Ghosts & Thank You Notes with Eric

Summary

Laugh With Me – “Ghosts & Thank You Notes with Eric”

Host: Jeremy Odom
Guest: Eric Larson (2025 “Guest of the Year”)
Release Date: April 23, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode of Laugh With Me, host Jeremy Odom welcomes returning guest Eric Larson—2025's "Guest of the Year" and self-professed transportation industry giant—for a wide-ranging and hilariously candid conversation. The pair reunite to dissect Jeremy’s latest comedic bits, swap stories about ghost encounters (or the lack thereof), revisit their radio days, and debate the power of thank you notes. The banter veers from the supernatural to the deeply mundane, with digressions into kids’ indifference, pets, prostate exams, and the transformative power of "ball pocket" underwear.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Podcasting vs. Radio and Family Ties

• Podcast Format: The duo riff on how podcasting is "the new new radio" and joke about the freedoms (and curses) of the medium (03:00–03:19).
• Generational Disconnect: Jeremy reveals his kids’ total lack of interest in his podcasting/radio background—“I asked, ‘Would you wear a Laugh With Me shirt?’ He goes, ‘Absolutely not.’” (09:26)
• Theme Song Burns: Jeremy’s daughter savages the new theme song:
  • Jeremy: “What do you mean?”
  • Hattie: “Well, it does sound like you.” (11:04)

2. Workplace Lessons: The Power of a Thank You Note

• Origin Story: Jeremy recounts losing a radio job to “Spicoli” because Spicoli sent a thank you note after the interview—and Jeremy didn’t.
  • "One of the reasons I didn’t get the job is because I didn’t send a thank you note after the interview. And he did. So there you go, lesson learned." – Jeremy (04:34)
• Life Lesson Transmission: Jeremy frames this as his “villain origin story”—his children love retelling it (04:01–04:34).

3. Radio Nostalgia: Quirks, Bits, and Bill Stewart

• Eric recalls interviewing for “music director” wearing a white shirt and black tie.
• Legendary radio manager Bill Stewart pins “pilot wings” onto him mid-interview:
  • “Kind of like, where do you get the pilot’s wings? But it was a radio station…random stuff would wash in.” – Eric (08:10)
• Lesson: “You should never ask, ‘Why do they have this at the radio station?’ They just have stuff.” – Jeremy (08:30)

4. Ghosts, Skepticism, and the Supernatural

• Belief Divide:
  • Eric: “I don’t necessarily believe in ghosts.” (12:44)
  • Jeremy: “Oh, see, that’s the thing. I do believe in ghosts…I do believe in, like, kind of supernatural, like, elements of things, you know, foreign energy, if you will…” (12:55)
• Wrestling Metaphor: Jeremy likens “ghost energy” to the surprise appearance of a kendo stick in wrestling (13:47).
• Test of Skepticism: Jeremy tries to pin down where Eric sits between aliens and ghosts as “supernatural beliefs”:
  • Eric: “Oh, I lean much heavier towards the aliens.” (19:01)
  • Jeremy: “So, like, God, pretty close to ghosts?”
  • Eric: “Yeah…I’m agnostic...I see no proof of [souls] and really no reason to entertain it...” (20:07)

5. Animal Empathy, Intelligence & The Limits of the Mind

• Discussion: Can pets sense human emotion?
• Eric’s Take: Points to scientific studies—some animals show empathy, but humans’ “mental superpower” is the ability to ask questions and be curious (23:55).
• “There’s no amount of training that could make a gorilla start a podcast…That ape is never going to be like, ‘I want to be Jeremy Odom.’” – Eric (24:23)

6. Ghost Hunting Story: The Indian Burial Ground

• Eric’s Story:
  • Remembers co-hosting a college radio Halloween stunt: ghost hunters, EMF readers, and alleged haunted grounds (29:30–47:11).
  • Classic Bit: Eric, a skeptic, taunts “ghosts” with inflammatory language to provoke readings:
    • “I started yelling out some inflammatory remarks, some insults.” (40:01)
    • EMF scanner “started going insane…like redlining on the far end.” (40:34)
    • “They kept telling me to shut up…[but] I had to keep going." (40:43–40:48)
• Retroactive Jinxing: Jeremy speculates that Eric’s ghost-taunting may have “jinxed” his favorite sports teams with bad luck (42:01–42:39).

7. Thank You Note Hierarchies (with Humor)

• Jeremy & Eric construct a tongue-in-cheek thank-you hierarchy:
  • From “no thank you” (worst) up to “Hallmark card with a $5 bill.” (44:07–45:03)
• Jeremy: “Like, I’ve got to send a card.”
• Eric: “Typed up letter, then handwritten letter…then Hallmark card…with $5.”

8. Health, Colonoscopies & Underwear Innovations

(Yes, this is legit half the show’s vibe.)

• Medical Tales:
  • Jeremy overshares about being anemic, hospital experiences, proctology exams, colonoscopies, and how “redheads are harder to knock out” (50:00–56:48).
  • Suggests Eric join him for a “colonoscopies party” inspired by “Tom Hanks, Steve Martin, and Martin Short” (56:52–57:17).
• Underwear with Ball Pockets:
  • Jeremy evangelizes about “ball pocket underwear:”
    • “It was life changing when I put on my first pair. I haven’t taken them off since…literally, I’m wearing the same pair.” (63:06–64:23)
  • Eric’s reply: “That explains the smell, I thought it was a fart.” (64:23)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Parenting Indifference:
  • “I asked, ‘Would you wear a Laugh With Me shirt?’ He goes, ‘Absolutely not.’” (09:26) — Jeremy
• On Ghost Hunting:
  • “I started yelling out some inflammatory remarks, some insults…And the scanner started going insane.” (40:01–40:34) — Eric
• Thank You Note Wisdom:
  • “One of the reasons I didn’t get the job is because I didn’t send a thank you note after the interview. And he did. So there you go, lesson learned.” (04:34) — Jeremy
• On Podcasting vs. Radio:
  • “Podcasts. The new radio. New new radio.” (32:35) — Eric
• On Colonoscopies:
  • “Colonoscopies are not a finger up the butt. You’re sleeping the whole time. It’s the most incredible sleep you’ve ever had.” (54:28) — Jeremy
• On Ball Pocket Underwear:
  • “It was life-changing when I put on my first pair. I haven’t taken them off since…literally, I’m wearing the same pair.” (64:23) — Jeremy
  • “That explains the smell, I thought it was a fart.” (64:28) — Eric

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Important Timestamps

• 03:00 – The “new new radio”: Podcasting liberations, cursing, old radio days
• 04:00 – The thank you note job lesson: parenting, villain origin story
• 06:56 – Eric gets “pilot wings” in a radio interview, quirkiness of radio stations
• 12:44 – Ghost beliefs: Jeremy vs. Eric
• 19:01 – Scale from aliens to ghosts; Eric’s spiritual agnosticism
• 23:54 – Animal intelligence and curiosity
• 29:29 – Eric’s ghost-hunting college radio story
• 44:07 – Thank you note scale/hierarchy
• 50:00 – Colonoscopy/prostate exam funny stories
• 62:09 – Ball pocket underwear, “underwear innovation” banter
• 64:41 – Closing: “Ghosts…Ghost, baby!”

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Tone & Style

• Loose, Comedic, Self-Deprecating: Both men lean hard into dry wit, sarcasm, and exaggeration; the conversation is unfiltered and sharply observational.
• Digressive & Tangential: Frequent sidebars (ball pockets, creatine, philosophy of animal empathy) but always with a comedic throughline.
• Camaraderie: Underlying chemistry and “rivalry-turned-bromance” from shared radio/podcasting past.

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For New Listeners

This episode is emblematic of what Laugh With Me does best: meandering, authentic conversation anchored by life lessons, old radio stories, and honest laughs about mortality, masculinity, and the very relatable struggle of trying to get your family to care about your podcast. Expect irreverent humor, a touch of nostalgia, and plenty of insight delivered in the "original language" of two friends refusing to take much of anything too seriously.

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Skip to 29:29 for the highlight “ghost hunting” story, or catch the full episode for all the gags, life advice, and offbeat wisdom on friendship, belief, and thank you etiquette.

Transcript

[Sanjana Bhasker]

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[Jeremy Odom]

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[Diana Maria Riva]

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[Jeremy Odom]

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[Jeremy Odom]

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[Diana Maria Riva]

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[Jeremy Odom]

Liberty.

