"Exit Interview (The Cathartic Episode)" (w/ Matt & Bowen)

Summary

Las Culturistas – "Exit Interview (The Cathartic Episode)"

Hosts: Matt Rogers & Bowen Yang
Release Date: January 7, 2026
Network: Big Money Players / iHeartPodcasts

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Episode Overview

This landmark episode of Las Culturistas is a true “exit interview” and cathartic deep dive as co-host Bowen Yang discusses leaving Saturday Night Live after seven and a half years. In an intimate, emotional, and humorous conversation, Matt and Bowen reflect on Bowen’s SNL journey, the unpredictability of showbiz, transitions, creative integrity, pop culture phenomena, and the ongoing evolution of their podcast and friendship. The episode also touches on industry discourse—everything from internet hate to “fries for the table”—and teases the exciting new directions for both hosts.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Setting: Embracing Change & Intimacy

• The episode kicks off with Matt and Bowen noting their different recording environment (“the Malala Room”) and referencing how Malala once kicked them out of their usual studio (01:24–01:44).
• They embrace the change and settle in for a more personal, cozy show sans guests, reflecting what many listeners had wanted—a solo catch-up between just the two of them.

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2. Bowen’s SNL Departure: Process, Feeling, and Meaning

Why Leave Now?

• Bowen frames his departure as timed, intentional, and rare in SNL history:
  • “This is honestly what's behind it. It's like, it's time… I have this very beautiful thing where I get to say that I stayed on exactly as long as I wanted to.” (04:30–05:00)
• He describes SNL as a crucible: a mix of solidarity and intense individuality, a place where “every week you get a condensed version of a developmental process on a project” (20:10).
• Matt reveals his own feelings about not being at Bowen’s final show: “I was there in spirit, sobbing, laying on my back in my Orlando hotel” (06:15).

The Emotional Exit

• The live SNL farewell was fraught with logistical uncertainty to the very last moment (“It's like landing the Mars rover on like a square foot of terrain... there were no guarantees”—06:38).
  • Bowen: “Down to like 12:55am not being sure if that sketch was gonna go to air... Nothing is guaranteed... perfectly illustrative of what that job is” (06:53).
• The most emotionally charged moment came at the read-through, not live on air.
  • “I was sobbing at the read through... in the sketch, I say, 'I've loved everyone here.' I immediately broke down because… I was telling the truth” (13:54).
• Matt on SNL’s behind-the-scenes culture: “Not everyone leaves that show and is like, ready to positively impact the workforce creatively… the fact that you are leaving intact emotionally, creatively, and like, in terms of your humanity, it's a feat.” (22:17)

Notable Moments and Reflections

• Amy Poehler’s message to Bowen at the afterparty:
  • "'We're all waiting for you on the other side.' And I was like, fuck, yeah." (23:09)
• The rare privilege of getting a send-off sketch, and Bowen’s gratitude for that opportunity (16:46).
• Matt on their shared journey: “It felt like one of us was on the show, but I think we were both, like, living with it.” (10:12)

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3. The Future: Newfound Freedom and Podcast Excitement

• Bowen is energized for what’s next, from future travels in Japan to shifting creative focus:
  • “I don't have to tell someone I'm unavailable just because they want to do something in the fall… you actually have, like, freedom now” (09:31).
• The podcast’s next act:
  • Matt: “It’s the thing that I want to honor and bring honesty to…” (08:59)

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4. Behind the Farewell Sketch & Working with Cher

• Celeste Yim returned to help Bowen write his finale sketch (29:18).
• The logistics and changes of the final SNL sketch, aiming for emotional resonance over spectacle (29:12).
• Cher’s involvement was not confirmed until the night of the show; she altered her lines to be more affirming (“I just want to kiss him”) and delivered her signature power onstage (35:01–38:00).
  • "With the full force of Cher … it felt like a car had crashed into me." —Bowen (38:00)
• Reflecting on wanting as many fellow cast members in the sketch as possible, for communal closure (28:20).

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5. Evolving Creative Identity; Balance and Self-Comparison

• Matt discusses navigating fame, creative output, and internet disparagement:
  • “One of the things that happened when I was doing the tour is … I hate to say it, but like caring what people thought and were saying and like, just super aware…” (52:41)
• Both discuss the challenge and necessity of finding balance after years of high-intensity work—Bowen developing at SNL, Matt in self-driven projects and touring.
• Matt: “One thing that I've had to learn, and I think now you'll be forced to learn, is balance.” (41:27)
• Both affirm commitment to focusing on real experiences and creative work, not online noise.
  • "I can fully confidently say at the end of this year that as long as I keep the focus on what matters, which is the work and how I'm making people feel and how I feel doing something, I have no doubt in my mind that I love this and that I will always do it." – Matt (54:44)

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6. Life, Culture, and Pop Discourse

Major Pop Culture Moments

• “Heated Rivalry” Reactions:
  • Both hosts dissect the show’s cultural phenomenon, queer representation, and online discourse about authenticity ("Is it real enough? Who's allowed to perform queerness?").
    • “A show can be so amazing and incredible, even if there is virtually zero conflict in it. I fucking love it.” —Bowen (70:41)
  • Matt: “They performed it with honesty, they were really committed, and they have unbelievable chemistry. I don't care that they don't come out and say what their sexuality is…” (78:46)
• Taylor Swift’s Documentary:
  • The doc emphasizes her talent, work ethic (“the documentary wants you to know she is a talent”), her values, and attempts to shift the narrative around her.
• Nostalgia & Silliness:
  • Extended riff on “fries for the table,” cultural rituals, and aioli (115:01–116:37).
  • “Fries for the table—it’s just a myth. No one cares.” —Bowen (116:05)

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7. Online Hate, Reddit, and Protective Rituals

• Both open up about being affected by online negativity and how it colors their self-perception (especially Bowen with SNL comments and Matt via Reddit):
  • “I was using the fucking Reddit as a report card. No, do that. First of all, that Reddit report card…” (70:05)
  • Bowen acknowledges that only a fraction of comments online are “real people,” and that much toxicity is projection or immaturity (68:50).
• Both advocate for boundaries:
  • “I am never looking at this again, and I swear to God, mark my words.” —Matt (111:16)
  • Discussion of using apps and “bricks” for blocking social media to maintain mental health.

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8. The Evolution of Las Culturistas

• Both express pride in how far the show has come and protecting its integrity, including turning down deals that would compromise its delivery or authenticity (62:17).
• “We have earned the right to do this the way we want to do it.” —Matt (62:34)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It's like landing the Mars rover on a square foot of terrain… there were no guarantees about how any of it was gonna shake out.” —Matt (06:38)
• “Like, you create your own meaning from that there. That is what that job is.” —Bowen (08:05)
• “Polar Amy … puts a hand on my shoulder … goes, ‘We're all waiting for you on the other side.’” —Bowen (23:09)
• “Everyone has a different … length of their tenure, completely different struggles. It is like what the experience of living is…” —Bowen (08:05)
• “Newfound freedom. You actually have, like, freedom now to put energy into whatever it is that you want.” —Matt (09:31)
• “We have to execute this movie. We have to write our book. We got to get the new Culture Awards together … there's a long list of things.” —Matt (39:24)
• “A stool is one of the gayest chairs. Ariana Grande sat on one or kneeled on one for her second album, and gay culture was never the same.” —Matt (48:34)
• On handling internet commentary:
  • “The thing that really makes it work is their chemistry and their performances. And I'm loving them on the press tour.” —Matt on “Heated Rivalry” (81:52)
• “This has been so cathartic. This actually is called Exit Interview, Parentheses, The Cathartic Episode.” —Matt (111:16)

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Key Timestamps

• Bowen's SNL exit psychoanalysis: 04:30–08:35
• Matt on being absent from Bowen’s finale: 06:12–06:23
• Cher’s last-minute SNL sketch prep: 35:01–38:00
• Amy Poehler’s “waiting on the other side” story: 23:09
• Navigating fame, anxiety, and internet hate: 52:00–70:07
• Heated Rivalry deep dive (culture, representation): 70:41–84:15
• Fries discourse: 115:01–118:31
• Boundary setting and technological self-protection: 111:27–114:08
• Reflecting on show origins, authenticity, and future: 61:08–62:45, 119:28–120:07

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Episode Tone and Takeaways

The episode is classic Las Culturistas—honest, irreverent, deeply funny, neurotically self-examining, but ultimately optimistic. The tone is confessional but celebratory. Bowen’s exit prompts real vulnerability and gratitude, while Matt’s steadfast support reassures both the audience and Bowen himself about what’s next. The two relish in pop culture minutiae, reflect on the perils and power of public life, and recommit to making the podcast “their way.”

For listeners old and new:
This is a vital catch-up, perfect for those invested in performer transitions, SNL lore, queer pop culture, the realities of fame, and the ongoing evolution of Matt and Bowen’s uniquely hilarious bond.

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Closing Segment

The show ends, as always, with “I Don’t Think So, Honey!”—this time, rants about Gavin Newsom’s voice and the myth of “fries for the table,” punctuating the episode’s cathartic energy with one more round of sheer comedic truth-telling (101:55–116:37).

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“Thank you for getting me to cry, bitch. I cried too… this was an emotional roller coaster. Cathartic release. The cathartic episode. Exit interview. Parentheses: The cathartic episode.” —Matt & Bowen (120:03–120:11)

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Transcript

[Bowen Yang]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Matt Rogers]

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[Bowen Yang]

Wow. Is that culture? Yes. Goodness. Wow. Las culturistas.

[Matt Rogers]

Ding dong. Las culturistas calling. Much has changed. Look at our environment.

[Bowen Yang]

Look at the environment, y'.

[Matt Rogers]

All.

[Bowen Yang]

I think we are going to cozy up here down here on the. I'm gonna call it the Malala Room.

[Matt Rogers]

Okay, so we remember the time when Malala kicked us out of our normal stadium.

[Bowen Yang]

That was the best thing to ever happen. Give Malala more prizes and accolades for this impact she's had. She continues. Malala, come on the show.

[Matt Rogers]

Honestly, in 2026.

[Bowen Yang]

No, she's coming. Yeah, we're gonna do a kickball episode now.

[Matt Rogers]

We have to have her. Oh my God, a kickball episode.

[Bowen Yang]

We should have a sports. Something where.

[Matt Rogers]

Or just like live from the court. What do they call it? Would you call it a kickball field? Kickball diamond. This is really where we. We falter in terms of expertise.

[Bowen Yang]

We host a damn sports podcast somehow.

[Matt Rogers]

Imagine that.

[Bowen Yang]

Imagine that. By the way, having a great time.

[Matt Rogers]

If you don't know now you know. Two guys, five rings, which we can confirm for the millionth time, is the name of the podcast. And no one stopped us. And they can't now.

[Bowen Yang]

And they can't now has premiered. I love that on today's show this week, you had Ms. Jenna Bush Hager kind of giggling to herself. Cause I was like, of course she knows.

[Matt Rogers]

Oh, she knew.

[Bowen Yang]

She was knocking back the Captain Morgan in college watching that video.

[Matt Rogers]

Let me remember the Billy Idol song, Rebel Yale.

[Bowen Yang]

You think that that applies to debate?

[Matt Rogers]

That was a bout Jenna Bush Hager.

[Bowen Yang]

I love her.

[Matt Rogers]

I am obsessed with her. I love her. I'm having the best time. Literally. I really, I, I was, I was saying I don't really have much to promote, but then I was like, oh, wait, yes, I do. Our full blown two guys five rings podcast. So I was like, oh, yeah, of course I'll go back. And I'm the last friend.

[Bowen Yang]

That's. That says a lot.

[Matt Rogers]

And so I made a whole joke about how that meant I was second place. But by the way, I just do want to say I knew the entire time I wasn't getting that job. I did not want that job. Just to talk about employment status, my employment status at NBC.

[Bowen Yang]

Employment.

[Matt Rogers]

And then we'll get to him. No, but I was, we're both still employed. Everyone was like, ah. Like, were you disappointed? I was like, a, no, I don't, I wouldn't want that. Schedule B. Chanel Jones should have the job.

[Bowen Yang]

The legend.

[Matt Rogers]

And I, I will say I knew the whole time I wasn't actually getting it right. And. But I did like that everyone thought I was a contender. I liked being in that conversation. It was fun.

[Bowen Yang]

You liked being in the mix as they. And just how perfect is it that you got to work in morning television?

[Matt Rogers]

Ultimately, at the end of this week, I'll have hosted it 20 times.

[Bowen Yang]

Wow. They gotta get you a smoking jacket for that.

[Matt Rogers]

Truly, I guess that I would have four SNL jackets at this point.

[Bowen Yang]

Yes, 100%.

[Matt Rogers]

And just to speak on SNL. What is that?

[Bowen Yang]

I don't, I'm not.

[Matt Rogers]

Have you already forgotten?

[Bowen Yang]

No, of course not.

[Matt Rogers]

I. So if you've been living under a damn. Not even a rock, a boulder, a big rock, you may not know that Bowen Yang, my sister here, my co host, my bestie, has decided to suddenly depart. Shockingly suddenly depart. This is after seven and a half years.

[Bowen Yang]

The shocking departure, so sudden. So this is the thing. This is honestly what's behind it. It's like, it's time. Like, you would do seven seasons and then you would scoot. And then like Covid and the current media landscape, the current entertainment ecosystem is like, so turbulent that, like, people have completely valid reasons for staying longer or in a lot of cases, don't have the privilege of staying on as long as they would like to. I have this very beautiful thing where I get to say that I stayed on exactly as long as I wanted to. Maybe unsure, and I've said this before, I was maybe unsure about going back in the summer, and I'm so glad I did.

[Matt Rogers]

When did you make. I feel like.

[Bowen Yang]

Oh, my God, Barbara.

[Matt Rogers]

That's the part where I ask a lot of questions that I know the answers to. But I mean, I've been really waiting to do this episode with you. And I've also been waiting to do an episode with just you. And I know a lot of people out there have been wanting us to as well. And it's not because we don't want to, guys. It's whenever we're not together, just us. It's just because logistically we could not do it. And we feel like we. If we're gonna do a culture catch up episode, it should be a culture catch up episode. And so that's what it is. And the podcast is many different things and will continue to be many different things. And we hope it surprises you week to week. But I've been waiting for this because I am excited to hear how you're feeling. How are you feeling?

[Bowen Yang]

I feel so good. I also want to point out the tea is like, you're saying, like, you know the.

[Matt Rogers]

I say the tea.

[Bowen Yang]

You already know the answers to these questions you're about to ask. But also, I don't think you and I have really talked about this.

[Matt Rogers]

Not really. I wasn't able to be there, which hurt my heart, but really bummed me out. I was there the last time. I thought it was the last show.

[Bowen Yang]

Exactly, exactly.

[Matt Rogers]

And I was there in spirit, sobbing, laying on my back in my Orlando hotel because I couldn't believe just how perfectly it was ending like that is.

[Bowen Yang]

It's like landing the Mars rover on like a square foot of terrain. It was like, there were no guarantees about how any of it was gonna shake out.

[Matt Rogers]

Like, I. Well, lots of unruly, like, you know, factors.

[Bowen Yang]

Totally, like, working there is just making peace with the fact that, like, things are completely out of your control, down to like the audience respons to a joke, you know, like, that is. I think that. And like, I think having that and like going into it, like down to like 12:55am not being sure if that sketch was gonna go to air. I was like, there's a million reasons why I could get cut. Nothing is guaranteed. Like, that is sort of in a Nutshell, like, it kind of is perfectly, like, illustrative of what that job is. And it was resonant all the way through to the end. And I feel really, this word is meaningless. I think maybe now, but, like, so grateful.

[Matt Rogers]

I don't think that word is meaningless at all, because I think that there probably were so many times during that experience where you didn't know if you were going to be able to end the experience of working there with gratitude. So many different people have many different kinds of experiences leaving that show.

[Bowen Yang]

Yeah. Like, you come in and there is, like, a shared experience of being at snl, but then ultimately it comes down to, like, there's, like, a collectivism there, but there's an individualism in terms of, like, everyone is on their own journey there.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah.

