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Colin Cowherd
This is an iHeart podcast.
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Colin Cowherd
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Joel Cohen
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Colin Cowherd
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Joel Cohen
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Colin Cowherd
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Chad Millman
Welcome to the Favorites the podcast part of the Volume PODC Network. I am Chad Millman of the Action Network. Today I'm joined as always by my co host, my companion, my compadre, my BFF Professional Better Simon Hunter. Hello Simon.
Joel Cohen
Chad.
Simon Hunter
What a show we have today, brother.
Chad Millman
Dude, we got Very special guests for a very special show. We like to figure out on this show what is going to happen in the future. I don't think any medium has been better at predicting what is going to happen in the future than the Simpsons, which not only is it the longest running scripted primetime show in American television history, it has been epically successful in predicting the most outrageous things. From voting scandals, which one of our guests predicted many, many years ago, to Olympic curling gold. Whether it's sports, whether it's politics, whether it's polluted waters and three eyed fishes. And the Simpsons have been predicting it for years. So I wanted to dig in on how they do it here to discuss it. Two fellas happen to be brothers. Both have worked on the Simpsons. One still does. They are industry veterans, Canadian royalty. One of them has directed one of the best documentaries on Canadian sense of humor in history. It's a pretty long list, but they are fantastic looking duo. Rob Cohn is a close buddy. He's been writing and directing his way through Hollywood for years on some of the biggest and best shows you've all watched, including the Simpsons, Wonder Years, Big Bang, my personal favorite, Somebody Somewhere, which made every top 10 list of the best shows last year. He also won an Emmy for his work on the Ben Stiller show. If you're a Simpsons super fan, he was the screenwriter of one of the show's most beloved episode, Flaming Mo's season three. His brother Joel has been with the Simpsons for almost 30 years. He's an executive producer of the show. He's written nearly 40 episodes, some of which we are going to talk about today because they pre saged some of the most outrageous moments literally in history, including a very special Treehouse of Horrors episode that is still relevant today. Like me, Joel is an author, which is the hardest thing to do, much harder than a long successful career in Hollywood. His delightful book how to Lose a Marathon is available wherever books are sold. The boys, the Coen brothers have a new animated show. It's hilarious. Super Team Canada produced with with Will Arnett. He also does a podcast, people may have heard of it. It's available on Crave TV and on YouTube. Fellas, it's been a long preamble, I apologize. But you've been around forever and there's a lot of stuff you've been doing. So welcome to the show. Rob when the weight of the world has got you down and you want to end your life, bills to pay, a dead end job, and problems with a wife. But don't throw in the Towel. Cause there's a place right down the block where you can drink your misery away that flame song go flamingo. That song goes flaming. When liquor in a mug can warm you like a hug and happiness is just a flaming blow away Happiness is just a flaming blow away Say hello.
Joel Cohen
Hello, Chad. This is the sound of my impressed voice.
Chad Millman
Thank you, Joel. Can you be equally impressed?
Colin Cowherd
It would be hard to match that level of enthusiasm, but hello as well.
Chad Millman
All right, I gotta ask. First off, Joel, you've been there forever at this point. Why does this keep happening? How do you guys continue to predict the future?
Colin Cowherd
We're getting into it right now.
Chad Millman
Yeah, let's just do it.
Colin Cowherd
Let's do it.
Chad Millman
I just want to hear it.
Colin Cowherd
Let me tell everyone the sad truth, and then I will try to salvage it with a little bit of hope at the end. How about that?
Chad Millman
All right.
Colin Cowherd
So most of the time when people say Simpsons predicted it, what has happened is the Simpsons are a bunch of hacks, and we have merely reported on something that has already happened. But the world travels in cycles. So one of the things that people talk about recently, or semi recently, is Simpsons predicted Covid. And they show this clip that was aired after sars, if you guys remember sars, one of our great viruses. And we did a joke on the show where, like, the newscaster Kent Brockman, is saying this asian flu, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So people show that clip, and they're like, simpsons predicted Covid. In fact, we were, like, probably three years after the fact of SARS and just doing it, sort of a joke or a take on sars. So a lot of times, it's just that cycle of life that looks like there's a prediction. Add to that now the ability of everybody out in the world to use AI and crappy animation, and people are creating memes and little video clips that look like a prediction after, of course, the fact that it happened. The third thing I'll throw in the bummer pile is, like, for example, there was these horrific fires in Los Angeles. There's all these things. Simpsons predicted the fire. Well, we have 800 episodes. Shockingly, we have had one with a fire in it. So you can find a clip of a fire and then say, simpsons brick of the fire. So those are the bummers. The good news is the day after I started, the day after this aired. But one of our writers, Dan Graney, who Rob knows, certainly was writing an episode, and he had to think of it was in the future. I forget the name of the episode, but it's in the future when Lisa becomes president and replaces the former president and had to name who the president was. Dan's first idea was President Depp because he thought, oh, Johnny Depp. Then he thought, no, no, that's too viable. It has to be the most ridiculous, idiotic name you could ever put in there. So he chose President Trump, which that was in 2000 that, that aired. So that was a clear prediction. And as you've mentioned with all the last thing I'll say, with 800 episodes, we occasionally do stuff that then does prove prescient. Like we've predicted Olympic curling success and World cup scores and super bowl teams, et cetera. So long winded answer to say often it's, it's either super laziness and a little bit of luck.
Chad Millman
Well, look, I know Simon is a, he's a Halloween special lover and Joel, that's one of your many specialties, the sports angle on this. And I, and I know Simon wants to ask about it. Cause it also contains one of the greatest and most relevant prescient predictions that has happened in the Simpsons. But the sports angle is fascinating to me because everyone in that room is clearly a sports fan. And you guys have predicted so many things. You know, as I used to run ESPN the Magazine and in 2013, I think you guys did FIFA corruption and you had a French version of ESPN the Magazine that had the COVID of, you know, French of a FIFA corruption. And a year later that's happening. Right. And so where does the sports fandom come in to all this?