[Diana Maria Riva]

Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, and on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X squad. From Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic bs, unfiltered conversations from night sweats to fupas to scheduling sex. Wait, what sex? Is it just me or does every woman my age want to look at Pinterest instead of having sex? Sometimes they say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter. Listen to How Hard Can It Be With Diana Maria Riva on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Jeremy Odom]

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[Jeremy Odom]

Almost spilled that beer all over me. That would have been a hot start.

[Eric Larson]

You know, this is radio. You don't. Or podcasting, I should say.

[Jeremy Odom]

This is radio.

[Eric Larson]

You. You don't have to. You don't have to state that.

[Jeremy Odom]

This is the. Oh, that's right. I just gave it all away. This is the new. This is the new radio, right? Podcast.

[Eric Larson]

Kind of. Kind of.

[Jeremy Odom]

They used to say satellite radio was the new radio, but this is probably the new radio.

[Eric Larson]

Can you curse?

[Jeremy Odom]

Oh, yeah. You could curse up a storm. Yeah, I mean, don't.

[Eric Larson]

I mean, it sounds like the new, new radio.

[Jeremy Odom]

Then this is. So you can curse. Can you curse on satellite? Yeah, sure you can. Howard Stern does.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah. I think that was the whole reason he went there.

[Jeremy Odom]

Oh, speaking. Howard. I. Well, obviously I've seen the movie Private Parts before, but I rewatched it a couple nights ago.

[Eric Larson]

Hold up.

[Jeremy Odom]

God, it holds up so good.

[Eric Larson]

Do. Have your kids ever seen it?

[Jeremy Odom]

No, they've never seen it.

[Eric Larson]

Do you think they'd understand it? Do you think they'd watch the early, like, powered on in the 80s and you think they'd be like, yeah, I got an understanding what that would be like.

[Jeremy Odom]

They've never, to my knowledge, seen Howard Stern. Old stuff, new stuff. I don't even know that they would know who Howard is.

[Eric Larson]

Do they have. Do they have any understanding of what you do?

[Jeremy Odom]

Of what I do?

[Eric Larson]

Yeah. Do they understand that you are on the radio at one point?

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah, they do. They do know that, because.

[Eric Larson]

Do your kids show any interest in you at all?

[Jeremy Odom]

Not much. They. They do. I. Let me tell you about my kids. They do know I used to be on the radio because they like to tell the story that Baccoi and I competed for a job and he got it. So they do enjoy that story because they listen to Baccoi in the mornings on the way to school. So they.

[Eric Larson]

The first thing I had, the first thought I had with that is just kind of like a Marvel movie. Like, that's. That's almost like they're sharing your villain origin story. Like, why is your dad the way he is? Well, let me tell you, way back in 2003.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah. And I gave him a good lesson. I was like. And one of the reasons I didn't get the jobs, because I didn't send in a thank you note after the interview. And he did. And so there you go, lesson learned. Send a thank you note. So this. Who knew it was going to be 23 years later that the lesson was passed on, but it was passed on.

[Eric Larson]

I'm surprised that you learned your lesson off of that.

[Jeremy Odom]

Of course I did.

[Eric Larson]

I feel like you made that up.

[Jeremy Odom]

True story. Shout out Bill Stewart. He pulled me aside, actually, I was on the air. I was actually on the air when he came in the air studio and was like, we're going this direction, blah, blah, blah. Here's. Here's what you didn't do and what he did do. Yeah. True story.

[Laugh With Me Theme Singer]

When the rent's past due and the car won't start Laugh with me when the only sponsor my broken heart we're hanging on this janky stream Two weird voices in the glow of a screen if the world won't sing then let it laugh with me

[Jeremy Odom]

welcome back. It's a brand new episode. This is Laugh With Me, a podcast with Jeremy Odom and I'm your host.

[Laugh With Me Theme Singer]

Jeremy stares at the stats and shaking over takeout boxes. Johnny's already mapping hotels on a napkin with crazy crosses. They quit jobs to hate it, Tell their bosses, catch the show. Boss just shrugs, hope it's funny. Johnny grins.

[Jeremy Odom]

You'll never know. Hey, it's Jo. And we've got a new episode with an old guest and I'm not talking about his age. Okay? This is a guy who is the 2025 guest of the year. He is a giant in the transportation industry. He is the fifth speaker at Central and a former fantasy football champion. Did I miss anything, Eric?

[Tab Ramos]

That.

[Eric Larson]

That is the life achievement list right there.

[Jeremy Odom]

That's it. That's, that's, that is all of it right there. But we're going to make sure we keep adding to it. Ladies and gentlemen, Eric Larson. So there you go.

[Eric Larson]

I interviewed with him to just to hold one of the positions at the radio station, the music director, my second year and I. So I got, I wore a button up shirt. You know, I had the tie, dress,

[Jeremy Odom]

shirt, all that stuff as one does,

[Eric Larson]

you know, I had no sense of style even back then. So it was a white shirt, black tie. And in the middle of the interview for this position, Bill Stewart pulled out like the pilot wings that they give to like little kids to like pin on their shirts.

[Jeremy Odom]

He gave it to you?

[Eric Larson]

Yeah, he gave it to me and had me put it on my shirt so I could look like a, like

[Jeremy Odom]

a pilot, you know, he'd been dying that whole interview to pull out that bit yeah. And he waited until then.

[Eric Larson]

I'm just glad he's not pilot, because, I mean, mortician also would have been,

[Jeremy Odom]

you know, Or a Mormon.

[Eric Larson]

Yes. Did I talk to you about Jesus today?

[Jeremy Odom]

That's where I thought you were heading with that. He. He busted out pilot wings. I just. I just know, knowing Bill, he was dying to. To run that bit as soon as he saw you, and he found an appropriate spot to pull them out.

[Eric Larson]

And it's kind of one of those things, too, where, like, you kind of ask the question, like, where do you get the pilot's wings? Like, and. But it was a radio station. I mean, just random stuff would. It was like. Yeah, it was like the metal detector guys, like, on the beach. Like, just random stuff would wash into the radio station and going through the drawers or going through anything, and there was an adventure.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah, I don't think there's any. Like, you should never ask the question of, why do they have this at the radio station? There's just stuff, and they have it, and at the time that they got it, it made sense at the time that it was handed off to somebody. Like in this one. It doesn't. But that's okay. That's just the way radio stations work. They just have stuff.

[Eric Larson]

This would be a good metaphor for life, for you to share your kids. I mean, not the radio part, but just. Hey.

[Jeremy Odom]

Just everything.

[Eric Larson]

You know, sometimes weird stuff's gonna happen to you in life, but that stuff, you can pull it out at the weirdest moments, and it'll work.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah. So you asked, like, if they even know what I do or ask questions. No, I mean, they do know what I do. Like, had. He's been on the pod. But I asked. I was like, braden, what if, like, you're in school, you know, he's in high school now. Like, you see a kid wearing a Laugh With Me T shirt. Like, what's. Like, are you gonna be like, hey, that's my dad's show? And he's like, oh, no. Absolutely not. I was like, well, will you wear a Laugh With Me shirt? He goes, absolutely not. Well, geez.

[Eric Larson]

I'm surprised he didn't answer more truthfully. See somebody in a Laugh With Me shirt. Dad, what are you doing at school?

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah, it would have to be me, but, yeah, that's. That's kind of where they're at. I mean, but this is the kind of relationship we have, though. Like, Hattie's my biggest bully in life. Like, you probably think you're my biggest bully and have been for as long as we've known each other. Hattie is my biggest bully and by far. But then, and vice versa, I feed it like I saw an airplane flying in the sky yesterday. I took a picture of it and I sent it to her and in all caps, I said, not again. And she, she's just like. And this is why you are the way you are. Like, no, dad, no, stop.

[Eric Larson]

It's, you know, in like boxing or mma, any of that, you know, they have the weight classes because it's not fair to have, you know, heavyweight fighting, lightweight.

[Jeremy Odom]

Right?

[Eric Larson]

It's not fair to compare my bullying techniques with a teenage girl.

[Jeremy Odom]

I don't know. I don't know. I. They're brutal. I mean, they're cutthroat without knowing their cutthroat. Like you have life experience to know what, what really hurts. And I don't know that she knows the pain quite yet that she's causing, you know?

