B (2:13)

And so the Bishop related, not related, even though they look very much alike and they, you know, they don't talk alike. They. John has a much thicker accent. But anyway, the Bishop Exchange now available on any podcast app there where you get your podcast. It's really funny. So I told Des, I said, hey, Des, here's a reason to come in. I, it, I felt like it was a good reason to throw some bait out there and see if he really meant what he said. And he responded right away. He's like, I'd love to. So he's an island. He'll join us here in a few minutes. But the big news today, Well, a news item today is that the Eagles and the Chiefs will meet themselves in the 355th Super Bowl. And the Eagles celebrating in Philadelphia the only way Philadelphia fans know how, by shooting off guns and running into each other with car. I mean, it's just insane. Those, those Eagles fan, those Philly fans, they are no joke. You know, when the Phillies play the Braves, it's always a ruckus time, right? Because the Philadelphia fans are fans like no other and the Braves fans are fans like no other. And what I mean by like no other, we're like the people in la. We show up at the seventh inning, we leave at the eighth inning, we show up right before the beer sales stop and we leave right after they do. That's it. That's how long we stay at our Braves games. But those Phillies fans are getting rowdy. Rowdy, shooting guns off in the air. Some, some guy shot a gun in the air. I was just watching a video shot a gun in the air and the girl was like, ow, you heard that? You know my ear. Don't. That's a gun. Don't shoot that in the air. And he goes, I don't give a fuck. The Phillies won or the Eagles won. And I'm like, you don't give a fuck. Okay, all right, that's, that's the way it is, I guess. So who are we going for, the Chiefs or the Eagles? The Chiefs. I only know this because I watched a brief period of the Chiefs game a couple nights ago.

C (4:00)

Oh, you did?

B (4:01)

Yes, I did.

C (4:01)

I watched the whole thing. I was rooting for the Bills, I have to say.

B (4:04)

You were rooting for the Bills? Why just the anti Chiefs?

C (4:08)

Well, I have a good friend who lives in Buffalo who's from Buffalo and he's really rallied our friend group.

B (4:14)

Don't think I've ever met someone from Buffalo.

C (4:16)

Oh yeah, I went to their wedding up in Buffalo. I've been to Buffalo.

B (4:19)

Did you like Buffal?

C (4:20)

I liked Buffalo. Buffalo was nice.

B (4:22)

It was, yeah, it was really, uh huh.

A (4:25)

Okay.

B (4:26)

All right, listen, I've. I have never been myself, so I can't, I don't want to talk shit about Buffalo, but I know it's up.

C (4:33)

There that it's Cold upstate New York.

B (4:35)

The Buffalo Bills are football team. Yes. Very close to the fall. Did you go to the falls?

C (4:40)

I did.

B (4:40)

What'd you think?

C (4:41)

Yeah. Loved it.

B (4:42)

Yeah. You think you can make it over in a barrel? You think you're making over in a barrel.

C (4:47)

And I can't believe that people did that back then.

B (4:49)

People do it all the time.

C (4:50)

No, not still.

B (4:51)

There's. There was a guy like three years ago, went over in the barrel.

C (4:54)

They don't allow that unless it's part of.

B (4:56)

Well, I don't think they've been allowed. Right. They don't allow it. Right. The guy just went. He just did it. Yeah, but he didn't make it. So. They didn't make it. So there you go. So the.

C (5:06)

So but the Chiefs won. It was a close game. It was a good game.

B (5:09)

It was a good game. I watched the. That's what I was watching. The very end of it. So now I know from one of the announcers that if the Chiefs win this super bowl, they will be the only third three time champs, three Pete champs of the super bowl ever. Listen, that Patrick Mahomes, he's really good at what he does. He's really good at what he does. He's got swagger. But there's a reason for it. And so.

C (5:30)

Yeah, their coach is great too. So.

B (5:31)

And so is that girl that sits up in the stand. What's her name? Taylor Swift. So is that girl. I. I didn't see one Taylor Swift sighting though. Yeah, but I was, I was kind of watching the game with the head start.

C (5:42)

They showed her up in the box.

B (5:43)

Look at you doing. Does Jeff like the professional football?

C (5:46)

Yeah, well, he's, you know, does all this fantasy stuff which is over now at end of the season. They're over by now.

B (5:51)

God bless you.

C (5:52)

But yeah, he does. I'm thinking about doing the fantasy team next year myself. No, just to get into. Yeah.

B (5:58)

You're going to go fantasy football on that?

C (6:00)

I think I'm going to go fantasy football.

B (6:03)

When you do fantasy football, please explain to me exactly how it works. Because I was the vice president of marketing for a fantasy football company and I could not tell you one inch. I cannot tell you one sentence about fantasy football. Not one. I would go to conferences, I would speak in front of people, I would market the company. Had no clue. Had never played fantasy sports in my life. Didn't start when I worked there, never did it afterwards. And I was the vice president of marketing for the fantasy football company.

C (6:33)

Wow, you really were getting into your job.

B (6:35)

Well, you see how well the fantasy football company did. Currently employed by that fantasy football company. We marketed it right into the ground when you hire the guy. So the guy comes to me and he says, hey, listen, I'm starting this company. I know a couple of tech geeks and they've built this platform and it's really great. And you know, it's all the rage and fantasy football is going to change the world of fantasy football. And I was like, great. And he's, he's like, so I want you to be the marketing guy. I want you to head the marketing department is a startup company, they just gotten funded. And I said, that's great. But I got to tell you one thing, I don't know the first thing about fantasy football. Never played it. And he's like, I don't think that really matters. I think you could probably market our company as well as anybody else out there. And I said, okay, well, if you're going to pay me, sure, why not? And I didn't even ever take the time to get educated. It was a short lived job. Not because I was bad at my job, but because the guy who ran the company was bad at managing all that money that people gave him. Yeah, well, you know, it takes all kinds. Chrissy takes all kinds. Well, when you get into fantasy football, let me know. But we're not talking about football today. We're talking about DEZ Bishop, his brand new podcast, the Bishop Exchange. He of course is on burner phone with his wife Hannah. And you can catch him if you're over on the other side of the pond on tour, currently in Ireland. Yep. Desbishop.net you can check out those dates in the UK and in Ireland and then he'll be back here stateside in the spring. He is one of my favorite comics. He is genuinely a nice guy and we are so pleased that he has decided. We are so pleased that he was not full of shit and he in fact agreed to come back on a second time. So our good friend, and we call anybody who comes here twice, a good friend, right? So so far we have two good friends, Reggie Watts and Des Bishop. Our good friend Des Bishop joins us. And the magic, through the magic of telepodcasting as soon as we get back from this break. What do you think, Chris?

C (8:34)

Let's do it.

B (8:35)

All right, we'll be back.

D (8:37)

It's a new year and a new me, which means I'm bringing you the exact same information I always do. So follow us on Instagram at the commercial break. And on TikTok at TCB podcast, do something new this year. Text us or call us and leave us a voicemail at 212-4333, TCB and go. Please go watch our YouTube videos@YouTube.com thecommercial break. I mean, we put all of this effort into our studio, so just go take a gander. You're gonna love it. And finally go to our website, tcbpodcast.com if you can't be bothered with anything else, because everything we have is right there on that site.

B (9:18)

Bye.

C (9:23)

Welcome back.

B (9:24)

Well, you look good. Welcome back.

C (9:25)

Yes. Oh, thanks for coming back.

A (9:27)

Thanks for having me. Thanks.

B (9:29)

I've actually been wanting to reach out for a long time, but you know, the holidays and all that other stuff. But every time I see a reel, I'm like, I should let, I should let Des know. He should come back on the show. And so when you got the new podcast announcement, it was a perfect time to say, let's do this.

A (9:43)

Oh, yeah, that's great. I'm always, I'm always willing and able. And John. So I'm doing this podcast called the Bishop Exchange with a comedian called John Bishop.

B (9:52)

We've been listening. Yeah, yeah, we've listened. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

A (9:55)

So I, we, we're not related, you know, but. But we have had this weird connection through our name and our friendship for, like a really long time. But he really want, he's huge in the UK and he's, he's bigger than me in Ireland these days too, to be honest with you. But he really wants to, like, expand his American audience. I was like, well, you're asking. You're asking the wrong guy.

B (10:17)

Yes. Tell him to come on. Yeah, ask Chris Rock. Tell him to come on. We'll help him. We'll. We'll do an interview with him if you want. If, if that's like, if you, if he needs a little love here in the States with some listeners, then just give them our email address and we'll be. Oh, I will.

A (10:33)

I will, absolutely.

B (10:34)

Or both of you can come. Oh, whatever. You know, you guys will figure it out.

C (10:37)

The congregation.

B (10:37)

The congregation. We will.

