Pod Meets Twirl'd: Survivor 5003 with Sophi Balerdi

Summary

Pod Meets Twirl’d: Survivor 5003 with Sophi Balerdi (March 13, 2026)

Host: Rider Strong
Guest: Sophie Balerdi (Season 49 Survivor Finalist)
Podcast: Pod Meets World (iHeartPodcasts)

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Episode Overview

In this lively, Survivor-packed installment, usual co-host Will Friedle is absent, but Rider Strong is joined by Sophie Balerdi, a finalist from Survivor Season 49. The show blends Sophie’s behind-the-scenes insights with episode-by-episode analysis of the monumental Survivor Season 50. The discussion ranges from what it’s really like to play Survivor, to jury management and gameplay, and deep dives into Season 50’s latest episode, with plenty of personal anecdotes and meta-commentary for both hardcore fans and casual listeners.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Sophie's Survivor Experience: Dreams vs Reality

[03:01–04:48]

• Sophie describes her experience stepping onto Survivor as a “superfan dream,” but quickly realized it was much harder than expected.
• Starvation is Real: “I was on the losing tribe on my season, and I didn’t eat anything for 11 days because I hate coconuts. I can’t eat it. So it was bad.” (Sophie, 03:15)
• New era: No rice, fewer rewards for losing tribes, and grueling conditions remain central to the game's authenticity.

2. Confessionals & Reality TV Production

[05:08–06:37]

• Producers try to maintain integrity, avoid leading contestants in confessionals, and foster trust. Each tribe has several producers who rotate. “They do a good job of earning your trust so that you tell them what they want to hear and you confide in them.” (Sophie, 05:47)
• Players do four interviews a day, helping narrate the season.

3. Sophie's Strategy and Surviving as an Underdog

[07:20–08:17]

• Being small and not physically dominant, Sophie leaned into loyalty and trust as her gameplay edge.
• “I didn’t think I was going to be anybody’s, you know, meat shield...So I knew that I had to...value [loyalty] over strength.” (Sophie, 07:31)

4. Representation & Editing on Survivor

[09:04–10:20]

• Sophie finds the show's editing quite accurate and fair, though some strategic moves are left out for the sake of narrative clarity toward crowning the winner.
• Rider acknowledges Survivor’s reputation for authenticity compared to other reality shows.

5. Jury Dynamics & Bittersweet Endings

[10:32–12:51]

• Sophie landed in the final three; her best friend Savannah won. Despite being close to the prize, she values the complete experience, not just the outcome.
• “You go to Survivor, yes, to win the million dollars, but you also want the whole experience. And I got that.” (Sophie, 11:43)

6. Behind-the-Scenes: Jeff Probst and the Survivor Magic

[13:03–13:52]

• Jeff Probst is every bit the legend fans imagine: casual, personable, sometimes surprisingly profane, but always in control. “He’s so good at what he does.” (Sophie, 13:27)

7. Survivor 50: Alliances, Villains, and Roots of Gameplay

[13:59–15:28]

• Discussion about why Rizzo and Savannah were brought back for Season 50: “If I had to categorize us as a trio, I would say they were villains, and I was like, this underdog hero.” (Sophie, 13:59)
• Rizzo praised as a charismatic player who benefits from being underestimated.

8. How Survivor Baggage Shapes the Game

[16:30–15:32]

• Pre-game dynamics, prior relationships, and players’ reputations influence strategies. Example: Savannah couldn’t easily hide her Season 49 win—she opted to own it.
• Rizzo’s attempt to distance himself from Savannah inadvertently triggers Charlie, who carries his own past Survivor traumas.

9. The Impact of Season 50 Twists

[19:01–20:48]

• Tribe swaps, no supplies, and fan-driven difficulties make the season especially brutal, which fans love but players hate.

10. Tribe Dynamics and Noteworthy Episode Moments

[20:53–44:43]

• Rick Devens’ strategic hiding of a fake idol at tribal council—a callback to his bold idol plays of the past.
• Jeff Probst raps at the tribe swap—awkward, cringeworthy, but memorable. (“I love him...Don’t rap. Don’t, please don’t.” – Rider, 28:12)
• The “dudebro honor and integrity alliance” of Coach, Colby, and Joe: predictable but not “what you want to see” from a viewing perspective (Sophie, 29:12).
• Emotional openness: Chrissy’s journey and struggle with “talking too much,” highlighting the emotional baggage returnees carry.

11. Survivor Realities: Survival, Comfort, and Suffering

[45:07–48:27]

• Bag checks are routine and not considered invasive in Survivor context.
• No personal items beyond a single “luxury” clothing item; no mirror for 26 days, extreme weather swings, and brutal bug bites paint a harsh picture of daily life.

12. Planning, Strategy, and Survivor Game Mechanics

[53:08–53:52]

• Jeff personally walks players through challenges without rehearsal—decisions about roles are made with minimal time.

13. The Tribal Council Paranoia and Mind Games

[58:06–61:27]

• The game at tribal council is about saying as little as possible while maintaining alliances; the “analogy speak” is, by necessity, carefully vague.
• “90% of the time you’re going to Tribal Council and everybody knows what’s happening...unless they get up and start talking. That’s when it gets murky.” (Sophie, 59:27)

14. The Emotional Toll & Post-Show Reflections

[63:21–64:48]

• Sophie returned from Survivor about six months ago and says the suffering fades: “I've already forgotten all the suffering...but then when you come out of it…it’s crazy. I would do it again in a heartbeat.” (Sophie, 63:41)
• The experience brought her new confidence and a willingness to say yes to life opportunities.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Nothing. I didn’t eat anything for 11 days.”
  Sophie, explaining the starvation reality of a losing tribe (04:09)

• “You don’t need to be that strong to win Survivor. That’s, like, something I learned.”
  Sophie on her underdog strategy (08:17)

• “You go to Survivor, yes, to win the million dollars, but you also want the whole experience. And I got that.”
  Sophie reflects on her journey (11:43)

• “There’s such a magic about playing Survivor when you’re actually there that that doesn’t go away.”
  Sophie on the surreal reality of being a contestant (13:27)

• “If I had to categorize us as a trio, I would say they were villains, and I was like, this underdog hero.”
  Sophie on her position within her Season 49 alliance (13:59)

• “He keeps being kind of underestimated, and then...he’s doing the puzzle quicker and better than anybody.”
  Rider on Rizzo’s strengths as a player (14:48)

• “It’s never over until your torch is snuffed on Survivor.”
  Sophie on optimism in gameplay (36:00)

• “It's a whole mind screw...You're paranoid the entire time you're out there.”
  Sophie on the mental challenge of Survivor (60:59–61:06)

• “I do love a castle. I like the style. I mean, I’m not a beach person, so that would be a problem for me.”
  Rider on which reality show he could survive (66:27)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Sophie's Intro & Survivor Fandom: 01:00–02:04
• Sophie's Starvation Story: 03:01–04:48
• Confessionals and Production: 05:14–06:37
• Strategy & Loyalty: 07:20–08:17
• Season 49 Recap & Jury Management: 10:32–12:51
• Impressions of Jeff Probst: 13:03–13:52
• Rizzo, Savannah, and Season 50 Dynamics: 13:59–15:28
• Fake Idol Strategy: 21:11–22:33
• Probst Raps at the Twist: 27:24–28:12
• Chrissy and Baggage Discussion: 30:55–31:48
• Clothing/Survival Logistics: 45:07–46:09
• Immunity Challenge Strategy: 53:08–53:52
• Tribal Council Mind Games: 58:06–61:27
• Post-Survivor Real Life: 63:21–64:48

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Overall Tone & Style

The conversation is lively, warm, and honest, often marked by Rider’s enthusiastic curiosity and Sophie’s candid Survivor storytelling. They riff on the emotional and psychological toll of the game, lovingly roast Survivor foibles (including Probst’s infamous rapping), and pull back the curtain for a genuinely engaging behind-the-scenes look, all while keeping the focus squarely on gameplay analysis, emotional truth, and what makes Survivor such an enduring phenomenon.

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Perfect For: Hardcore Survivor fans, reality TV aficionados, and anyone curious about what it’s really like to outwit, outplay, and outlast.

Transcript

[Rider Strong]

Foreign. Welcome to POD meets twirl, the podcast that once chronicled two guys who had never seen Dancing with the Stars but watched a season and walked away. Experts. From there, we ventured to traitors. And now we turn to Survivor season 50, the big one. Join us as we dive into alliances, Blindsides, fire, making sand related misery, and 25 years of television history, culminating in a single massive season. This is POD meets twirld. Seeking immunity, I am Rider Strong, and today my usual partner, Wilfred L. Is out. And I am joined instead by someone who actually knows the game of Survivor and not just from watching it, but from living it. That's right. Today I am with an honest to goodness Survivor. Please welcome to Pod Meets Twirl, a finalist from season 49, Sophie Bilardi.

