Things of Summer

Summary

StraightioLab – "Things of Summer"

Hosts: George Civeris & Sam Taggart
Date: June 2, 2026
Network: Big Money Players Network / iHeartPodcasts

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Overview & Main Theme

In this vibrant episode, George and Sam revive their “Things of Summer” tradition—playfully dissecting the cultural and personal signifiers of summer 2026. The episode is both a tongue-in-cheek guide and a sharp commentary, covering everything from foods and shapes to music, travel, “fake debates,” and social anxieties. Their conversation is an unfiltered reflection on how seemingly trivial trends capture deep anxieties, aspirations, and joys within contemporary, mostly queer, straight-adjacent culture.

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Contents & Key Segments

1. The Meaning and Start of Summer

[03:36–06:30]

• Sam and George debate when summer “really” starts—New Year’s Day, February 1st, June 1st, or when each person “blooms.”
  • George: “For each person, each person blooms at a different rate. You’ll wake up one day and be like, oh… that’s the blooming happening.” (05:12)
  • Sam: “I think June 1st. Hard... but every June 10th, I’m cold at the beach. It’s not summer yet.” (05:37)
• Witty skewering of the fantasy of beaches (Rhys Beach, Venice, Malibu) vs. lived urban reality.
  • George: “Malibu is for private beaches…there’s one public one, it literally is like, you know, a Darren Aronofsky movie.” (07:46–08:08)
• George’s summer stress relief—sister’s wedding in Greece on July 10th.
• Sam’s anxiety about summer plans, Palm Springs group chats, and the social invisibility of not being “known” in the city.

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2. Foods and Drinks of Summer

[11:53–16:20]

• Side Dish: Braised greens with lemon “for brightness” (satirizing the overuse of “bright” in food lingo).
  • George: “Bright is one of those words...we almost need to ban it. It’s like the word ‘aesthetic.’” (12:19)
• Entrée Trend: Fish as an ‘accessory’ in unexpected places.
  • Sam: “Fish as an accessory… it’s like, there’s this little fish in it—even in places you wouldn’t expect or necessarily want.” (13:14)
  • The forced decadence and escalation of fishy side-dishes—anchovies, tinned fish, sardines-on-martinis—seen as a kind of restaurant one-upmanship.
• Sweet: Coffee cake (classic, “grandma style, spicy, normal”).
  • George: “Coffee cake is such an old classic because it has all the makings of a TikTok trend.” (15:08)
• Sweet 2: Soft-serve sorbet to share—interpreted as part-asset of “compulsory ozempic culture.”

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3. The Post-Dessert Crisis: Social Orbits After a Meal

[16:20–19:44]

• George and Sam invent post-dinner “gift shops” or “next spaces” for adults: restaurants should shepherd you to a recommended next bar, club, or meeting room (even for AA!).
  • George: “The meal ends and you’re let go and there’s no safety net. Someone should be there. There should be literally a halfway house for after the meal ends.” (18:05)
  • Sam: “There should be a moving sidewalk that takes you to the bar.” (18:58)
• Fantasizing about billionaires being forced to literally carry people from dinner to drinks as tax-dodging penance.

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4. Thematic & Aesthetic Trends

[20:16–26:25]

• Shape of the Summer: “Circles and dots” — gentle, playful, anti-angular.
  • George: “We’re not ready for sharp edges… a corner is dangerous right now.” (21:09)
  • Circles are everywhere: in food, plating, even potato salad!
• Word of the Summer: "Whateva" — expressive of current emotional ambivalence, performed detachment.
  • Sam: “Everyone’s saying whatever, wanting to brush stuff off, but you also have to be knowing about it. So whateva.” (22:47)
• Activity of the Summer: Air hockey and old-school arcades/pool halls, described as “ethical gentrification” and cross-generational sites.
  • George: “Imagine it’s summer, you go into a pool hall that is so air-conditioned that you’re… all your pores are closed shut.” (24:40)
  • A gentle, nonviolent game: “A gentle touch can go a really long way. And I think we as a society need to remember that.” (25:28)

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5. Store, Gear, and Gifts of the Summer

[29:57–34:30]

• Store: CVS—emphatically replacing The Gap.
  • Central to CVS’s appeal is the ritual of pressing the assistance button for locked goods, and the resigned acceptance of retail friction.
  • George: “It’s reveling in the friction. It’s almost… anti-AI.” (31:21)
• Essentials: Survival kits with travel-size everything, reflecting an anxious, “month-to-month lease” life philosophy.
  • George: “You’re starting summer. You’re saying, I don’t know if I’m going to be alive in September.” (33:28)
• Gift/Objét: Wind chimes, especially indoor, for microdosing a nature vibe in urban life. Debated as both decor and whimsical soundscape.
• Accessory: Hammock (possibly inspired by Survivor); not ready yet for the beaded curtain revival.

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6. Destination of the Summer

[37:19–41:01]

• Chicago is the hot vacation city.
  • “No, it’s not Palm Springs. No, it’s not Fire Island. It’s not even the Amalfi Coast. The vacation of the summer, we’re going to Chicago.” (37:19)
  • Swim Lake Michigan by day, enjoy the city’s gay neighborhoods and culture by night, go to Emporium Arcade Bar.
  • Celebrated as “the best we can do,” embracing both the joys and limitations of American urbanism.

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7. Broader Cultural Currents

[41:01–47:09]

The Art World as Debate-Stage

• George predicts the art world will be the next cultural field to be “mainstreamed” and fiercely debated on social media, following fashion’s path.
  • Museum curators, gallery operations, and the ethics of art collecting will become everyone's business, especially on TikTok.
  • George: “We’re going to see what happened with fashion happen with art.” (41:18)
• Increasing democratization ("nothing is gatekept anymore"), but the drive to feel “in the know” rebounds in new esoteric forms.

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8. Song & Soundtrack of the Summer

[48:46–52:03]

• "H&M Music": Bland, danceable, “gay-adjacent” stock pop/soft house, as heard in stores and reality TV.
  • Sam: “Song of the summer is H&M music. I think this summer is going to be all about something you’d hear at an H&M.” (48:49)
  • Dua Lipa’s “Radical Optimism” and “I feel so Free” by Madonna are cited as prime examples.
  • George: “What’s in is middlebrow. Leave your taste at the door—have some fun.” (51:39)
• The feeling of the summer: Gratitude.

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9. Coming Summer Conversations: Redemption/Reclamation Candidates

[52:16–55:05]

• Wayans Brothers: Critical reappraisal of "White Chicks" and "Scary Movie."
• Madonna: Potential comeback, "what if the new record is bad?"—will complicate the narrative.
• Kylie Minogue: Netflix doc and resurgence via TikTok, not just among gay men but by 22-year-olds discovering her anew.
  • Sam: “Every time a gay guy wakes up, they’re saying, today I’m reclaiming Kylie Minogue.” (54:24)

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10. Sexual Deviation of the Summer

[56:08–57:38]

• Friend Group Orgy.
  “No more anonymous sex—it’s close friends only, but not so close you can’t hook up.” (56:23)
  Sparked by the idea that people are done with risky stranger encounters and will “mess up” newer friendships instead.

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11. Fake vs. Real Debates of Summer

[62:54–70:02]

• Fake Debates:
  • Is Hasan Piker “bad” (too flashy for a leftist)?
  • Can Boots Riley be a communist in a capitalist system?
  • Are accents in the Odyssey movie “problematic?”
  • Is Ivy (comedian) the new Lena Dunham?
• Real Debate:
  • Can people change their minds (esp. ex-Trump voters)? The problem of holding grudges vs. welcoming changed minds.
  • Have the Obamas “flopped” post-presidency?
  • Sam: “It’s obviously, we should have the mental strength to be like, oh, you see the error of your ways, welcome. But I can’t do that, I’m pissed.” (69:44)

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12. Ephemeral Observations and “Meta” Thoughts

[77:27–80:07]

• On pastries: why are bakery vitrines always full? Where do they go? (Baristas, or “holdouts” at LA donut shops get them free)
• On the economics of food (croissants, laundry, and honey): The logic behind Manhattan’s $34 laundry bill, and George’s Denver “honey scam” ($50 saffron honey by mishearing the price).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On circles:
  “A corner is really dangerous right now.” (Sam, 21:09)

• On air hockey:
  "A gentle touch can go a really long way. And I think we as a society need to remember that now more than ever." (Sam, 25:28)

• On CVS:
  "It’s reveling in the friction. It’s almost honestly, like anti-AI... I’m pressing a button and it does nothing." (George, 31:21)

• On Chicago:
  “The thing with Chicago is its motto should be this is the best we can do.” (George, 39:00)

• On fake debates:
  “Imagine a world where I won that debate one way or the other. Guess what? It’s the same world. Nothing’s gonna change.” (George, 63:11)

• Song of the summer:
  "Song of the Summer is H&M music." (Sam, 48:49)

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Summary Table of “Things of Summer”

| Category | "Thing" of Summer | |-------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Shape | Circles/dots (anti-angular, comforting, playful) | | Side Dish | Braised greens with lemon (for “brightness”) | | Entrée | Fish as accessory (in unexpected places) | | Dessert | Coffee cake (“grandma style, normal”), and shared soft-serve sorbet | | Store | CVS (travel-size survival kits; embrace the locked-goods friction) | | Home Decor | Wind chimes (especially indoors) / Hammocks | | Activity | Air hockey (arcade/pool hall aesthetic) | | Destination | Chicago (urban, lakeside, gay-friendly, practical) | | Word/Phrase | “Whateva” (post-ironic detachment) | | Soundtrack | H&M music (light, gay-adjacent, stock dance/pop) | | Feeling | Gratitude, gentle fun, let-go-of-taste | | Political Concept | Fake debates (esp. about social media micro-scandals, accents, leftist purity) | | Sexual “Deviation” | Friend-group orgy (no more anonymous sex) | | Redemption Candidates | Wayans Bros., Madonna, Kylie Minogue |

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Final Thoughts

George and Sam deftly blend smart cultural critique with absurd humor and lived experience, turning their “things of summer” into a portrait of actual post-pandemic anxieties: the craving for gentle stimulus, community friction, simple pleasures, and ambiguity. Their meta-commentary also serves as a warning: don’t fall for media-manufactured debates and keep your media literacy sharp.

Memorable Sign-off:
“Engage in real debates, but try to resist fake debates… Know when a debate is fake. You are smart enough to know when a debate is real, when it’s fake.” – George & Sam (83:05–83:13)

Parting Rec:
“Stream H&M music, I feel so Free; watch the Kylie doc, Boots Riley’s new film, Scary Movie (unless it’s bad); wear dots; have braised greens with lemon for brightness; and get yourself some wind chimes!” (82:32–83:13)

Book of the Summer:
“Read Lena Dunham’s Famesick… and maybe that tradwife novel if you’re feeling ironic.” (83:32–84:13)

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For Your Summer:

Go outside, embrace some circles and wind, let your friends carry you to the bar, and pick “whateva” as your word of the season.
And if you’re at a bakery, get there before 10am for a croissant—or prepare to befriend the barista.

Transcript

[George Taveras]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. This is George Taveras and Sam Taggart from Stradiolab. Let's be real. Home comes with a lot of odors. Cooking, pets, everyday life. That's where Febreze comes in.

[Sam Taggart]

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[George Taveras]

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[Sam Taggart]

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[George Taveras]

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[Sponsor/Announcer]

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[Sam Taggart]

what's up y'? All? Summer's got a different tempo. Everything's a little looser, brighter. One plan turns into another. You hear something, you stay a little longer. Next thing you know, you're somewhere you didn't plan to be. It's those in between moments. That's where the ideas hit. Conversations stretch out. Little memories. Memories sneak up on you. Sometimes it's just about what's in your hand. That color, that chill. The new Tropical Butterfly Refresher from Starbucks. Guava and passion fruit flavors with mango pineapple flavored pearls. Yeah, that feels like summer before you even taste it. Funny how one small stop becomes the best part of the day. Start your summer rhythm with Starbucks. Try the new Tropical Butterfly Refresher from Starbucks. Hey everyone, it's Kel 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 ears. Listen to Earsay, the Audible and iHeart audiobook club on the iHeartradio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[George Taveras]

Foreign.

