Neil Campbell Disobeys Bridger

Summary

I Said No Gifts! with Bridger Winegar

Episode: Neil Campbell Disobeys Bridger
Release Date: September 4, 2025
Guest: Neil Campbell

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Episode Overview

Bridger Winegar welcomes comedy writer, improviser, and showrunner Neil Campbell to his backyard for a pre-noon, summery chat. As always, Bridger says “no gifts”—but Neil, like every guest before, disobeys. Together, they veer through topics from 90s mall culture to long-haul travel, painful social media presence, and, finally, Neil’s notorious "Elon Musk episode" of The Simpsons. The episode combines playful banter, gift-giving hijinks, and deep dives into the absurdities of modern life, all with the signature dry, self-deprecating humor that defines the show.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Catching Up: Weather, Summer, and Discount Malls

[02:43 - 06:45]

• Bridger sets the scene: “We’re in the backyard… I woke up feeling very ambitious this morning, but that's over now and I got nothing accomplished…”
• Light teasing about Neil’s summery look and possible “matching disaster” if both wore similar shirts.
• Nostalgic riffing on clothing brands like Gant, Union Bay, and the ecosystem of department stores (TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Nordstrom Rack, Burlington Coat Factory).
• Regional mall talk: Neil grew up in Fairfax, VA, with department store anchors (JCPenney, Lord & Taylor, Sears), while Bridger recalls Mervyn’s from Utah.
• Amusing confusion over whether Lord & Taylor was strictly for women, and the disappearance of classic department stores.

2. Neil’s Nomadic Childhood

[07:40 - 10:10]

• Neil’s family: much moving due to his father’s military-adjacent job—Atlanta > New Jersey > Virginia > Japan (Camp Zama, near Tokyo) > Virginia > Arizona and Seattle.
• Attending an American school in Japan meant limited actual Japanese learning, but there's nostalgia for cultural classes and singing “Sakura.”
• Neil recalls collecting Gundam cards from vending machines: “I drew a little robot. And for his skills, I said he has a good sense of humor.”
  • Bridger: “Do you still have the card?”
  • Neil: “I do. It’s on my fridge right now.”
• Humorous lament that their collectibles from childhood are not as valuable as others’: "My cousin bought a Pokémon card in a mall in Japan. It's now worth like $20,000."
• Neil’s lamination-machine childhood crafts become a running joke about retirement funding.

3. Travel Talk: Food, Overplanning, and Packing

[14:47 - 20:49]

• Neil’s recent travels: Madrid, Tokyo, Mexico City, Dublin, focusing mostly on “food walking tours” vetted (or not) by his partner, Fran Gillespie.
• The hosts bond over the existential exhaustion of international travel, agreeing that 10 days is the upper limit before travel joy fades.
  • Bridger: “11 or 12 days, I’m like oh no, I think that’s right. I need to be home now.” [16:43]
• Overplanning woes: Doing all the “must-sees” on day one, then feeling lost at the end.
• Packing anxiety: Bridger only brings Vans (“Walking 15 miles a day in Vans. But I'm gonna die either way.” [19:06]), Neil tries to balance Hokas for walking and loafers for dinners—much to Bridger’s disbelief.
• Universal hatred for checking bags: “Waiting at a baggage carousel, worst feeling in the world.” [19:27]
• Bridger’s stealth luggage strategy while moving out of parents’ house post-LA move.

4. The Gift: Neil's Bobblehead Blunder

[20:49 - 22:08, 25:04 - 27:00]

• Bridger calls out Neil for obviously bringing a gift, despite the "no gifts" rule:

  • Bridger: “You showed up holding what is obviously... that’s a gift.” [20:57]
  • Neil pleads innocence: Bought the gift before being booked, saw something Bridger would love—it's just a coincidence!

• The Gift Unwrapped:

  • A Vin Scully Dodgers announcer bobblehead.
  • Neil’s inspiration: Seeing Bridger’s podcast photo next to a microphone, then an ad for “Vin Scully Night” at Dodger Stadium:
    • Neil: “A young Vin Scully and a Bridger Weiniger… there are echoes, you know. Especially two photos in a row behind microphones.” [25:53]
  • Bridger admits his baseball ignorance, jokes about pursuing a new career as Dodgers commentator.
  • Discussion of Scully's legendary announcing career, and a brief, dark riff about sports legend murders.

• The ricochet into TikTok and social media anxiety:

  • Neil on TikTok: “Is it closer to YouTube, where mostly people watch, or Instagram where everyone posts?” [27:20]
  • Both lament the pressure and stress of “being online,” comparing it to needing a drink to post an Instagram.

5. Social Media (and Avoiding It)

[27:20 - 31:15]

• Bridger: “Maybe if I started drinking, that would help. I need to drink to get on Instagram.” [31:05]
• Neil’s uncertainties with Twitter/X, admiring people who “just flow with it.”
• The pair agree on the draining nature of posting, feeling like there’s nothing new to add.

6. Dodger Stadium, Bobblehead Trading, and Modern Entertainment

[31:31 - 35:20]

• Neil gives bobblehead trade tips:
  • “On any night… there will be people outside the stadium as you're leaving who are like, 'trade bobbleheads.'” [31:34]
• Bridger has never been to a Dodgers game, fearing LA traffic and game length.
• Neil reveals he lives a mile from the stadium, walking there: “That’s a healthy habit.” [32:43]
• They bemoan the length of baseball games and movie runtimes, but Neil weirdly enjoys multi-hour “slow cinema” Hungarian films:
  • Neil: “I’ve done a few of the, like, eight-hour Hungarian movies.” [33:51]
• TV attention spans: Both struggle to “binge”—Neil prefers one or two episodes a week, “Maybe I'll live long enough to see the end of Little House on the Prairie.”

7. Star Wars and Animated Series

[36:51 - 38:13]

• Neil is a vintage Star Wars fan, currently catching up on "Andor" and noting the insurmountable volume of TV in the franchise.
• Attempts at anime like Demon Slayer inevitably stall after a few episodes, prompting Bridger to joke about “eventually getting through The Flintstones.”

8. TV Nostalgia: Childhood Viewing in Japan

[40:56 - 43:20]

• In Japan, Neil's family got one American TV channel: “Half the year it was Cosby Show, and half the year it was Roseanne.” [41:11]
• Discussion of the old sitcom model, and Laurie Metcalf fandom.

9. The Simpsons, Elon Musk, and Internet Reputations

[45:49 - 50:23]

• Neil recounts, in detail, his accidental involvement with the infamous Elon Musk episode of The Simpsons:
  • “I have one episode of the Simpsons credited to my name. And… this is the worst episode ever of Simpsons. … Like, who wrote this, Neil Campbell?!” [49:10]
• He describes the bittersweet “monkey’s paw” of seeing his name immortalized on a notorious installment.
• Bridger: “No one has ever tried harder to be funny and never been funny. It’s amazing to watch that man fail at being funny.” (on Musk) [50:04]

10. Game Segment: Gift Master

[50:26 - 56:51]

• Neil plugs “Digman!,” his animated series with Andy Samberg, "hopefully" streaming somewhere amidst network mergers.
• In Gift Master, Neil chooses the “USB cable” for Christine Baranski, a “family of four” for disgraced crypto exec Sam Bankman-Fried (so he gets his priorities straight), and “Anderson Cooper” for Post Malone so they can odd-couple their way to growth.
  • Bridger: “What a pair in a one bedroom apartment. They’re getting on each other’s nerves. Anderson is so tidy. Post Malone is, you know, beer everywhere.” [54:43]

11. Listener Question: Mexican Food Denial

[57:21 - 61:12]

• A listener writes: How do I convince my wife she likes Mexican food when she always enjoys it but insists otherwise?
• Jokes about possible reasons: racism? gluten intolerance? gaslighting?
• Neil proposes: Take her to a quality sit-down Mexican restaurant to reset the narrative.
• Bridger suspects the real issue is cross-contamination, and the emailer’s self-interest: “James is not thinking about his wife's health. All he's thinking about is his favorite cuisine.”
• The conversation playfully devolves from “he’s poisoning her” (Phantom Thread style) to painting James as a hero firefighter oppressively denied nachos by his wife.
• Bridger: “Vote for James to get a divorce from this lady. And hopefully it's a wake up call for her.” [61:06]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Nostalgia:
  • Neil: “I drew a little robot... I said he has a good sense of humor. Do you still have the card? … It's on my fridge right now.” [10:41]
• On Social Media:
  • Bridger: “Maybe if I started drinking, that would help. I need to drink to get on Instagram.” [31:05]
• On TV Overload:
  • Neil: “I'll watch, like, four shows maybe a year. … Or four seasons of a show.” [36:14]
• On Bobblehead Culture:
  • Neil: “On any night that there is a bobblehead night at Dodger Stadium, there will be people outside the stadium as you're leaving who are like, trade bobbleheads.” [31:34]
• On The Simpsons + Musk:
  • Neil: “I have one episode of the Simpsons credited to my name. … This is the worst episode ever of Simpsons.” [49:10]
  • Bridger: “Elon Musk. That’s the one thing he wants to be and never will be: funny. Which is so… No one has ever tried harder to be funny and never been funny.” [50:04]
• On Listener Question/Marriage Advice:
  • Bridger: “James is not thinking about his wife's health. All he's thinking about is his favorite cuisine.” [58:33]
  • Neil: “We got a Phantom Thread kind of operation happening.” [59:19]
  • Bridger: “Vote for James to get a divorce from this lady. And hopefully it's a wake up call for her.” [61:06]

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Timestamps: Important Segments

• [02:43] — First substantive banter, mall talk begins
• [08:02] — Neil discusses living in Japan, army base life
• [10:45] — Japanese vending machine nostalgia and collectibles
• [14:50] — Travel discussion: food, overplanning, and tips
• [20:49] — The forbidden gift is revealed (Vin Scully bobblehead)
• [25:04] — Extended bobblehead conversation, Dodger Stadium
• [27:20] — Social media stress and generational disconnect
• [31:34] — Bobblehead trading, baseball game lengths
• [36:51] — TV and Star Wars talk, commitment to shows
• [41:11] — American classic sitcoms in Japan, Laurie Metcalf love
• [45:49] — Neil’s Simpsons/Elon Musk backstory
• [50:26] — Gift Master segment begins, followed by creative pairings
• [57:20] — Listener question: wife’s Mexican food “hatred”
• [62:16] — Wrap-up and affectionate goodbyes

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Summary & Takeaways

This episode was a warm, winding, joke-packed meditation on everything from department stores and vending machines to the failings of modern streaming, social media anxiety, and the strange fate of seeing your name on a Simpsons episode that’s now an internet punchline. Neil Campbell’s comic demeanor meshes perfectly with Bridger’s faux-polite, “no gifts” schtick, resulting in natural banter, honest confessions (about social dread, travel burnout, and childhood crafts), and delightfully silly solutions to listener problems.

