Soder Podcast Episode 65: "Rest in Panties" with Ari Shaffir

Release Date: January 20, 2025
Host: Dan Soder
Guest: Ari Shaffir

Episode Overview

In this hilarious and free-flowing episode, Dan Soder welcomes Ari Shaffir for a classic Soder pod hang: stories of drug-fueled concert adventures, the perils and delights of travel, pro sports obsessive loyalty, and plenty of riffing on expat life and societal norms. Anchored by personal anecdotes—ranging from stealing baseball cards to the magic of a well-timed MDMA trip—the episode pivots fluidly between comedy, philosophy, and nostalgic reminiscence. The result is an immersive, laugh-filled ride through the minds of two of stand-up’s most brutally honest storytellers.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The “Rich Comedians’ Kids” Phenomenon

• Soder and Shaffir muse on the fate of comedians’ kids possibly becoming disconnected or spoiled, parodying future generations boasting about famous parents (00:44).

  “There’s like so many rich comedians that are going to have shitty kids… ‘My grandfather was Shane Gillis.’”
  — Dan Soder (00:28)

• Shaffir shares a tale from a dog park: meeting someone who knew Louis CK’s kids, joking about generational guilt within comedy households.

2. Yo-Yo Energy and Traveler Archetypes

• Soder accuses Ari of having “yo-yo energy,” sparking a tangent about odd talents, and how in the past Ari would’ve fit as a traveling yo-yo salesman. (02:22)

  “Seventy years ago, you would have been a traveling yo-yo salesman, you know?”
  — Dan Soder (02:41)

3. The World’s Best (and Worst) Cities for Expat Life

• The pair discuss a “quality of living” expat city ranking list (from an MSN article), suspecting its privileged, Eurocentric bias.

  • Top cities: Zurich, Vienna, Geneva, Copenhagen, Auckland, Amsterdam...
  • Bottom cities: Khartoum, Baghdad, Port-au-Prince, Damascus, Kinshasa.

  “I hate to blow it for you... they’re all white countries. They’re all very white.”
  — Dan Soder (03:54)

• Ari dives deep into Copenhagen's “Christiania”—a legendary anarchist commune—and reflects on the sort of basic, communal decency that feels almost utopian from an American perspective.

  “You can go to anybody's door and go, ‘Can I have a glass of water?’... How would that play in America?”
  — Ari Shaffir (11:05)

4. World Travel, Kitchen Drunkenness, and Cooks’ Secret Joy

• Digression into the secret lives of kitchen staff in New York: Soder fondly details stories of cooks getting blitzed after closing hours—sharing beer and horny, joyous camaraderie.

  “If you want to see someone sleeping comfortably on the train, you’ll see like a drunk Mexican dude just sitting there… This guy’s locked in.”
  — Dan Soder (09:05)

5. Legendary Drug and Concert Stories

Bonnaroo Adventures, LCD Soundsystem, and MDMA Positivity

• Soder and Shaffir recount their “legendary” 2015 Bonnaroo trip—secret comedy shows in exchange for RV parking, group dynamics, and the magic of seeing LCD Soundsystem while on pure MDMA.

  “The best drug experience I’ve ever had in my life.”
  — Dan Soder (22:56)

• Soder sets the “rules”: if you’re doing drugs with Ari, let Ari lead. If it’s eating with Tim Dillon, let Tim choose.

• The recurring “rest in panties” motif arises as a joke about what they’d want to be buried wearing.

• Extended riffs on music festival culture, group photos, secret comedy shows, and wild post-show subway rides.

Concert Antics: Brooklyn Steel and Beyond

• Ari details another LCD Soundsystem show in Brooklyn Steel—where a misjudged batch of MDMA (with extra speed) led to a much “speedier” experience than anticipated.

  “It was very, very speedy... That was the most drugged out I’ve ever felt.”
  — Dan Soder (29:31, 31:10)

• Memorable moments include Michelle Wolf’s mushroom revelations and wandering out into the deserted Brooklyn street at sunrise.

