In short
Second Thought discusses three pop-culture/entertainment stories: Brad Pitt’s return to drinking after seven years sober; Cambridge sociology professor Jason Arday’s plagiarism and identity “scam” allegations; and Japan’s “Cool Biz” policy allowing men to wear shorts at work, plus related workplace culture commentary.
Guests
No named guests appear; it’s hosted by Suzy Weiss with co-host Dan Adu.
Guest backgrounds
Not applicable (co-hosts only).
Key claims
Pitt told Esquire he’s drinking again “restrained,” with a few glasses of wine professionally; hosts argue this is a “feel-good” shift amid other celebrity sobriety narratives. Arday allegedly lied about being mute/illiterate until age 18, running 600 miles in six days, comas/locked-in syndrome, raising £5.5M, and more; hosts call him “the Jussie Smollett of Cambridge.” Japan’s policy targets energy savings by cutting AC; hosts mock the 82°F office temperature and “sunahara” leg-hair “harassment” term.
Notable examples
Pitt’s German shepherd co-star and rumored family turmoil; Arday’s memoir publication; Bumble’s “women initiate” feature debate; “One Night Only” rom-com premise review.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOBrad Pitt's Drinking Revelation
0:06 to 0:30
Discussion about Brad Pitt's return to drinking after sobriety.
“I was sick of flipping my pillow every five minutes, so I finally switched out my whole sleep situation for Cozy Earth, and I really don't know what I was waiting for.”
Brad Pitt's Drinking Revelation
1:30 to 2:52
Discussion about Brad Pitt's return to drinking after sobriety.
“It's like all of the summer stories kind of came through on this week.”
Brad Pitt's Life Situation
2:52 to 5:32
Exploration of Brad Pitt's personal life and relationships.
“He has a movie coming out where his co-star is a German shepherd.”
Creative Minds and Alcohol
5:32 to 6:49
Debate over the relationship between creativity and substance use.
“All these kids, they're not drinking alcohol.”
Movie Review: One Night Only
6:49 to 9:10
In-depth review and critique of the film 'One Night Only'.
“I mean, Paul Thomas Anderson made like his best movies on cocaine.”
Trends in Celebrity Relationships
9:10 to 14:00
Discussion on the trend of celebrities dating finance professionals.
“Well, you won't allow to have sex except for one night.”
The Rise of Finance Guys in Pop Culture
14:00 to 21:10
Discussing the trend of celebrities dating finance professionals and its implications.
“who's like got the money he's boring his stories suck but who cares you're the actor you want you You don't want to be upstaged anyway.”
The Rise of Finance Guys in Pop Culture
21:11 to 21:43
Discussing the trend of celebrities dating finance professionals and its implications.
“Every summer I rediscover that my body's preferred sleeping temperature is that of an industrial freezer.”
The Controversy Surrounding Jason Arday
21:59 to 25:40
Examining the scandal of professor Jason Arday and his fabricated life story.
“Because I read the article that you told me to read to prepare for this.”
Jussie Smollett's Infamous Hoax
25:41 to 28:04
Reflecting on the bizarre details of Jussie Smollett's case and its aftermath.
“You can run across the Atlantic Ocean probably.”
Show all 12 chapters
Reflections on Reality TV Makeovers
28:04 to 36:18
Explore the impact of makeover shows and their lasting effects on participants.
“because we're shooting empire on monday i love the old queer eye so much better it was so great It was so great.”
Bumble's Shift in Empowerment Dynamics
36:33 to 40:34
Discuss the recent changes in Bumble's conversation initiation rules and their implications.
“She was the first self-made female billionaire, I believe.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Every summer, I rediscover that my body's preferred sleeping temperature is that of an industrial freezer. Anyone else? I was sick of flipping my pillow every five minutes, so I finally switched out my whole sleep situation for Cozy Earth, and I really don't know what I was waiting for. The rib-knit pajama set is incredible. It's best worn after a full day of sweating in muggy New York City to feel instantly refreshed. These PJs are made from viscose and bamboo and are genuinely breathable. Cozy Earth stands by everything they make. There's a lifetime warranty and 30 days of hassle-free returns if something's not right.
0:30Head to CozyEarth.com and use my code SUZY, that's S-U-Z-Y, for an exclusive 20 % off. That's code SUZY for an exclusive 20 % off. And if you see a post-purchase survey, mention that you heard about Cozy Earth right here. What's Olivia Rodrigo's next album going to be if she's dating this finance guy? It's going to be like, raise the Siri C at a 50 billion cap rate. Like, what? She needs to be with a poet. it. She needs to be with a rock star. The mute, the art's going to suffer. No more mortgage-backed securities for me.
