RHAP: We Know Survivor - Kaleb Gebrewold and Sabiyah Broderick Talk Emily Flippen | The Survivor 50 Files

Episode Date: July 3, 2025

The episode explores the evolution of Emily's strategy from her initial struggles on the Lulu tribe to her impressive comeback. Brandon, Kaleb, and Sabiyah share personal anecdotes about Emily's early game missteps and her remarkable ability to course-correct. They also speculate on how Emily's past experiences might influence her approach in Survivor 50.

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Discount code is 50FILES, five zero F-I-L-E-S. Let's get to the show. We are back with another episode of the Survivor, 50FILES. My name is Brandon Allen N. Crazy. I get to talk about, I say everybody in the new era is like somebody that I went to high school with, but this is like my study group. We're talking about somebody I was with, you know,

somebody I worked on projects with in a bad way. I'm talking about one of my favorite people in the world, Emily Flippen, with one of my other favorite people in the entire world. He was there, he saw it, we witnessed it together. It's Caleb, Caleb, how are you? Oh, brother, always good. Appreciate being on and, you know,

yeah, Lulu is that study group that no one even tries to take their credit for it at the end. You know, it's like, nobody wants to be responsible for this. So I don't know if I'm interviewing you or you're interviewing me, but it's gonna be fun to talk about Emily, right? Oh my god. Yeah, I've said this before on podcasts, but during the, when we were doing the walk around for the first immunity challenge, I think I said it and we all laughed, but I was like, we're not gonna win. You guys, you're not expecting, we're not gonna win this. I mean, everybody's like, nah, we're not gonna win. And look what happened, look where we ended up.

Yeah, yeah, my favorite was honestly, Sabaya always like before the first challenge we even went to, she's just giving us pump up speeches. You'd be like, don't count yourselves out. Just because they look like that and we look like this doesn't mean that we're definitely gonna lose. And mean that. You know, we're definitely going to lose. And then we got there, you're like, yeah, so no chance. So you feel the same after seeing it?

You do that, you would do the speech again. That's so funny. Oh, my God. My buffs right over here. Sabaya and Sean were going to join us here. They can't make it, but they'll be here later in the episode. This is an Emily episode. You'll see them in a little bit. However, Caleb, tell me about, you know, I've been asking everybody, the first question that I've asked on all of these is like your first impression of the person that we're talking about. But tell me how your first impression contrasted the Emily that you then met the first day. Like what was the difference,

or the connective tissue between those two things? But what was different? Okay. I mean, so the first time, obviously this isn't a pregame in Fiji before anything has started, we're not allowed to say anything to each other. So I'm sitting around,

I'm having just like my 80-D high-energy-ness, like I can't even sit at the table. And at one point when we're waiting for food, Drew's looking at me and he pointed his bracelet, he had a red bracelet on, and then he pointed himself. And it kind of goes like this, and he pointed himself. It took me a second and I was like oh you're on the red tribe that's not me I shook my head and he kind of gave me like the tear emoji with his hand and then turned around and walked away and I was like you could you could do that okay so I had no idea like it didn't even occur to me that that was a possibility and so I I went two for two on the people that I asked, one of whom was you, right?

First thing in the morning, waking up before anyone else, hanging outside of tent city and just kind of being like, like, dude, your water bottle, you pointed the water, your water bottle was yellow. And I was like, you know, I was unsure what you were doing. Like, are you deaf? Are you signing something? But you are. yeah, yellow. Look at us, we did it.

And it was, that was like the dream way of doing it because we didn't say a word when you said you were yellow too, you know, it was kind of like a mini celebration and we both were not able to sleep. That's why we were out there, but I don't know what happened, if it was like a poised, And we both were not able to sleep. That's why we were out there. But I don't know what happened if it was like a poised, coital energy or something. But then you just went right to bed as soon as we did that. I was like, all right. But that was awesome. I was like,

okay, I know one person and the other only other person I did it with was Emily. And this was on a boat ride over to one of our interviews things that was like at like four in the morning, it was super early. Everyone on the boat is sleeping except for Emily. She's just kind of looking off into the corner. So, I look at her, point of the life jacket, I point at me and I'm like, how about you? It was my with my hands in my mouth and it message did not deliver. It took us probably 30 minutes of me being like me, yellow, not red, not blue,

and she would just be like, what? Yeah. Yeah. Anyways, then when she finally got it, very excited with like her lower half of her face. She's like smiling. She's not excited. Yeah, kind of thing. But her eyes spoke differently. Her eyes were like the eyes of somebody who is like not excited, maybe scared maybe I don't know what it was. I just kind of thought it was nerves. But it turns out I think she was just like, you know, had no interest on being on my tribe from from the pregame. So I thought Emily was just like a normal looking girl. Pretty quiet, pretty plain,

and would have never guessed that obviously, like Emily five minutes in would like already be making a name for herself, you know? Yeah, and again, I think I've also said this on podcast, but when she was doing that, and the thing I wish they aired the most in the time that I was on the program is when she is going back and forth with Bruce,

I looked at you and I was like, Jesus Christ. And you and I laughed pretty hard. I think Savaya maybe got in on it, but we were shocked from seeing her and seeing me as we did have the same haircut when we filmed this. I figured that would be confusing for the cameras, but I didn't think we would ever be together. So I was thrilled.

I mean, just because she also is not like, I didn't know, I didn't have we would ever be together. So I was thrilled. I mean, just because she also is not like I didn't know. I didn't have any insight to her personality, but I knew that we would like I knew that we would get each other. Like there's something there's there's connected tissue, whatever that is. But then we start and I didn't I retracted that. I had many confessionals where I was like, I don't know if this is what I thought it was going to be.

And I think it's hard to quantify. Like you see in the show, like how Emily needed a couple of days to adjust. But what was what was that like? Like, tell me, talk me through. We're building this shelter. We're getting we're getting feedback from from from everybody. Really. What was that? What was the Emily Emily settling down?

What did that look like for you? Yeah, I mean. So obviously coming in, you know, already sniping at Bruce before we even got started, you know, means bias split. We went to do a challenge and we come back. And you could already tell she's like kind of rubbed some people the wrong way. You know, Pete, like every single person's coming up to you

being like, she's talking about advantages with you guys. Like she's playing hard immediately. And so that made me a little bit worried, but what was really funny was that there's something about that that just comes across, like when you hang out with Emily, just so authentic, so unfiltered. And so in some ways, the more she was doing it,

the more I was kind of falling for her because it is kind of like the dream person to work with, somebody who everybody wants out, it's like an obvious target, but at the same time, they're not actually that big of a threat, they're more of an opportunity. So that's how I saw it pretty quickly. But the problem was is that Emily was,

you know, such a danger to herself. It was kind of hard to like, to rely on somebody who was so unreliable. But it was, I would say those first impressions were great because not only was I seeing it, but I, yeah, I didn't mind that much. It was just hilarious. Sabaya was like, you know, this girl, she never

has an idea. She just tells us why we can't do anything, everything that we're trying to do. You know, like Hannah was in love with it. Sean was in love with it. Like it was like, what was your first impressions? I mean, I think I really, I haven't, I don't know if you remember, I had like an incident in the first couple minutes of the show, you know, like a big public thing. So I was just so thrilled. I think I had a confessional that I was like, this is great, keep doing this, you know, this is awesome. So I don't think, and maybe this is now like revisionist

history, cause I love Emily so much now, but I don't remember being as bothered by it, just cause I came in knowing like this social, like that's the part I'm good, like I can do that part. And like, kind of, I don't deal with is not the connotation I want to use, but I can I can handle that kind of confrontational, whatever you would call it. And not to say that somebody couldn't, but, you know, I remember so vividly the shelter that like, Emily to me had a better idea. But she just didn't she delivered it in a way that didn't make us want to do it.

Like we were almost not doing that despite her to go with Sabaya, who we love, who we'll talk about and talk to, whose idea was remarkably bad. It was a remarkably bad shelter idea. You know, it was a bad. I mean, in hindsight, it was bad. Like I didn't I'm kind of like I was ready to just be a soldier. You know what I mean?

And yes, Sam. But yeah, I would say that was definitely one side. And the other side, when you just talk about like, like the interpersonal dynamics, not just like how she would like critically assess, like how we wanted to do anything. She was also having a lot of trouble there, which is always like, you know, um, like I remember, I feel like one of the late night question games that we did, it was just like, tell it deep, like, like, tell us, tell a fact about yourself. Right. And I think Emily's was like, look how I can curl my tongue.

Yeah. And people- You go through everybody else's, everybody else's back. It was like much more vulnerable and deep than that from every other person, right? Sure, yeah, yeah. Talking about coming out, family members passing away this and that.

And I just remember looking at Emily at the end of it, like, you know, she could not have been more upset about her going first and like her turn. Yeah, she just was she just like she just I don't know, they had so many small missteps that was almost comical. It's like how do you mess it like mess up this many times in a row? The thing that I tell people when they ask about this specifically is we were talking about, I forget how the conversation came up, but it's you're at night and you're on surviving your board. So I think I asked her what kind of music she listens to and she said she doesn't like music.

I was like, what do you listen to in the car? And she said, oh, I don't like I don't listen to anything. I just sit there. And then I was like, okay, like, tell me a concert. Have you been to a concert? What concert have you been to recently? Whatever. And she's like, I saw the killers once they were fine. And I had a conventional about that where I was like in a game about like relating to people like give me something, you know, give me give me anything. But I do like now having and you played much more of the game with Emily than I did. But even in the days that I was there, her like transition period where you had planted the seed and I want to talk about how you had such an instrumental part in that. But there is something about Emily that made her able to recognize that herself. Like Emily, in a way that I could not course correct what I was doing, Emily could.

I wrote a blog post for the confessional, which you can still Google, about people who have a bad first episode and what happens to them. And I think that I said like, both Emily and I understood the assignment, but Emily like passed it. You know, Emily did the thing that she needed to do. So tell me about those two days and what the conversations were like. Emily is almost about to get voted out. Our dear Hannah Rose, who would have also been here, but she's in Mexico.

She's always in a tropical place. She's probably somewhere, you know. She will not be here, but she quits, she leaves the game. And then we have Emily talk about you going to Emily after that. Yeah. So I think for me, the reason why Emily became more and more impactful as an ally is because you just kind of look at the spread of our season. And it just looks like there was a lot of power that was consolidating around Sabaya.

And so I was just getting very worried because as much as I trusted Sabaya as an ally, and I really liked her, you don't want someone to have that much individual power to be able to just change their mind about you at a moment's notice, right? And in addition, she was also picking fights with Emily. She's like, you know, like, it didn't seem like, you know,

as much as Emily was unreliable, Sabai wasn't Emily, but you know, there was like a little element at that time where I was like, she'd done a couple of things that I was like, okay, I need to probably hedge myself a little bit. But the only problem was Emily was like actively working on trying to get me out, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, the first round, I think I have that,

I say that to you, I think in that first episode. Yeah. And I couldn't believe it because I literally went up to her. I was like, I don't want to vote a woman out first. And she was like, Oh, I was going to say we should target Sabaya. I guess this is what her inner monologue said. But she's like, if Kayla doesn't want to vote a woman out first, then we should probably just take out Kayla, because that's that's fair. So I'm going to do it myself.

