Bailey Comes Running

What do we owe the people who serve, and what do we owe each other when jokes hit sensitive ground? We open with Veterans Day reflections that put family stress front and center, then pivot to pop culture that refuses to sit quietly. Tropic Thunder’s star-studded satire still sparks debate, and we unpack why intent and impact don’t always meet in the middle. Context matters, timing matters, and sometimes the target of the joke isn’t who the audience thinks it is.

From there we head into the money machine behind the mic. The podcast economy has gone big, and so have the sponsors. We talk about eyebrow-raising ad pairings, the difference between revenue and trust, and how shows balance reach with responsibility. If you’ve ever wondered how a so-called casual chat nets eight figures, or why therapy apps and fast food pop up in the same feed, this part will scratch the itch.

Then comes a thrill: Vince Gilligan’s Pleurabus. Rhea Seehorn leads a sharp, unsettling story where an extraterrestrial signal seems to “fix” humanity by knitting us into a cheerful hive mind. It’s gorgeous, it’s unnerving, and it asks a blunt question: what is harmony worth if it costs your selfhood? We compare its palette and mood to the New Mexico worlds Gilligan made famous while noting how this new series cuts its own path. On the lighter side, we revisit Highlander’s wild sequel energy, size up the return of Nobody Wants This, and reset with a string of perfect animal stories: a cat that “signs” for a delivery, two goldens who answer to Bailey but are really Muffin and Steve, a goat that audits yoga, and a croissant heist powered by a live crab. We even sneak in a science nugget on why nature keeps reinventing crabs.

Listen for the laughs, stay for the honest questions, and tell us where you land: when does satire cross your line, and would a happy hive mind feel like peace or prison? If you enjoyed the ride, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review to help more curious listeners find us.

Find our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/447251562357065/

Transcript

Birthdays And Veterans Day

SPEAKER_03 0:16

Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Anne Levine Show. It is Tuesday. Eleven eleven twenty-five. I just can't get enough daypeche mode. We are coming to you from WOMR 92.1 FM in Promettown, Massachusetts.

SPEAKER_02 0:44

That's right, and WFMR 91.3 FM Orleans. And we're streaming worldwide at WOMR.org.

SPEAKER_03 0:56

And that there is Michael over there. Hello. And we need to say a few things about Michael over there. One is happy birthday.

SPEAKER_02 1:07

Well, hey, let's let's do it uh let's do it the right way first. Let's say happy birthday to Nell. Oh, of course. We had a birthday uh yesterday. Happy birthday, Nell! And then to my brother Brian, who's today.

SPEAKER_03 1:24

Happy birthday, Brian.

SPEAKER_02 1:25

And then my sister whose birthday is also tomorrow.

SPEAKER_03 1:28

Happy birthday, Messeray. Yeah. Monica.

SPEAKER_02 1:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:33

Um Messeray. That's a funny name. I like it. I like it a lot. Because she's Desiree Monica. Yeah. And I thought I would do a portmanteau and make her. Messeray, yeah. No, it's a total accident. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_01 1:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:50

But happy birthday, Michael. Hello. And hello. And also, it's your birthday. Oh, yeah. And that's right. And so your birthday's tomorrow. Yeah. But thank you for your service. Oh, thank you. To the Air Force. Is also true. And to the Army. Because you are a veteran of both services.

SPEAKER_02 2:16

Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 2:16

And it is Veterans Day.

SPEAKER_02 2:18

Right. Also, my brother, whose birthday it is.

SPEAKER_03 2:21

Also, your brother.

SPEAKER_02 2:23

He's also a veteran.

SPEAKER_03 2:24

And your son is a veteran.

SPEAKER_02 2:26

And my brother well, and my brother, and everybody going back to the revolution. Right. All the males in the family.

SPEAKER_03 2:33

Your family's done a lot of fighting. Yeah. Well, uh, thank you once again. And to all the veterans out there, thank you for your service. Yes. Amen. And also for partners of veterans and sons and daughters and parents. Peep those people get forgotten about all the time. Yes, they do.

SPEAKER_02 2:57

Yeah, and it's really, it really is kind of awful because um, you know, they're they may not be out there, like, you know, shooting at people, but man, the stress level they're living under is. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:12

And often the conditions aren't great.

SPEAKER_02 3:14

Yeah. No, it's

Military Family Stress And Gratitude

SPEAKER_02 3:16

uh it's it's horrible. Yeah. It's absolutely horrible. I was out of the military for a long time before my the oldest son went in. And when he went in, I was a wreck the whole time. Yeah. I know. Absolutely and we're all adults, right? Oh no, I was a total wreck the entire time.

SPEAKER_03 3:34

Well, it had nothing to do with being adults. I mean, it's your your you know, flesh and blood is in in mortal danger.

SPEAKER_02 3:44

Yeah. And which he actually which he actually was, he didn't tell us about any of it until he got home.

SPEAKER_03 3:52

Yeah, well, he took we knew a little something.

SPEAKER_02 3:55

Well, we knew we knew he'd been shot at, but there were some things that he did not mention at all until he got home. That some very close calls. Well, didn't want to really freak people out.

SPEAKER_03 4:04

So well, he's a good son and an excellent soldier. I agree. So we love him. What is he, the first cavalry? Yes. How do you like me knowing that? How about that? Yeah. I want credit. Okay. Okay. I want credit. As as the stepmother, as the stepmother of a soldier who was in the first cavalry, who was a crew chief on a Chinook. Correct. Yeah. I got it. I got it. I got the stuff. Oh Jesus. All right. All right. Anyway. So speaking of war and such, right?