1:03Welcome to Second Thought, your place for hot takes on popular culture and a healthy dose of unpopular culture. I'm Suzy Weiss, and I'm here today with my co-host, Dan Adu. Let's go. Thank you for being here, Dan. Yeah, thank you for having me, Suzy. Today, we're going to be talking about Brad Pitt falling off the wagon, a Cambridge University scammer by the name of Jason Arday and the Japanese government's policy on wearing shorts at work. Dan, are you ready to go? Oh my God. Most important stories of the week. Seriously. It's like all of the summer stories kind of came through on this week. I'm really happy we're locked and loaded and not like everyone else at the Hotel du Cap for Rock d 'Avignon, where everyone else seems to be every second of this summer.
1:46Let's start with Brad Pitt. Oh my God. Insane. So excited about this news. You know, this is the feel good story of the year. Finally, drinking is getting some good press. We've been getting so much bad press. I don't know if I would call it good press. Let's let's tell the viewer what they're in for here, because in case they you missed it. Brad Pitt did a big profile in Esquire magazine where he revealed that after seven years of sobriety, he is off the wagon. He's drinking again. He told the reporter he's drinking in a more restrained manner and that he could have a few glasses of wine. But I can't have a lot.
2:23I have to be professional about it. Yeah, absolutely. Brad Pitt, you are a beacon of light in this world. You know, we've lost a lot of good ones. Bradley Cooper, Miley Cyrus, John Mayer. All on the, oh, my life is so good now that I don't drink. Well, guess what? Clean living. Brad Pitt is our guy now for coming back to the light. It's a huge win for our team. It's a huge win. Of alcoholics. Yeah. Of active alcoholics. I'm hungover right now. Here's the thing about Brad Pitt. He's 62. He has a movie coming out where his co-star is a German shepherd. He has no relationship with his children or his ex-wife.
3:04His children are being forced to take out ads in a local newspaper in order to petition a judge to, you know, get rid of the name Pitt in their last names. It's hyphenated currently Julie Pitt. So at this point, have a drink. How are you not going to drink? Have a drink. Your life sucks. How are you not drinking? Your kids fucking hate you. Enjoy. Have a drink. You're acting with a dog. In the article, he was like, just another gorgeous day at the pits. It's like, what pits? You have no family. You beat them all up on a private plane. So you might as well enjoy yourself. Have a little wine at the end of the day with your German Shepherd or whatever.
3:37His golden doodles that he has. It's like a CGI German Shepherd that he talks to. He's not conserving anything by not drinking. It's not like, yeah, I have to drink to keep my family together. It's done. You already ruined it with the drinking. What did he do? He was like pouring drinks on the kids. He was like, I mean, like physically assaulting Angelina Jolie, pushing her into the bathroom. The kids were hiding under blankets. And he was just basically going berserk. She leaves the plane with the kids, all like 56 of them. and they go to a hotel and then days later they filed for divorce. Days after that, he goes to the famous guy AA meeting where he meets Dax Shepard in Hollywood.
4:20Meetings, correct me if I'm wrong, are like the social scene in California. Absolutely. And, you know, I know a couple people in AA and it is... Oh, I'll say their names. Name them and shame them. It becomes your social life. No question. It becomes your community. And, you know, they're very famous for saying it's a disease and you can't be cured of it. And I call bullshit. Yeah. All diseases have cures. We just haven't found them yet. But guess what? Brad Pitt might have just found it. Yeah. It's just having wine in a restrained manner. There's also like a lot of derivative anonymous meetings.
4:57There's alcoholics, narcotics, also sex and love. Gamblers. Yeah. Gamblers, shoppers, eaters. Yeah. A lot of them. Yeah. Technology, internet. I went to an internet one once. Oh, I could use it. You know, I go on these little breaks. I take like a two-day break. I try to do two days, no Instagram. Oh, wow. It's so brave. Can I have your autograph? You're telling me two days? Can you just sign that for me right there? I don't like to talk about this a lot, but you know. You're a hero. I love Brad Pitt. I love that he's come back to drinking. I also feel like. Yeah, someone has to drink. No one else is.
5:34I'm also, yeah. All these kids, they're not drinking alcohol. They're pulling all the vines out of Napa Valley. Yeah. Everyone's microdosing instead. It's pathetic. It's pathetic. He really has, he's like, he got into matcha. He said in the article, he was all about the cashmere button downs with the ivory buttons. He had his sort of like woo-woo long hair guy thing. And now in his early 60s, he's coming all the way back to basics. He should have never left Jennifer Aniston. That's when everything obviously went downhill. Well, let's talk about his face, though. Yeah, let's. You know, he has a very famous plastic surgery routine.
6:11I mean, it's a secret, but he uses some special laser, I think. Fractal? Is he doing fractals? It's a newfangled laser thing. People are guessing what he does, but whatever he does, like I have friends who are like, I'm doing the Brad Pitt thing, and it's done wonders for my face. He looks like, he's 62, he looks like he's four. He looks like he's four. He looks like he's a baby. Yeah, he's a four-year-old drinking wine now. People forget that some professionals, especially in the arts, do their best work wasted. Hunter S. Thompson, Ernest Hemingway, Amy Winehouse. Okay, I'm not saying they all like it all worked out awesome.
