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From Taylor’s No to Kimmel’s Return: Culture Clashes, Viral Stunts, and a Hamburger Helper Comeback for 9/30/25

• Lawrence Elrod & Meryl Klemow

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A bear-filled weekend turns into a culture run that asks bigger questions about power, safety, and the price of attention. We kick off with Taylor Swift’s reported standoff over Super Bowl halftime rights—why ownership and promotion matter when the stage is the most-watched live event in America—and why the NFL won’t budge on a system built for scale. From there, we dive into Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension and rapid return, where billions in market reaction, a ratings surge, and a razor‑sharp monologue reframed the debate around free speech, standards, and what audiences will actually tolerate.

Our conversation gets personal with a Bay Area billboard campaign to find a husband. Bold? Absolutely. But we unpack the real tradeoffs: safety, vetting, and smarter ways to meet someone—concierge matchmaking, trusted referrals, and widening your geographic pool instead of gambling on freeway impressions. The tone shifts again as we confront the deadly social media car stunt trend. We talk parental guardrails, platform responsibility, and how to channel risk into structured outlets before curiosity turns catastrophic.

We lighten the mood without losing the thread: the strange chaos of a “poop spray” prank that shut down a school, the nostalgic return of Hamburger Helper in a tight economy (with our favorite healthier riffs), and the viral UN escalator stop that turned mechanical engineers into primetime explainers. Across it all, one theme keeps surfacing: visibility is power—whether it’s a halftime stage, a viral clip, or a box on a grocery shelf—and power needs better design, clearer ownership, and common sense.

If you enjoy smart takes with humor and heart, tap follow, share the show with a friend, and leave a quick review. What story had you yelling at your phone this week—and where do you draw the line between exposure and excess?

Tired of surface-level inspiration? This raw, transformative documentary digs deep into turning pain into purpose. Mainstream platforms wouldn't touch these powerful stories of resilience, but you can access them now on elrodvnetwork.com.

Tired of surface-level inspiration? This raw, transformative documentary digs deep into turning pain into purpose. Mainstream platforms wouldn't touch these powerful stories of resilience, but you can access them now on elrodvnetwork.com.

Tired of surface-level inspiration? This raw, transformative documentary digs deep into turning pain into purpose. Mainstream platforms wouldn't touch these powerful stories of resilience, but you can access them now on elrodvnetwork.com.

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Hello, and thank you for listening to Thirsty Topics podcast! I'm Lawrence Elrod, and every week Meryl Klemow and I dive deep into the stories that matter, the conversations that shape our world."

Please help support our show by following us and telling others about our show. New podcasts weekly.

SPEAKER_01:

Hello everyone. Welcome to this week's episode of Thirsty Topics. I'm Lauren Sellerati.

SPEAKER_00:

And I'm Meryl Klima.

SPEAKER_01:

Hey Meryl, how are you doing today?

SPEAKER_00:

I'm doing awesome. How are you doing?

SPEAKER_01:

I am doing great. I am blessed.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, yeah, I love that.

SPEAKER_01:

How was your weekend?

SPEAKER_00:

It was so good. I forgot what we did. It was a oh, we went to your um a national park called Yosemite.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, nice.

SPEAKER_00:

It's very beautiful. If anyone is in the area and you haven't gone yet, I feel like it should be mandatory for like Californians to go, at least like once you renew your driver's license, like once once every eight years or something. And we we actually saw a black bear.

SPEAKER_01:

Wow, really?

SPEAKER_00:

Yep. We were hiking and we saw some deer, and then there was a giant, or not giant, it was a medium-sized black bear, but uh it was big enough where I was like, okay, I don't think I could take this.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, my weekend wasn't too event, uh was not too eventful. Um it was rough, but my Chicago Bears pulled it out.

SPEAKER_00:

Yay, we both saw Bears then.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, they won at the last minute, uh, blocking a field goal uh by the Raiders. So people say that yeah, it was a rough game, but hey, a win is a win.

SPEAKER_00:

Yay! I I heard people cheering by me, so I feel like maybe I have some Bears fans living by me.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh wow, really?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, yep, yep, yep.

SPEAKER_01:

I heard like people like m screaming, ah you know what's crazy is when I was watching a game, I was surprised at how many Bears fans were at the stadium. It was half and half. I was very surprised.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh yeah, well, I love that. I'm happy for you.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, maybe should I start this out since I have some football news?

