TGI – The Red Weather

Summary

Pod Meets World: TGI – The Red Weather (May 28, 2026)

Podcast: Pod Meets World
Host(s): Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle, Ryder Strong
Episode Theme: A deep-dive recap and behind-the-scenes on Ryder Strong’s narrative fiction podcast, The Red Weather—inspired by true crime and Ryder’s real-life Northern California upbringing.

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Overview

In this special “TGI” episode, Pod Meets World takes a detour from “Boy Meets World” nostalgia to celebrate Ryder Strong’s new podcast drama, The Red Weather. The trio discusses the inspiration, writing process, authenticity, cast, and story mechanics behind Ryder's true-crime-inspired audio drama—blending fact with fiction set in 1990s NorCal counter-culture. The episode serves as both a companion for fans of The Red Weather and an inside look at creative podcast storytelling.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Recap The Red Weather?

[23:21]

• Will and Danielle want to celebrate Ryder’s new project, while acknowledging the robust fan response.
• The Red Weather has found surprising crossover appeal with existing “Pod Meets World” fans.
• Ryder: "The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and heartwarming and awesome and... I am so thankful for our listeners who have given it a chance." (23:55)

2. True Crime, Authenticity & Podcast Inspiration

[24:46]

• Ryder has loved podcasts since 2007, especially true crime formats like “Serial” and “This American Life.”
• He's wary of most “fiction” podcasts: “My ear just knows when it’s fake.” (25:46)
• The Red Weather was an experiment in narrative authenticity: blending real interviews, personal history, and scripted fiction for realism.

3. Blurring Fact & Fiction / Real-Life Roots

[29:03, 30:24]

• Will highlights the unique NorCal “character” of the show—communes, cults, alternative family structures, and marijuana farming are explored.
• Ryder describes his real upbringing surrounded by communes, cultish groups, hippiedom, and shifting social norms.
• Ryder: “I find that culture scary... but also fascinating for stories.” (33:11)

4. Writing, Recording, and Casting Approach

[34:21, 38:41]

• Ryder had the “mystery” and outline in mind before scripting.
• Real interviews with friends, family, and actors. Different actors were given different latitude: some performed scripted lines, others mostly improvised, especially Chris Lemke as cult leader Elric ([40:47]).
• “[Chris] filled four tapes of lectures for me. 75% of what's in the episode is just him improvising in character...” (40:47)

5. Handling Authenticity

[45:03]

• Only about 5-10% of the dialogue is 100% real-time conversation. Many “real” people are improvising as themselves or reading scripted lines.
• Real events and people inspired much of the narrative, often amalgamated or dramatized for story.

6. Ethical Quandaries in Art

[47:06]

• Will asks if Ryder feared hurting people or revisiting trauma from his past.
• Ryder mostly wanted to protect interviewees from negative memories or exploitative storytelling.
• “Some interviews I didn’t end up using... because it wasn’t that dark or... that wasn’t good enough material.” (48:04)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On true-crime podcaster tropes:
  "It’s almost like a little bit of a [bleep] you to true crime podcasters who are like, I'm better than detectives." — Will Friedle (69:40)

• On podcast realism:
  “I wanted to mirror the most exploitative version of my hometown... I push it even further north, in some ways.” — Ryder Strong (33:11)

• On family improvising for the show:
  “My parents are good actors. My mom, through this process... commits 100%... It’s just like when we were kids and we would be making home movies.” — Ryder Strong (44:50)

• On getting older:
  "You fall at 40, everyone's like, that's hysterical. You fall at 50 and people are like, 'Oh my god, are you okay?' That’s a big difference." — Will Friedle (14:19)

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The Red Weather Episode-by-Episode Breakdown

Episode 1: “The Pinky Stuff”

[53:16]

• Introduction of Anna Traynor, the 17-year-old missing person from 1995.
• Willow, Anna’s sister (and Ryder’s best friend), commits suicide after sending Ryder a letter releasing him from a childhood pinky swear related to the incident.
• Twist: Willow, not Ryder, started the fire that night.

Episode 2: “Tom Shanagans”

[55:17]

• The group’s Halloween-themed plan to recover a revenge porn tape from Anna’s ex-boyfriend, Mick.
• Chaos ensues, revealing a barn full of marijuana (motive for fire).
• The sheriff (played by Jon Huertas) enters, and Ryder must come clean.

Episode 3: “Tree Time”

[66:38]

• The “tree time” philosophy, connecting time perception with ancient redwoods.
• Focuses on the cult/commune aspect (Tender Hearts), fictional self-help tapes by Elric, interviews with “cult” historians.
• No major leaps in the case itself; more about community context.

Episode 4: “Swampelvania”

[71:58]

• Ryder analyzes police interrogation transcripts, uncovers biases, and interviews local drug dealer “Sparks”.
• The tech-boom trajectory of NorCal is explored.
• Danielle: “Why are we so okay with unethical behavior when it helps us?”

Episode 5: “Mix Tape”

[77:07]

• Anna’s actual mixtape is heard, revealing her character and that the tape wasn't for Mick—a plot red herring.
• Rachel Marsh voices Anna.
• Authentic touch: Rachel recorded real-world audio with a tape recorder for effect.

Episode 6: “To Live and Park in LA”

[85:11]

• Indy (Ryder’s son) encourages Ryder to keep investigating; Ryder gets a cease-and-desist from Mick’s lawyers.
• Ryder discovers the mixtape wasn’t for Mick and “Operation Van Go” advances the plot.

Episode 7: “Lost Cause”

[86:02]

• Emotional focus: Ryder’s confrontation with Anna’s mother (played by Heidi Sulman), inspired by the podcast “Someone Knows Something.”
• Explores grief, unreliable narration, and loss with depth.

Episode 8: “The End of the Imagination”

[90:08]

• The case reaches its dramatic conclusion. The confrontation and search at Ryder’s parents’ house; more family improvisation.
• Friends and family who participated in the show only heard the finished product, not knowing how their real experiences would be woven into fiction.

---

Behind the Scenes & Creative Takeaways

• Ryder spent over a year scripting and developing the show, mining decades of real-life stories and “mining” them for fiction ([34:29]).

• Various talents involved:

  • Sheriff Maldonado: Jon Huertas
  • Reporter Monica: Lanisa Frank, who brings authentic true crime and cult podcast experience
  • Cult Leader Elric: Chris Lemke, with tapes mostly improvised
  • Anna (teen girl): Rachel Marsh, chosen for youthful voice and real environmental recording

• Recordings often took place in actual locations, not studios, and “family scenes” were improvised with Ryder’s wife Alex and son Indy ([79:03]).

• Ryder estimates only about 10% of what listeners hear is "real" in the sense of unfiltered, non-scripted conversation—but much more of the story content is emotionally true or rooted in real events/people ([45:55]).

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Fan and Host Reactions

• Danielle praises the show’s tight editing, emotional punch, and engaging run time:
  "The length of the episodes is truly perfect. There’s no fat that needs to be cut." (91:25)
• Will: “You made a drive to Vegas go by very quickly—next one, next one!” (91:49)
• All three hosts recommend The Red Weather to both true-crime and drama fans, with Danielle adding:
  “If you haven’t heard it, I really encourage you to take a listen. I was completely sucked in.” (91:25)

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Memorable, Light-Hearted Moments

• Pineapple on pizza debate explodes as an opening tangent ([05:29–06:09]).
• The “nap honesty” segment, with Danielle lovingly recounting her CPK birthday and sleep rituals ([07:39–12:38]).
• Multiple asides on aging, supplements, “being old,” and “reading body cues” ([13:15–16:13]).
• Playful ribbing about branding and chain restaurant names becomes a running joke ([03:27–04:50]).
• Will and Danielle cameo as themselves in a scene where a police liaison is a fan of Topanga—delighted and creeped out in equal measure ([75:20–76:43]).

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• “The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and heartwarming and awesome…” — Ryder (23:55)
• “My ear just knows when it’s fake... So I tap out.” — Ryder on fiction podcasts (25:46)
• “This is insanely honest.” — Ryder, on blending truth and fiction in The Red Weather (47:06)
• “The more I don’t come off well, the better the story.” — Ryder (71:28)
• “If you haven’t heard it, I really encourage you to take a listen. I was completely sucked in.” — Danielle (91:25)
• “You made a drive to Vegas go by very quickly—next one, next one!” — Will (91:49)

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Important Timestamps:

• 23:21 – Start of The Red Weather recap discussion
• 34:21–38:41 – Writing, casting, and realism in audio drama
• 45:03–47:06 – How much is real vs. fiction?
• 53:16–91:11 – Episode-by-episode breakdown of The Red Weather
• 75:20 – Topanga cameo fan-police scene

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Episode Takeaway

This episode celebrates creative risk-taking, the power of audio storytelling, and the ability to create something both personal and universal. Pod Meets World fans get an inside look at what it takes to make an “authentically” fake true crime podcast—one that’s at once gripping, moving, and a little too real.

The hosts encourage everyone—even those outside the regular fanbase—to give The Red Weather a try for its innovative take on fiction, memory, and how the past shapes us.

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For more:

• Listen to The Red Weather
• Follow Pod Meets World on Instagram
• Email the show at podmeetsworldshowmail.com

Transcript

[Commercial Announcer]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Ryder Strong]

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New customers only. Service renews monthly unless canceled. Credit card required conditions apply to apps. HBO Max Basic with ads begins after DIRECTV five day trial. Learn [e-mail] restrictions apply.

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[Will Friedle]

okay, quick question. How long is too long to leave laundry in the washer?

[Danielle Fishel]

If it smells like a haunted swamp, you've crossed the line.

[Ryder Strong]

Relax. That's what arm and hammer Deep Clean is for.

[Danielle Fishel]

It's the powerful shortcut that forgives your laundry shortcuts.

[Will Friedle]

Forgot a load? Mixed your sweaty gym clothes with everything you own. No judgment.

[Ryder Strong]

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[Will Friedle]

Because it's just laundry, you shouldn't stress over it.

[Danielle Fishel]

From the number one liquid detergent brand that tackles more loads than any other. Come clean with arm and Hammer Deep

[Will Friedle]

Clean Number one claim based on total wash loads sold. Summertime is here and you know what that means.

[Danielle Fishel]

Beach trips?

[Ryder Strong]

Family vacations?

[Will Friedle]

Nope. It means it's time to find your next obsession on Prime Video.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh yes, we do love a good obsession here. Especially when you could talk about for years and suggest to everyone you know

[Ryder Strong]

steamy romance, addictive love stories and the book to screen favorites you've already read twice.

[Danielle Fishel]

Because when a story hits, it really hits off campus.

[Will Friedle]

Elle, the Love Hypothesis and much, much more.

[Ryder Strong]

Slow Burns, Second Chances, Chemistry you can feel through the screen the type of

[Danielle Fishel]

binge worthy shows and can't miss movies where you're fully invested. Staying up all night just to finish it. Just one more. Ooh. All right, one more. You know the feeling.

[Will Friedle]

The kind of stories that pull you in and don't let go in the best way.

[Ryder Strong]

Your next obsession is waiting.

[Danielle Fishel]

Watch only on Prime. So I have a tradition with the kids basically for my birthday that every year on my actual birthday we go to CPK and I, which is for the uninitiated.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

California.

[Danielle Fishel]

California Pizza Kitchen.

[Ryder Strong]

Or did they change the name? Is it like one of those things? Like it isn't like KFC now. Just kfc, they don't even call it. It's true. Like they legally changed it.

[Will Friedle]

Well, Dunkin Donuts I think is just Duncan. D and D. Or Duncan.

[Ryder Strong]

It's just Duncan.

[Danielle Fishel]

I know. Yeah. Everything's had to be modern and refreshed

[Ryder Strong]

because they don't want to be known for just the one thing. Because Duncan obviously became more of a coffee spot than a donut spot. It's like so really, it's like Taco Bell should just become Bell LaBelle.

[Danielle Fishel]

They don't want to be known for their tacos.

[Ryder Strong]

Well, they're not just tacos. They got burritos, they got.

[Danielle Fishel]

Think about it, Dunkin Donuts. Going to Dunkin is actually really smart because especially like coffee is what you dunk your donuts in.

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

So like Dunkin Donuts.

[Danielle Fishel]

Dunkin, yeah. It's perfect.

