Look Mayer, Oh, I see you my own look over there is that in the culture? Yes, wow, lost culture.
Ding dum lost culture.
Resta is calling one of the most important weeks in culture.
But is it the correct week in culture. That's the thing with Oscar nominees. It's always important but never quite correct.
It's always a mixed bag, isn't it.
Bowen Yang absolutely like my life right now.
Yeah, you're sick, you're not feeling good.
Well, this is my second sore throat in as many months. And I think and I looked it up. Finally, I don't know why I didn't do this in my youth. I qualify for a tons electomy and I might get those suckers out.
I don't think that's a good idea.
You think it'll change my voice? Well, wadding a sore throat like ten times a year, it's.
You have to make sure that it's because of your tonsils though, like it could be something else, like if you're gonna have your tonsils removed, and it's not like that's growl not why girl.
I'm going to the NT. She's gonna tell me what's what. I'm not gonna go in and book it.
I just I just think it's very funny and very you to be like, I'm getting my tonsils out, Babe.
I've been dealing with this my whole thirty three years on this planet. I get throats all the time. Don't talk down to me.
I don't you dare, I don't know. I don't think of you as like my girl who gets a sore throat. But I keep it from you because I don't want to burden you with my pain.
Do you know what I mean?
And you know I'll internalize that right away, my mepathetic soul.
You are such It's like when I saw.
That America for a performance, I was bowling. Uh well, I first I want to say that you removing your tonsils should be a last resort, honey.
But I think we've gone through all the resorts and we are reaching the last one.
Honey white load of season fifteen.
Castle it already Becha ramos Or, our producer, says ob personally worried about that at changing my voice. I looked it up that happens more in children who get the procedure.
Yes, that is true, but also I would say that the recovery for a ton sel ectomy as an adult is insane. Yeah, I've heard, I've heard worst pain of your life, our words that have been used.
Honey, it can't be much worse than the pus on the Damn Throbbers.
Now, you hate to hear pus. It's actually realer. Coach at number fifty.
Now, yeah, I hate How are you, my sweet?
I'm good, I'm good. You know. I'm really enjoying getting up early, so peek behind the curtain. We've been doing the episodes even closer to release nowadays, just because things on the calendar, and I've been really enjoying getting up early. I've been on my Barris kick. I'm kind of obsessed. Now I want to go with my sister when we're both in New York. I would love that. I would love that. Matt, we've never really exercised together.
You've come to a couple of soul cycle classes back in the day.
Yeah, but you'd think that we're besties. For well, besties, I never used that term. You are my best friend. Sure. A decade and a half, we've probably exercised together, like, done physical exercise together like less than five times, less.
Than Well, it's a lifestyle change. It's a lifestyle change.
It's a lifestyle change because we really are sloppy babby girls. We really are those girls eating pizza on the couch.
But something about this year, we're almost into February. I have not kept up good practices for this long. Oh right, Like I'm still on my meal prep grind, even though that's so annoying. But can we remove the stigma on around meal prep.
I think we can.
I'm a single, childless gay man. Yeah, I have decisions toge. Yes, you were mouthing it, and I read your lips. I feel like it's fine. I'm just cooking for myself and it's actually quite lovely, and I'm eating nutritious meals. I'm eating broccoli like never before. I mean, I too have been consuming a lot of propoly. I just think, you know what it is. It's that thing of like I think what.
I was good at this year in terms of resolutions is I didn't make that many. And also I'm not saying like it has to be this and like sticking to it out of ten. I'm like, I'd like it to be this. And by putting less pressure on myself, I feel like I'm able to exercise more and also able to eat a little bit better just and also it can't get more out of control than the second half of the year last year for me, so like
it's easy to regain control. But you know, I just feel like I would like to enjoy looking over at my sister sweating them up.
I am a swetter.
We have also performed together in high intensity situations many times, so that sort of replaces exercise.
We've performed together in high intensity situations. That's true. Now, speaking of that, let's just put this out there.
Mm hmm.
Matt and I would love to do the Traders.
We want to do it. We want to do it. I want to do season three of the Trial.
Will clear my schedule, I will clear it.
We'll both do it.
And I know we're not reality people, We're not reality TV.
I don't think it matters.
Yeah, because John is literally former Speaker of the House of Commons.
That I mean like Deontae the Quitter, right, Like we'll get into that, but like he was a you know, former heavyweight champion. Like there's like many people there that I think all you have to be is like a personality that pops or whatever, and like you have to be just someone willing.
To honey, that is you.
I was going to say that was you. I think they would obviously be very, very thrilled to have you.
I'm not a personality that pops necessarily. I think I'm very.
So sillar and I'm not getting into this with you, very shy. You are gregarious girl. You are smiling right, I'm smiling right.
We would love to do it's.
Actually really couching number number fifty nine.
Boa Yang is a gear darious girl.
He is smiling right. Would you want to be a faith for a trader?
We discussed this yesterday with our friends. I think with Sudi, I would prefer to be a faithful and what about you? I know the answer, But.
Can I just say I feel very patronized and dragged by the last culturist this readers, Katie's publicists and finalists, because I feel like they don't have faith in me that I would be a good trader. And I know that because they say, like a lot of people are like no, okay. So here's some peak pine the curtain. During the pandemic, I played an online version of Survivor. Yes, real Katie's and readers that et cetera know that I
played something called Survivor Quarantine. During the quarantine, yes, and I went too hard and made the merge, but was voted out immediately in the merge just because I was essentially the villain of the game.
Are you learn something from that?
I do think I've learned something and picked up some skills from that, and I think that I would be a better trader than people give me credit for. I really do.
I agree. I must agree Matt is very much a poverty in the sense that he talks to you and you feel like he's flirting. And I mean that with utmost respect that you and part are cut from the same cloth.
I'm very perceptive, okay, And I think that the thing about me at breakfast is I'm always so excited to see everyone so uh huh. You would never be able to tell, like when people come in and breakfast like and it didn't look like oh like. I just think that I'll be able to channel my Matt rogersishness huh into being a good trader. And I do think you'd be a wonderful, faithful because I think that you have a force of personality where people would want to engage in your opinions.
I would have a target on my bath. I would be killed pretty early on.
I think I don't think you would be killed. I think that other idiot faithfuls might try to banish you, but they are.
Fools, because my flaw would be that I and again, am somewhat somewhat quiet. I can be a little quiet, bowen just a little, and that would, as we've seen in these last in the various iterations of the show, that becomes a red flag at some point in the minds of the players. But I do think I would perceive and pick up on things like I do think this is probably unfair to say, but like some of these people are really really off. These faithfuls on these shows are off.
So they really are, yes, And it makes me feel a little crazy because I'm watching it and I'm like, okay, so obviously they are not in the position that you are in the viewer, which is edited television show where you know and can say like, oh, look at her, she's being obvious, Oh look at her, she's dumb, da da. Obviously it's not that.
Easy, right.
But I do think that one thing that people are forgetting about this particular cast is, of course they weren't going to like brush up on the other franchises. These people are collectively all on the narcissism scale pretty close to Tim, just not well.
That's why it's a shame that Peppermint got voted out so early, because I think Peppermint was really a purveyor of all their shows, like she knew everybody.
Yeah, I think she might have been on the on the spectrum of too far that way though, because like her personality was really like big, and obviously the way that she was voted out was I don't think totally above board, but I do think it was a matter of time because the thing about Peppermin is like she can't really blend in because like she's coming in hot with her opinions and how she is a star. She's got a big personality, and that's.
Been most people, right, you know.
I did DM a little bit with Parverty Shallow, Yes, who is a former. By the way, if you're new to the podcast, Poverty's been on the podcast, and it's an episode called Virus Family. This is initially when we were very obsessed with her because of her Survivor tenure. She came on and I DM with her. She is down to come back. So at some point, like either when she's voted out or when the season is over, hopefully at the end when she wins, you know she'll
come back. But just look forward to that. Maybe we'll try somehow to get that to be an in person episode. I would love that. Yes, But she said this was my first experience with the Housewives and it was wild and all caps wild, and I was like, yeah, it's kind of crazy to watch their insane social tactics at play here, and it feels like these gamers have kind of met their match with the housewives because there's no way to plan for.
Chaos right or for brutal honesty.
I don't think Phedra coming for poverty is necessarily in Parvity's playbook.
Well it might be the editing, but they cut to Dan and Parvity in that moment where we're Phedra rightfully is like, don't do that. I'm playing very fair with y'all. And then just the kicker, which is her, which is her saying both of you like delicious of you, both of you. Neither of them are used to like to poverty. Parverty party.
Everyone thinks you're a trailer, don't do that Poverty.
That was not cool, Parvert.
I mean, it was definitely an epic moment in television, and as I was sitting here watching it, I kind of thought, Okay, so for Faedra, her game is one I need to blend in and now that's kind of not possible. That being said, I do think that Parverty casting aspersion on the Housewives doesn't make me think of Faedra as much as it makes me think of Larsa, who she was targeting, and Tamra, who's a lot more vocal. So I get why Faedra's upset because her method of
madness here is a little threatened. But I do think she is big dogging them more as a threat for ongoing. Then she is like pissed off in the moment because it's not that big of a deal.
No, but it does seem apparent in these episodes, in these four episodes so far, that Dan and Poverty are pairing off in ways that leave out Faedra.