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, cool. I thought this one was interesting. Um, Taylor Swift is out for the Super Bowl halftime show. So all the Swifties, including maybe myself, that was hoping it would happen. It ain't gonna happen because uh the NFL quote unquote flatly refused to demeet her meet her demands, which pretty much demands she was asking for retaining um the right, you know, the rights and the everything's of the actual performance itself and special placements of her own promotion like within the FNS the NFL. And honestly, if you ask me, like she already is all over the NFL with Travis. I feel like every day is a Super Bowl for her, like she gets shown no matter what. So in my mind, if if she wants to promote something, she could just show up with it like on a t-shirt, and then it pretty much is there, you know, she gets millions of views anyway. Um, now the NFL wasn't disrespectful in any way, like out, you know, to the public. The executives we understand that Taylor is huge and we need her more than she needs us. So, like, in no way were they competing with her. They just said we can't just pick and choose like who we pay and who we don't pay. So they kind of said this is you know, unfortunately, this is how it goes. If it can't be met, then you know, too bad. And then now I think Bad Bunny is the Super Bowl person, which I feel like makes lots of people happy. Like, I don't really care about it, but um, you know, it is what it is.

SPEAKER_01:

It'll be interesting to see who they announced because I saw something that Patty LaBelle was doing a super bowl.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh what?

SPEAKER_01:

I was like, okay, you know, so unless he's gonna bring her out or something. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00:

That would be ridiculous.

SPEAKER_01:

I I get where what Taylor's was coming from, but the thing that that people have to understand is if they allow her to get her demands, they open the floodgates for other big entertainers, right?

SPEAKER_00:

Exactly. And like I wonder, I mean, I understand it seems weird to me that um that performers can't retain ownership of their performance, you know what I mean? Like that seems weird. Because yeah, I don't know.

SPEAKER_01:

I I think the Super Bowl is a unique situation just because it is a multi-multi-billion dollar industry to begin with. You know, a lot of people don't know this, but um, when you perform at the Super Bowl, even what you're going to play, you know, what songs you're gonna sing have to be approved by the Super Bowl. You can't you can't just tell her so there's a lot of controls in place. So, yeah, she's a big time superstar, but I do understand why they have to tell her no on her demands.

SPEAKER_00:

Exactly. But the fact that they own all the Super Bowl performances, like what else besides just streaming or what what do they do with them? Like they're not gonna put out a CD of them or anything, you know. Like I wonder, I wonder what they when they say like retain ownership, I wonder what that means down the road for like Lady Kaga's performance or Katy Perry or you know.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I mean they're probably gonna use it as promotion in the future.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

And the thing is, is that by them retaining ownership, they don't have to pay royalties when they reuse it.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, that's true. That's true. And then it said that she also wanted to secure slots promoting her own projects. But like I said, if I was her, I would just walk in with a sweatshirt that has my new album. Or like I'd have Travis Kelsey like put something on his helmet that just says, like, buy my girlfriend, my fiance's new album.

SPEAKER_01:

Definitely, definitely. But I don't think that's gonna hurt Taylor Swift.

SPEAKER_00:

No, not at all. She'll still be there and cheering and everything. So yeah, if anything, it's just a bummer that everyone was so excited. But um, you know, whatever.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, talk about excited. Um, here's a real twist Jimmy Kimmel is back on the air.

SPEAKER_00:

Yay! Remember, it happened as we were recording last week. That was so funny.

SPEAKER_01:

It was so much that happened last week. Um let me read this statement here that I pulled up. Okay. It says, yes, Jimmy Kimmel is back on the air. Sinclair Broadcasting and Nextstar Media Group, which own a significant portion of ABC affiliates, announced on Friday, September 26th that they would begin airing Jimmy Kimmel live again following ABC's decision to bring the show back Tuesday, September 23rd, after a week-long suspension. The suspension of the show stemmed from Kimmel's comments about conservative activist Charlie Kirk's death. Now, there's some interesting things about this that I want to just highlight. I know they wanted him to donate a significant amount to Charlie Kirk's um um, I guess, nonprofit or whatever he has, and then an apology. Neither one did he do. Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

What I always say is consumers have more power than you think.

SPEAKER_00:

Right.

SPEAKER_01:

Because in a matter of days, Disney lost over three billion dollars.

SPEAKER_00:

Would it be gosh?

