Matt: Hey everybody, welcome to episode seven. Right? Eight? Eight! It is eight. You're right, it's eight. Episode eight of Uncles-in-Law. ⁓ I'm Matt. That's Steve drinking. Michael looks tired as usual. Michael, good week. You have some good times over there in Connecticut? Steve Vladeck: ⁓ Michael Shafrir: EY Mm-hmm. I am tired. You know, speaking of tired, I've developed this, I've developed this recent habit. ⁓ I'm a good sleeper. Like I have never had problems sleeping as both of you are well aware. Matt: Mm-hmm. Does that mean like getting to sleep or staying asleep? Michael Shafrir: Getting to sleep, staying to sleep, falling back asleep. ⁓ But, you know, I wake up to pee once a night. I'm 46. That's... It happens. Just, that's life. And in the last probably month or so, I've developed this habit of when I wake up to pee, instead of going right back to sleep, I pick up my phone. Matt: Mm-hmm. It happens. ⁓ no, you're Dory Shafreering. That's a Dory thing. Michael Shafrir: And yes, it's extremely stupid and I have not been able to stop myself. And I'm not talking like a quick two minute check. I mean like my full morning scroll routine at like 430 in the morning. And next thing I know, it's like 515. And then look, I fall back asleep. ⁓ But you know, I could use those 45 minutes. And I think what... Steve Vladeck: That is really stupid. Matt: I know. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. ⁓ for sure. This is... Michael Shafrir: I think what it is, I've been doing some ⁓ self-reflection, know, ⁓ between work and the kids, I have so little like me time. So I've started like going to sleep past midnight and then adding this like little 45 minute mid, I can't even call it mid morning, midnight ⁓ interlude. Matt: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. ⁓ wow. Yeah. Steve Vladeck: Ahem. Michael Shafrir: So yes, I've been more tired than usual. ⁓ A pre-dawn interlude, yes. And I don't even remember what I'm looking at. I then wake up at my normal time and still go back through everything that I scrolled in the middle of the night. Matt: I would call it a pre-dawn interlude. Steve Vladeck: the wee small hours. Matt: Right. Yeah. This is very your sister. Dory does this. Dory is constantly, if I like toss or turn in the middle of the night and I look over, I see the light of an iPad glowing and it's her face. Michael Shafrir: Does she? mean, that was Allison too. Allison, like I'd wake up at two in the morning and she would just be like deep on Instagram. ⁓ Matt: Yeah. Yes. And I'm like, you know, you could just, you could try to turn that off and maybe get back to sleep. And she's like, just go to sleep. Michael Shafrir: ⁓ huh. ⁓ huh. Steve Vladeck: Karen is the other extreme. Matt: in the sense that she never wakes up in the middle of the night? Steve Vladeck: in the sense that the very last thing she would ever do if she woke up in the middle of the night was pull out her phone. Michael Shafrir: Wow. Wasn't Dory sleeping with her phone in another room for a period of time? ⁓ okay. Yeah. Yeah. Matt: That's fascinating. She does, but she keeps her iPad next to her bed. You know, it's sort of like these like, you know, sort of false, false security, like it's a security theater, we'll call it, of Dory keeping her phone in the other room. Yeah. And she, you know, last night I was, I woke up a couple times in the middle of the night and our bed can track when I'm up, as well as my Apple watch when I wear it, but. Michael Shafrir: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Gosh, I can't. It's the TSA pre-check of putting your phone in the other room. Steve Vladeck: Hmm Matt: I woke up at like, you know, two o'clock and I looked over, I didn't see any light. was like, ⁓ good, she's sleeping through the night. I woke up again at like three, didn't see any light. Great. Then I eventually woke up my regular six 30 ish in the morning and I'm like, boy, it's getting late. She's dead asleep. I go out to expect to find Henry, like watching Mark Rober or something on Netflix and he's not anywhere to be seen. And I go back and look at the clock to make sure I'm correct on the time. I'm like, okay, it's been a week since daylight savings. All of these clocks have been caught up now. It is, it is indeed six 40 and there's no one stirring. Not even my dog. Bo is just asleep. And I go into Henry's room because you know, he, will get mad if he doesn't get his time to watch in the morning. ⁓ so I go in his room and he wakes up and he's like, I had a bad night's sleep. And I was like, what do you mean? Michael Shafrir: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. You Matt: He's like, well, I was up for a couple hours. I was like, you were? He's like, yeah. I was up for like an hour and a half and then like another hour. And ⁓ I was like, ⁓ were you able to get back to sleep at all? He's like, yeah, eventually. And then he's like itchy. He has like a bunch of mosquito bites. And I was like, I want to put some cortisone on you? And he's like, yeah. And I go to where the cortisone was last night and it's not there. And then I go, did you wake up mama last night? And he's like, yeah. Michael Shafrir: You Matt: And then I went in, eventually I woke up Dory because she was supposed to drive him to school and I was happy to do it but I had to record at 8.30 in the morning so I couldn't drive him. And she's like, I was in Henry's room for five hours last night. And here I am thinking she got the best night of sleep ever because I didn't see the beacon of the iPad Mini ⁓ glowing. Michael Shafrir: Hey. Ugh. Mm-hmm. But lo and behold, probably also wouldn't have seen her if you had checked closely. Matt: Well, I asked Henry, was like, why would you get a mama? You know I don't sleep a ton anyway. And he's like, but mama's older than you. So mama needs more sleep. Cause at some point we told Henry that you need or needs less sleep. We told him that the older you are, less sleep you need. So he assumes that because Dory's older than me, she needs the least amount of sleep. Michael Shafrir: Mmm. I mean, not a... You did tell him. Matt: Yeah, that is true. And I was like, well, your mom needs like 10. She needs a solid 10 usually. Karen's a 10 hour person as well. Is this a Shafir thing? Mike, ⁓ when you are, let's say you're on a business trip and your first meeting's not till noon. Really? Michael Shafrir: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Steve Vladeck: That's Karen. Michael Shafrir: When I'm in a groove, yep. I'm also a solid 10. Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I will, you know, like the best, the best is when you go to the West coast and you you fall asleep early because you're tired. So like you fall asleep by 10, but then I can still sleep till like seven, 8 a.m. the next morning, West coast time. And that just is the best. Steve Vladeck: You It's genetic. Matt: Uh-huh. ⁓ Yeah. ⁓ huh. Right. Yeah. Yeah. It is magical coming out to the West Coast that way. The time travel aspect of it is really, it's something I do like as well as the time that sports are on out here. Although I will say the F1 race that Henry's excited about watching ⁓ is on at 3 a.m. Eastern. Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Yeah. Which one is this? I saw that, ⁓ okay. I saw they just can't, I saw they just canceled too. ⁓ Matt: It's China. F1 China. Yeah. Yeah. That, you know, that tends to happen when, well, you know, when most of your like real ⁓ cash cow blood money comes from ⁓ Bahrain and where's the other one that's out in Saudi Arabia. Yeah. Yeah. Those are both, those are both been canceled. We'll see. You know, this is going to be a very quick military action. It's not a war. ⁓ Don't, don't worry. Steve Vladeck: Yeah, apparently it's not safe right now in the Middle East. Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Saudi Saudi Saudi Arabia ⁓ yeah, mission accomplished. Steve Vladeck: One of my open cases is against Saudi Arabia and they just moved forward and successfully obtained a stay of a deadline because of the war. Matt: Well, you know, use it. Use whatever you can. That's what I always say. Michael Shafrir: Fair. Fair. Yeah, that's it. All's fair in law and war or something. Matt: You Steve Vladeck: I'm like, how are we supposed to oppose this? Like, there is a war. Michael Shafrir: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Matt: Well, we're not calling it a war. I would get out on that front. I'd be like, look, it's slight military action. Yeah, well, you know. Michael Shafrir: It's an excursion. Steve Vladeck: an excursion fought by the Department of War. Michael Shafrir: Steve, I have a lot of questions about that, but before we get to that, how was Lawrence, Kansas? Steve Vladeck: ⁓ Lawrence, I was in Lawrence very briefly. Topeka, where I ended up, was great. I had a really good time at Washburn University Law School, ⁓ home of the Ichabod's. Yes, while we're on the college mascot beat. It was a good trip. So Ichabod Washburn, who was the founder of Washburn University. Michael Shafrir: ⁓ wow. Matt: As in the Cr- like, Ichabod Crane, as in that? ⁓ Michael Shafrir: ⁓ I was gonna say what is a university in Topeka, Kansas being named after the legend of Sleepy Hollow, but. ⁓ Steve Vladeck: Yeah, so that's what I thought first too. they're like, no, was just like