Fluff & Fold

Ever wonder what happens when a Hollywood designer lands on Cape Cod with a toolbox, a memory bank full of backstage stories, and an eye out for robots? We invited Jonathan “Silver Lake” Stockwell Baker into the studio and into our home, where he’s quietly transforming rooms while we broadcast. What starts with a 1975 Pirates of Penzance audition blooms into a bigger story about the places that hold us together, the art that taught us how to feel, and the little rituals—like ocean air and an unapologetic power walk—that keep a life steady.

We travel from Provincetown’s calm streets to LA’s strange present, where delivery bots queue on sidewalks and driverless taxis glide through green lights. Jonathan talks to them by name. It’s funny until it isn’t, and then it turns practical—maybe the machines drive better than we do. That sense of uneasy wonder sets the stage for Fluff and Fold, Jonathan’s hands-on design work that treats interiors like living systems: shift a chair, clear a shelf, dust a library, and watch the room remember its purpose. You can hear the care in his choices, and you can feel why a simple rearrangement can change how people read, talk, and rest.

With the Oscars looming, we dig into Bugonia without spoiling a beat: a smart, pacey film that refuses to be one thing for too long, anchored by sharp performances and a cameo that lands with 90s-era charm. And then we face the headline: Timothée Chalamet’s offhand swipe at opera and ballet. We don’t just vent. We map a fix—an annual benefit for the Met and City Ballet, visible support for institutions in real need, even buying endangered art and gifting it back. We remember how many of us first met classical music through Bugs Bunny and Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts. If patient cinema matters, the stage that taught patience matters too.

It’s an hour about stewardship: of friendships that stretch across decades, of coastal towns that fight sprawl, of art forms that require breath, and of rooms that work better when you make space for what you value. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves movies or ballet, and tell us where you land: are you team patient craft or fast-cut chaos? Leave a review with your take—we’ll read a few on the next show.

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

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:32

Welcome to the An Levy. So it's Tuesday, March 10th, 2026. And we're coming to you from WOMR92.1 FM in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

SPEAKER_04 0:49

And WFMR91.3 FM Orleans, and we're streaming worldwide at W OMR.org.

SPEAKER_02 0:59

I really feel the streaming today.

SPEAKER_04 1:02

Do you?

SPEAKER_02 1:04

I do. Yeah. By the way, that's Michael over there.

SPEAKER_04 1:08

Hello.

SPEAKER_02 1:09

Hello. You sound Chris. Oh. Oh nice. We are joined today by someone.

SPEAKER_04 1:19

We are, yes. Other than each other.

SPEAKER_02 1:22

Other than each other.

SPEAKER_04 1:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:25

Uh we are joined by someone that you've all heard about. Someone that you've heard referred to as Silverlake.

SPEAKER_04 1:36

Right, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:36

Silver Lake has come to Cape Town. And here he is, Mr. Jonathan Stockwell Baker.

SPEAKER_00 1:49

Well, this is a dream come true. It's a super fan of the Anne Levine Show to actually be on the Anne Levine Show. It's quite exciting.

SPEAKER_02 2:01

Well, we're it couldn't be more than you can't be more excited than we are to have you.

SPEAKER_00 2:07

Oh, yeah, that's true, really. I just I just want to say I I feel fluffed and folded.

SPEAKER_02 2:14

Well, we're gonna get to that. We're getting to that. Yeah, people will understand that in a little bit, I hope. In a little bit. Of course they will. Um, if there's anyone out there that already knows what a fluff and fold is, get in touch with me immediately.

SPEAKER_05 2:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:32

Um, because I need to know. I need to know certain things, as you know. Uh I noticed something last week's about last week's show. And I'm here to apologize for it. I ummed my way through that show.

SPEAKER_04 2:54

Did you um your way through the show?

SPEAKER_02 2:56

Unbelievable.

SPEAKER_04 2:57

I didn't really even notice it.

SPEAKER_02 2:59

I said um more times than I've said in the however many almost 20 years that I've been on the air. And I've got to apologize. I'm trying to apologize for myself, but right.

SPEAKER_04 3:16

Um Well, you know what? If you continue, yes, uh, that'll be cool because we could do like a a drinking game with that. Yeah. We used to have the Annovine Show drinking game. What was it? It was whenever I I would say right after you said something.

SPEAKER_02 3:35

I have no recollection of that what for a long time.

SPEAKER_04 3:40

Because I used to say all that yeah, that was the word I used to say all the time.

SPEAKER_02 3:44

John, do you remember that as our archivist and librarian?

SPEAKER_00 3:50

Um, let's see. Uh you know, yeah, yeah, I have a faint memory of Michael saying write all the time.

SPEAKER_04 4:04

Well, and we did talk about the drinking game.

unknown 4:07

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 4:08

Yeah. Oh yeah, we did quite often.

SPEAKER_02 4:10

I don't remember the drinking game. For those of you familiar with the podcast handsome, um, you see, I just ummed uh and I have a huge thing in front of me highlighted, saying no um. Very good, yes. Oh, that's gonna drive me nuts this whole show. Okay, yeah, well we're gonna have a bunch of drunk people too. Oh, um Handsome Pod, there are three hosts, and they do this two against one thing.

SPEAKER_04 4:46

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_02 4:47

So if two agree, the motion is passed. Right. Well, it's just like siblings. And I simply feel as though today is gonna be a lot of two against one, and I will be one. And you will be the one?

