TCB Infomercial w. Andrew Callaghan

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Commercial Break – TCB Infomercial w. Andrew Callaghan Release Date: February 4, 2025

---

Introduction

In this compelling episode of The Commercial Break, co-hosts Bryan Green and Chris Joy Hoadley engage in an in-depth conversation with renowned journalist Andrew Callaghan from Channel 5 News. The episode delves into Andrew's impactful documentaries, his perspectives on contemporary media dynamics, and the societal factors driving political extremism.

---

Guest Background: Andrew Callaghan

Andrew Callaghan is celebrated as one of the foremost new-media journalists of his generation. Known for his immersive documentary style, Andrew has gained acclaim for his work on projects like All Gas, No Brakes and his latest films, This Place Rules and Dear Kelly. His approach emphasizes understanding individuals' motivations behind political radicalization, offering a nuanced view of complex social phenomena.

---

Key Topics Discussed

1. The Evolution of Podcasting and Media Interaction

   Andrew underscores how podcasting has transformed the relationship between creators and consumers. He notes, "Podcasting has definitely softened the barrier between consumer and creator in a way that's never been done before, which in a lot of ways is cool" ([02:08]). This democratization allows for a more direct and organic feedback loop, enabling creators to receive diverse input from their audience.

2. Impact of COVID-19 on Media and Society

   The conversation touches on how the pandemic intensified feelings of loneliness and desperation, contributing to increased tribalism and extremism. Bryan shares, "I have this unscientific theory that loneliness, desperation and a feeling of wanting to belong to something has been causing this" ([19:30]). Andrew agrees, highlighting the importance of community and mental health support.

3. Documentaries: This Place Rules and Dear Kelly

   Andrew discusses his HBO-funded documentary, This Place Rules, which examines the events leading up to January 6th. He emphasizes the importance of documenting such pivotal moments with integrity. Transitioning to his self-produced film, Dear Kelly, Andrew explains its focus on understanding and rehabilitating individuals who have become radicalized. He states, "Dear Kelly is an important movie that... tries to get into the head of people who have kind of become extreme, who have become super tribalist" ([04:38]).

4. Media Representation and Political Bias

   The discussion highlights the stark differences in how mainstream media covers political figures like Trump compared to other candidates. Andrew critiques the media's inconsistent treatment, suggesting that platforms like podcasts offer a more balanced and authentic conversational space. He remarks, "Trump being on these podcasts was a way of communicating. Like, yo, Trump is your friend" ([25:31]).

5. Personal Journey and Professional Challenges

   Andrew shares his path from a rebellious youth interested in skateboarding and graffiti to becoming a respected journalist. He recounts overcoming institutional barriers in college journalism and forging his unique style of storytelling. Notably, he discusses his tumultuous relationship with All Gas, No Brakes, where creative differences led to his departure. "I asked for 50% profit share for this duration of time, plus the salary. And they immediately fired me" ([40:50]).

---

Notable Quotes

• Andrew Callaghan on Podcasting's Impact:

  "Podcasting has definitely softened the barrier between consumer and creator in a way that's never been done before, which in a lot of ways is cool." ([02:08])

• Bryan Green on Tribalism and Loneliness:

  "I have this unscientific theory that loneliness, desperation and a feeling of wanting to belong to something has been causing this." ([19:30])

• Andrew Callaghan on Dear Kelly:

  "Dear Kelly is an important movie that... tries to get into the head of people who have kind of become extreme, who have become super tribalist." ([04:38])

• Andrew Callaghan on Media Bias:

  "If he does good things for the country, if the bottom line is improved for the working people of America, we're gonna report that too." ([22:06])

• Andrew Callaghan Reflecting on Career Challenges:

  "My negotiation style was a little bit abrasive. And I was 21. So I probably, if I was an adult now, I would have softened it a little bit." ([44:58])

---

Insights and Conclusions

Andrew Callaghan emphasizes the critical need for understanding and addressing the underlying causes of political extremism, such as loneliness and the desire for belonging. He advocates for compassionate approaches, including mental health support and open dialogues, to bridge divides and foster societal healing.

The conversation also sheds light on the evolving landscape of media, where traditional outlets are increasingly complemented—or even overshadowed—by new platforms like podcasts and independent journalism. Andrew's experiences highlight the challenges and opportunities in maintaining journalistic integrity amidst commercial pressures and political biases.

Furthermore, Andrew's personal anecdotes offer valuable lessons on resilience, adaptability, and the importance of staying true to one's creative vision despite institutional setbacks.

---

Conclusion

This episode of The Commercial Break provides a thought-provoking exploration of modern journalism, media dynamics, and the societal factors fueling political polarization. Andrew Callaghan's insights offer listeners a deeper understanding of the complexities involved in documenting and addressing contemporary social issues. Whether you’re a media enthusiast or simply curious about the forces shaping today's political landscape, this episode delivers rich, engaging content that resonates with a broad audience.

---

Additional Resources

• Watch Dear Kelly: www.dearkellyfilm.com
• Channel 5 YouTube Page: Channel 5
• Andrew Callaghan’s Work: Follow along on YouTube

For more episodes and content, visit tcbpodcast.com and follow The Commercial Break on Instagram, TikTok (@TCBpodcast), and YouTube.

Transcript

[Brian Green]

This episode is sponsored in part by Jumba Casino. Why wait for fun when Jumba Casino is just a click away? Play anytime, anywhere. With hundreds of thrilling online social casino games like bingo, slots and solitaire. It's free to play with no purchase necessary, and new games drop every week to keep the excitement fresh. Plus claim free daily login bonuses and a free welcome bonus just for joining. Start your next [e-mail] no purchase necessary. VGW Group void war prohibited by law. 18/ terms and conditions do apply.

[Joy Hoadley]

Okay, let's take a poll. How weird does it feel to be called someone's fiance Right. The first time you hear it, you do like a double take. Your heart kind of flutters, and before you know it, you go from let's just enjoy this moment to we're planning a fall wedding. That's where Zola comes in. Zola has everything you need to plan your wedding in one place and have fun along the way. From free planning tools like a budget tracker to super necessary and website to a venue and vendor discovery tool that matches you with your dream team. Everything on Zola is designed to make your wedding journey as easy as possible. And with invites that can be completely customized and a wedding registry packed with gifts you actually want, Zola takes you from Save our date to thanks so much without breaking a sweat. From getting engaged to getting married, Zola has everything you need to plan your wedding in one place. Start [e-mail] that's z o l a.com Happy wedding.

[Brian Green]

Hey, it's Friday crazy night let's go. Friday crazy night Gonna dance, dance, dance all night yeah, one more time. Friday crazy night Gonna dance, dance, dance all night hey, be sure to have a wild, wild weekend wherever you are. On this episode of the Commercial Break.

[Andrew Callahan]

Podcasting has definitely softened the barrier between consumer and creator in a way that's never been done before, which in a lot of ways is cool. Like, for me, it's been great. I'm not even a podcaster, but social media has allowed me to be closer to my fan base and have a more organic feedback loop to where when I ask people, yo, what should I cover? Next thing you know, I got 500 suggestions. That was impossible even 15 years ago.

[Brian Green]

Yeah.

[Andrew Callahan]

So I'm not going to dog on it too much. But I do think that, like, Trump, being on these podcasts was a way of communicating. Like, yo, Trump is your friend. Like, this could be you here with us.

[Brian Green]

The next episode of the Commercial Break starts now. Yeah. Cats and kittens, welcome Back to another episode of the commercial break. I'm Brian Green. This is my dear friend and the co host of the show, Chris and Joy Hoadley. Best of you, Chris.

[Chris]

Best of you, Brian.

