The Pete and Sebastian Show – EP 669: "WHAT HAVE WE BECOME?"

Date: August 26, 2025
Hosts: Pete Correale & Sebastian Maniscalco
Producer/Sidekick: Patrick

Episode Overview

In this episode, Pete and Sebastian dive deep into the theme of “What have we become?” as they reflect on aging, changing social norms, bodily habits, and family dynamics with their trademark raw honesty and infectious humor. From backyard wiffle ball mishaps and family cookouts to cultural observations on bathroom etiquette and the woes of raising a budding vegetarian, the duo tackles everyday absurdities that reveal how society (and they themselves) have changed over the years. The show is peppered with classic riffing, punchy observations, and candid storytelling that keeps listeners both laughing and thinking, “Yeah… what HAVE we become?”

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Morning Routines and Midlife Workout Woes

[02:03–04:23]

• Sebastian kicks off the show early, trying to shake off the morning seriousness:

  • Wonders if they're ever truly ready to laugh at the crack of dawn.
  • Asks Pete what he does before showtime.

• Pete shares his ambitious pre-podcast routine:

  • Worked out, took a steam, did a cold plunge, ate breakfast.
  • Usually does meditation but skipped due to a sore scapula from “idiot” treadmill running at 6.0/3% incline.
  • “The next day I woke up and my calves felt like they were going to snap off.” — Pete [02:46]

• Sebastian relates:

  • “When you want to be young again… It’s a fucking mind game. You are what you want to be.” [03:43]
  • Anecdote about feeling fast in a family wiffle ball game, only to get lapped by his nephew.

• Relationships & Communication:

  • The two hilariously miscommunicate about the baseball play, driving home how misunderstandings start small and spiral (even in marriages):
    • “This is how arguments happen in marriages… The communication is critical when describing a story and in life in general.” — Pete [09:48]

2. Social Media vs. Real Achievements

[11:41–12:37]

• Family loves Sebastian’s dancing videos more than his movies:

  • “They come walking in talking about your dancing videos first.” — Pete [11:42]
  • “Apparently more people see the dancing videos than they saw the movie about my father. That’s where we’re at in entertainment right now.” — Pete [12:05]

• Sebastian shouts out a favorite scene from "About My Father":

  • “The helicopter scene… is one of the funniest goddamn scenes… like a Vince Vaughn scene… Makes me laugh every damn time.” [12:22]

3. Family Visits, Bathroom Taboos & Etiquette

[16:40–25:16]

• Full House:

  • Sebastian hosted extended family all weekend—no bathroom drama… because apparently everyone was using nearby Starbucks for “number two.”

• Bathroom Habits:

  • Pete refuses to leave the house for bathroom needs: “I would definitely not go to Starbucks to do that. I would definitely use the home bathroom and then really mask it up.” [18:15]
  • They riff on searching for the “least frequented bathroom” when traveling:
    • “You ever walk into a bathroom, there’s like the waste basket’s overflowing, looks like somebody shaved in the sink?” — Pete [20:13]

• Airport Bathroom Strategy:

  • Use the “hidden” bathrooms BEFORE security, not after.

• Potty Talk Escalates:

  • “I even paint a picture of the guy who was in the bathroom prior to me based on the product that I see… shorts on, sandals, diabetes ankles.” — Pete [23:04]
  • “Unhappy. Unhappy. Just to not even have the self-respect to flush…” — Sebastian [23:14]

• Level of Decorum and Social Decay:

  • Pete observes how standards for public behavior (like hygiene and dress) have eroded:
    • “There’s a level of decorum that has not been upheld over the last 50 or 60 years.” [23:47]
    • “You see the old photos… men wore suits to the beach… There was like a level of class. And it’s just gone, bro.” — Sebastian [24:23]

• Proposed Solution — Behavior Ticketing:

  • “I think there should be behavior ticketing.” — Pete [25:11]
  • Goof on China’s social credit system (“Points!”) and escalate into fantasies about ticketing people for gross or rude behavior.

4. Social Credit Systems and Cultural Contrasts

[25:16–31:13]

• Chinese Social Credit System:

  • “Why aren’t we doing this now? Can you pull up what they’re grading the people on the scoring?” — Pete [26:34]
  • Disappointment that actual infractions are more about visiting aging parents and apologizing sincerely than public etiquette.

• Public Bathroom Use in China:

  • “Kids are shitting in public, right? So it’s like, I don’t care if your kid goes to see his mother, I just don’t want him shitting on my lawn.”— Sebastian [30:49]

• Overall sentiment:

  • Rules should target everyday courtesy, not just ‘major’ infractions.

