013. - Naomi Fry

All right, this episode of How Long Gone is brought to you by Stateside with Kai and Carter, a new podcast from The Guardian. And they are using this podcast to slow down the news and wrestle with the questions that we all have about what's happening in the world. And they do it three times a week. Jason, does that sound familiar to you? We don't really talk about, you know, a lot of international global news items and climates and cultures and sports and things like that. We do talk about fashion and wellness, but for everything else, Kai and Carter are a great place. All right, so who couldn't use more news? Listen wherever you get your podcast. or watch on YouTube. Want to make a podcast? Spotify's got a platform that lets you make one super easily, then distribute it everywhere, and even earn money. We like that. All in one place for totally free. It's called Spotify for Podcasters. And here's how it works. Spotify for podcasters lets you record and edit podcasts right from your cellular telephone or your computer. So no matter what your setup is like, you can start creating today. Then you can distribute your podcast to Spotify and everywhere else, those other places that podcasts are heard. Video podcasts are also available on Spotify. And when you want to take conversations with your fans to the next level, Q&As and polls are the best way to get them talking. With Spotify for podcasters, you can earn money in a variety of ways, including ads and... and podcast subscriptions. And best of all, it's totally free. Zero catch. We've been using it ever since we started How Long Gone. And ever since I discovered Spotify for Podcasters, I feel like having the option of turning off the Q&As and the polls on the user dashboard has really helped boost my creativity and take it to another level. I highly recommend giving it a try. Download the Spotify for Podcasters app or go to www.spotify.com slash podcasters to get started.

Hello. What's up, big dog? Big dog. Hi, how are you? Oh, you know, just feeling a little pain in my IT band, but otherwise I'm pretty good. What happened to your IT? I think just overworked, you know what I mean? Just pumped it too hard. Classic pump too hard situation. Damn, dude, that sucks. It's okay. I'm able to roll out using a phone. I've been doing a lot of mobility work. I'm seeing results. What is mobility work exactly? Just movement, stretching shit so I can be a better athlete. Mobility is movement shit? Thanks a lot. You know what I'm saying, bro? It's like your ass ain't limber enough so you probably need to do some shit but you don't. Actually, you're pretty limber. I forgot that about you. I'm a little too limber for a man of my everything. It doesn't make sense. My G is elastic. I can get Bendy like a pretzel. He snapped back like a rubber band. In addition to my runs and workouts, I've had to introduce some mobility work and some lead foam rolling from YouTube, which is actually really helpful. YouTube lead foam rolling, that's actually a good idea because I kind of just do the same ones every time and then it gets a little boring. Yeah, it's nice. I looked up one for runners, and it does specific stuff. It's not rocket science, but it tells you when to start and stop. It's just nice to black out and do it. Get a little accountability. I love accountability, Jason. In the line of work that I'm in, accountability is really important. I'm learning that now, later in life. Well, you, like myself, have had a delayed start because of our choices as youths. On what path to follow. I feel like I didn't start maturing until like 33, maybe. Yeah, sort of. I mean, it depends on what the subject matter is. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What arena. But I was basically dicking around from about 18 to 20, 33. Which is kind of odd considering the responsible, on paper, responsible straight edge path.

I'm very responsible, but that doesn't mean I had a vision for the future or cared about my own well-being. Let's put it that way. Say no more. It comes to us all at different times. I'm just happy to be here today, Jason. Once you start really discovering yourself, the only thing that you are upset about is, I wish I would have done it earlier. Yeah, but I've had a cooler life than most people, so I'm not that pissed. You have? You know what I mean? I feel pretty blessed. Yeah, I might not have a 401k, but you're still a loser and I'm cool. So it's like, you know what I'm saying? And there are plenty of 401k bros who would gladly trade. Well, you know, my plan for life is windfall after windfall. I have found that I have some friends who are highly successful who may have sacrificed those cool things in their life. And then, you know, they really are envious of people like us, like truly deep down. And then I'm like, damn, I'm envious of... It goes both ways. Yeah, truly, grass is always greener. It's good when two of those groups of people can mutually come together and take and give from each other. in a nice symbiotic way. Yeah, because I have a deep, deep respect for those types now because I'm like, damn, I could learn something for these motherfuckers. They could definitely learn something for me. They could get a little swag. You know what I'm saying? They could get a little drip for me. They're not afraid to put you on retainer and you're not afraid to take it. Exactly. Yeah, exactly. Sir, are you afraid to put me on retainer? I didn't think so. Retain me, daddy. retain me daddy uh man shit what else is going on teach um not much you know just sort of a little little bit of the same to be honest a little bit of the same it's a lot of the same a lot of the same i think i think when um you know when they announced that we're gonna have one more one more month sheltering i mean it did not surprise me at all but just to see it

you know, on the internet, on, on headlines was a little like, when you looked up in the roof, you didn't see the stars. You saw the headline and that hit different. I am, I feel totally fine. Like I'm able to really entertain myself, you know, forever without much trouble. Like I don't really, I don't really get bored, bored. Yeah. There's always shit you can do, but just, you know, after a while, the kind of the collective spirit of the world that we're living in can get to me. Look, like I've said before, since I'm carrying the world on my fucking shoulders, it's a lot heavier right now than it was two months ago. I'm glad that you're stepping it up for all of the Bronx and Queens that you put on your shoulders, all of New York. Well, I saw all my fellow New Yorkers in the Instagram live stream. Oh, I'm sorry. Are you at a... Are you... Did they just... There's too many jokes for me to say right now. Sorry, my crotch rocking gets a little loud. I'm trying to pod and ride at the same time. It sounds like they scheduled a 6-9 video shoot at the same time as this podcast. What the fuck? Trainway! What were we talking about? Something important. When I was recording an ad last week, I realized that I had said Treyway at the end of it. And I was editing the ad and I was like, damn, should I leave Treyway in the ad read? And then I decided not to at the last minute because I just, I don't know. I said it too white, I think. I appreciate that maturity. I would have left it in no matter what. We were talking about the hip-hop social media event of the century last night. People getting so excited about this trash is so crazy. Yeah, I mean, I didn't really feel like it needed to be covered. It didn't deserve our ink, but it's made enough of a noise to we have to let it spray a little bit.

Well, I mean, if you've been watching, I've only watched a handful of streams, but like, you know, yesterday I was watching Virgil DJ or listen, more listening to Virgil DJ. And it was, you know, he's got millions of followers. He had 3000 people, you know, I would say consistently for the time I was in the looking, those motherfuckers had 200 K last night. It's crazy. Yeah. I mean, when, when I first started hearing about those, those beat battles. Which, as a DJ, I figured as a former technician of the tables, I thought you'd be trying to get in there. I thought you'd be challenging Aoki. There's a difference between a beat battle of old heads of legendary producers like Timbaland and Pharrell and all that shit, and then just dudes DJing like, check out my DJing music. What I don't get is... I was so surprised by how many people really tune into it. i know and they're not doing anything they're just playing songs for 30 seconds and then going oh shit like there's no yeah when i first heard about it i could do that i saw the artwork and i was like damn this looks like a flyer i made in 2004 it's like the worst artwork i've ever seen and then yeah like you know like the biggest djs in the world like diplo or or virgil who have millions and millions and millions of followers they're they're live streaming their shit and like they got three you know two three thousand people watching them and i'm like what is the what is the point and then you know some fucking producer dude that half young people have never even heard of you know like how many fucking tiktok 18 year olds know about dj premiere and they got hundreds or and same for d nice when he was djing in his kitchen or whatever yeah i'm like i like i'm i'm like the oldest I'm the youngest person who knows who D-Nice is, and I'm in my late 30s. Who the fuck knows who D-Nice is unless you're a backpacker or you're just an older person? There's a lot of aspiring backpackers out there. We're going in reverse, baby. Damn, bro. You know what it is, baby. Real hip-hop, that boom-bap shit. You know what I'm saying? Who would have thought that the quarantine would bring real hip-hop back?

