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Bowen Yang
Hey, comedy fans.
Matt Rogers
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Kate Max
Hey, guys. I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, the Running Interview show, where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast, Post Run High is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. Listen to Post Run high on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Matt Rogers
Hey, everybody, it's me, Matt Rogers, letting you know tickets are on sale now to see me on tour. The Prince of Christmas tour, that is. I'm doing my whole album have youe Heard of Christmas? Plus a lot more with the whole band all throughout December. Go to www.mattrogersofficial do to see me in a city near you. And now, Las Coach drums. Look, man. Oh, I see my. Oh, my. Bowen, look over there.
Bowen Yang
Wow.
Matt Rogers
Is that culture? Yes. Wow. Las Culturistas.
Bowen Yang
Ding dong.
Matt Rogers
Las Culturistas calling. It must be another episode of Lost Cult.
Bowen Yang
Not just any other episode. It's our first December episode. You are in your bag. In your bag.
Matt Rogers
I was gonna say bag. I was gonna say bag. I was gonna finish her sentence like Bessies do.
Bowen Yang
Yes.
Matt Rogers
Yeah. It's officially December, huh? Today is Wednesday, December 4th. That means my tour begins tonight. Come see me in the Fonda if you're out in LA and on the road for the rest of the month. Santa Boy Live.
Bowen Yang
Listen, the people in Atlanta are very excited.
Matt Rogers
Are they?
Bowen Yang
I was just there for Thanksgiving and everyone's saying I'm going to Matt's show. And I said, well, yes, you are.
Matt Rogers
Come on.
Bowen Yang
And they were very disappointed that you did not go last year. Not to put you on blast.
Matt Rogers
I know, I know. You know, it's okay. It's okay. Atlanta. I'll see you this weekend. Don't be upset.
Bowen Yang
Don't be upset.
Matt Rogers
How was your Atlanta? Atlantan experience they call it when you were there? Are you at Atlantan?
Bowen Yang
I'm Atlanton. You know, it was good. It was great. Took the nieces to see Wicked. They loved, you know, put together some Legos. We did a. They had a chic LEGO set where it's Wicked. I got them a Wicked LEGO set where it's the dorm room, it's Glinda. It's Glinda and Elphaba's dorm room. But it opens up into this diorama of the dorm room. But it closes into. Oh, girl, I'm not touching that. Matt just pulled out a little pre roll. Honey, honey, come on.
Matt Rogers
Tell you a little story about the diorama.
Bowen Yang
Oh, no, no, no. It's over, basically.
Matt Rogers
Well, so you, you basically you had, you saw an incredible Lego diorama with the girls.
Bowen Yang
This Ellie girl is very quick on the Legos. She put it together in no time. What is it called? No time flat?
Matt Rogers
No time flat.
Bowen Yang
Is that what it is?
Matt Rogers
In 0 seconds flat?
Bowen Yang
0 to Hero. No time flat.
Matt Rogers
Woo.
Bowen Yang
Woo.
Matt Rogers
Now here's a question that I have for you. Cause a lot of discourse about whether or not Wicked is actually for kids.
Bowen Yang
Were they scared of the film? The scary parts have to do with chistery.
Matt Rogers
I would say yes, certainly.
Bowen Yang
And that's the only really scary thing. And then, you know, there's fire, there's bullying, which is always scary no matter where age you are.
Matt Rogers
Yeah, no, that was really scary. But to speak on Chistery, would you say the film glorifies animal abuse and would you say that this is your opportunity to speak out against the film for the glorification of animal abuse in the film?
Bowen Yang
Wicked glorifies it.
Matt Rogers
No, it's a light on, you know, the star of the movie.
Bowen Yang
Oh my God.
Matt Rogers
Is an animal abuser. Wicked Alphabet.
Bowen Yang
What do you mean no? You're believing the wizard's lies and Morrible's lies.
Matt Rogers
If I come on here and I just, I'm like explicitly alt right from now on. This movie is sick. They're taking people like liberal El, Bo and Yang are taking very young children to this movie that glorifies animal abuse and it stars Queer people in lead roles. And it's normalizing.
Bowen Yang
Yeah. And it should never be normal. I'm not normal. Don't normalize me.
Matt Rogers
Define normal.
Bowen Yang
I have a pitch for what this episode could be.
Matt Rogers
Yes, yes, yes.
Bowen Yang
We just did a big culture catch up, right?
Matt Rogers
Yeah. And I thought about this. I was like, what will we even talk about? Nothing has happened.
Bowen Yang
I bought this book, this used book, used up. And from what I can tell, it came out in the late 80s, early 90s.
Matt Rogers
Okay.
Bowen Yang
But I'm gonna reveal it to you now.
Matt Rogers
Sure.
Bowen Yang
It's called the Book of Questions by Gregory Stock, PhD. And I forget who recommended this. It was on some video of, like, what's in my bag? And some chic celebrity had this and she's like, you know, you're on set or something rather than be on your phone. You just flip through. This is an old book that you flip through and you just ask each other. Some of these questions are not super, super fun. They're a little too deep. But should we just flip through?
Matt Rogers
Can I tell you something? Sometimes it's not the question that needs to be fun. It's about the answer. You know, it's actually ruler culture number 10. Sometimes it's not about the question that.
Bowen Yang
Needs to be fun.
Matt Rogers
There needs to be fun. It's about the answer. More value on answers over questions. How about that?
Bowen Yang
Oh, yeah. I mean, there are no stupid questions. There are certainly stupid answers, baby.
Matt Rogers
I'm into this. So you're saying this episode is called the Book of Questions and we should ask each other from it?
Bowen Yang
We should ask each other from it. And then I think we just have to pick a number from 1 to 217. Maybe producer Becca can help us with the number selection, to randomize it. But should I just read the back cover?
Matt Rogers
Yeah, yeah.
Bowen Yang
For everyone to get a sense of what this is about to be, let.
Matt Rogers
Us know what we can expect from this episode of Las Colteristas.
Bowen Yang
Okay. Big Head says, ask yourself, Period. Ask your friends. Ask your parents. Ask someone you hardly know. The Book of Questions gives you permission to ask those things that are too bold, too embarrassing, or just too difficult to ask by yourself. You will find questions of integrity, of sex, of what you would do for money, even things too personal to talk about out loud.
Matt Rogers
This is perfect.
Bowen Yang
This is perfect. One more little paragraph. May I? Yeah. Oh, please, please. Whether you use it as a tool for self discovery or as a provocative way to stimulate conversation, this book constantly challenges attitudes, morals, beliefs, and it challenges you.
Matt Rogers
I'm speechless.
Bowen Yang
I'm Ready to embark on this? I'm speechless.
Matt Rogers
Becca, get in the chat.
Bowen Yang
Get in the chat, Becca. Okay.
Matt Rogers
You need an active role in this episode.
Bowen Yang
Okay. Oh, she's already given us a number.
Matt Rogers
Okay, what does she say?
Bowen Yang
Number 11.
Matt Rogers
All right. Okay, let's hear from Bowen Yang. This is the first thing. Can we. And can we get a sound effect? We won't know what the sound effect is until later, but when? After Bowen says number 11 and before he reads the question. We need some sound effect, and we are not gonna weigh in on what it is. Whatever. Whatever. Our incredible engineers and editors, Doug and Mo choose is what we're going to go with.
Bowen Yang
Yeah. Doug and Mo, have fun with this. Or don't. Just, you know, get it out of the way. This is a big ask.
Matt Rogers
Yeah.
Bowen Yang
We're throwing this at you last minute.
Matt Rogers
Yeah.
Bowen Yang
But feel free for this to be.
Matt Rogers
Something that you just check right off the list.
Bowen Yang
Yeah, yeah. And if it's no sound, then that's also okay, too. If you're slammed, don't worry about it. But we're giving you an opening here.
Matt Rogers
Carte blanche. Dun, dun, dun, dun dun. My favorite line from Public Affair by Jessica Simpson. Ready, set, go.
Bowen Yang
Does she sing carte blanche in the song?
Matt Rogers
She says carte blanche.
Bowen Yang
You need to write a single called Carte Blanche.
Matt Rogers
Carte blanche. Carte blanche is a really good title for a Christmas song.
Bowen Yang
Yeah.
Matt Rogers
Carte blanche.
Bowen Yang
Carte blanche.
Matt Rogers
Like, oh, that's good. Okay. I'm ruminating on that.
Bowen Yang
You should ruminate, honey. All right.
Matt Rogers
Full of new ideas, by the way.
Bowen Yang
Oh, my God. Can I just. Before we get started on number 11, congratulations to my move and silence, sister Matt Rodders on the new single Santa Boy, it is fantastic. Triple A pop songcraft. Well done.
Matt Rogers
Well, thanks.
Bowen Yang
I didn't know about this. You didn't tell me about this.
Matt Rogers
I was moving in silence about it. I was moving in total silence about it, and I just decided, okay, now's the time to put it out. I wanted to put out one more fun song before we embarked on the Prince of Christmas tour because I felt we were missing a true dance bop. And I want to see all the RPKFs shaking ass to this song. Oh, yeah, by the way, just to set things up. Get there on time if you're coming. Because I'm not waiting, like, 10, 15 minutes to go on, because it's standing room and it's going to be like a music show, and we don't want to keep people who get there early standing. So if you're Coming to the show. Get there on time. I'll get you out of there in less than 80 minutes. How about that? 80, 90 minutes.
Bowen Yang
Wow. That's the perfect Goldilocks Zone. Well done.
Matt Rogers
Shout out to Henry Kaperski and Ethan Christopher. Who? This is his first song he ever co wrote. We wrote it together.
Bowen Yang
Ethan, of course.
Matt Rogers
Leland Gabe Lopez fucked it up. They absolutely went so hard on the track. Way too hard. Way harder than I think I deserve. But I'm so happy.
Bowen Yang
Come on. It is what you deserve. It is what we deserve. Leland, Gabe, Ethan, Henry, Matt Rogers. Bravo. Bravissimo.
Matt Rogers
Santa Boy streamer. Thank you. My absolute number one.
Bowen Yang
I love you.
Matt Rogers
To say nothing of number 11, which is, I guess, where we're headed.
