I Said No Gifts! with Bridger Winegar

Episode: Kate Berlant Disobeys Bridger
Date: October 9, 2025
Guest: Kate Berlant
Podcast Network: Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts

Episode Overview

This lively, freewheeling episode welcomes comedian and actor Kate Berlant to Bridger's backyard for a characteristically meandering, hilarious chat. As always on I Said No Gifts!, a rule is broken—Kate brings a present, providing a launchpad for an hour-plus of offbeat storytelling, personal overshares, and sharp observational comedy, all filtered through Bridger's deadpan hosting and Kate's surreal comic style. Expect conversations about ultrasounds, haunted hotels, missed connections, expensive chocolate fish, the pitfalls of gift-giving, social media addiction, diner orders, and the correct etiquette of sending back food. The show closes with Gift or a Curse (the signature game segment) and advice for a listener with an impossible gift-giving dilemma.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Ultrasounds, Medical Mishaps, and Bladder Anxiety

• [02:25 – 07:18]
  • Bridger recounts his recent (perfectly normal!) ultrasound and minor gambling loss as the peaks of his week.
  • Kate joins and immediately relates, sharing tales of two vaginal ultrasounds, an ovarian cyst bursting (“I woke up in the night, threw up from the pain… Next day go in, and they wand. I go, yep, there you go… and then it’s just fine.” [04:13, Kate]).
  • They riff on the weirdness of having to fully empty one's bladder and “pee anxiety” when giving samples.
  • Memorable moment:
    • Bridger: “You don’t need to fill the cup. It doesn’t need to be overflowing.”
    • Kate: “It’s almost just like, I think, half an inch… A squirt.” ([06:57–07:03])

2. Gambling and the Slot Machine Experience

• [07:21 – 09:38]
  • Bridger’s infrequent attempt at gambling: he gives up after losing $20 on slots in Palm Springs.
  • Kate’s own gambling highlights (“I was like 45 black or whatever, and it landed on it… 150 bucks. I go, that’s it.” [07:43–07:48, Kate]).
  • Deconstruction of how slot machines work now (“You don’t even get the crank anymore.” [08:58, Kate]).
  • Parallels between gambling and social media dopamine hits (“I gamble. I guess I am addicted to gambling—because that’s what social media is.” [09:38, Kate]).

3. Social Media Cleanses & Digital Addiction

• [10:03 – 12:24]
  • Kate is on a seven-day Instagram cleanse (“Immediate relief.” [10:18, Kate]), with Bridger in awe.
  • They both bemoan how Instagram is now “like Facebook,” and reminisce about Facebook’s decline and the weird nostalgia of returning to unused accounts.

4. Craigslist Missed Connections & The Paramedic Story

• [13:37 – 17:00]
  • Discussion about the lost glory of Craigslist Missed Connections.
  • Kate premieres a story: she once called 911 for dizziness, befriended her (cute) paramedic, then posted a Missed Connection that predictably got no response.
  • Memorable exchange:
    • Bridger (re ambulance costs): “Is an ambulance ride $700? Is that what we think?”
    • Kate: “At the time, the number $700 was burned into my head.” ([16:12–16:54])

5. Superstitions, Salt Spills, and Knocking on Wood

• [20:13 – 21:02]
  • Both are “knock on wood” people.
  • Kate, on the salt spill: “If you spill salt… you have to throw it over your left (or right) shoulder. I do both because I never checked.” ([20:27–20:33])

6. Ghost Sightings & Haunted Hotels

• [21:02 – 24:07]
  • Kate tells a recent story about staying in a haunted hotel in Bend, Oregon; Google reviews confirm the location’s haunted status.
  • She also shares about a startling haunted-hotel moment in Ireland—returning to her room to find a strange pair of red underwear—and Bridger links it back to the present.
  • “It’s like going into a haunted house.” ([12:08, Bridger])
  • Kate: “I said, ‘Don’t. I don’t want to see you.’ And I said that out loud. No, I’m not open.” ([23:23, Kate])
  • They discuss classic ghost movies (The Others, The Conjuring) and why good child actors are disturbing (“Child actors to me are… They prove reincarnation is real.” [24:50, Kate])

7. Child Actors, Hollywood, and Career Longevity

• [24:50 – 26:57]
  • Kate and Bridger review the rare success stories (Mary-Kate & Ashley, Kieran Culkin) and question if children should even be in movies.
  • “All children in movies should be AI. Why not?” ([25:52, Bridger])

8. The Gift Segment – $32 Chocolate Sardines

• [27:19 – 41:03]
  • Kate’s gift: a tin of high-end chocolate sardines (“Price tag, by the way. $32.” [36:21, Kate]).
  • Extended banter about the cost, provenance, whether to eat them (“That’s $8 a fish!” [36:35, Bridger]).
  • The habit of buying gifts but never delivering them is dissected.
  • The two sample the chocolates—very good quality—and muse about tinned fish culture (“Are you a tinned fish person?” [43:07–43:14]).

