SUNDAY SAMPLER - The Nashville Podcast Network (3-2-25)

Summary

The Bobby Bones Show - SUNDAY SAMPLER - The Nashville Podcast Network (3-2-25)

Release Date: March 2, 2025
Host: Bobby Bones
Network: Premiere Networks

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Introduction

In this special Sunday Sampler episode of The Bobby Bones Show, hosted by Bobby Bones, listeners are treated to an array of engaging conversations and heartfelt stories. The episode navigates through an exclusive interview with legendary musician Ringo Starr, followed by a deeply personal segment featuring Laura Raymundo on the "Take This Personally" segment. The episode seamlessly weaves together tales of musical legacy, personal resilience, and the human spirit, providing rich and inspiring content for both long-time listeners and newcomers.

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Interview with Ringo Starr

Timestamp: [00:00] - [11:56]

Bobby Bones kicks off the episode by highlighting upcoming content from The Nashville Podcast Network, including an interview with the iconic Ringo Starr. The conversation with Ringo delves into his early days in music, his family's experience with his burgeoning career, and reflections on the music industry.

Key Discussions:

1. Family and Early Career:

   • Ringo Starr opens up about his grandparents not witnessing his success firsthand. Reflecting on [03:31], he shares, “No, they didn't see it...they knew I played, but they never came to a gig. And we went big time.”
   • He recounts his humble beginnings playing in a skiffle group and working in a factory, emphasizing the challenges of balancing work and passion for music.

2. Name Change and Stage Persona:

   • Discussing his transition to Ringo Starr, Ringo explains [07:50], “I put like Ringo Starkey. I thought that Starkey doesn't look right...so I put Ringo Starr.”
   • The significance of his stage name and its impact on his identity as a musician is explored, highlighting his desire to stand out and create a memorable persona.

3. Musicianship and Club Battles:

   • Ringo shares anecdotes about playing in clubs alongside other bands, including The Beatles, and the rigorous hours they put in. At [09:44], he notes, “We would battle each other for the audience...we did 12 hours between us.”
   • He emphasizes the importance of perseverance and dedication, aligning his experiences with the "10,000 hours" principle of mastery.

4. Modern Music Industry Reflections:

   • Bobby brings up the topic of artists gaining fame prematurely, questioning [09:31], “They got so famous so fast. You know, the kind of...”
   • Ringo Starr agrees, critiquing the lack of foundational development for modern artists who rise to fame without the traditional grind of performing in smaller venues first.

Notable Quotes:

• Ringo Starr [04:26]: “A lot of people in Liverpool gave you spirit.”
• Ringo Starr [05:34]: “It's just a God-given gift that I can keep time.”
• Ringo Starr [09:16]: “They don't know how to deal.”

Take This Personally with Morgan Huelsman and Laura Raymundo

Timestamp: [11:49] - [56:13]

In this poignant segment, hosted by Morgan Huelsman, Laura Raymundo shares her harrowing yet inspiring journey battling cancer. Her story is a testament to resilience, familial support, and the drive to make a positive impact despite personal hardships.

Key Discussions:

1. Family Cancer History:

   • Laura Raymundo opens up about her family's extensive battle with cancer. Her father succumbed to colon cancer, and her mother faced a stage three breast cancer diagnosis. [13:01]
   • She reflects on her great grandparents' experiences with cancer, adding depth to her family's medical history.

2. Personal Cancer Journey:

   • Laura describes her own diagnosis and treatment, including a mastectomy and the emotional toll it took on her and her family. At [33:53], she shares, “I had to cry just because I remember, like, you know, it's hard seeing someone you think so strong, look like that.”
   • She discusses the mental health struggles accompanying her physical battle, highlighting [33:53]: “I do struggle with. Why did they not catch it sooner?”

3. Support System and Career Impact:

   • Laura emphasizes the critical role her family played in her recovery, particularly in supporting her mother during her cancer treatments. [15:14]
   • Inspired by her experiences, Laura transitioned her professional focus to helping breast cancer patients regain confidence through specialized services, particularly in beauty and appearance restoration.

4. Coping and Mental Strength:

   • She candidly talks about battling anxiety and the misconception of strength. [37:57] “I thought maybe I was on the spectrum...I have dyscalculia.”
   • Laura shares her realization of being on the autism spectrum and how it interplays with her experiences dealing with cancer, advocating for self-acceptance and resilience.

Notable Quotes:

• Laura Raymundo [15:35]: “This is it. I am ready to go and find training and get certified.”
• Laura Raymundo [37:57]: “I know you're different...you're beautiful. There's nothing wrong with you.”
• Laura Raymundo [54:05]: “Like, I'm a blonde. I'm an autistic blonde.”

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Additional Highlights

While the main focus remained on the in-depth conversations with Ringo Starr and Laura Raymundo, the episode also features brief snippets and teasers for various other segments and upcoming content. These include:

• Promotions for Other Podcasts:

  • Mind the Business Small Business Success Stories: Encouraging small business owners to explore inspiring stories of growth and maintenance from Ruby Studio and Intuit QuickBooks.
  • Future Health: Information about weight loss medications and their suitability for listeners.
  • Discover Credit Card: Highlighting the benefits of cash back rewards for music fans.
  • American Military University (AMU): Promoting flexible, high-quality education for military personnel and others.

• Sneak Peeks and Teasers:

  • Alumni Touch Football, Anti-Racism Spin Classes, and Ayahuasca Ceremonies featured in fictional segments like "Cancellation Island" and other creative content.

• Community Engagement:

  • Encouragement for listeners to subscribe, follow on social media, and engage with various segments like "Sore Losers" and "Yellowstone Podcast."

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Conclusion

This episode of The Bobby Bones Show masterfully balances entertainment with heartfelt storytelling. From the legendary insights of Ringo Starr to the deeply personal and inspiring journey of Laura Raymundo, listeners are offered a rich tapestry of conversations that resonate on multiple levels. Bobby Bones ensures that each segment flows naturally, providing both value and engagement while steering clear of promotional interruptions. The detailed and structured discussions make this episode a must-listen for those seeking inspiration, resilience, and a deeper connection to the stories that shape our lives.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Ringo Starr [04:26]: “A lot of people in Liverpool gave you spirit.”
• Ringo Starr [09:16]: “They don't know how to deal.”
• Laura Raymundo [15:35]: “This is it. I am ready to go and find training and get certified.”
• Laura Raymundo [37:57]: “I know you're different...you're beautiful. There's nothing wrong with you.”
• Laura Raymundo [54:05]: “Like, I'm a blonde. I'm an autistic blonde.”

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Final Thoughts

The Sunday Sampler episode of The Bobby Bones Show is a profound blend of celebrity interviews and personal narratives that underscore the show's commitment to delivering meaningful content. Whether you're a fan of music legends or seeking inspiration from real-life battles with adversity, this episode offers something invaluable for every listener. Bobby Bones continues to position his show as a beacon of engaging and uplifting storytelling in the podcast landscape.