Bowen Yang
Should I read it? Yes. Number 11, you are given the power to kill people simply by thinking of their deaths and twice repeating the word goodbye. People would die a natural death and no one would suspect you. Are there any situations in which you would use this power? No, I'm not killing anybody. Oh yeah, sure. I'll kill. Like.
Matt Rogers
Don't say that. You have to cut that.
Bowen Yang
We'll cut that out. I would kill certain people who abuse power.
Matt Rogers
By the way, this has gone already. So left in such a direction I didn't see.
Bowen Yang
The questions will really run the gamut.
Matt Rogers
Would I kill anyone? You know what? If I saw in a moment someone trying to physically harm someone I deeply cared about, I would do it then. But I would never like, premeditate. I would use this power of number 11 as self defense. And I would just want to say going forward, if it ever does come to light that I've quote, unquote killed someone, just know it was self defense. I would never. Premeditated to kill someone. I'm not a killer. I don't identify as a killer. Whenever I even see movies where there is a killer, I never understand them. I don't identify with any of these girls.
Bowen Yang
How could you snuff out human life? It's so crazy.
Matt Rogers
I just don't think it's your responsibility.
Bowen Yang
So you're saying that you would only use it if you were in a situation where you saw someone harming your friend?
Matt Rogers
Like if I saw someone rushing you.
Bowen Yang
If I saw someone rushing, I can fend for myself.
Matt Rogers
Don't worry, Bowen. No, you can't. Not if you're back in front.
Bowen Yang
Yes, I can.
Matt Rogers
First of all, it's. Don't make this into a. I'm trying to save your fucking life, bitch. So get Ben. You know what? Just get him. Go get him. He doesn't want my help. Go get him.
Bowen Yang
Oh, so you'll kill me? You won't use the power so that I will die? No. He's making a face.
Matt Rogers
I'm doing it now.
Bowen Yang
What's the thing? I was supposed to say goodbye. You just Twice repeating the word goodbye.
Matt Rogers
Goodbye. He lives.
Bowen Yang
You were just.
Matt Rogers
It didn't happen. A pelican didn't fly through the window and its beak didn't impale his skull like I thought.
Bowen Yang
Hold on, hold on. Oh, it's natural causes. That is. Whatever. I guess it's a natural cause. You just gave 11 stranger things down. Millie. Bobby could never. You're about to get a nosebleed.
Matt Rogers
I did think. When I saw that character, I thought, should be me. Should be me.
Bowen Yang
I mean, not. No.
Matt Rogers
So what about you now you.
Bowen Yang
But you don't feel comfortable.
Matt Rogers
You would do it.
Bowen Yang
I would do it for.
Matt Rogers
But you just said you wouldn't snuff out human life.
Bowen Yang
There are absolutely situations where someone's death would be helpful to the greater good.
Matt Rogers
Honestly. Yeah. It's like that question that they asked, right? Like if they gave you a baby and put it in your hands and you said, what's the baby's name? And they said, adolf. This is Adolf Hitler. And the baby in your arms was Adolf Hitler, wwjd. I mean, that's one of the questions.
Bowen Yang
He's gay.
Matt Rogers
Jesus. Jesus Christ. I don't know. That's a tough one. That's a really tough one.
Bowen Yang
I would use that.
Matt Rogers
One option is you could run away with the baby and put it in a nice atmosphere. You know what I mean?
Bowen Yang
Yeah. But it's. This is about current day Matt Rogers in the year 2024. If you were given the power to kill people simply by thinking of their deaths and twice repeating the word goodbye, would you do it?
Matt Rogers
Depends on the day. Probably not likely. No.
Bowen Yang
No one would suspect you. And you just have to live with you. Just because I would live with.
Matt Rogers
That's the thing is like my brain works overtime and I wouldn't be able to live with the guilt. And I don't think neither could you.
Bowen Yang
I definitely would have a hard time. I just think certain deaths could be good.
Matt Rogers
I hear you. I hear you there. I think. How about this? If this power ever happens to either of us, let's tell each other.
Bowen Yang
Yes.
Matt Rogers
And if something comes up where it feels like someone should, let's just talk it through.
Bowen Yang
But then it's. Oh, it's a one to one vote. Like it's. It's There needs to be an odd number here.
Matt Rogers
Let's also say Becca.
Bowen Yang
Becca needs to weigh in. If we were to have the power, and that includes you, Becca. If you were to have the power. Becca, what do you think?
Becca Ramos
Okay, so just to be clear, the power is to kill anybody. No one would know.
Bowen Yang
And it would be natural death. A natural death.
Becca Ramos
Natural death.
Matt Rogers
Oh, it would be. I missed that part. Okay.
Bowen Yang
Like a heart attack.
Becca Ramos
They would just die, and no one will know now.
Matt Rogers
I think the whole thing is less fun.
Becca Ramos
That's only by brutal.
Bowen Yang
Only by brutal.
Matt Rogers
I mean, like, if we're gonna kill someone, at least let's have fun doing it. Like, I want. Like, honestly, when I was just 11. Ing. Whoa. That's kind of funny that her name is 11 and this was question 11.
Bowen Yang
Oh, my God.
Becca Ramos
I was truly being.
Matt Rogers
This is one of the spookiest episodes yet. And I thought it was December, not October, but this actually is one of the scariest episodes we've ever done so far, period. First line of the description in one.
Bowen Yang
Of the scariest episodes yet, comma, Matt and Beau. Yeah. Go through the book of questions.
Matt Rogers
Unleash the power.
Bowen Yang
So, Becca.
Becca Ramos
Okay. The fire sign in me, like, my double fire, big three is, like, absolutely. Like, I can think of specifically, like, two people on top of my head that I'm like, they're gone. But I think the guilt would riddle me. Like, of course, I couldn't being the only person who knew that, if that makes sense.
Bowen Yang
What is the emotional. What is the interiority of knowing that you have the power even if you don't use it? You're like, I have the power.
Matt Rogers
Ooh.
Becca Ramos
That I feel like, would weigh on me because, like, it's just like life or death is in your hands. It's like whatever Death Note kind of vibe, you know?
Bowen Yang
Yeah, it's Death note. Yeah.
Matt Rogers
I deeply just want my own little positive life. You know what I mean? Like, I don't even want to think about it.
Becca Ramos
That's what I think is the worst part, because it is very heavy on you. It's like you carry darkness.
Matt Rogers
You essentially are the grim reaper. Yeah. Are you comfortable with that? If you're comfortable with the knowledge that you, Becca Ramos, are the grim reaper?
Becca Ramos
Oh, I don't know.
Bowen Yang
I don't know about that.
Matt Rogers
I don't know how I sleep at night as the grim reaper, because, like.
Becca Ramos
What if you have the wrong thought and then someone just dies? You know, you were just having a bad day.
Bowen Yang
Exactly, exactly, exactly.
Becca Ramos
And that would happen to me.
Matt Rogers
We've all had bad days.
Becca Ramos
My best friend's ex thought about it too hard.
Bowen Yang
Of course it's over. Goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye.
Matt Rogers
Plus, it's better for those people to live.
Bowen Yang
Better for them to live and see you thrive.
Becca Ramos
I want to know. They're miserable in every lifetime.
Bowen Yang
Yes. There's an asterisk at the end of this question. And I look to the back and there's an additional follow up question. And I think we're all in agreement with this, but I'll read it. If you can imagine yourself killing someone indirectly, could you still see doing so if you had to look into the person's eyes and stab the person to death? Have you ever genuinely wanted to kill someone or wish someone dead? No.
Matt Rogers
No. That is not an impulse I have ever.
Bowen Yang
That's if someone answers yes to number 11 *. That's concerning.
Matt Rogers
The book of questions is crazy.
Bowen Yang
When was this published? I just want to make sure everybody over 1 million in print.
Becca Ramos
This is like the dark version of We're Not Really Strangers.
Bowen Yang
This was published in 1985. What's We're Not Really Strangers?
Becca Ramos
Oh, my God. You guys don't know?
Matt Rogers
No.
Becca Ramos
I am the queen of We're Not Really Strangers. Okay, so it is. I'm like, do I go grab it? It is this card game that is kind of intimate. And they have different versions of it now. They have like a friendship version and a family version. But the whole point is that it is three sections of cards and you go through them one on one with somebody and they kind of get more deep as you go through. And at the end, because you do like about six to eight cards per round, like you ask a question and they ask you a question and you answer them kind of like this book. And then as you get to the end, you then write a little note about your experience with this person and you give it to them and they read it. Oh, it is very intimate. But I love it. That's a lot of friends and family.
Matt Rogers
That is a lot.
Becca Ramos
I make everyone play it. I'm like, you wanna get close to me? We're playing We're Not Really Strangers right now.
Bowen Yang
I thought you were gonna say that. Like, this was like a light version of that New York Times questionnaire where you ask these questions and you fall in love with the person. Which does not work, by the way. No, it does not work, but this sounds even more intense.
Becca Ramos
Yes, it's pretty intense. Especially. Cause they have now all these expansion packs. Like they have the early dating expansion pack, which I do Recommend if you're like on a date three with somebody bringing that out to be like, are we worth dating any further?
Matt Rogers
No, no, no. I was just going to say the craziest people in America are doing this on dates. Yes. Yeah.
Becca Ramos
The craziest person's doing the big one on the first date. That is like, oh, no, that's absurd.
Matt Rogers
That we need, I would think, number 11 about those types of people because literally I'm like, you're like, I don't know you.
Becca Ramos
We don't need to be having this conversation. No, they have like a long term relationship one. Like if you've been in a relationship.
Bowen Yang
Oh, sure.
Becca Ramos
They have like a family one. They have like a deep friendships one. Like people you've been friends with. Like you guys for years.
Bowen Yang
Like if you're snowed in with your significant other. Yeah, Perfect game to play.
Becca Ramos
It's cute like that.
Matt Rogers
Oh, Snowden. With significant other, you bring out. What's it called?
Becca Ramos
We're not really strangers.
Matt Rogers
We're not really strangers.
Bowen Yang
And that's a rule of culture. Number 72.
Matt Rogers
Snowed in with your significant other, you bring out. We're not really strangers.