[Brian Green]

Best to you out there in the podcast universe. I'll start it off saying it right now, ahead of time, as all the kids like to say. Trigger warning on this episode, TCB Infomercial with Andrew Callahan from Channel 5 News. All Gas, no breaks, quarter confessions. He is a journalist of our time. He is a new media journalist doing a vlog and YouTube. YouTube doing it really well. I think he's one of the, I'll say this, I think he's one of the more important documentarians of our time because he kind of, he just gets into the heart of it. He has a good way of summing things up. And if you haven't seen Channel 5 or all gas, no breaks, I highly recommend that you go check out the channel. This will be a show where we definitely talk about politics because Andrew's new movie Dear Kelly is out right now. He had a previously a movie with HBO Films called this Place Rules about the lead up to the January six thing that happened. I don't know, some people call it a riot, some people call it a tour. But anyway, he had an excellent HBO documentary and now he has self produced, self directed or Channel 5 has directed a movie called Dear Kelly where he takes it even a step further, trying to get into the head of people who have kind of become extreme, who have become super tribalist. And that is not uncommon in our culture today. And I watched Dear Kelly, I got a screener of it. He was nice enough to send it to me. It's out available now. Go to the Channel 5 YouTube page. You can just, you know, go to, I'll put a link in the show notes so you can, you can see it. But Dear Kelly is an excellent movie. It follows around a guy named Kelly who Andrew met chasing kind of Trump and the MAGA crowd around for eight years now. And he met this guy and he really wanted to understand why Kelly had gotten so radicalized so quickly. Seemingly normal guy. And he really gets to the bottom of it. He gets to the heart of it. And then he takes it even a step further by trying to help Kelly piece his life back together. Kelly has lost his family, he has lost his friends, he has lost his house, his job. And I think, and I'd like to talk to Andrew about this and get his thoughts. I have that kind of this unscientific theory that the tribalism that we experiencing today on both sides has a lot to do with a pandemic that is happening called loneliness, desperation, and the need to feel like we're a part of something.

[Chris]

Yeah, you belong somewhere.

[Brian Green]

And I think Kelly kind of. Is this in action, my theory in action, because that's where Kelly finds himself. He loses his house and he finds himself in a really bad way, and he kind of buries himself into a lot of theories and political talk and political action that he feels there's a bad guy and he can help take that bad guy down. But that bad guy is very nebulous. It's just a thing, Right? And so, you know, while we tend not to talk about politics on the commercial break, we've loosened those rules up a little bit. And there's some of you that don't like that, and I get that. So I'm letting you know right now, this is not the episode for you.

[Chris]

We're not talking about ice penises.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, we're not talking about ice penises today. No ice penis today. We're going straight. We're going straight for it. But I really feel like Andrew is an important journalist. I think the Dear Kelly is an important movie. And when given the opportunity, I, of course, wanted to invite him onto the show just to talk to him. So this will be a more serious episode of the commercial break. This will be the one, the one episode. Okay. I promise we'll get back to ice penises tomorrow. So, Dear Kelly, Channel 5, all gas, no breaks, quarter confessionals, all of that stuff. Andrew has been a journalist since he was a wee bitty little kid in high school. Full ride to Loyal University, a media scholarship, a journalism scholarship. And he has done something very interesting. He is one of these people who is out there. You know, we talk a lot about new media and the fact that there's going to be possibly Joe Rogan sitting at the White House, press briefings and how this was the podcast election and all of this. Andrew is very much, I think, a part of this and maybe one of the first to do it, I think, pretty impartially and really, really well to get in there and to document our culture as it's happening without a lot of judgment and put his finger on what's going on. So love him or hate him, Andrew Callahan, and I like him. Andrew Callahan is coming up from Channel 5. It's a new movie. Dear Kelly. We're gonna talk all about it. Why don't we do this? Let's take a break. Chrissy okay. And through the magic of telepodcasting, Wendy.

[Chris]

Wa bam.

[Brian Green]

Wa bam. Wa bam. You just turned off the show. Wha. Bam. Wa bam. I just heard half our audience leave. We'll get through it together. I prom is worth the why. This is worth the Listen, I promise we'll take a break. We'll be back with Andrew.

[Wendy]

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

[Brian Green]

Do you know what's frustrating? All the extra fees we deal with movie tickets, airline seats, concert add ons or even video games. It feels like life is throwing curveballs and making it harder to move forward financially. One step forward, two steps back. That's why I am a big fan of what Chime is doing. A Chime checking account helps us make financial progress easier. There are no monthly maintenance fees and they offer fee free overdraft of up to $200 through Spot Me. Plus you can even get paid up to two days early with direct deposit. And here's what stands out for me. Spot Me. Picture this. You're running low on cash, but an unexpected expense pops up. Instead of stressing out, Chime spots you up to $200 with no fees. Then your next deposit takes care of it. Chime will even let you share financial boosts with friends to increase each other's Spot Me limits. It's like having a financial community right in your pocket. Make progress toward a better financial future with Chime. Open your account in just two minutes at chime.com commercial that's chime.com commercial banking services and debit card provided by Bancorp Bank NA or Stride Bank NA members. FDIC spot me eligibility requirements and overdraft limits do apply. Boosts are available to eligible members enrolled in Spot Me and are subject to monthly limits. Timing depends on submission of payment file fees apply at out of network ATMs. Remember to visit chime.com commercial and thanks to Chime Checking for being a sponsor of the commercial break.

[Margo Gray]

College holds a mythic place in American culture. It's often considered the best four years of your life and hailed as a beacon of integrity and excellence. But beyond the polished campus tours, there are stories you won't find in the admissions pamphlets.

[Andrew Callahan]

The higher ups are concerned about one.

[Narrator]

Thing, and that is avoiding scandal.

[Margo Gray]

It's no wonder that college campuses capture the nation's attention, especially in moments of upheaval. I'm Margo Gray. Each week on the Campus Files podcast we bring you a new story.

[Andrew Callahan]

It was the biggest academic scandal in.

[Brian Green]

The history of college sports and probably.

[Joy Hoadley]

In the history of academia.

[Margo Gray]

On Campus Files we cover everything from rigged admissions to the drama of Greek life.

[Andrew Callahan]

A chancellor having a pornographic double life is an extremely rare case.

[Margo Gray]

Listen to and follow Campus Files an Odyssey Original Podcast, available now on the free Odyssey app and wherever you get your podcasts.

[Brian Green]

This episode is sponsored in part by shipstation. Well, if you've been listening to the commercial break over the holidays, then you know that Chrissy, Christina and I have been hard at work knocking out 25 episodes in one single month. So we understand just how chaotic a business can be. So when you're running an e commerce business, you understand there's a special kind of chaos that goes on with fulfillment and shipping. But Shipstation is one service that you can count on to help you remain calm day to day when it comes to any and all of your fulfillment needs. You've got to focus on the parts of your business that grow the business and then let Shipstation handle the rest. Shipstation makes it easy to automate shipping tasks and manage orders from one simple dashboard. And as the old adage goes, analytics are everything. You can scale your business faster because of ShipStation's robust automation and reporting system. Listen, here's the best part. You can save thousands on shipping with industry leading discounts from their cutting Edge Rate Shopper. UPS, DHL, Federal Express and USPS. Rates can be up to 88% off when you use Shipstation. And most importantly, you'll deliver a better customer experience. Over 130,000 companies have grown their e commerce business with ShipStation and 98% of those companies have stuck around with ShipStation. Now it's your turn. Calm the chaos of order fulfillment with the shipping software that delivers. Switch to ShipStation today. Go to ShipStation.com and use the code Commercial to sign up for your free trial. That's shipstation.com code commercial. Thanks to ShipStation for being a sponsor of the commercial break. Andrew, thank you so much for joining us today. We're really grateful for your time.