[Bowen Yang]

Everyone has a different, like, length of their tenure, completely different struggles. It is like what the experience of living is, which is like, it is suffering to the point of having to, like, arrive at a nihilism. And then you create your own meaning from that there. That is what that job is. Of course, the pull quote is going to be like, bow and Yang calls us and all suffering. Like, but it is.

[Matt Rogers]

I actually think this year I give so much less of a fuck about what the poll quotes.

[Bowen Yang]

Yeah. Yeah, totally.

[Matt Rogers]

And we were texting last night. We. I'm just so excited about the future of the podcast now. I really am.

[Bowen Yang]

Yeah.

[Matt Rogers]

Not that I don't think that this is going to change it necessarily, in terms of you not being there. Yeah. I just mean, like, I don't know. I think after everything, like, after this whole year, just, like, looking back and looking forward, it's like, this is the thing that's so. Been so consistent for us.

[Bowen Yang]

Yes.

[Matt Rogers]

And it's the thing that I want to honor and bring honesty to and, like, yes. Authenticity to and my number one main focus. And I think that because of the past seven and a half years, like, your energy being, you know, primarily focused there now, what's so exciting to me for you is even what you said the other day about how you were like, you know what's crazy? I don't have to tell someone I'm unavailable just because they want to do something in the fall. Like, I don't have to say, oh.

[Bowen Yang]

Which is a good and a bad thing.

[Matt Rogers]

My October is booked out. You know what I mean? You actually have, like, freedom now to put energy into whatever it is that you want.

[Bowen Yang]

It's harder to get out of an unwanted plan. Right. That is.

[Matt Rogers]

That's true.

[Bowen Yang]

True.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah.

[Bowen Yang]

But no, you're right. And I also want to acknowledge and honor the fact that, like, this is. This was like, a. A joint tandem experience for us because, like, the show gave us a lot.

[Matt Rogers]

The show meaning snl, snl.

[Bowen Yang]

We, like, went through it together in, like, I think in a very, like, evident way. We were. It was like one of us was on the show, but I think we were both, like, living with it.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah. I mean, like, obviously I did not experience working there, but, like, I. I always felt like it was a part of my life because of its omnipresence.

[Bowen Yang]

Yeah.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah. In not just yours, but also Sudis, also so many people. And so I think that what I've always been looking forward to for you is just more autonomy.

[Bowen Yang]

Yes.

[Matt Rogers]

And. But just to speak again about the experience of working there.

[Bowen Yang]

I love Matt's, like, interviewer energy being directed at me. This is so exciting.

[Matt Rogers]

Bowen Yang is the guest on this week's podcast. But in terms of, like, you said, you're feeling really good and that you're grateful that it all ended up the way it ended up, how do you think you'll feel when the first episode of the new season comes out?

[Bowen Yang]

Well, we're gonna be in Japan, busy.

[Matt Rogers]

By busy bond happenstance or on purpose?

[Bowen Yang]

Not. I think both.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah.

[Bowen Yang]

I think this is, like. So basically what's happening for me, for both of us, is that we are kind of like fire hosing new sensory experiences towards us. Like, we're gonna be, like, eating food.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah.

[Bowen Yang]

Going, like, listening to sounds, touching things.

[Matt Rogers]

Wait, touching things? What? In Japan, where we're just. I thought for a second we were gonna go to a petting zoo, and I had to wrap my head around that. It's sometimes hard for me to think about touching animals.

[Bowen Yang]

You know this. We're going to the Nintendo Museum.

[Matt Rogers]

Oh, that's huge.

[Bowen Yang]

We're going to the Ghibli Museum.

[Matt Rogers]

Hot ticket.

[Bowen Yang]

We are. We're gonna be touching things.

[Matt Rogers]

So I think it's just funny because I feel like I'm, like, trying to redirect it back to the show.

[Bowen Yang]

Yes.

[Matt Rogers]

Yes. Okay. Yeah. But, no, but, like, I guess it's exciting that you feel excited about other things, because I didn't know how you were going to feel after it ended, because it does warp you a little bit. Like, I can give that take now that you're not there. Absolutely. There were times where I would come to the show and you would be there, and I was like, what happened here?

[Bowen Yang]

I know.

[Matt Rogers]

You know what I mean? The energy could alternately be so High and unbelievable and the best energy you could ever experience. Or through the floor to the point where I'm like, why are we even doing this?

[Bowen Yang]

Well, you know what Matt Whitaker said. Our friend Matt Whitaker said to me? He was like, by the end, it seemed like even if you had, like, a light show or, like, a bad week, like, you just on Saturdays, like, it didn't stick to you. Like, you kind of showed up. You were like, okay, here's the rundown. Let's go out to music. Like, when this sketch goes up, like, I had, like. And this is. And this is an indicator for me that, like, oh, wow. Like, this is. This is so beautifully sort of wrote to me that, like, that comfort is, like, not necessarily the point of being here. Like, there is such a beautiful crucible of that show. And now that I'm done with it, now that I'm through the gauntlet of it, I'm like, that is one of the most meaningful experiences I will ever have. I can't believe I got the thing that happened during the last sketch. Sculptor One lounge sketch was I look out. And I was like, I don't know. I don't know if, like, emotionally this is gonna be, like, necessarily the resonant thing, because what happens, According to some alums that I've talked to, including Aidi Bryant, she was like, oh, like, I cried more on Wednesday at the read through than I did on Saturday. And I was like, oh, interesting. Like, I was sobbing at the read through.

[Matt Rogers]

At the read through in front of everyone.

[Bowen Yang]

Not.

[Matt Rogers]

And, like, why do you think?

[Bowen Yang]

Here's why. In the sketch, I say, you know, it's like a metatextual thing. It's like, oh, it's my last shift at the Delta Lounge. But in the sketch, I say, I've loved everyone here. I've loved every single person who works here. Like, I immediately broke down because, like, I was.

[Matt Rogers]

So you knew it was a lie?

[Bowen Yang]

Well, yeah, I was gonna say because I was.

[Matt Rogers]

Because I was like.

[Bowen Yang]

Because I was telling the tr. Sure.

[Matt Rogers]

No, I'm kidding. I'm being a bitch. Of course. Of course. And there's, like, even the struggles with people there, which anyone would have with any. Any colleague they have. But of course, they're in the most heightened experience atmosphere. Like, those are gonna be hot and cold relationships, to say the least. But those are so valuable.

[Bowen Yang]

100%. I've learned how to work under what seems like an immense amount of pressure, which it kind of is and it kind of isn't, but it's like, I'VE learned so many things that have applied to so many other things. I always said, like, the credits don't transfer. I would always, like, go into, like, press stuff for the show and be like, oh, you know, it's so fun. Like, I love that job. But, you know, the process is so singular there. You have an idea on Tuesday and it could be on TV by Saturday. Doesn't work like that anywhere else. It's a dream factory. I don't have to memorize lines. I just read off the cue card, I pitch to the rafters, I say, the credits don't transfer. Like, this isn't how it works anywhere else in show business. But yet Culture Words is a perfect example. I was like, oh, I think this benefited both of us that, like, I had an understanding of, like, what to do, how to do it, how to work with someone like Liz Patrick.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah. Who's the director of snl, who directed the Culture Awards.

[Bowen Yang]

Who directed the Culture Awards. I was like. Like that was kind of like the veneer cracking on, like that idea for me. Anyway, I cried on Wednesday at the read through because I was telling the truth and because there are no other occasions for someone to say that at that place.

[Matt Rogers]

Right.

[Bowen Yang]

Cause we have to just, like, be like, funny and like, ironic and there's a refraction of, like, what's being said and how it should be received. And like, I will absolutely cop to the fact that that Delta 1 sketch was, like, completely self indulgent because, like, what am I gonna do?

[Matt Rogers]

Like, that's fine.

[Bowen Yang]

Tell a straight, like, give a straight joke back.

[Matt Rogers]

Well, for a second I thought that your. Because it did weirdly feel like you for the 80 trend forecasters weekend Update piece to be the last thing. Because that was 80's last thing.

[Bowen Yang]

Yes, yes.

[Matt Rogers]

And I think that that also speaks the fact that that was 80 and she was on the show for 10 years and she wasn't necessarily. Well, she was not given that type of platform like you were given. And we should say very, very few people have been given that.

[Bowen Yang]

Yes.

[Matt Rogers]

I think it's like actually quite rare. And so I guess my question is, as it's going, and you know what, that's what that's felt like at the read through and everything like that. And it's getting to be like, it's, you know, it's 1251, 52. Did you think there was a possibility that it would not happen? Because in a way, you, you had that moment and therefore, like, you, you've been in the costume before when things are Cut.

[Bowen Yang]

Literally, I've been in the costume. When things are cut, it is completely devastating because you are just, like, emotionally on edge. You are gearing up for something. Literally, you are in the gear for something, and then, like, it gets taken away from you. I want to say that, like, because of the Wednesday thing and just, like, going into that week at all, I was already, like, blessed by the fact that it was Ari as the host. Cher is the musical guest.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah. Wild. My whole thing was, how were you supposed to stay after that? You could never have gone back after that. I thought after the 50th, it could never. I was like, I didn't understand why you were coming back this season. Like, just to be candid, because I was like, it's after the 50th. You know what I mean? It felt like other people were gonna leave, and then you went back, and now it's like, I'm so grateful you went back and had that.

[Bowen Yang]

I'm so grateful I went back. And, like, as. So as the night's going on, like, I was completely Zen about it.

[Matt Rogers]

Either way was okay with you.

[Bowen Yang]

Either way was okay because AD Was there. There was just. I'm sorry. There was, like, an outpouring. Yeah. People that I hadn't heard from and people that, like, I. I'm sorry. It just felt like a really beautiful thing where I was saying earlier, like, as I get on the floor, like, I look out. It was like, basically, like, everyone who worked there was on the floor showing up, and I just looked out, and I thought, I'm so lucky that I ever got to work here. And I'm so lucky that I get to make this, like, little statement that's, like, barely veiled, where I'm like, I love you all. Like, it was. I'm so lucky.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah. And it's not really, like, a place where, like, you said, like, where emotions get laid bare like that. I feel like people may remember highlights of the show where it feels like that might be the case. But you working there day in and day out, year after year, you know that it's not some place where it's like, you're necessarily, like, free to be like, hey, this is how I'm feeling, and I'm expressing it exactly. Responsibly, et cetera. And so that was a question I had for you is how do you think you've emotionally grown as a result of being on that show and the experiences that you've had doing it?

[Bowen Yang]

I feel like I've been accelerated in terms of, like, you Know how, like, a presidency ages you? Like, yes, 12 years or whatever in one term. Like, I feel like completely. I don't know, either I'm like, ripened or I'm like, rotten. Yeah, I've experienced the full spectrum of things. Because you're right. Like, working there is completely dysregulating emotionally. Like, either you are soaring or you are, like, completely in the dumps. And that's just how like, it's like, them's the breaks, kid. It's like that. It's like a show. Busy.

[Matt Rogers]

Blow hard.

[Bowen Yang]

I'm not saying this is anyone in particular, but it's just like you are constantly reminded by someone or something or some event where you're like, God, this is just how it is. This is how it is. And every week you get a condensed version of a developmental process on a project, let's say. And Jesse David Fox writes about this. All three words in snl, Saturday Night Live are about time. And it is just time, sort of like encroaching on you emotionally, physically, process wise, creatively. It is all those things bearing down on you. And then if you have the time to figure out how to deal with all of that, then you will be so well equipped for everything else. And that doesn't matter if you're on the cast, if you're a writer, if you're in the wardrobe department, if you're in any other department place at that show like it is, wow. Every department, there is a convocation of the most amazing people with this workmanlike attitude about showing up and doing the job and not having an ego about it. And then, of course, there are moments where you have an ego about it, but it is like a collective thing. And I guess there was some perception that I felt exceptional in any way. I really didn't. Anytime I got like, some shine on me, my genuine instinct was always to make it about everyone who works there.

[Matt Rogers]

I mean, I do notice that about you. And that's why I was so happy that that moment happened at the end of the show. Because like I said, I was like, oh, wow. It would be very like him for this thing with AD to be enough for him. Absolutely. But I was really happy that you got more than that, because I do think. I mean, you've done it several times today. You've made your experience and you've mentioned you trying to bring me into it. I ain't got nothing to do with it.

[Bowen Yang]

Yes, you do.

[Matt Rogers]

You have. You experienced, like, all of this stuff in a way. And I. One thing I want to say is that not everyone leaves that show and is like, ready to positively impact the workforce creatively. I can tell you that.

[Bowen Yang]

Sure.

[Matt Rogers]

And so the fact that you are leaving intact emotionally, creatively, and like, in terms of your humanity is like, you know, it's a feat.

[Bowen Yang]

There was defeat. There was no other way. I'm gonna say, like, it's that Seth Meyers thing where he's like. Or no, Mike Shoemaker told Seth, you're gonna be talking about this for the rest of your life. Congrat. Like, when he got the job, it's like, congratulations, you're gonna be talking about this for the rest of your life. Yeah, that is true for me. I will try to keep it at like a reasonable volume. I am like, oh, God, sorry, these thoughts are just coming at me.

[Matt Rogers]

No, of course.

[Bowen Yang]

Polar Amy, before she left the after party when she hosted the second episode this season, puts a hand on my shoulder, looks into my eyes and goes, we're all waiting for you on the other side.

[Matt Rogers]

And I was like, fuck, yeah. That's so much.

[Bowen Yang]

It's like, this is crazy. And then that was like a reminder of like, oh my God, I work here. And like, this is like.

[Matt Rogers]

And there's another side and there's another side.

[Bowen Yang]

And like, it does feel like I've died. And like, there's like one of my heroes is like looking down at me and like telling me like. And even like 80 has been like, there's a really nice life waiting for you after this. You'll miss it every day. Kristin Wiig, does she text you? Of course she texts you.

[Matt Rogers]

Well, she'll be here in a couple of weeks.

[Bowen Yang]

She'll be here in a couple of weeks. But of course she texted me and then I texted her back. I was like, Kristen, like, I will never forget, like the first time you hosted when I was here, like, the thing you told me was, enjoy it. Cause it's the funnest job in the world.

[Matt Rogers]

I remember when she said that to you.

[Bowen Yang]

Never forgot.

[Matt Rogers]

You know, we were talking when we were shooting Palm Royale, we were talking about this. And I remember like saying to her, like, because she too also got like a send off like that. And I remember I. Not to share too much about what we talked about, but I was kind of, I was kind of in my mind, I was like your best friend. And also as someone who watches the show and enjoys the show and the legacy of the show and felt you deserved it, I was like, how do we make it so that he gets like a good, nice moment. And, like, I think. I think that ultimately, in terms of the totality of what it could have been, it probably was, like, beyond your wildest dreams, I guess my question is with that, like, does Ariana become de facto your favorite host of all time?

[Bowen Yang]

Yeah. I mean, there's no other answer. And Cher's my favorite.

[Matt Rogers]

Sorry, Kiki Palmer.

[Bowen Yang]

Sorry, Kiki.

[Matt Rogers]

You reigned for a while.

[Bowen Yang]

Sorry, Regina King.

[Matt Rogers]

I. I loved how unselfish the whole thing was. You know what I mean? Like. Cause it takes so much confidence and, like, so much star quality to come in there like her for her fourth time hosting and knowing you felt in her energy being there with you that A, her number one goal was servicing that sketch, which meant honoring, like, what was happening for you in it, and she was so there right next to you. But B, the, like, positivity she had that she's gonna come back and do that show many, many other times. Because not every host would be like, yeah, let me give up the whole last sketch of this, six minutes of the time for this cast member. But it was her, and she did that. And that's not only because she's a good friend. It's because she's a really professional host who doesn't have, like, an ego about her time there, which I think is, like, pretty cool and worth calling out. And the fact that Cher did not have to walk her ass out there.

[Bowen Yang]

No.