SPEAKER_04 5:03

Yeah. I don't know. Uh I think we're gonna have to have to wait and see on that.

SPEAKER_02 5:08

I've got feelings. So, John Baker, perhaps you could tell us a little bit about how you and I know each other to start with.

SPEAKER_00 5:22

Well, uh, I can't I have a very clear memory of the first time I I ever saw you. As you know, you were wearing a jean jacket and you were auditioning for a production of the Pirates of Penzance uh at Chote Rosemary Hall in the fall of 1975.

SPEAKER_04 5:43

Wow. Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_00 5:45

And you sang happy birthday to the school, and you were immediately cast and scooped up.

SPEAKER_02 5:53

Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:55

It's all true.

SPEAKER_02 5:56

He's got a big voice.

SPEAKER_00 5:57

It's all true.

SPEAKER_02 5:58

Immediately cast. Who was running that audition? Was it Rafe?

SPEAKER_00 6:03

Oh, that's right. Um probably Rafe, but Bardis was there as well.

SPEAKER_02 6:10

Oh, I'm sure. And was Larry Green playing the piano?

SPEAKER_00 6:14

Well, as you remember, yes, he was. And he was the modern major general. Yes, he did a uh a switcheroo. He if he would accompany us during rehearsal, during the rehearsal process, he was given this role. So it was it was a deal. It was a shady deal.

SPEAKER_02 6:36

Well, well, there were a lot of there were a lot of switcheroos, there was lots of bartering, blackmailing, and blackmailing. Tit for tat. Oh, honey, honey, stay away from those buttons.

SPEAKER_04 6:54

Oh, I got the buttons right here.

SPEAKER_02 6:56

I knew you would bust out the buttons for John Baker. Well, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:00

This is so surreal.

SPEAKER_02 7:03

I'll bet it is.

SPEAKER_00 7:04

I usually am listening to the program. I'm not in it and on it.

SPEAKER_02 7:10

And you're picturing what?

SPEAKER_04 7:13

Yeah, that's a good question.

SPEAKER_02 7:16

Don't tell us what you are actually seeing.

SPEAKER_04 7:19

Yeah, what were you picturing? What were you picturing how how it would unfold, how it would actually be.

SPEAKER_00 7:26

You know, I I this is the first time I've been on radio ever. And I'd just like to say to the listening audience that the three of us work together and separately.

SPEAKER_04 7:39

That is true. That is true. Not necessarily on the radio thing, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:46

I've been I've been in Hollywood for 35 years, and you know what? It could happen here on the COD. It might all happen here.

SPEAKER_02 7:54

It might all happen here, and in fact, if my intention has anything to do with it, which it usually does, it will indeed happen here. And John will be a frequent flyer here on the Anne Levine show. Absolutely. So what have you enjoyed the most well, maybe tell us a little bit a bit about your own personal history with Cape Cod.

SPEAKER_00 8:26

Well, my grandparents uh were one of the first people to buy a house on New Seabury uh here on Cape Cod. And as a kid, I was down here by the time I was oh wow. I mean, I came down here even before that. I had cousins who always rented a house and then eventually bought a house down here.

SPEAKER_02 8:50

So Where?

SPEAKER_00 8:52

Uh I can't quite remember if I you know that's the great thing about being 66 when you get to that point you start forgetting things. Yeah, yeah, you know, and you you it's a lucky thing. You know, and uh yeah, so I've had this long-standing relationship growing up in Vermont, but uh coming down here every uh summer and just loving it, loving every bit of it.

SPEAKER_02 9:25

So you've been coming to Cape Cod long before you and I ever met.

SPEAKER_00 9:30

Oh yeah. I was coming down here in the mid-60s.

SPEAKER_02 9:35

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 9:35

And the amazing thing to me is there are still parts of it that are just so beautiful. Yeah, oh yeah. I mean, it's gorgeous.

Cape Cod Roots And What Endures

SPEAKER_04 9:45

I mean, they've done their best to kind of hold, you know, the spread at bay. I mean, that's they've kind of given up a little bit, I think. But yeah, they've I mean, the the towns have worked hard on trying to keep things looking, you know, the way they feel they should. And they're and they're doing a pretty good job. You know, drive down 6A and it's real pretty.

SPEAKER_02 10:09

Well, the Kings Highway Hysterical Society. Yeah, and keeps us in check. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 10:15

I'm I'm here to say that I've been doing my power walks down here, and I have seen Neri a robot.

SPEAKER_04 10:23

Oh, yeah, you were telling us now. How many do you see on average when you're like out of the water?

SPEAKER_02 10:29

In Silver Lake, which is a very hot up-and-coming neighborhood in LA.

SPEAKER_00 10:39

Well, I can go on my power walk, and in the first two blocks, I'll see at least eight delivery robots on the sidewalk, and they'll be lined up.

SPEAKER_04 10:49

That is insane.

SPEAKER_00 10:51

It's so crazy. And I I I I actually say hello to them. They have names that you know, they'll they'll be you know, Sarah and Juan, and they're actually named, and I I will greet them. I will greet them. I'll say hello, Marsha.

SPEAKER_04 11:09

Oh man.

SPEAKER_00 11:10

Uh you know, because I I figure that's the way to go to go.

