Criminal - The Other Phoebe Judge

Episode Date: August 21, 2023

A preview of what we’re making over on Criminal Plus! Hear me and Criminal co-creator Lauren Spohrer taking your questions, telling stories, and talking with other producers and special guests. We��re having a lot of fun making these bonus episodes. When you sign up for Criminal Plus, you’ll also get ad-free listening on all of the shows we make, access to an exclusive merch store, and more. If you sign up as a Premium member, you’ll also get to attend virtual live events—like our first one, coming up on Thursday, August 24. We’ll be playing Criminal trivia. Learn more and sign up at thisiscriminal.com/plus. Thanks for your support! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hi, it's Phoebe. If you're a regular listener, you've probably heard me talking about Criminal Plus recently. It's a new way to listen to our shows without any ads. That's Criminal, this is Love, and Phoebe Reads a Mystery, ad-free. We know this is something a lot of you have wanted for a long time. And when you sign up for Criminal Plus,

you also get bonus episodes. In each one, I talk with Criminal co-creator Lauren Spohr. We take your questions, we tell stories, we talk with other producers who help make the show, we have special guests pop in, and we get off track very easily. We're having a lot of fun making these, and we thought you might like to hear what they sound like. Hi, this is Ginger Williams in Hays, Kansas. And Phoebe, I love the podcast. I listen to every episode.

And I love the way that you say dot com with an L in it, but I'm just wondering why you say it that way. Thanks. I love, well, first off, I love. I feel like that's kind of a burn. Okay, but can I just say I love the name Ginger? Yes, I do too. And I don't think we hear the name Ginger enough. This is like, it's one of those like more of a comment than a question types of questions. Why do you say it with an L?

I love the way that you do that. And also, why do you do that? You know, I don't know that I'm doing that is the honest answer is that I never, it never occurred to me that I was saying dot C-O-M, like dot C-A-L-M, until someone pointed it out. And then a lot of people, Ginger, you were not the first to ask this question. We actually have a T-shirt that says – I didn't really like this idea for a T-shirt. I loved it. Lauren designed it. It's a picture on the front of the lemur from our lemur episode and then the Quaalude lemur episode.

And then on the back it says, it's pronounced dot com. I don't think that's a very good idea for a shirt. Everyone else seems to like it. They're sold out, so I think the numbers speak for themselves. But it was really amazing to me that when the first person, you know, Ginger, that you and many others are wondering about dot com. A lot of people have tweeted about it. A lot of people have. Say dot com. Dot com. dot com. A lot of people have tweeted about it. A lot of people have.

Say dot com. Dot com. Dot com. Go to squarespace.com. Go to squarespace.com. Does it sound that different to you? Dot com. Dot com.

www.squarespace.com. I've heard you say this so many times that it's almost like I'm in the boiling water with you. Like I have no— Why is the water boiling? I can't really be objective about this either, but I think it's more of like a Vox.com. Am I saying it with an L also now? Calm. You know, the funniest thing—

And you say calm. The funniest thing— Should we hear it? Yeah, I'm sure we can. Let's hear it. Let's hear it. One more time. To try it for free, go to ZipRecruiter.com slash criminal.

That's BlueApron.com slash criminal. By visiting Casper.com slash criminal, go to Stamps.com, click on the microphone at the top of the homepage, and type in criminal. That's Stamps.com, enter criminal. Stamps.com. Never go to the post office again. I think there's a little style to it.

Remember when we got the sponsor Calm? So we had the sponsors Calm.com. And I really threw people off. Someone tweeted that it makes them feel squirmy. I mean, if that makes them feel squirmy. I don't know. It gives them a tough life. Yeah, I don't know how to help them.

Ginger, I'll try, but I can't promise you that I'll say it any differently than dot com. Okay, so a few months ago, Phoebe and I got an email to our personal Gmail accounts from this old friend of ours. And, you know, she was like, I hope you're doing well. And, you know, she like sort of writes about what she's doing. And then I wrote her back and I said like, hi, I'm so glad to hear from you. And then she writes back. And so we're just like goofing off back and forth. And Phoebe is saying nothing. And I'm like,

she must be busy. This is kind of unlike her. And then finally, like five days later, we get this email that says, hi, I feel compelled to tell you that I am not the Phoebe Judge, but merely a random farmer in Vermont who is also named Phoebe Judge and happened to get to the Gmail first. I don't want you to think the other Phoebe was ignoring you. Thanks, Phoebe. And so I like stare at this email and I look at who it's to. And then I wrote her back and I said, oh, my God, LOL. Hi, Phoebe Judge. Have other people made this mistake? And she responded and said, so many times, including my own extended family.

It's not the most common name. Remember what that man said years ago? Oh, this is so many years ago. I was guest hosting for the store of Dick Gordon and I was young and just starting out. And a man wrote in and said, I just want to let you know that Mr. Phoebe Judd is doing a great job. Mr. Phoebe Judd is doing a great job. So funny. But, no, of course I had no idea that there was another Phoebe Judd out there.