• They riff on the artistry of being a great concert companion, including making space for families at shows, and recount a touching story about letting a dad enjoy himself separate from his wife and daughters at a St. Paul and The Broken Bones concert (24:30).

6. Sports Fandom and Awkward Fan Encounters

• Soder and Shaffir riff on the intensity and territoriality of sports fans—both as actual fans and as comedians dealing with pro athletes.

  “You got a lot of nerve wearing that in here.”
  — Ari Shaffir, quoting a Phillies player who challenged him over a Yankees jersey at a Shane Gillis show (48:41)

• The etiquette (or lack thereof) of approaching celebrities and athletes, especially when run-ins occur during private or stressful moments (47:05).

7. Stealing a Baseball Card: Ethics and Regret

• In a segment rich with vulnerability and classic comic reflection, Ari confesses to stealing a George Brett rookie card from his friend as a kid, never having returned it, and ponders whether he should make amends (54:27–56:38).

  “I’ve held onto it... It’s in one of the holders, so it's still in mint.”
  — Ari Shaffir (55:35)

• The duo extrapolates on the value of apologies versus keeping old wounds closed—riffing on 12-step program principles.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On “Defund Dougie Penhall” and 21 Jump Street:
  “Doug Penhall fought children as an adult cop. So we made a Defund Penhall shirt.”
  — Dan Soder (05:20)

• On Generosity and Drugs at Concerts:
  “That's the best. Two of the luckiest things I've ever got to do in my life—do drugs with Ari Shaffir and eat a meal with Tim Dillon.”
  — Dan Soder (19:09)

• On MDMA: “Don’t worry about the nerves. MD will get you in the right spot, dude.”
  — Ari Shaffir (21:01)

• On mushroom insights:
  “She’s like, ‘I realized I can do whatever I want... I can host everything.’ Within three weeks, she manifested that.”
  — Dan Soder, about Michelle Wolf (30:03)

• On societal collapse:
  “Everyone needs to start—we need to start fist fights again.”
  — Ari Shaffir (42:55)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Topic/Segment | |------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:28 | Comedians’ kids and generational comedy | | 02:22 | Accusing Ari of “yo-yo energy” | | 03:58 | Expat city rankings: “They’re all white countries” | | 11:05 | Copenhagen’s Christiania: communal living and basic rights | | 14:19–23:22| Legendary Bonnaroo story, MDMA/LCD Soundsystem concert | | 23:40 | “Wall” at St. Paul & The Broken Bones concert | | 28:29–34:33| Brooklyn Steel, speedy MDMA, post-concert mushroom odyssey | | 42:50 | On online activism vs. living in the moment | | 47:05 | Awkward run-in with NFL coach Dan Campbell | | 54:27–56:38| Stealing and holding onto a George Brett rookie card |

Notable Ari Moments & Running Gags

• Glassman Podcast Editing Gags: Multiple jokes about “making Mike do extra work” during edits, referencing Rick Glassman’s innovative podcast video style (13:08, 27:03).
• MDMA and Mushrooms as “Sherpa” experiences—running theme of trusting the most experienced in your group, both for drugs and food.
• Sport Fan Superstitions: Jersey rituals, rivalry, and the weird logic of sports fan ethics.
• Continual callbacks to episode/segment names for editor to use, i.e., “edit that,” “too speedy,” or “make them work.”

Tone & Style

Classic Soder & Ari: laid-back, tangential, gleefully irreverent, and confessional. The conversation weaves sharp social observation, in-the-trenches comedy culture, and familiar friend-group antics into rich storytelling, never shying away from poking fun at themselves or their community.

For New Listeners

This episode is quintessential Soder—personal, meandering, but always honest and deeply funny. In addition to music festival lore and comedy career memories, Soder and Shaffir deliver genuine reflection mixed with relentless banter. If you love stories about the intersection of stand-up, drugs, and real life (and a heavy dose of concert nostalgia), this is an essential listen.