[Eric Larson]

Cheers.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah, I don't know, it's. That's tough out there, but. Yeah, but they do. I think they, I think they get excited. Like, I play the new, you know, we got the new theme song. Have you heard the new theme song?

[Eric Larson]

No.

[Jeremy Odom]

Okay. I played the new theme song for him. And you know, hats is just like, like, no. And I'm like, what do you mean? She goes, well, it does sound like you. I'm like, that it fits the show perfect.

[Eric Larson]

Only a teenage girl could make that sound like a put down. Like we've been told our whole life. Just, just make it sound like you just make it.

[Jeremy Odom]

I'm like, I feel like it fits my vibe. It's a style of music I like, like, it just fits the show's energy. And she is just like, yeah, yeah. And I go, well, heads, there's like a six and a half minute version of the song. And she's like, yeah, I bet there is, dad. I bet there is. I'm like, you don't even care to hear it, do you? Nope. But yeah, we'll have to play the new theme song.

[Eric Larson]

I'm excited.

[Jeremy Odom]

I tell you what, Johnny, the. Well, the Pepper Spray Singers, they. They do the song, but they do all the music. But Johnny, Johnny's direction on this is just top notch lately. He is. He's playing at an all time level, I would say.

[Eric Larson]

It sounds like he's leveling up here, like in front of us. It, I mean, you. It's kind of the, the cycle of life, the chain here. I bully you. You bullied Johnny.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah.

[Eric Larson]

And now we're Starting to see the results for it, which makes it all worth it.

[Jeremy Odom]

It really is. It really is worth it. I feel. I feel proud to have the little guy on the show. Or the big guy, depending on what size of pants you deem small. But, yeah, that's. He's. He's a good. He's a good fellow. It's good to see his work coming around.

[Eric Larson]

Someday maybe he'll. He'll level up enough that I can make fun of him directly.

[Jeremy Odom]

I hope so. I sure hope so. Speaking of ghosts, we. We said we were gonna talk about ghosts today.

[Eric Larson]

Okay.

[Jeremy Odom]

You got any ghost stories for us?

[Eric Larson]

Oh, no, I can't. I can't be first on this. See, I don't necessarily believe in ghosts, okay? But I know 100 that you do.

[Jeremy Odom]

Oh, see, that's the thing. I do believe in ghosts. Yes, I do believe. I do believe in ghosts. I do believe in, like, kind of supernatural, like, elements of things, you know, foreign energy, if you will, very similar to the foreign object that you might find, like, in a. In a pro wrestling match. It's something that you weren't expecting to be there, but then here it is. So, yeah, I. I would say, you know, you're in a house, and it doesn't even have to be, like, in the dark or at night. Like, I believe that ghosts and that. That foreign energy can happen really, at any moment, at any time. Something you're not expecting, something that can't be explained. I believe it. I also believe that there's really aliens out there.

[Eric Larson]

And just to, you know, use your. Your same wrestling metaphor. See, I think you're. You're kind of. You're suspending disbelief or you're creating these things. Just, like, how. Why is under a wrestling rink the only place you can find, you know, kendo stick.

[Jeremy Odom]

A kendo stick. Isn't that wonderful?

[Eric Larson]

I feel like you hear a creak in the house and you're like, ghost. Like, how did that ghost get in here? That's got to be a ghost, right?

[Jeremy Odom]

There's two. Two things in life that are true. If you hear a weird noise in your house, gotta be a ghost. And if you need a weapon in a wrestling match, kendo stick. Like, that's done deal. The only. The only absolutes in life. So do you do believe in ghosts, then?

[Eric Larson]

No. No.

[Jeremy Odom]

Oh, you don't at all?

[Eric Larson]

No.

[Jeremy Odom]

Would you say? All right, all right. We're gonna. We're gonna put this to a test here. I'm trying to figure how we're gonna rate this. So all right, so from on the scale of aliens to ghosts, hey, I'm Diana Maria Riva.

[Diana Maria Riva]

Actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a perimenopausal chin hair you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast, how Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva? Where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic bs. All of a sudden, I had hanging

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That one's kind of hard. No. Well, that's lighting.

[Diana Maria Riva]

They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure gonna try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter, and dive into it unfiltered and unbothered, and ask, how hard can it be?

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[Diana Maria Riva]

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Again, we are experts. So make sure to tune into Pod meets Twirl for all our Survivor features 50 takes. Listen to Pod Meets Twirl on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Eric Larson]

Oh, I lean much heavier towards the aliens.

[Jeremy Odom]

Okay, so then where. Where in between of aliens to ghosts, would you put, like.

[Eric Larson]

Like, God, pretty close to ghosts?

[Jeremy Odom]

Okay, that's kind of what I was thinking. So you. All right. So to you, the. The supernatural is very similar to, like, any belief. Any belief system. All right, yeah, that's kind of what I figured. Now, I. I do believe in ghosts just because of the unknown. Like, who knows what happens after you die, where you go, if you go anywhere. I mean, we know the physical being remains, but. And is essentially disposed of. But then where does your. Where does your being go? I mean, everybody talks about, like, their. Their soul, you know, they have so. Or do you believe that nobody has a soul?

[Eric Larson]

Yeah, I would say. I would say so.

[Jeremy Odom]

Okay, so. Oh, you. Wait, hold on. You were saying. So clarify that. No soul.

[Eric Larson]

I. So I Always say I'm kind of, I believe the term is agnostic.

[Jeremy Odom]

Okay.

[Eric Larson]

I'm not, I'm not opposed to the idea of a soul, that these things exist. But I see no, no proof of it and really no reason to entertain it because I don't think like even if you had a soul, I don't think that it has any bearing on a normal everyday life.

[Jeremy Odom]

So when somebody has like a out of body experience while they're alive in something that just like a musician has just an all time performance that they've never done before and there's no way they'll ever achieve this, this level ever again, but it happens. And they call this, this out of body experience where it's just they leveled up to a level they'll never be again. How do you explain that?

[Eric Larson]

Well, I mean this is, that's a broad statement. But I mean, you know, musicians do a lot of drugs too. Like why were the, you know, the Beatles more creative when they started doing drugs recreationally? You know, I think there's a lot that could be explained by oxygen loss to your brain. A lot that could be, you know, just whatever the medical emergency that you're hap. That's happening to you. We know that the brain likes to play tricks on us. We know that the brain likes to engineer scenarios. I mean we have dreams like so we know that the brain is not always the most trustworthy organ, you know, in our body. It's the one that gives us imagination.

[Jeremy Odom]

Isn't it wild to your point? Like the brain appears to have just endless possibilities. Yeah, right. Isn't it wild that then that brain can't create something that will have endless possibilities? Like people talk about A.I.

[Eric Larson]

oh yeah.

[Jeremy Odom]

And they're just like, well A.I. can only create what it knows, which is just what the brain tells it. But is the brain like that too? Like is the brain only knows what it's told? Or can the brain create something out of thin air and it's a new thing that's never been done before?

[Eric Larson]

I mean, see, I think maybe the tough part about that is, and this is always it's, it's an interesting topic from the studies that have been done. So when they are doing studies or tests on like animal intelligence, one of the tests that they always do is to show the animal like a mirror and see if it like recognizes that what it's looking at in its reflection is it, you know, so they'll judge like reactions. Like maybe they'll put, you know, they're doing it to a Cat, maybe they'll put something, you know, on its collar that's, like, hanging over its ear and see if it sees it in the mirror and then tries to, like, react to it.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yep.

[Eric Larson]

And there are some animals that pass it, and there are some animals that, like a bird. Oh, well, that's just. That's just another. That's another bird. Like, I'm gonna fight it. Or, you know, some dogs, like, you know, who. Who the heck is that guy?

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah.

[Eric Larson]

But when we have, like, higher intelligence, like, you know, they have gorillas and stuff that we've taught hundreds of words in sign language. So, like, they have a lot of, you know, apes and stuff that can ask for water or can acknowledge, you know, or say, like a parrot can say words and that the one thing that they've never found from any of those animals that have these huge vocabularies is, like, the ability to ask a question like it. So, you know, an orangutan or a gorilla can say, hey, I need water, or I'd like to eat, or, you know, that person, you know, this is my friend. But they've never shown, like, curiosity to ask, like, hey, what do you think? Or what? You know, like, what, why, who, when, how?