[Matt Rogers]

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[Bowen Yang]

Oh, and the Cher thing. Well, okay, I'll get to the Cher thing. I want to say, in terms of the sketch itself, like, my only wish is that, like, we had gotten like a bunch of other cast in there, ideally the entire cast in there, because it is just like me, just like, I don't know, not imparting anything, but it's just like, I just, I want to be there with like, the other people. It did just come down to logistics, like we did. We had like Mikey and Sarah there in the back just like cleaning up the mess. Oh, and so like the eggnog machine was supposed to, like, be on the fritz and like spray everywhere. It was supposed to spray Kini, it was supposed to spray Jane, it was supposed to spray the people it was spraying. It just kind of got too much. It got to be too much. And Lauren came up to me and Celeste before, before the show after dress, and he was just like, I think it's better if it's just you guys and you just play into the emotion of it.

[Matt Rogers]

He was right.

[Bowen Yang]

And then Celeste and I were like, lorne Michaels knows how to produce.

[Matt Rogers]

So Celeste came back to write that.

[Bowen Yang]

Celeste came back to write that. We wrote some other stuff too. We wrote a Cher Family reunion, which I'm so sad.

[Matt Rogers]

Oh, this is a thing.

[Bowen Yang]

Well, we'll get to Cher later. This is the thing.

[Matt Rogers]

You are still getting shit cut at the end.

[Bowen Yang]

Of course it's totally, totally fine.

[Matt Rogers]

I mean, not like, well, you can have this, but you can't have everything.

[Bowen Yang]

I never look, and I'm always like, yeah, yeah, yeah, like, cut my stuff. Like, Kenan still has his stuff cut. Yeah. It's not a thing. You don't. I don't necessarily think you don't get.

[Matt Rogers]

A platinum card at the show. No.

[Bowen Yang]

And my other thing was, like, there was, like, a soft thing maybe where, like, I would get, like, a. There was a designated. Like, I was talking to Dismukes about this and James Austin Johnson about this. Like, it did feel like I would get, like, there would be, like, a designated Bowen spot in the list of picks on Wednesday, and I'm like, that's also my cue to leave. Like, I. I do not want the footprint to be edging out other people, literally.

[Matt Rogers]

I'm honest to God, that's really noble.

[Bowen Yang]

That was. It's not.

[Matt Rogers]

Everyone has that feeling.

[Bowen Yang]

I was just like, no, no, no, no, no. That can't be it.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah. You know when it's time to go, right?

[Bowen Yang]

I'm like, this is. This is.

[Matt Rogers]

Taylor Swift said that.

[Bowen Yang]

Taylor Swift, that legend.

[Matt Rogers]

But so anyway, the Eras tour documentary. Can you imagine that?

[Bowen Yang]

Yes, I can. I can.

[Matt Rogers]

Wait, wait, wait, wait.

[Bowen Yang]

So many other things.

[Matt Rogers]

Wait.

[Bowen Yang]

Oh, y. I wish there were other. There were other cast in that piece. We did just have to, like, if.

[Matt Rogers]

There had to be one.

[Bowen Yang]

If there had to be. No, stop.

[Matt Rogers]

Kenan. He was.

[Bowen Yang]

Oh, my God, Kenan.

[Matt Rogers]

I was so happy they did that. Come on.

[Bowen Yang]

I mean, everybody. And, like, I don't know, man. That is a really. I can't believe I got to work there. And I said it in the sketch. That is the thing that I will, like, keep saying. Like, I can't. It feels like it happened to someone else. I'm so glad it happened to me. I am gonna pull you into this experience because I got to tell Jenna Rositano, the stage manager there, one of the many wonderful stage managers there.

[Matt Rogers]

She's an icon.

[Bowen Yang]

She's an icon. But I. She kind of cried the hardest out of anybody besides Ari. I was like, jenna, you. Well, first of all, she said something that, like, destroyed me, which was. And this is not me, like, bragging. She just goes. I never. She goes. She goes to me. She's seen a lot of behavior on that floor. She's Like, I've never seen you raise your voice or be unkind to anyone in the seven years that you were here.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah.

[Bowen Yang]

Which, like, means a lot to me. Yeah, it means a lot to me.

[Matt Rogers]

Well, that's why everyone hit the floor when you. When you were leaving.

[Bowen Yang]

But I told her, I was like, jenna, from the very first time I met you, you were just so kind to me. Because I came down to the hallway outside of the studio just to, like, bright by cue cards. Cause you could kind of hear what's going on on stage. I was. I came down to the floor to listen to your screen test because I was. I was. I just wanted to. I just wanted to, like, be close and just, like, I don't know, send energy or something. And then she was there and she was like, are you lost? And I was like, no, no. I just. My best friend in the whole world is on stage right now, and I just wanna. I just wanna see how he's doing. And then she. She completely breaks down. She was like, that's your best friend up there? Well, then stay as long as you want. And just.

[Matt Rogers]

She.

[Bowen Yang]

I see her as like a bridge.

[Matt Rogers]

I don't know.

[Bowen Yang]

Like, I always think of you when I'm with her, and I always think about how kind she was to me and how she loves you.

[Matt Rogers]

I know. I wish I got to stone.

[Bowen Yang]

She loves you. We will go.

[Matt Rogers]

We will go back.

[Bowen Yang]

She wants to get stoned and watch the Sopranos. Oh, let's fucking go make lasagna for us.

[Matt Rogers]

Oh, my God, that sounds fucking awesome.

[Bowen Yang]

She's. She's amazing.

[Matt Rogers]

Jenna Rossitano.

[Bowen Yang]

Jenna Rossitano, it's a legend.

[Matt Rogers]

Watching Getting Stone getting ripped and watching the Sopranos.

[Bowen Yang]

She's the fucking everyone. I just. Oh, God.

[Matt Rogers]

Sorry.

[Bowen Yang]

I'm a mess.

[Matt Rogers]

I mean, no, I mean, like, it is. It is such a crazy thing. In totality. Like, there have been so many moments where I'm watching it and I'm like, I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe this is happening. And then at some point, that transition to, like, me, like, completely just, like, marinating in this experience. And then, like, of watching you do this show. And then it ended in that moment and I was like. I was, like, alone watching it, which felt so crazy, of course. And like, of course all of our friends are texting me from the. Your dressing room, and, like, they're all there. And I could, like, smell it and feel it. I could feel how hot it was in the room. And I was just like, God, like, it really is, but it didn't feel. It felt conclusive. It did not feel final.

[Bowen Yang]

Oh, interesting.

[Matt Rogers]

You know what I mean? Like, it felt like it was, like, a wonderful way for this to conclude this chapter, but it didn't feel like. Like, you'll be back on that show hosting, like. You know what I mean? Like. And I think it's so great that you get to have this great relationship with the show and everyone that works there. And. Yeah. I mean, just for it to end that wonderfully, I think, gives all the validity to what Jenna is saying. It would not have been that way had you not done it like a pro, like a kind person, and like a talent. Like the talent that you are. So I take my hat and all my clothes off to you. Oh, I'm naked. If you can't see, I'm completely nude. I've been completely nude. Doing this interview, this exit interview title of EP with Bowen. Is there anything else you want to say about it before we talk about heated rivalry or whatever the fuck?

[Bowen Yang]

Yes. I. I need to just point out the Cher element of it, which was. We weren't sure if she was gonna do it down to, like, Saturday. Yeah. Cause it was like, we wrote a bunch of different versions of it, and she. You know, she just wanted spare dialogue because it's like, as she will tell you, she's a dyslexic icon.

[Matt Rogers]

Yes.

[Bowen Yang]

Oh, my God. Wait. We also haven't talked about her memoir, which. Whatever.

[Matt Rogers]

Well, we will. Stephanie J.

[Bowen Yang]

Block doing the. It trades off between Cher and Stephanie J. Block doing the reading together, because she's like, you're gonna notice that someone besides me is on the audiobook, and it's the wonderful Stephanie J. Block, who played me in the Cher show or whatever, by the way. Okay.

[Matt Rogers]

We wrote a Cher. What a gig to score for Stephanie J. Block yet again.

[Bowen Yang]

Such a gig. We wrote a Cher family reunion. It did not get. It did not go. But I. But Celeste and I had the perfect experience of running around on Wednesday to all the casts offices, because they're like, I don't have a share. I'm like, straight people don't have a share. Gay guys do.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah.

[Bowen Yang]

Every gay guy has a share.

[Matt Rogers]

Every gay guy has the same share.

[Bowen Yang]

Oh. Oh. And like, they kind of understood what that was.

[Matt Rogers]

Snap out of it.

[Bowen Yang]

I had to tell them. I had to tell them about Snap. I had to tell them about Snap out of it. But it's like, I had to teach Ashley Padilla.

[Matt Rogers]

You had to tell people about Snap out of it.

[Bowen Yang]

It was beautiful. Oh, no, I didn't have to tell them about.

[Matt Rogers]

Snap out of that. People just don't know the culture anymore.

[Bowen Yang]

People just don't know the culture. And this is not a. Not. This is not just to, like, evaluate anything about Cher's legacy or cultural impact. It's just that, like, it's a gay guy thing to, like, have Cher in their bones. Anyway, we weren't sure if Cher was gonna do it. And then Saturday, she confirms. We're so excited. And then she. You know, she was always gonna be the boss. But then, like, we wrote. We wrote her, like, some zingy, like, roasty lines. Like, the original line was something along the lines of like. I was like, do you have any feedback for me? And she would say something like, you know, even for me, you were a little bit too gay or something like that. But then she was like, I wanna. I don't. She was like, I wanna be kind. She was like, can I just say, like, you were perfect. And she was like, I just want. I just wanna kiss him or something. And then, like. And then we had to. We had to go and, like, pitch to her that she would maybe sing if we would love if she sang with us at the end.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah.

[Bowen Yang]

And. Cause that was a question mark, too. And then we go down, I go to her dressing room.

[Matt Rogers]

Oh, man.

[Bowen Yang]

And I was like. So it's Please Come Home from Christmas by the Eagles and Charles Brown. And you've covered it, and I love your cover of it on the album. And she was like, okay, but what part do you want me to sing? And I was like, it's just gonna be the end, so do you wanna run it? And I was like, oh, my God. I was like, there'll be no more sorrow, no grief and pain. And then as far away from me as this microphone is, she's like. She's like this close to me. And then with the full force of Cher.

[Matt Rogers]

My God.

[Bowen Yang]

She goes, don't be happy. That's a. That wasn't like that. She did not crap. But she just gave me full, full force share directed at. And I was like. It felt like a car had crashed into me. I was. Yeah. I can't believe.

[Matt Rogers]

I can't believe every second of that.

[Bowen Yang]

She did that. Yeah. Anyway, that's all I have to say. Let's talk heated rivalry.

[Matt Rogers]

He has ended the conversation, everybody, even though this was my interview.

[Bowen Yang]

Oh, well. Anything else you want to ask? You've been so thirsty.

[Matt Rogers]

Not really. I do know all of it. Like I said, you can't shock me with anything.

[Bowen Yang]

Yeah, I. I don't know.

[Matt Rogers]

Is there anything else? I mean, not really, I guess. What's next for you? Oh, what is next for you?

[Bowen Yang]

Wait, what's next?

[Matt Rogers]

Should we say anything?

[Bowen Yang]

Wonderful things. Well, I love this, like, press run of, like, Bowen's first major project post SNL is two guys, five rage.

[Matt Rogers]

Oh, I love it.

[Bowen Yang]

Not that I'm not honored to have that technically be the first project post snl, but it's like, well, let's not. Yeah.

[Matt Rogers]

The Olympics podcast we're doing. I mean, we are going to Milan. We actually. We have a very fun next few months.

[Bowen Yang]

Yes.

[Matt Rogers]

So it's funny because, like, we do have to. We have to execute this movie.

[Bowen Yang]

Yes.

[Matt Rogers]

We have to write our book.

[Bowen Yang]

Yes.

[Matt Rogers]

We got to get the New Culture Awards together.

[Bowen Yang]

That's gonna be very fun.

[Matt Rogers]

We have to. We have some other things that are. Have not hit the trades. Um, but there's. There's a long list of things. And so that's another thing is I was like. To be honest with you, it, like, really wasn't tenable for you to keep working on the show because we're going to be in debt soon to these people.

[Bowen Yang]

Yes.

[Matt Rogers]

Like, which is so exciting.

[Bowen Yang]

I think.

[Matt Rogers]

It's like there is. It's. It's not even like, what's the next act? It's like, there is a next act. Just wait. Like, it's like, you don't have to decide on anything. If. If you added things to our and your plate, that would be great, but you don't even need to bitch. And I just want to make sure that you know that the pace at which you've been going and the workload that you've had has been abnormal. And so it's gonna feel a little bit, like, less. And I just. I feel like, as someone who. It's really interesting because, like, I have had this whole other, like, career outside of, like, what you've had. Like, I feel like you got to develop for such a. For seven and a half years at this show and, like, everything. And my resume is, like, a little bit different. Like, for me, it's like a ton of other things, and I've had a lot of different experiences, and you are.

[Bowen Yang]

So perfect at all of them.

[Matt Rogers]

But, well, I do think that sometimes it was a little bit, like, because it's like, when you are right next to someone else, like, all you have to do is, like, compare yourself to them. It's like. You know what I mean? It's like, with like sisters or twins. It's like, if something happens to one, the other one almost feels like, why isn't it happening to me? So I do feel like sometimes I would, like, overcorrect and, like, really, really, really push myself to make sure that, like, I would develop in an equal way alongside of you. And, like, in so many ways, I feel like. And it doesn't really matter what I feel like, because as a result of existing and working and.

[Bowen Yang]

And.

[Matt Rogers]

And caring, you do develop. But just outside of all that, like, one thing that I've had to learn, and I think now you'll be forced to learn, is balance.

[Bowen Yang]

Yes.

[Matt Rogers]

Like, and I think that I hope that excites you and doesn't start to make you anxious and nervous, because it.

[Bowen Yang]

Will at certain point.

[Matt Rogers]

I just. I'm telling you. Like, you can always tell me if it does. And you can always vocalize to, like, on camera. I'll say this, like, you're a therapist and stuff like that. Like, you know what I mean? Like, be checking in about what it's gonna feel like to suddenly not have an abnormal schedule.

[Bowen Yang]

Truly, you know, I'm on it. Like, yeah, I think it's going to be okay. I will make room for, like, moments where it feels really bizarre or maybe even bad.

[Matt Rogers]

You should be bored.

[Bowen Yang]

I can't. Oh, don't even worry.

[Matt Rogers]

Well, then the thing is, it's so funny because, like, literally, we're not, like. So you're. We're going to Tokyo.

[Bowen Yang]

We're going. We're going to Japan.

[Matt Rogers]

We're going to Milan.

[Bowen Yang]

We're going to Milan.

[Matt Rogers]

We're full on continuing this podcast. Like, full steam ahead. We got a new contract and everything. Bitch. We got a new set. And can I just say, I want a new picture.

[Bowen Yang]

Yeah, we're gonna get a new picture. We tried this one.

[Matt Rogers]

I like it.

[Bowen Yang]

We gave it a shot. But let's. Let's. We need to see our faces more.

[Matt Rogers]

Dude. This was so iconic. The one of us naked and like this, and you were like. That was so iconic that I feel like.

[Bowen Yang]

Do we go back to it?

[Matt Rogers]

I don't think we go back to it. I think. I think we have a picture that works.

[Bowen Yang]

Okay.

[Matt Rogers]

I think maybe we do an animation on it.

[Bowen Yang]

Oh.

[Matt Rogers]

But anyway, so this is just for us. But what I was saying was, like, you're gonna. You're gonna go to tell everyone where.

[Bowen Yang]

You'Re going after Milan, I am going to Santiago and then through Drake's Passage, Antarctica with my parents, because that is. I think it's I'm gonna say it's my mom's dream.

[Matt Rogers]

Antarctica trip with my parents is so crazy.

[Bowen Yang]

We're gonna see the penguins. We're gonna get our sea legs. I think, I think I'm gonna vom on this boat.

[Matt Rogers]

Are you seated, seasick or the waters rough?

[Bowen Yang]

The roughest waters. Damn, it's the roughest waters. But oh my God, I'm gonna sea. We have to like, order like special parkas for this. Like, my mom, when she came, when they came for Thanksgiving, they stayed with me and my mom was just like, whatever, helping me clean the apartment. But it's just like on loop the entire time. We're just on an auto mixed playlist, just content about this boat in Antarctica. People and steerage just like vomiting. Like, this is. She needs this to happen and I need it to happen. I think this is what I'm saying. I'm like fire hosing myself with new experiences.

