BONUS: You Might Also Like: David Greene is Obsessed

Speaker 1 Hi, it's Mike Carruthers, and I want to tell you about a great new podcast I think you're going to like. I've been really getting into it.
So, what happens when our passions become obsessions?

Speaker 1 On David Green is obsessed. One of America's most familiar voices and longtime co-host of NPR's Morning Edition seeks out obsessives of all kinds while unpacking his own fixations.

Speaker 1 You'll hear actor David Arquette discuss his love for Bozo the Clown, Paula Poundstone on her House Full of Cats, celebrity chef Michael Simon explains why he just can't quit the Cleveland Browns even though they make him miserable, and so much more.

Speaker 1 It's pop psychology disguised as conversations with the world's most fascinating people.

Speaker 1 In this episode, comedian actress and podcast host Tigna Taro explains why she quit eating meat almost a decade ago and hasn't looked back. Plus, she shares a really good good potato recipe.

Speaker 1 Listen to David Green is obsessed, wherever you get your podcasts. And now, here's an episode.

Speaker 2 If you'd like to join the Obsessed community, head over to joincampside.com. We'll give you updates on episodes, some behind-the-scenes access, and a whole lot more.
That's joincampsite.com.

Speaker 2 Hope to see you there.

Speaker 2 Campsite Media.

Speaker 2 All right, so we call this show David Green is obsessed. And I'm going to tell you, the thing I'm most obsessed about is,

Speaker 2 shall we say, understanding the backstory of obsessions, you know, the deeper things in someone's life that made them fall in love with something or obsess about it.

Speaker 2 You know, you might meet me and find out that I have taken more than 1,700 soul cycle classes. Okay, that's weird, right? You're thinking maybe this dude just likes to exercise.

Speaker 2 There is actually a lot more to me loving soul cycle, loving the idea of being in a candlelit exercise studio with the hum of stationary bikes and great music.

Speaker 2 If you dig deeper, There's a lot there about my social anxiety, about wanting a consistent connection with a community, about wanting to know that I can come to a place where I'm always accepted.

Speaker 2 And that's really the kind of stuff that I hope this show is going to be about.

Speaker 2 I mean, I truly think that obsessions are a window into someone's soul. And we just follow the conversations where they go.
And I expect things are going to get raw. They're going to be joyous.

Speaker 2 They're going to be wild sometimes, funny as hell, anger-inducing.

Speaker 2 But I hope you'll just be along. for the ride.
And I think today is a big example of the kind of interviews that I'm looking for.

Speaker 2 Tig Nataro, she's a comedian. You might know her.
What you might not know is that she is obsessed with plant-based food. And we're going to get to the question of why.

Speaker 2 And we're going to learn a lot about her when we come back.

Speaker 2 All right, welcome back. My guest today, stand-up comedian, writer, author, filmmaker, Tig Notaro.
Tig, thanks for being here. I'm excited to chat.

Speaker 3 Thanks for having me. You also forgot podcast host.

Speaker 2 And podcast host. What else did I forget?

Speaker 2 Give me the full list. I don't want to miss anything.

Speaker 3 I mean, I've done some acting. I have no idea.
I was just thinking since we're on a podcast. Yeah.
I'm a parent. I'm a spouse.
I'm all sorts of things. Yeah.

Speaker 2 Yeah. And quite obsessive, committed to a plant-based diet.
Yes.

Speaker 3 Yes, indeed. And I know it's annoying to a lot of people.

Speaker 2 What is annoying? I don't think it's annoying. I don't find it annoying.
You haven't annoyed me yet. Okay.
Well,

Speaker 3 it's just the beginning.

Speaker 3 I don't know. I feel like, you know, there's the

Speaker 3 there's the joke that is very true that like you don't have to

Speaker 3 ask somebody if they're vegan. You know, they know, they'll let you know the second they walk in that they're vegan.
Because

Speaker 3 I feel like it, people that eat plant-based, it's like,

Speaker 3 it's like I found Christ you know is basically the feeling that I have is yes Jesus is why why did why do you feel why do you feel Christ-like

Speaker 3 because it changed my life so much and if people are interested I would love to tell them about it

Speaker 3 okay but I don't I'm not I'm not the kind of person that

Speaker 3 I'm judgmental about how you eat or what you do in any way.

Speaker 3 And it's also, I'm not going to plow through and start telling you you need to do this, but if somebody is interested,

Speaker 2 try to stop. Once the door opens,

Speaker 2 you're coming in

Speaker 2 full, full on. Well,

Speaker 2 there's no place more welcoming than this conversation for your plant-based information and commitment. So I want you to feel very safe.

Speaker 2 There's no annoyance at all.

Speaker 2 But could we get some definitions out of the way? Like, I think in this world, it's like plant-based and vegan exactly the same. Is there something

Speaker 2 in terms of

Speaker 3 like

Speaker 3 a more

Speaker 3 whole

Speaker 3 way of living? You try to do as little harm to yourself and others and the planet. And

Speaker 3 then

Speaker 3 plant-based is very much specifically about what you eat.

Speaker 2 Vegan is a lifestyle. Plant-based is a diet.

Speaker 2 Is that a shorthand? Yeah.

Speaker 3 Yeah.

Speaker 2 And are you both?

