Zoe, PJ, and Chanel

This is an iHeart podcast.

In today's super competitive business environment, the edge goes to those who push harder, move faster, and level up every tool in their arsenal.

T-Mobile knows all about that.

They're now the best network, according to the experts at OoCla Speed Test, and they're using that network to launch Supermobile, the first and only business plan to combine intelligent performance, built-in security, and seamless satellite coverage.

That's your business, Supercharged.

Learn more at supermobile.com.

Seamless coverage with compatible devices in most outdoor areas in the US where you can see the sky.

Best network based on analysis by OOCLA of Speed Test Intelligence Data 1H 2025.

There's more to San Francisco with the Chronicle.

There's more food for thought, more thought for food.

There's more data insights to help with those day-to-day choices.

There's more to the weather than whether it's gonna rain.

And with our arts and entertainment coverage, you won't just get out more, you'll get more out of it.

At the Chronicle, knowing more about San Francisco is our passion.

Discover more at sfchronicle.com.

You've probably heard me say this.

Connection is one of the biggest keys to happiness.

And one of my favorite ways to build that?

Scruffy hospitality.

Inviting people over even when things aren't perfect.

Because just being together, laughing, chatting, cooking, makes you feel good.

That's why I love Bosch.

Bosch fridges with VitaFresh technology keep ingredients fresher longer, so you're always ready to whip up a meal and share a special moment.

Fresh foods show you care, and it shows the people you love that they matter.

Learn more, visit BoschHomeus.com.

Last June, Heavyweight performed a sold-out show in the Borough of Churches, Brooklyn, New York.

The show was part of Gimlet Fest, a two-day podcasting festival that rivaled Woodstock 94 in terms of historic and cultural significance.

If you came to that show, good for you.

And if not, well, you'll have to live with that fact for the rest of your life.

So please sit back, wallow in that regret, and try to enjoy this slightly edited version of Heavyweight Live.

Hello?

Jackie?

Did you hear me out cam in the car?

Yeah, it sounds like you're on a speakerphone.

Oh, that's really good.

So you know, I have a podcast.

Do you remember the name of it?

John.

Yes?

If it's going to be his visual.

Okay, what is the name of the show?

You know what?

Next question.

Okay, you know that the name of the show is heavyweight, right?

Yes.

Does that ring a bell?

It rings an annoying bell, yes.

What does an annoying bell sound like?

You just rang it.

Okay.

So

I am doing a live show.

I don't think the visual dimension adds much.

They could just look at a photograph of you and probably get the same thing.

Yeah.

You know, I certainly hope you have a little bit of something to drink before.

You tend to do much better in your live performances if you add

a little something.

We all know that about you.

A little hooch.

Yeah.

Yeah, I suppose.

Take the edge off.

Yeah.

A little hooch is a part of the show business tradition.

Back to the days of being crossed.

Crosby.

Do you consider yourself in show business?

Yes, of course I do.

Why is that so funny?

I am in show business.

I'm in show business.

I mean, it's a statement of fact.

I host a podcast.

Is that considered show business?

I just want to know: is that considered show business?

Yes.

And if so, why?

Why?

Well, I guess it's a show.

Yeah, it's a show, and people are entertained by it.

So

I'm in show business.

Nothing.

I guess you are in show business.

That's cute.

That is very cute.

All right, Johnny.

Talk to you soon.

Okay, you too.

Bye-bye.

Ladies and gentlemen, Carthen Boltzmann.

CEO and Gimlet Media founder Alex Bloomberg is trotting in place beside my workstation.

How do you like apples?

He asks.

I don't care for apples, I say.

When bruised, they remind me of my mortality.

When served cold, they tend to hurt my teeth.

So no, Alex, I do not like apples, though I do like apple sauce.

Well, how do you like these apples?

He asks.

Without looking away from my computer screen, I ask if these apples are sauced apples.

Mr.

Bloomberg thrusts a letter-pressed handbill in front of my face.

It smells like the cologne department of a European duty-free.

The handbill reads, Gimlet Fest.

Fest, it seems, is short for Festival.

Are we disarming a bomb while falling from a rooftop, Alex?

Is your time so precious that you can't afford two lousy extra syllables?

Of course, I say none of this out loud.

