Danny Ricker Disobeys Bridger

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Danny Ricker Disobeys Bridger"

Episode Details

• Title: Danny Ricker Disobeys Bridger
• Release Date: July 31, 2025
• Podcast: I Said No Gifts! A Comedy Interview Podcast with Bridger Winegar
• Host: Bridger Winegar
• Guest: Danny Ricker

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1. Introduction and Setting

Bridger Winegar welcomes listeners to his serene backyard, expressing relief at the pleasant weather despite a recent long, hot car ride. He humorously shares his frustration over mysterious creatures disturbing his succulents, hinting at a lighthearted tone for the episode.

Notable Quote:

[02:05] Bridger Weiniger: "You gotta come to me empty handed. I said no gifts! Your presence is present enough, and I already had too much stuff, so how do you dare disobey me?"

2. Host and Guest Backstory

Bridger introduces his guest, Danny Ricker, a former coworker from "Jimmy Kimmel Live." Their camaraderie surfaces as they reminisce about their time working together, highlighting a mix of professional respect and playful banter.

Notable Quote:

[05:10] Danny Ricker: "You were kind of the boss, but also acted more like a coworker in that way."

3. Reflections on "Jimmy Kimmel Live"

The conversation delves into their experiences at "Jimmy Kimmel Live," particularly the stress induced by the early stages of Donald Trump's campaign. They discuss the unique dynamics of writing comedy in a politically charged environment and how constant public scrutiny influenced their work.

Notable Quote:

[07:10] Bridger Weiniger: "As a comedy writer, if there's something you're trying to talk about and you have to explain it for a minute or two before you start trying to tell jokes about it, it kind of hurts the jokes."

4. Summer Plans and Family Time

Bridger shares his efforts to balance a demanding work schedule with quality time as a full-time father. He recounts a recent camping trip with his children at El Morro in Orange County, highlighting the challenges of introducing kids to the outdoors.

Notable Quote:

[19:16] Bridger Weiniger: "I'm trying to see my kids here and there. I'm married. I have full custody."

5. Dealing with Door-to-Door Salespeople

Both Bridger and Danny express their disdain for persistent door-to-door sales tactics. They share amusing anecdotes about aggressive salesmen and strategize humorous ways to deter them, emphasizing their inclination to protect their personal space.

Notable Quote:

[12:17] Danny Ricker: "Because they're relentless. They're trained to be like, just never give up."

6. Parenting Stories and Birthday Parties

The duo discusses the complexities of modern parenting, particularly the escalating demands of kids' birthday parties. Bridger laments overly ambitious parties that disrupt family time, advocating for simplicity and clear boundaries.

Notable Quote:

[23:13] Bridger Weiniger: "The only time you should have a kid's birthday party is Saturday from 10 to noon. Anything outside of that is a criminal offense."

7. Reminiscing on Vintage TV Guides

A nostalgic segment unfolds as Bridger and Danny explore vintage TV Guides, admiring their quirky and literal show descriptions. They humorously critique outdated advertisements and reflect on the evolution of television advertising.

Notable Quote:

[38:13] Danny Ricker: "These were three of the nine people on TV at the time."

8. Game Segment: Gift or Curse

Bridger and Danny engage in a playful game segment where they determine whether certain items or scenarios are gifts or curses. This interactive portion showcases their comedic chemistry and insightful perspectives.

Example from the Game:

[61:24] Danny Ricker: "This one from a listener named Zach. Gift or a curse? Tums chewable tablets."

[63:34] Bridger Weiniger: "I have to say, I'd say it's a gift because it helps alleviate stomach issues."

9. Discussion on Gatekeeping Secret Spots

Addressing a listener's query, Bridger and Danny discuss the dilemma of preserving hidden outdoor spots amidst the rise of influencers. They debate the merits and drawbacks of sharing versus keeping sacred spaces exclusive, underscoring the tension between community sharing and personal solace.

Notable Quote:

[71:14] Bridger Weiniger: "If you're there, and the word influencer was triggering to me here because I feel like if you are somewhere and there's people recording a TikTok video, that is the most enraging thing I can run into in like a nature space."

10. Closing and Gift Unwrapping

As the episode wraps up, Danny presents Bridger with a thoughtful gift—the vintage TV Guides discussed earlier. Bridger expresses heartfelt appreciation, affirming their enduring friendship despite Danny's initial "disobedience" to the no-gifts rule.

Notable Quote:

[78:02] Danny Ricker: "Kevin, do whatever you want. Live or die. I'm so thrilled that you could be here today."

---

Conclusion

In "Danny Ricker Disobeys Bridger," Bridger Winegar and Danny Ricker offer listeners a blend of heartfelt nostalgia, comedic insights, and relatable anecdotes. From reflecting on their shared professional past to navigating modern parenting challenges, the episode encapsulates the essence of genuine friendship and humorous takes on everyday dilemmas. The engaging interactions, punctuated by memorable quotes and interactive segments, make it a standout episode for both regular listeners and newcomers alike.

Transcript

[Bridger Weiniger]

This is exactly right.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Danny Ricker]

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[Bridger Weiniger]

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[Danny Ricker]

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[Bridger Weiniger]

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[Danny Ricker]

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[Bridger Weiniger]

When I invited you here, I thought I made myself perfectly clear.

[Danny Ricker]

When you're a guest in my home.

[Bridger Weiniger]

You gotta come to me empty handed. I said no guests. You're present.

[Danny Ricker]

Presence is presence enough.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And I already had too much stuff. So how do you dare disobey me?

[Danny Ricker]

Okay, before the show begins, a reminder of the live show coming up August 22nd at 7:30pm at Dynasty Typewriter. That's here in Los Angeles. If you're not in Los Angeles, book the flight, get in the car or you can do we have a live stream? All of these things, the tickets, the live stream can be purchased on dynastytypewriter.com or you can google it or you know, become a web sleuth and find your way to a ticket. It's going to be, I mean we're going to have a great time. We had a great time at Dynasty Typewriter last year and how could anything possibly go wrong? Well now I've cursed the whole thing. But that's, you know, will only be better for you if it's Cursed. So there will be something that happens on a stage, on camera, on microphone that you don't want to miss. That's the live show. Dynastytypewriter.com I expect you to be there, or at least be there. You know, cyber. Be there. Okay, let's get into the show. Welcome to I said no gifts. I'm Bridger Weiniger. We're in the backyard. What a lovely feeling this is. We're so free. We're so loose. It's not that hot. I kind of expected to just be immediately sweating. But I guess that was kind of an illusion my car played on me a little trick because my car was about 97 degrees my entire ride to the coffee shop. What's going on? I'm back from Utah. That was lovely. I thought I had a cold sore. Ended up being a terrible zit. I don't know which I'd rather have. I just want to die. The news in the backyard is there's some sort of creature. There's some sort of creature that has been digging up the succulents. And one that looked, almost looked like the succulent had exploded. And I can't imagine what animal this is. So I'm on the case. And when I say I'm on the case, that just means I wait for something else to get ripped up and then wonder what it is. I haven't bought an animal camera yet. I think it's time to find out what is coming into the yard. It's either a coyote, a raccoon, a possum. Might be a mole. It might be an underground job because this thing looks like it was shredded from underneath. I'll post a picture to Instagram if I can find it. Everyone loves looking at ripped up plants. Oh, let's get into the episode. I love today's guest. It's Danny Ricker.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Hi, Bridger.

[Danny Ricker]

Danny, welcome to. I said no gifts.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Thank you. I'm so happy to see you.

[Danny Ricker]

Oh, it's been a while.

[Bridger Weiniger]

It has. We were co workers for many years.

[Danny Ricker]

Well, you were my boss.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, I don't consider myself a boss, Danny. I'm the guy.

[Danny Ricker]

A cruel boss.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I feel like I'm the guy who has the most to do. I don't feel like I'm in charge of anyone.

[Danny Ricker]

Oh, poor Danny. No, you were kind of the boss, but also acted more like a co worker in that way.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I tried to. I like to force my friendship upon my underlings and make them pretend like they enjoy spending time with me.

[Danny Ricker]

No, I've never felt like oh, God, here comes Danny. He's going to demand something. We worked together for a year. Only a year and a half, to be honest. Is that it? It's so crazy.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Can I tell you, you are one of the most beloved former members of our writing staff. Like, we talk. Talk about you as if you're like a beloved cousin who passed away yesterday. I was at work and I was like, oh, I'm doing Bridger's podcast tomorrow. And everyone went, you are like. Everyone was so excited and jealous that I got to see you.

[Danny Ricker]

Well, it's such a sweet place to work. I. Whenever people ask me how it was to work at Jimmy Kimmel Live, I say it was like working at a family garage.

[Bridger Weiniger]

That's a very good analogy. Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

It's just a lovely place run by a lovely person and just, like, slightly leaning, straight attitude, you know, but, like, if I can work there, then anybody can.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. And you brought something so unique to the writing staff, which is. I mean, everyone on the writing staff is nice, but you are. I know you put off this kind of bad boy Persona, of course, but on the inside, you are just a genuinely sweet person.

[Danny Ricker]

I've got everyone fooled.

[Bridger Weiniger]

You can cut this out of the pocket. I know this is going to ruin your reputation as a Hollywood bad boy. I understand. So I'm sorry to know.

[Danny Ricker]

I really. I had great time working there, but it was. I started working there in 2014, and. And we won't get too. We can't get too political because no one wants to think about this.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Which one are you talking about?

[Danny Ricker]

Danny Ricker. Donald Trump. But he. His campaign. His early campaign started while I was working there. And the mental toll it took on me just then for the early days was like, I can't imagine doing this, thinking about this guy every day forever. And the strength of the Jimmy Kimmel Live staff to not only be thinking about this guy, but to actually have gotten under his skin. It's unbelievable.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. I mean, we're not a healthy group of people inside or out, but, you know, it. The only benefit, I think, is we have something to talk about every day that everyone is already aware of. And. And, you know, as a comedy writer, if there's something you're trying to talk about and you have to explain it for a minute or two before you start trying to tell jokes about. Kind of hurts the jokes, but everyone knows what this man is doing at all times. They track him like some sort of farm animal with a tag in his ear. Everyone knows his every move. And so we don't have to explain what's going on. Everyone already knows. You can get right to the punchline.

[Danny Ricker]

I think it's very unfair to compare farm animals to Donald Trump. Sorry. Leave them alone.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I'm sorry.

