Pablo Torre Finds Out — The Anti-4/20 4/20 Episode

Date: April 19, 2024
Host: Pablo Torre
Guests: Katie Nolan (very stoned), Dan Soder (very much not stoned)

Episode Overview

Pablo Torre hosts a self-aware "anti-4/20" episode with comedian and sports host Katie Nolan and stand-up comedian Dan Soder. The planned athlete-branded cannabis taste test is scrapped, leading the group into an introspective conversation about relationships with weed, addiction, self-betterment, and how substances shape both personalities and professional lives. Through honest, often funny dialogue, Dan reflects on his first significant break from weed in 26 years, Katie gleefully serves as the episode’s stoned representative, and Pablo plays inquisitive friend and comic foil.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Cancelled 4/20 Plan

• Original plan: Try a range of sports-star branded edibles ("Mike Bites," Gary Payton strain, etc.) on-air.
• Why it changed: Dan Soder is on a cannabis break for the first time in nearly three decades.
• "God, this is such a tease for... an episode that we were going to do today until I learned recently that we can’t. Even though I think we should—and will—do it eventually." (Pablo, 01:00)
• "Eventually, yes, because this summer we can." (Katie, 01:12)

2. Dan Soder’s Relationship to Weed, Alcohol, and Addiction

The Past:

• Smoked weed almost daily since age 15 (now 41).
• Quit drinking 11 years ago; quit cigarettes shortly after, but his weed consumption escalated.
• "I've been consistently getting high almost daily since I was 15, and I'm about to turn 41. That’s 26 years of dunking my brain in resin." (Dan, 01:48)
• Longest prior cannabis break was five days; now at 14 days.
• Shares openly about self-medicating trauma after losing close family (father, sister, aunt), and substance use's role in emotional regulation.

The Decision to Quit—At Least for Now

• Motivation: Desire to improve at his craft (stand-up), mental clarity, better emotional resilience.
• "My comedy, my craft was the reason..." (Pablo, 21:24)
• "I'm just like, I want to be as good as I can be. I had the same feeling with weed that I was having about alcohol all those years." (Dan, 21:38)
• Not seeking a full “conversion”—just asserting personal change and moderation.

Withdrawal & Support

• Experienced significant withdrawal: insomnia, emotional lability (less sedation, more feelings).
• "I didn't sleep the first week. I just was like, you don't sleep. Because I'm getting sedated." (Dan, 24:51)
• Katie offered support, and his social circle endorsed the break.

3. Katie Nolan’s Stoned Musings and Role

• Openly very high on edibles, offers comic relief and honest stoner perspective.
• Shares her own quitting tales (cigarettes, nicotine gum), and offers playful, empathetic support to Dan.
• "Dan never really comes into the other room and says he's freaking out. But the next day Dan will go, ‘I freaked out a little last night.’ And I’m like, where was I?" (Katie, 25:50)
• Describes the psychological experience of being “sherpa’d” back from a bad high by Dan, e.g. the “Orson Welles” TV confusion episode (15:58).

4. Substances as (Mis)Tools for Emotional Regulation

• Detailed discussion of what substances do for each host:
  • Dan: Weed as a way to cancel anxiety (noise-canceling headphones for his brain), beer as ritual and social lubricant, but ultimately a mask.
  • Katie: Dislikes leaving the house high, likes controlled settings.
• Both acknowledge that bombing emotions out via substance creates disconnect; a break forces engagement with life’s feelings (joys and sorrows).

5. The Functional Stoner—Skill, Stealth, and Ritual

• Dan’s take: Able to function, perform, and socialize at a high level while constantly high—unnoticed (or barely noticed) by close companions.
• "Let me tell you something about the stoners. We hide getting up very well." (Dan, 25:46)
• Describes escalation: starting day with weed, using edibles to sedate at night, using weed pre-any social event.
• "The way I was smoking, I needed to do it before I left the house. And Katie will tell you that. She'd be like, 'Hey, we gotta go do this.' I'm like, 'All right, hold on.' And the window would open..." (Dan, 30:07)

6. Substance and Professional Confidence

• Question: Is weed (like alcohol before it) a “performance enhancer” for creativity and comedy?
• Dan’s verdict: He feared sobriety would diminish his on-stage skills, but found his set tighter and his recall better without weed.
• "I could not be more fascinated as to how that felt." (Pablo, 36:00)
• "I felt like it was a little more concise... When I'm sober now, I can kind of see—just put your hands out and there it is." (Dan, 36:43)

7. Humor, Coping, and Weed Culture

• Numerous riffs about the “amateur’s holiday” of 4/20 vs. the “real” weed holidays for stoners (Thanksgiving).
• Anecdotes about the evolution of pot quality, gravity bongs rigged from old kitty litter boxes, and the thrill of illegal teenage years.

