The Anti-4/20 4/20 Episode, with a Stoned Katie Nolan and a Very Much Not-Stoned Dan Soder

Summary

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)

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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.

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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.

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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)

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Transcript

[A]

Welcome to Pablo Torre Finds Out. I am Pablo Torre. And today we're gonna find out what this sound is.

[B]

Gino's Italian.

[A]

Hey, love pizza from Brooklyn, right after this ad.

[C]

You're listening to Giraffe Kings.

[B]

Hello.

[C]

Genuinely, I didn't prepare anything. I thought we were smoking weed for this podcast. I thought you and I were gonna bully him and just make him watch us smoke weed. And. And then we moved it to here and we're not doing that anymore. So I smoked a bunch of weed before I came.

[A]

I do have a bag full of, I think, Mike Tyson edibles.

[B]

Those are great.

[A]

We've been collecting.

[B]

Oh, the ones look like ears.

[A]

Yeah, we got the tight. The mic bites.

[B]

I got. I've had those before.

[A]

So I guess I should say that I have collected what seems to be sports media's largest collection of athlete branded weed.

[B]

God, this is such a tease for.

[A]

An episode that we were going to do today until I learned recently that we can't do it. Even though I think we should and will do it eventually.

[B]

Eventually, yes, because this summer we can.

[A]

Absolutely. So that's this summer. All of this will be consumed this summer. But in the meantime, I want to explain why we can't do it.

[C]

And that is.

[A]

And that is.

[B]

I've taken an extended break from smoking and consuming marijuana.

[C]

This is me clapping along into a bunch of edibles.

[B]

Yeah, it producers behind the glass.

[A]

Like, why are we applauding this? And I want to hear Dan out. I want to hear, hey, well, number.

[B]

One legal now, so it's only for dorks. You weren't doing when it was actually worth the risk. You're a narc and a nerd.

[C]

He's not like this, I swear.

[B]

No, it's. I've been consistently getting high almost daily since I was 15, and I'm about to turn 41. So that's 26 years of dunking my brain in resin.

[C]

And what's the longest break you went on in that time?

[B]

Five days, that's why. And I'm at day 14 right now.

[A]

I have so many questions.

[B]

Yeah, I mean, I'm in therapy. I've been in therapy for 13 years. And there becomes this moment. I quit drinking 11 years ago. And when I quit drinking, there became this moment where it felt like it didn't serve me anymore. Started feeling like it was holding me back. And these are feelings that any addict will tell you that when you're conscious of it, you feel like, oh, I'm. I know I need to stop. And I don't Want to. It's like being in a toxic relationship. You're like, it feels good, but there's a lot of bad. And I'm ignoring the bad because I still like the good a little bit. But I know in my soul I, I need to get out of it. And you convince yourself. I'm, I, I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine. So when I, I started doing therapy, I was having a lot of problems and my therapist was like, well, you're an alcoholic. And I was like, I'm not an alcoholic. I just party. Sorry. I can. Sorry. I'm such a blast.

[A]

She's like, no, I know. People say that all the time. It's like written that line on like a poster.

[C]

Well, what he says, but it's different for me. I'm different.

[B]

No, no, no. I'm, I'm built different. So I remember when I was quitting drinking, specifically my, the, I was like, you know, I drink, but I'm not my dad. My dad was an alcoholic. An alcoholic. And my therapist just point blank goes, now you're being exact like your dad. You're drinking and you're not taking ownership of it. You're using it as an excuse. You're using. And you're using it as a crutch. And I was like, well, that's not true. And then I quit drinking and I realized he was right and I, I have no want or need to go back to drinking. It's very few and far between with how much non alcoholic beer has progressed in the last seven years.

[C]

It.

[B]

The one thing I missed was having a beer at a baseball game. I used to love to go to a Mets game and have a giant beer and then seven more. But that first beer was always like, this is unbelievable.

[A]

And what about it though? Just to explain to baseball is a beer drinking sport.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

You like watch when you go to the park for baseball. You want a hot dog and a beer. You want to sit there. It's a relaxed environment. You're just kind of chilling. I loved a summer day, a beer and watching a game. Yes. And when I quit drinking, there was a lot of things. I, I missed the getting up part, but I missed like I went to a Mets game and I was like, this is the biggest itch I've ever had is I want to be here. But now non alcoholics are so good that I can have a Heineken.0. I can have an athletic and just be like, oh, this feels like I'm drinking.

[A]

The ritual gets to be Simulated.

[B]

It scratches the itch. I've been smoking weed that whole time, but I like doubled down on them.

[A]

Yeah, I was gonna ask, what's the substitution effect when you can't do the thing?

[B]

Cigarettes and weed. I was smoking cigarette. I quit cigarettes six months later. So all I was left with was weed. So that got ratcheted up quadruple.

[A]

How long ago was this?

[B]

11 years ago.

[C]

Okay, so when did you quit cigarettes? 11 years ago.

[B]

Yeah, I quit smoking. I quit drinking in March of 2013 and I quit cigarettes June, right before my 30th birthday because I didn't want to go into my 30s smoking cigarettes. So I quit June 23rd.

[C]

I don't even remember the year. And you remember the day.

[B]

Oh, I remember the date, baby. Because I miss cigarettes still.

[A]

So I was. I was gonna ask about.

[B]

Okay, so the hardest thing to quit is cigarettes. Hardest thing to quit for me. I know other people have different feelings. I miss cigarettes daily. Katie and I talk about it all the time. She quit cigarettes. She's actually. She's not gonna brag about this, but I'm very proud of her. She was on Nicorette gum and mints and then quit in January and she's been.

[C]

December, December 20th, 4th.

[B]

There you go. See, you remember the day Only because.

[C]

This was Christmas Eve and we were on a road trip and then like two days later we' sleeping in our car and I was like, could really go for some of that. Takes the edge off. Right now I still have one on.

[B]

Me and she never used it. And I was very impressed that she quit. Nick.

[C]

The lamest thing to have to quit is like little candies you put in your mouth every few.

[B]

Yeah, but people don't realize.

[C]

But it's a real.

[A]

I'm addicted to Werther's original.

[C]

Well, that's what I replaced him with. Pablo. Thank you. Shout out to the Werther's company. They make them in all different flavors.