Transcript

[Bobby Bones]

Hey, it's Bobby Bones. Are you a small business owner launching a company or dreaming of starting one? Then check out season three of Mind the Business Small Business Success Stories from Ruby Studio and Intuit QuickBooks. Join hosts Austin Hankowitz and Janice Torres as they talk to small business owners about how they've grown and maintain their businesses. You don't want to miss these inspiring stories of small business journeys. Listen to Mind the Business Small business success stories and do it on the iHeart app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Unlike what you're listening to, T Mobile's coverage is no joke because T Mobile helps keep you connected from big cities to your hometown on America's largest 5G network. Switch now keep your phone and T Mobile will pay it off at the $800 per line via prepaid card. Visit your local T Mobile location or learn more@t mobile.com KeepAndSwitch up to four lines via virtual prepaid card allowed 15 days qualifying unlock device, credit service port in 90 plus days device in eligible carrier and timely redemption required Card has no cash access and expires in six months. Here's a little tip for all the music fans out there. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. Yep, you heard that right, 99%. And every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back, which means you could earn rewards for those almost front row seats, rideshares to the venue, even that concert merch you've had your eye on since it dropped. If all that sounds like music to your ears, remember, it pays to Discover. Based on the February 2024 Nielsen report. Learn more at discover.com credit card American military University understands the unique challenges of military life. Founded with roots in the military, AMU is built to serve service members, but it's open to anyone who values flexible, high quality education. Whether you're managing a PCs, preparing for deployment or balancing a busy family life, AMU's online programs make it possible to work towards earning your degree wherever life takes you. For active duty service members and their families, AMU offers the Preferred Military Rate, which lowers the cost of undergraduate and master's level programs to just $250 per credit hour. And as the number one provider of education to the US military and veterans using their GI bill benefits clear AMU is a university committed to honoring service with savings. So when you are ready to take the next step towards your education goals, AMU is here to help. Visit AMU APUS Edumilitary to Learn more. That's AMU Apus Edumilitary American Military University Honoring Service with Savings. Hey, guys, back with the old sample. Over on the podcast network, we got a lot of stuff. I had Ringo on my podcast. We're going to start with that. So we'll hear from Ringo Starr. And then on Take this Personally with Morgan Huelsman. Raymundo's wife bae or Laura, which is her real name, came in to talk about her cancer journey. But you're going to hear a lot of clips. If you hear anything you like, go search out the show. Subscribe. It would help us. It would help them. So let's get going now with Ringo star Abito. That's a bad accent at my house. I want to ask you one more question about your grandparents, because that resonates with me so much. Did they get to see your success?

[Ringo Starr]

No. I was in the band then and sort of was in. And we were playing in Germany. I was with Rory by then. Rory stormed the hurricanes, and I was there when my granddad went. And I was doing the gig in Germany when my grandma went. So I couldn't come home because everyone would have to play. But no, they didn't see it, like, unfolding. I mean, they knew I played, but they never came to a gig. And we went big time. We were local bands.

[Bobby Bones]

What was your. In your mind, your ceiling, when you were starting out and you're playing clubs and traveling around? Like, how big did you think? How far did you think you could go in music?

[Ringo Starr]

I didn't. I don't remember, like, thinking. One of my mom's best friends, Annie McGuire, she would say, you know, I'd be hitting them in the house. I can see you on the London Palladium one day, son. And she gave spirit. So a lot of people in Liverpool gave you spirit. Anyway, I played. I only could take the snare because we were a skiffle group. And Eddie Clayton, the guy next door, and he was in the factory. I was in the factory. And Roy the, you know, it was just a. A wooden box with a pole and that was the base. And I had a snare drum. And that's how we started. And we had no sense of timing. I remember that once we played some sort of dance and oh, Maggie, Maggie May they are taking it away and.

[Bobby Bones]

Speed each other up.

[Ringo Starr]

And they're dancing. They're dancing. Can you slow it down? So I'm amazed because I have really great time, you know, time. And I'm good at that. I mean, it's just A God given gift that I can keep time.

[Bobby Bones]

What was your job in the factory?

[Ringo Starr]

My job was to be an apprentice engineer. I first I worked on the railways as a delivery kid boy. I was 16 and then I was on the coastal boats, like party boats with like four or five hundred people would go from Liverpool to Wales and all they did was drink all the way and drink all the way back. And I lasted five weeks on the railway, five weeks on the boats and then my mom, you know, oh, I've been fired and by Monday she'd have me in a new job and she got me this job in the factory. But while in that factory, that's when it came. I want to play, I want to play. And then I joined this other group, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes and we got this three month gig in a holiday camp in England. So I decided I'm leaving the factory. I was just 20ish and all of my family came to our house to tell me it's all right as a hobby, son. But they wanted me to keep that job, you know, and I said no, no, I'm going. And you know, that's why I changed my name also we went to this gig three months we were going to be there in the Rock and Calypso Ballroom and I changed my name fully to Ringo then because in Liverpool if you do something, you know, if you're limping that you'd probably be called Limpy. But I, I started wearing rings, sort of a take on my mom, she loved flashy stuff and so some people were starting to say hey Rings, what's going on? You know, like gang members, we'd be hey Rings and. And we got to Butlins Holiday Camp and we all changed our name. The guitars called himself Ty O'Brien and Johnny Guitar was great and the name was Johnny Guitar.

[Bobby Bones]

His name, I assume he played guitar.

[Ringo Starr]

We only called him Johnny Guitar.

[Bobby Bones]

Really?

[Ringo Starr]

Yeah, because he changes names of that really his name was Johnny but it's, you know, was another name, family name and I put like Ringo Starkey. I thought that Starkey doesn't look, you know, didn't look right. So I put Ringo star.

[Bobby Bones]

Did you do two Rs the first time?

[Ringo Starr]

I. Yeah, two hours to make it star and. And it's been that ever since. Bar for the family who call me dad or granddad, I've got two final questions for you.

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah. When you made the record and it was complete and you're able to hear it all back, did you like. And do you like to listen to your Own projects. And what did you think about this one when it was all the way done? Your own thoughts of your own project.

[Ringo Starr]

When it was finished? Yeah, I thought it was great. No, I really loved it myself. And it was very. The me I like to be. The vocal was great, as I said it was. They were all in my key. And it's like, in a way, though, you know, we didn't never live together. It was put together by a man who knew me. And I thank. I'm tired of thanking T Bone.

[Bobby Bones]

My final question, something again, we alluded to earlier, was playing in the clubs. And a lot of artists miss out on that now, and they kind of get famous before they're ready.

[Ringo Starr]

Oh, yeah. I think they, you know, they have a hit in January, like those TV shows for the singer, and the singer who wins has a number one in January, and you don't hear from him after May. It's all over.

[Bobby Bones]

And they're not really able.

[Ringo Starr]

They don't know how to deal.

[Morgan Huelsman]

Yeah.

[Bobby Bones]

And they're not able to develop even as a performer. Right. Because they don't do the clubs.

[Ringo Starr]

There are clubs.

[Bobby Bones]

They got so famous so fast. You know, the kind of. The legendary story about you guys is you'd be in a club in Germany and play for like six hours a night. Is that accurate?

[Ringo Starr]

Two. Two bands.

[Bobby Bones]

Okay.

[Ringo Starr]

When I was there with Rory and the Beatles were there. When we were the two bands. We're on separate clubs at the beginning, then Kashmir, the guy owned the clubs, put us both on one club, and we would battle each other for the audience, you know what I mean? Would stomp in and stuff. And. But at weekends, we did 12 hours between us. Yeah. And, you know, I love it because we're in that book, 10,000 hours.

[Laura Raymundo]

Yeah.

[Ringo Starr]

And they actually mentioned we actually put in our 10,000 hours.

[Bobby Bones]

I think that's where I first knew of the story, reading that book.

[Ringo Starr]

Yeah.

[Bobby Bones]

That you had put in that much time.

[Ringo Starr]

We'd play anywhere. And Saturday night in Liverpool, whatever the gig was, one of the clubs would have an all nighter. And they were so cheap, they'd only ever hire a trio to cost them less. And all. All of us would go to these clubs and just play all night. Any chance we had to play, we would play.