The last thing I need is to be fired from podcasting and forced to recite my monologues into a CB radio while seated on the lap of some trucker named Jean-François.

Mr.

Bloomberg checks his Fitbit, pumps his fist thrice, and stops running.

Though his brow is virtually sweatless, he wipes it with a silken kerchief and crumples the handbill into my chest.

Then he asks his real question.

What are you going to do for Gimlet Fest?

I don't like public speaking, I say.

The very thought of a live event was enough to make the borscht I'd eaten for lunch perform a slow, spiteful kazatska in my kishkas.

Mr.

Bloomberg laughs.

You're hilarious, he says, slapping my back hard enough to make my fillings rattle and the day's borscht enter its final curtain call.

For the next several months, I do nothing but worry.

By day I hide out, shivering in Mr.

Bloomberg's executive bathroom.

By night, I sit at the kitchen table in darkness, eating unsalted peanuts and drinking bourbon.

And so the days run away like wild horses at a farm wedding in upstate.

I make a mental note to tweet that.

And all the while I can do nothing else but think of Gimlet Fest.

What will I wear?

To what number will I set my beer trimmer?

Come to bed, the wife cries.

It's four in the morning.

When sleep does come, it brings ominous dreams.

In one, I hop out of a Papillé-Mâché cake onto a cool, dark stage.

I am holding a ukulele.

Hello, I say into the blackness.

I'm certain there is an audience out there somewhere judging me.

In the silence, I hear a cough, then a Werther's original slowly being unwrapped.

A face emerges from the darkness.

It is ABC television personality Zach Zach Braff.

He informs me I've been cancelled.

I awake in a cold sweat surrounded by Werther's original rappers.

And for your consideration, DVDs of Alex Inc.

A week before showtime, I feel my bowels quake.

Had my nightly prayer for diverticulitis been answered?

Dear Dear God, I intone, please give me diverticulitis so I don't have to do Gimlet Fest.

But no such luck.

It is only a visit from my old friend, Gas.

Mere days before the event, Mr.

Bloomberg corners me in the Gimlet Cat Cafe,

the one on the second floor.

How's that live show coming?

he demands.

Superb, I croak stoically, my voice cracking in three different places.

Good, good, he says, taking a long drag of avocado-flavored vape.

What's the run of the show?

He asks.

I don't know, I say, ending the charade.

I have nothing planned.

Mr.

Bloomberg twitches violently, causing the two task monkeys carrying his e-hookah to lurch from side to side.

What have you been doing with your time?

he asks.

The former Planet Money spokesmodel was still capable of a hard-hitting question.

What had I been doing with my time?

Tweeting, I say, about the festival.

Let's take this to the kitchen hammocks, Mr.

Bloomberg commands.

Dutifully, I trail behind him.

Trying not to spill his chocolate mint julep while swinging on his stomach, Mr.

Bloomberg explains how Gimlet Fest is about influencing.

It's about inspiring positive change, he says, while sipping from a very long straw.

Oh, indubitably, I squeal, let's force-feed positivity down the throats of non-matt believers everywhere.

Of course, I only squeal this to myself.

The last thing I need is to be sent back to Canada to do the overnight weather report from Moose Factory, Ontario.

I've been thinking a lot about engaging our brand loyalists, Alex continues, but I'm barely listening.

The gentle rocking of the hammock has sent me into a reverie.

When I awake, I'm alone.

The office is dark, but for the muted headlamps of the task monkeys polishing Mr.

Bloomberg's vape pen collection in preparation for the day ahead.

Come to bed, the wife texts.

It's 4 a.m.

Of course, I want to help Mr.

Bloomberg.

I've been listening to him radio DJ on this American life since I was but a mop-headed child strapped into the back seat of Maman's minivan on on the way to curling practice.

Leaving the office, I pass by his treadmill desk.

He is still here, slowly trotting along.

Working hard, I ask, but there is no answer.

After several minutes, I realize that he has fallen into a deep sleep.

Only the support of his loyal task monkeys is keeping him upright.

Good night, podcast Prince, I whisper.

before wandering out into the night.

The night before Gimlet Fest is one of the worst of my life.

How's everybody doing tonight?

I practice over and over into my wife's hairbrush while staring into the bathroom mirror.

