Bonus Episode: Rat Kings and Emotional Support Eggs with Sabrina Imbler

Summary

Normal Gossip Bonus Episode: Rat Kings and Emotional Support Eggs with Sabrina Imbler
Release Date: August 13, 2025

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Introduction

In this bonus episode of Normal Gossip, host Rachel Hampton welcomes back Sabrina Embler to delve into intriguing listener-submitted gossip stories. The episode intertwines Sabrina’s insightful discussions on federal employee firings with a series of captivating and quirky gossip tales from listeners, showcasing the bizarre and humorous side of everyday interactions.

Sabrina Embler on Federal Employee Firings and the Role of Gossip

The episode opens with Sabrina Embler recounting her powerful series interviewing federal employees terminated under the Trump administration. She sheds light on the emotional turmoil these individuals face, describing their experiences as navigating "the ever-evolving fascist shitstorm of the second Trump administration" (07:00). Sabrina emphasizes the critical role of gossip and informal communication channels in these high-stress environments:

"These are all enmeshed in gossip, like whether they want to or not... They're all spending a lot of time on Reddit because that has become, in weird ways, like a more reliable source of information." – Sabrina Embler [13:12]

She highlights how platforms like Signal and Reddit become essential for sharing information and supporting each other amidst uncertainty and misinformation.

Listener Gossip Stories

1. Condo Association Art Battle

Amy shares a vivid story about her parents' tumultuous experience with their condo association. The board, dominated by the older "old timers," led by an 80-year-old queen bee named Nancy, clashed with Amy's parents over what constitutes acceptable outdoor art. Her parents' attempts to display reclaimed street signs and a lizard sculpture sparked intense debates:

"Are you the God of art?" – Amy [25:03]

The confrontation escalated to the point where Nancy enforced outdated bylaws to remove the art, leaving Amy's parents frustrated and compromising their artistic expressions.

2. Feminist Birding Group Feud

Another caller describes the conflict between an unofficial feminist birding group and an official chapter that emerged on Instagram. The unofficial group, having already established a community, felt overshadowed and ignored when a separate Instagram account claimed to represent the same interest. Despite efforts to collaborate, the official group remained unresponsive and inactive:

"It just gave off like a really weird vibe... the official chapter is not interested in connecting." – Caller [35:18]

This rivalry highlights the challenges of maintaining unity and authenticity within hobbyist communities.

3. Board Game Night Breakup

Amy recounts a memorable game night of Settlers of Catan that took an unexpected turn. As a novice player, she surprisingly won the game purely by luck, which led her friend's girlfriend, Jennifer, to accuse her of emotionally cheating. The accusation stemmed from Jennifer feeling that Amy received undue favoritism from her boyfriend, Eric, ultimately causing their breakup that very night:

"They broke up that night and it was pretty much because of me." – Amy [44:02]

This story underscores how competitive environments can strain personal relationships.

4. Encounter with a Porn Star

A listener shares an amusing and heartfelt encounter with a man who turned out to be an adult film actor. Initially mistaking him for a familiar celebrity akin to Pedro Pascal, the listener engaged in a sincere conversation that left a lasting positive impression on the actor:

"I really respect your confidence and self-esteem... You deserve more kudos for that shoulder thing you're doing." – Listener [60:38]

The interaction highlights the unexpected connections that can arise in casual settings and the importance of genuine feedback.

5. Emotional Support Eggs from Childhood

In a nostalgic twist, another caller reminisces about using hard-boiled eggs as "emotional support" during childhood. As a six-year-old, she believed that eating eggs would grant her the courage to handle scary Goosebumps books, a belief stemming from a childhood encounter with her older sibling:

"If I was eating a hard-boiled egg, I could not be scared." – Caller [51:01]

This whimsical anecdote illustrates how simple rituals can provide comfort and a sense of security during formative years.

Conclusion

Throughout the episode, Sabrina and Rachel navigate through these diverse gossip stories, blending humor with introspective conversations about the roles of communication and support in various social dynamics. From condo boardroom dramas to heartfelt personal encounters, Normal Gossip continues to uncover the strange and amusing facets of human interactions, all while maintaining a lighthearted and engaging narrative.

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Notable Quotes:

• Sabrina Embler [07:00]: "What was happening and is still happening is a lot of people who dedicated their lives to public service being subjected to horrific treatment by the very entity they dedicated their lives to."

• Amy [25:03]: "Is Jesus fuckable. All hail."

• Caller [51:01]: "If I was eating a hard-boiled egg, I could not be scared."

• Listener [60:38]: "You deserve more kudos for that shoulder thing you're doing."

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Join Rachel Hampton and Sabrina Embler in exploring more such fascinating stories by subscribing to Normal Gossip at https://normalgossip.komi.io/. Share your own gossip stories by emailing us at normalgossipefector.com or leaving a voicemail at 2679 GOSSIP.

Transcript

[Rachel Hampton]

Hi, it's Rachel here from Normal Gossip and I want to tell you about one of my fellow Radiotopia shows, a podcast that I cannot get enough of. The Kitchen Sisters present stories from the B side of history. Stories that illuminate our nation's unsung heroes and visionaries that reveal new ideas and new ways forward. Kitchen Sisters is sound, rich, deeply layered, full of interviews, oral histories, archival audio and music. They're stories that keep the spirit moving. Upcoming on the Kitchen Sisters present Ice a look at the lives of six trailblazing women cellists, the Honesty Boxes of Scotland, Naturalists as Keepers, and stories of farming, filmmaking, activism, music and more. And they have a deep archive of hundreds of stories available anytime you need a port in the storm. Here's a little taste of a classic from the archive. I am George Foreman, two time heavyweight champion of the world, former Olympic champion and King of the Grills.

[Sabrina Embler]

Growing up in Houston, Texas, my whole.

[Rachel Hampton]

Life was spent trying to get enough to eat. Having seven kids, my mother did, and.

[Sabrina Embler]

There just was never enough food for me.

[Rachel Hampton]

I always dreamed about not a car, not a beautiful home, but enough to eat. Check out the Kitchen sisters [e-mail] or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello and welcome to Normal Gossip. I'm your host Rachel Hampton, and in each episode of this podcast we're going to bring you an anonymous morsel of gossip from the real world. Welcome to another bonus episode, y'. All. We have official initially started production on season nine of Normal Gossip and we will be announcing the premiere of that soon. But in the meantime we did not want to leave y' all high and dry, so we thought we would bring you another previously subscriber exclusive episode that features some extra delectable little morsels of gossip. Submitted by y'. All. But before we get into the gossip, some light housekeeping first. If you somehow haven't heard yet, Ciara and I are going on tour in September, which is somehow a month month away. We officially have all of our tour guests lined up, so bear with me as I recite a bunch of names and cities. In New York, I will be joined by Slate senior writer and Scamfluencers host Sachi Cole. And in Boston I'll be joined by comedian Josh Gondelman. Josh Gwynn, award winning podcast producer and host, will be joining me for the Seattle show, while Slate culture writer Nadira Goff will be joining me in Portland. For Denver, I'll be joined by Sam Sanders, the host of the Sam Sanders show and Vibe. Check in Austin, none other than Dowager Queen of gossip, Kelsey McKinney will be taking the stage with me. And for the Chicago show, we have been blessed by the presence of the one and only Shea Coulee. And for our last stop in Minneapolis, superstar podcaster Tracy Clayton will be closing out the tour. Y', all, I am so fucking pumped. These are my very first live shows as the host of Normal Gossip. I am taking my responsibility to entertain extremely seriously, and I have a really good feeling that y' all are gonna love the show we're putting together. Also, I just can't wait to meet y'. All. But speaking of meeting y', all, if you don't follow us on Instagram, you missed out on some exciting news, which is that on August 16th I will be hosting a free screening of Splitsville, a relationship comedy that stars Dakota Johnson and Adria Arjona. The screening will be at 7pm at the Lincoln Center AMC. And did I mention it's free like 3.99. We'll put the link to RSVP in the show notes. All right, that is all the housekeeping for now. Onto the Gossip. Like I said, this episode was previously a subscriber exclusive. If you subscribe as a friend or friend of a friend, that means that every month, even in between seasons, you get a special little subscriber only episode. Sometimes the episodes are discussions of the things that we're reading and watching. In fact, a little birdie told me that August's subscriber episode is going to be a wine fueled chat about 4th Wing, the Romantasy novel. So sign up if you want to hear that. But just to give y' all a taste of what you're missing out on, here is our May subscriber episode which stars none other than defective staff writer and close friend of the pod. Sabrina Embler. Sabs is one of my absolute favorite people, and earlier this year they published an incredible series on Defector where they interviewed federal workers whose jobs have been eliminated by the Trump administration. I know that for a lot of y' all this show is an escape from the news cycle and I am honestly honored to provide that. But platforms are to be used in the ever evolving fascist shitstorm that is the second Trump administration. A lot of stories can end up being lost in the shuffle, like what was even happening in the spring? You know, I don't. Well, I do. Because what was happening and is still happening is a lot of people who dedicated their lives to public service being subjected to horrific treatment by the very entity they dedicated their lives to at the top of this episode, SABS tells us about their experience interviewing these federal employees, and we will be linking to several of their interviews in the show notes. And now it's time to get into the gossip. We have got five delicious voice memos from listeners that happen after that interview with sabs. Enjoy. Sabs, welcome back.

