RHAP: We Know Survivor - Introducing The Survivor Time Trip

Episode Date: July 12, 2026

Introducing The Survivor Time Trip Survivor Time Trip is here with Rob Cesternino and Mike Bloom as they launch the latest off-season adventure, celebrating the milestone of Survivor reaching nearly 50 seasons and over 725 episodes. This episode isn’t a traditional recap, but a brand-new subseries: Rob and Mike embark on a “Survivor Time Trip,” revisiting iconic and underrated episodes with special guests straight from the show’s history. With Jeff Probst popping up on other CBS reality hits and Survivor alums crossing over into Big Brother, Survivor’s legacy is taking center stage — and Rob and Mike are inviting fans to help decide which moments get the spotlight. The show opens with Rob and Mike recalling the fun of past rewatch projects, like Survivor: Kaôh R?ng, and pitching a new interactive twist: listeners nominate their favorite Survivor episodes and suggest castaways to join the podcast for storytelling straight from the island. They reminisce on classic eras, consider which episodes and players are due for a rewatch, and even debate Survivor’s “GOAT” (greatest of all time), revealing surprising results from an 800+ voter poll. The discussion covers why certain legends like Parvati Shallow, Tony Vlachos, Cirie, Sandra Diaz-Twine, and Boston Rob have defined Survivor history, and what makes episodes worth another deep dive. – Rob Cesternino and Mike Bloom announce the interactive “Survivor Time Trip” series and explain how fans can shape upcoming episodes – Break down the Survivor “GOAT” poll, with Parvati Shallow running away with the majority — and surprising placements for Tony and Cirie – Reflect on why episodes about moves like “Erik gives up the necklace” are off the table and why hidden gems or niche episodes are now fair game – Explore the shifting Survivor landscape, from legacy players’ evolving strategies to the influence of crossover reality stars – Throw out bold takes on the next tier of Survivor legends and which moments deserve fresh analysis As Survivor approaches its landmark 50th season, Rob and Mike ask: which forgotten moments and unsung episodes will come back to life on the podcast, and who will join them in the DeLorean for a trip back in time? Will fan-favorite deep cuts make the cut, or is there still room to revisit the game’s biggest strategic swings? Leave your suggestions in the comments and tune in to see which Survivor moments and castaways will get revisited next on Survivor Time Trip! Chapters: 0:00 Kicking Off Survivor Time Trip 0:32 Back to Survivor’s Borneo Beginnings 1:14 Time Trip Podcast Concept Explained 2:09 Rewatching With Survivor Eyewitnesses 3:31 Audience Suggestions for Time Travel 4:55 Rules: Iconic, B-side, No Eric Necklace 5:49 Diving Into Survivor’s Nostalgia Pool 7:07 Revealing the Survivor GOAT Vote 8:08 GOAT Countdown: Sandra and Cirie Ranks 9:47 Tony and Parvati: Top Two Showdown 10:27 Parvati Wins With Massive Majority 11:12 What Makes Parvati the Survivor GOAT 12:47 Cirie vs Sandra: Impressive Legacies 14:19 Kim, Tyson, and Sarah: Next Tier Legends 17:19 Should Game Changers Be Revisited? 19:21 Jeremy and Michele’s Underrated Games 20:00 Closing: Audience Picks and Farewell To order Rob’s book, The Tribe and I Have Spoken, visit www.robhasabook.com Never miss a minute of RHAP’s extensive Survivor coverage! LISTEN: Subscribe to the Survivor podcast feed WATCH:  Watch and subscribe to the podcast on YouTube SUPPORT:  Become a RHAP Patron for bonus content, access to Facebook and Discord groups plus more great perks!

Hey, everybody, what's going on? Rob Cessorino, back here talking a little Survivor off-season, and I'm back here with my Survivor off-season partner in crime. Give it up for Mike Bloom. Great Scott Pollard, Rob. Okay, yes, we have to go back. I go to DeLorean on hand. I did not realize the proper game of course back.

