Bonus #165 - Raanan Hershberg [PATREON PREVIEW]

Summary

Stavvy's World – Bonus #165: Raanan Hershberg [PATREON PREVIEW]

Release Date: January 29, 2026
Host: Stavros Halkias
Notable Guests: Nick, Elvis (Raanan Hershberg not prominent in transcript)

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Episode Overview

In this engaging bonus episode of Stavvy's World, Stavros Halkias and his regular crew (Nick, Elvis) field a listener voicemail about a uniquely awkward dating dilemma: What should you do if you get a “second shot” at a first date with someone who doesn’t remember you at all from your original first date? The team explores ethics, honesty, and the sometimes hilarious fickleness of fate in the world of modern dating, all in their signature irreverent and riff-heavy style.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Listener Dilemma: Déjà Vu Dating (01:00–02:59)

• Caller Eldis explains he went on a date with a woman three years ago at a bar—she only wanted to be friends. Years later, they match again, meet at the same bar, and this time hook up—but she has no memory of their previous date.
• Eldis feels conflicted: Should he tell her about their past date or keep it quiet and enjoy his "second chance"?

Notable Quote:

"This is like, what's the Jim Carrey... Eternal Sunshine. But like, if you're not in love with her..."
— Nick (02:04)

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2. Is It Dishonest to Hide the Past? (03:02–04:50)

• The group debates whether withholding this detail is dishonest. Stavros leans toward disclosure, especially if the relationship gets serious:

  “I think you should always tell the person because if you do end up spending... there’s a chance you could spend the rest of your life with this person. You just got to carry that secret around?”
  — Stavros (03:34)

• Nick suggests a strategic, softened reveal, like feigning “looking through old messages” and realizing their past connection:

  “You can meet us halfway and pretend you were going through your texts or something... and be like, hey, I was going through my iMessage and you popped up...”
  — Nick (03:55)

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3. The “Perfect Compromise” & Morality vs. Pragmatism (04:57–06:54)

• The team riffs on the situation as “The Count of Monte Cristo for pussy,” joking about the depth of the “scheme" (05:25–05:39).

• Elvis: Maybe it only really matters if things get serious, but Nick warns the longer the truth is hidden, the weirder it becomes:

  “The longer you wait, the weirder it is.”
  — Nick (04:47)

• Discussion of “soft lies” versus coming fully clean; potential for a white lie to sidestep awkwardness. The hosts agree the best moment to disclose is sooner rather than later.

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4. The Philosophical Angle: Burden, Truth, and Nihilism (06:54–09:53)

• Stavros and Nick explore the moral weight of the secret:

  “You lie the truth out.”
  — Stavros (07:05)

• The argument shifts to the impact on Eldis’s peace of mind—if he’s carrying a burden, he should let it out, even via a half-truth.

• Nick offers a metaphor:

  “You have gangrene in your pinky right now... cut the pinky off with a different lie. It doesn’t spread.”
  — Nick (10:00)

• Full honesty versus a strategic, minimal confession is debated:

  “Now you sound like a criminal... you confess to it, now you're like, I've been plotting this day.”
  — Stavros (10:22)

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5. Did Eldis Use Prior Knowledge? The Ethics of ‘Groundhog Day’ Dating (10:44–11:34)

• The crew considers whether Eldis used knowledge from their first date to “succeed” this time around, potentially making it more morally ambiguous:

  “Was this Groundhog Day for you? Have you been reading up on her interest?”
  — Nick (10:54)

• If it was just a new match and only later recognized, the advice is more lenient; deliberate scheming is treated with skepticism.

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Recurring Themes & Running Gags

• Meta Jokes and Banter:
  The conversation meanders with classic Stavvy’s World riffs: confusion over “Monte Cristo” (05:08–05:17), pie cravings, and playful nihilism.
• Morality and Soft Deception:
  The hosts repeatedly play with the idea that “lying the truth out” can be a valid social strategy—if it saves future awkwardness or pain.

