Jesse Tyler Ferguson

Summary

Thanks Dad with Ego Nwodim — Episode with Jesse Tyler Ferguson

iHeartPodcasts | April 28, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode features Ego Nwodim in a warm, lively conversation with actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Centered around themes of gratitude, self-care, family, food, and the realities of parenting, the dialogue dances through moments of humor, vulnerability, and practical advice. The two connect over skincare routines, dinner party disasters, the pressures of being the eldest sibling, culinary obsessions, and modern parenting, all with Ego’s signature candidness and Jesse’s quick wit.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Who Do You Want to Say "Thanks" To?

[03:02–04:23]

• Jesse thanks "this beautiful day," reflecting on New York’s erratic weather:

  “We have been suffering so hard in New York with this winter… if this winter gives me any more mixed messages, I’m going to fall in love with it.”

• Both joke about being in a “situationship” with unpredictable Mother Nature.

2. Life On (and Off) Stage

[02:29–02:54]

• Jesse is performing a one-man show ("Tru" about Truman Capote), describing it as exhausting but artistically rewarding.
• He jokes about manifesting Broadway but admits, "I'm tired" and is content with off-Broadway.

3. Skincare, Sunburn, and LA vs. NYC Living

[07:18–09:12]

• Jesse talks about growing up as a redhead in sunny Albuquerque and his lifelong effort fighting sunburn.

  "I grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which is like a terrible place to raise a redhead."

• He shares a unique LA-influenced self-care routine: hyperbaric oxygen chamber therapy to heal recent facial burns and rejuvenate skin.
  • Jesse’s burn story: filling a Zippo lighter led to a flash fireball, singeing his eyebrows and beard (“I had a show in two hours”).
  • Busy Phillips tells Jesse after seeing his burn via FaceTime:

    "I just keep forgetting, like, gay men are just men. Like, you refuse to do anything for yourself." [16:16]

4. Supplements and Wellness

[09:22–11:11]

• Both hosts compare their supplement regimens (CoQ10, NAD, turmeric). Ego admits:

  "I have so many supplements, I'm like, this is now teetering from healthy to unhealthy. No way am I supposed to be taking 20 pills." [09:31]

• Discussion about placebos and the cult of wellness.
• Jesse: "I'm here to bring my LA gulu energy to you." [09:42]

5. Sibling Dynamics & Childhood

[23:37–25:34]

• Jesse is the oldest of three and feels he “forged the way” for his siblings.
• He was a shy, bullied child who found connection and community in theater.

  "The theater community that I found outside of school was like, oh, these are where all the weirdos are." [24:57]

• Talks about pressure and how it played out differently among siblings.

6. Family & Parenting as a Gay Dad

[27:06–28:02]

• On becoming a parent, Jesse describes how marriage equality shaped his family planning and contrasts his own upbringing with his husband’s vision for having kids.

  "For me, like, being gay, having a family was not really something that I always strived for..."

7. Parenting Styles & Marriage

[28:02–29:13]

• Jesse and his husband Justin fall into clear parenting lanes; Justin is the disciplinarian, Jesse the fun dad:

  “I thought I would be more disciplinarian, and I'm definitely more the fun time.”

8. Type-A Tendencies and Home Technology

[28:56–29:29]

• Jesse: "I like things a specific way... I'll get on the cameras, be like, no, that's too bright."
• Lighthearted talk about home security cameras and whether they really improve safety.

9. Social Media, Screen Time & The “Brick”

[31:33–35:04]

• Both admit frequent doomscrolling, often rationalizing it when alone ("it's not hurting anyone").
• Screen time notifications are viewed as “passive aggressive.” Jesse on attempted digital detox:

  "There was this thing that I was using for like 2.5 days called the brick..."

• They laugh about the unexpected hassles of limiting device use.

10. Obsession with Food and Restaurants

[40:55–43:43]

• Jesse’s love of food grew after moving to New York. He describes his journey from home cook to cookbook author and podcast host (Dinners on Me).
• Selection of restaurants is based on research from Infatuation, Eater, but never Yelp ("feels like the Applebee's of food blogs").
• Candid restaurant tales: Discuss quirky menu items ("Kiss the Chef") and LA culinary scandals.

11. Dinner Parties: Logistics & Etiquette

[44:41–61:04]

• Ego and Jesse share dinner party hosting disasters and best practices.
• Jesse's advice: ask about dietary restrictions, plan around a “guest of honor,” keep the menu manageable, and don’t be afraid of potlucks.
• On gifted wine:

  “I would Google it, and I put a sticker on it with the price and who gave it to me...” [61:03]

• The “re-gifting” cycle of wine and candles continues to amuse them.

12. Self-Care, Working Out, & Aging

[50:06–52:44]

• Jesse shares his self-care routine: sleep, Pilates, occasional Barry’s Bootcamp.
• Both dislike running; Jesse rides bikes in both NYC and LA, believing LA is riskier for cyclists.

13. Sibling Love Among Jesse’s Kids

[55:27–56:03]

• Sweet moment sharing about his sons:

  "I want Sully to stay healthy forever." (overheard while one son washed the other’s back in the bath)

14. Modern Parenting: Openness and Boundaries

[56:13–57:45]

• Jesse and husband don’t shield kids from the world but answer questions candidly ("We’re not traumatizing our children—obviously age-appropriate things").
• On being a parent vs. a friend:

  “I don’t think I want them to feel like I’m their friend, but like, if that’s how they feel... I wouldn’t discourage against that.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Jesse, on acting and exhaustion:
  "It's only six shows a week, but it's mostly ... all me. Oh, yeah, it's a one man show. So it's just. It's a lot of work that is exhausting." [02:31]
• Busy Phillips to Jesse, after seeing his burn:
  "I just keep forgetting, like, gay men are just men. Like, you refuse to do anything for yourself." [16:16]
• On the cinnamon challenge:
  Ego: "I almost choked on the school bus in sixth grade doing the cinnamon challenge." [11:11]
• Jesse, on the futility of security cameras:
  "That's great. Now what?...We all watched the video. We're like, well, that's scary ... Now what? Your jewelry is gone." [30:29]
• On supplement culture:
  "I'm here to bring my LA gulu energy to you." [09:42]
• On digital detox aids (‘The Brick’):
  "But then I would be out and about...I wanted to, like, look up what this dish is...and it wasn’t available to me." [34:32]
• Ego, on her own dinner party mishap:
  "I was making cocktails. I might have already been a little drunk myself." [44:41]
• Jesse, on parenting lanes:
  "I thought I would be more disciplinarian, and I'm definitely more the fun time." [28:13]
• On gifted wine:
  "I would put a sticker on it with like the price. And like, so I just know..." [61:03]

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Suggested Listening Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction & Gratitude: [01:14–04:23]
• Skincare, Supplements, and Wellness: [06:00–12:28]
• Jesse's Burn Story: [12:36–17:38]
• Sibling/Childhood Discussion: [23:37–25:34]
• Parenting Realness: [27:06–29:13]
• Dinner Parties, Hosting Tales: [44:41–47:09]
• NY & LA Food Favorites: [47:45–49:25]
• Parenting Styles & Sibling Love: [55:27–56:13]
• Party Hosting Strategies: [58:32–61:13]

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Tone and Style

The conversation is casual, confessional, and brimming with comedic asides. Both Ego and Jesse offer honest takes on everything from LA self-care quackery to the realities of multitasking as parents and hosts. Vulnerability, playfulness, and real-life messiness are embraced, with frequent laughter and rapport.

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For Future Listeners

If you missed the episode, you’ll come away knowing Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s hacks for burns, his no-nonsense dinner party strategy, and which LA restaurant he runs to for Thai. You’ll also get a true-to-life snapshot of navigating adulthood, self-care, and family—with plenty of mishaps, resilience, and humor along the way.

Transcript

[Ao Wodom]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And, Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual, even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show. Hey, everyone, check out this guy and his bird. What is this, your first date? Oh, no. We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual together. We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird. Yeah, the bird looks out of your league. Anyways, get a [e-mail] or with your local agent. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty.

[Ao Wodom]

The story I've told myself can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection this mental health awareness month. Tune into the podcast Deeply well with Debbie Brown. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you. To hear more, listen to Deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I'm ready. I'm always ready.

[Ao Wodom]

I'm ready as well. And I'm gonna do your intro.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Okay. I'm gonna sit here and watch you do it.

[Ao Wodom]

My next. And rate me. Could you give me out of five?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Sure.

[Ao Wodom]

Out of five.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Five being the highest.

[Ao Wodom]

Highest.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Okay.

[Ao Wodom]

Okay.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah, let's go.

[Ao Wodom]

No, I'm stressed. My next guest is and love from Modern Family, his podcast, Dinners on Me. And the star of The Broadway show Tru is Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Hello. Hello. That was a 4.5.

[Ao Wodom]

What could I have done better?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Well, Tru's technically off Broadway, but that's like. You did nothing wrong.

[Ao Wodom]

So you gave me bad information.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

That's exactly so. You're half point off on the introduction.

