The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - Held Up by their Pinky Toes

Episode Date: September 9, 2024

Ben and Ashley are breaking down the latest Bachelor headlines, which includes a MAJOR Bachelor reunion at a beloved producer’s wedding! We have a full recap of Elan Gale’s ceremony, including what drama happened behind the scenes, and who on the guest list they were the most excited (and least excited) about seeing! Plus, Ben has a hot take on the new cast for Dancing with the Stars!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Let's start with a quick puzzle. The answer is Ken Jennings' appearance on The Puzzler with A.J. Jacobs. The question is, what is the most entertaining listening experience in podcast land? Jeopardy-truthers believe in... I guess they would be conspiracy theorists. That's right. They gave you the answers, and you still blew it.

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Monica Patton, Elaine Welteroth. Learn how to get comfortable pivoting because your life is going to be full of them. Listen to these women and more on she pivots. Now on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The U.S. Open is here, and on my podcast, Good Game with Sarah Spain, I'm breaking down the players, the predictions, the pressure, and of course, the honey deuses, the signature cocktail of the U.S. Open. The U.S. Open has gotten to be a very wonderfully experiential sporting event. To hear this and more, listen to Good Game with Sarah Spain, an IHeart women's sports production in partnership with deep blue sports and entertainment on the IHeart Radio. app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Brought to you by Novartis, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports Network.

This is the Ben and Ashley I, Almost Famous Podcast with IHartRadio. It's almost famous podcast. We are here. It's the offseason. It's a very short off season for the Almost Famous podcast. We're going to be right back at it, breaking down the Golden Bachelorette and one of our hopes and goals and also one of our most earnest opinions is that we hope you are so excited for the Golden Bachelorette.

and we want to get you excited for the Golden Bachelorette. So we're going to end this episode talking about the Golden Bachelorette. And it's upcoming premiere on September 18th. We're pumped here at the homeless famous podcast. It keeps our offseason shorter. Which I like. You do? Yeah.

I mean, you know I like off season, but I also like in season. It does make it easier to talk to. But like when we had a longer off season, a deeper off season, I felt like we got some guests. Yeah, we got some guests that like really pulled some. some good stuff out so we kind of turn more into just a breakdown podcast which is fine yeah no no because i like interview heavy as well hey guys let us know what interviews you want us to see what interviews we want to hear who that we who we haven't had on recently good point who would you be most interested in hearing from even if we agree or disagree with them as people

on the show it would help us know who you're into yeah and also we should let them know that a lot of the times we don't have control over the guests, getting guests who are still under contract. So if you're wondering like why we haven't had, you know, let's just say Devin. Well, the show is in charge about who Devin does and does not talk to. Maybe not does not talk to, but like they're very going to be very picky and they try to spread it out as much as they can. They're scared of us, Ashley. That's what they are.

They're scared that we would get the truth out and it would be too hard hitting. And so they're keeping Devin far away from The Almost Famous Podcast. Actually, I'm going to be interested to see when they do let Devin speak. And yes, it really is like that, guys. When he is let to speak, sure, he could get on Instagram and say things that he wants to say. But if it's anything about the show, they're going to tell him to take that down right away, right? And I don't know. I don't even think he's going to want, he probably doesn't want to talk.

He probably doesn't want to do interviews right now. Well, I mean, I can't imagine any interview he's going to do makes him feel like he's. He's going to look good, better. No, I don't think better. He can really only, he can only go up. That's what I'm saying. He could only go up. He should come on here then.

You should come on here then. Ashley, we had a big weekend. We were together this weekend for a very exciting celebration of a long. Gail and his new wife, Molly. Alon was the executive producer during our time on the show and probably is the best known producer, I would say, from the show just because he is a big character and he's gone on to do other projects post-batchelor world like F-Boy Island. F-Boy Island.