5. Family, Food, and Raising an Animal Lover

[33:23–50:55]

A. Kids and Meat Preferences

• At a BBQ, Sebastian asks: “At what age should a child know how they like their meat?” [33:23]

• Pete proposes teaching kids meat temperatures as young as 8 or 6, and pivots into a real parenting dilemma:

B. Raising a Budding Vegetarian

• Pete’s daughter is distraught that animals have to die for food:

  • “She thought chickens just get old and they die and then we eat them… She was unaware that people actually go out and hunt and kill perfectly healthy animals for food.” — Pete [36:14, 36:55]
  • Pete’s fatherly approach: “I said… it's amazing that you have such a big heart and you have a love for animals, and I really appreciate that. However, people been eating animals for thousands of years... They were killed very respectfully.” [38:52]

• Parenting struggle:

  • Pete feels guilty for being harsh: “I came off a little Chicago, 1980s with this, with my response. I go, yeah, it killed the end, eat.” [36:58]
  • Wonders aloud if he can handle having a vegetarian child.

C. The Social Stigma of Dietary Choices

• Both hosts’ (semi-serious) aversion to vegetarianism:

  • “When I hear I'm vegetarian, right away in my head I hear, not that fun. You're not as fun as the person next. If I don’t know you, I think that you’re probably not that fun.” — Sebastian [42:00, 51:38]

• On increasingly complicated restaurant orders:

  • “I’m just waiting for one day where the waiter goes, we don’t have anything for you. Go home and fucking make it yourself.” — Pete [41:29]
  • “Wouldn’t that be great? No, nothing. Bread. We got bread. That’s it.” — Sebastian [42:00]

D. Old Livestock vs. Eating Quality

• Amusing exchange on the age of chickens, egg-laying, and culinary horror at the thought of eating “retired” livestock.
  • “Would that be like—if we waited till the chickens died of old age, would they taste terrible?” — Sebastian [47:43]
  • Patrick explains chicken farming from childhood experience.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Sebastian on Aging and Delusion:
  “In your mind, it’s a fucking mind game. You are what you want to be.” [03:43]

• Pete, after workout fail:
  “I woke up out of bed and I was paralyzed.” [04:13]

• On Social Decay:
  “There’s a level of decorum that has not been upheld over the last 50 or 60 years… It’s just gone, bro. It’s gone.” — Pete [23:47], Sebastian [24:23]

• Behavior tickets proposal:
  “You take a shit in Chicago and not flush, boom. 250.” — Sebastian [25:11]
  “I think there should be behavior ticketing.” — Pete [25:16]

• Parenting a budding vegetarian:
  “She was eating a chicken Caesar wrap right. While she was telling me this.” — Pete [46:00]

• On vegetarian social stigma:
  “When I hear I'm vegetarian, right away in my head I hear, not that fun.” — Sebastian [42:00, 51:38]

Important Timestamps

• [02:03] — Pete & Sebastian’s morning routines and the aches of aging.
• [04:23] — Family outdoor games and realizing age through competition with kids.
• [11:41] — Social media vs. real career achievements.
• [16:40] — The house guest/bathroom conundrum.
• [20:44] — Strategizing public bathroom use.
• [23:47] — Decorum: Then vs. now.
• [25:16] — The promise (and absurdity) of China's social credit system.
• [30:49] — Public sanitation woes in different cultures.
• [33:23] — Adolescents and meat preferences at a BBQ.
• [34:43] — Pete’s daughter’s awakening about eating animals.
• [36:55] — The “Chicago dad” approach.
• [38:52] — Pete’s attempt at a compassionate, educational dad conversation.
• [41:29] — Hard truths about restaurant vegan/vegetarian options.
• [42:00] — 'Not that fun': The vegetarian stereotype.
• [46:00] — The surprising overlap between meat-aversion and, well, enjoying chicken wraps.
• [47:43] — Questioning the very meat on their plate (old chicken debate).
• [50:33] — Patrick’s Midwest farm childhood and chicken credentials.
• [51:38] — Final callbacks and vegetarian punchlines.

Tone and Style

The episode maintains the duo’s signature blend of irreverent honesty, observational wit, and relatable anecdotes delivered in a conversational, riff-heavy style. The chemistry between Pete, Sebastian, and Patrick keeps the pacing energetic and the friendly jabs coming, never letting the deeper points get too self-serious for long.

For New Listeners

This episode is a perfect encapsulation of Pete and Sebastian’s comedic chemistry, offering both laugh-out-loud bits and surprisingly thoughtful takes on everything from generational shifts in manners to the everyday minefields of parenting. If you missed the show, this summary will keep you in the loop—and probably leave you pondering what you have become, too.

(Advertisements, intro, and outro not summarized.)