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “If two people go on a date and neither of them remember, it’s probably not a good sign for the future…”
  — Stavros (07:11)
• “Best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is right now. That’s how it is with lies too.”
  — Nick (08:43)
• “You sound like a criminal.”
  — Stavros (10:22)
• “It's not his fault he lied.”
  — Elvis (10:28)
• “He’s the Count of Monte Cristo for pussy.”
  — Nick (05:25)

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Recommendations / Advice (08:36–11:03)

• Tell her… eventually. If Eldis wants a serious relationship, honesty (even in a softened form) is best.
• Treat it lightly if it isn’t significant, but don’t wait so long that it becomes a lurking source of weirdness.
• Don’t make elaborate confessions; a small, casual “Oh wow, I think we went out before!” is preferable.

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Useful Timestamps

• 01:00 – Caller’s dating dilemma explained
• 03:34–04:50 – Is concealment dishonest? Possible ways to reveal the truth
• 06:54–09:53 – The burden of secrets and “soft” truth-telling
• 10:44–11:34 – Did caller use previous knowledge to manipulate outcome?

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Tone & Language

The episode maintains a playful, bantering, and somewhat irreverent tone throughout, full of inside jokes, friendly roasts, and philosophical detours—classic for Stavvy’s World regulars.

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For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This bonus episode is a prime example of Stavvy’s World at its best: heated, hilarious advice-giving from a group that doesn’t take itself (or your existential crises) too seriously. The hosts will make you laugh, question your own dating ethics, and maybe reconsider when to drop “the truth” on your next accidental do-over date.

Transcript

[Paul]

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[Stav]

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[Paul]

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[Stav]

Yeah.

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[Elvis]

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[Nick]

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[Paul]

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[Nick]

Maybe we still got time for another plan.

[Paul]

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[Caller Eldis]

Hey, Stav and Elvis and whoever's the guests. I am calling because I have sort of a unique, maybe unique problem. I just had a great date with this girl, met up at a bar, ended up hooking up afterwards pretty fairly intensely, which is all, you know, that's all good. The problem is I. This is my second first date with her. She and I went on a date.

[Stav]

Holy.

[Caller Eldis]

Exact same bar, three years ago. She does not remember me at all.

[Nick]

Holy.

[Caller Eldis]

And the first time that we went out, yeah, we talked, had some good answers. She said, like, oh, I'm getting more of like a friend vibe than like a romantic thing. And it was, you know, whatever. But now I know that I have seen her before and she has no idea. And to her, I'm just this new guy who came up and she hooked up with.

[Nick]

This is like, what's the Jim Carrey?

[Stav]

Eternal Sunshine.

[Nick]

Eternal sunshine. But like, if you're not in love with her, you just gotta.

[Stav]

It's like, yeah, you forgot her, because neither of you are interesting.

[Nick]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is very. I wonder if he improved or her life got worse in three years. Which happened. Keep going, Eldis.

[Caller Eldis]

Like, I don't know. Like, I feel like I'm being dishonest in not telling her that we have met up before. But, you know, I wanted a second chance and I. It got. I got it and it totally worked.

[Stav]

So he got to repeat it.

[Caller Eldis]

Do I take this to the grave or do I tell her at some point? I. I feel like that might fuck up the dynamic a little bit. So, I don't know, do I just kind of take this as a win and just keep it with me. Whatever your thoughts are. Would appreciate it.

[Nick]

This is really interesting.

[Stav]

I think on the next first date, they go on. I think, well, I mean.

[Nick]

Yeah, you kind.

[Elvis]

How. How many first dates have you fucked up? That was just like, oh, it feels a little different. I went, you know, I wasn't in. I wasn't on my A game. I wish I could do it differently. The universe just gave him a second chance for no reason at all.

[Nick]

And.

[Elvis]

I don't know.

[Nick]

Same bar is so funny.

[Stav]

Yeah, well, yeah. Creatures of habit. Yeah, I. I think he should. I think he should always tell the person because if you do end up spending, there's a chance you could spend the rest of your life with this person. You're just. What? You just got to carry that secret around. So I think you should always. If it's someone you actually think is someone that you really like, I think you have to tell them.

[Nick]

There is a type of dishonesty here, though. At the end of the day, Eldis, where it's like. And look, you can meet us halfway and pretend you were going through your texts or something, or you can make up something to be like, yeah. And be like, hey, I was going through my imessage. And unless you popped up, like, did we. We went on a date. Like, this is so insane. We were. Yeah, you could do it that way. Because the good news is she doesn't.