[Ryder Strong]

But they complete. Yeah. They had to rebrand because they weren't just a donuts place.

[Danielle Fishel]

Well, I'm not positive about the cpk, whether or not it still is known as California Pizza.

[Ryder Strong]

Are they throughout the country or is that only in California?

[Will Friedle]

They're throughout the country.

[Danielle Fishel]

There are other places I don't know about throughout the country, but they're not only in California.

[Will Friedle]

It might be like in and out, where there's a couple. Couple spots now, I think I've only

[Ryder Strong]

been once with Fred Savage. With Fred Savage on a lunch break. It was on lunch break. So it must have been when we were shooting the Everyone Loves Stewart episode when he was acting. Or maybe it was when he was directing, I don't know. But it was a group of us. Like, I feel like you guys were probably there too. But we all went to CPK and I remember just being like, barbecue chicken pizza. Isn't that what they're known for?

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah, it's one of the first things they became famous for is that barbecue Chicken pizza. So good. So there are CPKs in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, and Illinois.

[Will Friedle]

Connecticut.

[Ryder Strong]

So it's not just like a west coast thing, like in and out. It's. All right.

[Danielle Fishel]

So. Oh, keeps going. Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey. Okay, so yeah, get, go, go to cpk. Anyway, I go to CPK and there are. I mean, this is not an ad. They don't sponsor us. We. I get absolutely nothing for this.

[Will Friedle]

They should.

[Danielle Fishel]

But boy, do I love.

[Ryder Strong]

I'm not a fan of barbecue chicken on pizza.

[Danielle Fishel]

I don't eat barbecue chicken pizza.

[Will Friedle]

Okay.

[Danielle Fishel]

This is not my thing.

[Will Friedle]

This is from the guy who puts. They also put pineapple on pizza. So your opinion matters not at all.

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, pineapple is. You want candy on your pizza. It's delicious.

[Danielle Fishel]

I agree.

[Ryder Strong]

I'm. I'm for.

[Danielle Fishel]

I'm pro pineapple.

[Will Friedle]

Nope, 100% wrong. There's no debate. It's not even an opinion thing.

[Ryder Strong]

You're like, no, it's what makes pizza pizza.

[Will Friedle]

Pineapple is what makes pizza pizza.

[Ryder Strong]

Because here's the thing. The thing.

[Will Friedle]

Here's the thing.

[Ryder Strong]

You know what it does? If it's an average to bad pizza, it's better with pineapple. Like, like, it will be fine. Why not just M&M's will not mind.

[Will Friedle]

Why not just M&M's on your pizza? Or.

[Ryder Strong]

Or chocolate and they'll melt. I agree, dude. It tastes like candy, but that's what makes it great. I don't know. I don't make the rules. I just enjoy them.

[Will Friedle]

Danielle, what did you do on your birthday?

[Danielle Fishel]

It's okay. I really love. I really love fighting.

[Ryder Strong]

Birthday's over. It's time to fight.

[Danielle Fishel]

Time to argue about pineapple. I'll be. Yeah, I do love pineapple on pizza, but I could go either way. I could go either way. I'm not like, I'm not willing to die on the hill of pineapple on pizza, but I do enjoy it. So listen. To each their own. You know, it's like whether you put peanut butter on one half of your slice of bread or it's just wrong too.

[Ryder Strong]

Will is being intolerant. I'm accepting of all pizza types, but Will is being completely intolerant.

[Will Friedle]

And there's wrong.

[Danielle Fishel]

Well, there was one thing I really wanted before cpk and that was a nap. I. I had been out of town the weekend before my birthday. We had gone to Vegas for the Steve Irwin gala. And so, you know, we had some late nights and we drove. So I had. Sunday was. We didn't do the smart thing and get up super early and leave before traffic. We like left at the same time. Everyone leaves.

[Will Friedle]

Oh yeah, that changed.

[Danielle Fishel]

So it took us, you know, we left at like 11:15 in the morning. We got home at 5:00pm oh God. You know, we that I was tired from that. And then I, you know, worked on Monday and then Tuesday, my birthday, I thought, all right, I gotta do a podcast in the morning and then I have a pitch meeting at 3pm in the afternoon. I've got a long stretch from like 11am to 3. What am I gonna do? I wanna nap.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

So that's what I did.

[Ryder Strong]

Walk me through it.

[Will Friedle]

Walk me through it.

[Ryder Strong]

Were you on your back?

[Will Friedle]

Were you on your side? Did you go a mat dark room? Walk me through it like we're on a date. What you do?

[Danielle Fishel]

Here's how I did my nap.

[Will Friedle]

Yes.

[Danielle Fishel]

For my night sleep and my sleep health, I am very big on making sure I have my pillow cube and my manta sleep mask. Again, not ads. These are just things I love and I make sure I can't see a single drop of light. I don't do that for naps. I can't sleep without my pillow cube. That's the only pillow I use. But I, I feel like if I put the eye mask on for a nap, I'm not ever waking up.

[Will Friedle]

No, you're just going back to bed.

[Danielle Fishel]

You're just going back to bed for another seven to eight hours. So I sleep with no eye mask during the day because I want the natural light to be like as soon as my body's rested, I want to wake up.

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

You're in your bed though. You're not on a couch.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh no, I don't copy that. I never sleep on the couch.

[Will Friedle]

100% agree.

[Danielle Fishel]

That is for sitting only.

[Will Friedle]

100% agree with you.

[Danielle Fishel]

Jensen's not that way. Jensen loves to take a nap on the couch.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, I'll nap wherever.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, I know.

[Ryder Strong]

But I also do anywhere.

[Will Friedle]

Napping on the couch is the essential same is the equivalent of pineapple on your pizza. I cop. I copy that.

[Ryder Strong]

I just don't want my nap to last more than 20 minutes.

[Will Friedle]

So if I'm going to do it, you're supposed to do that because I

[Ryder Strong]

feel worse if I go like that hour.

[Danielle Fishel]

You know, that is the problem with a good solid multi hour nap is that then you wake up and you have to like start all over again. You're like, oh my gosh, I need another cup of coffee. I'm super groggy I'm a little cranky, but I was so tired yesterday, I just decided I'm going to go with it. And so I did. I took a glorious nap, and then I woke up on my own accord. I responded to a bunch of happy birthday texts. I did my. My other meeting that I had at three, and then we went and picked up the kids and went to cpk. I had something that Ryder will probably also not like. I had the tostada pizza.

[Will Friedle]

Wonderful.

[Danielle Fishel]

Which is thin, crispy crust, melted Monterey Jack cheese, black beans, salsa.

[Ryder Strong]

It's not a pizza.

[Danielle Fishel]

Lettuce, taco salad, lettuce, mascara, lettuce dressing, and avocado.

[Ryder Strong]

Sal, you're okay with this?

[Will Friedle]

I absolutely am.

[Danielle Fishel]

Pineapple. It's delicious.

[Will Friedle]

Pineapple. Pineapple's not good.

[Ryder Strong]

It's not recognizably pizza like that is. That is tomato sauce. And it just happens to have one thing you don't like on it. But this is a whole nother.

[Will Friedle]

There's ways, again, you're taking it to a whole nother realm at this point. So my brother Gary, anymore. My oldest brother Gary, when he finished college, decided to buy a motorcycle out of nowhere. Never ridden a motorcycle in his life. Drive it all the way across country to California and get a job. And where did he get a job?

[Danielle Fishel]

Cpk.

[Will Friedle]

Cpk. And so when he left, he taught us how to make all the pizzas. So I still sue and I do barbecue chicken pizza night. Or one they don't have on the menu anymore. Which is my favorite in the world is the BLT pizza.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, I used to love that one. Anything with avocado on it. I'm in.

[Will Friedle]

It's so good. So it's really good.

[Ryder Strong]

Like lettuce.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, you do. You do the lettuce on the side, then you put it on top of the pizza. I'm a big fan. It sounds. So I'm eating pizza anymore. Oh, dude. And you're gonna be like, wait, that's exactly what I'm talking about. One of my favorite things in the world is a combination of hot, hot, and cold at the same time. I've always loved it. So the cold lettuce on top of the nice hot slice of pizza with the bacon and the cheese.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, also, I realize I just said anything with avocado, and you had said blt. I have never eaten a BLT without adding avocado.

[Ryder Strong]

To me, they're like bacon, lettuce, avocado, balt, Balt.

[Will Friedle]

I call it B L, T A B L, T A b I call it a blat.

[Danielle Fishel]

You can call it a blat. Teach their own writers.

[Ryder Strong]

You take a bite, it just goes blat.

[Will Friedle]

It does. It's so good, though.

[Ryder Strong]

Blats in your mouth.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, good. Can you add it to that list? You got your little list there on the list. Did you. Did you dream during your nap? Were you, like, asleep again?

[Danielle Fishel]

I mean, I was definitely asleep. And, yes, I think I dreamt, but I don't remember what it is now. But I do think when I woke up, I was like, huh, that was a weird dream. Yeah, but it was. It was pretty great. But then I. I. Have I told you that I topped the whole birthday experience off with something you just mentioned. Hot and cold at the same time. A warm butter cake.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

With French vanilla ice cream on top.

[Ryder Strong]

So is this, like, cake cake? Because I don't like cake. I don't.

[Danielle Fishel]

No, it's not like that. But it is like a pound cake.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. It's not like a frosting cake.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, see, that's a birthday cake. Like, traditional birthday cake, which I can't stand.

[Danielle Fishel]

Everyone's gonna agree.

[Will Friedle]

Okay, we all

[Ryder Strong]

agree.

[Danielle Fishel]

Me.

[Will Friedle]

But like a good pound cake or, like the butter cake or an olive oil cake. Like, I think Mastro's makes an incredible olive oil cake. And there's a place called Milo and Olive that makes a butter cake that is just out freaking standing.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah, it's delicious. But so it's. It's.

[Will Friedle]

I'm salivating over here, and I want a nap. I don't know which. I don't know which laziness to sensate at this point. I don't know if I should gorge myself or go back to sleep.

[Danielle Fishel]

Well, I'm now 45.

[Ryder Strong]

And you woke up from that nap and you were 45.

[Will Friedle]

This is like Rip Van.

[Ryder Strong]

Danielle went to bed and it was still 1993.

[Danielle Fishel]

Exactly. And now Jensen and I then were talking. We were walking through the mall because, you know, that's where we went to cpk. And. And I said. He said, so do you feel 45? And I said, I don't.

[Ryder Strong]

I don't really know why.

[Danielle Fishel]

And he was like, well, 45 is when I really started to feel bad. Oh, my God.

[Will Friedle]

Hey, thanks.

[Ryder Strong]

Isn't he only 46? He's my age. He's 47.

[Danielle Fishel]

He's gonna be 47. He's gonna be 47 this November. So he's.

[Ryder Strong]

He's my age. Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Do you all believe in the. So, 40. 40. 42. You're in your early 40s 43, 44, 40. No, actually, I think it's 43. 40 to 43 is early 44, 45,

[Danielle Fishel]

46 is mid 40.

[Will Friedle]

So you're still. So 44 to 45. Still mid 40s.

[Ryder Strong]

I think I'm just late for. No, I think after 40, I think it's just five plus.

[Danielle Fishel]

You'll be late 40s this December. When you turn 50, 47. You can start saying late 40s if you want.

[Will Friedle]

I'm gonna be early 50s.

[Danielle Fishel]

Well, you're actually gonna be 50.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, I guess that's different. That's a different thing, just saying 50. Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

When you're on. When you're on the mark, you're on the milestone.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

You start getting people like, oh, my God, you made it. Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

I have a friend who was. Yeah, exactly. I have a friend who was like, because Alex, my wife, turned 50, and this friend, I was saying, oh, we're going to celebrate her birthday. She was like, you know what? It's so much better the second you turn 50. Then everybody comments about how. How great you look. Whereas, like, when you're 49, it's like, yep. Oh, you're just that age. But when you turn 50 and everyone's shocked, like, oh, wow, you look good for 50. I get.

[Will Friedle]

I'm getting to the point, like, I'm not quite there, but I'm getting to the point where when I fall, people will be concerned as opposed to laughing. You know what I mean? It's like, you fall.

[Ryder Strong]

Physical humor is out the window.

