0:00

Are you a real

0:02

know-it-all? Do

0:07

you annoy your family by shouting the

0:10

answers while watching Jeopardy? Do

0:12

you drive people crazy when you

0:14

start a sentence with, well, actually.

0:18

Well guess what? You can

0:20

Go Fact Yourself! Hey

0:23

everyone, welcome to Go Fact Yourself, the

0:25

show where we quiz the smartest people

0:27

we know and find out why they

0:29

love what they love. I'm

0:32

Helen Hong, and now

0:34

recording from our

0:37

homes, or not our homes, and

0:41

now recording from various places

0:43

in California, here's our moderator,

0:46

J. Keith Van Straten. Thank

0:48

you so much, Helen, nice to see you. Nice

0:50

to see you. I couldn't help but notice that your intro

0:52

is a little bit different because we are not recording from

0:55

our homes in Los Angeles. I am, but where are you?

0:57

You seem so different. I am not recording from my

0:59

home. So listeners, if

1:01

my recording sounds a little bit different,

1:03

it's because I am in a WeWork

1:06

because as many

1:08

of you know, I have a

1:10

snefu in my life who is

1:13

very, very sick and poor little

1:15

thing is just wailing and crying.

1:18

I thought I'd be able to do it in my house, but it

1:20

got to the point where I was like, this is not going

1:22

to work. I hightailed it

1:24

to my local WeWork and

1:28

I'm in a WeWork conference room and

1:30

I had to turn the AC off,

1:32

so it's about a thousand degrees in

1:34

here. So you're welcome

1:36

listeners, I'm sweltering in a

1:38

rando WeWork conference room

1:41

for you. If it sounds a little

1:43

bit different, I apologize, but this

1:46

was preferable to a screaming two

1:48

and a half year old in the background. Well,

1:52

I'm sure we all hope that your little snefu

1:54

is recovering quickly and quietly. It is good to

1:56

know though, if we need it though, we have

1:58

a giant whiteboard behind you. we need

2:00

to do some brainstorming. Yes. Well,

2:04

today on Go Fact Yourself, two guests will compete

2:06

to answer questions about facts they know, facts they

2:08

may not know, and frankly, facts they should know.

2:10

Plus, we'll meet actual experts on two very different

2:13

topics. And finally, we'll declare one of our guests

2:15

the winner of today's show. Let's get

2:17

started and meet today's guest, Helen, who is up first.

2:20

She is a scholar, activist,

2:22

curator, and Pulitzer Prize-winning, contributing

2:24

critic at large for the

2:26

New York Times. It's

2:28

Salamisha Tillich. Hello, Salamisha. Hi,

2:31

how are you? I'm

2:33

so well and so happy to meet

2:35

you. Now, you are the Henry Rutgers

2:37

Professor of Africana Studies and Creative Writing

2:40

at Rutgers University, Newark. So

2:42

should I call you professor? Should I call you doctor?

2:44

You do have a doctorate as well. What do you

2:46

prefer? Professor or Salamisha? I'm a professor, I guess you're

2:48

going to. But Salamisha is also fine. I mean, if

2:50

I could legitimately get people to call me professor, I

2:52

definitely would do it. Okay, but

2:55

I think you're okay, Professor. Well, Professor, in addition

2:57

to all the things that Helen mentioned, you also

2:59

are the co-founder of A Long Walk Home, which

3:01

is an art organization that empowers young people

3:03

to end violence against girls and women. You're

3:05

the executive director of Express Newark, a center

3:07

for socially engaged art and design. You also

3:10

are an award-winning podcast host and producer for

3:12

your amazing series about Anita Hill. But I've

3:14

got to start by asking you about the

3:16

Pulitzer Prize. You won a Pulitzer Prize just

3:19

last year for criticism. And that

3:21

prize, if I'm understanding correctly, it covered

3:23

work as varied as your discussion of

3:25

movies, your opinions about the Oprah interview

3:28

of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and

3:30

then more serious stuff like George Floyd. I

3:33

got to ask, what is it like to win a Pulitzer? Well,

3:35

most days I forget that I won a

3:37

Pulitzer. So, you know, so I know. No,

3:40

girl, you got to put that right in

3:43

front of like, like, like, tape a poster

3:45

to your laptop. Yeah. Just

3:48

be like, that sounds like a good affirmation to make. I

3:51

am enough and I want to Pulitzer. Yeah. But

3:54

I'm really, really, really deeply grateful and

3:56

honored and feel like I'm part of a really

3:58

special, obviously, tradition. And I understand

4:01

that you actually found out about it before other

4:03

people did well if you work for a newspaper

4:05

You find out earlier so they can fly you in

4:08

so what was it like to keep that secret then?

4:10

Oh my god, it was impossible. It was also

4:12

Mother's Day. So I just didn't call anyone I was

4:14

like, I'm not gonna call anyone or some happy Mother's

4:16

Day because I have this other big secret that

4:18

Trump's mother I'm

4:21

just gonna keep it to myself and then

4:23

the world will find out. Yeah, there wasn't

4:26

be hilarious Mother's Day call like hi I

4:28

know Well,

4:30

also people were calling me and they were complaining

4:33

about stuff and I was like I can't listen to this today

4:35

So, you know, I was a pretty bad friend

4:37

to a lot of people. I can't relate to

4:39

this anymore because I'm a Pulitzer winner The

4:44

prize comes with a cash prize, I'm curious how

4:46

you use that did you earmark that for anything

4:48

special? Oh No,

4:51

but it comes with a really really beautiful Tiffany's

4:55

kind of crystal as well. So that I have

4:58

Been able to frame in a really beautiful way

5:00

and the money I'm pretty sure I just used

5:03

to you know Pay off debt or something.

5:05

Yeah But in the

5:07

memo with the check you wrote Pulitzer Pulitzer Prize.

5:09

Yeah. Yeah, Pulitzer Prize You gave

5:11

the commencement address this year at Moore College

5:13

art and design. What was that experience like

5:15

for you? So it was really beautiful just

5:18

to like speak to a group of artists in

5:20

this moment in which we're not sure You

5:22

know higher ed is under so many attacks

5:24

and to see artists whose parents have spent

5:26

so much money sending them to art school

5:29

But are filled with so much optimism and

5:31

hope I really wanted them to leave at

5:33

least that experience in that school with a

5:35

sense that Our future is not just

5:37

dependent on them But that we believe in their

5:39

vision for change and hope and injustice

5:42

So I tried to convey that

5:44

as effectively as I could well something that you

5:46

said in that speech really stood out to me

5:48

He said artistic collaborations are both the blueprint and

5:50

the bedrock to making our country more inclusive more

5:52

diverse and more beautiful Can you say more about

5:54

that? Why do you think artistic collaborations are the

5:56

key to that? Well, I think you

5:59

know collaboration often is a moment

6:01

when one or two or more artists

6:03

come together who have their own experiences,

6:05

their own histories, oftentimes their own styles,

6:07

and then they create something new. And

6:10

they have to figure out how to be in harmony with

6:12

each other, and they have to find a new language to

6:14

perform. And they have to

6:17

sacrifice. And so when we're in this

6:19

hyper-partisan moment that requires all of us

6:21

to kind of give something of ourselves

6:24

in order to live out the

6:26

dream of democracy, or even to believe

6:28

that democracy is something that we're fighting for,

6:30

well, collaboration, I think, is a model

6:32

for us. We often think of political coalitions,

6:35

but I think that artists have oftentimes figured

6:37

out a way to work with each other

6:39

that doesn't necessarily dilute their power, but also

6:41

figures out that they can be their best

6:43

selves if they're in harmony with each other.

6:46

That's so interesting. Yeah, I hadn't really thought about that,

6:48

but yeah, politics really can be an act of creation

6:50

as well. Yeah, definitely. Or,

6:52

you know, destruction, depending on what you're

6:54

doing. Yeah, but I said can be.

6:56

Can be, sometimes forget that. I

6:59

know one of the projects that you're working on now is

7:01

a book about the singer and civil rights icon Nina Simone.

7:04

And I understand this is not just going to be a

7:06

biography or a critical look, but really about how she changed

7:08

you as a person. I was trained as

7:10

an academic. My first book is what

7:13

we think of traditional literary criticism, but I really

7:15

wanted to write a book that more people would

7:17

read. And so I had this great idea, oh,

7:20

I'm going to write this book on Nina Simone. And

7:22

so a lot of my

7:24

last 10 years has been reinventing myself

7:26

as a writer in order to tell

7:28

her story more clearly and

7:30

more passionately. And so she's an artist who

7:32

reinvented herself many times. So I guess she's

7:35

inspired me to do so. It's

7:37

a journey of me and finding

7:39

the different women that have also shaped Nina Simone.

7:41

So I have a chapter of Billie Holiday, or

7:43

a chapter on her mother, or I have

7:45

a chapter on Lauryn Hill, like the people

7:47

that she's influenced. So it's really, and that's

7:49

also like a reinvention because that wasn't how

7:52

the book was sold. So that's what the

7:54

book was for. Yeah, it's been quite a

7:56

journey and I feel really grateful

7:58

to have been on it for this period of

8:00

time. Well it sounds very exciting. Last I want

8:02

to ask you about as a Pulitzer Prize-winning critic, how do

8:04

you think the show is going so far? Well

8:18

this is why we edit the show. Thank

8:20

you so much for being here.