Kate Max
Hey, guys. I'm Kate. Max. You might know me from my popular online series, the Running Interview show, where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast, Post Run High is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. You know that rush of endorphins you feel after a great workout? Well, that's when the real magic happens. So if you love hearing real inspiring stories from the people you know, follow and admire, join me every week for Post Run High. It's where we take the conversation beyond the run and get into the heart of it all. It's light hearted, pretty crazy, and very fun. Listen to Post Run high on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Courtney Thorne Smith
Hey, everyone, this is Courtney Thornston Smith, Laura Layton and Daphne Zuniga. On July 8, 1992, apartment buildings with pools were never quite the same as Melrose Place was introduced to the world. It took drama and mayhem to an entirely new level. We are going to be reliving every hookup, every scandal, every backstab, blackmail and explosion, and every single wig removal. Together, secrets are revealed as we rewatch every moment with you. Special guests from back in the day will be dropping by. You Know who they are. Sydney, Allison and Joe are back together on still the Place with a trip down memory lane and back to Melrose Place. So listen to still the place on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcast.
Laura Layton
In the aftermath of a transformative election like the one we just had, it's hard to read the news without asking yourself every five seconds, how did we get here? That's exactly what we're always trying to figure out on Fiasco, a history podcast from the co creators of Slow Burn. In our first season, Bush v. Gore, we examine an unmistakable turning point in American politics. The 2000 election, which came down to a recount in Florida and ended with one of the most controversial rulings in Supreme Court history. In many ways, it's the beginning of the story we're living through right now. So if you're trying to make sense of the present moment, check out Fiasco, Bush v. Gore, and find out how a statistical tie in the Florida vote count put the nation into an unprecedented holding pattern during which American voters waited with bated breath to find out whether Al Gore or George W. Bush would be the next President of the United States. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Matt Rogers
Should we do the next question?
Bowen Yang
Yes, Becca. Now give us another number. Okay.
Becca Ramos
Three.
Bowen Yang
Three.
Matt Rogers
She's staying on the low end.
Bowen Yang
Oh, my God. Another. Okay, this is another really intense one. I mean, I guess this is the book of questions.
Matt Rogers
Do it. Do it. That's the book of questions.
Bowen Yang
Number three. If you were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate with anyone, what would you most regret not having told someone? Why haven't you told them yet? Oh, my God.
Matt Rogers
Oh, my God.
Bowen Yang
This is so crazy. We can't answer this.
Matt Rogers
I mean, I think we have to. We have to do this. Oh, my brain goes one place. Like, it's parental.
Bowen Yang
Yeah, it's about the parents.
Matt Rogers
Oh, wow. This episode went so hard into the book of Questions. I don't even like putting this out there, but, like, if someone in your immediate family were to go without you, girl, this is so fucking crazy. Without you being like, thank you for, you know, pouring everything you had into raising me into giving me a good family, a good foundation. Like, I respect and love you so much. Like, you know what I mean? Like, that is something that I think is so worth it to share with parents. But the thing is, I think that there is no more intimate relationship than if you really think about it, like the one between parent and child. You know what I mean?
Bowen Yang
Like, that is, like, hopefully, if all works out.
Matt Rogers
Yeah, well, yes, but I mean, like, when that relationship exists, like, that is the most intimate thing. And I think it's so intimate that it's like the true base of your emotions is revealed in that expression of gratitude for being on this planet. You know what I mean? Like, that is very intimate, that acknowledgement and that, you know, it's. Especially when, you know, you're someone who grows up and like anyone, I would imagine that there's strife between parents and children. You know, everyone has those issues and those blocks. But that, for that reason is probably my answer to this question, is, why haven't you told them yet? Because it's very hard to, like, I don't know, access that.
Bowen Yang
All that. I know. I always want to go beyond the moment of telling either of my parents that I love them, which I do all the time, and they get very vulnerable, and they kind of cut right to, like, the heart of something where they're like, yes. I'm like, whoa. Like, all right, this is not the right time or place for this conversation. And I wish I killed that instinct a little bit more of theirs of mine to be like. To, like. I don't shut it down, but I kind of dismiss it. And I'm like, no, I should let that play. Let that breathe. Like, it's. There's a reason they're communicating this. And.
Matt Rogers
Yes.
Bowen Yang
Yeah. Like, for all the hardships that, like, my parents and I have had, like, now it's so beautiful and lovely and it'sand. It's always been, in a way. And I just want to tell them, like, none of this would have been possible without you. And they gave me an opportunity, even though they did not, by literally moving out of China so that I could have been born and moving to the US and making sure I was okay for the most part, even though they didn't understand what I was doing, that is a huge thing for them. And can you imagine moving to a place where you don't speak the language, where you are immediately.
Matt Rogers
No.
Bowen Yang
A different. Like, you're immediately marked in this society as someone who's different and someone who. Whose assumptions are created about you? Like, I mean, the sacrifice is immense.
Matt Rogers
Yes.
Bowen Yang
They tell me this all the time, and it's not to guilt me, but it's like they. They want me to internalize that, and I have, and it's just. But no amount of thought about it will ever, like, make that unremarkable. It's so Remarkable.
Matt Rogers
Yeah. Also the totality of. So basically, I don't know if you noticed this. I'm sure you do, and I'm sure that's part of what you're getting at. But my father has become so much more emotional as time goes on. I think it's because the estrogen starts popping in men as they get older. And I just think about your father and to understand and really wrap your mind around what that sacrifice ended up doing in a macro sense, in a cosmic sense, like, he moved to this country, well, countries, you know what I mean? Like, made it work. So much so that his son is a superstar. But here's the thing. I'm going to say it. You're shying away from it, but wow, if you could go back in time and be like, you might not even understand this later, but your son is going to be able to literally pursue his dream in America and become so brilliant at it that it's inspiring and changes things for other people. I mean, I just hope that part of what they're experiencing when they are trying to say that to you is that they acknowledge that, how successful they were. That's just something that I think is truly an incredible story. It is an incredible story.
Bowen Yang
They had one outfit per year that my grandma basically sewed her six children pants. Yeah, but she hemmed the pants to, like, short little pants, right? And then as they got older, they had one pair of pants their entire childhood into their teenage years. And then every year as they grew, she would take the hem out and then just roll it down like they had one outfit for their entire. And they would sleep together in the same room, huddled together in the cold of Inner Mongolia with no light. My grandma had her feet bound. Two generations ago, my illiterate grandmother was raising six kids with her feet bound. And that practice had been illegal for 20 years in China. But then she didn't know about it until someone from the coastal cities went into. God, the landlocked parts of that country, and they were like, take the binding off.
Matt Rogers
Wow.
Bowen Yang
It's crazy.
Matt Rogers
It is crazy. And I think that idea is so big, and there's complicated feelings with people. Like, even though those sacrifices have been made, it's. There's, of course, just that. Cause then you are an American child growing up. And, like, you know what I mean? There is something about. I think I experienced with this with my father, too. I remember one time it came up that I was gonna have to go to work one day in high school to my busboy job, and it was Raining. And I said something like, I hope they call me off work because I could use my time better being at home, like, studying or something, or, like, doing something else. And I don't want to go to work because we'll make no money. And my dad lost his mind on me, and he was like, you go to work. And we had this crazy fight. And I did go to work, made no money, came back early. But later he knocked on my door, and he was very tearful, and he was like, I'm really sorry. I overreacted. I just sometimes wish your grandfather was an influence in your life. And that's when I realized he was, like, really going through something and thinking about his own father. And it was, like, obviously, like, baggage that was coming out. But there's this idea that, like, when you think about your history and your lineage, there is a guilt because people didn't have options in terms of comfort, in terms of, you know, trajectory of their life. Like, it was just you woke up and you did it, and you put your head down. And I think generationally, that is difficult for people to wrap their heads around, like, someone who is a baby boomer, like, in America, you know what I mean? Like, have a different idea of what it means to, like, go about things. And I think I was experiencing that in that moment. And it's like, from you to your father to his father, those are three completely different abject realities.
Bowen Yang
Totally.
Matt Rogers
So of course there's gonna be, like, lack of understanding.
Bowen Yang
But for you, it's like, from your father to his father, it's like the through line there. And I hope. I'm sure you were impacted by that overreaction on his end. But it's like, that is, like, you getting this work ethic that, like, no one works harder than you. You. No one works harder than you.
Matt Rogers
Well, that's very nice of you to say. I would point to yourself, but, I mean, like, I remember it felt was so unfair at the time that I was being treated this way. I'm sure you know what it's what I'm talking about when it's like, this is something that my father is just wrong about. I know. You know, but it's like, now looking back, I'm like, I do understand it. I have compassion and empathy for it. My dad used to tell me when I was very little, very little. One of his famous lines was, I know everything, and if you ever have a question, you ask me. And I actually believe that.
Bowen Yang
Yeah. And I don't. I understand what he's trying to do. I don't know if I, I don't know if I would do it.
Matt Rogers
Well, my, you know, my dad is my dad. You know what I mean? Like, he's, he's very similar to me. Like, we both have very performative personalities. We're both, you know, gravitate towards being the center of attention. And I think that like he would say something like that because he doesn't want me to value someone else's opinion or knowledge in the world over his, you know, he's my father. But then when they reveal themselves to be human beings later, that is when you as a son, there is a moment of like you almost feel frustrated about it. Not that you were lied to, but that it almost feels like, oh, you didn't know everything. You're a human being just like everyone else. You know what I'm saying?
Bowen Yang
Yeah, you second guess everything.
Matt Rogers
But it does become like a core belief. But then it's great to know that your parents are human.
Bowen Yang
You would want to say all of this and more to your parents to answer the question.
Matt Rogers
I mean. Yeah, right. Like it's hard. Like, I remember we've, we've had moments where it really does happen more with my dad and like it happens less with my mom. But I think he becomes more emotional as he gets older. And I think you're recognizing that as well, right?
Bowen Yang
Absolutely. And as we're talking about this, like to go back to going to Atlanta for Thanksgiving, like, I just know for a fact I got so stressed out. Cause the kids, you know, had moments as they should, their kids, they had moments where they were distressed and well.
Matt Rogers
Chistery was being abused.
Bowen Yang
Chistery was being abused. And there was a whole bunch of stuff going on. You know, every other hour there was just some kind of mini meltdown and, and I realized that that's normal. But for me, I was like, this is more stress than I've ever felt, than I've felt in the last two months of work and wicked press and all that stuff. I'm like, this is more. Anytime someone's like, I don't know how you do it. I'm like, no, that's easy. What's hard for me is watching these beautiful children get stressed out. And then my sister and my brother in law having to handle it and my mom having to handle it. But I'm like, shout out to the parents.
