Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang - "Nomi Malone Muppet" (w/ Shalewa Sharpe)

Episode Date: May 5, 2021

This one's chuck FULL of the good stuff. The "good stuff" in question is, of course, culture and our guest Shalewa Sharpe, host of the new podcast The War Report (new episodes every Thursday!) is a damn expert on it. From the straight camp of Meat Loaf to the pop stylings of Ashlee Simpson and the aesthetic design impact of the recent premium streaming services' logos, there is nothing Shalewa cannot culturally dissect. She and the hosts get into it about Sesame Street and ask the hard questions about the block: Who is the biggest legend on the street? What is the deal with Snuffaluffagus? What is the true nature of the Bert and Ernie relationship? Do we, as a society, tolerate Elmo too much? And what can we learn about impulse control from Cookie Monster? All this, thoughts and reflections on Billie Eilish's new aesthetic, the music videos that had the biggest impact on Shalewa's life sartorially, the culture of clubbin', hideous aughts clothing and why we were dressing in it, The Circle season two, Queen Latifah, and the ancient rivalry between Verizon Fios and Spectrum wireless internet. So, yeah. Did we miss anything? It's Rule of Culture #128: "No!" Listen now, check out The War Report and follow Shalewa @silkyjumbo after you fall in love with her. You understand. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Listen to Haunting starting on October 22nd on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Look, Matt. Oh, I see. Wow. Oh, and look over there. Wow, is that culture? Yes.

Oh, my goodness. Wow. Las Culturistas. Ding dong. Las Culturistas Ding dong Las Culturistas calling I sort of have an immediate thing to ask you off the bat. Okay. So you know

how there's gay culture, there's straight culture and sometimes there's even some crossover. I think it's two circles and it's one tangent little point sometimes things make it in there but it's a really pinhead of a width there. You know?

Yes. It's sort of like there's housewives and there's business women. And sometimes there's a crossover in the middle. You understand? Just, just two circles touching kissing. Right. Exactly.

They're just kissing, but then there's Bethany in the middle and I haven't watched a new reality show and it's not what I'm asking about today. Yeah. Okay. I hear it's fine, but keep going. That sounds exactly right. That sounds exactly right. King. And, but that's, that's, that's the story. Before you get into this, that's the story of Bethany, right? Someone that you're

like, Oh my God, we love her. And then it just sort of like, it took a turn and you're like, okay, now it's averaged out to the median is fine. I would call Bethany Frankel effective, but to what end? Oh. And that's a rule of culture. Rule of culture number 34. Bethany Frankel. Effective, but to what end? You know?

And you know, now she's kind of become the person that she might've made fun of years ago. Oh, big time. When she was selling cookies in aisle four. In aisle four. Was that when she sold cookies or whatever? I don't know.

I'm sure skinny girl does muffins. Pastries. Pastries, you see. You understand. So you understand. You understand. So this, you understand. So this,

from runner for title of it? You understand. So this is sort of what I wanted to ask you about. So one of the things I think is like very much straight culture, but crosses over with gay culture is the artist Meatloaf. Becausehuh because i feel that meatloaf is he's he's straight culture and that he's a he's a male rock star yeah but he's gay culture and that he's drama and that he his song

is famously um it's all come back to me now which was then covered by the icon celine dion and so we really wouldn't have that song without a meatloaf to do it first. So I feel that there's some queer culture in here and straight culture. Now, do you know the song Paradise by The Dashboard Light? I don't. See, I actually reject the notion that meatloaf is or Paradise Light or whatever is straight culture because I was going to be like, I was going to do my apologetic thing of like. No, you never apologize.

I'm a child of immigrants. I didn't grow up with meatloaf. But nowetic thing of like, no, you never apologize. I'm a child of immigrants. I didn't grow up with meatloaf, but now I'm just like, no meatloaf is not gay culture. And I actually, but I don't mean to, I don't mean to like, yeah.

Undermine your whole thing. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Why am I doing that? It's okay. It's okay. Even though you're sort of glaring at me and shaking your hand, it's okay.

And the only reason I say, I think I make a valid argument that he is sort of a draggy, like male rock star. There's mellow to the drama. A hundred percent. And you actually have to also remember his performance with Catherine McPhee

on American Idol season finale when they sang It's All Coming Back to Me Now. And he was acting the song very hard. And Catherine, we thought that maybe she'd be killed during the performance because he was sort of acting the song very hard. And Catherine, we thought that maybe she'd be killed during the performance because he was sort of acting and singing so hard. So I do think there's like a lot to him that's worth it.

But I just want to say, I know every word of the song Paradise by the Dashboard Light. And the other day, I was out actually getting drunk with straight people. I was out getting drunk with- Dangerous. Very dangerous. And I was out getting drunk with dangerous very dangerous and i was out getting drunk with greta her husband abe greta sister emily and my friend my dear friend

ian who's is gay but hangs out with straights a bunch as well socially straight i wouldn't i don't know if i'd go that far but like certainly certainly interacts with straight people okay and the song paradise by the dashboard light came on and i was like oh my god classic song started singing it at everyone expecting everyone to sort of join in and they didn't and i'm realizing this might be a jaws thing where it's like only my like long island ass knows it because it played at every single sweet 16 we did not we did not establish the fact that draws is a long island specific piece of culture but you had said that it was and we're gonna you know what we're gonna ask the guest and i'm sure she'll agree with you because she no no no no the guest is the guest is cultured and i feel you know sort of she's very conveys

like an intelligence and a like sort of cultural literacy that maybe I don't have. But from my perspective, you said that sort of I know Jaws and didn't know Sound of Music because I'm Long Island trash and not worldly. I didn't say that. And you being worldly, girl. I did not say you were Long Island trash. Well. I don't say stuff like that.

You're being, you're like, you're whatever. I don't. Okay like that you're being you're like you're whatever i don't okay all right and your your argument i'm just saying i didn't realize that not everyone didn't know it's fine paradise by the dashboard light honey this this is actually no this is what no go say what you have to say this is something oh here we go i don't mean to i don't mean to make this about race oh here we go but this this is something this is something that like white people do with the western culture where they it feels like it's universal unto themselves and so they think that everybody knows paradise cove what was it okay so everyone let me just say something paradise cove is literally it sounds like a hot dating singles reality show what is it not this's not this. It's Paradise by the Dashboard Light. I can see paradise by the dashboard light.

Sort of goes like that. Ain't no doubt about it. We were doubly blessed because we were barely 17 and we were barely dressed. I mean, even as I'm singing it, I'm like, this is pathetic straight culture. We need to ask our guest.

She's going to be the tiebreaker. She's going to be the tiebreaker. But can I say, just because you made it about race, and you did, and you didn't quote unquote mean to, but you did, everyone at the table problematic. There are five people at the table. Everyone at the table, white. And they

didn't know the song. They didn't know the song. What are you talking about? Oh, at your table at dinner. I'm just saying, it's like your attempt to sort of make this about race false flops, bitch. No, no, no, bitch. Because everyone at that table was white and they didn't know what he was doing. Because actually when you grew up not a white person in America, you kind of don't go in with the

assumption that, oh, people know the shit that I grew up on. That's tea. That's tea. I gotta explain Teresa Tang to some motherfuckers. Not just talking about you. I'm talking about I'm just talking about people in general. Society. Can I tell you something? And I'm sorry I made it about race.

I actually don't apologize because everything is about race. Well, you already apologized. And you can't take it back. You can't. Did you listen to Girl in Red? I told you to listen to Girl in Red today. I listened to the entire thing today at the gym. What did you think?

What did you think, honey? I thought it was, I think it's really good. You were sort of being like, oh my God, this is brand new. I really loved it. I really loved it. I really loved it. I think it's so fresh. I'm like, this is like a new,

a new person coming into the scene with a really good album and really great songwriting. And she's like giving you like some innovations on like indie pop and pop punk. And like, it's really fun. That's all I said. I did not hype her out to be this new girl. All I, all I said was I really liked it.

I was surprised that you singled it out so hard because, because it's an excellent pop album. You're, this is like what you did with me with her. This is what I did with, I did to you with Olivia Rodrigo. And I'm, I know I'm completely on board.

This is, you're going to, you're going to stand girl in red in a month. I already stand. I, in fact, I was listening to it today and I was like, absolutely. I said the word absolutely. Absolutely. I already stan. I already stan. In fact, I was listening to it today and I was like, absolutely. I said the word

absolutely while I was listening to it. And so all I'm saying is I was surprised that you were so immediately on board with this because I feel like upon first listen I was just like, oh yeah, I've heard stuff like this before, but it's good. But she's

really threading a lot of things together. She did an interview in Vulture where her name like her what her main musical inspiration is guess who avril lavigne taylor close taylor swift oh she's huge taylor swift she's one of the biggest pop stars she goes into this whole thing about how like red was like an album like she was like a kid the girl in red when red when red came out and like Red like was fully formative culture that made her say culture was for her

and then like, and then Taylor even, Miss Taylor herself even went on stories and said, you gotta listen to this album, Girl in Red. That's huge.

I bet that made the Girl in Red very happy. Her name is Marie. She's Norwegian and that's all you need to know. She's Norwegian and so of course the hooks are gonna be solid. So she's made of pop music. It's part of her DNA. She's Norwegian. And that's all you need to know. She's Norwegian. And so of course the hooks are going to be solid.

So she's made of pop music. It's part of her DNA. She's drinking the water in Norway. You know who's made of comedy gold? It's part of her DNA. Our guest. Okay. What's the deal with our guest?

Our guest hosts, co-hosts the podcast. War Report, mama. The War Report. The War Report. She's got two incredible stand-up albums out i love stay eating cookies and so you're just out here so you're just out here stay eating cookies i was like i was like this person gets it on a cultural level because and she might i don't want to i don't want to step on her answer potentially for when we ask her the question of course but she is

sesame street queen oh major and and you know someone is good you know someone is like really really solid when they appreciate sesame tree culture and here's the thing no one talks about how funny sesame street is oh it's comedy genius it's comedy gold name another another group of legends group of legends they Name another group of legends. Group of legends. They are a group of legends. It's actually Rural Culture number 17. Sesame Street.

They are a group of legends. That got together on the street, on the block, on the Sesame. And they said, how about you go in the trash can. You go over there. You go over there. You go into the house. You go onto the stoop. They said, girl, you go in the window. This will be good. You go in the trash can. You go over there. You go over there. You go into the house. You go onto the stoop. They said, girl, you go in the window.

