The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - Mel-come to Hometowns! (The Golden Bachelor Season 2 Episode 6 Recap)

Episode Date: October 23, 2025

We’ve made it to Hometowns on Mel Owens' season of The Golden Bachelor, and Ben and Ashley are ready to recap every golden moment!Ben reveals why THIS is the episode he’s been begging for. We find out which of the ladies has been more impressive with every episode, but Ashley holds nothing back when telling us how she feels about Mel. And we have to wonder… what made casting believe that Mel was “lead” material??Plus, a surpassingly intimate conversation sparked by… a spray tan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Cal Penn, and on my new podcast, here we go again, we'll take today's trends and headlines and ask, why does history keep repeating itself? Each week, I'm calling up my friends, like Bill Nye, Lily Singh, and Pete Buttigieg, to talk about everything from the space race to movie remakes to psychedelic. Put another way, are you high?

Look, the world can seem pretty scary right now. But my goal here is for you to listen and feel a little better about the future. Listen and subscribe to here we go again with Cal Penn on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is the Ben and Ashley I, Almost Famous Podcasts with IHart Radio. Welcome to the Almost Famous Podcast. We're here today to break down hometowns, a male season of the Golden Bachelor. before we get going, Ashley turned on her camera and is just absolutely glowing. I say that often, and I mean it this time, and there's a reason for it. Hey.

I'm getting educated on spray tans. No, I have a shoot tomorrow, yeah. Yeah, and I guess you're surprised I've never received the spray tan, huh? I am surprised, yes, because Jared has. And, you know, Jess is in the beauty world, so I figured that, like, at some point, you would have gotten them. You know, I, like, I've never done anything. Like, any, I just got a haircut. But, but wait, does Jessica ever do a facial on you?

Yeah, I've, I've received, the furthest I've gone is micro-needling, because I enjoy that. That's pretty far. That's pretty far. You enjoy the micro-needling process? Yeah. I need to feel something. Then that's hilarious. She's also really good.

It doesn't hurt. Yeah, it depends on, like, how deep you go, how numb you are, what kind of micro-needling. you're doing. I think she just told me that studies have been released that there is no benefit to going deeper. Actually, there is studies out there that say that you have the same benefits with this new thing she's using. Anyways, we're back to spray tan.

That's super interesting. I've never gotten a spray tan. I've never thought about it. I have wondered at moments in my life, you know, a lot of no names being named. But, you know, there are bachelor men out there who look young. than when they're on the show. There's reasons for that. You know,

call it Botox, hair transplants, spray tans, et cetera. And I've also often wondered, would it be beneficial? Would I enjoy that? Would I like?

And I always go back to, no, I don't care enough. I don't enjoy the spray tan process. I only do them for reasons. Like, I really only do them for work, for like immediate thing.

Like, if I'm thinking back on things that I did, it for just leisure. I got one for the Jonas concert over the summer for leisure. I just really wanted to look my best. Jared has only gotten them again

for I think work reasons. Yeah, like when he's going into Aubrey's. When he's going to what? Audries. Yeah, that work. He got one before going to Bachelor in Paradise when we went back for a little vacation stint.

But the weird thing is spray tan is just like they're just not enjoyable. I would never never just get them for fun because well they are kind of expensive um but then they're very cold like they're basically blowing cold air on you when you're doing it and like no no thanks also the intimacy factor there's very few people that i'm trying to get like that undressed for and i am a girl that keeps my underwear on i would ask ben if he kept his underwear on but he's ever had one yeah i've never had one and i would assume that guys always keep their underwear on i mean i yeah i don't

have like a lot of like shyness i guess um so i don't know what i would do i think wait you don't have a lot of shy you don't have a lot of shyness no i feel like if you're going to do it do it that's just like walking around naked you are oh my gosh jared is definitely not the guy that walks around naked there's two types of guys one that just like yeah oh my Yeah, it's fun. It's like a big party. What? I'm just out there hanging out.

Yeah, we're just doing our thing. Oh my gosh. I'm so private about that stuff. It's my gyno and Jared and nobody else. Not even my sister has seen me like fully naked. It's not like I'm like out there in public, you know, flipping it around. It's public. It's a locker room.

Yeah, but it's like known. You don't enter into a locker room being like, oh, this is like a really like, you know, cautious space for us not to shower, clean up, like do our things. thing like we're all dudes here nothing's going to surprise anybody else the more like i'm naked and unashamed so let's be friends and shake hands he could be on naked and afraid ben that's a show i'm sure you'd be able to get on yeah i'd have no problem i'd love it um i do you know it's not as much and we'll wrap this up here i know some people out there listening are probably this is ridiculous it's not as much to me you getting it it is the person and i know a few that

do it professionally. Yeah. And I have always thought, in fact, I think I asked Jess this after her last one, I said, so like this person that you get it from is seeing like eight hoochy-coochies a day and is like getting up in there. Like, that's a wild job. There's not many jobs out there except being a gyno. Yeah.

