TCB Infomercial: Mayim Bialik

Summary

Podcast Summary

Podcast: The Commercial Break
Episode: TCB Infomercial: Mayim Bialik
Date: September 3, 2024
Host(s): Bryan Green and Krissy Hoadley
Guest: Mayim Bialik

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Overview

This episode of The Commercial Break features a lively, honest, and wide-ranging conversation with Mayim Bialik—actress, neuroscientist, podcast host, and cultural commentator. Bryan and Krissy explore Mayim’s trajectory from her early acting days and academic pursuits to her perspectives on mental health, social media, AI, and navigating fame. The tone is comedic and irreverent but dotted with moments of deep insight, vulnerability, and inspiring candor.

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Main Topics & Key Insights

1. Mayim's Unconventional Path to Hollywood

[10:12 - 13:33]

• Mayim recounts her "late bloomer" entry into acting, not starting professionally until age 11.
• Her family’s creative but not showbiz-focused roots informed her confidence and use of humor (her dad was a drama teacher, her parents were documentarians: [15:20]).
• Quote: “We were like a post-Holocaust, if-you-don’t-laugh-you’ll-cry kind of family.” (Mayim, [14:47])
• Landing young “Cece Bloom” in Beaches led directly to being cast as Blossom.
• Reality vs. nostalgia: Blossom was a modest, not breakout, network success but left a big mark on viewers.

2. Navigating Fame, Family, and Academia

[17:55 - 22:40]

• Mayim dissected how humor became a tool for codependency and social navigation, for both her and Bryan.
• She describes her awkward re-entry into regular schooling during and after Blossom—highlighting jealousy from peers and social isolation.
• College at UCLA was another adjustment; she was more interested in science than in her acting fame, but professors and students often put her in the spotlight anyway.
• Quote: “Some professors would bring their kids to meet me, which was weird.” (Mayim, [21:02])
• She highlights “affirmative action” in academia and the very real challenges many students (not just former child stars) face.

3. Culture, Spotlight, and Surviving Public Scrutiny

[22:40 - 29:41]

• Mayim reflects on the ‘90s teen celebrity ecosystem (Corey Feldman, Haim, Neil Patrick Harris)—TBT fun facts like Jennifer Aniston playing her sister in a failed series.
• She frames the media's hunt for scandal as "a sport… to tear people down, raise them back up, then tear them down again."
• The real damage is in society’s drive to seek a one-line answer for complex issues—especially addiction and tragedy in young celebrities.
• Social media dramatizes and distills every story to instant soundbites, conflicting with how humans naturally process info.
• Quote: "We're built for human interaction... It’s fascinating to see what AI can do, but it’s much more interesting for me to bother my boyfriend to write me a love poem, I promise." (Mayim, [29:01])

4. The AI Conversation

[29:41 - 32:17]

• Bryan frames AI as more hype than actual revolution; Mayim agrees it’s both overhyped and deeply transformative.
• Mayim is particularly concerned about AI’s effect on young girls, deepfakes, and "propagation of dangerous material."
• She laments her kids “don’t even know how to write cursive”—a sign of lost basic communication due to tech.
• Quote: “I don’t think that makes me a fuddy-duddy.” (Mayim, [31:40])

5. Taking a Break From Acting and the Return via Big Bang Theory

[33:04 - 37:00]

• Mayim’s 12-year hiatus was a deliberate escape from the "fancy part" of fame and a chance to pursue neuroscience, motherhood, and a more anonymous life.
• She shares the dilemma of academic vs. at-home motherhood and the career repercussions for women in academia.
• She returned to acting for practical reasons ("when my insurance ran out...with a toddler and a newborn"), ultimately landing on The Big Bang Theory.

6. Big Bang Theory and Public Pushback

[37:00 - 44:46]

• Joining Big Bang Theory as Amy caused some fan controversy, especially in how her character related to Sheldon.
• Mayim discusses Internet nastiness, body image, and learning to disentangle worth from online feedback.
• Memorable moment: Mayim admitting she once mistakenly “thumbs downed” her own YouTube video ([39:21])
• She recognizes the allure and toxicity of social media comparison: “I have a very hard time understanding that's not what their life is like and comparing my inside to other people's outsides.” (Mayim, [40:48])

7. Behind the Scenes: Cast Relationships & Transition to Jeopardy

[42:46 - 47:59]

• Cast camaraderie endures; Mayim even directed Simon Helberg in her film (As They Made Us).
• No “WhatsApp group,” but regular contact—especially with Melissa Rauch and Kunal Nayyar.
• On Jeopardy!: She speaks candidly about her split hosting with Ken Jennings, the writer’s strike, and her eventual firing—which she connects (without accusation) to her refusal to cross the picket line.
• Quote: “Your principles are only worth something if you stand by them no matter what.” (Mayim, [46:34])

8. Navigating Gender, Public Perception, and Principles

[48:19 - 51:49]

• Mayim reflects on being a “loud” woman, penalized by public perception compared to male media figures.
• The group digresses into present-day debates about women’s bodily autonomy and the ongoing fight for rights:
• Quote: "I never thought it would be pushing the edges to say the government doesn't get to tell me what to do with my body. But behold, here I am, like, saying something that's really uncomfortable for people." (Mayim, [51:05])

9. "Mayim Bialik's Breakdown" Podcast

[52:10 - 57:01]

• Mayim describes starting her own podcast during lockdown to fill a gap in mental health conversation, especially for those without therapy backgrounds.
• The podcast features experts and celebrities, confronting issues like trauma, anxiety, narcissism, and sleep.
• Notably, she recommends starting with the Kunal Nayyar episodes, Peter Attia, and Michael Singer.
• Memorable note: Corey Feldman removed his signature sunglasses during her episode—a “high compliment” and sign of comfort ([56:53]).

10. Closing Banter, Next Time Teases, and Nipple Factory Doc

[57:26 - 62:15]

• Mayim teases discussion for a future appearance about the hyperbaric chamber and Teresa Caputo.
• Bryan and Chrissy rave about Mayim’s documentary My Mom and Dad’s Secret Nipple Factory: an unexpectedly moving story about a man making prosthetic nipples for breast cancer survivors.
• Discussion closes with laughs about Corey Feldman’s music and tour exploits, and warm hopes for Mayim’s return.

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• [00:00] Mayim on criticism from faith communities: “You need to take your glasses off and drive home.”
• [14:47] Mayim: “We were like a post-Holocaust, if-you-don’t-laugh-you’ll-cry kind of family.”
• [32:51] Mayim on the future of AI: “I hope we're dead by then.”
• [39:21] Mayim’s relatable YouTube mishap: “I clicked on it and realized I had just given myself a thumbs up.”
• [46:34] Mayim on the Jeopardy! picket controversy: “Your principles are only worth something if you stand by them no matter what.”
• [51:05] Mayim: “I never thought it would be pushing the edges to say the government doesn't get to tell me what to do with my body.”
• [56:53] Mayim on the Corey Feldman episode: “He didn’t keep his sunglasses on for the entire episode!”

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Segment Timestamps

• 10:12 – 13:33: Mayim’s path to acting and Blossom
• 17:55 – 22:40: School, codependency, adjusting after fame
• 22:40 – 29:41: 90s Hollywood, mental health, and public scrutiny
• 29:41 – 32:17: AI, school, and technology’s impact on youth
• 33:04 – 37:00: Hiatus from acting, academic career, motherhood
• 37:00 – 44:46: Joining Big Bang Theory, dealing with criticism
• 42:46 – 47:59: Cast relationships, Jeopardy! hosting and firing
• 48:19 – 51:49: Gender, public perception, and bodily autonomy
• 52:10 – 57:01: Mayim’s podcast and episode recommendations
• 57:26 – 62:15: Documentary discussion, playful banter, upcoming topics

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Takeaways

• Authenticity Matters: Mayim’s willingness to discuss vulnerability, therapy, trauma, and the struggle for validation in the public eye resonates deeply.
• Comedy as Coping: Both host and guest use humor as life armor—illustrating its sociological and psychological power.
• Nuance over Simplicity: The need for patience with complexity—whether with AI, fame, or mental health—was a recurring theme.
• Mental Health for All: Mayim's podcast pushes mental health literacy as crucial for everyone, not just those in celebrity or academia.
• Standing for Principle: Mayim’s stance during union strikes, gender norms, and reproductive rights underscores her commitment to integrity over career safety.

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For New Listeners

This episode is an engaging mix of behind-the-scenes Hollywood, thoughtful personal reflection, social commentary, and unscripted hilarity—setting the tone for The Commercial Break’s approach to interviews with noteworthy guests. If you want an authentic, funny, and often moving chat with Mayim Bialik, this is a must-listen.

Next suggested listens:

• Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown - Start with Kunal Nayyar, Peter Attia, or Michael Singer episodes
• The Commercial Break - Any “TCB Infomercial” guest spot for more interviews like this

Transcript

[Mayim Bialik]

This lady said to me, I don't think you should talk about depression and medicine in your concerts. That makes your faith look weak. I said, you need to take your glasses off and drive home.