8:22

Salomeesha Tillot. Thank you. Professor, I

8:25

should say, and Dr. Salomeesha Tillot.

8:27

Tell them against whom will Professor

8:29

Dr. Salomeesha Tillot be competing? He

8:32

is an iconic comedian, actor, best-selling

8:34

author, and educator. It's Yakov

8:36

Mironov. Hello Yakov. Hi, great

8:39

to be with you guys.

8:41

Oh it's so wonderful to meet you. I

8:43

believe I could ask you the same question

8:45

that I started with Salomeesha because you also

8:47

have a doctorate. You also have been a

8:50

professor. Should I be calling you Professor Dr.

8:52

Yakov? Yes. Okay. Wow.

8:54

Wow. She was,

8:56

she hesitated. I am

8:59

not hesitated. For

9:02

amongst doctors. Yeah, I believe this might be

9:04

our first doctor versus doctor episode. So that's

9:06

that's quite a feather in our caps. You

9:08

also have something in common with Dr. Tillot.

9:11

You also studied at Penn. Yes,

9:13

I got my master's

9:15

degree at the University of Pennsylvania

9:17

and it was on positive psychology.

9:19

I was part of their

9:22

inaugural program for that master's degree.

9:24

For anyone who's my age or

9:26

around my generation or older, you

9:29

can't think of comedy in

9:32

the 1980s. Like if you if you

9:34

asked anyone when I was growing up,

9:36

name a comedian, within the first few

9:38

names was going to be Yakov Smirnoff.

9:40

I mean talk about iconic. I remember

9:42

specifically your performances on The Tonight Show.

9:44

I re-watched your first appearance just the

9:47

other day and you destroyed. What did

9:49

it feel like to kill on Johnny

9:51

Carson's Tonight Show? It's just hard to

9:53

describe the feeling that you're you're

9:55

standing there behind that curtain and they're

9:58

about to say your name and your heart is

10:01

about to fly out of your heart

10:04

and out of your chest and

10:07

then Carson called me over which

10:09

is very also very unique for

10:12

a first-time comedian and I

10:14

sat down and I said you know in

10:16

America you have things we

10:19

never had in Russia like policemen

10:21

have warning shots right and

10:25

Carson almost fell off the chair. Yes I

10:27

really encourage all the shows to watch

10:29

that clip I mean you Carson loved to

10:32

laugh when he loved comedians but he

10:34

rarely had a genuine fold-over belly laugh

10:36

moment like he did then you know

10:38

people say oh it changes your life

10:40

overnight was it really like that for

10:43

you? It adds a lot so there

10:45

was a producer that didn't

10:47

like me and didn't think

10:49

that Carson is gonna like me and

10:52

so for six years I was trying to

10:55

get on and he last time he

10:57

saw me at the comedy store he

11:00

said Jacob let's just

11:02

be frank you get on that

11:04

show when the hell

11:06

freezes over. I

11:09

have this formula intention,

11:11

attention and no tension

11:15

and so intention is to get on

11:18

the show attention is to get producer

11:20

to see you and then you gotta

11:22

have no tension about it that's

11:25

very hard very hard to

11:27

do but once I kind of

11:29

let go all the sudden Carson

11:32

saw my Miller Light commercial and

11:35

said to the producer why

11:38

don't we have Jacob on he's funny

11:40

and producer said

11:42

yeah we were about to. Hell

11:47

started getting a little chilly that day yeah

11:50

and so after

11:52

my set he

11:54

came over the producer said between me

11:56

and Carson said can you

11:58

do another set like this in a

12:00

couple of months and I said, when

12:03

the hell freezes over. And

12:08

you ended up being one of his

12:10

favorite regulars. Yeah. Well,

12:13

in addition to your work as a performer,

12:15

I know you also work as a fine

12:17

artist. You've got this new project about bringing

12:19

art into the metaverse called the cubaverse. But

12:21

people also may not realize that they're already

12:23

familiar with your art. There's a very interesting

12:25

way that people saw your art in a

12:28

very big way in New York. Tell the

12:30

people about that. Well, after 9-11 happened,

12:33

I actually was sworn in

12:36

as an American citizen at the Statue

12:38

of Liberty ceremonies on Ellis

12:40

Island. So all of the footage that

12:42

we saw was coming from

12:44

the same angle that I saw it when

12:46

I was sworn in, which

12:48

was like the best moment

12:51

of my life. And here is the worst

12:53

moment of my life. So

12:55

I was compelled immediately to

12:58

use my art just

13:00

to help myself to kind of deal

13:03

with it and created

13:05

an image in

13:07

my mind that represented the

13:10

American spirit. And it was

13:13

with the Statue of Liberty on

13:15

the front ground and where the

13:17

towers used to be. I put

13:20

huge American flag shape of a heart coming

13:22

out of the ashes. And I

13:24

had this vision that it needs to be

13:26

a mural at the ground zero. I

13:28

reached out to union

13:30

workers, steel union workers. And

13:32

I said, can you meet me at that building? And

13:35

I flew in and

13:37

they showed up and they were

13:39

really upset with me

13:42

wanting to do something there because they

13:44

said, you know, we hate

13:46

this place. And then I

13:48

saw the mock-up of what I did. And

13:51

they got quiet and they said, OK,

13:53

we'll do it. And I said, how

13:55

much do I need to pay you?

13:57

And they said nothing. 50

14:01

people showed up on Saturday. Yeah,

14:03

and put it up. It was 200

14:05

feet tall by 135 feet wide. Wow.

14:11

12 story building, it was a front of that.

14:13

And it got up in time for the anniversary.

14:15

And so when the president was there speaking and

14:17

it was all in the news, millions

14:19

and millions of people saw it. Amazing.

14:22

Wow. Oh my goodness, Yakov, you're

14:24

so tenacious. You, you, you.

14:27

Yeah, but it was intention, attention,

14:29

and not tension. When I was

14:31

about to give up, I was

14:34

like, okay, it's not gonna happen.

14:37

It happened. Wow. Well,

14:39

we're certainly happy that you gave us your

14:41

attention today, Dr. Yakov Smirnoff. Thank you so

14:43

much for being here. All

14:45

right, Dr. Professors Tillett and Smirnoff, we asked

14:47

each of you to provide us with a

14:50

few topics outside your field of work that

14:52

you know and love. So, Alamisha, you said

14:54

that you know and love the Nadal-Federer tennis

14:56

rivalry, the Donovan McNabb era

14:58

of the Philadelphia Eagles, and

15:01

Beyonce slash Rihanna. Whereas

15:03

Yakov, you said that you know and love

15:06

the Canary Islands, the science of love, and

15:09

the movie Crazy Stupid Love. Later

15:12

on, we'll ask each of you some in-depth trivia questions

15:14

about one of those topics. But first, we're gonna get

15:16

your thoughts on something you might know nothing about. It's

15:18

time to split some hairs with our What's the Difference

15:20

round. We'll have one question for each of you, each

15:22

worth up to two points. If

15:24

either of you gives an incorrect or incomplete

15:27

answer, the other person has a chance to

15:29

steal. Your topic today, make some noise. First

15:31

up is Salamisha. Salamisha, your question

15:33

comes from a listener. Who is

15:35

it, Helen? It's from J.R. Mohal

15:38

from Orlando, Florida. Listeners, if

15:40

you'd like to submit a

15:42

suggestion for our What's the

15:44

Difference round, go to gofactyourpod.com

15:46

and click on Get Involved.

15:48

All right, your question from J.R. is,

15:50

while they both help you make noise

15:52

sound better, what's the difference between sound

15:54

editing and sound mixing? Sound editing

15:57

and sound mixing. Sound editing

15:59

is. is maybe chopping

16:01

up and putting things together to

16:03

make a new, to complete something

16:06

and sound mixing is blending,

16:09

incorporating, bringing new

16:11

things in and

16:14

mixing it up. And mixing it up. It's right

16:16

there in the title. All right, we've got Salamisha's

16:18

answer. We don't know yet if she's entirely correct.

16:20

Yakov, you don't think she got it just right.

16:22

You can steal. What do you think? Anything you

16:24

want to add or change? I think I would

16:26

summarize it the same way. It's splicing. It's

16:29

editing, it's splicing and cutting it

16:31

together from different angles.

16:35

And sound mixing would be

16:37

blending in the sounds

16:39

to make it look organic. Okay,

16:41

sounds very similar. Well, it's time to edit this

16:43

segment. Let's go to Helen Hong at the judges

16:46

table for the facts. Here are the

16:48

facts. Sound editing is

16:50

the process of selecting each sound

16:53

for a recording and putting it in

16:55

the right place. So

16:57

mixing in two speed placement

16:59

of sounds and a chased

17:01

thing usually be

17:03

changing the length or the volume

17:05

to create the final cut for

17:07

mix every year. That's

17:10

right. Now in movies, the Academy Awards

17:12

used to have separate categories for best

17:14

sound editing and best sound mixing. But

17:16

since 2020, have combined them into the

17:18

Oscar for best sound, which doesn't sound

17:20

sound to me. Helen, how did our

17:22

guests do? Wow, both

17:24

of you were like sort

17:26

of in zone kind of

17:28

maybe. Salamisha, I want to give

17:31

you one point because you

17:33

just said chopping up and putting together

17:35

for editing. And then

17:37

for mixing, you said blending and

17:39

incorporating, which is not

17:42

quite correct. I

17:46

think I'm going to give you one point.