[Sophie Bilardi]

What's up, everyone? I'm so happy to be here. This is so cool.

[Rider Strong]

I am so. This is amazing. Yeah. Because Will couldn't. Couldn't do this episode, and we were like, well, who are we gonna get? And like, two weeks ago, like, after our first episode, you messaged me on Instagram and I was so. This was like, the coolest thing ever. Um, yeah. So did you watch Boy Meets World? Did you listen to our show or.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Of course I did. I did both. I grew up watching it. This is a dream come true.

[Rider Strong]

You're so young, though. You're only 28. How did you.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Well, I'll be hon with you. It was a little bit ahead of my time. I did watch the Girl Meets World version more because it was on when I was watching Disney Channel, but I still watched your show, and, like, I grew up with you guys, basically, and. And I do listen to your podcast. And so when I saw that you did, you know, you're covering season 50, I was like, oh, my God. I sent a DM to Ryder. I was like, hey, if you ever need someone. And here I am. You know, sometimes they work if you shoot your shot. But I did have to say the. She didn't watch season 49. But Riz God, the Riz God on season 50 is a huge fan of you guys, and he would kill me if I didn't tell you. So you ever need someone in the future, Reach out to the Riz God.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah, well, he's on the season right now, so. Yeah. So my. My. My problem with Survivor, my biggest challenge is that my family decides to watch seasons without me. So my son and my wife will get, like, you know, six episodes into a season, and then I'll be out of town and I'll Come back and I'll only watch, like, one. So I saw the Snake Bite Inc. Incident of season 49. That's it. I didn't know who anybody was. I just jumped into that one episode. So tell me about your experience. I have so many questions I want to hear. Let's start this way. Like, rather than. Because I feel like you can fill me in on the actual details of what happened 49, especially as they're relevant to season 50. But I'm just curious, what were your expectations about, like, being on Survivor? And then how were those expectations, like, met or subverted or exceeded? Like, what was the. What was the reality of being on the show, like, versus you wanting to be on the show?

[Sophie Bilardi]

So, I mean, watching it, you have. It's weird because not everybody has this dream to starve on an island and suffer and go through the motions, but being a super fan of the show, you do have that dream. And you always wonder, like, how would I do if I'm in their shoes? Or what would I do if I'm in that position? And obviously, when you watch the show, you see all the cool stuff. You see them doing these challenges, being at Tribal Council with Jeff Probst, and you learn very quickly when you're out there, it's a lot harder than it looks. It is. You're never in that situation where you're actually starving on an island. Like, I was on the losing tribe on my season, and I didn't eat anything for 11 days because I hate coconuts. I can't eat it. So it was bad. You don't sleep. There's so many things that you don't even see that are so hard that I'm like, why do we go through it if they're not even going to show it? But, yeah, it's so much harder than it looks. But you still have that, like, feeling as a fan while you're out there, like, I want to win this game. So that's kind of in your mind the entire time while you're out there, your eyes on the prize and you. And you want to win. So that kind of kept me through the entire game while I was out there.

[Rider Strong]

Okay, hold on. Like, literally didn't eat anything for 11 days, dude.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Nothing.

[Rider Strong]

Like, not even rice? Not like, they don't have.

[Sophie Bilardi]

No. So that's the thing with the new era. They used to have rice, and they don't have rice anymore because it's shorter. So they try to make it harder, and it is like, you have no rice, and, like, people would Stomach the coconut, but I couldn't, so my tribe would lose. So we didn't have fire to cook fish or anything. So I literally didn't eat anything until I finally won a Reward on day 12 in a grilled cheese sandwich. I had a grilled cheese sandwich after 11 days of starving. So it was crazy. But it's real. Like, it's a real. It's the real deal, which is kind of cool to know. I feel like watching it as a new fan or something, you might be like, there's no way they're starving. But we are. We are.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah, that's. I mean, that's what was taught because Will hasn't seen the show. And as I was trying to explain to him, I was like, in the earlier seasons, they spent a lot more time on the survivalist aspect, like, watching people, and I feel like that's just gotten edited out now. It's, like, so much gameplay and strategy. So it's good to hear, like, that it's actually. There is some real survivalist stuff going on.

[Sophie Bilardi]

I wish. I wish there wasn't. But, I mean, you see it in the weight loss, like, as the season goes, like, it's legit, right?

[Rider Strong]

All right, so I want to know. This is kind of a weird question, but, like, I've actually. I've never been on a reality show. I've known lots of people who work in, you know, the reality on, like, the story producing side or the editing side. So I'm very curious. Like, how do those. How do those confessionals or I don't know what you call them when they take you off by yourself. Are you working with, like, do you have, like, your own producer that's, like, on you, or do you just know, like, who's talking to you, who's. Who's doing those interviews? And, like, is it one person per tribe? Like, how does that work?

[Sophie Bilardi]

So kind of you kind of have your own person, but I think it is, like, one person per tribe. There's like three, I'd say three producers per tribe and they switch off. Cause, like, for my season at the beginning, I had like, the same guy, Ryan, for like, two weeks or, like, no, a week. And then I merged or whatever. I swapped and then there was another person. So you get to know a bunch of different people, but they do a good job of earning your trust so that you tell them what they want to hear and you combine them about things. But yeah, and then you have about, like, four interviews a day. So everybody goes off at some point to talk to These people and, like, narrate the season, essentially. Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

And are they just asking you, like, leading questions? Like, so tell us about what happened today and make it a complete sentence where you, you know, say it. Like you're just saying it spontaneously or. Yeah.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Honestly, I feel like they look for this in casting. Like, if you're someone who. When you ask a person a question, are you just going to be like, yes or no? Are you going to ramble on for an hour? Like, I'm the kind of person that will ramble on. I've learned to, like, cut myself down. Because they'll stop you, but they'll just be like, okay, so how you feeling today? And then you'll just talk your crap or whatever and. And you'll go off and they'll be like, so how are you feeling about this person? And you'll just talk about that. But they don't really ask leading questions. They're very good about that. Like, nobody interfered with the game at all. Sometimes I actually wish that they did. I messed up at some point in the game on my season and, like, I'm like, I wish someone would have tipped me off. But no, they do. It's. It's pretty. They. They honor the integrity of the game, which I like.

[Rider Strong]

Wow.

[Sophie Bilardi]

So that's cool.

[Rider Strong]

So you're a super fan, you said. And so did you go in with a plan, with a strategy, with an approach?

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah, honestly, I did because I'm not very strong. Like, I'm five foot two. I weigh 100 pounds. Like, I didn't think I was going to be anybody's, you know, meat shield or anything like that when I got there, meat shield. So I knew that I had to, like, I had to use the. The hey, I'm loyal approach. Like, I value that over strength because I know at the beginning of the. Of the season, like, people are like, we need to keep the tribe strong. But I think in the long game, you want someone you can trust. So I just use that to leverage, like, my spot in the. In the tribe and with people and. And that's what kept me in the game. Like, I was on the disaster tribe. I lost every single challenge before the merge and I got second place. I almost won, so I didn't do terribly. You don't need to be that strong to win Survivor. That's like, something I learned.

[Rider Strong]

How were the challenges for you? Were they just miserable or was it actually kind of exciting?

[Sophie Bilardi]

Honestly, while you're out there, so much downtime, you're probably strategizing like maybe the two hours of the day and there's 24, and then the challenges are an hour of your day. So I look forward to the challenges. I'm like, yes, something to do where you're not, like, sitting around and, like, thinking about how hungry you are. So I love the challenges. They're. They're. They're so fun. And there's no other time you're going to be able to do that unless you're on Survivor, so it's so cool to do.

[Rider Strong]

So how, how do you feel about the way that you, your season was presented, like, the way it ended up? Do you feel like it was accurate? That. Did it feel like you. Did it feel like you were well represented and your experience was pretty much what you. What you saw?

[Sophie Bilardi]

I think the Survivor producers do such a good job at honoring how things actually went. Like, there's obviously a lot that's left out. You know, sometimes I did things where I'm like, I wish they would have given me more credit for that move, whatever. But it makes everything made sense for the, for the sake of storytelling to get to how the winner won. And that's essentially what it is. It's like, how did the person who won get to that spot of winning their game? And everybody's kind of like a chess piece in the process and everything made sense to how things went. It was honestly very accurate. So that's what I love about Survivor. Like, everything is so true to. To the experience and, and that's. Yeah, it was awesome. I loved it for that reason. Like, they really. They do such a good job of editing and all that.