[Bobby Bones]

Well, now you can put your iPhone on a little stand and read the lyrics. You didn't have iPhones back then. You had to remember or guess.

[Ringo Starr]

Well, yeah, now I can't work without my little lyric sheets. It's like how it is.

[Bobby Bones]

Well, I love the Album.

[Ringo Starr]

Oh, great. Well, it's great. Been good talking to you. Yeah, you too.

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah, real easy for that.

[Amy Brown]

Thanks.

[Bobby Bones]

And really just talk to you too.

[Ringo Starr]

Yeah.

[Bobby Bones]

You never know whenever Ringo star is coming over.

[Ringo Starr]

Yeah.

[Bobby Bones]

You know, and then sit on that star. Now I know. Say r more.

[Ringo Starr]

Yeah, well, maybe because I've told these same stories since I've been here 19 times.

[Bobby Bones]

What story did you. What story? What story did you tell here that.

[Ringo Starr]

I'm sorry, I told that story.

[Bobby Bones]

Well, now it's a good one.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[Bobby Bones]

Anybody ask you about your grandparents the whole time?

[Ringo Starr]

No, only you.

[Bobby Bones]

That's all I want.

[Ringo Starr]

This has been the best ever.

[Bobby Bones]

You're saying that ever? No. Okay, look me in the eye.

[Ringo Starr]

Look me best ever.

[Bobby Bones]

Don't say ever, cuz then I know you're lying. But if you were to say in nearly the best. Okay, I'll take it. Ringo, it's been a pleasure. Thank you very much.

[Laura Raymundo]

Thank you.

[Bobby Bones]

The record's awesome.

[Ringo Starr]

That's good.

[Amy Brown]

Be kind to Joy. Laugh a lot.

[Lunchbox]

Ek Ek.

[Bobby Bones]

Be kind. Laugh a lot. We cast up roll things. Little food for your soul. Life ain't always pretty, but hey, it's pretty beautiful. Laugh a little more things Tighten up your core fam Said Ek. You're kicking it with four things with Amy Brown.

[Ashley Kineti]

I think I'm excited about my brow rebrand.

[Mike D]

Oh, I am too. Honestly. I really talked about this brow rebrand coming up.

[Ashley Kineti]

I'll keep you all posted on the process, but I know so many people that have listened have come to you for brows or even their breasts. So I want you to touch on the passion side of your work. I know you're passionate about both, but being able to give women confidence back if they have lost their breasts because of breast cancer, just share a little bit of that. Just in case there's one person that needs to know your info, your number, or they have a BFF or a sister that needs to be calling you to be able to get that confidence back.

[Mike D]

Yes. Yes. Oh, I love it. That is where my heart is. I love brows. I love it. But I'd always seen the areolas and been like, oh, I'm going to do that one day. You know, you just put it in your back pocket and you think about it. But I'm busy doing all my other things. You know, that was the last thing that I thought I had time for at the moment. My dad, he did pass away from colon cancer also. So I've had, you know, my dad and my mom both affected with with cancer, and it's Just. I know you have.

[Ashley Kineti]

Well, in March is colon cancer awareness.

[Mike D]

Oh, yeah.

[Ashley Kineti]

So we're coming up on that. And I think I'm glad you mentioned that, because if you see any symptoms, book an appointment, because early detection is everything with colon cancer.

[Mike D]

And that. Yeah, that was what happened, unfortunately, with my dad. He found out it was, you know, stage four, and he's. That, you know, he's never went to the doctor, never complained. You know, just little workhorse, just did his own thing. And so he had little things that he saw, but he just never, never did it. Never got colonoscopies, any of that stuff. And unfortunately, he found out. Yeah, we found out around New Year's one year, and then it was stage four, and by the next April, he had passed. So he had two chemos, and unfortunately, his body just was too far gone.

[Ashley Kineti]

Well, I feel like you sharing that now and then with March being right around the corner, people are going to start seeing more, which is great, but awareness is everything. So in March, I hope that people are just inundated with facts and information, because your dad being an older man, that's who people used to think would just get it. Yeah, it was just older men, but it is happening to younger.

[Mike D]

Yes.

[Ashley Kineti]

And younger. And younger people. And women.

[Mike D]

Yeah, too.

[Ashley Kineti]

So I think I saw a stat that's like 1 in 24 people are going to be diagnosed with colon cancer. So that's just one of those things that if you can catch it early, if you have any of the symptoms and maybe you're even being told it could be something else, like, oh, maybe it's a hemorrhoid or just get a second opinion or listen to your gut and make sure that you advocate for yourself. Because this is one of those cancers that, yeah, if you catch it early, your survival rate is very high. If you don't, or if you ignore something or you go too long, then that's when it gets deadly. Which you unfortunately had to walk through with your dad. So you went through that with him and then your mom had breast cancer.

[Bobby Bones]

Yes.

[Mike D]

Fast forward at three years later. Yeah, my mom was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer and she felt a lump, you know, as she. She had checked herself and felt it one day. And my mom's a nurse, and, yeah, it was crazy. My daughter was one and, you know, had my business, and then my mom ended up coming and living with me. So I kind of was responsible for making sure that she had, you know, had her little friends on a chat list and would make sure someone would Come check on her and do all the things. And, you know, we got her to all of her appointments. But just personally seeing what someone goes through, I mean, it's awful.

[Bobby Bones]

It's.

[Mike D]

It's brutal. And you always think that, you know, you're. You see people go through it or you hear people go through it, you know, through the grapevine, but when it's actually your life, like seeing my mom, and my mom is strong, you know, she had six kids.

[Laura Raymundo]

She.

[Mike D]

She did all the right things. My mom never. Never drank, never smoked, you know, breastfed us all. All the things that, you know, supposedly you. You know, your rate, your odds of getting cancer less. But, yeah, she. She got it, and it was pretty brutal. But, yeah, seeing her come out on the other side was amazing. And I'll never forget, you know, she had kind of would tell me that she. She felt like Frankenstein. And I helped her out with everything except for, like, the. Like, the drains and the stitches and that kind of part I get really woozy with, with that kind of stuff, so I couldn't do much of that. So I hadn't really seen her yet. And then one day, my daughter had run into the bathroom when she got out of the shower, and it was the first time that I had seen her, you know, without her breast and, you know, with. With her stitches out and stuff. And, you know, it was. It was hard. You know, that wasn't even my body. And, I mean, I had to go upstairs and cry just because I remember, like, you know, it's hard seeing someone you think so strong, you know, look like that. So I. I can't imagine what's going through her brain, you know, looking and seeing herself like that every single day. And so, yeah, after that, I start. I went. I started researching all the trainings, and I was like, you know what? This is it. You know, it is time. Like, mom is on the other side of her journey. Like, I am ready to go and find training and get certified. And it was like, you know, it was totally, you know, God or universe, whatever you believe in. A training was going on that next month in Nashville, you know, which there wasn't a lot of trainings around. So this. This girl from Texas was coming and training people, and so I went and got trained, and it's just been a ongoing thing, and it just. I feel like it's one of those things that brows. They make me feel so happy, and, you know, I feel fulfilled. I love my job. Like, I love doing all aspects of my job, but when I get to do areolas. It truly makes me feel like I am, you know, impacting the world in such a positive way and like, you know, I'm helping fight for my mom and my dad and, you know, all those things.