Tropic Thunder: Satire And Controversy

SPEAKER_03 4:57

I tried for probably at least the fifth time to watch Tropic Thunder.

SPEAKER_02 5:07

Ah, yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_03 5:10

And if you don't know, Tropic Thunder is a spoof, a takeoff on the movie Platoon.

SPEAKER_02 5:21

Yeah, on on the whole like Vietnam movie genre. Because that was a big deal for a while.

SPEAKER_03 5:28

Mainly Platoon, though. I mean, there are so there are some common.

SPEAKER_02 5:33

There's apocalypse now, you know. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:36

A little apocalypse. Yeah. A little apocalypse. A little apocalypse, yeah. Um, but little deer hunter. A lot of the scenes are taken directly out of Platoon. And as you know, I watched every Vietnam movie ever. Um, and I read all the books and I went through a whole thing. Anyway, I thought I'm gonna try again because I understand better about this film. And of course, it was very controversial at the time that it came out, right? Which was in '88. Is that possible? Oh boy. What year did that did that come out? Anyway, it's Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. Jack Black, uh, who am I forgetting? 2008. 2008. Yeah. Whoops. I I did what I often do. I skipped those years. Yep. That funny decade in there. Anyway. Uh yeah, so just about 20 years ago. So it was now Robert Downey. Tom Cruise was also in the room. Right, Tom Cruise. That was the other one.

SPEAKER_02 6:57

And it w I mean Matthew McConaughey was in it. Danny McBride, Nick Nolte was in it. There we go. I mean, everybody was in it. Right. There were so many.

SPEAKER_03 7:10

And the script people was considered Bill Hader was in it. Yes, he was.

SPEAKER_02 7:16

Yeah. John Voigt. Very minor role. Jennifer Love Hewitt, Alicia Silverstone, Jason Bateman. It's just it's ridiculous.

SPEAKER_03 7:26

So it's hard to avoid.

SPEAKER_02 7:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 7:30

Because critically it had a lot of acclaim.

SPEAKER_02 7:33

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 7:34

But it was hugely controversial because Robert Downey Jr. did his role as a white uh actor who was playing a black man.

SPEAKER_02 7:54

Right.

SPEAKER_03 7:55

And so had himself, now a lot of people say blackface. I don't want you to think of blackface as in old timey.

SPEAKER_02 8:05

Right.

SPEAKER_03 8:06

I mean, he had prosthetic makeup. His hair was done. His it was like his whole body was transformed.

SPEAKER_02 8:19

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 8:20

And he also took on this horrendous accent. And he had many hilarious fights with black people in the cast. So this is a movie about a movie.

SPEAKER_02 8:34

Right.

SPEAKER_03 8:34

So this is a movie about the making of something like Platoon. Right. Or Apocalypse now. And so this actor decides I'm going full method. And, you know, of course it's Robert Jones. Right.

SPEAKER_02 8:54

He's gonna, he's gonna live the part.

SPEAKER_03 8:56

Right. Uh and so he gets into a lot of fights with black members of the cast.

SPEAKER_02 9:06

Right, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:07

Who were like, what the F are you doing? Yeah. No one speaks like that. Right. No one looks like that, no one acts like that.

SPEAKER_02 9:17

Oh he was so over the top.

SPEAKER_03 9:20

It was It was insane.

SPEAKER_02 9:22

It was yes, it was insane. And it was very funny if you're if you're understanding that it is all a joke.

SPEAKER_03 9:32

But if you come into that halfway and realize, oh my god, that's Robert Downey Jr., yeah. You're probably not gonna find it that funny. Now, this film is considered a comedic masterpiece by Ben Steller. Uh but as I say, it's very controversial.

SPEAKER_02 9:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:55

And because of the Robert Downey Jr. situation, not because of anything else that I'm aware of. Um, but once again, and I made it further in than I ever had, I made it into I made it into the scene where Willem Defoe gets killed.

SPEAKER_02 10:17

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_03 10:18

And um in Platoon.

SPEAKER_02 10:21

Right, right.

SPEAKER_03 10:22

And where they redid it 100% exactly as it happened, except it was Ben Star. And as I think they say in the beginning, 24 crew and cast went in, and only four came out alive. Yeah. So, yeah, so I I don't know what to think about it, and I would like the audience to chime in on it.

SPEAKER_02 10:54

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 10:55

I just couldn't. And even Jack Black, um, and I know who he was playing. I can't think of the name of the the guy who originated the role, but I recognize the role. And I don't know, he's just playing this big fat guy that never would have been out there. Right, yeah. In the first place. Not in those days.

SPEAKER_02 11:21

Anyway, it Well, you know what? He actually might have been in the carpool or something and uh and got dragged into it, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 11:30

Well, the whole thing was just it it is quite extraordinary. The locations are incredible, and maybe the whole thing was built in LA, who knows? But uh I didn't I couldn't stay around long enough to watch the credits.

SPEAKER_02 11:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 11:48

So I maybe made it halfway through, or maybe a quarter. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 11:53

Um the majority of the film was uh uh shot on Kawaii. Oh, it was Bummer Guys Studios in Universal City in Santa Clarita, so yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:06

Bummer guys had to go to Hawaii. Isn't that awful?

SPEAKER_02 12:10

Oh yeah, yeah, it's horrible. Tropical thunder, yeah. Acting, yeah, acting, tropical paradise. Let's just hang out and

Hollywood Budgets, Podcasts, And Sponsorship Ethics

SPEAKER_02 12:24

it's so funny.