Colin Cowherd
Tons and tons of sports fans. I wouldn't say everybody's a sports fan, but it's a lot of guys with nothing better to do than look at their phones all day. So there are a lot of sports fans. And then of course, sports, just like anything else in society, trickles in for predictions. But like FIFA corruption, I, I probably could have told you in 1983 that there was FIFA corruption. Right. So that we did a story about it is not so shocking. So anyhow, we just do a lot of sports episodes. I just had an episode on a couple weeks ago that sort of mirrored the Ohtani betting scandal. I don't know if you guys heard about that. It wasn't covered very much in the media, but so we had a Macedonian baseball player who gets corrupted and starts betting on sports as well. So that was on a few weeks ago, but anyhow. So lots and lots of sports fans, I guess is a half answer to the full question.
Chad Millman
Simon, would you like to.
Simon Hunter
Yeah.
Chad Millman
What was your Treehouse.
Simon Hunter
I'll go with Rob.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, do it.
Simon Hunter
Rob, in my mind, you grew up in the greatest generation of comedy. And not talking America, I'm talking Canadian comedy. You had Jim Carrey, Norm MacDonald, and even before that, you know, it's a bunch of legends where, you know, Martin Short, to me, one of the greatest comedic minds ever. What made that little pocket of Canadians so funny? It's like, crazy. Like, even all these years later, like, I go back and I watch old Norm, it's so hard for comedy to hold up 30 years later. And that's how, you know these people are way out of their time. Like, you're a part of it. Like you are part of this group of people that put themselves out there in a unique way. What, what do you think makes Canada produce these heavyweight comedy styles?
Joel Cohen
Well, you're giving me, if there's more than 100, you're giving me more than that credit for, for something that I, I really didn't do, because I agree with you. You know, every country mostly has their own unique sense of humor. And obviously if you're in the United States or Britain or Canada, it's more mainstream just because of the way they make TV shows. But I do agree with you. It's Canada, you know, for its relatively small population, has generated these hitters in comedy forever. And there's a million theories, but I, I think it's really because we're stuck between England and the United States and we are watching the US and observing them, and we're sort of watching Britain, and we know we're kind of British, kind of American, but we're also naval gazers to a degree. And that internalized thought process creates this weird mishmash that is this observational comedy. And there's no real theory, but I will say I agree with you. I mean, to me, SCTV is the greatest sketch show and sketch group of all time. And Python is a, a very, very tight tie with them. And then everything else is a big drop off. They're good, but they're never going to be that level. And I think so much of it is just being insane because you have terrible weather and you're stuck inside and you're envious of your neighbors and you just kind of get this distorted, passive aggressive style of comedy. So I think that's why Canada's created that. And then you have people like Jim Carrey, who is obviously brilliant, or Martin Short, or any of the SCTV people that when they go to the States, they're viewed as these exotic Weird aliens that happen to live on the landmass that's connected to you, but their. Their view on things is. Is so different. And they're great mimics. And I think that's what's led to the Canadian style of comedy.
Simon Hunter
And I love the old theory of the. The cold and the harsh weather. Just like in England, when you come over here, it makes you need to laugh about life. And that's why, you know, I always joke, I go back and visit family, just about how even a local guy at the pub could be the funniest person you've ever met in your entire life. When I go back to England, and I've had that with Canadians, like, I've had a lot of friends who've come down here, and I feel like what you're talking about, they just don't know. They're just so different, especially to Americans, even though, yeah, you know, they are not even that far away. And, yeah, I love, you know, Mike Myers talks about it where, you know, Canadians, they'll be talking and be like, oh, and he died the other day. So sad. And it's just, like, really funny where they don't know they're being funny. They just, you know, throw these type of things in. And, yeah, for someone like you, I just thought it was interesting where you really grew up in the perfect era of that type of comedy. And, yeah, obviously you don't take any credit for it, so I won't keep pushing it on you.
Joel Cohen
I think. I mean, the last thing I'll say on that is I really think bad weather has something to do with it, because you have Britain, you think about the United States, you have New York, you have Boston. You rarely hear of, like, a hot, brilliant, edgy comic from Tempe. You know, like, it's not. It's just. I think being stuck inside and in sort of crappy weather and observing and having a lot of time with your own thoughts and then watching TV creates that. That flow out of you. And, you know, I think if you think about Monty Python just as an example there, it's crappy weather, they had no money, they had no support. They were these guys that were very well educated and people thought they were weird. So they just banded together and using amazing brain power, created Monty Python, which is incredible. So I think that, to me, is sort of the perfect soup for how you get to places like that.
Chad Millman
I feel like you were just throwing shade at Arizona's own David Spade.
Joel Cohen
I love Spade, but name your second favorite Arizona comic.
Chad Millman
I can't do it.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah.
Joel Cohen
Okay, next topic.
Colin Cowherd
Gary Shandling.
Simon Hunter
That's pretty good.
Joel Cohen
He moved there though.
Chad Millman
He doesn't count.
Joel Cohen
Are you guys sponsored by the state of Arizona tourism Board?
Colin Cowherd
Exactly. Comedy clubs in Arizona.
Joel Cohen
Kiss that goodbye, Joel.
Chad Millman
You, both of you, I know, are huge sports fans. Give me a sense from your own experience how sports informs even the slightest way what you're doing day to day with the Simpsons or just your enjoyment of, of the industry that you're in.
Colin Cowherd
Well, I am a, I've very, I'd say deep sports fan. Of course. During football season I think I do five fantasy teams and pick them. Rob and I have been in a pick' em league for a long time together.
Simon Hunter
You're Canadian. Who's your team? Local?