Matt Rogers
This is my thing 100%.
Bowen Yang
I could never do it. And my thing is like anytime someone asks me what your drag name would be, anytime someone Asks me, what would your restaurant be called? Or whatever. I'm like, I don't know the answer to that because I have too much respect for the thing to know that I would never be in that situation.
Matt Rogers
Right, Exactly.
Bowen Yang
I will never. I have such reverence for my parents, for your parents, for any parent who.
Matt Rogers
Does drag artists and drag artists and.
Bowen Yang
Restaurateur who pours their heart and soul into this thing. Like, I could never. Literally, I could never.
Matt Rogers
Well, I feel like a couple of our group chats have been active and because it's the holidays and people be texting, so everyone is saying the same thing, which is, I'm never having kids.
Bowen Yang
I'm never having kids.
Matt Rogers
So like, even the people that wanted kids in our life are suddenly like turned around and be like. Like, it's a lot. It's tough. It is tough.
Bowen Yang
Wow, the book of questions.
Matt Rogers
The book of questions is popping off. Okay, Becca, give us another number.
Bowen Yang
One through 217.
Matt Rogers
Yeah, come on, let's get deep. Not that we haven't yet, but like, I mean, deeper than numerically.
Bowen Yang
Okay, she says 152.
Matt Rogers
Okay.
Bowen Yang
Okay, here we go. This is. I like this number, 152. Oh, this is simple.
Matt Rogers
Okay.
Bowen Yang
What do you value most in a relationship? And I guess this is open ended. I guess this could be romantic. This could be acquaintanceship, friendship, whatever. In a relationship. I'm going to say. I'm going to interpret this as romantic, I guess.
Matt Rogers
Yeah, let's choose to interpret it romantically. What do you value most in a romantic relationship?
Bowen Yang
I'm going to say something that's kind of like an eye roll maybe, but comfort.
Matt Rogers
I think comfort is an incredible thing to look for. And it's so valuable.
Bowen Yang
Everything else falls into place.
Matt Rogers
Yes. I think once you're comfortable, I think that's literally. I mean, that's where vulnerability comes from. That's where. Understand. I think that's obviously what I'm gonna say comes from this, which is trust, which I think is so different than honesty. Yeah, it's so different than all those things. Trust. Like, it really hurts when someone breaks your trust.
Bowen Yang
Yeah, totally.
Matt Rogers
I mean that's like betrayal. I mean it's. Oh, yeah, I don't know, you can trust me. And then turning around and being untrustworthy. That's true villain behavior. That's evil ass.
Bowen Yang
It is a mutual sort of buy in.
Matt Rogers
Right.
Bowen Yang
In a way, it's like you trust the person. And so therefore what dictates your behavior around that person is to make sure that you build that trust with them and that they trust you in return. And then when that is, when that is violated, it is so painful.
Matt Rogers
It's not so good. But in terms of comfort, too, it's just like, you know what? I've been dating a lot, and something I think I'm trying to find now is instant comfortable. It's going to be some kind of sign.
Bowen Yang
Me too.
Matt Rogers
But that's bad. If you feel instantly comfortable, that's when your guard is down. That's when you start looking the other way. That's when you start ignoring things. And I also think comfort, at least for me, is also based in a little bit of, like, sexual attraction. It's like, oh, I'm comfortable here. Like, I think I could, like, ultimately potentially use my body in a certain way with this person. Like, and I think that. That maybe I'm just thinking about my own past. But that is what makes you ignore red flags, both in the other person and yourself. It's just important that I just don't want to get fooled again.
Bowen Yang
Totally. That's trust. I feel like that's trust, too. Like, I trust you to. I trust you enough that I'm going to use my. To use your words. Use my body in a certain way.
Matt Rogers
Well, it's okay. No, no, my. I don't think so. Honey, later. Is about a certain thing. Because that. I guess we're kind of saying the same thing ultimately. Like, I want to be able to be really available to you and not be sorry later.
Bowen Yang
Totally. I guess the subtle difference in our answers is I'm thinking of comfort in terms of, like, internal comfort, like, between the two people or whatever, and then outer comfort, which is to say that, like. Which is the classic thing of, like, can this person. Like, can I leave this person alone at a party? Not that that's, like, the thing that I value the most. It's just like, a good sign. That's a sign of comfort. That's a manifestation of comfort to me. Can I. I have this scenario. I'm like, this is so eye roll. But I'm like, can this person hang in the Fire island house of, like, me, you, Josh, Aaron, Patrick Witt, you know, like, everyone in that.
Matt Rogers
Is that what you would want? I also think about this. I sometimes think about, would you want your sigo to be around all the time?
Bowen Yang
I don't know. I don't know yet.
Matt Rogers
Yeah, I think I've had versions of both.
Bowen Yang
Yeah. And what would you prefer? One?
Matt Rogers
I actually, I have no idea. Because, I mean, out of everything I've been in, like, I clearly still don't know what's the best thing for me. That's kind of what I'm still looking for.
Bowen Yang
Like, I don't know, but what? To use Henry Kapersky as an example. Like a Sigo who was around a lot.
Matt Rogers
Yeah.
Bowen Yang
And everyone was thrilled about that.
Matt Rogers
Absolutely.
Bowen Yang
And now look at you guys. You're like, still. You still have a wonderful friendship.
Matt Rogers
But I'll say this, and this is not revealing anything. Cause I think he would say this. He wasn't always comfortable with it.
Bowen Yang
Oh, of course. Of course.
Matt Rogers
So you know what I mean? It's like, yeah, it's a lot to be around a lot of people who are like, whatever, comedians and on all the time.
Bowen Yang
Oh, my God.
Matt Rogers
It's interesting. It's a little bit of like an ask, you know, when. Not that I feel like it's an ask to date me, but I get why someone wouldn't want to.
Bowen Yang
Oh, it's huge. It's a huge asterisk.
Matt Rogers
Yeah.
Bowen Yang
It's a risk.
Matt Rogers
Just so you know. It's a lot.
Bowen Yang
It's a lot. I don't know. It's just a lot of energy.
Matt Rogers
Yeah.
Bowen Yang
That goes in and goes out. That's what it's about.
Matt Rogers
Yeah.
Bowen Yang
Anyway. Okay.
Matt Rogers
I love that question, too. Comfort and trust. I'm sure people will agree. Some people out there are gonna be real horn dogs. They're just like a good dick.
Bowen Yang
Yeah.
Matt Rogers
From big events to the silly moments you capture every day, doesn't it sometimes feel like all your favorite photos are just stuck on your camera roll? Wouldn't it be great to have an easy way to share and enjoy them with friends and family?
Bowen Yang
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Matt Rogers
You know, one thing I feel like our generation lacks is the ability to physicalize these pictures. Like, I think we've got all of our, you know, great memories on our phones. Like, how many times have we had an amazing memory bow? You know, we lack the physical proof.
Bowen Yang
I want it big and on a counter.
Matt Rogers
Come on. And also, who doesn't want to spend less time on their phone? Hello, Hello? Hello?
Bowen Yang
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Matt Rogers
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Kate Max
Hey, guys, I'm Kate. Max. You might know me from my popular online series, the Running Interview show, where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast, Post Run High is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. You know that rush of endorphins you feel after a great workout? Well, that's when the real magic happens. So if you love hearing real inspiring stories from the people you know, follow and admire, join me every week for Post Run High. It's where we take the conversation beyond the run and get into the heart of it all. It's lighthearted, pretty crazy, and very fun. Listen to Post Run high on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Laura Layton
In the aftermath of a transformative election like the one we just had, it's hard to read the news without asking yourself every five seconds, how did we get here? That's exactly what we're always trying to figure out on Fiasco, a history podcast from the co creators of Slow Burn. In our first season, Bush v. Gore, we examine an unmistakable turning point in American politics. The 2000 election, which came down to a recount in Florida and ended with one of the most controversial rulings in Supreme Court history. In many ways, it's the beginning of the story we're living through right now. So if you're trying to make sense the present moment, check out Fiasco, Bush v. Gore, and find out how a statistical tie in the Florida vote count put the nation into an unprecedented holding pattern, during which American voters waited with bated breath to find out whether Al Gore or George W. Bush would be the next President of the United States. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Bowen Yang
Let's go with another question, becca, give it 206. Okay, you're really playing the the extremes and the polls. I like it. Okay, number 206, would you be willing to eat a bowl of live crickets for $40,000? Yes.
Matt Rogers
A bowl of live crickets for $30,000.
Bowen Yang
I'm chomping down on them, thereby killing them. Yeah, I've had bugs in the past. Totally fine. Kind of flavorless. It's just a texture thing. And it's. It's a mental thing of like, oh, I'm swallowing a bug. And that's. But once you get past that, it's like, oh, it's fine.
Matt Rogers
Yeah, Yeah. I think I might need to see the crickets.
Bowen Yang
The bowl here. Okay, let's Google. Let's Google a bowl of crickets. Becca says if no tax. Yes. Like cash money.
Matt Rogers
Crazy answer. Like, so you would do it for 40,000, but not what, 32,000.
Bowen Yang
Sure.
Matt Rogers
Becca. No, that's never okay.
Becca Ramos
When I think about the lottery, right. And how people are like broke after they win the lottery. Or like when you get those cars on Oprah and then you're in debt. Like, I want to see like a trunk of cash. And they're like, here you go, babe. No if, ands or buts.
Bowen Yang
Yeah, yeah, crickets.
Becca Ramos
Here's the catch. Yeah. But if there's work for me after I eat those crickets, there's no catch.
Bowen Yang
Let's just. Let's just assume there's no catch.
Matt Rogers
I mean, I am. Yeah, I'm think.
Bowen Yang
What is.
Becca Ramos
Can you share a quick bowl of crickets?
Bowen Yang
I put it in the chat. I put it in the chat.
Matt Rogers
Oh, see? I don't know. This bowl of crickets is so crazy looking.
Becca Ramos
It's a bit.
Bowen Yang
Yeah.
Matt Rogers
That's what I'm saying is like, I would need to see the bowl because suddenly it's like $40,000 seems not enough money for this. Like, this is. This is probably not only physically difficult, but like digestionally impossible to take all these crickets to the tum.