[Chris]

Thank you, Andrew.

[Andrew Callahan]

Yeah, it's a pleasure to be on the commercial break podcast. Thanks for having me. Great time over there in Atlanta. It's a great city.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, it is a great city. You were just doing a. Were you talking about the underground screamo scene here?

[Andrew Callahan]

At one point I did an interview with a 15 year old YouTuber named G. Interviews, like, I get a lot of press requests, but that just like jumped out. Cause he was like 15 year old Atlanta independent journalist. I was like, let's go. He FaceTimes me. He's like wearing braces and he's telling me, he's like, bro, you gotta come to the underground screamo rave scene here in Atlanta. He's like, we have 50 person screamo concerts in the underground society beneath the state capitol. And I was like, oh shit, yeah.

[Chris]

Like at Underground Atlanta.

[Brian Green]

Did he. Did you go, did you actually go or just do the FaceTime with him?

[Andrew Callahan]

It was only 48 hours ago that I learned about this, so I haven't gone yet, but I'm sure that I'll.

[Chris]

Oh, wow.

[Andrew Callahan]

Sometime soon.

[Brian Green]

All right, you, you, you come here and I'll take you to the best burger place in the world.

[Andrew Callahan]

Let's go.

[Brian Green]

Okay, Andrew, Quarter confessions, all gas, no breaks. Now Channel five. You of course did the incredible documentary with hbo. It was really good. I thought it did a better job of any of the. There were so. There was so much press and there was so much material and so much documenting of what led up to the January 6th event. Whatever. You know, if you're on one side, it's a tour. If you're on the other side, it's a ride. Whatever you think about that, it certainly was a moment in history that you probably will never forget where you were when you're watching those images go down. And you did such an incredible job of documenting that in a way that even though I know that you and I want to talk about this too, even though in a way you had to spin it a little bit, it really was. You did a great job of catching the mood of the moment, documenting the culture and the attitudes that were going on right in the emotions and the heat of it without getting caught up in it. Is that a difficult thing to do?

[Andrew Callahan]

Yeah, I mean, it generally is, but it's sort of like the 10,000 hours thing when it comes to those kinds of events. Sort of practice makes perfect. Probably. It was hard to keep my composure when I started my career, like around 2018. But after you go to, you know, 50 right wing conspiracy rallies in a row.

[Brian Green]

Yeah.

[Andrew Callahan]

You might as well just be going to like IHOP or something. You know what I mean? You just like your. Everything's normalized. But yeah, I mean, to be fair, I am proud of the HBO project. Like, I didn't want people to come away from Dear Kelly thinking, oh my God, this guy hated his directorial debut.

[Commercial Voice]

Yeah.

[Brian Green]

I didn't, I didn't come away from that with a feeling. I came away from it with a feeling that. And when Dear Kelly is his brand new documentary that has been self produced and self directed, which is so fantastic. But at the beginning, you kind of preface it by saying, hey, listen, HBO made me do some outtakes, some spin outtakes that were on there. But I didn't come away with a feeling that you weren't proud of it. I came away with the feeling that you wanted to come clean a little bit.

[Andrew Callahan]

Yeah. And to clarify, those orders weren't coming from hbo. They were coming from. Absolutely. Which was Tim and Eric's production company, hbo. We didn't even really come into contact with them until three months before the movie was gonna be released. They were just like, this is great. HBO was great to work with the entire time. They still are. You know what I mean? But it was more of the studios that funded the film were very concerned about being seen as being on the wrong side of history.

[Brian Green]

Okay.

[Andrew Callahan]

Ironically, if you were to look back at, you know, this place rules. Even if you were to look back at it without the editorial notes, you would say this is a strongly anti January 6th movie.

[Brian Green]

100%. 100%.

[Andrew Callahan]

There was so much, like you said, so much press around it, and there was a lot of posturing as to who was going to make the most elite hit piece about that.

[Chris]

Right?

[Brian Green]

Yeah, 100%. Did Tim and Eric like, is that Heidecker?

[Andrew Callahan]

Yeah.

[Brian Green]

Okay. And so they just felt strongly that they wanted to make it clear that this was not in favor of the January 6th events.

[Andrew Callahan]

Well, politically we're a bit different. Like, they're more liberals and I'm more of like a leftist, if that makes sense.

[Brian Green]

Yes.

[Andrew Callahan]

I don't believe that you need to necessarily editorialize or like punch down on a lot of conservative people who have been kind of caught up in the political propaganda of the day. I felt like they. And they were okay to work with, but it was more like they felt like we had to draw an extreme line in the sand, like denounce Alex Jones before showing him on camera. I'm like, I think it's enough to, you know, drink Jameson shirtless and have him say a bunch of crazy stuff. Yeah.

[Brian Green]

You know what I mean?

[Andrew Callahan]

I don't think you need to add in this, like, mean spirited jab, but that's just. It's also a generational gap too.

[Brian Green]

Sure.

[Andrew Callahan]

You know, because there was this idea, I think, around 2016, that if you censor people online and if you limit the spread of their voice, their ideas will go away. And you saw that a lot of early censorship on Facebook and Twitter when it was a Jack Dorsey company, it was like, all right, a lot of these flat earthers, these QAnon people, the Trump crowd, we're gonna push them gradually off these platforms in the hopes that their movement will become smaller. But what it actually did is it moved them into more concentrated, tight echo chambers, only amongst each other. And, you know, that created. We're kind of paying for those mistakes now.

[Brian Green]

I totally agree with you. Dear Kel, so you. So you do a great, incredible job of documenting what leads up to these events. And Dear Kelly is part two. But it's almost. I don't know, it's almost like a prelog. You are getting. You answer the question. What happened? Now you want to answer the question, how did we get here and in. Dear Kelly, I think you do. I think this is really an important piece of film, if I'm being real honest. I don't want to be hyperbolic about it, but it's important because I think you do the best job yet that I have seen of understanding why this tribalism and extremism is happening. I have had this unscientific theory for a long time that loneliness, desperation and a feeling of wanting to belong to something has been causing this. And you and Kelly, is this in action, it's this in real life, and you really get to the bottom of it. Is what drove you to follow Kelly?

[Andrew Callahan]

Well, it kind of actually all started back at the Flat earth conference in 2019 that I covered in Dallas for All gas, no breaks. So I posted a video of people at the rally talking about various Flat Earth concepts. And most of the comments on Instagram would be making fun of them being like, I can't believe they think this. But then at the end of every comment section, on every single post, there'd be a comment or two that would say, like, this is my brother I haven't seen him in five years. He hasn't been the same since that workplace accident. Wow. He lost his pension or got taken off a workman's comp and fell off the deep end or. Man, this is my best friend. You know, he's been an alcoholic or a divorce or. You know, it's very common with older. Older dudes, too.

[Brian Green]

Yeah.

[Andrew Callahan]

And so I had it in my head for a long time that a lot of the people that you'd see who are the most angry at these kinds of, you know, fringe events are. Had some deep personal tragedy in their life prior to even getting politicized at all. I just never had enough time to actually spend with someone to show that theory in action. And this Place Rules was filmed over the course of two and a half months where I was popping from political flashpoint to political flashpoint, capturing, like, the raw group energy of the crowds at that time. But with Kelly, I had four years to film this documentary.

[Brian Green]

Wow.

[Andrew Callahan]

And so you. I really got to get into the nitty gritty of what that process looked like. Not. Not with an emphasis on what particular media he consumed, because that's. A lot of times people fall into that trap. Oh, he's radicalized by this particular platform, like Infowars or something. But way before that, what conditions primed him to be a candidate for radicalization?

