Which Riddle Riddle?

This is a HeadGum Podcast.

Okay, and can you tell me, in your own words, why you want to be an exploratory deep sea diver?

Right. I thought this was going in the opposite direction when I signed up. I thought this was going up into space exploration, but sort of the same though, right?

It's sort of the same. Yeah, it's all kind of like intense pressure, both physically and mentally. And you're exploring like an unseen darkness. Yeah.

Great. Then I guess I want to be one because I want to meet an alien and see the stars.

Great. And how long do you think that you can hold your breath?

Let's see. One, two.

Two seconds. Okay. Two seconds. Pretty good. Pretty good. You're so far the best I've seen today. Thank you. Just a little joke because you're the first I've seen today. Okay. And you, sir, why do you want to be an exploratory deep-sea diver?

My mother was a exploratory deep-sea diver. Was. Yeah. Yikes. The eels got her. Yeah.

Eels can get you?

Well, the band.

Oh.

She was killed at an eels concert.

Oh.

Yeah, they did a band. Not bad then. No, they did a concert, 10,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and a bunch of eels broke it and killed everybody.

What, just a huh?

Oh, no, I mean, aww.

Thank you.

It's an aww-worthy story, not really a huh-worthy story.

Sorry, yeah.

Aww, I said that. I can hold my tongue for probably two days and then I want to tell somebody something. Okay.

Are you sitting on a sneaker right now?

How long you been sitting on it?

About, okay, almost 48 hours. Okay, okay.

Do you want to just tell us? Okay, can I tell you? Yeah. You've made it about two days. You can tell us.

Matt Damon had that leg lengthening surgery.

With both legs? Huh? Huh?

Yes, with both legs. You're telling me super crooked Matt Damon had the leg lengthening surgery? Yes. Huh. Yeah. I mean, aw.

My cousin's wife is a surgeon.

So do we get in this and then we go to space? Or no, this is deep sea. I got in the wrong line.

This is deep sea. And I'm sorry, but unfortunately, neither of you made the cut. We're actually almost full on the staff. We're just looking for someone who has a PS5. That's the one thing we don't have under here. Kind of the one thing we're looking for to kind of round out the rest of the Deep Sea Exploratory crew. But feel free to grab a bagel and a coffee on your way out.

There's no bagels or coffee.

There's a Dunkin' half a block down.

Oh, just feel free to go to a restaurant.

Yeah, go there, pay money, and yeah. I'm just telling you where it is, basically. Except I didn't tell you where it is, but now I am. It's about half a block. It's about three blocks down. Three miles. What am I saying? Did I say blocks? Three miles down. Huh. Well, good luck. That's at least worthy of an aww. Aww. Thank you. And thank you for listening to Hey Riddle Riddle. I'm JPC. I'm Adal Rifai.

And I'm Adal Rifai.

Wait, what? Who do I kill? Who do I kill? Erin, have you seen Project Hail Murray?

No, I'm looking to go see it. Next week I have a couple days off, and I think I might go to like a morning movie.

Yeah, morning movies are fun.

Although I heard about a little character in it that is sort of a puppet, and I'm actually quite scared to get emotionally attached to a thing like that. I don't trust that it will live, so I'm actually kind of a little bit scared.

You've been kind of scared to get emotionally attached to puppets in the past.

Yeah.

Puppets are a big trigger for you.

Anything that's like, yeah, any like guy that keeps you company, that's little, that you get emotionally attached to, that was with you in your hour of need and they're at risk of dying or dying for you or going home or whatever. E.T.

etc. So this is probably from, I think in the last season of Andor, didn't they blow Babu Frick to bits?

Yeah, they exploded Babou Frick.

They melted him down into a watch and I believe someone swallowed the watch a la Pulp Fiction.

Yeah, I think someone swallowed the Babou Frick watch a la Pulp Fiction.

His last words were...

So you love puppets. That's been documented on the show. You love puppets. Have you ever, I don't want to say met, but do you know any puppeteers? Because I believe that you are in the comments.

Yeah, I saw the Brian Henson puppet show that was at Sketchfest. And I was so blown away by the performers that were in that show. Like, of course, they're like, Henson puppeteers, like they're gonna be the best in the business. But I was like, yeah, why aren't I? I wish my entire friend group was puppeteers.

I don't have a dog in this race. And I think it's unethical. to get dogs involved in races because humans are faster. But I think, Erin, I would love to see you in a room full of puppeteers. I would love to see you ingratiate yourself into like a puppeteer social circle. I think that would be fascinating. I think that would be a great boon for you, right? I think you'd have a good time in it. But I want to know the inside scoop about like what puppeteers are like socially.

They seem really nice and funny and kind of unassuming.

Everybody seems nice from the outside. I want you to get inside, okay?

I know, but I fear I'm going to irritate them.

You're an embedded journalist here, Erin.

Yeah, it's like gorillas in the mist, but with puppets. Yeah.

I introduced myself to Brian Henson, and by that I'm a friend of the pod. Paul Sabourin very kindly tried to get me to talk to him, and I was so nervous. Because I was like, well, this is my number one hero, number one of all time.

Didn't you say you wanted to meet a puppet in the wild?

Yeah, you guys, you're not going to believe it, but anytime I'm in sort of a high pressure situation, and again, you guys are not going to believe this, I blow it. And as someone who's haunted by telling Lorne Michael that we're both Scorpios, I sort of have a new version of that, where I told Brian Henson that it is my dream to talk to a puppet. I said, it's the last thing on my bucket list is I want to talk to a muppet. And then he went, okay. And then I said, Well, I kind of I want to like meet one at the airport or something like I want it to happen organically I want to run into one Yeah, and then I and then I walked away and sort of stared at the wall for a minute I think your issue Erin is that you shot too high like if I wanted to introduce myself to sex I wouldn't start with Jenna Jameson, okay? Right.

Right? Topical. You said right like you knew what I meant by any of that. Yeah.

I didn't even know what I meant. You don't want to have sex with the person you want to have sex with the most the first time you have sex because you want to be good at sex by the time you... You're right that I don't know what the fuck you're talking about.

All I'm saying is that you, instead of introducing yourself to someone whose last name is Hinson, for instance, you need to start with someone who was on the off-Broadway touring cast of Avenue Q. You need to get in with a baseline puppet person and have them open your puppet world up.

I can see you and the bat from Eureka's Castle getting along pretty well.

Well, if anyone knows any puppeteers that you think I should be friends with, but here's the... I don't want to be irritating. Socially, I go, can you bring your puppet over when you come over for a drink? And now I'm a pariah of a friend that you never talk to again.

Erin, I know exactly... Actually, pariah. Puppet Mariah? JPC, think about it. Think about it.

Yeah, JPC, think about it.