[Bobby Bones]

Hey, it's Bobby Bones. For many of the American Dream means starting your own business and working for yourself. If you're a small business owner, launching a company or dreaming of starting one, then you'll not only want to make sure you're using a platform like Intuit QuickBooks, but you'll also want to check out season three of Mind the Business small business success stories from iHeartMedia's Ruby Studio and Intuit QuickBooks. In every episode, hosts Austin Hankowitz and Janice Torres talk to small business owners about how they've grown and maintained their businesses. They've tackled hundreds of challenges that come along with, well, being your own boss. From tracking money in and out to cutting through the complexity with an all encompassing platform like QuickBooks, you don't want to miss these inspiring stories of small business journeys. Listen to Mind the Business Small business success Stories on the iHeart app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[John Cameron Mitchell]

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[Brandon]

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[Mike D]

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[Amy Brown]

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[John Cameron Mitchell]

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[Bobby Bones]

Here's a little tip for all the music fans out there. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. Yep, you heard that right, 99%. And every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Which means you could earn rewards for those almost front row seats, ride chairs to the venue, even that concert merch you've had your eye on since it dropped. If all that sounds like music to your ears, remember it pays to Discover. Based on the February 2024 Nielsen report. Learn more at discover.com credit card American military University understands the unique challenges of military life. Founded with roots in the military, AMU is built to serve service members, but it's open to anyone who values Flexible, high quality education. Whether you're managing a PCs, preparing for deployment, or balancing a busy family life, AMU's online programs make it possible to work towards earning your degree wherever life takes you. For active duty service members and their families, AMU offers the preferred military rate, which lowers the cost of undergraduate and master's level programs to just $250 per credit hour. And as the number one provider of education to the US military and veterans using their GI Bill benefits, it's clear AMU is a university committed to honoring service with savings. So when you are ready to take the next step towards your education goals, AMU is here to help. Visit AMU APUS Edumilitary to learn more. That's AMU Apus Edu Slash Military American Military University Honoring service with savings.

[Morgan Huelsman]

We're gonna do it live. We are the 1, 2, 3.

[Bobby Bones]

Sore losers.

[Lunchbox]

What up everybody? I am Lunchbox. I know the most about sports, so I'll give you the sports facts, my sports opinions because I am pretty much.

[Morgan Huelsman]

A sports sports genius, y'all. It's Sizzin. I'm from the North. I'm an alpha male. I live on the north side of Nashville with Bazer, my wife. We do have a farm. It's beautiful. A lot of acreage, no animals, a lot of crops. Hopefully soon. Corn, pumpkins, rye I believe, maybe a little fescue to be determined. Over to you, coach.

[Lunchbox]

And here's a clip from this week's episode of the Sore Losers.

[Morgan Huelsman]

Guys to our guest, I am Troy.

[Laura Raymundo]

I'm from Sydney, Australia, hanging out in Nashville and Las Vegas this week. Filling in for Arnold today. We've left him out there now, but and just I feel like in a permanent state of hungover in Nashville.

[Lunchbox]

Who are you with?

[Laura Raymundo]

Just with a mate of mine.

[Lunchbox]

So you just, you decide to come to Nashville and Vegas. Is this your like once a year vacation or like have you ever been to America?

[Laura Raymundo]

I don't know. I've been to America before once or twice, but the Penrith Panthers, so they're a rugby league team? Yes, they are opening the season in Las Vegas. So we've, we're branching out in Australia and an opening the season in Las Vegas. So that's the whole reason that I'm here, just to watch the Panthers. But I thought I'd come to Nashville.

[Morgan Huelsman]

Holy hell. For a second I thought the team's in Vegas. Why are you here?

[Laura Raymundo]

They're in Vegas, but they, they play on Saturday, so I'll be there by Saturday.

[Lunchbox]

So when did you get to Nashville Monday.

[Morgan Huelsman]

Okay, but you realize Nashville is nowhere near Vegas.

[Laura Raymundo]

Yeah, but I love country music, I love drinking, and I love you guys.

[Lunchbox]

Okay, how did you find us?

[Laura Raymundo]

I mean, yeah, there's not many Australian sore losers fans in Australia.

[Lunchbox]

How do you find us? Is it because of the big show?

[Laura Raymundo]

Because of the big show, yeah.

[Lunchbox]

And country music.

[Laura Raymundo]

Big show in country music. And then, you know, navigated over to. To the little show.

[Lunchbox]

Okay.

[Morgan Huelsman]

We're huge in Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, and now Australia. Sydney. I believe that's where we started saying, she's in. It's a French Polynesian. I believe. I believe it's somewhere near Bali.

[Lunchbox]

I have no idea. So the Peanuts.

[Laura Raymundo]

Penrith Panthers.

[Lunchbox]

Penrith Panthers. Are they, like, really good or are they.

[Laura Raymundo]

Well, so for most of my life, not. But we've actually won the last four premierships. Okay, so four Pete. Last year. So before that, as growing up, it was hard times, but. But yes, for four championships in a row, so pretty epic.

[Morgan Huelsman]

Now, Claire, clarify it. You said Premier League, but that's not soccer. And it's rugby. The Tush Push.

[Laura Raymundo]

It's. It's rugby league. So it's similar to rugby, but it's probably a little bit more structured. So probably closer to the NFL than. Than rugby union is. But. But yeah. So rugby league would be the number one sport in Australia.

[Morgan Huelsman]

Tell me if I'm right or wrong here. Over unders. I believe I bet this back in the day when I had an addiction.

[Laura Raymundo]

That's the whole reason that they're coming to America, because they think there's a great window for people like you, Ray, at like three in the morning who want to bet on.

[Morgan Huelsman]

On sport in Australia is the over under. Typically. What's the score of a game? I would say 50.

[Laura Raymundo]

Probably like 40. Low 40s.

[Morgan Huelsman]

Okay.

[Laura Raymundo]

Yeah.

[Morgan Huelsman]

So it's just like NFL.

[Lunchbox]

What makes a good rugby team? Because I watch rugby sometimes, like with the Olympics, and I'm like, they all look the same. They just throw the ball backwards. I don't know the rules. I don't really understand it. So how do you get good? Like, what is the difference in rugby?

[Laura Raymundo]

So the difference is in terms of difference between, say, the NFL, for example.

[Lunchbox]

Yeah. Like, what makes him so much, like what makes a good rugby team and what makes a bad rugby team?

[Laura Raymundo]

Defense is definitely the key. So you want to. You want to defend. Well, obviously compared to, say, the NFL, you both defend and attack. You don't have sort of two. Two different teams. But yeah, defense is absolutely key. And your Halfback, which is the equivalent of your quarterback, is key. So the Panthers are lucky to play the best player in the game in Nathan Cleary as our halfback. And that's, you know, a big reason why we've won the last four. Four championships.

[Lunchbox]

Do a lot of rugby players get injured and are out for the year? Is it like they just play through it?

[Laura Raymundo]

Yeah. So no pads, no helmets. So they just, like, run at each other, basically. So plenty of. Plenty of injuries. A lot of shoulders, pecs, knees. So, yeah. Yeah. Pretty. Pretty big injury list generally through the season.

[Morgan Huelsman]

Sometimes you got to go without the condom. I will remove the headphones and just do it like that sometimes because they'll throw me off. Maybe it's the same thing with a helmet or something like that. Let me ask this about Nashville.

[Laura Raymundo]

Yeah.

[Morgan Huelsman]

So you got here. When did you.

[Laura Raymundo]

Monday.

[Morgan Huelsman]

And you guys hit Broadway? The bars. Are you doing an educational thing?

[Laura Raymundo]

We did the educational thing. We did the museum and rca, but we've mainly been at the bars. Yes.

[Morgan Huelsman]

And just. Are we. Did you research some. You wanted to go to the old ones.