How is everybody doing tonight?

How is everybody doing tonight?

Go to bed, the wife cries.

It's four in the morning.

But I can't.

I know that if I can just nail my opening line, everything else will fall into place.

The audience will applaud.

Mr.

Bloomberg will sign sign my paycheck, and my infant son will start calling me Dada instead of ha ha.

And so I practice.

How's everybody doing tonight?

How is everybody doing

tonight?

And then it comes to me: How's everybody doing this evening?

So, how's everybody doing this evening?

Hello, Jonathan Goldstein.

That's my human beatboxer, Devin, and this is my co-host and producer, Khalila Holt.

Hello.

Do you want to tell these people what we're going to do?

Yeah.

So tonight, the theme of this evening is

Killed Stories.

And so we were going to play for you some of the stories or clips of the stories that didn't make it onto the air.

And also we're going to have some guests, some special guests, and they're going to be human beatboxed onto the stage.

Are you suggesting that I should be human beatboxing?

Yeah, would you like to be human beatboxed onto the stage?

Not particularly, but I will.

I think you're gonna like it more than you anticipate.

You're gonna find it very enlivening.

I did.

Do we call it human beatboxing or do we just call it beatboxing?

He's human, and

he's beatboxing, so.

How'd you like that?

It was okay.

It makes me so happy.

Devin, come out here.

I'm sorry.

I want to tell you, I want to thank you again.

I want to tell you a story about how my interest in human beatboxing came about.

You're familiar with the Fat Boys?

I am, yeah.

So, I really liked the Fat Boys as a child, and I would try to human beatbox myself.

And I wasn't good at it, and I started to feel chest pains,

and my parents had to take me to the Jewish General ER in Montreal, and the doctor in the ER told me that I had given myself these chest pains from the beatboxing that I did.

Is that a peril of...

It can happen.

Yeah, it definitely seems to have happened.

Yeah.

So I had to stop doing it.

Yeah.

Well, I think

I think anybody can beatbox.

So I think if you push through the pain,

yeah, one day you could get there.

Can we hear just like a little something?

Yeah, can we hear just a tiny little

here?

I'll set you up.

I know you're patronizing me, but I still like it.

You can leave the stage now.

I think it's time to introduce our first special guest.

You

know her from the social security number 823-63-8297

or from her work on Planet Money and This American Life.

Ladies and gentlemen, Zoe Chase.

Devin, bring Zoe to the stage.

Zoe!

Chase!

Huh?

How was that?

Why?

Have you ever been human beatboxed onto a stage?

Nope.

It's pretty nice.

You get used to it.

Oh, yeah?

Yeah, you can't live without it.

It's hard to imagine.

Hi.

Hi.

So, okay, so we're going to talk about killed stories.

And at your prompting, we're going to talk about a killed story of mine.

And I know that it made an impact on a young Zoe Chase.

And this is a story that almost, almost got killed when I was working as a producer at This American Life many, many years ago.

And during that time, there were so many of my stories that were getting killed all the time.

But this is one

that somehow evaded death

barely.

And you wanted to talk about it.

Yeah, no, this story is the the reason that I started working in radio.

You're talking about the Little Mermaid story, right?

You guys know that story, right?

Yeah.

So this is a story.

I would call my friend Josh up on the phone just because I thought he was very funny.

And I was always looking for a way to get him on This American Life.

And because

This American Life is all about storytelling,

Ira would always say, you have to, your friend Josh has to have a story.

And he'd tell me stories and they would go nowhere.

They'd be stupid and then this was one of those stories that he told me, but it just happened to actually

turn into something

You know, I think we just happened to have a clip

There was this guy named Fred, okay,

and he got this message.

Well,

his mother left him a message on his answering machine, okay, and he forwarded it to I don't know, maybe one or more of his friends, and they forwarded this message across campus to everyone, okay?

So you want to hear the message?

Mm-hmm.

All right.

So, he prefaced it by saying,

I do not have the message.

I have the message in my head.

I'm telling you a story.

So, the message, he prefaced it by some kind of sad little lead-in.

In a little voice, he was like, I think you'd appreciate hearing this message from my mother, okay?

And then the message played, this was the entirety of the message, and I'm going to do the voice for you as best I can.

