Podcast Summary: The Commercial Break — TCB Infomercial Special: Liza Treyger
Date: October 31, 2025
Hosts: Bryan Green, Kristin Joy Hoadley
Guest: Liza Treyger — Stand-up comedian, host of “That’s Messed Up: An SVU Podcast”
Episode Overview
This lively episode of The Commercial Break features comedian and podcaster Liza Treyger. The conversation covers Liza’s Ukrainian-Jewish background, her comedy tour adventures, compulsive hoarding, international travel, rowdy audiences, podcasting about “dark” crimes, and the unique culture of her fanbase. The hosts embrace their signature unfiltered, irreverent, lighthearted banter even as the discussion veers into heavy topics such as identity, law enforcement failings, and true crime. Expect plenty of candid anecdotes, traveler’s gripes, and razor-sharp observations.
Key Topics & Insights
1. Liza's Background and Identity Struggles
Timestamps: 10:17–13:52
- Born in Odessa (now Ukraine), raised in Chicago, Liza discusses her complex identity as a Russian-speaking Jew from the former USSR.
- Quote:
“I always said I was Russian. We speak Russian. We’re Russian-speaking Jews. It was the Soviet Union… but I don’t speak Ukrainian and I’m not really connected to that culture. I’m pretty American… And then the war happened and it made me think a little more into it. But I feel weird saying I’m Ukrainian…” — Liza Treyger (10:39) - Navigating identity post-war can be fraught:
“If I talk about Russian stuff, I’ll get people reaching out: ‘You are complicit in the agenda!’…It’s the language I speak. I wish it was something simple.” — Liza (11:47) - Living in a Ukrainian neighborhood in New York brings further complexities: she avoids speaking Russian post-invasion.
2. Family, Hoarding, and The Comedian’s Upbringing
Timestamps: 13:52–17:54
- Liza shares insights on her parents (Holocaust survivors, party-throwers) and a shared family tendency toward hoarding.
- Quote:
“My dad’s hoarding. My mom’s cleaning. And is your dad really hoarding? Yeah. And so am I… We all have unhealthy attachments to stuff, even if it’s garbage and it’s ruining our day to day life.” — Liza (14:18) - The constant travel lifestyle exacerbates the struggle to keep tidy or declutter. Liza overpays her cleaning lady, Tony, and always tries to donate unused items.
- Packing for tour: her goal for Europe is a single carry-on bag:
“If I have to suffer by having less stuff than I need, then that’ll be a new way of suffering.” — Liza (17:58)
3. Tour Life: Cities, Audience Behavior, and Comedy Shows
Timestamps: 18:11–24:35
- Liza is heading to Amsterdam, Paris, Dublin, and London for a week-long tour, and plans to soak up as much local experience as possible—especially food.
- Nervous about Paris fashion expectations:
“I just don’t want to look like shit… You have to look the worst dressed person in France. Pants.” — Liza (20:07) - Discusses favorite cities and aspirations: would buy homes in New York, Chicago, Palm Springs, and Ireland if rich enough.
- Avoids music/comedy festivals unless performing VIP:
“Absolutely not would I be caught dead at a festival unless I’m cool enough to be golf-carted around.” — Liza (22:53) - Explains why walkability is key when gigging in new towns, and shares a horror story about fetching an iced coffee in Nashville.
4. Rowdy Audiences and Memorable Gigs
Timestamps: 27:09–29:40
- Notorious story: Her fans in New Orleans were so rowdy on espresso martinis, the venue had to change the drink menu.
“These people are puking, they’re screaming. The venue had to change their frozen espresso martini recipe—cuz my audience got so crazy!” — Liza (27:13) - Generally, most fans are “good girls with jobs that help people”, but sometimes even the best podcast communities get wild, especially when events coincide with local sports victories.
5. Parasocial Podcast Life & Approach to True Crime
Timestamps: 29:41–36:05
- “That’s Messed Up: An SVU Podcast” details:
- Co-hosted with Kara Klenk, each week they recap an SVU episode, explore the real crime behind it, and interview actors from the show.