SPEAKER_04 11:14

Yeah, no, I'm with you. I kind of am with you on that. I do the same thing with the robot lady in the house. I'm always very polite because you know, our our robot overlords are gonna bring the hammer down one day and they're gonna look at me and say, hey, that guy was nice. You know.

SPEAKER_00 11:32

And I have to mention there are there are robots on the sidewalks of Sunset, but there are also driverless cars as well. And and that is, you know, at first I thought I I saw these vehicles and they had things on top of the roof, and I thought, well, this is this is Google, you know, doing Google maps. And then I realized there's no one behind the steering wheel.

SPEAKER_04 12:00

Wow, yeah, that's just too freaky to me.

SPEAKER_02 12:03

Now, what are those cars doing exactly?

SPEAKER_00 12:07

Uh well, they're actually they're they're they're driving, and they're actually doing a better job than the people who are driving the cars.

SPEAKER_02 12:15

Right, but I mean they're just driving, they're empty, there's no one in them.

SPEAKER_00 12:21

Uh it's essentially a taxi service, a driverless taxi service, and I'm seeing, you know, kids that are like 20 years old jumping into them, uh fearlessly jumping into these uh cars.

SPEAKER_04 12:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:34

And uh they actually they came to Los Angeles last November, and uh it seems like every week there are more and more on the street. So there's this dystopian vibe.

SPEAKER_04 12:49

Yeah, right. Well, if I lived in LA we were getting a blade runner territory, you know. For sure.

SPEAKER_02 12:59

If I lived in LA, I would definitely, given the state of things when it comes to driving, I would definitely want to hop into something like a driverless car or even an Uber. Things that really have nothing to do with life on Cape Cod, except in the most minor and occasional way. Yeah. But in LA, I'm all for it. Let someone else be responsible.

SPEAKER_00 13:34

Well, you'd probably be safer in one of these driverless cars.

SPEAKER_02 13:38

Right, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 13:39

Seriously.

SPEAKER_02 13:40

No, I because no doubt.

SPEAKER_00 13:43

I've always said if I had known what I was walking into in 1990 when I landed in LA in terms of the driving, I never would have left. I never would have arrived in LA.

SPEAKER_02 13:58

You know, John, you are one of the people that I most love in the world. And one of my closest, dearest friends going back a very long time. But you often say things like, had I known the XYZ, dot, dot, dot, I would not have, you know, done whatever. And I I'm finding it I don't I don't know, is that true? If someone had said, okay, listen, driving driving in LA is not for the faint of heart.

SPEAKER_00 14:43

Well, you know, I'm so stubborn, I would have gone anyway.

SPEAKER_02 14:46

Exactly.

SPEAKER_04 14:47

Yeah, see, that's yeah, that's kind of what that's my point.

SPEAKER_02 14:51

All right, good.

SPEAKER_04 14:52

Well then you were bitten by the bug, you know. Oh, man.

SPEAKER_02 14:56

So I like feeling right first thing. First thing after midnight. So I feel kind of right about that. Uh now, other than to lay eyes on me and Michael after many years. Hello. After many years, how many years has it been since you were here?

SPEAKER_00 15:26

Well, I was shocked when you told me it was about six or so, and then this wave of guilt came over me. And then I'm so glad I I came here and uh went right to work. Well, I'm atoning for my sins.

SPEAKER_02 15:46

Perhaps you could uh tell the audience what you mean by right to work.

SPEAKER_00 15:54

Well, in Los Angeles for the last 25 years, I've been working uh with a small design company, and one of the services we provide, apart from uh helping clients uh put together their home, is we have a service called Fluff and Fold. And what that really is is it's coming into an environment and uh shifting furniture and you know, sort of uh changing the environment a little bit and uh making the spaces a little more friendly, maybe right, you know, bringing in flowers, um doing a deep dive clean. Uh it's it's yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:39

When does the flowers part start?

SPEAKER_00 16:43

Exactly. Uh I'm just curious. The flower part comes with my sidekick in phase two.

SPEAKER_02 16:52

Okay. And and when is phase two? We we haven't really haven't heard really when that is.

SPEAKER_04 16:59

Oh, way to put the pressure on while we're on the broadcast. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 17:03

Well, I mean I'm here to tell you that phase two will happen before Memorial Day weekend. Oh, well, that's that's my goal.

SPEAKER_02 17:12

Wow. Okay. Well, uh John has been very modest and sort of light and tender about what a fluffin fold is. Furniture has been moved, big heaviest pieces of furniture we own has been moved around.

SPEAKER_04 17:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:36

Entire bookcases have been dissembled and are being put back together. And John is dusting every book. If you have ever sent me a book, and I know a lot of you have, it has been dusted.

SPEAKER_04 17:54

It's been dusted, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:55

It's clean. Um, and it it's just things are magically happening as we sit here, and I don't have any idea what we've done to deserve this magical treatment, but well, you've just been the best friends forever and a day. Well, anyone that would like to hire John to do a fluff and fold or anything else for that matter, make sure you contact Anne Levine.

SPEAKER_00 18:30

That's right. Right. I can show up with Silver Lake. I can show up with two contrasting monologues and redecorate your family room, and I can I can observe uh technicians mounting TVs.

SPEAKER_02 18:45

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 18:46

Right, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 18:47

Yeah we've already put you together with a Cape Cod crew. Seriously.

