273: WEIRD Here to Help: Immaculate Possession & Uhaul Grandma's Spirit

Summary

Podcast Summary: "WEIRD Here to Help: Immaculate Possession & Uhaul Grandma's Spirit"

We're Here to Help – Episode 273
Hosts: Eric Edelstein & Steve Berg
Release Date: March 20, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this special "WEIRD Here to Help" edition, Eric Edelstein and Steve Berg tackle two unforgettable listener dilemmas: one involving a year-long fake demonic possession, and the other, a heartfelt quest to bring a grandmother's spirit along during a family move. Overflowing with humor, sincerity, and practical (if sometimes quirky) advice, the hosts foster a supportive arena for personal stories and supernatural questions alike. Expect entertaining tangents about elderly tennis leagues, legendary grandparent recipes, and a masterclass in commitment to the bit.

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Key Discussions & Insights

1. Steve’s Omaha Tennis & Historical Society Adventure (00:44–07:43)

• Steve shares his integration into Omaha’s geriatric tennis scene, emphasizing the camaraderie, vintage tennis fashion, and highly social post-game coffee with retirees.
• Historical Society connection: Steve lands an invite to lecture about Nebraska UFOs—a dream for a local history and weirdness aficionado.
• Advice segment: Eric reassures Steve about fitting in with the older crowd and recommends classic icebreakers (start with the weather, non-political current events).
  • Notable Quote:
    Eric (04:42): “You’re basically joining a secret society. Kind of like the Bohemian Grove of Omaha.” Steve: “Am I going to have to drink the blood of an owl or something?” Eric: “No, just... probably sex stuff.”

Timestamps

• Integration into tennis community: 00:44–03:52
• Tips on connecting with seniors: 03:52–07:43

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2. Caller 1: Zach from Indianapolis – ‘The Immaculate Possession’ (10:04–36:33)

The Scenario

• Caller Zach confesses to maintaining a year-long ruse of being possessed by a demon to unsettle a freeloading house guest and others—stemming partly from a need for attention after his father's death.

How It Started (14:05–18:59)

• Zach faked sleep, then chanted "Yvette" (his dad's name, Steve, spelled backward) to scare his guest.
  • Notable Quote:
    Steve (18:53): “Oh my god.”
    Eric (18:56): “Brilliant. Just brilliant.”
• The bit escalated: from sleep antics, to texting friends in Latin & backwards, to staged reactions at a haunted theater, and even feigned aversion to Christian music.

Reflection & Advice (25:31–35:37)

• Zach ultimately revealed the truth to friends at his wedding—most responded with good humor or indifference.
  • Memorable moment:
    Steve (26:43): “I love to picture you at your own wedding toast… ‘I just want to thank all my family, friends…’” Eric: “And Amy Grant for her healing music.”
• The unresolved: Zach hasn't come clean to a particularly religious friend and feels conflicted.

Host Guidance

• Eric and Steve praise Zach’s “legendary” commitment but encourage closure. They suggest Zach have a “part two” on the show—inviting the still-uninformed friend to reveal the truth live, turning the story into a cathartic, ultimate bit.
• Steve proposes Zach host a ‘reunion meal’ for all those he pranked, to cement good feelings and closure.
  • Quote:
    Eric (32:06): “Budget a little bit to take everybody you did this bit to out…say you’re now possessed by goodness.”

Timestamps

• Initial setup and confession: 14:05–19:31
• Details of the bit: 19:36–25:31
• Coming clean & proposed next steps: 25:45–35:37

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3. Caller 2: Meredith from Denver – ‘Uhaul Grandma’s Spirit’ (36:39–53:40)

The Scenario

• Moving out of a longtime family home, Meredith wants to ensure her children feel that their grandmother’s spirit comes with them—not left behind.

Emotional Roots & Advice (41:06–53:40)

• Steve asserts, “Grandma lives in the kids and you…all your actions, grandma’s part of that recipe.”
• Practical suggestion: Create a dedicated family altar in the new house—photos spanning all life stages, keepsakes, favorite mugs, maybe even coffee the way she liked it. Involve the kids in creating it, so the bond is active and communal.
  • Steve (42:47): “Each kid gets to choose a thing on the altar—it becomes a family affair...this will carry over grandma’s spirit.”
• Eric shares his own grandfather rituals: keeping objects close and regular intentional remembrance, like having “coffee with grandpa.”
• For extra ritual: burn sage or palo santo at the old home (and the new), invite grandma’s spirit aloud, play her favorite music, and set intentional goodbyes and welcomes.
  • Eric (49:56): “Burning a little sage as you leave to clear that energy, then inviting grandma to join—the invitation matters.”
• Steve urges: "Don’t forget the hard candy!” (Classic grandparent move.)

Host Reassurance

• Despite differing family spiritual attitudes, both hosts give a “WEIRD Here to Help Guarantee” that the spirit of grandma “goes where the love is.” They encourage ritual, remembrance, and humor as the best tools for moving through this big transition.
  • Eric (53:22): “You’re making the intention, grandma’s coming with you, and your kids are going to be so happy to spend a little time with grandma in the morning.”

Timestamps

• Meredith presents her case: 41:06–41:38
• Advice and ideas for honoring grandma’s spirit: 41:38–53:40

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On senior societies:
  “You’re basically joining a secret society. Kind of like the Bohemian Grove of Omaha.” - Eric (04:42)
• Commitment to the bit:
  “That commitment to the bit of being possessed by a demon for 365 days… that’s astounding.” - Steve (14:30)
• Forgiveness and closure:
  “If we, on the show, can prove demons don’t exist, possession doesn’t exist—he was just going through a rough patch. All-time great caller.” - Eric (30:26)
• Ritual and memory:
  “If you and your new house have stuff of your grandmother and build the Steve Berg altar… you’re absolutely celebrating your grandmother AND teaching your kids that grandma’s spirit is alive.” - Eric (43:44)
• Host/guest rapport:
  “At the end of the day, Steve and I are just callers. You’re helping us help more than anyone.” - Eric (33:49)

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Episode Structure: Highlights & Timestamps

• Tennis & Omaha history society bit: 00:44–07:43
• Zach’s “possession” question: 10:04–36:33
• Meredith’s “bringing grandma’s spirit” question: 36:39–53:40

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Tone and Takeaways

The energy is playful, supportive, and slightly irreverent, but the advice always lands on seeing and validating the caller’s emotional needs—whether those needs are closure, connection, or permission to find humor in old wounds.

• For tough transitions (loss, moves, big changes), anchoring with some ritual—whether public or private—helps keep loved ones close and stories alive.
• Confessing old shenanigans, even wild ones, can be healing, hilarious, and lead to deeper reconnection (but maybe do it on-air for max impact, if you’re feeling brave).

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For the Listeners

If you love a blend of heartfelt life advice and raucous life stories—especially those with a weird, supernatural, or guilty-pleasure twist—this episode is essential listening.

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Transcript

[A]

This is a Headgum podcast. This is a Headgum podcast.

[B]

We're here to go. We're here, we're here here, here, here, here.

[C]

Do do do do do do.

[B]

We're here to cow.

[A]

We're here here to help friends. Are you weird? Do you need help? Or do you want to hear others getting helped? Then you've come to the right place.

[D]

It's weird.

[A]

Here to help with Steve Burke and Eric Edelstein.

[E]

Yay.

[A]

We're going to get into it this week. We're going to have a whole bunch of fun. Steve.

[D]

Oh, Eric. I am juiced up and ready to go. And Eric, there's been something I've been keeping from you for the last two weeks. I wanted to save it for this.

[B]

Oh, wow.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Give it to me.