[Sam Taggart]

Tour announcement starts now. Hello everyone, it is me, Sam and I am going on tour this Summer. I'm doing my hour of incredible standup comedy, and I would love, love, love to see you there. So I will be in San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Chicago, D.C. boston, Philly, and maybe a couple more. But if you are in any of those places, please, please, please get tickets. I would love to see you all there. And I'm really, really excited because I love touring now. So see you there. Okay. Enjoy the app. Bye. Podcast starts now. Wow. If you can believe it, summer is just around the corner. And some would argue it's here, depending on how you view time.

[George Taveras]

Yeah. You know, I've been hearing a lot about the summer solstice this year. Really? June 20th, they're saying. Once again, it's on the 20th.

[Sam Taggart]

I always thought it was 21st.

[George Taveras]

It's, as I was saying, on the 21st. Is it 20th or 21st? No one knows. It's one of those things.

[Sam Taggart]

We can't have another debate on air.

[George Taveras]

I know. I can't. I don't care. I just want it on record. I don't care. It can be the 20th or the 21st.

[Sam Taggart]

21st.

[George Taveras]

It's the 21st. Oh, my God. Starting right off the bat with a big mistake.

[Sam Taggart]

Big mistake.

[George Taveras]

So summer's around the corner and. Or already here, depending on when this comes out. Obviously, we're recording February 1st.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. It's Christmas 1995.

[George Taveras]

It's Christmas 1995, and we are so excited for the big blockbusters this year. I hear they're in production for a movie called Titanic, and it's gonna be a smash. It's gonna be a huge smash in 1997. We did an episode about the things of the summer two years ago, and then we didn't do it last year because we actually decided that our predictions the first time around were too powerful, that they could last for two years. But basically to sort of celebrate the tradition of magazines back when those existed, and various other publications naming things. This is the song of the summer. This is the movie of the summer. This is the accessory of the summer. We figure we can kind of take that idea and really run with it.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. When do you think summer really does start?

[George Taveras]

I think summer starts right after New Year's.

[Sam Taggart]

January 2nd.

[George Taveras]

I think the seeds are planted. Yeah, I think the seeds are planted on February 1st.

[Sam Taggart]

February 1st. Yes. Okay.

[George Taveras]

Because January is still part of the holiday season. Yeah. That's crazy. I think the seeds are planted February 1st, and then for each person, each person blooms at a different rate. You know what I mean? You'll wake up one Day. And you'll be like, oh. And then that's the blooming happening.

[Sam Taggart]

You're like, I'm in summer.

[George Taveras]

As Troye Sivan would say.

[Sam Taggart]

Yes.

[George Taveras]

So I think it's actually completely valid if it happens for you. Anywhere between March and July even.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Wow.

[George Taveras]

Yeah. When do you think summer starts?

[Sam Taggart]

That's interesting. I think June 1st. Hard.

[George Taveras]

Really?

[Sam Taggart]

Yes. That being said, however, when June 1st comes around, I've made this mistake over 100 times. I'll be like, well, summer will come. June 1st. I'll say, then let's go on a trip. June 10th. I go to a beach on June 10th, and you better believe it's freezing as fuck. I'm cold, I'm chilly. It's not summer yet.

[George Taveras]

What beaches are you going to on June 10th that are freezing as fuck?

[Sam Taggart]

Most or all I'm popping in. No matter what beach I go to, it's cold as hell on June 10th.

[George Taveras]

Well, you know, of course what happens is it gets cold over the winter and so you're actually dipping into February temperature waters. That's something a lot of people don't tell you. That's why you have to wait until August to go to the beach.

[Sam Taggart]

Well, and you know, here I would go to rhys on maybe June 10th, and I would try to have fun and the wind would be whipping and I'd be cold.

[George Taveras]

Yeah. Well, what's nice about Rhys is that regardless of whether it's warm or cold, you are going to be getting birth defects by going into the water. You come out, you have five arms,

[Sam Taggart]

you are not healthy. When you are there, it's not good.

[George Taveras]

You're vibrating. You have literally a magnetic pull.

[Sam Taggart]

You can get sort of virgin Mary style STDs.

[George Taveras]

Yeah. There's literally like silverware that's being attracted to you and stuck to your forehead because you suddenly are a magnet.

[Sam Taggart]

Whereas the Pacific Ocean, you know, as I'm on the other coast now, that's probably warm for about one week in August.

[George Taveras]

Are you going to the Pacific Ocean? Famously, the thing with Angelenos is that they're right next to the beach and yet they've never stepped foot in it.

[Sam Taggart]

It's as close as New York. I was as close to the beach in Bushwick, New York.

[George Taveras]

You can use delta points to go to Santa Monica.

[Sam Taggart]

It's crazy when people are like, well, the beach is right here. I'm like, don't. Don't lie to my face. The beach is so far away.

[George Taveras]

Also, the concept of Venice beach, or like the concept of something being A beach. That just means you're two blocks away from the beach at a fancy bakery.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Taveras]

No one is going to Venice beach and dipping their toe in.

[Sam Taggart]

No.

[George Taveras]

They're going to Venice beach and going to Jelena.

[Sam Taggart]

No. And everyone's like, have you gone to Malibu? I'm like, what are you talking about?

[George Taveras]

Well, that's a whole other story I don't have. There isn't actually photographic or video evidence that Malibu exists. No one's taking a video outside of the mythology of various. Of like Joan Didion and Lena Dunham. End of list.

[Sam Taggart]

And when they show it, it's always a big road. Yeah. I'm like, this actually doesn't look that amazing. I'm seeing a big road near the ocean.

[George Taveras]

To me, I'm also like, so Malibu is for private beaches. Everyone has a private beach outside their home. And I bet you there's one public beach. And it is abs. It literally is like, you know, a Darren Aronofsky movie. And they're like, people just like, just depravity. People giving birth on the street. It's like the only people, the only poor people in all of Malibu have to all go to this one beach. I don't want to go there.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Taveras]

And unfortunately I don't. I am not in the wealthy circles where I have friends who have property in Malibu yet.

[Sam Taggart]

We are not there yet.

[George Taveras]

There are a few candidates that I say give them another five years because I know we're getting that invite.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. So I've been trying to, like, train myself to not think of June as summer.

[George Taveras]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

Because it doesn't. It doesn't really give you that feeling until the very end.

[George Taveras]

I. There's something special about the summer for me, which is that my sister, my youngest sister is getting married July 10th in Greece.

[Sam Taggart]

Okay.

[George Taveras]

And there's just. That is just on a selfish level, I'm like, what better gift to give me than to be like, you literally have to plan a trip, a beach adjacent trip on July 10th.

[Sam Taggart]

That's fun.

[George Taveras]

Cause that's like middle of the summer. It's not August, which is peak season, and it's not June, which, as you're saying, basically, it might as well still be Christmas.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Taveras]

And so I'm actually feeling. I'm feeling a kind of stress free, effortless excitement about the summer that I haven't felt since I was a child.

[Sam Taggart]

Whoa.

[George Taveras]

You know what I mean? Cause summer comes with stress. Because you're like, I have to plan my trips. It'll cost approximately $5 million. I personally speaking have just wrapped on a bunch of projects and don't actually have a lot of work coming up. So I am not. Feel like if I didn't have this, I would actually be very stressed. I wouldn't be ready to commit to a fire island chair. How are you feeling about summer travel?

[Sam Taggart]

Absolutely horrible.

[George Taveras]

That's what I thought.

[Sam Taggart]

I have no plans. I have nothing going on. No one's inviting me. No Pat Regan, but no one's inviting me. And. And I'm sort of like, people don't. This is something I realize. No one knows where I live and no one knows what my plans are.

[George Taveras]

No, it's true.

[Sam Taggart]

And so I can't get invited to anything because people are afraid of looking stupid.

[George Taveras]

I do think no one knows where you live.

[Sam Taggart]

No one knows where I live.

[George Taveras]

But the other thing is that no one knows where anyone lives. And actually one of the biggest compliments you can get in New York. I've, by the way, never not lived in New York for the past almost 10 years. But occasionally someone will be like, oh, you're back. And I'm like, that's right. Keep thinking. Keep thinking that I'm always on the go.

[Sam Taggart]

Instagram.

[George Taveras]

That's good for me. Yeah, of course I'm back. Haven't left in six months. No.

[Sam Taggart]

No one knows where I live. And I don't have any west coast trips. I don't have. I have my system.

[George Taveras]

Going to Palm Springs. I think your Palm Springs group chat that I'm not a part of and I feel okay about is popping off. And I think that trip is being planned and I think you're gonna go there and you're gonna have a really good time.

[Sam Taggart]

Yes.

[George Taveras]

But then somehow keep complaining about how you hate Palm Springs.

[Sam Taggart]

Yesterday I got 78 text messages while we were recording on a group thread of every gay guy that went to Palm Springs last year on MEM Memorial Day weekend.

[George Taveras]

You have found this group of gay guys that is scientifically engineered to somehow be. Despite the fact that we each have different types. Both are types.

[Sam Taggart]

It's not right.

[George Taveras]

It's really weird. It's like if you cross pollinated a bear, a Sam bear, and a sort of george intellectual hipster 2010s hipster. And you made them into one person. That's what this whole group is.

[Sam Taggart]

It's actually insane how they're all like that.

[George Taveras]

Yeah, it's weird.

[Sam Taggart]

And I'm also like, so when do you guys all hook up? This is always the question with the gay friend. So when's it happening?

[George Taveras]

But in LA, no one has had sex since the 80s.

[Sam Taggart]

Not to.

[George Taveras]

They were saying, God, I wish Reagan was back in office so I could do it again. So I could do it again.

[Sam Taggart]

I've been here, and I know this is broken record, Sam, but the horniness of this city is crazy.

[George Taveras]

I would say it's the sexual harassment is in the air. I go out and I say, I'm me tooing the wind.

[Sam Taggart]

I just went for a run around the park. And the way that the most normal people are ripping their shirt off, and then they're the hottest person I've ever seen. I'm like, what is going on here? And there's this section. People are looking at you. People are making eyes. It's weird. Everyone's ready to cheat.

[George Taveras]

No. It's sick.

[Sam Taggart]

It's disgusting. I love this fucking town. So let's kick it off.

[George Taveras]

Let's kick it off. I think. Let's go easy. We each have various ideas for foods of the summer.

[Sam Taggart]

Okay.

[George Taveras]

And these are pretty straightforward, I would say. These are not high concept.

[Sam Taggart]

No. You start.

[George Taveras]

I'm thinking no matter what your main dish is, I think as a side, braised greens with a little fresh lemon for brightness.

[Sam Taggart]

What do you think?

[George Taveras]

A little freshly squeezed lemon for brightness.

[Sam Taggart]

People love to do that. Yeah, people love to say for brightness.

[George Taveras]

Okay. We were thinking what the word of the summer is, and you do have a better idea. But to me, I'm like, bright is one of those words that now has been stretched in every way in food, in color, in mood, where I'm like, we almost need to ban it. I'll say it's kind of like the word aesthetic.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. We need to get rid of it. It's cool.

[George Taveras]

It's like, oh, you're telling me. You're telling me this Albarino has also a little bit of brightness. Color me shocked.

[Sam Taggart]

It's like how my 8th grade English teacher was like, weird. How? Yeah, like, if you're gonna call something weird, let's say why it's weird.