Perhaps the episode’s “gift” is not the Vin Scully bobblehead but the realization that life’s path is more winding and absurd—and full of more laughter—than we plan.

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Listen if you enjoy: dry comedy, winding conversational podcasts, pop culture nostalgia, LA life, and the catharsis of laughing at the little (and big!) failures of adulthood.

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For more:
Watch Neil Campbell’s animated show Digman! (Paramount+ / Comedy Central)
Follow Bridger and the show on Instagram @isaidnogifts for pictures of every rebel gift.

Transcript

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

This is exactly right. Betrayal Weekly is back for season two with brand new stories.

[Bridger Weiniger]

The detective comes driving up fast and.

[Andrea Gunning]

Just like screeches right in the parking lot.

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

I swear I'm not crazy, but I.

[Andrea Gunning]

Think he poisoned me.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I feel trapped.

[Andrea Gunning]

My breathing changes.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I realize, wow, like he is not a mentor.

[Andrea Gunning]

He's pretty much a monster.

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

But these aren't just stories of destruction.

[Andrea Gunning]

Their stories of survival.

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

I'm going to tell my story and I'm going to hold my head up.

[Andrea Gunning]

Listen to Betrayal Weekly on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

Hi, it's Jemma Speg, host of the Psychology of youf 20s. This September, at the Psychology of youf 20s, we're breaking down the very interesting ways psychology applies to real life. Like why we crave external validation. I find it so interesting that we are so quick to believe others judgments of us and not our own judgment of our so according to the study, not being liked actually creates similar pain levels as real life physical pain. Learn more about the psychology of everyday life and of course your twenties. This September, listen to the psychology of your twenties on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I just think the process and the journey is so delicious. That's where all the good stuff is. You just can't live and die by the end result.

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

That's comedian Phoebe Robinson. And yeah, those are the kinds of gems you'll only hear on my podcast, the Bright side. I'm your host, Simone Boy Place. I'm talking to the brightest minds in entertainment, health, wellness and pop culture. And every week we're going places in our communities, our careers and ourselves. So join me every Monday and let's find the bright side together. Listen to the bright side on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I thought I made myself perfectly clear.

[Andrea Gunning]

When you're a guest in my home.

[Bridger Weiniger]

You gotta come to me empty handed. I said no guests. Your presence is presents enough. And I already had too much stuff.

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

So how do you dare disobey me?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Foreign.

[Andrea Gunning]

Welcome to I said no Gifts. I'm Bridger Weiniger. We're in the backyard, which is such a lovely feeling. You know, it's been a minute since we've been back here, largely because it's summer, but we're it's a pre noon recording so we'll only be sweating about halfway through the episode. For now, I feel great. What's going on? I woke up feeling very Ambitious this morning, but that's over now and I got nothing accomplished. Last night I had a dream. I went on a cruise, which was unbelievably stressful. What an experience. And that leads us to now. That's my day. That's me before 11am and I think we should get into the podcast. Today's guest is absolutely wonderful. It's Neal Campbell. Neal, welcome to. I said no gifts.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Thank you for having me.

[Andrea Gunning]

Oh, of course. How are you feeling?

[Bridger Weiniger]

I'm feeling excited. I'm excited to be here.

[Andrea Gunning]

Are you warm?

[Bridger Weiniger]

I'm warm, but. But not uncomfortable.

[Andrea Gunning]

Okay, great. You're in a summery look. I like this.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, yeah. You know, gotta break out the. The short sleeves.

[Andrea Gunning]

I have a shirt very similar to this. I almost wore it this morning and that would have been a disaster for the podcast.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Is it from Gant?

[Andrea Gunning]

It's not. Wait, what is that?

[Bridger Weiniger]

I don't. I don't know if they exist anymore, but it was some brand that was around for a minute.

[Andrea Gunning]

How do you spell that?

[Bridger Weiniger]

G, A, N, T. Gant. Gant. Yeah. And they had a store and it was Gantt Rugger or something like that.

[Andrea Gunning]

Gant is not a pleasant. It doesn't sound like clothing.

[Bridger Weiniger]

No. And I'm very possibly mispronouncing it Gaunt.

[Andrea Gunning]

Well, gaunt isn't good either.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, it might have been a very soft G. And I don't know, Gantt.

[Andrea Gunning]

Sounds like they sell drills or something. Gaunt sounds too goth.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. Or. Or too kind of super skinny or.

[Andrea Gunning]

Right. And Jant.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. Well, now we know why they didn't take off.

[Andrea Gunning]

Jant sounds like a discount retailer. Maybe kind of a Ross competitor.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Oh, that'd be good.

[Andrea Gunning]

Maybe I'll open a Jant. Ross is popping up everywhere. There's an. I just saw a new Ross is opening.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Really?

[Andrea Gunning]

I. I don't know what the epidemic of Ross is, but I think it's the worst of those type of discount stores.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I'm not. I haven't. I'm actually not sure I've been into a Ross.

[Andrea Gunning]

You've never been in a Roth?

[Bridger Weiniger]

No. And I'm no stranger to a discount store, but I just don't know that my path has led me to a Ross.

[Andrea Gunning]

Have you been in a T.J. maxx?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Oh, yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

Have you been in a Marshalls?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes, I think so.

[Andrea Gunning]

Okay, and then let's see, then we've got Nordstrom. Rack is a little bit the top tier. And then we have a Burlington Coat Factory, which they don't call a coat factory anymore.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Right. But I think we had both. Both Burlington and TJ Maxx were near my high school, so.

[Andrea Gunning]

Oh, sure.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I've only popped into both of those.

[Andrea Gunning]

We're around back to school. Shopping season. Was that like an annual thing for you?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes, I guess so. A little bit. But I. It was probably years before I really was paying much attention to what I was wearing. So it was more of like, okay, I need like, a one new shirt. That's cool. This, you know, my new Union Bay shirt or something.

[Andrea Gunning]

Union Bay. God bless they. Union Bay. And there was another one that was like, Ocean Pacific, I think.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, maybe. Yeah. Union Bay, I feel like was just in department stores.

[Andrea Gunning]

Yes.

[Bridger Weiniger]

As opposed to having its own, like, brick and mortar.

[Andrea Gunning]

Right. I feel like that was in Mervyn's. Did you have Mervyn's? Where are you from?

[Bridger Weiniger]

I'm from mostly Fairfax, Virginia.

[Andrea Gunning]

Oh, okay. So Mervyn's may not have gotten to you.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I don't think we had a Mermans. We had JCPenney and Lord and Taylor. And JCPenney was our. And Sears were our two department stores.

[Andrea Gunning]

Lord and Taylor, I've always assumed is maybe because of Ann Taylor. Now this is why I'm so stupid. I just assumed was a women's only store. But it's. Well.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Well, I don't even know that. I just remember Fair Oaks Mall having sort of four, kind of three or.

[Andrea Gunning]

Four different anchor stores.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Anchor department stores, you know, that sort of led you in. And I don't actually think we were a Lord and Taylor family. So it's possible they could have been selling, you know, lumber for all I know. But JCPenney is here.

[Andrea Gunning]

As we hit up Anneliese. Do you have anything to say about Lord and Taylor? Do you know anything about this company? Looks like they're still around. It seems they do make men's clothes. Okay. Oh, so it's kind of more of a. They only have their brand.

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

Yeah, it's like a department store.

[Andrea Gunning]

I always thought of it as a department store. Like, a little fancier than Nordstrom in my brain. Wow. Fancier than Nordstrom. But that's, you know, that's my Colorado, like, brain talking. So who's.

[Bridger Weiniger]

No. Who knows if that is an accurate, you know.

[Andrea Gunning]

Right. Nordstrom was the ceiling as far as fancy department stores.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. We do not have a Nordstrom.

[Andrea Gunning]

Yeah, that was a big one. And I don't think I ever got any back to school clothing at Nordstrom. Are you. Are all the malls in your hometown gone?

[Bridger Weiniger]

I don't know. I haven't. Everyone Moved away after I do wellness. Tried after I went to college, but I don't think they're all gone. I think Fair Oaks Mall might still be kicking, but I guess I don't know how I would have found out otherwise.

[Andrea Gunning]

Where is. Where has your family ended up?

[Bridger Weiniger]

My mom now lives in Arizona.

[Andrea Gunning]

Okay.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And my brother lives in Seattle, Washington.

[Andrea Gunning]

Okay.

[Bridger Weiniger]

When I went to college, I went to the University of Iowa. And then when I was there, my dad had worked, was a civilian, but worked for the military. Had been at the Pentagon.