[D]

It involves old people, so it's going to be in your wheelhouse. All right. Thank you, Eric. I don't know if you're aware of this, but I have in the last couple of years taken the Omaha during the day, Monday through Friday, like during the day, the off hours. But I have taken the indoor tennis center, the Hanscom Tennis center, by storm. Okay. So I play with my dad every Thursday morning. And it's a lot of old timers. It's all old timers. It's all retirees because it's like during the, during the workday. And my dad and I are in there, we're playing tennis, and then my dad was talking to one of his buddies and they're like, oh, we're short a partner for Saturday. And my dad goes, hey, Steve, can you fill in? I go, sure, of course. So I'll jump and play with a bunch of 80 year olds. It's great, you know, it's fun. We go there, we have a, like a lovely session. The one guy who is my partner size to throw money on the game because he thought I would be the ringer. And I'm, I'm trying, first off, I'm trying not to hit it hard. I mean, these are literally 80 year old. And plus men, like ex judges and stuff like that. And so I'm softballing and he's like yelling at me to hit it harder. But this isn't where the. But this isn't worth the story. So. But what happens is, anyways, so I, we end up, we end up winning. I, you know, I was kind of the ringer. And then, however, they invited me, which is a real, real big deal. They invited me for after tennis coffee, Eric.

[B]

Wow.

[D]

Oh, we go to the Mill House. And we get coffees, we get some pastries to share. We're all in our tennis tog. You know, a lot of these guys have like dogs. They have like Sergio Technici, if that's something it. Right? And like old, old Fila, like 90s vintage, like tennis warm ups. They're looking great. I'm looking like a schlub. However, we're eating the pastries, having some scones. They're all chatting about politics and like local politics. Very interesting. And one guy mentions that he's part of. He's on the board of the Omaha Historical Society. Now, Eric, I've been trying to get an in with these people since I moved back, okay? Because that's. They hold the keys to all the mysteries of Omaha. And I've been wanting to go there and give a lecture about weird Nebraska. So I mentioned to it and see if he can do a little nepotism, little, you know, like a little Hollywood action. He just. I just got a call today that in a month I'm going to speak about the history of UFOs in Nebraska. No, no, It's a huge deal. It's a huge deal. Oh, every. It's the talk of the town in Omaha here.

[A]

This is gonna. This is gonna be a regular thing for you. And I think you may have just found your tribe, Eric.

[D]

It is. But I will say it's my first introduction into like, kind of the, you know, geriatric world. Now I'm gonna. I'm gonna need. I'm basically what I'm. This whole story is to come to the. Come to the question, what should I do? Give me some advice. I'm entering a very unfamiliar zone here. Talk to me.

[A]

I don't think you are because you're. You're. You're a old soul.

[D]

Sure.

[A]

Old people love you. There's a reason you're already invited to play doubles tennis. There's a reason that you fit in so well. They're going to adore you out the gates. Because also, I think you and I, our humor is more geared toward old people. Probably, like, they love it. What day is your lecture?

[D]

It is in. It's at the. It's not actually a month away. It's more like the end of March. It's the last Thursday in March, I believe.

[A]

And can listeners come and see you? Is it like.

[D]

No, it's just to the. To the members.

[A]

You're basically joining a secret society. I kind of like the Bohemian Grove of Omaha.

[D]

Well, it is. You know, I was thinking the same Thing? Like, what's my. Like, am I going to do some, like, initiation? Am I going to have to, like, drink the blood of an owl or something?

[A]

No, probably just sex stuff.

[D]

Okay. Just.

[A]

You're fine. Yeah. Stevie, it's just skin. You're fine. You're fine. And the other thing is, you're going to have access now to that Omaha Historical Society history stuff deep in their files, which there might be some serious mystery to unlock there. Oh, for sure. Are you kidding?

[D]

Mysteries of Omaha. Look, they know where the bodies are buried.

[A]

Oh, yeah. And it ain't pretty. Are you kidding? There's a lot under that corn.

[D]

Yeah, so much.

[A]

There is so much. Yeah.

[D]

I mean, but like, seriously, like, going in because it, like. Look, I'm going to be the young buck in this situation. Give me. Very rare.

[A]

Maybe that's why I do it, too. I just like being the youngest person in the room.

[D]

But what's like an icebreaker I could have with these, you know, these. These older. These older gentle women and gentlemen.

[A]

The weather.

[D]

The weather.

[A]

I talked to my older neighbors. It's the weather. There's a reason that cliche works.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

My neighbor Renee, he's always sitting outside across the street. We just talked about the weather for three minutes. That led us into some bits about the storm in New York. So glad we're living here.

[D]

Right?

[A]

They love the weather.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Some kind of non political current event. Yeah, I think. And then just really see them because they want to talk and they have stories and you just kind of guide them along.

[D]

Okay. This is great advice. You know, it's so nice I came to a professional like yourself.

[A]

Oh, yeah? Yeah. I'm the mid. I'm the midwife for elderly people. Some cynical people make fun of it for the concerts I go to. Johnny Pemberton now calls me the Reaper.

[B]

The Reaper. The Reaper.

[A]

Got a really cool older person's phone number today.

[D]

I'll tell you what you told me about this.

[A]

Oh, yeah, I was getting my IV treatment for allergies and ran into my old neighbor, Morgan Fairchild of Knots Landing fame also. Oh, yeah, she was like a major

[D]

league model of the 70s and 80s too.

[A]

Oh, she was huge. She was a pin up. And I used to walk my dog and be starstruck by her every time. And I hate to say it, it's a little like collecting baseball cards, but the Reaper got a great elderly person's number in his phone today.

[D]

Guys, I don't know if you're hearing the gravity of the situation, but Eric got Morgan Fairchild digits Youngsters out there. Google Morgan Fairchild and you'll be like, oh, Eric, well done.

[A]

Oh, yeah. Well, I offer to help her. I drive for fun. I drive for recreation. And I'm happy to give her a ride. And we go to the same place for. For these IVs. So done. We're both just getting stuff inj.

[D]

You know what's gonna happen?

[A]

Lasers, you know?

[D]

You know it's gonna happen. And cut to like six months from now, and you're, God damn, I have to pick up Morgan again.

[A]

I did. I've had that.

[D]

Go to Whole Foods and she wants a fruit salad.

[A]

There's a legendary senior citizen character actor that Jess is like, what are you doing? I'm like, I'm. I'm picking him up at a funeral to dim some place in San Gabriel. But I. You broke it, you buy it. And. And you'll have a lot of fun with seniors. But if you have any awkward situations, I can help you with that too. That being said, Steven.

[D]

Yes, buddy.

[A]

Have our first caller. Should we give them some help? Should we just change a life right now? Crazy world. Just a little bit better and a

[D]

little bit more crazy.

[A]

Done. Done. All right, here we go with our first caller.

[E]

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[A]

We are back and we are here to help. And we're here to help. Caller welcome. You're on with Eric and Steve. What is your name and where are you calling from?

[B]

Hey guys, my name is Zach and I am calling from Indianapolis, Indiana.

[A]

I love Indianapolis. I went there and saw Gonzaga lost, losing the finals. But I love your city. All those beautiful bricks downtown. Some incredible eating.

[D]

Solid skyline too when you're driving around it.

[A]

Yeah,

[B]

I think people have a certain idea of it in their heads but if you get there, it's really not that bad.

[A]

Agrees rules. And I also highly recommend getting that car drive the two and a half hours to French Lick. We snuck onto Larry Bird's basketball court and shot. Of course you did. So we had the time of our life.

[D]

Scared hell out of an older man. Poor air labor like Jesus Christ. Again.

[A]

No, they were absolutely. It was me, Jeremy and Casey, Calvary and Jeremy son. We're talking 6 11, 68 and I'm 6 4. They weren't going to tell us to move. It was a glorious time. We love Indiana.

[B]

I get it.

