"Tennis" w/ Christina Catherine Martinez

Summary

Podcast Summary: StraightioLab – “Tennis” w/ Christina Catherine Martinez

Podcast: StraightioLab
Hosts: George Civeris & Sam Taggart (Big Money Players Network, iHeartPodcasts)
Guest: Christina Catherine Martinez
Date: June 30, 2026
Main Topic: Tennis as a lens into straight culture, with explorations of art, comedy, class, gender, and belonging.

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Episode Overview

In this episode, comedic hosts George and Sam unpack tennis as an emblem of straight culture with multipotentialite guest Christina Catherine Martinez: writer, comedian, clown, former art critic, and true-born Angeleno. Together, they examine why tennis is uniquely “straight”, dig into Los Angeles’s evolving cultural terrain, the art world’s snobbish codes, group psychology, and Christina’s winding road from evangelical homeschooler to LA tastemaker. Along the way, they riff on class signifiers, Midwestern identity, fashion, clowning, and the urge to rebel.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Los Angeles: A City in Transition

• Opening Vibes: LA is “going through it,” searching for an identity after the pandemic and an uninspiring election. ("...I feel like LA is...struggling to define what post-pandemic Los Angeles is." – George, 04:29)
• The City of Dreamers: All three reflect on LA’s “deep REM sleep” energy, its speculative nature, and its persistence in dreaming.
• Class & Culture: Christina discusses feeling at home in LA’s odd “groundlessness” rather than seeking the “stability” of the Northeast or Midwest.

“LA is a city for dreamers… There’s a post-apocalyptic affect in the air.” – Christina, 06:55

2. Homegrown Contradictions: Midwesterners, Class Codes, and Clothing

• Midwestern Transplants: The group jokes about “Midwestern as a defense,” with LA transplants defaulting to “I’m from the Midwest” to justify their authenticity or perceived “realness.” (15:31–16:59)
• Fashion as Class Armor: Christina breaks down visual hierarchies in the art world: the Prada elite, “pleats please” middle, Zara underclass, and the struggle to not betray one's class through clothes.

"You can't escape betraying your class through your clothes." – Christina, 11:09

3. Art World to Comedy: Christina’s Unusual Trajectory

• Art Critic Origin Story: Christina recounts starting as an art critic before turning performer, poking fun at the linear creative “NYU to UCB” pipeline.
• Being “In But Not Of”: Raised evangelical, Christina references the “in the world, not of the world” mantra, adapting the flaneur’s remove to art, comedy, and even shopping. (13:18–13:25)
• Evangelical Childhood in LA: She describes her Christian upbringing in LA, how evangelical culture builds shadow versions of everything (Christian rap, knockoff T-shirts), and how not having religion to rebel against leaves some artists rudderless.

“What do you rebel against if your childhood was happy and middle class?” – George, 15:03

4. The Lure and Trap of Group Identity

• Group Dynamics: Both guest and hosts are hyper-aware of “systems”: the cliques of arts, tech, comedy, and the danger of getting too comfortable within any of them.

“If I feel too much belonging, I’m like, I’ve got to widen, or I’ve got to…” – Christina, 25:57

• Comedy as Grounding: Standup and open mics are described as democratizing, exposing people to “actual normal people”—not just the rarefied elite.
• Class and Middlebrow Rebellion: Sizzler is lauded as a "middlebrow" oasis: “When people say touch grass, I say go to Sizzler.” (22:46) – Christina

5. The Ethics and Gender of Asking for Money

• The group riffs on “please donate” social media asks, analyzing how asking for mutual aid is coded differently for men (systematic access to money) and women (trusting in kindness/community).
• Christina wryly frames this as “straight woman culture.” (28:07)

6. Clowning, Standup, and Letting Go

• Christina’s Transition: From gallery director (and cocaine-fueled art-world parties) to standup, Christina recalls a breakdown-turned-breakthrough about wanting to do comedy (“I cried and said, I think I want to do comedy,” 45:27).
• Finding Clown: Phil Burgers invites her to clown class: “You’ve got the clown in you,” which she first misreads as a random street interaction. Clowning was, for her, about escaping cleverness, dropping ego, and “finding what makes you funny without expectations or control.” (50:38–51:48)
• Clowning’s Rise (and Systems): Christina is wary of the “guru” trend in clown but sees it as consistent with all artistic systems.

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Featured Segment: Straight Shooters

(35:14–37:10)

• A rapid-fire, absurdist wordplay quiz designed to unearth Christina’s “clown.”
• Notable moment: Christina excels by “overriding her instinct to intellectualize and just going with the flow” – George, 36:24
• Score: "888 doves"—a high but not perfect rating.

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Main Topic in Focus: Tennis as Straight Culture

(64:49–79:00)

• The “Pick Me” Sport: For women, tennis is the “straightest” of sports: solo, competitive, fashion-conscious, yet always coded within strict expectations of appropriateness.

  “It is the pick me sport… I don’t have a team and I get to wear a dress?” – Christina, 65:28

• Class & WASPiness: Tennis in the US is steeped in WASP/country club values—exclusive, quietly luxurious, obsessed with etiquette.
• Female Athletes’ Double Bind: Female tennis pros must cater to the male gaze while risking ridicule for being “too sexy” (Serena’s catsuit, Naomi Osaka’s custom kits).
• The Male Side: Male tennis players are “hot” but in an emotionally unavailable, hipster-adjacent, non-traditional-athlete way (e.g., Djokovic, Federer).
• Barriers to Entry: From inscrutable scoring shorthands (“5–3” for “15–30”) to classed access—tennis’s exclusivity makes it all the straighter.

  “The barrier to entry makes tennis the most straight of all.” – Christina, 77:48

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On fitting in/fleeing groups:
  “If I feel start to feel too embedded or too much belonging, I’m like, I’ve got to widen or I’ve got to—”
  – Christina, 25:57

• On clowning/letting go:
  “Clown is…finding what makes you funny…without expectations, without control…”
  – Christina, 51:17

• On tennis’s gender trap:
  “It is a prison for women.”
  – Christina, 70:14

• On class signifiers in clothing:
  “I just want to be outside of it. I’m in the world but not of it.”
  – Christina, 11:45

• On public vs. private tennis spaces:
  “I didn’t know that tennis was a hoity-toity sport for a while because we have so many courts [in Southern California].”
  – Christina, 78:10

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Timestamps for Key Sections

• LA as Post-Apocalyptic Dreamland: 03:13–08:37
• Art World, Thrift, and Class: 10:31–13:18
• Evangelical Childhood & Rebellion: 13:36–15:03
• Group Identity & Comedy as Grounding: 20:07–27:14
• Clowning, Overthinking, and Humility in Art: 43:51–58:50
• Comedy System vs. Guru Systems: 54:21–56:51
• Main Topic: Tennis as Straight Culture: 64:49–79:00

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Shoutouts Segment (85:34–91:03)

The trio each “shout out” recent obsessions:

• George: Legally Blonde, and a plea for Reese Witherspoon to return to pure comedy.
• Sam: Real Housewives of Rhode Island, admiring the cast’s emotional boldness.
• Christina: The self-administered first-aid scene in action movies as a moment of vulnerability often missing from today’s self-aware blockbusters.

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Tone & Noteworthy Style

• Warm, sardonic, extremely self-aware—the hosts and guest pivot easily between bit-driven riffing and sincere ethnographic reflection.
• Christina is smart, self-deprecating, and manages to be both high-brow and deeply grounded.
• The episode lightly mocks, but also genuinely explores group belonging, class insecurity, and the personal journeys people take to escape preordained roles.
• There are frequent references to writers, thinkers, and pop culture (David Foster Wallace, Jung, Orna Guralnik).

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Final Takeaways

• Tennis is “straight” not just for its country club roots, but because of the rigid gender narratives, class barriers, and emotional dynamics it perpetuates—especially among women.
• Art and comedy worlds are full of systems that promise freedom but reward conformity; Christina seeks to always be “outside the system,” even while working in it.
• Clowning and live comedy offer rare spaces to truly surprise oneself and connect with “realness”—a recurring hunger for everyone in the room.
• Ultimately, “straight culture” is a proxy for systems of belonging, exclusion, and aspiration—a theme the hosts and guest mine with humor and affection.

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Quick Reference Table (Topic Highlights & Times)

| Topic | Timestamps | |------------------------------------------|----------------| | LA & Post-pandemic Dreaming | 03:13–08:37 | | Fashion, Class & Thrift in Art World | 10:31–13:18 | | Evangelical Upbringing & Rebellion | 13:36–15:03 | | Systems of Belonging (Comedy, Art, Tech) | 20:07–31:23 | | Clowning & Escaping Cleverness | 43:51–51:48 | | Comedy System vs. Guru Systems | 54:21–56:51 | | Tennis as the Straightest Sport | 64:49–79:00 | | Shoutouts Segment | 85:34–91:03 |

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This summary captures the content, spirit, and sparkling insights of “Tennis” w/ Christina Catherine Martinez—a recommended listen for anyone fascinated by the borderlands of art, comedy, gender, and society’s strange games.

Transcript

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. I turned off news altogether.

[George Severis]

I hate to say it, but I don't trust much of anything. It's the rage bait.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

It feels like it's trying to divide people.

[Sam Taggart]

We got clear facts. Maybe we could calm down a little.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

NBC News brings you clear reporting.

[Sam Taggart]

Let's meet at the Facts.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Let's move forward from there. NBC News reporting For America this July

[George Severis]

4th, come celebrate at America's Block Party. Hosted by America 250. America's Block Party is a can't miss 4th of July concert happening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

[Jennie Garth]

Experience music, performances by major artists, patriotic

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

tributes and the kickoff to giving 4th, helping to make July 4th the largest

[Jennie Garth]

day of giving in American history.

[George Severis]

It's more than just fireworks.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Join this landmark celebration and get your America's Block Party Tickets now for $17.76

[Jennie Garth]

at america250.org this is Jenny Garth from I Choose Me with Jenny Garth. History is full of mysteries like how people ever survive before modern laundry detergent. Luckily, Tides here with boosted stain fighting for cleaner, whiter, brighter and fresher laundry versus Tide. Simply no wonder it was America's number one detergent in sales last year. If it's gotta be clean, it's got to be Tide. Tide is a proud sponsor of the Elton John Impact Awards honoring those who have helped shape a more inclusive and compassionate world with with their artistry, advocacy and unwavering commitment to equality. You won't wanna miss the Elton John Impact Awards podcast available on June 1st on the iHeartRadio app and everywhere podcasts are heard.

[Sam Taggart]

Hey everyone, it's Kal Penn. I'm inviting you to join the best sounding book club you've ever heard with my podcast Hearsay The Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club. Every episode I nerd out with amazing guests and dive into the best new audiobooks available on Audible. It's the book club for your Listen to Hearsay. The Audible and iHeart audiobook club on the iHeartradio app or wherever you get your podcasts. Tour announcement starts now. Hello everyone, this is Sam here to remind you that I am doing a tour this summer of my beautiful and gorgeous stand up comedy. I will hopefully be filming this hour in the fall. So this is sort of to get it all right and tight and I would love, love love to see you there. So if you are in San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Washington D.C. philadelphia, Chicago, Pittsburgh or Boston, please come out. It would mean the world to me. So enjoy the episode and get tickets. Bye. Podcast starts now. Wow. Wow, wow, wow, wow. Here we are once again in Los Angeles.

[George Severis]

Sunny Los Angeles.

[Sam Taggart]

Yes. We haven't seen the sun yet today, but we do trust that it will be there when we leave this studio. George, how the hell are you?