That you, you know, voluntarily expose yourself to whatever anybody else is flaunting. It's very weird to me. It seems very intimate. It is intimate for sure because you're just, because the weird thing about sprayed hands is that you're just standing there, oftentimes like hunched over and cold. And you're just naked standing there. Like just with your arms out and your legs out.

And it's just like weird. But what's even an occupation that I can't imagine even more is waxing. Yeah. I think these two came up in conversation. I remember with my wife. And I was like, these are two very odd professions. Now, you make great money. It's a really, like, needed thing.

AI really can't take it over. So your job security is very safe. I respect it in so many ways. It just feels, it just feels odd. You have to be one of those people that kind of bring the energy of, like, come on, I don't care. Because if there was any, like, whoa, like comments, which I'm sure at times, like, you know, there's a shock factor to what, you know, these people are seeing. Then it just really backfires.

And then the person's ashamed. They're embarrassed. The person doing it's grossed out. I think I'm the person that would like never get used to seeing naked bodies. Yeah. That's, there's a unique human out there that does it. Every day, all day. And then they don't think about like those are nice boobies.

I'm glad I don't have those boobies. Yeah. I remember being in the locker room like, you know, the YMCA as a kid, using the public pool and thinking and it being like oh my god those are big flat long boobies those are those are some big nipples and like all those thoughts you're at the ymCA it wasn't exactly probably the demo that was like showing off anything under a certain age range um you know it's the final thought here there's two things i have one story about this you know i i think we had a spray tanner come up to our house at like late one night. It was like 9.30. Yeah, that's

prime time. Yeah, primetime spray tanning. And I was like, okay, so they're going to do this. They had to go somewhere else after this. And they're going to go home and go to bed, like 30 minutes after seeing a naked human standing in front of them. That's crazy. Like, I don't, like, I'm married. That doesn't happen to me very often. Like, that's not how my life works all the time. It's very interesting. I did Jess always tells the story. It's funny. We had just gotten married. I don't know if it was a spray tan, like post-wedding or whatever.

Anyways, I get up one morning and I'm making the bed. And her side of the bed is like this yellow orange. Yeah. And I like stripped the sheets and the room in the wash. And I came downstairs and she was sitting at the table. And she laughs at this story. And I said, hey, hon, like, you can tell me, did you pee the bed last night? night. I was serious. Like I was very like I have no clue what this could be. But it looks like you just like let loose in bed.

And I want to let you know one, why. Two, it's okay. But we need to figure this out. Oh my goodness. Yeah. Wow. You're funny. I'm thinking of so many different things that are not suitable for work. And this does technically work. But I do have one more question for for you. And then we'll wrap conversation because I know you're a massage guy no big massage man do you get fully naked for massages 100 every well yes I do go to this place that is like quick and it's a walking and you have to leave your clothes on which is a quick massage place you mean just like a place at the mall yeah it's like it literally isn't a mall and you walk in and you're like do you have any like openings for the next yeah I love those places I do it's amazing and they're like a dollar

a minute and you're like this is so good and they just beat me up and I leave feeling all sorts of confused and I've snored so I leave my clothes fully on for that but if I like pay for a oh 100% like no restriction what's the point of taking off your boxers because for me for me I find I feel no different I feel more vulnerable in my head and a little more breezy down there but I wouldn't feel as comfortable with the masseuse like moving the sheet or the towel around it's where you and I differ I'm like yeah not a problem it's it's more your issue than My. Ben, you like are really confident with your package. I'm just, I like to relax. And so if I'm to relax. I relax more with my underwear on. No, there's, there's a freedom and coming in how we were

born and allowing that to take over. I am most comfortable with how I came into the world. It's also how I go to sleep at night. And it will be how I leave the world probably. I mean, that might be my cast. What? Who knows? You're, that's how you're going to leave the world you think you're going to die when you're naked how often are you naked that's actually my final question i might request it um if i'm going to spend that much time laying on my back like at least allow me to be free doing it jared and i do not walk we don't like we are like we don't like we don't like walk around naked and very very infrequently like we'll all like you know like he'll pull up his underwear in front of me and stuff like that but like it's very

beyond it's it's not much beyond that i feel like are you you just walking around your house naked a lot? I feel like I do. Yeah, I never really thought about that way. I just feel, yeah, I'm home. I'm comfy. In fact,

now that you say that, like at some point I'll have to stop, right? We have kids now. Like that was, you know, gonna have to stop. Yeah,

I mean, goodness gracious, there's many, my glass of water before bed, but I do know our neighbors can see in our kitchen, so that actually could be a problem. Yeah,

There's a lot to think about here. I don't even know if you're being, like, funny right now and you say, like, your neighbors can you see it. That's so funny. Like, I, like, love knowing more about you and learning more. This isn't really surprise me. Yeah, I don't know why you're surprised when we've known each other for a long time. So I'm glad that you're talking about it.

