Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers - BOWEN YANG Thought His Grandma Was Dead

Episode Date: April 23, 2024

The hilarious Bowen Yang joins Seth and Josh on the pod this week! Bowen and Seth share in their disdain for most national parks PLUS Bowen talks about bonding with his Dad, what it was like exploring Australia, and more!   Sponsors: AirbnbSupport comes from Airbnb your home might be worth more than you think find out how much more at airbnb.com/host to learn about hosting. DeleteMeGo to JoinDeleteMe.com/TRIPS and use promo code TRIPS for 20% off. Aura FramesVisit AuraFrames.com to get $30-off plus free shipping on their best-selling frame. Use code TRIPS  at checkout to save.  Perfect for Mother's Day Gifting!

Hi, Pashi. Hi, Sophie. Happy birthday to Axel. I know. Yeah. Your little dude turned six. Both of my boys have had birthdays recently. Yeah, my little boy turned six.

What did you send Axel? I sent him a light break. Okay, it came with no note. Okay, yeah. That's, sometimes, sometimes on Amazon, you try to say, like like click that gift option. Yeah. I feel like maybe they put like a tiny slip of paper in there.

I really need to – I feel bad. I need to order gifts for the kids and have them come to me. Then I need to wrap them. I get it, man. I think you could also just heads us, and we could wrap them for you, because we have all the means to do that. Yeah. And

if Alexi heard me say that, she would be well within her rights to push me out a window. I was like, we do, we wrap them. We, as a couple. But I will, I'm going to just, we can do some real talk right yeah so the problem was so this amazon package came addressed to me yeah and oh did you think it was your light bright

no but i opened it up and it was the light bright and then i didn't know whose light bright it was and then uh axel i had opened it and axel was there uh-huh and i'm just gonna say i don't think he was like super hoping it was his. Well, I'll say this. Yeah, go say it. Totally fine. I'm not hurt here at all. I bought Ash, your eldest, a Lego Harry Potter thing.

Because he had asked for it well because he loves harry potter and all he talks about is lego and he seemed not into it so i wanted to do something outside the box um and i did look at an article of like best gifts for uh six-year-old boys now mind you light bright i feel feel like is four and up. So it's a little young. But I also felt like I haven't seen a Light Bright around your place. We loved Light Bright. We did.

And I felt like Light Bright is something that Addy could get into pretty quickly as well. I mean, I feel like maybe I'll say this is, Pasha got this for you and he wants you to show Addy how to use it. Might be. Because Axl's very sweet with her. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So, yeah. But I also, I felt like, you know, Axl's sort of a wild man. I feel like he was going to be getting a lot of gifts that were going to be like, go run yourself ragged. Yeah, this is some fine motor gifts were important for Axel. Yeah. Although Axel, crushing the Legos, Ash has moved on. Axel's building the entire Hogwarts Express right now,

and it's a sight to behold. Wow. And what does he, I'm assuming there's a cake for his birthday? Yes. But does he, I'm assuming there's a cake for his birthday? Yes. The really exciting thing about both the kids' birthday cakes is Alexi had them made by a place that is sort of sugar-free and gluten-free. This is exciting for who?

Well, it's exciting for you because they're still available. We have each of them. This is a true story. Yeah, like each has like the tiniest slice, like 1 64th of the cake was all it took for the kids to be like, I'm good. So we were at, I wasn't there, but they have their cousin Agnes who's five today. So they're handing out cake

at this party and it's this you know how you know it's not a cake for kids is the on the top of it were dried orange slices which like look really beautiful you know what I'm talking about it's not a thing of kids like here we go

so it's this real real janky cake. But they give him a slice. We're cutting off slices. They're cutting off slices and handing them to the kids. And they hand one to Agnes. And they say, Agnes, go hand it to somebody else. Don't take the first piece.

And someone, Arielle, said she watched Agnes take a bite of it. Like basically not listen and take it first piece. And someone, Ariel, said she watched Agnes take a bite of it, like basically not listen and take it for herself, take a bite of it, make a face, and then bring it and hand it to somebody else. The cake was so bad that she then did the instruction. And then later we were telling that story to friends of ours, and my friend Graham was like, oh. I go, what?

He goes, she gave it to me. and my friend Graham was like, oh. I go, what? He goes, she gave it to me. But it is really funny to show up. It was not his, I was home for his birthday, but they had his birthday party on a Saturday when I was on the road. And so I got back Sunday morning

and I opened the fridge and just saw like so much cake. And I realized there were so many kids and there should not be this much cake left over. Well, the good news also is that there's tends to be nothing in your refrigerator. So there's room for cake. Yeah. Although, you know what?

Huh? I had a really cool thing happen. Went to Philly. There's a great Israeli restaurant in Brooklyn called Laser Wolf. And they have the same guy, Michael Solomonov, has a restaurant in Philly called Dizengoff, I think. And he came to my show and brought me a ton of pita and hummus

and chicken schnitzel. You know I like that. Yeah. And so I went back after the show that night. So I brought back two giant bags of Israeli food. So it was this really exciting thing because it was like the one time ever there was stuff in the fridge. Yeah. That's great.

It was fun. Fun. I also got back, I got back late and then I woke up and it was really fun because Addie was just on the trampoline. And it was not even warm out, but she was fully naked. And her pajamas were on the trampoline, but she was fully naked. And I said, what happened? And she said, I jump so hard they fall off.

And I don't think that's what happened. What if it did, though? I think that's a BS story. Yeah. But yeah. So anyway, I'm glad you thought out of the box for the light bright, but I do want you to know that when I took it out of the box, Axel said put it back in.

But we'll send you a picture when he makes a nice light bright. Yeah. He's going to like it. Does he know what a light bright is? I think he does. Can you sing the song? Do you remember the old light bright commercial? No, I mean, I want to just say light bright, light bright, but I'm sure it's...

I think it's like, light bright, it's a ba-na-na-na. I think it was like that. Okay. Yeah, no, don't remember. All right, well, some of us have the gift. You didn't seem super confident. No, I'm in it. Light bright, it's a-

This was a real joy. Oh, yeah. Bo Nyang, man, he has an incredible story, and he's a wonderful person, and I love talking to him. And everybody here is going to listen to it. But first, what should they do first, Pashi? I think they should listen to a little Jeff Tweedy. Well, then let's do that.

All right. Family trips with the Myers brothers. Family trips with the Myers brothers. Family trips with the Myers brothers. Here we go. Hello. Hi. Hi.

How are you? How's it going? I'm good. I like you in front of a bookshelf. You feel like you're about to make a point on MSNBC. I cannot imagine. I want to see all of the pre-production in those rooms for those professors or whatever those people do. I know. in those rooms for those professors or whatever those people do.

I know. I wonder how many of them are doing it on their own and how many of them are making some TA who thought they were actually going to be doing academic stuff set up Zoom lights. I was listening to a podcast the other day and someone clearly had a bookcase of relevant books behind them.

And some book became part of the conversation. And then at a commercial break, they moved it. So it was more prominent. And it was... So sometimes I think people are doing their own set dressing. Josh, you're giving me great ideas for writing night.

You know what? I think in the way... I don't know who wrote the bowling alley sketch for Jacob Elordi. Oh, Stephen Castillo and Dan Bullough. But yeah. But that was a really nice, oh, that is a new thing that no one had pointed out yet. But the minute you saw it, you were like, yep, that's a new thing. And I do think the Zoom setup for people with books behind them, that's it, Bowen. That is the seed of something.