[Will Friedle]

You fall at 40, everyone's like, that's hysterical. You fall at 50 and people are like, oh, my God, are you okay? Here's a big difference. Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Do you need surgery?

[Will Friedle]

Are you all right? I heard a pop. Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Can you get up?

[Danielle Fishel]

For the record, at 45 currently, where I stand right now, I feel better maybe than I ever have. I feel great.

[Ryder Strong]

Good for you.

[Will Friedle]

I kind of feel the same way, actually.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

I kind of feel the same way. Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

It's amazing.

[Ryder Strong]

But do you mean physically or psychologically or all of the above?

[Danielle Fishel]

All of the above.

[Ryder Strong]

Okay.

[Danielle Fishel]

All of the above.

[Ryder Strong]

I would agree.

[Danielle Fishel]

Even physically, I feel really like, you know, are there things. Of course. Like, every now and then, do I get those little neck twinges where I'm like, oh, my neck's a little sore. Sure. But guess what? I had those occasionally in my 20s, too. I had. I had little things that pop up every now and then where you're like, huh. I guess I have uneven hips sometimes. That does. That's not a thing that only happened to me with age. That's something I experienced at random times throughout any decade of my life. And I feel like I still have energy. I feel like I'm more in tune with what my body needs more than ever, which is like, when yesterday I was like, you know, I am tired. I do have the time. I am going to take a nap. And it didn't affect my sleep last night. Like, I knew my body needed that. And then now I feel great.

[Will Friedle]

There you go.

[Danielle Fishel]

Where I didn't used to be that way. I didn't. I wasn't necessarily reading my body cues as well.

[Ryder Strong]

A big part of this is you probably are in the best shape of your life thanks to Dancing with the Stars.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah, true.

[Ryder Strong]

You've been super health working for nine months at this point. Yeah, yeah. Nine months of like. Like, pure physical, like, exercise. You've been doing really well.

[Danielle Fishel]

And it started slightly before Dancing with the Stars because it started when I was gonna start taking tamoxifen. And my doctor said the best thing I can tell you is that the worst side effect you might deal with physically is that it causes joint. It can cause joint pain and muscle aches. And the only real cure for it is consistent exercise. And so before I started tamoxifen, I was like, that's it. I'm gonna get into the gym and I'm gonna stay consistent with it because I wanna stay on for five years because it, you know, lowers my risk of recurrence by 50%.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

So I'm going to do everything I can to make that easy on myself. So it started really in January of 2025. You know, like, I really was like,

[Will Friedle]

you take CoQ10 too? Because CoQ10 is also really good for joint. Because I'm on. This is. Oh, my God, we're old.

[Ryder Strong]

My God, guys, we're talking about joint pain. Can we please. I know things I always say is, like, do we need three things? I say travel. Do we to talk about pineapple and then food.

[Will Friedle]

Yes.

[Danielle Fishel]

Joint pain.

[Will Friedle]

And then guys.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yes.

[Ryder Strong]

Medical stuff.

[Danielle Fishel]

It's mild right now.

[Ryder Strong]

Audiences growing.

[Will Friedle]

They need to know this stuff too.

[Ryder Strong]

Everyone knows we're old. They're also old.

[Will Friedle]

Let's go, please.

[Ryder Strong]

Danielle took a nap. That's a great story. Please don't care about what coconut oil you're putting on. Your joint pain not fine. Whatever it is. Oh, Ryder, pineapple pizza.

[Will Friedle]

You're gonna be down on all your vitamins.

[Danielle Fishel]

For the record, Ryder hates supplements. So just so you guys know, there you know, there are. We have. We all have our things.

[Ryder Strong]

You mean pseudo medicines? Yes.

[Will Friedle]

Vitamins are not pseudo medicine.

[Ryder Strong]

Gee, I didn't say vitamins. Supplements.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, yeah, supplement. Oh, no, yeah, I agree with that.

[Ryder Strong]

I'm not a fan of pseudoscience. Let's move on. We don't have to belabor this point. We've already had 15 minutes of Breesha chatter. Welcome to Pod Meat's world.

[Danielle Fishel]

Welcome to Podmeats World. I'm Daniel Fish.

[Ryder Strong]

I'm Ryder Strong.

[Will Friedle]

I love mad old angry Ryder.

[Danielle Fishel]

Happy birthday.

[Will Friedle]

Happy birthday, Danielle.

[Ryder Strong]

Well, she took a goddamn nap. Good for you.

[Will Friedle]

All right. Hey, it's Will Friedle from Pod Meets World. It's hard to believe that the first phone call ever happened over 150 years ago. Just think about that. Over the last 150 years, so many special moments have happened with a phone call. I think back to the phone call I had to make on Hollywood Boulevard, back to my agents in New York who told me that I booked the role of Eric Matthews on Boy Meets World. And it's one of the greatest phone calls I ever had in my life. I mean, hey, I even remember the phone call with Danielle and Ryder when we decided to start a podcast. That one wasn't as good. Almost four years later, here we are. And you know, over all these years and phone calls, AT&T has been there connecting people in meaningful ways. This is more than a story of technological innovation. It's a story of human connection.

[Commercial Announcer]

Connecting changes everything. AT&T.

[Danielle Fishel]

Starting something new is exciting, but honestly, it's also terrifying. When I launched my hair care line Be Free by Danielle Fishel. When it came to an online presence, I had no idea where to start.

[Will Friedle]

And when Pod Meets World started and we looked into selling merch, we needed help. We are not e commerce experts fear

[Ryder Strong]

like that stops a lot of people from starting a business, a brand, or a creative idea they've been thinking about for years.

[Danielle Fishel]

But sometimes taking that leap ends up being the best thing you ever do. That's also why having the right tools behind you matters so much. And that's where Shopify comes in.

[Will Friedle]

Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world and 10% of all e commerce in the US from brands like Skims and Gymshark to brands that are just getting started like our own. Be Free by Danielle Fischl and POD Meets World.

[Ryder Strong]

Whether you're building your first online store, launching a side hustle, or growing a bigger business, Shopify helps make everything feel a lot less overwhelming.

[Danielle Fishel]

You can build a beautiful storefront with ready to use templates, create email and social campaigns to help customers find you, and manage everything from inventory to payments to analytics all in one place.

[Will Friedle]

And knowing Shopify also has 24. 7 customer support makes taking that first step even less scary.

[Ryder Strong]

It's time to turn those what ifs into with Shopify today.

[Danielle Fishel]

Sign up for your $1 per month trial today at shopify.com pod meets world

[Will Friedle]

go to shopify.com podmeets world that's shopify.com

[Ryder Strong]

podmeetsworld

[Danielle Fishel]

guys, can I tell you about my new rug?

[Ryder Strong]

Sure. I cannot wait.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay. It's so cute. I got it from Article and I love it so much. The quality is top notch, the style is a perf, perfect match for the house and delivery was so easy I didn't even have to lift a finger. They moved around some chairs, the old couch, picked up the old rug, laid it down and voila. Perfect customer service and at prices that can't be beat.

[Ryder Strong]

With curated collections like Mid Century, Modern, Coastal and Scandi Inspired, their site makes it simple to find what you're looking for, then easily pair it with other article products so everything feels cohesive and

[Will Friedle]

it looks like you know what you're doing, which I personally don't.

[Danielle Fishel]

Their pieces have a craftsmanship and quality that will stand the test of time. I immediately noticed my new rug has a serious texture and weight to it. I knew it meant business.

[Will Friedle]

And don't forget their 30 day satisfaction guarantee. With their customer care team available seven days a week, they want to make sure you are in love with what you bought.

[Danielle Fishel]

Plus, Article is offering our listeners $50 off your first purchase of a hundred dollars or more. To claim, visit article.compmw and the discount will be automatically applied at checkout.

[Ryder Strong]

That's article.compmw for $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more. This show is brought to you by BetterHelp.

[Danielle Fishel]

May is mental health Awareness Month and if you take anything away from Pod Meets World and us three best friends for over 30 years, it's that whatever you're going through, you don't have to go through it alone.

[Will Friedle]

That's right. A major theme of our show was you don't have to be blood to be family. And we all know life is a journey. Having someone to understand and support you through it all can really make a difference.

[Ryder Strong]

If you're feeling overwhelmed, stuck, anxious or unsure, BetterHelp is here to help.

[Danielle Fishel]

I find myself up at night, unable to sleep, just dwelling on everything I have to finish in a week. The stress and anxiety can be really hard to manage, which is why I depend on therapy.

[Will Friedle]

And BetterHelp is the world's largest online therapy platform with over 30,000 therapists that have served over 6 million people globally.

[Ryder Strong]

Able to work with your schedule, BetterHelp virtually matches you with a fully licensed professional so that you can focus on your therapy goals.

[Danielle Fishel]

You just fill out a short questionnaire and with the 12 plus years of experience and industry leading match fulfillment rate, they will typically get it right the first time. And if you aren't happy with your match, switch therapists at any time free of charge.

[Will Friedle]

You don't have to be on this journey alone. Find support and have someone with you in therapy.

[Ryder Strong]

Sign up and get 10% [e-mail] meetsworld.

[Danielle Fishel]

That's betterhelp.com meets World Foreign.

[Ryder Strong]

Weather recap. I'm not really sure why we're doing this. Are we doing this because. Hold on, are we doing this because people have demanded it or have you guys just demanded this?

[Will Friedle]

I demanded it, okay?

[Danielle Fishel]

Demanded it. I want to talk about it. And also, we have had so many fans who have loved it's great, the Red Weather. And after. I don't know how many times you said our regular POD Meets World fans are going to hate this, but you said it at least. You said it at least 10 times while you were talking about the show. And we kept saying, no, I don't think. I think you're wrong.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, no, I was pleasantly surprised with how much crossover there was and I think I knew that there would be a certain contingent of our fans that would like it. But yes, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and heartwarming and awesome and yeah. And I am so thankful for our listeners who have given it a chance. If you haven't given it a chance, you probably don't want to listen to this episode. Maybe because we're probably going to be spoiling a lot of it just by recapping the episodes and talking about what happened. So if you haven't listened to the Red Weather, you like True Crime, you like Mysteries. You like me. Give it a listen.

[Will Friedle]

At least the first two.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. At least the first couple episodes. You don't have to.

[Will Friedle]

I'm saying at least the first two that I've gotta like. They've gotta like mysteries.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah, you don't really have to like Rider.

[Will Friedle]

You didn't have to like Ryder.

[Ryder Strong]

You don't have to like.

[Will Friedle]

That's what I'm saying. Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

Ryder, where, where did this idea come from? Will you tell people about your love for true crime?

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, I. Yeah, I mean, I love all things, all podcasts. You know, like, I mean, that's part of the reason why I came up with the idea for Pod Meets World was because I've been listening to podcasts since 2007.

[Will Friedle]

We've talked about this. You were the first time, I think I'd ever heard the word podcast.

[Ryder Strong]

And like, the first podcast that I really got into, which I think is part of why I was optimistic about podbeats World, was it was called Skeptics Guide to the Universe and it was, you know, anti pseudoscience podcast. But the whole idea was that it was a group of really smart scientists sitting around talking about medical facts and, you know, diving into a subject. But really what you came to realize is it was not about what they were talking about. It was just about. About them hanging out, which is like, you know, I realized early on was like, what I liked about podcasts and what I think most people like about podcasts, which has turned out to be the case. Like most podcasts are, you know, people just discussing a subject in general, and then you just kind of like that group of people, that group of friends. So anyway, so I've been listening to podcasts forever. This Goes the Red Weather specifically goes back to like, you know, loving this American Life and Radiolab and all those sort of, you know, and then I really, of course, like, everybody loved cereal when that came out. And I feel like cereal is what, you know, launch podcasts into the mainstream. And it also, you know, helped define the culture as a true crime culture. I mean, true crime is probably the number one subject of all podcasting. And I don't, you know.

[Will Friedle]

And documentaries, I think, too.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, but specifically crime.

[Will Friedle]

No, that's what I'm saying. Documentary. True crime for documentaries too. I mean, I think just true crime is a big fascination.

