Survivor 47 Pre-Game Day 5: Jon Lovett & Rachel Lamont

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_04]: Hey everybody, what's going on? Rob Cesternino back here!

[00:00:05] [SPEAKER_04]: It's day 5 of our Survivor 47 preview series.

[00:00:11] [SPEAKER_04]: Halfway there through 9 days of previewing the people that will play on Survivor 47.

[00:00:18] [SPEAKER_04]: We got a good one here today.

[00:00:20] [SPEAKER_04]: Two more Survivor players to talk about here with the man who talked to them all.

[00:00:24] [SPEAKER_04]: Give it up for Mike Bloom!

[00:00:27] [SPEAKER_03]: Rob, gotta light, cause this tribe is smoking!

[00:00:32] [SPEAKER_03]: Smoking?

[00:00:34] [SPEAKER_03]: Because there's so much great heat coming from them in the various interviews I got to do with

[00:00:39] [SPEAKER_03]: them.

[00:00:39] [SPEAKER_04]: Was this a 1994 mask reference?

[00:00:44] [SPEAKER_03]: Well listen-

[00:00:44] [SPEAKER_04]: Somebody stop them!

[00:00:47] [SPEAKER_03]: Exactly, that's really what we're trying to focus on.

[00:00:49] [SPEAKER_03]: The gameplay is so fast that it's like they're moving through a Loki inspired cartoonish

[00:00:56] [SPEAKER_04]: story.

[00:00:57] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm just saying, you gotta be kidding me!

[00:00:59] [SPEAKER_03]: I just asked gotta light, Rob, and you said we got a good one.

[00:01:02] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, gotta light, okay.

[00:01:05] [SPEAKER_03]: You focused on smoking, you completely barreled over gotta light!

[00:01:10] [SPEAKER_04]: Sorry, my bad, my bad.

[00:01:12] [SPEAKER_04]: I like this all out, let's start again.

[00:01:15] [SPEAKER_04]: Hey everybody, welcome back.

[00:01:17] [SPEAKER_04]: We are ready to talk about two more Survivor contestants today.

[00:01:21] [SPEAKER_04]: And we're gonna talk about Jon Lovett and Rachel.

[00:01:26] [SPEAKER_04]: Okay, Mike, of course, we are on day five.

[00:01:29] [SPEAKER_04]: If you missed any of these, make sure you're subscribed.

[00:01:31] [SPEAKER_04]: Drop us a website at website.com slash subscribe or watch them all on YouTube.

[00:01:35] [SPEAKER_04]: We released our Jon Lovett interview back on the day of the cast release.

[00:01:41] [SPEAKER_04]: Seemed like a newsworthy thing to do, but today we're going to watch it in full and then of

[00:01:47] [SPEAKER_04]: course, give our thoughts on that and then talk about Rachel.

[00:01:51] [SPEAKER_04]: Anything you want to set up here about Jon Lovett?

[00:01:54] [SPEAKER_03]: Yes, we got Lovett and Lamont today.

[00:01:55] [SPEAKER_03]: Sounds like an accounting firm and we are accounting on them to do well in this game.

[00:02:01] [SPEAKER_03]: But let's talk about Jon Lovett here.

[00:02:03] [SPEAKER_03]: Let's do a little bit of like, I was gonna say IMDbags, but I guess it really is just

[00:02:06] [SPEAKER_03]: more so a background check on Jon Lovett because he's not necessarily known for his onscreen work.

[00:02:11] [SPEAKER_04]: I think that if you want to put it in like political,

[00:02:13] [SPEAKER_04]: they're like, we want to like do some vetting.

[00:02:15] [SPEAKER_03]: There we go.

[00:02:16] [SPEAKER_03]: Do some vetting.

[00:02:17] [SPEAKER_03]: We're doing some on the ground polling.

[00:02:19] [SPEAKER_03]: We don't have any oppo right now on Jon Lovett.

[00:02:22] [SPEAKER_03]: Well, we'll see how much oppo he has in the game.

[00:02:25] [SPEAKER_03]: So Jon Lovett, for those who don't know.

[00:02:28] [SPEAKER_03]: So he ended up kind of starting wanting to become this like simultaneous political

[00:02:32] [SPEAKER_03]: speech writer slash screen writer and in doing some research on him in preparation for today,

[00:02:38] [SPEAKER_03]: discovered some pretty wild things about his career.

[00:02:40] [SPEAKER_03]: Like, of course, he is ends up getting a foot in the door in terms of politics when he works

[00:02:45] [SPEAKER_03]: for the Obama White House.

[00:02:46] [SPEAKER_03]: Sure.

[00:02:46] [SPEAKER_03]: Apparently, he won an anonymous letter writing contest to earn that role.

[00:02:51] [SPEAKER_03]: He participated, of course, in the Obama White House, where also apparently

[00:02:55] [SPEAKER_03]: he officiated secretly the first same sex marriage in the White House before the

[00:03:00] [SPEAKER_03]: Obama administration officially, for lack of a better term, came out in favor of same sex marriage.

[00:03:06] [SPEAKER_03]: But Jon Lovett did.

[00:03:08] [SPEAKER_03]: Jon Lovett did.

[00:03:09] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, that's so listen, move over, Jeff.

[00:03:11] [SPEAKER_03]: We've got a new officiator that could possibly take over.

[00:03:14] [SPEAKER_03]: Love it.

[00:03:15] [SPEAKER_03]: Also moved on from working in the White House, but not too far because he was the co-creator

[00:03:20] [SPEAKER_03]: and writer and executive producer of a short lived NBC show called 1600 Pen.

[00:03:24] [SPEAKER_03]: Do you remember this one, Rob?

[00:03:26] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, I hear it was very good.

[00:03:30] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.

[00:03:30] [SPEAKER_03]: So yeah, listen, you know how to you've learned from past mistakes.

[00:03:35] [SPEAKER_03]: We should say that Josh Gad, right?

[00:03:37] [SPEAKER_03]: Josh Gad, Bill Pullman, I believe.

[00:03:40] [SPEAKER_03]: All right.

[00:03:40] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.

[00:03:40] [SPEAKER_03]: Bill Pullman plays the president once again.

[00:03:42] [SPEAKER_03]: Once again, talk about 1990s throwbacks there.

[00:03:45] [SPEAKER_03]: Jenna Elfman showing up there as well.

[00:03:47] [SPEAKER_03]: More 90s throwbacks there.

[00:03:49] [SPEAKER_03]: And then probably most prominently now, Lovett was one of these people who started alongside

[00:03:55] [SPEAKER_03]: another unfortunately named speechwriter in Jon Favreau and Tommy, a podcast called

[00:04:01] [SPEAKER_03]: Keeping It 1600 for the 2016 election.

[00:04:04] [SPEAKER_04]: Yes, that was part of the I'm not sure if it was.

[00:04:08] [SPEAKER_04]: I guess it was the early days of the ringer.

[00:04:10] [SPEAKER_04]: And that's where that started.

[00:04:12] [SPEAKER_04]: And yeah, I was an early adopter.

[00:04:17] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.

[00:04:17] [SPEAKER_03]: And so the adoption continued.

[00:04:19] [SPEAKER_03]: It was not just a foster home as after the 2016 election, the two Johns and Tommy decided

[00:04:25] [SPEAKER_03]: to stay on and continue podcasting.

[00:04:27] [SPEAKER_03]: And they, of course, have developed over the next near decade, Pod Save America.

[00:04:32] [SPEAKER_03]: They developed Jon Lovett has done his own podcast called Love It or Leave It.

[00:04:35] [SPEAKER_03]: And really, and you can speak to this a little bit, Rob, as well.

[00:04:39] [SPEAKER_03]: They have used this to parlay the creation of their own umbrella network known as Crooked

[00:04:44] [SPEAKER_03]: Media.

[00:04:44] [SPEAKER_03]: And so Jon is able to obviously bring a lot of skills from a creativity perspective, but

[00:04:50] [SPEAKER_03]: also from an organizational perspective as well.

[00:04:52] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, this is very exciting to see Jon, who is a very funny guy and see him here on Survivor.

[00:05:01] [SPEAKER_04]: Nobody knew he was a Survivor fan, I guess, except for his inner circle.

[00:05:06] [SPEAKER_04]: And he's going to talk about that with you.

[00:05:08] [SPEAKER_04]: So why don't we go ahead and listen to your interview with Jon?

[00:05:13] [SPEAKER_04]: And then we will come back and talk about how we think he's going to do.

[00:05:17] [SPEAKER_03]: How are you doing right now?

[00:05:19] [SPEAKER_03]: I know that it's probably just been sitting in anticipation.

[00:05:21] [SPEAKER_03]: I know you were probably used to talking, so I can imagine sitting in silence for so

[00:05:25] [SPEAKER_03]: long has been a little bit of a miserable existence.

[00:05:29] [SPEAKER_05]: You know what?

[00:05:29] [SPEAKER_05]: I think it's good for me.

[00:05:31] [SPEAKER_05]: To shut the fuck up.

[00:05:32] [SPEAKER_05]: So I think that that's been probably a good thing.

[00:05:35] [SPEAKER_05]: I'm glad I've had the chance to do that for a few days.

[00:05:38] [SPEAKER_05]: Good to talk to you, though.

[00:05:39] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I was going to say we're about to open up that valve right now, and I'm excited to

[00:05:43] [SPEAKER_03]: see what flows out.

[00:05:45] [SPEAKER_03]: Well, to start, you know, I think there might be some people that are familiar with you,

[00:05:50] [SPEAKER_03]: but just in case, why don't you give your name, your age and your occupation?

[00:05:54] [SPEAKER_05]: My name is Jon Lovett.

[00:05:56] [SPEAKER_05]: I'm 41 and I am a podcast host.

[00:06:00] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, that's kind of putting it mildly.

[00:06:02] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, I would go so far as to say pod, you know, media empire guru.

[00:06:06] [SPEAKER_05]: But yeah, I am a host of a show called Pod Save America.

[00:06:11] [SPEAKER_05]: I host a live show at tours called Love It or Leave It.

[00:06:15] [SPEAKER_05]: And with my friends, Jon and Tommy, we started a company called Crooked Media, which is meant

[00:06:21] [SPEAKER_05]: to be a place for people who are pretty frustrated by politics but still care about democracy.

[00:06:27] [SPEAKER_05]: And we're really proud of how it managed to take off and build like a really amazing community.

[00:06:31] [SPEAKER_03]: So yeah, there are people who play this game.

[00:06:34] [SPEAKER_03]: They're like, I'm so excited to get unplugged from the world for 26 days.

[00:06:37] [SPEAKER_03]: I would imagine for someone whose job is to follow politics that counts like doubly for

[00:06:41] [SPEAKER_03]: you.

[00:06:41] [SPEAKER_05]: Yeah.

[00:06:43] [SPEAKER_05]: Yes.

[00:06:44] [SPEAKER_05]: I like look, it's the middle of a very important election year.

[00:06:49] [SPEAKER_05]: So it was really excited to do this and really excited to have five weeks to focus on strange

[00:07:01] [SPEAKER_05]: experiment in deprivation and democracy for a few weeks.

[00:07:05] [SPEAKER_05]: And I'm going to come out of this and hit the ground running covering the presidential

[00:07:10] [SPEAKER_05]: election, the Senate elections, the House elections, the down battle elections.

[00:07:14] [SPEAKER_05]: And we have like a whole bunch of shows planned.

[00:07:16] [SPEAKER_05]: Like I'm going to come out of this and just hit the road and whatever shape I'm in.

[00:07:21] [SPEAKER_05]: But for now, yes, I handing over my phone and just being completely disconnected.

[00:07:31] [SPEAKER_05]: I don't think I've ever done it for 48 hours, let alone to do it for five weeks.

[00:07:40] [SPEAKER_05]: Mm hmm.

[00:07:41] [SPEAKER_03]: So let's talk about what got you into this, as you called strange experiment of deprivation

[00:07:46] [SPEAKER_03]: and democracy.

[00:07:48] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm kind of color me surprised to find out that like you're a survivor fan and wanted

[00:07:53] [SPEAKER_03]: to be on the show.