[Andrea Gunning]

Wow.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Then went to an army base in Germany. So then I was in college. They were in Germany.

[Andrea Gunning]

Wow.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Then they moved near my brother. He was living in Portland, Oregon. They moved there.

[Andrea Gunning]

So. Yeah. So you were moving around a lot as a kid?

[Bridger Weiniger]

I would say 0 to 10. Yes. Okay. Was born in Atlanta, New Jersey, Virginia. Lived in Japan for a few years on an army base.

[Andrea Gunning]

Where in Japan?

[Bridger Weiniger]

An army base called Camp Zama that's near Tokyo.

[Andrea Gunning]

Oh, wow.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And then back to Virginia, and so then Virginia. 10 to 18.

[Andrea Gunning]

Did you pick up any Japanese?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Not really. It was an American army base. Oh, right. We would learn how to, like, sing some songs or we had a class called Culture, and we'd like to paint kanji and learn some phrases, but not conversational.

[Andrea Gunning]

Can you remember any of the songs?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Well, there's that one. And I. I don't want to offend, but it's like the. Like Sakura.

[Andrea Gunning]

Oh, is that like that same melody of every. There's like a million songs, and I feel like there's a French version of that.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, probably. Yes.

[Andrea Gunning]

Is that how you. I mean, my apologies to our French listeners, but yeah.

[Bridger Weiniger]

One stayed with a Japanese family for a few days once, and then their son came and stayed with us.

[Andrea Gunning]

Have you been back as an adult?

[Bridger Weiniger]

I went back in 2018.

[Andrea Gunning]

How was that experience?

[Bridger Weiniger]

It was fun. It was great.

[Andrea Gunning]

Where did you visit?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Tokyo and Kyoto.

[Andrea Gunning]

Okay.

[Bridger Weiniger]

But went to the. The Studio Ghibli. Oh, my God.

[Andrea Gunning]

I tried to get into that.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I did not. The theme park thing. That. It was before that.

[Andrea Gunning]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

It was just like the. The museum tour thing.

[Andrea Gunning]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Whatever.

[Andrea Gunning]

It is impossible to get into now.

[Bridger Weiniger]

We did as part of a tour group, so it was like a whole. Kind of took up our day, but it. And, you know, went there. Wes Anderson was walking around in a white suit.

[Andrea Gunning]

He's been trapped there for 10 years. Fascinating. Wow. What a sighting.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. Yeah. I think. I think he was in the country to promote Isle of Dogs.

[Andrea Gunning]

Oh, that makes sense.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

And Isle of Dogs. There's some Japanese element in Isle of Dogs. I think.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I think you're right. Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

The movie didn't make much of an effect on that. My apologies to Wes Anderson. Wow. Were there any highlights of the trip to Japan?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Mostly just some of the like nostalgia of like. Well, I don't know that I was in this spot but of kind of feeling like, oh, I remember this sort of vibe or this type of vending machine on the corner. Little details like that.

[Andrea Gunning]

The vending machine culture there is unbelievable. For vending machines not to seem trashy is such an achievement for a country. And they're everywhere.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

And none of them seem like junk. They're just kind of like these lovely little magical things around that you can get all kinds of. I mean I don't think I bought anything out of them, but it's just nice to see one in the wild.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. My brother and I used to get these things called like Gundam cards when I was a kid. I think. I'm sure there was a game you could play because they had like hit points or something on it. I'm sure there was some Pokemon esque thing. But we didn't understand that. We just like these little cards you could get out of a vending machine that had like drawings of robots.

[Andrea Gunning]

Oh, robots.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. And so. And I still have my. My big stack of them, so.

[Andrea Gunning]

Right. Every child has to go to go through a stage where they want a lot of cards for some reason. I was just back home in Utah and talking to my cousin. He was in Japan as a kid. Bought a Pokemon card in a mall. It's now worth like $20,000.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I gotta check my Gundam cards.

[Andrea Gunning]

I know you should. I wish I had these things. It's what a shame that I. I'm just bad at investing in anything, I guess. I mean. Wow. But do you hold on to that card? Is that a bubble that eventually bursts or does the card just get more and more.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I'd probably sell it if I buy the 20,000$.

[Andrea Gunning]

Oh.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I made my own Gundam card. And then my dad had like a lamination machine.

[Andrea Gunning]

Oh my God.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I think this was back in. Maybe this is still in Japan. Prob work. He was able to laminate. So I drew a little robot. And for his skills, I said he has a good sense of humor.

[Andrea Gunning]

Like a giant mech that. Yeah.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. That was kind of skills good.

[Andrea Gunning]

Charming at parties. Do you still have the card?

[Bridger Weiniger]

I do. It's on my fridge right now.

[Andrea Gunning]

Wow. You should try selling it.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. Maybe that one's valuable.

[Andrea Gunning]

Find out that it's your retirement. That's incredible.

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

Hi, it's Jemis Beg, host of the psychology of your 20s. Remember when you used to have science week at school? Well, if you loved that, how would you feel about a full psychology month this September? At the psychology of your 20s, we're breaking down the interesting ways psychology applies to real life. Like how our pets actually change our brain chemistry, the psychology of office politics, whether happiness is even a real emotion. And my favorite episode, why do we all secretly crave external validation? It's so interesting to me that we are so quick to believe others judgments of us and and not our own. I found a study that said not being liked actually creates similar levels of pain as physical pain. Like, no wonder we care so much. So the secret is, if you want to be okay with not being liked, you have to know why your brain craves it in the first place. Learn more about the psychology of external validation, everyday life, and of course, your 20s. This September, listen to the psychology of your 20s on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Andrea Gunning]

I'm Andrea Gunning, host of the podcast Betrayal.

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

Police Lieutenant Joel Kern used his badge.

[Andrea Gunning]

To fool everyone, most of all his wife, Caroline. He texted, I've ruined our lives.

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

You're going to want to divorce me.

[Andrea Gunning]

How far would he go to cover up what he'd done? The fact that you lied is absolutely horrific. And quite frankly, I question how many other women are out there that may bring forward allegations in the future.

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

Listen to betrayal on the iHeartRadio app.

[Andrea Gunning]

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I just think the process and the journey is so delicious. That's where all the good stuff is. You just can't live and die by the end result.

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

It's scary putting yourself out there, especially.

[Andrea Gunning]

When it's something you really care about.

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

And something that you hope is your passion in life and you want people to like it. Let's get delicious and put ourselves out there. I'm Simone Boyce, host of the Bright side, and those were my recent guests, comedian Phoebe Robinson and writer Aaron Foster. On this show, I'm talking to the brightest minds in entertainment, health, wellness, and pop culture. And every week, we're going places in our communities, our careers, and ourselves. It's not about being perfect. It's about going on a journey and discovering the bright side of becoming. Few people know that better than soccer legend Ashlyn Harris.

[Bridger Weiniger]

It's the journey, it's the people, it's the failures. It's the heartache, it's the little moments.

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

These are our moments to laugh, learn and exhale. So join me every Monday and let's find the bright side together. Listen to the bright side on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Andrea Gunning]

Do you travel much or is Japan just a.

[Bridger Weiniger]

No, I. Yeah, I would say I travel quite a bit.

[Andrea Gunning]

Where have you been recently?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Let's see. Went to Madrid last December.

[Andrea Gunning]

How was Madrid? I recently had a friend just tell me flat out, you won't like going to Spain because eating there because of tapas, it's just you never really feel like you're getting a full meal.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Well, I just keep shoving them in my mouth and I am full, so it wasn't really an issue I encountered. I mean, I'm pescatarian, so a lot of the ham eating culture I didn't chose, but found plenty. I mean, there's plenty of good seafood and vegetarian options around. Around. So I had a great time.

[Andrea Gunning]

As a traveler, are you like just food focused or do you like going out and wandering around, that kind?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Oh, I like wandering around, but I think food is kind of a. A lot of places I've gone or we've gone. Has been a, like booking a food walking tour kind of a thing. Has been. Did that in like Mexico City and Dublin and places, you know, where you kind of get to sample different.

[Andrea Gunning]

Where are you finding these tours? Just online.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Online, yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

And you just. How do you vet them?

[Bridger Weiniger]

I should say my partner, Fran Gillespie is the one who's mostly booking these, so trust Fran. Yeah, yeah. I'm vetting them by. She's vetting them. Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

I feel like she probably has good standards and it's because now finding food anywhere because the Internet has. Is fundamentally broken. It's so difficult to find real recommendations to anything.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes. Yeah. I don't know which way, how she's googling this, but I haven't complained.

[Andrea Gunning]

She's putting in the work. Yeah, she's putting in the work. On trips. I feel like, especially international trips, there's always kind of a breaking point for me where there's a real low point. Do you go through that experience?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes, fully. I mean, sometimes we were just like, oh, this is one day too many.

[Andrea Gunning]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And maybe there's still another day or two to go. But we're sort of like this is all we needed to do in this city.

[Andrea Gunning]

I feel like I've decided that about 10 days is where I cap it off. 11 or 12 days. I'm like oh, no, I think that's right. I need to be home now. This is just. I'm enjoying myself, but I'm just completely depleted and stressing out every moment of it.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I also get to a city, and I'm like, on day one, I'm like, well, let's go to the. I know I want to hit this museum. And let's not delay, because what if something comes up and we can't. Right. And we do the museum or the restaurant or whatever on, like, the first 24 hours.

[Andrea Gunning]

Yeah, that's a. That's actually a huge mistake.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes. And then you kind of get to day three, and you're like, well, I guess if we could just go wander around this part of town or something. And sometimes that's great, and other times not as much.

