"Tim Hayden" w/ Zach Zimmerman

Summary

Podcast Summary: StraightioLab – Episode "Tim Hayden" featuring Zach Zimmerman

Podcast Information:

• Title: StraightioLab
• Host/Authors: Big Money Players Network and iHeartPodcasts
• Description: An intellectual podcast where comedians George Severis and Sam Taggart explore straight culture with humor and insight, dissecting various societal topics with engaging guests.
• Episode: "Tim Hayden" featuring Zach Zimmerman
• Release Date: August 5, 2025

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1. Introduction and Opening Discussions (03:37 - 12:19)

The episode kicks off with George Severis and Sam Taggart tuning in from both coasts, expressing initial fatigue and light-hearted banter. They delve into personal anecdotes about managing emotions, particularly anger and its underlying causes.

• Discussion on Anger:
  • George Severis [04:01]: Shares his self-diagnosed narcolepsy and relates it humorously to moments of intense need to sleep.
  • Sam Taggart [05:14]: Explores the concept that anger often masks other emotions like sadness, hunger, or horniness, questioning societal reluctance to accept anger as a standalone emotion.

Notable Quote:

• Sam Taggart [06:04]: "One of the best things we can do as a society is confront anger as it is rather than have it symbolize something else."

2. Hosts Announce Stand-up Tour (02:22 - 03:19)

George and Sam announce their upcoming stand-up comedy tour, humorously highlighting their shift from podcasting to live performances.

• George Severis [02:41]: "We're going to Chicago, Philly, D.C. Boston, Toronto, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, and maybe more locations. TBD."

3. Interview with Zach Zimmerman (12:23 - 85:50)

Zach Zimmerman joins the podcast to discuss his experiences and perspectives, primarily focusing on the viral phenomenon of Tim Hayden—a straight culture icon known for giving away watches.

a. Zach's Personal Background and Bisexuality (12:23 - 26:21)

Zach opens up about his bisexuality journey, exploring the challenges and societal stereotypes he faces while navigating relationships.

• Zach [22:35]: "I think the stereotype is that bi men are just gay men who want to experiment with women, but it's more nuanced than that."

Notable Quote:

• Zach [25:29]: "I need some. I'm bi now. It's basically straight."

b. The Straight Shooters Segment (31:31 - 36:31)

In the "Straight Shooters" segment, Zach participates in a rapid-fire game testing his knowledge of straight culture. The interaction highlights the complexities and humorous misunderstandings surrounding bisexual identity.

Notable Quote:

• Sam Taggart [35:54]: "Being bisexual is the definition of 500 out of a thousand doves."

c. The Tim Hayden Discussion (37:52 - 67:42)

The core of the episode examines Tim Hayden, an internet personality who conducts live watch giveaways, symbolizing certain aspects of straight culture. George and Sam critique Tim’s approach, linking it to broader themes of entrepreneurship and consumerism.

• Zach [38:14]: Explains Tim Hayden’s watch giveaway challenges and their straight-coded elements.
• George Severis [50:14]: "He's selling Entrepreneurship. It's a pyramid scheme. It's just a way to say, like, I'm an entrepreneur."

Notable Quotes:

• Sam Taggart [40:03]: "Love your journey is very straight to me."
• George Severis [66:34]: "He's selling the idea of someone being a watch entrepreneur."

d. Shout Outs Segment (78:07 - 85:50)

In "Shout Outs," the hosts and Zach pay homage to various individuals and brands, blending humor with personal anecdotes. George shares heartfelt shout outs to his new husband and event contributors, while Zach humorously acknowledges political figures and personal experiences.

Notable Quotes:

• George Severis [79:16]: "I want to give a shout out to everyone who came to the wedding... Xoxo, Sam."
• Zach Zimmerman [82:18]: "Shouting out Amtrak for that. But yeah, vibes are good."

4. Conclusion and Final Remarks (85:50 - End)

The episode wraps up with final advertisements interspersed with light-hearted exchanges. The hosts reflect on the episode's length and content, humorously contemplating editing challenges due to technical issues.

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Key Themes and Insights:

• Confronting Emotions: The discussion emphasizes the importance of addressing anger directly instead of masking it with other emotions.
• Bisexual Identity: Zach's journey highlights societal stereotypes and the nuanced reality of bisexual men navigating relationships and self-identity.
• Entrepreneurship and Consumerism: The critique of Tim Hayden serves as a lens to examine modern entrepreneurial narratives and their impact on societal values.
• Cultural Reflections: The episode blends humor with critical insights, reflecting on how straight culture intersects with broader societal trends.

Conclusion:

This episode of StraightioLab offers a blend of humor, personal storytelling, and cultural critique. Through engaging discussions and Zach Zimmerman's candid experiences, George Severis and Sam Taggart unpack the intricacies of straight culture, bisexual identity, and the entrepreneurial spirit symbolized by Tim Hayden. Notable quotes enrich the conversation, providing memorable takeaways for listeners.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Sam Taggart [05:14]: "Here's the thing. People are trying to diagnose the cause of someone's anger."
• Zach Zimmerman [22:35]: "I like free stuff and I like free things."
• Sam Taggart [35:54]: "Being bisexual is the definition of 500 out of a thousand doves."
• Sam Taggart [40:03]: "Love your journey is very straight to me."
• George Severis [66:34]: "He's selling Entrepreneurship. It's a pyramid scheme."

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Useful Links:

• Tim Hayden’s Watch Giveaway: YouTube - Zach’s Special
• StradioLab Patreon: patreon.com/Stradiolab
• Zach Zimmerman’s YouTube Special: Surprise Me

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Note: This summary bypasses advertisements, intros, and outros, focusing solely on the substantive content of the podcast episode.

Transcript

[Sam Taggart]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[George Severis]

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[Zach Zimmerman]

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[Unknown]

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[Zach Zimmerman]

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[Unknown]

Honestly, honestly, honestly. No one wants to think about hiv.

[Sam Taggart]

But there are things that everyone can do to help prevent it. Things like prep.

[George Severis]

Prep stands for Pre Exposure Prophylaxis and.

[Sam Taggart]

It means routinely taking prescription medicine before.

[George Severis]

You'Re exposed to HIV to help reduce.

[Sam Taggart]

Your chances of getting it. Prep can be about 99% effective when taken as prescribed.

[Unknown]

It doesn't protect against other STIs though.

[Sam Taggart]

So be sure to use condoms and other healthy sex practices.

[George Severis]

Ask a healthcare provider about all your.

[Sam Taggart]

Prevention Options and visit findoutaboutprep.com to learn more. Sponsored by Gilead Hoodie who? This is a quick announcement to say that we, Sam Taggart and George Severis are going on a stand up tour. That's right, a stand up tour. No podcasting allowed this summer and fall.

[George Severis]

It's called Sam and George Stand up Tour. It rhymes, kind of. And we're going to Chicago, Philly, D.C. boston, Toronto, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Los.

[Sam Taggart]

Angeles, and maybe more locations. Tbd. Let's just say we're looking into it. And sometimes that has worked for us in the past and sometimes it hasn't.

[George Severis]

But folks, come see us split an hour of standup and we're so excited to see you.

[Sam Taggart]

We're so excited. And you can get [e-mail] Stradolab that's linktree.com Stradolab enjoy the app.

[Unknown]

Foreign.

[George Severis]

Podcast starts now. Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. Welcome all to Stradiolab. You are catching us both bicoastally. And we are yawning.

[Sam Taggart]

We are yawning. What's going on?

[George Severis]

I have an excuse because as you know, I've self diagnosed as narcoleptic.

[Sam Taggart]

Oh, that's interesting.

[George Severis]

Say more because sometimes I just really need to sleep. Like for sure. Like in a way that's like, it's not for long. It's like for like five to 10 minutes. But when it hits, I say I'm having a narcoleptic attack and I need to sleep. And I don't know what else. You know, it could be, you know.

[Sam Taggart]

That happens to me with being horny.

[George Severis]

You know, that happens to me with being horny too. That's.

[Sam Taggart]

Sometimes it's. I would say it's. It's kind of almost Tourette's. Like, you know, I think it's. There'll be just a 10 minute period where I'm like, all right, let's. We gotta find a solution here.

[George Severis]

Does it pass or do you just have to.

[Sam Taggart]

No, it. Take care of it, I think. No, it can pass, but, you know, you have to. Obviously it's not, you know, if I'm on the subway, there's nothing I can do about it.

[George Severis]

Sure. Do you ever have that thing. Okay, I want to hear. Okay, this is kind of scary. Do you ever, like, so say you're really horny. One, one moment and then you like, obviously you let it pass. And then, you know, like four hours later you're like, I'm angry and I don't know why. And then you're like, oh, it's because I was horny and I didn't do anything about it. So my body has turned that horniness into anger.

[Sam Taggart]

Here's the thing.

[George Severis]

Does that ever happen to you?

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, well, first of all, obviously. And it also happens famously with hunger. You know, who could forget the really amazing millennial term hangry that we' we're so into in approximately 2013? But I want to actually run something by you, which is like, there's this idea that anger as an emotion is always something else that has turned into anger. Like, there is this. It's either you are horny and that's why you're angry. It's either that you are sad and that's why you're angry, or that you are hungry and that's why you're angry, or that you are, like, resentful. Like, there's this idea that anger can never be just anger for its own sake. And I guess my question is, where do you stand on that and where do we think that comes from? Do you know what I mean?

[George Severis]

I do know what you mean. I know exactly what you mean. But I think. I think people are a little bit wrong. Like, I think you can be angry on your own. And I think that it's like this way of people being, like, just. It's impolite to be angry. So let's. Let's take that anger and let's, like, make it sadness. Let's take that anger and let's make it horniness. Because it's like. Well, even if it's, like, started because I was horny, now I am angry and, like, I'm not horny. Like, I don't want to have sex anymore. I'm in a bad mood and. And I'm quite cranky. And I think people just find anger to be sort of an uncomfortable thing to be around, and so they're, like, trying to dismiss it totally.

[Sam Taggart]

No, I think that one of the best things we can do as a society is confront anger as it is rather than have it be. Rather than have it symbolize something else.

[George Severis]

Respect it.

[Sam Taggart]

You know, what actually this is related to is the way people used to talk about homosexuality. It's like, what is behind. If you talk about homosexuality as something that needs to be cured, then of course you get into, like, what is behind it? Is it, Are you gay because you had some sort of childhood experience? Are you gay because you are. Are you a lesbian because you're a man hating woman and that's why you're a lesbian? Like, there's. It's this, like, distrust of something as it is and this attempt to create a narrative around it because you're so afraid to face it head on.

