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- [00:01]
A
I'm just gonna come out and say it. I'm ready to take on the Catalina Wine Mixer. Ho ho. Slow down there, Speed racer. I know what it entails, and I'm ready to nail it. I want it, Okay? I want the Catalina Wine Mixer. Yo, yo. Hey, D. Man, did you tell him what's up? I sure did.
- [00:15]
B
Hey, hey. Your brother wants a shot of the Catalina Wine Mixer.
- [00:19]
A
I'm ready. I'm walking tall. You think you're ready to run with the bulls? I've been earning and burning, snapping necks and cashing checks. Screw it, let's let him do it. Pow. Okay, I get it.
- [00:30]
B
Look, Brennan, here's the thing.
- [00:32]
A
It's the Catalina Wine Mixer, okay? Are you saying pow? What are you saying, tbtm?
- [00:43]
B
Did you ever think that maybe there's more to life than being really, really, really, really, really, really ridiculously good looking? I am a male model with not a male prostitute. Girls don't even wear their pants that tight. I bet your sister can't even fit them pants.
- [00:58]
A
You know what you are? You're.
- [01:00]
B
You're one of those little fancy lads, aren't you? Boy, you're cute. Gosh, what a sweet little outfit. Is it your little spring outfit? You couldn't be cuter. You're so adorable.
- [01:12]
A
Oh, my. You know, you remind me of my niece, Sally. Lovely girl. She's a dietitian.
- [01:18]
B
I'm not modeling anymore for the two of you.
- [01:20]
A
I guess I just have my first.
- [01:22]
B
Taste of the filthy side of this business.
- [01:26]
A
Well, all right. Hello, good morning, and welcome, everyone, to a Monday edition of tbtl. This right here, this is the show that just might be too beautiful to live. It's an audiophiles nightmare. My name's Luke Burbank. I am your host, coming to you from the Madrona Hill studio, perched high above the mighty Columbia, where just last week I was battling frostbite in here with my Special Homer Simpson Mr. Plow Hat. That's how cold it was here at the Madrona Hill studio. And now it's actually balmy. We are having an unusually warm Monday.
- [01:58]
B
I feel warm and I'm levitating.
- [02:00]
A
So the weather seems to be doing fine, I think is what we can all agree on, as is the state of the world. All right. Not really, but we're gonna try to create a little, I don't know, hour plus of fun distraction for you here as we arrive at episode 4639 in a collector.
- [02:18]
B
Let the fun begin.
- [02:19]
A
Speaking of fun distractions, the Golden Globes happened last night. And I believe Nikki Glaser said it best when she said welcome to the Golden Globes. Definitely the most important thing that's happening in the world right now. But they have a podcasting category now. You've probably heard about that on this show. We are living in the midst of a podcast boom and, well, we didn't win. TBTL did not win the Golden Globe for podcasting. I think part of the issue was that we were not nominated. I think that that played a role in us not winning. But Amy Poehler won and that's nice. We love Amy Poehler. We are big fans. So that was a good outcome, I think, to the whole thing. We'll play you some of the notable parts of the monologue from Nikki Glazer and also some of the acceptance speeches. This is normally the part of the intro where I would introduce the longest running cobra of the show, Andrew Walsh, who may be best known for his depictions of the tall ships. However, he is right now in Las Vegas, Nevada. Vegas, baby. Vegas. And has been sending me, I've been getting updates from him, none of them about gambling. He sent me a picture of like, I think the entryway to the, the Las Vegas Raiders football stadium and a few other things. I'm still trying to get a sense of how his gambling experience is going in Las Vegas. And also I'm very excited on Wednesday when he's back to hear about how the comedy show that they, I believe, attended last night was because I just feel like there's going to be a lot to report from the BBC comedy show in Las Vegas, Nevada, featuring the world's least specific banner artwork. It is clearly an AI comedian. They will not tell you who any of the comedians are. Anyway, we'll get a report on that coming up in a couple of days. In the meantime, we've got a dear friend of the show, in fact, I would say a colleague, in fact, one of the co founders of this whole project. He is our friend, TBTL employee numero uno, John Sklarov. Hey, Romano, who is joining me right now. Good morning, sir.
- [04:19]
B
Hey, Luke, how's it going?
- [04:21]
A
It is going great. It's so nice to see your shining face. I'm glad you're doing okay. We, I don't know if folks know, but you and your wife live in the Twin Cities.
- [04:28]
B
Yes.
- [04:28]
A
You live in St. Paul, where there has been a lot going on the last few days. How was the weekend? How are you doing? What is the vibe there?
- [04:36]
B
Yeah, I, it's, there's a lot to Unpack there.
- [04:39]
A
Yeah, yeah.
- [04:40]
B
Excuse me. I think I was talking to some family, like, in New York, and it really is hard to explain to anyone that's not here. I know we're talking about, like, wanting to keep the show light and like, a distraction, but, like, if we're gonna kind of.
- [04:55]
A
Yeah, let's go talk a little bit about.
- [04:56]
B
It's like, it's. It's our. The Twin Cities have been invaded. There's no other word for it. Like, I live in a very predominantly white neighborhood. Right. And so, like, there's not a whole lot of ice activity around me, but it is also happening around me.
- [05:12]
A
You did leave a show meeting last week because you heard that there. There was, like, word that ice was at the, like, an elementary school around the way from your house. Did you grab your orange whistle and.
- [05:23]
B
Go, I. I literally have an orange whistle. It's downstairs. I can't show it to you, but I'll trust you. Yeah, we. We. We jumped in the car and drove up the road and kind of like, walked. Got out and walked around. And then we heard that they have been there maybe like a half hour earlier. And there thankfully was no incidents or activity this morning. You know, though, I will say, like, a lot of what people are doing right now is, how can I help?
- [05:48]
A
Right.
- [05:49]
B
What can I do? And I was talking to a friend over the weekend. We were messaging, and he's got a kid who goes to a Spanish immersion school. And there's a few of them of this particular school in the. In the. In St. Paul, and not his, but another one was like, looking for volunteers to, like, just be a presence, be outside, like, during pickup and drop off. Less for the kids, but more for, like, faculty and staff that work at these places. And so this morning, like, 7:15, I was stand in, you know, with a few other folks.
- [06:28]
A
Oh, wow. So you were out there.
- [06:29]
B
Yeah, And I'm planning to do it at least the rest of this week. You know, we'll see. I mean, every. It's all. Everything is day to day, right? Yeah, but me and a couple of the parents of kids that go there. A grandfather of one of the kids came up from one of the suburbs. It's like, this is what people are doing. Like, it just feels so surreal. But it's like also. It's like in, like in, like, it's also. Are we just there to record and report? Are we there to intervene? It's like a lot of.
- [07:03]
A
Well, on the calculation, obviously. I mean, I would imagine that now because of what happened there last week in that murder. It's like, now the calculation is like, will I get shot if I am trying to use my vehicle as a way of in some way slowing down what ICE is doing, et cetera? Like, like, it's one thing to kind of. It's one thing to consider this stuff when you don't feel maybe as like a, you know, a white person or whatever, person who's not. Your paperwork is not in question or whatever. Like, it's one thing to think about this kind of in the abstract and what would you do? It's another thing to think about it when you start to consider the very real possibility that the US government could use violence against you and then lie about it. And, and then a significant part of the US population would believe that lie. I mean, it's an incredibly. Like, I'm out here and, you know, I'm in red state America. I don't actually even know what the latest is as far as Washington goes. But like, that's not a calculation that I'm currently having to make. So, you know, speaking of you, thank you.
- [08:05]
B
And it is like, for me, it's like, like I said, like, I. I want to do something to help. And like, this could sound like so hyperbolic and absurd to say, but it's like the thing people often say. It's like, well, what would you have done during 1930s Germany? And like, that's, that's why I feel like me and my neighbor and I will say talk about positivity and like, trying to find good, like, for people not in the Twin Cities. Why there's. There's a couple of things I really want convey, folks. One is scary and there are horrible incidents being reported every day. People just being snatched up and like, it's horrible. We're being invaded by the federal government. It really is that. But the communities, like the cities as a whole.
- [08:45]
A
Yeah.
- [08:46]
B
The neighborhood, at the neighborhood level, like, people are coming together.
- [08:50]
A
Yeah.
- [08:51]
B
And like, really trying to do everything they can to protect vulnerable people. And so like, that's really, you know, in a really scary time. That's really beautiful. And I would just say, like, if anyone listening is like, I think, I think it's safe to assume that Anyone listening to BTL in 2026 probably is like, our shared values.
- [09:09]
A
You know, I think we've chased off the non believers. You know, we get the occasional random email from someone, but I think we've. We've mostly bored slash annoyed people that don't have political persuasion.
- [09:21]
B
I think Andrew's not here because he's staunchly opposes our viewpoints.
- [09:24]
A
But that's, well, exactly. That's why I only feel, I only feel safe talking about this with you while he's getting drunk in Vegas.