There's nothing I want back less than real hip-hop. I would rather get a traffic ticket than real hip-hop when I'm back. Let's bring back alternate side parking rules instead. I guess I would rather watch some legends have a beat battle and then here are my best songs that I made and I'm going to go up against you. There's an actual game at play, a competition. Just to see the same DJs playing their same music that they would play in the club to nobody in their dumb living room, there is no need for it. Just none. If you're watching it, stop watching it. I watched it for a little bit so I could talk about it today. I have to do the people a service. People will say just... Just unfollow Donald Trump and he'll stop all this stuff. Same thing applies to DJs in their living room. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, unfollow. If 200,000 people didn't show up, they definitely wouldn't be doing it for the love of the boom bat. You know what I'm saying? Okay. Let's call our guest this week, or excuse me, today. Not week, bitch. We're bringing this shit to you hard body. Sorry, I was still thinking about hip hop. Hard body means thrice weekly. That's real hard body style. Our guest today, New Yorker, staff writer, friend of both Jace and I, and you're probably a fan of her, Nomi Fry, coming live from the Brownstone in Bed-Stuy with her family on lockdown. She's been watching Hella Bravo. Let's just find out who she's been talking to because she ain't been talking to us. So I think we need to know who she's been communicating with from the outside. Long overdue. Long overdue. All right, I'll holler at her. Okay. All right. Bitch, he has risen. What's up? She has risen. She has risen. I am risen. Oh, my God. For some reason, I have video, but it doesn't matter, right? What do you mean you went to a hot studio? I went to a hot studio.

Her partner. I was like, what the fuck are you talking about? You do a yoga right now in the core? What do you mean? Hot studio. Are you talking about Studio 54? Because that is a hot little studio. Are you about to lay down 16? Yeah, no. I went to the studio because I need to finish revising something. Obviously, Nina's at home as she has been for the past 1,700 years. I just, yeah, I just decided to pull up to the lab. You had to get to the lab. You had to get in your little zone. We're just pulling up. Yeah, I had pulling up. I realized today when I was thinking about you, which I do often. That's nice. That you're the first guest we've had that has been quarantined with child. Oh, wow. Really? I realize the same thing as well. Yeah, we only talk to young people, but we need a perspective. We only talk to barren guests. Yeah, exactly. We only talk to guests that have their priorities completely out of order, like the hosts. So I think that you can give us some interesting color commentary on what it's like to homeschool a child during this time. Yeah, I'd be happy to. It seems challenging. Yeah, I mean, I don't really. It seems pretty chill to me. Guys, are we already recording? Yeah, we are. We record off cap, baby. We all out the gate. We do it Marc Maron style. These are the mics are hot. Have you heard his pod? It's actually good. Yeah. Okay, just checking. So, you guys, how's it been going with this new endeavor of yours where you're profiteering from this global disaster? To be honest, I mean, I guess we should just go ahead and speak on the elephant in the room, Jason. What do you think? Yeah, we should. We can let it spray a little bit. Nomi, today we received an aggressive email from your former employer saying that we had to change our artwork because it's infringing on their award-winning podcast that has a similar...

artwork towers no yes because we blatantly ripped their artwork off 100 oh my god so that's i mean i feel like that's kind of an honor i think in a way i mean we're painting it as such it's good that they're checking for your boys exactly but we made a big enough stink on on spotify apple and other platforms for for um The crooked New York Times to reach out with a scathing legal document. Clearly no one's reading it because they're too busy coming after little guys like us. It's failing like someone said. And this is how the rich stay richer. I think it just suggests that you guys are blowing up. The price of that is being noticed in ways both good and bad. Both good and bad. As a celebrity, I've dealt with this before, and I'll continue to deal with it as moving forward. Our lawyer said the same thing, Nomi. Thank you so much. So we've had to change the artwork, and then hopefully this post won't be delayed, but we're having some issues with our hosting. Wow. But it's given us an opportunity for some creative stuff that we'll have coming later this week, of course. Wow. In great tragedy comes great art. We're cleaning the house a little bit. Okay, so what's on the docket? What can we expect? You've had some really great guests so far. This week could be one of our biggest weeks ever, honestly, guest-wise. I can't reveal too much, but obviously you're kicking it off. Wow. That sets the bar extremely high. I just felt so relieved. I have to say, because I was, I was telling you, I was like, am I losing my touch? The boys aren't like calling me to participate. And does it mean I was, uh, jeans, I was talking to Chris about it. And I said, Chris, you know, I going into this sort of global of economic crisis. I can't like my, this is not the time for my brand to be weakening. And I, I was just, I was saying to a hot even, I was like,

Listen, what's up? What's going on? Is this something that I should be thinking about? To put it in language that I know, we look at the first few weeks as kind of a soft opening that we had to kind of prepare everything to get ready for you. And we deemed ourselves worthy enough to finally ask your hand in pod. I was relieved when finally the invite rolled in. I mean, I did have to badger you guys a little bit in order for it to roll in. The squeaky wheel gets grease, Nomi. We get it. Exactly. Nobody gains anything by being quiet and asking for nothing. That's true. A lesson that I'm still learning every day. Yeah. So, okay. So, wow. Jeans, you're in beautiful Los Angeles. Yeah, but it's been gloomy AF lately. Oh, really? It's raining right now. Damn, bro. But I'm really, you know, I'm thinking about both of you guys. And the question that comes up for me always is, so what do you do exactly? No, I mean, I know what you do, but I mean, for me, there's so much drudgery involved in my day to day. I mean, again, I'm like exaggerating. It's totally fine. My daughter is eight going on nine. She's like, you know, fairly independent. Like I work from home. It's fine. Like everything's good. And yet, but I do have like these kind of responsibilities. And then I think of you guys, you know, carefree. No child. Hell yeah. You know, girlfriends who you have just a great time with. I detect a little envy in your tone. I do too. It just sounds very sort of relatively low touch, you know, and I just. Low touch is a good way to. to phrase it i think and i just and i just am curious i'm curious how exactly it shakes out and what's what's happening in the day to day in in this new environment you know well i think i think it's a great question it is a great question jason i feel like jason this this quarantine fits your personality more than mine i feel like you're a more mellow guy

Maybe it's because you're gone off the CBD, but I just think you're loose and you can live like this. Also, you're such a great cook that you're self-sufficient. Right. Jason does a lot of food stuff, which you don't, Chris. I, unfortunately, am extremely high-strung and need human interaction to feel good about myself, so this has been very difficult for me. Whereas I just need strangers on Instagram stories to ask. for me to give them a bite of what I have made. And that gives me everything I need to fuel myself for another day. But I've found solace in my true love of exercise, and that is the only thing that's ever going to always be there for me. So what do you do? I saw you did the berries piece. So you do berries online. Yeah, but I've been running a lot because I think it's better for my mental state. And I also just, it takes time. That's the thing about running long distances that I always shied away from before. It's like, how do people have this? I mean, obviously I have fucking time all the time, but especially now. So it's just like, you know, you're looking at two hour commitment once you run and stretch and shower. And that's nice to just kill those two hours every day. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, totally. But I've been, I mean, work has not really slowed down that much, honestly. And we've also taken this upon ourselves. We launched that public announcement newsletter. I'm just doing as much as I can. It's not super, super boring. The days go by considerably faster than I thought they would. Have you guys been watching stuff before bed? Do you have shows? Well, not together necessarily. We Zoom British Bake Off every night. We snuggle up next to each other in Zoom bed and watch British Bake Off together. Zoom bed. I have a question for you guys. This is kind of like a research question. Have you or do you know anyone who's used the Zoom, like the touch-up tool that supposedly makes you look better?