Hello. Hello. Is this Phoebe? This is Lauren.. Hello. Hello. Is this Phoebe? This is Lauren. Phoebe's here. Is this Phoebe? This is Phoebe. Hi, Phoebe.

How are you? I'm all right. How are you? Well, we were just saying, what a thing that we both have the same name. I live in a very small town, and there actually used to be another Phoebe judge in town. No. It's a town of about 4,000 people. So I'd go to go vote and that Phoebe grew up and went to school in the town.

And I'd be like, I'm Phoebe judge. And they'd be like, no, you're not. We know Phoebe. And I was like, there's another one. You got to check. When I was in college, there was a woman who also was a Phoebe judge. And so they refiled all of my paperwork in her paperwork. You're telling me that you know three other Phoebe judges.

Yes. Mutually exclusive Phoebe judges. Yes. Isn't that crazy? Yeah. I know a lot of Phoebe judges. Yes. Isn't that crazy? Yeah, I know a lot of Phoebe judges. Now that's wild. You know a lot of, I don't know any. You're the first Phoebe judge I've ever met. Really? Do you think you've gotten a lot of emails intended for the other Phoebe judges? I mean, it's so good on you for getting the Gmail first. I know you got it. I got it from somebody who had like a good friend at Google. So I was one of the first beta testers. So I had an in that way. I think I've gotten email,

yeah, like four or five times for you. Hate mail. But I'm always kind of like, is this spam? Are you actually trying to? That's why I didn't respond earlier in that email team, because I was like, I can't tell if this is spam. I can't tell if like what is actually happening. And so then when somebody else wrote back, then I was like, oh, I don't want to silly the Phoebe Judge's good name by ignoring her. It's so polite. And it's also just so funny because like the emails are kind of personal. And so just the idea of a stranger just sort of reading along is so funny to me. And then finally having to speak up and be like, pardon me, you have the wrong person is so funny.

I felt so badly. So you have had other people think that you're the host of a podcast before? Oh, yeah, for sure. Yeah. Pretty much every time I start a new job, they say, are you the Phoebe judge? What's your real job? Well, right now I am a flower farmer in Vermont. Like I'm sitting in an empty cargo van right now.

So my voice is not even remotely great sounding, but like we have very distinctive voices. So I have to be like, close your eyes and listen to me tell you, I am not that Phoebe Judge. And then they're like, oh yeah, you're right. That's not you. Phoebe, do you enjoy it when people shorten your name? No. No, that's right. That's the right answer. No. And I think just because

of like, people have been confusing me or confusing me for you or you for me for about the same amount of time that I've been like a post-college adult. So I think we're about the same age, but I came up in the era of friends, right? Yeah, exactly right. They do it all the time to me too. Are you named after Lisa Kudrow? Oh my God. Well, my sister's name is Rachel. And so we have like the Phoebe and Rachel duo, but people always want to call me Phoebes. And I have to be like, no, that is not my name. I feel the same way. And when I look at them, when they say, were you named after Lisa Kutcher? I think that would put me probably around

18 years old. You know, it doesn't, the timing doesn't, the timing doesn't match up, but, but I'm with you. I hate it when people shorten my name. Do you get the joke where people are like, you should become a judge. You'd be judge, judge. Yes. Yeah. Well, I went to law school for like two years. And then I was like, I can't do this. But my sister is a lawyer. And so she does get that a lot because her last name is also Judge still. You know what's always so funny to me is when people ask me to spell my name, but they're not, I guess, our name.

But they're not so confused with the Phoebe. They're confused with the Judge. So they say, J-U-D-G-E. No tricks. Yes. No tricks there. It's very hard to enunciate in a way that people are like, oh, right, like a courtroom. Okay.

I find it a hard name to get over the phone, especially for people. Yes, because they think you're saying Stevie. Yes, Stevie Judd is what I get all the time. Stevie Judd. Stevie Judd. Okay, sure. Like, yes, I've picked up a lot of orders for Stevie Judd. You know, I don't even, I don't correct anyone. I mean, I just let them go with it. You know, instead of saying, no, it's O-E, it's E-O, I just say, that's right, you got it.

Good try. I appreciate it. Phoebe, do you listen to Criminal? No. it kind of feels like the nexus of the universe and so I try to be like that Phoebe judge is having her life and I'm having mine and I don't have to like look in an infinite mirror of listening to my own name come through the podcast do you has anyone ever asked you to do an impression of her yeah every single time people are like are you the the Phoebe judge? And then I have to be like, no. And they're like, can you say it anyway? And I'm like, oh, my gosh. Okay.

What a nightmare. What a nightmare. Well, someday I would love to see you in the same space. You could trade jobs for a day. I would love that. Welcome to stop by the farm anytime you're in Vermont. Phoebe, thank you so much. Thank you so much. Thanks so much. It was really fun to talk to you.

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