That is the seed of something. Thank you for maybe letting me germinate. I don't know. Now, Bowen, do you know much about podcasts? Not really. How many episodes have you done of Las Culturistas now? We spent months planning for our 400th episode special. Wow. And we didn't realize no one on the team

had like made the count. And so we've really blown past 400 like as of like January. But we still haven't done the special episodes yet. So 400, too much. That's incredible. I will say I feel a burden today

because your podcast with Matt Rogers is the most fun I've ever had as a guest on a podcast. So I'm hoping to bring some of that light to you now. Oh, absolutely. Well, first of all, I am already having a blast. I do have to apologize, one, for y'all. I canceled on these two wonderful people last week because I mismanaged my time. And two,

I don't know why I did this. I went out drinking last night. I was over-served. Oh! And, am I coming off okay? Do I have a dream hungover? I wouldn't have known.

You know what? I just had a real tickle up the back of my neck flashback to a Monday night boozer. Oh, what I wouldn't give. I don't do those often. I don't know what came over me. Did it kind of get away from you? Did a dinner turn into a bigger thing? No, it was very clearly like I knew what I was walking into which was just drinks with someone but it was I don't know it was just it was a deep cone of a martini it was not like a nice little mm-hmm dainty like were you fired up because of the Eclipse we're recording this a day after the Eclipse and I'm just wondering if if sort of heavenly bodies moving around gets you a bit more. I think so. Yeah.

Ready to get, yeah. I think. Because I missed the whole thing. Because I was just inside all day. I missed it too. I have a very pathetic thing to say, which just reflects sadly on what I think a lot of married people do. I went out to dinner last night and I had three Negronis. I was at dinner with Steve Higgins. Oh, great.

I had three Negronis, and I came home, and Alexi was still up, and she said, oh, my God, you smell like so much alcohol. What did you have to drink? And I said, a Negroni. And she said, just one? And I said, two. So I tried to lie. I tried to lie and say I had one, and then when I was caught in the lie,

I still didn't tell the truth. I stopped at two. Still rounded down. And these are the little tidbits I put in to try to incentivize her to listen to the podcast. I want her to know this is the truth. This is where the truth. Yeah. Before we get into it, Bowen, I have a quick story that my fiance asked if I was going to tell, and I said, well, yes.

Well, yes. Well, yes. I don't know if we met at, if the first time we met was at like a post-Emmys party that you had something to do at. Seth had something to do at. I was coming to meet Seth. I had nothing to do with the Emmys party. But I met you at this party. And we showed up. And my fiance was turnt. She was just like ready to party.

And Fitty Stent was there. F party. And 50 Cent was there. And it was like, and at some point, like I met you and I want to say she met you and a song came on and she was like, hey, let's go dance. And you were sort of like, OK. But then you she started going to the dance floor. Then you realized, I don't know who this girl is. And then she got to the dance floor and she was all alone. And you, I think you correctly bailed

because even I wasn't going with her. I was like, where are you? Well, yeah. I mean, I was like, oh, she's just like, she's on one and she's like trying to get people

to rally to the dance floor. And she was like, hey, Bowen, let's dance. And you're like, okay. And then you're like, I don't know you. This is weird. That isn't,

if a kind stranger implores me to dance, I will dance with them. That doesn't sound like me, but I'm mortified that we abandoned her. No, it was, I mean, she did great for herself that night. But she always remembers it as like, she was like, I didn't know Bo and Yang, but I was like, let's go. And he's like, okay. And then all of a sudden I was alone. Josh, do you remember, did I geek out at you

about like Spishak or any like Mad TV things that night? Maybe Spishak. Thank you for allowing me that. Yeah, people are always freaking out about Spishak.

I had, I went up at an Emmy party a couple years ago. I hope I'm saying her last name right. She's the wonderful actress from Severance Britt Lower. Is that it?

Is it Lower or Lower? Oh, yeah. She's fab. Yeah, she was at that party. She was at, oh, same party. So I went up to her to tell her how much I loved her in Severance. But I will say she was middle dance floor having a blast. And I felt like an old guy who was coming out and be like,

ma'am, ma'am, I have some words of praise. I remember the group of people she was dancing with. It was a group that you should not go into. And it was very loud. And what she seemed to be saying to me, which then Josh explained to me because I had not made the connection, was, do you remember this, Josh, what she said to me? She was like, your brother is a good Frankenstein. Oh, yeah. Oh.

And so I had this moment of, well, this woman has been over-served. And then I went over to Josh and said, yeah, really great. But she was like talking about, my brother is Frankenstein. And then I had forgotten that Josh had done an episode of Man, Sex, and Woman, right? Yeah. Where you were Frankenstein. You were in a scene with her where you were Frankenstein. I was Franken-boyfriend.

She made the perfect boyfriend. It was like her sort of, yeah, I was her creation, and I was everything she wanted, but then I was gay. And she was like, oh, no, I built this perfect man, and he's gay. And he's gay. Yeah. It's technically Franken-boyfriend's gay guy. It's Dr. Franken-boyfriend.

I see what you're doing. I'm just glad I didn't go back on the dance floor, interrupt her a second time, be like, hey, I get it now. That is kind of like a throwaway compliment

that isn't quite specific enough or not contextualized properly for you. Well, looking back on it, I find it very lovely. She was basically saying, oh, that's so nice. Also, you know, she had worked with Josh.

The way she said it was, I didn't quite connect it. I thought, I was like, he's not a Frankenstein. He's a real boy. He's a real man. Call my brother a Frankenstein. So you have, your family story is fantastic. And a lot of, you know, a lot of big moves, which are not technically trips. But you were born in Brisbane.

And how long, your parents met in China, and how long had they lived in Australia? They had been in Australia for, I want to say, four years at that point. My sister was born there as well, two years before me. And so they were down there because my dad was getting a doctorate in mining explosives. And you better have some credentials before you just jump into that one. Totally. And so he was going to school and mom was raising us. And then when I was six months old, I think basically when I was okay to fly as a human being,

like as soon as I was okay to fly at six months old, I was spirited away to Canada. And that's Montreal. It was Kingston, Ontario for a couple years and then Montreal. So do you have any so you probably have no memories of Brisbane at all? Zero memories of Brisbane. We went back in

2016 and it seems lovely. I felt no actual connection to the place until we were like walking through a park and my mom was like, you know, Bowen, like the first water you drink is from this place. Like the first food you ate is from this place.

Like, cause I think I made a comment. Like, it was like, I don't really, it's weird to think of this as like the plate, as my birthplace. And she was like, no, no. Like, and she was being very motherly in that way of being like, no, this is actually kind of meaningful no matter what.

And was that trip back in 2016? Was that the family making a return to the... Yes. Okay. Yes. Sister come as well? Sister came as well. I think brother-in-law, sister's boyfriend at the time also came, I want to say.

Yeah, that sounds right. And lovely, lovely place. They really love to eat their kangaroo meat down there. Did you try it? I tried it. Fine. Like there's no, right.

There's no need. I guess there is a need to eat because they are like, everywhere. Giant, giant rodents. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like they're trying to get rid of them, which is sad, but.

I like that. How do we get rid of them? Let's feed them. Let's eat them. Feed them to the get rid of them, which is sad. I like that. How do we get rid of them? Let's feed them. Let's eat them. Feed them to the humans. Let's eat them. Yeah. I got an idea.

Do you think they like to eat it? Or when tourists come, they tell you, we love to eat this. That's a fun grift. If that's the case. Try some of this. I guess if you're eating that, we'll have the steak. The cow steak. Yeah.

Oh, you gotta try it. It's fun. Try this. You'll love it. That's a big trip. How long? So that's you traveling. And again, I'm going to try to get 2016.

You're out of college. Out of college. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So well out of college. Four years out of college. Out of college. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, well out of college. Four years out of college. So, yeah. And was this a big deal for your family

to take a massive trip back to Australia? Huge deal. Huge deal. And I, again, I have no actual emotional feeling

about that continent or country slash country. Was it just Australia? Did you take that long a trip and just go to Australia? It was just Australia. Just Brisbane? Just Brisbane.

No, no, no, no, no. We did Sydney and Cairns and like all that. We went up the West Coast or the East Coast. I'm sorry. See, I don't even like, my brain hasn't even filed away like the basic geography of that place. Well, also, it's Southern Hemisphere, so the toilets are circling the other way. So who knows?