[Sabrina Embler]

Thank you for having me back, Rachel. It's so good to be here.

[Rachel Hampton]

I'm so excited. Last time you were here, we were talking about your incredible series where you made all of us watch some iconic Christmas movies.

[Sabrina Embler]

Yeah. And we talked about sexy Jesus. And I think about that every time I see him, meaning Jesus, I kind of evaluate, like, is he fuckable? Like, how fuckable is Jesus today?

[Rachel Hampton]

Well, a, I'm really glad to have left that impact on you. And, baby, that makes me want to ask, how often are you seeing Jesus?

[Sabrina Embler]

I am in a state of despair, as many of us are, and that has brought me back to Law and Order svu, which has a lot of, like, Catholic crimes, like, a lot of priests doing wrong. So I mostly see Jesus on the screen as I'm, like, chopping my mirepoix. Is that how you say it when you're like, my tiny onions, My tiny leeks? Yeah.

[Rachel Hampton]

My little mise en place. Yes.

[Sabrina Embler]

Yes. That is. That's what I was trying to say. I was like, French word.

[Rachel Hampton]

They're the same. I will say, when you said that you're in a state of despair and that it has made you return to something, I thought you were gonna say the church. And I was like, sabs, I didn't think things. It only hasn't even been 200 days yet.

[Sabrina Embler]

Imagine I'm born again.

[Rachel Hampton]

No, I have found some gossip to talk about.

[Sabrina Embler]

I mean, I feel like each of us has, like, you know, like, a limit that if we reached, we would find the church or whatever the equivalent of our church would be. And honestly, maybe for me, that limit is like, Jesus is fuckable. All hail.

[Rachel Hampton]

Well, before we do any more blasphemy, I did want to ask you a little bit about the times that we're living in, which are full of despair. And also about your latest project, which has been incredible to witness. You've been conducting a series of interviews with federal employees who have been fired by the Trump administration. And you recently interviewed Sarah Boym, who, in the aftermath of being fired from her dream job at the cdc, started this newsletter for other fired CDC workers called Fired but Fighting. Great name. Could you tell me a little bit more about Sarah and this newsletter? And how you see it kind of fitting into the broader response of federal employees who have seen their livelihoods upended.

[Sabrina Embler]

Absolutely. Doing this series has been very emotionally inspiring, but also emotionally exhausting in a way. It's funny how many of the folks I speak with say they've gone through the five stages of grief, like around their firing, because, you know, it's so hard to get a federal job. It's something that you have to work years towards sometimes. And in Sarah's case, it was really extra tragic because her mom also works for the cdc and she sort of joined her mom working at the CDC also as a health communications manager. And she was talking to me about some of the great work that she did there. She worked on this project called HeatRisk, which is like a heat forecasting tool where you can enter your zip code and then it'll tell you about like the heat risk in your area. So basically she was spending her days at work trying to help the public understand their health, understand their safety. Things that I loved that she was doing as she was doing them. Yeah, but Sarah, and you know, an enormous number of healthcare workers, federal healthcare workers have been fired by the Trump administration and Elon Musk and his like made up department. And something that's been common with these firings in every department is the people who are being fired have no idea what's happening because the people who are firing them are like 24 year old dweebs who like don't understand the federal government, don't know how to fire people. Several of the folks I spoke with have been fired repeatedly, like they were fired. And then, you know, a lot of judges have been contesting the legality of these firings. Since then they've been reinstated and then they've been fired through another route. Like, it's very, very stressful. And so when Sarah and her former colleagues after they were fired, they were just trying to figure out like, what is our recourse? Will we be reinstated? Like, there were so many questions floating around and so much misinformation as well. And so she and a bunch of her co workers basically started this signal chat where they would crowdsource information. And they realized that there was so much misinformation that they wanted to start a newsletter basically to be like, these are facts. We know that these are the facts surrounding how we were fired, the future of the CDC and you know, these other health care institutions. And this newsletter became this coalition called Fired but Fighting, which as you said, is an amazing name. And it's basically just a coalition of CDC workers who were unfairly terminated by these layoffs. And they've become this group to basically advocate for their reinstatement and the reinstatement of other terminated public health workers and also to talk about just how fucked up this whole process of firing has been. Right? Because whenever a new presidential administration comes into power, they'll hire some people, they'll fire some people, but it's never happened like this. And truly, just the stories that I'm hearing and the ways that people's lives have been devastated. Like I spoke with a single mother recently who sold her house and moved here with her five year old son to like start this job and now she doesn't have a job, she doesn't have health care. Like she. Yeah, it just, it's really, it's really infuriating hearing these stories.

[Rachel Hampton]

Yeah, I'm sure. I mean, something that is often referenced when workplaces are terrible or toxic is like the role of gossip in it. Like, I feel like the beginning of union drives are often just gossiping. And so I wanted to ask, because this is the gossip show, what role, if any, do you see that playing in the lives of these like fired federal workers at the moment? Like is fired but fighting? And the signal chat that you mentioned, like, are those channels, are people talking to each other basically?

[Sabrina Embler]

Absolutely. I mean I really, and I have no like data to back this up, but I feel like this is the most important time for DC Group chats. Like, I think they're all a fire and I think, yeah, the signal chat that Sarah Boym started with her coworkers, like, it absolutely was a form of communicating information through gossip because, you know, some of it is like facts and some of it is sort of like rumors. Like I heard this is going to happen because a lot of these federal workers, right, they've seen other departments laid off, you know, the week before. And so they're like, I feel like I'm next, like I'm gonna. A lot of these people also were tipped off, right, by other friends or co workers they have elsewhere in the federal government of like, oh, this is, this, this email is coming for you tomorrow. And so I think they're all enmeshed in gossip, like whether they want to or not. And a lot of the folks I've spoken with have been spending a lot of time on Reddit because that has become in weird ways, like a more reliable source of information. Not necessarily about the firings, but about like, what are my rights right now as a fired person. And so I guess tldr, like, the people be texting and they are often in signal because that is a more secure way to text.

[Rachel Hampton]

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. It also makes sense that a lot of this is happening on Reddit because it feels like one of the few platforms we have that is not. There's some algorithm stuff on, like, your homepage and whatever, but it feels like one of the most reliable sources of information. And it's also anonymous, though I will say, people who are on Reddit, it is very easy if you comment a lot on Reddit to figure out information. So please think about that. I feel like I'm in a lot of snark pages and people are like, I'm good. And I'm like, you can get doxed. Really? Like, please be careful. So, you know your Reddit comment history is public.