[Matt Rogers]

So how many continents will that mean you visited? 5.

[Bowen Yang]

The only one that I'll have not visited by the end will be Africa.

[Matt Rogers]

You've been to South America?

[Bowen Yang]

I will. Santiago.

[Matt Rogers]

Oh, right. So. Yes, of course.

[Bowen Yang]

So that'll. That'll check. That's Chile. Yeah, so that'll check too.

[Matt Rogers]

Anyway, I've randomly been to South America. I've randomly been to Bogota.

[Bowen Yang]

Right.

[Matt Rogers]

By the way.

[Bowen Yang]

Oh, my God, that's real.

[Matt Rogers]

Speaking of South America. So all this Venezuela stuff, you know, my aunt used to live in Venezuela.

[Bowen Yang]

No, shut up, Aunt Chrissy. What?

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah.

[Bowen Yang]

So what does she think about all this?

[Matt Rogers]

She's like, so, So I asked her, I was like, I was like, so what are your friends there thinking? And she was like, honestly, like, they're. They're free, they're relieved. But she also is like, we'll see what happens in the next few weeks. Like, because certainly chaos is going to break out.

[Bowen Yang]

Like, well, this is, this has all worked out so great in the past when we've been a part of regime change.

[Matt Rogers]

Exactly. I mean, but. But the thing is, like, and I've seen some, some friends of mine who are ven as well and are like sort of saying, like, you know, if you don't understand this, like, don't say anything. It's not as simple as, like, like.

[Bowen Yang]

Well, I do all of it.

[Matt Rogers]

No, my one friend shared, like, you know, if you're drowning and someone throws you a life raft, you don't question where it came from. It just. You just take it. And Venezuela has been drowning. So that was like a take. I hadn't considered because, you know, the vast response to it is like, this is illegal, what he's done. This is, you know, this is exactly like Iraq. You know, this is et cetera. And I think all those things are true. But it's been an interesting perspective to literally ask my. I mean, so my aunt was married to a guy from Venezuela back when they were a wealthy country.

[Bowen Yang]

I didn't realize Chrissy was. Was down there.

[Matt Rogers]

So she was. Her. My. My former Uncle Maurice. Like, they were married and they got divorced because he was a. But they were wealthy and Venezuela was at one time, like, prosperous. So she still got friends back from that era. And they are not feeling like that anymore. Like, it's gone off a cliff, like, under, like the. Of the past, like, 30 years. But it's been an interesting thing, like, just to look a little bit beyond the initial reactions to what's going on. It is yet another complicated international moment. But, yeah, it's just been really interesting and I realized I had like, a. Like a literal resource to people there. Yeah.

[Bowen Yang]

You and Chanel should trade spots on the Today. You should be behind the desk.

[Matt Rogers]

I should go to the regular. I should become a real journalist.

[Bowen Yang]

You should.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah.

[Bowen Yang]

I mean, not now.

[Matt Rogers]

I almost did. You know, I went. You know that I was initially a broadcast journalism major. I thought I wanted to be Ryan Seacrest.

[Bowen Yang]

You.

[Matt Rogers]

Even though he's not really a journalist?

[Bowen Yang]

Yes, sure he is.

[Matt Rogers]

I don't know. Is Ryan Seacrest a journalist? So I initially, I was like, I want to go to school for broadcast journalism so I could hopefully one day get like, a radio show and then maybe host something like American Idol. This is before, but the whole time, underneath that, I wanted to be an actor. Low key, like a singer. And so, like, that was always buried underneath what I could package me wanting to be in the entertainment industry with which was first broadcast journalism, because that didn't seem too gay, of course. And then comedy, because that really didn't seem gay. That seemed, like, edgy and fun and something that, like, I could tell straight men and straight people in my life that I was doing, and it was cool. It's like a way to be on stage. That's not gay.

[Bowen Yang]

Right.

[Matt Rogers]

But I eventually, like, realized I am gay.

[Bowen Yang]

But isn't that the tension with this? Sudi has this. Right. Like, you just want to tell, like, any. Any guy who, like, doesn't see it as theater. You're like, it's theater.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah. It's like you're doing something gay, dude.

[Bowen Yang]

You're doing something.

[Matt Rogers]

You're up on stage being like, hey, I'm in a full face of makeup, like, and I'm miked. You know how gay it is to get miked?

[Bowen Yang]

To get mic'd, someone has to run a cord down your shirt.

[Matt Rogers]

It's so much. And then they have to, like, look. They have to, like, meticulously work on your collar. It's like, gay.

[Bowen Yang]

Well, even just, like, stool and a water bottle.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah.

[Bowen Yang]

That's still technically considered, like, set.

[Matt Rogers]

A stool is one of the gayest chairs. It's villa culture number 11.

[Bowen Yang]

A stool is one of the gayest chairs.

[Matt Rogers]

One of the gayest chairs.

[Bowen Yang]

Ariana Grande sat on one or kneeled on one for her second album.

[Matt Rogers]

And gay culture was never the same.

[Bowen Yang]

Gay culture.

[Matt Rogers]

What's your favorite Ariana album?

[Bowen Yang]

Oh, that's so hard production.

[Matt Rogers]

And why is it sweetener?

[Bowen Yang]

Come on.

[Matt Rogers]

It's actually positions.

[Bowen Yang]

You love positions. I. I'm a. I'm a dangerous woman, Stan.

[Matt Rogers]

Forever freak.

[Bowen Yang]

Freak. Forever love.

[Matt Rogers]

Dangerous woman. Is she coming back on the show? Can you just text her?

[Bowen Yang]

Yeah, we'll text her.

[Matt Rogers]

She.

[Bowen Yang]

Well, I was gonna say she. Obviously if she doesn't do the culture awards this year, it's because she's got a million other things going on. She obviously wants to do it.

[Matt Rogers]

Oh, my God. By the way, you know what just came out and we didn't even realize? The SAG nominations. I haven't seen them. Should we read them live?

[Bowen Yang]

Let's read them.

[Matt Rogers]

Okay. Wait, this is exciting. Before. Before we do this, did you watch the, like, critics choice and everything?

[Bowen Yang]

I did not watch the critic's choice.

[Matt Rogers]

It's looking like Ms. Madigan is taking that Academy Award, babe.

[Bowen Yang]

Jacob. Surprise.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah, huge surprise.

[Bowen Yang]

Huge surprise.

[Matt Rogers]

Okay. What is this? This says, oh, to be revealed on Wednesday.

[Bowen Yang]

Ok.

[Matt Rogers]

Sorry, guys.

[Bowen Yang]

No problem.

[Matt Rogers]

So they'll be out today for listening to this in the morning, but yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Bowen Yang]

I did not watch Critics Choice, but I watched it. What are your thoughts?

[Matt Rogers]

So the winners were Chalamet. I think it's his year.

[Bowen Yang]

Chalamet. Jesse.

[Matt Rogers]

Jesse Buckley. I haven't seen Hamnet because I want to, like. So this is the thing.

[Bowen Yang]

Do you want to watch it? You should watch it on the plane to Tokyo.

[Matt Rogers]

Maybe I will.

[Bowen Yang]

Yeah.

[Matt Rogers]

I just. I need to be in the clear. I'm a little bit emotionally raw right now.

[Bowen Yang]

Yes, yes.

[Matt Rogers]

And I need to be in the clear with something like that.

[Bowen Yang]

Totally.

[Matt Rogers]

It's another. And you know what I'm realizing? It's like, it has to be the right time for me with some of these Movies.

[Bowen Yang]

I understand.

[Matt Rogers]

Temnet. I was gonna go see at a screening and I was like, ugh, I just don't think it's the right time. I'm gonna be destroyed. So I didn't get to see it. And also, I can't find four hours to devote to Avatar. I, at the present time, can't do it.

[Bowen Yang]

I understand.

[Matt Rogers]

Cause it's a three hours. I had tickets.

[Bowen Yang]

Right.

[Matt Rogers]

We were gonna go with the band.

[Bowen Yang]

Yes.

[Matt Rogers]

On the road. And I was like, mm. With our precious time here between rehearsing and traveling and doing shows, like to watch a 3 hour, 17 minute movie that's gonna have over half an hour of previews and then you have to get there or whatever. That's like an almost four and a half hour commitment.

[Bowen Yang]

Yeah.

[Matt Rogers]

And I don't know what it is. I always enjoy the Avatar movies. You know, my baby is strong.

[Bowen Yang]

My baby is strong. I hear the whales have great dialogue in this. This one.

[Matt Rogers]

And that's gonna help me get. There it is. I also heard this. Una Chaplin.

[Bowen Yang]

Una Chaplin and the character she plays.

[Matt Rogers]

Pravang, who's seen the movie. You asked Varong, does she give?

[Bowen Yang]

I hear she gives.

[Matt Rogers]

I hear. I hear.

[Bowen Yang]

I hear Varong is the star.

[Matt Rogers]

All right, well, I'm gonna go. It's just that there hasn't been ample time. I've been. I've weirdly, like, not stopped being busy.

[Bowen Yang]

That's so weird of you. Yes, of course. We all know this.

[Matt Rogers]

Like, the tour. Just to speak on the tour. The tour was like the best version of the tour ever. And I'm literally.

[Bowen Yang]

I didn't even give you the space and the flowers. Congratulations. I.

[Matt Rogers]

It's like, not my thing.

[Bowen Yang]

Christmas in December. Yes.

[Matt Rogers]

It Master.

[Bowen Yang]

Beauty. Rotten. No, it's both of our days.

[Matt Rogers]

I have had a. You keep evolving this thing several months.

[Bowen Yang]

Yes, you have.

[Matt Rogers]

The tour was the saving grace that it always is for me. It like has. It was the best version of it ever.

[Bowen Yang]

You sounded amazing. And this is my first year where I wasn't able to see it live, which I am very sad about.

[Matt Rogers]

It's all good because I literally spoke to our agent last night. So candidly, like six weeks ago. I was like, maybe this is it. I was like, maybe this is the last year. Because I was just.

[Bowen Yang]

It's a lot.

[Matt Rogers]

You know what? Like, I'll just, like, own up to this. Like, I've been feeling. I've been feeling more self conscious and a little bit more vulnerable to people's opinion. And I think that, like, one of the things that happened when I was doing the tour is I was just like, just there with me and the band, which is like, we're such like a literal, like, unit on the road. We have so much fun. This was the most fun year yet. And everyone that had come to pace and see that show and like, I felt such like a duty to make it the best one yet. And I think that was what's happening was giving me such anxiety was I felt like this weird combination of like, self consciousness about whether I was going to be able to deliver a product that I. That is good enough, like, for me to show everyone and get people out buying tickets and still coming to the show. But also that was like, in the face of me being really like, like, I hate to say it, but like caring what people thought and were saying and like, just super aware that, like, I think that what you experienced like four years ago or maybe four or five years ago with becoming like, a lot more recognizable, I experienced in the past, like, year.

[Bowen Yang]

Yeah.

[Matt Rogers]

Like, and I also, when I always try to like, shy away from saying something like that because again, I compare myself to someone like you who's like, much, much more recognizable and much, much has much, much more notoriety because of the platform that you're on. But I also, like, it wasn't serving me to deny that my reality was changing because it did. And a lot of the things that people will say online when they're really mean is like, he is no talent. Like, he's just riding on Bowen's coattails the most untrust. And the thing is, like, with the show and like, when I.

[Bowen Yang]

The concert.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah. With my Christmas show.

[Bowen Yang]

Yeah.

[Matt Rogers]

And with like, you know, being involved in things with people, even just doing things like today's show, like being on Palm Royale like I was in that movie Good Fortune. Like, you know what I mean? Like, I've had a busy year and doing the Culture Awards, like, was so edifying and came. I just ended the year being like, all that is such bullshit. Like, this is what I'm supposed to be doing. And I will always do. I never in the beginning when I was developing myself and my talent and my career ever had doubts about that. And then suddenly, like, I don't know if it's because the Culture Awards, like, truly took me for a ride and I had to reexamine a lot about my anxiety and stuff like that. And whether or not I enjoyed a lot of the elements that come along with putting yourself out there and being in the entertainment industry, I can fully confidently Say at the end of this year that as long as I keep the focus on what matters, which is the work and how I'm making people feel and how I feel doing something. I have no doubt in my mind that I love this and that I will always do it, but I was having a hard time.

[Bowen Yang]

I understand. And I also just want to say you were meant for this. You are the funniest, most talented person I know.

[Matt Rogers]

That's subjective and you are biased.

[Bowen Yang]

Right. We have a new contract. Work ethic. What's up?

[Matt Rogers]

We have a new contract. And so he has to, I have to say this. He has to say that I actually made sure that was in the contract.

[Bowen Yang]

And I was happy to sign.

[Matt Rogers]

Now say my miles time.

[Bowen Yang]

Mile time is 4:36.

[Matt Rogers]

Very good.

[Bowen Yang]

But anyway, recurring joke on two guys, five rings. I literally.

[Matt Rogers]

So what I mean to say is I literally had the conversation with our touring agent Joe last night that we're going to do it again. Yes. So like, so I'm going to do it again and I'm always going to do it probably in some. As long as, as long as Henry Kursky doesn't bail on me. And he already texted me like literally the day or two after the tour ended and he was like, I already have so many ideas for next year.

[Bowen Yang]

I'm so excited. I love that.

[Matt Rogers]

And that was so different than what the energy was like, like three or four years ago where you would end things. He fully told me, like, I don't want to do it again. I feel like we need to leave a good thing. And then I was like, just give me one more year. I was like, you know, I'll, I, I will train my voice with a T, with a coach so that you don't have to do it or get me ready as much like I'll come to rehearsals really prepared. Oh, man, I will, I will work on. You know, it was hard when it was just he and I, of course, you know what I mean? Like, it was hard. He was my ex boyfriend. It was just he and I traveling around the country and I was like, not the trained singer I am now. You know what I mean? Like, and so sometimes tech was hard or whatever, but I worked on it really hard and I've worked on myself really hard and I'm finally doing things, like without saying too much, like recently that really put me first and have a belief in my self worth and I'm so serious this year. I'm not, I'm not engaging with the online.

[Bowen Yang]

No, no. I'll say something about that does not serve me. I'll say something about that.

[Matt Rogers]

And it doesn't serve you.

[Bowen Yang]

No, of course. But the, the thing about you, it being just you and Henry, like, this is something that even I forget, but that is like the gumption and the resourcefulness and like the like self leaning thing that you've had to like depend on for all these years. Like Matt, you've like, think of like how that's developed over like the past five years. Like, that is so.

[Matt Rogers]

It actually really makes me feel like anything is like possible with people in your life. Because like he and I are truly like soul connected in terms of like what we create and what we do. And sometimes when I'm doing the show, especially towards the end of the tour, like, I'll look back at him and I'll be like, I can't believe that's still that. No, you know what I mean? Like, I cannot believe that that person is still around. Especially after like, you know how stupid you are when you're like 26, 27 years old and how you treat people that are close to you and how, how like you really have to like stick with people, especially like through your late 20s, early 30s. And then not everyone is supposed to stick around. No, but I'm like so happy that he has and it connects me to Ethan, his partner now who's like tour better, he's the tour manager, et cetera. I've had like no emotional release since then, so it's like, because I stayed really busy and just like a lot's been going on. But yeah, like, I just, I'm super grateful. I'm super grateful that everything shook out that, with, with obviously with that project. But with him, I mean, that's really the most important thing. Like at the end of the show, like the band takes a bow and then I make sure that just Henry and I take a bow because like, he truly like, you know, you guys, people that know the lore, know the lore.

[Bowen Yang]

The lore is truly profound. It's like you guys really boosted each other up from like, what didn't seem like any sort of like, I don't know, like low point, but it's like we were all like, we didn't really know like how. And that's a beautiful thing. We didn't really know how much we were like struggling and it wasn't even. I don't want to frame it as a struggle either. We were just like working really hard. Like, we did not, we did not come from this with like, I Don't know, like, with too many, like, blessings besides, like the obvious ones.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah.