[B]

By the way, she's just walking through bags.

[C]

Not anymore. I slowed down.

[B]

I slowed down February and March. There were Worthers rappers everywhere. Cuz Katie was just popping them.

[A]

On the question of the edge off. And that effect. Is that what you missed? To be specific about like what? Cigarettes.

[B]

Cigarettes. I mean, they're cool as. I miss going outside. I miss the first.

[C]

The sound. Sorry, but the sound when the flame hits the paper and you take the first pull that like.

[B]

And then when you go like this.

[C]

Yeah, but don't do it if you haven't start. This is the thing that I'M like, don't start.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Like, let us talk about missing when we did it.

[B]

A lot of young kids now are getting into zins, and they're getting into stuff. I think if you go straight to vaping or straight to zins, you're missing the coolest part.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Which is smoking and dipping.

[C]

Right.

[B]

It's like tobacco.

[A]

The smoking part I get because I've seen movies.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Like, I want to look like that.

[B]

Dipping is pretty.

[A]

Dipping. What?

[B]

Dipping can be pretty great. I have a lot of friends that.

[C]

The stuff it does, like your teeth, the stuff it does to your breath. The way you have to carry around is as a bartender, the amount of times I've had to clear people's, like, spit drops.

[B]

Anyone that dipped watching this goes. I get it.

[C]

I don't.

[B]

They're like, Nate Pargetsy might watch this and go, I get it. I get it. And I miss it because I. I remember he would pick me up in Queens, and he'd pack a lip, and I'd be waiting to get out to smoke a cigarette. I miss s cigarettes. But when I quit cigarettes, I found I could smoke a joint and it.

[C]

Would kind of feels the same. It does. They say a lot of it. I remember they say a lot of it's the physical act. So they'll say, like, cut to, like, cut a straw real short when you're trying to. Yeah. And just, like, do that.

[B]

Like, they say, like, dum dum toothpicks.

[C]

You replace smoking.

[B]

Smoke. Yeah. With. With cooler smoke.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

And I just always loved weed. Like, since the time I was 15. I just liked getting high.

[A]

I love.

[B]

You know, I still like getting high.

[A]

Okay, but you're from Colorado.

[B]

Yeah. Which it wasn't legal until 2014.

[A]

So what's the. Do you remember what. Like, this is where we talk about the first time we smoked weed, I guess. But when?

[C]

God.

[B]

Well, it depends on what kind of weed. Because I. I smoked, like, swag when I was in.

[C]

Like, that's what most people smoke in high school, I believe. It's just. Yes, exactly. It's garbage.

[B]

I didn't really like that because the high from swag is very red eyes, very hungry, very giggly. A crash. You're like. And then the first time I smoked chronic is what we called it back when I was a child.

[C]

So 40 years ago.

[B]

Yeah, 26 years ago.

[C]

Damn. I was only joking.

[B]

Shout out. Brian Tannenbaum got. He rolled a blunt of. And we were. We're at this girl Amber's house party, and he's like, oh, I got chronic. And it was. I remember the day because it was a year to the day my dad died. So it was December 12, 1998. And I, me and Brian smoked a blunt of chronic that he got from Boulder. Boulder, Colorado, had incredible weed that was the light green with the red hairs, no sticks, no seeds. And he rolled it and we smoked in this backyard. And I got the greatest high I've ever had in my life. I was laughing my ass off. I was wearing a Mountain Dew box as a hat. Thought it was the greatest bit of all time. I stayed at Zach's house. I slept at Zach's house. And I've told the story before, but I was so high that the next morning I had a weed hangover, which is. I was giggly and hungry. And I went home and my mom's boyfriend Joe was watching Yukon's women basketball. And I was like. It was like 10 in the morning. And I was like, we should order Pizza Hut. And he was like, what? And I was like, we should get one of those. They came out with the Brooklyn XL Pizza.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

And I was like, we should get a Brooklyn XL Pizza. Like, I could hammer one of those. And he was like, no. And I kept doing the thing of like, come on, Joe. I was trying to get a bonding moment. Like, if he. I would have liked him a lot more if he would have gone like.

[A]

Yeah, you know what? You know what Gino Auriemma would want us to do right now?

[C]

Yeah, you know what, Papa Gino?

[B]

Yeah, dude, let's. Let's get it. Gino's Italian. Hey, love pizza from Brooklyn. And he shot it down. And then I just remember going in like, Joe sucked. Joe sucked, sucked. It just became like, oh, like it's. It's like going from drinking three dollar vodka to the first time you try, like, good liquor, where you go like, oh, this is like a different category. Yeah, like, I like this. So then it just became, who can get chronic? Let's smoke bowls. And then it. It got out of control, like high school. Does that mean gravity bong hits? We're doing shotguns.

[A]

Are you making a gravity bong?

[B]

Absolutely. I have a great bucket.

[C]

Just to reiterate, this is during the developmental years of your brain.

[B]

Yeah, well, whatever, dude. It warped it. But we would take a gallon of milk and then we'd cut off the bottom. And then with the cap, we would use aluminum foil to make the bowl.

[A]

Poke some holes in it.

[B]

Yeah, poke the holes in it. And then we put the bowl and Then we put it in like this. I think it was a kitty box.

[C]

Kitty litter box.

[B]

Like one of the old ones from toilet. I'm a dead cat. Washed it out. We're not idiots.

[C]

No, you didn't. You were high school boys.

[B]

No, we washed it out because we knew what it was. So we put the water in. I have a picture of it. I have a picture at our house.

[C]

Good.

[B]

Me taking a gravity bong hit, and we would just get ripped. And we were just finding ways to get up. And then it became whatever money you made at your job. Can I go get an eighth? Like, who had eighths? Shout out, Devin. I think he's in prison right now. But Devin had weed at the apartment complex by my house.

[C]

I hope he's not in prison for weed.

[B]

No, I think it's might be murder.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

For those that watch on YouTube drafting network, Dan did the thing that Sammy Sosa did when he hit a home run to Devon, who might be in jail.

[B]

Shout out, devin, dude, I know you're on the inside, but we're on the outside living for you. And we, our senior year, we voted him most likely to brighten your day. And the school changed it because they found out who it was.

[C]

Oh, no.

[B]

They were like, no, we're not giving that to a drug dealer. And we're like, no, no, no.