I will tell a story now. This should be a headline. Okay. Maybe it will be. Let's see where it goes. All right. It's hilarious because a couple years ago when, Jared and I were on The Bachelor in Paradise for our little, you know, stint.

One of the producers had like a three year, two and a half, three year old at the time. And he was good friends with him. And he showed us this video of his son seeing him in the bathroom and saying he was like, whoa, daddy's penis is a big penis. Something like that. So funny. So this week, Jared for the first time, he's in front of Dawson. because Dawson has to pee, and then Jared goes, I'm going to go and pee in right after you.

And I am down the hall, and I hear the funniest thing. And I'm just so glad that I was present for this moment. And Jared doesn't mind me sharing because of the obvious. Dawson goes, whoa, that's a big penis. That's a huge penis. Yeah. There's a level of that, like, that I'm sure Jared was like, hey man, like, Cool.

But also, like, you know Jared walked out of there about an inch taller. Oh, one thousand. Like, I saw the visible difference in his posture. Oh, he's like, I got it. Like, that's cool. Like, because of the opposite. Could you imagine you'd be like, Daddy, your penis is the same size as my penis? That would be fantastic.

That would make my life. If that's the story that was told there, I'd be like, this is. I don't think that story would be being told. on the airwaves. That would be, that would be like a buddy story that is told on a golf trip that, like our friend. Would it be told ever, though? Oh, yeah.

Like, guys, when we're together, like, you guys, poor, you know, we, this, you have to hear what my son said to me. I'd be like, that is fantastic. Like, that dude, that's a, that kid gets it. This is an amazing way to start an episode about hometowns with Mel. You know, this episode was so bland, we just had to spice it up with this intro conversation. Yeah, we shouldn't record at night.

I feel like when we record it at night, we've had too much happen during the day, and it's kind of just like everything's thrown out there. Oh, I think it's the opposite. I think we're more entertaining at night. Yeah. And honestly, you know this. Like, I have Jessica, and I can ask her everything.

but I ask you a lot of things too about, you know, how life works and because like you are a trusted voice in my life. And so this, if you and I were together having dinner, this would be a conversation that we would 100% have. I'd say, Ashley, Jessica gets spray tans. Tell me how your experience with spray tans. There's a lot to this. But let's jump into the episode.

I kind of disagree with you. I came into this episode forcing myself. So I wake up in the morning, Ashley, and recently I've been awake up in the morning, and I say a prayer to myself. I say, walk into the world today with a loving spirit. That's what I've been saying for the last couple weeks, just the last couple weeks, because I was getting angry and it wasn't fun. So today I woke up, I said, step into the world with a loving spirit. Had a meeting. Then the episode comes out.

I watched the episode, and I said, Ben, try to look at this with eyes that are positive because you've been very negative. this season. And maybe the negativity isn't how everybody feels. There's still a half million people watching this show. Just a half a million? Yeah. Holy shit. Let me a little bit more.

It's not very good. Holy shit. It's not good. I mean, half my Instagram reels. Okay. A third of my Instagram reels get higher views than that. Yeah. I mean, there's a precedent to this.

I'm actually going to look up right now the ratings from last week's episode. I can tell you exactly how many, just in case I got it wrong. I don't want to spread false news here. Okay, this is according to TV series or TV series finale.com on 1015, which was last week's episode. Oh, I was wrong.

Oh, thank goodness. 2.1 million viewers. It's actually up 12. Yeah, it was actually up 12% from the week before, which was 1.9 million viewers. Okay. it's down 66% season by season

or from Jones season probably Gary's Gary's season it's still not turning heads in the ratings categories I mean you can read the headlines for that so there's people watching it

my point is I'm going to try to stay positive so here's some takeaways from a positive perspective and I do have my negatives too I can help my positives are this I felt like this was the first episode that I've been begging for it this is the first episode

where I felt like we got more story from the cast members. I know we've had sprinkling moments of story and who they are and what they're about and what they're looking for throughout this season. But this felt like the first episode where I got the familiar sit

down, tell me your life story and then Mel, you respond, ask the questions that are appropriate in the moment. This was a positive for me. I actually came to the Rose ceremony going, I enjoy all three of these women.

and I understand them a little bit better because I got to know them. Now, I think it's way late to be doing this. But I will say that's a positive from this episode. I will also list a positive as I thought the families were incredible, especially the grandma who's watched 20 years of the Bachelor franchise.