[Bowen Yang]

And like, this is not to make this about me, but this is like our dichotomy. You and I is always. And I feel completely great about this. I feel like I see my track on in the last seven years as me being a part of something that affords me a lot of things. And you being almost exclusively a self starter, you get to look at this tour as like your creation, your and Henry's beautiful thing that you've built together. And I get to be like, oh, I had a great time on this thing that, like, on this very well oiled machine.

[Matt Rogers]

Well, we started this girl.

[Bowen Yang]

That's true.

[Matt Rogers]

And even though I think we take this for granted a lot.

[Bowen Yang]

For sure.

[Matt Rogers]

I think we take this for granted a lot. And I feel like, you know, this is like the. This is the first episode of the 10th year of the podcast and that's like, crazy. That's crazy. And I think the reason we don't think of it sometimes as like, even.

[Bowen Yang]

Though we do a lot of work.

[Matt Rogers]

For it, sometimes I don't realize how much work I'm doing for it. Like, you know what I mean? Like, sometimes I'm like, whoa. Like, I just spent hours, like, working on the podcast. And I think because it's rooted in something that is so easy, which is like talking to you and like our friendship. But I am sensitive about this. Yes. Like, I'm really sensitive about this podcast. And what, I guess what I want people to know is like, like, we are working so hard and we're still. Even before we started rolling, we sat here for like 10 minutes being like, what? Like, really thinking about the color of the chairs for the set. You know what I mean? Like, really caring about and who we put on this podcast and what we share and how we get out of.

[Bowen Yang]

Them and how we deliver it to you. I mean, I will be transparent and say that Matt and I have turned down many people. Not people, I'm saying a lot of money.

[Matt Rogers]

Yes.

[Bowen Yang]

For deals where, like, it would compromise the way that this gets delivered. I'm just gonna. We're just gonna. Are we? Are we? I'm like, I feel like I feel fine. I feel good about saying that.

[Matt Rogers]

Like, because it is true. And this is, I guess again, what I want to say is that, like, we have earned the right to do this the way we want to do it.

[Bowen Yang]

Absolutely.

[Matt Rogers]

That being said. That being said, let's talk about some culture.

[Bowen Yang]

Last, Last, last thing. Last thing. I'll say about like the like about like what's being said and like being sens. The reason why I was also very emotional the last show and just seeing like that sort of thing being like directed in my way, that kind of, that outpouring, as I said earlier, of love is because it completely undid this other narrative that was running parallel in my mind, the very vocal loud one. Whereas I think the love one is like was there all along. I just wasn't attuned to it. But the vocal loud other track that was going on was like, yeah, listen, everyone who works at that show engages on different levels with the comments, right? It gets to us.

[Matt Rogers]

Cause it's week in and week out and you really don't ever get a break to be like, oh let me not engage.

[Bowen Yang]

No.

[Matt Rogers]

And they're so consistent and even the.

[Bowen Yang]

Alums are like, I don't know how you guys do it. Now there would be like one review in New York Magazine on Sunday and then that would be it. And everyone would go on gone about their lives.

[Matt Rogers]

Whether you're a seasoned small business owner or thinking about getting started, you'll definitely want to check out season four of Mind the Business small business success stories from iHeartMedia's Ruby Studio and Intuit QuickBooks. Mind the Business is part entertainment, part instruction manual, part inspiration. Each episode features practical tips and success stories that will resonate with entrepreneurs in any industry. In this latest season, hosts Austin Hankwitz and Janice Torres are covering topics on the forefront of running a small business. They're talking to self starters about how AI helps them work smarter, weathering market uncertainties and enjoying the benefits of being your own boss and using Intuit QuickBooks to help you get more done in less time. You won't want to miss it. Listen to Mind the Business Small Business Success Stories on the iHeart app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Have you heard of this new Netflix series, His and Hers? This new mystery series stars Tessa Thompson as Anna, a journalist in Atlanta, and John Bernthal as Detective J. Harper. When Anna catches wind of a murder in Delonica, the sleepy town where she grew up, she pounces on the case and searches for answers. Detective Jack Harper is strangely suspicious of her involvement, chasing her into the crosshairs of his own investigation. It's a show that reminds you that small towns are often filled with the most secrets and no one is who they seem. Seriously, with every twist, you're left wondering, can you trust anyone in this town? Can Anna and Jack trust each other? Or is One of them hiding something. The closer they get to each other, the closer they get to the truth. And we cannot wait to see how it unfolds. Don't miss the suspense and the drama. Watch his and Hers Only on Netflix, January 8th. Do you remember years ago, Tina Fey, like, won an Emmy and she used. I remember at the time, watching it. And her speech was mostly used to respond to online commenters.

[Bowen Yang]

She has a whole chapter in bossy fans about it.

[Matt Rogers]

Yes. And I realize now that that was not purely ironic.

[Bowen Yang]

No, no.

[Matt Rogers]

And that's okay.

[Bowen Yang]

It's okay, because this doesn't make any fucking sense the way that anyone that we have. That we are openly available to read anyone else's thoughts about what we do. And. Yeah, and so this is. This is what I'll say about, like, the commenters for me, which is like, I feel like I was really bogged down the entire time I was there about, like, the idea that, like, there was no range in anything I did.

[Matt Rogers]

That's just such a lazy critique.

[Bowen Yang]

Well, it's just, there's. It's not lazy. It's just. It makes sense in terms of, like, there being, like, there being, like, an indigestion, as it were, with, like, receiving me, where I'm like, I knew I was never gonna play the dad. I was never gonna play, you know, the generic thing in sketches, where it's a sketch show, each thing is, like four minutes long. It is short and collapsed by sort of necessity. And so therefore, it plays on archetypes. These archetypes are also in relationship with, like, generic things. And there is a genericism in whiteness and in, like, being like, a canvas to, like, build upon. And like, I had, like. I came in sort of like pre stretched, pre dyed, whatever, you know, like, people had their over determinations on, like, what I was, which was like, oh, that's just the gay Asian guy in snl. And so anytime I would try to, like, work outside of that, it got completely ignored or it still got collapsed to, oh, he's an Asian. He's. He's being gay.

[Matt Rogers]

And you did so many things that were. First of all, it is a. I don't think people necessarily know they're being homophobic when they say, oh, they're 100%. It is. Because I'm sorry, but if you don't.

[Bowen Yang]

Have range, I think range is a myth. And it's all about, like, palatability. Whether there's a serp, whether you're getting taxed on it, or you are subsidized you know what I mean?

[Matt Rogers]

They knock Pete Davidson for range or does he get to get away with it because it's cool and like, within a male gaze? I'm sorry, is that. Is that wrong or right?

[Bowen Yang]

I could teach, like a media studies, like, seminar about this, I think.

[Matt Rogers]

I bet you should.

[Bowen Yang]

You both. Both of us could.

[Matt Rogers]

I'll be the TA because. Because you know what they do nothing. They have no range.

[Bowen Yang]

And so this is the thing. I just bring this up because that is one little thing that I wanted to like, that I'm getting so much clarity on. It's the reason why I've been so emotional about the post. Like, the postscript of this. You talking about all the work you put into the tour, into your projects, into this show. That is all running count. That is the panacea to all of that noise. It's not real. And this is.

[Matt Rogers]

It's not real. And it's so easily debunked. That's what drives me crazy, is I know I could log on and kill these people in a second.

[Bowen Yang]

Of course. And George. George Tavares was saying this on straightawab. It's like there's like a phenomenon going on now where like, there's like a. It's kind of like Pluribus. It's like there's like the remaining people. There's like a survivorship thing happening where it's like the remaining people in the comments are either like, like clearly bots or clearly mentally ill or clearly children or 12. As Lucy Dacis says, they're all 12 years old.

[Matt Rogers]

There's one person online who constantly comes for me. And I realized recently that they're 13.

[Bowen Yang]

Right.

[Matt Rogers]

It became very clear to me that they were a kid. And I was just like, oh, God, how much brain space have I been angry at? This 13 year old.

[Bowen Yang]

I know. And you know, they're failing pre algebra. It's sad. It's like, oh, my. The fact that you're obsessed with me means that you are not doing well. You're not. You're not selling Girl Scout cookies this year.

[Matt Rogers]

I mean, and that my thing is just like. And. And I. And I don't. I'm not. We're not dunking on that person.

[Bowen Yang]

No, no, no.

[Matt Rogers]

That's just. To be honest, you're just 13 on the Internet, so. And you have every right to do that. I am an idiot for investing in it. And, like, it's an opinion, but I was using the fucking Reddit as a report card.

[Bowen Yang]

No, do that.

[Matt Rogers]

First of all, that Reddit report card, kid.

[Bowen Yang]

I'm invisible to that Reddit. Meanwhile, they're all like, I don't get it. They're like, we need Matt's takes on heated rivalry.

[Matt Rogers]

Oh, I'm on this.

[Bowen Yang]

I did recently look at it. I did. I'm like, I'm on this show too, by the way.

[Matt Rogers]

Whenever they just mention me.

[Bowen Yang]

It'S because they. They. They love. They attach.

[Matt Rogers]

I think that I am. I feel more accessible to them because I'm not actually a list famous. I. And I also think. I think they think they know what you think about heated rivalry. I.

[Bowen Yang]

Let's get into it.

[Matt Rogers]

Sure.

[Bowen Yang]

Here's the thing about heated rivalry. A show can be so amazing and incredible, even if there is virtually zero conflict in it. I fucking love it.

[Matt Rogers]

I'm obsessed with the show.

[Bowen Yang]

I'm obsessed with the show.

[Matt Rogers]

Did you ever come to the show? I never touched my dick once.

[Bowen Yang]

I think I paused, walked around, like, had a snack. Then I jerked off. It wasn't like, oh, let me. You know what?

[Matt Rogers]

Before I watched it, I jerked off to it because I was like, I'm not gonna watch that. Might as well just use it. What? It's for porn. Because I had been told so many times, this is porn, right? And then I was like, wow, this is a cultural phenomenon I must pay attention to. You cannot. Because suddenly it was all over my algorithm. Someone that hadn't even watched it. I was like, okay, the world is deciding. It's this. It was as big as White Lotus.

[Bowen Yang]

I would say so.

[Matt Rogers]

So finally I watch it. Here's my two takes. That's not porn, right? I did not think that. I thought it was explicit. I did not think it was grotesque. It did not feel too much. I wasn't. Maybe I just watched too much porn. I wasn't, like, clutching my pearls watching it. I was like, oh, this looks like hot sex to me. Hot movie sex to me.

[Bowen Yang]

Hot movie. I was like, ooh, look at the framing on that. There's a lot of negative space above their asses. You don't see that that often.

[Matt Rogers]

Can I say something? This. It is all love to Jordan Firstman. And I think he's probably sorry he said this about, like, gay guys don't have sex like that. Like, I don't need to see someone pull out their dick and a little bit of poop on it. Like, I'm sorry. That's what gay sex is.

[Bowen Yang]

Like. That's what gay.

[Matt Rogers]

I don't need that. In heated rivalry. The romance. The romance show.

[Bowen Yang]

This is. This this is the other thing. This. This also, like, dovetails on my, on my first comment about heavy rivalry, which is, like, no conflict. It's because it is a fantasy and it's because it's. This is the. This is like the romance genre. It's like every word, every detail is engineered to make you obsessed with it.

[Matt Rogers]

Yep.

[Bowen Yang]

And it worked. And it worked. And. And welcome to the Fujoshi community. Like, I've known about this world since I was 12 on fictionpress.com where the people who are writing the best yaoi gay shit were women. Listen, I think you're Ella, if you're still out there. She was the queen of yaoi fiction. And I was like, oh, it's. Oh, the straight CIS women love the gay stuff and are the best at writing it for some reason.

[Matt Rogers]

Rachel Reed, first of all, she has imagination in writing about it. And then, like, a gay man did create the show, and so he is in charge of, like, the way it disseminates from the page of the novel to the screen. And he did an amazing job. And I do think he's being erased a little bit in this commentary about, like, oh, oh, no, no, no. It's straight guys playing those roles. Girls. My second point is, you do not know that they're not gay.

[Bowen Yang]

Totally.

[Matt Rogers]

And I don't care. Oh, but also, I don't care.

[Bowen Yang]

I don't think. Well, at this point, it's like the target keeps moving for this discourse because.

[Matt Rogers]

Like, oh, say it.

[Bowen Yang]

So de moi. So de moi. Fucking, like, doxed shit about how they're on the way down. I'm like, first of all, they fucking Dumas and Page Six are, are just spewing lies that my PR team has been like, that's not true. I did not get a lot of money thrown at me.

[Matt Rogers]

No, he did not.

[Bowen Yang]

Which is all good. I still did it. Still loved it.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah.

[Bowen Yang]

I don't have some development deal coming. Trying to make this whole thing out of how there was so much drama about me leaving the show, about how Lauren was pissed. It's all good, clearly.

[Matt Rogers]

Otherwise none of that would have happened.

[Bowen Yang]

That would not have made it to television. Whatever, Whatever. Fucking idiots. Including just whatever. It's on. I don't think so.

[Matt Rogers]

I pissed at Dumas because years ago they did, like, a celebrity who's nice, who's naughty list, and they said I was naughty. I'm nice to literally every single person I meet.

[Bowen Yang]

Every single person.

[Matt Rogers]

I literally. I, I, I, I. I don't know where they got that.

[Bowen Yang]

It's it's tmz. It's Perez. It's like, it's. It's all the fucking Morales.

[Matt Rogers]

Oh, I'm ashamed of. Anyway, anyway, let's move on.

[Bowen Yang]

Anyway, anyway. Okay. But the target keeps moving.

[Matt Rogers]

But don't you. And do you say that because it's like. It's like the fervor about the show is like, I obviously think it means that. Like, it means a really good thing in that we can actually have. Because we're always saying the reason why they won't do stuff with, like, gay stories is because we feel there's an ick factor around gay sex.

[Bowen Yang]

Right?

[Matt Rogers]

Like, it feels like outside of the straight male gaze in a way that's, like, too uncomfortable.

[Bowen Yang]

There's abject theory shit, right?

[Matt Rogers]

And now it's like, like, here we are. Here we are. It's like, huge. Like, literally huge. So I think that's. That's good. But, like, I think the fact that we don't exactly necessarily have a finger on their sexuality allows that to be true. Because I think if that's too explicit, gay guys like you had scenes that were just as hot as that in a show that was, quote, unquote, better than that with fellow travelers. And no one said a word.

[Bowen Yang]

We didn't even totally like.

[Matt Rogers]

And those were two out gay guys.

[Bowen Yang]

Of course. Yeah. I mean, there's certainly something there. I mean, there's a dialectic in this for sure, where it's like, people are like, it should only. It should only be in the bedroom. Well, that's like a fucking Republican talking point. You know what I mean? It's like, okay, let's, like, we gotta figure out it lives in the middle of. Like, they should share everything about their sexuality and their sexual lives in real life life, and they should share nothing. It's like, whatever.

[Matt Rogers]

It's like they performed it so well.

[Bowen Yang]

It was great.

[Matt Rogers]

Like, first of all, Connor Story. Mark my words, he will win an Oscar one day. He is really talented and I love Hudson's performance. And, like, he's the one that makes me really horny.

[Bowen Yang]

Oh, it's the nipple.

[Matt Rogers]

It honestly is.

[Bowen Yang]

He's got very unique red.

[Matt Rogers]

Very red that reminds me of Chad Michael Murray years ago.

[Bowen Yang]

Oh, did he have pepperoni?

[Matt Rogers]

They were like appetizer plates.

[Bowen Yang]

Yummy.

[Matt Rogers]

They were huge. Red and more. They literally were. I remember there was a. There was. Because he was always like. He was so hot, Chad. He actually was. He was one of those guys when I was, like, coming of age and, like, getting into my sexuality that would make me angry. Another one. Justin Timberlake red nipples.

[Bowen Yang]

Interesting.

[Matt Rogers]

They were red.

[Bowen Yang]

Red or pink?

[Matt Rogers]

Can we look it up?