I haven't used Zoom once. I bet Jason hasn't either. Oh, really? I actually used it yesterday. My girlfriend was doing a fitness class, and I joined in. But I did not even know that they had that feature. And I realized yesterday when I was using Zoom that I'm using kind of like an outdated software version, and it kept trying to get me to update it. And something about the update made me, I don't know, I was a little suspicious of it, and I decided not to because I feel like. Like the 2020 Zoom is a whole lot different than the 2018 one. It's the damn feds watching. It's the damn feds. And so I have not explored any of that, but I have been facetuned before, unbeknownst to me. It's the coolest thing I've ever seen. The facetune? Jason being facetuned without his knowledge and then opening the file and seeing it was saved. My girlfriend took a photo of me and then I was like, oh, I look good here. And then I sent it to somebody. Somebody needed a photo of me. I was like, oh, I'll just use this one. And then I was like, why does the file say facetune in it? Is that some funny joke? And she was like, oh. But she just said I had a... You know, like my hair was messed up or like the shadow on my forehead was off or something like that. It wasn't like you're ugly. I need to fix you. Bitch, she gave you a new chin and nose. Don't lie. What are you talking about? She let me down easy and I'm fine with that. That's pretty cute. Have you been Zooming, Nomi, for work? I've been Zooming for work. Yeah, I've been Zooming for work. And I'm actually writing a piece about Zoom, which is sort of why I was asking. So I've been doing a lot of Zooming just for reporting purposes. I've been sitting in on a bunch of Zooms of various sorts. Have you sat in any of the orgy Zooms? No, I haven't. But I've talked to people. They're pretty good.

I mean, I, I haven't talked to people who actually have been in an orgy zoom, but I've talked to people who've talked to people. It's just not, it's not, it's not the main, uh, thrust. Wow. Wow. Wow. So I haven't, I mean, I haven't like really gone. Um, so what, um, what have you experienced the, the zoom face tune? No, I haven't, which is why, but I was asked about it. I was asked in the edits to my piece if I know people who've used it or what the effect is. Are you allowed to tell us what your Zoom article angle is? what the vibe is or is it just a general this is happening and i feel like i should probably not say it's not like some expose or something you know it's more of like a cultural piece about it so it's not going to be earth shattering either way but maybe i maybe i don't want to like say and then that's fine do you feel like do you feel like a lot of content look out for it like listeners yeah have you have you felt like content in general and the content that you're making It feels not earth shattering as a whole or how is it affecting what you choose to write about? Shots fucking fired. As a writer? I mean, I think, yeah, I mean, it's kind of, I mean, it's obviously like a weird. And that has nothing to do with the coronavirus. That's just writers in general. Yeah. No, it's, you know, it's, yeah, I have found that, but I am just kind of. The way I think about it is, first of all, like the first thing I think I wrote like after the crisis really like hit big was it was like a real counter programming type thing. Like I wrote about the Simpsons Instagram account and it came out and I was like, oh, my God, this was like in the kind of early, early, early ish days. Like maybe it was like.

kind of the second week of March maybe, or the first week of March. And it was like when it really started to be like, you know, maybe the first week of quarantine or something. And I was like, what the fuck am I doing? Like writing this thing now, like, is anyone going to be interested in it or like, it's not relevant to anything. But I was weirdly like surprised because people seem to like it. And a few people actually also even said to me outright, this was actually nice to read about something. that's not connected to the crisis. So I was like, okay, you know, that's, that's nice. And then, um, since then there's been a combination of things, I guess, like, um, I guess I wrote about yoga with Adrian, which is like something I've been doing every day since the, I mean, I've done it a lot before, but it's something I've been doing since. quarantine and i've like made a hot start doing it with me so i wrote about that so that was kind of like a calming you know it was connected to the quarantine but it wasn't like you know that's my that's my preferred quarantine content a loose connection but no tangential at best tangential not life or death right any facts or right right so i feel like that's mostly i'm trying to think what else i've done I guess, like, Tommy DePaola, the illustrator, the kid's illustrator died, so I wrote about that. But he didn't die from corona. Sorry. Sorry, Tommy. Boring. He was just, like, you know, elderly and had taken a fall. Can you imagine dying right now and not dying of corona? I know. Well, you know, it still happens. I know, I know. Death waits for no man. No, it does not. And so, you know, Yeah, it's weird. And I guess it changes piece to piece, I guess. And there is a general feeling that nothing matters. I mean, not just really even the things that I'm writing or not writing. And whether a person is writing about coronavirus or not, because there's just so much content about it. And there's really, it's not...

it's not like changeable really it's a kind of like a oppressive reality we're all kind of laboring under so i i think basically i guess i'm trying just not to think about it and just continuing to do the work that's in front of me and hopefully doing it well because it's it's like yeah it's just like a very strange time and there's no way to sort of circumvent that i guess Does that make sense? Yeah, I think people in your situation or even ours, people who create things like that, it's important to have the arts and the culture just to make our lives that we are living a little bit more enjoyable or tolerable amidst all the news cycles. Yeah, I think it would be really bleak if there was nothing that had to do with art or culture or style. If I see one more story about Ryan Heffington's dance zoom, I'm going to lose my fucking mind. Okay. So tell me about it because I was looking, because I, I have seen many things about it as well. And so I Googled and. It seemed really like the choreography, because everybody's been singing its praises and stuff. So I just sort of looked. I was like, is this something that I should try doing or what? I don't know. I have a quick question before we start. Who is Ryan Heffington? I don't know who he is. I think he's a choreographer. I think he lives in LA. He's a choreographer. He did see his chandelier video, I think. So he works. He works with singers. He's a big dog choreographer. Yeah, he's an in-demand choreographer. But then I guess he also has this class he teaches called the Sweat Spot. That's like a dance. Oh, okay. I know Sweat Spot. It's a cardio class. So I looked and then it just seemed that the choreography is quite, I mean, not that it's super complicated, but it's definitely like, you know, kind of like.

choreography like real choreography like you raise your hands and then you like kick your right leg and then you count it's eight counts baby welcome to i mean yeah it's not it's not just some little tiktok dance you could learn in a half an hour it's some real real shit it just well it's just like it's it's not just like okay let's just dance and no it's serious and it's like real yeah it seemed so i was like okay never mind i don't think i'd be able to My problem is that it seems a little lame. Like, because it's kind of... It's just like a little too like silly and quirky, but then the choreography is actually real. You know what I mean? But I guess it has to be silly and quirky to appeal to people. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I just, I'm very, I'm not a very... One time I went, I think it was for a friend's birthday or something. We went to this, there's, it's like in the Garmin district, I think there's this place, it's called like, uh, what's it called? It's like Broadway bodies or something. And they do, they do classes. It's like cardio classes, but, um, they teach a routine. So like the class I went to, they taught, uh, Bieber's, sorry, like the, the dance they do in the video. And that was, um, I mean, I'm not, I'm just not very, I mean, I sort of got some, most of it, I guess. Is the Jewish community known for the rhythm? I've never heard either way. So I think, I think it's not. No, I don't think the Jewish people are specifically known for the rhythm, but I also don't think, I mean, there are plenty of like good dancers and like, you know, like good. It's, it's, it's not, it's not inconceivable that. Yes, not as inconceivable as it is for just regular white people like me. Yeah, I think it's pretty, yeah, I don't think it's very, it's like outlier-y in a way that Jews are especially bad. Speaking of Jewish rhythm. I think I'm just not very, yeah, it's not my, and I see it, it's funny, I see it with my daughter, with Nina as well. She's like,