Erin, I have the exact prescription for what you need. I'd like to see a scene Erin, you are at the airport. Great. JPC, you are a puppet and Erin, you are going to meet JPC. You're gonna meet his puppet at the airport.

Sorry, I think I just picked up your bag by accident. Oh my god.

Hi. Hi. Yeah, you're touching my bag?

Oh sorry, no, I accidentally... I had my headphones in.

You're touching my bag? This is my bag.

Yeah, this is your bag. It looks so much like my bag. I accidentally took it for a second. I got like one foot away and then I looked down.

I have it kind of wrapped under my foot and you came and pulled on it hard.

I thought it was my bag because I was sitting here a minute ago and I'm just looking for my bag. I've been here for an hour.

I've been here for an hour.

Right, yeah.

Are you a Muppet Chaser? Sorry? I'm not interested. You're a Muppet Chaser. You like to fuck Muppets in the airport?

No, I'm open to fucking- You see my wedding ring?

I'm married.

Yeah, but like are you married or is the puppeteer married?

There's a lot of other puppets here, lady. If you want to fuck a puppet, there's a lot of other options.

Yeah, I'm not trying to make a scene. I'm so sorry. I almost tried to take your bag. I see that you're married.

You know how many 5'8 wannabe blonde women come over here while I'm sitting at the airport waiting for my flight to Denver to see my sick puppet father? Try to grab onto my puppet, dick.

I'm so sorry. Let's stop for a second. Erin, is this how you wanted it to go?

Did I want a puppet to say I was a 5'8, wannabe blonde?

Let's restart. Let's restart. So take it from the top. And Erin, just really, it's like when you're dreaming, lucid dreaming, really take control of what you want your experience to be like. Because this is my dream. I can make this my dream. Put it into the ether and sort of manifest it. Here we go. Start a scene. Here we go.

Hi, could I buy you a drink? I never usually do this, but I'm going to Denver on a business trip.

Hold on, I'm on the phone. It's Puppet Leukemia. Oh my god. Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can.

Isn't leukemia like a bone or blood thing? I'm sorry, what did you just say to me? I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to myself. You're trying to fuck a puppet whose dad is dying of puppet leukemia. I didn't know your dad was dying.

Oh, so now it's my fault.

No, no, no.

So now it's my fault.

I was just going to offer to buy you a drink. I am interested in how puppet leukemia works because I'm pretty sure you don't have any of the parts that require.

Fine, you know what? Meet me in the bathroom in five minutes, pull that skirt up, shut that mouth.

Into this. Into this. Adal, ask your question again. Yes. Ten.

Ten out of ten?

Okay, exactly my dream.

Erin, I think you're... Look, live your life, but I think you're going about this in the wrong way. I don't think you should be like... Do you want me to live my life? A little bit. I don't think you should be like... Hey puppeteer, bring your puppet to this thing. I think you should get to know the puppeteers.

Because that's weird, right? That's weird. That's socially weird.

Exactly. But as far as a strategy goes, you're going to catch more puppets with honey, you know? Get to know these puppeteers, listen to their bullshit lives, like, learn about their blah, blah, blahs. And then eventually, you won't even have to ask them to bring the puppet around. They'll just know. The puppet will just be around, right?

Like a guy with a guitar at a college party. Why don't, I feel like, If you're in college right now listening to this, instead of going to the quad and busting out an acoustic guitar and playing Dave Matthews or something, swap out the guitar for a puppet. Let's normalize people taking puppets out in public.

You know, this is very nurturing. This is very sweet. You're pushing me to follow my heart, to get out of my comfort zone a little bit. I think that you're right. I think I just need to be braver. And I don't need to, outside of professional context, I can just go up to puppeteers and say, hey, I don't do what you do, but I'm into what you do. And I think you're interesting and I'd love to support you.

Yeah.

Now let's go to that bathroom. You shut your mouth. Oh my God.

I'd love to support you. It's something that every puppeteer is dying to hear. Oh, thank God. A potential patron, a potential mate. Like, who knows what this is? But, oh, finally I can just puppet all day long. Alright, you guys want to get into some fucking riddles?

I'm ready.

Yes. I'd love to rock your worlds with some riddles. These riddles are going to come from, and this should be no surprise to anyone, 2019. This riddle is from Johanna. Okay, so Johanna writes, I am made of four parts. A vowel at my end, a vowel at my start. Part one, I can be used as a noun. Part two, I am the first sound of coal. Part three, I am said before down. Part four, I am found at the end of a circle. Put me all together.

Popsicle.

Popsicle. It is, ooh, it's not Popsicle.

Wait, can you do that again? Starts with a noun.

I am made of four parts. A vowel at my end, a vowel at my start. Okay, so we have a vowel at the end and a vowel at the start. Part one, I can be used as a noun.

Mm-hmm.

Part two, I am the first sound of coal. That's the easiest one to get. Mm-hmm. Volcano. You know it? Volcano. No, I don't. Part three, I am said before down. What's said before down? Upside. There's a lot. It's called a lot of things. And then part four, I am found at the end of circle.

Well, circles don't have an end.

Oh, E. Yes. So it starts with a vowel, ends with a vowel.

It's not just E, Adal. I am found at the end of circle. You're halfway there.

C-L-E.

Well, if E was halfway... L-E? L-E. Yes, L-E. So L-E is how this word ends. So you got part four.

And it's four syllables.

Yes. Yes, it's four syllables. Al-ca-ho-ly. Al-ca-ho-ly is not right, but that's like, I mean... Blank-uh-luh-ly.

Yes. Yes. You have the cuh. Blank-uh-luh-ly. Yes. Yes. You have the cuh. Blank-uh-luh-ly.

Yes. Yes. You have the cuh. Blank-uh-luh-ly.

Yes. Yes.

You have the cuh.

Blank-uh-luh-ly. Yes. You have the cuh. Blank-uh-luh-ly.

Yes. You have the cuh. Blank-uh-luh-ly. Yes. You have the cuh. Blank-uh-luh-ly. Yes. You have the cuh. Blank-uh-luh-ly. Yes. You have the cuh. Blank-uh-luh-ly. Yes. You have the cuh. Blank Um, I think you have the cull and the lee circle.

The first one's a noun.

Um, the first one can be used as a noun. Yeah.

But it could also be used to something else.

Yeah, yeah, it's it's and it's a vowel. It's a vowel that can be used as a noun. It's not a. E. It's not O. I. It's not I. E. Y. U. U. It's U. Ukulele.

Ukulele. Ukulele.