Speaker 3 I would say I am plant-based and I'm leaning heavy in the vegan direction, but I feel like I can't quite, even though I call myself vegan,

Speaker 3 I just don't think I'm doing the most tremendous job, but I think about it and I lean heavily towards it.

Speaker 2 Where are you falling short of getting the full vegan badge?

Speaker 3 You know, it's those tricky places where I travel a lot, so I'm flying a lot. And I mean, the good thing is, is in Los Angeles, where I live, I live in a very walkable area, so I don't own a car.

Speaker 3 And the majority of the traveling I do locally is by foot in my neighborhood and the cafes and places around me.

Speaker 3 But

Speaker 3 it's just things like that.

Speaker 3 When I'm on TV shows,

Speaker 3 the clothing that I wear isn't always vegan.

Speaker 3 And even I have some old pieces of clothing or shoes. And that's kind of a toss-up within the community of what do you do when you make that transition and then you have leather shoes.

Speaker 3 And then, even if you give them away, they're still out there in the world.

Speaker 2 They're still in the world. Do you destroy them? Like, do you burn them? Like, what are the

Speaker 3 various options? I mean, people are torn on it. So, that's what I mean: is that's where I can't claim I'm doing the most top-notch job, but

Speaker 3 I'm doing my best, and I'm very

Speaker 3 aware of where I need to make little changes.

Speaker 2 So, the diet,

Speaker 2 I mean, just so everyone

Speaker 2 is with us, I mean, it's no meat, it's no dairy, it's no eggs, it's nothing like no animal problems.

Speaker 3 It doesn't have anything to do with animals.

Speaker 2 Right.

Speaker 2 Right.

Speaker 3 That is correct.

Speaker 2 And you, you've not just committed to this, but you've gotten your family into it too, right? Your sons, your wife?

Speaker 3 Well, my wife was vegetarian.

Speaker 3 I think since she was a teenager, and

Speaker 3 I've had a lot of health issues. And it kept coming up,

Speaker 3 you know, you got to shift your diet, maybe look into a plant-based diet. And it was always like kind of one of those, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I know, but it just seemed impossible.

Speaker 3 And it also seemed like it wouldn't be, it felt like if I did do it, that it wouldn't be tasty, fulfilling, exciting. And it was

Speaker 3 quite literally the opposite. It changed my whole relationship with food.
But yes,

Speaker 3 I was dealing with a lot of pain and a lot of different issues. And I was about to go out on a two-week tour.

Speaker 3 And in the back of my mind, I thought, okay, I'm going to be away from my regular everyday life.

Speaker 3 And I'm just going to use that time to watch documentaries, to read books.

Speaker 3 My opening act was vegan and he's a chef and all of these things. So I was like, this is perfect.
I'm going to try it out. So

Speaker 3 I thought it was also a great opportunity because I was away from my regular life to try actually eating that way.

Speaker 3 And where most people think, oh, when you're traveling, it's the worst because there's no options, but there are so many options.

Speaker 3 But anyway, I did it and I called Stephanie, my wife, and I just said, I think I'm going to try becoming vegan.

Speaker 2 And she said, Hi, honey. I went on the road.
I I think I'm vegan now.

Speaker 3 Yeah, essentially. And she said, You know what? I've always wanted to be, so I'll do it with you.

Speaker 3 It was convenient. Yeah, it was really convenient.
And our kids were

Speaker 3 one at the time. So they had only had much of a choice.

Speaker 2 They weren't going to push back much, or at least

Speaker 2 not persuasively.

Speaker 3 No choices.

Speaker 3 And yeah, only like six months of their life was any meat or dairy. And

Speaker 3 so so they've only known that.

Speaker 3 But what we tell them, they're now nine, and what we always tell them is that they can make their own choices about what they put in their body and if they want to try things, because you know, they're at birthday parties and

Speaker 3 school events and they sometimes try things, but in general, they're very proud to be plant-based.

Speaker 3 And I saw a different, I saw a difference in how I felt. That's the final come back around to becoming vegan.
And that has been

Speaker 2 my North Star.

Speaker 2 What is the difference? I mean,

Speaker 2 what do you tell people about how your body feels, how your health feels different when you're all plant-based?

Speaker 3 For me personally, I had so much more energy. I felt so much lighter.

Speaker 3 I felt more clarity in my

Speaker 3 just in my brain. And

Speaker 3 I think that

Speaker 3 people come to eating like this for many different reasons and it can be health it can be animal rights or environmental reasons and mine was originally health and but then it just bleeds into everything it it

Speaker 3 it creates more of an awareness about myself and others and and I love animals and it just created a whole different relationship with with everything that I did.

Speaker 2 What what makes what adds to the awareness of yourself when you're like, what's the relationship there with a diet like this?

Speaker 3 Well, just being more conscious. You know, you can be kind of going through your life and your day doing things kind of unconsciously.
And that includes what you put in your body.

Speaker 3 It's just like, oh, there's a bag of something you just put it in your mouth. You're just not thinking.
And

Speaker 3 not that

Speaker 3 I mean, well, I was going to say, not that you have to live your life looking at every package that you're opening to eat, but it probably wouldn't be bad to do.

Speaker 3 But that's what shifting to plant-based was for me: yeah, I do have to look at the labels, and every now and then I miss something, and I'm like, oh, gosh, that had some.

