So True with Caleb Hearon - Bowen Yang Has Room for Potential

Episode Date: August 13, 2026

Welcome! This week’s guest is the hilarious Bowen Yang! Bowen and Caleb talk patterns of speech, The Real Housewives effect on people’s emotions, a harrowing story involving a school yearbook, Fir...e Island, and more! Join our Substack for ad free full episodes, early access to merch, our community chat, and more! https://calebsaysthings.substack.com/ Follow Bowen! @fayedunaway Follow the show! @sooootruepod Follow Caleb! @calebsaysthings Produced by Chance Nichols @chanceisloud Shop now at https://Fabletics.com/sotrue to get 70-80% percent off everything when you sign up as a new VIP Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Head to https://RULA.com to find a therapist the easy way. Get 40% off select Lola Blankets products at https://Lolablankets.com by using code SOTRUE at checkout. Experience the world’s #1 blanket withLola Blankets. Thank you to Hinge! So True with Caleb Hearon is edited and engineered by Nicole Lyons. Our social media manager is Anna Weis. All episodes are filmed in The So Trudio at Legitimate Business World Headquarters in Brooklyn, New York. A Wave series. https://wavesportsandentertainment.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:01 Get your tickets now for the dog stars. It's no surprise how fast civilization can disappear. Go! Out there, just kill or be killed. Jacob Alluredi. There are people out there? They need our help. Josh Boulin.
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Starting point is 00:00:31 Wave. That is the U.S. universal experience of life. Yeah. It's going to hurt. Might be some good stuff in there. Definitely it's going to hurt. It's going to hurt one way or another. Yeah, it's going to hurt and it's going to end. Those are the promises. Caleb. Hey. So cool. So true. So true. And let's put it on a t-shirt.
Starting point is 00:00:54 Life is going to hurt and life is going to end. So true podcast. How's it going? It's great. I'm so happy to see you. How have you been? Will you tell me everything? How's your heart? What's exciting you? I am convalescing. I'm, oh God, I might be in a permanent state of being in like the formaldehyde.
Starting point is 00:01:18 Like I think I have to like, you know what I mean? I have to. I'm really excited to find out. I just have to preserve and and congeal and I got to get like a stem cell graft on my soul.
Starting point is 00:01:33 You're talking about, yeah, what's going on? Tell me about this. I'm just, I've been over stimulated the last six months. Yeah, maybe the last, yeah, okay, six months. And, well, sure. I thought you were saying like six years. Sure. But something about the last six months where my time has been my own and yet what I've
Starting point is 00:01:51 chosen to do with it has been not that smart. It's all on me. It's not, I can't believe my not anyone else but me. Well, it's not all. Yeah, it's, we have our own decisions, but we do live in a society. And like things are, I don't know, we live in a society, we have a job, we have circumstances, but I really relate because I've been on a pseudo break. Yes.
Starting point is 00:02:09 And I've been doing the same thing where I'm like, what are you doing with your time that you have now? But you've been, you've been framing your break in a very wonderful way where you're like,
Starting point is 00:02:17 you don't have to answer to anybody. Like this is, I'm the same way right now where I'm like, oh, my only job is my low stakes, not that this is low stakes, but my like low stakes
Starting point is 00:02:26 podcast that I do with someone else who like does most of the talking. One job, be Bowen. One job be Bowen and mostly just sit and listen to Matt. Yeah, which is not bad. Not bad, not a bad gig. but I listen to Matt.
Starting point is 00:02:40 No worries. I have to publicly apologize for canceling on dinner with you. I know the three of us made plans. I'm so sorry. Rowan, I was never going to bring it up. I was never going to bring it up in a public forum. How did you feel?
Starting point is 00:02:51 I felt like you're busy. I felt like no big deal at all. But you know, you and Sydney talked about this. Like, I really want to be there for friends and for new friends. I feel like you and I have, there's a lot of, there's a high ceiling there. There's a lot of room for potential.
Starting point is 00:03:07 a lot of room for what? Potential. Potential. There's room for potential. There's room for potential and there's room for growth. There's room for potential is actually way funnier.
Starting point is 00:03:16 There's room for potential. Potential could sneak its way in there. That's really good. Oh, Bowen. There's room for potential. Oh, my God. Why does that hurt and also heal? I like my friendships.
Starting point is 00:03:29 Like, I like my coffee. Little room for potential. Just leave room for potential. What does that mean? Coffee-wise. Coffee-wise. Well, the potential is like, milk, creamer, simple syrup. That's the potential on coffee.
Starting point is 00:03:43 And the room for potential is if it allows for milk, sugar, cream. Exactly. And then the room for potential in our friendship is like, if we lock in and get our schedules figured out, we could be going to dinner. That's our room. Are you, so, okay, the Michelle in my life, and her name is also Michelle. Whoa. She is a big restaurant girl. You guys have been in touch, right?
Starting point is 00:04:02 No, we've just talked about it. It's like, oh, Caleb's person is Michelle. We need to put my Michelle and your Michelle together. You guys would have a key, as the gays say. But my, so my Michelle, I hate that I'm using the possessive, but I must, just sort of linguistically. The Michelle in your life.
Starting point is 00:04:21 The Michelle in my life, thank you, yes. Person first, person first. She is a big restaurant person. So is Michelle over here. You got to link up. Michelle and I met in a restaurant. Wait, which one? Oh, yeah.
Starting point is 00:04:37 Michelle worked there and I went in there all the time and then when I was hiring an assistant I was like Would you ever quit this job and come work for me? And she said you know what? I would And then she started it and she immediately regretted it And now she's trapped. You should unionize with my Michelle. Oh, Michelle Union.
Starting point is 00:04:53 Michelle Union would be Slay. Bowen's team? Bowen's team are we on? Can someone do something? Wait, what's wrong with that? I used to be really pro-union. And now? And then I started a business, and I saw how it can come between you and your beloved employees.
Starting point is 00:05:10 So true. It can ruin the lines of communication between your family. Okay, something bummed to be. Oh, my God. There's a really crazy thing happening. I might have dreamed it. Yeah. So are you guys aware of Casa Bonita, the restaurant in Colorado?
Starting point is 00:05:25 Okay. So, Trey Parker, Matt Stone bought it. Gutted it during the pandemic. Because it was going to shut. It basically closed during the pandemic. Yeah. Huge mournful thing amongst, Coloradoans.
Starting point is 00:05:39 Now, as a Colorado boy, were you mourning? I was morning. I didn't go as a kid. So the story of it is, everyone had their birthday there. Everyone in Denver, everyone in the state would have their birthday there as a kid. And it's Mexican Disneyland. They did a whole episode about it on South Park. There's cliff divers and there's, you know, marriotia bands,
Starting point is 00:05:57 Sopapapapia's, Black Bart's Cave, there's games, whatever. Unventilated place, food was always not great. Of course. Then Trey Parker and Matt Stone, buy it out. I think they shot a documentary about it. I haven't seen it. But then they put in like 15 million or something in that. It was like eight figures.
Starting point is 00:06:14 Yeah. Of money into renovating it, bringing it up to code, I guess. Ventilating it maybe. Ventilating it, I think. Yeah. I think that's the huge, that's the biggest win. But apparently the workers are, currently are unionizing. And who is leading the charge?
Starting point is 00:06:34 But Brooke Shields. Brooke Shields is leading the unionization charge at Castle Bonita. Yes. And I don't know what the relation, what her like labor sort of relationship is. But like she, recently she like put her name, like put an alias in, went by herself, was just hanging out in Denver, went to the strip mall. And she's just like, I'm here to advocate for the workers here because I guess people are getting like hypothermia. And like from diving into the pool. What? Like, it's, I don't know. I'm actually not smart enough or informed enough to talk about that.