[George Severis]

Yeah. But then there are people that are angry all the time and you're like, okay, just like process whatever's going on.

[Sam Taggart]

And of course, that's where the, that's what's difficult about it is like I can, I can show up here and come up with a really radical leftist critique of our aversion to anger. But then I go outside, I see a man, he's literally holding a gun and threatening to kill 15 million people. That guy does have some psychological damage that we need to.

[George Severis]

There's some damage in there. There is some real damage in there.

[Sam Taggart]

Now, of course, what this is all leading to is that there needs to be a government position whose job it is to determine whether someone's anger is valid or whether it is a result of psychological damage that needs to be addressed by once again, state funded psychotherapists.

[George Severis]

And here's. First of all, I 100% agree. Second of all, I have to say, you know, where I'm going, which is where I cannot stop going, is I was angry in New York City last Tuesday and I said, you know what? I have to run an errand. And it doesn't. Like, I went to a cvs, they didn't have what I needed. They said, go to this Rite Aid, it's blank blocks away. And I said, I'm going to do that and I'm going to walk and I'm going to do my angry walk. And I said, now this is a healthy way to process your anger. I was so frustrated with everything happening and the inconveniences of living, but I got to push them into walking on the sidewalk. Whereas, you know, in people, people in la, what do they do with it? Where do they put their anger? They're not strutting, they're getting in car crashes.

[Sam Taggart]

No. Okay. You know what they are doing though?

[George Severis]

What?

[Sam Taggart]

Legitimately, what they are doing Reiki. They are doing meditation. They are developing various things that they call a practice. It's a yoga practice, it's a meditation practice. They are practicing so hard. And guess what? The big race is never coming. It's not one big rehearsal.

[George Severis]

Yeah. I think it's just unhealthy. I think everyone just needs to go for a big long walk.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. And even. And in New York also, if you're walking in New York, you can do a kind of Charlie XCX during Von Dutch walk.

[George Severis]

Of course, the Stomp.

[Sam Taggart]

You can do the Von Dutch Stomp Whereas, I'm sorry, if you're doing a meditation practice or a yoga practice, that's. You're not gonna be able to, like, shake it out.

[George Severis]

That's a suppression. You're suppressing it, quite frankly. You're bottling it up. And one day you're gonna do something really, really bad. Like buy a home.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, like buy a home.

[George Severis]

Like, buy a beautiful home with a pool.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Severis]

And you think that's ethical? You think that's ethical, what with everything going on. That is.

[Sam Taggart]

No. Especially in Los Angeles and California with the drought.

[George Severis]

With the drought and everything.

[Sam Taggart]

I'm sorry, you're filling a pool every day. And all of it is literally because you can't confront your own anger.

[George Severis]

You need to go for a walk.

[Sam Taggart]

And guess what? You know why you're angry? Because you failed at that audition. It's really not that complicated. You're angry because you didn't do well at the audition. Sorry. But, like, people have experienced that from the beginning. Being an actor is the first job. That's what Mary Magdalene did. She was an actress. She wanted to do comedy, but she was pigeonholed as a dramatic actress because.

[Unknown]

Of her symmetrical face.

[Sam Taggart]

People said, you can't be a comedian. She. I mean, the whole Robbie ass. Get your ass to that audition for a soap opera.

[George Severis]

I mean, her first big role, of course, was pretending, you know, being like, I'm a virgin.

[Sam Taggart]

Yes. And people didn't realize that she actually did that as like a campy, almost like Marlena Dietrich type thing. Like, she. She wasn't actually earnestly lying about being a virgin. She was doing a cabaret act.

[George Severis]

It's like, Lord. It's like Lorde calling an album virgin.

[Sam Taggart]

He's literally like Lord. Yes, exactly. Lorde is referencing Mary Magdalene. And by the way, all the people that are against this new era because they think it's lame and they think it's stupid that she's suddenly non binary. They don't get the reference. The reference is Mary Magdalene.

[George Severis]

She's playing with the idea of lying.

[Sam Taggart]

Hello. Whatever. The culture is stupid.

[George Severis]

The culture is stupid.

[Sam Taggart]

You know. You know what? The culture isn't lit a lalana del Rey.

[George Severis]

It's actually stupid.

[Sam Taggart]

The culture is stupid. And I did not have a ball. Anyway.

[George Severis]

Anyway.

[Sam Taggart]

Should we bring in our guest?

[George Severis]

Yeah, please. Welcome to the podcast. What?

[Sam Taggart]

Nothing.

[George Severis]

You do it, then.

[Sam Taggart]

No, you do it. Good job.

[Unknown]

No, Girls, don't fight over me. Stop talking.

[Sam Taggart]

We haven't brought you in.

[George Severis]

It's not right. You're ruining the episode.

[Sam Taggart]

Okay, please welcome to the podcast. I guess I'll have to edit all of this out.

[Unknown]

Zach Zimmerman, thank you so much, boys. It's great to be here. I was just cross referencing the DSM 5 and everything you said about anger is actually completely correct.

[Sam Taggart]

Oh, wow. Do you consider yourself an angry person?

[Unknown]

No, it's actually one of my lowest emotions. I default to sadness. I don't really get angry that often. My ex was a very angry person. I don't. I don't. I can't have anger in the house.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, call him out. What's his full name?

[Unknown]

John Croco. That just popped right out. No one's ever asked. That's so beautiful. Thank you for caring. I did do a stomp though. Recently I went to the New York Liberty game. My very first one. Go Liberty. And since someone, the other team missed two free throws in a row in the fourth quarter and so we all got free Shake Shack as an audience. So the next day I go to Shake Shack, but it's with purchase. And I was angry at that moment because I felt lied to. I just walked half an hour to get free Shake Shack and eventually the guy gave in and agreed with me that the Jumbotron did not say with purchase and he gave me a free Shake Shack. But he said, thank you for your hard feedback. And I was like, what? Okay, give me the food. I don't want to give you food.

[Sam Taggart]

Here's a question for you. Did you ask to speak to the manager when that happened?

[Unknown]

That was my. I was going to, but I thought just standing there in silence was as powerful.

[Sam Taggart]

Okay.

[Unknown]

Because he was like, can I take a picture of your picture? I didn't want to Karen out on the Shake Shack employee, but I had walked half an hour.

[Sam Taggart]

I mean, you walked six psychological mind games with this person. You know, because you're. First of all, you're introducing your point of view as one of sadness rather than anger. And I'm thinking, oh my God, poor Zach wakes up every day so sad. But actually you are going to a low wage worker and performing this kind of performance where you're so disappointed in them that they have to break the rules. That person was probably fired on the spot. Thoughts?

[Unknown]

I contain multitudes. 1, 2. As a former low wage worker myself, I have nothing but empathy for us all under the thumb of capitalism. But two, when I am entitled to a free thing, there are two things you need to know about me. I'm exploring bisexuality, and I like free stuff.

[Sam Taggart]

You're exploring bisexuality?

[Unknown]

Very. Deleted or lead. Really?

[Sam Taggart]

I sort of think those are related.

[George Severis]

I had so many follow up questions to the other thing, but this is much juicier.

[Sam Taggart]

I actually think there's nothing more bisexual than passive aggressively asking for what you're owed by from a New York Liberty game.

[Unknown]

And it felt ultimately I win because I learned that the redemption proc. They weren't tracking how many times I went to the Shake Shack. So I got lunch and dinner on Shake Shack that day. Oh.

[George Severis]

Oh.

[Unknown]

But I think it was their first time processing a promotion like this.

[Sam Taggart]

It was their first time dealing with a bisexual of any kind at Shake Shack.

[Unknown]

The bisexual community was at Shake Shack demanding lesbians wanted their shack burgers and they were buckling under the pressure of that onslaught.

[George Severis]

So when you went to this Shake Shack to get your free burger, you had a picture of the jumbotron to show the employee as proof.

[Unknown]

This is not my first rodeo, Sam. I knew there would be asterixes. So at the game I took a picture of it and it does not say with purchase. It says go to Shake Shack. Because we're all. Everyone in the audience has never yelled louder. We just all won. Thousands of us won free Shake Shack. The big question is, when do I get it? Am I going to walk out of the stadium and be handed a burger? Or what are the stipulations? So when I see the Jumbotron, yes, I take a picture. I have a receipt. Apparently an email was sent that said with purchase. I didn't get that email. I didn't buy these tickets given to me by a friend. So I go in, I have a picture. Guy behind the counter takes a picture of my picture. I'm doing free consultant labor for them on the user experience of redeeming a free Shake Shack burger. I'm entitled to more than just that. I haven't even told you the worst part.

[George Severis]

What's the worst part?

[Unknown]

Vegetarians not included. I had to pay an extra dollar to sub a veggie shack.

[George Severis]

This is crazy.

[Sam Taggart]

The fact that you were charged extra for the veggie option is the most biphobic thing in this string of biphobic decisions that have been made by two institutions that I previously trusted, the New York Liberty and Shake Shack.

[Unknown]

I was aghast because you would think in today when you go somewhere, there's always a veggie option. Like the accommodation happening by the left. Is there?

[Sam Taggart]

Don't you think, though, there's been a backlash and there actually isn't anymore. Like I actually think. Wait, Sam, why are you laughing?

[George Severis]

I just think that's Such a funny sentence, but don't you.

[Sam Taggart]

Like, there was a golden era. I would say, like, having veggie options is very Obama era. Like, there was a golden era of everything in our communities of urban bisexuals having a veggie option at every event. And then I think, especially in New York, not to once again make it New York, Brazil, especially in New York. Post pandemic, it's just been like, don't want a burger? Get out of here.

[Unknown]

You're not wrong, because I went to a cookout, a post liberty game cookout. I didn't go to the liberty game. But then they literally had no veggie options. The invite said, bring your own. Like, you can put it on our grill, but, like, we're not providing it. That. That's bonkers. A little bit, to me. It doesn't. Buy some Dr. Prager's. It doesn't take more than, like, 10 bucks to, like, throw a frozen veggie patty on the grill. People are upset because they're wrong. Are y' all meat eaters?

[George Severis]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

This is an interesting thing you just said. People are upset because they're wrong. Once again, you're trying to diagnose the cause of someone's anger.