Speaker 2 I just ate an egg. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3 But it is interesting, like all of the little mistakes I've made and things that I've accidentally put in my mouth, which, of course, is not some huge issue.

Speaker 3 But it's really, I've been vegan now for eight years. And

Speaker 3 I often think, I wonder how much I've accidentally consumed. Like I would love to see,

Speaker 3 you know,

Speaker 2 some meter or something. Yeah, something.

Speaker 2 Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3 So, but I don't know that anyone will ever surprise me with that.

Speaker 2 I am happy to.

Speaker 2 If there's a way to figure that out and hand you the data, I would be more than happy to.

Speaker 3 Remember when Oprah lost all that weight and she brought like a wagon out with like lard or something?

Speaker 3 And she was like, this is how much I lost. That's kind of my fantasy is that somebody will wheel, maybe Oprah one day will surprise me with a wagon of

Speaker 3 how much animal product has snuck into my body in the past.

Speaker 2 I love that. No, it can be really powerful.

Speaker 2 I remember the mayor of Philadelphia a long time ago wanted to talk to residents of Philadelphia about how much weight they should lose and he measured it in like millions of tons or something.

Speaker 2 And I was like, oh, that's powerful. Okay.
Yes. We as a community should lose weight if we're dealing with like, you know, the weight of a large naval destroyer.

Speaker 3 Well, that's, that's like even, and I saw some clip about the sugar that they even put in

Speaker 3 dairy milk. And like the first five years of a child's life, the amount of sugar in milk is like a wheelbarrow.

Speaker 2 Yeah. That's that's powerful.
That hits you. Yeah, it really does.

Speaker 2 Well, and you've you've done training in terms of plant-based diet. You've learned a lot.
You've gotten certified. You share recipes.
You evangelize about it.

Speaker 2 Again, once the door is opened, I mean, you're not doing this like on the street and attacking people. But

Speaker 2 why is it important to you to spread the word beyond your own personal experience?

Speaker 3 Well, because

Speaker 3 I was truly shocked. I did not expect to see results.
And I thought, okay, if I go plant-based for these two weeks on the road, worst case scenario is I ate healthy for two weeks. And

Speaker 3 during the pandemic, I was reading a book about nutrition. And, you know, to again go from having these health issues, which started in 2012, I had

Speaker 3 pneumonia and then I contracted this intestinal

Speaker 3 disease called C. diff that can be quite deadly.

Speaker 2 Which sounds horrific as I've read about, I mean, your experience and what other people have gone through. I mean, it's just

Speaker 3 it is so bad.

Speaker 3 It is so painful and deadly. I'm so lucky that I lived through that.

Speaker 3 And

Speaker 3 I had invasive cancer. And so I just

Speaker 3 been fascinated by, I mean, it seems obvious, but just the idea of like, if you put the wrong,

Speaker 3 and my belief is

Speaker 3 that

Speaker 3 if you put the wrong fuel in your vehicle, it's going to

Speaker 3 break down over and over and ultimately die in early death. And if you put like really, really good fuel in your car, it's going to run forever.

Speaker 3 And so when I saw that shift, I started reading more about it. And in the pandemic, I had all of this free time.
And then I thought,

Speaker 3 why don't I see if there's a class that I could take online just to learn more?

Speaker 3 And so I did. I got this certification online for plant-based nutrition.

Speaker 3 I'm not like a nutritionist or anything, but it was during the pandemic that I started helping a family member and my next door neighbor. He had high blood pressure.
And so,

Speaker 3 in my opening act, Greg, he and I would get on Zoom and

Speaker 3 help my neighbor. And he ended up not having to take this pill for the rest of his life because he shifted his diet.
And he got the results within weeks that

Speaker 3 it was beneficial. And

Speaker 3 so it was just helping.

Speaker 3 Greg and I helped a couple of other comedians. And it just felt good.
If people were interested, I just wanted to help them out.

Speaker 2 I think about the question of control.

Speaker 2 How much of this kind of obsession, commitment to plant-based is a way that you have found that you can control your health and your life,

Speaker 2 you know, and feel like you do have some semblance of control because so much of life, as I think you've, you know, you've learned yourself, can be unpredictable.

Speaker 3 Well, I mean, even if you believe, which I do, that you're, you're eating a healthy diet, you certainly can't always fully control your health because there are other factors, but I do believe it gives you a little bit of a

Speaker 3 leg up.

Speaker 3 And

Speaker 3 I do, I feel like if there is something I can do, exercise every day,

Speaker 3 I just know I don't want to end up as sick as I was in a four-month period of time in 2012. Like, I never want to be there again.
And if I,

Speaker 3 if I can be any part of the solution, then I want to do what I can. And so it's working at it every day.

Speaker 3 And it is my North Star to not end up sick, hopefully, hopefully, not end up sick again.

Speaker 3 But yeah, I do. I prioritize what I eat and

Speaker 3 exercise and

Speaker 3 try to get good sleep. And I look, I also have

Speaker 3 people when they'll see me eating a donut or cupcake or birthday cake, they're like, What are you doing? And I'm like, Well, it is vegan.

Speaker 2 It's not like I don't have, you know, I enjoy my eating, even though I've committed to this.