[Brian Green]

On this episode of the commercial break.

[Mayim Bialik]

The first time I actually went, you know, and I started a YouTube channel, which is, you know, where my podcast is now. But when I first started the YouTube channel and I went on and I was like, oh, there's comments. Oh, that's interesting.

[Brian Green]

And.

[Mayim Bialik]

And I was like, who? Who said thumbs down? And I clicked on it and realized I had just given myself a thumbs up.

[Brian Green]

The next episode of the commercial break starts now. 2:30 in the morning. Oh, yeah. Cats and kittens, welcome back to the commercial break. I'm Brian Green. This is my dear friend and the co host of this incredibly dumb podcast, Chris and Joy only. Best to you, Chris.

[Chrissy]

Best to you, Brian, and best to.

[Brian Green]

You out there in the podcast universe. Thanks for joining us today on a TCB infomercial. This one's got me kind of excited. Yeah, if I can say her name correctly, I can do the first one. Mayim.

[Chrissy]

Yeah.

[Brian Green]

B. Alec. Yeah, I think it's Mayim. I think I've heard her say it, but I don't know, maybe I don't want to ask her because then I just sound dumb. So maybe we'll just breeze over it. And I'm certainly not going to say her last name. Listen to me closely because I'm gonna go. And my email's here with us now because I keep on saying Bialik or Bialik, but it's Bialik. I looked it up. Bial Bialik. Myim Bialik. You know her and love her from one of four very large projects that she's done. You love her from Beaches, but you might be too young to remember Beaches, the movie, then quickly into Blossom, then hiatus there for a hot minute. We'll talk to her about that.

[Chrissy]

While she went to school, while she.

[Brian Green]

Went to ucla, got her doctorate, I believe, and then after that, she became one of the hit sensations on the small television show called Big Bang Theory. Yeah, I mean, what the. Like, you take some time off.

[Chrissy]

I know usually people that take that hiatus, you know, it's for a reason.

[Brian Green]

Like they're like, I'm sick of the fame. I want to take a break. I want to have a normal life.

[Chrissy]

Yeah. Or then maybe you don't come back with such a big bang.

[Brian Green]

Yeah. Chrissy, you'll be here all week. Chrissy will be at the bone or 25th of Orlando. 25th in Orlando. Look at you making puns over there. That's cute. I like that.

[Chrissy]

But seriously, I mean, like, it's like us, you know, taking a break.

[Brian Green]

Taking a break. I wish we could take a break.

[Chrissy]

Well, I mean, from the other world that we came from.

[Brian Green]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Chrissy]

For 12 years.

[Brian Green]

Yeah. Well, I mean, no one is asking to go back into the radio business. That's the difference.

[Chrissy]

We just talked about that.

[Brian Green]

When you go from one hit sitcom 12 years later to another hit sitcom. Okay, I can understand. When you go from one losing expedition into an even bigger losing expedition. Yeah, No, I. I think if. Okay, I'll. I'll move on from the radio conversations. I don't want to sidetrack this, but mayim. Like, what a stroke of luck. I mean, Blossom was maybe not a runaway hit, but certainly people of our generation will know who she is.

[Chrissy]

I grew up with her.

[Brian Green]

Yeah. From Blossom and then on to Big Bang theory and then 12 years later.

[Chrissy]

Yeah.

[Brian Green]

And then just a couple years after that, she's the host of Jeopardy. It's fucking insane. And of course, Ken Jennings now has the regular spot there. And I'd love to pick her brain about exactly what happened if she'll be so kind as to let us in on that information.

[Mayim Bialik]

Yeah.

[Chrissy]

Because I don't really know what happened.

[Brian Green]

But I kind of know.

[Chrissy]

Well, they were doing host people. They were guest hosts, right?

[Brian Green]

No, they were co hosting.

[Chrissy]

But before that, though, weren't there some people that got in?

[Brian Green]

Yeah, there were like, some people that were twirling around trying to be, you know, some celebrities and stuff like that. After Alex. Alex died. And then they didn't really know. They didn't have. Hadn't picked someone yet. And then they announced that they would be doing co hosting duties. And then I think for a while she was doing like, Celebrity Jeopardy. The special Jeopardies, and he would. And Ken was doing regular Jeopardy. And then something just happened. And so we'll ask her about that and maybe she'll, you know, give it. Give us the dirt. I mean, not that I'm looking for dirt. Just maybe she can give us some more information about that. But I'm excited to have her. And, you know, what else do you have to say about my. She's super smart, which is going to make us sound super dumb. So put your big boy pants on, Chrissy.

[Chrissy]

Even more so than we already do.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, I mean, she. I think she's like a neuroscientist or something like that. Neuropsychiatrist or something like that. But, well, you got to know that we're. These are big guns that are coming in the studio. So I hope she can keep up with our basic bullshit, because we're just gonna sound stupid. Sometimes we get the smart people in here, and I'm like, oh, man, I gotta get another cup of coffee. This morning I went and got from my hippie dippy friend Raphael, which I'm a hippie dippy, too.

[Chrissy]

Oh, you saw Raphael?

[Astrid]

Hello.

[Brian Green]

So I saw him for the first time in a while, face to face. We talked, but I saw him for the first time a while. He said. I said, man, I'm crashing in the afternoons. I'm feeling. And 16 children. What do you.

[Chrissy]

I mean, I know I don't have all the children, but I'm crashing too.

[Brian Green]

I tell you what. And I know this sounds like bitching and complaining, and it is. And we don't dig ditches for a living. We don't sell radio spots for a living. Luckily, you know, we are lucky enough, blessed enough, if you will have a blessed day. Somebody said that to me the other day, and I was like, so we're blessed enough. Grateful and grateful for the opportunity to do this for a living. But you be on for three or four hours a day, like, really on. Like I am right now, you know, supercharged, Eyes wide open, thinking of the next thing, and it hurts your brain.

[Chrissy]

Funny.

[Brian Green]

Be funny. That's right, Be funny.

[Chrissy]

It does hurt your brain.

[Brian Green]

It does hurt you.

[Chrissy]

And then I. You take on all your 30 kids, and then I drive through.

[Brian Green]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Chrissy]

Which is kind of like having 30 kids. You're dodging things.

[Mayim Bialik]

Yeah.

[Chrissy]

You're, you know, picking up. You're having to be alert.

[Brian Green]

Difference. 16 people asking you different questions at the same time that you feel obligated to answer. Or listening to a good book on tape while you're dodging everything.

[Chrissy]

I'm doing that, so.

[Brian Green]

And listen, everything's about perspective. Life is difficult no matter who you are. And if you have zero children, if you have 12 children, if you have more than I do, it's all about perspective. Life is tough in the first place.

[Chrissy]

But, I mean, I don't even think life's difficult. I'm just wondering why I'm so tired.

[Brian Green]

I don't know.

[Chrissy]

Is it the heat?

[Brian Green]

Me too. I.

[Chrissy]

Maybe I think the heat has something.

[Brian Green]

Is it some weird COVID virus? I don't know. But I'm telling you what. The last two months, especially the last three weeks, I got cortisone shots. Some people say those make you really tired.

[Chrissy]

I did the cortisone, too, and I was sick.

[Brian Green]

Oh, yeah.

[Chrissy]

Oh, steroids.

[Brian Green]

Oh, May. See, maybe this is just a lingering effect because they said it can last for weeks or up to a month. And I'm like, holy. Well, I thought that was the kind of the silver bullet, but apparently it's not. Let's ask my email about all of this. What are we doing? We're just complaining about our job before my email comes in here. But it's. It's important to note that my name also has a podcast called Mayim Bialik's Breakdown. And that podcast, she has, like, superstar celebrities. We have celebrities like my emails, but she has, like, superstar.

[Mayim Bialik]

She does.

[Chrissy]

As well as psychiatrists and different people.

[Brian Green]

Different kind of people.

[Chrissy]

You know, relationship experts. Different. Everything to do with just learning more about yourself.

[Brian Green]

Yeah. And it's fun. And it can be funny. I've listened to a couple hours. It's fun, it can be funny, and it also can be tear jerking and thought provoking. And she basically sits down and. And talks about, hey, how you doing? Like, how's mental health? Tell me about a challenge you had.

[Chrissy]

In your life and how did you get through it?

[Brian Green]

Yeah. Matthew McConaughey, Ben Stiller. Half the cast, I think, from Big Bang has been in Chelsea Handler. Chelsea Handler, that's right. So very interesting conversations. And let's talk to her about it. But let's do this first. Can we? If you don't mind, I'd like to go into the awkward transition phase.

[Chrissy]

I like that noise with it.

[Brian Green]

And say this. Why don't we take a break? And then through the magic of telepodcasting, we're going to bring Mayim right here in front of our faces here in the studio, Chrissy. And we'll ask her all these pressing questions that we have. What do you think? Pow, pow, bam, Jizz. Jizz. Was jizz one of them? No. Pow, bang, boom on the old Batman's jizz.

[Chrissy]

That wasn't one of them.

