Las Culturistas: “Kinsey Is A Feeling” (w/ Lucy Dacus)

Podcast: Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Episode: Kinsey Is A Feeling
Guest: Lucy Dacus
Date: December 10, 2025
Network: Big Money Players Network and iHeartPodcasts

Overview

In this vibrant, often hilarious episode, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang welcome indie songwriter Lucy Dacus for a wide-ranging, deeply personal conversation at the intersection of queer identity, pop culture, formative art, and the power of connection. They delve into essential questions — from self-perception and the meaning of queerness ("Kinsey Is A Feeling") to childhood fascinations and the cultural resonance of the Muppets. Laced with banter, bits, and bursts of heartfelt sincerity, the episode tackles vulnerability, artistic expression, the sublime, and why you shouldn’t judge a boy by his dangly earring.

Table of Contents

• Cultural Chemistry and Guest Welcome (03:04–06:14)
• Kinsey Scales & Sexuality as Feeling (06:36–08:32)
• Fart Confessions, Bowling Alone & Self-Perception (08:32–14:21)
• Hotness, Ego & Affirmation (14:21–15:46)
• Meeting Lucy: Shyness, Missed Connections, and Approaching Others (15:47–17:01)
• Cover Songs & Culture Awards (17:02–18:07)
• Movie Night, Paddington 2, and Joy in Art (18:19–19:10)
• The Muppets, Miss Piggy, and Culture’s First Love (20:39–24:55)
• Gender, Queer Readings, and Interanimal Romance (24:57–27:02)
• Touring Asia, Australia & Cultural Curiosity (27:02–28:28)
• The Uber Therapy Effect (28:29–34:31)
• Boundaries on Planes & Uncomfortable Connections (34:31–38:02)
• Knowing Yourself vs. Being Known (20:10–20:28, 38:02–43:02)
• Awe, the Sublime, and Niagara Falls (48:37–50:05)
• Koalas, Kangaroos, and the Animal Experience (59:12–62:49)
• Tour Life & Food Chat (65:06–67:10)
• “I Don’t Think So, Honey!”: Ick Polemics (72:47–89:10)
• Cultural Snapshots, Dangly Earrings, and Expression (84:02–88:54)
• Surprises, Vulnerability, and Closing Notes (89:10–End)

Detailed Summary

Cultural Chemistry & Warm Welcome

[03:04–06:14]

• Matt and Bowen riff about their bond, with running jokes about coming “from the dirt” and mutual support:

  “I’m so fucking proud of you, bitch. How far you’ve come from nothing to everything.” — Matt Rogers [04:43]

• They introduce Lucy Dacus with adulation, teasing about a fictional “collab” single and fondly recalling sharing the stage and cultural awards.

Kinsey Scales & Sexuality as Feeling

[06:36–08:32]

• The crew dives into queerness, the Kinsey scale, and the idea that sexuality is an evolving feeling more than a fixed number:

  “I think forever is a feeling. I think it’s a feeling. Kinsey is a feeling.” — Celeste [07:16]

• Lucy notes the anxiety of being “found out” as uncool by a crush and reflects on self-consciousness in attraction:

  “I’m intimidated that you have a crush on me because you’re going to find out something about me and just think I’m lame. That’s the thing about having a crush, right?” — Lucy Dacus [08:03]

Fart Confessions, Bowling Alone & Self-Perception

[08:32–14:21]

• Confessions about personal icks (Celeste is a “far-ter”), using humor to talk about intimacy and vulnerability.
• Playful debates about attractiveness to oneself versus in photos.
• Bowen’s mantra:

  “In the mirror, I’m a supermodel to myself. I’m so hot to myself...In all pictures? Gremlified, truly. Burn the person in the picture.” — Bowen Yang [13:05]

Hotness, Ego & Affirmation

[14:21–15:46]

• Lucy discusses mood variability and self-worth, crediting the Culturistas’ “So Fucking Hot” award for a boost:

  “That day, I thought maybe I am hot. So thanks for that day.” — Lucy Dacus [14:39]

Meeting Lucy: Shyness, Missed Connections, and Approaching Others

[15:47–17:01]

• Bowen shares on getting “starstruck” by specific icons (“Meredith Marks from Housewives” and Lucy).
• Lucy encourages reaching out:

  “I like to go up and talk to people because everyone actually does like that... So you might as well just fall on the sword and be wrong occasionally and just, like, bounce back.” — Lucy Dacus [16:19]

Cover Songs & Culture Awards

[17:02–18:07]

• Reflecting on recording their cover of Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” as a highlight.
• Lucy distinguishes between “researching” and simply loving songs; if it’s good, it does its job.

Movie Night, Paddington 2, and Joy in Art

[18:19–19:10]

• Paddington 2 emerges as a group comfort ritual and beloved, “weird joy”:

  “It’s a joy, but it also is so weird. Paddington goes to jail...” — Lucy Dacus [18:35]

The Muppets, Miss Piggy, and Culture’s First Love

[20:39–24:55]

• Lucy reveals “the Muppets” as her first big cultural touchstone:

  “There’s early loves in childhood. But I think the thing that really, like, got my spark going is the Muppets.” — Lucy Dacus [20:44]

• The conversation turns to Miss Piggy, gender, and queer archetypes in pop culture.

  "Miss Piggy is one of those examples in pop culture...she’s clearly the amalgamation of all these old Hollywood tropes, and yet she transcends them." — Celeste [22:46]

Gender, Queer Readings, and Interanimal Romance

[24:57–27:02]

• The idea that Miss Piggy & Kermit’s romance is inherently queer and subversive.
• Discussion on sexuality, self-knowledge, and comfort in one’s number (“I feel good about myself.” — Lucy Dacus [20:08])

Touring Asia, Australia & Cultural Curiosity

[27:02–28:28]

• Lucy discusses her excitement for touring Australia and Asia, especially the phenomenon of musicians holding koalas in Australia:

  “There’s this huge thing where musicians go and hold koalas when they tour Australia.” — Lucy Dacus [59:12]

The Uber Therapy Effect

[28:29–34:31]

• Everyone relates to being confided in during rideshares, with drivers telling their entire life story:

  “It really is crazy. I wish I was that tapped in.” — Celeste [28:28]

Boundaries on Planes & Uncomfortable Connections

[34:31–38:02]

• Lucy recounts a harrowing encounter with a military worker on a plane who takes pride in loading bombs:

  “He told me some of the worst stuff I’ve ever heard...I want you to answer this: How do you sleep at night?” — Lucy Dacus [35:36]

• Everyone grapples with the limits of empathy and the necessity of boundaries.

Knowing Yourself vs. Being Known

[20:10–20:28, 38:02–43:02]

• “You can know yourself and other people don’t have to.” — Lucy Dacus [20:12]
• The difference between presenting an image and the experience of being truly seen.

Awe, the Sublime, and Niagara Falls

[48:37–50:05]

• The trio discusses experiencing awe as adults, struggling to find the sublime, and the changing conditions of psychological safety, technology, and self-perception:

  “The sublime is harder and harder to reach.” — Bowen Yang [49:07]

• Lucy on touring, awe:

  "It’s very sublime...My whole band came out kind of changed and awed by it." — Lucy Dacus [48:38]

Koalas, Kangaroos, and the Animal Experience

[59:12–62:49]

• Behind the scenes of the koala photo op for artists in Australia.
• The overlooked appeal of kangaroos—treated “like rodents” in Australia.

Tour Life & Food Chat

[65:06–67:10]

• Differences in eating and drinking on tour; Lucy now limits drinking and reminisces about tour catering and favorite LA restaurants.