SPEAKER_04 18:53

An excellent crew, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:54

Yeah, not easily done.

SPEAKER_00 18:57

If you if you're in a room and you have five coffee tables and you need help deciding which coffee table works best on your man.

SPEAKER_04 19:05

Yeah, that's right. Or where to put the table.

SPEAKER_02 19:08

To say the least. Now, you've been power walking every day. Can you describe to everyone what a power walk is?

SPEAKER_00 19:21

Well, it's wonderful. What's essential is you need to swing your arms to increase your heart rate. And you look ridiculous, but it actually works. And uh what's wonderful about where I am right now is uh there are no hills, it's flat surface. Uh there you have it. It's wonderful. It's wonderful to be able to see the Atlantic Ocean when you're exercising and to breathe in that clean, fresh air. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:52

With a little salt.

SPEAKER_00 19:54

Oh, I had salt on my mustache the other day, and oh my god, it's like I woke up in heaven and I'm I'm itching to take another power wash.

SPEAKER_02 20:05

Well, here in Provincetown, that can mean many things.

SPEAKER_04 20:10

Yeah, yeah, yeah, true.

Fluff And Fold: Redesign On Air

SPEAKER_02 20:11

Having salt in your mustache and waking up in heaven. But hey, just take it for for what it is. Now, we have been all of us talking a lot about the upcoming Oscars. When are they exactly? Uh this week?

SPEAKER_00 20:34

This coming weekend this Sunday, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:37

Oh my gosh. Well, I know what next week's show is gonna entail to a large degree. Oh yeah. Uh anyhow, I have seen all but one of the best film nominees.

SPEAKER_04 20:57

Um Conan is hosting, by the way.

SPEAKER_02 21:00

Of course. Who else? And John, who hadn't seen any of them until he got here, watched the one that I haven't seen last time. Oh, yeah, yeah. Bugonia. And I would love to hear everything about it.

SPEAKER_00 21:22

Well, it's a wonderful film. It's one of those films where it starts and you think, oh, this is what this film's gonna be about. And it moves in and out of genres, and you really don't know. I mean, am I watching a psychological thriller? Is this science fiction? What is it? And so you don't really get a handle on it. And um I'm not gonna say too much about the plot uh because to watch it and have fresh eyes on it, that's part of the experience, is you don't really understand. Where it's going. Um, and I just want to say Emma Stone and Jesse. What's Jesse's last name? Pete Lemons. Yeah. These they're one they're wonderful. This is watching two actors you know, in their groove. These are very gifted actors. Um, and they're surrounded by a small supporting cast, and they're all wonderful. Uh there's uh an actor playing Jesse's brother, who is, I think we're gonna you're we're gonna be hearing more about him, and it's likely that he's we're gonna discover that he's of course an English stage actor.

SPEAKER_04 22:38

Right, yeah, I'm sure that's probably Australian.

SPEAKER_00 22:42

Right. Um, but he is wonderful. Um, and my notes are across the room, so this is gonna be all off the cuff. Um, and oh, oh, and Alicia Silverstone shows up in a small uh role. And oh, cool. For me, it's always delightful to see to see someone like a 90s icon pop up in a film that has this kind of visibility. It's it's really exciting because it's such a tough business.

SPEAKER_04 23:13

I love Alicia Silverstone.

SPEAKER_00 23:15

Well, I'm here to tell you that uh I worked briefly with her years ago on a film called Blast the Blast from the Past. Um, and actually I had my back to the camera, but I was in the film.

SPEAKER_05 23:30

Ah.

SPEAKER_00 23:32

That's actually how I got the role. I walked into the room and turned around and turned my back. I made a decision about the camera angle that would be best for the and I turned my back and they, you know, and said this one line and they all burst into you know laughter, and I was cast. Yeah. I I'm I'm one of those uh actors that doesn't really want to look at himself on camera, and I I I I feel like the audience probably might feel the same way.

SPEAKER_02 24:04

Oh, you are just ridiculous, Mr. Handsome here in the studio.

SPEAKER_00 24:10

Oh, and I do want to a little uh disclaimer begonia uh is gory. There is a little gore um uh along the lines of clockwork orange, but it's it's there's a little bit of it. Um but there you have it.

SPEAKER_02 24:31

I heard there were some fisticuffs in it. Is that true?

SPEAKER_00 24:36

I'm not so sure I know what fisticuffs mean.

SPEAKER_02 24:39

Beating people beating each other up.

SPEAKER_00 24:41

Absolutely, yeah, yeah, it yeah. But uh it's such a wonderful story. And uh I I can't say anything negative about this picture. The pace is amazing, and that's part of what's going on, is it it you you don't know what's going on, and you don't have any time to really figure it out. You're on a an amusement park ride.

SPEAKER_02 25:03

Is it satisfying at the end?

SPEAKER_00 25:07

Yeah, yeah. And then I I know famously here on the Anne Levine Show, we always say not to get political, but it's fun to to watch this movie. It's it's a reflection of what's going on in our world.

SPEAKER_04 25:22

Well, uh, you know, the young man you mentioned, uh is named Aiden Delbis. Yes. He's uh he's on the autism spectrum.

SPEAKER_00 25:32

Oh, for real? Yes. Well, yeah man, what he does is uh incredible. He in a way, he's he he, in my opinion, he's sort of the heart uh of the picture.

