Soder Podcast: Episode 124 — "Scorsese TikToks with Eddie Pepitone"

Date: March 10, 2026
Host: Dan Soder
Guest: Eddie Pepitone

Episode Overview

This episode of the Soder Podcast features stand-up legend Eddie Pepitone in a free-flowing, deeply funny, and often dark conversation with Dan Soder. Their discussion bounces between comedy, New York and LA culture, the changing media landscape, generational trauma, the odd intersection of family and fame, technology-dystopia fears, and why the Internet is both irresistible and ruinous. Pepitone’s signature blend of world-weariness and absurdity connects perfectly with Soder’s manic, open-hearted humor.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Comedy Roots and New York Memories

• Pulaski Bridge Stand-Up Memory: Soder recalls seeing Pepitone riff hilariously on “the Pulaski Bridge” at an old gig, capturing the essence of finding comedy in the unglamorous.

  “It was one of my favorite sets I’ve ever seen in my life. And now I know what the Pulaski Bridge is…” — Dan Soder (01:00)

• Growing up in Brooklyn: Eddie reflects on Brooklyn childhood trauma, jokes about inner-borough energy, and the inherited anxiety baked into New Yorkers.

  “Yeah, I grew up in Brooklyn till I was nine. I grew up in Brooklyn enough to get traumatized by... By different things, man.” — Eddie Pepitone (04:00)

2. Generations, Family, and Nepotism in Showbiz

• Scorsese on TikTok: Soder and Pepitone debate Martin Scorsese’s social media appearances with his much-younger daughter—partly amused, partly disturbed by the generational disconnect and hints of “nepo baby” culture.

  “[Scorsese’s] daughter is doing social media content with him. And it feels like when they made… Jake LaMotta perform at the end of ‘Raging Bull’.” — Dan Soder (04:46)

• Nepotism hypocrisy is lampooned, comparing celebrity family advantages to oligarchies and old money.

  “‘We took a lot of applications, and my son, John Jr., just happened to be the best fitting.’” — Eddie Pepitone, mocking old-money logic (05:56)

3. Old Hollywood, Closeted Stars & Shifting Norms

• Liberace’s secret (and never-official) sexuality is discussed, as is the sad reality of stars forced to live double lives.

  “AIDS was like, if you guys aren’t going to say it, I’m going to say it. AIDS. That’s what AIDS did in the 80s.” — Dan Soder (08:58)

• Jazz musicians “knew everything.” Why? “Maybe because they were smoking weed and, like, they were the fringe of society.” — Eddie Pepitone (08:12)
• The hosts riff on the coded language and public oblivion of old-school celebrity relationships.

4. Trauma, Art, and Comedy as Catharsis

• Scorsese’s Upbringing: Inspired by a new Apple TV documentary, Pepitone admires Scorsese’s transformation of asthmatic childhood and firsthand mob exposure into film genius.

  “He would just look through his window... it was like frames in a film.” — Eddie Pepitone (11:48)

• The pattern of “making your weaknesses your superpower” is traced from biography to stand-up.

  “You always see, like, a through line... it was their weakness, and then they made it their strength.” — Dan Soder (12:14)

• Humor as a path to connection and coping: “If you can really be honest about your shit, then people [say], ‘Oh, thanks, man. You really helped me…’” — Eddie Pepitone (13:17)
• Soder praises Pepitone’s take on tech-induced anxiety:

  “What kind of fucking data do you want from me? I am fall—I did fall. I’m falling. Emotionally, I’m falling.” — Eddie Pepitone (13:46)

5. Modern Malaise: Ozempic and Medicating Kids

• Soder connects fatphobic culture to the rise of drugs for kids: “We need our fat kids, we need our funny people. The pharmaceutical industry is going to take away our charming, sweet, and funny people.” (14:19)
• Pepitone jokes about societal scapegoating:

  “We need certain people to be fat so we can feel better about ourselves.” (15:04)

• They agree that teen insecurities help breed future creativity—citing Scorsese’s asthma and ostracism.

6. Celebrity Elders and TikTok: Entirely Out of Place

• The duo mock old celebrities awkwardly doing trends with their much younger children, seeing it as borderline “elder abuse.”

  “There should be... parodies of old celebrities doing TikToks with their daughter and like they have complete dementia and their daughters are like, ‘What’s that?’” — Eddie Pepitone (19:49)

7. Parenthood, Doom, and Dystopia

• Soder: “Do you believe people are still having children?” (25:31)
• Pepitone: “It’s crazy. Has anybody glanced at a newspaper?” (25:40)
• Absurdity escalates to citing adrenochrome conspiracy theories and speculating about future civil wars and the coming ecological apocalypse.

  “Because you’re gonna have to kill your kids.” — Soder (26:19)

• They cite Colin Quinn’s suggestion the US “break up” like a band (27:03).