It's a Lego Delorean, and it was gifted to me by my children who love building Lego. for Father's Day. And here's got a Doc Brown and Marty McFly are in the Lego Delorean and we're going through time and we're doing a new offseason podcast that Mike and I have been talking and we're calling it the Survivor Time Trip. Yes, because certain terms and themes are not copyrighted. But listen, it's also

within the CBS family. Look for the un-initiated. We know at this moment at least one Survivor alum. It's playing Big Brother this summer. I think at the point that this is out, we'll know too. Yes. So we're taking it back. You know, Survivor's going to be a central point of Big Brother, but we're going to be

talking some Survivor as well. We'll be doing our own time trip, especially Rob, in celebration of a completed 50 seasons. Milestone for the show you and I love so dearly. I think much like we were able to do briefly at the beginning of the year, there's plenty more Survivor.

episodes that we can explore alongside some special guests. Yeah. I mean, actually, we're closing in. We're 26 years. We're not that far off from the actual amount of time that Marty McFly went back to, to go visit his dad in high school. It would actually be, you could do it back to the future from, like, we're only four years away from if you went back to the survivor Borneo, that would be a full-on back to

the future. Adam, what's your, that's your name, right? Adam Klein. it's on your underwear. Yeah. So here's the premise for what we want to do. And we just finished the Survivor Co-Rong rewatch. And if you didn't co-effing wrong,

if you didn't catch any of that, we had a really great podcast, Chappelle and I at the end of it where Julius Sokolowski joined us to talk about the Survivor Co-wrong finale. And so it was a really fun format to be re-watching an episode of a show and have somebody involved with it. So we thought it might,

it might be fun. And in this time trip season on CBS reality, where Jeff Probst himself is showing up on Big Brother and Survivors are on Big Brother, what if we did our own time trip where we go back, we take your suggestions, what would be some fun episodes of Survivor to go back and watch and bring back somebody who was involved in that episode? We've watched old episodes of Survivor before, but what if we rewatched a fun episode of Survivor and talked with a person who was there for it. I think that's the key difference here because, look, I can imagine people feeling like,

didn't you y'all just do this six years ago? And in a manner of speaking, yes. But I think the key thing to point out here, Rob, is that we're going with some eyewitness testimony as well. We're speaking with the historical figures as they were living through those moments in survivor history. Yeah, when you talk about six years ago, we did a wand off through time after season 40 where we invited people to send in wandoffs after famous episodes from

Survivor History and that was fun but I think it might be really fun to get some stories from people who were there for certain moments and so I really want this to be something that the audience helps us with and that's why we are making this podcast introducing because what we would love to have people do is in the comment section, tell us. us, whether it's on Patreon or on the YouTube comments, write in and tell us what episode you would like to hear us talk about. And if you're so interested, then tell us some people that you might want to hear from and we'll do our best. Yeah, I think some of the best pitches we can receive, right, Robber, like the package deals of like, here's the episode I'm suggesting

and here's someone, whether it be pie in the sky or more of a grounded suggestion that you can bring in to talk about said episode. But I think if you just tell us, tell us the episode, then we'll try to see with our vast rolodex between Mike and myself and the entire Rob has a podcast machine. We'll reach out and we'll see who we might be able to get to talk about your favorite episodes of Survivor. And look, there have been over 725 episodes as I've been able to count as the Pelican Peep flies. And so there's a lot to choose. from. I think we had said beforehand that like a lot of things are fair game. I think really the only exception is something like Eric giving up the necklace, which has been talked about by so many

different people until the cows, not the pegang women, come home. And so that's something that I don't think we necessarily want to revisit. But basically everything else is fair game. I guess if you're looking for like general criteria, I think, you know, we're looking at some fun dips into nostalgia, maybe some looks at some iconic moves or maybe some of like your favorite B-side Survivor episodes, right? These like niche episodes that don't get talked about a lot in terms of the annals of Survivor history or, you know, iconic moments that we want to pay some homage to.

Yeah. So I think that we are very much open to hearing your suggestions and we think it could be things that are whatever would be the most fun to talk about. Ideally- Is it fun. Yeah. Probably maybe not things like. from the last year also. I think we want to go back a little into the archive, but listen, shoot your shot.