Yeah, they want her.
Out, and that's It's interesting that this moment happened because I wonder how they respond to this. Either they go they go, well, then we got to sacrifice Phaedra or if they if they fucking fly right with her.
Yeah. I think there's two ways they can go. One is they can defer to her right now in the turret, say Fedra, we're sorry, murder who you want to murder? It's now your turn to steer the ship and try to make her feel like she's back on board with them and allow that to be their path forward for eliminating her, because they do want to do that. I'm I mean, they've said it like Phaedra's upset actually justifiably
because they do want her out. They do want to throw a bone to the faithfulls and like they want that to be Fedra great strategy, right, Or they can go full destruction mode and turn it on her directly and be like, okay, find every every person for themselves if you're going to act like this, And then at the roundtable, Parvety can literally turn to Fedra and be like, why were you acting so defensive when.
I said that? Wait to say that.
Can throw its space and be like, at the last roundtable, you were extremely defensive and even use my name when I even threw out there that a housewife could be a trader.
Why right?
Faed's response to that. I mean, I think Faedra could absolutely flame Parverty too.
Right, She's very capable.
I mean, it's gonna be very interesting.
Has ruined people's lives, That's what we must remember, too.
Has anyone like if you do a deep dive on Faedra, it's like she was Bobby Brown's lawyer. She was married to a felon. Her ex husband went to jail for
what Jenshaw went to jail for. Right, right, She's a certainly questionable moral character when you look at how she's not on Real Housewives of a Landa anymore, which is that she created a rape allegation against Candy based on nothing, where she alleged that Candy Burriss and her husband Todd Tucker tried to drug and rape Porsche Williams and it resulted in one of the most insane reunions of Housewife's history, and Faedra was fired.
This is season nine, by the way, for people see she's a trader. Yeah, I think this is the best of television. This is the best that television can be.
The show I'm I wake up, I think about it. I feel like that Sondheim song I'm losing my mom to me with the traders. You know who I think is getting the winners edit?
Who Sandra?
Yeah, that's interesting, she is getting the TV edit of a reality show winner. That's very interesting that you say that, because there are moments where there is a comedy to her, and there always has been.
Yeah, and this is not to say that we don't take any of her like we don't take her seriously. She's a legend, but it's like between like the wound on her forehead. She's a mafiosa, and she's a mafiosa and she can absolutely walk away with us and lead the faithful to victory. I will say I still think Dan is not the player he thinks he is, not the skilled player he thinks he is. I really do.
I think he has gone up and.
His name's been brought up. Yeah, his name's been brought up.
His name has been brought up. I do think he's gone up in the power rankings. For me, as opposed to the first three episodes, I agree with you he
didn't play well. Then. I think the fact that, like here's what I'll say, the fact that Larsa can march those housewives over to the board and say let's look at the board and say we need to vote out to someone out, point to Dan, someone who's she's literally voted for before and targeted before and still went for CT instead means that Dan is positioning himself with shields well, and I think that he also has two shields in the trader's turret, which especially now, they're going to be
way bigger targets than him, Like the conversation is not going to be on him moving forward, at least I don't think for the next couple episodes.
Shields don't protect you from banishment though.
No, what I'm saying is human shields. What I'm saying is other competitors using them as shields, like right, right, like what they call it in Survivor they call it a meat shield, like when you have a when you have a someone else in front of you to take the bullet. But just to speak about who I think is going to win, I still think that's Sandra, because I think that maybe this is from me watching so much reality television. But from the first episode they have
made sure she's in the narrative. She always gets shown, you always know her opinion. They've set up the poverty versus Sandra thing. They seem to mention every fifteen minutes that Sandra is a stone cold killer. They show Sandra flipping the votes against Larsa. They show Sandra ingratiating herself with the housewives then flipping the very smart, very smart.
She also was a viable trader to be recruited. I'm just saying, like, if you actually watch it as something, and it's like a rule of reality television where if you go back to the first episode in binch it you need to be able to see the winner's arc. Sure that is only really there with a few people, which are all the current Traders Sandra, and I would argue Janelle. Yes, And I also think they're setting Peter up for something.
Yes, that's true. Hmmm. I have really mainlined you can.
What are your all your thoughts and feelings about UK UK Traders is also out on Peacock Everybody, and it's a really good watch.
It's really good, very different, very different. I there's something appealing about it being all quote unquote enormies.
Yeah, they cast it really well.
The half and half of season one us just didn't really work. But no, they know that now and I think it is an incredibly emotional game.
Oh yeah, they incredibly am What episode are you one of UK season two?
I started episode six?
Okay, great, So what are your thoughts about Claudia.
We're dressing up as for Halloween. That's a really good We're getting a giant cow necked sweater, a dark wig, a dark curtain, banged wig, and and deep heavy makeup.
The best idea I've ever heard, because now in Halloween you could just enter a room being like the trades just have struck again.
The traitors have struck again. What's a tragedy.
There's a tragic, tragic tale and it's the one you're living right now.
How could you allow this to happen?
And the traits will strike again tonight? Sleep? Well, she's very good at outlining the game, whereas Alan is so reveling in the camp of it all. She is very She dropped him serious direct and dropped in and clear as day.
Yeah, with these people, it's.
Really fun because Alan, coming in the US version, is giving like this like camp drama flair, Like he's almost like he's like I can't believe I'm doing this a little bit, whereas like Claudia in the UK is like I am dead serious about this, and she even refers to them as my traits is my faithful She's like, I'm with you, I'm rooting for you, but like I just I'm so disappointed when you fail and so uplifted when you succeed, Whereas in the Australian version, the guy
is very like hot and smarmy and cheeky, almost like James Bond. He's giving, like his name is Roger.
The first episode, yeah yeah, he's good.
And that season is really good too. They cast some looney birds.
It's Australia. Yeah, I love to my birth country, but you know, it's a bunch of looney birds. I apparently Claudia Winkleman is very funny, funny girl. She goes on these podcasts, she does interviews where she is like cutting up.
I mean she has big fans in us.
Absolutely, we're new to Claudia Winkleman. We can't wait to see more.
I'm so happy you finally watching that season because I enjoyed it like probably eight months ago and it was it was late. I just think the traders in general, what a home run, What a win.
For the world, the audience, the world. I mean, how many of there are many countries. I know there's Belgium. I know it's like bigger or as big as drag Race. I feel like in terms of the international friend.
It's definitely got international presence.
Yeah, I mean, like, clearly, how many Traders shows are there in countries? Twenty countries in territory? Oh wow, yes, yes, yes, yes, that's crazy.
And it did just win the Casting Emmy. I think that this will be nominated for the Emmys. I think this is a cultural phenomenon. By the way, it showed last night on NBC after America's Got Talent, So clearly it's big enough where it's not even one of those things where Peacock is like, oh, yet's throw this on Bravo. It's like on NBC. So pretty cool.
It's giving flag chat, happy.
For Allen, happy for everyone involved. Yeah, happy for.
The traits as the Traits has.
So speaking of winning and losing Traders, let's touch on these OSCAR nominations. So the leader, no surprise, was Oppenheimer.
Mm hmm. What are the upstats? Greta?
You know, I have to say, I'm so bored of this conversation about Greta kind of girling because Greta No I disappointing every blonde, every blonde and in the United States is like, what was I made for today? They're
just they're having a hard time. I just think, you know, she made a movie that was bold and you know, did something really new and was so funny and so culturally important and made over a billion dollars like and for her to miss out on the director nomination again feels like it's just a disappointing, boring conversation to keep having. She's obviously one of the most consequential filmmakers out there right now. That being said, I don't know who I
kick out of that director lineup. I'm thrilled for Justine Trier. I love Anatomy of a Fall. It's just unfortunate. Yeah, yeah, I don't know.
Actress to actor, very competitive actor, actor, very happy for Coleman, thrilled and supporting actress bumped me out and supporting actor kind of confounded me. Look, that's all I'll say.
I feel that Charles Melton snub is you didn't nominate the best Supporting performance of that category. I also, I would say the same about Rachel Best Supporting an Actress. I would say I miss Rachel mcadam's there. I miss Julian Moore there. I mean like I think we I don't know actors, That's what I would say, and like it's can I just say I'm a big America fererra fan.
I really like America Fererra I always have. I just don't think it's an Oscar worthy performance, especially when there were so many performances that were up there for me in terms of like really really challenging, great stuff, and feels like she got nominated for that monologue, which you took care of in the screenplay nomination. I just think it's disappointing to see Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie not be nominated in director and actress when I don't think
those were easy things to pull off. And clearly the movie was beloved in other areas, but it actually didn't do as well overall as I thought it would.
Barbie, Yeah, surprising, Or you're saying you're bored of the entire conversation around the film.
No, not that. I'm just this thing with Greta Gerwig missing for director is boring to me because it's just like we're still having this conversation, like she deserves to be nominated for this movie. I don't know who misses out again, Like, I don't know you could.
Have seen a snub coming based on precursors.
Yeah, I had a sneaking submission. Submission. I had a sneak. Sneaking submission is titled me when people Think I'm a top Oh No, I don't know. I had a suspicion just because they've they've bumped her from that category before. I was just disappointed, right, you know what I mean, like because I think her efforts merit. You know, a nomination there, the Sterling K. Brown nomination, and.
I don't know about that.