[D]

Yeah. Indiana is a great state.

[A]

Fellow large man, you're home. Welcome. Yeah, this is the only podcast where the big man is celebrated. We are a tribe of giants trying to help each other. We're so glad we can help you. So first up, my Indiana friend, give us your desert island, favorite album, favorite movie or will allow premium television show and book so we get a sense of who you are.

[D]

They better be good.

[B]

All right. Okay.

[D]

So I'm kidding. I'm kidding.

[B]

Favorite movie? I had to choose the movie he was in. I think I'm going to choose something that has some comedy but also Some wholesome with it. I'm going to go Patch Adams.

[D]

Oh, with the great Mr. Happy. Eric was pretty good. That was pretty good.

[A]

That was a good Robin Williams. Patch Adams. In the this world, with our healthcare system, we need somebody putting on that clown nose, making people laugh.

[D]

That's right.

[A]

Homicide. Life on the street. Robin.

[B]

You know, Robin, we'd have less Luigis. We'd have less Luigis if we had more.

[A]

Right?

[D]

We would. We would.

[A]

Come on. Come on. Yeah. We'd have a lot less if you get more Patch. Less Luigi.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I'm gonna let that fastball go by the podcast on the air, but I

[D]

think you know where we're at with that call.

[A]

Either of you. Okay. Patch Adams is a very, very good choice. Now give us a album and a book, if you could.

[B]

Okay. Am I cheating if I do a greatest hits album?

[A]

No, not at all. I'm trying to figure out who you are.

[D]

I'll accept it this once. Usually I wouldn't look, but I'm feeling generous today.

[A]

But that's us, Brian. Jonestown Massacre. It's a compilation and it's a midwife to greatness. So. Peppermints.

[B]

Queen.

[D]

Oh, I love Queen.

[A]

Yes.

[D]

Queen's great.

[B]

Yeah, I'm a big Queen guy. That all of their songs. You get something different with all of their songs.

[D]

Yes.

[B]

And you get hard rock, you get metal, you get. I mean, crazy Little Thing Called Love's practically country.

[D]

Absolutely. And Brian May. Brian May is one of the most inventive, great guitar players. Like, whether you like Queen or not, you have to admit that.

[A]

Okay, finally, caller, what would be your book?

[B]

Okay, I think I'm gonna go Eragon. Christopher Paolini.

[A]

Oh, what's that?

[D]

It's a fantasy book. It is.

[B]

It's the book that got me into, like, medieval fantasy, which I'm a big fan of.

[D]

Me, too.

[A]

Me, too.

[B]

It's. I fell in love with it. So. Yeah, I think it's the. It was a young adult book, but I just. It's the book that made me fall in love with it. So.

[D]

Yeah, you know, I'm gonna get that as an audiobook. That feels like a great, like, summer road trip book. You get lost in the world of fantasy. Chain mail, milk maidens, all the things.

[A]

Milk maiden, Steve.

[D]

Well, I don't know.

[A]

Trying to keep this podcast on the air, buddy.

[D]

I love a milk maiden.

[A]

Got a hint of irony. I love a Milk do. This. You're one of us. We love this. Now, we got Aragon, we got Queen, we got Patch Adams. Your Home, friend. So, thank you. How can we help you today, fellow giant?

[B]

Okay, listen, you guys can't judge me too hard on this, all right?

[A]

Never, never, never.

[B]

I pretended to be possessed for over a year, and some of my friends still don't know that it was fake.

[A]

Greatest call ever, Steve.

[D]

Wow. I.

[A]

Greatest call ever.

[D]

It's hard to shock me. And I will say this is a first.

[A]

First off, I want to say Jaws open. You mind just closing that?

[D]

There's bravo. I will say right at the gate. That commitment to the bit of being possessed by a demon for 365 days is. It's astounding.

[A]

We call that legend. That's legend. That's legend on our show.

[D]

Yeah. You're gonna have a windbreaker coming to you in the mail. It's gonna say legend on the back.

[A]

Oh, my God. Okay, take us back and we are gonna interrupt because this is so amazing.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

But take us to the beginning. What led to the beginning of you faking possession and why? Absolutely. You do it.

[B]

Oh, my God, I love this. So it starts off as a bit of a downer, but it's important context. So my dad had just been diagnosed with lung cancer and died within six months. And I was 18 years old. Right. I appreciate it. So it was. I was going through a hard time. Right. My mom, she didn't handle it super well. She kind of went out partying a bunch. We're much better now. But this is what I was going through. Right. So I didn't realize it at the time, but I was begging for attention. Right. And I just needed attention. And so I had this friend who was staying at my house a lot, and I was kind of annoyed with him.

[D]

I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry to interrupt you. When was this in the timeline of your life? Like, was this like five years ago or recently?

[B]

This was in 20. This was in 2010. And I was 18. I'm 34 now.

[D]

Okay, gotcha, gotcha.

[A]

It's the palace of wisdom, friend. This is 18 year old behavior.

[D]

It is.

[A]

So friend is staying with you. And how long did. How long had this friend stayed with you?

[B]

For about a week at this point. Just like every night, staying at our house, eating our food, not really replenishing it. And I was pretty much living there by myself.

[D]

I was probably attacking all your condiments and like in like top shelf mustard. I had a roommate like that once.

[A]

And this is going to sound controversial and there's only a couple exceptions to this rule, and Steve Berg is one of them. Thank you, people. And fish go bad after three days. I don't stay with anyone more than three days, three nights. And I let people know. And I've had people be kind of weird or surprised about it because I do seem so hospitable. And the reason I am hospital is because I have boundaries. But past three days, it starts to get a little rough. Get in each other's ways. And they'll be like, well. Well, I'm actually going to be there four days. I'm like, fantastic. There's a Radisson that I hear a real buzz about right off Glendale Boulevard. Or another friend you can do. I'll have friends. Hint. So already I'm saying you're in the right and your friend was in the wrong. Cause a week is way too long. But I do want to say, Steve, that doesn't apply to you, Jason are sad when you leave.

[D]

I'm family. I'm family.

[A]

Well, you also contribute. You buy groceries, you make a red sauce. You are able to deal with Lee the dog in a better way than most people.

[D]

I bring my own grass. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah, dude. Steve is the exception to that rule. But 98% of the time, food. No, they don't. They just eat it. They just take your shit. They'll break stuff. They're strange. You don't want to know what someone else is doing in the bathroom. You don't want to hear it for more than three days. So this guy's already broken rule number uno in my book of staying a week. So what was your plan? Because he was staying too long.

[B]

Okay, so we were both. There was two couches in the living room. We both were sleeping in the living room one night. We'd just been playing some video games, staying up late. And I don't know where this started. I don't know why the thought came to me, but I pretended to be asleep and pretended to fall asleep. I did the classic like slight snore, more so heavy breathing thing. And oh, God, this is bad. I just kind of shot up. I knew he was still awake. He was scrolling on his phone. And I just kind of shot up. And I started just saying the word Yvette, Yvette, Yvette, over and over again. Really, really f path.

[A]

Oh, you're a king.

[B]

And then, then I, like, kind of passed back out. And then he, like, was scared and he came over and he woke me up. And he was like, dude, dude, dude. What was that? Like, do you know what you just did? And I'm playing dumb I'm playing like, I have no idea. He was like, what does yvets mean? And like, we're trying to figure it out. And then. And I had planned this. Yvette was Steve backwards, which was my dad's.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

With my dad.

[D]

Oh, my God.

[A]

Oh, you're brilliant. Oh, just brilliant.

[D]

So good.

[A]

This is why we do this.

[B]

No, it was the setup and the payoff of that. And I think once that was discovered, he was bought in from there.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And so that was the first night. Yeah.