I think the East Coast is their West Coast. I'm pretty sure. Yeah. And are your parents the kind of people that they were nostalgic for it? What I didn't realize, and not to bring this specter into this podcast, into this lovely space,

but I didn't realize that people in Australia are wildly racist towards Asians. And so they kind of like, they never made mention of it until we were there. It was like eight years ago

where they were like, yeah, it wasn't eight years ago, where they were like, yeah, it wasn't that great here. Like we had our friends, but like people were pretty goofily jingoistic or whatever, you know, like it was weird. So were you there just for the length of time

it took your dad to get that doctorate? Basically. Yeah. Yeah, and then dad got a job in Canada. Or no, no they got a job in australia the company moved to canada and then uh by 98 the company moved to denver colorado which is where i went to middle and high school gotcha so your dad was not getting new jobs he was just working for a place that kept moving no exactly yeah exactly which is kind Exactly. Which is kind of cool. It is kind of cool.

You know, I'm proud of him. Yeah, it is. I mean, valued employee, if they keep taking him every time. Because that's when your company moves, that's a good time to sort of thin the herd, you know? Totally. Totally. And he stuck with it. Yeah. Yeah.

Hey, we're going to take a quick break and hear from some of our sponsors. Family Trips is supported by Airbnb. Hey, Pashi. Yeah, Sufi. Sometimes friends of mine will ask to stay with me. And of course, I'm happy to have them. But what I want to say to them is, hey, you have a beautiful home. Why not when you're on vacation? Do you not explore hosting? Your house is Airbnb. Make money while you're gone and then use that money to get a place to stay that is not my house. Yeah, you might even come out on top. Yeah, you might make money. You might go on vacation and make money. We've got a trip.

I don't know if we're going to take it or not, but we were just invited to go to this trip in Puerto Rico for a friend of Mackenzie's 40th birthday. And I was like, well, I don't know. Like, where are they staying? She said, they've got an Airbnb and there's a room for us. And it's like, oh, well, that kind of makes it a no brainer. And then on top of it to think like, oh, well, we could Airbnb our place out when we're away. And that's a total cleanup.

If you're somebody who's put a lot of time and care into attention in your home, why not share it with people who are looking for a place to stay and you will make some money when they do. And you might be thinking my space couldn't be an Airbnb, but that's not true. If you're concerned about the time commitment, you can even just Airbnb your place

just a few weeks a year when you're traveling. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much more at airbnb.com slash host. Family Trips is supported by Delete Me. Pashi? Yes, Ufi? Are you annoyed by things like spam, things like robocalls?

I am. You know how Dad deals with robocalls? Have you been around for that? Let me guess, he does a cute robot voice back to them. He holds the phone as close to his mouth as he can and he goes

woo, woo, woo, woo. That's good. That seems to be something a robot would respond to. It scares everyone in the room with him

and I'm hoping it scares... So he only works against his own family. But yeah, robocalls are terribly annoying. And they have your information. That's why they're calling you up.

They somehow have gotten their hands on your information. Anyone on the web can get your private details. This can lead to identity theft, phishing attempts, harassment, unwanted spam calls. But now you can protect your privacy with Delete Me. Delete Me finds and removes any personal information you don't want online and makes sure it stays off. Delete.me is a subscription service that removes your personal info from the largest people search databases on the web and in the process helps prevent potential ID theft, doxing, and phishing scams. Take control of your data and keep your private life private by signing up for Delete.me now at a special discount for our listeners. Today, get 20% off your Delete Me plan when you go to joindeleteme.com slash trips

and use promo code trips at checkout. The only way to get 20% off is to go to joindeleteme.com slash trips and enter code trips at checkout. J-O-I-N-D-E-L-E-T-E-M-E dot com slash trips. Here we go. Were there any notable sort of tourist stops on your Australia trip that you... There were... We did the reef.

Nothing too much to see anymore. Yeah, it's a shame. It's a shame. Did you snorkel or were you scuba? I was snorkeling. What's our take on scuba? I feel like... 0.0.

Why are we... 0.0 take? Like, no totally neutral on it? That's my grade. My grade out of 100 is 0.0 take? Like, do, like, no, that's my grade. My grade out of 100 is 0.0. Right. I'm certified, and it's great.

However, I got certified so long ago that if I, I've done it sort of one time since I got certified, and they were like, oh, you're good to go. And I was like, no, no, no. I really would love to brush up on it

before I go, you know, 60 feet down and go through a shipwreck. I would like to know, like, just give me a refresher course. But it's fascinating because you truly are, you're floating and all you hear is the air bubbles. You don't have to breathe and sort of the intake of the air from your tank. It is so peaceful. And it's, yeah, it can be just beautiful. Yeah, I really, I mean, you can see, for those of you listening, you can't see Seth's expression.

But none of this has looked appealing to Seth. Well, I just was, I was realizing I was going to have a fun moment to say to Bowen that Josh and I are so deeply connected as brothers. We love each other so much. And yet,

even when he loves something, while he's explaining what he loves about it, it all sounds negative. Can I say that I took it the same way? And this might be the hangover talking,

but like he was, Josh, you were literally saying how beautiful and peaceful it was. And I sneered. I grimaced. I was like, ugh. But I don't take that personally the same way my fiance didn't take personally that you didn't go to the dance floor.

It's just things that happen in life. When Josh says something like, all you can hear is the air coming from the tank. Like that to me is a reminder. That sound to me is a reminder that I have an apparatus that I'm counting on to live. To hear, it's like this when you go into a hospital and you hear like. Yeah, yeah. On a coma patient. No thanks.

While the medium around you is pressing down on you in a lethal, dangerous way. No, the one thing I understand it's worth doing because there's no HD photos of fish. So it's really the only way to see them. I will say there was one of the dives

I've done. You sort of went, there was a drop. You were on the seabed and then there was a significant drop into a trench. And when you go over that drop, the water gets so much colder and it's so dark and it is terrifying. But in a way that, I mean, I still remember it. And I mean, I didn't want to go down that trench but it was yeah i liked it once again once again jot jot the peaceful part is terrifying to me and then josh goes then there

is a terrifying part and i'm like dude my pants are are have already been shit my pants been shit and and you're describing not wanting to go down there, but you got certified. Yeah. Did I mention there are eels? Jeez Louise. I was thinking this this morning. Do fish have souls? Do things in the sea have souls?

You drank so much last night. I was thinking this morning. About fish souls. Fish souls. You drank so much last night. I was thinking this morning about fish souls. Fish souls. I don't think because I think because I am thinking about my pescatarian friends and I have not actually like consulted them on this but I'm like I want to like inquire like I don't

there doesn't seem to be this like consensus on why ethically eating fish and only fish is okay. And maybe it's because fish don't have souls. Well, I will say, if eyes are the window to the souls, based on fish eyes, I would say they don't have souls. Right. Nor do goats. There's nothing there.

Those weird little square eyes. Oh, God. It would be funny if you only ate animals who had dead eyes. And you were like, I'm a pescatarian. I also eat goat. Yeah, that sounds above board to me. I will say scuba is terrifying to me. Snorkeling is not scary to me,

but it's also, it just is such a dud and you look like a dork. From anybody on the boat, you just look like. I mean, at least I will admit scuba looks cool. If you see a guy scubing, I kind of think that's a good look. A tank on the back, you know, I think that's a good look. Snorkeling is just dork city. Most of what Seth does in life is based on how do I look cool.

Well, it's how do I look from the boat? That's how I look. Oh, I see. And from what part of the boat? From the bow, the stern? The bow. Both of them. Great.

Whichever order you want. Both of them. I also think the fish, do you think, here's the thing. I don't think they have souls, but do you think that fish kind of judge the snorkelers? You know, they're like, okay. So there's, because they see the scuba people, I feel like the fish are like, respect. And then they're like, what are you?