Starting point is 00:07:11 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm immediately going, actually, I've realized I don't know the details and I'm speaking on this. But I bring this up because, isn't it random that Brooke Shields is like? Completely random. I am actually obsessed with that. I'm obsessed. What a career. I, I, I, I, Brook Shields, we will shout you out. We will shout you out. Brook Shields, we will shout you out. Thank you for your pro-union activity at the Casabonita in Colorado. Madlib. Madlib. Madlip. That's how much. more celebrities should be moving actually. Madlib? Madlib style. Do some random shit. Totally. Do some random shit. Stop being where we expect you to be and start being
Starting point is 00:07:44 somewhere odd. What is, can we build a madlib for you? I think I'm living that way. That's so cool. That's why you're, your boots in. Although, oh my God, okay, can me, this is how I feel sometimes that I think you relate. Don't you feel like gay pop culture, Forrest Gump, sometimes? You're like, are you happen to be at this like thing. Tell me more. It's like oh like I'm at it's like I I just happen to be like standing next to like the some like Oscar winning legend 100% and like what the fuck am I doing here.
Starting point is 00:08:21 So this happens to you a lot more than me because I don't go to almost anything. You're much better at being social than me I think but it has happened to me recently. Yes. Quite a few times and I and I often catch myself going I don't think I was supposed to be here and I feel like I'm reporting. I feel like I'm reporting I was sent there to report back to gay people Do you know what I mean? Yes. I'm like my job really Here is to go back to gay people and be like she's amazing
Starting point is 00:08:46 I'm supposed to like have brunch with Glyn Close So I can go back and be like she's amazing We did it But then what sucks is if they're not amazing We can't use this platform for that Exactly correct And so that's kind of a yoke That's we're trapped
Starting point is 00:09:02 You can't talk about then yeah you can't talk about it And that's the tough part You know what got me in my head, though, yesterday? If you don't tell me, I'll die. Huh? If you don't tell me, I'll die. I'll tell you. I...
Starting point is 00:09:15 You ever, like, sit down with, like... I just basically got lunch with my manager. And I was just like, oh, I haven't seen anything recently. Like, I need to, like, catch up to, like, the culture. I need to, like, read, like, I guess 5,000 scripts to, like, know what's what. I'm just behind And so like I don't have a job either right now Yeah
Starting point is 00:09:38 And I and yet I still feel overwhelmed by like The ancillary sort of like Extracurricular things Yeah extracurriculars Like like in high school Were you EC down? Extra curricular down? Oh, Bowman
Starting point is 00:09:52 I was in everything Yes, remind me I was in everything I was in At one point in high school I was in Of course always student council Family Career and Community Leaders of America
Starting point is 00:10:03 future business leaders of America, future farmers of America, fellowship of Christian athletes. Shout out. Which I got removed from for cursing at basketball games. And curse words, no good. Totally. Oh, whatever. God, what else was I in?
Starting point is 00:10:18 I was on the debate, not debate, but it was academics. Academic bowl. Oh, Quiz Bowl. Yeah, quiz. Buzz, yeah. I was in, I played a couple different sports at different times. I was really doing it. So this is all leaning.
Starting point is 00:10:33 and maybe this is Missouri, this is all leaning, like, achieve, like, it wasn't that performance leading, was it? I didn't do any performance. Oh, I was doing one big performance. And it was insecure about being fat and gay,
Starting point is 00:10:50 a guy who pretends to be confident, and does everything he possibly can so that people will. I can. Oh, my God. Or even love him. And I didn't do theater because I was like,
Starting point is 00:11:02 well, if we're trying to not let people know we're gay, seems like there's one big way to ruin that. And it would be the fall musical. But can I tell you, like, I don't think that even saved anybody either. No. Like, I don't think there was no good, there's no perfect program, I don't think, at that age. I know, but, you know, I feel like,
Starting point is 00:11:21 there are times when I look back, and I'm, especially around all my, like, theater friends who know everything about theater because they've done it forever. And I don't feel that way, but yes, go. But we have a lot of them. We have a lot of them. There are times I feel like, oh, man,
Starting point is 00:11:31 maybe I wish I would have, like, in like theater and acting when I was younger. Actually, I think the best thing for my creative brain is that I got really involved in bureaucracies. Young. And like red tape bureaucracies. You understood where power came from. Yes. I started getting involved in power and elections and bureaucracies.
Starting point is 00:11:49 I'm having like one-on-one sit-down meetings with the principal at his request when I'm 15 years old to be like, Caleb, here's what's going on with the student body. What do we do about it? You know what I mean? That actually, I think, was so much better for me. Of course. Than doing, you know, guys and dolls. One thousand per cent. Do you know what I mean?
Starting point is 00:12:09 You can sit across from some person 30 years older than you and like work them. An adult and like learning how adults talk about stuff and learning like, like, you know, like telling the superintendent, like we really want to do this event for this like before prom or whatever. And then being like, we think that's a great idea. You just can't because of like this, this or this. And me being like if everyone thinks it's a great idea.
Starting point is 00:12:32 why can't we? You just can't. Like, learning all of that stuff really young was great for my creative brain. I love that. Now, when they would tell you you can't do this prom thing, this pre-prom thing, would you, when we're presented red tape, was the instinct usually to cut through it or just to like understand and then move on? My instinct was always do it anyway, ask forgiveness, not permission. I really, I've never, I've always had like a, I have an aversion to authority that is pathological.
Starting point is 00:13:01 I hate being told what to do And I always have Love that I'm like I just hate it I still do even I've talked about this all the time on the show But even to tell when I tell myself something to do I'm like who the fuck are you
Starting point is 00:13:12 So then how do you override that Well I don't really know how I've gotten To where I've gotten in life But I think I just go Kayla we have to do it And then I do it anyway Do you are you good with authority
Starting point is 00:13:26 It's interesting Say that I, wait, hold on. Let's just sidebar. I feel like Caleb wields stupid gay speak very responsibly. Oh, Bowen. Very responsible. What do you mean by that?
Starting point is 00:13:48 I just feel like you will toss it out in a way that is like completely actualized and authentic and real. Like, when I was saying earlier, like, y'all would have a key. It's like, kill me. Oh, but I loved when you did that. I loved when you did that. What I'm saying, like, I've never questioned it. You are too sweet to me and you have to stop.
Starting point is 00:14:12 So you have to stop now. I can't help it. You have to stop now. Because I want to know about you and authority. Okay, okay, okay. I would say, okay, so I relate to being yelled at for cursing. Yeah. Fourth grade, someone through,
Starting point is 00:14:27 like a dodgeball at my rear end. No. And I said don't aim for my ass sent to the principal's office. No! Just for anatomically referring to myself to my ass as an ass. This is not right. And I was like... And I, at the time, at nine years old, I was like, this is bullshit.
Starting point is 00:14:44 You're splitting hairs with me. This is fucking stupid. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. I wish I'd said that. I know. Can I tell you? Yeah. This is something I make myself sick about. Sometimes I think about times I got in trouble as a kid and what I didn't say. Oh, still your shadow. Oh my God.
Starting point is 00:14:58 I go, I go like, oh, that time I got in trouble. Because I never, half the time I didn't feel like I was, I was getting in trouble for things like talking. And I'm like, well, I'm good at this. Yes. And you guys are being boring. Like, I'm not allowed to talk while you're being boring. So I'll think back and be like, man, if I had my adult brain now,
Starting point is 00:15:15 I could have really taken that whole thing apart. Oh, 100%. I got suspended my sophomore year for writing in a girl's yearbook. So gay. I was so gay, but I wrote in this girl's yearbook. It was our bit that, like, we were like sexual partners. And I was like...
Starting point is 00:15:30 Me now. Me present day. Me present day. I'm just like... Well, literally it was just like, we get this. And she got it. I wrote her yearbook.
