Endless Thread - Low Stakes Hot Takes

Episode Date: November 6, 2020

We all have that one opinion — that firmly held, low stakes, non-political belief. You know the one. It's usually met with (low stakes) outrage whenever you dare to say it out loud. Well, we asked you, our listeners, to share your low stakes hot takes with us and, oh boy, did you deliver.

Support for endless thread comes from Mathworks, creator of MATLAB and Simulink Software, to design and develop engineered systems, accelerating the pace of discovery in engineering and science. Learn more at Mathworks.com. Support for this podcast comes from Nature is the Solution, a podcast from The Nature Conservancy. This show tells climate stories like a stubborn optimist, because hope, innovation, and nature itself are key. to solving the challenges ahead. Follow on your favorite podcast app. Produced by the ILAP at WBUR, Boston. Hi, Inless Thread. I have a couple of hot takes. Hot takes, come get you hot takes.

Hear me out. My unpopular opinion, especially in the circles I run in. One thing that I absolutely, totally cannot stand. It's just real bad, not good. I know many of your listeners are going to call me a monster for this. It has been a tense week. Lots of feelings. Hate, hate, hate, hate.

Overrated, overhyped. Those are fighting words around here. Yeah, come at me. I'm ready. People are not seeing eye to eye. That's my opinion. If you don't like it, then oh well. The worst.

Yes, I said worst. I'm just going to put it out there. And the unpopular opinion I have that I get in the most trouble for, I think cheese is disgusting. Why would you put that in your mouth? Ew. I'm Amory Siebertson. I'm Ben Brock Johnson, and you're listening to Endless Thread.

The show featuring stories found in the vast ecosystem of online communities called Reddit. We're coming to you from WBUR, Boston's NPR station. Today's episode, Low Stakes. Hot takes. So we were trying to figure out what to do this week. This incredibly anxiety-inducing week during the most anxiety-inducing year 2020. And we weren't really sure what to do.

Like, we wanted to acknowledge what was happening. On the other hand, you don't really come to us for the news, right? We have been talking about all this heavy stuff. Kuanon, Civil War. we are here with you in the anxiety hellscape. But also, we want you to hear from William. My name is William, and I love the musical cats. We all need a little escape from the anxiety hellscape, right?

Not saying we shouldn't all keep fighting for what we believe in, but we also need to give ourselves some breaks. So we asked you for your hot takes that have nothing to do with politics, inspired by the unpopular opinion subreddit, which is ironically very popular. You delivered. You made us laugh a lot because y'all have some very weird takes. I know most people can't stand it, but I'm personally fascinated and enjoy the fact that Andrew

Lloyd Weber took Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot from 1939 and was able to adapt it into a musical with some beautiful music. Though I think we can all agree the 2019 movie was absolutely terrible. I couldn't even make it past the first 15 minutes myself. Hi, endless thread. This is Grace calling from Medford Mass. And my non-political hot take is that the new cats movie, it's actually really good. The dances were great.

The music was great. I've had jellical cats stuck in my head over and over. I don't know any other words. But yeah, great movie, great songs. Love it. Emery, do you fucks with capital C cats? I have never seen it. I will confess, but are you hearing this song right now?

I just, I mean, what I have seen of cats makes me uncomfortable. Okay, well, funny story that I have about this. Okay. Which is, I saw Cats the musical for the first time this year, and not the movie, the musical, YouTube footage of the musical. And it was also the first musical that my children have seen. and so if you ask either of them to dance now in any setting, they only dance like the people in the musical cats,

which is very unsettling. They like stare through your soul, you know what I mean? Like their head doesn't move. Like their head just focuses on you. Like they totally understand vogging, I think, because of the musical cats. So it's good. There are worse things.

There are worse things, but I think we can all agree that, like, loving the musical cats is kind of an unpopular opinion, at least in 2020. That is very true. But does that opinion hold a candle to this? Unpopular opinion. Seth Rogen is really hot. Hi, endless thread. This is Stason Goldman from the Getus episode.

and my unpopular opinion, especially in the circles I run in, which is mostly full of history nerds and musical theater nerds, is that the SpongeBob Square Pants musical is better than Hamilton. Hi, this is Rachel listening from Atlanta. And my unpopular opinion is that Disney World is overrated. I've only been once as an adult, so maybe that's why I don't think it's the same. the most magical place on earth, but it was just fine. I don't know that I would go back. Sorry, Disney lovers. Hi, Ben and Amory. This is Sarah, and I listen from Myrtle Beach in South Carolina, and I am calling with my apolitical hot take slash hill that I will die on and probably have died on many times. And that is that speaking as someone who loves most things, fantasy, science

fiction, nerdy stuff, I'm 100% here for it. Lord of the Rings is bad. It's just Real bad, not good, overrated, overhyped. Just bad. Full stop. Just for the record, I would like to throw Sarah's opinion into the volcano of Mountain Doom. But Sarah, I still love you. Hey, endless thread. This is Keith.