This will be good. You go in the window. Girl, you go in the can. Girl, girl. And your thing is you're going to be so nasty and mean. Now we all know it's a joke. Girl, your thing is you're tall. So you should be the big bird.

That's so good for you. Girl, I love your skin tone. Put on this cape and your thing is going to be like, you love numbers. Hey, girl, put those cookies down. No,

actually, keep eating the cookies. Keep eating the cookies. That's perfect. You'll be the cookie monster. Oh my God, we're building a cast. Oh my God, this is going to be so good.

Oh, this is going to be so effing good. We can't say, because the kids are watching. It's PBS, but we're going to, I think we're going to move to HBO someday. Yeah. Oh my God. I can't wait we're going to move to HBO someday. Yeah.

Oh, my God. I can't wait for the Sesame Streets to get filthy. You know what I mean? Sesame Street after dark. How rough does it get, I bet? A bit rough. A bit rough. You've seen her on the iconic appearance

on the goddamn Tonight Show. Oh, my God. You've seen her on Comedy Central, HBO. You're going to be seeing her everywhere. You're going to be listening to her each week on Thursdays when new episodes of The War Report come out cause you're about to fall in love and that's just that I don't make the rules at all neither does Bo Nyang

neither do I no I wish I could but I don't here's who makes the rules our guest Shalewa Sharpe come on oh wow that was lovely. Well, listen.

Hi. Hello. How are you feeling? How are you feeling? I'm feeling all right. Yeah? I feel good. Yes.

Can you break this tie for us? Have you heard the song Paradise by the- Dashboard Life. By the Dashboard Life. Here's the thing. I have heard it. Oh, damn it. But I don't, it is partially a, it's a little, it's a touch of a race thing.

It is a touch of a race thing in the way that like Sweet Caroline is. Got it. You know what I mean? You know Sweet Caroline. Of course I know Sweet Caroline. Yeah. But I didn't hear it being sung by people who looked like me. Do you know what I'm saying?

I honestly didn't hear that until my late 20s. I didn't hear Hotel California until I was about 21, 22. Right. I see. But I heard people complaining about it for many years. And then when I heard it, I was like, oh, this isn't bad.

So this is the issue with the Meat Loaf song is that it's a generational issue. Yeah. I guess my shock was that I was at a table drinking a boot full of light beer with straight people

and they did not know the song maybe i need to be more clear about that that these straight people didn't know this meatloaf song while i was drinking something that was you know light and a beer i mean that was it's definitely because they were too young to have taken that in in a. And it was kind of picked up in campier circles, which is surprising that that Greta didn't know it. But I just think it's so weird. I feel like she still should. But yeah, it was it was a man that the late 70s was a campy time. And we missed that.

Yeah, it was a campy time so And we missed that. It was a campy time so that a meatloaf could appear and you're like, oh, absolutely. Let's let drama club dude sing these songs with all of his heart. And tailor-made for something that will happen in the future where people will sing these songs in front of

other drunk people. This is our guy. This is what I was talking about this is the breakdown i heard analysis yeah yeah really good that's what it is but i i can understand why it would seem like maybe only people in long island had heard it because i but i think i i know it because of drama club people because of of chorus people in high school, and then because of karaoke. But then again, I also was around a lot of white folks.

That's certainly, I couldn't have turned to my parents and said, hey, have you heard this? That was not, the immediate question would have been, was it on Motown? No? Then no, sweetie. And the answer is decidedly no to that question. Unfortunately.

Unfortunately not. Remind us where you grew up again. I grew up in Atlanta. In Stone Mountain. Stone Mountain. Which is like rural, not rural, rural. No, it's like, it's about 10 miles

northeast of the city of Atlanta. But the thing with Stone Mountain is it's a mountain. It's like a hill, a big granite hill that's got Confederate Army heroes etched into the side. Got it. It's a non-rural Confederate hill? Yes. Yeah. Wow.

I mean, like people make trips there. And at the time that my family moved there the Klan was still doing rallies on the top of the mountain but then they switched it for like a family friendly laser show. And that's actually

the ideal replacement. That's the ideal replacement theory is when it comes to white supremacy. Yeah it's that you want to go laser show right make it friendly make it pretty make it for the family make it towards

you can close it out with Elvis singing Dixie yes and they would take a laser and they had the three Confederate Army heroes on horses and so they would take a laser and outline had the three Confederate Army heroes on horses. And so they would take a laser and outline the carving. The monuments are still there. Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah. They're carved into the side of the mountain and they're still the mountain still there. And the lasers would like outline the three of them on horses and then add legs to the horses and then have them like march off to lose, I guess. And and then they, you march off to lose, I guess. And then they'd shoot fireworks. And that's Stone Mountain, which of course, naturally, once some black people moved in, experienced wild white flight.

And now the population of it is mostly black. Oh my God. And Asianian and i think about to go through its own case of gentrification um because it's the only the gays are moving in no no i think they are we're the first gentrifier i know i know and so i think yes as housing becomes what it is i think the gays are moving out there. And I'm like, I can't believe I'm watching. I'm watching white flight and then gentrification in this area. And it's wild to think of.

But I'm also keeping that in mind in case maybe I need to grab a house down there or something. Well, they probably heard about the light shows, and you know, gays can do interesting things with light shows, too. That's true. You know, they love it. Lasers, just beaconing. Aesthetics, huge. The only laser I want in Stone Mountain

is the one that's gonna destroy the statue. That's gonna cut through the statues, dear. A laser knife, a blade. But I mean, look, they've switched up the laser show a little bit. They've added Outkast and the Indigo Girls. You can't. Outkast and the Indigo Girls.

They're like, how do we widen the tent? Exactly. Well, let's see. Who's from here? Coming from the lesbians, too. Wow. Not even hiding. Yeah. What I love is the,

I think the graphic for that is a, a lesbian climbing a mountain or hiking while they play closer to fine. I can't. It's too much. It's too much. It's a good song. It is. It really is.

They're all good songs. But this is what, you know, what always bothers me is like when when someone's song is being used and you have to listen and you're like do they know this is happening like

like whenever like there's like the RNC um like whatever and then an artist is like hi yeah you can't play my song at that like I feel like that's a slippery situation that is very slippery that's not what you meant for it that's not the life you wanted it to have no no i don't know why i misplaced stone mountain well i think it's because they named a 30 rock episode stone mountain where

kenneth goes back and it it's supposed to be rural and i think they named it that because donald glover was on the staff at the time and wrote oh right he is from stone mountain he went to like uh i didn't know his stone mountain experience um was like 10 years after mine but it was almost exactly alike in that you know you you go to a school there are a lot of white kids there um yeah you know and then uh and then i think he went to like a performing arts high school and my sister went to that performing arts high school like years before and so when i heard him tell a story i was like this i'm about to that's my life he's talking about but i yeah but you know i mean it happens when you're one of one of four And he probably still had more white people in his orbit than I did

in mine. They're hard to avoid. They're everywhere. I leave the chat. Bye, Matt. No, Matt feels very alienated. But Shalewa, you and I have had very, what I would consider, and it's completely my fault.

I remember we've had, I've had a conversation with you about the layout of Atlanta. And I was consider, and it's completely my fault. I remember we've had, I've had a conversation with you about the layout of Atlanta. And I was like, my sister lives there. And you're like, oh yeah, where? And I was like, Dunwoody. And I think I saw the light leave your eyes. No, that couldn't have been. Dunwoody's nice.

It is nice. It's lovely. It still counts. The thing is. It still counts. Yeah. When you say Metro Atlanta, you really mean the top third of the state of Georgia at this point.

Like, yeah, it's so big. It's so spread out. It's a lot like L.A. It's not as spread out as L.A., but the vibe is the vibes are similar. There are no borders. Yeah. Yeah. In L.A., I still feel like there's still a vibe where it feels like someone was murdered

in every other house but like in Atlanta you get an idea as to why whereas in LA you're not really sure you're not out in LA now are you no I'm in Brooklyn I thought

yeah it's good god I just feel like you were always like whenever we were having because by the way we should just say get ready for the end of this episode when Shalewa does the I don't think so honey because you are one of the best I don't think so honey-ers

and I feel like whenever I had to book a show I was I always thought of you because I fucking love you you're so funny and I just feel like you're the best and you did was Shalewa on Team Matt or Team Bowen in the coach war? I think she was on my team, right? I think so.

I think so, yeah. Was that Blue? That was Blue. That was Blue. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I do. Yep, that was it. We've been talking a lot about reviving Matt as a live show, perhaps, because it's time that Bowen and I finally face off again once and for all. Yeah, I think so.

I think the streets need that. Absolutely. The streets need that. Wait, speaking of the streets, speaking of the streets, the Sesame Street of it all, who is the biggest legend? Who? You're a cookie. No, we know that she's a cookie monster i like i see

you i do like cookie monster i it's tough because you know they're all my babies right they all taught me how to read i like um i like snuff snuffy snuffle and that he can just he just kind of somehow skirt skirts in and out yeah and people are never really questioning appropriately what he is. What's happening. Yeah. You know, he brings his little sister sometimes. Now, I remember when he was just Big Bird's friend and no one else saw him. Oh.

There was a time that he was only Big Bird's, and they thought Big Bird was making him up. Oh, what? There was a time that he was only Big Bird and they thought Big Bird was making him up. And so Snuffy would show up. They'd hang out. Someone would walk by. Big Bird would go, oh, wait, I'm going to go grab, you know, Gordon and then try to get Gordon to come back. And when he did, Snuffy had to go somewhere. And so everyone's like, OK, Big Bird. And so that was very frustrating.

Gosh, so there was a full arc for men for a long time you're in you're going crazy what do you see no one else can see yeah like i think their first like 10 years that they were on there was it was like he was an imaginary friend and then they um they made it so that um you did everyone did eventually meet Snuffleupagus, right? He became corporal. Yes. But there's a book that's like an oral history of Sesame Street. And I went to a reading that the author did, take questions.

And I asked, how did that switch happen where everyone met him and why why and um it must be asked and the author explained to me that oh around the time that they decided to make that switch was when um children were being abducted and so they wanted kids to feel like adults would believe them smart so they made it so that people could now believe Big Bird because they met Snuffleupagus. Interesting. That's so fascinating. Yeah, I was like, whoa, that's deep.

That is not what I was expecting. Really, really, really kind of crazy that that was the justification. Yeah, that they had to think that. But I'm glad they did because I definitely was a child going nuts every time they never got around to meeting Snuffy. Just screaming at the TV.

