STAVVY'S WORLD #156: Joe List & Robert Kelly

Podcast Date: November 24, 2025
Host: Stavros Halkias
Guests: Joe List, Robert Kelly

Episode Overview

Stavros celebrates Thanksgiving week in "Stavvy's World" with returning guests and beloved comics Joe List and Robert Kelly. The trio delivers a rich, raucous hang around food, family dysfunction, sexcapades, culture clashes, old-school comedy memories, voice impressions, and listener call-in advice. Woven throughout are stories of awkward Thanksgivings, strip clubs, relationship mishaps, and riffing on American and immigrant family eccentricities.

Main Themes and Key Discussion Points

1. Thanksgiving Traditions, Food, and Family Dynamics

• Classic Family Gatherings: The episode opens with the crew riffing on their own family Thanksgivings—how they do (or avoid) cooking, inviting stray comics to dinner, and the chaos/comfort of family rituals.

  • Robert’s Tradition: Robert hosts comics with nowhere to go, e.g., Jim Norton, and recounts the warmth and weirdness of those meals.
  • Food Debate: They argue about the essential Thanksgiving spread—Stavro’s anti-turkey take vs. Bobby’s love of tradition:

    “Turkey... it’s an overrated bird.” (Stavros, 54:56)
    “But it’s a tradition. Turkey. Mashed potatoes... Cranberry sauce in the can, not homemade horseshit—I want the shape of a can.” (Robert, 55:02)

  • Mac & Cheese Faction: Joe admits his family eats like children—mac and cheese at every meal, sometimes even pizza on Thanksgiving.

• Family Tension:

  • Thanksgiving as a meaning-laden occasion to introduce new romantic partners, especially with “difficult” families.
  • Loosely touch on the “fake-it-til-you-make-it” aspect of holiday civility, especially in Italian/Irish-American households.

2. Weight, Body Image, and Fat Guy Rituals

• Ongoing Weight Struggles: The comics joke about their history with diets, fatness, and body transformations:

  “You’re on some trying mode every time we do this podcast.” (Robert to Stavros, 18:08) “Who would understand that more than you?” (Stavros to Robert, 18:15)

• New Drugs and Surgeries:

  • Discussion about Ozempic and stomach surgery’s role in the comedy community’s recent body transformations.

3. Sexcapades: From Strip Clubs to Sex Tourism

• Strip Club Lore:

  • Hilarious reminiscences about New England’s shadiest strip joints (Squire, Golden Banana, “King Arthur’s chicken strip joint in an oil field”).
  • Patrice O’Neal stories:

    “He’d heckle—‘bring that funky titty over here!’—and we’d play closest to the pole with wrinkled dollar bills.” (Robert, 37:24)

  • Stories span from strip clubs in Massachusetts and Rhode Island (with “touch-friendly” rules) to “accidentally” running into old acquaintances turned dancers.

• Prostitution & Sex Tourism:

  • Robert admits to “sex tourism” with middle-aged women and recounts being massaged and “cured of fears” with hand jobs by women decades his senior.
  • Debates breaking the stigma around herpes, STIs, and the reality of sexual health among comics.

• Male Nudity Anxiety:

  • Robert and Joe riff on why neither could be a male stripper—insufficient “piece,” body insecurity, comedic takes on “dick size hierarchy,” and Naked Roast Battle anxieties.

4. Social Commentary: City Life, Politics, Immigration & Culture

• NYC Changes:

  • Riffs on “city is dying/gentrification” banter, whether the rich will really leave due to taxes, and the revolving exodus between NY and Florida/Austin.
  • Guardian Angels nostalgia and mockery of performative policing.

• Culture Wars and "Woke" Progressivism:

  • Jests about generational gaps, shifting boundaries around sex, harassment, and gender, leading to “dystopian future” jokes about women bosses and “norms changing overnight.”
  • On Cuomo:

    “What is sexual harassment? Wasn’t that a compliment?” (Robert, 58:49)
    “Yeah, you can’t even tell a girl she’s beautiful...” (Robert, 58:52)

• Racial & Ethnic Humor:

  • Bounces between pointed and absurd jokes about Greek, Italian, Indian, and Filipino communities (“Filipinos are so nice... men are cute, they’re like teddy bears”).
  • Several self-deprecating digs at their inability to navigate being “woke” while maintaining old-school comics’ banter.

5. Listener Calls & Advice Segments

Call 1: Bringing Indian Girlfriend to Racist MAGA Family Thanksgiving ([1:16:54])

• Mixed advice: Some skepticism about family racism being “as bad as you think”; Joe posits Indian is a “preferred” minority among bigots (“These people think India = doctor and Buddha.”).
• Comic escalation: Suggesting to bring a gay Black friend to “soften the parents up” as a farcical decoy.