[George Severis]

I know. I was vegetarian for, like, four years in New York after college, and there was a point where I just started getting upset, and I. I was turning into the guy with the gun on the street. And I was so angry, and I was like, you know what would actually make my life 100 times easier is if I just started eating meat again. And I did, and I instantly became a generally happier person. And I agree that it's like, if the world was built more for vegetarian lifestyles, I could have been. I could have had both. I could have been a vegetarian and been happy. But the world was not built for it, and I was sick and tired. Every restaurant I would go to, there's the one option or the two options. And I was like, I'm gonna jump. I can't do this anymore. So I gave up.

[Unknown]

Come back, Sam.

[George Severis]

Come back addicted, though. I literally became addicted to meat. And I, like. It's something I have to check in with.

[Unknown]

Okay. Gay.

[Sam Taggart]

I think your 20s are about being a vegetarian. Your 30s are about giving up, and your 40s are about becoming one again.

[George Severis]

Wow. I love that. That's beautiful.

[Unknown]

That's a journey.

[Sam Taggart]

And then having sort of like quasi health. Quasi health reasons for it, too.

[George Severis]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

Oh, right. It was ethical in your 20s. It's lower back pain in your 40s.

[Sam Taggart]

Exactly. In your 20s, it's ethical. You've read. You've read a book about it. You've seen Food, Inc. Then in your 30s, animals.

[Unknown]

Jonathan Safran Fohrer.

[Sam Taggart]

Exactly. Of course, then in your 30s, you're like, I'm too busy with work. I'm trying to climb the corporate ladder. Everyone is literally out to get me because I work at a homophobic company. I work at the Republican Party, and I have to focus on just getting this done. And I don't have time to think about veggie options. And then in your 40s, you know, you have a few doctor's appointments. They don't go as planned. You start to kind of be nostalgic for the idealism of your 20s and sudden. And by the way, the veggie options have gotten better. You're at the grocery store. You're starting to, like, be more aware of the new options that exist, and you're like, well.

[George Severis]

And not to mention, you climb the corporate ladder. You're on the top, honey. They're making lunch for you. They're ordering whatever the hell you want.

[Sam Taggart]

That's exactly it. You actually. It's easier. You don't need systemic changes to make your life easier as a vegetarian because you have actually pulled yourself up by your bootstraps. By your pleather bootstraps. Ethical pleather bootstraps.

[Unknown]

I'm reading a book that called out that phrase that it never really meant what it means because you can't pull yourself up by your own bootstraps. Thank you so much. It's impossible to levitate.

[Sam Taggart]

Thank you for saying so. What is. So can you give us a. If you just read a book about it, what is the cultural history of that phrase?

[George Severis]

And what the hell is a bootstrap?

[Sam Taggart]

It does make sense. Yeah. What is a bootstrap?

[Unknown]

I will. In my defense, the book sort of. That wasn't what the whole book was about. It was using that as a brief aside. It was Jenny Odle's saving time. So it briefly makes that point along the way, I'm catching up to that book.

[Sam Taggart]

Sure, sure, sure.

[Unknown]

It came out years ago or whatever. But you.

[George Severis]

The.

[Unknown]

What is interesting about meat right now? And veggie and fake meat is. Fake meat is almost the exact same taste and price as regular meat. So you don't actually have to have morals anymore or sort of the reason I do it is, you know, because animals are suffering and I can think I'm like, better than other people A little bit.

[George Severis]

Yes.

[Sam Taggart]

And mission accomplished.

[Unknown]

I need that in my 30s. You guys gave up on it. I need some. I'm. I'm bi now. It's basically straight. And so I needed.

[George Severis]

Tell us about your body.

[Sam Taggart]

So you do you keep bringing up being bi and so it stands to reason that you're desperate to talk about it.

[Unknown]

It's so new and fresh. I'm. I used to be whenever I was taking a flight the next day, I have to tell everyone about it or if I've just read a book, I've like assist. And so I like feel like I have to talk about it. It's like so top of mind for me.

[George Severis]

Was this like a, A date, a hookup? What was the. The.

[Unknown]

But it's been maybe two years now of you know, opening the, opening up the dating apps, the floodgates, so to speak. Returning to. Oh, yeah. Oh, and honey, they're flooding. Oh, she flooded.

[Sam Taggart]

Flooded.

[George Severis]

Wow.

[Unknown]

But I'm approaching it with just like a beginner's mind, I think, and a novel. There's a novelty to it, so I don't know how long it'll stay, but I'm enjoying being here.

[George Severis]

Are the women you're meeting, like, is there any concern about paid?

[Unknown]

Yes, Mostly paid. No.

[George Severis]

Are they like, so you're. So you're gay but you want to try a woman? Like, are they. Do they feel like an experiment or do they feel like, like, do they think of. Do they know that it's like an experiment on your end?

[Unknown]

Like I was debating, do I need to put in my profile like newly bi, just experimenting things? I think what I have found is that straight women and I are not the vibe because they want a very specific, many of them version of masculinity that I can dip my toe in but don't want to stay in full time. It's really been bi women where I'm like, okay, we share the same understanding of desire. We get that Zach likes men and that's. We also do and we like women. There's like a kinship that I'm finding with them. But straight women. For a while there I was trying to attract straight women and that was not, not good for anybody.

[George Severis]

That's interesting. I would love to see that in sort of sitcom style.

[Unknown]

Thank you, NBC exec.

[Sam Taggart]

Yes, yes, please, please write in the main issue in terms of prejudice against bi men and stereotypes about bi men is they are actually gay and this poor woman who is falling for the act. But I think once you transcend the idea of a straight woman looking for a husband, we're talking blue haired queer lady she just was in a throuple last week. She's a cinematographer. Of course she's gonna want to go on a date with a bi person.

[Unknown]

Get out of my phone. My God, George. Reading. Reading to a T. There is a. If I see a. If you're straight and I see wants children, I'm like, oh, I can't give you that. I don't want to waste your time either. Like, maybe I want kids, but, like, I'm doing, like, exploring I should have been doing at 18. I don't want to waste your 30s. And you want to start a family. Like, I can't. I can't do that to a woman.

[George Severis]

I was recently attracted to sort of a skinny, small man, and I was like, I'm bisexual.

[Unknown]

My friend did that with the new Miley Cyrus video. He was like, miley looks good. Maybe I'm bi. I think everyone's a little bi, and you'll figure it out.

[George Severis]

Sure, sure, sure. Well, there's.

[Unknown]

I'm just brave.

[George Severis]

It is fun. Life is long. And I find it kind of funny as people that, you know, are curious at all. It's, like, fun to be like, well, yeah, it's gonna shift and change a little bit. Like. And you kind of don't know in which direction. You're just like, I'm gonna be into something else in five years. Like, who knows?

[Unknown]

Could be Pokemon, could be protein bars, could be women.

[George Severis]

Yeah. Who knows?

[Unknown]

These are the three options.

[George Severis]

That's interesting. Do you find yourself telling people that you're like, does the label bi speak to you, or do you feel like it's. It feels. Yeah, tell me about that.

[Unknown]

I'm getting more confident in it. Initially, I was really liked a little bi or, like, experimenting with bisexuality. That felt truer to the newness of it to me. But now that I've, like, consummated, I feel more confident in the label. But I'm not yet ready to reject what a strange thought I've had. And I have shared it with women I've gone on a date with. The idea of ending up with a woman is scary to me because I think it will erase parts of my life in a way I don't want them to. So I kind of want a girlfriend and a boyfriend.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. I mean, what you're describing is so funny, because that's, like, the exact thing about, like, bi women. Like, the entire sort of like, homophobic stereotype is like, they are going through a phase, and they are gonna, quote, unquote, end up with a man.

[George Severis]

So you're just like bi women for real?

[Unknown]

I even made that biphobic joke to a woman in the audience that I ended up hooking up with. She was like, I'm bi. And I was like, where's your boyfriend?

[Sam Taggart]

Ha ha ha.

[Unknown]

But then I asked like, when was I made that noise? The audience didn't laugh. I went, ha ha ha. But then I asked like, when was your last date? And she said, right now. And so then I like gave her my number and we got wine the next night and oh my God, this is kind of cleaning up with bi women.

[Sam Taggart]

You're literally like in high maintenance.

[George Severis]

Yeah, it's giving high maintenance for sure. It's so interesting, I feel.

[Unknown]

Is it? I don't know.

[George Severis]

Well, I feel like a lot of, you know, I think there's something. We've talked about this on the podcast. Like there was like a gay guy. We had a person who lives in Berlin and she was telling us that like gay guys in Berlin, the thing to do right now is to have a girlfriend. And it's like kind of fun to be like, well, yeah, of course I have a girlfriend. I'm a gay guy living in Berlin. And there's something where like, I feel like our peers who are like, you know, mostly gay guys have been like, oh, like I would have a threesome with like a man and a woman. Like, there's like a little dip in to like what that could be like. But I feel like you're really putting your money where your mouth is. And it's like an interesting, it's like an interesting dynamic.

[Sam Taggart]

Wait, let's go. Let's do our first segment. What do you think, Sam?

[George Severis]

Yeah, let's do our first segment.

[Zach Zimmerman]

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[George Severis]

Listen to your elders, honey. You might know them from their viral videos, but now the Old Gays pull back the curtain on their brand new podcast Silver Linings with the Old Gays, brought to you in partnership with iHeart's Ruby Studio and Veeve Healthcare. With over 300 years of experience between them, hosts Robert, Mick, Bill and Jesse serve four lifetimes of wisdom when it comes to love, sex, community and whatever, whatever else they've got on the gay agenda. Listen to these fabulous friends swap stories exploring how queer life has evolved over the decades and the silver linings they've collected along the way. Each episode dives into hot topics from safe sex and online dating to untangling Gen Z lingo, as well as insights on how music, art and fashion show up in queer culture. So check out Silver Linings, a show about how pride ages like fine wine. Available on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts hey, it's Ryan.

[Sam Taggart]

Reynolds here for Mint Mobile Now. I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited premium wireless for $15 a month is back, so I thought it would be fun if we made $15 bills, but it turns out that's very illegal, so there goes my big idea for the commercial. Give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront payment.

[Zach Zimmerman]

Of $45 for a three month plan equivalent to $15 per month required new customer offer for first three months only. Speed slow after 35 gigabytes of networks busy taxes and fees extra see mint.

