In short
Second Thought discusses pop-culture “viral” obsessions and controversies: Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey (casting/craft debates), a lettuce-related “Taco Bell plague” scare tied to Taylor Farms, Tom Brady’s “midlife crisis” retirement reinvention (romance, fashion/viral fights, potential wrestling), a deformed Seattle raccoon “Jimothy,” South Carolina’s lawsuit over illegal face/neck/head tattoos, CEO-style outsourced parenting, and SNL/halftime-show/music commentary.
Guests
Suzy Weiss (host) and Dan Adut (co-host). No other guests appear.
Key claims
The Odyssey avoids culture-war framing; casting choices (Matt Damon as Odysseus; Lupita brief as Helen; Benny Safdie as Agamemnon) are debated. Whole Foods discounting Taylor Farms lettuce is “lettuce roulette.” Brady’s post-retirement choices resemble “divorce behavior” and “becoming the Rock.” Jimothy unites Seattle; face tattoos are “commitment.” CEO parenting outsources drudgery; SNL exit is career-timing.
Notable examples
John Leguizamo “steals the show” in The Odyssey; Taylor Farms supplies Taco Bell; Jimothy tattoos; Tiny Zaps suing South Carolina; Wall Street Journal CEO-parent staffing ($250k); Chloe Fineman leaving SNL.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VODiscussion on The Odyssey and Tom Brady
0:06 to 0:30
A lively conversation about The Odyssey, its casting, and Tom Brady's recent behavior.
“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.”
Discussion on The Odyssey and Tom Brady
1:24 to 11:09
A lively conversation about The Odyssey, its casting, and Tom Brady's recent behavior.
“I have not seen it, and I'm dying to see it.”
Discussion on The Odyssey and Tom Brady
11:17 to 12:09
A lively conversation about The Odyssey, its casting, and Tom Brady's recent behavior.
“that most topics deserve more honesty and more depth than they're getting.”
Tom Brady's Midlife Crisis
12:09 to 14:00
Exploration of Tom Brady's recent choices and behavior post-retirement.
“When did Tom Brady first come on your radar?”
Tom Brady's Breakup and Public Image
14:00 to 14:54
Discussion on Tom Brady's behavior post-breakup and how it may be affecting his public persona.
“But there's something about it for me where it's like the man loves to entertain and do you blame him?”
Retirement Plans for Tom Brady
14:54 to 15:43
Speculation on potential retirement activities for Tom Brady, including various lifestyle choices.
“I don't think Tom Brady actually should become Oprah.”
Sports Career Possibilities
15:43 to 16:51
Exploration of whether Tom Brady could excel in other sports like golf and the idea of him as a multi-sport athlete.
“He should just make the next rumble or something.”
The Legend of Jimothy the Raccoon
16:51 to 19:04
Introduction to Jimothy, the famous raccoon in Seattle, and the public's mixed reactions to him.
“Evan's just like, yeah, that's who it is.”
Public Sentiment and Jimothy
19:04 to 20:44
Discussion on how Jimothy has brought people together in Seattle and analysis of his popularity.
“I think the Odyssey can bring people together if people would let it.”
Debating Jimothy's Nature
20:44 to 21:56
A humorous debate on Jimothy's character, with opinions ranging from love to fear.
Show all 19 chapters
The Rise and Fall of Jimothy
21:56 to 22:54
Speculation about Jimothy's future and how public affection could lead to unintended consequences.
Face Tattoos and Cultural Perceptions
22:54 to 24:10
Discussion on the meaning of face tattoos and societal attitudes towards them.
“I'm pro face tattoo because if you are the type of person, I'm more anti-tramp stamp than I am face tattoo.”
Tattoo Laws in South Carolina
24:10 to 25:50
Exploration of the legal landscape surrounding tattoos in South Carolina and the implications of existing laws.
“It was illegal to get a tattoo in South Carolina until 2004.”
Public Spaces and Tattoo Shops
25:50 to 27:24
Discussion on the appropriateness of tattoo parlors near schools and public spaces.
“But I do think there's sort of a question about obscenity and public decency and whether any of those things are enforceable or should be.”
Cultural Icons and Tattoos
27:24 to 28:00
Discussion on famous figures with tattoos and how they influence societal views on body art.
“They're kind of like, you got to build up to it.”
The Tattoo Conversation
28:00 to 31:40
Explore the cultural significance and personal stories behind face tattoos.
“That's the sort of, it's like a claw situation.”
Humor in Parenting and Celebrity Gossip
31:41 to 36:52
Discuss the absurdity of celebrity parenting and the role of outsourcing in child-rearing.
“We'll be right back with more Biden cultural commentary after a word from our sponsors.”
Chloe Fineman's Departure from SNL
36:53 to 45:40
Analyze the implications of Chloe Fineman leaving SNL and what it means for her career.
“a lot in the tech community, and they're staffing up.”
Exploring Scientology
45:40 to 45:52
A lighthearted conversation about Scientology and its perception in pop culture.
“Thank you so much for listening to Second Thought, where we get into popular culture and also unpopular culture and give you our unfiltered takes about what's going on in the news and culture.”
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. The only reason I mentioned it is because our Taylor Swift clips go viral. Yeah, Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift, Taylor Farms, Swift, Slife Labs, Diarrhea. Yeah. Perfect. Boom. Yeah, yeah. Welcome back to Second Thought, where you'll find unfiltered takes on pop culture and the best stories from unpopular culture. Yes, those things that are under-discussed and under-reported.
