WWDTM: Julia Fox

0:00Want to get strong in 2026? Turns out you don't need to spend hours at the gym every week. Even just one session, 30 to 45 minutes a week, doing about one or two sets per exercise, that can be quite effective. How to get started with strength training. This week on the LifeKid Podcast. Listen in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

0:28From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. the NPR News Quiz. I'm Dr. Che Rhymefest-Smith, and even though I'm a doctor, I still can't cure my Rhymes disease. And here's your host at the Studebaker Theater in the Fine Arts Building in Chicago, Illinois, Peter Sagal. Thank you, everybody. Thank you so much. We have a great show for you today. Later on, we're going to be joined by actor and model and internet influencer Julia Fox, but first, we are so glad to have Rhymefest back with us. Now, Rhymefest, after the last time you joined us, we got a lot of emails praising us, of course, for having the wisdom to have you, but also regarding your pronunciation of the word Illinois.

1:19Yes. Which I just said in the traditional fashion. Yes. You, of course, are a lifelong Chicaguan, so we would like to give you an opportunity to respond to all those people. Well, look, brother, I'm hip-hop. You guys invited a rapper on, so I'm always going to bring the Illinois from Illinois. I just think people didn't get that. All right. Well, we are eager to find out how you pronounce where you are from. So give us a call. The number is 1-888-WAIT-WAIT. That's 1-888-924-8924. Let's welcome our first listener contestant. Hi, you're on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Hi, G'day, Pete. My name's Greg.

1:52I was born and bred in Brisbane, Australia, but I now call Northfield, Vermont home, primarily because of my beautiful 11-year-old daughter, Margot. So a shout-out to Margot, please. Wow. Okay. How does an Australian from Brisbane end up in Northfield, Vermont? Very simple word, a woman. Oh, yes. It's happened to so many of us. Yes, exactly. Greg, welcome to our show. Let me introduce you to our panel this week. First up, he's the comedian whose new special, Un-American, will be available on Amazon and Apple on November 25th. It's Adam Burke. Hi, hello, g'day. Hey, everybody. Next, he's the comedian you can see at the Punchline Comedy Club in Atlanta November 7th through the 9th and at the Arlington Drafthouse in Arlington, Virginia, November 28th and the 29th.

2:45It's Alonzo Bowden. Hello, Greg. How you doing? G'day, Alonzo. And he's a comedian. He'll be performing at the Parkway Theater in Minneapolis on November 23rd and at the Crocodile in Seattle on December 28th. It's Josh Gondelman. G'day. Welcome to the show, Greg. You are going to play Who's Rhymefest this time. Rhymefest, filling in for Bill Curtis, is going to read you three quotations from this week's news. If you can correctly identify or explain two of them, you'll win our prize. Any voice from our show you might choose for your voicemail. Are you ready to play? I'm ready to play. Then let's do it.

3:18Here's your first quote. My son loves Halloween, the pumpkins, the ghosts, but this house had dismembered bodies. That was one of many people this year who were complaining that Halloween decorations have become too what? Too scary? Too scary indeed, yes. That's right. More and more people are saying Halloween decorations are too scary, according to the New York Times, the official newspaper of cowards. Everything keeps escalating year after year. You used to be able to get by with like one giant skeleton. Now you find yourself saying, honey, we can get pig organs on Amazon. How do you scare kids now?

4:02Yeah. You know what I mean? So what? Kids are so sophisticated with digital media and everything. You think they're really going to be scared because, oh, yeah, there's some pig organs. Oh, I know where to get those on sale. You know what I mean? Yeah. Only way you can scare a kid is a giant picture of an iPhone battery on zero. Yeah. My neighborhood, it's all over the place. There's some really realistic kind of decrepit bodies. there's one house that has a dinosaur skeleton and it's like that's not scary to me I only know dinosaurs as skeletons right exactly my whole life but then I live in New York City and down the block from me one extremely scary house Cuomo for mayor sign that's been yeah that's really been creeping me out I noticed this first in Chicago like 10 years ago in my neighborhood in Logan Square I was walking down the street and someone in their front garden had like a full-size clown Right?

