The Pete and Sebastian Show

Episode 685: "Could Have Been Worse"
Release Date: December 16, 2025
Hosts: Pete Correale & Sebastian Maniscalco

Episode Overview

In this week's episode, comedians Pete Correale and Sebastian Maniscalco reunite after a month-long break to trade stories about the holiday season, family calamities, and their signature takes on everyday absurdities. The main thread winds through a near-tragic car accident involving Pete’s wife, which spirals into hilarious (and at times poignant) observations about American convenience, FaceTime etiquette, masculine vulnerability, and the tangled web of fatherhood and family gatherings. The episode covers relatable mishaps, comic disagreements, and the ever-present notion: “Could have been worse.”

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Time Away & Holiday Catch-Up

[02:24]

• Pete and Sebastian note it's been a month since their last recording, crediting the delay to the holiday season and a “near tragedy” at the Correale household.
• Light banter about overstaying one’s welcome during holidays, with Pete referencing the adage, “Fish starts to stink after three days.”
• Sebastian admits he can't do “extended stays” at his in-laws, regardless of comfort:

  “As I get older, I don't care how nice people are, how beautiful the home is. I just can't do extended stays in other people's homes, man.” — Sebastian [03:04]

Male Gifting Etiquette: Cologne

[04:03]

• Pete discusses gifting cologne to a male colleague (Michael Ferrante) who commented on Pete’s scent during tour.
• They question if it’s acceptable for men to give men cologne as a present.
• Sebastian weighs in:

  “If I was just... a friend of yours, and you randomly mailed me a bottle of cologne for Christmas. I would, Guy. I don't know about all that.” — Sebastian [04:59]

FaceTime Intrusion & Home Privacy

[06:29]

• Pete recounts his discomfort with FaceTime, especially when seeing inside colleagues' homes:

  “If you do, you start noticing shit... like, oh, fuck, I didn't know he drank Gatorade.” — Pete [07:25]

• Sebastian likens unannounced FaceTime to dropping by someone’s house uninvited:

  “It's a big thing. It’s like all of a sudden you’re in my fucking living room. It’s crazy.” — Sebastian [09:47]

Masculine Vulnerability & Marriage

[10:23]

• The duo dig into the fear of exposing too much of oneself (messy moments, unflattering home habits) to close friends and spouses, framed comedically but with real vulnerability:

  “A lot of my life, bro, is smoke and mirrors. A lot of it, you know?” — Sebastian [10:23]

• Discussion of embarrassing at-home behaviors that partners might find off-putting (e.g., licking food packaging, bathroom habits).

Pete’s Wife’s Car Accident – Ordeal & Observations

[21:33 onward]

• Pete’s wife Jackie experienced a car accident during a Rochester snowstorm. The retelling combines concern, procedural breakdown, and comic relief.
• Detailed play-by-play on insurance (Geico) and the American customer service chain, extolling its efficiency:

  “How do you not love this fucking country? Okay? That’s America, baby. Three hours later and you got a $60,000 car in your garage for the month.” — Pete [27:34]

• Reflection on gratitude versus negativity:

  “I’m so sick of people not understanding how great this place is.” — Pete [28:03]

• The shared sentiment: “Could have been worse” is explored and subverted:

  “What about ‘could have been better’? Nobody ever says that. You could have missed ’em.” — Sebastian [29:28]

Relationships & Gendered Driving

[43:41]

• Pete and Sebastian riff on stereotypes around women drivers, based on Jackie’s recent accidents, ultimately poking at their own chauvinistic assumptions:

  “If the Tahoe could talk, it would be like, just… just leave me at the collision shop. I don’t even want to go back with this lady.” — Pete [43:41]

• Observations about the gender disparity in driving professions:

  “Every time you get on a plane, it's a female pilot, there's a party who is a man that just goes, oh, just a... that's it. I'm cool with it. But just a little... Noted. Noted.” — Sebastian [45:28]

Thanksgiving & the Realities of Extended Family Visits

[48:51]

• Pete describes holiday logistics: splitting time between his in-laws’ house and a hotel to maintain peace and personal space.
• Prolonged family stays and the resultant stress and negotiation are lampooned.
• Anecdote about fishing at his in-laws’—awkwardly teaching kids with techniques he himself barely remembers.

Comedic Parenting & Impostor Syndrome

[51:45]

• Pete humorously laments teaching his kids the wrong way to fish and the general insecurity of being a parent:

  “Sometimes it's like being a father, when you're teaching your kids something, you should have it down step by step… because now I'm like, this is how they're learning from the idiot father who's wearing cologne.” — Pete [51:45]

• The risks and pressures of looking after other people's children are discussed.

The Catfish Saga – Parenting, Guilt & Callbacks

[57:17 - 59:42]

• Story of Pete catching a catfish with his son, uncertainly handling the hook and ultimately cutting the line, rationalizing that “the hook will fall out.”
• Callbacks to “could have been worse” are applied to the fate of the fish and to parenting embarrassments:

  “The one fish looks at the other one and says, could have been worse. He could have not cut it. And you could be in a pot with hot water right now.” — Sebastian [59:19]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On FaceTime Norms

[09:47]

“I compare it to stopping over in the seventies. If you’re going to FaceTime me, text me and tell me you’re going to FaceTime me. It’s a big thing.” — Sebastian

On American Efficiency Post-Accident

[27:34]

“How do you not love this fucking country? Okay? That’s America, baby. Three hours later and you got a $60,000 car in your garage for the month.” — Pete

On Living With “Could Have Been Worse”

[29:28]

“Could have been better. Could have been better. You could have missed ’em.” — Sebastian

Vulnerability in Marriage

[13:47]

“You know how many things a man does... that if the woman saw that he did, she’d be like, I had no idea what I was married.” — Sebastian

Fatherhood & Faking It

[51:45]

“This is how they're learning from the idiot father who's wearing cologne.” — Pete

Important Timestamps

• [02:24] – Kicking off after a break; holidays and family hosting
• [03:26] – Home cologne etiquette and gifting between men
• [06:29] – FaceTime, privacy, and home-office awkwardness
• [21:33] – Pete details his wife's car accident; insurance saga
• [28:45] – Riff on American customer service and “could have been worse”
• [43:41] – Gender and driving, car damage woes
• [51:45] – Holiday at in-laws, fishing with kids, parental improvisation
• [59:19] – Callback to “could have been worse” with catfish story

Tone & Style

The episode is classic Pete & Sebastian—casual, fast-paced, riff-heavy with a blend of self-deprecation, observational humor, and sharp comic timing. Both hosts oscillate between stories of minor disaster and playful arguments about how real men should behave—never shying from mocking themselves or each other.

For New Listeners

Expect an hour of quick-witted banter, relatable domestic disasters, and two comics digging beneath everyday mishaps for laughs, wisdom, and camaraderie. Even if you haven’t heard previous episodes, the chemistry and conversational structure will draw you right into the quirks and chaos of their lives.

Title Callback:
“Could Have Been Worse” is woven throughout as both a literal reference to the car accident and a meta-comic mantra for life’s daily slip-ups—reminding us that, for all our complaining, there's humor (and fortune) in what didn’t happen.