1:06I'm Suzy Weiss, and today I am joined by my co-host, the great Dan Adut. The great Dan Adut. We're going to talk about a few things. Tom Brady's midlife crisis, the Taco Bell plague, and of course, the Odyssey. Yes. You ready? I am ready. Let's start with Twitter and everyone's new obsession, The Odyssey. Dan, have you seen it? I have not seen it, and I'm dying to see it. What's your favorite book in The Odyssey? I always forget. Oh, my God. Where's the cyanide pill in my mouth? I don't know, man. Iliad, is that one? That's a different poem. I saw it yesterday in IMAX. I will add that I was in the front row of The Odyssey, which is like going to Baghdad for a culture reporter.
1:51Like that's as close as you're going to get to the front lines when you were in the front IMAX row. So really, I saw the bottom right hand corner of the Odyssey. Yeah. It was amazing. Really? Yes. I'm so excited to hear that because I wanted to hate it. You probably wanted to hate it. But I like going into things wanting to hate them and then like they're awesome. I mean, if Christopher Nolan directed Traffic, I'd watch three hours of it. You know what I mean? Like this guy is just so at the top of his game. There's been a lot of people are trying to kind of map the culture war onto it and say like, okay is it a woke movie is it a base movie does this casting decision which translation did he use did he use the fagels or the emily wilson translation yeah which is emily wilson's like kind of the woker i guess translation of it but it sort of evades all of those things that's great i did have problems with the casting but not on like culture war grounds i mean people didn't like lupita because first of all this is troy troy hasn't existed what you're gonna get a troy a Troy person?
2:46Yeah, exactly. They didn't have Anne Hathaway back then either, man. Yeah, yeah. I mean, for Charlize Theron with lip fillers. Like, let's give it a rest. But I mean, also the idea that Lupita Nyong 'o, it's like, they didn't cast Che Diaz as Helen of Troy. Right. You know what I mean? Like, she's stunning. She's beautiful. She's regal. She's also in the movie for like 30 seconds. It's really not. Charlize Theron, who no one's talking about, is in the movie much longer. She plays Calypso. And how is she? Fabulous. She's awesome. She crushes a sorter and sandal film. You know what I mean? Yeah.
3:18I mean, I did not think Matt Damon was the right Odysseus. You know, it's hard for me to comment. I haven't seen the movie, but Matt Damon, he can do no wrong for me. No, you were watching and you're like, why is Talented Mr. Ripley on that boat? You really had that thought. Also, apparently. Why is Jason Bourne? Tom Hardy. Yeah, Jason Bourne. Tom Hardy, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christian Bale all turned it down. Yeah. And then so the whole time you're sort of thinking like, oh, my God, Christian Bale would have crushed this. I'm like, why don't they give it to an Oscar Isaac or an Adam Driver? Someone who's like a little more like rougher or something.
3:56Something about Matt Damon. It's like he's like plays like suburban or something to me. Yeah. He's too Matt Damon. Yeah. He's too Matt Damon about it. Yeah. It's like you're either going to be in a space alien movie like trying to get home or. Oh, yeah. The Martian. Yeah. Or you have to. Trying to get home is kind of his thing. Yeah, that's his thing. That is his thing. He's always trying to get home. Yeah, there's something that didn't translate for me. But there's also, it's like, you get to be Odysseus, but then you know like 10 other guys who Christopher Nolan preferred turned down the role.
4:26Yeah. And it's also, it is Christopher Nolan's movie. He is the star of it. Yeah. He's, I heard that like, he's filming it on one of these random films that needs to be replaced every - Every three minutes. That's why everyone said no, because they can only shoot for three minutes at a time. and then they had to like reassemble things. That's so crazy. It was crazy. Is that really necessary? It looked pretty great, but I don't think I would have known the difference. Yeah. I saw Oppenheimer on my laptop. Really? Yeah. It was great. I loved it. I mean, people are freaking out about the Elliot Page and Lupita Nyong 'o.
5:01No one's talking about the fact that Agamemnon, the king of Sparta, is played by Benny Safdie. Yeah. Sorry, what? That's insane. Are you good? Benny Safdie? The guy who played like the mentally challenged brother in Good Time? That's where we're at? As Agamemnon? That is what people need to be horrified by. He's Jewish, then his brother Menelaus is played by John Berthal. Yeah. Who's also Jewish. I'm like, what is this? What is this casting? Enough. Are you anti? Get them out of here. Wait, hold on. Let me just get this straight. Yes. Are you saying that Jews cannot play kings? King David. They can be in Uncut Gems.
5:42They can be King Dave. They can be in Fiddler. Why do they need to be in this? Wait, but why is it okay for a black person to pay someone from Troy, even though - It just worked better. I was like, why is John Berthal here? He looks like he's at a kiddish. Behold, I am the king of Sparta. Yeah, yeah. Sparta. No, I mean, you don't - I don't even think you see Benny Safdie's face in it, but I'm just like, huh? Yeah. What do I do? Okay. It's like, it feels stunty. like for shock value honestly i had no problem with elliot page thought it was fine but i was like benny safia's agamemnon is wasiled wow okay adam driver would have been a great agamemnon why wasn't he in this movie i'm so upset that's people are wrong are upset about the wrong casting choices i will also say that john leguizamo john leguizamo he's so underrated john leguizamo is one of the best like that america has to offer in everything remember in the baz lerman romeo Juliet.
6:39He plays Tybalt. Yes. So good. So good. Like serious performance. And he's in this movie, The Odyssey. He's incredible. He's awesome. That's that makes me happy. That makes me happy. I would say he stole the show. Whoa. Yeah. I think I'm giving I'm giving him the Oscar. The second the second thought hair clip award for best acting in The Odyssey goes to John Leguizamo. You don't even know his name and you're giving him an award. It's just that I can't pronounce things. Okay. There's a major outbreak of lettuce disease going around in the country. No one is safe. It's crazy. Unless you just don't get lettuce from Taylor Farms.