[George Taveras]

Yeah, Bright.

[Sam Taggart]

How bright?

[George Taveras]

How do you like a braised green with some freshly squeezed lemon for brightness.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, it tastes incredible and summery, but. And then we actually didn't realize that we were sort of making a meal. I wanna put a qualifier on mine.

[George Taveras]

Okay.

[Sam Taggart]

So my food of the summer is fish. Wow.

[George Taveras]

Fish for summer. Groundbreaking.

[Sam Taggart]

But specifically, I want to say fish as an accessory. It's like fish in places where you wouldn't expect or necessarily even want it.

[George Taveras]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

They'll be like, oh, do you want this pot Pie. And by the way, it's like, there's all this little fish in it.

[George Taveras]

There's literally a prawn pot pie that is being promoted at a local restaurant by my.

[Sam Taggart]

Really?

[George Taveras]

Yes.

[Sam Taggart]

Wow. That shows me riffing.

[George Taveras]

Yeah. No, I think in the way that meat is effortlessly part of many side dishes, something can easily have a little sausage in it or a little, you know, sort of like a beef tartare. We're seeing that, but with fish.

[Sam Taggart]

We're seeing that with fish. And I don't. I'm trying to figure out the reasoning because as we know, a few years ago, it was like martinis and burgers,

[George Taveras]

and then it was like anchovies.

[Sam Taggart]

Anchovies. That was happening.

[George Taveras]

Tinned fish.

[Sam Taggart]

Tinned fish. But now it's like they're doing it with, like, a decadence where you're like, I'm actually wanting you to be normal.

[George Taveras]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

And they're like, nope, we're putting sardines on the martini. Nope. We're, like, doing this to this. And you're like, this is weird. They keep going kind of grosser. They're trying to, like, challenge you and be like, are you going to say no to this? Like, are you classy enough to try this? And you're like, I guess you are charging me $30 for it, so I'm going to consume it. And I don't like it. Like, it is unappealing to look at. It's unappealing to eat. But I'm saying, hey, if everyone else is doing it, then I guess I have to.

[George Taveras]

Fish is one of those things that has a reputation for being healthy. And they're like, how much can we stretch it? How much can we put it over a tub of mayonnaise and potatoes? How much can we deep fry it in 15 layers of batter and still get away with it being fish?

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Taveras]

So I give it six months. Now, we have different ideas for sweet foods.

[Sam Taggart]

Yes.

[George Taveras]

Do you want to go first?

[Sam Taggart]

Sure. So my treat of the summer. Coffee cake.

[George Taveras]

Genius. My thing with coffee cake, when you said this earlier, is, to me, it's actually crazy. Coffee cake is such an old classic because it has all the makings of a TikTok trend. Like, the crumble top is something that, like, a random girl in Indiana would come up with, and then she would become, like, an overnight sensation.

[Sam Taggart]

Of course.

[George Taveras]

So I think coffee cake could be big.

[Sam Taggart]

I'm just seeing it around a lot.

[George Taveras]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

And I'm like, something's in the air.

[George Taveras]

And traditional sort of like cinnamon flavor profile.

[Sam Taggart]

Normal.

[George Taveras]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

Grandma style spicy cake, parentheses normal. They're not going weird with it yet. That'll be next summer.

[George Taveras]

Okay. My dessert of the summer is soft serve sorbet to share. And this is. Unfortunately, I don't like the reasoning behind this because I don't support kind of compulsory ozempic culture. But unfortunately, that's the world we live in. And I think we're moving away from the decaden of like, just tiramisu everywhere. Flourless chocolate cake, ice cream sundae, banana split. And so people want something that is photogenic, brightly colored, shareable, and also has the patina of health. And so I think we're seeing like a blood orange sorbet that's really smart. Or even like a coconut sorbet or frankly, even a lemon.

[Sam Taggart]

I have a question.

[George Taveras]

Yes?

[Sam Taggart]

This is a bit conspiratorial. Do people actually like dessert or do they just like ordering one more thing from the restaurant?

[George Taveras]

That's a really important question. Do you like dessert? I love. What is your favorite dessert?

[Guest/Caller]

Ooh, I love, like a chocolate lava cake.

[George Taveras]

Yeah, I love a chocolate lava cake.

[Sam Taggart]

We're all going to Chili's. I. I just feel that, like, I've been in multiple dinner situations where it's like, well, let's just do it in a way where they're like, there's a gun to all of our heads. Where it's like, we know we can't leave yet, but are we gonna get another drink? Not necessarily.

[George Taveras]

Let's see. So you're saying there should be a thing you can purchase at the end to end the meal?

[Sam Taggart]

Pretty much, yeah.

[George Taveras]

I think they should come out with like a little suitcase portable gift shop. Like, at the end of the meal, it's like they come out with a suitcase and it's like, do you want a pen? Do you want a little sticker? We have little pins.

[Sam Taggart]

That's an interesting idea.

[George Taveras]

Yeah. It's like we're raising money for the big pet shelter.

[Sam Taggart]

Also, you know how places have, like, you go to the bar while you wait for your table. Yeah. There needs to be like. And then you go to the other. The next space after your meal.

[George Taveras]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

Like where you don't have to find a bar nearby. You can actually just go to that one room inside the restaurant where it's like the post dinner room.

[George Taveras]

Or even restaurants and bars and other places having partnerships where at the end of your meal they come and they're like. So you have five options. We have partnered with two bars, one movie theater, one nightclub, and one, you know, Congregation space where you can maybe have like an A meeting or something.

[Sam Taggart]

It's actually completely insane they aren't doing that already. Imagine if you were finished and you were like, instead of having to go to Google on your phone and search bar, the restaurant was like, so these are the six bars nearby that we really recommend.

[George Taveras]

I actually feel like this is very, like. This is sort of like millennial childishness where I'm like, the meal ends and you're let go and there's no safety net. Someone should be there. There should be literally a halfway house for after the meal ends. You're telling me this entire time you've been taking care of me? The waiter treats you like a child. They come to you, they're like, do you know how the menu works? It's like, yes, I can read. They're treating you like a child the whole time. Then the dinner ends and suddenly I'm on my own.

[Sam Taggart]

I don't think it's childish. I think it's genius. I think, you know, they're trying to create a vibe and this would really help. They'd be like, if you want to continue, like, this feeling, go here.

[George Taveras]

It's also like, you know how many

[Sam Taggart]

nights are ruined when you walk out and you look at your phone for bar? And then no one can agree. And you're like, here, I know a bar. Let's go. And then you get there and two people are like, this is my worst case scenario for bar.

[George Taveras]

There should be a shuttle. There should be a shuttle that takes you to a bar.

[Sam Taggart]

There should be a moving sidewalk that takes you to the bar.

[George Taveras]

There should be people whose job it is to carry you. It's one to one. There's an underclass. I'm not in it. There's an underclass in their job. They're paid by the state. They carry you from one restaurant to a bar.

[Sam Taggart]

That's a really good idea.

[George Taveras]

Just for summer.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. People who commit tax fraud.

[George Taveras]

Zoran, make it happen. Oh, yeah, people who commit tax fraud. Actually, that's a really good idea. There should be more humiliation of white collar criminals.

[Sam Taggart]

Oh, okay. Get this, get this. So you're a billionaire. And they're like, okay, I'm listening. They're like, you have two options. You can keep your billions, but you have to pay a lot of taxes. Or you can skip the taxes, but you have to take a one night shift of carrying people from the restaurant to the bar.

[George Taveras]

I love this. I feel like we could reach a compromise here because I'm kind of like, because Basically, there's so much dark money in politics that billionaires will never pay taxes. We know that. Fine. I accept it. And I support it fully, of course.

[Sam Taggart]

Because we will be one.

[George Taveras]

Because. Of course. Yes. I mean, while I'm planning ahead for when I am one, in approximately year and a half. But I am interested in other ways to make them pay. And I do think the one thing you can do is sort of like public humiliation.

[Sam Taggart]

Of course.

[George Taveras]

Okay. Love it.

[Sam Taggart]

Love that.

[George Taveras]

Okay. I have shape of the summer. Circles and dots.

[Sam Taggart]

Say more.

[George Taveras]

Well, this was, of course, inspired by Rachel Sennett's Marc Jacobs look at the Met gala shout out. I would say Rachel's look kind of one of the few moments of joy for me in an otherwise really harrowing night of darkness and depravity.

[Sam Taggart]

I agree. Playful, yes. Fun.

[George Taveras]

I said finally, a blue dot.

[Sam Taggart]

And, like, not going costumey with it completely. Just being like. And by the way, it's also just a dress. Like, I'm not being some. I'm not in character.

[George Taveras]

And it's like, what does the blue dot represent? It's in the eye of the viewer beholder. I think your blue dot can mean anything.

[Sam Taggart]

Dots and circles are it.

[George Taveras]

You were making the point that we're not really in a place where we can deal with sharp edges.

[Sam Taggart]

A corner is really dangerous right now.

[George Taveras]

Even every time you say somewhere is around the corner, I kind of want to be like, don't say that.

[Sam Taggart]

No, it's around the bend.

[George Taveras]

It's around the bend.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, because the corner. Oh, that's scary. It's just a bit severe.

[George Taveras]

I think circular shapes are big, and I actually have been seeing it. Speaking of food, even in food, the plating is becoming more circular and less angular. You're ordering like a carrot cake. It's coming in a circle, not in a square.

[Sam Taggart]

I think you're a genius. We ordered a potato salad just last

[George Taveras]

night, and that's what I was thinking.

[Sam Taggart]

And it came as a circle.

[George Taveras]

A circular potato salad, which, by the

[Sam Taggart]

way, I've never seen in my entire life.

[George Taveras]

It was crazy.

[Sam Taggart]

They do need to bring pictures back to menus because sometimes you'll order something and you're like, no, no, no, no, no, my.

[George Taveras]

And there was not enough octopus in that potato. Octopus salad. I gotta say.

[Sam Taggart]

There wasn't. But to be fair, they're intelligent, so it's probably for the best.

[George Taveras]

Oh, right. So you should cut them up in tiny pieces first.

[Sam Taggart]

So I don't know.

[George Taveras]

They're so intelligent. You should sort of cut off one of the you should be like, we'll take a finger. But you can still go.

[Sam Taggart]

You can still go. You're free to leave. Yeah.

[George Taveras]

I think there's something both comforting but also evocative about a big circle. I mean, obviously, the idea of a black hole is both scary and also, like, finally, take me.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, I'm. I'm liking circle. I'm liking circle in a lot. Okay. This is something that. I don't know where it comes from. Word of the summer is whateva.

[George Taveras]

Sorry, I'm silencing my phone to give you my full attention. Say more.

[Sam Taggart]

So this is something where I've just been hearing both myself and others say whateva. And I don't know who started it. I don't know where we heard it. I'm feeling a bit pluribus about it. Something's happening where everyone's saying whatever and wanting to be like. They want to brush stuff off.

[George Taveras]

Yes.

[Sam Taggart]

And you kind of have to brush everything off right now. You should be like, whatever.

[George Taveras]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

But you also have to be knowing about it and be like, I know it's silly and stupid that I'm brushing things off, because these things are serious. So that's why you put the whatever on it. Because you're like, I'm not saying whatever. Like, I'm not actually brushing this off, but I'm, like, self awarely brushing this off. So whateva.

[George Taveras]

Whateva is sort of like temporarily adopting a British accent to say something awkward. It's like, there's an awkward moment, and then you're like, all right. Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

No, when you told me that people. That's, like, the psychology behind it, that really freaked me out, because I do that.

[George Taveras]

And I think whatever is obviously, unfortunately, it has to do with kind of like millennial ambition, ambivalence, not being able to take responsibility for yourself. Like, when you're saying whatever, what you're doing is you're not committing to whatever.

[Sam Taggart]

No.