Yes, yes, it is ukulele. It can be found in nice weather. Oh, I love that one. Thank you. Thank you for... I can't believe you guys went through all the vowels except G. That was truly very fun. That was tough. We have another one. This one is from Richard Payne, and Richard did say that I could use their name. Richard sent this in 2019. Then at some point I must have asked if people were still listening because in 2021, Richard sent an email that said, Hey GPC, I still listen. This is still a riddle. Then in 2026, I sent a riddle to Richard and I said, but do you still listen? And Richard sent back an email that said, yeah dude, still here. Oldest living listener. Also, the riddle I sent in sucks. So we're going to use the riddle that... Oh, I love it.

I love that you're still here. That's so awesome. What a happy ending. I was like, oh, he's long gone.

It's, it's, it's, he's still here. He sent in a riddle seven years ago and we're going to get it. And I have asked for people to let us know if they're still a listener.

You're still here. Thank you.

Even after the seven year itch.

Now, seven years of anticipation, the Riddle Richard has said does suck, but we're going to do it anyway. Here's Richard's Riddle. Ritty Kitty has to take a ferry for her daily commute. On one particularly foggy morning, she wanders up the top deck where the grizzled old filthy captain is leaning on a railing overlooking the cars on the ferry. However, it is so foggy this morning that the cars are practically invisible. As the ferry pulls into the dock and the cars begin to pull forward, the captain turns to Riddikitty and says, Cars with manual transmissions are becoming quite rare. In fact, there are only seven on the boat this morning. If the captain couldn't see the cars, how did he know how many were stick shifts? Now again, this is kind of less a riddle and more of, do you know a specific thing about manual transmissions versus automatic transmissions?

Is it a sound that they make?

Erin, great guess. It's not a sound that they make. It has nothing to do with sound.

Smell.

It's not smell. This is you all over again. It's not touch, but I do love, you guys are, if you keep going down this road, you're going to get information.

Okay. Touch, sight, sound.

Wait, who said sight? Taste. Sight. Did someone guess sight? Sight. Sight. Yes. It has something to do with sight. Something that he's seeing has something to do with sight.

He can see. It is foggy, so you can't see the cars, but he can see.

Like a light, does a certain light go on?

And let's just, Erin, that's, yes, it is that. And let's just do a quick sidebar break. Just us, just me and you here, Richard. This is what we wanted? Did we think after seven years it would be like this?

He wanted this to be read in 2019. He wanted this just to be burned through quickly. He didn't, this wasn't supposed to age like wine.

He never asked for this attention.

This is, this is, this is not what I wanted.

Richard, I'm so sorry, you deserve better.

It is lights. Lights are a component to this.

Well, I did that, so. But I did my lift.

Do you guys want to hear the answer? Yes, please. Sure. Okay, so as the cars with automatic transmissions shifted down into drive, the reverse lights briefly came on, and the captain noticed whose backup lights didn't come on, and that's how he knew how many manual transmissions were on the boat.

I went to

Visit my dad in Ohio and he promised me, he's like, come visit me and I'll buy you a car. And I went to visit him and I was like, oh, my dad's going to buy me a car. He gave me his old car, didn't buy me a new one. And it was manual and I didn't know how to drive manual. He said goodbye to me and gave me like a 10 minute instruction in a parking lot. And then I drove from Ohio back to Illinois and with the car continuously stalling out and I had a bit of a mental breakdown.

Hey, I gotta say, there are lots of wrong ways to learn how to drive a car. That's gotta be one of the wrongest. Trial by fire. Trial by fire, but also on a trip that you're on unfamiliar roads. The one thing I'll say, if it's all highway miles, driving a manual is kind of the same as driving an automatic. Once you're in fifth gear, you're just going 60 miles an hour. What is actually happening when you're stalling? Is it like a liquid? So an automatic transmission just automatically switches gears, but a manual transmission, you manually switch the gear, and if you don't switch the gear, the engine just stalls out. So the engine just basically stops. It like shutters and stops. Because it's not in a gear. There's no propellant motion moving through the drivetrain. Hmm. How do you fix it? You restart the car. You turn the car on and then try to put it into gear again and then try to start it from there.

That sounds scary if that happens when you're in a busy area.

Yeah, a lot of times it happens when you're at like a stoplight because you stopped, you know, the car, you're not in gear or you're in first gear like holding it at a stoplight and then the light changes and then you stall your car and then that is very like nerve-wracking because then everyone behind you starts like laying on their horn because you're not moving when the light is green and then you have to like restart it and now you have to like put it into gear under pressure of everyone honking at you, yeah.

I'd like to see a scene. We're all, JPC and I are NASCAR kind of pit crew comms. Erin, you are a new NASCAR driver. You've never driven manual, and the race is just starting.

I'm looking at your dashboard. All your gears, all your lights are green. You are good to go, driver.

So I don't know actually who to talk to about this. So I just need you, first of all, I just need you to believe me. Just give me the benefit of the doubt. Have you ever seen the movie Big?

Driver, we have. Yes, we have seen the movie Big with Tom Hanks.

Tom Hanks. That happened to me last night. I'm a kid, right? I'm a kid and I made a wish and I'll never make a wish again. In 3, 2, 1, and driver go!

Driver, you are in the front position. The cars are swerving around you. Go. Go with now. Go. This is your crew chief, driver. I'm sorry.

I'll listen to my mom. I'll be nice to my mom. I'm sorry. I learned a lesson.

You're doing it, driver. Whoa, you're drafting. You're passing. You're doing it.

My eyes are closed. My eyes are closed.

Oh my god, Driver, open your eyes for the love of God. You're going as fast as I've ever seen a car go before, Driver.

No, no, probably not. I think I'm gonna head to bed. I'm tired. Being a grown-up hurts.

No, Driver, you're off the track. Driver, oh, you're merging onto the 294? Driver, please. Oh, Driver, please.

I'm gonna go to Chuck E. Cheese, and I'm gonna go to GameStop. And then I'm going to go to bed and I'm going to wake up a kid.

Driver, you do not have turn signals. You should not be driving on the road.

What's a turn signal?

Even kids know what turns a cruiser driver.

Are you the wizard that changed me?

I'm your crew chief. I'm the wizard that changed you.

Oh.

Yeah, why the hell is there two people on this line? Sorry. All right, I'll change you back. Scene. The crew chief and the wizard coming this fall to nothing.

To nothing. We just looked. Oh, it's coming to nothing. Dang. Okay.

Okay, we have a riddle from Ryan, they them. Ryan asks, who knows what other people are missing? Apparently this is a riddle that Ryan's grandfather used to give them. Or maybe not. Maybe this is like a riddle that Ryan's grandfather used to give them. Who knows what other people are missing?

Is it the guy? What's the TV show where he's like, if you have any information, please call us now. Oh my God.

Oh, we watched an episode of this, didn't we?

Every episode was about missing people. Is that... Robert?

Did we watch an episode of that? Unsolved Mysteries?

Unsolved Mysteries. If you have any information,

Um, well, but that guy doesn't have the information, whoever that guy is, because he's asking me for it. But he might be asking this person for it. The person who knows what other people are missing.

