The Commercial Break - TCB Infomercial: Mayim Bialik

Episode Date: September 3, 2024

Episode #593: Bryan & Krissy are joined by Mayim Bialik (The Big Bang Theory) and they get into acting, child fame, podcasting, science, and Jeopardy. Blossom, Beaches, and Big Bang Theory What happened at Jeopardy? A lil’ bitchin and complainin’ Mayim’s late start in acting A show about a girl! Bryan’s armchair expert moment Being a famous child A late science bloomer Feldman & Haim Human nature AI hype Sounding 90 Going back to acting Keyboard warriors Getting fired from Jeopardy Bodily autonomy Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown Hyperbaric Oxygen chambers Special Guest: Mayim Bialik Watch “Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown”: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTOocPnDh2YQZZwh86K2OxA Listen To “Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown”: https://www.bialikbreakdown.com/episodes Follow Mayim on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/missmayim/?hl=en Come To Our Shows: Dania Beach Improv (Tuesday, Sept. 24th) The Funny Bone Orlando (Wednesday, Sept. 25th) Text us or leave us a voicemail: [phone]TCB Follow Us: IG: @thecommercialbreak TikTok: @tcbpodcast YT: youtube.com/thecommercialbreak www.tcbpodcast.com \Executive Producer: Bryan Green Hosts: Bryan Green & Krissy Hoadley Producer: Astrid B. Green Producer & Audio Editor: Christina Archer Christina’s Podcast: Apple Podcasts & Spotify To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Bet MGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. This lady said to me, I don't think you should talk about depression and medicine in your concerts. That makes your faith look weak. I said, you need to take your glasses off and drive home. ["Dreams of a New World"]

On this episode of the commercial break. He's like, who said thumbs down? And I clicked on it and realized I had just given myself thumbs down. Like. The next episode of The Commercial Break starts now. Don't dirty in the morning! Oh yeah cats and kittens, welcome back to The Commercial Break. I'm Brian Green, this is my dear friend and the co-host of this incredibly dumb podcast, Kristin Joy Hoadley. Best to you, Kristin. Best to you, Brian.

And best to you out there on the podcast universe. Thanks for joining us today on a TCB Infomercial Tuesday. This one's got me kind of excited. Yeah. If I can say her name correctly. I know. I can do the first one, Mayim. Yeah.

B.Ellick. B.Ellick. Yes. I think it's Mayim. I think I've heard her say it, Mayim. Yes. But I don't know. I don't want to ask her because then I just sound dumb.

So maybe we'll just breeze over it. And I'm certainly not going to say her last name. Listen to me closely because I'm going to go, and Mayim's here with us now. Because I keep on saying Bayalik or Bialik, but it's Bialik. I looked it up. Bialik. It's Bialik. Mayim, Bialc, you know her

and love her from one of four very large projects that she's done. You love her from Beaches, but you might be too young to remember Beaches, the movie, then quickly into Blossom, then hiatus there for a hot minute. We'll talk to her about that. While she went to school. While she went to UCLA, got her doctorate, I believe. And then after that while she went to school while she went to UCLA got her doctorate I believe and then after that she became One of the hit sensations on the small television show called Big Bang Theory. Yeah, I mean what the fuck You take some time off. I know usually people that take that hiatus It's for a reason like they're like I'm sick of the fame. I want to take a break

I want to have a normal life. Yeah, or then maybe you don't come back with such a big bang. Yeah. Chrissy will be here all week. Chrissy will be at the bone or 25th of Orlando. 25th in Orlando. Look at you making puns over there. That's cute. I like that.

But seriously, I mean, like it's like us, you know, taking a break. Taking a break. I wish we could take a break. I mean, from the other world that we came from. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. For 12 years. Yeah, well, I mean, no one is asking to go back

into the radio business. That's the difference. We just talked about that. When you go from one hit sitcom 12 years later to another hit sitcom, okay, I can understand. When you go from one losing expedition into an even bigger losing expedition. Yeah, no, I can understand. When you go from one losing expedition into an even bigger losing expedition. Yeah, no, I think if, okay, I'll move on from the radio conversation because I don't want to

sidetrack this. But, Mayim, like, what a stroke of luck. I mean, Blossom was maybe not a runaway hit, but certainly people of our generation will know who she is. I grew up with her. Yeah, from Blossom and then onto Big Bang Theory. 12 years later, yeah. And then just a couple years after that, she's the host of Jeopardy. It's fucking insane.

And of course, Ken Jennings now has the regular spot there. And I'd love to pick her brain about exactly what happened if she'll be so kind as to let us in on that information. Yeah, because I don't really know what happened, but. I kind of know. Well, they were doing host people. They were guest hosts, right? No, they were co-hosting.

But before that though, weren't there some people that got in there? Yeah, there were like some people that were twirling around trying to be some celebrities and stuff like that. After Alex died, and then they didn't really know, they didn't have, hadn't picked someone yet. And then they announced that they would be doing co-hosting duties. And then I think for a while she was doing like celebrity jeopardy, the special jeopardies, and he was, and Ken was doing the regular jeopardy. And then something just happened. And so we'll ask her about that and maybe she'll, you know, give it, give us the dirt. I mean, not that I'm looking

for dirt, maybe she can give us some more information about that, but I'm excited to have her and, you know, what else do you have to say about my aim? She's super smart, which is going to make us sound super dumb. So put your big boy pants on, Chrissy. Even more so than we already do. Yeah. I mean, she, I think she's like a neuroscientist or something like that, neuropsychiatrist or something like that.

But you got to know that we know that these are big guns that are coming in the studio. So I hope she can keep up with our basic bullshit because we're just going to sound stupid. Sometimes we get the smart people in here and I'm like, oh man, I got to get another cup of coffee. This morning I went and got from my hippie dippy friend, Raphael, which I'm a hippie dippy too. Oh, you saw Raphael? Hello, Raphael. Hey, Rapha. So I saw him for the first time in a while, face to face, we talk,

but I saw him for the first time in a while. He said, I said, man, I'm crashing in the afternoons, I'm feeling really sick. Yeah, me too lately. You have fucking 16 children. What do you, I mean. I know, I don't have all the children, but I'm still crashing too.

I'm crashing. I tell you what, and I know this sounds like bitching and complaining, and it is, and we don't dig ditches for a living. We don't sell radio spots for a living. Luckily, you know, we are lucky enough, blessed enough, if you will, have a blessed day. Somebody said that to me the other day, and I was like, er, er. So we're blessed enough, grateful, and grateful for the opportunity to do this for a living. But you be on for three or four hours a day, like really on, like I am right now,

supercharged, eyes wide open, thinking of the next thing, and it hurts your brain. Be funny. Be funny, that's right. Be funny. It does hurt your brain. It does hurt your brain. And then you take on all your 30 kids,

and then I drive through crazy traffic. Yeah, Atlanta traffic. Yeah. Which is kind of like having 30 kids, you're dodging things. Yeah. You're picking up, you're having to be alert. Difference.