SPEAKER_02 25:46

Is he English, Michael?

SPEAKER_00 25:48

He is not.

SPEAKER_02 25:50

No.

SPEAKER_00 25:51

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 25:52

Wow, an American actor. That's a rare bird seen in the wild these days.

SPEAKER_04 26:00

And he reminds me of uh my youngest son. If you s look him up and take a, you know, look at a picture of him, and you'll see what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_05 26:10

Mm-hmm.

Power Walks And Ocean Air

SPEAKER_02 26:13

Well, the Oscars brings me to a topic I really something that's very upsetting to me because my feelings have changed or my I hate having my feelings suddenly changed for the worse. It's not a good feeling to have your feelings. Yeah. Well, my formerly beloved son the the very breath, my spirit, Timothy Chalome. Timothy Chalamet has gone off the rails. Yeah. And I can't get him back. John has has figured out a brilliant perfect way for him to get himself out of this whole situation.

SPEAKER_04 27:20

Okay, so so if it people don't know what the situation is, what's the situation?

Oscars Week Setup

SPEAKER_02 27:26

He went on a show called CNN CNN help me people. Um all right, I'll I'll I'll have to do it all myself. Uh CNN something. Okay. CNN and Variety Town Hall event. Oh, okay. Which took place on February 24th. And Matthew McConaughey was talking with Tim O'Tay about the growing industry tendency for films to front load their biggest action set pieces instead of saving those sequences for the end. I have no feelings, thoughts, or ideas about any of that. Um so Timothy noticed that he had seen an appetite, particularly among younger viewers, for movies that are quote, more patient and that pull you in. Citing Netflix 2025 film Frankenstein. Now, I would say, based on what I see in coming out, what films I see coming out, that that is absolutely the opposite of. I mean, really? I know I know people that are young.

SPEAKER_04 29:12

Right, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:13

And they are not looking for movies that are more patient and pull you in.

SPEAKER_04 29:21

Yeah, I don't know. I don't think so.

SPEAKER_02 29:23

That's just not happening. So he says it does take you having to wave a flag of, hey, this is a serious movie or something, and some people do want to be entertained and quickly. That makes no sense. Yeah, yeah, that uh anyway. And here's the big issue I don't want to be working in ballet or opera or things where it's like, hey, keep this thing alive, even though like no one cares about this anyway.

SPEAKER_00 30:05

Well, yeah, my my thoughts.

SPEAKER_04 30:07

Well, he he did he did call this say something after that.

SPEAKER_02 30:12

Well, let me just go to this all respect to all the ballet and opera people out there, he added with a laugh. Chalamy appeared to realize that his offhand comments might have cost him some good will and joked, I just lost 14 cents in viewership. I just took shots for no reason. Yep. Okay. No, 14 cents is a lot.

SPEAKER_04 30:42

No, I'm kidding, that's 14%.

SPEAKER_02 30:45

I know. Yeah. So just discuss.

Begonia Review Without Spoilers

SPEAKER_00 30:48

Well, I think uh the way forward for Timoly Sh Timothy Timely, Timothy Chalamet is to actually work in opera and dance now. And uh, you know, I I'm just thinking back, you know, when I was in my late 20s, I said a lot of stupid things. Um and I think that the the easiest thing for Timmy to do is to spearhead a annual fundraiser for the Met Opera uh and across the uh courtyard is uh City Ballet. I mean he should take all of his connections, his his uh partner, and create an event on the scale of the Met Costume Institute and and support uh these artistic institutions and especially the Mets in trouble. They're thinking about selling the two uh chigals that are in their lobby, which is uh heartbreaking to hear.

SPEAKER_04 32:00

Yeah, absolutely, yes.

SPEAKER_00 32:02

And you know, he could turn this all around by actually spearheading a uh a fundraiser annually, and um and that kind of attention, taking someone who's but you know, part of the zeitgeist, and he could do a lot of good, he could undo whatever damage he's done very quickly.

SPEAKER_02 32:25

Well, I I want to add a couple of things here. First of all, his family and himself included have all been involved in ballet.

SPEAKER_00 32:41

Oh, I didn't know that.

SPEAKER_02 32:43

I just found this out in doing he has deep family roots in professional ballet. His mother, Nicole Flender, sister Pauline Chalamet, grandmother Enid Flender all danced with or trained at New York City Ballet School of American Ballet. Wow. His mother was a professional dancer who performed on Broadway, while his sister also trained at the School of American Ballet. And Chalamet essentially grew up backstage at the Coke Theater.

SPEAKER_00 33:27

Well, that's gonna be one very uncomfortable Thanksgiving dinner.

SPEAKER_04 33:32

You bet.

SPEAKER_00 33:35

I would think so. So I think that uh Timmy should buy the two shigals uh and then donate them back to the Met. Absolutely. And that's a place to start.

SPEAKER_02 33:48

There you go. Perfect.

SPEAKER_00 33:50

I love that idea. And then establish this event that happens yearly, and he should pick up the phone and call Anna Winter and say, hey, who's the best event planner in New York City? And all Timothy has to do is show up and smile and create the buzz around.

SPEAKER_04 34:12

Yep, and sit up in a box and watch the ballet.

SPEAKER_00 34:15

And it's really an opportunity for his generation to um get involved.