17:48

Salamisha, one point for Salamisha. Very nice. All

17:50

right, up next and make some noise is

17:52

Yacov. Yacov, while both might make some noise,

17:54

what's the difference between a yell and a

17:56

shout? A yell and a shout?

17:59

Yell. is

18:01

when you are upset

18:05

with someone and

18:07

shout is when you're trying to get

18:10

someone's attention. Someone's attention might

18:12

not necessarily be angry at them, you just

18:14

want them to notice you. Right. Alright, we've

18:16

got Yakov's answer, don't know yet if he's

18:18

entirely correct. Salamisha, anything you want to change

18:20

your ad? I agree with a lot of

18:22

Yakov's. A yell comes from a place

18:26

of like anger or frustration and a

18:29

shout may again

18:32

be just a way of

18:34

communicating loudly to someone else to get their attention

18:36

or if you're in a big crowded

18:39

area. So maybe it's not maybe

18:41

maybe oddly more objective, less passionate

18:43

way of communicating, whereas a yell

18:46

seems like it really comes up

18:49

in a fight or frustrated

18:51

moment. Got it. Alright, well this segment is

18:53

going straight to yell. Let's go to Helen

18:55

Hong at the judges table for the facts.

18:57

Here are the facts. A yell

19:03

is any loud

19:05

vocalization. A shout

19:07

is a loud vocalization of

19:10

words. You might have to

19:12

yell to be heard but you shout

19:14

to be heard and understood. That's right. Now

19:16

yell, as you both noted, does carry the

19:18

connotation of anger like when I yell at

19:20

kids to get off my lawn but shout

19:22

is more about raising your voice to be

19:24

heard in a loud environment like when I

19:26

shout at a loud dance club that I

19:28

want to go home because there are kids

19:30

on my lawn. Helen, how did our guest do?

19:32

You know what, I think I'm gonna give one

19:34

point to Yakov because you did say, you

19:37

know, the anger or frustration and then

19:39

I think I'm also gonna give half a

19:41

point to Salamisha because you said, you know,

19:43

trying to get someone's attention at a club

19:46

yelling loudly. So one point

19:48

for Yakov and half a point for Salamisha. Alright and

19:50

what's our score at the end of that round? At

19:52

the end of that round, Salamisha Tillet has a

19:54

point and a half and Yakov Smirnov has one point.

19:57

Those scores are bound to change though as we move

19:59

on to question. about topics our guests have

20:01

chosen for themselves, so don't slip ahead when

20:03

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you, ButcherBox. Adorable.

21:46

Adorable. Welcome

21:51

back to Go Fact Yourself with

21:53

our guests, Salamisha Tillett and Yakov

21:55

Smirnoff. Once again, here's Jakey Van

21:57

Straten. Thank you so much, Helen.

22:00

Alright, Salamisha, of your many interests, you told

22:02

us that you know and love the

22:04

Nadal Federer tennis rivalry, the Donovan McNabb

22:06

era of the Philadelphia Eagles, and Beyonce

22:08

slash Rihanna. Let's find out a little

22:10

bit more about each of those. First,

22:12

tell us why you know and love

22:14

the Nadal Federer tennis rivalry. I've been

22:16

a tennis fan for a very long

22:18

time. It's a sport that I've taught

22:20

myself to understand. But that's

22:22

like, you know, that's probably the

22:24

best we're going to see. And for those of

22:26

us who've grown up watching them play and to

22:28

see these long matches or even short

22:31

matches where they just kept on challenging

22:33

each other to be better, it was

22:35

an adventure to watch them. And I'm

22:38

sad that they're not here anymore, because now,

22:40

you know, tennis is

22:42

a little bit different. Well, speaking of competition,

22:44

you also said that you know and love the

22:46

Donovan McNabb era of the Philadelphia Eagles. I do

22:49

remember that era. I don't know how fact

22:51

based my answers will be. That's right. Well,

22:54

tell us about the love part. A lot of emotion, a lot

22:56

of emotion. A lot of emotion. Yeah. And

22:59

then, you know, we didn't he didn't close it. We didn't

23:01

win that Super Bowl. But he tried.

23:03

He tried. He tried. Well, yes,

23:05

love is not always logical. Yeah. And

23:08

if you're an Eagles fan until last

23:11

couple of years, it's been a series

23:13

of heartbreaks. But now you can't say that anymore because

23:15

they did win a Super Bowl. So, you know. All

23:17

right. And then finally, tell us what it

23:20

is that you know and love about Beyonce slash Rihanna. Yeah.

23:22

I know this isn't all like tricky, right?

23:24

Who doesn't love Beyonce? Who doesn't love Rihanna?

23:27

But yeah, I don't know. I mean,

23:30

it's interesting to watch these two artists

23:32

in very different ways dominate

23:34

pop music and maybe

23:37

with Rihanna beyond pop music kind

23:39

of doing multiple things at once, like

23:41

doesn't need to have an album for like

23:44

five, six years. But still we

23:47

see her at the Super Bowl and we see her

23:49

dominating various industries, particularly fashion

23:51

and beauty. And then Beyonce is

23:53

Beyonce. I think she's our greatest

23:55

living entertainer in

23:57

a different tradition than even pop

23:59

music. Allows her to be

24:01

so I'm really happy to live in

24:03

the era of Beyonce and so hopefully know

24:05

something about her as well All right Well

24:07

to summarize how let me show you said

24:09

that you know in love and adult Federer

24:11

tennis rivalry the Donovan McNabb era of the

24:13

Philadelphia Eagles and Beyonce slash Rihanna today. We

24:15

want to quiz you about Beyonce

24:18

slash Rihanna Okay

24:31

Have you gotten a chance to see them

24:33

perform live before I've never seen Rihanna perform live

24:35

I have actually Tended every

24:37

solo tour of Beyonce. Oh, okay. Go

24:39

back with her Yeah, and I understand

24:42

you've actually taught about them in your

24:44

classes. I have I taught a class

24:46

on Beyonce Solange

24:48

and Jay-Z My last class

24:51

at Penn was on the three of them,

24:53

which was amazing and very well attended And

24:55

then and then I did teach a

24:58

class I've incorporated Rihanna and some of

25:00

my classes on black women performers So

25:02

you know how mad I am that

25:04

I went to college in a time where

25:06

just this kind of like scholarship was

25:08

not Available. Yeah, we're acceptable or like,

25:11

you know, I never when I went

25:13

to college We don't it would have

25:15

been unheard of that. Yeah, the university

25:17

class on Beyonce Yeah, it seemed to

25:19

be a lot of dead white guys

25:22

Well, I meet you I mean I didn't have a class like

25:24

this though it's been fun to

25:27

think about how we can teach these people

25:29

we consume and listen to you and try

25:31

to have a You know who are passionate

25:33

about but also understand them in a larger

25:35

context. So absolutely well just ahead We're gonna list

25:37

the help in a bona fide expert in your

25:39

topic with an expert level question with up to

25:41

three points But before that to let you show

25:43

your love here are five trivia questions about your

25:45

topic each worth one point If you

25:48

want it a lot of hint for any

25:50

two of these five questions now Yaakov do

25:52

listen closely because if Salaamisha answers incorrectly you

25:54

could steal by the way Yaakov How much

25:56

do you know about Beyonce's flash Rihanna very

25:58

little so I? We're

26:00

excited to find out. Okay, well,

26:03

we've got a professor here, so

26:06

let's find out together. Salivis, here's question number one. I

26:08

have a feeling you might know this one. In

26:11

2013, Beyonce performed at an event that over

26:13

110 million Americans watched. Ten

26:15

years later, in February of this year,

26:17

Rihanna performed at the same event, attracting

26:20

over 118 million

26:22

American viewers, the most ever. What annual

26:24

event has been blessed to host both

26:26

of these amazing artists? Okay,

26:28

one, well, the answer is the Super

26:30

Bowl, but before that I was like,

26:33

oh, Barack Obama's inauguration had that

26:35

many viewers. Helen, it is a

26:37

Super Bowl. Yes,

26:39

Super Bowl. It is a Super Bowl. It

26:41

is a Super Bowl. Very nice. Fun

26:44

fact, Rihanna was originally approached to headline the halftime

26:46

show for 2019, Super Bowl

26:48

53, but turned down the gig in

26:50

a gesture of support to Colin Kaepernick.

26:52

Beyonce was a guest performer also at

26:54

the Super Bowl 50 halftime show, headlined

26:57

by Coldplay, where she performed Formation for

26:59

the first time, which had just been

27:01

released as a surprise single the day

27:03

before. All right, here's question number two.

27:06

While Beyonce has 32 Grammy Awards

27:08

to Rihanna's nine, they are tied

27:10

when it comes to Academy Award

27:12

nominations with one. Their best

27:15

original song nominations were for movies honored

27:17

at the last two Oscar ceremonies. One

27:19

of these movies is about tennis royalty.