6:46Right. But a lot of people do really. I mean, Paul Thomas Anderson made like his best movies on cocaine. I mean, Elvis was famously imbibing. Johnny Cash, all of these guys. I think to. Why not Brad Pitt? Imbibe while you're performing is one thing. Imbibe while you're creating is another thing. Oh, interesting distinction. I really love that. Yeah. Okay, so in conclusion, Brad Pitt, have a glass of wine. What drink, what would, if you were having Brad Pitt over for dinner, Dan, what would you pour him? Oh, you know what I would pour him? I would pour him a young Sauvignon Blanc. Oh, yeah. Because that's kind of like him.
7:22He's crispy. He looks youthful. And he goes down easy. Yeah. And he did a wonderful job in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Have you seen this movie? Have you heard of this movie? One Night Only. I have heard of it, and I think it's actually a great premise. You do? Yeah. Okay, well, I saw it last night. Tell the kids what the premise is. Okay, it stars Monica Barbaro, any relation to Michael, who knows, and Dua Lipa's husband, Mr. Lipa, Callum Turner. And the premise is that premarital sex is illegal, except for 12 hours one night a year. And everyone is like jonesing to have sex with each other in this one night where you could do it out of wedlock.
8:10Yes. Which is just New Year's Eve. I don't think they needed like a separate like weird sci-fi holiday for it. We already have it. It's called New Year's Eve. What do you think of this premise? I love it. You do? I love it. The purge but sex. It's fun. It's sold. Sold it in the room. You could tell why it sold. the main actors Calum Turner's amazing in it by the way I think he really has staying power look I saw he has a juice I saw the I just saw the trailer and their chemistry is very good so having seen it aside from the terrible plot horrible acting impossible premise and gratuitous product placement it's actually not that bad aside from leaving all of that aside it was kind of good there were some laughs in the theater the thing is though once you compare it to the Mount Rushmore of rom-coms.
9:02Wedding Singer. Okay. My Best Friend's Wedding. Four Weddings and a Funeral. Even just the rom-coms that have weddings in the title. This is cave painting. This is cave... This is fingerprint... This is Open the Schools. That is the kind of rom-com this is. It's like, what if there was a rom-com? Well, you won't allow to have sex except for one night. Wouldn't that be weird and funny? No. I mean, Annie Hall's a rom-com, people. When Harry Met Sally's a rom-com. Well, there's... I don't think I hate about you. There's a romantic. You've got mail. I mean, there was a run of like Friends with Benefits, No Strings Attached, Crazy Stupid Love, EZA.
9:36These were like, I mean, was La La Land a rom-com? Absolutely. Very good rom-com. Anyone But You. Anyone But You. Movies sucked. Really? Made all the money. Made more money than every Woody Allen movie combined. It's the same studio that did it. Oh, really? Anyone But You, yeah. I mean, I hated that movie so much. It sounds like a plain movie. The movie, honestly, One Night Only is a plain movie, too. And it's an okay plain movie because there's no nudity in it because they screen tested it a bunch of times. And every time the director got the feedback that Gen Z or younger audiences or maybe even audiences in general don't want to see nudity anymore, even in an R-rated movie.
10:12You know, I saw that. And is it that they don't want to see nudity or they don't want to see nudity in public with strangers? Because I kind of get that. You're in a room full of strangers and, you know, someone's blowing someone on. It feels a little. it's like whoa what am i doing here who is that that's my neighbor can we splice in a video that dan has watching a sex scene with his parents during covid
10:48that actually changed my brain chemistry that was the most viral video of covid literally it actually was like they were i had like i had like parliamentarian people in parliament in pakistan were dming me what were you watching homeland we were watching homeland and there's a sex scene and my fucking parents are sitting right there immigrants iranian old school they're not used to premarital sex arranged marriage they every night of their life is one night only and yeah i couldn't go anywhere and it was like very she's like having wild sex yeah well she's bipolar yeah she is with with brody yeah with brody oh wow yeah you don't want to watch that with your parents no oh my god no i'd rather see saul berenc and jerking off than watching that sex the second thought awards one night only i've seen it so i'll give it um i'll give it a 3.1 out of 12.
11:48Okay. What about you? I give the trailer an 8 out of 12. Well, trailers are its own art form, really. Well, that's all I've been watching for this show. Yeah, this whole show. You become really into it in your homework. I saw it after a date. I saw it really late. You went on a date? Hold on. You went on a date, and then after the date, you went alone to see the movie? Yeah, I'm committed to this job. All right. Did you leave the date early to go see the movie? Well, I was like, you want to go see One Night Only? He was like, no, I'm good. I was like, fair enough Fair enough, my friend Why don't you text me?