Bowen Yang
Can I actually modify this question a little bit?
Matt Rogers
Can you? It's the book of questions.
Bowen Yang
Yes, yes, yes. Well, look, it was published in 1985. $40,000 in 1985 is the equivalent to $115,000 now.
Matt Rogers
Okay. Now let's look at this cricket bowl again.
Becca Ramos
And that's what I'm getting. No tax. 100.
Matt Rogers
You know what?
Bowen Yang
Hundred K. Sure.
Matt Rogers
Can I make an addendum on the question?
Bowen Yang
Yeah.
Matt Rogers
Can I put buffalo sauce on this?
Bowen Yang
Yeah.
Becca Ramos
They didn't say you couldn't.
Matt Rogers
Then I'll still do it for 40. I love Buffalo sauce. I'll put it on anything.
Bowen Yang
Yeah, put it on anything. I would do barbecue.
Matt Rogers
That's why the difference is that's why.
Bowen Yang
No, I love buffalo too. You know I love buffalo.
Courtney Thorne Smith
Yeah, girl.
Matt Rogers
Come on. Anyone who's not like a Buffalo fan, I could not Date them then. That might be close to the top of the list. Like, things you're looking for, the traits. The other question. Buffalo lover.
Bowen Yang
I need a buffalo lover for show.
Matt Rogers
Toss me in it.
Bowen Yang
Toss me in it. All right, Becca, new number, New number.
Matt Rogers
They were clearly running out of ideas. They started so hot at 3 and 11, and then they were like, would you eat a bowl of crickets? 69. Oh, my God, this absolute freak for sexy.
Bowen Yang
9. Can somebody match Becca's freak number? 69? If a friend were almost always late, would you resent it or simply allow for it? Can you be counted on to be on time? Okay. I've had conversations with people even after they were like, 45 minutes late once. Yeah. And I'm like, that wasn't okay. I'm generally. I have my moments. Like today I was late. I asked to push our zoom back five, 10 minutes.
Matt Rogers
Not that late. I mean, you asked for five and then I said 10. Well, that's not late.
Bowen Yang
I'm not gonna say that. I'm always on time. I try to be.
Matt Rogers
Okay, can I. Let me. Let me also throw out there. For me personally, 10 minutes late is not late.
Bowen Yang
It's not late.
Matt Rogers
Like, 10 minutes late is not late. I don't really care. You text me and be like, hey, I'm just running 10 behind. I know you're on your way. 10 minutes. In the grand scheme of life, I can sit there.
Bowen Yang
Becca says 30 plus minutes is late. Agree.
Matt Rogers
That's late.
Bowen Yang
If someone were almost always late, that would be an issue.
Matt Rogers
If you're over 30 minutes late all the time, it's definitely an issue. Because why should I take on the responsibility of navigating my own shit around the fact that you're always late? Because then, guess what? I can't say it out loud. I can't have an honest conversation with you. I can't honestly be like, okay, well, you said two. I'm going to show up at 2:30 because you're you. Ha, ha, ha. Because then you're going to show up at 3.
Bowen Yang
Right.
Matt Rogers
And now we're an hour after when we want it to hang. So I don't know. Just understand, like, that chronic lateness like that RuPaul says that's being addicted to the feeling of being late. That's an addiction, actually.
Bowen Yang
Whoa. Totally. And I also am like, if you can't be dependable with other people, then there's something about you that is not dependable to yourself.
Matt Rogers
Yeah. Well, first of all, I think one of the reasons why there aren't people in my life that I have this problem with is because if you have displayed this behavior. I wrote you off already.
Bowen Yang
Unfortunately, yes.
Matt Rogers
Kinda. I mean, like, if you're. I will never forget one time, years ago, I let Kathryn Cohen sit at a diner for 40 minutes waiting for me. I will never forget it.
Bowen Yang
The guilt.
Matt Rogers
I always felt bad about it. The guilt. And I could tell she was annoyed and she should have been, but, like, she also sat with me still and gave me 45 minutes of lunch at the diner that I did not deserve because 40 minutes late is crazy and it haunts me. The one time, if this was something about me, like that was a reliable thing. The only reliable thing about me is that you're unreliable. Oop, that's not gonna work. That's not gonna work.
Bowen Yang
Hmm. All right. I feel like so far this is a nice sampling of questions.
Matt Rogers
This has been a rollercoaster ride.
Bowen Yang
Okay. Should we do a few more?
Matt Rogers
Yes, let's do three more. Three more.
Bowen Yang
Three more. Okay.
Matt Rogers
34, our freaking age.
Bowen Yang
Oh my God.
Matt Rogers
Hell yeah.
Bowen Yang
Hell yeah. Number 34. What was your most enjoyable dream? Your worst nightmare? I think I have my worst nightmare for sure.
Matt Rogers
Okay.
Bowen Yang
And it's really dark and it's really vulnerable that I'm sharing this with everybody, but I'm happy to. But I have a dream from childhood that I still think about, which is crazy. So maybe I'll go there.
Matt Rogers
Go there. Whatever you feel comfortable with. Is this the vulnerable one?
Bowen Yang
No, I mean, they're both kind of. They're both like random and weird. They're dreams.
Matt Rogers
I know my nightmare, but I'm still thinking on my dream.
Bowen Yang
Okay, My dream. I had this when I was like 7 and for some reason it was. I woke up in the most euphoric state. And I still think about it, and I don't know why, but it was basically like it was a dream that turned into a nightmare. So it was that I was like on the phone before FaceTime. It was like I was on like a video call. So like, as a seven year old, like, with technology did not exist back then. So it blew my mind.
Matt Rogers
Yeah.
Bowen Yang
That I was talking to like a class full of girls my age, but of just a bunch of cute girls.
Matt Rogers
Uh huh.
Bowen Yang
For some reason it thrilled me that I was talking to all these cute girls who were like, we love you, Bowen. My gay adult ass first. I don't know what this means subconsciously, but, like, there was something about that dream where I was just in heaven talking to all these people who like, adored me. And it was like, attention or something, I don't know. But then the call ended with them being like, oh, no, the bully is here. The bully is here. And then I was like, I'll protect you. And then somehow, fast forward, I'm on a bed, jumping up and down the bed, fighting, fist fighting the bully, while we're both jumping up and down on this bed. And then I woke up from the dream. But I still think about. So random.
Matt Rogers
What age were you when you had this?
Bowen Yang
Seven.
Matt Rogers
Seven.
Bowen Yang
Wow. I still think about, like, oh, my God. The thrill of just, like, talking to, like, cute people. Like, cute girls.
Matt Rogers
You know who those girls represented? The Katie's.
Bowen Yang
Yes. Oh, my God, Katie's. Let's do a FaceTime. And you guys tell me who the bully is, and I will fight them.
Matt Rogers
We need to find out who the bully is. Cause they have to go.
Bowen Yang
It was just literally have to go. It was like a big kid, and I was like a small, scrawny guy.
Matt Rogers
Hundo.
Bowen Yang
Okay, so that's my most enjoyable dream. Do you have one?
Matt Rogers
So I am gonna share this one that I've had. Not had. Had a dream when I was little, and this one always stuck with me because it really was scary and sort of surreal and twisted. I remember I was dreaming that I was with a bunch of my friends, like, in some sort of cave, but we were all Muppet Babies, so me and my friends were Muppet Babies, and we were, like, in this cave, like, sort of aware of the fact that there was a monster. And then I remember, like, coming around a corner and then being in my childhood kitchen, and my mother was making food in the kitchen, and I was calling out to her, like, mom, I think there's a monster. But she couldn't hear me. Like, I was like. And I was Muppet Baby sized, so.
Bowen Yang
I was just a generic Muppet Baby. Or were you, like, a specific Muppet Baby?
Matt Rogers
I don't really remember, but, like, that's what we were.
Bowen Yang
You were a cute little puppet.
Matt Rogers
I was like a little animated Muppet Baby.
Bowen Yang
Oh.
Matt Rogers
And so then I'm in my kitchen, and I'm like, mom, there's a monster coming. And she can't hear me, and she's like, I'm putting something in the oven. The oven is involved. So then the monster comes around the corner, and it's. It actually, he was like, you know that McDonald's character, which is like a bunch of strings.
Bowen Yang
He's like, yeah, yeah.
Matt Rogers
You know what I mean? Like Grimace, I think.
Bowen Yang
No, Grimace is purple. The little the fry. The Fry guys.
Matt Rogers
Oh, God. What was.
Bowen Yang
There were. They're little. They're little Pom Poms. They're McDonald's. Google McDonald's. Fry guys.
Matt Rogers
Fry guys. Yeah. Literally a lot like this.
Bowen Yang
That's scary.
Matt Rogers
But tall. But tall and like orange and very small.
Bowen Yang
Another Muppet, in a way.
Matt Rogers
Yeah. So he comes over to me, picks me up, puts me in the oven and closes the door. And I looked out the oven at my mother and was yelling, mom, Mom, Mom. And she still couldn't hear me. And I remember, like, just the idea that I wasn't heard when I was screaming for help from this monster and that I was too small to get anyone's attention. Like, that stayed with me for a long time. And it's one of the very few dreams from my childhood that I remember because it really, like, shook me.
Bowen Yang
That's a nightmare. That's your worst nightmare?
Matt Rogers
Yeah. And then a dream. I don't know anyone where I suck. I love any of my dreams. And if you know, you know when you have like a full blown, like, narrative in it, like sometimes I'll feel like I woke up from a dream and I feel like I starred in Lord of the Rings. Like when you. Whenever you have a dream. That's like an rpg, bitch.
Bowen Yang
You can play them in real life.
Matt Rogers
Maybe I should. Sounds like a dream to me.
Bowen Yang
Oh, I think you would like some girl. Girl. My nightmare is really bad.
Matt Rogers
Wait, you don't wanna.
Bowen Yang
It involves me, like, killing someone. I like beef.
Matt Rogers
This is the death episode, in a way. Who did you beat the shit out of in your dream?
Bowen Yang
This. I was at a grocery store. And then, like, I just. I didn't shop, I didn't steal anything, but I was like leaving the grocery store, pushing my cart. And then this woman chases after me. She's like, you took. You stole this? And I was like, no, I didn't. And she was like, she was about to kill me. And then I picked up my cart and swung it and just kept hitting her with my cart. It's so dark. My worst nightmare is my own action and the violence that I was capable of in that moment.