[C]

But he is the most likely.

[B]

He was the most likely to brighten your day. So we just became kind of like, I didn't. My dad had died, so I kind of of cirrhosis. So I kind of saw what alcohol did, so I was like, this ain't booze. Not knowing I had an addict's brain and just being like, well, I'm just smoking weed. I just became, like, a huge pothead. And I just, like, loved smoking weed. And I stayed loved smoking weed up until 14 days ago.

[A]

But. But the question of, like, what does being a huge pothead actually entail for people who aren't huge potheads? I want to.

[B]

Well, all right, let me visualize. I'll give you this example. When you go to the doctor, they ask you how many drinks you have a week. That's a thing.

[C]

No one ever. I remember never telling the truth.

[B]

No one tells the truth.

[C]

I didn't go the lowest, but I went to the middle one. Even though I knew that I was probably like, the third or the one that says four more. I feel like I did the, like, three to six a week.

[A]

Yeah, I'm on the Mediterranean diet. I think I can drink a glass of Red wine.

[B]

I have a couple grass. I remember I was drinking 16 drinks a night.

[C]

Oh, my God. Oh, my God. You're such a tall tree.

[B]

I would do eight beers and eight shots. That's what I. Because I'd do a shot and a beer, which Nate Pargetsy always would be, like, if you eliminate shots, you're all right. And I was like, I don't know if that's true. I still think I'm drinking eight beers. But I used to do a shot of Jameson with a bud back. Bud heavy.

[C]

Isn't that funny? I did not know that because he had quit drinking by the time we met. But, like, that's the guy I'm gonna marry. That's what he would have drank.

[B]

And then when I got a little money, it moves.

[A]

The guy in this time capsule is your husband.

[B]

But ask anybody. And they knew that's the guy. I would have picked a butt heavy. And then a couple camel lights in between rounds.

[C]

I mean, he's my true love. That's my soulmate.

[A]

This is all making sense.

[B]

Sense. That's my soul. And so finally I said that to a doctor. I go, I don't know. I do like eight beers, eight shots a night. And the doctor was like, Jesus Christ. Complete professionalism out the window. They're like.

[A]

He's like, I gotta make a call real quick.

[B]

I think he went like, God, all right. No, no, don't do that. So what I said to my therapist when we were talking about quitting, I said, that was my Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hours. I'm like an expert at getting out of my tits. Like, I'm so good at getting up. I could, like, if someone was high, call me like, Winston the Wolf. Like, I can walk. I've walked her back a couple times, so.

[A]

Okay, wait. So let's explain this. Good at this.

[C]

So many times.

[B]

Why am I good?

[C]

Because he's been up there.

[A]

And what's it like when he's guiding you?

[C]

He knows where the exits are, so he knows how to get you to the. I mean, I. Do you remember which one?

[B]

The God weed. The. The God nug.

[C]

The one that made me think that we already knew. Okay, the Orson Wells one. We. I don't. I'm sorry. I don't even know if I can speak about. Cuz I don't even remember. I remember. The only part I remember is that we were watching. We got high. Very high, very high. And we were watching. Remember when Orson Wells. I'm gonna this up. Released. He released like Two movies at the same time. And one was a movie of like Citizen Kane. No, it. But it was like. And then the other was a documentary about the making of that movie or something. I feel like I heard about it from Ride Home. And so I felt like it was going to be like an artsy endeavor for me. It was like his. The most recent release, they put out this like, Orson Wellesley something.

[B]

Again, we are very high either way.

[C]

And I'm already going into this going, is this the movie or is this the documentary about the movie? Which, when I'm high is exactly what me up. It's the concept of some. I'm playing a video game, or someone's playing a video game and I'm being played by them. And the thing inside the thing.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

When I'm high makes me go, well, what is. And what thing am I inside?

[B]

And let me explain to you as a Sherpa.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

The ground has been moved from under her.

[C]

Right.

[B]

So then there is a mental free fall.

[C]

Right.

[B]

The mental free fall is when you have to grab someone and pull them back up.

[C]

Well, the reason that the thing that triggered it was Orson Welles is doing the voiceover of this documentary.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

And in it he's saying things. He's saying. And now pay close attention here. And it's like a clip from an old movie, but then it would go into people talking. But if my. If I close my eyes, my voice just heard like one continuous audio stream. And it sounded like the clips that Orson Welles was using in the movie were narrating the documentary. So then I was like, what's going on? Yeah, Orson Welles is talking directly to us.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

When you get rewind and Dan's like, what you're saying is happening isn't happening. Are you feeling okay? And then I went, I don't know, where am I? And then I just dropped to the ground. And he was like, all right, here we go.

[B]

And that's when you're like, you fasten yourself on the mountain.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

You go, you get her, you climb back up.

[C]

He opens.

[B]

I got her wind, I got her water.

[C]

Opens the sliding door. Put a glass of water next to me.

[B]

Cold wind and water calmed Myrtle down.

[C]

Cuz Myrtle's going, what's going on with Mom?

[B]

She's trying to lick her face.

[C]

Mom's freaking out.

[B]

Dogs understand this. Dogs know when you're spinning. That's why they're great companions.

[C]

She'll do this thing where if I give her like the right look that I'm not conscious of, she'll come over and just start licking my hand to be like, come back down to earth.

[A]

Hades, down in a well.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

Myrtle's trying to tell people.

[B]

Yeah. Yes. She's Lassie. This is Lassie. Timmy's in a well. That's exactly it. You nailed it. And if you've been around super high people, whether it be mushrooms, whether it be weed or acid, you understand that you need to tether them back to the earth.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

You just need to go, like, describe what your feeling.

[C]

Describe what you're hearing.

[B]

This was the best advice I ever received. And I. I don't know if this man is alive or dead, but it was a guy we used to buy mushrooms off of, and he always. He always said, before you trip right on your hand, I am tripping. It's okay. Smart, because then that's you from before.

[A]

So that gives you a memento.

[C]

I was gonna say your memento.

[B]

That's exactly it. And there had been some mushroom trips.

[A]

I do not trust him.

[B]

I'm on. You're right. What do you mean I'm right? Am tripping? I always remember. I am tripping. It's okay. Like, you would look and you go like, okay, got it.