Like, he's right there. And he's simply huge. He's simply huge. He's a big, hairy elephant. Come on! And my dad going like, Shalewa, it's okay. This isn't real. What do you mean it's not real and he's like okay you have a very good point this is real to you yeah are we ready to call snuffleupagus a

woolly mammoth are we sort of ready to say that he's not tusked he's a hairy elephant yeah he's just a hairy elephant it's okay it's okay yeah you don't have to be categorized differently because you're a hairy elephant yeah still no so true here's another thing this is a very deep cut if there are any other sesame street people out there they will know i'm sure okay so there's a lot of talk of burt and ernie as a couple. Right. Right? I don't think they're a couple. Okay. I'm actually, I'm willing to believe

that they aren't. Everyone was very upset when the creator was, sorry, go, go, go, go. Yeah, I just think, I think they're just friends and roommates. Like, that's the vibe

I get from them. Yes, yes. But there's, there are a couple of construction guys named Biff and Sully. Do you mind if I Google? No, go right ahead.

I think there's a couple because one of them speaks for both of them. And I'm like, look at that trust. Look at that trust. Oh my god and it's not conflict it's not conflict-based yeah no no it's just you know i forget what twin talks like biff trust sally to you know what i mean and when they don't agree it just takes a look and then the other one's like

all right i hear you and then they yeah i really i like, that's the couple. I think that is, that's really the couple we should be paying attention to. Fascinating to think about. You think that it's not that there's no gay representation on Sesame Street. It's just that we're not popularly looking in the right place. Right, right. And it's actually queerer for the queer representation to be sort of tucked away, to be in its own pocket. Right, right. I think it's too

obvious. It's what people want because then they feel comfortable just loading it all on Bert and Ernie. It's got to be them, right? Right, because they're well-dressed. They sort of, you know, they have the sort of very straightforward ones, tall ones, small, that whole thing. And also

you're saying these two the Biff and Sully these are construction workers yes I'm looking at them now you should google them they're in a mask job and so therefore you know no one's looking at them like gay because we are not yes exactly they're looking at the wasps

of the street it's a class issue it's a class issue it is I feel like if you really see how they interact with each other and with others, you'll see the love. You'll see how it's held together. This is amazing.

This is the nuance that everybody needs. I'm not even kidding. I'm not even kidding because I'm looking at Biff and Sully and I immediately have flashbacks. I've seen together it's it is a beautiful relationship what however you want to characterize it biff is the chatty bottom sully is the cheer is the chill top it actually is functional it's it's it's this is this is the analogy that matt and i have been loving lately that a lot of people have been using in terms of couplehood, coupledom.

Flower, gardener. One's the flower, one's the gardener. Oh, that's nice. You're not getting that with Bert and Ernie. Maybe you're like, oh, well, Ernie's the gardener and Bert's the flower, but I don't think that applies. Yeah, yeah. It's too contentious. What I would say is that

I don't think that Bert and Ernie are a gay couple, but i think they've jacked off together i that's what oh yeah that's what i'm willing to say is that i think it's gotten to us especially during quarantine i'm sure something went down with burt and ernie during quarantine so i'm willing to say maybe they're not in a committed relationship but i think things are things have gotten to the point where we've explored it, especially after they hear it talked about so much. It's that thing of when it gets implanted in your own head,

it's like when people are like, well, they won't say about celebrities and then they're like, no, no, no. But then it's like, you gotta think about it. You have to. I mean, eventually, you know, David and Maddie got together on Moonlighting. You know what i mean

like it's gonna happen it's gonna happen it's gonna happen i think this is such an eye roll maybe but i think there's some movie pitch here where it's i've always wanted to do something with puppets but like two like some facsimile of burton Ernie in the movie world are roommates. It's completely platonic. Their whole lives, decades, they've been platonic. And then it's mixed in with the real world. And then they hear in the news media that the creator says that they were meant to be

gay, but then the workshop says that they aren't. So they're caught in between these two truths about themselves. And then what do they do? And do they fall in love? Do they not then what do they do and do they fall in love do they not right how do they truly feel you know yeah but when I think that's good I think that's really good

should we all do it should we I'm happy to drive I'm happy to have us all make it equally distributed work wise I'm into it I really do like that I think that's good the idea of them having to think for themselves because they didn't have to

before because they were told by the person who made them and by the workshop what to think. What to think. Exactly. Because they didn't actually have brains. Right. But now. Right. The Real Housewives of New York City are back for another bite of the Big Apple.

Look who it is. Joined by elite new friends. Rebecca Minkoff. Have you ever heard of her? But things could change in a New York Minute. She had this wild night and ended up getting pregnant by some other guy. What?

You told her? Not today, Satan. Not today. The Real Housewives of New York City. All new Tuesdays at 9 on Bravo or stream it on City TV+. For a limited time, switch to Shopify point of sale and you could save up to 20% and improve your bottom line. We're so serious about savings, we've made this ad 20% shorter. That means you get six seconds back.

Just enough time to visit Shopify.com slash POS20. Now that's an efficient ad. Eligibility requirements apply. See Shopify.com slash POS20 for details. Hey friends, I'm Jessica Capshaw. And this is Camilla Luddington. Hey, friends. I'm Jessica Capshaw. And this is Camilla Luddington. And we have a new podcast, Call It What It Is.

You may know us from Graceland Memorial, but did you know that we are actually besties in real life? And as all besties do, we navigate the highs and lows of life together. And what does that look like? A thousand pep talks. A million I've got yous. Some very urgent I'm coming overs. Because, I don't know, let's face it, life can get even crazier than a season finale of Grey's Anatomy. And now here we are, opening up the friendship circle. To you.

Someone's cheating? We've got you on that. In-laws are in-lying? Let's get into it. Toxic friendship? Air it out. We're on your side to help you with your concerns. Talk about ours.

And every once in a while, bring on an awesome guest to get their take on the things that you bring us. While we may be unlicensed to advise, we're going to do it anyway. Listen to Call It What It Is on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I felt too seen. Um, dragged. I'm NK, and this is Basket Case. So I basically had what back in the day they would call a nervous breakdown. I was crying and I was inconsolable.

It was just very big, sudden swaps of different meds. What is wrong with me? Oh, look at you giving me therapy, girl. Finally, a show for the mentally ill girlies. On Basket Case, I talk to people about what happens when what we call mental health

is shaped by the conditions of the world we live in. Because if you haven't noticed, we are experiencing some kind of conditions that are pretty hard to live in. Because if you haven't noticed, we are experiencing some kind of conditions that are pretty hard to live with. But if you struggle to cope, the society that created the conditions in the first place will tell you there's something wrong with you.

And it will call you a basket case. Listen to Basket Case every Tuesday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Can I just say, like, I think that because there was an understanding at the top that you love Cookie, I don't want to take the opportunity from you to talk about Cookie

because I actually am on record on this podcast as Cookie being my favorite Sesame Street character because I believe that Cookie is unapologetic about what he wants. Absolutely. Cookie, you know exactly what he wants and he wants Cookie. And I think that that is important

and I think it's about taking space. I think it's about urgency and I think it's about showing up every day and knowing your purpose. And I also think there's a little bit there about impulse control. Because sometimes it gets a little crazy when Cookie gets Cookie.

When Cookie isn't allowed to have Cookie. You know what I mean? It's crazy. But Cookie's good at acknowledging it. He's usually pretty good at just being like, you know how I am, Cookie. It's about emotional management. You know what I mean?

And I actually really admired that time when Cookie was trying out veggies. I remember that, yes. He was trying out a lot. He was trying out veggies and he was trying out wrap. And that's tough because he was rapping about vegetables. And that was a lot to take in that was a lot to take in

he was going in like a run DMC mode which is understandable but yeah but you know experimentation right that's what I'm saying you gotta do it you have to keeping an open mind for it absolutely

but cookie is also someone who has really stood the test of time really appeals to all sectors in every way um there's no one who doesn't love cookie i kind of i sometimes it it jars me a little bit but i'm kind of into the confidence of Grover. The quiet Grover confidence. The bravery. Yeah. He's very much whatever he's throwing himself into. He's just like, I mean, I'm the cutest monster here.

Let's do this. He really is. He's the best looking monster to me. You know what's interesting? I've taken it upon myself to google people were polled about who the favorite sesame street characters were and i have to tell you it's kind of a runaway it's it let's just say this is like a small sampling but of a hundred people polled cookie monster was by far number one followed right on his heels is Elmo and then

Elmo was trailed by Big Bird who's trailed by Oscar the Grouch who's trailed by Grover and then it's kind of like a collection of everyone else but Cookie really runs away with it and followed by Elmo that definitely makes me feel good because Elmo Elmo is a struggle

for me Elmo's a real struggle talk about that when he appeared it was a sea change for sesame street i feel right um he showed up around the time that like um helicopter parents showed up do you know what i mean and and a lot of um activities after school showing up and just a lot of elmo showing up being like three or four and speaking about himself in the third person really bothered me. He required a lot of attention. I mean, and he just he came in. He just it was too much.

He felt a little selfish. And I'm like, all right, that's how kids are. But then I remembered he's not going to grow out of it. None of them do. And, but I don't know what the lesson is to learn from that. And it just, I don't know.

It's sometimes he, and he took over, he got Elmo's world in no time. And I don't know if that's just really, you know, industry jealousy on my part of just, I want to be able to come in and take over a quarter of your show. It stuck out to me as a child too, up when elmo's world first came around i was like who does this person who does this monster think he is exactly child and i will not to get show

busy even further but elmo constantly playing to camera and it's actually annoying constantly checking in with camera like what should i do it's like just do it don't look at don't look at the don't you're spiking you're spiking you're looking at the camera stop live your life part of this i'm a kid i can't make decisions for you you have to make decisions for yourself i'm here to watch it unfold i'm not here to engage i mean i'm three you're gonna you're gonna do what you want you're gonna do what you want elmo and then if it's not what you should have done, I guess it's a lesson. Right. And also, don't forget,

I mean, let's not forget, one of the most lethal toys ever created. I mean... Did it actually hurt kids? It was shaking, and the kids were shaking with it. Shaking and quaking. And also, the parents were fighting each other.

So, you know, I mean, the violence came from on high all the way down. Have you seen this first? Have any of you seen this firsthand? Like a child being so deeply pathologically obsessed with Tickle Me Elmo that if you took it away from them the parents would fight. The parents would actually have a meltdown in front of guests, in front of me. Oh no, no, no, no, no, no. This is different.