[Brian Green]

It should have been with Robin flying around in those kites like that. Oh, oh. He's sticking his head directly up Batman's ass. What was up with that? That's a different podcast than one of my friends has. You can go listen to that. All right, we'll be back with my email. Bialik.

[Astrid]

Okay, you guys, I have an idea. Why don't we take a break? Gotcha.

[Mayim Bialik]

This is the break.

[Astrid]

And you already know when you hear my sexy voice, it's time to whip your phone out and follow us on Instagram or skip the ads at the commercial break and on TikTok at TCV podcast. And of course, you know, if you want to get involved, you can always give us a call. Call or text us at 212-433-33, TCB. That is 212-433-3822. And guess what? I finally have information on TCB Live, so the links are in the show notes. But let me tell you right now, you can come see us at Dania beach improv on Tuesday, September 24, or at the Funny Bone Orlando on Wednesday, September 25. It's gonna be fab. So go buy your tickets and we'll.

[Mayim Bialik]

See you in Florida.

[Brian Green]

And Mayim is here with us now. Thank you so much for joining us. I feel like this is such an honor to have you here on our show today.

[Chrissy]

Absolutely. Welcome.

[Mayim Bialik]

Thank you. It's so nice to be here.

[Brian Green]

You have been a kind of a mainstay throughout our lives. We're humans of a certain age, so I don't choose to share on the show, but I sure everybody can figure out. Figure it out. You have been in entertainment for most of your life. I mistakenly thought Blossom. That was your first role, but you were in Beaches. You were the young version of I'm sorry. That I can't remember the character's name in the movie.

[Mayim Bialik]

Her name was cece Bloom.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, cece Bloom. That's right. How did you get, like, how did. How does that happen?

[Mayim Bialik]

Yeah, so I actually, I'm considered a late bloomer to the acting world because I didn't start as a toddler. You know, most. You know, most child actors that you see, they start in commercials. And, you know, I was born in 1975, and if anyone remembers what TV looked like at that time, kids didn't look like me on television. You know, there was what was called the all American look, which is hilarious that that was, like, completely okay to refer to. But what it was was, like, blonde hair, blue eyes, small featured children. I did have blonde hair and blue eyes, but I was not small featured ever.

[Brian Green]

Yeah.

[Mayim Bialik]

So, yeah, I didn't. I didn't start acting as a kid, and I liked school plays and started professionally acting because I thought I understood that, like, people like me could have an acting career.

[Brian Green]

Yeah.

[Mayim Bialik]

And my parents, like, my mom was like, okay, well, I. She had just stopped working. She was a nursery school director. And we literally, like, just opened the phone book, like, which a lot of people don't even know. What that is? Yeah. And my parents were like, here are children's actors in Los angeles. I was 11 when I started professionally acting. And I didn't have much luck, you know, in like commercials and mainstream stuff because I didn't look like other kids. My first audition was for Full House to play dj.

[Brian Green]

Oh, no shit.

[Mayim Bialik]

Yeah, like how old I am. But I did start getting character roles. And then a year after I started acting, you know, my parents always said that I looked like Bette Midler and Barbra Streisand. And a year after this audition just came down the line. It was like, we're looking for young Bette Midler and I was one of the only non redheads, you know, auditioning. And it was like a four month process of auditioning and meeting Garry Marshall and meeting Barbara Hershey and Bette Midler. And, you know, I was cast. It came out when I was 13. It came out the week of my Bat Mitzvah, which I say was like the biggest one.

[Chrissy]

It's incredible.

[Mayim Bialik]

And then after that, you know, I know it sounds crazy, but like, I got my own TV show. Like, that's literally what happened.

[Brian Green]

Did you get the TV show in large part because of the performance in Beaches?

[Mayim Bialik]

Yeah, it was like, you know, there.

[Brian Green]

Was like people script looking for an actress.

[Mayim Bialik]

Yeah. I mean, there was like ads in the trades, like for your consideration for Academy Award nomination. Like, my life just became ridiculous. Like we lived in like a one bathroom house. Me like, you know, it was like four people in one shitty rental in Hollywood. Like, this was not my life. But yeah, like, I started getting, you know, companies. And look, back then there was only three networks, so it was like really different. I ended up doing a series with Fox, which was like not even a real network back then. All they have is like America's Most Wanted, 21 Jump street, the Tracey Ullman show, with this weird cartoon called the Simpsons in the middle of it. Anyway, and I ended up doing a series for Fox, which did not go anywhere, but Jennifer Aniston played my sister. So I love to tell this story that I did a series with Jennifer Aniston. Yeah, she was probably 19 or 20 at the time. Like, you can do the math. And then that series failed and I ended up being picked up by Wit Thomas, which was the company that did like Golden Girls and Empty Nest and, and Nurses and like all these like, sitcom shows. And a man named Don Rio had written a show as like a modern Catcher in the Rye. And it was a female executive who said, what if it Was about a girl and people were like a show about a girl. What do you mean?

[Brian Green]

Wow.

[Mayim Bialik]

Yeah, I mean like Gidget had been the last show on, you know, kind of like popular television about that. That's key to even think about. Yeah, Mary Tyler Moore obviously was a fe. But she was a grown up. It was, it was different. And then there was, you know, there was My so Called Life. There was Clarissa Explains It All. But in terms of like network standard primetime shows, we premiered after the Cosby show and you know, we were told no one will watch a show about girls. So you know, what you, what you get is like a lot of ways to try and get boys to watch and like Playboy models were on the show and like all this stuff. And we lasted five years. You know, we were like a little show that could. People remember it as much more popular because if you were young, you liked watching it. But it was not like a top 20 show. It was not a top 10 show. You know, we were then after the Fresh Prince of Bel Air for most of the time that we were on the air.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, it was like a, it was like a niche hit. I do remember watching the show Blossom, but I don't remember watching the Playboy because of the Playboy models. That's right. Well, when you're a 15, 16 year old boy. But take it back a little bit. Did you. Was your family, I mean, obviously they, they opened up the yellow pages and they found a child agency. Did, did you come from a creative family or was this just like, I really want to do this?

[Mayim Bialik]

Yeah, I came from a creative family, you know, in that we were like a post holocaust, like, if you don't laugh, you'll cry kind of family. Everyone was like funny and like tragedy was funny and you know, what is it? Tragedy plus time is comedy. Like, you know, I grew up with a lot of kind of heaviness that way. My dad was a drama teacher, which more meant that like I was comfortable around video cameras because he like had them. He taught at a performing arts school for many years. You know, my parents were funny in that like first generation American, like South Bronx kind of way.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mayim Bialik]

You know, like. But they were very artistic. My dad was a writer and a photographer and a poet. And they made documentary films in the 60s and 70s. And they were just like a funky bohemian, like, you know, artsy of kind couple.

[Brian Green]

And so we're hippies. Call it like.

[Mayim Bialik]

They were hippies, but they were east coast hippies, which meant more like politics, documentary films, like less like weed and free love. Like, it was still. Like, I was kind of raised socially conservative because they both came from, like, Eastern European families. And so, yeah, like. But we weren't like a professional acting family. But there was a lot of humor, and I was a good mimic. You know, I was good with voices, and I would just. I remember as a kid, you know, even before I was professionally acting, like, making other kids laugh, I wasn't, like, the class clown, but I would, like, hone in on, like, that weird kid's voice, you know, in the, like, third row of social studies. And I could mimic it, and I didn't. I don't. I don't think I was a teaser of people, but I was a really good kind of mimic of personality, and that was something that I remember made kids laugh.

[Brian Green]

So you're. So stop me if I'm wrong. I might be putting words in your mouth, but you kind of learned how to emotionally navigate with humor, and then you found that to be a way to connect with people outside the home.

[Mayim Bialik]

Look, who's the armchair therapist.

[Brian Green]

I'm not going to try and go toe to toe with you on intelligence, because anybody who listens to this show knows that I'm a dumbass. But I will say this. I also came from a family that had a lot of emotional strife. First generation, like, my mom mentally ill and my father emotionally closed off and, you know, both lovely human beings in their own way, but that's just who they were. Right? And so for me, humor became a way to navigate life. And then as a socially awkward kid, when I made him laugh, I got him. And.

[Mayim Bialik]

Yeah, so that's.

[Brian Green]

Yeah. I mean, you.

[Mayim Bialik]

Yeah, you've. I mean, that's literally. I think. And, you know, on my podcast, we talk about this stuff in these terms all the time. So, like, I'm happy to talk about, like, you've basically defined, like, a perfect formula for. For codependency, you know, in terms of a child trying to say, whatever makes you happy will make me not feel what I'm feeling now. And if it feels uncomfortable, I want to do something that makes it not uncomfortable. So that's kind of one. And, you know, the other thing is, I say there's two kinds of actors. There's actors who want the applause. They want to feel like I'm good enough. And then there's actors, which is my type. It's like, when you're okay, then I'll feel like I'm good enough. And there's a difference. Right? There's actors who are Like, I love the fame, and, like, I'm amazing and I'm beautiful and look at me. And then there's people who are like, no, but really, are you okay? Because then we can move on. And then I know that I did good by you. Right?

