody. I think they need to be something that we all know is coming. Like, it's like, okay. It's always in these moments where the survivor person shows up. Like, mushroom zombie. They're always a mushroom zombie. Look at all the mushroom zombies. You're gonna find a Survivor contestant.
Mallory Rubin
That's like, when Stormtroopers.
Tyson Apostol
Yes.
Joanna Robinson
Yeah. Oh, that.
Tyson Apostol
Look at the stormtroopers in Star Wars.
Joanna Robinson
The Cameo era of the Stormtroopers in Star wars is actually kind of fun. Like the William and Harry.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah.
Joanna Robinson
And you're like.
Mallory Rubin
You're listening for the voice, and then you're like, oh, shit.
Joanna Robinson
Or on Thrones, when they kept putting, like, musicians they liked. They're like, Mastodon.
Mallory Rubin
Like Aaron Rodgers and Shera Mastodon.
Tyson Apostol
The heavy metal band Mastodon.
Joanna Robinson
You had to make it to season five of Game of Thrones, but you can see Mastodon in there.
Tyson Apostol
I don't know if I like Mastodon, but I am aware of Mastodon.
Riley McAtee
Okay.
Mallory Rubin
There you go.
Tyson Apostol
The cameo would resonate during CD times when you could only own CDs. I went on a road trip across Europe with my friend, and I had some credit at the CD store for two CDs, and we bought two, and we listened to them. We actually only listened to one because we bought one.
Joanna Robinson
What are you talking about? Tower Records?
Tyson Apostol
No, it was a. In Europe.
Mallory Rubin
Oh.
Tyson Apostol
Something totally different. So we bought Wolf Mother's first album, the Warehouse. So awesome.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
And then we bought Mastodon's album, and we had just heard that they were both awesome, and Wolf Mother was awesome, and Mastodon was a lot like.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
But one point in Croatia. We drove through this group of people in a parking lot lot that definitely looked like Mastodon people. So I was like, before we drive away, we should prank crank some Mastodon. And they literally all gave us one of these as we drove past. We're like, we're American.
Joanna Robinson
That's amazing CDs.
Mallory Rubin
Remember those six CD changers in a car? Great time. You're a little young.
Tyson Apostol
I the changers in the trunk. So you're like, pull over.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, this Billy Joel for another Billy Joel.
Joanna Robinson
Or your Discman or your, like, hold it. Like, I never had a CD player in my car. I had a cassette that hooked up to my Discman that I had to
Mallory Rubin
have completely level in the car.
Tyson Apostol
Second ESP wasn't enough.
Joanna Robinson
Yeah, exactly.
Mallory Rubin
Incredible. You can magically transport Jeff Probst from Fiji to one fictional universe so that the way that Jeff calls a challenge is something that we're treated to for a great event, a moment, a battle of consequence in one of the stories that we cover. What are you picking?
Tyson Apostol
Chicken Jockey. Listen, I only watch kids fictional films now because I have two children, but I do believe Chicken Jockey would be a great one for Jeff to call.
Mallory Rubin
What would he say?
Joanna Robinson
I mean, now, that's how you do
Mallory Rubin
it on Chicken Jockey.
Riley McAtee
Oh,
Tyson Apostol
who battled him? Was it Jack Black that battled him? Who was fighting the chicken jockey?
Joanna Robinson
Why do you think any of us know?
Riley McAtee
I literally have no idea what you're
Mallory Rubin
talking about relying on you here.
Tyson Apostol
Minecraft. The Minecraft movie.
Riley McAtee
I did not see that.
Mallory Rubin
I watched the Minecraft movie. Yeah, no, it counts for sure. Yeah, it's a great one.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah, maybe.
Mallory Rubin
I think it's a great pick.
Tyson Apostol
But who fought the chicken jockey?
Mallory Rubin
Can't remember.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah, I can't either. But it was a big moment in the film, and I do watch the movie. Jeff would be like, oh, hard hit from. Hard hit for Jack Black. I'll remember.