[Sam Taggart]

Mobile.Com Lenovo is built for creators who don't wait for inspiration. They chase it with inventive tech, built in AI tools and seamless performance. Lenovo devices powered by Intel Core Ultra processors are designed to bring your wildest ideas to life faster. That's the power of Lenovo. With intel inside, enjoy flexible financing, rewards on every purchase and free shipping. And students get special offers when you create an [e-mail] Zach Our first segment is called Straight Shooters and in this segment we test your familiarity with and complicity and gay uh oh, look at me saying gay culture instead of straight culture. I'm so disoriented by the concept of someone being bisexual that I Freudian slave I've literally like mixed up my my cultures. Zach in this game we test your familiarity with and complicity in straight culture by giving you a series of rapid fire questions where you have to choose one thing or another Thing. And the one rule is you can't ask any follow up questions about how the game works. And if you do.

[Unknown]

One question. No, just kidding, Just kidding.

[Sam Taggart]

If you do, we will do biphobia and bi erasure to you live on air.

[Unknown]

I'm so grateful for that rule because whenever I ask a hypothetical to someone and they start asking questions, I'm like, you're robbing the fun of. I completely answer.

[Sam Taggart]

I agree.

[Unknown]

Just answer.

[George Severis]

I agree. Just answer.

[Sam Taggart]

People are scared and they're coming from a place of fear. Okay, Zach, Bernie would have won. Or come on, it will be fun.

[Unknown]

And I'm saying which one is straight?

[Sam Taggart]

Oh, that sounds like a question.

[George Severis]

That sounds like a question.

[Sam Taggart]

Wait, wow.

[George Severis]

Wow. I don't.

[Unknown]

Am I supposed to pick one of these things?

[Sam Taggart]

Oh, my God. Literally, I'm hearing so many questions happening. It's crazy.

[George Severis]

I always do this buy thing with a face.

[Unknown]

Come on, it'll be fun.

[Sam Taggart]

Great.

[George Severis]

Okay, Zach, a chip off the old block or a rip in your old sock?

[Unknown]

I'm like pulling up the booking email, like, what is the game? The second one. The sock.

[Sam Taggart]

Okay. Seeing red. Being bred or giving head?

[Unknown]

Seeing red. The Pixar film. Turning red.

[George Severis]

That sounds that a questioning tone sounds like a question. Okay, Zach. A butter face or a butter chicken?

[Unknown]

Vegetarian butter face.

[Sam Taggart]

Sipping a Bordeaux or missing a free throw?

[Unknown]

Missing a free throw. Free Shake Shack for everyone.

[George Severis]

Scratch and sniff or track and trace?

[Unknown]

Track and trace. Who gave me what, when and how?

[Sam Taggart]

Okay, now this one's actually going to be really multicultural. Are you ready? Espresso martini or conquesso on that panini?

[Unknown]

The definition of conquesso eludes me. Ergo, espresso martini. Okay, this is like anti jeopardy.

[George Severis]

Yeah. Okay. Gone with the Wind or a song by Timbaland.

[Unknown]

A song by Timbaland.

[Sam Taggart]

Okay, so we rank each guest's performance on a scale of 0 to 1000 doves. Now, listen, am I tempted to punish you for asking so many questions?

[George Severis]

Yes, of course.

[Sam Taggart]

I think it's like when you do.

[Unknown]

That riddle where it's like, don't say no, and then you do the riddle and they say no. I felt like I got tricked.

[Sam Taggart]

Well, or were you given very explicit directions?

[George Severis]

Yeah. You know, Zach, I can't help but feel that you're a person that you know despite. Okay, I'm remembering the Shake Shack story and I'm like, oh, you love a rule. You want to. You're downright litigious if I'm being honest.

[Sam Taggart]

No, you're taking screenshots of this conversation left And.

[Unknown]

Right.

[Sam Taggart]

And you're going to show them to the President and CEO of iHeart.

[Unknown]

I have yet to fill out the release form I was sent.

[Sam Taggart]

Wow.

[Unknown]

Living on stage, just putting that out there, girls.

[Sam Taggart]

So I guess it's, you know, of course the difficulty becomes like. I loved what you said about how when you ask a hypothetical, you hate it when someone asks follow up questions. But then the second there was any kind of ambiguity, you, you. You freaked out.

[Unknown]

I missed the. I don't know if I missed a sentence or. This is part of the twisted, sick game you guys play with your guests in order to break us.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

Was I picking the most straight thing?

[Sam Taggart]

Sam?

[George Severis]

Zach, it's not about that.

[Sam Taggart]

It's sort of. I would say it is an open enough.

[Unknown]

I wasn't prepped well enough. My team didn't prep me well enough.

[Sam Taggart]

All right, we need a score. We need a score. I'm going to say I actually like that you challenged us. And I like that when you did, when we got there finally and you were like, okay, I'm answering. Then you got there fast. You started answering the questions immediately. And I think we have all learned something from this experience. There are other guests. You know, we do the segment and then we move on and it's like nothing ever happened. Whereas this one I'll remember forever. So I'm torn between the, you know, initial growing pain.

[George Severis]

Punish. Punish. Please.

[Sam Taggart]

Punishable moment, reward.

[Unknown]

For a teachable moment, punish.

[Sam Taggart]

What if we were right down the middle and it's a 500.

[Unknown]

That's the worst. I want to shoot the moon. Give me a zero or a thousand. That's awful.

[George Severis]

No, it's Cuomo coded. You got.

[Sam Taggart]

You're. Yes, you are Cuomo coded. This is a. Your score is a 500.

[George Severis]

Damn.

[Unknown]

I'm Zohran. I'm Z.

[George Severis]

You wish, you wish, you wish. I want to win. Oh, the whole bisexual thing. It's the original centrism.

[Sam Taggart]

That's right. Being bisexual is the definition of 500 out of a thousand dubs.

[Unknown]

I. My sexuality is actually perfectly maps to Zohran getting 40 some percent. It's the exact percentage. I'm like 51% gay.

[George Severis]

I straight, beautiful.

[Unknown]

What is George the arbiter? Does Sam get a say?

[George Severis]

No, I think I just agreed with George really hard. We both get a say. But I just really trusted George in this one.

[Unknown]

500 doves? That's not even. Not. It's one significant figure. Or is it 500 period?

[Sam Taggart]

Okay, yes. 500 out of a thousand. It doesn't sound Like a lot. But imagine looking at 500 doves. That would be so majestic.

[George Severis]

Yeah. You'd still feel, you'd still.

[Unknown]

To be honest, are they flying or sitting in an open field?

[George Severis]

Oh, they're dead.

[Unknown]

500 leg up doves.

[Sam Taggart]

500 legs.

[Unknown]

Something happened here.

[Sam Taggart]

You're looking at that, Zach, are you thinking, I wish there were twice as many? I'm not. I'm saying, that is too many.

[George Severis]

I'm thinking, call scientists.

[Unknown]

If I see 500 dead doves, I'm like, something happened at the magicians conference. Call the scientists.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, call. Call her daddy. Okay, Zach, I do want to get into topics.

[George Severis]

So, Zach, what is your topic today and tell us what is straight about it?

[Unknown]

My topic today, and I feel like I'll be breaking news for some people, and some people will be nodding along aggressively, is a gentleman named Tim Hayden, who everyone who knows him will know him from TikTok and Instagram as the guy who gives away watches.

[George Severis]

So this is breaking news to us. Neither of us are familiar with this man already.

[Sam Taggart]

I'm like, this is a character. Like, I can see this man. First of all, the name Tim, people don't realize because people love to use names like Chad to talk about like the most straight sounding male name. But actually the name Tim is incredibly straight to me.

[Unknown]

I've never met a gay Tim.

[Sam Taggart]

Tim Cook, but other than that, it's.

[Unknown]

Really never met him. I stand by what I said. Would love to.

[George Severis]

I know a gay Tim. My Fire island boyfriend. My Fire island third, actually.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, but you know, you know that phrase, they're the exception that proves the rule.

[George Severis]

That's true.

[Unknown]

Tim is straight, so explains why he's part of straight culture, part of Internet. What's so painful about our fragmented digital ecosystem is there are celebrities in different communities that people have no idea about. This man, his shtick. He started a watch company from his kitchen. He's an entrepreneur. He's 47. He sits in random places around the globe with, goes live and has people find him. And if you find him during a challenge and say a password, you're given a free watch. Now, the password, you must have guesses. What do you think the password is?

[George Severis]

It's different or it's always the same.

[Sam Taggart]

Wait, there's a. The password remains the same.

[Unknown]

It's the same password. It's the same phrase and it's a little queer.

[Sam Taggart]

And can I ask you something? How do you find out the password by word of mouth?

[Unknown]

It's so interesting. I actually won't be taking any questions I'm so sorry. That's part of.

[George Severis]

You are loved.

[Unknown]

If it's queer coded, you're incredibly close. That is powerful.

[Sam Taggart]

Whoa, okay, okay. Is it love is love.

[Unknown]

You're right. The first word is right.

[Sam Taggart]

Love is all around us wins further.

[Unknown]

What else? What describes sort of an adventure?

[George Severis]

Love is a battlefield.

[Unknown]

We're all on a.

[George Severis]

Love is.

[Unknown]

We're all on.

[George Severis]

Love is a journey.

[Unknown]

But not is love, journey, love, possessive love's journey.

[George Severis]

Possessive love's where it's your journey. Your journey is love.

[Sam Taggart]

Wait, love.

[Unknown]

You had it, but you infantilized the word love.

[George Severis]

Love is a journey. Love.

[Sam Taggart]

No, no, it's possessive.

[Unknown]

No, not loves.

[Sam Taggart]

Oh, love.

[Unknown]

Just love.

[George Severis]

Love. Love your journey.

[Unknown]

Whose.

[Sam Taggart]

It's love your journey.

[Unknown]

Love your journey. If you run up to Tim, these are straight men across the world are running up to this bald British man and yelling, love your journey. And he's handing them a watch. And the Internet loves it. Zach. The Internet is so excited about this man. It's somehow inspirational content when it's just a watch giveaway.

[George Severis]

It's.

[Sam Taggart]

This is actually like brilliant. I'm. I'm like in. I'm. I'm actually experiencing ASMR levels of hair raising excitement right now. Like, you're telling me there is a man named Tim Hayden. He started a watch company and he.

[Unknown]

From his kitchen.

[Sam Taggart]

From his kitchen, folks. He goes live on Instagram and a bunch of straight guys follow him. Say, love your journey, love your journey, Love your journey. And they get.

