Thirsty Topics podcast

Thanksgiving, Drama, And A Drunk Raccoon for 12/5/25

• Lawrence Elrod & Meryl Klemow

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We trade cozy holiday vibes for real talk on safety, boundaries, and respect as viral pranks, celebrity drama, and corporate candor collide. From a livestreamed arrest to a drunk raccoon, we trace how attention warps judgment and why consent, discretion, and ethics matter.

• travel chaos, weather, and seasonal small talk
• Ray J arrest, livestream risks, and child safety
• the fake turkey trot prank as bullying
• hospitality etiquette and criticizing hosts online
• Campbell’s controversy, processed food, and class
• drunk raccoon break‑in and unintended consequences
• Kristen Bell’s repurposed voice role and consent
• closing banter and local show plug

If anyone is near the beautiful wine area of San Diego called Temecula... I’ll be doing a longer set there at the Montserrat winery. Everyone, if you’re in the area, definitely make sure you come out and see Meryl


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_00:

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

SPEAKER_03:

And I'm Meryl Klimo.

SPEAKER_00:

Hey Meryl, how are you?

SPEAKER_03:

Good. The mashed potatoes are still digesting in my system from many days ago at Thanksgiving.

SPEAKER_02:

There you go.

SPEAKER_03:

I'm at the age now. I don't know if you're like this too, where like if I have too much cheese, I'm like out for five or six days. And I and I was telling I was telling a friend that I couldn't go, and I was like, is my excuse really gonna be that I've had too much cheese? So people understand. Those who get it, get it. How was your Thanksgiving?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, mine was very eventful. I went to go visit my son out of town, and of course, during that Thanksgiving, um was a major uh blizzard that came through the Midwest. So our flight was canceled, and we ended up having to come back a few days later. Oh and then, of course, when I got home, um, I had to dig out my driveway before I can pull into the driveway.

SPEAKER_03:

So did you have the shovel like ready to go?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I had to climb through the snow to get to my garage, but how was the weather by you?

SPEAKER_03:

Too warm. I was gonna say we can never have it all, but like I I would give anything for like three days of maybe really cold weather and then to go back to here. It's like when people switch. I'm like, I'd like to switch for four to five days and it's it's okay.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, I'll take warm weather any day of the week.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, I think that's uh a good consensus, and um, yeah, I've heard it's crazy. Did you get you were just able to like rebook your flights without any sort of penalty or anything, or like having to pay for it?

SPEAKER_00:

No, I didn't have to do anything like that because it was the airlines that canceled the flight. Um, they gave me a notification that I could just go call and reschedule.

SPEAKER_03:

So okay, very good.

SPEAKER_00:

So it wasn't it wasn't bad at all to reschedule. Um, my flight going there was much nicer than the one coming back, but that's a whole nother story.

SPEAKER_03:

I know I could just imagine my my fear of flying Reddit page, and I referenced it a few times is going off lately. I feel like even people that weren't afraid are just now annoyed, they're like, okay, the turbulence is bad, or we're like skidding into the airport. So, but I'm happy you're back.

SPEAKER_00:

Happy to be back. Well, um, all of my topics today are Thanksgiving related.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, because we're still in the spirit. It has, I feel like November, December, January, all the talk is just you know, holidays and Thanksgiving.

SPEAKER_00:

That's true. That's true. Well, um, I'm quite sure you know who Ray J is.

SPEAKER_03:

I definitely do. I've heard of him through Kim Kardashian and a few other uh online moments.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, Ray J was arrested on Thanksgiving Day. Um, this is really interesting. Ray J um was in a dispute with his estranged wife, Princess Love. So basically, the Los Angeles Police Department responded to a call for assault with a deadly weapon and domestic violence on November 27th, shortly before 4 a.m., at which point Norwood as taken into custody. Uh, just so people know, um, that is um Ray J's real last name is Norwood. So according to online arrests, Norwood 44 was released later that same day after his$50,000 bond was paid. Video published by TMZ, which has not been independently verified by NBC News or E News on November 27th, appears to show an argument between Norwood and his estranged wife, Princess Love, whom he married in 2016. And the video which originally shared as a live stream, Norward and Love, who share a seven-year-old daughter and five-year-old son, seem to be arguing over the children before Norward appears to pull out a handgun.

SPEAKER_03:

Ooh.

