Hot Ones

Summary

Pop Culture Happy Hour: "Hot Ones" Episode Summary

Date: July 23, 2026
Hosts: Linda Holmes & Glen Weldon

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Linda Holmes and Glen Weldon dive into the wild, spicy, and meme-filled phenomenon that is "Hot Ones," the YouTube celebrity interview show famous for its unusual format: guests answer probing questions while enduring a gauntlet of increasingly fiery chicken wings. Sparked by host Sean Evans bringing "Hot Ones: Extra Heat" to Netflix and Conan O'Brien's now-legendary appearance, the hosts explore what makes a compelling "Hot Ones" guest—and why the show has permeated pop culture so deeply.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. How "Hot Ones" Works & Its Meme Status

• Show Premise: Celebrities answer Sean Evans' questions while they both eat ten wings (or vegetarian alternatives) with escalating hot sauce levels ([02:57]).
  • Glen: "The premise, I think, is that these celebrities’ brains will be so distracted by the swirling miasma of pain and gastrointestinal distress that they’re going to answer the questions in a kind of disarming, truthful way."
• Why It Became a Meme: The show's 2015 launch coincided with the word "meme" going mainstream, helping "Hot Ones" become a viral clip-generator ([03:40]).
  • Examples: Paul Rudd’s “Look at us” ([04:41]), Jennifer Lawrence’s meltdown around the 8th wing.

2. Why the Format Works

• Authenticity Through Discomfort: The wing challenge creates genuinely unpredictable, revealing moments in a celebrity interview setting ([05:23]).
  • Linda: "It does have that quality that you mentioned of kind of giving people something else to concentrate on besides answering questions in a way that I think introduces an element of unpredictability that’s very difficult to create in a celebrity interview."
• The Pleasure of Watching Discomfort:
  • Glen: References Mel Brooks on comedy and tragedy; says show taps into seeing the mighty fall, akin to classic slapstick ([06:10]).
  • Cites the history of celebrities eating gross/painful things in reality TV (e.g., "Amazing Race", "Fear Factor").

3. Types of Guests and What Makes Them Memorable

• The Arrogant ("Hubris") Guest:
  • Example: Idris Elba going from confidence to regret as the heat ramped up ([07:38]).
    • Memorable Moment: The “That turn…” description, where guests go from cocky to suffering.
• The “Spice Lords”: Celebs who conquer the wings without flinching (e.g., Charlize Theron, Rachael Ray, Lord) ([08:42], [09:00]).
  • Glen: "It’s never the people you’d think. That’s what I love about it."
• When it Confirms or Disrupts Perceptions: Seeing "Midwesterners like Jim Gaffigan or Melissa McCarthy... crater. It’s weirdly satisfying." ([10:42])
• Physical Comedy & Relatability: Viewers love watching celebrities become incoherent, have physical reactions, or get playfully angry with Sean Evans ([11:09]).

4. Conan O'Brien: The "Best" Guest and Why

• Why He Stands Out:
  • Conan went in with a plan: staged bits (e.g., his “doctor”, played by Jose Arroyo), performative bravado, and kept escalating even as he suffered ([12:35] onwards).
  • Glen: "He became the best guest ever because he went in determined to become the biggest guest ever... He knows the show well enough going in to make fun of the premise, and he knows how to be memorable."
  • Memorable Conan moments: Smearing sauce on himself, drinking from bottles, screaming while insisting he’s fine ([13:53]).
• Breaking the Show:
  • Glen: "He became a Spice Lord, not a spice legend. To do that, he had to break the show. He broke the premise of this show. This show might not work anymore because he went in screaming, foaming chaos gremlin. Where, Linda, do you go from that?" ([14:54])