It just really doesn't make sense to me.
Was Greta's director nomination for Ladybird? For Ladybird, not Little Women? I see? Yeah, I would have loved Charles to have gotten in there, that's all. Yeah, and Natalie and Julie and I really think those were really compelling performances.
Actors really said this year going the easy route, like and even this Innette Banning nomination, She's not gonna win people, It's like, and also I don't believe that that performance looking back is going to be like Oh yeah, wow. Remember twenty twenty three. Remember Niad, No no one remembers Niad.
Yeah, Jody and America in supporting is tough for me. I'm sorry, I just I just.
You know, it's nothing against again. I fucking love Jodie Foster, you know what I mean, Like America Ferrera, I love them all. It's just when you're looking at it, it's like, what exactly what are we doing here? Just people I would love to have seen. There's just countless count I mean, even Taraji in color.
Purple, Taraji, Rachel McAdams, Yeah, Julianne. The actress categories were incredibly competitive, as usual. I don't know, it's just this was this was a really packed here for the girls.
Yeah, I mean there was, there was great things. I mean, I'm thrown for an Anatomy of a Fall. I love that Sondra Huler was nominated.
Yes, love that.
I mean I also think that script is so amazing and her performance is great, and you know, it's we'll see it just feels like it's locked up a little bit too, you know what I mean, Like if I had to predict, Enjoy Randolph is winning feels like Robert Junior is winning.
Feels like Killian is winning, or Ki and Paul Killian and Paul is very interesting.
That's a race. I would say, that's a race. Yeah, I would vote for Paul Giamati.
I really loved Paul, and then Emma's is locked for for actress.
It feels like Emma and Lily.
Right, that's a race. That's a good race.
Yeah, there's there's some races for sure. I think Oppenheimer will win best Pitch. I think it'll end up feeling more anti climactic. Yes, then we thought, or it could have. I mean, ultimately Oppenheimer is sweeping the thing.
Yeah, but Poor Things getting coming in second with the number of noums is pretty cool to me. I really Poor Things my favorite. As you all know, I am excited to watch Oppenheimer soon to completion. I still have not. As you know, Matt and I did leave the theater.
Yes, we just because we were like, we get it, we get it, so we kind of. I haven't even seen when allegedly Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Junior's performances get good, you know what I mean? All year, I've been like, oh, I've been waiting for years for Emily Blunt to get an Oscar nomination for years and now she gets one, and I'm like, oh, but like I didn't make it to the part or the movie where apparently she was good. Same with Robert Downey Junior. And also,
you know what, they're both icons. And I'm not mad at anyone's nomination. I'm happy for everyone. I'm just bummed for people that got left off.
Yeah. Same, there are a lot of snubs. There are more snubs than I thought there would be.
I was wondering lest night. I was like, is this going to be a straightforward morning or a chaotic morning?
I think it was pretty chaotic.
It was chaotic a lot of times, like things will pop up and I'd be like, whoa, huh, We're going for it this morning, aren't we.
Yeah.
I can't stand Maestro. I can't stand that movie. And I really feel like we're so lazy and boring forgiving it as much as we gave it. Like it's just who loves that movie? You loved Maestro? Reach out.
I just want to talk, just talk to Matt because that was another one that I haven't sat through. I'm bad. I'm bad. I'd rather watched the traders every time.
It's one hundred percent understandable. Did you watch Salt Lake?
I did.
Let's touch on it.
I mean, the Monica thing is it made my head spin the number of times she contradicted herself within seconds or on a larger scale, never once took accountability for anything, even with like the admission quote unquote of her being one of the people who was involved in Rihanny Avante's it's still extremely There's no purchase there, there's no grip there, there's no like it's slippery. She makes it slippery on purpose, and she like lies on herself within sentences. She's very
emotionally stunted. She's she's an unwe person. I don't think she should come back, but I have it on too it authority that she will. I don't know if I will like the next season if it, if it's as nasty and ugly as this reunion was, And that's my main thought. And the Heather stuff was interesting too, and the way that Andy kind of took her to task in a way that was respectful but ultimately valid.
Yeah, she was in trouble. Yeah, I mean he really held her feet to the fire for that and for good reason, because, to be honest with you, I had never even thought about what.
She was insinuating about production.
Yeah, and here's what I'll say. I want to come at this with some sympathy and empathy for Monica because I believe she acts like a fourteen year old because she's stuck there. I have a lot of sympathy for what her mother treats her like. I mean, like that that seems like such a toxic, terrible atmosphere. She's obviously not got a relationship with any paternal figure. She's a divorced woman, you know what I mean. I think that she probably did want to improve her station in life,
and I think she probably was abused by Genshaw. And I actually think that at the end of the reunion, her place on this cast, to me, is more uncertain than I thought it was, because I would have thought she's done now. I actually think if Heather can somehow get over this and Monica can stop being so defensive, they actually have a place to start, which is that they were both abused by this person.
Yeah.
I thought the allegations were one thing, and then the explanation of what really happened with Genshaw and the black guy. You know, I understand why she was scared. I do think that Genshaw is a scary person. I thought she was scary just to watch imagine being with her and like, yeah, the way she would just pop off and get in people's faces, the look she would get in her eye. And what I really resent is that whenever she was called out for that, she always made it about like,
you can't say that about brown and black women. And it's like, I'm sorry, but that is so disgusting of you to hide behind that. Meanwhile, you are someone who is physically violent and dangerous in your activity like that is so that's like a very real thing that black and brown women and women of color have to deal with, and you weaponize that to shut people down so that they would continue to fear you. And I just think that's disgusting. I think she's obviously a disgusting person inside
and out. And at the end of the reunion, when they were all like holding each other and crying, and Andy said, can we all just really realize the fact that this person was like an asteroid?
We're still cleaning up her mess, That's what he said. We're still keeping up And then.
I thought it was powerful when Heather addressed her yeah, you know what I mean. And I think ultimately when the rest of the women came to her defense and said, I understand why Heather did what she did. I understand, you know, you do see why this show ultimately has ended up being a great show, which is that there is that sisterhood there and that understanding. And I also believe that we're actually able to get with this franchise to an emotional truth.
Yes, yes, you know what I'm saying.
It's like, ultimately, at the end of the season, which was one of the best seasons, we're able to really start talking about like something real about.
The things that bring women like this together, right, which is honestly, the comparison has been made. It's big little lies. It's like someone who has abused and caused tremendous pain on multiple levels. It's so funny, like Genshaw is the what's his face card the end er, not Peter sorry, Alexander's stars Guard. I get my stars Guards mixed up.
You got your Peter stars Guard and your Alexander Scarter. Don't even bring Bill Scarsguard into this. They will be a scar I thought Monica seemed very defeated at the end of the reunion, which I refuse to believe was her final act. And I think she'll be back. She'll be back because I think that the way they put it together, if I had to guess, is that Mary's coming back. That's the way for Monica to come back. And I think that there will be a Mary Whitney conversation.
And I think if Monica has a path forward with someone.
It's Whitney, it's Whitney. Although can I say, I think you're totally right, I am personally sort of done with Mary. I don't think the entertainment value is sustainable. Brick Ashley actually made a great point about this. I think she like themed her whole retap on this. It's like Mary being that rude and that toxic honestly, not in the same way as Jen, but like Mary being cruel, and she is cruel. It's not fun to watch anymore, I
would agree. And the way these women talk to her and Andy talks to her, it's like she is in an institution.
I also think people are forgetting a lot about her, about Mary, about what she's done, yeah and been like on this show, there's a reason why Whitney used the word predator about her. I'm not alleging anything. I'm just saying there is a reason why, because there was a lot wrong with what I saw on that television show in regards to Mary's church and the way they treated her. Go back and watch the episode where Jenshaw visits Mary at the church.
The power structure of that place is dark.
Problematic, and for Mary to throw around racism, which you know she's entitled to do. But I'm sorry, but I seem to remember her speaking in a comical Asian accent about Ms Jenny to like, Mary is not above board,
and she's always been who she's been. Yes, it's sometimes funny because it's crazy that she'll just come out and call someone in bread and chubby and fat, and she'll just say these things like and she seems to get away with it because no one seems to know how to handle it, and therefore it lands under or it
gets filtered under comedy ha ha ha. But it is just me and I have a feeling that if she were on a cast with people who could like actually handle her verbally and weren't just in shock, like you know, because none of these women can read, none of these women can like tear her apart with words like so
she kind of just gets carte blanche. If she were on the cast with someone that could like stand up to her for real, we wouldn't be like as entertained by it because it would get called out for being what it is.
Right, which is bad.
Yeah.
So those are my thoughts on Salt Lake And what else?
Is there? More current events? Or are you diving back in time?
I've started True Detectives. Oh yeah, and it's good so far. It's the Jody songs. And then I am randomly starting Fargo season two with miss Kirsten and mister Plemmons and miss gen Smart and here in Culkin.
That's apparently a great Kirsten performance.
It's really good, really good so far. I've never seen it, And oh, I want to kind of work my way through those seasons because it feels up my alley. And I don't know why I never really explored, Okay, should we should we go back in time? Should we go into the what we've already got into the bowl.