SPEAKER_01:

Somewhere between 3.6, 3.8, but billions of dollars. And ABC brought them on, and then all of a sudden, you know, the other two broadcasters that we just talked about, they weren't gonna bring them back, but in a matter of a day or two, they changed their mind. And I don't think it was because they felt sorry or this or that. It turns down to the dollar. They did not expect people to come out as strong as they did. But what do you think about that?

SPEAKER_00:

I think exactly. I think what like we talked about last week, this was definitely in the recent history that I can remember, this is the most I've seen people like voting and showing with their dollar that has actually made an impact because, like we talked about, like Target and Starbucks and all these things that are kind of canceled, pretend canceled, whatever, like you still see them going and it doesn't really make an impact. Um, and now I think this it and I think people in the industry speaking up and people saying, Okay, you don't want to do this like for one person because then it's gonna happen to the whole industry and it's just gonna cascade bad. So I think I think they were probably shocked at how many people canceled.

SPEAKER_01:

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00:

I have to imagine two, oh, what are we gonna say?

SPEAKER_01:

Oh no, no, go ahead.

SPEAKER_00:

I was just gonna say two people with projects probably also on, like Marvel and Disney and Hulu and all those types of things probably were not very happy to because you're like affecting so so so many people.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, yeah, exactly. And I I think the bigger thing, as polarized as this country is, you know, the First Amendment, um, the right to free speech is something that it doesn't matter what side of the political fence you are. That's something that means a lot to America. Big time. And you know, a lot of people, that's kind of where they drew the lines. Whether it's Republican, Democrat, it doesn't matter. It's like they drew the line there saying, no, this is just too much. This is too far.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, and and I do think um I watched Jimmy's like, I don't know if you saw his I I loved it, I thought it was perfect. I think he did like absolutely you could tell he really was genuine and authentic, and it was so funny. I thought like everything about it was he just nailed it.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, I agree, and like I said, when it first happened, and I'm not exaggerating, I literally played back that segment multiple times, and I'm sitting there like, what am I missing? Is something wrong with me? Exactly. It's so horrible to pull him off the air, you know. Am I just missing something?

SPEAKER_00:

You know, no, he was just stating pretty much like the truth, like what really was happening, you know what I mean? Like like it didn't even have like a slant to it, it just was kind of like what the truth was.

SPEAKER_01:

And never once did he disrespect Charlie Kirk.

SPEAKER_00:

Never no, in fact, he tweeted out a few times that he felt bad for his family and that, like, yeah, I don't think he's being disrespectful at all.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and you know, the thing is, you can't have a situation where you can slam, you know, this side of the political party, but if they say something about your side, you want to take them off the air. You can't have that.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, yeah, but I thought it I thought his writers did and him did such a great job for like if you find out on a Friday that you're losing your job, and then then it's like, just kidding, we're back on the job, and you have to write like the funniest thing that millions of people are gonna see. I like the part where he was like, we don't we might not get good ratings, but like not tonight, you know, people are watching tonight.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh yeah, I mean, I want to say, what was this? I want to say, what was it, six point something million viewers tuned in. Wow, and then what was much more interesting is that um I want to say on YouTube it was over 60 million, six zero million streams. Wow, wow, and what was so funny was the writers did an excellent job, excellent job because not only did he not apologize, which I don't think he should have because he didn't go there, but the other thing that's interesting too is he went in hard on Trump as usual, but also on the head of the FCC. I mean, it was kind of almost like a middle finger, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00:

Exactly. And he a few times he named him over and over and over. He almost focused more on him than he did on Trump.

SPEAKER_01:

Exactly, exactly.

SPEAKER_00:

So I forget who it was if it was like John Oliver or John Stewart. Someone had a really funny line where they were like, Oh, thank god, now we all get to like stop pretending like we canceled Disney. I think that's so funny. And it was ridiculous. I saw a few people posting that now when you were signing up, Disney actually made it like more expensive.

SPEAKER_01:

Wow, really?

SPEAKER_00:

They were like, Yeah, they're like, Welcome back. We just want to tell you that now the price is like$11 or something, which I mean I don't know if that's true or not, but that would be crazy.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, absolutely. Wow. Interesting, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

So what do you so do you think they're gonna continue to mess with him and like the view, or do you think this this will show them all together?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, I I think that they're never gonna like them, but I think that because of the ratings and the money situation, I don't think they're gonna mess with the view. They're gonna be watching them real close, waiting for them to mess up. But yeah, but no, they're not gonna mess with the view.

