Podcast Summary: Nadie Sabe Nada | Navidad de Poliuterano

Podcast: Nadie Sabe Nada (SER Podcast)
Hosts: Andreu Buenafuente, Berto Romero
Episode Date: December 25, 2021

Overview:

This festive episode, “Navidad de Poliuterano,” blends Christmas cheer, improvisational comedy, and the playful chemistry between Andreu Buenafuente and Berto Romero. Joining them briefly is singer Beth, delivering a surprise live performance. The hosts riff on holiday traditions, strange snack habits, language oddities, construction materials, and audience questions, all spiced with their signature irreverent humor.

Main Themes & Purposes

• Celebration of Christmas with a humorous, improvisational spirit
• Mocking and embracing holiday clichés
• Engaging with the audience both present and remote
• Answering offbeat listener questions

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Start: Andreu’s Dramatic Entry & Christmas Setting

• Berto opens alone, joking about Andreu’s supposed delay from Madrid, only for Andreu to enter theatrically.
• They immediately comment on the ambience and the public’s suspicions about Andreu’s “late arrival.”
• Berto notes it’s Christmas Day, setting a festive if slightly chaotic tone (01:34).
• Playful banter about holiday travel and the classic “Vuelve a casa por Navidad” ad, with both questioning its ongoing cultural relevance.

2. Pandemic, Colds, and Nasal Woes

• Berto admits to having a cold, humorously discussing pandemic-era stigma and awkward moments at the airport when sneezing or removing his mask.

  • Berto: “Dentro de la pandemia mundial, como una muñeca rusa, también hay resfriado vulgar.” (03:50)

• They riff on goteo nasal, with medical/forensic-style solutions, and how masks both conceal and compound certain “gross” problems (04:13–05:41).

3. Mariah Carey, Christmas Songs, and Beth's Surprise Performance

• The duo revisit Andreu’s passionate defense of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You”—Andreu humorously claims to prefer playing it in summer for originality (06:12–06:39).

• Berto pushes to play the song now, since it’s actually Christmas. This leads to Beth’s surprise live rendition, moving the hosts and audience.

  • Andreu: “Beth la canta mucho mejor que Mariah Carey. Bueno, ya no sé decir Mariah Carey…” (10:08)

• Beth discusses her own Christmas nostalgia and love for carols, connecting family memories with the holiday spirit (12:00).

• She notes her birthday is near Christmas, adding to her fondness for the season.

4. Musical Instruments and Comedy with Everyday Objects

• After Beth leaves, Andreu receives a “mouth harp” to try live for the first time. Berto mockingly compares the object to dental or contraceptive devices.
  • Berto: “Me parece el artefacto... de un dentista descartado o un aparato anticonceptivo...” (15:23)
• The attempt at playing it is a comedic disaster, with both dramatizing the challenge of new instruments and the appreciative audience applauding the failure.
  • Andreu: “¿Veis como de no tocarlo me convierto en un virtuoso?” (17:00)

5. Audience Interaction: Listener Questions & Absurd Tangents

• The core of the show: addressing listener questions and spiraling into comedic digressions.

  • What are marshmallows?
    • Berto calls them “poliuterano,” confusing marshmallows with construction foam (22:11-22:31).
    • Andreu corrects: “Es poliuretano.”
    • They mock their own confusion and the burning of “esponjitas” at American campfires.
      • Andreu: “¿La has probado?”
      • Berto: “Yo sí... horroroso.” (22:43)
  • What’s in popcorn and why?
    • Berto recalls pranks involving serving inedible items disguised as food and tells absurd stories about his time at El Bulli, including adding construction foam to a dish (28:09).

• On Snooker vs Snorkel & Diving Scares

  • The hosts joke about the confusion between snooker (billiards) and “snorkel” (diving tube), leading to Berto’s confessional:
    • “He abortado hace poco... empecé un curso de submarinismo... pero al final todo sale. Tengo hasta segundo de curso de buceo.” (36:05)
  • He humorously recounts his panic during scuba lessons and the ordeal of practicing running out of air.
    • “Me cagué vivo... lo llevé bien los dos primeros días porque tuve un gran monitor...” (37:12)
  • Andreu sympathizes, and the segment ends with a tongue-in-cheek tribute to divers.