SPEAKER_04 34:23

Well, and to learn a little bit about I mean that come on, I grew up absolutely loving opera, did not know it. Same with ballet, because Warner Brothers took all that music and put it into Bugs Bunny cartoons.

SPEAKER_00 34:41

That's right.

SPEAKER_04 34:42

Right? So the first opera I went to was The Marriage of Figaro. Right. And I'm like, oh my god, I know all of this music. And it was amazing. It was so much fun because I already, it was already a part of my growing up.

SPEAKER_00 34:59

Well, I grew up in the woods, Michael, so my first opera was Billy Bud at the Met, and I I had never seen anything. First of all, the the stage was filled with a true to size ship that kept on unfolding. Um and I was sort of hooked. Yeah. I go to the opera in Los Angeles, and um everyone should see the Nutcracker at City Ballet.

SPEAKER_04 35:28

I saw the I saw the Nutcracker in Seattle, and they um they use the Maurice Sendak costumes and and uh backgrounds and sets and stuff, and it's a wonderful thing.

SPEAKER_02 35:42

Well, and when it comes to ballet, I mean there's there are few art forms that entrance me more than ballet, well, dance in general. Uh it just hits me in a place that no other art form does. And I would be heartbroken for that to go away. I can't believe Lincoln Center is falling apart.

SPEAKER_04 36:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:18

I was sort of raised, I was was raised being taken to Lincoln Center to Leonard Bernstein did a Sunday program for kids. Oh man. And it was once every six weeks or so during a winter season, and my parents took us to that. My mother in particular introduced me to ballet. I'll never forget, she took me to see the jewels, which oh, that's so famous. Which just and I mean the woman knew her kid. I mean, there was nothing I cared about more. But seeing seeing the rubies and the emeralds actually dance was magical. And of course, we went to the nutcracker. We went to all of those wonderful, wonderful things. And for Timote, who's been raised in this culture, yeah, whose family.

SPEAKER_04 37:30

Now, do you think do you think his his family, he gets a lot of complaints from them about how, you know, uh how the business isn't uh you know what it should be. Where is he getting this? Where is he getting this attitude from?

SPEAKER_00 37:45

Oh Michael over there. He probably had a fight with his mother on the phone. Okay before the interview.

SPEAKER_04 37:53

This is what I'm trying to figure out, yeah.

The Gore, The Pace, The Performances

SPEAKER_02 38:04

It's such a strange the whole thing is so strange because here he is at one point in the same conversation, saying that he's 30. So saying that young people uh are looking for movies that are less Marvel, less Michael Bay.

SPEAKER_04 38:33

Well, I totally get I agree with that.

SPEAKER_02 38:36

And want things that are more emotional and uh what like destroying ballet and dance? I I guess Well, no, I mean that's what I'm saying in the same conversation, then talking about how ballet and opera are things that people aren't interested. Yeah. That don't get you anywhere. One of my favorite parts of the fallout of this has been on Instagram, where dancers have taken to the stage and done things like 40 pirouettes in a row, or just some impossible insane move for 30 seconds or 60 seconds. And then your turn, Timmy. Exactly. Exactly. And also there have been these memes of people on their way to the bathroom saying, I'm going to take a chalomet.

SPEAKER_04 39:43

Right, yeah. Oh dear. Yeah, I might have to change it. Right now, I would say, you know, uh taking a uh uh chicken to Odessa.

SPEAKER_02 39:55

Now, Michael has just done something that Michael does. Michael over there. Hello. That he does, which is he brings something up that is absolutely cogent, but would require an entire other show to explain. I know.

SPEAKER_04 40:18

And I just have to very easily go. Go ahead. Go ahead. I will sometimes say jokes just for me.

SPEAKER_02 40:28

I'm speaking in particular about taking taking a chicken to Odessa and describing what that means and where that came from.

SPEAKER_04 40:40

Yeah, that'll take a while.

SPEAKER_02 40:41

Yeah. I just feel that it's it infuriates me. And audience. If anyone needs to know, I'll I'll have a printout. I'll have a flyer made with the description of. Do you recall what a chicken to Odessa means, John Baker?

SPEAKER_00 41:02

Um not at all.

SPEAKER_02 41:04

Yeah. I'm beginning to wonder. John has long told me that he list he's avidly listened every single show we have ever put out, including the ones I did by myself at the very beginning.

SPEAKER_04 41:22

He will question you about shows by their title.

SPEAKER_02 41:26

That were two hours long initially.

SPEAKER_04 41:31

Yeah, true.

SPEAKER_02 41:32

And yet I'll say, well, what about this? What about that? He has no idea what I'm talking about.

SPEAKER_04 41:37

Well, you know, he just had a birthday.

unknown 41:41

Right.

SPEAKER_04 41:42

Right. That is true. John celebrated.

SPEAKER_02 41:47

John celebrated his birthday with us. Yeah. And it was delightful. And we were thrilled having him here.

SPEAKER_00 41:55

And every day I bring down one of my gifts, which is licorice. And then at night I take it back to my uh bedroom just in case somebody wakes up in the middle of the night and starts stealing my liquor.

SPEAKER_02 42:11

With a little craving for a something something. John doesn't know that while he's hiding his licorice, we are flush with licorice.

SPEAKER_04 42:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 42:25

Not only, but that wouldn't be my choice.

Chalamet’s Comments Hit A Nerve

SPEAKER_04 42:29

Yeah, for a midnight sort of thing, no, no, probably not.