[Unknown]

Let's all say it five times so we really remember it, girls.

[Sam Taggart]

Well, I also want to say it's not to toot our own horn and specifically Sam's, I guess, but we got that pretty fast.

[Unknown]

I'm quite.

[George Severis]

You said it was queer coded and.

[Unknown]

Queer love is love. You knew love was in there. Love.

[Sam Taggart]

But you know what, though? I see why you would say that's queer coded. Of course, love is queer coded and journey is queer coded. But love youe journey. It's very straight to me. Yes.

[Unknown]

Straight man.

[Sam Taggart]

Hey, hey, yeah, it's straight man.

[Unknown]

Love your journey.

[Sam Taggart]

It's straight man. And even straight woman. Even like Oprah.

[George Severis]

Yeah, but you're like Oprah would say love your journey to me. And maybe it's just my. I can't not hear it in a gay guy's voice and sort of being like, love your journey. Like, oh my. I see your journey and I love your journey. But I guess he's saying you love your journey. Like you. He's not saying I love your journey. He's saying, you need to love your journey.

[Sam Taggart]

Love your journey is also very much like a Kamala campaign slogan.

[George Severis]

It's also like a fucking Subaru ad or something.

[Unknown]

It's a tattoo on your lower back.

[Sam Taggart]

Or your wrist, I think wrist and even rib. Whoa.

[George Severis]

I find. Okay, we need to talk about this type of inspirational content in general. It's so empty. Like, the fact that it's a watch. That he's just giving you a watch. You didn't do anything. You just, like, were unemployed that day, and so you could leave the house and go find him. And so it was like, there's something where it's like, with this. This, we've lost. What inspirational content is even supposed to be like? It's supposed to be like a kid hearing again for the first time. Or like, yes.

[Sam Taggart]

Two animals that are different.

[George Severis]

Yes. A dog seeing his owner come back from war, for example.

[Unknown]

A kid seeing another kid they're friends with.

[George Severis]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

Or saying, thank you, mommy, when given something.

[George Severis]

And we've, like, really lost the thread. And now it is just like, you did this. You found me and got a watch. And it's like, yeah, but that's not an accomplishment inherently.

[Unknown]

No, finding God is an accomplishment. Finding, like, fulfillment is an accomplishment. You just found Tim.

[George Severis]

Just found Tim.

[Sam Taggart]

And I guess is the accomplishment that he doesn't actually give you information about where he is, and you have to, like, take in his surroundings.

[Unknown]

Yeah. And figure out geo. The guys and gals who are searching the Internet based on clues.

[George Severis]

Sure.

[Sam Taggart]

Now, here's the thing.

[Unknown]

Or you just walk by him, Right.

[Sam Taggart]

You walk by him and you recognize him because he's so famous. I mean, I do think there is. I think that's a slight accomplishment. Is it enough to love your journey? Maybe not. But, like, I would feel very accomplished if I saw him live and I recognized the block he was on, and then I knew to walk there.

[George Severis]

Do you remember when? Like, I feel like this was around 2009, maybe 2010. Like, Twitter was around, but it was, like, new. And it would be a thing where, like, Ellen would be in Chicago and she'd post like, I'm at the Bean, and everyone would go to the Bean.

[Sam Taggart]

Ah.

[George Severis]

This was happening left and right. It used to mean something because it was like a celeb. And it would be like, first five people to find me get tickets. It's nice show. That doesn't happen anymore. Now you're just finding a guy who's not famous who's giving you a watch.

[Sam Taggart]

Totally. And I actually think it also harkens back to a time of, like, optimism about technology and the Internet. Like, totally. The idea that Ellen would invite people to locate her is so completely insane these days. Like, there are so many stories of, like, celebrities being stalked, people committing terrorist attacks. You would not, as Ellen or as any celebrity, make it a challenge for someone to find you at the Bean.

[Unknown]

It's sort of brave. Or. Yeah, it's terrifying that he would tell.

[Sam Taggart]

You where he is.

[Unknown]

Yeah. He's assuming people are good.

[Sam Taggart]

And I actually think so much of this kind of video content, because this also reminds me of the return of man on the street stuff. It's almost like wanting to have that old optimism about people, despite all evidence pointing to the opposite. Like, we've already learned that these things do not end well. And yet you're trying to do man on the street interviews. Why?

[Unknown]

Right? Why hasn't Tim been found and murdered?

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. Like.

[Unknown]

Okay, so, yeah, you were describing how accomplished you would feel if you saw him online and found him. I will admit I was aware of this man through my algorithm, potentially through my bisexuality. When I learned he was in New York this month, I did follow. I did see he went live. I did recognize the store he was in front of and that I was eight minutes away from it.

[Sam Taggart]

And where was it? I'm curious.

[Unknown]

He's on Fifth Avenue in front of, like, an Italian deli with sort of a very specific design. And I clocked that.

[Sam Taggart]

Fifth Avenue. In Brooklyn.

[Unknown]

In Brooklyn. And I sprinted. I think I had a chance. And I sprinted to this man. I screamed, love youe Journey. He said, I'm not doing a challenge right now. And he gave me this keychain.

[Sam Taggart]

No, My God, that's okay. So this is actually the most.

[Unknown]

I found Tim. No.

[Sam Taggart]

This is the most insane thing I've ever seen.

[Unknown]

It was the most mortified I've ever been. I thought I was getting, like, a $2,000 watch for this sprint. I sprinted for a keychain. And then I look up. The watches are 200 bucks. They're not even, like, luxury watches.

[George Severis]

Well, of course they're 200 bucks. He's making them in his damn kitchen.

[Sam Taggart]

I'm sorry. Just in case. In case anyone isn't watching, what Zach just showed us is a keychain that has a single circular, white plastic object that says, Hashtag, love your journey.

[Unknown]

Hashtag makes it straight.

[George Severis]

Really?

[Sam Taggart]

And it makes it 2010 in a font. In a font that I would say combines outdoorsy with Pinterest.

[George Severis]

I'd say, you know, Clearly Tim bought 2,000 of these for $10, and it's so upsetting that that's what he gave you. I'm sorry that happened to you.

[Unknown]

Did was So I didn't feel robbed. I think so that I felt like, oh, I just. I'm sweating now. On a 100 degree day in Park Slope.

[George Severis]

Well, it's clearly a defense mechanism.

[Sam Taggart]

But don't you feel more. Don't you feel more robbed? I mean, if you were to not get anything, at least you could be like, well, so I didn't make it this time. Next time I'll be more motivated and get there earlier. But to have this be part of the design.

[Unknown]

Oh, interesting.

[Sam Taggart]

Some people get keychains. That is false advertising, right?

[Unknown]

I'm like, oh, not. I didn't almost win. I got the consolation prize. And there are 10,000 consolation prizes.

[Sam Taggart]

Exactly.

[George Severis]

I find that it's interesting that you were ready to light up a Shake Shack employee over some false advertising, but you let this man get away without, you know, fighting him.

[Unknown]

To be honest, in his defense, which. Why am I jumping to that? Usually he has his. An iPad up that's counting down the seconds of a challenge. And so I'm kind of a fair weather fan. Just followed the account, was making big assumptions that I was entitled to a watch. I think I could have put on a little bit of a show, but he was livestreaming at the time, and I didn't want to be like, well, I deserve a watch man. Maybe I fell victim to something because he's not a corporation, he's not Shake Shack.

[Sam Taggart]

Please don't blame yourself.

[George Severis]

I think you should blame yourself a little.

[Unknown]

I'm trying to. I'm really trying to hashtag blame yourself a little. That's Sam's keychains that he's giving out.

[Sam Taggart]

I just am sort of shocked. I'm shocked at the density of straight elements to this. And I'm sorry to start listing because I realize it's the lowest form of cultural production, is making lists. But I just want to list like this is watches, one of the straightest jewelry. Okay, Watch. First of all, watches. Second of all, startup mythology. The idea of someone starting a business in their kitchen, starting a business in their basement. That's very Mark Zuckerberg coded. That's very Silicon Valley. So. So, okay, we have watches, startup mythology, viral marketing campaigns. You know, it's very like flash mob.

[George Severis]

Sort of aesthetics and specifically dated viral marketing campaigns.

[Sam Taggart]

Dated viral marketing campaigns. Man named Tim, geotagging slash mass surveillance. Kind of a Mr. Beast level.

[George Severis]

He's going for classy, Mr. Beast.

[Sam Taggart]

Classy Mr. Beast. False promises. Because this I. The idea is that the watch is a luxury product, but in fact, I just want to say $200 is the worst possible price for a watch because either you want, like a fun Casio watch that's like $30, or you want, like an actually expensive one that's like $2,000 or more, but 200. You are guaranteeing that this is a bad product.

[Unknown]

Did I bring the straightest thing?

[George Severis]

I honestly think you might have.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. No, I. I'm, like, shocked.

[Unknown]

I'm really oddly proud.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. No, I think this, by the way, this makes up for your 500 score. I mean, we are talking extra credit up the. At the wazoo.

[George Severis]

Well, I think there's something in this that is like 500 dead doves.

[Unknown]

This is the first time they've been dead.

[George Severis]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

And you can. And by the way, you. When you went to pick them up, it turns out you're only getting a keychain.

[Unknown]

I'm just like, did my magician's joke make it in? Do we think?

[George Severis]

We're going to hope. We're going to.

[Sam Taggart]

Let's hope so. Let's hope so.

[George Severis]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

Listeners, I made an amazing joke. Might not make the edit due to my Internet.

[George Severis]

I think the fact. Okay. There's something that I can't tell if it's, like, shortsighted or really far sighted about creating a watch company for the sole purpose of using it to create a viral challenge. Like, they. I can't tell, like, if that's the smartest thing I've ever heard or the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

[Sam Taggart]

No, I see what you're saying. And also, I can't tell if it's straight or gay because, you know, what it sort of gives is like a drag queen starting a line of socks. Like, it is. There's. There's a sort of. There's a kind of charming desperation about it.

[George Severis]

But even the, like, I like the charming desperation. There's a way that they're like, he's sort of doing inception on people to be like, he's making the watches, then he makes the viral challenges. Then he's like, oh, these are the watches from the viral challenges.

[Sam Taggart]

Yes.

[George Severis]

Then people are like, I guess I want the watch from the viral challenge. But he made the watch and the viral challenge. So none of it is authentic.

[Sam Taggart]

And he's.

