Sounds Like A Cult - Right or Wrong? Nepo Babies (Preview of Isa's New Podcast!)

Episode Date: June 18, 2024

Listen to Isa Medina NEW PODCAST – I'm Right You're Wrong on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, or wherever! Isa Medina is the Former Host and Co-Creator of Sounds Like A Cult Podcast. Follow Isa on IG @isaamedinaa for info about her live stand up comedy and her new podcast @ethicalgirlies. The episode preview ended at 23 min 40 seconds if you want to start where we left off and finish the episode <3  Right or Wrong? Nepo Babies: This week on I'M RIGHT YOU'RE WRONG, your gorgeous hosts, Lydia Keating and Isa Medina, debate nepo babies. Is it ethically right or wrong for nepo babies to have easy access to coveted careers just because their parent(s) work in the industry? Lydia argues that nepo babies are WRONG. Isa argues that they are RIGHT. They discuss the different types of nepo babies out there (it’s not all Hollywood, honey!) and if there is even an ideal way to be one… After they debate the extremes, in classic fashion, they open their dialogue up to a broader and more honest convo. Are THEY nepo babies?? (no, lol but they do get real about their own privileges). Lydia ponders creativity—is it something innate to the fibers of your being? Was Reese Witherspoon’s son born to be a DJ in the West Village? Isa talks about her boy drama and how men should never complain about being tired. Lydia acknowledges her annual spring/summer glow up. Both hosts agree that ebbing and flowing in one’s hotness is wayyyyy better than being consistently hot all year round, which would actually be so boring. And finally, they talk about WHO is to BLAME for nepotism? (and it’s not the nepo babies or their parents! It’s something far more insidious…) Enjoy the episode! Love you so much. 

Hi culties, it's Isa Medina former host and co-creator of sounds like a cult podcast I wanted to pop in here to give you a little sneak peek of my new podcasts latest episode Which is out now right or wrong? Nepo babies so my new podcast is called. I'm right you're wrong and it's hosted by myself and my friend Lydia Keating The show is about the everyday debates you have with your friends at brunch. We cover topics that focus on the ethics of your 20s and 30s, but every week we take a hard stance,

opposite from each other, and debate it to the bitter end. But not actually bitter. We just wanna look at these issues that we confront in our coming of age, you know? So many people have so many opinions about what you should and should not do, say, or be. So we wanna cover these topics and get to the bottom of it. Is it right or wrong to have a friendship breakup?

Is it right or wrong to date a friend's ex? Is it right or wrong to get Botox and fillers? This week's episode, Nepo Babies. We had so much fun debating this and having a hilarious nuanced conversation afterwards. I know you all will love it, so I wanted to show you a sneak peek. But before we get into that, if you want to listen to the full episode, you can go to the link below and subscribe to the podcast.

And also it's a video podcast, which is so exciting. You can watch it on YouTube or on Spotify. I hope to see you over there on the I'm Right, You're Wrong podcast page. But in the meantime, here's a little preview of this week's episode, Right or Wrong? Nepo babies. Okay. Love you so much, enjoy. My parents famously work in beans.

Yeah, I was thinking about it while I was doing this. And if I went into the bean industry, you'd be a huge Nepo baby. Huge bean Nepo baby. And if I went into the flour industry, I'd be a Nepo baby. Yeah. Yeah.

This is I'm Right, You're Wrong, a podcast about the everyday debates you have with your friends at brunch. I'm Eason Medina and I'm a comedian. I'm Lydia Keating. I'm a writer and content creator. Every week we debate a different topic, right or wrong Botox and fillers. Right or wrong should influence their post about politics.

Right or wrong dating in the friend group. To try and answer the question all of their post about politics. Right or wrong, dating in the friend group. To try and answer the question all of us think about constantly. What does it mean to be a good person in your 20s? Or your 30s. Or 40s. Or literally your hundreds, everyone is so cute and hot forever.