You ready?

Yeah.

All right.

Oh, sorry, more background.

He apparently, he had had a hard, he was not a hit with the ladies, Fred.

Okay, that's this is what I was led to understand.

Okay, I'm not sure if this is true or not.

Okay.

But he had managed to score a date to go see the little mermaid of all movies.

The little mermaid.

Okay.

So this is the message his own mother, his blood relation, leaves for him.

And I quote him.

You and the little mermaid can both go f yourselves.

The books you wanted, they're not here.

They must be in La Jolla.

I'm not going to wait upon my few.

Goodbye.

That's the entirety of it, all right?

Yeah.

That's a message that his mother left him.

That's correct.

You catch that part?

You and the little mermaid can both go f yourselves.

I love you, son.

Okay?

That's gold.

So that, yeah, that's how it starts.

That's the best.

It's so, the reason why was because I wasn't in radio and I was just living in Philadelphia and I was very lonely and I heard this story.

Somebody said, like, listen to these things, these streaming MP3s, whatever.

And so I listened to this and I was like,

that's it?

Like, you can just talk to your friends about being in college.

Evidently.

And it's so funny.

And it's like, that's all.

And you're on the radio.

Like, that's so, that's easy.

that's the best thing I'm glad it didn't seem like hard no because then you'd be like I can never do this I'm not gonna get into radio and you wouldn't be here so I'm glad yeah that's true um yeah so so I just wanted to say that like

what I tried to do still tried to do in radio is like I have funny friends and I'm like you should be on the radio telling your story.

And I'm going to do it like

Jonathan and Josh.

It's going to be a whole thing it's just gonna be like a conversation that kind of unfolds naturally and it's funny and then it'll kind of morph into a this American life story and that that's been my plan for a really long time and now I work at this American life and I still can't get my friend Lynn's on the radio

like I try I like beg her to let me record her and I lie to her that I'm not going to use it, that that's not the plan.

And now she's a very tense, serious immigration lawyer.

So she has a lot of stories that are relevant to the current moment.

Stories that she thinks aren't appropriate to tell on the radio because they're about her clients.

But like, I don't see it that way.

You know?

We have a clip.

Uh-huh.

I just so happen to have a clip.

And I'm going to record you.

No, but then I'll remember it better.

No, you can't.

First of all, I can't even tell you about about it because it's a client, so I'm not supposed to give you...

But then I'll remember it better, right?

Staff me.

I see you like every day.

That's like all the time.

So that...

It's like every day.

You still, that is still something that you want to do.

Yeah, man.

Somehow, the way that you interviewed your friends on this American life

like decades and decades ago, you know, long, long ago.

It's a long time ago.

Yeah.

It's like the best radio ever.

You know,

it's funny to me to hear you say that because you do all of these like serious, important political stories for this American life.

And I feel like I'm just making like knock-knock jokes on the radio.

And to me, the irony has always been that I'm not an easy laugh.

And that's been a problem for me in broadcasting because laughing can say so much.

Like when you're interviewing someone, a a laugh can feel like, you know, like a warm arm around the shoulder and let the person know that you're enjoying them and it gives them confidence.

And I'm not much of a laugher, and

I've suffered for that.

But having my close friends to do stories with, people who legitimately make me laugh, make me a better broadcaster than I naturally am.

Should we introduce another person who makes you laugh?

Yes, please.

Zoe, you're going to stick around, right?

You don't have to go anyplace yet, right?

No, I have nothing going on.

Okay, great.

Previously, the host of It Was Too Long and So I Didn't Read It,

he now hosts the show Reply All with Alex Goldman.

He has a small dog which once peed on Alex Bloomberg's desk.

PJ vote, everyone.

PJ vote.

PJ vote.

You just received the human beatboxing of a lifetime, my friend.

How'd that feel?

It felt like three different stress dreams that I had happening in real life at the same time.

Now, PJ,

so when I was figuring out heavyweight, I was talking to you a lot.

You were still sort of figuring out, like, what is the show?

Yes.

And at the time, it was sort of about, it had to do with this idea that, like, every, the irony of living in society was that everybody knows something about you that you just can't figure out about yourself.

Right?