[Ryder Strong]

Totally, totally. So, yeah. So I've just always loved them. I've always, you know, enjoyed them. And I also have tried a lot of fiction podcasts and not enjoyed them. Mostly because you can tell when something is fake very quickly. You can tell when something has had fully added of the sound design and when actors are recording separately in booths. Even if they're great actors. There's so many great actors out there who do voiceover and who have done a lot of fiction podcasts. My ear just knows when it's fake. So I tap out and I feel like a lot of people feel that way. And so I just had this idea of like, why don't. What if I, you know, Blair Witchit and sort of get over the fictionality by actually making it as non fictional as possible in terms of like putting in real people stories from my real life, interviewing my real family and inserting those with actors and you know, and helping the actors in terms of the writing and also directing them to maintain this level of realism that I wasn't. I hadn't really heard in a lot of, of, you know, in any of the fiction podcasts I listen to. So that was my initial idea and then I spent a long time writing and interviewing friends and compiling the material and it was just super fun. I mean, it was a lot of work. But yeah, like, so the initial impetus was like, can I basically make a movie without having to raise money and you know, hire a film crew or whatever? I could just run around with microphones because it's really cheap. I didn't use any studio time. So nothing was done in studio ever. Everything was either recorded in where I'm recording this or out on location with my actors or with friends that I was interviewing. Yeah, and then the material itself in terms of the, like, a lot of the material was stuff that I had written versions of before. In other words, the opening episode, which begins with me receiving a letter from a girl who I grew up with, who committed suicide, that is based on a true story, but it's also something I've written about since my 20s. I wrote it originally as a poem, then I wrote it as a short story. And so a lot of the material that ended up in Red Weather I had already sort of written in short story form or in other forms throughout the years. So I think that is partly why it's really well developed in the sense that it has a lot of history behind it. Even the made up stuff has a lot of history behind it because I've already mined this material. I already spent time with some of these characters, the fake characters and. Yeah, so should we dive into this?

[Will Friedle]

She did grow up with a girl who ended up killing herself.

[Ryder Strong]

No, that was actually one of my. Yeah, the idea of getting a letter from somebody after they've committed suicide. That happened to one of my best friends. He is interviewed in the beginning, actually. So those quotes from him are actually about when he actually had this happen to him. So we were in our 20s when that happened to him. I didn't actually know her specifically, so I connected it with a girl that I did grow up with. Several girls that I grew up with. I, you know, sort of made an amalgamation into this one character. But that particular story about the letter and the suicide was. Was based on an experience that a friend of mine had. So again, I was able to compile quotes from him about that experience. Right Insert my own fictional quotes about that experience. And so it feels hopefully very real. And, you know, like, something that happened to me was.

[Will Friedle]

Was great because where you grew up in the country is such a unique area and a vibe all of its own in the United States and very much becomes a character of the show is. Is just that Northern California vibe. Especially in the 80s and the 90s was the stuff with like, having cults around you or I mean, even if you don't want to call it that word, having groups around you or communes around you. I mean, is that something that was just kind of the norm when you

[Ryder Strong]

were going to up? Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, you know, my. One of my closest friends who I interview throughout as Orion did grow up on a failed commune, and I've been able to talk to him about it. But a lot of other kids that we went to school with were part of. I think there were about two or three different groups. You know, I mean, I would call them cults. I guess that. And a lot of them were related biologically because they had all. You know, there was one guy with a lot of wives who had had children with all these. So there was a lot of the kids that we went to school with where literally I was like, they're cousins, but they're also brother and sister. Like, you know, it's that kind of weird confusion. And the. The reality is we never asked anybody about it because we were trying to be respectful. And like, it's only now that I'm like, what was going on with that family? Or what was. You know, and then there would always be these parties that we would go to. Not parties, but like, if you. If you went to a friend's house, like a. A kid from school or whatever, there would be times when you'd get there and it was clear that the adults were on drugs or that they're. The adults were doing some kind of. You know, there was like this like, alternative hippie druggie vibe going on. And I remember being very uncomfortable. You know, like, there'd be like naked adults in a hot tub and you'd be like, oh, my gosh, you know, I'm just gonna go home. Like, I remember calling my mom and asking to be take. Taken home several times. Yeah. So there was, you know, there was that. That it was around, you know, like that sort of, and that's a big part of this show was I wanted to interrogate that, that time period, both, you know, negatively but also somewhat positively. I mean, I think that that's kind of where I came out is like, you know, I, I find that time somewhat or I find that culture scary, you know, like the idea of like people living together or not having like the classic American nuclear family. But then I also think that a lot of like, exposure to interesting ideas and like, you know, I grew up in a very tolerant area. It was very gay friendly, it was very open minded in so many wonderful ways. And like, for all the like, fear mongering that I do on my own about red weather within Red Weather, Sebastopol is lovely. And like, most of the people I grew up with are super healthy. They're super down to earth. It's an amazing culture of like accepting, you know. So I sort of like take the most exploitative version of my hometown in a lot of ways. Like the, the version of Sebastopol that I created for Red Weather is like, much more closer to like Humboldt county, which was always a little edgier when I was growing up. Like, if we, I used to go backpacking up near like the Synon Wilderness and Lost coast and we'd go into those towns and that would be a different vibe. And the reason that that was a different vibe is because it was truly the heart of the marijuana industry and it was so illegal. Right. So you had a lot of these people that went up there, you know, in the sort of 1960s 70s hippie moment. They like went up and bought lots of land and was beautiful. And maybe they started communes or they just wanted to live off the land like my parents did. And then what happened is that that culture, because they primarily were funded by weed, that culture got very libertarian and very like, isolationist. And so what started as a sort of, you know, hippie, free love, flower child, you know, peace, love and happiness vibe quickly became a like, paranoid. You're gonna protect your crops with gods, you're protect your crops. And so culturally what you got was a much edgier sort of, you know, space. And I like that. I find that space terrifying, but also fascinating for stories. So I, you know, so the Sebastwell that I've created for the red weather is sort of like a pushing it even further north in, in some ways.

[Danielle Fishel]

Did you always have the story set from the very beginning or was any part of it morphing in real time as you went about it.

[Ryder Strong]

I pretty much had the story set. Like, as far as the mystery, I. I knew, I knew who I wanted to have done it. I had the resolution in mind. And then it was just a matter of getting there. And so I wrote, in order to sell it to iHeart, I put together a 15 minute demo, which is basically the first 15 minutes, and interviewed some friends about their experiences and compiled the real people with a couple of actors made the 15 minute demo. And then I wrote the first episode, which was at that time I was thinking like an hour long episode. So it was a little longer first episode. And then I outlined the rest of the season. So I already had the outline for the season, but then I spent about. Once iheart optioned the script and gave me the green light, I spent over a year writing the script.

[Danielle Fishel]

So we remember we were asking you to go to lunch and you would say, I cannot. I'm writing in my hotel room. And then Lil and I got to. To traverse the country alone. Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Got to walk the streets of random towns. Y.

[Danielle Fishel]

So we remember how hard you worked on that script.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, it was a lot and super fun and. But very, I would say, like, indulgent because it's like, you know, I'm sitting there thinking about my own life, I'm writing about real things, but then also trying to add in enough present tense mystery to keep it exciting. So it was a really interesting process. And like, you know, and then you're asking, like, when you asked about like, what I discovered, there was a lot that was discovered in the process because I would start to go down a path story wise and suddenly realize some aspect, you know, like one of the big, big turns near the end is that I did not interview any women that I grew up with. And like, that ends up being a huge plot point, you know, that my, my wife Alex points it out to me. And then I, you know, recognize the sort of casual misogyny of the 90s and how that's carried over into my current situation. And that came from a real realization where I had already outlined several episodes, I'd already interviewed several friends, and I was like, I haven't interviewed any girls. And I was like, I'm gonna lean into that. I'm not gonna like, you know, I'm gonna actually like, make that a big story point. Cause I, I thought that was fascinating. And, and, and, and when I was honest with myself, I was like, I was a little scared to, you know, I was scared to like interview ex girlfriends or, or friends. Ex girlfriends. Or even if I could find them, even though I'm still in touch with them, I'm still in touch with a lot of the guys that I grew up with, you know, which is probably natural, but fed into the themes of this. This story, which, you know, I don't want to ruin anything, but ultimately, like, yeah, how much.

[Will Friedle]

Now, how much of the dialogue was written and how much was kind of you and your actors just playing in the moment?

[Ryder Strong]

It totally depended actor to actor. So there's. There are some actors who just, I knew, would never say anything as it was written. And so I did write. I wrote every line of dialogue. Interviews with real family and friends, I wrote around. So I. I knew that I would get, like, for instance, the second episode begins with a story about my dad's childhood that I. You know, he's told that story since we were kids. So I. In the script, I wrote a version of it in my own words, but I basically was like, I'm just gonna know. Yeah, exactly. Dad tells story. Where is what happens? And I knew that that would happen, and then I could comment on it appropriately. Yeah. But then there are some actors who I. We would get together and they would do the dialogue as written, and then it would. You know, and this isn't a knock on some actor. Every actor is different. Right. Like, some actors can say word for word, verbatim, and make it sound so natural and human. And in fact, I would say with one of my actors who did that, whenever they tried to improvise, it rang false. Do you know what I mean? That was the false. And it was like, no, no, no. You need to do this as written. And then there were other actors who we just had to throw out the script because we'd be recording. And I'd be like, it's not working. They would know it's not working. We'd be like, let's try it again.

[Danielle Fishel]

And they're onwards.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. Maybe the most fun was my friend Chris Lemke, who I wrote the part of Elric, who is the sort of cult leader. I came upon this idea. I was like, oh, I could have. Have Elric's voice, because, you know, this is a question of, like, who's alive? From the case that I want to have in the present tense, who's dead? And I was like, I want this guy to be mysterious. And, you know, because to me, it gets to the heart of, like, this whole question of was it a cult or was it a positive commune thing? And so I. I was like, oh, what if I found his lecture tapes, like, what if he had like a self help series? And this was based on, like, I. I definitely know people who've subscribed to, like, tapes where they get these, like, you know, especially back in the day, they would get these self help, right? So I was like, ah, that would be so cool. And what if, you know, in order to get those tapes, like, I wrote it for like, my friend Chris Lemke, who's this incredible actor and I've known him forever and he's a very intense guy and he's very smart. And I was like, okay, I'm going to write a little bit that I know will help the story, but then I'm also just going to give him a tape recorder from the 1990s and be like, hey, just record yourself in character. And he took it and went away for, I think it was like six weeks. And when I got back, he had filled four tapes of lectures for me. And I would say 75% of what's in the episode is just him improvising in character, in lectures. Like, he would talk, he asked me for some background information and we would text throughout the. He would send me texts and I was like, what about this? And so we were constantly in somewhat of communication, but for the most part he was recording by himself, walking through the woods. He went out into the desert. And so then when I got those tapes, he had one tape where he's like, here's all the lines written as they are in the script. I delivered them and he's like. But then everything else was a little more improvisational or all over the place. And so I was able to go through those tapes just like, Ryder, the character was, and actually like, pull the most interesting part, find the character. It was so cool. I was like, oh, I'm actually doing the thing.

[Danielle Fishel]

That's really fun.

[Will Friedle]

That's cool.

[Ryder Strong]

So every actor was different.

[Will Friedle]

It's it. But it also, for the time period, it lends it itself perfectly to finding a mixtape. You know, we would all get those. Well, not everybody, but you knew people that had those self help tapes. They'd come in the big plastic books that you'd open up. There'd be five tapes on one side, five tapes on the other. So it does the time of like the 70s, 80s and 90s. Works perfectly for audio. Yeah, because you do you there. How many times did we record? I mean, you guys might be a little young for this, but my brothers and I, when I was very young, would sit there on the, on my Brother's bed. Listen to the radio with the tape recorder waiting to press record and play at the same. Because you want to make sure you're getting everything. I mean, that was, like, part of our life.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yes.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, so it was.

[Danielle Fishel]

Or.

[Will Friedle]

Or my friends and I. I found old tapes where we made radio shows, and, you know, it was just us having fun. That was our camcorder of the time.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, I agree.

[Will Friedle]

It just were. It really did work, because the idea. It's not like, oh, this took place in, you know, 2038, and in 2022, he made a recording of himself.

[Danielle Fishel]

Like, really?

[Will Friedle]

That doesn't look like. But in 1987 or whatever.

[Ryder Strong]

Of course it's exactly what you're gonna do.

[Will Friedle]

It just.