SPEAKER_00 42:33

Well, you're certainly more well adjusted than I am.

SPEAKER_02 42:38

Well, we know that's not true.

SPEAKER_00 42:42

Well, I do my best processing at at night uh dousing myself with sugar.

SPEAKER_02 42:50

I you were not a man that I ever took to be a sugar fiend. And it's only been in the last 15 years or so that you've been coming to visit every say six years. Where I've noticed that your appetite for sugar is absolutely voracious, and that somehow you manage to maintain a very, very svelt trim.

SPEAKER_00 43:35

I well, thank you. And it's all achieved with uh mirrors and uh a fog machine.

SPEAKER_02 43:46

Well, I would have to say that that's jiggery pokery. Yeah. There were a sear there were a series of of phrases that Antonine Scalia used to say. One was applesauce.

SPEAKER_04 44:07

Right, yep.

SPEAKER_02 44:07

One was jiggery pokery. And of course, there was Tom Foolery. Tom Foolery. One of my favorite.

SPEAKER_04 44:16

He liked that one, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 44:18

But he had a whole series of ways of saying BS without saying an expletive.

SPEAKER_04 44:26

Right. Or even sounding rude, really.

SPEAKER_02 44:30

Yeah, just sounding completely cuckoo.

SPEAKER_04 44:34

Right. That's applesauce. Yeah. What do you mean?

SPEAKER_00 44:39

Oh my god, it sounds sounds like a line from Music Band.

SPEAKER_03 44:42

It does. With a capital M.

SPEAKER_04 44:49

With a capital Pierre, South Dakota.

SPEAKER_00 44:54

P and that rhymes with something. T. I never was in it.

SPEAKER_02 44:59

And that stands for no, it's a capital T that rhymes with P and it stands for pool. I was never in it either.

SPEAKER_05 45:06

I was never in one.

SPEAKER_02 45:07

I would nor was I. However, somehow I've absorbed all of it. All of Broadway. Well, now one thing about the Timothy Chalamet, because I intend to beat this horse until it's been dead several times over, is that there's a lot of murmuring that this may jeopardize what's been considered a lock for the best actor award. Now, here's the thing. Voting closed on Thursday. Oh. Right before this really blew up. Okay, yeah. So here's what I'm predicting, and I am licking my chops and rubbing my villain hands together.

SPEAKER_00 46:06

Is what's the word of uh to love uh something cold-blooded? What is it? Oh.

SPEAKER_02 46:14

Oh, do you mean Schadenfreud?

SPEAKER_00 46:15

Yes, I think you've had actually segments on that. We have.

SPEAKER_02 46:18

We have. This isn't this isn't Schadenfreud yet. Yeah. It might be next week on next week's show. Yeah. But I am picturing him winning as he has been considered a lock for Marty Supreme. And regardless of what stupid things he said lately, I have to admit that he was fantastic, and that that film delighted me, as did Tim O'Tay. Uh I'm picturing, and the Oscar goes to Timothy Chalonet.

SPEAKER_00 47:08

Well, I think he should donate the Oscar if he wins, and it should be in the lobby of the Met. There you go.

SPEAKER_02 47:17

Maybe, maybe that might cause more food fights than reparations. But I can't wait to hear the reaction. Are there going to be booze? What do you think, you guys?

SPEAKER_04 47:36

I don't know. Uh I'm probably booze involved.

SPEAKER_02 47:40

I would think so too. I would think that he would get a very mixed response.

A Plan To Mend Fences With Opera And Ballet

SPEAKER_04 47:49

Yeah, I think there might be yeah. I I mean, you know, yes, there's gonna be a reaction. I don't know if we're gonna really hear it at the time because it's a it's a crowd that's aware of their own responses and how they may be taken, so I think they might be kind of quiet about it during the ceremony, but y you'll hear from them later.

SPEAKER_02 48:19

I would think it would be less than an enthusiastic response. Okay. I can't picture although the Academy, for what it's worth, yeah, I'd like to think more I well I would like to. I'm still waiting for a reason to do so.

SPEAKER_05 48:40

Right.

SPEAKER_02 48:40

But they have disappointed me many times, and I can just picture them being sort of, I don't know, first of all, Conan.

SPEAKER_04 48:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:58

I mean, he is going to have something to say.

SPEAKER_00 49:07

Yes. Well, he should walk out in in a tutu to begin with.

SPEAKER_04 49:12

Toe shoes. Oh. Oh, that would, you know, that even sounds like him.

SPEAKER_02 49:17

And an operaman cape.

SPEAKER_00 49:21

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 49:22

Yes, he should walk out with John Lovetz and I don't know, someone famous for doing dance parties. You are right. You are right, you are right. However, I think there's a limit to which anyone can go skewering one particular actor. Do you agree or not, John?

SPEAKER_00 49:50

Oh no. I think if you're at the the level of Timmy, uh it you're it's it's it's free game.

SPEAKER_02 49:59

Really?

SPEAKER_00 50:00

Yeah. I mean, uh there I I think people can have a lot of fun with this too, and then I think uh Timothy's people should whip into action. The thing is, when do they whip into action? After he receives the Oscar or now? Because the voting has ended. So it's it's already set. Um, or when he accepts his Oscar, he can do a big commercial for Lincoln Center.

SPEAKER_04 50:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 50:29

And for all the the regional companies that are out there.