And actually, Elmo is bringing a cursed energy into the space. Yeah, yeah. It's too much too soon with Elmo. It's too much too soon. And I don't, I mean, I'm not saying he's going to spiral, but, you know, there are a lot of young

Muppets just around the corner. You know what I mean? Coming up, it's going to be showgirls. Yeah, I mean, as soon as that Nomi Muppet comes rolling through, it's a wrap. You're going down the stairs, baby. See ya in physical

therapy elmo this epitome of that is nomi malone muppet nomi malone muppet that nomi malone muppet honestly when when when that was out when when the tickle me elmo was out i remember it was on like it was on like um like like local news it was like you won't believe the stampede like 18 injured and tickle me elmo like early release it was like and then there was that culture when we were little of like remember every christmas there'd be that one toy that one toy like it was if it wasn't tickle me elmo it was the furby or it was like and then i remember when when there was like the video game console wars like when ps2 came out now it's like still happening i guess i'm not as keyed into it but i remember like feeling like a responsibility

as a child almost to not ask for that toy just to evade danger yes you don't want them out there in the streets fighting no no i mean you you get that they love you but you don't they it doesn't have to come to fisticuffs it doesn't i i trust my mother with a lot of things i don't trust her to be throwing hands for toys no not at all when i was uh when i was a kid okay when i was a kid, the big thing were adoption dolls by Xavier Roberts in Atlanta. And he sold them and they became Cabbage Patch dolls. So this was just before Cabbage Patch. They had an origin story. Yeah. There's a hospital, Babyland General, in North Georgia

where you can go and watch Cabbage Patch dolls being born from the cabbage patch. You can watch them being plucked from a cabbage patch. Were the Cabbage Patch kids real cabbage? Yeah, they came from a field. There were

people who were hired. They had on scrubs. You could go and they'd hold up the doll. And then you adopted one of those. This is sick. Until I'm assuming until the pandemic, this place was open and open for business. And so the whole thing was that you could get Xavier Roberts. I guess he signed the butt of every doll or whatever that was made and um and so that before they became cabbage patch dolls and were made widely they were like locally in

atlanta and when i say these women were it knocked down drag out every night a body count every night on the news for these adoption dolls and my mother at the time was just like i didn't even want an adoption doll but she was like well i mean my baby gets adoption dolls so she knew a woman who could make them oh no you don't want that though she had she had homemade adoption dolls made for me and my sister, which she named for us because you have to fill out paperwork because they've been adopted. And she named them with our middle names and then had little baby dolls made for those dolls. Like it was a whole she was giving us a whole family. And I was like, I truly just wanted books like i i love you

but yeah i hope you didn't fight someone for this and she's like no no i know a woman you know you know i didn't fight someone i killed someone i took someone's life for this this is a blood cabbage patch yeah so so it made no difference to you whether or not it was an authentic Xavier Roberts adoption and actually that has served me well because I'm not big into name brands oh I admire that

so luckily and I think it starts with that adoption doll I think it does I think it starts with this toy culture where it's like you gotta get it you gotta get the hot new thing does i think it's it starts with this toy culture where it's like you gotta get it you gotta get the hot new thing and i think that's like i've been like fully brainwarmed by that that logic and like it makes no sense yeah yeah and also for again something that's not that good like tickle me emmo it's like you know what it's gonna do yeah it wasn't

like the furby where it was like you know this fur could, you kind of get it with the Tamagotchi too, the Furby. These things that were popular in the 90s that like, you were like, oh, well, that's going to develop a little bit of a personality. There's going to be a sense of responsibility. It's like, you get that you can engage with it. The Tickle Me Elmo, you tickle it, it shakes. That's it. Yeah. Yeah, that's it.

That's all it. But, you know, he's a simple creature after all. Like that basically, you know, he was just throwing anything. What if I just laughed a little? Yeah, I imagine Elmo with a cigar, like in a conference room, coming up with ideas on how to, you know, get these kids money. Well, he's meeting with HBO now. He's like, I want to fuck on camera he's like i almost like i want to fuck on camera and i want this show to be i want this show to be raw and real yeah and they're like i don't know we were thinking it was maybe a show

where like you go to the water park like you know you feel sad because you drop an ice cream cone he's like no i want to fuck and i wanted to be guys girls he's he's like i i want to show everyone who the elmo really is and like okay maybe we'll like, I want to show everyone who the Elmo really is. And they're like, okay, maybe we'll circle back. I want to do key bumps. No props. The real thing. He's like, Elmo's like, have you heard of the K-Special?

The K-Special? Man, but what is Elmo like high? Like what is a tweaking Elmo do we want that I want that doll give me that doll this is another show we're in development on this podcast we're truly pumping out the hits

oh my goodness I'm taking notes there is something generative about like Jim Henson anything Jim Henson you're like there are so many it is so like in like it inspires so many different things i just is that your relationship with jim henson or are you specifically oh no i am i'm uh i like jim henson stuff i i'm uh i definitely love the muppet show and things related to that. You know, I mean, because that was just like weird vaudeville for children. Yeah. Yes.

Amazing sketch. Yes. So that's just a lot of like how I figure out. That's how I figured out like comic timing. And, you know, I'm like, yeah, I love, you know, literally Waka Waka. Like as a child. Waka Waka a Waka Waka Waka child. Yeah, all of that. Just the corniest jokes.

It's a classic. Well, there was nothing funnier than when Miss Piggy would say, Hi-ya! When she would say, Hi-ya, you were on the floor every time. Every time. Name another legend. Miss Piggy was it before it. Yeah.

Okay. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And also, really, one of the most iconic divas. Like, they talk about divas. No, you have to talk about Miss Piggy. Yeah. Yeah.

And fully accepting of, like, just the various looks. The looks. I mean, you knew what era we're talking about when she had like the barbara streisand perm um you know that was a look yeah i was gonna say bob mackie yeah that woman would be in bob mackie garments it's wild it's wild uh this yeah a puppet things that we the general public would have to like pay thousands of dollars to even look at in person miss piggy was draped in it yeah swimming her whole vibe was a fainting couch her whole vibe is just the faith it was mariah before mariah absolutely oh the influence there is immense. Yeah.

But there's something meaningful here. Yes, absolutely. But there's something meaningful here where it's like if you were to walk Miss Piggy down the runway at a fashion show for Gucci or Christian Cowan, it would not be ironic. It would not be like, oh, haha, a puppet. It'd be like, oh my god, that's Miss Piggy.

Yes. Absolutely. Victoria Beckham wouldn't crack a smile she'd be like i like the hem on that if miss piggy was walking down she was like that's really interesting we're gonna get six of those exactly you i mean you may get the you know with posh you may see that she's thinking about a smirk. And that's really... That's the highest praise you can get. 100%! The thought of maybe of a smirk. She's like, I like the humor of having

Miss Piggy on the runway, but most importantly, I like the way she was wearing the clothes and the clothes weren't wearing her. That's really the vibe. That's a very good accent. Thank you so much, King. From you? King? From you?

King? From you, the accent king? Sketch legend. Oh, my God. Shut the fuck up. For your consideration. For your consideration. Wait, we have to ask Shalewa,

because I do think this is, I don't want to foist onto you the Sesame Street, because I'm sure this happens very often with people. I'm sure they, like, are begging you to talk about Sesame Street. Oh're begging they're clamoring i of course they would be i love it i do love it i do love it but we're gonna we're gonna ask you what is the culture that made you say culture is for you that made you say culture is for me the formative culture pop culture whether it was music books film television it, television. It can be Sesame Street again. We can keep going down this path. It can be other things.

This was a tough one. I thought about this a lot because I knew it would be a music video because music videos are so important, right? So it was hard. I narrowed it down to two

music videos and I didn't want to do obvious choices i wanted to think of ones that really did like hit me in some way yeah you got a zig when you're supposed to zag right right you understand so basically there are two music videos and i just revisited them to make sure i'm not going crazy and I'm not they really did they really do kind of have a hold on me uh the first one is uh for my aesthetic for aesthetic reasons um the cruel summer video by banana rama oh my god right the whole thing I'm trying I've been trying to do that for so long and I'm I think I'm there I think I'm there but it's you know yeah i mean so are you are you an overalls queen i'm not an over i i'm not yet an overalls queen but the

where the pants fall like they're a short pant with a white sock and like a a sensible shoe a sensible flat they're either kind of pleated so they're kind of baggy just that whole 80s roomy yeah it's kind of you know shirts are uh disheveled hair is a mess but there's a red lip right and you're just constantly futzing with it you can't intentional casual yes you can't dance but you can walk to the beat down the street. That's me. That is me. Absolutely. Walking to the beat down the street to the Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier.

Right. Yes. Yeah. To look at the skyline. It's absolutely. Because before that, I was super into Cindy Lauper and Boy George and David Lee Roth from Van Halen. You know, all the classics. All the things. Camp. A lot of camp. A lot of camp. But I knew that those looks weren't sustainable.

Right. Sure. You know, it's so much face washing, you know, like really the skin care of it all is going to become an issue. Yes. Exactly. But what they were doing, I was like, I can do. That's doable. And you can Matt you know you can throw some leg warmers in there

I'm big on leg warmers so so I definitely was just like this is my this is my look well this is back this this whole aesthetic it is back in fact last week I on the podcast during the recording

was wearing a jumpsuit. Or a jumpsuit. Oh, that's beautiful. And it's because I'm fully re-soaking back into this aesthetic that you're discussing. And will we call this a drop crotch, I guess? Where it's just, how low is the crotch? I mean, in the images I'm looking at, these crotches are some low crotches. We're talking about the video.

Oh, yeah. No, no. They're just a baggy pleated pant, I think. They're just baggy. They're just baggy, but they still cinch a little at the bottom. I don't, it's just, it's a whole thing. I showed it to my, I showed, like, a clip of it to my roommate earlier, and I was just like, I think this video might be kind of why I am what I am.