[Bowen Yang]

Matt?

[Matt Rogers]

Matt. Like, can someone just google Justin Timberlake nipples? They just sold their New York city apartment for 40 million.

[Bowen Yang]

That seems like too much.

[Matt Rogers]

Feels like trouble in paradise.

[Bowen Yang]

Oh, okay. What are we? De moi?

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah, I guess so. Well, they're on the way out. Should we just be deux moi now? De moi's over.

[Bowen Yang]

Dumois over. Oh, we. We would love to be de moi. We're not some like anonymous Gossip Girl. You wanna be like she I can't stand.

[Matt Rogers]

But anyway. Yeah, no, there's something about Hudson that just like it was like immediately sure.

[Bowen Yang]

Total.

[Matt Rogers]

Drives me nuts.

[Bowen Yang]

So sweet. We wrote. So we wrote two versions of BO in a straight for the last two shows. One with Josh o' Connor where we do a challenger's moment with Lily Allen.

[Matt Rogers]

I can't believe they didn't do this. I read the script. It was a dumb decision.

[Bowen Yang]

We got to have him say. It was like, you know, we got him to say. And he was laughing through the stuff. The. Those are pink. Those are not red.

[Matt Rogers]

Oh, this. No strings attached. I know every screen grab Justin Timberlake.

[Bowen Yang]

Nipple without the Janet Jackson.

[Matt Rogers]

Oh, the Janet Jackson thing keeps popping up. If you, if you Google, I think.

[Bowen Yang]

Hudson's are more red. I think cmms, Chad Michael Murray's are. I can picture him having red nibble. Hudson's are red. Oh, I can't believe we're talking about his.

[Matt Rogers]

It's not. No, Strange. It's friends with benefits. Famously the other one that year, by the way. Way you've googled this and it's from Instagram and it's just a fan pages screenshot of this and the caption is this. Justin Timberlake shirtless is one of the best parts of the movie. Friends with benefits.

[Bowen Yang]

So sexy heart. Thank you, Anna. Thank you so much. What was I going to say?

[Matt Rogers]

The heated rivalry of it all. Just like what I was going to say was I don't care that if they're gay or not. They performed it with. With honesty and they were really committed and they have unbelievable chemistry. I don't care that they don't come out and say what their sexuality is because what's important is the representation that is on the screen.

[Bowen Yang]

Right.

[Matt Rogers]

Like, I think it's becoming a little bit narcissistic for actors to be like, no, it needs to be me that does it. It needs to be me that does it needs to be honest. It's just like it. It gets To a point sometimes with sexuality, where I'm like, like, guys, we're putting the cart for the course a little bit here. Like, we have to make them first if they don't exist, period.

[Bowen Yang]

Well, my thing is. And I might. This will probably, you know, get some sort of. Please write in. Please talk me down from this, y'. All. Listeners, readers, Katies, Public, Spinals, Kyles. I feel like performing sexuality or queerness is like. Because queerness is like an internal experience. Like, it. It's different than, like, oh, well, this person ethnically, should be played by this ethnic person that I totally.

[Matt Rogers]

Right.

[Bowen Yang]

Makes sense to me. I think there's more room to, like, I don't know, be like, not necessarily. Exactly. It's like, well, what's. You know, Ilya's bi, but, like, I don't know if Connor is bi. You know, it's like. Like, would it be better if Connor was gay or if Connor was bi? You know what I mean? Like, this is where we start splitting hairs. And so then. So my thing is always. It's an interior experience, Therefore, it's okay. But also, you know, this other thing of, like, we're not supporting gay creators. Well, I don't know. Like, we're perfect examples. It's like, anytime we get a press release announcement for something we're working on, people fucking melt down about it.

[Matt Rogers]

The ones on gay Twitter who just can't stand that we have anything.

[Bowen Yang]

It's fine. It's like, it is what it is.

[Matt Rogers]

But, like, don't pretend that you're rooting for gay guys. Like, don't pretend you're rooting for gay guys when, like, Bo Yang takes a fucking shit and it's. He can't do anything.

[Bowen Yang]

Right, right, Exactly. So that's. That's. That's my. That's my, like, stitched together. Take my other thing about heated rivalry, which I. I go back and forth on whether I love or if I'm like, huh. Is like, this story takes place over, like, seven years. All the needle drops are songs from 2007.

[Matt Rogers]

It's like, give me your eyes, I need sunshine.

[Bowen Yang]

It's like, why that's playing in a scene that's happening in, like, 2017. No problem.

[Matt Rogers]

There's a little bit of a vibe of Hunting Wives, where you can tell it's so. It's a little. By the way, I think Both produced by 3 Arts.

[Bowen Yang]

Love it.

[Matt Rogers]

It's just a little cheaply done, no? What?

[Bowen Yang]

Oh, yeah, you're right. Even Francois Arnaud was like, all this miley Cyrus stuff. It's like we don't have a Miley budget for her to write a song for us.

[Matt Rogers]

Right. It's like, oh, they will now.

[Bowen Yang]

They will now.

[Matt Rogers]

But I guess what I'm saying is there's something charming about it.

[Bowen Yang]

Yes.

[Matt Rogers]

There's something charming about like how we.

[Bowen Yang]

Had no budget for the Culture Awards.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah. I mean, there's something charming about like, you know, watching this get thrown together. But the thing that re. And that's why the thing that really makes it work is their chemistry and their performances. And I'm loving them on the press tour.

[Bowen Yang]

Neat. They're, they're nailing it.

[Matt Rogers]

It, it looks fun to me.

[Bowen Yang]

I'm like, it should.

[Matt Rogers]

That's. I guess what sells something is when someone is out there having fun. You know what? Like, people have a lot to say about Timothee Chalamet. I think he needs to put his foot on the gas on this. Whatever you think it already is. No, I mean it.

[Bowen Yang]

I'm just saying he's on top of the sphere more. Oh, you're crazy. You know, he was nervous. He took a beta blocker. Oh, yeah, that's, that's an easy.

[Matt Rogers]

Beta blockers are life saving tools.

[Bowen Yang]

Absolutely.

[Matt Rogers]

This is, this is one of the greatest inventions in modern day.

[Bowen Yang]

Thank you. Propranol prepar. That's tough. They, they could have named that better. That's cuz that's getting me, that's getting my heart rate up.

[Matt Rogers]

Did you ever watch? I guess. I, I don't know what else to say about Heated Rivalry. It rocked.

[Bowen Yang]

It rocked.

[Matt Rogers]

I loved. I, I, I was late to it because I was like, there's no way. And then I felt the way everyone else felt. I talked to someone and you know what they said?

[Bowen Yang]

What?

[Matt Rogers]

They said Heated Rivalry gave me everything I was expecting from Life of a Showgirl. And I was like, what does that mean? I was like, I don't know this necessarily track tracks. But then he was like, let me explain. And by the way, I like Life of a Showgirl. And if you think I'm lying, come up to me on the streets. Come to me on the streets and tell me that you think I'm lying and I'll show you my recently played Wow. I covered Elizabeth Taylor on the road.

[Bowen Yang]

And you said that I'm in my life of a showgirl era.

[Matt Rogers]

You are in your life of a show girl era.

[Bowen Yang]

I can't say that's interesting. I'm dating a football player. No, just kidding.

[Matt Rogers]

I can't say what era I'm in.

[Bowen Yang]

But anyway, this person telling me, oh.

[Matt Rogers]

They were like, it's a pop album. They're like, it has all those little bursts and it's like fun and it feels like it's gonna. It just feels like non caloric in the way you're okay. But then by the end you're like, wow. Surprised. I feel full. You know what I mean?

[Bowen Yang]

Surprised. Oh, I felt very full because I was like, yeah. Because the first three episodes was like, okay, this is. I'm along for the ride, but I'm not sure what to track. And then episode five, I was like, this is cinema.

[Matt Rogers]

Oh, no. At the end of episode five, I was like, well, I'm coming to the cottage. I was like. And I was like, wait. And then, you know it's one of the highest rated episodes on IMDb, like ever.

[Bowen Yang]

Perfect.

[Matt Rogers]

It's up there with like white caps from the Sopranos. Johnny Rossitano.

[Bowen Yang]

Love that. Jenna Rositano. I love that.

[Matt Rogers]

You have made a fool of me for years with these whores. I'm Carmella.

[Bowen Yang]

You're Carmel. You are Carmella. Oh my God.

[Matt Rogers]

You're Dr. Melfi. Are you laughing? Cause you know it's true.

[Bowen Yang]

She's an icon.

[Matt Rogers]

A full blown.

[Bowen Yang]

It's the glasses.

[Matt Rogers]

It's the glasses. It's the bronco of it all.

[Bowen Yang]

Right, right, right. Wait, the cottage. This is the thing. My fantasy is a lake house in Ontario.

[Matt Rogers]

I know you've been saying that.

[Bowen Yang]

I can't believe.

[Matt Rogers]

I can't believe you can still do it.

[Bowen Yang]

I can still do it.

[Matt Rogers]

He feels like he can't do it anymore. He. Now that the cottage is in culture, I can't have the cottage.

[Bowen Yang]

Now that an Asian guy has a cottage in Ontario, I can't do it. No, I understand what they're saying now about it being life of a showgirl because it is giving you a sense of safety. Yeah, because this is the thing about the no conflict thing. I'm not being snarky, by the way. I'm just saying I love the fact that it's like, here's a problem. My dad's homophobic. Two scenes later, he's dead. Oh, here's the problem. Spoiler alert. Sorry, here's a problem. My parents aren't. Aren't going to be okay with the fact that I'm gay. Two scenes later. We love that you're gay.

[Matt Rogers]

You're perfect. We love that you're gay.

[Bowen Yang]

We love that you're gay. Why didn't you text me back? No problem. Two scenes later, in Love.

[Matt Rogers]

It honestly was like, as bad as their communication was. Oh, this is why I wanted to say it surprised me so much and why I loved it. Because you know what it reminded me of? Of one of my favorite movies. Love and Basketball.

[Bowen Yang]

Oh, yes, you've said this.

[Matt Rogers]

It reminded me so much of Love and Basketball, which is a classic and it's actually Criterion. And if you didn't know, now you know.

[Bowen Yang]

Worthwhile Gina Prince.

[Matt Rogers]

Bythewood. An underrated director, by the way, who's gone on to do so many more things since then. She actually did the Woman King.

[Bowen Yang]

So good.

[Matt Rogers]

And. But. But what I loved about it was like the time lapse really helped the romance. The fact that it was like sports, but not really like they were passionate about something else and also each other. The fact that it was like, will they, won't they? Over the years, like, believably felt like you were growing alongside them, but it moved quickly, you know what I mean? Like, I just like. And it was very sexy.

[Bowen Yang]

Like Ellen B. I think it would.

[Matt Rogers]

Have felt weird if it was like chaste sexuality. Miss Gay show. But because gay guys just be. We just fuck.

[Bowen Yang]

And they're athletes.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah, exactly.

[Bowen Yang]

They're. They're healthy motherfuckers.

[Matt Rogers]

No, that ass was made to thrust like, it wasn't made to like. You're not going to see. Just like. This is not the age of innocence.

[Bowen Yang]

No.

[Matt Rogers]

Like, gay guys fuck. Gay athletes fuck, period. Hopefully they fuck us in Milan. Oh, have you thought about that?

[Bowen Yang]

Now, other things.

[Matt Rogers]

Did you ever watch the end of an era documentary? I. Cause I did it twice.

[Bowen Yang]

Oh, my God.

[Matt Rogers]

Six episodes. Did each one twice. Unapologetic.

[Bowen Yang]

Unapologetic, no. But I love that we have committed to film the tortured poets portion of the Aristotle.

[Matt Rogers]

Here's what I love about the documentary, because I do think it wants you to know a few things. It wants to remind you she's brilliant.

[Bowen Yang]

Yes.

[Matt Rogers]

And I think it does do that. There's scenes of her playing guitar, rehearsing her and on the piano rehearsing her surprise songs and everything. And you do see how every element of that was her vision. She truly is in control of it. So I think after all of the discourse about her, the documentary wants you to know she is a talent. Can we put that to rest? Yeah. There's the weird thing where when Life of a Showgirl came out and some people took umbrage with a lot of the lyrics, that she's not a good writer, I think is truly silly. I actually do think that people have Taylor Swift derangement syndrome.

[Bowen Yang]

Well, they have a derangement syndrome and they have like an amnesia.

[Matt Rogers]

Back in the day, like everyone had everything to say because the, the, the, the, the whole media thing. There's a reason why reputation exists, Right, Exactly. And it's because there was a widespread.

[Bowen Yang]

Like, notion that she was like, yeah, terrible and like, and that there was.

[Matt Rogers]

Like, you know, whatever, like quote unquote, the receipts to prove that. And then she genuinely like, fought back from like whatever hell she was in to do this. But she's able to do that because she is that talented. So there's that. The documentary also wants you to know that it's not about money.

[Bowen Yang]

Uh huh.

[Matt Rogers]

Like there's a part where Andrea Swift is like, you know, it's always just been about her sharing her music and doing that and et cetera. And I think that might be the part that's tough for people to buy. Sure. Especially because of like, you know, know, just, just like people's assessment of her and, and the story about how much money she's worth and how much money the tour makes and the variants of it all, et cetera. But you, you can leave the documentary thinking like, you know what, this is an extremely generative person. And because she's generating a lot, she.

[Bowen Yang]

Sells a lot, and she's also like meaningfully diverting a lot of those funds to like the people who make that tour happen.

[Matt Rogers]

Right. And so I think that that's obviously a focus and I think finally they want you to know that her values are liberal. There's a lot in the documentary about her dancers. She really puts a lot of the spotlight on her dancers and the highlight on her dancers and how gender is not a thing on stage. Like one of the dancers, one of the male dancers, his dream is to dance ready for it, but Ready for it is like an all girl number. And the arc of the episode is him getting to do it because she allows him to do it and he fucking crushes. And you know, know, you, you, you then look at the stage and you think of the show and you're like, oh, wow, I never thought that that person wouldn't or shouldn't be acting like this, et cetera. Like, it really is like a pretty lovely display of diversity in that respect, in all respects. So I think in terms of all that stuff, like it's super successful and you get the, I think very cool stuff, which is watching them record their albums, which I love. I can't see enough of Ariana Do.

[Bowen Yang]

Yes, yes, yes.

[Matt Rogers]

Or, or anybody Taylor's great to watch and I, I have such an appreciation of her. Watching Ariana is like something different because, like, I just, I'm. I, I think she's truly a genius in the studio. The way she comps her own vocals and stuff. I would kill. I would pay to be a fly on the wall. Just watch her in the studio for a day.

[Bowen Yang]

Like she'd let you. I to answer your question, I think Eternal Sunshine is her best produced album.

[Matt Rogers]

Because it, it was like, it was.

[Bowen Yang]

It was, it was, it was Max and her and Ilia.

[Matt Rogers]

When are we going to the tour? I guess we're going. What, New York?

[Bowen Yang]

Barclays? July?

[Matt Rogers]

Is it Barclays?

[Bowen Yang]

She's doing Barclays and msg, I think.

[Matt Rogers]

Okay. That's chic. Yeah, I, I wonder how that's like. I but I've seen that happen before. People do Barclays and msg.

[Bowen Yang]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we'll do that.

[Matt Rogers]

Whether you're a seasoned small business owner or thinking about getting started, you'll definitely want to check out season four of Mind the Business small business success stories from iHeartMedia's Ruby Studio and inside Intuit QuickBooks. Mind the Business is part entertainment, part instruction manual, part inspiration. Each episode features practical tips and success stories that will resonate with entrepreneurs in any industry. In this latest season, hosts Austin Hankwitz and Janice Torres are covering topics on the forefront of running a small business. They're talking to self starters about how AI helps them work smarter, weathering market uncertainty and enjoying the benefits of being your own boss. And using Intuit QuickBooks to help you get more done in less time. You won't want to miss it. Listen to Mind the Business Small Business success Stories on the iHeart app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Have you heard of this new Netflix series? His and Hers? This new mystery series stars Tessa Thompson as Anna, a journalist in Atlanta, and John Bernthal as Detective Jack Harper. When Anna catches wind of a murder in Dahlonega, the sleepy town where she grew up pounces on the case and searches for answers. Detective Jack Harper is strangely suspicious of her involvement, chasing her into the crosshairs of his own investigation. It's a show that reminds you that small towns are often filled with the most secrets and no one is who they seem. Seriously, with every twist, you're left wondering, can you trust anyone in this town? Can Anna and Jack trust each other? Or is one of them hiding something? The closer they get to each other, the closer they get to the truth. And we cannot wait to see how it unfolds Olds. Don't miss the suspense and the drama. Watch his and hers Only on Netflix. January 8th. Should we talk about.