“I Don’t Think So, Honey!”: Ick Polemics

[72:47–89:10]

• The recurring Las Culturistas segment, each host and Lucy deliver a one-minute rant.
• Bowen rails against the Avatar trailer’s lack of clarity; Celeste dunks on poinsettias as the “80s flower.”
• Lucy’s “I Don’t Think So, Honey” is a moving, thoughtful defense of boys with dangly earrings:

  “Sometimes people are the ally at the pride parade for years before they figure out why they keep showing up. Why are we gatekeeping a gate that all of us had to walk through?...The threat of being made fun of at the front is intimidating people out of being creative and playful with their presentation, which could lead them down a path to a life that would be more tolerable and fun.” — Lucy Dacus [84:02-85:01]

Cultural Snapshots, Dangly Earrings, and Expression

[84:02–88:54]

• Respecting self-expression as an act of courage and playfulness.
• The difference between a performative aesthetic and genuine personal exploration.

Surprises, Vulnerability, and Closing Notes

[89:10–End]

• Lucy reflects that their live awards show performance together was genuinely meaningful:

  “I showed up and you put on a real...award show. I did not know what I was walking into. And it was so funny — way more interesting than most award shows.” — Lucy Dacus [89:43]

• Affectionate promises to have dinner together, reminiscences about their collaborative performances, and a final chorus of “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” to close.

Notable Quotes

• “Kinsey is a feeling.” — Episode Title and repeated motif (07:16, 19:21)
• “I think the thing that really...got my spark going is the Muppets.” — Lucy Dacus [20:44]
• “You can know yourself, and other people don’t have to.” — Lucy Dacus [20:12]
• “The sublime is harder and harder to reach.” — Bowen Yang [49:07]
• “Why are we gatekeeping a gate that all of us had to walk through at one point?” — Lucy Dacus [84:09]
• “Sometimes people are the ally at the pride parade for years before they figure out why they keep showing up.” — Lucy Dacus [84:13]
• "Aesthetic is the bridge to the person or the idea or the political notion…The dangly earring is the bridge to something else." — Celeste [87:19]

Memorable & Funny Moments

• The mutual “crush” confessions and jokingly competitive pride: “You came from nothing. When I met you, you were in the dirt. You took me to the dirt.” [04:50]
• Poetic musings on the “ephemerality of forever” and “eternity being momentary.”
• Culturally loaded confessionals about farts, bowling alone, and sex appeal: “I’m hot to myself...In all pictures? Gremlified, truly.” — Bowen Yang [13:05]
• Lucy’s hilarious tale of meeting a military bomb loader on a plane and confronting his worldview.
• The running thread on the pain and awkwardness of meeting heroes and missing a moment.
• Animated debate about whether Miss Piggy has had her “queer moment.”
• Deep philosophy on why the sublime is so elusive and awe so rare in adult life.
• The rich, witty, but earnest “I Don’t Think So, Honey!” segment, especially Lucy’s mic-drop defense of authenticity.

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [06:36] — Sexuality, Kinsey scale, “Kinsey is a feeling”
• [08:32] — Fart confession, intimacy
• [13:05] — Self-perception, “I’m a supermodel to myself”
• [20:39] — What made Lucy say “culture is for me?” (The Muppets)
• [24:57] — Gender, Miss Piggy & queer romance
• [34:31] — Boundaries & uncomfortable connection
• [48:37] — Awe & the sublime at Niagara Falls
• [59:12] — Koala & kangaroo tourism experience
• [72:47] — “I Don’t Think So, Honey!” begins
• [84:02] — Lucy’s defense of dangly earrings

Tone

The episode is irreverent, effusive, honest, and warm — blending sharp pop culture wit with moments of surprising depth and vulnerability. The hosts and Lucy effortlessly pivot between camp, candor, confession, and intellectual curiosity, punctuated by inside jokes, “culture rules,” and soulful asides on queer life and art.

For fans of Las Culturistas or Lucy Dacus, this episode is an exuberant, moving celebration of self-acceptance, fluid identity, and the lifelong magic of connecting to culture and to each other.