[Brian Green]

And he loses his family and he loses his home, and he falls victim to unscrupulous lenders. And I also have this on scientific theory, and I think this would hold true for a lot of people our age. Right. Which is when you get older, you become a little bit more isolated. You don't go to as many social events. Life, it gets harder to make friends. And so if you are in a position where you lose things and you lose people and you lose friends and you lose material things. Loneliness is a pandemic. It's a pandemic that I think affects. And. But this also goes. This is also true for young men, too, I think, especially men, is that, you know, when you're lonely and you don't have anyone to reach out to, and then you. Someone reaches out, or you find something that you connect with, there is a real sense of belonging, and now you have something to fight against. You're fighting the good fight. And I wonder how you feel. Andrew, I. You know, you do such a great job of kind of humanizing Kelly, and I think that's. We need more of that because these are our friends and our neighbors. These aren't strangers, our friends are neighbors and our family members. I wonder how you feel. I feel that at some point people are going to come home, you know what I'm saying? People are going to come down off the ledge and we are going to have to kind of like, I don't know, deprogram a little bit. We're gonna have to welcome them. And I fear that all the judgment on both sides is making that really hard to do. What do you, how do you feel about that?

[Andrew Callahan]

I think 2028 is kind of the goalpost year because Trump's in office now. So a lot of these people, like on the Kelly side of things, they don't have that underdog complex that put the battery in their back for so many years.

[Brian Green]

Yes.

[Andrew Callahan]

If he does good things for the country, if the bottom line is improved for the working people of America, we're gonna report that too. I hope that happens. I'm not the kind of person who's just so anti Trump that I won't give him credit for positive change in the country. I hope that happens.

[Brian Green]

I agree with that happening a thousand percent.

[Andrew Callahan]

These people will calm down, they'll have access to mental health services. On the other hand, if that doesn't happen, it's also a positive. Cuz they're like, oh, we put all this energy into getting this guy in office and nothing good happens. So 2028 is the year. Not only that, these people will either realize that they were doing the right thing or got lied to, but we'll also have fresh primaries for the left and right. So we'll have new personalities, just a total clean slate. Obviously. Obviously the Democratic, Democratic Party is basically irrelevant now. Yeah, I'm not even sure they'll have a ticket in the next election. So I think it'll be like conservatives versus Independents versus leftists. It'll be great.

[Brian Green]

You feel that strongly that the Democratic Party will fall apart over the next couple of years?

[Andrew Callahan]

I think it already has.

[Brian Green]

I think I agree with you.

[Andrew Callahan]

Last win. I mean, they're so tapped out from the youth and the things that regular young Americans want, which is like being able to afford a house. You know, not everybody's so pent up about what Trump is saying. Most people aren't even politically involved. They like sports and not having to pay a bunch of money for stuff.

[Brian Green]

Fair enough. When you, when in the run up to the election, did you get the sense that Trump was taking this away?

[Andrew Callahan]

Honestly, I'm not gonna lie to you. I wanna sound like I'm smart and be like, yeah, I knew it. I thought Kamala Harris was gonna win.

[Brian Green]

Well, I mean, I think that was just the general mood in the room. Right. I think even Trump thought Kamala Harris was.

[Andrew Callahan]

Yeah.

[Brian Green]

But little did we know, there was this kind of undertow that was going on with, I think, people that did not squarely fall in the Democratic. In the Democrat big D camp, that they were swinging a different way because they felt like they were left out of the conversation. And I also believe that Trump showing up in new media. New media, whatever that means. Podcast vodcast. Right, Exactly. It's the podcast presidency. Right. That. That had a big sway on what happened at the voting booth, that people, young people who listen to podcast, decided that if my favorite podcaster is on board with Trump, I am also on board with Trump. Give it a try. Right? It's something. It's something new. Why not be a voter? Did you get that same sense?

[Andrew Callahan]

Yeah, I think the podcast thing was definitely like a campaign psyop to make people think, like, oh, this guy's my friend. Because podcasts are already the home of all parasocial relationships as it is. It's just a true thing because podcasts are so organic and long. You know, it kind of is a little bit depressing sometimes when you're, like, in the car with someone that you're friends with and they play a podcast and they're kind of laughing along, like, that's their actual friends. Yeah, it's kind of a sweet thing, but you just think to yourself, like, man, these guys don't even know you exist. Yeah, like, man, that's kind of depressing. That's how I feel about comedic and, like, more. More bro y podcasts. Like, yeah, what's up, homies? We're in this. And I'm like, yo, this is so crazy because, like, I don't know, it just. Podcasting has definitely softened the barrier between consumer and creator in a way that's never been done before, which in a lot of ways is cool. Like, for me, it's been great. I'm not even a podcaster, but social media has allowed me to be closer to my fan base and have, like, you know, a more organic feedback loop to where, like, when I ask people, yo, what should I cover? Next thing you know, I got 500 suggestions. That was impossible even 15 years ago.

[Brian Green]

Yeah.

[Andrew Callahan]

So I'm not gonna dog on it too much. But I do think that, like, Trump being on these podcasts was a way of communicating, like, yo, Trump is your friend. Like, this could be you here with a.

[Brian Green]

Yes, 100%. I think you nailed this. You know, podcasting in general is a lonely venture because there's no one responding to you. I mean, you can get certainly good phone calls and all the other stuff, but you're talking into a microphone and you make an interesting point. What's happening on the other end of that microphone? I have no fucking clue. Do people think I'm their friend? Are they taking me seriously? I don't know. And I think. I think you're right about this. Is that this long form, kind of freewheeling, pseudo science, pseudo spiritual bro, is fear that's going on certainly helped push Trump. Trump over the edge. How are you? How do you feel about Trump giving the new media podcasters a seat at the table when it comes to the White House press briefing room?

[Andrew Callahan]

I mean, I think it's great, given the fact that the mainstream press has given him such an unfair shot. I mean, however you feel about Trump, the way they've treated him has been unbelievable. If you look at the way they treat the Biden and Harris campaigns versus Trump, it's like they give him nothing but fluff questions on the liberal side, the moment Trump's in there, they're just dogging on him all the time. Least this press briefing room will now have an opportunity for there to be more organic conversations. I mean, I hope it's not just packed to the brim with manosphere influencers, but if he does open it up to, like, a wide spectrum of independent media like myself and others, that would be sick. That would be fantastic.

[Chris]

I agree.

[Brian Green]

Would you take a seat at that. That conversation? I think you would be so good at that. How did you get so smart? Dude, I'm being. I'm asking, like, a serious question. What. What was your childhood like growing up?

[Andrew Callahan]

So I grew up in Philadelphia till I was, like, 11. I grew up in, like, center city, around North Philly, in Fairmount. And then I moved to Seattle when I was 11. And then. Yeah, I mean, I've always been like, my mom always took me to libraries and was encouraged me to be curious and talk to new people, but really I had this high school teacher named Calvin Shaw, who was my journalism professor, and he really, like, taught me that it was cool to be, like, smart and actually be curious about things, because before then, I was only into, like, skateboarding.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, Mr. Shaw. Yeah, Mr. Shaw.

[Chris]

Teachers aren't part of that.