[George Severis]

You know, I'm trying to not say what's on my mind, which is that, of course, today is the primary, but we can't talk about it.

[Sam Taggart]

Well. Because this will be coming out.

[George Severis]

Because this will be coming out later.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Severis]

But I kept having this joke in my head with myself, of course. My toughest critic, but also my most rewarding audience, that I'm coming to Los Angeles personally to save you guys from Spencer Pratt. Because I was flying in the night before. Yeah, it was very much that little video of super nanny where she's like, I'm on my way.

[Sam Taggart]

I'm on my way. Well, which is funny because I actually went to New York when Zoran won.

[George Severis]

And you succeeded.

[Sam Taggart]

Correct. And I succeeded because I was like, I need more guy.

[George Severis]

Yeah. Did you do voter fraud and vote? Because I've been considering doing that here.

[Sam Taggart]

Can I say I did vote because. Oh, because you're still registered in New York.

[George Severis]

Registered in New York.

[Sam Taggart]

And so, you know, it wasn't fraud necessarily, but on another level, I guess it was. But please don't share this far or wide.

[George Severis]

You know, the thing with LA right now is. And people are really going to get mad at me for.

[Sam Taggart]

Well, I'm actually glad what you're about. You're about to say what you're about to say because our guest can speak

[George Severis]

and is a native Angelino. Yeah, I said something to Jabouki yesterday and I was like, write that down. That's genius. Which is I landed in LAX and I had the thought, you know, LA is going through a difficult time right now with just this election and how stupid it is. And I feel like it is a city that is, like, kind of struggling to define what post pandemic Los Angeles is. Okay. Obviously, our guess is there's literally, like, steam coming out of her ears and nostrils, but she's not alive.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Yeah, it's coming out of my vagina.

[George Severis]

Oh, cool. And I had the thought visiting LA now is how I felt when I would visit my family in Greece during the financial collapse and debt crisis. I remember, like, getting off a plane in Greece and being like, God, this once great country will rise again. Which is sort of how I feel about la, which I have so much affection for. But I'm like, you guys, like, just get some people in a room, like, we can figure this out.

[Sam Taggart]

You know, how I feel about it is the same way I feel about Katy Perry. Of course. Yes.

[George Severis]

Which is a Katy Perry of case.

[Sam Taggart]

Katy Perry. Because it was so fun to hate on Katy Perry when she was on top of the world.

[George Severis]

Yes.

[Sam Taggart]

But now that she's, you know, everyone's making fun of her and she can't have a hit to save her life. I'm like, you guys, put some respect on that woman.

[George Severis]

I agree. And I actually do get defensive about. Even though I like to lovingly hate la, I get defensive when other people hate la. I'm like, la? You mean the city that gave me my first rating job for Quibi? I would like to see New York do that.

[Sam Taggart]

It's completely true.

[George Severis]

If you went to New York and pitched Quibi, they would literally chase you out with pitchforks. In la, they said, that sounds good.

[Sam Taggart]

In la, they dare to dream.

[George Severis]

That's all they're doing. They haven't woken up from the dream

[Sam Taggart]

in decades, which is why the city is not running. Amazing.

[George Severis]

That's right. No, they're on sort of deep REM cycle sleep. Yeah. And they're, if you go to their, you know, Google Apple watches, they're saying, oh my God, your sleep rating is amazing. Your heartbeat is exactly where it needs to be. Like you're so relaxed. But unfortunately, like, you are being evicted.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. Well, I think we maybe just have to bring in our guest because I. It actually feels, it feels so deeply rude to not.

[George Severis]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

So please welcome to the podcast Christina Catherine Martinez.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Thank you. Did you, did you get it out?

[Sam Taggart]

And now respond.

[George Severis]

And now respond. What do you have to say for yourself? You're a native Angeleno.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

You're not wrong. This is a city for dreamers.

[Sam Taggart]

Yes, that's true.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I, you know, started out as a young homeschooled east la.

[George Severis]

I like the idea of, I started out young.

[Sam Taggart]

My story starts young.

[George Severis]

My story. I used to be young and then I kept getting progressively older.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Where do I start? I was born also. I haven't been to this side of town in a while. And you're not wrong in that there's very, there's a post apocalyptic affect in the air. This great collection of seems like empty seeming offices that are right down there that used to be a premier cultural destination called Space 1520. I saw Kenneth Anger in Flip Flops play the theremin in front of an Urban Outfitters one block away from here. And even at the time I wanted to internalize the significance of the moment. And there was like this wall of. Of irony that wasn't going to let me.

[George Severis]

Yeah.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Have it. But I'm like, this guy is. I don't know if you've seen Kenneth Anger in his later years.

[Sam Taggart]

I have not.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

He was on his way out, Right. Yeah.

[George Severis]

Well, there's a very specific aging art. I mean, whatever. This is a different sort of like archetype that I sort of love. But I want to actually zero in on what you're saying, which is finding yourself in a position, finding yourself in an environment that feels almost contrived, like the combination of things happening. You're like, this would be out of a David Foster Wallace story or something like that.

[Jennie Garth]

But this is.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I'm writing a second book of essays, basically about how being a first generation immigrant born.

[Sam Taggart]

Here she goes.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Born in a place. You know how already having this fractured self and then being born in a place where people go to forget about themselves and build a new self. Yes. This idea of not really having a foundation that I've found very. I used to beat myself up over it. Like, I gotta find myself or what's my core self? And it don't matter.

[George Severis]

It don't matter. The core self doesn't matter.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I don't think so. Also, I want to say, as a point of pride, a friend of mine said she was talking to. Especially in regards to Quibi and dreaming and Los Angeles. A friend of mine said she was talking to a New York Times journalist who cited me and my career specifically as an example of why she doesn't get Los Angeles.

[George Severis]

Wow, that's amazing.

[Sam Taggart]

Which elements?

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Yeah, the fact that I came up as an art critic and then became a comedian and then a clown and then a artist, and somehow all of those things are happening.

[George Severis]

And now a stage actress.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Yes, Stage actress. Still look. Still looking for camera work.

[Sam Taggart]

Open to it all.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Open to anything. I'll put anything in my face. My camera's over there. I'm not even looking at it.

[George Severis]

Stage actress. Not by choice.

[Sam Taggart]

Not by choice. Against my under duress stage.

[George Severis]

I said to Sam, when we were going to have you on, I was like, it's rare that you find someone who has a career path that is genuinely interesting, especially in our world where it's like, oh, so you're telling me you went to NYU and then started doing ucb? Tell me more.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Are you an advisor with a podcast?

[George Severis]

But you were fully, like an art critic embedded in the art world. Like, you wrote for Art Forum. You were wearing pleats. Please. You were going to galleries, you were going to openings.

[Sam Taggart]

I would say $1 million a month.

[George Severis]

They give the. If I know anything about the art world as being, you know, an outsider to it, it's that pleats, please is like. They give it to you in the same way that they give you free merch if you work at Google or Facebook.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Well, that's the uniform.

[Sam Taggart]

Well, that's like your laptop.

[George Severis]

Exactly. You get a pleats,

[Sam Taggart]

the company gives you the pleats, please.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

There's.

[Sam Taggart]

You have to give it back when you're.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

That's what I find more interesting as also a straight woman who loves to shop online. And I found that the vintage. I mean, I've always liked thrifting first because that was the only place we could afford to shop. And now, as you know, a style because I found in the art world, there's like, you can't escape betraying your class through your clothes. So it's kind of like up here you have the people who wear just Prada, not even the in season stuff, just everything's black nylon, Prada. Then there's like pleats please. And then the underclass is all just wearing whatever Zara thing is coming closest to any of that. Any season.

[George Severis]

Yeah.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

And I've always just. I just want to be outside of it.

[George Severis]

I'm.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I'm in the world, but not of it. Which is a very evangelical thing. But.

[George Severis]

And you are a deeply devout, deeply

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Christian, Deeply devout Christian woman.

[George Severis]

You're a Christian art critic. That's kind of. That's your lane is like everyone else, your whole thing. It's like how the New York Times has like a conservative voice, a progressive voice. Often, you know, just the first.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Severis]

And you. So you would sort of. Art Forum has all these kind of like heathen, you know, polyamorous queer trans critics. And then they said, we need one. I mean, their family of values, they're just fallen.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

They're just. They're just lost, you know? And I take it upon myself as a lamb of God to go out and to. To get. To get his people and to bring them into the fold.

[George Severis]

Yeah, you're going to. You're looking at the Francis Bacon Pope. Penny, you're saying, I don't like what he said about the.

[Sam Taggart]

Being of the world, but not in it. Is that what you said?

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Yeah, it's a very. It's a very evangelical.

[Sam Taggart]

I've never heard this before.

[George Severis]

Oh, that's an evangelical thing.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

It's a very evangelical thing.

[George Severis]

And what does it mean?

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

It means that. I think it's supposed to mean that you want to not silo yourself. Right. You know, like a Christian who only hangs out with other Christians. It's more like the call to ministry, the call to proselytizing that you're going to be in the world like Jesus. You engaged with sex workers and was

[George Severis]

Jesus of the world, but not in it.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Yeah, in the world, but not of the world.

[Sam Taggart]

Oh, oh.

[George Severis]

You have to switch the age of the world.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Yeah.

[George Severis]

So.

[Sam Taggart]

So it's like an observer.

[George Severis]

It's like hand and flowers being Mormon. It's sort of like.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Sort of like being a flaneur.

[Sam Taggart]

Oh, what's a flaneur?

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Oh, my God. It's a. It's a figure who. Sort of a privileged urban figure who can sort of wander the streets and admire the beauty of Hollywood Boulevard and, you know, comment on it.

[Sam Taggart]

So it's a podcaster.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

A podcaster of the streets.

[Sam Taggart]

Okay. Oh, wow.

[George Severis]

See, we're domesticated podcasters, and whenever we're on the street, we sort of like shake like a little chihuahua that hasn't been out of the house.

[Sam Taggart]

They need to put our sweater on.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

But I think that for the kind of evangelical culture I grew up in, that statement was a way to sort of justify building a hole. Shadow culture. So evangelical Christian culture was always about having a corollary to every type of mainstream culture.

[George Severis]

Like Christian rock music, Christian rap, Christian rock music, Christian.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

You know, there's Christian boys now, I'm sure there's. There's a line of T shirts that was so popular when I was younger. And it was the. The logo parody. It was always like one of them was a crest T shirt, but it says Christ.

[Sam Taggart]

Right, right.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Coca Cola T shirt, but it says Jesus Christ.

[George Severis]

I mean, this is giving that movie Saved, which you grew up evangelical.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Yes.

[Sam Taggart]

Really?

[George Severis]

In Los Angeles?

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Brave. Yes.

[Sam Taggart]

Interesting. Spooky.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

It's spooky stuff.

[Sam Taggart]

Sorry I didn't come prepared. I didn't know there was an evangelicalist.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I find it fascinating because so many artists and comedians of people I know, you know, we find ourselves through rejecting our religious upbringing. So having not grown up religious, what are you rejecting?

[George Severis]

No, this is, this is. The big question is like, how do you rebel when you had a pretty happy middle class childhood?

[Sam Taggart]

I reject sort of Midwesterness. I find that people sometimes get mad at me on this podcast because I'll shit talk the Midwest, but it's because I live there. Like, I grew up there and I didn't like it. And like, it's very assimilation culture. It's very like, don't be weird, Just talk Normal.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Well, I find that. Here's the thing I've noticed about being in Los Angeles, which is a big city full of transplants, is if someone's sassmouthing me or being a dickwad or I'm in conflict with someone. People from the Midwest, no matter how long they've been here, and they've completely reoriented their style, their look, their body, their mannerisms to conform to an image of LA that they've created in their minds and that doesn't actually exist and is only sustained by outsiders coming here to continue this delusion when it's convenient, then they will pivot to, well, I'm from the Midwest.