[Stav]

Remember you either, though at the same time that she could be fudgeing, calling into, you know, girls. We.

[Nick]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Stav]

Guys roped or whatever.

[Ad Voice]

And.

[Stav]

And asking the same thing. You don't know. She could have been like, oh, fuck, we went on a date before.

[Elvis]

I don't know. I don't think. I don't think you need to. Unless, like, it ever gets serious. And then if it does get serious, you get.

[Stav]

You can bring it up.

[Nick]

You wait. This is one of those classic. The longer you wait, the weirder it is.

[Elvis]

Something like this is, like, so inconsequential.

[Nick]

And is it. He's fucking the Count of Monte Cristo over here. Monte Cristo. Monte Cristo.

[Ad Host]

Fuck.

[Nick]

Oh, man. Young men. Them Thousand island stair zone. Now you said it wrong. I said the Mont Crisco, which is my. Which is my remake of I'm Fox. Here. I'm Fox.

[Stav]

I don't.

[Nick]

Crisco doesn't even taste good.

[Stav]

It's doesn't.

[Nick]

I don't even like Crisco. It's shortening. My mom used to make for cookies.

[Elvis]

Sa wants pie.

[Nick]

God, Damn it. I was thinking about pie. It's. This is happening on purpose now, subconsciously, anyway. This guy's the Count of Monte Cristo for pussy. He's been scheming. He was scheming on this pussy dude.

[Stav]

Yeah.

[Elvis]

It's not a scheme though.

[Nick]

It's a bit of a. It's scheming the British sense, which is not necessarily negative.

[Elvis]

If, if we want to trust him. He didn't realize it until after the first day.

[Nick]

No, no, he knew.

[Elvis]

Oh, really?

[Nick]

He said he wanted a second chance.

[Elvis]

Oh, well, I think it's. Well, I think it's the easiest thing because if it occurs to her one day, it's the easiest side to be like, what?

[Nick]

Oh yeah, he cannot pull that. He cannot pull that.

[Elvis]

I think he can.

[Nick]

I think.

[Elvis]

I think that's the easiest.

[Nick]

You could never pull that off.

[Stav]

I could pull it off, but I keep it cool.

[Nick]

But I also.

[Stav]

It's not like he did something so bad. You know what I mean?

[Elvis]

Yeah.

[Nick]

That's why I'm saying it's. Yes, but I think it's the kind of thing where the longer you wait, the weirder it is. The less weird thing is to be like as soon as you're on the date, you could be like, we've done this before. Or like you bring this up at some point. I would say some people would see this as dishonest and we. Which I'm not going that far. I don't think this guy's a criminal or anything like that. I'm just saying the quicker you say it and yeah, you can couch it in the terms of like, hey, oh, we went on a day before, whatever. I don't know.

[Stav]

I think what you said is perfect because you shouldn't. Because I guess the problem now is that he, He. The whole. This whole new date was kind of a lie. Cuz the actor.

[Nick]

It's a lie.

[Stav]

But I think, I think the lie you said, you lie the truth out.

[Nick]

I would lie the truth out.

[Stav]

Say like I look back, oh, we went on a date. I guess we're both not very.

[Nick]

Which maybe is even more dis. Maybe people are like, that's actually the worst thing you could do.

[Stav]

I would lie the truth. I will say if two people go on a date and neither of them remember, it's probably not a good sign for the future members though. Oh, but he didn't remember enough.

[Nick]

He did remember he didn't want to tell her because he didn't want to fuck it up.

[Stav]

I thought he realized it at the Bar. Did he know the whole time he knew.

[Nick]

Oh, that's how I took it.

[Stav]

But wait, I'm confused.

[Nick]

He realized it at the bar. That's different.

[Stav]

I'm confused though, because how did he even. How did the date even get arranged then? Like, he messaged her.

[Nick]

He saw her on a fucking dating app or some shit. She didn't remember.

[Elvis]

Yeah.

[Nick]

And he did.