[Ryder Strong]

I know. Yeah. That's why the mixtape. Cause I remember I made. You know, we would make mixtapes for each other, and we would record clips from movies. Yes. We'd have, like. And then also talking to the microphone and, like, messages to each other. So. Yeah. So once I. I knew that I was gonna do an archival mixtape that was super fun and, like, very easy in some ways.

[Will Friedle]

You know, just like, I still have a CD that Shiloh made me.

[Ryder Strong]

No way.

[Will Friedle]

From back in the day.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, my gosh.

[Will Friedle]

That goes from, like. Like, great outcast, Tribe Called Quest. And then there'll be a Reservoir Dogs clip. And then, you know, then there'll be, you know, another great band. And then. So, I mean, still doing that on CD back in the day.

[Danielle Fishel]

I have CDs for my best friend. I have Danielle and Jamie's Best Friend mix.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, it's the best, though.

[Will Friedle]

It was such a way to tell somebody. It was the ultimate love letter. It's like I sat here and picked 15 songs that make me feel how I feel about you. Like, oh, my God, you're gonna love it. And so it just. It worked in Red Weather because it makes perfect sense that you can find.

[Danielle Fishel]

Now you can make Spotify playlists for people.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

One question I have, because this is someone who's not an actor, but I know that it was a scripted moment. Your mom talking about the Facebook message and that she got. What did. Did you write something for her or did you just say pretend that we're talk about you getting a Facebook message from someone at home?

[Ryder Strong]

I just gave her. Yeah, I just said pretend. I just called her up, and she's so good. She's so like. I know.

[Will Friedle]

Do you guys ever. Do you ever wonder where you got your acting talent and then ask your

[Danielle Fishel]

parents to do something?

[Will Friedle]

Oh, yes. You're industry talent, your entertainment talent, because you're a hell of a host.

[Danielle Fishel]

Thank you.

[Will Friedle]

And so it's one of those things.

[Ryder Strong]

Where.

[Will Friedle]

Do you ever think, like, I'm the first one in my family to get it? And then you ask your parents to do something and you. And you're like, oh, they can actually. Oh, it's there.

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, my God. Well, that's the thing. Yeah. I realized, like, my. My. My mom is a genuine. But both my parents are good actors. But my mom, through this process, my mom, she commits 100%. Yes. And it was so, like, there was a moment in the episode, the last episode, there's a whole scene with my parents and my brother, and I had to. You know, I didn't write it. I actually was like, I'm just gonna. We're gonna improvise this whole thing. And. And I. So I told my parents. I was like, okay, the sheriff's department has searched the house. I. I need you to react like this. And here's what's happened. And so I described, like, what happened, and they were like, okay, okay, okay. And then I came in, and we did two takes, and it was so good. And Shiloh. And my parents were just improvising and, like, talking to me. And at one point, Shiloh turned to me and he's like, this is just like when we were kids and we would be making home movies and. Because that's how we started. That's how we started acting is like, we would just grab the VHS and we would make my parents be the bad guys, and we'd. We were the superheroes or whatever. And it was so funny that he pointed that out. I'm like, oh, my God, we're still doing the same thing, and my parents are still helping out, and there's totally game to, like, play along.

[Will Friedle]

And I fully thought the Facebook message in the beginning, I thought that was a real thing with your mom. Like, that was something that you're like, okay, well, this is real. And I get to incorporate that into the story because this was an actual thing that happened. It's amazing to hear the stuff where it's like, oh, real. Not real.

[Ryder Strong]

Real.

[Danielle Fishel]

Not real. I know. I mean, I know this is a hard question, but I know if I don't ask it in this way, our listeners are going to be angry. When. With me. What percentage would you say if you had to say all of the red weather is 100%, what percentage of it would you say is real? And that's including the fact that of Course, there are a lot of people in it who are playing different characters, but are real people from your life? Count that as real. Those people are.

[Ryder Strong]

You know, say that. Say that last part again. So the people.

[Danielle Fishel]

The people who weren't actors, they were friends of yours or family members of yours who participated.

[Ryder Strong]

Yes.

[Danielle Fishel]

Even if that friend. You changed their name, right?

[Ryder Strong]

I changed all their names.

[Danielle Fishel]

You can count them as being real, not. Not fake.

[Ryder Strong]

I would say only 10 is real.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay.

[Ryder Strong]

When you're actually listening to, like, clips from people, only 10, because even some of the people who are playing themselves at times, I gave lines.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right.

[Ryder Strong]

So. Or. Or an intention or had them improvise a scene with me. So. So I would say actual, like real time. This is a real conversation moment. Yeah, 5 to 10%, but it's sprinkled throughout. And of course, those people are real people in my life, and I get them to do. Be a part of scenes and other times. So. And then if you're asking how much of the information, in other words, like the stories that we're telling and how much of this is based on real people and a real night in my. In my life where this happened or a real relationship, where this happened, happen, I would say it's much higher. Like that. That is all based on real relationships, real friendships. So that's a trickier question, right? That's like, you know, like, did I go on a road trip with a girl and have this, you know, like. And I'm going to leave that one a little more vague because there's a lot of. A lot of that is real, and a lot of that is based in, like, it's an amalgamation of real people or real situations. And so I think the takeaway is that this is insanely honest.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Okay, so I have a question. Was there ever a time that you were either worried about or in fact did rankle some feathers with the story you were coming up with, thinking that, like, you know, you said there's some relationships that you really did touch on things that really did happen. Was there ever a time where you're like, even if I change the names and everything, I don't think I can put this in.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, I still kind of feel that way, but nobody's ever complained to me. The people that I interviewed, I felt bad at times when I'd be interviewing them and I'd be asking them to go towards some of the darker parts of our adolescence. Like, do you remember when this person was treated like this? You know, and do you remember the drugs and Actually, it was like, it was funny because people were people. It wasn't as dark as it is in the show. So, like, you know, I'm trying to, like, highlight, like, wasn't that person weird? And didn't this. You know, and they would be like, no, it's actually pretty fine. And like, they were totally healthy. And I'd be like, yeah, but weren't they a little bit upset?

[Danielle Fishel]

So I was like, weird.

[Ryder Strong]

Exactly. I was trying to, like. And so for those. And a lot of, some of. A lot of those interviews I didn't end up using, actually, because they were frankly, too boring. You know, like, I interviewed people from my childhood, got material, but then ended up not using that many clips from them because it wasn't that. That wasn't that dark or, you know, it wasn't good enough material. But, yeah, I, I. So I felt bad pushing those people a little bit towards, like, some stuff that they maybe didn't want to talk about, you know? But no, in general, I still haven't heard people, and I'm. That I'm curious about how they would feel because I definitely took parts of their life or their personality or aspects that, that I'm. I'm sure they would recognize themselves if they listened, but I'm not in touch with a lot of those people anyway. So.

[Will Friedle]

Did anyone say no? Did you reach out to anybody who was like, no, I don't want to. I just don't want to be involved?

[Ryder Strong]

No.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, well, that's cool. That means something.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah, that's good.

[Will Friedle]

Hey, it's Will Friedle from Pod Meets World. It's hard to believe that the first phone call ever happened over 150 years ago. Just think about that. Over the last hundred and fifty years, so many special moments have happened with a phone call. I think back to the phone call I had to make on Hollywood Boulevard, back to my agents in New York who told me that I booked the role of Eric Matthews on Boy Meets World. And it's one of the greatest phone calls I ever had in life.

[Ryder Strong]

My.

[Will Friedle]

I mean, hey, I even remember the phone call with Danielle and Ryder when we decided to start a podcast. That one wasn't as good. Almost four years later, here we are. And you know, over all these years and phone calls, AT&T has been there connecting people in meaningful ways. This is more than a story of technological innovation. It's a story of human connection.

[Commercial Announcer]

Connecting changes everything. AT&T.

[Danielle Fishel]

Cat, parents, gather round. Ryder and I have some important advice to share. Share?

[Ryder Strong]

Guys, we have to stick together. Guys, those of us with fur babies know the struggle. We understand the feeling of being ignored by our cats.

[Danielle Fishel]

But that's why we're here to help. Because sometimes I find myself wondering, does my cat even love me?

[Ryder Strong]

And there's only one solution to solve that. Sheba.

[Danielle Fishel]

You could be adored by everyone and still completely ignored by your cat.

[Ryder Strong]

It's time to feed your cat Sheba and go from feeling ignored to truly adored in 12 days guaranteed or your money back.

[Danielle Fishel]

The promised land is here. Turn things around for your feline with Sheba's menu of products, appetizers, entrees, treats and even a kitten's menu.

[Ryder Strong]

Even the pickiest eater will love their new grilled entrees.

[Danielle Fishel]

Just snap, peel and serve for two gourmet servings and zero messy leftovers.

[Ryder Strong]

Its protein rich formula is made with real chicken and seafood 100 complete and balanced with essential vitamins and nutrients for adult cats.

[Danielle Fishel]

Which my bill is. But we don't call him old, we call him experienced.

[Ryder Strong]

It's made in the USA with the finest ingredients from around the world.

[Danielle Fishel]

No artificial flavors or preservatives, no corn, wheat or soy.

[Ryder Strong]

So even when they're licking the bowl clean, you can know you're doing the right thing.

[Danielle Fishel]

Treat your cats right and introduce them to the delicious delicacies of Sheba.

[Ryder Strong]

To learn more, check out sheba.com Summertime is here.

[Will Friedle]

And you know what that means.

[Ryder Strong]

Beach trips, Family vacations?

[Will Friedle]

Nope. It means it's time to find your next obsession on Primeval Video.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh yes, we do love a good obsession here. Especially when you could talk about for years and suggest to everyone you know,

[Ryder Strong]

steamy romance, addictive love stories and the book to screen favorites you've already read twice.

[Danielle Fishel]

Because when a story hits, it really hits off campus.

[Will Friedle]

L the love hypothesis and much, much more.

[Ryder Strong]

Slow burns, second chances, chemistry. You can feel through the screen the

[Danielle Fishel]

type of binge worthy shows and can't miss movies where you're fully invested staying up all night just to finish it. Just one more. Oh, all right. 1. You know the feeling.

[Will Friedle]

The kind of stories that pull you in and don't let go in the best way.

[Ryder Strong]

Your next obsession is waiting.

[Danielle Fishel]

Watch only on Prime. Can I come clean about something?

[Ryder Strong]

This feels like a trap, but go ahead.

[Danielle Fishel]

I absolutely cut corners doing laundry.

[Will Friedle]

Oh yeah. Same. I don't sort by color, I sort by vibes.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right. There's could wear again probably fine and legally biohazard.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, my gym clothes straight in with my delicates. Survival of the fittest and jeans.

[Will Friedle]

I mean are we sure, they even need washing.

[Danielle Fishel]

Meanwhile, I've got a pile of kids clothes that's been sitting near the washer for so long, it's basically a science project.

[Ryder Strong]

And this is why we need Arm and Hammer Deep Clean.

[Will Friedle]

It's the powerful shortcut that forgives all your, well, questionable laundry decisions.

[Danielle Fishel]

Even if you forget a load or your kids find a mud puddle that just needed a belly flop, Deep Clean is strong enough to handle it.

[Ryder Strong]

Made for real life stinks and stains, because, let's be honest. Honest, there's no way to avoid them.

[Will Friedle]

It's just laundry. You shouldn't stress over it.

[Ryder Strong]

And now you don't have to.

[Danielle Fishel]

From the number one liquid detergent brand that tackles more loads than any other. Come clean with Arm and Hammer Deep Clean.

[Will Friedle]

Number one claim based on total wash loads sold.

[Danielle Fishel]

Well, let's do a quick episode breakdown. The very first episode is called the Pinky Stuff, and it's where you really kind of set up that you had a friend named Anna Traynor, who, in 1995, at the age of 17, she was drinking. She got into a heated fight with her boyfriend, and then she was last seen leaving the party when it got a little chaotic. And then a massive fire started at the collective.

[Ryder Strong]

Yes, the Tender Hearts Collective, where she was raised with her sister. Thank you. Right. And then she disappeared. Her body was never found. No one was ever charged, and it's been a cold case. And I'm deciding to take it up because I get a letter from her sister, who was my best friend growing up, and she then killed herself after sending me the letter. But in the letter, she lets me out of the pinky swear, which is revealed in the course of the episode to be related to the fire.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yes. So Willow is the name of the sister, and she lets you out of this pact. And it's a pact that was made the night that Anna disappeared after the fire, and it involves details about the fire and so what we were doing that night.