SPEAKER_03 12:25

I hear about actors um on podcasts that I listen to complaining sometimes about their jobs. And I had to sit in a honeywagon for six hours, or I had to be in prosthetic makeup for nine hours, and and this whole, you know, and I'm like, you know what? Get a different job. Yeah. And shut up. Right. The amount of money these people are making, do you know how much money they're making on these podcasts? No, millions.

SPEAKER_02 13:05

Okay, well, so how do they do that?

SPEAKER_03 13:08

It's all about the sponsors.

SPEAKER_02 13:12

Oh, yeah, yeah, I guess.

SPEAKER_03 13:14

So the the handsome podcast, they make around seven million a year, which is a lot to that's a lot of money. Divvy up between, you know, I mean, there are more people now, but that are involved than the original four, but that's a lot of money. Yeah, you know, I'm sure each one of them is getting a million and a half, and that was the last time I checked because they've got massive sponsors, and a lot of them are, I think, a little suspect. I don't love it. I don't love that there's a McDonald's commercial on handsome, right?

SPEAKER_02 14:03

Right.

SPEAKER_03 14:04

Which is being done by, you know, Tig Nataro, who is a committed vegan, yep. Very committed vegan. So that doesn't feel right to me. No, I have to admit, Tig and May, who have both had top surgery, are doing honey love commercials. That's for bras, Michael. Oh, okay. Neither one of them have breasts. Right.

SPEAKER_02 14:38

So uh just gotta say that's quite interesting.

SPEAKER_03 14:42

Yeah. Um and then there's handsome. The handsome podcast, Michael, yeah, pulls in around what what is what's your guess?

SPEAKER_02 14:54

Oh, I thought, oh, I thought you already told me. I did? I thought you said seven million.

SPEAKER_03 14:58

No, that's hand. I'm sorry, did I say handsome?

SPEAKER_02 15:00

Yeah. No, uh, sorry, smartless. Oh, um, oh, uh, I don't know, 10? 30. Jeez, that is just insane to me.

SPEAKER_03 15:11

30 million dollars.

SPEAKER_02 15:14

Where is all this money coming from? I'm telling you, the sponsors are. I know, but the thing is, the sponsors have to be getting it from the people, meaning they are overcharging by that m so much that they can pay this to podcasters.

SPEAKER_03 15:33

No, no, no. I think I don't think their listenership is about 500 million, half a billion people listen to Smartless.

SPEAKER_02 15:49

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_03 15:50

And so um, and they have many sponsors.

SPEAKER_02 15:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 15:55

Many, many. So they all sponsor Quints. Um, they all have uh insurance companies, and how that turned into well, and for ages they all had better help as a sponsor, which is a total scam, folks. I know, I know. Yeah. Well, see, that's one of the things that another one that they pedal that I feel conflicted about.

SPEAKER_02 16:25

Yeah, it's it's not a it's not a stay away from it.

SPEAKER_03 16:28

They know that.

SPEAKER_02 16:30

That's yeah, that is kind of the problem.

SPEAKER_03 16:33

They have to have tried out these things. Um, I heard on Smartless a Duolingo commercial with Sean saying, We're going to London for a week, and we thought we'd spend a day in Paris, so we're gonna use Duolingo to learn a little French.

SPEAKER_02 16:51

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_03 16:52

And it's like, you dumbasses.

SPEAKER_02 16:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:57

Please, please. Anyway, wild grains, pet food, the amount of commercials. Oh, and just one little other thing. Sirius is picking up Smartless.

SPEAKER_02 17:15

Ah, okay.

SPEAKER_03 17:16

So there's, and they made a deal with them for I think 30 million. An additional 30 million. So, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:27

Fortune's doing it. What do you mean? Well, I mean, she and Tom Papa have got uh Oh, yeah, they're on serious.

SPEAKER_03 17:36

Yeah. Um, and I don't know what kind of a deal they have, but it has to be. I think it's probably pretty good. It's gotta be because um Fortune's net worth is tremendous at this point. Yeah, she's doing really well. She deserves very happy for her. No one works harder than Fortune Fiend Star.

SPEAKER_02 17:58

It's just ridiculous. She's uh actually, I was listening to her earlier today saying, uh, you know, how she's she needs some time off.

SPEAKER_03 18:07

Well, you know, she recently, very recently, got hung up in this terrible flight situation. You know, with the government shutdown, and once again, air traffic controllers are nowhere to be found. We've all been we've all seen this movie before. Anyway, Fortune Themster got stuck in Boston. She came here to do a show at the Wang Center and on her way back to her mother to visit her mother, right, who's really not doing well, no, unfortunately. Um, she got stuck in Logan for nine hours.

SPEAKER_02 18:56

Oh, Lord.

SPEAKER_03 18:57

And it wasn't just that she was in the terminal, she was on a plane, off a plane.

SPEAKER_02 19:05

Oh, that's insane. Well, yeah, because they can only keep you on for like two hours or something, and then they gotta take you off.

SPEAKER_03 19:12

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 19:13

Oh, that is so messed up. She said that oh, they'll take you off just to put you back on so they could reset the clock. Exactly. Oh, man.

SPEAKER_03 19:23

And she said, I'm I was so tired. She has said many times on the podcast, the only thing that really makes her cry is if she like cry tears is if she's way overtired. And she was sitting there trying to get to her mother and thinking, I want my mom. And so she she called her mother, her poor mother, who's sick as a dog, and saying, Mom, I've been in the airport for six hours.