Speaker 3 Yeah, I mean, the majority of the time I try to eat the healthy version of plant-based, but I also indulge in

Speaker 3 vegan pizza and burgers and all that stuff from time to time.

Speaker 2 Can I ask you about that horrific period of 2012 when things sound like they did feel totally out of control?

Speaker 2 I mean, you went through a series of really tragic events, all compressed into just a few months. That's tough.
Do you mind reminding us what happened?

Speaker 3 Yeah,

Speaker 3 I think it started out as like

Speaker 3 like

Speaker 3 bronchitis or a sinus infection, something like that. And I had gone to urgent care and I got,

Speaker 3 oh, they told me I had pneumonia when I went in there. So they gave me antibiotics.
And

Speaker 3 antibiotics,

Speaker 3 some people can have an adverse response and

Speaker 3 it can clear out all of

Speaker 3 the

Speaker 3 bacteria in your gut. And

Speaker 3 that happened to me. And what was left is this bacteria called C.
diff,

Speaker 3 which people have in their gut, but it it's okay as long as it's mixed in with the other bacteria. But when it's left alone to thrive, it just eats your insides.
And

Speaker 3 so that was brutal. And then when I got out of the hospital,

Speaker 3 my mother tripped and hit her head. and died.

Speaker 3 And then I went through a breakup right right after. And then

Speaker 3 I was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. So that was in a four-month period of time.
And it just, it was, it, you know, it was obviously more than just being deathly ill.

Speaker 3 But I don't ever, I just, I really

Speaker 3 want to steer clear of how I felt during that time period because I did see how quickly health and life can slip away.

Speaker 2 I can, I can't even even imagine going. I mean, I, I lost my mom very suddenly out of the blue.
Um, I mean, I just found out that she had dropped dead. No, I appreciate that.

Speaker 2 I'm sorry for what you've been through, but

Speaker 2 I, I remember the, the shock and pain and the feeling of total loss of control. Um, but just to imagine that being exacerbated by just other crises.
Um,

Speaker 3 I mean, I was deathly ill on her deathbed. Yeah.

Speaker 3 Well, I'm, yeah. How long ago did you lose your mother?

Speaker 2 It's been almost 20 years.

Speaker 2 Yeah. Yeah.
I was, I was just turning 30 years old. And

Speaker 2 I think I was, you know, I was mostly raised by just her. It was just the two of us.
And

Speaker 2 I've read that you had a really, really tight relationship with your mom, too.

Speaker 3 It was tight, but it was also, my mother was pretty wild.

Speaker 3 It was, it was a lot of the parenting, the parent stuff.

Speaker 3 But, um, but I'm very thankful.

Speaker 2 Depression and stuff. It was like, am I the adult? I'm 17 years old.

Speaker 3 My mother would put us to bed and head out and party for the night.

Speaker 3 But I'm very thankful for what she instilled in me, which was a lot of like,

Speaker 3 if somebody's got a problem with you, you can tell them to go to hell. So that was how I was raised with that vibe.
Not in a mean way, but just in a like,

Speaker 3 you know, I'm good. I'm good.

Speaker 2 Yeah. Yeah.
I love that. What a good lesson.

Speaker 2 So, you're one of those crises was a breast cancer diagnosis.

Speaker 2 And do I have this right? You got the diagnosis and you were scheduled to do a stand-up show in LA that same night?

Speaker 3 It wasn't the same night. It was a few days later.

Speaker 2 And so that was okay.

Speaker 3 Yeah, that was kind of when I got the diagnosis, that was the cap

Speaker 3 of all of the hell where I truly, when I got that diagnosis, I was like,

Speaker 3 what? Like, I can't, I remember thinking, I can't, I, I can't possibly have cancer. I, I've been going through all this other stuff.

Speaker 3 I couldn't even, I was so backlogged with grief and pain, emotional, physical pain. And now you're telling me I have invasive cancer.
It was so confusing.

Speaker 3 And so I had called Flanagan, the owner of Largo, which is my home club here in L.A. And I just said, I can't

Speaker 3 perform. I told him everything that was going on, and he said, well,

Speaker 3 let's keep it on the books in case you change your mind last minute. And I thought, man, this guy's nuts.

Speaker 3 But sure enough, when it came down to it, I had time to reflect on how,

Speaker 3 yeah, life can shift on a dime. And

Speaker 3 what if I don't come back from this? What if I don't get to do stand-up again?

Speaker 3 I should just take this opportunity because I knew I was about to go into surgery and treatment and recovery and all of this stuff. So I went on stage and

Speaker 3 talked about the four months of hell I had been going through. And yeah.

Speaker 2 How did you open the show? Do you remember?

Speaker 3 I do. Well, I was in the shower before the show, and I was thinking, God, how am I going to get into all of this? Because it wasn't my typical vibe.
And so

Speaker 3 in the shower, a thought ran through my head where I thought, well, what if I walked on stage and said, hello, good evening?

Speaker 3 I have cancer. And it made me laugh so hard.

Speaker 3 And then I thought, oh, I can't do that. That's crazy.
What if somebody in the audience has cancer? And then I was like, wait, I have cancer. I can do this.
This is my story. And so I did.

Speaker 3 I walked out on stage and said, hello, good evening.