Yeah. There's like some, we have some horror movies in the works. And I think just because he is such a character, he kind of. garnered a following on social media of his own. It's the year of a lawn if you want to follow him on Instagram and then he has the food of a lawn. So all

of that just makes him he is the ultimate character and we love him just in so many ways that we can't even describe. Yeah, you love and hate the man when you're with him working for him on the show and then you learn to love him a lot. So he was

to give some context. For me, I think everybody that goes on the show that's around long enough has a moment with Alon that like stands out. That's kind of what's his thing. For me, he was the one that really, I don't want to say got me to because it kind of sounds like forced. He supported me in my kind of ability to admit, hey, I feel unlikable or my self-esteem is so low on myself that I feel the more people get to know me, the less they'll like me, which came out on the show as I feel unlovable. That was a four-hour conversation with Alon that we had one-on-one. And it was a beautiful conversation for me. It was one of the moments that I would say, you know, when you're

on the show, you never know if you can trust Alon or not, I think was kind of the sentiment. Unless you're Ashley. Unless you're like, I will put my life into your hands. Such an interesting decision you made, considering now he does horror films. But The, you know, I think that was a conversation that I look back on today and has a had a massive impact in my life and the best of ways. And it was one of the first times I felt like somebody sat down and really tried to get to know me. And then the more they got to know me, the less, they didn't judge me. And he finally was like, you just feel unlovable. And I was like, I do. Change everything. So Alon is a, is a wise counsel and he is missed on the show, I think,

and on so many ways. Lots of people were DMing me when they, they saw it was alon's wedding that we're at and they're like oh the show hasn't been the same since he's left like i think a lot of people are aware of like his tenor on the show uh along to me yeah we just had i can't even say it was a brother sister relationship it was a godfather and goddaughter a fairy godfather very godfather yes what about alon made you trust him Truly, like, giddy. Like, I would, like, just giggle and smile around him. And whenever he was not around for, you know, say it was nighttime on the show and he hadn't made his appearance yet, I'd be like, where's a lawn?

I need the lawn. I need my heart and soul needs that meant. And then he'd walk in the room. And I basically would just, like, topple him. Feels unhealthy. And I'd always, like, talk to him with my hands on his beard and just, like, look in his eyes. and I just fully put my trust in him. He always had my best interests at heart at a macro level, I felt.

But he knew that he was going to have to put me through some smaller situations that I may not look good or I may have been really upset by. But at the end of the day, he was always telling me, even if this feels, that's the best word I can use, you're going to turn out great in the end. Okay. And I think looking back on it, it was more of like you need those moments where you look like you don't know what you're doing, that you look really dumb to be like almost relatable. Like these are true to you. These characteristics are true to you.

And it's going to make you so much more human in the end. And looking back on the experience so far removed, I see exactly what he's talking about. Some of my worst-looking moments on the show, I think, like, when you add it with, like, all the moments together, like, just made me a better character. And he was absolutely right in the sense that I was really dumb at times, but then at the end of the day, look what my life turned into. He gets to know the character is very well, which is a testament to his job. Yes. His storytelling is unbelievable. He, you know, he was the efficient at you and Jared's wedding.

Yeah. Your wedding, which was really beautiful. So he has had a huge impact in your life. Yeah. There are other Bachelor contestants, some of which weren't even there that he's had massive impacts in their lives. But the ones that were there were Nick and Natalie. We had Aaron and Adam and Raven, you and Jared. there was obviously

Jessica and myself Ari and Lauren Lion Dyke Katie Thurston Katie Thurston was there JP Rosen Bob Chris Harrison and his wife

Lauren Who else Pete Scalatar who was a producer on the show Back in the day Bennett who is still on the show as a producer

was there A couple other producers The only current Oh no no is Nicole's not there anymore and then Peter Geis who also is not there anymore

So I think Ben is the only one that was, oh, Jenna, too. There's a lot of people that are now working for Alon that used to work on the Bachelor franchise. I know we're forgetting somebody that was there from the Bachelor world. Let me just review the picture real quick. Caitlin was supposed to be there. She couldn't make it. I'm sure there's a lot that were supposed to be there that weren't there. I think Tasha too, which interesting.