[Jeremy Odom]

Like, how was your day? They don't know.

[Eric Larson]

So that almost seems like the superpower of our brain.

[Jeremy Odom]

Okay.

[Eric Larson]

Is that it has that curiosity to basically think through these scenarios or in a lot of our cases, overthink through these scenarios. But, you know, you. You can't. There's no amount of training that could make a gorilla start a podcast. You know, like, you could put a microphone in front of them. You could bring them to it. But that. That ape is never going to be like, I want to be Jeremy Odom.

[Jeremy Odom]

What?

[Eric Larson]

I could be Jeremy Odom.

[Jeremy Odom]

That sounds like a challenge.

[Eric Larson]

So, like, I think that that's, you know, could we. I don't know that we have the ability right now. Like, could we recreate, you know, cat's brain or a gorilla's brain, Something that doesn't have imagination, that's probably far within our grasp, but, like, the computing power to figure out.

[Jeremy Odom]

It sounds like what they lack is emotion, empathy. Because I think that. Because a lot of the questions, you know, the, why. Why are you doing this? Or. Or how are you doing? Or what.

[Eric Larson]

What.

[Jeremy Odom]

What are you doing? And things like that sometimes are. A lot of times are rooted in emotion, and it seems like they're very basic black and white of I do this. And here's.

[Eric Larson]

You know, I mean, I would probably defer to you on that because you're the pet owner. You've had a lot of pets.

[Jeremy Odom]

I do have pets.

[Eric Larson]

You know, I. I think the Internet especially, is full of scenarios where people say they get diagnosed with a deadly disease or they get. You know, a loved one died, right? And their animal knows or senses or, hey, this cat never cuddles.

[Jeremy Odom]

But now it does.

[Eric Larson]

But this one night, this really bad thing happened, and all of a sudden, this cat, like, is clingy, like, because it can sense.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah.

[Eric Larson]

Something's wrong.

[Jeremy Odom]

I don't know that I've ever experienced.

[Eric Larson]

Would that be empathy?

[Jeremy Odom]

Anything where. I think it would be. I. I've personally never experienced anything where the animals have shown that level of love when I've been down that I can remember now. What.

[Eric Larson]

What about your children?

[Jeremy Odom]

They tend to stay in their rooms.

[Eric Larson]

Pick yourself up. Geez, this is.

[Jeremy Odom]

So you walk it off. No, I think. You know, it's funny. I. You know, I. I received a iron IV yesterday, and I was telling them, I'm like, hey, tomorrow I'm gonna get some. Get some blood, because this is a big deal, you know, and it's old hat to them now. They're just like, oh, yeah, cool. And. And I'm like, maybe I'll get my hearing back. And, you know, because I don't have a hearing in my left side still. And they're. They're like, yeah, yeah, maybe. And it's like, to them, dad's just sick. Like, he's just always sick. He's always getting blood. Like it's. It's old hat, yo. You know, this is a normal experience years ago or. Or even. I think the only. The only time now that it really triggers them is like, when I have to have a hospital stay, which is super rare. No, but if I. If I have that, then they're like, oh, yeah, that's. It must be serious. But yeah. Anymore. Just like, yeah, okay, but when are you gonna be able to play basketball? Good question. I don't know. I. I've experienced more of my. My pets dying than I have them being able to show some empathy towards me. But, yeah, you know, what are you gonna do? So, yeah, ghosts. I. We heard a noise just before we started recording here. That's what got us talking about ghosts. I. I don't know if that was a. I would have. I had my headphones on. Did you even hear the noise?

[Eric Larson]

Yeah. Yes.

[Jeremy Odom]

Okay. I. I thought I had the headphones on, and I. I thought for sure it was the door opening. Look over. Sure. Enough. It's not. But it sounded pretty loud. I don't know. What'd you think it was?

[Eric Larson]

I mean, it wasn't like loud loud,

[Jeremy Odom]

but to me it was a.

[Eric Larson]

It was a. No, it sounded like a house noise to me.

[Jeremy Odom]

Oh, okay. House noise.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah.

[Jeremy Odom]

So what's a house noise to you? Just like.

[Eric Larson]

Just like a creaking of board settling. I don't know, foundation settling. You know, before the air conditioner turns on. You know, sometimes the, you know, when it's rattling up, it might cause some noises. Like, I live in an apartment. Like, I hear weird noises all the time.

[Jeremy Odom]

What kind of noises you get at the apartment?

[Eric Larson]

Well, some of them. I can tell what they're doing.

[Jeremy Odom]

What are they doing with you?

[Eric Larson]

Playing video games way too late. Yeah, I always think so. You know, we talked about our experiences way back in the day on the radio. So friend of the pod Grant, him and I had this show where we'd bring on, you know, non radio people six minutes of fame and we give them control. They could play their music. We'd interview them during this. And so we brought some ghost hunters on there. So they had the equipment, like the Ghostbusters, like the, you know, handheld thing that would, you know, read midichlorians or, you know, whatever the.

[Jeremy Odom]

Hold on.

[Eric Larson]

Ghost stuff is before you finish your story.

[Jeremy Odom]

We were going to do this whole podcast about ghosts and you weren't even going to bring this up? It just fell into your lap beer?

[Eric Larson]

Oh, no. I've been trying to get to it. It's just.

[Jeremy Odom]

You.

[Eric Larson]

You just won't shut up.

[Jeremy Odom]

Oh, geez. It's my show.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah, you're.

[Jeremy Odom]

I. I get to talk. It's my show.

[Eric Larson]

You're allergic to dead air. You keep, you know, just charging into the gap.

[Jeremy Odom]

Hey, dead air is dead money. You gotta keep it rolling.

[Eric Larson]

See, I thought. I thought maybe you would get more if the podcast was longer.

[Jeremy Odom]

More money. Yeah, yeah, but you, you know, if I just. If we just quit talking right now for.

[Eric Larson]

I don't know, if you ever. If you ever listen to like, Rush Limbaugh or like any of those, like the political guys.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah, they have pause.

[Eric Larson]

Oh, they. It takes them about a minute to get, like three sentences done. Yeah, they're always kind of teasing like, hey, in the next five minutes, I'm going to explain how to fix the country.

[Jeremy Odom]

I have wondered if, one, it's just their delivery, or two, it's their way to stretch out what is a very simple topic. They don't have much to say about it.

[Eric Larson]

Well, I mean, they're having to make, like, 250 episodes a year.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah.

[Eric Larson]

So they got to be talking about the same thing over and over and over.

[Jeremy Odom]

Should we. Should we. We go daily? Should we do this daily? What?

[Eric Larson]

Do you think we could get Rush Limbaugh's ghost on to comment?

[Jeremy Odom]

Hold on. Rush Limbaugh's dead?

[Eric Larson]

Yes.

[Jeremy Odom]

What?

[Eric Larson]

He's been dead for a while.

[Jeremy Odom]

Are you kidding me right now? No, I. I'm just finding out that Rush Limbaugh's dead. Yeah, well, that's gonna sit with me for a bit.

[Eric Larson]

You didn't even know. You didn't know if he was dead or alive yet. This is an impact to you.

[Jeremy Odom]

You just assume the guy's alive? I mean, do you just. Like I just saw today, I'm. I'm at the. The nursery. Not. Not for children, but for, like, plants. So we're picking out plants. Right. And I'm scrolling at the cash register. One of the guys from Storage wars died today. Did you watch Storage wars back in the day? You didn't? No. You don't know? Not a reality TV guy?

[Eric Larson]

No.

[Jeremy Odom]

Well, he died, and that. That hit me hard. It was just like, this guy. I mean, to me, he's just as important to television as Ryan Seacrest. I mean, it's a big deal.

[Eric Larson]

So you're telling me that when you went home after hearing this noise or this news and you just laid on the floor, that none of the animals came up? More like, what are you doing?

[Jeremy Odom]

Not one.

[Eric Larson]

Okay.

[Jeremy Odom]

And in fact, the dog wanted to play. I'm just like, are you seeing me? I'm grieving. And now I'm grieving Rush to the ball.

[Eric Larson]

I don't know if that sentence has ever been stated.

[Jeremy Odom]

This is gonna be like, when Tucker Carlson dies.

[Eric Larson]

Is he in that same league?