[George Taveras]

You're not committing to saying, I don't care about this because you've read an article about how nihilism is bad or something, but you also are saying whatever, but you're not committing to it.

[Sam Taggart]

You're not committing. And, you know, I was saying c' est la vie for a while, but I don't think that quite nails it. Whatever is like, truly just like. It's sort of like it's our version of just shoot me, you know, it's sort of like whatever.

[George Taveras]

Okay. Word of the summer. Whateva.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Taveras]

Okay. I have activity of the summer. Air hockey. Love this Now, I kept seeing the word arcade, and that's not actually what I meant. What I think is in is like a pool hall that also has air

[Sam Taggart]

hockey tables, games that you play on a table. Yes.

[George Taveras]

And I specifically am thinking, imagine it's summer. It's so hot. You go into a pool hall that is so air conditioned that you're literally like, all your pores are closed shut. So air conditioned. And you're having a cold beer, and you are playing pool, playing air hockey, going from one to the other, having tokens, being like, oh, I have some extra here. And you give them to some teens that maybe don't have enough money to buy their tokens. You're part of a community. It's not cool. It's like an old, dirty pool hall. And it's actually an amazing site of cultural exchange because you have the old timers and then the new people that are revitalizing the neighborhood. It's ethical gentrification. You're not displacing anyone because the pool hole was already, like, on its way out. So you're actually, like, reinvigorating that community.

[Sam Taggart]

I will say air hockey specifically. I love the magic of that. The way that the puck sort of just barely floats. How fun. Then I will say the danger. Of course, you can hurt your little knuckles if the puck goes flying. Ouch. And I also think it's one of those games where a gentle touch can go a really long way. And I think we as a society need to remember that now more than ever.

[George Taveras]

I agree.

[Sam Taggart]

I think when you see a teen slamming it, oh, they're never gonna win that way. It's gonna fly off the table, whatever.

[George Taveras]

It's also a nice, you know, the sound. The sound it makes when you hit it. It's not as violent as a lot of the sounds you will hear at an arcade or at a pool hall. There's something very safe about it. I don't think we're. I don't think it's a ping pong summer. I just want to put that out

[Sam Taggart]

there because it's too on the nose with Marty Supreme.

[George Taveras]

Two on the nose with Marty Supreme. I think there is a. It's not warranted, I will be the first to say, but there is a backlash against anything Timothee Chalamet touches. And I think we're in a. More of an air hockey space than a table tennis space.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. That's too bad, because it really should have been a ping pong summer.

[George Taveras]

I mean, he fucked it up big time.

[Sam Taggart]

He fucked it up big time. And I have, you know, promotional ping pong balls, orange Mari supreme ping pong balls. What am I gonna do with them? I'm gonna wait until I move and throw them in the garbage?

[George Taveras]

No, you have to flatten them and use them for air hockey.

[Guest/Caller]

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[George Taveras]

I turned off news altogether.

[Sam Taggart]

I hate to say it, but I don't trust much of anything.

[George Taveras]

It's the rage, B. It feels like it's trying to divide people.

[Sponsor/Announcer]

We got clear facts.

[Sam Taggart]

Maybe we can calm down a little.

[George Taveras]

NBC News brings you clear reporting.

[Sam Taggart]

Let's meet at the Facts. Let's move forward from there.

[George Taveras]

NBC News reporting for America.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons n Safeway. Summer is here and the sun is out. Make sure you take care of your skin this summer. Now through June 23rd, shop for you Save days and get great savings on all Your favorite skincare essentials, Essentials and earn 4 times points. Shop in store or online and save on sunblock from Neutrogena, Sun Bum, Hawaiian Tropic, Banana Boat and Coppertone. And earn four times points to use for future savings on groceries or gas. Offer ends June 23rd. Restrictions apply. Offers may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.

[Sam Taggart]

Okay, store of the summer. Oh, get this. The store of the summer. Cvs.

[George Taveras]

Huge.

[Sam Taggart]

Because when we did this two years

[George Taveras]

ago, it was the Gap.

[Sam Taggart]

It was the Gap because Zach Posen

[George Taveras]

had just taken over and everyone on the streets in New York City was saying, did you know the Gap is good again? They're doing wide legged Cheetos. They're doing kind of denim that is better than you would think. Everything is called 90s fit.

[Sam Taggart]

Everything was 90s fit for a moment. But this year, it's all about being like, well, I already have everything I need. You know what I really need? Sunscreen. Yeah, I'm on the way to the thing and I didn't bring sunscreen.

[George Taveras]

No, it's all about. It's actually also about kind of accepting the culture of everything being locked in cvs. Like, it's sort of like, this is the new normal. We tried to fight it for like seven years. I will be the. You know, both of us have complained about it a lot. It's insane that everything is locked. It's insane that you literally cannot buy deodorant in this country. But it's sort of like, okay, this is what we have.

[Sam Taggart]

This is our world.

[George Taveras]

It's just like you have to bank another 10 minutes at the CVS. It's sort of like putting your name down at a restaurant and then doing a walk. You go there, you press the button, you do like a walk around the block and then you come back. Maybe then you can get your zycam.

[Sam Taggart]

It's also just nice to sort of build that anger. You push the button, you wait, no one comes. You push the button, you wait, no one comes. No one's working there ever. I don't know why they do it that way.

[George Taveras]

It's reveling in the friction. It's almost honestly, like anti AI. It's like, like, it is so not easy that you're sort of like, good. This is real humanity here. It's like I'm pressing a button and it does nothing.

[Sam Taggart]

I wonder if in our lifetime we will be freed from this. Like, will there be someone who, like a zoron type who's like, my thing is Just like fixing stuff that is really annoying. And somebody's like, for example, cvs.

[George Taveras]

Well, here's the thing. Unfortunately, the opposite is gonna happen, which is that the way all that's gonna be fixed is that our eyes are gonna be scanned when we go to buy something. Oh, they're creating profiled based on our demographics.

[Sam Taggart]

Our retinas.

[George Taveras]

Yeah. No, it's gonna be a real id, but for getting Zycam.

[Sam Taggart]

Damn.

[George Taveras]

I think that it's all about having your survival kit saying, I have a little. I have a little Ziploc. What is wrong with me? I'm like leaking water.

[Sam Taggart]

Hold on.

[George Taveras]

It's all about having your little Ziploc bag with all CVS branded things. And it's like, I have my zinc, I have my travel sunscreen, I have my medicinal lip balm. And then you do. You're doing. You're on TikTok and you're doing like a little. You're walking through all your choices and

[Sam Taggart]

you're rolling up to the party with the CVS bag and you're like, not embarrassed at all of that. You're like, I brought sunscreen. And everyone's like, yay.

[George Taveras]

Yeah. And it's like, about. You're also buying some sort of protein bar that's not one of the artisanal ones. Like, you're buying like a think bar.

[Sam Taggart]

You're buying like travel mouthwash for no reason. Yeah. It's just there.

[George Taveras]

Travel size is also big. It's like you're going to the beach with everything travel size.

[Sam Taggart]

Well, everyone's like, you know not to bring up the corner again, but everyone knows death is around the corner. And they're like, well, I'm not going to like buy a big mouthwash because what if I'm not here in one month? What if I literally have a life?

[George Taveras]

Yeah, yeah. You don't want to leave the earth with a two thirds full travel full size mouthwash.

[Sam Taggart]

My family is going through my belongings and they're saying, he never even got to finish his mouthwash.

[George Taveras]

That is so sad.

[Sam Taggart]

That's the saddest thing I could imagine. So get the travel size. You'll be fine.

[George Taveras]

Generally just like single use toothbrush. Just like, the smaller a shelf life is, the better.

[Sam Taggart]

If you can get a month to month lease.

[George Taveras]

No, the theme is month to month lease. It's like you're starting summer. You're saying, I don't know if I'm going to be alive in September.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, I think that's really good.

[George Taveras]

Okay, we're about to get into some tricky territory in a bit. But before that, I'm going to do another kind of harmless one, I think, a gift of the summer, slash objet of the summer, if you will. Wind chimes.

[Sam Taggart]

Now, this I really found interesting.

[George Taveras]

Yeah. I recently, years ago, I bought these wind chimes from a place called Kasanti, I believe. And it's these hippies in New Mexico or maybe Arizona or something that make them. And it's a way to kind of. I'm never gonna be fully Burning Man. I'm never going to be fully living off the land, off the grid. I'm never going to live a full wind chime lifestyle. No, but you can actually have a completely everlane life and just have some wind chimes. It's a way to microdose back to

[Sam Taggart]

nature for you, George in NY City. What are you doing with your wind chimes? In my mind, you need a.

[George Taveras]

No, they're silent.

[Sam Taggart]

They're inside your apartment.

[George Taveras]

I've never heard what they sound like. It's more decor. Oh. It's kind of like you have a Christmas tree or a house plant. It's like having like a houseplant in the home almost draws attention to how artificial it is.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, but a houseplant's not built to make noise.

[George Taveras]

Yeah, but it's built to be in the real world.

[Sam Taggart]

Sure.

[George Taveras]

It's not built to be in a pot.

[Sam Taggart]

This is interesting. I don't think I realized you were talking about indoor wind chimes. Yeah. Now that's even more groundbreaking than I could have ever imagined.

[George Taveras]

But you could do, though, you could put it by a window, and then when you open the window, it's wind comes in.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. Your AC unit falls right out.

[George Taveras]

AC unit falls. You can put it like in front of your AC unit to sort of like. It's sort of like, you know, urban brutalism. It's like, look, my wind chime is in front of my AC unit. What does that tell you about our modern world?

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. Call PS1.

[George Taveras]

Yeah,

[Sam Taggart]

that's really good.

[George Taveras]

But I'm just thinking, like, because guess what? Ceramics have been out for a while. Like, everyone has so many mugs, they don't know what to do with them.

[Sam Taggart]

No, it's true.

[George Taveras]

I think also artisanal flower pots. There's too many. We need a new thing to be handmade.

[Sam Taggart]

I think a wind chime is really fun. All I've ever wanted is a wind chime on a front porch. When a storm is rolling in and I get to look out and be like, uh, oh, the storm's coming.

[George Taveras]

I also wonder if this could lead us into a comeback of the beaded curtain. It's not there. We're not there yet.

[Sam Taggart]

We're not close.

[George Taveras]

I just want to be clear. Do not hit purchase yet.

[Sam Taggart]

No, we are not.

[George Taveras]

Because we could very much go in the opposite direction.

[Sam Taggart]

I actually think we are in such an opposite point that we could almost figure out exactly when it will come back.

[George Taveras]

Yeah, no, I'm thinking like spring 2028

[Sam Taggart]

and I look forward to it.

[George Taveras]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

Okay.

[George Taveras]

I think it's a hammock summer. You think it's a hammock summer? I could see hammock summer.

[Sam Taggart]

Is this because of Survivor?

[George Taveras]

No, but I let between two trees in the park, you know.

[Sam Taggart]

Wow.

[George Taveras]

Well, the thing with all our summer predictions is like, it's all, it's just the things we all own. One of the ones that I had to delete was accessory of the summer, having a, a two year old. That's not yours. It's like, that's cause I was with my niece.

[Sam Taggart]

Well. And of course I said yellow and you said, why? And I was like, cause I was wearing a yellow shirt.

[George Taveras]

Yeah. And then I was like, we've already done butter yellow.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. Well, people are really complimenting.

[George Taveras]

I think hammock. I think hammock. I think hammock and wind chime. It's almost like deconstructed beaded curtain because you're doing the wind chimes on one hand and the hammock. No beads on the other. You have all the materials to make a beaded curtain, but you dare not combine them.

[Sam Taggart]

It's like air. Like we're really embracing, like, there's air.

[George Taveras]

We're embracing wind. It's windy summer. Which actually goes into your idea for summer.

