THE COMMERCIAL BREAK — TCB INFOMERCIAL: ARI SHAFFIR
Episode Air Date: February 11, 2025

Episode Overview

Bryan Green and Krissy Hoadley welcome comedian, podcaster, and self-proclaimed world traveler Ari Shaffir to the TCB Infomercial Tuesday. The episode delivers TCB’s signature blend of improv-comedy and irreverent banter, focusing on Ari’s hit Netflix special America’s Sweetheart, his ongoing "Farewell Tour," wild adventures abroad, comedy’s podcast revolution, pop culture absurdities, and the current state of division in America. With sharp humor and an unexpectedly thoughtful tone, Ari dives into separating art from artists, travel as self-expansion, making space for humanity beyond conflict—and why the world could really use a hit of Molly.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Ari Shaffir’s Comedy Career, Podcast & Netflix Special

• Ari's Background:

  • In comedy for decades, one of the earliest comedians to embrace podcasting (since 2010). Regular on Rogan and Segura’s shows.
  • Host of You Be Trippin — a travel/comedy podcast with an inclusive, curiosity-driven perspective.

• New Special & Tour:

  • America’s Sweetheart now streaming on Netflix, lauded by hosts for its wit and insight.
  • “Farewell Tour” is underway, including a show in Atlanta. Ari hints at traveling extensively after this round of performances.

“He is really good at what he does. So Ari is here, we’re going to talk all about it.” — Bryan Green [04:06]

2. Banter: Super Bowl, Bill Murray, and the Lost Art of Email

• Super Bowl Recap:

  • Brief, over-the-top mock sports banter (“one of the most uneventful Super Bowls in history” — Bryan [01:28]) quickly gives way to a rant about Bill Murray, media nostalgia, and Yahoo emails.

• Bill Murray’s Eccentricity:

  • The hosts attended a bizarre Bill Murray concert ("Bill Murray and The Blood Brothers"), segues into Murray’s infamous inaccessibility—only reachable via a quirky Yahoo email scheme.

“There’s no serious person in the world that still has a Yahoo email address, is there?” — Bryan Green [08:23]

3. Welcome Ari Shafir: Nashville, Comedy Clubs, and Clean Comics

• Ari’s “Nash Vegas” experience: sticking to East Nashville, hanging with Nate Bargatze ("he’s so clean...I could never expose my audience") [14:23].
• Hosts, in awe of differences between Ari and other comics, praise his boundary-pushing but thoughtful material.

4. Separating Art from the Artist & Pop Culture Provocations

• Discussion pivots to public controversies (Kanye, Michael Jackson, Bill Murray).

  • Ari jokes about the Kanye effect, public nudity stunts, and the news cycle’s obsession with provocation.

• Ari’s Core Take:

  • It’s important to judge art and not the chaotic artists behind it.
  • All the greatest creatives are a bit “looney tunes,” and without them, “There’s nothing else there.” [18:52]

Memorable Quote

“Sometimes it’s important to separate the art from the artist. I don’t follow Kanye on Twitter, I follow him on Spotify.” — Ari Shaffir [17:56, paraphrased by hosts + [19:14]]

5. Comedy, Podcasting & The DIY Media Shift

• Ari details his early jump from restrictive radio to the uncensored world of podcasting.
  • Early days: explaining “what is a podcast” to confused guests [22:31].
  • Impact: revolutionized how comedians connect to audiences, build careers, and bypass traditional media gatekeepers.

“We all were like looking for a way away from radio... Suddenly something popped their heads up and comedians loved it. We drove right into it.” — Ari Shaffir [21:31]

6. Global Comedy: Wild Adventures Abroad

• Travel as Comic Inspiration:
  • Ari recounts traveling the world for gigs, especially in spots where comedy is newly booming (Amsterdam, Berlin, Hong Kong, Iceland).
  • Shares anecdotes of ordering food in China (“I learned the words for ‘beef’... They were like, 'No. Bark, bark, bark.'” [26:49]), culture shock in places like East Timor/Myanmar, and his love for the uncomfortable.
  • Australia: “Biggest cokeheads in the world with the worst coke” [27:41].

Memorable Quote

“I like being uncomfortable...I like going to places where it’s kind of like I can’t communicate with anybody.” — Ari Shaffir [32:18]

• Berlin’s Wildness:
  • The ultimate party city (“fat naked people with just shoes and socks on...someone’s getting their dick sucked behind you” [34:40]).
  • Social progressiveness: identity and sexuality are “so far past” being topics of discussion. “What are you into? What kind of music do you like?” [33:16].
  • Advice for Spanish nude beaches: wear sunglasses, don’t stare.