Starting point is 00:15:41 Hags, Ashley, can't wait to fuck all summer. I get home from violin lesson. I pick up... There's 20,000 messages on the answering machine, vintage. Hello. And another call comes through. It is Ashley's stepfather. No.
Starting point is 00:16:03 Who is a huge lawyer in Arapaho County. Who gives a fuck? Not the father who stepped up. The father who's the stepfather who stepped up. Oh yeah, yeah. I understand. No, Caleb. This is the stepfather who stepped up.
Starting point is 00:16:18 Obsessed. Oh, totally. He goes, I've been sitting here for hours because there are a lot of yangs in the phone book. Not he called every yang in the phone book. He called every yang in the phone book. What? Okay, loser. Don't you have like a brief to read or something?
Starting point is 00:16:38 Yeah, yeah. His client's like getting strapped into an electric chair. He's like, he's on his like 47th yang. He was on a mission and I guess he like literally stepped up. Like it must be compensatory where he like, she clearly hates him. Yeah. He has to show up for her and prove himself in some way. way.
Starting point is 00:16:59 That is foul, vile language. I am making it my mission to expel you. I'm taking this to the superintendent of the district for sexual harassment of my stepdaughter. And I was like, um... She's a hag. Your daughter's a hag. Your daughter's a hag, sir.
Starting point is 00:17:17 Your daughter's a hag. Your stepdaughter's a hag. I don't know what to tell you. I mean, the daughter who hagged up. The daughter... The stepdaughter who hagged up. So, like, so then I get expect. So then, like, our dean, like, brings me to the office
Starting point is 00:17:37 the next our, like, gorgeous lesbian dean. Yeah, of course. Who, like, I could tell, like, was on my side, but, like, her hands were tied. Right. But she, like, called my mom. It was mortifying. Like, she made me sit in the room and took so that we call my mom.
Starting point is 00:17:53 My mom is, like, driving on her way to work. And, like, her English comprehension is, like, mid and like she's not totally understanding like this dean being like so Bowen is going to be suspended for five days your mom's like he's gay she's like she's like
Starting point is 00:18:09 oh okay and then I just remember I remember the dean going like just it wasn't clicking to my mom like how bad this was even though I was just like this is crazy the dean goes it it's very serious
Starting point is 00:18:23 and in that moment I was like oh you're just a fucking lady. You're just a person. You're just an adult, like, navigating this, like, really weird situation. Like, I've, my relationship,
Starting point is 00:18:37 my relationship with authority is always, like, I can't take you as, I can't take you seriously because, like, we're all, I don't know, we're all, like, yeah, idiots. And I don't know. I kind of moved that way through, like, S&L, I feel.
Starting point is 00:18:53 I was kind of like, whatever. Like, I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll, say shit and I'll, or I'll, like, piss someone off with a, authority and then like I'll take them out for a martini two weeks later. Yeah. It's like, let's patch it up.
Starting point is 00:19:05 Everything will be fine. And it and it was and like the proud thing of me leaving that place, the proudest thing besides like the work obviously and like the relationships and the people, uh, was just the fact that I like closed all my tabs by the time I left. Yeah. Like everything was sort of like, hey, like not in a manipulative way, but in just like a, hey, I fucked up back then and like, we're good now, right? And then by the end of it, it was like, everyone was like, yeah, we're good.
Starting point is 00:19:33 Down to like Lorne. And I'm like, yeah. And I've seen him recently. And it's like, it's somehow I'm like, oh, I really stuck the landing there. That's really sweet. Anyway. So, but does this answer the question about authority? Yeah, it does.
Starting point is 00:19:45 I met Tara the other night. Did you really? She is an icon. Where'd you meet Tara? We went to a party for pride with our friends, Matt, who is friends with her. Whitaker. Whitaker. Oh, love.
Starting point is 00:19:56 Love. And Tom, his, his boy, And Josh Sharp, and we all went to Zero Chill. It was fabulous. I was at dinner with Josh and Matt the other night. Oh, wait, yes. How was that? Horrible.
Starting point is 00:20:08 Too nasty gay men. Wait, I know. Okay, so I know, I think you would love Zero Chill. What is it? We got to take you. So it's QNCC, Queer Night Live Collective. I forget what the second C stands for. Uh-oh.
Starting point is 00:20:21 Caleb. But they have this. Caleb. Queer Night Live Collective. For Caleb. Bricel. It's cute. It's like they have this door policy that is contrable.
Starting point is 00:20:29 where it's like, bring a woman, please. Oh, fun. But in like a queer way. Yeah. It's like, I love bringing a woman. It's one of my big things. I know. You love bringing women.
Starting point is 00:20:40 Yeah. But as long as women bring you sometimes, which they do. Women bring me. I would love for women to bring me. Women bring me to places you couldn't imagine. Women bring me to events. I couldn't even believe that I'm at. Fab.
Starting point is 00:20:55 Yeah. Women take me everywhere. Women take you everywhere. Women are everything to me. You know this. God. Women are my number one type of person. Period.
Starting point is 00:21:04 I literally, I think I said on an episode yet. We recorded yesterday and I said if all girls disappeared overnight, I would kill myself immediately. Which is like such a useless gay guy thing to say. But it's reality. What would I watch? What would you watch? Who would you talk to? Who would I talk to?
Starting point is 00:21:19 Who would I look up to? You got dinner with some gay guys, though. I got dinner with gay guys, but it was a total nightmare. All we did was talk about being gay guys. It was awful. kidding. I love those guys. I mean, yeah.
Starting point is 00:21:30 They're both, like, married, though. That's another thing. I'm like, at this point in my life where I'm, like, hanging out with so many, like, gay men that are actually in loving, beautiful relationships. And I'm like, I thought we all weren't going to do that. What's going on?
Starting point is 00:21:40 Like, I thought we all agreed we weren't going to really be doing that. And now what's happening? Well, before we got on the mic, like, I know four different people, gay friends who are having children in the next few months. Yeah, so I'm interested because I think you, I think you said, I said, gay guys are doing babies now.
Starting point is 00:21:58 and you said, I could never. Oh, yeah, I could never. Really? But when you'd be such a good father? I think you'd be an incredible parent. Oh, my gosh. Oh, I would love. No.
Starting point is 00:22:08 Why not? You'd be an amazing dad. And I will be. That's perfect. Looking forward to it. I'm so happy for... I'm so thrilled for the people who are excited for it, who will be good at it. I know for a fact.
Starting point is 00:22:20 It will not be good. Well, okay, so why do you think that is? Is it just like, I don't want to spend my time that way, or there's something else going on? It's like... It's like... know, like, there's, there's, like, stuff with my parents. I mean, we get along famously now.
Starting point is 00:22:34 I love my parents so much. But, like, growing up, it was weird. Yeah. And, but that's not on them. It's just on, like, the design of parent, not the design, but, like, the whole, like, concept of parenthood, which is, like, oh, God. It's a troublesome contract, yeah.
Starting point is 00:22:51 Like, they, like, they, like, I would say, like, fucked up their lives for me. That is, I've told my mom, Many, many times. The fact that she didn't abort me is crazy. Wow. And what does she say to that? Like, she, well, my mom only ever wanted to be a mom.
Starting point is 00:23:07 That's the difference is I'm like, my mom wanted to be a mom more than she wanted anything. It's her life's like literal joy. Like it is her purpose and excitement on earth. Yeah. And for me, I'm like, girl, you could have done so much cool shit. If you didn't have a baby, baby's plural. On your hips.
Starting point is 00:23:24 Babies on your hips. I know. Oh. She'd already have my brother. And then when I came around, I'm like, it's crazy you didn't. abort him. And then, because she was 17,
Starting point is 00:23:33 right. And then I'm like, four years later, you're like, you know, 14 years from freedom. And then you reset your clock with this guy.