- [09:30]
B
Right, but so like, I, I, I know folks listening are, are, are very likely to believe and, and, and, and be empathetic towards what's been going on here. But I would just say like, and this is something I'm trying to do too, like if you have friends or family that just don't believe it or they think what's happening here, just like have a conversation like, hey, my friend John lives in St. Paul and it's not, you know, it's not, it's not a violent place. Like, this is totally unwarranted. And yes, and so like that's the other thing I just want folks to like that's a conversation I want people to be having across America is like the, it's, what's happening here doesn't need to be happening.
- [10:07]
A
And that's, I mean, you know, with the whole Portland thing and like the ICE facility and like, you know, Becca lives one block from that facility. So we, we walk by that place like every day. Like if we're walking the dog or just out like it's, and the way, I mean, this goes for Los Angeles, this goes for Chicago, this goes for every place where they've put people and tried to describe those places as these kind of war torn antifa hellscapes. Yeah, I mean it is so, and again, we're preaching to the choir here. Based on, you know, somebody downloading this show. You've probably already shown yourself to be a bleeding heart liberal. But like, it's just, it is a very surreal feeling. That was my first experience with it around the ICE stuff in Portland, particularly the ICE facility where the protest has been going on. It was a very surreal thing to have almost daily contact with a place and see it for one thing, which was just a bunch of peaceful protesters and people just hanging out. And honestly sometimes just people looking for something to do, like the protesters and then, but nothing violent, nothing scary, nothing dangerous. And then hearing Portland writ large described as some sort of hellscape by the President of America and by Kristi Noem and folks like that. And to just be standing like, I'm listening to, you know, I'm listening to like OPB as I'm walking down the street, I'm on the street they're talking about. I'm hearing the president describe it a certain way and with My own eyes I can see that it's not the case. And that's like a, like again, this is probably the privilege of being like a white straight male. But it's like I have most of my life when I've heard the people in charge saying things, I've generally thought, well, that's probably what's going on, at least within reason because I have mostly been. Yeah, I just have mostly not. It's new to me to have things that are so manifestly untrue being said and to be able to observe how untrue they are. I'm sure there's a lot of other people who've experienced this before of like institutions and authority figures and law enforcement and everyone saying stuff that they know not to be true. This is kind of my first dance with it on like a really, really, like sort of literal level down there in the south waterfront of Portland. And yeah, it's really. It really messes with your head.
- [12:10]
B
Yeah. And again, not to be too bleaker, people come to this show for escape and some joy. Like I saw a skeet. Right. Or ski the other day. That was something like years of white America allowing sanctioning violence, state violence against black and brown people allowed one of their own to be killed and now they're waking up kind of thing. Well, yeah, and I think, and it's like, I mean, I say that because what you just said, Me too, like I'm a 40 year old white guy and like I know these horrible things. And not to say, like, you're obviously, Luke, I don't think you're condoning any of that violence against minorities. But like it's just like this moment for, I think for so many people where it's like, I know this thing in the, I think you said in the abstract has been happening and it's horrible and we don't condone it, but it's like now it's in this whole new context and, and then.
- [13:01]
A
Well, and I think because you can see yourself more easily in the particular roles that are being played right now. Like, in other words, I'm not a person whose documentation is in question. So I have empathy and I think it's absolutely ridiculous that we're disappearing people off of the streets, often US citizens, people with no due process. But that's. I can't picture myself in that exact moment because that isn't something that would happen to me before now.
- [13:26]
B
Right.
- [13:27]
A
But I can. Absolutely. This podcast gets released today, but I can listen. Nikki Glaser already gave CBS both barrels last night, and she got rave reviews. So there's maybe a little cover for us CBS employees. But I can very much picture myself sitting in my car, and if I went down to the Home Depot down in Longview, Washington, where I make many a trip and I saw ICE trying to round somebody up, I would absolutely try to intervene, and I would absolutely try to use my vehicle to impede that. Or I would, you know, I would try to honk my horn. I would try to do more or less what I think this woman was doing in Minnesota.
- [14:06]
B
Yeah.
- [14:06]
A
And so, yeah, I do think that this, I think, is hitting different for some people and maybe, you know, and particularly for like, white America, white liberal America, because it is very easy to imagine yourself being the person sitting in that car and trying to do what you could to make it a little bit harder for these ICE agents to do their thing. Whereas when it's black Americans marching in Selma and being treated the way they were, that's a harder thing for me to put myself in the exact mindset of doing that because it's just not my lived experience. So I do think there's something that's going on with this that is. It would be great if we could have all been experiencing maximum empathy all the time for everyone leading up to this. But there is something about seeing someone in a scenario that is very identifiable and relatable to you. I think that that that cause it to hit differently.
- [15:00]
B
Yeah. It's not to keep it going. I mean, we have to keep this conversation going, too, you know, but like, again, talking to my family, my wife talking to her family who live in more rural parts of Minnesota, and it's like, we've been to protests, and now there's not a zero, non zero chance that something tragic could happen to us, because you know what I mean? And so it's just like. And I'm not trying to center myself in the murder of Renee Goode. And there are, I think both are certainly a lot of folks who are more at risk. Right.
- [15:32]
A
But the thing I'll say, though, is I feel like you kind of alluded to this earlier, but I think something that it's impossible to know when exactly it happens. But I do think that there are tipping points, and there are moments where there's basically a law of unintended consequences. And it's like, I do, again, I don't want to be Pollyanna ish or sort of in any way elide what is going on, because it's just truly, it's horrific and it's not something that I ever expected to see in my lifetime in this country. But it's like there are tipping points. There are points where the overreach is so extreme and the what's going on is so obviously wrong that it does bring people together. And what I've seen here in Portland, you know, this whole weekend, we had protests in Portland about. Well, we also had a shooting in Portland that was ice related once again, where the argument was the vehicle was being used as a weapon, which I think we all saw the Renee Goode footage. And I think you can now, when you see vehicle used as weapon in the police report, I think you can just do the math for yourself. It's an incredibly broad category and it basically just means if they were in a vehicle, then you can do whatever you want because you can claim they were trying to hurt you. But, like, you know, I feel like there is something going on too with the protests that are coming out and with people showing up for their, for the people in their community who may be, you know, undocumented or may have perfectly good documentation, but are still being disappeared again without due process. Like, I just keep thinking that there's going to be a moment and maybe masked agents on the streets of, you know, masked federal agents on the streets of American cities pulling people, you know, out of their jobs and out of their homes and things. I keep thinking maybe this is gonna be the tipping point. And I do feel like something is crystallizing you. Again, this is unrelated, but you have like, you know, you start to see more defections from Republicans that are, that are, you know, voting, you know, in the House and in the Senate actually for certain things that Donald Trump doesn't want them to do. Like, I don't know, I just keep thinking that we may be hitting a point, we may be hitting the worst of this and that we may be able to actually see some progress somewhere. And I, I just think most Americans, when they look at this, they see that this was wrong. Now maybe they don't want to admit it because maybe their priors are that, you know, we just have to support back of the blue at all times. But like, I don't know, I just think that, I think something, it feels to me like something is shifting fundamentally, at least I hope it is, because this just cannot go on. I mean, this is just like you said, this is states in America that Donald Trump doesn't like being occupied by federal forces. I mean, this is the most treaded upon you can be. Where are the gadsden flags? Where are the don't tread on me people? This could not be more tready than what is going on.
- [18:21]
B
You're stockpiling weapons to fight a tyrannical government.
- [18:24]
A
Yes.
- [18:25]
B
Guess what, guys?
- [18:26]
A
It's happening. It is. I mean, we are being tread upon the treading. The treading is currently underway and we should don't that we should don't tread on it. Anyway, well, I'm glad that you and Jess are okay.
- [18:39]
B
Thank you.
- [18:39]
A
And you know, I'm thinking of you and a lot of our listeners too, because I feel like we are a Seattle based project still all these years later. Although we kind of outvote Andrew now. So really we're like 2/3. I don't know what my constituency is Southern Washington. And you're. But you've got the Twin Cities covered, so.
- [18:58]
B
But it was reclaimed New York too, just for that fair.
- [19:01]
A
That was the, the cradle for you. That was where the John Sklaroff was formulated. But like, you know, we're still sort of mostly Seattle based, I guess. That being said, without a doubt. I think the place where we have the second most number of listeners and where we just feel very spiritually connected is the Twin Cities and the state of Minnesota, the great state of Minnesota.
- [19:22]
B
So I do also want to say like one last thing on this. Like I said, there is some hope about like, what the community, how the community is responding and seeing people step up for each other, whether it's monitoring or trying to intervene with ICE, or run mutual aid, you know, delivering food to vulnerable people's homes, all these kinds of things. There is. People are also trying to find joy and happiness because it's like we have to. Right. No matter how terrible, wherever you are, like, you have to hang on to something. So like, we're also trying to like, live our lives in ways that are like, you know, not so. We're not always in despair and wallowing. So like, yeah, for the holidays, my in laws got me tickets to the Timberwolves. So last night Jess and I went to a Timberwolves game in the backdrop of all of this. So it's like, you know.
- [20:11]
A
And by the way, shout out to the Timberwolves for a moment of silence for Renee. Good.
- [20:15]
B
By the way, did you see, you saw the video?