Like the ultimate irony is how one cannot know oneself, just as a knife cannot cut itself, or a fire cannot burn itself.

A human being cannot really know itself.

I think a fire can burn itself.

Anyway,

I was getting poetical, all right?

Anyway, so the idea was a little broader than heavyweight.

It was just sort of like, I'm going to help people figure out things that they can't figure about themselves.

I think that's why you were calling it Jonathan Goldstein medicine woman.

That was my wife's idea.

That was Emily's idea.

Jonathan Goldstein medicine woman.

And so you came to me with a particular problem, which was.

I've been told or hinted at on more than one occasion that there was something about my face that was like inherently punchable.

That you had a punchable face.

I had a punchable face.

Right.

And.

I'm sorry, I can just like literally just feel a bunch of people looking at my face, like sizing up.

It does not feel good.

Sorry.

And how is it that you described what makes a punchable face?

I think that

people see like either a...

I think there's like a, you can have it.

There's a couple of kinds, but one is like a kind of inherent smugness, and one is a sort of dopiness.

And if you have both of them, I think that's like.

Yeah.

So I wanted to make PJ, I wanted to eradicate that, really.

I don't think it's true, but any of that.

But anyway,

and I was re-listening to the tape, and so much of it was making me wish that we had actually been able to do this story.

You describe yourself as a kid wearing like bifocals or something and like a skin-tight white turtleneck with Hawaiian punch stains all over it.

And I was like heartbreaking.

Anyway, so I set out

and I talked to your friends I talked to

former employers I talked I really covered a lot of bases I don't know we ever talked about this I'm not not not in detail okay so at one point so desperate I was to find because I it wasn't the problem with the story was that In the end, people didn't really think you had a punchable face.

And so I felt desperate.

I felt like, well, I've got to find people that think he has a punchable face.

And so I went to a place where I thought

people would be most inclined to want to punch you in the face.

So I went to a boxing gym.

And I carried with me a framed photograph

of you to really get them riled up, to kind of bait them.

And so this is tape of me talking to some of the boxers.

As a boxer, do you think that this guy has

a punchable face?

No.

Does he seem like he has a punchable face?

No.

Do you think that he has a punchable face?

No.

Nope.

No.

No, I do not think he has a punchable face.

Looks like a very talented, strong young man.

You know, social, outgoing kind of person?

I mean, he looks friendly, looks smiling right now.

How would you want to punch him?

Why would you say he has a punchable face?

I think sometimes

people have felt like because he seems so smiley.

There's no reason to be punched in the face just for being happy.

Who is this guy?

He's a friend of ours.

His name is PJ.

Yeah, well, you know, PJ, I don't know why people have been telling you that.

Maybe you have to work on your attitude, guy, but

you don't look punchable, man.

All right, PJ, wherever you are, P.

So that was it.

You didn't have a punchable face.

They're applauding for you for not having a punchable face.

I'm honestly surprised at how hard it is to get boxers to say that they want to punch somebody.

I know.

We have a photograph of the photograph that I brought into the boxing gym.

PJ, I'll ask you to describe it.

I feel like this goes against everything that you've said.

Just a ninny with a stupid, punchable face.

No, no, that's not true.

It's like the smile is like, I think I'm better than you, but also worse.

But like you're standing on a yacht or something.

I'm standing on a building.

A balcony.

And if you're wearing...

I'm lying yacht more.

If you're wearing a watch, like, who do you think you are?

Anyway, not a punchable face, ladies and gentlemen.

Oh, PJ,

you crack me up.

Anywho, we've got to take a short break.

And when we come back, you'll hear the shortest heavyweight story ever made.

But first, some important words from some very important sponsors.

In today's super competitive business environment, the edge goes to those who push harder, move faster, and level up every tool in their arsenal.

T-Mobile knows all about that.

They're now the best network, according to the experts at OOCLA Speed Test, and they're using that network to launch Supermobile, the first and only business plan to combine intelligent performance, built-in security, and seamless satellite coverage.

With Supermobile, your performance, security, and coverage are supercharged.

With a network that adapts in real time, your business stays operating at peak capacity even in times of high demand.

With built-in security on the first nationwide 5G advanced network, you keep private data private for you, your team, your clients.