7:19Yeah, yeah, yeah. In that case, it's fine. But is it Taco Bell related? Does Taylor Farms supply to Taco Bell? Taylor Farms supplies to Taco Bell, which is where a lot of people got sick, but also it's like Taco Bell. So how do you know if it's the lettuce or the Taco Bell? That's true. That's true. But I mean, you would know. There was a time pre-GLP1s where someone might want a little bit of a diarrhea outbreak because then you get skinny for summer, but now I don't think there's any use for it. Oh my God. Is there puking involved too? Don't ever say that in public. What? What? You were dreaming for a diarrhea?
7:51I wasn't seeking it out. You know, a lot of these thoughts can be inner thoughts. Some of these could be for the inside. It's actually an incredibly good point. The The disease sounds like a character in the Odyssey. Cyclopsaurus, it's a cyclops. Cy - Here's the thing, I can't pronounce things. So you know those videos of Candace Owens making fun of her for saying architecture? Yeah. But really it was about the architecture. I want you to understand. You're never gonna see me laughing at those cause I know where I stand. So the lettuce scare is going on. What I thought was particularly funny was there is a clip of, there's a picture of this lettuce is being sold at Whole Foods.
8:29Taylor Farms lettuce. Taylor Farms lettuce is being sold at Whole Foods and they're giving it 50 % off. Oh my God. 50 % off. They didn't take it off the shelves. They didn't take it off the shelves. They were like, hey, if you want to risk diarrhea. Lettuce roulette. What is your number? What's your number? Is 50 % off enough for you to risk it? I don't buy lettuce. You know what? I don't. I'm not really buying lettuce at all. That's the thing. This scare made me realize how unhealthy I am because they're like, you can't have lettuce. I'm like, oh, that's fine. That's super easy If they were like There's a There's a french fry outbreak I'd be like Rending my garments And gnashing my teeth In the street I swear to god I would be I'm like Yeah we're good here This is completely dodging me There's no problem whatsoever Yeah What kind of lettuce is it?
9:13Is it cabbage Romaine Jam Little jam First of all I don't think I don't think cabbage Is a kind of lettuce Let's start there Fact check Jamie Where's Joe Rogan's Slave Jamie? We need him Yeah it shows here Cabbage is different Jamie's got no personality if cabbage isn't a lettuce I'm a fucking golden retriever I mean what are you talking about cabbage is the ultimate lettuce it's horrible you're doubling down yeah I think it's iceberg I think it's basic B iceberg yeah this is not a problem for me no neither is it for us unless you're having a wedge unless you're having a wedge the only place I'm having a wedge is at a steakhouse with some bacon on it a bacon wedge that's just a delivery mechanism for ranch dressing at that point yes I agree 100 % yeah I'm having no problems with this if you are the Whole Foods if you are a Whole Foods shopper who would go for the lettuce at 50 % off I want to meet you we need a call in line we need a line at the bottom of the screen where people can call in like Howard Stern I think that would be really great is there any other foods besides a wedge salad that you would even that you'd use iceberg for when you shred it up for a burger shred it up for a burger shred it up for a taco it's a packing peanut of greens yeah it's just unnecessary No one needs it.
10:27It is. It is unnecessary. It's a fun textural, you know, it's a fun texture. It's an architectural addition. Yeah. Taylor Farms. Nothing to do with Taylor Swift. Oh, I'm sure she's getting on those servers. She's getting her bots. Yes, she is. To figure out the Cyclops epidemic. The only reason I mentioned it is because our Taylor Swift clips go viral. Yeah. Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift, Taylor Farms, Swift, Cyclops, Diarrhea. Yeah. Perfect. Boom. Yeah, yeah. Cha-ching! Okay, so Second Thought Podcast, Mark Safe from Cyclopspora. You shouldn't be having lettuce anyway. What are you, just like virtue signaling that you're healthy?
11:07Certainly not. Enough with the stupid lettuce. We'll be right back to discuss Tom Brady's midlife crisis after a word from our sponsors. And now a quick word from our sponsor. At The Free Press, we're pretty obsessed with one big idea, that most topics deserve more honesty and more depth than they're getting. So I want to tell you about a podcast that's doing exactly that. It's called Unpacking Israeli History. If you follow the news about Israel, you're getting headlines. But headlines are just a tiny slice of a long, complicated, and fascinating story without the depth or the context that you deserve.
11:38On Unpacking Israeli History, Dr. Noam Weissman dives deep into the events, the people, and the moments that shaped Israel with genuine empathy and a willingness to explore multiple perspectives. And when he brings in guests like the philosopher Mika Goodman or the journalist Haviv Reddiger, they only add to that depth. It's deeply researched storytelling for people who want to understand Israel rather than confirm what they already think. And in today's climate, that's rare. Find Unpacking Israeli History on your favorite podcast app or YouTube and subscribe today. Dan, what do you think about Tom Brady?
12:10Do you know who Tom Brady is? Of course I know who Tom Brady is. Let's start from basics. Let's start from the basics. That is so insulting. I don't know. I don't know. When did Tom Brady first come on your radar? Thomas was on my radar. You know, I am a kind of a Giants fan, I guess. I'm supposed to say that. He was the villain for a long time to New York Giants fans. But then you get through this thing where you're the old guy, and then you pull for the old guy to win over the hot new young quarterback. But we're not here to talk about that. We're here to talk about what Tom Brady's been doing lately, which is losing his goddamn mind.
12:45In his retirement, Tom Brady is making some interesting choices. Yes. Tom Brady has gotten some sort of facelift, facework, dermaplaning done. Jury's out on that. We have an investigation team working on it. Okay, great. Tom Brady has been linked romantically to Alex Earle. He put out a water called Good Nut, a coconut water. Okay. He's very into the white party. He got roasted. And then he appeared at Kevin Hart's roast. What was the other? Oh, and then crazily. Oh, he watched in the Balenciaga fashion show. Seeing each one of these things is alarming. And now he's getting into these viral clip, fake-ish fights with Logan Paul, who's in the WWE.