Colin Cowherd
Well, when we were growing up in Calgary we used to get channels from Washington state, so I became a Seahawks fan. But as you know, once you get into fantasy football, you've corrupted yourself horribly and you can't be a fan to anybody anymore. So my, my favorite fan is my wallet. My favorite team is my wallet and just trying to win, which I never do, but I love it. And then right now, like I'm deep in the hockey playoffs. We're in a bit of a moral quandary right now because we're from Calgary, which despises the city of Edmonton, but Edmonton is the last Canadian team and they're playing Florida, which is maybe the worst American place for there to be a hockey team. So we're kind of being forced to cheer for the Oilers. But I am as a patriot and then at work everyone's betting on sports all the time. Another thing, I'll just throw in the pile. I wrote a book with Dan Patrick, your old colleague from ESPN about football that I really enjoyed. So I, I'm, I'm deep in sports as much as I can be outside of work and, and love it in every capacity.
Chad Millman
I will push.
Joel Cohen
I'll add to that. Oh, sorry. I'll add to that. That, you know, I started Gracie Films is a company that produces the Simpsons. So I started there a long time ago and even as a naive pearl clutching Canadian lad, I was stunned at the level of sports gambling and just gambling that happens at that company. Like numbers that are shocking, but people that were very into it and still do it and bookies and the whole thing and even they have a thing called the Gracie Pool which has been going on for 20 plus years. Joel and I have participated in it, but that's the least serious level of sports gambling they do. And that is A serious pool to get in. So if you're easily scared, I would avoid crazy films when it comes to gambling. But if you love sports, it's a great place to be. And the Simpsons, great because there's so many sports fans.
Colin Cowherd
But just to throw one last thing. Sorry, Chad. I see.
Joel Cohen
You're welcome.
Colin Cowherd
You're either about to throw up or to talk. Either way, or either are welcome. But I was gonna say, like, it's. Writers rooms are like eight to 10 people stuck in a room all day for anywhere from eight to sometimes 15 hours. I mean, it's inevitable that you're. If it's a lot of people that are into sports, there's going to be a lot of bets coming out of that environment.
Simon Hunter
Yeah, I was gonna say gambling and comedy, though, goes hand in hand, Chad. Like, most especially in my line of work, A lot of comedians who I've met in my life, Especially when I was living in vegas, was all because of sports betting. And they'll be in the books, and they'll be like, hey, you got to come meet this guy. And you go over there. And again, that's how I met Norm macdonald. This guy was a notorious gambler who lived in the book. And, you know, that's someone that I, you know, ran into. And I knew right away. People told me, do not tell him you're a fan or that you enjoy his work. It will be a much better experience. And from him, I've done that with every comedian I've ever met with that. And they all love betting. I think it's the rush. They chase the same thing that kind of get on stage. And what, you know, I would love to know about the simpsons writers is when they're predicting these super bowls, Is there something behind it? Right. Are they trying to speak into existence with their own bets, or is that just once again, just by luck?
Colin Cowherd
You know, I think at some point, we can all tell who the favorites are in a. In a season. So you can make a somewhat of a prediction of, you know, if I said, narrow it down to five teams that could be in the super bowl, you'd probably be right on three or two of them. So it's mostly luck. What gets freaky is sometimes we've actually got the score right, things like that. So that is just. That is pure luck. But Simon, as a professional, better. I say bet on everything you see on the simpsons because they're all going to come true. You've got nothing to lose. Yep.
Chad Millman
I want to know how we get into the Gracie Films pool. It feels like exactly the kind of pool we'd want to be in. Simon.
Colin Cowherd
It's.
Joel Cohen
It's a substantial. I. I'm happy to ask. It's a substantial investment. At the beginning of the season. You are playing against. It's all with the spread. And there are some people in the pool that use extra resources and outside sources for their information. But the great thing about it is that if you win a week or you win the whole pot, somebody will deliver fresh cash to your location. And when I say fresh cash, it is unused bills that are perfectly crisp in an envelope to your location of choice. And that thrill is it's got nice payouts, but if you happen to win, you will have somebody pull up in a manila envelope with a manila envelope of cash that looks incredible. And that. That's the moment you want to savor.
Simon Hunter
Let's say Chad knows my favorite competitions in America are tax free competition. So right now, do you guys remember the gold sheet?
Colin Cowherd
Simon, is that still around? The gold sheet?
Chad Millman
It's not around anymore. We actually tried to buy it when I was at espn and it's sort of. It's just not really a thing anymore. It's just not. It's not necessary right now, given the way the world is. But why do you say a guy.
Colin Cowherd
That Rob and I both have worked with and a wonderful guy and an incredible Simpsons writer and legendary and really great guy, he was a avid reader of the gold sheet and avid. Better. I won't reveal his name, but he one time bet, I'm gonna say, $40,000 on a presidential election and lost. But anyhow, he. He's a real. He was a real deep reader of the gold sheet. I remember even, like, preseason football, him telling me, like, that's where you make all your money is in preseason football. And I never believed that then and still don't believe it now. But he was a. He would have the gold sheet in front of him all the time.
Joel Cohen
Well, I will just add to the depravity of the Simpsons and gambling, where I won't say a name, but there is a person there who made a lot of money and basically placed two bets on the color of the Gatorade that would be splashed on a coach and bet against themselves on the color so that they were covering every possible color of Gatorade and were rooting basically against themselves, hoping for this color, knowing that they couldn't win because they spread the money out too much on the Gatorade. But there's definitely enthusiasm for cash free Earnings at that show.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah.
Chad Millman
The my favorite Gatorade story is Jared Lorenzen, who you guys might remember was a 300 pound quarterback at Kentucky.
Joel Cohen
Yes.
Chad Millman
Then he made it to the NFL. He was a backup for the Giants when they made it to the super bowl against the Patriots. And I can't remember, I feel like it was the second super bowl. And before the game, which happened to be in Arizona, he was on the field and he texted all of his friends back in Kentucky the color of the Gatorade on both sidelines. So he wasn't telling them which team he thought was going to win or giving them anything other than if you think the Patriots are going to win, this is the color of the Gatorade. If you think the Giants are going to win, this is the color of the Gatorade. And it's gotten to the point where that and the national anthem, like, how have you guys not done a national anthem controversy with a famous singer and the betting on that as an episode.