Let us know what you think. If you want to make a pitch of like, can you relitigate the hourglass episode of 41? If you were able to present an argument, we may bring it to the Court of Appeals. Yeah. Okay. So that's what we are going to be doing.

And so let us know what you think and we'll then get to work on our end of putting together some fun episodes of the podcast. I think we're open to maybe even more than one guest if we found some people that were willing. So let's see. Yeah, I mean, I think you're, you know, Tiffany and Hunter episode that you did for a recap back day. And even Hunter and Tevin, these like double, double dipping in terms of guests sometimes can be a lot of fun having them interact with one another.

So again, this is a very open concept as we're designing this podcast. It was just an opportunity for Rob and I to have some fun talking about many, many different, versions, seasons, players across Survivor, hopefully with said players as well. Okay. Mike, we also just got done with the five-part series, talking about the, who's the goat? Who's the greatest of all time

when it comes to Survivors? We had a vote. We allowed the listeners to weigh in and the hands of the fans. In the hands of the fans. And we did get some conclusive results. Fairly conclusive, I would say, definitively so. Yes.

Okay. So at at press time, we had over 800 people voted for who is the goat. Yeah, that's nearly the amount of Survivor episodes that never written existence so far. Yes. Okay. We could tell you, with 6.06% of the vote. Casey, Casey, you want to count us down? With number five, in terms of your voting, was none other than Boston Rob. the voting audience did not think Boston Rob was the goat. The lower case G goat of the uppercase G goats.

I was surprised that this person came in fourth place with 8.79% of the vote. Sandra Diaz-Twine. Yeah, that is interesting. You know, I certainly, if we're sort of going in order here, full disclosure, I think that I might put Sandra at four in my own personal rankings. but obviously she is not only a two-time winner,

but the first two-time winner, I thought you put forward some really great arguments as to how her play style is one of the most replicable across really any survivor season, but I do think that some of the drawbacks of weaknesses that I brought up as well as people in the comments may have won out at the end of the day. In third place, this, I don't know,

I guess maybe a surprise to me, Ceri, 10.15% of the vote. How much was Sandra again? 8.79. Oh, boy, don't tell Sandra. Yeah, I mean, I am both surprised and not surprised by this. Again, I probably would have Ceri ranked

number three in my book, because even though she's the only person here to not win, let alone not make a final tribal council, I think, again, you made some really great arguments about how just the general body of work is so incredibly impressive, for someone who has played six times. I mean, compared to someone like Boston Rob,

who has played five times and has much more up and down placements. It's sensational. And look, you also have to imagine the fact that, depending on the criteria that anyone utilizes, this is a largely popular vote at the end of the day. And as Surrey has $100,000 to prove as of late, she is quite the popular player. Popular player. Okay.

Then in second place, with 15.84% of the vote, is Tony Flachos. Yeah, I mean, I had a feeling these were going to be the top two. I think going into Australia versus the world, there was a lot of consensus talk that they felt like Tony was the goat

and then I've seen a large amount of people say like, but then poverty came into Australia versus the world and took that title back. And so the results do not surprise me in the least. Maybe the percentage of votes allocated surprise me, considering that it seemed like, at least in the comments in these podcasts,

a little bit more of a back and forth, but it was quite the runaway. Quite the runaway. And so I was not surprised at the outcome, I think I was a little surprised by the margin of victory, because as you should be able to know by now, that the survivor goat,

as voted by you in the hands of the fans, is Parvety Shala with 59.16% of the vote. That's not even a plurality. That's an outright majority of a pool of five different people. Yeah, add everybody else together. and they don't even beat out Parvety. So a real consensus winner of who is the goat?

And the answer is Parvety. I mean, listen, people certainly have their sticking points with the Australian survivor of it all. Should it count? Should it not count? But perhaps, again, the appeal of what Parvety was able to bring to especially her second and third season, overwhelms that. Or, again, it could come from the fact that she is mother. She has had this big resurgence onto the scene that I don't think anyone except for Surrey has had.

in the 2020s, and so she's very much been in the public eye as well. I'm intrigued to hear from you, Rob, doing this series, did the needle move for you at all? I know you would said, especially on the poverty episode, that she was your goat.