But yeah, anyways, I think the first place that we started, I think it was just like, we kind of like the day after of Hannah was just kind of like, let's just clear the slate. Emily, I know you've been lying to me. Here's where I think it's been. Here's why I was ready to vote for you. But if you're willing to wipe the slate, I'm open to what that looks like. And she was too, and it started off really slow. It was just basically Emily being like, I literally have nobody. So if you can give me a little bit, I will take that and I'll work up with you.

She didn't expect it all at once to be, all of a sudden like an equal ally. And my advice was really just, okay, if we're going to try and keep Emily, you know, how can we, you know, essentially integrate her to just be friends with people, just to give people a like, you know, and so that's where, you know, it's just a little bit about, hey, you know, you have this commonality with Sean or this commonality with Sabiah, like, or Brandon or, you know, like, try and have these types of conversations.

And by her doing that, I was getting feedback from other people and I was like, oh, she actually is listening. She actually is trying to actively solve this. And that's where I was feeling more and more comfortable to really kind of trust her. And it was just a weird time because it's a really vulnerable place survivor.

And so as vulnerable as it is for Emily to be like, I'm scared, I don't know what I'm doing, I don't know where, like how this is gonna go. It almost feels equally vulnerable to receive that, like to get that much trust from somebody. And it wouldn't have worked if we didn't like each other and get each other. But that's kind of where it all started from was,

her acknowledging that she needed to dig herself out of this hole and just kind of being open to, you know, listening to, you know, what ideas might look like. Well, and now she's on Survivor 50, you know, wrapping up any any day now it should be over. But like, you have that successful I mean, you have two successful votes in me and then Sabaya ultimately the next round. Like, what is if you had to pitch Emily as like an ally that you work with to the people in season 50, what is that, what does that sales pitch look like of like, this is why you should work with Emily on your side? Yeah, I think that Emily is going to be one of

the more like predictable and reliable allies that you would work with. Like, her strength is also her flaws that she's so logical, right? She might sometimes forget the people element along the ways, which I think she learned in her experience on Survivor. Like she's a classic case of like trying to win an argument if you get so into the argument, she forgets the big picture of like,

I'm also trying to be friends with this person or have an alliance with this person or something like that. And if you can kind of just understand that she doesn't mean anything by her being so like real, you know what I mean? So concise, so, so, so reasonable, logical, then she's someone who is like really doesn't want to like shake the boat all the time. She really wants to like find a team and work with a team and have agency within it. But yeah, I think that's probably the best pitch

for her is that she's gonna be exceptionally reliable. If you yeah, I think that's probably the best pitch for her is that she's gonna be exceptionally reliable. If you're into it, she's probably not gonna win a bunch of competitions at the end of the game. So if you can have a reliable vote that is ultimately gonna make it easier for you to win competitions, that's probably also gonna be advantageous.

And, you know, we have a star in the making. So, you know, we have a star in the making. You know, so, you know, why wouldn't you? Go ahead. Yeah, you know, it's like, oh, you know, why wouldn't you hang out with, you know, just everything she says is hilarious. You know what I mean? It's like, she's a star, not just in terms of TV presence,

it's just more like you hang out with her all the time. It's like, this is one of the funniest people without ever trying to be. Just her day to day life is hilarious. This episode of Rob Has A Podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Summer is upon us and while temperatures are on the rise, so is workplace stress.

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Yeah, it's just being, you know, witnessing Emily IRL in real life. You're going to restaurants, you're just seeing her interact with other people. It's just people who have no idea who she is. Obviously, most people don't know who she is. But she just, there is a certain way about her that is, you know, that will, that is fun for us. But I do wonder, like, I have, and I've said this, I believe on this podcast, but like, I don't really have a worry for Dee as I do Emily going into season 50. Like, I can see a world where Emily does a similar thing

than how she started the first time to this time. Is that, is that a worry you think you have? Yeah, I would say Emily is like the classic case of like a bell curve in her chances in the season. She has a really high likelihood of going home early and a really high likelihood of going home late. But if she can get to the merge, you know, she can ride probably four to seven votes and get deep.

I would say that. Yeah, I you know, I kind of go back and forth on this. Sometimes I think, you know, Emily, don't do it again. You've learned so much. Don't put your foot in your mouth. But then part of me almost thinks that might be like one of the best things for her is to kind of be start from behind the eight ball again,

you know, maybe overplay a little bit, but not go home. Because I think that in Emily's case, people talk about a growth narrative with her. And her growth, I think, wasn't necessarily, oh, I want to like, I see people completely differently or something like that. And like, I'm never gonna be who I was. She's still the same person. I think what she learned was how to like, where to restrain herself in certain portions, right? Definitely still how to like, where to restrain herself in certain portions, right? Definitely still trying to build relationships first, feel like restrain herself.

Like the example I would use is after you got voted out, something that was on aired was, you know, we went to the mat and people were so sad. This guy loves the game. And I think someone said, it's like, you know, Jeff, what Jeff said, why were you guys so have such an emotive reaction for Brandon? And someone said, you know, Jeff, he just seemed like the heart of the truck. And that's what this is. Part of the podcast, part of the network.

And then Emily speaks up. And she's like, well, Jeff Hart doesn't win survivor, right? Which Jeff replies, actually, I've been here a long time. I think Hart went definitely win survivor, right? And Sabaya jumps in and says, Oh, I think what she means is, heart only doesn't win survivor. Like you're going to need some, you know, some strength, you're gonna need some brains, like you're gonna need some of the stuff if you're gonna be able to get through in the tri-portion. And Emily came up to me later and was like,

thank God somebody said something because if she didn't, I was gonna double down. Yeah. She was like, I would have said something like, well, Jeff, if heart won survivor, Brandon would still be here. How about something along those lines? Yeah. Finding with Jeff, you know, not for anything. People would have loved it.

Oh, really? The Internet would have really taken to it. That's so funny. I forgot that that happened. It's really funny. Yeah, I just feel like she kind of it's like the real Emily is still there always, you know. And so I think she's like if she kind of screws up early like something happens and she doesn't go home You know, I think that might just give her like the additional focus of okay I have to lock in the rest of the season versus You know, so I don't think that her having a misstep early is necessarily a bad thing as long as she doesn't go home, you know a misstep early is necessarily a bad thing, as long as she doesn't go home. Not to, you know, not to, in this analogy that I'm going to make, refer to Emily as

the student, if you will. But if you could, you know, you have your time with Emily, and then Emily goes to this different tribe and is kind of taken in by an Austin and a Drew. What do you think in terms of like the teaching styles between you and between Austin and Drew? What do you think the difference is there, if there's a difference? Yeah, I think that in my situation, or like working with me, I think she was just a lot more reliant on kind of like understanding like the dynamics of like the other people because she had, you know had taken such a step backwards, she needed that help to get to just even. And so there was a lot more support needed.

With Drew and Austin, she started with everybody else on that tribe. So coming in, I think she was able to slow down, to start by just building relationships with people. And I think what they wanted to do was instead of, here's how to survive. It's like, here's how we can actually play the game together, right? And kind of helped paint the picture with her in terms of here's where the numbers could be. Here's how we can work together and kind of,

you know, make some progress into this game. And so I think the difference would be, you know, with myself, it's like helping her kind of recover on a social level. And I think they were able to work with her a lot more on a strategic level in terms of, you know, here's how we can essentially run the game together, you know?

Yeah, it's, you know, she is coming in with such an interesting, you know, it just, I, and no secret to you, the listener, we do this poll on Rob's podcast a year ago of like, who do you want to be back? You know, build your own Survivor 50 cast. And she was so adamant that she didn't want to go back. And she wasn't she wasn't even included on the poll because of that. She was she told somebody, I don't know if it might have been me.

She was like, don't like I do not have any interest. Don't put me on it. So the idea that she would want to go back is nuts for people still. I think when it started to pop up, people were dismissing it as a rumor because like she said so many times she didn't want to go. Yeah, it's funny.

Because I think that's actually like 100% the truth. And I always say whenever these people, like these players are talking about like, oh, I don't think I'd go back anymore. If they got the call, I think 95% of them will. Right. But what I would always say is that Emily respectfully says the most love is one of like the only people who's crazy enough that I'd actually I actually believe her.

Yeah. She would say no, that she would say no. Yeah. And so I think that she legitimately had no plans on coming back. And you know, kind of when she got a call, she wasn't even planning on doing it. And then kind of throughout this process, you know, opened herself up to the idea of it. You know? Yeah.

Can you share? You might know that. I mean, both of us, I think you much more than me, like talk to Emily before this experience, like what was the mindset going into this time? The advice I would give people who asked for it was something along the lines of listen, and they've done this before, they know it's like you're probably going to lose anyways, right? Have fun. You know what I mean? You know, I think people who

and I and that's the nice part about 50 and some of these returning seasons, like they know who they're calling, you know, people are not coming back to neuter themselves like from their first experience just to try and make it to the end. Right. But it was just kind of like that reassurance that it's just like, you know, they brought you back because of, you know, this unbelievable like personality that you have that's so unique. And the thing about you, specifically Emily, is that I actually think it's one of your biggest advantages to be that real and authentic, because I think there's just something that's naturally trustworthy about that compared to, you know, like when I met you

and I look at you compared to Emily, one of the challenges I had was just like, this guy seems like so, I mean, nor like normal, like social sweet guy. It was almost like, so there's a little bit of fishiness to it. It's like, where's the, you know, like is this the guy who's gonna try

and stab me in the back? When you hang out with Emily and you just have Emily be unfiltered, Emily, you have this realization, it's like, dude, this girl is a thousand percent being real with me. You know? Yes, I see that. I definitely see that. So I'm just saying, like, yeah, have fun.

And actually, like, it's actually probably one of your superpowers of being real because as long as you're not showing your hand completely, like, I think that people underestimate you or really trust you from just your authenticity. Do you think that the newer era folks, the new era folks, like they've met Emily and they love Emily. They've met Emily when you and I have been around. We've seen the interactions. Was she there when we were just in Boston?

She was in Boston. We're in the Airbnb with them. We're sitting at that table, you know, what a pit. But I lost my train of thought. I was thinking about the table. When new era people meeting Emily. Yeah, new era people meeting Emily. And that charm carries because the new era people

are watching the show, they love the show, they meet Emily and it's like you're meeting a character from your show. I wonder if the old guard has that same reverence for somebody that like back in the and I do not think Emily is annoying. I'm on record. I don't think Emily was annoying. But like the older folks in Old Survivor when when you were annoying you got voted out. Like like you know you'd look at, you know, the first couple of people voted from, from, you know, Colby, Stephanie LaGrosa and all these people like being socially not full of tact used to bite you in a way that it doesn't as much anymore because we're all gamifying it to where like we have to keep, you know, it's like Q says to Banu, it's like the Whackadoodles win, you know. Do you think the old guard will have that same reverence for Emily?

like the Whackadoodles win, you know. Do you think the old guard will have that same reverence for Emily? I don't know if reverence would be the right word, but I think that, you know, I think just authenticity will always land if people feel like they're really getting to know the real you. I think that a lot of what like would kind of turn people off, it's like, especially if somebody was being like sticky or like trying to go out of their way to kind of put on this persona or this character

and it came off annoying. Like that would be like the number one thing I think that would annoy people from the old era specifically. Because they've seen all of that and they hate it, right? Yes. But if somebody is just, yeah, being themselves, you know, and it's like a character like Emily, like, you know?