[Andrew Callahan]

Before then, I was only into, like, like, skateboarding, rapping, writing graffiti, just, like, around trying to steal beer, things like that, you know, like regular Regular kids, freshman year. Like, you know, how do we steal as many beer kegs at the same time as we can? And then he taught me like, yo, you can live just as crazy of a lifestyle without the risk and without the, the consequences. And you can, you know, be a journalist and go wherever you want and go to the craziest places in the world and get rewarded for it, you know. And I was like, damn, for real? And he would let me leave school for hours at a time as long as I could report back by the final bell at 3:30 and show him substantial progress on a feature article. No way he was sick. And then he left the same year that, that I left in 2015 while I graduated. I didn't drop out. But yeah, I don't know where he's at now. I think he's in Hawaii. I haven't even talked to him since. When somebody helps you so much in life, you almost don't even want to tell them how much they help you sometimes.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, yeah. There's another, there's an old saying that I like that is just some don't meet your heroes, don't remember your heroes, don't meet your heroes. But Mr. Shaw, if you're out there, I mean, what, he let you go out of school as long as you were back by the 3:30 bell? What a rock star. That must have had a huge impression on you as a young man. Like, hey, I can. He's let, he, he sees something in me. He's giving me the faith, he's giving me the trust to go out there. My teachers wouldn't even let me out of the front row. I mean, honestly, they wouldn't let me out of the front row.

[Andrew Callahan]

He was also like a, he was like a young teacher. Like he was like 37, you know what I mean? Which for like the school, that's pretty young, you know.

[Chris]

Yeah, I connected with you so like.

[Andrew Callahan]

He, he would, you know, it wasn't like I, it was some like 65 year old professor, you know, like, you know, this guy was cool as hell and I remember he saw me because I was drawing these stickers on, on pieces, you know, like graffiti stickers on shipping labels on the back of class. Yeah, he like, he came, he's like, andrew, I know what you're doing. He's like, you might think this is cool now this is going to be some loser shit when you're 20 years old. He's like, I had so many friends. Take this route, get out of here, go to the occupy tent. City, the Occupy Seattle tent city, and come back with a story. And I was like, well, holy shit. He was like Spider Man's editor in chief, but not mean.

[Chris]

Yeah.

[Brian Green]

Wow. That is fucking incredible. That is amazing.

[Chris]

Teachers can do that.

[Brian Green]

Teachers can do that. And we need more of the teachers like Mr. Shaw and less of the teachers like I had, which are basically nuns. That would whack you across the knuckles if you looked in the wrong direction. I mean, I went to Catholic school growing up, and it was just. It was a totally different experience.

[Chris]

Yeah, you had a bad experience.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, I had a bad experience. Well, I don't think Catholics haven't had a great run with it, children. You know what I'm saying? I'm just throwing that. Just throw that out. There is Mr. Shaw. Then. Tell me about you. So you went to Loyola University down in New Orleans, and then you started. Is that when you started in earnest kind of getting out there?

[Andrew Callahan]

Yeah. My first day of freshman year at Loyola, like, I always knew I wanted to be a journalist, so I signed up for this student newspaper called the Maroon. And it was actually, like, not the most gratifying experience because I wanted to be a gonzo journalist, like, through and through, from. From Mr. Shah's class on. And also, Vice was in their heyday back then, and they were making journalism cool again for the first time in decades, so they were already laying the foundation. And so, like, probably if you would have asked me when I was 18, what do you want to do? I'd be like, I want to be a vice reporter.

[Brian Green]

Yes.

[Andrew Callahan]

They would end up kind of selling out by the time I graduated. But digressing. First day, I start working for the Maroon, and I'm telling my editor in chief about all these stories I want to do. Like, I want to do something about, you know, voodoo practitioners in New Orleans or the post Katrina general gentrification or, you know, all this shit. The history of the Streetcar. And he's like. I just remember he sent me an email in all caps, and he said, not relevant.

[Brian Green]

Whoa.

[Andrew Callahan]

And I was like, what do you mean? And he told me. He's like, this newsroom has a hierarchy. You're a freshman. This is your first week writing for the school newspaper. If you want enough clout in the newsroom to pitch your own stories, you have to just do these bulletins for, like, a year straight. So I had to write about stuff like, English department tries to seek new writers. The Pope visits campus. Hoverboards banned due to safe kicking. School safety officers voiced their concerns about Vaping in classrooms, like straight up boring shit. Yeah, it wasn't until, you know, sophomore, I think actually at the end of that freshman year, I quit the newspaper and I hitchhiked alone around the whole country by myself all summer. Just holy frustration with the newsroom. I was like, you know what? Fuck this. I'm gonna create my own gonzo path by any means. And then I realized at the end of that 90 day hitchhiking voyage, like, you know what? The job at the school newspaper isn't half bad. I'm just gonna try to put my foot down and really write what I want about.

[Brian Green]

Sure.

[Andrew Callahan]

Write what I. Yeah. So then I got back the next year, my sophomore year, for the school newspaper, and I started popping off my own stories. And then, you know, I continued to write for the school newspaper for the rest of college.

[Brian Green]

You are like Hunter S. Thompson, but much more, much more clear. Much more clear headed. You hitchhiked across the country.

[Andrew Callahan]

Yeah.

[Brian Green]

So you must have some story.

[Wendy]

Tell us.

[Brian Green]

Yeah. You must have some story. I mean, Chrissy and I, we know a lot of hippies, right? And so we've seen our fair share of hitchhikers and every hitchhiker has a great story. What is the shadiest situation you got yourself in?

[Andrew Callahan]

I mean, definitely the scariest situations. I mean, being mistaken for a prostitute at certain trucks. Yeah, those situations are kind of scary. But most people, when they realize you're not a gay prostitute, they get so embarrassed and ashamed that they pretend like they're just joking and they drop you off. It goes pretty well. Definitely the scariest one, just the most viscerally scary one is when a guy picked me up in Tifton, Georgia, which, as you know, is.

[Brian Green]

Tifton's a truck stop. That's what it is.

[Andrew Callahan]

And just doesn't say a word the whole drive. No, and that was the weirdest one. He was like. He had these wraparound kind of like redneck shades, giant red beard, and was just chewing dip and not saying a word.

[Brian Green]

Wow.

[Andrew Callahan]

I mean, he was like, where you going? And I told him where I was going. I think it was like maybe taken. And he was like, all right. And didn't say anything.

[Chris]

That just scared me because most of.

[Andrew Callahan]

The time people are so curious, like, oh my God, you're hitchhiking. What's.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, what are you doing?

[Andrew Callahan]

Yeah, absorb some of your information and figure out what's up with you. He just had no curiosities and I thought I was gonna die the whole time. But then he was like, right, here's good. I was like, let me out. I don't know why that kicked me out so bad.

[Brian Green]

He was trying to decide the whole time whether or not he was gonna hit on you. He's like, is he or is he not? Are you guys. Are you gay? Because if you are, we can stop, pull over, and have sex. And if you're not, I'm just joking.

[Andrew Callahan]

I'm just dropping off the funniest prank in Georgia.

[Brian Green]

Yeah. I'll drop you off right here, son. Yeah. Tifton, Georgia. That is a truck stop, no doubt.

[Chris]

Was it mostly truckers?

[Brian Green]

Yeah, mostly. Truckers have picked you up, huh?

[Andrew Callahan]

So, ironically enough, people think that truckers are, like, the number one hitchhiker picker uppers. But with the. With the. The unions have modernized the trucking equipment a lot.

[Brian Green]

Yeah.

[Andrew Callahan]

So now the insurance companies have basically made it so they can't pick up any hitchhikers. They have 24, seven live feeds connected to their dash cams.

[Brian Green]

I do notice.

[Andrew Callahan]

Yeah, they're not always being watched. But if you. Let's say you're in the teamsters union or you work for a major trucking company, they can. They can, like, use satellites to. To see your feet at any given time. And if they catch you with a lot lizard or a passenger or doing snorting Sudafed or drinking a beer or even driving more than. Than nine hours at a time or something like that, they will instantly fire you.

[Brian Green]

Yeah.

[Andrew Callahan]

And so the only truckers that can pick you up are owner operators, Meaning, like, you somehow have created your own lane. Like I have to, where you own the loads you're hauling, which is super rare, but you can spot them because they always have insane trucks.