[Ao Wodom]

Whoever's doing the intros is sabotage.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's because of someone else. Yeah, it's complete sabotage.

[Ao Wodom]

Can I do over?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

No, you have to, like, live with what you've done. This is an imperfect podcast. You told me.

[Ao Wodom]

It's true.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

So we have to let that. We have to let it go.

[Ao Wodom]

Okay, well, I'm happy you're here.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I'm moving on.

[Ao Wodom]

I'm gonna move on.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

But I love that you upgraded it as a Broadway show.

[Ao Wodom]

Oh, yeah. Manifestation is big.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

You never know.

[Ao Wodom]

You never know. Could it go be on?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I don't think I'd want it to. I'm tired.

[Ao Wodom]

Are you tired? How many shows a week are you.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's only six shows a week, but it's mostly. It's all me. Oh, yeah, It's a one man show. So it's just.

[Ao Wodom]

It's a lot of work that is exhausting. Do you have any regrets about it?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

No, I'm very. I was trying to think of a funny answer and, like, then I was like, no, I should be honest. And, like, just very earnest. I don't. I love doing it. It's like, artistically very satisfying.

[Ao Wodom]

Oh, good.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Okay.

[Ao Wodom]

So wonderful. I'm so happy to have you here with us. So happy to be here. Thank you for making time.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

Who or what do you want to say thanks to?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I want to say thanks to this beautiful day. We have been suffering so hard in New York with this winter. Yeah. I kept thinking, I was like, if this winter gives me any more mixed messages, I'm going to fall in love with is so every, like, every other day it was like, what are we doing now? What are we doing now? So, like, the fact that I think we're finally out of it is something I want to say thank you to.

[Ao Wodom]

Okay. Famous last words. Because I'm concerned that we're going back. I see some rain on the forecast.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Rain's fine.

[Ao Wodom]

You're okay with rain?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I'm okay with a little rain. I mean, I live in LA now, mostly, so, like.

[Ao Wodom]

Okay.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I'm not really okay with rain, but, like. Because we don't deal with it there.

[Ao Wodom]

Right?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Well, the driving. The driving and just, you know, everyone stops in their vehicles and panics.

[Ao Wodom]

Like a raindrop.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah. Yeah, exactly.

[Ao Wodom]

We don't know what to do. Will the car work if it's raining?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Are we in a car wash? What's going on?

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah, fair enough. So, you know, the weather here, New York City has been. It's giving mixed signals.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's giving very mixed signals.

[Ao Wodom]

So. But we could find you and Mother Nature in a situationship, maybe depending on what happens next week.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I don't know. I mean, I'm willing to go. I'm willing to take the roller coaster ride with Mother Nature for like another week. But, like, then we need to make some choices about what's going on. Okay.

[Ao Wodom]

Okay. I'm with you. And we want warmth. I'm rooting for warmth. Right?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yes.

[Ao Wodom]

Do you take two showers on a very hot day where you maybe sweat on your commute? How do you manage?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah, it's like I'm constantly showering.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I did Shakespeare in the park last summer. And so I was not only in New York, you know, living, but I was performing on stage and, you know, wearing hot costumes, like, being in, like, warm clothes and like, in the direct sun. And I'm like, look at my skin. I mean, I shouldn't. And yeah, there was definitely like multiple shower days. There were showers at the. And we were all like. It was the constant line for the showers.

[Ao Wodom]

Okay. Because everyone's trying to get clean. I left my home this morning. I was, you know, I thought it was a fine enough temperature. Immediate regret. Once I was on my commute because I was like, I should put on shorts. I'm so hot. I'm sweating. I just got out of the shower, but I'm sweating. But that is New York. It's the beauty.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Don't you love? My favorite thing in New York in the summer is when you are on a train. And now living here long enough, I think we both know what to do. You see, it's an empty subway car. Come and you're like, oh great. All these other cars are crowded. Let me get on this empty subway car. Either there's the most foul smell you've ever smelled in the world on that subway car, or it is like 900 degrees.

[Ao Wodom]

That's why. Wait, I have to tell you. On Monday, just mere days ago, I found myself in an empty subway car. And when I was getting on, I was like, why is nobody else?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

There's always something suspicious.

[Ao Wodom]

But guess what? There was nothing. There was no scent that you know of. Yeah, I couldn't smell it.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

There was no scent that I knew of. And it was like just quiet on the train and a good temperature, a great temperature. I thought my little private ride. I felt so luxurious on the. I was on the one luxurious. But then immediately I think two stops. So I got to ride by myself for two stops. Next, those two. After two stops, a woman came on, on a speakerphone conversation, yelling at whoever she was talking to. And then the next stop, another woman was on the phone, plus a man playing the accordion. Watch those two have an altercation. Cuz she offered him something. He's like, I can't eat with that. And I was like, oh my God.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Oh my God. The vibe and the strain. It went from change, peace to chaos. Chaos.

[Ao Wodom]

But we love New York for that.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Oh my God, we really do.

[Ao Wodom]

So are you. You're based then in la, but you're here because of.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Of the play that I'm here? Yeah, yeah. I mean, I have a place here. I started my career in New York, so this is where I consider this like spiritually my home.

[Ao Wodom]

Sure.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

But I've been in LA longer than I've ever been in New York.

[Ao Wodom]

Fair. Fair enough. Imagine I say it's not. That's not fair.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

That's not fair. I need you to rethink your choices.

[Ao Wodom]

Your answer now. You said. Look at you. You burn easily.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I do.

[Ao Wodom]

What's your methodology? Hat. Sunscreen.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I got this hat. I got the sunscreen. I wear swim shirts.

[Ao Wodom]

Okay.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Like, I'm that person.

[Ao Wodom]

Oh, wow.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which is like a terrible place to raise a redhead.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And like, you know, when I was born in 75. So like I was in the 80s. I mean, we were aware of sunscreen and my mom took certain precautions, but, like, there were just days where she forgot. And like, I got really badly burned. And so I'm like paying the price now. And so as an adult, I'm like, okay, I can take my skincare into my own hands. And I'm really good about it. Like I'm doing. After I leave you, I'm going, this is so, like, I'm really bringing my LA vibe to New York. I'm going into a hyperbaric oxygen chamber.

[Ao Wodom]

What is that?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's like, it's like a vessel. It's like an esophagus. It's like a. It's like a submergeable submarine that won't implode upon you. And like. Yeah, it zips up and then it's pressurized air. So it feels like for like 15 minutes like you're in an airplane with your ears popping.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And then once it's pressurized, they pump in purified oxygen. And so you breathe like the most pure oxygen for like 45 minutes. And apparently it's really good for like, rejuvenation. And I got a kind of. A little bit of a bad burn a few days ago. I can tell you the story if you're interested.

[Ao Wodom]

I am curious. We'll come back.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah, okay. But so anyway, I'm doing that. It's like, I think all this stuff is good for the skin trauma that I've had. And I see results, actually.

[Ao Wodom]

You do?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

Like, you feel like your skin is better, your breathing improves. Does it? Actually, I just feel like.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I don't know, I feel like it's like of all the anti aging stuff, like, I roll my eyes at a lot of that stuff. This. I feel like it's actually like it. Something's going on. I think it's okay.

[Ao Wodom]

Something's happening.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah, something's happening. I mean, I'm 50 and I think I look pretty good.

[Ao Wodom]

You look amazing.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I don't think it's because of anything. Like, it's not because my genetics. I think it's, like, stuff that I've been trying to do.

[Ao Wodom]

Are you a person who takes supplements?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I do now.

[Ao Wodom]

Okay. What are you on?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I don't know. It's like a bag of shit. That's what I. This doctor gave me.

[Ao Wodom]

I have so many supplements, I'm like, this is now teetering from healthy to unhealthy. No way am I supposed to be taking 20 pills.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Exactly.

[Ao Wodom]

That can't be. Okay.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I think it's okay. I'm here to bring my La Gulu energy to you. I'm here. No, it's fine. It's fine. We're good. No, I like Coq 10. I know. That's one of them. Like, NAD.

[Ao Wodom]

I have a Coq 10. I have NAD. Keep going. Or. No, I have NAC.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

What's NAC?

[Ao Wodom]

The C stands for something else. It's not a D, it's a C. Interesting. But my friend told me it's for, like, rejuvenating cells. That's a good word. All the supplements are rejuvenating something.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Rejuvenating something.

[Ao Wodom]

And it's for cells. And I had an injury, a shoulder injury. And it was. She's like, you should. You have to be taking naps.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah. And do you feel better? I don't know.

[Ao Wodom]

I think so. But here's my thing is, are these placebos potentially?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Potentially.

[Ao Wodom]

But I think a placebo effect. It still has an effect whether it's in your head or not. It's like, great. I feel better. But 20 supplements is crazy. Coq 10, I'm taking as well.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

But what is it for?

[Ao Wodom]

I don't know. The same girl that told me to take NAC told me to take Coq10. I was like, anything you say, Queen.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

She did her research, and I was like, thanks. I will just live off of your research. I've done none.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Right. Yeah, exactly. Can I piggyback on that? Yeah, Like, I know, like, turmeric's good for, like, joint pain. I'm on that.