The thing is, I think Emily might dislike more of the older people than the older might dislike her. You know, that's the bigger problem, you know? Yeah, she, talking with her beforehand, like she knows, you know, where Dee has not seen most of those new R.A. seasons, Emily has and I think has opinions, which I'm very curious to see how she, you know, the Emily and Colby conversation is almost more interesting

to me than Emily and coach because like coach and not to say that Colby isn't funny. I don't know Colby, but coach is funny. Like coach, you can they can have a good banter that will show in confession. Like, I don't know what Emily and Colby talk about. I don't know what that looks like. It's I think about it a lot, I don't know what Emily and Colby talk about. I don't know what that looks like. I think about it a lot. I don't know what the conversation is. We'd be so lucky, you know, for like extended time there

because that is like talk about, yeah, like in the the Venn diagram of not knowing, like not having commonality you know, they're like in the perfect center of it. Like, I don't know what Colby would say or Emily would say in that situation. I think that Emily would probably assume the worst on someone like Colby versus the best initially. And Colby's probably the same. I mean, that's, I can see you're getting along with Coach.

I can see you're getting along with Stephanie, honestly. She's been around the block with all of this stuff, right? For sure. And I think that I'm like, I don't think Emily's intensity and forthrightness is off putting in the same way that and you just said it, like the people who are going to come in and like really ham it up, I think it's infinitely more off putting like Emily's version of hamming it up. It's just being herself. Like it's not there's

no performance that's happening. That's just what she does. Whereas, and I don't know if this is what coach will do on this tenure on survivor. But like, when coach comes back from token jeans, to hear his versus villains, he's got catchphrases. And he's I said this to JT coach, he's writing Dragon Slayer on all the votes, you know, he's like, he he came in with material whereas Emily's not coming in with material. No, no, no, no, I think Emily it's like the perfect Emily it's almost like the Michael Scott thing where it's like if he just said the third thing that came to mind he would never get into trouble. Emily needs to check herself and do

like the second thing and that's probably the mix between TV and great player. You know, the first thing that comes to mind is the such high variance it could be will make people fall in love with their own soul sender home. But like that second thing, I think that's a sweet spot. And then, yeah, the third spot is, you know, probably the safest. But I'm hoping that she just like, yeah, those are the second thing that comes to mind the most. Can you talk through Emily in terms of like, you know, I'm

hoping that Emily makes it all the way. I'm really hoping that she's not out. But Emily is a juror. What was the post Emily gets voted off? You've been in the jury for a couple days now. Like, what is Emily processing the game look like? Like what is Emily processing the game look like? I never considered that question. Right, so first of all, I mean, I don't know if there's gonna be, what twist there's gonna be

and like if the jury's gonna be able to have, like Emily, she's bright and early. Let's grab a drink in the morning, let's grab a drink in the afternoon, let's grab a drink in the evening. She's gonna have drink in the afternoon, let's grab a drink in the evening. She's going to have some fun. She's probably going to take a little bit of time to decompress if she does go out early. But what I think in terms of how she looks at the game, it's interesting because I think when she came out in our season, you know, she had probably the closest ties to Drew on a personal level and a strategic level.

And I think that in some ways, she was advocating for what who she thought was playing the best game, but it also correlated with the person who she had the best relationship with. So that's interesting, right? When Drew went out of the game, I think that, you know, she kind of, there's like that question kind of took care of itself. And she really was focused on like who played the best game and think about it from that perspective and wasn't really too hard of feelings, you know, in terms of the people

who betrayed her, Julie played an idol, we would have been totally happy to play for Julie or to vote for Julie who didn't make it to the end. So I think that yeah, Julie is Emily is a juror is like very open to talking about the game, which some people aren't and is ultimately like what would be the best, you know, what would be the best winner for our season? I think she comes in with that mindset, which is great. But it also comes from a little bit about placement. I feel like the most vindictive people are the people who got voted out right at the end, not necessarily in the first half of the jury, right? Yeah. Yes. That's yeah, it's super, super interesting. I wanted to win. Do you have any do you have any insight speaking of winners? You know, she's there with D. You were there with me

and all of us just a couple months ago, we were all together. This wasn't even a thought for D at that point. Do you have any insight who would turn on each other first between the two of them? So interesting. Because, you know, the way I would look at it is, you know, as much as I would say, Emily's a very loyal person, I think that if you're in with D, she's about as loyal of a friend and an ally as you could find. Right. And, you know, I really do think that she would like die swinging for her people. But the second that she gets a whiff that you might not be as in on her. I think that she's also very ready to take out the scissors and cut you if that's the case, right? And so I think that between those two, you know, the question would be,

does Emily give D signs about, you know, oh, I might be working with other people. That's not necessarily even against D, you know what I mean? And in that situation, I could see D cutting Emily first, right? But ultimately, as long as they have good communication, I think that they would try and work together, you know, as much as they could in this game. What do you think? I have that same thought. I don't like I don't think Emily has this gear that's like,

I want to beat Dee. The same way that people have talked about Stephanie LaGrosse and Suri. We had Rachel Riley on this podcast as well as Michael Davidson, who played the Traders with Suri, where they said, and Stephanie, they said Stephanie does not have that. But I've been here that Stephanie feels that way about Suri just because of the history. Beat Stephanie at Survivor, Suri beat Stephanie at the Traders, beat Stephanie at Staking the Grass. I'm sure there's something. Whereas I don't think Emily has that. I think my fear is that Emily is in an alliance of people that Dee just wouldn't be in an alliance with. I think that Dee's group and Emily's group, if they were to make their...

Granted, they both have Drew, but I can see Emily gravitating to your Christians and your Rick Devons' and Dee is maybe leaning towards your Jonathan's and your Joe's and your Rick Devins is, you know, and Dee is maybe leaning towards your Jonathan's and your Joe's and your Stephanie Brose. So I just, I think their alliances will be at war at a certain point. And it just is a matter of who has the numbers. Yeah. And who's willing to actually advocate for the other, you know?

And I think that one of Emily's regrets in our season is that she was on the inside while I was on the outside at the merge and she didn't push the case hard enough of trying to keep myself as someone who would have been a loyal number with her. And so I do think that Emily would probably try and court correct if she could, but I don't think either of them would necessarily jump on the grenade outside of telling them, hey, it's time to play your shot in the dark to the the person into to try and save them like Cal and Camilla. I don't think either of them would go that far.

You know, and that's exactly right. It's because they are not they're not that close. Like, they're not. I think that that, you know, in a world where you and Emily are both there or Kelly and D are both there, that it's a different like, even if you're in opposing alliances, there's that connected, like Dee and Emily are like good friends, certainly.

But I don't think that they, before this, have had that relationship to where, if you're returning on a season, there are like Genevieve's going in by herself. Emily and Dee are going in together, but essentially, like there's no, Kyle and Camilla going in together or a different thing. Like that is a definitively different thing than what we have with our

two people. Yeah, I would definitely say that. I think people probably know it's hard in Survivor because you kind of have to assume the worst. So it's like, well, they've done all these events together, they must be super tight or assume that when they're super tight, you know, and, you know, no one's going to watch this until they're back. So, yeah, but I would agree with you that they're very good friends, but it's not like they're like, texting each other all the time or like,

yeah, I think the barometer for a close friend is like, do you guys FaceTime? Like, ever? Like, do you ever is there ever a FaceTime call that happens not about this direct thing? Which I don't think that's happening, but I could be wrong. I mean, maybe I don't know, but I don't think so. Yeah, not as far as I know. But you know, it's like it was this whole 50 thing and like as you get closer to the finish line of actually going out there, I think the the amount of pregame that happened happened right at the finish line, like over the last few weeks or month, considering how long the casting process was, right?

I think exponentially increased. And so I'm not even 100% sure on the latest of how everything was looking right before. In terms of Emily's prep for 50, do you have any insight into what she was doing to get ready, if there was anything that she was doing. You know, Emily's prep, I remember talking to her giving her some ideas like what the ideal prep might look like. Right.

I think she was getting into just like general fitness prep. I don't think she was doing a ton of puzzle prep. Did what do you think? Did you did you hear anything about the puzzles? I didn't hear she was doing a ton of puzzle prep. What do you think? Did you hear anything about puzzles? I didn't hear anything about any prep. I sent her, I was like, do you want like info? And she was like, hey, sure. And then I sent her the very few tidbits that I sent D

of just like how people know each other and what have you. But I don't know in terms of, you know, it's so funny. We were in, we were in Disney a couple, whenever that was in January, February. And you and D go to the gym. You guys are at the gym. And Emily, to me, we're in the hotel room. We had a very big hotel. Emily was like, you know, I run like many miles a day.

And I was like, yeah, I was like, I don't doubt that. And she's like, yeah, but she's like, I don't want to work out when everybody else is working out. Like, I'll just take the day off or something. And I'm like, yeah, but she's like, I don't want to work out when everybody else is working out. Like, I'll just take the day off or something. And I'm like, all right, pretty good. So I know that she's she's doing some she's doing something, you know, I don't know, but she's keeping it close to the vest. Yeah, I think she's like a like she has a like a like a like a bit of a cardio regimen that she started.

I remember talking to her in February. She's like, Caleb, I'm like, I'm doing really great at it. And I talked to her in March. She's like, yeah, I haven't done in weeks. Yeah. So I was like, it depends on the weather with Emily. I remember like, Emily, you're leaving in like a month. How's it going?

She's like, I know, I'm gonna get into it. And I think she did. But yeah, I think, you know, she's just gonna, I think she's gonna go in as an actual, you know, and you'll see how that like, she's better than last time, but I don't think it's gonna be like leaps and bounds. Like she's trained for this for the last two years, you know, and you'll see how like she's better than last time, but I don't think it's going to be like leaps and bounds like she's trained for this for the last two years, you know? What was the last conversation that you two had

before she left? Do you remember what the conversation was like? Yeah, I mean, we spoke probably either in the car ride to the hotel or something like that. And it was just, I think it was just like a lot of like the shock of the moment was finally like washing over. So it was just, it was more so just banter. You know, honestly, like I'm a guy, it's like, you know, there's, it's like, you're not going to study for a test 10 minutes before you're about to take it. You know, at this point, you might as well loosen up.

So I think it was just literally us just shit talking the entire time and just like having as much fun as we could. And then just I can't wait to talk to you when you when you land and vice versa. And yeah, kisses goodbye. So it was a. It was something like that, you know, just loosen up, loosen up, you know. And that's good advice. She could use that advice, you know. I'd love to ask you just that, you know, just loosen up, loosen up, you know. And that's good advice. She could use that advice, you know.

I'd love to ask you just because, you know, season 50, there were a lot of people in contention, certainly. Talk about for you, season 50 is happening. You know, what's what's the group like for you? How do you feel about the group? So, I mean, looking at the 50 cast, it's the perfect mix. You're never gonna, no one,

everyone's not gonna be happy, no matter what the cast is, right? And I would say if you're looking at this cast, you're probably looking at a very small percentage where it's like, oh, could this person or this person be in instead? I look at this as somebody who was in the process and feel totally comfortable that I look at a group of people who represent the last 50 seasons and have no ill will whatsoever.