[A]

So this too shall pass. You're trying to intellectually get them to buy into that.

[B]

This. This too shall pass. That's all you need to understand, is that it will come back and you will be. You will. And that's why I kept saying to her, hey, give it a little bit. You're fine. You're floating right now. You're going to come back down. It's the soda in Willy Wonka. Burp.

[A]

Just burp.

[B]

Yep. And you come back down. What loses you is you're up there and you go, I'm never going to come back down. And then you fly higher and you do go.

[A]

Part the my experience, the worst I ever felt with. With weed was eating the smallest part of a brownie that a friend had told me.

[B]

Like, edibles do something different to you.

[C]

I don't know what it is. It's like an unrideable wave.

[A]

And it was the feeling of, oh, no. They put, clearly based on how I feel, something other than weed in me.

[C]

Well, then you're.

[A]

Now you're just like, free floating through space.

[B]

Smoking weed is swimming in a pool. Edibles are swimming in the ocean.

[A]

Ocean, yes.

[B]

It's a bigger sea. You can get lost.

[A]

See where the shore is?

[B]

There's a rip tide. One of the moments I knew I had to quit drinking was I. I used to I used to work a lot in the city. I wasn't on the road a lot, and I was working at the Comedy Cellar, and I would do like four or five spots in a night, and I would go bar called Triona's in the West Village, which is right around the corner from Cellar, and I'd do some Dan drinking because I didn't want to do Dan drinking at the Cellar because I didn't want them going, this new guy is getting too hammered.

[C]

No, it's stupid, but it's smarter than it could have been.

[B]

I mean, I was. I was born in the darkness, molded by it. So I knew where to go to, to get. But then one night I came back for a late show and I was too up, and I literally felt like I had swam too far away from the beach. And that was the feeling I had on stage, was I can't control my words. I can't control my thoughts. And then the next morning, I woke up and as one does hungover, I felt ashamed, I felt anxious, and I was like, man, if I want to be a comic for the rest of my life, I gotta change some because I'm too. I was too up on stage last night at a place that I have dreamt about working since I was 17. So I need to cut drinking. But weed was always there, baby, and I would always. And I. I love weed. I still do. I. You know, but it got to a point where I, you know, I just released a special in March, available now on YouTube.

[A]

It's really good.

[B]

Thanks. It's called on the road. In 1997, the United States enacted the Deadbeat dad law, which meant if you didn't pay child support, you were going to jail. My dad died in 1997, and. Buzzer beater. I'm in the process of building, and I just. I just felt like, man, I. I need to get better. I need to get better. And I think that's always a step someone feels professionally, where you're like, what can I do? How can I? I want every step to be an improvement, even if it can't be. I want to try to improve.

[A]

So you're. Your comedy, your craft was the reason.

[B]

Yeah, it's just around, you know, let's leave the art.

[A]

I don't want to go levitard and just talk about, please, please, the artist and all that.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

But in terms of just.

[B]

I love comedy and I want to be very good at it. I want to be the best that I can be. If I get old and I And I'm like, oh, I could have done this. I'll beat the. I'll beat my. I'm very good at beating myself up, as she knows that's the only domestic violence in our house is me kicking out of myself in my brain. But I. I just like. 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.

[A]

I was gonna say, you've identified now, like being on stage with alcohol as the turning point in this too seemingly forgetting words.

[B]

I was forgetting trains of thought. I was forgetting, like, where am I going with this? And I'm already kind of dumb. So, like, it was making me dumber. And I just kind of felt like, like, all right, well, let's try. Let's just like. And I had the same talk, same therapist, you know, and he said, what about quitting weed? You know, and what it was specifically was, was I. There was a. I have a lot of anger and a lot of stuff that I haven't worked on from the death of my father and my sister. Because after my dad died, you know, that. December 12, 1998, I started smoking weed. My sister was killed in the car accident October 29, 1999. And so I go through that and I'm just getting like, more up. And then I lose my aunt in 07 that I was close to, and I just getting more up and just people I knew were dying and I was just getting like, well, like, I'm good at this.

[A]

Does it. Did it feel like self medicating?

[B]

Yeah. 100.

[A]

Like you were aware that that's what was happening?

[B]

No, but I kind of did.

[A]

It's kind of make you feel better enough?

[B]

Yeah, man. Made me feel great. Great. But then, you know, I was talking to my old roommate Vecchion about this today at breakfast where I kind of had this false pers. This like fake Persona of like, oh, I'm a chill weed guy. But then I'd lose in a video game and explode.

[C]

And then we had to get a new table. It was from ikea. So, like, they are easy to break. And I just want to let you know, it did break.

[B]

Down and in. Down and in. I cleared that thing. I lost a rocket.

[A]

I was gonna say, I believe we've established that this was Rocket League.

[C]

It was really.

[B]

Dude was like, rocket League give me my black belt.

[C]

The sun was out too.

[B]

I shattered that. And then she heard it on that. She heard it on the chat.

[C]

What was that?

[B]

And I'm immediately immediately ashamed.

[C]

But it's okay.

[B]

I just wasn't tied to my emotions. I just kind of felt like, oh, this is self medicating. And when you start realizing that, you go, what if I take the medication off? Like, what if we. You know, I talked to my therapist and my therapist was like, maybe you're using this as a crutch. Maybe you need to feel. Katie was in LA doing work for a week and I looked online and they said, you know, withdrawal symptoms usually last about seven days. And I. And I did the math. That was where I was like, let's chill for a couple months.

[C]

That's wild to me. If I may, because I was like, wouldn't you want me to. I would love to be there to help you through whatever withdrawal experiencing.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

You don't have to hide.

[B]

I know I didn't have to hide it, but I didn't want to inconvenience.

[C]

It wouldn't happen.

[B]

Because one of the things. But one of the things is like, I didn't sleep. I didn't sleep the first week. I just was like, you don't sleep Because I'm getting sedated. I just had a physical like two months ago, and my doctor was like, all right. Marijuana use. I was like, daily. And he's like, how much? And I lied, like we do about our drinks. I was like, yeah, once a day. But I was like, I smoke when I wake up. I would smoke before the shower, and then that's just how I start my day. And then throughout the day, I'd just keep smoking. And then at night, it was like, bong hits edibles. Let's go.

[C]

Before you go to sleep. He would take at least an edible.