Yeah, that was nice. Just, she, on it, and I'm not kidding when I say this, I know you think I'm crazy. She should be on the show dating. That's the golden to me. People would watch her. Yeah.

People would watch her. Mm-hmm. I agree. I agree. That's what I want. Okay. Those are my two positives. Those are your two positives.

Okay. So my big takeaway, certainly not a positive, was that this is the first time I felt like watching this show. I wanted somebody just feels so awful to say. I'm so sorry. I almost didn't want Cindy to get the rose, even though she wanted it so bad, because I was like, you deserve more. I don't want you to get this rose because you deserve a love that is way better than this man who's going to give you. Not to say that I didn't feel similarly with Pegg and Debbie, because I did.

I kind of thought that all three women standing there. guys literally male's never coming on this podcast and if he does it's just gonna be you and him okay yeah

that's okay that's okay yeah the only reason that I didn't feel as intensely for like them was just that

I feel like they weren't feeling as intensely as Cindy does right now and if they were all feeling this love that Cindy has

for I'm sure I would feel the same way for all of them. But I was like, whichever one of you doesn't get a rose, like think of it like... Not like you dodged a bullet.

I don't think he's like a bullet. I just feel like there might be something more passionate out there for you. Mm-hmm. No one can resist a rule of culture. So here's one for the dating files.

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They sort of went nuts. Until one night, everything spins out of control. Listen to Hell in Heaven on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey there, I'm Kyle McLaughlin. You might know me as that guy from Twin Peaks, Sex in the City, or just the Internet's dad. I have a new podcast called What Are We Even Doing, where I embark on a noble quest to understand the brilliant chaos of youth culture. Daddy's looking good.

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Here we go. Hey, I'm Cal Penn. And on my new podcast, Here We Go again, And we'll take today's trends and headlines and ask, why does history keep repeating itself? You may know me as the second hottest actor from the Harold and Kumar movies, but I'm also an author, a White House staffer, and as of like 15 seconds ago, a podcast host. Along the way, I've made some friends who are experts in science, politics, and pop culture. And each week, one of them will be joining me to answer my burning questions. Like, are we heading towards another financial crash like in 08?

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because it is. But my goal here is for you to listen and feel a little better about the future. Listen and subscribe to Here We Go Again with Cal Penn on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Big Take podcast from Bloomberg News dives deep into one big global business story every weekday. A shutdown means we don't get the data, but it also means for President Trump that there's no chance of bad news on the labor market.

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Sophia Bush finds out why. And waltz right over to Danielle with the Stars because Danielle Fischel has fellow Dancing with the Stars contestant Dillon Efron on to talk about the ballroom, the leaderboard, and more. Listen now on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Before we dig in, because I do have some comments on Mel, I do have some comments on the hometowns. Let's walk through each hometown and mostly focus on the family dynamics because that's what we saw the most of.

And I think that's what we want to see the most of when it comes to hometowns. Peg's hometown is in Las Vegas. That's where we start. She brings Mel to the firehouse. It looks like just a really fun date. I become more and more impressed with Peg as the season continues. She is beautiful. She's funny.

She's spirited. And here's part of it. We talked about this yesterday on the Dirty Rush podcast. There is something very attractive to me about a woman who can get along with others. And I don't think there's any professional. out there that speaks to getting along with others better than being a firefighter. You're living together, even if you have families back home, you're sleeping in small little beds on top of each other. It becomes a very, like, intimate environment, right? You're changing,

you're doing, you're living life amongst others all the time in a very high, pressured, stressful job. And you're still getting along for the most part. I find that incredible. I find it unique. I don't know if I, I don't think I could. do it and not like break down and so i i watch this and i was like peg is even cooler to me than she was coming into this episode and i liked her coming in that was that was another thing i was like peg's too cool for him one's too in love with them the other one's too cool for him so with peg i liked her hometown because her daughter was the one that gave him a harder time than anyone else. I'm sorry. I laugh. Why do I want him to have a hard time? I'm the worst.

Yeah, she just was really real about the conversation that she had with him. She was like, so how do you feel? He's like, good. How do you think of my mom? She's nice. Like, you know, so you think you can maybe get there with him? I don't know. Like, it was just, he gave her from what we saw really flat answers that weren't encouraging at all. And I just think, I don't. I just think, I think that the daughter was like, Mom, you can do better. I loved the first question asked. And then he's like, good.

Yeah. And she goes, okay. Like, that's what I'm getting here. This is like, all right. Well, let me try again. And let me get a little more like forceful in my questions, a little more direct in my questions. I, you know, I watch this.