16 people asking you different questions at the same time that you feel obligated to answer or listening to a good book on tape while you're dodging everything. That's true, I am, I am doing that. So, and listen, everything's about perspective. Life is difficult no matter who you are. And if you have zero children, if you have 12 children,

if you have more than I do, it's all about perspective. Life is tough in the first place. But just- I mean, I don't even think life's difficult. I'm just wondering why I'm so tired. I don't know. Is it the heat? Me too, maybe. I think the heat has something to do with it. Is it some weird COVID variant that we have?

Could be, could be. Yeah, I don't know, but I'm telling you what, the last two months especially, the last three weeks, I got cortisone shots, some people say those make you really tired. I did the cortisone too and I was sick. Oh yeah? Of steroids.

Oh, may see, maybe this is just a lingering effect because they said it can last for weeks or up to a month. And I'm like, holy shit, well, I thought that was the, kind of the silver bullet, but apparently it's not. Let's ask Maim about all of this. What are we doing? We're just, we're just, we're just, we're just, we're just, we're just, we're just complaining about our job before Maim comes in here.

But it's important to note that Maim also has a podcast called Maim B. Alex Breakdown. And that podcast, she has like superstar celebrities. We have celebrities like Maim is, but she has like superstar celebrities. She does, as well as psychiatrists and different people, you know, relationship experts, different, everything to do with just learning more about yourself. Yeah, and it's fun and it can be funny. I've listened to a couple hours. It's fun, it can be funny, and it also can be tear-jerking and thought-provoking. And she basically sits down and talks about, hey, how you doing? Like, how's your mental health?

Tell me about a challenge you had in your life. And how did you get through it? Yeah, Matthew McConaughey, Ben Stiller, half the cast, I think, from Big Bang has been in. Chelsea Handler. Chelsea Handler, that's right. So, very interesting conversations. And let's talk to her about it. But let's do this first. Can we, if you don't mind, I'd like to go into the awkward transition phase. I like that noise with it. And say this, why don't we take a break? And go into the awkward transition phase. I like that noise with it. And say this, why don't we take a break? And then through the magic of tele-podcasting,

we're gonna bring Mayim right here in front of our faces, here in the studio, Chrissy, and we'll ask her all these pressing questions that we have. Pow. What do you think? Pow, pow, bam, jizz, jizz. Was jizz one of them? No, pow, bang, boom, on the old Batman's jizz. Was jizz one of them? No, pow, bang, boom on the old Batman's jizz. That wasn't one of them.

It should have been with Robin and those flying around in those tights like that. Oh, he's sticking his head directly on Batman's ass. What's up with that? That's a different podcast than one of my friends has. You can go listen to that one. All right, we'll be back with Mayim Bialik. Okay, you guys, I have an idea.

Why don't we take a break? Gotcha. This is the break. And you already know when you hear my sexy voice, it's time to whip your phone out and follow us on Instagram or skip the ads at the commercial break and on TikTok at TCB podcast. And of course, you know, if you want to get involved, you can always give us a call or text us at 212-433-3TCB.

That is 212-433-3822. And guess what? I finally have information on TCB live. So the links are in the show notes. But let me tell you right now, you can come see us at Dania Beach Improv on Tuesday, September 24th, or at the Funny Bone Orlando on Wednesday, September 25th. It's gonna be fab.

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And Maim is here with us now. Thank you so much for joining us. I feel like this is such an honor to have you here on our show today. Absolutely. Welcome. Thank you. It's so nice to be here. You have been a kind of a mainstay throughout our lives. We're humans of a certain age, so I don't choose to share on the show, but I'm sure everybody can figure it out. You have been in entertainment for most of your life. I mistakenly thought Blossom was your first role,

but you were in Beaches. You were the young version of, I'm sorry, I can't remember the character's name in the movie. Her name was C.C. Bloom. Yeah. C.C. Bloom, that's right. How did you get, like, how does that happen? Yeah, so I actually, I'm considered a late bloomer to the acting world because I didn't start as a toddler. You know, most child actors, you know, most child actors that you see, they start in commercials. And, you know, I was born in 1975. And if anyone remembers what TV looked like at that time, kids didn't look like me on television, you know, there was what was called the all American look,

which is hilarious that that was completely a referred to. But what it was, was like blonde hair, blue eyes, small featured children. I did have blonde hair and blue eyes, but I was not small featured ever. Yeah. So yeah, I didn't, I didn't start acting as a kid and I liked school plays and started professionally acting because I thought I understood that like people like me could have an acting career. And my parents, my mom was like, okay, well, she had just stopped working. She was a nursery school director

and we literally just opened the phone book, which a lot of people don't even know what that is. We opened the phone book. Yeah, and my parents were like, here are children's actors in Los Angeles. I was 11 when I started professionally acting and I didn't have much luck in know in like commercials and mainstream stuff because I didn't look like other kids. My first audition was for Full House to play DJ.

Oh no, really? Yeah, that's kinda how old I am. But I did start getting character roles and then a year after I started acting, you know my parents always said that I looked like Bette Midler and Barbra Streisand and a year after this audition just came down the line it was like we're looking for young Bette Midler and I was one of the only non-redheads, you know, auditioning and it was like a four-month process of auditioning and meeting Gary Marshall and meeting Barbara Hershey and Bette Midler and, you know, I was cast, it came out when I was 13, it came out the week

of my Bat Mitzvah, which I say was like the biggest unbelievable. That's incredible. And then after that, you know, I know it sounds crazy, but like I got my own TV show. Like that's literally what happened. Did you get the TV show in large part because of the performance in beaches? Yeah, it was like, you know, there was like, people took a script looking for an actress. Um, yeah, I mean, there was like ads in the the trades like for your consideration for Academy Award nomination Like my life just became ridiculous like we lived in like a one bathroom house me like, you know It was like four people in one shitty rental in Hollywood. Like this was not my life

But yeah, like I started getting you know companies and look back then there was only three networks So it was like really different. I ended up doing a series with Fox, which was like not even a real network back then. All they had was like America's Most Wanted, 21 Jump Street, the Tracy Ullman show with this weird cartoon called The Simpsons. I love it. Anyway, and I ended up doing a series for Fox,

which did not go anywhere, but Jennifer Aniston played my sister. So I love to tell this story. That I did a series with Jennifer Aniston. She was probably 19 or 20 at the time, like you can do the math. And then that series failed and I ended up being picked up by Whit Thomas,

which was the company that did like Golden Girls and Empty Nest and Nurses and like all these like sitcom shows and a man named Don Rio had written a show as like a modern Catcher in the Rye. And it was named Don Rio had written a show as like a modern catcher in the rye. And it was a female executive who said what if it was about a girl and people were like a show about a girl? What do you mean? Wow. Yeah, I mean like Gidget had been the last show on you know kind of like popular television about that. Yeah, Mary Tyler Moore obviously was a feat, but she was a grown up.

It was different. And then there was, you know, there was My So-Called Life, there was Claris Explains It All, but in terms of like network standard primetime shows, we premiered after the Cosby show and you know, we were told no one will watch a show about girls. So you know, what you get is like a lot of ways to try and get boys to watch and like playboy models were on the show and like all this stuff. And we lasted five years, you know, what you get is like a lot of ways to try and get boys to watch and like playboy models were on the show and like all this stuff. And we lasted five years, you know, we were like a little show that could. People remember it as much more popular because if you were young, you liked watching it.

