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Bob
Hey, Lonzo Ball, it's your agent. What's up? I've got a commercial opportunity for you from Buzzball's. Ready to go. Cocktails.
Tom
Nice.
Bob
My last name is Ball. The product is a cocktail in a ball.
Tom
I get it.
Bob
That's what I thought too. But no. They want you for your hands. They think your big hands will show off the size of their new blue biggies. Ball. Big blue balls.
Tom
Really?
Bob
Get blue balls this season with Buzz Balls. Please drink responsibly.
Tom
Buzz Balls.
Bob
Available in spirit, wine and malt. 15% alcohol by volume. Buzz Balls LLC, Carrollton, Texas 5am I the crisp Celsius energy drink running 12 miles today. Grab a green juice, quick change and head to work. Meetings, workshops. One more Celsius.
Tom
No slowing down.
Bob
Working late, but obviously still meeting the.
Tom
Girls for a little dancing.
Bob
Celsius live fit.
Tom
Go grab a cold refreshing Celsius at.
Bob
Your local retailer or locate now@celsius.com. welcome back. It's another Bob and Tom extra. This is Christopher. Not only is the Bob and Tom show live every weekday morning, but every afternoon. Afternoon. We'll give you a little extra. In case you missed anything on the big show today, comedian Billy Gardell. He's coming up in just a minute. This episode is brought to you by Polestar. There's only one true way to experience the all electric luxury SUV Polestar 3. And that's to take a test drive. It can go from 0 to 60 in as little as 4.8 seconds with the dynamic handling of a sports car. But to truly understand how it commands the road, you need to be behind the wheel. Up to 350 miles of range. The 3D surround sound system by Bowers and Wilkins. It's all something you have to experience to believe. So book your Test drive for Polestar 3 today@Polestar.com Monday 5:50am wow. Just ripped a hat trick while walking into the studio.
Tom
Wow.
Bob
Today is going to be a great day. 6:42am Chick seems a little down today. I'll hold this one for another break and spring it on him in the green room.
Tom
He'll love it.
Bob
7:06Am Just stealthily lifted my right cheek. Hopefully Christy didn't notice. 7:07am she noticed. 9:25am Whoa. That one must have had a tailwind. I think I saw Bob's mustache twitch. 12:09pm Lunch with the guy is always fun. Got one of my urgent phone calls which allowed me an opportunity to crop dust the entire restaurant. Got back to the table. Mark had left early for some reason. 5:50pm Exciting moment in the grocery store just now. I've never had one change pitch this way before. It sounded exactly like a British police car with that Doppler effect siren thing. Must call Chick. I'll text him to share the news. 2:00am wow. Just had one. So impressive. I woke myself up all alone, but I still blamed it on the dog. Tomorrow is going to be a great day. We're just waiting for the cast to actually show up for work. Here's more Bob and Tom Extra.
Tom
Tom. We have one of our favorite people in the universe with us today.
Bob
We're joined by a very fine actor and comedian. He is Billy Gardell. But he only brought half of himself. You left fat Billy somewhere else.
Tom
He had to go away. He's not coming back and we don't know anything about it.
Bob
All right.
Tom
We won't ask any questions.
Bob
Billy Gardell is a very fine stand up comedian. We first met you on the stand up circuit many years ago, I think.
Tom
Many years.
Bob
Tim Wilson, I think, brought you in.
Tom
He begged you guys to have me on the air and promised that I would behave and be polite, be a gentleman and. Yeah. Back in, back in the workata. I want to say I was trying to think of when I met you guys, I want to say it was middle 90s, probably maybe even a little before that. So thank you for having me back. It's great to see you guys. Nice to meet you. God, when we've. We've done every gig. Yeah. A week or two apart. I know those names. Yeah, we did a famous club gig. Exactly.
Bob
You did a strip club gig.
Tom
Yeah, I would imagine is what you're referring. In Atlanta they tried to have comedians with strippers and it didn't work. We were paid pretty well, but yeah, that was it.
Bob
Were the girls stripping while you were doing stand up?