[Ao Wodom]

Okay. Like, just a turmeric supplement.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

Okay.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah. I'm like, can I just. I have the, like, the spice in my drawer.

[Ao Wodom]

Who's gonna say yucky spice?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Can I just down. Yeah, A spoonful of that.

[Ao Wodom]

Ye. Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Like the cinnamon challenge. But it's a turmeric challenge. That's just what I thought of.

[Ao Wodom]

I almost choked on the school bus in sixth grade doing the cinnamon challenge.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Wait, the cinnamon challenge exists? It has been around for that long.

[Ao Wodom]

What are you trying to say?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

As it was coming out of my mouth, as it was coming out of my mouth, I was like, this is gonna go very wrong.

[Ao Wodom]

It's been around for that long.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I mean, I just feel like. I just feel like I saw it, like, five years ago.

[Ao Wodom]

You old haggard bitch. Cinnamon challenge was around when you were.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

When they first disc Cinnamon, right? Yeah. Yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

Oh, my gosh.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I know. I heard it as it was coming in my mouth. Yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

No, it's not.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's not.

[Ao Wodom]

But I. I almost choked on the school bus because I was like, yeah, you're gonna give me five. Somebody was like, for $5, if you down this spoon of cinnamon. I was like, yeah, why wouldn't I? The bitch was choking. I was choking. I was like, need water. And I'm kind of a germaphobe. And like, the most non germaphobic person on the school bus had water. And I was like, I'm gonna die.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Give it to me.

[Ao Wodom]

Like, I was like, oh, I'll choke on the bus in front of everyone, all for $5. But I didn't think I understood. I just was like, what could go wrong here?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Well, you found out.

[Ao Wodom]

I found out. Almost died. But turmeric might be different.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I see that. That's definitely not been around that long.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah. We just discovered that today.

[Ao Wodom]

Just today we're gonna start something. But at least it's at, like, it's a truly healthy, healthy little thing. I have to know your burn story, though.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Oh, my God. This. I mean, so, okay, so I'm doing this play True about Truman Capote and my costume designer, the incredible Sam Spector, who dresses Alan Cummings.

[Ao Wodom]

I know Sam. Love Sam.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Love him. I've been working with him for years. Adore him. He came on and was a costume designer for Tru. And he missed opening night, and so he gave me this beautiful Zippo lighter. Like this beautiful engraved gold Zippo lighter and says true. And it has, like, the date and the venue name and. But it didn't have any fluid in it. Okay, already. You know, I can tell anyone who's listening is like, I'm nervous already for this. So I get butane. And, you know, it's one of those things with like, the little. Like the little tiny, nubby sort of straw that you put into.

[Ao Wodom]

Yes, yes.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Have you ever filled it?

[Ao Wodom]

I've seen my. I have lighters that are, like, translucent.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. So I was filling it with butane, and I guess some of it had spilled out into the sink where do you get.

[Ao Wodom]

When does one acquire butane?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Amazon. I just got it on Amazon.

[Ao Wodom]

You can order butane?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah, it's just.

[Ao Wodom]

It's safe.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's, like, for zip elders and, like, you know. Yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

It's no big deal. Okay.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I just said it's safe. Yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

Okay. Okay. Okay.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Wait till this. Hear the story. So some of it had dripped out into the sink, and I guess I thought I'd cleaned it up. I didn't. And I tested the lighter, and like, a Mission impossible style, like, fireball in my apartment, like, flew out of the sink and hit me in the face. Singed my eyebrows, singed my eyelashes, singed my hairline. Sweater was burned. Beard hair is burned. I felt like I had a sunburn. And I was like. As I said, which I'm used to, I was like, it's okay. It's just like. It's just gonna be a little bit of, like a.

[Ao Wodom]

It went out on its own. You didn't have to stop, drop, and roll.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I didn't have to stop, drop, and roll. Okay, it did. It was like a flash, and then it was out.

[Ao Wodom]

Okay.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And I had a show in two hours, so I was like, okay, well, this is bad. I have one of those. I'm really giving you all my beauty secrets. I have one of the. It's sort of gone viral on Instagram. It's called the face stuff tub. And it's.

[Ao Wodom]

People are dipping their face in.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It has, like a. Yeah. And it has, like, a little, like, scuba diving kind of, like breathing apparatus. So you can keep your face submerged for, like, two minutes.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

So I don't know why I thought, I'm gonna do one of these, like, right away. So I plunged my face into ice water, which is probably not what you

[Ao Wodom]

do for a burn. You're not necessarily. It's lukewarm. You're supposed to go, like, lukewarm.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Not me. I didn't. Well, I'm opposite. I don't know. I shouldn't be in charge of my own body. Constant Cherone. Yeah. I did a constant chaperone. Okay. So I plunged my face into ice water, and I was like, it didn't feel great, but I was like, it's fine. I did the show that night. And, like, after the show, I had some friends over that night, and I was telling them the story, and I was like. As I was telling the story, I was like, I feel moisture under my nose. I had, like, a seeping open wound under my nose from, like, a burn.

[Ao Wodom]

See, that's like, giving Third degree. Yeah, that's giving degree three.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Degree three. And so I was, like, putting Neosporin on it and, like, just doing stuff for a few days, putting makeup on my face to, like, cover it for the show. Well, this actually, the rosiness kind of works for this alcoholic character that I'm playing. I was like, let's just roll with it. But, you know, I had, like, a Lisa Rinna lip. Like, it was just like. It was very, like, puffy from, like, a blister, basically. And I called, do you know Busy Phillips?

[Ao Wodom]

I do, yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

She's a friend of mine. And we were FaceTiming. She goes, what the fuck is wrong with your face right now? And so I was like. I told her. And she's like, well, what have you been doing? Did you go see a doctor? I was like, no. And she goes, oh, my God. I just keep forgetting, like, gay men are just men. Like, you refuse to do anything for yourself. So she's like, go to a doctor. She gave me the name of a dermatologist. It was Easter weekend. I was like, I scrambled. Anyway, I started doing all this stuff for my face. One of the things being this hyperbaric oxygen chamber. And really, within, like, three, four days, it really started to improve. So a week later, I was okay. But it was no bueno for.

[Ao Wodom]

That's not good. What did. The doctor. So you had the doctor.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I was all over the phone, and I sent photos, and they're like, yeah, that's not great.

[Ao Wodom]

I love that you still refuse to go in office.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Well, it was Easter weekend. I know, I know. Yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

I'm like, I would need to. I need you to see this.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Everyone else I know who has heard the story is like, I absolutely would have, like, canceled the show and been into, like, a. Like, the emergency room that night.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I just. I didn't care.

[Ao Wodom]

Casually trooper.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I was like, if I don't give it attention, it won't have really happened.

[Ao Wodom]

Your mind is. Your mind is powerful. You believe that about yourself.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's not, but, I mean, I think it is. Okay. But I also, in hindsight, got really. Once I saw how bad it was, I was like, oh, that could have been really bad. I could have done some serious damage to myself.

[Ao Wodom]

Truly. That's so scary. I like fire, but it's so scary.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Not in your face.

[Ao Wodom]

Not in your. Well, not a big. That would send me into a spiral. Burned off my eyebrows and lashes.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I mean, not totally off, but, like, they are stubby.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah. Oh, my goodness.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I used to have luxurious lashes Would

[Ao Wodom]

you ever consider getting lash extensions if

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

these don't grow back? I would.

[Ao Wodom]

Okay.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I'm gonna wait and see how they do.

[Ao Wodom]

But girls, do they lay for, like, two hours and get lash extensions? I don't think I could lay for

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

that long just because of, like, the time commitment of being classic.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah. I hate getting my nails done.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

You don't wanna sit still?

[Ao Wodom]

I can't be sitting. No, I hate to sit still.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

What about meditation?

[Ao Wodom]

I have been doing it more regularly. I like it. It's part of a morning routine. I really quite enjoy it. It makes for a better.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

That's interesting that you can actually meditate, then.

[Ao Wodom]

Yes. It surprises me also. It's imperative for me, really. I don't do it every day, but I should. Do you meditate?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I have studied it. I got my mantra. I did the tm.

[Ao Wodom]

Transcendental.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Transcendental Meditation. I went to, like, the David Lynch Institute. I learned all this stuff. I loved it. And then I just sort of, like, fell off of it and I need to get back in.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah, it's easy to fall off. Do you have any morning routines?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Coffee.

[Ao Wodom]

Just coffee. When did you first get addicted to coffee?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I used to work at Starbucks when I was first in New York City. And also another independent coffee shop called Dalton's Coffee. That's not around anymore. And so when I was working at Starbucks, I was just drinking the product. I was drinking a Kool Aid.

[Ao Wodom]

On your own supply. And that's how it started. I didn't drink coffee in college because I didn't want to be like, oh, it's crazy to need something to get my day started. But I've just sort of swapped it out. Not swapped. Yeah, For Matcha. I have a matcha every day.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

But now I'm kind of over it.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

You're right.