And I just kind of sent him a clip and he immediately was like, oh yeah, look at where those pants fall. Like that's absolutely right. And he knew his eye went to the pan immediately. And he's also like considerably younger than me. So he didn't grow up with cruel summer. It was a first time

he was really seeing it he was like oh yeah that's absolutely your essence so i feel like i was nailing that we love that yeah it's so interesting to like to think of baggy i just said baggy closer back in and then the baggy queen herself this week billy eilish was like just kidding i'm in lingerie now so again she zigged when she zagged no she's doing she's doing exactly what she's supposed to be doing yeah she's right she's 19 she's willing to let you see cleavage i mean i remember and a tattoo and it's you know it's it's clockwork at every every um uh white girl or anyone with any proximity to white girls growing up uh you have to make that decision are you betty page are you marilyn monroe so interesting so she's she's making

that decision she's doing that and then as soon as you hit 19 not 18 um because 18 yeah no well at 18 if you've been a baggy person like your teen years um and you're you're uh you're a woman and you you're you've been wearing stuff over your chest is probably big and you don't want anyone to see we're in big clothes um at 19 is when you're like, no, I'm ready. I think I'm ready. You're so right. She's on track. She's absolutely on track. When I saw the cover of British Vogue, I was like, yep, that's absolutely. I flashback to me in a cat suit with a see-through baby doll dress at 19.

Yes. When before I was dressing like, you know, like a banana. Yeah. And probably probably saying I'll never dress like that. Never look like that. Similarly to what Billy had been saying. This is so interesting. And I will I will say just for the sake of this point,

not in like a gross way, like big naturals. Big naturals. She's got she's got big naturals. Yep. She's Vava Boom. Yeah. She's Vava Boom.. She's va-va-voom. She's va-va-voom. So she's going to move awkwardly with them for a little while. She's just going to be like, I guess they're out now.

I don't know what to do. And she hasn't figured out. She's got the look in that she's got everything made for her, but she still doesn't know yet what to do with her face. Do you know what I mean? Yeah. So she's still, I think I know what you mean. So she's still kind of like sullen youth while giving you bombshell from the neck down, but sullen youth. And it's like, I'm like, man, once you get all that together, that's going to unlock another

thing for you. I hope you will be ready for it it but i see you fumbling with the keys right now i see this is perfect i see you and i i can't even like i know what's going to happen they're going to be a gajillion think pieces about is she even ready to do this and blah blah's not an acting out. No. It's part of the journey. The development. It's part of the development. This is all, this is absolutely how this should go.

And we should treat it with grace and not like shock. Like, Oh my God, how dare she put on a tight t-shirt? No, this is what, this is what we're supposed to be doing. Yeah.

Yeah. And also I don't like the way people are treating her now where it's like, Oh, she said she'd never do this. She's selling out. Like now what, what is, what is the message? It's like,

you know what? Like shut up, please. Also let women dress. However, they fucking want to dress. Absolutely. How did we not see this coming?

She had the nails on for two years. She's been telling us. All those t-shirts were expensive ass t-shirts. Those were cheap t-shirts. Yeah, she was going to show up in a corset. Come on, bruh. She was wearing the Gucci and the Off-White and everything. She knows fashion.

She understands fashion. Absolutely. It's not that she doesn't know what she's doing. It's that she is moving into this new sartorial thing at it where now she's like unveiling something. Yeah. That we have not seen of her yet. And I think it's very exciting. But actually, I think the blonde bombshell look, but still like the sullen face is actually an intentional sort of choice that she's mixing.

And it's like, oh, because it is because Matt and I were at Universal Studios last week when she came out with the album art and the trailer for the single and all that. And we were like, wow, this is kind of something we have seen but haven't before. And then the British Road cover, I was just like, oh my God, like this is, this is very calculated. I don't mean that in the pejorative. I mean, it's very thought out. Right. Intentional.

Yeah. She's definitely moving it with intention with it. And I was watching where she answers questions for Vogue. And so she's still, she's sitting on a couch. It's perfect, everything. And then they show like a celebrity asking her a question. And then her face is so alive and animated. And it's just like, I mean, that's in there.

That's in there, too. Yeah. Yeah. And so, I mean, when she gets to screwball comedy, you know what I mean? When she's taking a superstar. Yeah. She's got it. I love her. I think she's she's a superstar she's got it I love her I think she's capable of a lot and she

also has I think that she has such a gravity and she's always had such a gravity since the beginning that I think that that was I think why when we saw the photo of what her new aesthetic was for this album cycle

we actually laughed because we thought oh this is so smart like the way that she was like now blonde and she turned to camera looked dead in the eye of the camera and was like basically saying fuck you with her eyes like i kind of thought oh maybe is this a comment like i don't actually want to be in this but i am i think we need to hear more of the album to find out if there's if if there's actually something going on it could be anything i still think the jury's out on what is being said i think that um the i they had just that very short audio of the title track of the album happier than ever where it's like when happier than ever when you're when i'm not with you or something i'm happier than ever and it's very like it's very lynchian it's very lynchian it is that's perfect and so i was immediately just like what i need to hear the rest of that song because that's

a banger i can tell already. So I hope that's where... I mean, if she wants to do torch songs, she could go that way. She could go full on pop. She can keep murmuring into a mic, whichever one she wants to do, and it'll all still make sense. But I mean, I can't wait to see what is next.

But it also is just like, yep, we're right on schedule. We're trucking along. Let's, you know, let's not try to derail her with thoughts of like, how could she? Of course, she could. We all do. This is happening in every neighborhood. Yeah.

Every neighborhood. There is some 19 year old who's just like, I'm going to get the longer acrylics. Do you know? And I'm going I'm going to I'm going to branch out in some way i'm going to wear a crop top it's happening to all women of all sizes too so don't think that it's not everybody is doing something where they're just they they're trying to switch it up because it is a time of extreme change you know until the saturn returns or whatever but but yeah. Sure. Right. But your comment about her face too, like it's all there.

Like you're so right. I mean, this is such a weird thing to reference, but she loves the office as we know. And she, there's a video of Rainn Wilson, like meeting her. And she is so genuinely excited and delighted and surprised that you're like,

oh, so like, that's like the essence of her in some way where she's just like, actually like a very animated person. And she's funny and she's, she she's got jokes and she's she just does her bits and you're like okay so this is like a very manicured facade yes you know yeah and it's gene and it's genius yeah yeah yeah i watched that documentary uh that was on i still haven't it's it's pretty good it's pretty good there's a scene where she meets uh justin bieber and the way that she plays it was very touching it was very touching it was hilarious but also very touching um but also like what do you do in that what do you do in that

regard like when you meet someone huge you know you just however you want to act and you you try to play it cool but then you can't anymore or you know so like do you lose all faculty and how do you if you know you're losing all faculty on the inside how is that being yes how do you pull it together and then how do you just let it go and you see her do both of those things so it's really um it that part was like maybe my favorite part just like seeing someone trying to keep it together and then also losing it and like just you know i'm like that is the dichotomy though isn't it though because i watched a little bit of it and i not because i didn't like it just because I only got to see a little bit of it but I thought one

thing the number one thing I got from it was she's a kid like she's young and I think that there is like a lot of there is a lot of depth there and a lot of gravity there and a lot of genius there you might even say but she also like her personality is she is a kid or she was a

kid when this was filmed and so that to me was not it's almost weird to say that was the most surprising revelation from it because she is young like literally on paper she's a she's a young person right um but she has a kid youthful vibe right and i thought that really read that came really came through i want to know what what was the second music video that you that you had on the second music video is um self-control by laura branigan okay i'm not familiar you might have to educate us okay so um laura branigan had a a big hit song in the 80s called gloria and uh oh sure yeah yeah that one and then her follow-up was a song called self-control which i think was like a a cover of like an italian pop song i believe but um but the uh you know and it's just about it's just your basic song about a dude who makes you kind of lose your control when he's

around and all that stuff but it's also about you know being out at night and uh mystery and this guy and you just can't control yourself when you see him so the video is kind of along those lines as well and it's literally what i thought being an adult would be like. So it's just you get dressed up and you're off the shoulder sweater dress and you walk the streets of New York, which are clearly inside. And you encounter a guy with a full mask on. A Jabberwocky mask I'm seeing on Google. and um and you you then follow him to a underground uh like orgy of some sort and everybody's in uh unitards which i also thought would play a very big part in my life i thought dance clothing was going to be the reason for the sea that's what all adults were doing and um and you know you end up hooking up with this man of mystery, and it's just very seamy.

And you end up in, I guess, maybe a New York apartment with lots of drop cloths everywhere. And then the guy has his way with you, and then he disappears into the night, and you just think fondly of it, and then you do it all over again. And I thought that's what being an adult was like. And then I probably forgot about it. And then I spent a lot of my twenties and thirties doing just that, like, like dressing up and going out dancing many times a week. And then,

you know, just like in underground clubs and just like, yeah, we're doing it. We're adults. Let's, you know, and it's doing it. We're adults. Let's, you know, and it's, it's a wild video. It's by 80s. You know what I mean? Just, I really thought that's what, and it had such an effect on me. I was just like, yeah, this is absolutely what being an adult

is like. I have a couple of questions. These are incredible answers to the question, by the way. But okay. So when, so in your twenties, when you were going out, was there some background context to what you were doing where you were like, I am doing this and it's fulfilling this desire and this fantasy that I've had since I was a child where I would, I'm doing self-control or, or is it, was that, is that fair to say or no? The realization came later. The realization. It was implanted, but it was not conscious. Gotcha.

Yes, exactly. Cause I started going out like while I was still in high school, I would go, you know, out to clubs where you, you're supposed to be this age and you're under that age but you look cool so they let you you know how it is you look you're wearing all of the black necessary you know come on in come on in you're fine and um so i definitely all of the blackness and so. The bouncer sees you dressing the code. Right, yeah, you know what's up. And that's tough because when I was going out, like as a teenager, a very strict cool person dress code

were black and white striped stockings. Real life. No. Yeah, that was. That's going to be a tough one. That was tough, but it was necessary. Preferably thigh highs if you had them. You know what I mean? It was a tough, hey man, it was a tough time. That was tough, but it was necessary. Preferably thigh highs if you had them. You know what I mean?

It was a tough time. We all thought we were Susie. We thought we were Susie and or the Banshees. You know what I mean? We all were here. We all were Depeche Mode. We knew nothing. And but yeah, so I just continue to do that.

And at some point, I just remember seeing like people writhing around on the floor, like I'm standing up against the wall and I'm watching people dance in the club. And I'm like, wow, I've been doing this a long time. You know, out here dancing and also watching people dance. This is kind of wild that this has been my life, that I really look forward to this. Like I. Right. Yeah.