[A]

And all of a sudden, it's like, you know what? It's been so great over here.

[D]

I think.

[A]

I think I'm gonna go sleep over at Craig's place.

[D]

This is a hospice I was looking into. Yeah.

[A]

Love your dad.

[D]

Not a hostile hostel.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

In a life full of checkers, it sounds like to me.

[B]

I mean, I guess you can call it that. I appreciate that.

[A]

I will, but. But I have a feeling this thing snowballed. So what happened next?

[B]

Yeah, so, I mean, it gets to the point where one night, he. He even puts salt around the couch that I'm sleeping in, because.

[D]

Smart approach, by the way, on your friend's part. They're obviously a skilled warlock. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

And I started. So we. There's this. I'm a board member of the theater now, and I work there now, but at the time, I was just kind of like a patron there and a cast member there. But there's this theater that I work at that's been around since 1901, and it's.

[D]

It's haunted.

[B]

Old. It's definitely haunted. We literally have paperwork that shows that a little boy died there. It's for sure.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Yes, we do. His name was Timmy. I'm not joking. It's called the Gyre Opera House, if you ever want to look it up. Dyer Opera House. It's really cool. It's an awesome space. 1901, but. So we would. I would, like, do stuff there where I would kind of just all of a sudden kind of check out and just kind of zone out and get really irritable and get kind of mad. And then all of a sudden, I would kind of snap out of it and kind of act like I didn't really know what was going on and kind of have blacked out moments, and. And that was kind of okay. And then when I really started getting going ham, I started. I started texting him and other friends in Latin.

[D]

Oh, my God.

[B]

Googling Latin.

[A]

Love it.

[D]

And I would also complete.

[B]

I would also text them Completely in backwards. And then I guess it was. I mean, it was 2010. It wasn't that early on in the iPhones, but it was early enough that I guess they didn't think about the fact that I could delete the messages from my end.

[D]

Right.

[B]

And so they would come to me the next day, and they would be like, what is this? Like, what the hell? And then I would show them my phone and be like, I didn't send anything. Like, what are you talking about?

[D]

My God.

[B]

Yeah, it was. And it all. And this was. And this was in between high school and college. So this bleeds into my first year of college, where I'm in the acting program, which didn't help my, you know, commitment to this bit and my dramatization. And there was this one girl, and this is kind of where this whole con, this whole question came in to be, because I've told other people about this. The friend at the house, I ended up telling him about it. We can get into that later. But this girl, I still have yet to tell to this day. She was pretty religious. And we were all hanging out one night, and I knew she was behind my. And I knew that she was kind of just, like, close enough that if I held my phone in a certain way, she could probably, if she wanted to, look at what I was doing. And I started doing that thing where I acted a little irritable and I acted a little upset, and I got out the calculator app on my phone, and I just started typing in the number. 666.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

Classic. Classic. You're hitting all the bit you're in. You're hitting all the demonic tropes. By the way, obviously you watch Exorcist a lot as a kid.

[B]

Oh, I love horror movies.

[D]

Me too. They're great.

[A]

There are haunted tours of the Gaia Opera House. Apparently there's a lot of paranormal activity there. Timmy's. Steve, you may need to go.

[D]

I'm gonna have to go do. And I'm gonna have to do an overnight there. Maybe you can hook me up.

[A]

Hey, they offer tours.

[B]

Yeah, look.

[D]

Okay, so is there. This is. First off. I am just loving this so much. This is like a. This is a great. It's a screenplay I'm gonna start writing tonight that I'll never finish. I'll have a great first act, though. Screenplay graveyard. That, like, contribute this one, too. But so is this. So how long did this carry on?

[B]

So it started in the summer before my freshman year, and it carried on into, like, the very Beginning of my sophomore year. And so a solid year. So yeah, a solid year. A little bit over and I just kind of slowly stopped doing things. Like it culminated at one point where this was with my friends back in high school. We were at a poker game and we were playing some Texas hold'. Em. Just a bunch of 19 year old kids and we were listening to music and we were, you know, hanging out and I just started doing that classic thing where I would like, I kind of would zone out and act a little irritable and I would put my head down and they, oh God, they started playing Christian music and I started like reacting like angry to it. Like I started like getting like it was burning you. Yeah, yeah. And then I just like they kind of snapped me out of it and I was. And this was at the point where I was like, oh my God, I've lost it. Like I've. I've genuinely lost it. This is crazy what I'm doing. And so I kind of acted like I was like out of it and I didn't really like what just happened. And so I just left. And ever since then I just kind of like stopped. I just stopped. And no one talked about it for years. Until my wedding. 16 years when I admitted to certain people that it was all fake.

[A]

I say, when you admitted it, now

[B]

a part of me feels like none of them, maybe one of them said this. A part of me feels like they had to have known. I mean, or I just, it just, it seems so crazy that like, I mean, I did it to upwards of like a dozen people and it seems so crazy that all of them would have bought in.

[D]

What a acting exercise. This is like, yeah, yeah, eat my lunch, Daniel Day Lewis. I mean, this is, this is the real method with a nice tamari on it. A little sriracha. Yeah.

[A]

So when you did, when you started to let people know and apologizing, when did you start apologizing and how did that go?

[B]

So it all started. We were genuinely. I had just gotten married. A lot of the people who had been a part of me that stayed really good friends with me, I mean, they never like. I never like lost friends.

[D]

A testament to that

[B]

amazing friend.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And so we're at the wedding night.

[D]

Absolutely.

[B]

Yeah. And we're at the wedding night and we're at the reception and we're all hanging out and I'm just feeling good and I'm like, you know what, guys, I got to tell you, I just admit it because I feel like I had never publicly said it. To anyone other than my wife. How ridiculous this is thing I did was. And they were all just kind of like, yeah, it's okay, man. That's all right. Like, one of them, yeah, we know. And the other one's like, oh, I don't really even remember that. Which. That one blew me away. I was surprised that they didn't remember one of their friends being possessed, but.

[A]

But, yeah, it's possible they think you really were possessed in the Christian rock.

[D]

Just. Yeah, Yeah. I mean, I. I took picture you at your. I love to picture you at like, your own wedding toast. And all of a sudden you're like, I just want to thank all my family, friends.

[A]

I want to thank Amy Grant for her healing music.

[D]

You rip off your suit and you have like a flare raining blood shirt on. I mean, that.

[B]

My mom would have loved that for sure.

[D]

Oh, God, this is like the greatest bit ever. I mean, like, it's a bit.

[A]

And like, I think, like, it's a testament to your friends that they forgave you and moved on and probably see the legendariness of this, but it sounds like it's weighing on you and you've got a couple more people you want to let know and time heals all wounds and.

[B]

Well, see, and that's my main quit because there, there. This. There's like a couple people that I haven't told. One of them is this Christian girl,

[D]

and she became Christian after this.

[B]

I'm one. And we're not, like, we don't talk all the time. Right. And so I'm wondering, like, do I need to bring this up to the person? Would have happened over a decade ago. Should I. Is that making it like.

[D]

I'm a big believer in generally in let sleeping dogs lie when it comes to, like this. However, for the love of the bit and what you accomplished and for this and the acting role and for this look, and this is going to be some great podcast self serving.

[A]

But you're going to have to reach out to her just for the pod. We might do her some good.

[D]

I would like to pitch an idea. It. Will it be easy? No. But you know that we're not here to make things easy. What if we had you on for a special part two where we had you both on the show where you tell this poor, sweet little Kristen girl that you faked being a demon for a year of your life?

[B]

I mean, the thing is, is she's an actor. If I kind of frame it, as in, like, there's an opportunity, you know, I don't think. No, necessarily.

[D]

I mean, it's worth a shit, dude, if you are willing to. Eric, are you okay with this? Would you be okay?

