-Our next guest are very funny comedians, actors, and writers
new episodes of their podcast "Poog" are released
every Tuesday, please welcome to the show,
Kate Berlant and Jacqueline Novak.
How are you? -Hi, Seth!
-We are blessed and honored to be on the show.
-I am so happy to have you both here.
I am, of course, gutted that it's not in person.
-Jacqueline, this is your fourth time here.
Kate, this is your first time. -Thank you.
-And what is it like to have you both here together?
-It's truly a dream.
I want to say that majesty does transfer.
I still feel the power of the couch.
-Thank you. I don't, I don't feel like I'm getting
that feedback enough. Guys, tell us about "Poog."
This is, is it safe to say this is a -- am I saying it right?
Poog? -You've got it.
-You absolutely are. And you've gotten it dead-on, Seth.
AS to be expected.
Yes, this is our podcast. This is "Poog."
The name was Kate's idea, I'm not afraid to admit it.
-Hey, hey, we share everything on this podcast, okay?
But yes, it was initially formulated in a tweet
that I tweeted, I'd say the late '70s.
-Yeah, so many of our best work comes from '70s tweets
when it really comes down to it. -And is this a,
is it safe to say this is a parody of "Goop"?
The wellness site, Goop? -It is absolutely not
a parody, Seth, we are fans of Goop as we are fans of
you know anything that's offering, uh...
you know recommendations for products.
Anything in the wellness world we're into.
We are hounds for it. We are consumerous hogs.
We are -- yeah we are believers. -No, we're eternal optimists.
We think the wellness industry, some people see it as maybe
a terrifying symptom of, like, capitalism.
We see it as an opportunity to just try different serums.
Right, and so for us it really is hobby, it is sport.
Wellness is traditionally sort of a feminized topic, right?
So it's deemed not worthy.
But for us, we want to lift it up.
And really just an excuse to talk to each other.
-Oh, and I apologize, Kate, for interrupting, but I should
let the viewers know we are -- -No apology.
-deeply interested in interruption
as a form of rapport. -Yes.
-We celebrate interruption. You know, if we let you
get a word in, Seth, that will be exciting.
Um, and we do plan to do that. -Thank you.
-We want to give you the vibes.
We want to give you the vibes of "Poog" indeed.
-Now, one of the things I do want to say is,
is some people, some influencers to use the term of the day
get these products sent to them these wellness products
so that they can try them and then spread the gospel,
is that something you guys do? Do you like when you are sent
a free item? -Yes! In a word.
-Absolutely. And, I want to be clear,
you know, wellness involves almost any product, right?
So, I don't want anyone out there with a product
that they could send to hesitate thinking,
"It's not wellness." You know, anything can be wellness,
whether it's a tonic, a potion, or a window dressing.
-A chair. -You know, we are open,
we are accepting gifts now. -Yes.
I know. I mean those kind of people tend to do social media
tend to be embarrassed to ask for things
or it's considered gauche, we started this podcast
primarily to openly beg for free products.
So we are in no way trying to cover that up.
There's a naked desire for free stuff.
And this podcast just allows, me at least,
to finally give into that desire.
-Are there sort of different branches of the wellness world
that each of you is more focused on than the other?
-I think we have our areas of interest, Kate.
-Oh, sure. -I lean towards some of the
esoteric, metaphysical -- I've spoken about ghosts
on the show before, orbs, et cetera.
You know, NDEs OBEs, those are --
-I don't even know what that is. -Out of Body Experiences,
Near Death Experiences. -Ah, sure, sure.
-These sorts of things, metaphysical, you know,
kind of modalities of healing, et cetera.
Kate, where would you say you lean?
-I'd say I'm more firmly rooted in the poetics of dairy, right?
Trying to avoid it. Do I avoid it?
Is the issue dairy or is it something more familial, right?
Is it more emotional? Usually it's more emotional.
But does dairy enflame that, so to speak?
Uh, grain-free pasta. You know, I want to say, though
we got Poog.
We don't, uh, we really are pleasure-based,
we're pleasure-focused, we're hedonists.
For example, to mention dairy again,
I, for years, thought "Oh, I can't be eating dairy,
it's breaking me out." but then I re-purposed
cheddar as a vitamin for myself.
I told myself, when I was eating cheddar
this is bringing me pleasure, so it has to be good for me.
Guess what, haven't had a breakout
since eating dairy since. -No, if you eat with joy,
if you eat with joy, the placebo effect cannot be denied.
-Yes. -If you imbue cheddar
with that sort of meaning, then to eat it is a ritual act.
-Yes! -And, no, that's huge for us.
Kate and I are Lypo-spheric Vitamin C in the morning,
martinis in the evening.
Pasta is a church of sort for us.
-Yes. There are several brands who haven't --
you know, I've been talking about certain kombucha brands
that I like, certain grain-free tortilla brands
that have yet to reach out despite my numerous DMs.
And so, that actually sounds threatening.
There actually isn't anger. I don't want to leave with anger.
I just want to say that the DMs are open.
And I have a PO Box ready to go.
-You guys, we're gonna take a quick break,
but when we come back I do want to -- we have some photos
of at least one product you've tried.
And I'm fascinated by what it claims to do.
We'll be right back with more
from Kate Berlant and Jacqueline Novak.