5. Differences in Approach and Impact

• Spontaneity vs Performance:
  • Linda contrasts Conan’s planned chaos with the spontaneous memes from others like Paul Rudd or Jennifer Lawrence ([15:33]).
  • Linda: "Those little spontaneous things... made the show funny."
  • Glen: Wonders if Conan "blew up the show" á la Daffy Duck out-performing Bugs Bunny ([17:24]).
• Hostility and Gross-Out Factor:
  • The show uniquely invites celebrities to cross into the "gross" territory for comedy ([17:06]).
  • Linda: "This show is the only show I know where a celebrity goes on with the specific idea that they will do something until they become gross."
• Why It Endures:
  • Linda: The real value is the mild discomfort and how it breaks down typical PR-polished interview dynamics, giving rise to authentic moments ([17:35]).
  • She likens it to magazine features that get celebrities out of their comfort zone but says Hot Ones forces "answers while uncomfortable" in a way others don’t.
• The Art of the Question:
  • Glen: "They are disarmed... by the specificity of Sean Evans’ questions, which are incredibly well researched.... It’s not just that it’s a new question, it’s just that they care deeply about the subject." ([18:43])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the premise:
  • Glen Weldon, [02:57]: "The premise, I think, is that these celebrities brains will be so distracted by the swirling miasma of pain and gastrointestinal distress that they're going to answer the questions in a kind of disarming, truthful way."
• On the meme-ability:
  • Glen Weldon, [04:40]: "Look at us. Hey, look at us." (with Paul Rudd’s iconic meme referenced)
• On Conan's approach:
  • Glenn Weldon, [12:59]: "He brought in a human prop, had this recurring bit with a personal doctor of his who was actually his longtime writer and producer, Jose Arroyo, which felt like such an old school, corny, like, Carson bit or a Steve Allen bit."
  • Conan O'Brien, [13:36]: "Conan's gonna get home, he's gonna have a hot. This isn't even. I've yet to have any spice at all."
  • Glenn Weldon, [13:53]: "He starts to slather the wings in sauce. He starts to smear them across his cheeks, around his nipples. He starts to guzzle incredibly hot sauce straight from the bottle... and it gets a little gross because he is in such a obvious pain and refuses to admit it, which makes it even funnier."
• On the show's future:
  • Glen Weldon, [14:54]: "He became a Spice Lord, not a spice legend. To do that, he had to break the show. He broke the premise of this show. This show might not work anymore because he went in screaming, foaming chaos gremlin. Where, Linda, do you go from that?"
• On spontaneous Hot Ones magic:
  • Linda Holmes, [15:33]: "I think what you’re seeing in his appearance on Hot Ones is that he is a hustler. And if he’s gonna do it, he’s gonna do it in the way that is most designed to get the most possible attention."
• On Sean Evans' skill:
  • Glen Weldon, [18:43]: "They are disarmed, one, by the intensity of the spice, but two, by the specificity of Sean Evans’ questions, which are incredibly well researched. ...It’s not just that it’s a new question, it’s just that they care deeply about the subject."

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:36] – Hot Ones basics and role in meme culture
• [03:34] – The show’s appeal and the spectator’s pleasure in discomfort
• [07:35] – The archetype of the cocky, overconfident guest
• [08:42] – “Spice Lords” and surprise successes/failures
• [12:35] – Deep dive on Conan’s performance and its impact
• [15:33] – Linda and Glen debate spontaneity vs. staged chaos
• [17:06] – The attractiveness of the gross-out factor
• [17:35] – Why the show remains compelling even after being "broken"
• [18:43] – The genius of Sean Evans’ research and questioning

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Tone and Style

The hosts maintain a witty, insightful, and occasionally sardonic tone, blending cultural critique with personal anecdotes. Their banter is peppered with references to classic comedy, reality TV history, and a self-aware love of niche pop culture.

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Takeaway

"Hot Ones" works because it is simultaneously a carefully structured interview, a meme factory, and a gladiator arena for celebrity egos and gastrointestinal fortitude. The show's power lies in its ability to disarm guests and audience alike, offering genuine, unpredictable moments against a backdrop of mounting chaos. Conan O'Brien's guest run is held up as the ultimate—if potentially unrepeatable—culmination of the show's format. The hosts agree that while the show may evolve, its blend of discomfort, humor, and authenticity secures its spot in pop culture's spicy hall of fame.

Transcript

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[Linda Holmes]

In the world of celebrity interviews, there's spicy talk and then there's hot ones. The YouTube show where famous people answer questions while eating increasingly hot chicken wings is a phen.

[Glenn Weldon]

Now host Sean Evans is bringing his wings to Netflix with a series of specials called Hot Ones Extra Heat. So we thought it would be a great time to revisit our conversation about the show and specifically about possibly the best guest ever, Conan o' Brien. I'm Glenn Weldon.

[Linda Holmes]

And I'm Linda Holmes. And today in this encore episode of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour, we're talking about what makes a good Hot Ones guest.

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[Linda Holmes]

It's just the two of us today. Glenn I am pretty new to Hot Ones, although I have seen the Conan o' Brien episode and I have seen some others. But even people who don't think they have seen it have probably seen some of it if they spend very much time online. So can you give me a little Bit of an explanation of how the show works and its presence in kind of meme world.