[Sabrina Embler]

That is such an important psa. Because after I left Twitter because it was feeling really bad, I started spending a lot of time on Reddit, and my favorite thing to do is, like, read through the. You know, like, am I the asshole? Like, or is this outfit appropriate for a wedding? And it's like, no. And then when someone comments something deranged, I will click on them and I'll be like, let me read everything you've ever read.

[Rachel Hampton]

Same.

[Sabrina Embler]

And, like, create this idea of you as a character.

[Rachel Hampton]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, same. This is why I'm giving this psa, is whenever I see something absolutely unhinged in, like, the New York City Influencer snark page, I immediately click on that commenter and I'm like, what else are you commenting on? And then I'm like, this is girly pop. It's really easy to figure out who you are. I don't care. That's not my job. That's not my business. But, like, Operational Security. Opsec. Opsec, yes. I'm gonna ask you a question that I kind of hate getting, but unfortunately, I must ask, which is you've been doing these interviews for about two months now, and as someone who's kind of steeped in it, is there anything that, like, the average person who is not federally employed can do besides knowing what's going on? Like, I feel like there's a real sense of helplessness, and I'm. Some of it's real and some of it's not, and figuring out what is and what isn't is helpful.

[Sabrina Embler]

Yeah, I mean, I think. And this is gonna sound so stupid, but, like, what I've been hearing from a lot of folks is just the importance of calling your representatives. Like, I feel like Kelsey wrote a great blog about this. I'm sure about. Just like now is the time to be seriously annoying your elected officials who are supposed to represent you and like letting them know that you want a functioning cdc, that you support national parks that have trails that you can actually walk on because you know there aren't like fallen trees or just like piles of trash that grizzly bears are kind of come and like eat while you're walking and trying to enjoy the park. The more noise you can make on behalf of these federal workers. Like, it's so unclear what that will result in, but it will, I think, at least help send the message to the people who have a little bit more power than us. Yeah, unfortunately, I don't know how much control we have over the economy. It's not something I can speak on.

[Rachel Hampton]

Unfortunately. I don't understand her that well. She seems kind of made up sometimes.

[Sabrina Embler]

But I don't think she understands herself.

[Rachel Hampton]

And like, do any of us really? Aren't we all on a journey of self discovery?

[Sabrina Embler]

I know. The economy needs to go to therapy.

[Rachel Hampton]

The economy needs to go backpacking through Europe for a few months.

[Sabrina Embler]

Wow. Have a Cheryl Strayed moment.

[Rachel Hampton]

Exactly.

[Sabrina Embler]

Show the toe blister.

[Rachel Hampton]

Like, go do something, please.

[Sabrina Embler]

Like six month blackout on Instagram and then suddenly like a photo of a sunset and it's like the economy is healing.

[Rachel Hampton]

Y. Yeah. No, she needs to have a Lizzie McGuire moment in Italy. She needs to be almost scammed by a guy who can't sing and then find her long lost Italian sister and then she can come back new and renewed.

[Sabrina Embler]

Beautiful, beautiful reference to a beautiful movie.

[Rachel Hampton]

This is what dreams are made of. Stabs.

[Sabrina Embler]

Paolo, sing for me.

[Rachel Hampton]

Paolo. No, I think that's really real. I would say for all of our listeners, before you think about sending us a voice memo, call your representatives and then send us a voice memo. Do both. You're already on the phone.

[Sabrina Embler]

Yeah. There are like 500 billion things that are bad that are happening. You can call them about any of those things.

[Rachel Hampton]

Truly anything.

[Sabrina Embler]

You can fax them too.

[Rachel Hampton]

Yes. They're not going to pick up. You're just. You're leaving a voicemail. You don't have to worry about talking to anybody.

[Sabrina Embler]

Yes. That is something I was so scared of when I first started calling my representatives. And it's like, oh, I'm not actually speaking with Mr. Chuck Schumer.

[Rachel Hampton]

No.

[Sabrina Embler]

Although I'd love to. I'd love to give him a piece of my mind.

[Rachel Hampton]

Just be like Mr. Schumer, retire bitch. There's definitely so much more to say on this, but we are gonna get into the gossip what you're here for. But if you would like to read more of these interviews, which you should going to put a bunch of links in the show notes One last piece of business before we get into the aforementioned gossip. We would love to do more episodes like this. So if you have a short gossip story, please record a voice memo and email it to [e-mail] and then call your representative immediately after and leave another voice memo saying retire bitch. Are you secretly cleaning with microplastics? If you're using detergent pods, your clean might not be as clean as you think. That's why I've made the switch to Blueland. Across all the cleaning products around my house, their products meet the highest standard of clean. They're effective yet gentle on my family and the planet. Blueland was also named an EPA SAFER Choice Partner of the Year. From cleaning sprays and toilet bowl cleaner to dishwasher and laundry detergent tablets, Blueland's formulas are 100% microplastic free, made with certified clean ingredients free from chlorine, bleach and harsh chemicals that are safe to use around my pets and my plants. I love not having to choose between the safe option and what actually gets my house clean. One of my favorite things about Blueland is that they are B core, which means I just trust their company values. What I really trust, though, are their laundry tablets. They smell absolutely incredible and they're so easy to use. You just throw them in the washing machine, you do two to three per load and you're all good. And it smells like the smell of clean laundry, but times 1,000. I don't know how to describe it. You're just going to have to try it yourself. Blueland has a special offer for listeners right now. Get 15% off your first order by going to blueland.com gossip. You won't want to miss this blueland.com gossip for 15% off. That's blueland.com gossip to get 15% off. If there is anything I love with my weed, it is convenience. There is nothing worse than being in your house and wanting to be high and then realizing that you have to leave your house to get high. Not with Mood. Mood is an online cannabis company that ships federally legal THC right to your door, and they have found a way to combine THC with carefully selected functional ingredients to target nearly every mood and health concern you can think of. I'm talking about Mood.com's incredible line of functional gummies in you can get 20% off your first order. @mood.com with promo code Gossip, you don't have to worry about the one size fits all supplements that are mostly to get you high. Mood has gummies that are targeted to help you with creativity or targeted to help ease PMS cramps or balance mood swings. They even have sexual euphoria gummies to help you feel ready for action and turn every touch into a full body experience. Best of all, not only is every Mood product backed by a 100 day satisfaction guarantee, but as I mentioned, listeners get 20% off their first order with code Gossip. So head to mood.com, find the functional gumby that matches exactly what you're looking for and let Mood help you discover your perfect mood. And don't forget to use promo code gossip when you checkout to save 20% off your first order. Okay, Sevyn, are you ready for some gossip?

[Sabrina Embler]

I just burped, so the answer is yes. You can leave it in. I will say, like I. When I learned that I was coming on this episode, I was like, you know those, you know that photo or like those videos of baby birds that like have just left the nest, but they don't know how to eat yet, so they open their mouths because, like, that's how their parents know to put worms in there. But then they're on the sidewalk and they see a worm and they're just like opening their mouth. That's me. And then the worm is the gossip story.

[Rachel Hampton]

That's a beautiful mental image and I would love to feed you some gossip. No, no, no, no.

