Pablo Torre Finds Out
"Share & Tell & Twins" with Katie Nolan and Michael Cruz Kayne
April 25, 2025
Guests: Katie Nolan, Michael Cruz Kayne
Network: Le Batard & Friends
Episode Overview
In this lively "Share & Tell" roundtable, Pablo Torre hosts sports and culture commentators Katie Nolan and Michael Cruz Kayne to unpack viral curiosities, pop culture lore, and their own personal lives, all with the trademark PTFO blend of irreverence, deep curiosity, and comic chemistry. The discussion jumps from a viral Australian "twinie" phenomenon to generational dinner-table moments, the rumor-fueled world of "shipping" TV characters, and even the upcoming election of a Filipino Pope. It's a mix of media recaps, generational translation, and freewheeling banter, showing how the mundane and the viral alike spark new questions far beyond the game.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Inside the Off-Camera "Content Meeting" (aka Dinner Party)
- The crew shares reflections from a recent dinner at Michael's house, joined by spouses and kids.
- Generational Lingo clash: Dan uses "low key" in conversation, which his kids subtly mock—for using it "wrong"—illustrating the micro-anxieties of intergenerational communication.
- "Dan got very insecure about him saying it wrong. And I was like, no, you said it right. They're just recognizing...a little moment of generational crossover." – Katie Nolan (03:05)
- Dinner menu: Pork-centric, built off a David Chang/Momofuku bo ssäm recipe.
- Kids at the table: Willa and Truman impress the adults with their composure (01:32–03:27).
2. Katie Nolan's "Nemesis": Celebrity Jeopardy Showdown with Christopher Meloni
- Katie revisits her viral showdown with "Law & Order: SVU" star Christopher Meloni on Celebrity Jeopardy, recounting both quiz face-offs and an awkward post-show interaction.
- Katie’s cause: Donation for the Association of Women in Sports Media (AWSM), highlighting need for more women in the industry (04:41–05:07).
- Memorable moment: Katie wins in a tiebreaker—recalls Meloni's intense buzzer pressing:
- "Desperately trying to buzz in, to the point that it looks like he's actively masturbating." – Pablo Torre (07:05)
- "It was true." – Dan (07:14)
- Katie shares a too-honest moment: blurting out her friend's crush on Meloni during a backstage photo.
- "My friend Kayla really wants to have sex with you. ... It was not my best, but I felt like I would be betraying my dear friend if I didn't let him know..." – Katie Nolan (07:43)
3. Will They, Won’t They? The Stabler & Benson (SVU) Phenomenon
- The mythos of Meloni (Stabler) and Mariska Hargitay (Benson) is dissected: their on- and off-camera chemistry, the infamous courtside hand-holding sightings, and their show's history of romantic teases.
- The crew discusses the impact and fatigue of "shipping" culture, where fans obsess over potential romantic pairings.
- "Are you guys actually gonna pay this off, or is there no end game here and all you have is the juice of them almost kissing and then holding hands in real life?" – Pablo Torre (12:53)
- Katie says she’d love for SVU to pay off that tension but not for them to hold hands publicly:
- "I think I'm done with the holding of the hands outside. ... I don't need that." – Katie Nolan (14:06)
- Meta-commentary: Discussion expands on the differences between acting intimacy and real-life boundaries, with Christopher Meloni's "sexed-up" non-SVU roles as further evidence.
4. The Australian "Twinies": Sharing Everything (even Jobs, but Not Love)
- Pablo introduces viral clips: identical twins who speak in unison and care for animals together.
- Katie relates this to the more extreme "Extreme Sisters" twins who share a boyfriend and dream of simultaneous pregnancies:
- "My girls have solved that. ... They want to marry him, but they couldn't find anywhere where the darn laws would allow it." – Katie Nolan (24:30)
- "Twinies" from Australia: Bridget and Paula, famous for rescuing birds, harmonized speaking, and sharing a life completely—including jobs and outfits, but not relationships.