[George Severis]

Yes.

[Sam Taggart]

Oh, as a defense.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

As a defense against. I think you're being fake. I'm not, because I'm from the Midwest.

[Jennie Garth]

And.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Okay. I. I don't know what that's. Well, there's as an argument. I don't know what that is supposed to mean. I don't know what.

[George Severis]

Here's what it. Here's what is happening. The people from the Midwest that moved to Los Angeles are then associating with all other people from the Midwest that move to Los Angeles. And then they're looking at their community and they're saying, y' all are fake. But it's actually self directed. It's like, I moved here in search of something and I'm not finding that new thing. I'm finding more people that are like me, searching. And then it becomes this ouroboros of searching.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

So next time someone says I'm from the Midwest, you just say, my condolences.

[George Severis]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

I mean, I do feel like the. When I first moved to la, I think what I struggled with was that there are a lot of similar similarities between here in the Midwest.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

What are they?

[George Severis]

Well, because you were also comparing it to New York, of course.

[Sam Taggart]

New York is like completely different.

[George Severis]

New York was your escape from the Midwest and you were like, great. Like, when I'm not. This is what I've been searching for is like just tall buildings.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Severis]

And underground tunnels.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Love it.

[Sam Taggart]

And everyone being like, as aggressive as they possibly can at all times. Yeah.

[George Severis]

Just people punching you on the street.

[Sam Taggart]

And I'm like, thank God. Like, here people do really value, like, kindness. Like you go to a restaurant and they're like, how are you today? And it's like, stop that. Like, I'm used to people being like, sometimes, must you have a table?

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Like, yeah, it sometimes angers me too. But that's also. Maybe this is very olay. But if Someone's genuinely a little too nice in a service. Customer service capacity. I find I get angry. And then, of course, like, is that me? Is that my inability to.

[George Severis]

I get. I get fake. I get. I am so aware of how fake my smile is when I am responding to someone being like. Like, is. Are you finding everything okay?

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Yeah.

[George Severis]

And then I have to be like. And then I feel like they know. They feel like I'm mocking them. And then as a defense mechanism, I become even more fake. Or I try to then cut through the artifice and say something overly familiar, like, just be like, someone helping me, like, at a store. And then me being like, well, I'm sure my fat ass isn't going to fit into anything anyway. Go.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Oh, sorry, go ahead.

[George Severis]

No, no, no, go ahead, go ahead.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Yeah. I mean, I. To be honest, one thing I will absolutely concede to New York is that we don't have very great restaurants or restaurant cultures. So I don't go out to eat very often. And so this is something I don't encounter too much.

[George Severis]

Sure, sure, sure, sure, sure.

[Sam Taggart]

That makes sense.

[George Severis]

And I guess when the other thing.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Everything tasting.

[George Severis]

Have you guys been here before?

[Sam Taggart]

Have you dined with us before?

[George Severis]

Pointing at the menu that literally says small, medium, large. They go, so basically, the top area, like, above, where it says medium, like, that area, the top area, it's gonna be basically like, if this makes sense, small.

[Sam Taggart]

And then, no, this town doing a restaurant. It's like little kids pretending to do a restaurant.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Okay, so I'm looking right now, and, like, we don't have anything. They're all empty, by the way. You want to wait over there? We might have some bar seats. We have limited menu at the bar. And the chef made a special.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, it's like. Or you're like, can I have a martini? They're like, okay, so we have a martini menu. If you want to, like, look at that and, like, select which one's like, just plain.

[George Severis]

One of my favorite restaurant tropes or cliches is when they try to make something conversational that isn't. So they'll be like. I like to describe it as, like, an arepa with cheese. And it's like. You like to describe it as an arepa with cheese. Is it or is it not an arepa with cheese? Like, I like to think of it as a deconstructed salad. It's like, salads are deconstructed.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

You know what my hot LA restaurant is? It's where my boyfriend. I go, this is our date night. Romantic. Like, this is our place. Sizzler.

[George Severis]

And what is that?

[Sam Taggart]

What is Sizzler?

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Sizzler is another, like, Ross Dress for less, which is what my hour about. Sizzler is very important. East la, Los Angeles Latino cultural cathedral. It's a buffet.

[Sam Taggart]

Oh, okay.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

It's a steakhouse with a, with a very generous salad bar. And it's huge. You can eat very fast. They have the little machine with the vanilla swirl and there's TVs everywhere showing basketball.

[George Severis]

So when you're in your pleats, please, doing your art thing, are you then having a gallery dinner at Sizzler Gallery.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

They actually. Someone had an art show in an absolute, in a shutdown. Sizzler during freeze week.

[George Severis]

Well, of course.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Which I found very colonial.

[Sam Taggart]

Of course I would love.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I mean, Sizzler is a bit too middle brow for the art world to truly embrace.

[George Severis]

They can't reclaim it. Yeah, yeah.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

We, they want to go low. You have a fancy gallery dinner with the place cards or like, you know, you have a taco truck at the opening. I think Sizzler's too, it's a little bit too uncomfortable.

[George Severis]

Sizzler is actual normal people dining, which they can handle. Like, they need either like, like the dregs of the earth or, you know, Jeff Bezos's yacht, but they don't know how to deal with the middle.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Yeah, they need like a junkie manning a grill on the street.

[Sam Taggart]

Yes.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Or we have to go to like, a weird place with tiny portions. And like, if you make under a certain amount, somehow the door won't open. That's why.

[Sam Taggart]

God, I love those doors very.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

That used to scare me a lot. Not the high low, but that the middlebrow culture was somehow the worst thing to be.

[George Severis]

I feel that so much.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I find it deeply comforting now. Although that's probably clearly its own kind of snobbishness to just be like, please take me to Sizzler. I need to be around some normal people

[George Severis]

completely.

[Sam Taggart]

Of course.

[George Severis]

I think about this all the time. And it's not even. I mean, obviously there's an elitism to it, but it's like. Because so much of living in a big city is everything. Trying to striving to be something it's not. Every time I'm in a normal place, I'm like, finally, real America. And it's like it could be an airport or something.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Yeah, I, I, where was I?

[Sam Taggart]

I was normal people.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I went to the opera last week.

[George Severis]

Oh, yeah. Full of normal people.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Yeah. This is, I'm like, it Was nice that normal people go to the opera. I didn't like it. It sounds dumb. It's gonna sound. The more I try to double down on it, the more snobbish it's gonna sound. But I'm. When people say touch grass, I want to say, go to Sizzler.

[Sam Taggart]

Sure, sure.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Get in touch with nature, but also, like, get in touch with what real people are doing. Honestly, I feel like standup did that for me 100%.

[George Severis]

That's true.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Coming up in the art world and then going to do standup. I tell this to people who. In the art world who ask about it. I'm like, imagine going up in a room with a hundred people who've never heard of Chris Kraus and. And trying to connect with them.

[George Severis]

So the similar thing happened to me, but not with the art world, with tech. Because I was living in San Francisco, working in tech briefly. I mean, I talk about.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Are you a project manager?

[George Severis]

I wish I was a project manager. I was like, an entry level. I was in the, like, policy and communications department and working as a contractor. So I was underpaid. But I was working at a big company that had, like, free lunch and dinner every day. And, like, I literally took a tech shuttle to work. It was like that era.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

My last day job was. It was a tech job. So.

[George Severis]

But it's like, imagine going from that to open my comedy in Boston. It was the best thing I've ever done for myself because I. And again, there's literally no way to say this without sounding condescending, but it opened my world so much. You think that you're. You think. I think what it is, is you think when you're. When you're in a rarefied environment, whether it's the art world or like, a rich tech company, or you go to, like, a. An elite college or whatever, you think you are meant to think that that means you are at the pinnacle of something with the most interesting people or whatever. And in fact, it is so the opposite. It is. You're with all these people that on some level or another, have the exact same personality and interests as you, and you are skipping over everyone who could actually make your life interesting to get to that place. And I look at people I went to college with or I used to work with or whatever, and I'm like, oh, so you never had the Boston open mic wake up moment? And you're still. You still are living a life, thinking, wow, I'm so lucky. I get to be with the best people ever. And it's the boring people you've ever met.

[Sam Taggart]

Right.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I'm hyper aware of just. Yeah, I get hyper aware of groups and how they operate.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

You know, like in the Sixth Sense, I see dead people. Well, unfortunately, I see systems everywhere.

[George Severis]

You know, my. Well, whatever.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I see systems.

[Sam Taggart]

Wait, what? What were you gonna say?

[George Severis]

Well, my college major was called Symbolic Systems.

[Sam Taggart]

Oh, brother.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Just got a dose dump from my estrogen patch.

[Sam Taggart]

But the thing. Okay, maybe first of all, I want to disclaim everything we've already said by

[George Severis]

saying, you know, that you're from the

[Sam Taggart]

Midwest, that we're coming off a certain

[George Severis]

way, you're wearing cowboy boots, but that's.

[Sam Taggart]

We're actually really amaz. Amazing and grounded and all of us are so different and unique. But also. But something happens in comedy too, though, where there's sort of like a. Like at the beginning, of course, you're all so different and you're like, wow, I'm in such, like meeting people I would never meet. I'm in spaces I never thought I'd be in. But then it shakes out and then like someone who's like, in art and comedy that does kind of like. Then there is like the art neighborhood of comedy.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Yeah. That's its own. That's its own circle. And I don't know if it's a good or bad part of my personality that I. If I feel. Start to feel too embedded or too much belonging, I'm like, I've got to widen or I've got to.

[George Severis]

You were speaking my language.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

That's why.

[George Severis]

That's why, that's why I will never be successful. And it is. It's like, it's crazy. The way to succeed is to double down on the thing you are good at or the thing that is working. And that is the one thing I will never do. No.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

But that's why I feel like as long as my personal and my private life is chugging along, I'm sort of not like I love it all the time, but I'm like, I'm sort of okay with how this operates because it's interesting. It's so interesting and it's really, really wild. And I love the art world. I think it's one of the last bastions of safety for hyper educated nerds and also nightmare diarrhea people. And that's what's. That's what's fun about it. It's actually weirdly one of the few worlds that gets fed by so many other places. It gets fed by subculture, it gets fed by academia, gets Fed by evil money. It gets fed by, like, activism. And sometimes, depending on the event, all of those people are in the same room. And that is what's fun about it. Comedy is the same. Yeah. Within comedy, there's your little thing. You know what I found funny? People talk about your comedy class like the people who came up with.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

And I've found that it's true. There's something that you're. You're bonded with the people that started around the same time. You are in a way that really does feel like siblings or like high school.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. It's weird.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I hate these people, but I would die for them. You know, there's people that I don't want to be in the same room with. I don't want to see at a mic. I don't want to have to pretend. I don't want to have to look at them and say, great set. But if they called me and they needed something, I'm like, I would. Yeah, I would die for them. I would drive across town for them.

[Sam Taggart]

Well, they'll be posting Instagram stories, needing something. I can tell you that much.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I don't want to respond. There's too much mutual aid in the Instagram stories. I need direct. I need text messages. Text me, text me and ask me for money. I'll do it. If I have it, I'll do it.

[George Severis]

The ethics around asking for money are so fascinating.

[Sam Taggart]

No, it is weird. It's only getting weirder.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Well, asking for money is a very. I think that's what's difficult is systemically asking for money is. Is straight woman culture. I do it all the time.

[Sam Taggart]

Oh, my God.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I'll ask my boyfriend to Venmo me right now.