4:57Clown. Fine. But the clown was in an electric chair. And with like the full cap. And the clown's guts had exploded all over the front lawn. And I was like, this is amazing. This person doesn't know how clowns, electric chairs, or guts were. I know. At the same time, I mean, you do point out something weird. It's like you live in a neighborhood. You get to know your neighbors. They seem nice. And then like at Halloween time, you get a glimpse into the darkest recesses of their mind. If they're going to go that full out with their subconscious putting it on display for Halloween, on Valentine's Day, you should get to watch them make love.

5:31That's true. All right, here is your next quote. Make sure the clock change doesn't end in divorce. That was a writer for Vice talking about evidence that the end of what this weekend is actually really bad for the health of your relationship. Give me a hint, please. Well, to put it in language you might understand, your good day will end a little sooner. Shorter days. Daylight savings. Daylight savings. That's it. Psychologists, believe it or not, say that the stress of a suddenly changed schedule, the lost sleep, and seasonal affective disorder can lead many couples to break up with the end of daylight saving.

6:16The trick to maintaining a healthy relationship, though. with daylight saving is cheating on your partner right before you turn the clocks back, right? So you sneak out at 2 a.m., you come back at 3, bang, it's 2 a.m. again, you never left. So most of these arguments take the form of, hey, honey, you've got to turn the clock back. And they're like, I wish I could turn the clock back. You're going full share. If I could turn back time. Yeah, we're not leaping forward here, honey. I feel we're falling back. I would like to spring ahead into my next relationship. Isn't it just a simple thing of, oh man, this is another hour.

6:53We're home together. That's the problem. Now you got another hour. You got to fight over what you're going to stream, what you're going to watch, what you're going to eat. It's better. People like being out and away from the relationship. It's that time together that ruins it. Why is this still running though? Why is daylight? I thought the government shut down. So your theory is because the government, the federal government is currently shut down. The guy who's in charge of the big clock. So you're telling me that, like, the guy who presses the button at 2 a.m. on Sunday morning, that sets the clocks back, he's not working, so therefore it's not going to happen.

7:29That's Mike Johnson, by the way. No, no, he's working. He's just not getting paid. I would say, actually, the current federal government is trying to turn the clocks back far more than an hour. All right, Greg, your last quote is from the Washington Post. Is the dog acting strange? Is the cat destroying things more enthusiastically than usual? That's from an article about new evidence that our pets seem unhappy because it turns out they're all what? Depressed. Well, all right, I'll give you a hint. They don't even have thumbs to twiddle? Well, they can't use media and TV and stuff. Well, yeah, I'm going to give it to you.

8:08They're bored. Our pets are bored. Now, you always knew your dog could get bored, sure. I mean, would he be sniffing his butt if he had anything more interesting to do? But pet behavior experts say pet boredom can lead to behavioral issues like tearing up toys and furniture. But the dogs say, I'm not bored. I'm living my best life tearing up these toys and furniture. But they say boredom can affect all the pets, cats, even fish and birds. That's a tough lesson to see a bored fish. Because you're like, wow, you think they have it all. They live in a castle and still they're as depressed as the rest of us.

8:43And I don't know how a goldfish can be bored anyway. Because apparently they only remember things for four seconds. So it's like, where am I? Oh, where am I? Oh. I wonder how you can tell a bored fish from an excited fish. That's also true. And if the fish are bored, introduce them to the cat. That's true. That's an exciting activity for both of them. The excited fish are the ones with their mouths open. Can I say something slightly off topic about dogs? You may. Prince Andrew just lost all his titles. Yeah. And now he's called Mr. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Yes. And doesn't that sound like the name of a particularly recalcitrant cocker spaniel?

9:23For the last time, Mr. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Anyway, so in case you're concerned about this, we are told that we need to help stimulate our pets by making their daily lives more interesting. One technique, engage your dog's mind, right? Don't ask, who's a good boy? Who's a good boy? Ask, what does it mean to be a good boy in today's fragmented society? What's a six-letter word for good boy? I like all these philosophical pets like Emmanuel Katz. Get out. I don't get out, dairy dog. Rhyme Fest, how did Greg do in our quiz? Great. Got them all right. There you go, Greg. Congratulations. Thank you so much.

10:09It's been an honor to be on the show. Thank you so much. Bye-bye. Thank you. Have a good day. You too.