SPEAKER_00:

This is crazy.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, because that seems like someone really is caught red-handed. It's not like, oh, we heard this happened, or you know, it doesn't seem that fuzzy if someone is quite literally holding a handgun.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I mean, I I've seen the video myself, and again, allegedly he was concerned about I guess them having too much to drink, he didn't want his children in the car. Um, again, allegedly, because we don't know the facts to it.

SPEAKER_03:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

Even if that's the case, there's a better way to do stuff. If you're really that concerned, call the police. You don't cry. I mean, that's never the answer. And when you're a celebrity, it makes it 10 times worse.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes, yes, because you know all eyes are on are gonna be on you and that it's gonna go viral immediately. Also, that's amazing that his estranged wife is named Princess Love. That only makes the story like 10 times better.

SPEAKER_00:

I I don't know. Do you think that um you know there's probably been a better way to handle that situation?

SPEAKER_03:

Oh, yeah, especially since it says that like they were on livestream arguing about their children, and then he pulled out a handgun. I feel like that's like four things wrong right then and there. I mean, A, like, take it offline, and B, why are you like you have to wonder why a handgun is just right there, so able to be pulled out in the middle of an argument. You know, that's everyone's biggest fear that like something's gonna get emotional and then it's things are gonna get used in a non-safe way, or like obviously maybe he has a gun to protect himself as a celebrity, but like to bring it out during an argument is definitely scary.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, and I think it it it highlights a bigger problem is you know, when you have a volatile situation like that, the first thing you think about is going on social media as opposed to calling the police. If you really think your your child or children are in danger, wouldn't that be the first call? Or am I looking at this?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, no, you're right. And I especially too if like if that's what's happening on live stream in front of everyone who knows what's happening completely behind closed doors. So that sucks too, because I feel like he's I mean, I don't know if he's come out with new music, or like I feel like I've every couple of years I hear of like a ray popping up and everything, but I uh to me, like someone that doesn't know him that well, all I've heard the past several years are just like run-ins with the law or just you know, kind of drama things.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. And you know, the thing you have to understand too, um people have to have to have to realize that there are consequences to everything you do.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And also, too, you're you're also treating your children without knowing it, because your children emulate what they see.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, if they see their father or their mother acting a certain way, there's a high probability they're gonna act the same way as well, because they figure if I saw mommy and daddy do it, then it must be okay.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, exactly. And sometimes I feel like in the case of a situation live stream, live streaming this almost helps, like in a in an embarrassing way, not good for them, but at least good for like people to see, okay, maybe they are um toxic for each other, or we had a feeling that they were arguing like this, but now it's like open to for everyone to see. And sometimes I feel like that could help family and friends, like you know, rush to their loved ones and help them. Wait, also, is his sister Brandy?

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, it is.

SPEAKER_03:

Oh my gosh, that's crazy. I wonder if Brandy's like sure she's not happy about this. It's yeah, yeah, yeah. Because she does seem like someone that is like has a good public appearance and you know, like obviously cares about that. So I mean, I wonder if they're estranged or not, but um, yeah, I think it's it seems very sad. And I feel like at this age and this level of fame, like you would think that you'd have better things to do than argue over a live stream.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, that's true. I mean, we'll see how this turns out. But I mean, especially on Thanksgiving, you would think that okay, one of the few days of the year, let's put aside our differences and just be cordial, you know.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, I don't even know this. Maybe someone knows this, but is it legal to even like obviously with hunting, you can show a gun on your live stream, right? Like uh basically, if you show a gun or a weapon, like I wondered if you get taken down immediately or flagged, or if it's if it like it's the context, or I don't know.

SPEAKER_00:

I know a lot of social medias, and I'm not sure which which one is which, but there's a lot of them that you know you show that they will they will tag your post and probably pull it down for you.

SPEAKER_03:

Really? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Now, of course, they have to see it there first. Their aggregate uh algorithms have to catch it. So, you know, it may be out there for a small moment of time before it's pulled down.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, and that's really scary too, because we've heard we've all heard like so many stories just about even if they don't mean it, if they get out someone gets out a gun to like make a point or just even like posture something, a million things can go wrong. You know, you could drop it, you can someone could move the wrong way. So it's just even if it even if he had no intention of hurting anyone, just still like showing it and having it there is really unsafe and scary.