27:21

The other is a sequel about royalty

27:24

in a fictional African country. What are

27:26

the names of either of these films?

27:28

Oh, God, the Serena, the

27:31

William sister, oh, the Will Smith

27:33

film, I guess, King Richard,

27:36

and then Black Panther

27:38

Wakanda Forever. Oh, giving us

27:40

both answers. Helen, is she right? That

27:42

is correct. That is correct on both of them. Very good. Fun

27:45

fact, King Richard's nominated song by Beyonce

27:47

is Be Alive. Black Panther Wakanda Forever's

27:50

nominated song by Rihanna is Lift Me

27:52

Up. All right, you're two for two,

27:54

Salome. Here's question number three. Both

27:56

Rihanna and Beyonce have been featured performers on

27:58

tracks for other artists. and both

28:01

have featured other artists on their own

28:03

tracks. They have often collaborated with the

28:05

same people, but which of the following

28:07

artists has not collaborated with both Beyonce

28:10

and Rihanna on a released recording? Is

28:13

it Drake, Shakira, Mary

28:15

J. Blige, Nicki Minaj, or

28:18

Jay-Z? Which has not? Yes.

28:20

One of them has not collaborated with both

28:23

of the artists. I'm

28:27

gonna say Shakira. Helen? That

28:30

is not correct. Oh my God! No, I'm terribly sorry.

28:32

Shakira has collaborated with both of them. Jaco, I have

28:34

a chance to steal. Who

28:36

is it, Jaco? I'd say Jay-Z. Helen?

28:40

That is also not correct. No, I'm terribly

28:42

sorry. Reasonable guesses for both of you. The correct

28:44

answer is Mary J. Blige. Beyonce

28:46

collaborated with Mary J. Blige on Love a Woman,

28:48

but Rihanna has yet to collaborate with her. She

28:51

did, however, present Mary J. Blige with a Lifetime

28:53

Achievement Award at the BET Awards, where she dressed

28:55

in an outfit that made her look like Mary

28:58

J. Blige. No point there for either of you. Let's

29:00

see if you can bounce back with question number

29:02

four. You do still have your two hints available.

29:05

Yeah. Neither Beyonce nor Rihanna

29:07

really speak Spanish, but that hasn't stopped

29:09

them from dabbling. Rihanna had a hit

29:11

with Te Amo, and Beyonce had an

29:14

entire EP of Spanish language songs called

29:16

What? Can I get a hint? Helen,

29:19

how about that first hint? It's the Spanish

29:21

translation of her

29:23

song, Irreplaceable, and

29:26

it sounds like it takes place in

29:28

a plaza. Okay, it sounds like

29:30

it takes place in a plaza. Mm-hmm.

29:35

I don't speak Spanish, but is it

29:38

Ira Plaza? Helen? No.

29:40

Oh, my God. Not quite. No, I'm terribly

29:42

sorry. Yoc, over the chance to

29:44

steal. How do you speak Spanish? Oof.

29:48

I was told by my parents,

29:51

don't steal, so I'm not going. You're

29:54

not going to steal. Wow, that's very generous

29:56

and timely. We were looking for Ira Plaza,

29:58

but... Eremplazable

30:00

or Eremplazable. Ereplaza

30:02

in the middle, Eremplazable. You were pretty close but

30:04

didn't quite nail it, I'm sorry. Fun

30:07

fact, one of the songs on the

30:09

album was commissioned by a TV production

30:11

company to be used as the theme

30:13

song for the telenovela series El Zorro,

30:15

La Espara y La Rosa. Oh bueno,

30:17

Jackie. Gracias. And yet I

30:19

do not still know, despite practicing

30:21

it overnight, how to say Eremplazable.

30:25

But nevertheless, let's move on to question number five.

30:27

You still have another hint available. Beyonce

30:29

and Rihanna have only collaborated on one

30:31

commercially released song, a 2008 single

30:34

credited to a vocal supergroup that

30:36

also included one named stars Ashanti,

30:38

Fergie, and Sierra to name just

30:40

a few. What was the

30:43

name of that supergroup whose songs

30:45

proceeds benefited a popular charity? Oh

30:47

my god, I don't know Beyonce,

30:49

Rihanna. Can you give me, I have one more hint, right? You

30:51

do. This is the last question for me? Yes,

30:53

this is the last question. I have five questions? Okay,

30:55

so I'll use the hint for this one, I guess. Ellen,

30:59

how about that second hint? They were

31:01

artists who stood up

31:04

to a disease. What

31:07

year was it? This was 2008. Okay,

31:09

artists who stand up. I keep

31:13

on thinking it's

31:15

hunger, but that's not a disease. So

31:18

yeah, no, no, I know. I'm not saying that

31:20

as my answer. That's all right. Artists

31:23

who stand up for cancer. Cancer,

31:26

seems like one. What would that be together?

31:28

If it were cancer, what would their group

31:31

be called? Artists who stand

31:33

up against cancer.

31:38

Ellen? No. I will

31:40

accept it. Okay, okay, okay. Yes, yes, yes.

31:42

I will accept it. Yay. I

31:44

will accept it. Yes, no, they were not pro-cancer. No, I was

31:46

going to try. No, no, no. The

31:50

actual group was called artists stand up to cancer.

31:52

Stand up to, okay. Yes, yes. Fun

31:55

fact, the super group also included Miley Cyrus,

31:57

Carrie Underwood, and Leigh Ann Rimes. called

32:00

Just Stand Up and a live performance

32:02

of the song was part of a

32:04

telethon that raised over 100 million dollars

32:06

for the charity Stand Up to Cancer.

32:09

Wow, I'm learning a lot.

32:11

Thank you so much for this experience. Thank you,

32:13

we can all learn. It's fun. Alright, you did

32:15

pretty well on that, but now here's your expert

32:17

level question that requires multiple answers. Salomeche, it is

32:19

time for your cluster fact. We'll

32:24

be bringing on an expert to discuss your response. Legendary

32:27

songwriters and producers Tricky Stewart and

32:29

Kook Harel have both earned Grammy

32:31

Awards for their work with Rihanna

32:34

and Beyonce. Kook Harel

32:36

won a best urban contemporary album

32:38

Grammy for producing Rihanna's second most

32:40

recent album from 2012. Tricky

32:43

Stewart won a best dance electronic

32:45

recording Grammy for producing and writing

32:47

the lead single from Beyonce's most

32:50

recent studio album, Renaissance, and they

32:52

both won Grammys for Song of

32:54

the Year for co-writing the biggest

32:56

hit single from Beyonce's I Am

32:58

Sasha Fierce album. For up

33:01

to three points, what is that Grammy

33:03

winning Rihanna album and what are those

33:05

two Grammy winning Beyonce songs? I

33:14

know this, okay, okay, okay. I think you

33:16

got it, I think you got it. So

33:18

what is that song called? Break My Soul. Break

33:21

My Soul you sing is one of the Beyonce songs. What was

33:23

the other one though? The last Beyonce

33:26

one. The last one was one song of the year and it was from

33:29

it was the biggest hit single from I Am Sasha

33:32

Fierce. Put a ring on it. Put

33:34

a ring on it, okay. And

33:36

then we're looking for Rihanna's 2012 album, two

33:39

albums ago. I

33:42

hear I think I've run right now. Okay, no worries. That's right.

33:47

Even professors can have a little test anxiety. It's

33:49

fine. All right, great. Helen is taking note of

33:51

those answers. We've been expert on handing tells for

33:53

sure. In fact, we have two. Helen, who do

33:55

we have tonight? Joining us tonight

33:57

from Los Angeles and Atlanta are

33:59

two. songwriters, producers,

34:01

and executives who between

34:04

them have eight Grammy Awards.

34:06

Many of them work with

34:09

Rihanna and Beyonce. It's

34:11

Tricky Stewart and Kookarell. I'm

34:13

so sorry. Hello

34:16

Tricky, hello Kook. Hey, how

34:19

are you? So wonderful to have you.

34:21

Thank you much for joining us. My goodness,

34:23

the accomplishments that you guys have had in

34:25

the music business, in addition to the

34:27

work with Rihanna and Beyonce that we'll talk

34:30

about. You've had multiple number one hits, multi-platinum

34:32

records. You've worked with other artists including Mary

34:34

J. Blige, who we talked about before,

34:36

Celine Dion, Usher, Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, Katy

34:38

Perry, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, just to name

34:41

a few. What an incredible career you guys

34:43

have had. Yeah, wow indeed, Helen. That

34:45

sounds good when you say it like that.

34:47

I know, I love it. I love

34:49

it. I'm like, I'm getting starstruck. I'm

34:52

getting a little hot. I feel like

34:54

we can have you back for so

34:56

many episodes. Anytime those artists always come

34:58

up, what an incredible career. Tricky, I

35:00

understand you're in Atlanta, Kook, you're in

35:02

LA, but before you collaborated, tell us

35:04

how you two knew each other. Kook

35:06

and I know each other because we're

35:08

actually first cousins. Our mothers, our sisters,

35:10

so we didn't have much choice in

35:12

the matter. That's so incredible. Do

35:17

you remember the first thing that you wrote

35:19

together? Ooh, Tricky, I'll

35:21

say this and maybe you could tell me,

35:23

was it Be My Girl? Yeah, it

35:26

was probably Be My Girl

35:28

on Immature. Yeah, that was the first

35:30

song that we wrote together. Wow, you

35:32

guys have really talented genes. Yeah, I'm

35:34

kidding. I'm from a talented gene pool.