you know the cutest like but when they do like dances at school you know sometimes they have like some sort of performance or whatever I noticed that she like she can do it it's not like she totally can't but it doesn't it doesn't necessarily come I see other kids more natural at it and I see that for her it's a little bit of a struggle and I when I see her I see myself like it's kind of like oh yeah I forgot I have to raise my arm you know like kind of like is always like semi catching up i'm glad she's being pushed in her education that was important speaking of jewish rhythm is is this the first year that you had a virtual reality seder well okay so the thing is i wasn't it seemed to me kind of well okay so our families are all in israel so we never and there's a big um you know, there's like a seven hour difference. So we actually have never done Seder with them. We usually go, actually, we've, the last few years we've been going to our friend Matthew Schneier's house, you know. Shouts to the God. Shouts to the God. Even though, luckily, he had left the enemy paper as well and has now landed somewhere else. Yes, he's at New York Magazine. So we would go to his house, but then This year, we were just like, okay, we'll just like, I don't know, do a dinner at home, just me and Adonina. Like the idea of doing like, we're not like observant in any way. So the idea of doing a Seder, like a Zoom Seder seemed silly. But then it was suggested to me that maybe for the piece that I'm writing, maybe it would be a good idea to go to a Zoom Seder. And so I ended up going, Hannah Goldfield, who you guys also know. invited me to her brother-in-law's and sister's Zoom Seder. This is insane. You realize that, right? So what goes down at a Zoom Seder? Same bullshit. This one was actually like really, it was pretty good because it was just like, I mean, it's just every, it's like just imagine a meal where it's like most of the people know each other, but then some people don't. You know, it's like, oh, I'll invite whatever friend or like a cousin from the other side or something.

And everyone is, there's a slight lag in the audio. And it's like, you know, in the Seder, there's like song singing. So it's like very, it doesn't really lend itself to, you know, raising your voice and song with like 20 other people. How was the grub? Well, so that's the thing. It's like it. The Seder is like, I don't know how other people did it, but this I was just like basically like eating a matzah. Like I didn't really prepare. Like there's a whole slew of dishes that one usually has at a Seder. So you're saying you didn't go that hard because of this? I didn't go hard at all. No, I mostly just like observed and they were really nice. It was like a cool, you know, it's a nice, seems like a nice family. Yeah, the whole thing is quite strange. How many people are on the street? I mean, maybe like 20, I think, or something like that. Yeah, all together. At least you didn't have to bring any natural wine, right? Exactly. No natural wine. Okay, so you guys are working out, running. Gene's is cooking. Jason's doing a lot of skipping rope. That's his preferred form of cardio. Skipping rope. Wow. That seems really hard. The gentleman's cardio. We have a real Rocky on our hands. Yeah, totally. It is hard, but once you pick it up, you never let it down. Wow. I'm hooked on the shit, I will say. So, like, how long do you do it for? That's the fucked up part. That's the fucked up part. A full hour. What? I don't know how I do it. I've seen it. I've seen it. I've witnessed it. And it's wild. I struggle to run one mile. But I can jump rope for an hour, no problem. Your big, goofy ass ain't meant to run. We ain't trying to see a gazelle like that. You know what I'm saying? Gazelle's not the right word for it. More of a giraffe.

An hour nonstop? I mean, I'll take a little break here and there, but out of 60 minutes, I'm jumping 57 of those minutes, we'll say. That's crazy. I know, and he's not an athlete at all, like no skills at all, so it's kind of crazy he was able to do this. That is not nice. I have some skills. I see you as an athlete, Jason. Wow. If we're going to talk about athletes on this podcast, I'm the only fucking one, and we need to all recognize that right now. There doesn't have to be only one, Chris. That can be all of us. The same way you're like the AV guy of the show, I'm the athlete of the show. There just can't be two. I feel fatter just by you saying that. That's wow. Wow. But yeah, I would say that in terms of work, there's not a ton of work coming. Chris has been busy, but my line of work is a lot of experiential. Yes. And all of that whole world has been put on ice. So it's been a little rough. But there are things starting to trickle in now that people are realizing that they have to pivot and adjust to this new world order that is going on. So I'm starting to get some stuff here and there. And then, you know, the podcast itself, we're doing three shows a week, which is, you know, it's not a lot of work, but, you know, it's a decent amount of work. Yeah, no, totally. Totally. Giving back to the community. It's important to give back. And then also writing these strategist pieces about things, you know, that takes up a few hours a week. You're telling me, sweetie. Chris, are you still doing your Ask Chris Black? Oh, Ask Chris Black will never die. No virus can stop me from recommending expensive shit to people who don't need it. That's amazing. I've actually, yes, it's continued and the questions keep coming in. I kind of like it because they're a little more specific. Yeah. And it's a little more of a challenge for me, honestly, because I don't, you know, like.

it's just different than what it used to be, but I enjoy it. And I've been writing. I mean, I wrote the Vandy Fair thing. I got a GQ thing coming out. I did some stuff for W until they went out of business. But it's been, yeah, I mean, I haven't been that like, and there's some other, there's regular work still going on because I think that like, you know, all these companies still need to figure out how to navigate this shit kind of stuff. Chris, do you miss the constant travel? Yes, it's killing me. Yes, that's the one thing I miss the most, honestly. Yeah, 100%. How's your Delta status? Is it teetering? Luckily, my kings in Delta, they let us rock for another year because they see the tragedy. Oh, thank God. Thank God. That was something I was concerned with. My status is, unfortunately, it's not going to go up, but it's going to stay the same. So it could be worse. So Delta gets yet another bailout. Great. Another fucking bailout. Yeah, exactly. But yeah, I do miss that, Nomi. I mean, I just think that a lot of stuff that I would normally do is going to be canceled, too. So for the foreseeable future, the only place I'm going is the damn continental United States. Right. But how has it been for you to be outside of... outside of the city you live in, the city of angels. Do not have Red Hot Chili Peppers right now, Brian. I see where you're going. We know you're a peps fan, and we don't allow that. I'm a big peps fan. What's your favorite peps album, Blood Sugar Sex Magic? Yes. Good answer. That's the only cool one. I mean, that hit when I was at the right, you know, I was at the right age. I feel like every album after that album, not so good. Yes. Blood Sugar, Sex Magic, and Before, excellent. I mean, there's a thing. I've tweeted about this often, but I recall a party, I believe. I mean, the album had been out for a little bit, and I think I was in 10th grade, and it was a party. This was back in Israel with these artsy kids.

I grew up in Haifa, which is in the north of Israel. And maybe like a half hour drive from the city, there was like this. The Bushwick of Israel. Yeah. It was like this place that had like a lot of sort of like hip. It was like an artist, like artist colony kind of. It's hard to explain. Like it was a place where a lot of like, it was a kind of village where a lot of like artists congregated. Sounds like pepper country to me. So Athens, Georgia, the Athens, Georgia. Right. And so now I get it. Basically, basically the place where they let the kids like it was the sort of place where it's like like 12 year olds were like smoking cigarettes. And you know what I mean? It was like the parents were hippies. Like all the kids would like, you know, lose their virginity when they were like, you know, it's like it was that sort of place. And I remember there was a party. And this was somewhat after the album came out. And all they played, and we came, me and a few friends went over, we knew some people there, I guess, and we went to this party. And the only album they played at the party was Blood Sugar, Sex Magic. But it was terrifying because there was like, for me, because there was a feeling of like, real like adult sexuality in the air, even though. you know, I was like 15 or something and they were 15, but they were already kind of like on their like 17th lover or something, you know? And I was like, there was this one girl. She had taken a lover. She had taken a lover and she was, she was dancing. She was wearing like. She was wearing a short skirt and she was wearing a garter belt, which was really advanced. I would say also weirdly unnecessary and something she discovered on TV, for sure. Yeah, no, totally. In retrospect, yes, of course. Leave this slutty 15-year-old alone, Chris. Yeah, so she was like a slutty 15-year-old, which I respect, but at the time I was like...