[Rider Strong]

That's good to hear. That's really good to hear because, like, you know, I think that there's. There's a pretty cynical side of me that's like, you know, just assumes that everything is so manipulated and like. And I definitely feel like, you know, Will and I talk a lot about how our impression of reality TV in general, like, as a genre is so forged in, like, the early aughts version of it, you know, because that was like when it was a new thing and, and it was. It seems like it was very manipulative back then, but there's something I've always liked about Survivor is that even though it is the psychological stress test and it seems. And physical stress test.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Right.

[Rider Strong]

It seems like it's in the spirit of a gameplay, you know, it seems like. And so it's good to hear that you had an overall, overall positive experience with the show itself, for sure. You came basic you were in the final three.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah. So.

[Rider Strong]

But you seem pretty positive about your experience. So how do. I mean, how do you. You look back and, like, it. Does it just. Are you still pissed that you didn't win? Do you feel like you should have won?

[Sophie Bilardi]

So here's the thing about my season. Like, my best friend ended up winning the game. Like, she was my closest ally in the game. We, me, Rizzo, and Savannah, who's voted out last week on season 50, pretty much ran our season, and us three were on the bottom at one point, and we kind of bulldozed our way all the way to the final four. And we got. Rizzo got fourth, Sav got first, and I got second. So I couldn't be that mad that one of us won because that was what we wanted. Like, we got together and hoped for that. So I came close. And obviously coming close to winning Survivor, like, it. You think about every day what you could have done differently to have the result be different. But my situation is different because I'm also happy for my friend. And also, like, you go to Survivor, yes, to win the million dollars, but you also want the whole experience. And I got that. Like, I played an entire game of Survivor. I went to the final three. I was in Fiji for 26 days. Like, and that honesty, in some ways is pretty priceless. So I tried to look at it. I try to look at the silver lining in the fact that I lost and I got second best. So I can't complain, truly.

[Rider Strong]

Wow.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

Okay. And so what exactly happened? The three of you got. You won the final immunity challenge?

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah, I won the final immunity challenge. And because I worked so closely with them, I was like, I don't really want to sit next to both of them at the final three because our stories are kind of similar. So I actually ended up backstabbing them and putting them in fire against each other at final four. And I ended up sitting next to Savannah and then another girl that was on my season. So it was us three.

[Rider Strong]

And.

[Sophie Bilardi]

And then Savannah ended up taking the. Taking the win on me. And part of that was because Rizzo was, I, I think, a little upset with me that I put them in fire. And so he went to the jury and talked up Savannah, which can happen. Like, that's part of the process. Like, it. Managing the jury when you vote them out. Like, that's kind of the beauty of Survivor. Like, you're working with these people. You're voting, and then you're also hoping for them to vote you to win at the End. It's. It's such a tricky thing to navigate, but I did my best. Yeah.

[Bethenny Frankel]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

I mean, it's. Yeah. So what is the most, like, surprising thing, like, for somebody who, you know on the outside? I'm just wondering what this experience is. Like, what is the most surprising thing for you?

[Sophie Bilardi]

Like, ah, how cool Jeff Probst actually is in real life. Like, he. Because I grew up watching this as a kid, it's kind of like a family show. Right. But then you see him say the F word for the first time, just, like, casually. He'll be like, you know, And I'm like, wait, this is just a regular guy. And he's so sweet. He's so personable. He's so good at what he does.

[Bethenny Frankel]

And.

[Sophie Bilardi]

And you never, like, really escape the fact that you're, like, there. It's. There's such a magic about playing Survivor when you're actually there that that doesn't go away. Like, when you're at tribal council, you really feel like you're in your tv and it's so weird. Every day you're like, what am I? And so, yeah, it's just. Even though you're going through it and you're suffering, it truly is, like, a magical experience. And if you're a super fan and you're thinking about applying, you should definitely do it.

[Rider Strong]

So Rizzo and Savannah got invited back for season 50. Why do you think those two?

[Sophie Bilardi]

So, I mean, if you watch the season back, you will not be surprised why they were. If I had to, like, categorize us as a trio, I would say they were villains, and I was, like, this underdog hero. Like, I was somebody who. I went through it from the beginning of the season, and, like, they were always just, like. The way that they played was just so bold and in your face and very entertaining. And I wish we got to see Sav a little more on season 50, because you would have seen that very quickly. But she was such a badass player. Like, she was. She won four immunities by herself.

[Rider Strong]

My God. Yeah. When she was already doing pretty damn well. Like, when she went on the journey by herself, I was like, oh, she's already playing.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Exactly.

[Rider Strong]

Than these, like, players who have played multiple seasons. Yeah.

[Sophie Bilardi]

And then Rizzo is just, like, such a fun character, but he's also happens to be really good at Survivor.

[Rider Strong]

Like, yes. He keeps winning everybody over. It's so funny. It's like he keeps being kind of underestimated, and then, like. But then I'm watching him, like, even during the challenge in this episode, I was like, oh, my God. Like, he's essential. Like, he's doing the puzzle quicker and better than anybody. And it's like, it's so interesting because I think he's. Because he's younger and he has this sort of like, goofy vibe, people don't take him as serious, but he's like

[Sophie Bilardi]

a real player, works out in a game like Survivor. Like, you kind of want to be underestimated so that they, they, they're looking at everybody else. And in a season like season 50, if people aren't taking you as serious, but then Cerise right there or Savannah, who just won a season is right there, they're not going to vote you out.

[Rider Strong]

Right.

[Sophie Bilardi]

So he does have like an advantage going in and just being the way that he is, like this goofy guy.

[Rider Strong]

Do you think Savannah made a mistake by telling everybody she had won?

[Sophie Bilardi]

So I do have some tea about that. So basically before they went on season 50, we were trying to think of, like, what can they say to these people to, to give them a leg up. Like, because a lot of these people know each other going in. But when they filmed season 50, nobody on season 15 had seen season 49. So there are these unknown commodities playing this game. And that's scary. Like, people are going to make up their. Their own assumptions of as to why you're here. So there was a lot of like pre gaming going on before season 50 where they all would talk or people would talk just because they knew each other. Like, how do you prevent that when there' decade long friendships on a season like this? And so people knew that she won before going on season 15.

[Rider Strong]

Okay.

[Sophie Bilardi]

She had to kind of address that. And I feel like it was good that she got ahead of it instead of hiding it because then they would have been like, oh, she won and we can't trust her. So.

[Rider Strong]

Right, right. Well, so how do you feel about. I mean, I know Savannah's gone, but how do you feel about Rizzo's gameplay so far?

[Sophie Bilardi]

So it's funny because the way that I have faith in him, I played with him. I know he's really good and he can work around people like this. As long as his tribe keeps winning, I think he's okay. But I mean, what we saw last night, and I don't know if we'll get to it, but it is a little scary where Charlie's head is at. Do you remember that conversation?

[Rider Strong]

Yes. It's about you. I couldn't believe it. I was like, oh, my God. Like, this is a perfect episode to recap with you because you're mentioned in the episode, and you figure prominently in Charlie's, like, thinking, which is, I know

[Sophie Bilardi]

I got a whole government name dropped by the Riz. God, I didn't expect that at all. But I was. If I'm not gonna be a part of season 50, at least, like, I am in some way haunting the narrative. And now with Charlie coming for Rizzo just because I'm his best friend. But I don't know. Did you. You didn't watch season 46?

[Rider Strong]

I did watch season 46, yeah. Which I love. That was, like, one of my favorite seasons in a long time. It was so good, right?

[Sophie Bilardi]

That's a good characters.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah. No, I liked. You know that I like the seasons where I kind of like everybody. Do you know what I mean? And, like, that season, you know, when they did their, like, what was it? Taylor Swift, AC DC song offer? What were they doing? Or Kiss songs for? I don't know. Whatever. It was one of the. I was like, I love these. Like, that whole crew was just so fun. But, yeah, no, yeah. So I went in, like, Charlie's one of those people I really like. I like the way he plays. I like the way he thinks. But it was interesting to see him sort of turn on Rizzo in that moment because of his own baggage.

[Sophie Bilardi]

And it's funny because Rizzo and Sav went into season 50 again trying to distance themselves from each other because they didn't want people to look at them as this duo. And so in that moment, I know what Rizzo was trying to do. He was trying to continue to, like, separate him with Savannah, but he took to further his game, but he kind of did the opposite because now he triggered Charlie, who has this baggage of, like, Maria turning on him from season 46 and assuming he's going to do the same to him, but he doesn't know the context. That, like, Savannah was also very close to Rizzo on our season. He's just trying to hide that. But it was funny to watch that. Like, Rizzo say he was my best friend and whatever. And then Charlie, it was like this whole flashback. I love the editing in that moment.

[eBay Advertiser]

Really good.