SPEAKER_00:

I agree. I agree 100%.

SPEAKER_03:

Well, this next one, uh, this is like the annoying white version of this. So I thought this was ridiculous. I the internet has many thoughts upon this. So um okay, so basically there was a prank going on where a woman, uh a guy's girlfriend, trained for weeks for a turkey trot that the family was like, every year we do this race, we do this 10k, so you're gonna really have to join in and be part of the family. And this woman trained, she got new sneakers, she did all of it. And then the day of there's a video of them all dressed up with a t-shirt, they went the whole mile, no pun intended. And then the family tells her, like, we're pranking you, there is no race. And in the video, you can see the girl is like crestfallen, and she has a total moment where she's she looks shocked, um, she starts crying, and then you know, this was supposed to be a funny prank, but the internet has just like ripped into this family and said, This is not pranking, this is bullying. And basically, if you if you if the joke like lasts longer than four minutes, or if it goes to this extent, then you're bullying someone and everyone's telling the girl to leave um the family, and and now people are digging into it like, oh, the sister and mother did this because they want to kind of claim their stake on the sun and show, like, okay, you may be dating him, but like we're still close, you know, we have him more than you do, type of thing. So I wanted to get your thoughts on this. Like, because is it cruel to tell someone that you have that there's a race that you have to run, or is this like silly, or how would you feel?

SPEAKER_00:

Now, was was her boyfriend in on it?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, yeah. He was so he watched her like get, I think, new new sneakers. She was training for it, she was running, which I mean, that's not a bad thing. It's like, okay, now you've just put in a month of running, so it's like now you're probably in shape and everything, but it was the idea that you're going to run a 10K. And and her just looking stupid. Because I think basically, like she is wearing a tutu and like has this shirt on, the turkey trot that they're all wearing. And I think it's just it made her look silly.

SPEAKER_00:

I don't know. I think if you're dating, that's a cruel joke to play. Um, and you know, for the family, luckily she was very calm and nice and polite.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

You both know some people that uh yeah, if you play that kind of joke on them, it's not gonna turn off.

SPEAKER_03:

Exactly. I would get my revenge. Like if I was her, I would start planning now. And I'm like, okay, the day of the wedding, this is now I'm gonna pretend that we're like this is a fake wedding, or like I would start planning like what I'm gonna do to them in like three years, and it would be even worse. But I mean, it's interesting because I feel like a lot of this stuff is just done for the payoff, like on social media, you know, because I feel like without being filmed and posted, this would maybe just be a silly prank, but it wouldn't have like resonated so deeply as now not only did they prank her, but they posted it and now like kind of shared it with people that she doesn't know.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, that's true. And and I think, you know, and again, I'm I'm just assuming, but a girlfriend, you know, his girlfriend may have been embarrassed by this. And he may be like, Oh, yeah, she definitely was.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And and you know, he's probably thinking to himself, probably thinking to herself, do I really want to be with this person? I want to be around this family.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, it's like it's bizarre. I think that's how I would feel if like my boyfriend's family early on did this. I wouldn't be like super mad, I would just it would kind of give me the ick and just be like, Okay, I don't even know this is a family I want to be part of.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, yeah. And and I don't know. I mean, you know, when you have someone, it's one thing to play like a little harmless joke or whatever, ha ha ha. But when you put on this this type of thing where someone is physically getting ready to do a race, yeah, spending money to prepare, that's a little bit extreme. To me, that's extreme.

SPEAKER_03:

Exactly. There, but there was one that I thought was really funny that they had a new boyfriend in the mix and that they told him that the family prayer was like some little kim song or something. He said the dad was saying these lyrics, and it like, and then the boyfriend's looking along and just like you know, still praying, and you can tell he thinks it's weird, but he's going along with it, and then within three minutes, like the joke is resolved and it's really funny, and no one's feelings are hurt because it's not like humiliating the person, you know, it's just a silly thing, but I think it's different when you like dupe someone and then you kind of make the joke like their vulnerability. I think that's different than just like the a dad's you know praying a little Kim lyrics.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I mean, so I think that they they they meant malice harm. I don't think so. I just think they're a very unique family. But yeah, I can see how some people can interpret this as bullying.