Speaker 3 I have cancer. And

Speaker 3 it was recorded and

Speaker 3 released and

Speaker 3 became the number one selling comedy album of the year,

Speaker 3 which shocked me. But so many people could relate to losing a loved one or have been touched by cancer in some way in their lives and gone through a breakup.

Speaker 2 And

Speaker 3 so, yeah, it's what I did.

Speaker 2 You once described doing the show that night and starting that way as controlling the narrative.

Speaker 2 What do you mean by that? And why was that important?

Speaker 3 Well, I mean,

Speaker 3 it's really actually been quite a run of looking back at that time because,

Speaker 3 yeah, there's controlling the narrative

Speaker 3 because

Speaker 3 it's so...

Speaker 3 vulnerable and I'm speaking publicly and all of that stuff. But I actually realized as time went on that more than anything, I was probably

Speaker 3 needing support.

Speaker 3 And that's

Speaker 3 probably

Speaker 3 the most honest answer of what was going on. It was, yes, I wanted to do stand-up again, but I also, I was without my mother, my girlfriend was gone.

Speaker 3 I was, this was my home, was on stage, essentially. I'd been doing stand-up for decades at that point.
And that audience that night was,

Speaker 3 I always say it was like the exact perfect people there to receive that information.

Speaker 2 What made them perfect?

Speaker 3 They went on the ride.

Speaker 3 Nobody, people thought I was kidding when I walked out and said, hello, good evening. I have cancer.
How's everyone doing?

Speaker 3 It was awkward,

Speaker 3 awkward laughter. There was shock and silence and

Speaker 3 people realizing it was true, and then

Speaker 3 laughter, hard belly laughter.

Speaker 3 It just was, they were along for the ride fully with me. And I, every now and then, I run into

Speaker 3 people that were in the audience that night. What's really crazy is I just produced a documentary about my friend, the poet Andrea Gibson, and

Speaker 3 it's going to be out on Apple. And the director of that film was at my Largo show that night.

Speaker 2 No way, just by happening.

Speaker 2 Well,

Speaker 3 his producing partner, Jessica,

Speaker 3 she was the tour manager of a tour that I was on years before.

Speaker 3 And I didn't know she was a documentarian. And Jessica had invited Ryan.

Speaker 3 the director to my show that night in 2012 and then she got sick and he said oh, I'll just bring all my gay guy friends and we'll go see this comedy show and and have a good time and he said he remembered he told all of his friends He was like yeah, I guess this comedian's funny and

Speaker 3 I walked out on stage and was like hey, I have cancer so it's really wild the full circle of him directing the come see me in the good light documentary all those years later.

Speaker 2 That's amazing. Yeah.
Do you ever,

Speaker 2 you know, I just think about when you were talking about the diet,

Speaker 2 how that gives you this feeling of I have built some kind of defense against having to go through a horrific period in terms of health

Speaker 2 and that feeling of not being in control of 2012.

Speaker 2 Like it, do you think there'll ever be a point where you get farther enough away from that terrible period that you, it doesn't need to shape how you think about life

Speaker 2 as much um because i i know like early in your life it's like friends said there was something called tig luck like you you were a very lucky person like things just went well and then when something when so many things don't go well and you're you're sort of looking for some way to to build a defense against that uh is that a like a lifelong sort of way to live or is there a time when you're like okay it's been It's been enough time.

Speaker 2 I don't have to fear that as much anymore.

Speaker 3 I can't say that I fear it. I think what that experience taught me is that, like I was saying before, the response I had when I got diagnosed with cancer, I was like, this can't happen.

Speaker 3 I was just, I went through all of this other stuff, and I really believe that. I thought

Speaker 3 that I had all of the bad luck in the world, so now it must be just a

Speaker 3 smooth ride in life. And that hasn't happened.

Speaker 3 I do feel like I still have TIG luck, but I also think I have a very realistic

Speaker 3 perspective on life. And part of that realistic perspective is knowing that

Speaker 3 the fun and wonderful thing about life is we don't know what's around the corner. And

Speaker 3 it really has made me learn to trust life and trust what's coming, even if it's not great.

Speaker 3 And so I don't feel fearful. I feel more so, I just want to be prepared.
You know, it's like when I take my sons to their baseball games, I

Speaker 3 want to make sure that if we're between a double header, that I have lunch packed, you know, I'm not scared my kids are going to starve. I just, I just want to make sure we're all set and

Speaker 3 that's the best I can do.

Speaker 2 Your sons are nine now. Is that what you said?

Speaker 2 I saw you, you told this incredibly charming story. I think it was on Colbert recently: of

Speaker 2 when you were in the car on the way to school, and

Speaker 2 you realized that they didn't know that you and your wife were gay. Is that what was that conversation like?

Speaker 3 They were seven at the time, and

Speaker 3 yeah, they were in the back seat on the way to school. And Stephanie said something about being gay, and

Speaker 3 our son Finn leaned in the front seat and said, You're gay.

Speaker 3 And

Speaker 3 they were like, Oh my God,

Speaker 3 on earth do our kids not know we're gay? This is the, it was so wild, it was so,

Speaker 3 and there we are just trying to explain everything in the next three minutes before we drop them off.