35:36

Thank you. Well, you

35:38

also have another writing partner that you've

35:41

often collaborated with, The Dream. How do

35:43

you collaborate to write a song? Go

35:45

for it, Trey. Our collaboration process always

35:47

usually starts with whether it's

35:49

to beat or whether it's,

35:51

and when I say the beat, I mean

35:53

the programming of the beat in real time

35:55

or a piano, maybe a guitar, like,

35:57

and for like one of the, in one of the

35:59

instances. and says that when we did Umbrella,

36:03

Kook started the beat and I

36:05

was on keyboards and Dream was in the

36:07

vocal booth and it was a collaboration that

36:09

we actually recorded in real time and

36:12

most of it was actually recorded live

36:14

and it started with Kook's discovery of

36:16

logic at the time or

36:18

not even the discovery, he was just going through loops

36:20

and stuff. I think it was. The

36:24

iconic Umbrella loop. Wow. We

36:26

were just kind of vibing and so

36:28

it's different ways to do

36:30

it but I think organically is always the best

36:32

way in the songs that we personally have written.

36:35

It's from the ground up. Just

36:37

completely unrelated. That song

36:39

helped me actually procure an Umbrella

36:42

when I was in France. I

36:46

did not know the French word for Umbrella

36:48

and I was trying to get one and I was like,

36:50

under my umbrella. Oh man. And

36:53

they actually, they were like, all right, all right,

36:55

I got you. That's funny. Yeah,

36:57

you never know the impact you're gonna have when

37:00

you're in the studio creating a song like that that

37:02

can help the world like that. Well, it's interesting, Salomeisha

37:04

talked about how she's taught courses that

37:06

involve the work of Rihanna and Beyonce.

37:08

Did you guys have a sense of

37:11

how the work that you've done with

37:13

them has entered the culture and become

37:15

something that is so important?

37:17

Most definitely. I mean, it's very

37:19

humbling to see the stuff that

37:22

we've come up with together, how

37:24

it impacts not just

37:26

us and not just locally but

37:28

how it literally impacted the world.

37:30

Like those records changed our lives,

37:33

changed hundreds of people's lives

37:35

that were involved in it. But then when

37:37

you realize that it's just spanned across the

37:39

globe, it's absolutely amazing. And Kook, you work

37:41

with so many artists, but how would you

37:44

say that Beyonce and Rihanna are either similar

37:46

to each other or different from each other

37:48

when you're in the vocal recording studio? Their

37:50

vocal ability is off the charts. That

37:52

combined with their work ethic of

37:55

always driving to not

37:57

make good things but make great things.

38:00

to create great pieces of music

38:02

that are actually pushing the envelope and

38:04

actually making a difference within the music

38:06

industry. And I have to ask, one

38:08

of the songs that Salimisha mentioned, we'll

38:11

find out if she's correct later, is

38:13

of course, Single Ladies Put a Ring

38:15

on it. That is a song

38:17

that you all did. How does a songwriting team

38:19

mostly of men write a song like Single Ladies?

38:23

That's the genius of Dream,

38:25

right? Dream has a special gift

38:27

in that way. He literally can live

38:29

his life in the shoes of an artist

38:31

and write the record as

38:33

if they wrote it literally themselves. And

38:37

if he cares enough about what

38:39

the target is, he's the best in the business.

38:42

Oh my gosh. I can't

38:45

– I can you imagine how many women

38:47

have been like to the left to the left? Well,

38:51

that one was written by a man, too. I

38:53

mean, I guess it takes the one to know

38:55

what you need to be doing, you know? Yeah.

38:58

But that's what art is as a creative, as

39:00

a writer, is to put yourself in and give

39:02

yourself the empathy to speak up for other characters.

39:05

Absolutely. And I'm curious, you know, your songs

39:07

are so ubiquitous. You can't go to a

39:09

wedding without hearing that song. Love it. But

39:12

I would imagine that you must have heard your songs

39:14

in some unexpected places. Anything come to mind where you've

39:16

heard a song play and been like, wait a minute,

39:18

that's the one that I wrote. I think when you're

39:20

in church and hear your songs play,

39:23

you know, like when you see it going

39:25

viral and like you see gospel choirs doing

39:27

like umbrella and stuff like that, I think

39:29

those are the kind of the – some

39:31

of the most – the biggest things that

39:33

stick out to me. Yeah. Well,

39:36

you both, of course, are still active in the business. Can

39:38

you tell us what each of you are working on and

39:40

then what we might hear next from you? Tricky, why don't

39:42

you go ahead? Right now, I'm

39:44

having a lot of fun. Work well. My

39:46

good friend, Usher, we've been in locked in.

39:48

He's having a monster comeback year, I feel.

39:51

The other things that I'm working on is I just

39:53

launched a new label with Epic Records.

39:56

I just signed a really exciting group out of

39:58

the Philippines that I love. that whether

40:00

Filipino and they're from Australia, but

40:03

their name is horizon and

40:05

they're just like in a phenomenal Vocal group and

40:07

I think there's a need for that and I

40:09

think there's a need for the groups to come

40:12

back So we're looking at that and signed a

40:14

young lady named Alice Chater from England that we're

40:16

really excited about That's gonna be so exciting to

40:18

feel that you have a hand in breaking new

40:21

talent. Well, yeah, that's that's the most

40:23

exciting part You know the the you know

40:25

joining the careers is one type of win

40:27

But when you put up a new tower,

40:29

it feels a lot different And so who

40:31

can I we've been there for a lot

40:33

of these artists whether it was you know,

40:35

Justin Bieber Frank Ocean or dream himself You

40:38

know to put new talent into the game

40:40

at a high level where there's something that

40:42

literally exists because of your contribution Always

40:45

feels just even a little

40:47

sweeter, you know Getting

40:50

an A-list cut very cool and cook

40:52

what do you have going on for yourself right

40:54

now? just collaborating with tricky on one of the

40:56

usher records that he's been working on as well

40:59

as Money long money long

41:01

and I had a like a monster

41:03

hit What that's been what

41:05

six months maybe almost a year now called hours

41:07

an hour So it was just like a breakout

41:10

smash So we're actually working on her album

41:12

right now and I'm really excited one the

41:14

Grammy for that by the way Want to

41:16

Grammy for that? Yep. Yeah, was

41:19

that R&B song of the year? Yeah, it was best

41:21

R&B song Yeah, R&B song of the

41:23

year and then we also won the Soul Train

41:25

Ashford and Simpson Best song

41:27

award for that as well Wow Well

41:29

speaking of Grammys, let's get to the reason we

41:32

brought you here as far as our game is

41:34

concerned You heard the question that we asked the

41:36

Salamisia. We wanted to know what was the Grammy-winning

41:38

Rihanna album that someone named kook Harelle won a

41:40

Beth Urban Contemporary album Grammy for I know Salamisia

41:42

was not able to pull an answer for that.

41:44

No worries kook What was that album called? Unapologetic.

41:48

She's nodding and smiling now I think I think you have that

41:50

somewhere in your mind, but wasn't able to pull it. No worry

41:53

Congratulations on that Grammy of course Thank

41:56

you All

41:59

right Next we wanted to know, what was

42:01

the single from Beyonce, the lead

42:04

single from Renaissance that won the Best

42:06

Dance Electronic Recording Grammy? Helen, what did

42:08

Salamisha not only say but sing? Salamisha

42:11

said, Break My Soul. And gentlemen?

42:14

That's it. That is right.

42:16

That is correct. She knew that one. Yay!

42:19

All right. Doing the dance from it as well. Very nice.

42:22

Very nice for the point. A big smile

42:24

from Salamisha. And then finally wanted to know,

42:26

what did they both win Grammys for for

42:29

Song of the Year for the biggest hit

42:31

single from Beyonce's I Am Sasha fierce album?

42:33

Helen, what did Salamisha say? Salamisha said, Put

42:35

a Ring on It. And gentlemen? That

42:37

is correct. Yes, the official title, Single Ladies,

42:40

in parenthesis, Put a Ring on It. Some

42:42

more dancing and ring moves there. Very nice,

42:44

Salamisha, for the point. Salamisha, while we have

42:46

our experts here, anything you'd like to ask

42:48

or say to them? No, I'm just so

42:51

excited to meet you both and thank you so

42:53

much for just making the world so

42:55

much more beautiful and working with

42:57

these artists to make our lives richer.

42:59

So thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank

43:01

you. It's a great honor. Thank you so

43:04

much. It's an honor to meet you as well.