8. Emotional Reflections and the Path Forward

• Dan is experiencing a surge in emotional clarity and sensitivity (e.g., weeping at documentaries).
• Both Dan and Katie see this as growth, albeit accompanied by “reverse sherpa-ing” as Katie (who’s lived without substances) supports Dan through normal human ups and downs.
• "I was like, oh, this is when I would go get high... But it was like actually going through it and then waking up the next day. It is—it's reverse sherping." (Dan, 40:51)
• They reiterate: The goal is not proselytizing sobriety, but understanding one’s own relationship to substance, motivation, and well-being.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On weed culture’s mainstreaming:
  "420 is to potheads what New Year's Eve is to alcoholics. It's an amateur's holiday." (Dan, 33:45)

• On the transition from ‘chill stoner’ to feeling emotions:
  "My God, the volume on the feelings." (Dan, 39:50)

• On the self-medicating trap:
  "I had this fake persona—like, oh, I'm a chill weed guy. But then I'd lose in a video game and explode." (Dan, 23:14)

• On the promise of the aborted athlete-weed episode:
  "I want it to be cake. I don’t want it to be a daily vitamin. I want it to be cake. ... Let me get out the pool and dry off." (Dan, 30:07/30:48)

• On functional stoners:
  "We hide getting up very well." (Dan, 25:46)

• On the ‘Sherpa’ role during a spiraling high:
  "The ground has been moved from under her. So then there is a mental free fall. The mental free fall is when you have to grab someone and pull them back up." (Dan & Katie, 15:54–16:05)

• On weed and standup performance:
  "I think you kind of want to learn how to hit the baseball without steroids... If I can hit dingers not on juice, well then...I got my swing back." (Dan, 36:19)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:00-01:20 – The episode’s original plan and the abrupt change due to Dan’s cannabis break.
• 02:06-04:54 – Dan unpacks his history with substances, therapy, and quitting alcohol/cigarettes.
• 07:04–12:46 – Early weed memories, gravity bong stories, and the “developmental years.”
• 14:40–17:16 – The ‘weed Sherpa’ metaphor; Dan describes guiding others through rough highs.
• 21:24–22:03 – Dan links his craft and decision to moderate weed use.
• 23:31–25:35 – Self-medication and emotional outbursts (video games as a case study).
• 25:46–27:16 – Functionality and communication as a high-performing stoner; the ritualized nature of use.
• 28:09–28:57 – Emotional suppression and anxiety: what disappears and what emerges on weed.
• 33:45–34:07 – The difference between 4/20 and “real” weed culture holidays.
• 36:00–36:43 – Sober standup: how Dan’s act sharpened post-weed.
• 39:50–41:06 – Feelings and tears: emotional aftershocks of quitting weed.
• 46:00–47:11 – Athlete weed strains: Gary Payton, Carmelo, Pac Man, Magic Johnstoned.
• 48:10–48:32 – The prospective weed episode: playing Rocket League high.

Tone & Language

• Heavily conversational, candid, and humorous.
• Vivid, self-deprecating analogies (“bathtub fingers,” “noise-canceling headphones,” “reverse sherping,” “getting out of my tits”).
• Casual profanity and slang, especially describing weed use and withdrawal.
• A blend of comic riffing and sincere, vulnerable introspection.

For New Listeners (TL;DR)

If you missed the episode:
Dan Soder is, for the first time in 26 years, not high—prompted by a desire to sharpen his comedy and engage with life more fully. Katie Nolan is the episode’s designated stoner, happy to enjoy athlete-branded edibles and riff on the rituals of weed life. The episode foregoes the usual 4/20 revels for a nuanced, sometimes hilarious, and heartfelt discussion about why people use (and quit) substances, how weed can both mask and mute feelings, and what it means to “dry off” after decades with your brain “in the pool.” Along the way: stories of gravity bongs, emotional outbursts over Rocket League, “Sherpa-ing” friends through highs, and the promise of a future athlete-weed taste-test turned Rocket League challenge.

Standout Segment:

The Weed Sherpa Story – 15:54–17:16
Dan recounts helping Katie through a too-intense high, illustrating support, trust, and the sometimes unpredictable nature of cannabis experiences—a microcosm of the episode’s theme: exploring the relationship between substances, emotions, and growth.