Tom
No, they'd give us like a 10 minute spot. That was, it was a 6 o' clock, a 9 o' clock and a midnight. Right. And it, yeah, it seemed like it went on forever. Oh, dear God. And I was, I was really heavy back then too. So I remember, man, that happy hour crowd was the tough one because it's like 6 o' clock, the lights go up, girls leave and then I go waddling towards the show. All right. Good morning, everybody. How's everybody, isn't it? How we doing, my boy? We have, we have the same scar. That's like the two guys talking about the scars in the boat and Jaws. Look at this right here. Atlanta, the palomino took it out of me. Sharks eyes, black at night. They didn't have any customers.
Bob
It was just.
Tom
You prefer for the strippers. Yeah. And after a while you're there for two weeks.
Bob
I imagine the idea, the germ of that probably came from the 50s.
Tom
Yeah. Burlesque.
Bob
Lenny Bruce, famously. I mean, if you've ever seen the movie Lenny where Dustin Hoffman portrays Lenny Bruce, that's fairly accurate.
Tom
Yeah, that's what they. They were trying to bring that back and this guy had a whim to do that. And I think me and Pat and maybe three or four other guys survived it before they pulled the plug and they stopped it. Yeah, we had like one little.
Bob
Little tiny green room in the back.
Tom
Where I would hide because it was just crazy.
Bob
Did you play guitar back then?
Tom
Yeah. Really?
Bob
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Tom
I did a little guitar action. I wished I played guitar back then.
Bob
How were you doing?
Tom
I would have put cymbals on my knees and clanked them together. I mean, it was horrifying.
Bob
Billy Gardell, before. Before he got famous. Let me ask you this. Was the content of your comedy when you were playing in this strip club? Was it a clean show?
Tom
No, no, no.
Bob
Your show now is relatively, I swear, a little bit.
Tom
But I'm not gonna say nothing that's gonna run you out the door. But in those days, that's never really been my thing. No, I don't think so. I was still just trying to be funny. I was probably talking about getting drunk a lot because that was what was going on back then. So, you know, but. And that fit that particular group.
Bob
Did you. Let me ask you this. So you're playing this. This strip club. Did you meet the ladies?
Tom
Oh, God. Oh, yeah.
Bob
I mean.
Tom
I mean, they were. They were a nude.
Bob
Nude. It was.
Tom
Yeah. Like it was. But you would. You would sit at the bar waiting for your spot. I don't know how you work for it, but I had to drink to get through it. I'm like, I had. What have I done with my life? Right. But then they would sit and then get up and go work and sit and get up and go. But they would like drop some of their story on you as. So you would just get this round Robin. I'm. Anyway, my boyfriend said he doesn't really care for me and he's going to Louisiana and I. Anyway, I got to work. I think I'm just going to do this long enough until I can get.
Bob
A car and I'm going to get it.
Tom
Work. You just sit there like the dude in the big labos. You're going, man. Okay. That was Tina.
Bob
If you really got to know them, would they tell you their real name?
Tom
Oh, yeah, a couple of them.
Bob
Did I go by Galaxy? Galaxy. My real name is Galaxy.
Tom
My real name is Star. Toughest gig I've ever done, man, that was rough.
Bob
Oh, wow. Yeah. One time we were out with our band and it was.
Tom
What was that?
Bob
It was in. We was in Nebraska, I believe. Yeah. And the club was a. It was a huge place. And for some reason there was a strip show in the middle of the day, so. And they were kind of over on the right and back.
Tom
Yeah.
Bob
And we were trying to do a sound check. It was. It was really interesting. Yeah. Very sad. I believe it was a strip club most of the time. Oh, and then we were the guests. Yes, we were the guests that day. All right. Billy Gardell has gone on to many other things besides stand up comedy. It would include the. One of my favorite sitcoms of all time.
Tom
You are so kind about that. Thank you.
Bob
We were. I have. This is odd. I have seen every episode and I have not seen every episode of any other show because it used. It used to air at 3am here.
Tom
So when you were getting ready to come in.
Bob
I've seen every episode. I'm not kidding.
Tom
Sorry you had to hear my voice first. Every day. My dad used to say it should be on top of an ambulance. Get out of the way, there's been an accident.
Bob
I'm sure the show is, of course, Mike and Molly.
Tom
Right.
Bob
And it. Every once in a while there'll be a marathon.
Tom
Yeah.
Bob
On the weekends.
Tom
Yeah.
Bob
So I'll leave it on. So as I come and go, I get to watch.