But it was not like a top 20 show. It was not a top 10 show. You know, we were then after the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air for most of the time that we were on the air. Yeah, it was like a niche hit. I do remember watching the show Blossom, but I don't remember watching it religiously because of the Playboy models. That's right. Well, when you're a 15, 16 year old boy. But take it back a little bit.

Was your family, I mean, obviously they opened up the Yellow Pages and they found a child agency. Did you come from a creative family or was it just like I really want to do this? Yeah, I came from a creative family, you know, in that we were like a post-holocaust, like if you don't laugh, you'll cry kind of family. Everyone was like funny and like tragedy was funny and you know, what is it? Tragedy plus time is comedy. Like, you know, I grew up with a lot of, a kind of heaviness that way. My dad was a drama teacher,

which more meant that like I was comfortable around video cameras, cause he like had them, he taught at a performing arts school for many years. You know, my parents were funny in that like first generation American, like South Bronx kind of way. You know, like, but they were very artistic. My dad was a

writer and a photographer and a poet and they made documentary films in the 60s and 70s and they were just like a funky bohemian, like, you know, artsy couple. And so they were hippies. They were hippies, but they were East Coast hippies, which meant more like politics, documentary films, like less like weed and free love. Like it was still like, I was kind of very socially conservative because they both came from like Eastern European families. And so yeah, like, but we weren't like a professional acting family. But there was a lot of humor. And I

was a good mimic, you know, I was good with voices. And I would just, I remember as a kid, you know, even before I was professionally acting, like making other kids laugh, I wasn't like the class clown, but I would hone in on that weird kid's voice in the third row of social studies, and I could mimic it. I don't think I was a teaser of people,

but I was a really good mimic of personality, and that was something that I remember made kids laugh. Stop me if I'm wrong, I might be putting words in your mouth, but you kind of learned how to emotionally navigate with humor and then you found that to be a way to connect with people outside the home. Look who's the armchair therapist today. I'm not going to try and go toe to toe with you on intelligence because anybody who listens to this show knows that I'm gonna try and go toe to toe with you on intelligence because anybody who listens to this show knows that I'm a dumbass. But I will say that I also came from a family that had a lot of emotional strife of first generation,

like my mom mentally ill and my father emotionally closed off and you know, both lovely human beings in their own way, but that's just who they were, right? And so for me, humor became a way to navigate life. And then as a socially awkward kid, when I made him laugh, I got him. And I could tell you that tale. life and then as a socially awkward kid when I made him laugh I got him and yeah so that's yeah yeah you I mean that's literally I think so and you know on my podcast we talk about this stuff in these terms all the time so like I'm

happy to talk about like you've basically defined like a perfect formula for codependency you know in terms of a child trying to say whatever makes you happy will make me not feel what I'm feeling now and if it feels uncomfortable I want to do something And if it feels uncomfortable, I wanna do something that makes it not uncomfortable. So that's kind of one part. And the other thing is I say there's two kinds of actors. There's actors who want the applause.

They wanna feel like I'm good enough. And then there's actors, which is my type. It's like when you're okay, then I'll feel like I'm good enough. And there's a difference, right? There's actors who are like, I love the fame and like, I'm amazing and I'm beautiful and look at me. And then there's people who are like, no, but really, are you okay? Because then we can move on. And then I know that

I did good by you. Right? Very interesting. Very interesting. And I have listened to the podcast and you do break this stuff down in great detail. And I would say with great sensitivity, but also very smartly. And let me ask you a question. When you go to Blossom, are you going to like a regular school? I mean, not while you're filming Blossom, but after you get done with the four years of Blossom,

did you go to a regular school? Yeah, I was on Blossom from 14 to 19. Oh, can't remember. Yeah, well, I graduated high school at 17 though. So I had three years of like trying to go back and, I I graduated high school at 17 though, so I had three years of trying to go back and forth. I went to public school my whole life. I went on buses and went to public school here. So I would go back to my school,

but it didn't go that well because girls can be very jealous at that age. Boys don't know what to do with most girls, especially smart ones who are calling them out on their BS if they're like annoying so yeah I didn't do that well socially and I mean I think I was I was weird before it wasn't like acting made me that way but I think a lot of young actors like a lot of young actors like to have people around them who kind of like boost them up and make them feel

good that never felt right to me it never have people around them who kind of like boost them up and make them feel good. That never felt right to me. It never felt authentic. And so I kind of had more of a lonely, you know, kind of experience. So I stopped going back. I mean, I went back to school like for 10th grade and part of 11th grade. And then I was, I mean, we didn't call it homeschooling. We just called it that you had like tutors and then, you know, I got my diploma at 17. But I was tutored on set, you know, that whole time. And then starting in 11th grade. Also, I was on everybody's TV screen,

so it was a little bit distracting. So yeah, but then I had two years, at that time, online college was sort of a thing that was starting, but they would mail you this giant book on like, classic part of it. Oh right, yeah. It was really weird, so anyway, I deferred college for two years, And then I started college after Blossom ended, you know, I left the industry really for 12 years. Yeah, you took a break from the industry from 12 years. You went to UCLA. Is that right?

I did UCLA for undergrad and grad. Yeah, I went straight through. When you went to UCLA, I mean, now you've you're now you're interacting with children, young adults who probably have seen your work, right? And so- That's like the night before. Yeah. I can't imagine, and I can't imagine that this makes you more popular. I imagine this makes life a little bit more difficult

in a lot of ways, because that's a tough age in the first place, right? That's kind of a nightmare age. Right, yeah. I mean, you know, I was two years out of high school, so I had a little bit more, I don't know, I don't wanna say worldly, but I had been working in an adult industry

since I was like 11, so I already was like kind of different. And I think it's kind of a similar thing happens at college than happens in high school, except that, you know, I was pursuing a degree in science. I got my undergrad and graduate degree in neuroscience. And so you're with like every A student from every school all over the country, if not world.

So I was also meeting professors who were like, do you really belong here? Aren't you an actor? Like, that was awkward. And some professors would bring their kids to meet me, which was weird. Oh, creepy. But back then, I mean, back then before HIPAA laws,

when I'd go to a doctor's checkup, nurses would bring their kids to me. This was just like what the world was like. So college was like, you know, honestly, South Campus at UCLA is all sciences. People cared less, they still cared, but if I went to North Campus, I did a minor in Hebrew and Jewish studies,

so all my humanities classes, humanities kids were always looking around for like, who's here? Do I look cute? And so, you know, in that part of campus, I definitely got more, I guess, attention. But in South Campus, it was, you know, pretty much pre-med, like everybody kind of keeping their heads down. And, you know, I was a late bloomer to science, so I definitely struggled more. And then there were other kids who weren't child actors who also struggled because, you know, back then, there were affirmative action programs for kids who didn't have the same experience in high school for whatever reason.

And we were given the opportunity to catch up. And so I had, you know, we called it remedial calculus and remedial chemistry. And I was with a bunch of students who at the time were encouraged to catch up, and those people today are your doctors and your dentists. So say what you will about the politics of affirmative action.