7. Division, Media, and Making Space for Humanity

• The “Tucker Carlson episode”:

  • Ari intentionally invites diverse guests (including controversial figures) to strip away divisiveness and focus on travel, shared curiosity, and humanity.
  • “Fight back against all this divisiveness by including everyone and taking them away from the thing that's being divisive...” — Ari Shaffir [40:55]

• Listener Backlash Insight:

  • Both Ari and his guest get hate mail from both ends: “We both got, like, thrown away by our audience for talking to each other. And then you get an occasional, like, really interesting stuff. Never seen this side of either of you." [45:35]

• **Hosts relate, sharing how even apolitical statements spark outrage; Ari’s advice: focus on what unites, not divides.

8. Positive Outlook: Starfish Parable and “Focusing on the Good Stuff”

• Ari uses the starfish parable to argue for making a difference where you can, one interaction at a time.
• On changing perspective:
  • “Instead of going, 'Look at that Trump flag', go, ‘Wow, look at that deck they built on that house.’” [47:17]
  • “You change the way you look at things, the things you look at start to change.” — Bryan Green referencing Wayne Dyer [47:47]

9. Psychedelics for Peace? Molly Diplomacy

• Ari’s gameplan: get world leaders (Biden and Trump) into a room, slip them some Molly, and “start liking each other.” [52:10]
• At the Daily Wire, Ari pressed: “Would the world be better if every single person had to do, have one psychedelic trip?” He insists yes—experiencing ego dissolution would breed more connection.

“Do you believe in God?... Who made mushrooms then?” — Ari [54:39]

10. Ari’s REAL Farewell (And Encouragement to Live Before You’re Old!)

• Ari confirms the “farewell” isn’t for health reasons but a proactive choice to see the world, pack up his New York life, and “go down to one backpack.”
  • Wanted to travel while still healthy and “enjoy the fruits of my labor.” [57:01]

“Once you get over, like, two to three weeks gone...I don’t have an anchor anymore. Oh, I’m just floating.” — Ari [57:33]

• Hosts and Ari agree: Don’t wait for retirement to live fully.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “All artists are fucking luney tunes...Take your albums and throw them in the garbage, you will have nothing left.” — Brian Green [18:52]
• “Kanye’s a little crazy, but Black Skinhead slaps.”—Ari Shaffir [19:48]
• “He’s just saying stuff that gets people upset. It’s high school level.” — Ari on Kanye trolling [20:02]
• “Berlin is the best city...wildest party scene on earth. And nobody cares about anything negative.” — Ari [32:51]
• “You can’t judge [artists] for anything other than the thing they put out.” — Ari [18:44]
• “Would the world be better if every single person had one psychedelic trip?...Yes!!!” — Ari [54:39]
• “Instead of going, ‘Look at that Trump flag’, go, ‘Wow, look at that deck they built.’” — Ari [47:17]

Episode Structure / Timestamps

• [00:00] Cold open / Barber sketch
• [01:28] Super Bowl banter & transition to guest intro
• [04:16] Bill Murray stories, nostalgia, email scams
• [13:37] Ari joins show — Nashville, comedy & travel
• [15:06] America’s Sweetheart, separating art from artist
• [21:31] The origins of podcasting, comedy’s new era
• [25:02] Global travel stories — food, drugs, wild adventures
• [33:16] Berlin’s progressive culture and party scene
• [38:22] You Be Trippin — best guests, inclusive ethos, Harlan Williams story
• [40:55] Tucker Carlson, division, and seeking connection instead of conflict
• [47:17] Focusing on positivity, starfish story
• [52:10] “Molly diplomacy”: Psychedelics could help world leaders
• [55:39] Why Ari’s “Farewell Tour” is real: plans to travel, live free
• [58:33] Hosts reflect on taking breaks, living fully

Tone & Style

• Banter-heavy, sarcastic, and warm. Chaotic but genuine, with sharp comedic jabs and a recurring theme of self-reflection and inclusivity.
• Ari’s delivery mixes dry cynicism with heartfelt worldliness—he toggles smoothly from stories about “worst coke in Australia” to advocating empathy and open-mindedness in a divided America.

For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

• You’ll experience an unfiltered, laughter-packed, and sometimes surprisingly deep tour through comedy, the value of risk and discomfort, the necessity of judging art on its own merits, and why it pays to be curious and positive.
• You’ll get real travel tales, pop culture asides, a crash course in modern media, and permission to let loose and live before “the villages” claim you.
• And in case you need Ari’s parting wisdom: catch him live before he vanishes with one backpack, watch America’s Sweetheart, and maybe, just maybe, eat the mushroom.