[Andrea Gunning]

Yeah, that interesting. I've never really thought about that, but, yeah, I just ruined everything almost from the beginning. And then I guess that's just a metaphor for my entire life.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I was like, I don't want to miss Guernica. So I got to go day one, and the Prado was not far.

[Andrea Gunning]

Do you have any vacation goals? Any places you'd like to go that you haven't been?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes, I've never been to the Southern Hemisphere.

[Andrea Gunning]

Okay, sure.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Australia, South America. Anywhere South America. Africa, you know, right below the equator.

[Andrea Gunning]

You refuse to go south of the equator.

[Bridger Weiniger]

But I'm usually more of, like, going to a. Less of, like, a resort beach. Right. And more of a.

[Andrea Gunning]

Like, a city. The whole experience of the country kind of thing. That's more my speed as well. If I go somewhere and I'm in just one location the whole time, I just think, why did I even come here?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

I could have just essentially imagined this at home.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

I need to see all kinds of things, and I don't mind just walking around.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

Just. Especially in Japan. That's such an easy country to just wander around for.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Sure. Yeah. Mostly get stressed about footwear.

[Andrea Gunning]

Oh, interesting. What's your footwear situation while you're traveling?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Well, it's kind of the. Like, how many shoes am I going to pack? And then what kind of. You know, what's a good walking shoe versus. And it kind of year to year, I'm like, all right, I'm bringing the hokas to Portugal or whatever, and then. But I should pack some loafers as well or something.

[Andrea Gunning]

Loafers? Loafers. What are you doing with loafers on a vacation? Just for a nice dinner.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I guess so. Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

I. I mean, my bar for dressing on a vacation is so low at this point because I refuse to check a bag.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

So I mean, I'm probably doing just untold damage on my body and my back by only wearing vans everywhere I go. Walking 15 miles a day in vans. But I'm gonna die either way.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, it's working for you.

[Andrea Gunning]

Yeah, it's working absolutely fine. But maybe I should, I don't know, I'd like to get to a point when actually I think I'm at the point I need to be. No checked bags. It's a life ruiner.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, I don't really ever check either unless absolutely forced to.

[Andrea Gunning]

Yeah. Like I. And the checked bag on the way there is not as big of a deal unless they lose it. But on the way back, waiting at a baggage carousel, worst feeling in the world. You're exhausted. You have like two hours left to get home. I just don't know why anyone does.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, I feel like also when I was a kid, if we went on vacation, we were checking bags and then when I first was an adult and like moved to la, but then we go home or something, I was always like, well, you got to check your bag. It seemed like a luxury to bring a bag onto a plane. And maybe I just had one giant suitcase. Right. But I was like, who are these people that have these, like bring a suitcase on the plane? It was like a status symbol to me. And eventually I realized like, oh, I can get a small suitcase and do that, right?

[Andrea Gunning]

Yeah, I guess like when I first moved to LA and I'd go home, I would always. First of all, I was flying on Southwest, which, you know, complicated airline, but you could check a bag for free. And I was like kind of using it as a stealth way to move everything else out of my parents house that I hadn't already. So it would be like £60 by the time I got it to the airport. But it was. And now I've got, I've moved everything out. I never need to return. They'll never see me again. Forget it, mom and dad. Well, I feel like, you know, as far as packages go and this kind of thing, bringing things, there's something else I'd like to talk to you about.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes.

[Andrea Gunning]

Or I at least feel like I need to talk to you about. I was excited to have you today on the podcast.

[Bridger Weiniger]

So excited to be here.

[Andrea Gunning]

And so I said no gifts. And so I, you know, I assume you got an email or something. Hopefully you saw the title somewhere. But I'm now starting to feel like you didn't because you Showed up holding what is. Obviously, I mean, any. Any idiot could look at this and say, that's a gift.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes. It's. It's pretty stereotypical packaging for a gift bow.

[Andrea Gunning]

Yes. Wrapping paper, cartoon character gift.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes.

[Andrea Gunning]

In kind of a birthday party wrapping with a nice little blue bow on top. Is this for me?

[Bridger Weiniger]

It is. And I can explain.

[Andrea Gunning]

Oh, you can?

[Bridger Weiniger]

I bought this gift. I saw something that I thought would be perfect for you, and I bought this gift months ago before I was ever booked on the show. And this has just become the first opportunity to give it to you since we had not met until today.

[Andrea Gunning]

Okay.

[Bridger Weiniger]

But I. Well, I'll give you the story of why I bought it months ago once I open it. Once you open it. Okay. But yes. So it was a gift I've just been meaning to give you. It's an unfortunate coincidence I'm giving it to you on your podcast.

[Andrea Gunning]

Do this often on the podcast, but I'm willing to open it.

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

Hi, it's Gemma Spag, host of the psychology of your 20s. Remember when you used to have science week at school? Well, if you loved that, how would you feel about a full psychology month this September? At the psychology of your 20s, we're breaking down the interesting ways psychology applies to real life life. Like how our pets actually change our brain chemistry, the psychology of office politics, whether happiness is even a real emotion. And my favorite episode, why do we all secretly crave external validation? It's so interesting to me that we are so quick to believe others judgments of us and not our own. I found a study that said not being liked actually creates similar levels of pain. As far as physical pain, like, no wonder we care so much. So the secret is, if you want to be okay with not being liked, you have to know why your brain craves it in the first place. Learn more about the psychology of external validation, everyday life, and of course, your 20s. This September, listen to the psychology of your 20s on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I just think the process and the journey is so delicious. That's where all the good stuff is. You just can't live and die by the end result.

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

It's scary putting yourself out there, especially.

[Andrea Gunning]

When it's something you really care about.

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

And something that you hope is your passion in life and you want people to like it. Let's get delicious and put ourselves out there. I'm Simone Boyce, host of the Bright side, and those were my recent guests, comedian Phoebe Robinson and writer Aaron Foster. On this Show. I'm talking to the brightest minds in entertainment, health, wellness, and pop culture. And every week, we're going places in our communities, our careers, and ourselves. It's not about being perfect. It's about going on a journey and discovering the bright side of becoming. Few people know that better than soccer legend Ashlyn Harris. It's the journey, it's the people, it's.

[Bridger Weiniger]

The failures, it's the heartache, it's the little moments.

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

These are our moments to laugh, learn, and exhale. So join me every Monday, and let's find the bright side together. Listen to the bright side on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Andrea Gunning]

I'm Andrea Gunning, host of the podcast Betrayal Police Lieutenant Joel Kern used his badge to fool everyone, most of all, his wife, Caroline. He texted, I've ruined our lives.

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

You're going to want to divorce me.

[Andrea Gunning]

How far would he go to cover up what he'd done? The fact that you lied is absolutely horrific. And quite frankly, I question how many other women are out there that may bring forward allegations in the future.

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

Listen to Vitreol on the iHeartRadio app.

[Andrea Gunning]

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

What is that?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Okay, well, it's a bobblehead of Vin.

[Andrea Gunning]

Scully of the Dodgers.

[Bridger Weiniger]

The Dodgers. Former broadcaster. Former announcer.

[Andrea Gunning]

Oh. So I'm. I mean, I'm really revealing an ignorance. I just thought this was a baseball player.

[Bridger Weiniger]

No, no, no. He was the. The announcer.

[Andrea Gunning]

Okay.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I was scrolling through my Instagram avid follower of yours, saw a collab, I think you did with Best show, and it had a picture of you behind a mic. Next thing I scrolled up, I think was an ad for, I think, this Bobblehead night at Dodger Stadium, but it had a photo of Vin Scully behind a mic, and I thought, a young Vin Scully and a Bridger Weiniger aren't. I wouldn't say they look the same, but there are echoes, you know. Interesting. Especially two photos in a row behind microphones.

[Andrea Gunning]

Right. How fascinating.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And I thought, I'm just gonna get this bobblehead and give it to Bridger, because both the fates, putting these things back to back in my scroll and.

[Andrea Gunning]

The algorithm is kind of ourselves and.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Two of the greatest broadcasters of our.

[Andrea Gunning]

Time, of course, number one and two. Number one, of course. Yes.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I agree.

[Andrea Gunning]

I know nothing about this guy. How long was he doing this for?

[Bridger Weiniger]

He. He passed away a couple of years ago. I want to say it was over 50 years. He was like the announcer when, like, Jackie Robinson was on the team.

[Andrea Gunning]

Wow.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Up until. And he was the announcer up until like seven years ago, maybe.

[Andrea Gunning]

Okay.

[Bridger Weiniger]

So he. He really did it for a long time. A sort of legend in. In the field of sports broadcasting. Maybe the legend in the legend.

[Andrea Gunning]

And murdered, I assume murdered in the end.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, I guess I didn't see that Hit squad. Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

Enough is enough.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

You've got to get the mic out of this guy's hands.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Hired by the Padres, but yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

Wow. So maybe I should start commentating on the Dodgers. I don't see why I shouldn't.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I could kind of, you know, help you out if you ever. Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

This could be like the launch of the campaign.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

Who's doing it now? Some loser.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Actually is a guy that's kind of quickly risen in the ranks and now is announces like football. He's a very popular guy.

[Andrea Gunning]

Probably a tick tocker.

[Bridger Weiniger]

No. Probably. No.

[Andrea Gunning]

I do have TikTok, the podcast does. Just to post clips of this show.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Here's what. I don't have it. And here's my question. That didn't occur to me until like the last couple of days. Is it closer to YouTube where, like, most people don't make YouTube videos, they watch YouTube videos. Or is it closer to Instagram, where I think most people who have Instagram use it at least somewhat.

[Andrea Gunning]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

You know, and post as. Or is there like a. Is there a whole world of content creators and then just mostly other people?