[Brian Green]

Very interesting. Very interesting. And I. And I have listened to the podcast, and you do break this stuff down in great detail, and I would say with great sensitivity, but also very smartly. And let me ask you a question. When you go to Blossom, and are you going to, like, a regular school or. I mean, not while you're filming Blossom, but after you get done with the five years of Blossom, did you go to a regular school?

[Mayim Bialik]

Yeah, I was on Blossom from 14 to 19. Yeah, well, I graduated high school at 17, though, so I had three years of, like. Like, trying to go back and forth. I went to public school my whole life. Like, I'm. I was like, went on buses and, you know, went to public school here. So I would go back to my school. But it didn't go that well because girls can be very jealous at that age. Boys don't know what to do with most girls, especially, like. Like. Especially, like, smart ones who are, like, you know, kind of, like, calling them out on, like, their BS if they're, like, being annoying. So, yeah, I didn't do that well socially. And, I mean, I think I was. I was weird before. It wasn't like acting made me that way, but I think a lot of young actors, like, A lot of young actors like to have people around them who kind of, like, boost them up and make them feel good. That never felt right to me. It never felt authentic. And so I kind of had more of a lonely, you know, kind of experience. So I stopped going back. I mean, I went back to school, like, for 10th grade and part of 11th grade. And then I was. I mean, we didn't call it homeschooling. We just called it that. You had, like, tutors. And then, you know, I got my diploma at 17, but I was tutored on set, you know, that whole time. And then starting in 11th grade also, I was like, you know, on everybody's TV screen, so it was a little bit distracting. So, yeah. But then I had two years, you know, at that time, like, online college was, like, sort of a thing that was starting, but they would, like, mail you this giant book on, like, classic. It was really weird. So anyway, I just. I deferred college, you know, for two years, and then I started college after Blossom ended. You know, I left the Internet industry, really? For 12 years?

[Brian Green]

Yeah. You took a break from the industry from 12 years. You went to UCLA, is that right?

[Mayim Bialik]

I did UCLA for undergrad and grad. Yeah, I went straight through.

[Brian Green]

When you went to ucla. I mean, now you've. You're. Now you're interacting with children, young adults who probably have seen your work. Right.

[Mayim Bialik]

And like the night before.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, I can't imagine. And I can't imagine that this makes you more popular. I imagine this makes life a little bit more difficult in a lot of ways because that's. That's a tough age in the first place. Right? That's kind of a nightmare age, right?

[Mayim Bialik]

Yeah. I mean, you know, I was two years out of high school, so I had a little bit more, I don't know, I don't want to say worldly, but I had been working in an adult industry since I was, like, 11, so I already was, like, kind of different. And I think kind of a similar thing happens at college than happens in high school, except that, you know, I was pursuing a degree in science. I got my undergrad and graduate degree in neuroscience. And so you're with, like, every. A student from every school all over the country, if not worlds. So, you know, I was also like, you know, meeting professors who were like, do you really belong here? Aren't you an actor? Like, and, like, that was awkward. And some professors would, like, bring their kids to meet me, like, which was weird.

[Brian Green]

Oh, creepy. Yeah.

[Mayim Bialik]

But like, back then, I mean, back then, before HIPAA laws, like, when I go to, like, a doctor's checkup, nurses would bring their kids to me. This was just like, what the world. This is like, what the world was like. So college was like, you know, honestly, South Campus at UCLA is all sciences. People cared less. They still cared. But if I went to North Campus, like, I did a minor in Hebrew and Jewish studies, so all my, like, humanities classes, like, humanities kids were always looking around for, like, who's here? Do I look cute? And so, you know, in that part of campus, I definitely got more, I guess, attention. But in South Campus, it was, you know, pretty much pre med, like, everybody kind of keeping their heads down. And, you know, I was a late bloomer to science, so I definitely struggled more. And then there. There were other kids who weren't child actors who also struggled because, you know, back then there were affirmative action programs for kids who didn't have the same experience in high school for whatever reason. And we were given the opportunity to catch up. And so I had, you know, we called it remedial calculus and remedial chemistry. And I was with a bunch of students who, at the time were encouraged to catch up. And, you know, those people today are your doctors and your dentists. So say what you will about the politics of affirmative action. You know, I was in classes with kids who all had different experiences and wanted to compete in the sciences. So I wasn't the only one, you know, as a child actor who needed to, you know, to have more opportunity to kind of catch up. So, yeah, that was my college experience. Parties was like, drunk frat dudes will say really dumb things you can only imagine. Yeah, and then, like, drunk sorority girls don't really want attention pulled away from them. So it was pretty clear.

[Brian Green]

When you were in this. When you were in Hollywood doing Blossom, were you part of this crew? I mean, you had to have been, in some sense, part of this crew of young actors and actresses who were around at that time. The Feldman Haim, I guess, would be an example of some of those. Did you interact with them?

[Mayim Bialik]

Yeah, your timing is exactly right. You know, I definitely wasn't. I mean, like I said, I was kind of weird, like, in the first place. But, yeah, back then, you know, there were these magazines called, like, Teen Beat and Tiger. And this was like, before social media, before pr. And what they would do is they would, like, take you to events. Like, we'd go to, like, a dude ranch in Palm Springs and photographers would come and they would, like, photograph you all, like, interacting and having a good time. It was very weird. And so it was like. It was. It was Corey Feldman. It was. It was Corey Haim. It was. You know, Stephen Dorff was part of my circle. He was also on Neil Patrick Harris and then, like, Danica McKellar and her sister Crystal McKellar and, like, all the, like, pretty girls that I was like, oh, I'm not as cool. But, yeah, like, we. We did sort of, you know, have those sort of events. But my parents were kept a pretty close watch on me. They were both teachers. And so it was like, kind of like after work, I just, like, came home and did homework. So I wasn't part of that partying scene. And, you know, I knew a lot of kids in my junior high and high school who were also partying and doing drugs, who weren't famous actors. So it's kind of like it gets a lot of attention. But now that I look back, you know, and now that I think we have a better understanding of, like, addiction and partying and what it can mean, I think we all have a better understanding that, like, these are, you know, like we're filling a God shaped hole as a society, you know, and so when you see teenagers doing that, something's up, you know, something's up either in, in themselves or maybe in their families. But, you know, likely it's just kind of filling that hole. And yeah, I always felt like, all.

[Brian Green]

Right, not always, but as I got older, I understood that certain youngsters. Right, the Feldman.

[Mayim Bialik]

Yes.

[Brian Green]

Yeah. What's that? That you got outsized attention because it was something salacious that you could talk about, but that really almost everybody understood. Like today it happens because of TikTok and Instagram and everything else in the world. But you. That one or two or ten moments of your life that you would never want shared with anybody else or that are just so salacious and dumb. And it's just you being a teenager or a kid or a young person or even an old person, you know, it could be somebody in their 40s.

[Mayim Bialik]

Sure.

[Brian Green]

You get lasered in on and there it's a. It's a sport in this country to tear people down, raise them back up, and then if we can tear them down again, we'll do that again and maybe they'll get another chance at it. Yeah, sport that, that quite frankly, is profitable and also is, I guess, fun for some people. And so in some sense, I felt empathy for people like Feldman and Haim, who not only were probably mistreated and possibly abused, but then at the same time are lasered in on for one or two or ten dumb things that they did. That, by the way, I had 100.

[Mayim Bialik]

Right. And I think also, like, by the same token, you know, people want, like even before there was social media, right. People magazine or all those, you know, kind of like magazines which, you know, I think in many cases are entertainment, but they're looking for, like, the reason, the solution. I think also, you know, not to bring it back to my podcast, but that is something that like, please do. You know, we have a lot of people. I mean, we had Corey Feldman on, like, we've had Matthew McConaughey on. We've had Ben Stiller on, like, you know, we're having people on who have had a certain amount of success and still express, like, imposter syndrome and insecurity and like, trauma stuff that like, you didn't know would surface. But I think people, like, want the answer. They want the solution. And, you know, I've had, I mean, many people I've worked with have died, you know, an overdose Right. And so, you know, I'd often be asked, and this was like, even before I was studying neuroscience, before I was studying neuropsychology, and people were like, well, you know, your parents were strict. Is that why you didn't get in trouble? And it's like, it's not that simple, you know, and it's also not for me to take the memory of people who have, you know, died in really tragic, tragic ways and be like, if their parents had been more strict, they would have been fine. Like, like, I'm not gonna say that. And it's also like, it's so, it's so, like, it's so false to say that we can sum it up like that. You know, you are right about.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, and you write about this is that everybody wants a one paragraph answer, right? And I think that's part of, that's part of what perpetuates misunderstanding of really complicated and nuanced situations.