A (10:39)

Oh, my God. You guys really have been listening. Jesus.

B (10:41)

Yes.

A (10:42)

Embarrassing me.

B (10:44)

Well, you put it out there and we got some.

C (10:46)

Have a conversation. Join the congregation.

A (10:49)

Wow, you guys really did listen.

B (10:51)

I can't believe that. Do you think we're going to take an opportunity to listen to those silver haired foxes on the, on the RSS feed? Come on, man.

A (10:59)

I know it's funny. It takes a while to figure out. Out. Exactly what you want to say though, you know, I mean, it's hard.

B (11:04)

Yeah. John and I. Hardest part.

A (11:06)

Yeah, I, I was just happy to have like a similar age man to bounce off. Like, I love doing the Burn a Phone with Hannah, but like, you know, she's got that, she's got her sense of humor and I got mine and that's great. But it's also nice to have like a somebody who's like more like you to also have like different types of conversations.

B (11:24)

Could agree more.

A (11:25)

Yeah, but I still haven't figured out exactly. I mean, if I had my way, we would just talk about the 90s.

C (11:32)

Yeah, that's us.

B (11:34)

That's us. Yeah. We have to rein it in sometimes.

A (11:38)

Yeah.

B (11:38)

Like, biggest group of listeners according to Spotify analytics is females, like 25 to 35. Right. It's like 80% of our Spotify audience. And this is like a relatively new development. We were about 50, 50 male, female, skewing a little bit older. Like it's 30 to 45. But then all of a sudden over the last six months we've turned into like this younger female crowd. And every once in a while I have to remind my. Yeah, at least the people on Spotify, I have to remind myself that, you know, Chrissy and I were just saying this. They're not going to remember what totally tubular means. It's just not gonna happen.

A (12:14)

Yeah, totally. I have, I have. Well, I have that with Hannah sometimes, but particularly Hannah, Hannah's fans. Like, she's got a lot of like fans in their early 20s. Yeah. And like every. Very rarely, not lately, but like sometimes I would open for her if we were in a cool spot. And like, I really had to make sure I was doing bits that, that they got, you know.

B (12:33)

Yeah, that's you, you, you face a lot. I mean, Astrid's not, you know, Esther doesn't have a million Instagram followers, my wife. But you, I see you've, you present a lot of the same challenges that my relationship does because there's similar age gap between me and my wife. And so it's always like, it's fun to have with my wife and I love talking to her, but sometimes it's nice also to talk to the 46 year old man who also went through some of the same things I went through. And then like, we connect on that and that's hard. Like when I say some things to Astrid, sometimes she's like, what are you even. I wasn't even born. And I'm like, you couldn't learn also.

C (13:10)

She's from another country.

B (13:10)

Yeah, she's from another country. That does. Yeah. When you're from Venezuela, it's like, all right, let's get started. Let's not waste all the good talk here. Let's get started.

A (13:17)

Oh, I thought we would. I thought we started.

B (13:19)

No, no, no. Well, we can actually. You know what? We can.

A (13:22)

All right.

B (13:23)

We're just going. We already started. Bishop, back here with us.

C (13:26)

Welcome back.

B (13:27)

Welcome back. Thank you for, for coming on board. We really appreciate it. We all woke up last week, Thursday, to the. On the. I. I opened up the Hollywood Reporter, Huffington Post, Daily Beast. I saw the big news that DEZ is starting his fifth podcast. All over the front page. Des is starting his fifth podcast, the Bishop Exchange, with not his brother, John Bishop. But I, I swear, when you made this announcement, I ran to Astrid and I go, hey, Astrid, did you know that DEZ has a new podcast with his brother? Because I could. You guys, not only do you, obviously you're from across the pond, you have the same last name, but you kind of share a little bit of a resemblance, you and John Bishop. A little bit, I think.

A (14:12)

Oh, 100%. Like, we could have absolutely just said we were like first cousins from the first. From the jump, and people would have believed it. I do have a brother in comedy, Aiden. But actually, if you see Aiden next to John, I mean, they're very similar. We're convinced that there's some crossover genetically, but. But really it's just a funny coincidence that. That we're quite alike, you know? Yeah, but. But he's from Liverpool. I mean, I'm from Queens, but living in Ireland. But anyway, we always had this. We always had this funny bond over our name. And, you know, we're like, we're like like minded guys.

C (14:50)

You are, yeah.

B (14:51)

You're like minded. You're of the similar age and you're running around the similar. You're playing in the. Essentially. So tell us a little bit about your boyfriend John, because maybe, maybe the people over on this side of the pond don't know as much about John as you do.

A (15:04)

Yeah. So the thing about John Bishop is he's one of the biggest comedians in the uk. And when I say that, I think people don't understand the magnitude of it. He is 100% an arena comic. And, you know, the UK, small land mass, but, you know, 70 million people, not, not like a small country. And he's doing these, you know, these, these cities all over the uk and he's doing multiple nights in Arenas. I mean, he is a. A comparative guy. I mean, in the 2000s, I guess a comparative guy would be, like, Chris Rock or Bill Burr of. Of the uk and also in Ireland. Like, he. He actually, I kind of. I broke out in Ireland before him, but then he actually, he's huge in Ireland, too. So he's really like, Ireland and the uk, One of the biggest comics. But lately he has had an itch to do more stuff in the States.

B (16:00)

To come over to the States.

A (16:01)

Yeah. And he's been recording stuff in the States, and he's really fascinated by the challenge to him of, like, leaving essentially, like, stardom to.

B (16:11)

Yeah.

A (16:12)

Anonymity, which was part of his motivation for starting the pod, because he just basically wants to crossover. Yeah. And he wants to have as much stuff out there about who he is, you know.

B (16:24)

When do you find this is pretty common? Like, we were talking to Russell Howard a couple of weeks ago. Oh, right.

A (16:30)

Okay. Good buddy of mine also.

B (16:32)

Oh, you know Russell, he's great.

A (16:33)

Yeah. We all go back, actually. We're all the same vintage. John is older, but only because he started comedy very late. He didn't start comedy till he was 36. Russell and I would have started at, like, a similar age. So, like, we go back to, like, playing football, soccer at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Me, Russell Howard, John Bishop, Daniel Kitson, John Oliver. John Oliver, like, all of us. Oh, the Flight of the conchords. Like, Edinburgh 2002. Like, our football and, like, tip. Rugby matches were like, John Oliver. You know, Daniel Kitson, John Bishop, Mee. Who else? Oh, guys. Other guys you wouldn't know, like Josh Whitakem and Adam Hill.

B (17:18)

John.

A (17:19)

Yeah, just like, guys that just, like, became. Became huge. And Russell, like, Russell has been huge in the UK for years. Russell and John are kind of similar in that way, you know?

B (17:29)

Yeah. So, you know, so Russell, we were talking to him. Two things I found was interesting. One is that Russell is such a sensation over in the uk, but he also, I think, you know, he's got some following here, too, in the us so when I was doing my homework about Russell, I found a website. The second interesting thing, not only is he trying to make the kind of plant his flag over here. Second interesting thing about Russell is that the UK government, the United Kingdom government, has a website tracking the popularity of comics coming from the uk. So if you really. Yes, absolutely. And so I'm. Go ahead.

D (18:06)

I. Hey, sorry. I'm the producer. I did my research on. Your research. That is incorrect.

B (18:11)

What do you mean?

D (18:12)

It's Not a government website.

B (18:15)

It's uk.gov it's called YouGov.

D (18:18)

It's not uk.gov.

B (18:20)

Okay, great. Well, so there's a website tracking the popularity of comics over there in the uk. And I found this to be so extremely interesting because some of the people that were high on this list of comics, you know, I don't know how it gets voted. I'm sure it's just people voting online is like, like third, third call. Actors from Benny Dorm. The show Benny Dorm were like higher than Russell Howard. And I was busting his balls. I'm like, yeah, but are you, are you more popular than this show Benidorm? And he was like, oh my God, I can't believe this, there's a website out there. So now I'm going to do my research on John on that same website and I'm going to see just how popular.

A (19:00)

So is this, is this of UKX in the States or just the popularity of UKX in general?

B (19:06)

Popularity of, of anybody. That was, I guess the, the, the criteria for this particular website was British born comics doing the circuit around the uk. So it's really just about British comics and it was just such a funny website. And then they had all this information as to who they were popular with. Female, male, what age group they were pop. It was like the, it was a really interesting website and at the time because it says Ukraine Gov. Right. I thought it was an actual. Like you.

A (19:35)

Yeah, but you, YouGov is a, YouGov is a polling, it's a, it's a polling thing, right?

B (19:39)

Yeah, it's just a polling thing. Yeah, it's just a polling thing. So, so where do you and John record the, the podcast? Are you guys in the room together?