So true. Now what we're gonna do is randomly assign each of us a side that we debate and then we propose a take right or wrong the most extreme take we only have three minutes each to argue our side and then we get into a little discussion with our favorite word nuance and yeah how it's totally fine to agree to disagree I mean in this economy it's actually the only thing we can afford to do mm-hmm this. This week's topic, NEPO babies. Let's get into it.

I was an angel this week. Really? People did wrong things to me. Really, in LA? Yeah. What happened? A boy. I know!

Ah! A boy that I know? Or am aware of? I don't think so, which is why I'm so excited to tell you about it. Okay, go on. So I reached out to this guy that I met through work a couple of months ago.

Comedy? No, well, yes, but industry. And I met him like a couple months and months and months ago before I moved. And I thought it was cute. I think he thought I was cute. And I reached out to get a drink. But we follow each other on Instagram,

even though we're like met professionally. And he wished me a happy birthday over text. So he wants the fuck. I was like, this guy is thinking about me. And I'm thinking about him. And so I was like, well, I'm in LA. I was like, I texted him and was like, hey, do you want to grab a drink on Thursday?

Oh, so you guys text, you don't even just email. No, well, I'm in LA. I was like, I texted him and was like, hey, do you want to grab a drink on Thursday? Oh, so you guys text, you don't even just email? No, yeah, we text. Okay, beautiful. Yeah, I mean, not often, but like, he texted me happy birthday. Yeah. He's obsessed with you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I texted him and was like,

hey, do you want to get a drink? And he was like, yeah, let's do it. Thursday, we get a drink. We meet at like kind of a fancy place, have one drink. And then he's like, I didn't realize this place was like, so dark, do you want to go to another bar? Okay, this is feeling very New York in LA. I know.

So he's trying, yeah. Right? And so then we go to a rooftop bar and we have like two more drinks. And then we were talking about like smoking. And he was like, do you want to go back to my place and smoke? Your hand is over your mouth.

We go to his place and smoke and then we make out. Okay. And I'm like, cha-ching. Yeah. Yeah. So you're getting married. Literally. Thank you for acknowledging that. And so then we were like, talked about like what we were up to that weekend. I told him I was going to like a thing on Friday night and he was like, I was like, would you want to come? He was like, yeah, totally. So on Friday night I texted him. I was like, Hey, what's up? And he was like, he texted me back like a flirty, like the name of a song that he had like said to me. Okay. He's a poet. Yeah. I was like, what? I was like, what are

you? Do you want to hang out or not? And then I texted him back the name of a song also, because I was like, well, I'm going to play this game too. But then I was like, want to hang. And he didn't text me back for like three hours and was just like, I'm so dead, let's hang tomorrow. And then I just didn't text him back. And then I was freaking out. So this is what maybe I'm like, I did right or wrong. Like all day on Saturday, I was like, is he into me? Is he not into me?

I'm gonna hold tight. I'm not gonna text him. I think that's wise. Thank you so much. I went for a run. Okay. Actually so healthy. So healthy. Yeah, very good. So I was like. I went for a run. Okay. Actually so healthy. So healthy.

Yeah, very good. So I was like, I need to get out of my head. So I went for a run. I came back. I was hanging out. He texts me. That's like a little present. Yeah, I was like, thank you so much for that.

And he was like, did you end up going to downtown LA? I was like, yeah, I did. Are you like well rested to hang today? Doesn't text me back all weekend. Oh no. And this was at 3.30 PM. No. Like I'm like, what?

Wait, so sorry, the last text you sent was on a Saturday or Friday? Yeah, on Saturday afternoon, he texts me 3.00 PM. Did you end up going to downtown LA? I texted him back at like 3.30 and then he didn't text me back all weekend. And then I land in New York and he's like, so sorry. Like I had a crazy weekend with work ended up being like super wrapped up and like exhausted. But when do you leave town?