There's a few things that came to mind. It's one of the few times that I haven't seen The Bachelor protected. They did not protect him here. They made him everything we've been saying for the last few weeks of, does he really want to be here? Is he really in this to find somebody? We said this before the season even started, and it's been kind of this reoccurring theme each episode.

It's like, I don't understand what he's here for. I don't understand what he's looking for. I don't understand who he is interested in and why he's interested. Like, we don't know anything about this guy other than he's handsome. and he the show exposed that here i think it's very much thrown in our faces of this guy is not an open book this dude is not going to even answer direct questions that have been asked for it to him by the daughter of somebody he's dating and i i there's two pass here one is i'm i got upset with him because i have been in this environment and it is a very

stressful time for the families. They're not only excited. They're also freaking out. The families are freaking out. Their mom or their daughter or their sister or whoever is coming home with this guy after being on a show for a few weeks and you are there to talk about their future and love. And so even if you aren't feeling it, Mel, goodness gracious, even if you aren't close to being there to make a proposal at the end, give the families a little bit more like there's just no warm friendly fun yeah like just don't make her have to sit there and like poke and prod at you to get anything out of you that's reassuring or comforting or exposing like i don't know like start talking about your biggest insecurities if you don't want to talk about peg at least tell the daughter what freaks you out

and what you're afraid of just change the subject tell her something ask her about herself and her life. Now, the second part of that, though, Ashley, is being in the situation, I understand what Mel's trying to do. He's not there. He's not even close. He's trying to show that he doesn't want to get engaged at the end of it. And he doesn't want to lie.

He doesn't want to leave people on. And he doesn't want to make empty promises to people when he knows where he's at. And so there is a side of this. that I say, good on you, Mel. Like, you are trying in a very high pressure environment to be honest and truthful and not share too much information that that could potentially hurt somebody. I get that side.

And I respect that. And I think that's probably kind of who he is in person. Like, he's very direct, but he's, like, slow to speak, quick to listen. He doesn't say a lot. But when he does say something, he means it. That is a quality that's that I had. mire my my point to though to this is i think the the healthier kinder warmer reaction would have been tell her something like give her anything my feelings about mal guys is like just strictly

who he is as a lead and not and who he is like as a reality tv personality and not like who he is in person i have no idea what he's like in person i have met so many people on this show who I didn't think that I would like because of the way that they were on TV. And I really liked them in real life. Sometimes it doesn't translate. You don't get to see the entire person. I just like, what?

If Mel is listening, it's just... He's not listening to us. Okay. He's not. Yeah, he's not listening. My big question is actually more towards casting where it's like, what made you guys think that this guy was lead quality?

What did he give you? in interviews because there must have been so many options. Actually, I think this is a question that we could actually ask. Like somebody we know? No, fairly often as of recent. Well, yeah, I know. And I know that we, I don't want to like, you know,

we're just always beating a dead horse sometimes when it comes to like lead casting lately. I have to say, and I think I said it again last week. But this one feels almost different. Like I can almost see what they were going for for everyone. But this one doesn't. make any sense to me. There's not like one feature beyond his like face

which is a good face but he's not like Pierce Brosnan in his 70s. I think you can kind of see what's happening because you look at the Great Britain Golden Bachelor that was just released. Yeah. There's a new Great Britain Golden Bachelor? Oh my gosh.

The Golden Bachelor. Okay. And I think at some point the consultants on this show said you need to find the most handsome person over 60 or close to 60 that you can possibly find that's what's going to bring in the crowd and I think they show got a little too obsessed I do and I think they got the wrong message and they didn't actually ask the fans when you had this kind of era after Gary where young younger people were like, I'd marry Gary, Gary's hot, I love Gary. If I saw Gary, I'd be all nervous. You remember that. Like, I think you had family members and people kind of, friends of yours talking about how much they were into Gary. That's right. That was right. And I think the show heard this response and thought, that's what's going to make this show

work, is if we can get the younger demo into whoever the golden is. Like a daddy. that daddy yeah and then they just went too far because they found him and we're like well this is kind of gross now like it's like yeah like I actually find this man like he's not just like a like a hot older dude he's like somebody that probably wants to date 30 year olds and that's weird now like this kind of mix it it goes from this like pure just like oh I love that guy to no I think he actually would be like into dating me If we were to go back to Peggy, this Pegg segment of the episode, though, I do want to add that her daughter, I feel like, is just hoping her mom's eliminated. And then she could be like, oh, thank God, Mom. Yeah, I know. I wanted to tell you, but I felt weird and the cameras were there, but I didn't think that that guy was for you. I know. We often think we know our type in dating.

Tall, funny, a certain job. But the research shows. we're usually not the best predictors of who will actually make us the happiest. As we often say on the Happiness Lab, our minds lie to us about all kinds of stuff, and that definitely includes the kinds of things we need to be happy in a relationship.