Starting point is 00:23:40 And with my dad, who was a loser. I mean, shout out, rest in peace. But like, I'm just like, that's crazy, girl. So then where does this
Starting point is 00:23:50 come in for you where you want to have a baby? I love kids so much. I feel, I kind of relate to my mom. I do feel like, the thing I'm most supposed to do with my life is have kids.
Starting point is 00:24:03 Like, I really do think that. But I would be okay if I didn't. Like, I love my life. I really, really love my life. And I would be okay if I didn't blow it up to, like, raise a person. But it's funny that you say the thing about having a complicated relationship with your parents,
Starting point is 00:24:18 like maybe playing a factor because it plays a factor for me in the affirmative of like, because my dad fucked up so many things, I actually get really excited about doing it right. that's beautiful do you know what I mean like I'm like oh my god all those things my dad didn't do well he did some things well and I'd like to keep those and then all the things he didn't do well I'm like oh well now I know so I can like do it the good way like I won't yell and I won't be critical and I won't like I you know I'll try to do for my kids what he really couldn't do for me
Starting point is 00:24:50 and you can you can sort of itemize at this point like the list of things he didn't do well and then like do the opposite. Well and already I do. Like my dad lived his life in a pretty miserable way. Like he just was like, he was extremely mentally ill and unable to help himself. And I wished at every turn of our relationship and really tried to get him to get help.
Starting point is 00:25:12 But he just wasn't able to. And so he just was a miserable guy. Yeah. And I'm like, I already have taken, I already live my life different than that. I already don't blow up. Like, I'm not a rageaholic. I don't blow up over nothing.
Starting point is 00:25:23 I don't allow myself to get so depressed. that I won't leave the house for more than two days in a row. Like, I've already taken the lesson, so now I'm like, okay, let's get a kid in the mix and see what we can do here. Cool. Yeah. This episode is brought to you by Hinge. Look, dating can be a goddamn nightmare.
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Starting point is 00:31:11 for 70 to 80% off everything as a new VIP. I love when people don't get angry. Isn't it nice? I don't think I've I think I've tested it out for myself in the last, like, my rage and like,
Starting point is 00:31:32 just it doesn't come out. Yeah. And I'm like, proud of that. I have managed to get it down to minor little things. Yeah. I have managed like, you know, these guys will see me fly off the handle for 15 seconds about like a rental car. Totally. No.
Starting point is 00:31:47 That's okay. That I'm like, but I'm like you guys have no fucking idea the guy I grew up with. Like this is 15 seconds about a rental car is actually like, this is world's of progress. Of course. And then I move on and I go, hey, sorry about that. Pretty quickly. Quick. Quick. And acknowledging and remorseful. So cool. These are like massive changes from the way that I was raised. Yeah. So I go, that's fine. And look, you've already broken the cycle. Hello? Hello. Wake it up.
Starting point is 00:32:17 Wake that up. What did you, what did you experiment with? What did I experiment with? Oh, I didn't conduct these tests on myself, but like there were just so many, so many moments just professionally and I don't know like relationally with people where I'm like that is fucking crazy that this would happen to me
Starting point is 00:32:35 or that would not happen to me but you know what I mean like this circumstance would should could like make me angry yeah and instead I was like okay let's think about this that was fucked up wasn't it
Starting point is 00:32:52 that was really fucked up yeah yeah yeah and that's unless that's scarier I don't know what do you think I'm never gonna like blow up at someone. I don't think blowing up is ever helpful. No. You can feel your emotions without
Starting point is 00:33:04 letting yourself be like completely beholden to them. I think it's fine to be like, I'm mad at you. You really pissed me off. I don't want to talk to you for a little bit. But blowing up is like, what am I going to do? yell at you. I'm not like a psychopath. But like, I have like yelling fantasies. Yeah? But I never act on them. Okay.
Starting point is 00:33:24 So is that, is that? What's that about? Whoa, I don't know. I don't know, but I, I'm glad you don't do it. I just, I just want to say like, I just want to say like, how dare you? Oh, fun. You know?
Starting point is 00:33:42 Yeah. I've never had the chance. I've had the chance. I've just never acted on it. Do you watch a lot of real housewives? Of course. That's what it is. Oh, like, we like, we like sort of exercise that through the viewing.
Starting point is 00:33:52 I think, I think, I actually have identified that some of my, some of my loved ones who, who watch a lot of reality TV are specifically sometimes maybe even subconsciously getting excited about the idea of having a conflict like that. 100% of being like
Starting point is 00:34:10 it's not even that, it's the principal. Whoa. I had that on a trip once where it was clearly this guy like wanted to live out a house. Like we were like at an outdoor dinner, a six top and he like
Starting point is 00:34:24 went crazy and we're like that's not okay. The cameras aren't rolling. The cameras aren't rolling. Yeah. We're all like actual friends. Like, whatever. There's just a million things to say.
Starting point is 00:34:35 But I'm just like, and now I don't talk to that person. Everybody has had the group trip that ruined group trips for you. Yeah. Weren't you and Sid talking about this recently? Sure. Sure we were. You, because, okay, you and I would actually, oh, what do you think about this?
Starting point is 00:34:48 Because you're a logistics king. Yeah. I am trying to move away from that because I feel like I default to booking everything. in a way that sometimes I go, oh, well, can someone else do this? Oh, yeah. But everyone just puts it on me. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:35:05 I've been saying this in dating. I really soon. I think I'd like to date someone, I'd like to date someone who really... Takes point. Makes things happen. Sometimes, not all the time, but sometimes just goes like,
Starting point is 00:35:18 hey, Thursday night we're doing this at this time. I'll pick you up. Oh. Oh. Oh! What? That would be amazing. And would you, like, would that
Starting point is 00:35:27 be like a learned dependency thing where like you totally give that up once once this thing is introduced like you think i totally give up being that guy because then he's the guy i was talking to someone about this yesterday where he was like oh it's a learned dependency thing like like this thing that you could have done in the past now you have no idea how to do anymore because you've learned to depend on someone else for it i have that with my business managers well that's different you pay them you pay them and like i don't know anything about things I used to be so good at with my money. I'm like, I don't even know my...
Starting point is 00:36:00 You used to be good with money? Anymore? Oh, yeah. Oh, future business is America. Fruit of your farmers. Yeah, yeah. Growing up extremely poor. Totally, totally. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:36:07 You understood bureaucracy. Yeah, I was pretty good. I made things happen. I lived on an amount of money that should not have been livable for a lot. Pretty good portion of my adult life. I would say my first job out of college, I was making $26,000 a year. Wow. And living in Chicago and, like, doing improv every night.
Starting point is 00:36:23 And, like, finding a way to, like, never cook a meal at home because I was never in the home. That's crazy. A lot of it was stealing from Whole Foods, though. Fav. And I consider that to be being good with money. Absolutely. Stealing from Whole Foods is the thing I was very happy to do for a number of years.
Starting point is 00:36:37 And what would it be? Like, one acorn squash? Like, what would it be? Oh, honey, full meals from the hot bar. Yes. Full meals from the hop bar. Well, I don't want to. I don't want to share.