[Chris]

Yeah.

[Andrew Callahan]

Like, they have trucks, they're painted in colors that no company would approve.

[Brian Green]

Right. About this, like. Yeah. Lightning bolts across the side. Yeah.

[Andrew Callahan]

Flames and half naked. Naked girls. And no company name. You're like, all right, this guy will pick me up.

[Brian Green]

Yeah. So it's like multi, you know, like, they cost a million dollars. Those huge trucks that have apartments in the back those aren't owned, but usually by the companies. My brother's a teamster he works for in the movie business, and he drives trucks. That's what he is. He's a fueler. Right. He goes and he refuels everybody around the movie scene. And he tells me that the Teamsters, they have, you know, chips or whatever they have at any given moment, they know where he is and what he's doing, and that's just part of the gig. So. Yeah, I Can understand that. So I. I think it takes real balls to hitchhike. Actually. I've done it once, and it was the scariest. And there was two of us, and it was the scariest experience I had ever had. And I had had some really fucking scary experiences. And I just got. I was like, yeah, I don't think I'm. I don't think I'm in for this. I don't think I'm down for just riding. No, I wasn't cut out for it. But it didn't. It didn't help that the guy was a total. The driver that picked us up was a total maniac with a lot of road rage.

[Andrew Callahan]

I'm just curious, what state you in when you had that experience?

[Brian Green]

We were in Colorado. When we had that experience, were you.

[Andrew Callahan]

Guys in the mountains or in the. In the plains?

[Brian Green]

We were driving from Denver north.

[Andrew Callahan]

So you guys weren't in the mountains?

[Brian Green]

No, we were not in the mountains.

[Andrew Callahan]

Yeah. Ironically, whenever you cross to a certain elevation or like, you know, whether it be the mountains or the west coast, the culture of hitchhiking changes.

[Chris]

Oh, yeah.

[Andrew Callahan]

You know, because, like, if you were to take the 101 from Seattle down the Pacific coast to Santa Barbara, you're gonna have the best time. It's super safe. Because hitchhiking is a culture there. It's also a culture in the mountains between like Aspen and V, towns like that and Basalt. But, dude, as soon as you hit flat land, the hitchhiking culture becomes pretty sketchy. The people who pick you up in Arkansas, like, it's just. It's either people who's like, who think you're addicted to drugs and. And they have like a. Like a. A son or a niece or nephew who's also strung out.

[Chris]

They want to help you.

[Andrew Callahan]

Like, you. You want me to take you to the church? Like, stuff like that. Savior complex pick you up.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, yeah. Someone with savior complex or wants to preach about God for you for 35.

[Chris]

Minutes or have sex with you.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, we're gonna have sex with you.

[Andrew Callahan]

Or all those things at the same time.

[Chris]

Yeah, yeah, true.

[Brian Green]

I'd be lucky if at that age, I would have been lucky if anybody wanted to have sex with me. Tell me, tell me about. So you go from. You do these like quarter confessions, right? Which is you down in New Orleans and you're kind of cutting your teeth and getting this very unique style of interviewing people, which I would say you're kind of a non obstructionist. You ask a question, you let someone hang themselves with their own Words, so to speak, I don't wanna say hang themselves always. It doesn't always happen at that time.

[Andrew Callahan]

That was accurate.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, yeah. And so now, yeah, now you're. Now you, now you're a noted journalist. Right. So I think now you know how to operate very well with the microphone and around whoever it is you're interviewing to get what you want out of them or to get them to give you whatever's going on in their head.

[Andrew Callahan]

Right.

[Brian Green]

What happened with no Gas? With All Gas no Brakes, which was just, just I think probably what a lot of people would have started knowing you from.

[Andrew Callahan]

I mean, you know, All Gas no Brakes was like the peak fame for the COVID era suit man personality that I developed. So whenever I first started working for All Gas no Brakes, it was my idea, my concept. But the company that funded it, that provided the funding was a parent company called Doing Things Media. It's actually based in Atlanta and they run a network of meme pages, like I think someone called them the Meme Illuminati. So they are able to create viral sensations out of, you know, different pictures they source online. It's a pretty fascinating, like it's almost like a startup for the meme sphere.

[Brian Green]

Very interesting.

[Andrew Callahan]

Okay, so they work out. They worked out of a wework in Buckhead, so I went down and met them.

[Chris]

I know that one well.

[Andrew Callahan]

Yeah, yeah. So they pretty much, you know, you know I'm talking about.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, we do.

[Andrew Callahan]

So they agreed to pay me $45,000 a year and buy me a $20,000 RV and hire my friends. So it was a really good deal to start off off with.

[Brian Green]

Absolutely.

[Andrew Callahan]

The fact that like I had minimal a small following from Quarter Confessions that I was able to transfer to All Gas, but generally like it was still like amazing. You know, I thought it was very gracious. They took a big risk. The show grew at an unprecedented rate.

[Brian Green]

It was amazing to watch that thing explode.

[Andrew Callahan]

I remember that it took six months, man. It went from like, you know, we're talking 10,000 viewers to like 10 million viewers in a very short period of time. And obviously we were doing merch drops, so we dropped, you know, T shirts and hoodies and stuff and we'd be making like multi million dollars off these merch drops.

[Brian Green]

Jesus Christ. Really?

[Andrew Callahan]

So all of a sudden, you know, what I was being offered by them to start off with seemed relatively unfair, of course, especially given the fact that they weren't helping to produce the show at all. I was doing the planning, the travel, the accommodations, the editing, the deliverables all they were doing is using their pages to kind of market the show and also providing the base level funding for the RVC stuff. So I basically asked for 20% equity and they approved. They were like, you know what? We'll give you 20%. And so I was happy with that for a very long time. Now we signed a movie deal with A24 and Tim and Eric's company to make this place rules.

[Brian Green]

Yes.

[Andrew Callahan]

And they wanted us to have a four month period that we blocked off just to make this place rules. So they said, okay, we want. During the 2020 election, this is what 824 said. They said, we want you to only make content for the. This place rules for the film. You can't make any digital content for all gas, no breaks. And so doing.

[Brian Green]

Fair enough. Yeah.

[Andrew Callahan]

Doing Things Media said, yo, actually, Andrew's in a 360 full management contract, so you can't tell him to not make digital content for us. So it became these sort of two corporate entities battling over who I was gonna make shit for.

[Chris]

Right.

[Andrew Callahan]

And so doing Things Media told me, you're gonna lose your job if you don't simultaneously produce digital content for us during the shoot schedule for the film.

[Brian Green]

Whoa, whoa.

[Andrew Callahan]

And I was like, yeah, what do you do?

[Brian Green]

Yeah, you know what?

[Andrew Callahan]

Okay, I will do that if you bump my profit share from 20% up to 50%. So 50% profit share for this duration of time, plus the salary. And they immediately fired me.

[Brian Green]

No, they immediately fired you.

[Andrew Callahan]

Okay.

[Brian Green]

So you're getting like, we have experienced this in our own podcast universe, the many machinations of working in the quote unquote entertainment industry. Right. Is that there? Everybody wants a piece of you. Everyone wants you to work for a little bit less. Everyone wants to take a little bit more. That is a really tough position to put you in, especially since all Gas, no brakes is probably the best thing that this company has going besides their meme page. And to fire you because you just needed four months off really takes some fucking balls, actually.

[Andrew Callahan]

Yeah. And a lot of it had to do with the fact that. So the CEO of Doing Things Media, his name's Reed, he's actually a cool guy. He was the one who took the chance, I really don't think. And I'm actually on good terms with him now. I think that looking back, he would have granted me that 50% share. And he. But he was partnered up at the time with a guy named Max, who. We called him Hollywood Max. I'm actually in the building right now where I first Met Hollywood Max.