What are you? Yeah, no, the way that they will swim away from you is judgmental. The way that like, they're just like, ugh. Like it's so. It's very like a clique of mean girls, like, a clique of mean girls. It's a clique of mean girls recoiling on, like, collectively just kind of, yeah, yeah, yeah. There's a rejection for sure.

How, we're kind of working backwards because we are starting with an adult family trip. But I've always loved sort of an adult family trip. But how did, as an adult, you've got your sister. She's with her now husband. She's with her now husband. So there's five of you? Or was there anybody else? There was, on this Australia trip?

Yeah. Five of us. So now, do you find time, because you're four years out of college, do you find time to be social outside of your family on a trip like that? No. And there is really... I don't know. I can't do the thing where i go i need i need like

one night to myself it feels unwholesome to me like i need it to be so so family fun the whole time because it just it feels so dissonant for me too that's great i think we're the same way i would never say a family trip we, we're going to bust out and do our own thing. No. But I feel like, yeah, having a setup like your sister

and then her having her, you know, boyfriend at the time, you're like, well, a four-person dinner, that makes sense. You do you.

I'm going to go hit Sydney. Sure. But I will say that, like, this is just overall, like, the history of my family's trips is that we don't see too many landmarks and that we only go to the Chinatowns in each respective place that we visit. Bowen. Oh, this is in video, I was going to say.

It's video. Chinatown T-shirt. Yeah, Chinatown T-shirt. Yeah, Chinatown t-shirt. Okay, that's great. Were there any Chinatowns in Australia? There are many. I think Australia has like city for city, whatever the, like American Chinatowns are in a crisis right now, I think. Just in terms of like, we went to Chicago once when we were little. We went to the Chinatown in Chicago,

which to me feels like a suggestion of an ethnic enclave, by the South Loop, I think. That's where Chinatown is in Chicago, which I am going to say, sorry to Chicagoans, is not a real Chinatown. Got it.

Australia, I think, because of whatever Asian diaspora is there, has pretty strong Chinatowns in each city. What are the three most important things to a strong Chinatown? Okay. You have

a great gate. I love a gate. You gotta have a great, love a gate. I love a gate. You know what I mean? Like that, that, the,

the, with the pagoda roofing and all that stuff. If you have to have that, you have to have one dim sum restaurant that, um, needs that, that, that requires you climb like two escalators to get to.

And you need, I think you need one nice purse table on a sidewalk. Okay, great. Table for purses. What do you think, when your parents go to a Chinatown, is it, do they want to just feel at home, away from home? I think, yeah, I think it's, like, this is so, like, this is out of a, I don't know, this is out of, like, some immigrant movie,

but it's, like, I was always always my sister and i were always very frustrated that like all they wanted to do was go visit chinatowns and now i totally get it and i think it's quite beautiful but like at the time we like growing up we hated going because we were like we want to go to i can't even think like i like we want to go see, like, Statue of Liberty, whatever, you know? And all we did in New York was go to Chinatown when I was 14, go to 30 Rock, take the NBC Studio tour, then go to the Gershwin and press my face up

against the theater at Wicked, the doors of Wicked, yeah. How do you feel currently, how would you rate the New York Chinatown? It's fine. I'm mostly, it's mostly like I'm going through it. I am like, it's an intermediary space for me. I don't really go there as a destination anymore.

I am really sympathizing with the residents who are, I was trying to write an update about this last week, but they are building the world's tallest jail there. Oh my God. And the residents are not very pleased. And I was like, do I play like a Chinatown resident who's just like, this is New York. I don't know, like that kind of thing.

But anyway, the Chinatown in New York is great. Flushing is great. Flushing is great. Sons of Park's great. I just think, I just think it's, what is sad right now is like Chinatowns are getting smaller and smaller around the world. And that's- Yeah. Yeah. You speak Mandarin, correct? Terribly. Yes. Okay. When you go to a Chinatown, do you, what do you speak? I speak Mandarin and then people do that thing where they just go,

I'll just speak English to you. They're not going to keep the charade going. Gotcha. Are you valued as a beloved Chinese-American celebrity? I know. Within a Chinatown? Yeah, I was wondering. No, I don't think they watch or care.

That was my, yeah. You might need some hard copy headshots to go around. I mean, that's how it works in a lot of dry cleaners, restaurants. But I don't know if that's a Chinatown thing as well. Do you know the Mandarin word for iceberg? And would you be able to tell if people were whispering it as you walked by? I do. I have not encountered that.

Although, I mean, wait, this is what I'm wondering. Have you guys had experience with this? Is it that you bring the hard copy headshot to the pizzeria and then you sign it or they have it? They have it on file. It is weird. Like back in the day, right,

like where did Danny Aiello every time he went to a pizza place just have a briefcase with him? It must be that, like, it must be that, yeah,

it must be that they have, like, the next time you come in, I'm going to have your headshot. Yeah. Right. And then that's it, yeah. Yeah. Or I think they ask you for it. They be that, yeah, it must be that they have, like, the next time you come in, I'm going to have your headshot. Yeah. Right. And then that's it, yeah. Yeah.

Or I think they ask you for it. They're like, hey, we'd love to hang it up. And you're like, well, I love how you starch my shirts, so this is going to work out great. They make it less awkward for you. They're like, God, I wish I had one of your headshots. Do you know where I could get one? And then you're like, you know what? I'll bring one.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Why don't I just bring one? Actually, why don't I get it out of my bag right now? Uh-huh. Just like Danny. All right,

so Great Barrier Reef. We are going to get to some younger trips, but Great Barrier Reef, kind of a dud, but that's not the Great Barrier Reef's fault. That's climate change

and that's us. So, any other notable sort of Australia trip? Either things that happened that weren't around Uluru? I'm so sorry. You guys are being so sweet about just teasing any details out of me. I'm giving you nothing.

Did you see a boomerang? Did you see? What we did was we went to the opera house in Sydney and they did live orchestra playing, like scoring to Amadeus, which I loved. That's really good. The movie? So did they show the movie and they scored it?

Showed the movie and they scored it. And we were watching young Cynthia Nixon play a nun. I was so glad you said that because I just watched Amadeus for the first time. Shamefully. And I couldn't believe when Cynthia Nixon playing Nun. I was so glad you said that because I just watched Amadeus for the first time. Shamefully. And I couldn't believe when Cynthia Nixon showed up. What did you think of the movie as a whole, Seth? I loved it.

I loved it. And it was one of those, I kind of always knew I'd love it, and I just think it came out when I was just a little too young, and then I just never came around and saw it. Sure, totally. But that was fun for the whole family. Do your parents like

going to the arts in that way? No. Okay. Not at all. And what about your sister? Sister, yes. So was that a tough sell to go to the Sydney Opera House then? Or was it just like... My mom's like, my mom's criterion

for movies, we'll say, is if it won Best Picture, I'll see it. Okay. And so thankfully, Amadeus did win Best Picture. Yeah.

And that was, and so therefore, it was not too hard of a sell. But I mean, dad couldn't be bothered to do, to go to any cultural thing. And that's okay. And in the past, I would resent him for that.

But I think it's just because he's like, I don't get what's going on. I took them to Hamilton in the heyday of Hamilton. And both of them fell asleep. I was just like, this is not... I'm all for people falling asleep during plays, but I think Hamilton might be the hardest one to fall asleep at for the last, like, 10 years.

Pretty loud show. It's very loud. There's gunfire and stuff, yeah. Yeah, even the lyrics are like gunfire. You're right. This is so... It is so interesting that you just realized there's a thousand different ways,

if not more, to make a comedian. Because, you know, Josh and I grew up, our parents loved SNL. We watched SNL with our parents. And it does seem like maybe your parents had, and it's also so funny, you've taken it so much farther than Josh and I, and you were just plugged into, I feel, all American culture. And your parents, did they just not plug into it at all? Not at all. Like, did not grow up with cable. So Saturdays was me adjusting the bunny ears to go from Fox for Matt TV, which I got clearer. I got clearer picture of, of, of, of Fox and then going to NBC.