[Danny Ricker]

Yeah. I remember the first time I met you was. It was such a. That I hadn't worked as a professional writer yet. And Jimmy brought me in and I met you two and it was. I like, had truly, like, memorized the show in a way that it was just a casual conversation that was. Threw me off in such a way. It was basically like, what music do you listen to? We just wanted to make sure you're not a psycho.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. That's mostly if you're coming in for a meeting like that. At least at a comedy show. Usually we've read material and we go, okay, clearly this person is funny. And then we just want to make sure that, like, you don't have a weird haircut or smell. Yeah, yeah, you can get a vibe. But like within 10 seconds we go, oh, this is a nice person. And you spend a lot of time. When you work on a TV show, you just spend a lot of time with these people. And so you need to make sure. Yeah. There's. There's no sociopaths trying to sneak in.

[Danny Ricker]

Right. Yeah. You basically just have to be friends. That's the big surprise about getting writing jobs, is just like, oh, you're just. A large part of it is being tolerable.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes. Yeah. And, you know, like, if you can sit at a computer and crank out some work, that's one thing. But if you do that while you're being very unpleasant to those around you, it really ruins the experience. And I mean, we're there, you know, it's like a 60 hour plus a week job, depending on the week and stuff. And so if you're doing it with miserable people, it makes it a hundred times worse.

[Danny Ricker]

Right, right. And are you off for the summer or what's going on?

[Bridger Weiniger]

No, Jimmy takes the summer off now and we have guest hosts all summer. So we have a rotating band of wonderful people who come in and host. We just did a week with Anthony Anderson, who we love and does it every year. We did a week with Diego Luna.

[Danny Ricker]

Oh, fantastic.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Andor fame. Who A fantastic guy.

[Danny Ricker]

Star wars person at all. Obsessed with andor.

[Bridger Weiniger]

You know, I've heard people say that. It's like, I don't want to speak ill of my parent company, but I will say that, like, I'm a lifelong Star wars fan.

[Danny Ricker]

Sure.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And I think unfortunately for Disney, like, Andor is the best Star wars thing they have going right now. And I say unfortunately because it's a very adult show.

[Danny Ricker]

Oh, my God. Yeah.

[Bridger Weiniger]

There's no Baby Yoda. There's no, there's no merchandise to be had of Andor. But it is cool clothes. Exactly right. With no labels or anything.

[Danny Ricker]

So cool jackets.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. But they already kind of a lot, actually. I'm getting served ads on Instagram that look like things and. Or would wear, which is a very precise thing for my algorithm to be doing. But they're not. They're not marketed by the Walt Disney Company.

[Danny Ricker]

Right. Of course. It's shipping out of somewhere and it'll probably smell like damp clothes or something. Falls apart as soon as you open the bag.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yep.

[Danny Ricker]

My algorithm has fallen apart. I don't know that it knows me anymore, which is probably good. But I feel like the ads I'm being served are nothing. I'm. I would like to eventually the algorithm to find one thing I actually want to buy.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. And then you'll be like, proud of it.

[Danny Ricker]

Yeah. I'll be like, you really broke through to a mentally ill person.

[Bridger Weiniger]

You were listening.

[Danny Ricker]

Yes. Because I feel like, like door to door salespeople can eventually break people down. And when they come to my house, I'm like, there is no. I won't spend money on things I need, like, desperately. The fact, the idea of a stranger showing up and convincing me this, what a waste of their time. Although somebody did get me into the backyard once and had me signing all these contracts.

[Bridger Weiniger]

For what?

[Danny Ricker]

Solar panels, I think.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Oh, really?

[Danny Ricker]

Because they've started dressing up. They wear like, neon vests like city workers or like, like a child's idea of what a city worker is.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes.

[Danny Ricker]

And they show up and act like they're part. They work with the state. And the guy had me for a long time to the point that I had wasted so much of his time that I. When I said, eventually, I'm not doing this, I was like, oh, no, he's going to come back in a bad way.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. Well, I assume anyone who comes to my door, no matter what they say, is trying to start a home invasion robbery. And I, I treat them as such. I mean, I' not exaggerating. People will say they're my neighbors. And I'm like, yeah, right, creep. Get out of here. And I, anyone I've even. I. I think you would. I hope, would agree. I'm a generally polite person.

[Danny Ricker]

Sure, sure.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I will literally close the door in people's faces right now. I, I. And only in certain situations. But someone came, literally, I'm putting my kids to bed and someone comes claiming to be from AT&T. This is, it's nighttime, right. And, and this person's claiming me from AT&T, and they want to sell me some service. And, and I just went, I'm not interested. And he goes, wait. And I literally just closed the door and locked it. Because that's like getting a spam call. Are you obligated to pick up a spam call and politely tell the person you're. It's like, no, you just hit that button, you hang up. I now do that. I do a live in person version of that now.

[Danny Ricker]

Because they're relentless. They're trained to be like, just never give up.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes.

[Danny Ricker]

And so I think that that's just now their experience of people being like, okay, I'm no longer talking to you because you won't leave me alone.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And I feel bad. I know this, this is not this person's choice. They're doing it for money, you know, and they're probably not getting paid too. I just, I, it's like I want to slam the door in the face of their corporation. And so that's the closest I can get to.

[Danny Ricker]

Right. I mean, as someone who comes from door to door culture, Utah, Mormon culture, a lot of these door to door salesmen come from Utah because they're former Mormon missionaries. And then these companies, like the bug spraying or the alarm sales or what have you, are often out of Utah. And they train these like teenagers basically, who have already been through a relentless door to door experience.

[Bridger Weiniger]

They're like sleeper agents.

[Danny Ricker]

Yeah, totally. So now I feel I'm like, I know exactly what's going on. You're not kidding me, but I just shouldn't open the door. Who comes to the door?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, and usually I don't because I have a video doorbell now, so usually I can see. But sometimes they're tricky if they're not wearing the vest. That's kind of where they get you because.

[Danny Ricker]

Sure.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Because I'm often like, maybe this person hit my car accidentally and they're coming to tell me, and if I just don't answer the door, they'll get away scot free. So street clothes is actually a good way to trick me. And I'm gonna give my address out on the podcast for all home invaders.

[Danny Ricker]

Who would like to just everyone get your pen and paper out. No, I feel like they just need to switch. They need to start recruiting, like, women, 75 plus.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes.

[Danny Ricker]

Older grandmas. So it'd be like, wait, what's going on? Then you open the door. Then it's a really pushy old woman.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And they take a really long time to give you the sales pitch and you feel like you have to invite them in.

[Danny Ricker]

Get me every time.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes.

[Danny Ricker]

Or very small children. Yeah, one or the other. You can't have just like a healthy 30 year old. Like, I'm like, no, this isn't working.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I mean, I have small children. They would be terrible at this. They would get easily distracted. They would give up after the first house.

[Danny Ricker]

Right, right. No, I. How did we get to hiring old women to go door to door? It's always hard on this show. Oh, we were talking about the guest shows and then andor. But I was going to say something. I was deeply jealous. I think it was last year. You had Martin Short as a.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes. That was a comedy writer fantasy camp, of course, situation. He. He hosted for four nights and he told us. He goes, I'm thinking about doing the Last night as Jiminy Glick.

[Danny Ricker]

My heart. Oh, my God. He goes so mad.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Is that okay? That's. Yes, that's definitely okay. And it was just like a magical week. He put so much work into it. And you would think, like, maybe he just cruises in and, you know, is just kind of phoning it in.

[Danny Ricker]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

He. I mean, it was months of phone calls. And then because I'm one of the head writers, he goes, can I have your phone number? I was like, yeah. And then. And then I would be like, I'd be with like my, like, take my son to a birthday party and be like, Martin Short is calling me. Hold on. And he just have an idea he'd want to talk to me about. And it was so. It was. It was kind of like we were dating for like six weeks.

[Danny Ricker]

And Marty reach out.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, it was. It was beautiful. But then. And then. So Jiminy Glick was the. You know, the. The final. We pretended like Marty was hosting three nights and then he needed Thursday off. And so Jiminy Glick was coming in and the writing. I. Our writers have never come more alive than the assignment of going, okay, Jiminy Glick's gonna interview Bill Hader and Sean Hayes and we need to write questions. And that was some of the most fun I've ever had writing comedy. And Marty is really particular about, like, he's like, Jiminy Glick isn't mean. He's like an idiot. And sometimes he's such an idiot that he is mean. And he has it so figured out and it was really fun. So we did some pre tapes with Glick and then Glick hosted the live show too. And Melissa McCarthy and Nick Kroll were the guests. It was just, it was such a chaotic, crazy day. It takes him kind of all day to get into the prosthetics, of course. So we'd be doing writers meetings level prosthetics, it really was. And we'd be doing writers meetings throughout the day where he had his like regular Martin short body but the Jiminy Glick head. And it was, it was such a surreal day.

[Danny Ricker]

Oh, my God. Yeah. And that's something like, it's such a risky thing to take a character like that and try. That could have been a disaster. And it was so good.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And he even kind of expressed to us, he goes, I don't know if a people remember the character or if it could still be kind of done today. And I think he felt from us and everyone involved in those shows, the celebrities, they're just like, there's such a love for him and that character that there's kind of a grandfathering in of things. And there's also certain egos. There's some things Jiminy Click used to do that he will of course no longer do. And he was really good at finding the balance of still keeping it, having its edge, but still fitting in with 2024.

[Danny Ricker]

Yeah. For someone of his age. And like, I feel like a lot of guys at that age are like, oh, you can't do anything anymore. I can't believe. And he just walks the line perfectly. He does so funny. Oh, truly one of the all time best.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. Now through August 26th, it's back to deals time, where you can enjoy storewide deals and earn four times points. Look for in store tags to earn on eligible items from Triscuit, Starbucks, Frito Lay, Ziploc, Charmin, Charmin Ultrasoft, and Tide Liquid Original. Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event long savings. Shop in store or online for easy drive up and go. Pickup or delivery subject to availability restrictions apply. Visit Albertsons or Safeway.com for more details.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Everything we work for comes down to this.

[Danny Ricker]

Quick question. Speaking of workouts, how would you rate your athletic program?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Bro, we're in the middle of the state championship.

[Danny Ricker]

Oh, so like a B then?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Dude, get out of our huddle. Well, at homes.com we leave it all.

[Danny Ricker]

On the field to get you detailed information on local schools.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Off the field.

[Danny Ricker]

Off the field.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Copy all right.