[Rider Strong]

But then what he said last night was like, doo, doo, doo. Back to last night. No. Super interesting. And the layers. I also feel like this season, they are being so hard on the players. Like, the fact that they've already done this tribe swap, the fact that they didn't get supplies. Like, all the fans, the decisions the fans have Made really make it brutal.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Right. Like to see the suffering, it's kind of annoying. As a player, it sucks. But as a fan, it is fun to watch a little bit. And I don't know. What do you think about the tribe swaps? Do you like. Do you like that they did the swap?

[Rider Strong]

I mean. Yes, because I. What I. The thing that I haven't liked is exactly what happened in your season, it sounds like, which is like when one team just keeps lose or one tribe just keeps losing in that snowball effect, it really, like, you know, it just keeps happening because it's like they're more demoralized. They're not getting food. They're not, you know, all the things. It's like, why don't we distribute some of this, the bad stuff and some of the risk. So like, if you go to tribal, maybe you do get flint and maybe, you know, like the fact that you. That if you're losing, you just keep losing. If you're winning, you just keep winning. Like, that can get really boring for me as you know. And I also just start it. So. So I guess I like the tribeswap in this week's because it's kind of preventing that from happening. You know, with the exception of like Ozzy who's been to every tribal, you know, it seems like it's shaking things up and sort of forcing people to up their social game, which I think is good, you know, like, so this move I like. But when they started off the season and it was that, you know, oh, you're not going to get supplies unless you earn it, I was like, oh, no. We're going to be just watching somebody really struggle. But that actually hasn't been the case. I don't think so.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah, it's like a hard reset and it's good for some people, bad for others. I feel like if you're in a bad position in your tribe, yeah, it's great because now you have opportunities to connect with new people. But if you're in a good position, kind of like Q was, he had this alliance and even though he didn't have a vote, I think he would have been fine had he gone to a tribal council. But now he's on this new tribe where he doesn't have those people. He only had Steph backing him up and. And he was the casualty of that. So it's good and bad. It's fun for us to watch, though.

[Rider Strong]

Totally. Well, that's. That's.

[Redfin Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

The end. All right, so let's talk about it.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

Episode opens with Sila tribe and this whole hiding the fake idol thing. Like, what do you make of this? I don't understand. Like, what is the point? What is the goal? And they never talk about it again for the rest of the episode. So I'm like, do you have any, like, strategic mind understanding of what's going on? Because I don't.

[Sophie Bilardi]

So. Okay, I do because I have. You watched Rick Devins original season?

[Rider Strong]

Yes. Yes.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Okay.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Well, Rick Devins is known to be very good with his idol plays. And I'm not gonna lie, he hasn't been on TV for a while. I feel like he's been thinking about doing this for the last couple years until he returned. He was gonna do this, but I think it's really creative because the way that Rick plays is very bold where he. He always ends up being a target. And if he's a target and he's gonna be the one to go at a tribal council, he really can use that. That tool that he now has in his toolbox to just pull this thing out at tribal council and be like, oops, sorry, guys. You can't vote me out. Like, I have an idol now. And if there's any season where there' idol hidden at tribal council, it is going to be season 50. Like, there's a but.

[Rider Strong]

So he's made. He's put a fake idol there, right?

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

So what's the plan? He's hoping somebody finds it and thinks they have an idol when they don't.

[Sophie Bilardi]

I think he hopes that he can take it from.

[Rider Strong]

Pull it.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah, he can pull it and be

[Rider Strong]

like, look what I had.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah. And so if they. If the plan is to vote Rick out, then they're probably going to change their mind at that tribal council when they, you know, when they see that he has a fake idol or an idol, they don't know what it is.

[Rider Strong]

Interesting. Okay.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Okay.

[Rider Strong]

I didn't know if he was going to try and, like, like, leave a clue for somebody else to find it and then have it turn out to be fake. And I was just trying to, like, think it all through. Okay, so he's just, like, messing with people's minds, messing with everything. Okay.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

All right. Interesting.

[Sophie Bilardi]

I know.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Hello. Hello. I'm Malcolm Gladwell, host of Smart talks with IBM. I recently spoke with IB New director of research Jake Gambetta. We discussed his vision for the future of quantum computing at IBM Research. What we always do is answer, what is the future of computing? Whether it's coming up with new algorithms. Coming up with better AI coming up with Quantum or coming up with just how do different accelerators go together? It's our DNA. To answer the question of what is the future? Isn't it a perfect problem for IBM because you kind of need to have a legacy of building stuff. Yes. Building actual physical machines. Yeah. It's why I came to IBM. I wanted the experience, the culture of building hard things that others have not done before. Where do you imagine we are in the timeline of this technology? There will come a point when it will mature, right? Yeah. My cell phone is a mature technology at this point. How far are we from that point? With Quantum, by 2029 we'll build the first fault tolerant Quantum computer that is one that can run a very, very large, large problem. To learn how IBM is building the future of computing, visit IBM.com quantum

[Sophie Bilardi]

this

[Bethenny Frankel]

is Bethany Frankel from Just Be with Bethenny Frankel. Most dog food is marketing, not nutrition. That is why Biggie and Smalls eat just food for dogs. Real 100% human grade food with ingredients I actually recognize. And yes, I do see the difference. Better digestion, healthier skin, more energy. Dogs that feel better. My babies. If you've been on the fence about switching, stop overthinking it. What's more important than your furry babies and their health? Go to justfoodfordogs.com right now and get 50% off your first box. No code needed, just try it.

[Redfin Advertiser]

Let's talk about modern home shopping. It's sort of become a fun side hobby, right? Scrolling listings at night, dreaming about kitchens you've never seen or backyards you haven't even stepped foot in. All from the comfort of pretty much anywhere. Redfin knows a lot of people like you want to own but are stuck in this browsing mode loop. That's where Redfin flips the script. With listings that update within minutes and tours you can book right from the Redfin app, you can see your dream home the moment it appears. Now, liking a listing is easy, but actually landing it? That's where Redfin comes in. Redfin has over 2200 agents with local expertise, and Redfin agents close twice as many deals as other agents. That means they want to help you win. Not just window shop. Redfin is built to help you go from just looking to wait. This could actually be home. So become the newest neighbor on the block. Visit redfin.com to start finding and start owning. That's redfin.com lately, car buying has become

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a pretty dull experience. But on ebay, behind every car and Part is a story waiting to be shared. There was a guy who bought a 2020 Porsche Cayman GT4 on eBay. It was well loved. There are plenty of Caymans in great condition on ebay. But this one needed some work. That's just the start of the story. So after this guy gets a great deal on his dream car, he rebuilds the whole thing with all these parts he found on ebay. Performance brakes, suspension, body panels, the works guaranteed to fit. Next thing you know, this nearly scrapped Cayman was out there on the track as a full blown race car. Your ready to go daily driver, your next rest. Amade. Hello Lotus Elan and the parts to finish it. Ebay has thousands of cars and is the largest online selection of vehicle parts and accessories. EBay, things people love.

[Rider Strong]

All right, so then the tribe, they get this tree mail that does some sort of thing about whether they're going to be rich or not. And then they all kind of start intuiting that it's going to be a tribe swap.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

And then they have this like scramble because they know that Devins and Christian have sent Aubrey the boomerang idol from Billie Eilish. Which is just the crazy. The dynamics of this are super cool and I'm very curious and like this plays well into a tribe swap too. This idea that like you might have supported somebody in another tribe. But then they don't have time to tell Emily, get to the reward challenge or the swap challenge or whatever. And Jeff does rap, starts rapping with this, which is the first time I think this has ever happened.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah. What did you think about that?

[Rider Strong]

Not a huge. I felt sorry for him. I was like, whoa, what. Whose idea was this? And why is it was.

[Sophie Bilardi]

I feel like it was his idea. I'm not gonna lie. Yeah, he. So he, a couple seasons ago had everybody start chanting chicken and waffles, fried chicken and waffles. And it got a lot of backlash from the fans. I have a weird feeling that he saw that. He was like, you know what, I'm gonna double down on this and do something even weirder. And it's funny because I was talking to Rizzo and Rizzo's like, it was even worse in person because they didn't have the backtrack music.

[Rider Strong]

That's what I thought that I was like, this is. They're trying to make it sound better than it must have because they're doing the happened. And you can just tell everyone's like awkwardly, like listening. Just get to the point, dude.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Don't keep. No, I know it was. It was creative, though. I give. I give him that.

[Bethenny Frankel]

It's.