I mean like, well, it's a little fuzzier, but, um, you know, Britney Spears is hosting. So I have to watch. Um, but then traveling on any trip, like my, my dad would go to Gillette, Wyoming once a month. And every now and then I would tag along with him just to stay in the hotel because there was cable and I could watch Comedy Central and I could watch VH1 and I could watch all of the cable channels and be like, Stranger with the Candy is on. I can, you know, whatever. It was just like I really had to find it. But part of, like, the boon of travel was I can be in a hotel room. It doesn't matter how shitty the hotel is. It's going to have cable. And it'll be great.

It is funny remembering that cable was often on a roadside sign for a hotel. Yes. As a selling point. Right. You know, in this day and age, obviously, that seems insane. Although I bet in a great amount of the middle of the country, they're still letting people know they have cable. But it was true.

I remember when we were little, even, oh my God, they're going to have ESPN. Like, I don't know. And then how frustrated my dad was that I wanted to spend eight hours inside in Florida just watching cable television. No, I would have been so happy doing that. And for the most part, that's what we did because we would go to Chinatown and then we would just be at the hotel for the rest of the time we would be in the city. Gillette, Wyoming is a work destination for those in the explosive mining field? It is a huge, it is the, gosh, it's so early for me and I'm so hungover.

It is the, it's the Vegas for explosives engineers? Yeah, it's the Vegas. Right, yeah, yeah. And it's quite fun. It's great. Gillette, Wyoming, highly recommend. Interesting. I would say that that has not come up. I'm certain it

has not come up yet on our previous episode. I mean, it's the most flyover a place could be, but it knows it, and I think it really leans into, without it being so alienating, like a perfectly lovely, charming place.

And when you say lovely, is it like lovely for blowing up rocks, for like blowing up the sides of mountains to get resources, natural resources? Yes, for that, for watching Flavor of Love. You can do it all. I like that there was a time in Bowen's life where he only thought Flavor of Love aired in Wyoming. But you didn't, not only did you not have cable, you didn't fundamentally understand how it worked. No, I didn't understand how it worked.

You're like, they have the best shows. So when you, in your Canada years, well, first of all, I haven't asked you, did you ever take a, have you taken trips back to China with your family? Oh, yeah. Um, I have not been back since also 2016.

That was a big travel year, but that was a separate leg from Australia. But, um, I haven't been back since then. Uh, but we would go like once every other year and that was always very fun and a highlight. And I miss my family dearly.

I am so shocked. My, my parents have been back since COVID, since I've been on SNL where I've portrayed Chinese trade ministers or whatever. And the first time my mom went back after COVID, I was like, if you get detained because of me, I will make it right and I will never forgive myself.

But thankfully it's okay. It's so far so good. Yeah. Where in China is your family? Do you still have family there? Yes. I think all of extended family is still there. It's just my parents, my sister and I, who are, as far as we know, who are outside of China in the States. But mom is from the province that borders States. But mom is from the province that borders North Korea. Dad is from the province that borders Mongolia. So there've been fun trips to cities like right along the river where like, I forget which president bombed a bridge, which American president bombed a bridge in China that connected North Korea to

China. But battleships just like ruined on the North Korean side where people are like living in them. And we'll wave at you and smile. And it's, it's kind of surreal. It's like, oh, you're saying hello to like North Koreans who have no choice but to like live in this. Anyway, it's really intense, interesting trips to china that were um kind of beautiful for my parents because they were just like it wasn't about going to chinatown it was like they were in china they were in the town was the country and and it was familiar to them and it was very edifying for us as children is the family how does the family feel about uh your parents having left are they proud of them? Are they fascinated by America?

Do they want to talk about that? Are they? I think since, I think like, it's all kind of changed since Trump. I think they've been very anti, which makes it a little touchy. I don't know. Like, I'm curious to go back and see what they think of like i like i never really came out to that side of the family right and it is it's gonna and like i've i've been very public about it you know since since being on television or whatever and like i think that

headline has made its way back there. So I don't know. what was, but the question was, how do they feel about, like, are they fascinated with America? I mean, like,

like they, yeah, they were until, basically they were until Trump, Trump was, got elected. And do you have like cousins that are your age?

Do you have, oh, that's great. Yeah, they're, they're all, they're, they're,

they're my age. And like, but like that, yeah, the thing, like, I think, made for like a lonely

childhood where it was just me and my sister because extended family was not within right 5,000 miles you know

yeah so yeah yeah this is quite therapeutic to talk about actually well it's interesting too because it seems like

you never because you emigrated not to like go to communities like like, Chinese communities. You immigrated because your dad had a job. Exactly. So I would imagine you also didn't have that landing spot that I feel like a lot of immigrants do where they show up. And even if it's not family, it's, like, friends of family.

Yeah. I mean, like, we made friends in every place. My parents were very out of it, like, going to Chinese school on Sundays. And they did go to church by the time I was a junior in high school because they were like, oh, we hear there are Asian people who go to these places. Not for actual spiritual, religious reasons, but just to be like, oh, it's a social thing. Yeah. Community. So yeah, it's community. And those trips, when you would go back as kids to China, how long a trip would that be?

It would be six weeks. Wow, summer? Summer, basically. And it was actually a great time to buy a ton of DVDs that cost like one RMB each and we would watch like every Tarantino movie,

like every like, like we really like got our sort of, like my sister and I would just watch DVDs at my grandpa's computer because that was the only thing that he had in the house that could play them. And just like. So you're saying your cable in America was so bad

that the best place for you to watch American movies was on your Chinese grandfather's computer yes we were media starved

you guys so I apologize this is now where my geography ignorance will come through so how far apart does your mom's family

and dad's family live so there's this like big crazy story. Well, like Inner Mongolia is basically due west of Liaoning, which is

my mom's province. But they're kind of like on the same, what is it, like latitude? But like dad's family was like very rural, uneducated, were like in like arid sort of subsistence farmers in Inner Mongolia.

And then mom's side of the family was academics and grandma was a doctor. And basically like once they got married, there was this big project to like pull them out of the countryside, which is very interesting. I think, like, it was for the best, but there is some, like, residual tension within the family of, like, oh, like, we were kind of snatched out of this perfectly lovely provincial thing that we made work, you know? Why was your mom there? How did your parents meet?

They met, they were in the same generation of students who were after the cultural, well, like during the cultural revolution, like Mal didn't let anybody go to college basically or like travel outside the country for school. So they were like in that first class of people who could matriculate to all these different places. And basically my mom got, they got set up by this person

who like got wheeled into my mom's hospital. She was a doctor and she was like, and this woman was just like, you should meet Rylan. And then the rest is history. I have no idea what those dates were. I don't really want to know. Is that bad?

No, I agree. The very fact that it started with a woman getting wheeled in, it does feel like the beginning of a weird short story. Right. I don't know. And it's something about me not inquiring more about that. I don't know what that says. Like, my sister, like, really wants to dig into, like, all the family history stuff.

And I'm a little bit more. Well, just let her do it then. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just have her report back. Right. Exactly. That is her. Yeah, that's the way I feel.

Like, that's her Great Barrier Reef. Like, she, like Josh, she's like, this is one of the great wonders. And I'm like, eh. And now we're going to take a quick break to hear from one of our sponsors. Family Trips is supported by Aura Frames. Hey, Pashi. Yes, Sufi. Mother's Day is coming up.