And then. It is. It is nice. It nice it is nice it is nice and I miss it and I'm deeply I do and I I would like to get back to it but I I moved to New York from Atlanta and I never even I just came here and immediately started doing comedy like the reason you moved was comedy so do that and then i was starting to get to a point where i was like i should try to see where people go and you know nod their heads to hip-hop or something right and then you know the whole the whole place shut down i was like okay sorry i had that thought i'm sorry everybody i'm sorry i shut it down i know it's all back it might be a fun summer it might be so they say go to an outdoor lot or something yeah you know there's there there are safe ways to do it you can find it yeah they're out there

it's out there um my second question really and i think you can answer this very quickly for both cruel summer and self-control did the music really matter or was it just purely about the storytelling and the aesthetics of the of the videos um both of them are uh both of them are bangers but i think for uh cruel summer it was the aesthetic and um self-control it was both because self-control is a banger it really goes hard it does so i will say the aesthetic from from Self Control that I actually think is still a look, but I know no one is doing it, is an off-the-shoulder sweater. Oh my gosh. I love it. I think that is stunning is just a one shoulder

moment and like a sort of what would you call this like an exaggerated turtleneck you know what I mean like where it's like folded down you know what I'm saying yeah I think the exposed shoulder one one exposed shoulder I am about it I'm about that I think

it is still like a slightly classy thing to do I'm like it's versatile well people would still like a slightly classy thing to do. I'm like, it's versatile. Well, people would be like, ooh, retro. But I don't want them to say that. I want it to be ever-present. It's timeless. It's timeless.

It just belies like just an ease with all surroundings. Like, I'm so chill at this party, at this wedding. Most confident award. Yeah, I'll just show you a shoulder and it means nothing. This is fleece or this is complete glitter. None of it. It doesn't matter.

Yeah. I'm so chill. And it's clavicle culture. It's clavicle culture. You know what I mean? clavicle culture. Clavicle culture. It's clavicle culture. You know what I mean? Clav-culture. Declate. Declate.

Declate. Honestly, it is that. And I used to, you know, I used to always like be, because I don't know, maybe this is like a- You have a good, I think we all have good clavicles in this room. But I used to not like that I had a pronounced clavicle. And then when I got into my 20s and like we would ever, in this room but i did not like that i had a pronounced clavicle and then was like when i

got into my 20s and like we would ever whenever we would do like uh like whatever bone and i would i would do a drag thing like which would happen every now and then like i remember night soap we wore those like we were wearing those like off the shoulder things because we were we were wealthy women in the 80s yes yeah and so it was dynasty was the reference and so i was looking at my clavicle and i was like oh my god this is the this is the carrington colby clavicle this is exactly right this is period yes this is a period clavicle this is exactly right and now i can move on with my life it's so languid it's just yes ah you know, like you're that close to just melting everywhere. It's just beautiful. It's so

graceful to me. This is a reference that Matt will appreciate. It's Wildest Dreams. Thank you. I love Wildest Dreams. It's a Taylor Swift song. It's our shared vocabulary. Okay, alright. It's also a Taylor Swift song. It's our shared vocabulary. Okay.

I understand. But it's also a language. It's a language song. Yeah. Okay. It is a language song, but it's, I think one of the most active language songs, certainly in the Taylor Swift canon,

maybe in the pop music canon. As of in the last 20 years. Right. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. That's kind of. To be language and also active and intentional.

That's hard. Yeah. It's a tough line to walk. It is. I don't know. I feel like we're losing some of languidity? I don't know.

Or we're calling it vibes. I don't know exactly. That is the thing. So where do you stand on the vibey music versus music that hits? What's your deal?'s i i like a bridge so i i wouldn't mind if we brought back a bridge or two you know what i mean i think i i

wouldn't mind if there was more there are some people like some vocalists where i'm just like oh wow you sound great i'm gonna listen to what you've got and then i'm like i did a song end like yeah bridgeless yeah there's nothing that's really kind of you know we're putting a lot we're putting a lot on the vocalists to come up with the melody and maybe that's not necessarily their thing and we need to bring in someone who can stare you know what i mean like sometimes it's it's just not it i i need a little structure i i need something to react against and a bridge is a great way to like really rile up emotion that oh absolutely i mean so you would actually love to do you like tell her you know what i've

never really messed with her you try messing with her just a little bit we understand yeah because she is a bridge queen okay all right well you can tell she loves you can tell she loves writing them and she's even said you know she's like i love writing she's a bridge first bridge forward artist is it safe for me to move in with her lowercase album can i can i move in with lowercase records or should i start earlier the lowercase records are actually ones where she's being more experimental with the structure. She's doing what a lot of the new girls are doing,

the new kids are doing, where they're erasing the bridges altogether or the songs are very loose and ambient. Oh, okay. Try 1989. Try 1989. That's great pop music. It throws back to the late 80s, early 90s,

and it's very that Phil Collins thing, but she does big bridges it's like big bridges and yeah that and i would also say reputation of course okay all right the reputation too reputation goes hard a lot of great bridges and great bridges but the thing i think nowadays is because the songs perform better on Spotify when they're shorter, they cut the bridges have gone away. In popular music today, right now, the bridges are absent because they like a

lot of tracks and short songs and that's what gets... So that it streams better so that there's more, so that there's just more better streaming numbers. Oh, that's a shame because I really do like a bridge. You know what I mean? It's just there's there's such a power in, you know, even if you're not doing a modulation,

just at least give me a little bit of a switch. You know what I mean? Yeah, they're fun. They're so much fun to sing in the shower, whether or not I can hit it. Yeah, of course. Oh, The Bridge to Pieces of Me by Ashley Simp. Come on. Okay. Wait Simp. Come on.

Okay. Wait a second. Come on. You did not just go there. Come through with that. That is a beautiful. I love that. So how does it go again?

How do you know everything I'm about to say? Am I that obvious? And if it's written on my face, I hope it never goes away. Great bridge. And then she gives you the chorus into the bigger chorus. It's that kind of pop song where it's like not really designed to be performed live.

It's kind of meant to be performed live so everyone around you can sing it with you. It's that thing of relatable queen, hashtag can't really sing, but hashtag made of hooks. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, she just needed to nail it like that one time and they were like, we will fix it in post

and then all you got to do is hold the mic out from this point on. The audience will get it. She may not have even made it through the whole. And also notice she's not. It's not. There's no vibrato on. Yeah. She's just hitting.

Yeah. So it's so everyone in the audience who is a 13 year old F.A.G.G.O.T. And their girlfriends, a.k.a. Me, who saw her twice live. Oh, pre-snl fuck up one post i hung with her oh good for you screaming it along while their eventual prom date go is on their back the girl that you uh are on the track team with shout out to jessica to me but yeah that's the real truth yeah yeah that's a that's a great bridge though whoever was a great pop song it is john shanks and cara diaguardi were the writers oh really okay all right oh wow yeah that's culture when she when cara diaguardi was hired as an american

idol judge i knew her from writing that song oh that's so funny she was featured in the Ashley Simpson show right okay I do remember that yeah that was also I was surprised at how much I enjoyed that although I thought it was I thought it was odd that like I was just like well I understand that you're old girl's sister

but I'm not sure I understand that you're old girl's sister is a rule of culture. It's rule of culture number 39. Ashley Simpson. I understand that your old girl's sister dot dot dot. But I just, I was like, it's very ballsy of you to assume that we care enough that when you dye your hair black that we're already. Do you know what I mean? We didn't

know what led to the black yeah the black hair incident she's just like I've dyed my hair black so you know what that means you gotta take me seriously and I was like I mean I guess but this is like episode two yeah I'm a rocker yeah so I

alright fine wrist wristbands whatever whatever it is we're doing i guess that's all right sure but i sure but then you know she belted out that song which is the only way to sing it the only way the only way the odds were the odds were a campy time too but not in a way that was slanted towards like you know uh like like Iraq, Bush era politics. Yeah. The Iraq war was camp. That's what Bowen was saying.

Iraq was camp. It was. Oh my God. Honestly, though, you could never have told anyone during the aughts doing that, that they were camp. Like, honestly, like looking back at seeing like the way Paris and Nicole are dressed in The Simple Life, like it's so insane. Yes. They're wearing nothing. Honestly, looking back at seeing the way Paris and Nicole are dressed in The Simple Life,

it's so insane. Yes. They're wearing nothing. But you couldn't tell anyone they weren't the coolest, chicest people in the world. Right, right. Yeah. It was just so everywhere. That was a very rough time for clothing. Yeah.

Well, with the low rise, we were all lost. I mean, that was tough. And I was like, early 30s, and I was like, I don't know what to do here. Right, exactly. That possibility is slipping away from me. Yeah, I don't, what do I do? It was really hard. It was very, I was like, I guess, oh, so I'm just, maybe I'm homebound.

Maybe I just, maybe that's it. I guess we just, we make frozen pizzas. We make bootleg Midori Sours at the house. We watch the OC. We write on LiveJournal. I'll catch you on the next fashion era. Yeah, these are bound, you know, this is the kind of thing that switches every, these are bound to come up. These are bound, this can, this is the kind of thing it switches every year. These are bound to come up.

These are bound. This can't be forever. Truly. The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City are back. I love that. Welcome. And last season's drama was just the tip of the iceberg.

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Wednesdays at 9 on Bravo or stream it on City TV+. I felt too seen. Dragged. I'm NK, and this is Basket Case. So I basically had what back in the day they would call a nervous breakdown. I was crying and I was inconsolable. It was just very big, sudden swaps of different meds. What is wrong with me? Oh, look at you giving me therapy, girl.

Finally, a show for the mentally ill girlies. On Basket Case, I talk to people about what happens when what we call mental health is shaped by the conditions of the world we live in. Because if you haven't noticed, we are experiencing some kind of conditions that are pretty hard to live with. But if you struggle to cope, the society that created the conditions in the first place will tell you there's something wrong with you. And it will call you a basket case.

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But weren't you saying, Bowen, like this generation, even like Gen Z now trying to do middle part, like that doesn't mean we should be trying to do middle part. Like let them. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, right? Yeah, absolutely.

I think it's fine to like, it's like what Chile was saying it's like i had the same reaction even as a kid growing up in that time being like how do i fit into this because i don't because i'm not i'm not a hollister kid i'm not from i'm not a surfer i'm not like what am i what aesthetic am i trying to go for i think it's fine to look from afar at what's going on like fashion wise and be like i don't't, I don't have to do that. Yeah. I don't know.

