CHAPTERS
- 0:00 – 2:28
How Tom Segura got Netflix to greenlight 'Bad Thoughts' (by making it first)
Joe opens by grilling Tom on how Netflix ever allowed his new series to exist. Tom explains the key move: he didn’t pitch it on paper—he produced a few shorts, then showed the finished tone and insanity to Netflix.
- •Netflix wouldn’t have bought the idea from a script alone
- •Tom shot multiple shorts independently before pitching
- •Short-film format as a gateway to a TV series structure
- •Netflix reaction: ‘insane’ but ordered a season
- •Tom describes it as the most fun he’s ever had creatively
- 2:28 – 4:51
Tom’s original Hollywood dream: movies first, standup later
Tom reflects that his initial reason for moving to LA wasn’t standup—it was making comedy movies. He talks about his early ‘blueprint’ (Groundlings → SNL → movies) and how standup became the better path once he felt the pull and traction.
- •Moved to LA aiming for comedy films, not standup
- •Groundlings/SNL plan vs. reality of career development
- •Standup traction and love for the craft changed everything
- •‘Bad Thoughts’ feels like being sent to film school
- •Creative fulfillment: energized even after 16-hour days
- 4:51 – 8:53
Why studios got scared of comedy (and why that creates an opening)
They pivot to the broader comedy landscape, praising shows like Righteous Gemstones for being outrageous. Tom and Joe argue that studios fear ‘offense,’ overpay for bloated comedies, and forget that truly funny scripts can be made cheaply—leaving room for risk-takers.
- •Righteous Gemstones as proof edgy comedy still works
- •Studios treat comedy as uniquely ‘dangerous’ vs. drama
- •Big-budget comedy era and its box-office risk hangover
- •Horror thrives partly because it’s cheaper; comedy could be too
- •Tom teases an unannounced R-rated comedy film project
- 8:53 – 11:52
Touring vs. creating: building time for films and taking standup breaks
Tom explains how constant touring blocks acting/film opportunities and why he’s intentionally leaving time open to shoot projects. Joe agrees, describing the freedom of working clubs without the pressure of building an hour for a tour.
- •Tour schedule makes outside projects nearly impossible
- •Tom plans open calendar time (summer + future year) for filming
- •Keeping the ‘muscle’ fresh via low-stress club weekends
- •Joe’s post-special ‘club only’ period reduces creative pressure
- •The value of breaks for perspective and better material
- 11:52 – 18:50
Standup as hypnosis: cadence, authenticity, and why bits die
Joe and Tom dig into the craft: when comics are truly invested, the audience feels it; when it’s filler, audiences disengage. Joe likens great standup to hypnosis—confidence, rhythm, and authenticity create a trance-like buy-in—while fake laughs and over-rehearsed beats feel gross.
- •Audience detects when a comic isn’t ‘invested’ in the material
- •Joe’s ‘hypnosis’ theory: flow, cadence, confidence, connection
- •Influence and cadence imitation (e.g., standup ‘babies’)
- •Being tired can improve sets by reducing self-consciousness
- •Bits that used to crush can slowly ‘die’ and become ‘orphans’
- 18:50 – 19:52
Acting realities and time-cost: why Joe stepped away
Tom asks Joe about acting and whether he enjoyed it. Joe says NewsRadio was fun, but the long day commitments—especially compared with his desire to do many pursuits—made acting less appealing than standup and other interests.
- •NewsRadio as a positive acting experience
- •The core drawback: massive time commitment of production
- •Single-cam schedules described as especially brutal
- •Joe prefers flexibility to pursue many hobbies and training
- •Injury updates and the challenge of returning to jiu-jitsu
- 19:52 – 23:09
Kids, jiu-jitsu, and the ‘my schedule is crazy’ parenting story
Tom tells a standout story: his six-year-old quits jiu-jitsu because his ‘schedule is crazy,’ listing kindergarten, Spanish, and drums. The conversation expands into how adults (especially Joe) juggle many interests and why some hobbies are avoided because they’re too addictive.
- •Tom’s son politely resigns from jiu-jitsu due to ‘full plate’
- •Kids’ changing minds: quitting, then wanting to return
- •Joe’s multi-hobby lifestyle and the need to ‘pick spots’
- •Avoiding golf/video games due to obsessive tendencies
- •Tom’s controlled return to video games vs. Joe’s all-night risk
- 23:09 – 26:07
Sleep, supplements, and lifestyle tweaks (creatine, peptides, no booze)
They move into biohacking territory: creatine for sleep deprivation, Oura Ring tracking, and Tom’s peptide-based sleep protocol. Joe emphasizes how alcohol disrupts sleep and riffs on watching Bert Kreischer drink at dinners as a vivid reminder to stay sober.