Colin Cowherd
You may have predicted it. The part I took of that whole story that's sad is that there's only one color of Gatorade on each sideline. Like teams could afford a variety, a smorgasbord of different Gatorades. We don't know which one's going to be dumped, but it's sad to think that they just commit to yellow or blue or orange or whatever.
Joel Cohen
I do have scored a touchdown.
Simon Hunter
I do have a Simpson question that, you know, this is just something you would know because it's something you have to be inside if this is true or not. I'm obviously grew up south park fan. Simpsons fan. Never liked Family Guy. The south park episode with the manatees pushing the balls to make a family episode. Is it true you guys sent them a bottle of. Was it champagne or wine?
Colin Cowherd
I don't believe that's true. Oh, I mean, we love that episode. They have another episode which maybe is the same one where they did. Simpsons did it.
Simon Hunter
Yeah. Simpsons did it.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah. Yeah. Which we. We have a really good relationship with south park and shockingly to so many people, pretty much with Family Guy now as well.
Simon Hunter
Yeah. Because to me, like, like Bill Hader, a guy who does work for south park, he felt like he was like a Simpsons guy and that you could really see his style. You can tell he just grew up on Simpsons. And he's taken a lot of that to South Park. And I just, to me, that was one of their best hires ever, where it's just like, that's a match made in heaven, where, again, the influence of Simpsons and it's on comedy. The same thing with snl.
Joel Cohen
It's.
Simon Hunter
It changed everything. And there's little pieces of all this comedy and all this new comedy. So, yeah, I just had to ask that question because that's like. As a South park fan, I always wondered, okay, are the south park and Simpsons actually cool? So I love to hear that you guys are actually. You guys like each other.
Colin Cowherd
We love those guys. And Bill Hader has been a voice on the show a bunch of times and is amazing. He incredible.
Chad Millman
Is there a South Park Simpsons Family Guy pool that exists? And if so, maybe we can start one.
Colin Cowherd
Well, forgive me, Rob. I'm talking more than I should. But when we do this thing at the Simpsons, which is equally sad, but we do a fantasy football league for summer box office, so we auction off movies. You can. We have $100 fictional money and you bid on the movies that we divide into lots. And big movies get split into thirds or quarters or half, depending on how big we think they are. But that idea is internal to the Simpsons. Been going on for 20 years. But then I've heard that Family Guy and maybe south park have taken on that idea and done it themselves.
Chad Millman
Internally, I feel like you guys are much bigger gamblers than I had any sense of it before. And now I understand, like, when I'm hanging out with Rob and it's the middle of the football season and I'm staying at his house, and I land at, you know, 7 o' clock, and it's 10 o' clock East Coast Time, and I'm at his house and I'm having dinner and I'm falling asleep, but he keeps asking me questions about who I like for the weekend. It's all starting to make sense now.
Joel Cohen
Well, I also, when. When Rad Chad shows up and stays at his Hollywood mansion, We're so excited that you're here, but also, you know, everything. So whether it's the fantasy pool that win or just some insane situation like what's happening with Aaron Rodgers now, like, it's. You are honestly the only person that I feel can make sense of a lot of ridiculous situations. So, like Dak Prescott, you go, why aren't the Cowboys drafting X, Y and Z? Do they really like Dak? Like, you're the only guy I can go to to get the answers. But at the same time, there's all this weekly drama where you go, you wonder, like, the Bengals a few years ago when they were hot. It's like, do you think they can keep the heat on and get to the super bowl and win it because it's so out of the blue that you're talking about the Bengals in the Super Bowl. So you. You are the guy that I go to for, for everything. And sometimes it's connected to the fantasy league that Joel and I are in.
Chad Millman
And sometimes it isn't Simon's. Hear that? I am the guy.
Joel Cohen
He's the guy you know what doesn't.
Chad Millman
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Colin Cowherd
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Simon Hunter
I was going to ask Rob, is Chad the best house guest ever? Is it like he eats barely Anything. Maybe uses the bathroom twice. Bed has made him perfect every morning after he wakes up. He's just easy.
Joel Cohen
He's. We love it when Chad is here. Our son loves Chad. They. We have photo documentation of them partying for years and years and years. But when Rad Chad is in town, we are very, very excited.
Simon Hunter
No, chad only takes three beers and he's in bed by 9pm It's.
Colin Cowherd
It's so true.
Joel Cohen
We love it.
Chad Millman
Do you guys, do you guys. Have you guys thought about super bowl futures already? Is there a Gracie Films pool that takes advantage of super bowl futures? Joel, do you have a position that you've taken that you would like to share?
Colin Cowherd
I hate the season long bets. I need the quick hits. Like, I hate thinking like, oh, will the Giants win more or less than nine games a year? So no, I don't. There's no future discussion. I'm sure. Again, like I said, we could all talk about which teams we think will be back this year, but I've. I have no official financial position. All right.
Joel Cohen
Also, the, the Simpsons and. And like every writer's room that I've ever been, there's certainly a handful of rabid gamblers, one or two that have a big problem. But you're sitting in a room forever and you've got phones now. Before you didn't have phones. And people are going to naturally check out scores or they're going to do online gambling. And so that just leads to filling in the gaps between pitching on a story where you start talking about gambling and football season especially. But I just think it's only increased.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah.
Simon Hunter
And everyone's got a runner now. Right. Even if you're in a state that doesn't have it. You know, a guy in a state that does that can do for you. And I was going to say, if you're going to make one futures bet. Joel, are you in LA for work?
Colin Cowherd
Yeah. Yep.
Simon Hunter
Dude, throw. Throw a little. Either on the rams or the 49ers. Get, get involved in California a little.