- [20:18]
A
I, I, I read about it. I didn't watch the video. What happened?
- [20:21]
B
So they did a moment of silence which I, yeah. Respect to them for doing it.
- [20:24]
A
And then, I mean, it's the bare minimum. But at least they did it, right?
- [20:27]
B
Yes. But after like, five seconds of silence. Somebody yelled, get. Get the hell out, Ice. And then someone else yelled out, f, Ice. And the crowd erupted in like. Like we're. Again, it's like our commute. Like, everyone is just like, there is this unifying thing of, like, this is not right. We don't want them here.
- [20:45]
A
Yeah.
- [20:46]
B
Yeah. So that was.
- [20:47]
A
Yeah. Well, was. Did the Wolves win last night?
- [20:49]
B
Oh, in dramatic fashion. Like, they. They were down 16 nothing to start. They clawed back. Was an ugly game, and then 16 nothing. That's how they started the game. Yeah. Yeah.
- [20:59]
A
And who are they playing?
- [21:01]
B
The Spurs. So we got to see Victor Wembanyama, the alien.
- [21:04]
A
Is he as impressive IRL as he looks on TV? This is for people to know. He's like 7, 4, 7.
- [21:10]
B
He came in the league at 73 and he was still growing. He's like 76 now. He amazing.
- [21:16]
A
But he has handles like he can dribble. It's like, unfair.
- [21:19]
B
Yeah, yeah. Not to get too much into the sports talk, but, like, if you're not a basketball fan. This man, for a person his size. There have been guys his size in the league before he. But he moves.
- [21:29]
A
They were more of the George Murzon model.
- [21:32]
B
You mean the co star of My Giant with Billy Crystal?
- [21:35]
A
That's exactly who I'm talking about.
- [21:37]
B
They were like. They're more statuesque. This guy moves like he's 6 foot 3 and can shoot, like, from anywhere on the court. Like, it's. It's his nickname is the Alien. Like, he's unreal. It's on. It's unreal to watch him play ball. Yeah.
- [21:50]
A
But the Wolves did manage to. Actually.
- [21:52]
B
They managed to come back in spite of a great performance by Wemby and some awful shooting by the Wolves. The Wolves were able to come back in the last few minutes and pull it off, which was really.
- [22:01]
A
So would you say that's your. Because you're a Knicks guy.
- [22:03]
B
Yes.
- [22:03]
A
But would you say that like, you're. If the Knicks aren't playing the Wolves, you're rooting for the Timberwolves, basically.
- [22:08]
B
That's like sports in general for me. Like New York first, but then always root for the Miss. You know, I'll root for the Twins as long as we're not playing the Yankees. You know, that kind of thing. The only exception to that is the pwhl, the Women's Hockey League. Because that is a league that only started a few years ago since I've been living here. And so I got on early with the Frost, the women's hockey team. So I went to them first, but otherwise New York first. Yeah.
- [22:32]
A
I have a question. Are you a fix it guy? Do you fix things around your house? Do you know how to do any of that stuff? Because I had a triumph last week that Andrew wouldn't let me talk about, which I want to talk about here because it was a big. Felt like a big step forward for me.
- [22:47]
B
Yeah, no, I would love to hear about that. The joke in my house is my dad sold costume jewelry and Jess dad was in construction. So like we'll go to Home Depot and they look at me and I'm like, you're talking the wrong person. I don't know the words you're saying, so please share some. Some.
- [23:03]
A
Well, considering how many years I was working on this house with my dad. Although really what I would do is like the labor part. I would just haul stuff around or like, you know, swing a hammer or a sledgehammer at something and make it like turn it from a standing wall into like a pile of debris and then take the debris outside. That was really my contribution. Yeah, I have retained very little sort of, I don't know, knowledge or skill around like home repair stuff. But you know, what actually happened was at Christmas time I was very inspired by my daughter because she has, I mean this must either skip a generation or she must get it from her mom's side or something because like she is totally and completely fearless about like fixing shit in her life. She replaced not only her spark plugs, which, okay, that's a pretty straightforward job. Like the spark plug coils in her car, basically. Her car was not running very well. She took it to the place and they were like, you're going to need your spark plug. Like it's, it's. I don't even know exactly what it is, but it's, it's something that is more fundamental to the car than just the spark plug. It's like the thing the spark plug sits on or something. And. And they were like, it's going to be like, I don't know, $1,000 to replace it or whatever. And she was like, well, I don't have that. So she just went on YouTube and she bought the parts from wherever Amazon or something got the parts studied on YouTube and full on in her driveway in LA. Which is, by the way, the most LA move ever is to be repairing your car. Like probably she doesn't even actually have. She has only street parking. The most LA move of all time is working on your car on the street. She's got the hood up. She pulled it all apart. She changed the spark plug coils and totally fixed her car. Good for her.
- [24:42]
B
That's awesome.
- [24:43]
A
I know. It's incredible. It's like, I have this natural. I have this innate fear of taking on projects like that that I don't know how to do. And then I've been lucky enough in my life over the last 15, 20 years where I've sort of had the resources to mostly subcontract stuff out. Like, I just. I don't want to. I don't. I don't. I don't want to, like, have to learn how to do it. I don't trust myself to do it correctly. And so I'll figure out who I have to pay to fix this for me. But that's just caused me to just really lose any kind of faith in myself that I could do some stuff. Until last week when it was really cold here. And both of the mini splits that I have are both broken right now. So really, like, the main way of heating my house is this pellet stove that I have. And I'll be gosh darned if the thing didn't stop working. Yeah. I was like, you gotta be kidding me. I have like, there's literally, like, I'm gonna have to live in the Madrona Hill studio now with just the one heater I have in here going, because otherwise it was going to be, like, literally too cold in my house. And so I was like, I don't even know who I call about this. By the way, the pellet stove wasn't very expensive. By that, I mean, it was like $1,000, which is. It's a lot of money, but Also, it's probably $1,000 for someone to fix it. You know what I mean?
- [25:57]
B
Right, right.
- [25:59]
A
And the other. The other real thing is there's only one place that works on this kind of stuff in my town. And the guy's kind of a grumpy. Like, I went down there one time to ask about some unrelated stuff. It's like a con. This is like, the weirdest convergence of business models. But now that I've mentioned it, you'll start to see this everywhere. It's called, like, hot tub, fireplace. You know what I mean? Like, there is a whole business model which is like, here's what we got for you. We got hot tubs, and we got fireplace.
- [26:27]
B
I mean, it makes sense because it's both, like, machinery that warms things. It's like heating coils. I don't know if These are.
- [26:34]
A
They seem like natural enemies, though, because you got water and the fire, but it is a thing where it's like hot tub and, you know, spa and fireplace. Like, we do gas fireplaces, and we'll also put a hot tub in for you. And I went down there one time. I was. It was actually, you know what it was before I bought this pellet stove, and I wanted to find out what my, like, gas fireplace options might be. It was so weird because I just walked into the joint, and maybe it was just the guy that was working there. Although he seemed like he might be the owner or the boss. He seemed so. And this is a retail location. Like, they have signs. They want you to go in there and ask them about their products. And he seemed really annoyed that I was in there. So I got a bad vibe. And then I was like last week when this thing broke, and I was like, who would I call? I was like, I could call that place, but, like. But that guy's grumpy. I don't like that guy. And he's gonna come out here and he's gonna look at it, and he's gonna go, okay, it's $800 to fix it. And it's like, well, that's almost the price of the unit, right? Like, I could just buy another one and just put that in and maybe have fixed the problem. So I. But I didn't want. A, I was very cold, and B, I don't know, I was just feeling kind of like, well, let's see about this. So I got on, I looked up the. You know, the make and model of this thing, and I got on YouTube, and sure enough, there was a guy who had the same problem with his exact model of the same pellet stove. And it was this thing called, like, the heating. It's not called the heating tube. There's another name for it. But basically, like, the way a pellet stove works is it's like they take a bunch of sawdust and they compress that sawdust into little pellets, and that's what burns. You put them in this. It's a very simple design, actually, which is another thing that now that I'm a fix it guy, because to spoil the story, I fixed the stove. I was very proud of myself.
- [28:17]
B
I'm proud of you too.
- [28:19]
A
But, like, this is something I'm learning as a fix it guy. The more simple the machinery is, the better off you are. Just generally with anything, like, you just want the fewest like. Like, places that the thing can break. You know what I mean? Like, you just don't want. You just want it to be a very simple. And these pellet stoves are an incredibly simple design. They are a catcher. They're like a thing that you pour the pellets in. They are an auger. So at the bottom of where this. This thing that you pour all the pellets in is just like a rotating kind of screw like thing that's just letting a few pellets at a time into this little, like, kind of burn box, this little metal box where the pellets fall. And when they fall down in there, they are heated up by this insane tube that is like. It's $16 on Amazon. I know. Cause I just bought one. And it's like, I don't even understand how this works. But this, it's like an electric. It's like you plug. It's like plugged in on one side. It's electrical. But this long tube gets so hot so fast. I learned that when I burned the shit out of my hand. Like, upon trying to. Like, I plugged it in to see if it was working, the new one, and then I touched it and then I like, complete. Like, my finger still hurts from. So that was lesson learned. Don't. If you're changing those things out, don't touch them. But. But I watched this video and this guy, like, just step by step, you take the whole thing apart and you pop this thing out and whatever. And anyway, so I did that and I ordered the new tube. They overnighted it, which also is so crazy. It's like. I know. I think rightfully so. We talk of. Well, Andrew talks more shit about Amazon than I do. I should be talking more shit, right? We all understand that Amazon and Jeff Bezos are essentially very bad for the world. But there's a convenience factor that is very hard for me to break my addiction to. And so I don't understand how it is that Amazon knew to have one of these heating coils for a Castle Serenity pellet stove. Also weird name for the stove. How did they know to have one of those at a warehouse very close to where I live? That's just so crazy that I was able to, because I ordered it on a Monday night, and by Tuesday it was here the next day.