13:27And it sort of seems like he's laying the foundation to maybe himself become a professional wrestler. This is extremely divorce behavior. As we know, Giselle left him for her... Jiu-jitsu instructor. Jiu-jitsu instructor. and I'm I mean this is like Michael Jordan doing QVC at a certain point. It's worse than that. Yeah it's worse than that. I feel like Michael Jordan could move some you know move some product. He can move some product and he should but this is crazy like he's he's taking his triple A status Yeah. and just like really cheapening it I think. But there's something about it for me where it's like the man loves to entertain and do you blame him?
14:05I don't think it's that. You ever go through a breakup and you want to like you want to show hot pictures of yourself oh interesting i think he's just like i think he's really broken up with this giselle thing and he's just doing this to like kind of hey look at me yeah out there babe i got this new watch yeah i got this new watch look at me in my white in my white outfit i know it's really she's probably like sending him videos of her having sex with a jujitsu guy and he's like dying inside and he has to like he has to you know the whole thing though at least for us i don't know what what how what giselle's getting out of it for me i'm like this is a reverse dwayne the rock johnson like the rock was a wrestler and then became kind of respected that's usually tom brady was respected and now he's becoming the rock it's it's yeah this is not the natural order of things this is not the natural order of things it's very weird to me also it's like what happens next like where do you go from wwe with logan paul like live netflix event like what's your next move he's gonna play chess in washington square park with people he's gonna become a chess hustler that would actually be awesome if you were tom brady what would your retirement plan be he's only 49 it's really it's the new 35 as we know what would you how would you spend your days if i were tom brady yeah you know you you do you do like oprah winfrey shit you get an island you go to montecito montecito you know you uh start to garden You got to book, do a book club.
15:33I don't think Tom Brady actually should become Oprah. I don't think that's his lane. Okay. Or he could, he should lean into the whole like workout dieting thing. Like create that product, create gyms. Oh yeah. I love that. He should just make the next rumble or something. Yes. Next berries. Yes. Call it Tom's. Tom's. He won the Superbowl and said, one day I'm going to be a wrestler. Did he win the Superbowl like a million times? A million times. Why isn't he becoming a right-wing podcaster? There's so many avenues available to him. Yeah, yeah. Why isn't he Andrew Huberman? Yeah, I mean, I think Andrew Tate just got arrested, so he can take that.
16:14Okay, there's an opening. Hello, someone call Tom. Okay, seriously, we should be retired career consultants. Yeah. Because we just came up with a million great ideas for Tom Brady. Also, here's my question. I don't know how sports work. If he started golfing, would he not become the greatest golf player of all time? I don't think that's how sports work. Really? Yeah. I feel like I, historically there's been, who's that athlete who was like baseball and football? Like they did both? Oh, Bo Jackson. Was that it? I think so. So like, that's the move. Holy cow. I can't believe I got that right. That was amazing.
16:48You guys should be more impressed that I got that right. I'm really impressed. Evan's just like, yeah, that's who it is. She started this out asking me if I know who Tom Brady is. And I knew Bo Jackson. You whipped out Bo Jackson. Yeah. Well, that's the thing. I just feel like there's certain sports for certain age levels and he could really do a great job. She got into Maj. You should get into Mahjong. Mahjong, baby. Bingo. Yeah. Just give in. Be old. Eat Jell-O. I know. Move to the villages. Do you have another story for us? Oh, I do. Okay. I don't know if this got on your radar, but I sent you the link.
17:26I don't know if you looked at it. There is a raccoon in Seattle that has taken over the city called Jimothy. What? Isn't Jimothy an office reference? Jimothy? Oh, I don't know. I think it was like an office joke. Wait. Okay. Have you seen Jimothy? I saw this link that you sent me of this. It's like a creature with scoliosis. It's like if a raccoon was a circle. It's so disgusting. It's the worst thing I've ever seen. Wait. He's like the hunchback of public campgrounds. I know. do you love him i think he's so cute you think he's cute he has like a spot like first people were like what the hell is this thing on instagram and then like everyone embraced him he's got a spinal disorder he's got like half the spine that you need as a as a raccoon so he's like folded in and he's like running like a folding chair he's like a collapsed sort of like bunk bed or something i don't even know how to describe him he's so cute and he's taken over the city and people People like him or hate him.
18:24They love him. They're getting tattoos of him. They're getting Jimmy T tattoos. This is like Chunk from the Goonies. It's like you're horrified, but then ultimately you have so much love for this creature. It has brought the city together like nothing before. Seattle? This is Seattle? Seattle. More than Chaz. He probably works at Microsoft. He probably makes more than us. It's very cute, and I'm very pro. So look, it seems like this is the summer of things uniting people that are not like politics or whatever. Oh, interesting. You know, the Knicks brought all of New York together. Knicks, for sure.
19:00Jimothy is bringing Seattle together. I love this. I'm a big fan of nonpartisan things bringing everyone together. It's like the reverse summer of 2020. Yeah, exactly. I think the Odyssey can bring people together if people would let it. Yeah. I'm not trying to hang out with Jimothy. Jimothy really scares me. Jimothy. I think Jimothy is like an omen, like a demon maybe from below. I think he's getting everyone to become in love with him. And so he'll unleash his curse or attack on one time. Remember Peanut from last summer? Yes. That squirrel that that guy hooked? Yes. And then like they shot it or something?