Joanna Robinson
As Steve, Jason Momoa fought the chicken jockey.
Tyson Apostol
Oh, that's right.
Joanna Robinson
Garrett Garrison.
Tyson Apostol
That's right, Garrett.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
Some great fits on him in that movie.
Tyson Apostol
That's great, Garrett.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah. I'm going with Avengers. Endgame.
Tyson Apostol
The battle of New York over chicken jockey.
Mallory Rubin
It's 1A and 1B. It was a real coin flip.
Tyson Apostol
Okay.
Mallory Rubin
Portals open. It's one of the most iconic moments in movie history. And Jeff, they're like, come on in, guys. Yeah, right. Cap summons Mjolnir for this. He's got to bring. Come on, guys. Back Cap goes, summons Mjolnir. He wields Mjolnir. This is why you never quit on Survivor, you know, I mean, I think like the. Dig deep. There are so many opportunities to dig deep. Tony finally snaps his here. Tony Stark is here at last. You know, snaps his fingers. Can't say he got off the couch about Tony, but.
Tyson Apostol
But he got off the yacht.
Mallory Rubin
This is why you get off the yacht.
Riley McAtee
Got off the yacht.
Mallory Rubin
Dig deep.
Joanna Robinson
Right. What's your answer?
Riley McAtee
I'm gonna go, I'm gonna say the Pirates of the Caribbean where Will Turner and Jack Sparrow sword fight at the beginning of that movie. I feel like Jeff.
Mallory Rubin
The workshop.
Riley McAtee
Yes, correct. Jeff had great commentary.
Tyson Apostol
I just barely watched that. Just barely. Like two days ago.
Mallory Rubin
And I'd be like,
Riley McAtee
you're like, I gotta get this out.
Mallory Rubin
New release out of nowhere.
Tyson Apostol
I've. My kids are 10. Yeah. So they're. And they're the age to watch PG13 movies that are appropriate now. So I've been showing them all the Jurassic Parks. We started the Jumanjis. That's why they like have that on my brain. Yeah. We just started the Pirates of the Caribbean. I'm like, okay, which one's like the funnest? They like Jurassic park franchise. So far the most mean.
Joanna Robinson
Original Jurassic park or.
Tyson Apostol
We showed him the original one first.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
Cuz I'm a big fan. I. I love all of those. Yeah. Classics. And then we have started Jurassic World franchise because it's more. They're more in tune with that as kids, so.
Joanna Robinson
But Jurassic park is more like a horror movie and then the other one.
Tyson Apostol
And that's what's. And my kids kind of love that.
Mallory Rubin
I love it.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah.
Joanna Robinson
Jurassic park, one of my favorite movies of all time.
Mallory Rubin
It's a great one. Is that your pick? You want Jeff to. To call something from Jurassic Park?
Joanna Robinson
No, it's the tourney at Ashford Meadow and that's why you get up off the couch, dunk, you go to fight
Riley McAtee
and you dig deep. That is such a good point.
Tyson Apostol
Deep dive.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah. Love it. Jeff during the trial of seven, he'll
Joanna Robinson
be like, foss away versus Foss away.
Mallory Rubin
Incredible.
Joanna Robinson
Green apple versus red apple.
Tyson Apostol
Wow.
Joanna Robinson
I love it. Because you kind of needed some narration to understand exactly what's going on in the mania.
Tyson Apostol
So.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah. Oh man. Great one. Fantastic stuff. I love it. You can replace the camp machete and we really are going to rely on your expertise here for all the uses that the machete actually like provides.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
If we get too cute with some of our picks here, you can replace the camp machete with the magical blade, the fictional blade.
Joanna Robinson
I just realized I know One universe.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah. What are you going with you doing cat spot that you going Thrones.
Riley McAtee
I feel like I saw so much of the Catspaw dagger in House of the Dragon, I'm like, you're out. I'm ready to never see it again. Actually.