- [30:37]
B
Do you think maybe this is conspiracy stuff Googling around, like this machine, like, cost of it to repair, like, place it. You were looking. So you order what you said what. What day did you order this?
- [30:51]
A
Monday night.
- [30:51]
B
Monday night. But like, you had already been doing the research of like how you get this thing fixed. So were you like googling it? And then by Googling it there was something in. This is so crazy.
- [31:03]
A
So we think that Amazon, this is your. I want to make sure I understand you're working carry. Yeah, Amazon figured out that I was googling it and then they said, all right, send one over, send one over to Longview. So it's on standby. I mean, honestly that would be kind of amazing if they could do that. I mean I, I mean I. Look, I wouldn't rule it out. I wouldn't rule anything out with these.
- [31:22]
B
Bastards, but I Can I also just say something in your defense real quick? Not, not that you need me to white knighting you, but I, I think we've talked about this before. Even like I used to live in rural New York and it's like you live in these places where there's not a lot of retail because of the way the economy and capitalism in America, like small businesses and unique businesses are driven out by Walmarts and Amazon stuff. So it's like they intentionally make it very hard to live in these places.
- [31:51]
A
They've hollowed out like the small town Main Street. And now unfortunately what that means is it is usually easier for me to just go online. And in fact, you know, this is what's so messed up. Now my version of shopping local is to order on thehomedepot.com as opposed to Amazon, right? Which is still a giant company. But it's like at least I'm ordering it to, at least I'm ordering it to the local Home Depot and then going and picking it up or the local Lowe's or even Target or whatever.
- [32:21]
B
I presume 60 years ago Kelso Washington had, or Longview had a place or two that you could go and like have these things. Cuz like everyone had to eat their homes so they would have a place to go, like get stiff their home. So like I like Andrew also crap on Amazon because I now live in a metro area where I can find pretty much anything I need anytime. And I'm not like trying to be mean to Andrew, but like it is one of those things that having lived in a very rural place for almost a decade, I understand it's like you're often having to like justify these, right?
- [32:53]
A
It's like basically yeah, they've hollowed out, they've hollowed out all of the local retail options and now they're the only option. And I could feel bad about them being the only option. But also there's not much of an alternative sometimes. And when your house is freezing cold and you need a heat pipe for a Serenity Castle stove. Well, all that is to say, it showed up. I replaced the part, and the stove is. The pellet stove is back to working like a charm. And now every time I walk by it, I am filled with a sense of pride that it did not work. And then I took it apart and then I replaced the part, and now it's working again. And it's actually kind of inspired me. I mean, this is an incredibly low bar for fixing things. Like, I took one part out that was very easy to get to and then just replaced it. But it does have me thinking that I'm really, really, really in 2026. I'm going to try to see if there's more stuff that I can do for myself. Because my default, like I said, is always just to figure out who can fix this for me and then just pay someone. And I could use my own daughter as inspiration if she's changing her GD spark plug coils on the streets of Los Angeles. War torn Los Angeles. I think I could fix more stuff at my house here.
- [34:08]
B
When you say war torn, you're talking about Shohei Ohtani's war, right?
- [34:11]
A
Legally. Exactly. Which is insane. Which is unreal. It rivals Aaron Judge. Yeah, exactly. Oh, this is the part where I always remember I don't have the right music. So here we go. I've got. Let's Play this. Whatever. We do this show without Andrew. I am reminded that I don't have the thank youk Baby music. And I tell myself, oh, I should get that from Andrew for next time. And then I never do. So we're just doers getting more done today when we're thanking the donors, but.
- [34:49]
B
Relevant to the conversation we had already been having. So this is.
- [34:52]
A
That's right. This is the inside of my brain when I'm fixing pellet stoves at my house. So butch, dude. So butch. Let's thank some donors. Of course, I don't have to tell John Sklaroff this. This is 100% what you're listening to right now. 100% listener supported podcasting. We could not do this without the donations from folks like Alan Mullinix, who's in Battle Creek, Michigan. The road to Wellville, Huh?
- [35:19]
B
What's the road to? Well, I'm familiar.
- [35:23]
A
I believe. See, this is what happened. Oh, no.
- [35:26]
B
I'm so sorry.
- [35:27]
A
No, no, no, no. I yelled it out and now I've got to own it. So I Believe the Kellogg brothers were, you know, who'd make the cereal.
- [35:36]
B
Sure, sure.
- [35:36]
A
Were kind of nuts. Like, they had a lot of kind of like crank theories about health. Well, actually, I guess what it was was a book written by T.C. boyle. It's a satirical novel called the Road to Wellville, but it was also made into a movie which was starring Anthony Hopkins. He plays Dr. John Harvey Kellogg. Highlighting the real life rivalry between Dr. Kellogg and his brother W.K. kellogg, who was the creator of Kellogg's cereal. A conflict that drove WK to add sugar to cereal and start his own company, leading to a famous feud over health, hygiene and business. So the Kellogg brothers were at odds about what should be in cereal. They're from Battle Creek, Michigan. That's where this is all stemming from. That's because Allen is in Battle Creek. And I remember being a kid and like reading the cereal box because we didn't have phones and you had to look at something. And I remember seeing Battle Creek, Michigan on the Kellogg's boxes and always thinking, that sounds like an interesting place. Battle Creek, Michigan.
- [36:39]
B
Oh, it definitely sounds cool.
- [36:41]
A
Yes. Thanks also to Jeremiah Zimmerman, who's in Nashville, Tennessee. Another cool place. Yep, very cool. Thank you very much, Jeremiah. Thanks to Jeannie McMackin, Pittsfield, Massachusetts. I know the, the guy, Ross Reynolds, who I used to work for at kuow. He was from Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
- [37:01]
B
Oh, yeah, I would. I had a buddy that lived there. It's right on the border of New York and Massachusetts, over by Albany, as you were discussing the other day on the show.
- [37:10]
A
Not Albany, Albany. All of us.
- [37:12]
B
All. All of us beneath New York. But it's right over kind of there in the. Near the capital region of New York. And it's very lovely.
- [37:22]
A
Yeah, it sounds like it's the kind of place that in the fall the colors would change and it would be incredibly bucolic.
- [37:27]
B
I think you be hard. Listen, this is hard for me to say as a New Yorker. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a place in all of New England that's not beautiful during the fall.
- [37:37]
A
Right.
- [37:37]
B
But, yeah, but Pittsfield, that's definitely like.
- [37:40]
A
A very on the list.
- [37:41]
B
Yeah. And I think it's like if it's not in, it's near like the Berkshire Mountain region.
- [37:48]
A
Oh, sure.
- [37:48]
B
So, like, I could be wrong about that, but like, yeah, just beautiful country out that way.
- [37:53]
A
Well, thank you very much, Aaron, for. Excuse me. This is our next person on the list, which is Aaron Silvers, who's in Indianapolis, Indiana. Another lovely place. I do think that I know you're not a big football guy anymore, John, or maybe you never were, but, like, I think that the most interesting character in the NFL is Carly. I don't know if her last name is still Irsay or if she is.
- [38:16]
B
A different Gordon Irsay.
- [38:18]
A
Okay, Gordon Irsay.
- [38:19]
B
Right.
- [38:19]
A
I think you're right. And she is now, I mean, sort of, I guess you could say. I mean, she and her, I believe siblings are the owners of the Indianapolis Colts because their dad, Jim Irsay, passed away. She is so great. Did you see the post game or the post season press conference she gave at the end of their season?
- [38:35]
B
I didn't, but I have her story and like, the conversation around it is something I've been following in, like, the sports media world. Cause it is fascinating and really cool to see. But no, what was the end of season?
- [38:45]
A
Well, because the Colts had a really. They came out to such a hot start and they were like, nobody expected much from them. And then all of a sudden they were really good and it was like, is Daniel Jones an elite quarterback? And then he got hurt and then they kind of came back down to earth and then they ended up not making the playoffs. But, like, she just said everything as an owner that you, as a fan would like them to say. She was basically just going, like, we're so bummed about this. Like, this is terrible. I hate this. And like, of course, she also kind of became famous this season for, like, standing on the sideline during every game and listening on the headset to everything that was going on with the coaches just so she could kind of like, have a greater understanding of, like, just what are the decision. What's the decision making process and everything. And she just, like, she just seems so cool to me. Like, I really am rooting for the Indianapolis Colts and specifically for the Carly Gordon Irsay ownership project. I'd so much rather her than your Jerry Jones. Is Mark. Mark Davis, right? Mark. Mark Haircut Davis.