Person who knows what other people are missing.

I have, I have a hint that I could give to Adal for this one, but I think it would be like a giveaway. So walk me through your process before I give you my giveaway hint.

Hmm.

I'm kind of in the weeds here. Can you read it again? Who knows what other people are missing? So this is a, oh go ahead. Like a doctor? Like someone who can see inside some x-ray technician?

That is so, that's such a good guess. An x-ray technician is a really good guess.

I can see you've had your gallbladder out, et cetera.

Yeah. Are you missing your car keys? I have found them inside your chest. Inside your butthole. Yeah, it's not that. It's not a doctor.

Is it like longing for missing or misplaced?

It is not longing for and it's kind of like misplaced. It's like some person had it, but it's not there anymore. And there's someone who knows where it is or knows what it is. Probably both, probably what and where.

Oh, is it like a car dealer?

Interesting. No, it's not a car dealer. Is it a car dealer?

Okay. You are missing out on a great deal with this BMW 490X.

Adal, it's not a car dealer, but car dealer does have to do with the hint that I was going to give you because the hint that I was going to give you, and this may not be helpful to you, but I was going to give you think James Caan.

James Caan. Erin, do you know who James Caan is?

I do.

Yeah. Most famous for playing Buddy's dad in Elf, and then secondly in Godfather. Okay.

Having a bad attitude on the set of Elf, first and foremost.

Did he have a bad attitude on the set of Elf?

Yeah, I think he was like, what is this?

Yeah. That makes sense. I guess you kind of don't cast James Caan if you're like, let's get somebody with a really good attitude.

Then you go to Scott Caan.

Yeah. Scott Caan, absolutely thrilled to be there. James Caan, absolutely over it. Rest in power. It's a different James Caan role. Adal, I think it's for a movie that you've never seen, but I think you want to see. Thief. It's a thief.

It is a thief. Michael Mann's thief.

Michael Mann's thief.

I would like to see a scene.

Please.

JBC, you are a thief that has broken into someone's home. And you're going to actually wake up the person that you are robbing, played by Adal, to, like, tell him to get his shit together and get his life together. Like, there's too much that's amiss in this house.

Gotcha. Hey, hey, wake up, wake up. It's okay, it's okay, it's okay. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm not here to hurt you. Take whatever. No, no. Yeah, I was. I was going to. I broke into the house to rob you.

Yeah, I figured.

Yeah.

Yeah, of course you broke into the house.

Could you not cut your fist back like that? No, no. I'm not going to. I just want to make sure that you stay calm. I broke in here to rob you. I want to make sure that you understand that. I was on my way out, and then I saw you in here, and you're... You're a little older than I expected. You're, what are you, forty? You look forty.

Forty-three.

Forty-three? Hey man, this- Denise! Denise? Oh, no, sorry, never mind. Did you think there was someone else here? A woman would be- My, um- No, a woman would be- My ex-wife. Yeah, ex. Yeah. I'm sorry, I'm just so- A lot of the furniture that you have in here is, like, It looks like stuff that was like bought at Target like 15 years ago. Really? Yeah. Is that a surprise to you?

It was bought at Target 13 years ago.

Yeah, about 13 years ago. It's like a lot of it's pretty shabby stuff.

They had mostly stuff from anthropology, beautiful furniture.

It's Posters are not like expensive. Do you have you have a taste for anything or hmm?

Maybe like a Braveheart poster. Is that fun?

That's not good The the fridge is also like empty empty like I've seen fridges sometimes like the thing of you'll open a fridge They'll be like a thing of ketchup in it or like some like sauce packets from like delivery or something like that And that's it you don't even have like and I actually was going to wrap up the stuff that I took in some curtains, and I just hung the curtains in your house.

Thank you. I've been meaning to get, yeah. Yeah, you should have curtains. Sorry. Thank you. Thank you for that.

Open windows is insane.

Can I, if you grab my checkbook from the nightstand, I could write you a check or something.

No, no. Yeah, I did. I grabbed that. That was one of the first things I grabbed, kind of leafed through all of the checks, say void on them as well. So it seems like you went and like,

Today, we're

Maybe a non-Mel Gibson poster that you can hang up here, something just to kind of get your... Apocalyptico? Okay, that's... He directed it, he's not a fan. Yeah, he directed it, and that's not even, I don't even think that's the name of the movie, but it is... Apocalyptico? It's, you know what... Apocalyptico? You figure that out, I'm gonna get out of here. I do have to punch you, in case you call the cops or whatever, to make you unconscious. Oh, to make it look real? Not really to make it look real. We're just so... I get like a head start. Yeah, you know what? Do you want me to grab a drink or something?

I'm up.

No, I'd love to. You don't have a drink here. You don't have a single drink in this house, so I don't know... I figured maybe you would... Get out of here. Yeah, I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go. Thank you. Oh, you punched yourself. Perfect. Seems like an old hand at that. Well practiced. Okay, a lot of people... A lot of people can't get that much power into a self-punch. You really went for it. Well, he's out. He's unconscious. Holy shit. Apocalypto! Oh my god. Have either one of you ever seen Apocalypto? No.

No.

I never saw Apocalypto. I never saw... Passion of the Christ, right? Passion of the Christ?

Yeah, I think those can be a skip.

I don't think I need to fill out my Mel Gibson watching bracket. What was the other one? He did a war movie with Spider-Man in it, with Andrew Garfield, right?

We Were Soldiers Once and Young?

That sounds like a good title. He directed one. Hacksaw Ridge.

Oh, I didn't know he directed that. I thought he did.

Good marketing for Hacksaw Ridge that you don't know that Mel Gibson directed it. Keep that out of the main focus of it. Yeah, I don't know. Having kept up with Mel Gibson past one specific thing that happened with him. What? I don't know. I definitely remember that's where my interest with him kind of stopped. I can't recall what that was. Anyway, let's take a break.