[Mayim Bialik]

I mean, you could say that, right? You can say that about anything in the world, meaning any. And like, that's the thing, like, there's so much nuance, like, even in politics, like, I understand it's an election year, but like, people want that one headline that's going to sum it up and tell you what you should feel. But like, we're not all 14. We don't need to know, like in one sentence, like, if you have me for 10 seconds, what should I believe? Right? Like we're adults and yeah, there's a lot more nuance. And that's also why, look, social media took it from a paragraph to like, what is, you know, used to be three seconds. Yeah, exactly. Or like, what can you, you know, what can you communicate in 10 seconds?

[Brian Green]

Which I ask you this as a neuroscientist. Is this how we're built? Is this how we're built?

[Mayim Bialik]

No, we're built for human interaction. We're built for looking at people's faces, real faces, not computer generated faces. You know, the, the techno, the technological progress of the last, you know, call it what you want. 20 years, 50, 100, 200 has done absolutely incredible things. C sections are amazing for saving the lives of babies. Do 30% of women need C sections? Absolutely not. Right? So there's many wonderful things about technology. It doesn't change hundreds of thousands of years of the brain evolving as a homo sapien sapiens. It just doesn't. Babies don't need toys the first year, I promise. They need humans who want to talk to them and interact. They don't want to look at a screen. That's not what the brain is made for. You know, all these things, like we're literally made to interact. And it's fascinating to see what AI can do, but it's much more interesting for me to bother my boyfriend to write me a love poem, I promise.

[Brian Green]

Let me ask you a question about AI because I, I feel you probably have a finger on that. I sense that AI is a lot of hype to generate dollars. It's a, it's the, it's big data. It's, you know, but I'm not sure that it's going to fundamentally change. Like it's not going to take my job tomorrow. No one's going to do, I mean, not that we do great podcasts anyway, but no one's going to, no one's going to take my podcast and recreate it in ways that are funnier, better, different, faster, whatever it is, anytime soon. Maybe in 100 years, maybe in 50 years. But I think, I think it feels to me like it's just a buzzword that may not fundamentally have a lot of mean and potatoes to it. What is your sense?

[Mayim Bialik]

I mean, not that I don't want to sound 90 years old with you. You know, I, look, I think it's a combination of things and I think that it already has fundamentally changed the way people produce content and take in content. And I think if, if nothing else, the way that it has changed the, you know, the propagation of dangerous material for young girls. Meaning. And the, I mean, it's, it's, it's happened to me and most celebrities, but the thought that elementary school and middle school girls are having an experience that is assisted by, you know, the technology of AI is, that's a huge societal shift. And I think it's like, it's a little bit the tip of the iceberg. And I also think, and I think it's fair for us to say that there are also some really incredible things that computers can do, right? And AI is showing the, the speed, efficiency and prowess of a finely, you know, a finely tuned algorithm that can be really helpful. But as a 90 year old person and as a mom of two teenagers, you know, who don't even know how to write cursive because we were told you're not going to need it. You know, when I look at these commercials of like, you know, I helped me, helped my daughter write a letter to her favorite athlete. I'm like, I don't know, do we need that? Yeah, like, I'd love to be a Nerd and tell a child how to write a letter and talk to them about what does it mean and what do you want to communicate. And it doesn't have to be perfect. And, you know, all those things that are, that are missed. So I think, you know, I can't say that, that the companies producing your podcast and mine are not using AI in ways that make things faster and can be helpful and, you know, generating titles and things. And I have a lot of weird feelings about that, but I, you know, I'm 48 and I'm not Elon Musk, right?

[Brian Green]

Yeah, that's right.

[Mayim Bialik]

I get to sort of have those feelings. And, you know, my, My kids were homeschooled until high school. My older one didn't start high school till 11th grade. And I was really glad, you know, that he doesn't want to use AI like that for work, for school. And, and I'm not saying it's because he was homeschooled. I'm saying we were out of a technological school situation, you know, with like, a structure and bureaucracy and competition, which he was introduced to, you know, in 11th grade. But that scares me. It does scare me that kids are not reading, thinking, writing the way that we used to. And I don't think that, you know, makes me a fuddy daddy.

[Brian Green]

You make me look at this in a little bit of a different way. There are things that AI has done and does do that is a fundamental shift in our perception of human beings and our ability of human beings to feed a computer information and have to do something correct and have it return something that is 100 fictitious and in no way resembles reality, but could easily be undiscerned as real. Like, you could easily say, oh, that is reality. I guess my thought is like, I hear a lot of people, you know, prophesying about how AI is going to run the world and, and maybe someday, but I don't know that.

[Mayim Bialik]

That I hope we're dead by then.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, I hope you and I are agree with that. Why did you take 12 years off of acting? You know, jump from AI to acting. Why did you take 12 years off of acting? You just did. You feel.

[Mayim Bialik]

Yeah, I mean, when Blossom ended, you know, sitcom wasn't a popular thing to be part of. It was like, oh, you were on a sitcom. You know, you were. And, and, you know, it wasn't, with all due respect to Punky Brewster, it wasn't like a kids show in the afternoon. It was a nighttime, you know, primetime show. But, you know, we didn't have Movie stars, like we do now, making cameos in sitcoms. It was really seen as like, if you want to be considered a mature, like, legit actor, like, you need to make a big shift. So, you know, I was offered theater stuff, but I didn't really want that lifestyle. And, you know, my grandparents were immigrants from Eastern Europe. I was taught you go to college. So I wanted to go to college and I wanted to kind of. I wanted to have more of an anonymous existence. You know, I never really was very taken with, like, the fame part of it, the fancy part of it. So I kind of got to just like, be a person, you know, and kind of find my own way. There's a real, you know, kind of suspended. A suspended sort of adolescence and sort of a forced maturity when you're working in an adult world. And I think I really wanted some time for that to even out. You know, I ended up meeting the person that I married and had kids with, you know, as an undergrad, we met in calculus class. We're since divorced, but, like, that was the foundation of my social life was. Was meeting this person. And, you know, it was a real intellectual match and a comedy kind of, you know, match. And so, yeah, I lived a very different life. And I went straight into a doctoral program. I did three episodes of Curb youb Enthusiasm. Kind of in those years, I got sort of. I was still auditioning for stuff here and there, and I literally was walking by the Curb youb Enthusiasm casting off office, and I was auditioning for something else in the building. And I went in and I was like, this is my favorite show. I would never, like, go into a casting office and be that person. They were like, okay, thanks. Bye. And then I think a couple weeks or a couple months later, I got called into audition for Curb. So I did three of those episodes. But otherwise, you know, I had my first son in grad school. After finishing my coursework, I took my doctoral hood pregnant. And. And, you know, I really liked being a mom. I liked being an at home, you know, kind of mom. I wrote my thesis while breastfeeding. My first. And, you know, I was like, tutoring and teaching and things like that. But yeah, I really kind of, you know, made a decision that. That men don't have to think about in the same way and that not all women choose to think about. But, you know, do I want to, you know, like, put my kid in daycare so I can be a professor and teach other kids, or do I want to, you know, shift my life and see what Happens and be home with my kids. And so I don't know if it was the right decision, you know, like, in the grand scope of the universe, but it was the right decision, you know, for our family, and a very hard decision. You know, once you leave academia, you're kind of out. And then I just started auditioning for things when my insurance ran out. I had a toddler and a. And a. Pretty much a newborn when I auditioned for the Big Bang Theory. And, like, I didn't know what that show was. I wasn't watching TV at the. @ the time. I was like, nursing humans, you.

[Brian Green]

Know. When you went to Big Bang Theory, what season did you join Big Bang.

[Mayim Bialik]

Theory? I joined. So I was in the season finale of season three. It was already a very successful show by then. And then Melissa Rauch, who played Bernadette, she and I were both made regulars in season.

[Brian Green]

Four. In season four, when you got to season three. Now, I've read this because I would not have been someone on. I mean, I would have been on the Internet. I wouldn't have been someone debating this on the Internet. But I read that it was quite the controversy that you become a seasoned regular at the time, at the moment that it.

[Mayim Bialik]

Happened.

[Brian Green]

Yeah. Well.

[Mayim Bialik]

Why? Well, I think that people had. Look, that show really struck a chord with people in a really interesting way. And, you know, geek chic was kind of, you know, kind of floating about then, and that show really kind of tapped into that. You know, I like to say Big Bang Theory was a show about kind of how the other half lives. It's actually, you know, kind of more than half because most people are not like The Beverly Hills 90210 cast, you know, that I ways to believe that everybody looked like.

[Brian Green]

Right. So not everyone is blessed with looks like I.