Sure is. And you know what's great about Aura Frames? I do. Oh, well then. And you know what's great about Aura Frames? I do. Oh, well then. Do you want to tell us? Well, I mean, it's a perfect gift because they are beautiful

Wi-Fi connected digital picture frames that allow you to share and display unlimited photos. And one of the nice things about Aura Frames is you can

preload them for your, let's be honest, our mom. And it's nice to have the ability to be able to upload photos remotely to her frame, to her delight and surprise, so she can look at the frame and a new picture can pop up of one of her grandchildren, of me and my fiance, some nice place I've been,

some dark room that Seth sits in all day. They're very hard to photograph because they're so dark. Hey, Pashi, what's your least favorite picture of my kids? What kind of picture? Where they have food all over their faces. You guys, right now, Aura has a great deal for Mother's Day. Listeners can save on the perfect gift by visiting AuraFrames.com to get a $30 off plus free shipping. $30 off plus free shipping on their best-selling frame.

That's A-U-R-A-Frames.com. Use code TRIPS at checkout to save. Terms and conditions apply. And you mentioned that a mom could get surprised by a picture that came up. Will you just quickly do mom being surprised by a picture? Also, clean your kids up. Oh, wait, we're back to that? Yeah. Just wipe their faces off, then take a picture of them. I know they're not good at eating.

Then you go. So you're how old when you guys get to Colorado? We are. I am eight years old. This is 98. This is, I'm coming from Montreal to Denver. I was convinced at that age that, because this is right after Columbine and JonBenet Ramsey, which both took place in Colorado. I was like, this is where people go to die in the US. And my mom was late to pick me up from school one day, like my first week in the fourth grade, my mom was late to pick me up from school, 10 minutes late. And I am hysterically crying because I'm convinced that someone like carjacked her and like murdered her just in the streets. Like I was so like,

I was so perturbed by like the idea that we were living in the U S which was culturally like, which wasn't even that different from Montreal. Materially. It was just like the concept of living in America was terrifying to me. Yeah. Wow. But here, but there I was. Yeah.

And you were, and that was before you even got there, you were just terrified about the idea? Yeah. Because it was, I don't know, like, there was just like, a lot of,

I think I was reckoning with like, death, because it was after Diana too. Like, it was like, murder was like, in the culture. And I don't know, like, I was like, a weird time the culture and i i don't know like i was like

weird a weird time to grow up i'm realizing what how was your sister with the move couple years older was she excited years older she was excited i think she i think she kind of i don't know assimilated slightly better because we were coming from speaking french all the time dirty rotten french like kibbeck pot french all the time to like i rotten French, like, kibbe kaw French all the time. I remember she walked me to school one day, like, my first day of school, she walked me to school, and she was like,

okay, so, in English, you call it a period. You end a sentence with a period, and it's a noun. She was kind of like doing quick translations for me for, like, grammar stuff into English.

And I, yeah, I don't know why that sticks out, but I indelibly remember that. But she, I mean, she kind of, I think she like found her people like pretty quickly and like she still is friends with those people from middle school, whereas I have completely cut off all contact with people from Colorado,

which is, I don't know what that says about me either. Yeah. Look, you got out alive. That's all that matters. That's all that matters. My oases were Gillette, Wyoming. And I don't know, like whatever house had like, yeah, like South Park on. I was just so like,

I just needed to like leave and get out of Dodge. Colorado is such a sort of natural playground. Did you take advantage of that? It sounds like you just wanted to be in a hotel room watching television. But did you do any of the sort of the rivers, the mountains, the forests, the sort of Colorado, what we think of as Colorado stuff? We kind of did. It was kind of just like what everyone did. Like you would come into,

you would go into school on Monday and people would be like, like the teacher would go out on the class and be like, what did you guys do this weekend? And then like half the class would be like, we went to Vail and totally foreign concept to us. By the time I was in high school again, like that's when my parents were like,

oh, I guess there are these things called ski resorts in the mountains and we can go to those. And we did. So what, but one of like the hair, like the trip that like stuck out to me when I was asked to be on this podcast was a trip to Yellowstone and also involves like maybe like the Great Barrier Reef.

Like, there was just a really harrowing incident at Old Faithful. And I'm coming into this whole thing, like, a notoriously bad storyteller with, like, a really spotty memory. And so, please forgive me if, like, this is such a lurchy retelling. Okay, great. I'm very excited. So, this was a time when grandma was here. My mom's parents had come to stay with us for about a year. I was 11, 12, and we were going up to Yellowstone. Why did they come for a year?

Was it just we want to see our family and our kids? Why did they come for a year? Was it just, we want to see our family and our kids? Okay. This was kind of a common thing for, at least for like Chinese families who could like pay for it, who had immigrated. Like we're getting grandma and grandpa, we're getting like the parents,

like the negative one generation, the zeroth generation, you know, to come and stay with us for an extended amount of time. We'll get them the visas, whatever. So they'd come. They really wanted to see the natural beauty of not only Colorado, but Wyoming and Utah and Montana or whatever. So we drove up to Yellowstone. We get told Faithful.

The movie The Way Back must have been mentioned on this podcast, right? That probably gets a lot of play on this podcast, right? The Way Back? The Way Back. It's that, the Nat Faxon movie about like the kid who's like in the back of the van. I know what you're talking about, but it has not first mentioned. Okay, really? Was it The Way Way Back?

The Way Way Back. I'm missing one way. Sorry. I feel like The Way Back was like some war movie. But yeah, Nat Faxon, The Way, Way Back. The Way, Way Back. I feel like people talk about those cars, but we haven't had a specific reference to The Way, Way Back.

That movie, that whole Yellowstone trip was that movie, basically, where I was just in the back, taking up the whole row, just, like, playing Game Boy and listening to, like, the Pokemon, the first movie soundtrack. But we were driving through Yellowstone, and we get to Old Faithful. Basically, what happened, the short version of the story is, my mom goes to goes to like pick up a brochure or something and she like splits off from the group but and then i kind of tag along to go with her but then i hear like commotion at the geyser and i turn and this is this is this is not like, this is not the ha-ha funny, it's quite harrowing, but I think there's a moment that I find hilarious, even though it's very stressful.

Grandma's on the ground. A fall has taken place. Okay. I panic, because it's my grandmother, I love her we've also established you where your mom was 10 minutes late to pick you up from school and you panicked so nobody thinks it's weird

that you panicked when your grandmother hit the ground this is the perfect sort of like concentric circle around that story of thinking my mom had been murdered I see grandma on the ground I'm midway I'm sort of between grandma and mom story of thinking my mom had been murdered. I see grandma on the ground. I'm midway, I'm sort of between grandma and mom.

And I turn and run to my mother and I scream, Grandma's dead! Grandma's dead! I hope our laughing is because she's not dead. Because she's not. Yeah, no. I'll be so mad right now if you're like, and she was.

And she had died. And I think my mom still hates me like a little bit to this day for doing that. Because she, for, I think for 45 seconds, she believed that her mother had passed away. Or that a terrible accident had happened. And basically what happened was, rolled her ankle or something and was on the ground.

And she was just in a wheelchair for about a week, and that was it. No big deal. But I... Was it... Yeah. Had Old Faithful gone off? No.

In that moment? We didn't even see it go. Like, it was such... I fucking hate Yellowstone. Can I just say, for that memory, and nothing happens when you're there, and the bison are going to kill you. Like,

it's so, it's such a bad deal. I love when I'm so lined up with a guest. Yeah. It's my dream.

Well, yeah. Bowen is very Seth. Yeah. I feel like that's what we're getting. I've still never been there and boy,

oh boy, I'd love to go. Would you love to go? The, the Yang family in the car, what are you guys speaking? We're speaking like language wise? Yeah. Mandarin. It's all Mandarin.

Okay. So it's all Mandarin. And so are your parents always like, oh, like, because you're so bad at it? I mean, no, you know what? We're such rotten kids. Because we would make fun of our parents all the time for their broken English, but they never, not once, gave us any guff for speaking terrible Chinese. And they could have.

I mean, our Chinese was so bad. I mean, yeah, now I can feel it slipping through my fingers. And if I don't use it every day, if I don't FaceTime my parents, I can feel it sort of, I can feel it slipping through my fingers. And if I don't use it every day, then if I don't FaceTime my parents, I can feel it sort of, I can feel the drop off. But back then, yeah, that's all we spoke. When you're all in the car going on a trip like this, are your parents pretty chill? Was your dad high strung?