SPEAKER_01 20:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:00

Just completely lost it. And she was like, everyone had recognized her. She's trying to pull her hoodie over her head, and it's one of those I'm glad I'm not famous moments. I don't want to not be able to, although, you know, as they say, that's what the money is for.

SPEAKER_02 20:25

Right, I guess. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:27

And that brings me around full circle to actors complaining. Oh, okay. All right, so I'm done. I'm done with it. Are you done with it? Okay. Yes.

Flight Chaos And The Price Of Fame

SPEAKER_03 20:39

I watched the best thing, and I'm so excited about it. Oh, all right. Vince Gilligan.

SPEAKER_02 20:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:46

Has done it again.

SPEAKER_02 20:48

He has. I turned you on to this one.

SPEAKER_03 20:50

It's called Pleurabus. Yeah. Sometimes the I is spelled as a one. So Vince Gilligan, of course, creator and showrunner, known for Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.

SPEAKER_02 21:05

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 21:06

And the actor Rhea Seahorn.

SPEAKER_02 21:11

Yes, who was uh Kim in Better Call Saul.

SPEAKER_03 21:16

Um Kim Wexler.

SPEAKER_02 21:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 21:18

Right. So she is the star of this of a character named Carol Sturka. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 21:25

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 21:26

And the show takes place after an extraterrestrial signal triggers a virus, or it's a similar phenomenon to a virus.

SPEAKER_02 21:42

Right.

SPEAKER_03 21:43

You know what I mean? It's not like COVID. Um and it transforms almost the entire population of Earth into a peaceful, interconnected hive mind.

SPEAKER_02 22:00

Yeah, it's like a happiness virus that uh turns everybody into connects everybody in some very weird way.

SPEAKER_03 22:09

Well, the everyone is connected a hundred percent. So everyone says the same things, right, um, and does the same things and reacts to the same things. Now these same things are being um are are things that are being done by the few people who are immune.

SPEAKER_02 22:36

Right. Rhea or Carol being one of them.

SPEAKER_03 22:40

Right.

SPEAKER_02 22:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 22:42

And so um it sort of says like, what if everyone got along?

SPEAKER_02 22:54

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_03 22:55

Um, but also what if that was terrifying?

SPEAKER_02 23:00

Exactly. Yeah, that's the whole that's the whole idea of the show. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:05

So it's a fresh concept. Yeah. You know, it's worth watching. It's really good.

SPEAKER_02 23:11

And it is so gorgeously shot.

SPEAKER_03 23:15

Uh, in New Mexico and in LA, right?

Vince Gilligan’s Pleurabus And Rhea Seehorn

SPEAKER_02 23:19

And just so uh if anybody is asking the question, yes, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul were filmed in New Mexico. None of the same locations but very similar are in this show, and Vince stayed away from you know similar locations just for that reason.

SPEAKER_03 23:40

So well see, I think he failed in that sense because the first thing I thought when I started to see the surroundings, um, you know, like where Carol lives and all this stuff, right? Was okay, that looks like Better Call Saul or Breaking Bad.

SPEAKER_02 24:03

Well, I mean, it it is meant to look like Albuquerque, but it's not an actual physical place that anybody could go to.

SPEAKER_03 24:12

Right. And what I was getting what but what I'm saying is it looks exactly like Albuquerque. Yeah. Which is breaking bad. And it's actually filmed in just outside Albuquerque.

SPEAKER_02 24:24

Right, yeah, they actually built her neighborhood on the outskirts of the city to to create the show. That's stupid. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:32

The the light, the everything is completely better calls. Now, if Vince really I don't understand why he's so fond of New Mexico.

SPEAKER_02 24:46

He he fell in love with it, with the with breaking bad. I don't know exactly what it was, but he's like, I love this place. He loves the lighting, for one thing. The lighting is so weird. And the the you have there are mountains and but there are wide open flat places that just go on forever. And he's like, this is so cool.

SPEAKER_03 25:08

Well, if all I meant by that is if you want to differentiate yourself from a hugely famous show that you also did, shooting in the same place. Um I mean, I I have to admit, I constantly have to check myself and remember that I'm watching Pleurabus.

SPEAKER_02 25:36

Right, yeah, yeah, true.

SPEAKER_03 25:38

And not some scene from Breaking Bad or better call.

SPEAKER_02 25:43

Yeah. Yeah. Which uh which they're not even set technically in the same universe, you know. There's no there's zero crossover.

SPEAKER_03 25:52

Right, except except there is.

SPEAKER_02 25:56

Well, except yeah, except it looks similar.

SPEAKER_03 25:59

Okay. Um, and Rhea Seahorn.

SPEAKER_02 26:02

I mean Well, she and she is there because Vince is like, you know what? They he's got so many people clamoring to see her on screen again. Yeah. He's like, that would be criminal if we didn't do this. So she's fantastic.

SPEAKER_03 26:18

I'm just saying that the similarities are many and recognizable. However, it is fantastic. And only two seasons were dropped when I watched it on Sunday. Um episodes. Yeah, did I say two seasons? Yes. Well, there's not two seasons yet. Not yet. There's only two episodes. Um and I forgive me for the misspeak. Um, so yeah, two episodes. And um Plurribus.

SPEAKER_02 26:52

Yeah. Okay. You should watch it. What's that? Uh that's on Apple TV, right?

SPEAKER_03 26:58

Is it?

SPEAKER_02 26:59

I believe so.

SPEAKER_03 27:01

All right, well, wherever it is.

SPEAKER_02 27:04

Um can you know what? Can we go back to the beginning to really bad movies?