[B]

I'd take at least 25 milligrams at.

[C]

Least after smoking all enough to sedate me. That would. Sedate. I would be. You talk about losing the. The gram.

[B]

Sleeping through the night.

[C]

So not even really kind of.

[A]

But something that I want to know from Katie's perspective about all of this is to what extent did Dan seem stoned versus also being functional? Which is a.

[B]

Let me tell you something about the sodas. We hide getting up very well.

[C]

Yeah. 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? You never. He doesn't go through it out loud. He goes through it all inside, flexing through his shirt, which I'm like. Then I immediately think of all the times I've been on the ground needing him to fan my sweaty back because I don't know where I am.

[A]

You want the Sherpa and Dan is out there soloing.

[C]

Right. And then, then I feel like I'm like I was in the other room just goofing off. Probably getting frustrated at you. Cuz we're in the chat and you're not responding and I'm like, are you on your phone? Why are you answering us in the chat?

[A]

You guys play video games from different rooms too.

[C]

On. On headset with other people. We're not just like on headset with each other.

[A]

In the same apartment.

[C]

Yeah, in the same Whatever. Sometimes should I be more ashamed when I say no.

[A]

No, no. I just want people to understand. What.

[B]

Whatever man.

[C]

So anyway, he kind of alone and.

[B]

Yeah. As one does. No, I know, I know.

[C]

But it's so. It's. I don't always know. So it's. But I can't.

[B]

That's only child syndrome.

[C]

There's. I. I'll notice when he's. When he gets really, really. I mean he'll usually come out and go like I'm going to get scary high tonight.

[B]

That's literally my words. I come out and I go, I'm going to get scared.

[C]

He's like, what if I was thinking, what if. You know that weed that we've stopped smoking cuz you're so afraid of it. What if I put that into a bong and I just do binger bongers and I'm going to. I'm going to get going. And I was like, why do you aspire so scared? Like isn't that the bad part? Why are you chasing the bad part?

[B]

I'd sit there with a full bat and just to this, you know. And a lot of my friends, we get high like that. It's just kind of everybody I've ever been friends with. That's just what we do. You know, before the bonfire we'd rip a KE dipped.

[A]

Jesus Christ, Moon. What is it like?

[C]

Everything now. Can I just say all the, all of the dispensaries are like, you want a small little one? Okay. We dipped this one in more weed around in the. I just want a baby one. And some of us smoke. Like when we tried it the first time in high school, we did not like it. And we went to a scary place and some of us just like to take little edge off.

[A]

But the question of like walking around the world and being functional enough while also overcome. Is it. Does it feel like I am overcoming the thing that is making me stoned. Does it feel like there is a challenge or a thing you enjoy about, like, I can do something that they can't.

[B]

I think I have a lot of anger in me that I've never dealt with and I think I have a lot of frustration in me that I haven't dealt with, like health, like in a healthy way, like actually worked through it. And I think weed was like, dude, put it up on the side.

[C]

I also, I feel like you, you have a constant running. I don't know, because I'm not in there. But you've got a, an inner monologue of anxiety that you've, it's like a hum that has been humming for so long that you've kind of learned to just like, yeah, that's exactly push it in the back. But when you smoke weed, it goes further in the back. So you can really not even tell that it's.

[B]

It's putting on noise canceling headphones. Yeah, it's like I get high and I put on those noise canceling headphones and I'm like just walking around. And what's crazy is since I've stopped smoking in the past two weeks, my anxiety levels have dropped. I don't have any anxiety.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

I get anxiety in certain situations that cause anxiety. But I'm not anxious. You know, I don't think I'm done smoking weed. I think I'm done drinking for sure. I don't, I don't want to go back to drinking. I don't want to become that person again again. Cigarettes, God only knows. But weed, I just need a break. I just needed like, let me get two months. And I've. And by the way, I talk to friends that are huge potheads and they go, well, yeah, you gotta take a break. And I go, you guys are gonna take a breaks.

[A]

When I told Katie immediately, we were in LA getting dinner and she told me about this, she broke the news to me that we couldn't do our.

[B]

Athlete, which we will do.

[A]

We will do again. We're going to do.

[B]

Trust me, when you.

[C]

And if we don't, it's okay.

[B]

Yeah, but I don't care. When you're a Hall of Famer, you got them all.

[A]

But what I told her immediately was, and again, forgive me for not being the, the best advice giver given that you are currently trying to stay in the state that you're in. I was like, but when you do return to it, yeah, we can do it. It's going to be incredible.

[B]

Well, that's kind of where I want to get. I want to.

[A]

Like when I don't smoke weed for a while, I come back and I'm like, oh, this is why I fell in love with them.

[B]

Well, that's what I want. I want it to be a true treat. I want it to be cake. I don't want it to be a daily vitamin. I want it to be cake. I want it to be like, hey, dude, let's have some cake. And then you're like, oh, you get that excitement of like, yeah, dude, I could have some cake right now. 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 then the window would open and I'd, you know. Or I, I, dude, I had my one hitter on me. Like an ankle gun. Yeah, I just kept that thing on me. I would just be like, oh, cool. Just walk in and be like. And then you're like, yeah, let's. And it just like, dude, I don't have anything against weed. This isn't a thing where I'm like, and now I found Christ. 100.

[A]

I. I love weed.

[B]

This is me. Yeah, this is me. Just let me get out the pool.

[C]

And dry off this many years consecutively. I've had nothing to justify to anybody. Your brain has not had a second to go. Maybe we should build some neural pathways sober. Maybe we should have a thought process function soberly through your brain.

[B]

I had bathtub fingers and I just want my fingers to go back.

[C]

Yeah, you've been, you've had wrinkled raisins.

[B]

I just let me get out of the water for a little bit. I've said it to friends of mine who have had real problems with addiction, like, real, real bad problems. People. Friends of mine that have relapsed, lapsed. Other friends of mine that have gotten through it, and they. The friends in my life, I've seen a reaction from people where you have people in your life that you trust, that you love and you trust. And when it's a consensus, you go, I'm going the right way. And enough people have gone like, all right. Like Vecchi on this morning at breakfast, he didn't know. And I told him, he's like, yeah, dude, all right, I'm excited to see this. You know, Bargetzi was like, all right, buddy, here we go. Go. You know, like, let's go. And. And Katie immediately understood. She went, yeah, take A break. And by the way, I'm not mad at her for smoking weed. We play. She smokes weed before we play rock.