SPEAKER_00:

I think so too. I think you're right. Wow. Well, I think that's very interesting. And I'm happy, I'm happy that didn't last like month upon month. And if you if you're I was talking about this with my boyfriend too, and if you're like living in LA and a writer, and especially if you don't have like a spouse or a partner or someone that is sustaining you, if you find out that you're losing your job, like you don't have much time before I'm sure some of those people were already considering like, oh my god, do I need to move somewhere immediately or you know, like try to find another job because you really only have like I mean, everyone's financial situation is different, but most people I know working in the industry that aren't like the main main celebrity don't have like a month and months worth of like savings and everything.

SPEAKER_01:

So yeah, and you know, you you touched on a good point, Merle. A lot of people don't realize that okay, yes, the main people like Jimmy, um, even Guillermo, you know, he gets a decent salary. Most of the people on his staff don't make that kind of money.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. Yeah.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And if you're like, we need to think immediately about what's happening, and then you find out two days later, you're back on. I love it. I I like I feel like, you know, in all of the very heavy and ridiculous news lately, like this kind of stuff does sustain me with everything. And also, shout out to one of my favorite friends is um a fellow comedian and wonderful woman, uh named Alyssa Phillips, who she's awesome. She's part of SAG and everything. And her picture, she was protesting outside of Burbank with the sign. And so she was she made it into like a lot of the cover photos about people protesting. And it's so funny to like see one of the people that you really like up there because she's amazing, and she was like holding all these funny signs, and they were holding a Disney hand with like the middle finger out. So at the end of the day, at least one person's winning from it. She'll have some good pictures, so um, well, I think this is the next the next thing we should all get taken up with as a society. Now, a 42-year-old woman named Lisa Catalano put up Marry Me Billboards in the Bay Area in last ditch effort to find a mate. And so she said she wants to fall in love. Um, like I said, she's a Bay Area singleton and she's spending a lot of cash to rent a dozen digital billboards along California's Highway 101, putting herself out there and seeing uh just asking for people like, would you date me? Would you marry me? And so far, she said she's got she hasn't found her person, but she's gotten some like some interest, some people trying to hook her up. Um, she's very cute. You know, they posted a picture of her. She's a very funny thing. And she says, this is not a joke, it's not a gimmick, this is a self serious, self-funded endeavor. I just want to find my husband. Um, her ad campaign spans 45 miles, and her personal dating website, if anyone is interested, is MaryLisa.com.

SPEAKER_01:

Wow. Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, I have I have thoughts of this. Like, I probably shouldn't. I would feel the same way if it was a man. I asked myself this question too. I really would feel the same way. I don't want to say it's like it's not desperate. It is a little much. Like, you know what I mean? It's a little, I don't think I would want to find my husband like that way. I'm just someone like plastering themselves all over. It shouldn't seem desperate, like in our society, but unfortunately to me, it does a little bit read that way. Like, I know you're almost supposed to be like too cool and you know, seem wanted. But if you're 42, she probably has like a lot of money from her, you know, she's probably making a nice salary, and it's like half funny and half interesting. So, what is the difference between that and like putting yourself on a dating website, or you know, if anything, this just reaches more people?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, but you know, the interesting thing is it does strike me as being a little on the desperate side, to be honest.

SPEAKER_00:

I know, I know. I wish it didn't.

SPEAKER_01:

Even though dating sites do the best they can, at least they at least make an attempt to try and screen people. When you advertise that you want to get married, you're literally inviting every yeah. Now, don't get me wrong, there are probably gonna be some really good solid guys that that try to apply, but there are also gonna be some freaks and you know really creepy kind of guys that's reaching out as well, too.

SPEAKER_00:

I know, I know. And it is funny though, because if I do think on the opposite end, if like a nice looking businessman who is 42 in San Francisco put himself on a on a as a thing on a bachelor, like that would be millions of women would be like, Yes, please, yes, please, you know, but it there's I don't know what it is, there's just something about like a woman doing it, which is so sad, and that is like such a problem with myself and society and like internalized misogyny and you know, all that kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_01:

I can tell you if I saw a man advertise for a woman, I would still say the same thing. It's kind of dancing.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, I would I would think it's odd, and I would probably be like, okay, he's probably messaging, he's probably like a not a jiggalo, but like a you know, like a guy that's like all about town, like the same way that I do about the bachelors. Like I think of them as just kind of like they're man cats, pretty much, but like, but with this woman, I just feel like it's something like my mom would do for me when I was single. Something. So I mean, I wish her the best of luck, but it definitely seems like uh it says that she'd oh, another woman, another woman, that's right. She's she's part of a growing number of romantics who have thrown money at their relationship things. Um, in LA, there was a woman who was a lawyer who said that she'd pay a five thousand dollar referral fee to anyone to help her find the one. Now, like I find that almost better because then how much?