Colin Cowherd
Bit and do it, man. I don't have the patience. I need. I need it fast. I was going to say you bet.
Simon Hunter
It and forget it. Better and forget it.
Colin Cowherd
People bet like on stuff like what time the showrunner will let us leave. We'll bet on if someone has to go out of the room and prepare like 10 jokes for one spot in the script. We will bet on which of the 10 we bet the other day on. A guy we work with loves to get tattoos and someone came in and presented five Tattoos, only one of which was real. And we bet on which tattoo was the real one. The answer, he got it on his wrist. It says no Lex because he lost his Rolex. So it says no Lex on his wrist.
Chad Millman
When you were doing the. You did a Treehouse of Horrors episode where Homer went to vote. It was Barack Obama, John McCain. This presaged a lot of freaking chaos. Explain what happened in the episode and obviously how it predicted more and more chaos in. In the voting world.
Colin Cowherd
Well, I hate to keep going back. I think it's just like, you see these trends that are obvious, right? Where like, obviously, you know, gerrymandering of voting districts and stuff. And you can just tell there's going to be voting chaos in our future and, you know, people restricting people's rights to votes and all that stuff. So all that stuff was bubbling, I believe, with that one and with many other times. Like it takes nine months to make an episode of the Simpsons, so a lot of times we don't do really topical stuff. But I think in that case we literally held it or prepared like multiple versions and then just slotted in the most likely one at the last minute of who was going to be on the ballot. We've done that a few times where we just. Because we can't risk it to the very last minute. So, I mean, again, I guess I'm answering the first question. It was just that idea that all that stuff was in the water already. That idea of. Of what will happen to elections and voting chaos. We probably got a little bit lucky. But then just even if you're talking about specific names on the ballot, I think that was just literally waiting till the Friday before it aired on the Sunday.
Joel Cohen
Yeah.
Chad Millman
And then since then, of course, there have been nearly billion dollars in payments for the. The libel of voting machine irregularities. So nice job. Nailed that one.
Colin Cowherd
And I've made like half of that billion, so it's worked out pretty well for me.
Chad Millman
But I also feel like when you're doing these things, it's almost like you're sitting in the room and when you're not betting on tattoos and jokes and, you know, your NFL pools, you're sitting there and you're thinking, and this feels very much in line with how comedy writers would think. What is the worst thing, the darkest thing, the most outrageous thing that can happen? And let's write that into existence. Is that ever the framework for the starting or a starting point for an episode or a conversation?
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, Rob, you want to answer that? I don't know you.
Joel Cohen
Well, I'll let Joel answer the specific Simpsons things, but I'll give you two very fast examples that I witnessed. Back in the wild times of the late 90s and early 2000s, there were two different well known television shows that they would make very serious bets, one of which was, could a PA eat five cans, the large cans of Heinz beans? Joel, you know the story.
Colin Cowherd
No.
Joel Cohen
So it's like when you go to the market, there's the Heinz baked beans and then there's the super family size. So they started throwing cash on the table if the PA could eat these cans of beans. So cutting to the chase, the PA did it. No, they weren't doing any work. It took hours, and the PA was choking it down, and people kept throwing more money on it. And I think on the table was like $25,000 in cash, which is why they had that. Their pocket is crazy. So now the pa, he wanted to win because he was going to get a big cut. And then somebody after the PA had got the last spoonful of beans down, said, I'm going to double the pot if he doesn't crap his pants in the next hour. And the PA literally ran outside and ran towards a hill near Warner Brothers Studios where this was happening. He had to go to the bathroom so badly, he wasn't even thinking, where's the bathroom? He just ran straight towards a hill and had machine gun diarrhea all over this hill. But then the next argument was, does that count? Because he was off property. Like, there was such depravity going on with this. It was like, does it count? Somebody has to go up the hill to make sure it's his diarrhea. So there's levels and levels of insanity. And then the other story is, hey.
Colin Cowherd
A beautiful tree grows on that hill thanks to that diarrhea that we all.
Joel Cohen
Mighty diarrhea. Oak.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah. Yeah.
Simon Hunter
Just a field of bean plants.
Joel Cohen
Yeah. And so then the. The last one in one sentence is, there was a room that I was in where the showrunner had a. A problem with some powdered medication that he enjoyed inhaling. And people made bets on which part of his body would fall off first. And it was a lot of money. And the winner was his septum. So they go dark and make a lot of money.
Colin Cowherd
Yes.
Chad Millman
I was actually saying, like, for.
Colin Cowherd
For an episode, for ideas.
Joel Cohen
Oh, I'm so sorry. Just edit those out. Joel. I'll hand it to you.
Colin Cowherd
You know, if you can get to a funny, dark place, like, yeah, we all sometimes think of, where do you end up but then we kind of have to kind of get there in a funny, dark way. So, yeah, sometimes thinking of a bleak, you know, apocalyptic nightmare, if as long as we can get there in an interesting, funny way. We've done that many, many times.
Chad Millman
Well, that is like a very similar. Simon, you were saying it before, like, there is a mindset and a sort of character trait where gamblers and comedy writers live in a very dark space. Like, the bigger the risk, the less your expectation is that you will succeed, the more you are planning that the other side of this is going to be miserable, and you're willing to live in that misery. Comedy writing is as big a risk as. As betting. Like, Rob, you go down from Canada, you're not thinking, I'm going to end up having this beautiful life. You're thinking, I just want to be funny.
Joel Cohen
I've never thought I could be funny. But, yes, I think it's a risk because you're. You are deciding when to speak, and if you speak, you hope what you say is received well and is funny, and otherwise, you shut down. But then you. In your head, you're. You can't be quiet too long because I'm going to get fired, so I need to speak again. And then you just. The cycle continues. And, yeah, it has its own challenges.