[Andrea Gunning]

Just such a good question. I mean, the only things I'm exposed to feel like things that are made on purpose. Content rather than like, I'm showing you my kids or whatever.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

But I assume there's got to be a whole world of that on there that I just have zero interest in. And they've already figured that out.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. I just wonder what percentage users are making TikToks.

[Andrea Gunning]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

She's like, do you download it because you think you're going to make videos? I mean, I think watch them.

[Andrea Gunning]

Probably 80 of the population under 25 years old is like, yes, that's what I'm going to do. I'm gonna make. That's what a career is. Which makes me sound like I'm a thousand years old. But I really feel like that's the only place people feel like they can make money anymore is making content out of their real job. Sometimes it'll be like, oh, I'm an electrician, but now I'm the fun electrician, or whatever. So. But I assume that there are probably just annoying people doing annoying, stupid Things. Well, I don't assume. I definitely have seen that. But more unprofessionally.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes, yes.

[Andrea Gunning]

Where like, of course you're not going to make it. You are bad at what you're doing. But I wonder if there are people, like, bothering their family to just like. It's like the family. Tick tock, following each other.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I guess I should post something.

[Andrea Gunning]

Right. Which seems like the most stressful thing I could possibly imagine.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. I was never very good at Twitter.

[Andrea Gunning]

Now X and of course, thank you. We'll beep Twitter.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And it did. Stress asked me. I was like, okay, do I. I don't just naturally come up with a tweet. It was really. I just like, sweat over. Is this a funny little sentence? And. And I, you know, maybe made like 18 ever so well, it was a.

[Andrea Gunning]

Yeah, it was a stressful place to be. I think if you wanted to work in comedy, if you actually wanted to do it, like, you. You're like, people are looking at me and I can't embarrass myself. This. I need to be good at this. But then you see people who don't have that stress who are just like, tweeting every thought they've ever had. And that's just not how I operate.

[Bridger Weiniger]

No, I mean, that was what I was, like, jealous of. I'd see people that just kind of could like, flow with it. And I was like, boy, I wish I had that. That sort of. Yeah. Filtered, kind of taken.

[Andrea Gunning]

Totally filtered.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

But how are those people in the real world? Are they annoying?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Some of them are comedians. Yeah. And they figured it out. You know, they.

[Andrea Gunning]

They locked in and they're confident in themselves. You have some level of me constantly.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Like, no one cares about my take on this or, like, I'm just repeating something. I have nothing new to add to the con. It, you know, still is a. Like, he would just look at Instagram. I'm like, should I post? Oh, no one's looking at me.

[Andrea Gunning]

That's how I feel. Where I'm like, I'll get on any of these things. And everyone I know has already posted about it a hundred times. I'm like, what am I doing?

[Bridger Weiniger]

I feel like I have like a. If you don't have anything to add to the conversation, someone's already said something, you don't need to repeat it, you know, But.

[Andrea Gunning]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

That's, I'm sure, a horrible attitude in many regards. And it makes sense in like a writer's room or something.

[Andrea Gunning]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Shouldn't it be applied to every aspect of life?

[Andrea Gunning]

Yeah, but that is how I was on Twitter. Most of my experience was like, well, I'm just not going to tweet about the Oscars. I don't care.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

Everyone else is already doing that all the time.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes.

[Andrea Gunning]

So I'll just take the night off. Yeah, but some people just love making quips about the thing that everyone's making quips.

[Bridger Weiniger]

They're not like me. Well, let me make sure no one else has made this joke already. They're like, yeah, I'll just be the 40th person to make this joke.

[Andrea Gunning]

Maybe if I started drinking, that would help. I don't know, loosen me up a little bit. I need to drink to get on Instagram.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, I should have. I should have brought you a liquor. That would have been better.

[Andrea Gunning]

That's only happened once on this podcast, and I had a little sip and got very drunk. Annalise was scared. Everyone was like, we've got to get him in the house. It was dangerous. But maybe I will start drinking to be online. I think that that's not the worst idea at this point.

[Bridger Weiniger]

That makes sense. Oh, the other thing I want to say about the. This, Bob.

[Andrea Gunning]

Well, yeah, we barely talked about is.

[Bridger Weiniger]

If you don't like it, but where's the receipt? But you do want another bobblehead. You could. On any night that there is a bobblehead night at Dodger Stadium, there will be people outside the stadium as you're leaving who are like, trade bobbleheads. And they. Because they want whatever the new one is.

[Andrea Gunning]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Probably have one from a previous game that maybe isn't, you know, an in demand, valuable one. And so you can maybe just swap it.

[Andrea Gunning]

So there's a whole culture of that going on.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Oh, yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

There's something for everybody.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. You could probably go trade this for, like, a. A Tyler Glasnow.

[Andrea Gunning]

Bob. Well, that's what I was going to say. Tyler Glass. Now, I've been looking for one of his bobble.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

Wow. People are. If there's a plastic doll of it, people are after it and making their life about it at this point, which, good for them, hasn't happened to me yet. But it could.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

This could be the start of something new.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. I'd get the Bridger bobblehead.

[Andrea Gunning]

I would love. I would love for my life to take a turn where people are like, remember when he got that bobblehead and then he was just only buying baseball bobbleheads for the rest of his life. I've never. To a Dodgers game. The traffic alone, terrifying.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I Live about a mile from the stadium. So I will walk there.

[Andrea Gunning]

Oh, that's a healthy habit.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And it's a little. Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

How long is a baseball game?

[Bridger Weiniger]

About two and a half hours.

[Andrea Gunning]

Okay.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Maybe they. They made a few rule changes a few years ago to shorten games then.

[Andrea Gunning]

Oh.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And it worked.

[Andrea Gunning]

And so some editing is.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

Good for.

[Bridger Weiniger]

They're kind of bringing down the.

[Andrea Gunning]

How long were they getting?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Over 3.3ish.

[Andrea Gunning]

No one respects anyone's time anymore.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I know.

[Andrea Gunning]

It's just everyone thinks the thing they're doing should just go on forever.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. It is the amount. People are like get mad though about like the Brutalists runtime or any movie that has long run time. And they're like, well, The Dodgers play 162 brutalists a year.

[Andrea Gunning]

Everything should be measured in Brutalists from now on. I've only seen the first half of the Brutalists because I'll only see the first half of a three hour movie. So I don't know what happens, but I had a lovely time and left.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Oh, but you missed Felicity Jones.

[Andrea Gunning]

Oh my God. My God. I've got to get back to the theater. I'm getting in the car now.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, I'm trying to find a 70 millimeter projector.

[Andrea Gunning]

I should hop on. I need to finish Bo is Afraid in that or at least skim through. And I had nothing against the movies except for the fact they were too long.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I've done a few of the like eight hour Hungarian movies. You have? Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

And you sat through the whole thing. Were you on Adderall?

[Bridger Weiniger]

No. No. Well, I do think, think. Was it Santan? It's spelled Satan Tango. Okay. I don't know. I think I broke that one up. But how long's that one? That's. That's the one that's six and a half to eight hours. Somewhere in that range.

[Andrea Gunning]

I can't remember exactly what's going on in six and a half.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Slow cinema, I think they call it.

[Andrea Gunning]

And were you at home while watching?

[Bridger Weiniger]

I was at home, yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

Any 7 hours and 30 minutes. 7 hours. Perfect run time. My new rule is I'll walk out of a three hour movie halfway through. Or I'll watch a full seven and a half hour movie.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, that's the way I do that.

[Andrea Gunning]

Seven and a half hours. I'll be in the theater. Because you've basically moved in.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

Wait, but did you watch this at home?

[Bridger Weiniger]

I watched it at home, but I have a little projector and you know, I try to make a nice. A nice evening of it.

[Andrea Gunning]

Right. Do you pause and, like, get dinner?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

Okay.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. Or. Yeah. Maybe even split it up into a couple nights.

[Andrea Gunning]

Yeah. Because I feel like sitting through that entire thing is a UTI waiting to happen. Just. You got a. Bathroom breaks. I mean, that's worse than a flight.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I'm taking some breaks, but I try to also engage, you know. Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

I mean, how do you put the.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Phone away or something? But.

[Andrea Gunning]

Wow, that's amazing. My attention span really had. I feel like I used to have a really good one and has just been destroyed. Absolutely destroyed. I have to go to a movie theater in order to watch a movie because at home, so difficult to get away from my stupid phone. And a movie has to be so engaging. And so I can't imagine, what, seven and a half hours. I guess that would be, like, a goal. Like something to rewire my brain.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. I mean, I feel like that with TV more than film, I feel like this film will be done in a couple hours so I can sit and watch it. And even if I don't like it, if there's something I'm taking from it that, you know, I'll appreciate that. And a TV show where I just watch an episode and I'm like, I gotta really dedicate, like, seven more hours of my life to just this season alone. Especially if it's one way you should watch the show. And there's four seasons, and that's where I. Not the four seasons, but, you know, also the commitment of, like, helm. Restarting a new episode, starting a new episode. I don't know. That's. That's where I have a harder time.

[Andrea Gunning]

People who are really able to, like, binge a show, like, in a couple of nights. That doesn't make any sense to me.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, I'll watch, like, four shows maybe a year.

[Andrea Gunning]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Or four seasons of a show.

[Andrea Gunning]

Yeah, I, like. I started. We started in this home watching Little House on the Prairie.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I've been. I've been keeping up on the pod.

[Andrea Gunning]

But, like, I started talking about it, and I think I feel like the listeners have absolutely lapped me. They're like, I just started season three. We just finished season one because we're watching one episode a night. So it takes. And what, like, not even every night of the week. It's like two a week, and other people are watching for a night and just blowing through this thing. I don't think I'll be alive. I don't think I'll live long enough to watch the whole se.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I really like andor.

[Andrea Gunning]

Oh, I love andor and.