That's why it helps to stay curious. On Bumble, features like shared interests and prompts make it easy to notice right on someone's profile initial sparks of compatibility, like a shared love of cooking, or the same nostalgic TV shows. Shared interests and prompts let you showcase your person right on your profile, and connect with people who get your vibe.

And with photo and ID verification, you can feel confident the person you're talking to is real, so you can date with a bit more confidence. When you treat dating as exploration, instead of sticking to a rigid type, you open yourself up to happier, more meaningful connections. So maybe your type isn't tall, dark, and mysterious. Maybe it's Love's podcast as much as you do. Stay open, stay curious, and let yourself be surprised. Download Bumble today.

In the new podcast, Hell in Heaven, two young Americans move to the Costa Rican jungle to start over. But one will end up dead. The other tried for murder. Not once. People went wild. Not twice. Stunned. But three times.

John and Ann Bender are rich and attractive, and they're devoted to each other. They create a nature reserve and build a spectacular circular home high on the top of a hill. But little by little, their dream starts to crumble and our couple retreat from reality. They lose it. They actually lose it. They sort of went nuts. Until one night, everything spins out of control.

Listen to Hell in Heaven on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get. Chope Podcasts. Here we go. Hey, I'm Cal Penn, and on my new podcast, Here We Go Again, we'll take today's trends and headlines and ask, why does history keep repeating itself? You may know me as the second hottest actor from the Harold and Kumar movies, but I'm also an author, a White House staffer, and as of like 15 seconds ago, a podcast host.

Along the way, I've made some friends who are experts in science, politics, and pop culture. And each week, one of them will be joining me to answer my burning questions. Like, are we heading towards another financial crash like in 08? Is non-monogamy back in style? And how come there's never a gate ready for your flight when it lands like two minutes early? We've got guests like Pete Buttigieg, Stacey Abrams, Lili Singh, and Bill Nye. When you start weaponizing outer space, things can potentially go really wrong. Look, the world can seem pretty scary right now, because it is.

My goal here is for you to listen and feel a little better about the future. Listen and subscribe to here we go again with Cal Penn on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey there, I'm Kyle McLaughlin. You might know me as that guy from Twin Peaks, Sex in the City, or just the Internet's dad. I have a new podcast called What Are We Even Doing, where I embark on a noble quest to understand the brilliant chaos of youth culture. Daddy's looking good. Each week I invite someone fascinating to join me. Actors, musicians, creatives, highly evolved digital life forms.

And we talk about what they love. Sometimes I'll drizzle a little honey in there, too, from feeling sexy in the morning. What keeps them going? And you're maybe my biggest competition on social media. Like when a kid says bra to me. And how they're navigating this high-speed roller coaster we call reality. In Australia, you're looking out for snakes, spiders, and fuckless. Right.

Hey, he's no train. McDougall. This is like the comment section of my Instagram. Join me and my delightful guests every Thursday, and let's get weird together in a good way. Listen to what are we even doing on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Big Take podcast from Bloomberg News dives deep into one big global business story every weekday. A shutdown means we don't get the data, but it also means for President Trump that there's no chance of bad news. on the labor market. What does a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich, reveal about the economy?

Our breakfast foods are consistent consumer staples, and so they sort of become outsize indicators of inflation. What's behind Elon Musk's trillion-dollar payout? There's a sort of concerted effort to message that Musk is coming back. He's putting politics aside. He's left the White House. And what can the PCE tell you that the CPI can't? CPI tries to measure out-of-pocket costs that consumers are paying for things,

whereas the PCE index that the Fed targets is a little bit broader of a measure. Listen to the big take from Bloomberg News every weekday afternoon on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We do have Debbie's hometown next, which is in Denver, Colorado. they went to Red Rocks, which is not... You love that place. Yeah, it's not far from my house. Very, very close to my house, in fact.

And it's a beautiful place, an incredible place to see a show. If you've never been to Red Rocks, you should go there. This is a moment where Debbie opens up sitting at Red Rocks about her last relationship. She explains that her fiancé died by suicide. You know, it has heavy on her heart. She is excited about moving forward and very excited about moving forward. forward with Mel. She is excited for Mel to meet her family. This is, I think, I don't know if these stories always have to be shared, right? It's up to the individual to share stories like

this. But I do think this gave me, and probably gave the viewers, a perspective into, you know, why she's on this show and what she's excited about and what she's looking for. I also watched it and said, Debbie, I don't want you to get your heart hurt. It's been, you know, you've carried a guilt as she said through this situation for a while at this stage of your life like I as a fan of you want your heart to be full and I don't know if Mel's going to give that to you from this experience but I hope I hope this opens you up to kind of do what so many other golds have done and go out there back into the dating pool because you're great and you live in Denver and it's a good place you should go hang out with Debbie maybe I will

Maybe I've met her. I don't know. I know. I just, I agree with your sentiments there. I do feel like I got to know her more from that. It was nice because we knew that she has never been married, that it was just nice to have a little insight as to like what her last series relationship was.