SPEAKER_02 50:34

I doubt very, very much that he will do that. Thoughts?

SPEAKER_04 50:40

It will be it would be nice though. It's a nice, it's a nice thought.

SPEAKER_00 50:44

Well, I don't ever remember. Has he ever said anything controversial before? That's gotten him into hot water.

SPEAKER_02 50:52

Not that I'm aware of.

SPEAKER_04 50:54

Yeah, not not that's got that's been this, you know, viral, no.

SPEAKER_00 51:00

Well, I you know, I I think the the Matt and City Ballet should invite him to their openings.

SPEAKER_04 51:07

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 51:09

And that's a way to mend waste.

SPEAKER_02 51:14

I I really feel like a grand gesture is necessary at this point.

SPEAKER_00 51:23

Buy the Shigals and donate them back.

SPEAKER_02 51:26

I need for you, Silverlake, to contact his representatives and present this idea to them.

SPEAKER_04 51:38

And uh Leonardo DiCaprio and uh what's her name? All the people from Inception to go in there and uh plant this in his brain.

SPEAKER_02 51:50

Well, yes, Michael. That's a that's a that's the perfect idea. Yeah. So you contact them and John, you contact Timothy's representatives. I I feel as though if someone were to get to him with this brilliant idea that John Baker has hatched, that he might consider it. Although my gut tells me he would do no such thing, I'm afraid that he might double down on what he said. And rather than making a heartfelt apology, if he has one to make, yeah, who knows if he has genuine remorse. I sort of doubt it. He's turned into absolutely like I said, I would have done a Pelope pit stop, tied myself up in rope, and laid myself across a train track for Timothy up until this week. And now I'm thoroughly disgusted. And oh, Kylie Jenner. Does she weigh in on this?

SPEAKER_04 53:16

Well, that's his girlfriend. Oh, oh yeah, right. Okay, yeah. She can help him.

SPEAKER_02 53:21

They've been together for three years, right? Two years, something like that.

SPEAKER_04 53:26

Oh, yeah, see, I don't pay any attention.

SPEAKER_02 53:27

Hello, I don't pay any attention to any Jenner's. Hello. What do you think about that, John?

SPEAKER_00 53:34

Oh, absolutely. I think that's the way to go. She can step up and help her man and um help with the uh repair job. I mean, they have so many people following them um that they can really turn that uh into something good. They can bring their audience to opera and ballet.

SPEAKER_02 53:57

What do you think? That would be great as a as a pair, as a couple? Anyone? Bueller?

SPEAKER_04 54:08

I don't know. I think they're both kind of meh. So, you know. John.

SPEAKER_00 54:14

You know, uh uh I don't know. I I I I I I guess they have stuff in common, you know.

SPEAKER_05 54:25

I I I don't know.

Ballet Memories, Bugs Bunny, And The Met

SPEAKER_00 54:26

There are these these pairings that just feel like Instagram ready, but they've been together a long time. So whatever they have in common um keeps them together. I don't know. I mean, how can you be that young and have all that attention?

SPEAKER_02 54:44

Well, this is one of the things too that I find very bizarre about Timothée. Timothey I love how you say that is that he seems like someone who would be interested in a more serious type of situation that pulls you in slowly rather than Michael Bay, let's blow up the bridges and the rocket ships.

SPEAKER_04 55:26

Yeah, well, I mean, come on. In the Pacific ships anyway.

SPEAKER_02 55:30

Right. So I I feel as though this I I don't know Kylie Jenner, I just know about her and her family, and my thoughts about them are not particularly elevated, shall we say. Right. And I have up until recently felt like Timothy was an elevated young man.

SPEAKER_04 56:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 56:08

And that that would never be enough for him.

SPEAKER_04 56:12

What a bummer, right?

SPEAKER_02 56:14

Are you kidding me? Gosh, I've experienced it firsthand. Now you know. Now you know.

SPEAKER_00 56:23

Bring back the two-hour Anne Levine show.

SPEAKER_02 56:26

Well, I appreciate I appreciate your thoughts about that. We are going out on Bruce Hornsby's Baker Street.

SPEAKER_04 56:37

No, that would be Jerry Rafferty.

SPEAKER_02 56:40

Excuse me?

SPEAKER_04 56:41

Jerry Rafferty.

SPEAKER_02 56:42

Yeah, Jerry Rafferty.

SPEAKER_04 56:44

Yeah, that's who you said.

SPEAKER_02 56:45

Honey, if I don't make sure you're up there, Mr. Engineer.

SPEAKER_04 56:51

Hello.

SPEAKER_02 56:52

Awake at the wheel. Yeah. Just occasionally gotta do it. Jerry Rafferty, Baker Street. Yeah. In honor of our esteemed guest, John Baker, who we are thrilled to have here. More thrilled than I can describe. And for the Mahatunam, for the beloved Rita Learner of Blessed Memory, who has gone to the world to come. Please put a light on.

SPEAKER_01 57:30

So cold has got so many people, but it's got no soul, and it's taking you so long to find out you're wrong when you thought it held everything. You used to think that it was so easy. You used to think that it was so trying to try to get a lot of people. He's got the dream button, but then it's gonna give up the boots every one night and it's settled down. Quiet little downstairs. Don't we never go when you wake up in the morning? Don't dunno it's a beautiful morning.