[Rider Strong]

No, it's so painful. I love him so much. Like, I. I truly like if I want to meet him so bad, and I respect him so much. Don't. Don't rap. Don't. Please don't. It felt like. It felt like an after school 90s special. That's like, teaching you about, like, the government or something. Like, hey, kids, I can be cool and rap like you. Anyway, they drop their buffs, and then Christian desperately whispers to Emily that they gave the idol to Aubrey, which is just, like, such a destabilizing move. I. I don't know why. I mean, I. I guess it makes sense that he felt the need to tell her, but man doesn't. Doesn't really work in his favor. So the new tribes are formed. Genevieve says that what's happening, which is like, that this is just struggle and chaos that the fans want. So true. And then we see the new tribes callow. Callow is like, forming this coach, Colby, Joe, which is like, this dude, bro, honor and integrity alliance.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Oh, my God, I hate that. Did you watch 48?

[Rider Strong]

I can't even remember if I did. I don't.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Well, basically.

[Rider Strong]

Well, yeah, that's what Joe was on.48, right?

[Bethenny Frankel]

Yes.

[Rider Strong]

Yes. Yeah, yeah.

[Sophie Bilardi]

The honor and integrity season, which is not what you want to see when you're watching Survivor. You want to see backstab, the opposite of honor and like, no integrity. Like, you want. You want. You want the chaos. And so I was not a fan of this alliance happening, though. It was very predictable. When I saw them get to that. That swap, I was like, oh, these guys are going to work together. Very clear because they're very similar. But I don't know. I'm not excited to watch that.

[Rider Strong]

I mean, the thing is, like, I. I like. I like them, most of them, because Coach is the guy who's like honor. He's like, says the things that. But then he is going to play his way anyway. You know what I mean? So, like, I've always. I wouldn't call him a full hypocrite, but. Because in some ways you have to be a little bit of a hypocrite in this game. But, like, he really plays up how much honor and integrity he has. And I'm like, do you?

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Do you?

[Rider Strong]

Because that's not the way you play. So. But. And so it's interesting that Colby and Joe, who I do think are much more like, genuinely like what they say is how they play to their Detriment at times. Like, it's so interesting and I feel like that's the kind of player I would want to be and, you know, but I, I agree. I don't think it's the best way to play. I think it's much better to be like a Devins or Christian or somebody who's just like, hey, the part of the game is going to be lying to your face and backstabbing. Like we have to do that. Like, right. It's not. Doesn't make me a bad person, makes me a good player and like, you know, you can trust me when you can trust me or, you know, not. But that's going to be a game that we're playing. I think that's smarter. I think that's better. I don't know if I could play like that because I'm such a horrible liar, but I definitely appreciate it. I want to watch it. So these guys, they bring in Chrissy, she's with them.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

And then coach gives Chrissy this like, you know, you talk too much. Chatter, chatter, chatter, which I was just like. I mean, I guess it's the right thing to do. It's good for her to know, but

[Sophie Bilardi]

little hard, I think. I think if a woman was the one who told him, who communicated that with her, it would have been done differently and it came from a good place. The coach was trying to. To warn her and give her heads up, but I don't think she, she received it that well. And obviously she was emotional about the things she's been through, which I love that she opened up about. I thought that was really powerful and, and it offered insight and I did. I think it reminded me that, that a lot of these players do have a lot of baggage from their original season. Like, she talked about how in her first season she was not liked and now she's feeling that again. And it'll be interesting how she kind of adapts to that because that's what Survivor is. You gotta. You gotta adapt with the information that you're given. And I feel like she was given like, like pretty key information now. Now she can use it to her advantage.

[Rider Strong]

What was, what do you think would be your baggage if you were going back into another season?

[Sophie Bilardi]

So my biggest fault was I was. I was too loyal. I. I could have done something that would have won me the game. And people, like, say it's literally the reason why I lost. And it was to take Rizzo's idol because I had the ability to do it. And my thing is, like, I fall in love with people too quickly, and, like, even though I know the right decision is to maybe cut them, I just. I couldn't do it. So I feel like I would have to remind myself to be a little more cutthroat and not make nice when you're back in the States, but, like, play a cutthroat game, Survivor. Cause that you have to in order to win.

[Rider Strong]

Right.

[Sophie Bilardi]

That's what people respect. Yeah, you're right.

[Rider Strong]

Cause in a weird way, the fact that Rizzo didn't vote for you in the jury indicates that saving that relationship didn't matter. Exactly, right.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Exactly. And that's what the reminder I kind of needed. If I ever go back, that'll be what I do. I'm like, okay, either way, you might not even need to be so nice because they might respect the cutthroatness. So I don't know.

[Rider Strong]

It's so interesting. Like, I just, you know, one of the reasons I've never done a reality show or whatever, like, want to do one is just because I definitely would. I take things so personally, you know, Like, I. And I feel like there's. There's, you know, there's like once an episode of Survivor, there's some. Somebody who's just crying because they're just like, nobody likes me or I'm annoying everybody or whatever. I feel like that would be me. I would just be. So. Did you ever have that moment? Did you ever have that, like, man, I'm just. Or did you kind of always feel like, nope, I am. I'm playing a game, I know who I am and I'm fine?

[Sophie Bilardi]

So. Yeah, I feel like it was towards the end where I. Where I. When you have to make that decision between your actual friends, because I was lucky enough to, like, be able to cut people off and vote people off that I wasn't really close to, and it made sense for me. But then when you get to a certain point, like, in order to win, you. You have to outlast everybody, so you have to make those tough decisions and cut those people. So that's when I. When I would have those moments of, like, damn, I don't know if I could do this. And then.

[Rider Strong]

So you. You're. When you say, like, my actual friends, like, that's so interesting because it, you know, and it happens in this episode, too. It seems like there's such a key distinction between, like, alliances that people make because they're. They're good and they trust one another. They're not going to lie. And then like, just kind of bonding with somebody and like, just being like, no, no. I actually just kind of like you, you know, and like, it happens later in this episode. I think with Emily and Angelina, like, there's just this bonding moment where they're like, I actually just like you. I don't know if I can vote for you. And I'm like, that must happen. So you know, where you're just like, well, regardless of my gameplay, I'm just friends with this person.

[Sophie Bilardi]

No, it happens so much more often than you think. And that's the hard part about Survivor because you're also surviving with these people. You're getting so close to them because you're in this weird situation where you have to lean on each other. And luckily, that's what worked out for me. Savannah and Rizzo, we liked each other, we bonded, but it also made sense for us to work together in the game. But there were a ton of other people on my season where I loved them as people, but I had to make a tough decision, you know, to move myself forward. So it happens.

[Rider Strong]

All right. Over at the new Sila tribe, Camilla is like, super happy with the Shelter and surprised because she knows they didn't have Flint and Saree and Devin's. There's like four Kalo members and Rizzo's the only one from Vaatu. And I was surprised. He didn't seem that bummed about it. He wasn't like, oh, my God, I'm on the bottom. I'm screwed. He just immediately was like, okay, who do I connect with? How do I play this? Which he's got a good attitude.

[Sophie Bilardi]

It is. I mean, that's how Rizzo is, though. I remember on our season we were at the bottom at the merge, like, we were the only three that were left out of a seven, a ten person vote. So seven people voted one way, us three voted the other way. And I was like, brazil, what are we going to do? We're so screwed. And he's like, hey, it's fun to play from the bottom because what do we have to lose? And so I know that was his. His mentality at that moment. He's like, okay, this is. This is another opportunity to make connections. Like, it's never over until your torch is snuffed on Survivor. That's what people always have to remind yourself, remind themselves.

[Rider Strong]

Stay optimistic.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Oh, my God.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

Oh, yeah. So I'd be so bad at this game. I would love. I love the, like, being outside surviving apart, but I would be so bad at strategy. I would be.

[Sophie Bilardi]

You know, I feel like you wouldn't be. I feel like you had. You would have a really good, at least social game.

[Rider Strong]

I mean, I'm trying. Like, I'm learning. So, like, I feel like maybe I could tell myself all the right things, but I'm just also so, like, emotional and so moody, and I'm so, like. I just think I would. Yeah, I think, you know, like, right now, like, I've been saying that Ozzy's, like, my guy, and I think that's partly because that's how I would play. Like, I would just be like, no, I'm just gonna be nice and provide for the tribe, and then everybody's not gonna like me, and they won't vote me out. And it's like, no, they'll probably vote you out. And to my detriment, I wouldn't even have Ozzy's physical capability, so I would just be losing on all fronts anyways. Then this interesting moment with, like, Jonathan, and they're. They're talking. They're talking about Cerie and D. She's saying that her friend back home was like, if you're ever on a tribe with Cherie, vote her out. Which is hysterical because it's like. It is good advice. But then both her and Jonathan, they're like, but we like Cerise.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah. And that's like, cerise power, though. She's so. It's kind of scary because you're in her. You're almost, like, getting misted by her, but you don't even realize. And, like, they know. Their logical mind is telling them, don't trust her. But then they're like, but I like her.