We've gone into the bowl, and we've chosen a year, the year, and it's a year and it's a year you guys, And I was saying to Bowen, like, so remember how I was like, I don't want to give us homework. We did have a little bit of homework. I've created a document which has like all the highlights
of two thousand and nine. And this actually was really fun because I think that the culture gods were looking down on us when we pick this, because two thousand and nine is not only the year that birthed so many culturally relevant items and was the beginning of so much and you know, also the end of so much, but also it was the year that Boone and I became friends.
Big year.
So for that to come out of the bowl first, it's a.
Huge It's a sign. It was the last thing that matter wrote on this document, and it made me very emotional, very beautiful. It was the year that you and I became friends because it was the year that we were both doing comedy at our school. Yeah, we got to meet amazing people through it, lifelong friends and no less each other.
This also was the year I came out of the closet. Ooh the year Yeah. I just remember, like I was thinking, what's what's two thousand nine what's important about two thosan and nine. I was like, oh yeah, it was like the year everything changed.
I would not come out of the closet again until the next year, twenty ten, and I will never forget. I just blurted it out to my expense in Henry Melcher in our apartment.
You just said, I'm gay.
Yeah, it's kind of well, well, we'll get to it when we get to twenty ten, whenever we do. But it was it was a lovely mo o.
Yours was twenty ten. Okay, so we have to wait for that. We have to wait for Bowen Yang's coming out story until twenty ten.
Talk about you coming out in two thousand and nine, What are the ten poles of that experience for you?
So I had internal transferred into TISH and I found out I was going to get in, So I was it was like March or April of two thousand and nine when I found out I was going to get into TISH because I was in College of Arts and Sciences.
It was freshman year and I was going to do an internal transfer, and a lot was writing on that because I was like, you know, for some reason, it's like you know before you do anything big, Like coming out of the closet, you have like checklists, like I want to make sure that I'm able to bet do this and do that, and like I was just you know, working so hard over time in my brain to make sure that the environment was going to be a healthy one. Once I had come out, so I had gotten into TISH.
I remember, like, you know, hitting the streets and listening to like all my music and of the time, Like I remember listening to Ready by Kelly Clarkson in two thousand and nine. After I found out, I got into TISH and it was like a really nice spring day, and I remember I walked around Fourth av like around U Haul where my dorm was, and I just like took a really long walk and just smiled and like
was so excited about my future. And I was really galvanized about coming out of the closet that summer, and I was like, I'm.
Gonna do it.
I'm going to tell all my friends, and you know, basically I had come back to Long Island to work over the summer at a restaurant and I was gonna start waiting tables. And that was the first summer I had like a relationship. I had like a you know, my sexual awakening that summer and started to tell all of my friends, and you know, I told my mother that Christmas. I didn't tell my dad actually until the next year, like my parents were the last to know.
But that was actually one of the most difficult summers of my life because I was like having sex for the first time and that was like a whole new awakening and that was excited, but also at the same time, like having to look my friends from high school like in their eye and say I'm gay. That was it was like I had a fever every day. You know who anyone who's closeted or has been closeted knows what that's like to have to come forward with that information.
And Yeah, so just sitting in this year and looking at all the culture of this year, it's all like it's not triggering in a bad way. It's just triggering in an interesting way, in a very emotional way, because all of this stuff has attachment to a very heightened time.
It's well, all the culture of this year and that we'll get into is suffused with your personal experience of just like coming out.
Yeah, well, one of the things I even put in the document was that this year really marked the first year of SUPERSTARTO for Taylor stuff, but also Lady Gaga. And I remember Lady Gaga when she first came out, like I was resistant, I think because of the messaging of be the little monster, let your freak flag fly, like be gay, like et cetera. Like it's time, like Obama being elected and Gaga bursting out and like being
at NYU. It was all just like it was like life was telling me, like it's time to dive in, and that is scary, you know what I mean, like like the culture of the time in the ways that I'm sure you feel this way, and like I know I feel this way. Like it was interacting in a way.
It was action.
Yeah, Like Gaga was out here saying get your dicks out, get your well that was twenty ten. That was that was she was. She was metaphorically saying get your dick right. Well, so was get your dicks out.
Let's start with Gaga. Sure, So this is so fame the fame comes out August. I want to say of two thousand and eight, I might be getting the month wrong. So later latter half of two thousand and eight. Well, for context, we'll mention that Fame Monster comes out November of two thousand and nine, and I just remember her doing her promoting that album in a way that was
thrilling to me. Where I think this was before Bad Romance even came out, but she was just doing interviews in a way that she changed up her look in a way that like was deeply exciting. She was going from this like euro trash adjacent aesthetic of the Fame into like, I'm gonna look like Marilyn or I'm gonna like, look,
I'm gonna really start doing my Madonna drag. And it was when she started doing these interviews where she was like, you're judgmental that I'm promiscuous of my songs, But if I were a guy grabbing my crotch talking about fucking girls, you'd call me a rock star. I'm just a rock star.
That is a huge, huge cultural moment for I think a lot of people to hear a pop star who was deeply intelligent, deeply studied, deeply aware of like the things that have led up to her career and to say that to some asshole who was like, your songs are about sex, Like what do you like, how do you feel about that? She's like, I don't feel anything about that. It's not revolutionary. I'm just a rock star. That's so powerful to me.
Yeah, I think people didn't know what to do with her, but knew they had to do something with her because she was so undeniable. I mean, I will never forget. It was like Just Dance came out, and I wasn't a huge Just Dance fan. For me, I got poker Face, I was like, oh, okay, I would have thought that Lady Gaga looking the way she looked, because remember when she came out, everyone was like, oh, she's ripping off
Christina Aguilera Bionic. That's so because it was like Christina had like a very similar aesthetic with the Bionic era, like the keeps getting better of it all and like the not myself tonight of it all, Like that was sort of gaga ish at a time when Gaga was doing, you know, the early days of Gaga the fame, and that was they were they were speaking to each other esthetically, and then it would become so clear that Gaga was her own thing when poker Face came out and it
was like, you know this like ode to bisexuality and like this like a bizarre melody and this weird hook and this insane sort of like you know, she was hinting at insanity weirdly in her interviews, and everyone was like, what does she really look like because this was during the era when no one really knew what she looked like. And then what really got me speak of Alexander Scarsgard again was parazzo, paparazzi, paparazzi. Oh, because I also loved
love game paparazzi. For me, I was like, oh God, something's happening. Something got it and I remember, you know, say what you want. But Perez Hilton was all over her. He was like, this is the new princess of pa mark my words, this is her. And I was like, all right, it feels like we're being like forced fed her a little bit. And then it was so clear like okay, get on board or be lame, and I just I remember I decided to be lame because I
was not ready for it. I've said it on this podcast, like if you don't love Gaga, you don't love yourself. I did not love myself at that time. I was learning too.
You would just come out. There is a developmental latency around reaching that, reaching that sort of place, and I think a couple of years later, Gaga comes out with these missives about self love that we'll get into. So we'll get into another time, but there's Gaga, Nicki Minaj, beam Me Up. Scotti comes out in two thousand and nine as well. This is a hugely important This is a hugely important year. Let's keep going, should we talk about.
We should also say two thousand and nine and like just to speak on this which is essentially a Swifty podcast. This was Fearless winning album of the year. This was Taylor Swift. This was truly the beginning of her superstardom because she had been a Country Musical Award winner and country music star and now she was legitimately household name status, which I think you know also speaks to the Kanye West of it all. That was one of the big
cultural moments of the year. Kanye West storming the stage that would have ripple effects for decades, and he was also speaking up in protest of Beyonce's loss, which this was also a big moment for Beyonce because this was really the end of Beyonce as Matthew Knowles sort of let's call her like a pop star in the way of like you'd always see pop stars like this, you know, I Am Sasha Fierras was Beyonce's last like conveyor belt album.
It was great, but it wasn't like the artistic sensations that would come later, like with four, which was point with the self title, which et cetera, which you know she became. She became Beyonce two point zero or even three point zero after I Am Sasha Fierce. But this was the year of single, Ladies and Halo, and this was Beyonce in that first imperial phase.
Mm hmmmm hmmm. Let's say this best selling album, Fearless would win Album of the Year at the Grammys. Record of the Year, you use Somebody by Kings of Leon, the Song of the Year single Ladies put a Ring on It, Best New Artist Zach Brown Band, Most Awards Beyonce one six at the Grammys. And you said main History is the winningest female artist in a night. Does she still hold that record?
I think so, because I think they've also changed it so that it would be pretty impossible for an artist to win six Awards in a night because this was the time where there was, like you know, there was like Best Female Pop Vocal and Best Male Pop Vocal, whereas now it's Best Solo Pop Vocal. It's like right right, They've done a lot of changing with the categories, I think because it was so easy for people to win
so many. Also, I just want to say, in terms of you Somebody, do you want to know the first time I ever heard the song use Somebody? Was it at a hammertatched show? No, it was at Saturday Night Live. Oh, I went on the standby line. So we've talked about this on the pod. But and this is one thing I forgot to say when I talked about this with Seth Myers. So show No, it was James Franco and Kings of Leon.
Uh huh.
And do you know who I sat next to in the audience.
You've told me before, but this is going to blow my mind again.
Emma Stone. Oh my god, Amma Stone. Was had only been in super Bad, and I remember no one read recognized her, but I because I loved super Bad and I loved Emstone in it. And I'm telling you she was sitting next to her boyfriend at the time, Teddy Geiger. Wow.