[A]

I was gonna ask.

[C]

Don't have any alcohol in the house. So, like, I'm already. I feel like I'm doing my part. And since you're just taking a break from this one and we have all that weed, I mean, we're not gonna smoke itself.

[B]

We have a lot of weed.

[C]

So I. Especially today, I felt I had a duty to stay true to the concept.

[B]

You know what's funny is I don't. I'm like, yeah, dude, go get high.

[A]

Well, so I was gonna ask.

[B]

She asked this.

[C]

I'll do it in a different room.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. She is respectful, but I was joking.

[C]

I can't smell, so it doesn't really.

[B]

Yeah, I have no sense of smell, so I'm like, dude, go rip it. I don't. I don't. I'm gonna hang out with my friends that smoke weed, and I'm probably gonna watch them smoke weed. And I'm like, dude, that's great. My dad's family is all addicts. I mean, top to bottom, you know, and they're all dead. And it's me and my cousin, and we're kind of like, damn, everyone was up and it's like, oh, it. We. Our family. My dad's family normalized it. Like, this is what we do. We get up. We're good at getting up, and we are. Are. We're very good at getting up. But time to take a break. I'm in my 40s now. I just kind of don't want to be.

[C]

I'm not yet. I just.

[B]

Yeah, I just kind of don't want to be an old stoner. I kind of want to have my wits about me as I get older. So whatever I have to do, I've been doing it consistently for 26 years.

[A]

26 years.

[B]

Yeah. I don't remember most, but I. I, you know, I just felt like, whatever, man, it's time to chill out for a little bit.

[A]

One of the things that I was in LA for was because I had all these 420 IDE. But really what I'm so glad to do is, like, actually get to what's more interesting about all of this with people who actually, like, sincerely have a relationship with weed and, like, it's nuance and it's not as simple as. Oh, so.

[B]

Well, let me tell you this. 420 is the Potheads what New Year's Eve is to alcoholics. It's an amateur's holiday.

[A]

And especially in New York, where it's.

[B]

Actually Thanksgiving is where you get high.

[A]

Truly, my favorite Twitter search is like, weed on Thanksgiving.

[B]

Weed.

[A]

Plus, like, cousins. It's like everybody attesting to the joy of discovering this forbidden thing of getting high with your cousins once a year.

[C]

My mom brought. My mom kind of kicked that door down for everybody.

[B]

Chow cam, dude, we'll rip it on Thanksgiving. I'll be back. But I. I just don't kind of want. Like I said, I don't want to make it the standard. I don't want to. I'm just kind of want to dry off.

[A]

Yeah. So one of the things I asked in LA of an interview subject, Matt Barnes, former NBA player.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Who was the preeminent stoner while active in the NBA, was like, what do you think? Hunter and a boss. Yes. Nine minutes I watch him against.

[B]

Dude, come on, bro.

[C]

Hop in, hop in, hop in. Come on, hop in.

[A]

Six foot eight, Matt Barnes, whole thing, he built like a.

[B]

That was a pothead wave.

[C]

I was like, okay, I got this. And then as soon as it touched it, the thing fell over.

[B]

You can also tell cuz, like, anybody from the country was like, just grab the thing, throw it outside, man. It ain't going to kill you.

[A]

What I wanted to know from Matt Barnes was what's his view on. On cannabis as a performance enhancing drug drug because he smoked so much before games. And again, there's nuance to the ritual and how far ahead of games and so forth. But for you, did you ever have a thought of, I am made better because of this, man.

[B]

Bonfire ripped. When we got high, there's a certain high Jay and I would get where that radio show would be cooking because we're. We're buddies, we're genuine friends, and I love getting high with Big J. And we would watch silly videos and it would be like everything I did in high school that brought me joy. After school, I got to do that job for eight years. And I love it, and I love it. And I still love going over to Jay's and smoking a joint and watching YouTube fails.

[C]

I feel like something you said about alcohol is what you're maybe getting at, correct me if I'm wrong, is that when you quit drinking, you were afraid that your talent was tied to drinking.

[B]

I still feel that about right. I still feel, you know, I just headlined my first weekend without weed in Omaha, and it was like I could.

[A]

Not be more fascinated as to how that felt.

[B]

It felt. I was nervous until I Got on stage, and then I was like, oh, this is. I'm doing stand up. Gotta write better jokes. Oh, still here. That's not that thought. Still here. And I had fun. And I was. I was. What I found was I didn't lose my place in my set. I found, like, I felt like it was a little more concise. I felt like it was a little more like, oh, you know, I think you kind of want to learn how to hit the baseball without steroids hits. It's like, if I can, you know, if I can hit dingers not on juice, well, then I've got. I've got the good. I got my swing back, but the swing stays. Your swing, I feel like, doesn't get away from me as fast as it did when I was high all the time.

[C]

That's a good way to put it.

[B]

I think stuff would get away from me and I'd be where it's like, ayuk's catch. You, like, saw that concentration against the lions, or he's like. And then it falls in my hand and you're like, oh, when I. When I'm sober now, I can kind of see. I don't go like. I'm just like, oh, just. Just put your hands out and there it is.

[A]

So what it sounds like, I mean, and this is something that I was hoping you would have insight into was just like, oh, absent this variable, I am like this. And I have learned that actually the thing. Not that, you know, the real championship was the friends we made along the.

[B]

Way, but it really is. It's. It is that you.

[A]

You've of course, been the guy going on stage the whole time.

[B]

Yeah, that. Like, you know the cliche in superhero movies where it's like, I've lost my powers. And it's like, no, you had your powers. You just thought that this amulet or this thing gave you your powers.

[C]

Invisibility cloak.