[Bridger Weiniger]

But I'm still. I have three episodes left and I've love it, but it is almost like, well, let me make sure I've set aside the night and I'm not gonna get distracted. And I'm watching a new to me Andor, and I really take my time.

[Andrea Gunning]

The first season of Andor, I blew through, and then there was such a long break that I forgot everything. And so season two was a little bit me, like, going in and out a bit because it's like, what's going on? Who is this person? I need to watch it all in a row now.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I actually didn't watch any of it until this year, so.

[Andrea Gunning]

Oh, what an experience.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. So I've been going straight through the 24 episodes. Episodes or whatever.

[Andrea Gunning]

Are you a Star wars person?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes. I mean, for sure I am. In terms, like when I was a kid.

[Andrea Gunning]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And all of that, I haven't really kept up on the TV shows. In fact, I think this is the only one.

[Andrea Gunning]

How could you possibly.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

There are a thousand episodes of all of those different shows.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. Yeah. And I know people love like, the animated Clone wars, and I've watched some of that as well.

[Andrea Gunning]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

To see what it was all about. But, you know, again, any anime? I tried to watch, like, Demon Slayer one time, and I was like, oh, sure.

[Andrea Gunning]

How many episodes of that?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Probably like, that was pretty good. I got like four in. I'm like, I just don't think. Think I'm gonna, like, make it through all of this.

[Andrea Gunning]

Yeah. There's a different brain of person who can watch 500 episodes of an animated show, like, just in a few months. For me, that's a lifetime goal.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes.

[Andrea Gunning]

And I will fail at it. I will absolutely fail at it.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Eventually get through the Flintstones.

[Andrea Gunning]

I'm working so hard. I need to see if they stick together.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

The family doesn't break up.

[Bridger Weiniger]

They don't have the kids yet. Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

I need to see the them get to the modern car.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And that's.

[Andrea Gunning]

Who was the Flintstones for? Was that for children or adults?

[Bridger Weiniger]

I mean, I guess family entertainment for both. Interesting. Like, we're kind of doing the Honeymooners, but it's a cartoon, so kids will want to watch. But it's on in prime time, I think.

[Andrea Gunning]

Yeah. It kind of doesn't make sense to me as a TV show anymore because it's not like Simpsons level for mostly for adults, but it's not really for. I mean, like, the dinosaurs are for children.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I'm almost positive. Well, okay, that was way too Strong. I have a vague suspicion, a memory that there's an episode of Flintstones where they're trying to, like, maybe they didn't. Maybe they adopted the kids. I forget what it is.

[Andrea Gunning]

What?

[Bridger Weiniger]

But they're, like, not gonna. Barney and Betty are not gonna be able to adopt Bamm Bamm or something. Oh, what does that issue? He goes to a bridge and, like, ties a boulder to his waste and he's gonna, like, commit suicide.

[Andrea Gunning]

I'm like, is that.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Did that really happen on the Flintstones? Or is this, like, a dream I had when I was 7 and then, like, taking it as canon for years?

[Andrea Gunning]

Wow. What a dark episode of the Flintstones. Wow. You think he would have. I mean, I guess he wasn't ready to be a father.

[Bridger Weiniger]

No. Or he was sad that they weren't gonna. He wasn't going to get to be one.

[Andrea Gunning]

Yeah. But I mean, if it's that big of an issue, he's got some things to work through before he adopts the kid. And the adoption agency saw that.

[Bridger Weiniger]

You're kind of a little too.

[Andrea Gunning]

Yeah. Sir, please work on yourself a little bit if you're going to throw yourself off a bridge because your adoption got declined. Yeah, they don't get declined. Denied. Adoption denied.

[Bridger Weiniger]

They ran the card and it got declined. Sorry. The $45 of paperwork we needed to file. Just. Wow.

[Andrea Gunning]

I wonder if they ever got the kid. Interesting.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I would bet by the end of the episode they did.

[Andrea Gunning]

I would hope so. Yeah. That's kind of how TV used to work. The problem was usually solved. There's an episode of Little House on the Prairie where Laura goes to meet God at the top of a mountain. Just a surreal thing to watch. And then she gets to the bottom of the mountain at the end having not met God. But maybe there's a secret guy living in the woods who may be. It's very, honestly, kind of scary.

[Bridger Weiniger]

That's interesting.

[Andrea Gunning]

Like, the sort of thing I was watching is like, if I was watching this as a kid, I would be terrified. She just meets this weird guy in the mountains who may or may not be spiritual being. Yeah. She might be hallucinating. I bet she ate something in the woods kind of off camera. What a show. What an experience. The, the reboot's got a lot to live up to.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, I, I, I was. We were not a Little House on the Prairie family. I think it's probably because two boys, me and my brother feel like. And also living in Japan. We had one TV channel. Oh, from like eight to 10.

[Andrea Gunning]

So we didn't get what was airing on that.

[Bridger Weiniger]

There was, like, the. The primo slot was Sunday at 8. I think it was 8. And half the year it was Cosby show, and half the year it was roseanne.

[Andrea Gunning]

Okay. Interesting. Two people who have gone on to do so many great things.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Exactly. We didn't get Simpsons there. They would just, you know, sometimes show a baseball game or something on.

[Andrea Gunning]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

That was probably tape, Certainly tape delayed.

[Andrea Gunning]

That sounds so refreshing to just not have an option of what to watch on tv.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. Now, you could flip to the Japanese channels as well, but then you don't. Some of the crazy game shows, you.

[Andrea Gunning]

Those games.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Someone's falling in water. That's fun. But we. You know, you don't understand it.

[Andrea Gunning]

Right. What did you watch that documentary about the Japanese game show about the guy who's like, what happened? They just kept him in an apartment.

[Bridger Weiniger]

For a really long time. I know what you're talking about, but I haven't watched that.

[Andrea Gunning]

Annalise, does that sound familiar to you? It was brutal to watch. They basically drove this man out of his mind.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. In, like, solitary confinement. Yeah. Right.

[Andrea Gunning]

It's really a scary thing to watch, but. Well, the country was having a ball watching him just kind of break down. Yeah. I think we need to get back to only having two TV shows. We need to get back to your childhood experience of having two televisions.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Armed forces network.

[Andrea Gunning]

The armed forces need to take over all television. In some ways, I believe that. In some ways, I think that may be a dark way for the country.

[Bridger Weiniger]

To occasionally get, like, a Baltimore orioles game, you know?

[Andrea Gunning]

Wow. Did you have a favorite between Roseanne and Cosby? This will reflect on you as a person.

[Bridger Weiniger]

That's a good question. I was a big fan of both. I don't. I. It really was kind of like, one would end. You'd be like, great, Now Roseanne's coming next week. Like, that would end. You're like more Cosby show, you know.

[Andrea Gunning]

At the time, Classic shows.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

Nobody knew anything new. The better you knew, the wiser. Is that what you say? I don't know, but. And one had Laurie Metcalf.

[Bridger Weiniger]

That's true.

[Andrea Gunning]

So I don't know anything with Laurie Metcalf. I'm on board. Although I've never watched it. I think I've seen one episode of Roseanne half. Well, the commercial for the Connors. But I have seen getting on. Have you seen getting on?

[Bridger Weiniger]

I haven't seen getting on. I've seen her in a couple plays, though.

[Andrea Gunning]

Oh, I bet they were phenomenal.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Oh, yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

She's so good.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, she's amazing.

[Andrea Gunning]

Well, is there anything left to say about Vin Scully? I mean, he's dead, so I don't have to push him out of the way.

[Bridger Weiniger]

No, I would say, you know, if you want to sell that, keep it in the box, put it on ebay. I don't think you're gonna get a huge price, but otherwise, I wouldn't treat it too much like a collector's item. I think you can.

[Andrea Gunning]

What's it have to do with the gas station 76. Do you see that?

[Bridger Weiniger]

That's just a sponsor. I'm sure they paid.

[Andrea Gunning]

They paid for the bobblehead.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. Or the. The offset some of the costs by saying, you know, we'll sell you some ad space on the side of the box.

[Andrea Gunning]

Big Oil is behind this.

[Bridger Weiniger]

They did a thing at the Dodger. I went to the Dodger Day, and they. It was like a full moon. And they had a shot of the beautiful full moon, and then they, like, crossfaded to the 76 orb that, like, it's just in the outfield, is just, you know, as a sponsored thing. It sounds sort of weird, like. Oh, that's.

[Andrea Gunning]

That's how it should be. We shouldn't have to look at the moon. We should have to look at the circle. The.

[Bridger Weiniger]

The moon became sponsored. Became an ad.

[Andrea Gunning]

A collab with the moon. Yeah, they should be putting ads on the moon. We're not far from that, I imagine. I wonder how you would do that. Have you driven past the Tesla Diner?

[Bridger Weiniger]

No. Where.

[Andrea Gunning]

Where is somebody? Well, I don't want to. I don't want to encourage terrorism or. Or shopping at this thing, but it's all. It's somewhere in Hollywood.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Okay.

[Andrea Gunning]

One of the most hideous buildings ever created.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I just. I've heard it exists, but I. Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

Just looking over at it, it was Goober city. Everybody there was just a loser. They were playing the Matrix. It's just everything you could possibly imagine it is. And I wonder what they'll make of it when they close it. What could that possibly. I mean, it's not big enough.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Is it also a dealership or it's just like, a diner?

[Andrea Gunning]

It's just a diner, and I think you can charge your Tesla there. But what does that become after it goes out of business, is the big question.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

Can't be a Halloween superstore. Can't be a Ross. Those are kind of the two things that move in.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Maybe a Hyundai Kona Diner. And you charge your Hyundai Kona.