Matt Rogers
Very. Calling back to number 11.
Bowen Yang
Well, yeah, that's what's disturbing to me. But meanwhile, I'm answering number 11, saying, yeah, I would do it, but there's something about the power of murder, of killing someone that like, breaks your soul.
Matt Rogers
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that is a horrible feeling to have to sit with. I'm sorry, that's your worst nightmare.
Bowen Yang
Anyway. It's such an Easy answer. I was like, that is the most disturbed I've ever felt.
Matt Rogers
I need to start writing down my dreams more. I think that would be interesting. Like taking a dream journal. Do you ever do that? Have you ever done it?
Bowen Yang
The times that I have the wherewithal to, like, grab my phone or whatever and type the dream in. Yeah. I don't know. I got so inspired by Kirsten Dunst. Like, her using her dreams as acting. Sort of like guidelines. I tried that for a thing, and I don't know if it really helped. For what?
Matt Rogers
Wedding banquet?
Bowen Yang
No, for I forget something.
Matt Rogers
I guess we'll have to see in your upcoming performances which one feels the most dream inspired.
Bowen Yang
Subconsciously informed. Okay.
Matt Rogers
All right, let's get another number.
Bowen Yang
I feel really sort of naked. In a good way. Like, I feel like everyone's really getting to know me. 217. The last one. Oh, this is very interesting.
Matt Rogers
Let's Hear it.
Bowen Yang
Number 217. If you were guaranteed honest responses to any three questions, who would you question and what would you ask? I guess I. Okay, let's get that.
Matt Rogers
No, honestly, like, I know who I would ask, and I think I know what the three questions were, but. And I think I have asked them, but I just don't know if they were honest answers. The thing is, like, this is a.
Bowen Yang
Deep one, and this is going to take me a while to answer too.
Matt Rogers
Yeah, yeah, this is. This one's tough. There's an interesting reason why this one's last.
Bowen Yang
It's an expansive question.
Matt Rogers
Yeah, they really kind of. I don't know. This almost feels like cheating. They ate with that. They really. They definitely. Mm.
Bowen Yang
Okay. Becca's saying number 103. Number 103. Does the fact that you have never done something before increase or decrease its appeal to you?
Matt Rogers
Oh, decrease.
Bowen Yang
I think decrease comfort. Yeah.
Matt Rogers
At this point.
Bowen Yang
Yeah. Yeah. At this point in my life, this goes back to the comfort of it all. I'm like. I have felt thrills.
Matt Rogers
Yeah.
Bowen Yang
Of all kinds. I'm good with something even. I'm good with boring.
Matt Rogers
I was actually just thinking the other day, like, about, I don't think my sister's having kids. I'm not having kids. Probably. Like, I was thinking about my parents again, being like, oh, they won't get to be grandparents. And then I thought to myself, well, not everyone gets to have every experience, and that is okay. And also, I don't know, I also related to, like, skiing. It's like, maybe there's a reason I haven't done it yet, because my leg Would snap in half. I don't know. It's just. I think that that's like. This is, like, this question is scarcity mindset. You know what I mean? Totally. I don't. I'm not self conscious about experiences. I have plenty.
Bowen Yang
I'm all about an interpersonal thrill.
Matt Rogers
Mm.
Bowen Yang
Like, I don't have to have it be this, like, activity. I love activity. I just don't know if that's, like, the gradient that I'm thinking about necessarily.
Matt Rogers
I agree. I agree. I mean, I think, like, I've done things to do them already.
Bowen Yang
Yeah. I mean, there are things that I've done that I want to explore further.
Matt Rogers
Yeah, exactly.
Bowen Yang
Because I've already done them. And I'm like, I liked that. Like, I want to go. Like, I want to hike more intentionally and intensely. I want to, like, learn new languages. I want to, like, do. I just. I don't know. I want to, like, do stuff that I already know that I enjoy.
Matt Rogers
Yeah.
Bowen Yang
And that there's a wide, expansive horizon for more to come. You know?
Matt Rogers
Agree. Agree. Okay, new questions, new question.
Bowen Yang
Let's do one more.
Matt Rogers
One more, and then we'll do. I don't think so, honey. 22. Oh, my God. I'm so happy you said 22. That's my lucky number. This is gonna be a great question to end on.
Bowen Yang
Oh, okay. Interesting number 22. If you could use. This is kind of similar to the first.
Matt Rogers
All right.
Bowen Yang
If you could use a voodoo doll to hurt anyone you chose, would you?
Matt Rogers
Oh, my God. See? Yeah. This is very similar to the first.
Bowen Yang
It's very similar.
Matt Rogers
11 and 22. They got lazy.
Bowen Yang
They got lazy. It's not killing someone. Becca's saying she might do that.
Matt Rogers
No, because you know what? Like, putting someone in pain, this is even worse than the other one. Because the other one is like, you'll think of someone and they're like, they'll die of a peaceful death. Natural caus. This is like wanting to cause someone pain. It makes me even more uncomfortable.
Bowen Yang
Yeah. Yeah.
Matt Rogers
This book is so cursed.
Bowen Yang
The book of questions.
Matt Rogers
The cursed book. Who wrote this? Gregory Stiles.
Bowen Yang
Gregory Stock says if you could choose, if you could use a voodoo doll to hurt anyone you chose, would you? Okay. So your answer is no, I honor that.
Matt Rogers
I don't want to hurt people. I really don't. And I hate, like, I know I.
Bowen Yang
Don'T have that kind of ill will.
Matt Rogers
Yeah. No. I don't want anyone to be in any pain. I just. I really don't. Like, that's. I don't know, like, when people are like. Are people born good or evil? I'm like, good.
Bowen Yang
Hmm. Interesting. What if it was.
Matt Rogers
No. I don't want her in pain. I don't want her to be in pain.
Bowen Yang
Really?
Matt Rogers
No. You're not gonna want this in the episode.
Bowen Yang
Okay, yeah, we'll take it out. Well, okay. Becca's asking, what if it was a bad migraine once a month.
Matt Rogers
I don't want people to feel nauseous and in pain because of me.
Bowen Yang
Am I going crazy? They're gonna feel pain no matter what. Life is suffering. Have you seen Mad Men?
Matt Rogers
But I have. That doesn't mean that you should be the person to explicitly contribute to that physical suffering. You guys are scaring me with your devil's advocacy. I'm not kidding.
Bowen Yang
I've not been a devil's advocate. I've been mostly aligned with you. Except for the first and the last.
Matt Rogers
Question that you would kill and cause.
Bowen Yang
No, no, actually. No, no, no, actually, we are aligned on the first question. Like, it's. It's not worth the.
Matt Rogers
Not worth it.
Bowen Yang
Not worth the guilt and.
Matt Rogers
Yeah, but I would have guilt about giving someone a migraine.
Bowen Yang
I wouldn't.
Matt Rogers
Oh, my God. Migraines are awful. They are awful. They are debilitating. I knew a waitress named Crystal. She had to leave work.
Bowen Yang
And her dad had told her, you have to go to work.
Matt Rogers
She had to leave work, and she had to go home and face her father, who no doubt was like, if your grandfather was around, he'd be so disappointed in you. While she clutches her temple. Nauseous, in pain from a migraine. Debilitated, unable to see out of one eye. I wouldn't wish a migraine on my worst enemy. I swear and trust and believe a lot of these questions about causing someone pain. On my worst day, maybe I get a little edgy in terms of this question. But on today. No, it is December. I'm the prince of Christmas. I can't be giving people migraines.
Bowen Yang
No, you're right.
Matt Rogers
You gotta give gifts.
Bowen Yang
You have a title to uphold.
Matt Rogers
That would be bad for business, Beau.
Bowen Yang
Oh, I know.
Matt Rogers
Worse than coal. A migraine.
Bowen Yang
I feel like people have made up their minds about me at this point, and I'm like, well, I can kind of do whatever I want.
Matt Rogers
This is what makes you Elphaba and me Glinda. You realize this.
Bowen Yang
Yeah. Although I would say Glinda would align herself with power, which is. I guess neither of us are doing that.
Matt Rogers
It would be. No, trust me. Like, Galinda would never give someone A migraine on purpose.
Bowen Yang
Elphaba would never. Elphaba wouldn't give someone a migraine on purpose. What are you trying to say?
Matt Rogers
Yes, she would.
Bowen Yang
No, she wouldn't.
Matt Rogers
The wizard of Oz.
Bowen Yang
No. No, she wouldn't.
Matt Rogers
And no. Let me quote her. Nobody in all of Oz, no wizard that there is or was, is ever going to bring me down.
Bowen Yang
That's protective, bro. She's not saying fuck the wizard, she's saying.
Matt Rogers
So you don't think in order to protect, she would give him a migraine? You forget that. Can I say something? There is so much revisionist history here. And the Wicked film not only glorifies animal abuse, but also erases the fact that Elphaba. If she loved Fiero so much, why did she set him on fire? In the wizard of Oz movie, there's a huge plot hole, huge plotline.
Bowen Yang
The timelines are different. It's silver slippers, not ruby. It's like, come on, come on, we're not doing this.
Matt Rogers
No, no, no. In the wizard of. Watch the wizard of Oz again.
Bowen Yang
I've seen it and I know what you're referring to.
Matt Rogers
Excuse me. You've spoken a lot and you've got to speak in many lines in the film Wicked, but I didn't get my opportunity. So I want to enter the Wicked universe and say there's something wrong here. There's something really wrong here in Oz.
Bowen Yang
You're anti wicked because you think it's about. It glorifies animal abuse.
Matt Rogers
It glorifies animal abuse and Elphaba's. I believe it's revisionist about Elphaba's physical abuse.
Bowen Yang
This is. I believe it's revisionist adding up. Okay, I've had it.
Matt Rogers
We've done the Wicked press tour. Okay, now here's my real feelings. I feel it's not PETA. Wicked thinks it's PETA. It's not PETA. It's like how Crash thought it was anti racist and it was racist and it was racist. Wicked thinks it's saving the animals. Last I checked, I'm watching this movie and a monkey was in agony. What they had to do to that monkey on set.