- True crime deep dives can be emotionally draining:
“It is pretty quite dark… Nice to have a week where you’re not fully mood-ruined by a horrible [case].” — Liza (31:40)
- The parasocial nature of podcasting means listeners sometimes treat Liza and Kara as real-life friends—yelling back at the speakers, responding as if in the room.
6. On-Stage Pranks and Disappointments
Timestamps: 32:01–33:48
- Liza recounts a negative encounter with David Cross, who pulled a prank during a high-stakes celebrity meeting. She felt sabotaged and upset at her own reaction.
- “Just don’t like the spirit of someone that, like, sees someone’s excitement and decides to shit on it and make it bad.” — Liza (32:34)
- The hosts urge David Cross to come on and explain himself.
7. Darkest True Crime Stories and Systemic Failures
Timestamps: 35:38–43:29
- The most disturbing cases? Long-term kidnappings and basement/bunker imprisonments, especially involving children and police failures.
- “What those fears are made of: held for a decade… What’s extra fucked, he would make them watch the news with their families looking for them.” (36:05)
- Liza is blunt about poor investigative work, police/justice failures, domestic violence within policing, and how marginalized victims (e.g., sex workers, disabled women) are often ignored.
- The community built around the podcast extends to real-life professionals:
“My most prideful thing is lawyers listen to our podcast. That means we’re doing a good job if people within the system listen.” — Liza (48:19) - Law and Order: SVU directly helped a survivor recognize abusive events in her own life.
8. Self-Protection and Living with High Alert
Timestamps: 43:30–47:53
- Researching dark crimes brings constant vigilance:
“I’m high alert. I don’t always turn on/off my lights at the same time so no one knows my pattern.” — Liza (43:29) - Liza laments the red tape around protective orders and the irony that women’s most effective self-defense tools are often illegal to carry (e.g., pepper spray, tasers).
- Adapting a “Debbie Downer” reputation in groups—her knowledge can ruin a light mood, but she feels compelled to spread awareness, especially around victims recognizing their own trauma.
9. Nature, Orcas & Lighthearted Closer
Timestamps: 51:21–54:38
- Liza’s not all darkness: she shares her wish to do a nature documentary with orcas (clarifies wild orcas don’t attack humans).
- Hosts riff on otters, aquariums, and the psychedelic experience of observing aquatic animals.
10. Memorable Quotes
- “If I can’t get an iced coffee within minutes, like, fuck you.” — Liza (25:49)
- “Sometimes you get too drunk. Disruption depends on your spirit. If your spirit is to ruin my night, I want you out.” — Liza (28:15)
- “I can go to sleep to any horrendous thing. But sometimes I start talking about details, and you just see people’s faces… I’m sorry, I’m ruining the mood.” — Liza (46:22)
- “Watching SVU made one of my friends realize she was being abused as a kid… She didn’t know without the show.” — Liza (47:53)
Notable Moments with Timestamps
- 10:39 — Liza’s reflections on post-Soviet identity and language
- 14:18 — Hilarious family hoarding anecdotes
- 17:58 — “That’ll be a new way of suffering” (packing light for tour)
- 27:13 — “My audience got so crazy [the venue] had to change their recipe.”
- 32:34 — Candid frustration over being the butt of a celebrity prank
- 35:54 — “What those fears are made of…” — on being trapped and tortured
- 43:29 — Hyper-vigilance habits due to researching dark crimes
- 48:19 — Lawyers and practitioners as proud listeners
- 51:41 — Love letter to orcas and dream of a nature show
Conclusion & Guest Plugs
- Liza is on a never-ending stand-up tour, including stops in Europe (Amsterdam, Paris, Dublin, London).
- Watch her Netflix special Night Owl and listen to That’s Messed Up: An SVU Podcast.
- Final cheerful note: “God bless Cher… and Dolly Parton… If you don’t like Dolly or dogs, something’s wrong with you.” (56:05)
- [Links to Liza’s work, shows, podcast, and socials are in the show notes.]
For New Listeners
This episode is a great mix of biting humor and real talk on trauma, identity, fan culture, and the realities behind true crime. Liza Treyger delivers raw honesty and comic relief in equal measure—a must-listen for fans of dark comedy, weird road stories, and genuinely offbeat conversation.