[Bowen Yang]

Let's see, what else?

[Matt Rogers]

Nicki Minaj. I'm gonna come to something.

[Bowen Yang]

Okay.

[Matt Rogers]

I'm gonna cop to something. So when that happened with Turning Point.

[Bowen Yang]

You thought it was AI?

[Matt Rogers]

No, I knew it was her.

[Bowen Yang]

Yeah.

[Matt Rogers]

By the way, anyone being like, Nikki, we lost her. She's been gone.

[Bowen Yang]

She's been gone.

[Matt Rogers]

She's been gone. And this, the writing was on the wall for this because the fact is Nikki was kicked out of mainstream culture because she's married to a sex offender. Unrepentant. She allegedly, allegedly was intimidating his victims from. From like saying anything, doing anything, whatever that's alleged. And she was picking fights with everyone in music and it was out of pocket. And she was obviously a bully and unwell. So that's why she went to Turning Point, because she needed an audience at all. She probably wants like, you know, something out of the president too at some point. But like, she clearly didn't believe one word of what she was saying. That was the most inauthentic thing I've ever fucking seen.

[Bowen Yang]

Or maybe she does now because, like, it's being validated.

[Matt Rogers]

I think she's like gone. Gone.

[Bowen Yang]

Sure.

[Matt Rogers]

The whole thing of like, it's okay to be a boy, whatever. I was like, you're saying this to be mean spirited because you feel like butthurt and disappointed that the people who made your career now take umbrage with the bullshit that you're doing and so you're railing against them. You don't actually believe. Believe that. But anyway, her. But I will say, because I knew she was gone forever the day after I took my moment to listen to her music for the last time.

[Bowen Yang]

And what did you think?

[Matt Rogers]

It's sad.

[Bowen Yang]

It's sad. But you know, it's. There will. There are. There are others. There will be others.

[Matt Rogers]

I said goodbye.

[Bowen Yang]

You said goodbye.

[Matt Rogers]

I said goodbye. And then I streamed him either. True. And I watched Cardi be amazing on Drag Race. On Drag Race.

[Bowen Yang]

So good. Yeah. I have nothing else to add. I was just like. I was just. It was, it was. It was all over my fyp and I was just like.

[Matt Rogers]

Right?

[Bowen Yang]

I was like, uh huh.

[Matt Rogers]

It was ridiculous. Everything about everything going on with the GOP right now is ridiculous. Obviously it's been that way, but I'm loving watching them fall apart. And I do think that's what's happening. Happening.

[Bowen Yang]

What else? Housewives? I.

[Matt Rogers]

What do you think? Of the Meredith of it all in Salt Lake.

[Bowen Yang]

I don't count her out.

[Matt Rogers]

I definitely don't count her out. But what do something is fishy about it to me.

[Bowen Yang]

What part? Like, the fact that she's being, like, pushed out.

[Matt Rogers]

So sure this is the case? I don't see.

[Bowen Yang]

I don't get what the case is.

[Matt Rogers]

I. Well, I think what they're trying to say is that she's got an alcohol or drug problem problem. Like, Mary being like. I see it like. You know what I mean? Like.

[Bowen Yang]

Right. I. I don't know.

[Matt Rogers]

I guess, like, do you feel as viewers, we are seeing what they are claiming they're seeing?

[Bowen Yang]

Well, I think we are not seeing the flight. The flight footage, which I guess is like.

[Matt Rogers]

I texted Andy about it. I was like, does it exist? He said, no, we would have shown it.

[Bowen Yang]

That's so wild.

[Matt Rogers]

Wild, by the way, just to make this explicitly clear.

[Bowen Yang]

Oh, God.

[Matt Rogers]

I have never had sex with Andy Cohen. I will never have sex with Andy Cohen. At one point, I kind of wanted to in the very, very, very beginning. But if we were gonna have fucked, it would have happened by now, probably many times. If you ever see me talking to Andy in a way that would suggest we've had sex, it's because we are flirting. Because it's funny. He is a friend. He is now our boy boss. That's what the extent of it.

[Bowen Yang]

And if you're going to make content about this, like, get this person's fucking name right.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah, you. That one girl called me Matt Fraser. Which obviously, like, I think it was a mistake, but I sometimes think that straight women just need to stop and remember they are straight women before they talk about the way that gay guys are being.

[Bowen Yang]

Sure.

[Matt Rogers]

Just like before you talk about the way gay guys are being. Understand, like, there might be something else there. Like, and of course it is, like, loose between gay men. We just don't think about this stuff as much as you guys are. But Andy and I are having fun. We do owe him a book. That's why he said that to us. That's why I said we were gonna have time to work on it soon. Thinly veiled illusion to the fact that we now have a lot more time to work on it. Like, there is no drama or tension between Andy Cohen and I.

[Bowen Yang]

Nothing. I know about the Meredith of it all. Anyway. We love her. We love the Marxes. Love.

[Matt Rogers]

And I just. But I'm just like. I just wish I was seeing right what they're seeing.

[Bowen Yang]

Totally. I am. I did start watching the Cult of the Real Housewife, the Miriam Cosby doc. And I have.

[Matt Rogers]

What was going on.

[Bowen Yang]

I'm like, this is. Does it not feel, like, not well made? No, not well made. I'm just like, whatever case you're trying to make here, it's like, okay, but.

[Matt Rogers]

All those documentaries are such bullshit.

[Bowen Yang]

I know, but it's also, like, they use a lot of, like, our content. Also, like, a lot of our. A lot of friends who, like, make household. They just, like, take clips of, like, us, like, getting Charli XCX to talk about Mariame Cosby and how much she loves her. Like, it's like, oh, well, you didn't clear that with us. Not that they, like, had to legally, but I'm like, oh. Like, it just. I don't know, it just kind of seems. This is not to, like, minimize any of the allegations. It's just like, yeah, persuasive stuff used to mean something, right?

[Matt Rogers]

Oh, well, not anymore. Nothing means anything anymore. I open my algorithm now, and it's like, it's all AI and I don't want it. And I'm like, how would anyone coming into the world be able to believe anything at this point? And I think the AI conversation is also so blatant boring.

[Bowen Yang]

Right? Yeah. At this point, what feels like, like, eye rolly is like, it's inevitable. It's like, right. But also, like, I don't think the appetite for this is linearly gonna grow.

[Matt Rogers]

Like, no, no, no. It's people, I think. I think the vast majority of people have no appetite for it. But this idea, like, it's coming and you have to deal with it is making people, like, sort of resign.

[Bowen Yang]

Yeah.

[Matt Rogers]

And I just don't want people to. You, like. I guess, like, you can resign to learning, I guess, how to use AI well or correctly. But what I don't like are people resigning themselves to giving up their creativity or their autonomy in terms of, like, finding information or creating stuff like that, to me, is bad. And I think it's confusing when you're like, it's here. Get used to it.

[Bowen Yang]

What does that. What does get used to it mean?

[Matt Rogers]

It's just like an. It's like an energy that I have about it.

[Bowen Yang]

But those are the same people who are, like, having casual conversations with ChatGPT being like, how. What's your. How are you? It's like, what are you. What are you doing?

[Matt Rogers]

You think there's a million just killed some penguins? There's gonna be way less penguins for Bowen to see, and I want to.

[Bowen Yang]

See them he wants to see them bad.

[Matt Rogers]

This is the trip of a lifetime.

[Bowen Yang]

Yes.

[Matt Rogers]

You know.

[Bowen Yang]

You know, I think you might be ready for movie wise, is to go back to that conversation. Yes. Weapon.

[Matt Rogers]

Someone watching on a plane in front of me. That, you know, is my fucking nightmare. No.

[Bowen Yang]

Well then, yeah, I think you might be ready for sentimental value. It's not like completely.

[Matt Rogers]

Of course I am.

[Bowen Yang]

Have you. Have you seen it yet?

[Matt Rogers]

It's not like completely what?

[Bowen Yang]

It's not like completely devastating the way that Hamnet allegedly is.

[Matt Rogers]

Oh yeah. I heard Catherine's great in it.

[Bowen Yang]

Catherine is so funny in a. Catherine. You can tell that Joachim loves her.

[Matt Rogers]

I just saw Catherine. We just saw Catherine at Joachim's wedding.

[Bowen Yang]

And I was like, what a great. She's so funny in the Running man.

[Matt Rogers]

She's been booking.

[Bowen Yang]

She's. I'm. We're. We're thrilled. Fucking love that.

[Matt Rogers]

I'm trying to think like, what else? Like there has been been. Does any music come out?

[Bowen Yang]

December. January is always a tough time.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah, well, we didn't really ever get a chance to talk about Lily Allen. We like it as much as everyone else. Great. And then there was also.

[Bowen Yang]

What else?

[Matt Rogers]

What else? Well, next week Robin will be here and that's going to be very exciting. And.

[Bowen Yang]

And that's. That's that. That's that.

[Matt Rogers]

So I guess it's time for. I don't think so, honey. Yes, this is the part where we do. I don't think so honey. It's our 60 second segment where we rant, rail, rave and turn the party ultimately. And by turn the party, we mean hopefully change hearts and minds about this thing and culture that we just think needs.

[Bowen Yang]

I think I will.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah, I do too.

[Bowen Yang]

Okay, great.

[Matt Rogers]

I hope so anyway.

[Bowen Yang]

I'm sure you will. This is Matt Rogers. I don't think so. When he's time starts now.

[Matt Rogers]

I don't think so, honey. Gavin Newsom, if you're gonna run, you need vocal surgery. You need to remove the polyps on your vocal cords. Listening to you is a nightmare. And I have a feeling you're going to be talking a lot. I don't necessarily want that. I don't think we will win with him, but just go to la, ask people how they feel being there. But anyway, I do think that while there's a lot of crises in the world.

[Bowen Yang]

30 seconds.

[Matt Rogers]

The number one one actionable thing that Gavin Newsom can do right now is text Savannah Guthrie. And get who? Whoever just did her vocal surgery. She just had the polyp surgery. You're Gonna need to be silent for about six weeks afterwards. But don't worry, you can still tweet, you can still dunk on Trump, which is apparently something that people still think is gonna like, win. And not speaking directly, actionably to people and their concerns, like say Bernie Sanders does, who is the only durable remaining politician over the last decade that's been like, consistent and is still around in a meaningful way. Take notes. Maybe. But in the meantime, I need to stop hearing your voice as it is.

[Bowen Yang]

That's one minute. Get vocal surgery and finish the damn 405.

[Matt Rogers]

No, he won't do that.

[Bowen Yang]

Why not?

[Matt Rogers]

Nothing will happen in California.

[Bowen Yang]

I know, because he's too busy.

[Matt Rogers]

He's busy doing other shit. And then I get calls from council people, people who are running in la, and I tell them exactly what I fucking feel and they're like, oh, well, it's just hard because this. And I'm like, then talk to Big Boy.

[Bowen Yang]

Talk to Big boy.

[Matt Rogers]

Talk to big Boy and get him to fucking fix California. Cuz it's never been worse.

[Bowen Yang]

No, it's.

[Matt Rogers]

So you think you're going to be the governor of California with that hair and that ex girlfriend of Kimberly Guilfoyle and that voice and that podcast with the Steve Bannon feature, Future. Just get Nicki Minaj at this point.

[Bowen Yang]

I forgot about that.

[Matt Rogers]

No, it's a mess. And I think that because he thinks he can like troll Trump or whatever and that people know who he is because he makes a fucking spectacle of himself, that he's gonna be the one to lead us forward.

[Bowen Yang]

Let's run Bernie again.

[Matt Rogers]

Bernie is the only politician. No, says exactly what he feels. And I do mean the only one. Bernie.

[Bowen Yang]

Come on. Last coach. Sure, absolutely.

[Matt Rogers]

He's the only person who it's actually. No bullshit.

[Bowen Yang]

This is another thing about early days lost culture that I regret is being a Hillary Stan.

[Matt Rogers]

I can't believe because I think we were trying really hard to just win.

[Bowen Yang]

I know, but I feel so silly.

[Matt Rogers]

Here's what I'll say. The President should. I believe the President should have been Elizabeth Warren.

[Bowen Yang]

You and many, many of the smart Brooklyn gays are aligned in this.

[Matt Rogers]

I'm sure we all like share like a certain ideology about all this. But the fact is, like, the reason we were Hillary Stans is because at the time, the Bernie bro thing, Remember? You remember 2016? I remember like, it was like, it got a little thick there with like the way people were talking on the Bernie side and it was misogynistic and it was tough and I Think at the time, there was a very girl, bossy, like Obama. Corish, like, hey, hey.

[Bowen Yang]

Right.

[Matt Rogers]

Don't talk like that. We're gonna crash the glass ceiling, girl. And I pull my hair back, check my nails. It was very that. And so I don't look back in regrets because we were part of the culture, we were a part of. Should we have listened to the populist message all along? Is that ultimately what would work for them? Yes. It's not gonna be Gavin Newsom. And anytime a politician is making it too obviously about themselves, themselves, I'm already done. Don't waste your money. Sending to Jasmine Crockett. Do not do it.

[Bowen Yang]

I must agree.

[Matt Rogers]

Don't do it. Don't. You're going to waste your money. Take it from someone who sent Sarah Gideon, like, a ton of money in Maine. Like, just don't do it. Don't waste your money. Don't do it.

[Bowen Yang]

It's hard enough to come by. Another thing, I remember 2016 well. I was reminded of it in heated rivalry. That was the year that Boston won. I don't know.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah.

[Bowen Yang]

Hard to keep track of the sports.

[Matt Rogers]

And by the way, I am not being, like, fatalist about the Democrats. No, no, no, no, no, no.

[Bowen Yang]

I'm just saying it's not.

[Matt Rogers]

They are giving us a wide open opportunity here. Let's not flop by putting up what they said, what everyone said they hated in the beginning, which is an establishment like California Democrat. Like, it doesn't work.

[Bowen Yang]

Who is doing it in the same way that. That, like, they've all been doing it, where it's always failed, where it's like. Like Colbert was asking him point blank, like, will you run for president?

[Matt Rogers]

He's like, that's not my focus right now. And by the way, that is a version of his voice that's like, sounds like crystal clear. Get a fucking surgeon. It's just. It's so sick.

[Bowen Yang]

And how.

[Matt Rogers]

Who is not telling him this?

[Bowen Yang]

What if you get hired to be part of.

[Matt Rogers]

I should be his ramen Emanuel. I would get him together. What you guys don't know is I'm Rahm Emanuel in like a cunty gay way.

[Bowen Yang]

Ooh. And then you're gonna be mayor of Chicago. Is he mayor?

[Matt Rogers]

I think he. He was Mary of. He was.

[Bowen Yang]

I don't fucking know.

[Matt Rogers]

I know. He was like Obama's chief of staff, right? And he was like, known as being like a real dick, but, like, he got shit done. Chief of staff is such an interesting position.

[Bowen Yang]

I love it.

[Matt Rogers]

Did you read that Susie Wiles Article?

[Bowen Yang]

No.

[Matt Rogers]

Oh, that was.

[Bowen Yang]

Okay.

[Matt Rogers]

I'm. I've been in my politics bad.

[Bowen Yang]

I am. See, this is me. Like, I'm. I'm getting off my spaceship, and I'm like, I am ready to touch things in the world that I've been away from. Does that make sense?