[Ao Wodom]

I don't like when people are like, I've been drinking coffee for 35 years. I'm like, I think me and Matcha put in a good three. And as of, like, last week, I'm like, what if I didn't have one of these every day? And what if I. Raw dog today.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Are you missing it?

[Ao Wodom]

No. No, I had one today.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Do you think you had Matcha today?

[Ao Wodom]

Am I addicted to Matcha?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah. It doesn't sound like you are. It seems like you've been able to say goodbye to it.

[Ao Wodom]

I think I can say bye. I have a little canister. I make it at home, too.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Coq 10's getting you through the day.

[Ao Wodom]

Exactly. DHEA, 5 milligrams every day. Energy's up.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah, don't eat it.

[Ao Wodom]

L. Tyrosine. Because, my friend, I think.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I think that's one of the ones.

[Ao Wodom]

Is that one of them?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I think so. That sounds familiar.

[Ao Wodom]

Rings the bell when I tell you. Diagnosing myself over here and being like, I need that. There's this website that just makes it all too. I mean, all the websites, too easy. And I'm just like, well, that sounds good. Boost my mood. Yeah, more energy. I want all this stuff. I'm like, I'll take it all. But I'm like, you should be supervised, maybe.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And, Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual. Even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show. Hey, everyone, check out this guy and his bird. What is this, your first date? Oh, no. We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual together. We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird. Yeah, the bird looks out of your league. Anyways, get a [e-mail] or with your local agent. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the Enhanced Games.

[Ao Wodom]

Some call it grotesque.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ao Wodom]

I'm Iris Palmer and my new podcast is called Against All Odds. And that's exactly what the show is about. Doing whatever it takes to beat the odds. Get ready to hear from some of your favorite entrepreneurs and entertainers as they share stories about defying expectations, overcoming barriers, and breaking generational patterns. I'm talking to people like award winning actress, producer and director Eva Longoria. I think I had like $200 in my savings account. And my mom goes, what are you gonna do? And I was like, I'll figure it out.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

We had a one bedroom apartment for

[Ao Wodom]

like $400 a month, and we all could not afford. Like, I was like, how am I gonna make $100 a month? I'm opening up like I've never before. For those of you who think you know me from what you've seen on social media, get ready to see a whole new side of me. Listen to Against All Odds with Iris Palmer as part of the My Cultura podcast network available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

If you're watching the latest season of

[Ao Wodom]

the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know that's a lot to break down. Portia accusing Kelly of sleeping with a married man. They holding K. Michelle back from fighting. Drew Pinky has financial issues. I like the bougie style of Housewives show. I think it looks like it's gonna be interesting.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

On the podcast Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments

[Ao Wodom]

from your favorite reality shows, including the Real Housewives franchise, the drama, the alliances, and the tea everybody's talking about. As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not just watching it.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I understand the game.

[Ao Wodom]

As somebody who creates shows, I'll even

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

say this at the end of the day when people are at home, they want entertainment.

[Ao Wodom]

To hear this and more.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Listen to Reality with the king on

[Ao Wodom]

the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

you get your podcast.

[Ao Wodom]

Do you have siblings?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I do, I do.

[Ao Wodom]

Where do you fall in the lineup?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I'm the oldest.

[Ao Wodom]

Do you love being.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Does that surprise you?

[Ao Wodom]

Yes, because the oldest. I feel like often the artists are the youngest.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

My sister. Well, my sister. My middle. The middle sibling is like, she used to dance and stuff, so she has artistic tendencies. My youngest was like a sports guy. Oh, my youngest.

[Ao Wodom]

Okay. They're your children. Sibling in many ways. The younger siblings are their children also.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

Did you like being the oldest?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I did. I did. I still like it.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah, I. I did. I enjoyed. I don't know. I sort of like forging the way, I guess.

[Ao Wodom]

Did you feel pressured anyway, as the oldest to be, like, well behaved or accomplished?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I was a really good kid. I was very shy. I was an indoor kid. You know what I mean? Code for so many other things as I'm looking at Bo and Yang outside there on that screen. Also an indoor kid, if you know what I mean. And so I was just, I think, wired to be good. And I was very driven, though. I knew what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to be an actor.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And that was like, I think, because I was a very shy kid who did not have a lot of friends. Like, I was bullied a lot. And so, like, I was. The theater community that I found outside of school was like, oh, these are where all the weirdos are. So, like, I, like, knew what I wanted to do. So the pressure for me with my siblings was actually more. I don't know, I feel like there might have been a little bit of pressure from them, feeling like, oh, Jesse knows exactly what he wants to do. I felt like they felt more pressured because they were still taking time to figure it out.

[Ao Wodom]

Sure. Did you ever have a plan B at all?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

In hindsight, no. But I know now just in as, like, I have interests now, and I love art and I love cooking. And, like, I feel like I would have gone to culinary school or I would have done something in the advertising world or something, but at the time, there was, like, no backup plan.

[Ao Wodom]

This is it.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

Where did you grow up?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Albuquerque.

[Ao Wodom]

Albuquerque, yes. Albuquerque, New Mexico. Not a good place to be a redhead. A redhead sunburn as a child.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

But you look at you now, you're in la.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I know.

[Ao Wodom]

Also not the greatest place to be.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah. But with more wisdom about how I should be navigating myself through those arid climates.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now your skin is in your hands. What else is in the skincare routine, by the way?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

What else? I do get facials a lot. There's this wand that's like a cooling wand for underneath my eyes. I love that thing.

[Ao Wodom]

Is it the thera?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yes, it is.

[Ao Wodom]

It does.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

She does.

[Ao Wodom]

Heidi Gardner gave me one for Christmas a couple years ago. It's really nice.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's really nice.

[Ao Wodom]

It's good.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

And when I've had a headache, though, putting it on the heating, where you're like, I just want heat right at the. Right. It's really nice.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Perfect.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

My kids are obsessed with it. I'm like, I don't think you should be putting that on your face on your young sister.

[Ao Wodom]

How many kids do you have?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I have two kids around 4 and 7. They're about to change ages, but, yeah, Young.

[Ao Wodom]

Little ones.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Little ones. Two boys.

[Ao Wodom]

Did you always know you wanted to be a dad?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I think I did. I was born in 75, so, like, for me, like, being gay, having a family was not really something that I always strived for. My husband is 10 years younger than me, and I think he. And he also. He grew up in California, and so for him, I think he just always knew that that was a possibility. And so he's actually been really wonderful to go through this experience of, like, you know, fighting for marriage equality because, like, he had, like, this belief that it could happen for me. I was like, do you. Do you really think it might happen? And he was like, yeah, of course it will. And like, he. So he, I think, always had a program that he wanted to be a dad, and it was really nice to have him along this ride because I Think he just always knew it was just a matter of time for me. I was like, I don't know. Is it possible even.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

So, yeah. But I'm. I think I always had the desire.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah. Between the two of you, though, who is the, like, disciplinarian? Maybe, like, a little stricter, cautious, and who's the fun time? Or are you equally.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I thought I would be more disciplinarian, and I'm definitely more the fun time. Justin's fun, but, like, I remember when he was away for 10 days and I just had the boys by myself, and he came back from this vacation, and it was like, oh, dad's home.

[Ao Wodom]

Oh, okay.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Even I felt that. I think he even said it. He's like, yeah, I'm back. Yeah. And I was like, okay. Well, at least we all know our lane.

[Ao Wodom]

Oh, your absence created a levity in this space.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yes, exactly.

[Ao Wodom]

Now you're back and. Okay, everyone.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

So it's definitely them. He knows it.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah. And that's. And that's fine. I wonder myself. I go back and forth between I want to have kids. I go back and forth between, like, will I be fun or will I be strict? Because I'm kind of type A. Yeah. So are you type A or type B?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I am type A. Yeah. I am. Like, I like things of a specific way. Like, I'm the type of person that will, like, adjust the lights in the room from another location. Like, I'll get on the cameras, be like, no, that's too bright. Like, adjust on the lutron on my

[Ao Wodom]

app, and you're not even in the space.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Not even in the space.

[Ao Wodom]

I won't let the people that.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

When I walk into the space, which I will eventually be in, I need to walk into the space.

[Ao Wodom]

It could be days from now.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Exactly.

[Ao Wodom]

But I need it to look like this, 100%. Do you have cameras in every. Most of the rooms in your house?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

No, Just two rooms inside. And then it's. Everything else is outside but the kitchen and the living room, which is, like, the main spaces.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I don't really know why we have cameras inside the house.

[Ao Wodom]

I don't really love that, but it is an interesting. A lot of my friends have cameras in their places, and they just live with themselves. And I'm like, who do you think is.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah, exactly. Do they have pets?

[Ao Wodom]

One has a pet, so it makes sense. But a few others, I'm like, no pet, just a camera in the house. And I'm like, who are you?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Are you watching yourself back? Intruder.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. But here's my thing with the cameras. Do you think that the cameras are really helping us catch intruders? Cause the number of things I've seen on social media that are like, my ring camera picked up this person who keeps stealing my packages, or my ring camera picked up.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

But what's the solution?