SPEAKER_03:

Me too. And it would also get in my head a lot if um if I had this posted and then like millions of strangers were telling me to leave the family and how upset they were. Like, if I wasn't already upset, I feel like all of America or some of the world like telling me I I then I would get like look at what everyone's saying.

SPEAKER_00:

That is so so true. Well, another Thanksgiving story here.

SPEAKER_04:

Yay.

SPEAKER_00:

Um NFL star tries to expose Russell Wilson and his wife Sierra and instantly regrets it. This is a very interesting one here that you're gonna love. Okay. Now we've all invited people over to our houses for holidays and stuff like that, you know, to be nice and everything. And um basically, um this former quarterback, uh, former CLC Hawks quarterback, Trayvon uh Boyken, took a shot at former teammate Russell Romans, Russell Wilson's Thanksgiving dinner. Basically, what he was doing was he was you know talking about how it was a weird situation because Russell, his wife Sierra, you know, the kids were there, he was there, maybe one uh one or two more people, but you know, his mom wasn't there, he didn't have other family members there, and he was talking about how weird that was that you're not celebrating with your family.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Now, there's a few issues with that statement. Like, for one, if that's how you feel, why aren't you with your family?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, yeah. Who are you to judge when you're not even doing the same thing?

SPEAKER_00:

And the thing is, what's weird is when he left that household, he went to someone else's house. He didn't even go to a family member's house. So it's like, what the hell are you talking about?

SPEAKER_03:

It's that most thing, like, I forgot like the glass houses, you shouldn't throw stones, and it's like, yeah, what are you doing? And also just letting it, it's like he's coming in and disrupting their life and taking judgment on them. And it's like these people are just trying to be, you know, hospitable to you.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I mean, to me, I mean I know how I feel about my house. I don't just invite anyone to my home. So when I invite you to my home for dinner, and you know, you decide you want to get out and talk this noise about who who's here, who's not here at my house, you know, I'm gonna feel a certain kind of way because that's very disrespectful.

SPEAKER_04:

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Disrespectful. And, you know, for me personally, if a person did that to me, they would never be welcome to my house ever again.

SPEAKER_03:

Exactly. I think it's so tacky if someone goes over to someone's house and you have anything to say. It's okay if you're like, if you tell a friend or something, like, I don't really like what they served to me or whatever, but if you're judging like their furniture or their lack of a big house or their you know, their style, I think you're right. Having someone in your house is so intimate and so kind that they probably went to the trouble of like straightening up and just you know, even even if not, it's just not nice to do.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, yeah. And you know, the other thing that we don't talk about, and this is probably an episode we could do just on this, there's a lot of issues within families, and sometimes you may have toxic family members that you don't want to associate with.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

So before you start judging on why someone's not um have a relationship with their family, understand that you may not know what's going on behind closed doors.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. That in in 2025, like that seems so weird to judge people on. Because everyone I know has some type of thing, like, you know, whether it's their house or their family or finances or like siblings, you know, like everyone has kind of something going on that pe that could be judged. And yeah, I think it's very weird.

SPEAKER_00:

Let me ask you this, Merle. If you had someone that you invited over your house and they did that nonsense to you, how would you react?

SPEAKER_03:

Um, would I find out and I would find out in this exact way too?

SPEAKER_00:

Like, yeah, then in other words, you found out because you saw it on social media.

SPEAKER_03:

Exactly, exactly. Then probably honestly, I feel like in those instances, I don't even confront the person. I just literally like silently cut them off. And I just I almost like it's like a you're dead to me moment, not even in a mean way, just in like a way where like for months will go by and I probably won't like initiate the conversation. And then of course, if they came to me and said, I feel like something is off, I would tell them. But like, I feel like if I get hurt like that, I just don't even go after them. I just like whoop, like it's like silence almost.

SPEAKER_01:

Really?

SPEAKER_03:

It's a good, it's a good psychopath move because then I feel like it's always good to let people like sit in their own wondering what they did. And I feel like that almost is like a better manipulative tactic than like texting someone, you hurt me, or like engaging with them, you know. I feel like letting your own like silence be echoed is sometimes a better, like even more of a move.

SPEAKER_00:

That's true, that's true. I guess it depends on the moment. You know, I'll probably do like you and just okay, cut him off and just won't say anything to him. Um, you know, obviously, if I'm axed about it, I won't comment on it. Yeah, I'll just say that, you know, it's interesting that he's talking about my family. He's not anywhere around his family on a holiday, but I don't know.