Going through all these different points with all these players, did your list change all? No, but I think that my logic around it, I think, has become a little bit more solidified. Just in terms of, like, the other folks, I think that you can find a hole in their game.

Surrey and Sandra, they can't win a challenge when they need to. Tony, you know, he is likable, but can be like a little rough around the edges. And Boston Rob, it's sort of like his way or the highway. I think that Parvety is the one that when we look at the three facets of the game in terms of having the strategic wherewithal, being able to win challenges, and then having this incredible social game, I think that Parvety is the one. that is rather unimpeachable on all three. And so while you could say like, okay, maybe that there might have been times where she didn't play perfectly,

I just think that she's the most well-rounded of the three. She has two championships. She has three finals appearances. And I think that she is just the person that the total body of work just supports the argument of being the goat more so than anybody else. Yeah, she is, oddly enough, the Jill of all trades, but kind of the master of all. of them at the same time. You know, she is, as you mentioned, skilled in so many different areas.

Social, strategic, physical, even like the idols and advantages category, too. I mean, I, after the Tony podcast, I'll admit, I was thinking about putting him number one, just because maybe I was sort of high on my own supply of, like, talking up his game, that I think what he has been able to do, especially in Winners at War, like, Winners at War might be, I think, the single most impressive performance out of all five of these players across all the seasons that they did. But again, I talked about how my logic was always valuing consistency in both performance and skill set.

And that leaves Parvety as number one. I think the math change for me the most in switching Sandra and Surrey. I think I just gone with like the bottom line. All right, two time winners are ranked one, two, and three. And maybe it's a little bit of a spicy take. I guess not concerning that the audience agreed as well. But I personally think and I love Sandra and I love what she brings to the show. and I think her gameplay is excellent.

But I think I find myself more impressed with what Saria has been able to consistently bring in terms of next level gameplay. And also simultaneously as well, again, this is not criteria that everyone's going to utilize. But I think the points that you made last time about her legacy and the narrative that she's been able to bring to a lot of people and resonate as, in my opinion, perhaps the most popular survivor player of all time. Yes. Yeah.

Yeah. I think that Sandra and Surrey are just very interesting because they have many things that are similar. I think that one of the things that I think I was really also taken from was that Surrey just gets what she wants more than Sandra does, which is interesting. And I think that I do think that Sandra has evolved to be a little bit more in that mold. of Surrey. Like, I really feel like that she was cooking in a way in Winners at War where it just, like, that one thing with Denise ended up not going, but I think that she has really ended up becoming more Surrey-like in her gameplay style over the years. But I think that Surrey just has this track record of just like more often than not what Surrey wants happens. Yeah. And I think that's

actually a really fun point that I didn't even realize that I think luck has not worked out in Sandra's favor over the course of her last three seasons. Again, you could take or leave how much her boot and winners at war was her fault, but like getting swapped screwed essentially twice in her last three seasons. We talk about, you know, if the hammer's ever going to swing back in Ceres direction, you know, from the survivor gods. But that hammers back towards Sandra as well in her last few times out. Do you have like a number six through 10 at all, Rob, that you have handy? So I think that Kim Spradlin is somebody who I think that we probably, you know, should have maybe considered more. I think that the problem is that she has the one really deep run.

I think she comes in eighth place in Winners at War. But I would love to see Kim play a third time. I think that Kim is somebody who I think is on that poverty level of being able to be so talented in all three facets of the game. I think that she did have weaker competition in Survivor one. world and she did a pretty good job in winners at war but I think that people were very worried about Kim so I do think that she's somebody worth revisiting I think that Tyson is also such a talented player in the game he is somebody who you would never want to bet against and somebody who was also just like such a triple threat yeah I mean I think maybe this is a little bit of a hot take

my number six would be Sarah Lascena oh and Interesting. Because I think that, I mean, I still say to this day that I think her performance in Game Changers is one of the most impressive post-murred performances I have ever seen. I mean, again, you go back and forth in terms of weaker competition, but like what she was able to do and what she was able to showcase in terms of having like firsthand power, making these relationships and weaponizing them into cutthroat strategic maneuvers and still winning for it, I think is sublime.