10:19Right now, panel, it's time for you guys to answer some questions about this week's news. Alonzo, IKEA made headlines this week when they unveiled their newest product. It is a bed custom designed for your what? Can you give me a hint? It does come in a very small box. For your toy? No, not exactly. I'll give you a hint. It's like, well, you make sure when you tuck it into its new bed, you cover it up and you put it into airplane mode. Oh, wow. For your phone? Yes, a bed for your phone. It's a tiny smartphone-sized bed Complete with a tiny Assemble-it-yourself bed frame Plus a little mattress and blanket It's the only IKEA instruction booklet Where the cartoon people in it Are yelling at you for buying this thing And of course they don't have any language They're just looking at you like The phone bed is meant to promote Your own rest by giving your phone Its own designated place Out of your arm's reach but now instead of waking up in the middle of the night and being distracted by your phone you might wake up in the middle of the night to find your phone still awake looking at an even smaller thing I mean we all knew it was gonna happen but it's nice to be present at the moment when the guy at IKEA finally lost his mind he's just totally yeah he's just surrounded by Allen wrenches and little dongles and he's like I can't take it anymore iPhone bed screw it uh I don't know tomato coffin?

11:52Is that something? Good night, my darling I have to say good night I'll hold you in my dreams until the morning light Coming up, our panelists take a walk on the wild side in our bluff of the listener game. Call 1-888-WAIT-WAIT-TO-PLAY. We'll be back in a minute with more of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me from NPR.

12:19From NPR and WBZ Chicago. This is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. I am Dr. Che Rinfest-Smith, and we're playing this week with Josh Gettleman, Adam Burke, and Alonzo Bowden.

12:38And here again is your host at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, Illinois, Peter Sagal. Thank you, Rinfest. Right now it's time for the Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me Bluff, the listener game. Call 1-888-WAIT-WAIT to join us on the air. Hi, you are on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Hi, Peter. This is Haley. I'm calling from Newport Beach, California. Newport Beach is a beautiful place. What do you do there? I'm actually currently planning my dog's quinceanera. I'm sorry. No, I'm with her. Your dog's quinceanera. Yes, she's turning 15 next month, so we're having a big party for her. That's awesome. Well, welcome to the show, Haley.

13:23You're going to play our game in which you must try to tell truth from fiction. Rhymefest, what is Haley's topic? It's one small step for man, then another small step, then another small step. Taking a walk, that classic pastime hasn't changed since one of our distant ancestors said, hey, I bet I can do this with two feet instead of all four. Well, this week we heard about an innovation, finally, in the world of walking. Pick the one who's telling the truth and you'll win our prize, the wait waiter of your choice in your voicemail. Are you ready to play? Yes, I am. All right. First, let's hear from Alonzo Bowden.

13:57Walking the golf course without playing golf is now a thing and the golfers aren't happy about it. Golf course owners have jumped at the new income with industry analyst Julian Lewis saying it's great for golf courses because they don't normally attract young people and everyone already there. Well, let's just say they're pretty close to the 18th hole of life. Everyone is happy except the golfers. They're fighting back by hitting balls at the walkers. Walkers are kicking and throwing the balls in revenge. It's like pickleballers versus tennis players, but this ball is much harder. But this all-out war has only made the practice more popular.

14:38Walkers are now flocking to the golf course for the high-stakes dodgeball game, and golfers are loving their new moving targets. It's grown-ups acting like little kids, if the little kids were five Bloody Marys deep. Golf courses hosting wars between the old golfing members and the new walking members. Your next story of somebody's step getting a step up comes from Adam Burke. Known for such iconic kicks as the Air Jordan 1, the Air Jordan 2, and a bunch of others that have made more money than the actual kingdom of Jordan, The boffins at Nike have finally addressed the worst part about moving your feet.

15:17Moving your feet. Which is why the company is proud to announce Project Amplify, which, while it sounds like an industrial-grade hairspray from the 80s, is, according to Nike, the world's first powered footwear system for running and walking. Described as an electric bike for the foot, and let's face it, is there any invention more universally beloved than the electric bike? This totally not insane device features a motor, a drive belt, and cuff battery. While the project is currently in development, Nike has officially changed its slogan to Grandma, just let the shoe do it. Nike creates the first power-assisted shoe, the electric bike for your foot.