[George Severis]

Well, the idea of please donate is there. There's something so tragic about it.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I don't want to say that because I feel like maybe this is a working class. I'm like. I'm always like, no matter what happens, like, I could always be there.

[George Severis]

No, no, I'm not.

[Sam Taggart]

Of course you mean.

[George Severis]

Let me rephrase.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Yeah.

[George Severis]

I'm not saying, look at that flop person who needs money. I'm saying the. I'm saying it is very male to be embedded within systems where you somehow are able to get money and very female to trust that there are kind people out there that can help. I guess that's. That's sort of like the very, very, very gender essentialist point I am making. Ironically,

[Sam Taggart]

he's from the Midwest.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Yeah. Everyone claim it, which is. Which is ironic, too, because if we're talking about Jungian principles, which was one of my straight topics.

[George Severis]

Yes.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

The part of why it's very straight, even though people would say it's not, is it's really all about talking about feminine and masculine.

[George Severis]

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

They say are, you know, to be a whole. Every person, no matter their gender or sexuality, has feminine and masculine principles.

[George Severis]

And that, you know, And Freud too. It's like Freud obviously, like. Like, okay, you think of someone being into Freudian psychoanalysis, they're obviously pansexual, but the whole. The whole groundwork of it is like the mother and the father, right?

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

And young would say, those are, Those are metaphors. Those are. These are just metaphors and images as ways to talking about certain qualities. But, yeah, the feminine archetype is always characterized by nurturing and giving, and then that. That has somehow got bastardized into. Please donate.

[George Severis]

Yeah, I totally.

[Sam Taggart]

I keep wanting to ask you this question, and I was trying to engage with why I wanted to ask you this question. And I was like, oh. So the question I was wanting to ask is, like, you grew up in la. Why do you not have a desire to, like, be like, fuck this town. I'm out of here. And then I was like, oh, because you're rejecting religion and I'm rejecting my location. Like, I'm rejecting hometown ness and you're rejecting religion.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I think everything people say about Los Angeles is correct in terms of its groundlessness and its lack of stability. But that has been. But having come up here, I just don't really value stability in the same way. And I've come to accept that things are uneven, things are always in flux, things are in process. And that way, you know, the urban landscape of Los Angeles actually has, is. Is more in tune with the cycles of nature in terms of regeneration and decay. We're definitely in a period of decay. You know, 20 years ago, half of these storefronts weren't shuttered.

[George Severis]

I would say that that's a California wide thing. I mean, I used to. I. I used to think about this.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

You know, we're in the desert, right? You know, nothing is supposed to happen here.

[George Severis]

I used to think about this with San Francisco, that it's just like it inherently. Its history is booms and busts, like from the Gold Rush. And it's like, there is this. There are these cycles to California culture that are not the same. Like, when you think about not only New York, but, like, the Northeast, New England, there's such a stability there. It's like, I feel like New York

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

is like sedimentary layers where nothing gets raised and rebuilt. Just everything gets compacted and the whole city is going to turn into oil.

[George Severis]

Fossil fuels.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Yeah, yeah. I think it's also once I started getting into clown and then I, I,

[Sam Taggart]

yeah, we're going to talk about that.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I studied commedia dell' arte when I went to Golia. And then I read this book, I'm in the middle of reading this book, which is about sort of commedia principles.

[George Severis]

And wait, let's do our first segment and then we need to like, really dig into this.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Okay.

[George Severis]

Okay.

[Sam Taggart]

Yes,

[Jennie Garth]

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[George Severis]

This July 4th, come celebrate at America's Block Party, hosted by America 250. America's Block Party is a can't miss 4th of July concert happening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

[Jennie Garth]

Experience music, performances by major artists, patriotic

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

tributes, and the kickoff to giving 4th, helping to make July 4th the largest

[Jennie Garth]

day of giving in American history.

[George Severis]

It's more than just fireworks.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Join this landmark celebration and get your

[Jennie Garth]

America's Block Party Tickets now for $17.76

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

at america250.org LA I turned off news altogether.

[George Severis]

I hate to say it, but I

[Sam Taggart]

don't trust much of anything.

[George Severis]

It's the rage bait.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

It feels like it's trying to divide people. If we got clear facts, maybe we

[Sam Taggart]

can calm Down a little.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

NBC News brings you clear reporting.

[Sam Taggart]

Let's meet at the facts.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Let's move forward from there. NBC News reporting for America.

[George Severis]

When I scraped my car in their parking garage, I was worried that it could be a long process to take care of it. Like a landscaper's first day trimming a hedgehog.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Me, I have definitely already been here.

[George Severis]

Now, was it left, right or right left?

[Sam Taggart]

Well, maybe I'll cut a path out

[George Severis]

and find my way back later. But it wasn't like that.

[Sam Taggart]

I filed a claim in under two

[George Severis]

minutes on the Geico app and they handled it from there. It was taken care of almost as quickly as it happened. It feels good to get help quick. It feels good to Geico.

[Sam Taggart]

Okay, our first segment is called Straight Shooters. And in this segment we're going to ask you a series of rapid fire questions. Basically this thing or this other thing. And the only rule is you can't ask any follow up questions or we'll get so upset.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

So I just have to say which one is straight Shooter?

[Sam Taggart]

That's a question.

[George Severis]

So first is dressing on the side or addressing a crowded pride fart?

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

What? What am I? What's happening here?

[George Severis]

Dressing on the side or addressing a crowded pride?

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Dressing on the side.

[Sam Taggart]

Lost and found or gagged and bound?

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Gagged and bound.

[George Severis]

Dining at Benihana or shining like you're Rihanna?

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Dining at Benihana?

[Sam Taggart]

It's raining men. Or Stop shaming them.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Stop shaming them.

[George Severis]

Asmr or dude, where's my car?

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Asmr.

[Sam Taggart]

Living your best life or leaving your worst wife?

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Living your best life?

[George Severis]

Weighted blanket. Baited breath or gated community?

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Baited breath?

[Sam Taggart]

The winner takes it all. Or for dinner. I'm thinking something small.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

For dinner, I'm thinking something small.

[George Severis]

What just happened?

[Sam Taggart]

That was really.

[George Severis]

So you found your clown?

[Sam Taggart]

You found your clown.

[George Severis]

First you were thinking.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Tell me.

[Sam Taggart]

First you were thinking.

[George Severis]

First you were. We will tell you when you found it.

[Sam Taggart]

I'll tell you how you found your

[George Severis]

clown and only when we tell you will you have found it.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Actually, that is true. Only the audience can tell you when you're.

[George Severis]

See, we know what we're talking about. We've read the books. I think that you did a really good job of overriding your instinct to intellectualize and just going with the flow. And you got into a rhythm and I thought it was a really good performance.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. What would you give it?

[George Severis]

We rate our guests on a scale of 0 to 1000 doves. And I think it's very good. I think it's like in the high 800s, I would say 888. 888.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

That's a very good grade, I believe.

[Sam Taggart]

That's a really good grade.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

It's a B plus.

[Sam Taggart]

It's a B plus, if you're thinking in that way.

[George Severis]

But even to think that way, of course. So retrograde and bourgeois was great.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

So it's kind of, you know.

[George Severis]

Oh, because you were homeschooled.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Yeah. It's fun to think about homeschooled the whole time.

[George Severis]

Were the grades sort of like, Jesus approves or you're going to hell?

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, you got a hell point.

[George Severis]

Kind of a pass fail.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I got half and half, which is really great. So I was homeschooled until the age of 12. I entered school for the first time ever. So as a sixth grade, I skipped the eighth grade and then went to high school. So it was kind of like, yeah, sixth grades, homeschool. Sixth grades, public school. Yeah. And also, I was quite popular in high school, and I had a nice time. And I think it was still a waste of time.

[George Severis]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

What do you mean, waste of time?

[George Severis]

Yeah, yeah, exactly. Like, what would you have rather been doing? I would have studying Comedia dell'. Arte.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I would have rather have tested out early and just started community college and done literally anything else. I was going to both of my brothers who were older and had even less experience in school. One of them just ended up, you know, you can take the GED test. So he left. He was only in school maybe for a couple years, and he was like, I don't. Whatever. And my junior year, I wanted to do that. They had three years. Three years of high school is enough. And I wanted to just. I just wasn't compelling to me.

[George Severis]

I find this.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

And my mother made me. But I was elected to student government, and so my mom wanted me to finish as a sort of exercise in following through on my responsibilities.

[Sam Taggart]

This is very, like, city kid being like, I'm just gonna leave high school completely.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Because it's like that I left junior high. I just was like, I want to skip the eighth grade and then print. You just call them and tell them that's what you want to do.

[George Severis]

The.

[Sam Taggart]

See, we didn't. I didn't know. I thought going to school was like, you're. You have. Like, you.

[George Severis]

No, I thought you would be put in prison if you didn't go to school.

[Sam Taggart]

Well, if I. If I. Yeah, I still am sort of like. But what do you mean? When I hear about someone who's not in school, I'm like, but how do they go to school, Sam?

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

It's just a system. It's literally called the school system. We made it up.

[Sam Taggart]

I know, but.

[George Severis]

But this is like, exactly. It's like when someone's like something. Something is a social contract. It's like. I know. As I was saying, there's something that

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

makes me so angry about like, I get I'm old and uncool or whatever, but when people are genuinely afraid of teenagers.

[George Severis]

Totally. Oh, it pisses me off too.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

You know we invented those, right?

[George Severis]

I just find any sort of age based discrimination to be the most boring possible thing. I'm like, do you not understand that we all have been young and hopefully, knock on wood, will get old? Like, just embrace it. Like, if you can't be at one with the oneness of that, then how are you going to relate to someone that's actually different than you or like

[Sam Taggart]

anything but at the same time, like, you can because you've been young, you know, like, oh, When I was 20, 23, I was insane in this capacity and that.

[George Severis]

I like that kind of analysis always wins.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Anyway, they're gonna. I mean, they always will default to something about like, you don't get it or you're ugly or you're fat, which is.

[George Severis]

Hey, hey, hey.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

No, I get those.

[George Severis]

Don't call him fat. But I'm. When people like, I.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

You will. You don't know what it's like being me. I have known what it's like being you. And yes, it wouldn't be. You couldn't. It wasn't great. I mean, what do you. Dude, they're beautiful. Like, teenagers are beautiful and insane and special in their own way. But I'm like, how can you feel in these people are wandering around with like big cups of water just like begging to be loved. Like, why are you intimidating to you? I don't know. They just like carrying water.

[George Severis]

Teenagers do.

[Sam Taggart]

I think so start that rumor.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Start the rumor that they're into someone's

[George Severis]

is discriminating against teenagers. Someone is discriminating against teenagers. They're always freaking. Drop some water.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

See, now and then, teenagers are capable of pathologizing water into some sort of arbitrary widget of social distinction. You know what I mean?

[Sam Taggart]

Yes.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

And they all look the same. This is what I noticed. I've traveled the world over the past five or six years. Like, oh, teenagers look the same everywhere.

[George Severis]

Well, this is unfortunately.

[Sam Taggart]

And so do we, though that's okay. 30 somethings look the same, I would argue, everywhere.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

You think I'm 30 something you think

[George Severis]

they look the same everywhere?

[Sam Taggart]

I do.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

In major cities, they look the same. Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

It's always jeans and, like, a. Because there's few. There's always wild cards. And I love. I love a truly nerdy or eccentric teenager, but generally, it's about sort of talk about a system. The system of adolescent friend groups is, you know, maintaining a degree of distinction within a very codified set of aesthetic signifiers, which is like. Like this tank top that fits this way and this specific sneaker and the specific jean. But since I was in high school over 20 years ago, it's been always just variations on a jean and a

[George Severis]

sneaker and a T shirt completely.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

And then once in a while, there's like, a girl who shows up to school in a bowl cut and, like, a vintage dress, and it's like, I'm sure she's a bit out of the whole thing, and I'm always rooting for her.