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah. And I'm like, great. Does anybody on the Internet know this person? Probably. But I'm not seeing you catch them.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Right. So now it's just proof that something's happening.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah. For sure. Yeah. I have a friend who got robbed and she had a camera in her closet. So, like, they have, like, footage of, like, the thief, like, literally ransacking her closet and taking her jewelry.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And I was like, that's great. Now what?

[Ao Wodom]

Now what? The footage just replaced the jewelry from my prized possession.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

We all watched the video. We're like, well, that's scary.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Now what?

[Ao Wodom]

Your jewelry is gone.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Exactly.

[Ao Wodom]

But what a film.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I know. It's a beautiful service. Nominated for sure. Yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

It's going to win a web.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah. Yeah, Exactly.

[Ao Wodom]

Your jewelry is.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

That's right.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah. I don't, I, I keep thinking I want to get a camera, but I'm like, I don't, I don't, I don't. In my New York apartment. But I'm like, why? I don't, I don't understand. What would it do? I don't, I don't know. But I, But I, I, But I get it. The company, peace of mind, you know, that just in case. Yeah. You could get a short film out of it.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Exactly.

[Ao Wodom]

Show friends. Overwhelming.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

If you go on. I mean, I will go into holes on Instagram, you know, where it's like, people. There's people falling down, and it's just because, like, people are constantly recording themselves.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And then uploading it.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah. And going.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I'm gonna actually show that to everyone.

[Ao Wodom]

I don't mind. Do you go down a lot of rabbit holes on social media?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I wish I didn't, but I do. I need. I need to have a cleansing of my. I need to do a detox.

[Ao Wodom]

Do you. Do you want to do a detox because you don't like what the algorithm is giving you or you're spending too much time or both.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

Okay.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

For sure.

[Ao Wodom]

How many hours would you say you are on social media a day? God, I feel like not to Apple about it.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Well, when I'm home with my family, it's not that much, but I'm. My kids are in LA and I'm here by Myself. And it's a.

[Ao Wodom]

It's a imperfect podcast.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Bubbles. Yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

And so what, we're gonna act like we. Most of us don't do that sometimes.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

We're actually gonna amplify it.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah. Let's actually crank the volume. Give us another.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

There it is.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah. Guys.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

But now that I'm by myself, I. It's a lot. It's a lot. I was like, I don't. Scrolling. It's not hurting anyone. I'm not taking time away from anyone else.

[Ao Wodom]

It's just my day, the quality of your mom.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Just the quality of my life.

[Ao Wodom]

It's no problem. No problem.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

No problem. But too much.

[Ao Wodom]

But it's too easy. And the algorithm. This is not profound. What I'm about to say just keeps showing me stuff that I'm like, I just talked about that thing yesterday, this most obscure thing, and now you're feeding it to me. And then I actually think when they're a little too spot on with that and it's so specific and it's so not in the zeitgeist, but shows up on my feet, I'm like, you're having the opposite effect on me. Because now I'm like, I'm putting my phone away.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

I actually get spooked and I'm like, I don't like that that happened and I put the phone down. But I'm on it a lot.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

But then I pick it up like five minutes later.

[Ao Wodom]

Do you. With the screen time notification from Apple that it gives every week?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I get very annoyed with that. I feel like that's being really passive aggressive. Just so you know.

[Ao Wodom]

Just.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Just so you know, you were on your Sunday. And just so you know, hey, you're

[Ao Wodom]

having a nice time. Hi.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

So can we just sort of recap? Just so you know?

[Ao Wodom]

Just so you know. And compared to last week, you're really not doing too good.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I hate it.

[Ao Wodom]

It's so terrible.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I haven't turned it off, though.

[Ao Wodom]

I know. I haven't either.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Look at it.

[Ao Wodom]

It's a little masochistic to keep it on, but it's just easier to just keep it on.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

There was this thing that I was using for like 2.5 days called the brick. Do you know about this?

[Ao Wodom]

I've heard about the brick.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

And you. So you got the brick, you paid for the brick. You used it for 2.5 days.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

Did you find it effective? And why did you stop using.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I stopped using it because it. So the brick, you scan your phone on like this brick, and then it blocks all These apps that you have to choose, you have to program your phones, like, what do you need for the day? And basically, you scan your phone on the brick, leave the house, leave the brick at home. And then you just have the things that you need on your phone. And I blocked a lot of things on my phone, obviously. But then I would be out and about, and I was like, oh, I need to look that up for, like, I don't know if I was at a restaurant or something. And I wanted to, like, look up what this dish is. Cause I didn't want to speak to the waiter.

[Ao Wodom]

Of course not.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

But it wasn't available to me. I was like, oh, crap. I blocked too many things. And so I just found myself needing. I mean, I really only wanted social media blocked, so I needed to go back in and reprogram the phone to, like. But then that was like, I needed. Like, I had marked something on Instagram. I remember that. That's what it was. I'd marked, like, a restaurant on Instagram that I wanted to try. And, like, I was in the neighborhood that I knew the restaurant was, but I couldn't remember the name of it. And I was like, I'll just look on Instagram. And it wasn't available to me.

[Ao Wodom]

And the brick was at home.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

The brick was at home.

[Ao Wodom]

That would piss me off.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And I can't do it.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah. I'm like, I couldn't. I see why. The brick. You're not on the Brick anymore, so. Yeah, but it is. It's clearly effective. But what you want to have is just, like, appropriate boundaries around social media as opposed to, like, you cannot touch this. Because I, too, my friend, bookmark a restaurant and dishes, and we have to talk about that. We have to talk. What is your food source? Your restaurant? Are you on Eater? Are you on. What is it? Infatuation.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Infatuation.

[Ao Wodom]

Rezi has some publications as well.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

You know, I haven't gotten into the resi. Obviously, it's biased because it's gonna, like, use that restaurant.

[Ao Wodom]

The restaurants that are on Rezi, I

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

like infatuation a lot. Yeah. Rezi can tend to be. No, not Rezi.

[Ao Wodom]

Eater.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Eater can tend to be a little tabloidy.

[Ao Wodom]

Ooh.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Which I don't love.

[Ao Wodom]

What do you mean by that?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I just feel like they can be a little snarky for no reason.

[Ao Wodom]

Okay.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I feel like infatuation is a little bit more, like, grounded in reality.

[Ao Wodom]

Right, right.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I like Heater, though. Like, I like their heat maps and, like, tells you, like, where to go. Like, what's hot. And at the time, like, I think they're good for that. Sometimes I find their, like, articles to be a little, like, just a little mean spirited.

[Ao Wodom]

Okay.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Although they're, like, the ones who are, like, gonna, you know, blow up the stories about, like, chefs behaving badly and, like, eating.

[Ao Wodom]

Oh, oh, that's the owner's in la. Frog.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

No, horses.

[Ao Wodom]

Horses.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Horses, Horses.

[Ao Wodom]

Because then they did Frog Club in New York. Same team. And I was sitting in the dining room with someone doing, like, a friends and family seating at Frog.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

You went to Frog? Yeah, I did too.

[Ao Wodom]

And did you like it?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I thought it was overrated. And I like that chef. I think she's great. But there was an item on the menu. Did you see, like, Kiss the chef for, like, $1,000?

[Ao Wodom]

No, I did not see that. That wasn't on the friends and family menu. Tell me what was.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

That was literally what I did.

[Ao Wodom]

What did you kiss her on the mouth?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I don't know. I didn't order.

[Ao Wodom]

Wasn't a dish. It was an experience.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It was called Kiss the Chef, and it was, like, there to it, which I thought was so weird.

[Ao Wodom]

That is very weird.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I can't imagine you kissing her.

[Ao Wodom]

I want to know who. Who knows? For $1,000, would you let someone.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Maybe I might be upping the price. Maybe it's 500. It was something big.

[Ao Wodom]

But still, for a $500.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

There was also a very expensive dessert, like a sundae that was super pricey. Maybe it was a Sunday. And Kiss the Chef.

[Ao Wodom]

Just a two for two for one. Two for one.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

You get a sundae, a little ice cream, and a little kiss and chef.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And you get a little kiss. I don't remember.

[Ao Wodom]

I have a hard time remembering that meal. I went on Valentine's Day with a group of people, and I remember just we were like, the chef, the cats.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

I read half of that article. I should pick it back up.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's fascinating.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah, I read it.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

There's a lot of twists and turns. That's like. It's like a podcast, and it's like. I mean, they need to do more about that. I need more information.

[Ao Wodom]

Yes. Okay. I need to get into it. So you're. So you're good. Do you ever use Yelp?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I don't.

[Ao Wodom]

What do you think your aversion to it is?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It feels like the Applebee's of, like, wow. Of food blogs.

[Ao Wodom]

I'm old, and I'm the Applebee's regular.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

You love it.