Williams, right? We just named it after the guy who founded it. Matt: Yeah. Michael Shafrir: Who was Ichabod Washburn? Steve Vladeck: I'm embarrassed to say someone told me for 30 seconds and I forgot. Michael Shafrir: And how did you lose your voice? Steve Vladeck: Um, I don't know. am, I am, I am coming down with a virus of some kind. Um, and it seems to be attacking the throat first. Um, and. Yep. And it is an unfortunate part of my job that I can't not talk. So. Michael Shafrir: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Matt: The ol' washburn virus. People get this. Michael Shafrir: I was gonna say, you're like a orator by trait. Steve Vladeck: So I taught two classes yesterday, which did no wonders for my declining voice. And I taught one this morning, which did no wonders for my declining voice. And so here I am with you lovely people. Matt: Let me tell you this. Michael Shafrir: Hmm Matt: Okay. Well, Steve, let me fill in some Ichabod Washburn facts here. Guess what? He was an American congregational deacon and industrialist from Worcester County, Massachusetts. ⁓ His financial endowments led to the naming of Washburn College, now Waspburn University in Topeka. ⁓ He became an apprentice in ⁓ Lechester, Massachusetts blacksmith shop at the age of 16. Michael Shafrir: You Steve Vladeck: Okay. So I knew that. See? Did you say Lechester? Michael Shafrir: Yeah, I don't think that's how you pronounce that. I think it's Lester. Yeah. Matt: What how do you say it? Lester? ⁓ am I saying it like Brits? Am I saying it like I'm British? Steve Vladeck: Lester, it's Lester. ⁓ my gosh, Matt. Michael Shafrir: No, it's the British say it like Lester. You're saying it like you would pronounce Worcester Worcester Worcester. Steve Vladeck: No, you're saying it like you're a New Yorker. Yeah. Wait, wait, wait, wait. I just want to point out that... Matt: Well, well there you go. I've been in California for far too long. We have placed like Chatsworth around here. know, this is, yeah anyway. So, ⁓ he attended Leicester Academy. Steve Vladeck: too long. Yes. Your Boston card just got revoked. Michael Shafrir: Hmm Mm-hmm. Steve Vladeck: So Washburn, so what, yes. So one of the things he was into is he wanted a school that anybody could go to. So he was super egalitarian and like, you know, sort of pre-civil rights, civil rights guy. Michael Shafrir: That's cool. What was his connection to Topeka, Kansas though? Unclear. Matt: Mmm. Steve Vladeck: So my understanding is that he got there, he wanted to go somewhere where it wasn't already being thought of, somewhere where there was a chance for real opportunity, where there weren't entrenched institutions. He wanted to go somewhere where he thought he could make a difference. Michael Shafrir: Mm-hmm. Matt: Hmm. Well, there you go. This is a good little... Michael Shafrir: and there was already Holy Cross and Clark, Clark, Clark University, Clark University. Matt: Well, he also app- Steve Vladeck: clock. Matt: Did he... He apparently had... Something to do... He had something to do with Worcester Polytechnic also. Steve Vladeck: W-W-WPI. Michael Shafrir: WPI? Well, there's WPI. Steve Vladeck: Yes, WPI. Go engineers. Matt: Yeah. Isn't that the... ⁓ who's the engineers? MIT's the engineers, yeah. Michael Shafrir: That's MIT is also their sports mascot is the engineers. Steve Vladeck: Yeah, ⁓ wait, maybe WPI, else. Wait, I might be getting my new Mac teams wrong. The Gompel, what? Okay. ⁓ So the new Mac is the New England Men's and Women's Athletic Conference, which is not the conference Amherst is in, but it's like the next conference over. ⁓ Michael Shafrir: You You Hmm, is Amherst in Nescah? Matt: Mmm. Steve Vladeck: Sure is. Michael Shafrir: Yep, that's the one I know. Steve Vladeck: Huh. Matt: Well, you know, on February 14th, the fighting engineers beat down the beavers. So, Nature's engineers had no play on the beavers. Michael Shafrir: Wait. Wait a minute, MIT is the beavers. ⁓ Babson, okay. Steve Vladeck: No, Babson. Matt: Babson is the local beavers here. Yes. Steve Vladeck: Yes. Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Do you know why MIT has ⁓ also... That sounds bleak. Matt: I went to a Babson MIT basketball game once. Steve Vladeck: An Intra Numack hot contest. Matt: It was close to an Anistockeria, so it worked out. Michael Shafrir: ⁓ yeah, it is at the Student Center. at MIT and then you just stumbled into the MIT Babson Tilt. Matt: My friend's sister was playing. So, yeah, he was like, let's go. Michael Shafrir: ⁓ women's basketball even, okay. Steve Vladeck: Wait, I am, wait, I am correct. They are the WPI engineers. Okay. Michael Shafrir: Mmm. Okay. Matt: Wow, they are... Guys, it's called Lester. Come on, I don't know what the hell's wrong with you. Steve Vladeck: Hahaha! ⁓ The Nezakac has some pretty good mascots. I we've got the Tufts Jumbos, we have the Trinity Bantams, ⁓ we have the Williams Eats, we used to have the Lord Jeffs, although now we're the Mammoths, which sucks. ⁓ Please don't tell anyone on the board that I said that. Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Was that a, ⁓ a cancellation? Was Lord Jeff like a pervert of some sort? Lord Jeff Epstein. Steve Vladeck: A cancellation? Yes. So Lord, Lord Jeffrey Amherst. So I, I, I may get kicked off of the Amherst College Board of Trustees for what I'm about to say, but Lord Jeffrey Amherst was the British field commander in North America during the French and Indian War and may or may not have been the pioneer of modern biological warfare by sending smallpox infested blankets to the French and Native Americans. Matt: hahahahah Mm-hmm. Michael Shafrir: I'm out. Matt: Classic. Classic move. Steve Vladeck: There is even a line in the Amherst fight song that says to the Frenchman and the Indians, he didn't do a thing. ⁓ So he got canceled, but the college's official position is that although we had to change our sports teams, the college is not named after him, the college is named after the town. Matt: Hmm. Michael Shafrir: Okay. Fair. Okay. Yeah, I mean, that's fair. Steve Vladeck: But so we had a whole renaming thing like 15 or 20 years ago and the alumni got to vote on it. And by far and away, everyone's favorite new mascot was going to be the Frost because one, it's really cold and two, Robert Frost spent a lot of time teaching at Amherst. whoever was in charge back then said, you know, we don't want to name it after any real people because otherwise we might have to do this again in 100 years. Michael Shafrir: Mm. You never know what's lurking. Steve Vladeck: We might have to cancel Robert Frost one day. So that's how we end up with the Mammoths. Michael Shafrir: Well look, mean, Dory, Karen and I all went to Brookline High School, which for a very long time was the Brookline Indians. And is now the Brookline Warriors. Yeah? But the symbol, I believe, is still a arrowhead. Although that probably has changed at this point. Yeah, Warriors, you know, Warriors. Steve Vladeck: Yep. What is it now? ⁓ Matt: Hmm. I Steve Vladeck: Mmm. Matt: ⁓ Warriors, that works too, you know. Steve Vladeck: DCPS has definitely been on a renaming schools kick. ⁓ Woodrow Wilson got canceled. ⁓ My cousin's kids used to go to John Tyler, which is now Shirley Chisholm. Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Mm. Yeah, Brookline also renamed it an elementary school. There was the ⁓ Edward P. Devotion School. ⁓ He turned out to be a bad guy, I guess. And I think he was a slave owner. Matt: Bye. I, I am one of one, two, three, four, five notable alumni from Lowell Catholic High School. ⁓ the fight, the, the, the Crusaders, ⁓ me and, ⁓ I think the next most famous one is Corey Lewandowski. ⁓ I'm like, ⁓ that's a bummer. Mr. Noam. What a cool dude. Steve Vladeck: There you go. Michael Shafrir: ⁓ also in the news. Steve Vladeck: Wow. ⁓ Mr. Kristi Noem. So do you guys know Karen's friend Farah? So Farah's husband, Kober, is a Broadway actor and ⁓ is a wonderful actor. ⁓ So Andrew was reading for some future in the works musical about President Lincoln. Matt: I'll pretend I do, yeah. ⁓ I do know them, actually. I them at Disneyland, yeah. Mm-hmm. Steve Vladeck: And I asked him, like, hey, what part, he said, so we were texting, he said, I'm at this table read for a Lincoln musical. I said, ooh, who are you reading? And he's like, here's a good trivia question. Have you ever heard of Montgomery Blair? And I said, not only have I heard of Montgomery Blair, I went to Montgomery Blair High School. Matt: ⁓ god. Michael Shafrir: Who was Montgomery Blair? Steve Vladeck: Montgomery Blair was ⁓ one of the sons of Blair family was a super powerful family of conservative to moderate Republicans ⁓ in the 1850s and 1860s. ⁓ I think the father, Preston, came from Missouri, ⁓ but they owned what is today half of Montgomery County. So Monty, as he was known, ⁓ Michael Shafrir: You Steve Vladeck: was a prominent son of a powerful family. ⁓ And he was a lawyer. so ⁓ one of his claims to fame is he argued the Dred Scott case in the Supreme Court on Dred Scott's side, on the good side. ⁓ He was Abraham Lincoln's postmaster general back when that was actually a cabinet-level important position. ⁓ So he's just a Washington bureaucrat, basically. Michael Shafrir: Mmm. ⁓ but he wasn't canceled. ⁓ I thought that's where you were going. Steve Vladeck: No, no, ⁓ no, Montgomery, no, I was just reminded of the sort of the randomness of whose schools are named after. No, no, no, Montgomery Blair is still, we're still cool with him. I mean, he was to all accounts a bit of a prick. ⁓ If you guys have seen the Spielberg movie, Lincoln, ⁓ there is a Montgomery Blair character in the Spielberg movie and he comes across as a bit of a prick and I think that was right. ⁓ But he was a prick with decent morals. Michael Shafrir: ⁓ yes. Okay, good. All right, good. Matt: Mmm. Michael Shafrir: Okay, and this is not to be confused with Montgomery Burns. Steve Vladeck: Not Montgomery Burns of Spurfield or Richard Montgomery, after whom Montgomery County, Maryland is named. No relation. Matt: of Springfield. Michael Shafrir: of Springfield. ⁓ interesting. Matt: What about my Montgomery Clift? Do you guys know Montgomery Clift? How old are you guys? You guys are a little older than me, so I will... I'm gonna make a reference. I'm 42. Montgomery Clift. Do you guys know him? Oh, Steve does! Steve's old enough to know Montgomery Clift. Not that I'm old enough. I mean, this guy died in 1966. Anyway, he's an actor. He's an actor. I wasn't around for Montgomery Clift either, but, you know, when I hear Montgomery, he's the one I think of. Michael Shafrir: I'm 46. Steve Vladeck: I'm... So am I. Yes. Michael Shafrir: No. Steve Vladeck: I was gonna say, we weren't there, we weren't around for him, Matt. Michael Shafrir: I meant to ask both of you. Did one of you send me a wallet on Amazon? Matt: No, that's a brilliant thing though. Did somebody send you a wallet? Michael Shafrir: I received a wallet yesterday. Matt: No. Steve Vladeck: Okay, now, now. Michael Shafrir: From Amazon. Now look, it's entirely possible that I also ordered one, but I ordered, yeah, I mean, I ordered one a few days ago from Target. ⁓ I don't remember ordering a wallet from Amazon, but it arrived in a box with no card. I... Matt: in the middle of the night and forgot. Uh-huh. Steve Vladeck: I know a listener of this podcast for whom that would track. Michael Shafrir: I mean, I'm 99 % sure it is Roberta ⁓ because she also, she texted me about a wallet ⁓ and she also would not ⁓ include a card on Amazon. It would just show up. Yeah. And just to close the loop on last week's discussion, she claims that the toaster was not broken. She claims that she just felt like I need a new toaster. Matt: Right. Yeah. Yeah. Steve Vladeck: Never does, never does. Hahaha! Matt: hahahaha Steve Vladeck: You Matt: What were some other, ⁓ there were a few other corrections and omissions we needed to do. ⁓ Your mother also claims that she never wanted you to go to Penn. Michael Shafrir: That is bullshit. Matt: hahaha Michael Shafrir: She dragged me to a pen admissions event at the Cambridge School of Weston. Matt: ⁓ my god. That is effort. That takes effort. Michael Shafrir: against my will and forced me to go introduce myself to the muckety-muck from the admissions office who spoke at the event. She wanted me to go to Penn. Let the record reflect. Matt: This is exciting, because that was a very... Adorey also felt like that was anachronistic. So I'm glad you're setting the record straight. No, hey, look. Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Yes. Not that I not that I got in. So it's not like, you know, it didn't matter in the end. Matt: What was your, was your college, what was your college essay about effort? Michael Shafrir: I have no idea. I couldn't tell you. I mean, look, speaking of how old we are, I did all my college essays and applications on a typewriter. ⁓ So I couldn't tell you what it was. ⁓ Matt: I have no idea. couldn't tell you what mine was either. Right. Yeah. I think I used word, word perfect is probably what I used. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The good old days of, of Windows 95. Steve Vladeck: Yeah, word perfect, maybe 5.1. Michael Shafrir: Okay. Yeah. Steve Vladeck: right, Windows 95. Matt: ⁓ Great operating system. May she rest in peace. ⁓ Steve Vladeck: It was a very important moment for me when my older sister went to college because she was two years, I mean she's two and a half years older, but she's two years ahead of me in school and we had a second phone line in our house which I wasn't allowed to use unless she wasn't home. And so when she went to college, I got to use it all the time and I used it for my modem. Matt: Mm-hmm. ⁓ nice. Michael Shafrir: ⁓ that is nice. Steve Vladeck: back in the day when that's how you reach the internet. Michael Shafrir: We used, so Avi Shai, my dad, always had a fax machine. And that was our modem line. Yeah. Just in case, that's right. That's right. In case the instructions needed to come in printed form. Steve Vladeck: Mmm. Matt: Just in case he had to be activated for any covert ops. Steve Vladeck: I'm Yes, the Massad sends faxes. Michael Shafrir: Sense of axis. Yeah. Well, and then you take out your decoder ring and you figure out what it actually says. Matt: Well, you know, they do it because you never would expect it. That's the brilliance of it. Yeah, yeah. It's a Dakota star of David that you like turn. Michael Shafrir: Yes, it's like ⁓ the movie about stealing the Constitution. ⁓ National Treasure, where you have the decoder glasses. Matt: ⁓ martial treasure. Come on. Steve Vladeck: National treasure. Matt: Yeah, the best, most factual movie ever made. Steve Vladeck: But okay, I'm sorry, Michael, it's not the Constitution, it's the Declaration of Independence. I mean, I feel professionally compelled to draw that distinction. Michael Shafrir: Yeah. The Declaration of Independence, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Yes. Yes. Yes. No, that's, that's, yeah. Listen, it's, and you know, we're nothing if not striving for accuracy on this podcast. That's it. That's it. I don't want to be corrected next week. Matt: He is right. That's really all we do is try for accuracy. What, ⁓ here's, here, I'm gonna get real, ⁓ into the weeds minutia-wise. ⁓ what have you guys been, have you guys been eating anything a lot lately? Cause I have been on a, on a muffin kick. Like a breakfast muffin kick. And I don't understand where it's come from. I don't, I mean, honestly, I can tell you where muffins are on sale at pavilions, ⁓ like three weeks ago. That's how they got me. Michael Shafrir: Really? Mmm. Steve Vladeck: Pavilions is like the LA Safeway, right? Michael Shafrir: Hmm. Matt: I don't know. I don't know what the Safeway is. Pavilion is one of our grocery stores. Michael Shafrir: It's the same way as the Ralphs of LA, you know, it's a... Matt: Safeway is the Ralphs. Yeah, so Pavilions is like a slightly more upscale version of Ralphs, I would describe. You know, it's not quite a Gelson's. Steve Vladeck: I miss H-E-B so much. Michael Shafrir: know it. Matt: but it's certainly a step above sprouts. Steve Vladeck: H-E-B is the best grocery store in the country. Matt: Tell me, tell me about it. Michael Shafrir: There's a sprouts coming to Westport, Connecticut. Matt: What do you need sprouts for? You guys got Stu Leonard's. You guys have animatronic cows. You don't need sprouts. Michael Shafrir: No idea. I don't know. Yeah. Yeah, I don't know. I've never been to an HEB. I've heard it's fantastic. Matt: What? Tell me Steve, what is an HEB? Steve Vladeck: It's so H-E, it's actually, the guy's name is actually really, it's really funny. His name is H-E Butt, ⁓ which is why he has not been canceled. He's a good dude. And the H-EB chain, I think it's only in Texas. Maybe it's a little bit regional, ⁓ they have one, their prices are always competitive. Two, they have amazing produce. Three, they make a bunch of their own stuff. Michael Shafrir: Mmm. Has he been canceled? Matt: Okay, sure. Michael Shafrir: All right. Steve Vladeck: And what they make is fantastic. mean, the girls talk all the time about how they miss the ice cream, like the HEB brand ice cream. ⁓ And, you we were really, it's the dominant grocery store in Austin. ⁓ There's an upscale version of HEB called Central Market, which was, I think, launched partly to compete with Whole Foods, because, the Whole Foods mothership is in Austin. Yep, we did, we did. Michael Shafrir: Hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Matt: ⁓ we went there, you took us there. I've been to an HEB now, I can say that. Steve Vladeck: You have. And actually about a year before we left Austin, a gorgeous brand new AGV opened up like a mile from our house. And it was like, we would be there three times a week. It was great. The food was good. It was never crowded. You know, the prices were competitive. It's just everything you could ask for in a grocery store. Michael Shafrir: Mmm. I would enjoy that. Matt: and a decent hot foods. Steve Vladeck: Also, really good hot food bar and addictive tortillas, which in Austin is a big... H-E-B, their tortillas are so popular, they make a scented candle with the smell of their tortillas, and it's one of the most popular things they sell. Michael Shafrir: You Wow. Matt: This is, this is, uh, hang on, this is Pirates Life. This is, uh, bromine scented, which is the chemical they use to clean the water at Pirates of the Caribbean. This is, oh, this is so good. Oh, did she? Like, how? Steve Vladeck: which Maddie almost fell into. Michael Shafrir: You Steve Vladeck: Not this trip, we didn't ride it this trip because there's one where Joss sold and she didn't really almost fall in, but Matt is a little sensitive. Matt: I, I, being the size that I am, I like to control the boat. Like, if I feel that the boat balance is off at all, I will adjust to become the boat balance. Like, I am, yeah, I, I, I want to make sure that we're not teetering either way. I want us to be, I don't want us to be listing. I want us to be flying straight. I saw a video online that the Jungle Cruise, one of the Jungle Cruise boats sank. Steve Vladeck: Yep. That tracks Matt. Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Steve Vladeck: Hahahaha Michael Shafrir: Hmm. Matt: Now it's from a while ago, but I had no fucking clue that a jungle boat ship could sink. It's deep enough to submerge the entire bottom of the boat and have the entire, the compliment of guests be like trying to climb onto the roof while they had to get saved by another boat that doesn't go on the track. It was a fascinating situation. It's happened before. ⁓ But yeah. Steve Vladeck: I don't think the water was deep enough. Michael Shafrir: Mmm! Steve Vladeck: That seems awkward. So you're asking what are we eating? Matt: Yeah, I was like, is there like a thing that you were like, ⁓ now I eat this. Steve Vladeck: I've become a big fan of Bear Bell's protein bars. Matt: I'm gonna look it up. I don't know it. Yeah. Michael Shafrir: Going back to the muffins, muffins are not something that I would ever like have in the house, you know? But I do enjoy from time to time a Dunkin' Donuts blueberry muffin. Yeah, with the sugar on top, yeah, really good. Matt: No? Okay. ⁓ sure. It's got the little crack sugar on top. My sister, when I was a kid and my sister was in high school, she used to work at the Dunkin' Donuts that was in the mobile station up in Tookesbury. And if she would close, she'd bring home so much stuff because they were just going to throw it out anyway. So we had for like a good like six to eight months, we had like a constant flow of Dunkin' Donuts, muffins and bagels and donuts. And it was... Michael Shafrir: Yep. Yep. Mm-hmm. Matt: quite possibly magical. And I often think I crave a Dunkin' Donut food item until I go have a Dunkin' Donut food item and I realize that they're not very good. is the smell is the nostalgia, I think for me. And then once it gets past that, like I'll have to like, I eat a French vanilla, I'll have a French vanilla coffee every once in a while from Dunkin' Donuts. The only place I ever get French vanilla. ⁓ Michael Shafrir: Yeah, it's not very good. It's not very good. Matt: But it also needs to be, and it's also the only time I ever put cream in my coffee, is at Dunkin' Donuts. And I don't know if that's just because that's how they were always served to me, or what. I'm looking at these Bear Bells here. Bear Bell, I guess you'd call them, right? Like a barbell, but bear. And they have quite a bit of flavor happening here. Which one is your favorite, Steve? Michael Shafrir: Mm-hmm. Steve Vladeck: So I rotate, I mean one of the things that I've found is that I get tired of the same flavor. So I rotate between like the creamy crisp, the salted peanut caramel, the cookie dough, or the chocolate dough. There are a couple, what else do I have here? have, yeah, peanut butter and jelly's pretty good. Matt: Mm-hmm. Michael Shafrir: Steve, you have always been a big protein bar guy. Steve Vladeck: Yeah, I mean, think it's a good way, in my experience, Michael, to avoid overeating when I'm hungry, like, because it's like, I don't do it for meals, but if it's like three o'clock or four o'clock and I'm feeling hungry, it's like a very satisfying, and I actually usually don't eat as big a meal afterwards, like it's just trying to keep the caloric intake under some control. Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Matt: I'm gonna show you guys an image of these muffins. And I want you to know that the diameter of them, it's a roughly five inch diameter. ⁓ Share, screen. I wonder how this is gonna look too on YouTube. Here we go. Michael Shafrir: You Steve Vladeck: Ooh, this is gonna be our first green share. Episode eight, here we go. Dun, dun, dun, dun, oh. Michael Shafrir: Yeah, yeah, this is new for us. Yeah. Okay. ooh, those do look good. Yes. Matt: I mean, look at the size of- Michael Shafrir: Yeah. How do those compare to the Costco chocolate chip muffins? Matt: So much better, it's not even funny. It's so much better. It is like... Steve Vladeck: That's a big question. Michael Shafrir: I remember my Nana, my grandmother, may she rest in peace, a big fan of the, Jeanette, yep, was a big fan of Costco chocolate chip muffins. Steve Vladeck: to that. Matt: I don't see them anymore. Lately I've been seeing like, they'll do like the coffee cake one, the blueberry muffin, banana bread has been out lately, but I haven't seen the chocolate chip ones in a long time. Dory has instructed me that Henry can't have the muffins for breakfast. Steve Vladeck: That seems like a reasonable. Matt: Yeah, so whatever. Yesterday, literally all I yesterday was a, had a, I had two hard boiled eggs in the morning and then I found out those muffins were on sale for five. They were $5 and 40 cents instead of nine 99 for four. Are you kidding me? And then I had one of those muffins and then Dory and Henry were out. He goes to his drum lesson, but before his drum lesson, he, Dory and he go to the same restaurant to eat every week or if I'm taking him. Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Matt: He drags me to the same restaurant. So they went and I was like, ⁓ I'll figure out what I want to eat. But I have found that I don't now that I have been prescribed with Govey, I have no desire for certain foods. Like in the sense of like, I get a little hungry, but I have no clue what I want to eat. Nothing is appealing. But I'm just like a little hungry. Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Yep. Yep. I'm the same way. Yep. So I've been on, ⁓ I've been on Zip Bound since September, ⁓ which has worked wonders. ⁓ But kind of the same thing. Like whatever cravings I have are, ⁓ they don't last more than like a week. And then they go away. Matt: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Steve Vladeck: Yep, and then go away. So I am the union of you two. I was on We Go V for two, two and a half years, and then I switched to ZetBound in January. And it is, the biochemistry of it is really fascinating to me because like, I can tell how long it's been since my last dose by like, by like how I feel when I look at certain foods. Matt: Uh-huh. ⁓ huh. It's insane. It's insane. Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Matt: Mmm. Michael Shafrir: ⁓ yeah. Yeah. Matt: ⁓ that's interesting. That's really interesting. Like for me, like the first time I took it, it like, I tried Ozempic first and I was paying out of pocket. So it was a thousand and forty nine dollars a month. So obviously I, you know, did that while I still had some sort of job slash income. And. Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Yeah. You Matt: It was like a miracle drug in the sense of like it shut off all the food noise like litter. was a very, it's a very weird sensation where you just sort of like don't realize how much you have thought about food all the time. And I was always like. Steve Vladeck: Yes, yes, yes. Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Steve Vladeck: Yes. It's like when, it's like Matt, it's like a Jedi who enters a force bubble. Matt: Yeah, it's very weird. really is. it's just like all, you know, and I would like think about like, you know, I'd be like driving home from the golf course and I'd be thinking about, what am I going to have an order for breakfast? And I'm driving home. That's all the time. I would always do that. Then once I took Ozempic the first time, it didn't even occur to me to think about what I wanted to eat. And then I inadvertently accidentally on Ozempic quit smoking. Just forgot. Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Steve Vladeck: Yep, yep, didn't happen, yep. Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Matt: that I occasionally liked a clove cigarette. Just, and then like, Dory was like, you haven't smoked in a while, huh? I was like, ⁓ yeah. It was three weeks and I was like, I guess I don't smoke anymore. It is such a bizarre wonder drug. The fact that it is like, you know, they're finding out that it's like, you know, it can do this, that, and the other thing. I am just, the brain chemistry. Michael Shafrir: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Matt: And I was talking to Dory about it and she's like, that's how normal people are. Yeah. And I'm like, what? Steve Vladeck: Right, yep, yep. So I mean, I think you guys both know, Michael, you know for sure, because you knew me then, right? Like, I used to be a lot heavier. you go through a lot ⁓ of self-doubt ⁓ when you try to lose weight and fail, or when you lose weight and then you put it back on. And what has been so cathartic for me about first we go via Now is that Bound is like, Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Hmm. Mm-hmm. Steve Vladeck: Oh, there was actually something I was missing. Because Karen would always say, Karen would ask me how I feel and don't you feel X and doesn't your body tell you Y? And I'd be like, no. Right? And she's like, that's bizarre. I'm like, I mean, I don't know that it's bizarre because I don't know anybody else's biochemistry. it's bizarre to me that your body tells you to stop eating that pizza. Michael Shafrir: Mm-hmm. Matt: Yeah. Hahaha! Michael Shafrir: Mm-hmm. Matt: Right. Michael Shafrir: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Steve Vladeck: ⁓ And the GLP-1s just changed the... I mean they literally changed the psychology of it, which is... Matt: Just three dudes on GLP-1s, that's all we are, you know? Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's been, you know, I started it, you know, I was I would never have described myself as someone who was heavy, but, know, I was carrying more extra weight than I was comfortable with. And I think particularly, you know, after Allison passed, it was like, all right, I got to get my shit together here. Matt: Mm-hmm. Michael Shafrir: because I'm all my kids got at this point. And, you know, took one of those, ⁓ I did a calcium heart scan, you know, where they measure like the amount of, ⁓ I'm gonna get this wrong. Yeah, like calcium deposits in your heart arteries. And basically for that, you know, your score is supposed to be zero and anything besides zero is potentially problematic. Matt: Right. Yeah. Steve Vladeck: deposits. Matt: Mm-hmm. Michael Shafrir: And you know, get to our age and you start seeing people die and you see, this guy went out for a walk and died of a massive heart attack. So anyway, that came back with a score of eight, ⁓ which was not catastrophic, but enough to put me on a statin. ⁓ And my cholesterol was high. And I said, OK, it's time to lose some weight. And I've never been much one for exercise, ⁓ particularly ⁓ look in high school. I was. But, you know, since then, it's been kind of. Matt: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Michael Shafrir: Very periodic. ⁓ Matt: You'll walk from the cart to your ball. Yeah. Michael Shafrir: Exactly, exactly. ⁓ But, ⁓ you know, it was more just like, all right, I gotta get this under control. Because I was, you know, I was similar, like Steve, what you were just describing. Every meal I would eat until I was uncomfortably full. No matter what, no matter what. And, you know, I wouldn't eat breakfast, so I would have an enormous lunch. Steve Vladeck: Mm-hmm. ⁓ Matt: Yes, I thought that's how it was supposed to work. Steve Vladeck: Yup. Yup. Yup. Matt: Yeah Hmm. Michael Shafrir: And then I would immediately start thinking about what I was gonna have for dinner if I had not already decided that the night before. And then I would have an enormous dinner and dessert. it was, yeah, and it was just like, it was too much. It was too much. And my experience has been very similar to both of you where you feel full and you stop eating. Steve Vladeck: because you feel like you were starving. Matt: Yeah, yeah. Mm-hmm. Steve Vladeck: Maybe a pint of ice cream. Matt: Yeah. It's so weird. Yeah. Yeah. Michael Shafrir: And like at the beginning, I was like, whoa, what is this? Now I'm used to it. You know, now I know like I'm going to stop eating or I also know that, you know, there are times very few and far between where I'm like, I'm really enjoying this and I'm just going for it. Then you literally feel full for 24 hours like the next day, I'll have some grapes like that's it. Matt: Right, yeah, sure. Yes. Yes. That is, that is like so, it's so weird. Like I will have like that muffin. Like I cannot get through the whole muffin in a sitting. Like I have to like, I'll do the stump first to save myself the muffin top as we all know, the best part of the muffin. ⁓ And I, you know, it's, it's a, it's a, it's so weird. And I used to, you know, I, once COVID hit, I, Michael Shafrir: Yep. Yep. Matt: started to really crave a lot of like childhood bullshit like pop tarts and like Cheez-Its like just yeah like you know and kicks not even know not even came like sugar smacks it was like shit that I hadn't eaten in years and I started to crave it and I would would would get a bunch of it and like because I had no idea what was happening and I was still writing in television I just kept ordering and ordering and ordering Michael Shafrir: Mm-hmm. Steve Vladeck: Sugar cereal. Michael Shafrir: Mm-hmm. Matt: And so through COVID, I put on like a hundred pounds, you know, over the course of the last like, four years or whatever. and it just, it's, it's such a weird, ⁓ was such a weird feeling. then when the sozempic thing came up and everyone's like, ⁓ it's just a miracle drug, blah, blah, blah. I was, I was not, I didn't expect it to function really at all for me in any real way. Like I didn't expect any true. Michael Shafrir: Mm-hmm. Matt: chemistry difference or whatever but like when I first took it it was it really it was like the first time I took my ADHD med first time I took Vyvanse and it like I felt like I took the drug from limitless and I could do anything like and I was like writing script pages like a lunatic and like doing this that and everything and it was it was so weird and I was like how does what is happening and ⁓ Michael Shafrir: Mmm. Hehehehehe ⁓ Mm-hmm. Matt: Again, Dory was like, well that's how your brain's supposed to feel. And I was like, this is bullshit. Michael Shafrir: Mm-hmm. Steve Vladeck: I'm just waiting for them to figure out exactly what people like us were missing and how they test for it. Michael Shafrir: Mmm. Matt: Yeah. Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Matt: That is a good question. Cause with me, mean, like I have an addictive personality in a way that I don't know that either of you guys have as much as I do. Like gambling. was, I was, I'm a lunatic, you know, or I was, I haven't been to a casino in two years. That's not true. I went to the Encore when we were in Thanksgiving. I couldn't, I couldn't resist. Yeah, it was right there. Steve Vladeck: Because I think that, yeah. Michael Shafrir: Mm-hmm. Yeah, you went over Thanksgiving. You were on vacation. Yeah. Matt: ⁓ but like prior to that, I hadn't been like a year and a half, but, ⁓ I, know. Steve Vladeck: That was when you dropped Dory and Henry at the movies and then had to come back early, right? Matt: Yes, yes, and I was on a heater. I was crushing the buffalo slot machine and then I had to go pick up Henry and Dory at the movie theater in Boston Common because Henry was afraid of Zootopia 2. He didn't care for the snake. ⁓ So I was like, ooh, I'll be there in 20 minutes. I hopped in my car, drove from the on-court of the movie theater. Steve Vladeck: From Zootopia 2. Michael Shafrir: Hehehehehe Steve Vladeck: Yep, yep, yep. Michael Shafrir: Uhhh... Matt: I'm impressed that I got any playtime in in that in that very short period of time. But like I took a picture. She's like, we need to pick us up. And I sent her a picture of the Buffalo slot machine I was at. And I was like, all right, I'll be there in 20 minutes. But the but yes, gambling has always been thing food for me. I don't know that like, you know, when I was a kid, I used to have a joke about this in my act. But like my aunt told a story to me. Michael Shafrir: Hehehehehe Matt: that when I was six years old, was eating a bunch of cake and I was like getting another piece of cake and she said, Matthew, are you having that so much cake? She's like, why are you eating all that cake? And I said to her at six years old, because if I don't, I'll die. And the joke goes, and my family thought that was hilarious and not a cry for help. Michael Shafrir: Hehehehehe Mm-hmm. Matt: You know, it's been a thing for a long time, but like, you whenever I get into something, I get really into it and very obsessive about it. ⁓ I don't know if you know how many golf bags I have behind me, but it's more than anybody who actually enjoys golf should have. ⁓ I... Guitars. I have two! I have two proton packs! Those are from Ghostbusters, my friend. Nope! Michael Shafrir: Mm-hmm. guitars. Steve Vladeck: TARS. Michael Shafrir: I don't know what that is. ⁓ I thought that was like a guitar thing. Matt: Two proton packs! There's a guitar I haven't touched in two years! I built that one myself, it's lovely. Yeah, Vigo, I'm telling you, if anybody wakes Gozer or Vigo, I'm ready to go. Now, but what I have found fascinating about Ozempic is not only does it do, or whatever the hell I'm on, am I on, we'll go with the same thing, GLP-1. ⁓ Not only does it do... Michael Shafrir: Mm-hmm. Steve Vladeck: Well, if Vigo comes, you'll have a backup. Michael Shafrir: Mm-hmm. Matt: the advertised thing, but it also seems to do everything else. It's very weird. And I highly recommend it. Michael Shafrir: Yep. Yep. Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of research about how it I mean, you mentioned the smoking, but you know how it any addiction, it just shuts off the part of the brain that is satisfied by that addiction. Yeah. Matt: Yeah. It's so weird. It's so weird. Was there anything else that you guys lost the taste for besides food? Michael Shafrir: I I really, not that in the past probably 10 years have I been a big drinker, but really now I almost don't enjoy alcohol. Whereas before I always enjoyed it, ⁓ you know, going out or whatever, but now I find myself, I have one drink and I'm like, this feels gross. ⁓ So that's probably one. Matt: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Yeah. So like, when you go to a fish show, what are you doing now? Michael Shafrir: Other than that, not really. Yeah, I mean, I'll still have some, I'm trying, yeah, I've been to one, I've been to a couple of fish shows since I started on Zep, on Zep Bound. Well, the last fish shows I went to were over New Year's and that was when we came back from Mexico and I had that huge ⁓ oozing ⁓ horse fly bite on my calf. So I was more focused on that. Matt: Yeah. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Your leg doubled in size. Yeah, sure. Sure. Understood. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Michael Shafrir: than like my alcohol and drug consumption at the fish show. ⁓ I'll let you know, I'm going to the Sphere ⁓ in May, yeah, to see fish. ⁓ So I'll let you know. Matt: ⁓ nice. Nice. What ⁓ what's the date on that show, do know? Michael Shafrir: ⁓ it's the first weekend in May and I'm going to the Thursday and Friday shows. So it's, ⁓ April 30th and May 1st. Matt: ⁓ Steve Vladeck: Michael, I'm gonna pass you in the air coming back from Vegas. I'm not doing anything nearly as cool as going to a fish show at the Sphere. I am speaking at the District of Nevada Judicial Conference. Michael Shafrir: ⁓ cool. Matt: Why don't you stay a little while? Michael Shafrir: Also cool. Matt: I mean, that's pretty cool. It depends on the circles you're running. I do want to see, I want to see Metallica at the Sphere. Do you see Metallica's doing the Sphere? I have seen them twice. I love seeing Metallica. I really do. I love them. I'm a metalhead guy. Sometimes when I was a kid, you know, I was really into Anthrax and Metallica. I was into some hardcore metal when I was a kid. Steve Vladeck: There will not be edibles at that particular. Michael Shafrir: There might be, there might be. Yeah. Yeah. And they keep adding shows too. Really? Huh. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Matt: That's my brother. He had long hair and played the drums. So I was like, yeah, this is awesome. ⁓ Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Steve Vladeck: don't like SuperNMT, but there are songs I would play loudly in the morning to piss off the rest of my family when I was in high school, and Nothing Else Matters was one of them. Matt: ⁓ sure, yeah, I could add this ⁓ Steve Vladeck: Especially the one from the, ⁓ this is probably after high school. When did they record the album with the San Francisco Symphony? Matt: ⁓ that was after load and reload, so that was like... That was probably 98? Yeah, something like that. That version of Nothing Else Matters? Sure. Yeah, that is a good one. I play that on the guitar quite a bit when I'm bored. It's a fun song to play. ⁓ Yeah, yeah, it's a hoot. ⁓ So, but Steve, do you find yourself, besides food, and... Steve Vladeck: Yeah, 98, 99. Michael Shafrir: Yeah, that was, yeah. Yeah. Steve Vladeck: Yes. Especially the opening riff, right? Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Matt: a deep thirst for American history. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Steve Vladeck: I still have that, unfortunately. I was a pretty, I I don't think this was a surprise either of you. I've always been a pretty straight edged person. And so I don't know that there was much else for me to lose the edge for. I really have not been a... Matt: Yeah. Sure. ⁓ huh. Are you a com or driver now? Steve Vladeck: No. No. No, I hate every single person on the road. No, no, that's just the New Yorker. can't take the... ⁓ GLP ones are not taking the New Yorker out of the New Yorkers. ⁓ Yes, yes. But I will say, I I don't think this is Wigovie or Zeph Bound driven. I I was finding in the fall... Matt: Okay, just asking, you know, it's reasonable. Michael Shafrir: You're still addicted to aggressive driving. Steve Vladeck: that I was consuming, I mean we talked about this, was consuming way too much caffeine, right, and I basically stopped. And I feel like that has also helped, although I don't trace that one quite as directly to the semaglutide. Matt: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Was that more a, Did you feel like you just needed it because you weren't sleeping enough, or what was it? Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Steve Vladeck: You know, was weird. I was sort of plateauing on the Wegovi, and so I was using Diet Pepsi as a crutch, as a way of trying to, something that would satisfy, that would scratch the itch without bumping up my caloric intake. ⁓ But that meant I had a ton of phenylalanine in my system. ⁓ I was drinking zero sugar iced tea. Matt: Yeah. Mmm. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Michael Shafrir: You know, it may be, I mean, I can only speak for myself. It may be related. ⁓ I like mainline caffeine in the morning. First thing, drink ⁓ at least two cups of coffee. And then I would always have a Diet Coke with lunch. I don't have that Diet Coke anymore. Steve Vladeck: Yeah. Yeah. Matt: Mm-hmm. But it's delicious. Michael Shafrir: It is delicious, but that's the thing. Like I don't need that deliciousness. Matt: You know what's interesting is like you guys both saying, ⁓ Diapepce I was into and you're saying Diet Coke. Thinking of those as caffeinated beverages, my brain doesn't even do that. My brain ignores that as having caffeine in it. And I will put down six Diet Cokes and call it a night. I'll go to sleep immediately. Michael Shafrir: Mmm. Steve Vladeck: Well, my other problem was like I got really into ⁓ the gold peak zero sugar iced tea. Right, because it was like a way of having sweet tea that wasn't actually sugar. But same problem, like it's a combination of like the fake sugar and the caffeine content. Yeah, I haven't had, I quit cold turkey in like late December because mean, Karen as usual was right and pointed out that I had been. Matt: Mmm. Michael Shafrir: Mmm. Yeah. But that's gone now. Steve Vladeck: like super moody and on like these wild mood swings. And I wanted to at least try that. Michael Shafrir: got a drug for that if you're interested. Matt: You Steve Vladeck: Well, so before more aggressive remediation, I wanted to try cutting out that first and see what happens. I mean, it's been, know, I think Karen and the girls would still say I'm grouchy from time to time, but I think it's been a game changer. Matt: That's interesting. I only, I feel like I currently am like on whatever, whatever cocktail of drugs I'm on right now through the three doctors I see all the time is working. and like my, my, my fuse is so much longer. I'm like, you know, last night, Henry and Dory are yelling back and forth at each other and I'm like, all right, let's, let's, let's take it back a little bit. Whereas I'd be like, I can yell the loudest guys. Michael Shafrir: Mm-hmm. Matt: and it's Steve Vladeck: I mean, when I was in the bath, I would snap at the kids for no reason, right? I mean, like that was the worst part of it. Matt: Yeah, right. Yeah, for sure. And it's good that you could recognize that. You know what I mean? And like, well, sure. But like even even even to have the perspective on it and to know that you were being a dick. I'm not putting words in your mouth. I'm saying like I often. Yeah, you know, and that's like, you know, you always get Michael, how do you how often are you yelling? I feel like you would be yelling. Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Steve Vladeck: after the fact. Yeah. No, I was being a dick. ⁓ Michael Shafrir: Mm-hmm. I'm a yeller, unfortunately. Yeah, yeah, I'm a yeller. ⁓ You know, how often am I raising my voice versus truly yelling? ⁓ Matt: Yeah. It's no shame in yelling, I'm just letting you know. Michael Shafrir: hard to say. ⁓ I raise my voice quite frequently with my kids. ⁓ You know. Matt: Yeah. Yeah. But is a lot of that to cut through them? Like their noise? Yeah. Michael Shafrir: Sure, sure. Look, I'm not a gentle parent. I never have been and that has never been my style. ⁓ You know, when Allison was here, like we always had like a good cop, bad cop routine going and you can guess which one I was. ⁓ I raise my, yeah, I raise my voice. I raise my voice. I do try not to yell. ⁓ You know, the last couple weeks, months have been. Matt: Mm-hmm. Bad cop! I did it! Uh-huh. Michael Shafrir: particularly stressful, I would say, since New Year's. And I do find myself yelling more. ⁓ And, you know, it's not my favorite part of myself, I would say. Matt: ⁓ huh. Yeah. Right. Look. Hey, as long as we're honest with ourselves here on the Uncles in Law podcast, we can go into our lives a little more aware of what we are doing. ⁓ Michael Shafrir: That's right. That's right. Yeah, I have adopted my kids' language. ⁓ know, the kids say that dad's crashing out. Matt: ⁓ let's hear it. hahahahah Michael Shafrir: Hehehehehe Matt: That's amazing. Steve Vladeck: So my bad alter ego is little Stevie. Michael Shafrir: hahahahah Matt: hahahahah ⁓ Steve Vladeck: So, know, little Stevie's having a bad day. Matt: Like, is that like a Steve Van Sant thing or like, what is that? Michael Shafrir: Yeah. That's your mafia nickname. Little Stevie. Steve Vladeck: It's any minute now. Yeah basically. Matt: Is that your... That is incredible. That is really generally... That is a great nickname. I don't have one. I don't have an angry