[Mayim Bialik]

Am. You know, the. The thing is, like, being brought on as a love interest for, you know, for Jim Parsons character for Sheldon Cooper carried with it a particular kind of weight because he was this sort of like, you know, it was like a spectrumy character before we even talked about it like that, you know, and there was a kind of, you know, sexuality to him. Sexuality to him. And I think that was really important. Important to people as a feature of that character. And so, of course, you know, me being brought on would. Would be kind of an extension of that anxiety that people felt. And, you know, to be honest, as a, you know, kind of geek myself, I totally get it. Like, if there was a show, you know, if I was a fan of that show, meaning if I Wasn't like raising children. And I was, you know, let's say, really into that show as representative of my life. I would probably feel the same sense of like proprietariness over, you know, wanting to keep this character the way he was. And I think a lot of people had fears that he'd become this kind of like doe eyed TV boyfriend. I really think, like, you know, I mean, our writing staff was unbelievable. And you know, Bill Prady and Chuck Lorre had a very specific idea, you know, at that time and continuing on and you know, later with Steve Molaro and Steve Holland as our showrunners, like, it was very specific of how to kind of craft these characters. So even when Amy and Sheldon, you know, said I love you, it, it was in a very special, you know, kind of nuanced way. So I'd like to think it held true. But look, the fact is by then the Internet existed and people could just be like, she's so ugly. Why is she on television? Like, okay, well, I don't.

[Brian Green]

Know. Yeah, well, the Internet is full of 13 year old boys that could, you know, be keyboard warriors. I can tell you that if you had, if you're at all any. Any do anything public. Right. Including a podcast. Correct. So much notoriety. You hear from the loudest voices in the room. Always the keyboard. Keyboard warriors. And to be fair, as to us as humans, and I'm sure you experience this way more than we ever will because you are on one of the two of the most popular sitcoms ever, is that when those words come across, it's hard not to hear those words the loudest also sometimes. Right. And I really have to learn to tune it out. I. You probably have much more experience with this than I do, but I know that I can read a thousand great comments. Oh yeah, I read one and it can really stick with.

[Mayim Bialik]

Me. Oh yeah, no, I am that person who, like, there'll be 10,000 likes and I'll be like, but who didn't let's. That thumbs down. What is that? The first time I actually went, you know, and I started a YouTube channel, which is, you know, where my podcast is now. But when I first started the YouTube channel and I went on and I was like, oh, there's comments. Oh, that's interesting. And I was like, who, who said thumbs down? And I clicked on it and realized I had just given myself, like, yeah, that feels accurate. But yeah, I mean, look, the, the time that I was on Big Bang really saw, you know, a shift in kind of our cultural access to information from the outside world. And I did used to read things. I did used to really go down the rabbit hole. And, you know, I tend towards, like, body dysmorphia, depression and anxiety as it is. So then, like, add that and it. It took some weaning, but I did finally have to wean myself from monitoring not only my Instagram, you know, kind of comments, but, you know, I am one of those people. If I see other people's fabulous, attractive lives, I have a very hard time understanding that that's not what their life is like and comparing my inside to other people's outsides. And I'll come up with every reason that, you know, I can compare and despair over every aspect of someone else's. So I really have had to, for everyone's, you know, including my children's.

[Brian Green]

Mental health, you know, stay off social media. Dysmorphia is gotta be a real thing. It really does. Like, you look at everybody else's.

[Chrissy]

Life and you compare yourself to them and go, look how they.

[Brian Green]

Look. Yeah, well, I struggled to pay my rent last month. And how are these people in the Maldives every second week? And. And the truth, I mean, and it does. I mean, you don't have to be a genius to figure this one out. The truth is, has nothing to do with the image. Nothing to do with the. Because they're human, too. And to their, you know, to our human empathy together, this human experience. They also have shitty lives. They're just posting really pretty pictures of.

[Mayim Bialik]

It. Yeah, I mean, I think. I don't know if I can quote Kanye, but, you know, we're all insecure. I'm just the first to admit it, right? It's like. It's all just sort of like variations on.

[Brian Green]

That. It really is. Is it like when you go 12 years without acting and then you go on the most popular television show in the world, is it a real kick in the teeth? Are you like, holy shit, this is why I left, or did you enjoy the ride a little bit more the.

[Mayim Bialik]

Second? No, I definitely could enjoy it a little bit more because I wasn't the star of it. Meaning the pressure wasn't on me. I wasn't in every scene. I wasn't carrying the weight of the show. I was just as happy to go to work and have three sentences as three scenes. You know, it was really, really different. And, you know, I think for me also, like, for quite some time, I was the only one with kids of the cast. And so it was also like, I gotta get home. Like, I Was like, still, like, pumping, you know, breast milk in between scenes for, like, two years, I think, on that show. So I still was like, you know, my brain was sort of a little bit everywhere and juggling, like, what's for dinner? I gotta, like, figure that out and go home. And. And also, you know, as it is true for any job that you're in for, you know, almost a decade, like, my dad died, I got divorced. You know, like, things happen. You know, things are constantly happening to all of you in your lives together. And so, you know, it's a place to process and it's a place to have friendship. But, yeah, the outside world definitely, you know, kind of peaks in for.

[Brian Green]

Sure. So for every Big Bang fan out there, do you and the cast still stay in touch? Are you friendly? Is there, like, a special. What's that group that goes on.

[Mayim Bialik]

Between. There's not a WhatsApp group, but we kind of all connect in different ways. You know, I wrote a movie, actually. I started writing it during Big Bang, and I specifically wrote it with Simon Helberg in mind. And it came out a couple years ago. It's called as they Made Us. It's with Dustin Hoffman and Candice Bergen. They play the parents, and Simon Helberg and Diana Agron play the kids in this family. So I actually got to direct Simon. I wrote the screenplay and I directed it. And so that was amazing. You know, Jim and I, we did a Young Sheldon appearance together, and we'll stay in touch. Melissa Rauch and I, I think, talk the most. We, you know, still live kind of locally, and we both worked at Warner Brothers, and she's still there at Night Court. I've had Kunal on the podcast a couple times. Kaylee, I follow more kind of in the world of social media and super excited for her as a mom and all those things. Yeah, I think that's all. Oh, and Johnny Galecki, I mean, I've known him since I was 13 years old. He was one of that group also, that you mentioned. We had the same agent when we were kids.

[Brian Green]

So. Well, you were making. You were making that Fox pilot, probably when he was, like, making the Bundys. I mean, like, would that have been.

[Mayim Bialik]

True? Johnny Galecki was actually on Blossom. He guest starred on Blossom. I think it was right around Roseanne time. I think that those kind of intersected, so. So, yeah, we haven't had, like, any, like, formal reunions or anything like that. But, you know, there's still a sense of camaraderie, for.

[Brian Green]

Sure. Well, it's a Great show that a lot of people are connected to. And I think if you can do that, like, once in your life, then you are. If you can. If you can touch a creative project like that once in your life that affects so many people in so many different ways, then you probably consider yourself blessed. But then you go on to co host Jeopardy. With Ken. How did you feel about that experience? You can be just as honest as you want to be here at the.

[Mayim Bialik]

Commercial. No, it was. I mean, it was. You know, that's like a. That's a dream come true kind of.

[Brian Green]

Job. I can't even.

[Mayim Bialik]

Imagine. Yeah, especially for a geek person. It was really. I mean, it was fantastic. And the fact is, I was offered the hosting position but was working on a sitcom at the time, so that's actually how Ken and I started splitting duties is because I was. Was working. Yeah. I worked on a series for three years after the Big Bang Theory, and that's when Jeopardy. Happened. Um, so, yeah, we were initially splitting duties, and then. Yeah, I feel, like, safe to talk about it. Um, you know, I. I didn't cross the picket line. I didn't cross the writer strike picket line, the WGA picket line, or the SAG picket line. Um, and that happened, and then I was let go. Um, I don't. I don't. I don't know that I. I can connect those. It is certainly uncomfortable. It's an uncomfortable turn of events that I didn't cross the picket line and then was let.

[Brian Green]

Go.

[Mayim Bialik]

Yeah. And of course, it's their prerogative to hire whoever they want, but of.

[Brian Green]

Course. So there's no. I mean, obviously, there's no connection. There's no email. There's. Nobody said anything out loud. But.

[Mayim Bialik]

It. But no, but it's freaking. Freaking strange.

[Brian Green]

Timing. It is strange time. Yes.

[Chrissy]

Yeah. I.

[Mayim Bialik]

Mean. I mean, like, part of me wanted to be on social media. Like, does anyone think this is weird? My kids definitely were like, are you sure, Mama? And I said, yeah. My grandparents were sweatshop workers, and I'm a child of a public school teacher. Like, I'm raised by union, and I don't cross a picket line. I don't cross a picket line. I know these people who are our writers. They are the people running this show and organizing Jeopardy. As you know it. I'm not gonna drive in and cross a picket line. And I said to them, you know, your principles are only worth something if you stand by them, no matter.

[Brian Green]

What. That's.

[Mayim Bialik]

Right. And I don't know, but you're right. I'm not making any formal accusation of anything. It's just the timing was. It was a sad.

[Brian Green]

Year. Yeah, it was a tough.

[Mayim Bialik]

Year. Yeah. And also, like, Ken is, you know, Ken. You know, Ken may be people's flavor, and that's super. Again, totally super fine. And, And Ken is phenomenal. And he's an enormously important part, you know, of Jeopardy. History. Um, and, and that's incredible, too. But, like, a lot of weird stuff happened, like, on his podcast of, like, people, like, trashing me for not, like, crossing the picket line. And it's like, can we all just get along here? Like, it's just.