[A]

Yes. And we can't. I mean, this sleeping dog likes dog barks.

[D]

We could have a real like a Jerry Springer moment where we have you on the show. Eric and I will just conduct. We will stay out of the way and we'll just set up the scenario without like, you know, divulging too much information. And you can tell her live on

[A]

the air in front of all the

[D]

listeners that you played the demon bit.

[B]

I mean, like, like, I'm already nervous, but honestly, it's such good. It's such good.

[A]

Wonderful.

[D]

Well, we're celebrating the theater too. It's like you performed this amazing role of playing a demon in 2010 for a year of your fucking life commitment to the bitch. But also, it's like this is a great denouement to the piece. You know, like, it's the third act. Let's end this right.

[B]

I love it, Eric.

[A]

I say this like the male brain doesn't stop developing until age 25 or 26. We all get a lot of leeway on stuff we did in high school and college. And also, you went through a tremendous loss yourself at a young age. What your mom was going through, like, and I will say this as somebody who had to nine years of Catholic school and was tested on material. She's a Christian. The whole overriding thing is forgiveness. So I think she will grant you that grace. Also, she's a fellow actor and I think that, you know, I think she'll very much be open to hearing this and she'll probably. It will alleviate a cosmic worry she's had for a long time.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

And imagine if we on the show, demons don't exist, possession doesn't exist, Devils don't exist. He was just going through a rough patch. It was an all time great bit. He's our all time greatest caller. We're gonna send you a polo shirt, but I think we have to do this on the air and I think, yeah, you have to start figuring out how you're going to just let the last few people left know that you were doing a bit. And I think they'll be relieved and happy and will actually only help your friendships.

[D]

Yes. It'll bring you guys back together.

[B]

Genuinely great advice. Thank you.

[D]

Yeah, well, it could be the. It also be the start of something like fun to reconnect with these people from your, you know, this era of your life and have a good laugh. Like, any. Like, you know, if it's one of those things where sometimes, like, you know, like, you get to, you know, me and Eric's age, and all of a sudden you start seeing people at sad events, unfortunately brings people together. But it doesn't always have to be that way. You can get ahead of it and create this thing where you reach out to people and tell them about the bit and then look. And I think we got to have this young lady on, and you tell her on the air. That will just be. I mean, like, that's just good podcast

[B]

right there, I think. And it's obviously, like you said, it's good for her. I think it is good for her. What if she's holding onto this?

[A]

So I think it's good. Imagine if somebody tells you, hey, demonic possession doesn't exist, and it didn't exist with me. And I would say this. I'd say you have to make a tiny bit of a financial sacrifice. I think everyone you did this bit to, you take them out to a meal. Yeah. And you can all laugh about it. I will say I had one of the best meals of my life at the 10th Street Diner in Indianapolis. Our guy, Guy Fieri was just there.

[B]

I'm glad you. Yeah, yeah. Oh, Yeah. I know 10th Street.

[A]

I loved it there. The owner there is serving the food. She's one of the coolest heroes I've ever met. But I think you budget a little bit to take everybody. You did this bit to out, and you can all laugh about it after you do the pod with her and anyone else you need to apologize to. Then you do a meal with everybody and you say, I'm now possessed by goodness, and I want to take you all out to a meal. And we're going to have a great old laugh at this. And I think everybody will be fired up every. Imagine somebody saying, what'd you do last night? Oh, this guy faked a demonic possession in college. But he took us all to dinner. We had a great laugh, and now we're closer as a friend group than we've ever been before.

[B]

Right.

[D]

It's amazing. Also with the meal, don't feel obligated. Like, if they're ordering, like, you know, a side of creamed spinach and you're like, oh, I take you out for a meal.

[A]

No, we're paying. Pretend to be possessed by a d. He does. He does not have to pay for all the trimmings.

[D]

I don't know about that, but that's up to you. I would. I would say I'll offer you the meal combo plate, but if you want anything extra, that's going to be on you.

[A]

They can get a combo. They can get a combo.

[D]

Like $7, dude.

[A]

Steve, he faked being possessed by a demon. He's fair. They're the path to healing. They can order what they want.

[D]

Okay. Get them all the trimmings. They want. They want.

[B]

I can give them one night.

[A]

Give them one night. It's also Indianapolis. It's not LA prices. The 10th street diner is incredibly reasonable.

[D]

Right.

[A]

And great food. They're doing special things there with Tempeh. Like, I think he can bone out for the creamed spinach.

[D]

Okay. Okay.

[A]

It'll be a cashew cream.

[D]

Yeah. You know, order on your rings for the table. That's fine. We'll agree with that.

[B]

All right.

[A]

That's a fair compromise. See, we just.

[D]

We'll meet in a minute, common ground

[A]

and pitch to 10.

[D]

See, you're bringing Eric and I closer together here.

[A]

Thank you.

[D]

Wow.

[A]

We needed that. Yeah, yeah. At the end of the day, Steve and I are just callers.

[D]

We're just callers. Yeah.

[A]

You're helping us help than anyone.

[D]

I think you all know.

[A]

That's why he feels so comfortable, like. So these two wackos are where the bar is.

[D]

Yeah. I feel like in the spirit of the podcast and what we do here, I think to actually help you, what we can do is provide you with the platform to give a public apology to this poor little Christian girl. And, yeah, also, you can. She's an actor. She's. You're one state one. One step closer to the great Jacobus Johnson. So it would be. It would be a bad business move on her part as an actor, probably looking for work to say no to this opportunity.

[B]

I mean, I agree. That's what I think. That's the angle. I got to take it.

[D]

It's the selling point. You say, hey, that new girl dude has a podcast. I want you to be on it

[B]

because there's something very important. Yeah.

[A]

Thank you.

[D]

There you go.

[B]

Oh, I got you, Eric. I got you.

[D]

There you go.

[A]

The story of how playing drunk Elvis allowed me to meet Prince. It's not for now. We'll do it on the Patreon.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

It's a great story. Okay. So I love this plan. So, as you know now, you're deeply enmeshed with us. We're deeply enmeshed with you. You're a fellow giant who will commit to a bit like a few others will, which Steve and I do as well.

[D]

Yes.

[A]

So our next step, we've begun our path to healing. And, boy, this will air and air soon. But part two, we're going to do a public apology, and then we're going to be a part of that meal spiritually at the 10th Street Diner.

[D]

Yeah. So what you can do for us, your little homework, is in the next 48 hours. Write an email or call and get in touch there. Get that conversation going again. And then ask for her to be on the show. And then we. You can schedule with our producer, Morgan. Lovely Morgan. And we can get this going because, man, this could be just epic. I love what's cooking here.

[B]

Me too.

[A]

Love it.

[B]

I appreciate it, guys.

[D]

Absolutely, dude.

[A]

Like, we helped you today.

[B]

You definitely helped me 100%.

[D]

I might actually say steal this bit because it's so funny.

[A]

This might be finished, Steven.

[D]

It really is the first screenplay, I'll

[B]

tell you that much.

[D]

Well, and we're all looking for it. We all crave.

[A]

Could we hire someone to play the devil when we do the podcast?

[D]

And. Oh, God, Eric. You just booked.

[A]

Done.

[D]

Eric already has a baphomet statue in the back of him, so he's perfect for this part.

[A]

It's a central Catholic ram.

[D]

No, it's not. We know it's not. It's a lie. It's a bath. Eric has a goat's head behind him. It's terrifying me. Zach, the man from Indiana, One of the friend.

[A]

Don't let it go to your head. But we just. Thank you.

[D]

Yeah. So good. Let's get this part two going. So getting that homework done. You got 48 hours for the first volley.

[B]

All right. Sounds good.

[A]

Bye, brother.

[D]

Bye, Zach.