[Sam Taggart]

Destination of the summer. Okay, get this. This is groundbreaking vacation of the summer. Are you guys ready? Because I think they're gonna freak out. Vacation of the summer. No, it's not Palm Springs. No, it's not Fire Island. It's not even the Amalfi coast. The vacation of the summer, we're going to Chicago.

[George Taveras]

Yeah. The vacation destination of the summer is the city of Chicago.

[Sam Taggart]

We're going to the beach, we're going to Chicago. And we're getting a hotel that is, you know, sort of north but near the water so that you can. During the day you walk your ass to Lake Michigan, you go swimming. And then at night you're near the gay neighborhood and you go out and you have fun.

[George Taveras]

You go out, you have fun. Maybe you catch A Steppenwolf production. Maybe you go see the Bean with your sister in law. You take a walk.

[Sam Taggart]

I love this. Chicago is one of the only fun cities in the world and I think people underestimate it, which is maybe why it's fun.

[George Taveras]

Well, also, I think people are terrified of its weather during the winter. So what better time to go than in the summer when it's oppressively hot?

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, don't go in the winter. But summer destination. I think people are going to be flocking to Chicago because we were thinking,

[George Taveras]

I definitely think it's an urban, It's a city summer. And of course you start thinking, okay, do you mean Venice? No, no, Chicago.

[Sam Taggart]

Chicago. It's perfect.

[George Taveras]

And it's also. It's a celebration of American culture and heritage.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. Well, it's time to like start. We need to. One time I heard Stephen Metcalf on Social Culture Campus talking about how like there is a point to like creating even like a slightly fantastical narrative around America because we need to have something to believe in.

[George Taveras]

Totally. And I agree with that.

[Sam Taggart]

And I'm like, so let's start with Chicago.

[George Taveras]

Let's start with Chicago.

[Sam Taggart]

Let's look inward.

[George Taveras]

Yeah, Chicago. The thing with Chicago is its motto should be this is the best we can do. And I don't.

[Sam Taggart]

I'm not. Especially in the summer.

[George Taveras]

Yeah, like, I'm not. And I'm saying that in both a positive and negative way.

[Sam Taggart]

Yes.

[George Taveras]

I was actually thinking about this because as I told you, I recently rewatched the James L. Brooks film as Good As It Gets. And I found that to be such an incredible title for what it portrays because you can see it as Good as it Gets can be the best thing ever. It's like you being like, this is as good as it gets, isn't it, folks? Or it can be you being like, is this as good as it gets? And the movie engages with that.

[Sam Taggart]

Well, I would hope so.

[George Taveras]

And I feel like that is the motto of Chicago being this is the best we can do is both celebratory and kind of mournful.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. I do think Chicago as a gay destination also doesn't get enough credit.

[George Taveras]

Same word.

[Sam Taggart]

I just think it has as many gay guys as P Town, if not more. I think when you go there, you're sort of like, how are there this many gay guys? And how do none of them have jobs, but all of them have income?

[George Taveras]

Have apartments.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Taveras]

Two bedroom apartments. Two bedroom, two bathrooms.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. With little balconies.

[George Taveras]

No. If you are in Chicago and you own an Apartment. And it's like two bed, one bath. People are like, do you have a GoFundMe?

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. They're worried about you.

[George Taveras]

Wait. I want to look up the specific arcade I went to in Chicago that inspired me to say that air hockey is in. Hold on. Have you ever been to Emporium Arcade Bar?

[Sam Taggart]

No.

[George Taveras]

Well, let's just say pack your bags and go to the Logan Square. Go to the Logan Square.

[Sam Taggart]

Location.

[George Taveras]

Location. Thank you.

[Sam Taggart]

I will.

[George Taveras]

Yeah. So basically, the destination of the summer is Emporium Arcade Bar in Logan Square, Chicago. Get yourself some coins. What are they called? Tokens.

[Sam Taggart]

Tokens.

[George Taveras]

Get to that air hockey table and get blackout drunk on Miller High Lifes.

[Sam Taggart]

God. A town where you're allowed to drink, literally.

[George Taveras]

And in fact, you're not allowed to not drink.

[Sam Taggart]

That's true.

[George Taveras]

All right, so now we're getting into more political stuff.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Taveras]

The concept of the summer slash idea of the summer, slash site of debate of the summer is the art world. Now, I have a theory here.

[Sam Taggart]

Please explain your theory. I really like it.

[George Taveras]

Yeah. So I think this could be really big. So basically, we are going to see what happened with fashion happened with. We're going to see. I'm going to say that again. We're going to see what happened with fashion happen with art. So here's what happened with fashion. Fashion used to be a very niche interest. It was a very relatively small business compared to other businesses. And because of social media and because of the Devil Wears Prada and because of the democratization of sort of all cultural commentary, suddenly everyone and their mother knows who is taking over Chanel. Everyone and their mother knows what the theme of the Met Gala is and whether or not people are doing it correctly. People are. Someone is announced as an ambassador for Fendi, and everyone knows what that means.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. Ever since Richard took over for the Wave.

[George Taveras]

Exactly.

[Sam Taggart]

The looks have been amazing.

[George Taveras]

Right. And so it's like everything is. A fashion advertisement is treated as, like, a sports game that basically, like, a bunch of gay guys doing SportsCenter are commenting on. Everyone can just effortlessly pretend they're an expert without having any idea what they're talking about.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Taveras]

So I think something similar, and I think that has hit a wall currently. I think we're sort of at a place where. Okay, well, if everyone's an expert, no one's an expert. I just no longer even want to hear about who has taken over at Loewe. And so I think fashion is over. And I think that same process is gonna happen with the art world. So we're talking people having specific opinions about the curator that works on a specific wing of a museum in Cleveland. We're talking coverage of the ethics of art collecting and whether or not there's a way for it to be done ethically. We're talking about. There's gonna be people that think about it in a more political militant way and talk about the money behind it. There's gonna be people that talk in aesthetics. And I think it's gonna become sort of mainstream in this way. I think we're gonna see a lot of unemployed art history PhDs become TikTokers. And I know that some of this is already out there, but it's never hit peak mainstream in the way that fashion has.

[Sam Taggart]

I think this is actually really smart because we're running out of things to gatekeep.

[George Taveras]

Yes.

[Sam Taggart]

And this, like, I can see the girl who grew up in Manhattan who's gonna be like, yeah. So I asked someone that actually grew up in Manhattan, and my parents were in the art world, like, what you need to know about the people that run the art wing. And you're like. And then as someone that doesn't live in Manhattan and doesn't live in this world, you're like, I have to know everything about this so that I'm never caught with my pants down again.

[George Taveras]

There's also because again, nothing is gatekept anymore, but people still have the desire to be chic and sophisticated and to be in the know. People are gonna flock to it. They're gonna say, oh, thank God, there's a new thing I can learn about and be better than everyone else.

[Sam Taggart]

We're like locusts.

[George Taveras]

Yes.

[Sam Taggart]

Just chewing everything up.

[George Taveras]

And you know what else? Unlike fashion. Well, I was gonna say that unlike fashion, which is so expensive, there is a way to engage with art that is completely free. I mean, it's free to enter a gallery, but I guess the flip side of that is that it's also free to enter a store. So you can technically know what's. But it's not free to go to

[Sam Taggart]

a fashion show and you're encouraged to enter a gallery. Whereas if you're entering a store without planning on buying something, you've got a stank on it.

[George Taveras]

No, that's exactly true. And I think. I think that there's a self policing that happens where the people that go to an art fair, the people that go to a gallery, are the people in the know. But guess what? If some rando that lives in Ridgewood figures out that you can just walk into a gallery it's over, George.

[Sam Taggart]

That rando is my fucking friend. No, remember when we were in the Hamptons?

[George Taveras]

We're bleeping that.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. And Matthew was like. We were walking by a place and Matthew like. We walked by like a little gallery and Matthew was like, oh, I've been wanting to check this artist out. I was like, what?

[George Taveras]

Well, you said, I didn't know you could go in. No, it's actually. This is one of my big. You know, if anyone was ever like, what are Georgia's New York secrets? It's like, guess what? It's all free and available. That's true. All you have to do is download the seesaw app, which tells you exactly. There's editor's picks, there's by neighborhood, and it just tells you what's in every gallery. And then you can even just go off of their taste. You don't have to learn anything. And you can just be like, this is actually like one of the biggest retrospectives that this artist has had since the big Austria1 in 1997.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, you can just memorize it.

[George Taveras]

Someone can think you invented that.

[Sam Taggart]

Well, I think it's genius.

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[Sponsor/Announcer]

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[George Taveras]

I turned off news altogether.

[Sam Taggart]

I hate to say it, but I don't trust much of anything.

[George Taveras]

It's the rage bait. It feels like it's trying to divide people.

[Sponsor/Announcer]

We got clear facts.

[Sam Taggart]

Maybe we could calm down a little.

[George Taveras]

NBC News brings you clear reporting.

[Sam Taggart]

Let's meet at the Facts. Let's move forward from there.

[George Taveras]

NBC News reporting for America.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Sam Taggart]

So this one, I have a really controversial one.

[George Taveras]

Okay.

[Sam Taggart]

Song of the Summer.

[George Taveras]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

So Song of the Summer is H and M music. I think this summer is going to be all about something you could hear at an H and M. So we're talking like Pink.

[George Taveras]

No, no, that's CVS music.

[Sam Taggart]

That's CBS music. HM music is gay adjacent. It's soft house music. Basically, it's Madonna's I Feel so Free.

[George Taveras]

Okay.

[Sam Taggart]

And I think we're gonna be hearing a lot of it.

[George Taveras]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

Because I think it's we're wanting to like, be by a pool and almost like specifically at like Soho House. But you' you're wanting it to feel dancy and fun, but also wanting no abrasiveness at all. Cause you're like, I don't have time for that. So people are basically gonna be finding stock music that sounds, you know, it's

[George Taveras]

adjacent to reality show music. It's like the music they play during Love Island.

[Sam Taggart]

And I even like, mostly, of course, this is inspired by I Feel so Free explicitly. But I was like, this is gonna hit and I'm gonna want more. And so then it's gonna inspire so much.

[George Taveras]

Sort of like, are you feeling like stereo love?

[Sam Taggart]

I'm not even sure. But hold on, let me look at now I have to look.

[George Taveras]

Wait, can you hear Stereo Love? Because I can play it for you.

[Sam Taggart]

Oh, play it for me.

[George Taveras]

Because you know this song. All right, hold. On.

[Sam Taggart]

Oh, yeah. Got it done. Exactly.

[George Taveras]

This is the song of the summer.

[Sam Taggart]

Okay. That also Dua Lipa's radical optimism. Yes. I think people didn't like because it was H and M music.

[George Taveras]

Totally.

[Sam Taggart]

And I think because it was featured in the opening scene of Devilverse Product two, I think people are ready to reassess it. I think.

[George Taveras]

Well, I do think Devil Wears Prada's soundtrack is all H and M music.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Taveras]

Interesting.

[Sam Taggart]

So I think H and M music is gonna be huge.

[George Taveras]

I almost think.

[Sam Taggart]

Oh, and of course. Of course I can turn a dance floor into a Runway.

[George Taveras]

Right. So the soundtrack of Devil Horse Friday, too.

[Sam Taggart]

Right. But I just forgot about that song.

[George Taveras]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

That was a key element of the argument that I forgot. Cause I was thinking about Madonna, and then. And I was like, right, Runway.

[George Taveras]

But even obviously, the Madonna song Vogue is not H and M music, but the opening of it is that kind of, like, inoffensive, like, okay, let's everyone loosen up.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. Yeah. Because. Yeah. While watching Novo Sprada and actually hearing Runway in the context of the film, I said, hey, this is working for me.

[George Taveras]

No, it definitely works in the context of the film and nowhere else.