19:36Yeah, the feds. The feds came and killed Peanut. Oh, no. Hopefully the feds won't come and they're like this creature. I mean, let's be real. Jimothy is an abomination. Holy cow. God's green earth. Please post this. I want you guys to come at her in the comments. Really? Do not. This is your, you're besmirching the good, the good name of Jimothy. Here's the thing. Like if I was in a room with Jimothy, I would like, I can't even think about it. It would be like fear factor. It would be so scary. That would be the case with any raccoon, but I think especially this one. Okay. You have to see there.
20:12They found foot in, because now everyone's going into their ring cams for years to see if they can find Jimothy. And there's like a bait. We're going to be rich. Someone found baby Jimothy. And baby Jimothy is going to melt your cold, dead heart. People are going through their ring cameras. Yeah. This is what we're trading our surveillance for. This is what we're trading all of our privacy for, is the chance of maybe capturing an image of the baby version of a viral, deformed raccoon sensation. Yes. And I think it's worth having a police state in all of our cities, just in case there's another Jimothy in a different city.
20:47we can catch we can catch it from from its birth to its death what's your stance on adoption versus um like are you dogs or humans okay i mean i guess both i'm very against rescue animals yeah uh a hundred like they're they never turn out good yeah they're always every they're nine out of ten ten of them when people are always like it's a rescue it's like well yeah oh i didn't think you bought that at the breeder it doesn't really look like a bird to do it all like you didn't pay for that dog that has one eye and looks like it's walked over an ied oh cool well it's not a breed you didn't go to westminster for that one yeah it's like yeah it looked like it's lived in a steel cage for half of its life they don't sell pit bulls oh that's that that it's not a breed that comes with two legs oh i thought that was a new breed that's a rescue i never would have thought he lived in the bed of a truck for five years you don't say rocks thrown at it don't say shocking no i'm very because it's not the juice is not worth the squeeze one out of ten of them end up being great here's the thing everyone loves jimothy from afar if you were sitting at a picnic table oh and jimothy came up dragging his ass you would i would shoot it i would shoot jimothy five times to make sure he's dead because you'd be so afraid that they were going to be killed and like haunted by this thing because he's like he's not like of this world a little so it's like you have to like burn his body to make sure it's all done oh my god oh my god I just nodded I just nodded oh my god Jimothy I love you Jimothy I'm sorry we have to kill and burn you I want to see the people getting Jimothy tattoos Who's in a room with Jimothy?
22:59Jimothy. Okay, seriously, stop it. Oh my God. Okay. Dan Adut, speaking of Jimothy tattoos. Yes. How do you feel about face tattoos? How do I feel about face tattoos? I'm very pro face tattoos. Are you serious? Yes. Okay. Why? Because. I'm pro face tattoo because if you are the type of person, I'm more anti-tramp stamp than I am face tattoo. Face tattoo? Yes. You never see a tramp stamp unless you're looking for it. It doesn't matter. It's not about that. It's not about that. It's about people who get tattoos, I'm going to say nine times out of 10, they regret them. But I don't think people who get face tattoos ever regret them because that is a way of life.
23:46Yes, that's true. It's signaling your commitment to live outside of the straight world. Yes. No one goes like, oh, I got a tramp stamp. I got this thing on my hand. I think it's time for a face tattoo. No. If you're getting a face tattoo, you are signaling to us that you are that type of – no one with a face tattoo wakes up one day and says, oh, no, now I can't work at J.P. Morgan. Right, exactly. That job I want. Well, let me explain to you what's going on, which is that in South Carolina – I didn't know this. It was illegal to get a tattoo in South Carolina until 2004. What? Yeah. Are you serious?
24:19Yeah. Isn't that, didn't they like just like mixed marriages weren't legal until like last summer? I don't know what's going on with South Carolina, but this law around tattooing face, neck, and head, it's illegal there. You also can't have a tattoo parlor within a thousand feet of like a playground, a school, and a church. What? It's a buffer zone law. Are you serious? Yeah. And two South Carolina residents and this Williamsburg tattoo shop called Tiny Zaps, who want to open up, I guess, a storefront in South Carolina, are suing the state, saying that it's unconstitutional for the state to basically disallow to ban head, face, and neck tattoos.
24:59And I just thought it was really interesting because, I mean, I guess the idea is that a tattoo itself is art and the act of doing it is art. So it's protected speech by the First Amendment. I mean, it sounds like a how is this even actually happening? That's crazy. Like, how is it even illegal? Yeah. Well, I don't know. It's pretty, pretty intense to tattoo your face. I don't know on what grounds you could say. I mean, maybe it's an obscenity law or like a public like you want like public. Not safety because there's nothing to do with safety. It sounds it feels very un-American. Oh, so you think it's going to pass?
25:37It's like this is like a my body, my choice thing. Oh, interesting. Yeah. Like maybe it's basically just that South Carolina hasn't caught up to every other state, which would allow it. And it's just this arcane thing that has to be updated. But I do think there's sort of a question about obscenity and public decency and whether any of those things are enforceable or should be. This is South Carolina. Have you been to Myrtle Beach? It's like such a trash heap. That's not offensive. That whole city is offensive. And they're OK with that. But now they're like, I do declare. No more face tattoos.
26:14Please, you are offending me. As you're like, as you're at your mini golf, your trashy mini golf place in Myrtle Beach. Please don't show me your face. I'm with my family at the mini golf. Also, the fact that you can't have a tattoo parlor close to a school. That I kind of stand by. Really? Yeah. I have a feeling that in South Carolina, you can have a gun store right in the school. You can have it in the school. In the cafeteria. Yeah, they sell guns in the cafeteria. They sell guns in the cafeteria. But I do think like, yeah, like do you need a vape shop next to a preschool? Probably not. No.