super yeah i was like goals but also like super intimidated and like sure what is he doing will i ever wear a garter belt the answer was no you know cut to like five years later but in any case the soundtrack to all of this was blood sugar sex magic um you know with the the uh the kind of pulsating sexuality of ketis and co adding a certain all right And also, Kiedis & Co. is good, but that's when they retire and they go on their Grateful Dead tour. They will be called Kiedis & Co. But also, the four words, blood, sugar, sex, magic, I feel like all four of those are forbidden in the Jewish culture, perhaps. Yeah, that's why it got you so excited, for sure. I think that's a little bit like, you know, that's a little over-determined. It is, it is. I would have replaced Jewish with whatever culture the person I was talking to was. I don't know. I have a really tough time with this because to me, the peps were kind of just lumped in with the Foo Fighters on alternative radio in my upbringing. Yeah, but this is years before Foo Fighters were even formed. understood understood but i'm saying i came at it from at a different time and therefore right because you came to it a little late whereas first of all this is the only thing i've ever come to late so let me have this one right no and i get it and i understand because then like after blood sugar sex magic it did become like a more uh you know like a more like main i mean not that it wasn't really mainstream before but they did come from like this sort of like druggy la like um you know, somewhat artsy, you know, like, uh, at one point they were, they were cool. Yeah. Like P funk, you know, just like it kind of like, uh, a different, actually a kind of, and for those of us lucky enough to have read the Kitas, uh, lucky enough, which is the, have you guys read it? No, no, but I, that's her favorite book. I know that it's so good.

Like it's so good. So it's like you read it and you realize that they really did come from, I mean, he's like a total idiot. Like I love him, but he's a total idiot. And it's like so amazing. But he's also, it's a sort of memoir. Chris, I think you would really like it because he really reveals all. I mean, I love drug stuff. Like I love drugs and sex. And it's like, there's no, and it's like, I always joke about how, and it's all like, so like creamy too. So it's all like. you know, it was her, you know, me and like whoever, like he said, like a million, every time it's like, I fell in love with this beautiful angel and it turns out she was like 15, you know, and it's like, and it was like, you know, it was her 15th birthday and we wanted to make it really special. You know, stuff like that. Do you think, do you think coronavirus has killed the Me Too movement? I have heard this said, um, I don't, know i think it's a little early to make um i think it's i think it's killed a lot of it's just like waylaid a lot of this like uh a lot of the concerns that people yeah day-to-day concerns just in general and since nobody can touch each other anyway you know for now it's like there's no and there's no you know Yeah, I guess other than domestic violence, I would say crimes of passion have come to a halt for the most part. Yeah. And there's no office culture, in-person office culture. I mean, obviously harassment and so on can happen online as well. On Twitter? Chris knows. I think it's probably early to say that, so I can't really... I don't know. Chris, has it affected your comment section? Are you getting flamed more or less or the same amount? I mean, I've just got a lot of reply guys these days. On Twitter? Yeah, no, on Twitter. Just like so many dudes. What do they say? Well, there's some kinds that just are like fire, you know what I mean? Like kind of encouragement reply guys. Then there's also the type that think they're on my level and can duel with me.

uh in a in a humor way and i i have to put them in their place sometimes like give an example like what um they'll just try to flame me for something and i'll be like bro you have 12 followers why you know i can't engage right i mean it's it's it's not a level playing field i don't punch down that's part of my charm yes no punching down no punching down chris you're having growing pains as you glow up You have to learn how to deal with a new set of haters, one that is disguised as a friend. Exactly. And I try not to read reviews. You know how it is. So it's like I don't read reviews. I don't read comments. But the reply guys are hard to shake. They're hard to shake. But it's part of being a success. It's part of being a success story. I think they're just looking for a friend, Chris. They just want to impress you. They just want your approval. And sometimes the shit that they say is so bad that you just have to be like, no, bro. No, bro, you need help. Maybe I should teach a Zoom class on how to not be a reply guy and charge $20. That's a good idea. It's going to fuck up my OnlyFans, though. Do not. I need my guys. Did you see the story about the strip clubs, Nomi, in the New York Times? No. It's pretty great. It's Puffy's son and one of his friends have started a giant... Which of the sons? Quincy? No, not Quincy. Does it matter? Well, I'll tell you why it matters. Once again, I'm going to repeat a story that I've told many times in the past. Well, we love original content on this podcast, but continue. In the mid-2000s, the mid-aughts, yes, I was writing for a newspaper in Israel occasionally. I mean, I was still in grad school, but I was... also doing stuff for newspaper in Israel. And one of my assignments was to go and profile Jacob the jeweler. And this was like the height of Jacob the jeweler. I mean, he was waiting. I think he had just appealed his indictment or something. He went to jail because there was some money laundering thing, but this was before he went to jail, but he was still very...

successful and i spent a day at his uh 57th street um store and uh one of the people who came in was diddy the god and he came in with quincy uh who actually wasn't his it was it's kim porter's son like he it wasn't his biological son but he came with quincy and they were filming it for my super sweet 16 like Yeah. Like Quincy came in, he was about to turn 16 and they were like, what are we going to get him at Jacob's? Of all the weeks to be shadowing Jacob. Yes. So, so that's why I was especially interested to know if it was Quincy who was, uh, this, I think it's, I believe it's Justin. Justin. He named the popular restaurant chain after that was a hot spot. But they basically get strippers to come on Instagram Live, and then they post their cash chat at the top while they dance, and these girls are making a lot of money. But is it allowed? Is nudity allowed? I think because it's on live, it is. Oh, really? Yeah, I think so. So basically, these girls are like, yeah, they saved me. These guys are making real money. Every night, I dance. I bring home real money. I wonder about the music copyright infringement, though. Do they have to dance to license-free, unclear music? Yeah, they're just some YouTube DJ Premier type beat. Or do they dance in pure silence? I mean, pure silence would be poetic and also... So sad. Pure Silence has the energy that just out of camera shot, there is a man holding a gun somewhere. Yeah, for sure. For sure. But yeah, there's going to be new enterprises popping up throughout this quarantine. The gun thing, it reminds me that I was looking through Steve-O's memoir.

the other day. Continue. I would love to see you blowing the dust off of that on your bookshelf. Actually, I picked it up at a Goodwill in Miami. In Miami over the summer. This is feeling dark to me a little bit. It was really dark. I love it so much. But I was like, I can't leave this in the store. Even just you being in Miami on vacation and be like, Let's go look at books at Goodwill. Is this when you were on your writer's retreat? Yes, my writer's retreat. I remember this. The writer's retreat you brought your family to. The writer's retreat I brought the family on and we spent the whole time at the beach and the pool. But it was great. But in any case, yeah, so the Steve biography, I was just reading it the other day and he was talking about how uh, at the height of his fame, whatever that was, you know, or whenever. So this is like 2004 maybe or something. He, uh, was shot by Terry Richardson and Terry Richardson wanted a girl like was shooting him and wanted a girl to, um, service him orally. I'm saying this. And what do you mean? Damn, real New York shit right there. So he wanted, yeah, so this girl was blowing him and he also wanted Steve-O to hold a gun to her head. Classic Terry. What a silly guy. God, what a funny guy. I wonder what magazine this was for. I mean, I don't know if it was one of those things where it was like for Terry's like... Whatever, files. This one's just for Papa. Terry's Diary on Tumblr. Yeah, Terry's Diary, right. And to Stevo's credit, he said that somehow something about the gun pointed to the girl's head did not sit right with him. Just too far. And he wasn't able to perform.