[Rider Strong]

So pure charisma. Right? It's like she just has, like, this natural charisma. And it's not overpowering. Like, it doesn't. It's not like somebody whose personality is, like, front and center. It's like she plays well. She's like, yeah, she's just part of the crew, and she gets along with everybody and they like her. And then meanwhile, she's really, really playing. Super interesting.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Hello. Hello. I'm Malcolm Gladwell, host of Smart Talks with IBM. I recently spoke with IBM's new director of research, Jake Mbetta. We discussed his vision for the future of quantum computing at IBM Research. What we always do is answer, what is the future of computing? Whether it's coming up with new algorithms, coming up with better AI, coming up with quantum, or coming up with just, how do different accelerators go together? It's our DNA to answer the Question of what is the future. Isn't it a perfect problem for IBM because you kind of need to have a legacy of building stuff. Yes. Building actual physical machines. Yeah. It's why I came to IBM. I wanted the experience, the culture of, of building hard things that others have not done before. Where do you imagine we are in the timeline of this technology? There will come a point when it will mature, right? Yeah. My cell phone is a mature technology at this point. How far are we from that point? With Quantum, by 2029 we'll build the first fault tolerant Quantum computer. That is one that can run a very, very large, large problem. To learn how IBM is building the future of computing, visit IBM.com quantum

[Bethenny Frankel]

this is Bethenny Frankel from Just Be with Bethany Frankel. Let me be blunt. Most dog food is junk. It just is. And I'm not feeding junk to Biggie and Smalls. That is why they eat just food for dogs. It's real 100% human grade food with ingredients I actually recognize. Not mystery pellets pretending to be healthy. And once I switched, the difference was obvious. Better digestion, better skin, more energy. Dogs who actually feel good instead of just surviving dinner. Here's the thing. You care about quality. You make an intentional choice to be healthy. So why are you gambling with your dog's health? So let's think about our furry babies. Go to justfood for dogs.com right now and get 50% off your first box. No code. Just try it. Because once you see the difference, you're not going back.

[Redfin Advertiser]

That let's talk about modern home shopping. It's sort of become a fun side hobby, right? Scrolling listings at night, dreaming about kitchens you've never seen or backyards you haven't even stepped foot in. All from the comfort of pretty much anywhere. Redfin knows a lot of people like you want to own but are stuck in this browsing mode loop. That's where Redfin flips the script. With listings that update within minutes and tours you can book right from the Redfin app, you can see your dream home the moment it appears. Now, liking a listing is easy, but actually landing it, that's where Redfin comes in. Redfin has over 2200 agents with local expertise. And Redfin agents close twice as many deals as other agents. That means they want to help you win, not just window shop. Redfin is built to help you go from just looking to wait. This could actually be home. So become the newest neighbor on the block. Visit redfin.com to start finding and start owning that's redfin.com lately, car buying has

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become a pretty dull experience. But on ebay, behind every car and part is a story waiting to be shared. There was a guy who bought a 2020 Porsche Cayman GT4 on eBay. It was well loved. There are plenty of Caymans in great condition on ebay. But this one needed some work. That's just the start of the story. So after this guy gets a great deal on his dream car, he rebuilds the whole thing with all these parts he found on ebay. Performance brakes, suspension, body panels, the works guaranteed to fit. Next thing you know, this nearly scrapped Cayman was out there on the track as a full blown race car. Your ready to go daily driver, your next rest Amade, hello Lotus salon and the parts to finish it. Ebay has thousands of cars and has the largest online selection of vehicle parts and accessories. Ebay, things people love.

[Rider Strong]

All right, over at the new Vaatu, you've got. Mike is the only Kalo, but he knows everybody. He's got this like trio from the David and Goliath season. And Q tells Ozzy that he and Genevieve sent him the idol and they go along with Emily. They kind of rope Emily and then Emily immediately shares that Aubrey has an idol, which I was just like, wow, okay. Which is interesting because Emily's usually. She's. If I remember correctly, she's a pretty good strategic player.

[Sophie Bilardi]

She is, she's. She's strategic, but she can get a little messy too. I think she gets paranoid and it gets the best of her. And that's exactly what happened here. She overthought, like she overanalyzed the situation, I think, think. And. And then she realized, oh crap, I thought too much about this and it's not the right move. And she tried to backtrack, but yeah, I don't know. She did irreversible damage because Christian, it sent him into a spiral. He was like, what are you doing?

[Rider Strong]

I know.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

I mean, and the fact that then she goes and tells him that she told everybody, you know, it's like she sort of just blew up her own game for no reason. And it's. And yeah, it actually works kind of in Christian's favor and like the way he's like, no, no, of it's kind going to be fine. But yeah, super interesting that she just sort of fumbled the ball here of this entire moment like she did. You know, she was.

[Sophie Bilardi]

I mean it ended up working out in that she didn't get voted out. It was cute, but it could have definitely blown up in her face. And maybe it will later, but it was. It was definitely fun to watch that whole spiral happen because I do think Christian had good intentions by telling her that Aubrey had the idol in case maybe she swapped.

[Rider Strong]

And she receives it that way. When he tells her, she's like, oh, why? You just didn't tell me? And he was like, yeah, that's why. Yeah. But it's weird that she just freaked out. But she does have this bonding moment with Angelina where they're like, you know, and she tells her everything. Just like, here's all that's happening, so we'll see how this goes. But, yeah, it's interesting. She's sort of like everybody's. She's in all the alliances. Emily, which is, I guess, a good place to be, because you're right. She was never on the chopping block, so. All right. Over at the New Kalo, Genevieve is doing the rounds, going to, like, Joe, Coach, and Chrissy and trying to turn everybody on Aubrey, except she talks to Tiffany, and Tiffany goes right to Aubrey, and these two sort of bond and seem like a. You know, it's really interesting to me how much people don't like Aubrey this season. Like, I know.

[Sophie Bilardi]

I was so surprised because I liked Aubrey going into this season, and I feel like if I was playing on it, I would want to work with her because she can be loyal, she's very smart, and, I don't know, it was very shocking to me that she's not kind of of integrating that well with these tribes. But.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Yeah.

[Sophie Bilardi]

What'd you think about Genevieve kind of going around and. And kind of telling her name and trying to build these connections?

[Rider Strong]

I think it's always bad to be that aggressive. Do you know what I mean? Like, and the second you're telling people, like, why they go, you know, it's like. And I don't think she has really that much, you know, Like, I don't know if she has much to present other than, like, we should just target this person. It's like, okay, and it's like, let's just have a scapegoat. But it's so weird to me, like, the way the fact that it was the last episode where everybody went through Aubrey's bag and was, like, totally fine with that.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

Like, how did that make you feel? Does that. Does that stuff happen all the time out there? Is that just, like.

[Sophie Bilardi]

So, yeah, I actually did that on the last season, and I found someone's idol, so it can work in your favor. And. And it's Not. I see a lot of people being like, it's such an invasion of privacy, and it is. But Survivor bags are different than, like, a purse back at home. Like, nobody. It has, like, our dirty clothes in there. Like, nobody. It's not offensive to look through it, but. And sometimes it might help you in the game. So you got to go into Survivor assuming, like, people might look through your bag and you might have to look through someone's bag. So it is.

[Rider Strong]

Oh, this is a question that's come up. Are you allowed to bring anything personal, like a diary or a pen or paper? No.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Nothing? No. You get, like, a luxury item in terms of, like, clothing. Like, I got this warm sweater that I would use in, you know, a night to cover myself when it was cold, but that's it. Okay.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah. Let's talk about. Because Will was baffled by the temperature, by the. The different clothing. Some people are, like, in jackets and hoodies, and other people are wearing shorts the whole time. So is it just, like, crazy temperature swings?

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yes. Especially in our season. It was so hot, like, scorching hot. During the day, people would almost have heat exhaustion. Like, this guy Nate would literally pass out after every challenge, and he would need medical to, like, put ice on his chest. But then at night, it would get so cold, and you see us at Tribal Council, like, we're full of sweaters or, like, even in the mornings, you're, like, still recovering from your body being so cold at night that people are still wearing their, like, hoodies or whatever. It's. It's. The temperature changes are crazy in Fiji,

[Rider Strong]

but the ocean temperature is lovely.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah, the ocean temperature is great, but you still don't even want to go in there because we don't have towels to dry ourselves off. So if you go in the water, you're wet all day.

[Rider Strong]

What about sunscreen? Do you get sunscreen?

[Sophie Bilardi]

You do get a little sunscreen? Yes. Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

Okay. But no makeup. No one's getting, like, made up for their. Do you get a mirror? No.

[Sophie Bilardi]

I didn't see myself for 26 days.