Speaker 2 It's a lot to fit into three minutes. I mean, are we,

Speaker 2 how did you approach this?

Speaker 3 Well, they also were like, What is gay? Which also was so confusing. It was like, How, wait a minute, we're like the mayors of gay town.
Look at me, And, you know, like, oh, gosh.

Speaker 3 And we realized that just because they knew they had two moms and they had seen our wedding pictures, that that doesn't equal gay, you know, like you have to actually say, gay is a boy and a boy, a girl and a girl.

Speaker 3 And so we were explaining that before we drop them off. But we were just like, oh.
My God, like it was so confusing.

Speaker 3 But the more I've talked about it, there are other parents that have told me that they experience the same thing. And, and there's kind of this beautiful thing in that

Speaker 3 it's a non-issue, you know, like

Speaker 3 they didn't know or care. And, um, and now they really know.
But, um,

Speaker 3 but yeah, it was, it was, it was shocking. It was shocking.
And they're surrounded by so many different people and gay families. And, but yeah, they just didn't,

Speaker 3 and I've joked that, like, man, what did they think? I was the butler. Um,

Speaker 3 what, what did, what, what did they think I was?

Speaker 2 So, yeah, God, there's something so beautiful about it not being like a like the fact that we have two moms, that's like totally normal. Um, and this gay works just like, hey, I'm just curious.

Speaker 3 Our kids lead with it. They tell everyone, they're like, oh, yeah, I have two moms and

Speaker 3 they feel lucky and proud. And so it's pretty great.

Speaker 2 We're gonna take a quick break and I'm gonna come back with Tig Notaro in just a moment to talk about some other obsessions. We'll be right back.

Speaker 2 All right, we're back with David Green is obsessed. I am with Tig Notaro, podcast host.
We'll say that first, also filmmaker, comedian, author.

Speaker 2 This is the part of the show I like to say it's not David Green is obsessed, but Tig Notaro is obsessed. So I want to ask about a few other obsessions and I guess related to plant-based,

Speaker 2 is there a recipe that you obsess about more than any other that you would want to share? So those of us who are plant-based or not might get a tip?

Speaker 3 I can't even go into my morning smoothie because that is.

Speaker 3 We don't have time? No, we don't. Because I'm so

Speaker 3 I researched like all of the most nutrient-dense things that I find delicious delicious, and they're all in there in the different measurements.

Speaker 2 Give me the thumbnail of this one. Now I need to know a little bit about this movie, even if we don't have time for the full recipe.

Speaker 3 I mean, oh my,

Speaker 3 it's like

Speaker 3 oats, steel-cut oats. I eat them raw in the smoothie, it gives them a crunch.

Speaker 3 There's

Speaker 3 frozen wild blueberries,

Speaker 3 avocado, half a banana,

Speaker 3 chia seeds, hemp seeds, flax seeds. There's so much stuff in there, and it is so delicious.
But yes, I have to put that aside.

Speaker 3 It's too complex.

Speaker 2 But I want to make it.

Speaker 2 Even if it's complex, I now want to go find it and make it myself.

Speaker 3 I use golden raisins,

Speaker 3 dates.

Speaker 3 Oh, I love golden raisins so much.

Speaker 2 So good. I used to have them in my cereal.
Like, those are my choice raisins. Like, as a kid, that's so much better.

Speaker 3 yes um almonds um almond milk unsweetened almond milk um

Speaker 2 this is all in one beverage yeah cinnamon

Speaker 3 uh there is it's a lot it's a lot of things a little bit of um

Speaker 3 raspberries but the thing that i want to share with people is this meal that my uh closest friend of my whole life um and I, we both claim the other one created it, but I'm certain she created it because she's way more of a cook.

Speaker 2 Oh, you're giving each other credit. This is not claiming credit.

Speaker 3 This is your creative. No, we give each other credit, and I'm certain Beth created this.

Speaker 3 There's no world I would have ever, ever come up with this. This is going to sound weird.
And just clear your mind, go get the ingredients. Okay.
And taste this. It's so good.

Speaker 3 Everybody's like, that seems weird. And then they taste it.
They're like, oh my God. Okay.

Speaker 2 So I'm letting go of all preconceptions. I am now a fully open-minded eater.

Speaker 3 Amazing. A plate full of raw spinach covering the entire bottom of the plate.

Speaker 2 Every acre of spinach. Yes.

Speaker 3 Then a plain baked potato placed in the middle there.

Speaker 3 Sounds great. You crack it open.
You fill

Speaker 3 the potato with not salsa. or anything other than pico de gallo.
I mean chunks of pico de gallo, which is sliced tomatoes, onions, cilantro, all that kind of stuff.

Speaker 3 Like just chunks of it inside of the potato and the juice of the pico de gallo all over

Speaker 2 the potato. Yes, yes, yes.

Speaker 3 You slice up an avocado, you put the wedges around the potato, and then you take balsamic vinegar at,

Speaker 3 I believe, is what it is, and then you

Speaker 3 kind of drizzle that around. And you must

Speaker 3 take a piece of everything in each bite because

Speaker 3 yes, it is so delicious. And I beg anyone to argue with that.

Speaker 2 I don't feel like you have to do much convincing. Are people skeptical? Like, have you started to get into this recipe and they're like freaked out? I mean, it sounds amazing.