16:00Your last story of an ambulation renovation comes from Josh Gondelman. Move over, Fitbit, because now there's the Fitbutt. The Fitbutt is a pair of underpants that encourages physical movement by creating escalating discomfort if the wearer stays still for too long. First, the temperature of the garment rises to an unpleasant level. Next, the device administers a series of unpleasant but usually non-lethal electric shocks. And if the wearer still hasn't hit their exercise goal, the Fitbutt enters wedgie mode, which is a nearly 100 % success rate in inspiring activity. The only exceptions to the efficacy of the device are when people are too into its punishments.

16:46For anyone who doesn't think the Fitbutt is intense enough, Activitron Enterprises plans to release an even more intense wearable, the Adams Apple Watch. It's a device that literally chokes you unconscious if you don't complete your scheduled workouts. All right. One of these is a real innovation in walking we saw in the week's news. Was it from Alonzo Bowden that golf clubs are welcoming walk-only members who have engaged in a somewhat pleasurable war with the traditional golfers? From Adam Burke, Nike inventing the first power assist shoe to make you walk a little quicker? or from Josh Gondelman underwear that will incentivize you to get up and get moving in increasingly unpleasant ways.

17:36Which of these is the real innovation we found in the news? Nike would try to invent something new because they own everything else. So I'm going to choose Nike. All right, you're going to choose Nike because there's basically nothing you would put past them. I understand. Well, to bring you the correct answer, we spoke to someone who has actually experienced this new frontier in walking. You strap it to your lower leg, and an arm actually lifts the back of your foot up off the ground. That was Jeff Dengate, the runner-in-chief at Runner's World, who got to test out this new shoe from, of course, Nike.

18:16Congratulations, Haley. You got it right. Thank you. You've earned a point for Adam. We've won our prize, the voice of your choice in your voicemail. Congratulations. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for playing with us today, and take care. You too. Bye-bye. Bye-bye.

18:42And now the game we call Not My Job, where we ask people who've done everything to do something else. Julia Fox became nationally famous in 2019 when she starred in the movie Uncut Gems. But in New York, she was already well-known as a model, a fashion designer, a club owner, an artist, and generally the coolest person in New York. So much so that Charlie XCX... I don't know about that. So much... Well, hang on. So much so that Charlie XCX boasted on her latest record, I'm So Julia. She joins us now. Julia Fox, welcome to Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Thank you. We should start here. Like I said, in her hit song 360, Charlie XCX says, I'm so Julia.

19:27So I will go to the source. What is it to be so Julia? So I've thought about this a lot. And I think it's really just about being that girl and being confident and being a little bit cringe, not afraid to make mistakes, honest. I mean, I have to say, speaking of cringing, I watched the video for the song 360 by Charlie XCX, which you are in. There you are. But what was annoying me is when she says the lyric or she sings the lyric, I'm so Julia, it's not you who appears at that moment. It's Chloe Sevigny, and I don't think that's fair. But you know what? It's because we're all a little bit Julia.

20:08And I think that's the message of the song. I think you handled that beautifully. That's what I think. Peter, I think you're not taking in the compliment that that means you're a little bit Julia. I wish. Like a lot of people, I first became aware of you from your amazing performance in the movie Uncut Gems by the Safdie brothers with Adam Sandler. And I was amazed to discover that that was your first major motion picture. But then I heard that you have said that you learned to act working as a dominatrix earlier in your career. And just maybe both for my edification and to save people who are listening a lot of money on acting school.

20:50How did that work? So, you know, I will say that my whole life, everyone always told me, you should be an actress. You're so dramatic. You're a thespian. You're, you know, all these things. And I just never really had the self-esteem to imagine something like that for myself. And so I always say acting chose me because I really would have never in a million years had the balls to pursue it. You know, and so, yeah, when the opportunity, oh, and then back to the dominatrix. Oh, yeah, that, yeah. Yeah, of course, that. I went on Craigslist, and now I don't think they have it anymore, but there was a section called, I think, Adult Gigs, and it was all just, like, prostitution ads, and I wasn't there yet.