SPEAKER_03:

Exactly. Yeah, yeah. Cause I almost feel like giving people more energy sometimes is what they want, whereas it drives people nuts if you're just like kind, but like. Like put your sunshine away, you know, all the way.

SPEAKER_00:

That's true. That's true. But uh yeah, that um that post, that comment that he made did not go the way he thought it because he's getting on social media. Wow. All right.

SPEAKER_03:

Oh, maybe next week I have an example of that too. An influencer I don't really like also just said something about anyway, it's too much. But yeah, there's examples of people piping up on social media, and it's like people really should. I mean, it's so funny because we come on here and I talk my loose lips about everyone, but but but it's different because we're not invited into their house. We're not we're not directly experiencing it, we're just commenting on it.

SPEAKER_01:

That's true, that's true.

SPEAKER_03:

Well, something that I am talking smack on uh is both Campbell Soup and its executive, because uh recently a lawsuit was filed in Michigan that alleged that a Campbell soup company executive made offensive comments about the workers there and said the company's products were for quote poor people during a conversation with the former employee. Um, the executive also said that uh it was highly processed food for poor people and basically that it's like 3D meat, but bioengineered meat, all this kind of stuff. Um, and then now they're doing an investigation on it to see like if it really is. Okay, now I have a few different thoughts on this. My first thought is like like the the deciding with the executive part. Of course, saying for poor people is not nice at all. Like that's not nice, but like I feel like they might not use like completely real meat, like that's not a bad he he's not being like horrible by saying that. If anything, they who knows what kind of nasty stuff they're using. Um, I still eat this type of stuff, you know. Like I eat beeferoni, knowing that it's probably the stuff that's in it is like horrific, and like you know, Doritos and all these things. I understand it's probably not like the best for us. Um, but I thought obviously talking about Indian workers and poor people, and like that's where he went wrong. But I'm sure he does know some like inside weird stuff that like it's to me, it's not terrible for someone to kind of say under the radar, like I wouldn't eat our products like they're made for gross for people. But that that's its own thing, because it's like then why are you working for this company if you feel disgusted by it, you know?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, it just it just basically highlights something that we kind of knew already, and no one really talked about out loud about how bad these products are for us, and they just and you know, executives know what kind of product they're putting. That's not a surprise, okay. And um, you know, the other thing you have to look at too is when you work for a company and you know what type of company you work for, and you continue to work for there, you shouldn't criticize that company because you're part of the problem.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, maybe he even says, like, who buys our SHIT? I don't buy Campbell's products barely anymore, it's not healthy now that I know what the F is in it, bioengineered meat. I don't want to eat a piece of chicken that came from a 3D printer. Now, like, I think if people are shocked, if if uh to me, if someone like believes that Campbell's is like roasting the slow roasting chicken and like homemaking it for every batch, then you're that person's sadly mistaken. But I think it's different that like now, I mean I I don't know. To me, it's like he probably spoke out, and I uh I could see myself saying something like that, but it then it's like at a certain point, exactly why are you working at this company if you don't believe in it or if you're sickened by it?

SPEAKER_00:

It's so true. That is so true, but it just comes to show that you know some people do almost anything for money, even sell out their principles.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, and it's it's so ridiculous that a um a statement had to come out. Campbell said, Campbell's does not use 3D printed chicken. The fact that we have to like clarify this. I mean, it is gross. Like sometimes I just watch the the videos of uh like you know what's uh even like a Reese's peanut butter cup, like I love them and I eat them, but even if I watch too much of it, I'm like, oh, this is like kind of disgusting, just seeing like the factory stuff. But I think also the poor people comment is also uh sad because I mean a lot of people eat this stuff because they can't afford to buy like a full nice roast chicken, or you know what I mean? Like it it is it's not poor people, it's just people that might not have like you know the funds to uh to do anything else, especially with groceries so expensive.

SPEAKER_00:

True, but it also highlights a more important issue is how they really feel about their customers.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, exactly, exactly. That they feel so far away from like what the brand even is, and everything. I I feel like Campbell's back in the day used to be so good. Like you know, when we were growing up, it definitely was like uh who knows what they were using, but it now it even does taste like weirder, but um yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Very interesting, very interesting. I haven't eaten in a while, so it's it's kind of just disappointing.