Bowen Yang
Yeah, that was. That was not a good day. That little. That gorgeous little deer, that's our. That's our Tandy Newton. Crash. Now you're out of this.
Matt Rogers
Woman in the Deep movie fucking sucks.
Bowen Yang
God, it's a crazy ass movie.
Matt Rogers
One of the craziest movies ever in American history and it won Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
Bowen Yang
Sorry, Ang Lee.
Matt Rogers
Sorry. Sorry. Beautiful art.
Bowen Yang
Sorry. Beautiful Heath.
Matt Rogers
We were out here swimming in the deep.
Kate Max
Hey guys, I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, the Running Interview show where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast, Post Run High is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. You know that rush of endorphins you feel after a great workout? Well, that's when the real magic happens. So if you love hearing real inspiring stories from the people you know, follow and admire, join me every week for Post Run High. It's where we take the conversation beyond the run and get into the heart of it all. It's light hearted, pretty crazy, and very fun. Listen to Post Run high on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Courtney Thorne Smith
Hey everyone. This is Courtney Thorne Smith, Laura Layton and Daphne Zuniga. On July 8, 1992, apartment buildings with pools were never quite the same. As Melrose Place was introduced to the world, it took drama and mayhem to an entirely new level. We are going to be reliving every hookup, every scandal, every backstab, blackmail and explosion, and every single wig removal. Together, secrets are revealed as we rewatch every moment with you. Special guests from back in the day will be dropping by. You know who they are. Sydney, Allison and Joe are back together on still the Place with a trip down memory lane and back to Melrose Place. So listen to still the place on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Laura Layton
In the aftermath of a transformative election like the one we just had, it's hard to read the news without asking yourself every five seconds, how did we get here? That's exactly what we're always trying to figure out on Fiasco, a history podcast from the co creators of Slow Burn. In our first season, Bush v. Gore, we examine an unmistakable turning point in American politics. The 2000 election, which came down to a recount in Florida and ended with one of the most controversial rulings in Supreme Court history. In many ways, it's the beginning of the story we're living through right now. So if you're trying to make sense of the present moment, check out Fiasco, Bush v. Gore, and find out how a statistical tie in the Florida vote count put the nation into an unprecedented holding pattern during which American voters waited with bated breath to find out whether Al Gore or George W. Bush would be the next president of the United States. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Bowen Yang
Now let's move on to I don't Think so, honey.
Matt Rogers
Okay, I have a good one actually.
Bowen Yang
Okay, this is Matt Rogers. I don't think so, honey. Well, first of all, I don't think so Honey is our one minute segment where we take one minute to Rayleigh gets something in culture. Matt Rogers has something. This is Matt Rogers. I don't think so. Any time starts now.
Matt Rogers
I don't think so, honey. If you're gonna send a sexy DM and it's fisting, you have to say that beforehand. Well, no, I am so on board with people out there. If they wanna send me their sexy DMs, like, you wanna send me a dick pic on DM? Like, truly, my DMs are open. You wanna send a little sneaky ass, you wanna send whatever it is. If you're empowered to send me this type of material, I support you, I embrace you. I do think so, honey. I don't however think so, honey. If you're going to send and this is not a kink shame, I swear to God, everyone do whatever it is you're going to do consensually with your partner or partners, I don't care. But if I open my DM and it is something that is going to sexually shock, disturb and turn me off, I have to know beforehand that feels like animal abuse. When I'm an animal, a human is an animal and you send me just straight up fisting out of nowhere. I don't think so, honey. I feel animally abused.
Bowen Yang
That's one minute. And there's something very nuanced here, which is this is not a kink shaming moment. It is. No, it is a moment of there's no sort of like gut check either way about it.
Matt Rogers
You have to ask someone if they're okay with certain things, period. And here's the thing, like the person that sent me this, we have had a like exchange nudes relationship in the past, but this was a jump forward to the point where it was like if your intent was to test me and see what my limits are, truly, just ask. I will tell you, like very positive forward person. When that is on the table, I will talk about it.
Bowen Yang
Let's get into literally communication 100% and.
Matt Rogers
Whoa, gay guys, slow it down. When this is the deal. I mean, I'm, I'm shook about it.
Bowen Yang
There's Some good ones out there. Gay guys.
Matt Rogers
Oh, some of my favorite people.
Bowen Yang
Absolutely.
Matt Rogers
Some of my favorite people. And so when they get on dm, I mean, listen, it's a spectrum. Yeah, Gay guy is a spectrum. It's actually real culture. Number 30.
Bowen Yang
Gay guy is a spectrum.
Matt Rogers
But I have to say, and I kind of now my perspective on this one gay guy has to change a little bit because I feel I was, like, animally abused through the phone.
Bowen Yang
It's just the worst medium for animal abuse.
Matt Rogers
Be like, hey, are you into this? That the other. Then we can actually get into it so that when you send me this, I'm not on Lost Coach being like, I don't think so, honey. Your actions.
Bowen Yang
Hey, I have a video of me fisting, getting fisted. Is it okay if I send this?
Matt Rogers
Correct.
Bowen Yang
You can say, no.
Matt Rogers
I would be like, I'm going to respectfully decline. I politely decline.
Bowen Yang
And then you would have still maintained that nude sharing, relationship, friendship. Yeah. That could have grown into something else also.
Matt Rogers
Or I go, yes. And then I can't complain when I see it and it upsets me. You know what I mean? But, like, give me the opportunity to have a say in my experience here, you know what I'm saying? Because you can't see what it's going to be when it's one of those DMs that goes away.
Bowen Yang
You know?
Matt Rogers
That is my. I don't think so, honey. On today, it's okay, Bo. I survive.
Bowen Yang
Yeah.
Matt Rogers
I wouldn't give that person a migraine.
Bowen Yang
Yeah.
Matt Rogers
You ready?
Bowen Yang
Yeah. I feel like this is going to be a rehash of something that I've surely talked about before. But there's a new sort of resonance to it for some reason.
Matt Rogers
It'll be fresh, new, brand new, different and more, I'm sure, pertinent. Here we go. This is Bow and Jinx. I don't think so, honey. As time starts now.
Bowen Yang
I don't think so, honey. TikTok. Or at least my experience of it, because it's not even the algorithm anymore. It's for me. My experience of TikTok is I log on and 20 of my notifications are of someone who thinks they're being cute tagging me, saying, oh, my God, this person looks just like Bo and Yang. It's an Asian person. It's a little Asian baby dancing around in, like, a little elephant costume. Trust me, I've seen it. You guys can stop tagging me in that. No, thank you. It makes me not want to use the platform, which I guess is not my it's just, like, I'm not missing out on too much. I'm happy to get the detritus on reels weeks later. But I'm saying, like, I guess that's just not going to go away. I guess I have to accept as part of my life. But, like, even if I even still get Asian people who make the Joel Kim booster joke, switcheroo joke, and I'm.
Matt Rogers
Like, y'all, five seconds.
Bowen Yang
What's with that? I don't know. Like, it's just a weird thing. And I hate the Internet because of it. I think this is a great reason to leave so much.
Matt Rogers
I mean, I think that. Here's the thing. Last week I was in therapy, and I was talking about how for the first. Not the first time in a while, but lately I've been feeling really good. And the only times I feel bad are when I log on and see what people have to say. And so I would say for you, it's probably not going to change.
Bowen Yang
It's not gonna change because if they.
Matt Rogers
Haven'T heard you at this point, to not do this or whatever, it's like. And also, there's unlimited people out there that can all. You know what I'm saying?
Bowen Yang
These people who see a lot of Asian people in their everyday lives, I'm top of mind to them. And so they see an Asian person on the Internet, they go, oh, my God, that's Bo and Ying. Bo and Ying should do a sketch, a skit on SNL where he plays this little baby who's dancing. I'm like, listen to yourself. Do you think that could happen? Do you think I'm over here thinking I'm gonna do that? I don't think something about. And I listen. What a huge honor to be in this movie that is. You know, I'm being appreciated by so many people. I am receiving an uptick of the most lobotomized people you have. You didn't even think were out there in this world. I love everybody. And this is not related to me wanting to voodoo doll, potentially kill anybody if I had the power. But I am over here thinking, wow, like, human beings, man, our brains are. We are a stupid species. We are dumb. Myself included.
Matt Rogers
I think that also people that act that way online are like, they. If they saw you in person, they would obviously never say those things. Which makes me feel like that's not even a reflection of an actual human being. That's reflection of, like, a human being's base instinct.
Bowen Yang
Yeah.
Matt Rogers
You know what I mean? It's like these people online, quote, unquote, people online. If you think of them as not people, but as online opportunities for people. You know what I mean? Cause you're not actually talking to a human being online. You're talking to an avatar and an attitude that is put on and constructed. So it's just like, that makes you want to take the whole thing less seriously to begin with. Because it's like, these aren't people online. Even if they are operated by a human being. This is not a reflection of reality.
Bowen Yang
It's an extorted extension of, like, the way their minds work, which is. You're never going to agree with me. I can't control what they think. I'm not out here saying, like, I'm out of thanks to honey. I'm not saying, like, you better not do it.
Matt Rogers
Yeah. And then they can't see you as a person either, because they have their own thing in their own head. Yeah. I mean, social media is bad. Internet is bad. Breaking news.
Bowen Yang
God bless Australia. That little social media ban, are they doing that, love? Does that happen? Anyone under 6, anyone under 16, they don't know how they're going to. People are like, how are they going to enforce this? But I'm just glad it's out there. Yeah, I'm glad the intention was there.
Matt Rogers
I knew the intention was there. I wasn't sure if it was actually being enacted, which.
Bowen Yang
They get a couple shootings, they go, no more guns.
Matt Rogers
Yeah, exactly. I'm like, God, imagine that.
Bowen Yang
Imagine that.
Matt Rogers
And imagine an episode that took you to highs and lows like this one. Wow. Lost Coach really is a podcast that continues to grow and inspire.
Bowen Yang
Thank you to Gregory Stock, Ph.D. in what? I don't know, in being a mess and being a messy ho.
Matt Rogers
Messy ho vibes. But also. Gotta give him thought provoking.
Bowen Yang
Gotta give him thought provoking. I mean, this man was writing the book of questions before we had these little fall in love. We're not really strangers. Girls stepped onto the world stage.