[B]

Thank you, boys.

[D]

Well, hello, dear friend. Calling into a little show called Weird. Here to help with Eric Edelstein and Steve Obergo. Friend, where are you calling from? What is your name? And if you were on deserted island and you could only bring three things, one, being a book, two, being a premium television show or movie, and the third one being a album, what would they be? That's a lot of information. You have to get out. Take it away. Take it away.

[F]

I cannot believe I didn't think about that ahead of time.

[D]

That's okay. Yeah. Off top of your head.

[A]

We love it.

[D]

We love it. Yeah.

[A]

Don't think too much. There's no wrong answers. You can take your time. It just allows us.

[D]

First off, where. What's your name and where you're calling from, though? I gotta. I gotta know. I gotta know.

[F]

My name's Meredith. I'm calling from The Denver suburban area.

[D]

I saw that area code. You know what I am? Friend of Denver. They call me Steve Denver sometimes because I love it. I go there a lot.

[A]

Calls you that. Who calls you that?

[D]

I mean, people have. My neighbors.

[A]

You hang out at the sbara at the Denver Airport and call it good.

[D]

I love Sabar. They got a great stromboli. Don't sleep on that, folks.

[A]

I love the cross I have to bear.

[D]

The mile High city home of the Denver Broncos. Home of Bojo's Pizza with a honey crust. So what are your three items that you would bring with you on a deserted island?

[F]

I don't.

[B]

Was it a book?

[F]

My book. I know. I would bring Desert Solitaire 100 Solitaire.

[D]

A great title.

[F]

Edward Abbey wrote it in the 70s, I think, maybe 60s, like Conservative Guy that was trying to help with the lands in the Southwest.

[D]

Okay, sounds interesting.

[F]

Conservationist.

[D]

Great, great, Great title. Great title. And what would an album be?

[F]

Anything. Brandi Carlisle.

[D]

Anything. Brandy Carlisle. Eric was just talking about her. Eric was. Great hair.

[A]

I'm going to let you know something. Brandy just released a bunch of signed merch this morning.

[D]

Oh, you have to outbid Eric.

[A]

Get there. There's 50 limited edition signed things Brandi Carlisle's released. Buy those before the reset resellers do. Brandi is one of those concerts I just do not miss. She is so. Have you seen her live yet?

[F]

Oh, yeah, I've seen her a couple of times. I saw her at Red Rocks a few years ago.

[A]

If you went to Red Rocks. I'm so jealous. Really?

[D]

You know, the Grateful Dead used to always play Red Rocks until some hippie took too much acid and jumped off the top of the rock. You know that. That's why Jerry was. Jerry stopped playing there. Anyways, sorry, Steve. Bring it down. Bring it down.

[A]

Hopefully sometime I see you. I really want to go to Brandy's. Girls just won a weekend in Mexico.

[F]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

My friend is a musician that has been asked to play and has not played it yet. And I'm begging her to do it. And I can be her bodyguard and just hang out in the pool. Listen to Brandy Carlisle. It'd be so cool.

[D]

Is there a need for a bodyguard this weekend?

[A]

Eric, there's not a need for a bodyguard. Brandi Carlisle's fans are incredible and magic. But Steve, if you've not seen Brandi yet. I remember I saw her the first time at one of those, like, pick a nanny passing a guitar around. Steve Earl. Things did. And I went to my sister and I'm like, have you heard of this Brandi Carlisle? And she's like. You mean the church of Brandy? She's the best. Yeah, we love Brandi Carlile. She's incredible.

[D]

Your sister gave me my first tarot deck. You don't remember that?

[A]

Oh, that's right.

[D]

And a little velvet purple bag with a special. Eric's got a great.

[A]

Incorporated this in her therapy practice.

[D]

She's wonderful. She's wonderful.

[A]

So you're not off the hook. We need a movie or a TV show. You're two for two so far. Talking about conserving the lands and the great Brandy Carlisle. Andy Star. Red rocks. My God.

[F]

Well, I think for if I have to watch it on a desert island, it probably be some like the office or, you know, parks, something I could watch over and over.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[D]

It will give you wreck.

[A]

I vote Parks and Rec.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Just put me on season one. Let me get you through that. Desert island.

[D]

That's right. Eric's throwing three at people's heads and stuff.

[A]

Yeah, didn't. Didn't age well.

[D]

But we're here.

[A]

No more of that we're gonna go part. We're gonna go parks and rec. Because I love them and I'm grateful

[D]

Eric made your choice for you.

[A]

Okay, so that's what we do.

[D]

Meredith from the wonderful state of Colorado. I just couldn't love Colorado anymore. Grew up going to Estes Park a lot. Meredith, what is the issue you might be calling about today?

[F]

So we're moving houses. And the house that we're leaving was my grandparents. And we. We were able to buy it from the estate for cheap, and now we have to sell it. It's not going to be able to stay in the house. And my kids are worried that we're gonna lose grandma's spirit. So I'm wondering kind of the of everybody else trying to move out of a house to not have hauntings. We want to take her with us. And I was wondering if you have any ideas of how to bring her with us.

[D]

Oh, do I ever?

[A]

Spoiler alert. You will.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Because grandma is with you. Not in any kind of physical house by four walls.

[D]

That's exactly. Grandma lives. Grandma lives in the kids and you. And you're just an extension. All your actions, you know, grandma's part of that reference recipe. I will say off the right off the bat. I mean, like it came when you were halfway done with it. The first thing that came to my head is to create an altar to your grandma in the new house. And that involves pictures of her, but not Just pictures of her as you remember. Pictures if you had. If you were lucky enough to have this, pictures of her when she was a child, through every phase of her life. You can even put like a little coffee cup, maybe that was hers, and fill up the coffee every once in a while and say, hey, Grandma, this one's for you. I know you like a little cream in there. There's a little cream, two lumps of sugar. Grandma. I mean, like. But I think creating like a lovely altar with some of Grandma's keepsakes and maybe each kid gets to choose a thing on the altar. So it's like a family affair. And this will. I think this will carry over grandma spirit. I really do. Eric, Eric, jump in here. What do you think about that as an open. This is just opening. Eric grabbed a book off the bookshelf and he did not do that often.

[A]

I was incredibly close with my grandfather and like, he. A little like Tiger woods, maybe, where my grandfather wanted me to do comedy and raised me on the greatest comedy. We would watch Cheers and Larry Sanders and I miss him so much. But I have so many things around the house to remind me of him. I have one of his rings and I check in with it. This right here, right behind me, this is my grandfather's copy of Milton Berle's private joke file.

[D]

Oh, my God.

[A]

Which he wrote December 1989. A gift from my good friend Eric Edelstein, who is already a very gifted stand up, sit down, lie down comic. His sense of humor is John W. Snyder. And I check in with this book and I check in with the ring he has and, like, it's just having intention. But I think if you and your new house have stuff of your grandmother and build the Steve Berg altar.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

You're absolutely celebrating your grandmother and teaching your kids that grandmother's spirit is alive. It is with you and intention every day to keep it going, you know?

[D]

Yes, yes.

[F]

Yeah.

[A]

What do you have of your grandmothers?

[D]

Yeah, yeah. This is a great question.

[A]

I also have my grandfather's taste for sugar, by the way. Yeah, yeah. We'd go to Wendy's and he taught me to get the road fries.

[D]

Oh, yeah, you go.

[A]

We go and get Wendy's. Act like we're doing the whole house a big favor and then have order one extra thing of fries and eat those in the car.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

These are root causes, friends. What do you have of your grandmothers?

[F]

Not a lot anymore. We've been. I mean, so I actually did start having coffee with her a couple of times a Week. Because I listen to your show and that's really meaningful.

[A]

I love.

[D]

We're doing. Do you remember how she took. Do you remember how she took her coffee?