Starting point is 00:36:47 Oh, totally. No, if you need to steal from Whole Foods, I can't recommend it enough, especially now. I mean, back then it was a different thing. Now it's even better to steal from Whole Foods. Of course. If you want to, allegedly. if you allegedly want to there's room for potential go ahead and get yourself a full takeout box of dinner
Starting point is 00:37:08 go ahead and load it up with everything you'd like all the ticamasa and go ahead and go to the self-checkout and ring it up as one small soup you can't try to steal outright you have to steal smartly you steal you steal you steal 42 worth of dinner for the for the cost of $5 of soup yep you don't try to take the whole box box without paying at all. That's where people
Starting point is 00:37:29 fuck up. That's where people fuck up. You got to spend a little money to make a little money. Absolutely. You know what I mean? God, and this is the thing like, you're talking about Chicago it's like this is a thing in like New York, it's like in most cities now, but like in like artist cities, it used to be that like
Starting point is 00:37:47 you could be like struggling and still have it be livable. Yeah. Now it's just like oh, that gap is crazy. I mean, hopefully now it's changing in New York at least, but it's like... I hope these city-run grocery stores might really help stuff out. I'm hopeful for that.
Starting point is 00:38:02 I really want that to work out really well because I would love it to be something that's able to be emulated, obviously. Of course. I just... It's so cool that people keep coming here and wanting to get things started in a creative way, but it's also like...
Starting point is 00:38:18 God, it was just so much easy. It really was just easier back in the day, even like 10 years ago to like come here and like work like a low-paying job and still have time to like go and meet your people and then do your shows and do your make your art or whatever. It's just harder to do that now.
Starting point is 00:38:36 It's harder to get started, which is so sad. Sometimes I wonder, I think about this. Like, I think like, did I get in at the end of a good thing, like Tony Sopranos style? That's how I feel. Or am I just now like a little older and kind of removed from the nexus of it? Like, I'm sure there are kids in Chicago right now
Starting point is 00:38:56 doing fucking weird-ass indie shows in basements and addicts the way that we were when I was 22 and sounding ancient vibes No worries, sounding simply like an elder. Like I've been summoned from a clay pot or something. But I'm sure they're doing stuff that in like 10 years they're going to be like, God, 2026 in Chicago was the good old days. I think we've earned,
Starting point is 00:39:26 I think as long as one second passes, you're allowed to be like, you're allowed to wax. Oh, I was thinking the other day about the, like the final Helltrap Nightmare show in Chicago. Did I talk about this on the podcast? What year was that?
Starting point is 00:39:40 Was that 20? That would have been 20, like, 2019? Oh, I thought it was like post-pandemic. They moved to L.A. pre-pandemic. Yeah, when the nail moved. Yeah, Sarah and the shrimp boys. Wyatt and David and Luke and all those guys. But yeah.
Starting point is 00:39:56 you know what, Bowen, I actually was thinking this morning about you doing the show, and I was like, oh my gosh, I'm so excited to see Bowen. And then I was thinking about how big of a deal. And I wonder if you and Matt know this. But when you guys would come to town and do the I Don't Think So Honey shows, it like sent, tidal waves through the community. All the comics in Chicago would be like, did you get a, I don't think so honey slot? And it was crazy.
Starting point is 00:40:20 That's mortifying, actually. No, it was awesome. It was because you guys did so many slots and like really good. gave people time to do their thing. It was like a thing where people would like, for weeks you would run into comics and they'd be like, okay, I thought of another,
Starting point is 00:40:33 I don't think so, honey, and I really think this is the one I'm gonna do. Like people were, do you remember this chance? Yeah. It was like, it was like you would run into a comic like, like three times in a week leading up to the show and they would be like,
Starting point is 00:40:44 okay, I think, I think this is the one I'm gonna do. It was awesome. Yeah. It was really sweet. That's really sweet of you to say. And I also,
Starting point is 00:40:50 of course, I'm mortified. Why? About like the people who like didn't, who like, were bummed because they didn't get the invite. Of course, but that's life, sweetheart. That's showbiz kid.
Starting point is 00:40:59 Although, you know, Matt wasn't even at that show. It was Pat Regan. I know. On mine, yeah. On yours. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. The one in Chicago. That was a fun time. Like, I kind of am toying with, like, I think we should do that again.
Starting point is 00:41:11 You should do that again. Because we would go to different cities and it would be like 30 or 40 or 50, depending on like the scale of the town. Like, I don't know, like Houston, Texas was like, we were like lucky to get 20. Yeah, of course.
Starting point is 00:41:25 But, um, which is just to say that, like, there weren't that many, like, queer adjacent comedians who were, like, got it and, like, understood what we were trying to do. Yeah. Which, it wasn't even not. It's not prohibitive. It's like, do a minute. Yeah. Just do one minute. Um, anyway, we want to do something here.
Starting point is 00:41:42 Fun. Where it's, like, a little, like, outdoor festival thing. Oh, cute. Can be cute. Holmes is starting a comedy festival. Who is? Holmes. Oh, my God.
Starting point is 00:41:52 They're in Chicago? Uh, no. Here, August 1st. It's called About to Bus Fest, I think. That's a great name. We can't compete with Holmes. No, no, no. You do a different thing, but I'm saying it's, I'm so excited by, like, the, like, our little
Starting point is 00:42:05 group of comics kind of, like, circling back around and being like, should we make, like, weird live shows again? Yes. It's fun. It's so fun. I'm really excited for Holmes' Fest. They've been working really hard on it. It's all, I guess I don't know the technical language they're using, but it's all, like,
Starting point is 00:42:21 femme, trans, non-binary, like women, like. No, no cis guys, basically. Which is, of course, like... Your best friend, but... Sure, don't book me. I guess for your politics or whatever the fuck. But I guess I'm supportive. No, this is a situation where, like, you're...
Starting point is 00:42:37 It's a bringer and, like, you should be brought by a woman. I want to be brought by... This is one of those spaces that would be great if a woman brought me. I think the... I think Holmes should consider a ratio where, like, for every, like, 20 fems... Yeah. One cis guy. Yeah, and he's, like, ducked.
Starting point is 00:42:53 taped over the mouth or something. No hate. No hate. Yeah. No hate on it. With the no hate. Yeah. God, that was so chic. What I had a question for you that I wanted to ask earlier. What do you think is the most important quality in a person? Importance not the word I want to use. What do you think is the most admirable or like exciting quality in a person? Um, are you ready for like a such a boring answer? I really am. I think people misunderstand
Starting point is 00:43:24 nihilism 45 so true Are those my question? No, no, no, that's not even for you. That's for me to stay on track with the episode because all I do is run my mouth back to you. No, that's a good thing. Okay.
Starting point is 00:43:41 People misunderstand nihilism. They think of it as passive nihilism where it's like you understand things are meaningless, you stay in despair. Nietzsche also kind of describes active nihilism where you understand that everything's meaningless. And now you have no choice,
Starting point is 00:44:02 but this is like an affirmative thing for you to create your own meaning. Yeah. It's not a quality. God, it's such a terrible answer. Like an understanding of, like you're saying nihilism in a positive, let's make meaning because we...
Starting point is 00:44:17 Yes. We don't have inherent meaning, so let's make someone be fun about it. Exactly. That kind of thing. And like the best kind of meaning. This word is, this word is going through like a weird thing right now.
Starting point is 00:44:28 But people seem to be like allergic to like people like pushing for community. They're like there's no such thing. As community? I think like I'm seeing shit on my algorithm where it's like like everyone's faking. Everyone's really forcing community on to like all these different things. And it's like well yeah because that is like. Oh, I almost started crying. That makes me so sad.
Starting point is 00:44:47 It makes me so sad to hear that people feel that way. Especially as we're talking about like like your like coterie of comedians that you came up with all like circling back. like gaining the sort of kind of ability to like make new things make weird shit like I love anyone who like is I think the best quality in a person is someone who like wants to plug in even just a little bit I think like I'm with you like
Starting point is 00:45:13 I have just the right amount of agoraphobia I think you can have a little bit of agoraphilia if you want I mean that's like a nice it's just it's your thing where you're like I'm not gonna be depressed for more than two days I'm not gonna like not not that I'm not just not to be depressed in a way that I don't leave the apartment for two days. Although sometimes that's like necessary.
