STAVVY’S WORLD #176: ZACH CHERRY (April 13, 2026)

SUMMARY

Main Theme & Episode Overview

In this lively, meandering episode of Stavvy’s World, comedian Stavros Halkias welcomes actor and comedian Zach Cherry (Severance, You, Crashing) for a hilarious, wide-ranging hang in classic “immigrant living room” style. The duo riff on everything from ethnic neighborhood life and fatness to improv, bagels, cults, and the logic of pet ownership, plus they field audience problems with their signature mix of empathy and irreverence. The episode is packed with banter about fame, kitchen appliances, body image, and even CPAPs, all while maintaining a laid-back, self-deprecating vibe.

Episode Structure

1. Classic Pod Vibes in “the Studio” (Starts ~01:05)

   • Stavros explains why the episode is recorded in a friend's Queens apartment, referencing shady past landlords and “bread crumbs” about scandalous proclivities (“Was he in a dossier? Was he in a high-profile file?” – 01:33, Stavros).
   • Both riff on immigrant household life, neighborhood lore, ethnic arguments in Queens, and the electronics stores “Best Buy can’t kill” (03:02).

2. Dad Tech and Generational Differences (03:45–07:06)

   • Funny stories about their tech-inept fathers: Stav's dad has never used a computer, but does send a charmingly broken English “Mr. Stavo, happy birthday” text, complete with many failed thumbs-up attempts (06:16).
   • Zach: “My dad’s become one of those guys. He goes, ‘you know, AI is starting to get revenge on people.’” (04:49)

3. Fat Years, Celebrity Fatness & Lifespan Discourse (~07:15–13:16)

   • Extended riffing about “fat years,” the psychological math of aging as a fat guy versus “dog years,” and comparing notes on aging celebrities (“For a fat 55 year old, he’s doing great.” – 07:36, Stav).
   • Discussion of famous “fat” icons (Goodman, Gandolfini, Penn Jillette). Height and BMI ratios matter: “He said he was 350 and I was like I was 350, but he’s 6’2” and I’m 5’. Exactly.” (24:08)
   • Marginalization of “famous fat people” in showbiz: “Famous fat people are sort of the lowest class of famous person. We are sort of in the caste system of fame.” (12:34, Stav)

4. Food, Kitchen Setups & Theoretical Podcast Beef (17:55–23:57)

   • Zach's “temperamental” oven (“Some months it needs to preheat for four or five hours.” – 18:15), cluttered counter politics, and a detailed rundown of kitchen gadget priorities.
   • Arguments for air fryers and rice cookers; lampooning the “fat guy food podcast” space with a running gag about starting a Doughboys ripoff because “we deserve it” (“If me and you started a food podcast, Mitch would kill himself. He would absolutely steamroll those pussies.” – 22:52, Stav).
   • Culinary pleasure competitions: “Best single bite tournament,” bagel shop regional rankings, and the heartbreak of discovering a bad bagel spot after moving neighborhoods.

5. Growing Up: Religion, Ethnicity, and Early Comedy (24:41–47:00)

   • Religious background chatter: “Vague generic Christianity... just as vague as possible.” (24:47, Zach)
   • Zach details his “Central American” (actually midwestern/southern) heritage and identity flexibility: “Every single ethnicity has approached me and said, yeah, I think you are my cousin.” (25:37, Zach).
   • Plenty about growing up in Jersey, going to private school in Princeton, and being an improv “Messi” since the age of eight (“I was an advanced improviser. Although I think I was mostly just like repeating stuff I heard on The Simpsons.” – 39:46).

6. Fame, Improv Beef, and Artistic Insecurity (47:00–53:00)

   • Comparing the drama-queen competitiveness of improv and stand-up scenes (“Improv people pretend to be friends and would stab each other in the back.” – 48:25, Stav).
   • Jokingly defending improv as “the most beautiful art form,” drawing the perfect parallel: “Would you pay to watch people do layup lines?” (49:48, Stav).
   • On artsy bombings: “When I bomb, I’m like, this is better than doing good.... Killing is nothing. Killing is old hat.” (52:16, Zach)

Listener Calls & Advice Segment

1. Should I Pay For My Partner’s Dog’s Vet Bills? (58:00–69:23)

   • A woman in a 9-year relationship (not married, has a kid) is suddenly asked by her boyfriend—who makes three times her income—to go halves on his dog’s medical bills.
   • “This to me feels like a really good opportunity to take stock of your relationship because what you’re describing makes no sense to me.” (64:27, Stav)
   • Both hosts stress: partner’s ask is weird, especially given his higher salary and her own childcare responsibilities. Also: “If a dog needs surgery, the dog is dead. As far as I’m concerned.” (66:43, Stav)
   • Some solid comic suggestions: Make the kid chip in (“Skills-based jobs is really where we’re heading. Get into a vet tech program now.” – 67:22, Zach)

2. Keeping the “Twisted Ass Up” Energy—Dating Insecurity: My Partner Used to Date a Porn Star! (70:19–83:31)

   • A woman feels insecure after learning her boyfriend used to date a “real” porn star with a completely different body type (“professional, Roger Federer-level sex”).
   • Zach’s take: “You gotta take this as a win. Even if you’re gonna think about it in your own terms, you’re who he’s choosing now.” (74:31)
   • Stav: “He dated like… you just happen to know about the person he dated that’s going to make you insecure. There’s people you’ve dated that would probably make him insecure.”
   • Big theme: You’re not “competing” with a past partner—he’s with you now for a reason. Maybe let your boyfriend know you’re feeling insecure, see how he responds.
   • “You’re in the same league as a porn star—that’s a W!” (74:56, Stav)
   • Bonus: Comic tangent about titty sizes, big ass being beautiful, and a brief detour into Zach’s relationship origin story.