[Danny Ricker]

Go sport.

[Bridger Weiniger]

How did he even get in here?

[Danny Ricker]

Homes.com we've done your homework.

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[Danny Ricker]

So are you doing anything with a little bit of free time you have during the summer?

[Bridger Weiniger]

I'm trying to see my kids here and there. I'm married. I have full custody. It's not one of those situations, but it's very bad. But yeah, no, I, I, we work such long hours at the show and, and you know, these summer guest hosts, they are, they require a lot of work too. So I, when I'm at work, I'm, but when I, I try to, when I walk in the door, I try to be a full time dad and father. I'm, we're doing, I took my kids camping for the first time. Oh, where did you go? We were down at this place, it's called El Morro. Down in Orange County.

[Danny Ricker]

It's camping in Orange County?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, it's by the beach. I knew they would not sleep in a tent. They kept telling me they were afraid of bears. I said there are no bears at the beach. But I rented like, I found a company. I will drop off an Airstream trailer at your campsite. So they, oh my God. For them, this was roughing it. You know, for anyone who's actually been camping that it looked ridiculous.

[Danny Ricker]

Monsters.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, I know, I know. But it's, I'm trying to ease them into like, I feel like my son would maybe, maybe camp in a tent after that experience. So I'm, I'm trying to bring in.

[Danny Ricker]

An Airstream on the beach. That sounds lovely.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, it. I mean, it was still like a state campsite, you know, but it was fun. The. The kid. We got so sunburned. We're so white.

[Danny Ricker]

Our family.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And I have a. Yeah, I have.

[Danny Ricker]

A very tan man.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I will not take off my shoe and show you. But I have a. I have a sandal tan for the first time in my life, and I do not like it. I am. I am humiliated by it.

[Danny Ricker]

Are kids now? Is there any, like, level of scouting for either of your kids in the future? Boy, girl, some other type of scouting?

[Bridger Weiniger]

So I was a. I was a Boy Scout.

[Danny Ricker]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I forget. Were you?

[Danny Ricker]

Oh, yeah. Full Eagle Scout nightmare. Personal nightmare for me.

[Bridger Weiniger]

What was your Eagle Scout project?

[Danny Ricker]

It was. We collected used clothes for. And this is like the one thing that Scouts do. It's like, okay, you did something that actually contributed to the world. We collected used clothes for one of the local hospitals. For people who, like, don't have clothes coming out of the hospital, that's a great project. Great. If the rest of the Boy Scout thing had gone away, if I had just gotten to collect used clothes for this, great. But what did you do?

[Bridger Weiniger]

So I did not get anywhere close to Eagle Scout. But here's my situation. So my father, my grandfather, and my great grandfather, all Eagle Scouts.

[Danny Ricker]

Oh, no Family disappointments. Yes.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And then it got to me. And so I did Cub Scouts and I did about, I think, like two years of Boy Scouts. I think I got to, like, second class.

[Danny Ricker]

Okay.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I think as a rank. I forget where that is exactly. But I had a. Like a bad Boy Scout troop where. And my dad was so understanding, and he was not disappointed when I quit because he goes, when I was a Boy Scout, we'd, like, hop in a jeep and we'd drive to Mexico. We'd camp. Oh, my God, it was amazing. It was like something out of a Norman Rockwell film.

[Danny Ricker]

Right? An actual experience.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Beautiful. And that meant a lot to him. But he come with me to these meetings just in a church rec center kind of thing. And it was run by adult men who never really amounted to much in their lives, but they enjoyed yelling at a bunch of young kids in neckerchiefs that made them feel powerful. And so it was just like lessons out of the handbook and like, no. No real experiences. So. So I ended up bailing on it. But it's. I would love if my kids were interested in Scouts. It is weirdly now it's old fashioned because Boy Scouts are, like, nice and help their Community, Right, like that, that's like, that's like a unheard of thing today. Yes, but the idea like if you went, if you showed up in a uniform going like, I'd like to help the elderly, they, they'd think you were up to something.

[Danny Ricker]

Oh yeah, absolutely. What are you trying to take from us?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. So there's a Boy Scout troop in our neighborhood. I keep trying to like explain to my son that it's fun. He seems very skeptical.

[Danny Ricker]

Is it full of dorks? Well, yeah, I mean, I guess that goes without saying.

[Bridger Weiniger]

That's part of the Boy Scout motto, I think.

[Danny Ricker]

Dork nation.

[Bridger Weiniger]

That's right. But it's like, it would be fun. As a parent, I'm lucky in a way that my kids have no interest. My weekends are not, I'm not at a soccer field. You know, really, the birthday parties stack up.

[Danny Ricker]

But that sounds awful. It seems like the pressure of those has like gotten way out of control.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Well, yes. However, I went to a bad one recently and that was enraging. It was enraging. We. So I feel like we, my wife and I have gotten decent at throwing a kid's birthday party and we don't go crazy. We have friends who go crazy and it's months of planning and it's thousands of dollars and they build thing like costumes out of Amazon box and like, God bless them, they're better parents than we are.

[Danny Ricker]

I don't know.

[Bridger Weiniger]

But, but we, we like the time is very important. The only time you should have a kid's birthday party is Saturday from 10 to noon. Anything outside of that is a criminal offense because like it, I. This one I went to started at 5:00pm okay.

[Danny Ricker]

Oh, that is unfair to everybody.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I, I don't know. I don't know.

[Danny Ricker]

Children don't want it at that time.

[Bridger Weiniger]

No. And it was not explained why. It wasn't like, oh, hey, like that's when we get off of work. This was 5pm on a Saturday. We're in dinner time all of a sudden.

[Danny Ricker]

Weekend ruining.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes, yes. And so there's a lot of stuff we can't do because we gotta be at this place at 5 and then we show up and there's kind of nothing for the kids to do.

[Danny Ricker]

Oh no.

[Bridger Weiniger]

We just show up and we're just in a backyard and the kids are just sort of milling about. And then it's me and these parents I've never met before, all lovely people. And then there's like, there's a cooler and the cooler has some sparkling water and it has like three beers in it, which was kind of a mixed mess.

[Danny Ricker]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Like, sometimes you show up to one of parties and the parents are kind of like, hey, there's juice boxes if you want sangria, we got sangria. Like, they, they kind of let you know what's going on or, you know, when we throw one and it's from 10 to noon. Again, the only appropriate time for a party. We have iced coffee for the parents, breakfast tacos. You got to kind of, you got to put the parents.

[Danny Ricker]

We know you're doing.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes, exactly. And because, you know, the parents don't really want to be there. They're just coming so their, their kid can come. So you got to kind of like set up a little kind of a lounge situation for them. They have shade, they have drinks, all that kind of stuff. Stuff. But this, it was just a weird situation. And it went on for about three hours. And then I, I was kind of the first one to be like, well, I'm gonna go. And my son was not upset that I told him it was time to go. He goes, all right. Then we just, we just got up and left.

[Danny Ricker]

You know, it seems like these were loser parents looking for adult friends and they were using the child as an excuse to get people over.

[Bridger Weiniger]

They were sweet people. It was just they, they didn't think through the flow of the party. You know, you, when you throw a party, I imagine I have them at.

[Danny Ricker]

10 to 2 with AD.

[Bridger Weiniger]

There are juice boxes and there are three beers. But I, I imagine you think a lot about, I think you and I are similar in this way, about, okay, when people show up, what do they see? How are they greeted?

[Danny Ricker]

Sure, sure.

[Bridger Weiniger]

What is the journey they're going to have in this party?

[Danny Ricker]

Yeah, I send emails that are borderline rude to my guests. And I'm not kidding. I say the party will be ending at 11 o' clock and I will tell you to leave because that's when I go to bed.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, yeah, that's.

[Danny Ricker]

People like boundaries.

[Bridger Weiniger]

People do want this. Because then it also avoids the weird thing where the person drinks a little too much and they hang out a little too long and they're not picking up on any social. All of a sudden, and you probably come out in your, in your matching pajamas and nightcap. You're about to blow out. Borderline. Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

The emails are like, I will tell you to leave my house, so just be prepared to go. People are so refreshed by this. They're like, I, I don't have to, like, be polite and Stay around longer than I need to. I just know it'll be time. Usually people leave 10 minutes before the time I tell them they have to leave. I'm like, thank God.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I think most people stay at a party longer than they want to.

[Danny Ricker]

Oh, of course.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Right.

[Danny Ricker]

I'm the only person who doesn't. I'm again rude in those sit where I Show up for 15 to 20 minutes and then I leave when you.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Leave, because you and I've been at a few parties together, like, you know, work parties and cousin Sal would have a Halloween party, we'd be there. What was your method for leaving? Did you what they call an Irish goodbye, which is probably a kind of a racist term, you know, culturalist term. I don't know. But do you Irish goodbye?

[Danny Ricker]

I do. Irish or French accent? Irish goodbye. Although I actually will say, I think I've kind of turned it on its head in a way of where, where I'm. I'm loudly just saying I'm leaving without. But I'm not saying goodbye.

[Bridger Weiniger]

You just yell it to the party.

[Danny Ricker]

So I just decide it's time for me to leave. And then anyone I see on the way out, I say, I'm leaving, I'm leaving, I'm leaving. The host has no idea what's going on.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Good.

[Danny Ricker]

But there's no, like, there's no formal anything for me. I just, I'm like, oh God, I've hit my end point. I'm out of here.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. Like, you finish the most boring conversation you will have at the party and you go, I'm good, I'm going to leave.

[Danny Ricker]

But actually not even the most boring. I think this throws people off where they'll be like, oh, I thought we were having a good conversation. And he decided to leave. We were having a good conversation.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

I just didn't want to be there anymore.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I want to go out on top. Yes. It's not going to get any better than this.

[Danny Ricker]

Right. I've. I'm done with my Diet Coke and it's 8:15, right? Yeah, I'm partied up.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Well, part of it. And. And you, you don't drink, correct?

[Danny Ricker]

No.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And so that also. I don't know that I've been at a lot of parties where I haven't had, you know, a glass of wine or something like that and that. It must be so annoying for you to be at parties. I, I don't like. I, I mean, I guess this is like the, the mystique and like the sort of alcohol, right? Where you're like, I can stay at a place I don't want to be. About 90 minutes longer.

[Danny Ricker]

Yes.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Because I, I also imagine as people are getting drunk around you, you're going like, this is the last place on earth I want to be.