My hot take is that I really like the movie Pluto Nash, starring Eddie Murphy. Pluto Nash? Yeah. The Pluto Nash? Yeah. Get out of you. The reason I like it is because it's a silly, fun romp. through space, and it's a POC science fiction story, which doesn't often hit the big screen.

So I really appreciate it for that. Thanks a lot. Take it easy. Bye-bye. Hello, my name is Savannah, and I'm listening from New Mexico. My unpopular opinion is Fleetwood Mac is the worst band ever. Yes, I said worst. come at me.

You know what, Savannah? You can go your own way. You can break the chain of people who love Fleetwood Mac. If this election had been you versus Fleetwood Mac, you would have won in a landslide. Hey guys, this is Rod Anderson from St. Leonard, Maryland. One thing that I absolutely, totally cannot stand. Hate, hate, hate is reality television.

Hey, Ben and Amory. My name's Rachel. I'm from Pittsburgh, PA. And my strong unpopular opinion is that the Princess Bride is not as good of a movie as most people think it is. Inconceivable! Not very sportsman-like. Hi, my name is Ian. I'm from Des Moines, Iowa. I've got two unpopular opinions. The first is that I like pineapple and pizza. It's one of my favorite pizzas. And the second is that I've thoroughly enjoyed all of the Star Wars movies, especially the sequel trilogies.

I know that will definitely get me some hate on Reddit. The next one is an unpopular opinion that goes to 11. Hello, my name is Andrew from Kentucky, and my non-political hot take is, I wish everyone would stop using the phrase, he turned it to 11, or she turned it to 11. It was hilarious and original when Spinalap said it. If you can see, the numbers all go to 11. And I think everybody says it in an effort to be clever, but they're really just saying something that Christopher Gess said that was clever and funny. and I think we should challenge ourselves to come up with new things to say when we're describing stuff.

Hi, my name is Natalie Love, and I listen in beautiful Morrow Bay, California. Hi, I'm Rob from Ithaca, New York, and my unpopular opinion is about flip-flops. Everyone is wearing flip-flops. Those flimsy foot thongs are a public hazard. Slides are entirely inappropriate forms of footwear. any time unless you are right next to a pool. Everyone should wear sensible shoes in public. You know how many pedestrian accidents happen every year due to flip-flops? And besides, people shouldn't be showing off their toes all the time.

If you have ugly feet, airing them out, ain't going to help. Hi, endless thread. My name's Dylan calling from the Pacific Northwest. My low-stakes hot take is that shorts in the winter actually sometimes kind of make sense, even when it's really cold. So I used to give people a lot of heat for this. I thought it was just dudes like trying to show how masculine they are by wearing shorts. But ever since I went on testosterone, I run so warm.

And I found myself getting super sweaty all the time just moving around outside. And I found wearing shorts with lots of sweaters and a hat kept my core warm so I wasn't shivery, but also like kept my temperature more even and was more comfortable in the winter. So I think I get it now. You know where they wear shorts in winter? Tampa, Florida, which is where a listener named Harold sent this voice memo from.

But we can't tell you where in Tampa because some of you, and honestly, also me, are going to want to tee his house. Toilet paper belongs being hung on the wall side. Listen, I get it. It looks better the other way.

But the patterns are pressed in from the top so that the bottom side of the toilet paper is more rough than the top side. When you hang it towards, the wall, you end up naturally folding it in such a way that the rough side is on the inside. I don't know about you, but I'm a big fan of having less irritation on my sensitive bits. Then I have a confession about this. Do we need to get you to a CVS? Do you need some cream?

Gross. No. I, whenever I go to someone's house and I see that they have the toilet paper hung the way that Harold is describing where it folds in towards the wall, I flip it around. That's not a confession. That's like this is, you should receive an award. It's like a service to humanity. Yeah. But I feel a little badly about it because like the bathroom should be the room where other people's opinions don't matter. You know, like I feel that way. It's like there's nothing more private than a bathroom. Yeah. I like that.