[Brian Green]

Weird. Yeah. I mean, listen, I, you know, I don't know every twist and turn, and I'm not going to claim to, but I know the overtones and the undertones, and neither do you. And probably there's. And maybe no one does. Maybe it's just one of those situations. Like, okay, we're going with Ken.

[Mayim Bialik]

Right?

[Brian Green]

Totally. Who knows? But at the end of the day, it does seem a little bit on the surface if you're a person like me, just kind of reading the overtones.

[Mayim Bialik]

Online. Oh, no. I mean, writers. Yeah. And, and writer. Like, certain aspects of the writing community did come out and be like, this is a thing. Like, she, you know, she didn't cross a picket.

[Brian Green]

Line. She got fired. Because she didn't. Yeah, because she didn't.

[Astrid]

Support. And I don't.

[Mayim Bialik]

Know. And again, I don't know. I really don't know. And also, like, just, you know, the, the timing of it was just weird. Like, I don't know. I still had a contract, so, you know, it's just, like.

[Brian Green]

Weird. How long was left on the.

[Mayim Bialik]

Contract? Well, I was contracted through the end of that season through, like, May, you know, and this was, this was after October.

[Astrid]

7Th. I remember.

[Mayim Bialik]

That. I think November.

[Brian Green]

Yeah. A little bit strange. Yes. Yeah, that was. It was a tough year. It was. It was a tough year.

[Mayim Bialik]

Listen. And I'm a loud person. And also, I should say, and I feel comfortable, like, I'm a loud person. Like, meaning I, I, I do. I use my social media to try and educate people about things. And so I also understand that, yeah, it's Jeopardy's prerogative to want a less loud, controversial. But also, like, I was loud before. So, yes, you compare me and Ken, I think his social media, a lot less, you know, a lot less controversial. But again, I, I existed before, you know, I was offered the.

[Brian Green]

Job. So, yeah, Ken plays it down the middle and, you know, there and or maybe not sometimes, but at the end of the day, there I. I think there is a. Like a safe harbor quality to some media personalities or some people who became media.

[Mayim Bialik]

Personalities. Yeah. And I think. I think we like our women to behave a certain way, and we're in the middle of a really interesting time in history where our country, again, is going to be asked, but how about now? How do you feel about women now? And, you know, I was reading an article about Bari Weiss, who runs the Free Press, which is a media platform. And, you know, the way that they describe Bari Weiss is like, in ways that you wouldn't even describe a man. It's like, she's so sure of herself. You'd never read an article about a dude being like, he's. It's just. He's just a dude who likes things. So, you know, I also know that, you know, people are comfortable with different. I mean, look, I've always been weird. I've always been weird, you know, as a. As a loud kind of female person. So it's not, you know, surprising. And I think it plays out in a lot of places, not just jeopardy. Like, it plays out for a lot of women of, like, how sure can you be about yourself? How confident can you be without it threatening people? And, like, what if you also have a sense of humor? Like, it has to agree with the boy's sense of.

[Chrissy]

Humor.

[Mayim Bialik]

Right. Like, so there's a lot, you know, as.

[Chrissy]

A. We like.

[Brian Green]

Weird. We like weird and we like loud. Because those two things we are for sure. And as the father of daughters. Right. I find myself in a. I mean, Brian, 25, I think Chrissy's known me for so many years. Brian, 25, was always a champion of human rights and human abilities to be equal and. And say the things they need to say and do the things they need to do and be recognized in the ways. And I'm not sure I always got it right. And I'm sure. Thank you very much. I appreciate that. But now I have daughters, and I really appreciate the voices that are out there right.

[Chrissy]

Now. You make it a point to show.

[Brian Green]

Them. Yes, I want to show them those are the women or those are the humans that you want to pay attention to because, well, you know, the.

[Mayim Bialik]

Humans. Right. And you know, and just also, of course. And like, I never thought it would be pushing the edges to say the government doesn't get to tell me what to do with my body. But behold, here I am, like, saying something that's real uncomfortable for.

[Brian Green]

People. You know, this is crazy. I know. You know, we can go. We could do that. We could do two hours of this, and I'd be happy to have that chat, and I know Chrissy would, too, but it's just unfucking believable. And I'll say this now, that my daughter, who is very young. They're all my daughters who are very young, may or may not grow up with autonomy over their own physiological self, is fucking insane to.

[Mayim Bialik]

Me. It's insane no matter what your political lean. I mean, this is the thing. This is an issue that for me. And, you know, I have a lot of respect for people who kind of cross the aisle on this one. It's like. I mean, yeah, there's. There's not rules of. There's not rules for men about what happens when they go to the.

[Brian Green]

Exactly. No. And it won't stop until we stop it. So it won't just stop at uteruses and, you know, whatever. It will continue to go if we don't stop it. So whoever you vote for, fucking vote. That's all I gotta.

[Mayim Bialik]

Say. Protect your uterus and the embryos in.

[Brian Green]

There. That's right. Tell us about your podcast. I've listened to a few hours of it. I really like it. I think it's very.

[Mayim Bialik]

Interesting. Yeah, I started this podcast. It's called Mind Biox Breakdown. I started this podcast with my partner, Jonathan Cohen, and he comes from a creative and sort of tech innovative background. And what was very innovative about the way we started our podcast was it happened really during lockdown, and we were realizing that our mental health was kind of taking a downturn with all of the uncertainty and, like, what's happening? Like, it's a global pandemic. What? And I just realized that, you know, I had decades of therapy under my belt, and I still was freaking the F out and didn't know what to do. And I thought, what about all the people who don't have a therapy background or vocabulary and don't know even the simple breathing techniques, for example, that can help you if you're feeling anxious. Right. So Jonathan was like, we can literally turn. This is a house that I used to live in that I used as a rental property. And the person who was living here had moved out. And I was going to sell it. And Jonathan was like, no, we're going to turn it into a podcast studio. And I was like, I've never listened to a podcast. What's that? So we started this podcast. You know, it started as kind of instructional about mental health. And then we started Having on, you know, experts, but also a lot of celebrities and prominent people who, you know, are experts in their own journey. And the idea, like, I'm not the kind of celebrity that's like, I've figured it out. Here's the product that you should buy. It's literally like, I'm still figuring it out. Therapy, I'm still unearthing more. Like, things happen all the time, and, like, then you're a woman, and then you have menopause, and then it's like you're like a hormonal mess, and all the things happen again that you have thought were. But anyway, we've, you know, kind of grown into this, you know, kind of space to talk about, well being. And we've had, you know, a lot of comedians. We've had Chelsea Handler, we've had Sarah Silverman and Eliza Schlesinger. And then we've had Matthew McConaughey, who had no idea who I was literally placed on his, like, schedule for his book. And I was like, do you know who I am? He's like, great, I'll take an hour with you. Anyway, but we had Dustin Hoffman come on, and we've had, you know, several of the cast of Big Bang. Actually, half the cast of Big Bang has come on. Ben Stiller came on, like, that was unbelievable. And then we, you know, we've had Peter Attia and we've had Andrew Huberman and people who are in that space and Gabor Mate and Michael Singer and, you know, people who are mental health, you know, like the people you want to hear about. How do we process trauma? Why is it still impacting us? And, you know, we're tapping into a lot of things that a lot of bro podcasts do really well, but not a lot of women kind of want to hear it from Huberman that way. So trying to also introduce these things, like learning about sleep hygiene is not just for the bros, you know, who want to live forever. Yeah. And we have a split audience. But I do know that a lot of women, you know, listen to us who maybe otherwise are, you know, getting their stuff from more of those bro podcasts. But, you know, we talk about narcissism, we talk about trauma, we talk about toxic relationships. We've had some really interesting guests, and we have a YouTube channel if you want to watch us, which is sometimes fun because I talk about with my hands. Because I have.

[Brian Green]

Hands. I do.

[Mayim Bialik]

Too. Or, you know, we're a podcast that's on Spotify or wherever you get podcasts. And our website's Bialik.

[Brian Green]

Breakdown. It's available everywhere. Give them the first if you had one episode recommendation on your podcast to start with, because you have episodes, and now I just want to make sure you get the best foot forward. I wish we could say this to our start here. Right. But so far, Apple doesn't let you do that. I wish I. They actually had a list that says, don't go.

[Chrissy]

Here. This one wasn't so.

[Mayim Bialik]

Good. This is. Look, it's hard to answer. People want so many different things from podcasts, but since we've spoken about Big Bang Theory. Yeah. I will say we have two episodes with Kunal Nayyar, who played Raj, and they're really, really interesting. I think that's a really fun place to start. And, you know, I think hearing, you know, Peter Attia talk about the worst parts of his personality and all the places that he's imperfect is one of my favorite things about getting to talk to Peter Attia. Yeah. And then Michael Singer is our highest rated episode that's not a celebrity. And Michael Singer wrote Untethered Soul, and he's this really, really fascinating intellectual.

[Brian Green]

Spiritual. I read.