[Danny Ricker]

A zero tolerance for a drunk person. Even like a dear friend. I'm not putting up with that. Yeah, I'm moving away from them.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Right.

[Danny Ricker]

I don't want to speak to you. I don't want you draping over me. You're not funny. You're not entertaining. You're on my nerves. I have caffeine in me.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

My anxiety is already too high.

[Bridger Weiniger]

That's right. I'm surprised. Drinking a Diet Coke at 8:30. I mean that, that, like it's gonna mess with your circadian.

[Danny Ricker]

Caffeine. That's my Diet Coke is my night. Caffeine. Coffee is my day. Caffeine.

[Bridger Weiniger]

When do you, when do you cut it off?

[Danny Ricker]

Usually I, it's getting earlier and earlier. I think I can drink a cold brew until about 2:30 now.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Ooh. See that, that's even risky for me.

[Danny Ricker]

What's yours?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Well, I, I, I read a book by Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

[Danny Ricker]

Okay, sure.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I don't know, I don't know why I did that. I just, I just sort of read it. I enjoyed it. But one, the only thing I remember from the book is don't drink caffeine past no noon.

[Danny Ricker]

Wrong.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Forgot. I'm talking to Dr. Bridger Weiniger.

[Danny Ricker]

But I could qualify at this point.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Well, I think so. From what I understand, it stays in your system for about 12 hours. So I, this is a new way. I've added anxiety into my life where I'm doing math. I go, when will I be going to bed? Tonight.

[Danny Ricker]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And so if I go, well, oh, I have movie tickets. So, you know, maybe it'll be 11:30 then I will drink caffeine till about 11:30. I'm drinking coffee right now. And, and I, I, it's actively making me nervous because it is Friday when we're taping this. Like, okay, I can be up a little late tonight. May, maybe I'll be a little groggy in the morning, but I, it's a, it's a weird boundary I have put on myself.

[Danny Ricker]

What kind of, is it hot or cold brew or what is it?

[Bridger Weiniger]

This is cold. And I'm embarrassed to tell you because this seems like the least like, cool LA thing to say, but my favorite iced coffee is the bottled Starbucks.

[Danny Ricker]

That is airplane drink.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I know, I know. I told you I was Embarrassed. And I will still go to like you know, I live in Bour bank and I have three great little coffee shops and I frequent them all equally to keep them all in business. I'm a good local business purveyor. But if I'm being honest, when I my favorite and our coffee maker broke recently and so I had so each for about a week. Every morning I was going up and I was getting my wife and I coffee at Starbucks and I told her I go I hate that I'm saying this. I like this coffee we're drinking and I wouldn't do it because I'm so cheap that I would never go to Starbucks every morning. But also factoring into the cheap thing, you know the cold brew you buy your favorite coffee shop. How much is that?

[Danny Ricker]

It's. How much is it now?

[Bridger Weiniger]

It's $5 a bottle of the Starbucks iced coffee. Not even cold brew coffee. The I, I'm, I'm so humiliated. I know, I know. But it cost $5.50 for an entire bottle. I'll drink it for a week and a half and that's just a savings I cannot deny.

[Danny Ricker]

Well, I make my own cold brew at home.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Oh you do?

[Danny Ricker]

So I mean I know the caffeine consumption, it is self medicating in a way but I will, I make my own for my morning cold brew and then depending on like today I. Half of mine is in the fridge now but if I'm recording I'll get it right before. But I'll usually get a cold brew starting at 1 to 1:30 at found coffee does not sponsor but we sponsor them. Everyone go to Found Coffee and Eagle Rock. We love them. But I'll usually get one at one to two o'clock and then drink now now that I'm on Wellbutrin, I'm drinking about half, half a cup of cold brew in the afternoon. Save it. The psych. What I'm doing right now I, the way I expose myself on this podcast is insane. But the cold brew then it sits in my fridge overnight and I drink half of that in the morning with my homemade cold brew.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Now do you make the cold brew because it tastes better when you make it?

[Danny Ricker]

I make it. It is better than like if I you know a lot of those bottled, bottled ones, there's something going on on. They taste kind of dusty.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, they're, they're a little acidic.

[Danny Ricker]

I will say like the who makes some good ones. Some of like the more expensive ones are good but they are like they're actually Very expensive to buy a huge thing of expensive cold brew.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I. Some of the. If you go to like a little hipster grocery store, like a little 6 ounce. Oh, like oat milk latte thing is.

[Danny Ricker]

Like $6 and that does not taste that good.

[Bridger Weiniger]

No. And look, I. I'm a suburban dad. I'm. I'm. Look, I'm looking to pinch pennies wherever I can. I'm not ashamed of that. I. My brother and I were making. Making beer in my backyard for a few. This is years ago now. And we were like, we're geniuses. Think about how much we're gonna save on beer. It turns out it costs 10 times as much to make your own beer. It tastes terrible. And I was getting food poisoning from. Because, like, you like sterile. You use old beer bottles, you sterilize them. But I think there was some sort of kink in our sterilization process. And I would constantly get horrific food poisoning from drinking this beer. And then my wife goes, she goes, you know, like, beer is like, really cheap to buy, like at the store.

[Danny Ricker]

Kind of notoriously the cheapest alcohol.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Right. And you and your brother are spending so much time. We, we, we had like, bubbling like, cases of beer in like our. In our bathroom. My wife hated it. And she goes, and you're. You will potentially end up in the hospital from drinking an unsterilized beer.

[Danny Ricker]

And they explode.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes.

[Danny Ricker]

I've not even on tv. I've seen it on tv, but I know people whose beer has exploded in their garage.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

Dangerous thing.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. And I was doing that all to say to. And bond with my brother, I guess. But. So all I'm saying is, like, I. If you're, if you're making it because you make the best cold brew in the world.

[Danny Ricker]

I certainly don't.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I would support it.

[Danny Ricker]

I'm tolerable.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

But I'm just in the. I've been doing it for almost 10 years now.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Oh, really?

[Danny Ricker]

I've got a whole system, the toddy system.

[Bridger Weiniger]

All right. It's not a competition.

[Danny Ricker]

Well, it is, actually, and I'm winning in a huge way. Well, speaking of doing terrible things, there's something else I hate to talk to you about. I hate to even bring it up. I thought things were going okay. I was excited to have you here on the podcast. I thought. Danny and I have worked together. I know he's professional. He's. He's not going to try to stir up anything. The podcast is called I said no Gifts. So I was a little surprised when you showed up on my doorstep would not stop ringing the doorbell, banging on the door. There was some yelling. Then you tried to pull away and I finally ran and waved you down. And you stopped in the middle of the street. Your car is idling right now. And stepped out of the car holding what's clearly a gift.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

I mean, that's your response.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Look, I miss you. I hope that was clear. And I haven't seen you in probably a year. And I wanted you to know that I'm always thinking about you.

[Danny Ricker]

Okay?

[Bridger Weiniger]

And so this was just a little way to let you know what you mean to me.

[Danny Ricker]

Okay. My heart is melted.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Okay, good.

[Danny Ricker]

My heart is a puddle. Well, you've. You've brought this gift. It's in an adorable little blue bag with anchors on it. Anchors away.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Because you know, you're. You kind of anchor me. You know, you've always kind of been my rock.

[Danny Ricker]

Right. Since I've left the show, you've. I've heard you've lost. Lost it. Yeah, I think was how it was said. Yeah. Well, should I open it here on the podcast?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, if you want to. Yeah.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Bridger Weiniger]

With comprehensive reports on local schools you.

[Danny Ricker]

Won'T find anywhere else, homes.com is the only place to find these. In depth info Home shoppers want very in depth info. Curious about where a school ranks in the state? Look no further. Percentage of teachers in their first or second year. We've got it. Lowest student teacher ratio? No problem. The best cafeteria lunch in the district for your nine year old food blogger. Would it surprise you if we said yes? Homes.com we've done your homework.

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[Danny Ricker]

Well, let's. We've got some tissue. I feel like we're not getting enough tissue on the podcast anymore. Not destroying enough car speakers. Air pods. Okay. Oh, now I've thrown that into my garden.

[Bridger Weiniger]

We'll take that out where the mole will eat it later. Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

Okay, now we're reaching in. Should I pull this all out at once?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes.

[Danny Ricker]

Because it feels like there's so many.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Well, yeah, yeah. There's three. Three items. Three parts of it.

[Danny Ricker]

Oh, my God. This is fantastic. They're vintage TV Guides.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. And, you know, you and I both are you television writers. And everyone in our industry is happy to tell you that the television industry is dying. And I was in a shop in my neighborhood and they were selling these vintage TV guides from the mid-90s. And I thought this might transport us back to a happier time in our.

[Danny Ricker]

Industry when it felt like a financially stable future. Yes, right, right. Well, I mean, this is thrilling. I mean, let's talk about these covers first. We've got one with Kevin Sorbo totally topless.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. And this was before he was a conspiracy theorist, so that's nicer time. Right. He was just an oily man who was on network television.

[Danny Ricker]

My friends, this is a just a very small aside. My friends Brad Evans and Nick Ciarelli, two of the funniest people I've created, I think during the pandemic, a video about Kevin Sorbo saying that Kevin Sorbo had died. And I think it went kind of viral in a way that people started to wonder, had Kevin Sorbo died filming a commercial for an iPhone gambling app? I can't remember exactly, but if people type that into Google, they'll probably get to see the video. So we've got Kevin, and we should circle back to Kevin shortly. We have the years and cheers and jeers with Bert Reynolds. And who's this woman?

[Bridger Weiniger]

I Don't you know what? I was hoping you would know. I figured you might know more than me.

[Danny Ricker]

Oh, there are two women. There's a. Oh, this is Dave Letterman's mom right in the middle. Oh. Oh, my God. That's Dorothy Letterman. How crazy. But then there's a woman on top. Oh, I'm sorry. There's a woman. Woman with kind of Renaissance curls, red hair. She's got a rose in her mouth.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And the real star of that one, though, is the ad on the back. If you flip it over.

[Danny Ricker]

Oh, my God. It's a cigarette.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Cigarette ad with a. You know. Now when you see a cigarette ad, if you see them, there's a very long disclaimer. This has a very soft disclaimer about cigarettes on it.

[Danny Ricker]

Oh, wow.

[Bridger Weiniger]

It's like they. It's like maybe don't smoke in a hospital is basically what it says, kind of.