- [39:43]
B
Yeah. Mark bowl cut. I think you and Andrew talked about this on the show, Ray. Like, I. In, like, pro sports, so many team ownerships are like, run by just like terrible people.
- [39:53]
A
The worst people.
- [39:54]
B
But, like, it does seem like the ER says and like, Jim or say, we know. I know he, like, had some, like, addiction issues and really struggled and stuff. But, like, it seemed like what I've learned in the years since, again, I think this. You guys kind of touched on this. He actually was a pretty decent guy. And it seems like his daughters running an organization are decent people too. I mean, decent in the sense of, like, not terrible.
- [40:14]
A
Yeah. We don't know their politics, but. Yeah, but definitely, like. Yeah. And actually, like, she said something, I believe, in the press conference about her dad, too. Like, there seems to be a lot of really genuine love in the Irsay family, which, you know, it's easy to. Because her dad was kind of a. Kind of a quirky guy who, like, had this music that he would, like, wanted to play for people, and he'd, like, basically pay a bunch of money to get, like, actual rock musicians to play with him, but then he would make everyone come to the show. He'd, like, buy out all the tickets in the venue. He's a weird dude and had a lot of issues with addiction, but when you hear her talking about him, you can tell that, like, they really loved each other, you know? And so that's kind of. That's also sort of a charming thing. Just put me and Aaron Silvers down as big fans of the Indianapolis Colts and also the city of Indianapolis.
- [41:00]
B
And I also just like to say real quick, last thing on that. Like, that's like, benevolent. Benevolent billionaire. If, like, you're a billionaire, you just want to use your money to, like, pay Slash from Guns N Roses to do a set with, you totally spend your money on that. Like, don't spend it buying elections or whatever. Like, you know, just, like, just.
- [41:17]
A
Unless you're George Soros. And then we do support it.
- [41:19]
B
Well, you got your check this week, right? The source?
- [41:21]
A
Yes. I mean, if you. Whatever you want to do, George, to tip the scales, because we know you've got generally good politics, we'll take it. But. Yeah, no, yeah, that's, like, normal billionaire guy stuff is like, overpay. To have Joe Walsh from the Eagles come hang out with you, which was a thing, literally, that I think Joe Walsh. Of course, it was not. Not for. Not for Ursa, but for. It was. Oh, my goodness. Who's the. Not. Not Bill Gates. Who's the other Microsoft guy?
- [41:50]
B
The owner of Ballmer. Steve Ballmer.
- [41:52]
A
Not Ballmer. The third guy. The guy who owned. He owned the. I can't. This is what happens at 49. You start to lose your nouns. Person, places and things. It was, you know, the. Paul Allen.
- [42:04]
B
Paul Allen. Paul Allen.
- [42:05]
A
Paul Allen loved. He loved rock and roll music, and he always. And he could. He played guitar, and he always. You know, he made all this money with Microsoft, but what he really wanted to be was a rock musician. And so he used to do these events that I used to emcee sometimes that would just Bring out, like, you know, that's how I've. Those events are how I've met Ringo Starr, Joe Walsh from the Eagles, and also Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin, among many others. That's pretty cool. I mean, it's pretty. Those are all, you know, pretty, I guess, pretty legendary dudes. But it was this whole involved rigmarole so that Paul Allen could hang out with his guitar heroes, you know, let.
- [42:43]
B
Them spend their money on that.
- [42:44]
A
Yeah, exactly. No, not. That's.
- [42:45]
B
That's right. Right.
- [42:46]
A
I'll take it. You know, rip Paul Allen. I mean, I think j. Generally speaking, he was just kind of a big nerd who wanted to jam out on the guitar, which I find to be, generally speaking, harmless in society. Better than a lot of these other guys are doing these days. We've also got Martha Zumak, who's supporting the show from Oxford in Great Britain. I was in Oxford this summer, Martha, at the botanical garden, and you didn't even let me know you were there. Becca and I would have come by and said hi. Oxford was a very, very cool city, actually. Yeah, of course, you've got Oxford University there, famously. But then, yeah, they've got this amazing botanical garden. We did some punting there, which is. Punting in England is. I feel like it's doing a lot of work as a word, because it means to gamble and bet, but it also means to go around on the river on a boat.
- [43:37]
B
Oh, like a rowboat or.
- [43:40]
A
Yeah, basically, like a little rowboat that's also called punting.
- [43:43]
B
Okay.
- [43:43]
A
And I knew about it because when we were. Who was like. I'm trying to think who. Like the most famous. Who were some really famous scholars that were associated with Oxford? Well, we went. We were in the gift shop at the Oxford Botanical Garden, and the woman at the gift shop kept telling us about some famous scholar at Oxford who loved taking women punting on these little waterways in Oxford. And I didn't. I thought she meant gambling. I didn't know what she was talking about until I finally figured out, oh, she means going on these little boats, going around on the waterways of Oxford, which we did. Martha, thank you so much. Really appreciate your support. And then, of course, where would we be without Bill woiteria? How would you say that? Last name? Woitaira. W O I T R. This is.
- [44:32]
B
Why you get paid the big bucks. Woitaira Bill. Woitairah wo tyra Bill. If you have a pronouncer, please. Yeah, feel free and I'll include it for next year.
- [44:40]
A
We won't Even charge you more. Next year, we'll charge you the same amount, but we will try to pronounce your name properly. Bill. Thank you. Bill's in Seattle, Washington. Hey, thank you to all of our donors for making TBTL possible today. This thing would not be occurring 5 days a week, 52 weeks out of the year if not for your support. So thanks again. Hello and welcome to Top Story. So the Golden Globes were last night, and the reason that I was mildly interested in it was because there is now a podcasting category which Amy Poehler won for. She gave a pretty funny speech. Well, the first half of her speech, I was a little. And listen, I've briefly met Amy Poehler. I interviewed her for a TV story. She was absolutely lovely and just, like, so smart, so present, just great. I mean, to be honest with you, something that I loved about Amy Poehler was when we were standing around in her office in between shooting some stuff, I looked at, she had one of those day, like, a big calendar on her desk. You know, the kind of you just write stuff in. And I noticed that, like, she had written down start keto on, like, a certain day on her calendar, which is the most relatable thing I'd ever seen. Because if you were to look at my calendars, they all say, start keto at some point. Start this, you know, start this workout plan, start this, this fad, diet, whatever.
- [46:03]
B
I start P90X100.
- [46:06]
A
Like, the only thing that could have been more relatable is if she had written down by hand, start P90X. I just loved it. I was just like, even Amy Poehler's doing stuff like this, trying to, you know, whatever, change something about her reality. But. So I do love her, and I have loved her comedy for years. I will say the first part of her speech, which I actually cut out because I did. I thought it was boring, but now I kind of wish I would have left it in. It's kind of the thing, John, that, like, Andrew and I talk about a lot on the show. That's kind of what seems like it's a little bit wrong with podcasting, which is now every podcast is treated like a movie. So Amy Poehler gets up there and she. She wins for good Hang as her podcast. Yeah, it's a great show, by the way. But she's the first. The first 30 people she thanks are just like the executives. They're the executives. They're like. They're like the people who, you know, granted, there are some executives that do some important work, but it's just like, it's just thanking a bunch of people who. None of whom we've ever heard of and who all again, want. Like, there was a brief moment of time where when you and I and Andrew were at APM and they were trying to sort of run it more like a studio.
- [47:14]
B
Yeah.
- [47:14]
A
And all of a sudden they were, they, they were smart enough to know that we were going to revolt if they tried to make us like, end every show by thanking like 10 APM executives. But they were trying, they were kind of like gently going, well, if you want, you could include these in the credits. And we were like, hell to the no.
- [47:30]
B
Right.
- [47:30]
A
Like, we're not going to like, thank a bunch of random people in Minnesota and like New York that we've never met who just happen to have TBTL as one of their KPIs, happen to.
- [47:42]
B
Have a job title that makes people think about the end of podcasts.
- [47:45]
A
Right. And that's kind of like where a lot of these big podcasts are now. They're almost treated, which is so weird because the show Good Hang that Amy Poehler does, it's a great show because Amy Poehler is great and because she's got a really good Rolodex. Like, it really, really helps when you are famous and funny and all your friends are famous and funny. Like, well, of course that's gonna be a good show. And I'm not saying that to denigrate the program, but I promise you, Good Hang would be just fine without the 25 executives at Spotify and elsewhere that Amy Poehler named before, you know, before getting into the meat of her acceptance speech.
- [48:19]
B
I also think the existence of tbtl, like, really undercuts those kinds of accolades and glad handing because it's like, I haven't listened to Amy's show, Polar show, but like, I kind of. It's like, it's like she sits down with a famous friend and talks.
- [48:35]
A
It's like this show, if it was, if this show was good.