[Ryder Strong]

So at this point, I'm sort of taking up the helm of, like, I'm gonna be a podcaster and do this thing. And then, of course, I go to the complete wrong police station. So I immediately start messing up the

[Danielle Fishel]

investigation, as podcasters do.

[Will Friedle]

It also comes out that you are not Lily Snow White in this either, though. I mean, you lied.

[Ryder Strong]

I lied to the police, yes.

[Will Friedle]

Which is not a small thing.

[Ryder Strong]

All right. But the end of the episode, spoiler alert is that I always thought that we started the fire accidentally, and it turns out that Willow intentionally started the fire. That we made the pinky swear about. So that's the twist at the end of episode one.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yes. And you are now going to share the things that you know with the police in hopes of reopening the cold case of Anna's missing person. And then we get into episode two, which is called Tom Shanagans, which I love.

[Ryder Strong]

Thank you.

[Danielle Fishel]

I love Tom Shanagans. And Ryder reveals that they had put together a Halloween themed plan to lure Mick into the woods. Mick was the boyfriend?

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Anna's boyfriend. Anna's ex boyfriend.

[Will Friedle]

Possibly.

[Ryder Strong]

Have he. Abusive.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Boyfriend.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. Right.

[Danielle Fishel]

And it appears as though it's a. There's a sex tape.

[Ryder Strong]

Yes. It's like basically that Mick was. As far as Willow was enlisting us to help her sister Anna, because Mick had a sex tape that he was basically revenge porning.

[Will Friedle]

Right.

[Ryder Strong]

Years before revenge porn was even afraid. Yeah. So we had this weird plan to get him out there and all hell sort of breaks loose.

[Will Friedle]

Because you want to. You want to distract him to search his car essentially to get the tape back.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yes. And then in that moment of panic, that's what makes Willow set fire to a barn full.

[Ryder Strong]

She discovers a barn full of marijuana, which is why she started the fire in the first place. Which of course now opens up a whole another.

[Will Friedle]

Such a waste of like.

[Ryder Strong]

But now that we know that there was a barn full of marijuana on the Tender Hearts property, that opens up this whole other motivation about the Tender Hearts and like. Was Anna involved in some sort of drug dealing operation? And at this point in the present tense, I am coming clean to the sheriff who was in charge of the case, Sheriff Maldonado. And he. Once I tell him what was happening, he immediately is like, well, you need to go to the actual sheriff and tell her that you're the current sheriff. Tell her that you. So the end of the episode is me finally deciding to do that and to come clean so we can find out what was actually going on.

[Danielle Fishel]

Who played Sheriff Maldonado?

[Ryder Strong]

John Huertes. He's incredible.

[Danielle Fishel]

So good.

[Ryder Strong]

So John is one of those guys. I am so lucky to be friends with him because I put him in everything I write and he's, you know, he's just a TV legend, so we all probably met him back in the day. He was dating one of the Nobody's Angels. Sigurd. Yeah. I'm blanking on her name, but we talked about when she was on the show, when they were on the show on our podcast. He was like, oh, my God, you know, I met you on the set of Boy Meets World. So he came to the set of Boy Meets World. Cause he was a kid actor back then. Actually, he wasn't a kid. He was slightly older. So he was. Cause he had already. He had been in the first Gulf War, come back and then become an actor. But he. Yeah, but he was on Sabrina. He was on Sabrina in the later years of Sabrina. He was on that. He was also in, I believe Clue.

[Will Friedle]

Clueless was the show.

[Ryder Strong]

He was on the Clueless TV show. So he was around us. But really I became friends with him when I guest starred on Castle in the early aughts. And he was a regular on Castle. And then he rolled right into this Is Us. That was like. He finished Castle and he was like, I'm gonna take a break for a while, but I am gonna do this other show. It's called this is Us. And I was like, okay. And he ended up that for seven years.

[Will Friedle]

32 years. Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Whatever it was, it was like the biggest show in the country. He was like, it's just this pilot. I'm just a guest star. I don't know. It ended up being one of the main cast has for so long. So, yeah, he's been incredibly fortunate as an actor and so talented. And what I love about John is like, he is just. He's an actor's actor. Like, he will show up for anything just to do it. Like, he just loves acting. He loves performing. He's also a director now. He's directing a bunch of television. But he's just like, he's. He's just such a good friend and he's always willing to, like, show. I did that music video in 2021, and he. He. He was shooting at the time. He was still shooting this Is Us, I believe. And it was all. It was during COVID so it was like, really. And he got himself up to the woods. Like, he was still doing all this this Is Us makeup. So his, like, his hours were insane. He had to do, like three hours of makeup every day he was on that show. And, like, he flew himself up to shoot a music video on, like, his two days off and, like, running around the woods with me. He's just such a good friend and he's so committed.

[Will Friedle]

I love working.

[Ryder Strong]

So I always knew that he would be my sheriff and like, my sort of, you know, my. My police guide throughout this whole experience.

[Will Friedle]

He was great. But I called you, like, halfway through the series to talk about who the. The person who I thought was the real standout and she Played the reporter. Can you talk a little bit about her? Because she's so good. I mean, I literally stopped in an episode and I. I called you. I'm like, who.

[Danielle Fishel]

Who is this person? Yeah, she's amazing.

[Ryder Strong]

So that is Lanisa Frank. She. And I am just so lucky to have found her, because I hired a producer named Tess Bartholomew who has done a lot of scripted stuff and had a lot more experience in the podcast world. And luckily, Tess is not only an incredible producer, she's also an actor herself, and she knows a lot of actors, and she has, like, you know, so I would say there were, like, four or five roles that were cast entirely because of Tess, and Lanisa was one of the first people she brought up, and. And she had a couple options for the character of Monica that she sent me, and I was listening to the reels or watching the reels and listening to the work they've done. And the thing that. For Lanisa, I looked her up, and she actually has a podcast that she hosts about cults. Oh, she grew up in a very religious cult situation, and so she has a whole podcast about black people who grew up in cults. Like, that's her whole angle, because she's like, there's so many documents, documentaries, and information out there about cults, but they tend to focus on white people. And so her whole angle was like, there's a lot of black folks who also grew up in strange situations that, you know, that doesn't. Do not get it that much attention.

[Will Friedle]

So she.

[Ryder Strong]

And so she hosts this podcast. And when I listened to that and I just listened to the, you know, her talking and being herself and hosting, I was like, oh, she's gonna get this. She's gonna get the tone. Do you know what I mean? Because the tricky part is I didn't want too many voiceover actors. Actors who, as good as they are, put on voices. You know, they do a thing, which is part of the job. They bring energy to their voice. And when I saw that she could do that, and then we. We met a couple of times and talked, and we did some reading together, and I was like, this woman is going to kill it. And she did. Yeah. And it's the toughest role because Monica's pure exposition. You know, she really is just, like, with me in so many of the scenes describing, like, well, Anna was here, and then she went over. It's like a lot of just information she sharing, and that can get so boring if you don't have the right energy level. But also, like, I Said I didn't want it to be so, you know, I didn't want it to feel fake. So Lanisa killed it. And like, yeah, she's. And she's on Jury Duty, the new season of Jury Duty, which is an all improvised show. So I also knew that she had the improv skills, you know, that she would be able to roll with whatever. And so a lot of our scenes, it was so funny because a lot of our scenes we recorded over the phone or over zoom. So we're like in other rooms in my house, like, you know, like, she's separate and I'm, like, giving directions between. But, like, it was really fun because, yeah, it was. It was. It was a great experience to work with her.

[Will Friedle]

Hey, it's Will Friedell from POD Meets World. It's hard to believe that the first phone call ever happened over 150 years ago. Just think about that. Over the last 150 years, so many special moments have happened with a phone call. I think back to the phone call I had to make on Hollywood Boulevard, back to my agents in New York who told me that I booked the role of Eric Matthews on Boy Meets World. And it's one of the greatest phone calls I ever had in my life. I mean, hey, I even remember the phone call with Danielle and Ryder when we decided to start a podcast. That one wasn't as good. Almost four years later, here we are. And you know, over all these years and phone calls, AT&T has been there, connecting people in meaningful ways.

[Danielle Fishel]

Ways.

[Will Friedle]

This is more than a story of technological innovation. It's a story of human connection.

[Commercial Announcer]

Connecting changes everything.

[Danielle Fishel]

AT&T cat parents, gather round. Ryder and I have some important advice to share.

[Ryder Strong]

Guys, we have to stick together, guys. Those of us with fur babies know the struggle. We understand the feeling of being ignored by our cats.

[Danielle Fishel]

But that's why we're here to help. Because sometimes I find myself wondering, does my cat even love me?

[Ryder Strong]

And there's only one solution to solve that. Sheba.

[Danielle Fishel]

You could be adored by everyone and still completely ignored by your cat.

[Ryder Strong]

It's time to feed your cat Sheba and go from feeling ignored to truly adored in 12 days, guaranteed or your money back.

[Danielle Fishel]

The promised land is here. Turn things around for your feline with Sheba's menu of products, appetizers, entrees, treats, and even a kitten's menu.

[Ryder Strong]

Even the pickiest eater will love their new grilled entrees.

[Danielle Fishel]

Just snap, peel and serve for two gourmet servings and zero messy leftovers.

[Ryder Strong]

Its protein rich formula is made with real chicken and seafood. 100 complete and balanced with essential vitamins and nutrients for adult cats.

[Danielle Fishel]

Which my bill is. But we don't call him old, we call him experienced.

[Ryder Strong]

It's made in the USA with the finest ingredients from around the world.

[Danielle Fishel]

No artificial flavors or preservatives. No corn, wheat or soy.

[Ryder Strong]

So even when they're licking the bowl clean, you can know you're doing the right thing.

[Danielle Fishel]

Thing Treat your cats right and introduce them to the delicious delicacies of Sheba.

[Ryder Strong]

To learn more, check out sheba.com Summertime

[Will Friedle]

is here and you know what that means.

[Danielle Fishel]

Beach trips?

[Ryder Strong]

Family vacations?

[Will Friedle]

Nope. It means it's time to find your next obsession on Prime Video.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh yes, we do love a good obsession here. Especially when you could talk about for years and suggest to everyone you know

[Ryder Strong]

steamy romance, addictive love stories and the book to screen favorites you've already read twice.

[Danielle Fishel]

Because when a story hits, it really hits off campus.

[Will Friedle]

L the love hypothesis and much much more.

[Ryder Strong]

Slow burns second chances chemistry. You can feel through the screen the

[Danielle Fishel]

type of binge worthy shows and can't miss movies where you're fully invested staying up all night just to finish it. Just one more. Oh, all right, one more. You know the feeling.

[Will Friedle]

The kind of stories that pull you in and don't let go in the best way.

[Ryder Strong]

Your next obsession is waiting meeting watch only on Prime.

[Danielle Fishel]

Can I come clean about something?

[Ryder Strong]

This feels like a trap, but go ahead.

[Danielle Fishel]

I absolutely cut corners doing laundry.

[Will Friedle]

Oh yeah, same. I don't sort by color, I sort by vibes.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right there's could wear again probably fine and legally biohazard.

[Ryder Strong]

My gym clothes straight in with my delicates survival of the fittest and jeans.

[Will Friedle]

I mean are we sure they even need one washing?

[Danielle Fishel]

Meanwhile, I've got a pile of kids clothes that's been sitting near the washer for so long it's basically a science project.

[Ryder Strong]

And this is why we need arm and hammer Deep clean.

[Will Friedle]

It's the powerful shortcut that forgives all your, well, questionable laundry decisions.

[Danielle Fishel]

Even if you forget a load or your kids find a mud puddle that just needed a belly flop, Deep clean is strong enough to handle it.

[Ryder Strong]

Made for real life stinks and stains because let's be honest, there's no way to avoid them.

[Will Friedle]

It's just laundry. You shouldn't stress over it.

[Ryder Strong]

And now you don't have to.