Mallory Rubin
Valyrian steel will be powerful out there, though. And you probably don't want a full sword. So if you had the dagger, you have Valyrian steel sword. Plus you could put it in the fire and be like, I'm like the child of prophecy. This is pretty dope.
Riley McAtee
Really powerful. How would it be more useful than a machete?
Joanna Robinson
Just like any.
Mallory Rubin
Those machetes always seem kind of like blunted bullshit.
Tyson Apostol
They're dull. And I think they use it season to season unless somebody takes them. Sometimes times contestants take.
Joanna Robinson
Are they intentionally dull so people won't hurt themselves?
Tyson Apostol
Yeah, I believe so. You use them to open coconuts first and foremost. Like that's the number one primary usage
Joanna Robinson
of not making shelter.
Tyson Apostol
No. Because they pieces down and you just scamper around and collect them.
Joanna Robinson
Damn. Oh, they put those. Okay. Wow.
Mallory Rubin
Sheesh.
Joanna Robinson
Wow.
Tyson Apostol
They put down the coconuts too.
Mallory Rubin
The illusions.
Riley McAtee
Yeah. The coconuts are fake.
Tyson Apostol
The coconuts are on the. They're real, but they're on the ground.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah. Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
Like, they're just like.
Riley McAtee
They're not from the island.
Joanna Robinson
Here they are. They saw one too many contestants, like, scamper up the tree and they're like.
Mallory Rubin
It is scary when people climb really high. I'm always very concerned. I know. You know what?
Joanna Robinson
I'm going to. Can I guess at them anyway?
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, please.
Joanna Robinson
Does it prove that I know you do it? What if I'm wrong?
Mallory Rubin
It'll. They're not.
Joanna Robinson
Is it the subtle knife?
Mallory Rubin
It is the subtle knife. You know me very well. His dark materials. Are you familiar with the subtle knife?
Riley McAtee
I'm not familiar.
Mallory Rubin
One of my favorite magical blades. We talked about this for a while in our magical Blades episode. Will the wielder. One of the. One of my favorite characters. But you can use it to cut between worlds.
Joanna Robinson
Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
And I think that would be pretty handy on Survivor. You're like, shit. Everyone else ate the fake planted coconuts. I'm going to cut through another world and go find like a steak or I'm going to go find. You could go shelter people. You can. You can open a little hole and watch them. You don't even need to build a spy shack. You just use the subtle knife.
Joanna Robinson
It's.
Mallory Rubin
It's a burden to carry.
Joanna Robinson
Very sharp.
Mallory Rubin
You can also Shatter it. If your emotional state is in a certain place, which I feel like for me, if you're thinking of either your mother or your lover, I feel like
Joanna Robinson
day three of Survivor. I'm too emotionally fragile to use the subtleness.
Tyson Apostol
Or shatter.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, probably. Yeah, probably a risk. But imagine if it paid off.
Joanna Robinson
I decided to go with the Honor and integrity blade. That is the oath. Keeper of Valyrian steel sword.
Mallory Rubin
Beautiful.
Joanna Robinson
As you know, I believe in honor and integrity. I feel like on Survivor, one should only ever tell the truth.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, exactly.
Joanna Robinson
Exactly. Yeah. Just, like, really, just play with honor and integrity. It's important to me. It's the spirit of the game, Riley, don't you think?
Tyson Apostol
Right.
Riley McAtee
Right.
Tyson Apostol
Yes.
Mallory Rubin
What a shock. I picked the knife and you picked the blade that links Jamie and Brienne. We're just really ourselves here.
Joanna Robinson
We just have to be honest.
Tyson Apostol
I don't even know a single mythical blade.
Joanna Robinson
Excalibur.
Mallory Rubin
Excalibur, yeah.
Tyson Apostol
Oh, yeah.
Mallory Rubin
Excalibur.
Tyson Apostol
From the hotel in Las Vegas.
Mallory Rubin
Exactly. Exactly.