- [48:37]
B
Right. So it's like not. So it's. We're so good at promoting this show.
- [48:43]
A
Yeah, I know, right?
- [48:44]
B
But. So it's like, but I say that to be like, it's not like this American life that's highly produced or in the dark. One of our shows that we used to work with apm, that's like, there's tons of people behind the scenes and tons of resources and tons of moving parts to make this thing happen. It's Amy Poehler and her famous friend sitting there and a producer Capturing it. And like, that's it. And like, thank the producer. Thank the booking person, I guess, even though the booking person, like, to your point, is probably just Amy Poehler saying, like, hey, Adam Scott, come be on my show.
- [49:18]
A
Yeah, but like, like, her first guest was Tina Fey. Like, who doesn't want to listen to Amy Poehler and Tina Fey talking about literally anything, right? That's just a slam dunk.
- [49:26]
B
And what Spotify executive is like, oh, man, can I swing this? Tina Fey. It's like, Amy Poehler be like, I'll call Tina and we'll do it kind of thing.
- [49:33]
A
Right? Yeah, she thanked. She thanked Bill Simmons specifically because. Because it's a. It's. The show is from the ringer, which.
- [49:39]
B
Is Bill Simmons a ringer thing.
- [49:41]
A
So Bill Simmons, you know, who has been around forever now. But like, I remember he started out writing this blog in the early days of blogging called Page two on espn. And I loved it because it was the first time I'd seen somebody really cross pollinating between pop culture and sports. He is just always talking about, you know, he was talking about his love of sports, but often in the context of, like, his love of movies or music or whatever. And that was the kind of. That was how I sort of saw my world. And so anyway, I was a Bill Simmons fan. Yeah, he started this thing, the ringer. But like, she said something like, I want to thank Bill Simmons for getting the show initially. And I was like, getting the show? Yeah, the show is have Amy Poehler talk to her famous friends. And we all delight a lot. They do one thing that I think is really genius. But then again, this just speaks to the reach of the show. So they start each episode. So let's say she's going to interview. You know, let's just go with the Tina Fey example again. What she'll do is they start the show actually by interviewing some friends of the person. Okay. And those people, guess what, Jon, they're famous. They're also. They're like, Jon Hamm. Hey, Jon Hamm. What should we ask Tina Fey? And then. Or like, was it Paul Rudd? One of like. So basically, you interview. You do a mini interview with someone famous about what they like about the person you're about to do the full interview with. And then also some, like, questions that they want to ask the person. So, like, that's actually a clever conceit. But again, it all hinges on that you have access to all of these great and entertaining people and that you are yourself great and entertaining. So, like, again, It's a really good show. I'm not trying to denigrate it at all, but I'm with you. I think that Amy Poehler and two producers and a Riverside account could do this show.
- [51:29]
B
Right. I also just think. Talk about, like, the moviefication. Is that the. The cinematic.
- [51:36]
A
Yeah.
- [51:36]
B
Studio ification of podcasts. Like this, like. And this is sound like. I want to sound like bitter grapes because, like, we're a podcast where, like, you.
- [51:45]
A
Because we didn't win a Golden Globe.
- [51:47]
B
Next year is our year. Next year's our year. But, like, like, obviously you do have some level of fame. You're on CBS and like, you. And you are on public radio stations. Like, people know who Luke Burbank is. People know who Andrew is. But, like, we're not like this level. You guys are not this level of fame.
- [52:04]
A
No, that.
- [52:05]
B
It's like that the pot that we've all seen podcasts become in the last five, six years, really, like, since COVID I think, where they're like, oh, this per. We can't greenlight TV shows or movies right now. Let's just put send a camera, a camera and a microphone to this famous person's house and they're going to talk to their famous friends. But right at some point, it's like the snaking the tail because it's like Amy Poehler show smart list. Like, all these, like, revealed. Revealed. Like lauded. Revered. Revered, thank you. That's the word. Like revered shows where it's like, yeah, it's interesting because, like, they're famous people and they've done interesting things. But, like, at some point, it's like just the same people talking to the same people about the same things over and over again. It's like, how much of this is, like, unique or interesting or relatable for people?
- [52:49]
A
Well, it's funny you mentioned that, because that's actually like a joke that Amy Poehler made in her Excel, which I thought was pretty good. Take a listen to this.
- [52:56]
C
And I just want to say that I know I am new to this game. I have great respect for this form. I have great respect for all the people that I am nominated with. I am big fans of all of you, except for npr, just a bunch of celebs phoning it in. So try harder. But this is an attempt to try to make a very rough and unkind world filled with a little bit more love and laughter and laughing with people, not at them. And we just have such a good time making it. And thank you so much for letting us make More Archie and Abel. I love you, mom and dad. You can watch the Patriots now. Thank you. Good night.
- [53:41]
A
Yeah, so there you go. She was, I think, I guess Amy, I'm not gonna say criticism as if anyone's lining up to criticize her show, but I think she's aware that, like, yeah, there is. There are a lot of shows now where it's just famous people talking to their famous friends. I do think that there are definitely, like, levels to who's good at it and who's less good. And she's very good at it. Another thing that's kind of interesting was she was. I guess technically she beat her ex husband Will Arnett because his show Smart was nominated. Yeah. So I don't think that's ever happened before either. Probably.
- [54:13]
B
I don't wanna sound like I'm just backtracking what I just said before, but like, I, like, I appreciate that, that I know where her speech was. Like, I'm glad she kind of made a joke of it and point out, like, just trying to bring joy. Like, I understand that, like, Amy Poehler is very lovable. Like, if you want to listen to Amy Poehler's podcast, God bless you. I just like, think, like, in general, this concept of just like, we gotta keep giving famous people a microphone to talk to other famous people, it's like, that. Isn't that what the Tonight show exists for?
- [54:37]
A
Like, well, well, it's actually funny you say that because I do think that it's. I think in a way, as we see like late night television kind of becoming a shell of what it was. I feel like in a way it's been replaced by not replaced, but like, you know, the idea of, like people that you like sitting around and chatting, I don't think that we have. That we no longer have an appetite for that. But I think the way that we, a lot of us consume the media now is like, I'm more likely to see. I'm more likely to catch a clip of Good Hang with Amy Poehler where she's talking to Maya Rudolph on TikTok than I am to turn on the Tonight show and watch Jimmy Fallon do something or watch Stephen Colbert do something, you know, in real time, or even Kimmel, who. I really like the way that I. And so I guess you could make the argument that maybe in certain ways the this is the new Tonight show is people, you know, people sitting around with their famous friends chatting. But again, I agree that there's like, some people are better at it than others. And Amy Poehler Seems to be really good at it. Now. Rose Byrne won for. Speaking of late night hosts, she was the star of this movie called, like, if I had legs, I'd kick you.
- [55:52]
B
Okay.
- [55:53]
A
Which had Conan o' Brien in it as an actor, which I actually, I really. I would like to watch that movie. I have not gotten around to it yet. I think my next project is Sorry Baby, the Eva, Victoria or Victor maybe movie that I've been hearing a lot about that actually got shouted out last night by. I think Julia Roberts actually was shouting it out. But. But anyway, Rose Byrne won for this if I had legs, I'd kick you this movie. And she gave a very charming acceptance speech, although one that I found the end to be slightly cryptic.
- [56:23]
C
Thank you for believing in me and giving me this opportunity. We shot this movie in 25 days for like $8.50. Thank you so much. This is like a tiny film. So this is a huge thing to be up here. And my brother's my date. Thanks, George.
- [56:44]
A
So she is married to an actor named Bobby Cannavale. Oh, yeah, you know him from various things. Yeah, he's great. He was like, I think Boardwalk Empire. Yeah, he was really big. And I think he was in. Was he in the Sopranos for a bit?
- [56:57]
B
I think if he was. I don't recall. But then he was also the star of that you would see in the Sopranos.
- [57:03]
A
Totally. Right. And then he was in that show the Watcher, I think it was called, or something where like, he and his family, yeah, they buy a. They buy a house up in, like, somewhere in the northeast. But then it's like they're getting crazy. Like letters from someone who's like, watching them from within the house or whatever. Anyway, so that's her husband, but, like, he's not there. I mean, literally, her brother was her date. And it, you know, slightly raising the question. Wow. You know, your. Your wife, your was. Was up for this huge award, a Golden Globe. You're not there. I wonder where Bobby Cannavale would be. Well, this is what she said.
- [57:34]
C
You know, my mom and dad who bought Paramount plus so they could watch the Golden Globes from Sydney.
- [57:40]
A
By the way, when she said thanks to my parents who bought Paramount plus, I was like, we got sold again.
- [57:49]
B
Or is Rose Byrne and Ellison, what's going on?
- [57:51]
A
Right? Or is she like, you know what I mean? Like, I was like. I was like. For a moment, I thought she was making a joke about, like, the fact that every two days it seems like this network is, you know, is getting sold or acquired or whatever. She just meant, you know, subscribed. Subscribed for whatever. $10 a month.
- [58:09]
B
So something I know about Rose Byrne. Did she say Sydney? Is she Australian?
- [58:13]
A
She is.