[Danielle Fishel]

From the number one liquid detergent brand that tackles more loads than any other. Come clean with arm and Hammer Deep

[Will Friedle]

Clean Number one claim based on total wash loads Sold.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay, then we have episode three, tree time. The whole tree time concept reframes everything because time perception scaled to redwoods makes human life feel tiny.

[Will Friedle]

Yikes.

[Ryder Strong]

That's basically the only written part of Elric that was left. I came up with the whole tree time philosophy, and it turns out there really is a concept called tree time. I've had friends send me, like, essays that there really is this whole theory. But I just, you know, I just wanted to come up with a philosophy for Elric that, you know, this is by far my favorite episode of the show. And I feel like this is the one that. That when I had written this one, I was like, okay, it's all coming together. Because I knew I would start the show with this sort of, you know, oh, it's going to be about a cult next door. And that be something that would draw the listeners in and hint at like a dark underbelly. And I always knew I wanted to subvert that and really, you know, make it clear that a lot of these commune situations were not as crazy and creepy as we probably think in our imagination. And so, yeah, this is where I came up with the idea that Elric would have his lecture tapes and I would be able to sort of piece through those. I also had the great Adam Bush, an incredible actor, play the part of Howard, which is like a researcher who I track down who researches communes, and that is based on a real guy. I have like three books that I've read. Cause there's, you know, there are historians out there who specialize in just in alternative communities. So I've read a couple books about, about, you know, written by one person. And so I created a fictional version of that person and had Adam come and play with me for a day. And he's a great actor. I've worked with a bunch before too. And yeah, so this is diving into the whole Tender Hearts commune for this episode and discovering that really. And, you know, this is the funny part about like outlining a mystery podcast is like, nothing changes in this episode as far as the mystery goes. Like, what you realize is like, actually up until episode three, Rider as an investigator discovers nothing new.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right?

[Ryder Strong]

So it's like, you know, and that was the hard part about outlining is like writing a present tense mystery and the facts of the past and realizing that, like, really true crime is super manipulative in this way because often they know everything by the time they go to record, but then they lay it out and like, give you little breadcrumbs so you have to Keep coming back for the next episode. Do you know what I'm saying? So, like, it's pretty manipulative.

[Danielle Fishel]

Hold on. I would like to go back and say writer did not. That the fire was started. That she. That the fire was started because of the marriage. Like, there is. You do discover some things.

[Ryder Strong]

Right. But I don't discover. I don't break any new ground in the case until episode four.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right, okay. In the case. Yeah. Okay. Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Because I go to Sheriff Maldonado and he's like, yeah, we knew about the marijuana. We knew about the fire. We didn't know who started it, but we knew, you know, we knew you were out there. So really, it's not until episode four that any new information about the case itself comes to light. Yeah, well, yeah, but there's an interesting

[Will Friedle]

way that you did it, because it's almost.

[Ryder Strong]

Almost like.

[Will Friedle]

I mean, at the end, it works out the way that it's supposed to work out, but it's almost like a little bit of a. You to true crime podcasters who are like, I'm better than detectives.

[Ryder Strong]

Yes.

[Will Friedle]

You know what I mean?

[Ryder Strong]

That was always my intention.

[Will Friedle]

I can figure this out because I did research on the Internet, and it's like, okay, these guys have been on the case for 20 years.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yes. Search always means Google search.

[Ryder Strong]

Exactly, exactly. No, I. I find there are some true crime podcasts that I am intentionally mirroring that I. I made me very uncomfortable. Like, there was a period, I would say, like, post serial, like, around 2015 through 2020, there was a big boom in true crime podcasting, and you'd have a lot of these sort of white knight guys coming in and being like, I know nothing about this case, but I'm gonna make it all about me solving it. And I really wanted to present Ryder as one of those kinds of guys and have that undermine throughout, you know, throughout the whole series.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Because I. I find it icky, you know, exploitative. Like, there's something really exploitative about a lot of true crime out there, and I wanted to shine a, you know, a spotlight on that.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, definitely. Where it's like, there are other people there that are literate characters, going, like, you're an actor and a podcaster.

[Ryder Strong]

Exactly.

[Will Friedle]

That's. That's what you do. Stay in your lane, dude. Yeah. It's so true.

[Ryder Strong]

I will say that, like, walking into the police station, even though that scene is staged, that is based on a true thing, too. Like walking into the wrong jurisdiction to report a crime actually happen.

[Danielle Fishel]

So I. I'm here to report a crime.

[Will Friedle]

Sir, this is the fire department.

[Danielle Fishel]

Sure. Sir, this is an Arby's, but no,

[Ryder Strong]

exactly as it happens. Sebastopol Police station. Turns out it's Sonoma County. It's actually West County. It's a whole different sheriff's department thing. So that was a real. Yeah, so, like. Yeah, there was. And I. I wanted to use all of that. I wanted to put it in there because I think it's.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

I don't know. I think I definitely, like, the worse Ryder is as a podcaster. I knew that the better the story would be. Right. So, yeah, I made sure that I do not. Do not come off well.

[Will Friedle]

You're not the white knight. That's the whole point, is like. Yeah. You're not that. Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

The interrogation transcripts expose Maldonado for not telling the full story and reveals that Elric initially lied. So it opens up some new motives, some new potential baddies.

[Ryder Strong]

Yes. Turns on. Now I'm starting to turn on the cops. So episode four is called Swampelvania. And this is really. Yeah, now it's. Now we're much more in the present tense. And there's sort of two leaves where I am going into questioning Maldonado and confronting him about his language in the transcripts and his potential bigotry or, you know, preconcert. His biases, going into the investigation, you know, and. And then also sourcing this drug dealer, local drug dealer named Sparks, and, you know, tracking him down and interviewing him about Maldonado's potential corruption as a sheriff.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah. And one of the reasons Mick may have been protected having to do with money.

[Will Friedle]

Money. The campaign donations. Yep.

[Ryder Strong]

Yep. Yeah. I always knew I wanted to, you know, because the actual evolution of Northern California, you know, from like, alternative hippie into sort of isolationist, paranoid, libertarian drug area into tech. Like, that's. That's the bourbon California route. It's like, actually, so many people went into tech, and so I wanted to create, you know, a sort of tech bro character. And I always knew that Mick would end up being.

[Will Friedle]

Being that.

[Danielle Fishel]

I love that.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. Based on. Based on some. A real. You know, a couple real people that we knew growing up who. Who did end up having a lot of money and doing well in tech.

[Danielle Fishel]

I also loved that in this episode, one of the themes. And it's a. It's a quiet theme, it's an underlying theme, but where. Where, you know, you're not supposed to photograph the evidence you come across.

[Ryder Strong]

Yes.

[Danielle Fishel]

And Maldonado lets you. He encourages you to. When the Sheriff is not present.

[Ryder Strong]

Yes.

[Danielle Fishel]

And it ends up. Of course, it's super helpful. And your first thought is, what a nice guy. And then you go, but if he's willing to do that for me.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

Does that mean that he's. He's obviously unethical, even though it's helpful to me. So I love that you opening up the theme of why are we so okay with unethical behavior when it helps us. Benefits us.

[Will Friedle]

Sure.

[Ryder Strong]

Totally. But then this is also an episode with a very special guest appearances. Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

I'm not gonna say I don't push my friend by. As I'm driving by my car by myself, I'm like, at least he didn't use anybody from Mother.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. So this is where I go to the current sheriff's office. And the liaison that I've been given is big Boy Meets World fan. Is a big Boy Meets World fan,

[Danielle Fishel]

more importantly, which makes sense. A big Topanga fan.

[Ryder Strong]

A big Topanga fan manga fan. So in order to distract him so I can, you know, get some. Some photographs, I use Danielle Fischl.

[Danielle Fishel]

You were very smart to not ask us to do anything, because the whole point of this is obviously that it is real.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

And that it feels real. And it would take you out of it. It would take us out. The only reason I was able to do it is because I was playing. Playing me.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

Saying hello on a FaceTime to a fan. So it worked out. It wasn't even really.

[Will Friedle]

No, you couldn't. You couldn't. You couldn't combine the worlds in a way that wouldn't take you out of the entire thing.

[Danielle Fishel]

Exactly.

[Will Friedle]

And the way that you did mention Boy Meets World about. The guy's a fan, and he's essentially like, Sean, we've dealt with people like that where it's like, you get. You will get, like, a little bonus of so. And it comes at the most random times, too, where it's like, I'm giving you this extra Carvel ice cream because I'm. You know. And you're like, okay, thanks. So it does. It happens.

[Ryder Strong]

Just like I wanted to play with that reality. I definitely wanted to play. I mean, it does.

[Will Friedle]

It happens just like that. When you least expect that the extra bag of peanuts on a plane or something like that just always happens like that.

[Ryder Strong]

In this case, it was my friend Travis Schultz, who's a great actor. He was on Scrubs, and we. We go way back.

[Danielle Fishel]

He.

[Ryder Strong]

He and my wife have been friends since before I met my wife. And so I. I got him to come Play this part. He's never seen a single episode of Boy Meets World as far as I know. But it was so great because I kind of wrote it thinking it would be more sort of like a goofy, gregarious, like, overly gregarious guy. Like the guy who's like. Instead he came in and played it so, like, creepy and intense. He's like, tell me more about Topanga. And I was like. I was like, that's even better, Travis. Let's just go with that, you know, like. And he like, it was so fun because, you know, working with these actors, we're just micing. We're micing ourselves up with like lav mics and then we have a boom mic. There's no cameras, but of course we're actually looking at each other. And so like, his, like, intent, like, he physically was like, so creepy too,

[Will Friedle]

like leering and everything.

[Ryder Strong]

Just like getting a little too close and staring.

[Will Friedle]

A little change too with him because the character is like it. The fanboy eventually stops and he becomes cop again. And then almost doesn't like you. And then it's.

[Ryder Strong]

There's exactly.

[Will Friedle]

It's a great kind of. And then when you then go back and try to use it again, almost like, hey, stop the script. Yeah. Like, this is not going to work. That's great. It's so creepy. And it's really. It worked really well.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. Thank you. Funny.

[Danielle Fishel]

And then episode five mix tape, we hear Anna's haunted tape for the very first time, which really gives us a first deep glimpse into who she is as a person. We find out some of her music tastes, her reading preferences, and even a glimpse into her drive through order at McDonald's.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, and this was fun. This was another actress that I did not know because I immediately. I'd written this episode and then realized, like, I don't know any teenage actors. Like, you know.

[Danielle Fishel]

Good, good.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Thank you.

[Ryder Strong]

Thank God for that. But then she's not a teenager. This is Rachel Marsh. She's a great actress, mostly known for comedy, but she has a very young sounding voice. And Tess had worked with her before and was like, you gotta meet with Rachel. And I did, and it was great. And she recorded with a little mini Radio Shack tape recorder at my house. We did a little bit together and then I just let her take the tape recorder and go off and record herself through a drive through and all that stuff. And so again, I was sort of piecing together documentary style, real clips and trying to insert them, you know, after the fact and figure out how to like, read, you know, Anna's tape. Super fun. Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

Did you at any point think about changing Mick's name after you realize Mix Tape was going to sound like Mix Mix Tape?

[Ryder Strong]

No, that became. That became. It's. It's a complete.

[Danielle Fishel]

It's purposeful.

[Ryder Strong]

It's a red herring because, of course, it turns out that the tape is not to Mick. So by titling the episode mixtape, I really want, you know, driving the audience away from. From the truth. Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay. All right, great. And then you go back home to your family after being away for three full weeks. This was another aspect of the podcast I loved hearing what feels like very real family dynamics.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Yes.

[Will Friedle]

Tense dynamics at that at times.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, yeah. We had people like ch in on me and Alex after listening, they were like, are you guys okay? Alex was so offended. She's like, I'm an actor.

[Will Friedle]

This is what I do for a living. Exactly. Oh, man.

[Ryder Strong]

But, yeah, no, we. We did a lot of improvisation. We actually recorded almost everything with Alex and Indy in the same day.

[Will Friedle]

Okay.