I was in classes with kids who all had different experiences and wanted to compete in the sciences, so I wasn't the only one as a child actor who needed to have more opportunity to kind of catch up. So yeah, that was my college experience. Parties was like drunk frat dudes will say really dumb things. I can only imagine.

Yeah, and then like drunk sorority girls don't really want attention pulled away from them, so it was pretty clear. Yeah. Yeah. When you were in this, when you were in Hollywood doing Blossom, were you part of this crew? I mean you had to have been in some sense part of this crew of young actors and actresses

who were around at that time. The Feldman Hame I guess would be an example of somebody. Did you interact with them? Yeah, your timing is exactly right. You know, I definitely wasn't, I mean like I said I was kind of weird like in the first Yeah, your timing is exactly right. I definitely wasn't, I mean, like I said, I was kind of weird in the first place. But yeah, back then, there were these magazines called Teen Beat and Tiger Boots.

And this was before social media, before PR. And what they would do is they would take you to events. We'd go to a dude ranch in Palm Springs and photographers would come and they would like photograph you all like interacting and having a good time. And so it was like it was it was Corey Feldman it was it was Corey Haim it was you know Stephen Dorff was part of my circle he was also on Niel Patrick Harris and then like Danica McKellar and her sister Crystal

McKellar and like all the like pretty girls that I was like, oh, I'm not as cool. But yeah, like we did sort of, you know, have those sort of events, but my parents were, kept a pretty close watch on me. They were both teachers. And so it was like, kind of like after work, I just like came home and did homework.

So I wasn't part of that partying scene. And you know, I knew a lot of kids in my junior high and high school who were also partying and doing drugs who weren't Actors so it's kind of like it gets a lot of attention But now that I look back, you know And now that I think we have a better understanding of like addiction and partying and what it can mean I think we all have a better understanding that like These are you know, like we're filling a God-shaped hole as a society, you know, so when you see teenagers doing that, something's up,

you know, something's up either in themselves or maybe in their families, but you know, likely it's just kind of filling that hole and yeah. I always felt like, all right, not always, but as I got older, I understood that certain youngsters, right? Feldman, Haymes, the whippersnappers. Yeah. What's that? That you got outsized attention because it was something salacious that you could talk about, but that really almost everybody understood. Like today it happens because of TikTok and Instagram and everything else in the world. But you, that one or two or ten moments of your life that you would never want shared with anybody else or that are just so salacious and dumb and it's just you being a teenager or a kid or a young

person or even an old person, you know, it could be somebody in their 40s. You get lasered in on and it's a sport in this country to tear people down, raise them back up, and then if we can tear them down again, we'll do that again and maybe they'll get another chance at it. It's a sport that quite frankly is profitable and also is I guess fun for some people. And so in some sense I felt empathy for people

like Feldman and Haynes who not only were probably mistreated and possibly abused, but then at the same time are lasered in on for one or two or 10 dumb things that they did. That by the way, I had 100. Right, and I think also like by the same token, you know, people want like, even before there was social media, right?

People magazine or all those, you know, kind of like magazines, which, you know, I think in many cases are entertainment But they're looking for like the reason the solution I think also you know not to bring it back to my podcast But that is something that like please do you know we have a lot of people I mean we had Corey Feldman on like we've had Matthew McConaughey on we've had Ben Stiller on like you know We're having people on who have had a certain amount of success and still express imposter syndrome and insecurity

and trauma stuff that you didn't know would surface. But I think people want the answer. They want the solution. And I've had, I mean, many people I've worked with have died and overdosed, right? And so I'd often be asked, and this was even before I was studying neuroscience, before I was studying neuropsychology,

and people were like, well, you know, your parents were strict, is that why you didn't get in trouble? And it's like, it's not that simple, you know? And it's also not for me to take the memory of people who have died in really tragic, tragic ways and be like, if their parents had been more strict, they would have been fine.

Like, I'm not gonna say that. And it's also like, it's so false to say that we can sum it up like that. And you are right about this, is that everybody wants a one paragraph answer. And I think that's part of what perpetuates misunderstanding of really complicated and nuanced situations. I mean, you could say that, right, you could say that about anything in the world. I mean, and like, that's the thing, like, there's so much nuance, like, even in politics, like, I understand it's an election year, but like, people want that one headline that's going to sum it up and tell you what you should feel. But like, we're not all 14. We don't need to know,

like, in one sentence, like, if you have me for 10 seconds, what should I believe right? Like we're adults and yeah, there's a lot more nuance And that's also why look social media took it from a paragraph to like what is you know used to be seconds Yeah, exactly or like what can you you know, what can you communicate in 10 seconds? Which I haven't ask you this as a neuroscientist this how we're built. Is this how we're built? No, we're built for human interaction. We're built for looking at people's faces, real faces, not computer generated faces. You know, the technological progress of the last,

you know, call it what you want, 20 years, 50, 100, 200, has done absolutely incredible things. C-sections are amazing for saving the lives of babies. Do 30% of women need C-sections? Absolutely not, right? So there's many wonderful things about technology. It doesn't change hundreds of thousands of years of the brain evolving as a homo sapiens sapiens.

It just doesn't. Babies don't need toys the first year, I promise. They need humans who want to talk to them and interact. They don't want to look at a screen that's not what the brain is made for. All these things, we're literally made to interact. And it's fascinating to see what AI can do, but it's much more interesting for me to bother my boyfriend

to write me a love poem. I promise. Yes. Let me ask you a question about AI because I feel you probably have your finger on this. I sense that AI is a lot of hype to generate dollars. It's big data. But I'm not sure that it's going to fundamentally change. It's not going to take my job tomorrow. No one's going to do it. I mean, not that we do great podcasts anyway, but no one's going to take my podcast and. No one's gonna do it. I mean, not that we do great podcasts anyway, but no one's gonna take my podcast

and recreate it in ways that are funny or better, different, faster, whatever it is, anytime soon. Maybe in a hundred years, maybe in 50 years. But I think it feels to me like it's just a buzzword that may not fundamentally have a lot of meat and potatoes to it. What is your sense? I mean, not that I don't want to sound 90 years old with you.

Ha ha ha ha. You know, I look, I think it's a combination of things. And I think that it already has fundamentally changed the way people produce content and take in content. And I think if nothing else, the way that it has changed the propagation of dangerous material for young girls, meaning fakes and the,

I mean, it's happened to me and most celebrities, but the thought that elementary school and middle school girls are having an experience that is assisted by the technology of AI, that's a huge societal shift. And I think it's like, it's a little bit the tip of the iceberg. And I also think, and I think it's fair for us to say, that there are also some really incredible things

that computers can do, right? And AI is showing the speed, efficiency, and prowess of a finely, youess of a finely tuned algorithm that can be really helpful. But as a 90-year-old person and as a mom of two teenagers who don't even know how to write cursive because we were told you're not gonna need it, when I look at these commercials of like, AI helped my daughter write a letter

to her favorite athlete. I'm like, I don't know, do we need that? Like, I'd love to be a nerd and tell a child how to write a letter and talk to them about what does it mean and what do you want to communicate and it doesn't have to be perfect and you know, all those things that are missed. So I think, you know, I can't say that the companies producing

your podcast and mine are not using AI in ways that make things faster and can be helpful and generating titles and things. And I have a lot of weird feelings about that, but I'm 48 and I'm not Elon Musk, right? So I get to sort of have those feelings. And my kids were homeschooled until high school. My older one didn't start high school till 11th grade.