8. Tech Dread: Robots, AI, and Billionaire Survivalists

• Pepitone details his bit about Pentagon robot dogs becoming feral and dystopian, tied to real-life police acquisitions and tech anxieties.

  “Thank you, Pentagon, for making my favorite thing in the fucking world into a dystopian nightmare.” — Eddie Pepitone (33:36)

• Elon Musk’s Grok AI and Silicon Valley’s bunker-building is lampooned.
• Idea for a “Billionaire Rehabilitation Center” where the ultra-rich re-learn empathy:

  “One of the things they do in rehab is... take you out to a field and pet a horse.” — Dan Soder (37:21)

• Soder argues no one “checks in” on the billionaire class’s mental health, but maybe someone should.

9. Fame Culture, LA, and Comedy Social Hierarchies

• Both lament LA’s transactional, status-hunting social scene—how fame warps relationships.
• Pepitone: “I have sat at a high-level party... painful celebs around a table, and I’m there, and I don’t rate to be in that...” (41:47)
• Soder discusses the LA “look through you” move, where people treat you as invisible until you have something to offer.

10. Ecological Collapse, Tech Exodus, and Real Estate

• Discuss tech billionaires fleeing to compounds and the real possibility that climate disaster will reshape every aspect of life (44:14).
• Pepitone references Douglas Rushkoff’s Survival of the Richest, a book about how billionaires focus more on surviving the apocalypse than helping society (45:28).
• North vs. South California rivalry gets a loving roast.

11. Generational Change, Raising Kids, and Aging

• Soder and Pepitone reflect on the lost freedom of childhood, now replaced by security anxieties.

  “Children have to run around on treadmills now because it’s so dangerous out.” — Eddie Pepitone (56:49)

• Harrowing and absurd kidnapping anecdotes turn into comedy fodder.

12. Comedy as Survival

• Pepitone closes by musing that, “Has there ever been a movie about a serial killer comic? That might be funny… and scary if done realistically.” (59:08)
• Soder and Pepitone agree that the darkness comedians touch can create great art and catharsis.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Legacy Nepotism:

  "We took a lot of applications, and my son, John Jr. just happened to be the best fitting." — Eddie Pepitone (05:56)

• On Tech Dread:

  "Thank you, Pentagon, for making my favorite thing in the fucking world into a dystopian nightmare." — Eddie Pepitone (33:36)

• On Aging Comics:

  "Every time I’ve ever been on a show with you, the feeling is like the outdoor cat came inside. Everybody goes, he never does this." — Dan Soder (61:29)

• On Finding Comedy in Trauma:

  "If you can really be honest about your shit, then people like, like, ‘oh, thanks, man. You really helped me through the pandemic.’" — Eddie Pepitone (13:17)

• On Kids & Apocalypse:

  "Because you’re gonna have to kill your kids." — Dan Soder (26:19)

Important Segment Timestamps

• 01:00–04:00: Pulaski Bridge & Brooklyn childhood trauma stories
• 04:46–07:27: Scorsese’s social media era, nepotism, old Hollywood secrets
• 10:36–13:55: Violence, fear, and artistic catharsis from childhood trauma
• 14:19–16:19: Stand-up, body issues, ozempic, and fat kids as cultural icons
• 19:49–21:14: Parodying celebrity TikToks, generational media disconnect
• 25:31–28:26: Parenthood during collapse, conspiracy jokes & predicted civil war
• 33:15–34:58: Robot dogs, LA tech dystopia
• 35:50–38:07: Billionaire rehab center, the folly & loneliness of the super-rich
• 41:11–43:09: LA social climbing and comedy circles
• 45:28–50:43: Tech doomsday, Rushkoff’s Survival of the Richest, Extinction Rebellion
• 56:49–59:10: Generational shift—kids’ safety, kidnapping stories, and standup material
• 61:05–62:17: Pepitone’s independence, artistic legacy, and comedy craft
• 62:14–63:59: Endorsement for Pepitone’s special The Collapse — mutual admiration

Tone & Language

Soder and Pepitone keep the conversation rapid-fire, sardonic, personal yet universal, with dark-humor detours into generational loss, the commodification of everything, and the parade of existential threats facing American society. Their tone balances absurdity and real insights; both comedians freely riff, often escalating each other’s jokes into social critique, while never losing the thread of genuine camaraderie and hard-won empathy.

Summary for New Listeners

If you want to hear two of the sharpest comics alive probe the insecurity and insanity of modern life—from childhood trauma to TikTok to billionaire bunkers to the edges of climate collapse—this episode delivers both laughs and real talk. Pepitone’s signature energy and Soder’s everyman enthusiasm click perfectly, making for a podcast episode that is as cathartic as it is hilarious. Don’t miss the candid talk about comedy, the wicked impressions, and the riff-fueled critique of everything from showbiz nepotism to tech dystopias.

Recommended: Watch Eddie Pepitone’s special “The Collapse” on YouTube.