SPEAKER_03:

Like, I I usually would eat it for like the nostalgia factor of it, but then when I have it, it's not that good. I feel like the same with Lipton soup because you know that is supposed to, but but it's so little, I feel like it all just tastes like water. So I don't know. But it'll be interesting because I think a lot of um like I heard that San Francisco is is suing the government because of unhealthy products and like false marketing. So I feel like more and more maybe states are going to start like having their own food regulations.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, that's true.

SPEAKER_00:

That is true. I know that um California leads the way um with a lot of progressive things. So I tip my hat off to them. Uh because there's a lot of things that California is doing that I don't know, I think a lot of states should be looking at, believe it or not.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, absolutely. Out here, people are eating who knows. Remember, there was like a strawberry for$20. So we're we're on our own. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, this is my last topic, and this to me is a good one. This is the best one. Um, a drunk raccoon causes chaos at a Virginia liquor store. Now, I have to be honest, I have like watched the video multiple times. This raccoon breaks into a liquor store, and the raccoon actually drinks liquor when it's in there. So much liquor that it's laying next to the toilet, sprawled out on the floor, passed out. Oh my gosh. Um let the raccoon kind of sleep it off, and then you know, they took them and you know, released them back into the wild and everything. Now, a couple things here. One, I had no ideas that raccoons drink. Um secondly, that raccoon must have really had a great time about himself, and they showed the mess with all the bottles broken on the floor and stuff like this. I have never seen anything like this. How about you, Meryl?

SPEAKER_03:

No, um well, you know, I've I've known a few people, and when I say I know, I know them very closely that that have um whose dogs accidentally got into like marijuana, you know, and so not to a thank goodness, not to a toxic level, but like to the point enough where they had to be rushed to the vet, and whether that's a dog just like eating a chocolate thing or you know, getting into a brownie or whatever. But like I think animal I've definitely heard of and seen personally like altered animals before, and it's very scary and sad. And because then you also don't know if they can like process out, like who knows what a raccoon's liver can process. Um, I would think that that would be good because they do dig through the trash, and I feel like they do eat a lot of weird things. So you would think a raccoon would be able to like withstand it, but um, I'm happy it's okay. And imagine I wonder if it feels hungover. Like the next morning it's waking up with like a giant headache.

SPEAKER_00:

I tell you, I would love to know too. Because I when I first saw this story, I thought it was fake until I did some research and oh shit, this really did happen.

SPEAKER_03:

I know, and I feel like the raccoon you would think that after a couple sips, it would just stop because it's probably like I can't imagine it tasting good to the raccoon, but they are little like you know, trash eaters.

SPEAKER_00:

I guess it felt great to him because he just kept on drinking and drinking and just I know.

SPEAKER_03:

I also I went down like a raccoon rabbit hole, and I guess people I don't know if this is true or not, but they say that they keep evolving to get even cuter because they want to be like domesticated and taken into the houses and stuff, and humans just keep ignoring them. And if so, I think that's so sad.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I guess you figure, hey, I could be your drinking buddy, right?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I would have a martini with a raccoon, I think. It'd be a fun like I think it'd be fun to have them at parties and playing beer pong, but yeah, I think that's crazy.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, just make sure you tighten up your your liquor if they're sending them outside.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, yeah. What if it's claws are like digging into a beer or something? But I I really hope it ends up being okay long term, and that doesn't like make it it, it doesn't have any long-term damage.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, that's true. That's true. But hey, you know what? People are gonna hate me for saying this, but I'm gonna say it anyway. I figured a great way to catch raccoons. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

I feel like raccoons, yeah, they would have good alcohol taste too. I feel like I could I can see them liking Hennessy or liking crown.

SPEAKER_00:

That way you just walk up on them and just roll them into the crate and just take them off to the woods, you know.

SPEAKER_03:

I love it. Or you take them inside, how they want they want to live.

SPEAKER_00:

It's true. Actually, I thought you were about to say take them inside to eat them, because you know people in the south eat raccoons.

SPEAKER_03:

Oh, yeah, I couldn't do that. I just could not. Yeah, like for some reason, like squirrel raccoons. I just oh yeah, I couldn't eat that. I would be like, eh.