And I was really glad, you know, that he doesn't want to use AI like that for work, for school. And I'm not saying it's because he was homeschooled. I'm saying we were out of a technological school situation, you know, with like a structure and bureaucracy and competition, which he was homeschooled, I'm saying we were out of a technological school situation, you know, with like a structure and bureaucracy and competition, um, which he was introduced to, you know, in 11th grade. But that scares me. It does scare me that kids are not reading, thinking, writing the way that we used to. And I don't think that, you know, makes me a funny daddy.

You make me look at this in a little bit of a different way. There are things that AI has done and does do that is a fundamental shift in our perception of human beings and our ability of human beings to feed a computer information and have it return something that is 100% fictitious and in no way resembles reality but could easily be undiscerned as reality. Like you could easily say, oh, that is reality. I guess my thought is like like, I hear a lot of people, you know, prophesizing about how AI is going to run the world and maybe someday, but I don't know that that day is today. I hope we're set by then.

Yeah, me too. I hope you and I are set. I agree with that. Why did you take 12 years off of acting? You know, jump from AI to acting. Why did you take 12 years off of acting? You just, did you feel? Yeah, I mean, when Blossom ended, you know, sitcom wasn't a popular thing to be part of. It was like, oh, you were on a sitcom.

And, you know, it wasn't, with all due respect to Punky Brewster, it wasn't like a kids' show in the afternoon. It was a nighttime, you know, primetime show. But, you know, we didn't have movie stars like we do now making cameos in sitcoms. It was really seen as like if you want to be considered a mature, like legit actor, like you need to make a big shift. So, you know, I was offered theater stuff, but I didn't really want that lifestyle. And, you know, my grandparents were immigrants from Eastern Europe.

I was taught you go to college. So I wanted to go to college and I wanted to kind of, I wanted to have more of an anonymous existence. You know, I never really was very taken with like the fame part of it, the fancy part of it. So I kind of got to just like be a person, you know, and kind of find my own way. There's a real, you know, kind of suspended, a suspended sort of adolescence and sort of a forced maturity when you're working in an adult world. And I think I really wanted some time for that to even out. I ended up meeting the person that I married

and had kids with as an undergrad. We met in calculus class. We're since divorced, but that was the foundation of my social life was meeting this person and it was a real intellectual match and a comedy kind of match. So yeah, I lived a very different life and I went straight into a doctoral program.

I did three episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm kind of in those years. I got sort of, I was still auditioning for stuff here and there and I literally was walking by the Curb Your Enthusiasm casting office and I was auditioning for something else in the building and I went in and I was like, this is my favorite show. Or let me be.

Mine too, yeah. I would never go into a casting office and be that person. They were like, okay, thanks, bye. And then I think a couple weeks or a couple months later, I got called in to audition for Curb. So I did three of those episodes, but otherwise, I had my first son in grad school. After finishing my coursework. I took my doctoral hood pregnant and you know, I really liked being a mom I liked being an at-home, you know kind of mom. I wrote my thesis while breastfeeding my first and

you know, I was like tutoring and teaching and things like that, but Yeah, I really kind of you know made a decision that that men don't have to think about in the same way and that not all women choose to think about, but do I want to put my kid in daycare so I can be a professor and teach other kids, or do I wanna shift my life and see what happens and be home with my kids? And so I don't know if it was the right decision

like in the grand scope of the universe, but it was the right decision for our family and a very hard decision. Once you leave academia, you're kind of out. And then I just started auditioning for things when my insurance ran out. I had a toddler and a pretty much a newborn when I auditioned for the Big Bang Theory.

And I didn't know what that show was. I wasn't watching TV at the time. I was like nursing humans. You know? When you went to Big Bang Theory, what season did you join Big Bang Theory? I joined, so I was in the season finale of season three, it was already a very successful show by then. And then Melissa Rausch, who played Bernadette, she and I were both made regulars in season

four. In season four. When you got to season three, now I've read this because I would not have been someone on, I mean, I would have been on the internet because I would not have been someone on, I mean I would have been on the internet, I wouldn't have been someone debating this on the internet, but I read that it was quite the controversy that you become a season regular at the time, at the moment that it happened. Yeah, well, well I think that people had, look that show really struck a chord with people in a really interesting way and you know Geek Chic was kind of you

know kind of floating about then and that show really kind of tapped into that you know I like to say Big Bang Theory was a show about kind of how the other half lives yeah it's actually you know kind of more than half because most people are not like the Beverly Hills 90210 cast you know that I would raise to believe that everybody looked like me Right. Right. So, you know. Not everyone is blessed with looks like I am. My you. But, you know, the thing is like being brought on as a love interest for, you know,

for Jim Parsons character for Sheldon Cooper, carried with it a particular kind of weight because he was this sort of like, you know, it was like a spectrumy character before we even talked about it like that, you know? And there was a kind of, you know, Asexuality to him. Asexuality to him. And I think that was really important to people as a feature of that character. And so, of course, you know, me being brought on

would would be kind of an extension of that anxiety that people felt. And, you know, to be honest, as a, you know, kind of geek myself, I totally get it. Like if there was a show, you know, if I was a fan of that show, meaning if I wasn't like raising children and I was, you know, let's say really into that show as representative of my life, I would probably feel the same sense of like proprietary-ness over, you know, wanting to keep this character the way he was. And I think a lot of people had fears that he'd become this kind of like doe-eyed TV boyfriend. I really think like, you know, I mean our writing staff

was unbelievable and you know Bill Prady and Chuck Lorre had a very specific idea you know at that time and continuing on and you know later with Steve Malaro and Steve Holland as our showrunners like it was very specific of how to kind of craft these characters so even when Amy and Sheldon you know said I love you it it was in a very special, kind of nuanced way. So I'd like to think it held true, but look, the fact is by then the internet existed

and people could just be like, she's so ugly, why is she on television? And I'm like, okay, well, I don't know. Well, the internet is full of 13 year old boys looking to be keyboard warriors. I can tell you that if you're at all, do anything public, right? Including a podcast.

Correct. So much variety. You hear from the loudest voices in the room. Oh, they're very noisy. Always the keyboard warriors. And to be fair to us as humans, and I'm sure you experience this way more than we ever will, because you are on one of the two of the most popular sitcoms

ever is that when those words come across, it's hard not to hear those words the loudest also sometimes, right? And so I really have to learn to tune it out. You probably have much more experience with this than I do, but I know that I can read a thousand great comments and I read one and it can really stick with me. Oh yeah, no, I am that person who like, there'll be 10,000 likes and I'll be like, but who didn't let's that thumbs down.

What is that? The first time I actually went, you know, and I started a YouTube channel, which is, you know, where my podcast is now. But when I first started the YouTube channel and I went on and I was like, oh, there's comments? Oh, that's interesting. And I was like, who said thumbs down?