Starting point is 00:45:30 But I feel like my favorite quality in a person is someone who like is down to like stop by the party for a little bit. You got to do it anyway. And someone that you can like leave alone at a party. You don't have to worry about them. Hottest quality. Hottest quality. That to me hottest quality.
Starting point is 00:45:46 If I am seeing somebody and I take them to a thing and they can hold their own and not not only handle it but also not have feelings about it. Yes. Fuck. That is so hot and cool. I love that. Who, is there someone on the roster who like fits that?
Starting point is 00:46:01 Oh, well, first of all, I would never refer to my boys. As a roster. My boys are not a roster. My boys are, well, they're a beautiful and beloved community. A brotherhood.
Starting point is 00:46:15 A brotherhood of man. A brotherhood of man. Is there anyone on the roster? No, I don't answer. That's such a terrible question. I'm happy to talk about it. Okay. I talk about everything on here.
Starting point is 00:46:23 Yep. In fact, the only thing I tell people that I'm seeing is like, let's wait a little bit before we watch the show. You know what I mean? Let's just hold off on that. Wait, what do you mean? I'm like, unless you actively already are like a fan of my podcast. Oh, yes, yes, yes.
Starting point is 00:46:34 Don't tap in. Don't like, just take a little bit on that. Totally. I'm seeing a couple of really cool guys right now. And I am really... You can leave them a lot of to party. What's that? You can leave them in a lot of to party. How many of them have I taken to a party?
Starting point is 00:46:46 One of them, for sure, have taken him to things and he's been very cool. Cool. The others, it's been more cash than that. I also am like just obsessed with my friends in a way that I'm like if I'm out with my friends I just really really would like to be focused on my friends like I'm I'm not really trying to like I don't know I'm not really trying to
Starting point is 00:47:11 absorb yeah or like focus on some guy like if I bring a guy around it's usually either just circumstantial they're like oh this is the only time we can see each other for two weeks sure come to this thing with me yeah or that I'm like I actually really like this guy let's see how he does with my friends like there's It depends. But yeah, I really just want to focus on my friends. My friends are the most special, interesting, beautiful people on Earth.
Starting point is 00:47:31 I want to hang out with them. And then if there's a guy there that I'm going to, like, sleep with later, that's cool. Totally. You're so artful with your friendships. Oh, Bowen. You are. You knock it off. Everyone just, like, drops their shoulders when they talk about you.
Starting point is 00:47:46 That's actually maybe the nicest thing that anyone's ever said to me. That's really sweet. I'm going to make this about me. The best compliment I've ever gotten. Thank God. What is it? Uh, you feel like a, you're like a human hot tub. Huh.
Starting point is 00:48:01 Like, everyone just like, and that's like, I'm like, I have to chase that forever now. Just relaxes. Just relaxes. Which is, I feel that. I'm giving you that compliment. But I'm not, I'm not re-gifting it. No, it's a different, it's a different one. No.
Starting point is 00:48:15 It's inspired by. It's inspired by. I feel that, I feel that about you. What is it? Um, I feel very relaxed around you. Likewise. What is it? The, the, the, something for potential.
Starting point is 00:48:24 Room for potential. Room for potential. Room for potential is awesome actually Let's use that Let's spend some time on room for potential Let's spend some time on room for potential Okay but just to just to go back to the answer of the question So the nihilism into community thing
Starting point is 00:48:37 Like those are linked because of this video game That I love that I play every now and then It's an online game and like It's like a 10 year story Like they've been recently expansions for 10 years And like there's this whole crazy like world creation thing Where they like Whatever it's so an intellectie
Starting point is 00:48:56 and like it absorbs like all of humanity's sort of like woes and it basically like goes into full nihilism it goes into despair by by like telling everybody like there is no hope for civilization like every civilization in this universe has like fallen to war famine genocide whatever yeah um there's no reason for anyone to exist i'm going to kill you all yeah and then through the story and through playing with other people real people in the world you understand that like the meaning that gets created out of the nihilism and the despair is that that despair is not a terminal that out of despair you have to find community it's like and as you're playing with other people you understand like oh like doing this silly thing this frivolous thing like playing a video game
Starting point is 00:49:42 is actually quite beautiful yeah and like this is what actually like gets you through to the other side of sadness or something I completely love that I went through a really annoying phase in college that chance can attest to he was there for it. Where my big thing was that we're all going to die and I would say it constantly and it was and I would use it as like this like I mean I was extremely depressed.
Starting point is 00:50:06 So that was playing a role that old chestnut and I was just saying it all the time and being so annoying and nihilistic drawgatory boots yeah and nihilistic boots drawgatory room for boots and I was just being
Starting point is 00:50:21 I was really annoying I was just really, really annoying, and Eeyore vibes. And I... And what vibes? Eeyore. Just like sad, depressing. Like, why would anyone invite you to the function? Uh-huh.
Starting point is 00:50:32 Like, I kind of hate those things that are like, it's so nice that they still invite Eeyore, even though he's depressed. He's like, no, you're being a fucking bummer, snap out of it. Like, sorry, like, you need to figure it out. And that's how I felt about myself at the time. Because I was like, you've got to stop this.
Starting point is 00:50:43 You're being really fucking annoying. And, but then that is the thing is it's like, okay, so fine, that's true. You win. Like, we're all going to die and nothing matters. And so, then the only thing that matters is the journey that we're on to get there and why not make it so beautiful and fun and nice and lovely.
Starting point is 00:50:59 Like, you wanting to be a parent is like the most optimistic thing. Yeah, I have no hope for my kids. I think they're totally doomed. I think all kids being born right now. Oh my gosh, I mean... So then how do you reconcile that with like, I want one? That I'm like, well, I just think what else is that?
Starting point is 00:51:17 We're all doomed regardless. It's like... And doomed, I don't mean in like a sad way. I just mean like, yeah, the project of humanity is going to end. That is okay. That's like something we just know now. And that was like, okay, so let's just like have fun and do beautiful things along the way. And I think raising a child would be like a beautiful project.
Starting point is 00:51:35 I love that. You know what I mean? It's just like, why, I don't know, why not? To me, I find it not dissimilar from like making art or anything where it's like when people are like, well, how could you have a kid knowing that it's going to, uh, that everything's going to end? There's no point. I go, how could you make a TV show?
Starting point is 00:51:51 Totally. Why be creative at all. Why write a song? Why make it? Yeah. Why look at a beautiful flower and smile. Oh. Hello?
Starting point is 00:51:58 Hello? Oh, you know what? To make it about me. Yeah. Which I hate to do. It makes me sick. My, I say it all the time on this show,
Starting point is 00:52:08 but my favorite quality in a person, curiosity. Yes. I love a curious bitch. I just love Curious George. What are you looking for? I love it. It's so fun.
Starting point is 00:52:18 There are endless things to be curious about. And choosing to be curious about anything. On my best days, I'm curious and on my worst, most annoying days where I don't like the way I'm behaving, it's because I'm refusing to be curious. Everything's exciting.
Starting point is 00:52:30 This goes into, I agree, but this also goes, I have one little asterisk, which is my... Give it to me. No, no, no, we'll save it. Oh my God. Bowen-Yang, what is so true to you? What is so true to me is that
Starting point is 00:52:41 we should all take a year break and stop recommending things to each other. Wow. Say it. Thank you. We have to catch up. Yes. Nothing gets made or recommended for a year. Things can get made.
Starting point is 00:52:54 Okay. Don't recommend. You know what I mean? If you choose to make something in the next year, just know it's not getting recommended. That's what it is. But it will in the future. Totally. We'll look back on it and go, oh, that's from the dark period where we didn't recommend.