And it was 10 years ago and she hasn't dated much since. And I would totally understand why Debbie really deserves. She really deserves to find love. And I really, really, I'm pulling for her. she's a good um good golden option now these ladies would make a lot of sense in paradise i would be i would be stoked to have a paradise with them but i don't think it'll happen no the goldens didn't love their situation in paradise this year you know you talk to kathy loved it well kathy and she doesn't had a great time kathy complained to me when we were out in san francisco

a few weeks ago just that like they didn't design it for their success they like barely brought in and out any other guys especially. She was like our dating pool was so slim if they really wanted to find guys that we would all found appealing. Kathy was honest and I think she'd say it here

if she didn't already say it on my podcast when I was recording out there with her. But she said a lot of the women that were golden wanted fresh blood coming in and not the ones from Jones cast. Yeah, I don't know what the future of Paradise looks like but I do think she's a good option the family was honestly very uh easy on mel i think part of that is because they're just

excited about her dating and i'm imagining them being like i just want her to find somebody so bad how is this beautiful kind woman not met somebody so anybody just like wrap her up and so this is the kind of the calling now that she you know is no longer on the show is if Denver is full of Denver Minver and it's especially full of like 60 to 80 year old dudes

who are still biking up the mountain I live on every day and looking good doing it and so goodness gracious boys gents Debbie is out there and available and if you take her on a date I'll make this commitment now

if you take her on a date go to one of my restaurants and it's on me like free drinks, free food, have a good time. I just want to be able to talk about it on the Almost Famous Podcast. Add Herde Famously Available. Yeah, you can find it in our thread. It's worth listening to.

We're following along with Mercedes right now, who is dating this guy named Boston guy. And she's like real into it. We sent DeAnne on a date, and you were there for that. And we have a Golden actually already, I don't know if it's been announced yet. But we do have a Golden that is starting to get her her oil going in the dating world on

this weekend they're announcing oh this weekend so make sure you stay tuned for our big announcements a big golden name that's going to be out there some would say one of the biggest golden names is going to be out there dating again on famously available and you're going to get to hear it all right here on the almost famous podcast thread Ashley finally we have

Cindy I like Cindy dude I love her she is great she has that star quality that kind of like glows off the screen you can tell her daughter's lover daughter's so pretty they all look just like her yeah it's like it's like kind of actually like it kind of creeps you out watching it because you're like they're all look the same yeah the one with the red hair yeah they're all the same image yeah yeah i know exactly how you're going to look when you get older like you are your mom yeah a really sweet hometown i felt in austin similar questions

As Pegg's date were asked, Mel once again really had a hard time answering them. And this is maybe where I felt like he actually did better. I think the producer's got in his ear after Peggs and was like, hey, if they ask a question, you don't have to say you're in love with them, but at least say something. Like, don't say good. Good is a really hard thing to respond to. And I think he did a better job. I don't think it was like a home run.

Better because I think that his daughter, her daughter, was. a little bit more approachable, said it with a little bit more sweetness, a little less defensiveness. Yeah, but I don't want sweetness. I know Peg's daughter was more fun to watch. I like Peg's daughter. It's your mom.

Go at him. Yeah, yeah. Cindy's daughters were all very sweet. They all like had very similar vibes to her, like a mid-ed, just like kindness and warmth. And I would say that overall with Cindy's hometown, I was left actually more in shock than leaving the conversation

with Peg's sister daughter because it's what Cindy what he said to Cindy because okay so let's backtrack for a second Cindy's daughter was like mom I do really like him I'm really happy that you're so happy she was like I do think my mom's in love and like she's just not really saying the words

I am a little scared about like where this is going to lead her and after that conversation where I feel like Cindy's like kind of trying to work like things out in her mind and like trying to really feel like okay but like is he taking me seriously then she kind of dresses it head on

at the condo and the condo was where I was like she says I know someone will pick me I hope it's you because the daughter had said like mom there's like so many guys out there you know will he be the one that wants to be with you forever forever forever

we do like that statement that was like bold and he just I just want to reiterate that I'm falling falling hard for you basically he was saying I'm in love with you and he could not get close to saying it he said he's not there yet

like he won't even say I'm falling for you because you know in bachelor world especially there's a difference between falling in love and being in love he says he doesn't take the word love lightly because he's only been in love once he does not reassure her whatsoever i left being i don't know why i was like mad like you can't get mad at somebody for not feeling love back but i guess i felt like in a way that this woman's just being let on and that's why i felt sad or mad whatever yeah it feels like it's gonna end in