You know what I fucking hate? The tired card. I hate when people talk about they're tired, specifically men, men should not be allowed to talk about how tired they are. Literally. I was literally on my period that weekend. I had just flown in from New York. I had meetings, I had things. Like I'm not complaining. I slept one hour all weekend. That's why I got back to New York and I slept like 16 hours last night. It's literally like the biggest fuckboy move to be like, sorry, I'm so tired. Tired from what? They're not living under the constant burden of being a

woman. Exactly. For a man to be tired, it's actually wrong. Yeah. Very, very wrong. Okay. This is like a confusing little riddle for me because honestly what my mind jumps to, and I'm like usually the last one to like try and make excuses, but do you, is there any chance he's potentially wrapped up with someone else? I don't think so. I mean, actually I've been fooled before by a five, three man. This guy is tall.

So maybe it'll be worth it. Fool me once, fool me again also. Fool me once, fool me two to three months later. But I think the thing is, I don't think so. Cause he actually was really excited. I feel like he was into me. He's also, he is two years younger than me. I was gonna ask about age,

because my other question about this whole situation is are there power dynamics at play? Like are you- There are, it's weird because it's like he's an exec, and I met him in a way that he does, if he was older than me, he would have power over me, because he is kind of like in a position of power in the industry, but he's two years younger than me.

So I don't know. Are you like presently waiting for him to help you in any specific concrete way? Not at all. Yeah, okay. I'm like, I don't need you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

And in fact, he maybe needs you. He needs me. It's equal, yeah. He needs you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. And in fact, he maybe needs you. He needs me. It's equal, yeah. He needs you more than he knows. Yeah. I don't know, this one's dicey. Like his behavior, wrong. Okay, you think so?

Absolutely. I think he was not being considered of your time and like also of your expectations. Yeah. And I think like, I always, like what I always return to with stuff when it comes to like romantic, like texting and flirting is like,

would I tolerate this from a friend? Or from like a friendly acquaintance? And if the answer is no, then I'm like, why am I like coming up with a whole storyline for this man? Yeah, like if he was just my friend and he didn't text me back for hours after texting me back, then I'm like, why am I coming up with a whole storyline for this man? Yeah, if he was just my friend and he didn't text me back for hours after texting me back what I'm up to,

I'd literally just double text me like, yo, what's good? Yeah. But on- I'm in LA for a limited time. Yeah. I'm trying to come up with my schedule. That's the other layer of disrespect with this.

It'd be one thing if you guys were both living in New York and he knew, like he was thinking, oh, we could like hang out another weekend, but like he knew your time in LA was finite. And still was being like a flaky little bitch. Yeah, this is not making me feel good. I know, but also you're right. Yeah, we should all be surrounded.

You're right, he's wrong. Yeah. And that's what we're here for. Yeah. And also like, it's not what I want. It's right, he's wrong. Yeah. And that's what we're here for. Yeah. And also like, it's not what I, it's like, it's so important to look at something from like a third point of view, because obviously after he texted me back,

I was like, everything is perfect together in the world. I was like, oh, he apologized. He communicated why he didn't get back to me. I was like, this is great. I still have a crush. And I do still have a crush, but I'm also like, this is the reality check I needed to bring me back to like ground level of being like I do not know this man. You know?

Yeah. Like it's like it's whatever like a crush is a lack of information. Yeah. So it's wrong what he did. What he did is wrong and I think like truly perhaps there could be a good time down the road between the two of you if he's in New York, but I think give that no more emotional or like even logistical energy.

And I know that's like a tough pill to swallow, but I just, I mean, even for our listeners, like, I think that- It's so true. We need to hear it. Yeah, yeah, you do. Say it again. Yeah.

What is it? What do I do? Many shit. True. No, but yeah, like you should- Right before the podcast, you do. Say it again. Yeah. What is it? What do I do? Many shit. True. No, but yeah, like you should. Right before the podcast, you're like, bye honey, love you. Yeah.

But yeah, I don't think you should put up with that behavior. And I think. And it's like, not that I'm like not gonna like entertain him if he reaches out, but it's like, I'm not gonna entertain a false idea. Yeah. Like I don't have time to be like daydreaming about some rando.