SPEAKER_03 27:09

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 27:10

Because you saw a really bad movie. Which one? Well, we talked about it at the very beginning, but uh I also saw a bad movie.

SPEAKER_03 27:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 27:19

And I'm gonna tell you who's in it. Sean Connery, Virginia Madsen, Christopher Lambert, John C. McGinley, um, where's uh where's these other guys? Uh Celia Imory, Roxanne Hart, John Palito, all of these guys, uh Alan North, if you don't know the names, you would recognize the faces. But it this is a huge cast. And it is one of the worst things I've ever seen in my life. What? It's the second Highlander movie, and I'm I'm seeing it for the second time. But I saw there, you know what? I don't know what it is with this movie, but there are three versions that you can find of this very movie, and you can find them all online, and I saw the Renegade version, which is absolutely insane. It's the worst of them all, I would I think, because there's more of it. It's it is so awful.

SPEAKER_03 28:26

Well, now, see, this is And there are so many stars. Oh my god. This is a series of films and also a television series or a streaming series. And of course I've heard about it, heard about it, and someone was like, No, you don't get it, you have got to see this. Yeah, and I made it through uh once again, maybe two episodes uh-huh of the series?

SPEAKER_02 29:00

Yes, yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_03 29:01

I could not stand it.

SPEAKER_02 29:04

I was with Adrian Paul.

SPEAKER_03 29:06

Um and I I don't get it, I don't get the obsession with this whole thing.

SPEAKER_02 29:14

Well, I mean, when you go uh the the movie, you know, the very first movie is silly enough. Right, right. First of all, it stars Sean Connery with his voice as a Spaniard.

unknown 29:33

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 29:34

Okay, that's all I gotta say.

SPEAKER_03 29:36

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_02 29:38

You don't have to say more than that. Sean Connery, the Spaniard. Yeah, and it's just it's ridiculous. And it's about this weird, weird contest uh where people, there are these many people all across the planet who are immortal, and the only way to kill them is to. Chop their heads off. And when you do so, you gain their power. And it all comes down to there can be only one at the very end, and the movie, you know, goes through the process

World-Building, New Mexico Aesthetics, And Comparisons

SPEAKER_02 30:15

of finding who's gonna be the only one. I'll tell you right now, sorry, this this from 1991, but uh Sean Connery is not it.

SPEAKER_03 30:26

Yes. Yeah, so he's not the one. I don't think anyone's the one. I mean, who do you think would have been the one? Antonio Banderas, something like that?

SPEAKER_02 30:36

Well, I mean, uh I mean I know who it was in the original movie. You know. Who? It was Christopher Lambert.

SPEAKER_03 30:44

Right.

SPEAKER_02 30:45

As Connor McLeod of the Clan McLeod.

SPEAKER_03 30:48

That is so weird that you're saying those names. Yeah. Because I just reached a I just reached received a spam from McClendon.

SPEAKER_02 31:04

Uh-huh.

unknown 31:05

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 31:06

On iCloud.

SPEAKER_03 31:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:08

Oh, that's wild. Okay. They're listening in, aren't they? They're sneaky.

SPEAKER_03 31:13

Of course they are. Uh so another thing not to watch, Highlander.

SPEAKER_02 31:21

Right. Well, and then Christopher Lambert, who it has a very weirdly like sort of deranged French accent. Uh-huh. He's a Scotsman. Yeah. So, yeah, it's just they got it all.

SPEAKER_03 31:40

It's just so bizarre. Discombobulated.

SPEAKER_02 31:44

And I watched it, and it there's time travel, and there's uh, and there's a big panic over the ozone layer, and that's what this movie is all about. And I don't know why they made it. And I certainly don't know why there are three different versions of it, because that one movie was way too much. Yeah. And now we've got three versions. Yep. That's very, very scary.

SPEAKER_03 32:11

Yeah. Well, it's like you were saying there's gotta be about these podcasts, there's gotta be an audience, there's gotta be an appetite. Yeah, yeah, I guess, yeah. I mean, I guess we could look up what those films made if they made, but uh I'm assuming they did. Although Hollywood is so stupid now, they'll remake anything many times.

SPEAKER_02 32:34

Oh yeah, well, yeah, it all kind of is the same movie, yeah. Just different characters now.

SPEAKER_03 32:40

Well, backstreaming Netflix is season two of Nobody Wants the.

SPEAKER_02 32:50

Oh, that's right. Yeah. And that The Rabbi and the Girl.

SPEAKER_03 32:54

Yes, that is Kristen Bell and Adam Brody. And uh, oh, you've got Justine Lupe, Timothy Simons, Jackie Ton. And then this season we've got Layton Meester.

SPEAKER_02 33:15

Right, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 33:16

Um, Miles Fowler, Alex Karpovsky, Ariane Moyed in the ensemble. And of course, we've got Tova Feldshoe, right, yeah, who is so amazing.

SPEAKER_02 33:31

Yeah, she is. Very short, though.

SPEAKER_03 33:34

She is a very short woman. Yeah. Well, especially when you see her standing next to what's his face. Well, you see her standing next to Kristen. She looks very short. No, but when she's standing next, did you see the scene where Kristen takes her shoes off?

SPEAKER_02 33:52

I'm not sure. Oh my god. I didn't see that part. No.

SPEAKER_03 33:54

Okay. All right, people, look, it's hilarious. There's a lot in it that I feel like.

SPEAKER_02 33:59

It's a funny, funny show.

SPEAKER_03 34:01

There is a lot funny in it.