A (19:48)

No, only that first one because he was in New York and I, I was in New York but now I left, I left to Ireland actually the next day and then he went back to UK the day after. So he. We're just recording remote. So we're stuck, we're stuck with the remote stuff for now, but we'll try to get together when we can.

B (20:04)

Yeah, okay. So the Bishop exchange is the name of the podcast. Go check it out. We've listened to the first couple of episodes.

C (20:09)

Become a member of the congregation.

B (20:11)

Become a member of the congregation.

A (20:12)

But he also wanted the other, the other useful nature of the word exchange because we were just looking for like a bishop name, but he wanted it to be like cross cultural. Like he wanted that to be part of it. He wanted that transatlantic bridge.

B (20:26)

Yes. I like it.

A (20:27)

Yeah. But, you know, it can be hard, too, because, like, I, I think it will be harder for us to truly get the Americans to, To plug in, because the British people love chatting about America. Like, they love chatting about American politics. And, and it's not that Americans don't like chatting about British politics. They just don't know.

B (20:46)

We don't know. So it's like confused.

A (20:49)

On one side, you're talking about something everyone has an opinion on. On the other side, it's like, let's educate America about Britain. So we'll see. We'll see if we can manage to, to, to bridge, to make that bridge. That's one of the challenges.

B (21:03)

Well, I have noticed as a guy who follows your Instagram, I have noticed that you've been conspicuously absent from the United States for the last couple of months. Are you. Have you purposefully fled over there back to Ireland?

A (21:14)

No, I literally. I have actually been in the States until last Tuesday. So I did not do. I was not one of the only people that said, if Trump gets elected, I'll go, because, number one, I didn't say that. And number two, nobody ever actually goes, except for Ellen DeGeneres, who was, let's face it, she was fleeing, like, so much stuff. You know, she's getting hatred from both sides. So anyway, no, I just. I had this tour planned for quite a while. I'm here. I'm here for seven weeks now. But no, I have been in the States. I just. I went into a little bit of a glut of posting just. Cause like, I was. I was touring, doing. No, doing shows on the road, but I just wasn't like, recording them, you know?

C (22:00)

Yeah, it's tough. It's a job in itself.

B (22:02)

It is a job in and of itself. Do you, like, handle your own Instagram?

A (22:07)

I do.

B (22:08)

You need a person?

C (22:09)

Yeah.

B (22:09)

You need a person.

A (22:10)

Well, no, it's not so much that. It's. Honestly, it's getting them up on Instagram isn't my problem. The problem is just getting them recorded. And, and like, sometimes I'm proactive. Like, I had some shows before Christmas where I got, you know, I was proactive, I got some content. But then after Christmas, literally, I was just being a bit lazy.

C (22:26)

Right.

A (22:26)

With some of my.

B (22:27)

What do you guys do for Christmas? I'm fascinated to know this. How do you handle the holidays?

A (22:32)

Well, hey, number one benefit of having two dead parents is that you don't have any stress about where to go for Christmas.

B (22:43)

Fair enough. Fair enough.

A (22:44)

So it's Not a thing. The main thing is Hannah's half Italian. Her mother's side is Italian. So they do the Christmas Eve.

B (22:53)

Yes.

A (22:53)

You know, the seven fishes or whatever, which is not actually an Italian thing. It's an Italian American thing.

B (22:59)

Yeah, but I didn't know it's the seven fishes.

C (23:02)

Oh, you don't know.

A (23:03)

I think it might even be, like, a New York thing.

C (23:06)

Yeah, yeah, because they all.

A (23:08)

I grew up with all these Italians.

C (23:09)

Seven types of fish.

A (23:11)

So seven different fish on Christmas Eve. I think it's seven, right?

C (23:14)

I think so, yeah.

B (23:15)

Yeah. She's Italian. She knows seven. So seven different fishes on Christmas Eve, you just, like, go. And you have.

C (23:20)

It's cooked different ways.

B (23:21)

How do you even find seven different types of fish?

A (23:24)

Oh, you got calamari. Come on. There's loads of fish.

B (23:27)

Okay, if we're adding in squid, then. Okay. All right.

A (23:30)

Yeah.

B (23:31)

Octopus. Seafood. Seafood. Okay, got it.

A (23:34)

But anyway, it's. I. I don't know where I looked it up. There's no real. There's no evidence of any history. It's kind of.

B (23:42)

It's.

A (23:42)

It's derivative. But the thing is that the real history, which I think gets. It gets forgotten about a bit, that all the ethnic groups in America, they have their own culture, and those cultures are just as valid, you know? So just because it doesn't actually come from Italy doesn't mean it's not a unique cultural experience. No, of course. You're having the unique Irish American Christmas, for example. A lot of people don't know this. Corned beef and cabbage is not a thing in Ireland. No. Really? No. It's bacon and cabbage. It's boiled. Ham and cabbage is the Irish dish. Somehow it became corned beef and cabbage in America. I have no idea.

C (24:21)

That's what they had to work with.

A (24:22)

Why?

B (24:23)

Yeah.

A (24:24)

And now that's the thing. I was like, corned beef and cabbage. But, like. No. And I have to tell you something else. Americans. Irish. Americans don't make cabbage as well as Irish people, because I love bacon and cabbage, but corned beef and cabbage is shy.

B (24:39)

My dad made this all the time when we were kids. He made cabbage. You know an Irish of Irish descent. Yes, of course. An Irish of Irish descent living in Chicago. That was the thing. Corned beef and cabbage everywhere. I hated that dish. It was disgusting to me. But as an adult, I have had other. Other people's corned beef and cabbages. Not bad. Sorry, dad. You made it, like. Yeah, well, yeah.

A (25:03)

And my grandmother. My grandmother was from Ireland. Like, you know, like, A proper, strong Irish accent. But she did adopt the. We used to have corned beef and cabbage in her house on. Thanks. On St. Patrick's Day. That was like, okay. That was always a thing. But we'd march in the parade and then we'd come home and have corned beef and cabbage in my grandmother's house.

B (25:22)

So is it cold over there? I was thinking about this this morning when I realized you were over in.

A (25:27)

Over in Ireland. Yeah, I know it's colder where you are. Like, we. We have. Oh, no, sorry, you're in Atlanta, actually. You had your own.

B (25:33)

Oh, no, it's cold.

C (25:34)

Yeah, we just had snow.

A (25:35)

Yeah, you had some snow there. I caught a little bit of that. Sort of. I caught the first little cold wave in the south because I was in North North Carolina and. South Carolina. Charlotte and Greenville.

C (25:48)

Yeah.

A (25:49)

Very disappointing. Like, absolutely freezing.

B (25:51)

Yes, yes.

A (25:53)

So. So. So that was a letdown. But then I was in Minneapolis, which was absolute torture when I was leaving. But no, here, honestly, Irish winters are, like, cold, but, like, on the mild side of cold by, like, by proper American winter standards.

B (26:08)

Yeah.

A (26:09)

But we did. I did come back the day before one of the worst storms Ireland's had in a long time, so.

C (26:15)

Oh, that's right. I heard on your podcast you were.

A (26:17)

Talking storm Eowyn, they were calling. It was a weird e O. I'd never seen it.

B (26:23)

E O W A N W A N Ewan. So when you have this storm, did it snow in Dublin?

A (26:31)

No, snow, just. It was basically. Some parts of Ireland basically experienced a hurricane. We had a show that night, and then we thought the warning was going to be later. But anyway, in the end, it was a bit hairy. People started leaving at, like, 10 o'. Clock. I thought, oh, I'm bombing here. But actually, people started getting. People started getting warnings on their phone. Now, that was like. That was an hour and 15 minutes into the show, so it wasn't an issue. But I did notice some people walking out, but I just wasn't paying any attention. I was just like, ah, they're probably stressed about the storm. But then when I got off stage, Stephen Mullen. My opener was like, bro, we got to go, bro. I think we might have to. Maybe we have to get a hotel because I was driving back to Tuff. But we made it back. But it was actually. It was a little hairy. I actually hydroplaned a little bit twice, but not. Not crazily, but just, like, enough that, like, you're like, oh, yeah.

B (27:13)

Yes. Everybody's got that friend who freaks out about the weather. Right? The weather. Chrissy's my friend who does that. I'm. I'm Astrid's friend who does that. The only time that I've been to Dublin, which is just a beautiful city, the only time that I have been to Dublin was the worst snowstorm they had experienced in decades. And the entire city shut down. It was like a foot of snow. We got the last plane. We were the last plane to land at the airport before the airport got shut down for three days. And we took taxi. We were all standing waiting for these brave taxi drivers who were gonna drive us into the city and get us to the hotel. That car was moving from lane to lane without any effort whatsoever. It was just sliding all over the place. The poor driver had no idea how to drive in the snow. Astrid and I were shitting ourselves in the back of this taxi cab ride, and we ended up getting stuck at a hotel. Everybody. People were sleeping on the floor. They were trying to feed them and give them water. This happened. We were. This went on for, like, I don't know, four days. We were stuck in this hotel.