All right. Well, okay. That's the right or wrong of this week. Do you have anything quick rapid fire? Actually I did something right as well. What'd you do? Well, I went on vacation. Oh, that's correct.

And I did get sun kiss. Yes. I ebb and flow with my hotness in an intense way. Me too. And I think it would be so wrong if I was hot all the time wrong wrong wrong hot year-round So wrong so wrong for you and for others like yeah, first of all for others. It's like okay enough. Yeah Exactly I'm putting my foot down. And for us, for one's self, it's wrong because it's boring. It's boring.

And also it's like, if you see something the same all the time, it actually like what you have to do to stay hot becomes more. Botox and fillers. Botox and fillers or constantly having to wear makeup or like always doing everything right. And like, we can't live like that. No, no, no, no, no. We have to ebb and flow in our hotness. And you don't allow yourself that like wonderful little moment that happens every spring summer of gazing at yourself in the mirror, catching a glimpse. Oh, okay. It kind of reminds me of like dirty hair. Yeah. Like in order for hair to be beautiful, it has to be dirty.

Yeah. Wait, as in you think you're like, no, like, you know how, like if you have like, you're only supposed to wash your hair twice a week and for it to be like voluptuous and actually healthy and beautiful, you're going to have to have dirty hair days. Yeah, totally. Yeah. You have to have ugly, feral days. Totally like to really like have that maximal. Exactly. So anyway, that's something right. I did. Amazing. I'm proud of you. Okay. So those are our top of the episode, right and wrongs from the week. They were juicy this week, but let's get into today's episode topic. babies. Are Nepo babies right or wrong? Wrong. I do think there is a middle ground for it

where when people actually recognize their privilege and how the nepotism got them to where they are, that there's room for those people in industries, but I cannot stand the people that are like, you had no idea how hard I had it. It's like, oh my God, like save it for someone that cares. You were in those rooms, you were around it, you were meeting people. It's not to say you're not talented, but you're getting opportunities that us regular old Joes aren't.

Right, because like imagine if Jayden Smith was doing investment banking, that would just be the worst thing ever. Okay, so in classic fashion, let's define the topic and give a little bit of background on Nebo babies. What are they and when did their rise become so prominent? Yeah, let's talk about it. I feel like everyone has a different definition. And I think since Nebo babies have come into the conversation, it's evolved even. And it's had like, it has like a more well-rounded definition now but New York Mag argues that if a

parent is just notable and not famous then they are not a nepo baby and then vulture says what does notable mean that's a great question yeah that's like these are like bendy terms but keep going sorry and then a vulture defines nepo baby as just the child of a celebrity, period. How do you define Epobaby? I think an Epobaby doesn't necessarily have to do with celebrity or Hollywood at all, which I feel like these definitions are kind of revolving around.

I think if you have a parent in a position of power and you leverage their power to get a job or get an opportunity, you're a nepo baby. Yes, I completely agree. I'd written down like a child that reaps the benefits of nepotism is a nepo baby. Like it can be someone that has access to like resources, finances or open doors that lead to its like success

in whatever career it wants. Totally. I feel like my parents famously work in beans. Yeah, I was thinking about it while I was doing this. And if I went into the bean industry, you'd be a huge net bow baby. Huge bean. I went into the flower industry. I'd be a net bow baby. I wrote that down too. I was like, if I wanted to open a flower shop, Nepo baby of the year. Totally, but like actually in practice,

it's real because you could pull on your parents over the time of having a flower business have acquired so many contacts and like end of the day, business just is rooted in who you know and the contacts you have and you could acquire all of those. Or I don't know if they would give them all to you, but. Exactly. And then I was also thinking

there's different types of Nepo babies. There's top tier, second tier, third tier. I kind of wrote this down of top tier is the Hollywood Nepo baby. A-list celebrity, star of the show. Your parents are very famous and accomplished and wealthy. Because we know famously, there are famous famous and accomplished and wealthy because we know famously there are famous people who aren't wealthy.