999, 1000. Ready or not, here I come. Oh, hey everybody. I'm just playing a quick game of hide and seek with Adal and JPC, so you keep an eye out for them while I talk to you about quints. This past weekend, I was out and about with my new Italian suede slouchy midnight blue bag. And I kid you not, several of the most beautiful, cool-looking women asked me where I got it. And I got to go, Quince, it's super affordable. I want my everyday items to be classic and timeless and comfortable and easy and affordable. And that's why I shop at Quince. Quince has all the wardrobe staples for spring. Think 100% European linen shorts and shirts from $34. Lightweight, breathable, and comfortable. But we're still going to look put together. And clean! 100% prima cotton tees with a softness that has to be felt. Everything is priced 50-80% less than what you'll find at similar brands. Quince works directly with ethical factories and cuts out the middlemen, so you're getting premium materials without the markup. I love everything I have from Quince. I recently got sandals from them. I'm obsessed with their home stuff. If you're looking for basics like rugs or curtains, truly just the most timeless, classic, well-made items are over there at Quince. So check it out. Still not seeing Adler GPC. Starting to worry that they went to the movies or something. No, they're around. I'll find them. Refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to quince.com slash riddle for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash riddle, R-I-D-D-L-E, for free shipping and 365-day returns. That's a full year. If it's a full year, you can decide if you like it. You're going to like it. quince.com slash riddle. I found you! Oh, no. Sorry, false alarm. Those are just two scarecrows eating dessert waffles. Onward and upward! Hello, everybody. It's me, Erin Keif, here to talk about my dog, Lou. I bet you've heard me talk about Lou hundreds, if not thousands of times on the show because I am obsessed with her. Fun fact about Lou, this past weekend in Palm Springs, she ran face first into a cactus and I did not handle it well. And if anyone gets being dog obsessed, it's Ollie. I love Ollie's dog food. They're relentless about delivering the best food and experience to your dog. And they give you a way to check in on their health over and over and over again. All these fresh recipes are developed by real chefs and backed by vet nutritionists. They're obsessed with making the best meals and the highest quality ingredients. From the moment you start your subscription, everything is tailored to your dog. The meals are perfectly portioned and you get a pup-tainer, cute, and a scoop for easy storing and serving. With Ollie, you don't just get food. Through their app, you can actually check on your dog's health with real vets. Just by uploading a picture, their team can check in on your dog's weight, digestion, teeth, and coat. Because they're obsessed with making sure your pup is as healthy as can be. Lou's getting old, and I just want her to be healthy and have the best life she can. Since switching to Ollie, Lou gets even more excited to eat. She clearly loves the food. And also, I just noticed she's got a little bit more energy. She's acting like a puppy again, and she's running into cactuses. Cacti? And she's running into cacti full speed in the middle of the desert. Well, get ready for both you and your pup to be obsessed. Head to ollie.com slash riddle. Tell them all about your dog and use code RIDDLE to get 70% off your welcome kit when you subscribe today. Plus, they offer an obsession guarantee. If you're not completely obsessed, you'll get your money back. That's ollie, O-L-L-I-E dot com slash riddle. And enter code RIDDLE, R-I-D-D-L-E, to get 70% off your first box. Isn't that right, Lou? I thought she would bark on cue. That would have been so awesome if she had barked. She didn't though. You didn't though, Lou.

Okay, Adal, Erin, I've seen the movie, I've read the book, I'm all about Project Hail Mary nowadays, and I don't want to brag, but I have actually built something that is pretty cool and kind of relates to a sponsor of the show, if you know where I'm going. Oh, who's my little rock friend here? So, this is Adal, this is Rockette, Rockette Money, this is Rockette Money.

Oh, like the app that I love.

Oh man.

Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps find and cancel unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps you lower your bills so you can grow your savings.

Yeah, I had a subscription, speak of the devil, I had a subscription to the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. And I was losing money hand over legs. And thank God Rocket Money caught it.

Don't mention hands and legs around Rockette money because he doesn't have kind of Don't worry about it, buddy. Look, all you need to know is that you didn't get your name from the app, you're your own guy, I love you, I found you in space, and Rocket Money has automatic transaction categorization across accounts, plus customizable categories and tags to reveal spending patterns. You can save for like a big event, like it helped me save for my wedding celebration, or you can use it to set budgets and goals, which is something that I love setting, and I use it daily, weekly, monthly for that as well.

It has canceled so many unwanted subscriptions. It has saved users over 880 million in canceled subscriptions. I know we're always signing up for free trials for things and forgetting it, and they're hoping that you're not going to notice, but you know who notices? Rocket Money. And they go, not on our watch.

Yeah, Rocket Money is like a good wingman at a bar who's like, whoa, you're not buying two old fashions, you're buying one.

Hey Erin, that's just a rock with eyes drawn on, right? Yeah, I see the same thing you see. Plus, you can set automated savings goals in Rocket Money so you can grow towards goals with adjustable amounts and frequencies. You can set it and forget it with Rocket Money.

Whoa, guys, look, that rock is starting to float in the air. Let Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster. Join at rocketmoney.com slash riddle. That's rocketmoney.com slash riddle. rocketmoney.com slash riddle.

It's real.

I love you, daddy.

Oh, GPC.

Guys, I was doing that. I was doing that with my mouth. I'm holding it. Oh, yeah, there's a hand on the rock. Welp.

Welp.

Welp. Hey guys, it's JPC. Sorry I cannot be too loud right now. Adal and Erin are next to me. They are fast asleep on a Helix mattress. It's actually my Helix mattress. It's my Midnight Luxe. It's the best mattress I've ever owned. I invited Adal and Erin, of course, over for a sleepover. We were going to stay up all night and share secrets and kind of talk about our So, let's get started. But something that's not a problem is that there's a 120-night sleep trial and a limited lifetime warranty. With Helix, they have the Happy with Helix Guarantee, which means you can rest easy with seamless returns and exchanges. The Happy with Helix Guarantee offers a risk-free, customer-first experience designed to ensure you're completely satisfied with your new mattress. Plus, Helix is the most awarded mattress brand, tested and reviewed by experts like Forbes and Wired. But don't just listen to the experts. Listen to Adal and Erin. Anyway, go to helixsleep.com slash riddle for the Memorial Day sale best of web. That is 27% off site wide and that is exclusive for listeners of Hey Riddle Riddle. That's helixsleep.com slash riddle for the Memorial Day sale. Helixsleep.com slash riddle. Okay guys, wake up. Time to talk about who we want to crush with stones. I'll go first. I want to crush... Hey Riddle Riddle! All right, we're back. We're back from break and we're back with some, you guessed it, riddles! Would you guys rather do some more one-off riddles or like a series of riddles?

What if we went to Culver's?

Oh yeah. Maybe like a malt?

Yeah. Or malted. On something sweet treated. You guys look back, I'm gone. I'm at Culver's.

I mean, three concretes.

Come on, boo his boo. I want a series. A series. I want to be taken away. I don't want a small bite. I don't want a Quibi. I want a movie.

Oh, a mooby not a quibby. We're smobby. Thank you Adal for our little history. This is our culture. We're smobby coded as a podcast. These are what am I style riddles from Chris. So Chris, this is the first one. I think you'll be able to pick it up. Armored and tall, I stand alone. My head and heart more cold than stone. As hunger enthralls my back to the wall, I'm waiting for you at home.

Oh. Statue of Liberty in your house?

Refrigerator.

You're both right. It is a refrigerator, but what is the refrigerator if not the Statue of Liberty of your house?

Wow. Huh? Give me your tired, huddled groceries. Yeah.