a heartbreak i think at this point i think this show sets us up right now i think the show wants us to feel like going into the final few episodes here that we are going to witness heartbreak. Now, I hope that's not how it ends for Peg or Cindy, but it seems like the show has kind of walked us down this storyline to say, yeah, he's not there and he's not going to get there because he doesn't know how to get there during this experience. Cindy is an incredible catch as well as these other two women are. she's definitely into him she definitely shows that

and wants to communicate that with him I think she's my front runner coming out of this episode but I am nervous about longevity yeah I'm nervous about the longevity of this relationship because it just seems to me like he's he's either too closed off

because he thinks that's how he has to do this thing or he's closed off because he just doesn't feel it with anybody and I'm not understanding where like out of those two I don't know where he's at yet. He's still thinking, I want somebody in their 40s. I know. Goodness gracious.

Well, we do have the rose ceremony. Debbie does go home. Peg and Cindy get the roses. They're in Antigua for the finale here. We are having a tell-all, which I'm surprised by. There is a tell-all that we see aired in the previews. That will be interesting, especially kind of the Nicole dynamic there after the women. and have watched it back and seen what they've said.

I'm assuming that it's going to get brought up and it probably won't be like a very joyous conversation. Other than that, Ashley, I am leaving this episode feeling exactly like I said. This show is setting us up for an ending that feels like heartbreak. And I just don't love it. I don't love it at all. But we haven't talked about our Golden Bachelor League recently. I'd love to know where you're sitting in the standings after this last week.

Well, I think we're both out. Hold on. Because Debbie was your final? Yeah. She was my final four. I'm sitting in, just to let you know, I'm sitting in 302nd place. That's actually, doesn't sound like the worst. No, I don't think it's that bad.

Hold on. How many are there? Do you know how many? There's like thousands. seven there's seven thousand people in this okay oh you beat me you definitely beat me i am at one thousand four hundred and eighty ninth place see let's go i just you know i know my golden's better uh hey this is this has been uh the recap of hometown's mill season of the golden bachelor we hope you're watching uh share your thoughts with

us on the most recent episode give love to these ladies they're great hey ben yeah i actually realize i have a more thing to say please say it i thought for a minute he was going to eliminate cindy because of the extent of her feelings i think it's a good guess he didn't okay did you not feel that during the rose ceremony oh our producers going i thought so too yeah yeah i was like I was thinking he's like, this lady is getting too intense. She's feeling too much. I just want to get rid of this seriousness. Yeah.

But he didn't, which may be hints at him feeling similar. Don't you dare. This will be the worst look ever for you. Hey, we'll be back next week, breaking down more episodes of The Golden Bachelor. Until next time, I've been Ben. I've been Ashley. Thank you. Love you.

Bye. Follow the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcasts on IHartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Johnny Knoxville here. Check out Crimeless, Hillbilly Heist, my new true crime podcast from Smartless Media, Campside Media, and Big Money Players. It's the true story of the almost perfect crime

and the Nimrods who almost pulled it off. It was kind of like the perfect storm in a sewer. That was dumb. Do not follow my example. Listen to Crimless Hillbilly Heist on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Two rich young Americans move to the Costa Rican jungle to start over, but one of them will end up dead and the other tried for murder three times. It starts with a dream, a nature reserve, and a spectacular new home. But little by little, they lose it. They actually lose it.

They sort of went nuts. until one night everything spins out of control listen to hell in heaven on the IHeart Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts The Big Take podcast from Bloomberg News keeps you on top of the biggest stories of the day

My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day Stories that move markets Chair Powell opened the door to this first interest rate could. Impact politics, change businesses. This is a really stunning development for the AI world and how you think about your bottom line. Listen to the big take from Bloomberg News every weekday afternoon on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Cal Penn. And on my new podcast, here we go again. We'll take today's trends and headlines and ask, why does history keep repeating itself? Each week, I'm calling up my

friends like Bill Nye, Lily Singh, and Pete Buttigieg to talk about everything from the space race to movie remakes to psychedelics. Put another way, are you high? Look, the world can seem pretty scary right now. But my goal here is for you to listen and feel a little better about the future. Listen and subscribe to here we go again with Cal Penn on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Kyle McLaughlin. You might know me as that guy from Twin Peaks, city or just the internet stand. I have a new podcast called What Are We Even Doing? Where I embark on a noble quest to understand the brilliant chaos of youth culture.

Each week, I invite someone fascinating to join me to talk about navigating this high-speed roller coaster we call reality. Join me and my delightful guests every Thursday. And let's get weird together in a good way. Listen to what are we even doing on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an I-Heart podcast.