[Sam Taggart]

What haircut did you roll up to sixth grade with?

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I had a pixie cut. I had, like, short hair, and I. I had to start wearing makeup when I wanted to cut my hair short.

[George Severis]

Because you looked like, too kick ass.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I don't know. Too kick ass, probably. My parents are worried about me looking like a boy.

[Sam Taggart]

Right, sure, sure.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Yeah. I had pixie cut for about a decade. It took a long time to get back here. Yeah.

[George Severis]

Talk about gender.

[Sam Taggart]

Talk about gender. Do we want to talk about your clowning experience?

[George Severis]

I want to talk about your clowning experience, and then I, of course, want to get into your list of straight topics.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Okay.

[George Severis]

There's a lot we have to get into.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Okay.

[George Severis]

So, okay, just for the. For everyone listening, we're talking. Don't look at your watch.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

What the hell?

[George Severis]

Did your watch just say the time in a clown voice?

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

It's Minnie Mouse who will tell me the time if I tap on the watch.

[Sam Taggart]

Wow.

[George Severis]

By the way, pleats, please. An Apple Watch, I feel like, is very art world.

[Sam Taggart]

That's genius.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

You know why I got the Apple watch? My boyfriend got it for me just so I could record myself on stage without having to bring my phone.

[George Severis]

That's it.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

The voice memo function on here is actually pretty good. And it looks a lot cleaner to not walk up there with the phone.

[George Severis]

No, completely.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Severis]

That's actually a good idea.

[Sam Taggart]

That's genius. You should be using.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

If you have ever have an Apple Watch, which I see you don't, you should be using it to record your set.

[George Severis]

No, that's a really good. Now I'm like, I'm gonna buy one. So the timeline is you were evangelical, Los Angeleno, homeschooled, public school major, way to college art critic. Then you were like, okay, I've conquered the art world, but what I've always wanted to do is stand up comedy. So you started comedy.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Yeah, I think that's what it was like at the top of my game. I think I had got like a. I was working at a gallery. I got hired at this gallery just because they liked my art writing. I was. I don't think, no matter what, I was not quite equipped to be a commercial gallery director. And I. I could always tell the reason why I like New York is I can always tell. Kind of I get a gauge for where my career is at based on, like, how I'm treated in New York.

[George Severis]

We. We feel that way as well.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I went to, you know, so when I worked for this gallery, I was, you know, going to the art fairs, being put up in hotels, had company car, taking tax everywhere, and I will never get coming home. And this is part that I'm talking about. Before any of that, I was doing improv. I was like. I was that person with a normal job who was, like, doing improv once a week to, like, blow off steam. And frankly, the only reason I started doing standup is because it was less costly and less of a commitment.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I could not commit to improv, even though at that point I was just telling myself it was a hobby.

[George Severis]

Yeah, no one can ever fully commit to improv.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I remember coming home from being in New York for Armory Week. I have my suitcase full of Zara, and I just started. I was, no shit. You know, at this collector's house with these artists, I'm like, I'm basically getting paid to party. People are doing cocaine. There's pate, there's wonderful conversation again. It was like watching Kenneth Anger play the theremin. And I'm like, something about this is supposed to be ideal. And I don't feel like it's my life. And I started crying, and I was like, oh, my God, I'm going to cry again.

[George Severis]

Oh, my God. It was the pate on cocaine.

[Sam Taggart]

Pate on cocaine, babe.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

And I started crying, and my boyfriend was like, what is wrong? And I was like, I don't feel like I'm living my life. He's like, what do you want to do? I said, I think I want to do comedy.

[Sam Taggart]

Oh, my gosh.

[George Severis]

And he goes, now pass the coke.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

And he goes, was, okay. You know, I wasn't. I wasn't Living a life where I had. Where I was like professional. There was like a subtle professional social expectation to like do cocaine. I don't know if you've ever been in position to do cocaine just out of politeness, but that's part of what being a gallery director is. I'm full blown weeping on this podcast.

[Sam Taggart]

I know. I'm confused.

[George Severis]

And now we're back to clowning.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

This is that. That.

[George Severis]

So I want to know. We want to know that after you did stand up, then you did get into clown.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Yeah. So this is where it's not fun. I got doing stand up and for a few years and then I remember very specific moment, I was. Did stand up show at Lyric Hyperion and Phil Burgers, who's a clown that came from Goye and all that stuff. He came up to me. I didn't know that he was associated with the theater. He was friends with the owner. He came up to me outside and he's like, hey, say you've got the clown in you. Like, I think you should take my class.

[Sam Taggart]

You're like, what did you say to me?

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I thought he was just a homeless guy who hung out at the theater. But then I started taking clown. And at that point, 10 years ago, people like, how are you mixing clown and stand up? Like 10 years ago, there was no clown scene. There was several clown schools that have been in LA for a very long time. But if you wanted to get on stage with that, it. You had to just say, you're a stand up.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

And then do. People would ask like, how are you getting on? People in the class were like, how are you getting on shows? And I'm like, it's because I'm a stand up. That's what I really held onto for a long time. I was like, I. This is just some sort of thing to like loosen me up or open my lens. I'm clearly too open because I cried thinking about them.

[George Severis]

No, but I love that.

[Sam Taggart]

No, it's nice.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

That's. That's unfortunately also your clown sometimes. I would never do that on stage. I can show you that part of my class.

[George Severis]

So you are. I have so many follow up questions, please.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

And so then it just kind of became mixed because I was at the time working on stand up a lot and getting a lot of shows. But then I was taking these classes where I'm learning all this fun stuff and then just became more practical. Like, people like, how do you mix. Someone actually called me and they're like, I want to pick your brain about how you mix stand up and clown. I said, well, you know, we work on these bits in class that are like two or three minutes, but if I have to do a ten minute set, then I'll just tell jokes after that. And this is where, this is Hollywood magic. This is where it all came together. I got my first writing job by like doing a clown bit at a stand up show. I was, you know those nights where like, you don't want to do stand up?

[George Severis]

Yes.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

You're like, I hate this. So the nice thing about clown is the principle is also that, like, you just have to have fun. Like, you can only really win if like you're having good time or you think about what you really want. I was just having one of those days. I'm like this, I hate my material. I don't like stand up. I'm bored with my own ideas. And I was going to do a bar show in downtown and I was like, what do I want? I was in Target and which is also a straight woman thing to sort of, oh, do retail therapy at Target. And I was like, what do I want tonight? And I ended up just doing this bit where I like tape shrimp to my face and I sing a song and I get someone to whatever eat ate them off my face. And Eric Andre happened to be dropping in that night. And you know when the, you know when they do the drop ins, they just, they're in and out, right? There's no time. Yeah, but he came in, he came in right as I went on stage, so he had to see my set. And then he was on right after me. And on the way out, he just goes, hey, good. And I said, thanks. And then like a few months later got the call like, hey, do you want to be in the room for Eric Andre show? So when people say clown goes nowhere, you tell them, you tell them you a freelance consulting job on the Eric Andre show.

[George Severis]

Yeah. You tell them that you can work at the Eric Andre show. End of list.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I think it's over now. But you could have.

[Sam Taggart]

You could have. At one point I was telling George, sometimes I'm like, it's a good thing I didn't know about clown when I was 24, or else I would have

[George Severis]

become your whole life.

[Sam Taggart]

I would have lost my whole life to it.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

It's very smart. I mean, I didn't start doing comedy stand up Till I was 31. So I think it's.

[George Severis]

But I think, correct me if I'm wrong and maybe I'm projecting onto you, but I was telling Sam. That I feel like for someone like you and potentially for someone like me, the appeal of it would be like our instinct is to overthink everything and to over intellectualize everything. And the clown thing is like letting go of that and being in your body. Is that like, generally correct?

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. And I think it was very helpful to bring that back into stand up and even ensue, no joke, even to art writing. Because when I started doing stand up, maybe you felt this way because we're intellectuals. I was like, I had this chip on my shoulder a little bit, or I had this intention of being a smart stand up or a clever stand up. I mean, that was. Talk about a ego death.

[George Severis]

Just completely.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

The first fully like two years of stand up just being clever to crickets and to.

[George Severis]

And for. No, that's not authentic at in the least. Like you're critiquing something that isn't even there. Like.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

And so I think part of. Of part of Clown 2, what they do is like you finding. Finding what makes you funny with. No, but without ego, without expectations, without control, rather than, I'm gonna be this, you know, sometimes stand up can be like, I'm gonna be this type of comedian or be this type of standup clown is, you know, we're actually gonna figure out what makes you funny. And it's maybe not what you thought of yourself, which is why people think of it as sort of a ego smashing thing.

[Sam Taggart]

As someone who.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

So it turns out I'm dumb all along.

[Sam Taggart]

As someone who sees systems, how does it feel? Like that clown is like, trending?

[George Severis]

Ooh. Okay, great question.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

So I think like any magical art form, there's the art form and there's the system in which it operates, which is fundamentally compromised. Like when I was doing improv, I love the art form. It's actually. It's quite fun and it's really magical.

[George Severis]

Love the art form, hate the system.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Yeah, I didn't like the system.

[George Severis]

I didn't hate most of the people in it.

[Sam Taggart]

That on a shirt.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Love the form, hate the system.

[George Severis]

That's big.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Oh, that's big. And with the art world, I felt the same way that there's, you know, there's art everywhere, pretty much. And that I was very aware that as a critic, I'm like, oh, I'm operating in a system. Not to be cynical, but like, the stuff that I'm not allowed to look at, the stuff that I'm expected to look at, that comes from a very specific system. Bless you. You know, generally Begins in like that generally begins in art schools or MFA programs and gets like fed through a gallery system and that hopefully gets or through institutions. And then once in a while they throw in the wild card, you know, outsider artist or autodidact to keep it spicy.

[George Severis]

Which only serves. Sorry to interrupt.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

It's the exception to proven exactly.

[George Severis]

It like only serves to reify the system itself because it's like, look, the system is so amazing, we can even welcome in one outsider every five years.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

And so clown, I think as a psychological spiritual discipline, as like just sort of a discipline disposition in general, which I think any type of performance can be done through the lens of clown. What is a system? I mean it's a system of fringe festivals that have a specific type of one person show that you pay a lot of money to participate in. I tried to explain this to people in the art world because I did Edinburgh last year and they're like, what's it like? And I said a French festival is kind of like an art fair that you have to apply to get in, but you still have to pay to participate. And then you just cross your fingers and hope. You make up your hope.

[George Severis]

You're the one person that like and that is the breakout.

[Jennie Garth]

Yeah.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

And that there's different festivals have different degrees of pedigree or prestigiousness. Even though we all kind of know it's pay to play. There's a little bit of. Of the kay fabe of prestige that involves. That's involved with participating in festivals and fairs. I mean it's something I'm aware of and I will, I can do willingly. But it also blows my mind when people are fully like drinking the Kool Aid.

[George Severis]

Yes.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I need to be validated by this institution, by this show, by this. Yeah, anything.

[Sam Taggart]

One thing I found that is like scary to me about the clown world is I do feel like there are like. It's like gurus are bad.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Like gurus are back, baby.

[George Severis]

Gurus are back in a big way. And I have to say.