26:51Like there is like a sort of civil separation of certain types of businesses, outlets, services. Not to say one is good and one is bad, but you just don't need them next to each other. I don't see tattoo parlors as like a salacious business. To me, it feels like it's like a barbershop kind of, like a hang. That's how you think of tattoos? yeah oh I think of them so differently I think of them as like really um like kind of hardcore I think a tattoo is hardcore I think a tattoo on your face is really hardcore you don't necessarily think it's obscene well it depends what it says well but you could also I mean there's I mean I guess that's just the individual tattoo artists individual tattoo artists have like a whole code of honor like around what they will and won't do so a lot of tattoo artists will not tattoo someone's hands, face, neck, head if it's their first tattoo.
27:44Yeah. They're kind of like, you got to build up to it. That should be the law of South Carolina. Your first tattoo. Cannot be on your face. Cannot be on your face. I'm okay with that as a law. That's okay. I'm okay with that as a law. Nanny stayed over here. Who is your favorite face tattoo in popular culture? Mike Tyson. Oh, interesting. 100 % Mike Tyson. That's the sort of, it's like a claw situation. I also think he was like the first one. Tribal, I guess. Yeah. He was the first one to, I think, to be like a non-MS13 person and put a face tattoo on. Like he kind of normalized it, I think. I mean, I went to the taco place down the street and the guy who's serving me tacos had three tattoos on his face.
28:21Really? I was like, it's crazy. And one was red ink. Whoa. I'm like, that's wild. That's like he used to be MS13. You think? I mean. Well, the teardrops are when you've spent time in jail or you've killed someone, I think. Lil Wayne has the teardrops. Maybe he got his face tattooed because he had the lettuce in the taco and got sick and he survived. And he survived. And it was. He face tattooed himself. There's also Gucci Mane. Yes. Ice cream, which is pretty funny. Yeah. Post Malone's covered. Too much. There's barbed wire here. It's too crazy. It's like always tired. Stay away. I don't like Post Malone.
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28:53We need pre Malone. We need the pre. The post. I don't know what he did to himself. He tattooed his face. Yeah. that's what that's what the post that's what the post of the malone is you know i heard something and this is not my original thought but it was on a podcast um i think it was will arnett saying that his issue with people who are too tattooed up is that it's manufactured edge it's not real edge it's manufactured like you just paid someone to do this and now people look at you and they're scared of you but it's like not real but it's such a commitment and it's not like you take it off like i was looking at this russian artist who has the pfizer logo tattooed over his eye he got it during covid okay and it's just like yeah edger like that is hardcore you know what i mean like you can't undo it travis barker maybe travis travis barker's covered in tattoos is that manufactured edge i don't think so he's committed to the life man i don't know what the life is do you think people with tattoos are better at commitment than people without tattoos I think they probably take commitment not as seriously, and maybe that makes them better at it.
30:02But they're committing to this tattoo. Like, that's commitment. Majorly. That's more commitment than I have. Maybe that's why I'm still single, because I haven't gotten a tattoo. I haven't gotten a face tattoo. I need a face tattoo. What would you get? I would find love. What am I? Moderna. Moderna is a way more poetic word. I'd put Moderna on. Moderna on your face? No. I don't know. I don't know what I – you know what I would do? It would be fun. It would be like, you know, when frat people, like, they wait till you pass out and then they sharpie your face. Oh, yeah. Like a dick on your face.
30:31Yeah, a dick on my face. That's fun. Or like glasses, like the fake glasses. Yeah. That's really funny. Like the Gratul Marx. I love that. I have the nose for it and the eyebrows. I think this would really, like, up your look. You get cut color, face tattoo. Yeah. Okay, face tattoos. We've agreed you're going to get one. I'm going to pass. I'm very pro everyone should be able to get a face tattoo. You should be able to get an abortion. I'm pro-abortion and face tattoo at the same time at the same time at the same parlor okay well I'm really happy we know where we stand I think that's isn't that how like they used to do abortions was in tattoo parlor it's like how yeah probably you know how like the barbershop used to be the dentist like that's where you'd go for dental work you'd have to go to the barbershop are you okay is that a thing that's true like the barbershop was the dentist you'd get a cut color cavity by the same guy same dude same dude all the tools were in the same like blue liquid, like disinfecting?
31:24Is this true? 100 % your dentist was the barber. Or was your barber the dentist? Yeah, right? I mean, I guess hair and teeth. What's the difference? A lot. A ton. Because teeth are bones. We'll be right back with more Biden cultural commentary after a word from our sponsors. I didn't watch the game, But Spain won, if you didn't know. Spain won. Argentina. Felicitaciones. Although that would work for both of them. They both speak Spanish. Trump was there. He wouldn't get off the stage. Did you see that? Celebrating with Spain was the funniest thing ever. He doesn't miss. He doesn't care who wins.
32:06And then the president of FIFA tried to drag him off and he stayed. Did you see the halftime show? I did. I'm going to get so much hate for this. I don't get BTS. I don't get it. Okay. Okay, you think the Taylor Swifties, they are going to skewer you. Come at me. They're going to unleash Jimothy on you. For real. What? Is that Korean? It's Korean. It means thank you, I think. Oh. For the comments. Wow. That's amazing. I don't get them. They're just... I mean, talk about manufactured. I know. But that's kind of the thing. You're appreciating the level of precision of the manufactured product of a K-pop band when you're listening to BTS.
32:49I mean, credit to them that a look, it's the fact that a non-American group took over pop culture. It's pretty insane. I didn't have a problem specifically with BTS. I had a problem with the complete lack of cohesion. You have Madonna doing a song from her new album. Yeah. Then you have Justin Bieber doing like a downer of his like Christian song. Hallelujah. Fine that's Christian, but it was just sort of like, OK, low energy. Then you have BTS's very old song. And then you got the Muppets up there. What was that? With Dudamel. First of all, that's below Dudamel. But you know who it's really below?