12:18Maybe I should go see the movie with you I was in Times Square, I just didn't feel like coordinating all of that Next time, totally Totally
12:30Okay, speaking of A-listers The transition The A-list, A-list women are all in, apparently, this summer and for previous summers, to be fair on finance guys. Now, now, now, now, now, now, now, now, now. Reese Witherspoon, Andy Cohen, Olivia Rodrigo, Nicole Kidman. They're all dating men in private equity. Finance guys were once derided as like fleece wearing, like fleece vest wearing boring guys, personality-less drones, arch-capitalist chauvinist pigs, if you will. And now they seem to be the hottest new accessory this summer hey what do you have to say it's like a labubu it's a labubu with bucks a big buck labubu a big buck labubu um look i mean let the finance guys have their moment they we've been we've been shitting on them for so long these poor guys yeah poor guys poor guys i mean but also it totally makes sense no celebrity no actor should ever be with another actor actors are the most insane people in life right they're weird shape-shifting humans who can uh we've talked about this before who can like get into other people's lives and feel what they feel that's like a witch yeah that is a witch you need you can't have two witches hanging out together right that is just practical magic you just need you need the stability of some numbers nerd who's like got the money he's boring his stories suck but who cares you're the actor you want you You don't want to be upstaged anyway.
14:10I, for one damn, am despondent about this trend. The fact that Olivia Rodrigo is dating a private equity associate screws up the divisions, the dating divisions for everyone else. What are you going to tell me next? Lingerie models are like obsessed with failing filmmakers. Where do I fit in now? If all of these Olympus level gods are now dating finance guys, who's Sue supposed to date? Next you're going to tell me that, you know, Heidi Klum's daughter is dating a failing jazz trombonist. It's like, I don't really know how I'm supposed to compete here. If Reese Witherspoon is dating bankers, Justin Theroux is single.
14:52Brad Pitt is probably single. There's people for them to date on their level. You know what I mean? But this is better for you, Susie. Why? Because there's going to be a gap to fill. These finance guys are getting in. But then there's going to be a bunch of people who would have been their mates. and those are going to be your mates. Why? You want a finance guy? Is that what you're telling me? I mean, at this point. Why do you want a finance guy? I'm trying to think if I've ever even like truly been on a date with a real life finance guy. Also, no one knows what these guys do. They just say finance guy.
15:21They don't know what they do. And then we have to like assume that they do something with money. It's actually a really good point. Is it venture? Is it? It's usually not venture. It's something else. It's like they take other people's money or they research. Debt refinancing? Debt refinancing. I work in M &A at Credit Suisse. How has Reese Witherspoon not shot herself in the face? Yeah, I know. Like right now, you just saying what you told me, like I feel like I lost 10 years of my life. You said debt equity or whatever, and I'm dying inside. Collateral debt obligations at HSG? Yeah. Yeah, exactly.
15:55What's Olivia Rodrigo's next album going to be if she's dating this finance guy? It's going to be like, raise the Series C at a 50 billion cap rate. Like what? this is not like she needs to be with a poet she needs to be with a rock star the mute the art's gonna suffer no more mortgage back securities for me the amenities in this skyscraper are amazing they got pelotons in the gym that's it that's gonna be that's gonna be the album oh my god the art is gonna suffer yes it's not like we're breaking ground in the news here that like oh my god girls wanna be with rich guys exactly It's like next they're going to have an article.
16:36And by the way, Andrew Zucker wrote this article, friend of the pod, friend of the Suze. We love Andrew Zucker. Great article. But next year they're going to be like, this summer's hottest accessory for the most beautiful woman in the world, a prince. It's like, well, yeah, we all want that. You know what I mean? Like ideally we would all be with like a prince charming. Royalty is on track. Yeah, exactly. It's like always and forever. It's like this fall, girls, they want a tall guy. it's like and the twist with hair it's like yeah well you know we don't know what level these men are playing at no they just say finance guy yeah bullshit is it is it mark rowan out here yeah are they dating bill ackman or are they dating like like you know an intern yeah are you in the mail room at jp morgan i don't think they have a mail room we are we really don't know how to talk about this yeah oh my god but i i think it's fair to say that there's been like a full circle rehabilitation of the finance guy because like probably you couldn't be caught dead during occupy wall street with a finance guy that was 2008 things go in 20 year cycle so this would make sense well i also think it has to do with succession making finance cool um they were in media though they were just rich yeah but that's finance to normal people you know what this summer's hottest accessory a media girl media girl she brings her laptop to the date oh media she's busy they never write that article no that this year's hottest accessory is a uh amateur cultural critic and podcast co-host.