[Sam Taggart]

And it's always like every time there's a guru, like 10 years later it's like, whoa, what were we thinking? And so it's crazy that gurus are

[George Severis]

back, I will say. And I don't. I do want to move on to straight topics, but. And I. But as an outsider to this world, despite the fact that many people I know are involved in people I respect and people I think are cool and like, I enjoyed. I'm sure the community has various thoughts about the New York magazine article, but I Enjoyed it as an outsider, just to like, like, read about it as something that has existed in LA during the time that I've been doing something completely different in New York. But the guru thing is what's alienating about it to me.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, there's a lot that really speaks to me about it. And then the guru thing is what freaks me out.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I also think the guru thing happens everywhere.

[George Severis]

Yeah, I guess. I guess. I think the thing with.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I was taking dance classes. Improv.

[Sam Taggart]

Definitely had gurus improv.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I mean, I was taking dance classes for a long time and certain dance. I would feel the guruness of certain dance teachers and that I was not drinking the Kool Aid. So I.

[Sam Taggart]

And, well, there's almost something in a positive way about standups that. Where they're like, genuinely so selfish that they don't even want to be gurus. Like, they're like, if they're worshiped, they're like, well, then I'll go sell out a stadium. They don't want to, like, then run a school where they, like, they want

[George Severis]

to be worshiped by the audience, not by other comics. They don't want to like, icky, icky, gross, gross. But I also, even the idea of a comedy lineup, it's so non hierarchical ultimately. Like, even if one person on the lineup is literally John Mulaney, at the end of the day, you're going there and you're gonna see seven people do 10 minutes each.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Well, they're judging. When people talk about, oh, the punching down or punching up or these like, people, they're talking about comics with really big podcast followings. But what I really like about the form and even the system of stand up, as up as it is, as I'm like, yeah, I trust me, I do a lot. And stand up is one of the few art forms where I'm going to be in the room participating with people who have different points of view, different styles, different worldviews, different clothes. You know, it's, it's. I, I feel like it's not cool to say anymore, but I really like stand up.

[George Severis]

No, I think that's. And I actually think there's something about finding stand up. God, this is crazy. I know, I know we are gonna move on from this, but there's something about finding standup for, I guess, people with, generally speaking, our personality type where you're like, oh, this is what I have been looking for. It is the perfect level of organized self expression. It's like the right level of freedom to do what you want to do. But also you feel like there's a safety net that you can fall, your set is going to be over, and that even if you're absolutely bombing, you leave stage and you're safe and then you get to do it again the next day, whatever. And so I feel like I almost, in a weird way think this is the form I was meant to do. And then anything else I'm suspicious of, whether it's UCB improv, whether it's clown, whether it's honestly even like more like Hollywood stuff, like writers rooms and act like everything else. I'm like, why are we, why are we missing with this? Like, it should be that every night I go to a lineup and I practice my set and like, that should be my career.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I think there's a, there's a, there's this tension of vulnerability. I think the standup world or whatever I'm in there feels a bit more even keeled because at the end of the day, we're all watching each other work. Yes. It's almost like this mutually assured instruction.

[George Severis]

It's also transparency. Like, it's this crazy transparency where you are watching people work on something from beginning to end. It's like you can, you can be

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

smug because you're like, oh, I saw that guy bomb last week. But you know, like three months from now he may have been working that. And now it's like, well, now it's killing in this other place. And we all know, right? Yeah, we have all, you know, the amount of people who've seen me bomb as a comic, someone, the nicest things anyone ever said to me once was another comic said after I bombed so hard, it wasn't anyone else's fault. They really were on my side. I just fucked up.

[George Severis]

Yeah, that happens.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Afterward they were like, like, well, I'm just glad to know what happens to you.

[George Severis]

Well, that's very nice.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

That is a nice thing.

[Jennie Garth]

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[George Severis]

4th, come celebrate at America's Block Party, hosted by America 250. America's Block Party is a can't miss 4th of July concert happening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

[Jennie Garth]

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[Christina Catherine Martinez]

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[Jennie Garth]

day of giving in American history.

[George Severis]

It's more than just fireworks.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Join this landmark celebration and get your America's Block Party Tickets now for $17.76 at America America250.org LA I turned off news altogether.

[George Severis]

I hate to say it, but I don't trust much of anything. It's the rage bait.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

It feels like it's trying to divide people. We got clear facts.

[Sam Taggart]

Maybe we could calm down a little.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

NBC News brings you clear reporting.

[Sam Taggart]

Let's meet at the Facts.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Let's move forward from there. NBC News reporting for America.

[George Severis]

We all do it.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

You have a night for yourself, but

[George Severis]

don't like the sound of the silence.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

So you turn on the TV just for the ambiance.

[George Severis]

It's a little trick that helps you feel like you've got company and aren't alone.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

And other insurers, well, they may make

[George Severis]

you feel alone, but when you switch to geico, you've got claims reps available around the clock. So whenever you need, you'll have people around to help.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

And let's turn on the washing machine

[George Severis]

just for good measure.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Isn't that soothing? It feels good to have support.

[George Severis]

It feels good to geico.

[Sam Taggart]

Okay, we have to move on from comedy talk to any listener who gets annoyed at us with comedy talk, we are sorry.

[George Severis]

I'm not sorry.

[Sam Taggart]

I'm. I apologize.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Do you not talk about comedy a lot on this?

[George Severis]

No. Well, that's the thing. We do.

[Sam Taggart]

We do. And it's like, annoying because we're on the one hand. Sometimes it's really fun to talk about it for us, but sometimes I don't think it's as fun to listen to.

[George Severis]

No, but I think some people do like the insight. I.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

They trust me people. There wouldn't be a big market.

[George Severis]

Exactly.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

My. My boyfriend that I had, that I was with for eight years before starting comedy. This was weird. He was a huge comedy podcast fan. He would never watch live comedy.

[George Severis]

I think people, like, don't know live comedy exists.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

He was only into listening to comedians talk about comedy. Yeah, people really enjoy.

[George Severis]

Well, this is honestly how this is. This is how, like, I get into these cycles of watching interviews with actresses about movies I have no desire to see. And it's like, what are you doing? The art is like, why am I watching an interview with Charlize Theron about doing Aeon Flux?

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

The thing about working with Marty is that he really has. He really has. It's sort of he's looking at you, but he's also looking at everything else at the same time. And I find that. That kind of. Of divided attention, you know, because I want to be seen, but I also don't want to be perceived. And that is where he gives me a vessel where I can do both of those things at the same time. And I. And I really just had. And I really. And I. And I. And I.

[Sam Taggart]

And I just.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

And I just have to trust. Trust my instrument and trust my technique. But what he drives you to is. Is. Is to that trust. And then right when the cameras were role. Let it go.

[Sam Taggart]

Wow.

[George Severis]

Yeah. And meanwhile, you're promoting Inside out too,

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

which I was in Mexico when that came out, and it was called Incentamente Dos.

[George Severis]

Oh, all right. Well, now I'm listening.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Or intenseamente or incentimente.

[Sam Taggart]

Okay, what is your straight topic? And slash, what were your straight topics?

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I mean, we touched a little bit on Jungian stuff because I think analysis is very straight. Not therapy.

[George Severis]

Yeah, analysis.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Therapy is queer. Analysis.

[Sam Taggart]

Analysis. This is what ORNA does.

[George Severis]

Orna is definitely trained in a Freudian tradition, from what I understand. Yeah. Can you tell? I'm worried about, like, getting us on a tangent, but Jung and Freud rivalry.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Young. Well, it's perfect. Jung was a student of Freud and then they became rivals.

[George Severis]

Rivals, I believe. And that.

[Sam Taggart]

So that like Socrates and Plato.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Yeah.

[George Severis]

Yes.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I want to know what that means.

[George Severis]

The Cronenberg movie, A Dangerous Method. Isn't that like, about. Have you seen it? No, I haven't either. But you know what? I have watched Interview with Keira Knightley talking about making it, but I think that is about Jung and Freud. And one of them is Michael Fassbender. And one of them is some other.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

The most important straight topic, though, because I've been very embedded in it for a minute, is tennis. Tennis, which you just initially disagreed with me.

[Sam Taggart]

This is really.

[George Severis]

Yeah, I said. I literally said, you are wrong. I said those words to you, to you, to my face, to your face. I'm a visitor to your city. You grew up here. I came here. I said, shut the hell up. But then you convinced me immediately. And it's like I've never seen something more clearly because I was coming at it from a male centered. Male centered standpoint. Because I was saying, actually, tennis is for gay guys. And you were saying, think about it from a woman's perspective. For a woman, it is the straightest sport.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

It is the straightest sport. It's the pick me sport. To be honest, I'm not a great team player. I've been kicked off my improv team. I tried. I did the potpourri of sports when I was a child, like soccer, baseball, tennis. You know, I had two older brothers and we all kind of had to do everything. And I was not. I didn't think I was an athletic child or I didn't think I liked sports. And then we started doing tennis lessons, and I was like, oh, you mean I don't have a team and I get to wear a dress?

[George Severis]

Literally. You can slay, you can serve every time.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

And I only took lessons for a tiny bit when I was a child, and I just picked it up seriously a couple years ago. But it's. And I went to the French Open last year, and I've done some amateur tournaments. There's something very like Georgian London high society ball, which some sociologists have said that the whole purpose of, like, ball dancing or ballroom culture. Not the cool kind from New York. The old one is. It was a. It was a systematized way. It was a ritualized way of allowing men to touch other women's wives. So it was like a safety val.

[George Severis]

Oh, my God.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

For sort of reinforcing the new nuclear family unit. And I almost feel tennis is the same way, but it's even more desexualized because it's a lot of, like, women grunting and women sweating and like mixed singles is kind of hot because you're battling each other, but you're also like 100ft apart.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Severis]

And even you're edging. Yeah.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

And even the amateur tournaments that I've been to, there's a lot of just girlfriends who are. Are tennis kitted out. They have the whole affect. But they're not playing. They're there to just get their boyfriend cups of water. They're there to get their USDA 3.0 Boyfriend Cups of water and like, massage his shoulders and stuff. The discourse is very old timey, very like Jane Austen. If. I don't know if you've watched, seen the comments around the French Open right now, but I mean, before Osaka played Sabalenka, people were like, oh, my God, you know, the one with the sequins playing, the one with the diamonds. We can't wait.

[George Severis]

Yeah.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

The discourse over what? It's not like figure skating, right. Which is sparkly costumes. But, like, figure skating is very gay, right?

[George Severis]

Yeah, camp.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

It's camp.

[Sam Taggart]

Simply decorative.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

It's solo. It's sparkly costumes. And I'm like, why is that gay? And this is straight? Because I think there's this undercurrent when we talk about women's clothing in tennis. There's undercurrent of. Of appropriateness. Like, a lot of people think that

[George Severis]

when Serena wore the catsuit, it's like, what the hell is she doing? Is she some sort of wily hate

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Sabalenka because they think it's inappropriate that she wears diamonds. Or people think, you know, there's so many comments whenever Naomi comes out in her custom kits. They're like, just play tennis. It's not a fashion show.

[George Severis]

And that's also the difference between. I mean, even though obviously appropriateness is also emphasized in figure skating in like a more sort of like Russian strict way. But figure skating. Figure skating, there's. The taste level is out of whack. Figure skating, you are able to like, fully look like Liberace, whereas in tennis, it's essentially like all about quiet luxury. Like, it's like you're supposed to wear

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

like a white is getting dragged. Because her tennis dress looks like a figure skating dress.

[George Severis]

Yes, exactly. That's exactly what it is.

[Sam Taggart]

Well, that's because there's a balance. Like, they have to wear a skirt, but then it's also like. But they have to be athletic. And it's this weird thing of like. Well, the skirt is. It's already decorative. Like, we're being like, we're having, you know, a choice here.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

It feels a little old timey because it's very comfortable. Like, you could just wear little shorts, right?