[Laura Raymundo]

Yeah. So last night I did do a lot of research before I got here, but last night we did the old one. So, tootsies, the stage. Those. Those ones. And the night before, kind of the bigger ones, we ended up at Morgan Wallens Bar, which I reckon was pretty awesome on a Monday night.

[Lunchbox]

Okay.

[Laura Raymundo]

And of course, we. Yeah, it was. It was really good on a Monday night. But we also, of course, paid tribute to the Saw Losers coaches convention and went to category 10 and last night as well. And today we're going to the Nashville Tractor, who. Which I only found out about from Sore Losers, so they should be aware of that.

[Lunchbox]

That is what I'm talking about.

[Morgan Huelsman]

Let them know, please.

[Amy Brown]

Did you.

[Lunchbox]

Does your mate know what this. Sore Losers.

[Morgan Huelsman]

I'm saying, mate go to their friend.

[Lunchbox]

Know about the podcast.

[Laura Raymundo]

He knows about it, but he doesn't listen yet.

[Lunchbox]

And he's like, you're weight. You're. I'm hungover at the hotel. And you.

[Laura Raymundo]

He's gone to a bar. He just sent me a message. He's at a bar at 11am Just saw the drink again.

[Morgan Huelsman]

That's the beautiful thing about Nashville. You can go to the bars early. We did learn living downtown. The hard thing on Sundays, I don't think you can go before 11, but weekdays, all game, but. And you can actually drink in the bar before. You can buy alcohol at gas stations and grocery stores. On a Sunday, it's noon.

[Lunchbox]

The good news is he won't be here on Sunday. He'll be in Las Vegas because they play on Sat the Pena. Pete.

[Laura Raymundo]

Penrith Panthers.

[Lunchbox]

Penrith Panthers. That's tough to say. So do you live in Pernith?

[Laura Raymundo]

Penrith?

[Ringo Starr]

Yes.

[Morgan Huelsman]

My gosh, yes.

[Lunchbox]

Can you say it?

[Bobby Bones]

Perth.

[Laura Raymundo]

There is a new rugby league franchise coming to Perth.

[Morgan Huelsman]

Do you live on the water or inland?

[Laura Raymundo]

No, inland. Yeah. So 45 minutes from the beach.

[Morgan Huelsman]

Do you watch Love Island, Australia?

[Laura Raymundo]

No. No.

[Lunchbox]

What do you watch? Like what. What is good in Australia?

[Morgan Huelsman]

Fancy. You talk them up?

[Laura Raymundo]

No, like, to be honest with you, we watch mainly American T There is Australian made stuff, but all the American shows are generally what we watch. And then literally just yesterday, HBO Max announced they're coming to Australia. So we don't have HBO Max, so.

[Lunchbox]

Really?

[Laura Raymundo]

No. So we're March 31st with the Last of Us. Season two, they're launching, so that's pretty cool.

[Lunchbox]

Do you watch? Okay, there's an Australian show I watch, Colin from accounts.

[Laura Raymundo]

Yeah. That is awesome.

[Lunchbox]

That is fantastic. Isn't it?

[Laura Raymundo]

I actually know. I'm Harriet Dyer, who's the lead girl. Really kind of knew each other a while ago, so.

[Lunchbox]

What do you mean you knew each other a while ago?

[Laura Raymundo]

Just very platonic.

[Lunchbox]

Okay.

[Laura Raymundo]

I assure you.

[Bobby Bones]

Okay.

[Morgan Huelsman]

There's a lot of sun in Australia.

[Laura Raymundo]

Yes. So I just come from. So we're just about to finish summer in Australia. So over the last week, I was, you know, thinking that we're coming to a snowstorm, but it's actually pretty warm here.

[Morgan Huelsman]

Because you're tan a little bit.

[Laura Raymundo]

Yeah. I think I got sunburned on the weekend before I got here.

[Lunchbox]

Got it. So what do you do in Australia?

[Laura Raymundo]

So I run a. Or write for a local newspaper in Penrith.

[Lunchbox]

Oh, yeah, the newspaper's still popular.

[Laura Raymundo]

Yeah. In Penrith. So, like, everywhere. Bit of a. Bit of a change, but. But in Penrith, yeah. Still going strong.

[Lunchbox]

So what do you write about? Sports or you just write about anything?

[Laura Raymundo]

I write about anything, but, yeah, big focus on sports and rugby league. Yeah, got it.

[Morgan Huelsman]

Lifestyle.

[Laura Raymundo]

So therefore, I think this is a.

[Lunchbox]

Tax deduction, this is a work trip because you're going to cover the Panthers in Vegas.

[Laura Raymundo]

That's what I'll be telling the tax department. Yeah.

[Morgan Huelsman]

Less sports, more lifestyle.

[Lunchbox]

Yeah. What are you going to do in Vegas? Where are you staying?

[Laura Raymundo]

We're at the Paris in Vegas.

[Lunchbox]

Okay. Have you ever been to Vegas?

[Laura Raymundo]

Yes, I went on my honeymoon to Vegas.

[Lunchbox]

Okay. How long you been married?

[Laura Raymundo]

Ten years.

[Lunchbox]

Okay.

[Morgan Huelsman]

Yeah, I would say Paris. That's where I Slept on Michael's couch. That is when we went on the Bachelor.

[Lunchbox]

You know about his bachelor party?

[Morgan Huelsman]

The bachelor party was here. It is small Ponzi scheme. See, I was, I was heavily into gambling, so I was gambling all this money. I didn't have any money to pay for the hotel. So I told all them to book at what was mgm.

[Lunchbox]

Mgm.

[Morgan Huelsman]

But I had no money to book.

[Lunchbox]

No, no, this is the true story.

[Morgan Huelsman]

No, no, bro, this is the true story.

[Lunchbox]

I know.

[Morgan Huelsman]

And so Michael, who I slept on his couch in Paris, he hit me up and said, hey, do you want to sleep on my couch at Paris? And I said, dude, that's the best thing ever. That's exactly what I'll do. So we get to the booth at MGM and lunch is checking in. And I still hadn't told him that I'm not staying at mgm. Everybody's got their bags and luggage and lunch goes, yeah, it's me, five other guys. And the lady goes, I only have rooms for four.

[Lunchbox]

I literally had everybody. No, no, here's the point. I said, hey, everybody, give me your id. She needs everybody's id. And Ray still doesn't have the balls to tell me.

[Morgan Huelsman]

He is at the ticket counter.

[Lunchbox]

He doesn't have the balls to tell me, hey, man, I'm actually not staying here. So he hands me his ID. And so I put five IDs on the counter so she can check all our rooms in at once. And she goes, I only have four of these people down for a room here. And I'm like, which one's not.

[Morgan Huelsman]

That's weird, guys. Who isn't registered.

[Lunchbox]

And she picks up and she goes, a Raymond, he doesn't have a room here. And I turn around and Ray goes, oh yeah, I'm. I'm, I'm. I'm staying at Paris with Michael. Here's the best part. Here's the best part, Troy. I mean, here's the best part. When's the last time you talked to Michael?

[Morgan Huelsman]

Sadly, but not. No, he. He kept in touch a little while after that. It's been a minute. But he has a family. As kids, sometimes he's in Mexico. I don't think there's great service you have to have WhatsApp. It's been a minute. I get it. It was short lived. Had a hell of a night at Paris with him.

[Lunchbox]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. Now my question. Do you have kids?

[Laura Raymundo]

One daughter. Yes.

[Lunchbox]

Okay. Four.

[Bobby Bones]

Four.

[Lunchbox]

Nice.