18:18Newsflash. Rich guys are going for hot girls. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Who they could show off. I don't know. I really, I do hope Reese Witherspoon gets the love she seeks in this world. I like it for a third marriage. Go for your finance guy. Olivia Rodrigo is not in finance guy territory yet. No, she's not. We have yet to cycle through like the guy who. Yeah, guitar player, bass player. What other? Sculptor. Oh, yeah. actor's son ooh yeah one of those Nepo baby actor like yeah Tom Hanks' kid or some shit she hasn't been gay she's gonna have to do that for a little bit yeah we have not she's not approached the finish line by which I mean finance guy husband yeah private equity associate it's time for you to Olivia Rodrigo go to the polls yeah Pokemon go to the polls Olivia Rodrigo on a different date yeah and also the finance guy that she's with like dresses all hip he's got like the high neck t-shirt collar thing and like the baggy pants oh i hate that a mock neck yeah he's like he's dressing like the cool kids in williamsburg i'm like you're a finance you have to own it you can't be a finance guy and dress cool he should be in like gordon gecko suits like pinstripe suits with like extremely sharp lapels yeah and like a pinky ring punches people in the face yeah go full american psycho if you're gonna do it right You need one of those J.P.
19:42Morgan I did the J.P. Morgan run t-shirts Oh like a turkey truck guy? Oh my god That's horrible I see them on the West Side Highway All the time with their I did the Credit Suisse run Yeah the Credit Suisse 5K Credit Suisse 5K And now Olivia Rodrigo's gonna go Yeah Olivia Rodrigo is better Than running 5Ks For weird like Make-A-Wish foundations Through Lehman Brothers I ran the 5K for Lehman they still went under this is below even her i deserve it i actually do deserve it she deserves better than this like a lehman brothers goldman sachs 5k is exactly where i should be this sunday by the way is there such a thing as a finance sis why why why have i never met a finance sis out in the world out in the wild they're they're doing the real work finance guys they're having a great summer i wish them all the best call me uh finance sis finances if you out there you out there a finance bro a finance sis deserves a finance bro but she's probably taking care of her stay-at-home boyfriend she needs a comedian she's a comedian wakes up at 11 o 'clock while she's slaving away with the at the at the xl spreadsheets wall street wall street wall street was the name i was trying to come up with here's the thing olivia rodrigo hasn't even dated pete Davidson yet.
21:01She still has like 14 types of guys, including Pete Davidson. She's an old soul. Hell yeah. She's an old soul. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Okay. We'll be right back. Every summer I rediscover that my body's preferred sleeping temperature is that of an industrial freezer. Anyone else? I was sick of flipping my pillow every five minutes. So I finally switched out my whole sleep situation for cozy earth. And I really don't know what I was waiting for. The rib knit pajama set is incredible. It's best worn after a full day of sweating in muggy New York City to feel instantly refreshed. These PJs are made from viscose and bamboo and are genuinely breathable.
21:37Cozy Earth stands by everything they make. There's a lifetime warranty and 30 days of hassle-free returns if something's not right. Head to CozyEarth.com and use my code SUZY, that's S-U-Z-Y, for an exclusive 20 % off. That's code SUZY for an exclusive 20 % off. And if you see a post-purchase survey, mention that you heard about Cozy Earth right here. Dan, have you heard of a certain professor called Jason Arday? Oh, I have. Because I read the article that you told me to read to prepare for this. You really didn't know? I didn't. I don't know why it wasn't on my radar. Maybe it was more of an internet thing.
22:13My algorithm right now is all big game fishing. Like pulling the big fish into the boat. Like a big chartered boat. I actually have seen a lot of those. Oh my God. It's so awesome. It's flooding my... Because the fish are like, they're alive when they get in the boat. Yeah. And it becomes really like almost terrifying for a minute. So yeah, I didn't read about this. I was busy watching Marlon getting scooped onto boats. Jason Arday was a professor of sociology of education at Cambridge University. He's the youngest black tenured professor at the school. He was exposed for plagiarism violations.
22:44He recently resigned from his post. But it turns out he lied about a lot of other personal details. Legend. Which happens to be hilarious. Here's a, and I'm not exaggerating, handful of the dozens of things this guy lied about. He's the Jussie Smollett of Cambridge. Amazing. He claimed he was nonverbal until 11, that he was mute until 11, and that he was illiterate. He could not read or write until he was 18. Fine. claimed he ran 600 miles in six days including with like a broken leg or something hairline fracture he claimed he ran 30 marathons in 35 days he raised 5.5 million pounds for charity he claimed that shortly before his 16th birthday he was hit by a car that his heart stopped for two minutes he spent nearly two and a half months in a coma except he was conscious the whole time because he was suffering from locked in syndrome he also claims he was on a television show that was produced you know before he was born i mean it goes on and on and on wait the craziest one what was he was a kid and these two kids beat him up or something and the cops came and he he said no i will not press charges on these kids and then like when he was a professor in england the two kids ended up being his students and they hugged and said thank you for letting us go that day mahatma gandhi of cambridge this man this non-violent king i actually the meta scam here is that he convinced everyone he's autistic autistic people cannot pull off this level of emotional manipulation that's the whole game but an autistic person can run that much are they amazing at running i don't know but i could imagine them just like not paying attention to their broken stuff and just like looking down and running.