[00:07:54] [SPEAKER_03]: So talk to me about your history with watching the show and what made you decide to say this

[00:07:58] [SPEAKER_03]: is something I want to do.

[00:07:59] [SPEAKER_05]: So I watched the first season when it aired.

[00:08:03] [SPEAKER_05]: I was in high school and I loved it.

[00:08:07] [SPEAKER_05]: My family wasn't watching and I was watching it alone.

[00:08:10] [SPEAKER_05]: And I remember in the final moments before Richard Hatch won and it becoming clear that

[00:08:18] [SPEAKER_05]: he would running around my house, just screaming to people who didn't understand what was going

[00:08:24] [SPEAKER_05]: on.

[00:08:24] [SPEAKER_05]: My parents had no idea why I was losing my mind over this, but I was riveted by it.

[00:08:32] [SPEAKER_05]: I loved it and I kept up with it.

[00:08:35] [SPEAKER_05]: And then I stopped watching as I went into politics and came back to it in the last couple

[00:08:42] [SPEAKER_05]: of years.

[00:08:42] [SPEAKER_05]: But I came back to it while I was hosting a show.

[00:08:47] [SPEAKER_05]: And because I didn't want to be spoiled, I've never talked about Survivor on the show.

[00:08:54] [SPEAKER_05]: And this is happening to be a bunch of times with a bunch of different shows.

[00:08:56] [SPEAKER_05]: I want to let people know that I'm catching up to this thing.

[00:09:00] [SPEAKER_05]: But if I say it, somebody is going to find a way to spoil the show.

[00:09:06] [SPEAKER_05]: So I've literally not talked about it on these podcasts.

[00:09:11] [SPEAKER_05]: And by the way, I didn't even Google Survivor because I was afraid of spoilers as I made

[00:09:19] [SPEAKER_05]: my way through the last two dozen seasons.

[00:09:23] [SPEAKER_05]: And so I came into this, it was really very organic.

[00:09:28] [SPEAKER_05]: I was watching Survivor with a few friends.

[00:09:31] [SPEAKER_05]: We were catching up together.

[00:09:34] [SPEAKER_05]: And the more I watched, I would open up a notes document on my computer and write little

[00:09:40] [SPEAKER_05]: thoughts down that were like the formation of what a video might be if I answered Jeff's

[00:09:46] [SPEAKER_05]: plea in the commercial.

[00:09:50] [SPEAKER_05]: And the more I started writing down a story of why I wanted to be on Survivor, the more

[00:09:57] [SPEAKER_05]: I believed it and the more I was excited about the possibility.

[00:10:03] [SPEAKER_03]: Well, let's have you refer maybe back to the notes doc that you were compiling.

[00:10:07] [SPEAKER_03]: Give me one Survivor winner and one non-winner who you identify with the most.

[00:10:13] [SPEAKER_05]: Survivor non-winner, I feel like Penner is one that I related to.

[00:10:22] [SPEAKER_05]: Not for good and for ill, right?

[00:10:23] [SPEAKER_05]: Because what I appreciated about how he played and what I saw that reminded me of how I might

[00:10:33] [SPEAKER_05]: play are both the ways in which he was very smart and strategic, but also the ways in

[00:10:37] [SPEAKER_05]: which he might come on a little too strong.

[00:10:40] [SPEAKER_05]: And I thought in that there was something that I had a kinship with.

[00:10:48] [SPEAKER_05]: I really love the way Sophie played in her season that she won.

[00:10:57] [SPEAKER_05]: And I just appreciated her intellect and how she approached the game.

[00:11:02] [SPEAKER_05]: Those are the two that come to mind.

[00:11:04] [SPEAKER_03]: So is your, I would say like identity in a manner of speaking, like your job, obviously,

[00:11:10] [SPEAKER_03]: you do have some name, some renown.

[00:11:13] [SPEAKER_03]: Is this something you plan on being explicit about?

[00:11:17] [SPEAKER_03]: Do you think this is something that people could find threatening given it's a game where

[00:11:21] [SPEAKER_03]: anyone can find anything threatening?

[00:11:23] [SPEAKER_05]: Yeah, well, that's a good question.

[00:11:25] [SPEAKER_05]: And I really, even now as I sit here, I'd like to tell you that I have some grand answer

[00:11:32] [SPEAKER_05]: to it.

[00:11:33] [SPEAKER_05]: I do plan to feel it out.

[00:11:36] [SPEAKER_05]: But I also, we see this all the time.

[00:11:41] [SPEAKER_05]: Someone's like, oh, I'm 19, but I'm going to say I'm 22.

[00:11:46] [SPEAKER_05]: I'm a lawyer, but I'm going to say I'm a law student.

[00:11:49] [SPEAKER_05]: And maybe that helps them.

[00:11:51] [SPEAKER_05]: I don't know.

[00:11:52] [SPEAKER_05]: I'm inclined to think that any way in which I feel like I need to deceive people is a

[00:11:59] [SPEAKER_05]: bit self-aggrandizing.

[00:12:00] [SPEAKER_05]: I'm just going to be honest.

[00:12:01] [SPEAKER_05]: Like I host a comedy podcast.

[00:12:05] [SPEAKER_05]: I've had success in podcasting.

[00:12:07] [SPEAKER_05]: If someone's like, oh, wow.

[00:12:09] [SPEAKER_05]: Like, I don't know.

[00:12:12] [SPEAKER_05]: Like if someone here maybe knows the show, like I can say, oh, that's great.

[00:12:16] [SPEAKER_05]: That's exciting.

[00:12:17] [SPEAKER_05]: I'm a podcast host.

[00:12:18] [SPEAKER_05]: Most embarrassing job in the world.

[00:12:20] [SPEAKER_05]: You know, I look, I don't, I don't, I just, I don't want to build it up.

[00:12:22] [SPEAKER_05]: I don't want to, I don't want to play it down.

[00:12:24] [SPEAKER_05]: I just kind of want to hit the middle with it.

[00:12:27] [SPEAKER_05]: Does that make sense?

[00:12:28] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.

[00:12:28] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, yeah.

[00:12:29] [SPEAKER_03]: Give me your biggest superpower and your biggest piece of kryptonite coming into this

[00:12:33] [SPEAKER_03]: game.

[00:12:34] [SPEAKER_03]: Because I would imagine on paper being in a job that's all about communication and

[00:12:38] [SPEAKER_03]: reading votes, I'd imagine that was a superpower.

[00:12:41] [SPEAKER_03]: But is that the number one for you?

[00:12:43] [SPEAKER_05]: That's interesting.

[00:12:46] [SPEAKER_05]: I think that as, you know, as often the case, I think like my strength is my weakness.

[00:12:55] [SPEAKER_05]: I think at my best, I have an intensity that can be persuasive and charismatic and can

[00:13:05] [SPEAKER_05]: bring people along.

[00:13:07] [SPEAKER_05]: And at the same time, it can also, I think, turn people off and push people away.

[00:13:14] [SPEAKER_05]: And so I have this, you know, I don't want to hide, you know, I don't want to not be

[00:13:23] [SPEAKER_05]: myself in the hopes that I, instead of playing to win, try to play not to lose and then never

[00:13:30] [SPEAKER_05]: show who I am in the event that I do go home before I win.

[00:13:38] [SPEAKER_05]: So I'm thinking about how to make sure that when I am being myself, that it's the version

[00:13:47] [SPEAKER_05]: of myself that is persuasive and enticing and not off-putting and annoying.

[00:13:53] [SPEAKER_05]: Does that make sense?

[00:13:54] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, definitely.

[00:13:55] [SPEAKER_03]: What has your preparation been like?

[00:13:57] [SPEAKER_03]: Because say you have had a busy schedule, would be putting it mildly.

[00:14:01] [SPEAKER_03]: How have you been trying to get ready for this million dollar adventure of a lifetime

[00:14:04] [SPEAKER_03]: on top of all the other stuff you have?

[00:14:05] [SPEAKER_05]: I have been, I am sure that you are talking to people that are here with me, steps away,

[00:14:18] [SPEAKER_05]: that have been training for this impressively for months, if not years on end.

[00:14:26] [SPEAKER_05]: And I would like to say that that's me.

[00:14:29] [SPEAKER_05]: It is not.

[00:14:30] [SPEAKER_05]: I have been doing some puzzles.

[00:14:33] [SPEAKER_05]: I have been practicing a lot of different kinds of puzzles, not necessarily survivor-specific

[00:14:39] [SPEAKER_05]: puzzles, but just the different kinds of geometric and slide puzzles that you might see in this

[00:14:43] [SPEAKER_05]: kind of game and jigsaw puzzles.

[00:14:45] [SPEAKER_05]: I've been practicing and in the most efficient way possible, I've taken a lot of hot exercise

[00:14:53] [SPEAKER_05]: classes.

[00:14:54] [SPEAKER_05]: I've been trying to get in shape in a very hot.

[00:15:01] [SPEAKER_05]: That was one of my ways of preparing.

[00:15:06] [SPEAKER_05]: And other than that, I really, I've been thinking a lot.

[00:15:13] [SPEAKER_05]: Basically, I thought about preparation.

[00:15:17] [SPEAKER_05]: One is, is how to play against the game.

[00:15:25] [SPEAKER_05]: And the third is how to play against myself.

[00:15:28] [SPEAKER_05]: And what I mean by that is, yes, it's important to have some kind of strategic thinking about

[00:15:35] [SPEAKER_05]: how you're going to approach this game.

[00:15:36] [SPEAKER_05]: And it's important to think about how you'll deal with idols and advantages and what it

[00:15:44] [SPEAKER_05]: means when those come your way.

[00:15:45] [SPEAKER_05]: But in the end, I do think more often than not, this game is won or lost by how people

[00:15:56] [SPEAKER_05]: play against themselves, how they manage their frustrations, their annoyances, their insecurities,

[00:16:05] [SPEAKER_05]: their paranoias, their hopes, their expectations.

[00:16:07] [SPEAKER_05]: When they're hungry, when they're tired, when they haven't spoken to a person they can truly

[00:16:13] [SPEAKER_05]: trust in weeks and how to make sure when you're in that state, you aren't losing touch with

[00:16:21] [SPEAKER_05]: your feelings about the game or the other players, I think is the biggest challenge.

[00:16:26] [SPEAKER_05]: And I don't know that I've, I don't know how you can prepare for that other than to think

[00:16:32] [SPEAKER_05]: a lot about simple core approaches to keep in mind, touchstones to keep in mind when

[00:16:41] [SPEAKER_05]: the going gets tough.

[00:16:43] [SPEAKER_03]: You talk about playing against the other players and the people that are steps away.

[00:16:47] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm sure you're making some vibes with people.

[00:16:49] [SPEAKER_03]: You haven't been able to talk with each other, but who are you feeling out?

[00:16:53] [SPEAKER_03]: Who do you love it and who do you leave it?

[00:16:55] [SPEAKER_03]: Who are some people that you're saying like on the beach first day?

[00:16:59] [SPEAKER_03]: Perfect.

[00:16:59] [SPEAKER_03]: Best case scenario, ride or die.

[00:17:03] [SPEAKER_05]: Again, I'm sure there are.

[00:17:05] [SPEAKER_05]: I am getting scoped out and evaluated left and right.

[00:17:10] [SPEAKER_05]: Fine.

[00:17:11] [SPEAKER_05]: I'm sure that's a valuable thing to do.

[00:17:13] [SPEAKER_05]: I'm kind of stepping back and looking around and I'm just thinking, who are the...

[00:17:19] [SPEAKER_05]: Where am I gazing my vase?

[00:17:24] [SPEAKER_05]: That's one thing.

[00:17:26] [SPEAKER_05]: There's somebody who brought a book of math puzzles and I'm feeling very good about that

[00:17:32] [SPEAKER_05]: person.

[00:17:32] [SPEAKER_05]: I'm also envious of their math puzzles.

[00:17:37] [SPEAKER_05]: And it's funny, no one can speak.

[00:17:40] [SPEAKER_05]: And so everyone's trying to convey warmth and openness.

[00:17:45] [SPEAKER_05]: And what that ends up meaning is just everybody's kind of stoic and then their faces kind of

[00:17:52] [SPEAKER_05]: catch each other and they shoot each other these charismatic, eye-watering grins.