Tyson Apostol
The Sword in the Stone. I do know the Sword in the Stone one. Yeah. But all that does is, like, prove that he's king.
Mallory Rubin
I mean, pretty handy on Survivor. Like, you guys can keep trying to play, but why bother?
Tyson Apostol
I'm king.
Mallory Rubin
I'm king of Iowa.
Tyson Apostol
I mean, it's fine. I know. There's the dagger that glows blue on Lord of the Rings.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
Oh, Sting. You want to have Sting out there?
Tyson Apostol
Sting? What does Sting do? I forget? It just shows when danger's nearby. So it's just constantly glowing blue.
Riley McAtee
Just a reminder that you can never trust me.
Mallory Rubin
No one can hear me.
Joanna Robinson
What? What if it glows blue to let you know that someone's an earshot that you can't see?
Mallory Rubin
That would be pretty handy.
Tyson Apostol
Or if it glows when you're the target.
Riley McAtee
It glows when someone said your name. If your name is.
Tyson Apostol
Someone says your name going out there, it turns blue.
Mallory Rubin
Damn. But it could turn you super paranoid. Like, they were like, I just said your name. I said, look at this.
Tyson Apostol
Beautiful.
Riley McAtee
It just blew all the time. Because everyone.
Tyson Apostol
Golem. You're Golem by the end.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
But Smeagol is inside just waiting for me.
Joanna Robinson
I feel like no matter what, I'm Golem by the end of the of Survivor. Right.
Tyson Apostol
You know what I realized doing this? That I watch movies and then I immediately forget all. Everything that ever happened in all of them. And you guys can recount them with great detail, but that's.
Joanna Robinson
You are an expert on Survivor, and we're allegedly experts on this, but ask
Tyson Apostol
me what happened two weeks ago on Survivor. I don't even. I have no idea.
Mallory Rubin
I can barely remember anything anymore.
Riley McAtee
It is pretty tough when we, like, have a guest on, like, what season did they play?
Tyson Apostol
Was it 43, 44, or even like, I don't think that ever happened on Survivor. Has that happened on Survivor?
Mallory Rubin
And then your comments are like, yeah,
Tyson Apostol
Season seven, Episode three. It's like, okay, nerd, thanks for listening. Yeah, I'm six' three. I'm left handed. I throw pitches.
Joanna Robinson
Okay. In honor of Sari, who came on your podcast and recommended that you try wagyu pastrami, which I was not even aware was a thing, I went to Glendale this morning to a place called Butchers and Booze.
Mallory Rubin
Oh, my.
Joanna Robinson
And an incredible shop. And the guy there was so nice. He was like. He tried to give me all of this. I was like, I'm on a show. We wanted to try wagyu pastrami first. I was just like, can I try some pastrami? Then he's like, oh, no, we cut it for the sandwiches. You have to buy the sandwiches.
Mallory Rubin
I was like, but we're gonna do
Joanna Robinson
it on a show. We heard it's really good. He tried to give me two times as of out. This is what I could talk him into. But he wanted to give us like all the fixings so you can just have like one little morsel of pastrami is all you need to have. That's like, fine by me, but he wanted us to have.
Tyson Apostol
Is it all you need, though? Cuz what if we really love it?
Mallory Rubin
It be great.
Joanna Robinson
You can have as much as you want.
Mallory Rubin
I hope it's good.
Tyson Apostol
Don't be rude, Riley.
Joanna Robinson
Cheese, pickles, raw onion, some sort of sauce. This is from Australia. It is wagyu beef made into pastrami. He said they tried out 25 to 30 different kinds of wagyu pastrami. This is their third most popular sandwich. They also do wagyu cheeseburger and a wagyu Philly steak. But this is their wagyu pastrami sandwich with all the fixings in honor of siree.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah, I feel like I would do. If it were up to me and I had to choose a wagyu specific sandwich, I would do the cheesesteak.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, that sounds.