[Jeremy Odom]

Don't you think they're kind of the same?

[Eric Larson]

Yeah, I mean, they're the same kind of personality. But I think. I think Rush was a. He was so high on the totem pole. It's kind of like. It's kind of like saying, you know, like, newscasters, like the Dan Rathers that we grew up with.

[Jeremy Odom]

True.

[Eric Larson]

Like, does a cb. Like, do you care who hosts the CBS Evening News anymore?

[Jeremy Odom]

No.

[Eric Larson]

Like, before you, you had Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw, and you had all these, like, big names.

[Jeremy Odom]

Big names. Bigger.

[Eric Larson]

Like, who are they? Like, nobody watches it. It doesn't matter anymore. Yeah, I would say that's the same thing with. With, you know, Rush and Tucker. All is. I mean, Joe Rogan I think would probably be more comparable to a Rush Limbaugh than. Than this.

[Jeremy Odom]

That's because podcasts are big.

[Eric Larson]

Yep. Podcasts. The new radio. New new radio.

[Jeremy Odom]

It's the new new radio. Didn't rush them bot. Didn't he do, like, he was like, one of the main commentators on Monday Night Football once?

[Eric Larson]

Yeah, I think one season espn.

[Jeremy Odom]

Or was it ESPN or abc? Whoever had it at that time. Yeah, that's. That's wild to think that. I mean, even Dennis Miller, I would say.

[Eric Larson]

I was about to say Dennis Miller was the other one that I was thinking of. Of just, hey, we're just going to bring in an entertainer of some sort.

[Jeremy Odom]

What are we doing?

[Eric Larson]

Hope that he brings his Monday. Monday Night Football and Sunday Night Football for the longest time had the weakest announcing cruise.

[Jeremy Odom]

Crazy. Yeah. Now it's like they have the tippy top, but holy cow, just wild to think Rush Limbaugh, who's dead, by the way, was a Monday Night Football announcer first season. This is crazy. Anyway, you see some ghost hunters on.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah, so we had these ghost hunters on. We really enjoyed the show that we did with them. You know, they would go and stay overnight at, like, old churches or, you know, graveyards and that kind of stuff and go around and take their readings and do that kind of stuff.

[Jeremy Odom]

They do this for fun or, like, people hired them.

[Eric Larson]

They did it for fun. I think they were like a club. They were a bunch of enthusiasts, I

[Jeremy Odom]

guess you would say, like Bigfoot enthusiasts.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah, yeah. Except these people were ghosts. So we had always been told, you know, that the river, that the Iowa Western campus had old Indian burial ground outside. So we. And I. I forget if they mentioned it or if it was just, you know, common knowledge that, you know, all students were told on enrollment. But for some reason, we had reason to believe that there was an Indian burial ground on the campus. Okay. So for the Halloween episode, Grant and I brought these guys on and we went out, we were doing live reports while your. Your friend Spicoli, who had by this time beaten you, you know, was back in the studio and would do like live cut ins to us as we were. As we were finding this stuff out.

[Jeremy Odom]

Did you have to bring that up?

[Diana Maria Riva]

Hey, I'm Diana Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life one hot flash and hormonal, crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a perimenopausal chin hair you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my New podcast, How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva, where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic bs. All of a sudden, I'd had hanging

[Jeremy Odom]

ness happening on my I was like,

[Diana Maria Riva]

what the hell is that?

[Eric Larson]

I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that nest was going to be.

[Diana Maria Riva]

Mood swings, night sweats, fupas. Sex drive. Wait, what sex? Dating at 45? How high can it be? Getting naked at 50 with a new guy?

[Jeremy Odom]

That one's kind of hard. Well, that's lighting.

[Diana Maria Riva]

They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears or tears of laughter and dive into it unfiltered and unbothered and ask how hard can it be?

[Mood.com Advertiser]

I cannot believe I'm about to say

[Eric Larson]

this out loud in public.

[Diana Maria Riva]

Listen to How Hard Can It Be Be with Diana Maria Riva as part of my Cultura podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Safeway/Albertsons Advertiser]

American soccer is about to explode.

[Tab Ramos]

The World cup is coming.

[Eric Larson]

Ramos sending on Ernie Stewart, the Chip Score

[Laugh With Me Theme Singer]

usa.

[Tab Ramos]

I'm Tab Ramos.

[Safeway/Albertsons Advertiser]

I'm Tom Bo. On our podcast, Inside American Soccer, you'll get the real storylines.

[Tab Ramos]

I'm not worried about Pulisic. I'm not worried about Balogun. I'm not worried about McKinney. My only concern is what happens in the back.

[Safeway/Albertsons Advertiser]

The biggest decisions you're going to look

[Tab Ramos]

at stats and numbers. He has no shot at making this World cup team.

[Safeway/Albertsons Advertiser]

And the truth about the U.S. national team.

[Tab Ramos]

It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals.

[Safeway/Albertsons Advertiser]

The World cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen Inside American Soccer with Tom Boger and Tab ramos on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Sanjana Bhasker]

Why is everyone obsessed with romance right now? Like everyone your co worker who quote unquote, doesn't read is reading romance your mom. Book talk the entire Internet. I'm Sanjanah bhasker. I'm Tyler McCall and this is Radio 831, a romance podcast. The books, the tropes, the adaptations, the drama, the discourse, and what all of it says about how we actually love, yearn and obsess. We're going to Wuthering Heights, which, for the record, is not a romance novel. And yet it has haunted the romance genre for 200 years. We're getting into dark romance, age gaps, certain Russian hockey players, and sentient objects in love, which is a thing. That's the kind of conversation we're having every episode. Listen to the Radio 831 podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ryder Strong or Will Friedle]

Hey, everyone, it's Ryder Strong and Will Friedle from Pod Meets World. And now the Pod Meets Twirl podcast. We're two men who were completely clueless to reality tv, who now have covered Dancing with the Stars, Traitors, and we're gearing up for the season finale of Survivor. So, yeah, now we're experts. I know we annoyed a lot of our listeners by our severe lack of Survivor knowledge. That is the point of the show. I'm just gonna remind you, I have watched some Survivor. I obviously haven't watched enough.

[Eric Larson]

Did people not, like, Like, Yeah.

[Safeway/Albertsons Advertiser]

Just because we.

[Ryder Strong or Will Friedle]

Yeah. We'll be recapping the big conclusion of the 50th season, from the final attempts at gameplay to the desperate pleas of finalists to a bunch of ha, ooh,

[Jeremy Odom]

ha, ha, ooh, ha oo.

[Ryder Strong or Will Friedle]

Again, we are experts, so make sure to tune into Pod Meets Twirl for all our Survivor 50 takes. Listen to Pod Meets twirled on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Eric Larson]

The ghosts.

[Jeremy Odom]

No, that Spicoli beat me to get the job. Well, is that relevant to this?

[Eric Larson]

I feel like it's important for the context.

[Jeremy Odom]

Like, I put myself out there and told the story that this is what the kids talk about.

[Eric Larson]

I can't believe that you've never heard this story. And it's because you were probably down in the dumps with no pets, no kids, nobody to pick you back up.

[Jeremy Odom]

You could have just been like, yeah. And Spicoli was back at the studio, you know, doing that. You didn't have to throw in the guy who had just beaten you. Like, it just didn't seem relevant to the story.

[Eric Larson]

I'm not even done with the story, so you don't know how relevant it is.

[Jeremy Odom]

You're right. Fair enough. All right, go ahead. All right.

[Eric Larson]

So we went out there, and they were doing their. Their readings, and they were. They were promising. They were kind of in the. The green band. I don't know. You know, kind of the. Like in a movie. Like, green, orange, red, you know, yellow, purple. So I'm there for ratings. I'm in there to, you know, always keep. Keep people glued to the. The great ratings.

[Jeremy Odom]

That's why I bring you on the show.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah. I mean, you're ratings. You gotta. You gotta care. You gotta care.

[Jeremy Odom]

That's right.

[Eric Larson]

So, you know, I started. I started yelling out some. Some inflammatory remarks, some insults.

[Jeremy Odom]

To the ghosts. Yeah.

[Eric Larson]

Well, just. Yeah, to the. To the thin air.

[Jeremy Odom]

To try to get the ghost.