High strung. I don't think my family knows anything about being chill and I love them for it right um now now now they're great now with like the grandkids for my you know now with my sister's kids like everyone's kind of like they are the focal point now like we've all sort of built everything around them and it's about just getting the vibe going for those people. But the car, the car was really, yeah, pretty stressful.

I was just, we were just like really obnoxious children who were, who only saw the trips as an inconvenience, especially the road ones. And did you and your sister

get along on a road trip? I would say for the most part because all we had was each other's company um but we were on very different like modes like i was very much into playing the game boy and she was very much about like putting like like managing the rotation of cds like, it had to be, like, five Celine Dion albums and then maybe one Backstreet Boys thing.

It was just, like, she was DJing. And this was okay with your parents to listen to Celine Dion? Yes. Oh, definitely for mom. I mean, coming from Quebec,

she was... Oh, right. All parties could agree that Celine was okay. and backstreet boys any pushback boys no i mean dad would get dad was so so patient but then by like hour five he'd be like can we please listen to some like sax heavy canto pop like you can just do do one hour of that cantonese pop yeah oh great so he So he brought his cultural taste from home. Yes, yes.

And there's some great tunes from really, really cool, funky-looking Chinese singers that I'm very grateful, I'm grateful to be exposed, that I was exposed to those people from dad. Yeah. I had never seen a boy band in my life and saw Backstreet Boys a couple years ago coming out of the pandemic at the Hollywood Bowl.

And I had so much fun. It was so great. It was like the nicest crowd I feel like I've ever been a part of. I saw zero instruments. I don't know if there were instruments in the building no problem and it was great it was really was a choreo forward it absolutely and they were i've never seen choreography as tight i feel like it was like i mean i'm sure i i haven't seen the rockets i know that's like yeah that's real sort of can get hypnotized by it but it was like

if someone's hand gestures started above their head and like finished at their waist and like snapped it was it was so tight and it was yeah it was great something about and all respect to the Rockettes and any female groups that do that dance in synchronization but something about men just doing the same like like five of them like because five of them dancing at the same time is so mesmerizing and it really like lights something up in me yeah when bts was the musical guest at snl on thursday at the rewrite table you can see monitor, you can watch the musical guests rehearse. All of us in the writer's room sound totally mute.

We're not hearing anything, but we're just seeing these boys pop and lock and do all these dance moves, and everyone just starts gasping and cheering. All of us tired, bedraggled writers just so invigorated by watching these boys dance in unison.

It's also like when they find people to be in those groups, they obviously have a set of skills that's like, oh, you're uniquely qualified to be in this.

You're a very good dancer. You're a very good singer. And so there's not, there shouldn't be a bad apple among them. It would be really good if there was one guy who was just, why is he here again?

Because his dad's the producer. Yeah. You guys, I feel like, I'm picturing you guys in your developmental days of like figuring out where your talents are. Like you two could have taken something on the road and like been like a dancing duo. You know, the thing we had that was not taken on the road,

but it was like our parents would make us do it for every guest, is there was like a K-Tel Motown commercial where it was like all the hits of Motowns and they'd play like, you know, five seconds from each song. And Josh and I could do the whole medley. Wow. And it was like a commercial that we sort of learned

because the commercial ran so much. It was on so often, yeah. And so we knew every, it was like a, it was a live, we would do a live mashup essentially.

I'll be there, stop in the name. It was like that sort of. Wow. We did, we should. Relearn it, Posh. Yeah.

You've asked me to find it, and I found the commercial and sent it to you. I think that's something. For our listeners, that's coming. Eee, wow. We'll have to do that live because there's always that little delay on Zoom. We could do it in the same space. Yeah. I do want to ask and then we're gonna

let you go but you talked about it last time you were on my show and you alluded to it so you do take a trip to New York and you do come to 30 Rock

and this is you are already at an age now where you are aspiring towards SNL it has a major

cultural significance to you is this something your parents are like let's go to New York for Bowen? Not at all. Because it was... And I wasn't even aspiring to SNL, I don't think.

Because, not to get all, but I was just like, I really never saw myself on the show. Because I was like... I mean, it was my favorite thing in the world. I never saw myself on it. Yes, right. Yeah, I've heard you talk about this i've like there are multiple people who multiple alums who have this attitude right like i like my my manager my first audition round it was just like my manager was like you should send in a tape i was like great i'm gonna have fun and

do whatever i want because they're never gonna to hire an effeminate Asian guy. And so I did my Michiko Kakutani. Like I did like all these things that I was like, no one is going to like, this is just for me. Anyway, the trip to New York was just for my, just so that my mom and dad could go visit Columbia for my sister. And we took like an NYU tour and it was just for colleges. But the stake that I had in that in that trip was just to go to 30 rock take the tour um I was very geeked out on visiting the Conan stage um and is that is that a g no that's six no it's on six it's, but across the hall from us. Yes. Yes, yes. And did that. I was like, it was like a huge Conan head at the time, still am.

And then that same day we went to the Gershwin Theater and then we could not afford tickets to Wicked. So I just stood outside the theater doors. Yeah. And now have your parents taken, how often do they take trips here to see you now? Pretty often. Or my mom's retired and so she really pushes for, she really wants to come at all times. And I really have to. Like, what do we do, guys?

Like, what guilt should I be feeling about being like i don't think you should come because i have a guest room in my apartment and she and that is the perfect way in for her to be like well i'll just stay and i'll clean the apartment for you like she's being so lovely about it but like i don't know how to feel does she want to come to snl she would love to come to SNL? She would love to come to SNL. She has been there for the Mother's Day show. Great. She's been on camera for the Mother's Day show. Combo guys, crew guys on the floor are always asking about her in such a sweet way.

She was a big hit with the crew. And now they watch every week, but I still don't know if they totally understand what's happening. Right. That's a tricky one because I will say think they, I still don't know if they totally understand what's happening. Right. That's a tricky one because I will say, one, I think it's really, you know, it's hard to say no to parents.

Two, as somebody who now fully appreciates how finite my time at SNL was, I do wish I could go back and have, you know what I mean? It's a different week when mom's there, right? I know. Do you live close to Chinatown? I don't. I don't. Okay. I was worried that you did.

I was going to say you have to move further away from Chinatown because maybe that's a draw for your mother. Oh, totally. No, but they'll come soon. And it's always lovely. And it's actually to go back to, um, like the sort of like social break, like breakout thing, like from, from the Australia trip.

It's like, now I do feel comfortable. I mean, like I'm going to go see some friends and get a drink. Yeah. Are you guys okay? Just hanging out at the apartment, at the hotel.

Can I make you guys a dinner reservation? Whatever. And then they're like, yeah, whatever. And they're very chill. Do they always come together? They typically come together. That's a nice. And then they're like, yeah, whatever. They're very chill. Do they always come together? They typically come together.

That's a nice thing. I will say our parents are the same way. Yeah, it's sweet. Sometimes my dad will be in New York for business without her, but it's very sweet how they do like to be together. Yeah. I think they will come here for the Culture Awards in June. This is the Las Culturistas Awards.

Where are you holding them? They are at King's Theater. It's a massive theater in Brooklyn. Big, beautiful theater in Brooklyn. If you guys happen to be in town, we would love to have you. I'm very excited. It's June. It's June 15th.

But if you guys are in town, would love, love culture. And we're celebrating very niche specific culture for two gay men in their thirties. I hopefully that can be enjoyed for all. I mean, well, I want to say that this is a podcast that I am very outside the culture that

you guys love and the way you talk about it, it doesn't matter that you don't know it. Wow. That's it. It's the joy of the way. It's listening to people speak of things with joy makes you really enjoy them. You know who I saw, by the way?