Caitlin and Tasha, both the ones that didn't show up. Oh, that just feels sad that they weren't. Joe and Serena were there. That's it. We named them all. So we got through everybody there. It was a beautiful wedding. We thought it would be, Jessica explained it last night at dinner, I think, in a really

great way. I said, Jessica, what did you think of the wedding? She was like, it was incredible. It was beautiful. It was heart, like, felt. She was, I was just surprised because I had prepared for it to be a lot less weddingy than it was. It was a wedding.

I thought, and I agreed with her, I thought it would be a little more eccentric. I thought they would find even weird things to do. yes, the whole ceremony had... But there were plenty of weird things. Sure, but it was a very beautiful wedding. Like it was a great celebration of the two of them, Molly and Alon. Molly is a big time actress, has been in a lot of different things. Most notably Castle. Yeah, most notably Castle. Now the two of them are working together on a few different projects and have kind of gone to the development side of things together and they've done some incredible work within that realm. But Molly is uh will look stunning um everybody I hear from on Instagram or is telling me that

Molly just looked beautiful and she did we don't have any pictures of her ethereal dress from the ceremony she decided not to wear white which I think made sense for her just to have an offbeat non-traditional wedding dress um because we weren't a lot to take pictures during the ceremony I don't know if there's any pictures out there of that but was so pretty I'm sure they will be eventually and then James Gunn, the showrunner, the head of DC Comics, the head of DC Comics, was the efficient. That's because they met for the first time at his house. Yeah.

And he was also the producer, director on Guardians of the Galaxy. So James Gunn's a big name, kind of a household name. He did do the ceremony. There were other stars there, some of which I don't know the names of. Matt Green, Matthew Lillard. Nathan Philean was there. Nathan Fillion's, if you looked him up, you would know him for so many things. He was in Rookie and Castle, Firefly, the Suicide Squad.

He's like one of those actors that is in everything and you just like don't know his name. Oh, is he the one that was in the dark night? Probably. He was a guy that was in the dark night. And then Chris, Chris Sullivan is the one from this is us. What else did I want to mention from? Oh, yeah, the funny part where Alon had, I, I, I, I think Olawn wrote this song about a boy and peanuts and going to hell.

There's a real peanuts, golden boy peanuts. Golden boy peanuts. Yeah. You mean that's a peanut brand? Yeah. Okay. So he like wrote a song and then they gave us these pamphlets to not open until the song was supposed to be performed. And guys, we all sang a song that we had never heard before.

So just imagine people trying to come up with like the beat and the rhythm of a song that they've never heard and we all sang the lyrics together it was the most Alon moment ever Alon did not come up with that song just to let you know. Oh really? Who did? The Mountain Goats. His favorite band

from forever ago. It's a mountain goats song, Golden Boy Peanuts and it's probably his favorite mountain goat song but it's you can listen to it. It's by the mountain goats called Golden Boy. Get fired up, y'all. Season two of Good Game with Sarah Spain is underway. We just welcomed one of my favorite people and an incomparable soccer icon,

Megan Rapino to the show, and we had a blast. We talked about her recent 40th birthday celebrations, co-hosting a podcast with her fiancé Sue Bird, watching former teammates retire and more. Never a dull moment with Pino. Take a listen. What do you miss the most about being a pro athlete? The final.

The final. and the locker room. I really, really, like, you just, you can't replicate, you can't get back. Showing up to the locker room every morning just to shit talk. We've got more incredible guests like the legendary Candace Parker

and college superstar AZ Fudd. I mean, seriously, y'all. The guest list is absolutely stacked for season two. And, you know, we're always going to keep you up to speed on all the news and happenings around the women's sports world as well. So make sure you listen to Good Game with Sarah Spain on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Hello, puzzlers. Let's start with a quick puzzle. The answer is Ken Jennings' appearance on The Puzzler with A.J. Jacobs. The question is, what is the most entertaining listening experience in podcast land? Jeopardy Truthers, who say that you are given all the answers, believe in I guess they would be