[Stav]

Oh, so. So it really started as a lie. So so far this relationship has been her completely forgetting his existence and then him lying.

[Ad Host]

Yes.

[Stav]

Sounds like they're going to make it.

[Elvis]

I guess I wouldn't worry about it because it's like, what are the odds that it'll get serious? Even. That's when you have to worry about it.

[Nick]

There's a thing about. But we have to have some morality in Stavi's. Within Stavi's world. And we're not even saying come fully clean. We're even saying, like, I. I was, you know, I had such a great time and I started getting this feeling of deja vu. And I look back through like, whatever. Like, I think we matched before. But he. Dude, he remembers and she doesn't remember at all. That's a little weird.

[Stav]

Yeah. That's a little drunk. Did he roofie her? Is this the party?

[Nick]

Yeah. So, I mean, you know, I really sure she didn't remember.

[Stav]

Yeah, I mean, I. I think obviously the long. It doesn't get easier to tell her. Yes, it only gets harder.

[Nick]

Best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is right now. Yeah, that's how it is with lies too.

[Stav]

Yeah, exactly. You. You. It's not like you don't want to tell her this. Like you don't want to be like, you know, she's on her deathbed. You gotta be like our whole relationship with a lie from the beginning. Yeah, I would just tell her. I don't think it's such a. Yeah, lie. That's a perfect compromise. You're lying.

[Nick]

A soft lie about like having a. And by the way, prepare yourself to lie. Unlike eldest, hoping he's gotta be at the ready in case she remembers. And he's gonna fucking be Daniel Day Lewis all of a sudden.

[Stav]

But you know why the advice is great though too, is because what you're kind of saying by that is that the lie. It really isn't about morality. It's just simply, like, this is inconvenient for you to have to like. It's not good for you to have to like, have this in your head.

[Nick]

Right?

[Stav]

So, like. So like lie a little to get a little on the same page.

[Nick]

There's a little morality to it too.

[Stav]

Where it's like, you're nihilist.

[Nick]

You're harboring a little. Yeah, you're right. It would be good to free yourself of the burden. But you are harboring a. An untruth here.

[Stav]

But you are. But the lie to get that out kind of shows. It's not just morality.

[Nick]

What I would exactly would that. I guess what I'm proposing is almost like you have gangrene in your pinky right now.

[Stav]

Yeah.

[Nick]

Right. Pinky's gone.

[Stav]

Yeah.

[Nick]

Cut the pinky off with. With a different lie.

[Stav]

Yes.

[Nick]

A. A different lie cuts the pinky off. It doesn't spread. If you.

[Ad Voice]

It doesn't spread.

[Nick]

It doesn't spread. Now coming fully clean would be curing the gang Green.

[Stav]

Right.

[Nick]

Right. Being like, I have something to tell you. I. But that's weird.

[Ad Host]

It's.

[Nick]

Now you sound like a criminal.

[Stav]

You sound like a criminal.

[Nick]

You confess to it. Now you're like, I've been plotting this day. And also like, why should this guy.

[Elvis]

Be plotting, punished for the universe giving him this gift of this second chance. It's not his fault he lied.

[Nick]

The universe didn't do it.

[Stav]

Boring ass gave.

[Nick]

The universe didn't knock you plunk him on the head. He had temporary amnesia and he had.

[Ad Host]

A great date with this woman.

[Nick]

He. Who broke up with him.

[Stav]

Did he use stuff from the first day to like, learn?

[Nick]

That's interesting.

[Stav]

Yeah, okay.

[Nick]

That's a good point.

[Ad Voice]

Right?

[Nick]

Was this Groundhog Day for you? Have you been thinking.

[Ad Host]

Have you been.

[Nick]

Have you been reading up on her interest?

[Ad Voice]

Yeah.

[Stav]

Did she say she liked French poetry on the first one. He's going to speak out of associates.

[Nick]

In French poetry the last couple years. Yeah, that's it. That actually. How much now did you just match with a girl who didn't remember you? You went on a date and went, well, then I feel like you can fucking just be like, hey, I had some deja vu. I looked at it. We had matched. Whatever. If you've been plotting this a lot, you did something up. Yeah, you did something that makes me feel a little uneasy.

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