[Sam Taggart]

But I said, it's going on the playlist.

[George Taveras]

Well, there's sort of a straight line. It's a continuum between cvs, H and M music. Arcade bar in Chicago. Like, we're kind of. We're basically like, okay, so what's in is middlebrow. What's in is like, leave your taste at the door because it's time to have some fun.

[Sam Taggart]

I think we need that.

[George Taveras]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

I think we're, like, looking outward versus looking inward.

[George Taveras]

And what are we doing?

[Sam Taggart]

This is going inward. This is like, why am I trying so hard? Like, how about I be grateful for what I have? Yeah. It's like, stop running. Let's have a fun night in, just you and me.

[George Taveras]

You know, feeling of the summer, gratitude, literally. Okay, so now we're getting into what sorts of conversations are gonna be happening. So we have a few candidates for redemption, reclamation of the summer. One of them is the Wayans Brothers.

[Sam Taggart]

Yes.

[George Taveras]

So the new Scary Movie is coming out. Something that has been brewing in the culture for years now is the question of were they unfairly treated by the critical consensus during their heyday in the 2000s. Is white chicks actually a masterpiece?

[Sam Taggart]

Is Scary Movie actually really amazing?

[George Taveras]

Is Scary Movie actually Amazing. And also, like, frankly, as all of those were happening, all the equivalent, you know, comedies from white people that were just as stupid and just as silly were, you know, celebrated. While theirs, it was like, oh, white chick is in poor taste. It's like, why you think Blades of Glory is good.

[Sam Taggart]

But the reason why it's going to be a conversation is of course the new scary movie. Is it gonna be good?

[George Taveras]

Well, so this is what's complicated. Yeah, the conversation is overdue and they were unfairly maligned. But what if the new movie is actually bad? That could make it so complicated, that

[Sam Taggart]

makes things so complicated.

[George Taveras]

And what's interesting is that the exact same thing is happening with Madonna. Well, no, that's not true because Madonna at her peak was fully respected. It's not like. But I think that she's definitely. People are eager for her to have this big comeback and I think people want it. But what if the album was bad? And now there's tension.

[Sam Taggart]

And now there's tension and we're having

[George Taveras]

a conversation and then there's a third person that's in competition for redemption reclamation.

[Sam Taggart]

And it is Kylie Minogue.

[George Taveras]

So there is the Kylie Minogue documentary coming out on Netflix or something.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. And we're not talking about just gay guys reclaiming.

[George Taveras]

Yeah, gay guys have reclaimed her many times before.

[Sam Taggart]

Like a million times. Basically every time a gay guy wakes up, they're saying, today I'm reclaiming Kylie Minogue.

[George Taveras]

Yeah. It's like, we know, put your name on the list. There's a lion out the block.

[Sam Taggart]

What we're saying is we think that there will be a like 22 year olds on TikTok being like. So there's this singer named Kylie Minogt. She was actually really big in 1982, but now she's really like. What I realized is she actually makes amazing music.

[George Taveras]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

And I think that will be happening a lot. And there will be like, sort of like in the same way that running up that hill had a moment, I think. Can't get you out of my head because I saw it in the trailer for some movie.

[George Taveras]

We'll never know which one coming out.

[Sam Taggart]

We'll never know which one coming out this summer. And I was like, oh, people are about to. Like, people that weren't around for this the first time are about to be around for it now.

[George Taveras]

In the trailer for the Kite, the song that's used is actually all the Lovers, which I thought was an interesting choice and is a great song that was successful, but I think is still doesn't have the Classic status that it maybe deserves. I could see that having a big comeback. Maybe that's what's used in the opening or the closing credits. There's a lot of stuff with Kylie. There's the, you know, her persevering during all her health issues. There's her suing Kylie Jenner because of the name Kylie.

[Sam Taggart]

Right. And now at her concerts, she sells merch that makes a little joke about that. It's like the real Kylie at the realky. Or it's like the only Kylie or something like that. Yeah, because Kylie Jenner got sued because she was just calling herself Kylie and Kylie was like, no, I'm Kylie.

[George Taveras]

To have the confidence as Kylie Jenner to be like, I'm gonna own Kylie. I'm sorry, do we not live in a democracy?

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. Username taken.

[George Taveras]

Jesus Christ. And guess what? It worked too.

[Sam Taggart]

It worked.

[George Taveras]

Okay.

[Sam Taggart]

Finally some justice in this country.

[George Taveras]

So now. Oh, you have.

[Sam Taggart]

I have one more.

[George Taveras]

Okay.

[Sam Taggart]

I mean, we have extras. Of course we have extras.

[George Taveras]

Because I'm also. We want to do fake debate of the summer.

[Sam Taggart]

Oh, okay. Okay.

[George Taveras]

And real debate of the summer.

[Sam Taggart]

This one is. This is kind of related to our Palm Springs conversation from before. Sexual deviation of the summer Friend group orgy.

[George Taveras]

Okay, so you're sort of saying. You're sort of saying, like, no more anonymous sex.

[Sam Taggart]

It's done.

[George Taveras]

Close friends only.

[Sam Taggart]

I think you've. You've realized what are you really gonna find in anonymous sex? Now it's sort of like, well, we're friends, but we met like, two years ago.

[George Taveras]

Yes.

[Sam Taggart]

So, like, we can kind of mess it up. We don't have to be so precious with our friendship. We're not coworkers. We're not best of friends. We have been friends for two years.

[George Taveras]

Would you say it's not acquaintances, though? It is friends. Is it someone you've had a one on one drink with? Or it's someone that has always been on the outskirts of the friend group, and you're sort of looking around bored, being like, I guess we could go with him.

[Sam Taggart]

I think what's gonna happen is you're gonna be at cocktails at someone's house, and then all of a sudden you're like, wait, why is everyone making out? And maybe two people knew that would happen, but then you didn't.

[George Taveras]

Okay, okay.

[Sam Taggart]

And you're like, I guess friends can hook up.

[George Taveras]

Now, do you feel like this is something that will happen exclusively within the LGBTQ community, or are we thinking the return of key parties among suburban couples with two or three children?

[Sam Taggart]

I could see this being a larger trend. I could see this due to that film that Seth Rogen's in that I

[George Taveras]

forget the name of the invite. The invite, written and directed by Olivia Wilde. Interesting. You didn't center her when bringing it up.

[Sam Taggart]

Well, I only didn't center her because I get her confused when I.

[George Taveras]

With Olivia Munn and one more Olivia. Who's the other Olivia?

[Sam Taggart]

It's not Olivia. It's like a look thing.

[George Taveras]

Oh, Robbie. Margot Robbie.

[Sam Taggart]

No, it's like, who's. It's just like, I know whenever I'm thinking of one, I'm thinking of the other. Who's Oppenheimer?

[George Taveras]

Emily Blunt. Really?

[Sam Taggart]

I get them confused.

[George Taveras]

You have weird face blindness with women. That was not one of the listed people of the AI generated Google over lookalike. Becca, we have to have a conversation about your AI usage. Tell Google that. Like, when I Google something, why does it pop up? You have to do minus AI. Oh, my God.

[Guest/Caller]

You can do that?

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Taveras]

Okay, we'll see. Wait, but I actually want to know, what does AI who does AI say? Looks like Olivia Wilde. Odette. Annabelle. Don't know her. Fox? No. Taylor Cole? Incorrect.

[Sam Taggart]

Tyler?

[George Taveras]

Nope. Jennifer Carpenter? No. See, that's why AI is never going to actually take over. That's true.

[Sam Taggart]

So. So the people. So who.

[George Taveras]

Who's Olivia Wilde?

[Sam Taggart]

Olivia Wilde wrote and directed this movie.

[George Taveras]

Yes.

[Sam Taggart]

Olivia Munn is the other one.

[George Taveras]

And then Olivia Munn is married to John Mulaney.

[Sam Taggart]

And who's the third one that I think of?

[George Taveras]

Emily Blunt from Devil Wears Prada.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. I always.

[George Taveras]

I could almost see Emily Blunt and Olivia Munn, but to me, Olivia Wilde is a different kind.

[Sam Taggart]

I always. I need to, like, literally look at two pictures side by side because I'm only thinking of Emily Blunt.

[George Taveras]

Yeah, one moment. Olivia Wilde. I'm trying to think what you would have seen with Olivia Wilde. You never watched the oc?

[Sam Taggart]

I did watch the oc.

[George Taveras]

She's the bisexual that Misha Barton dates. She's kind of an iconic, like, foundational bisexual character in television. Huh. She also wrote and directed. Or I don't know about wrote, but she. I think wrote and directed Booksmart.

[Sam Taggart]

I saw that one.

[George Taveras]

She did.

[Guest/Caller]

Did she write it?

[George Taveras]

She did.

[Guest/Caller]

I think she directed it.

[George Taveras]

And she also wrote and directed again, maybe not wrote. Don't Worry, Darling. Of course. With Harry Styles and Florence Pugh. And then she dated Harry Styles.

[Sam Taggart]

Dating.

[George Taveras]

She was in it and was dating. I once saw her at Julina, if you remember her from that. Okay, here. I don't Know why? This photo. Okay, that is the closest I felt like if I made Olivia Wilde blonde and this very old photo of Olivia blonde. You can kind of. I can kind of see this. I'm sorry.

[Sam Taggart]

Isn't Emily.

[George Taveras]

Isn't Olivia Wilde like the most beautiful woman you've ever seen?

[Sam Taggart]

That's the one on the right. Yeah.

[George Taveras]

You don't think so?

[Sam Taggart]

They're identical.

[George Taveras]

They are not identical.

[Sam Taggart]

That's just two girls with different hair.

[George Taveras]

Olivia Wild is like someone I'm like, there's something I. It, like, it makes me. You know what I think it is is she's so kind of conventionally attractive that it transports me back to before I knew what my sexuality was. It's like being like 7 years old and just being told Julia Roberts. And you're like, of course.

[Sam Taggart]

Okay, I'm gonna study this when I go home.

[George Taveras]

So they look the same to you.

[Sam Taggart]

I've never seen the girl on the left in my life.

[George Taveras]

That's Emily Blunt. That's double cross.

[Sponsor/Announcer]

You're crazy.

[George Taveras]

I actually did not know it was this bad for you. This is crazy. This is nuts. Because Olivia Wilde get not knowing. Because. But like, Emily Blunt has been a part of our lives now for decades. She's married to John or Jason Krasinski. John Krasinski. And she was in a quiet place. And she's in a quiet place. Did you see Edge of Tomorrow?

[Sam Taggart]

Uh huh.

[George Taveras]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

Emily Blunt's. She's that one.

[George Taveras]

I feel like she's quite famous. Yeah, she's really famous.

[Sam Taggart]

I just equate her with Olivia Wilde,

[George Taveras]

but also Oppenheimer, which you love. She didn't shake the hand Emily Blunt. And she was drunk.

[Sam Taggart]

I could have sworn it was Olivia Wilde.

[George Taveras]

You thought that was Olivia Wilde?

[Sam Taggart]

I cannot tell them apart. Like, look how long her chin is.

[George Taveras]

This is so square.

[Sam Taggart]

They just look like before and after shots.

[George Taveras]

Well, that's a conversation we can't get into right this second. Anyway, I actually think I'm really glad you brought up the invite because I do think the invite is gonna be a big conversation starter in a way that I'm excited for. And I think another conversation that's gonna happen with the invite is people are gonna. This is another kind of dark horse for redemptionreclamation. Even though this is someone who does not need a redemption. But people are gonna be like, did you know Penelope Cruz is good at comedy? And then all these various gay guys that, you know, love Almodovar films are gonna be like, actually she started in comedies.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Taveras]

And then that's gonna be like a big kind of, like, circular conversation.