Joanna Robinson
But that's not what Ceri said. She said, get the pastrami, baby.
Tyson Apostol
So Cerise said that this is what she thought about on the island and how good it was and how she couldn't wait to get back and get some.
Riley McAtee
And she
Tyson Apostol
also thought her password for Aussie to play his idol was wagu pastrami. When he believed old dog.
Riley McAtee
Teaching old dog new tricks.
Tyson Apostol
Teaching old dog new tricks.
Riley McAtee
Which makes way more sense.
Mallory Rubin
So I think saying I could really go for some wag.
Tyson Apostol
All right. Do I need a cheese on it?
Mallory Rubin
If you want it.
Tyson Apostol
Cheese. Go for it.
Joanna Robinson
For it.
Mallory Rubin
Anyone want mustard? Let's see.
Tyson Apostol
Did he give you the cheese, too?
Joanna Robinson
This is allegedly heated up, but I'm not certain that's.
Tyson Apostol
Is it supposed to be heated up?
Mallory Rubin
Probably for pastrami.
Tyson Apostol
Riley's gonna go onion first.
Mallory Rubin
Smells good. Smells good.
Tyson Apostol
What a badass. Right before the red carpet, you're gonna do the onion.
Joanna Robinson
Go for it, dude.
Tyson Apostol
I have mine in, like, a little cheese taco. I just need a. I.
Mallory Rubin
Delicious.
Tyson Apostol
I just need a pickle.
Mallory Rubin
Put that on some rye bread. Stir it. Some cheese.
Tyson Apostol
Okay.
Mallory Rubin
I'd say the cut is thicker than I would typically go for on a sandwich, but to have a slice of it like this, almost like a corned
Joanna Robinson
beef sort of situation.
Tyson Apostol
It's interesting because I couldn't smell it when we first brought it in, but now that it's all open.
Mallory Rubin
You like this masterclass. Yeah. There we go.
Riley McAtee
That is really good.
Mallory Rubin
That is good. Tasty.
Riley McAtee
I made pastrami a couple months ago. It was good, but it wasn't this good.
Mallory Rubin
Tuck in. Get more.
Joanna Robinson
It wasn't imported from Australia.
Riley McAtee
No.
Joanna Robinson
Shout out.
Tyson Apostol
Whatever. They had Australia and Australian Survivor.
Mallory Rubin
What do you think? Good enough to be a secret code word. That wasn't actually a secret code word. I think so.
Tyson Apostol
I think if Ceri loves it. Yeah.
Joanna Robinson
I will say, like, what do you mean?
Tyson Apostol
Do you need a cheese taco?
Joanna Robinson
So nice and wanted. Do you want a cheese taco, Mallory?
Riley McAtee
I can't believe he's gonna give you two times this.
Joanna Robinson
He was gonna to give me so much.
Tyson Apostol
It's low carb.
Joanna Robinson
I don't give a shit about that.
Mallory Rubin
Mason alive with my. My gu.
Joanna Robinson
But if you go into the shop, it's just got like, a.
Mallory Rubin
It's exactly what it is.
Joanna Robinson
It's a butcher counter and then, like, a ton of booze everywhere.
Tyson Apostol
And not a mate, not a mustard guy.
Mallory Rubin
In the.
Joanna Robinson
On the butcher. On the butcher counter, there's just, like, all these, like, vats of spices. I'm just like. I was very impressed by this place.
Mallory Rubin
So splendid.
Joanna Robinson
And they were really, really nice.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
Great stuff.
Tyson Apostol
The way you prefaced it. You made it sound like this was an underwhelming moment.
Joanna Robinson
No, I didn't want to leave. I didn't want to leave the jury. I wanted you to decide for yourself whether or not it was good because
Tyson Apostol
I didn't want to also disappoint you and be like, it's the best thing I ever had.
Mallory Rubin
And you're like, no, no, it's really good.
Tyson Apostol
What?
Riley McAtee
Be like, oh, he doesn't have taste.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah, exactly.