Speaker 3 They're like, no butter? And I'm like, no, no butter. It's just pico de gallo in the potato.
It's so good.

Speaker 2 But it probably, like like me, it flavors the potato, right? I mean, it just gets all the way. I'm on your side.

Speaker 3 Yes, it does.

Speaker 2 It is so good. No, I'm on your side.
No, this sounds phenomenal. Do you have it? Is there a name for this thing?

Speaker 3 Yeah, we call it Tater Time.

Speaker 2 Oh, I love that. Okay.
Yeah. I might make it for my wife like tonight.
She's huge. She's a huge baked potato fan.
She does love butter.

Speaker 2 She says, like, hold everything else if you go to a restaurant or something. But if I get her away from.

Speaker 3 Just don't even tell her what you're doing. Just make it and deliver it and give her a put a little something on the fork, a little something of everything on the fork.
Tell her to take a bite.

Speaker 2 Start that way.

Speaker 3 And yeah, let me know how that does.

Speaker 2 Appreciate this. You might have just made my marriage even more solidified because she's going to love that.
Good.

Speaker 2 What is an obsession that you have only revealed to your wife until this moment?

Speaker 3 An obsession

Speaker 3 that I have revealed.

Speaker 3 You know what? I've kind of

Speaker 3 on this new star trek series uh

Speaker 3 called starfleet academy yep it is um

Speaker 3 we're filming the second season first season comes out in january of 2026.

Speaker 2 this is a brand new franchise right star trek it hasn't been around very long this is like a newly introduced uh it's it's brand new uh we'll see how it goes we'll see if the fans get into it there might i feel like it could become like a cult thing yeah we'll see let's not get ahead of ourselves here.

Speaker 3 We'll tater time or Star Trek

Speaker 3 pull through in the long run.

Speaker 2 Okay.

Speaker 3 I have not until this show

Speaker 3 taken,

Speaker 3 I started out as a stand-up and I got into acting kind of accidentally.

Speaker 3 And

Speaker 3 I didn't take acting lessons. I just kind of would scramble around, memorize my lines.

Speaker 3 After

Speaker 3 working on Starfleet Academy, they had this rule where you couldn't have your lines on set with you.

Speaker 2 Anywhere.

Speaker 3 Correct.

Speaker 2 Wow.

Speaker 2 Is that a new rule? Like, is that normal you can have your lines? Yeah. It was a new rule.
Like in your pocket or on a teleprompter or where do you go?

Speaker 3 Yeah, you just kind of have it like in the green room with you or at your chair where you, you know, and they said no lines on set.

Speaker 2 Is that just to be cruel or because they wanted people to just feel like more ad libby?

Speaker 3 No, they wanted people to learn their lines and show up and have it down. And this is, you know, acting,

Speaker 3 it can be hard to learn your lines, especially if it's made up science stuff.

Speaker 3 And at first,

Speaker 3 I was already struggling.

Speaker 2 It's particularly difficult.

Speaker 3 Yes, I was already struggling.

Speaker 3 I've actually been on, I was on another Star Trek series before this called Discovery, and I scramble around famously with my lines. And

Speaker 3 when that new

Speaker 3 rule popped up, I was like, what?

Speaker 2 What?

Speaker 2 But then I thought.

Speaker 2 Was this rule made for you and they're not telling you? If you have been holding on to it, you know, maybe I'm the only one that they told the rule to. I'm just curious.
Just asking.

Speaker 3 Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3 But I have to say,

Speaker 3 once I got over the shock and frustration, I thought,

Speaker 3 this is probably

Speaker 3 better for me if I really, really get ahead of the game, prepare better.

Speaker 3 And I've now become a little obsessed with, I want to be the best actor I can be. I want to, I want to learn.

Speaker 3 You know, people would always ask me in interviews previously,

Speaker 3 what's your

Speaker 3 technique and how do you do what you do. I'd be like, oh, you know, I just

Speaker 3 do my best. That's, that's what I do.

Speaker 3 Whereas now I just, I'm way more interested. And I want to hear how people do what they do.
And what did their teacher teach them? And what about this actor they worked with?

Speaker 3 And now Stephanie and I connect in a way that we didn't before because she's so interested in actors and their technique and all that all that kind of stuff. And so it's it's a new obsession for me.

Speaker 3 And look,

Speaker 3 I'm no Meryl Streep and I'm no Holly Hunter, who is the star of Starfleet Academy. But

Speaker 3 it's fun when you kind of force yourself to

Speaker 3 do better and

Speaker 3 make those big leaps.

Speaker 2 I love that. Okay, last question.

Speaker 2 My wife is going to kill me for revealing this on my show, but my favorite quirky obsession of hers is she's not just obsessed with late-night popcorn, but she loves the like half-popped kernels.

Speaker 2 And so she obsessively hunts them. Yes.
Like hunts. Sequences.

Speaker 2 I mean, needs to, oh, you do too?

Speaker 3 Oh, yes, sir. Yes.

Speaker 2 What is it about these half-popped kernels?

Speaker 3 What are you talking about? What is it about?

Speaker 2 I've tried them. I've like tried to understand this, but now it's...

Speaker 3 I mean, if you go back to my smoothie, I have raw steel-cut oats in there. I love a crunch.
And so your wife must love a crunch.