[B]

Yeah. And it's like, no, you don't really need that. And. And again, this is something that I have gotten to myself. I don't expect everyone to feel this way. It's just something that, like, if you're struggling with substances, just know it's probably. It's not the substance. It's. You can get rid of it. You know, I think one of my favorite things about comedy and being able to do podcasts and a radio show and is when I talk about drinking, people reach out to me and they go, you don't demonize it. You don't make it. Like, there's a lot of Programs out there that make you white knuckle. And they go like, you can never do this again. But you go, well, if you understand the relationship, you understand sometimes you don't need it. So I don't know. Yeah, I just think substances in this country are a lot. A lot of times marketed well and taxed heavily. So they like people to be on them, them. And that can kind of blur your relationship with the substance. Especially now that weed is legal. There's a lot of people pushing it that demonized it 10, 15 years ago. And those of us that are. We lifelong weed smokers, it's like, man, some of y' all came to the party when it was safe, and we think you're dorks. So, yeah, maybe stop thinking like me. No, you were smoking weed before that?

[C]

Yeah, a little bit. Like a year or two before that, but not most of the. If any of my high school friends still listen to things I make, which I bet they don't, but if they do, shout out to Ashley Studley, who right now is thinking, lady, when we got high in high school, you got on all fours in the driveway, and we're like, I'm dying. Call an ambulance.

[B]

Yeah, but that. I mean, I think there's just people who go through that. You're like. You see people go through it later when it's safer, and you're kind of like you.

[A]

As the other person in this household. Dan has been describing his vantage point on everything looking outward. What's it been like from your perspective?

[C]

I mean, he's just. I love him more than anything, so, like, there's really nothing. Even when it's different, I don't really notice, but I think you're like, he's sort of more in touch with his. He's feeling things a lot more.

[B]

I mean, my God, the volume on the feelings.

[C]

You can tell like, he's weeping.

[B]

Watching the Steve Martin documentary, I mean, it was like, dude. And they told me that my friends who have been through rehab and my friends who have gone through, like, severe drug addictions were like, dude, I know. It's this weed. Get ready to cry. Get ready to feel. Get ready to like, you know, she came home last Thursday and she.

[C]

That's the day I was thinking of.

[B]

Yeah, she had a long day at work, and she came home, and I was depressed, and I was just like, I don't know. I.

[C]

And I was like, oh, Sherpa, I've been here. I live here.

[B]

Yeah, I live in this pocket. And she suffers from depression, and she was Kind of like, stop going on social media. Stop doing these things. Like, it's okay. What do you want to do? You want to watch a movie? Do you want to take your brain off it? And just sitting around talking to her, I was like, oh, this is when I would go get high. This is when, like, if I was sad, I'm like, well, let me get high and put on WWE 2K24 and play, you know, an ambulance match. It would just be like, something like that.

[C]

Of course, as one does, let me control.

[A]

Which wrestler would you be?

[B]

Probably stone Cold in that case. But it was just.

[C]

Just.

[B]

It was like actually going through it and then waking up the next day. It was. It. It is. It's reverse sherping. Because I woke up the next day and I felt better. And I was like, ow. I was bummed yesterday. But that's all right. Some days you're bummed, and that's just. That's what life is.

[A]

Weed being a way of imposing order on the world when for many other people, it's a way of inviting chaos.

[C]

For me, when I was younger, it was always like, I can't smoke weed unless I'm in a situation that is controlled. I can't.

[B]

Can't.

[C]

I still rarely smoke weed and leave the house because less is in my control. And the first time I enjoyed smoking weed was in college after one of my friends was like, you just haven't been doing it right. We're gonna do just you and me.

[A]

Oh, yeah. I was the first time in college, guy, for the record.

[C]

What?

[A]

I was the first smoking, weeding.

[C]

First time ever.

[A]

Yeah. And now look how cool I am.

[C]

I know.

[A]

The coolest.

[B]

Got a whole bag of it down by his feet.

[C]

But my friend was like, listen, we're gonna put on this show Most extreme elimination challenge.

[B]

We're gonna get.

[C]

We're gonna smoke. We're gonna sit and we're gonna watch. Watch that. And that's all we're going to do. And no one's coming over, and we have nothing. Tomorrow's a day off, like. And I. We. I laughed so hard, and I was like, this is so much better. And that's when I realized I don't like relinquishing control to too many things at once. And that's what weed did for me was it, like, took me out of the driver's seat. And so it's funny to hear you be like, it puts me in the cuz at least I'm control. I know what the variable is.

[B]

Well, I was getting you know, I was getting ear holed by the world.

[C]

Yeah, exactly.

[B]

I was kind of like, well, I can't control that, but I could control this and I can get high and me and Byron and Dennis can smoke in my garage. And I think my mom understood that. My mom understood that it was like a thing where I had control over it and it calmed me down. So my. When I was 16, my mom was like, if you smoke weed, you can do it. You're not driving. No one's driving. But you can do it here in the garage if you just want to hang kind of that like, here's a safe place to do it. Don't get arrested because you're trying to get into college. Was still very illegal then. And she was like, just.

[C]

He really wants. You know, he was cool. I was cool because it was illegal.

[B]

It was illegal. I mean that does Everyone smoking weed that knew when it was illegal, like, it was.

[A]

I just have you wearing a leather jacket throughout the entirety.

[B]

Slicked hair. Yeah, I didn't give a. No, I gave up so many today. I gave so many.

[C]

Your mom. I think you could have the. The losses and pain that you experienced from life at a very young age could have have showed up as anger and badness in so many worse ways than like, oh, I smoke a herbal drug. Yeah, like you shouldn't have been doing it, but you at least you weren't like, you know.

[A]

No, I feel like the order of.

[C]

Operations or hurting other people or, you know, becoming any sort of like violent, angry, you know, you were. Peace. It kept you at peace almost.

[B]

Yeah, it really did. And I think it really did. I mean, you know, 26 years later, trying to get out of it, but sure. Or tone it down a little.

[C]

We talked about it the other day. It was like bumpers when you're bowling. Yeah, it like just m. And once they're gone, you're like, well, I was doing pretty well with them. Can we bring those back?

[B]

300 every time.

[C]

You do have to learn to like.

[A]

Learn the oil pattern.

[B]

Exactly, exactly. That's what I've learned as someone whose dad was a bartender in a bowling alley. The oil patterns are bowled recently.

[C]

And I was like, what the hell is this? He like had a hole, did the spin. I mean, he does the whole English, the holes. He just puts it in the palm of his. No, you didn't even. You like put it in the.

[B]

Well, you do the two in and then you upside.

[C]

Let's not do that in front people. I know.

[A]

Continue to do that.

[B]

Sorry. I won't do.