Tom
So well written. It's so well cast. That's it, man. Perfect. Our table reads scripts were better than most people shoot scripts that. That camp just has an incredible writing staff that just. Chuck kind of promotes from within. He has kind of a farm system. So you really have to make it to the next level to get to the next level. And man, some of the drafts we would get. We'd be laughing out loud at the beginning of the week.
Bob
Are there. Is there somewhere an outtake reel?
Tom
Yeah, I got a couple, actually. You want me to send you one? We got some funny ones. We had some great. They're just such a great cast.
Bob
Now who was the best at remembering their lines?
Tom
Me. I was just terrified I was going to lose my job every day. You know, because you think about it, Melissa had been on Gilmore Girls and came out of The Groundlings. Katie Mixon, who played her sister, was out of Carnegie Mellon. Namby, Niamby Shakespearean trained Reno Wilson had had a show and then was. He went to the school of fame in New York. Lou Mustillo, Broadway Swoozie Kurtz, Broadway. Rondi Reed, who played my mom, Steppenwolf. And then here I come out of the comedy club kitchen. You guys want a show? I had to be on my horse.
Bob
Do you by chance know who you beat out for the role? Was there. Was it someone you knew?
Tom
I do. There was a great guy, Lance Barber.
Bob
He's wonderful.
Tom
Just. And a great guy. And me and Lance. Now Lance was the dad on Young Sheldon, so he eventually ended up on the Yankees too. So. And I got to go down and congratulate him. But it came down to me and him during, like the late 90s, early 2000s. Me and Lance passed each other at every audition. We were like, you know that. Remember that Warner Brothers cartoon? It was like, morning Bob, Morning Fred. We were those guys passing like every overweight white dad, like the. You know what I mean? Or the sidekick or the cop. Like we would just pass each other at every audition. So I was very happy when he got that. You guys had great scenes together on Young Sheldon. Oh, man, it was so fun to go down tire savant, kind of Young Sheldon. We got to hide in the chicken shack and have our beers. That must have been great to actually get to work together after all. It was really, really nice. And to go in and play supporting role to him was even cooler. Yeah. And then he really took that role and crushed it. That is another great cast. Another great cast.
Bob
And that also. That happens to be my daughter Finn's favorite show.
Tom
It is. I love every.
Bob
Every episode of Young Sheldon.
Tom
The young people that watch that show, it's unbelievable. I mean, they. They've. They've kind of skipped the generation. Like they were a hit on. On tv. But then when they went, I think they're Netflix now. Yeah. Boom. They're. They're ahead again, which is pretty hard. Yeah. That's a lot of heart, a lot of charm.
Bob
And our guest is a distinguish comedian, Billy Gardell. When you. This is an awkward question.
Tom
Sure.
Bob
You are a man of a certain size.
Tom
Oh, you could see me from the space shuttle. Yeah. When I had that blue uniform on. I look like another body of water.
Bob
Lake Michigan.
Tom
Wow. Here he comes.
Bob
Did. Was there. This is awkward. Was there something in your contract saying, hey, don't lose weight. We need you to be big? Or would if you had said, hey, look, I'm going to drop £100. Would they have written it into the script?
Tom
You know, I think Chuck would have done that, because on the second show, I did Bob Hart Savage. Ola. That's when my. Like, I was. That's when I had to make a change, because it was like, you know, I got type 2 diabetes, and then I had some cholesterol problems and some triglyceride. Like, you can't. Once the numbers start climbing, you can't play denial anymore, you know, or you might lose a foot, you know? So I had to really come to grips with, I gotta get healthy no matter what the thing is. And I went in and talked to Chuck, which was over this.
Bob
This is Chuck Lorre, the.
Tom
Yeah, Chuck Lord. Dropping names all over the floor here. But I said, look, man, I gotta make a real health change. It was over the hiatus between season two and season three of Bob Harts. And he's like, look, man, I'll. He goes, I just want you here. Just go get healthy. And he goes, and we'll just. We'll color it into the script. Like, hey, Bob, did you go to the gym today? Hey, Bob, you eating salad? And that actually kind of reflected the show because at the beginning of that show, I play a guy who had a heart attack and then wakes up and falls in love with his nurse. And she's from Nigeria, and it's about blended families and love is love, but underneath that, it's kind of his journey to getting healthy. So it kind of reflected and worked perfectly. But I think had I been in trouble in Mike Amelie, I think Chuck would have been supportive either way. He has been, really.