[00:17:59] [SPEAKER_05]: The same ones that got them cast at each other over and over again.

[00:18:04] [SPEAKER_05]: And I...

[00:18:06] [SPEAKER_05]: There's a...

[00:18:07] [SPEAKER_05]: Yeah.

[00:18:08] [SPEAKER_05]: I don't know.

[00:18:09] [SPEAKER_03]: Well, what about on the other side?

[00:18:11] [SPEAKER_03]: Is there anybody that you're not picking up some good vibes from?

[00:18:14] [SPEAKER_03]: To your point, is it just everyone's stonewalling?

[00:18:16] [SPEAKER_03]: So it's tough to discern.

[00:18:18] [SPEAKER_05]: You know, there's a couple guys who have a kind of quiet confidence that I find threatening.

[00:18:29] [SPEAKER_05]: You know, they're like...

[00:18:30] [SPEAKER_05]: There's a lot of concern in this.

[00:18:33] [SPEAKER_05]: Everyone is very aware of how they're being perceived and how...

[00:18:37] [SPEAKER_05]: And you feel that impacting just their little movements through the world.

[00:18:42] [SPEAKER_05]: You know when you're at a restaurant and you're with a friend and you realize that on either

[00:18:47] [SPEAKER_05]: side of you, there's somebody dining alone and you know that they're kind of listening

[00:18:54] [SPEAKER_05]: because you know that they can't help it.

[00:18:55] [SPEAKER_05]: You know?

[00:18:56] [SPEAKER_05]: Everyone here is dining alone.

[00:18:59] [SPEAKER_05]: Everyone here is doing that.

[00:19:00] [SPEAKER_05]: And you just see it kind of like...

[00:19:02] [SPEAKER_05]: You just see the kind of attention wash back and forth across this group of people.

[00:19:08] [SPEAKER_05]: And I am resistant.

[00:19:14] [SPEAKER_05]: I feel it.

[00:19:16] [SPEAKER_05]: Like the urge to be like, oh, they're my person.

[00:19:17] [SPEAKER_05]: They're not my person.

[00:19:18] [SPEAKER_05]: Maybe true.

[00:19:19] [SPEAKER_05]: Maybe true.

[00:19:21] [SPEAKER_05]: But maybe not.

[00:19:23] [SPEAKER_05]: So I'm fighting this maybe to my detriment.

[00:19:25] [SPEAKER_05]: I don't know.

[00:19:26] [SPEAKER_03]: Well, I know that you kind of removed yourself a bit from the online fandom to not spoil

[00:19:30] [SPEAKER_03]: yourself, but I'm intrigued.

[00:19:32] [SPEAKER_03]: What is your most controversial survivor opinion?

[00:19:35] [SPEAKER_03]: Your hottest take about a season or a player?

[00:19:38] [SPEAKER_05]: Here's my honest answer to that right now.

[00:19:42] [SPEAKER_05]: And again, famous last words.

[00:19:43] [SPEAKER_05]: Man, putting us on talking about this before the game.

[00:19:48] [SPEAKER_05]: It's just...

[00:19:51] [SPEAKER_05]: It's now it's a piano hanging over our heads once the game starts.

[00:19:55] [SPEAKER_05]: Fine.

[00:19:55] [SPEAKER_05]: Fine.

[00:19:57] [SPEAKER_05]: I'll tell you what has been my frustration, which is...

[00:20:02] [SPEAKER_05]: And you see it even in this season.

[00:20:05] [SPEAKER_05]: Maybe to its extreme, this idea of you have to make big moves.

[00:20:10] [SPEAKER_05]: You have to build your resume and up to and including when people say, oh, I may put myself

[00:20:16] [SPEAKER_05]: in fire to prove that I deserve it.

[00:20:21] [SPEAKER_05]: And I've never heard of somebody like...

[00:20:26] [SPEAKER_05]: In a war, nobody fights an extra battle to prove they're good at war.

[00:20:33] [SPEAKER_05]: And I find this idea of big moves for their own sake, a kind of performance of strategy,

[00:20:40] [SPEAKER_05]: but not strategy.

[00:20:43] [SPEAKER_05]: It's the theater of strategy to put on a show for the jury to show that you understand how

[00:20:50] [SPEAKER_05]: to be strategic or how to play the game.

[00:20:54] [SPEAKER_05]: And I don't have an answer to it, but for whatever reason, it really kind of bugs me.

[00:20:59] [SPEAKER_05]: It feels like...

[00:21:02] [SPEAKER_05]: Yeah, it feels performative.

[00:21:06] [SPEAKER_05]: I don't know how to get around that because if that is ultimately what people value, then

[00:21:11] [SPEAKER_05]: it is what is valuable.

[00:21:13] [SPEAKER_05]: That's the nature of this game.

[00:21:14] [SPEAKER_05]: But the group of people playing decides what has value.

[00:21:17] [SPEAKER_05]: But that to me, I find a little bit strange.

[00:21:22] [SPEAKER_03]: Right.

[00:21:22] [SPEAKER_03]: It's tough to kind of rebuild the building while you're inside it.

[00:21:24] [SPEAKER_03]: Last thing I want to ask is if you could bring out a celebrity or a fictional character as

[00:21:33] [SPEAKER_03]: a loved one for a loved one's visit, who are you picking and why?

[00:21:37] [SPEAKER_03]: What a question.

[00:21:41] [SPEAKER_05]: You know what would be fun to have out here?

[00:21:43] [SPEAKER_05]: I'll tell you.

[00:21:44] [SPEAKER_05]: Chelsea Handler.

[00:21:47] [SPEAKER_05]: That would be funny.

[00:21:48] [SPEAKER_05]: I think people would really like that.

[00:21:50] [SPEAKER_05]: I'd like that.

[00:21:51] [SPEAKER_05]: What a funny person to show up.

[00:21:52] [SPEAKER_03]: And listen, everyone likes to get roasted, at least a little bit light char.

[00:21:57] [SPEAKER_03]: And then she's somebody that could certainly light you up.

[00:21:59] [SPEAKER_03]: She'd be her own fire making challenge for sure.

[00:22:01] [SPEAKER_05]: For sure.

[00:22:02] [SPEAKER_03]: Oh, my goodness.

[00:22:03] [SPEAKER_03]: Well, this was such a fantastic time.

[00:22:05] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, I'm one of the people and I'm sure I'll be speaking on behalf of many who eventually

[00:22:09] [SPEAKER_03]: will find out that you're on this.

[00:22:10] [SPEAKER_03]: That was shocked to your point that you were on this in the first place.

[00:22:14] [SPEAKER_03]: But this was such a delight to get to talk to you.

[00:22:16] [SPEAKER_03]: And I think to discover a new part of yourself and we're going to discover so much more over

[00:22:21] [SPEAKER_03]: the next 26 days.

[00:22:22] [SPEAKER_03]: I hope so.

[00:22:23] [SPEAKER_03]: I hope so.

[00:22:23] [SPEAKER_05]: Nice to talk to you.

[00:22:25] [SPEAKER_03]: Nice to meet you.

[00:22:25] [SPEAKER_03]: Nice to meet you as well.

[00:22:27] [SPEAKER_03]: Well, all the best, all the you know, I hope you are doing well in the lead up to the big

[00:22:32] [SPEAKER_03]: day.

[00:22:32] [SPEAKER_03]: And I'm looking forward to seeing what happens out there on the beach.

[00:22:34] [SPEAKER_03]: I'll see you on the other side.

[00:22:36] [SPEAKER_03]: Great.

[00:22:36] [SPEAKER_03]: Thanks.

[00:22:37] [SPEAKER_03]: Thanks, Mike.

[00:22:37] [SPEAKER_03]: All right.

[00:22:37] [SPEAKER_03]: Have a good one.

[00:23:39] [SPEAKER_03]: All right.

[00:23:40] [SPEAKER_03]: There you go, Mike.

[00:23:41] [SPEAKER_03]: John, love it.

[00:23:42] [SPEAKER_03]: Still wild to me.

[00:23:43] [SPEAKER_03]: Absolutely still wild.

[00:23:45] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, just to talk through my experience, because as I mentioned during the interview,

[00:23:49] [SPEAKER_03]: I got given a list of the cast ahead of time just to prep for the interviews.

[00:23:52] [SPEAKER_03]: And so like my running train of thought was, oh, Andy, good for him.

[00:23:58] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm glad he made it on.

[00:23:59] [SPEAKER_03]: What the hell?

[00:24:00] [SPEAKER_03]: Asia, Asia, you know, cardiac arrest, EKG meter spiking, maybe my way down the list.

[00:24:06] [SPEAKER_03]: It can't be that John Lovett, right?

[00:24:09] [SPEAKER_03]: Like it's just got to be a guy with the same name.

[00:24:11] [SPEAKER_03]: Maybe it's John Lovett instead.

[00:24:13] [SPEAKER_03]: And they left off the Z.

[00:24:14] [SPEAKER_04]: Well, John Lovett would be wild, famously a incredible liar.

[00:24:19] [SPEAKER_03]: That's very true.

[00:24:20] [SPEAKER_03]: And he might be taking over for the survivor devil,

[00:24:24] [SPEAKER_03]: considering that was a role he infamously played on SNL.

[00:24:27] [SPEAKER_03]: But no, I mean, as we talk about this is one of the biggest blind sides,

[00:24:32] [SPEAKER_03]: I think, of anyone who follows John Lovett and understandably so,

[00:24:35] [SPEAKER_03]: considering that, as he told me, he has pretty much kept his survivor

[00:24:38] [SPEAKER_03]: fandom away from everybody because he knows the second that he goes public with it,

[00:24:42] [SPEAKER_03]: people will be storming his DMs with like, oh, did you watch Eric give up the necklace?

[00:24:46] [SPEAKER_03]: Oh, did you watch Parvati play the two idols?

[00:24:48] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah.

[00:24:49] [SPEAKER_04]: Either people that are excited, so I were fans or people who maybe

[00:24:52] [SPEAKER_04]: disagree with his politics and want to potentially spoil the season.

[00:24:58] [SPEAKER_03]: What an old school.

[00:25:00] [SPEAKER_04]: Here's the winner list.

[00:25:03] [SPEAKER_03]: That's a truly a way to own the libs is just send them survivors.

[00:25:07] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, yeah.

[00:25:08] [SPEAKER_04]: Here's Project 2025.

[00:25:10] [SPEAKER_04]: And here's the winner of season 25.

[00:25:12] [SPEAKER_03]: So John Lovett, I've talked about this before, Rob.

[00:25:15] [SPEAKER_03]: I really do feel like not since Ron Clark, have we had such a famous face in the form of John Lovett.

[00:25:22] [SPEAKER_03]: Now, that being said, not to spoil my interviews too much.

[00:25:26] [SPEAKER_03]: I did not have anyone outright identify him by name.

[00:25:30] [SPEAKER_03]: So I don't know if it's going to happen, but it seems like John is saying no matter what,

[00:25:34] [SPEAKER_03]: he's going to be fairly forthcoming with it.

[00:25:36] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, I did.

[00:25:37] [SPEAKER_04]: What do you say that by that?

[00:25:39] [SPEAKER_04]: So what?

[00:25:40] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm a podcaster and the dumbest job ever.

[00:25:42] [SPEAKER_04]: It was that what he said?

[00:25:43] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, he only so many times.

[00:25:45] [SPEAKER_04]: You don't have to go like you don't have to hit the drum that hard.

[00:25:47] [SPEAKER_03]: Like, OK, exactly.

[00:25:49] [SPEAKER_03]: Please don't neg the profession too much.

[00:25:52] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, you know.

[00:25:53] [SPEAKER_04]: And so like maybe, you know that there is like I mean, what is the danger here that they're

[00:26:00] [SPEAKER_04]: going to say, like maybe in some sort of like final vote that he could get like, well, does

[00:26:04] [SPEAKER_04]: he really need the money?

[00:26:07] [SPEAKER_04]: Like if anything, that could help him maybe get to the end.

[00:26:10] [SPEAKER_04]: We saw with Mike White, you know, another accomplished person that there wasn't necessarily

[00:26:16] [SPEAKER_04]: like people going like big game hunting of like, oh, that I am going after this person

[00:26:22] [SPEAKER_04]: for a particular reason.