Ken Spiracy theorists That's right Are there Jeopardy Truthers Are there people who say that it was rigged? Yeah, ever since I was first on People are like They gave you the answers right And then there's the other ones which are like

They gave you the answers And you still blew it Don't miss Jeopardy legend Ken Jennings On our special game show week Of the Puzzler podcast The Puzzler is the best place To get your daily word puzzle fix

Listen on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Have you ever wished for a change but weren't sure how to make it? Maybe you felt stuck in a job, a place, or even a relationship. I'm Emily Tish Sussman, and on she pivots, I dive into the inspiring pivots of women who have taken big leaps in their lives and careers. I'm Gretchen Whitmer, Jody Sweeten. Monica Patton. Elaine Welterah. I'm Jessica Voss.

And that's what I was like. I got to go. I don't know how, but that kicked off the pivot of how to make the transition. Learn how to get comfortable pivoting because your life is going to be full of them. Every episode gets real about the why behind these changes and gives you the inspiration and maybe the push to make your next pivot. Listen to these women and more on She Pivots, now on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. When your car is making a strange noise, no matter what it is, I can't just pretend it's not happening.

That's an interesting sound. It's like your mental health. If you're struggling and feeling overwhelmed, it's important to do something about it. It can be as simple as talking to someone or just taking a deep, calming breath to ground yourself. Because once you start to address the problem, you can go so much further.

The Huntsman Mental Health Institute and the Ad Council have resources available for you at love your mind today.org. I don't write songs. God write songs. I take dictation. even know you've been a pastor for over 10 years. I think culture is any space that you live in that develops you. On a recent episode of Culture Raises Us podcast, I sat down with Warren Campbell, Grammy-winning producer, pastor, and music executive to talk about the beats, the business, and the legacy behind some of the biggest names in gospel, R&B, and hip-hop. This is like watching

Michael Jackson talk about Thurley before it happened. Was there a particular moment where you realize just how instrumental music culture was to shaping all of our global, ecosystem. I was eight years old, and the Motown 25 special came on. And all the great Motown artists, Marvin, Stevie Wonder, Temptations, Diana Ross. From Mary Mary to Jennifer Hudson, we get into the soul of the music and the purpose that drives it. Listen to Culture raises us on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Well, anyway, you guys, it was a great wedding and it to us was a bachelor family wedding because to me alon is the head wizard and always will be of the bachelor franchise and he made that golden era that a lot of people refer to from like

2000 and like you know he started I want to say he started with Emily Maynard's season through he left where about um before Hannah season Hannah season was the first one with Al-A-Lan Yeah. Final story from the wedding. A couple of things. Just a quick breakdown. People wondered and asked us, what is it like to get together again? Is it awkward? Is it weird? Never weird. Never awkward. I'm sure, you know, there's disagreements amongst some of the different people. I don't know them necessarily. But everybody gets along really well. It's really exciting to be with this group. We get so excited. And it's interesting to me how, you know, at first, these were big parties. big celebration. This was a big party in celebration, but now a lot of the conversation around kids. Things have taken a massive step into families and kind of children. A lot of the people there are having children are getting married and, you know, hoping to have a family one day of some kind. And so that was a big conversation for a lot of it is what are you doing with your kids and how are your kids doing? And then my favorite story from the whole night is they served

all different types of Asian cuisine during this ceremony. One of it was rice noodles. Ashley grabbed the bowl of rice noodles. You can check my Instagram right now for the exact picture. She went to scoop out her rice noodles and they went all over her chest. It was impressive just how much she just got out of the bowl and onto her body. And then just in good old Ashley fashion, she picks it off and throws it right back into the shared bowl. I know. I didn't even It didn't even dawn on me. It's actually, I feel like in actually fashion it would go right in my mouth, but didn't do that either. As far as the drama that happens at these things, this wasn't dramatic, but it was a tidbit.