I'm excited for the season. I do think there's probably some people in some other seasons who maybe are looking at this and wondering where they could have been in a couple of other people's spots, but that's never been my perspective. Being cut, I was totally at peace with it because this is for the history of the whole show. I think I would definitely say to anybody from the new era

who feels like they could have been on this, there will probably be another returning season that will be even more new era focused. Right. And that might be like an eye on like the future of like where we're going next. And this is I think a great celebration of the history of where we are now. I'm an optimist. I'll take it with a grain of salt, but that's kind of how I look at it. You know, and yeah, I mean, yeah, I could I could give you like, well, what other questions do you have specifically? Well, just tell me, you know, tell me who you're excited to see from this group.

It's not one of our people, no Emily or David. Who are you excited? You know, you're, you know, under reported story, a super fan of Survivor, you know, you know all these people the same way that people that are listening to this know all these people. So who are you most excited to see come back and play?

Yeah, I mean, there's, I, so I love, you know, me, I love like people who play a social game and people who play a strategic game. So, you know, I look at someone like Jenna and I think, man, this is going to be crazy. You know, she was about as tight end as it gets, like quietly, you know what I mean? So you wonder how that's going to necessarily,

like if she can do that in the new era format, because it's totally different, right? Um, you know, I would say that I mean, there's a lot of people here who I like, but I would say like, if I was to pick the three people, I would say probably Jenna, I would probably give, you know, I'm gonna obviously, I'm trying to say the obvious, like the Christians and yeah, like I'm trying to say the obvious like the Christians and yeah, like I'm trying to go a little bit more, a little bit more niche. You know what, I don't know this niche. This is like just a zag on the internet maybe, but I would be excited to see

Rick Devins play again. Rick Devins is so fun for me to see. I mean, I love the Edge of Extinction the season. So I am so excited to see what he can bring to this group of people. And when I talked to Gavin, I was like, you know, there is something that comes with Rick's already been voted out. Rick is really the person in this season who got voted out the earliest on their first try, who then happened to be in a season where that mechanism was in there that he could come back. But I think there's something really interesting about that to where, you know, he's going to be voting off the fourth person of the season of 24. that to where, you know, he's going to be voting off the fourth person of the season of 24. I mean, he knows how it feels. And I think there's a way to kind of use that to your advantage.

Whereas, you know, you have Suri who had gone early once you have Colby who went relatively early Aubrey's gone early. But really, that's not a across the board and experience that many people have. Yeah, I agree. And it's funny because like, you know, you know, obviously, I big sports fan as well. And so there's always this thing in sports. They talk legacy talk. Right. And you look at somebody like Rick, who played such a in some ways dominant game, right? You know, using idols playing like a winning immunity and, you know, kind of being on the

bottom for so long, which sucks, by the way, right? I did it for a few days and I was like this miserable like so sad, you know, he did he did it for like a month. Yeah. So anyways, so you look at someone like that and it's kind of like but you know, people think like, oh, like was it too advantage heavy? Like, could he have played a different social strategic game so it feels like he's like a good person where if there's those questions like you know again you can't take anything away from his first time playing but it maybe can like help kind of like really wash those away finally you know um

so it's yeah that'll be an interesting one and then if i was to go for a third person, if I was to pick somebody from, oh, man, I have so many people here. But if I had to pick someone from the new era, I would probably say it's tough. I'm really stuck between probably Q and Genevieve as to me. Well, I'm very, very excited to see because Q. Is such a wild card and a bit of a dumpster fire that you kind of think there's no way that this guy can do this again, right? Like who's going to fall for this? And you know,

there's a great chance, you know, that he goes, he can go out at any point of the game. Like Emily's bell curve is like this. He's like right here, you know, but it would be entertaining if we could see him kind of push through and then Genevieve, you know, I think out of everybody there, if she can, like she has a great, great shot of winning the game. As you know, somebody who, if I'm, you know, putting chips on one person right now, I think I'm gonna go Genevieve.

I think she can get along with old era. I think she can get along with the old era. I think she can get along with new era. She's not too hot. She's not too cold, you know, socially physically, you know, she could fit in with the threats, but she can also be like, I'm obviously not a threat. I just I see her kind of fitting into all these places, you know, and with so many big targets around her.

I think it'll be easier for her to not, her to not be the tallest poppy in the field. Sure. What an analogy. The World's Best Players, Messi, Holland, Kane and more are all taking part. And you can watch every match for free on Dzone, starting on June 14th and running until July 13th. Sign up now at Dzone.com slash FIFA. That's smurfing time. Hefty. Can you even lift, bro? Glouchy. I hate the radio. Quiet.

There's something important to tell you. I have no idea what he just said. And smurfette. That's how it's done, boys. Smurf, only in theaters July 18th. Do you think Survivor's casting everybody to win, or do you think they're casting people that they know won't win, but they know will be fun?

No, I mean, how many people, when you went on to Survivor 45, if you were like, there's 18 people going on, how many people did you think actually had a chance to win? I did this on my notebook. How many people do we actually know? I'm just saying that coming in, what was your thinking of it?

I bet you like, like eight maybe out of 18, I think. Yeah. Is your number less than that? Mine was probably about there. I was gonna probably say like eight to 10, you know, as people who could win. And yeah, there's going to be probably half, maybe a little bit less than half that probably have no real chance to win. And we don't have to go down the list. But what do you feel like? It's probably a little less on the returning season, but I probably see this probably like, you know, maybe like 25 percent. That was my question is on a returning season on Survivor 50.

How many of the 24 do you think? And we can pull up the graphic, but how many of these people do you think have a a legitimate shot to win? I probably would say. I don't know. I mean, like it's, you never know what happens, but I would say you're probably looking at like, yeah, two thirds of the cast, maybe three quarters. Like I probably see a lot of people here who get the chance to win on a returning

season on this season. Um, I wouldn't underestimate many of these people, the people who you worry about are like just, you know, liabilities physically, they might be picked off early, liabilities, you know, maybe in terms of, you know, managing their threat levels, you know, something we both have some experience in, you know. I'm talking about podcasts.

I don't know, do you think that's high or do you feel like it's low? I think my number is the same. I think it's about eight people. I don't think it's a ton of people. Like I think about a Q, whereas I think Q could win the first time. I don't think Q is in the group that can't win. I think now Q is in the group that can't win.

I think Coach is in the group that can win token chains and that is not, where I think a couple of people transition to the other group, whereas I don't think anybody, maybe Emily is a great example of, was maybe cast to not win and to be fun, but now can win. Yeah, a thousand percent. She is like the epitome of that. I think that they were like licking their lips when they cast it, Emily.

And they're like, this girl is going to be just this flaming comet that goes out so fast. And yeah, I mean, like anyone can surprise you on these things. But I think that, yeah, there's a lot of people. There's a lot of also like when we talk about legacy and the history of themselves on these shows that, you know, if they play it right, you know, you tell me Colby has no chance to win. Was he one of your eight? I don't even know.

He's not one of my eight. No, I don't think there's a shot that Colby has to it. I think that Colby can get deep and it would. What a beautiful story. I mean, I like as a super fan of Survivor. Hell yeah. For Colby winning. But I don't think he's got I don't think he's got it. I really don't think any of the older folks got it. I think this is, I think, let me say, I'm going to pull up the graphic a third time. I don't think, yeah, am I crazy?

Like I don't think any of the people, you know, I can, like people have thrown around Christian and I would love Christian to win. Nobody wants Christian to win more than me, other than Gabby Piscuzzi. What a season though. What a season but like are you letting Christian get past the final eight of the game? The final six? Like where he went out last time? It just seems it seems unlikely. And then I see I guess I'm looking at this and seeing the people's flaws from the last time and wondering if they can beat out those flaws. Whereas you have like, you know, my winter pick I've said many times is D, but like the more that I did these podcasts, like Joe, like, oh my God, like these older folks, they

love Joe, Joe, they, they were Joe did season 48. And he's, he's with, he's with Kyle and Camilla who obviously are an obstacle. He has Camilla on the jury that they ultimately rides for Kyle. But it seems like the new era has got it. But I could be totally wrong. Yeah, I like the Joe pick a lot. And I like the D pick as well. The D pick is just the classic case of, you know,

she's coming in burning hot in terms of probably the best winner of the new era, many would argue, you know, just came off the challenge, you know, is, you know, the, I don't know, just a lot going for her before survivor after survivor. So you almost wonder that, you know, does that kind of catch up to her in the same way that it might for Christian? She's not like as outwardly as charismatic as Christian, which isn't a big statement. He's probably a top five out of nine in the whole series, you know, but, you know, all the things that you're saying about, yeah, about, yeah,

burning too bright. I do think it applies to Dee. That's why I'm worried about her, you know? Yeah, I don't know why I don't have that same worry. I mean, I would say it because I feel like it's so likely that she's probably out early. I'm not worried about it because it feels like, you know, so like I said to Kelly Wentworth on here, I said, you know, Dee is a winner pick is crazy. But think about how cool I'll sound if it's right. You know what I mean? If she makes it to the end and wins, it's a pretty good pick. I worry for Emily that Emily

gets in her own way, which leads to an early demise. But with D, D just has the resume leading up to it where if you're going to a tribal council, there's eight people. Everybody wants a win. She's the only winner on the team. Kyle's on a different team. It's like, why wouldn't we vote at it? It would be crazy to not vote at that spot. Yeah. It's like you look at Saree getting popped in the first half of Hero of Zillens. It's just like you're... She didn't play herself into that spot as much as... It was just like she had a bounty on her head that people were coming for. And, you know, people have that mentality. That's kind of where D gets screwed, but she's not going to screw herself. She's not going to fumble.

And yeah, so I totally see what you're saying there. And yeah, I mean, yeah, it'll be interesting. I mean, she better not hope not to run into Jenna Lewis. You know, she doesn't like it. It's like that was actually I could read it. That was my last text to D. I was like, I told her about General Lewis, you know, days prior. But I'm like, by the way, I forgot to say she doesn't like the winners.

So be careful. Which, you know, I hope that she's she's rethought that because there's only two winners. But I I think that really. And I said this to the also D and Jenna Lewis get along great, I think from the little that I know of Jenna Lewis seeing her on TV twice, 20 years ago, that makes sense to me, the pairing, that they would find each other very funny, as would Emily.

I think that that's a great ally. And I texted Dee that, I'm like, listen, if she's on your tribe, she wants the gun for the winners, but go for that. So we'll see. Yeah, we'll see. Yeah, we'll see. Yeah. Do you think that 49 is long for this world and 50? No.

Zero percent. It would be, again, not to keep referencing what I told Emily and Dee, but that's, I sent them the list of everybody who's done a back to back season and how well they do. Zeke is the lowest placing person at 10th place out of 20. Everybody else is eighth or above. Nobody's won. Nobody's won their second back to back. But Rupert's fourth.

Amanda Kimmel is second on Micronesia. You have a couple. Russell's third. You have those people. Yeah, Malcolm as well. There's no reason. And it's a good thing for Dee to know. When everybody's looking at Dee

is that there's no reason to keep you. It's like, what about this fucking guy or guy? Like, we don't know this person. You know, like we didn't, I don't know what the extent of the pre-gaming was with the whole group, but like we didn't know this person existed until we got here.