And so, yeah. A bridge too far even for Mr. O. Hold on. So you're saying he held the gun to her head, but he couldn't stay erect? Yeah. Or he didn't hold the gun? Yeah. So basically they had to, yes, yes. It didn't work. I mean, God bless Steve-O. God intervened, actually, on Steve-O. And he said, Steve-O, the blood ain't going there, family. Put the gun down. Yeah. So, sorry, this is not... Oh, yeah, because Jason said that when someone is stripping on Instagram Live with no music... Sorry, it's the train of... No, no, it did not need a reason to get there to that story, but I'm glad there was one. I'm sorry. I just read it, and it stayed with me, and I didn't talk about it to anyone, so this is... Fresh content. I'm doing it on the pod. So do you, do you read it like a book like that? When you get it, do you read all the way through or do you just visit messages? I have to admit, I just wanted to have it and I didn't read it. A conversation piece, if you will. I mean, I knew that at some point, like, I mean, for me also, it's books. Sometimes I find that they serve as a mood board of sorts. That's how Jason feels about infinite jest. And that's why he's got it on his coffee table for the last 10 years. I'm going to get to it. Um, it's just like, Oh, you know, whatever. I might not read it all the way through, but maybe like, I'll be like, you know, reminded of something and I'll look through it or maybe like the pictures or sometimes I do read part of it and then put it aside. And sometimes I read it the whole way through, but in this case I didn't. And then I didn't read it at all. And then I just picked it up. I know why I picked it up because I saw this picture and I posted this picture of Knoxville. and jessica simpson at like the premiere of um uh dukes of hazard and i and i was like oh you know like jackass like it just is he set me down i was like oh okay yeah i remember i have this biography i should look into it and so i just skimmed it did you guys see the jackass for girls skit on netflix no

What is it? Oh, brother. There's a new sketch show on Netflix. I think the comedian is Eliza Schlesinger. Yeah, she has a Netflix special like every other person who's ever told a joke. I can't believe I haven't had a Netflix special yet. It could happen for you in 2021. I mean, this disease might decimate the comedy community. Do you think you're going to have a master class or a Netflix hour first? I mean, maybe like in Netflix, like 15. You know, like one of those things where it's like, oh, we're going to give you, we're going to like. We're getting you a quickie. We'll give you a tight, we'll give you a tight 15. But they do a spoof on Jackass, but what if Jackass was chicks? Similar to Sex and the City for Dudes. Was that on Kroll Show, I think? Yeah, that's called Entourage, but yeah, it was on Kroll Show. Right. It's like women doing, it's like the female Johnny Knoxville doing things that chicks would do instead of dudes. So like what? So like what? So they go, the prank is that she goes to her ex-boyfriend's house who is currently living with his new girlfriend who is hotter than her. And then she goes and like ding dong ditches him and then starts crying. And then her friends console her, and then that's it. And it's really one of the worst, least funny things I've ever seen in my life. It's terrible. Jason doesn't understand comedy. I don't know if you know that. I feel like Jason is a pretty funny person. I'm kidding. Jason's hilarious. Thanks, Nomi, and only. Chris likes some comedy, but he's a laugher at heart. I love to laugh, but no one... You do love to laugh. No one can make me laugh like TJ. Multiple people have told me that in my life, that he just makes me giggle in a way that no man or woman can't. I love when you giggle.

I know. He just really gets me going. Then I kind of embarrass myself a little bit. I might cry a little. I love that you said man or woman as well. Well, I just wanted to level the playing field. It's not about sex for me. I was thinking of you when I was watching an episode of Cat Williams' live stand-up from 2015. He's probably the person that makes me laugh the most. It's so good. It's so fucking funny. But, I mean... He's gone downhill, but it's still funny. I don't know if that's true. I think he's lost it a little bit, just in general. What comedian hasn't? Did you guys watch the Dave Chappelle? There's a special where he gets the Mark Twain prize for comedy. I have not, no. It's actually very good. You guys should watch it. It's a nice, inspiring watch, aside from being funny. Have you checked in with John Mayer? How's he doing, Nomi? Mayer is... Yeah, I check in with him. He seems to be doing well. Yeah. I mean, I think he keeps his spirits up. He seems to... If I had a head of hair like that during this quarantine, my spirits would be fucking up, too. Oh, my God. His hair. I often say to him, Mayer, your robust hairline. Like, is like no other. It's insane. Well, it's just, he couldn't, I mean, he would look great with a shaved head, but it just somehow looks fine, even grown out, you know? It looks just great. Jason and I both shaved our heads, so. Jason too? Really? We buzzed, not shaved. Buzzed, yeah, yeah, we did. Right. What if I suddenly do it? That would be amazing. It could work. It could work. I mean, I think we need six months. I mean, I don't know. I, I feel like I'm, I'm too, I might be too old to experiment like that, but you know what, who knows how long this is going to last. So we might, what do you, yeah. What's your, what's your guess on how long this is going to last? Um, and don't, don't say something shitty. Cause I'm going to cry. Okay. I, so, okay. So now there's like the school thing in New York, right? Where like, like the Blasio said, okay, no school until the end of the year, which is like,

I guess like late June. Right. I mean, so, but then Cuomo said, no, that's maybe there will be school. Like, so, you know, it's still, I don't think it's like a hundred percent, but I would say. Like not, not full on, but like, when can we casually grab a coffee and walk around? Yeah. I, my hope is that. I'm thinking of it from the perspective of a parent who is with her child at home. Having a meltdown? Yeah, we get it. You've got to watch these damn kids. Damn kids. My hope is that we can be out by the time summer camp comes around. You sign up your kids to camp. I did it in January or something. That's just when... the camp start like how long when is that give me that is like early july oh wow so you're pushing us off because because right now no i mean i don't know i'm i'm i'm talking like specifically with nina so since school is you know conceivably over for the year so i'm thinking okay if we take that as a yardstick say so we have like i mean i don't know it's kind of depressing i don't know what to say i hope it'll be before that Because right now, I think the shelter in place is only until April 30th in New York. I guess LA is May 15th, Jason. Yeah, it's May 15th, but I don't see a way that it's going to stop in the near future at all. What would have to happen for... that the shelter in place to be removed we would all have to be vaccinated or no no no they just because the economy has to come back to normal they'll just push it through even if it's dangerous i mean i think the idea is i think like well i think the idea is that um fewer and fewer people die you know uh so like the the curve is flattened and so then

you know it becomes less dangerous and then also hospitals conceivably can treat like you know because the idea is that hospitals if everybody was just like out and about now and infecting each other like hospitals would like collapse like no one would be able like people would just die willy-nilly because there would be no Yeah, you cut your hand slicing some onions and you're shit out of luck. Yeah, or even you have corona and you die because nobody can treat you at the hospital because the hospital is just so overwhelmed with cases. So the idea is to allow the curve to flatten so that the health services can contend with the crisis and have fewer people. sick i mean i don't as well like because people staying home means that they're not continuing to come into contact with each other so are you are you losing it like be honest um i'm not losing it i am like bored and annoyed you know while also obviously knowing that i'm very lucky um and i keep trying to remind myself of that and i keep saying like I'm really lucky. We're healthy. You know, everything is fine. I still have a job. Were you able to sell your Coachella tickets? Yeah. So this year, I really, that's it. I mean, that's it. Like, Coachella, I was like, is this the year? Is this finally the year? This is the year. And once again, it is not the year. Sadly, once again, it is not the year. But this time, it's like a global pandemic that is, you know. Jason was going to go for the 15th year in a row for sure. Yeah, I was. Do you want to know what the real global pandemic is now? Know me. It's FX is Dave. Oh my God. Can we talk about Dave? Does it slap? Cause I think it's, that's what I like it. Everyone seems to like it. And what do you, how do you feel about me refusing to watch it?