It was the first time Raven and Nick had seen each other since the ending of their season. You know, I told Jessica that night, I said, you know, Raven was number two on Nick's season. And she goes, no way. And I was like, yeah. And she's like, is that weird for them? And I was like, no, it'd be about as weird as me seeing. Jojo. Like, now we're married and we're starting families. Like, it would not be weird. I mean, for me in that situation at all, I don't know the dynamic necessarily with Nick

and Raven. I don't think it ended poorly necessarily. No, it certainly didn't. And it's not like Natalie is ever going to feel weird about it. And Adam certainly is not going to because he's like part of the family. Yeah, Adam, I think could care less. I don't even think Adam remembers Yeah, I don't think Adam has any idea how a Raven season of The Bachelor ended. Like, I don't think he thinks about it at all or nor does he lose sleep on it because the two of them are happy. Everybody's happy now and kind of off on your own lanes. It's, I would say it's even, it would be less awkward than even sitting in a room full

of exes like in real life. I mean, you can make that work, right? 100%. If you're real life exes, that feels a lot weirder because at least with The Bachelor, you know, that they have only hung out like in on camera situations and that their dates were really short that it was probably fleeting feelings well I mean you know it's some it's oftentimes not fleeting feelings but in my case with like crystals it's like you're so in your head about how much you like them and then you leave the show for a week and you're like oh okay so

I was wrapped up in things so a lot of there's a lot of that and then before we move on from Alon's wedding. I do want to say that like, yeah, it's so exciting to see each other, but we often don't know who's going to attend these weddings because we don't ask ahead of time because it's like, you don't want to be offensive. So Ben obviously, Ben, with Alon having officiated our wedding, you could have assumed that, yes, we were going to be there. It would be weird that somebody officiates someone's wedding and then they don't invite them to their own. But like, with you, I was like, do I ask him? With the Raven, I was like, do I ask her? because there are all these people, like Joe, I wasn't 100%.

I knew Nick because, you know, I know that Nick and Alon have always been so close. But yeah, so the week of, or you're either finding out who's definitely going to come or you don't find out until you're walking into the, you know, venue. And you're like, oh, my God. Yeah, I'm so glad you're here. Oh, I'm so glad you're here. And then the moment's gone too fast. And then we wonder, will we ever get these reunions again? I hope so.

I hope so. They're, they're meaningful to so many. And I know they're, you know, they're meaningful for you. And it's always something I look forward to. These are good people. Well, speaking to good people, we do have headlines to get to today. The big headline of the week, obviously, was that so much a Bachelor Nation got together for this incredible ceremony of for Alon and Molly. It was a great night. But also, we had a big announcement last week where Jen and Joey are both appearing on dancing with the stars. It's a full slate now of dance. dancers and celebrities who are going to be on this season. Ashley, tell me if I'm wrong, because I don't know, and you are a historian of the Bachelor franchise, has two Bachelor contestants ever been on the same season? No, they have not been. And we actually have stats about who is more likely to be ahead in this competition, Joey or Jen. And it's definitely Jen. So the women have won the show. No male contestant from The Bachelor has won Dancing with the Stars. The current

odds are that if we were to place bets, that Jen will rank second for the mirror ball trophy with nine to two odds. And then the person who's most who Vegas has winning is the gymnast Stephen Netroski I don't know how to say that

the gymnast Stephen and then Joey is in sixth place with the odds for this season 9 to 1 odds but the the averages that usually Bachelor nation men are doomed to

finish somewhere in the middle of the pack we're thinking Chris Solz, Nick, and Joe, Gersh or Joe, from the past couple years. Matt James was on it as well, right? Oh, yeah. And Matt, he ended up in 12th place. Yeah, okay.

So we're hoping for a good appearance out of them both. I'm not going to be surprised if Jen's really good at this. Me too. I see like she's going to be really good. Yeah. It almost seems unfair every time they have like a gymnast on. I'm like, of course they're going to be a good dancer. Yeah, I know.

They can hold themselves up by their pinky toes. They can spin on their pinky toes, too. Okay, big headline here, Ashley. I want to hear how you feel about it. Maria from Joey's season of The Bachelor. Confirm she's not going on Bachelor in Paradise. This is shocking to me, Ashley. And I don't believe it.