[Laura Raymundo]

She's actually four turns four on this trip, so it wasn't that popular. That I made the decision to go this way.

[Lunchbox]

Okay.

[Morgan Huelsman]

And hold on a second. So you. 13 hour flight. How long was this?

[Laura Raymundo]

So actually, it's a 16 hour flight to Houston and then two hours to Nashville.

[Morgan Huelsman]

Yeah, 18 hours.

[Laura Raymundo]

18 hours.

[Morgan Huelsman]

Is your wife with your kids without them allowing you to fly to Tokyo for a week by yourself with a.

[Lunchbox]

With a buddy, with a mate? Probably not, dude.

[Morgan Huelsman]

My chick ain't even letting me go to south of Brentwood of Nashville with. For a week with a buddy.

[Bobby Bones]

Take this personally with Morgan Kman.

[John Cameron Mitchell]

You guys may know her as BAE from the Bobby Bones show. Raymundo's wife, this is Laura.

[Brandon]

Laura, thanks for coming on. How are you?

[John Cameron Mitchell]

I'm good. Thank you for having me. As you're going through this, are you angry because you're like, I've been doing.

[Brandon]

These checkups for three to six months routinely.

[John Cameron Mitchell]

You've been doing everything that you needed.

[Brandon]

To do, and then you find out.

[John Cameron Mitchell]

That it's stage three just in that short amount of time. And it wasn't like, it wasn't one of those super aggressive ones. That's something that I still have to deal with mentally. I'm not gonna lie. There's a few different things I want to first say that for some reason, I never asked, why me? Like, I never was like a why me? Person. I've asked that, like, when my parents should get into later I've had cancer, and I'm like, why them? But I've never was like, why me? I do, though, struggle with. Why did they not catch it sooner? When I was doing everything I supposed to do and after I had surgeries, when they told me that I was going to need chemo. And I remember going into my oncologist, and she was like. The first time I met her, she was like, I look through all the. She's like, I don't understand. I don't understand why it. Why. Why this is this thick. And you are found out at stage three. So it's a hard pill to swallow. But then I also look at it as, thank God that I went in that day, because I was. I didn't feel it. I felt it after she felt it. But me going every six months, I wasn't trying to fill around as much as I should have. And so thank God she found it. So I go back and forth, as in like a, oh, like, how can I swallow this pill up? I did everything I was supposed to do, but also, she saved my life. So you can't really get too mad about that now. I Want to get into more of your cancer journey in the story, but before we start that, I would love to hear you mention your family and the cancer history that you have in your family, which I also imagine is just tough on multiple levels that you had experienced this as a family, and then you're going through it.

[Brandon]

So walk me through that side of.

[John Cameron Mitchell]

This a little bit with the breast cancer part of it. Come to find out, like, later, way later. I didn't realize, I guess my great grandmother, we think, may have had breast cancer, but we weren't. We still aren't 100% sure with that one. But my mom got diagnosed with breast cancer a year before me, and hers was stage one. And so they did what's called a lumpectomy. So it's like with me, I did a mastectomy where they took all the tissue and everything. With hers, they just take the tissue and the surrounding of the cancer. And then they did a. They did radiation. So that's. And then she's, thank God, been maybe going on nine years cancer free. But also, that was also a weird. I don't want to say blessing, but we went to the same doctor. So they did start being a little more, okay, we need to treat you a little bit better. And they were telling me even then that maybe when I turned 35, that we need to do an MRI just to make sure that there's nothing in there since my mom had it. So I think maybe that was, you know, maybe good at as far as helping them be more concerned with subjects, be like, oh, these are five R adinomas or whatever. So that was the mom's side. My dad ended up having melanoma, and his was, again, it wasn't during my treatment. It was right after I finished. I'll never forget, I just finished all of my treatment. So the chemo, the radiation, and my dad. My mom was like, telling me. I was like, it was like the end of the year right after Christmas. And my mom was like, your dad has melanoma. And I'm like, oh, my gosh. Like, I was supposed to be celebrating.

[Bobby Bones]

The end of this.

[John Cameron Mitchell]

And now my dad has melanoma. So it's different cancer, but it's. He's done really well with it. It came back, but he got it taken care of again. And so he's, knock on wood, doing great now. But, yeah, it's like my brother, he's. I'm just waiting for the shoe to draw. What is happening?

[Amy Brown]

No, he's got to keep that shoe up.

[John Cameron Mitchell]

Dropping but, yeah, so that's like, the family history. And then if you. We could go back way further where it's like, my grandfather died of cancer. My grandmother died of cancer, but it wasn't. My grandmother was lung cancer. My grandfather. I think it was esophageal. So, yeah, we have cancer all in our family, but this was definitely not so much breast cancer until a year before I got diagnosed. There's so much with this, but I just have to imagine that in the hardest way possible, that it helped you.

[Brandon]

Yeah.

[John Cameron Mitchell]

That your family had gone through it and you guys had really been unfortunately adjusted to that, especially my mom. I'll never forget, after I had the biopsy, I went home, and I had it on, like, a Thursday or Wednesday. One of those days, I remember I went home, and then I, like, I do not suggest this. Don't do it. I. Dr. We call Dr. Google. And I remember seeing from the picture in my head of that ultrasound, I was going through and looking at every picture and of online, like, cancer, not cancer. And I could tell, okay, I knew that weekend that I had cancer. My mom was like, no, you don't. Whatever. And I remember going in that Monday and getting found out. I was like, I told you. But I remember I just told mom was like. I told her. I was like, I'm not strong like you. Because she just went through it. I'm like, I'm not strong. Because I was. I'd never felt strong. Every little thing was such a huge thing to me. I definitely deal with anxiety, so that was, like, up to a thousand. I remember just being like, I don't. I'm not strong. And the reason I say that is because I'm stronger than I ever knew. I'm stronger than. It's just crazy what you can do and what your, like, mind makes you think that maybe you can't. Maybe you're not strong. And so for my reason to say this is one thing I did want to say. Come on here, is that anyone that's going through this, that's feeling you're not strong, everyone's strong. You just have to feel. You have to be you. You just have to be presented, unfortunately, with something like this to make you feel like, wow, I. I got through this. I got through all of this. I'm on the other side of this.

[Bobby Bones]

Hey, it's Bobby Bones. For many, the American dream means starting your own business and working for yourself. If you're a small business owner, launching a company or dreaming of starting one, then you'll not only want to make sure you're using a platform like Intuit QuickBooks, but you'll also want to check out season three of Mind the Business small business success stories from iHeartMedia's Ruby Studio and Intuit QuickBooks and every episode, hosts Austin Hankowitz and and Janice Torres talked to small business owners about how they've grown and maintained their businesses. They've tackled hundreds of challenges that come along with, well, being your own boss. From tracking money in and out to cutting through the complexity with an all encompassing platform like QuickBooks, you don't want to miss these inspiring stories of small business journeys. Listen to Mind the Business Small Business Success Stories on the iHeart app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Jenny Garth from I do part two. Everyone's talking about GLP1s like Ozempic semaglutide. With Future Health, you can find out if they're right for you too. Just go to try fh.com that's trifh.com and find out if weight loss meds are right for you in just three minutes. Try fh.com futurehealth is not a healthcare services provider. Meds are prescribed at provider's discretion. Results may vary. Sponsored by FutureHealth Here's a little tip for all the music fans out there. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. Yep, you heard that right, 99%. And every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back, which means you could earn rewards for those almost front row seats, rideshares to the venue, even that concert merch you've had your eye on since it dropped. If all that sounds like music to your ears, remember, it pays to Discover. Based on the February 2024 Nielsen report. Learn more at discover.com credit card American military University understands the unique challenges of military life. Founded with roots in the military, AMU is built to serve service members, but it's open to anyone who values flexible, high quality education. Whether you're managing a PCs, preparing for deployment or balancing a busy family life, AMU's online programs make it possible to work towards earning your degree wherever life takes you. For active duty service members and their families, AMU offers the preferred military rate, which lowers the cost of undergraduate and master's level programs to just $250 per credit hour. And as the number one provider of education to the US military and veterans using their GI Bill benefits, it's clear AMU is a university committed to honoring service with savings. So when you are ready to take the next step towards your education goals. AMU is here to help. Visit AMU Apus Edu SL Military to learn more. That's AMU Apus Edu Military American Military University Honoring Service with Savings.