33:29Who I cannot believe she showed up to this clown show? Miss Piggy. I hope they gave Miss Piggy the check of a lifetime for her to preside with Kermit over that mess. That was horrible. She looked amazing, obviously, as always. But it's like, Miss Piggy, don't you have somewhere better to be than Jersey on a Sunday in summer? Miss Piggy should be in Montauk. Miss Piggy should be in the Maldives. Miss Piggy should be in Mykonos. And instead, she was on the pitch of the World Cup hanging out with D-tier Muppets who were in a band. No, no. Put some respect on Miss Piggy's name. That's not what Piggy's about, okay?
34:10I mean, Miss Piggy, should she even be at the Mac Gala? I mean, it's sort of sold out, don't you think? What's happening? what is happening right now she's just a dame she's a diva she's a gay icon that's the thing you can't have a daughter miss piggy at the same event they're both like they're equally gay icon so it just like it muddies the message miss piggy is the queen of new york she's my mayor and she has no business hanging out there it was with kermit kermit didn't even have a shirt on i mean the whole thing. I just, I don't like when they just like think that they could bring out all the characters of Sesame Street whenever they want.
34:52It's like, oh, we'll just call Miss Piggy. Miss Piggy's booked and busy. First of all, I think they probably just needed their SAG insurance and they just needed to do a quick gig to get the insurance minimum. You do? Yeah, because summer drags on. Yeah, they needed to get that. Who else was, who else was at the halftime show? Well, okay, the Madonna part. Ted Lassen. Madonna came out with like these two famous soccer players Ronaldinho and whatever. But they're like middle-aged and like beer-bellied and they just like walked out and didn't even like cheer or anything. They just like walked out all chubby.
35:22I saw that picture. I was like, quick, they're going to kidnap Madonna. Like someone get her. Like it did not look, it didn't make any sense. Oh, Shakira was great actually. Shakira's 49 years old. Did you know that? She's so good. Just give her the whole halftime show. She's so awesome. She knows what she's doing. And this is like, this is her, she's Latin American, like football. It's like, just give it to her. Give it all to her. Give the whole thing to Shakira. Yeah. That would have been amazing. She also would have done more spectacle. I mean, she really knows how to put on a show. Her hips don't lie.
35:52No, they really don't be. Can I tell you my Shakira story? Say it. I was at a bat mitzvah in Miami. Okay, you go to these crazy... If Shakira was at this bat mitzvah, I swear to God. Shakira wasn't, but her son was. And he was nervous to come up to me because he's such a Falafel Phil fan. And this woman came over and she's like, look, that's Shakira's son. he wants to talk to you he's a huge fan i was like that's shakira's son she's like yeah i'm a huge fan she's like look i'm texting with shakira and she showed me a text with shakira saying falafel phil is here and your son's going crazy and she said please can you tell him it would mean the world if he would go up to my son i have shakira by the hips you do have shakira by the hips did you take a picture with him i did and did you say your mom looks good for 49 i was like i like your mom.
36:38Yeah, yeah. Your mom's amazing. She is, though. She's been so consistent for so long. Okay, we are going to talk about parenting a little because there's this new Wall Street Journal article that I found very interesting, and it was about CEO parents, a lot in the tech community, and they're staffing up. So one woman talked about spending$250 ,000 on staff for her house. There's nannies, there's chefs, there's family assistance, which is a key one because that's sort of like child care plus personal assistance. There's maids. And all of these people are basically on hand so the parents don't have to do the boring, repetitive, annoying stuff, the picking up and the dropping off, the laundry, the reading the book 45 times.
37:24And there's a lot of like tech startup language being ported into this discussion. So Emma Greed, who's sort of like the Kardashian business guru talked to the Wall Street Journal and she said that she's more about high impact core memories when it comes to her children. And I, for one, I'm always looking at my sisters and it's like, is this nightly dinner really high impact? Is this a core memory? Putting to bed. I don't know. It seems pretty low impact to me. They're going to fall asleep anyway. So I just, I'm curious what your take is on CEO parenting and if you think you would do this. I'm gonna answer your question with another question What would you outsource?
38:00Probably the cleaning up The cleaning up and like the Liquids and things that come out of the child The gross I would outsource the gross Vomit, etc I would outsource the child from 0 to 45 Okay, right, so the whole thing Whole thing, and then when it's 45 and I'm like 90 Then they can come and take care of me Hello, how are you? And then you're the baby I mean, we know these children are not going to end up well. Right. There's no way they're going to end up normal. Can you imagine? They're going to be monsters. Interacting in an office. The article mentioned this nanny who was dispatched to find this limited edition labubu for a kid.
38:37And I'm like, this kid is so screwed. It's insane. Why do you have the kid at that point? Get an awesome dog. Yeah. Get an awesome dog. It'll be. And pay someone else to walk it and feed it. Yeah. And then it's not going to like, it's not going to grow up to be a monster and then like murder you. That's true. You know? Like Jimothy. Yeah. Like Jimothy. Were your parents CEO parents? Were they outsourcing a lot? Definitely not. They were on the, on the, the factory floor. Of parenting. Yeah. They were entry level parents. They were not, they were not in the executive suite of parenting. I could have used a little bit of outsourcing.
39:17Executive parenting. Yeah. No, they were, I mean, you know, immigrant parents, they don't, They don't got time for that shit. They don't outsource. No, they don't outsource. Not even to camp. Not even to camp. My mom would not let me go to camp. Or have sleepovers. Or sleepovers because she thought everyone wanted to molest me. I don't think. Do you think that was true then? Oh, I know it's true. You think they wanted to molest you? Persian parents will never let their kids go to sleepovers or sleepaway camp because they think everyone wants to in America. That's what they do. They're going to molest your child.