And I clicked on it and realized I had just given myself thumbs down. Like, yeah, that feels awkward. But yeah, I mean, look, the time that I was on Big Bang really saw a shift in kind of our cultural access to information from the outside world. And I did used to read things. I did used to really go down the rabbit hole

and I tend towards like body dysmorphia, depression and anxiety as it is. So then like add that. And it took some weaning, but I did finally have to wean myself from monitoring, not only my Instagram, kind of comments, but I am one of those people, if I see other people's fabulous, attractive lives,

I have a very hard time understanding that that's not what their life is like and comparing my insides to other people's outsides. And I'll come up with every reason that I can compare and despair over every aspect of someone else's. So I really have had to, for everyone's, including my children's mental health, stay off those things.

Social media dysmorphia has gotta be a real thing. It really does. You look at everybody else's life and you compare yourself to them and go, look how they look. Yeah, well, I struggled to pay my rent last month and how are these people in the Maldives every second week? And the truth

I mean and it does I mean you don't have to be a genius to figure this one out the truth is Has nothing to do with the image nothing to do with the act because they're human too and to their You know to our human empathy together this human experience. They also have shitty lives. They're just posting really pretty fucking pictures Yeah, I mean, I think I don't know if I can quote you can't but you know, we're all insecure I'm just the first to admit it right? It's Sort of like variations on that. It really is Is it like when you go 12 years without acting and then you go on the most popular? Television show in the world. Is it a real kick in the teeth or you're like, holy shit

This is why I left or did you enjoy the ride a little bit more the second time? No, I definitely could enjoy it a little bit more because I wasn't the star of it, meaning the pressure wasn't on me. I wasn't in every scene. I wasn't carrying the weight of the show. You know, I was just as happy to go to work and have three sentences as three scenes. It was really, really different. And I think for me also, for quite some time, I was the only one with kids of the cast.

And so it was also like, I got to get home. I was still pumping breast milk in between scenes for two years, I think, on that show. So I still was like, my brain was sort of a little bit everywhere and juggling, what's for dinner, I got to like figure that out and go home. And also, you know, as it is true for any job that you're in for, you know, almost a decade, like my dad died, I got divorced, you know, like things happen, you know, things are constantly happening to all of you and in your lives together.

And so, you know, it's a place to process and it's a place to have friendship, but yeah, the outside world definitely, you know, kind of peeks in for sure. So for every Big Bang fan out there, do you and the cast still stay in touch? Are you friendly? Is there like a special WhatsApp group that goes on between you? No, there's not a WhatsApp group, but we kind of all connect in different ways. You know, I wrote a movie. Actually, I started writing it during Big Bang and I specifically wrote it with Simon Helberg in mind and it came out

a couple years ago, it's called As They Made Us. It's with Dustin Hoffman and Candice Bergen. They play the parents and Simon Helberg and Diana Agron play the kids in this family. So I actually got to direct Simon. I wrote the screenplay and I directed it. And so that was amazing. Jim and I, we did so that was amazing. You know Jim and I we did a

young Sheldon appearance together and we'll stay in touch. Melissa Rauch and I I think talked the most. We you know still live kind of locally and we both worked at Warner Brothers and she's still there at Night Court. I've had Kunal on the podcast a couple times. Kaylee I follow more kind of in the world of social media and super excited for her as a mom and all those things. Yeah, I think that's all. Oh and Johnny Galecki. I mean, I've known him since I was 13 years old. He was one of that group also that you mentioned. We had the same agent when we were kids. So you were making you were making that Fox pilot probably when he was like making the Bundys. What I mean like Johnny Galecki was actually on Blossom.

He guest-stored on Blossom. I think it was right around Roseanne time. I think that those kind of intersected. So yeah, we haven't had any formal reunions or anything like that, but there's still a sense of camaraderie for sure. Well, it's a great show that a lot of people are connected to, and I think if you can do that

once in your life, then you are, if you can touch a creative project like that once in your life that affects so many people in so many different ways, then you probably consider yourself blessed, but then you go on to co-host Jeopardy with Ken. How did you feel about that experience? You can be just as honest as you want to be here at the commercial.

No, it was, I mean, it was, you know, that's like a, that's a dream come true kind of job. I can't even imagine. Yeah, especially for a geek person. It was really, I mean, it was fantastic. And the fact is I was offered the hosting position, but was working on a sitcom at the time. So that's actually how Ken and I started Splitting Duties is because I was offered the hosting position but was working on a sitcom at the time. So that's actually how Ken and I started splitting duties

is because I was working. Yeah, I worked on a series for three years after the Big Bang Theory and that's when Jeopardy happened. So yeah, we were initially splitting duties and then, yeah, I feel like safe to talk about it. You know, I didn't cross the picket line. I didn't cross the Rider Strike picket line,

the WGA picket line or the SA the picket line. I didn't cross the Rider Strike picket line, the WGA picket line, or the SAG picket line. And that happened, and then I was let go. I don't know that I can connect those. It is certainly uncomfortable. It's an uncomfortable turn of events that I didn't cross the picket line and then was let go. And of course it's their prerogative to hire whoever they want. But yeah.

So there's no, I mean obviously there's no connection, there's no email, there's nobody said anything out loud, but it... No, but it's freaking, freaking strange timing. It is fucking strange timing. Yeah, I mean like part of me wanted to be on social media like, does anyone think this is weird? My kids definitely were like are you sure mama? And I said yeah, my grandparents were sweatshop workers

And I'm a child of a public school teacher like I'm raised by Union, and I don't cross a picket line I don't cross a picket line. I know these people who are our writers They are the people running this show and organizing Jeopardy as you know it. I'm not gonna drive in and cross a picket line. And I said to them, you know, your principles are only worth something if you stand by them no matter what. And I don't know, but you're right.

I'm not making any formal accusation of anything. It's just the timing was, it was a sad year. Yeah, it was a sad year. Yeah, it was a tough year. Yeah, and also Ken may be people's flavor, and that's super, again, totally super fine, and Ken is phenomenal, and he's an enormously important part of Jeopardy history, and that's incredible too, but a lot of weird stuff happened on his podcast of people trashing me

for not crossing the picket line, and it's like, can we all just get along here? It's just weird. Yeah, I mean, listen, I don't know every twist and turn, and I'm not going to claim to, but I know the overtones and the undertones, and neither do you, and probably there's, and maybe no one does, maybe it's just one of those situations,

like, okay, we're going with Ken, right? A flip of the coin, who fucking knows? But at the end of the day, it does seem a little bit on the surface if you're a person like me, just kind of reading the other overtones online. Oh no, I mean, writers, yeah, and writer, like certain aspects of the writing community

did come out and be like, this is a thing. Like, you know, she didn't cross a picket line she got fired because she didn't yeah because she didn't support and again I don't know I really don't know and also like just you know the the timing of it was just weird like I don't know I still had a contract so you know it just like weird how long was left on the contract um well I was contracted through the end of that season. I mean, it grew like May, you know, and this was after October 7th, I remember that. It was, I think, November, yeah. A little bit strange.