So I remember when the taping was over, like everyone was getting up and it was so major, and I remember you Somebody had come on, and I remember being like, wait, that song was kind of great, Like I had never heard that, Like I had, I knew Sex on Fire by Kings of Leon. So they performed Sex on Fire and they name Somebody and I was like, whoa, that song is kind of a smash, and then they were great and it would go on to win Record of
the Year, as you just said. But I was sitting next to Emistone and I remember at the und when everyone was getting up to file out, so many people stopped Teddy Geiger for a picture. I think Emmastone might have been taking photos for her fans. You know, Teddy transitioned and become, you know, more of like a songwriter. I think she works with Sewn Mendes a lot now,
but this was a time they were dating. I sat next to them, That's wild and watched Kings of leannperformed You Somebody at a show that would change the course of my life in terms of what I was pursuing, and would ultimately be a show that my best friend was the star of and I would also meet him that year.
It just this is and I was.
Coming out and like all these things, Like just.
Can I say this segment is already amazing not to pat ourselves on the back. I love this so much because I mean, we'll get to a point where we do a year that like we weren't even born in and we won't have this personal connection to it as much. But who's this who's to say? I mean, this is Emma Stone. By the way, Culture Awards Accolyte fan Well should be saying she was almost going to show up to last year's ceremony.
Yeah, we were. We actually almost had Emma Stone to the Cultural Awards. Talks fell apart at the last minute because I believe there was a hair dying situation. I think she had just dyed her hair and she was concerned about quote unquote looking crazy. But you know, the doors open Emma Stone was it.
Was it black? No, it couldn't have been black.
It could have been ported she had dyed her hair for something, which probably people will find out soon. But I think that she was like, it's not really the vibe for me to show up in public right now.
Totally, but she has an open invitation to come at any point in the future.
Whatever she wants. She vibes are good, right, I mean like she seems like the legs are great.
We were like naked on a garbage truck in the cold, just like our teeth clattering, chattering, whatever. And then I was like we went.
She toasted SNL for the fifth time, and I'm telling you, I sat next to her on what had to be the first time she had ever seen it. Yeah.
Yeah, isn't that weird. It's crazy sure that she loves that, She's loved her whole life.
And you know what's funny. I remember her watching it and I remember, this is so weird. And maybe I'm rewriting history here, but when I was watching it, I remember I was having a moment like where I was just like, Wow, this is so exciting. I don't know if I need to be on this show or want to do this show, but there's something about this like I need to I need to explore this as a career. Yes,
I need to pursue this feeling, this energy. And I feel like I was, of course like looking over at her because I knew who she was and I feel like I saw something similar in the way that she was should if she comes on this podcast, I would love to ask her about that, because I'm sure she remembers being there, you know, like and I'm sure it was like a moment, because I mean she would go on to host the show five times. It was just unreal. It's just so crazy.
This is two thousand and eight, so this is a different thing.
No no, no, no, no, no, no no no, somebody got us into it.
Yeah no, no, yes, yes, yes, no no that I didn't mean to be fastidious about the year. I just think that also was when you were seeing Tina and Sarah Palin. Yes, and that's going to be relevant as well.
I mean that night was basically one of the days I decided to come out of the closet.
Wow.
I mean to be honest, I remember I got home from seeing U, S and L and I like sat on my bed and I like, oh gosh, what, I like cried. I cried because I wanted to get out of my situation so bad and I was so unhappy, and I was so convinced I could do more. I was like, I know I'm better than this. I just
know I'm better than not speaking to people. I know, I'm better than not doing what I'm capable of doing, Like I know I can do something, and like seeing everyone there like engaged in what they were doing and excited and the energy around that, I was just like I literally decided in that night. I was like, I'm gonna try to internal transfer into Tish and I'm definitely gonna come out of the closet because I can't do this anymore. I can't allow myself to be a prisoner
like I've come so far. My parents are spending so much money for me to go to this school. I'm going to hide in my room like and even just like not make friends and just go to the SNL standby line every weekend. I knew that was a crutch. It was something I could do to waste a lot of time because I love that show so much. But I also like wasn't making friends because I was scared, because I was scared, Like I mean, and ultimately I would, you know, triumph in that and like come out of
the closet and we all would. But it was hard. It was really hard at that time, and I remember I sat in my bed cried and I googled the person that I respected more than anyone else, and that was Amy Poehler. And I saw that she was in her improv group in college, and I saw that she started something called the UCB and I signed up for a class and I said, next year, I'm definitely getting into a group. I'm definitely getting into a group at my school. I will and I did.
That's amazing. That's beautiful. And also you that show spurring you to come out of the closet and be yeah, yourself is amazing because I think Andy Samberg had an effect on you both artistically and physically, you know what I was thinking. One of the handsomest men in the world.
I love Andy Samberg. Also, like this was a time where the digital chorts were really popping off.
Like, oh my god, me, this was this was a era.
This was a great era of SNL and it changed my life. It really did for so many reasons. I'm so grateful I went to that and allowed like that to change. But anyways, what else Avatar, Avatar.
Top grossing Film, Avatar, Best Picture, hurt Locker. That was an intense year, that was well there, that's the only James Cameron Katheryn Biglow like matchup.
Right, Yeah, that was the showdown of the X's Yes and Katherine Bigelow one Best Director, first ever woman to win the award. It's apropos on This Morning, presented by Barbara Stris say that things things have changed so much. I mean claps to Justine Trier, you know. And just a couple of years ago we had two women nominated for Best Director. So it's amazing. I'm sorry about the Greta thing, but like it's great. And it was presented by Barbara Streisan, which was a moment. And yeah, the
hurt Locker won six Oscars, Avatar won three. This was also the year of Sandra Bullock's Oscar win, which was controversial at the time. I think has held up a little bit better, he thinks, so, I think, because she has gone on to sleigh so hard. Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, but I remember.
The Blindside feeling like, okay, we're giving the movie star of the Oscar. But then you see gravity. A couple of years later, it talked to me like, you know what I mean, like.
Tell me something, tell me something. Other notable films Inglorious Bastards, Precious Up nine, very important movie for You.
Nine is a movie I saw twice in theaters and I felt very seen by Kate Hudson. Absolutely and Fergie and the feel around Fergie. By the way, we have to this was Fergie's year. Yeah, oh my god, this is a great year for the Black Eyed Peas. Oh, for sure, the Black Eyed Peas were in the culture.
Yeah. An Education a movie that I took myself to see on a day that I had off from school. I was like, I'm gonna go take myself to a movie and my first Carry Mulligan exposure, and I was like, who, I'm obsessed with this girl.
I'll never forget one of your most iconic Instagram bios. I am as pretty as Kerry Mulligan. Please confirm he's confirm, Please confirm.
The Hangover Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince an important installment of the Harry Potter story.
The death of Dumbledore. No, he does he die in Half Blood Prints? Or does he Snape die in Half Blood Prints?
Snape dies at the end of Deathly Hallies? No he doesn't, Yeah he does?
Does he?
Half Blood Prints is one thousand percent Dumbledore being killed?
You should say, Okay, you're right, you're right. You're right. The way that Bowen Yang is looking at me right now, he's saying, I'm not looking at you, just saying, honey, you know I read Harry Potter books every now, No what come out of the classet as a Harry Potter Daily reader, as a Joey Anne Kathleen Apologize Dan, Death of Dumbledore, Yes.
Death of Dumbledore. Okay, let's go back quickly. In music, other top selling albums Dreamed a Dream by Susan Boyle. Was this the year of Susan Boyle or was that viral? I mean that talk about a viral moment? Was that two thousand and eight or two thousand night?
And I think her virality was two thousand and eight. Her album was two. But does Susan Boyle phenomenon open the door for Adele?
Very No? I mean, I don't think you're wrong.
Susan Boyle walked so Adele could run. It's actually a really coacher number one hundred Susan lost. Meanwhile, nineteen comes out in two thousand and eight. Adele being on SNL as two thousand and eight.
Shut up, I'm sorry, I'm just saying I think Susan Boyle and Adele though are sort of cosmically linked in a way.
Yeah, they are. They should do it. They should do a conversation and it should be filmed.
They should do an Actors on actors, neither of them actors.
British on Tusay's drinking wine.
I hope Susan Boyle as well.
I think she's fine.
I am Sasha Fears the Fame, Hannah Montana, the movie soundtrack and the E n D by Black Eyed Peas. Let's talk about the Black Eyed Peas.
The Black Eyed Peas had a number one hit on the Building. I got one hundred for this year for twenty six weeks cumulatively. I got a feeling and it was a number one hit for fourteen weeks. Wow Boom Boom Pow was a number one hit for twelve twelve weeks. Boom Boom Pow, Boom boom How sure? I mean, you're incredulous. You find it incredulous that Boom Boom po had such a choke hold on the culture. That I will say
I got a feeling was that song. It was definitely giving, Like this is the song we're gonna play for the trailer for like Valentine's day. You know what I mean. It's like I gotta feeling, but I got a feeling. Is like the pregame song. It is the pregame song. And I feel like that concept kind of for me at least.
I'm just saying. My personal experience two thousand and nine was really when I started to embrace the pregame because this was call it, this is freshman year of college. I was getting I was like drinking with other students for the first time. I didn't really do it that much in high school. This was a huge cultural and personal moment for me.