24:28For 600 miles? Yeah. In six days? The best part is when he's pressed on, he's like, all right, it might have been eight days. It's like, no, dude. Like, that's like, it's like, okay, you got me. It was 600 miles in eight days. And it's like, dude, I mean, it's such an indictment. Not of him. Like, he's a forever character. There's always going to be plagiarists, fabulous, scrifters, scammers. What's this guy going to do now? What can he do? Okay, well, the craziest part is that his memoir is being published or was just published. There's just, it just, I love a good scam. He should be, he should do like Catch Me If You Can.
25:02He should like turn this into like how I became an Ivy League professor, how I cheated my way into becoming an Ivy League professor and how my skills can help you in your everyday life. Yes. Like do a self-help book about how to scam people. It's a talented Mr. Ripley. Yeah. It's a scam all the way down. It's great. But you'd think at some point someone would have been like, wait a second. he's the greatest athlete of all time. Like Michael Phelps is in the sociology of education department at Cambridge. Like how can you be all of those things? I mean, he was just, he's fascinating to me. Yeah.
25:36He's, we should have him on the pod. Jason Arday. Yo. If you are listening to this, come on the pod. You could run here. Run here from England. You can run across the Atlantic Ocean probably. You can wait for the Bering Strait to freeze over and run. And just barrel your way through. Through Russia. We'll sit through all of your lectures because we really want to know how you did it. Yeah. I really do think that Jussie Smollett, I wish we had this podcast when all of that was going down because that was unreal. Yeah. That was awesome. The noose. That was so good. The gasoline. He really gave us a show.
26:09The bleach. The bleach. The bleach. They tried to bleach my skin. In Chicago. And then he was at a subway. Like it was really, the devil was in the details with that one. It was so amazing. It was great. Oh my God. Where is Jussie Smollett? Is he teaching acting classes? Honey. he's dating karamo brown what's his name karamo from queer eye you know that oh yeah wait juicy juicy smoothie juicy smoothie he's dating karamo brown from queer eye they were on the cover of people magazine can i tell you something crazy karamo was i knew karamo before he was karamo say more well he was dating uh he was straight or he was married no he was he was gay when i knew Okay.
26:48He was dating the wardrobe person on a show that I was on. And he was like, come to set. And I was like, oh, Karamo. Like, we were friends. Was he cool? Yeah, great guy. He's talked about his relationship with Juicy. And he's like, which is what Dave Chappelle calls Jussie's wine. And he's like, it's just the most open and honest relationship. And it's like, is it really the most honest relationship? It's like, he's like congenital liar. well did they say though that his what were his intentions again he wanted to like wanted to get more money for like season five of empire that's right that's the most amazing part it's like he wanted the studio that made empire to like respect it more yeah which honestly respect respect yeah get your money and he would like he did like fake um like hate mail and fake ransom notes and stuff it was really bizarre there's an amazing documentary about the whole thing and it's kind of says it shows both sides but then the side that's like pro juicy is just sort of like we might never know what is truth and it's like well we would know if he bought the uber for the nigerian twins to come beat him up and text them like beat me up but like be careful of my face because we're shooting empire on monday i love the old queer eye so much better it was so great It was so great.
28:11That was the best. They would come in and a guy would be living on a pallet with a plaid flannel sheet on top. And they'd be like, we could work with this. Let's put a mirror on the ceiling. It'll really open up the room. It was so sweet, actually. I would love to do a where are they now with those guys that were queer-eyed. See if any of those things stuck. Oh, where are they now with the people on the show? Well, it's like Biggest Loser. Historically, they do gain it back. And Kitchen Nightmares. All those restaurants go out of business. And Tabitha's Salon Takeover. Yeah. Why don't they do any of those great shows anymore where they go in and like glow up a business or a person?
28:50I'm Tabitha, I'm taking over. Because she was Australian. I'm Tabitha and I'm taking over. And then like you'd be in like a random salon in like Long Island. There'd be rats everywhere. And they would like not, they'd be reusing the foil that they used to dye the hair. and it was like, how did I get this bad? What was the food one? There was a food one too. Well, Kitchen Nightmares. Kitchen Nightmares. Kitchen Nightmares is always crazy to me because - That's Gordon Ramsay. Every time Gordon Ramsay goes to these places, he's like, okay, let's go look at the walk-in. And he goes into the walk-in freezer and it's the most disgusting thing.