Starting point is 00:53:10 You know what I mean? Absolutely. It kills something in me and I'm trying to actively undo this or just be better about it. It's like, if I watch something, Like, I should just not keep it to myself, but I want to, I need to resist the urge to, like, look at what the reviews were, look what other people are saying. Like, look at the letterboxed or something.
Starting point is 00:53:30 I'm like, oh, it should, and I've gotten much better at that. But this is just, this is all to say that, like, I'm curious about the things. I want the curiosity to be sort of self-generated and not sort of, like, hand, like, white-gloved to me. It starts to feel like, I really, really do agree with this because it starts to feel like, mandatory viewing
Starting point is 00:53:51 that it's like everyone goes like heated rivalry right you have simply must you have to have done heated rivalry and it's like I actually don't have to have done that I just which the show seems great it's not about that show but it's like it becomes this thing where it's like
Starting point is 00:54:05 hey there's 12 minutes where we're going to talk about something get in on it it's compulsory it's really yeah intense I don't I don't love the culture of like binging and obsessing that's going on right now yes and I'm on to something you're on to something No recommendations for a year. Could really save us.
Starting point is 00:54:22 Now, if I had my way, I would take that and turn it into, we're all going to shut down phones in the internet for a year. Of course, of course. In general, and then just come back. Somebody was saying this recently, actually, and it just leapt out to me because maybe Michael Cruz Kane. Love, love him. Love him, him and Asher Perlman have a new podcast,
Starting point is 00:54:39 and I think maybe they were talking about it on their boys, if you weren't. I'm so sorry. Two handsome guys. Two handsome nice guys. I know. But I like both. Objectifying them. But I was like, I think maybe they were saying it.
Starting point is 00:54:49 like, yes, I've been feeling this. Like, let's just shut everything off for a year. Let's see what happens. And then as we come back, we can just phase in the necessary things. Like, maybe we'll come back and go, you know what? Email was great. Let's keep email. Isn't this what we said during COVID, though?
Starting point is 00:55:02 I thought it was going to happen and then it didn't happen. Email is, I actually don't agree with the email. What if it was the only thing we had? No. You don't feel like your life is governed by emails? I try not to look at them at all. Sorry, Michelle. Oh, my God.
Starting point is 00:55:17 I mean, I look at them, but I look at them, but I'm sorry. I'm like, I just don't think much about them. I just rattle off a response or I like... I'm the same actually. I'm like, whatever with that. But you know, like, Julio Torres' this whole thing. He's got like 18,000 unread emails. Does he?
Starting point is 00:55:29 And he just does it. It's like, it's like, he describes it as a river. It's like, if I don't catch the pebble or whatever, it's like, it's just gone. Like, I'm not seeing it. I'm trying to become really difficult. Yeah? I'm on a journey to becoming really difficult. Oh my God, that's so nice to be difficult.
Starting point is 00:55:42 Um, and not angry. I don't know why I'm putting those two things next to each other. Yeah, I'm trying to get to a place where like, and I think I'm actually halfway there, where actually the people who like, like my managers will just tell people like, yeah, sorry, it's really hard to get a hold of him. We'll let you know if we're able to. I think that would be nice. I like that.
Starting point is 00:55:59 I got really used to that during culture awards for both years. For all the years we've done it where it's like this person, we're still waiting to hear back from him and it's been two weeks. And it's actually great because all you can do is go like, okay. Yeah, hope we get it. And if not, no way. There's no, like, there's no reason to be angry. There's no reason to like have like, because it just. just like gums up the works. It's like, oh, well, it's keeping you from like going on to something
Starting point is 00:56:21 else and doing the next thing. To be unreachable is like one of the chicest things you can be right now. And I would love to get there. Unfortunately, I'm deeply reachable. I'm reachable. I know. I would love to, but it's like I want my loved ones to reach me. Yes. But I want, I got to find out how to, you know, it's like, you know when they're sorting sheep with the little gate. Yeah. And the big ones go this way and the small ones go that way. This is future farmers of America's stuff. That's what I'm... Yeah.
Starting point is 00:56:49 When I say little gate and big ones and small ones, I obviously retained what I was supposed to be retaining in that organization. But yeah, I want to filter like, okay, this is... Yes. Loved ones go here. People I don't want to hear from go there. And this goes back to what we were talking about earlier. Beginning of the episode, it's like,
Starting point is 00:57:06 I would love for... I would love to be like top of mind. Yes. And likewise. And like, I'm available. I'm reachable. Let's hang. Can I ask you a question?
Starting point is 00:57:18 Yeah. It's a big one. Well, which one do I want to ask? Both. Gosh, I can do both. What, God, yes or no, exists or not? Yeah. Hell?
Starting point is 00:57:29 Hopefully. You think hell, hopefully? Christian God? I don't know. No worries. What about you? I'm trying to figure it out, but I'm... Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Starting point is 00:57:43 Recently. Cool. Can't talk more about it. Can't talk more about it. It's really working on some stand-up about it. In fact, we'll probably cut that. I have this battle recently, we'll bleep that. I have this battle recently where I, like,
Starting point is 00:57:57 want to say things on the podcast because I'm sitting here with my friend. And I'm like, you're working on stand-up about that. Do not blow it. Oh, that's nice. Other people have different opinions on that. They go, oh, sure, I'll test it on the show, and then whatever.
Starting point is 00:58:07 I'm like, I really want to, like, preserve it. You don't think there's something in the aesthetic of a stand-up set or an hour or what have you where people can sort of get on your level and be like I might have heard like a snippet of this before but let me just I will
Starting point is 00:58:26 react as if it's a new thing because this is just this is the contract they totally would I am psychotically precious about repeating material and giving people a unique show that's cool oh I love that I feel so bad about people spending money
Starting point is 00:58:42 to see me live that I I just really it feels so insane to me that I'm like, you worked really hard for that money and now I'm going to stand up here and talk about my sex life or whatever. I really, really, really want to deliver a unique show. I try to keep, I have a note of every set that I do
Starting point is 00:58:58 and where I did it and what time. And so I go, okay, I did Mateo's show at the Bell House on June 13th and I did these jokes. I'm doing Mateo's show at the Bell House in February. A lot of the same people will probably be there. I can't do any of those jokes. And I try
Starting point is 00:59:14 really hard to stick to it. I feel the same way about the podcast. But all this is to say, God, yes. I think I'm trying to decide if I have a faith. I'm trying, I'm back on that. I'm trying to decide if I fall into a category. I think God as a force that moves us towards good. I do think people are generally good. I think there's a force that pushes us towards love in the universe. I think there's a current, whether you choose to like be in it or not is up to you. But I think, you can stand on the banks, but I think there's a current that moves us all towards the same place of love if we choose to dive in. do I think it's a person who sits in the sky and makes judgments about people's morality?
Starting point is 00:59:50 I don't know. I think likely not. I have been experimenting with the idea recently that everybody goes to heaven and that maybe when you get to heaven that we have ultimate clarity about what we did to each other on earth. And that if you were hateful and mean and violent and horrible on earth that you are in a type of hell in heaven with the rest of us because you're miserable and ashamed and embarrassed about the way you behave down here. Oh my God. And that carrying that weight would be hell, but that you're not like burning in a lake of fire. You're actually in a peaceful place,
Starting point is 01:00:20 but you can't enjoy it because you're reckoning with the bad that you did to others. And then your project in heaven is to try and like deal with the weight of the guilt from what you did to people while you were there with free will. That's been very comforting to me. Incredible. Because I do, of course, think about like,
Starting point is 01:00:38 if everybody goes to heaven, what happens to the people who do awful, awful things? And I just think, like, that would be horrible to be in a perfect ideal place with complete clarity about your behavior and have to like carry the immense like emotional spiritual burden of realizing like oh I did really really bad down there you know what I mean and you exist with that for eternity yeah that whatever was wrong with you on earth that you couldn't like process that and stop and not do the things you were doing that that that clarity comes to you in heaven
Starting point is 01:01:08 and you see you feel like the the hurt and the pain that you gave to others and you just have to like exist with it up there. And maybe there's something to like, if you feel that burden while you're on earth, maybe that like balances the ledger ever so slightly. That's what I'm thinking is that then when you get to heaven and you have complete clarity, you're not shocked because you lived a life of like empathy and correctness and like trying to do the right, trying to just do right by people that you get to heaven and you actually get to enjoy the.