You know what I mean? Like, what's the reason to keep that person? So with Love, the 49 people, if you ever watch this, I think you're both lovely. I don't know you, I never talked to you, but you're great. It's tough. You know, sorry, like, you know, 49 is kind of forgotten already. And now it's like, I guess anyone who asked, I was like, I mean, tell those people not even to unpack their bags. Yeah, yeah. I mean, you know, you won't be that hungry. I don't think it just seems like

such an interesting is, you know, that I't be that hungry. I don't think it just seems like such an which is interesting is, you know, that I've seen being floated online, like, why would you even go? Is was was thrown out there. But like, then why would Russell go? Why would Malcolm go? Like, you've got to go if they call you. You have to go. That's the only sign up to be on 49. It's a cabbage. You know, yeah, I wonder like the

historically, the odds of them putting somebody from 49 onto 50 were good because every time they do a big thing, there's somebody back to back. Besides winners at war, right? What was that? Besides winners at war. Besides winners at war and then second chance because they had the benefit of watching it all the way through. Like the people who haven't ever seen you play, like that's only happened a few times. But I wonder playing Survivor 49, if that's a thought that everybody's having of like,

I'm playing with fucking Colby in a couple of months. You know what I mean? I'm chilling, you know. I wonder if anybody was playing with that mindset, which I also think is bad to do that on 49 and then to come in on 50 and try to do that again. Like nobody wants to buy that on 49 and then to come in on 50 and try to do that again. Nobody wants to buy that on 50. Yeah.

Yeah, that's something, when you keep flashing over and you see the two big question marks, I do have a little bit of sympathy as much as I don't. It's like, what a two-year run. You know what I mean? There's no shock. It would shock me if that. I mean, I think really the same about, unfortunately, Kyle and Camilla, I think Joe, because Joe feels so much like a Colby and an Ozzy

in that group that Joe might be good for a while. But I think the same of Kyle and Camilla. It just seems like you're going in with, not only did you Kyle win a week ago and a week before they left and Camilla was the number one who was the huge strategic force of that twosome alliance. Like it just seems like a weird place for them to then go in, be waving to each other from the immunity challenge and then nobody's like, should we take care of that? Should we do something about that? I don't know.

Yeah, I would. I completely agree. It sucks. But it's it's almost like, you know, me and Emily were kind of looking at it at one point. It was like, damn, it would it would be really tough for you and I were on the same season coming back like this. The way this is working out, because you look at Colin Camilla, it's like. Even if they make it to the merge, which would be crazy. There's no way they'll be allowed to ride it out. You know what I mean? It's like 48 one one person is going to get popped pretty quickly.

You would imagine. Yes. Right. Yes. And so whoever gets there first and Joe might be the only one who can get away with it. But between Colin Camilla's tribes, like that's just probably and I especially feel worried about Camilla, you know, yeah, I mean, oftentimes

in the twosomes, the woman does go first. And a lot of the times the woman is the better player. Like I think about like a, you know, a Chelsea and DK Chillett who get targeted at that early stage of Island of the Idols. Like they vote off Chelsea because Chelsea's the threat. You know what I mean?

I think Camilla, like, and Kyle, like Kyle's always going to be the threat. Camilla's the threat. So, you, we agree. But you and Emily would have had that same thing. It doesn't matter if you played two years ago or last week, like you going in would have had the same target. Yeah, a thousand percent.

And that's where you look at, like almost like a Q and a Tiffany. And that's a much more interesting relationship because these are two people who on paper actually really disliked each other. Most of them. Yeah. Yeah. So there's not like the sense of but at the same time, because these are two people who on paper actually really disliked each other most of the time. Yeah, yeah. So there's not like the sense of, but at the same time, no one's dumb. Like these guys have been talking for two years

and have hung out a bunch and like have met each other's families and like done all this stuff. It's like, you know, you're telling me that those two are not working together, you're crazy. They want you to think they're not working together. You're crazy. They want you to think we're working together. The long con of the century is what that is. And they got Charlie too.

They have three people. They got everybody. That group is the most interesting, I think, of the threesomes. I think the David vs. Goliath threesome is also extremely interesting. Maybe a little more. But I think the 46 people, like they all want to like, get each other. Whereas I think the 37 people want to, they're huge personalities, maybe the three biggest on the cast, but they want to they want to play together, I think. Whereas these people, I don't

think want to play together for even a couple dates, the three. You know, it's, it's when rubber meets the road, you always start with the people you have the best relationships with, right? And, you know, I think that, you know, I don't know, I think that 47 is I think are 40. So I think this is a long con of I think there is been group chats and lots of conversation. And, you know, they're outwardly saying I can't trust this cue. I can't trust this cue.

I can't trust Tiffany. She tried to vote me on. I can't trust Charlie. He was playing all of us. And like, that's what I heard. That's what I was being told, you know, hanging out with them at these events. And, you know, the more you try and sell me on it, the more I'm like, you got to be a little bit like, you got to have like your like a sense of a little bit, you know? Right. Sure. Well, we did it.

On the run, yeah. Oh my God. Yeah. You feel good about Emily's chances? You still feel worried? You think that ultimately that is she could get in her own way? That's all your final thoughts? That's the fear. I think that and I hope she does.

And really after last time, like you would hope that she would, you know, you would hope that that happened. But I think like what a and I love I love survivors so much. And I love the storytelling of survivors so much. And what a tragic story of like Emily escapes being voted out first because of whatever comes back into this thing is overwhelmed and that happens again it's like I think from a storytelling perspective I don't want this to happen at all but like they're like no matter

what happens like death will find you you know I mean like like I like how another station what was it say that again final destination Andy goats voted out in season 47 for largely a similar thing that was going to get him the first round, which is like this this needing of folks to and I don't want to put words in Andy's mouth by any means of like the validation that he needed from Rachel to go back to the jury and tell everybody that you're playing that I'm playing such a good game. And then Rachel Eido's amount like is similar to what happens to Andy in the game. Like that's it's beautiful storytelling. I don't want it to happen, but it's a beautiful, it's a beautiful thing.

My prediction for Emily, if not that probably like, you know, I think Emily faces the similar Christian problem of like, you can't get out, you can't let Emily get to the end because Emily's going to win. I don't know. I hope the people that are there recognize that, that she's that good of a player. I guess if they don't, she could win.

But my guess, if I had to put a number on it, if it's not early, you know, eighth, sixth? Okay. Was she eighth food on her season? She was seventh last time. I think that's a great spot for her is that between eight and six. Yeah, that's kind of where,

I actually even nudge her a little bit further. Yeah, that's kind of where I actually even nudge her a little bit further. I think that Emily, like the best thing I could dream for her is to kind of have that fumble early. I know she'd hate it in the moment and it would be also like the best TV product, but I think that if that happens, I really do think that she's going to lock in. I think that she is going to do better than people think when it comes to establishing bonds this time. I think she actually has more friends than she realizes kind of looking at this cast. And so, you know, the amount of people who are like, I think Emily is out first that I've heard or have said to me. And I don't think so. I mean,

if it's if it's if she's going on the pre-merge, it's probably that first boot, that she's going to tribal council. No doubt. It's the first one that her tribe goes to, no doubt. But I don't know, there's a couple first boots on the table with this group. Like there's a couple of people

that that bill makes sense for. We did the first boot draft, if you're a Rob is a Podcast patron, not outdated until February, 2026, but we all guessed who the first boot would be. You know, people throughout Stephanie LaGrosse, Jenna Lewis, who else? Q was a first boot contender. Mike White was a first boot contender. So we'll have to just see. Yeah, I, Mike White is like also one of those guys where it's just, you know, you know, you would think that no one's going to fall for this, right?

The white lotus carrot that he can dangle in front of people. But, you know, I just there's this thing about high performing people where they high perform in so many different places that it's just like, I just always go with track record. I just feel like he's going to figure it out and he's going to make another fun and deep run. He'll be there deep. I think that everybody, and again, he's my all time favorite survivor player, famously. He will find a way. I think that if-

That's crazy. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Before this show that everybody thinks I'm trying to, I'm not getting on the show. They're not putting me on HBO. I can barely secure what I have here on this screen. What's your favorite Mike White moment? I just think really and not to get not to get deep. But Mike White did what I wanted to do, which is that he is, you know, I

there's there's struggles in the challenges, certainly mental thing, what have you. But like Mike White was so funny, Mike White was so funny. And Mike White was so social. And Mike White gets to the end undetected because he is social and funny. And he's doing like the same Rob Cisternino, Tyson, Cochran, Aubrey, like is funny. In the confessionals, it's like, I think all of these shows benefit from having,

and I'm not saying I'm a comedian by any means, but any of these shows that have somebody who is funny, like Rob Sestrino, who's now on The Traders, is like every episode delivering material in The Confessionals. Like Survivor is an inherently funny thing. We are people signing up that we have lives, we have apartments, like we are signing up to suffer

and feel this thing, like it's an inherently silly thing to be doing. So to have somebody narrating and be silly, and that's the reason that people liked him so much is just that he was good morale, funny, not too much of anything. And when I got to Survivor, like that's what I wanted. It didn't happen.

But I think that- You have faith in his resilience in terms of like still showing that kind of sparkle no matter what the circumstance, no matter what the circumstance, no matter what the tribe. And from his- I think that he has that in a way that, I don't think that goes away.

I think that, you know, his Emmy acceptance speech, I love a lot where he wins this Emmy for the White Lotus and he says, he compares it to his time on Survivor. He's like, Survivor is all about raising your threat level and lowering your threat level. I just, I don't want to raise my threat level in Hollywood. I love it here. I just want to keep playing. Like, just keep making more television is what it is.

And I think that's the mindset he's going in here also, is he just like he loves. I mean, he's signing up to go again when he has more money than fucking anybody who's going on this show, like by a lot, you know, Robinson, you know, I don't know. Your earnings. I think that's true. I I have faith in him that he wouldn't go if he didn't think he'd make a run. Like, I think he he knows they don't make a run.

So I don't feel anything. I feel no nervousness there. You would have been really good on the White Lotus. You would have had a really fun cabinet in the White Lotus. You said Q, right? You. Oh, oh, oh yeah. He was not going to the fucking White Lotus. Well, it's funny. It's like he just needed he was like, OK, if we're going to really make a run at this for so many more seasons, I'm going to need a bigger pool. That's exactly what it is. That's exactly what it is. I think. OK, well, the last thing we'll do is who do you think is like,

you know, top draft picks for White Lotus? So bring up the graphic. I think. Colby, have you done this already? I don't know. I don't want to like step on other parts. This is the first time we're doing this is also so much fun. I'm having I'm having a ball. Colby.

Oh yeah. Previous actor, famously was in an episode of Joey, the Friends spinoff, which you all love Joey, and the Red Eye, which is a Rachel McAdams movie that I have on DVD, he is an actor. Good acting. You just incur your enthusiasm. That's... Sure.

You know what? He acted in that and he was great. Also on HBO. Maybe there's some connective tissue there. The thing that I have said with... I said it to Gavin. I don't think there's anybody who makes a meal out of the White Lotus appearance more than Rick Devens.