[Ao Wodom]

I'm an Applebee's. Regular.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I just feel like the stuff I'm gonna find on Yelp is like, yeah, yeah, Chili's. I know. I know about Chili's. No, no, I know about the Blooming Onion. Thank you. Yelp.

[Ao Wodom]

Yelp, which I'm looking for on this podcast. Yelp is.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Are they a sponsor? Yes, they might be soon.

[Ao Wodom]

Thanks, dad. Sponsored by. I mean, yeah, sponsored by Yelp. Yelp is, like, unbiased, I feel, of course, people are sending because also, people kind of, like, left it behind in a way, and people see it as vintage. I think it's a pure place. I find, in terms of reviewing, because even when I talk about the publications, the publications are like, great. You had a great publicist who got you in the eater List of 10 best new restaurants in New York. We have to. I want. I'm supposed to do your podcast at some point. So we'll deep dive on food then for sure.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

But Yelp, I think, is just sort of like, people think of it as vintage. It's not particularly cool to people. I love the app is on my phone. I'm obsessed with Yelp.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

See, when I click on something online and it takes me to Yelp, first of all, it's not on my phone, so, like, makes me like, you have to download the app. And I just get, like, really? Maybe that's what it is. It takes me to, like, a place where I don't have access to it.

[Ao Wodom]

Yes. It's kind of like when the brick was at home and you're trying to open Instagram, and then you're like, I'm done with you. I'm done with Brick. Give Yelp a shot.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Okay, I will. I sort of just feel like it's, like, opening up, like, the Facebook comments, like, from, like, my aunt, you know, Like, I'm like, oh, I just don't want to wait.

[Ao Wodom]

Should I get off Yelp?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

No. I love your honor. I leave reviews.

[Ao Wodom]

I just read.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I did sign up for Yelp to leave a review at a place that I was so annoyed with. It was a coffee shop in my neighborhood in Silver Lake, but I used to live in Silver Lake in la, and this great coffee shop opened up, and I remember standing in line behind one person for 15 minutes while there was 19 employees behind the counter just bumping into one another. And I was like, what is going on? I finally get my coffee, and it was a delicious cup of coffee, but I was like, I'm signing up for Yelp and I'm leaving it, because that was crazy. That Was crazy. The turnaround time should not be 15 minutes for a cup of coffee with one person in front of me.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah, I was somewhere recently where I was the only person in line. And it did take. This is no joke. I was 12 minutes. 12 minutes for a cup of matcha. But it wasn't like, we're specialty matcha place, either. It's like you have it in a squirt bottle that you already mixed, and you're gonna put it in there with milk.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Right.

[Ao Wodom]

It was Blank street, but it wasn't bl. It wasn't Blank street, but I drove. Yeah. It's a place in lower Manhattan. And I knew not to go in, because every time I've ever gone in, it's been like, the slowest service, inexplicably. So.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

So you knew.

[Ao Wodom]

But then I was like, today will be different.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I like that you knew. And you were like. You basically were like. And that's where I'm like.

[Ao Wodom]

And I go, 12 minutes. And there was no one else in line. And I.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

That's ridiculous.

[Ao Wodom]

It is crazy. But also the number of reviews on Yelp that are just that. Because it's like, this person's left one review, and it's one star. They are pissed off. It's a thing there. So how did you get so into food?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I. I mean, I always, like, after I moved to New York, because in Albuquerque, I was not exposed to a lot of, like, interesting food. I mean, they have a delicious. Like, the New Mexican food is incredible. And it's one of my favorite things, and I miss it all the time, but, like, I just didn't have. And it's not like Indian food didn't exist there. I just wasn't exposed to it. Like, my family never went. And when I came to New York, it was like this great melting pot of, you know, an incredible culinary scene. And so, like, I just. My world was opened up. And then when I moved to la, I had, like, a kitchen that I could cook in for the first time, and I just started collecting cookbooks, and I. I just kind of loved making meals at home and, like, creating dinner parties. And I guess I sort of, like. I've always wanted to go to culinary school, but I just never had time. And I met a friend who, at a dinner party who told me this idea about a cookbook she had, and we ended up becoming friends, and she ended up becoming just my. We were cooking partners, and, like, she had gone to culinary school, and she would just teach me, like, great skills, certain knife skills, and we ended up developing recipes together, and that turned into a cookbook years later. And so that was sort of like, my introduction into, like, the. The culinary world. I was also, like, asked to host the James Beard Awards a few times, which was really cool. And so I became friends with chefs and I just sort of became. Padma Lakshmi is a really good friend of mine. And so I just. I was sort of invited into this world of, like, fancy chefs in the culinary scene, and I just really respect them so much. You know, they're artists in their own way, and they work so hard, and I just admire them a lot. So when Sony came up to me about a podcast, they had this idea to do something in the culinary world. And one of the ideas was, like, me taking people out to different restaurants and having conversation over a meal. Or it was like me making a meal at home with someone. And I was like, that sounds like a lot of.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah. And then who's gonna clean up?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Clean up. And I was like, let's do the thing where, like, we just go out. Yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah, Great.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

So that's where the idea for the podcast came. And it's really. There's. That's the concept. It's just. Yeah, it's just a conversation, but it happens to be over a meal. And I go to a different restaurant every single time. We've never repeated a restaurant.

[Ao Wodom]

So I've never said yes to doing a podcast sooner than when I was asked to do yours. I know we haven't been able to

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

get it on the books, but seriously,

[Ao Wodom]

the way I was like, yes. And then also being like, are we going to get to do this soon? Because that's my jam. I love to eat out, and I have no qualms. I'm cooking more now because I have time, and it's really nice to get to cook for myself. But cooking for one, it's a lot of work.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's a lot of work.

[Ao Wodom]

And it's sort of like a cost benefit analysis is in play there where I'm like, I'm gonna have to clean up all of this. Yeah. And it has to be worth it.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Do you ever have dinner parties where you.

[Ao Wodom]

I wanna have more dinner parties. I would like to. I hosted for Christmas this year. I did a bad job, but I hosted for Christmas.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Why did you do a bad job? What did you need Improve?

[Ao Wodom]

I was making cocktails. I might have already been a little drunk myself.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Okay, here we go.

[Ao Wodom]

Making cocktails for my guests. Being like, who wants to drink? I had no, like, cocktail menu in mind. But I'm like, I have every spirit you could ever want.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

You have good mixers?

[Ao Wodom]

I have decent mixers. But I was like, who wants a drink? And then my ass put the ice in the cup first and then was pouring the beverage. No, no, no, no. Sorry, sorry. That would make more sense. I was putting the beverage in the cup first and then spherical ice cube. Plop into the glasses.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Out.

[Ao Wodom]

And I knew better. As I was doing it, I was maybe just nervous to be hosting. I was like. And I have, like, the measurement for a cocktail. The little. What is it even called?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah, like a measurer. A measurer.

[Ao Wodom]

Why do we have to have specific words? The measurer.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

The policeman of the alcohol cocktail. Yes, exactly.

[Ao Wodom]

And I have that. But instead I was using my little, like, here's a teaspoon thing. Like, I didn't know why I was. I don't even.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

The secret to that is you just do a batch cocktail.

[Ao Wodom]

That's what I was thinking afterwards, like, last week, and that's what it is. Months later, I'm like, you should have just done a batch. And it's like, this is what I'm offering. If you want something else, you need to go somewhere else.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Or if you're fancy, you get. You just hire a bartender.

[Ao Wodom]

Well, Jesse, it was Christmas. It was Easter. When you were going to the doctor. It was Christmas.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

So every Christian holiday, they were booked and busy.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

That's right.

[Ao Wodom]

And I couldn't. I could. I don't think I could have. Maybe I could have gotten a. A bartender. It just didn't occur to me. There's so many things that didn't occur to me with those.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I hate making drinks.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah. Does someone else. You hire a bartender for your.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Or. Or do a batch cocktail thing? I mean, I don't drink anymore, but when I did, I would, like. I was actually, like, really proud. I made a great martini, so I was happy to do that for people, but then I was stuck behind the bar. And if I'm also making the dinner, it's like, I can't. One or the other.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah. And do you.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

So Justin had to learn how to make the cocktails.

[Ao Wodom]

Is he good?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I mean, he's learned how to be good. Yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

Okay. Okay.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Out of necessity, I was like, look, if you want that drink, you gotta learn how to make it.

[Ao Wodom]

I'm not making it. I don't drink anymore. So has cultivating community, like hosting the dinner parties and such, been something that's, like, important and intentional on your end? Or is it sort of like, I Like, cooking. And, like, this is what I'll do. I'll have people come over.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

A little bit of both. I mean, I. I mean, I sometimes have to be forced into, like, or, like, reminded that we should have people over for a dinner party because it is a lot of work.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I do like to have, like, potlucks where, you know, people bring other things and it's not all on me, but I do. I love having people at my house and. And, you know, entertaining. That part is fun.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's just the work around it.

[Ao Wodom]

It's so much. Which is why it's like going to a restaurant for the podcast. Makes a lot.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

So much sense.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah. Do you have favorites in New York City restaurants? Restaurants, yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Ooh. Yes, of course. I love Chisiamo.