Riley McAtee
Now we know he's just flattering us.
Tyson Apostol
Very uncultured.
Mallory Rubin
The onions are hitting the air here. Nice. Okay. Yeah. I like this one audience.
Joanna Robinson
I do. Guys.
Mallory Rubin
Delightful. Guys. Thank you for joining us.
Riley McAtee
Thank you so much for having me.
Tyson Apostol
Yes.
Mallory Rubin
Thank you, guys.
Joanna Robinson
Thanks to Saree for the inspiration.
Mallory Rubin
I mean, thank you to Sari for just an incredible season, this beautiful meal. When will you come pod with us again?
Tyson Apostol
Yeah, can we, can we come back? When should we come back? Seasonally, maybe.
Mallory Rubin
Please?
Tyson Apostol
Yeah.
Mallory Rubin
Come visit us every season.
Tyson Apostol
That would be a thrill of joy when we get. I got invited to go to the finale for season 50. As the podcast, I said, Riley, I don't necessarily prefer being present at these, so this will probably be our one and done only time we're ever gonna do it. Yeah.
Riley McAtee
I keep being like, we're only doing this once.
Tyson Apostol
And Riley is like, let's wait until it's over and see how it goes. So maybe if it makes Riley happy, we'll do more finales which will put us in town more often to do more of the these.
Mallory Rubin
What a beautifully generous spirit that was in no way reciprocated with a wedding invite. Interesting.
Joanna Robinson
I thought Tyson was going to bring it back full circle, not Mallory, just needling it.
Mallory Rubin
This is, you know, this is like how we're building our alliance for.
Tyson Apostol
Yeah. And I do believe that this would have been a really excellent meal at the wedding.
Mallory Rubin
Would have been great. Oh, yeah.
Joanna Robinson
At the. At your vow renewal, we'll all be there. Nothing says Val like a boiling hot day in Phoenix, Arizona with a Maggie Pastrami.
Mallory Rubin
Exactly. Just check the baseball schedule. Let's see when the Pirates are in town.
Tyson Apostol
Yes. And when are you both visiting? The pot has spoken again.
Mallory Rubin
I mean, literally anytime.
Joanna Robinson
Literally whenever.
Mallory Rubin
Literally anytime. It's always the highlight of the year to get an invite, so anytime. Guys, thank you for doing this with us. This was genuinely so fun. What a treat. Thank you to our crew, our tribe always here at the house of our Carlos, Scott, Arjuna, Jomi CT today. Incredible stuff from them as always. And thank you again to Tyson the Silver Trickster and Riley the wolf of Quiet Pines. If you have not yet checked out. The pod has spoken.
Joanna Robinson
You have to.
Mallory Rubin
You are missing out. Full video episodes multiple times per week on Spotify, on the pod has spoken. YouTube channel, Instagram, all over the socials. Follow, like, subscribe, get in the comments, Tell the guys how great they are. Tell Ashley how wonderful she is.
Joanna Robinson
Ashley's the best.
Mallory Rubin
We'll see us for season 51.
Tyson Apostol
We'll be back soon.
Mallory Rubin
Bye.
Riley McAtee
There's been a lot of pod talk on the pod and the show on the show the last couple seasons.
Tyson Apostol
I mean, talk about D why piping with leaves went berserko people.
Mallory Rubin
Shocking stuff I learned this week is
Joanna Robinson
like, when you do the sort of ocean thing, your ocean poop, they make you get fully naked.
Mallory Rubin
They don't make you do anything.
Joanna Robinson
Okay. I think
Tyson Apostol
about what you do. So there's a couple ways. She's like, you're holding on to be recording.
Mallory Rubin
I think we should save this for the pot. Okay.
Riley McAtee
This is like the intro.
Tyson Apostol
Okay. So let me explain to you, and
Mallory Rubin
then we'll do our intro after.