A (28:13)

Ireland doesn't. Ireland doesn't get a lot of snow. So Actually they don't. They don't deal with it well at all.

B (28:18)

As a dumb American, I just made the assumption when we were flying in and I was seeing all these alerts, I just made the assumption, oh, they know what to do with snow. It's Ireland. They very rare. No idea.

A (28:28)

I mean, we get. You get dustings and. But, like, honestly, all you need here is an inch and, like, everything shuts down.

C (28:35)

Oh, like Atlanta.

B (28:37)

It's like Atlanta. Yeah. Everything.

A (28:38)

No, all the way. All the way. They were talking in the south about the snow coming because I did have to cancel. What am I talking about? I had to cancel a show in Charlotte because of it. I ended up doing the Saturday, but they shut it down even though they ended up really not having any snow that night. Yeah, but I was. They basically deal with snow the same way in Atlanta, where you are, as they do in Ireland. There's no.

B (28:57)

Shut it down. Yeah, shut it down. And the only thing that was open were the bars. And so that's what we did. We walked to the.

A (29:03)

It's kind of fun, though. And it's kind of fun, and it's kind of pretty, you know, It's a pretty city in the snow and, you know.

C (29:09)

Yeah.

B (29:09)

So let me. So I. On your Instagram, you're going a little viral right now because you have a hot take. Not to say a hot take. It's just a take on Mr. Musk's wave to the crowd at the inauguration. How? Tell me. Give me your, like, just a little dissertation on how you feel about Elon Musk in general.

A (29:31)

Well, I mean, like this. There's something going on with the guy, right?

B (29:35)

Because he's a little loony.

A (29:37)

Well, he's become like, insanely obsessed with like, the MAGA agenda. And listen, you want to, you know, you like Trump and you like maga. I think that's fine.

B (29:49)

But I agree.

A (29:50)

He's the only one. I don't, by the way.

B (29:53)

Well, I mean, I don't agree with the politics. I agree that it's your right to support.

A (29:59)

No, no, no, I know, but I was just. I was just clarifying that because I actually, I got attacked on TikTok. I had like a very, like, centrist take about just the way the Internet works. I wasn't even really taking a position, but I still got attacked for having. For. For not. I actually got attacked for basically, like, not to taking a stand anyway.

B (30:21)

Elon Musk, we get it all the time. I get it all the time. I can't. You can't win for losing.

A (30:26)

You just can't win. So. But the thing about Elon is he's the. He's. He's the only insanely wealthy billionaire or like, like high. You know those high. High billionaire group that's just like, gone all in. A lot of them, obviously, right now they're pandering their cowtown. They're Trump.

B (30:42)

Yes.

A (30:42)

But he's just like, made it his whole personality. He's tweeting all day and there's just something like, not quite right. And I, I'm sorry, but, like, I can't get behind supporting the AfD in Germany and I think it's all a bit dangerous and whatever. Agree.

B (30:58)

Right. I agree. Yeah.

A (31:01)

So. So the rest of the take is that. So all that aside, that I was already like, what's going on with this guy? And just like the misinformation that he puts out or just like, just like the simplistic what about ism? That's just like, so not helping the debate. It's just. Is so indicative of the problem, you know?

B (31:18)

You're so right.

A (31:19)

And then he, He. I literally think he was trolling. I think it's not. It's not a safe way to troll. I think it's like, really a problematic way to troll because I think he knew what he was doing and I think he just kind of Thought it would be hilarious to sort of, like, do it in a way where he could try to say that he wasn't. And it was just like, listen, he owns a platform that thrives on this type of conflict, you know? And so for me, it's like, you're one of the smartest guys in the world. You're incredibly wealthy, incredibly successful. Like, it would require the most incredible stupidity to not know that it's just like, the one thing that you don't do unless you wanted to, or if you really were that dumb, to do it stupidly in that way, that you wouldn't immediately come out and be like, you know, I got excited and I'm just not great at, like, showing love because I didn't come from the hip hop community or something, you know, but he didn't even do that, which shows me that he's trolling. Whether he's. And the whole thing is that everyone jumps on it. You're saying he's a Nazi. It's like. No, I. I mean, I'm not really saying he's a Nazi. I mean, he's showing, like, fascist tendencies or like, he's showing, like, to be at least slightly enamored with fascism. I don't mean fascism like Hitler Nazis. I mean fascism historically. Okay, because there's been many, you know, Pinochet, Franco, you know, there's been plenty of Stalin, you know, and there's across all sort of, you know, parts of, like, economic belief systems, there has been fascism. So I'm not saying, oh, he's like Hitler, even though he happened to do the Hitler salute, but he has been flirting with. With. With fascism. But I don't think he's really like a Nazi. But I do think that he was trolling.

B (33:10)

Part of me wonders, and I agree with you on this. I don't think he's, you know, I don't think he's a Nazi. Right. I don't think that's like, I don't believe that about Elon. I believe that he is trying to be the most retweeted guy that particular day on his own platform. And he's trying to say to other, you know, the other side of the aisle, fuck you. We can do what we want. We're back in power. You know, take that essentially, and then I can just a kind of excuse making it away. But what concerns me about Elon in general is that he seems to be losing his mind a little bit. He's tweeting hundreds of times per day.

A (33:48)

Yeah, that I agree with You?

B (33:49)

Yeah, he's at the, he's at the inauguration. Clearly he's done something. Ketamine X. I'm not sure what it is. His eyes are rolling in the back of his head, he's swirling around. So I think this guy is just kind of deep in his own, like his own bubble and there's nothing to pop it. And now he has come into power with this movement that has no intention of checking him whatsoever. And so I worry that he gets more delusional. And the people that, that follow him or encourage this type of like rabble rousing are then the also the people that are in power. So now we're all just kind of losing our minds collectively. And there's no way to decipher truth from fiction because everything is excuse make the way and everything is just really you're like you said, what about ISM defeats all common sense. And I am also kind of a centrist and I think I feel like this kind of behavior is super dangerous and I don't know, like, I believe in his right to free speech and all that other shit. But I was saying on the show, like, we shouldn't be licking the balls of billionaires. We should be helping to keep them in check to make sure that they don't get out of control and wield some intense power over our government. The government is now for sale out in the fucking open and Elon is the one that's buying it. And it drives me up a wall that everyone out there on his own platform is just excuse making this kind of behavior. And you know, almost like God worshiping him. He's really seemed to have lost it down a ketamine hole or something.

A (35:22)

Yeah, I mean, he definitely has. Yeah, he has some hero worshiping going on because, you know, you can see by the comments like some people are just immediately annoyed. Now the one, I guess, like slightly, I don't know what put my mind at ease a little bit, is within a couple of days, like a calmer, more honest analysis of what went down came out. But just like the fires in la, just like all the big stories, the first two days are everybody jockeying for position on the biggest take. And the biggest takes often rely on just fake news. Yeah, I agree Trump's favorite term, but he only cares about fake news related to him. He doesn't care about fake news related to anything else. But again, I'm not even just singling out Trump there. I'm singling out everybody. Everybody's using just quick takes that have not been Researched. So the first two days of all stories, I find are like, not where the information is. You calm down. Like, even Shane Gillis I saw, had like a nuanced take on Elon. He literally said. Because, like, you know, Shane doesn't take actually hard political positions. I like Shane's take on a lot of things. And I could see a lot of the. What do they call it? There's a. Oh, the. But anyway, the bro sphere, you know.

B (36:40)

Yeah, the bro sphere. Gas fear.

A (36:43)

Yeah, that sphere. Yeah. I think largely was immediately taking the. Because they. They like. There's a trolldom there that they like, which is like, oh, this will irritate all the woke people that Elon did this. But eventually, like, even somebody like Shane Gills is like, it's hard to defend. Like, you gotta, like, it's all well and good to be like, what are you talking about? Of course I wasn't given the Nazi slew. Well, it's like, well, then apologize, because it clearly is.

B (37:09)

Yeah, absolutely.

A (37:11)

And then the other thing I want to say is that a lot of Jewish groups came out saying he's a big supporter of Israel and he's clearly not a Nazi. And it's like, okay, I'll 100% accept that. However, you're just making the assumption that his target of hate isn't a whole new crop of people. You know.

B (37:29)

That's right.

A (37:30)

Just because he's down with the Jews and Israel doesn't mean that he's not going to other a bunch of people and use the fascist handbook, which is, we have an enemy within and we need to destroy it for the purity of our nation.