[Sam Taggart]

Oh, my God. It sucks that whenever you bring up what's gonna be a conversation, all I can do is see the TikTok of someone, like, being so condescending about it.

[George Taveras]

Yeah, yeah, totally.

[Sam Taggart]

And I'm like, no, I know. Oh, whatever.

[George Taveras]

I think Penelope Cruz has always wanted secretly to be a comedienne. Do you remember she was in Zoolander 2, but then it sort of didn't do super well. I think she wants that. Like, she's chasing the high. She wants the big comedic role.

[Sam Taggart]

I think she's gonna get it.

[George Taveras]

I think she's gonna get it.

[Sam Taggart]

Okay. You have a big concept to draw.

[George Taveras]

Okay. So basically, you know how there's always these fake debates we have to kind of like, go through the motions of hat. A recent one was, should Timothee Chalamet be murdered on the street because he said that ballet is a dying art form or whatever?

[Sam Taggart]

Should Charli XCX be drawn and quartered because she said the dance floor is dead?

[George Taveras]

Yes. You know, I'm trying to think of other non celeb ones. Oh, here's one. Is it. I mean, just an obvious one from recently. Like, is it ethical to go to the Met gala even though Jeff Bezos is the one donating the money? Like, just like these things. And it's like, imagine a world where I won that debate one way or the other. Guess what? It's the same world. Nothing's gonna change. It's like, why are we talking about these things?

[Sam Taggart]

Right.

[George Taveras]

So this is sort of a. I have various candidates. I'm gonna pull them up for fake debate of the summer. So one is, of course, is Hasan Piker bad. This is something that's been happening for a while, but I think more and more normal people are learning who he is.

[Sam Taggart]

Well, also, as we get into midterms, I think that's gonna be huge.

[George Taveras]

Yeah, it's gonna be an amazing way that various really, really annoying people on, dare I say both sides are gonna miss the point.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, yeah.

[George Taveras]

And it's gonna be just this constant, like, is it okay that he has an expensive watch but voted for Bernie Sanders? Is it okay that he is that he, like, takes steroids? Like, it's just gonna be like, non stop. I think that's gonna be a big one.

[Sam Taggart]

That's gonna be huge.

[George Taveras]

We're all gonna. Your mom is gonna have to wait in. Everyone's going to have to weigh in. Here's another one. Can Boots Riley still be a communist? If he works within capitalism, that's going to be a huge fake debate.

[Sam Taggart]

That's going to be a huge fake

[George Taveras]

debate because his new movie, which I think looks very good, is coming out. And so of course people are going to say, oh, so you're saying you have progressive politics but you actually did a show for Amazon. People are going to think they're the smartest person alive for making that point.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, yeah.

[George Taveras]

Okay. Another big one. Is the casting and or the accent work in the Odyssey problematic?

[Sam Taggart]

I mean, I'm already, of course we've talked about this. This is already starting. They're sparking this.

[George Taveras]

You know, people are soft detection, different people are like, what if we focus on Matt Damon? What if we focus on Anne Hathaway? What if we focus on Tom Holland? People are kind of like testing out these basement dwelling freaks. They're saying, what sort of discourse can I start? We have a month until the movie comes out. And so far nothing's really catching on.

[Sam Taggart]

Is this real, though? Here's my big question.

[George Taveras]

By definition, no. It's a fake debate of the summer,

[Sam Taggart]

of course. I guess. Yes, yes, yes. But what I mean is, are these real people or are they bots? Or is it bots trying to get money or something?

[George Taveras]

Yeah, it's complicated because as we've said, the bot ethos lives within real life people. There are people that are acting like bots and they haven't even realized it.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Taveras]

And I think it's a lot of

[Sam Taggart]

that, but I don't know a single soul. Maybe you do because you're in the Greek community. I don't know a soul who's like, they should be doing Greek accents.

[George Taveras]

No, there was an article written literally yesterday. I don't remember where it was. It was about whether it's okay that they have. Not okay in an ethical way, but even just artistically or even if it takes you out of it. Let's say that they have American accents.

[Sam Taggart]

There was an article.

[George Taveras]

Yes. Now these days, you know, anything can be an article.

[Sam Taggart]

That's crazy because Delaware's Prada was about saving press.

[George Taveras]

Yes.

[Sam Taggart]

And then we're using the press. We have to do this.

[George Taveras]

They save the press only for them to write about whether it's okay that Matt Damon is doing an American accent in the Odyssey. Wow. Now here's the thing. Have you seen the movie Alexander? It's about Alexander the Great.

[Sam Taggart]

I think I saw it once.

[George Taveras]

Okay. So the thing with that movie, which I think is really funny, is that every single person has a different accent and I'm not exaggerating. This is like a thing that I'm sure there's probably a Wikipedia section about it, but literally, Angelina Jolie is doing a Greek accent. Some of them are doing British and some of them are doing American, and some of them are Americans doing British. It makes zero sense.

[Sam Taggart]

Very. Choose your own.

[George Taveras]

And it's very. Just sort of like, look, it's old timey. That's kind of the vibe.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, yeah.

[George Taveras]

And then there are, of course, films where people do foreign accents but speak English. But I sort of think it's okay that they're just doing American accents.

[Sam Taggart]

I think we're in a post accent correct world.

[George Taveras]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

I mean, we lived through House of Gucci. It didn't take me out one bit.

[George Taveras]

I said, I'm glad it took me out a little bit.

[Sam Taggart]

I mean, it wasn't an amazing movie, but I don't blame the accents. Blame sort of the plot.

[George Taveras]

Take out the trash. Who does what?

[Sam Taggart]

Who does what?

[George Taveras]

Yeah, they don't take you.

[Sam Taggart]

Well, our name, sweetie.

[George Taveras]

Okay, but. Okay, they don't take you out of it. But don't they add something to it? It's fun that they're all doing Italian accents. Imagine the Odyssey, but they're all doing Greek accents. Like big fat Greek wedding style.

[Sam Taggart]

But it's like, maybe I'm practicing Greek erasure currently, but I'm sort of like,

[George Taveras]

the Odyssey is too much of a classic.

[Sam Taggart]

It's like a mythical completely. It's like we're not walking through Greece, obviously.

[George Taveras]

Yes. That is the obvious rebuttal to all of this, which I do think, in all fairness, the majority of the population agrees with.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, yeah.

[George Taveras]

Nevertheless, there will be conversations about it.

[Sam Taggart]

I mean, we're having one now.

[George Taveras]

Do you have any other ideas for fake debates of the summer? I have some that I sort of rejected. You know, a big one, of course. But I don't know if this is a real or a fake debate. Is like, do all men have eating disorders? This is like related to Look Smacks, I think.

[Sam Taggart]

Well, yeah, we were talking about this a little last night.

[George Taveras]

Like, Look Smacking has been treated as like a funny curiosity in the media. And I could see a backlash where people are like, wow, so you treated that you're doing the same thing to men that you did to women during like the horrible 2000s TY era.

[Sam Taggart]

It is just like in 10 years there will be documentaries about clavicular and how we killed him.

[George Taveras]

And then people will rewrite history by being like, it's crazy that everyone thought this Was good. It's like, no. No one thought it was good.

[Sam Taggart]

Everyone thought this was bad.

[George Taveras]

And also everyone thought. Thought Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton coverage was bad, too. It's not. This rewriting of, like, we were all such automatons that we were cheering on the murdering of innocent men and women. No, we weren't.

[Sam Taggart]

No, we weren't. We were podcasting and our opinions were correct. Check the tapes.

[George Taveras]

Another big fake debate that could happen. You know, is it okay for people to change their minds? I think this is gonna be a big one. With Trump voters realizing that they shouldn't have voted for Trump and then people on the left being like, well, fuck you. It's like, rather than sort of welcoming them.

[Sam Taggart]

No. And this is real. This is an interesting one.

[George Taveras]

It's like people not taking a breath.

[Sam Taggart]

I would say they put this in the real debates, kind of real debates.

[George Taveras]

Okay.

[Sam Taggart]

It's obviously, we should have the mental strength to be like, oh, you see the only way it's come. But it's like, but I can't do that. I'm pissed.

[George Taveras]

Another real debate of the summer is Ivy woke Gen Z. Lena Dunne them. I think pros and cons.

[Sam Taggart]

I think you're right in that. It's a fake debate.

[George Taveras]

Oh, it's a fake debate. I said it was a real one. You think it's fake?

[Sam Taggart]

I think it's a fake debate because it's like, what do you mean?

[George Taveras]

Right?

[Sam Taggart]

Like, what does that even mean?

[George Taveras]

I think. I guess I'm taking it to be a compliment. I mean, I think there's a few things that are happening. People much like. Much like with Lena Dunnag, people are obsessed with analyzing Ivy's public statements, without which, by the way, are all extremely funny, without recognizing her actually amazing work as an actor, writer, comedian, whatever. It's the same with Lena where people would be like, lena Dunham is so annoying because she said xyz and where did she even come from? Who even is she? It's like, well, she has a show.

[Sam Taggart]

The reason why I think it's fake is because all of it's coming from Ivy. If she didn't share, like, if she wasn't like, everyone underestimates me. I'm actually a genius. I would be like, of course everyone I know likes her.

[George Taveras]

A lot of you did.

[Sam Taggart]

So I'm like, no one. She's like, I'm getting all these comments every day. She's her own PR in the way that Lena. Maybe this is how she is at Lena Dunham, where it's like, Lena purposefully stokes the flames in huge ways. So does Ivy. Ivy could be just doing standup and posting clips and they would probably do well. But she's like, she's always having to like stoke the flames and be like, oh, you hate me. Hate this.

[George Taveras]

Yeah, but this flames stoking is so funny.

[Sam Taggart]

Of course that's how they're similar. But it's only from her.

[George Taveras]

She has the gift of gab.

[Sam Taggart]

She's got the gift of, like knowing how to take center stage.

[George Taveras]

Yes.

[Sam Taggart]

Which.

[George Taveras]

And I'm buying a ticket. I'm buying a VIP ticket for her.

[Sam Taggart]

I'm there. I'm holding my finger down on the phone so I can read the huge block of text. I'm addicted, of course, but I just think she's absolutely doing it.

[George Taveras]

Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

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[Ryan Seacrest]

I

[George Taveras]

turned off news altogether.

[Sam Taggart]

I hate to Say it, but I don't trust much of anything.

[George Taveras]

It's the rage bait. It feels like it's trying to divide people.

[Sponsor/Announcer]

We got clear facts.

[Sam Taggart]

Maybe we could calm down a little.

[George Taveras]

NBC News brings you clear reporting.

[Sam Taggart]

Let's meet at the facts. Let's move forward.

[George Taveras]

Forward from there. NBC News reporting for America.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[George Taveras]

And then the other real debate of the summer is, is have the Obamas flopped post presidency? This is interesting because this is something that's been brewing for a while.

[Sam Taggart]

Can you imagine? Can you imagine if you're president? You were like, okay, that was hard. And then you're like, I'm just gonna fucking vibe and start a production company. And then all these wars start breaking out. And you're like, oh, my God, can I just make podcasts?

[George Taveras]

Totally. How could you have seen it coming?

[Sam Taggart]

That's so messed up.

[George Taveras]

It's tough.

[Sam Taggart]

And now everyone's like, you should speak on this. And they're like, I don't do that anymore.

[George Taveras]

What do you not understand? Yeah, when they go low, we produce a docuseries.

[Sam Taggart]

You had your shot. I did my time. Now I'm Hollywood. Let me have some fun.

[George Taveras]

It's complicated, but I do think it is without expressing an opinion on it. I do think it is a real debate, and I sort of think it's been bubbling for a while and people on both sides want to express their opinions.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Taveras]

So that's all I'll say about that.

[Sam Taggart]

They're just like me.

[George Taveras]

For real, The Obamas?