And with seamless coverage from the world's largest satellite-to-mobile constellation, your whole team can text and stay updated even when they're off the grid.

That's your business, Supercharged.

Learn more at supermobile.com.

Seamless coverage with compatible devices in most outdoor areas in the U.S.

where you can see the sky.

Best network based on analysis by OOCLA of Speed Test Intelligence Data 1H 2025.

There's more to San Francisco with the Chronicle.

More to experience and to explore.

Knowing San Francisco is our passion.

Discover more at sfchronicle.com.

This fall, let your home smell as good as it looks.

Pura's app-controlled diffusers bring you premium scents from brands like Nest New York, Capri Blue, and Anthropology.

From Spice Pumpkin to Whitewoods, your fall favorites are just a tap away.

It's home fragrance that feels as elevated as it smells.

And right now, it's the perfect time to stock up.

Visit Pura.com and bring home the best scents of the season.

This next killed story.

This was something that we really liked and it worked out really well and it totally fit the form of the show, but it was just really short.

It worked out too well.

It all came together in just a few minutes.

But so we made it into an animated video

for all of you here at the Heavyweight Live show.

For your viewing enjoyment.

And we will play it now.

Chanel comes from a family that has a hard time saying, I love you.

They hardly ever say it.

Actually, not really

at all.

It's like there's a death in the family or,

I mean, yeah, mostly if there's a death in the family.

You've preserved the power of the words in a way.

I mean, to me, it's just like, I might as well just be saying, okay, f off.

I'll be back later.

I love you.

There was a moment when Chanel almost said it.

She was going through a hard time, and her mom had come to stay with her in Brooklyn.

Chanel wanted to say, I love you, just as her mom was about to leave.

I've been dropping her off at Penn Station.

You know, we sat there until she had to go and she starts walking away and this is weird.

I like started crying, like bawling in the middle of Penn Station.

You know, nobody cares because there's like a thousand people in Penn Station.

I'm right near like the switchboard where it tells you the times.

So people are just like staring at that.

And she turns around and she gets this weird look on her face and she turns back around.

She has to keep going.

She's in line.

And the whole whole time i was like oh my gosh i wish i had like told her how much she means to me in that moment and like how she came at the perfect time and did all these things for me and i'm like why can't i say i love you to her

so when when was the last time that you told your mother that you loved her i don't remember that's a long time

And this is why I've invited Chanel here today, to help create a safe place for her heart to speak its truth, and to not allow her or her heart to leave that safe place until it happens.

Do you think there's a way to say it where it was sort of like you were clearing away the space?

Yeah, I think I would have to follow up with like a, I really mean it.

I love you, mom, and I really mean it.

I'm not trying to joke with you.

I think because I'm uncomfortable, I'm like, it's going to show.

Maybe not everything's supposed to be comfortable.

That's true.

But I have to, I have to like have a reason to call her, right?

I can't just be like, hey, mom, I love you.

Okay, bye.

You know, there's this song that comes to mind, an obscure little ditty by a performer named Stevie Wonder.

I don't know if you're familiar with him.

No, I don't.

Yes.

The song is, I just call it to say I love you.

How does a song go?

I just call it to say I love you.

Yeah.

And I mean it from the bottom of my heart.

What about a sign-off?

Like, okay, love you.

Yeah.

You want to get the pronoun in there.

You want to get the I in there.

You want me to say it for you?

She'll be like, what?

It's like it's a hostage situation.

She'll be like, who is that?

I'm going to send Chanel's pinky toe just to let you know that she's fine.

She's fine.

I mean, she's not already afraid enough, but I live in a city alone.

Oh, I don't know.

I wanted to say it, and I'm saying it now.

Yeah.

No?

Yeah.

She's at work, but she always calls me when I'm at work, so it's probably fine.

Does she pick up and say,

She'll probably say Simon, Richter, and Taft's law firm.

I don't know.

She'll be like, what do you want, Missy?

Okay, should I do it?

Am I doing it now?

Okay.

Here we go.

Okay.

Answer the phone.

Okay, yeah.

Hi, mom.

What do you want?

What's up?

I.

Okay, you remember that time when you came to visit?

Me?

Yeah.

Yeah.

And then you were at the train station and I started crying.

Yeah.