[00:26:24] [SPEAKER_04]: And so maybe people even want to associate with him on the show.

[00:26:28] [SPEAKER_04]: So, yeah, I don't think that there's any big reason to lie about that.

[00:26:33] [SPEAKER_04]: You know, like I know that people talk about this is like something that's come up on Big

[00:26:38] [SPEAKER_04]: Brother of like, oh, that person's an actor.

[00:26:41] [SPEAKER_04]: So they must know how to lie.

[00:26:44] [SPEAKER_04]: Well, guess what?

[00:26:45] [SPEAKER_04]: Podcaster is the opposite of actor because you have to tell the truth all day.

[00:26:50] [SPEAKER_03]: We're talking about what's going on.

[00:26:53] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, we're basically the next thing.

[00:26:54] [SPEAKER_03]: Best thing to coconut vendors.

[00:26:56] [SPEAKER_03]: We seek truth.

[00:26:57] [SPEAKER_03]: The truth shall prevail.

[00:26:59] [SPEAKER_03]: So just to go back on that for a couple of things.

[00:27:01] [SPEAKER_03]: First off, to clarify, he did say that podcasting is the quote most embarrassing, the most embarrassing.

[00:27:06] [SPEAKER_04]: It's even worse.

[00:27:07] [SPEAKER_03]: I was going to say, I think that's a lot worse.

[00:27:09] [SPEAKER_04]: Worse.

[00:27:10] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah.

[00:27:10] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.

[00:27:10] [SPEAKER_03]: Like you're feeling a secret shame every time you get behind the microphone.

[00:27:13] [SPEAKER_03]: But I feel a couple of ways about this.

[00:27:15] [SPEAKER_03]: First off, I do agree with you that you look at someone like Mike White.

[00:27:20] [SPEAKER_03]: You look at someone like Ron Clark.

[00:27:22] [SPEAKER_03]: It wasn't like a definite nonstarter of, well, these guys have repute to their names.

[00:27:27] [SPEAKER_03]: They don't need the money.

[00:27:28] [SPEAKER_03]: We're going to have to vote them off immediately.

[00:27:31] [SPEAKER_03]: I should note, though, Mike White doesn't go to tribal council until a week into the game.

[00:27:36] [SPEAKER_03]: Ron Clark doesn't go to tribal council until the merge.

[00:27:40] [SPEAKER_03]: Is there a chance that especially in a six person tribe situation, you know, Rudy said

[00:27:45] [SPEAKER_03]: it infamously on your all stars commentary.

[00:27:47] [SPEAKER_03]: If you can find any reason to get rid of someone early on, you can find it.

[00:27:51] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah.

[00:27:51] [SPEAKER_04]: But if John doesn't do well, it's not going to be well.

[00:27:53] [SPEAKER_04]: He was a podcaster.

[00:27:55] [SPEAKER_04]: Debbie, he has a podcast network.

[00:27:56] [SPEAKER_03]: I hope they don't edit it like that.

[00:27:58] [SPEAKER_04]: I don't I don't think so.

[00:27:59] [SPEAKER_04]: I think that it could be that, you know, OK, he's not contributing in the challenges as

[00:28:04] [SPEAKER_04]: much as this other person or, you know, like I do not think that that is going to be the

[00:28:09] [SPEAKER_04]: reason why he has a potential problem early on in the game.

[00:28:14] [SPEAKER_04]: What I thought was very interesting about this was, you know, on the podcast, you know,

[00:28:20] [SPEAKER_04]: John is often like the and I mean this endearingly, like the least serious person on the panel.

[00:28:29] [SPEAKER_04]: I found him in his conversation with you to be quite serious.

[00:28:34] [SPEAKER_04]: And it was a departure.

[00:28:36] [SPEAKER_04]: I mean, he certainly like had some funny lines, but that he's more of typically like

[00:28:44] [SPEAKER_04]: like a little bit of, you know, bringing some levity and some humor to the podcast.

[00:28:50] [SPEAKER_04]: And I thought he like is taking this assignment like very seriously.

[00:28:54] [SPEAKER_04]: I wasn't like joke, joke, joke, joke, joke.

[00:28:56] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, could it be that he is out of his comfort zone in many ways?

[00:29:00] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, look at the commercial we've seen umpteen times this summer, Rob, about John

[00:29:05] [SPEAKER_03]: Lovett saying they're being like, it's going to be a lot more.

[00:29:09] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm going to be a lot more afraid of being here than you all are out there.

[00:29:12] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, I think that's about being awkward.

[00:29:14] [SPEAKER_04]: It's going to be more awkward for me than it is for you.

[00:29:16] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, exactly.

[00:29:17] [SPEAKER_03]: So like there is going to be that level of self-deprecation there.

[00:29:20] [SPEAKER_03]: I think it certainly will when it comes to banter with Jeff.

[00:29:22] [SPEAKER_03]: I get so many David Wright comparisons to John here.

[00:29:27] [SPEAKER_03]: I think it's I think it's the matter.

[00:29:28] [SPEAKER_03]: I think for me, it's like the sense of humor.

[00:29:30] [SPEAKER_03]: It's the it's the out of his element.

[00:29:32] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, I know a big thing that he talked about in the season preview right in the trailer

[00:29:35] [SPEAKER_03]: that showed in the 46 finale was him being like the only experience I have in nature

[00:29:39] [SPEAKER_03]: was like I did Boy Scouts for a day and then I threw up and went home.

[00:29:43] [SPEAKER_03]: And so I do think we're going to get a lot of that similar types of beats of like

[00:29:48] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm in over my head.

[00:29:49] [SPEAKER_03]: I don't know what I'm doing.

[00:29:50] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, I would respectfully push back on that a little bit.

[00:29:55] [SPEAKER_04]: I don't know if I'm getting David right where David Wright was scared.

[00:29:59] [SPEAKER_04]: And I don't know if John seems scared to me like I'm not I'm not getting where he's like

[00:30:05] [SPEAKER_04]: the you know, I think that he is like pointing out the absurdity of the situation

[00:30:09] [SPEAKER_04]: that like what it what like what is this?

[00:30:12] [SPEAKER_04]: Why am I why am I even here?

[00:30:13] [SPEAKER_04]: What what is happening?

[00:30:15] [SPEAKER_04]: And so I don't know if it's quite David Wright.

[00:30:18] [SPEAKER_04]: Like maybe David Wright the second time a little bit more.

[00:30:22] [SPEAKER_04]: But early David Wright, that's not what I'm seeing from here.

[00:30:26] [SPEAKER_04]: I loved his comparison to Penner being somebody who can sort of like state an uncomfortable truth

[00:30:35] [SPEAKER_04]: and like not be sort of sheepish about doing that.

[00:30:39] [SPEAKER_04]: And I think that that is something that has endeared Penner to the fans,

[00:30:43] [SPEAKER_04]: whereas could be a little off putting for people who don't quite get his sensibility.

[00:30:49] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I mean, that's what John has pointed out with both his strength and his weakness as well.

[00:30:52] [SPEAKER_03]: Right. His superpower and his kryptonite was the fact that he is intense, you know,

[00:30:56] [SPEAKER_03]: and it's interesting because, again, to your point, I wouldn't say his energy is like iconic,

[00:31:00] [SPEAKER_03]: but he was someone that on his podcast would usually come in to maybe lighten the mood

[00:31:05] [SPEAKER_03]: if there is a need for one.

[00:31:07] [SPEAKER_03]: But it does sound like maybe as a person, you know, interpersonally interacting with people,

[00:31:12] [SPEAKER_03]: maybe he does come on a bit strong.

[00:31:15] [SPEAKER_03]: It's good for him to notice that.

[00:31:17] [SPEAKER_03]: But I do find it interesting as well that, you know,

[00:31:20] [SPEAKER_03]: I think from a very understandably political perspective,

[00:31:23] [SPEAKER_03]: he was walking a very nice tiptoe with some of the questions like,

[00:31:26] [SPEAKER_03]: you know, when I ask him, who are you vibing with?

[00:31:28] [SPEAKER_03]: Who is who are you not?

[00:31:29] [SPEAKER_03]: He's like, well, you know, for all I know, these could become my best friends.

[00:31:32] [SPEAKER_03]: So I don't really want to pass judgment.

[00:31:34] [SPEAKER_03]: However, these couple of guys that are all dude bro macho stuff,

[00:31:37] [SPEAKER_03]: I want nothing to do with them.

[00:31:39] [SPEAKER_03]: And so I think that's a little bit of a taste of what we're going to get with him.

[00:31:42] [SPEAKER_03]: From an entertainment perspective.

[00:31:44] [SPEAKER_03]: But to your point, and as you talked about with Penner,

[00:31:46] [SPEAKER_03]: that could be something that works against him

[00:31:48] [SPEAKER_03]: if the tribe dynamics don't work out in his favor.

[00:31:51] [SPEAKER_04]: He talked about how a very important year election year,

[00:31:54] [SPEAKER_04]: taking some time away and then thought that this was going to potentially

[00:31:59] [SPEAKER_04]: recharge the battery when he gets back.

[00:32:02] [SPEAKER_04]: He's going to hit the ground running and that he definitely did.

[00:32:06] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.

[00:32:06] [SPEAKER_03]: So, you know, the way that things time out,

[00:32:08] [SPEAKER_03]: if we add 26 days to about when they started,

[00:32:11] [SPEAKER_03]: it would be early June and even out of a cannon.

[00:32:15] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.

[00:32:16] [SPEAKER_03]: You know, this poor, emaciated, tanned,

[00:32:18] [SPEAKER_03]: hide man was probably sent on to his own campaign trail.

[00:32:22] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, I think he was.

[00:32:23] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, he was doing appearances on like Colbert over the summer as well.

[00:32:26] [SPEAKER_03]: So yeah, he truly had an active summer.

[00:32:30] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, this really was his vacation, his quite literal beach vacation.

[00:32:34] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah.

[00:32:34] [SPEAKER_04]: OK, as far as how John is going to do it.

[00:32:37] [SPEAKER_04]: I mean, it's so there's so much variance that could be an early boot.

[00:32:42] [SPEAKER_04]: Doesn't find his footing here in the tribe just to place him so far.

[00:32:47] [SPEAKER_04]: I mean, I kind of feel like that Andy seems like a guy

[00:32:51] [SPEAKER_04]: that John could get along with very easily.

[00:32:54] [SPEAKER_04]: I don't know who the third man is in this tribe.

[00:32:57] [SPEAKER_04]: So we'll talk about that tomorrow.

[00:32:59] [SPEAKER_03]: We'll talk about him tomorrow.

[00:33:00] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, I will spoil it and say that that guy has been having some eyes for John

[00:33:05] [SPEAKER_03]: and not in the best way.

[00:33:07] [SPEAKER_03]: And it does feel like what I'm prognosticating for John,

[00:33:11] [SPEAKER_03]: and maybe it's because he pulled a Kenzie and dropped the gays

[00:33:14] [SPEAKER_03]: and the days reference is that I could see him try to immediately

[00:33:18] [SPEAKER_03]: get something together with the women and potentially turn the tribe against this guy.

[00:33:24] [SPEAKER_03]: This guy, Sam, that we're going to talk about tomorrow,

[00:33:26] [SPEAKER_03]: and that might succeed to varying degrees.

[00:33:29] [SPEAKER_03]: You know, if they lose early and Sam might be

[00:33:32] [SPEAKER_03]: the physically strongest person on that tribe,

[00:33:34] [SPEAKER_03]: are they going to necessarily go along with that plan and make a big move early on?

[00:33:39] [SPEAKER_03]: Or could John get caught a little flat footed of trying to scheme too early, too often?

[00:33:44] [SPEAKER_03]: So I think if John's tribe gets off to like a very good streak

[00:33:48] [SPEAKER_03]: or he nestles himself in well with a really good group of people,

[00:33:51] [SPEAKER_03]: like I see him and Anika getting along really well.

[00:33:54] [SPEAKER_03]: I think that he could be in a good spot,

[00:33:56] [SPEAKER_03]: but I think there's also a potential of him being one of the first targets on this tribe.