I think Rick Devens not only wants it bad, but also will will really try to make it happen. You know, I think there's there's a I think maybe over half of these people want it to happen. But Rick Devons is gonna make it happen. Yeah, yeah, Rick, it's like, you get you miss 100% shots you don't take like he's gonna he's gonna he's gonna look for the job, you know, at the end. It's funny. Yeah, I was going to say so. I might my my my thought was D. I think D is just this rocket ship right now

and not just talk about her experiences, but it's just like just, you know, like this magnetic person that I think that you just hang out with her and you just like watch her about and you're like, oh, this this this girl I can see her being on film and then the other person I was gonna say Would be Jonathan. I don't know. You just feel like you see that gorilla walk somewhere. Maybe you know, it's just like When they when this when the white lotus takes place in Myrtle Beach Throw out Jonathan you would would make sense there. That's definitely

international, but D is a good pick. I think he's a great pick. Jonathan, if you listen to this, that's not a dig. That's I love you. That's not anything. It just would make sense. Yeah, there's this NBA player who's been in Adam Sandler's movie,

the hustle. No, it was the one with the basketball when he's in Gilmore, too. And it's just kind of like you have this is Bobon. Is that if I didn't say the name and you have this unique look? What is his name? Bobon. I don't know if that is. I was thinking, who's the who's the NBA player that's in Uncut Gems? Oh, Kevin Garnett.

Yeah, he was great in that. He was a he's a good actor. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He yeah, that one that one's when and, you know, Anthony Edwards is another guy who was in one of those movies. But I would say, yeah, Kevin Garnett, he was great. I just look at like sometimes you have this like unique look. And sometimes like that's where it's just like, oh, you can pick that up. But you're right.

I just what setting would it have to be for Jonathan to be on there? You know, it's like, yeah, Australia. Kevin Garnett, does he play still retired? Yeah, he's a famously was on this. Yeah, the Minnesota and the Celtics and then eventually Brooklyn and Minnesota again. What a run. What a run for great places. We've been in two of those places together.

We haven't been in Minnesota together, but we've been to Brooklyn and we've been to Boston. Tell people where they can find your stuff. Where can people keep up with you? Yeah, I mean, easiest place right now is on Instagram. Just my name, Caleb Gepberwold. Also on Twitter, although I haven't tweeted for a while, I am planning on getting back more into social media again. I say this every time I do one of these. But I'm already on a better trajectory this year than I have in the last two years. So you guys just stay tuned. Yeah, sure.

I love you. I love you so much. This is so much fun for me. Yeah. This is you know, this is why listen, this isn't why you should play survivor by any means, but look at what great things come out of this. You know, I got this is what we do when we just talk on the phone for an hour. So I'm literally. Yeah, I I do find that I talk to you. I talk to you, you know, because there are people who are just, I do find that I talk to you. I talked to survive. I think you know, there's people are just like, Oh, that was literally a podcast. Like that

was hilarious. Yeah, stay tuned. We got more on Emily flip and coming in this episode of the survivor 50 files. Don't go anywhere. We got more coming. Thank you, everybody. Hey, and we're back. We were just laughing before I heard. Yeah, that was so like shocking. Nervous system wise. I was like, I don't know.

We're back to talk about Emily. We've got another great guest. One of my people. My famously one of my people. You know, we've gotten perspectives from Caleb about those first couple days of Emily and we're here to get another perspective. My great friend, Sabai Brodrick-Sabai, how are you? I'm fantastic. Thank you so much for having me on to talk about one of my favorite subjects, Emily and the beginning of Survivor 45. I've been like, I've been waiting for

this my whole life and I just couldn't be happier. It's great to see you Brandon, you know I love you. How fun is this? We just get to chat. This is nice. I know like look at you like this is the perfect job ever for you like literally we would be doing this either way. So it's cool. I'm having a great time. And I had a great time with Caleb, which if you're listening, you just heard me talk

about Caleb, talk to Caleb about, you know, our dear friend, Emily. Emily kind of came into her own in Survivor 45. And it's one of the best stories of the new era, maybe of Survivor of all time. But Sapaya, we didn't see that, right? They left it out. I don't know why she saved it for the end.

Like we wanted rice from the ashes, Emily, you know? And I guess that just wasn't part of our edit. But yeah, I mean, we had a blast though. Honestly, I wish they showed us, I mean, we had a blast, though. Honestly, I wish they showed us, I wish they showed how much we laughed more. It was just a lot of crying, a lot of, you know, woe is me, but it was also paired with some great laughs, great moments that I just don't feel like the fans really got to see.

Yeah. The thing that, you know, you watch you, you and I will watch the Yonu tribe from 46, you know, your Jolinski's, your Bono's, whatever. Right. And then you see Ola tribe from this last season who have a similar situation. But they didn't look like they were having fun. And we were having fun. I feel like it's just the people like the person. Honestly, I don't know anybody that could be in a room bar or

anything with the six of us really, including Hannah, like and not literally probably produce tears within 30 minutes. It's they are like y'all are some of the funniest people I ever met, period. Like- Emily included. Yeah, exactly. Oh, Emily, top.

I think top. On the list. Like, I was gonna say, you know, you talk about a group of people and you say like, oh yeah, top five. But then I realized there was only six of us. So it's like less significant.

So I just kind of like pause, right? I'm like, oh, top, the top, I don't know. But she's hilarious. We've been kicking off all of these podcasts with the first impression. You get eyes on Emily in the pregame. What is that first impression for you? Oh, she had her little game boy.

So my first impression of Emily at Pondi is. OK, cute, retro, giving nerd, you know, serving nerd, hot. I loved it. And then she, you know, when they put her in the sweater, I was like, yeah, is more into the Velma take, you know? So I just I really felt like and then when it came out, she was a financial analyst and I was like, OK, boom, outfit makes sense.

But my first impression was just like, OK, she's going to be quiet and nerdy. And then I. And then we get to the Bruce moment on the barge. And I was realizing very quickly I had misjudged her and not in a bad way, mind I add. I mean, I was really like. It was shocking, but it was also like, yeah, you know, like we all were thinking it, we were all thinking like, oh, man, the

guy that's been here before that everybody loved because of the head thing. What? That decreased my percentage. So the fact that she just kind of like said it like, and who is this guy? And why is that loved? Couldn't show that I loved it, but loved it. So yeah, that's I mean, first impression is crazy. I don't know. What do you what do you even? I was I mean, I was so like you're in the pregame and you've played Survivor or if you're going to go play Survivor, like as the super fan, I'm like, why is everybody here? You know what I mean? Like what's everybody's like thing that they like because they just did the same casting thing that I did and that you did.

So like, and then Emily something is like, oh my God, oh my God, this is the something. And then I knew that that would, you know, it wasn't even the first comment, but it was the going back. It was the, it was the back, you know. But doubling down. Doubling down is a definite Emily pattern. You know, like, I mean, you see it throughout the show numerous times. Like, oh, man, I said something controversial.

Let me make sure they know I'm not sorry about that. So I love I mean, I try to collect as many friends as I can with big personalities. So I knew off the island, amazing. On the island, problematic. And this early, nightmare. And then those first couple days, just even in the first three days, we don't even go to tribal council yet. What's the Emily vibe in those first three days for you?

Oh, she hated me. I don't know what was going on, but anything I did was just like, she just created the opposition, which I understand wanting to have like more of a sounding board. It kind of was, I'm putting on like, I mean, you guys don't know this, you think it's a trucker hat, but I'm really putting on a Marine hat. So I'm just trying to like, okay, let's not sleep in the dirt, you know? Or on the raft, which we did, and it wasn't comfy. Wasn't comfy. I think you made a joke that literally like, this is,

you were like 45 seasons. We've never seen anyone sleep on the raft. Yeah. I think the quote was, and I don't wanna retort my own joke, but I think that I said, we put the boat in the house and now we're fucked was the quote.

Yeah. Nothing's going right. Nobody's ever. Yeah. Like, and so we're laughing about it. We're trying to recover. I'm like, okay, well, there's all these bamboo

laying everywhere, let's just fix something. And like, so we're trying to do the shelter, you know, we're trying to get stuff going at least. And Emily was just kind of very like, on board, but not on board at the same time. It's like helping, but also very vocal about everything that's going wrong. I think even Caleb has a quote where he's like helping, but also very vocal about everything that's going wrong. I think even Caleb has a quote where he's like, she's not giving any suggestions,

which was like, it really just became like, damn, like, girl, like, we get it. This is bad. But we have to make something shake. So towards me, it was bad. I don't know. Well, it's so funny because I just, when I talked to Caleb just now, his recollection is exactly that, that it was just not a lot of suggestions. And I never thought the issue was with you or any particular person, but it was so much that she was trying, she was vocalizing what she wanted in a way that was not like soft and not not warm. Whereas that is a quality that you have. And that's a quality that I think we all like I don't know how to build a shelter.

Like none of us do. You know, so we hear your idea, which whether it was better or not, like we want to go with the warmer suggestion rather than whatever was happening there. Right. And and then we ultimately like we lose that challenge, which Caleb and I recollected on the, like us before him, we're like, we're not going to win. Right. The goal was never to win. It was just to make it through.

You know, like, and then, I mean, the game was happening so quickly, so fast for us because we couldn't even really rely on winning, you know, which is such a weird thing for the survivor. But you know what? I think that's such a great benefit to Emily on 50 because she had to play really hard, really fast. Whereas you see these new era tribes that don't ever go to tribal council, the whole pre-merge, and they show up and they go to one or two or three tribal councils and they're out. Like, you know, Emily got to, Emily played, Emily got to play, as did

you, as did all of us, you know. Like you had to, you had to play really hard, really fast, which is not something that some of the people that are on 50 have. I agree. I feel like I've probably been to more tribal councils than some people that went post-merge. And it's like, I mean, outside of like jury, you know what I mean? Like, but it is kind of weird to think about it like that. Like Emily, she's always had to run downhill. She's never really had to do the whole like, you know, we're flat and then here's a rising action. It's just like, boom know, we're flat and then here's a rising action It's just like boom. You're on Lulu life is bad. What are you gonna do?

Like and so as she's like starting her little tap dance, like she's stumbling a little bit, but then you know big finish so I feel like in In every sense 50 she's gonna catch a lot of people off guard as opposed to like a D who's on Reba, you know, Team Titans and they're freaking dominating. And then she's dominating. She is the boss of the most dominant alliance really arguably for the new era. So that's a big con, like, what is it?

Contrast, I guess? Yeah, like between them. So I understand like having both of those archetypes, it's like, okay, Mount Olympus meets Lulu. You know, are they gonna work together? Yeah. They both have very prominent personalities. Can Emily, you like pair up with Dee

as like she did a Caleb, you know, just kind of like honoring that you, hey, you're better than me at this. Let's go together. I really hope so. Yeah. And I think that I'm curious to see if people now do that to Emily. Like, Emily is now the Caleb of like the, you know, I saw how good you could transition. So if somebody opens and they go a little like, I wouldn't even call what Emily did of like going, you know, crazy is the wrong word, but it's like, I think the thing that I said to Caleb was like

her and I were both anxious and her anxiety manifested in like an anger and a closed offness and a, a whatever. And mine was just like kind of sad. Like I was like, you know, I was in- Chronic chest pain. What's that? Chronic chest pain. Like you had like, you had, I was in chronic chest pain. What's that? Chronic chest pain. Like you had like you had so much going on.