I think it's like an understanding of something as being commercially popular. And that, that literally just means it's for quote unquote, um, uh, it's pretty much for like, whatever, like mainstream,

like at that time, especially like a white audience that was like watching Laguna beach and being like, how do I be exactly that? And nothing else. And that was what youth culture was at the time like how do I be exactly that and nothing else and that was what youth culture was at the time and now I think it's like you know it doesn't seem so monolithic

because there's not only one culture being shown back to America that's a huge help that is a huge help when it comes time to go shopping for for sure. Oh, man.

You know, I couldn't even watch Laguna Beach because they were all blonde. Yeah. I couldn't tell them apart. And I was like, I don't know what this is. Some sort of blonde blindness. I couldn't. It took them adding Audrina to the hills. I was going to say diversify.

Yeah. And I was like, okay, now I get it. That one's that one, and this one works there. I literally needed a brunette in the mix, or else I was just like, I guess I'm not watching this show either. Right. It's so funny.

In the Hills, even, it was hard between Whitney and Heidi and Lauren. It was. Then I had to learn their personalities. Yeah. Well, Lauren, I think, wore eyeliner. And I think that was her thing. And Kristen Cavallari had a bang.

Okay. You know what I mean? She had that horrible... Again, this is early on. All the white girls had that one big bang that swooped to the side. Remember that? It was like an up-do and like a one big huge bang to the side really bad like an overgrown bang good stuff comedy good stuff um okay so i think we are getting to the time

of i don't think so honey aka the the sort of high point of every episode of Lost Culture where we take one minute exactly to rant and rave against something in culture that, you know what? It needs to be discussed. If it's a negative light, sure. Maybe it'll be an illuminating light. It'll definitely make you think. Usually negative. It'll probably be negative. I mean, I

don't have a good thing to say about mine. Hey guys, I am about to spoil what's happened thus far in the second season of The Circle. You might want to skip like five minutes and then you're probably going to be okay. But sorry about that. I just had to say what I thought about The Circle. Okay, so skip now. Great, this is Matt Rogers' I Don't Think So Honey and his time starts now.

I Don't Think So Honey, the rules of the show, The Circle. Girl, the rules be changing every single episode. Why are the flops that were voted out, Jack playing Emily and Lisa playing Lance Bass, so badly? Why are they still eligible to win? They were blocked. And then you had cat and mitchell blocked aka the eye candy is g-o-n-e and yet they're gone like come on also i don't think

so honey that the gays are the villains this season yeah lee as river and courtney i'm sorry i cannot be rooting for you because you guys were the reason why my queen tara lesha is not there anymore and tara lesha did not get the credit. If you want to know who's team I'm on right now, it is Delisa all the way. And I know my sister has my back. Trevor. Delisa, Trevor, all the way.

And if they have some fuckery go down that fucks her over, I'm going to be pissed because I don't think so, honey. I don't trust the rules. Let the rules be simple. No twists. I don't think so, honey.

And that's one minute. We will bring on Michelle Buteau herself to address this. And I will have to... Netflix is making me drag the show that our friend hosts, and I don't like doing it. But all I'm saying is,

if you're blocked, you're blocked. You're blocked. I don't like any reality show that brings back eliminated people, and then just, they're back. They don't even earn it. that brings back eliminated people and then just they're back. They don't even earn it. They didn't even earn it. Lisa had the goal to be like, I'm playing as Lance Bass.

And when they asked her her reasoning for why Lance Bass was playing and she said to do an NSYNC reunion tour, which was the worst answer she could have ever done. Jack fucked up because his makeup was terrible on that mannequin. Why are they both still in? Why are they still in? They have ever done. Jack fucked up because his makeup was terrible on that mannequin. Why are they both still in? Why are they still in? They have to go. I'm not, but I will. I think you would love it. I think you would really dig it. You gotta.

This season, the finale's on Wednesday. Oh, perfect. But I binged. I'm not a binge person. I did the whole thing in five days. I was like, this is phenomenal television. I'm not a binge person. I did the whole thing in five days. I was like, this is phenomenal television. Okay, yeah. I absolutely will.

Maybe I'll record a little thing at the end, which is a spoiler alert for everyone that hasn't been watching. But to me, it's just like, sometimes I get so frustrated because you see who is playing the best game and then they throw a twist in there. Like Courtney being the Joker. What the fuck was that? Terilisha was playing the best game and then they throw a twist in there like courtney being the joker what the fuck was that tara lesha was playing the best game love tara lesha delisa is playing

the best game right now courtney and lee are just like okay so so there's a catfish there's like um a guy in his 50s maybe early 60s we'll say um gay guy who's playing like a gay 20 year old hippie guy but Matt I don't think he's catfishing him that well he's like getting like he's getting like phrases wrong like youth phrases wrong he's literally flying under the radar in ways that are insane

I'm like I'm sorry but if I if I were to really think about if everyone just slows down for a second it's obvious that Lee as River is a catfish. And to be honest with you, sometimes Delisa slips up as well because she does get a little, she gets a little feminine

with the way she talks as Trevor, just a touch. She gets away with it because she's like, I'm a dad, I'm a dad, I'm a dad. Yes. Yes. And also, you know, I think taralisha might have fucked up a little bit too in the picture she decided to show of herself in the second round because she was using

these very filtered pictures that made her look a little bit like a catfish and i was just like it's so interesting when people decide to play as themselves and they seem like catfishes that is such an interesting comment on how people view themselves on social. There's a gap between your self-perception and your, yeah. Before we go to yours, Bowen, I want to know, if you went on the search, well, you, I think, would have

to play as someone else. You could not play as Bowen Yang. Not necessarily. I could play as myself and just be like... I think they would know who you are. I would be like, I'm here to play. just be like I think they would know who you are I would be like I'm here to it's like Chloe like so this girl from Too Hot to Handle I ride hard for Chloe too

Chloe's great so this girl from Too Hot to Handle is now on the circle of the season and some of the contestants are like oh my god you're that girl from Too Hot to Handle and I don't think it's yes it's me I don't think it's adversely affected her right I think I would play as a hot girlely affected her. Right. I think I would

play as a hot girl summer. I would play as hot girl summer. I would play as like I just think because this is my fear. Hot girl named summer. Hot girl named summer. Yeah. Summer LaCroix. That would be my character. Summer LaCroix. That's not a catfish name at all. No, not at all.

Summer LaCroix. That's very believablevable and all my pictures are all my pictures are of Greta but basically this is I am not confident enough in my in my own ability to get myself across on social media without

without like engaging in weird like try hardy things for social. I think I would, I would feel more confident as a catfish character. I think I could remain more consistent as a character than I could as myself. Honestly,

I think it'd be more likable to, if I were not myself, that's crazy. Is this therapy? I think the producers tell these contestants ahead of time because to speak a certain way over the circle, because I mean, surely what all of these messages that they're sending to each other through

this like virtual, it's not how people talk on dictation. It's not how people talk at all. That there's like message. Hey, queen love the way you played the game today. I just wanted to tell you that when I was a child, I was touched by a relative heart emoji,

blue heart emoji, blue heart emoji, hashtag got your back. Hashtag, got your back. Hashtag, what gets the goose, gets the gander. Hashtag,

sisters who were touched. So, so it's just chaos. It's pure chaos. It's not normal communication styles at all. Okay. And the hashtags are like, not real hashtag.

It literally is like, hashtag, both born in the four, on the 4th of July it's like it's so stupid it's really insane no one's ever said hashtag concrete angel like I don't know what the hell that means

queen queen anyway and yes these two gay men one's that guy in his 60s we mentioned and then the other is this like is this Barb gay Anyway, and yes, these two gay men, one's that guy in his 60s we mentioned, and then the other is this Barb gay dude who loves Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift equally, which is a conflict of interest,

but we'll let it slide. That's a rule of culture. Rule of culture number 51. Loving Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift equally is a conflict of interest. But here's the thing, Bowen, that's us. Both of us, that's us. Courtney, I think I would love in real life.

I'm a circle. Oh, yeah. Not rooting for the girl. Villain. Not rooting for this gay. Would love to twirl with Courtney at like a bar or like a, you know. 100%. Dance floor.

Best of friends. See, and the reason is I could not play as myself because I know I would be Courtney. I know I would be Courtney. I know I'd be just evil. I'd have to play as myself because I know I would be Courtney. I know I would be Courtney. I know I'd be just evil. I'd have to play as someone else. Anyway. Yeah. Okay. Loving the circle. Thank you for giving us a space to discuss this.

No, absolutely. You would love it. I'm totally going to give this a shot now. Give her a shot. Start with season two. Okay. Okay. So start with season two. Wow. Fascinating. Yeah. I fell off after i fell i fell off like three episodes into one i was like oh this isn't for me but two i was for some reason i was hooked from the beginning maybe alexi's one better now because you can see really the origins

and can't wait for the finale because this is of course it's michelle's moment to shine because she hosts the reunion of the finale and she's really it's really a voiceover gig for her all year and then she really comes hard in the finale you understand all right so bone yanks i don't think so honey time starts now i don't think so honey your building's not wired for verizon fios oh girl bitch now i have to settle for middle tier spectrum internet you heard them right that are gonna nosedive three months into my contract with them. And they'll say, oh, it's not a contract.

You can do month to month. I don't care. Give me the fast stuff. Mainline the internet, the ethernet to my devices. And now I got to put it upstairs because my building's not wired for spectrum that optimally either. 30 seconds.

You're not going to perform building surgery on my apartment in order for me to get a fast Wi-Fi connection. And the internet should be fast and free for everybody. Like water. Like water. Deprivatize Wi-Fi. Deprivatize internet.

I don't want Sal from Flushing to come in and make me wait 45 minutes so that he can like look at look at my building's guts with binoculars in my laundry room. It's actually very vulnerable. And that's one minute. Can we say? Can we say?

This is just the truth. Right. And I'm sorry to have to be the bearer of bad news to this wireless Internet company. But Spectrum, you don't hold a candle to verizon files you just don't have you ever fucked with spectrum i have not but i i grew up in a comcast situation like i'm coming from a comcast so that is that's the same it's the like it's i they once sent a guy to wire something in my house and he had a a nameplate belt buckle a what belt buckle his name was nameplate belt buckle and it was marked and it also was like kind of neonish around it so the mark was like in you know metal but then

there was like neon LED lights around it. And he was just standing in my living room, just kind of like, this is nice. This is a nice place you got here. This is real nice. And I'm like, yeah, Mark, I'm gonna need you to do your thing and go do your job. Please. GTFO, as they say. Please.