[00:34:00] [SPEAKER_04]: You know, there are many folks that have gotten mad at John

[00:34:05] [SPEAKER_04]: and his friends for trying to get a guy out early, but he's very effective.

[00:34:11] [SPEAKER_04]: Has it as a good track record?

[00:34:13] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, so far he's one for one.

[00:34:15] [SPEAKER_03]: Let's see if that record sticks.

[00:34:17] [SPEAKER_04]: All right.

[00:34:18] [SPEAKER_04]: Anything else to say about John?

[00:34:20] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm very excited that he's here in the cast.

[00:34:22] [SPEAKER_04]: Can't wait to watch him play.

[00:34:24] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, you want to hear some highlights from his bio as well.

[00:34:27] [SPEAKER_03]: Suffice it to say, understandably, John Lovett, a very fun bio writer here.

[00:34:32] [SPEAKER_03]: So I mean, you always like to bring up the athleticism of these types of characters.

[00:34:36] [SPEAKER_03]: When asked about three of his favorite hobbies, John does say in all caps,

[00:34:39] [SPEAKER_03]: I love video games, but he does say my awkwardness slash personality suggests unfit oath.

[00:34:45] [SPEAKER_03]: But I worked out a lot and like to do it.

[00:34:48] [SPEAKER_03]: And then when asked, how would your friends describe you?

[00:34:51] [SPEAKER_03]: He says, well, I think they'd start by making fun of me.

[00:34:54] [SPEAKER_03]: They'd say that I miss or ignore social cues, that I can be demanding and rude,

[00:34:59] [SPEAKER_03]: that I can be self-involved to the point of parody and may forget to ask how their day is

[00:35:03] [SPEAKER_03]: after I describe mine.

[00:35:04] [SPEAKER_03]: But then once they finish roasting me, they'd get to the part where I drop anything for them,

[00:35:09] [SPEAKER_03]: that I'm loyal and relentless and extremely smart,

[00:35:11] [SPEAKER_03]: that I'm funny but not as funny as I think I am,

[00:35:14] [SPEAKER_03]: that I have drive and charisma and enthusiasm that is special and compelling

[00:35:18] [SPEAKER_03]: and the key to my success and what makes me a good friend.

[00:35:21] [SPEAKER_03]: It's fun to imagine what your friends would say.

[00:35:23] [SPEAKER_03]: Is this therapy?

[00:35:26] [SPEAKER_04]: I liked his answer to your hot take question about the strategy,

[00:35:31] [SPEAKER_04]: the theater of strategy of like, I am doing this thing because that

[00:35:35] [SPEAKER_04]: this is what the strategic thing is.

[00:35:38] [SPEAKER_04]: But is it?

[00:35:39] [SPEAKER_04]: But is it?

[00:35:39] [SPEAKER_04]: I like that the players are really starting to like talk about these things.

[00:35:44] [SPEAKER_04]: And so I don't know where it ultimately goes, but I loved his answer to that question.

[00:35:49] [SPEAKER_03]: Well, I think it is actually going from a political perspective.

[00:35:51] [SPEAKER_03]: It is kind of like building that silent majority, right?

[00:35:54] [SPEAKER_03]: As I talked about in the on the interview itself,

[00:35:57] [SPEAKER_03]: it is tough to kind of rebuild the house while you're standing inside it.

[00:36:00] [SPEAKER_03]: That like on paper, yes, it would be nice to talk to the group about

[00:36:03] [SPEAKER_04]: working on rebuilding the house.

[00:36:05] [SPEAKER_03]: Yes, exactly.

[00:36:05] [SPEAKER_03]: Of like, hey, the meta this season is we don't necessarily care about the resume

[00:36:10] [SPEAKER_03]: as much as maybe last season did.

[00:36:12] [SPEAKER_03]: And if you can get enough people on board to go along with that,

[00:36:16] [SPEAKER_03]: then yeah, you'll be able to institute that.

[00:36:18] [SPEAKER_03]: But he does bring up also a good point of like as much as I feel this,

[00:36:22] [SPEAKER_03]: if I'm in with a cast that's primary policy, you know, your first 100 days or first 26 days,

[00:36:28] [SPEAKER_03]: your primary executive order is like, no, we're still going to honor big moves.

[00:36:31] [SPEAKER_03]: Then just kind of have to go along with it.

[00:36:34] [SPEAKER_03]: I will finish by adding one little tidbit here from one Jeff Probst,

[00:36:37] [SPEAKER_03]: because I got the chance to talk with him.

[00:36:39] [SPEAKER_03]: I think that interview should be out soon.

[00:36:41] [SPEAKER_03]: And I did ask him, like, where did this come from?

[00:36:44] [SPEAKER_03]: And John Lovett did apply.

[00:36:46] [SPEAKER_03]: And Jeff said when he saw that he applied, he was thrilled.

[00:36:49] [SPEAKER_03]: And he called him, quote, one of the all time great storytellers

[00:36:53] [SPEAKER_03]: that will ever appear on Survivor, whether he lasts one day or all 26.

[00:36:58] [SPEAKER_04]: OK, all right.

[00:37:00] [SPEAKER_04]: Interesting.

[00:37:00] [SPEAKER_04]: All right, Mike, we have another person to talk about.

[00:37:03] [SPEAKER_04]: We have Rachel coming up and we will discuss her and her interview.

[00:37:10] [SPEAKER_04]: When we come back right after this.

[00:37:12] [SPEAKER_04]: OK, Mike, Rachel Lamont, not the first time you and she got the chance to talk.

[00:37:18] [SPEAKER_03]: Yes.

[00:37:18] [SPEAKER_03]: So Rachel is 34 years old.

[00:37:20] [SPEAKER_03]: She is from Southfield, Michigan, and she is a UI designer.

[00:37:25] [SPEAKER_03]: But you and I, Rachel, talked for the second time during this season,

[00:37:31] [SPEAKER_03]: because as is revealed almost immediately in this interview,

[00:37:35] [SPEAKER_03]: Rachel was the female alternate for season 46.

[00:37:38] [SPEAKER_03]: And I got the chance to when I visited the set for Survivor 46

[00:37:42] [SPEAKER_03]: and did preseason interviews, I got the chance to talk with her on,

[00:37:45] [SPEAKER_03]: unfortunately, a very down day for Rachel.

[00:37:48] [SPEAKER_04]: So Mike, just a question for you, the journalist.

[00:37:51] [SPEAKER_04]: So you talk to somebody in Survivor 46.

[00:37:55] [SPEAKER_04]: There is the alternate.

[00:37:55] [SPEAKER_04]: They don't make the cut.

[00:37:56] [SPEAKER_04]: They're on the next season.

[00:37:57] [SPEAKER_04]: What do you do with the old interview?

[00:37:59] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, sits in the proverbial Disney vault, Rob, just for my own memories,

[00:38:03] [SPEAKER_03]: but also helps when I happen to interview the person the next season.

[00:38:06] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm like, what if they say their celebrity loved one was?

[00:38:08] [SPEAKER_03]: Let me just like jog my memory about it.

[00:38:10] [SPEAKER_03]: But yeah, I mean, when we are out there,

[00:38:13] [SPEAKER_03]: we get the opportunity to talk with everyone in the cast.

[00:38:17] [SPEAKER_03]: So at this point, it was the 18 players and then the two alternates as well.

[00:38:20] [SPEAKER_03]: As will be talked about during the interview, you know,

[00:38:23] [SPEAKER_03]: by the time I had talked with Rachel and the enigmatic male alternate

[00:38:27] [SPEAKER_03]: from a season 46, it had already been sort of publicized.

[00:38:31] [SPEAKER_03]: If you could ever talk to that guy again.

[00:38:33] [SPEAKER_03]: I know, God, just pie in the sky wishes, Rob.

[00:38:37] [SPEAKER_03]: Next time a shooting star comes along, that's what my mind is going to be on.

[00:38:40] [SPEAKER_03]: But when I ended up talking with them, the cast had officially been confirmed.

[00:38:45] [SPEAKER_03]: They had finished all the individual cast photos.

[00:38:47] [SPEAKER_03]: They did done one big group one that like barring any last minute polls.

[00:38:52] [SPEAKER_03]: This was the group of 18.

[00:38:54] [SPEAKER_03]: And so the two of them were in understandably some very down moods

[00:38:57] [SPEAKER_03]: because they had been hanging around, you know, sort of they knew they were alternates.

[00:39:02] [SPEAKER_03]: But like people were making eyes at them.

[00:39:04] [SPEAKER_03]: You know, they were already maybe thinking about

[00:39:06] [SPEAKER_03]: these people I want to, you know, avoid or join up with on the beach.

[00:39:10] [SPEAKER_03]: And then that reality sets in of like, this is not your time.

[00:39:14] [SPEAKER_03]: And so I'm really grateful that I have the opportunity to talk with Rachel.

[00:39:18] [SPEAKER_03]: And I'm even more grateful I had the opportunity to talk with her next season.

[00:39:22] [SPEAKER_03]: And as she says in my interview for her, it's very much like,

[00:39:26] [SPEAKER_03]: you know, everything happens for a reason.

[00:39:27] [SPEAKER_03]: And 47 truly feels like her time.

[00:39:30] [SPEAKER_04]: OK, let's hear Mike's interview with Rachel.

[00:39:35] [SPEAKER_03]: Hello. Hello.

[00:39:37] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, hi Mike Blue. How are you?

[00:39:39] [SPEAKER_03]: Oh, I am great. How are you doing?

[00:39:42] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm good. I'm happy to be here again.

[00:39:45] [SPEAKER_03]: Yes, again. So I mean, on that note, I think we'll get into what again means.

[00:39:50] [SPEAKER_03]: But we'll start with, you know, the easy stuff.

[00:39:53] [SPEAKER_03]: Why don't you give me your name, your age and your occupation?

[00:39:57] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm Rachel Lamont. I'm 34 years old and I'm a user interface designer.

[00:40:02] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah. So what does that mean?

[00:40:04] [SPEAKER_03]: Because obviously that's such a generic term,

[00:40:06] [SPEAKER_03]: but I feel like so applicable to the fact that

[00:40:08] [SPEAKER_03]: we are interacting with screens each and every day.

[00:40:10] [SPEAKER_03]: I say as you're about to not interact with them for 26 days.

[00:40:14] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I mean, I basically like make apps that you interact with look pretty.

[00:40:20] [SPEAKER_01]: So like I design what they look like and,

[00:40:23] [SPEAKER_01]: you know, the colors and all of that good stuff.

[00:40:27] [SPEAKER_03]: Well, let's talk about what has you donning above color as it were.

[00:40:31] [SPEAKER_03]: Let's talk about what got you on to Survivor.

[00:40:33] [SPEAKER_03]: I guess what's your history with the show

[00:40:35] [SPEAKER_03]: and what was the process to get you out here as a player?

[00:40:39] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, well, my I'd never seen Survivor before.

[00:40:42] [SPEAKER_01]: My husband randomly put it on TV one day when we were like cleaning the house.

[00:40:47] [SPEAKER_01]: And he I remember he said like, oh, Survivor, like my dad, he loves this show.

[00:40:52] [SPEAKER_01]: And I was like, I've heard of that.

[00:40:54] [SPEAKER_01]: And he put it on.

[00:40:54] [SPEAKER_01]: And I just remember like setting the vacuum down

[00:40:57] [SPEAKER_01]: and sitting down on the couch and being like,

[00:40:58] [SPEAKER_01]: how the hell have I never seen this show before?

[00:41:01] [SPEAKER_01]: And I was like so hooked.

[00:41:04] [SPEAKER_01]: And I feel like from the start, it was just this idea of like,

[00:41:10] [SPEAKER_01]: I think I could do this.

[00:41:11] [SPEAKER_01]: Like I that's really what got me hooked on Survivor.

[00:41:14] [SPEAKER_01]: It was like a great show as well.

[00:41:15] [SPEAKER_01]: But I think from the beginning, I was like, I think they're like,

[00:41:18] [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know, some people watch like Jeopardy and they're like,

[00:41:20] [SPEAKER_01]: I can do that or Wheel of Fortune.

[00:41:22] [SPEAKER_01]: You always know those for those people.