Erin, yes, it is the refrigerator. You are absolutely correct. I got it right? You did, yeah.

I would like to thank my co-hosts, JPC and Adal, for something, I'm sure. I would like to thank God. I'd like to thank the entire Chicago comedy community, Casey Toney, Arnie Parrott.

The music's playing. I was just about to ask Adal for Casey to play music. But, hey, can I say, can I... Casey, if we had asked for music, is the only music that you have at the ready? Yep.

Oh my god. Yeah, I would like to thank the Academy, I would like to obviously also thank my family, I love you. Wrap it!

Wrap your speech! Oh right, that's a good point. Wrap your speech!

I want to thank you. I want to thank you. I want to thank you for all that I have. Stop diving off the screen. I didn't even get to do one rhyme. This is what I mean. You cannot have me rap. You cannot have me rap and have these two on the screen. No, no.

Can we talk about when you started? You put your hands up. I don't think I've ever seen her rap.

I was stretching. Who turned off our cameras? What rhymes with Academy?

Are you mad at me?

Oh yeah. Thank you. I'd like to ask, ask the Academy, ask the Academy if they are mad at me. Why'd you do this to me? I didn't earn it. I didn't learn it. I didn't stop. I can hear Adal. This is a sensory nightmare for me.

My palms are sweaty. It's just air escaping. Palms are sweaty. Use it.

Mom's spaghetti. Palms are sweaty. Someone already did this rap. I want to nap. I want to go. I want to clean my house and take a rest. I want to nest in my house and then I'll come back to record. Set a record. Record. Set a record. Win an award. Record a reward. Hit it!

And now Erin, do that, do like what Ariana DeBose did.

Uh, uh, Adal did the thing. Adal did the thing.

Angela Bassett did the thing. I still do say Angela Bassett did the thing in my house quite often. I love saying that.

Yeah, I like to have fun.

I do like to have a good time. I want to see a scene.

I think I got hurt by that. I'm hurt. I'm physically hurt.

I just love that that's the one thing that we have ready on the set for Erin. I do want to see a scene. So, Erin, you're going to be at home. Adal, you're going to be playing Erin's refrigerator. But much like the Statue of Liberty, this refrigerator was granted to Erin from France.

Ah, downstairs in the middle of the night.

Hey, this is already humiliating. I don't really need... Like condescending French judgment.

No condescension, champagne, pâté, macarons.

Loose cheese, please.

Loose cheese.

Oh, like shredded cheese. I want to eat it like a raccoon.

Wow, wow, wow. You have given me ennui.

Okay, can I have two olives, a sip of LaCroix that I put back in the refrigerator earlier when I didn't finish it?

Merde. Your life is merde.

Um, no, just like some deli meat. Um.

Cigarette.

Can I get some soy sauce and I'm going to mix it with ketchup.

Fucking Christ.

And I'm going to put some cute cocktail chips in it.

You know what?

Just give it to me.

You know what?

You don't even have to look. I'll go in the other room.

Unplugs myself.

No, come on, please.

I'm going to head out.

No, come on, please. Please.

Please. I was made from stainless steel to hold culinary delights. The sights that France has never seen. But you eat like a pig.

No, come on.

You eat like a rusted pig. Am I saying that right? Translation.

When I went grocery shopping, I was a different woman. I thought I was going to cook things. I thought I was a person. And now I just have a bunch of ingredients, and now I have to eat them like a rat in the middle of the night. This is my God-given right. As a person in my own home. Now please. Please.

A rat tried to eat some of the stuff you mentioned and they threw up and died inside me. I took care of it this morning.

Awesome. Alright, well give me my Taco Bell hot sauce packets and two days old pizza. Oh my god.

Listen, this has been sort of a ratatouille situation where I'm sort of like... Brings in my guillotine from the other room. Keep going. Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, hey, hey, hey, hey, whoa, whoa.

Do you hear the people sing, singing this song of angry men? This is the music of a woman who wants to eat again. And the shredded cheese is good, and the thing is always good.

Erin, you did it. Le Fridge. Le Fridge. Le Fridgerob.

Erin, you might not be able to rap, but you can always Les Mis.

Oh, thanks.

Was that a compliment? Hey, she took it as one. Here's your next one.

I left the fridge door open. Hundred dollars of groceries down the drain.

One fridge door. She almost got it. Another snack, another Lunchable.

You don't want to have fun? GPC, isn't this the point of the show? We talk and talk and talk until we stumble upon something that's fun? You don't want to do Fridge Les Mis? You don't want to do Le Fridge?

I was thinking, is this the point of the show? And I feel like we've done so many versions of Les Mis on this show that it might be. The point of this show might be just to get to Les Mis in whatever way we can and then do it.

We either need to get to a version of Les Mis or a type of Venom. And that's our MO.

I'll be over here thinking about that.

Tomato on the bread. There you go. Pizza on the sauce. Javert, Javert, take the bread. Les Venom? Is there... I was trying to think of it. Isn't there a cheese that sounds like Javert? Chevre? Chevre.

And I am Chevre. Do not forget my name. Do not forget cheese.

Friere? Gruyere? I am Gruyere. I am warning you, Greer. I will cut off all the mold.

See, aren't you happy you had fun? Aren't you happy you had fun?

The whole time I was trying to think of I am warning you, Greer. Here's the next one from Chris. When I was small, my voice would ring, high and bright, when I would sing. As I grew large, my voice turned low, while my brothers sat in their row. They hung me high up in a church where I was left to swing and lurch. Though all could hear me far and wide, there were no words and my helpless cries. Bells, some sort of bells. Yes, these are bells. These are church bells.

I'd like to see a scene.

Casey, clip that for me.

I'd like to see a scene. JPC, you are Beast from Beauty and the Beast. Uh-huh. Erin, you are a townsperson, and the Beast has just entered a bar that you're at, Erin, and brought in his new wife that's an actual bell. It's just a big bell.

Hey, bonjour. Come in, come in. Make yourself at home. Warm yourself by the fire.

I'm keeping on my cloak.

Oh yes, that is fine. A table for one, monsieur?

A table for two. I'm obviously here with my beautiful wife. Dong.

Something is gonna miss. This miss is a bell.

Ah, so you've met her. You've met my precious Belle.

So it's the witch's curse. She became an object when she came to your home, monsieur.

Nope. Nope. This is her.

You just made love to her, Belle. Fell in love and made her your wife.

Not in that order. I waited. I'm a gentleman. We were married first. Then, if you must know, we consummated the agreement.

Oh, wonderful.

Hey, Gaston's not here, right?

Uh, no.

Oh, my ear's burning. Oh, she's hiding. Hide me, hide me, hide me, hide me.

You're vulnerable to hide, monsieur. You are gigantic.

