Podcast Summary: “Separating The Art From The Sandwich Artist”

Podcast: This Is Important
Episode: 271
Air Date: November 11, 2025
Hosts: Adam Devine, Anders Holm, Blake Anderson, Kyle Newacheck

Episode Overview

This episode finds the “This Is Important” crew—Adam, Anders, Blake, and Kyle—diving into the deep (and often ridiculous) waters of American fast-casual dining, sandwich shop ethics, separating art from artist (and from “sandwich artist”), nostalgia for sugary cereals, gun culture, prepping for possible alien encounters, and even which food mascots they found strangely attractive as kids. The episode is a blend of classic, irreverent banter, surprisingly earnest ethical dilemmas, and hilarious tangents about personal habits, childhood food memories, and hypothetical apocalypses.

Major Discussion Points & Insights

1. Fast Casual Sandwich Shops: A Debate

• Panda Express vs Jersey Mike's vs Jimmy John's
  The crew discusses the merits and downsides of their favorite quick-service spots. Adam confesses a fondness for Panda Express (“I love Panda Express so much. I’m not being paid to say this.” – Adam, 05:15), while Anders airs his loyalty to Jersey Mike’s.
• Jimmy John’s Controversy
  The conversation quickly turns to the ethics of eating at Jimmy John’s, prompted by the widely publicized big-game hunting exploits of its founder. The group debates whether you can (or should) separate the enjoyment of a product (“the art”) from the actions of the person or company behind it (“the artist”).
  • “You can’t be out here killing rhinos, bro. There’s none left, okay?” – Adam, 07:02
  • “I can separate the art and the sandwich artist.” – Blake, 09:35
  • The crew jokes about calling the episode “Separating the Art from the Sandwich Artist” (09:43).

2. Free Smells, Fast Service, and Bread Slicing

• The group gets into granular details of sandwich prep (freaky fast service, bread quality, deli meat slicing to order) and the perceived pros and cons of each chain’s approach.
• Travel Stories: Tales of bringing pungent foods (Panda Express, rotisserie chicken, Guy Fieri burritos) onto airplanes and the etiquette—or lack thereof—involved (11:14, 12:00).

3. Portion Sizes and Eating Habits

• Laugh-out-loud reflections on the absurdity of consuming a foot-long sandwich (“I just don’t feel right to have a foot long in my throat.” – Ders, 13:18), and confessions about what they can (or can’t) handle nowadays.
• Adam proudly states, “I eat a foot long veggie. Fuck with me.” (14:11), which the group agrees should be their new merch slogan.

4. Food Pyramid Mythology & Commercial Propaganda

• The hosts revisit the now-debunked “Food Pyramid” and commercial campaigns like “Got Milk?”, linking them to broader food industry manipulation.
  • “They created a whole pyramid just to sell bread.” – Blake, 15:57
  • “In 1992, the food pyramid became obsolete.” – Anders, 17:14
• The chat segues into memorable food mascots and ad icons, with both nostalgia and a keen awareness of their marketing power.

5. Food Mascots, Box Babes, & Childhood Confessions

• Hilarity and horniness intersect as they rank sexiest food mascots and box models (“The Sun-Maid woman, she got my pecker hard for sure.” – Kyle, 19:45).
• The group runs through Aunt Jemima, Miss Butterworth, Land O’Lakes, tricks for female rabbits, and even real athletes on cereal boxes.
• A recurring bit is the recognition of how few female mascots were on kids’ cereals, leading to sarcastic discussion about the “hottest” options (29:41, onward).

6. Childhood Food Memories

• The hosts reminisce about intensely sugared cereals, eating habits at home (“I used to add sugar to my sugary [cereal]. Oh yeah, you had to.” – Adam, 30:38), and differences in how their own kids view sweets today.
• The return of budgeting food like Hamburger Helper and Rice-a-Roni, both as nostalgia and practical necessity given economic realities (32:20–34:55).

7. Guns, Aliens, and Doomsday Prepping (Humorously)

• Prompted by an alleged anomalous comet, they brainstorm ridiculous “go bag” essentials for alien invasion—including Hamburger Helper and a Tommy gun. Adam invites the gang to wait out the apocalypse by fishing, skeet shooting, and camping on a boat in international waters (41:29).
• Gun Debate: The group’s views veer from the slapstick (“If you think Adam’s wrong and you’ve got a really cool AR-15... bring it. Let’s show it to aliens.” – Ders, 44:58) to nuanced (“Why do we need them [AR-15s] here in our society? It should just be a weapon for war.” – Anders, 44:34).

8. Hunting and Ethics

• They consider the ethics and thrill of hunting (elk, deer, using bows, or knives for boars vs. guns), contrasting the romantic notion of “harvesting your own meat” with darkly comedic takes on what happens next (“As soon as they die you go breathe in the soul.” – Blake, 56:52).

9. Recap, Takebacks, and Pseudo-Apologies

• As the episode wraps, the group gives sarcastic shout-outs to their favorite sandwich shops and jokes about inviting Jimmy John’s founder onto the podcast for a debate (“We’re not platforming, we’re just guys having a conversation. Awareness.” – Ders, 59:30).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Quote | Speaker | |-----------|-------|---------| | 05:15 | “I love Panda Express so much. I’m not being paid to say this.” | Adam | | 07:02 | “You can’t be out here killing rhinos, bro. There’s none left, okay?” | Adam | | 09:35 | “I can separate the art and the sandwich artist.” | Blake | | 13:18 | “I just don’t feel right to have a foot long in my throat.” | Ders | | 14:11 | “I eat a foot long veggie. Fuck with me.” | Adam | | 15:57 | “They created a whole pyramid just to sell bread.” | Blake | | 17:14 | “In 1992, the food pyramid became obsolete.” | Anders | | 19:45 | “The Sun-Maid woman, she got my pecker hard for sure.” | Kyle | | 30:38 | “I used to add sugar to my sugary [cereal]. Oh yeah, you had to.” | Adam | | 41:29 | “Come on down here, we’ll get on the boat... and just wait for aliens to attack.” | Anders | | 44:34 | “Yeah. Why do we need them here in our society? It should just be a weapon for war.” | Anders | | 59:30 | “We’re not platforming, we’re just guys having a conversation. Awareness.” | Ders |

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Sandwich Wars & Ethics: 04:45–10:18
• Fast Casual Ranking & Bread Talk: 10:29–12:43
• Portion Debates & Confessions: 13:01–14:45
• Food Pyramid/Commercial Propaganda: 15:12–17:24
• Cereal Box Mascot Lust/Nostalgia: 19:00–29:41
• Kids and Sugary Foods Today: 30:04–34:55
• Hamburger Helper, Gun Prepping & Alien Invasion: 32:20–43:10
• Guns for Fun, Not for War: 43:11–45:17
• Hunting Ethics, Blankets, and Masculinity: 52:31–56:08
• Takebacks & Closing Shoutouts: 58:44–59:46

Episode Tone

The conversation maintains the “This Is Important” tone—crude, hilarious, self-aware, and at times genuinely introspective—seamlessly mixing real social critique and irreverent comedy. Fans of the show will find the usual wild digressions, heartfelt friendship, and the crew’s distinct knack for spinning everyday observations into comedic gold.

In Summary

This episode covers an absurd and insightful range—from the ethics of eating at problematic fast food chains, to the place of nostalgia in our dietary choices, to prepping for the end of the world (or at least a good skeet shoot). If you ever wanted to know where the crew stands on Jersey Mike’s vs Jimmy John’s, which food mascots made them feel things, or what they’d pack for the alien apocalypse, this episode is for you.