Is it because I don't want to want? No, I have not watched it. I'm afraid that I will like it. So I'm choosing not to watch it. Okay. So I was surprised because, okay, so here's the thing. I saw the ads. Like I saw the ads where he, this curly haired guy emerges from a man. Little Dicky is crawling out of his own underwear. Yeah. And I was like. And both me and Ohad were like, what the fuck is this? This looks horrible. Like, this is like, this is horrible. Like, we can't watch this. But then. Oh my God, we're watching it. I asked, I think I asked on Twitter. I was like, and I asked as a joke because I was like, should I watch Dave? You know, because first of all, the name is really funny. It's a classic fried tweet. It just looks. Classic fried tweet. Dave was very in quotes. It just, yeah, totally in quotes. And it just looked, the ad looked really bad. So I was like, I don't know. But then people who I actually respect were like, it's actually kind of good. And I was like, really? And then there was like one night last week where I was like, okay, I guess it's time we're going to watch Dave. Gather around, family. Gather around, family. And we watched Dave. So, so far we've watched three episodes. But it's on Budget Network FX. Is FX a budget network? Yes, FX is a budget network. It is not premium by any means. That's fine. You watch fucking Bravo, Chris. That's a premium network. No, it is not. If we broke down the demo of who watches Bravo versus who watches FX, I guarantee you the mean family income of the Bravo watcher is higher. I don't know if that's true. What's on FX, Jason, besides Dave? I don't fucking know. I would argue that FX has some more intellectual programming and a lot of rich, famous people watch Bravo programming, but also a lot of real trash people watch Bravo programming as well. Well, just because it's a more democratic network with something for everyone, the median income is less. I think FX's claim to fame is like some sort of...

Like Walking Dead or some garbage. Hey, FX used to have Louis CK's show. That's good, right? Dude, did you get the special yet, Jason? Admit it. I did not. I have not. I'm waiting for the torrent to hit. Would you watch the torrent special, Nomi? I would not, but it's because I never liked Louis. And I have the tweets to prove it. I have tweets from like four years ago saying Louis is not. Louis is not funny to me. I don't like him. I agree with you. He's fine. Thank you. I agree with you. He's fine. Never liked it. So for me, it was, it was no like big conflict when he started, you know, when it came out that he was a jerk who jerks off because I was like, never liked him anyway. It's interesting because you and I, who I would consider, you know, East coast intellectuals don't, don't like it. But then someone like Jason. West Coast, Orange County kind of bro does. He's no Lil Dicky, I will say that. I would say Lil Dicky might be thriving more than Louis right now. I feel like Lil Dicky is very charming. Everyone is thriving more than him. I'm going to try. I wonder if I should like... put out the big guns and really try to get that follow back. So you have willed yourself into friendship with Wes, a.k.a. Diplo, and now John Mayer. Is Lil Dicky, a.k.a. Dave, next? Well, I mean, I don't know. All I'll say is that I watched the first three episodes and I liked them and I laughed and I thought it was pretty smart and endearing. Do you agree, Chris? I haven't watched it yet. You haven't watched it at all? No, but I don't even know where to see FX. Chris would never watch an FX show. Oh, it's on Hulu. It's on Hulu, yeah. I don't have a Hulu membership, but I guess at this point I might as well just subscribe to everything and die watching television. There's nothing better to do. Yeah, there's nothing better to do. I've been watching Party Down and Jason's advice, and it's very funny. I really like it. Oh my god, it's so good. The first season is just...

And also, the first season, the explosive chemistry between Adam Scott and Lizzie Kaplan. You know Lizzie Kaplan is dating the guy from fucking War on Drugs? Really? Yeah. Which one? Doesn't matter. Well, remember when he used to date Matthew, what's his name? Chandler Bing? Matthew Perry? Well, he's dated them all, you know. Back in the day? Yeah, when he was like, oh my god, he looks so crazy. He's Bing'd them all. I believe he is still deep on Raya. I think he's still deep on them oxys. You know what I'm saying? He got the oxy face. He got the 30 Viking in an hour face. Oh, no. Yeah, he looked rough. He can afford it, though. Have you guys noticed any of your friends or family members being a little bit more relaxed with their self-quarantining? Besides me? Yeah, I've noticed a few people talking here and there about just like, you know what? I think we're fine. I think we can just hang out now. I have not seen that. Not really. I need new friends. I went to the park with Nina and Oha. I'd like to just a park in Bed-Stuy yesterday. Or maybe it was Friday. No, it was yesterday. And we ran into friends. We didn't plan it, but we ran into people we knew with their babies. But we all stood apart. Were you wearing a mask? I was wearing a mask, yes. I don't know where I fall on the mask. I mean, I wear it, but I don't know how I fall on it. What do you do when you work out? I mean, who likes wearing a mask, Chris? I don't wear the mask when I run. I think that's psycho. Yeah. Like, I don't, I also think it would, I would rather die than have my workout affected. So, I mean, if I'm going to, if I'm not going to be heaving and trying to get, because they're hard to breathe. And also when you wear glasses like me, because I'm smart. Oh, it fogs, it fogs off the glasses. I found it. I found an article from the cut that tells you how to prevent that. I'll forward it to you. Oh, good. Yeah. Because it's been bothering me. As a fellow glasses wearer who wants to live through this, I think I need to share that information with you.

Yeah, it's really hard for Chris to go beast mode when his glasses are fogging up. So I'm glad the cut gave him the info on how to get through that. Thank you, Jason. It is hard. But Jason, you're seeing your L.A. homies being like, yo, let's hit the park for some natty vibes. No, I wouldn't say homies, but people, I've just seen like here and there, people just sort of. I don't know if they're calling bullshit on it or if they're just doing it for their own convenience, but people are kind of like, eh, I think we're fine. We've been a month now and I'm not sick and you're not sick, so we're probably chill. Did you go to a drive-in church service today? I did not. What if I went to a drive-in church service? Going to church is truly the worst thing on earth. Going to church to sit in a car is absolutely insane. It's absolutely insane. Honestly, it embarrasses me because I know that idea definitely started in the South. Up is down, down is up. Maybe going to church is just what we need, Chris. You guys, I have a question because you guys know about that sort of thing. What do you think about the influencers? What are they doing? What's going to happen? how are they is it like is it gonna put the whole endeavor in kind of like a pathetic light or like have people been choking with sort of like trying it already has begun putting them in more of a pathetic light yeah i think it's just kind of like magnified their existence and their career and yeah you know it has gone on long enough And much like the success of professional DJs, we've had it too good for too long. And the big man upstairs is coming down with the reckoning. I mean, the thing with What's-Her-Name, the something Navy girl who blogged about getting the... That whole saga and how mad it made people is just like...

I can't believe an influencer couldn't make me mad enough to care about that. If you don't understand that rich people get doctors before regular people, then you're just in the wrong. You've had your eyes closed for too long. That's how things work. If you have money, you get special treatment. That's just what this country is built on. That's why we all try to get rich because we want the special treatment. You know what I mean? I think the way she handled it was just stupid. I said this too. All the stuff that these influencers are doing to get killed for, they could just not talk about and no one would know and they would be fine. That's the shocking part. Like they just cannot stop themselves from sharing. Right. But this person is kind of like a mega, mega, you know, she has like millions of followers. I'm more talking about, I'm interested in like, you know, the people who have, you know, sort of like hot girls or something, you know, who have like, who are influencers, but they're not. You're talking about explore page hotties? explore page hotties yes that's a favorite category of this podcast um yeah very popular it's like what what's gonna happen it's it's tough hopefully i mean i i they could be turning to donation based services to keep uh to keep the doors open which jason means getting on only fans and busting all the way down for a little subscription oh Or maybe like I feel like fitness is still a category that's sort of open. So if it's like sort of hot girls who are very into fitness anyway, then maybe they can. I like how I'm worried about this. But, you know, the question is, will people pay money for something that they've been getting free already? Yeah, it's also like I'm not going to pay money. Fitness is a great example. There's already professionals I can pay. Why would I pay some influencer who has no certification except having abs? That doesn't really work. Yeah, I guess you're right. But they're able to do it. But they'll still get stuff for free, I guess. Maybe they'll keep getting stuff for free. They'll definitely will because I said this, I think we talked about this on a podcast earlier, but the reality is that these brands still have to sell shit.