Bowen, when you said that your building was not fitted for Verizon Files, my heart broke for you. As someone who also is in a building that is not fitted for Verizon Files, I just... Spectrum is so not it. But I actually don't know. But who is to blame? Because we love Spectrum for giving us the access, for not having... for not getting us to ask the question,

will my building be wired for it? Or do we direct the ire towards Verizon for having it be masonry specific or whatever the fuck? Yeah, that is weird. You know,

I guess you're right. They're problematic. But it's unfortunate because they're so goddamn good. I never had an internet like that before in my life. We'll never have it again. Never. Never.

Okay. All right. So listen up. This is the point in the show where Shalewa does her fucking thing. And her thing, at least this episode, is going to be, I don't think so, honey. Shalewa, are you ready? I am ready. I knew it. i knew it i knew it all right this is shalewa sharps i don't think so honey her time starts now i don't think so honey paramount plus streaming site logo it's so lazy it's so look you're the last one out okay

so you're seeing what everybody else is doing right you see what we're doing now it's it's so look you're the last one out okay so you're seeing what everybody else is doing right you see what we're doing now it's it's just the the most simple blue with the mountain and the stars yeah we know it we've known it all this time you're not going to zhuzh it up for us at all uh uh hulu's got a nice little green that's been changing colors a little bit yeah um disney i mean there's blue as well but it's gradiated you know and also gorgeous and they're disney all they need is that big ass d and you got it oh you know netflix was a big red n but now it's a multi-color uh come on hbo is doing queer coloring like yes doing queer and you're just going to come in here with this bootleg it looks like letterhead it looks like letterhead you didn't even try

thank you for all the real worlds though and yes and that's one minute i will say this for for a streaming service that actually kind of comes through yeah in terms of the content yeah the logo it's it's a little bit basic it's very but it's like they didn't even think about it they're like uh just give them what we normally got we we got to do more you got to do better got to do better so right and it is important that they're the last ones out yeah they're they're seeing what everyone else is doing and they still gave us just milk toast and And, you know, especially after HBO Max did the thing.

Because when that blue screen comes up and it sees HBO Max and it goes, and you get sound, you feel like you've unlocked something. You know what I mean? Like you're entering the domain. You get why design and aesthetic and that sonic moment

of welcome to HBO Max is important. And all of the other ones just seem like they're alive slightly because they're messing with their colors. And that's what the kids are doing now. We've got these sex slides. There's so much going on. And it literally looks like Paramount Plus just looks like a piece of paper that we've all just freed. It's very flat. It truly just looks like a piece of paper that we've all just read. It's very flat. It truly just looks like a scan.

Like if they had just the light that came from a copier, where if you're looking at a copier and that white light went across, it would make sense to me, but it would also be a little more dynamic than what they've got going on right now. Textured. Yes. Absolutely. And Matt, Shalewa will be too kind to correct you.

I will correct you, but Matt is classically colorblind. HBO Max, guess whatewa will be too kind to correct you. I will correct you. But Matt is classically colorblind. HBO Max, guess what the color is? Purple. It's purple. Okay. See, and that's how you know. I'm real.

I'm real. No one has known. But the thing is, it's clearly like bluish and pink. Like it's not just full on. Shalewa, you don't have to do that. It's purple and I can't see it. No, iton just but you don't have to do that no but it is on i can't see it no it's okay to do that and i have a show on it and i and i i i literally no one's ever i i but i was gonna say i don't think so many of the people who haven't told you that it's not blue who have not corrected you i've kind of really been sitting around here in the quarantine

myself you see you understand there's really not really been anyone there where I've been like, when that pops up, I'm like, that's blue. And they're like, Oh yeah. Well,

I mean, it's definitely purple, but it's not as blue as the paramount plus logo makes me feel. And also they have so much to work with because correct me if I'm wrong, but the paramount plus is, is miss thing holding up the, the, no, that's Columbia. We're talking about the mountain and the star okay so yes so you think like they can't do something with the mountain and the stars like have the stars go

around the mountain that's what normally they would do when they're opening a movie when it's opening a movie they have the stars and then they no it's nothing it's just boop here you go sign here and here is your here are your selections so down floppy on a not yeah behavior yeah so behavior jester flop logo it makes me sad because they were you know they're giving us real worlds again and i've been enjoying that and uh you know where else are you going to see latifah as the equalizer you know what i mean like they're giving us choices but yeah so wait have you checked in with latifah as the equalizer not yet not right but you plan to i do i do i do love dana owens i really I'm a fan of hers. I think she's done exceptional

work all the way through her career and I don't know if it's been acknowledged enough. I mean, honestly. It certainly hasn't. No. Like her comedy chops in Living Single, bar none. Amazing.

Musical theater. Comedy. Drama. Oscar nominated, right? amazing amazing musical theater yes comedy yes drama oscar nominated right yeah for sure yeah chicago also you know what's interesting like doesn't get the credit for being a full-on movie star above the title movie star people forget she has opened big movies for a long time and this show is a huge hit and only a big star can can like just instantly make a show huge like that but the reason why all these things are popping off is because latifa is a superstar yep and you're so right she doesn't get that um she doesn't get that those flowers yeah she doesn't get her flowers also her hair always laid always you know and she's kind of doing something a little different in

the equalizer yeah yeah i think she i think she just has a good face for any like bone structure for any length any style yeah i think that's also what we're working with i think i met her one time when i was 18 years old and she she had a platinum blonde uh like um it was like a cascade happening it was like a short platinum blonde wig and she was she glows in person i believe it is crazy i mean she i interviewed her i was like for the nyu newspaper for a secret life of bees i love this story i love this story and so basically um it was it was my first time ever interviewing a bunch of celebrities. And it was like Gina Prince-Bythewood who directed the movie, who I love. I love love and basketball. I really love all of her work.

And I was excited to see her, but was nervous to ask a question. Sophie Okonedo came in and she sat down and I was like, I'm going to ask a question to Sophie Okonedo. I'm going to ask a question. And she had a role in the movie that like was going to get earned some Oscar buzz. We thought maybe. And someone said something

about the Oscars because, you know, she had been nominated for Hotel Rwanda and like she was getting some buzz. And I remember asking, like I just jumped in there because they told,

they said like, if you have a question, jump in there. And I jumped in there. I was like, well, does it make you nervous to get Oscar buzz? like do you think about it and she was she looks at me in the eyes and sophie okoneda was like oh no i i don't think about that at all that's in god's plan that's in god's plan and i was like oh okay and this woman across the table from me was like now did you want to resume the question that

you were answering before he interrupted you and i was like oh my god i'm mortified i'm 18 years old i was trying to do my best i i respected her and i felt like i had like disrespected her and i was like oh no so i'm dispirited so then queen latifah comes in lifts the energy off off the ground into the stratosphere superstar charm down she comes in sits down and i'm i'm not asking her a question because i'm just too i'm just having too much fun watching her and i felt like a flop after sophie so we all have our opportunity to get our like press books signed by Queen Latifah at the end. And everyone I can tell is a fake fan because they're all going up to her and they're like, I loved you in Chicago.

I loved you in Chicago. I loved you in Chicago. Like all these press people that clearly did not know Latifah's work. And she literally was like, thank you. Thanks. Thank you so much. Thanks. Because she just gets that all the time. You could tell these literally was like, thank you. Thanks. Thank you so much. Thanks. Because she just gets that all the time.

You could tell these film people like only know Chicago. So I was like, I'm going to earn this woman's respect. So I went up to her and I gave her my book and I looked down and I said, I loved you in life support,

which was her HBO AIDS TV movie. She looks up at me. She looks dead in her eyes. She wipes her platinum blonde hair out of her face, and she goes, thank you so much, baby. And I said, thank you.

And we had a moment together, and she signed that book, and I left, and it was like that Sophie Okonedo moment didn't even happen. And that was God's plan. That was God's plan that day. Reader, if you're not getting out of your chair, I don't know if you're driving,

if you're not getting out of your seat, park the car. That's beautiful. Tear to my eye. That's so great, man. Tear to my eye. That's still pretty. Tear to my eye. Latifah made my day. I hope I made hers.

I'm sure you did. Wow. This episode made my day. Hello. So much fun. So much fun. And to hear what probably is going to be 10 million times even more fun, you gotta listen to The War Report, which episodes every Thursday.

And you need to have, duh. It's like, how long has the podcast been going? About like five months or so. Yeah. It's a baby. Yeah, it's a baby. A little nascent stage podcast. Yeah, it's me and Gastor Almonte, who's a great storyteller.

Incredible. And he's a delightful Brooklyn-born, married father of two, just tough guy. And I am not any of those things. And so it's just us talking crap about the news basically every week and uh it's a lot of fun it's a lot of fun we're in oh my gosh we're in we're all in and you gotta follow shalewa on all platforms at silky jumbo yeah which come on that's that's a handle that's a handle and a half that That is a memorable name. Yeah, yeah.

You know, I like lotion. I like eating and I like lotion. What can I say? What can I say? We're so happy you're here. Thank you so, so much. I'm thrilled to do it. Thanks for having me.

Oh, my gosh. Matt and I close out every episode with a song. I think I have one in mind. Here we go. One of the cruel, cruel summers. Cloudy days. Clouds away. Seems like I can finally rest my head on something real.

I like the way that feels. So this was sort of a mega mix. Yeah. I'm really shocked at how that really spoke to so many parts of my soul. Lost culture. Touching all of the soul. All parts of the soul.

All the soul. The dark parts of your soul. Bye. Bye. Hey there, I'm Dr. Maya Shankar, and I'm a scientist who studies human behavior. Many of us have experienced a moment in our lives that changes everything, that instantly divides our life into a before and an after. On my podcast, A Slight Change of Plans, I talk to people about navigating these moments. Their stories are full of candor and hard-won wisdom. And you'll hear from scientists

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revealing the healing journey behind her new novel, Everything We Never Knew. I am showing up for my younger self and it is becoming a ripple effect energetically in my life and that's why I feel so safe now. Listen to The Bright Side from Hello Sunshine on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. that Haunting is back on October 22nd. Spooky season? I own spooky season. We're serving up some killer stories, literally, and a few that might make you question

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Listen to Haunting starting on October 22nd on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Jacqueline Thomas, the host of a brand new Black Effect original series, Black Lit, the podcast for diving deep into the rich world of Black literature. Black Lit is for the page turners, for those who listen to audiobooks while running errands or at the end of a busy day. From thought-provoking novels to powerful poetry, we'll explore the stories that shape our culture. Listen to Black Lit on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.