Call 2: Friend’s Wife Freezing Out the Group ([1:28:32])

• Recognition that many couples fall into a “social secretary” pattern, with wives controlling husbands’ social calendars.
• Solution: Text the buddy directly, act in good faith; if he’s still out, “life’s too short, cut him out.”

Call 3: Worry Over Mimicking Accents (Black Vernacular, etc.) ([1:36:32])

• All three admit to occasionally slipping into accents subconsciously, especially when wanting to fit in.

  “Human mirroring instinct for connection—but it is incredibly embarrassing.” (Stavros, 100:43)

• Solution: Stay self-aware. If it makes you (and others) cringe, it will phase out over time.

Call 4: 28yo Man Dating a 38yo Woman ([1:40:30])

• Candid debate:
  • Robert: “She can’t get pregnant anyway, enjoy the ride.”
  • Joe: “My wife had a baby at 47, but it took time/money (IVF).”
  • Stavros: Age gap not a deal breaker, but check if you want the same things (esp. kids).

Call 5 (Heartfelt): Listener Thanks Show for Helping Through IVF/Miscarriage Grief ([1:52:01])

• Uncharacteristically warm moment, with the comics expressing gratitude for being of emotional help—plus wry commentary that life (and comedy) is “paved with L’s.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Stripper Anxiety

  “I don’t have the dick to strip. Let me finish.” (Robert, 45:20)
  “It’s gotta flop. It’s gotta bounce... unless my music was yodeling.” (Joe, 45:23)

• On Relationships & Family

  “Thanksgiving, big feast with your family and friends—should get whatever the fuck you want. The spirit is that, not turkey.” (Stavros, 65:30)

• On Weight & Drugs

  "You could’ve gone to a real doctor. You’re one of the fattest guys I fucking know!" (Stavros, paraphrasing, 23:00)

• On Social Change

  “Our culture was so different—movies were different. It changed very rapidly to this new way.” (Robert, 59:54) “Movies are gonna be polite… It’s not even gonna be a man, it’s gonna be a woman boss. Boo!” (Robert, 62:33)

• On Authenticity

  "If you genuinely like her, talk about future and kids, don't let the age gap alone be your answer." (Stavros, 111:04)

Food & Culture Hot Takes

• Thanksgiving Hierarchy: Bob demands “cranberry sauce in the shape of the can,” hates homemade; Stav wants “rib roast over turkey.”

• Barbecue, Overrated?:

  “Barbecue is over. Over-priced, and you feel like garbage after. Chinese ribs are better.” (Robert & Stavros, 71:39)

• Soup Discourse:

  “Asian soups, completely superior to American soups. Soup-erior!” (Joe, 73:19)

• Culinary “Authenticity”:
  Riffs on Mexican cooks in Italian kitchens, riffing on secret leftism secured by sex worker rights and free bread.

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:08] – Plugs, comedy projects, and podcast shilling
• [16:17] – NYC exodus debate, city politics
• [22:00] – Sex tourism, Amsterdam red light adventures
• [24:33] – Weight loss stories, Ozempic vs. surgery
• [37:24] – Boston strip club lore, Patrice O’Neal stories
• [54:18] – Thanksgiving dish hierarchy argument
• [64:28] – “Hearts Turkey Farm” all-year Thanksgiving
• [86:42] – Joe about non-white partners in the List family
• [89:30] – Listener: friend’s wife ghosting
• [96:32] – Listener: accidental accent-mimicking quandary
• [104:55] – Listener: dating a woman 10 years older, family planning
• [113:01] – Heartfelt call: show helped listener/family through infertility struggles

Tone and Language

• Unfiltered, blue-collar comic banter: Constant ribbing, body humor, and half-sincere advice.
• Fast-paced riffing: Touches on controversial topics, but leans into self-deprecation and camaraderie over edginess.
• Tender moments: Laced between the laughs, moments of genuine care for fans and their own family experiences.

Final Thoughts

Stavvy’s World #156 is a Thanksgiving feast of raunchy stories, off-color riffs, genuine advice, and holiday warmth. The chemistry between Stavros, Robert, and Joe is top notch: they bounce between high-energy bits, self-aware gallows humor, and real moments of emotional support—balancing laughs with the realities of aging, love, family, and the struggle to keep it all together. A can’t-miss hang for comedy fans who want it real, rude, and somehow still comforting.

Happy Thanksgiving from Stavvy's World!