[F]

Yes. Yeah, I make it for her how she likes it. Black or I'm just plain milk.

[A]

So we're going to invite the kids now to have coffee with grandma, right?

[F]

Yeah. Yeah, I think so.

[A]

I love this.

[F]

Yes.

[D]

So do you have pictures of her?

[F]

I do. I have one. Not. Not a lot that are up in prominent spaces, but I could make more.

[B]

Yeah, I think you print some.

[D]

I think so. I do. I think. I think framing a couple pictures. And if you can, I think it'd be nice to show grandma's life cycle, like if you have a picture of her when she was younger, even a kid. And like, kind of almost like. Like a chronological timeline of Grandma, I think, because, like, you know, while you probably remember her as older and stuff like that, like, grandma was once a kid. Sometimes even kids can't even, like, conceive that their grandparents were once their age. And I do think showing, like, the lifespan and life cycle of grandma would be really sweet.

[F]

Yeah, I like that a lot.

[D]

And maybe did she like a word of the original or like a butterscotch? I mean. I mean, that's grandma territory right there.

[A]

Hard candy.

[D]

The hard candy.

[A]

We got to bring that back. Younger generation. Like, we've lost something in society because our older folks had hard candy.

[D]

They did.

[A]

Who doesn't love a worse, right?

[D]

I mean, my grandma would even have, like, a cup of pudding in, like, I would be like, I'm hungry. She'd, like, pull pudding out of her purse.

[A]

Oh, my grandmother made me stuffing on command. This really. This is how we got here. This is. This is why we have. We're food bank putting out of a stuffing on command. And it seemed normal to us. Us at the time.

[D]

That's right here.

[A]

Here we sit shopping at the Big and Tall store.

[D]

Oh, my God.

[F]

A lot of the. The recipes that I cook now were hers or we developed them together even. So I do invite her to cook with me sometimes when we're doing a classic.

[D]

What was her signature dish that you would say?

[F]

Our family's from Iowa, so. Tenderloin.

[D]

Oh, yeah. Maybe with like a little. Maybe like a boiled potato and a. Yeah, yeah, like a roast. And then you're making that gr. With a little bit of cornstarch to thicken it up afterwards from the juice. The drippings from the.

[B]

God, yes, please.

[D]

It got hot in this room also.

[A]

Hey, honey, turn the Steve you're sweating.

[D]

I'm sweating profusely. I got the gravy sweats already. Oh. So I think I did not wake up with them. I think a fun Sunday morning would be to gather the kids, make a nice big breakfast, then take a cup, make the altar. Then as a finishing touch of the altar, pour a knife into a really. The best coffee mug you have or one of hers, pour her a cup of coffee, and then everyone can say hi to grandma. And I think even infusing, like, teaching, the kids just walk by the altar, like, when they're home from school. Hey, Grandma. Just, like, you know, it doesn't have to be a thing. We have to stop and, like, close your eyes and, like, you know, meditate on her memory. You can do that sometimes I think that's great. But also just treating her as, like, grandma still lives in the house. We say hi to grandma. Like, I do think honoring your ancestors is a twofold thing where maybe if, you know, there is life beyond death, it is honoring them and saying. And I. I feel like that would feel good if you were in spirit, but also it's good for you. It's. It's keeping the memory alive of someone who is very important to your family. I think. I think it's a really nice thing to do, but. So how are you. How are you feeling about the alter thing? Is. Is it not far enough? Do you want. Do you want to. Do you want some more assurances that grandma is gonna travel with you? You know, because we can't give you any guarantees, but we can pitch new ideas.

[A]

I can give a guarantee.

[F]

Yeah.

[A]

It's happening.

[D]

I think so too.

[F]

Okay. Well, I don't know if my husband will go for it because he's not as. As like, spiritually connected, but I. He might just not have a say in it. I kind of didn't know if there was something we should do at the old place before we left, you know, like, on the way out, like, let's go.

[D]

Yeah, well, I mean, like. Like anyone who could. I mean, the reality is with. With all this stuff, there's just not a knowing or an answer. Yeah, it really is what makes you feel connected to your grandma. So it's not a one size fits all. If you would like to invite the spirit of Grandma as you're shutting the doors for the last time in your old house, Grandma, we invite you to come with us. Hop in the car. We're going to set up a new home for you, AKA your altar, in the new house. And it's gonna be better than ever. You're gonna love the view. Plenty of like little cardinals and birds come by. We're gonna have worthless originals there and butterscotches for you, Grandma. We. But always plain milk on that coffee, Granny. But I really do think something like that is a good way for you guys to at least feel comfortable. And look, I get it if, you know, if your husband's not spiritually bent, that's fine. I mean, like, that's not bad. But I think you could impress upon the idea. It's like, hey, hubby, let's call him Joey for now. Joey. I think this is really important to me and it's a great way for the kids to stay connected to grandma. And if he says no, then, then you have him give Eric a call. Eric will. Eric will sit on Joey. Eric was on Joey. That's true.

[A]

Well, I think also, Steve, what do we think about maybe burning a little bit of sage and palo Santo in the old place to kind of clear that energy and let us know we're going on to somewhere new. We're also thinking of the people moving in.

[D]

I don't hate it.

[A]

I don't hate it that we're clearing everything. And yeah, I think an invitation to grandma to join because to a lot of cultures, this is not that wacky. There's a lot of ancestor veneration. There's a lot of elder veneration. I get so much crap from Jake and Gareth about seeing older artists and hanging out with older people. Every other culture, this is a normal thing. That is good. And for now, suddenly I'm the crazy one because I'm the reaper. Going to see 90 year old artists. But that's a whole other Oprah. But yeah, I think burn a little bit of sage, Palo santo, say some sacred text, play some, maybe some music. Do you know any music offhand that Grandma.

[D]

Oh, from era. Yeah,

[F]

I don't know. I've been trying to remember that a lot lately.

[B]

Yeah, like the Glenn.

[A]

My grandfather loved Glenn Miller and those big bands.

[D]

Yeah, they love a big band.

[A]

Find out what grandma liked, ask a couple questions. Play that music at the old house while burning some sage. Apollo Santo. Then as you come into the new house, you're going to burn that again. You're going to claim the new space is yours because we don't want you calling in four months saying we got this weird straggler from the Denver Airport CIA. So you're gonna burn some sage and palo santo in your new place. You're gonna set up your altar to grandma. And then you're also gonna play some music she loves. And maybe if there's any books she loved, any way to just celebrate her, because she's absolutely moving with you and she's gonna live rent free, so.

[D]

But like. Okay, so. Sounds like Meredith. Tell me your course of action. Break it down for me, sister.

[F]

I'm going to set up the altar in the new place. I'm going to do it all. I mean, I need to get a guarantee here.

[B]

Not really, but I'm giving you a guarantee.

[A]

And also, listen to our incredible episode. John El Tenney, just a hero to all of us about enchanting your life and setting up these altars. Because he spends every morning with these altars.

[D]

Yeah, he does. This is his.

[A]

I really think that this is an accurate, effective choice that you're going to make and more people should make. You know, do you want to flip on the news and flip on Twitter, or do you want to enchant your life, spend some time with your ancestors, invite your kids into it. You know you're gonna have a blast and.

[D]

Yeah, it will.

[A]

I'm giving you a full weird here to help guarantee. And that's a money back guarantee.

[D]

It is.

[A]

We'll come to Iowa if it doesn't happen.

[B]

That's true.

[D]

Even though she's not there, Eric and I will go. We'll cheer on everyone with the rag rice.

[A]

Gonna go get the right rice stuff.

[D]

I'll get Eric a vegan pork tenderloin sandwich, breaded, shallow fried with pickles, and done.