[Ryder Strong]

Actually, no, Indy was separate. Indy was during an actual audition that he had. We. We did. So that is a real. He was really auditioning, and then we had a conversation that, you know, was somewhat scripted, but I kept, you know, working with him and just talking through it. And he's so good in it. I love how, like, so good. Yeah. But, yeah, no, with Alex, we recorded everything for us pretty much in one day. And it was super fun because I had a friend visiting who. Who plays Heidi Soulman, who ends up playing Anna's mom. I wrote that part for her. She was staying with us, so she came and stayed with us. And then we spent the whole day with Alex and me, like, improvising all of our fight stuff and all that, those scenes. And Heidi was like, oh, my God, this is like a Cassavetes set here. Because we kept. You know, it was super fun. Alex and I, obviously, we've worked together forever, and we know each other very well. We give each other creative feedback all the time. So it was super fun to work with her.

[Will Friedle]

Well, the thing that really struck me, especially with this episode in the family dynamic, is when you listen to Indy, you realize that when this whole thing takes place, he's not that much younger than you were supposed to be when all these events happened.

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, right.

[Will Friedle]

So it's like when you hear how young he sounds, you're like, dude, he's like two or three years away from this happening, happening. And he sounds like a little. Little kid. So it's Kind of that, that was really striking to me because it's like, oh my God, he's going to think of the problems that Riders Ryder, quote unquote had and his friend had a year or two later, Right. Compared to hearing this little kid, it

[Ryder Strong]

was, I never thought about.

[Will Friedle]

Strange. Yeah, it was really strange. Hey, it's Will Fredell from Pop God Meets World. It's hard to believe that the first phone call ever happened over 150 years ago. Just think about that. Over the last 150 years, so many special moments have happened with a phone call. I think back to the phone call I had to make on Hollywood Boulevard, back to my agents in New York who told me that I booked the role of Eric Matthews on Boy Meets World. And it's one of the greatest phone calls I ever had in my life. I mean, hey, I even remember the phone call with Danielle and Ryder when we decided to start a podcast. That one wasn't as good. Almost four years later, here we are. And you know, over all these years and phone calls, AT T has been there, connecting people in meaningful ways. This is more than a story of technological innovation. It's a story of human connection.

[Commercial Announcer]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Ryder Strong]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Ryder Strong]

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[Will Friedle]

And you know what that means.

[Danielle Fishel]

Beach trips?

[Ryder Strong]

Family vacations?

[Will Friedle]

Nope. It means it's time to find your next obsession on Prime Video.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh yes, we do love a good obsession here. Especially when you could talk about for years and suggest to everyone you know.

[Ryder Strong]

Steamy romance, addictive love stories and the book to screen favorites you've already read twice.

[Danielle Fishel]

Because when a story hits, it really hits off campus.

[Will Friedle]

Elle, the Love hypothesis and much much more.

[Ryder Strong]

Slow burns. Second chances chemistry. You can feel through the screen the

[Danielle Fishel]

type of binge worthy shows and can't miss movies where you're fully invested. Staying up all night just to finish it. Just one more. Oh, all right. One more. You know the feeling.

[Will Friedle]

The kind of stories that pull you in and don't let go in the best way.

[Ryder Strong]

Your next obsession is waiting.

[Danielle Fishel]

Watch only on Prime. Can I come clean about something?

[Ryder Strong]

This feels like a trap, but go ahead.

[Danielle Fishel]

I absolutely cut corners doing laundry.

[Will Friedle]

Oh yeah. Same. I don't sort by color, I sort by vibes.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right there's could wear again probably fine and legally biohazard.

[Ryder Strong]

My gym clothes straight in with my delicates. Survival of the the fittest.

[Will Friedle]

And jeans. I mean are we sure they even need washing?

[Danielle Fishel]

Meanwhile, I've got a pile of kids clothes that's been sitting near the washer for so long it's basically a science project.

[Ryder Strong]

And this is why we need arm and hammer Deep clean.

[Will Friedle]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Ryder Strong]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Ryder Strong]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Danielle Fishel]

In episode six to live and park in la we get the indie cameo and he tells Ryder that he he needs to help his old friend and crack this case. He really encourages you to take this on. And then you hear from mix lawyers.

[Ryder Strong]

Yep.

[Danielle Fishel]

Who reach out to you and send you a cease and assist.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

And you are then locked out of knowing any further details about the case from the Sonoma County Sheriff and operation Van Go is on the tape.

[Ryder Strong]

And this is when I put it all together that I'm assuming it's Mick that the tape is too. So I finally go confront him, and he's willing to sit down and talk with me and only to discover that it wasn't a tape to him.

[Danielle Fishel]

It's not to me.

[Ryder Strong]

It was to somebody else. Into episode seven.

[Danielle Fishel]

Woo. Lost cause.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. So this is really about Anna's mom. Anna and Willow's mom. And I always knew that this was gonna be sort of a centerpiece of. Of the. The season. And this is, you know, this is really where I borrowed heavily from probably one of the greatest true crime podcasts out there, which is from the Canadian Broadcasting System or the cbc, whatever that is. Canadian Broadcasting Channel, company Channel. It's called Someone Knows Something. And it's an incredible podcast. It's like the best of the true crime in that it's, it's. It's less interested in solving the crime, even though it is often, you know, trying to solve the crime. The host is this very Canadian, wonderful guy who's been a filmmaker forever, and he just spends time with the people who involved with the case. And like, he'll just spend like. Like there'll be whole episodes where it's just. Just, you know, walking with them, walking the scene of the crime with like the brother of the person who died and. And just get a sense of that person's life now and how it feels, you know, 30 years to have gone by without knowing what happened to their sister or whatever. And so I always, I was so inspired by the emotional, like, the, the real human fallout of these cases, you know, which we don't. You know, when you get into, like, the. Too much of the serialization where you're just like, who did it?

[Will Friedle]

Sensation.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. You forget that there's humans. So I always knew that I wanted this confrontation or the scene with Anna's mother to be a central part of the show. And I wrote it for my friend Heidi, who is an incredible actress. She does a lot of theater. She's been on L Word is probably the biggest thing that she's been on lately. But she's an actress, been around forever, and I just love her. We've just been friends. Our sons are actually best friends. So I've known her since our kids started hanging out when they were three or four. Anyway, so I wrote this part for her with her in mind, and it was great. She was great. Yeah, she's incredible.

[Will Friedle]

This was what I mean. Again, I could picture most of the series obviously very well in my head, but the scene where you're kind of on the porch sipping whiskey and you could tell she's just kind of broken and trying not to be broken and already a little bit drunk. And it was just. I could see the whole, like, I could just visualize the whole scene. It was really great.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah, yeah, that, that, that feeling. I think we've all been there where you're. You've been so excited. You feel like there's going to be a conversation, a moment with someone that's going to reveal things and then you realize, oh, I'm not sure you're a reliable narrator or.

[Ryder Strong]

Yes.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, man, it was rough.

[Will Friedle]

Rough in the best possible unfortunately.

[Danielle Fishel]

Exactly.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, it was super fun because this was based on. I knew I was writing this part for Heidi and I was able to, you know, I actually have spent a lot of time sipping whiskey and talking with Heidi. So, you know, obviously she doesn't have a daughter disappeared or anything, but I wrote with her like rhythms and her language and her voice in my head. And it was so cool to take parts of her real life, take the sort of fictional character that I was creating and write for her and then have her come and just nail it. I mean, it was incredible. It was a whole day, just the two of us and we really were. We were on a porch in this house and a friend of mine was moving out of his place, so he had just a house full of boxes and crap. And I was like, this is perfect. So, yeah, she's an incredible actress.

[Danielle Fishel]

So much fun. We also really discover some stuff about the missing case and who the tape might be too. And some very interesting.

[Ryder Strong]

There's clues all throughout within books too, which I think some review. Yeah, exactly.

[Will Friedle]

Such a R thing.

[Ryder Strong]

Of course, everyone has leather journal in the Marginality. Marginalia.

[Danielle Fishel]

Exactly.

[Will Friedle]

Love it.

[Danielle Fishel]

And then we get to our final episode, episode eight, the End of the Imagination. And there's some search warrants and all will be revealed in this episode. And this is the. We talked about it a little bit at the beginning of this episode where you had your family and you just did a whole scene that you improv

[Ryder Strong]

about out, you know, sheriff's office searching my parents house. And the fun part about this is that my parents like nobody who was in it playing themselves, even when they were a part of scenes. No one read the whole script.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right.

[Ryder Strong]

So for my parents, it was such a trip to listen to this thing when it was done. And for a lot of my friends too, they. They'd done interviews with me, but they hadn't heard it. And so then, you know, I would have these conversations with them. They're like, so. So you took a real memory, put it into this fake story. So I worked into it, yeah. Cause they were like, I would be listening, going, I remember the real story, but then I'm using my imagination to hear how I'm a part of the fake story. And I'm like, yeah, isn't that weird? So there's like a very small circle of, like, probably 10 people for whom listening to Red Weather is a real trip.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. Totally different experience.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

Well, I really, I don't want to give it away.

[Will Friedle]

No.

[Danielle Fishel]

So I'm not going to give it away.

[Ryder Strong]

No more.

[Danielle Fishel]

No more spoilers. We've given enough away here. But if you, if you haven't heard it, I really encourage you to go take a listen. I was completely sucked in. It goes very, very fast. The length of the episodes is truly perfect. There's no fat that needs to be cut from. Is truly a really special piece of work. And you made a drive to Vegas

[Will Friedle]

go by very quickly for two. You're like, next one, next one, next one. Yeah, it.

[Ryder Strong]

Thank you, guys.

[Danielle Fishel]

Well, thank you for putting this out there and for all your hard work on it. So thank you all for joining us for this episode of Pod Meets World. As always, you can follow us on Instagram Pod Meets World show. You can send us your emails. Podmeetsworldshowmail.com and we've got Merch.

[Will Friedle]

Hi, I'm Will Friedle, actor and podcaster, and I'm trying to find out who killed Anna Merch.

[Ryder Strong]

Anna Merch is a cool name.

[Danielle Fishel]

Anna Merch is great. Anna Merch, Pod Meets World show writer. Send us out.

[Ryder Strong]

We love you all. Pod dismissed. Pod Meets World is an iHeart podcast produced and hosted by Danielle Fishel, Wilfred L And Ryder Strong, executive producers Jensen Karp and Amy Sugarman, executive in charge of production, Danielle Romo, producer and editor, Tara Sugbash, producer Matty Moore, engineer and boy Meets world superman Easton Allen. Our theme song is by Kyle Morton of Typhoon. Follow us us on Instagram odmeatsworld show or email us at podmeatsworldshowmail.com

[Danielle Fishel]

as cat parents, Ryder and I know the feeling of being ignored by our cats. I often wonder, does my cat even love me?

[Ryder Strong]

Well, there's only one solution to solve that. Sheba.

[Danielle Fishel]

Feed your cat Sheba and go from feeling ignored to truly adored in 12 days guaranteed or your mother money back. Sheba has so many incredible products that can satisfy even the pickiest eater like New Sheba Grilled. Made in the USA with the finest ingredients from around the world, they are savory strips in a succulent sauce that cats are sure to love. And it's 100% complete and balanced with essential vitamins and nutrients for adult cats like my bill. Made without artificial flavors or preservatives. No corn, wheat or soy. To learn more, check out sheba.com whether

[Ryder Strong]

you're calling the wise women in your life, video, calling your girlfriends across the country, or checking in on someone who always knows how to make you smile,

[Will Friedle]

Staying Connected Matters those small conversations, shared laughs and quick hellos are what keep relationships strong even when life gets busy. Some of the most life giving conversations start with just a phone call.

[Ryder Strong]

That's why AT&T guarantees a network you can rely on so you can focus on the moments and people that that matter most. That's the @t guarantee.

[Will Friedle]

AT T connecting changes everything. Terms and conditions apply. Visit att.comguaranty for details.

[Commercial Announcer]

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[Ryder Strong]

Let's talk chewy yes.

[Danielle Fishel]

For starters, they've got over 100,000 products, food, treats, toys, beds and as a dog and a cat mom, I can go to Chewy for literally anything I need. And it ships fast.

[Will Friedle]

And Chewy's customer service is unreal. Day or night, they're ready to help.

[Ryder Strong]

You know what else I love? They handle pretty prescriptions, pet insurance, telehealth, vet visits. And they're rolling out vet clinics across the country for life with pets.

[Danielle Fishel]

The answer is chewy. Save $20 on your first order with free shipping at chupanions.chewy.com World this is an iHeart podcast.

[Commercial Announcer]

Guaranteed human.