Tyson Apostol
There's a few different things. The waves are crashing, and you don't feel comfortable swimming out and treading water while you're pooping. Then you go out into the waves and squat so that the ocean takes your poop out to the ocean and the fish eat it.
Mallory Rubin
The circle of life, it's all cyclical. Always has.
Tyson Apostol
And then you don't have to get all the way naked, but you do have have to pull your pants down. I should hope so. But there is generally a dedicated pooping beach there where they're like, this is the area where someone's. If someone's in the water, they're pooping. So don't go here to swim or
Riley McAtee
to rinse your coconut grove. Right. This is one.
Tyson Apostol
Coconut grove is different because coconut grove. There was a time when they were like, we're environmentalists, and you can't poop in the water. And then they became a point where they're just like, we bought this island.
Mallory Rubin
We poop, take a shit wherever you want.
Tyson Apostol
It's. It brings in the rats and the rodents to have poop and stuff on land and the stench. There's a lot.
Mallory Rubin
You don't want to step in it.
Tyson Apostol
You don't want to dig into it on accident looking for idols. You don't want to step in it. Although hilarious prank. If you're going to be like, yeah, I'm going to make it look like there's the idols. You got to dig as fast and hard as you can. Fingertips so there's that way if you do the hover or if you do the tread water, you go out, out. You remove your bathing suit all the way, but you have it still so that you can put it on after.
Mallory Rubin
Yeah, right.
Tyson Apostol
And it's the cleanest way because you have, like, you're floating in a bidet, nature's bidet. So essentially, it's nature's shower, nature's toilet, and nature's bidet all the same thing.
Mallory Rubin
What if the current is, like, working against.
Tyson Apostol
You're supposed to go with the gears. You got to go figure out the current.
Mallory Rubin
Okay.
Tyson Apostol
The issue is that the. Some of the people don't feel confident enough treading water or being around the ocean and pooping. They can't relax. Their sphinx winked her enough.
Mallory Rubin
I see.
Tyson Apostol
And so they go and poop in Coconut Grove, which is a designated pooping zone on land that they discourage you
Joanna Robinson
from swarming with rats.
Tyson Apostol
Swarming with rats and bugs and smell and stench. And it's like, yeah, what about these,
Mallory Rubin
like, explosive diarrhea days after somebody has a really, like, rich reward for the auction? Yeah. You know, you're gonna, like, you're absorbing the nutrients, but then you're like, all right, I know what the cost of this is going to be. You're still. You're running to the ocean.
Tyson Apostol
Ocean, Yep.
Riley McAtee
Interesting.
Joanna Robinson
That sounds easier.
Mallory Rubin
I mean, no. No need to relax the sphincter then.
Joanna Robinson
Let it float, let it flow.
Tyson Apostol
But you do just want to. You do want to make sure it's not getting pushed into you, whichever direction
Mallory Rubin
you're in the ocean.
Tyson Apostol
That's the thing. But the thing, too is that it's like, I don't know who's had diarrhea here or if we can admit it, but if you don't do it in nature's bidet, what then happens is you get. It's everywhere. And you get rubbed raw from leaves, especially. Like, what are you wiping with your
Joanna Robinson
leaves in the jungle to help you with?
Tyson Apostol
Correct.
Mallory Rubin
Absolutely not. Absolutely.
Tyson Apostol
So that's why. Yeah, the ocean. Every time. Okay.
Mallory Rubin
Well, this was a really beautiful bonding exercise. I think we have all ready to go on the show in the pod for sure.
Tyson Apostol
And that'll do it here at the House of. Thank you all for tuning in for
Mallory Rubin
people who made it till the end.
Tyson Apostol
When the going gets tough, get after it with NOS energy.