[C]

All right, cut that out. Okay. Cut that out.

[B]

Bowling lanes.

[C]

It's also hard for me to get an entirely clean read on how you're doing because you also released a special right before you quit weed. And when anybody who's ever dated a comic knows right after you release something, you guys go to a weird place because you all think you're the least funny person who's ever lived. At least, like, definitely you do that. Where you're like, oh, my new hour sucks. I'm like, well, maybe that's cause you just put out a whole hour and had to start all over again. And that's hard. And you're like, no, I'm never gonna write another funny joke again in my entire life.

[B]

That's it.

[C]

And so he's already there. And then. So I can't tell when some things are the. Are that. Or if it's the weed. But it's just. I think he's doing a great job. I'm very proud of you. I'm a little miffed because I thought this episode would have been really cool.

[B]

We're gonna do the episode.

[A]

I was gonna say.

[C]

I know, but this is also.

[B]

And I'm also gonna really enjoy that.

[C]

I know. This is also me making peace with you. This is how my brain works. I will now tell myself we're never going to do that episode so that I'm never disappointed. You go. You didn't come back to something that you considered an addiction.

[B]

Sure.

[C]

I don't ever want to be subliminally or subconsciously encouraging you to go back to something you quit. So I'm going to just make peace with we're never doing the episode. And then if we ever do it, it'll be a nice treat and I'm.

[A]

Going to be the guy sending you photos of the Mike Tyson ear.

[C]

We're going to need. We're going to need more stuff than Mike Tys. I just have a personal policy to not ingest something given to me by Mike Tyson.

[A]

Yeah, that's a fair point.

[C]

So just for my own personal.

[A]

We got some others.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

What other ones do you have?

[A]

We have.

[C]

I mean, we already smoked Gary Payton in the house. That is our number one.

[B]

Gary paints my number one street.

[A]

We brought it from la.

[C]

Gary Payton's been getting us up ever since he handed me a pint glass full of Jack Daniels at that Fox retreat. And then we smoke exclusively. Gary Payton when we go to la.

[B]

I go to cookies and I get. And I shout out Ron Funches for putting me on Gary and I go get. I get the Gary Payton strain, which I love. I think it's my second favorite strain, only the Golden Goat, which is very hard to find, but a very good strain. They had it in Colorado at a dispensary by my mom's house. Yeah. But I love Gary Payton.

[A]

We have a. A Melo Carmelo Anthony.

[B]

Okay. As a Nuggets fan, that might be tough for me.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. It's selfish. It's selfish. That is strain. And then we have. Have something. I did not know until producer Chris and I went to la Pac Man Jones, huh?

[B]

Love it.

[A]

We're going to find out what that feels like at some point.

[B]

What's it called?

[A]

It's just called Pac Man.

[C]

What are the names of the ghosts? What are they called?

[B]

Oh, they have like, different.

[C]

Aren't they, like Leapy, Beepy and Sneaky.

[A]

Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde.

[C]

Clyde always got to be that one. Contrarian. Yeah.

[A]

Why is the ghost called Clyde? Is the second expandable ghost.

[C]

What other question could you possibly have? What are they eating?

[A]

As the other ghosts have names that end in Inky and yet his is inexplicably Clyde. This could be a reference to his outcast nature or just a board program.

[C]

I've always said that about him.

[B]

He just bounces off.

[C]

He goes off on his own.

[A]

We also have Magic Johnstoned, which is another great. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

Great.

[A]

When the time is right.

[C]

When Slash. If not, we'll just do it with somebody else. We'll definitely do it. I'm not. We had come up with what I think is a pretty good idea because. Because look like when you're watching, let's say chopped, and they come to the part where they bring out the food and everybody. You don't really. We don't get to eat the food. So it's. It would be. Whereas with the alcohol, we could tell you about what it tasted like. With the weed, you're not really. It's less about taste, it's more about, like, how is it affecting them. And so it might be hard for the viewer or listener, but in this case, I'm going to say the viewer to. To. To get a grasp of like, what was good or bad about it. And so Dan and I were like, well, what. What if we smoke weed and then we teach Pablo how to play Rocket League and then you can visually see if we get better or worse on the weed. And it would be a visual representation of the high for the viewer.

[A]

I am Going to punch a hole. Yeah, whatever table you replace.

[C]

We got two tables. You can each get one.

[B]

I have the tab open.

[C]

You can each get one. Yeah, they're the very cheap. Like mom or whatever.

[B]

Yeah, there's. It's great.

[A]

All right, I will see you guys then at your apartment.

[C]

Yeah. Which I was so excited to have you over. I cleaned a little bit. Luckily, I didn't clean a lot of it.

[B]

We'll get this set up right.

[C]

When we didn't do it, I was like, oh, this can.

[B]

We'll get the setup right and we'll. We'll do a whole streaming setup. We'll get it right.

[C]

Oh, okay. A lot of promises.

[B]

Maybe in the living room. The living room on Katie's.

[C]

On Katie's PlayStation in the living room.

[B]

Which, if you smash that table. That's glass.

[C]

That's a real problem. That's going to be a real problem.

[A]

Pablo, I don't have that degree of dog in me.

[B]

Unfortunately, I do. I'll be back.

[A]

Thank you, guys.

[C]

That's it. That was a podcast?

[A]

Yeah. Yes. All right, you guys. The official couple of Pablo Dori Pod.

[C]

Well, I don't know. I don't know. Saw Megan sue on here, so.

[A]

Yeah, you guys can.

[C]

They're allowed.

[A]

You guys can challenge them to various physical.

[C]

You know what the kind of people we are. We'll let them have it.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Flexing into the camera.

[B]

I'm giving a look.

[C]

Oh, okay. They can have it. We're happy to be second.

[A]

But as for the people who have to repair the furniture I destroy in this studio. Pablo Torre finds out is produced by Michael Antonucci, Ryan Cortez, Sam Dwig, Juan Galindo, Patrick Kim, Neely Lowman, Rachel Miller, Howard, Ethan Schreier, Carl Scott, Matt Sullivan, Chris Tominello and Juliet Warren. Our studio engineering is by RG Systems, our post production by NGW Post, and our theme song, as always, by John Bravo. And look, I'm a modern guy, but I respect tradition. And we'll be back next week.