And then they have direct pipelines to access, which is like representation, agents, managers, execs, networks, production company. Like the people I think off the top of my mind, like top tier nepo babies, Obama's, like Apatow. I was just about to say Apatow. Yeah, or like Lily Rose Depp. Like that's top tier nepo.

Who's that guy who produces a lot of films, not Paul Feig, but like his daughter's a singer now. He's a famous producer. You're talking about Gracie Abrams? Yes. Oh, Gracie Abrams. J.J. Abrams. Wait, Gracie Abrams is J.J. Abrams?

Yeah. Whoa. That's always, I think, the funniest Nepo baby twist when it's like a Hollywood person and their kid, like honestly, when their kid tries to be a musician. Yeah. It happens a ton though. I know, it's so funny because like we all, like literally all of us wanna be rock stars.

Well, that's why I think the Nepotism debate, I don't know why I said it like that. The Nepotism to Nepo baby debate is like so hot with Hollywood because it's like, no, not everyone wants to like own a bean company. Not everyone wants to like own a flower business. Everyone wants to be famous. Everyone wants to be an actor or a musician or a model.

And I know I'm saying that generally, but it's like the hot thing to be. And so that's why everyone's like, this is the kind of nepotism that's unfair. Yeah, or like, I would say, one thing I've been recently learning is like, maybe not everyone wants to be famous, but like having a job in film and TV or being a writer

or being a photographer, creative careers that are legitimate careers, you can make a lot of money from them, but they maintain their creativity. Like those are coveted. And that's what people want. Like maybe not everyone wants fame, but everyone wants a career that's creative.

Yeah, so true. And in order to be a creative, you have to have some sort of like funding. Totally, because what a gift it is to be creative without all the risks that come with trying to pursue a career. Or just the time to pursue being creative without having to like worry about how you're going to pay for rent or things like that. I'm like literally mentally ill because I'm pursuing a creative career.

Yeah. Once I think about that, I'm like, I fucking wish. Like I know there's two sides to every point, but like sometimes I think all my problems revolve around the fact that I've like chosen this life. Where I'm like have to create my own destiny and it's so scary. It's like someone's dropped me off in the middle

of the ocean and they're like swim on the shore. And I'm like, but if I was a consultant, someone would at least point to the shore. Yeah, and then the pipeline would be so clear. Okay, but really quickly, I wanna talk about second tier and third tier Nepo babies, which is like second tier, I would say is like B, C list celebrities whose parents are like successfully working in the industry,

but they're not, they don't have like face recognition. Right, or like household names. Exactly. They're not that. And so they have access to like secondhand connections and they have access to like work advice and working in the industry. I almost feel like, I don't know if second tier or third tier applies to her, but Billie Eilish's parents

were famously like working in the industry. They were like in actors, they were like in, randomly had roles in TV and film and also were like theater teachers. And so they were always, I think that could fall under third tier, which is like when your parents are creatives as well. Even if they aren't successful, they have their entire career to look back at

and be like, where did I go right? Where did I go wrong? Here's some advice. I also feel like second tier would be children of like any Hollywood agent. Yes, yeah, like working for the industry. Yeah. Yeah.

Like the kids of Ari Emanuel. I mean, those are, that's. Ari Emanuel is an actor though, right? No, Ari Emanuel is the owner of WME or the CEO of WME. Oh, I thought that was the, oh, but the name is based off of. Of what, of Entourage. Yeah.

Yeah, so, but like, obviously he's not a famous actor, but he is like, there's name recognition there. No, that's huge. Are you kidding me? Like, I'm pretty sure that like Reese Witherspoon's son, who is the son of, I think CAA's former, like the former head of CAA was married to Reese Witherspoon.

They had kids and now her son is trying to be a musician. And it's God bless him. You know what? DJ away. DJ away. Yeah. And he lives in like a three story like apartment in I think like the West Village or something.