[00:41:23] [SPEAKER_01]: And I like for whatever reason, when I watched Survivor,

[00:41:25] [SPEAKER_01]: I was like, I think I could do that.

[00:41:27] [SPEAKER_01]: I want to do that.

[00:41:28] [SPEAKER_01]: And within like a couple months, I had submitted my first audition video.

[00:41:33] [SPEAKER_01]: And yeah, over the years, got a call, then ghosted, you know, blah, blah, blah.

[00:41:37] [SPEAKER_01]: And then in 2020, I got like the first real call

[00:41:41] [SPEAKER_01]: that kind of started to get my foot in the door.

[00:41:46] [SPEAKER_01]: And yeah, COVID happened, like all this stuff, you know?

[00:41:50] [SPEAKER_01]: And then two years ago, like I was pitched and then kind of went silent.

[00:41:59] [SPEAKER_01]: And then last year, I got through everything and ended up being the alternate.

[00:42:04] [SPEAKER_01]: So I came out here on Survivor 46 as the female alternate

[00:42:10] [SPEAKER_01]: and didn't get to play, but now I'm here.

[00:42:13] [SPEAKER_01]: And it's great to be here.

[00:42:15] [SPEAKER_01]: It's been a long time coming.

[00:42:16] [SPEAKER_03]: Absolutely.

[00:42:17] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm so happy I get the chance to talk with you again,

[00:42:19] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, when you and I spoke, it was this very unique experience

[00:42:23] [SPEAKER_03]: where you knew that you were the alternate

[00:42:26] [SPEAKER_03]: and it was the day before the game

[00:42:28] [SPEAKER_03]: and you knew like barring any last minute medical emergencies,

[00:42:31] [SPEAKER_03]: pretty much that this was not going to be your time.

[00:42:35] [SPEAKER_03]: And like that was palpable in the mood that you had.

[00:42:37] [SPEAKER_03]: And we had connected over that.

[00:42:39] [SPEAKER_03]: So talk to me about like, what was that process like in the past year?

[00:42:43] [SPEAKER_03]: And I especially imagine you're looking at like the alternate universe

[00:42:46] [SPEAKER_03]: where you were on Survivor 46 and having certain reactions about that.

[00:42:49] [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, I have strong feelings about that as well.

[00:42:55] [SPEAKER_01]: So I don't know.

[00:42:56] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I think like when we talked last year,

[00:42:59] [SPEAKER_01]: that was definitely my low of day

[00:43:00] [SPEAKER_01]: because it had been the day that they did the group photo.

[00:43:03] [SPEAKER_01]: So before that, like nobody knew that I was the alternate except me,

[00:43:06] [SPEAKER_01]: you know, and then all of a sudden I felt very outed

[00:43:07] [SPEAKER_01]: and felt very much like this isn't my season.

[00:43:09] [SPEAKER_01]: I don't belong here.

[00:43:10] [SPEAKER_01]: And then we like, I think we did my interview like a couple hours later.

[00:43:14] [SPEAKER_01]: So it was like a little bit brutal.

[00:43:15] [SPEAKER_01]: But I think what I when I went to Fiji last year,

[00:43:20] [SPEAKER_01]: I was like everything I do while I'm there,

[00:43:23] [SPEAKER_01]: I need to show them why like I should be playing this game.

[00:43:27] [SPEAKER_01]: And so, you know, you have some opportunities to talk to people.

[00:43:30] [SPEAKER_01]: And I really just like wanted to make them say like we fucked up.

[00:43:35] [SPEAKER_01]: That's that's really like was my goal.

[00:43:37] [SPEAKER_01]: And when I left at the end of the week,

[00:43:39] [SPEAKER_01]: I really I felt that I had done that.

[00:43:42] [SPEAKER_01]: Like I felt that I had accomplished that.

[00:43:43] [SPEAKER_01]: And so I felt really weirdly good.

[00:43:45] [SPEAKER_01]: I know the day we talked, it wasn't great.

[00:43:47] [SPEAKER_01]: But like after that, I just I felt really good about my whole experience

[00:43:50] [SPEAKER_01]: and felt like at peace with the fact that that wasn't my season

[00:43:54] [SPEAKER_01]: and that I would get another chance.

[00:43:56] [SPEAKER_01]: And over the last year since then, you know, ebbs and flows,

[00:43:58] [SPEAKER_01]: self-doubt, you know, whatever.

[00:44:00] [SPEAKER_01]: But I'm here and it feels amazing.

[00:44:03] [SPEAKER_01]: And I really like I am the kind of person that believes

[00:44:05] [SPEAKER_01]: that everything happens for a reason.

[00:44:06] [SPEAKER_01]: And timing is everything.

[00:44:08] [SPEAKER_01]: And just being here and seeing like all the people here

[00:44:11] [SPEAKER_01]: and the vibe of this season,

[00:44:13] [SPEAKER_01]: like I genuinely feel like this is my season.

[00:44:17] [SPEAKER_01]: Like this is the one that it was meant to be.

[00:44:18] [SPEAKER_01]: And I don't know.

[00:44:20] [SPEAKER_01]: It's it's great.

[00:44:22] [SPEAKER_03]: So yeah, that's amazing to hear.

[00:44:24] [SPEAKER_03]: So let's look back on survivor history,

[00:44:26] [SPEAKER_03]: which you started embarking upon through that chance encounter on the couch.

[00:44:31] [SPEAKER_03]: Give me one winner and one non-winner who you identify with the most.

[00:44:35] [SPEAKER_01]: All right.

[00:44:36] [SPEAKER_01]: I have a love hate relationship with this question.

[00:44:38] [SPEAKER_01]: I listen to your interviews every year, Mike Bloom.

[00:44:40] [SPEAKER_01]: And I never know what I'm going to say for these.

[00:44:42] [SPEAKER_01]: But OK, I'll start.

[00:44:44] [SPEAKER_03]: This is the preparation for survivor.

[00:44:46] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm spreading it on you in the moment.

[00:44:50] [SPEAKER_01]: OK, so I think a non-winner that I really identify with,

[00:44:53] [SPEAKER_01]: like as a person is Kellan Bechtold.

[00:44:55] [SPEAKER_01]: I feel like I've never really watched other players on the screen

[00:44:58] [SPEAKER_01]: and been like that feels like me.

[00:45:00] [SPEAKER_01]: But when Kellan was on Ghost Island,

[00:45:02] [SPEAKER_01]: I really like her personality resonated resonated with me,

[00:45:05] [SPEAKER_01]: like a Midwest girl, like strong personality,

[00:45:07] [SPEAKER_01]: smart and like scrappy.

[00:45:09] [SPEAKER_01]: And, you know, just I just love her.

[00:45:12] [SPEAKER_01]: And then I also feel like I really, really like Omar Zaheer.

[00:45:16] [SPEAKER_01]: Like, I feel like when I watched him play his game,

[00:45:19] [SPEAKER_01]: I was like, that is the game I want to play.

[00:45:22] [SPEAKER_01]: Like, I want to be able to kind of make everybody think that I'm in with them,

[00:45:26] [SPEAKER_01]: you know, like just kind of like rule from the shadows.

[00:45:29] [SPEAKER_01]: And like no one really knows what I'm doing.

[00:45:31] [SPEAKER_01]: Like, I just was so impressed and I really like admire his game.

[00:45:34] [SPEAKER_01]: So as far as a winner goes, I struggle with this so much.

[00:45:39] [SPEAKER_01]: I feel like I don't know that there is like a single winner that I'm like,

[00:45:45] [SPEAKER_01]: I really like that person is the person that I would say like I'm like.

[00:45:51] [SPEAKER_01]: But can I throw a curveball and go?

[00:45:54] [SPEAKER_03]: Oh, please. Yes.

[00:45:56] [SPEAKER_03]: Okay. Yeah. Let's go beyond borders.

[00:45:58] [SPEAKER_03]: We're in international waters after all.

[00:46:00] [SPEAKER_03]: Throw a name out.

[00:46:01] [SPEAKER_01]: So I feel like, you know, Apollo from Survivor South Africa,

[00:46:05] [SPEAKER_01]: he the way he played his game where he knew his strengths and his weaknesses coming in.

[00:46:10] [SPEAKER_01]: And he knew how to kind of like,

[00:46:12] [SPEAKER_01]: like lean away from his weaknesses and play into his strengths.

[00:46:16] [SPEAKER_01]: And he was very self-aware.

[00:46:17] [SPEAKER_01]: And I just that is the kind of game that I'm like really hoping to play.

[00:46:21] [SPEAKER_01]: And yeah, not that nobody in US Survivor has done that.

[00:46:24] [SPEAKER_01]: But I feel like the way he did it was

[00:46:26] [SPEAKER_01]: as felt very similar to the way that I would hope to do it.

[00:46:29] [SPEAKER_03]: Just do not sleep by the fire.

[00:46:31] [SPEAKER_03]: I think that's the one piece of advice.

[00:46:32] [SPEAKER_01]: But he did have cute little paws.

[00:46:35] [SPEAKER_03]: He did have cute little seal paws.

[00:46:37] [SPEAKER_03]: And look, you can swim your way through this game as it were.

[00:46:40] [SPEAKER_03]: What would you say is your biggest superpower

[00:46:42] [SPEAKER_03]: and your biggest piece of kryptonite that you are bringing into this game?

[00:46:46] [SPEAKER_01]: Good question.

[00:46:48] [SPEAKER_01]: So I think my biggest superpower is

[00:46:52] [SPEAKER_01]: that I feel like I can connect with almost anybody.

[00:46:55] [SPEAKER_01]: Like I feel like I've lived life from a lot of different kind of perspectives.

[00:46:59] [SPEAKER_01]: And like I've been an outsider.

[00:47:01] [SPEAKER_01]: I've been like a person that knows everybody.

[00:47:04] [SPEAKER_01]: And I just I feel like I have a very open about myself.

[00:47:08] [SPEAKER_01]: It's pretty much you ask me a question,

[00:47:10] [SPEAKER_01]: like better want to know the answer because I'm probably going to tell you.

[00:47:13] [SPEAKER_01]: Even if it's a little too much.

[00:47:15] [SPEAKER_01]: And I feel like that seems to like get other people to trust me

[00:47:21] [SPEAKER_01]: and open up really quickly.

[00:47:23] [SPEAKER_01]: And like I make fast friends.

[00:47:24] [SPEAKER_01]: And so I feel like that is a really useful skill for survivor.

[00:47:28] [SPEAKER_01]: I think my kryptonite is probably.

[00:47:34] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, man, I'm like a little bit controlling.

[00:47:37] [SPEAKER_01]: And I kind of like to like know what's going on at all times

[00:47:41] [SPEAKER_01]: and kind of like, you know, have my finger in all the pies.

[00:47:44] [SPEAKER_01]: And I don't know if that's like the best thing

[00:47:46] [SPEAKER_01]: or a game where you might come off as a little paranoid

[00:47:49] [SPEAKER_01]: or a little, you know, a little too controlling.

[00:47:53] [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, really?

[00:47:54] [SPEAKER_01]: So, yeah, I would.

[00:47:57] [SPEAKER_01]: That would be my answer.

[00:47:59] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah. I mean, how tough do you think it will be for you to like

[00:48:01] [SPEAKER_03]: let up on that throttle?

[00:48:02] [SPEAKER_03]: Because it seems like a natural part of yourself.

[00:48:05] [SPEAKER_03]: But to your point, we're seeing this with 46.

[00:48:07] [SPEAKER_03]: No one necessarily likes being told explicitly what to do.

[00:48:11] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, exactly.

[00:48:12] [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, I think I can refrain from like bossing people around.

[00:48:15] [SPEAKER_01]: I think just wanting to make sure that everything is in place,

[00:48:18] [SPEAKER_01]: like if we're going to do a plan and like.

[00:48:21] [SPEAKER_01]: I think the key will be like finding alliance people

[00:48:25] [SPEAKER_01]: that I can really trust, that I can be like,

[00:48:27] [SPEAKER_01]: I know that when you say you're going to go convince

[00:48:29] [SPEAKER_01]: that person to do this, that you're going to convince them

[00:48:32] [SPEAKER_01]: that you can do it.

