Losing Recipes

Jelani and Spencer close out Thanksgiving with a sprawling conversation that moves from farting on airplanes to reimagining the holiday feast, from losing family recipes to a five-year-old navigating questions about his hair. They debate whether cranberry sauce deserves a seat at the table, fantasize about oxtails and plantains joining the lineup, and remember the greens that conjured ancestors. The guys unpack Jelani's son asking to cut his hair after a classmate's comment, Spencer's story of his dad cutting his afro in a barbershop, and the quiet hair revolution happening in Black communities post-COVID. They wrestle with what it means to be the new aunts and uncles of Thanksgiving—hosting, coordinating, and realizing the emotional labor that comes with creating family traditions. Lane Kiffin's move from Ole Miss to LSU becomes a lens for loyalty, transactional culture, and what college football's transfer era means for players left behind. And in a full-circle moment, they shout out Megan Thee Stallion for her recent single celebrating Klay Thompson—a reminder that the quiet ones who know who they are often win in the end.

Quotes

"I'm eternally grateful for my wife for giving me the permission to fail because I have been bred to always achieve. And I have not necessarily had the space to fail."

"At the end of the day, a woman, a young lady, a girl—they want to feel safe in the presence of boys, of men."

"We are losing recipes. That mac and cheese is not going to taste the same, that stuffing is not going to taste the same that you grew up on."

"I truly believe like a piece of me or a version of me legit died that day." — Spencer on his 5th grade haircut

"Don't be on autopilot with these holidays. Come into these holidays with intention."

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