[Unknown]

And he symbolizes something. Like, you see him. I saw Tim. I found Tim.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

Like, he's the products More than the watches a little bit.

[George Severis]

Oh, and another straight. Another straight thing about this is like he. The sort of Amazing Race element where it's like travel where he can be anywhere at any time and you never know where he is.

[Unknown]

I do want to say what, what drew me to this is it felt like a drag queen meet and greet. It felt like a similar enthusiasm to like, oh my God, I want to see my favorite. And not everyone knowing who he is is part of the allure too. I don't know if that's straight or gay, but like, I found Tim. When I posted that I found Tim, no one knew who he was, but the two people who did. I was like, now we're first.

[George Severis]

I like almost need you to name the two people who did because Tim.

[Unknown]

Cook and Mark Zuckerberg.

[George Severis]

Because I have to say this is like such a weird twist for your. Like, I'm getting that you love free stuff. This is something I've learned about you over the last hour.

[Unknown]

But I told you, there are two things you need to know. But like my burgeoning bisexuality. I love free stuff and I love free things.

[George Severis]

But to go to this man and like, be like, to say his catchphrase at him, I'm really blown away.

[Sam Taggart]

No, but I.

[Unknown]

It was humiliating.

[Sam Taggart]

In hindsight, I can relate to this, Zach, because it's like, you know what it is? Okay. One time the Gap does these vintage drops where they sell vintage products from like 80s and 90s gaps. Okay.

[Unknown]

Thanks in advance for being vulnerable. I can feel this is going to be embarrassing at your expense and I'm grateful for it.

[Sam Taggart]

So I, and, and I think there's such fun stuff that you can find that's like 90s Gap. Like an old polo that's a little, you know, frayed or like a fun denim short, whatever. And you know, if you happen to be by your email when you get the thing, then you go and you, and you know you have like 30 seconds to see if there's anything you want. One time I got one of these emails. It said, vintage Gap drop. I go, and there's only one thing left. And it was this like acid washed denim. These acid washed knee length denim shorts that were like very youthful, like very Gen Z, not something I would wear. But I really, I was like, I have to make a game time decision. I convinced myself in the moment that this was a smart purchase. And they. And I paid $75 for them.

[George Severis]

Wow.

[Sam Taggart]

And when I tell you it's a year later and I have them tag on in my closet.

[Unknown]

But it was never about wearing them exactly.

[Sam Taggart]

It was about the scarcity. It was about the scarcity of the product and the fact that I accomplished something by actually, like, being there on time.

[Unknown]

It's sort of. You feel like, wow, I'm in the right place at the right time for history. I mean, history is happening. The revolution is here. Whatever. Everything is history. This is like a nice. It's like getting a Britney Spears ticket or. I don't know. Or Beyonce ticket. Being in line at Ticketmaster.

[Sam Taggart]

It's like getting a rainbow bagel or something. Even though you know that it's not gonna be good, it's not gonna be as good as just like a normal bagel.

[Unknown]

I do have to share that the diner by my house is taking rainbow bagels and making turkey clubs with them. And the product is called the Pride Turkey Club, which scans perfectly to Pink Pony Club. Song of the Summer. Song of the summer, Pride Turkey Club.

[George Severis]

Well, that's kind of fun.

[Sam Taggart]

Now, if someone was giving out a Pride Turkey Club on Fifth Avenue and I was 10 minutes away. I'm running.

[Unknown]

Sam, do you run to anything free or you want to pay?

[George Severis]

So something. I feel like when I was in my 20s, I, like, early 20s, I was obsessed with. With free. And I would, like, do anything for free. And I would, like, go to those websites where they'd be like, here's all the free things you can do. Here's everything. Like, I was. I was all. I was like. I was like, imagining, like, oh, I'm going to write a book about, like, how to never spend a dollar and, like, still have the best life or whatever. And then something shifted and I. It wasn't having more money. It was like the free thing started to piss me off, where I was like, I actually don't like this. Like, I'd actually rather do nothing and stay at home than do this. I'd rather read a fucking book or watch a TV show than I then run to this thing and go to this show or whatever. And I think New York kind of shook it out of me, to be honest. I think Chicago had a lot of really good free programming. And I was, like, always doing free stuff. That was fun. And then I went to New York, and anything that was free was a fucking nightmare. And I said, enough. It's time to respect myself and stop going for free. And now I'm almost someone that, likes, resents a deal. Like, I, like, I'm almost. I don't know what has happened, but I'm like, I don't need to. Like, if I want the thing, I want the thing. If I don't want the thing, I don't want the thing. It doesn't matter. If it happens to be on sale and I want it good. If it's not on sale and I want it, I'm getting it. Like, I resent that being something that influences me, and so I try to ignore it.

[Unknown]

That's interesting. How does this intersect with the list? Being on the list, getting into the event for free, being sent the. Being sent the Apple has the new TV show box. Is that freeness? Welcome.

[Sam Taggart]

Being invited to a special screening.

[Unknown]

RSVP Limited. Show up early.

[George Severis]

There's gonna be a reception afterwards. Maybe I'll go.

[Unknown]

If Getty's there, Sam's going, Gettys there, I'm going.

[George Severis]

If it's just. If it's just. If it's just seeing the thing, I'm like, no, no, thank you. I'll see it. When it's my time to see it.

[Sam Taggart]

I know there's something interesting. It's like, so, okay, there's being a civilian, there's being on the list, and there's being a guest of honor being.

[Unknown]

The thing, and then there's being the thing.

[Sam Taggart]

Yes. And there's something about, like, when you're a civilian, your dream is to get on the list. When you're on the list, you resent the fact that you are the least prestigious person there. Like, it's actually better to just not be there at the big event.

[George Severis]

Totally. 100%.

[Unknown]

If you're. What's the next. If you're the guest of honor. Honor. You're resenting not being. Or is guest of honor being the thing?

[George Severis]

Well, this is.

[Sam Taggart]

Okay, so let's say the product is the big new energy drink. So the. The thing, it's.

[Unknown]

Let's call it. George. George. Everybody's drinking. George.

[Sam Taggart]

George. Hydration. The thing itself, I guess, is like the. The CEO of the company. The guest of honor, I guess, is like, you know what it is? It's like the people that are in the comms team and the marketing team, and it's like, it's their event. They are moderately proud of themselves, but they also know what their income is, and it's not as much as they deserve. Then there's the list and that. We're talking just like influencers. We're talking Tim Hayden level influencers.

[Unknown]

The biggest eyes you've ever seen. Yeah, Their eyes take up half their face. The widest teeth.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. And so you're seeing these images on Getty Images as a civilian and you're like, wow, I wish I had been invited to that party. But if you're at that party, the conversations you're having are with the most brain dead people imaginable. None of them have any life behind their eyes. They have no dreams or talent other than literally tagging themselves in a Getty image. So then you resent yourself for being part of that.

[Unknown]

And then the se. Does the CEO want to be a civilian? Is there a way to make it a circle, not a ladder?

[Sam Taggart]

No. That's an interesting. I guess.

[George Severis]

Nice.

[Sam Taggart]

But I think it's the latter way. The CEO is then invited to some other event that's like, for a real business. It's like he's. He goes to Davos.

[Unknown]

Davos.

[Sam Taggart]

And he's like, I said it first.

[Unknown]

But said it wrong. And I want credit for that.

[George Severis]

I love that you both had that on the brain, though. That's good.

[Sam Taggart]

And he at Davos, he's a. He's like a nobody.

[George Severis]

He's like, I'm a fucking loser.

[Sam Taggart]

He's a fucking loser. He's literally like raising his hand to ask Tim Cook a question at a Q and A. Oh, that hurts.

[George Severis]

Ooh, that hurts.

[Unknown]

You're activating a memory. I don't know if we have time for it.

[George Severis]

Well, please. I bet we might.

[Sam Taggart]

Please.

[Unknown]

I recently was subject to the Internet. Made fun of an outfit I wore and go, look, I saw it.

[George Severis]

I saw.

[Unknown]

But I was invited to be on the Drew Barrymore show about it. And I was like, this is hilarious. I'm gonna go on and talk about how I got rejected from a date because of this bad outfit. As the emails progress, it becomes clear I will be in the audience raising my hand and asking a question to a dating expert. And I can get a photo with Drew in the commercial break. And so ultimately, while it would have been fun, I had to respect myself and politely decline the opportunity. But raising your hand to ask a question is a particular subordinate position rather than standing next to Tim Cook on stage promoting George Hydration.

[George Severis]

Zach, I'm so proud of you for respecting yourself and saying no to this.

[Sam Taggart]

I'm really proud of you too.

[Unknown]

I had to call a lot of people. It wasn't easy. It was days of wondering, what if?

[George Severis]

No, you respecting yourself. I almost never regret when I say, you know what? I'm good. I'm like, usually it's a good sign.

[Unknown]

I felt I was gonna say no to being on Stradio Lab, but I Debased myself, went into the sludge, and I'm grateful for it.

[George Severis]

Oh, honey, no one makes out of here unscathed.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, no one. No one is. If you think you're gonna get to the George Hydration party for being a straighter lab guest, I have some music.

[George Severis]

We don't get to the George Hydration party. And we're George.

[Sam Taggart]

Okay. I'm trying to think, do we want to bring it back to Tim Hayden?

[Unknown]

Does he have more to offer us?

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, like, I mean, I think we've said. We've said a lot, and I'm this. You know, it's like you've introduced something into my life that is now going to be part of it forever.

[Unknown]

I think you should go follow him and it might bring you a little joy.

[Sam Taggart]

I see myself following him now. Here's a question. And I'm looking at photos of him. That's why you're seeing my screen reflected on me.

[Unknown]

It's not that he is 47 and looks 65. Not to.

[Sam Taggart]

So here's the thing. It's very confusing because he actually is. He both is hot and isn't hot in a. Very confusing.

[George Severis]

Yeah, it depends on the angle and the picture. It's strange because, like, his watches. Oh, no. That's what people are running towards.

[Sam Taggart]

Wait, can I actually say one more thing? So I want to say something about Love youe Journey, because there's something very interesting that's happening here, which is the watch itself is a total. It is a symbol of his journey, of his entrepreneurial journey. The watch exists not to tell time, not to be a piece of jewelry. It exists as proof that you can pursue your dream. Whether or not it is a good watch, a nice watch, whether it's aesthetically pleasing, whether or not you even want it, is besides the point. Everything is just a temple to the idea of entrepreneurship.