Okay. Okay, well, it's not that I don't believe it. I think that she's probably thinking, I don't want to go on Bachelor in Paradise. I don't like dealing with this drama because she got sucked into the drama of this week after it was said on after the final rose that she followed Devin

and then like some people were speculating that she was the reason that Jen and Devin split and that's obviously not the case but I think she just doesn't like getting caught up in this stuff and she was controversial during her season but I think also

but beloved money yeah and mostly beloved so I don't know I think that money can talk and if she doesn't do paradise then it's like she just seems to have the personality that is going to want to be on TV and if she doesn't say yes to paradise she's kind of saying I may never be on TV again and because she was mostly beloved I just feel like why would she not I don't know I don't I don't know and money and money talks well but paradise is also I think such a good environment for her. It feels like Paradise fits her where you do get, not that she needs a

redemption story, but like she, you get to know her better. You'll get to see her date and who she's actually into and kind of what she's all about. And I thought she would be kind of a hot commodity on the beach this year. Well, it seems like the guys are definitely interested because not only the Devon Messenger, but we heard about the Sam, Sam M. Sam M. What did he do? I don't know if I know this. He was the one who told Jen on that group date that he was thinking that the

Bachelorette was going to be Maria. And that's like why he signed up. Oh, yeah. That's right. Goodness gracious. Well, shocking news that she's saying she's not going on the beach. Like you said,

you'll believe it when you see it. There's a lot of time before they start really casting and filming. Like we're talking, if we're on the regular schedule, if we're going to get right back on the. regular schedule in film paradise in June. Yeah. They have until, she is until May to think this, think about this.

And she also has until May to feel her fame die down. And I'm not talking about her being a attention horror. Like I would say the same thing about myself back of the day. I know many people who come off the show and they're like, no, I'm good with where I'm at. Like it feels like things are clicking. And then four months, five months later, they're like, like, we talked about with Devin last week, like all of a sudden, this kind of like, you close your eyes and you open it.

nobody's calling you. You're not getting any deals. You're not getting the free dinners like you were. Hotels aren't hitting you up to stay there for free and travel for them. And you're like, wait, I need to go back on paradise. I mean, I think we've seen many. I mean, look at Dean. Like, I think that was one of Dean's reasoning when he met his now wife was I just want to, I need to get back out there again. Yeah. And he was like, oh, you know what? The bank account's a little low. Yeah. So he just did it. Get fired up, y'all. Season two of Good Game with Sarah Spain is underway.

We just welcomed one of my favorite people and an incomparable soccer icon, Megan Rapino to the show, and we had a blast. We talked about her recent 40th birthday celebrations, co-hosting a podcast with her fiancé Sue Bird, watching former teammates retire and more. Never a dull moment with Pino. Take a listen. What do you miss the most about being a pro athlete? The final.

The final. And the locker room. I really, really, like, you just, you can't replicate, you can't get back. Showing up to locker room every morning just to shit talk. We've got more incredible guests like the legendary Candace Parker and college superstar AZ Fudd. I mean, seriously, y'all, the guest list is absolutely stacked for season two. And, you know, we're always going to keep you up to speed on all the news and happenings around the women's sports world as well. So make sure you listen to Good Game with Sarah Spain on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. When your car is making a strange noise, no matter what it is, you can't just pretend it's not happening. That's an interesting sound. It's like your mental health. If you're struggling and feeling overwhelmed, it's important to do something about it. It can be as simple as talking to someone, or just taking a deep, calming breath to ground yourself. Because once you start to address the problem, you can go so much further. Health Institute and the Ad Council have resources available for you at loveyourmindtay.org.

Hello, puzzlers. Let's start with a quick puzzle. The answer is Ken Jennings' appearance on the puzzler with A.J. Jacobs. The question is, what is the most entertaining listening experience in podcast land? Jeopardy-truthers who say that you were given all the answers believe in I guess they would be Ken Spiracy theorists That's right Are there Jeopardy Truthers Are there people who say that it was rigged?