[Amy Brown]

Hey, it's Mike D. And this week on Movie Mike's Movie Podcast, I broke down what I think are going to be the best 10 sequels of the year. I know everybody says that everything is a sequel, everything is a remake. Well, I wanted to dive into that and let you know my thoughts on the state of cinema. I also got into a spoiler free review of the Monkey and what I think is going to be the best comedy of the year. Check out this full episode. But right now, here are a couple of my picks for the best sequels of 2025 and number two, I have happy Gilmore. It's coming out on Netflix. The official date still isn't out. I've seen some early images and stills from the movie. The only thing aside from that that I feel it's a little bit cash grabby is this movie is gonna be really heavy with the cameos. First one wasn't like that. This has kind of become Adam Sandler's marketing strategy and kind of how he makes movies now is he includes a lot of celebrities now to pop up throughout them. And I feel like that takes away from the art of Adam Sandler, which his early movies didn't rely on that. I think it's kind of the model he created with the grown ups movies. And I think it's because Adam Sandler is at a point in his life where he just wants to create fun sets. He wants people to come onto a set and have a good time while making a movie often filmed in tropical locations. So I think that is why he does this now. He's just trying to have a good time, which I can't hate on him for, but I think it's just the fact that it's Happy Gilmore, one of the best movies of his career. When you talk about top three movies of Adam Sandler that he's ever done, they all go back to the 90s. I mean top two is easily happy Gilmore and Billy Madison. For me, those are the quintessential movies I think about when I think of Adam Sandler. Maybe it's because they came out around each other. I also associate them with having the two pack DVD back in the day. I feel like those are his two best movies, even though I think on any given day Big Daddy could also be my favorite. But throwing all those reasons to the Wind, the fact that Travis Kelsey is in it, Bad Bunny is in it, you have shooter McGavin returning, Julie Bowen is returning. It does have the pieces of the original. I think to me it's also just thinking of the way that Netflix movies look now, where they don't really look like movies anymore. They look really glossy and bright and colorful and doesn't really have that same warmth of a movie from the 90s that I think a sequel like this needs. So I feel like it's a weird thing to complain about, but I think the cinematography isn't going to match the tone of the humor of Happy Gilmore. I hope that it does, but I'm so excited just to see what the plot is and to see how this plays out and hoping that he wasn't lying and saying we have a really good script, that this movie is actually going to be good. So I ranked it so high because my hopes are so high. The last time though, my hopes were this high in anticipation for a legacy direct sequel like this was back when they made Dumb and Dumber too. And I was so disappointed in that movie. Don't do me like that, Adam Sandler. But my hopes are staying high. At number eight, I have Happy Gilmore 2 coming out on Netflix later this year. How surprising that they're not going to put out this movie in theaters. Is that another indicator? Because I think if you had a really good movie on your hands, oh, I do want to get that thing in theaters. But Netflix pays them so much money and that's going to be number one on Netflix for like two to three weeks, so they're really paying for that. But at number one coming out on November 21, it is Wicked for good. We have Alpha Banal in full control of her power. She is declared an enemy of the state and turns into, well, a full out witch hunt. The thing I love knowing going into this movie is the fact that they already told us what happens to her character at the beginning of Wicked. It starts with her dying and if you've seen the original wizard of Oz, you already knew what was going to happen to her character regardless. To me, in my head, I just can't see it getting there because I love the character of Elphaba so much. Cynthia Revo does an amazing job in the first one vocally and through acting. Same with Ariana Grande. But in my head I could not see her character getting to that point. And I'm thinking to myself, like, maybe they changed something. Maybe they rewrite history. Maybe there's some kind of magic that happens in between that that doesn't happen to her character. Because I'm so invested and I love it so much that I don't want to see that happen to her. But I also think that there's going to be some kind of a shift in Wicked for good. And this is me have never seen Wicked. I've never seen it. I've never experienced that. I, for that reason, have not looked up any spoilers on what happens in the musical because I don't want to know. So this is me. Pure speculation. What I like to do about movies is figure out what they're gonna do. So you might already know. This is just my theory, but I think there's going to be some real shift in her character where you see that rapid decline. And maybe we see ourselves not rooting for her as much as we have been. And we do see this wickedness come out in her where she really starts to change. People around her go from defending her to being in fear of her. And then we ultimately do see her demise and it makes a little bit more sense. Or we see the opposite of her still being kind of a good person and she sacrifices herself. Because this movie was also split into two parts. It was originally going to be one movie and they had so much story to tell, so much content, that they split it into two. I am glad that they are releasing it one year after the first one, so we don't have to wait a whole lot. I think it's also smart for them because if you missed Wicked 1 in theaters, even though it's about to be on Peacock on March 21, they could have those double features sold out as well, where you show Wicked 1 and then it rolls into Wicked 2. Yeah, you're gonna be at the theater for like five hours. But I could see some people doing that. Then you add in some sing along screenings as well. And that is great for movie theaters and taking this thing full circle. It is movies like that that create that experience, that get people into the theater and that allow theaters to keep their doors open. And I will always be for that. So I'm not anti sequel. I'm just anti wasting money on things and wasting our time on things that feels like they weren't really made with the same quality as the original movies.

[Brandon]

Hey, hey, Caroline She's a queen of.

[Amy Brown]

Talking hey, what's on your mind?

[Bobby Bones]

She's getting really not afraid to feel.

[John Cameron Mitchell]

Take her soul to soul Just let.

[Amy Brown]

It flow no one can do it quite like Caroline it's time for Caroline.

[Brandon]

And I will say that there are a lot of fun touring things that. I mean, I was out on the road when we were filming Nashville. I was out every weekend that, like. Well, every weekend. So we would film all the way through during the week to the point where, like after the weekend I would tour with Charles Eston and Brandon started coming out with us as well, which was wonderful. And Six Wire, who are a fantastic band. But we would be pulling onto the lot of where we were filming in a real tour bus, getting off there, going into hair and makeup, and then getting onto the stunt tour bus. Like the, you know, the.

[John Cameron Mitchell]

You were living your reality, actually.

[Brandon]

Yeah. And I was absolutely exhausted. Like, I. You know, your body is not the same after you've had cancer. You know, people, especially at such a young developmental age, there are lots of gifts that it gives you that continue to give and being also very. So, like, just social interactions sometimes are a little bit difficult for me. They're much easier now. But there's so much that I wouldn't have been able to do without Brandon there. The world got so much more. I was able to see so much more kindness in the world and just the world got softer and you were protected.

[John Cameron Mitchell]

You could just drop your guard.

[Brandon]

Yeah. When I met Brandon, and there's. There's. There's always like the things that happen in life, that they happen, but just being able to interact with people and for me to be able to turn to him and say, I'm not sure if someone. People tend to say things that they like. They say one thing and they mean another. And I don't understand that. And to say to him, like, I don't understand what that meant. What did they. And he can tell me. It's. It's a we. It's like, you know, you just feel like an alien kind of thing. But everything about the world got better, including my own health and safety when Brandon showed up.

