EP. 009 • The Real Us

Ending their longest hiatus yet, Mark and Larry reconvene in a new setting — the Lab — to cover a wide range of topics, starting with which sports teams they're fans of and the concept of fandom and sports culture as a whole (7:00). Once they address the hiatus, what they've been up to since Episode 008, and how the Rulers have been choosing to direct questions, requests, and feedback to them (13:05), they rehash a debate about how well they think they'd perform if given the chance to play in the NFL or other professional sports leagues — and which would be the easiest to succeed in (18:37). Staying in the world of sports, they discuss the return of the NBA, its recent changes, and the surrounding allegations (27:17) before briefly touching on the World Series and all the new music released since the last episode. Next, a conversation about NBA YoungBoy's tour and overall impact (39:23) leads to a discussion about which artists they're big enough fans of to buy concert tickets for, and which fanbases would be the most dangerous as an army. The guys also debate whether Kendrick Lamar was at his peak popularity after the Super Bowl halftime performance (49:35), and the NFL's choice to have Bad Bunny perform at Super Bowl LX — along with the backlash that followed. Then, an impromptu segment about praying for others leads to a debate on how much the spiritual realm values intentions versus actions (55:30), which prompts Larry to press Mark about his beliefs surrounding Halloween before they share thoughts on the year's best costumes and how much of a production the holiday has become in the social media era. Before wrapping up, the guys touch on D4VD's allegations (1:07:12), women dating men who display traits they publicly disapprove of (1:10:00), and recent headlines involving Saweetie and the related occupation (1:13:41) — plus plenty more. Tap in — the wait's over, and they came back swinging.