[George Severis]

Yes.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

And it's almost like the skirt is there just for purposes of being appropriate.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Severis]

I mean, there's also just to state the complete obvious, like, in the western world, tennis comes in and in America and the uk, tennis comes from like a sort of country club WASP environment. So like, if you're talking about straight culture, like, it comes from literally like wealthy people doing it as a hobby, you know, after having a spritz or a martini. Like, it is, it is inherently classist, racist and gendered. And like the, the men wear like button down shirts and the women wear skirts.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

And like that went to Roland Garros last year. It was, that's what really gave me the feeling. I'm like, oh, I'm in a Jane Austen novel. Lots of the peacocking, sort of like the art world, there was sort of an implied hierarchy based on outfits, based on, do you have a box or are you one of the grounds people? And I mean, it was the fucking best. Just grunting women, cigarettes, champagne, hot dogs, all at once. Give me a break.

[George Severis]

But yeah, and then the other, I would just in terms of the women, because this is like, it really is hitting.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

It's a prison for women.

[George Severis]

It's a prison for women. But it's also. Think about, think about the idea of women's sports in the straight world. It's like women who play sports are quote unquote masculine or lesbians or it's like you're a tomboy, whatever. Tennis is the one sport that actually can exist within the male gaze. It's like, think of all the female athletes that become sort of like Sports Illustrated sex symbol. It's like Maria Sharapova, Anna Kournikova, you know, whereas it's not, you know, the gymnasts, the basketball players, you are able to somehow maintain this kind of societally approved idea of femininity while also being an actor.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

It's very straight women culture because all the female athletes exist in that double bind of needing to cater to the male gaze. Especially like lower ranked players gotta do all the deals and the stuff to make money. But you're also, when you do it too much, then, then it's like, hey, this isn't a fashion show. I have harbored a lot of animosity towards Sabalenka and I have a friend who, just to be fun, will always DM me every time she posts like a bikini selfie or like one of these, or he. And he dms me pictures of tennis players that he thinks are hot. Yeah, this is what, this is like my, this is my chat with my straight male friends who play dance. Also, male tennis players, when they're hot, they're always very hot in like a emotionally unavailable pitch deck type way.

[George Severis]

Literally, they are hot in a Brooklyn hipster way. It's crazy. Like, if you look at.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

They're hot in a three texts and never again.

[Sam Taggart]

Like, if.

[George Severis]

Literally, if you look at Djokovic or Federer, you're like, these are not. That's not what male athletes should be talking about. What are you talking about?

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Like, Taylor Fritz would ruin me.

[George Severis]

Yeah, yeah.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

After one, you know, he'd give me one pity date and then, like, texting for seven months, and then I can't let it go.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Severis]

And then you finally have sex and he can't stay hard, and then it's

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

like, oh, I thought we really had something. And it's like, actually. And then he had a girlfriend the whole time.

[George Severis]

Yeah, yeah.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Secret family.

[Sam Taggart]

It is. You know, we, as a culture fetishize the swimmers build, and I actually think we need to shift focus and fetishize the tennis ball build, because that is some. That's actually sort of what we're all wanting.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Well, the men. The men have what's cool about at least being an amateur tournaments. There's all types of bodies at that level. I mean, people who are kicking ass that are like, bigger, smaller, taller, shorter. But the men do tend to have a specific body type. And it's like, do the. Are these men. Do these men have Pilates bodies?

[Sam Taggart]

Yes, kind of. Yeah.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Are they just like toned dolphins?

[George Severis]

When. When people have more muscular bodies in tennis, they are seen with suspicion. And this happened with Nadal on the men's side and Serena on the women's side. Like, they have actually more just muscular frames. And it's like, why does she look like that? This is tennis. She should look like.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Is that really discourse?

[George Severis]

Well, with Serena, it was also obviously tied to race, racism and sexism. But even with Nadal, it was like, wow, he's a power player. And you look at him, obviously he's muscular, but, like, compared to the average male athlete.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Yeah. I mean, and sinner, God bless him, you know? Well, we like his personality. Like, is he number one right now? Technically?

[George Severis]

Are you. Are you feeling alienated?

[Sam Taggart]

Because you don't know.

[George Severis]

About 10.

[Jennie Garth]

I celebrated.

[Sam Taggart]

I celebrated.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

But I'm also like, sinner maybe needs some muscles or something. He's just collapsing every time he's in the hot weather.

[George Severis]

Yeah.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I want him to take care of himself.

[George Severis]

So in the way, what we're saying is that tennis is straight in that

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

it is a prison for women.

[George Severis]

It's like the average. It's literally the average LA or New York couple, which is skinny guy, randomly hot Girl, you know what I mean? It's like skinny artist guy who's randomly dating a model. That's what the men and the women in tennis look at.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I hope that's what me and my boyfriend are like. He's the one who got me into it. He's from the east coast, kind of WASPy. And he's like, do you play? And I, I was like, I, I can. It turns out I can. You know.

[Sam Taggart]

You know, I do like that. It's a game. It's so many sports aren't a game. So many sports, even when you're playing a game, it doesn't feel like a game. It's too, too much.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Well, it's a game and then it's a point and then it's a set and then it's a match.

[George Severis]

Well, it's a point and then it's a game.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Oh my God, cut it. Oh my God, cut it.

[Sam Taggart]

This tennis, it's like sometimes you can be like, is it a sport? It's also a game.

[George Severis]

Whereas, oh you just because of the like back and it's like playing Scrabble.

[Sam Taggart]

You're like, I have a ball. And their little sure, sure, sure. Like I'm essentially, that's why we've made

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

the scoring system so up. Cuz it's just a game.

[Sam Taggart]

It's a game. You guys. Everybody chill out.

[George Severis]

Yeah. God, I want to go to the US Open. Sadly, it is $800.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Really?

[Sam Taggart]

You always find a way there though.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Well, let's make some, let's, let's make some y' all content.

[George Severis]

Well, last year, last year, as a joke, I, I, I did pay for my tickets and as a joke I said, you know, thank you at Faye, hashtag F partner. And then a lot of people believed it and I was sort of hoping I could gaslight Faye into actually inviting me this year. It hasn't happened yet.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

You have to be careful. Kurt Vonnegut said you are who you pretend to be.

[George Severis]

I'm hoping for it. That's the goal.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Keep pretending to be Faye partner.

[Sam Taggart]

I mean people, this is a common mistake in our community is people doing a fake sponsored thing to be like, hahaha, how crazy would it be if I was sponsored? And everyone's like, that seems right.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

You have to be careful with that. I made a fake A24 trailer for Where's Waldo the movie and people thought it was, was real.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Severis]

Wait, they should make a dark we as well though.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Now I, yeah, I mean he's running

[George Severis]

away from the wall.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

It he that's the. That's the story. And I'm like, honestly, this is probably the. Unfortunately, it's the best thing I've written, and I think I need to make this a movie. Should we talk about that book?

[George Severis]

Do you have any final thoughts on tennis as straight culture?

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Nah. Clip it. Sorry, I got the scoring system wrong. Oh, someone. You know why it's. You know why the points go that way, Right?

[George Severis]

You know, someone did explain it to me at some point, and I forgot.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

So you start with a point. Game, set, match. So you start with the first point is 15. The second point is 30. 30, 30, 40. And then it's one point. And someone explained to me that. Oh, it's just. It's. It's like. It's a watch face. That's why love is called zero, because it resets. So 15. It started out 15, 30, 45, and then one point. And then players just didn't want to say 45, so 40 to shorten it. And then. Have you noticed now people who are really good and who play a lot. I don't know if you play people now. People just don't want to say syllables during the points. So it goes 15, 30, 40, and then point. People now say 5, 3, 4, and then point. So it's like if it's 15, 30, they'll say 5, 3, even though.

[George Severis]

Even though you're down. Yes. 5 sounds like more than 3, but in fact it's less.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

53 is shorthand. 4 scores actually down. Um, and it's just because when you're in the middle of a match, you have no time for syllables. I found there's a weird. I don't know if there's a hierarchical thing, but there are certain players who say 5, 3, 4 instead of 15, 30, 40.

[Sam Taggart]

I love when things create more and more boundaries to make it harder for someone to enter.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I think that's what mo. And you know what, the barrier to entry that makes tennis the most straight of all.

[Jennie Garth]

Yeah.

[George Severis]

But that goes back to the country club.

[Sam Taggart]

Well, that's everything. I feel like whenever. When I, like, first was in a writer's room, and they're like, okay, today we're. And then they'd, like, say a word that I've never heard of.

[Jennie Garth]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

And it's like, you just mean we're brainstorming. Like, how about you just say the words that have existed forever. Yeah. Instead of making up your own new

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

words of the class aspect of it. And this is where. This is where Los Angeles is wonderful. Or Southern California. I didn't know that tennis was a hoity toity sport for a while because we have so many courts.

[George Severis]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

So many. And then I've traveled and then I went to, like, Mexico and I'm like, oh, there's no public courts here. And the courts you pay for are actually insanely expensive, even in American dollars. And everywhere it's.

[George Severis]

I had a similar experience where I. Because of my specific age, the first players I really became aware of were the Williams sisters, who are not like, from the class background that most tennis players are from. And then I, I had to then learn that they were the exception to the rule and understand that it was actually like a rich, white sport. I was just like, oh, like.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

And I think it's tied to. I think they wouldn't have, they came up here and they wouldn't have done it anywhere else. Here's where you have a, like a lot of. I, I'm within five minute driving distance to at least three different parks that have public courts. And I'm like, you know, everyone, you know, yeah, tennis is just a sport where you go to the park and you play. And maybe someone's probably roller skating or playing soccer on the next court over. And that's how it is.

[George Severis]

Speaking of making up words for things that already exist and having that be the barrier to entry, it brings us right back to the art world because I feel like that's what the art world is best at is being like, this is literally like an abstract painting that's like half blue, half red. And then the plaque says, like, it interrogates modes of production in post capitalist Guatemala. And you're like, I don't think that's true.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

It might. You never know. Yeah, but that's what. When people, people say, how did did clowning affect your writing? And I think it did in that I. Sometimes when I'm tired, I'm. When I'm tired, I'm totally down for some international art English. But what I. It really made me feel like, okay, it made me see the system of art, writing, language. And sometimes I'm like, what am I actually trying to say? Say in the simplest terms. I don't even think simplest terms. Sometimes I will try to rewrite something. I'm like, okay, I'm gonna write this review and I'm not gonna say anything that ends with ism, right? And I'm gonna use the shortest possible words in the shortest possible sentences. And like, that in and of itself becomes fun. Sometimes things are complicated. Sometimes they do be interrogating. Preconceived notions of space and there's nothing we can do.

[George Severis]

And I. And I. But I agree. It's like, so save that phrase for when it's actually happening. And then it will actually have some impact.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

What if we never agree on when it'.

[George Severis]

But I think I do agree. But they're lying.

[Sam Taggart]

There's a boy who cried wolf about this.

[George Severis]

Yes, exactly.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

You keep perceiving, you keep interrogating preconceived notions and you keep crying, interrogating preconceived notions when the preconceived notion is actually being interrogated.

[Sam Taggart]

I won't believe you.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

Yes.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Because no one spoke for me.

[George Severis]

No one spoke for me when my preconceived notions were being interrogated. And it's the same with everything. It's the same with book blurbs, where every single book. One of my biggest pet peeves is when a book blurb says something is laugh out loud funny.

[Sam Taggart]

Oh, it. Very rarely.