Bob
And Melissa McCarthy's also dropped some.
Tom
Yeah, yeah. Melissa actually was ahead of me, man. But she was. She was just always being strict and really got focused in on exercise. I had bariatric surgery, and I always say that I'm very open about that because, you know, the wonderful cesspool that the Internet. Don't you miss Earth one? I do. I feel like I bumped up against a multiverse, and I'm not supposed to be here, but I did bariatric surgery. And I always say that because there was a group on the Internet after I lost my weight all over Facebook doing fake AI commercials saying, I ate these magic gummy bears to lose weight. Oh, man. And I was like, I gotta defend that and just say. Because my lawyer said, look, you could chase them, you'd run out of money before you'd catch them because they bounce off of everything. You can't catch anybody on the Internet. So I just tell people openly what I did. Because there's always somebody that will come up there that saw those commercials online and go, did those gummy bears work? I'm like, dude, gummy bears is what got me in trouble in the first place. Let's get back to cognitive thinking.
Bob
Your breakout hit, Mike and Molly.
Tom
Yes, sir.
Bob
Was that your very first appearance on television?
Tom
No, my first appearance was, I want to say, in somewhere around 97. I was a guest star. I got a guest starring spot on the King of Queens where I played. It was his football team reunion and me and another guy got to play a guy. These guys that kind of used to give Patton Oswald's character a rash of trouble in high school and they played on that. And then there was a thing where Kevin James, like got the game winning block, but they were giving credit to somebody else and he couldn't hold it together. It was a fun episode. And then, and then I did little. You know, I was man number three. And then, you know, like the plumber and stuff. I did a bunch of those. And then I caught some air on a show called yes Dear as a reoccurring character. You're a security guard, right?
Bob
At a studio?
Tom
Yeah, we were the security guards at the studio and we used to film there, which was great because when I had an audition, because we were cool with the security guards. When those guys were in there and they saw me coming, they're like. They used to park you, like way down the street in the parking structure. It's LA heat, you know, you're heavy. I'm walking in, just. I look like a serial killer by the time I get to the audition. But because we were cool with those guards and we played them, they would always sneak us into a parking spot that a producer wasn't in. Take 454, but be out of there by 1. Got it. All right, I'm all good.
Bob
Did you ever do any commercials?
Tom
I did, I did a local McDonald's commercial. I did a Nokia cell phone commercial that went national. And then I was a spokesperson for a restaurant out in California early on, which is actually what got me married for a place called Round Table Pizza. And I did like, I don't know, 10 or 11 commercials for them. I was like, they're. I don't know what the word is. What's the.
Bob
Were you spokesperson. Were you on camera?
Tom
Yeah, yeah, we did. We did. Probably was this 10 commercials?
Bob
Was this the larger iteration of Billy Gardelle?
Tom
Oh, yeah, absolutely. But I wasn't at full capacity yet. But I was on my way and they probably helped. I had, like a flat top haircut. Well, yeah, I always said, I go, who are you going to. You need, like, you're going to get a thin guy to advertise pizza. Let's be real. That's like when they show a commercial for Micheloblight and some dude's running a marathon. Okay, stop. Just put the game on and shut up. But I did that. And that got me. That was the first financial, like, little bit of get ahead breathing room that I had. And that's when I got married to my wife. We went to Hawaii for their spokesperson thing, and they very kindly gave us a couple extra days and we got married, just me and her out there for. We had a little. We bought the $2,200 wedding package and we're still married to this.
Bob
I like your wife. Cause she talked you out of the mustache.
Tom
She did. Well, she really talked me out of it. She looked at me, said, that's it. I'm done kissing the cactus. It's been five years. Take it off. I was like, oh. Because I liked it. You know, you grow a mustache, you know that you're gonna roll the dice. You either look pervy or old timey. And I came out old timey. I was like, let me keep this.
Bob
Now, the producers now, when you. When you. You're on your sec, I guess, second big show and you've got the mustache.
Tom
Yeah.
Bob
Do they. Do they. Do you have to say, hey, look, Chuck, I'm gonna grow this mustache, you know? Or do you show up on set and he goes, wait a minute.