29:25Like there's rats. It's rotted, yeah. Like there's like, you know, there's like an orangutan, like a dead orangutan in the corner. Like it's like, and it's like, have you guys not watched this show? Do you not know that he's going to go into your walk-in? Can you not spruce the place up just a little? And they're always like, oh. Perhaps remove the dead hooker from the fridge. Do you know he's going there? And the Greek guy's like, I didn't know he's going to go to the free. I didn't know he's there. You watch the show, bro. He's going to go into the stupid walk-in. They would put crazy stuff in there to make it even more crazy.
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30:03Oh, my God. I never even watched the show. But like imagine being Gordon Ramsay waking up in the like Chicago O 'Hare area, very up being like, God, what am I going to see today? I'm going to see some like rotting duck that's been in there for years. Like that's just not it's like not dignified for him. And he always smells his. Ah, it's like you didn't have to smell it, bro. You know what five-year-old kefir is going to smell like. It's green. It's green. You know it smells bad. There's asbestos and mold in that rocket. You're like a billionaire, man. Forget it. You shouldn't be smelling this stuff.
30:47Didn't Jamie Oliver do a similar show too? Jamie Oliver did a show where he would go into schools and try to feed these kids clean lunches or whatever. I know. And then he'd show them the pink slime where they make the chicken nuggets. And then he'd be like, which one do you want to eat? They'd be like, chicken nuggets. You gave me the slime. A chicken nugget always beats a fresh chicken tender. There's no competition. No, of course not. First of all, we at the Free Press. We had chicken fingers. We had fucking chicken fingers ordered in. It was our staff meal. It was like a seven-year-old's birthday party up there.
31:20It was crazy. It was disgusting. They're like classy journalists dressed nicely picking up chicken. And there was no forks. it is a good thing that the free press is not in japan where there is a different standard for professionalism the japanese government you know when you hear things about what other governments do and they're like whoa i didn't even know they could outlaw that when it's like you could have two children in china now it's like what like you just that wasn't allowed here's what's up in japan men according to the japanese government will now be allowed to wear shorts in the office for the first time the decision was targeted at making office like more appealing while also cutting down on air conditioning to preserve energy this is happening under japan's cool biz initiative i also have to say the office temperatures in japan according to this article are set at guess um uh 82 degrees fahrenheit get out of here it's a sauna Of course they can't wear shorts.
32:23They can't wear anything. Wow. It's not a sauna. It's an onsen. Whatever it is, it's so wrong to have an office set at that temperature. I mean, imagine if these men walked into an American office. That's a walk-in freezer to them. That's literally a walk. You need a parka. I mean, just walking into the Aritzia is like a cold front. I mean, it's like there's different weather patterns in there that keep it so cold. Absolutely. look I didn't know what I thought about this when I read it and then I saw some video footage and I don't like this of Japanese men in shorts there's something about the Japanese leg Japanese men's legs there's something about them and I'll tell you what it is I was thinking about it why does this feel so discombobulating to look at these legs the problem is they have the skin of a Nordic man but the hair of a Middle Eastern man.
33:18Japanese men have really hairy legs? Very hairy legs. Really? On very soft, supple skin. It's a little bit of a mind fuck and I don't think I like it. Okay, so they said that there is a new term in Japan called sunahara, which is leg hair, means leg hair harassment. This is the most Japanese thing. Oh my God. They have a term for everything. It's for how women feel about looking at male co-workers' legs because the women are in a bruja. They don't like this. Okay, the women, the article also said, it's like, well, and women are expected to continue wearing pantahose in the office. It's like, is this 1952?
33:52Like, why is Japan, like, why is their office culture in, like, the mid-century? Pantahose? I don't even know where I would buy those. I don't know. Look, the Japanese people do things differently. That's true. We're not breaking news here, you know? They do be doing things differently. It's so weird. It's so weird. You know what else they do in the workplace? they can go out and get completely hammered with their boss like almost like get into like a fist fight with them really and then come back to work the next day like nothing happened like totally acceptable to get plastered and make an ass of yourself and then be totally fine the next day i've never been to japan what i've never been to the osana uh onsen um japan is the best amazing it's the most different place from anywhere else on earth this is very white guy of you what to love japan well when anthony bourdain went there okay um there you go there it is first of all i think i'm not seeing that movie just to be clear but obviously yeah because last time i talked about anthony bourdain i almost got the wall all right and as a as a as a woman who hopes to marry a straight man yeah when it comes to anthony bourdain that's a never that's a that don't talk about him they really it's a very special character in their hearts yeah and they really don't want I didn't hear you say anything.
35:12It's like when girls are like, what sports? It's like, don't do that. They don't like that. But Susie, the call is coming from inside the building. I'm also an Anthony Bourdain guy. Really? I love him. You love him? I love him. I walked into the coffee shop today. Someone's reading Kitchen Confidential quite performatively, if I may add. And I was just like, get a room. Japan, we stand with you on your cool biz initiative. But just turn down the heat in the office. Yeah. If the American office place was mandated to be 82 degrees Fahrenheit, you would have a civil war. You would have an actual revolution.