[Glenn Weldon]

Oh, sure. Because you know, the first time you heard about this show, you probably thought it was a dumb gimmick. Cause it sounds like a dumb gimmick. It is a dumb gimmick. It's YouTube show, as you mentioned, hosted by Sean Evans, in which celebrities answer interview questions as they and the host together that's important. Progress through a gauntlet of 10 increasingly spicy chicken wings or vegetarian vegan alternatives. The specific sauces change from season to season. The premise, I think, is that these celebrities brains will be so distracted by the swirling miasma of pain and gastrointestinal distress that they're going to answer the questions in a kind of disarming, truthful way.

[Linda Holmes]

I have to say, I never feel more square than when I watch this show. And I'm like, that can't be good for you.

[Glenn Weldon]

It can't be good for you. We'll get to that. Because the tissues of the gastroentestrial tract are famously sensitive. And so long term, you feel for Sean Evans, man, he's been doing this for years. Different celebrities deal with the heat very differently, which is one big reason why this show works. I got drawn into it the way most people are. You hear about the show, you check to see if any of your favorite celebrities have ever been on it. You see there's hundreds and hundreds of episodes. Oh, many of them have. You check it out and then it's YouTube rabbit hole time. You just go down. Yes, but the thing exists in a really interesting place in terms of Internet culture because it premiered in 2015. It was the year the word meme kind of filtered down from extremely online people into the general populace. You know, it's the year your parents learned what a meme is. And this show is a meme engine. It spawns them. If you have ever seen a clip of any celebrity against a kind of Charlie Roche show black backdrop nowadays, it probably came from Hot Ones. So there's the one that many people have seen with Paul Rudd being affable and charming, as is his wont. Look at us. Hey, look at us.

[Sean Evans]

Look at us.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

Huh?

[Glenn Weldon]

Who would have thought?

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

Not me.

[Linda Holmes]

Love that one.

[Glenn Weldon]

Yeah, I know that one. And there's also the one with Jennifer Lawrence who gives into the panic and confusion that hits a lot of guests on this show round about the seventh, eighth, ninth wing when they realize that the pain they're experiencing is not stopping and wondering if it'll ever end. And her reaction of Kind of sobbing and laughing. It's not unusual on this show. Okay, is this one bad?

[Conan O'Brien]

What do you mean?

[Glenn Weldon]

What do you mean by shaking out?

[Linda Holmes]

What are you doing?

[Conan O'Brien]

What do you mean?

[Linda Holmes]

What do you mean?

[Glenn Weldon]

What do you mean? Now, I have theories on how and why this show works. Both is a meme in meme form and also in full episode form. But first, I wanna get your take what you've dabbled in the show, what have you seen, what have you liked, what have you not liked? What are your thoughts?

[Linda Holmes]

Well, I think, as you mentioned, the initial take on this show is that it seems like a tremendous gimmick, and it sort of is. But at the same time, I think if he were not a good interviewer, I would really, really dislike this show. It does have that quality that you mentioned of kind of giving people something else to concentrate on besides answering questions in a way that I think introduces an element of unpredictability that's very difficult to create in a celebrity interview. In this environment, people really know how they're gonna react to this. Sometimes people come in thinking that it's gonna be easier than it is. Sometimes they think it's gonna be harder than it is. And sometimes, you know, that that difference can be very surprising and engaging.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Glenn Weldon]

And the reason it's funny is because, you know, we live in a fallen world, and as Mel Brooks likes to say, tragedy is I cut my finger. Comedy is you fall down an open sewer and die. Right. So it's just when you see these isolated images. But also, like this show, it's important to say, didn't invent this very weird genre. You go back with competitive reality longer than I do. And this notion of celebrities or contestants, I guess, eating disgusting or painful stuff goes back to Amazing Race, who did it in kind of a classy way, and Fear Factor, which kind of did it in a trashy way. And so when you get those moments robbed of context of just Jennifer Lawrence or Jeff Para, that's funny. But I think the show best works when you see entire episodes, because the genius of the show and the thing that sets it apart is its built in narrative. Wings get hotter. Guests know the wings get hotter. Poor Sean Evans knows exactly what he's in store for. That guy is trapped in some kind of Groundhog Day loop of mouth pain. Poor guy. And fans come to the show with different criteria for what makes a good guess. Some want guests to melt down. Some want them to power through. Some want them to get angry with Sean, which plenty of them do. For me, it's what you mentioned about coming in thinking you're gonna nail this. Right. The guests that come in with hubris do the show a favor by turning it from a narrative into a Greek tragedy. Right?