[Danny Ricker]

It says cigarette smoke contains carbon monoxide. But they don't. Like, if somebody didn't know what that.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Was, they'd be like, okay, okay, sounds good.

[Danny Ricker]

Yeah. It's like you. It's just like a. Essentially a picture of your grave.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes. They just put corpses on there now.

[Danny Ricker]

Yes, it's a mirror. It's like that Time magazine. But this is a gorgeous. Come to Marlboro. Marlboro.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Wait, I haven't said this Marlboro.

[Danny Ricker]

I haven't said Marlboro in such a long time. Is that how we say the cigarette company? Company. Whoa.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Marlborough is what I would say, but that might be wrong. There's a. There's an L in there. Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

I don't feel like you say car like Carl. I think you say Marlboro. Yeah, well, I don't know that I've ever said the word alone.

[Bridger Weiniger]

We're just a couple of. Just couple of dudes talking about cigarettes.

[Danny Ricker]

One of my jobs was secret shopper for cigarettes.

[Bridger Weiniger]

What?

[Danny Ricker]

When I was living in Utah, I would drive from gas station to gas station. You know, I looked like. You know, when I was, like, 20, I looked like I was 14. Sure. And so I would go to these places and ask to buy cigarettes and see if they would ask for my id. Oh, they asked for my ID Every single time, of course. But the company who hired me had never seen me, so they didn't realize that they were essentially sending a child out. And everyone, of course, would ask for my id.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Right.

[Danny Ricker]

But I was. I was ordering Camel Lights. That was my brand.

[Bridger Weiniger]

You had to order something believable. Were you deputized to arrest the people on the spot.

[Danny Ricker]

They should have given me a gun.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Gun in a bag.

[Danny Ricker]

Execution right there. But, yeah, I never ordered this brand, and I've really exposed myself as someone who's never smoked. Yeah, well, never been able. They wouldn't even let me purchase the cigarettes.

[Bridger Weiniger]

You know, I'd like to come back. You know, maybe in, like, a year. I'd like to come back. I've never smoked a cigarette either.

[Danny Ricker]

Haven't.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Let's smoke our first cigarettes together.

[Danny Ricker]

Maybe it should be this brand. I can't believe how much advertising we've given a cigarette.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I know. That is a big. That is a big ad on the back of that, too. Yeah. Hey, this could be a good sponsor, though, for the podcast. Think about it.

[Danny Ricker]

A lot of cigarettes advertising. Annalise, mark that down. I want to become a cigarette podcast. We should probably put a disclaimer right now that cigarettes will give you lung cancer.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, sure.

[Danny Ricker]

Responsible. We have a lot of tweens listening.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes. Yeah, I know. I know you're. I know you're big in the K pop community, so. Yes.

[Danny Ricker]

Yes. Yeah. But Dorothy Letterman and then Unknown Woman. That's a shame. That TV guy didn't feel like they should put anyone's name.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Although at the time, I'm sure that was probably, like.

[Danny Ricker]

I know all three.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Of course. Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

These were three of the nine people on TV at the time.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. You know, I. I flipped through them briefly earlier, and I noticed a trend in there is that they. Very literal descriptions of what will be happening on each episode of television. Yeah. Like there. Let me grab this. Let me grab this. This Regis one. Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

Taking one with Regis. Phil, but it says Regis rights. And he has a giant pencil.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Big pencil. That's how you know you're right.

[Danny Ricker]

He's got. That's kind of the professional look.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

Let's see here. Let's find some.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Like, they'll have. Oh, here's a Bridger. I'm just going to show this to you and not the camera, but this. This is.

[Danny Ricker]

Oh, my God. There's a racist Little Rascals doll.

[Bridger Weiniger]

That's an ad from a different time.

[Danny Ricker]

Wow. I wonder what year that is.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Let's see. This is from August 19th, 1995. Okay, okay, like. Okay, like, here's one. It says. So it's got Grace under fire, Coach, the Drew Carey show, and Ellen. And it says, tonight, Drew will blow you away, literally. And they don't explain what that means.

[Danny Ricker]

What sort of tease is that that gives you no information?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Tonight, Grace is in for the fight of her Life on. Coach Hayden gets a full time bodyguard. Tim Conway. Ellen. All new Ellen unplugged. Special performances by Bonnie Raid, Aaron Neville and David Crosby.

[Danny Ricker]

Here's a good description. A mouse leaves her rural digs to spend Christmas with her urbane cousin in his fancy New York residence. Can you guess the show?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Say it again.

[Danny Ricker]

Let's see a. A mouse leaves her rural digs to spend Christmas with her urbane cousin in his fancy New York rescue residence.

[Bridger Weiniger]

No idea.

[Danny Ricker]

Sally. Jesse Raphael. No, it's country mouse in the city mouse. Of course.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Of. Of course. The hit.

[Danny Ricker]

Let's see, we've got Samur or samurai cyber squad. Was this a TV show or a movie? God, what a different time it was.

[Bridger Weiniger]

See, here's one for Chicago Hope an old friend comes home to die.

[Danny Ricker]

Oh my God.

[Bridger Weiniger]

After an all new David La Letterman. Here's one. Leno goes to Vegas.

[Danny Ricker]

Tonight's show, Leno goes to Vegas. I'd love to see.

[Bridger Weiniger]

His guests were Heather Locklear, Dennis Rodman, the aforementioned Martin Short, Tracy Ullman, Tom Arnold, Chevy Chase and of course Wayne Newton.

[Danny Ricker]

Wow, this is, I mean, a treasure trove.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Here's an ad for Letterman's 15th anniversary and he's wearing a. He's wearing a hat on a shoe.

[Danny Ricker]

That's how you know that's a comedy show.

[Bridger Weiniger]

That's how you know it's a comedy show.

[Danny Ricker]

I'm sure he loved doing yet.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Wow.

[Danny Ricker]

This is the. My favorite. This isn't in here but it was from a cable description once of predator and I remember it referred to predator as a sneaky alien. Buckle up.

[Bridger Weiniger]

He's written by people who have never seen any of the properties.

[Danny Ricker]

Tiptoeing alien predator.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Let's see. Here's one. Here's one for the Simpsons. All month long. It's Homermania. Trapped. Tonight, Homer and Mr. Burns are buried in an avalanche. Who will make it out alive?

[Danny Ricker]

Oh, that's kind of dark, right?

[Bridger Weiniger]

This is kind of a. I don't know. This is an art form that no longer exists.

[Danny Ricker]

They were like. And there were well paid people making these.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes.

[Danny Ricker]

That's the craziest thing about this. Like now this. Anything close to this is a blogger who makes like 90 cents a post.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Reviewing the map Singer.

[Danny Ricker]

Yeah, exactly. Let's see. Oh my God. I'm going to just live in these for a while. Do they still do TV guide?

[Bridger Weiniger]

I don't think so. I mean they don't even have like a tivo guide anymore.

[Danny Ricker]

Really? Like shame.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Oh, this is going. And a Groundhog day was airing at 8 o' clock on ABC. And it says, Bill Murray is in love with Andy McDowell.

[Danny Ricker]

That's all it tells you. The main hook of the thing is gone.

[Bridger Weiniger]

There we go.

[Danny Ricker]

That could be any movie. It's like the easiest to describe. Everyone knows the plot of that movie at this point and it's so interesting.

[Bridger Weiniger]

But they were trying to, I guess, hook the people who read TV Guide.

[Danny Ricker]

At the time and who were just like, I don't want any of that science shit. Let's see. There are a lot of Full House. This is a full house period. Jesse's lack of privacy drives him out of the house for a break from the family and he winds up missing the baby's 18 month birthday party. Who cares?

[Bridger Weiniger]

The baby?

[Danny Ricker]

Yeah, the baby.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Who was the.

[Danny Ricker]

Of the babies? I think he has twins.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Oh, he had twins.

[Danny Ricker]

Twins.

[Bridger Weiniger]

His and he and Lori Laughlin.

[Danny Ricker]

Right. I guess they were like, well, we have the twins playing one person now. Let's get twins playing twins.

[Bridger Weiniger]

It was quadruplets playing twins. No, I'm just making that up. No, that might be true. It might have to be. Right.

[Danny Ricker]

Makes sense.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Right?

[Danny Ricker]

With SAG rules.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

Interesting. Wow. If those were four kids, what was going on in that family? They had four kids and decided to make all of them actors.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Doesn't the premise of Full House sound like a fucking nightmare if you were living in it? Right.

[Danny Ricker]

Of depressing. I mean, the whole thing. It's like a guy's wife dies.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. That's before. Before you go.

[Danny Ricker]

And then his brothers end up living with him or something.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. I think isn't. I think Uncle Joey, I think was the. The wife's brother. I might be getting this totally wrong.

[Danny Ricker]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And then Jesse. Annelize is nodding. She knows. And then Jesse was not related by blood, I don't think. Right. He was like a. He was a friend.

[Danny Ricker]

He was a drifter. Just a strange man.

[Bridger Weiniger]

He was. He was the wife. The dead w. Husband. Boyfriend. Yeah, he was. He was making love to the wife before she died.

[Danny Ricker]

Things are very tense in the Tanner household and we're basically family. Yeah.

[Bridger Weiniger]

That house was not that big. Think about all the. The. Just the number of adults living in that house. Too much.

[Danny Ricker]

Yeah, too much. One's living in the attic, one's in the basement. One has a failing comedy career, one has a failing music career.

[Bridger Weiniger]

That's the worst part. Living with a. A failed standup comed. Trying to raise.

[Danny Ricker]

Both of those guys are on coke.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. Oh, yes.

[Danny Ricker]

Heavy coke user.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes. A failed rock and roll star. And a failed standup comedian.

[Danny Ricker]

Yes. They have so many issues.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I know.

[Danny Ricker]

You bring those into the house with your children. What sort of parent is Danny?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Unbelievable.

[Danny Ricker]

Bad guy. Before the millennials come for me, it is swapped. It is. Uncle Joey was the friend and Uncle.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Jesse was the brother.

[Danny Ricker]

Oh, interesting.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Bridger and I are millennials, by the way.

[Danny Ricker]

Let's. Let's, let's get gen alpha. I'm 11 years old. I am young Gen Alpha.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, yeah. Bridger and I are elderly millennials, is what it is.

[Danny Ricker]

But, but Uncle Joey was. I'm sorry, he was the friend. Yes, he was the friend. Okay. The friend. And Alanis Morissette's spurned lover.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes.