It was a big year. It was a tough year. It was a tough year. And I'm a loud person, and also I should say, and I and I feel comfortable like I'm a loud person like meaning I I I do I use my social media to try and educate people about things and so I also understand that yeah It's jeopardy's prerogative to want a less loud controversial, but also like I was loud before so yes You compare me and Ken. I think his social media You know a lot less controversial

I think his social media public has been a lot less controversial. But again, I existed before I was offered the job. So yeah. Ken plays it down the middle, or maybe not sometimes. But at the end of the day, I think there is a safe harbor quality to some media personalities or some people who became media personalities. I think we like our women to behave a certain way and we're in the middle of a really interesting time in history where our country, again, is going to be asked, but how about now?

How do you feel about women now? And I was reading an article about Barry Weiss who runs the Free Press, which is a media platform. And the way that they describe Barry Weiss is like in ways that you wouldn't even describe a man. It's like, she's so sure of herself. It's like, you'd never read an article about a dude being like, he's just a dude who likes these things.

So I also know that people are comfortable with different, I mean, look, I've always been weird. I've always been weird as a loud kind of female person. So it's not, you know, surprising. And I think it plays out in a lot of places, not just Jeopardy!, like it plays out for a lot of women, of like, how sure can you be about yourself? How confident can you be without it threatening people?

And like, what if you also have a sense of humor? Like it has to agree with the boy's sense of humor, right? Like, so there's a lot, you know. As a... We like weird. We like weird and we like loud. Because those two things we are for sure. And as the father of daughters, right?

I find myself in a, I mean, Brian 25, I think Chrissy's known me for so many years, Brian 25 was always a champion of human rights and human abilities to be equal and say the things they need to say and do the things they need to do and be recognized in the ways. And I'm not sure I always got it right.

And I'm not sure I always got it right. You did a great job. Thank you very much. I appreciate that. But now I have daughters and I really appreciate the voices that are out there right now. You make it a point to show them.

Yes, I want to show them. Those are the women or those are the humans that you want to pay attention to, because well, you know, right. And, you know, and just also, of course. And like, I never thought it would be pushing the edges to say the government doesn't get to tell me what to do with my body. But behold, here I am, like saying something that's real uncomfortable for people. This is crazy, I know.

We could do two hours of this and I'd be happy to have that chat, and I know Chrissy would too, but it's just unfucking believable, and I'll say this now, that my daughter, who is very young, all my daughters who are very young, may or may not grow up with autonomy over their own physiological self is fucking insane to me. It's insane no matter what your political lean.

This is the thing, this is an issue that for me and I have a lot of respect for people who kind of cross the aisle on this one. It's like, I mean, yeah, there's not rules for men about what happens when they go to this. Exactly. No, and it won't stop until we stop it. So it won't just stop at uteruses and you know, but whatever, it will continue to go if we don't stop it. So whoever you vote for fucking vote.

That's all I gotta say. And vote on the right side. Put your uterus and the embryos in there. That's right. Tell us about your podcast. I've listened to a few hours of it. I really like it. I think it's very interesting. Yeah. I started this podcast. It's called My Ambient Alex Breakdown. I started this podcast with my partner, Jonathan Cohen. And he comes from a creative and sort of tech innovative background. And what was very innovative about the way we started our podcast was it happened really during lockdown. And we were realizing that our mental health was kind of taking a downturn with all of the uncertainty and like, what's happening?

Like, it's a global pandemic. What? And I just realized that, you know, I had decades of therapy under my belt and I still was freaking the F out and didn't know what to do and I thought, what about all the people who don't have a therapy background or vocabulary and don't know even the simple breathing techniques, for example, that can help you if you're feeling anxious, right? So Jonathan was like, we can literally turn,

this is a house that I used to live in that I used as a rental property, and the person who was living here had moved out, and I was gonna sell it, and Jonathan was like, no, we're gonna turn it into a podcast studio. And I was like, I've never listened to a podcast, what's that? So we started this podcast, you know,

it started as kind of instructional about mental health, and then we started having on, you know, experts but also a lot of celebrities and prominent people who, you know, are experts in their own journey and the idea like I'm not the kind of celebrity that's like I've figured it out, here's the product that you should buy. Literally like I'm still figuring it out, I'm still on therapy, I'm still unearthing more, like things happen all the time and like then you're a woman and then you have menopause and then it's like You're like a hormonal mess and all the things happen again that you have

But anyway, we've you know kind of grown into this, you know kind of space to talk about well-being and we've had You know a lot of comedians. We've had Chelsea Handler. We've had Sarah Silverman and Eliza Schultzinger and then we've had Matthew McConaughey, who had no idea who I was. It was literally placed on his schedule for his book. And I was like, do you know who I am? He's like, I have no idea. I was like, great. I'll take an hour with you anyway.

But we had Dustin Hoffman come on. And we've had several of the cast of Big Bang. Actually, half the cast of Big Bang has come on. Ben Stiller came on. That was unbelievable. And then we've had Peter Atiya and we've had Andrew Huberman and people who are in that space and Gabor Mate and Michael Singer and people who are mental health, like the people you wanna hear about,

how do we process trauma? Why is it still impacting us? And we're tapping into a lot of things that a lot of bro podcasts do really well, but not a lot of women kind of lot of bro podcasts do really well, but not a lot of women kind of wanna hear it from Huberman that way. So trying to also introduce these things

like learning about sleep hygiene is not just for the bros who wanna live forever. Those are important things for everybody. We have a split audience, but I do know that a lot of women listen to us who maybe otherwise are getting their stuff from more of those bro podcasts. But we talk about narcissism, we talk about trauma,

we talk about toxic relationships. We've had some really interesting guests and we have a YouTube channel if you wanna watch us, which is sometimes fun, because I talk with my hands, because I have F hands. I do too. Or we're a podcast that's on Spotify

or wherever you get podcasts and our website's Be All Like Breakdown. It's available everywhere Give them the fur that if you had one episode recommendation on your podcast to start with because you have episodes and now I just Want to make sure you get the best foot forward. I wish we could say this to our start here, right? But so far Apple doesn't let you do that They actually had a list that says don't go here But they actually had a list that says, don't go here. Yeah, that's one wasn't so good.

Look, it's hard to answer. People want so many different things from podcasts. But since we've spoken about Big Bang Theory, I will say we have two episodes with Canal Nair, who played Raj, and they're really, really interesting. I think that's a really fun place to start. And, you know, I think hearing, you know, Peter Atiyah talk about the worst parts of his personality and all the places that he's imperfect is one of my favorite things about getting to talk to Peter Atiyah.

Yeah, and then Michael Singer is our highest rated episode that's not a celebrity. Okay. Michael Singer wrote Untethered Soul, and he's this really, really fascinating intellectual, spiritual. I have read it. Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, hearing him speak is fascinating and it's really one of my favorite episodes. I cry through most of that one just because he's a very powerful presence and I was very startled what it would be like to speak to him. I'm gonna listen to that one and I'm gonna listen to the Corey Feldman one.

Oh, the Corey Feldman one is wild. I'm gonna listen to that because I gotta dig into everything Corey Feldman. I'm just a little bit, I just a little bit of an oddball. I like to see everything Corey. It's wild. He's on stage. I'm like, he's either in on the joke or the joke's on him.

Oh no. But I'm pretty sure he's in on the joke. You have to watch our episode. And actually, I take it as a high compliment that he didn't keep his sunglasses on for the entire episode. Oh wow. Really? He took his sunglasses off? Yes, you can tune in and see the point at which he felt that level of comfort.