B (37:45)

That's right.

C (37:46)

Yeah.

B (37:46)

Vulnerable people become the enemy of populism. Right. And that is always been the case throughout time. That's how you gather power. That's how you roll in. That's how you get the snowball rolling. And it's clear that's what's happening. So while I support anybody's right to vote for anybody, including Trump, while I may not like him personally, I support your right to vote for him. I absolutely do. I get concerned when the entire movement is based on demonizing groups of people. And on the other side also, by the way, it happens on the other side also. And I just think that it's a. It's like an unhealthy, dangerous place to be. And Elon seems to be the guy with the biggest.

A (38:31)

And I had. I had a bee in my bonnet. Old school chair. I had a bee in my bonnet. I had a bee in my Bonnet with Elon. Anyway. Yeah, I had a bee in my bonnet with Elon anyway, because he literally. I don't know if people were paying attention, but he was trying to rewrite the history of Hitler, which. That actually, that I had a. I had my antenna out for him, to be honest, which is why I had a big reaction to the salute, because he did actually try to say, oh, Hitler was actually a leftist. And he was trying to say that because it's obviously, you know, socialism is in the Nazi title. You know, he was trying to use that, like, already, like, it's just so. It's not even that it's debunked. It was just. It was never real. Trying to argue that, like, Hitler was a socialist. I mean, his main enemies were communists and, you know, like, you're looking at the 1930s and trying to compare the way society breaks down today and then trying to make it seem like Hitler aligns with today's left. Like, not a chance. It was literally rewriting history, trying to sort of, like, fob Hitler off on the left. Like, it's insane.

B (39:38)

A lot of people are trying to do this Tucker Carlson, and a lot of people are bringing on apologists and saying that, you know, it's. Listen, it's. It's such a complicated mess. And, And, And I agree with your. Your point of view. I think Elon is trolling, and I think Shane is right. If, if it's. If. If you're not, in fact saluting the Nazis, then do us all a favor and just say I'm sorry.

A (40:00)

Just say I'm sorry. That's all. How hard is that?

B (40:02)

High as shit on ketamine and ayahuasca. And I didn't know what I was doing. That's that.

A (40:08)

But let's play. They've been flirting. Trump flirted with them. You know, he couldn't come out hard in Charlottesburg, and they'll say, oh, he was misquoted about the both sides. But he just. He always has a hesitancy to come out hard against the extreme right. I. I don't need him to come out hard against Ben Shapiro or even Charles Kirk, for that matter. I don't need him to come out hard against them. But, like, people marching, you got to come out strong.

B (40:33)

Yeah, absolutely.

A (40:34)

So this isn't the first time that they've given little. Little signals. Oh, and can I just add.

B (40:39)

I know, please.

A (40:40)

Not that political, but Enrico Tario. Enrico Tario gets. Gets out of prison, Right. And then he's on these interviews in his Fred Perry, like, they have a uniform, the proud boys. They have a uniform, and he's in there on his uniform, you know, and you're just like, guys, how can you not see that this is, like, fascist behavior?

B (41:05)

Of course it is. Of course it is. And listen, we could go down the line, you know, this is not that we don't. We typically are not a political podcast, but we say things. I like to say things when I think it's just obviously makes sense pragmatically that you need to check the far. The extremes on both sides in the aisle, and you need to come out and say, like, Trump, I'm with you. I wish he would just check them. Like, just check them because. But he knows that they vote. And that's the thing, is that he is looking to consolidate any vote that he can get anywhere. I said this when Trump was running. Trump will say anything to anybody any day or time, left or right, liberal or conservative, if he thinks that's going to get him a vote in the moment. Because memories are short and people forget and they're willing to overlook as long as he's talking to you for that moment. And that's the truth. And that's. Listen, a lot of politicians have done that throughout time, but what I think makes this different is that there are a bunch of people around Trump who are. They're leaning into his worst urges, and that allows him to lean into his worst urges. And now we're kind of in this shit show. And it does look a little fascist to me. First, for sure. Now, like, they're. We're laying people off because they're black. I mean, like, you know, we have to call in if somebody we think was a DEI hire. Did you hear that one? It's like, it's just. It's fucking insane to me what's going on. We can debate the policies about DEI or equal opportunity or all that. We can debate that all day long. But that debate should happen in the halls of Congress or in our city halls or in our own workplaces. There shouldn't be forced, like fascism, essentially. Like, you have to call your brother or sister out if you think that they've, you know, been the. Been promoted because of some policy so that we can.

A (42:56)

Are they doing that?

B (42:57)

Yes, they are. It's got to look that one up. Yeah. This is insane. So, okay, so let's move away from politics just for a second, because I can. I will go on. I could go on all day long, and I. I don't want to. I don't Want to lean into my worst impulses. So. So let me ask you this. Last time we saw you, you were. I. If I'm not mistaken, you were in the Hamptons.

A (43:23)

Yeah. West Hampton.

B (43:24)

Yeah. And a renovation was going on in one of your apartment. Was it going on in your apartment downtown?

C (43:30)

Yeah, because that's when we talked to him.

B (43:31)

We talked to Hannah. And then you were, like, hiding in the Hamptons because you guys were doing a renovation or something. Is that right?

A (43:37)

That's probably some excuse we had for just being in the Hamptons. We haven't done any renovation.

C (43:42)

Oh, maybe it was a renovation next door.

B (43:44)

Maybe it was a renovation next door.

C (43:46)

Like the downtown apartment.

B (43:47)

Maybe. Yeah.

A (43:49)

We're supposed to. We're supposed to do a renovation, but we're procrastinating. But there was probably a re. There was probably a reason. Well, actually, because, you know, there's always. The building's old, so there's always somebody doing work. So. Yeah, she might have been rushing out because it was about to get loud.

B (44:03)

Yeah, she was very lovely, actually.

A (44:05)

But we had just bought the house in West Hampton. That was when I was talking to you. We just got that place, actually.

D (44:11)

Yeah.

C (44:12)

Hannah was outside playing or doing tennis.

B (44:14)

Oh, yeah, that's right.

A (44:15)

She was.

B (44:16)

So here's my question. So do you have a place in Ireland also?

A (44:22)

Yeah, I still have the house that I've had since 2005.

B (44:26)

Oh, really?

A (44:27)

Yeah. Yeah.

B (44:28)

So you guys are like, mini real estate moguls. Well, going on.

A (44:32)

Well, I had. I had a place in Dublin and a place in New York, and then we met, and Hannah, you know, Hannah's done. All right. So she. She got a place. So anyway, you know, it sounds better. Trust me. None of them are fancy.

B (44:44)

All right.

A (44:45)

The West Hampton one is a little fancy.

C (44:47)

Yeah.

A (44:47)

But.

B (44:48)

Okay, let's be honest.

A (44:49)

Yeah, but that was an ups. That was a good.

C (44:52)

For you guys.

A (44:52)

That was. I. Our family. My family always had, like, a small, little house there. So we. We. We up.

B (44:59)

We upgraded it. Yeah, just a little bit.

A (45:01)

We upgraded, so it seems fancier than it is in terms of. We did. It didn't. We didn't start from zero, you know.

C (45:08)

Well, Chrissy, I enjoy the success.

B (45:10)

He has three houses across two continents, and we have yet to be invited to either of them. Especially not the West Hampton one, which here is.

C (45:17)

I know why he's not inviting us to the West.

B (45:19)

I wouldn't invite me to the West Hamptons either. I keep my shoes on. Do you. Do you enjoy the ham? Tell me, do you Enjoy the Hamptons. Is it. You've lived there since. I mean, you've been there since, obviously since you were a child. Is it. Is it fun times? Is it good times over there? Yeah.

A (45:34)

So we're in West Hampton, so it's really not like the Hamptons that people have in their head.

B (45:38)

What's the difference? Well, for those who don't know geographically.

A (45:42)

It'S just the first one. Some people in the Hamptons property don't consider it the Hamptons. They say you need to be east of the Shinnecock Canal. So you don't get the people that want to be in the Hamptons to be seen. You don't get the sort of aspirational people, but you do. You do get some fancy people, but they're people that aren't interested in that nonsense of, like, right, we're in the Hamptons, but. But like, you, you're at the beach and the village is so cute, and it has everything that the Hamptons is supposed to have.

B (46:16)

Have.

A (46:16)

It just. It doesn't have the status. Hungry people, you know? Yeah, that's so. It's, it's, it's. It's quite nice. By the way, it's also quite a bit cheaper than that part of the Hampton. So I do want to point out that I'm not just. I'm not just saying it as if to make it seem like we're not fancy. Like it's really not the same.