Free candles don't pay the bills, unfortunately. But they can't shoot it on the way they used to. So they have to send it to these influencers and let them do their thing and still pay them something, I would imagine. Because they can't go do a regular shoot like you could have pre-corona. So maybe they'll be okay. If the influencers aren't okay, then what do I have to live for? It sounds like you really want them to be okay. I kind of, in a way, do. Because I'm just sort of... I just, first of all, I'm like, it's like the same thing as like when I see, I don't know, like young girls who have like an older rich boyfriend and then I see them like start getting a little older and I get concerned. I'm like, what's she going to do? Like, you know what I mean? What's our exit strategy once we start getting a little long in the tooth? Yeah, I mean, I'm just, I get a little worried. Sincerely, I'm just a little bit, oh no, what's going to happen? I just think that we, as a society, want the influencer bubble to burst so badly. But I think it's going to continue. If not, get bigger. I mean, your concerns are justified. There is no such thing as explore page uglies. Something's got to give. Something's got to give. I just feel like we, we sort of needed to keep, to keep, um, I don't know. It's like, I feel like society will truly descend into chaos. If the influencers will be gone. It's a shine. It's a shining light of hope in this dark time. Yeah, exactly. It's like, are they still working on their abs? Like, is the bot still like tight is, you know, but it's, it's probably getting like harder for some of them. Again, and I think we talked about this on Twitter. It's like, what are people doing with their injectables and stuff? I mean, I'm not talking about really rich, famous people like Kim or whoever, but I'm talking more about just the sort of kind of mid-level people. Yeah, look, I know as a mid-level person, I couldn't even get somebody to come give me a haircut. Right. So it's like, it's concerning.

What do we do for people who spend $200 a month on Botox? Yeah, like, what's going to happen? What's going to happen, you know? They're going to have to start reading. No, that's my beat. Basically, I don't want them to come for my beat. So I'm like, I just, I need them to, like, you know, do the stuff that they're good at. I have seen a lot of influencer chicks start book clubs, which we don't need. Except for Kaya Gerber gets a pass because she's so fine, but she had to bring Lena Dunham into it, which I don't really understand. I didn't know. I need to look into this. I did not know about Kaya's book club. Sam High and I were going to try to join, but we haven't gotten ourselves together yet. Is it just an Instagram book club that anyone can join? Yes, it is, but we were hoping for preferential treatment as members of the media. Oh. Yeah, I would think so. I like to bring hot young guys around just because it usually makes my life better. Sure, it's kind of like a honey trap, a honey pot. Yes, yes, yes. Like on this podcast, for example, Jason's bringing me around because I'm the hot young guy. So he like dangles you. Yes, exactly. He's this podcast's tartlet. I parade him across Spotify and other platforms. Yeah. If we had a promo photo, I would be in the front and Jason would be slightly blurry behind me. No. No, definitely not. We're equals and we stand shoulder to shoulder even though he's a lot taller than me. Shoulder to shoulder. Please. Jason's a fucking certified hottie. The height just scares some people off. Those people are losers. But it brings a few people on as well. Exactly. This NBA hoes, if they're looking for a white dude, they know where to go. Exactly. Exactly, exactly, exactly. Exactly. You guys. Well, Fry, we're going to wrap up soon. I did have one other question for you. I saw on Twitter that you have been pivoting to smoking a little bit of weed lately.

Hey. Yes. I mean, I, I've always occasionally smoked weed, but I feel like I, now that I'm never not home, uh, I just, and especially now that I'm mothering full time, I just need to mothering and working. I need some, you know, I need to relax at the end of a long day. So I don't need much. Yeah. I don't need much. I take a hit or two off a vape. that i have um and i watch dave so you so you bust a couple clouds open and then you fire up little dickie and i fire up little dickie and what kind of what's the snack vibe and oh the snack well sometimes i sort of go that's that's a problem because i'm like like when that happens i'm just like suddenly my thoughts turn to chocolate And I'm like, oh, no, it's too much. Dave, chocolate, don't bother me. Yeah, exactly. I think Dave wishes he was chocolate, if you know what I'm saying. I was able to decipher that code, Chris. I'm sorry. But it has made the evenings slightly funnier. slightly more relaxed. That's good. It's just a switch off. A switch is thrown. It hasn't affected your cardio too much. In the sense that I hadn't been doing cardio and I still don't do cardio. No, it has not affected it. Consistency. I would love to be there to watch you buying a weed vape pen. You mean like at Cookies on Melrose? Yes, yes, exactly. I just want to see that. So tell me, what is the whole thing with this? Tell me which one is for me. Well, I mean, so this one that I'm smoking right now was actually given to me as a gift, but it's excellent. I wouldn't have known to select it myself, but now I know. Is it a sativa or a sleepy indicator? It is more towards the, it's more.

towards the sativa um it's like it has a little thing on the side that has like uh it's like a sort of scale thing and it has like one side is sativa and one side is indica and then it has a little like it's sort of like uh um you know it shows that it's more leaning towards sativa towards sativa yeah so i guess it's a mix but it's more sativa so you're getting turned up on this hybrid I'm getting turned up on the hybrid. I kind of know nothing, you know? So I wouldn't have known. It's basically just from trying other people's, I guess, that I, when I bought something, I was like, oh, that felt nice. So you use it when it's time to turn the brain off when the day is done and it's just catch time. So you don't ever use it to like, all right, I'm going to hit the sativa and then finish this. this article or bang these emails out? You would never do that? No, not really. I do that at the end of the day. I don't want it to impair my intellectual capacities if I need them. But what if it does the opposite of impair? I think it makes me a little hazy. You know what? Actually, I will say that I'm not in this Not during this quarantine, but in the past, like I have had some occasions where I've smoked and I've had ideas, but not so much ideas to carry out at the moment. More sort of like. Your spoken word poetry album is coming 2022. Yeah, it's been a job. You get blazed, you come up with a fucking sick idea, you email it to yourself, and then tomorrow you look at it and you're like, ooh, boy. Jason, the real pros, the real move, you mail it to yourself, USPS, so you have the stamp that holds up in court for copyright purposes. Wow. I've done that many times in my life. Just let me know if you need to see the records. Wow. We only have a few more days left for the Postal Service to be doing that.

I know. That's true. That's true. I love the USPS, and I hope they can survive, but they probably won't. Yeah, Chris, you've always been a vocal supporter of the USPS, haven't you? Yeah, you guys have your little causes, food, not bombs, or whatever. I'm out here fucking USPS is my cause. Please donate to the GoFundMe. It's important. Chris likes it back in the day when a mailman was a man, right? Exactly. Yeah, exactly. You know it was different. Now they let anybody do it. Back in my day, You had to be a man to carry the mail. Damn right, brother. Nomi, it's a pleasure. Thank you for joining us. It's always a pleasure. This was really fun. Thank you so much for taking the time. Yeah, thank you for inviting me. This has been really great. So, yeah, let's talk soon. Offer on the pod. We will. And tell the people where to find you on the World Wide Web. Okay. On Instagram and Twitter, I'm FryNomiFry. I spell Nomi N-A-O-M-I. So it's FryNomiFry. Spelled like Campbell, pronounced like Nomi. Yes. And yeah, that's where you can find me. And on The New Yorker, where I am a writer. And on various other podcasts hosted by white dudes. Other broke boy podcasts that do not compare to this one. For better or worse, that's actually, yeah, that's the case. We won't name names. No names. You know who you are. No names. All right. Thank you, Nomi. Okay. Bye. Bye. Bye.