Podcast Summary: The HoneyDew with Ryan Sickler

Episode 355: Yannis Pappas – Childbirth, Coleslaw, and ChatGPT
Original Release: October 13, 2025

Overview

Comedian Ryan Sickler welcomes Yannis Pappas back to The HoneyDew for a heartfelt, hilarious, and deeply personal conversation about navigating life's lowlights. They discuss fatherhood, childbirth under stressful circumstances, family health scares, generational change, the quirks of language, and the looming impact of AI. The duo’s signature blend of vulnerability and humor makes for an episode rich with laughter and wisdom.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Comedy Careers and Being a "Girl Dad"

• Yannis discusses his new special, "Property Owner" (05:25), which centers on his transition from New York City liberal roots to life in the country as a dad of two little girls. He shares how comedy enabled him to break the cycle of absent parenting from his own upbringing:
  • “Comedy and being a father are opposite...I just finally got to the point where I was like, I’m a father first. I don’t, that’s—I’m not going to struggle with two. If I have to choose, I’ll go father.” (09:16 – Yannis)
• On the challenges and joys of being a present parent:
  • Yannis reflects on the privilege of being able to prioritize family time due to his standup career, a flexibility his parents didn’t have. (10:15)
  • He notes the comfort and grounding that comes from family life, providing a sense of purpose beyond professional ambition.

2. Breaking Generational Cycles

• The transition to being a “father first” leads to discussion of generational healing and how childhood traumas re-surface in parenthood:
  • “All they had to do was play with me, and they didn’t do it...That’s why we do what we do—because we’re trying to get it from strangers.” (12:45 – Yannis/Ryan)
• Notable perspective from Paul Verze (shout-out at 11:44):
  • “Any decision you make for your kids is a right decision.” – This advice provided Yannis clarity as he navigated conflicting priorities.

3. Childbirth Struggles and Surreal Coincidences

• Yannis details the medical challenges with each daughter’s birth:
  • His first daughter was born during COVID, complicated by preeclampsia, and coincidentally arrived on his late father’s birthday—a “1 in 365” occurrence.
  • “The man who gave you life to die. You give life to a child, and she’s born on that man’s birthday one year after he dies. That’s crazy, dude.” (17:52 – Ryan)
• Uncanny moment:
  • During delivery, the hospital TV was showing a chef making coleslaw—his father’s favorite food. The coincidence deeply moved Yannis and made him more open to spiritual possibilities. (18:01–21:02)
• Hilarious language debate:
  • Yannis admits he’s been pronouncing “coleslaw” as “cold slaw” for his whole life, sparking several minutes of joking about regionalisms and misunderstandings. (18:40–19:55)

4. Ongoing Health Anxiety During Pregnancy

• The second daughter’s pregnancy was fraught with weekly checkups and size concerns. (24:12)
  • Yannis describes the emotional toll of “worst-case scenario” appointments and the need to choose between faith and fear: “You just choose one of the two. Because there’s a point where you just don’t know.” (25:09–25:44)
  • The relief when the baby hit a growth spurt is palpable: “We cried. My wife cried. The relief is just like…you can breathe again.” (33:18)
• Family health vigilance extends to comedy peers:
  • The discussion segues into the importance of preventive screening, from colonoscopies to heart scans—mingling humor with serious advocacy. (34:35–41:52)

5. Medicine, Technology, and AI

• Recent medical tech advances:
  • Story of Ryan’s brother’s triple bypass and the marvels of modern cardiac care: “He had open heart surgery, triple bypass, and was out. They sent him home in two days.” (38:00)
• Podcasting as a vehicle for health awareness:
  • Listeners of the show have discovered genetic conditions and gotten lifesaving treatment as a result—“All from this clown who started a podcast about bullshit.” (42:03)
• AI as a force for good (and possibly bad):
  • “Everyone’s scared of AI, but AI won’t miss this [diagnosis].” (42:46)
  • Both hosts muse about AI’s potential for eliminating human error from surgery, performing tasks we hate (laundry, dishes), and even serving as a “therapist” with deeper psychological understanding than many humans. (42:55–52:40)
  • “We’ve created something smarter than ourselves that’s going to help us understand ourselves.” (49:34 – Yannis)
  • “I don’t want AI to do my creative work. I want to write my script. Do my laundry. Do my dishes.” (49:42 – Ryan)

6. Future Shock: From Self-Driving Cars to Childhood Bonding

• Anecdotes about self-driving cars and AI home assistants:
  • Yannis explains the rapid progress of Tesla’s self-driving technology, how it changes daily life and attitudes toward independence and laziness. (45:28–47:47)
  • “Sometimes you just like…I could see how we’re starting to get lazy. It’s like when I used to reverse, you had to [crane over].” (47:22 – Ryan)
• On childbirth and parental bonds:
  • Both hosts share memories of watching their children be born, the visceral reality of delivery, and how different it feels to experience your own family compared to seeing birth on TV. (56:59–58:11)
  • “It’s like a fart. You like your own and you hate other people’s. It doesn’t bother you because it’s your own. It’s your baby, your wife.” (57:39 – Yannis)
  • Yannis jokes about the paternal role in infancy: “For the first year of both those daughters, I didn’t matter.” (60:26)

7. Healing Through Sharing Lowlights

• Both hosts underscore the healing power of sharing painful experiences, especially in public:
  • “The only way you get over the lowlights is you highlight them by talking about them, venting them, and bonding.” (64:18 – Yannis)
• The “lowlights” are necessary:
  • They humble you, ground you, and make the “highlights” meaningful.
  • “You can’t know joy if you don’t know pain…but you gotta be able to not be scared of the pain. Process the pain and use it—alchemize it into something great.” (64:26 – Yannis)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Coleslaw:

  • “My dad loved cold slow. Like nobody.” (18:38 – Yannis, sparking a multi-minute debate on the correct pronunciation: coleslaw vs. cold slaw)

• On Existential Family Coincidences:

  • “The man who gave you life to die. You give life to a child, and she’s born on that man’s birthday one year after he dies. That’s crazy, dude.” (17:52 – Ryan)

• On Being a Dad First:

  • “I’m a father first. I don’t, that’s—I’m not going to struggle with two. If I have to choose, I’ll go father.” (09:16 – Yannis)

• On Sharing Hardships:

  • “The only way you get over the lowlights is you highlight them by talking about them, venting them, and bonding.” (64:18 – Yannis)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 05:25 — Yannis introduces his comedy special, “Property Owner”
• 09:16 — Choosing to be a father over career
• 12:45 — Healing parenting wounds, performing for strangers
• 15:30-25:44 — Childbirth narrative: complications, spirituality, cold slaw debate
• 33:18 — Relief after daughter’s health scare resolves
• 34:35-42:11 — Family health crises, colon cancer, impact of podcasting on real health outcomes
• 42:46-52:40 — AI in medicine, therapy, and daily life
• 56:59-58:11 — Childbirth, fatherhood, and the humbling reality of women’s strength
• 64:18-64:43 — The value of highlighting and processing pain for growth

Final Thoughts

This episode is a master class in blending humor and vulnerability. Yannis Pappas and Ryan Sickler find the comedic angle in the gravest of circumstances—whether recounting hospital scares, family loss, or the humiliations of AI-fueled modern life. Their discussion of the healing power of conversation and comedy is an affirmation for anyone “trying not to die” and just “holding it together.”

For more:

• Yannis’s special: Search “Property Owner Yannis Pappas” on YouTube
• Podcasts: “History Hyenas” (Pappas & Chris DiStefano), “Yannis Pappas Hour”
• Ryan Sickler: Find his specials and road dates at ryansickler.com