SPEAKER_01:

Really?

SPEAKER_00:

Five grand. Yep.

SPEAKER_01:

Kim may have to talk to you after we get off here, but I exactly.

SPEAKER_00:

And if you know any good men, like so, so yeah, like I think that's not bad because hey, you're a lawyer in almost the same way that you're outsourcing, like, hey, I need a personal trainer, I need you know, I'm gonna I need a good stylist. Like, if anyone can help me, I'm I'll give you like a kickback or something. I I don't think it's that far off, but there's just something about like creating a website called Mary Lisa that I'm just like, oh, I don't know.

SPEAKER_01:

But you know what's interesting, Meryl, is that obviously whatever she does for a living, um she obviously has funds that to do this because this isn't cheap. To me, why not just go ahead and get to a professional dating um company? Because there are companies out there that are like a concierge service where you're not really just going to you know an app or anything, you're actually dealing with people that's very true. They interview other people. So yeah, when they set you up with people, these are real people that they vetted. If you have those kind of funds, why not just do that?

SPEAKER_00:

That's very true. And if I was like really, really looking for a partner too, I wouldn't really focus on just my hometown because especially the Bay Area, it I would like take it worldwide and be like, okay, who in Canada haven't I met yet? Or like maybe my husband is in the south of France, or you know, you don't know. So I I you're right. I would probably spend more money on matchmakers that like broaden my search rather than just like freeways on the 101. Because like the Bay Area is notoriously hard to date because it's just a lot of like, I mean, it is a lot of tech people, but it's also a lot of people that are just kind of never growing up the same way as like Southern California. So I feel like I would almost focus on more places like Canada or Chicago, or you know, where like normal men are.

SPEAKER_01:

Like Yeah, that's true. That's true. I mean, I I wish her the best, but I just hope she stays safe too and just be careful.

SPEAKER_00:

I know that's very true. That's very, very, very true. Because a lot of men driving on the highway are gonna get the wrong idea.

SPEAKER_01:

So yeah. Talk about being safe. I even can't believe that we're about to talk about this, but uh on social media it's trending now about uh it's called media uh uh car stunt challenge. So in these challenges, um one situation is one person is driving a car, they got a string tied to the back of the vehicle, they're on some kind of sled or whatever it is, something, and he drives real fast into this parking lot just doing donuts, spinning around, driving real, real fast. Okay. Another person driving their car while their friend is standing up in their trunk while they're driving very, very fast. Wow. Now, don't get me wrong. When I was a kid, you know, young teenager, we did some stupid stuff, we all do. None of this stuff ever crossed my mind.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, me neither. When it when it came, I like I did take the car stuff very seriously. Like any of any of our pranks would be phone related or you know what I mean, like prank calling any someone. It wasn't like standing up in a car or anything, anything that involved machinery.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, yeah. In fact, um it says here two teens accused of driving recklessly while attempting dangerous social media challenges have been charged in stunts that left one dead and another with permanent brain damage, prosecutor said.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh my gosh, it's so sad.

SPEAKER_01:

And what's amazing to me, Merle, is is that I mean, there's only one way to say it. It's like common sense has just gone out the window now.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I agree. Yep.

SPEAKER_01:

I mean, does someone really have to say how stupid and dangerous this really is? I'm just saying, you know, am I looking at this wrong?

SPEAKER_00:

No, I mean, I think I was just at a CVS, and the fact that they had to have tide pods locked up because people will eat them. It's like I I do feel like one part of a large chunk of society is like floating away like how a glacier would, where they just have completely lost their minds, and you know, and so and and it's like everyone wants to do stupid stuff to you know to be famous, no matter how dangerous or crazy it is.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, everyone wants that 15 minutes of fame no matter the cost. That's what's scary.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, yep, and and then if you're a parent, you know, just hoping your kid listens to you and doesn't see any of these behaviors and get like swept up into them too. Um, yeah, it's really sad. And then you hope not that it's horrible that this even happened, but then you would hope that anyone that was pre-acting like this would then see that example and be like, okay, maybe we should reel it in, but I don't know.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and and you know, as a parent to find out your child was killed doing something this stupid.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

You know, I I couldn't even imagine how they would feel.