- [58:13]
B
I had. I had the only thing I can. Like, I know I've seen her things. They're most.
- [58:18]
A
She's in Bridesmaids.
- [58:19]
B
Bridesmaids, exactly.
- [58:19]
A
She's really good at bridesmaids.
- [58:20]
B
Right. That's where I know her from the most. And I had no idea she was not American. So, like, hearing.
- [58:26]
A
That's kind of Hearing that's always a little. That messes with you, right? When, like, you have a. You have no conception of this person's actual, like, nation of origin or accent of origin. And then all of a sudden, they just bust out with like a, you know, another way of speaking than you expect. Okay, so here she is explaining, I guess, where her husband actually was for this big moment in her life.
- [58:46]
C
I want to thank my husband, Bobby Khanvale, who. He couldn't be here because he's. We're getting a bearded dragon, and he went to a reptile expo in New Jersey. So. Thank you. Thank you, baby.
- [59:00]
A
I mean, what the actual.
- [59:04]
B
We're getting a bearded dragon. So he's at an expo in New Jersey.
- [59:08]
A
He's at a reptile expo in New Jersey because we're getting a bearded dragon. This raises so many questions. Like, I mean, there's, like. That's. First of all, that's just hilarious. Could that possibly be true?
- [59:21]
B
You know, I'm googling right now. Reptile Expo, New Jersey.
- [59:24]
A
That's actually. You know, what? Good, good reporting instincts. That's exactly what we should be doing is finding out, first of all, is there a reptile?
- [59:31]
B
There's.
- [59:32]
A
Well, first of all, there's probably always a reptile expo in New Jersey Somewhere.
- [59:36]
B
From January 9 to January 11, 2026, at the New Jersey Convention Exposition Center.
- [59:43]
A
Oh, my God.
- [59:44]
B
In Edison, New Jersey, is Repticon.
- [59:47]
A
Oh, my God. That's where he was reptile. How do you. I mean, listen. I mean, let me put it this way. If I was nominated for a Golden Globe, if Becca was nominated for a Golden Globe. Let me put it this way. If I was nominated for a Golden Globe and was gonna go and Becca said, I can't go. I've got to go to. I've got to go check on the bearded dragon that we're going to be buying at Repticon, I would say, well, could we go to, like, could we get a different bearded dragon? Could. Could we. And vice versa. Like, I don't think I'd be able to get away with not going to the Golden Globes with my partner.
- [60:20]
B
Yeah.
- [60:20]
A
Because of acquiring a reptile. Like, did Rose Byrne definitely not think she was going to win? Does she not care? She doesn't seem in any way perturbed by it. I just curious about that conversation.
- [60:31]
B
She takes her. Her bearded dragons, her reptiles very seriously, the lizards very seriously. Because isn't that, like, they're very prominent down under?
- [60:38]
A
Are they? I don't know. You know, Aren't they?
- [60:40]
B
Well, we've learned. There's certain.
- [60:42]
A
We've learned that, you know, you got to be careful what dogs you bringing into Australia. We learned that with the whole Johnny Depp, Amber Heard situation. But, like, she seems totally unperturbed by the fact that, like, she's at the Golden Globes with her brother while her husband is sourcing bearded dragons in New Jersey.
- [61:00]
B
Like, well, in Bobby Carnevale's defense, I have to believe that Repticon was on the calendar before the Globe nominations came out. And so, like, he was like, oh, babe, I got my. You know, I got my seat at Repticon.
- [61:14]
A
I can't get my. I can't get my hotel feedback from the Hyatt in Edison.
- [61:20]
B
We already got Repticon on the calendar. Congrats on the nomination. But, like, you're gonna have to take your brother because I got. I got Repticon this year.
- [61:27]
A
Just think about, like, listen, we're gonna get. I'm gonna tick off some listeners now who are, you know, into the world of herpetology. Sure. But, like, I'm sure that bearded dragons have very unique personalities, and, like, they're not interchangeable. But I do feel like you could have just gotten, like, did you have to get a bearded dragon from this Repticon? Could you have not gone to a different reptile convention somewhere in America, let's say, next weekend, and gotten a different bearded dragon? There's a lot I don't know about this world, obviously, but it just seems to be like, again, this is. I'm showing my bias. I'm showing my assumption that lizards don't have as fully expressed personalities as, say, dogs. Yeah, but, like, that's just my. That's my bias, because I have never owned a lizard. I'm sure that we have listeners who are gonna say, like, no, no, no, you don't understand. They're, like, they're more interesting than dogs for whatever reason. And maybe that's possible. It just seems like of all the animals, it's like, it's like my husband couldn't be here because we're getting a pet clam next week and he's at a clam convention.
- [62:33]
B
Luke. I just like to say, though, because now I'm deep on the Repticon website and which I'm sure this is great earned media, I'm sure, because other people like us are like, what is this about? So, like, you know, they're getting all these hits to their web traffic. Repticon tickets are non refundable.
- [62:50]
A
Ah, okay.
- [62:52]
B
And I don't know.
- [62:53]
A
Now this is starting to make more sense.
- [62:54]
B
And Bobby Khan Valley can eat the cost, but a single day ticket.
- [62:58]
A
Well, she mentioned that the movie that she was in was made for like $8.50. So she's clearly did not get overpaid for. If I had legs, I would kick.
- [63:05]
B
You a single day ticket to Repticon for two day or a single day. Two day. I guess you buy them each day for per day, $15. So I don't know if Bobby Cannavale can.
- [63:15]
A
That's actually cheaper than I was expecting because I was looking at going to Sasquatch Fest in Longview, Washington, which was scheduled and then unscheduled because the city of Longview did not approve the funding for it. But then I guess they're just gonna make it up through ticket sales. Although this year it's a combination of Sasquatch and aliens. So it's like Sasquatch Aliens Festival. But those tickets are like 30, 40 bucks. You get like a free beer with it or something. You get like a ticket for a free beer garden beer or something. But like, I was like kind of thinking that might be kind of fun to go to just for the sheer madness of the whole thing also. So I continue with my project of wanting to prove to Andrew that Sasquatch is now conservative coded.
- [64:00]
B
Right?
- [64:01]
A
Because that whole conversation, because it really. And I see it more and more out here, like, it's definitely. Sasquatch has become the mythical creature of the MAGA movement. Not quite maga. It's not hard maga. It's like, it's more like I'm trying to think. I'm trying to describe the politics of Sasquatch up here.
- [64:20]
B
Show title. Try to describe the politics of Sasquatch.
- [64:24]
A
It's definitely not like, it's not the guy who has like just 8 million Trump weird, like Trump flags at his house, but it's the guy who like, is pretty suspicious of the government, probably has leanings towards being more conservative than I would be but also is kind of like more like one of those, you know, look, those Vietnam vets who came home, but then they kind of got into drugs. Like. Like, they're basically just suspicious of every. Like, they're suspicious of everything. They're. They're much more sort of like guys who would be listening to coast to Coast AM and calling in, like, that's the vibe of the concern of the conservative leaning Sasquatch crowd.
- [65:03]
B
Like. Like libertarians who are actually libertarian. Like, man, you state yourself. I'm gonna keep to myself. We're not gonna mix. It's like actual like, leave me alone, I'll leave you alone kind of libertarian.
- [65:16]
A
Those are more. The guys. Like, they're probably not fans of what is going on with ICE right now.
- [65:22]
B
Right.
- [65:23]
A
Actually, we were talking about Don't Tread On Me. They are actually. Those guys, they're more in the mold of. They see themselves in the movie Rambo. They are John Rambo. They are like, they essentially want nothing to do with the government. They think that they, at this point, are maybe more Sasquatch than man. They would also just like to be covered in hair, wandering in the woods, being generally left alone. In fact, this is. I'm developing a political theory on the spot, which is. That's why they like Sasquatch. Because it's the ultimate to go back to the don't tread on me. It's the ultimate don't tread on me. It's like, I just want to be allowed to live in these woods with nobody talking to me, much like the noble Sasquatch.
- [66:04]
B
Mm. Didn't Viggo Mortensen did a movie where he raised his kids. He and his wife were raising their kids to be like. But liberal. Very progressive.
- [66:17]
A
Yes, I watched that movie. Wasn't like Captain Fantastic or something.
- [66:21]
B
I think it's exactly what it was. Really great.
- [66:23]
A
Which is a weird name for a really good movie where they're like, they're living in the woods and he's training them on how to live off the land and do weaponry and obstacle courses.
- [66:35]
B
They're also highly educated and incredible thinkers. And, like, they're teaching them. Like, they're homeschooling them.
- [66:42]
A
Like. Right.
- [66:42]
B
You'd want kids to be homeschooled.
- [66:44]
A
Exactly.
- [66:45]
B
Yeah.
- [66:45]
A
Like, I'm all. I'm down for that kind of homeschooling. As opposed to the kind that I got, which was actually, you know what? The kind of homeschooling that I got was generally benign because there was no schooling going on. I was more unschooled. Than homeschooled, you know. Yeah, like we didn't have any, we just didn't have any curriculum. We didn't really do anything. But that was basically fine, that was basically neutral as opposed to like getting, you know, like if my mom would have gotten it together to teach me, my parents actual kind of like political and religious beliefs at that time, it would have been worse for me than just getting no schooling whatsoever.