[Chris]

Oh, my God, full circle.

[Andrew Callahan]

And so I remember he. And I remember when I first met him, we were on the highway passing like the Hollywood Hills. And he. He points to the hills and he goes, you see that little dot on the mountain? He goes, that's Justin Bieber's house. He goes, knows how fat's gonna be in 10 years, Andrew fucking callous.

[Chris]

Oh, God.

[Andrew Callahan]

So it was like, seriously, you couldn't write this guy. And so I think from what I have heard from leaked messages and stuff he communicated to Reed, the CEO of Doing Things who Owned All Garments. He said, I have so many connections in the comedy world. Andrew is a glorified mic stand. He's replaceable. We don't need him at all. And I think Reed. Reed is like, all right, well, you know, this guy's asking for a lot. You know, he's. He's going on to do Hollywood shit anyway. Let's get somebody else.

[Brian Green]

When this is. When did you do the flat earth thing for?

[Andrew Callahan]

That was, I think in the November of 2019, probably six to. No, almost a year before the All Gas breakup. A year and a half.

[Brian Green]

So here is the. And that's like right at the. That's like coming into the heyday of all gas. No brakes. Right? Okay. So when I first saw Andrew on. On one of his videos, he was doing the flat earth thing, which then led me down a rabbit hole, which then led to the second episode of the commercial break. There's like a strange thing there. When you. It was. You weren't an empty suit, you weren't an empty microphone, you were. What was making it interesting. You, you were. At that time, it was. You were so non obstructionist and letting people hang themselves with their own words that the comedy and the clarity came through. And the way that the show was edited was so brilliantly done that it was like these. You really are gonzo journalists, but you're getting a point across somehow way, shape or form through all this chaos. And that's what I really appreciate.

[Andrew Callahan]

Thank you. I also did the editing too, so that was particularly puzzling.

[Brian Green]

No way. Really?

[Andrew Callahan]

When you. Yeah, but when you have like, people who don't create art and content managing, people who do, they just. They don't understand the streamlined creative process. They don't know how that works. They think that they can sort of just like replace one crucial part of the operation with someone else they know and things will still flow. But the thing is, people aren't mathematical like that.

[Brian Green]

No.

[Andrew Callahan]

And, you know, they attempted to find New hosts for all gas drill breaks. But by the time they were going down that road, I had already leaked the information to the New York Times about, about what had happened. And, you know, that got reported on. So I didn't even really need to like, wait a beat until I launched Channel 5. I launched Channel 5 two months after all gastrone breaks ended.

[Brian Green]

And did you find that most of those people jumped right, right over to Channel 5?

[Andrew Callahan]

Every single person. You know what I mean? And like I said, I've had great conversations with Reed since then. And, you know, I think we both made some mistakes there. Obviously I felt like their mistake was a bit more significant. But my, I guess ultimatum style, marketing, not marketing, my. The ultimatum that I presented.

[Brian Green]

The negotiating. Yeah, the negotiation.

[Andrew Callahan]

My negotiation style was a little bit abrasive. And I was 21.

[Chris]

Yeah.

[Andrew Callahan]

So I probably, if I was an adult now, I would have softened it a little bit. But I was like, you know, I was like, I deserve 50%. You guys don't do anything. Like, I think I didn't need to slip in any of those, like, personal attacks.

[Brian Green]

Yeah. But you know, you're. You're 21. We all. If I could go back to 21 and do business all over again, I'd probably still have four of the jobs that I lost over the period of time. Because that's.

[Chris]

You learn from it.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, you learn from it. And that's what, you know, as we grow, that's what we learn. We go through these iterations and we decide, oh, remember that conversation I had last time with Reed? Maybe I shouldn't make that same mistake again with HBO somewhere down the line. So tell me about Dear Kelly. What is the plan for Dear Kelly? How can we help you?

[Andrew Callahan]

I mean, yeah, so Dear Kelly is just my first self funded, independently distributed film streaming at www.dearkellyfilm.com Links in the show notes. I think it's been up for like 10 days. We got or almost two weeks now. We got 35,000 rentals, which is sick as hell.

[Brian Green]

Holy shit. Nice work.

[Andrew Callahan]

We're breaking straight to consumer records. The dream is to eventually shop it to a streaming service after we've recouped the initial budget.

[Brian Green]

Are there any interested? Have you. Do you have any fish? You don't have to tell me all the details. I know that's highly classified. Do you have any. You have any nipples?

[Andrew Callahan]

It's only classified if you work for them. I haven't even had any of these, any of these conversations yet because like I told you, you know, A lot of these content people who work in the business side of things, they don't even care if it's good or bad. They just want to see numbers. Yeah, that's if you say, hey, guys, a hundred thousand people rented this. I'm probably gonna wait till we hit a hundred thousand rentals, and then I'll be like, Yo, Netflix, 100,000 people signed up just. Just to see this movie. Imagine how many would sign up for your service.

[Brian Green]

Yes, you are smart. He has learned. He has learned, Chrissy. And now we need a new manager. We're going to hire Andrew to manage our next contract negotiation. Andrew, you have done something quite amazing, my friend. We are big fans of Channel 5. I am a big fan of the movie. Dear Kelly, I do believe this is an important piece of film that people should watch. We all need to understand each other a little bit. There are some true bad guys on both sides of the aisle. True bad guys that have no one's best interest at heart. This is not Kelly, and it's not most of the people, I don't think, definitely. Do you agree with that?

[Andrew Callahan]

I definitely agree. And, you know, growing up in Seattle, kind of in a progressive bubble, I didn't really understand the mentality of a lot of conservative people until I went to school in the South. And I kind of felt like I was doing this to teach the progressive crowd a little bit of something as well, which is if you have this utopian vision of a new America where everyone has access to, you know, equal services and everything's great, you have to also consider what to do with the tens and tens of millions of people in Kelly's position who don't want the future that you want and have valid grievances, especially when it comes to economic, you know, stuff that need to be addressed, and also have crippling mental health conditions, pretty much, which is a big problem.

[Commercial Voice]

Yeah.

[Andrew Callahan]

Whether or not they're born with them genetically or it comes as a result of stress imposed by law life, there needs to be a clear plan in place to provide mental health services to these people.

[Chris]

Yeah.

[Brian Green]

You know, there's an interesting experiment that was done a long time ago, and I think it's been repeated many times. They give a rat cocaine. They put a cocaine and food in a bottle, and they say they give them unlimited access to it. And the rat continues to go back to the cocaine until it dies. Then they put a couple of rats, a family of rats, and they give cocaine and food in a bottle. And very rarely do any of the rats Go to the cocaine. And the reason concluded would be community. People around them, other rats around them, they have some source of solace. They're not lonely. They don't find themselves in a position to get that kind of high because they get it from interaction. And so I think what I take. Part of, what I take away from Dear Kelly, is that there are a lot of people out there who are feeling lonely and they're getting some of that interaction and some of that love from the podcast, from the tribalism, from the extremism on both sides. Sides. And that we all probably should, you know, put down a fucking Instagram and give our friends a call and say hello.

[Andrew Callahan]

Yeah, definitely. I think that's. That's another great thing, too. If you have a family member or friend that's in Kelly's position, definitely don't ostracize them or make them feel even. Even worse than they already do about humanity.

[Chris]

Right.

[Andrew Callahan]

You know, I mean, there's so many. There's. There's this big drive to exile and alienate people in that, you know, in the. In the rabbit hole and be like, you're crazy, man. You're a piece of shit. You voted for a fascist. I don't even want to talk to you. Yeah, evidently, that's made things worse. So this is a call for understanding and conversation.