[Danny Ricker]

That was his. Not only his real story, but also within the show. I believe I've been to Jeff Franklin's house. You have nightmarish experience. One of the most bizarre things that's ever happened to me. I, I was two weeks into dating Jim, and he's like, oh, I do these things called Living Room shows that Ileana Douglas, I don't know if you know who that is.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I don't know.

[Danny Ricker]

She's like, she was in a bunch of Scorsese movies, and she started doing these shows in people's living rooms, rich people's houses around la and as a benefit or whatever. And I guess he was doing one about paper straws. This was all before every allegation in the world came out against him. But Jim was singing there in front of his shark tank, and he's like, I don't think you'd want to go to this. I was like, of course I would want to go to this. It's built on Sharon Tate's property.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Wow.

[Danny Ricker]

The tackiest mansion in America. And I got to go and sit through one of the weirdest things I've ever seen. Several performers, Jim singing, Sit down. You're rocking the boat in front of a shark tank. Wayne Newton was there. It was.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I mean, I'm not surprised you fell in love with Jim that, that night.

[Danny Ricker]

It was a very strange time. And then Jeff Franklin, of course, was one of the slimiest people I've ever seen.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Wow.

[Danny Ricker]

And again. Oh, yeah. Because we're talking about Full house. And now.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I think he did get you into the Hollywood Illuminati, though. So you owe him. You owe him.

[Danny Ricker]

I think that house is probably still on the market. It's like, why would you buy that?

[Bridger Weiniger]

There is like, I, I, I live in Burbank, and there's a house that has been in sale in the hills of Burbank, for many, was clearly owned and built and maintained by like, someone who was a Hollywood producer who had a lot of money in like 1957.

[Danny Ricker]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And it's so big and the house is on sale for like $8 million. But someone today who has $8 million wouldn't be caught dead living there. So it's in this weird real estate sort of limbo where anyone who would actually maybe want to live in the house could never afford it because it's insanely priced.

[Danny Ricker]

Right? Yeah. That's the thing with all those, like, super expensive mansions. I always think, well, if I had that much money, I would just get the house I wanted. Yeah. Why would I buy somebody else's weird idea of a house?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. And someone who, like, built it. Yeah. It was their dream house. But like, that changes so generationally so quickly. Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

And anyone, when it's specifically their dream house, they probably have something that will deeply annoy you because they haven't got a very specific idea of how to live.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Even just like, like we, we just got new kitchen cabinets because the ones when we moved into the house, you know, they were like hand built, but they're falling apart, you know, and the color is like kind of. It looks very like kind of 2000s. And we were like, we need some new cabinets. And my father was beside himself. He was like, these are beautiful handmade oak cabinets and you are just going to throw them in the trash. And I go, dad, they're literally falling out of the wall. And he goes, what are you getting? I go, I don't know. Cabinets.com. and they're. There's Shaker cabinets.

[Danny Ricker]

And he lost his mind.

[Bridger Weiniger]

He was spinning in circles. He couldn't believe it. The Eagle Scout was like, I. I will. Some man built these with his own blood, sweat and tears, and you're throwing it away. Some man who's been dead for 30 years, probably. But yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

Have they been installed yet?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes. Yeah, they just went in.

[Danny Ricker]

How does he feel about them?

[Bridger Weiniger]

He said nothing when he came over and saw them. So I. I feel like there was some sort of simmering baby boomer rage going on here.

[Danny Ricker]

What happens to an old cabinet? It doesn't get sent to Goodwill. No, it's destroyed.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I feel like when you renovate your house, you just have to sort of have a little mental disconnect going. Like, this is all just going right in a landfill.

[Danny Ricker]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

There's no recycling. There's no. It's just. It's going right in there. Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

Right. What is the website what's the Facebook thing? Buy Nothing.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Buy nothing? Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

I think you could put them on buy nothing and they would be stripped out of your house within 10 minutes.

[Bridger Weiniger]

We put one thing on Buy Nothing and we got like phished. We got scammed.

[Danny Ricker]

You're kidding.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Who wins immediately?

[Danny Ricker]

Who wins in that situation?

[Bridger Weiniger]

We were getting rid of a couch is when we moved and we're like, I wouldn't for this couch anymore. And so my wife put it up there and it was like 250 bucks. And immediately someone responds going, I would like it and I can't, I can't give you cash. I want to like, like send it you something on ZELL or like PayPal and I can't pick it up but I'm going to pay you and then I'm to secure the item and then I'm going to come pick it up at a later date. We're like, that's weird. And then it was like I sent you a PayPal request. Did you get it? And the person got weirdly aggressive and I was like, I think this is maybe some sort of scam. And we looked it up and it was like, that's very common. Yeah. And that was the first thing we ever tried to like sell and buy nothing I guess is when you give it away for free. So that's different. I guess this, this was, this was Facebook Marketplace.

[Danny Ricker]

But oh yeah, that's a different whole other game that you're buying.

[Bridger Weiniger]

But then the buy nothing thing, that is good because it goes to a good place. But then people are coming to your, to your house and that's. Sometimes they want to inspect the item.

[Danny Ricker]

If you're getting it from for free. No question.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes.

[Danny Ricker]

I'm sorry.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

You were coming and you're taking it away. Yeah, I, that's.

[Bridger Weiniger]

You are a garbage man in this as far as I'm concerned.

[Danny Ricker]

I will leave it in the street for you.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

Because people will be like, I have half a jar of protein powder.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

You can't ask questions about that sort of thing. It's just come get it.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. My sister in law lives in Manhattan and during COVID their, their by nothing group was like very, very active and she said someone was giving away a half eaten cake and they, there were. The number of people who wanted a half eaten cake during the height of the pandemic was unbelievable. Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

They were just experimenting. They were having the time of their lives.

[Bridger Weiniger]

People love a deal. People love a deal.

[Danny Ricker]

Well, is there anything left we should say about TV Guide? I'm Just so excited about these. This is really like up my alley in a way that you have no idea.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I feel like we haven't. Man, I really want to get into.

[Danny Ricker]

Let's see. I love when Dylan's dilemma sends him back to the bottle. That's tough to hear. Sister. Sister. Appalled by lyrics to a rap song, Lisa and Ray refused to buy concert ticket for the twins grow up.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Weirdly, I'm seeing no Kevin Sorbo interview in this.

[Danny Ricker]

I did see. I'll post a photo of this. Let's mark this as a note to post. It's just. It's an ad for ABC prime time and it. There's a picture of Roseanne and it says, ha ha. There's a picture of Ellen, who we all love. It says ha ha. And then there's a picture of. Who are these two news anchors? There's. Is that Sam Donaldson and Diane Sawyer?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Oh, of course.

[Danny Ricker]

Diane own six movies for 29 cents each. Did you ever belong to one of those clubs like a Columbia House, and you would order like 50 CDs for a dime and then your parents would get billed?

[Bridger Weiniger]

I think my. My parents were too cheap. This is why I'm cheap is my. My parents were too cheap to even. Even give me the penny.

[Danny Ricker]

Well, the thing is, I think actually what would happen with Columbia House, I don't know how they stayed in business because literally children would sign up and have no means of paying them. And then the kid, like, I remember multiple times just being like, well, I don't have the money. And then they would just hang up. And that was the end of the thing.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Oh, really?

[Danny Ricker]

They must have been losing. I don't know. I don't know. Oh, God. So many cigarette ads. They still print cigarette ads?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Think so. I think legally you can't now.

[Danny Ricker]

Yeah. I think you have to be in a country without the. Those laws.

[Bridger Weiniger]

The watchful eye of the.

[Danny Ricker]

Wow, these are gorgeous. I got a real holiday issue here. Are you watching anything on tv?

[Bridger Weiniger]

I'm a real. Just kind of basic television viewer. I enjoy Marvel shows.

[Danny Ricker]

Sure, sure.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I watch Daredevil, Born Again. I was delighted by. I watched the Ironhear, which I was. I'm kind of like a Marvel completist. So even when I'm not as interested in the show, I still watch it. And I enjoy all those. But, you know, because we have kids, we have such limited television time.

[Danny Ricker]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And so, like, I, you know, I like on a work day. No, there's no question. I will not be watching. There's no. There's no joy on it, of course. You know, free time on a workday and then like on the weekend, weekends. My daughter, who's now 11, is like, why can't I stay up until 10 o'?

[Danny Ricker]

Clock?

[Bridger Weiniger]

And there's not a good answer to why she can't stay up until 10 o'. Clock. And she'll be like, well, what do you guys want to watch? I want to watch it too. And we go, well, you can't watch it. And she's like, why?

[Danny Ricker]

Oh God.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And then I have to go, well.

[Danny Ricker]

A lot to handle.

[Bridger Weiniger]

There might be like, you know, adults making love in it. I can't say that to my daughter, of course. And she also does not. Kids don't understand. Understand. They can't compute the idea that you would maybe want to not be with them for like one hour.

[Danny Ricker]

You know, zero sense.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And we try to explain, like, well, you know, like mom and I, like, we, we have a relationship and, you know, that was even around before you guys. And, you know, and we like to have a little time by ourselves. And they're like, but like, what do you guys even do when we're not here? And the answer is like, we just kind of look at our phones while a show plays on television. But like, that's an important of course, thing parents, parents need. But they really can't compute it. So I, for me, I have to. Sometimes I will get up. This is so sad. I'm saying this out loud. I will get up at like 6am on a Saturday and I'll watch a show before the kids wake up and I'm half asleep. Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

Like, this is my, me and my sister's relationship where she has three kids. And I'll like, have finished a series like three months ago. And I'll be like, what do you mean? You still have nine episodes left to watch. It's like, well, because I get to watch 10 minutes a day.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. Well, it's microdosing.

[Danny Ricker]

Find a babysitter.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. Even like adolescents we watch. We really liked that. I go, oh, there's only three episodes of this. We can knock this out on like a Saturday night maybe. And then we've watched a show that we get the dopamine hit.

[Danny Ricker]

If we finished a season, some completion of something.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

Oh God, yeah. I can't do it. I simply can't. I'm just going to be a child for the rest of my life.

[Bridger Weiniger]

It's an easier way to go. We love our children dearly, but the logistical part of it is complicated. It's fraught. It's say the least.

[Danny Ricker]

Well, I feel like we should play a game.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I would love to.

[Danny Ricker]

Annalize should. What do you think? Gifter or curse or gift master today? Let's do, let's do gift or curse. Okay, gorgeous. Let me get. I have to get into the dock and do some light calculating. Get our game pieces.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Great.