Tom
Now, what I did was for the. For the table read for the network and the studio before the pilot. I grew it and I brought it in and he walked up. Chuck walked up and he goes, yeah, I like it. And that was it.
Bob
Really.
Tom
Yeah. I figured the guy's a compression sock salesman from Detroit. Chances are he's got a mustache, he's driving a Cadillac. Hey, how you doing it for?
Bob
I'm a fan of the compression socks.
Tom
Oh, me too, brother. I can't fly without him. That's the only part I don't like about being back on the road is. Is I at this point, I'm like Bull Durham out on the road. You know, I'm just. Knees hurt, gotta work, gotta get up, take a walk in the plane, make sure I don't drink too much before I get on the plane. And I just mean liquids, not liquor. But I mean, it's like. Yeah, so. But, you know, it's, it's, it's a gift, to be honest.
Bob
I want to go back to the early days of stand up.
Tom
Sure.
Bob
I was talking. My son Willie is. He's currently touring with Frank Caliendo.
Tom
And Frank.
Bob
He was talking about, you know, in the early days when you're first doing it, you always have to have a couple beers before you go on stage because you're nervous. Then there comes a point where you say, wait a minute, I'm working. Yeah, I got to be straight when I do this. Was there a phase where you were, you mentioned you were drinking when you were doing those strip club gigs.
Tom
Yeah, I drank every week. And then, you know, I haven't had a drink in years now. But back then I was. What did I go? I started with tequila and beer, then I went to Jack Daniels and then I went to Jameson. And Jameson put me on the bench. Yeah, that's what, that's the one. That's what took me out of the ghetto.
Bob
Well, that's where, that's where you, that's where you and Pat met. The Jameson brothers.
Tom
Double Jameson we'll take. You know, when it, you have to look at your career realistically, and when it gets, when you get to the point where it's. They mention your name and they go, man, he can drink instead of man. He's funny. Then you got to go, okay, wait a minute. I'm fading away here. So I never wanted to drink before I got up smart because I didn't want to have to rely on anything. There it is. But Jeff, do you or did you. I go up with a beer, but I just, just have it to sip. I don't drink beforehand. But everyone's like, oh, you were hammered. I'm like, I had one sip. I can understand having a cocktail up there. It's a very social setting. And yeah, you know, I totally get that. But I would do like, you know, three or four shots before going, oh, with the judgment.
Bob
Not judging at all.
Tom
Yeah, there were always guys like that. But I, I, I, I thought I needed it. And then, and then, you know, I quit drinking and two years later I had a TV show. So I was like, wow, I probably should have put the brakes on a little bit earlier. You could have been on Friends.
Bob
Did you ever find the drinking cause you to forget part of your act, though? That's what I would be.
Tom
Weirdly, no. No, weirdly, no. It, it, I, I don't know if it just loosened me up or whatever, but I was just leaning into it too heavy. And then when it starts getting sloppy, I'm like, you know, man, a wise old man told me at the worst part of my drinking, look, man, he goes, I'll just shoot you straight. A guy like you. He goes, I watched you drink all week. He goes, you can have a drink or you can have everything else, but you better make your choice. And then the wife put it in the suggestion box. I kept everything else.
Bob
That's it for another Bob and Tom show. Extra. Catch us on itunes, Google play and stitcher for Bob and Tom. Extra. This is Christopher. Take care, everybody. The United States Soccer Federation presents the U.S. soccer Podcast.
Tom
Inside the opening 45 seconds.
Bob
What a goal with that cannon of a left foot.
Tom
I'll leave it at 1.
Bob
Never miss a game.
Tom
What a start for the United States. Shot for distance. What a goal.
Bob
Never miss a moment. Exquisite. From the San Diego. Can he finish?
Tom
Yes, he can.
Bob
The U.S. soccer Podcast. Follow and listen on your favorite platform.
Podcast Summary: The BOB & TOM Show Free Podcast – B&T Extra Featuring Billy Gardell
Introduction
In the June 24, 2025 episode of The BOB & TOM Show Extra, hosts Bob and Tom are joined by the acclaimed actor and comedian Billy Gardell. Known for his standout role in the beloved sitcom Mike & Molly, Gardell shares insightful anecdotes from his early career, his journey in the television industry, personal health challenges, and reflections on comedy and personal growth.