And I got to remember the pre game for the Violet Ball. Oh my god, well we did a post game for the Violotball. We did a pre end post game because I remember we This was also right around the time when we discovered marijuana and we were like, let's smoke and then go to the Violet Ball. The Violet Ball was like ny US like yearly social describe it. It was like a like a nice prom and that wasn't totally real, but it was a social and it was at BOP's Library, was it not. It was at Bobs. Yeah,
I remember. We were all so excited to go to Bobs. It was my like second time at Boabs. I remember me being like, I remember one of our conversations. Fun was like, I've never been to Bobs and you were like, I'm at Bobs every day every day. I was at Boaks Library every day four years. Yeah, you really worked very hard in college, not really, but bo when you were about actually every day.
Actually, no, I did.
Don't do that to yourself. You worked so hard.
I was slaying organic chemistry. I was. I was in grad classes by my senior year. Yeah, you're so smart whatever.
And you were at Bots every day. You knew exactly where the bathroom was at the Violet Ball from attending boats study sessions. Right, I was like, where am I going? Matt?
Do you want to battle off more of these number one hits?
Sure? Number one hits from the year two thousand and nine three by Britney Spears.
Great song Crack a.
Bottle by Eminem I don't even know what that is, baby, Oh you Downtown, Down, Down, Down, Love down? What says two thousand and nine more than this next one? In New York? The perfect song about that that doesn't We were in New York, Baby, We were in New York Grammatically it didn't make sense, but it was an amazing so concrete jungle where might be title of app Fireflies by Dual City. This was about ten thousand fire flies. You know who loved this?
Taylor Taylor, Oh my god, absolutely just dance Lady Gaga three weeks and number one and two thousand and nine. My Life would Stuck Without You two weeks.
Kelly Clarson My Life What's Up Without You? Was number one hit for two weeks. It broke her own record for biggest jump to number one.
Did you just rattle that off off the top of your head, Yes, that's amazing.
It went from I believe, I believe a moment like this, went from ninety seven to number one and then I think, my life looks up without you was like number ninety eight to number one and like.
Wow, poker Face being number one for one week is shocking to me, but I believe it.
There are so many songs you think are going to be number ones and then you look back and they were not, Like, it's kind of shocking. This was also the intro to Kesha. She would only start her solo career next year, and you know we'll be talking about k e Dollar sign ha in twenty ten single Ladies. Single Ladies one of the most what you say by Jason Derulo ahead of the curve in terms of the
image and heap effication of pop music. Ab Absolutely, that is a really good way to put it, the image of heapification of pop music.
Like we're still in it. Taylor is deep, Deil Taylor and Ari are still influenced by Imagen Imagen.
You can see her image and music a period and heaps of music that's really touch Number thirty Imagen. You can see her image in heaps of music. That's one of my best ever.
That's one of our best.
Ever television of the time, Bowen talk about it.
Emmy for Outstating Drama mad Men for the second consecutive year, Emmy for Outstanding Comedy thirty Rock for the third consecutive year, and that was like I think that was also the fourth season of the show.
Yeah Shows, No No, No, I think it was the third season because I remember they won their first year and didn't stop winning. These two shows had a.
Choke hold, absolutely, and there was a lot of crossover between the two as well. Yeah and John Slattery great great shows. We love them. Outstanding TV movie, Great Gardens, Wow, Drew and.
Drew and Jessica. Well, I like a moment where this was like Drew's first big, like prestige moment. Yeah, and then it never it didn't contact happen again. But I remember Drew was so great in this. It was a little eadie. I mean, she like she slayed, she slayed and speaking it was the first half it for the day. It's my impression of Drew Marry Morris, her impression to that crazy lady.
What was It's my imitation of Drew barrymore impression that crazy lady.
My husband and I answer clue.
Okay, talk about these premieres, Okay.
These following shows, which would all be culturally important, began in two thousand and nine RuPaul's Drag Race, Wow, Late Night with Jimmy fallon Glee, Wow, Watch What Happens Live, Wow, Modern Family, The Good Wife, and Jersey Shore. Now. RuPaul's Drag Race did not have an immediate cultural impact, but this was obviously the year that Boebe's a Hard of been a one. I just I have to say it was also with you that I started watching the show.
It would be the next year, but I just have to say, remember when RuPaul's Drag Race was on Logo and it was just lube commercials like about the days, Yes,
it was miss for queers. Yeah, And it's just so interesting like other things on this list too, like these things that were so for fag gets, like Lady Gaga on RuPaul's Drag Race that would then ultimately become Oscars and Emmy's you know what I mean, Like these things that were so niche that people did not have any clue what to do with years later they would truly find out what to do with them until they were like literally almost like both those things are like and
I don't say this in a pejorative but like for moms.
Now, right, And that's not that's not a pejorative thing. It is the usual.
So for fagus, both are still for fagus, but they're also for moms now.
It's the sort of life cycle of social media as well. It's like Facebook is. Facebook starts out cool and for the kids until it becomes for moms. And no problem. Moms are the ultimate terminus for anything cultural.
I think, oh in fifteen years when like Tate McCrae is for moms, way I can remember this conversation when Renee rap is for moms, remember this conversation, and it will be beautiful.
It'll be beautiful. These are shows that entered syndication, as in they reached one hundred episodes, Grey's Anatomy, The Hills, Laguta Beach, Law and Order SVU, and The Office. Yeah amazing.
I mean all those things are very indicative of this time. An Er ended this year, so this was ER ending and Gray's Anatomy sort of being the apex predator, as it were. One hospital drama falls another reign supreme, and I think Gray's Anatomy has kind of eaten ER.
Now, well it is, I think they announce at the Emmys. It is now in its twentieth season. I think it's surpassed Er pretty recently as the longest running medical drama. Right yeah. American Idol winners Chris Allen with runner up Adam Lambert.
Wow, this was also a time when American Idol was the number one show and it was not close. This was still the era of and also not for nothing, but Adam Lambert on American Idol was.
Also a gay moment revelationary.
I remember he performed Feeling good on American Idol, and I remember he wore like a white suit and walked his gay ass slowly down a huge staircase, and I remember being like, this gay guy is turning up on this show and he will not win, but lo and behold.
But he didn't win, But like, but he did, but he has the cultural staying power that like Chris Allen didn't.
Yeah, isn't that Interestingly? I feel like Chris Allen winning American Idol like certainly speaks to the fact that we were well, It's like he was definitely talented, but it wasn't what Adam Lambert could do.
But then, like I think before the end of the year, Adam Lambert did come out with his album but y'all entertain man? Oh yeah, that was a county album, Cunty County.
What do you want from Me?
Wow?
Originally for Pink Wow.
Paula Abdul's stepped down as judge. Her replacement is announced as Ellen DeGeneres l Ol that did not go good, No eer erited series finale, as we said, Matt TV edited series finale. Oprah announced that she will end her talk show in twenty eleven. Yeah, okay, very interesting.
And then obviously like you can't really talk about two thousand and nine without talking about two things. And I would say that's like death of Michael Jackson. I think we all remember where we were, yep, and Obama being fucking sworn in, Like the Obama story is more two thousand and eight, right, Like I just remember that feeling like,
and it's it's really interesting. We pulled this year out for so many reasons because it did feel like when he became president, like it was sworn in and that you were starting, and it felt like there was so much good news about like same sex marriage being embraced around the country and him even starting to embrace it, and just maybe it was us being at NYU and like us like finding our ways out of the closet
or getting there or being halfway in out whatever. This year really felt like there was so much promise and potential, even with Gaga, you know what I mean. It's like this new fucking like throwback to David Bowie that's coming out, like Obama being elected, like so much culturally encouraging stuff.
Yeah. Yeah, I wish I internalized that optimism more because I feel like I've really forgotten that the literal emotion of that. But well it's.
Easy to now, of course, remember being optimistic. How sad is that?
How sad is that? Where were you and Michael Jackson died?
I was at work? Me too. I was at work. I was working at a seafood restaurant on Long Island. It was a very interesting time because, like I said, I was in a relationship or something that I was keeping a secret with someone I worked with and was much older than me. And I remember Michael Jackson. I found out he died at work. And then also the funeral was playing when I was at work, and I remember we weren't playing music, we were just playing the funeral and we would never do that for anyone else
With Michael Jackson. Yeah, it was I mean, it was the death of Beyond a cultural icon. And this was a really interesting time too because everyone was it was like worldwide grief. But also there's that weirdness in the air about like the fact that he had you know, it was like the allegations of him and his predatory behavior was really also hanging in there right.
Well, it was just it was tragedy on top of tragedy on top of tragedy between like his upbringing and then the way that death transpired in the way and like his legacy being very compromised. It was just layers of devastation.
You remember Nicki Minaja's iconic lyric like MJ Doctor the killing me.
Prope a fall, They really hope a fall.
This also was the year we lost Britney Murphy. Hmm.
I was about's library when that happened, when I heard, Oh my god, I know sad for many reasons.
Sonya sot of my Oars swown in as a subreom court justice. She would go on to speak at our graduation and then we forget her first words.
This is awesome, This is awesome. Yeah, it's so good to be in the Bronx.
Sonia Soniah. Yeah. Natasha Richardson passed, so did be Arthur and Farah Fawcet. Not a good year for actresses living. Joe Biden was the vice president. Democrats had a fifty nine seat majority in the Senate. We missed that Sarah Palin resigned as governor. A political storm.