You remember like your chest was hurting and then you were like, I think I'm playing my shot in the dark. We're like, where did your chest tell you? Yeah. Yeah. What's going on? Like she was definitely like on that same spinning wheel, which we all are. OK, like, of course, from sleep deprivation, like we don't have any warmth, you know what I'm saying? Like there's no food. Like we're over here hunting for papaya every morning. Me and Caleb are up hiking to get papayas that you don't even like, you know, like,

they're very bad. I met that at our finale, I met one of the camera people and they were like, I had to watch you wins every time you ate that papaya. And he's like somewhere there's like a hard drive of just close up shots of you being like, oh my God, I maintain, I don't think it's very good. Like I don't, you know, it's not good. No, papaya is definitely a acquired taste, but it's also funny that with that being our only source of food, you and Hannah too were just so vocal about it being nasty. And that made me laugh because I'm just like, well, more for me, you know?

But yeah, like, I just, I don't know, like, I feel like getting back to Emily in those earlier days, we just, I don't know, even when we were hunting for idols, you know, that's something that also sticks out to me is just like not being able to work with her. You remember when everybody like sent me to go be like, hey, let's work, let's look in a group. And of course, like we know what we're thinking and we know what we're doing, but Emily's just like, I don't want to work with you.

You're going to see if I get an idol and then you're just going to tell everyone like, I'm on the bottom. I'm cool with that. Please leave. And that was even wild to have happened. Like, Emily was just so overt, you know, like there was no covertness. No, what was what was your retort to that? So just to reset this up, I think the morning of day four, the five, the four of us me, you, Sean, Caleb, we want to go, we want to find the idol before Emily because Emily's looking for it.

So we approach Emily and we say, we're all going to look as a fivesome. And then Emily's like, No, no, that's crazy. But we sent you to go deliver the tell her we're all going to look as a fivesome. And then Emily's like, no, no, that's crazy. But we sent you to go deliver the, tell her we're all going to look as a group. Right. And I don't know why that was a thing, you know, because obviously we had already been kind of like, we're just two alpha people. So I have ideas, she has ideas.

People were going, I feel like more with my ideas in the beginning. And it was kind of rubbing her wrong way, whatever it was. And so I'm like, damn, now I gotta be the one to go tell Emily, hey, let's look for the idol in a group. You know, like it just, it didn't paint me in a good light, I don't feel. And she was just very like,

I think I'll look alone, you know? Which is why she's the best. So, you know, I am ultimately out of the game. You ultimately are out of the game. And then Emily has this. I mean, not even before she has this transition into, you know, kind of coming into her own. Yeah, and I are at the Ponderosa every time that somebody news coming.

You and I were like, oh, shock. Emily, right? Oh my God. Like we guessed Emily until we couldn't anymore. Like it was like, there's no way it's not her. Okay, so Sean quit right after me. So with that happen, it's like, okay, she's next. You know what I'm saying?

Like, because Sean, you know, he had his moment, everything like that, that was a choice. There's no way that she's right at the ship that much after a swap, right? Cause now we know that they swapped the next day. So we're like, oh man, like no matter what, Emily is at the bottom because of the barge incident. You know, people aren't gonna favor her, dah, dah, dah, dah.

Not the case. And I just continuously, I mean, I remember like us just like being just hysterical, like just like, wow, like this is, this is going to be the best comeback of survivor history, period. Like there's no, once it was Sean, and then I believe it was Jay. A Brando. Oh no, Brando. Yeah, Brando. It was like, oh, she's good.

Because she obviously has reinvented herself. Like there's no way, because those, that first week dealing, if she didn't make a change after that, there's no way. Like there was just no way. So yeah, Caleb did his big one. From like, you know, you obviously have, you know,

many years of like military experience and to like, you know, drill sergeant your way, which like Caleb, you know, as a much softer approach than a drill sergeant, of course, and it takes the conjunction of Emily's skill and readiness to learn and then Caleb's like recommendations. But like, what does it takes the conjunction of Emily's skill and readiness to learn. And then Caleb's like recommendations. But like, what does it say to you about Emily that she was so easily able to course correct after that, whereas she gets to the end and she almost like she could win.

Like they take her out because she could win. Oh, man. Which is such a departure from the Emily that you and I met. And I could not have been more proud of her watching the season, honestly, because we, of course, we don't know. We just hear from the telephone and we talk to people, of course, like, but wow. It was so beautiful because, I mean, you do see like you ask being in the military, you do see like junior Marines that come in and you can tell.

We call them schmuckatelis. Like they have no idea what they're doing. Their uniform is messed up. They're sometimes overweight, sometimes can't pass certain tests or whatever. And it's just like, man, like you are the Charlie Brown and now you belong to me, you know? But every once in a while, actually I had a Marine

like this, his name is Contreras Joseph. He's actually a Sergeant now. And anything I would teach him, horrible. Like in the beginning, he gave me so many issues. I'm always having to see the man because of Contreras. But now squared away, you know, he's making a career out of it. And he's really, really,

I got to see him on a detachment actually a couple months back and he freaked out because I hadn't seen him in years. And just to see the man that he is now, it's like, okay, somewhere along the line, it clicked, you know? And I had to be very hard on him, like no nonsense. So I guess with Emily, like, eventually, the light bulb will turn on,

and I feel like even we saw like, uh, Gabler in his season, realize you're a little too high profile, go underneath, you know, take a step back. It's like, Oh man, y'all are telling me something I was not aware of, of myself. Let me have some introspection and really make a harsh pivot. People that can do that in Survivor almost always go to the end, at least top six. Like if you can really like course correct like that on your feet while hungry and starving and in the wilderness, awesome.

Which it's so, I mean, it's so hard to do. Like that's why you see people not do it. That's what most people can't do it. And most people go to the end, like with the qualities that are not going to win them the game. And they're being told that this is not working, but they don't ever, it doesn't click. It's easier to die on the hill.

It's easier to die on the hill. Like I feel like even when you're talking about a personality like me, like, it's like, okay, I could be more like a, like Katora, where she kind of like made herself a little bit smaller. Didn't tell people that she was a lawyer and things like that. But for me, it's like y'all aren't going to believe that. As soon as I tell you guys like, oh yeah, the smooth leaves are fruits and but you know,

like, oh yeah, I know what time of day it is by looking at the sun or y'all see me not, you know, complaining about wearing my hoodie outside in 90 or whatever it was. You know, it's like, obviously she's done some stuff outside, like it's not going to work. You know what I'm saying? So I feel like if you have the right archetype to be really anything like Emily also with the type of person that she is she fits in so many categories but then none at the same time. Yeah. Very diverse. So if you have that on your side, you can pivot. Like, yeah, well, people don't know you yet. You could have just had a bad, you know, a couple of days, which is fine. Like, I mean, it happens. I mean, like Aubrey

who's playing season 50 with Emily, like Aubrey starts off pretty poor, you know, I mean, it happens. It happens. I mean, like Aubrey, who's playing season 50 with Emily, like Aubrey starts off pretty poor, you know, David Wright, who I love, you know, who was on, he starts off poor. Like, you know, there are some people who start off poor and they, and then there's some people who start off poor and then that's the end of the journey, you know. And it's,

Not us, but there are some. There are some that are out there. Tell me who else on the season 50 cast you're excited to see. Oh, definitely Tiffany for sure. Can't wait, cause I mean, I talked to her a lot after her season and during, and we have a lot of commonalities

when it comes to the way that we look at the way our games win. You know, obviously she made it a lot further than me, but just being on the Boohoo tribe, being the stronger female, having a big personality, you know, and having to navigate that. So I really hope that they do her. Right with the tribe, you know, in the beginning, like, hopefully she can get,

you know, not cue, no offense to cue, but that really like, he almost blew up her game like 50 times within the first couple of days, you know, so I'm hoping that they don't put them on, I mean, it's great TV if they do, but for her million dollar moment, you know, I'm hoping that it's not. I'm also excited to see Angelina. I watched her story today and she said, I can confirm that I brought my own jacket. Hilarious. Branding

way to commit to the bid. Who else? Rob, I guess like, no, Rob is on traders. I'm thinking about traders because I can't, I can't wait to watch it. Shout out to them. It's going to be so good. Yeah. I'm thinking about Rob because I'm on his, you know, R H E P right now. But, but yeah, no, like I feel like, yeah, Tiffany D Emily, those are like my three that I'm like standing super Dee, Emily, those are my three that I'm standing super hard.

But we'll see. If you were going back on, Tiffany and Emily pair this as well, but being part of the Disaster Tribe and now heading into season 50, if you're in season 50 and your experience was your experience, how does being a part of the disaster affect how you play next time? Just not let it control my mind as much. I feel like being in Lulu, Lulu can be the only thing you're thinking about. And so you lose kind of the hindsight that you need to have in Survivor to get to the

end in general. Like, you can't be thinking about this moment. You have to be thinking about every moment around you. And I feel like the longer I stayed on Lulu, the more I just was only worrying about, you know, what I could see right in front of me. Yeah, like, I I just it changed everything. Like, and I feel like coming from a tribe that's more successful, you feel like the options are endless. You know, it like it

doesn't put up those blinders that you get from being on like a disaster tribe. Like we were literally like planning into tribal councils from day one. Yeah. Like, okay, I have to talk to someone today, period, or else I could be going home. And that's just not a normal. I mean, it's happened, of course, like we've seen it as early as the branch tribe. Like we've seen it. We've seen it, but it's different when it's happening to you.

Yeah. Nobody thinks it's going to be them. Like, no, you go to survivor. You don't think that that's going to happen to you. And like, oftentimes it doesn't, but you have this new era seasons. Now you've got us, you've got the green tribe from season 41. You've got Tiffany's tribe now, and then Vulo from this last season. So half the time, there's a tribe that's gonna keep losing. And it's great to see people who like, you know, survived, they got out, you know what I mean? Like they got out and now they're on 50.

It's like the new era representatives, a couple of them were in a situation that, now if you're in the new era, you like have a half a chance of ending up in that same spot. So it's pretty cool. A thousand percent. And I feel like also it raises your like survivor capital

for people to see you in such a crazy position and them to know like, okay, I know that the feedback that we get is like, oh, if you know, Sabaya was on another tribe, like she definitely could have done better and that and people will make their case and it makes you feel good, you know? But at the end of the day,

that's not the hand that you got. So to see like, like you said, Q, Tiffany, Emily, like people that came from those like, we I mean, Q almost quit multiple like that's where you're at. Like if it rains, if you're already on a Lulu situation type tribe, and it rains, That in itself will break you. Like you haven't, you don't, you haven't felt what it feels like to get, you know, an idol from Jeff, like from the immunity. Like you haven't felt what it feels like to strike Flynn. Like you haven't been able to build a decent shelter to get yourself off the ground.