Oh, okay. Corey Feldman, now, we're running out of time with you now, but when you return, Chrissy and I are going to talk to you about Teresa Caputo. We just want to have a small conversation, doesn't have to be long, we just want to share with our thoughts. We want to see if you're okay. You're sleeping in the hyperbolic chamber by the way. I saw that on your Instagram before we started recording. It's super it's super nuts and it's one of those things that like so many different doctors kept telling me to do it and I was like okay and I'm not being I'm literally not being paid to do this.

Like it's not an ad situation. I got it on loan for six months and I'm gonna just try it out and see if we can see a difference. Yeah, let us know. Okay, next time you come back, then you're gonna talk to us about Teresa Caputo, you're in your hyperbolic chamber, and I will react to your Corey Feldman episode,

and we will find out if Corey isn't on the joke or the joke's on him. Yeah. Maim, by Alec, you have been wonderful. Thank you so much for coming here. We certainly appreciate it. Welcome back anytime. We actually, I hope you come back. Thank you. Happy to. This was really fun. Thank you so much. Bye bye. if we're not plugging our Instagram, right? That's right, honey. So follow us on Instagram at the commercial break. And don't you forget TikTok at TCB Podcasts

so you can see Brian and Chrissy on your homepage every day, which I know you're just simply desperate for. And if you want to see us in person, guess what you finally can, because we're coming to Florida because only Florida would let TCB come there. Just kidding, kind of. You can come see us at Dania Beach Improv on Tuesday, September 24th and at the Funny Bone Orlando on Wednesday, September 25th. Yeah, I know you want to come to both days. That's right. Anyway, the links to

both of those are in our show notes, so go get them, get your tickets, and then tell us that you're coming by texting us at 212-433-3822. And if there's anything else you need from us, I am sure you can find it on our website, tcvpodcast.com. Live, laugh, love, bye. Such an interesting human. I know, I lie, I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie.

I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie.

I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie.

I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie., like a right for a woman to have autonomy over her body is so very important. If you, and this, I know that pro-life, pro-choice, it's really not about that. It's about having the ability to make decisions for yourself about yourself. And it's a slippery slope.

And once you determine one thing can't be determined by a human being, then everything else you can't, you know, all of a sudden everything else becomes fair game. And I think that's what, that's, that's the crux of the issue. So I'm glad she shared that with us because I think that's important. And also, what also is important is the guy who was making nipples inside of his basement. That's important. This is, she produced this movie or her company, her production company produced this movie called My Mom and Dad's Secret Nipple Factory. I think that's what it's called. And I'll tell you what, so her PR agent, did I say this?

I don't remember, we talked about so much stuff I don't even remember, but her PR agent sends us this list of stuff, you know, like everybody does. Hey, please mention this, and you can mention this if you want to mention this. And they send us this link to My Mom and Dad's Secret Nipple Factory, or whatever the title of the movie is. And Astrid and I are like, what is this? Like secret nipple factor. Now definitely piques your interest.

And we were laughing about it because I thought, oh, this has got to be like a comedy movie or something. And then you click it and it's a documentary about this really sheltered, very conservative gentleman and his wife gets breast cancer and she has to have her nipples removed during a mastectomy, leaving her scarred in a way that obviously doesn't feel good to look in the mirror because she feels, it looks abnormal, she feels abnormal. In some hope to give her some semblance of normalcy, he starts downstairs in his basement

to create silicone nipples. He starts with like fabric, and then he goes to different textures. I love this. And then like plastic surgeons are like, downstairs in his basement to create silicone nipples. He starts with like fabric, and then he goes to different textures. And then like plastic surgeons are like, oh my God, this is like the best nipple replication I've ever seen in my entire life. And so he starts making these for women around the country,

around the world. And this documentary, so Asher and I click this link thinking we're gonna laugh. And then two and a half minutes later, we're both like, ah, I love that nipple factory on my basement. So check that out if you get a chance. And of course check out her podcast,

Mayim B. Alex Breakdown, excuse me, I thought I was gonna cough there. Mayim B. Alex Breakdown, wherever you get podcasts, wherever you're listening to this show, you can listen to her show. I suggest you give it a try, Gracie. I mean, I can't wait to hear the Corey Feldman one. Oh, that's, ooh.

Ooh. Oh. I got it. Yeah, I think we the Corey Feldman one. Oh, that's, ooh. Oh. Oh. I got it. Yeah, I think we might need to watch that. Yeah. On the tube. Yeah, she's got the YouTube channel too. And yeah, we have to watch that.

Cause she says he takes off his sunglasses and starts getting serious. Yes. And by the way, so many people have been writing in about Corey Feldman because he's been part of that Limp Bizkit Tour. And so there's so, I know, it's so weird. I did not know that.

He has. And apparently that Limp Biscuit Tour has been traveling around the country killing it. It's not my thing, but good for Fred Durst. All gray hair and that mop on his fucking head and all that. And Corey Feldman is one of the opening acts and Corey has been out there Instagramming every moment and people have been sharing how he's singing the songs and all that and I just can't get enough. I'm laughing at every moment and so that's when I said is he in on the joke or are we in on the joke? Like who's in on the joke?

Is it us that are getting pranked or is it him that's just like his music just a joke? And the other day I saw a reel where he said that Michael Jackson one time wanted to take his first album to CBS Records to make it a bona fide hit like he was gonna go to the president of the company and say make this a number one and Corey said no I don't want your help I'm not one of the assholes just sucking off your teat and I'm like I'm not sure even if they had walked that album in the front door. Even Michael Jackson would have been able to do anything with that. But it's just so funny.

So I can't wait to see what Cory says to Mayim. And they grew up around the same time. They were taking pictures on a ranch. That was weird. That's weird. Meet Cory and Cory at a ranch. Take some pictures together at a dude ranch. Dude. Can you take your shirt off Cory and Cory? Well, Dude, can you take your shirt off, Cory and Cory? Well, how about one Cory take your shirt off? You pick, no, actually I'll pick.

It'll be Hayme, Hayme, take your shirt off. Good old Cory Feldman, thank you, Mayim, very much for coming in. I hope you check out her podcast. And I had a lot of fun with the conversation. I know, she's gonna come back. She's gonna come back. I hope she comes to Atlanta.

Buy her a cup of coffee. Yes. What's she gonna do here? What does she wanna do here? Yeah, she had something going on here. Yeah, she had something going on here. Can't remember, the interview was two minutes ago and I can't remember.

That's how tired I am. All right, come see our shows. 24th in Miami, 25th in Orlando, 24th at the Dania Beach Improv, and at the Bone in Orlando. Yeah, I'm so glad you've adopted a bone. TCBpodcast.com at the commercial break on Instagram, TCBpodcast on TikTok.

Christy, that's all I can do for right now. I think so. I love you. I love you. Best to you. Best to you. And best to you out there in the podcast universe. Until next time, Christy and I always say, we do say and we must say. Goodbye. Goodbye. Until next time, Chrissy and I always say, we do say, and we must say, goodbye! Oh, hell yeah!