Podcast Summary: “Please Don’t Ask Me About College, Michelle”
Podcast: Intrusive Thoughts by Adam Rippon
Host: Adam Rippon
Date: November 6, 2025
Episode Overview
In this solo, characteristically meandering episode, Adam Rippon takes listeners through an unfiltered, comedic exploration of recent life events, deep dives into oddly specific anecdotes, and responds to listener messages in classic Adam fashion. The episode is anchored around a hilariously awkward celebrity encounter at a college signing event with Michelle Obama — despite Adam not attending college himself — and further spirals into reflections on guest episodes, pet peeves, and “ratchet Detroit experiences.” Adam’s storytelling is vivid, energetic, wildly tangential, and frequently laugh-out-loud funny.
Main Discussion Points & Insights
1. Recording from the “Medical Spa” (00:39–07:16)
- Adam sets the scene: This episode is recorded from the echo-filled lobby of his yet-to-be-finished medical spa instead of his usual home office.
- Motivation & Procrastination: Adam acknowledges how bringing his podcast gear to the spa forces him to record, avoiding typical at-home distractions.
- DIY Spa Renovation: He shares struggles with unsuspecting time-sucks in renovations — e.g., polishing brass fixtures, painting — humorously contrasting American building standards (“built to last a little bit”) with European ones.
- Brass Obsession: Dives deep into the allure of brass, “patina,” and using Brasso to polish fixtures, noting that he wanted to create his own patina rather than inherit someone else’s.
Quote:
“I knew that if I didn't bring this microphone with me today to the medical spa... I would think of 1000 excuses and I would just, I would lose the will. And I don't want to lose the will or the way to make a podcast.”
(04:50)
2. Life Updates: NY Trip & Team USA Media Summit (13:51–15:25)
- Adam missed recording from New York as previously teased, blaming exhaustion and busyness (and jokingly admitting “because I’m a liar”).
Quote:
“I didn’t do that, obviously. Right? And I didn’t do that not because I am a liar. I did that because I’m a liar.”
(14:31)
3. Listener Messages and the Michelle Obama Story (17:45–57:00)
a. Background to the Story
- A listener’s text triggers Adam’s recollection of attending a college signing event with Michelle Obama, despite never having attended college.
- Adam overthinks the terminology: “alma mater” vs. “college memorabilia,” and finds the expectation to wear college gear at the event puzzling.
b. Celebrity Encounters & Hijinks
- Adam describes his surreal group: himself, Nina Dobrev, and Conan O’Brien, queued to meet Michelle Obama.
- Lea Michele makes a cameo, and Adam jokes about her infamously controversial “wig” comment.
- Nina Dobrev tries to pitch a project to Michelle Obama in the photo line, using Adam as a “human shield.”
- Adam attempts small talk with Nina (“You’re so brave for wearing white; I’d have ketchup on it in two seconds”), which lands flat and cements her as his “one-sided mortal enemy.”
- Adam reflects both self-deprecatingly and admiringly on Nina’s audacity to “shoot her shot.”
Quotes & Moments:
-
On his credentials at College Signing Day:
“I never went to college, but it was a day of which I told people to sign up for college, which, you know, make it make sense. But when Michelle Obama calls, you answer.”
(20:15) -
On the surreal random grouping:
“Yeah, so there is a picture somewhere on the Internet of Adam Rippon, myself, Nina Dobrev, Michelle Obama and Conan O'Brien... If you could pick three names out of a fucking hat.”
(22:30) -
On his spat with Nina Dobrev:
“She looked at me in the eyes, and then she turned around, and that's the last time I ever fucking saw her. And as a joke, I have been saying that I don't have any enemies, but my one enemy is Nina Dobrev.”
(42:15) -
On respecting her hustle:
“Who do I admire? I admire Nina Dobrev because that took some gut. ...So like, I can say that I'm in a one-sided beef. This isn't a beef. I just consider her like my, I respect her and she's my enemy all at the same time.”
(47:56)
4. On Guest Episodes and Listener Preferences (59:27–1:03:46)
- Adam addresses feedback from (very) vocal listeners who dislike episodes with guests, saying he gets it — but sometimes he needs another human for his “mental well-being.”
- Compares it to how he prefers certain podcasts when hosts speak solo vs. when they bring guests.
Quote:
“Can you please, for the love of God, let me speak to another human person for an hour? ...Because sometimes I do feel that talking to yourself takes a toll on your... not mental health. Mental well being.”