[Rider Strong]

I was wondering if. Because, I mean, people tend to look pretty good on this show. Like, I know. And I'm always like, did they. Do they give them before the interview, like, a flash of, like, here's how your shot looks just so you know. Okay, that's cool. It's. It's. It's more natural than.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah, this. So I had this clip. I had not this one specifically, but a clip like this. This. And I would just brush my hair with it like, this Because I didn't have anything else. So we would find creative ways to. To, you know, do ourselves up. There was a lady once who used, like, the soot from the fire to contour her face, like, put makeup on. So, yeah, people get creative out there. Like, we. All we have is time. So. But no. No makeup, no brush. I think on day 26, I saw myself for the first time because they gave us a breakfast, like a celebratory breakfast. And the knives were reflective, so there was, like, a mirror. So I was like, oh, my God. Like, this is what I look like. Yeah, it's pretty crazy. I never.

[Rider Strong]

I mean, yeah, I mean, I've gone backpacking, so maybe the most I've gone is, like, five days. And I do remember you reached that point. You're like, oh, I haven't looked at my face in a mirror for a while, and it's a. It's a shock when you see it again. What about the bug situation? Are there bugs all over the place?

[Sophie Bilardi]

Oh, my God. It's so bad. It's really. It's so bad. I remember there was one day I was bored because you get bored, and I started counting the bug bites from just here to here, and it was like, 37. It was like. Like just bug bites everywhere. So that's also another reason why people cover up, because they don't want to get bitten.

[Rider Strong]

Oh, my God. That's my nightmare. I would. Because I'm like, so. Mosquitoes just love me. I would be so eaten.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah, yeah, it's bad. It's really bad.

[Rider Strong]

And so here's. Here's something I love to keep getting off the recap. Just Survivor stuff.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Okay.

[Rider Strong]

How did you. Like, how did you prepare to go on the show? Did you, like, know how to build a shelter? I mean, because it seems like all this information is pretty much out there now. Right? Like, so, yeah, building a fire, building a shelter, like, all that was is. Has become kind of standard knowledge before you go on, or did you still not know things?

[Sophie Bilardi]

I didn't know how to do anything except for, like, I trained myself a little bit to use a flint and build a fire, but then, like, everything goes out the window when you get there. Because, again, like, I was on the losing tribe, so we didn't get flint, so I didn't have fire for 11 days. So the game is constantly changing. And. And honestly, I think the best thing to do is. Is not prepare at all. Because when you get there, like. Yeah, because what are you gonna do? I think the best thing is like, maybe. Maybe start, like, fast for a little bit. Learn. Train your body to get used to that. But other than that, I don't know. I don't think there's much you could do. I mean, look at Rizzo. He did so well, and I don't think he's. He's not, like, someone who works out every day, and I'm not that either. And we went pretty far in the game, so I think the strategy and the social part is more important than the physical.

[Rider Strong]

Right, Right. Which it didn't used to be that way at all. Like, I feel like early seasons, it was so physical and, like.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Interesting.

[Rider Strong]

Okay. Over at the new Sila, Rizzo starts speaking Albanian. Did you know that he had this? This. Yeah. That's awesome. And then he tells Charlie about the Billie Eilish idols, and then we get this flashback to talking about you, which I love.

[Sophie Bilardi]

That was so funny.

[Rider Strong]

This was like. There was nothing new in this for you to hear. Like, this is exactly what you know,

[Sophie Bilardi]

because in real life, we're. We're genuinely. Us three are, like, best friends. Like, we talk every day. I even knew he was gonna kind of say stuff like that because I knew he wanted to distance himself from Savannah. So he. Obviously, when they asked him, who's your best friend from 49? He wasn't going to say Savannah, So he said his other bestie, me. And I didn't expect him to say my full name and. And talk about that. I also thought it was surprising that he said that he didn't vote for me because he knows the baggage that Charlie carries.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah. So it didn't make sense. Totally. Because he was trying to help his game by distancing himself from Sav, but also, like, did the opposite. So what do you think about that?

[Rider Strong]

I. It was a weird moment. Like, you know, and I think. I actually think it was it. Yeah. I mean, I'm just, like, not, like, it. I wouldn't. I would have not thought ahead to, like, oh, Charlie might read this this way.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

Do you know what I mean? Like, I would not have thought ahead, so I would have probably done the same thing.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Same thing. Yeah. And he probably just didn't assume Charlie was gonna be still stuck on that. I thought it was a little overreaction, too, from Charlie, but. But it's true. People, again, like, they have the baggage from their old season.

[Rider Strong]

They're bringing it, Right. Yeah. And it's. Yeah. You got to just go with your gut. And sometimes. And it seems like that. That it set off an Alarm bell for him. It's gonna be interesting to see how that plays out, because I don't think. Yeah, I don't. I don't know. I don't. I feel like these two actually would work very well together if they decided to, like, trust one another.

[Sophie Bilardi]

They're very similar. They're very, like, cerebral, strategic, like, goofy guys who I feel like could do well together, kind of like Aubrey and Genevieve. But they're choosing not to work together, so it'll be interesting.

[Rider Strong]

All right, so then we get to the immunity challenge, which is this blindfold thing that they've done a bunch. This is Survivor. Did you have to do this one?

[Sophie Bilardi]

No. Thank. I'm so happy because I feel like people get hurt.

[Rider Strong]

I would hate this one because it'd just be like, yeah, everybody. Every time they do this, somebody hits their head on something, I'm like, oh, my God. Like, I would be so bad, and maybe I could be a caller, but I would never want to be one of the people actually going through it. So it's chaos with, like, getting giant rings and throwing the poles. Sila takes the lead. They get to the puzzle way ahead of everyone. And Charlie and Rizzo, like, very similar players, like you're saying, and good strategic players. They get to the puzzle and they just win it pretty quickly. Ozzy and Q, with Christian calling, lose this immunity challenge. Back at the Vaatu camp, Christian is all apologetic. It's interesting that nobody even really considers Sam. You know, they don't really blame. I always. I'm fascinated by that, like, how the blame worked. And that's a question I've had, like, how much? Cause they usually don't show the strategy conversation before a challenge. Like, how long do you have from when you, like, they show you the challenge, do they actually have people walk through it in front of you?

[Sophie Bilardi]

So actually, Jeff does it. He will go with each tribe and walk you through every single part of the course, and then you can ask him all your questions and he'll tell you. But it only happens once. You only get one shot of that, and then you have literally 30 seconds to decide who gets what. That's it? Yeah. They don't let you talk at all.

[Rider Strong]

God, I thought that was, like, a big part of the game where you'd have to sit there and be like, I thought you'd have, like, five minutes at least to be like, I'm gonna do this, and then you do that. Oh, my God.

[Sophie Bilardi]

I wish. I wish they don't. It's part of, like, why it's, it's kind of difficult. You have to make the decision on the fly and then you get back to camp and then you plan next time. Hey, if it's a puzzle, you're going to do this because you sucked at it last time. So you can have kind of talk about it before, but you still don't know what you're going to go to next.

[Bethenny Frankel]

So.

[Sophie Bilardi]

But on there you only get like 30 seconds, which is crazy.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

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[Rider Strong]

Hello.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

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[Rider Strong]

Yeah.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Wow.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

So we are not asking our clients to be the first experiment on it. We say you can leverage what we did. We're happy to bring out all our learnings, including what needs to change in the process. Because the biggest change is not technology. It's getting people to accept that there's a different way to do things. To listen to the full conversation, visit IBM.com smarttalks.

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[Rider Strong]

All right, so back at the Vaatu camp, Christian's apologizing and Mike just tells Stephanie that he's probably voting for her, which is crazy. Bold move that he's. I feel like only Mike White can get away with some of this stuff. Like, he's just like everybody likes him. He's. He's a great social player. He's just a great player. It's amazing. Yeah.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

And then that kind of scrambles Stephanie and Q doesn't have a vote. And it comes down to this, you know, basically asking Ozzy to turn on Q, which he doesn't want to do because he doesn't want to lose challenges, which I think is a very good argument because I'm like, if you keep losing your big strong players, like, like, I don't know. But sure enough, at the tribal, like I want to hear about tribal from your point of view because, like, my theory is that, like, the best. The whole point of tribal, the whole challenge of tribal, is to go in and basically talk without saying anything. Is that an accurate. Yeah.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah. You're still playing the game when you're there answering Jeff's questions.

[Rider Strong]

And so everybody just keeps their, like, generic, vague. It's like, how poetic and, like, non specific can you be? But still basically signaling to the people that you're true to what you said you were going to do. Right?

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah. And it's funny because I see fans all the time complaining about how many analogies are said at tribal. It's like, yeah, because we can't be literal or else people will read into what we're saying and they'll come for us. And usually I would say, like, 90% of the time you're going to Tribal Council and everybody knows what's happening. At least if you're on the right side of the vote. Right. It's set in stone who's going home. Unless they get up and they start talking. That's when it kind of gets murky.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah. Did that happen at your season? Did people get up and start whispering?