The cane spiders are ginormous and they're just sleeping on the ground. Like you remember that one spider Caleb tried to kill with the machine. Oh yeah. And it went into this. We literally just went to the beach, gave it a minute and we just acted like it didn't happen because we couldn't even process how big that spider was. And yeah, like, so just not having the proper situation needing your mentality like it never really I never feel bad about like saying like okay yeah we had two people quit from our season it was really that bad like

in Hannah I mean she lost her socks on like day two she's wearing like a tank top it's freezing I had to give her my my t-shirt you don't share clothes it's your Viper I gave her my t-shirt because it just was that bad. It's raining. They edited out all the rain Yeah, it rained Second night, I think it rained so bad for hours. Our clothes are drenched. I couldn't believe it when I saw on TV I had to tell my people I'm like it's raining right now. I know you can't tell, but geez. So yeah, I just, I'm really rooting for the underdogs this season. I feel like a lot of the underdogs, excluding Dee, do come from those types of tribes. Like even Q to me could be

considered like a little cute underdog. You know what I'm saying? Because of his bigness and then, you know, not going as far or whatever, but and then starting on to Yannu. So yeah, I'm rooting for everybody that comes from tribes like us. Like they deserve it. I know they deserve it. Like nobody's gonna be mad about a Tiff win. Like nobody. Yeah. You know, you people

loved you and people do love you but people loved you in the moment in the real time and especially after you left because you have and you can hear it here. You have such an interesting way of like looking at the show and explaining the show in a way that like they do cast a lot of folks. I mean everybody who gets cast for the show can explain it. But you have such a unique way of doing so, which is just a bummer. Again, it's not even this is not there's no, you know, gotcha at the end of this is just like,

it's a bummer that people didn't get to see that for longer. Oh, well, thank you. I feel like you have that too. Like, I mean, obviously, if you look at the beginning of our entire ad for our season, it's you explaining a bank robbery. But that's who we are. That's how we talk. We talk in stories and in little antidotes for just the things that we've gone through and been through.

So I thank you. And I will reflect that sentiment back to you. Yeah, it's so, you know, it's really nice. It's nice to be able to do, you know, Hannah and Sean were supposed to be here. Mm hmm. They didn't make it. You know what I mean? I'm kidding. It's not. I don't stand by that joke joke. But we have such a good we have such a good thing. That's so I wasn't sure if you were going to make that joke or not. I thought about it like saying like, but I don't know. Is it still too soon? Like, how do they do?

It's funny, you know, but it's so you know, it's interesting is, I you, the day after I leave, you guys win that the fruit reward, but like you go seven days on survivor. Sean goes nine days on survivor without a win. You know what I mean? Even Stephanie LaGrosse, who's the low, the lone person on her tribe at Palau, like they win an immunity or they win a reward challenge. Like, you know, day four, you know what I mean? Like they have, they've got something. Um, and I'm like, it sucks to not have a win. Like, and it's not even like you didn't have a win because you weren't participating. Like you did everything. You do the sweat

and savvy, you do all the stuff, you know. And it sucks to not have a tangible win. And, you know, for in Sean's case, I think that's something that that affected, you know, the situation is that like, you're looking every in Sean's case, I think that's something that that affected, you know, the situation is that like you're looking every direction. There's no win because this is supposed to be your dream, you know, and then it ends up being a nightmare. And it's so fast. You're like, oh, no, not this edit. It's really something to consider for me, I know the biggest thing in my life

for a long time was sports, track and field, my body versus your body. And I'm dedicated to it and I get it through, I go to college doing it and everything like that. And so coming to a situation like Lulu, where I've had a lot of success in competition, it's been my identity in most spaces, the strong athletic girl, you know, so I'm not shocked that that's where I'm at when it comes to the survivor.

I am shocked that I'm the only one like girl wise, I thought that it would be more jockey or something like, I mean, of course, like you never really, I mean, season 40 and up or 41 and up, they don't really have themes anymore, which is something that is, I feel like is a big curveball for new era players. You don't know what the design is. It's pretty much just like, let's see if this will work, you know, and I Missed the days kind of they're like this makes me miss the days where they did have like themes because you knew What you were getting at from the beginning and you could kind of assess your tribe based off of what Jeff said they were to

production but I don't know yeah, it's it's it's rough from an app like from an athlete mind to be like, we are the Lulu losers. It's like, wow. And I kind of have to like turn on just my humor button. Yeah. You know, and laugh at my pain a little bit with that, because it's just never how I ever. Feel or identify is like someone that loses all the time. So when we did get that win, I'll never forget, you know, the freaking moment feel or identify as like someone that loses all the time. So when we did get that win, I'll never forget, you know, the freaking moment when Caleb sinks

the ring on the side. Literally I could watch it right now and I would tear up. Yeah. Because I just remember just we were just so freaking defeated. And Emily literally we're just like, like this. It's like, like, just it's like. Like, we couldn't even believe. Are you serious? And we're done. We're done light years in front of these guys.

You know, and Jeff has been. I mean, he's been grilling our ass all season. Like, oh, you know, Lulu in the deep freeze. He kept saying it over and over. And so I remember looking at Jeff and I was like, so you're not going to tell them that they're in the deep freeze? Because we're waiting for them to get these circles. And he just starts laughing at us.

We finally can talk a little shit, you know, like, oh, man, we had no room. So that was a beautiful moment. I feel like even for just survivor bucket list wise, like at least we did get one. You know, people forget about it all the time, but I know I don't know. You can't, you know. That's so nice. It's really, you know, I have a hard time watching. I can't watch it because I get, you know, it's a it's a mo. Oh, it's emotional.

Literally every time. And it's just like big group hug instantly. And even like that moment, it's like we're we're. We should not be touching anyone, let alone each other. And just coming together, it was the first time we really felt like a unit because it had been so fragmented. And of course, Emily's been fighting for her life for the last two tribals. Like me and Caleb have been, you know, considered to be a pair. And then there's Sean, you know, so and he's just kind of like a flow, like people, I mean, we were obviously

really, really close with Sean. Sean knew about everything that was going on the whole time. So but the way his edit goes, you know, it kind of makes you see him seem like he wasn't as much of a part of our alliance as he was. But that was just, oh man, I would pay somebody to put that in my veins, like that feeling. Like, it was beautiful. I hope that Emily has so many more of those.

I hope Emily doesn't have to worry about this for a little bit. I hope Emily can cruise. I hope Emily gets a break, just the same way I hope Tiffany gets a break. I hope Emily gets put break just the same way I hope Tiffany gets a break. I hope Emily gets put on a tribe with just people that understand her. You know, it took us a minute because we it just kind of came out of left field. But the benefit of somebody that's like Emily and that's playing again is that

this isn't the first time people have seen her. Yeah, no, it would be like not expected in Boston Rob to be the godfather. It's like, you know him, you know, so you know Emily. You've seen her, you know how she's speaking and you don't need to take it personal. You know, she can come off a little harsher than she actually means to be.

Like they got to see her blossom on TV. So I honestly, I feel like that's like more of a feather in her cap than it is something that she has to wear as like a scholar a throughout her season. And I don't feel like she's going to have that problem really at all. Really? I think that she's gonna. Yeah, I'm hoping that she does great. Caleb and I again, if you're listening, you just heard us say it like how many people are cast on Survivor that can win. And I think the first time Emily was cast maybe with low confidence that she could win Survivor, you know, and I think the first time Emily was cast, maybe with low confidence that she could win,

survivor, you know? And I think now, like, how often do you get people who switch? They're now in the team winner when they weren't, when they were cast, you know? I think of like a David Wright, who's maybe similar, who they meet David Wright in the casting. He's anxious, he's this guy who's kind of all over the place

and then he plays and then all the producers for a couple of days are like, oh, we're right. Exactly what we thought was gonna happen is happening. And then he gets to turn it around, and then he plays again. I think Emily's a successor to Aubrey too. Aubrey's the same thing, I think. Aubrey, mm-hmm.

So we'll see. I would love to see them together, Aubrey and Emily. That would be insane once you punch. I feel like as far as duels go, do I feel like. Emily. Would let it happen, I don't know, you know what I'm saying? Like, it just depends. But I would love to see her kind of just be like, oh, super fan of you. Like, I would love to work with you. And then them just work. Yeah, so we'll see. But yeah, like,

I do feel like her having the pivot from being like a somebody we're worried about to somebody we don't have to is iconic. Like, it's just one of those things where it's like, okay, yeah, like there's thousands of people right now making t-shirts as we speak and making Emily their winter pick. Like, that's just where we're at. And she is, you know, the mother or whatever. I'm still trying to figure out how to use that. I don't feel like that was a good go of it, but I'll continue to work on it.

But yeah, she has a lot of. She has a lot of success. It's not as no no shock at all. And people love her for it. And so I really, really hope that this season she can use that real estate that she's built even in Survivor players, because we are fans too.

Like all of us are fans. All of them more than likely knowing that they're going into 50. I know they were what they were doing. They were watching film. They were watching all of the seasons. If they weren't, I would hate to be, I would hate to be the one person on 50

that doesn't know everybody's season. Like you didn't just do like a one once over. So I know even for me, I was doing that, you know, for preparation stuff. Like you got to start watching it just to remind yourself. Even I'm a super fan since I was five. So hopefully that weighs in her favor. I'm excited if Emily pulls this shit off, bro. We're gonna run out of strength.

Lulu will have the most up year on the planet. Like the most up since, arguably since the end of our season. There have been so many wins, like internally for just Lulu in general. And people thought that we were losers, but. Did you see that tweet that somebody tweeted? Are you the tweet? Yes, I did.

I did. It was like basically given all our stats of everything that we've been crushing since getting out. And I have it here. Reality simp. Shout out to the reality simp, whoever you are. I never met you. Emily on 50, so by dating Katara, Brandon, an RHAB host, Lulu stays winning.

Like, I don't know what to tell you. Very funny. Very, very funny. I was like, yes. And that's on everything because in Survivor. OK, yeah. But that has nothing to do with real life. Real life, there's a reason we're on the show. Yeah, obviously. So I'm, I'm happy. And I can't wait if Emily wins, I will, we will ride at dawn. Like, I will, we have to have like a parade, like everyone wear yellow, like we'll bring ladders

and candles. Sure, sure. And it'll be fantastic. Everybody will get the theme. A couple of little chewing tobacco perhaps. Right. We'll have vapes. It'll be great. Well, you have so much going on at the moment. Tell everybody where they can follow you and what you're up to. All that fun stuff. Okay. So I'm in a hard launch with Couture right now. So social media has been epic. We just did the New York City Pride Parade with Audible.

Insane. As someone that's from Atlanta, We do pride big in New York. We ain't holding the candles in New York. They do. They do pride, honey, everyone. So that was fantastic. You can find me at on Instagram at underscore the solar like your soul poppy. Made that tag a long time ago. Hasn't really aged as well as I thought.

But it was the era I was in and it helps me, it stays, you know, I stay grounded. So I don't want to change it now. I have so many things attached to it now. But yeah, underscore the solar, like your soul, Poppy. Can you, before we go really quick, tell everybody when you're walking home from the pride parade

who you bumped into in the street? Oh, I saw you. I literally was just talking to your mom about it. Literally. I just texted her. But I yeah, that was insane because I had hit you up before and I was like, when are we going to see each other? And then it literally just happened.

Like I believe in the law of attraction. And I literally I think I just like screamed because I couldn't believe it. Like, I'm exhausted. I'm in way too much rainbow. I never do that. But it was fun. And there's Brandon and Debbie, his girlfriend. Gorgeous. Of course, I can spot Debbie and Malaway. It takes me a minute to see a Brandon. But Debbie. I look like a lot of people in New York. And most of us look like me. Most, but yeah, it was great to see you. And hopefully y'all can come down to where I'm at or I'll be back up to New York, I'm sure. And we'll get together.

Well, oh my God, this is so nice. We'll be back next time with another episode of the Survivor 50 Files. So bye, you don't go anywhere. Stay until I... Thank you everybody for listening. We will see each other soon. See you soon. Thank you to our friends at Mantis sleep for sponsoring this episode of the survivor 50 files. You've made it to the end of the podcast.

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