Starting point is 01:01:43 perfection of it and the ease of it and the utopia of it because on earth you you genuinely did your best. Do you know what I mean? Yeah. That would be really nice. My God, Caleb. But I think, no, hell. I don't, I can't, hell doesn't make any sense to me. Eternal suffering is just like, what are we talking about?
Starting point is 01:02:04 Yeah. I also have been thinking recently about how oftentimes like religious people will say that God's ways are higher than ours, but they only use it to justify God's cruelty. They never talk about God's ways being higher than ours to justify a type of love that we couldn't understand. Oh my God, of course. Like, humans don't deserve eternal suffering. No.
Starting point is 01:02:24 Like, life is already pain to begin with. Hello. Like, that is the universal, that is the universal experience of life. Yeah. It's going to hurt. It's going to hurt. Might be some good stuff in there.
Starting point is 01:02:40 Definitely, it's going to hurt. It's going to hurt one way or another. Yeah. It's going to hurt and it's going to end. Those are the promises. Caleb. Hey. So cool.
Starting point is 01:02:49 So true. So true. And let's put it on a t-shirt. Life is going to hurt and life is going to end. So true podcast. We haven't done a merch drop in a long time, you guys. Wave. What can we do?
Starting point is 01:03:01 What was the other thing I was going to ask you? Oh, what do you want? Bowen? This is a great way to end. Well, we have to play a game. But like, what do you want? What's the big dream and, like, what's the hope? I just want to, I think, I think you, and I are very similar. Like, I just want to be with my friends.
Starting point is 01:03:19 That's all. That's really. It's that simple. It's that simple. Have you ever heard of it? Ever heard of? Like, the romance stuff, yeah, whatever. I, like, I'm great with it. I'm great without it. The work stuff, great with it. Fine without it. Yeah. It's been out a little. That's because, like, that's, that's some conditioning from ever since I was born, I guess.
Starting point is 01:03:43 but no friendship, comedic and so this is and this ties into like bringing someone at a party and not having to worry about them
Starting point is 01:03:50 it's like it all feeds into like being amongst like the, Lucy Dakeas says it's the difficultness of being with other people
Starting point is 01:03:59 but that's what makes it fun, interesting, awkward, whatever. Yeah. Like I, Difficultness, I know that's sick
Starting point is 01:04:07 parentheses sick or brackets, sick. It's not the right word but. Brackets completely sick. Completely sick. as I see. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:04:15 What do I want? Yeah, just to be with friends. I love that. I think that's completely doable. And I want you to come to Cocksucker Island. Cocksack Island. To Cocksuck Island? Yeah. Oh my God, here we go. But I'm like the millionth person. I think if you were to come, like, I'm going this week with Josh and Matt and Celeste was supposed to come. It's like we're like a chill house. We just stay and
Starting point is 01:04:37 we go to the tea sometimes and dance and it's kind of fun. But then we're like, bye, we're going home. I think you would like that. This week? This week. When? And we leave Thursday. You want to come for a little bit?
Starting point is 01:04:50 Is there a bed for Caleb? Is there a bed for Caleb? I'll consider it. Genuinely, let's talk. Let's talk. Let's talk. If it's, it's you, Josh, Matt, and Celeste? It's me, Celeste can no longer come.
Starting point is 01:05:01 It's me, Josh, Matt, Aaron Jackson. Love. And our friend, take you about Jared Frieder. Lovely, you love him. I don't know Jared Frieder. Sweet guy. Shout out Jared. Shout out Jared.
Starting point is 01:05:10 Shout out Jared. And then people are kind of cycling in and out. Katie might come. Gavin might come. Oof, deal breaker. I know. Hate. Kidding.
Starting point is 01:05:17 Kidding. Yeah, I love so much. Kiddy. Kiddy, might come with Celeste for a day next week. And it's just a cute time. I low-key, starting on Friday, for about nine days, have a big yellow hold on my calendar that says vacation question mark. So it's looking like I could come. And you know what?
Starting point is 01:05:37 Maybe I am, you're catching me in an era where I'm trying to say yes to things that will surprise my friends. This would be the. gag. I know and I've been doing really good. I've been saying yes to things. I've been saying yes to things lately that my friends are going, really? And I like that. This is a big capital R really. Capital R really, capital Gagg. Capital RFP, room for potential.
Starting point is 01:06:00 Bowen. Capitalizing the four. That's big. Let's play a game. Okay. I'm going to read you 15 statements. You're going to tell me as quickly as you can if what I just said was true or false. If you get 10 or more correct, we're going to give you 50 U.S. dollars. And can I just say I'm reflecting in moment on the fact that we, Chance and I talked about this segment before I started the show. And I was like, oh yeah, we'll try it. And Loki has become everyone's like favorite thing.
Starting point is 01:06:22 This is truly incredible. Please never, ever. We can't. No, we can't stop. I know. Everyone loves it. There are more regal cinemas than AMC cinemas. Uh, false. That is false. Adult house cats have 30 permanent teeth. False. That's true. The Marlton Hotel is the oldest hotel in New York City. False. False is the Algonquin. Walker, Texas Ranger ran for five seasons. That seems too short. False. False. It was nine.
Starting point is 01:06:49 Smoky Hill High's improv team is the improvsters. False, spontaneous combustion. False. It's spontaneous combustion. South by Southwest held its first festival in 1987. False. That is true. Afghanistan is the world's largest landlocked country. That's interesting.
Starting point is 01:07:10 False. False. It's Kazakhstan. Paris Hilton loves to go catch and release frog hunting. False. True. I said false for all of these. Yeah. Pitt Stadium was the Pittsburgh Steelers' first home field.
Starting point is 01:07:25 True. False. Forbes Field. NYU's colors are purple and white. False just purple. Violet. Violet. Oh, never mind.
Starting point is 01:07:33 Knowing the violet, hey no. Lightning is hotter than the service of the sun. Lightning? False. It's true. Damn. One mile is approximately 1.6 kilometers. False.
Starting point is 01:07:45 True. Venus has two moons. False. False. Zero moons. Four is a composite number. I don't know. True? True.
Starting point is 01:07:55 I don't know what a composite number is. Sorry, guys. Brisbane is the third most populous city in Australia. I don't think so. False. It's true. Damn. How do you do?
Starting point is 01:08:04 Eight. Eight. Really close to ten. That's okay. Bowen. We just love you. Think about it. Think about it this week.
Starting point is 01:08:12 We just love you. We're going to talk off camera. As soon as these cameras cut in any moment now we'll talk about it. Is there anything you want to tell people about what they should watch Vine do? I'm not doing anything.
Starting point is 01:08:23 Las Coltrades every single week. Sure. With Matt Rogers, who we love. We love. Oh my God. We love. S&L reruns on the peacock app. Reruns on the app.
Starting point is 01:08:37 Oh, my God. Yellow taxi cab outside Taylor's First wedding. Yes. Catch me in the yellow cat. Fire Island Pines. Potentially with me and a giant hat holding a bag of books in the background.
Starting point is 01:08:48 We're wearing big hats reading books. Oh my God, I know if Josh is there. Bowen, I just love you. Thanks for doing the pod. Love you.

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