SPEAKER_00:

No, exactly. Yep. That's why I think there needs to be like parents need to really talk to their kids nowadays about like the safety of online and driving and what you should almost like to really hammer it home and just be like, okay, I think you would know this, but I want to make sure you, you know, you I tell you everything like 10 times over.

SPEAKER_01:

Yep, I agree. I agree. So we'll be watching.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, we'll be watching. Well, another ridiculous thing also happening, but this time it's a teacher assistant. Um not the classiest, but poop spray caused$55,000 in damage at a South Carolina school. A teaching assistant was arrested and charged. Students at the West Florence High School also had to seek medical attention for respiratory issues due to the spray, quote unquote, designed to imitate it fecal odor, the sheriff's office said. So a South Carolina teaching assistant was arrested and charged with using poop spray in charge. Um, he was charged with disturbing schools and malicious injury to property, and he was spraying multiple times all over the high school. This like, you know, poop spray. The videos have gone viral on TikTok and social media showing people spraying the odor in their cars, homes, and elevators. And so obviously, this caused a big disruption. Um, but now he's facing charges, and that's just I mean, I don't know how he wasn't getting sick from it, too.

SPEAKER_01:

Wow, he must have not really wanted the job.

SPEAKER_00:

No, so it's just poop spray is not the same as like glade air freshener. I feel like once again, do we the fact that we need to tell people this is crazy, but the chemicals used to mask the very foul odors are so strong that it's like you don't want to be spraying that inside your car or house or school.

SPEAKER_01:

I remember poop spray when I was a kid. I am shocked they still make it.

SPEAKER_00:

Really? We didn't have it, we didn't have it growing up. Now we use we have like a Trader Joe's kind, and now they've made it into like gift bags, you know, like I feel like it's there's like expensive kinds. I there's this one brand that I see that's like bougie and kind of expensive, so it's so funny that it's now become like a luxury item.

SPEAKER_01:

Unbelievable, unbelievable. It it it amazes me when I see teachers do stupid stuff that you would expect the students to do.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I know. It makes you wonder are they trying to fit in or trying to show that they're I know and and and sadly being charged$55,000, it's like a lot of teachers don't that's like their way more than their annual salary, even you know.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so uh basically he's gonna work for free the whole year, is that what you're down the toilet, literally, yeah. Yes, yes. Oh my goodness. Well, speaking of down the toilet, no, I'm just kidding. Um there's a big return of the hamburger helper.

SPEAKER_00:

Yay, Meryl.

SPEAKER_01:

Did you eat hamburger helper growing up?

SPEAKER_00:

Still do, definitely did. Where I anything with sodium, including like that ramen packets, I love, and I actually love it so much. I I think it's really good. I'm addicted.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, I know what you mean. I never had hamburger helper, believe it or not.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, it's so good. It's like it's good in like an MSG, not good for you kind of way.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I used to eat uh spam growing up, spam with eggs and rice. Um excuse me, that's until I became an adult and go, oh my god, chill me here.

SPEAKER_00:

Uh I still I'm very much someone said that I have like divorced dad meal taste, which I think is so funny. Like I eat like a sad divorce dad.

SPEAKER_01:

There you go. Well, hamburger helper is seeing a resurgence in sales due to its affordability and convenience, mirroring the economic conditions of the 1970s when it was first introduced. The brand was acquired by Eagle Foods in 2022 and relaunched with an updated look. New flavors, reduced cooking times, and a return of its talking glove mascot.

SPEAKER_00:

I love it. Yeah, I don't even want to know. I mean, the box does have like 800 ingredients on it, but it still tastes really good.

SPEAKER_01:

That's when you want the taste, but you really don't want to read the label.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. And because I have, I have, oh, actually, you know what? This was more for beeferoni, but I have looked up on TikTok like uh uh healthier versions of these types of things because people really do try to like create dupes of them. Because I like you know, beeferoni and ramen and all these things. It's like there are some really good recipes to still get that like feeling of the sloppy dough situation, but then to not have it be like so so so sodium filled.