• The Charcutería Etymology Rabbit Hole

  • Prompted by a question: “¿Qué es un charco para que el charcutero se dedique a ello?” Andreu dives into the origin of the word, delighting in etymological nerdery.
  • Andreu (elucidating): “Charcutería viene de charcuterie... char, carne; cut, lo que se cuece...” (47:17–48:15)
  • They joke about how little actual cooking happens in a modern charcutería.

• Cereal and Milk Debate

  • “¿Qué va primero, la leche o los cereales?” (52:30)
  • Both agree cereals go first, with Berto mocking imported American customs and referencing the historical origin of breakfast cereals in the US.

• Formal Speech for the Elderly

  • Explaining why older people are addressed with “usted” or “vostè”/“vos” in Spanish and Catalan.
  • Berto: “Tratar de Bosch a una persona mayor es darle como un homenaje en vida.” (55:35)

6. Gifts and Christmas Snacks from Audience

• An audience member brings “Fascination” (a type of snack), and the hosts comment on the risks of sharing during a pandemic, adding to the show’s self-awareness and timely relevance (50:13–51:31).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Christmas and Berto’s Arrival:

  • “Quería que vierais esto porque… he entrado como a cama abierta.” (01:09, Berto)
  • “¿Qué haces tú viajando en Navidad?” (01:46, Andreu)
  • “Por Navidad, coño.” (01:51, Berto)

• On “Vuelve a casa por Navidad”

  • “¿Todavía está en activo el anuncio vuelve a casa o es ya viejuno?” (02:00, Andreu)

• Defending Mariah Carey

  • “Lo único que recuerdo es… All I Want for Christmas Is You, que es la mejor canción de Navidad de la historia.” (06:12, Andreu)
  • “A mí me gusta hacerlo en verano… Supuestamente no es su lugar.” (06:48, Andreu)

• Beth’s Singing Stuns the Hosts

  • “Beth la canta mucho mejor que Mariah Carey.” (10:08, Andreu)
  • “Yo soy del 23, o sea, acabo de cumplir 40 años.” (12:00, Beth)

• On Scuba Diving Panic

  • “Me cagué vivo. Lo llevé bien los dos primeros días porque tuve un gran monitor...” (37:12, Berto)
  • “Hay una sensación muy peligrosa... la mezcla de aire que... te coge una cosa parecida a la borrachera...” (41:46, Berto)
  • “En el Japón medieval se usaba precisamente para combatir el resfriado.” (51:22, Andreu inventando)

• On Etymology: Charcutería

  • “Charcutería viene de charcuterie… char, carne... cut, lo que se cuece… el cocedor de carnes.” (47:17–48:13, Andreu)

Notable Timestamps

• 01:34 – Berto announces it’s Christmas Day, setting the show’s festive tone.
• 05:41 – Berto details his makeshift nose solution on a flight, blending comedy and gross-out humor.
• 07:41 – The debate about when it’s “justified” to play Christmas music.
• 08:17 – Beth begins singing “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
• 10:08 – Andreu moved by Beth’s performance, claims she rivals Mariah Carey.
• 12:00 – Beth on her personal connection to Christmas.
• 15:23 – Berto’s jokes about the mouth harp as a dental or “contraceptive” device.
• 22:11–22:31 – “Poliuterano” mix-up with marshmallows vs construction foam.
• 36:05–42:47 – Berto’s entire slapstick and anxious adventure with scuba diving.
• 47:17–48:15 – Deep dive into the etymology of “charcutería.”
• 52:30 – The comedic “leche/cereales” debate.
• 55:35 – Homage to the “vos/Boss” form of respect for elders.

Tone and Style

• As ever, Andreu and Berto’s exchange is off-the-cuff, spontaneous, and brimming with absurdity.
• They mix intelligent observations with silly humor, shifting from topical jokes (pandemic, holiday traditions) to wordplay and slapstick (musical mishaps, culinary disasters).

In Summary

This special holiday episode encapsulates the essence of “Nadie Sabe Nada”: unplanned, irreverent, and deeply connected to its listeners. The festive context allows for affectionate teasing of Christmas habits, while a surprise live performance and audience gifts add warmth and unpredictability. Whether dissecting construction materials, retelling panicked diving stories, or pondering the correct order of cereal and milk, Andreu and Berto spin everyday curiosities into comedic gold.

Listeners are left both laughing and oddly reassured: at Christmas, as in life, truly—nadie sabe nada.