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. It's like, can you stop having, like, political unrest so that I can just podcast kind of?

[George Taveras]

Yeah, no, it's tough.

[Sam Taggart]

I don't want to comment on that. Just stop that.

[George Taveras]

I'm actually shocked there hasn't been more backlash. Although at this point, you know, in a post Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni world, I basically don't think anything is real when I look at online conversation.

[Sam Taggart]

I mean, you heard me, the whole Odyssey thing, I'M like, bots, bots, bots, bots. Basically, anything I see on Twitter, I think is bots. And they're sort of testing to see what's, like, hitting well, and then if it hits well, then they'll boost it.

[George Taveras]

We're all part of an experiment, of course, and someone has to pull the plug.

[Sam Taggart]

Everyone go out there and bomb.

[George Taveras]

Don't bomb.

[Sam Taggart]

Sorry.

[George Taveras]

What do you want them to bomb? Oh, data centers. Yeah, you could do that. Well, you have to first make sure that everyone has left. Send a bomb, pull the fire alarm.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Taveras]

Ethically, we're doing this. Ethically. Ethically, this isn't.

[Sam Taggart]

We're hurting buildings.

[George Taveras]

Yeah. We're not going boots. Riley mode.

[Sam Taggart]

No. Well, I wish we were.

[George Taveras]

I wish we were, too.

[Sponsor/Announcer]

Well,

[George Taveras]

we, you know, we went from braised greens to domestic terrorism, I will say, in one hour.

[Sam Taggart]

It's actually amazing that we were able to come up with these amazing thoughts of things of the summer because it is, in fact, cloudy and rainy outside.

[George Taveras]

It is. I know, and thank you for saying it.

[Sam Taggart]

And all day I was like, damn. Cloudy and rainy. That's tough.

[George Taveras]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

But we sat in a Starbucks on 55th.

[George Taveras]

That's right. I got a jalapeno chicken turnover that was approximately one square inch.

[Sam Taggart]

And I had an amazing, you guessed it, coffee cake.

[George Taveras]

And even the Starbucks one was good.

[Sam Taggart]

It was to die for. I've never had anything like it. So, you know, boycott Starbucks unless you're on 55th Street.

[George Taveras]

Can I ask you something? It's like, where do all the pastries go? You're walking around. You're walking around any major city.

[Sam Taggart]

Okay.

[George Taveras]

Every bakery chock full of pastries. No one is ordering. Have you ever seen a pastry vitrine that isn't completely full? Maybe you're getting two people getting a croissant each day. Are all of those thrown out?

[Sam Taggart]

You know, my local coffee shop, which is, of course the coffee shop near the Pod Hotel. They actually do run out of pastries quite early. Yes. If you want a croissant, you better

[George Taveras]

get there before 10am Okay, I stand corrected.

[Sam Taggart]

And in fact, I wish. I'm saying, can you stock a couple more of these? Because it would be nice to have

[George Taveras]

a croissant, to maybe have a croissant.

[Sam Taggart]

And the only thing left by 11am is like a chocolate chip cook cookie. And it's too early for that.

[George Taveras]

To go into a coffee shop and be like, I'll have a chocolate chip cookie. It's like, you need to check yourself into rehab. You're actually crazy.

[Sam Taggart]

No, that's true. Oh, well, pastries are given to the baristas.

[George Taveras]

Pastries are given to the breeze.

[Sam Taggart]

Well, yes, they get a bunch of pastries.

[George Taveras]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

Thank you.

[George Taveras]

No, that's true. And the same thing happens with bread. I mean, the baguettes alone.

[Sam Taggart]

I mean, my thing in LA is I go to donut places at like 7pm

[George Taveras]

Is that your thing in LA? That is so LA.

[Sam Taggart]

So my thing in LA is I go to Donut places at 7pm and they'll. You will buy a donut and then they'll give you like four free ones because they're like, we are going to throw these.

[George Taveras]

Right. Okay, so my point stands. It's like we're literally giving them away for free.

[Sam Taggart]

It's true. You kind of gotta be a holdout.

[George Taveras]

I've just always never understood. I realize we need to end, but I've just always never understood the financials of baking pastries. Do you know how much effort it takes to make a croissant? I've seen videos. It's sort of not worth it at the end of the day.

[Sam Taggart]

I mean, to be fair, especially when I'm in NY City.

[George Taveras]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

I'm like, what are the economics of anything?

[George Taveras]

Well, that's a whole other story.

[Sam Taggart]

How can you afford to have a laundry place?

[George Taveras]

I know, I know. It's true. True.

[Sam Taggart]

I got laundry scammed while I was here.

[George Taveras]

Everyone is operating at a deficit. You got laundry scammed? How did you manage that?

[Sam Taggart]

I got laundry scammed bad.

[George Taveras]

What does that mean? You're saying that's a category of scamming that we all know.

[Sam Taggart]

It was crazy how bad. I walked to this place that does laundry and I was like, oh, I'll do drop off. I'm still in Bushwick in my mind.

[George Taveras]

Oh, I see.

[Sam Taggart]

And so I drop off my laundry and they're like, okay, that'll be $34. And I go, that's crazy, apparently. But I already paid it because I was in shock. And then they have a minimum. You have to pay $30 up top and then whatever else on top of that. So my laundry was like $5 because I paid so much money for it. And I was too embarrassed to be like, can you give me a refund? Can I go somewhere else? This is insane. So I paid. Paid 34 to $35 for.

[George Taveras]

For like two shirts.

[Sam Taggart]

For literally, like, like a travel bag of clothes. Like, it was the most humiliating. And I'm admitting it because I feel so much shame. They got me good. You. You can get laundry scammed Everyone.

[George Taveras]

Well, this is like when I. At the Denver airport, you know Denver. I didn't, I didn't know. This is known for its honey. Did you know that?

[Sam Taggart]

Had no idea.

[George Taveras]

Denver's known for its honey, folks. And at the airport, I got a thing of honey. And I saw under it, it had a normal price. It was like, I don't know, whatever, $10. Obviously it's artisanal, honey. Understand you can get cheaper honey. Then I went to pay and they said something like, you know what they said? They said $50, but I heard 15. And I was like, okay, 15, fine. And I take it, I look at the receipt and it was $50, because I had gotten, it turns out, saffron honey. Did you know saffron is a billion dollars?

[Sam Taggart]

I don't even know what saffron is.

[George Taveras]

It's crazy. So basically up the courage to go back to the stand at the airport and say, guys, like, I'm going to be honest with you, I misheard you. And I did not think this was $50. And then I bought a normal honey.

[Sam Taggart]

So you can get laundry scanned. You can get honey scammed.

[George Taveras]

Honey scammed. In Denver, no less.

[Sam Taggart]

Wow, you guys, we're going to expose all the scams you can get because we're going to have them happen to us. Yeah. Well, this has been an amazing episode and I think summer is going to pop the fuck off.

[George Taveras]

Oh, my God, it's going to be so fun. I can't wait to die in alfresco

[Sam Taggart]

Stream Runway by Lady Gaga and dochi stream.

[George Taveras]

H and M music stream.

[Sam Taggart]

H and M music stream. I feel so free.

[George Taveras]

By the way, the Kylie documentary watch.

[Sam Taggart]

The Kylie documentary watch.

[George Taveras]

I Love Boosters by Boots Riley. Watch Scary Movie. Unless it's bad.

[Sam Taggart]

Unless it's bad. There was a pronoun stroke in the trailer that was quite corny. Wear dots, dots everywhere, no sharp edges.

[George Taveras]

Have some braised greens with a squeeze of lemon for brightness.

[Sam Taggart]

And if you're gonna have just something that's normal, maybe a biscuit with cheese. Slap a fish on of top top.

[George Taveras]

Correct. Engage in real debates, but try to resist fake debates.

[Sam Taggart]

Know when a debate is fake.

[George Taveras]

Know when a debate is fake.

[Sam Taggart]

You are smart enough to know when a debate is real, when it's fake.

[George Taveras]

That's one of the big issues with media literacy. If someone comes to you and they say, oh, what's your take on the big topic of the day, which is Anne Hathaway's accent in the Odyssey, say, that's fake.

[Sam Taggart]

That's fake. You're being fed a lie.

[George Taveras]

Yeah, and get yourself some wind chimes. Put them in your bathroom, indoors and unrelated.

[Sam Taggart]

But if you haven't read it by now, read Lena Dunham's Famesick.

[George Taveras]

Oh, yeah, we didn't do Book of the Summer. Read Famesick because it's so firmly spraying. It's so complicated. Famesick. Then we thought the Ben Lerner book was gonna be a bigger deal, but people talked about it for exactly five days and now it's all about that book about tradwives. But we'll see. Have you read it, Becca? No. What book about Tradw? It's called Yesteryear and actually it's already been optioned by Anne Hathaway and it's about a tradwife influencer who wakes up and is actually in traditional time. Yeah, that does sound like an end happen. Totally.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Taveras]

Now, you know, one could say by the time that movie comes out, are we still gonna be talking about trad wives? Talk about the fake debate of the century? Probably not.

[Sam Taggart]

Probably not.

[George Taveras]

So shout out.

[Sam Taggart]

Okay, see you guys in Chicago. Bye Bye.

[George Taveras]

Podcast ends now for our visual learners. You can watch full video episodes on our YouTube channel and subscribe to our

[Sam Taggart]

Patreon for two extra episodes a month

[George Taveras]

at patreon.com Stradia Stradiolab is a production

[Sam Taggart]

by Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network

[George Taveras]

and iHeart podcasts, created and hosted by me, George Severis and Sam Taggart, executive

[Sam Taggart]

produced by Jenna Cagle, co produced by

[George Taveras]

Becca Ramos, edited by Lauren Stumpf and mixed and mastered by Doug Bain.

[Sam Taggart]

Artwork by Michael Fails and Matt Grubb. Theme music by Ben Kling.

[Sponsor/Announcer]

This July 4th, come celebrate at America's Block Party hosted by America Two Feet. America's Block Party is a can't miss 4th of July concert happening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Experience music, performances from major artists, patriotic tributes and the kickoff to giving 4th, helping to make July 4th the largest day of giving in American history. It's more than just fireworks. Learn more about this landmark [e-mail]

[Ryan Seacrest]

hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. Summer is here and the sun is out. Make sure you take care of your skin this summer now through June 23rd. Third shop for you. Save days and get great savings on all your favorite skincare Essentials and earn 4 times points. Shop in store or online and save on sunblock from Neutrogena Sun Bum, Hawaiian Tropic, Banana Boat and coppertone and earn 4 times points to use for future savings on groceries or gas. Offer ends June 23rd. Restrictions apply. Offers may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.

[Guest/Caller]

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 a two hour drive that could feel like like 10.

[Sponsor/Announcer]

Oh, as an avid camper, I know all about this. We'll pack up the RV and know

[George Taveras]

this is either going to be the trip of a lifetime or a complete disaster.

[Guest/Caller]

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

[Sponsor/Announcer]

It's what dreams are made of. Lingokids keeps kids engaged and quiet with

[George Taveras]

over 4000 interactive games, songs and shows

[Sponsor/Announcer]

that kids simply cannot get enough of.

[Guest/Caller]

You can pack whatever you think you'll need, but Lingokids is the only entertainment you'll need for a stress free card ride.

[George Taveras]

Or really any ride, plane, train, hovercraft, whatever.

[Guest/Caller]

Download Lingokids for free today or unlock

[George Taveras]

even more amazing content with LingoKids.

[Guest/Caller]

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

[George Taveras]

Google Play Lingo Kids Everything Kids love professional wrestling fans. The action continues every week.

[Sam Taggart]

This is total nonsense. TNA Thursday Night Impact every week on AMC.

[George Taveras]

For showtimes and more information visit tnarestling.com this is an I heart podcast. Guaranteed human.