[Linda Holmes]

Yeah.

[Glenn Weldon]

Mm. Idris Elba comes in cocky as hell.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

Yes.

[Sean Evans]

How do you think you'll fare today against the Wings?

[Glenn Weldon]

I'm pretty confident. I'm pretty confident. Here's why. Because I fear no one. He shrugs off the early wings in a very outsized, performative way. But inevitably, the spice comes for him. Let me ask you a question. Whose idea was to.

[Sean Evans]

So see that guy right there in the blue shirt?

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Sean Evans]

His name's Chris.

[Conan O'Brien]

What's your name? Chris. Right.

[Glenn Weldon]

Can you fight Chris? That turn that you just heard takes place like that took place over the course of several wings. It was a slow build, but sometimes that same shift can happen in a matter of seconds, as it did when Shaq went on the show. Kansas don't know how to do no hot wings. Oh, I apologize, Kansas.

[Sean Evans]

It's time to reach for that jug.

[Glenn Weldon]

You lied to me. Oh.

[Conan O'Brien]

Oh.

[Glenn Weldon]

Guess what got me.

[Conan O'Brien]

God.

[Linda Holmes]

Hubris. I see what you're saying. I see what you're saying.

[Glenn Weldon]

What he supplied there is set up punchline. Right. That is just hugely satisfying because the proud get punished. And, you know, fans of the show like to talk about Spice Lords, which are celebrities who run this gauntlet without being bothered by the spice. Your Charlize Therons, your Rachael Ray's.

[Linda Holmes]

But it's not always the people you would think.

[Glenn Weldon]

It's never the people you would think. That's what I love about it. One notable Spice Lord was the singer Lord. Right. Fittingly enough, this is her reacting to exactly the same sauce. Da bomb, it's called, that we just heard, sending Shaq into a fit of coughing up a lung in both kidneys. It's almost bitter.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

Bitter.

[Sean Evans]

There's not a lot of redeeming qualities. You know, I saw how you checked out the teacup masala ingredients. I'm not sure you need to read any further with that one.

[Glenn Weldon]

Yeah, I don't like it. And, you know, I love it when you're surprised by the Lords of the world. But when the show works like Celebrity Poker Showdown used to do, it just confirms your pre existing ideas about a given celebrity. That, as you mentioned. Right. The late night talk show setup is very stilted. There's a pre interview, and everything's been vetted by their PR team. You know, I would watch Celebrity Poke for Showdown back in the day. I would get insights into the personalities. One of the reasons I harbor an advanced love for Judy Greer is based on her performance on that show. She was so cool. So similarly, on this show, you see that Padma Lakshmi has an episode and you think to yourself, oh, she will A, be able to handle the spice, and B, she'll probably have something to say about them, too.

[Sean Evans]

And sure enough, 357,000 Scoville units. It used to be our hottest sauce in the place. Are you sure?

[Conan O'Brien]

That's.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

I gotta tell you something, and I

[Linda Holmes]

kind of talk about this in the encyclopedia.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

The Scoville units are not really empirically correct because the Scoville scale was very arbitrary.

[Glenn Weldon]

And that's why this is something I wrote about in the encyclopedia.

[Linda Holmes]

She wouldn't just expect you to take her word for it. She would explain to you why the Scoville units are arbitrary.

[Glenn Weldon]

Absolutely, absolutely. Just confirms your pre existing thesis. Also, like, you know, it also confirms some pretty ungenerous stereotypes. Like when you see that a born and bred Midwesterner like Jim Gaffigan or Melissa McCarthy are on the show and you think, well, they're probably gonna crater. And they crater. It's weirdly satisfying.

[Linda Holmes]

Neither tastes right.

[Sean Evans]

I know.

[Linda Holmes]

Oh, God, I don't know what to do.

[Glenn Weldon]

And, you know, sometimes you watch it just to see these celebrities you like, being reduced to a kind of babbling incoherence because, I mean, their tongues stop working, their lips stop working. There is just. They can't talk. And there is also an intoxicating quality that sometimes happens because they're answering the question, but it starts to seem like an episode of Drunk History because they're a little wasted. And my favorite thing about that is when the rage rolls in, when they realize what's happening to their bodies and they just snap back to reality long enough to turn on the host, as many of them do, and as Key and Peele did. Oh, milkshake is the ones. Milkshakes are the ones for me. Milk scratch is the one for me.