[John Cameron Mitchell]

You guys, how so? Having autism as a kid and adult, I guess, but realizing it. When did you realize it?

[Bobby Bones]

And then how did you get into acting?

[John Cameron Mitchell]

If being around a bunch of people in those kind of situations, like, how did you navigate that and like go into that field when you were kind of like when people were kind of.

[Bobby Bones]

Nerve wracking to maneuver, I'm guessing, how.

[John Cameron Mitchell]

Did you find it and what did your autism. What does it present as for you? Like, how do you work with it?

[Brandon]

For me, it's just. It's like, I don't even say that I have I'm not correcting you in any way, shape or form because there are so many different ways people talk about this. I am autistic. It's part of me. I had cancer. Some people have cancer. I don't, I don't consider myself to have autism. There's just a difference between like the, My autism is like, I am autistic. I, I have blonde. I am like, I'm a blonde.

[John Cameron Mitchell]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Brandon]

I'm an autistic blonde. Like, you know what I mean?

[Bobby Bones]

Yes, yes, yes.

[Brandon]

Manifests as, like I was saying earlier, like, it's very difficult for me to sit in a chair for a very long time and stay still. Actually have ADHD as well, which steered me to be able to handle like high energy, high sort of like pressure situations because I had a mission and my, the people who diagnosed me said I probably wouldn't have had the capacity because of the, the level, the level of autistic that I am. I'm between a one and a two. It's like 1, 2, 3.

[John Cameron Mitchell]

3.

[Brandon]

You need help with absolutely every element of your life. Two, you need some help, some assistance from somebody. One, you might get away with it on your own, but you definitely still have some sort of challenges, but you could go undetected, which is what happened with me. So I was sit between a one and a two. And I've always needed a little bit of help and some people have been more understanding of that and some people haven't. And a lot of that is just knowing, like knowledge is power. So once I was diagnosed, which was three or four years ago now, and it was, it was a really long process and it was something that I was able to do during the pandemic because it was a, it's not a fun process at all.

[Ringo Starr]

Probably took two years.

[John Cameron Mitchell]

What is the process?

[Brandon]

I mean, it's a very in depth psychiatric medic. Like your entire medical history, your psychiatric history, the psychology that you're living with, that you have lived with, traits that you have as a child that have stayed. Some may have stayed, some may have gone away. I like, I could sing before I could talk properly. I was more, I've always been more comfortable around animals than people. There are certain, like fluorescent lights. They always really bothered me and I just, I really thought I put it all down to my, my chemo and that like I was never going to be, I was never going to have normal, regular health. There is no such thing as normal. Um, but I had no idea what neurodivergence was. Um, I I started suspecting that maybe I was on the spectrum probably 10 years ago, but never had the time and didn't. There was just so much going on. I didn't, I mean, I used to. I'm. I had hyperlexia as a child, which is like, like, I think I read Silence of the Lambs when I was about 7. Probably should have done that, but I really enjoyed it. It was. But for a seven year old to be able to process that and not be freaked out by it and understand what the story was about.

[Mike D]

Right.

[Brandon]

It's the opposite of dyslexia, but.

[John Cameron Mitchell]

Okay.

[Brandon]

I have dyscalculia, so I can't read analog clocks. It's very difficult to tell left from right for me. So any director or director of photography who works with me is just like, you know, poor dink. And, and no one's ever given me any, like, heat about it. And I really can't count very well. Like, honestly, people like, oh, cute. No, it's not cute. It's actually it at school it. I, I needed help and I didn't have it because no one knew.

[John Cameron Mitchell]

So you just kind of had to survive.

[Brandon]

Yep. And is that what made you want.

[John Cameron Mitchell]

To start pursuing a diagnosis for.

[Brandon]

Was actually my dear friend Vivian, who has two gorgeous little autistic boys. They, they were the catalyst for the song Aurora, along with Sean McConnell's daughter A.B. and she has a different set of challenges. But this song, Aurora, is all about being yourself. And I know you're different. I know that you don't feel like you're being seen for who you are. I know that you don't understand what's going on. I know you don't get the world around you. It's okay. Like, you're beautiful. There's nothing wrong with you. That's what Aurora is all about. And Viv, who has been a friend of mine since we were 11, she's known me for a long time. Takes a really good friend to call you and say, I've been, you know, she said, I've been doing all of this research for the boys to help protect them. She's such a wonderful parent. Just navigating their journey through life as, as two autistic children who have different sets of needs that have to be met for them to thrive. And she said, you know, I've discovered a few things about myself along the way and it honestly made me think of our childhood and it made me think of you and I think you might be autistic and it's sort of like a shoe dropped. I was like, oh that, that would explain. Okay.

[Bobby Bones]

And that was the Sunday sampler. Thank you for listening. New episodes out week, so go check them out and if you have not subscribed, please do so. That would be awesome. You can check our Instagram and TikTok as well. That's it. Have a good Sunday. Bye everybody. American Military University understands the unique challenges of military life. Founded with roots in the military, AMU is built to serve service members, but it's open to anyone who values flexible, high quality education. Whether you're managing a PCs, preparing for deployment, or balancing a busy family life, AMU's online programs make it possible to work towards earning your degree wherever life takes you. For active duty service members and their families, AMU offers the preferred military rate, which lowers the cost of undergraduate and master's level programs to just $250 per credit hour. And as the number one provider of education to the US military and veterans using their GI Bill benefits, it's clear AMU is a university committed to honoring service with savings. So when you are ready to take the next step towards your education goals, AMU is here to help. Visit AMU Apus Edumilitary to learn more. That's AMU Apus Edumilitary American Military University Honoring Service with Savings.

[Amy Brown]

This is John Cameron Mitchell and my new fiction podcast series. Cancellation island stars Holly Hunter as Karen, a wellness influencer who launches a rehab for the recent in the future, we will all be canceled for 15 minutes.

[Ringo Starr]

But don't worry, we'll take you from.

[Amy Brown]

Broke to woke or your money back. Cancellation Island's revolutionary rehab therapies like bad.

[Bobby Bones]

Touch football, anti racism, spin class, and.

[Amy Brown]

Mandatory ayahuasca ceremonies are designed to force the council to confront their worst impulses. But everything starts to fall apart when people start disappearing. Karen, where have you brought us Cancellation island, where a second chance might just be your last. Listen to Cancellation island on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[John Cameron Mitchell]

Hey, sis, it's Dr. Joy from Therapy for Black Girls.

[Brandon]

We've had 400 episodes of Conversations, growth.

[John Cameron Mitchell]

And healing, so we're celebrating. Join us for a special episode with internationally recognized yogi Chelsea Jackson Roberts as she shares wisdom on mindfulness, movement and motherhood. I waited later to have children and I still have exactly what I knew that I wanted. You don't want to miss this special episode. Listen to Therapy for Black Girls on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever.

[Mike D]

You get your podcasts.

[Amy Brown]

Calling all Yellowstone fans, let's go to work. Join Bobby Bones on the official Official Yellowstone Podcast for exclusive cast interviews, behind.

[Brandon]

The scenes insights, and a deep dive into the themes that have made Yellowstone a cultural phenomenon.

[Ringo Starr]

Our family legacy is this ranch and I, protector of my life.

[Lunchbox]

Listen to the official Yellowstone Podcast now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or.

[Amy Brown]

Wherever you get your podcasts.