B (46:33)

You know, Dez's next door neighbor is not Howard Stern. That we're just making that clear right now. Howard is. Howard is not on that side of the hour's east.

A (46:41)

Yeah, but however, Eli Manning is on our side of the canal. He doesn't live exactly near us, but. And Anderson Cooper is on our side of the canal.

B (46:50)

Look at Anderson.

A (46:52)

And Susan Lucci is in my village.

B (46:54)

Oh, I like Susan Lucci.

C (46:56)

I know.

B (46:56)

She's right down there.

A (46:58)

Gen X. People love Susan Lucci. In fact, the dressing room in the West Hampton Beach Performing Arts center is called the Susan Lucci Room.

B (47:08)

Oh, it is. Oh, yes.

A (47:10)

Yeah. And my mother was a big. All My children watch.

C (47:12)

Of course.

B (47:13)

Yeah, that's right. She was on that show forever.

C (47:16)

And she didn't win for forever.

A (47:18)

Forever.

B (47:19)

That was the whole thing about Susan Lucci. She never won a Daytime Emmy for anything, did she?

A (47:24)

Ridiculous. Erica. Erica Kane. Great character. Great character.

B (47:29)

Yeah. It's my story. I gotta watch my stories.

C (47:32)

My grandmother used to say that, too.

B (47:34)

We used to have this lady that worked at the radio station where we worked At. And there was a break room. The break room had a tv. And this is an older black woman. She was probably in her 70s. She was, like, in the accounting department in, like, clockwork. She would sit down at noon or 11 or whatever it was. And if you went up there into the break room, you would see her watching her stories. Her stories. And she would say, don't turn my stories. I'm watching my stories.

A (47:59)

I always thought that was.

B (48:01)

That was so cute. What do you watch when you're on the road?

A (48:03)

Go ahead. It's so funny that you asked me that. Cause I was about to answer that question without you asking.

B (48:08)

That's crazy. We have.

A (48:10)

I have a reason, though. Were you gonna say, what do I watch when I'm on the road?

B (48:13)

Yeah.

A (48:14)

Well, I'm obsessed with severance right now.

C (48:17)

Oh, severance. I know.

A (48:18)

I went.

B (48:19)

Re.

C (48:19)

Watched the whole first season.

A (48:21)

Yeah. But the thing is that I was triggered because you said. And she was in the break room. And my immediate thought wasn't about, like, a break room at work. It was the torture chambers.

B (48:31)

Yeah.

C (48:33)

Yeah. Which they've now changed.

A (48:35)

Don't. No spoilers.

B (48:37)

Okay. Okay. I won't say word about the new season, but I have to tell you this. So we are on the Odyssey Network. That's our podcast network. So is the Severance podcast, which is really good. The companion podcast. So I got a chance to. To do some reads, and for the. For the Severance podcast, it. The. The Severance is such a good show. It's so well crafted. If you haven't started season two, there's only two episodes. You will not be disappointed. I am obsessed with this show, and I'm obsessed with all of the, like, you know, rumors and theories and the, like. I'm online. There's a whole thing.

A (49:12)

Oh, yeah. I'm. I'm deep, deep in it. Actually, their podcast that you mentioned has been so fascinating to me because not only did I sort of. I rewatched the show along with the podcast, which was great.

B (49:26)

Yes.

A (49:27)

But. But beyond that, beyond the show, you learn a lot about, like, filmmaking and casting and creativity. Like, you learn so much about, like, the crafts associated with making a film. You know, like, the artists that. That make, you know, the different things that they use, the props that they use. Like, it's really fascinating to. Particularly with Ben Stiller, the detail that goes into creating this world. And, you know, every now and then, just. You just get a perfect combination of cast and story and director. And I think this has the potential. Obviously, plenty of shows have disappointed long term.

B (50:10)

Agree.

A (50:10)

But currently it has the potential to go down as one of the great shows of all time, in my opinion.

B (50:16)

It's so fascinating if the first two episodes of season two are. Yeah, there's so many moving parts, but they are so beautifully crafted and acted and the. Like, the. The. I'm not. I'm not gonna talk about it because you haven't watched it yet, but it is just such a great show, and I think it deserves all of the.

A (50:34)

Part that I've watched everything. By the way, I meant for the listener. The spoilers were for the listener.

B (50:39)

I won't spoil.

A (50:40)

I've watched the latest episode twice already.

C (50:42)

I know, right? No, I watched them all twice.

B (50:44)

I just finished it this morning. I just finished the second episode this morning. I'm just in love with that show. The part that's a little bit disappointing to me is that, you know, Severance is getting a big marketing push right now.

A (50:54)

Yes.

B (50:54)

But because of kind of the, like, the disparate nature of cable and streaming and all this, I don't think Severance has the kind of audience that say, a Breaking Bad did. Or sure.

C (51:07)

Fractured.

B (51:08)

Yeah. So I so encourage everybody to go watch Severance. I had a friend who was like, I watched Severance, but I just didn't understand it. I'm like, you're not supposed to understand. You're not supposed to. Supposed to understand everything. That's not the point.

C (51:19)

For the first time back three years ago, and I was like, whoa, this is depressing. And, like, I didn't know what to make of it. But after about the third one was.

B (51:28)

The third episode, you got into it.

C (51:30)

Third, fourth episode was when I was like, whoa, I can't wait to see what happens next. Then when you start to kind of. Because it's so different.

A (51:35)

It takes three apps.

C (51:36)

It's so different.

A (51:37)

But it requires. It's a complicated story, and it requires those. Those first two apps.

C (51:42)

Yeah.

A (51:42)

But the thing is that even in the first two apps. Yes. There's a lot going on, and it's a bit slow and you're trying to figure it out, but even within those epsilon, you're just in this insane world that is just fascinating on its own. Yeah. Just from the concept of it visually stimulating.

C (51:58)

Yeah.

A (51:59)

And. And mentally stimulating to try to figure out what's going on.

B (52:01)

You know, in the second episode, how the heli. Is. Is Helly. Is walking through the glass hallway.

C (52:11)

Yeah.

B (52:12)

It is. Abs. That's visually amazing. So visually stunning. It's amazing. I just absolutely loved it. Let me. Have you watched the show? Say nothing.

A (52:24)

Oh, yeah. You're taught this is. This is a. This is a controversial show.

B (52:29)

Is it a con. That's. I wanted to ask you how it was received. How did you.

A (52:34)

It's. It's received differently in different communities.

B (52:37)

Yeah.

A (52:37)

You know.

B (52:38)

Yeah.

A (52:38)

Now I have to tell you that I know Jerry Adams, and I. I have interviewed him.

B (52:43)

What?

A (52:45)

Yeah. So I am. I'm gonna go on the record right now and say that it's a bit of a hit job on Jerry Adams. And I'm not saying that some of the. Like, the Troubles was very complicated. You're, of course, say nothing is. Is about a very complicated time in history. And the. There's. There's a lot about.

C (53:06)

For those of us that don't know, what is it about?

B (53:08)

Okay, so let me just give.

A (53:11)

We need five epis. Yeah, let me. Give me your take. Give me your take first.

B (53:17)

Here's my take. As someone who Know who grew up at the end of the Troubles, and as someone who. My. My family watched a lot of the news about the Troubles, but I was not very educated.

C (53:27)

What is the Troubles?

B (53:28)

The Troubles is the Irish Protestant, Catholic, the UK government against the separatists, the people who want. The people who wanted independence. The nationalists.

A (53:37)

But in the north. In the north of Ireland.

C (53:39)

In the north of Ireland, hearing about this.

B (53:41)

So this is specifically. This show follows the history of one woman who was a part of the ira, and she became a manager, an executive in the ira. And it. Then it becomes also like kind of an adjunct story is about a guy named Jerry Adams who claimed he was never in the ira, but then became a politician in the government. And some people thought, well, he's just. He's just a member of the ira. And he kept claiming, no, no, no, I'm not. But apparently, or according to this movie, it makes Jerry seem as if he was directing a lot of violence during these Troubles, that he was a part of it, that he was directing it, that he had his hand in it, that he. And then it. And I'm just like. We could take five hours to explain this, but let me explain one important, important part. In the Troubles, there were. There was something called the missing, which were people that went missing supposedly because they were informers, informers for the. For the UK government against the ira. They were in the ira, but they were ratting out other IRA members. They went missing. And this. Some people got caught up that may have been innocent, and they went missing. So it makes it appear that Jerry Adams directed These people to be missing, quote, unquote. Right. But he has claimed all along that he had nothing to do with it. Not directly. So did I get that right?