[Amy]

So my parents live in a condo association. It's not like a condo, like an apartment building. It's like kind of small houses all on shared land, which is relevant. And so the drama is that there are these two cliques in the condo association. We have the old timers who have been there for decades, and then the young people, which is a relative term. It's like my parents and their group of friends. So it's like in their like late 50s, early 60s kind of. And so the board is all old timers and it's dominated by someone I'll call Nancy. She's the queen bee. Absolute nightmare of an 80 year old. And there are a handful of people on the board, all in the old timers group. My dad was on the board for a little while, but he quit because he realized that Nancy was just changing the Rules to fit whatever her personal agenda was. And he is a man of principle. And so he quit. But one of the board members is a man that I will call Ralph. His condo faces my parents. And there is a lot of people in this condo association are artists or art collectors. So there's a lot of like big sculptures or like metalwork or kind of cool art on people's like kind of portion of their own lawn or outside. And so my parents wanted to put out. They got these like street signs that they won from some asylum auction from like streets that we used to live on growing up. So there was these like metal street signs and they wanted to put them up outside their condo. And so they did, they went ahead and did that. And there's also this like kind of metalwork lizard piece of art that they wanted to put up. At the next board meeting, Ralph pitched a fit. He said that they had to take those down because there's some rule in the bylaws that say you can't hang art up on the outside of your unit. And my mom was like, okay, what about the like big ass sculpture outside of Nancy's unit? And that flustered Ralph. He had not considered that or like he had been caught red handed. Also, keep in mind, this is a group of like, a lot of them are lawyers or retired lawyers.

[Rachel Hampton]

So.

[Amy]

So they're all arguing with each other. And Ralph is like, okay, it's like switch tactics. Like, well, sure, fine, but those are actually art and these street signs are not art. And my mom was like, who are you to decide what is or is not art? And I am at the time, I'm living with my parents and I'm upstairs in my room and they're having this board meeting in my parents living room. And just my, they are screaming at each other, that's not art.

[Sabrina Embler]

Well, who are you to decide what.

[Amy]

Is or isn't art? Are you the God of art? And it was just, it was the funniest thing I've ever heard in my life.

[Rachel Hampton]

Just fully.

[Amy]

My mom doesn't yell often. She's much more like kind of, you know, she'll do the like biting comments, but she doesn't yell. She doesn't raise her voice. Oh boy, I have never heard her yell like this, defending her metal street signs as art. So anyway, she finally they, she gave up. They did not put up the art and they took down the lizard, which also, okay, the street signs, sure, but this lizard, very clearly art. Whatever.

[Rachel Hampton]

I don't even know where to start with this. I always love a dynamic where you're like the younger people in their 50s or 60s and it's like, okay, we are in a specific place right now.

[Sabrina Embler]

Youth is always relative. But like, as I was listening to this, I was like, this is the perfect thing for an 80 year old person to do, which is like not hold political office for the US government, but instead sit on a board of your condo and stir some shit. Like that's appropriate.

[Rachel Hampton]

You're entirely right. I would rather Ralph be arguing in someone's living room about what constitutes a art.

[Sabrina Embler]

A really philosophical question.

[Rachel Hampton]

No, really, I'm like, how are you gonna get to the bottom of that question in this living room? Like, I guess they just decided nothing is art. I wanna see the lizard statue, by the way.

[Sabrina Embler]

Yeah.

[Rachel Hampton]

I also wanna see the street signs.

[Sabrina Embler]

Whenever I looked out my window in one of the apartments that I lived in, I saw like a Barb flag, like a Nicki Minaj, like saluting over the American flag. And like it was so big, like, wow, the beautiful skyline and like Nicki Minaj. But it's like that's that person's right to like hang that flag. And like I grew to appreciate it. And like, maybe Ralph would grow to appreciate the metalwork lizard over time.

[Rachel Hampton]

No, it's true. I mean, I, now I want to see what Ralph would do if he saw the bar flag hanging from somebody's condo balcony.

[Sabrina Embler]

I think his life would be changed.

[Rachel Hampton]

I think he will become a Barb. I think he would learn all of the words to Nicki's verse in Monster. I think.

[Sabrina Embler]

For the condo talent show.

[Rachel Hampton]

The condo association talent show. If I bought property that's mine, you can't tell me what the fuck to do with it. How is there a whole association, homeowners associations, condo associations, co op boards that are telling me what to do with my property. That's like coming into my house and being like, your cat can't do that. Fudge you. That's mine.

[Sabrina Embler]

Yeah, Yeah. I mean, I think as long as we have the system of private property as it operates currently in the United States, like, let me hang my lizard outside of my, my fucking condo.

[Rachel Hampton]

No, literally abolish private property. I'm okay with that too, but if we're going to have private property, I'm going to do what I want on it. Like, yeah, that's crazy. This makes me want to ask, have you ever found yourself in an argument and like in the middle of it you can tell that it's. You're like, this is. I Shouldn't be yelling like this. There's no reason for me to be this. This upset.

[Sabrina Embler]

Yes, I have been there.

[Rachel Hampton]

The one that's coming to mind is me and my roommate once, it was like midnight, I think this was like during the delta wave of COVID So we were like, back inside after having the vaccines. And we were like, I can't believe we're doing this again. And it was like 1:30 in the morning. And we were arguing about, for some reason, Harry Potter. Don't know why. We both are like, fuck, J.K. rowling.

[Sabrina Embler]

But ahead of your time.

[Rachel Hampton]

Yeah, this is 2021. So she was already on.

[Sabrina Embler]

Yeah, no, that's fair. That's fair.

[Rachel Hampton]

But we were like. I think the argument was predicated on, like, why could Harry not see the thestrals when he had seen his parents die? And she was like, well, it's because he was a baby. He didn't. He didn't know. And I was like, so it's like, you have to understand death to see death. And then at some point, I remember yelling, can blind people witness death? And that was the moment that I was just like, and you know what?

[Sabrina Embler]

It's time to go to sleep and it's bedtime.

[Rachel Hampton]

It was also the angriest I've ever been at her. Like, we don't get mad, but it was only this argument. And it was just like, this is. We gotta go to sleep.

[Sabrina Embler]

Wow.

[Rachel Hampton]

Yeah.

[Sabrina Embler]

I mean, and that's a good question. I think they can. Experiencing death is not just relegated to one sense.

[Rachel Hampton]

Right.

[Sabrina Embler]

You can touch. When someone dies, they. Oh, God. We don't need to like, go into corpse talk. But like, they become cold, they become stiff. Like maybe there's a whiff of death that emerges. A pheromone.

[Rachel Hampton]

There's like a death rattle. Like, there's all these other things. Yes, exactly. I'm like, you should have been able. That's a plot hole. Fuck you, J.K. rowling. He should have been able to. From the start.

[Sabrina Embler]

My version of that is when I was in high school and I was at an aquarium with my entire family. We were walking in the aquarium and my parents were like, turtles are amphibians. And I was like, that's not true. They're reptiles.

[Rachel Hampton]

Yeah.

[Sabrina Embler]

And my entire family were like, they live in water. They're amphibians. And I was like, no, amphibians can breathe through their skin. Amphibians are frogs and newt. Turtles are reptiles. My parents were like, you see these turtles? Like, they're in the ocean. Like, that's an amphibian. I felt so crazy, and I was like, right? And I couldn't tell if it was, like, an elaborate bit that. But I really think they all were so convinced. And, like, I don't even think they really cared that much, but they were all ganging up on me, and I felt. And I was screaming at the aquarium. I was screaming.

[Rachel Hampton]

I. Like a. The performance of this argument. I was like, your voice work incredible. Let's just start there.

[Sabrina Embler]

I'm back there.

[Rachel Hampton]

But also, there's nothing more enraging than everyone being wrong. But because there's numbers, they're right. And you're like, no, I'm right. No, I can see that right now. And also, you won. You're the creature expert.

[Sabrina Embler]

But you know what? If I brought this up to them again, I'm sure they would still be like, nope, Nope. They're amphibians.

[Rachel Hampton]

100%. Yeah. They can never admit that they're wrong. Yes.

[Sabrina Embler]

Yes.

[Rachel Hampton]

We've gone far off the trail of this original.

[Sabrina Embler]

Let's march back. Let's march back, lest we not get.

[Rachel Hampton]

Lost in the woods, in the ocean, in the sea.

[Sabrina Embler]

Where the amphibians go.

[Rachel Hampton]

Yes. Not the reptile.

[Sabrina Embler]

No, no. Reader, listener. That's not where they live.