[00:48:33] [SPEAKER_01]: You know, like I think that it will be imperative

[00:48:35] [SPEAKER_01]: to find people that I, you know, maybe not trust fully,

[00:48:40] [SPEAKER_01]: but can trust enough to like execute a plan

[00:48:42] [SPEAKER_01]: that sees the game in a way that I see the game.

[00:48:46] [SPEAKER_03]: What do you think is one life experience

[00:48:48] [SPEAKER_03]: that has prepared you the most

[00:48:49] [SPEAKER_03]: for what you're about to jump into?

[00:48:51] [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know.

[00:48:51] [SPEAKER_01]: I feel like this is it's so early, but I grew up.

[00:48:55] [SPEAKER_01]: I was born in Bangkok and I didn't speak Thai growing up.

[00:48:59] [SPEAKER_01]: And we moved to the US where my mom's from when I was seven.

[00:49:03] [SPEAKER_01]: And so like for the first seven years of my life,

[00:49:05] [SPEAKER_01]: like I couldn't speak to my own grandfather.

[00:49:06] [SPEAKER_01]: He didn't speak English and I didn't speak Thai or Chinese.

[00:49:09] [SPEAKER_01]: So like there was just so many times

[00:49:11] [SPEAKER_01]: where I just really learned to communicate

[00:49:13] [SPEAKER_01]: in like a nonverbal manner with,

[00:49:15] [SPEAKER_01]: you know, a lot of my literal family.

[00:49:18] [SPEAKER_01]: And then moved to the US and like didn't understand US culture.

[00:49:23] [SPEAKER_01]: And, you know, like so I feel like I just was forced

[00:49:27] [SPEAKER_01]: to like kind of learn to assimilate in my own way,

[00:49:31] [SPEAKER_01]: like from a really young age.

[00:49:33] [SPEAKER_01]: And I also have like two much older sisters.

[00:49:36] [SPEAKER_01]: So I just, I feel like I've always been around people

[00:49:38] [SPEAKER_01]: that I just like didn't actually fit in with, you know,

[00:49:42] [SPEAKER_01]: whether it was age or like culturally or whatever.

[00:49:46] [SPEAKER_01]: And so I think that throughout my life, I've moved a lot.

[00:49:49] [SPEAKER_01]: And I just feel like all of those things have just made me

[00:49:52] [SPEAKER_01]: like really able to kind of blend in with the group

[00:49:56] [SPEAKER_01]: and just like pick up on the vibe and just be that vibe too.

[00:50:01] [SPEAKER_03]: Well, you talk about this sort of communication breakdown.

[00:50:04] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, that's sort of the mode you're living in right now,

[00:50:06] [SPEAKER_03]: obviously for the second time in two years,

[00:50:09] [SPEAKER_03]: you are in this isolation mode.

[00:50:11] [SPEAKER_03]: And I'm sure you have a lot of thoughts

[00:50:13] [SPEAKER_03]: about the competition around you.

[00:50:16] [SPEAKER_03]: So right now, who are you eyeballing as like great vibes,

[00:50:20] [SPEAKER_03]: best case scenario, ride or die day one on the beach?

[00:50:24] [SPEAKER_01]: You know, it's I knew you're gonna ask this question.

[00:50:27] [SPEAKER_01]: And it's funny because I genuinely like all of these people

[00:50:31] [SPEAKER_01]: seem really, really great.

[00:50:32] [SPEAKER_01]: And that sounds like such a cop out.

[00:50:34] [SPEAKER_01]: But genuinely, I feel like it'd be easier to be like,

[00:50:37] [SPEAKER_01]: who am I not vibing with?

[00:50:38] [SPEAKER_01]: But which is not there's not even that many people either.

[00:50:40] [SPEAKER_03]: I was gonna say, I was like, if it's easier to do the opposite,

[00:50:42] [SPEAKER_03]: then let's go to the opposite.

[00:50:43] [SPEAKER_03]: And then I'll get shady with you.

[00:50:45] [SPEAKER_01]: Well, there's like one person that is just not like making

[00:50:49] [SPEAKER_01]: too much eye contact, not giving very many smiles.

[00:50:52] [SPEAKER_01]: Like everyone seems very friendly.

[00:50:53] [SPEAKER_01]: And this guy is seems just like he was wearing like a shirt

[00:50:57] [SPEAKER_01]: that said macho man on the first day.

[00:50:59] [SPEAKER_01]: So I was like, maybe it's me and not, you know,

[00:51:01] [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know.

[00:51:02] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm not a macho man.

[00:51:04] [SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, I as far as good vibes go,

[00:51:07] [SPEAKER_01]: I really like there's like an Indian girl that I just like,

[00:51:12] [SPEAKER_01]: she's just seems very bubbly and personable.

[00:51:15] [SPEAKER_01]: And I like, I don't know.

[00:51:17] [SPEAKER_01]: I also feel like this is a little biased because I feel like the people

[00:51:20] [SPEAKER_01]: I feel the best about are the people that are sitting

[00:51:21] [SPEAKER_01]: just happen to be sitting closest to me at Ponderosa.

[00:51:24] [SPEAKER_01]: So like, I feel like there is like, you know,

[00:51:26] [SPEAKER_01]: you see them enough and then you feel a little more comfortable.

[00:51:29] [SPEAKER_01]: So I don't know.

[00:51:29] [SPEAKER_01]: This could all be very biased.

[00:51:31] [SPEAKER_01]: But then there's this like younger black guy who I call snacks

[00:51:35] [SPEAKER_01]: because the very first day the head of Ponderosa was like,

[00:51:40] [SPEAKER_01]: do not have food in your tent like at night or ants will like just come in droves.

[00:51:46] [SPEAKER_01]: And so, you know, I like handed him like the pack of gum that I had in my bag.

[00:51:51] [SPEAKER_01]: And that guy opens his backpack and it's just like an entire backpack full of snacks.

[00:51:58] [SPEAKER_01]: Like it was like Skittles and Doritos.

[00:52:00] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm like, it was just bag after bag after bag.

[00:52:02] [SPEAKER_01]: They like grabbed this giant gallon bag and was like he was like shoving

[00:52:06] [SPEAKER_01]: or like a two gallon bag, just shoving it full of snacks.

[00:52:08] [SPEAKER_01]: And I was like, that's my kind of person, like just prepared with all the snacks.

[00:52:13] [SPEAKER_03]: So I really I really like him.

[00:52:15] [SPEAKER_03]: Well, let's open up your candy store of Survivor hot takes.

[00:52:19] [SPEAKER_03]: Give me your most controversial opinion could be about a player season or the show overall.

[00:52:24] [SPEAKER_01]: Interesting.

[00:52:25] [SPEAKER_01]: Okay.

[00:52:25] [SPEAKER_01]: I think that I was and advantages in the new era are set you up to fail.

[00:52:34] [SPEAKER_01]: I feel like like more than not, not only are they like not successful,

[00:52:43] [SPEAKER_01]: but they also socially isolate you or make you suspicious or whatever.

[00:52:49] [SPEAKER_01]: And I don't know that at least premerge that they are like worth the you know,

[00:52:57] [SPEAKER_01]: what's the saying?

[00:52:57] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm missing here with the squeeze.

[00:52:59] [SPEAKER_01]: The squeeze.

[00:53:00] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[00:53:01] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[00:53:02] [SPEAKER_03]: Interesting.

[00:53:03] [SPEAKER_03]: So that's something you're going to bring directly into your own game.

[00:53:06] [SPEAKER_03]: Are you saying like journeys?

[00:53:08] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm good.

[00:53:08] [SPEAKER_01]: And then like two days from now, I do whatever.

[00:53:11] [SPEAKER_01]: But no, I mean, I genuinely feel like if I come across,

[00:53:15] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm definitely not volunteering for a journey.

[00:53:17] [SPEAKER_01]: But if I come across a beware advantage,

[00:53:19] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to like really think hard about what I want to do with that.

[00:53:22] [SPEAKER_01]: And that doesn't mean that I'm just going to ignore it.

[00:53:24] [SPEAKER_01]: But maybe I will guide someone else to find it or I will

[00:53:28] [SPEAKER_01]: tell someone else that I found it and I don't want to.

[00:53:31] [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know.

[00:53:31] [SPEAKER_01]: But I just feel I don't think that I want that just because even if it's just like,

[00:53:37] [SPEAKER_01]: I know this 46, they had fewer advantages that you could technically do by yourself.

[00:53:43] [SPEAKER_01]: You know, like Hunter got his and no one knew about it.

[00:53:45] [SPEAKER_01]: It's still like time away from the rest of the tribe to do those things.

[00:53:50] [SPEAKER_01]: And there is so little time now.

[00:53:52] [SPEAKER_01]: And it's like and then I have to like hide that, you know, luster.

[00:53:58] [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know.

[00:53:58] [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm not I just I just don't I don't think for me,

[00:54:01] [SPEAKER_01]: at least, that it would necessarily be the path I'd want to take.

[00:54:06] [SPEAKER_03]: Last but not least, you know how I'm going to close this out.

[00:54:08] [SPEAKER_03]: If you could bring a celebrity or a fictional character for a loved one's visit,

[00:54:12] [SPEAKER_03]: who would it be?

[00:54:13] [SPEAKER_03]: Do you remember who you told me last year?

[00:54:15] [SPEAKER_01]: I do.

[00:54:16] [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm going to use the same answer.

[00:54:18] [SPEAKER_01]: I would bring Veronica Mars.

[00:54:21] [SPEAKER_01]: I feel like she is a badass and she's scrappy.

[00:54:27] [SPEAKER_01]: And I think that, you know, she's a private investigator.

[00:54:29] [SPEAKER_01]: So she picks up on all these little things and she would come to the island

[00:54:32] [SPEAKER_01]: and we'd go on reward or whatever.

[00:54:34] [SPEAKER_01]: And she would be looking around and being like,

[00:54:35] [SPEAKER_01]: you didn't notice that that person is doing this and that person's doing that.

[00:54:38] [SPEAKER_01]: And she would tell me all the things that I was missing

[00:54:42] [SPEAKER_01]: because she's more perceptive than I am.

[00:54:44] [SPEAKER_01]: And she'd help me win the game.

[00:54:46] [SPEAKER_03]: So there you go.

[00:54:47] [SPEAKER_03]: Look out, Detective Dean.

[00:54:48] [SPEAKER_03]: We have an actual private investigator on the loose and survivor.

[00:54:52] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.

[00:54:53] [SPEAKER_03]: Well, a long time ago, we used to be friends.

[00:54:57] [SPEAKER_03]: We're still friends now.

[00:54:57] [SPEAKER_03]: But, you know, I know that again, when we talked to you,

[00:55:00] [SPEAKER_03]: you obviously had a lot going on at the moment.

[00:55:04] [SPEAKER_03]: And I'm so happy this became a when not if for you.

[00:55:08] [SPEAKER_03]: I can't imagine what the past year has been for you,

[00:55:10] [SPEAKER_03]: especially kind of watching season 46 play out in so many ways.

[00:55:13] [SPEAKER_03]: But like you said, what is meant to be is meant to be.

[00:55:17] [SPEAKER_03]: And I'm so happy that we are here now,

[00:55:20] [SPEAKER_03]: that this is your time and that this is going to be your season,

[00:55:24] [SPEAKER_03]: your 26 days.

[00:55:25] [SPEAKER_03]: I can't tell you how much joy it brings me,

[00:55:28] [SPEAKER_03]: not only getting a chance to talk with you right now,

[00:55:29] [SPEAKER_03]: but to see what's going to happen with you over the course of the season.

[00:55:32] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I'm excited.

[00:55:33] [SPEAKER_01]: Hopefully, you know, I don't fuck it up too bad.

[00:55:36] [SPEAKER_03]: Well, no matter what, like just think about the fact that you got here.

[00:55:40] [SPEAKER_03]: You know, there's there's so many people who did it.

[00:55:42] [SPEAKER_01]: It's a long, long journey and it is a win to just be sitting here today.

[00:55:46] [SPEAKER_01]: So I'll take it.

[00:55:48] [SPEAKER_03]: Absolutely.