[George Severis]

Well, this is the whole thing with current entrepreneurship, Internet entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is in itself a pyramid scheme. It is just a way to say, like, I'm an entrepreneur. And you can be too, if you respect and love my journey. And, like, look at how I've done it. Of course I'm heated about this because the guy who shares my name, Sam Taggart, is an entrepreneur. And he is the. He, like, goes to conferences to teach entrepreneurship and salesmanship. And his whole thing is an empire of people taking his classes and buying his books on entrepreneurship. But that's how he has his money is through the classes in the books. And so, like. But what is he selling? He's selling Entrepreneurship, It's. So this is what Tim Hayden.

[Sam Taggart]

As you're saying this, I'm showing through photos. There is a photo of him launching one of his new watches. It says, introducing the entrepreneur. I'm not making this up. One of his watches is called the Entrepreneur. He is. It's. He is. It's literally like. And it's an ugly. Or I think I want to say red or orange. This is a blurry photo. Strap it. He is selling the idea of someone being a watch entrepreneur to. To whom also, like, well, this is.

[George Severis]

Talk about masculinity. Isn't a crisis. Like, men, straight men are like, how do I have worth? Like, and. And it's like, there's a. It's like a classic get rich quick thing. But there's like. But if they're like, if I could just start a business or two, I will be an entrepreneur. And then when people ask me what I do, I can tell them I'm an entrepreneur. It doesn't matter if the business is going well or if it's not. But I have a business, and that is hard. Yeah. And that is. The whole thing is like branding yourself as an entrepreneur.

[Sam Taggart]

So along those lines, the idea of entrepreneurship, you have to want to do something quote, unquote, bold, like you. You want to be the next Steve Jobs, the next Mark Zuckerberg. And so you have to have this narrative that you took a huge risk. And yet I'm looking at these watches. These watches are just fake versions of existing watches. He did not. He did not innovate.

[George Severis]

No, he literally did not innovate.

[Unknown]

But by being in the middle, not to be contrarian, but by finding a price point no one wants.

[Sam Taggart]

That's true. That's. No, you're absolutely right, actually.

[Unknown]

But he's creating a thing no one wants and has found a way to sell it to everyone.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, he's sort of like that clothing company, Quince, which sells, like, designs that more expensive brands produce, but at a lower. But they, like, look a little bit different and they're cheaper.

[George Severis]

I'm telling you what, this guy is making me sick. I'm nauseous thinking about these watches. This shit pisses me off to no end.

[Unknown]

This is just fresh because I did it last night. I bought some Life cereal and I reflected on why are they allowed to call it that? Because it's not life.

[Sam Taggart]

I know, it's crazy.

[Unknown]

People have been selling. Brands are always selling. They're not selling the products, they're selling ideas. They're selling. Life isn't Selling crusty dried flakes.

[George Severis]

To be fair, life is selling lunch.

[Unknown]

Hashtag LifeIsDelicious.

[George Severis]

Hashtag, you found me.

[Unknown]

But I think George is right that Love youe Journey is actually the product, and so the straight culture isn't Tim Hayden. The episode title is LoveYourJourney. I think.

[George Severis]

And I would appreciate that more if the journey, like, just was, like, somewhere other than entrepreneurship. Like, if you were almost more vague, and it would be like, I love your journey. Like, life is a journey. This is the journey watch. I would be like, okay, now this I love. Like, because it's like, it's, you know, that's vague. It's about something. But so he's like, this is your journey to make $1 million. And it's like that. No one cares about that.

[Unknown]

And it's. He's tracking time, which is. I don't own watches. Yeah, they're a shackle to time, which I don't really care.

[George Severis]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

Right. That's. You're absolutely right that it's like there's actually two layers of worthless symbolism. One is the entrepreneurship symbolism, and the other one is the watch symbolism. There's something about a watch. It's like, it's a serious product. Like, he's not selling, you know, bandanas.

[George Severis]

You know, it's cheesy branding that I'm actually, in comparison to this I'm loving. I'm like, you know, who nailed it? Life's Good. People that wear a Life's Good T shirt. I'm like, you know what? Good for you. It's unserious. I just want to chill out. I'm saying thank you.

[Sam Taggart]

And also, you did sort of innovate. You know, you put a little cartoon.

[George Severis]

Stick figure on a shirt, you're pretty much Keith Haring.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, Life is Good is actually Keith Haring, first grade people. Complimentary.

[George Severis]

Complimentary, of course. I mean, damn, I haven't been so heated.

[Unknown]

Does Radiolab have a slogan?

[Sam Taggart]

Well, we have various phrases. So, you know, our listeners are called Glamour Girls. We. We have. Wait, what were the things we just coined Sam recently? There was that one episode we coined.

[Unknown]

A bunch of Sam.

[George Severis]

Well, we had. We have expired quirk, which is when a celebrity gets too weird. Like, they're. They're. You love their quirk, and then suddenly people turn on it. Speaking, of course, of, like, Jennifer Lawrence.

[Sam Taggart]

And then you can. We have. Taking the context pillow means that if you don't. If you lack context for something, you need to take a context pill.

[Unknown]

That's. That's a good Declaration like, love your journey.

[Sam Taggart]

So.

[Unknown]

Yes.

[Sam Taggart]

Are we leaving money on the table by not making merch? 100%.

[George Severis]

And then we created of course, Lizzo's Pass, which is one of our most widespread ideas, which is.

[Sam Taggart]

Yes. I mean, that's basically Sam's life work.

[George Severis]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

Is it sort of a get out of cancel jail free card?

[George Severis]

No, it's about when an artist who is like kind of coming up and like having a big blow up moment and is cool and people love where they, they're. They're at Lizzo's Pass and they have to decide do they want to go towards Pitchfork or do they want to go towards Target. And it's.

[Sam Taggart]

So this is named after when Lizzo was first coming up and she was cool. She was like endorsed by people forget.

[George Severis]

That Lizzo was cool.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. And so she chose Target.

[George Severis]

Hard.

[Unknown]

Gotcha. I thought it was very different. I thought it was like Lizzo's allegations. She gets a pass. But Lizzo's Pass, it's sort of a. That's very mythic.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

That's like I'm in Lord of the Rings, I'm going to Mordor. I've reached Lizzo's Pass.

[Sam Taggart]

And of course, the very treacherous question. It's very treacherous. And you know when we first, when it first started gaining traction was when we were debating where Chapel. If Chapel at Lizzo's Pass would choose Pitchfork or Target.

[Unknown]

Have we seen we think we need.

[George Severis]

The second album to come out.

[Sam Taggart]

Yes, I think that's. I think we need the second album to come out.

[George Severis]

Then we'll know for sure. But it's a scary time. She's. The wind is blowing. She's like, I don't know which way to go. Ah.

[Unknown]

Who's. Who's her Gandalf?

[Sam Taggart]

Who are her.

[Unknown]

Who's. Who's guiding.

[George Severis]

Sasha Colby is her gandalf.

[Sam Taggart]

I mean, RuPaul. Yeah, yeah. No, it is Sasha Colby and RuPaul. And they're giving her very conflicting advice. Let me tell you. Right.

[Unknown]

Sasha's Pitchfork. Rue is.

[Sam Taggart]

And Rue is Target.

[Unknown]

Target. I mean, someone once told me, you have to decide as an actor do you want to be in movies or do you want to play regional theaters? And you have to be honest with yourself because you'll be unhappy if you're in the slot you don't want to be in. If you want to be in movies, go try be in movies. If you want to be a regional theater actor, go be a regional theater actor. It's a good life in both. You have to Be honest and look within.

[Sam Taggart]

Now that's interesting.

[Unknown]

George says so skeptically.

[Sam Taggart]

I do.

[Unknown]

May I make an observation for my life, George? I was in, I like going to Paris. It's a very pleasant city. But then I went to Athens and the people of Greece are so friendly.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

So kind of. I got bit by a cat. This owner gave me like a band aid and a lollipop. And all my while there thinking how wonderful the people of Greece are, I couldn't help but wonder what happened with George Severus.

[Sam Taggart]

No, it's true. And it's because I spent six very formative years in New Jersey and it really knocked it out of me. But actually what you're saying is very, is very true. And Greek people are like. Greek people are like some of the only people who actually are pro, who live in a tourist destination, who are pro tourists. Like you know how there's all these like anti tourist demonstrations in like Barcelona or something that would never happen in Greece. Like Greek people know that all the money in the economy comes from tourism and they are like desperate to drive the boat that takes you from one island to the other.

[Unknown]

Oh no. That makes the niceness I encountered a little more charged. Like please spend money at my.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, but guess what? Currently things are going very well. So it's, you know, if you were there in like 2014, it would be a different story.

[Unknown]

All of which to say the way you said that's interesting, I could smell a sinister turn around.

[Sam Taggart]

Well, you know, you said something that was like doing regional theater or doing movies. Both of them are good. Good lives, good lies, good lives.

[George Severis]

And I'm like, let's be honest. Yes, it depends on what region, honey.

[Sam Taggart]

Depends on what region and depends what roles you're getting.

[Unknown]

We're talking south. We're talking Kansas City. No, we're talking where's the worst region.

[George Severis]

Kansas City could be kind of south, West. Oh, I just mean like regional theater. The pay of doing regional theater. Some places you can actually live a life and some places you can. So I think we should do our final segment. Is that crazy?

[Unknown]

You're unhinged.

[Zach Zimmerman]

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[George Severis]

Listen to your elders, honey. You might know them from their viral videos, but now the old Gays pull back the curtain on their brand new podcast Silver Linings with the Old Gays, brought to you in partnership with iHeart's Ruby Studio and Veeve Healthcare. With over 300 years of experience between them, hosts Robert, Mick, Bill and Jesse serve four lifetimes of wisdom when it comes to love, sex, community and whatever else they've got on the gay agenda. Listen to these fabulous friends swap stories exploring how queer life has evolved over the decades and the silver linings they've collected along the way. Each episode dives into hot topics from safe sex and online dating to untangling Gen Z lingo, as well as insights on how music, art and fashion show up in queer culture. So check out Silver Linings, a show about how pride ages like fine wine. Available on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Sam Taggart]

Lenovo is built for creators who don't wait for inspiration. They chase it with inventive tech, built in AI tools and seamless performance. Lenovo devices, powered by Intel Core Ultra processors are designed to bring your wildest ideas to life faster. That's the power of Lenovo with Intel inside. Enjoy flexible financing, rewards on every purchase and free shipping, and students get special.