- "Those people seem to have no interest in being unique individuals in any way." – Dan (20:23)
- A viral fundraising crisis for the bird sanctuary threatens their mission, solved by a generous "St. Peter" (25:12–27:37).
- Notable moment: The gang debates if a near-kiss with their benefactor Peter had "Benson & Stabler" energy (27:41).
5. Sisterly Bonds, Pop Culture, and AI Weirdness
- Katie riffs on Coors Light's "twins" ads and the persistent (and sometimes disturbing) trope of twin/sibling novelty in pop culture (23:09–24:05).
- She brings up Instagram’s novel “Stepsister” AI chat bot, musing on the odd specificity and possible step-sibling kink in digital culture (28:02).
6. Pablo’s Filipino Pope Watch & the Vatican Draft
- The team takes an unexpectedly sincere turn, unpacking the process and global stakes of the upcoming papal conclave, highlighting the possibility of the first Filipino Pope, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle.
- "So it's time. The time has come." – Katie Nolan (34:18)
- They riff on papal traditions, ballot rules, the ceremonial smoke, and make "mambo number five" jokes with historical Pope names (32:46).
- Family pride: Pablo and Dan joke about the Filipino diaspora's pride:
- "For Filipinos, that's going to be huge. ... My mom's like, we know him. That's our friend." – Dan (37:05)
- Running gag: "If you podcast with a Filipino, you also get to ring the bell." – Pablo Torre (38:12)"
- "Nepo bell ringer." – Katie Nolan (38:16)
7. Closing: What Did We Learn?
- Everyone reflects tongue-in-cheek on what they've learned—about twins, generational humor, and burritos at 4am (39:00–40:15).
- "Some twins are really twinning it. And the others are lazy. ... Try harder." – Dan (39:06)
- Katie defers from sharing this episode online, saying:
- "We talked about too many things and most of them bad. And I won't be participating in any discourse around this episode." (38:41)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On generational language:
"It was a little moment of generational crossover. It was beautiful that I felt bad for calling out in the first place." – Katie Nolan (03:05) - About Katie’s Jeopardy win:
"Desperately trying to buzz in, to the point that it looks like he's actively masturbating." – Pablo Torre (07:05) - On "shipping":
"People are so invested in the authenticity, the friendship, real life, will they, won't they, that they demand and create fan fiction, only for us ... to wonder, 'Are you guys actually gonna pay this off?'" – Pablo Torre (12:53) - On the Australian twins:
"Those people seem to have no interest in being unique individuals in any way." – Dan (20:23) - On the possibility of a Filipino Pope:
"I'm going to get merch." – Pablo Torre (37:10)
"I'm in a pope hat 24/7, with my mom telling everybody, 'That's your cousin.' She'd be telling everybody that we know him." – Dan (37:15) - Katie on what she learned:
"We talked about too many things and most of them bad. ... I won't be participating in any discourse around this episode." – Katie Nolan (38:41)
Timestamps for Key Segments
| Segment/Topic | Timestamp | |----------------------------------------------------------|---------------| | Dinner party and generational lingo comedy | 00:42–03:40 | | Katie vs. Christopher Meloni – Jeopardy showdown | 04:12–08:20 | | SVU "Will They, Won’t They?" shipping & hand-holding | 08:29–14:12 | | Examination of "shipping" & TV/real-life boundaries | 14:24–17:18 | | Australian "extreme sisters" and "twinies" phenomena | 17:33–28:02 | | Coors Light "twins" ad & pop culture riffing | 22:25–24:05 | | Papal Conclave, Filipino Pope speculation & jokes | 29:00–38:16 | | "What did we learn?" burritos & twins closing riff | 39:00–40:19 |
Overall Tone
Fast-paced, unscripted, and joyfully digressive, with a self-aware sense of humor and a blend of cultural criticism, nostalgia, and personal revelation. PTFO continues to make the personal political, the viral oddly profound, and the absurd joyously human.