43:06

Oh, thank you. Yay! Tricky, if people want

43:08

to find out more about you and what you're up to, where

43:10

can they do that? Well, if they

43:12

want to follow me on Instagram, they can

43:14

go to Tricky Stewart. And if they want

43:16

to go to my LinkedIn about more things

43:18

that I'm doing on the business side, they

43:20

can go to Tricky Stewart on my LinkedIn

43:22

page, or they can go to sessions.com, which

43:25

is ultimately our new elevated recording experience here

43:27

in Atlanta to find out what it is

43:29

that we're doing and what we're curating for

43:31

these superstars and for the people that want

43:33

to feel like stars. Very

43:35

cool. And Kook, what about yourself?

43:37

For me, you can follow me on Instagram,

43:39

officialkookharrel, and also go to

43:42

kookharrel.com, find out everything I'm working

43:44

on. Excellent. I

43:47

know you guys have a lot going on. Everybody,

43:49

it's Tricky Stewart and Kookharrel. What a treat. Nice

43:51

to meet you guys. Yay, applause.

43:53

Thank you. Applause all around on the Zoom.

43:55

Yay. All right, Helen, what is our score at

43:57

the end of that round? Salamisha

44:00

Tillett has six and a half points

44:02

and Yakov Smirnov has one point with

44:04

a round of questions for Yakov coming

44:06

up. That's right, we're going to talk

44:08

with Yakov about a topic he knows the best. Plus

44:10

later, Salamisha and Yakov will go head to head in

44:12

our Fast Facts round all to find a winner

44:14

on GoFactors. Folks,

44:18

we get it. Keeping up with an actual

44:20

play podcast in this economy is a tough

44:22

sell. That's why we have

44:24

great news for you. The Adventure Zone is changing

44:27

up its format. We're going to be doing some

44:29

shorter seasons, more experimental stuff. There's never been a

44:31

better time to get on board the Zone. And

44:33

if you're sick of listening to our voices, we

44:35

get that too. So we're including some guests. On

44:38

this upcoming one, we've got Kate Welch and Gabe

44:40

Hicks, who are incredible. And you

44:42

want to try out some new games? You got it.

44:44

We've got the new Marvel Multiverse RPG. We're

44:47

using that and with a really brilliant

44:49

GM doing it. It's that.

44:51

What he's saying is it's that. It's that doing it. You

44:54

can listen every Thursday on maximumfun.org or wherever

44:56

you get your podcast. I'm

45:01

glad you said that because nobody says that. Can

45:04

I just say thank you to you for such a

45:06

thoughtful interview? Oh, my God. Yeah, I think

45:08

you nailed it. Bullseye!

45:10

Interviews with creators you love and creators

45:12

you need to know. Listen

45:14

to the Bullseye podcast only from NPR and

45:17

Maximum Fun. Welcome

45:21

back to Go Fact Yourself with our guests, Salamisha

45:23

Tillett and Yakov Smirnov. Once again, here's J.

45:26

Keith Van Straten. Thank you so much, Helen. All

45:28

right, Yakov, of your many interests, you told us that

45:30

you know and love the Canary Islands, the

45:32

science of love and the movie Crazy Stupid Love. Let's

45:36

find out a little bit more about each of those. First,

45:38

tell us why you know and love the Canary Islands.

45:40

I got to know them after my wife's parents died. After

45:46

my wife's family moved

45:49

there from Ukraine after the

45:51

war started. Oh, wow. I

45:55

just love the color of the water

45:57

with the black because of the canary.

46:00

volcano islands, so

46:02

black sand and bright

46:04

blue water and great

46:07

weather during the most

46:09

of the year. Wow that sounds

46:11

like a winning combination. Alright next tell us about

46:13

the science of love and what that means to

46:15

you. That's one of the reasons I went

46:18

to Japan and then I got

46:20

my doctor at Pepperdine because I

46:22

wanted to do research on

46:25

happiness and laughter and

46:28

using those markers to

46:31

continue improved

46:33

relationships. So that's why

46:36

I'm so passionate about that. So should we be

46:38

calling you the love doctor? Sure.

46:41

Okay. I add

46:43

that to my title. Yeah nobody would turn that

46:45

down. As someone

46:47

who's chronically single I could

46:49

use a little scientific explanation.

46:51

I can help you. Oh

46:55

we'll follow up with that on another episode.

46:57

That's great. Alright and then finally tell us

46:59

why you know and love the movie Crazy

47:01

Stupid Love. I just think it's part of

47:03

it because I'm very interested

47:05

in that topic of

47:08

love and because the movie

47:10

is funny and touching

47:13

and I find that to

47:15

be very appealing to me

47:18

because of all these different stories that

47:20

then intertwine to make it a fun

47:22

romantic comedy. Very well said. Alright so

47:24

to summarize, Yakov, you said that you

47:27

know in Love the Canary Islands the

47:29

science of love and the movie Crazy

47:31

Stupid Love. Today we're gonna quiz you

47:33

about Crazy Stupid

47:35

Love. Okay. Does that

47:37

demonstrate the science of love? Do you see that

47:40

in action in the movie? Very

47:42

much so. It has a lot

47:45

of examples that illustrate

47:47

different kind of

47:49

relationships that they

47:51

portray and each

47:54

of those people have

47:57

a story that intertwines

48:00

So yes, very much so and do you

48:02

have a favorite scene or favorite line from

48:04

the film what comes to my mind?

48:08

Is when Ryan

48:10

Gosling? slaps Corel,

48:14

yeah, and says don't don't

48:17

ever wear this again.

48:19

Yeah Really

48:22

really anchors the point All

48:25

right Well just ahead we're gonna list the help

48:27

of notified expert in this topic with a question

48:29

worth up to three points But before that to

48:31

let you show your love on this here are

48:33

five trivia questions each worth one point And of

48:36

course you were allowed to hint on any two

48:38

of these five questions now Salamisha do listen closely

48:40

because if Yaakov answers incorrectly you could steal by

48:42

the way salamisha How much do you know about

48:44

the movie crazy stupid love? I don't know a

48:47

lot about it. Okay Well,

48:50

we'll see if well Yaakov gives you a chance to

48:52

come in Yaakov. Here's question number one crazy

48:55

stupid love features performances from some

48:57

movie veterans including three Oscar winners

48:59

Emma Stone Marissa Tomei and Julianne

49:01

Moore But it's also the big

49:03

screen debut of a performer who

49:05

at the time was best known

49:07

for his music Including his hit

49:09

you raise me up Who

49:12

is this talented man who plays

49:14

Emma Stone's Hannah's disappointing boyfriend and

49:16

is currently on Broadway in a

49:18

Tony-nominated role in Sweeney Todd is

49:20

it Josh Groban Helen

49:22

that is correct. Yes, Josh Groban. Very

49:25

nice Fun fact the versatile

49:27

Josh Groban has appeared on episodes of Crazy

49:29

Ex-Girlfriend Parks and Recreation

49:31

and it's always sunny in Philadelphia

49:33

all playing himself Alright,

49:36

here's question number two in one of the

49:38

first scenes Steve Corral's Cal and Julianne Moore's

49:41

Emily Seemingly in a rut in their marriage

49:43

are having trouble deciding what to get for

49:45

dessert at a restaurant Cal suggests that they

49:47

say what they want on the count of

49:50

three He says creme brulee, but what life-changing

49:52

thing does she say she wants she wants

49:54

divorce? Helen that

49:56

is correct. That is correct for the point fun

49:59

fact according to an interview with Emma Stone,

50:01

the movie once had the working title,

50:03

Untitled Marital Crisis Comedy, that being

50:06

the marital crisis, a title that she hoped

50:08

would stick, but for some reason it did

50:10

not. All right,

50:12

here's question number three. Crazy Stupid Love

50:14

is a movie that mentions many other

50:16

movies, but which of the following movies

50:19

is not mentioned in Crazy Stupid Love?

50:21

Is it Dirty Dancing, The Karate

50:24

Kid, Saturday Night Fever, Twilight,

50:27

or Saw III? Karate

50:29

Kid. Helen? That

50:31

is not correct. No, I'm terribly sorry. The Karate

50:33

Kid is mentioned. Salamisia with a chance to steal.

50:36

Twilight? Helen? That

50:39

is not correct. No, I'm terribly sorry. Twilight

50:41

is mentioned. Saturday Night Fever is not

50:43

mentioned in the movie. The Karate Kid

50:46

is mentioned as Ryan Gosling's Jacob Trains

50:48

Cal on Meeting Women. Emily

50:50

says she didn't like the new Twilight movie.

50:52

Hannah says she T-Vogue Saw III when she

50:54

first meets Jacob, and Dirty Dancing is discussed

50:57

and its iconic dance leap is recreated during

50:59

Jacob and Hannah's first night together. By the

51:01

way, we did a topic on Dirty Dancing

51:03

on episode 111 of Go Fact

51:06

Ourself. All right, no point there for

51:08

either of you, but let's see if you can bounce back

51:10

with question number four. You do still have your two hints

51:12

available. As he prepares to

51:14

seduce Hannah, Jacob prepares a cocktail, which

51:16

involves muddling a sugar cube with bitters,

51:19

slicing the peel of an orange, and

51:21

adding whiskey over an ice cube. What

51:23

cocktail has he made for her? You

51:27

do have a hint available if you'd like to use

51:29

your hand. Oh yeah, what's the hint? Yeah, thank you.

51:31

Helen, how about that hint? It's not a

51:33

newfangled. Oldfangled. Helen

51:36

is it Oldfangled? Not quite.

