Hoy por Hoy - "La última y nos vamos | Así hacen pis los chicos de esta radio"
Host: SER Podcast | Date: December 1, 2025
Main Theme:
A humorous and revealing segment delves into the everyday (and very human) office bathroom dynamics among the show's team — particularly the men — leading to social commentary on privacy, routines, and societal attitudes. The episode closes on an art history note, discussing artist Ana Mendieta’s provocative work about violence and collective response.
1. Episode Overview
This lighthearted yet insightful segment of Hoy por Hoy explores the nuanced (and often unspoken) cultural codes and personal customs regarding bathroom use among male staff members at the Cadena SER radio studios. Through a candid conversation, the team touches on privacy, habits from public bathrooms, gender differences, and the impact of architectural changes in their office. The episode wraps with a shift to art, focusing on the work of Cuban-American artist Ana Mendieta.
2. Key Discussion Points & Insights
The "Bathroom Confessional": Intimacy and Privacy at the Office
- “La octava planta” mystery:
- The men recall how, several years ago, the urinals on their floor disappeared (00:41) leading to a single, shared cubicle situation for bathroom needs. Unlike other floors, where there are more traditional male facilities, the eighth floor compels increased “togetherness.”
- Quote:
- “Aquí hay una situación de isla. Es el baño de la octava planta de chicos que desde hace tres o cuatro años más o menos no tiene urinarios pegados a la pared, donde todos tenemos que hacerlo todo junto…”
— Unknown Male Speaker 1, [00:41]
- “Aquí hay una situación de isla. Es el baño de la octava planta de chicos que desde hace tres o cuatro años más o menos no tiene urinarios pegados a la pared, donde todos tenemos que hacerlo todo junto…”
- Awkward encounters and the question of privacy:
- One team member describes entering for ‘a need,’ feeling exposed when another approaches, and “entornó la puerta como que quería privacidad,” prompting existential bathroom questions.
- Quote:
- “¿Por qué estamos sometidos los chicos a este escrutinio? ¿Ahí contra la pared, haciendo nuestras necesidades al lado de gente incluso que no conocemos?”
— Unknown Male Speaker 1, [01:26]
- “¿Por qué estamos sometidos los chicos a este escrutinio? ¿Ahí contra la pared, haciendo nuestras necesidades al lado de gente incluso que no conocemos?”
- Colleagues launch into comic explanations about how men “think loudly” about privacy, which others interpret as “pensado muy fuerte” (thinking very hard).
- Social comparison:
- The women are surprised the men don’t always close the door.
- “¿Pero cómo que no cerráis la puerta?”
— Unknown Female Speaker 1, [02:16]
- “¿Pero cómo que no cerráis la puerta?”
- The men joke about “escuelas” or “schools” of thought on how to use the facilities, with playful confusion about underwear, zippers, and who drops their trousers.
- The women are surprised the men don’t always close the door.
- Broader cultural reflection:
- Comparing the office bathrooms to stadiums or public spaces where “todos meamos uno al lado de otro,” the men point out differences in expectations for privacy and design.
- Quote:
- “En los lavabos de los estadios, por ejemplo, meamos todos uno al lado de otro. ¿Qué sentido tiene que aquí, porque haya cubículos, vayas a cerrar la puerta…?”
— Unknown Male Speaker 2, [03:00]
- “En los lavabos de los estadios, por ejemplo, meamos todos uno al lado de otro. ¿Qué sentido tiene que aquí, porque haya cubículos, vayas a cerrar la puerta…?”
- Anecdotes and personal preferences:
- Someone argues for the return of urinals, both for efficiency and cleanliness, lamenting the side effects of adapting for accessibility.
- Quote:
- “Ojalá volvieran los urinarios, porque el urinario proporciona una limpieza.”
— Unknown Male Speaker 4, [03:47]
- “Ojalá volvieran los urinarios, porque el urinario proporciona una limpieza.”
- Quote:
- Someone argues for the return of urinals, both for efficiency and cleanliness, lamenting the side effects of adapting for accessibility.
Humorous Mishaps and Office Banter
- The “Catarrocha” incident:
- An anecdote unfolds where a conversation started in the hallway (“qué bien dice Catarroya y Sastre”) is humorously replayed aloud, even while alone at the mirror, only to find a colleague listening from a cubicle.
- Quote:
- “Me pongo frente al espejo y empiezo a decir catarrocha. Él solo, yo solo. Y de pronto escucho una risa en uno de los urinarios.”
— Unknown Male Speaker 1, [04:07]
- “Me pongo frente al espejo y empiezo a decir catarrocha. Él solo, yo solo. Y de pronto escucho una risa en uno de los urinarios.”
- Quote:
- This episode is emblematic of the show's playful tone and camaraderie.
- An anecdote unfolds where a conversation started in the hallway (“qué bien dice Catarroya y Sastre”) is humorously replayed aloud, even while alone at the mirror, only to find a colleague listening from a cubicle.
3. Memorable Quotes & Exchanges
- On privacy:
- “¿Por qué estamos sometidos los chicos a este escrutinio?”
— Unknown Male Speaker 1, [01:26]
- “¿Por qué estamos sometidos los chicos a este escrutinio?”
- On closing the door:
- “¿Pero cómo que no cerráis la puerta?”
— Unknown Female Speaker 1, [02:16]
- “¿Pero cómo que no cerráis la puerta?”
- On practicality:
- “Por eso está la cremallera.”
— Unknown Female Speaker 2, [02:43]
- “Por eso está la cremallera.”
- Reflecting on adaptation:
- “Se quitaron los urinarios porque hubo que hacer un baño adaptado.”
— Unknown Male Speaker 2, [03:39]
- “Se quitaron los urinarios porque hubo que hacer un baño adaptado.”
4. Segment: Ana Mendieta and the "Espectador" Effect
[05:24 - 06:33]
- The episode pivots to Ana Mendieta, Cuban-American artist, whose works confront violence and collective inaction.
- Description of her artwork:
- Mendieta pours liters of pig’s blood behind a shop door in Iowa, letting it seep onto the street as a social experiment/documentation piece (“Moffet Building Peace”).
- Key Insight:
- No one intervened; people simply walked past, circled the mess, or looked on.
- The phenomenon: “el efecto espectador” (bystander effect)—the more witnesses present, the less likely anyone is to take action.
- Quote:
- “Nadie hizo nada. Lo que quiere demostrar con esta obra es un fenómeno que se llama el efecto espectador. Cuanta más gente es testigo de un acto de violencia, menos probabilidades hay de que nadie haga nada.”
— Unknown Male Speaker 5, [06:06]
- “Nadie hizo nada. Lo que quiere demostrar con esta obra es un fenómeno que se llama el efecto espectador. Cuanta más gente es testigo de un acto de violencia, menos probabilidades hay de que nadie haga nada.”
- Description of her artwork:
5. Timestamps for Key Segments
- 00:32–05:08 — Candid discussion on male bathroom habits and privacy dilemmas in the radio studio
- 05:24–06:33 — Ana Mendieta: Blood, art, and the bystander effect
- (Other timestamps are between-topic transitions and closing remarks)
6. Tone & Style
The conversation is lively, candid, and filled with good-natured teasing. There’s a group dynamic of workplace banter, with humor softening more pointed observations about gender norms and adaptation to change. The second half, dealing with Mendieta, is more earnest and reflective, offering a thoughtful cultural critique.
Summary:
This episode uses humor and everyday struggles (even about office bathrooms) to open up cultural questions about privacy, gender, and design, before closing on an artful meditation about societal inaction in the face of violence. The playful banter makes for an engaging listen, with both laughter and substance for the morning audience.