[Danny Ricker]

Here's some yard work starting. Let's all enjoy that. Right now I need a number between 1 and 10 from you.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I'm going to, I feel like everyone says seven, so I'm going to say four.

[Danny Ricker]

Okay. I have to do some light calculating to get the game pieces. So promote, recommend, do whatever you want.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Okay, great. Let's see. Promoting. I, I have a book out. I wrote a book this year called wow, you look terrible. It's a, it's a parenting book, it's a comedy book, but it's a self help book as well that helps parents get back the three things they lose when they have kids, which is their time, their money, and their mind. I think that's out if you're somebody who is not opposed to gifts like Bridger. I think it makes a good gift for any parent out there. Or you might enjoy it if you're a parent yourself. I'm also a head writer and a producer on a television show called Jimmy Kimmel Live that's on weekdays, 11:35pm on Channel 7, ABC. And that's all I got.

[Danny Ricker]

Gorgeous.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

Everybody consume, consume, consume. Go get the book, watch the show, do both at once. Nobody. I mean that's a, that's not a two screen experience.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, no.

[Danny Ricker]

I feel like that could be a new hybrid of something.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I only read physical books now. Like I do not like reading on an iPad.

[Danny Ricker]

Oh sure. I lost my Kindle on the plane. Sore subject for me.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I'm sorry to hear that. First of all.

[Danny Ricker]

Thank you.

[Bridger Weiniger]

But I feel like, I feel like reading on an iPad. There's too many other like more exciting things than reading a book. It's like there's a reason there's no library at Disneyland.

[Danny Ricker]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

You know, no one would go in there. So I feel like I need the physical book because no text messages can pop up.

[Danny Ricker]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

There's no Twitter.

[Danny Ricker]

I would say even a Kindle is hard, harder to focus on than with a regular book because you can look up the meaning of any word.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

And like I'll find a word that's I like kind of aware of and I'll still look up the definition and then I'm Thrown off for a half hour.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

I need to get back into physical books, and maybe the universe is trying. Well, Delta is. I've. I've reported it to the lost and found, and I'm sure they're on it.

[Bridger Weiniger]

They've been up all night. Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

Yes. Okay, this is how we play Gift or a curse. I'm going to name three things. You're going to tell me if they're a gift or a curse and why.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Okay.

[Danny Ricker]

And don't tell if you're right or wrong, because there are correct answers.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Okay, great.

[Danny Ricker]

All right, this first one is from a listener named Rick, and it says gift or a curse. Correcting someone's misuse of a word.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Curse for sure.

[Danny Ricker]

Why?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Because the only reason. Reason. Okay, so I. I should ask, what's the perspective? Someone correcting you, Danny, or you correcting someone, Danny?

[Danny Ricker]

I'm not giving you any more information.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Shoot. Okay. All right. Okay. Well, hold on. Let me reassess here. No, I'm. I'm going to say curse because the only reason anyone is doing that, you might say it's because. Well, I don't want you to keep using the word incorrectly in the future. The only reason you're doing it is to feel superior to the person. I guarantee. And I will do this to my children sometimes because I feel responsible, like, if I don't corre it right, like, who else is going to tell them? And maybe I don't want them to be embarrassed at school, but if this is an adult doing it to another adult, it absolutely occurs.

[Danny Ricker]

Correct. Thank you. Yeah, this one for me. This. I. I have to just say curse. I mean, what. What a rude behavior. I mean, it's. There's no good way to correct the way somebody pronounces a word. Yeah, there's the one where you just repeat the word using the correct pronunciation. So.

[Bridger Weiniger]

So condescending.

[Danny Ricker]

So condescending. Also pointing it out. You're looking for a fight.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

What's wrong with you? Just let it go.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Right.

[Danny Ricker]

Oh, and I guess this is a misuse. So I guess it could be pronunciation or someone. It's just like, unless you're looking to start a fight. And I support people picking fights all the time, but in I. I have to say, you just don't do it.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And in your head, you do that, and then you imagine the person going, oh, my God. Thank you for telling me. That's not the emotion. The person feels like, oh, you asshole.

[Danny Ricker]

No, I mean, there's actually kind of nothing worse. No worse feeling than someone like, oh, you misused that word.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Ye. That should be done privately and in shame. Later, if you realize you've been using a word incorrectly. That is a private moment between you and God.

[Danny Ricker]

Send an anonymous letter letting them know, but don't do it in person. Oh, okay. You've gotten one right so far. Good for you.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Thank you.

[Danny Ricker]

Number two. This is from a listener named Zach. Gift or a curse? Tums chewable tablets.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Go. Gift.

[Danny Ricker]

Why?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Well, I should say I've never used this. This is funny.

[Danny Ricker]

Bring this up.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I've never used Tums before. In the last week and a half, I've had the thought as a 40 year old man, maybe I should start using Tums.

[Danny Ricker]

Right?

[Bridger Weiniger]

So I'm not speaking from experience here. I'm only imagining what using Tums is like. But I've been thinking about it quite a bit lately and perhaps I'm over idealizing the effect of Tums, but I do feel like it will be a positive change in my life should I ever work up the courage to begin using them.

[Danny Ricker]

Right. Right. Right. Wrong. Curse. This is my thing with a Tums chewable tablet. And I've had a few experiences in the past. My stomach is essentially steel, but occasionally I push it too far. And they work like a miracle. They do.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Okay.

[Danny Ricker]

The taste and texture of this product is one of the worst things you can possibly imagine. Just make it a swallowable pill. I don't like, at the age you need to be to have a Tums, you should learn to have swallowed a pill.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Oh, I see. Yeah. It's sort of like a Flintstones chewable vitamin for. For grown adults.

[Danny Ricker]

Right?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

Kid needs a Tums.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

And look, look, we. Our heart goes out to children who need the Tums and their heartburn and their spicy eating. But I feel like for the, the audience, the. We should just swallow the pill because you chew one of these things, it's Necco level of disgusting.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Can you swallow a chewable Tums or.

[Danny Ricker]

Is that choke immediately?

[Bridger Weiniger]

All right.

[Danny Ricker]

Instead, death. At least Tums. I'm talking to Tums right now. Gather the office around. Make it a better flavor. It's a candy. It's artificial flavor. Just do a better flavor.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Are there distinct flavors because there's different colors in the. Again, I'm a. I have never personally used the product neophyte, but I want to know, like, are different. Like I've tried like those like fiber gummy things and they claim that some are peach and some are strawberry. Is there a single singular Tums flavor or do they Kind of mix it up.

[Danny Ricker]

I want to say that they're different flavors. Annalise. Do you think they're, like, subtle and they're all bad, so it doesn't really matter, but I think. Feel like there's, like, a banana, a strawberry, a grape.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Banana is a bad choice. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

Just make them, like. Like a sour candy, I guess, you all. Then you run the risk of. Now I want to eat a ton of Tums.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes. Right. And then you'll get superpowers.

[Danny Ricker]

That's why I don't run a medication company.

[Bridger Weiniger]

What medication would you take to give you that effect that you would swallow? Is there one on the market or has Tums completely corner this area?

[Danny Ricker]

There must be a pill form of a heartburn medic. Heartburn medication or Nexium or.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Is that the cult?

[Danny Ricker]

Nexium is some sort of breathing, I think.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

Nexium is a cult. There's another thing called. Wait. There's Nexium, the cult. And then there is a product that's.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Very close, because I think maybe I've tried that. It's Nex. No, not Nexum.

[Danny Ricker]

There's something that's, like, for. To clear your breathing or something interesting. The listener. It's Nexium. That is the pill. Nexium.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Then what's the cult? Or are they kind of under the.

[Danny Ricker]

Same umbrella, taking all the cult names.

[Bridger Weiniger]

The same parent company?

[Danny Ricker]

What's going on? Nexium. It's Nexium. Yeah. The cult is also called Nexium.

[Bridger Weiniger]

What is happening? Poor branding on one of their parts.

[Danny Ricker]

Oh, my God.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I don't know which one came first, but someone should have Googled that.

[Danny Ricker]

That cannot be true. What is happening? I, um. Well, you didn't get the point. We've got everybody. Look, do your research on medicine and cults. We don't want you, you know, thinking you're taking a medication and ending up having. Being branded or something. Okay, this is from a listener named Annie. Gift or a curse? Stay in your car. Oil change places.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Curse.

[Danny Ricker]

Why?

[Bridger Weiniger]

You are trapped, and there is nothing you can do. And I feel judged when my car is being worked on. I feel like they get in there and they go, oh, boy. It's been. This guy went 3,500 miles instead of the 3,000 miles. And we can tell immediately, whatever. But when I'm in the waiting room and I'm drinking, you know, instant coffee or room temperature water, I feel like there's a separation that's needed. I kind of feel like you're. I feel Like I'm in like an aquarium sort of being judged by these men. Men. I are doing work I wouldn't even know how to start to know how to do on my own car. And I. I feel like for social reasons and. And just. Just good decorum, you need to separate the customer from the vehicle during these situations.

[Danny Ricker]

Correct.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes. Thank you.

[Danny Ricker]

Curse. I mean, there's so many things that could go wrong here. First of all, I don't want to be in the car when the thing collapses on the person.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Oh, yeah. Oh, you. You are at least an accessory to crime, if not directly responsible.

[Danny Ricker]

Your life is ruined.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

Your. And your car is haunted. Horrible. Also, what a. I mean, they're. That's them trying to cut costs on those gorgeous little paper cups that you get to drink the water out of that. I love the taste of that. You only ever see the only other places in the dentist office.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes.

[Danny Ricker]

And usually you're getting the flora or the scope in those. So you don't get just the water on paper taste.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. Right.

[Danny Ricker]

I love being in a waiting room at an oil change place.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. Odd things on the television tile that.

[Danny Ricker]

You'Ll see in no other building on the planet. Planet.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

Usually a wall that's painted the most garish red you can imagine. Or maroon. I feel like you're seeing red or maroon walls and you're getting to watch Judge Judy.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. And what is the benefit to them to staying in the I. It feels like the pitch is that's a benefit to you, the customer. It's faster. It can't be faster.

[Danny Ricker]

It's saving probably a total of 30 to 60 seconds.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

Getting out of the car and walking into the place.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. There's no way it's actually faster for you.

[Danny Ricker]

It's. They're cutting costs and making it seem like it's a better thing for us.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Like they're doing you a favor.