[Andrea Gunning]

No, that's not a bad idea. They do turn these gas stations into Starbucks.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Oh, yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

I'm curious to see. It's one of the ugliest things I've ever seen. And it's such a sad thing that that exists. But what do you make of the bumper stickers that say, I bought this before Elon went crazy?

[Bridger Weiniger]

I think it would be funny to. To put that on your car if it's not a Tesla.

[Andrea Gunning]

Oh, yeah. That's why I thought of that often, actually.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I do have an Elon Musk story, but I don't want to be too. You can cut this out if it's boring.

[Andrea Gunning]

No, I mean, I'm intrigued already.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Okay. And you're married to Elon. So. When I was a young writer starting out youngish, my friend Harris Whittles was writing on Parks and Rec with Mike Scully, who I had met, not ever met. And he and Harris said, hey, Mike Scully was saying, the Simpsons are looking for more writers. Mind if I give your script? He had read, like, a script, a script I'd written. He's like, mind if I give Mike Scully your script?

[Andrea Gunning]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

To pass along to the Simpsons. I said, please? That'd be exciting. He did. I got called in for an interview with Al Jean.

[Andrea Gunning]

Okay, great.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I went in and I met with Al Jean, and I had to bring a few ideas and stuff. Like, I remember this is how far, long ago this was. Like, one of my ideas was like, there's this thing called the Hunger Games, and they're gonna make it into movies. And like, Barton Lisa could be in a Hunger Games type thing, and you get ahead of, like, the movies, I think are gonna be a big hit kind of thing.

[Andrea Gunning]

Right, right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Anyway, the meeting was great, but never heard anything. A year and a half later, I got an email from Al Jean, and he said, hey, would you want to write a freelance script? We would need it in two weeks, you know. But you write an episode of the Simpsons, right? Of course.

[Andrea Gunning]

I didn't know they were doing that that recently. I mean, within the last 15 years.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, they really. Because they used to be in wga. If you had a certain episode order, you had to spread the wealth somewhere. Have, like, freelance writers.

[Andrea Gunning]

Interesting.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I'm not sure who enforced that if you didn't. But anyway, Simpsons was doing it still, so he was like, great. We have these story notes and would you want. So we just have a few notes. We just need to turn in a draft in like, two weeks. I said, I'd love to do this. Obviously it'd Be an honor. And it was. And don't get me wrong. And then he went, okay, do you know who Elon Musk is? And I didn't. And I went, of course I do. I googled it was like this again, like, pre Tesla. At least Tesla in the US and it was. I googled it, and it was a PayPal billionaire who's into clean energy, and I had never heard of him. And I went, okay, sure, yeah. And they sent me the notes. It was like two pages of notes. And it was basically a story that's like, Elon Musk comes to springfield and he. Mr. Burns gets upset with him. Gets upset that now Springfield loves an energy billionaire and hates him. And he was going to be the guest voice playing himself. And so I wrote this draft I had never really written, apart from a spec script, like a half hour narrative I think I'd written on one season of Comedy Bang Bang at that point. Anyway, wrote the draft, went to a table read a year later. The script's totally different from what I wrote, but that's par for the course of Simpsons known to expect that. That Elon Musk's at the table read, you know, does it signs the script and stuff. Again, this is all like, maybe now Tesla's around, but just kind of before, like, I even thought of him as, like, a public figure.

[Andrea Gunning]

Right, Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

They do the episode. It comes out. It airs now, years later. And I, you know, Simpsons was like my show. I love Simpsons. Growing up, it, like, shaped my sense of humor. I was so honored to touch it in some way. And like, years later, it is like, this is the worst episode ever of Simpsons. If. If they took the Michael Jackson one off the air, they should take this one off the air. This is, like, propaganda from, like, Elon Musk, who is Neil Campbell, like, who wrote this. Like, it wasn't even right around the Simpsons. And he comes in and writes this, like, puff piece for Elon Musk.

[Andrea Gunning]

It's kind of a. Oh, that is a nightmare.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. So. So I have one episode of the Simpsons credited to my name. And. And it certainly has its detractors.

[Andrea Gunning]

Oh, that's really a shame. What an absolute shame.

[Bridger Weiniger]

It's like a monkey's paw kind of.

[Andrea Gunning]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I'd love to watch, like, any. Any episode of the. Oh, any episode.

[Andrea Gunning]

Okay. Oh, that's so tough.

[Bridger Weiniger]

You know, no one knew at the time, I guess, of course, but. And I was still, you know, very grateful to have that opportunity, but kind of couldn't have exploded in a worse way for me.

[Andrea Gunning]

Who do you think is a worse energy person? Mr. Burns or Elon Musk?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Well, in the world of the Simpsons, there's barely anything wrong with Elon Musk in Springfield is Burns.

[Andrea Gunning]

But I mean, I will say this for Mr. Burns compared Elon Musk. Mr. Burns is funny.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes, that's true.

[Andrea Gunning]

Elon Musk. That's the one thing he wants to be and never will be.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Which is so he'll never see my vest.

[Andrea Gunning]

No, of course there's. No one has ever tried harder to be funny and never been funny. It's amazing to watch that man fail at being funny. One of the most annoying people alive. Elon, don't reach out. Well, what a story. Oh, God, I'm sorry. You're just gonna live with that curse forever.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Life takes some funny twists and turns.

[Andrea Gunning]

Well, I think we should play a game. We're going to play a game called Gift Master, but I need a number between 1 and 10 from you.

[Bridger Weiniger]

8.

[Andrea Gunning]

Okay. I have to do some light calculating to get our game pieces. So right now you can recommend. Promote. Do whatever you want. I'll be right back.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Okay. What I would promote is the TV show Digman. I co created it with Andy Samberg and have been running it. Our first season is on Paramount Plus. Our second season at the time we're doing this interview, is airing on Comedy Central and will eventually be on Paramount Plus. I say with a good amount of confidence, but there's just been a huge merger that's happened. I don't really know when it will be on Paramount plus. And I don't know what the future of all these things are. But anyway, I'm quite proud of it. Second season. Very excited for people to see. So hopefully you'll eventually be able to find it.

[Andrea Gunning]

Gorgeous. Yeah. Everybody go watch Digman. Hopefully. These mergers. Let's get back again at least to just two streaming networks or something. Yeah, I need to. There are too many subscriptions at this point.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. It's just. And with this stuff or people like, when's it gonna stream? I'm like, I would have had a clear answer.

[Andrea Gunning]

It's crazy that you don't know.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

If anyone in the world should know when the show is going to be.

[Bridger Weiniger]

On something, I know theoretically when it should. Which is like February of next year.

[Andrea Gunning]

Sure.

[Bridger Weiniger]

But I don't know that that is. Things won't change. It could change for the better and come out soon. Could come sooner or could come never.

[Andrea Gunning]

So we'll say, wow, Paramount. Because now they're. It's the sky Dance thing. We love the name sky dance. So beautiful, so evocative. I don't know what it is or where it came from, but good for everyone for merging and whatever. Okay. Let's play gift master. Thank you. I'm going to name three celebrities, and then I'm going to name three gifts.

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

Gifts.

[Andrea Gunning]

And you're going to tell me which gift you would give, which celebrity and why.

[Bridger Weiniger]

All right.

[Andrea Gunning]

Does that make perfect sense?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Makes perfect sense. Okay.

[Andrea Gunning]

Today you'll be giving the gifts to number one, Sam Bankman Freed. Kind of a polarizing figure.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Sure.

[Andrea Gunning]

Number two, Post Malone.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Okay.

[Andrea Gunning]

Number three, Christine Baranski. And these are the gifts you'll be giving. Number one is a family of four. Less traditional, more of an experience. Well, an experience and objects. If you imagine of people as objects. Number two, a USB cord, which is. I need to say less. This is your game. Great. And number three is Anderson Cooper.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I'm going to give the USB cord to Christine Baranski.

[Andrea Gunning]

Okay.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Because I feel not to make a judgment, but like me, I still have my iPhone. Needs the, like, lightning cable.

[Andrea Gunning]

Sure.

[Bridger Weiniger]

So I'm not fully usbc.

[Andrea Gunning]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

So I would imagine Christine Bransky might have some need for u USB and not usbc.

[Andrea Gunning]

Yeah. She doesn't strike me as a tech head. She's not on Gizmoto.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. And I feel like Post Malone and Sam Bankman Fried haven't used just a standard US. They've gone USBC for everything.

[Andrea Gunning]

Right. Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

For a while. So they would have no use for it. I feel like she probably has a few devices that could use it.

[Andrea Gunning]

It out of these three people, I bet she's the one that has a junk drawer she can throw that in.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

Those other two guys don't have. I don't think Post Malone. I think he's a vagabond. He just is all over the country at all times.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

And Sam Bankman Freed probably lives in some sort of chamber.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. Now, I'm tempted to say I think Post Malone feels like a guy who's kind of a little bit like, has the values of like, family. Like family would want a family. And Sam Bankman Fried, I think, wants publicity, wants coverage. So I can imagine. But I'm gonna flip it and then say, I think Sam Bateman Freed should have the family to maybe sort of see some other priorities in his life.

[Andrea Gunning]

Maybe he'll realize open his eyes.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Open his eyes a bit.

[Andrea Gunning]

The organic world.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes. Yes.

[Andrea Gunning]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Beautifully put. And then it's sort of by default leaves Anderson Cooper to Post Malone. But, you know, maybe as an artist, Anderson Cooper can help Post Malone kind of get past a first thought on something. Dig deep with an interview, have him.

[Andrea Gunning]

Kind of explore and what an odd couple situation. What a pair in a one bedroom apartment. They're getting on each other's nerves. Anderson is so tidy. Post Malone is, you know, beer everywhere. Just an absolute slob. I know so little about Post Malone.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Same here. I try to think of the name.