Yeah. And speaking of bathrooms. Hi, my name is Britta and I'm from Melbourne, Australia. I enjoy. painfully hot bath four hours and no one understands what's enjoyable about that but I love it and I'm actually in the bathtub right now and probably will be for the next three or four hours I'm Sydney and I like getting my period it makes me feel powerful and grateful that I'm healthy hey endless thread this is Job your friendly neighborhood moderator Jobb He's not just any moderator. He's the mod of the Endless Threadsubreddit,

endlessthread.redd.red.red.com. And my unpopular opinion is that I really don't care what happens to my body after I pass away. Creamate me, bury me, boil me, mash me, put me in a stew. I'm not here anymore. So it's not really like I'm going to argue with you. Hi, Endless Thread. I have a couple of hot takes, a short take,

but I was going to put it out there. Jesse Eisenberg is the hottest actor in Hollywood. He's a total dreamboat. Two, the middle seat on airplanes. I actually prefer the middle seat on airplanes. I think that it gets a bad rap, unfortunately. But if you're afraid of flying like I am, something about the middle seat makes me feel more comfortable

and just kind of more protected. And also the people sitting next to you often feel bad for you. So they give you the armrests and some extra leg space. kind of as a consolation prize. So it's actually like a sneaky way to get the best seat. Okay, Ben, I am with Kristen from Massachusetts on this one. Not the Jesse Eisenberg part. No offense to him.

But I'll take a middle seat any day. You can just tuck me right in there. I mean, you and Kristen from Massachusetts, who, by the way, is also our colleague, Kristen Torres from Massachusetts and a listener. You guys are crazy, in my opinion. But also like I'm a little more husky, I think. So, you know, it's just the middle seat to me is like you never want the middle seat. Coming up, a hot take about a hot dog.

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Radio Lab, Adventures on the Edge of what we think we know. Wherever you get your podcast. Support for this podcast comes from Is Business Broken? A podcast from the Marotra Institute at Boston University. On the show, host Kurt Nickish asks the thorny questions necessary for this moment about the role business plays in society. Questions like, why are executives paid so much? Why is innovation in healthcare so hard? Is ESG just greenwashing? And of course, is business broken? Follow is business broken wherever you get your podcasts. There is something powerful about the sound

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your Chicago dog, your sports peppers, your mustard, your relish, your pickles, your onions, we don't have to live in fear, Chicagoans. Ketchup can enhance the right Chicago dog, and that is my unpopular opinion because those are fighting words around here. Hey guys, my name is Ed Hoek, and I am listening from Fresno, California. Yeah. My thing is that ketchup should never, ever, ever, absolutely ever be refrigerated. It just, it ruins it. And I am a true ketchup aficionado. I respect that Ed wants us all to catch up to his correct approach.

My unpopular opinion is that that was a solid dad joke. I don't think that's an unpopular opinion. I think. Well, we can hope. We can hope to receive a majority on dad joke. jokes. But I feel like Stewart has one that could go mainstream. Hi, I'm Mary and Ben. My name's Stuart. I'm from London, Ontario, Canada. My Reddit username on my main account is Stewie 75. And my unpopular opinion is that when you put ketchup on fries, you should drizzle the ketchup over the fries instead of dipping the fries. When you dip the

fries, you get all ketchup and then all fry. Whereas if you drizzle the ketchup over the fries, you get a better distribution of those two amazing flavors. And some people will probably say that this gets your fingers all dirty and covered in ketchup. But to them, I would just say that's a sacrifice you have to make for the goodness of that sweet, sweet ketchup and fry combination. Hi, on this thread, this is Anna, and I'm listening from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and my unpopular opinion is hold the sauce on almost everything. This is heresy. I love me some sauce, but the next one, hard agree.

I believe that adding chips or crisps to any savory sandwich will enhance that their sandwich. No, I'm a big texture person, and that extra. crunch plus the additional salt hit from a cheesy jalapino chip, for example, can really just take that sandwich from being a bland to that of exceptional. And also it's a two-in-one. I mean, you're saving a bit of time. So you should go and try it. I recommend starting with a simple cheese-flavored chip or a salt-flavored chip.

and moving on to the more adventurous ones, such as adding ketchup chips to a hot dog. Hey there, I'm L-Tu. My unpopular opinion is that I don't like chips or fries if you're in America or pretty much any fried, savory food. I really love salad and vegetables, though, especially broccoli. Sounds like I'm pretty healthy, but I really, really like sweet foods, so I guess I'm not.

Hey, Ben and Amory, this is Kat, your neighbor on the Massachusetts North North Shore, and I've got a hot take for you guys. Peanut butter? Great. Chocolate? Amazing. Peanut butter and chocolate together, completely unappealing, ruins them both. Hi, Ben and Amory. My name's Claudia. I'm from Indiana. My non-political hot take is that I think dark chocolate is really, really gross, and I hate it so much. And I always get so mad whenever I like bite into a candy and don't realize that it's got dark chocolate in it. Like, oh, it drives me crazy. Hi, this is Marie from D.C. and my unpopular opinion is that hardcore black licorice is the best candy in the world. My name is Sarah, and I'm calling from New Jersey,

and I think that honey is disgusting. I don't like the way it tastes. I don't like the way it smells or feels. And the hilarious part is I married a beekeeper who is never going to stop trying to get me to taste his honey. Hello, my unpopular strong opinion from down here in Australia is that watermelon is the worst. It tastes so bad. We're the Bermuda's family from California. I'm Katrin. And I'm Jorge. Our entire marriage, we've been polling everyone we meet to find out, Two questions. Which cookie is better? Oatmeal? Or chocolate chip? And which fruit? Apples. Bananas.