SPEAKER_00:

They say it tastes like chicken.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, um, I'm sure maybe that's what Campbell Soup is using. The raccoon noodle. Um, well, my last one for today is uh super super funny but kind of ridiculous. Uh Kristen Bell found out that she was the star of a new Jesus podcast from Fox, and uh no one told her. So basically, uh Fox announced in a rollout that it's religious vertical. Fox Faith was expanding. Um launching the Life of Jesus podcast, a 52-episode series that guided listeners through life, teachings, and miracles of Jesus Christ, hosted by uh a Fox and Friend star. The press release went out, and uh Kristen Bell was shocked to learn that she was the voice of Mary Magdalene. So pretty much she had uh she recorded the audio for a separate project 15 years ago, and her rep was notified that you know, obviously she forgot about the project. It's been 15 years, and then now it's repurposed for this Fox thing. So I think that's so crazy. So originally she voiced it for um an audio Bible audiobook released in 2010, and now this comes back around and it obviously brings a whole big talk about you know using audio and licensing and kind of the overall talk about like if you're if you record something once, are you able to like you know, can the studio then repurpose it and use it 15 years later for something else? So I thought that was crazy.

SPEAKER_00:

It's definitely crazy, and it poses some legal questions. Um, you know, I would think, unless she explicitly signed off on her rights to her voice to be used any way they want, in that type of wording or something like that. I would imagine that could be challenged because you know it's one thing to be licensed to, you know, use an interview or use in a show in a picture or episode. That's one thing. Um, but it's another thing when you take that and put it into a whole different project altogether.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, yeah, exactly, exactly. And I and I especially like you would think, I mean, I don't even know how it works with her and the payment of that. Like, I would hope that she gets something, you know, or like residuals or something, and that has to be worked out, you would think, with your agent or um anything. But yeah, I think that's like a bigger thing of if you record something, can it be used? And yeah, I think it's crazy.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, it also goes into that big, you know, the big subject we're talking about lately is AI. You know, because a lot of actors are really concerned about having their their features, their voice, you know, their their image used in AI without their permission.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. Now I feel like part of me just feels like Fox, the channel Fox News, like loves this about just kind of being like, haha, these are some very like liberal celebrities, and now you know your name's like connected with this too. Cause like I'm sure that this that normally Kristen Bell's like career aspirations are not to be part of a Fox podcast. And um, I just think from like a devilish standpoint, I feel like they like they get you know kind of funny um laugh out of this.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, yeah, that's true. But you know, like I said, I think it's gonna open up a lot of questions. Um, because you know, there's gonna be a lot of actors and actresses that's gonna look at this and go, hey, I'm not comfortable if this happened to me.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, and it's like if you recorded for like a short film that never comes out, then 20 years later, can they splice it into something that you completely that's not part of your brand that you would have normally said no to?

SPEAKER_00:

That's true, that's real true. So I guess we'll see how this turns out. Uh, it's never a good thing when you find out you're part of a project that you exactly, right?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, and they said like um a spokesperson said that they were never consulted, nothing was renegotiated, and we would not have approved for different people in the also named. Um so yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, very interesting. This was a great, great episode.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, it really was.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, Meryl, what do you have coming up?

SPEAKER_03:

Oh my gosh, I have if anyone is near the beautiful wine area of San Diego called Temecula. Um, I have put on a show there. It's a it's a Fallbrook winery on Saturday.

SPEAKER_01:

Very nice.

SPEAKER_03:

Yep, uh, or actually it's called, yeah, it's at a it's called the Mon Montserrat winery. I'm really killing the promotion here, but it is a city I am going to where they serve wine. That that is what I know. Basically, if you're around the Fallbrook, California area, which is a very beautiful wine, it's kind of like a wine country. Um, I'll be doing a longer set there.

SPEAKER_00:

Nice. Everyone, if you're in the area, definitely make sure you come out and see Merrill.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, that's maybe there'll be some raccoons there drinking the wine.

SPEAKER_00:

There you go. They'll probably be up front too.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, everyone, thank you so much for watching and listening to us. We had such a great time. Hopefully, you and your family had a great Thanksgiving holiday. I'm Lawrence Elrod.

SPEAKER_03:

And I'm Meryl Climo.

SPEAKER_00:

Bye, everyone.

unknown:

Bye bye.

Head Shot

Lawrence Elrod

Host
Head Shot

Meryl Klemow

Co-host