[Eric Larson]

Try to get them riled up. Now, I'm not going to repeat any of those, please, because I. I said these in 2004. That was a much different time. Much different. Eric, wasn't it 20, 26.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah. Now you're. You're a giant in the transportation industry.

[Eric Larson]

I can't. I can't have that reflected on me now. But let's just say there were some colorful language used.

[Jeremy Odom]

Okay.

[Eric Larson]

As we were walking through this area that may or may not have been an Indian burial ground.

[Jeremy Odom]

Did they beep it?

[Eric Larson]

Because the scanner started going insane. Like, it was like redlining on the far end. They kept telling me to shut up.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah.

[Eric Larson]

To make sure that, you know, I wasn't, like, affecting the, you know, the readings. And I had to keep going.

[Jeremy Odom]

And they keep going. You had to keep going? Yeah.

[Eric Larson]

I mean, you know, Grant's. Grant's a pale guy to begin with, but I swear he was even paler.

[Jeremy Odom]

I think he was scared because I think he. Because he just, like myself, he believes in this stuff. Like, there's no way he wasn't scared. Scared when that thing is going off and you're tenting.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah. He's like, listen to the professionals. Listen to these guys.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah.

[Eric Larson]

You know, I'm just not hearing it. And, I mean, I told him. I was like, cleveland, baseball sucks.

[Jeremy Odom]

Oh.

[Eric Larson]

And. Yeah.

[Jeremy Odom]

So they did back then. Yes.

[Eric Larson]

Well, yeah, I mean, they were pretty good after that. They beat the Twins a lot. So maybe they got their revenge on me after all.

[Jeremy Odom]

Oh, you. Have you put two and two together there?

[Eric Larson]

No, actually, I've never thought about this since then. I've never thought about any ways that I could have. Have, you know, been wronged in this situation.

[Jeremy Odom]

I think it's. Let's look at this. Let's look at this real quick. You. You look at these, or you yell at these supernatural forces, these ghosts, and you. You tell them that Cleveland baseball sucks.

[Eric Larson]

Yes.

[Jeremy Odom]

And then the Cleveland Indians, they were, as they were known at that time, go on a terror, including a World Series run. Then recently, the Twins, very bad team, want to sell the franchise. Don't want to sell the franchise. Who knows what they're doing? But they're annihilating the payroll. You start wearing a Braves hat, suddenly the twins are good again. Do you think you're. You're kind of screwing up momentum a little bit with just kind of your fandom?

[Eric Larson]

I mean, really, it doesn't even stop there. I think it's all my fandoms. I think every one of my fandoms could be described it like that.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah. What. What. What have you done to the Vikings?

[Eric Larson]

I mean, let's.

[Jeremy Odom]

It's like a therapy session right now. I can see it in your eyes. They're getting water.

[Eric Larson]

A lot of these. A lot of these groups already had problems before I came along.

[Jeremy Odom]

Let's.

[Eric Larson]

Let's get that straight. So I've never been scared.

[Jeremy Odom]

Okay.

[Eric Larson]

And I. I still don't think I'm scared of these ghosts. And when I told them to the Jeremy Vanquisher Spicoli, when I was back

[Jeremy Odom]

in the studio, Jeremy, that's just.

[Eric Larson]

He seemed alarmed. But I think. I really think that he respected my bravery. And I. If, If I remember this right, I wrote him a very nice, like, thank you.

[Jeremy Odom]

Of course you did.

[Eric Larson]

A couple, you know, a couple of days after the show and said, hey,

[Jeremy Odom]

you know, of course you did. Yeah.

[Eric Larson]

I appreciate you appreciating my bravery.

[Jeremy Odom]

Obviously, the appropriate thing to do.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah.

[Jeremy Odom]

And something that you got to send a note.

[Eric Larson]

You got to send a note that

[Jeremy Odom]

I have done every day since.

[Eric Larson]

Every day. That's to Bill Stewart or.

[Jeremy Odom]

Oh, if I.

[Eric Larson]

Where's my thank you? You've never once said thank you.

[Jeremy Odom]

I think I've texted you before.

[Eric Larson]

Oh, those are drunk texts. Those.

[Jeremy Odom]

I don't know.

[Eric Larson]

I feel like that's. That's lower on the thank you scale.

[Jeremy Odom]

Like, I've got to send a car.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah.

[Eric Larson]

Well, I think. I think out of, like, the thank you rankings, like, so there's no thank you at all. That's, like the baseline.

[Jeremy Odom]

That's the worst. That doesn't get you the job.

[Eric Larson]

Appreciative, like, glance, like, yeah. Not saying anything, but maybe like a little head nod, like, so that they understand.

[Jeremy Odom]

Okay.

[Eric Larson]

Hey, you know, glad to see you type of a thing. Yep. Like, hey, they catch your eyes across the room. You're making an Irish goodbye.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yep.

[Eric Larson]

And you can see them kind of, like, not kind of acknowledge you that you're leaving. And then the next one is a verbal thank you. Still very, very close to why'd you even bother to thank me? And then drunk text. And then sober text. Email.

[Jeremy Odom]

Email.

[Eric Larson]

And then typed up letter.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yep.

[Eric Larson]

And then handwritten letter.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yes.

[Eric Larson]

And then Hallmark thank you card.

[Jeremy Odom]

Oh, yes. Yeah.

[Eric Larson]

A five dollar bill.

[Jeremy Odom]

In it with a five dollar bill. What do you think? You're the. The Nielsen ratings. I. I've gotten $5 sent to me for filling out the Nielsen ratings survey.

[Eric Larson]

Glad that you explained that one, because that one did go way over my head.

[Jeremy Odom]

I could see. I'm not.

[Eric Larson]

I'm not familiar with this Nielsen. Is that. Is that Kevin Nielsen? Was he the SNL guy?

[Jeremy Odom]

I could see. Now, I don't know if I've ever looked a ghost in the eyes before, but I may have come close just now with the. Look. Your eyes. I may have just seen one. Yeah, that. You know, when they need you to fill out the survey of what you watch on TV for, like, a week, period, three week period, whatever it is, they'll send you $5. I got $5 one time. I think this is famously. I've gotten $5 from Nielsen.

[Eric Larson]

I. I think I'm familiar with. I think this is what Grant's wife does. Did for a living for a while.

[Jeremy Odom]

No, she's a pharmacist. Oh. Or, no, no, she's not even a pharmacist. She's a pharmacy tech. She helps the pharmacist.

[Eric Larson]

I thought she, like, voted for the Oscars or something like that.

[Jeremy Odom]

No, we fill out. No, close. We. We fill out who we think's gonna win the Oscars, and we compete against each other.

[Eric Larson]

So that was it.

[Jeremy Odom]

Similar to.

[Eric Larson]

So she doesn't. There's no money stream in this.

[Jeremy Odom]

There's zero dollars. This is just for love of the game.

[Eric Larson]

I mean, this is just between you and I, but Grant's wife might be a little bit of a deadbeat.

[Jeremy Odom]

I mean. No, she doesn't do this for work. Yeah.

[Eric Larson]

You're making any money doing it?

[Jeremy Odom]

Not doing this. No, she. She does make money being the pharmacy tech. Let's not get it twisted. She's bringing in money. Is that fair? She's just not making any money doing the. The Oscars thing.

[Eric Larson]

Okay.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah. That's just. That's the way. That's just the way it is. Anyways, what about the ghost hunters? Was that Zet it. Was that the end of the story?

[Eric Larson]

Yeah, yeah. Just that I made their equipment go bonkers.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah.

[Eric Larson]

They were alarmed. I was not.

[Jeremy Odom]

And. Okay, so now we've reached the end of the story. Good story.

[Eric Larson]

A note.

[Jeremy Odom]

And you sent him a note.

[Eric Larson]

I think.

[Jeremy Odom]

Still not understanding where it made sense for you to call me out in the middle of the story saying, like, oh, you know, Spicoli was running the board, you know, the guy that beat you like what? You said, I ain't finished my story yet. And so you have now, what was the relevance?

[Eric Larson]

Well, that was his costume. He was dressed as you.

[Jeremy Odom]

Oh, he's dressed as me.

[Eric Larson]

He had a shirt that says, beaulie beat me,

[Jeremy Odom]

which is why he was running the board late at night. That actually, now it all makes sense. Damn it. How come you didn't ask me to run the board?