(1:01:33)
5. Another Step-and-Repeat Story: Janet Jackson Edition (1:04:30–1:13:38)
- Adam recounts attending a Salesforce event where a handler mistakenly (or cleverly) gets him into a step-and-repeat line to meet Janet Jackson, not realizing she’d have no idea who he was.
- Discovers this after being told by security “Don’t touch her. Take your picture and leave.”
- Contrasts meeting Michelle Obama (in a celebrity group) versus Janet Jackson (solo, highly regulated).
6. “Ratchet” Metro Detroit Experiences (1:16:08–end)
- Responds to a listener sharing their most “ratchet” Detroit story (accidentally breathing “meat air” from moldy dog food in a vent).
- Adam details his time living in Auburn Hills, MI, and the Great Lakes Crossing outlets.
- Most “ratchet” personal experience: getting into a car accident on a rainy day in a barely-functional ex-police Subaru, all while rushing to DSW for discounted LeSportsac bags.
- Moral: Stick to your plan even after drama — he buys the bags (“I still use to this day!”).
Quotes:
-
On “meat air”:
“You were just inhaling pumpkin into beef or salmon and rice, but some sort of protein you were taking in to the lung, and maybe two, if you have both, you were taking them into both lungs. And, yeah, you're right to call it meat air.”
(1:17:44) -
On finishing his errand post-accident:
“Even when you come into a hard situation where the police need to be called... if you had a plan for that day, you should stick to it.”
(1:26:33)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
Brasso Drama:
“I was on my hands and knees, because that is the level of the door. Right. But for the theatrics of the story, hands and knees. And I was scrubbing Brasso into this handle... Now I have golden, shiny, beautiful brass handles.”
(07:09) -
On his one-sided beef:
“If I have one enemy in Hollywood, it’s Nina Dobrev. And maybe I’m the only person. And it’s only because she didn’t laugh at my spaghetti sauce joke, which, again, I’m not gonna like. It’s not the hill I’ll die on...”
(54:22) -
On guests vs. solo podcasting:
“Just think of those episodes where I get to have a guest on as just, like, it's a treat for me, okay? ...I hear you, because I completely get what you're saying. Whatever.”
(1:03:18) -
On resilience after a minor car accident:
“I did go to the DSW and I did get some LeSportsac pouches that I still use to this day.”
(1:27:21)
Timestamps for Key Segments
| Time | Segment | |----------------|---------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:39–07:16 | Medical spa DIY & the allure of brass, painting woes | | 13:51–15:25 | New York trip and Team USA Media Summit | | 17:45–57:00 | Text prompts Michelle Obama / Nina Dobrev / Conan O’Brien story| | 59:27–1:03:46 | On podcast guests vs. solo episodes, listener feedback | | 1:04:30–1:13:38| Step and repeat with Janet Jackson, backstage shenanigans | | 1:16:08–end | Listener text about Detroit, “ratchet” story, and car accident|
Tone and Delivery
The tone is irreverent, quick-witted, and frequently self-deprecating. Adam’s storytelling bounces effortlessly between exuberant comedic tangents and moments of reflective honesty. He turns small grievances and random encounters into epic tales, all the while poking fun at himself and the absurdity of celebrity culture.
For New Listeners
- Expect a roller coaster of topics, lots of fast pivots, and refreshing candor.
- Adam’s rants and stories flow naturally from one to the next, often prompted by a listener text, and always revisiting key running themes (personal “enemies,” love of random facts, need for a little more “brass”).
- The episode showcases Adam’s strength as a solo performer who can be both hilariously self-aware and deeply relatable — especially to anyone juggling creative work, side projects, public awkwardness, and the existential challenge of being extremely online.
Final Note
Adam closes, as always, by encouraging listeners to text or call the podcast hotline (310-90-9717), teasing that listener feedback often shapes whole episodes — and humorously admitting that sometimes, what should be a quick reply “takes 45 minutes to an hour.” He signs off just as he began, with a mix of chaos, gratitude, and gentle encouragement for listeners to take care (and let him wash his Brasso-stained clothes).
Recommended If You Like:
- Comedic monologues
- Hollywood behind-the-scenes tea
- Reflective-yet-chaotic storytelling
- Self-deprecating humor about adulthood, work, and DIY disasters
Key takeaway:
If you meet Michelle Obama at a college event, don’t let her ask you about your alma mater — and always respect the hustle of someone who can pitch a TV show at a step-and-repeat.