- •Creatine research claim: reducing sleep-deprivation effects
- •Tom’s peptide-based sleep protocol and improved REM
- •Oura Ring sleep tracking and experimentation mindset
- •Joe’s biggest lever: eliminating alcohol improves sleep dramatically
- •Bert as cautionary tale: martinis, wine, and ‘perfect bloodwork’ jokes
- 26:07 – 41:05
Fitness events, weight loss inspirations, grip strength & calisthenics obsession
From Bert and the Tampa 5K to Jelly Roll’s dramatic weight loss, they discuss training, consistency, and how excess weight is like carrying a permanent weight vest. Joe goes deep on grip strength testing, climbers’ freakish forearms, and why calisthenics matter for real-world capability.
- •Tampa 5K logistics and incline-heavy stadium course
- •Jelly Roll’s major weight loss and goals to continue
- •Beer stein holding contest: Bert beating NFL linemen
- •Grip strength testing with UFC comparisons and personal targets
- •Calisthenics staples: pushups, squats, chin-ups, dips, weighted vests
- 41:05 – 49:35
Eating on tour, Italian food cravings, and ‘our food is poison’
They shift to diet discipline while traveling—snacks, protein bars, meat snacks, and avoiding late-night ‘ruin your day’ dinners. The conversation broadens into why food abroad tastes better, claims about U.S. food additives (including glyphosate), and Tom’s hydroponic garden as a countermeasure.
- •Touring disrupts training and diet; ‘land and lift’ strategy
- •Convenience foods: protein bars, meat-based travel snacks
- •Italian food cravings (pasta, sandwiches) and portion-size differences
- •Critique of U.S. food processing and chemical exposure claims
- •Hydroponic gardening as a way to get ‘real food’ taste back
- 49:35 – 56:18
Student debt, missing life-skills education, and a ‘loss of hope’ culture theory
From nutrition education gaps, they jump to finance illiteracy and how student loans trap young people. Tom adds a cultural theory: casual public appearance (pajamas/flip-flops) can reflect diminished hope in upward mobility; Joe connects that to government power, surrender, and control.
- •Schools under-teach nutrition and finance; credit cards target teens
- •Student loan debt as uniquely ‘inescapable’ and lifelong
- •College cost inflation and graduate-school compounding debt
- •Tom’s theory: declining public ‘presentation’ tied to less hope
- •Joe’s view: demoralization makes populations easier to control
- 56:18 – 1:00:14
Automation, bot farms, paid protests, and China’s ‘no rules’ approach
Joe warns that AI automation and universal basic income could deepen ‘giving up’ and enable narrative control via credits and compliance. They discuss bot farms, astroturf campaigns, paid protests, and then pivot to China’s aggressive IP theft and manufacturing of convincing fakes.
- •AI automation + UBI framed as potential lever for compliance/control
- •Bots and coordinated online attacks shaping narratives
- •Paid protests and manufactured ‘organic’ movements
- •China’s lack of respect for IP and competitive ‘copy then crush’ model
- •Fake Apple stores and layered deception as a modern reality
- 1:00:14 – 1:03:38
Fakes vs. luxury authenticity: watches, jewelry markups, and lab-grown diamonds
They debate why convincing replica watches still feel wrong (status, craftsmanship, ethics), and how pricing opacity in jewelry can be manipulative. Joe highlights the paradox: lab-grown diamonds are real diamonds, dramatically cheaper, yet often rejected because ‘it doesn’t feel real.’
- •Replica watches becoming indistinguishable without disassembly
- •Why fakes bother people: identity, pride, and respect for craft
- •Jewelry pricing whiplash and distrust of massive markups
- •Lab-grown diamonds as true diamonds with low social demand
- •Stories of fake engagement rings and athletes wearing fakes for safety
- 1:03:38 – 1:13:42
Cars as ‘real’ engineering: restomods, Porsche vs. Ferrari, and manuals vs. automatics
They compare the difficulty of faking cars versus watches, then go deep on enthusiast culture: restomod Ferrari builds, classic BMWs, Porsches, and why mid-engine platforms (like Cayman) may be ‘better’ despite lower prestige. The segment becomes a rant on losing manual transmissions to automatics and cost-driven decisions.
- •Building an F40-style car from parts vs. buying a $3M classic
- •Tom’s E30 M3 engine swap and Joe’s love for E46 balance
- •Prestige vs. performance: Cayman vs. 911 debate
- •Traction-control-off stories, oversteer, and ‘lift throttle’ danger
- •Manual transmission nostalgia and criticism of modern auto-only supercars
- 1:13:42 – 2:34:32
Addiction, victim currency, Kanye controversy, and AI films → simulation reality
They bounce through modern culture: easy vs. hard addiction (nicotine, coffee, kratom), then the ‘currency’ of victimhood and social reinforcement online. The final stretch covers Kanye’s antisemitic song controversy and platform bans, AI-generated movies/actors, and ends with big-picture speculation about immersive VR and whether reality is a simulation tied to consciousness.
- •Genetic variability in addiction; kratom as a trap for some users
- •Victimhood as social capital and reinforcement via online communities
- •Kanye’s ‘catchy but toxic’ song: bans vs. free speech dynamics
- •AI filmmaking: cheap studio-quality content, uncanny valley tells
- •From The Matrix analogy to quantum weirdness and consciousness-as-reality