[Danny Ricker]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

I want my free walk. I want a few minutes of Judge Judy.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

I want the smell of the place. And I want. I love when they come in and say, your car is done. It's like everything's okay. You get to take your family member home. They're not gonna die here.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. It's sort of like. Like how, like babies used to be born. It's like the father would sit out, like, smoking, and they go, congratulations, everything went great. And go, wow, thank you. And you get to be on your way. It's nice.

[Danny Ricker]

Exactly. Well, you got two out of three.

[Bridger Weiniger]

All right.

[Danny Ricker]

Not bad.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Pretty good passing grade.

[Danny Ricker]

Absolutely. A passing grade. You could have really failed, killed. And that would have been horrifying for everybody.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I feel like I wouldn't if I had run into you elsewhere after this. Oh, my God.

[Danny Ricker]

I would have absolutely lowered my head. I'm sorry. Have we met? Okay. I didn't even have the final doc open, so let me get this open. Okay, here we go. This is the final segment of the podcast. It's called I said no emails. People write into I said no gifts. Gmail.com. they send voice notes that are 60 seconds long in a quiet, quiet area. I think that's all you have to do. Right, Anneliese? Annalise is giving me the thumbs up about that. Will you help me answer a question?

[Bridger Weiniger]

I would love to, yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

Okay. This is Hello, Bridger, and incredibly talented guest.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Thank you.

[Danny Ricker]

Jury's still out. I live in a beautiful area where there's a lot of hiking and outdoor recreation. With influencers being so prevalent now, we have. We have had a hard time going anywhere without loads of people about. No more secret spots. I can't decide if it feels good to share the space and see people getting outside and moving their bodies or pervert. Or wishing to keep it to ourselves, which feels selfish. Is gatekeeping a gift or a curse? Oh, this was a secret gift or a curse. Interesting. Come on. Thank you. And that's from Jenny from the Pacific Northwest pnw, as Jenny puts it.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Okay. All right.

[Danny Ricker]

I don't think I've ever heard pnw.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Me neither.

[Danny Ricker]

Handled that really well. Well, now I guess we just have to discuss if this is. Or if gatekeeping is a given or a curse, especially, I guess, within the realm of outdoor spaces.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. I think people ruin everything that's nice in this world. And so I think it's. You should be able to have your own little secret spot. Like, I go hiking in the hills of Burbank. When I go hiking, and there's, like, a moderate amount of people up there. You don't want to be totally alone, but you want to see someone every 20 minutes, you. And you give them the little head nod and.

[Danny Ricker]

Right. Someone that can find your body.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes, exactly. There's a last known whereabouts situation.

[Danny Ricker]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And maybe you still want to see some wildlife. If there's too many people, there's no wildlife all of a sudden. And the reason to go to a place like this is to try to find some peace in this fucking nightmare we live in every day. So if you're there, and the word influencer was triggering to me here because I feel like if you are somewhere and there's people recording a TikTok video, that is the most enraging thing I can run into in like a nature space.

[Danny Ricker]

In a just regular space.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes. By the way, my zero tolerance thing now is people doing that in like Target, like reviewing a product or playing a hilarious little prank in a store. Oh, I'm here to get mouthwash and to leave. I'm not. I'm not part of your all trapped.

[Danny Ricker]

Worst prank show of all time.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes. But no, I think you should. If you have a spot you like, tell no one about it. But do you agree?

[Danny Ricker]

Oh, of course.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

It's a weird. I feel like if something is a free thing that is especially. It's supposed to be peaceful, keep it to yourself.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes.

[Danny Ricker]

With restaurants and stuff, that's a trickier thing where it's like you don't want the restaurant to go out of business.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

But you also don't want it to become so popular that it.

[Bridger Weiniger]

You can no longer go there.

[Danny Ricker]

So I don't know how. That part of gatekeeping, I think, actually, I guess I think all gatekeeping is incredible. I think every gate should be kept.

[Bridger Weiniger]

You would rather a restaurant go out of business and the owner, their family is on the street? As long as you don't have to wait for a table.

[Danny Ricker]

Yes. That's. Ultimately, I'm with a wake of dead restaurants just in my wake and. But with the public spaces, that sort of thing, I think actively keep it to yourself. Don't even tell close friends.

[Bridger Weiniger]

No. As family members blindfold them. Yes. I just thought of one random question to ask you.

[Danny Ricker]

Yes.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And I'm sorry, I know it's the end of the podcast, but it popped into my head and I cannot leave until I know the answer. What is your favorite chain restaurant?

[Danny Ricker]

Oh, interesting. This is a great question. Okay. I've recently. It's complicated. First of all, the one I go to regularly.

[Bridger Weiniger]

You're not going to say the name because you don't want people to go there.

[Danny Ricker]

No, I'll name all of these because who cares? They're all out to ruin each other. And the one that I go to regularly has withstood the storm and is in and out.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Okay. Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

They've managed to continue to expand and be popular and not be disgusting.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

I'll eat a hamburger there once a week. My heart is going to fail.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Okay.

[Danny Ricker]

All right. A more controversial one in this household currently is I've started going to a place called the Habit or Habit Burger.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I'm Familiar with Habit. Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

Jim was away for a while. He's working. He was on a. In a show on Broadway for about six months. And I needed a grilled chicken sandwich. I could not find one anywhere. I found it at the Habit and I was shocked. I thought, this is pretty good. This is my. The qualifier. I kind of describe it as national park food.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Okay.

[Danny Ricker]

It feels like basically the quality of food that you would get at a. Like a. One of the little weird places at a national park where you're like, yeah, I'm hungry enough.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. Or like, like you might have it like a water park potentially. Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

Water park is maybe one level below.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Okay, okay. Okay.

[Danny Ricker]

But yeah, like, you know, it's like, this is totally fine.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Edible.

[Danny Ricker]

But I've been going there and let's see if I feel like I should have a third.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Well, I'm going to say even those two you named are almost kind of indie in the grand scheme of chain restaurants. I was hoping there was going. You were going to be like, I love Ruby Tuesdays or I was hoping you had one deep inside and maybe.

[Danny Ricker]

You don't like this. I'm trying to think of one I never. I haven't been to in probably 15 years. Is Chili's.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

And I have fond memories of Chili's.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Me too. Chili's was my. Was mine. Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

But they're not around LA anymore, so I can't really speak to the quality.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, I can't eat gluten anymore either. Which knocks out almost every chain restaurant there is.

[Danny Ricker]

But I will say this about chain restaurants. My sister has celiac. And I feel like a lot of chain restaurants have such strict standards that if you do find one that's like gluten free, friendly, they are pretty good about it.

[Bridger Weiniger]

They're almost too good about it. I find restaurants that take it seriously. I feel guilty and the manager comes out almost, like scared to talk to me, and they go, we hear there's a gluten allergy at the. At the table.

[Danny Ricker]

I go, yeah, yeah, we fired your server. They.

[Bridger Weiniger]

They ate bread within the last month and they are gone in case they breathe on you. No, I don't have celiac. And celiac is very serious. Like, they have to treat serious. So I. They always ask me, allergy or preference? Right now, for me, it is an allergy, but it's not a serious allergy. And I know if I say allergy, a whole thing has to happen there, of course. So I say preference. And then I feel like a Hollywood. Yeah, exactly. Style. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. And they look at me and they go, you're not that thin. Like, what's. You don't look healthy. There's not a healthy glow about you. I don't know what you think this is accomplishing.

[Danny Ricker]

Wait, so you would say Chili's. Is there another.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Well, Chili's. I, We. We only eat at one restaurant. I. I never eat at restaurants. There's a place called Don Cuco's in Burbank. That's just your, like, just a family style Mexican restaurant. It is the only restaurant my kids will eat at.

[Danny Ricker]

Oh, sure.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And we used to go there once a week.

[Danny Ricker]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And. And it's horribly unhealthy and it's wonderful. And they have margaritas and. And my kids only eat chips. And then we order them an entree they do not eat. And my son orders the hamburger there, which he says is delicious, even though he never eats it. And then when I cook him a hamburger at the house, he says, I don't like hamburgers.

[Danny Ricker]

What interesting game he's playing.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes. And I go, well, you order. You always order Don Cucu. He goes, but that one's good. And then I go crazy because I'm actually good at making hamburgers.

[Danny Ricker]

Of course.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And it's really insulting.

[Danny Ricker]

I remember going through that period as a kid of being like, I love, love hamburgers at McDonald's, but homemade ones, like, oh, what is that?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes. Even though they're easily better quality. Yes. Better taste. Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

Like the worst home hamburger is going to be way better than a McDonald's hamburger.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Danny Ricker]

Maybe that's not entire. Well, whatever. I don't need to be fair to McDonald's.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And you're. Now you have Marlboro as a sponsor. You don't need McDonald's.

[Danny Ricker]

We'll reach out to them next week. Just horrible hamburgers and cigarettes. I'll be eating them on podcasts, smoking in my guest's face. Well, I've got these gorgeous TV Guides. I'm going to pour through these.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I. And I hope you pass them down to your children, grandchildren, of course.

[Danny Ricker]

Kevin Sorbo, still alive, as far as I know.

[Bridger Weiniger]

As of this recording.

[Danny Ricker]

Yes, as of this recording, as of this release.

[Bridger Weiniger]

We'll see.

[Danny Ricker]

That's. There's a time difference.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes.

[Danny Ricker]

Kevin, I don't know if. I don't know if I care. Kevin, do whatever you want. Live or die. I'm so thrilled that you could be here today.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Thank you for having me. I. All kidding aside, I. We. We love you. We miss you at the. You're You're a great guy and I'm very happy to see you.

[Danny Ricker]

Thank you, thank you and listener. The podcast is hitting the brakes. We're all going to. Well, we all have our seat belts on, so we're fine. The podcast is over. I love you. Goodbye. I Said no Gifts is an exactly right production. Our senior producer is Annelise Nelson and our episodes are beautifully mixed by Ben Tolliday. The theme song is by miracle worker Amy Mann, and we couldn't do it without our booker, Patrick Cotner. You must follow the show on Instagram at I said no Gifts. That's where you're going to see pictures of all these wonderful gifts I'm getting. And don't you want to see the gifts?

[Bridger Weiniger]

When you're a guest in my home, you gotta come to me empty handed. I said no guests. Your presence is present enough and I already had too much stuff, so how do you dare disobey me? Foreign.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Danny Ricker]

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