Simon Hunter
Yeah, I think Rob just nailed it to where you don't even know what's funny until you actually say it or. And, like, give other people's reactions to it. Right. Because that's. That's the challenging part with comedy. It's. It's all subjective. And. Oh, yes, as someone that does love dark comedy, you know, I'll laugh at really easy, lame jokes all the time. Like, even jokes that miss are some of my favorite jokes. So it's like, you know, it is all random. And, you know, I view it as, you know, what we talking a little about here with the Simpsons? It's like, I would love. What's the highest rate you guys ever got? Do you ever get, like, was it Y14? Like, what's.
Colin Cowherd
What's the limit?
Simon Hunter
You can push it now that we have presidents cursing on national television. Like, is there a limit now?
Colin Cowherd
If there's a. I don't even know what ratings are anymore. Like. Like, ratings are anymore. But, you know, we are sort of bound a little bit by the constraints of the show that it's established over 40 years or 30 years. But we've, you know, we've stretched as society's appetite for all that stuff is stretched. But, like, we had an Episode once where Marge said bfd, like, big fucking deal, and Fox bleeped the F. Like, just the letter F was offensive in that. In that context. So. And then we're doing an episode now with like a. We've been told we can't show Homer's butt anymore. And, like, you know, stuff like that. So, like, the world is changing and we're just kind of dodging. And, you know, it's always lawyers trying to protect themselves, but I don't know what the ratings are anymore, and no one seems to care also.
Simon Hunter
Right, right. And my. My last Simpsons question, it's. It's a stupid conspiracy Plopper the pig. What is the deal with that pig? Is there something deep behind it, or is it just spider pig walking on the ceiling?
Colin Cowherd
That is one of the things that I think has shocked everybody so much that it. Talk about a pig with some. With digestive problems. This is a perfect play into that. But, yeah, in the movie, they just put the pig and then, like, that spider pig joke. I think if you. When you heard that pitch, it sounds like that's a pretty easy, lame joke. But that has, like, registered and resonated so strongly with everybody. Spider pig. And people love spider pig. And in the writer's room, there's a spider pig hanging from the ceiling. And, like, that's just one of those things where you just didn't know how big it would be. And it. It seemed like a pretty easy half joke to start with, but whatever reason, people love that. And the deal with it is just, we don't know. But God bless it, you know, this.
Chad Millman
Makes total sense now, Simon, the way you just described it, I feel like being in a writer's room. Rob and Joel, it's a little bit like you're chasing, you know, you lose a bet. All right, how quickly can I get the next joke out there to see if I can get the win versus all right, do I hold back? Do I want to keep my powder dry? Do I. Do I need to build my bankroll? Like, when you're in the room, Joel, you start. Is there that anxiety, that sweat, that energy that you feel that is very similar.
Colin Cowherd
Oh, yeah. Like what Rob said was, you've been talking about me. Like, I didn't speak for the first six months. And then I was told if I don't start talking, I'm going to be fired. Because you're so nervous. And then at some point, you have to pitch, which is just really exposing yourself. Pretty raw. And it's a laugh or it's not a laugh. But then you quickly just realize that everybody next to you is doing the same thing over and over and over again. So, you know, we're all sort of gambling where the stakes are pretty low, unless you get on a really, really bad streak where you don't have anything in for maybe a year, then you get fired. But, yeah, that. You got to just keep throwing stuff out there. But I was very intimidated at the beginning.
Simon Hunter
My favorite Larry David story in SNL is that he kept getting his taken off the board, and every day he'd go and they'd take it off. He goes, another great day at the office. Perfect. Just perfect. I love that story. Just. He lived for failure, and that's why, you know, he's one of the greatest comedic minds ever to live.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah. Yeah.
Joel Cohen
I mean, it's. It's all, like, the same with gambling. Like you said, it's. Especially if you're in a live action show that has an audience. The. To me, the highest pressure is when you're shooting in front of the audience on a Friday night and you're on the floor in a joke tanks, you have seconds to rush over to the showrunner and pitch a fix while the showrunner and the cast and the crew are there and the audience. And the worst thing is if your pitch tanks, because especially if it gets to the actors and it. It sucks. It's like you cannot find a corner small enough to hide in, but you got to go back and stick your face in the wood chipper again the next time it happens. So it's really. That's part of the fun of it. But at the same time, it's like, this is my opening. I've got to make it. And it's better to try than to be silent.
Chad Millman
Well, do you remember for both of you, the first time sitting in this kind of environment, when you had a pitch or a joke and it worked and you felt that rush, like, okay, I've got one on the board. Joel, you first.
Colin Cowherd
Like I said, I really went the first few months without talking, and then I was told I have to start pitching so I can even tell you the first joke I got on the show. We used to do this thing where we'd send people off. Everyone gets stuck on, like, we can't find a joke here. So, you idiot, go write 10 or 30 and come back and pitch them to us, and hopefully one will fit. So I was that guy, and the setup was that Marge was mad at Homer, and he said, what do I do to fix this? And someone said, take her to dinner or maybe a show. And then my joke was, what about Benihana, where dinner is the show? And that was the joke that got on the show and that broke the ice. So that was.
Chad Millman
And 30 years later, you're still with that joke.
Colin Cowherd
Shockingly, I'm still here. I know.
Joel Cohen
Legacy joke.
Colin Cowherd
I know.
Chad Millman
What about you?
Joel Cohen
I would say, as far as being on staff of a show, it was probably the Ben Stiller show. We wanted to. We were on the Fox network, and they absolutely hated our guts, and we hated them. So we were doing sort of a parody of a shitty Fox show, and I wanted to be introduced by the crappiest mascot ever. So it was somebody in a ratty Fox costume. And Ben was like, well, what do we call this guy? And the worst joke ever. I said, what if we call him Foxy? The Fox Network Fox? And then I realized as the words came out of my mouth, that is the hackiest pitch of all time. And Ben just fell over laughing. And in my mind, I was like, why are you laughing? That's terrible. But then I just shut my mouth and let him enjoy it and sort of had one moment of comfort where it felt like, okay, that one was a winner for whatever reason.