Well, in that moment, I really wanted to tell you how much you meant to me and

that

you helped a lot that week because I was like emotionally distraught.

And you cooked me all those meals, and you were there, and you watched Transparent Season Two with me, and it was great.

And I just want to tell you that I love you a lot.

What was you distraught about?

Does it matter what I was distraught about?

No.

Why are you?

It doesn't matter.

What matters is I love you.

I know that, Shabani.

Uh-oh.

Okay, wait a minute.

What's something wrong?

No.

Nothing's wrong.

You sure?

Yeah.

Okay, that was really sweet of you, Chanel.

Wow.

Wow, mom.

This is so sentimental.

Well, don't be crying.

Don't get me teary-eyed.

I'm still at work walking the hallways

trying to get my steps on ready.

But you know, me and Ma love you too.

Your mom loves you too.

Really?

Mm-hmm.

Okay.

Okay.

All right.

I'll talk to you.

All right.

Okay.

Bye.

Bye.

I'd like to ask Chanel and her mom, Marilyn, to stand up.

I think you guys are supposed to be here, yeah.

All right.

Yeah.

And with that, I think

we draw our show to a close on a positive note.

I would like to introduce to the stage Matt Boll, who's going to play us out.

and Devin Gwynn is going to be accompanying him with some human beatboxing.

Now that the furniture's returning to its goodwill home

Dishes in last week's papers, rumors and elections, crosswording on a new home

The black in our fingers smear their prints on every door put shut

Now that the last month's month's rent is scheming with the damage deposit, take this moment to decide.

Sun and empty room.

If we meant it, if we tried, sun and empty room.

Felt around from far too much.

Things that accidentally touched.

Sun and empty room.

Heavyweight is hosted and produced by me, Jonathan Goldstein, along with Stevie Lane, Peter Bresnan, and Khalila Khalila Holt.

Editing by Jorge Just.

Special thanks to Zoe Chase

and PJ Vogt

and Jackie Cohen.

Animation by Arthur Jones with music by Christine Fellows and Blue Dot Sessions.

Audio mixing by Emma Munger.

Our theme song is by the Weaker Thans courtesy of Epitaph Records and was performed by Matthew Bold.

With beatboxing by Devin Gwynn.

Thank you live studio audience for coming out tonight.

Give yourselves a big heavyweight round of applause.

Good night.

sun and into you Watch the shadows cross the floor

Sun and tonight Won't be here at once

to you

Sun and tonight

Sun and

Thanks, Jonathan.

Great show.

Before we go, we also want to thank Julian Kwisneski and Bay Area Sound for mixing this episode.

Special thanks also to Joshua Carpati, Chris Neary, and Victoria Barner.

If you want to hear the little mermaid story that Jonathan produced at This American Life, you can find it at thisamericanlife.org.

And if you want to see the animated video that we made to accompany Chanel's story, you can find it on our YouTube channel, youtube.com/slash gimletmedia.

Again, that's youtube.com slash gimletmedia.

We'll be back with a brand new episode of Heavyweight next week.

Why are TSA rules so confusing?

You got a hoodie, you want to take it off!

I'm Manny.

I'm Noah.

This is Devin.

And we're best friends and journalists with a new podcast called No Such Thing, where we get to the bottom of questions like that.

Why are you screaming?

I can't expect what to do.

Now, if the rule was the same, go off on me.

I deserve it.

You know, lock him up.

Listen to No Such Thing on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

No such thing.

It seems everyone gets a tip these days.

Deliver food?

Get a tip.

Drive around town?

Get a tip.

Serve a drink?

Get a tip.

But here's one tip that can help you find a higher paying career.

Merit America can help you get the training and support to find and succeed in an in-demand job, like data analytics or HR admin or supply chain planning.

It may be the last tip you ever need.

Learn more at meritamerica.org.

Snoring, ruining your sleep, or someone else's?

Mute by Rhinomed is the simple science-backed solution.

Just insert, adjust, and breathe.

Mute is a discrete nasal device proven to increase airflow and reduce snoring.

No batteries, no noise, just better sleep.

Find Mute at Amazon and Walgreens.

Try it risk-free and sleep soundly tonight.

Learn more at mutesnoring.com.

That's mutesnoring.com.

This is an iHeart podcast.