SPEAKER_01:

That's true. That's true. I mean, it's uh it's kind of one of those things where it's like uh over on Canal Street over in Chicago, they have the polo sausages, um, you know, grilled onions, Maxwell Street polo sauce with the grilled onions, the fries, and stuff like that. Love that stuff. You don't want to eat it every day because you will take some years off. Exactly, you know, as a little treat every so often.

SPEAKER_00:

I know. The problem is I do want it every day, and then it's like then a bologna sandwich, then ramen. Then just like the thought of eating a plum is so sad, but I don't know.

SPEAKER_01:

I hear you, I hear you. I love it.

SPEAKER_00:

I'm happy it's back.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, yes. Who knows? Maybe I'll venture I'll try it.

SPEAKER_00:

I'll absolutely try it, especially with your cooking stuff. You should like maybe you could do like the Lawrence spin on it or something.

SPEAKER_01:

You know what? I'm gonna do that. It's gonna be insane.

SPEAKER_00:

It's so funny what to hear like it's back when I'm like, I've been eating it the whole time. Um well, my last one for today is something I thought really was really funny. Like, this has been a few days ago. Uh by some people hear this, this it this was kind of like last week's news, but um, an escalator mishap happened at the UN where like uh Trump and Millennia Trump were writing it, and then they the elevator stopped, and then they got frozen on it, and then then people said it it wasn't like a sabotage behavior, it was just because Trump's videographer stopped it by accident. And so the whole thing was really funny. The part that I wanted to bring up that I think is hilarious was that escalator experts are now reacting to this and weighing in like scientists about escalators and like the the technicality of escalators, and I just think that's so funny because this is probably like a shining moment if you're an escalator expert, because what other times are you like weighing in on the media, you know? So I I just thought that was so funny that now all these like escalator people are weighing in.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, yeah, everybody wants to get that 15 minutes of fame. Now, I did see the video when they got on the elevator and the stop, on the escalator and the stop.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I have to admit it was.

SPEAKER_01:

Pretty funny.

SPEAKER_00:

It was oh my god, just to see them like frozen, not knowing what to do.

SPEAKER_01:

What's so crazy about Meryl? You know, Melania, you know, she just went on here and walked up, no big deal. Yeah, and you could tell, even when I see his face, Trump was not happy. He probably walked up, but you could tell by his body language, he was not happy.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, yeah. Exactly. And I and I totally do get the security concerns, especially like I know the UN is very secure, but especially with all those leaders there and stuff, like that is you don't want to be just standing there unprotected. I get that. But to say that it was like an inside job when people are like, actually, your videographer stepped on it the wrong way and stopped it.

SPEAKER_01:

And yes, the crazy part about it was they kind of showed him, you know, the video top videographer, and you know, there's a um uh an emergency stop button. So basically what they're saying is it was literally just an act, he accidentally bumped that button and stopped it. Yeah. So it wasn't malicious or anything like that, or but it was kind of hilarious though.

SPEAKER_00:

It was, and I just picture like someone as an escalator expert, just like sitting at home bored, waiting for their moment, then all of a sudden this is it.

SPEAKER_01:

He's like, hey honey, honey, I'm gonna be on TV now.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Talk about moments. Merle, what do you have coming up?

SPEAKER_00:

Yay. Well, if anyone is in the New York area, I will be um at the the or Pennsylvania, I'll be at the Nipa Comedy Festival, which is northeast Pennsylvania, on um October 4th and 5th. And so yeah, just look at my Instagram. I'll be on the East Coast for a few days, which I'm very excited about. And I have a New York show. I forget where it is now, but I'll be posting about it for sure.

SPEAKER_01:

Nice, nice. Sounds like a fun show.

SPEAKER_00:

I'm very excited. I'm we're gonna see a lot of my friends too. So I'm super excited for that.

SPEAKER_01:

Very nice, very nice. Wow, this time went by very fast.

SPEAKER_00:

It so did. Time flies when you're stuck on an escalator.

SPEAKER_01:

There you go. Well, everyone, thank you for watching us. Thank you for always supporting us. Continue watching us, listening to us, and also sharing. Um, I'm Lawrence Elrod.

SPEAKER_00:

I'm Merrill Climo.

SPEAKER_01:

Have a great day, everyone.

SPEAKER_00:

Bye bye.

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Lawrence Elrod

Host
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Meryl Klemow

Co-host