- [67:17]
B
Right, right, right.
- [67:20]
A
So anyway, and then we don't have to play it now because we're kind of running out of time. But. But Nikki Glaser did, you know, do her normal monologue where she made her. Her big joke was it's actually funny because the joke that she made about cbs, well she was like the award for best editing goes to cbs. Which I thought was actually pretty mild. But then she said something about CBS and like, because you know, they're the number one network where you can now just see bs. And what struck me about that was that was a joke. I had a teacher in seventh grade, Mr. Warren made that joke when I went to Jesus Creek Middle School. And I remember him saying, oh yeah, they call it CBS because all you can see, all you see is bs. And I at the time did not know what BS meant. I'd never heard bs. I remember the other kids laughing like, oh my gosh, he's being edgy. And I go, I don't understand the joke. And they're like, bullshit. It's like he's saying that what you see is bullshit. So that joke, people have been making that joke for years. I guess it was notable because she's also saying it on CBS television. So.
- [68:19]
B
Well, I had not heard that joke before. And I love a pun and so like that was funny to me and I'm sorry, I got.
- [68:26]
A
It's weird though, you know, it's weird working to the degree that I work for cbs, you know, working on this TV show that's on cbs because it is definitely the case that I have in all my different job stuff, I've never had more people reach out to me or even just mention in passing, like, oh dude, what is going on at the place that you work at? And what's strange about it is that like for me the actual experience of doing my job is fairly unchanged, if that makes any sense. Like everyone's talking about the MAGA takeover of cbs and like, in a way I guess you could say that is happening. Certainly there was that 60 minute stream story that got pulled that's very concerning.
- [69:08]
B
And the Tony Decouple of it all. Tony Decouple stuff, like state media stuff.
- [69:13]
A
Yeah, I mean, you know, there's a lot about it that's not great. But then I guess I wonder, like, what is my role in it? Like, do I quit or do I just keep doing my stories, which generally speaking are pretty non political anyway. They're about, you know, kind of meaningless, silly stuff. Like am I adding to the number, Am I adding to the sort of positive media that exists in the world by doing my little silly stories or my commentaries on Sunday morning? Or like, should I, I mean, you know, I don't know, it's just I have not had the experience. I've always worked for these larger networks and entities that have a certain amount of a halo effect around them. You know, you're working for npr, working in public radio, stuff like that. I've always worked at the places where people at a party are like, oh, I work, you know, in public radio. Oh, you know, and now it's like, now it's like, well, through no fault of my own. You know what it feels like? It feels like the employment equivalent of just being an American right now. Traveling abroad.
- [70:09]
B
Yeah.
- [70:10]
A
Like you go somewhere and they're like, where are you from? You're like, America. And they're like, oh. And you're like, yeah, but not all of us. You're like, we just live there. We had nothing to do with that. In fact, we don't like it. And that's like, that's kind of my feeling about like, yeah, I don't know, I just worked there and like, if I quit then I don't get to do as many TV stories. And that also feels like a bad outcome to me, you know, Like, I don't know, it's a strange experience because again, on a day to day basis, like the stuff that I'm doing on CBS Sunday Morning is unaffected by all of this. And I do kind of feel like if I walk away from it, then it's just, then I'm just doing less stories and then, you know, to the degree that the stories I do are in any way enjoyable for people, it just feels like, well, that's actually like worse, you know, so. Yeah, I don't know, it's a, it's a, it's an odd experience, like in the way that we are all having a lot of weird ass experiences right now in this country that we did.
- [71:00]
B
Not expect without like asking you to share anything, you know, obviously you don't feel comfortable sharing wherever, but like, can I ask, like, is that conversation that, like, you and Morocco or somebody, like, other correspondence, like, have you guys had any of those kind of conversations amongst yourselves, or is it kind of like everyone's just kind of head down, doing your. In your own thing?
- [71:19]
A
I haven't had those conversations with any of the other correspondents. I mean, I have. I think that I've talked to other producers when I've been on shoots and when, you know, we're all just kind of, like, you know, a little bit apoplectic about things. And it's a. You know, it's a. Again, it's a weird feeling because this is all happening so far above us in terms of the. The management structure of the place. And again, based on the show that I work on, like, if I was, like, a congressional correspondent for the evening news, right, this stuff would be hitting me constantly because every story that I do would be under scrutiny. As it is, I do stories about, like, people that are making dog leashes out of old inner tubes in Portland, which remains.
- [71:59]
B
You're interviewing Jim Belushi about his weed.
- [72:01]
A
Exactly. So far off of the radar of, you know, David Ellison and Bari Weiss, that it's just kind of like on the. So the conversations that I have with the producers are not like, is it time for us to quit? It's just kind of like, mostly going, huh, I wonder where this all goes. I wonder if there was a point at which. And it also just feels like, honestly, based on what's going on in the media landscape as far as TV jobs, we working on CBS Sunday Morning, it's like, literally, like, the last bastion of getting to do fun, weird stories with an actual crew. So, like, there's a sound person, there's a camera person, there's a producer. There's, like, it's still a legitimate network television news shoot, which can be about, like, somebody who's making whiskey out of tree SAP in the Finger Lakes. And so that feels kind of like a lucky thing that that's still happening in the world and I get to work on the show that does that. So, like, a big part of me, you know, I don't want to walk away from that because I want to ride that thing until they stop Letting me do stories is kind of my general feeling on the matter.
- [73:07]
B
You could also look at it like this. And I mean, not obviously, you, like, as you're expressing, don't. And I certainly don't know what the. What the goals and aspirations of Barry Weiss and David Allison are like. We have our ideas, but like, if, if suddenly everyone at CBS Sunday Morning decide to walk off set, be like, no, we can't be associated with this entity, then what do they put in that time slot? Like, more prop, like direct propaganda. I mean, who knows? I don't know.
- [73:34]
A
Like, I doubt it would be something better than whatever it is we're doing. Like, you know, and that's always the question. And then you could say, well, then you're just making an excuse. But it's like, yeah, I don't know if. Yeah, I don't think that. I don't think it would be a different. A 90 minutes of content that would be better than what we're doing. Or like, or like positive net. I don't think it'd be a net positive. The war, the win over replacement, win above replacement, I don't think would be great. And so I kind of feel like it is an act of, I'm not saying protest, but it's something to just keep trying to make fun, quirky, somewhat meaningless stories. But that may be a little bit, kind of do enrich the human experience by describing something that's happened with someone that is unexpected. You know, Like, I still feel like getting to make those stories and getting those stories on television is better than not doing it.
- [74:27]
B
Yeah, and it is, it is like, in a sense, like TBTL is like some kind of counter program to me, counter programming to like, the terrible stuff happening. And like, obviously you don't want people to like, be ill informed or not pay attention or put their head in the sand. But like, we need these respites. Like, we need these distractions if somebody's gonna put on the TV while they're, you know, making their breakfast Sunday morning around or wherever they're doing, while, you know, all the shows on or doing. Folding their laundry, doing some chores, like, if it's a goofy story about, you know, wherever you or whatever your colleagues are doing, like, like that in its way is beneficial to that person instead of something that could be demonstrated. Yeah, it could be making excuses. But I think there is a value there in the way that TBTL has a value for folks to like, engage with something other than what they might otherwise engage with.
- [75:15]
A
Exactly. And also, I think even more critically, if I lose my TV job, I will never make Alaska Airlines titanium status again. Because that's the main, that's the reason that I've been flying 100,000 miles a year is because of all my TV gigs. And so I, you know, I'm gonna, I think I'm gonna keep doing as long as they'll continue letting me do it.
- [75:35]
B
You just have to, like, before there's. If there's any signs that's gonna go away, they're gonna shutter it. You just have to like, pitch stories, like across the world for like 3 months trip. Like I have this story in Morocco I really want to do.
- [75:46]
A
Exactly. I want to go interview Rose Byrne's family in Australia.
- [75:49]
B
Exactly, exactly.
- [75:51]
A
See if they're keep. If they're keeping up their Paramount plus.
- [75:53]
B
Account or if they've inherited the bearded iguana dragon.
- [75:56]
A
Yeah. I want to find out more about this bearded dragon, starting with talking to Rose Burns parents.
- [76:01]
B
Right. I have to go back and forth and I have to go to New Jersey to go to Reptacon. Like I really.
- [76:06]
A
Exactly. I need to follow Repticon around the country like a deadhead and rack up all the miles that I can. So, anyway. All right, well, listen, it looks like it's about that time for us to wrap things up here on this Monday. I want to say thanks a to you, John. Thanks for hanging out today. Really appreciate it. Thanks to all of you for listening. We are going to be back here tomorrow with more imaginary radio, so if you can please join us for that. In the meantime, everybody, have a great Monday. Take care of yourself, stay safe wherever you are, and please remember, no mountain too tall.
- [76:37]
B
And good luck to all.
- [76:39]
A
Nice sa.
- [77:06]
B
Power out.