And I went into this with complete confidence that everyone would say that oatmeal is better and apples are better. And to my complete devastation, I would say only about 30% of the time, am I correct? I mean, Katrin and Jorge sound like people who woke up on November 4th expecting a landslide. But oatmeal raisin over chocolate chip? That is bold. Also, I reject the premise, Amory, because I am a oatmeal chocolate chip guy. What about you? Well, she didn't say oatmeal raisin. In her defense, she said oatmeal, which you could assume raisin. I'm with you. I think oatmeal chocolate chip is a winner. And I'm Team Apple. Easy.

I mean, I do love a banana in a smoothie. And there's someone else who likes bananas, but for a totally different reason. Hi, I'm Ian and I'm in Montgomery, Texas. And my unpopular opinion is that bananas with craft square cheese is the best. If you don't like it, then oh well, because it's good. Hello, endless thread. My name is Patrick from North Carolina and I hate brunch. I would start with the high prices that they charge for the cheapest food. The fact that if you go, you have a limited menu of breakfast foods rather than a full menu of brunch and lunch options. You have that one waiter who doesn't write anything down. And it's a time suck there. Long wait times to get in the

door, long wait times to get your food. And it's just another trendy thing to say. Let's get brunch. I will give them mimosa's, but I'd rather have a beer. Hi, endless thread. My name is Joey. Hear me out. It is better to put the milk or plant-based milk that you are using in the cereal bowl before you put the cereal in. I put the milk in first so I can accurately gauge the volume. If I put the cereal in first, the cereal would displace the volume of the milk and I would be left with far more milk that I am ready to commit to. Okay. Hope you're okay this week. Take care. We hope you're okay, Joey, and we hope you're all okay. This is a really stressful and uncertain time and we hope these hot takes made you smile and maybe even opened your mind a little bit

or just brought into focus some of the things that actually matter in life. Yeah and fortunately for us there is one thing you guys do agree on. But you know it is good endless thread. I love the show. Thanks guys. I love the show. Keep doing what you're doing. Thanks for doing the show. Really appreciate it. I love the show. Can't wait to keep listening. Keep up the good work. Love the show. Love you guys. Thanks so much for the show. I love it, listen weekly, and I can't wait for more of it. Thank you to everyone who sent in an unpopular opinion. It totally made our week to hear from you.

It really did. So take care out there. Okay, you want to go get brunch? Yeah, should we listen to a little Fleetwood Mac on the way? Oh, absolutely. Right after we finish watching cats. Because jealous can and jealous can and jealous do. Jellicose to and Jellicous can.

Jellicouscan and Jelliccus too. Jellicose do. Endless thread is a production of WBUR, Boston's NPR station in partnership with Reddit. Josh Swartz is our producer and he thinks spam emails are the worst. Spam callers can be a fun little surprise in your day. Oh, what a terrible take, Josh. Mix and sound design by Matt Reed who thinks Superhero movies are boring.

Michael Pope is our advisor at Reddit, and he says... Plain chocolate ice cream is gross. What? Extra production help from Frank Hernandez, who thinks... Scam music should make a comeback. On Reddit, we are endless underscore thread. If you want to contribute art for an upcoming episode, or give us a story tip so we can tell it like we did today, hit us up there.

My co-host is Amory Seabretton. My co-host is Ben Brock Johnson. We'll let ourselves out. But also, we want you to hear from William. Am I saying William weird? Yeah, a little bit. I am, right? I was trying to think, like, because I've never heard him say William before.

But also. Maybe that's just how he says it. I don't know how I say it anymore. I'm confused. It's just like tripping balls out here. Well, William. This is how I'm going to lose it. I know.

It's going to be like this all week. I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine. It's going to be like this all week. It's just laughing as the fucking, as you burn at the steak. It's terrible. It's so terrible.

I'm crying. Okay. All right. All right. Severson. Get a handle on it. Get a handle on it. It's going to be a long week.

Severson. Don't. breaths they've been telling me to take. It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay. If you turn into the Joker this week, it's not going to be okay, all right? Oh, I'm getting all, I'm getting all warm. Okay.

All right. Okay. Let me know when you're ready for me to say, whoa. Oh, no. So we're a bad combination because you love to laugh and I love making people laugh. So it's like I'm not I'm not the right person to be like, all right, keep it together. Okay.