9. Diners, Tuna Melts, and Sending Back Food

• [43:14 – 46:05]
  • Digression into favorite diner foods, with an ode to the Clark Street Diner tuna melt.
  • Kate admits she can now (as an adult) send something back if it’s truly wrong: “It’s one of the great accomplishments, I think, of adulthood, that… I can send something back now.” ([45:12, Kate])
  • How to handle missing ingredients or bad food diplomatically.

10. Bags, Purses, and Shopping Suggestions

• [51:34 – 52:58]
  • Quick advice on the best bag brands for Bridger and the sentimental resonance of purses with life eras.

Most Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Kate (on social media and gambling):
  “I guess I am addicted to gambling—because that’s what social media is. You refresh and it’s like you might get a cookie or you might not.” ([09:38])
• Kate (on child actors):
  “Child actors to me are… They prove that reincarnation is real. That’s some like 55-year-old actor who’s now 12 and is like, ‘Here’s my big shot.’” ([24:50])
• Bridger (on haunted feelings):
  “It’s like going into a haunted house.” ([12:08])
• Kate (on not giving gifts):
  “This is the promise of the person I hope to be—and I think I could still become that person.” ([40:36])
• Kate (on adulthood achievements):
  “It’s one of the great accomplishments, I think of adulthood, that… I can send something back now.” ([45:12])
• Bridger (about expensive sardine chocolates):
  “That’s $8 a fish!” ([36:35])
• Kate (on Instagram addiction):
  “It’s really embarrassing to be addicted to Instagram.” ([11:20])

Gift or a Curse Game

[53:51 – 78:48]

Topics & Outcomes:

1. A character quietly yet dramatically takes a pill on-screen:

   • Gift. Both agree it’s cheap writing, but it’s “rich character development.” ([57:22–57:32])
   • Kate: “It’s a gift to the audience to show them—it’s character development.” ([57:22–57:32])

2. Tongue scrapers:

   • Curse. Kate wavers (“I own one, sometimes I’ll use it, but I need to get more research. Gift… I’ll still say it’s a gift.” [66:02, Kate])
   • Bridger rules it's a curse—too much conflicting science, possibly harmful or pointless.

3. Cutesy fake movie trailers with celebrities that remind you not to talk or text:

   • Curse. Kate tries to opt out (“I’ve never seen a celebrity in one of those. So I refuse the question. It’s a gift, though, because I like that one media.” [68:08, Kate]). Bridger rules it's a curse—they’re unnecessary and don’t deter the culprits.

4. Bonus, from producer Analiese: Watching a scary movie alone

   • Both choose Gift; consensus that watching scary movies alone, while tough, maximizes the intended effect.
   • Kate: “If I can sit through something really terrifying by myself and get through it, I’m good. Like, I’ve never felt stronger than watching… Blair Witch Project by myself.” ([79:03–79:21])

Listener Advice Segment

[79:55 – End]

Dilemma: What should Katherine get her brother-in-law (college professor, loves surfing, writing, reading, and “New England pizza”) for his 40th birthday?

Key Suggestions:

• Kate: “Goldbelly in a pinch has some fun stuff for someone that wants a food item… send a fun, other kind of pizza sampler.” ([81:03–81:27])
• Bridger floats the idea of a Florida-style “swamp tour” gift experience.
• Small digression into pizza styles and regional specialties.

Memorable quip:
Kate: “How postpartum were you?” ([81:35])
On sending pizza to a friend after she had a baby.

Closing Notes & Tone

• The episode is fast-paced, filled with tangential asides and observational asides, retaining a warm, conspiratorial feel between Bridger and Kate.
• Both bring neurotic self-awareness and celebrate their shared (and all-too-relatable) flaws regarding gifts, gadgets, and anxiety.
• The cadence moves easily between reminiscence, confession, and bit-heavy banter—typical of the show’s comfortable, comedic energy.

Section Timestamps

| Segment Topic | Timestamps | |----------------------------------------------|--------------------| | Medical mishaps & ultrasounds | 02:25 – 07:18 | | Gambling & slot machines | 07:21 – 09:38 | | Social media addiction & cleanses | 10:03 – 12:24 | | Facebook & online marketplaces | 12:24 – 14:16 | | Craigslist Missed Connections & paramedic | 13:37 – 17:00 | | Superstition: salt & knocking on wood | 20:13 – 21:02 | | Ghosts & haunted hotels | 21:02 – 24:07 | | Child actors/Hollywood | 24:50 – 26:57 | | Kate’s gift: $32 chocolate sardines | 27:19 – 41:03 | | Tuna melts, diners, returning food | 43:14 – 46:05 | | Purse/bag chat | 51:34 – 52:58 | | Gift or a Curse game | 53:51 – 78:48 | | Listener advice & alligator digressions | 79:55 – end |

Suitable For:
This summary is ideal for newcomers who want the episode’s flavor, loyal fans who missed a week, or completists who need to revisit the laughs and wisdom without re-listening.