[George Severis]

It isn't.

[Sam Taggart]

Well, and not to be a bitch,

[George Severis]

but show me footage of you laughing.

[Sam Taggart]

Same for stand up comedy. When someone has something coming out, they say they're the funniest comedian on earth.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I love them.

[Sam Taggart]

And I'm like, well, if everyone's the funniest.

[George Severis]

Yeah, yeah.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I. Someone I respect. There's an author. I asked an author to blurb that book.

[George Severis]

Your book is called Esthetical Relations.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

It's a pun on relational aesthetics. Do you get it, George?

[George Severis]

I do.

[Sam Taggart]

I didn't get it.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

You'll find out. And I feel like we have to go now. We're opening a whole other can of worms and I have acupuncture. So soon. I wish I didn't, but I do.

[Sam Taggart]

No, we do. We do.

[George Severis]

No, I just wanted to shout out the. Shout out the book for anyone not watching and not being able to get a zoo.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Can we get a pan over to that?

[George Severis]

Please don't order our staff that way.

[Sam Taggart]

Don't do that. We don't do that. We don't do that type of thing.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

This. None of these are on a dolly.

[Sam Taggart]

Maybe the editors can get a really.

[George Severis]

Can we get a fisheye lens on all three of us? Computer Enhance Aesthetical Relations. That is a book of essays.

[Sam Taggart]

Mm.

[George Severis]

And it is about art and comedy.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

The official blurb is Essay Constellation of Essays on Art, Fashion, Cancer, Comedy, and your mom.

[George Severis]

Oh,

[Sam Taggart]

that's right.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Your mother specifically.

[George Severis]

Oh. Oh,

[Jennie Garth]

This is Jennie Garth from I Choose Me with Jennie Garth. You know, history is full of surprising little TV details and laundry Turns out it's got its own fascinating story too, because not all detergents are created equal. Tide Liquid laundry detergent isn't just clean, it's boosted clean for cleaner, whiter, brighter and fresher results compared to Tide Simply and those stubborn stains that always seem to show up at the worst times. Tide tackles 100% of common stains for every load every time. Now if grease is your nemesis, think food spills, cooking splatters, Tide's got 10 times grease fighting ingredients compared to bargain brands. And it works in a machine in any water condition on all your machine washable fabrics. It's no wonder Tide was America's number one detergent in sales last year. So if it's gotta be clean and it's gotta be fresh, it's gotta be Tide. Shop now at your local retailer. Tide is a proud sponsor of the Elton John Impact Awards, honoring those who have helped shape a more inclusive and compassionate world with their artisans, advocacy and unwavering commitment to equality. You won't want to miss the Elton John Impact Awards podcast, available on June 1st on the iHeartRadio app and everywhere

[George Severis]

podcasts are heard this July 4th. Come celebrate at America's Block Party hosted by America 250. America's Block Party is a can't miss 4th of July concert happening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

[Jennie Garth]

Experience music, performances by major artists, patriotic

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

tributes and the Kickstarter off to giving 4th, helping to make July 4th the

[Jennie Garth]

largest day of giving in American history.

[George Severis]

It's more than just fireworks.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Join this landmark celebration and get your

[Jennie Garth]

America's Block Party Tickets now for $17.76

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

at america250.org LA I turned off news altogether.

[George Severis]

I hate to say it, but I don't trust much of anything. It's the rage bait.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

It feels like it's trying to divide people. We got clear facts.

[Sam Taggart]

Maybe we can calm down a little.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

NBC News brings you clear reporting.

[Sam Taggart]

Let's meet at the Facts.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Let's move forward from there. NBC News reporting for America.

[George Severis]

When I scraped my car in that parking garage, I was worried that it could be a long process to take care of it. Like a landscaper's first day trimming a hedge maze.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I have definitely already been here.

[George Severis]

Now, was it left right or right left?

[Sam Taggart]

Well, maybe I'll cut a path out

[George Severis]

and find my way back later. But it wasn't like that.

[Sam Taggart]

I filed a claim in under two

[George Severis]

minutes on the Geico app and they handled it from there. It was taken care of almost as quickly as it happened. It feels good to get help quick. It feels good to geico.

[Sam Taggart]

Should we do our final segment? Yeah. Okay. Our final segment is called Shoutouts. And in this segment we pay homage to the grand street tradition of the radio shout out. And we shout out anything that we are enjoying. People, places, things, ideas. We make them up on the spot. And we will go first and George, do you have one?

[George Severis]

I do have one.

[Jennie Garth]

Oh,

[George Severis]

I want to give a shout out to the film Legally Blonde which I rewatched for the first time. I was like a child on the plane and it's pretty much like top to bottom a perfect movie. And I also just really want to Reece, stop with all the fancy stuff.

[Sam Taggart]

Literally.

[George Severis]

Stop with the book club. Stop with the Apple tv. Stop with the Instagrams where you like do like self referential nostalgia and talk about your past characters. Stop with your kids.

[Sam Taggart]

Stop with the government contracts.

[George Severis]

Stop it. Comedic performance is what you are good at. You are a generational talent. Find a script and play a funny character named Allie Becca. Is that what you said?

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Severis]

Play Becca. Find your Becca. Rhys needs to go to Clown Academy for finding her inner Becca.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

She doesn't need it. She has it.

[George Severis]

No, she has it.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

She has it.

[George Severis]

She has lost touch with her inner Becca and it shows. And it shows in her acting in the morning show as well. She needs to find her inner Becca. And. And no reboots. I don't want to hear Legally Blonde 4 in you.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Wow.

[George Severis]

Woo.

[Sam Taggart]

That's all that's interesting. That inspired me. What's up freaks, losers, perverts around the globe. I want to give a huge shout out to the. That's right. Real Housewives of Rhode Island.

[George Severis]

Wow.

[Sam Taggart]

I have never been a Housewives girl girl. And I did start because I decided that it's time to stop alienating myself, my own community and maybe just watch a TV show that will then let me allow, allow me to talk to over 1 billion gay guys. And I have started it and you know, three episodes in. Lo and behold, I'm loving it. I can't wait to see what these women get up to. I do wish they had healthier communication styles and I do think a lot of their issues could be solved quite quickly. But I, I am kind of inspired by their ability to feel so strongly and I wish that I had such fire in my own heart. And instead when I'm in a conflict, I say, hey, let's, let's bring it back a bit. I'm sorry. They would never do something like that. And in many ways I wish I had that strength. So shout out to Rhode island and the housewives and I will maybe be joining in the other universes. But to be honest, honest, it is quite daunting. Thank you.

[George Severis]

Goodbye.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Shout out. The scene in the action movie when one of the main characters retreats to administer self first aid. You know what I'm talking about. And it's this very specific rating because obviously the sex scene in an action movie or horror movie operates as like a bit of respite for the audience. But if it's like maybe PG13 or we can candy that we get a protracted scene. Two of the best movies to ever do it, Terminator 2 and Predator 1, because, well, and interesting because one's a sort of an alien and one's a robot. I want to see. There's some more erotic sort of human examples where it's like I want to see, you know, a muscled guy just busting into a shitty hotel room and looking in the mirror and going, oh,

[Sam Taggart]

I do love that.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

You know what I mean? That's the, that's the scene. So that can, that's a softer way of giving that the audience like respite from the action than like a sex scene. And it's so relaxing, it's so interesting. When the predator does it, I get to see all sorts of insight into alien biology and anatomy. He has green blood. I just think that action movies really lost their way. They, they're trying too hard to be funny. There's too much of looking at the camera and saying, I hope this email finds you will.

[Sam Taggart]

Totally, totally.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I need less self aware cynical comedy in action movies. And I need a, a very calm, earnest character administering self first aid. Oh no, wait, I'm not going to unbutton my jacket because there's nothing underneath. But then the unbuttoning and then the knife wound or the like.

[George Severis]

Yeah, wow.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

And then they're back at it. Shout out to that scene. I need more of that. Woo.

[George Severis]

Wow.

[Sam Taggart]

I mean, I agree that we are lacking vulnerability in action movies these days. And that's how you get it. You need to know that they're human, they could die and that it hurts. Like now everyone's so perfect. You gotta feel the pain.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

This is not the scene where the two main characters examine each other's wounds and then it turns into sex. That's a different thing.

[Sam Taggart]

That's different. That's different. And I don't need more of that. I want self reflection.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I want self reflection. I want self restraint. I need to see strong male role models administering self care.

[George Severis]

Period.

[Sam Taggart]

Period.

[George Severis]

And I think that's where we end.

[Sam Taggart]

Well, thank you so much for doing the podcast.

[George Severis]

This has been an absolute delight.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

I can't believe I cried.

[George Severis]

That was crazy.

[Sam Taggart]

That was wild. Okay, bye.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Hi.

[George Severis]

Podcast ends now.

[Sam Taggart]

Stradiolab is a Production by Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and iHeartRadio Podcasts created

[George Severis]

and hosted by Sam Taggart and George Severis, executive produced by Becca Ramos, produced by Casey Donahue edited and mixed by Lawrence Stumpf Social Video done by Hot Dog Sandwich. This July 4th, come celebrate at America's Block Party. Hosted by America 250, America's Block Party is a can't 4th of July concert happening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

[Jennie Garth]

Experience music, performances by major artists, patriotic

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

tributes and the kickoff to giving 4th, helping to make July 4th the largest

[Jennie Garth]

day of giving in American history.

[George Severis]

It's more than just fireworks.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

Join this landmark celebration and get your America's Block party tickets now for $17.76

[Jennie Garth]

at america250.org LA with my mom and dad living in Orange county, when we bring my five and seven year old to visit, we are sometimes in for

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

a two hour drive that could feed feel like 10.

[George Severis]

Oh, as an avid camper, I know all about this.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

We'll pack up the RV and know this is either going to be the trip of a lifetime or a complete disaster.

[Jennie Garth]

Which is why we load up the iPads with Lingokids before we even pull out of the driveway.

[George Severis]

It's what dreams are made of. Lingokids keeps kids engaged and quiet with over 4, 000 interactive games, songs and

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

shows that kids simply cannot get enough of. You can pack whatever you think you'll

[Jennie Garth]

need, but Lingokids is the only entertainment

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

you'll need for a stress free content

[George Severis]

car ride or really any ride, plane, train, hovercraft, whatever.

[Jennie Garth]

Download Lingokids for free today or unlock

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

even more amazing content with LingoKids.

[Jennie Garth]

Plus choose the yearly plan and save up to 60%. Search LingoKids in the app Store or Google.

[George Severis]

Play Lingokids everything kids love. Flowers fade, cards get tossed.

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

But a personalized song that lasts forever? Surprise someone you love with a custom

[George Severis]

song made just for them with Joybox.

[Sam Taggart]

Visit joybox.com to get started on your personalized song. Song today.

[George Severis]

Don't just say I love you. Sing it with Joybox. This is George Severis and Sam Taggart from Stratiolab. Let's be real Home comes with a lot of odors, cooking, pets, everyday life. That's where Febreze comes in.

[Sam Taggart]

Febreze helps fight household odors and leaves behind freshness that lasts. And with over 30 scents to choose from, you'll always find one that feels like you.

[George Severis]

Febreze freshness that fits your life, your space, your style.

[Sam Taggart]

Febreze is a proud sponsor of the Elton John Impact Awards, honoring those who have helped shape a more inclusive and compassionate world with their artistry, advocacy and unwavering commitment to equality.

[George Severis]

You won't want to miss the Elton John Impact Awards podcast, available on June 1st on the iHeartRadio app. And everywhere podcasts are heard, this is

[Christina Catherine Martinez]

an iHeart podcast, guaranteed human.