21:37I was like, no, I can't do that. Like, that's too much. But I found an ad, and it said, like, no nudity, no this, and you can make up to$1 ,000 a day. So obviously my curiosity was peaked. And I went in for an interview, and the rest is history. And, I mean, you know, working there, it really was a crash course in acting because it is so psychological. Like, you really have to, like, read the room and kind of know what your client wants without them even really telling you. Because a lot of the time they don't even really know. You know, it's men. Like, it's like they don't tell you. You have to, like, do the mental gymnastics.

22:14I'm like, oh my God, what could his fetish be? Okay, he's looking at my feet. Okay, he's mentioned his mother a few times. Great. Let's do it, you know? I'm sorry. I mean, I know we men are famously withholding and refuse to communicate, but the idea that they won't tell the dominatrix what they want is amazing. Look, I'm not an expert, but I think the dominatrix tells you what you want. Exactly, right? That's the job. You'd think, you'd think. But, you know, you also do want to accommodate them and, you know, but it's true. I think they get embarrassed, like, saying what they want because sometimes it's kind of embarrassing.

22:54I'd be embarrassed, too, if I were them. So I just tried to make it as, like, easy and streamlined. And, yes, I got you. And I had to, you know, play so many characters throughout the day, whether it was a nun, like a mean nun, or like a scary mommy, or like a bratty big sister. the popular girl at school. That was the big one. Like popular girls have repel. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. I want to say two things. First of all, we've been doing the show for a long time. This is the most interesting conversation we've ever had. Bar none. Bar none. And secondly, being a man, I know men and I am sure that at least one of them out there knows that they can never tell how they met you, but they so want to.

23:42Oh, you see that woman in the cover of that magazine? Well, I knew her back in the day, you know? Anyway, I want to ask you, speaking of being in the covers of magazines, you've worked as a model and you were yourself a fashion designer. You are known for your extraordinary outfits. Are you allowed in your own mind to just go out wearing sweatpants and an old shirt? Oh, absolutely. Every, like when I'm not like this, Yeah. Like you wouldn't even recognize me. Really? Like I, I look like, who's the guy that holds the ring from the movie? Oh, Gollum. You're referencing Gollum. Yes, I'm Gollum. You say so that when you are not glammed up, as we often see you, and you're just yourself.

24:24You're actually, you're like. I'm scary. No, like I used to like be such a baddie. Like I would walk down the street. I've caused three car accidents and a bike accident. Like, guys used to just go nuts for me. Now, they run. They're like, oh, what is that? Like, run in the opposite direction. Yeah. Like, I swear to God. And do you enjoy that? Kind of. I do. I really own it. Like, I used to just get hit on so much that, like, I had a really big butt. I still kind of do, but not in the same way. So, I used to, like, they weren't even looking at me. Like, they were just looking at my butt and, like, causing, like, literal accidents.

25:00I'm not kidding. One in LA, two in New York. So wait a minute. Again. The bike accident. First of all, hold on. I swear. Remember when I said this was the most interesting conversation we'd ever had? I have one follow-up question. Please. I feel like I would be remiss not to ask. You said your butt caused a bicycle accident in France. Did your butt ruin the tour de France?

25:26I just felt like I was leaving it on the table. Okay. Just had to ask. Just turning over and seeing the baguette in the basket is sadly laying on the ground. Well, Julia Fox, I think as I've made clear, I could talk to you all day. But we have invited you here today to play a game. And we are calling it this time... Re-cut gems. So you starred in the movie Uncut Gems, as we mentioned. So we thought we'd ask you about re-cut gems. That is, movies that were re-cut from their original version. Answer two out of three questions about these special editions of movies, and you'll win a prize for one of our listeners, the voice of anyone they might choose for their voicemail.

26:05Rhymefest, who is Julia Fox playing for? Heather Davis of Orlando, Florida. All right. You ready to do this? I just want to preface this by saying I'm so bad at, like, multiple choice. I was the kid that needed the extra time. All right. Just saying, okay? We are happy to provide whatever help you need as we do this. Here we go. When Hayao Miyazaki's animated film Princess Mononoke was set to be distributed to American theaters, producers wanted to edit it to make it more marketable for Americans. How did the legendary director respond? Was it A, he sent the producers a sword along with the message, no cuts.