[Brian Green]

I love it. I love your positive spin on this, Andrew. We. You're welcome back here any and every time that you have something new coming out, or we'll just check in with you in a little while. I wish you the best of luck with Dear Kelly.

[Chris]

Come to Atlanta.

[Brian Green]

Come to Atlanta.

[Andrew Callahan]

Come in. And I got email. Hit you up.

[Brian Green]

Email? Yeah, Email me and I promise you I'll take you for the best burger in the country.

[Andrew Callahan]

All right. Appreciate you guys.

[Brian Green]

Andrew, thanks. Thank you so much. Much.

[Andrew Callahan]

Hell, yeah.

[Wendy]

Have you got a hankering down deep in your soul to tell us what's up? Well, I am encouraging you to do just that. Text us at 212-4333, TCB and tell us what's going on. Give us the haps. Tell us the dirty secrets of your life. That's all we've ever wanted to hear. You can also leave us a voicemail at the same number. That's 212-433-382. And also follow us on Instagram at the commercial break and on TikTok @TCB podcast. And if you want to see any video episodes, you can go to YouTube.com the commercial break. And they are all right there. And if your hankering is not to tell us what's up, but it's for a new sticker, I'm sure there's probably one on the website. Go to tcbpodcast.com click contact us and find I want my free sticker. I know you can do it and I can't wait to hear your thoughts on anything and everything. Love you. Bye.

[Commercial Voice]

Ready to level up? Jumbo Casino is your playbook to fun. It's free to play with no purchase necessary. Enjoy hundreds of casino style games like bingo, slots and Solitaire anytime, anywhere with fresh releases every week. Whether you're at home or on the go. Let Shumba Casino bring the excitement to you. Plus get free daily login bonuses and a free welcome bonus. Join now for your chance to redeem some serious prizes. Play Chumba Casino today. No purchase necessary. VGW Group Void where prohibited by law 18 TNC supply.

[Narrator]

You just realized your business needed to hire someone yesterday. How can you find amazing candidates fast? Easy. Just use Indeed. Stop struggling to get your job posts seen on other job sites. Indeed sponsored Jobs help you stand out and hire fast. With Sponsored Jobs, your post jumps to the top of the page for your relevant candidates so you can reach the people you want faster and it makes a huge difference. According to Indeed data, Sponsored jobs posted directly on Indeed have 45% more applications than non sponsored jobs. Plus with Indeed sponsored Jobs, there are no monthly subscriptions, no long term contracts, and you only pay for results. And listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility@ Indeed.com listen. Just go to Indeed.com listen right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com listen. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need.

[Brian Green]

Andrew Callahan, Channel 5 News Wow. I so enjoy my conversation with him.

[Chris]

Perspective and very interesting.

[Brian Green]

Very interesting. Talk to I don't care who you voted for. I think that we can all agree he's got some. He's making some incredibly intelligent and prescient points and the movie is really good. Dear Kelly and if you haven't watched this place rules watch that subscribe to Channel 5 do all of that stuff. Listen. Andrew is a super nice guy. He's very young. He has got an incredible career ahead of him. I think we just talked to a future media heavyweight for sure if he's not already so many people you know are into his his work.

[Chris]

I know. I love him forging his own path too.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, I think that's the best thing About Andrew is that he's forging his own path, he's learning his own lessons, he's doing his own thing. And he's at 28 years old. I, I think he was born in 97. What is that? One plus four, carry the three? I don't know. He's. He's very young. Okay. He's a very young guy. Oh, he's like 20. Yeah, he's 20 something. Anyway, the kid is young and, well, the guy is young and he is doing great work, so.

[Chris]

But he's still been doing it for so long.

[Brian Green]

He has. Well, Mr. Shaw was letting him do it at 13 years old or whatever. We didn't even get into this. Whatever. Seca, Cylin induced, blah, blah, blah.

[Chris]

Yes.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, we'll have to ask them that the next time he comes. Anyway, you must go watch Dear Kelly, you must links in the show notes. See, that wasn't that bad, was it? We didn't bash on Trump. We didn't bash on anybody. No.

[Chris]

He brought up some interesting points too, about the mainstream media, the way that they've treated each side.

[Brian Green]

Yes. And I agree with him whole, wholeheartedly. Not sure I, I'm 100% on board with podcasters in the front row of the Pinehouse Press.

[Chris]

I still think it's great, too. I've said it since the beginning. But it does depend on who, who it is.

[Brian Green]

Yes, 100%. And Andrew said as much. And so I, I can, I can agree with that. I can agree with that. If it's Andrew Media. If it's Andrew, I'm all about it.

[Chris]

Please.

[Brian Green]

If it's Alex Jones, probably not. Probably not going to be so excited about it anyway. TCB, podcast.com. that's where you go for more information about the show. All the show notes, all the links to all of our guests information, all of their to dos, all of their events, all of their tickets, Andrew's movie. It's all there. Just check out the show notes on each particular page. You can go to the website and check that out. All the audio, all the video right there from one location. Also hit the contact contact us button. We give you free swag. No must, no fuss. Give us your physical address and we will send you a sticker, a hat, a T shirt, a cup, a mug, a broken sock from Brian.

[Chris]

Sock with a hole.

[Brian Green]

A sock with a hole. These don't have them, but man, I, I go through more socks. Really, I do. I'm a heel walker. I'm a heel walker. So yeah, I can't keep a pair of socks more than two weeks. We have to buy socks but like Amazon has is on subscription. I just keep getting socks and I go through them. I throw away more socks than I know what to do with anyway. TCBpodcast.com you know how to do it. 2124-3338-2382-2212-4333 TCB questions, comments, concerns, Content, ideas? We do take them all voicemail or text message. We'll get back to you. Add the commercial Commercial break on Instagram, TCB podcast on tick tock and YouTube.com the commercial break for every single episode of the Commercial break now available on video and this episode included. You want to see Andrew's young smiling.

[Chris]

Face at his brand new headquarters.

[Brian Green]

And his brand new headquarters. Check that out. All right. Well, best of luck to Andrew on his movie Chrissy. That's all I can do for now.

[Chris]

I think so.

[Brian Green]

I love you.

[Chris]

I love you.

[Brian Green]

Best to you and best to you out there in the podcast universe. Thanks for sticking with us. Until next time we do say we must say we will say goodbye. Ed I have it.

[Narrator]

If you like the words food, football and 40% off, then Instacart has the perfect big game deal for you right now. On the Instacart app you can get $10 off a $25 order of eligible game day essentials like chips, dips, sips and chicken strips. So what are you waiting for? Free snacks with your order? Because yeah, Instacart has those too. Fees, taxes and terms apply. Eligible items only while supplies Last expires on 2.

[Andrew Callahan]

9.

[Commercial Voice]

When you think about businesses that are selling through the roof like Aloe, Allbirds or Skims. Sure you think about a great product, a cool brand and brilliant market. But an often overlooked secret is actually the businesses behind the business making, selling and for shoppers buying.

[Andrew Callahan]

Simple.

[Commercial Voice]

For millions of businesses, that business is Shopify. Nobody does selling better than Shopify, home of the number one checkout on the planet and the not so secret secret with shop pay that boosts conversions up to 50%, meaning way less carts going abandoned and way more sales going. So if you're into growing your business, your commerce platform better be ready to sell whenever your customers are scrolling or strolling on the web, in your store, in their feed and everywhere in between. Upgrade your business and get the same checkout experience as business powerhouses like Aloe, Allbirds and Skims. Sign up for your $1 per month trial [e-mail] Odysseypodcast all lowercase go to shopify.com Odysseypodcast to upgrade your selling today. Shopify.com Odysseypodcast.