Chad Millman
Rob, I want you to tell people. And this is my last sort of inside Simpsons prediction. Because this one is so outrageous, it can't just be Joel. Like, this had already happened. So it was in the ether, and we just played off it. There's no way possible. Rob, you are the inspiration for the artwork for Milhouse. Explain what happened and how that came to be, because Milhouse has one of the greatest predictions in Simpsons history.
Joel Cohen
Well, I cannot claim any credit for this, but the quick version of the story was back when the show started. They wanted to use a Korean animation company to save money, and so they were waiting for the designs. The designs came back horribly, and they needed to restart them, but they wanted to send references so they could copy the exact look they did want. So one of the amazing writers on the show called me in one day, and he says, I want to show you something. He showed me a drawing of Milhouse, and he goes, this is you. And because of the way that I look, and I would wear shorts and a T shirt all the time and have a giant nose, he explained that they had been taking photos of real people and sending those to Korea so that they couldn't screw up the artwork, that they just would mimic the photos and make that character. So I was delighted that that happened. I get Zero money from it. But they just took images of actual people. And they were doing it to save the animation process because they were so far behind. And then as a tag to that, if you look at the early Simpsons episodes, the artwork on the fridge that is supposed to be of the kids is the horrible animation that the Koreans are sending back because it looks like a terrible kids drawing.
Chad Millman
All right, so in 2010, Milhouse predicts who's going to win the Nobel Prize in what I can only imagine was a very high stakes pool at school for Milhouse and Homer. He predicted. I can't even say the guy's name. Banked Holmstrom from MIT as the winner of the 2010 Nobel Prize. He also had in his pool Ben Feringa as a possible winner in 2010. In 2016, Joel, both of them won the Nobel Prize for their respective fields. Explain yourself.
Colin Cowherd
You'll see a gun approach from off screen as I start talking again. This is that aside from gamblers, the other thing the Simpsons famous for is a lot of nerds and super smart people. And my guess is, because I can't recall any of this, that these people literally researched who are the leading candidates, just like I'm sure Simon would and like the odds and looked forward on who's. I don't know what the prizes were for chemistry or literature or whatever, but I'm sure they researched these guys. And who are the leading candidates or working on developments and. And took a swing. And again, the names are so obscured up to morons like me that it sounds funny when it's on tv, regardless. And then I didn't until this moment even know that they'd actually won. So I have some bets to collect myself.
Chad Millman
You deny there's a lot of.
Colin Cowherd
A lot of stuff happens here. And I just. You can't keep track of everything, you.
Chad Millman
Know, that's like Simon, when we were betting on the Pope and we came so close because we had it like all figured out that it was going to be someone who wasn't of the top five candidates who sort of had a. The right profile. And instead of the guy from Chicago, we went with the guy from France and we were right there. We could have written a Simpsons episode.
Joel Cohen
Yeah. How could you not pick the guy from Chicago?
Chad Millman
I know. I felt terrible about it after it happened and we've discussed it aggressively.
Simon Hunter
Our claim to fame is that we did. Luckily, the guy we had on didn't mention his name, so we went a total loss. But it was just. It was right there for me and Chad we totally missed on it.
Chad Millman
I got very locked in on the guy from France. I got locked in. I felt like a. I just did. I never thought it would be an American, but I thought everything the American had was the right profile. And it wasn't going to be one of the guys who went in because it's never the person that everybody thinks has the shortest odds as they go into the conclave. So to me, it had to be someone who was in Europe, had experience working in communities where immigration and immigrants were a big factor, who could help expand the church. And this guy in France, because immigration in France was a lot of. It was Africans moving to France. And so he had connections to the African community, like Rob. I went deep and I just didn't see the dude with the background in Peru getting into that spot.
Colin Cowherd
You know, a lot of the Cardinals were making calls from inside the Vatican, tipping off batters like you guys on the outside. So it's. The whole thing sticks.
Joel Cohen
Here's the color of the smoke.
Chad Millman
Yeah, I didn't. I didn't get any of those calls, Joel. Amazingly so.
Colin Cowherd
Yeah.
Chad Millman
Joel Cone, Rob Cohn. Super Team Canada. Everybody go watch it on YouTube. Everybody watch it on Crave. You guys crushed. Thanks for coming on the Favorites today. Simon and I will return with our next episode of the Favorites Tuesday on the Action Network YouTube page. Download us from Spotify, Apple Pods, wherever you get your pods rate. Review. Subscribe. Leave us. Five stars. Say whatever you want. Feedback is a gift. Until next time. Love you.
Colin Cowherd
Action Network reminds you, please gamble responsibly. If you or someone you care about has a gambling problem, help is available 247 at 1-800-GAMBLER.
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Podcast: The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Host/Producer: iHeartPodcasts and The Volume
Release Date: June 5, 2025
The episode begins with Chad Millman introducing the segment called "The Favorites," highlighting the show's focus on future predictions, particularly those made by The Simpsons. He introduces the special guests, Rob Cohn and Joel Cohen, both seasoned contributors to The Simpsons. Rob is recognized for his work on acclaimed shows like Wonder Years and Somebody Somewhere, and as an Emmy winner for his contributions to the Ben Stiller show. Joel, a long-time executive producer and writer for The Simpsons, has penned nearly 40 episodes and authored the book How to Lose a Marathon.
Notable Quote:
"The Simpsons have been predicting it for years. So I wanted to dig in on how they do it."
— Chad Millman (02:40)
Joel Cohen addresses the popular notion that The Simpsons are prophetic, explaining that many "predictions" are coincidental or retrospective interpretations. He cites examples like the supposed prediction of COVID-19, clarifying that the episode in question was a satire of the SARS outbreak. Joel emphasizes the cyclical nature of events and the sheer volume of episodes, which naturally leads to occasional overlaps with real-world events.