[Sophie Bilardi]

It happened on my season, I think twice. But even then the person that was supposed to go home went home. It's honestly fun when it changes. And maybe, hey, maybe with like the whole Rick idol, like, something crazy will happen this season. I feel like it will because they keep showing that something happens with that idol.

[Rider Strong]

So wait, so you're saying that when you went to tribal, you pretty much were confident how it was going to go?

[Bethenny Frankel]

Yes.

[Rider Strong]

And it pretty much went that way every time.

[Sophie Bilardi]

And like, they. I think the way they edit is like. So it's kind of a toss up.

[Rider Strong]

Right. But the truth is.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah. So you're working around that. When Jeff's. I answer your questions, you don't want to give that away. Or they might play their shot in the dark or they'll. They'll do some Hail Mary at tribal where they'll try to change the vote. So you really are, like, just walking on eggshells. And it's part of, like, the game, like, Tribal council and answering Jeff's questions is part of, like, the whole game, which is interesting.

[Rider Strong]

It just seems like, yeah, the amateur player move is just start talking about what you're doing, actually strategy. Like, well, I'm gonna vote for so and so.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Exactly.

[Rider Strong]

It's like the worst thing that you can do. Oh, it's such a weird process. I would be so bad at it.

[Sophie Bilardi]

It's a Whole mind game. It's a whole mind screw. Like, it's crazy.

[Rider Strong]

Are you paranoid the entire time you're out there?

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah, it's pretty. But that's why it's so important to have people that you trust. And to Q's point of, like, keeping the tribe strong or to kind of go against that is, like, at the end of the day, if you're. If you have people that you don't have your back, like, that's more important than. Than keeping the tribe strong. And so it was scary because you never know, too, with all the twists and the swaps, like, anything could happen in Survivor, so you always have your guard up.

[Rider Strong]

So they ultimately vote Q out. What do you. What do you think of this? How's this gonna go for them?

[Sophie Bilardi]

I think it's a tragedy. I feel like we're gonna miss out on so much good TV without Q. But at the same time, like, any good reason to vote someone out this early is a good reason and, like, any reason, actually. But, like, he kind of told people, vote me out. And that's a strategy that worked for him on 46. But in this case, Mike was like, oh, you're giving me permission to vote you out? I guess I will. And. And that's ultimately what happened. And I think he was just a casualty of a swap that didn't work in his favor. And, yeah, it is what it is. It's sad.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah, it's also sad. Like, it goes back, like, you know, I've always said, like, don't ever take a journey. Don't ever do anything. Which he, you know, because he did lose his vote. Like, he. Yeah, he did that early on. That was, like, day one, you know, he TRA and Ozzy convinced him to take the supplies and lose his vote. And I wonder how much he's regretting that. But, you know, they do talk about Q as a somewhat chaotic player, and there is a little bit of that. Like, I. He's. Whenever he's, like, strategizing and doing a thing, I'm like, oh, I like what you're saying. I totally. You know, but then, like, from moment to moment, it's. Yeah, he's just playing hard all the time in, like, three different directions. And I'm like, given any given conversation, I'm totally with you. But then it seems like your next conversation is just as strong in this other direction.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Like, dude.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Right. Oh, so he played bald loud. It didn't work in his favor. It worked on season 46 a little bit, but. But, yeah, I Think what's sad about season 50 is, like, everyone is so rootable and fun to watch. So anytime anyone goes home, you're like, damn, we're gonna miss out on them. But it is what it is. He got caught in the crossfires of a swap, so that sucks.

[Rider Strong]

So how long ago were you actually on an island? Like, six months ago.

[Sophie Bilardi]

We got back in late May, so we left April and came back late maybe. So it's been. It's been a minute. Yeah. But, yeah, you miss it in a weird, like, crazy way. I do because it. I've already forgotten all the suffering because while I was out there, I was like, I'm never doing this crap again. This is so hard.

[Rider Strong]

Of course, of course.

[Sophie Bilardi]

But then when you come out of it, it's like you forget about that and. And you just want to go back like you missed the island and all that, and it's. It's crazy. I would do it again in a heartbeat. It's so much fun.

[Rider Strong]

Oh, my God. All right, so how is this. How. How has this affected your life? Like, how is what. Like, what is your day to day life? How has it impacted, like, regular life for Sophie?

[Sophie Bilardi]

Like, is it so. I think it just in. In, like, it's made me, like, more bold and. And it's made me believe in myself a lot more. And I. I say yes to a lot of things now because it does open opportunities and stuff like that. And I feel like before I was, like, closed off to that, but now, I don't know, it's opened my. My world up to so many things. Like, freaking talking to you is. Is insane. Like, the fact that I'm here, like, what the hell is my life? But, yeah, I don't know. And I'm such a fan of the show, I feel like it's only brought positive things because I used to just watch it. I would have watched season 50 as a fan, naturally, but now I'm actually, like, ingrained in the community. I'm an alumni. People, like, respected and liked my game. So I. I'm just. This has been a freaking, you know, thrill and a ride of lifetime, and I'm just grateful for it. So.

[Rider Strong]

That's awesome. Are you. Are you, like, planning to do more sort of reality stuff, competition stuff?

[Sophie Bilardi]

Honestly, I don't think so. I like my little life. I'm not trying to, you know, change it too much, but if Survivor Jeff Probst calls me again, I'll be there. They know I'll be there in a heartbeat. So I don't think you'll see me anywhere else? Maybe. The Traders. I would. The Traders is so fun. How could you say no to that?

[Rider Strong]

No.

[Sophie Bilardi]

But would you ever do the Traitors?

[Rider Strong]

I don't think so. I would be horrible. Will wants to do it and, like, he would be great, but, like, no. I'm so. I get so tense about lying and hiding. I would rather do Survivor, I think, because I think I could focus on the, like, survivors, you know, being out in the wilderness.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

And like, I just like what you're describing about that experience of, like, being so miserable, you know, And Mike says it during this tribal. He's like, the highs are so so. Or the lows are so low, but then the highs are so high. Like, I know that feeling from backpacking where you're just like, haven't showered and you, you know, eating just dehydrated food and you're just like, oh. And you're so. You're. But then when you take that shower when you get home and you're like, this is the great. I have survived. I've like, done so. So I can't imagine what that's like after 20 some days or 30 days. Like, that's that. I. I feel like that is such a life affirming experience that I would love to have. You know, that interests me way more than being on camera and doing all the gameplay stuff, which is what Traitors is just the comfort of a castle and hotel room and then just the play, the gameplay and manipulation and paranoia. I don't know. I don't know. I do love a castle. I like the style. I mean, I'm not a beach person, so that would be a problem for me.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Oh, that would be a big problem. Sand everywhere. You can never get it off.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

It's.

[Sophie Bilardi]

It's bad.

[Rider Strong]

Oh, my God.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

Well, thank you so much for doing this, Sophie. I really, really appreciate it. Yeah. Thank you for reaching out and I'm so glad that you were able to do this.

[Sophie Bilardi]

I know, me too. I appreciate it and I'm. I look forward to hearing your episodes every week with Will. I'm kind of grateful he wasn't here because I got to be here, so.

[Rider Strong]

Yes. It's awesome.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Thank you. Thank you, seriously, for having me. This was fun.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Of course.

[Rider Strong]

All right, talk to you soon.

[Sophie Bilardi]

Talk to you soon. Bye, guys.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Bye.

[Rider Strong]

All right, you've been listening to Pod meets Twirl. The torches may be snuffed, but our questionable analysis burns on. We'll see you next time at Tribal.

[Bethenny Frankel]

This is Bethenny Frankel from Just Be with Bethenny Frankel Let me be blunt. Most dog food is junk. It just is. And I'm not feeding junk to Biggie and Smalls. That is why they eat just food for dogs. It's real, 100% human grade food with ingredients I actually recognize, not mystery pellets pretending to be healthy. And once I switched, the difference was obvious. Better digestion, better skin, more energy. Dogs who actually feel good instead of just surviving dinner. Here's the thing. You care about quality. You make an intentional choice to be healthy. So why are you gambling with your dog's health? So let's think about our furry babies. Go to justfoodfordogs.com right now and get 50% off your first box. No code. Just try it. Because once you see the difference, you're not going back.

[Sophie Bilardi]

This is Sarah Spain from Good Game with Sarah Spain, brought to you in part by Vital Farms. Let me tell you why Vital Farms Pasture raised eggs are the only eggs

[Rider Strong]

I have in my fridge.

[Sophie Bilardi]

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[Rider Strong]

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