Podcast Summary: "Sad Girls vs. Mean Girls: What’s Hotter?"

Not Today, Pal with Jamie-Lynn Sigler & Robert Iler (YMH Studios)
August 28, 2025

Episode Overview

In this lively and candid episode, Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Robert Iler—best known as TV siblings from The Sopranos—tackle an eclectic mix of topics, ranging from gender perceptions around bad behavior, viral cheese-rolling festivities, and the enduring debate: are sad girls or mean girls hotter? Jamie-Lynn (“Jamie”) brings her characteristic warmth, while Rob’s (“Robbie”) gruff, comedic perspective offers constant balance. Joined by Jamie’s husband Cutter and their friend Uncle Rob, the group swaps stories, pop culture opinions, and laugh-out-loud observations, giving listeners a hilarious peek into their idiosyncratic dynamic and real-life friendship.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Gender Double Standards: Drinking on the Job

[00:38-03:08]

• Robbie introduces a segment, "Explain This to Me," questioning why it's funny when a man is fired for drinking at work but sad when it's a woman.
  • Robbie: "A guy gets fired at work for drinking...you're like, you idiot, you got caught. Woman gets fired, I go, 'Oh my God, I hope everything's okay.' Why is that?"
• Jamie theorizes it’s cultural conditioning, attributing it to societal expectations of women having more self-control or equating it with instability.
  • Jamie: "A woman making a choice like that would equal, like, mental instability. Like, she's unstable…as opposed to a dude just made a dumb choice." [01:14]
• Uncle Rob wryly notes how society reacts differently to female alcoholics:
  • Uncle Rob: "Female alcoholics, it's unfortunate. You don't like to see it. A dude alcoholic's just a cool dude. There's nothing wrong with that." [02:27]

Notable Moment:

• Robbie reflects on his biases: "If a guy got caught drinking on the job, I'd be like, that doesn't mean he's an alcoholic. Or if a woman did, I'd be like, oh, she's an alcoholic." [02:38]
• Jamie: "It's just the way we've been raised to think." [02:51]

Viral Cheese Rolling: Absurd Sporting Traditions

[03:03-10:39]

• Rob introduces the Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling event from England, playing videos of competitors hurling themselves down a hill after a cheese wheel.
  • Robbie: "It's very dangerous. You roll this thing of cheese down…and every year I'm like, oh, it's not gonna make me laugh this year..."
  • Jamie: "Oh my God. She has a concussion. They all do." [04:25]
• The pair marvel at the event’s danger, with Jamie drawing a comparison to "Squid Game" in terms of obvious physical harm.
  • Jamie: "This is like Squid Game." [08:08]
• Reflecting on motivation, Rob quips: "All for a little cheese."
• They contrast it with Spain’s Running of the Bulls, debating which tradition has the greater “rush.”

Memorable quote:

• Jamie: "What idiots. But what an incredible idiots. Human beings." [09:41]

Running of the Bulls & Bullfighting

[10:39-14:46]

• Jamie shares her first-hand experience attending a bullfight in Spain, describing the intense, uncomfortable spectacle.
  • Jamie: "...you also know that the bull is about to die. It's cruel."
• Robbie probes into the cultural transition from pageantry to brutality.
  • Robbie: "Does it start off fun? And then when the bull's pissing himself, everyone's like, ah, damn." [14:19]
• Jamie emphasizes the art and history, but can't ignore the cruelty: "There's an art to it...but then it gets brutal." [14:22]
• The pair reflect on shifting cultural attitudes due to increasing protest and awareness of animal cruelty.

Brushes with Fame: Police Escorts & NASCAR

[15:08-17:39]

• Robbie and Jamie reminisce about times they've had police escorts due to celebrity or charity involvement.
  • Robbie: "He picked me up in a cop car…My grandfather saw me getting in the cop car and thought I got arrested." [16:08]
• Jamie recalls riding in a NASCAR pace car, underlining that it was nauseating, despite loving roller coasters.

Sandwich Talk & Celebrity Deli Orders

[17:39-20:41]

• Laughter abounds as the hosts discover what’s on the “Joe Rogan” sandwich at a local deli: fried chicken cutlets, fresh mozzarella, arugula, sun dried peppers, pesto, and balsamic glaze.
  • Robbie: "Maybe we try and get a 'Not Today, Pal' sandwich. What would we call ours?" [18:09]
  • Jamie: "Chicken cutlet, mozzarella, roasted red pepper, regular mozzarella, balsamic glaze…” [20:11]

Hazing, Sportsmanship, and Raising Kids

[18:48-29:11]

• The conversation pivots to high school hazing and its dangers, sparked by a viral, disturbing incident.
  • Robbie: “At some point, like, when he's 16, 17, do you have…to talk about hazing with your kids?” [19:25]
• Cutter joins the discussion, affirming hazing is discouraged and less common nowadays.
  • Cutter: “They do, like, little things now… rookie pitchers wear, like, a Barbie backpack. I don't know how much they're doing...bad stuff.” [23:10]
• The trio debates rooting for or against teammates and the nature of competition in sports.
  • Cutter: “Baseball is different…everyone’s out for themselves.” [23:52]