[Rachel Hampton]

Okay, next gossip, I hope it's about an aquarium.

[Caller]

A friend of a friend is in a birding group. It's actually a feminist birding group in her city. There was an unofficial feminist birding group, and there is an official organization called the Feminist Birding Club. And they had started an unofficial chapter of it. So they just didn't go through kind of like, the rigmarole of it of getting all the paperwork set up. But they had a pretty well established group. It was a very nice community for them. It was great. This past winter, they noticed that someone on Instagram has started their area's feminist burping club. So of course, they're like, oh, someone in our group decided to start Instagram. Turns out it was no one in their group. It was a different group of people entirely. And a couple people in the group reach out to this Instagram account, and they're like, hey, like, who's doing this? We'd love to connect. Like, we have an unofficial group started already, and it's, you know, we're really excited about this starting. And they got ignored for weeks. Like, definitely kind of a weird vibe of, you know, wait, why aren't we, like, connecting? Like, this would be really nice. You know, just if you're starting a group and that group already, Exists, like, why not like join together for it? One of them finally gets responded and it's just kind of like a blow off message of like, oh, we'll reach out once we're starting officially. After some, you know, light Internet stalking that this friend of a friend did, they saw that the individuals who were running this group, they didn't have any events for months. Like about six months. This official Thomas Brewing Club didn't have any, any event for months. But people had listed it on their LinkedIn. Being like, I'm the executive director of December's birding group chapter in our city. And it just gave off like a really weird vibe. So, yeah, people just kind of got blown off. And now it's like this strange dynamic of there's the unofficial group and there's this official group and the official group is not interested in connecting.

[Sabrina Embler]

My jaw is on the floor.

[Rachel Hampton]

No, literally. Also the fact that I was like, I hope it's about an aquarium. And it wasn't, but like, close enough.

[Sabrina Embler]

Basically the aquarium of the sky with the fish of the sky, which is what I call birds.

[Rachel Hampton]

This makes me want to ask, is birding like a male dominated field?

[Sabrina Embler]

I think historically, yes. A lot of white men, I think if you think like who subscribes to Audubon magazine.

[Rachel Hampton]

Okay, okay, okay, okay.

[Sabrina Embler]

Of course. Yeah. People who aren't men have always birded. But in recent years there have been sort of this wave of like identity focused, not to be like historian identity focused, like birding groups to help make like safe spaces for folks who want to bird. There's also been an amazing wave of like more accessible birding groups. Like people who do bird sits for people who aren't as mobile or can't, you know, do a walk that's like, which is like amazing. Like, I'm like, I'm such a big supporter of like feminist bird clubs. But I'm also. I love inter community drama. I love drama when it's like, I would. I'm politically aligned with every single person in this thing and yet everyone is acting poorly. I do love that.

[Rachel Hampton]

That is my favorite kind of drama because I love drama where there's no real clear villain, it's just people being people. Where it's like, I know came to shove. We are all actually on the same side. Like, I know that if things, if the apocalypse allegedly starts, like, we're gonna be mad maxing in the same car, but I'm still gonna have beef with you because you're a person and I'm a person and we're different people.

[Sabrina Embler]

Absolutely.

[Rachel Hampton]

So I love that this unofficial feminist burden club is fighting with the official feminist burden club. And also the official feminist burden club is, like, also not doing anything. It's just the name that people are putting on their LinkedIn. Also, is it impressive to have this on your LinkedIn?

[Sabrina Embler]

I mean, like, what roles are you.

[Rachel Hampton]

Seeking that this is an impressive thing to have?

[Sabrina Embler]

Like, also, like, not to denigrate the work that goes into a birding group, because. Right. Planning events takes a lot of work. Like, you are providing expertise, but specifically the title executive director of, like, a local chapter of a birding group.

[Rachel Hampton]

I'm like, okay, we're getting a little too far here. But also, they're running a burden group. Does seem like work, but this one's not doing anything. They don't have events for six months. So it's like, what are you executive directing?

[Sabrina Embler]

I think writing that LinkedIn update.

[Rachel Hampton]

And you know what? That's a lot of work. There are some real people who make LinkedIn their jobs. I've heard about them.

[Sabrina Embler]

10 lessons I learned from being the executive director of my local birding group.

[Rachel Hampton]

Official feminist birding club of this metro area. I love that. I think that the beef should become even more pronounced, especially if they are dueling Instagram pages. Like, I think that the unofficial group should change their title to official so that people are even more confused. Like, I want the stakes to be upped even further. I want anyone who goes to the city who is a feminist who's like, I want to join a feminist burden group to Google and then immediately be informed of this beef. Like, I want it to be so clear that something's going on here.

[Sabrina Embler]

I love that. I mean, also, like, what is the official chapter posting on Instagram if they don't have any events?

[Rachel Hampton]

No, exactly.

[Sabrina Embler]

What is there to post about?

[Rachel Hampton]

Anyone can do that.

[Sabrina Embler]

Anyone can do that.

[Rachel Hampton]

Yeah. I could go on Google Images and get a photo of a cardinal, and I.

[Sabrina Embler]

And I bet it would be beautiful.

[Rachel Hampton]

I bet it would be beautiful. There was a cardinal in my backyard the other day, and I was like, hello, friend.

[Sabrina Embler]

A male.

[Rachel Hampton]

It was Red.

[Sabrina Embler]

A male feminist.

[Rachel Hampton]

Yes.

[Sabrina Embler]

He was like, ally, I support you and your pod.

[Rachel Hampton]

That's exactly what he was saying to me. Wow. Please manufacture more drama within these burden groups than get back to me. I think it's imperative for my mental health. Thank you so much. Summer is allegedly starting to wind down, but here in Brooklyn, it's as hot as ever. When I'm getting dressed in this kind of weather, that has me breaking out any sweat as soon as I walk out the door. I'm only thinking about about comfort and keeping cool. Which is why I am obsessed with my pieces from Quint, like the tinsel jersey fit and flare dress. It is such a versatile piece. I'll wear it on those summer days when I'm like in and out of my apartment and just want something light and cool that will fit a bunch of different occasions. The best part? Everything with Quince is half the cost of similar brands. By working directly with top artisans and cutting out the middleman, Quint's gives you luxury without the markup, and Quints only works with factories that use safe, ethical and responsible manufacturing practices and premium fabrics and finishes. Elevate your fall wardrobe essentials with quince. Go to quint.comgossip for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.comgossip to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quints.comgossip I have a confession to make. I don't have the best memory when it comes to remembering what subscriptions I paid for. The longest streak I had on Duolingo, which was over 370 days, by the way. Please clap. That happened because I accidentally forgot to cancel my trial subscription and got charged for a full year. Literally. Earlier this year I signed up for a free month of a streaming service so I could watch the NBA Finals. And I have gotten charged for the last two months because I forgot to cancel it, which is why I am such a big fan of Rocket Money. A lot of people aren't aware of how much they spend each month. Do you know how many subscriptions you pay for? What about how much you spend on takeout or delivery? It's probably more than you think, but there's an app designed to help you manage your money better. Rocket Money Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps you find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions. It monitors your spending, and it helps lower your bills so that you can grow your savings. Rocket Money's 5 million members have saved a total of $500 million in canceled subscriptions, with members saving up to $740 a year when they use all of the app's premium features. You get alerts if your bills increase in price, if there's unusual activity in your accounts, if you're close to going over budget, and you even get alerts if you're doing a good job. Who doesn't want a gold sticker Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Download the Rocket Money app and enter my show name normal gossip in the survey so they know I sent you. Don't wait. Download the Rocket Money app today and tell them you heard about them from my show. Next. Next.