51:39

No,

51:42

I'm terribly sorry. Salamisia with a chance to steal.

51:44

Yeah, actually it's my favorite drink.

51:47

Oldfashioned. Helen? That is

51:49

correct. That is correct. It's a acceptable

51:51

deal. All right, because you said Newfangle. Oldfangle, whatever you said.

51:53

Sorry, I'm sorry. I have a name,

51:55

Smirnoff, but I don't drink. Oh, that's

51:58

all they got you. According

52:00

to Esquire magazine, although many movies

52:02

get cocktails wrong, Crazy Stupid Love got

52:05

the old fashioned quote amazingly right. Ryan

52:07

Gosling took lessons on how to make

52:09

the drink from Eric Alperin, the co-owner

52:11

of The Varnish bar in downtown LA.

52:15

All right, here's question number five. You still have

52:17

a hint available. Steve Carell

52:19

didn't just star in the movie. It was

52:21

also the first film produced by his production

52:23

company. What is the name of that production

52:25

company? What's the hint? Helen, how about that

52:27

second hint? It's not uncommon

52:30

to see horses, children,

52:32

or luggage on

52:35

one of these. Oh,

52:37

it's, it's a

52:40

wheel. I

52:44

don't know the name. Helen is it a

52:46

wheel? It is not a wheel. No, I'm terribly sorry.

52:48

Salamishe, chance to steal? I feel so bad. Should

52:52

I go for the win, Yakov, or should I

52:54

just be nice? Oh, be nice.

52:56

Go for the win. Why not? A

52:59

carousel? Helen? That is

53:01

correct. That is correct. Carousel

53:03

Productions. Carousel

53:05

Productions, you'll see a luggage carousel

53:07

and then children and painted horses

53:10

on a carnival carousel. Fun

53:12

fact, Vance DeGeneres, whom Carell worked with at

53:14

The Daily Show, is a producer at Carousel

53:17

Productions and is an executive producer on Crazy

53:19

Stupid Love. The Daily Show's Beth Littleford plays

53:21

babysitter Jessica's mom in the film. Beth Littleford

53:24

was a guest on the very first episode

53:26

of Go Fact Yourself. All

53:28

right, Yakov, you did pretty well on that, but now

53:30

here's your expert level question that requires multiple answers. It

53:32

is time for your cluster fact. We'll

53:37

be bringing on an expert to discuss your response.

53:40

Yakov, as we mentioned, the journey to

53:42

the title of Crazy Stupid Love started

53:45

as untitled marital crisis comedy, but when

53:47

the movie was being shot, it was

53:49

known as Untitled Dan Fogelman Project, referring

53:51

to its screenwriter. This didn't

53:53

sit well with the directors Glenn Sequeira and

53:56

John Rickwa, who offered anyone on set a

53:58

prize if they came up with the

54:00

winning title. Ultimately, the title

54:02

was taken from a cut line

54:04

spoken by teen actor Jonah Bobo.

54:07

So for up to three points, what

54:09

tech item, which had just been introduced

54:11

by Apple less than three months before

54:13

the first day of shooting in 2011,

54:15

did the directors offer as a prize?

54:17

What character did Jonah Bobo, who

54:19

spoke the cut line that became the

54:21

title play, and what two

54:24

different pieces of punctuation can be found

54:26

in the final official title? Oh,

54:31

the prize was a new iPhone.

54:34

Okay. The

54:36

character is son of

54:39

Steve Carell's character.

54:42

Okay. Cal is the

54:44

Cal. Yeah. And the

54:47

last one is punctuation

54:50

period and exclamation mark. All right. Helen is taking

54:52

note of the answers. We have an expert on

54:54

hand. You can tell us for sure. Helen,

54:56

who do we have tonight? Joining

54:59

us tonight from Los Angeles are

55:01

two writers and directors whose many

55:03

films include directing Crazy Stupid Love.

55:06

It's Glenn Siqueira and

55:08

John Bricwa. Hello, Glenn

55:11

and John. Hi, guys.

55:13

Hi. Wow. Wow.

55:16

So wonderful to see you. Yakov? Yes.

55:18

It's great to

55:20

see people who created

55:23

such a wonderful piece of art

55:25

that I enjoyed several times. Oh,

55:28

great. You should enjoy it again

55:31

as much as possible. I think

55:33

I will. Yes. Now that I

55:35

have all the questions that I

55:37

should have known answered, then I

55:39

will definitely. Well, my goodness, what

55:41

a treat to welcome you. In addition

55:43

to Crazy Stupid Love, which I'll talk about

55:45

in a moment, you've also written and or

55:47

directed films, including Bad Santa, The Bad News

55:50

Bears, I Love You, Philip Morris, Focus, Whiskey

55:52

Tango, Foxtrot, and along with TV like

55:54

This Is Us and Rabbit Hole. Again, incredible

55:56

careers that you guys have had. I understand

55:58

that you met at Pratt. We've

56:00

been talking a lot about collaboration and stuff, but

56:03

how did you two start working together and collaborating?

56:05

We met in college, Pratt in

56:07

Brooklyn, which is an art school. And,

56:11

you know, when you go to art school, apparently

56:13

you're supposed to take all these classes like drawing

56:16

and painting. Oh, that sounds very unexpected

56:18

when you go to an art school. Yeah.

56:20

But we were just there for the film program. So

56:22

we were expected to do these classes. And that's how

56:24

we met because we were the

56:27

people in those classes. We

56:30

were united by incompetence. And

56:34

we say we stay united by incompetence.

56:37

I'm joining you right now.

56:40

Yeah, you're welcome. Come.

56:42

Yeah, stand up to competence. That'll be our

56:44

journey. Well, I'm curious, why

56:46

do you direct together and how do you direct together?

56:48

How do you divide who does what? Because there's so

56:50

many decisions that a director has to make on a

56:52

film. We've always worked

56:54

together. We just were in school together and we

56:57

got out of school and we just kept working

56:59

together. And we were so

57:01

young and we've spent so much time together

57:03

that we don't really know where

57:06

our sensibilities begin and end. So fear

57:08

is why we

57:10

keep working together. Well,

57:13

what happens if you disagree on a decision to

57:15

be made? One

57:17

of us has got to be more passionate. I

57:19

mean, we know each other really well. We're best

57:21

friends. So we know when the other one's more

57:23

passionate and the one just lays down. Well,

57:28

let's talk about crazy, stupid love. Tell us about where you

57:30

were in your careers at that point and how you got

57:32

involved in that project. We

57:34

had finished a long odyssey of making our

57:36

first film. I Love You, Philip Morris with

57:38

Jim Carrey. It was a low budget movie

57:40

and a labor of love. But it was

57:43

essentially a movie about a con man. And

57:45

when we went to the Sundance Film Festival with

57:47

it, the owner of the film sold

57:50

the movie to a con man. Oh,

57:52

no. And as a result, the

57:55

movie did not get released

57:57

for a long time. They could get

57:59

it back. When they

58:01

finally got it back, it was a little

58:03

too late to get a theatrical, a good

58:05

theatrical release because it was already on airplanes

58:07

and played in Europe already. The

58:09

irony. I know, but when

58:11

we were taking it around on the, we were kind

58:13

of licking our wounds with that when we were at

58:17

the Palm Springs Film Festival and it just

58:19

happened, our agent sent us the script

58:23

for Crazy Soup of Love, which

58:25

was untitled in

58:27

Aired Old Crisis County. We were

58:30

rolled off the tongue, so we had to do it.

58:32

Yeah, we were good friends with Jeff Robinoff, who eventually

58:34

became head of Warner Brothers. So he offered it

58:37

to us. Very cool. And what

58:39

about it appealed to you for your next project at the

58:41

time? I liked it because it was a romantic comedy, but

58:43

it was mostly told from a

58:45

male perspective, which was kind of

58:47

rare at the time, I think. It

58:49

kind of danced the line between being

58:51

very sincere and very,

58:54

what's the word, a little meta

58:56

about certain cliches and things? I

58:58

still say it. I think the

59:00

movie is, the script at least,

59:02

was quietly subversive. Well

59:04

said. Because it talks

59:07

about the line between obsession and love. Right.

59:10

Well, let's talk about the casting because the cast

59:12

is just incredible. How did that come together and

59:14

who was attached from the get-go? Steve

59:18

was the only one who was attached,

59:20

although Jeff Robinoff said, hey, I got

59:22

a crazy idea. What about Ryan Gosling?

59:24

And we're like, that's

59:27

weird. And

59:29

we met with him and we're like, oh, this is

59:32

what he's talking about because Ryan is this guy. You've

59:34

spent two seconds with him and he's just like the

59:36

guy. And Emma was always a funny story.

59:39

We had a castor and we did reading. She did

59:41

reading with Ryan. And

59:45

Ryan and Glenn and I and the

59:47

writer, Dan Fogelman, we were all

59:49

like, oh, she's our person. But we had to

59:51

go to the studio and convince them, which I

59:53

think is just hysterical. We

59:56

had to convince them to castor. Amazing.