Who? I saw Michelle Williams. Yes. And I told her, I'm like, I don't know if you listen to Las Culturistas, but they had very nice things to say about you reading the Britney Spears book on tape.

And she was like, I mean, if you could imagine, like, Oh, that was a very good Michelle Williams. I can hear Lauren.

And I was a nonverbal. So, you know, definitely jump over to YouTube, everybody, if you're listening online, to watch my very good Michelle Williams. Excellent, Michelle.

That's really great. I think it's very sweet that your parents want to come, and I think that speaks very highly of you as a son. But thank you for that perspective, though, about just wishing. It's a different week when parents are here. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a different week. I will say my, I mean, again, I was on that show for 12 and a half years, and I think that was literally the gap between Mother's Day shows.

And there was a, and so my mom never, and don't worry, she's gotten plenty of camera time on a late night. But I do feel as though she was robbed from her... Yeah. You know, that was, you know, I think the Mother's Day show

is a really special thing and I think it's cool to do. They're very sweet. It's just very, it's very cute to watch them all talk to each other. That is the, I mean,

that's the part I wish I could have seen. Yeah, right? Oh, like watching like Ego's mom talk to my mom, talk to Pete's mom,

like it was just like, there was something really... Oh my God, and then Cecily's mom, talk to Pete's mom. Like it was just like there was something really. Yeah. Oh my God. And then Cecily's mom went out to dinner with my parents. And it was like, and then like both of us were on a pre-tape on Friday, like at 1 a.m. being like, our parents got like dumplings together. Isn't that so sweet? That's amazing.

All right. You, this has just been very special talking to you as it always is, Bowen. And now Josh is going to ask you some questions that we ask all of our guests. Yes. All right, here we go. You can only pick one of these. Is your ideal vacation relaxing, adventurous, or educational? Relaxing.

What is your favorite means of transportation? Train, plane, automobile, bike, boat? I am going to say, I'm going to say train. Train with like a surface to play like a card game on. What's your card game of choice? Okay. I just watched The Sting for the first time. And it's made me want to play poker.

I have no idea how to play poker. But we play this game. In Chinese, it's called me want to play poker. I have no idea how to play poker. But we play this game. In Chinese, it's called Zheng Chang You. But it's very, it's quick and it's fun. It's like, I don't know. I think I might start a club and really popularize it in the West. Standard deck of cards to play that game? Standard deck of cards, yes.

Okay, great. Deeply fun. I was looking at a card. I was playing like a dumb card game with my kids the other day. They nailed it, man. Whenever they nailed cards, they nailed it. Yeah. It's just everybody was like,

yep, this is good. We don't have to change it at all. No one was ever like- The world's over. Yeah. Nobody's like, what if the numbers went up to 20? It's like, no, this is good. We're good with this forever.

Forever. Excellent. If you could take a vacation with any family, other than your own family, alive or dead, fictional or real, what family would you like to take a family vacation with? Wow. I had this fantasy of being a Von Trapp child.

And so I'm going to save Von Trapp. Oh my God, the Julie Andrews episode. I know, right? Sorry. That's amazing. It was pretty. I'm still to save on traps. Oh my God, the Julie Andrews episode. I know, right? Sorry. That's amazing. It was pretty. I'm still agog. If you had to be stranded on a desert island

with one member of your family, who would it be? I, oh my God. I'm going to say dad because dad and I have done one-on-one trips together and have had great success in scrappiness. Were they just the Gillette Wyomings, or did you have other one-on-ones?

No, there were other, well, there were, and this is a little dark too, but like he would drive me down to Colorado Springs for conversion therapy. So those were fun trips. They were not fun trips, but they were, but like we would bond in the car. Like we would like, we would like,

it was like, it was like genuine connection that we hadn't had. And the circumstances and the context were so crazy and dark and bad and sad, but it ended up being okay. Were the drives home? Did you get a sense that he was, wanted to say, so how did it go?

I mean, did you talk about the actual therapy on the drives home? We talked about the actual therapy on the drives home because he was just like, am I getting what I'm paying for? Am I getting my money's worth? But it was just like a great time to just like put on music and

talk and shoot the breeze. Yeah. I imagine also with the subject matter sort of at hand that was brought to the fore, I think everything else is sort of easier to talk about. Yes, a little bit. Because of yeah, because conversion therapy is the whole reason for the trip. Right.

And I think he would he would go into these like beautiful of yeah because conversion therapy is the whole reason for the trip right and i think and i think he would he would go into these like beautiful i don't know like polemics about how like like the woman's body is the most beautiful thing in the world i was like by the way if my dad had done that it would have probably converted me to get like Now, do you feel like, because again, how many years later would you say acceptance took? God, it wasn't totally linear, but I would say basically, I want to say like 2017, 2018.

And how many years after conversion therapy was that? That was 10 years. Oh, wow. The how many years after conversion therapy was that? That was 10 years. Oh, wow. The full decade of like, oh, this is... Gotcha. Did your dad try to get his money back? He should have. He should have.

Didn't work. It is. I mean, again, that is a terrible reason, obviously. That is a dark reason. And yet, you do realize at the core, and it speaks to where you are with your family now, like, right, it was a bad instinct that came from love. Of course, of course.

And it's very sweet to think of you guys in the car and him, I don't know. There's something very loving about it. Oh yeah, no, it's all love. And we laugh about it now. Well, that's great. Truly. What do you consider your hometown? Is it Denver?

I consider it Denver, Aurora, Colorado. Yeah. Okay. And would you recommend Aurora as a vacation destination? Not at all. Okay. Very good. I like the guests that don't. We do have some guests where their answer is definitely not at all, and they put a lot more front on it, where they're like, no, don't get me wrong. It's wonderful. And I like that you just went right into it.

No. I don't think anyone from there. I mean, it's a lovely people live there. Absolutely. Too late. Too late. Too late. No, I'm saying no one would vouch for that to be a vacation destination either.

Yeah. I'd be careful if you went back after the way you just said. Plus, we also know you cut off all your middle school friends. And then Seth's got a couple finishers. Have you been to the Grand Canyon? I have. And is it worth it? It is.

I have very little memory of it, but I want to say yes. Interesting. Seth wants you to say no. I do. I mean, this is, we're finally diverging here late in the podcast. Okay, but Grand Canyon is different from Yellowstone

because it's just about like your view. Like you are seeing so much world from wherever you stand. Whereas the Yellowstone, I'm like, I have fucking trees in my way. You know what I mean? When you pull into Yellowstone, the rangers do say,

and sorry about all the trees. We're working on that. We're trying to get the world's tallest jail built here just to have something out there. But Chinatown got it. All right, so how old were you when you went? I think this was a leg of that Old Faithful,

of that Yellowstone trip. And I did remember enjoying the Grand Canyon more. So I was like, yeah, 11, 12. Grandma had just almost died. Well, certainly, I will like, yeah, 11, 12. Grandma had just almost died. Well, certainly, I will say, given the two, the two places,

it's better that your grandma took a Hederick at the geyser. What a delight it has been to talk to you, Bowen.

I hope it wasn't juicing a stone. Like, I hope I had things to give. You did. And you had things to give. You did. And you have more to give.

So just keep going. Don't feel like you're depleted. Thank you. All right. I love you, Bowen. Love you guys. Thank you so much. Bye.

Of course. Bye. Bye. Grandparents came to stay with Bowen long ago They took a family holiday, westward they did go They traveled up to Yellowstone, and while old Faithful steamed Grandma went down, he heard her groan And that's when Bowen screamed Grandma's dead! She took a fall!

He told his mom Didn't know what was going on Grandma's dead! He was a panicked kid Who feels bad about what he did Grandma's dead! She took a fall! But not really She was better within a week Dad, not what he did. Grandma's dead. She took a fall.

But not really. She was better within a wee. Pump those brakes for you. Tell Mom. Grandma's dead. She took a fall. She took a real bad fall. Yeah.