[Amy]

So when I was in college, I had a group of friends who really liked to play board games. And so one weekend we're in one of the guy's apartment, we'll call him Eric, and there's like five or six of us, mix of genders and kind of different levels of friends and we're playing catan. And as background, I had never played before. I was never really that interested. That style of game has never been that attractive to me. And like also I had beef with the game Risk growing up. So I just like never really appealed to me. Everyone was kind of helping me understand the rules, understand just like the basics of like, hey, generally like this is what people would do. This is the general common knowledge that everyone here has. But you don't will help you out. And I also note that this was a like custom catan set that had been handmade by Eric's girlfriend Jennifer. And so great. We're playing on this beautiful like handmade set that was like laser cut in the, you know, university wood shop or whatever. I learned how to play or having a good time. I happened to win. It was mostly luck. I like had happened to go first. I happened to draw some victory point cards. Like it just happened.

[Rachel Hampton]

Great.

[Amy]

Everyone's in good spirits. Come to find out that night Eric and Jennifer got in a little fight. Jennifer felt like Eric was helping me too much and like showing me preferential treatment and then like created this whole story about how like he like emotionally cheated on her with me, which was like the farthest thing from the truth. But it went from just like a fun little game night, like using the nice custom handmade like birthday gift or Christmas gift or whatever like gift game set that it was. And then they broke up that night and it was pretty much because of me. So yeah, I can't think of the game catan without thinking of that that night.

[Sabrina Embler]

Listen, who among us has not been emotionally cheated on by their boyfriend at a casual mixed gender board game night.

[Rachel Hampton]

With a laser cut handmade Settlers with Katan board game. Oh man, that was a ride. Saps saw my face at Settlers of Catan and immediately started laughing. I have nothing politically against board games. I am so board game people. Again. This is like the Mad Max situation. I Know that most people who play board games were gonna be in the same car when the apocalypse happens. But true, truly, there is nothing I hate more. Cause I don't know any. I don't even understand the rules to Monopoly. Like, this is not my. I played Life, and I'm okay at that. But like, the game.

[Sabrina Embler]

I love spinning that wheel.

[Rachel Hampton]

Exactly. I'll play a little Twister. But like, there's nothing I hate more than being in a room of people who are, like, really into board games. Because if you're an adult and someone's playing a board game, they're really into it. There's no real. There's no casual board game interest. I hate when people explain the rules to me because I know I'm not gonna understand them. And I know that the people playing the game are gonna get upset. Cause I'm not understanding the rules. And I'm like. I don't know how to tell you that there is no way I'm gonna understand these rules. It has nothing to do with you. Has nothing to do with the game. It is the way my brain works. Please just don't involve me in this. If I could be in a corner smoking weed and like, being like, ooh, like, doing a little. Like, if I could just be a cheerleader and not play, I would love that. But please don't involve me. And this is why. Emotional cheating.

[Sabrina Embler]

No, I think that's so fair. I mean, something. A question that I had from the very beginning of this call is like, how do you have beef with a board game? Like, having beef with Risk. But it's like. It sounds like you, Rachel, have beef with with all board games.

[Rachel Hampton]

Yes. Yes, I do. This is a whole realm of things that I'm just like. The rules for this are very opaque, and there's only so much room in my head. And I'm saving a lot of space for what's happening on Married At First Sight Denver. And I just don't really think I have space to learn how to play Settlers of Catan.

[Sabrina Embler]

And that's so wise.

[Rachel Hampton]

I cannot believe they broke up, though.

[Sabrina Embler]

Really wild. I mean, it. I'm sure it was. I'm sure it was coming. I'm sure there were countless tense board game nights like, before this one with, I'm sure, other wild allegations. I mean, I imagine they're just gonna find, like, another board game boyfriend and girlfriend.

[Rachel Hampton]

What if this was just, like, their relationship was perfect up until this night?

[Sabrina Embler]

Wow.

[Rachel Hampton]

And that was. That was just it.

[Sabrina Embler]

I guess that's the power Of Catan again. It's like, I don't even. I know that that game involves building roads. I think, like, you build. You build the longest, you know?

[Rachel Hampton]

I don't know.

[Sabrina Embler]

I know. Neither of us know. We're like, the two. Yeah. I feel like it's because when I'm also not a board game person or a card game person, and whenever people play, I just always have opted out. And so now I know I don't know how to play anything. And I just like, well, then, okay, well, at this party, I'll just. Just watch from afar. But I do understand that when you are in that moment, though, like, I have done Mario Kart. I have been racing. I have thrown a controller on the occasion. Like, I understand that things get heated, but.

[Rachel Hampton]

Oof.

[Sabrina Embler]

Emotional cheating at the catan.

[Rachel Hampton]

Emotional cheating at the handmade settlers of Catan. Laser cut. Laser cut in the university woodcutting lab. The use of university resources for crucial.

[Sabrina Embler]

Element to this story.

[Rachel Hampton]

Emotional cheating. I also love that this caller in had never played before and then won. I love that.

[Sabrina Embler]

I mean, that's so you coded. That's so you going to Atlantic City for the first time and then playing the slots and then winning, like, $387 and being like, I'm out. While all of our co workers who, like, like to gamble or, like, working hard, like, at the table, they're, like.

[Rachel Hampton]

Putting a day in at the mines. And I'm just walking in, like, I guess I should do this before I leave. No, that was really. That was. That was a. That was a peak moment for me.

[Sabrina Embler]

I think that's the real winning mindset. Like, that's what Roald Dahl taught us in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory of just like, you're not going to win this factory if you. I think I'm like, recalling my book report. Like, you're not going to win this factor. If you buy thousands of tickets and, like, game your way into the system. Like Veruca Salt and all these rich kids. It's like just Charlie with his four grandparents. Like the rat king of grandparents who share the bed. Their legs all tangled together. Am I wrong? That's what they're. That's what they're doing there. I don't want to see those legs wrong.

[Rachel Hampton]

And it's like, which Charlie's grandfather just springs up out of bed. I'm like, I'm sorry. You could have been having a job this whole time when he just extracts himself from the wreck grandparents. And it's like, bro, I know all.

[Sabrina Embler]

He needed to do was put on his LinkedIn that he was the executive director of his local feminist birding club and he would have offers out the wazoo for content marketing positions.

[Rachel Hampton]

Correct. Correct. At the Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory. Correct.

[Sabrina Embler]

Correct. Non union.

[Rachel Hampton]

Of course, the Oompa Loompas were not unionized.

[Sabrina Embler]

Oh, no. It does seem like they were enslaved. We hate to see it.

[Rachel Hampton]

Well, are we ready for the next question?

[Sabrina Embler]

Yes.

[Caller]

I just remembered something from my childhood.

[Rachel Hampton]

That made me giggle and I wanted.

[Sabrina Embler]

To tell you about it.

[Caller]

So when I was maybe six, I snuck into my older sibling's room and I took a Goosebumps book and they saw me with it and they said, oh, you're too young for that. That's too scary for you. You're just a baby. And I needed to prove my sibling wrong. I needed to prove that I was a big kid and I could handle it. So I sat at the kitchen table with a snack and I read this book. The snack was a hard boiled egg. And I didn't think it was that scary. And my six year old brain attributed that to the eggs.

[Rachel Hampton]

And so for a lot of my.

[Caller]

Childhood, I believed that if I was eating a hard boiled egg, I could not be scared. And so I read so many Goosebumps books that I would not do it without a hard boiled egg.

[Rachel Hampton]

Okay, first the giggle at the end of that voice. Like, I love it. I'm just like, I know that giggle where you're just like.

[Sabrina Embler]

You're like, I guess I'm pretty quirky. Guess I'm a little bit of a freak. Like whatever Jughead said on Riverdale, I'm a weirdo. Wow. Not the emotional support egg. At first I was like this person. Like, where did you grow up? Where, like you, like in like some impoverished, like famine, like peasant village. Like you, your, your treat of choice was like egg harp. But then egg became source of power. So I love that.

[Rachel Hampton]

Really curious because Bernie was six when this happened. Did you boil the egg yourself or was there just a supply of hard boiled eggs in your house?

[Sabrina Embler]

Like, as someone who comes from an egg family, we had a little Tupperware hard boiled eggs because my mom was really into protein.