[A]

Are you kidding? I have to go to Dyersville. I've never been. I really want to go to Field Dreams and play catch with you, Steve.

[D]

Yeah, I'd love to play catch with you.

[A]

Oh, buddy, it'd be so fun.

[D]

My rotator cuff is a little. Is a little whacked out, but I still get to.

[A]

I got. I got a doctor.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Not accredited.

[D]

Yeah. Not a credit shocker. Eric, by the way, gets a colonic where they ask him to self insert. Meredith. So take any. Take any doctor he recommends bucks for

[A]

that just means you self insert. Enjoy the ride.

[D]

There are things in life you don't want to deal on, and one being the colonic. Like, look, I got a great deal in this colonic. I had. I had to self insert. But that was part of the fun. No, Eric, this is. We'll talk off air about this. Was it in a van?

[A]

Eric, the van's an option.

[D]

If she wanted to come here.

[A]

And I'm open completely.

[D]

She Does a mobile service in a

[A]

Ford Con Line Advanced. Steve. Shockingly reliable. You just got to make sure the shocks have been done in the last couple years. But, yeah, you're fine.

[D]

Okay. Okay. I bet.

[A]

Meredith, do you feel good about this? Like, I think we have a real course of action. Obviously, we want to hear what happens, and I think we're going to hear a very positive report from you that you're making the intention. And Grandma's coming with you, and your kids are going to be so happy to spend a little bit of time with grandma in the morning because you're choosing to do this, and she's a part of all this.

[D]

And I don't think. I don't think it hurts to put a little saucer out and unwrap a few butterscotches. And Werther's Original. Just some hard candy. Maybe. Maybe a. Maybe a magazine or two. Like a red book. Yeah. The jello salad. Maybe an old, like, Time magazine from her favorite year. I mean, like, yeah, load it up. You can't have too much. And I think pictures from her life at different ages. And maybe if she had, like, a pearl necklace she liked. Put that on there. Really dress it up, make it look nice. Find the right table for it as an altar. Like, you know, just don't do it haphazardly. Do some kind of IKEA job here. I think you need to find something from the era that really represents Grandma.

[F]

Yeah, that's a good point.

[D]

Yeah.

[F]

Yeah. I feel good.

[D]

Awesome.

[A]

Meredith, I want to help. We're here to help. But please keep us involved, Keep us informed, and let us know how this is all going. And enjoy your new house.

[B]

How cool. Oh, thank you.

[D]

Yeah. Maybe you're moving to Cherry Creek. Maybe moving to the highway.

[F]

Oh, no way.

[D]

Yeah. That's for. That's for the. That's for the. That's for the bourgeois. That is for the bourgeois.

[B]

Yeah. No, we're.

[F]

We're moving really close by.

[D]

Oh, you. Oh, it's an easy move. That's great.

[F]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[F]

It's just more space. The kids are.

[A]

You know what I love is the slow move instead of the one big day. I start moving carloads slowly.

[F]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

And you get, like, half the work done instead of like. And also, let me just say this. This is a public service announcement to every listener out there. I know you're going to be tempted to invite big guys over to help you move.

[D]

Move.

[A]

Don't say, hey, we're gonna have pizza off your beer, your pizza. We don't want it. I'll take the beer and pizza. We don't want to help you move anymore now too close to 50. Invite regular sized guys to do it. But like the bigger guy, it's a, it's, it's a burden we bear. It's a cross we carry with us. And I'm just saying it, I'm telling everyone out there, we don't want your beer and pizza.

[F]

Pizza.

[A]

We don't want to help you move.

[F]

Like owning a truck, right?

[A]

Yeah, yes, exactly. Now if you're a big guy that owns a truck, it's over. Yeah, it's truthfully why I probably would never get one because like, oh, he's got a truck, He's a big guy. You know what? We'll get beer and pizza. Yeah, your beer and pizza can go straight to the fifth portal of hell, right, Steve?

[D]

I mean, yes and no.

[A]

If it's, don't put up the front like you want to help people.

[D]

If it's, if it's Modelo and like a square cut Chicago Tavern style, like I'm considering in the movie Berg will

[A]

come to Denver and help you move. I just gave him a chance. I gave him a chance there because I'm finally throwing the gauntlet down for every big guy ever. We don't want to help you move. I will help friends move. My friend just moved. I was willing to go to Canada, help her move because I love her. I will tell you what, if we. Remember MySpace, you said you just offered

[D]

to go to Canada to help someone move and then you're turned up, you just, just completely.

[A]

Why is one of my best friends in the world if someone would have been in my top eight on MySpace, I will help you move. If you're not in my top eight, I'll have people I haven't talked to in a year and a half say, hey, we're actually moving. You want to come over? We're getting beer and pizza and I'm like, I haven't heard from you in a year and a half and frankly you've been casting some Hollywood things and I haven't gotten a call. Apparently you don't need big guys for that, but you need big guys to help you move. I don't drink, I. Grandpa can't eat gluten.

[D]

No, that's nothing.

[A]

Maybe if he got sweet greens.

[D]

I was gonna say now if somebody's like, oh, I got a dim sum spread and like in like premium, in premium kabocha, like you.

[A]

Yeah, exactly, they do that. It's the Adjustment. Because every single person, I'm waiting on that line, waiting to hear the beer and pizza, and I'm like, can't do either. Are you kidding? I'm rebuilding my gut biome.

[D]

Yeah, he is. He's working hard. He's making big, big strides in it, too. Yeah, we'll let you know. We'll let you know.

[A]

Sorry for transgression. Yeah, I brought my own personal stuff. I should have just checked that baggage at the Denver airport.

[D]

And obviously, you know, make sure when you go to the Denver airport, you are. You have your head in a swivel, because that place has got some evil imagery going on there.

[A]

What's up with you, briefly?

[D]

I don't know. There is, you know, a lot of urban legends about. It's an underground base for nefarious activities. Also. Also, it's got a giant horse with red demonized. And the man who designed the horse, when he was putting the finishing touches, the horse fell on him and killed him. No.

[F]

What?

[D]

Yeah, that's true. That's true.

[A]

You're kidding.

[D]

No. No. No, I'm not. Beth, you have bath met in the back on your wall, you psycho Catholic ram. No, that's not true. Meredith, thank you so much for a wonderful call.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

Yeah. And she's lovely. And she's asking for a Werther's original, so. Yeah, yeah, but they like them, too. Give them to them. So, good luck with this altar. Good luck with the move. Don't ask big guys to help you. And please, we would love a picture of this lovely altar. And I would really love a picture. Good luck with everything. We'll talk to you soon, sister.

[A]

Bye, friend. Weird Here to Help is hosted by Eric Edelstein and Steve Berg. If you'd like to be on the show, please email us your question@weird weirdhertohelpmail.com

[D]

Weird here to Help is produced and edited by the great Morgan Nally.

[A]

Remember, all the advice given by Weird Here to Help is for entertainment purposes only.

[D]

All listeners should be adults and make their own decisions. Right, Eric?

[A]

Oh, big time. Please. I barely listen to myself. That was a Headgum podcast. That was a Headgum podcast. Hey, everyone, this is Natalie and this is Charlie.

[F]

We're from the podcast Exploration Live.

[A]

It's really funny.

[F]

It's really good.

[A]

It's really, really very good.

[F]

And now we have a YouTube channel

[A]

to go with it. That's exactly right, Natalie. You can watch full video episodes of our podcast exploration [e-mail]t. that means that in addition to the audio component. You're also getting a video component.

[F]

Component.

[A]

Exactly. Where you're seeing our reactions, what kind of clothes we're wearing, you know, and there's a whole suite of dynamics and physical expressions that you can really only get from a full video. Body language experts to the front. Exactly. So come check out Xperson Live, either audio or video.