[Matt Rogers]

Okay, yes. Let me just qualify the Jasmine Crockett thing. She's not going to win a Senate seat in Texas. You guys. Like, if. If Beto o' Rourke couldn't do it, like, Jasmine Crockett is not going to do it. She is in. And it's the re. It's nothing against her. It's just that she is a politician and that she is, like, you know, like, very well defined already. And I think it's my opinion that we are gonna need someone who is less defined at this moment that then rises up like, I'm interested in this Talarico guy from Texas.

[Bowen Yang]

Oh, I don't know him.

[Matt Rogers]

I'm just interested in him. You know what I mean? I'm like, oh, I haven't seen him before. It would be hard for them to define him as anything other than what he is, which is, like, a rising Democratic politician from someplace like Texas who is like, yes, speaking a little bit the middle, but at least he's someone that, like, we can't define already. You know what I mean? Like, Gavin Newsom is defined.

[Bowen Yang]

Yeah.

[Matt Rogers]

I believe Jasmine Crockett is defined.

[Bowen Yang]

Yep.

[Matt Rogers]

Like, I'm just trying to win here, and I really feel differently than we did in 2016. Like, the. The way to win now is to, like, go with the energy.

[Bowen Yang]

I did just get a text from the people who helped me write her into a sketch. Who Trisha Paytas is Mullinga run for Congress. I think I'm gonna say as a. As a. As I feel like, Trisha, you don't have to do it. Just don't worry about it.

[Matt Rogers]

Who told you this?

[Bowen Yang]

I'm seeing on Twitter that Trisha Paytas, the latest California Trisha Paytas is mulling a run for Congress. Lives in Westlake Village, so would put her in collision course with Julia Brownlee. Unless she is. Oh, I have my block on my Twitter, but she. She. Trisha, you don't have to do that. Don't have to do that. Authenticity. We're back to being authentic. We're back to being authentic.

[Matt Rogers]

Oh, God, yeah.

[Bowen Yang]

Oh, I love it.

[Matt Rogers]

They said we were done.

[Bowen Yang]

They said we were done.

[Matt Rogers]

And now next week. Next week, Robin's gonna come in, and they're gonna be like, why Are they kissing Robin's ass? Here's why we're kissing Robin's ass. Because she's a pop culture icon, and I can say with already, we're gonna kiss her ass. Ass.

[Bowen Yang]

And it's going to be okay.

[Matt Rogers]

It's going to be great.

[Bowen Yang]

It's still going to be Tastes like cherry. It's going to be a free show with 20 minutes of ads that you can fast forward through.

[Matt Rogers]

But by the way, we apologize about the ads, and we've made changes.

[Bowen Yang]

We're figuring that out. Also, lost culture. So it's all just them talking to celebrities. We've had, like, friends on the show. Like the. Like, all. Like, all of Q4. Everything.

[Matt Rogers]

It's like, all the criticism. I'm like, but what about this?

[Bowen Yang]

It's easily disproven.

[Matt Rogers]

I like, it's like, we'll have. I don't care, guys.

[Bowen Yang]

Let us do, like, let us do the show our way, okay?

[Matt Rogers]

And it's. Yeah, I mean, let us cook. And also, like, it's. It's just that we're like, if we're not doing it exactly like this, it's just because we wanted to make sure that. That the show was released and we had a great experience.

[Bowen Yang]

We weren't just gonna go off in December.

[Matt Rogers]

Like, oh, my. My least favorite thing is when they dragged us for doing three episodes in one one day. They were like, I can't believe they would ever do three episodes in one day. You mean work for eight hours straight?

[Bowen Yang]

Yeah, I'm sorry. That doesn't. You're crazy jive with your ethics. I don't understand why that's an issue.

[Matt Rogers]

And then they go, well, Matt should have at least changed his shirt.

[Bowen Yang]

Fuck off.

[Matt Rogers]

I was like, I put on a different overshirt. You asshole. Leave me alone or else.

[Bowen Yang]

Or else this is the last time. This is truly. This is the last time all year we're going to be addressing this.

[Matt Rogers]

No, because this. This has been so cathartic. This actually is called exit, interview, parentheses, the cathartic episode. Because I am never looking at this again, and I swear to God, mark my words. Wait, we should really do this.

[Bowen Yang]

Mark my words.

[Matt Rogers]

We should get Brick.

[Bowen Yang]

I have two bricks at my house. And there's also Opal, which I love.

[Matt Rogers]

What's Opalite?

[Bowen Yang]

Opalite. It's an app that blocks things for you. But if you want to, you know, if you want to take a break, you can take a break throughout the day, which I do. Or it'll ask you if you're sure. You want to take a break. And then it'll present you, if you want, like, a math puzzle or a puzzle that'll give you a quick dopam. And then it's like, so you got your dopamine hit. Do you still want to take a break? It's cute. It's like. Yeah, it's. It's really getting in the way of, like, you, like, mindlessly scrolling.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah. And which I would love to do less of.

[Bowen Yang]

Oh, absolutely.

[Matt Rogers]

Wouldn't we all? I think.

[Bowen Yang]

But I think there's like a. I think there's like, a thing now where it's like, this is again, like, the comment or survivorship thing. It's like anyone who, like, has some sense of, like, self protection is like, weaning off of the phone in their own meaningful way.

[Matt Rogers]

I mean, in an era when so much is changing anyway, why not change this one?

[Bowen Yang]

Totally. I'm like, I just remember the day when, like, I left Facebook to sort of cold turkey and I quit smoking cold turkey.

[Matt Rogers]

You did, huh?

[Bowen Yang]

Cause this is my thing. Like, I got.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah, tell this. I think this is good.

[Bowen Yang]

I got a suite at the Chelsea Hotel.

[Matt Rogers]

You do? That's like a customary thing you do at the end of the season.

[Bowen Yang]

I've done it once before with Celeste and Sarah, but I got it for myself. And, like, I had friends over and we had fun, and then I just had, like, two days to myself at the Chelsea Hotel, and then they got me the Balcony Suite, which is like, the only sort of balcony that, like, iconic looks the Hotel Chelsea sign. And so then, like, someone left, like, a pack of cigarettes, and I, like, smoked. I smoked one on the balcony. And then I looked up, like, right before I was gonna check out, and I was like, this would be a chic place to just quit smoking after I finish snl. I'm at the Hotel Chelsea. I'm on the balcony. This is the last time one. I've since had, like, cigarettes. I'm just never buying my own again.

[Matt Rogers]

But no, no, no, no. I quit cold turkey. I've since had several.

[Bowen Yang]

No, no, no. So it's not cold turkey, but it's like, I'm never going to buy my own cigarettes ever again. That is my thing. And I. I get to. I get to have one. Like, if I've, like, had a couple drinks.

[Matt Rogers]

Like, you remember the deal we made.

[Bowen Yang]

Years ago if I would quit smoking. If you got. If you were in therapy and now you were. It's so. It's so grossly inequitable that I am Ready?

[Matt Rogers]

To be honest, I've just seen, unfortunately up close, what happens when you don't. What happens when smoking and vaping gets out of hand.

[Bowen Yang]

Yep.

[Matt Rogers]

And I would tell everyone that as a person that's had a firsthand account, do not fuck with it. And it has nothing to do with anything but the smoking and the vaping that I'm talking about. Talking about.

[Bowen Yang]

And.

[Matt Rogers]

And I promise you, your life will be better without it.

[Bowen Yang]

100.

[Matt Rogers]

Because think about it. Think about vaping. Think about how dumb it is not that you vape, but like, it's you sucking on a machine. Who here does it? Show yourself. You're all very afraid to come forward.

[Bowen Yang]

A 14 year old was doing it next to me on the train. I was like, don't do it on the train.

[Matt Rogers]

Well, he'll be dead. Just tell him he'll be dead by 20.

[Bowen Yang]

Oh, God.

[Matt Rogers]

What? He will. He will.

[Bowen Yang]

Anyway, I gotta.

[Matt Rogers]

If you're vaping, you're gonna be dead.

[Bowen Yang]

I've got. I haven't. I don't think so. Honey.

[Matt Rogers]

Of course you do.

[Bowen Yang]

We've been here two hours. Let's. Let's.

[Matt Rogers]

Should we split the episode into two?

[Bowen Yang]

No, no, no. We're gonna want this.

[Matt Rogers]

All right. This is a big extravaganza. This is Bowen Yangs. I always go to the compass when I mean to go to the timer.

[Bowen Yang]

That's okay.

[Matt Rogers]

This is Bowen Yangs. I don't think so, honey. As time starts now.

[Bowen Yang]

I don't think so, honey. Fries for the. A myth that it's something that everyone loves. Think about it. Everyone's like, yes. Fries for the table. Does it ever get fucking finished? It's a huge waste. You get little potato confetti sitting in a fucking cone at the end of the night. No one's touching it. After five minutes, it's completely gone. You have a full cup of aioli there. Cause guess what? Aioli also fucking sucks. No one in the western hemisphere cares for it.

[Matt Rogers]

Aioli contains multitudes. 30 seconds.

[Bowen Yang]

It's ketchup all the way. Don't even bother with the aioli with the mayonnaise. This is. We're in new. We're in America.

[Matt Rogers]

As.

[Bowen Yang]

As unpatriotic as I might be right now. I still care about that. With our Olympics podcast, Ketchup Romeo and aioli. Fries for the table. It's a. It's a lie. It's like. It's. It's like we all think we're all on board for it and then no one fucking touches it.

[Matt Rogers]

By the end Five seconds.

[Bowen Yang]

I don't know. Let's just get real. Let's get real in 2026, okay? Fries for the table. It's just a myth. No one cares.

[Matt Rogers]

That's one minute. What's what? I ask me anything, I will. I'm just gathering my thoughts. What are you talking about?

[Bowen Yang]

It is a fantasy.

[Matt Rogers]

It is, in theory, some of the best films ever.

[Bowen Yang]

Yes, but in theory, fries to the table makes total sense, right? Oh, everyone's gonna nibble on fries. No one's touching it within five minutes. Can I say a question of it hitting the table? No one is touching the fries after five minutes. Everyone's like, oh, yes. Oh, such a good idea. No one gives a shit after five minutes.

[Matt Rogers]

Can I ask you a question? But first, can I say one thing? And it's a rule of culture. Umami more like, Ooh, Daddy, that's rule of culture number three.

[Bowen Yang]

Umami, more like Daddy.

[Matt Rogers]

I say that because ketchup is umami. What about this? Two orders of fries for the table.

[Bowen Yang]

No, so waste. I'm saying even one order.

[Matt Rogers]

But can I ask you a question? Do you think that. Do you think that the reason why one batch of fries doesn't.

[Bowen Yang]

Everyone's too shy.

[Matt Rogers]

Is because everyone's like, oh, I'm not going to put my hand in the one batch of fries. Whereas if. Just if. Say it's a party of four, right? Instead of one group of fries in the table. Because here's the thing. I think we can all agree that everyone wants fries.

[Bowen Yang]

Yes.

[Matt Rogers]

Okay. Starting there.

[Bowen Yang]

Order your own fries.

[Matt Rogers]

No, that's too much.

[Bowen Yang]

Because this. Matt, I'm telling you, four orders of.

[Matt Rogers]

Fries on the table.

[Bowen Yang]

I'm telling you, man, I've been.

[Matt Rogers]

You sn. I've shut up.

[Bowen Yang]

I've bought enough. I've paid for enough tables at the SNL afterparty. Because that's something we had to do. They still have to do. I've had to pay for so many fries for the tables. I've seen. I've seen it. This is. I'm practically from experience talking about how.

[Matt Rogers]

You could teach a college seminar.

[Bowen Yang]

I could teach a college seminar on this, a media studies seminar on fries at the table being sort of a societal ideal that never really gets fully enjoyed. That's it. I'm just. I'm just saying I've seen. I've so many data points about this. Oh, there's another half full thing of fries. Yeah, that was. That was supposed to be for everybody.

[Matt Rogers]

I just feel like it would be a shame for There to be no fries.

[Bowen Yang]

Oh.

[Matt Rogers]

And I think everyone ordering their own fries is too much.

[Bowen Yang]

If one person orders their own fries, they're not going to finish all of them. And then that invites other people, the table to be like, can I have some of your fries, Matt? And you'll be like, of course. And then those get finished.

[Matt Rogers]

I would. I guess I would rather that already be an assumed fact that of course you can have some of these fries because they're everyone's fries. Also, maybe you're just not dining with the right people. Also, you still don't talk about the.

[Bowen Yang]

People I dine with.

[Matt Rogers]

I will talk about the people you dine with. I just dined with you the other night.

[Bowen Yang]

And how was that experience, Love?

[Matt Rogers]

You had some nasty things to say about aioli.

[Bowen Yang]

Yeah. I don't care for it. I only care about mayonnaise if it's used to help toast a grilled cheese.

[Matt Rogers]

Is aioli mayonnaise? I hadn't really thought about that.

[Bowen Yang]

Basically. Huh?

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah.

[Bowen Yang]

It's like, eggy.

[Matt Rogers]

Okay. What about Dijon mustard?

[Bowen Yang]

I love Dijon mustard.

[Matt Rogers]

You're gonna be wishing there was fries on the table to have with some of those.

[Bowen Yang]

No, I like Dijon when it's. It's in a sandwich.

[Matt Rogers]

I like Dijon when it's my last name, Matt. Dijon. I love it. Remember when my. Remember my first drag name?

[Bowen Yang]

Iran Dijon.

[Matt Rogers]

Iran Dijon.

[Bowen Yang]

From the Middle east or something.

[Matt Rogers]

Middle East. She was spicy and unstable, just like my borders. This was back in the day when you could be a little. You could be a little problematic because no one was listening.

[Bowen Yang]

Anna, how does that make you feel? She's okay with it.

[Matt Rogers]

Inshah. You're okay with it.

[Bowen Yang]

Don't say inshallah.

[Matt Rogers]

I'm allowed to say inshallah. Studie Green told me I could, and then I said it in front of Mitra and she wasn't so sure. But inshallah, you'll all let me get away with it at home. The readers.

[Bowen Yang]

The readers. Well, this was a fantastic episode.

[Matt Rogers]

I thought so.

[Bowen Yang]

Thank you for getting me to cry, bitch.

[Matt Rogers]

I cried too.

[Bowen Yang]

We both cried.

[Matt Rogers]

This was an emotional roller coaster. Poster.

[Bowen Yang]

Cathartic release.

[Matt Rogers]

The cathartic episode. Exit interview. Hash. Not hashes. Parenthesis. The cathartic episode.

[Bowen Yang]

No real edits. I think just the pickups that I.

[Matt Rogers]

You know, I will tell you, I have one edit after we end. And we end every episode with a song.

[Bowen Yang]

All the things she said all the.

[Matt Rogers]

Things she said Running through my head Running through my head Running through my head. Text in if you think we should be Ilia and Connor Shane.

[Bowen Yang]

Shane Connor plays Ilya.

[Matt Rogers]

Should we be them for Halloween?

[Bowen Yang]

Yes, we will.

[Matt Rogers]

But you be the white one, I'll.

[Bowen Yang]

Be the white one, and I'll be the bottom. Oh my God, can you imagine seven years without ever changing your haircut like those boys? Anyway, bye.

[Matt Rogers]

Wow, they never did.

[Bowen Yang]

Las Coldristas is a Production by Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and iHeartRadio podcasts, created and hosted.

[Matt Rogers]

By Matt Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, executive produced by Anna Hosnier and produced.

[Bowen Yang]

By Becca Ramos, edited and mixed by.

[Matt Rogers]

Doug Bain and our music is by Henry Kabirski. If you're shopping while working, eating, or even listening to this podcast, then you know and love the thrill of a deal. But are you getting the deal and cash back? Rakuten shoppers? Do they get the brands they love? Savings and cash back and you can get it too. Start getting cash back at your favorite stores like Levi's, Plow and Hearth, Adidas, Sephora and Neiman Marcus. Stack sales on top of cash back and feel what it's like to know you're maximizing the savings and it's easy to use and you get your cash back sent to you through PayPal or check. The idea is simple. Stores pay Rakuten for sending them shoppers and Rakuten shares the money with you as cash back. Download the free Rakuten app or go to rakuten.com to start saving today. It's the most rewarding way to shop. That's R A K U t e n rakuten.com this is an I heart podcast.

[Bowen Yang]

Guaranteed human.