[Rachel Hampton]

Protein mom.

[Sabrina Embler]

Protein mom. And we had one of those like cool egg slicers, I don't know if you've seen them, where you could put the egg inside it and then it was like, like, like many little guillotines that you would like pull over and then your egg would become like many slices. And I thought that that activity was really fun. And then I was kind of obligated to like eat the egg after I did the egg slicing activity. But there were eggs aplenty in the implant household.

[Rachel Hampton]

Did you like eat them cold?

[Sabrina Embler]

Yeah, I would salt and pepper them. I guess I'm like, wow, I shouldn't be projecting onto Bernie like an impoverished child the way you were.

[Rachel Hampton]

Like, what kind of impoverish one thing where egg was your treat and you're talking about how guiltying the egg is one of your favorite episodes.

[Sabrina Embler]

No, this is a real moment of like self reflection, I guess. I did spend many, many afternoons eating a solo egg, but I didn't. I wasn't smart enough to actually like make something of that egg or have that egg symbolize anything I was gonna say.

[Rachel Hampton]

Did you feel emotionally supported by the egg?

[Sabrina Embler]

No. Oh, well, I think I resented egg because it's like, what if instead of egg I could have Cheetos?

[Rachel Hampton]

No. Yeah. The better snack.

[Sabrina Embler]

Yeah, like an actual snack.

[Rachel Hampton]

I've learned so much about eggs.

[Sabrina Embler]

Do you have like a relationship to hard boiled eggs? Do you eat them? Pop, pop one in every morning?

[Rachel Hampton]

My dad eats the exact same breakfast, which is two pieces of turkey sausage, two slices of toast, and two hard boiled eggs. And he like, those eggs are boiling so long that half the water is out of the pan. Like he is hard boiling those eggs. So for a really long time I thought I didn't like hard boiled eggs because I was like.

[Sabrina Embler]

Cause he was eating geodes.

[Rachel Hampton]

I was like, this is not good. I don't like this. But recently as an adult living by myself, I'm often just like, I need to eat something fast. Like, I just need to eat something. And so recently I've gotten into soft boiled eggs where they are cooked for exactly 10 minutes and have like a little bit of like hardness to the yolk, but not like a whole, like it's still like a little bit jammy. And so I'll usually eat like in the middle of the day, just two soft boiled eggs. And I'm like, that'll keep me going through this next meeting. So I do have a relationship. I guess that's my emotional support. Egg.

[Sabrina Embler]

Yeah. You are an E. I am.

[Rachel Hampton]

I became an egg girl as an adult, but I was really. There are so many things that my parents cooked in fucked up ways where I was like, I just thought, I didn't like them eggs steak, because they eat their steak well done. So I was like, I don't like steak. And then I had a medium rare steak and I was like, oh, that's different. Cabbage. They love boiled cabbage, which I think is like a Southern, African American thing, but they boiled the shit out of their cabbage, so it was just like. It's just. I. I can't. So I thought. I didn't like cabbage for a long time, and now I'm like. A little raw cabbage is cute. All to say, I have emotional support egg. I understand emotional. I was judging emotional support egg. I'm not gonna lie. And now I'm like, I get it. When life is scary, an egg does comfort you.

[Sabrina Embler]

Put that on like some shiplap. Put it in my kitchen.

[Rachel Hampton]

When life is scary, eat an egg. You'll probably feel better. The protein will definitely make you feel better.

[Sabrina Embler]

Me, like, sobbing over my laptop, like, reading the sign, popping one whole egg in my mouth because I don't have my slicer anymore.

[Rachel Hampton]

Wait, do you. You just, like, eat the whole egg?

[Sabrina Embler]

Well, now I don't really have a really. Me and Egg have kind of broken up.

[Rachel Hampton]

Okay. That's fair.

[Sabrina Embler]

In part because of the economy. Yeah. But also, I think the slicer, like, if I. That made the activity fun. That made egg time like, a delight. And now egg time is so serious and adult and.

[Rachel Hampton]

No, you're right. Yeah, you're right. You're right. That's really fair. You and Egg broke up because Egg was caught emotionally cheating over settlers of baton. Everything comes back. Everything comes back.

[Sabrina Embler]

All roads lead back to emotional cheating. And we'll have to think about that for a while.

[Rachel Hampton]

And I will be. And I will be. Okay, I think we have one more crazy. What else could come for us?

[Sabrina Embler]

I know.

[Caller]

Okay, so on Saturday night, my friend Amy and I went to a concert. And beforehand. And we went around the corner of this taco place to grab something to eat. And as we're waiting in line, I clock this guy to my left. And I'm like, God, he looks so familiar. Like, I know him, but how do I know him? And I just could not place him. Like, he didn't seem like a famous person, like a celebrity. But, like, I was thinking maybe I met him at, like, a house party or something. But, like, it was so familiar. So, anyway, we go and sit down, and we're at the table next to him, and I'm telling Amy. I'm like, I have to find out how I know this guy. Like, it's gonna eat me up. And she's like, well, he kind of looks like Pedro Pascal. And I was like, no, it's not that. So I turn around, I tap him on the shoulder. And I'm like, hey, I'm so sorry to interrupt you, but, like, I. You look intensely familiar to me. Like, I feel like I know you. And he's like, oh, okay. I was like, what's your name? He's like, and he's looking at me and it's like. Like he wasn't making any, like, effort to be like, maybe it was this. And I was like, okay, well, I guess now I have to ask you, like, everything you've done over the last, like, three months to figure out where we've overlapped. And this, like, silence, like, lingers. And he's like, but I'm also a porn star. And my friend Amy started laughing because she thought he was with me. And I was like, wait. And he's like, but my name isn't like my. I have a porn name. And I was like, what is it? And he's like. And I was like, oh, my God, that's it. Him from porn. And it was so funny because I was like, I told him and this is true. Like, I really don't watch porn. I don't really like it. Generally, I don't. It's not like for me. But he's in this, like, really. He's only in, like, female friendly porn that's, like, on this one website that's, like, made by women. Like, you know, everything's like, written, produced by women. And so it's like a very, very different vibe. But anyway, I was like, oh, my God. I was like, can I hug you? We, like, hugged. But I was like, I just gotta tell you, like, you are like the only actor, adult actor I've ever looked up. Because I love, like, what that sincere intimacy you bring to your teens and stuff. And he was like, oh, my God. He's like, as you can imagine, I don't get to get a lot of feedback about this. He's like, that means so much to me. And I was like, oh, my God. Of course. Like, honestly, thank you. Like, I think the industry could, like, really benefit from, like, taking the page out of your book and, like, doing more things like that. Like, it's really nice. And he just was like, thank you. That is so touching. Like, thanks so much.

[Rachel Hampton]

Drop the actor's name.

[Sabrina Embler]

I know. What were those bleeps? Come on.

[Rachel Hampton]

No, I'm like, looks like Pedro Pascal. Intimate scenes that the rest of the porn industry should take a page out of his book. Drop the name.

[Sabrina Embler]

I want to do our own investigation.

[Rachel Hampton]

And I will be doing my own investigation. I love, literally this entire voice memo from top to bottom. I did get really excited when you were like, looks like Pedro Pascal. And I was like, are you gonna see Pedro Pascal in this bar? And then it wasn't. And I got really disappointed. But then. Then I was brought right back up. This is incredible. I love this interaction for everyone. I love that he got honest feedback. He should get good feedback for his work.

[Sabrina Embler]

I know. I'm like, what do performance evaluations look like in the porn industry? Like, I want people to be getting, like, kudos. Like, hey, like, really loved. Yeah. That shoulder thing that you did, like, keep it up.

[Rachel Hampton]

Shoulder.

[Sabrina Embler]

I don't know.

[Rachel Hampton]

Subs.

[Sabrina Embler]

I was like, what could you be graded on?