[Sean Evans]

All right, you guys ready to do this?

[Conan O'Brien]

Last one.

[Glenn Weldon]

Last one.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

What?

[Linda Holmes]

You know what, Sean?

[Glenn Weldon]

Yeah, you go to hell.

[Linda Holmes]

I think I'd be very hostile. Like, it's fascinating. It's impossible to watch this show and not sit there and think, like, how far could I get up this. Up this scale? Cause, like, I think of myself as liking spicy food, but to me, that means, like, I order my Nando's Peri. Peri Hot. Like, but. And I have a feeling I would make it to, like, number four or five and Then I would begin to die. But you can't watch this show and not wonder how you would do. How do you think you would do?

[Glenn Weldon]

Oh, I wouldn't get very far. I would not get as far as the bomb, which just feels like, you know, kerosene. If it were angry at you, like pain, just. It's not good.

[Linda Holmes]

It is fascinating to see the many different ways that people react to this, which I guess brings you to your position on Conan's recent appearance.

[Glenn Weldon]

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, like, Conan went on this show to promote his Max travel show, and he became the best guest ever because he went in determined to become the biggest guest ever because he went in with a plan. He brought in a human prop, had this recurring bit with a personal doctor of his who was actually his longtime writer and producer, Jose Arroyo, which felt like such an old school, corny, like, Carson bit or a Steve Allen bit.

[Conan O'Brien]

Dr. Arroyo.

[Sean Evans]

Yes, sir.

[Conan O'Brien]

Get a baseline pulse here. Yeah, it's getting starting to race a little bit. Oh, sure, sure.

[Sean Evans]

That's typical.

[Conan O'Brien]

You're just choking me.

[Great Wolf Lodge Advertiser]

So sorry.

[Conan O'Brien]

No, no, you just feel for the pulse.

[Glenn Weldon]

All right. But, like, there's a love of that old school corniness which is built into Conan. He knows the show well enough going in to make fun of the premise, and he knows how to be memorable. He knows to bring the Idris Elba hubris. He comes in performatively being a jerk, dismissing the early wigs as nothing, saying they are liked cool whipped cream, and saying that the people who make and watch the show don't know what real danger is.

[Conan O'Brien]

Conan's gonna get home, he's gonna have a hot. This isn't even. I've yet to have any spice at all.

[Glenn Weldon]

And you know what?

[Sean Evans]

I've got a little eye watering. I think you're gonna teach me.

[Conan O'Brien]

I think since you're meeting your idol, I think.

[Glenn Weldon]

And the amazing thing, the thing that makes it iconic, is that he keeps this up even when it hits him.

[Linda Holmes]

Yes.

[Glenn Weldon]

He's saying, this is nothing. I'm fine. Even as he starts to sweat and drool and turn red, that only makes him go in further. He starts to slather the wings in sauce. He starts to smear them across his cheeks, around his nipples. He starts to guzzle incredibly hot sauce straight from the bottle, which makes him start screaming and babbling and guzzling milk and dribbling it out of his mouth. And it gets a little gross because he is in such a obvious pain and refuses to admit it, which makes it even funnier. And it Gets crazier and more iconic.

[Conan O'Brien]

These aren't the rantings of someone who's had some bad chemicals and overdid it to be funny and relevant to people who are at least 50 years younger than him. This is a guy who's just being on a show, and it's legitimate.

[Linda Holmes]

It's interesting that his approach is so different from practically everybody else that I have seen do this, although obviously I haven't seen nearly as much of this as you have. He went in planning to take over the show in a different way than I think most people do.

[Glenn Weldon]

He even brings at the end there. It's legitimate, this show. He's inserting a little dig at the YouTube nature of the show, which is part of the stupidity of what he's doing, because he did all this for a little YouTube show. Now, that is a hugely popular one. But try explaining to your parents why he bothered to do that. They will not get it. Here's the thing, and I didn't mention this in the piece, but he became the greatest guest of all time. He became a Spice Lord, not a spice legend. To do that, he had to break the show. He broke the premise of this show. This show might not work anymore because he went in screaming, foaming chaos. Gremlin. Where, Linda, do you go from that?