I got beat in my ass and he stole my real wife. I had to marry this fucking bell. Hey, Gaston.

What have we here?

Oh. Oh, fuck.

This is another bell.

Jesus Christ.

Oh, hey, Gaston. Oh, man. Hey. Hey, long time no see, dude. How's, uh, what was her name or whatever? Belle? That's her, yeah.

Good, she's a published author now. She wrote the story of my love for her.

I look out the window at the bar. I still see, across the street, they're still doing the lame-as-fridge game. I slowly sneak out of this scene. I tiptoe across the street.

Barman, barman, barman!

No, no, no, Jeff.

One second, one minute here. Let me buy a round for my friend.

Uh, great to help yourself, monsieur.

No, no, no, stick around if you want to do any like, if you want to do any refr- Hey, stick around!

I dreamed a dream of Frigidairrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

As a verdant sentinel, I spur you on, until with gold I ply for you to stay.

I hold you beneath my bloodied eye, then once more send you on your way.

No, it's not the sun. Bloody eye.

Yeah, bloody eye I love. Is it like a photo? Is it like an x-ray?

Sounds like a dark room.

Dark room.

No, so here's the first line. The first line may have escaped you, but I think it's pretty key here. As a verdant sentinel, I spur you on, until with gold I ply for you to stay. I hold you beneath my bloodied eye, then once more send you on your way. The order of that is also the order of this thing.

The order?

As a verdant sentinel, I spur you on, until with gold I ply for you to stay. I hold you beneath my bloodied eye, then send you once more on your way.

It's like a shot?

Oh, interesting. Um, no, it's not a shot.

Is it a medical thing in any way?

No, this has nothing to do with medicine or medical anything.

Is it some sort of monster?

No, it's not a monster.

It's like a checkpoint of some kind.

A checkpoint of some kind is the closest, I believe, that you have been. Yes, it is. I guess it is kind of a checkpoint. Not really, but it's like once you get the answer, you'll say like, oh, yeah, I guess.

What's the most helpful part?

I hold you beneath my bloodied eye is the most important part. Kosara. No, it's not a literal eye, and it's not literal blood. I would say that this is an object, and this is a... Stamp? Lava lamp. No, it's a routine object that I think that you two would encounter in your normal lives, you know, throughout the day, you would encounter this object.

Phone.

Phone, no.

What room in the house would it be in?

It spurs you on, it plies for you, it's not in the house, it spurs you on, it plies for you to stay, and it holds you beneath its bloodied eye.

Oh, is it a stoplight?

It's a stoplight.

Whoa. Yes.

Good job. Sorry guys. It's hard, it's hard. It actually is hard to solve riddles.

You know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna give Chris my award. For the best one I've heard in a while, because I think that this is a good one. I do love the imagery of bloodied eye for the red of a stoplight. That's very fun. I would like to see a scene. Oh, please, yes.

I will be the red light.

Okay.

JPC, you will be the yellow light. And Adal, you'll be the green light. And we are all trying to give our fourth friend advice on dating.

You just got to put yourself out there. You got to go, go, go. You got to, you know, speed dating is a good situation, I think.

I don't know. I think try to be single for a while. It's really way too vulnerable to be in love. And then you're sort of tied to the choices they make. And then what if they make a chaotic choice? Or, you know, I just, I wouldn't. I wouldn't. I'd call it. Why make any choice?

I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I don't mean to take control of the conversation, but why make any choice when you could just kind of wait for a choice to be made for you?

Don't worry, he only talks for like a second and then he... Okay, back to me.

So I think you should, if you want something, get out there and grab it. You need to ask for forgiveness, not for permission. In terms of dating.

Yeah.

In terms of asking someone.

You scrap what I said. You know, I don't hate what you said. So, I mean, like, think about it. That could be an area. Don't make any decisions right now.

No. No. And you know, Gary, Mr. Yellow over here is always like, he always says to maybe like slow down or stay in the middle area. But what you end up doing, Gary, is you rush into things. That's what you actually do. Right? This wishy-washiness makes it so that you just hurry up and go.

Go, go, go, go. Get out there. Park your car right now. Get out of here. Go chase... Did you hear about that kid? There's a kid who was cursed by a wizard to be a NASCAR driver. And he went to Chuck E. Cheese, something else, and then went to bed. That's what you need to be doing. Pursue your dreams.

But we don't know what actually happened to that kid, because as far as I'm concerned, the story remained a little bit unfinished. No.

No, no, we know exactly what happened to that kid and he regretted every choice he ever made. He died in that car, obviously, because he was a grown-up who was actually a kid in a grown-up body.

Guys, guys, guys, I appreciate all the advice. I think I'm just gonna keep fucking my bell. It feels really nice. We have two more of these left from Chris. Silent, I stalk in the dead of night. Then, in a flash, I strike and bite. My roar shakes with terrifying sound, yet I soar and never touch the ground. Lightning and thunder? It is a thunderstorm. You got it right on the money. Okay, well that leads me to the last one that Chris sent in and I think we'll all enjoy this one. Invisible, our voices come with a click of your mouse or thumb. We'll joke and jape while we address the puzzle of each wordy mess. You'll hear us banter and improvise, laughing till tears are in our eyes. Upon the middle of the week, you'll get your chance to hear us speak and play along with all the fun. Oh, and please join our Patreon.

My brother, my brother, and me.

Yeah. Unfortunately, it is my brother, my brother, and me. That is a devastating one for me to read at the end. I didn't even look at that answer until I got there, and oh, fuck, Chris. Brutal. Absolutely brutal.

Brutal.

Brutal, Chris. I want to do one more. This is one that Josette sent in, and this has been on my list for a while, so I wanted to move it off, but it's a pretty simple one. I think you guys are going to do fine. What serves on either side, and if you wish to hide, may protect you from your foe or show him where to go? Racket. Ooh, I love that answer. Because you could see through it, you know? No, it's not a racket.

Did you say this is from Cosette?

Is that what you said? Yeah. Yeah, why not? It's from Cosette.

What are the shelves on?

Shelves?

Empty shelves and empty drawers.

Master of the sauce. Keeper of the sauce.

Condiments and pickles and also sauce.

I would see an all food version of Les Mis provided that they were not allowed to think about it before they got on stage.

Master of the sauce. They're just constantly finding it. Bouncing around.

Can you read it one more time, dude? It's from Josette. I want to give Josette a proper attribution. What serves on either side and if you wish to hide may protect you from your foe or show him where to go. We're I wish it were a stoplight. What serves on either side, and if you wish to hide, may protect you from your foes wherever you go. I mean, like, yeah, there's a way that stoplight fits that, yeah. A fence? A window? Adal, you're closest with fence, you're closest with window. Door? It's a door! Yes, it is a door. Thank you for sending that one in, Josette. And then it's all the riddles that we are contractually obligated to do today on the show, which leads me to my favorite part. And that is asking Casey, do we have a voicemail?