Yeah, ever since I was first on People are like They gave you the answers right And then there's the other ones which are like They gave you the answers And you still blew it Don't miss Jeopardy legend Ken Jennings

On our special game show week Of the Puzzler podcast The Puzzler is the best place To get your daily word puzzle fix Listen on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Have you ever wished for a change but weren't sure how to make it? Maybe you felt stuck in a job, a place, or even a relationship. I'm Emily Tish Sussman, and on she pivots, I dive into the inspiring pivots of women who have taken big leaps in their lives and careers.

I'm Gretchen Whitmer, Jody Sweetie. Monica Patton. Elaine Welterah. I'm Jessica Voss. And that's when I was like. I got to go. I don't know how, but that kicked off the pivot of how to make the transition. Learn how to get comfortable pivoting because your life is going to be full of them.

Every episode gets real about the why behind these changes and gives you the inspiration and maybe the push to make your next pivot. Listen to these women and more on She Pivots, now on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I don't write songs. God write songs. I take dictation. even know you've been a pastor for over 10 years. I think culture is any space that you live in that develops you. On a recent episode of Culture Raises Us podcast, I sat down with Warren Campbell, Grammy-winning producer, pastor, and music executive to talk about the beats, the business, and the legacy behind some of the biggest names in gospel,

R&B, and hip-hop. This is like watching Michael Jackson talk about Thurley before it happened. Was there a particular moment where you realized just how instrumental music culture was to shaping all of our global ecosystem. I was eight years old, and the Motown 25 special came on. And all the great Motown artists, Marvin, Stevie Wonder, Temptations, Diana Raw. From Mary Mary to Jennifer Hudson, we get into the soul of the music and the purpose that drives it.

Listen to Culture raises us on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We have another headline about, just how do you say you're Gorrid and then Kylie Russell

two girls that after coming off Paradise last season they were like absolutely not doing it again they had like

a party that they were that their finale had aired and now if when you read this interview they say

that they're both pretty much down to do paradise again yeah the headline is this Jess and Kylie reveal

if they would go on Paradise again and also who they'd want to see there I always think that's a fun

question to ask kind of hints at who's been talking to who they don't have any fun answer to that because they say that because they went in to last season kind of having blinders on and being very focused on the guys that they ended up with you know Kylie was engaged to Avin that they both want to go into Paradise this time if they are asked with a more open mind I think it would be a great decision I think Paradise sounds like so much fun. If you are single and you're coming off the show and you've given yourself a break from the cameras and you're living your best life, I think Paradise is a great choice for so many to go back on again. And even those who had a rough go on the show, I'm thinking

the Sam M's even, like the people that really like didn't have a great time on the big show, typically they go on Paradise and there is a redemption story for them. And that's always something that we like to watch here, something to celebrate here. And oftentimes those people who have their redemption story end up finding somebody really great during their time on the beach. Now, Ashley, to kind of close out this headlines, I don't know if you know or not know, I'm more curious myself. Do you know where they're deciding to film Paradise? Because obviously it's not going to be at the same mansion of the past. I don't know. I don't know. So hopefully we'll find that soon. I'm sure you could start to text and find out so that we can start getting people excited.

Now, Ashley, final little segment of this show. Obviously, we talked about the Golden Bachelorette. It's airing September 18th. The guys I continue to see on commercials. I continue to see their bios come out. We continue to learn more about who they are as people. We see little clips of the show in general. I think this cast of men will make Jen Seasons cast of men look terrible.

because not that they need any help with that, but these dudes, I think, are really well prepared for this experience. I was nervous about the casting for the Golden Bachelorette, but it feels like the casting department spent a little more time on these guys than they did for Jen season. I could not be more excited to see Jones' journey unfold

on national television. I'll stop there because I have some closing thoughts. Okay. So our friend, Lindsay, Giles, who is also Bachelor producer, she got an Emmy nomination. Didn't win, but Emmy nomination

for her casting of the Golden Bachelor. So, that was like the first time that the show has gotten a nomination in that area, or at least it has for a very long time. So, yes, maybe they are putting a little bit more effort into the casting of Golden.