[Eric Larson]

I think. I think you were gone. This. This would have been year two for me. Oh, so I was a year. I was a year behind you. It was kind of like you decided to go into radio. A year later. I was just like, I don't know what the hell I'm doing. I should go into radio. Right. And then you were like, I'm gonna be in podcasting. And I was just like, maybe I'll be guest of the year.

[Jeremy Odom]

Right?

[Eric Larson]

Yep.

[Jeremy Odom]

There you are.

[Eric Larson]

Yep.

[Jeremy Odom]

Man, it's all worked out for you.

[Eric Larson]

I mean, it's the yang and the yang. It's the balance.

[Jeremy Odom]

It really is. People I'm sure at some point said, you know, sticking along with that guy. That guy, Jo, sticking along with him is not gonna be good for you at long term. Here you are, guest of the year. You showed them. You showed them.

[Eric Larson]

So we've spent a lot of time talking about my spiritual outlook.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yes.

[Eric Larson]

Why don't you give a, I don't know, 45 second to a minute monologue on yours?

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah. So I think what's interesting here is he set that up so that he could go on a beer run. He is going to grab two. So what we have in the fridge is two Cornhusker Crushers Citrus Wheat Ale from Cross Drain Brewing. Which Cross Drain, if you're listening, yes, we are available for some sponsorships. Just hit your boy up. Hit Johnny up at Laugh with Me Pod gmail dot com. We'll get you set up. But yeah, no, Eric, as I was explaining, so the audience was, did you

[Eric Larson]

fart in here while I was gone?

[Jeremy Odom]

No, I didn't fart in here. I think it's just kind of, like, permanent now. Yeah. Lavetti was in here and it just. It's like permanent fart now. Blame the Vetti.

[Eric Larson]

The Vetti?

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah. Don't blame me. I ain't got no problems with that. Clean as a whistle. Especially once I get the colonoscopies. Clean as a whistle. You ever had one?

[Eric Larson]

No. No. So I guess I have no proof that, you know, I'm not.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah.

[Eric Larson]

Carry around a stinky ass.

[Jeremy Odom]

I've got video, photo, evidence hey, when, when are you gonna have a colonoscopy by the way? You, you're sure about that time, right? It's. I don't think it. They say to wait till 50 anymore.

[Eric Larson]

I mean 50.

[Jeremy Odom]

I know you're not. That's what I'm saying. I think they'd say you don't, don't wait till 50 now. So it's probably about that time for you to get colonoscopy. I can set you up with the guy.

[Eric Larson]

You know, I, I've referred this.

[Jeremy Odom]

I've.

[Eric Larson]

I've conferred with my soul.

[Jeremy Odom]

You don't believe in that.

[Eric Larson]

We've, we've decided no at the moment. But it's very important to. You know. You know, you don't have to get the finger in the butt anymore.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah, they told me. They told me a little too late. Oh yeah.

[Eric Larson]

Did you do like. Was this a self exam?

[Jeremy Odom]

Self exam? You're funny.

[Eric Larson]

I mean I'm not kink shaming, but is. Are you ready to, you know, discuss this on the new, new radio?

[Jeremy Odom]

We'll do a whole episode on that.

[Eric Larson]

No, I, I do not want to be part of that.

[Jeremy Odom]

You're my guest. No, be my guest. It'll be a Disney sponsored episode. So. No, I. Actually it's, it is a funny story. I'll tell you that story with the finger up the butt is that I, I am in the hospital and we're. It's. It was one of those times where I was so anemic that I, I was, I mean, I was at my breaking point, like low, low. And I was desperate to get somebody to test my iron levels, to test my hemoglobin, like just to prove I was on the brink of dying. And I couldn't get anybody. My gi doctor, I, I was going to clinics and just begging them. I was going to my general nobody. Even though I had prior history of this. They were just like, no, no. In fact, the clinic told me I had low blood sugar. And I'm like, you're an absolute idiot. And I, I just went off on this guy. So I do have a history of that also. But anyways, I digress. So then I end up in the ER and they check it and they were like, it was so low. They were like, how did you even walk in here? And. And I'm like, yeah, I know it's. You don't tell me doctors. And they're just like, you have to fire everybody. Like this is like insane that you were even so. Which is. Well, that's a Whole other story. The fire, everybody. Because then I tell my doctor that the ER doctor said that, and it was nuts. So anyways, I'm in there, and then they're just like, well, we need to test. We need to check some things or whatever, and we're gonna need to do colonoscopy. Like, they want. They want to just go through the whole gamut, right, and see what's wrong so they can fix me. And they're like, well, we need. We want to check. We won't check your prostate. And then we're gonna need to do one of those. They want to do, like, what are those things where they. They cause you to poop immediately? They want to stick a. An enema. They want to do an enemy. Oh, okay. And I'm just like, well, I need to do that. And they're like, well, we need a sample, like, now. And I'm like, well, I'll get you taken care of, because I could poop on the spot. And they were blown away that I could just drop a video.

[Eric Larson]

You just. You did it just right there in front of all of them.

[Jeremy Odom]

Two weeks ago, I did it as well when the. I went to the doctor and they were requesting a stool sample, and they were just like, just bring it in anytime. We'll send you the kit. And I'm just like, I'm gonna go down the hall and I'm just gonna do it right now. Like, I can just do it. It's impressive. And they were all impressed, so I think it's some kind of, like, skill I have.

[Eric Larson]

Did they send you a thank you note afterwards?

[Jeremy Odom]

No, thank you. Actually, I take that back. Every hospital visit I've ever had, I get a thank you note from all the nurses out. So Bill Stewart must have talked to them as well. But finger up the butt. They needed to check my prostate or something, and, yeah, they went ahead and took care of that. First time I've ever had that. That was uncomfortable. It's just a little pressure, so it's not anything that hurts. It's just a lot of pressure. So you're lucky you don't have to do it. But if you did, it's okay. I'm sure. Tell you it's okay. So there you go. But colonoscopy is not a finger up the butt. It's like, you know, at all. And you're sleeping the whole time. It's the most incredible sleep you've ever had.

[Eric Larson]

Yep.

[Jeremy Odom]

And I've had an endoscopy. I have had that as well. Yeah. Good sleep there. That as well. Yeah. So I'm. I'm having another one this year, and I think we're doing both this time. I think we're doing the top and bottom same time. So there you go.

[Eric Larson]

The. The first time I got the endoscopy, they. They put enough, like, they really had to up the drugs.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah.

[Eric Larson]

To knock me out.

[Jeremy Odom]

So when. Okay.

[Eric Larson]

And so the second time they did it, like, three months later, they were like, yeah, we got to use, like, half the drugs to knock you out, like, because you were calm this time

[Jeremy Odom]

because you knew because you were all amped up the first time. Yeah. What. Do you have any, like, memory of that moment laying there? They're trying to put you to sleep. You're not going to. What were they saying? What were you doing? Do you remember any of that?

[Eric Larson]

Yeah, I think they made me do the counting thing.

[Jeremy Odom]

Okay. How far did you get?

[Eric Larson]

And when I was still counting, they were like, all right, we need to up the.

[Jeremy Odom]

Just ramp it up.

[Eric Larson]

And so, yeah, I think they gave it, like, another, like, three or four minutes, and then it was just like, all right, let's do this again.

[Jeremy Odom]

You're toast. Yeah, that's. So redheads historically take a lot an easy to put them down. So they know that. Right. Just off the bat. And so they ramp it up. And the first time I did it, we did the counting, and I think I got to seven when I went down. They've never done the counting since. But now that I know they're cranking me with all this stuff to put me down, I kind of make it like a little game, and I'm just, like, talking. I'm just. Just going kind of like this.

[Eric Larson]

But did you have your microphones there?

[Jeremy Odom]

Like, if I could, I would. Yes. And. And I. And I just go. And I'm just talking until I pass out. And then, you know, next thing I know, I'm waking up, and it's all fun and games from there, but, yeah. Yeah, it's a good time. I love it. I'm looking forward to the next one because it's just the best sleep I've ever had. Yeah, you should have a colonoscopy. I think we should set this up. We could do it on the pod.

[Eric Larson]

Can we. Can we both do it at the same time? Will we be in the same room?

[Jeremy Odom]

So. So who is it? It's. There's three Tom Hanks, and who is it? It's Tom Hanks, Steve Martin, and Martin short. They have colonoscopy parties. And they get together the night before and they do their prep, and then they shit their brains out together. And then they go to the hospital and have their colonoscopy at the same time.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah, we're. We're not to that level of friendship.