[Unknown]

Offers when you create an [e-mail] lenovo.

[Sam Taggart]

Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. Now through August 26th, it's back to Deals time where you can enjoy storewide deals and earn four times points. Look for in store tax to earn on eligible items from Dave's Killer Bread, Pilgrims, Best Foods, Hidden Valley, Progresso and General Mills. Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event long savings. Shop in store or online for easy drive up and go pickup or delivery subject to availability restrictions. Apply. Visit Albertsons or Safeway.com for more details. This has been a really eye opening episode.

[George Severis]

Well, first of all, I have no idea how long it is because we had so many technical difficulties. We've been recording for about two Hours. But how much of it will work? I'm not sure.

[Unknown]

It's going to be a 30 minute episode or a two year episode.

[Sam Taggart]

Even if it's just the Tim Hayden portion. I'm like, Tim Hayden is going to be such Radio Lab lore from now on. Like we're talking when we post this episode. You better believe I'm sending a collab request to the Tim Hayden account.

[Unknown]

If I in a month, you both are going to have 14 entrepreneur watches on your wrists. You're hustling, you're wearing. Some of them are called the Green Point and the Park Slope.

[Sam Taggart]

Oh, my God.

[George Severis]

Okay, well, now I'm interested.

[Unknown]

Now you're interested.

[George Severis]

Two green points, please.

[Unknown]

Does this segment have weird rules?

[Sam Taggart]

This segment actually does not have weird rules. This segment is very straightforward, believe it or not. No pun intended. So, Zach, our final segment is called Shout Outs. And in this segment we pay homage to the great straight tradition of the radio shout out. So you're at TRL shouting out to your squad back home. You're on Z100. You know, you're saying, I want to shout out X. And it can be anything, can be a person, product, place, thing. And we think of them on the spot, which is why I'm sort of vamping right now. Sam and I will go first. Sam, do you have one?

[George Severis]

Oh, brother. Now this is interesting. I don't currently have one, but let me reflect for one moment.

[Sam Taggart]

No, we're going to reflect. We're going to reflect. Boots.

[Unknown]

Mother is reflecting.

[George Severis]

Mother is reflecting.

[Sam Taggart]

Quiet. Mother is reflecting.

[Unknown]

I could be using this time to think of mine, but I refuse.

[George Severis]

Oh, brother. Everything I have is like a complaint in some capacity. Okay, let me try.

[Sam Taggart]

Damn, you're catching us truly, like at the end of our. I'm like, my. My brain is empty. I use a lot, my last brain cell to think about Tim Hayden.

[George Severis]

My brain's been fried.

[Unknown]

Have you done a pod since you got married?

[George Severis]

Just the one right before this.

[Sam Taggart]

And a Patreon before that.

[George Severis]

And a Patreon.

[Unknown]

Have you shouted out your new husband?

[Sam Taggart]

Oh, you should shout out, Misha.

[Unknown]

That might be nice.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, that might be nice. Sam.

[George Severis]

What's up, priest and perverts around the globe? I want to give a shout out to my new husband. We have been together for 11 years and are now married for four days. And it's just to die for. I want to give a shout out to everyone who came to the wedding. And you know how comedians are not the most obedient crowd. They are living out loud and Doing their own thing. And everyone was so respectful of both being assigned seats, which is pretty rare. I was surprised everyone sat where they were intended to sit. And they were. You'd say, okay, sit, we'll start now. And everyone did. And I said, wow, everyone's really coming together for a special moment. I want to give a shout out to Macy Rodman for DJing and making the party so electric and fun in a way that I could have never, ever expected. And I want to give a shout out to Bernie's, my favorite restaurant, who did such a great job hosting. And Metropolitan for being a wedding venue which no one ever thought possible, and yet there it was. And shout out to Okesonsam, the wedding photographer, who was to die for. And that's everyone. Xoxo, Sam.

[Sam Taggart]

What's up, freaks and losers? I want to give a shout out to Mary Dawn Taggart, Sam's mom, for absolutely slaying her toast. Boots down. She got up. I said, there wasn't even a warm up period. We're talking punchlines from sentence one, clause one of sentence one, first syllable. I'm laughing. This is a, you know, I would say I'm trying to even find the right reference for which comedian she reminded me of. And I can only think of comedians who have flaws, whereas Sam's mom actually was flawless. And so I, I think she is in a league of her own. I think she is ready to hit the open mic scene in New York, Louisiana, Chicago, wherever she thinks her sensibility fits in best. I do think she is kind of like her own voice and I think she can fit in anywhere while also remaining unique and retaining her unique sensibility. And I want to give a special shout out to her iconic pink dress, which was so absolutely chic. It was completely timeless. There were, you know, there were. There was a sort of feather moment that felt very kind of like celebratory and summery. It was a perfect bright pink color that actually like transcended Barbiecore. You know, on a lesser wearer of it, it would have referenced Barbiecore, but it was almost like she was saying, you think I'm going to reference BarbieCore? You got another thing coming. And so I just want to say, you know, it was so lovely to see her. I had such a lovely time catching up with her. One of the best hosts I've ever had when I stayed at Sam's house. And I just hope she's doing really well and I can't wait to see her next time.

[Unknown]

What's up, faggots? I want to Shout out Andrew Cuomo. Thank you, King, for wasting all of Doordash's money and Michael Bloomberg's money. But seriously, shouting out Zofran Mount Donnie winning the primary. Come on, King. Democrat, socialist remains. Can't wait to see some transformation in the city. And you're a cutie pie. Although I do want to hold space for people that are now older than the soon to be mayor of New York, which is a very humbling experience. Pivoting to shout out to some media. I'm consuming rewatch of Breaking Bad. Having a lot of fun there. Having the urge to try meth and or make it. Went to cvs, couldn't buy Sudafed and Murmurinex. Shouting out David protein bars. Their macros are great and they're tasty. Shouting out I'm taking a cross country Amtrak ride to avoid all prides and so shouting out Amtrak for that. But yeah, vibes are good. Feeling fresh.xxxxxo10,000 dead doves Zach xxo Charlie.

[Sam Taggart]

XXXXO well, I. I can't even get into my thoughts on David bars, but I will let you have that one.

[Unknown]

They're bad, I imagine, but they are so bad for me or the.

[Sam Taggart]

No, I don't care how bad they are for me. I find them so disgusting. Do you?

[Unknown]

Not all protein bars are disgusting. You have to develop. It's an acquired taste, like beer and wine. What about Bear Bells? What are Bear bells?

[Sam Taggart]

So you gotta go buy Bear Bells.

[Unknown]

Are they good?

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, they're really good. They taste like. No, none of them are good for you, but they are, you know, 20. 20 grams of protein. And they really taste like a Snickers bar. They're delicious.

[Unknown]

Wait, 20 grams of protein? How many calories?

[Sam Taggart]

I don't know.

[George Severis]

Girls, girls, girls, enough.

[Sam Taggart]

We're fighting, okay? Our producer is saying they're 240 calories. Is that a lot or a little?

[Unknown]

She said 240. Is that 240 calories or the number of minutes we've been.

[Sam Taggart]

Damn. Got us. Well, Zach, I would like to give you. I would personally like to give you an opportunity to promote your work and tell people where they can find you. Go.

[Unknown]

Part of the rush is you have to work to find me. And when you do, I will give you a free watch so you guys can search online, you know where to go. It takes a little effort, but it's worth the effort because you are loving your journey. And I did put a special out on YouTube if you want to have an hour of laughs and two minutes of ads.

[Sam Taggart]

And what is that special called?

[Unknown]

It's called Surprise Me. Type in Zach Zimmerman surprise me on YouTube. It's about my search for love in a broken world with conservative family members, evil gay men and self love.

[George Severis]

Well there you go.

[Sam Taggart]

Wow.

[George Severis]

And just like that.

[Sam Taggart]

Heard of her and just like that.

[George Severis]

Well thanks for doing the pod.

[Sam Taggart]

It has been an honor. Thank you for speaking out. We have to thank you for introducing us to Tim Hayden.

[George Severis]

I'm sorry and see you. Love your journey.

[Sam Taggart]

Love your journey, Zach. Please love your journey. Do not forget.

[George Severis]

Okay.

[Sam Taggart]

All right.

[George Severis]

Bye bye. Podcast ends now.

[Unknown]

Want more?

[Sam Taggart]

Subscribe to our Patreon for two extra episodes a month. Discord Access and more by heading to patreon.com Stradiolab and for all our visual learners.

[George Severis]

Free full length video episodes are available on our YouTube.

[Sam Taggart]

Now get back to work.

[George Severis]

Stradiolab is a Production by Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network and iHeart Podcasts.

[Sam Taggart]

Created and hosted by George Severis and.

[George Severis]

Sam Taggart, executive produced by Will Ferrell, Hansani and Olivia Aguilar co produced by, edited and engineered by Adam Avalos Artwork.

[Sam Taggart]

By Michael Fails and Matt Grubb Theme.

[George Severis]

Music by Ben Kling.

[Zach Zimmerman]

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[Sam Taggart]

Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. Now through August 26th it's back to deals time where you can enjoy storewide deals and earn four times points. Look for in store tags to earn on eligible items from Triscuit, Starbucks, Frito Lay, Ziploc, Charmin, Charmin Ultrasoft and Tide Liquid Original. Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event Long savings. Shop in store or online for easy drive up and go, pickup or delivery subject to availability restrictions apply. Visit Albertsons or Safeway.com for more details.

[Zach Zimmerman]

This is Danielle Fishel from Pod Meats World. Parents, quick question. When is the last time you won snack time? The other day I handed my son a perfectly portioned Pinterest level snack and he traded it for a Mott's Applesauce pouch. I'm not mad, just impressed. And that's why Mott's no Sugar added Applesauce pouches are perfect to keep on hand. They're made with real apples packed in a super easy pouch. Perfect for tossing in a lunchbox, keeping in the car, or grabbing as you're running out the door. Plus, they're a good source of vitamin C and kids love them. Win, win. Make sure your kid wins Snack time with Mott's Real apples make real good applesauce.

[Sam Taggart]

Learn [e-mail] the roses were living the dream. To you, my darling. No to you.

[Unknown]

Until it all came crashing down.

[Sam Taggart]

You got fired. Buy it on August 29th. Stop and see the rest. Roses Rated R in theaters everywhere August 29th. This is an I Heart podcast.