Hopefully this one will be just as good, but I have to say the casting for a Kelsey's dad, which I know I bring up Kelsey's dad Mark a lot, but the way that he was smiling in the audience of the finale last week, and the way that Joan was smiling when they were talking about him, maybe the, maybe the best cast was the easiest cast. Yeah, like, I think that they might be together. That'd be awesome. That would be so amazing. I think the show is hitting a good stride when it comes to the Golden show. Now, my honest opinion is this. I had a lot of

high hopes. Obviously, it was a different time when the Golden Bachelor was coming out because I was like, I want to be a part of it. I still do. Love to be. But I've pretty much came to terms that I will have no part of it ever. And that's okay. I'll just talk about it on this show. I wanted to be a big fan of the show. I really loved watching the Golden Bachelor. I did think the ending especially of the show kind of threw me off. It made me lose trust in this golden show. It made me confused at the golden show. It made it almost feel like to me they were putting so much of their eggs in this golden basket and it was such a success that the show would find a way to ruin itself very quickly. And I think they were close. However, I want to, and I'm asking all the almost famous

listeners, too, to start over. Because I think they were getting their feet underneath them for the Golden Bachelor. I think they were trying to understand how it would look and how it would operate. I don't think it was probably, you know, done perfectly. And I do think they're prepared better for the Golden Bachelorette show. And I am excited to watch it. I am just as excited to watch Joan's journey because I think Joan is fantastic. I think she is an incredible choice for the Golden Bachelorette. I've gotten a know Joan. I've gotten a message with Joan. She is sweet. She's encouraging. She is supportive. She's obviously a family person. She's beautiful and she's wonderful. And I have high hopes that Joan is going to be kind of the foundational piece to where

this golden show goes from here on out. Not that Gary wasn't. I'm not saying Gary wasn't, but I do think Gary's story now is a little bit tarnished based on all the stuff that happened. Yeah. And I think Joan is a fresh new good start for the show. Okay, I totally agree. There's like nothing about Joan that we know so far that makes her at all unlikable. She's just... Goodness gracious, no. She just seems like goodness. So I'm excited to see her. She's going to be a star. She should be a star. Yeah. And guys, if you think that bends his, uh, predictions about the guys are good. You know, his off-the-cuff

comments about judging them based on just their pictures. If you think that's good, you know, Jared Freed has you be, you know Jared Freed. Yeah, the comedian. Yeah. He did this on his Instagram today, I think. This is his, yeah,

his first impressions of these guys, absolutely hilarious. You've got to go check it out. Does he find him as attractive, like, in good looking as I did. Yeah. Yeah. They're like studs.

Like all these guys for some reason took model pictures where when they do the Bachelorette show, all the guys look like they're taking their sixth grade elementary school like picks. And it's ridiculous that they like they did up these guys, put them in leather jackets. There's no way that many leather jackets are owned by this many men. But yeah, go listen to Jared. But it's just absolutely ridiculous how they made these men. the photo shoots, like the fashion and the background is just so much better than the guys and

the regular Bachelorette. It's a little offensive, quite honestly. I don't know why we're treating these elderly people so kindly. Anyways, we're pumped for it. It's going to be a great season. And make sure you tune in as we get closer and closer to a brand new season within the franchise. The Golden Bacheloret airs September 18th on ABC. But until next time, where we talk more kind of.

off-season topics and hopefully have some really cool interviews and bring some good content your way. I've been Ben. I've been Ashley. Love you. Bye. Follow the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcasts on IHartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

Let's start with a quick puzzle. The answer is Ken Jennings' appearance on The Puzzler with A.J. Jacobs. The question is, what is the most entertaining listening experience in podcast? podcast land. Jeopardy Truthers, believe in... I guess they would be conspiracy theorists. That's right. They gave you the answers, and you still blew it.

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