[Ao Wodom]

Chisiamo.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I love Delicious. Don Angie's is great.

[Ao Wodom]

The chrysanthemum salad at Don Angie's, isn't it the best?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's so I learned get there to cookbook. You can make the dressing really. And then it doesn't have to be all the fancy greens, but, like, you can just. It's really. Cause it's all about the dressing.

[Ao Wodom]

Okay.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I also made their pinwheel pasta once. The lasagna, which is. It was a three day process, but I did it.

[Ao Wodom]

Worth it.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, it was delicious.

[Ao Wodom]

Greatness.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Oh, my God, it was such a great lasagna. What else do I love here? There's so many new places that I love. Atla.

[Ao Wodom]

I haven't been to Atla.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's great. And Frenchettes.

[Ao Wodom]

Do you have your LA favor?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Mm, I do. There's a place near me in the valley called Anijak Thai. Okay, that's great. It used to be this place that, like, no one really knew about. And then Bill Aditson, who's the food critic for the LA Times, named it the best restaurant a few years ago. And then now everyone's there. But I kind of love that, like, they've had this resurgence of excitement around them because it's really good and really worth it.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

That's one of my top favorite places.

[Ao Wodom]

Okay.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I loved horses actually too.

[Ao Wodom]

You loved horses? I can't remember if I ever went to horses. Really good horses was popular around the same time as Evan Funky's Mother Wolf. They were, like, popular at the same time, but Motherwolf was still there.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah. Mother Wolf is still there. Yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

And I just went to Funky in Beverly Hills.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Funky's also great.

[Ao Wodom]

So good.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I think I like Funky the best.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

She also has one In Venice. I can't remember the name of it. Giada. Gianna.

[Ao Wodom]

I haven't been.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I'm probably saying it wrong, but you can look it up.

[Ao Wodom]

Look it up, honey. Look it up, honey.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's in Venice.

[Ao Wodom]

And think of the G. And it's Evan Funkton.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And it's Evan Funk to do the math.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

But, yeah, funky's great.

[Ao Wodom]

Have you been to Baru in LA Fermentation?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I think I haven't, and I've been told about it.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah. Is it fermentation or is it pickled stuff? Camera. But it's very good. Yeah. Yeah. So it's amazing. It's so good. And I went. But I went. It was in a strip mall. It felt like such an insider thing. It was in a strip mall on, like, Wilk, off of Wilcoxon. Santa Monica Boulevard.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I don't think I have in there, but I have heard of it.

[Ao Wodom]

But now it's downtown, I think. I haven't. I feel so out of touch with whatever's happening in la, if I'm being honest.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Sometimes I do, too.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah. Which. That's okay. But it's okay. We don't have to be tapped in so hard.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

No.

[Ao Wodom]

How do you. Besides your hyperbaric chamber, the occasional meditation, the brick. How do you take care of yourself when you're doing six shows a week?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah, I try and get good sleep. I work out. I really don't like working out. It's not something that I find pleasurable. But I've never finished a workout and been like, oh, God, I wish I hadn't done that.

[Ao Wodom]

Okay. Okay.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

You know, So I do Pilates.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah. That's your workout.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I like that workout. Cause it's like, I'm 50 and I feel like that's something my body needs. And yet. And I'm not being crazy, I do do, like, a Barry's Boot Camp every once in a while. Have you ever done one of those?

[Ao Wodom]

I've done Barry's Boot Camp. That is insane.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's insane. And I really have to, like, pump the brakes. Like, I can't do the sprinting. It's a lot.

[Ao Wodom]

The running is. Because I'm not. Have you ever run a marathon?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

No.

[Ao Wodom]

Half marathon, Nothing. It's not your thing.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I don't like running.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah. Yeah. Fair enough. I'm trying to get back into it. I did run a half marathon. Imagine, by the way, me asking so that you ask me.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Well, actually, we asked you so that

[Ao Wodom]

you would rally the question.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

You did. Your eyes definitely said return the question.

[Ao Wodom]

No, Give it in.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

No.

[Ao Wodom]

I'm impressed. Yeah. But I just was curious about running. Cause some of my friends do run. And so I found I was like in a half marathon. And so I did it. I wouldn't do it again.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Really, I wouldn't.

[Ao Wodom]

I actually am trying to start running again just as, like, have this be part of your fitness routine.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

And it just is so hard on my body.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Someone told me that like, literally after you turn 35, you just should not be running anymore.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Like your knees don't want it.

[Ao Wodom]

Yes. My hip hurts. I went on a two mile run on Friday or Saturday and I'm like. And I still am like, ugh. I feel it. So it's okay that you hate running.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I'm always on a city bike, though. Love it.

[Ao Wodom]

I'm scared.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I know a lot of people are scared. I understand it's intimidating.

[Ao Wodom]

Do you ride a bike in LA ever?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I do. I have like an actual road bike. Like one of like, you know, like very light carbon fiber bikes. My husband is a avid bike rider and so I would join him. I'm actually more nervous to ride in LA than I am to ride here.

[Ao Wodom]

Why?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I just feel like traffic's more insane in la. I mean, I try and stick to bike paths for or biking like in Griffith park or something where there's actually trails. But I feel like in New York it's just so congested. There's so much happening. The opportunity for an accident is just less. There's so many bike lanes too.

[Ao Wodom]

Should I try Citi Bike again? Because I.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Did something happen?

[Ao Wodom]

Something did happen. What happened? But it's not.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Did you get car doored?

[Ao Wodom]

No car doored. Which was interesting. I was like riding from my place in Brooklyn for germaphobe.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I just wanted to circle back. You said you were a germaphobe and this seems like quite a bit.

[Ao Wodom]

You know what? I saw someone on a city bike on Sunday to a couple in my neighborhood, right on, like a casual Sunday early ride. And I just. My brain went to like, oh, yucky. Touching the handle.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yes.

[Ao Wodom]

It doesn't mean I won't do it. I can power through. I can power through and touch the things and. But I was like, okay, I'm going to ride the bike. To take. I had a gift for my friend and I wanted to give it to her. She's in another part of Brooklyn. And I was like, I'll ride the bike. I'll get. I have a city bus. Like, they'd given SNL cast members like a year Free subscription or something like that. And the year was, like, coming up. I'm like, and I never used it. And there's, like, a city bike. Is it a port? Yeah, whatever.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

A docking station.

[Ao Wodom]

A docking station. A docking. Thank you. We got one. A docking station right next to my apartment. So I was like, I'm going to ride the bike. This will be perfect. And I was like, what have I done? The whole time, the whole ride to our apartment, I just. Just was. It's. It was so heavy.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's a heavy. You didn't have an electric one?

[Ao Wodom]

No. And how do I know which one? And everyone keeps saying that to me. Now they're like, get an electric one. Use one of the. But I'm like, how do I know which one?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I thought, you know, you'll see that, like, if. If we put them side by side. You're like, that's an electric bike. It has, like, a huge battery on it. I'm like, I guarantee you I wouldn't be a different color. It, like, says electric bike.

[Ao Wodom]

I just don't know how to figure out.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I just don't see electric.

[Ao Wodom]

So people keep saying that, but it was the heaviest ride. I was like, this is not pleasant. No, it was a warm day. Kind of like today, where it's like, oh, it's warming up now.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And the minute you hear it had even, like, a slight incline on those, you're just like, how?

[Ao Wodom]

But who's choosing to ride those, by the way?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Exactly. I see people riding them. I was like, are you a monster?

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah, get rid of it.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Get rid of it. There shouldn't even be an option.

[Ao Wodom]

It shouldn't be an option. I'm like, they should all be electric,

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Especially when they're that heavy.

[Ao Wodom]

It was crazy. Anyway, so then I wrote, and then I Ubered home.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I was like, that was ridiculous. That was a bad experience.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah, it was really bad.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I think you should try again on an electric bike.

[Ao Wodom]

Maybe I'll do it today.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's nice. It'd be perfect day for it.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah. Okay.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Not too humid.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah, okay. I'm gonna do it.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I ride my bike to the theater. My theater's up on 94th and Park. It's not actually a theater. It's a brownstone that I'm performing in. And I ride my bike through the park up to the theater, and it's great.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah, okay. All right. That's good. But you do take care of yourself. You're fit, I think so. You're doing the stuff that people are supposed to do. I Think you're doing great. If no one else tells you, I think you're doing great. You deserve to hear that. Okay. You're doing a great job.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I deserve to hear that today.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah. You're doing a great job. Now with your kids, are they close to each other? Do they vibe?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yes, they do. They love each other. My younger one's, like, obsessed with the older one. Yeah, it's very cute. It's very sweet, I guess. Justin was telling me the other day that Beckett, they take baths together. And Beckett was. The older one, was washing his younger brother's back, and he had, like, this foam soap in his hands. And he goes. As he was soaping his brother's back, he's like, I want Sully to stay healthy forever. Cleaning his back. Isn't that the cutest thing?