Early Career and Stand-Up Comedy
Billy Gardell opens up about his beginnings in the stand-up comedy circuit during the mid-1990s. Recalling his initial gigs, Gardell describes performing in unconventional venues such as strip clubs.
"I was really heavy back then too. So I remember, man, that happy hour crowd was the tough one because it's like 6 o'clock, the lights go up, girls leave and then I go waddling towards the show." (06:08)
He humorously recounts the challenges of entertaining in such environments and how drinking was a coping mechanism during those times.
"I drank every week. And then, you know, I haven't had a drink in years now. But back then I was." (19:19)
Gardell reflects on the intensity of these performances and the pressure to maintain his comedic edge while dealing with personal struggles, including his weight.
Transition to Television and Commercial Success
Gardell discusses his transition from stand-up comedy to television, highlighting his early appearances on popular shows like King of Queens and Yes Dear. He shares insights into landing roles in commercials, which provided him with financial stability and opportunities to expand his career.
"I did a local McDonald's commercial. I did a Nokia cell phone commercial that went national. And then I was a spokesperson for a restaurant out in California early on, which is actually what got me married for a place called Round Table Pizza." (16:02)
These experiences not only boosted his visibility but also led to significant personal milestones, including his marriage.
Breakthrough with Mike & Molly
Gardell's conversation then shifts to his breakout role in Mike & Molly. He elaborates on the audition process, the camaraderie with fellow actors, and the show's impact on his career.
"My first appearance was, I want to say, somewhere around '97. I was a guest star on King of Queens where I played... then I caught some air on a show called Yes Dear as a reoccurring character." (14:37)
He expresses admiration for the writing and cast of the show, emphasizing the collaborative environment that made the experience rewarding.
"It's so well cast. That's it, man. Perfect. Our table reads scripts were better than most people shoot scripts that. That camp just has an incredible writing staff that just Chuck kind of promotes from within." (08:50)
Gardell also shares memorable moments from working on Mike & Molly, highlighting the strong relationships formed with his co-stars and the show's positive influence on his professional growth.
Personal Health Journey
A significant portion of the discussion centers on Gardell's personal health journey. He candidly talks about his struggle with weight, leading to type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, and triglycerides. This prompted a life-changing decision to undergo bariatric surgery.
"I had to really come to grips with, I gotta get healthy no matter what the thing is. And I went in and talked to Chuck, which was over this... He said, look, man, I'll just color it into the script." (12:09)
Gardell explains how his commitment to health was seamlessly integrated into his character on Mike & Molly, enhancing the authenticity of his portrayal.
"At the beginning of that show, I play a guy who had a heart attack and then wakes up and falls in love with his nurse. And she's from Nigeria, and it's about blended families and love is love, but underneath that, it's kind of his journey to getting healthy." (12:43)
He also discusses the challenges and societal pressures surrounding weight loss, particularly in the entertainment industry, and the importance of maintaining personal well-being over public image.
Reflections on Comedy and Personal Growth
Gardell offers thoughtful reflections on his comedic style and the evolution of his career. He discusses the balance between humor and authenticity, emphasizing the importance of being true to oneself in comedy.
"I never wanted to drink before I got up on stage because I didn't want to have to rely on anything." (19:45)
He also touches on the impact of the digital age on personal reputation, addressing misinformation and the necessity of transparency about his health choices.
"I always say that because there's always somebody that will come up there that saw those commercials online and go, did those gummy bears work? I'm like, dude, gummy bears is what got me in trouble in the first place." (14:36)
Conclusion
The episode concludes with Gardell expressing gratitude for his journey and the opportunities that have shaped his career. Bob and Tom commend him for his resilience and continued success in both comedy and acting.
"That's it, man. I have a show?" (08:25)
Billy Gardell's candid storytelling and humor provide listeners with an inspiring look into the life of a dedicated comedian and actor who has navigated personal challenges to achieve professional acclaim. His insights offer valuable lessons on perseverance, authenticity, and the importance of health and well-being.
Notable Quotes with Timestamps
Overall Impression
This episode of The BOB & TOM Show Extra provides an engaging and comprehensive look into Billy Gardell's journey from stand-up comedian to beloved television actor. His openness about personal struggles and triumphs adds depth to the conversation, making it both entertaining and insightful for listeners.