One of those guys that did like, let me see your apartment videos. Yeah. And it's like, okay, you're a DJ in Manhattan in like a $3 million home and you're 21. Yeah. Okay, I also wanna talk about some statistics with Nepo babies because I actually was surprised

by some of these numbers. Matthew Steiger, a scientist at Opportunity Insights, Harvard's Economic Mobility Research and Policy Institute, did research on nepotism. And he found that before turning 30, nearly one third of Americans will work at the same firm as their parent. Whoa.

That's kind of like an astounding number, isn't it? Yeah, what's that percentage wise? 33%? Yeah, 33.333333. Math genius. She's a woman in STEM. That's a lot. Yeah, and then get this, in those jobs,

these young adults earn almost 20% more than they otherwise would Wow and Broken down by gender according to its analysis of data from the survey of income and program participation the Census Bureau 22% of sons will be working for the same employer at the same time as their fathers and 13% of daughters will be working at the same place as their dads by the time they turn 30. Yeah, I mean, if you look at like a TV and film or like even historically, it's like, what does every parent want?

Like they want their kids to take over the family business. Like succession, you know, we're obsessed with it as a culture. There's one more statistic that I thought was interesting or it's not really a statistic, it's just a fact that nepotistic hiring is primarily a blue collar phenomenon. And it's-

That's what I was thinking. It's especially prevalent in manufacturing. Welding. Yes, literally. Honestly, like if I took over the bean business, like I feel like that's manufacturing adjacent. Yeah, totally. Same with like flowers,

like my parents work in wholesale flowers. It's like they box them and like all that stuff. Yeah, I mean, that's what I was thinking too, like farming and things like that. And I think the itch that this conversation scratches with a lot of Americans is that we have evolved in society in America to have this new American dream that like anything is possible,

no matter where you come from. And it doesn't matter like what kind of background you have like anyone can make it. And that's like the message that the Oscars send and the Grammy send and all that. And I think that's why people are hammering hard on nepotism in Hollywood. Because Hollywood plays this idea that it's like anyone can make it and they're the ones bullshitting it. It's like, no, actually the majority of people who make it come either from connections or no one talks about this one as much, but like, even if your family doesn't work in the industry, you have money. Yeah. Yeah. I know it could like the just like there being such flagrant hypocrisy there is

what's frustrating. But really when we're talking about nepotism, we need to talk about it like broadly. Yeah. Because it applies everywhere. Yeah. And we're going to talk about it. Oh, we're going to debate. Are nepo babies right or wrong? That's a really hard question.

I think it's right. Yeah. It's just luck. You should use your power to your advantage. Hopefully do some good. Do some good, yeah. So I and my friend over there too, we're photographers, we're artists. We encounter a lot of nepo babies. We talk about it a lot. It irks me. I'm inclined to say it's wrong, but I mean I'm not going to say someone being born

into immense privilege and with a famous parent is wrong. I mean, it's just, it happens. But yeah, nepotism is real, especially in the arts. It is not benefiting everyone in a fair way. So it's wrong. It's wrong. Today, I'm arguing that Neppo babies are wrong and Issa is arguing that nepo babies are right. Issa, are you ready? I'm ready. Let's go. Okay. You have

three minutes to make a strong point. Well, I'm going to talk and I'm going to talk slow because I didn't do too much research. Three, two, one. All right, so first and foremost, I want to talk about Nepo babies in the context of choice, right? Choice is so important. It's something that we don't talk about. We as humans do not control the conditions that we are born into.

And Nepo babies, they didn't choose to be born into a family of privilege, wealth, and access. All right, colties, that's it. That's all you get over here. If you want to listen to the rest of the Nepo Babies episode, go to the I'm Right, You're Wrong podcast page, which you can find in the link below. You can go to the Nepo Babies episode, and right now you're at 23 minutes and 40 seconds if you want to start where we finished off over here. But if you want to check out the other episodes, we also have tipping cultures, stay at home moms and more to come. So go to the link in the description below and subscribe to my new podcast.

I'm right, you're wrong. Co-hosted by myself and Lydia Keating. We're so excited to have you and we're so excited for all the hilarious, fun, and amazing topics to come. Love you so much, bye.