59:59

They had such incredible chemistry together, Gosling

1:00:02

and Emma Stone. We

1:00:04

really see it in the montage of their first night

1:00:06

together. But I understand a lot of

1:00:08

that wasn't in the original script. That was something that you

1:00:10

guys helped create those wonderful moments. There's

1:00:13

a lot of the jokes they sang in that

1:00:15

sequence or stuff they would do on set. Yeah.

1:00:18

Just like joking around in between takes. And we said,

1:00:20

okay, do that thing you were doing about the coffee

1:00:22

and do that thing about this and do that thing

1:00:24

about that. And our crew thought

1:00:26

we had lost our mind. We

1:00:30

had almost a full crew revolt. Glenn

1:00:34

and I were like, oh, it's great. And I

1:00:36

mean, Emma and Ryan were like, are

1:00:38

you guys crazy? What's going on here? But

1:00:41

it cut together really well. Yeah, I

1:00:43

mean, to back it up, it was

1:00:45

originally a montage that took place over

1:00:48

several dates, which was

1:00:50

a little bit of a cliche. And we thought, oh, is

1:00:52

there a way we can do this all and kind of

1:00:54

one go like the night they fell

1:00:56

in love? We just say, yeah, we'll just run

1:00:58

the cameras. We'll just let them be them. And

1:01:01

that's how it happened. I read that the original

1:01:03

cut was three hours. The second cut was about

1:01:06

two and a half hours. Of course, the movie

1:01:08

ends up being about two hours. What were some

1:01:10

of the hardest things to cut? Hmm.

1:01:14

You know, there's just a lot of dialogue.

1:01:16

There's some extra scenes. But you know, the

1:01:18

great thing when you do comedy and this

1:01:20

is back, movies don't get

1:01:22

tested that much anymore. And we took

1:01:24

this movie and put it in front of an

1:01:26

audience. And it was really

1:01:29

early on. And when you're a filmmaker and you're watching

1:01:31

your movie with an audience, you know where you're long.

1:01:34

You know, and you cut it out. Because

1:01:36

you don't have any, you don't cry at

1:01:38

all. Because you are like,

1:01:40

you know when it doesn't work. You

1:01:42

know it. You know it. You trust the

1:01:45

laughs. I do it every show.

1:01:48

If it doesn't get a laugh,

1:01:50

it doesn't stay. Yeah. And

1:01:52

that's, sometimes we all

1:01:54

have this experience now. You watch a movie, you're like,

1:01:57

boy they didn't put this in front of an audience. This

1:02:00

thing is, this will never end. We

1:02:03

mentioned of course the movie was written by Dan Fogelman. You continued

1:02:05

to work with him on This Is Us. And you've had another

1:02:07

project that you're working on with him now. What can you tell

1:02:09

us about that? It's

1:02:12

called Paradise City. It's primarily

1:02:14

a drama, but it's got a big surprise in

1:02:16

it. And it's starring

1:02:19

Sterling Brown from This

1:02:21

Is Us. So it's great to just sort of have

1:02:23

the band back together and make them.

1:02:25

Excellent. Well, we'll look forward to that. In

1:02:27

the meantime, let's get to the reason that we brought you here as

1:02:29

far as our game is concerned. You heard the question that we asked

1:02:31

of Yakov. First of all, what tech

1:02:33

item was offered by the director, someone named

1:02:36

Glenn Fakera and John Rickwa, on

1:02:38

the set of Crazy Stupid Love to try to

1:02:40

come up with the title. Helen, what did Yakov

1:02:42

say? Yakov said

1:02:44

a new iPhone. And Glenn and John?

1:02:47

Well it's a big iPhone.

1:02:52

Forgive me half a point. The eye is

1:02:54

right. It was an iPad. An iPad. I

1:02:56

have a point though there for Yakov. Very nice. Next

1:02:59

we want to know what character did Jonah Bobo,

1:03:01

who spoke the cut line that became the title

1:03:03

play. Helen, what did Yakov say? Yakov

1:03:05

said the son of Steve Carell's character.

1:03:07

And Glenn and John? That's

1:03:10

correct. Yeah, that's correct. Great. So

1:03:12

that is a point for Yakov. Very good. His

1:03:14

name was Robbie, I understand. And finally, I wanted

1:03:16

to know what two different pieces of punctuation can

1:03:18

be found in the final official title. Helen, what

1:03:20

did Yakov say? Yakov said a

1:03:23

period and an exclamation point. And Glenn

1:03:25

and John? Half right.

1:03:27

A period and a

1:03:29

comma. Period and a comma. Yeah,

1:03:31

and for the life of me, I cannot

1:03:33

remember why we did that. But we felt

1:03:35

very strongly at the time. You

1:03:37

should have put an exclamation point. Feel

1:03:41

free. I feel like wherever I see

1:03:43

it, if I see it

1:03:46

on Netflix or I see it on, it's

1:03:48

always different. Sometimes it has the punctuation, sometimes

1:03:50

it doesn't. I actually don't think it even

1:03:52

has it in the movie, in the actual

1:03:54

movie. Yeah, in the actual movie title. But

1:03:56

yes, but in the official releases and title,

1:03:58

it did have that. All right, Hal. Correct

1:08:00

salamis or there's one called

1:08:03

whoa. Her.

1:08:06

Interests Doc offers one called have faults

1:08:08

correct and finally saw him. He said

1:08:10

there's one called okay I guess right

1:08:12

of ideas for name for music festivals,

1:08:14

false arrest or I were Macau the

1:08:16

last few on a think I guess

1:08:19

I'll him he says little it's and

1:08:21

stuck of Smirnoff the doctors and professors

1:08:23

both is Helen Tablets The final score

1:08:25

Helena You ready to reveal the winner

1:08:27

of today's episode? At the

1:08:29

end of the game Seventy shipped him

1:08:31

and ten points and yeah a we

1:08:34

have it in an asteroid. Congratulations

1:08:36

Alamosa, you was affecting champion on go

1:08:38

fuck yourself. What would you do with

1:08:40

your championship? Brag.

1:08:42

About nice as as as a sense really as

1:08:44

all it's good for. Let's be added a lot

1:08:47

of people that the actual answer very few will

1:08:49

actually say a very Nice are able to wrap

1:08:51

up by giving everyone a chance to mention to

1:08:53

promote anything they might like Sony. Sit still at

1:08:55

work and people find you and what you're up

1:08:57

to. A

1:08:59

solemn Me: sad.com or on

1:09:02

Instagram or here at Rutgers

1:09:04

Newark. Excellent! So wonderful that

1:09:06

you joined us today! Thank you so much Salah! Miss

1:09:08

it so it. Ya. Yakov Smirnoff were

1:09:10

to people find you and what you're up to. Our

1:09:13

instagram yeah of underscore

1:09:15

smear. Love. My

1:09:18

website: jaco.com. And.

1:09:21

I am in Branson,

1:09:23

Missouri doing shows. All.

1:09:25

The way through this year. Excellent world.

1:09:28

So wonderful that you joined us as

1:09:30

well. Thank you so much Yakov Smirnoff.

1:09:32

Legion. And my hosting partner is Helen. Helen Helen,

1:09:35

what are you have going on? You can follow

1:09:37

me. On Twitter or whatever it's

1:09:39

called now and it's. Funny

1:09:42

how? And I'm also back on Facebook

1:09:45

and hello Helen on comedian. Yes! And

1:09:47

as a new update it's he's funny,

1:09:49

He's a comedian. She's our Allen Hong,

1:09:51

one of the and me. You can

1:09:53

find me on whatever Twitter as call

1:09:55

that they underscore teeth or on all

1:09:57

the other social subject the.net all spelled

1:10:00

out there just leads me to say

1:10:02

how The Hong So let me sit

1:10:04

still at Yakov Smirnoff, Tricky Stewart Cook

1:10:06

or L Don't Require and Glenn secure

1:10:08

us and thank you for listening and

1:10:10

supporting our show at Maximum fun.org and

1:10:12

to keep answering. Liquid

1:10:17

Easier come see us live but a

1:10:19

go faster part.com for a schedule and

1:10:21

tickets. Meanwhile, please like us on Facebook,

1:10:23

follow us on all the social go

1:10:25

for parts that are. We go through

1:10:28

with stuff fandom.com and by our T

1:10:30

shape shirt and Mcsame mug at Max

1:10:32

Funds door.com and give us a great

1:10:34

review on your favorite podcast platforms like

1:10:37

California News Junkie did on Apple podcasts

1:10:39

this year. They said I have loved

1:10:41

his podcast from the beginning. First, I

1:10:43

enjoyed learning new facts and the great

1:10:45

humor. Now I care about

1:10:47

take these and Helen so much.

1:10:50

Ah, Thank you California News Junkie!

1:10:52

I care about people caring about

1:10:54

us. Album such.

1:11:01

As. Yourself as a tendency. To

1:11:21

shit to. Over

1:11:24

his union. Station

1:11:26

Engineers be. Easy.

1:11:30

Easy. Easy.

1:11:32

Easy. Easy. Easy

1:11:49

to be. He. Takes

1:11:51

his. Leash.

1:12:01

Let. Go of the beyond, Say flattery on

1:12:03

earth. And. Know

1:12:10

what? He.

1:12:20

Worker own of Aren't Is

1:12:22

don't shows supported directly. By.