SPEAKER_02 34:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 34:04

Um, there's also a lot that's oh, I don't know. I don't know how great it is for the Jews, but whatever. Um, it's fun to watch. Um it picks up, this season picks up exactly where it season one ended. There's no overlap. So you need to like, if they have a recap, you should watch it or watch a few from Oh, yeah, to kind of catch up.

SPEAKER_02 34:38

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 34:39

Because there's no runway.

SPEAKER_02 34:42

Right. They're not giving you, yeah. It's just yeah. They may have, you know, I wonder if they've just filmed them at the same time. You know what I mean? It's like, here you go.

SPEAKER_03 34:54

It seems like that, except there are different people in it. So um there's more complexity this time. Honeymoon phase is over, kinda.

Highlander 2 And Franchise Fatigue

SPEAKER_03 35:06

And that's about what comes after.

SPEAKER_02 35:09

And it's pretty cute so far, actually. I like it. It's very cute. Yeah. Uh it's a funny show. There's a lot of hilarious things being said by everybody.

SPEAKER_03 35:20

Yeah. No, it's it's well written. I don't love the casting.

SPEAKER_02 35:25

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_03 35:26

Um, I mean, okay, you know, Kristen Bell.

SPEAKER_02 35:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 35:33

How old are you? How old are you?

SPEAKER_02 35:37

I don't know how old she is. I mean, uh let's see.

SPEAKER_03 35:48

Because I I don't know about this part she's playing. She's 45. Yeah, okay. Kristen Bell is playing someone around 32. In her 30s, yeah. And she doesn't look 32 anymore.

SPEAKER_02 36:03

Well, she looks a little less 32 than she used to. I have to I have to agree with you. She still looks she looks young for 45, that's for dang sure. But uh yeah, she uh she doesn't look so 32 so much anymore either. And so she's still quite lovely.

SPEAKER_03 36:20

Of course she got the lines or but then when you see her next to her sister, right? You know, her sister looks so much younger.

SPEAKER_02 36:30

Yeah, agreed.

SPEAKER_03 36:31

And they're only like 18 months apart or something, um, in the show.

SPEAKER_02 36:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 36:36

Um everyone else who is part of the ensemble, that is this group of people who are for the most part in their late 20s, early 30s.

SPEAKER_02 36:48

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_03 36:49

It kind of works.

SPEAKER_02 36:51

You know, I just wanted to mention the other day we were talking about someone who um I said, Oh, hey, their birthday is July 18th. I don't remember who that was. It was some actress we were looking up, and because it's the day before your birthday, and I'm like, oh, you guys are like, you know, almost birthday twins. Kristen Bell, July 18th. Oh. How about that? How about that? Yeah. 1980.

SPEAKER_03 37:18

Are you kidding me? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:22

1980 seems like a very long time ago. Which almost seems like a very long time away because when I was young, 1980 was ages away. Do you know what I mean? I still I can still go back there and feel that. It's like, oh my God.

SPEAKER_03 37:38

Well, uh just more evidence that she's not the right person to play this role. Yeah. Um, and yeah, great figure. It's just not it's not adding up.

SPEAKER_02 37:51

I I understand what you're saying. Yeah, I I really do. I love her. I think she's great, but uh yeah, she's getting a little, she's aging out of these ingenu roles. To say the least, it's ridiculous. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 38:07

Um so it's uh it's fun to watch. I would, if you haven't seen it, nobody wants this, I would start from the beginning. There aren't that many of them. I think it's one of these 10 episode things. Yeah. So worth worth seeing. All right, enough of real life. Enough of that. I need TikTok life, I need Instagram life. And I'm going to start with something that I feel so uh sympatico to this story, and I'm I I can't explain it. Amazon dropped a package at a house in Maine that needed to be signed for.

SPEAKER_02 39:00

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_03 39:01

So the Amazon driver or the UPS driver rang the bell and a twenty-three-pound tabby walked out of the they had a pet, a little pet door in the front door, right? Walked out and just sort of sat there and looked at it. Okay. And this is all on a ring cam. Right. So, um, and so the driver, as a joke, held the screen up for the cat to see.

SPEAKER_02 39:48

Oh my god, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 39:49

Which the pat hit with his paw. Oh my god. Which triggered the receipt confirmed. Oh my goodness. And the driver yelled, close enough. That's perfect. And left.

SPEAKER_02 40:03

And the cat's absolutely perfect.

SPEAKER_03 40:05

I know. And the cat sat on the box until Hey, I signed for it. I'm staying. The owners got home. That is very funny. I love that. Me too. I can totally I can see that happening. Well, yeah. I can now. No, well, I mean, it doesn't feel out of the realm of possibility.

SPEAKER_02 40:27

No, no, that's I love that story. Um that's a good one.

SPEAKER_03 40:33

I have a pet story. That's pretty funny. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 40:36

No pet.

SPEAKER_03 40:37

So this is at a dog park in Boston. Dog park in the city. I like keeping it local. Okay. And this is so yes, that's so local. Yeah. Um the pair of golden retrievers in Boston.

SPEAKER_02 40:56

All right, I already love this story. You know the story? No,

Nobody Wants This: Season Two Casting And Tone

SPEAKER_02 41:00

but golden retrievers um play together every day, and both answer to the same name, Bailey.

SPEAKER_03 41:12

Oh, okay. They both have the same name.

SPEAKER_02 41:15

Oh, have they ever been switched? Do they ever switch houses?