Whoa. Wow. Is that Dragon Force?

Right? It definitely felt like that.

That was awesome. Sounds amazing.

Yeah, that one was from Ryan Hansen. Ryan titled that 805 Metal 1. That was great. Thank you, Ryan, for sending that in. If you wanted to get a voicemail theme featured on the show, 30 seconds or less, there's a WAV file at hrpodcast.gmail.com. Casey, do we have a voicemail?

Hey, Clue Crew, this is Sam. I just moved to Chicago from Hamilton County, Indiana, and I am walking on my way to my level two showcase at the Ayo Theater. I feel like in group work, I'm always in my head, and I'm very curious how you guys get out of your head and focused on the scene when you're doing improv. So would love any advice from three Ayo alums. Yes, that's it. Love you guys. Bye forever.

Congratulations on your showcase, Sam. That's awesome.

I would be mad if you weren't saying something so awesome and funny.

That is really hard to do. I did a Herald for the first time in years recently. And group work, especially when you're having to like pattern group work, I would say is the most universal time that people get stuck in their heads.

Yeah.

Is like Herald show group work. So you're in good company, despite what JPC just said, and that is a common problem that you will have to face for a long time.

I don't know if this is helpful to you. In fact, I know that it won't be, but I have, I guess it's like a little like vocal stim thing that plays in my head, but whenever I hear someone say, how do I get out of my head, get out of my head, get out of my head, I always go, get out of my head and into my car. So I don't know if that's useful to you to use in any way, but I, but feel free to do it. You know, if it does have a use to you.

I would say in group work. As much as this is helpful, I would say try and mirror someone else and or use repetition to your advantage. I think a lot of times people get stuck in group work because they're trying to figure out what the next thing is, where I feel like if you just commit to what is currently going on, the next thing always comes. There's no group that's still performing an opening from eight years ago because they're stuck in the moment. Something new always comes. That's fun. And then for scene work, I don't know if this is helpful, but I always try and say, if you treat something as if it's important and meaningful, it becomes important and meaningful. So in a scene, I think what's good is just taking everything that someone else says as if it's a clue or a key to what the scene is or what the scene can become. So if Erin sits down next to me in a scene and says, like, beautiful morning, isn't it? I can be like, fuck, what's the scene? I'm so in my head.

What's this?

What is she going for? What does she want from me? Or instead, I can treat it as if it's something important, meaningful and go, yes, it is a beautiful morning. The hawk flies at midnight. And then suddenly we're like two secret agents exchanging briefcases or something.

Yeah. Or have it mean something emotionally to you.

Yes.

Like if I go like, it's a beautiful morning, isn't it? Like start to get emotionally moved and be like, oh my God, it's so good to see you in a good mood. This is the first time you've woken up in a good mood. Our marriage is going to be okay. Like having an emotional reaction to something helps.

Yeah. Do something, right? Mirroring is a great way to do something. The physical action of you doing it, saying it, moving, you will propel yourself towards further movement. If you are in a scene and someone says something to you and you're trying to figure out what the context of that thing means, you're using this editing part of your brain, you need to just ram through and like write, right? Whatever you say will be true, so let's build off of that. It's always going to be better to provide whatever that, you know, And the other thing I was going to say is when you start group games

The number one thing I want you to be focused on is clarity. Is this going to be clear to the audience and at least half of my teammates of what I'm doing? Like, if you think of your initiation as you're trying to clear something up and not that you're just going out and going like, blah, blah, or whatever, like, You know what you're going for, and if that changes, fine. But if you have a clear, complete clear picture of what you're initiating, the scene is always going to end up better. Because if you go out for a group game and someone goes, I'm going to put something confusing forward, and then someone else is going to figure it out, you're coming from a deficit. Even if it changes, the person initiating come in going, this is exactly what we're doing. We're a bunch of dogs pulling a dog sled. And if it turns into something else, great, but try to be as clear as possible going in. And then eye contact.

And if you're ever at a loss, go either Les Mis or Venom.

Yeah, Mr. Venom, that's going to help you through 99% of the time. The one thing I'll say, and this is real, I believe, and I'm looking this up, there was a big study done that if you were born or lived or spent any time in Hamilton County, Indiana, there was something in the water there that's going to make you worse at improv forever. So, that's going to be sapping away anything that you have that is going to make you, propel you forward in this life or career. It says go to dental school. Whatever that means to you, I don't know, but you're going to be a great dentist, Sam, and we really look out for you to fix those teeth. Erin, do you have anything that you would like to plug?

I would like to plug Sam at Ayo, future dentist and fantastic improviser. Adal, anything to plug?

I want to plug Ryan in that Dragonforce-esque theme, and I kind of want to do like a metal Les Mis now. I don't know. Kind of like what Manheim Steamroller did for Christmas, I want to do for Les Mis with Ryan.

I would love to read a review. This is a five-star review. If you want to get one featured on the show, just leave one wherever you leave reviews. This one's coming from NoodleDance26. The title of the review is Potato M. I've been listening to the back catalog, yes from episode one, I will be doing this forever, and finally came to write a review ten minutes into the episode where you start by deep diving into potato formats. Me not skipping through a second of that absurd opening is a real testament to how incredibly funny and delightful you all are. Thank you for all the once-in-future laughs. I don't... Do you guys remember the potato format?

No.

No. Hey, I believe ya, but I believe ya.

We believe ya.

We believe you, and while we might not remember an ep where we talk about potatoes, Erin, I think we remember an ep where we talk about... Hot potatoes!

Why do I even say it when you have the thing?

I like to layer it sometimes. Like hot dogs and potatoes. Casserole. There are parents in the music. Logo created by Emily Cardenas and Emmeline Morris. Hey there, cobblers and gobblers, if you like that, you're going to love this week's Patreon. We bring you to the Marisol County Cobbler Cook-Off with our friend Mike Brunleib. You can listen to that plus the entire back catalog at patreon.com. Hey Riddle Riddle by joining the clue crew for five dollars a month or start your seven day free trial or the review crew for eight dollars a month. Plus, you get those ad free episodes. See you there.

That was a hate gum podcast.

Hi, I am Mandy Moore.

Sterling K. Brown. And I'm Chris Sullivan, and we host the podcast That Was Us, now on HeadGum.

Each episode, we're going to go into a deep dive from our show, This Is Us.

That's right.

We're going to go episode by episode. We're also going to pepper in episodes with different guest stars and writers and casting directors.

Are we going to cry? Yes. A little bit. Often. A lot. A whole lot. That's what I'm hoping, man. Listen to That Was Us on your favorite podcast app or watch full video episodes on YouTube or Spotify. New episodes every Tuesday.