Matt Rogers
Yeah. Oh, my God.
Bowen Yang
Well, maybe we'll do another episode of this down the road.
Matt Rogers
Maybe. Hey, look out for another episode. The book of questions 2.
Bowen Yang
Like wicked 2 or book of Shadows. Blair Witch.
Matt Rogers
And I want to say something. I take back everything I said about Wicked. Those animals were cgi. I know that. They just looked incredibly real, but that's just, you know, a testament to the power of filmmaking and what we call movie magic.
Bowen Yang
And can I say, I could have never convinced you that they were not real. You had to arrive at that yourself.
Matt Rogers
Something has changed within me. Something is not the same. I love her performance in that moment.
Bowen Yang
So good.
Matt Rogers
We end every episode with the song I'm through. I'm through with playing by the rules of someone else's game. Too late for second guessing, too late.
Bowen Yang
To go back to sleep.
Matt Rogers
It's time, chitchat, rush my instincts, my instincts Close my eyes.
Bowen Yang
And leave.
Matt Rogers
It's time to try, you know the soundtrack is out. Bye.
Bowen Yang
Las Colturistas is the Production by Will Ferrell's Big Money Players in iHeartRadio podcasts.
Matt Rogers
Created and hosted by Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, executive produced by Anna Hosnier.
Bowen Yang
And Han Sani, produced by Becca Ramos, edited and mixed by Doug Babe and Monique Laborde and our music is by Henry Kamirski.
Matt Rogers
Hey everybody, it's me, Matt Rogers, letting you know tickets are on sale now to see me on tour. The Prince of Christmas tour, that is. I'm doing my whole album. Have you heard of Christmas? Plus a lot more with the whole band all throughout December. Go to www.mattrogersofficial.com to see me in a city near you what if there was a way to bring some magic into your daily routine? Well, say hello to hello hello makes oral and personal care products that sprinkle a little sparkle into daily tasks. Some everyday yay kids that enjoy brushing their teeth. You savoring your deodorant? That's hello with delicious unicorn toothpaste and fantastic smelling coconut deodorant. And that's just the beginning. Pick what's best for your family at www.hello-products.com toothpaste and let hello add some everyday Yay into your life.
Kate Max
Hey guys, I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series the Running Interview show where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast Post Run High is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. Listen to Post Run high on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Courtney Thorne Smith
Hey everyone, this is Courtney Thorne Smith, Laura Layton and Daphne Zuniga. On July 8, 1992, apartment buildings with pools were never quite the same as Melrose Place was introduced to the world. We are going to be reliving every hookup, every scandal, and every single wig removal together. So listen to still the place on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Episode: "The Book Of Questions"
Release Date: December 4, 2024
Produced by Big Money Players Network and iHeartPodcasts
In the "The Book Of Questions" episode of Las Culturistas, hosts Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang delve into the profound and often challenging inquiries presented by Gregory Stock's book. Joined by producer Becca Ramos, the trio navigates through a series of thought-provoking questions that explore morality, relationships, and personal introspection.
The episode kicks off with a deep discussion on one of the book's most intense questions:
Question: "You are given the power to kill people simply by thinking of their deaths and twice repeating the word goodbye. People would die a natural death and no one would suspect you. Are there any situations in which you would use this power?"
Matt Rogers (04:46):
"If I come on here and I'm like explicitly alt right from now on. This movie is sick. They're taking people like liberal Elphaba and Yang are taking very young children to this movie that glorifies animal abuse and it stars Queer people in lead roles. And it's normalizing."
Bowen Yang (04:57):
"Wicked glorifies it."
The hosts debate the ethical implications of possessing such power, touching upon themes of self-defense, responsibility, and the inherent guilt associated with taking a life. Matt emphasizes the weight of guilt, saying:
Matt Rogers (14:57):
"That's the thing, my brain works overtime and I wouldn't be able to live with the guilt. And I don't think neither could you."
Bowen contemplates using the power for the greater good but acknowledges the moral dilemma it presents.
Next, the conversation shifts to a more personal and emotional space:
Question: "If you were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate with anyone, what would you most regret not having told someone? Why haven't you told them yet?"
Matt reflects on the intimate relationship between parent and child, expressing a deep sense of gratitude and the difficulty of verbalizing it:
Matt Rogers (25:00):
"I think that there is no more intimate relationship than if you really think about it, like the one between parent and child."
Bowen shares his cultural heritage and the sacrifices his parents made, emphasizing the immense challenges faced by immigrant families:
Bowen Yang (27:40):
"They tell me this all the time, and it's not to guilt me, but it's like they want me to internalize that, and I have, and it's just... it's so remarkable."
The discussion highlights the struggle to bridge generational gaps and the emotional weight of unspoken gratitude.
The hosts delve into what they value most in relationships, with a focus on comfort and trust:
Question: "What do you value most in a relationship?"
Bowen Yang (36:57):
"What I value most in a romantic relationship is comfort."
Matt elaborates on how comfort fosters vulnerability and trust, distinguishing it from mere honesty:
Matt Rogers (37:27):
"I think once you're comfortable, I think that's literally...that's where vulnerability comes from. That's where trust comes in."
They discuss the balance between immediate comfort and the potential oversight of red flags, emphasizing the importance of maintaining personal boundaries.
Injecting some levity, the conversation moves to a more whimsical yet still significant question:
Question: "Would you be willing to eat a bowl of live crickets for $40,000?"
Bowen Yang (45:48):
"Yes, I've had bugs in the past. Totally fine."
Matt humorously contemplates the practicalities and visual aspects of the challenge:
Matt Rogers (46:12):
"I might need to see the crickets. A bowl of live crickets is so crazy looking."
The segment highlights their ability to navigate from heavy topics to lighter, more humorous discussions seamlessly.
Addressing interpersonal frustrations, the hosts tackle chronic lateness:
Question: "If a friend were almost always late, would you resent it or simply allow for it?"
Bowen Yang (49:07):
"I've had conversations with people even after they were like, 45 minutes late once."
Matt Rogers (50:08):
"If you're over 30 minutes late all the time, it's definitely an issue."
They explore the impact of dependability on relationships, with Matt sharing a personal anecdote about feeling guilty for making someone wait:
Matt Rogers (50:47):
"I will never forget one time, years ago, I let Kathryn Cohen sit at a diner for 40 minutes waiting for me. The guilt..."
The discussion becomes introspective as Matt and Bowen share their most enjoyable dreams and worst nightmares:
Question: "What was your most enjoyable dream? Your worst nightmare?"
Bowen Yang (52:17):
"I have a dream from childhood that turned into a nightmare..."
Matt Rogers (53:58):
"I had this dream where I was a Muppet Baby in my childhood kitchen, trying to warn my mom about a monster."
They reflect on how these dreams have shaped their subconscious fears and desires, connecting back to earlier discussions about the power to kill.
Exploring the value of honesty, the hosts consider who they would question if guaranteed honest answers to any three questions:
Question: "If you were guaranteed honest responses to any three questions, who would you question and what would you ask?"
Bowen Yang (59:35):
"I don't know. This is a tough one."
Matt Rogers (60:07):
"This is a deep one...an expansive question."
The conversation underscores the complexity of seeking truth and the potential consequences of unfiltered honesty.
The hosts discuss how encountering new experiences affects their comfort levels:
Question: "Does the fact that you have never done something before increase or decrease its appeal to you?"
Bowen Yang (60:38):
"At this point, I have felt thrills of all kinds. I'm good with something even. I'm good with boring."
Matt Rogers (60:45):
"I think that this question is scarcity mindset."
They acknowledge the balance between seeking new experiences and valuing established comforts.
Closing with a controversial question, the hosts discuss the morality of causing others pain:
Question: "If you could use a voodoo doll to hurt anyone you chose, would you?"
Matt Rogers (63:07):
"I don't want to hurt people. I really don't."
Bowen Yang (63:35):
"No, I think this book is so cursed."
They debate the ethical boundaries of intentional harm versus self-defense, reinforcing earlier themes of guilt and responsibility.
Throughout the episode, Matt and Bowen intertwine personal anecdotes with philosophical debates, offering listeners a candid exploration of their values and ethical standpoints. The inclusion of producer Becca adds depth, providing additional perspectives and facilitating a balanced dialogue.
Notable Insights:
Guilt as a Moral Compass: Both hosts highlight how guilt plays a crucial role in deterring harmful actions, indicating an innate sense of morality.
Trust and Comfort in Relationships: The discussion emphasizes that trust is foundational to any meaningful relationship, and maintaining comfort does not equate to ignoring potential issues.
Cultural and Generational Gaps: Bowen’s reflections on his immigrant family's sacrifices shed light on the complexities of intergenerational relationships and cultural expectations.
Notable Quotes:
Matt Rogers (14:57):
"That's the thing, my brain works overtime and I wouldn't be able to live with the guilt."
Bowen Yang (27:40):
"They tell me this all the time, and it's not to guilt me, but it's like they want me to internalize that."
Matt Rogers (37:27):
"I think once you're comfortable, I think that's literally...that's where vulnerability comes from. That's where trust comes in."
Matt Rogers (50:47):
"I will never forget one time, years ago, I let Kathryn Cohen sit at a diner for 40 minutes waiting for me. The guilt..."
Beyond the primary questions, the hosts touch upon the influence of media, personal growth, and societal expectations. They also briefly critique aspects of pop culture, referencing the Wicked film adaptation and drawing parallels to their personal lives and careers.
Matt Rogers on Wicked (68:04 - 69:05):
"I take back everything I said about Wicked. Those animals were CGI. That's just a testament to the power of filmmaking."
This exchange highlights the hosts' willingness to reassess their opinions and engage in self-reflection.
Las Culturistas’s "The Book Of Questions" episode offers a compelling mix of deep philosophical discussions and personal narratives. Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, supported by Becca Ramos, navigate through challenging ethical dilemmas and intimate reflections, providing listeners with both entertainment and food for thought. The episode underscores the complexity of human morality, the importance of trust in relationships, and the ongoing journey of self-discovery.
Final Thought:
Matt Rogers (81:58):
"This book is so cursed."
The candid and sometimes intense conversations make this episode one of the most memorable, pushing the boundaries of typical pop-culture discussions and inviting listeners to ponder their own answers to life's most challenging questions.