SPEAKER_03 41:18

Both dogs um play every day, and then the the owners would then, when everything was winding down, the play date say, Okay, Bailey, let's go. And the other one would go and they would say, See you tomorrow. Last week, the owners finally had a conversation and realized that the dog's actual names are Muffin and Steve. What? Yes. These are Golden Retrievers Bailey. Called they'd have no idea. Oh no. Where they came, because these are the two owners. Right, yeah, that came up with this somehow.

SPEAKER_02 42:22

Oh, that's so funny.

SPEAKER_03 42:24

And they each thought the other one's dog was called Bailey.

SPEAKER_02 42:29

That is oh my god, that's hilarious.

SPEAKER_03 42:31

Yep. And both dogs answer, of course, to Muffin and Steve, or to Bailey.

SPEAKER_02 42:39

That is too funny. How oh, how did how does that happen? I don't know. How does that happen?

SPEAKER_03 42:50

But I love that.

SPEAKER_02 42:52

Come here, Bailey. And they just come running.

SPEAKER_03 42:55

Come on, Muffin. Oh, come on, Bailey. Hey, Steve. Steve. I thought you would love the fact that one of them was called Steve.

SPEAKER_02 43:03

Yeah, I do. I I love people names for dogs. I like dogs named Gary and you know Wyatt, stuff like that. Why it?

SPEAKER_03 43:11

Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah. Well, um, here's here's another dog story. So, a Labrador Retriever. Okay. Another fabulous dog.

SPEAKER_02 43:26

Yeah, I love them.

SPEAKER_03 43:27

In Minneapolis, this is another be careful what your pets are able to touch in the way of your tech. Stepped on his owner's unlocked phone and ordered fourteen pounds of shrimp on Instagram. A pineapple, and a single stick of deodorant.

SPEAKER_02 44:03

Trying to make a point.

SPEAKER_03 44:07

So the shopper delivered it at all.

SPEAKER_01 44:11

Four tea pans of shrimp.

SPEAKER_03 44:13

Four tea pans of shrimp, a pineapple, and a deodorant. I mean, that's a great Instacart. Like if you're if you're the Instacart shopper, what do you think? What do you think?

SPEAKER_02 44:30

Someone's having a party. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 44:32

Yeah. And the deodorant is because you're going to be working up a sweat. That's right. Putting the shrimp and pineapple together.

SPEAKER_02 44:41

That's right. Oh my God. Love it. Oh man.

SPEAKER_03 44:49

14 pounds of shrimp. Oh god. Well, I have I have a few more pet stories to make you laugh. This one's in Dublin. Ah. And this is about a parrot. I've never been there. You haven't been to Dublin. No. But you've have you heard a parrot with an Irish accent? Uh I've heard the funniest. That is the funniest thing. Um anyway, this woman in Dublin planned a surprise party for her husband. And then the husband started coming home every day and hearing they're hiding. Get ready for your party. Surprise, but he's hearing the parrot in the Irish accent saying, Right. Your it's your prize par your surprise party. They're gonna be hiding. It's your birthday.

SPEAKER_02 46:08

Oh my god. And uh He's just repeating what he's heard, too, so that's fine. That's very Yeah, they shouldn't have told the bird.

SPEAKER_03 46:17

Well, you you have to be careful around those things. Yeah, don't tell them. Well, you don't know you're telling them. You think you're having conversation with the people you're inviting.

SPEAKER_02 46:28

That is true. They are listening to absolutely everything you say.

SPEAKER_03 46:31

Well, they're like A-L-E-X-A. Yes, yeah, listening to everything you say and commenting on it. That is correct. There's a goat.

SPEAKER_02 46:42

I've heard of goats before.

SPEAKER_03 46:44

This one escaped from a petting zoo in Oregon. Uh-huh. And wandered into a yoga studio. Oh, alright.

SPEAKER_02 46:59

Was it a full-size goat?

SPEAKER_03 47:00

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 47:01

Wow, okay.

SPEAKER_03 47:02

Jumped on three people, stole someone's water bottle and was just eating it in front of the class and getting water on everybody.

SPEAKER_02 47:14

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_03 47:15

And nobody knew, like, what do you do? Yeah, what do you do? You know, people rightly so. Yeah. If a full-size barnyard animal walks into yoga class, you need to get it out.

SPEAKER_02 47:33

Right.

SPEAKER_03 47:33

Well, what do you do? Well, pick it up and carry it out. Michael, it's full size. Think about the full-size goats that are in our backyard. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 47:42

You're gonna pick up.

SPEAKER_03 47:45

Don't even talk to me about a hundred pounds.

unknown 47:48

Tell me.

SPEAKER_03 47:49

You could grab grab its horns and start pulling. Oh my god. Oh my god. Anyway, um I guess they finally like pushed it out the door or whatever.

SPEAKER_02 48:03

Hold a hold a red blanket up there and you know, convince them they're a bull. It's a goat. Yeah, I know.

SPEAKER_03 48:10

Um, I don't know if they're provoked by red blankets.

SPEAKER_02 48:14

Well, that's that's where the convincing part comes in.

SPEAKER_03 48:16

They might be provoked by alpaca. I'm not sure. Uh the class, of course, everyone in this class went online, went on Yelp, and gave the class a five-star review.

SPEAKER_02 48:30

Well, yeah. I mean goat class, come on.

SPEAKER_03 48:35

Goat class, goat yoga.

SPEAKER_02 48:37

I saw a video today

Viral Pet Tales: Cats, Dogs, And Goats

SPEAKER_02 48:39

of a guy who uh had a there was a uh goat that just ended up in his yard, but running it was running feral. And uh he didn't want to, you know, he didn't he didn't want to try to catch it or anything. He said it looked like it was doing okay, but what he did is he made himself a goatel. He made a little house for it out in his yard, and the goat went in there and got out of the weather.