[Jeremy Odom]

I think we could do this.

[Eric Larson]

No, no, I think we could do this.

[Jeremy Odom]

It's gonna be great.

[Eric Larson]

It would.

[Jeremy Odom]

It would just be, you know, I'm an old vet. This now, like, I've done this a handful of times. So, like, the prep part sucks, but I know what I'm going through. You haven't. So it would be funny for me to be there, not, I'm not in the bathroom with you, but, like, there. And you're just like, I'm dying. Like, it's just. It's all coming out and. And I'm just like, yeah, man, I can be there for support.

[Eric Larson]

Just make me think of the. The meme of the little kid patting the dog while it's pooping.

[Jeremy Odom]

Good.

[Eric Larson]

Good boy. Let get it all out.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah, I. I do find it weird when the dog's pooping and just looks up at me, like, am I supposed to be looking away? I don't know what my point, like, my part in this is.

[Eric Larson]

No, you gotta protect them. You're supposed to be on the lookout.

[Jeremy Odom]

Okay, I'm on the lookout. And most I'm waiting for her to be done so I could clean it up because I got to pick it up. But, yeah, it's.

[Eric Larson]

That's why I'll never have a dog.

[Jeremy Odom]

Because you don't want to pick it up?

[Eric Larson]

Yeah, I don't want to pick up the poop. That's why I won't have a cat. That's why I won't have a kid.

[Jeremy Odom]

You refuse to pick up poop?

[Eric Larson]

Yeah. I was not put on this planet to be a poop picker.

[Jeremy Odom]

Picker. Is that what I am?

[Eric Larson]

I mean, you've picked up a lot more poop in your life than I have.

[Jeremy Odom]

I really have. And. And professionally, too. I mean, I've worked in gas stations. I mean, it's. It's bad in there, dude. It's bad. You.

[Eric Larson]

You were sitting there talking about, like, we should do a colonoscopy episode or something like that, and I'm just like, I. I can't. I. I can't handle the poop jokes. I'm not a big fan of the poop jokes. And now we've spent, like, 10 minutes talking about poop.

[Jeremy Odom]

We did. I found I've been snorting a lot More lately when I laugh, isn't it?

[Eric Larson]

You've always snorted.

[Jeremy Odom]

Have I?

[Eric Larson]

Yeah.

[Jeremy Odom]

Oh, because I've never known that I did.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah.

[Jeremy Odom]

But recently I've been a little more self aware of it and I'm like, is it, is it my it age thing? But okay.

[Eric Larson]

No, I feel like that's always been a. You've always had it.

[Jeremy Odom]

Okay. And another thing I was gonna ask you. A lot of people lately have been saying that I'm a bucket hat guy. I've never worn a bucket hat in my life. Why are people saying this?

[Eric Larson]

I mean, you should be a bucket hat guy.

[Jeremy Odom]

Because of my skin? Yeah, yeah, sure, I should be, but I never have. But I've had people telling me that I do and that I have, but I've never had.

[Eric Larson]

That's curious because like, obviously I look at you and your physique doesn't scream that you've been using any creatine or anything. Which is normally something I would associate with bucket hat wearers.

[Jeremy Odom]

Bucket hat, yeah. Boy, I could, I sure could go for some creatine. Can you imagine? No, I've always wanted to. I wanted. There was a phase in my life I wanted lots of creatine just to like get all jacked up. But here I am.

[Eric Larson]

You've always talked about it. I am 100 sure. I don't know what creatine even is like.

[Jeremy Odom]

Oh, it's like a. It's, you know, like people put like that protein for like workouts and stuff or pre workout and that kind of stuff. It's like that, it's, it's like a less invasive steroid.

[Eric Larson]

Does, does it make your balls shrink?

[Jeremy Odom]

I don't think so. I hope not. Oh, my balls. To shrink.

[Eric Larson]

I mean, you have never done it.

[Jeremy Odom]

Do you think people with big balls think, what will help? Drink it. Like Tiger was. Oh yeah, he has a big ball.

[Eric Larson]

That was a Dan Byrne call. Exactly. One person in the audience will understand that.

[Jeremy Odom]

Shout out, Kyle. Yeah, yeah. Do you think people with big balls are like, man, what will help me naturally shrink these babies up? And they take steroids.

[Eric Larson]

You would think so. Because you, you hear the top heavy ladies want to get the reduction right to help their back. I mean, that's got to be a lot of work lugging around a couple big old balls.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah, it would be a lot of work. You know, you think, what part of their body do you think it impacts the most? Do you think it's a lot of leg, like leg strength? Or do you think it hurts their back?

[Eric Larson]

Oh, yeah. I could definitely. I could definitely imagine that. I think when you see somebody that's got, like, extremely ripped thighs, you're probably, like, gotta be supporting a lot of ball weight.

[Jeremy Odom]

Damn. They're.

[Eric Larson]

But then if they're also big up top, you're like steroids. Small balls.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah. So that's the thing is I wear. So, like, underwear has come a long way, you know. Now it's got, like, ball pockets. You wear these ball pockets. I wear the ball pockets. And that seems confining.

[Eric Larson]

I don't know.

[Jeremy Odom]

Complete opposite. It's incredible support and freeing. It is very comfortable.

[Eric Larson]

And I've always been a boxer. More than a brief guy.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah, these are like boxer briefs. They're tight, but they're not brief. Like, they're not, like, short, you know, like the. You know what I'm saying? Like, they're like. They look like shorts, but they're tight.

[Eric Larson]

They're gonna make my legs sweat.

[Jeremy Odom]

No, not if you get the right ones. Don't wear cotton.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah, they.

[Jeremy Odom]

These are. Yeah, they definitely don't make your legs sweat. And they give you the right amount support. And I don't know if you ever experience it where, like, your balls or kind of drag it in between your, like, thighs. Yeah, you're shaking your head.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah. Get a little sticky.

[Jeremy Odom]

This. This eliminates that at all times. Yeah. Now you're excited about this. We're gonna get you a pair.

[Laugh With Me Theme Singer]

Yeah.

[Jeremy Odom]

What size you wear? You like a xl, like a large? Yeah, we'll get you a pair. This is it. It, like, will change your life.

[Eric Larson]

Is this gonna be Laugh With Me, Brandon?

[Jeremy Odom]

Yes, this is gonna be. It's gonna sit on my face.

[Eric Larson]

Oh, no.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yes. My face, Johnny's face, and the Laugh with Me logo all over it. And you're gonna love it. Yeah, it's gonna be huge.

[Eric Larson]

I. I don't know. I won't commit to loving it, but I will.

[Jeremy Odom]

You will try it.

[Eric Larson]

I will commit to a thank you note of saying, hey, thanks for thinking of me. That's when you designed this ball pocket underwear.

[Jeremy Odom]

This ball. And to be. To be clear, I didn't design the ball pocket underwear. That is entirely.

[Eric Larson]

Do you think there's a patent for it?

[Jeremy Odom]

It has to be. Has to be like.

[Eric Larson]

I mean, it's just a. It's a little pouch.

[Jeremy Odom]

There's a little pouch. And I would love any brand that has the ball pocket like that wants to sponsor the show. Like, we're gonna do everything we can to make sure every man in America wears this ball pocket underwear because it is so comfortable. I'm telling you right now. It was life changing when I put on my first pair, because I thought it was gonna be fun. Like, this is a little fun activity. Like, this is gonna be something I want to wear every day. This is gonna be something fun. I haven't taken them off since, like, literally I'm wearing the same pair. Haven't taken them off once.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah, that explains the smell. I thought it was a fart.

[Jeremy Odom]

That's probably what that is. Yeah, that is probably what that is.

[Eric Larson]

You gotta wash. Yeah.

[Jeremy Odom]

You think you just keep spraying cologne and that would change it, but no, that's probably what that is. Well, okay. Guess that's that.

[Eric Larson]

Ghosts.

[Jeremy Odom]

Ghost baby.

[Laugh With Me Theme Singer]

When the wrench pass due and the car won't start Laugh with me when the only sponsor is my broken heart we're hanging on this janky stream Two weird voices in the glow of a spirit screen if the world won't sing then let it laugh with me.