Notable Quote:
"So it's mostly luck."
— Joel Cohen (07:15)
Chad shifts the conversation to how sports fandom influences The Simpsons' predictive narratives. Rob and Joel discuss the prevalence of sports enthusiasts within the writers' rooms and how sports-related events often find their way into the show. They touch upon specific instances where The Simpsons mirrored real sports scandals, such as FIFA corruption and the Ohtani betting scandal.
Notable Quotes:
"We have a gripe collection of sports episodes. I just had an episode a couple of weeks ago that sort of mirrored the Ohtani betting scandal."
— Colin Cowherd (10:53)
"If you're easily scared, I would avoid crazy films when it comes to gambling. But if you love sports, it's a great place to be."
— Joel Cohen (18:03)
Simon Hunter initiates a discussion on the remarkable contribution of Canadians to the field of comedy. He praises legends like Jim Carrey, Norm MacDonald, and Martin Short, attributing their unique comedic styles to Canada's distinct cultural landscape and environmental factors. Joel agrees, attributing Canada's comedic prowess to its positioning between British and American influences, harsh weather conditions, and a societal tendency towards observational comedy.
Notable Quotes:
"What made that little pocket of Canadians so funny? It's like, crazy."
— Simon Hunter (11:19)
"I think it's really because we're stuck between England and the United States and we are watching the US and observing them."
— Joel Cohen (12:37)
The conversation delves into the pervasive gambling culture among The Simpsons writers. Joel shares anecdotes about high-stakes pools and gambling activities within Gracie Films, the production company behind The Simpsons. They discuss various betting scenarios, from fantasy leagues to spontaneous wagers on show elements like joke success rates and unusual bets related to team performances.
Notable Quotes:
"Writers rooms are like eight to ten people stuck in a room all day... a lot of bets coming out of that environment."
— Colin Cowherd (19:01)
"We have a fantasy football league for summer box office... Been going on for 20 years."
— Colin Cowherd (26:05)
Chad Millman and Simon Hunter share personal betting experiences, intertwining them with The Simpsons' predictive legacy. They recount instances where The Simpsons accurately predicted Nobel Prize winners and discuss the unpredictability and luck involved in both comedy writing and gambling. The guests elaborate on how bets often stem from deep research and informed guesses, paralleling the writers' approach to crafting storylines that occasionally mirror future events.
Notable Quotes:
"Simpsons predicted it. The part I took of that whole story that's sad is that there's only one color of Gatorade on each sideline."
— Colin Cowherd (24:55)
"Our claim to fame is that we did."
— Chad Millman (53:18)
The hosts and guests explore the creative mindset of comedy writers, highlighting the parallels between taking risks in both comedy and gambling. They discuss how The Simpsons writers often delve into dark and outrageous scenarios to craft compelling episodes, using humor to address bleak or controversial topics. Joel shares stories of extreme bets made during the writing process, underscoring the high-pressure environment and the constant need for creativity and risk-taking.
Notable Quotes:
"If you can get to a funny, dark place, like, yeah, we all sometimes think of, where do you end up but then we kind of have to kind of get there in a funny, dark way."
— Colin Cowherd (40:35)
"Comedy writing is as big a risk as betting."
— Simon Hunter (41:38)
Colin shares personal milestones from his tenure on The Simpsons, including his first joke that made it onto the show about taking Marge to Benihana. Joel recounts his initial successful pitch on The Ben Stiller Show, leading to a lasting legacy joke. These anecdotes emphasize the enduring nature of certain comedic ideas and their place in the show's rich history.
Notable Quotes:
"The setup was that Marge was mad at Homer, and he said, what do I do to fix this? And someone said, take her to dinner or maybe a show. And then my joke was, what about Benihana, where dinner is the show?"
— Colin Cowherd (47:08)
Rob Cohn narrates an inside story about how his likeness became the inspiration for the character Milhouse, leading into a discussion about The Simpsons' accurate prediction of Nobel Prize winners in 2010. The guests reflect on the blend of research and luck that contributes to the show's predictive successes. The episode concludes with acknowledgments of the guests' contributions and a tease for their animated show Super Team Canada, available on YouTube and Crave TV.
Notable Quotes:
"If you look at the early Simpsons episodes, the artwork on the fridge that is supposed to be of the kids is the horrible animation that the Koreans are sending back because it looks like a terrible kids drawing."
— Rob Cohn (49:22)
"Our claim to fame is that we did. Luckily, the guy we had on didn't mention his name, so we went a total loss."
— Chad Millman (53:18)
The podcast wraps up with light-hearted banter among the hosts and guests, reaffirming their camaraderie and mutual respect. They encourage listeners to watch Super Team Canada and tease future episodes of "The Favorites." The episode concludes with standard disclaimers about responsible gambling and promotional content for The Herd with Colin Cowherd.
The Simpsons' Predictions: While The Simpsons have a vast number of episodes that occasionally align with real-world events, many "predictions" are either coincidental or retrospective interpretations rather than genuine foresight.
Sports and Gambling: Sports fandom heavily influences the writers' content, and gambling culture is ingrained within the Simpsons writers' rooms, leading to numerous betting scenarios intertwined with show narratives.
Canadian Comedy Influence: Canada has a significant impact on the comedy landscape, producing legendary comedians whose styles are shaped by unique cultural and environmental factors.
Creative Risks in Comedy: Developing content for a long-running show like The Simpsons involves substantial risk-taking, mirroring the uncertainties of gambling, and necessitates a willingness to explore dark or controversial themes through humor.
This episode provides an insightful exploration into the intersection of sports, gambling, and creative writing within the context of one of television's longest-running and most influential shows, The Simpsons. Through engaging discussions and personal anecdotes, Rob Cohn and Joel Cohen offer a behind-the-scenes look at how predictions and humor are crafted in the competitive landscape of entertainment.