39:45Meanwhile, I was not a very molestable child. I had like a unibrow and a mustache at like age nine. I like of all the kids to molest. I look like a middle-aged dude. Hashtag why not me? I mean, I think there is some element of it that's like, with all AI and tech, that's like, imagine parenting for 30 minutes a year. And it's like, no, no, the parenting's the point. Right. Like, you actually want to spend time doing this. You want to work so that you could, like, be in the drudgery. Liz Wolf called it the blessed drudgery on Twitter, which I thought was so well put that I mean yeah I get not wanting to like fold laundry all day but there is some element of like being around a kid is boring and you kind of gotta learn to find joy in it yeah like why are you doing it what's the point at that point like have be the be the fun aunt be the fun uncle yeah that's true I'm the fun uncle you don't have to do it I go hang out with the kid you don't have any nieces or nephews though no I don't I don't just hang it out with random I just go find a kid.
40:43Yeah. You go to the park. You're like, you want an uncle? I'll be real fun for you. You know that where I live now, there's a park right next door that is a kid's park. You have to be a parent bringing a kid in to go into the park or you're not allowed in. Cheat code. I have a view of the park for my apartment. Hello. Hello. Lucky dad. You can see right in. Yeah. Oh, that's so nice. Win-win. Win-win. Yeah. Who needs a kid? Who needs a kid? Get a view of the kid's park. Oh, God. can you even imagine what had to happen to institute that rule oh my god like god bless the parents who really were in the trenches when it was just an open park and had to face god knows what before it was like all right this is a kid's park we're going to be checking ids because this is just out of control i mean the one thing i will say about ceo parents this one woman was paying 250 grand for like the nanny the this like five staff members it's not that much for five staff members 250 grand it's like she's underpaying these people for five humans like for five full time in your house it's like i should hope it was a little more expensive than that like if you have unlimited money to do this it's a little like you're cheaping out cutting corners at a certain point.
41:58Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sad news on the comedy front. Chloe Fineman, one of my favorite actors, comedians on SNL, is leaving the cast. She says it's because she was offered a new movie and the timing was right for her, quote, next chapter. Dan, our resident comedian, do you have any inside scoop on the Chloe Fineman exit from SNL? I don't have inside scoop, but it's not, everyone has to leave SNL at a point. SNL is not the end goal. Right. Except if you're Kenan Thompson. Yeah, exactly. There's like a couple of career guys who've done it forever. But yeah, it's not particularly a high paying gig. It's really like brutal.
42:41It's insane hours. It's very brutal. It's, you know, it's like the best stepping stone that you could have. I would say she had like the Christian wig run. Yeah, it's not sad news for me. I'm very happy for her. And I think she's amazing. I'm sure she's going to go on and do great things. There's only a few people who have left. And then like, it's sad. Like nothing happened. Like God bless Sherry Oteri. I thought she was the funniest person in the world. And then like nothing really clicked afterwards, which is kind of sad. But a lot of this is not necessarily the talent. It's kind of how they are.
43:14As people. Yeah. Yeah. It's a judgment on their value as a human. A lot. It's not even that. Like it's like how you are on set if you're like a mean person or whatever. I also think some people really shine in an ensemble Yeah They really do and they work off other people And the live aspect of it is so huge I think Chloe Fineman will go on to do Great things not least because she is A Scientologist and they're very Connected up in Hollywood I didn't know that Did you know that? I'm very not anti-Scientology by the way I was going to say we need to like kind of Build our house view on Scientology You're not anti?
43:51Once you show me that Scientology is doing anything crazier than all the other religions, then I'll get on board. Yeah, once they start doing bombings. No one's ever suicide bombed. Scientologists don't be hijacking. Nope. They don't do that. Nope. They don't even stand in, well, do they try and convert you? They don't knock on your door with a name tag. Not really. They're not crazy about that. But yeah, like show me something crazier than talking in tongues Right Show me something crazier than, hey, let's cut off the top of our dicks To show that we want to be a part of this religion Show me something crazier than that Right I mean, I guess the crazier thing would be that they have, like you have to go clear So you get hooked up to this electrical machine And then you apparently divulge all of your deepest secrets and traumas over and over again Sounds great.
44:47You would like that? Sounds like therapy. Yeah. Sounds like a fun form of therapy. And then you get to go clear. Are you going to join Scientology? I think I am. I'm like, are you a Scientologist? No, but I just feel like I feel bad for Scientologists because they do seem like it's like open season on them. Right. And I just don't understand what makes the only difference in their religion and the others is that it was created in the 20th century. Right. Like in the age of the internet and it's easy to troll it. It's true. Also, it's like, yeah, Mormons think they get their own planet. Why shouldn't Scientologists think that they go clear and become enlightened?
45:20It's like, well, and then they get to make Mission Impossible, so it's not nothing. I mean, talk about a wonderful prophet to have, Tom Cruise. I know. He's the Jesus Christ of the religion. It's so crazy. He is the best recruiting tool that that religion could have. Okay, Second Thought stands by L. Ron Hubbard. Yeah. Curious about Scientology, open. Thank you so much for listening to Second Thought, where we get into popular culture and also unpopular culture and give you our unfiltered takes about what's going on in the news and culture. Thank you for joining the show. Thank you, Dan, for being here.
45:55Thank you for having me. And we'll see you next week. 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 thefp.com.
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 examine Tom Brady’s increasingly strange post-divorce reinvention and his latest publicity stunt with Logan Paul, asking whether the GOAT is in the throes of a midlife crisis. They dig into the legal challenge to South Carolina’s face tattoo ban and debate whether face tattoos are really an expression of free speech. Then they ask the only question that really matters: Would you buy parasite-contaminated lettuce for 50 percent off and play “lettuce roulette” with a few days of explosive diarrhea?
Plus: Why the outrage over Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is aimed at all the wrong things, the viral deformed raccoon uniting Seattle, and why Scientologists may deserve a little more respect than they usually get.
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