[Rachel Hampton]

I'm like, I don't know if I've ever noticed shoulders. I love this gossip. This is beautiful. I love that she was so committed to recognizing him that she kept the conversation going. Because if I went up to someone and was like, where do I know you from? And they weren't giving me anything back, I would be like, okay, well, time for me to fuck off and die.

[Sabrina Embler]

Yep.

[Rachel Hampton]

And for her to be like, I'm gonna go through the last three months of things I've done to get to where I know you from is like, I really, really respect your confidence and self esteem, because I don't have that.

[Sabrina Embler]

No, it's like, you persisted and you got there. Like, I was stressed. I was stressed in the middle where I was like, oh, no. Like, well, yeah, but I. It's funny, I had like a. Well, I didn't have. I've never had an experience like this. And now I'm like, I yearn to have an experience like this. But I was watching a play recently and one of the actors, I was like, like, that person looks so familiar. And in this case, it's like, this person is an actor. So I was like, what else have I seen them in? Like, I was kind of distracted throughout the entire play because she played this mayor. And every time she came on stage, I was like, I know that woman. And then after we got out of the play, like, I looked on her IMDb I was like, looking. And I was like, I don't. Like, I don't really know. Like, would I have remembered her from these things? Like, maybe I saw her and then I found this news story that was like, guest star on succession attacked by a pack of otters. It was her. It was her.

[Amy]

It was her.

[Sabrina Embler]

And I recognize her from their people headshot because I was like, that's because when she was attacked by Otters. Initially, everyone sent that to me, and I was like, that's so crazy. Like, don't fuck with otters.

[Rachel Hampton]

Stabs. That story makes so much sense for you. Like the fact that everyone sent you the story of this woman being attacked by otters. Also, otters scare me. Otters and seals and also dolphins.

[Sabrina Embler]

All scary. All scary.

[Rachel Hampton]

All scary. Wait, was she. I'm assuming she was okay. Cause she's.

[Sabrina Embler]

Yeah, sorry, Sorry. She was okay. It happened, like, a while ago. She made it back to the stage. She was great in this play. I didn't love the play, but I loved her performance. She played a kooky mayor. And no marks visible from the otter.

[Rachel Hampton]

Wow. From the otter attack. That's beautiful. I love that for her. Where do I recognize this woman from? She was attacked by otters.

[Sabrina Embler]

Yeah. Yeah, that's it.

[Rachel Hampton]

Classic. I think that's where you should start the next time. You're like, where do I know this person from? You're like, they were attacked by emus.

[Sabrina Embler]

Did you have any kind of mustelid encounter recently?

[Rachel Hampton]

Oh, wait, what?

[Sabrina Embler]

Mustelid is like, a group that the otters belong to. I believe. Please don't fat. And I'm wrong, but I believe that's true.

[Rachel Hampton]

I mean, the thing is, you could tell me literally anything, and I would say, that's true. Like, I send you photos of birds all the time, and I'm just like, what is this? What's this caterpillar I saw on the street?

[Sabrina Embler]

That was fun. I love to identify caterpillars. Any readers send me caterpillars, I would love to identify them.

[Rachel Hampton]

Yeah. Listeners, please send stabs. Caterpillars. I mean, they probably. We have so many listeners from so many different places. Like, you could get some Australian caterpillars, which I'm assuming it's Australia. That shit's crazy.

[Sabrina Embler]

They're crazy down there. They're absolutely crazy.

[Rachel Hampton]

It's like the isolation has breeded some. Some wild things in the people and in the wildlife.

[Sabrina Embler]

There's that caterpillar in Australia and New Zealand that, like, once it molts. Because every caterpillar, as it gets bigger, it doesn't just grow. It, like, molts its old skin. After each molt, it eats the rest of its body, but it doesn't eat its head. And then it puts its old head on top of its current head. And so by the time it's like a really, really big caterpillar, it has this tapering tower of heads that just gets smaller and smaller. It's called the gum Leaf skeletonizer becomes this beautiful brown moth. Kind of the most iconic. Well, I actually. No, there are probably even more iconic caterpillars.

[Rachel Hampton]

You're like, actually, let me not speak out of turn.

[Sabrina Embler]

There's another caterpillar that scientists just discovered from Hawaii. Most caterpillars eat leaves, but this one, like, basically preys on, like, dead insects and then it. It takes their body parts and sticks them onto its body so it's like, covered in, like, the remnants of its dead prey. Fairy metal.

[Rachel Hampton]

That's hardcore.

[Sabrina Embler]

Caterpillars are doing crazy stuff and more people should be respecting them.

[Rachel Hampton]

I did not know that. I was just like, these bitches turn into butterflies. Like, that's crazy enough if you think about it. I'm really trying to think of the logistics of eating every part of yourself but your head. Like, how does one do that?

[Sabrina Embler]

We'll have to have them on next subscriber episode.

[Rachel Hampton]

We will be hearing from the skeletonizer.

[Sabrina Embler]

Yeah, the gum leaf skeletonizer.

[Rachel Hampton]

That's also such a hardcore name. Like, that sounds like a metal band.

[Sabrina Embler]

Yeah.

[Rachel Hampton]

Wow. What was the gossip about?

[Sabrina Embler]

Oh, the porn star.

[Rachel Hampton]

Yes.

[Sabrina Embler]

Iconic. Iconic.

[Rachel Hampton]

Absolutely iconic. I don't know how we started talking about caterpillars, but I really love Journey. Yeah, Truly. Truly. Yeah. No, actually, though, do send me. I mean, I'm sure. I'm sure we have the unbleep version. I will find out who this adult. Adult porn star is.

[Sabrina Embler]

Yeah, I need to know.

[Rachel Hampton]

Looking for his work. Thank you for your service and like, well and truly, both the caller in for alerting me to a new possible favorite and to this man for his work. I'm gonna pass on the feedback and assume that you're good at your job and say you deserve more kudos. You should get more kudos for that shoulder thing you're doing.

[Sabrina Embler]

I salute you both. Yeah. It's also funny to think about us trying to talk about this on a work podcast.

[Rachel Hampton]

Yeah. At this point, I'm like, anything goes here.

[Sabrina Embler]

We did start off talking about how fuckable Jesus was. So it's only suitable that we are ending here.

[Rachel Hampton]

Exactly.

[Sabrina Embler]

With another kind of Jesus. I don't know.

[Rachel Hampton]

Lord and Savior. Messiah. Sure. A religion could be formed. If a religion was to be formed around anyone, I think I would say, yeah, sure, I'll see what he's.

[Sabrina Embler]

Why not this guy?

[Rachel Hampton]

Yeah. I'll go to a sermon.

[Sabrina Embler]

You'll endorse him on LinkedIn.

[Rachel Hampton]

Shoulder. Executive Director of Feminist Burden Clubs. Thank you so much for joining us this month. This was a delight.

[Sabrina Embler]

Thank you for having me on Rachel. I had a blast.

[Rachel Hampton]

Yay. Thank you so much for listening to Normal Gossip. If you have a gossip story to share with us, that email is normalgossipefector.com or you can leave us a voicemail at 2679 GOSSIP. If you love this podcast and want to support us, become a friend or friend of a [e-mail] you can follow the show on Instagram and and TikTok at normalgossip. Normal gossip is hosted by me, Rachel Hampton. Our lead producer is Sierra Spragley Ricks. Our subscriber episodes are produced by J. Tolviera. The co creators and dowager queens of Normal Gossip are Alex Sujon Laughlin and Kelsey McKinney. Defector's project editor is Justin Ellis. Jasper Wang and Sean Kuhn are Defectors business guys. Alex Sujon Laughlin is Defector Supervising Producer. Tom Ley is our Editor in Chief. Thanks to the rest of the Defector staff, Defector Media is a collectively owned subscriber based media company and Normal Gossip is a proud member of Radiotopia. Please remember you did not hear this from me.

[Sabrina Embler]

Radiotopia from PRX.