Riley McAtee
Keep your foot flat to the floor,
Tyson Apostol
and never it off. Thunder from top gear to no fear. Never back down, never slow down. Your body is machine with 800 horses coursing through its veins. So go hard, go fast. Go on, grab a can of NOS Energy and get after it. Did you know if your windows are bare, indoor temperatures can go up 20 degrees, turn the temperature down with blind and get up to 50% off custom window treatments like solar roller shades and more during the Memorial Day Mega Sale. Whether you want to DIY it or have a pro handle everything, we've got you free samples, real design experts and zero pressure. Just help when you need it. Shop up to 50% off site wide and huge savings on door busters Right now during the Memorial Day mega sale@blinds.com rules and restrictions apply.
Podcast: House of R (The Ringer)
Date: May 20, 2026
Hosts: Mallory Rubin, Joanna Robinson
Guests: Tyson Apostol & Riley McAtee (The Pod Has Spoken)
This joyful, wide-ranging crossover brings together House of R’s deep-nerd hosts with Survivor royalty — former champion and multi-time returnee Tyson Apostol, along with his podcasting partner Riley McAtee, creators of The Pod Has Spoken. It’s an in-person lovefest, half nerd-culture therapy session, half epic Survivor debrief, with the crew commemorating Survivor 50’s landmark season, swapping behind-the-scenes legends, and diving into spirited debates about gameplay, TV archetypes, and their wildest cross-nerd culture Survivor fantasies.
[00:00–02:00]
[05:00–08:00]
“You're my favorite Survivor player of all time. Thank you. As you know, as the Internet knows.” — Mallory Rubin (05:30)
[06:00–12:00]
“I did message CBS and say, please don't sit me next to these people. And they said, 'Noted.'” — Tyson Apostol (08:47)
[12:00–14:00]
[10:50–14:30, 28:30–31:15]
“...It bastardized something sacred about Survivor, which is you never write your own name down.” — Mallory Rubin (34:54)
[37:00–44:15]
“The way that Survivor is genuinely unique in the way it allows us to feel the passage of time, you know?” — Mallory Rubin (41:49)
[45:01–49:13]
“She led the game as this warm, joyful mafiosa.” — Tyson Apostol (45:30) “Watching her play...is like a type of witchcraft.” — Mallory Rubin (46:39)
[55:35–71:01]
“You need a season of all honor & integrity... Just a season full of Anakin Skywalker on Mustafar.” — Tyson Apostol (79:02) “Do you feel like there's only downside to you going back?” — Joanna Robinson, grilling Tyson on a hypothetical return (82:54)
[87:23–105:00]
[125:32–129:50]
[130:18–133:53]
[134:24–140:00]
On Sarié’s dominance:
“She led the game as this, like, warm, joyful mafiosa who was just like them. ‘Yeah, now it’s them.’”
— Tyson Apostol (45:30)
On the Soul of Survivor:
“Survivor is genuinely unique in the way it allows us to feel the passage of time, you know?”
— Mallory Rubin (41:49)
On the Enduring Power of Exit Interviews:
“...you decompress after the exit interviews. You discuss what they said, which no one else really does. And I love that.”
— Joanna Robinson (13:55)
On Casting:
“They have the super fans on every season—they’re the easiest ones to control. If you’re a big Jeff Probst fan and Jeff Probst is telling you to shut up, you’re gonna shut up.”
— Tyson Apostol (56:53)
Best Fake Survivor Twist Pitch:
“Grogu’s pretty overpowered, you know, mini midichlorian Jesus!”
— Tyson Apostol (92:49)
On Returning…or Not:
“I just don’t have the bandwidth… I’m like an old cranky man… but then that becomes part of the narrative, right?”
— Tyson Apostol (84:47)
House of R x The Pod Has Spoken is the ultimate Survivor-nerd culture comfort food: affectionate, hilarious, brimming with history and inside jokes, but anchored by real insight and honest critique on modern reality TV. Whether you’re craving the platonic ideal of a Survivor podcast, contemplations of honor in a cutthroat world, or just want to hear which magical blade could best slice a Survivor coconut, this crossover delivers in spades.
Subscribe to The Pod Has Spoken for exit interviews, game analysis, and more. Tune in to House of R for ficto-nerd deep-dives every week.