[Andrea Gunning]

Of a song, but I feel like Anderson Cooper would help him clean up his act. And Post Malone might help Anderson loosen up a bit.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah, that's true. Could be. I mean, they could do an odd couple revival.

[Andrea Gunning]

Yes, they should. They should do one on Broadway.

[Bridger Weiniger]

On Broadway.

[Andrea Gunning]

I think that's what the world needs.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. Get a. Oh, what's his name? Who directed the. Oh, never mind.

[Andrea Gunning]

Steven Spielberg.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Oh, we know him. He directed the Graduate.

[Andrea Gunning]

What is that guy's name? He's directed. He's directed so many great movies.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And I listened to the entire audiobook of his Annalise. Was it Mike Nichols? I think it Mike Lee. And I knew that was the Mike Lee.

[Andrea Gunning]

Another great director. A great director, but more recent.

[Bridger Weiniger]

And I just couldn't get Lee out of my head and replace it with Nicholas.

[Andrea Gunning]

Oh, yeah.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Anyway, you just. Yeah. Take his old blocking notes to do.

[Andrea Gunning]

Right. You know, bring him back from the dead.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Why not? Or get. Hey, his daughter in law, Rachel Nichols to direct.

[Andrea Gunning]

Rachel Nichols gets sports reporter in her own right. Is she really? That's right. Wow, Rachel, let's team up. Let's make me the next Vin Scully. She should do a puff piece on me.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Oh, that would be good.

[Andrea Gunning]

Yeah. I think that's probably the next natural step for her career.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Get the puff beats requested.

[Andrea Gunning]

I need to hire Probably.

[Bridger Weiniger]

It hurts the journalist feelings when you refer to it that way.

[Andrea Gunning]

I need to get some sort of PR team to get me in Sports Illustrated or something. I should be on. I should be their next swimsuit model.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I agree.

[Andrea Gunning]

Why not? Martha was. I'm a Martha Stewart type. People are clamoring for me to be on the COVID of si.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. Or you do you know when they would do this sort of sexy. It's actually just painted on.

[Andrea Gunning]

Oh, yeah. It's time for the painting on. Yeah.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. So you get that and then Access.

[Andrea Gunning]

Hollywood can do a whole piece on that.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes.

[Andrea Gunning]

Wow. I'll be all over the place. Rachel, this starts with you. I don't know. It's such a loose connection.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. We said the name of your deceased father in law.

[Andrea Gunning]

Why would you, not your back is against the wall. Okay, well, I feel like we should get to the final segment of the podcast. This is called I said no Emails. People are writing in and hopefully sending voice notes to I said no gift gmail.com. will you help me answer a question?

[Bridger Weiniger]

I would love to.

[Andrea Gunning]

Okay, this is. Let's see here. Hi, Bridger. They don't even mention you, which is so rude. So let's say hi, Bridger and Neil. I love the show and wondered if you would help me with a problem. My wife thinks she hates Mexican food, but whenever I convince her to eat it, she actually loves it. How do I get her to understand she actually loves Mexican food? I can't think of a Mexican food she doesn't like.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Like.

[Andrea Gunning]

Like, she absolutely loves nachos. And she always eats half my torta when I order one, despite being gluten sensitive. Thanks for your help. And that's from James.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Interesting.

[Andrea Gunning]

What do we. What. Okay, let's think about this email for a minute. Is the wife racist? Maybe?

[Bridger Weiniger]

Could be.

[Andrea Gunning]

So let's. That's just a possibility. We'll put that out, but we'll put it aside. Truly the first thing that comes to mind for me. Okay. And also, it sounds like he wants us to help gaslight his wife in some ways, but he's saying she's gluten sensitive. I actually am seeing a real problem here. This woman's eating bread. It's making her sick. And so of course she can't like the cuisine because she doesn't realize that it's causing all of these. Whatever issues happen in her stomach.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Well, there certainly is. A flour tortilla versus a corn tortilla is going to be a difference for. For someone with gluten sensitivity.

[Andrea Gunning]

Yes. You have to go with the corn tortilla. You have to go with. Well, they're just corn chips. But my sister is celiac, and so there's. I like, really actually getting into allergen issues here. Maybe the wife is getting cross contamination on the nachos. Or maybe the cheese sauce has wheat allergens in it. James is not thinking about his wife's health. All he's thinking about is his favorite cuisine.

[Bridger Weiniger]

No. And this could be a, you know, a bad situation where he's trying to. Does she come from a wealthy family? Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

He's trying to poison her. This is kind of like putting poison in the soup for six weeks.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes. Yeah, yeah. So we got a phantom thread kind of operation happening.

[Andrea Gunning]

But, honey, you love Mexican food. I'll bring it to you in bed.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I also would. It seemed like a lot of it. And maybe I was just inferring this. It was perhaps takeout orders. Do wonder if you were like, hey, I've planned a big fun night out and it's to this really nice restaurant. It happens to be Mexican cuisine.

[Andrea Gunning]

Right.

[Bridger Weiniger]

But we're. I'm taking you out for a lovely evening. Is that going to help spark it? Yeah. And you'll see the whole menu of options and go, oh, well, this wouldn't affect my sensitivity and all that.

[Andrea Gunning]

And if they're, let's say, if they're getting takeout and she's getting nachos, first of all, she's bad at ordering things. That does not travel. That's a soggy chip. I feel like I'm frustrated with the wife. Let's say it. Mexican food is for everyone. Loves it. It's a fun food.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

What's the problem? What's wrong with this person?

[Bridger Weiniger]

I know. And we, we just have to imagine James is a sort of stereotypical henpecked husband.

[Andrea Gunning]

The wife is always the issue. This bore wife. She's always nagging, nagging about how she doesn't like Mexico.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Meanwhile, he's, you know, probably a firefighter.

[Andrea Gunning]

He is putting his life on the line every day. We've got a first responder who loves Mexican food.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah.

[Andrea Gunning]

And a wife who won't let him eat his nachos.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. Honey, I brought home some nachos. Sorry I'm late. There was a four alarm fire.

[Andrea Gunning]

Let me just clean off this ash and clear my lungs.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Well, it's not bon bons. Oh, you're right. I'm sorry, dear.

[Andrea Gunning]

Well, we solved it. I think we ultimately solved the problem.

[Bridger Weiniger]

We kind of went from accusing him of being a murderer to thinking that he's actually the most wonderful man on earth.

[Andrea Gunning]

Vote for James. Vote for James to get a divorce from this lady. And hopefully it's a wake up call for her.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes.

[Andrea Gunning]

She doesn't know what she's got and it's time for her to tune into this. She's not even a listener of the podcast.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Apparently not.

[Andrea Gunning]

This lady sucks.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Right? If she hears this, then the jig is up.

[Andrea Gunning]

God.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Wow.

[Andrea Gunning]

You know, some people, some people's wives. That's what I'll say. We answered the question more than perfectly.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I. I think so.

[Andrea Gunning]

We ruined marriage. But we may have created a new fan of Mexican food. Maybe that's the real hope there.

[Bridger Weiniger]

We could always use one more.

[Andrea Gunning]

Yeah, we could. We could always use one more. And now I've got this gorgeous. Not only bobblehead, but now career goal.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yes.

[Andrea Gunning]

And it's one of the rare career goals where I don't have to kill someone to get to where I need to be. And I feel great about it. I feel like Dodgers fans will embrace me.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Hey, I do.

[Andrea Gunning]

You do. It starts with one person, one brave person. Someone needed to speak up. And you did. And so I'll be in the stadium shortly, I imagine.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Let's do it.

[Andrea Gunning]

Who could ask for more? Well, I've had such a wonderful time.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Yeah. Thank you so much for having me here. An honor to be here. I'm a big fan.

[Andrea Gunning]

Oh, you're very sweet.

[Bridger Weiniger]

Lovely.

[Andrea Gunning]

Thank you for being here. And listener. The podcast is screeching to a halt. I'm slamming on the brakes. Hopefully we all have our seat belts on and we'll walk away alive, but it 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? When you're a guest in my home.

[Bridger Weiniger]

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?

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

Betrayal Weekly is back for season two with brand new stories.

[Bridger Weiniger]

The detective comes driving up fast and.

[Andrea Gunning]

Just like screeches right in the parking lot.

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

I swear I'm not crazy, but I.

[Andrea Gunning]

Think he poisoned me.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I feel trapped.

[Andrea Gunning]

My breathing changes.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I realize, wow, like, he is not a mentor.

[Andrea Gunning]

He's pretty much a monster.

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

But these aren't just stories of destruction.

[Andrea Gunning]

They're stories of survival.

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

I'm gonna tell my story and I'm gonna hold my head up.

[Andrea Gunning]

Listen to Betrayal Weekly on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

Hi, it's Jemma Speg, host of the Psychology of youf 20s. This September at the Psychology of youf Tw Our 20s, we're breaking down the very interesting ways psychology applies to real life. Like why we crave external validation. I find it so interesting that we are so quick to believe others judgments of us and not our own judgment of ourselves. So according to the study, not being liked actually creates similar pain levels as real life physical pain. Learn more about the psychology of everyday life and of course, your twenties this September. Listen to the psychology of your twenties on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Bridger Weiniger]

I just think the process and the journey is so delicious. That's where all the good stuff is. You just can't live and die by the end result.

[Jemma Speg / Simone Boyce]

That's comedian Phoebe Robinson. And yeah, those are the kinds of gems you'll only hear on my podcast, the Bright side. I'm your host, Simone Boyce. I'm talking to the brightest minds in entertainment, health, wellness and pop culture. And every week we're going places in our communities, our careers and ourselves. So join me every Monday and let's find the bright side together. Listen to the Bright side on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.