[Linda Holmes]

Yeah, but what Conan was doing was, to me so clearly somebody who showed up with an exact plan for a performance from A to Z. I don't think somebody like Jennifer Lawrence goes in with that same approach. Or even like, Paul. Like, I don't think Paul Rudd necessarily sat there ahead of time saying, I'm gonna go in, and at some point I'm gonna say, look at us. Look at us. It's those little spontaneous things that I think have made the show funny. I mean, you and I are of similar age. You remember Crispin Glover going on David Letterman and kind of freaking out. That didn't kill David Letterman. Right. It wasn't like, well, Letterman's got a weird show. This is the weirdest thing that can ever happen. Where do you go from here? You go back to normal things, and you can still have a normal amount of weird, and it can be fun. Now, this is just my opinion, but I saw this as an extension of how Conan is more than a discussion of how the show is. I think what you're seeing in his appearance on Hot Ones is that he is a hustler. And if he's gonna do it, he's gonna do it in the way that is most designed to get the most possible attention.

[Conan O'Brien]

I'm starting to feel some sensations.

[Sean Evans]

And you know what, Conan? If you weren't so braggadocious in this front half, I probably would have stopped you from doing that. You know, I would have protected you from yourself.

[Conan O'Brien]

You can't stop me from being who I am.

[Sean Evans]

That's exactly right.

[Conan O'Brien]

To quote my. My hero, Popeye, I am what I am. Okay.

[Linda Holmes]

I also think this show is the only show I know where a celebrity goes on with the specific idea that they will do something until they become gross.

[Glenn Weldon]

Yep.

[Linda Holmes]

And, you know, if you watch, like, the Gordon Ramsay one, you can just see his, like, blowing his nose and blowing his nose and blowing his nose. Because what happens is if you eat enough hot food, you just start exuding material from every orifice. And, you know, it's sort of weird and funny in that way.

[Glenn Weldon]

It's kind of like the Looney Tunes where Daffy Ducks wants to perform a stage act more spectacular than Bugs Bunny, so he blows himself up. I think Conan blew up the show. Is there any going back? I honestly don't know.

[Linda Holmes]

Yes, but I think the danger is not the point. The point is, I think the mild discomfort is more interesting and funny than necessarily the extreme nature of screaming and crying and drinking the hot sauce and everything. To me, it's the mild discomfort combined with the interview, because many interviews are better when they take place while something is happening as opposed to when nothing is happening. So you'll see things like, you know, a magazine profile where it's like, I went fishing with George Clooney, or, you know, I went with Rachael Ray to get a pedicure, and it'll be like the person's favorite fishing spot, the person's favorite pedicure. Those things don't accomplish what this does, which is forcing someone to answer questions while uncomfortable. And that I do think has value. And I do think it accomplishes something interesting in unsettling people who don't really know what's going to happen. I think because I like the middle of the show more than the end of the show, necessarily. I'm less worried than you are.

[Glenn Weldon]

Well, I'll give you this much, right, because you're right, that this show would not work if this was a press junket interview and these people were answering questions that they've answered a million times. They are disarmed, one, by the intensity of the spice, but two, by the specificity of Sean Evans questions, which are incredibly well researched. And so you can see in their eyes, especially in their early going, these folks are delighted that they are answering a question that A, they have not heard before and B, that they love to talk about. So when you ask someone about their favorite food at the theater camp they went to when they were 12, the delight that fills them when they can answer that question and know that they are in brand new territory. It's not just that it's a new question, it's just that they care deeply about the subject.

[Linda Holmes]

Yeah.

[Glenn Weldon]

I will say it would be nice for him to thank his researchers, his producers occasionally.

[Linda Holmes]

Yeah, absolutely. All right. That brings us to the end of our show. Glenn Weldon, when it comes to the really important things in the world, you are the the man I want to talk to. Thank you for for being here.

[Glenn Weldon]

I'm happy to be the Capsaicin correspondent.

[Linda Holmes]

Absolutely. We want to take a moment to thank our Pop Culture Happy Hour plus subscribers. We appreciate you so much for showing your support of npr. If you haven't signed up yet, you'd like to show your support and you want to listen to this show without any sponsor breaks, head over to plus.npr.org happy hour or visit the link in our show notes. This episode was produced by Liz Metzger and edited by Jessica Reedy. Hello. Come in. Provides our theme music. Thank you all for listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour from npr. I'm Linda Holmes, and we'll see you tomorrow.

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