At large. I like this section. Read some of these.
The Walt Disney Company acquires Marvel Entertainment. This at the time didn't feel like a big deal because this was a time when like DC was sort of slang and Marvel was kind of flopped, like no one was checking for Marvel. But also Iron Man had just come out, and like there was a little bit of a tickle in the Marvel idea.
Well, there was a lot of importance around this at the time. Like I remember reading so many pieces on like I think it was a Kotaku or like Gker. I mean, Gawker is like that is two thousand and nine, the house doone, the house down, like Gawker. The two thousand and nine was a Gawker original Gawker peak. For me at least, it was like Richard Lawson writing all
this stuff. Richard Lawson, I remember that summer of two thousand and nine left Goker and wrote his goodbye his farewell post through the voice of at the time famous New York socialite Tinsley Mortimer. MM.
Like that was like the level of like that's where we were at, well, that's where we were at, And I was just like, oh, Goker feels like this really exciting place like on the Internet, where like people are funny and cheeky and these like it just I really miss that time the internet specifically, it was like Twitter kind of starting out. Oh yeah, this was two thousand and eight, I members when I became really aware of Twitter.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And two thousand and nine was when I started my account, I think, and it was just a fun, fun place for the most part. I remember like Michael Ian Black was like a Twitter celebrity to me and he mentioned me one time and it was the most stars. It was the closest to fame that I had ever felt. It was like Michael Ian Black, I acknowledged me on Twitter, Isn't that's so funny?
I remember thinking Ashton Kutcher created it.
Oh, that's funny.
And when he was out talking about it so much, Remember Ashton Kutcher and Twitter were like, that wasn't the era of Ashton? And to me too, it was like what was more synonymous Ashton and to me or Ashton and Twitter? You could not tell me.
That's interesting. It was also Twitter. I think early days of Twitter specifically two thousand and nine was I'm gonna say a name. She was the Queen of Twitter, Katy Perry. She was on it all day every day, just but being funny on it like I remember this so well. I couldn't stop laughing at this. A Katy Perry one time one day tweets I'm fucking walking down the street
with my ice cream cone, enjoying my day. It was pithier than this, but she was like, I'm enjoying my day with like walking down the street when a car goes by and all the people and it shouted Zoey de Chanel, Fuck my life.
This was this was FML. This was also the peak like, this was SML culture. This was FML culture, and where that tweet constituted an LOL reaction.
Right where I was like, oh my god, the internet is so funny.
Also the era of oh my god, Katy Perry and zoe de Chanelle looked so much alike. Meanwhile, years later, who would star in the video that satirized that concept? I would you and me and Dhari and Mitra.
Happy Birthday, Mitra, Happy birthday, Meet Happy birthday, Queen. We love you. Let's see Bernie made Off, pleads guilty and the biggest Ponzi scheme in America. The effects of a Great Recession are deeply felt in the US. Despite ending in June of two thousand and nine.
If you want to understand the recession, watch the movie Hustlers starring Jennifer Lopez. That's actually a really culture number eighty eight. If you want to understand the Great Recession, watch the movie starring Jeffer Lopez.
Swine flu is a global pandemic, the first covid. I had it.
You had swine flu.
I had swine flu.
Okay, can I ask you a question because you know what now? I remember you saying this at the time and me being like, no, you don't. You doubted me, I did. I remember Bowen Yang was saying, I have swine flu. I have swine flu. Why the very because I believed at the time that you wanted attention.
That's so toxic.
It was toxic.
We weren't close friends at the time.
I remember being the I think I sold Billy Domino like Bowen Yang does not have swine flu. He's lying.
Nicole Conlin, who we love and currently works at The Daily Show, came over to my apartment. God bless her, gave me achnatia bourbon and like all the tile and all in the world to help me go to sleep and bounce back. I will, okay. I never got a diagnosed, but I was experiencing.
No no, no no no no no no no no no no indicated no no no no no dashboard confessional singing. This is I had deep flu like symptoms during the peak of the swine flu pandemic.
Don't yet, dare mean.
You had swine flu? Had you gotten a positive.
That I had swine flu? You are ridiculous.
It wasn't circulating around where we were, Yes, it was.
It was a global pandemic.
Bowen. Don't raise your voice with me. I'll come over there a smack.
I'm not letting anywhere near my apartment. Bann bad.
Oh my god, Matt Rogers band.
I can't believe we still haven't resolved this. This is crazy.
I am living that this because I remember this is like maybe the third or fourth conflict we ever had. Was I remember being like, he does not have.
Swine flow, you fool. I'm not having this apologize.
I can I apologize to you. I'm extending my hand to you like Sandra did to poverty. I'm sorry, Bowen.
There was a high likelihood that I had swine flu.
And what does it matter that I did or did I was sick I was very sick for produce. Re Becca says she has it too. I think she's a liar as well.
Why do you doubt I don't understand.
I think you were a liar. Becca. No, Matt, No, I got that, She says, Okay, receipts are nothing. Receipts prove timeline strange.
Fuck, that's Terrible's I think I had at the same fever.
Yeah, you think the launched in two thousand and nine, so I was an early adopter. See what I'm saying. This is the thing. This is what I'm like pointing out. It's like this was the floodgates opening for gay people, like and it was overwhelming. It was like not only being in New York, Gaga, Obama, drag grinder, Adam Lambert, Adam Lambert. It's like, oh my God, is gay in?
Because day was just so out. Two thousand and nine really was a big year for gay When you think about two thousand and seven and nine, gay was out, then gay started to be in. And I was just like, hold on a second, let me emotionally catch up here, because I'm pretty sure you guys just wanted to kill me fifteen minutes ago. Do you want me to come second on idol, I don't think so, honey.
I remember one of my first Grinder meetups WHOA was when my sister was out of town. I was roommate with my sister my freshman year of college health she was out of town and a guy I was talking to on Grinder was like, I'll come over, and I was like, this is my address, and then he comes over and I think he sees a picture of Ying or something. I don't think she knows this sees the picture of Ying and I don't remember his name, but he was like, I know your sister.
No.
She was like, this is too weird. I know Yang. We can't hook up. I'm so sorry. And I was like really He was like, yeah, this is just you sound like her too. It was all this stuff. And we were sitting on my couch in that apartment on sixth Street and Avenue and I'm talking about and this was one of my first Isn't that so funny? My first Grinder one of my first meetups at a time when gay culture was also very different, where it was
the time of no fats, no fems, no Asians. It was that was a very different the etiquette, the rules of engagement on these apps was I mean, not that it's gotten that much more orderly, and it's fine, it doesn't have to be, but like back then, it was the wild wild West.
Yeah, I would imagine you experienced a lot of abuse on there.
One thousand percent and like Asian people really I think like took it, took it. It's so wild.
But that was that was the beginning of Grinder, and like it just you learned within and for any gay man or for anyone who used that app, m hm, you learned pretty quickly what the value system was, m right, in a way that like you didn't necessarily understand if you went to like a gay bar or if you watched like, you know, fucking what's.
That show like Queer as Folk or something, you know what I mean. It's like the desirability politics were immediately set when Grinder launched.
Yes, well, we had almost no representation, so that just allowed these niche areas where we were communicating to be the only way to talk about it, you know what I mean. And like, because there was no representation of like diverse queerness at the time, it probably did filter down to well, if you're not being depicted as attractive You're not, you know.
Like if you're not attractive, then like there isn't really a place for you. But I was, you know, you want to know something, I was using Craigslist. I was using Craigslist to hook up with people. Mm hmm, Like this was the time of Craigslist.
I think you've told me that before. Other friends of mine have said the same of ours. I said the same thing. So was it just you'd go on Craigslist and like respond to a post or would you post?
I would never post.
I didn't. No, I did a few times, but like it was just really scary to like receive, like anyone could reach out to you and send you really jarring things, whether or not you wanted it. So I would What I would usually do is like respond to people. You would trade.
Pictures over email over like you know, proxy accounts, proxy email addresses, and then you would like arrange in the meet up. There was just a lot of like it's
just like Grinder now. It's just like the apps now, it's like there's a lot of like setup and like Craigslist was kind of like the only thing in town until Grinder came along, and I didn't use Adam for Adam, I didn't use the like the more legacy platforms, but Grinder, I think really the fact that it was on your phone really fucking blew the gates open.
Mm hm. Totally unregulated too, which now it feels odd to say this, but the apps are very regulated now. But that's because there's a deep need for it, because it's not a safe environment.
No, no, it's inherently somewhat dangerous if you're putting yourself out there in any sexual way. I don't know, there's just some danger, that's all.
Like, here's what I'll say. I was not Ungrinder then. I wouldn't be on Grinder until like twenty sixteen, twenty seventeen really and was rarely on the apps. I was, as at the time, very afraid of sex two thousand nine, as also of the year unfortunately I was assaulted. It's taken a very long time. I don't think it was until twenty seventeen that I understood that that's what that was.
It was during the Me Too era that I realized I recognized a lot of the conversations that were happening, and I realized that where I recognized it from was that.
It had happened to me.