[00:55:48] [SPEAKER_03]: Well, I know that once again,

[00:55:50] [SPEAKER_03]: it's a journey of anticipation for you right now.

[00:55:52] [SPEAKER_03]: So I wish you the best as you're sitting,

[00:55:55] [SPEAKER_03]: waiting for the big day to arrive.

[00:55:56] [SPEAKER_03]: And then the big 26 days that are to follow.

[00:55:58] [SPEAKER_03]: And I will see you on the other side, my friend.

[00:56:01] [SPEAKER_03]: So great getting to talk with you again.

[00:56:02] [SPEAKER_01]: Good to see you, Mike.

[00:56:04] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, good to see you too.

[00:56:05] [SPEAKER_03]: Have a great one.

[00:56:06] [SPEAKER_03]: All right, there you have it.

[00:56:08] [SPEAKER_03]: Rachel Lamont, Mike.

[00:56:10] [SPEAKER_04]: The second time was the charm.

[00:56:12] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, there we go.

[00:56:13] [SPEAKER_03]: And it's really interesting as well to go through her perspective

[00:56:16] [SPEAKER_03]: because again, it's incredibly rare besides Austin.

[00:56:19] [SPEAKER_03]: And I guess Kelly was also from 45 was an alternate for 43.

[00:56:22] [SPEAKER_03]: We don't get much introspection into like from a mental process what that is like.

[00:56:27] [SPEAKER_03]: But it's very intriguing to see Rachel almost approach season 46

[00:56:31] [SPEAKER_03]: as like season 47 day negative one, right?

[00:56:36] [SPEAKER_03]: Of like her being like, I'm going to be out here in Fiji,

[00:56:39] [SPEAKER_03]: proving to people why they made a mistake just making me an alternate.

[00:56:42] [SPEAKER_03]: And whether or not that was coincidental or not,

[00:56:45] [SPEAKER_03]: she was able to make good on that time.

[00:56:47] [SPEAKER_03]: And now she's out here in a much better headspace

[00:56:50] [SPEAKER_03]: and ready to actually have her feet hit the beaches of Fiji.

[00:56:54] [SPEAKER_04]: Okay, she seemed like she really knows her stuff.

[00:56:58] [SPEAKER_04]: Dropping international survivor references.

[00:57:02] [SPEAKER_03]: And yeah, second one on her try.

[00:57:04] [SPEAKER_03]: Maybe her and her and Andy can connect over that.

[00:57:07] [SPEAKER_03]: Of course, Andy mentioned Ferris as well in his interview.

[00:57:10] [SPEAKER_03]: So could be a fun little international survivor coalition.

[00:57:14] [SPEAKER_04]: Boy, Australian survivor versus the world.

[00:57:16] [SPEAKER_04]: Those two are going to have the group chat is going to be lit.

[00:57:19] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, maybe they were actually prognosticating who would be on it.

[00:57:22] [SPEAKER_03]: That's how they spent their days on Gata was just coming up with fan cast for that theme.

[00:57:25] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah. Okay, Mike, how do you feel about Rachel the player?

[00:57:30] [SPEAKER_03]: I feel pretty good about Rachel the player.

[00:57:33] [SPEAKER_03]: I think she has a really good head for the game.

[00:57:36] [SPEAKER_03]: I think her hot take about how she how she feels like

[00:57:39] [SPEAKER_03]: new era advantages and idols are quote setting you up for failure.

[00:57:43] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, I think it's it's classic journalism, right?

[00:57:46] [SPEAKER_03]: Where the headline is very hot and spicy,

[00:57:49] [SPEAKER_03]: but maybe like the content itself considerably cools down the temperature of

[00:57:52] [SPEAKER_03]: her going on to say that it's not necessarily like,

[00:57:56] [SPEAKER_03]: oh, you're automatically going to bomb because of it.

[00:57:58] [SPEAKER_03]: It's that because a lot of these idols and advantages require some sort of social component,

[00:58:03] [SPEAKER_03]: which is something you mentioned before in this series.

[00:58:05] [SPEAKER_03]: It is something that kind of like puts you out on an island, right?

[00:58:09] [SPEAKER_03]: Either everyone knows about it or it's like I have to go sneak away and do this thing.

[00:58:13] [SPEAKER_03]: And then when I'm gone, everyone's going to be conspiring against me behind my back.

[00:58:17] [SPEAKER_04]: Well, really, her and Andy, I think,

[00:58:19] [SPEAKER_04]: have pretty similar views about the idols and the advantages.

[00:58:23] [SPEAKER_04]: And so maybe that's sort of like a natural duo to come together, Rachel and Andy.

[00:58:29] [SPEAKER_03]: I think so. I mean, those two, I think, are big, probably two of the biggest fans on the cast as

[00:58:34] [SPEAKER_03]: well with them, Teenie and I would say Asia as well. And I think again, the two of them are both

[00:58:41] [SPEAKER_03]: such like down to earth personalities that I don't really see any huge conflict. There should be

[00:58:46] [SPEAKER_03]: noted that one of the people that Rachel pointed out at Ponderosa positively was, I believe,

[00:58:51] [SPEAKER_03]: Anika. And remember, Anika also pointed out Rachel as well positively. So I really see the

[00:58:57] [SPEAKER_03]: two of them linking up early on and I could see a world where they bring in Andy as a third as well.

[00:59:02] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah. Also, they both have a tech background between Rachel and Andy. And so I do think

[00:59:07] [SPEAKER_04]: that there is a lot of overlap there between the two of them. OK. Mike, do you think there's

[00:59:15] [SPEAKER_04]: anything to the alternate coming back and they say, you know, like Jeff says, hey, play the first

[00:59:21] [SPEAKER_04]: time like it's your second time. But we saw like, you know, Kelly now Bandy and with somebody who

[00:59:26] [SPEAKER_04]: came in like ready to go in season forty five after being an alternate in season forty three.

[00:59:34] [SPEAKER_04]: Like, do you feel like that is that at all like a little bit of an advantage as sort of like, OK,

[00:59:39] [SPEAKER_04]: you have that over. You've been you've been to Fiji. You've been through this process. You sort

[00:59:44] [SPEAKER_04]: of like have seen this a little bit. Maybe there's less jitters. I mean, that was the Bruce

[00:59:48] [SPEAKER_03]: argument in forty five. Right. Was that he was saying, hey, the amount of experience I have over

[00:59:53] [SPEAKER_03]: you stops the first day of the game. Yeah. He did say he has experience with the quote hurry up and

[00:59:58] [SPEAKER_03]: wait of the preseason. Emily argument is what I'm saying. Yeah, exactly. You're saying like,

[01:00:04] [SPEAKER_03]: no, actually, you do have a significant advantage. I mean, I would say early on. I don't know if

[01:00:10] [SPEAKER_03]: it's if there are any jitters that end up subsiding over the course of this week or so,

[01:00:16] [SPEAKER_03]: where they're just sitting in silence. I think that immediately ebbs away once the game starts

[01:00:20] [SPEAKER_03]: because they've never experienced the start of a survivor season beforehand. They get sent home

[01:00:24] [SPEAKER_03]: on the day when all of that begins. And who knows? Maybe it's almost like corking up a bottle,

[01:00:29] [SPEAKER_03]: but then all those emotions will come spilling out once it's like, oh, my God, OK, I actually

[01:00:33] [SPEAKER_03]: am on the show this time. Great. I'm going to do this. Isn't that? Yeah. OK, Mike, anything else

[01:00:37] [SPEAKER_03]: you want to say about Rachel? I did like how Rachel started our interview by talking about

[01:00:42] [SPEAKER_03]: how when she watched Survivor for the first time, when she quite literally got on the couch and

[01:00:46] [SPEAKER_03]: watched, she said that like, well, there are some people who watch Jeopardy or immediately like I can

[01:00:51] [SPEAKER_03]: do that. And it's like, well, there was a player that said that to both shows that ended up

[01:00:55] [SPEAKER_04]: succeeding. I believe so. Yeah. All right. So we have one more day here in the Gata tribe.

[01:01:04] [SPEAKER_04]: You mentioned one of the cast members are going to talk about Sam. Who's the other person we're

[01:01:10] [SPEAKER_03]: going to talk about tomorrow? Sierra Sierra. Right. And I've also just mentioned briefly

[01:01:14] [SPEAKER_03]: because I I love here's a future note to Survivor players out there. If I get the chance to talk

[01:01:19] [SPEAKER_03]: with you in the preseason, do nicknames. Nicknames are fun. We like nicknames. And

[01:01:24] [SPEAKER_03]: I did get the identities of the other people that Rachel was identifying when talking about

[01:01:29] [SPEAKER_04]: the Ponderosa stew. OK, all right. So, yeah, Mike likes a flavor flave out here giving out

[01:01:36] [SPEAKER_04]: nicknames to the cast. I think there was a lot of that in forty five. Right. Well,

[01:01:40] [SPEAKER_03]: Caleb was mainly the one that Caleb Caleb Caleb was the flavor flave and did it for everybody.

[01:01:45] [SPEAKER_03]: But Rachel sort of did a mini version of that. So she had Macho Man, right, which was like the

[01:01:50] [SPEAKER_03]: guy that's giving her nothing that had that shirt on the first day. That was Gabe. So again, we'll

[01:01:56] [SPEAKER_03]: get to Gabe. Not the first time that Gabe has. Oh, yeah. And then the other one was Snacks,

[01:02:01] [SPEAKER_03]: which was the guy that like heavyweight style was hoarding a two gallon bag full of snacks.

[01:02:07] [SPEAKER_03]: And that was Rome. Rome, which makes a lot of sense, right? Like he comes from the gaming world.

[01:02:12] [SPEAKER_03]: I feel like everyone who games full time just has a two gallon bag. Flamin' Hot Cheetos. Yeah,

[01:02:17] [SPEAKER_03]: exactly. Takis just sitting there, not Taku. So very, very fun for Rachel. And hey, if she

[01:02:23] [SPEAKER_03]: has the chance to go to the merge that maybe she and Rome will be able to dig into an alliance

[01:02:28] [SPEAKER_03]: together. Yeah, just don't go through his bag. OK. All right. Cocoa Coconut Bandits 2.0. They

[01:02:33] [SPEAKER_04]: could swirl away their secret snacks together. Yeah. His bag is the one that has the ants

[01:02:37] [SPEAKER_03]: leading up to it. All right. Well, tomorrow it is Sam and it is Sierra. So we're going to round out

[01:02:43] [SPEAKER_03]: Gata and then Rob, you and I can prognosticate a little bit about how we think this group of six

[01:02:49] [SPEAKER_03]: will do. As I mentioned before, nowhere to go but up in terms of chaotic yellow tribes in

[01:02:55] [SPEAKER_03]: Survivor New Era seasons. But I'll be intrigued to see your thoughts on what the dynamics might

[01:02:59] [SPEAKER_04]: be early on. OK, make sure you're subscribed to our Rob has a podcast feed to make sure you don't

[01:03:04] [SPEAKER_04]: miss any of these episodes, because if you miss one, everybody's going to know except for you.

[01:03:11] [SPEAKER_04]: It's going to be horrible. Rob is website dot com slash subscribe. I just don't want to see

[01:03:15] [SPEAKER_04]: that happen to you where you miss an episode of the podcast. OK, and then, of course, hit that

[01:03:19] [SPEAKER_04]: subscribe button if you're watching us here on YouTube. What's coming up for you, Mike?

[01:03:24] [SPEAKER_03]: So at this point, I will also be two thirds of the way through the

[01:03:29] [SPEAKER_03]: Taku. No, not the Taku tribe. I just mentioned the Taku tribe through the Tuku tribe, as it were,

[01:03:35] [SPEAKER_03]: the blue tribe, the final trap we haven't talked about, where I will have released my interviews

[01:03:39] [SPEAKER_03]: with Kyle and Sue as well, who are two people that are also getting a lot of eyes in them

[01:03:44] [SPEAKER_03]: in the preseason. So check that out over at parade dot com. All right. Thank you so much for

[01:03:48] [SPEAKER_04]: joining us for day five of our previews. We'll be back with another two people to round out

[01:03:55] [SPEAKER_04]: the Gata tribe tomorrow. Take care of good one. Bye.