nickname, even though I should. ⁓ But like that's... Michael Shafrir: you Steve Vladeck: Which is funny, because when Karen and first started dating, she would refer to the bad me who would overeat pizza. That was Stefan. Like the reverse family matters, like Stefan Erkel. Matt: Right, but he was the cool one, and I think the cool guy ate a lot of pizza. I think that she was telling you something else, actually. I think she was telling you she thought you were really cool when you ate it. Let me ask you this. At your peak of, like, ⁓ not paying attention and just eating until you were super full, how many slices would you put down? ⁓ I could do that too, yeah, no problem. Michael? Michael Shafrir: You Steve Vladeck: What I said, was reverse. was the reverse. I really, I... I really don't. Badness. Yeah. Yeah. I hope I. Yeah, I hope I. Michael Shafrir: ⁓ My move, my move was ⁓ so every Friday we would order from Jordan's pizza, which you guys both would view have probably had. And I would eat, ⁓ I would eat most of a chicken parm dinner and half of a large pizza. And then I would, I would always save like one piece of chicken parm and say, ⁓ look, I didn't eat everything. And then, and then Matt: ⁓ huh. Yep. Mm-hmm. Of course. Yes. Yeah. To make yourself... Yeah. Michael Shafrir: Then I would have like one to two of the kids chicken fingers that they didn't eat. You know, so like it was very easy for me to consume probably 2000 calories in a meal at least. And then like an hour later I'd be like, ⁓ I need some dessert. Matt: Sure, yeah. ⁓ yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, but I never drank calories. I always had diet soda. I always ate the calories. The, ⁓ I'm trying to think of what... Michael Shafrir: That's good. That's good. Yeah. I also I also was like and I still am, although far less. I was always a stress eater and particularly with everything going on with Alison, that was not particularly helpful. ⁓ So I would get to the end of the day of a long day, you know, driving back and forth to the hospital and then putting the kids to bed. And I would just have to eat as much as possible. ⁓ So that. Matt: Yeah. Steve Vladeck: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Matt: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. ⁓ huh. Yeah. Michael Shafrir: That definitely has calmed down. mean, even in the last couple of weeks where it's been a stressful time, I've lost weight. you know, it is, it is. mean, it's truly, it's an unbelievable drug. Matt: Yeah. Nice. I hope that's a good thing. Yeah. I ⁓ think we should get a sponsorship on this podcast from one of the large drug makers. Yeah. Hit us up, bros. Michael Shafrir: Yes. Steve Vladeck: Novo... ⁓ Novo Nordisk. Michael Shafrir: Yeah, Eli Lilly, you're listening, hit us up. Hit us up. Steve Vladeck: I will say, so if I can take this in a slightly different direction, ⁓ part of why I'm interested in some kind of test that would identify the people who have the problems that we've described is I think that would make it a lot easier to justify insurance covering these drugs for some people and not for like Karen's svelte friends who want to use it just to lose a couple of pounds. Matt: Mmm. Mm-hmm. It just- I, they won't, they still won't cover it for me. And I've gone through the whole rigmarole of like, I've had a sleep study, I have sleep apnea, this, that, and the other thing, but they're like, if you get type two diabetes, give us a call. And I was like, well, if you don't prescribe it to me, I'll get type two diabetes. Steve Vladeck: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Michael Shafrir: Mm-hmm. Steve Vladeck: Right. Yep. I mean, so the problem is, actually, I mean, there's a sentence I never thought I'd say out loud. I understand where the insurance companies are coming from because they don't know how to differentiate between people like us and the 125 pound woman who wants to lose three pounds. Or I don't know, it's not gendered or the 160 pound guy who wants to lose five pounds. and, know, I to some degree resent the doctors. who are writing prescriptions to those people. ⁓ But, know, so, because when I started on Wicovie, it was still covered by the insurance at the University of Texas. And then UT dropped it, ⁓ and Georgetown doesn't cover any of this, right? So, yeah. Matt: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Michael Shafrir: Mmm. Matt: Yeah. But at least... Yeah, I do too. Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Yeah, I pay out of pocket. mean, it's... Steve Vladeck: But do you guys have the manufacturer's coupons though? Matt: Yeah, it's like $2.99 instead of... Yes. It's insane. Steve Vladeck: Yeah, 1600. Michael Shafrir: Yeah, I'm on the, I do it through Lily Direct. ⁓ I think mine is, it's 400 a month. ⁓ Cause I think there's one more dose up where I could go or possibly two. Steve Vladeck: Yep, me too, that's where I am. And it's like what, $4.99? Or $4.49? Yeah, yeah. What, Michael, which, do you do? Matt: That's insane. Steve Vladeck: So it's funny because when I switched from Wegovy, the doses are not the same and there are more steps in the Zep-bound titration than in the Wegovy titration. so actually my primary care doctor and I were trying to figure out what was the right sort crossover. And so we started at the second to highest one, which I think is 12.5. And I'm actually wondering about maybe try to go and see if it'll put me on the 15. Matt: Mm-hmm. Michael Shafrir: Okay Matt: Mm-hmm. Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Matt: Yeah. Michael Shafrir: Mm-hmm. Nice. Matt: Is that a do you guys do the pan injection or do you guys do the fill your own needle? Steve Vladeck: So, Lillie Direct is your own needle. Matt: Mm. Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Yep. Steve Vladeck: Which I gather saves some cost, right? Because the single-pen injectors, I guess, are more expensive, supposedly. Matt: It must. It must. I tried the Hymns ⁓ GLP-1 compound and it did not work. And I don't know what about the compounding was different or what, but it just was like, did nothing for me. ⁓ Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Yep. Yep. Mmm. Steve Vladeck: Yeah. The pill. Yeah. Yeah. Michael Shafrir: Didn't work, no. Steve Vladeck: I've had friends with very different stories about using compound in pharmacies. Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Matt: Yeah. Michael Shafrir: Yep. Yep. So Hymns, if you're listening, we do not want your sponsorship. Yeah, maybe. Matt: Although, you know what, I am losing my hair and I would love it. You know, it's very long right now, but there's not a lot of it left. So if you want, I could go for some whatever it is that makes my hair not lose. You guys both have gorgeous full heads of hair. I'm jealous. Steve Vladeck: Hahaha you Michael Shafrir: It's... Yeah, I don't know about full so much. Steve Vladeck: I'm not sure. I don't know about full. I mean, I've got some rearward marching going on up here. Yeah. Matt: You know what, would prefer that to the group in the middle that decided to go, you know? I got like a monk thing going on here. Michael Shafrir: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I mean look, do I see a future where I go to Turkey and you know, get that, it's... Matt: Oh, me too. A thousand percent. I am on record. I've been saying this since 2010. The second I can afford hair plugs, they're going in my head. Steve Vladeck: Wait, this is over my head. Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Steve Vladeck: ⁓ okay, that's what we're talking about. I didn't get the turkey reference. Matt: They're in. Turkey is where you go for cheap, cheap hair plugs, high quality. And what you do is you sit at the airport and you watch all the guys coming back from Turkey with their bandaged heads. Michael Shafrir: You go for lower cost hair plugs. Yep. Steve Vladeck: Maybe, ⁓ so maybe that's what, yeah. Maybe that's why Eric Adams was so involved with the Turkish government. Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Yeah. Matt: You know, although he did, you know, he does, I don't have a good bald head. Otherwise I'd shave it. Like my head, if I shaved it once in high school or just after high school and it was like, it was like a war zone up there. It was like Divots, wrinkly. No, it was like wrinkly like the guy from Sugar Ray. I don't know if you remember him, but he had a wrinkly bald head. And I was like, ⁓ yeah, that's my head, wrinkly. Yes. Yeah. Steve Vladeck: It was no, no Patrick Stewart, no Patrick Stewart. Michael Shafrir: Uhhh... Steve Vladeck: With Sugar Ray every morning. Michael Shafrir: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Matt: The late great Mark McGrath, who's actually not dead, but I just say the late great every time. No, not at all. Nope. He's just, you know, 99 2000s own Mark McGrath. Michael Shafrir: I was gonna say, is he dead? Steve Vladeck: Is he canceled? Okay. Great. He's just not on time and he's wonderful. Matt: He exists in his own time, which was the greatest time of my life, which was the late 90s and early aughts. Michael Shafrir: That's right. Yep. They were good. They were good. Steve Vladeck: The late 90s were pretty good. Matt: Yeah. Ugh. As Tony Soprano said, with that economy, you got housewives making bets. So, anyway. It's good talking to you guys. ⁓ No, I don't. I'd like to read the email address, but we still don't. That's not really, you know. Unclesandlawpod at gmail.com if you want to email us. Michael Shafrir: Yep. Yeah. Matt, you want to read the email address? Steve Vladeck: How have you still not gotten into the email account? Matt: This is a good question. Well, I will say today, Friday the 13th of March, day before my dad's birthday, ⁓ I have... Happy birthday, dad. I have... ⁓ We have now... I've now uploaded... There are eight... Including this one, eight episodes. Six of them are up there. The seventh one is going up tomorrow. And this one is gonna go up the day after because I've learned it's not good for the algorithm if you put up two uploads in a day. Steve Vladeck: Happy birthday, Michael Shafrir: Mm, okay. Matt: So, that's the YouTube algorithm. You audio people are getting this right now. So, enjoy, we'll miss you. Michael Shafrir: Yup. Yup. Steve Vladeck: Wait, do you want to do what we're looking forward to next week is a dead-arch stick? Matt: Absolutely. Absolutely. Let's not lose the segment. If someone wants to send a jingle our way, please do so. I could use a, I love a good jingle. I got a lot from my other podcasts and this one could use a jingle or two. Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Steve Vladeck: Matt, you wanna go first? Matt: ⁓ yeah, well, you know, I talked a little bit last week about getting Henry to play sports he doesn't want to play. ⁓ and what, how to do that maybe yelling I thought would be a good move. Also, I thought like screaming might work. ⁓ but we ended up, we ended up going, I was thinking like he wasn't very confident in his abilities and that might Michael Shafrir: Yelling, just yell at them. Mm-hmm Matt: be leading to a little bit of a problem where he doesn't want to go in front of other people and like throw like an idiot or hit like, know what I mean? So we talked to him about doing a one-on-one, maybe do a one-on-one with a, with a some, ⁓ a baseball coach out here. It's Southern California. There's gotta be a lot of those. And Dory found one who's this, you know, nice kid seemingly from Merrimack College. was North Andover, baby. North Andover. Michael Shafrir: Mm-hmm. Nice. Steve Vladeck: New Hampshire? Michael Shafrir: Mm-hmm. Matt: Right next to Lowell, well right next to Toxbury, right next to Lowell. Just take 133, you'll get there. And... Lechester. Lechester, that's how I said it. No, Leo Minster. So the... Tomorrow Morning at 8 o'clock in the morning has a one hour session for under $100 for this guy. Steve Vladeck: Pass, pass, pass, Lichester. Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Letchester. Not to be confused with lemon stir. Steve Vladeck: Leo Minster. Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Steve Vladeck: Ow. Michael Shafrir: Great. Yep. Matt: which is huge, right? You'd think that would be a lot more. And he's gonna, I said, what do you want to work on, but he's like, throwing. was like, all right, I'm gonna, this guy's gonna work on throwing with you and that's going to be good because he never listens to me. So he'll listen to an outside coach. So tomorrow morning he is going to do that. And I've, I've emailed with the coach of the team. He was drafted to the Phillies and ⁓ I've said, Hey, look, I don't, I know guarantees here. Michael Shafrir: You Matt: whether or not he's going to play at any point. But just so you know, he might swing in and be a nice mid-season pickup for you guys. So I'm looking forward to seeing how Henry does with his first one-on-one baseball coaching thing. Michael Shafrir: Nice. Great. Steve? Steve Vladeck: So next Thursday night ⁓ is Home Court 39, ⁓ which is an annual charity event basketball game between the Georgetown Law School student basketball team and the GW Law School student basketball team. And they play at Gonzaga ⁓ High School and it's a big deal. ⁓ And at halftime, there's a faculty game. ⁓ And so... Matt: Mm-hmm. Michael Shafrir: ⁓ your time to shine. Matt: ⁓ boy. Steve Vladeck: So I will say, not that long ago, I probably still would have made it onto the real team in the real game. Probably into my early 40s, I think I probably still would have been able to hold it with some of our students. But now I'm in the senior open. ⁓ I'm on the senior tour. And I feel like I have some advantages in the senior tour. Michael Shafrir: Mm-hmm. Matt: I'm looking for a double double out of you. That's all I want to say. Steve Vladeck: It's a 10 minute game, like the faculty game is a 10 minute game. Yeah, yeah. I mean, bare matter bio I am not. Matt: Okay, I'm looking for a single double. Michael Shafrir: A single single. Matt: single Okay, triple single. Can you get us a triple single? Steve Vladeck: These are quadruple quintuple single. I'm going assist, I'm going assist block, steel, ⁓ bucket, foul, you got it. Matt: This is gonna be great. I can't wait. This is gonna be amazing. I can't wait to also see the student papers coverage of this. Let me know when that's out. that's going to be good. Steve Vladeck: I think the real question is, like, does anyone get hurt? Michael Shafrir: I didn't want to say it, but I was gonna say it. Don't get hurt, Steve. Steve Vladeck: I mean, I am playing basketball once a week, right? So ⁓ I'm playing once a week. I feel like, you know, I'm not athletic enough to really hurt myself. Matt: Over. Watch that Achilles, please. Michael Shafrir: Okay. Yeah, the Achilles, man. That's a tough one. Matt: Well, that's what we all think and then we go out there and we hurt ourselves. Michael Shafrir: Yeah. Steve Vladeck: If you don't jump, if you never jump, you can't land awkwardly. Michael Shafrir: True. True. Matt: That is true. That is true. But you gotta watch your power off the line is huge. you know, you just gotta watch that. Steve Vladeck: But so as long as I don't die, I'm looking forward to that. Matt: Michael? Michael Shafrir: Yep. On Wednesday evening, I'm heading to Pinehurst, North Carolina ⁓ for my annual golf trip. ⁓ Friends from Boston. We've been doing this. We've been doing a trip, if not two some years for gosh, about eight years now, which has been great. I look forward to it every year. I'll be back Saturday. ⁓ My dad is coming solo on Wednesday. Matt: ⁓ my God. I'm so jealous. ⁓ huh. ⁓ huh. ⁓ what? This is incredible. Okay. Michael Shafrir: Yep, yep, yep. This is now the second time recently where he has watched the kids by himself. Matt: What's the report from Sam and Olivia on this? Michael Shafrir: Well, I told them last night that Sabo was coming and they both said, Sabo yells so much. And then I said, now you know where I get it from. Yeah. Yeah. Generational trauma handed down. ⁓ So, yeah, I'll be, I'll be gone. We got to figure out a time to record. I will text you guys. I'm back Saturday night. Matt: Uh-huh. It's good. Let's not break the pattern. Let's keep it going generation to generation. Uh-huh. Sure, When are you back? Okay, yeah. Michael Shafrir: So my dad's coming Wednesday. He'll be here Wednesday night and Thursday night. And then my mom's coming Friday afternoon. Matt: That's amazing. Steve Vladeck: if your house is still there. Michael Shafrir: It should be, hopefully, God willing. ⁓ Matt: I know Gus is gonna be happy. Michael Shafrir: Gus will be thrilled. My ⁓ dad gets annoyed that Gus follows him around. Gus is my dog, he's my little 12 pound dog ⁓ who needs to be around an adult at all times. ⁓ So he follows my dad around and you know, but yeah, looking forward to that. So it's a much needed trip at this point in my life. Matt: was very sweet. You Yeah. Alright. What, ⁓ your first morning out, what are you, what are you hoping to score your first morning out? Under 90, you're happy? Steve Vladeck: Maybe we'll do a Sunday recording next week. Michael Shafrir: Yeah, we can do a Sunday. Yeah, no, no. I expect to score under 90. If I could break 80, that would be amazing. Matt: I mean, but it is Pinehurst. What T's are you playing from? Michael Shafrir: ⁓ Well, we're not we're only playing Pioneers number two, which is the US Open course once we're playing three of the other courses there. ⁓ So, you know, I'd like to break 80 on the trip. Matt: Okay. All right. Handicap, no handicap. Michael Shafrir: With handicap. ⁓ no. So my score without a handicap, but we play matches with handicaps to, you know, match up skills. Matt: Okay. Yeah, with Hanigan. Make it. Yeah. Well, I'm excited for you and you. Both of you guys don't get injured on your sports adventures. I think much more likely in Steve than Although with Michael, there's a lot of carts involved, you know? Michael Shafrir: Thank you. Yeah. I've had a golf injury before. I actually got injured on a golf trip. I swung ⁓ and like felt a twinge in my peck and that then lingered for like three years. ⁓ Yeah, so it's possible. Steve Vladeck: Come on, Matt: ⁓ no. ⁓ god. Steve Vladeck: would also say, Matt, I would not be worrying about golf cart injuries involving us. Michael Shafrir: Yeah, Matt, that's your bag, buddy. Matt: Look, I'm just saying, I know how dangerous they can be. I know how dangerous they can be, okay? ⁓ All right, good talking to you guys. Everyone else, we'll see you next week. Thanks for listening. Bye everybody. Steve Vladeck: You Bye everybody. Michael Shafrir: See you next week.