3. CPAP Adaptation Advice for Fat Dudes (86:35–95:31)

   • Male caller can’t handle his full-face CPAP; listeners are revealed as CPAP veterans.
   • Both recommend: Don’t let doctors push you into a mask you can’t tolerate, demand a nasal-only type even if you’ve got a beard, and “be your own advocate.”
   • “This is the one thing I like, evangelize about because it legit changed my life.” (92:34, Zach)
   • “You need to advocate for yourself and look at it as them failing you, not you unable to adapt.” (91:35, Stav)
   • “You don’t want to think of yourself as a guy who’s so fat he needs a device to survive sleep… but unfortunately you are.” (92:44, Stav)

4. Roommate Hummus Dilemma (98:28–109:23)

   • Jazz musician’s roommate constantly lets his paid-for gig hummus rot in the fridge. Is it morally/legally right to eat it before it spoils?
   • Logical dissection: It's “his payment”—he can do as he pleases. But as a roommate it’s wasteful and wrong to let food rot.
   • Solution: Gradually eat the hummus, swap it for inferior hummus in the original container as needed, aim for “common law hummus” rights.
   • “This is a crime, a moral crime, to let good hummus go to waste.” (108:31, Stav)

5. Update: “BBL With Settlement Money” Callback (110:10–116:20)

   • Caller from a previous episode (boyfriend wanted to use lawsuit cash for a BBL in Brazil) follows up: they both got gym memberships instead, but she invested the settlement in defense stocks (“Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Raytheon”) after war news.
   • “Get him a BBL instead of giving money to Raytheon.” (115:50, Stav)
   • Comic struggle with the ethical dilemmas of defense investment, body image, and America’s war machine—“You do whatever you want to do. I would, if it were up to me, invest in something else. But whatever.” (114:20, Stav)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Stav’s summary of fat celebrity status: “Famous fat people are sort of the lowest class of famous person. We are sort of in the caste system of fame.” (12:34)
• Zach on his kitchen: “In front of the Zojirushi, we’ve got my dog’s bully sticks. … That’s a crazy prime spot for the dog’s bully sticks.” (20:24)
• On improv: “Would you pay to watch people do layup lines? … That’s what improv is.” (49:48, Stav + Zach)
• “Improv is a disease that you have to do to get it out of your system. … It’s like a half-vampire drinking dead raccoons.” (40:45, Stav)
• Epic DP/counterfeit hummus solution: “Steal the hummus and replace it with sabra. … Or just always have a sabra in the back of the fridge or something even shittier than that.” (107:12, Stav)
• On CPAP life: “You don’t want to think of yourself as a guy who’s so fat he needs a device to survive sleep… but unfortunately you are.” (92:44, Stav)
• Need for “Fat House” mentorship: “We want little fat chicks to help… we’re gonna be your fat mentors, because being fat crosses gender, crosses ethnicity—it’s the one thing…” (117:49, Stav)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:05 – Recording in a friend's (Greek) apartment; landlord scandal
• 03:45 – Technophobic dads, dad AI paranoia, texting mishaps
• 07:15 – Fat years and aging math, Goodman/Gandolfini, fat celeb status riff
• 13:39 – Realizing celebs called “fat” were actually just regular-sized men
• 18:11 – Zach’s broken oven & appliance hierarchy
• 21:16 – Kitchen gadgets run-down, Doughboys podcast beef
• 24:41 – Childhood religion, Jersey upbringing, “Central American” confusion
• 31:33 – Bagel rankings and neighborhood heartbreak
• 39:00 – Improv prodigy origin (“improv Messi”)
• 47:00 – Improv vs. stand-up beef, the “art” of bombing
• 58:00 – CALL 1: Who pays for the vet bills? (Extensive analysis)
• 70:19 – CALL 2: Dating a guy whose ex is a porn star; handling insecurity
• 86:35 – CALL 3: CPAP user problems, adaptation advice
• 98:28 – CALL 4: Roommate letting hummus go bad; the ethics of food theft
• 110:10 – Update Call: BBL boyfriend/defense contractor stock investments
• 117:49 – “Fat House” mentorship program & the Bodhi tribe (fat worshippers)

Tone and Final Thoughts

The entire show is shot through with the sleepy, self-deprecating, deeply ethnic and bodily-aware humor that defines Stavros’s world. Zach Cherry keeps pace with dry wit and vulnerable admissions about anxiety, improv, and hermit life. Advice is always thoughtful, with a comic twist and a willingness to interrogate the “logic” of American relationships, dog culture, and food waste.

This is a hangout podcast at its best: full of relatable gripes, tangent-heavy riffs, and a clear, unstuffy camaraderie between the hosts. Don’t approach Zach on the street (keep it brief if you must), and remember: never let good hummus go to waste.

Want more?

• Patreon, Fat House mentoring, and the ongoing search for “the world’s dominant fat tribe” are sprinkled throughout the episode.
• Do not plug Zach’s shows—he doesn’t want to be found ("We're doing a reverse plug") (53:24).

GUEST

• Zach Cherry: Severance, You, Crashing, and Voice in the Fat Illuminati.

HOST

• Stavros Halkias: Comedian, advice-giver, and first-generation Greek podcaster.

For a deep, funny, and vibe-filled pod about fat years, showbiz, family, and modern anxieties, this is Stavvy’s World at its best.