SPEAKER_03 49:06

A go tel.

SPEAKER_02 49:07

He called it a goatel.

SPEAKER_03 49:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 49:09

How did he get the goat how did he build this? He he built it, a little shed-like structure. How long did it take to do that? Not terribly long, you know, it's like a shed. So it didn't take forever, but uh yeah, and then he just left it there and you know, put bedding and stuff in there and and like a bucket with water and stuff and like a salt lick and everything. So that the goat could go in there. And it did. And that's kind of where it hangs out.

SPEAKER_03 49:42

I think that's very cute.

SPEAKER_02 49:45

It's a goatel.

SPEAKER_03 49:46

A goatel. I'd like to stay in a go too, yeah. In some ways. Yeah, but yoga in a go to Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 49:56

See, I think you've got a great idea.

SPEAKER_03 49:59

Speaking of pa places to live, I've been doing some cooking.

SPEAKER_02 50:03

You have, haven't you?

SPEAKER_03 50:05

Oh my goodness, yes. I have.

SPEAKER_02 50:07

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 50:08

Um yeah, I I got my um my beef potato situation for you. Then I did an Amba chicken and rice.

SPEAKER_02 50:22

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 50:23

Amba is mango pickle.

SPEAKER_02 50:25

That's very good.

SPEAKER_03 50:26

So, yeah, just saying. Been cooking.

SPEAKER_02 50:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 50:31

Um in France. This is another animal story.

unknown 50:37

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 50:38

It's also a crazy lunatic story.

SPEAKER_02 50:42

Is it a crazy lunatic animal? No.

SPEAKER_03 50:46

In Marseille, right? Yep, which is the port right there. A man tried to rob a bakery of a croissant.

SPEAKER_02 51:01

Oh, very lame.

SPEAKER_03 51:04

Well, except his weapon, a live crab. So the guys in there are, you know, don't e moi a croissant, Maton, you know, give me a croissant fresh one, or I will uh it was so total Monty Python. Right. I will obviously I will shake my crab at you. Oh, that's very my crab will snip you.

SPEAKER_02 51:39

You know, crabs are like the ultimate in evolution, just so you know.

SPEAKER_03 51:42

Yes, you did tell me something about that. Yeah, wait, but I just want to, before you tell us more about crabs, I want to say that um the cashier said, Sir, you need help. And she handed him a croissant. Yes, she sure did to get him out, and he then I don't know, was taken in to like go in a dry out tank or whatever you do.

SPEAKER_02 52:14

Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 52:15

And um in Marseille, I don't even want to know. Um, but he did come back the next day to apologize.

SPEAKER_02 52:22

Oh, well, that was nice.

SPEAKER_03 52:24

But he didn't bring the crab.

SPEAKER_02 52:25

Now, explain please this this well, there's a there's a term called carstonization, which is the tendency of creatures that are that are crab like to turn into crabs, like lobsters.

SPEAKER_03 52:44

Okay, now what else besides a lobster is crab-like?

SPEAKER_02 52:49

Um king crabs are not actual crabs. Okay, but Okay, so there's a lot of there's a lot of a lot of false crabs that we still call crabs, because they are shaped like them, which is what uh kind of the point that I am making is that these animals have evolved into crab shapes, even though that they're not crabs.

SPEAKER_03 53:13

And this is how do we know this?

SPEAKER_02 53:16

Uh from from studying uh them, their genetics, fossil records, you know, and uh, you know, all the all the scientific stuff, whatever it is they're doing, but yeah. And there are at least five recent species that they can that they can uh name that have uh turned into crabs. Some crabs have turned into non-crabs and then back into crabs.

SPEAKER_03 53:42

Okay. I'm so confused. I mean, I don't know enough about anything to truly understand.

SPEAKER_02 53:50

It's it's it's very it's a weird concept, but it is apparently, you know, they've got the they've got the science to back it up.

SPEAKER_03 54:02

Well it's pretty wild. I guess I would have to read about this.

SPEAKER_02 54:06

And I I can actually see how a lobster could turn into a crab. Yes. And why it would be a smarter idea.

SPEAKER_03 54:17

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 54:18

Because the o the only thing a lobster has over a crab is speed, which is, you know, because of that tail, but it also is much more vulnerable because of that tail. Yeah, so it's you know, I don't know. It's one of those things.

SPEAKER_03 54:34

Well, everyone wants to eat those tails.

SPEAKER_02 54:36

Yeah, true.

SPEAKER_03 54:38

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02 54:39

Yeah. I how about that?

SPEAKER_03 54:42

Wow. I did not get anywhere near what I thought I was going to get to. Uh this is Goodnight Saigon.

SPEAKER_02 54:54

One of my favorite songs.

SPEAKER_03 54:56

One of mine too, by Billy Joel. And for the veterans of the Air Force, the Navy, the Marines, the Army, and the Coast Guard. Please put a light on.

SPEAKER_00 55:13

And we were sharp as sharp as knives, and we were so gung ho to lay down our lives. We came inspired like tameless horses. We left implasted as numbered corpses, and we advanced to travel light. Our arms were heavy, but our least were tight. So they sent us brave, they gave us power, we dug in deep and shot on the sight, and prayed to Jesus Christ with all my time.

Crab Heists And Why Nature Loves Crabs

SPEAKER_00 56:43

We passed the right.

unknown 1:00:00

Yeah.