[Mayim Bialik]

It. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, hearing him speak is fascinating, and it's really one of my favorite episodes. I cry through most of that one just because he's a very powerful presence. And I was very startled what it would be like to speak to.

[Brian Green]

Him. I'm gonna listen to that one, and I'm gonna listen to the Corey Feldman one.

[Mayim Bialik]

Now. Oh, the Corey Feldman one is.

[Brian Green]

Wild. Listen to that. Because I. I got to dig into everything. Corey Feldman. I'm just a little. I'm a little bit of oddball. I like to see everything. Cory's up on stage. I'm like. He's either. He's either in on the joke or the joke's on.

[Mayim Bialik]

Him. Oh.

[Brian Green]

No. But I'm pretty sure he's in on the joke.

[Mayim Bialik]

Yeah. You have to watch our episode. And. And actually, I. I take it as a high compliment that he didn't keep his sunglasses on for the entire.

[Chrissy]

Episode. Oh.

[Brian Green]

Wow. Really? He took his.

[Mayim Bialik]

Sunglasses? Yes. You can. You can tune in and see the point at which he felt that level of.

[Brian Green]

Comfort. Oh, okay. Corey Feldman, now, we're running out of time with you now, but when you return, Chrissy and I are going to talk to you about Teresa Caputo. We just want to have a small conversation. Doesn't have to be long. We just want to share with our thoughts about. We want to see if you're okay. You're sleeping in the hyperbolic chamber.

[Chrissy]

By the way, the.

[Mayim Bialik]

Oxygen. Yeah, I have a hyperbaric oxygen.

[Brian Green]

Chamber. I saw that on your Instagram before we started.

[Mayim Bialik]

Recording. It's super. It's super nuts. And it's one of those things that, like, so many different doctors kept telling me to do it, and I was like, okay. And I'm. I'm not being. I'm literally not being paid to do this. Like, it's not an ad situation. I got it on loan for six months, and I'm gonna just try it out and see if we can see a difference.

[Brian Green]

Okay. Next time you come back, then you're going to talk to us about Teresa Caputo in your hyperbolic chamber, and I will react to. To your Corey Feldman episode, and we will find out if Corey isn't on the joke or the joke's on him. You have been wonderful. Thank you so much for coming here. We certainly appreciate you. Welcome back anytime. We actually. I hope you come.

[Mayim Bialik]

Back. Thank you. Happy to. This was really.

[Brian Green]

Fun. Thank you so much. Bye.

[Astrid]

Bye. We're not a real podcast if we're not plugging our Instagram, right? That's right, honey. So follow us on Instagram at the commercial break. And. And don't you forget TikTokcbpodcast so you can see Brian and Chrissy on your homepage every day, which I know you're just simply desperate for. And if you want to see us in person, guess what? You finally can, because we're coming to Florida. Because only Florida would let TCB come there. Just kidding. Kind of. You can come see us at Dania beach improv on Tuesday, September 24th, and at Funny Bone Orlando on Wednesday, September 25th. Yeah, I know. You want to come to Both days. That's right. Anyway, the links to both of those are in our show notes, so go get them, get your tickets, and then tell us that you're coming by Texting us at 212-433-3822. And if there's anything else you need from us, I am sure you can find it on our website, tcbpodcast.com live laugh, love.

[Brian Green]

Bye. Such an interesting.

[Astrid]

Human. I.

[Chrissy]

Know. I know. Wow. I mean, I wish I had, like, half of that brain.

[Brian Green]

Knowledge. We're never gonna get it. It's not coming to us. Not at this age. You know, maybe we were younger, we could hope to expand our mind or go to UCLA and just, like, absorb a bunch of. But she's right about a couple of things that I think that are important to note regardless of Your politics, like a right for a woman to have autonomy over her body, is so very important. If you. And. And. And this. I know that everybody. Pro life, pro choice, it's really not about that. It's about having the ability to make decisions for yourself, about yourself. And it's a slippery slope. And once you determine one thing can't be determined by a human being, then everything else, you can't. You know, all of a sudden, everything else becomes fair game. And I think that's what. That's. That's the crux of the issue. So I'm glad she shared that with us, because I think that's important. And also. What also is important is the guy who was making nipples inside of his basement. That's important. This is. She produced this movie, or her company. Her production company produced this movie called My mom and Dad's Secret Nipple Factory. Yeah, I think that's what it's called. And I'll tell you what. So her PR agent. Did I. Did I say this? I don't remember. We talked about so much stuff. I don't even remember. But her PR agent sends us this list of stuff, you know, like, everybody does, hey, please mention this. And you can mention this if you want to mention this. And they sent us this link to My mom and dad's Secret Nipple factor, or whatever the title of the movie is. And Astrid and I are like, what is this? Like, Secret Nipple.

[Chrissy]

Factor? No, it definitely piques your.

[Brian Green]

Interest. And we were laughing about it because I thought, oh, this has got to be like a comedy movie or something. And then you click it, and it's a documentary about this really sheltered, very conservative gentleman and his wife gets breast cancer and she has to have her nipples removed during a mastectomy, leaving her scarred in a way that obviously doesn't feel good to look in the mirror because she feels it looks abnormal. She feels abnormal. In some hope to give her some semblance of normalcy, he starts downstairs in his basement to create silicone nipples. He starts with, like, fabric, and then he goes to different textures. And then, like, plastic surgeons are like, oh, my God, this is, like the best nipple replication I've ever seen in my entire life. And so he starts making these for women around the country, around the world, and this documentary. So as I click this link, thinking we're going to laugh, and then two and a half minutes later, we're both like, nipple factory on my.

[Mayim Bialik]

Face.

[Brian Green]

Yes. So check that out if you get a chance. And of course, check out her podcast, Mayim Bialix. Breakdown. Excuse me, I thought I was gonna cough there. My email breakdown. Wherever you get podcasts, wherever you're listening to this show, you can listen to her show. I suggest you give it a try.

[Chrissy]

Chris. I mean, I can't wait to hear the Corey.

[Brian Green]

Feldman. Oh.

[Chrissy]

That'S. Yeah, I think we might need to watch.

[Brian Green]

That. Yeah, yeah, she's got the YouTube channel too. And yeah, we have to watch that because she says he takes off his sunglasses and starts getting.

[Mayim Bialik]

Serious.

[Brian Green]

Yes. And. And by the way, so many people have been writing in about Corey Feldman because he's been part of that Limp Bizkit tour. And so there's so. I know it's. It's.

[Chrissy]

So. I did not know he.

[Brian Green]

Has. And apparently that Limp Bizkit tour has been traveling around the country, killing it. Yeah, it's not my thing, but, you know, good for Fred Durst. All gray hair and that mop on his head and all that. And Corey Feldman is one of the opening acts. And Corey has been out there Instagramming every moment, and people have been sharing, you know, how he's singing the songs and all that. And I just can't get enough. I'm laughing at every moment. And so that's when I said, is he in on the joke or are we in on the joke? Like, who's in on the joke? Is it us that are getting pranked or is it him? That's. That's just like his music, Just a joke. And the other day I saw. Saw a reel where he said that Michael Jackson one time wanted to take his first album to CBS Records to make it a bonafide hit. Like he was gonna go to the president of the company and say, make this another one. And Corey said, no, I don't want your help. I'm not one of the. Just sucking off your teeth. And I'm like, I'm not sure. Even if they had walked that album in the front door, even Michael Jackson would have been able to do anything like that. But it's just so funny. So. So I can't wait to see what Corey says to my email. And they grew up around the same time they were taking pictures on the ranch. That was weird. That's weird. Meet Corey and Corey at a. At a ranch. Take some pictures together at a dude ranch. Dude, can you take your shirt off? Corey and Corey. Well, how about one? Cory, take your shirt off. You pick. No, actually, I'll pick. It'll be, hey, hey, take your shirt off. Good old Corey Feldman. Thank you. My name very much. Much for coming in. I hope you check out her podcast. And I'd like to. I had a lot of fun with the.

[Chrissy]

Conversation. I know she's gonna come.

[Brian Green]

Back. She's gonna come back. I hope she comes to Atlanta. Buy her a cup of.

[Chrissy]

Coffee.

[Brian Green]

Yeah. What's she gonna do here? What does she want to.

[Mayim Bialik]

Do?

[Chrissy]

Yeah. She had something going on.

[Brian Green]

Here. She had something going on. I can't remember. The interview was two minutes ago, and I can't remember. That's how tired I am. All right, come see our shows. 24th in Miami, 25th in Orlando, 24th at the Dania Beach Improv and at the Bone in Orlando.

[Chrissy]

Yeah. I'm so glad you've adopted the.

[Brian Green]

Bone. TCBpodcast.com at the commercial break on Instagram. TCB podcast on tick Tock. Chrissy. That's all I can do for right.

[Chrissy]

Now. I think.

[Brian Green]

So. I love.

[Chrissy]

You. I love.

[Brian Green]

You. Best to you and best to you out there in the podcast universe. Until next time. Chrissy and I always say, we do say, and we must say goodbye, Sam. Oh, hell.