35:45100%. We will be right back with more Second Thought. Every summer, I rediscover that my body's preferred sleeping temperature is that of an industrial freezer. Anyone else? I was sick of flipping my pillow every five minutes, so I finally switched out my whole sleep situation for Cozy Earth, and I really don't know what I was waiting for. The rib-knit pajama set is incredible. It's best worn after a full day of sweating in muggy New York City to feel instantly refreshed. These PJs are made from viscose and bamboo and are genuinely breathable. Cozy Earth stands by everything they make. There's a lifetime warranty and 30 days of hassle-free returns if something's not right.
36:18Head to CozyEarth.com and use my code SUZY, that's S-U-Z-Y, for an exclusive 20 % off. That's code SUZY for an exclusive 20 % off. And if you see a post-purchase survey, mention that you heard about Cozy Earth right here. huge news in the swipe world bumble is no longer women initiate the conversation what's the point of bumble now that was the whole thing it's empowering women let me ask you something as a woman did you enjoy this feature did you like the power of being able to be the first one to reach out i'm not on bumble i've never been on bumble have you been on bumble i have but i i didn't like have that much luck with it right i also don't think like why would i want another thing i have to do like women already have to like do their hair get to the place like have an outfit like whatever why would i also want to initiate it doesn't like it's like the one thing left yeah it's like it's like oh no you also have to do that and hey it's like no i'd like to maybe be asked out it's like how like how much are they gonna drag us through the mud it's like oh no you have to ask him out too it's like this is pathetic it's first reese witherspoon now this it is pathetic i always thought that too i was like is this like empowering or is it like it's just like let's take every part of chivalry and just fucking shoot it out shoot it out back yeah run run a stake through its heart it did um it seemed like one of those like or like 2010s initiatives where it's like we're gonna stop women from being harassed by making it so the woman can reach out and it's like what about those of us who want to be asked out yeah and don't want to do that like i oh i'm sorry i didn't know i was talking to a pilgrim i am a pilgrim i am a puritan uh yeah called me old-fashioned i don't want to be on a dating app begging for someone to take me out i guess that makes me so trad but yeah whitney wolf heard in the whole story behind And Bumble's very interesting because she was part of Tinder.
38:25She was the first self-made female billionaire, I believe. Wow. Or one of the first. And she claimed that she came up with the term Tinder, that she was sexually harassed out of Tinder. So this was sort of like the safe space dating app started by kind of one of the original girl bosses. She was projecting. She was projecting. We never needed this feature. I haven't been on Bumble, but I'm happy to see it go. But now what's my incentive, though, to leave Hinge and go on to Bumble if it's exactly like Hinge but yellow? Yeah, Bumble's been taking a tumble. I think the stock price. Don't say that ever again.
38:55You know what? That was the craziest thing that you said without trying to be ironic. You weren't even trying to be funny. Bumble's been taking a tumble. Oh my god. Trying to stay humble. We're here, not here to grumble. Because Bumble's taking a tumble. Do you like to grumble at the humble house? Olivia Rodrigo, if you dated a Bumble. Olivia Rodrigo should date me. Yeah. Your lyrics would shine. Yes. Yeah, I think Bumble's been on the downward trajectory for a while. I am anti-dating app in general, so I hope it dies a fiery death. And if this helps sort of bring that on faster, then I'm all for it.
39:34Thank you so much for listening to Second Thought. The best way to support Second Thought is to subscribe to the free press at thefp.com slash subscribe. Thanks. Thanks for listening to this episode of Second Thought. If you're listening on Apple or Spotify, please give the show a follow. And if you have a second, consider leaving us a five-star rating or write us a nice review. It really helps us out. You can also get my weekly culture column by subscribing to the free press at vfp.com.
40:17The fashion event of the year is certified fresh. Pull yourself together. We have work to do. Critics say it's smart and witty and the perfect sequel. That's all. Get runway ready for The Devil Wears Prada 2 on Disney Plus and Hulu. Rated PG-13.
From the publisher
In this episode, Suzy Weiss and Dan Ahdoot unpack this week's very important culture news and spotlight the bizarre stories you probably missed.
They celebrate Brad Pitt’s return to drinking “in a more restrained manner” after seven years of sobriety. They explore the Tokyo government’s decision to let men wear shorts to the office—and the resulting concern over “leg hair harassment” from the women forced to look at their hairy shins. And they investigate the extraordinary case of former Cambridge professor Jason Arday, whose alleged fabrications include being mute until age 11, illiterate until 18, running 600 miles in six days, and surviving a monthslong coma.
Plus: Jussie Smollett and Karamo Brown’s blossoming relationship, what Olivia Rodrigo dating a finance guy means for Suzy’s romantic prospects, and why Bumble is giving up on women making the first move.
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