And also, let's bring up the fact that. like she arguably was a firemaking win away from being a two-time winner in her own right as well. And she also ran into, uh, you know, a low probability outcome, I think in Kagyon, even in her first season, where she was probably, she overplayed her hand, uh, ultimately and, you know, was maybe in a favorable position at the time that she ends up going out there. So I do think that the game changers one is interesting. I, I had been, lobbying for game changers to be the one that we did rewatch. I know obviously there's an elephant in the room with everything with Zeke and Varner,

but I do think that it would be an interesting season to go back and watch. And maybe for the 10-year anniversary of Game Changers, maybe there's like a little bit more. I know it's just like that people, it's such a bummer, the Zeke environment. But I do think that there's so many things from that season that I would love to really go back and do a deep dive on. Well, yeah, I think, you know, it's interesting to, and I speak about this as a survivor historian, about the idea of like going back to the seasons that people kind of cumulally write off as like because of these one or two bad moments happening. Like throw it all out. It's a trash season.

But like game changers, I think at the time, obviously, before that episode hits, there was a lot of talk about how much they loved that pre-merge as much as it might have led to a devastating outcome. And the post-merge, again, was very frenetic and all over the place. also wonder now in like the modern day mindset if it's easier to keep track up. Because I remember like the logic at the time was like, we don't know who's in an alliance with who. But I remember sort of thinking through game changers for the Surrey podcast. I think there is more of a straightforward narrative than we might remember, especially compared to even something like Survivor 50 where it seems like we truly had no idea what

was going on. Yeah. So we'll see. Maybe that's one to revisit along the way. Probably not in this series. But maybe if there's an episode from Game Changers here, it might be actually a good way to do it to bring it all back around. Can we get Malcolm on for the infamous double boot? Maybe. Maybe, you know, maybe if not Malcolm, maybe somebody else that was there.

Yeah, I mean, I'd love to hear Ty Trang talk about it playing that idol at Sierra Don Thomas. But yeah, I think that if we're going to some other six through 10 players, I think Jeremy is an interesting one. Because I think that Jeremy had, I think obviously Cambodia was an incredibly impressive performance from him. But even like winners at war, I think he had a very atypical game for him in playing from the bottom and what he was able to show. I think there's a case to be made for Michelle Fitzgerald, considering what she's been able to do, go two for two in final tribal councils and do it. Almost like Sandra style from a position where she doesn't really hold any power, I think is incredibly impressive as well. Yeah. All right.

Well, you all have your marching orders. Let us know in the comments. Where do you want to see us go as we go on our? survivor time trip and find out who's coming with us to go in the time machine. Yes, I am thrilled. Do we have enough plutonium, Rob? Do we have to go to the... I think we're in the Mr. Fusion, you know, this, this Lego set. So it was actually, my kid that asked me, Dad, do you want it to be a hovercraft and have Mr. Fusion on the back or old school? I told them, give me the wheels. Give me the wheels in the plutonium on the Lego set.

listen we don't have to rob the libyans or the libyes from ghost island i think we have plenty of the tank yeah all right mike what else are you working on these days big brother big brother big brother i mean again if you're a survivor fan uh or if you're not and you somehow made it through that premiere of big brother we are all along for that ride so of course you can check out everything i've got going on with parade uh usually exit press but maybe some miscellaneous stuff here and there talking with the people on screen and behind the scenes of what is sure going to be an absolute whirlwind this summer. And I'm thrilled, Rob, to have a little bit of like a survivor sidecar going on here as well. All right.

Thank you so much for joining us here for this introduction to the Survivor Time Trip. Congratulations to Parvety, the greatest of all time. And we look forward to going on a fun ride with you. Take care of a good one. Bye.