Speaker 2 I mean, she loves a nice bunch of fun. She loves a nice crunch.

Speaker 2 Okay, so that's a shared obsession.

Speaker 3 Has she tried sorghum?

Speaker 2 I have no idea. Should I tell her to try sorghum?

Speaker 3 Yes. Tell her to try.

Speaker 2 Tell me more about sorghum.

Speaker 3 Sorghum is like an even healthier grain than popcorn.

Speaker 3 Popcorn is healthiest if it's air-popped, by the way. Right.
If anyone cares.

Speaker 3 But sorghum.

Speaker 2 Don't do it in butter. You're probably not doing it in butter.
No, I'm not. Adventure, I guess.
I'm not.

Speaker 3 What I do with my popcorn, I air pop it,

Speaker 3 and then I sprinkle

Speaker 3 liquid aminos on there and hot sauce, cholula, and nutritional yeast. And I mean sprinkle, so you're not soggy.

Speaker 3 And my sons love it. Everybody, it's so delicious.

Speaker 3 But yeah, sorghum is just, it's just a healthier

Speaker 3 kind of version of popcorn, and it's so delicious. Then there, there's really cool flavors.

Speaker 2 This is amazing. I now have a lot to tell her.
Sorghum, I can tell her that she shares an obsession with you when it comes to antator time. Yeah.
I was going to ask you, what is there?

Speaker 2 Is there a quirk, what's your favorite quirky obsession of your wife's?

Speaker 3 Wait, real quick. Does she know that there's a product where they have just little barely popped popcorn?

Speaker 2 Interesting, you asked, Tig. I found pop knots for her years ago and bought her the equivalent of like a lifetime supply or membership.
But I think the company went out of business.

Speaker 2 I can't find them anymore. Unbelievable.

Speaker 3 No, I thought I invented it.

Speaker 3 I was watching a movie. I was at a movie theater years ago.
And I was like, you know what? Because I was digging around in mine.

Speaker 2 What the world needs.

Speaker 3 Yeah, I was like, gosh, it's like barely popped popcorn. And then sure enough, you know, as soon as I invent something, two days later, I found out it's it's already been on the market for years.

Speaker 3 So I didn't know they went out of business, but maybe I'll get back to you.

Speaker 2 Maybe they're back. I mean, I can't.
I haven't looked recently. They went out of business.
It was devastating.

Speaker 3 Well, let's keep it on the DL and you and I can start our own.

Speaker 2 We can start the company.

Speaker 3 Me and your wife and you.

Speaker 2 Yes.

Speaker 2 Yes.

Speaker 3 So what is my wife's?

Speaker 2 Favorite quirky obsession of your wife?

Speaker 3 Gosh, my wife isn't terribly quirky.

Speaker 2 Or favorite obsession. Let's just take quirky out.
Let's eliminate the adjective. Who needs an adjective?

Speaker 3 She's also not terribly obsessive.

Speaker 2 Who needs anything?

Speaker 2 I would say her. Tell me.

Speaker 3 I would say her love for me is a quirky obsession.

Speaker 2 That's perfect.

Speaker 3 I think that my ex-girlfriends would say, yeah, that's a quirky obsession

Speaker 3 after they are no longer with me.

Speaker 3 Yeah, she's just not terribly quirky or obsessive.

Speaker 2 Well, she saves all of her quirky obsessiveness.

Speaker 3 She's very much into safety. And I have to say I appreciate that a lot about her because I was raised, you know, water skiing in the swamps of Mississippi.
So I needed to be reeled in a little bit.

Speaker 3 And

Speaker 3 yeah, so

Speaker 3 it's not quirky, but it's definitely something she's got her eye on all the time.

Speaker 2 What does she worry most about you doing? Like, what is the thing that she's

Speaker 3 just anyone or the kids, you know, or it's just everything is safety first. And I don't think I led with that.
And it's a really great quality that she has is having a real eagle eye on safety.

Speaker 2 Sounds important.

Speaker 2 Tig Natara, this has been such a pleasure. I really appreciate it.

Speaker 3 Thanks for having me.

Speaker 2 And thanks for being here.

Speaker 3 If anybody wants to check out the Handsome podcast, we certainly welcome all new listeners.

Speaker 2 Well, we will send them all your way to the Handsome Podcast and also the new Star Trek show.

Speaker 3 And also, come see me in the good light, the Andrea Gibson documentary that will be out on Apple TV.

Speaker 2 It's all, we can find you in many places. Yes, you can.

Speaker 2 Yeah. Thanks for having me.
Send everyone your way. Yeah, thanks for being here.

Speaker 2 David Green is obsessed as a production of Campside Media. It is hosted by me, David Green.
Our senior producer is Lane Rose. We are mixed by Ewen Lytramuen.

Speaker 2 The executive producers at Campside Media are Vanessa Gregoriadis, Matt Scher, and Josh Dean. Special thanks to our operations team, Ashley Warren and Sabina Mara.

Speaker 2 If you have an obsession you would like to share, hope you do. You can send us an email.
The address is obsessed at campsidemedia.com. That's obsessed at campsidemedia.com.

Speaker 2 And hey, if you enjoyed the show, please rate and review the show wherever you get your podcasts. Really appreciate you listening.