Parent Talk: Rages, Laughter, and Favorite Moments

[26:08-29:29]

• Jamie and Cutter share candid parenting stories, notably their son’s passionate (sometimes explosive) reactions to sports.
  • Cutter: “He can’t handle it. No, golf's not for him.” [26:36]
• Jamie reflects: “My favorite moments as a parent is watching my kids out in the world, when they don't know I'm watching, and seeing them be good people.” [27:53]
• Both parents agree that seeing their kids play together brings the greatest joy.

Relationship & Attraction: “Married at First Sight”

[29:31-33:53]

• Robbie brings up the show Married at First Sight, noting a double standard: "When a woman is like, 'I'm not attracted to this guy,' they kind of usually are like, well, we got to get you out. But when the guy's not attracted to the woman, they make him seem like the villain." [29:31]
• Jamie and Robbie discuss attraction—how women may grow into attraction over time, while men usually don’t.
  • Jamie: “For a woman...she could more than not become more attracted to him. But a man, if he's not attracted from the start—you can't turn that on.” [30:24]
• Robbie shares stories of slowly developing attraction, especially with women he gets to know in new contexts (yoga teachers, friends).

What’s Hotter: Sad Girls vs. Mean Girls? (Main Episode Theme)

[38:08-43:10]

• Robbie shares his “type”—“mean-looking, but nice” girls.
  • Robbie: “I need a girl who looks like she’s mean, but she’s nice. Like, you know, I just...I like a New York girl.” [38:49]
• Jamie insists she’s been told she has “that face,” to much skepticism and laughter.
• Uncle Rob, on the other hand, confesses a soft spot for “sad girls.”
  • Uncle Rob: “I love sad. They feel so much. They care so much.” [43:07]
• The group debates famous examples: Cheryl Cole (“mean girl” energy per Robbie) vs. Brittany Murphy or Amy Winehouse (the “sad girl” archetype).
  • Uncle Rob: "I'll deal with ghosts." [43:34]

Memorable Quote:

• Robbie: “See, I like angry. You like sad.” [42:55]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Gender Double Standards

  • Robbie: “If a guy got caught drinking on the job, I'd be like, that doesn't mean he's an alcoholic. Or if a woman did, I'd be like, oh, she's an alcoholic.” [02:38]

• Cheese Rolling

  • Jamie: “Oh my God. She has a concussion. They all do.” [04:25]
  • Jamie: “What idiots. But what an incredible idiots. Human beings.” [09:41]

• Parenting

  • Jamie: “My favorite moments as a parent [are] watching my kids out in the world and seeing them be good people.” [27:53]

• Attraction & Relationship Double Standards

  • Jamie: “For a woman...she could more than...become more attracted to him. But a man, if he's not attracted from the start—you can't turn that on.” [30:24]
  • Robbie: “I need a girl who looks like she’s mean, but she’s nice.” [38:49]

• Sad vs. Mean Girls Debate

  • Robbie: “See, I like angry. You like sad.” [42:55]
  • Uncle Rob: “I love sad. They feel so much.” [43:07]

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Time | Segment/Topic | |-----------|------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:38 | Gender double standards: drinking at work | | 03:03 | The annual cheese-rolling spectacle | | 10:39 | Running of the Bulls and bullfighting in Spain | | 15:08 | Celebrity life: Police escorts and NASCAR pace car | | 17:39 | Celebrity sandwich orders: The “Joe Rogan” | | 18:48 | Hazing in youth sports, parenting talk | | 26:08 | Parenting stories: tantrums and joys | | 29:31 | Double standards on attraction (“Married at First Sight”) | | 38:08 | What’s hotter: Sad girls or mean girls? | | 42:55 | Robbie and Uncle Rob’s “type” discussion |

Final Thoughts

This episode is a perfect capsule of Jamie and Robbie’s friendship: raw, funny, sometimes abrasive, but always affectionate and real. Their conversations—though they tackle offbeat subjects and reveal frank opinions—carry an undercurrent of mutual respect and genuine curiosity about each other’s perspectives. The addition of Cutter and Uncle Rob provides amusing side-bars and firsthand insights, especially during deeper topics like raising kids and relationships.

For anyone wondering: Sad girls and mean girls both have their advocates, but the heated debate and the hosts' personal confessions on attraction (and parenting, and cheese-rolling lunacy) cover a surprising emotional territory, making for a fun and memorable episode.

Listen if you enjoy:

• Honest, unfiltered banter
• Hilarious real-life stories
• Pop culture and sports tangents
• Unlikely life lessons
• Comedic exploration of gender, attraction, and parenting