A (55:10)

Kind of, yeah, sort of. But it's so complicated. But honestly, really, people just need to see it because, like, what happened to Gene McConville is like, a real tragedy. Like, there's no, like, say nothing. What say nothing does well is it shows, like, just the tragedy of society breaking down into violence and how really nobody is safe from that and that the morality as we know it in, like, peace time gets extremely complicated. Right. What say nothing does terribly is, it kind of suggests that certain injustices, of which there were many throughout Irish history and many throughout the microcosm of Irish history, which is the Troubles, there were many injustices. And in the end, like, why does one injustice get more attention than another unless there's a political motivation behind it, which is, in my opinion, is dangerous. Because if you know the history, it's better to watch. So I'll just give this sort of, like, yeah, take for the end if you.

B (56:26)

It.

A (56:26)

If you know the history. Right. Ending the Troubles was very complicated, and it took a lot of political will to get the peace process over the line to sign the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

B (56:39)

Right.

A (56:39)

And part of that Good Friday Agreement was the sense of that we all have to accept that there has been horrible things that have happened throughout the process, and we need to try to find a way forward. And then when they took the case against Jerry Adams over the gene McConville and the missing. Because of the Boston tapes, which is its own controversy in itself, but without even getting into the recordings, the fact that they decided to go after him for that specifically was so dangerous because it's like, oh, so how come we're not relitigating almost all of the past, except for this one thing? And this guy happens to be the guy that's the head of Sinn Fein, and they're getting powerful in the Republic of Iran because at that time, Sinn Fein was really starting to get powerful in the south as well as in the North. You know, like, why is it just we go after him and again, I know Jerry Adams, but I am no great defender. I've never understood why he keeps denying that he's in the ira. I think it's really just a fuck you. I'm never going to admit it now, but, like, everybody. Everybody knows that he was, you know, like, it's not that. That part's not even that controversial because everyone knows that he Was. But he just does that for whatever reason and that. That's fine. Right. But like, why that one was okay to re litigate but not all the other ones. And that's so dangerous because you have a situation where, like, peace is so delicate. Delicate because everyone's pissed off. Everybody has grievance. On every side of the community there is grievance.

B (58:09)

Yeah.

A (58:10)

But now you're going to allow one grievance to surface because you can actually just bring everybody's grievances back in and then we're back to square one. So I thought that was a bit irresponsible, the court case that happens late in the, in the series. Say nothing.

B (58:27)

Yeah.

A (58:27)

However, what I will say is that it's an exceptionally good series about the, the, the worst part of the troubles. And you'd be hard pressed to criticize anything from like the first five or six episodes. And, and it's very intense.

B (58:47)

Yes.

A (58:47)

Watching the suffering of Dolores Price and her sister. And it's very intense watching them have to do things that in hindsight are up. And a lot of it's up. I mean, the bomb is up, you know, but like, but they don't feel bad about the bomb, you know, but anyway, like, you know, it's, It's a great series. Just the last two episodes are, are. Are high.

B (59:14)

Have a big inconce.

A (59:15)

I have a big problem with them. And I'll. I did a bit of research on it and like the people behind the Boston tapes, particularly Ed Maloney, you know, he's written a lot of different histories of the ira, but he was very against the peace process and he was very against Jerry Adams. And here's the thing that the, the thing. It really makes it seem like there was like a divide that the middle of people that didn't want the peace process, people that didn't. Like, that's just not. That's like, that's not a fair reflection. It doesn't Even mention Martin McGinnis, who's Jerry Adams partner in all this, who's like. He was like, officially the leader of the Derry Brigade of the ira. He wasn't hiding that he was the leader of the ira. He's not even mentioned in, in the whole thing. So it's not even like good history because to really go at Jerry Adams and a lot of people don't like Jerry. I'm sure there was a lot of people that were delighted with the way that Jerry Adams was, was, was tarnished there. But like, they go after Jerry, they don't Even mention Martin McGinnis as also part of the. The peace process part. Not the Gene McConville part, but the peace process part. Like, Martin McGinnis is like, front and center on all that. So the last two episodes. Yeah, yeah, the last two episodes are like, a little bit agenda driven, but honestly, the first six, I would say, is one of the better shows about.

B (60:35)

I thought it was some of the best television that I have watched in a long time. So well acted, beautifully scripted, terribly stressful to watch, but intense, dramatic, interesting. And as. I don't. I mean, they make it pretty clear this is a dramatization of things that really happens. That Jerry Adams has never admitted being in the ira. They say that. That clear, but that kind of. That's a little bit of a scapegoat. And I understand what you're saying that that kind of gives them some creative liberties, but it also puts in the mind of the watcher that Jerry Adams is guilty of. Right. And so.

A (61:09)

Yeah, but I mean, Jerry Adams is guilty as in the sense that, like, we all. Like, like. Because this is the problem, because the series makes it. The series kind of, like, slowly goes into this, like, unsolved mystery type series, right?

B (61:23)

Yes, but, like.

A (61:23)

Like, that's not what's happening.

B (61:26)

No.

A (61:26)

In the North.

B (61:27)

Yeah.

A (61:28)

The truth is that the north is about, like, truth and reconciliation. It's not about unsolved crimes, you know, so, like, it's becomes a series about, like an unsolved mystery.

B (61:41)

I don't disagree with you in real terms.

A (61:43)

That's not what's going on. Because everybody knows that Jerry Adams denies being in the ira. When they say that he's denying being in the ira, it makes it seem like he's saying he wasn't involved in this shit. Like, we all know he was involved in this.

B (61:56)

Yeah, like, we know, but I agree with you. Like, the peace process is hard. And so you ha. At some point you have to put a pin in it and say, okay, we're gonna do our best to move forward. It's the same thing that happens in any war, in any, you know, conflict is at some point in conflicts in your relationship with your wife or your husband. At some point you have to say, okay, we. We did each other dirty on this one.

C (62:17)

Right?

B (62:17)

We said some shitty things to each other. Let's kiss and make up and can you give me a hand job? You know, I mean, listen, that's. That's the way that. That's the way that it all works.

A (62:28)

But it was a. It's a horrible 30 years for nothing. You know, like. Yeah, it's. That's actually for nothing. It's an interesting. It's an interesting sort of loop back to what we were talking about before, is that, like, people take for granted, like, civil society holding, you know, like, people in, you know, like, Ireland, even the north of Ireland, like, Ireland's had quite a violent history, but, like, in the 1950s in the north, there was sectarianism. Like, there was bad being done to Catholics. Like, there. It wasn't an equal society. But even amidst, like, the fight for civil rights, that actually was the precursor to the Troubles, nobody could have imagined that this would lead to 30 years of violence. Like, 30 years of instability, of people being. People being moved out of their houses. And, like, nobody could have imagined that. And nobody could imagine that still to this day, the city is divided. Like, there's literally a peace wall. And that's what I think. Sometimes when people are just so haphazard with antagonistic language, and then our leaders are haphazard with antagonistic language. It's like, it can break down. It's not as. It's not as solid.

B (63:40)

It is you.

A (63:40)

Exactly.

B (63:41)

Yeah.

A (63:42)

So you gotta be careful.

B (63:43)

Yeah. It just takes a spark, right? It takes one spark. It. The. The snowball gets rolling downhill. And that can come from. People need to be careful with their words and certainly with their actions, especially when they have a platform. And I think this. Like, this conversation has. You know what surprised me? This conversation has been a lot more interesting than I anticipated.

A (64:03)

Well, actually, can I just. Since we're talking about watching stuff, if you actually want to watch a movie about the hunger strikes, you know, because.

B (64:08)

Yeah, yeah, I do.

A (64:09)

Twelve. Twelve IRA men, you know, died.

B (64:13)

Yeah.

A (64:13)

But the. It's called Hunger. Michael Fassbender plays Bobby Sands. He was the first guy to die in a hunger strike. And it's very good. Very intense.

B (64:26)

It's hunger. Yeah. Just. Just one word. Hunger.

A (64:28)

Hunger. And it's.

B (64:29)

I'm gonna watch it.

A (64:30)

But it's very intense, though.

B (64:32)

Okay. I'm ready for it.

A (64:33)

This is not like, honey let you want to watch something fun.

D (64:38)

Yeah.

A (64:38)

I mean, this is a movie. This is a movie about a man starving himself to death in similarly gory detail, as they did with Dolores Price.

B (64:46)

Yeah, that Dolores Price. Those three episodes were highly intense. It's her and her sister, they go to jail and they go on a hunger strike for their civil rights. And it is. Some of those scenes are some of the most intense watching. But the Overall, the show, I think, is well deserved. The kudos that they're getting is well deserved for the acting and for the story making and for the cinematography. It's just really well done.

C (65:13)

I'll put it on the list.

B (65:14)

And the Bishop Exchange is now available anywhere that the congregation. Join the congregation. It's available anywhere you find your podcast. DEZ is currently on tour over there across the pond. But are you. I assume you're making your way back to. To the States for another round.