Yes, So looking back, one of the things I always feel disappointed about and like about my college experiences that I wasn't out there more. Like I always tell myself, it's like that scarcity thing where it's like, oh, when you were young, you should have been out there doing this and doing that. But like, I think that was another reason for my anxiety around gayness and around like thrusting myself into this world and why it was so hard is because I was confused about whether to trust
gay people or not, you know what I mean. Like I I was bullied very badly when I first got to NYU by gay men.
I remember these specific bullies as well.
And I also had trusted one and been taken advantage of.
And so oh my god, we both have a name that we were both yeah yeah, yeah, wow, that's so funny.
Well, I mean, like and then I remember I came back to school and like had you know, gained like some confidence and some power. But I filtered all of that into like the comedy and the friendships, and none of that into my romantic and sexual life because I was so scared of sex. I was scared of interacting with other gay men and mass you really were one of my only gay friends.
But can we just say, and maybe we haven't really acknowledged this. Us being in these comedy groups was a lifeline for both of them totally. I mean, we'll talk about this so whenever we talk about you do as anty. But like I remember going to NYU being like, if I don't get on this improv group, I will have no way of making friends.
I think I felt really similarly, or I was concerned about I put all my chips in it. Yeah, I felt the same way when you actually made it in your first Yeah, I remember like, so I had sworn myself to like this thing. I was like, I'm gonna
do what Amy Poeher did. And then in two thousand and nine, when I went to my Danger Box audition for the improv group and I tease you because you were there and we had an interaction and I didn't make it, I was really scared because I was like, Okay, that's one down, there's only one other one.
And I was not at the time.
I was not at the time a self starter like Sudie didn't make it into Danger Box her first year, and she was enough of a self starter to start her own group called Captain Soldier, which would then become its own thing, and she made her own way at the time, like I think I was so insecure and such a different version of myself. I don't think I would have been able to start my own comedy group.
So it was really important for me and I think for you too, to make it into this thing that was like established and we could join and I could like coulde switch my way in? I never pretended to be straight there, but I was always very good at playing with boys.
Right, you were, well, so were you?
We want to know why, because we took a lot of shit.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you way.
Worse than me. Was this also the year of our wedding?
No, I think that was anode.
We don't have to get that, we don't have to get into somebody to say we were playing boy ball, and that was actually like comfortable for us.
Right, And at the time, it was like, well, this beats the alternative, which is that we're not in these groups at all, and that we have no outlet for this thing that we this art form that we love and want to do and want to start early.
Yeah, I just knew I needed to do comedy and it was more important for me to commit to that than to like figure out my gay inner and outer life because I was so stunted. Yeah so yeah, But no regrets, no regrets, not at all because ultimately, like that is how we met.
Mm hmm, and we've made like again deep friendships in these groups. Yeeah. We don't have to say names necessarily, but like we keep in touch with.
Oh o oh my god. No, I have warmth in my heart for everyone from that time, obviously mostly you and Sudie, you know what I mean, Like ultimately.
Like sure, I mean like when addressing for me, like she was the first part I reached out in April of two thousand and eight, before I even decided on NYU, or maybe right when I decided on NYU, And I was like, what's the process like for getting into these groups? And then she was like she reached out. She like
we like joked back and forth like cosmically. That is crazy to me because it's like she and I would then work at s and now together and like righte Iceberg together, Like that is crazy to me, But we can get into this. In two thousand and eight.
Yeah, that was all two thousand and nine for me. All my first in terms of all that was two thousand and nine. Well I think we have very different two thousand and eights. Yeah, yeah, But anyway, all this was two thousand and nine. This was such a blessing of a year to choose first.
A deep reflection, would you say? Wouldn't you say?
One? And now I'm getting the goblet out.
Okay, Goblet of Cultural Years is coming. It is actually an ice bucket, but that's okay.
Can you hear the sounds of the goblin?
Yes?
Okay.
I was telling him to Katie's Readers Publicist finalist that it's actually an ice bucket, but for the.
No, one's a goblet. Okay, are you ready?
I'm ready.
The next year on next Week's Last Coach to be culturally Excavated is twenty seventeen. Wow. Wow, twenty seventeen. This was just off the top of the dome. This was the year that Last Coach really became a thing. This was it was our second year. Yeah, but this was like the year that it like really became a thing.
Well, I was gonna say, like we can go through the episodes from that year and like, oh yeah, stroll down memory lane. That's a good year. There's gonna be some darkness.
There's gonna be some darkness, there's going to be some light and that's just culture, baby. But look forward to that one next week, twenty seventeen. Brush up. That is the year that will be culturally excavated.
Wow, period down all. I forgot to mention DJ Earworm that is an incredible mashup, as we've talked about last week. But there's not much more to say. It's it's just an incredible mashup. But that was when he did like the top fifty songs of the year.
Check it out, y'all. Check it out, y'all. It is time for I don't think so, honey.
Yes, this is our one minute segment where we take a minute, as I've said, to go off on culture. Matthew has something I do. Okay, this is Matt Rodgers. I don't think so many as time starts now.
I don't think so, honey. If you're out there pronouncing it or spelling it like America Ferrara, her name is America Ferira. This woman has been famous for over twenty years. I am going to reputable websites and they're saying in bold America Ferrara. This is not her name. Her name is America Ferira. It has been since she was born, and since she was born into the public thirsty seconds. If you are saying Ferrara, it feels racist to me.
Just learn this woman's name, America Ferira. It is an e, not an a. Why am I going to these websites and seeing Ferrara? It just feels so lazy to me. This is one of the most famous people, like just I don't want to see in the lead up to the Oscars, and you know who's a spoiler of America Ferrara, Please please please call her by her name, America Ferira. I don't think so, honey, America Ferrara.
Here's who I don't think is dealing with this, Amber Tamlin, Alexis Bludell, Blake Lively.
It would be like calling her Alexis Bludole like it's not it's not It's Ferrera, not Ferrara. This has bothered me for such a long time, and this didn't happen today on Oscar nominations morning, which by the way, we're announced by Jack Quaide, who I was in Hammercats with at Nyu and Zassy beats who we love. But it's just so funny because literally I was like, who's announcing? I was like jack oh wow, like that that blew my mind. Like again, it all goes back to fucking
what we've been talking about. He was in that group with me anyways, just so funny, fun Jackie America Ferrera is her name. Her name is not America Ferrara. I think that it is a demerit on you personally going forward if you call her America Ferrara, it is not that that is not her name. Please say this woman's name correctly. Thank you. She's an Oscar nominee, Emmy winner, coming for the egot Quimo. All right, bon Yang, I put to you now your opportunity to do it. I
don't think so, honey. Do you have something I do?
I do slay and a half.
All right, here's bone Yang's I don't think so money coming on you fast time starts now.
I don't think so honey.
Putting tape on coffee cup lids because guess what, the hole is gonna be sticky with adhesive and I don't want to put my mouth on that. And taste a POxy with my cold brew. Okay, I want pure coffee and there are already microplastics in every corner of the world. I'm gonna call out my Starbucks, my not my dunkin
Donuts is because they've got the straws thirty seconds. If we're not gonna do straws, which I respect, you can't cover the hole with sticky shit, because then what's gonna happen is I got to take off the lid and sip from the rim like I'm at a restaurant where I'm not I'm on the go, or I have to pour it into another contain and you're making me do physical and emotional labor in that same breath. And you need to govern your ass. Five secay, don't put the
tape on. I know you're trying to protect spillage, but it doesn't need to be that. Put the little sticky circle on that's easy to pop off and that's what a minute, or just trust that I'm not gonna spill it, like stop. I hate that little tape. Do you know what I'm talking about? Am I crazy? No? I know exactly what we're talking about. And every time I'm like that green tape.
It doesn't come off easy. I'm like, what are we doing here?
I just don't get it. It feels like something that we don't need to produce end mass. It's like this, It.
Can't be more sustainable than that little paper sticky circle that you kind of just like flick off and it's I don't think.
We need either of them though. Why do we need the hole on top of the that tiny hole on top of the iced coffee covered? And I don't get it.
Because I guess for this sometimes the delivery people, if it's a delivery, they don't want it to splash and splash in their bag. It's to help them.
I would rather have the lid that's like you know those plastic lids that like just have the little divot or in debt in them and you can do it yourself.
Like, I don't know, I just feel like there is a better way.
There's a better way.
Period.
Well, this has been I think an excellent episode of Lost Coat.
I think so I would have to agree.
And to the doubters, yeah, you guys flopped. You've really flopped. Doubters forgot how good we are at this.
And no one should doubt us on The Traders season three, four or five six, whatever they want us, we will be there. I think we're I mean they would they would bring all though we can't be on the same season because they would want to.
Bring No, we have to be on the same season. I think that's the whole point. It's like, if they make one of us a Trader and one of us are faithful, that's iconic television. Yeah, but the Traders will want to kill one like you as a Trader will want to kill me, or the Table will want to banish you or I and split the group. It's Larsa and Marcus. I think we have to play together. That's all I'm gonna say about that.
I would love that, but I think that compromises both of us.
We're gonna continue this conversation off air. It's gonna continue all day. Bonyang. Hope you feel better, thank you, And I hope those tonsols get sorted.
And by sorted, I mean snipped girl. I want them out, girl. Okay.
We end every episode with the song oh the single Ladies sing, Ladies up in the club just boom up, do them look nay to listen to that song? Get the album I am buy it on iTunes like it's two thousand and
In the Sasha Fierce half of that album, five