[Ao Wodom]

It's so cute.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

So cute.

[Ao Wodom]

It's so cute. That's un. The children, they're smart. They're very, very smart. Do you guys shield your kids from anything in particular or you sort of.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

No. In fact, no. And when they're in New York and, like, we see a lot just walking on the street of New York, you know, if they have questions about things they've heard or see, like, we just. Let's talk about it. My older son has seen me do Shakespeare. Like, he's been exposed to that. He. You know, we obviously don't, like, have the news on for them. Like, we're not traumatize our children.

[Ao Wodom]

No reason.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I don't even want to watch that. But, you know, obviously age appropriate things, but, you know, if they encounter something, it's like, all right, like, we're not actively trying to keep them from anything.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah. Do you want them to feel like they're. You guys are friends to them?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's so interesting because, I mean, I think about my parents. Like, I. You know, the love was so apparent, but, like, I never felt like they were my friends. They felt like my parents. It felt different. And I don't know. It's interesting. It's like my kids are reflecting back to me that they have this unconditional love toward us and they want to be with us forever and that they want us to be like, their best friend. That's what they want. So I'm just sort of giving them whatever they need. But I mean, to answer a question in a short, concise way, I. I don't think so. I don't think I want them to feel like I'm their friend, but, like, if that's how they feel, like I Also, wouldn't discourage against that.

[Ao Wodom]

Sure, sure. Okay, Jesse, it's time for a segment I like to call that's Nice, but what About Me? Okay, we've done a lot of talking.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Like what? I asked about your running. That's Nice. But now we're gonna talk about me.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah, we're gonna talk about me now. Thank you for asking me if I ever ran a half marathon. The people would never know if you couldn't ask and if I didn't set you up for said ask.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Right.

[Ao Wodom]

Okay. I love this notion that you're hosting dinner parties. How does one go about doing this? I know it seems rudimentary, but how are you curating the room? Because I'm sure you have so many kinds of friends from so many walks of life. How are you curating the room? How are you deciding what you're serving?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Okay. I do try and pull from different friend groups so that people can meet with another, but that's tricky because sometimes, you know, people don't necessarily mix well. Yeah. So I have a good system down, like, you know, people all kind of know one another now, and I try and, like, mix it up so it doesn't feel like it's the same. People are always being invited. So, like, I like to always think about in my head, like, is there a guest of honor? Oh. And then building around them. Okay, so, like, who would this person enjoy being around and, like, making it about them, even if they don't know it's about them. Yeah, it's all secret.

[Ao Wodom]

That's so cool.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And then as far as a menu, obviously you need to ask everyone's dietary restrictions, which is so fucking annoying.

[Ao Wodom]

I was gonna say, Dewey, if you

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

don't eat this stuff, you don't eat it.

[Ao Wodom]

Get takeout on your way out. Exactly.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I mean, I do try and, like, have something in case someone, you know, doesn't eat meat. Like, you know, an optional or at least a lot of vegetables for them to try. But cookbooks are my best friend. You know, just picking out things. Cookbooks that are vegetable based are great for side dishes. There's several that are just only vegetable cookbooks. And it's a lot about just preparation and planning. And also not over planning, not doing too much, doing what you can handle three things is enough. And then ask people to bring, like, can you bring a dessert?

[Ao Wodom]

Okay.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Can you bring cocktails? Can you bring, you know, like, sourcing out help is good.

[Ao Wodom]

And people like to bring. Generally, people like to drink.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

They always ask what they should bring.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah. And when you say nothing. They're like, yeah, they're gonna bring a

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

shitty bottle of red wine. Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[Ao Wodom]

And you're gonna use it to cook. Exactly down the line.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah. Right.

[Ao Wodom]

Do you Google bottles of wine that people bring over?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I did. And I was. This is type A you and I.

[Ao Wodom]

Yes.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah. I would not be surprised if you're like, I did this too. But I would google it. And then I like put a sticker on it with like the price. And like, so I just know, like, you know, sometimes you're like, I need to buy. I need a bottle of wine to cook with.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And you don't want to open like a 79 bottle of wine.

[Ao Wodom]

Yes. It's. Well, you know, it's so funny because I recently was cooking with my boyfriend and I was like, oh, this requires red wine. And I have so many bottles from people gifting and all the alcohol. And so I open up the cabinet and I'm like, this one. But I'm like, no, but this was a gift. And I remember from who? And then he just. He's the one that got me. Like, you don't know how much this thing costs. Google. And he's like, this was $7 as

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

a gift from a friend.

[Ao Wodom]

Yeah. And I was like, oh, we can throw it in the meal.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I also like to put who gave it me. The. I put that on the sticker too. Just like. Cause I don't remember.

[Ao Wodom]

Okay.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

But I think that's always interesting too. Like, oh, I remember so and so brought this.

[Ao Wodom]

Ever been surprised that someone brought such a bottle of wine?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Like a cheap bottle of wine?

[Ao Wodom]

It is.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I know. Yes. The answer's yes. Yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

Oh.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And you know, it's like a. Just. They pulled it from their own cabinet. Like they don't know it's been lost. The price has been lost in translation.

[Ao Wodom]

Uh huh. The number of bottles of wine just getting passed on.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Exactly.

[Ao Wodom]

It's a real thing.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Wine and candles.

[Ao Wodom]

Candles. Here's the thing. I love candles.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Me too. But they have to be. I'm picky. I pay. I'm very picky.

[Ao Wodom]

True to.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I don't know this one.

[Ao Wodom]

It's trv. I don't know how to. It's probably a different language, but trv,

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Don, I'm look it up right now. So I.

[Ao Wodom]

So a candle was sitting on a table at SNL and trv D O n. Don, is this toeing up? Is it pulling up for you?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Okay.

[Ao Wodom]

Those are nice candles, Jesse.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Okay.

[Ao Wodom]

I discovered it because it was sitting on a table at snl and it's a table where people like get to take things. But I didn't real. I thought it was someone's, but I like was like, this smells amazing. This is good. And then I went in my office and googled it. This is like my first year. And I was like, $100 candle.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

And then I was like, surely this isn't up for grabs. But it's what you. You do get what you pay for. Do you have a favorite scent Candle?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

There is. Loewe has a. It's so weird.

[Ao Wodom]

A tomato scented candle and the tomato hand wash. Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's very nice.

[Ao Wodom]

It's nice.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It is nice.

[Ao Wodom]

It's very. Do you like a soap?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I do, yeah.

[Ao Wodom]

Do you like the exfoliant?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I do.

[Ao Wodom]

Is this the most alienating conversation we could be having?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

No. We can go.

[Ao Wodom]

We can go deeper.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

We can go deeper.

[Ao Wodom]

We should do the rest offline.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Do you like this expensive ass hand listenership? Sure. But like two people, like, yes, give me more.

[Ao Wodom]

But also every time a guest comes on me being like, so talk to me about La Vers, New York. Like, there's not the rest of the country. You told me where you were from and I'm like forgot already where it's got to be. LA or New York. Oh, yeah, that's right. New Mexico.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Right.

[Ao Wodom]

But thank you, Jesse, for being here. It has been such a joy to talk to you.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I really appreciate it talking to you too.

[Ao Wodom]

Thank you for doing this. Of course. That was my conversation with Jesse Tyler Ferguson. I. It made me really hungry. And maybe it made you hungry too. Maybe you were eating while listening to this, you lucky bastards. But if you weren't, I bet you're hungry. I'm starving right now. But if you want advice from me and my next guest, you can call me. Call us and ask us for advice. Whatever's going on in your life, we're here for you. Just call us at 5028-493237-50228-493237. We would love to be of service to you. That sounds good, right? We buy it.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

All right.

[Ao Wodom]

Thanks, guys. Thanks, dad. Is a production of Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and iHeart Podcast. I'm your host, Ao Wodom. Our producer is Kevin Bartelt, and our executive producer is Matt Apodaka.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual, even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show. Hey, everyone, check out this guy and his bird. What is this, your first date? Oh, no. We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual together. We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird. Yeah, the bird looks out of your league. Anyways, get a quote at libertymutual. Com or with your local agent. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm Conkey, his best friend and business manager. And we've got a new show called the 1021 podcast.

[Ao Wodom]

I'm taking you behind the scenes on

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers.

[Ao Wodom]

We also love sports, and with the

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

World cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the big biggest storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA.

[Ao Wodom]

Listen to the 1021 podcast on the

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Joey Dardano, and on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be

[Ao Wodom]

changing lives, helping people in need with thoughtful solutions. Psych.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice advice. Join me and my comedian friends as

[Ao Wodom]

we riff, rant and recommend some of

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

the most legally dubious advice known to man.

[Ao Wodom]

This is help from a hypocrite.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

The worst advice from the dumbest people you know.

[Ao Wodom]

Listen to Help from a Hypocrite Wednesdays on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ao Wodom]

The story I told myself can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection action this mental health awareness month. Tune into the podcast Deeply well with Debbie Brown. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you. To hear more. Listen to Deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.