A (65:29)

Oh, yes, Right. Back in March, I'm back. Long Island, Phoenix, Denver. I got a lot of shows. They're all. They're all on my website. I need to. I need to. I've been. I was in the punchline before, but. Yeah, I haven't. No, I actually didn't sell a lot of tickets, but I feel like I would do better now, so I have to get back there.

B (65:49)

If you come to Atlanta, we will help you sell those tickets.

A (65:52)

Oh, great. And I'll. We can do. We can go live. We can be in the studio together.

B (65:56)

Oh, that would be awesome.

A (65:57)

That would be better.

B (65:58)

So there's a new. There's a new club here called the Helium Comedy Club.

A (66:02)

Oh, yeah, that's a chain.

B (66:03)

Yeah. Oh, it's a chain, but they're good. Yeah. And so they've got some good names north of the city. There's some good names that have been playing up there. So check it out. You book the show, we'll help you sell.

A (66:14)

All right. Actually, I'm overdue. I've had a lot of people asking me, so that'll probably come soon. I'll let you know.

B (66:19)

Know. And you're also welcome to come back here, I hope sooner rather than later. DEZ is our second second, by the way. You're the second. Only the second guest we have asked to come on twice. Really? Yes. True. Reggie Watts and you and Reggie Watts.

A (66:33)

Oh, my God. Dude, he's my favorite. I don't think a lot of people understand that the genius of Reggie was.

B (66:40)

We do. He is genius. Last time he came on, the second time he came on, he's like. He had a new girlfriend. So we ended up up spending about 48 minutes of the hour we were on talking about love. And to hear Reggie Watts talk about love while he is in love was one of the most fascinating conversations we've had in a very long time. He is a genius.

C (66:58)

Also, he sent us Kratom.

B (67:00)

Yeah. He sent us drinks.

C (67:01)

So we were all drinking that while we were talking.

A (67:04)

Like, I've seen him in three continents. Yeah. I've Seen him in Australia, in Europe, and in the United States.

B (67:12)

Do you guys know each other? Have you.

A (67:13)

I, I know him, but I, I got to know him originally from watching him and just being, like, mesmerized by what he does.

B (67:19)

You know what we should do? Des Bishop, Reggie Watson, the commercial break, all on one. And we can all.

A (67:24)

And we've done. We've done a few things together before because. Oh, yeah, I, I do have a, like, a secret little. A couple of hip hop skills. So I, I, I. And I'm very open to Reg's style of, like, improv. And he's such a great guy. I, I couldn't love that guy more creatively.

B (67:43)

Well, now my wheels are turning. Right now my wheels are turning. I'm going to email you because I've got an idea, an event that we have coming up, and I've got an idea. Maybe Reggie, DEZ and us can be in the studio at the same time. So I'm going to email you. Thank you, des bishop.com. i think it is a des.

A (68:02)

I lost.com@des bishop on Instagram.

B (68:07)

Who's sitting on your. Who's sitting on your. I don't even know how much do they want?

A (68:11)

I don't. I. I can't even get to that part. Yeah. So annoying.

B (68:16)

All right, maybe I'll help you find that out. We'll get that. We'll railroad this guy. They're called. They're.

C (68:20)

Yeah, yeah.

B (68:22)

They just buy up stuff just to have it. Okay. Des Bishop dot net. He's on tour across the pond to be on tour back here in America. Please check out the Bishop Exchange Burner phone, of course, is very popular with the kids, I hear. And tell Hannah we said hello. Des, we love you. We'll see you very shortly.

C (68:40)

Enjoy your tour.

A (68:41)

Thank you.

B (68:42)

Thank you.

D (68:44)

Did you know that we have a phone number? Well, we do, and you should call us. Nobody's gonna answer, but you can leave a voicemail for us that we may or may not play on the show. And if that's not the vibe, then just send us a text. Okay? Our number is 212-4333, TCB. So get texting and give us something to talk about, please. We need it. While you're doing that, you can also follow us on Instagram, hecommercial break and on TikTokcbpodcast. And as always, check out our website, tcbpodcast.com for all of our audio and video content. Speaking of video, we are also posting full video episodes@YouTube.com the commercial break. So go watch them, please. Anyway, now let's hear from our sponsors and get back to the good stuff.

B (69:35)

Ah, DEZ Bishop. What more is there to say? What more is there to say? We talked about American politics. We talk about Irish politics. We talked about Irish politics. Then American politics. It was a whole different severance. We talked about severance. That's one thing we did talk about. And the non existent renovation that Hannah told us was going on in her apart. There you go. Now we know you've been outed, Hannah. You've been outed.

C (69:59)

He was a good deflector for her.

B (70:01)

He was.

C (70:02)

He had her back.

B (70:03)

Oh yeah, yeah. Well, you know, there's always construction.

C (70:07)

We mean to renovate, but we haven't yet.

B (70:10)

We meant to get our story straight before I came on, but I didn't talk to her. That's got, that's got to be interesting. Like Hannah is very successful at what she does. As a matter of fact, I think she just sold out. Out Three nights at Radio City Music hall with Giggly Squad, her runaway podcast hit. And so. And DEZ is famous in his own right and much more famous over across the pond. Then they separate for long periods of time. Like he's over there for seven weeks. That's a long time to be without your wife. That's a long time to be without your wife. But it, you know, part of me thinks that might work just fine. I'd love to separate from my family for seven weeks. Just the children.

A (70:52)

Children.

B (70:52)

Not the wife, just the children. Actually, I think, I think I'd miss them. Terrible. You?

C (70:56)

Absolutely.

B (70:56)

Yeah. I go out, you know, I go out of town to a conference or whatever for a day or two and all of a sudden I'm missing my kids. It's fun. That's fun. It's funny in that way about children and family members is that you think you need a break from them and then you get a break from them and you really don't want the break from them. Yeah, you're instantaneously missing them. So anyway, dez, lovely human being, Des Bishop dot net. That's where you can get tickets and information about his tour. Also check out the Bishop exchange with John Bishop and Des Bishop. It's a good podcast. We've listened to the first couple of episodes. They're just getting started. One of the things that they do do is you can actually call in live on their show and they will take your questions right there. More information about that on his social medias. So thanks Tess for coming in today. We certainly appreciate it. I'd love to talk again. Yes. And I believe we'll see Des for a third time. Maybe.

C (71:50)

Hopefully.

B (71:50)

He told us he would, but we'll see. We'll see how it goes after we just talked American politics for an hour.

C (71:58)

He's fascinating. I like hearing his point of view.

B (72:00)

I agree 100%. Listen, everybody's got a point of view. It's okay to share that point of view every once in a while. I know that the commercial break is often a break from all of the regular bullshit, but sometimes the bullshit percolates, and you just want to hear what somebody else has to say. That's it. That's all we're doing here. Just facilitating a conversation.

C (72:19)

Look at us. You look at us.

B (72:21)

Yeah, look at us. Look at us. We're the new Rogan. Sure, that won't be happening.

A (72:31)

All right.

B (72:31)

Desbishop.net you know what to do. Also, we'd love it if you would check out our website. We have a.comtcbpodcast.com that's where you go to find out more information about the show. All the audio, all the video right there from one location. So if you're. You're a URL kind of person, feel free to dial us up. You can also get your free TCB. URL.

A (72:57)

Kind of.

C (72:57)

Dude, dial it up. On the aol.

B (72:59)

On the aol, there's a song that my son has been listening to. And in this song, it's got the noises of the dial up. It's like a sound effect. And he goes, dad, that's what phones used to sound like, right? And I go, that's how you used to connect to the Internet. And he said, with that noise. And I go, well, that's the noise it would make. He was very confused about everything.

C (73:20)

It is very confusing.

B (73:21)

I said, that's the noise of. Of computers talking to each other. And he was like. Like Siri and I. Okay, I'll just put it down. Forget it. Never mind. You'll learn when you're old. You'll hear it in the history books.

C (73:33)

Yeah, it will be.

A (73:34)

All right.

B (73:35)

Add the commercial break on Instagram, TCB podcast on Tick Tock. And now every single episode of the commercial break is available on video, usually the same day that it airs@YouTube.com the commercial break. So please go follow us. Subscribe like on your favorite videos. You know what to do. 212-433-3822. That's 212-4333. TCB. Questions, comments, concerns content ideas. We take them all, voicemail or text message. We'll get back to you. Join the conversation. Share if you care. All right, Chrissy, I guess that's all I can do for now.

C (74:10)

I think so.

B (74:11)

I'll say that I love you.

C (74:12)

I love you.

B (74:12)

Best to you. Best you out there in the podcast universe. Until next time, we will say, we do say and we must say goodbye. Sam. Ed, I have it.