Episode 7: Andy Richter

"Episode 7: Andy Richter" is the seventh episode of the Ronna & Beverly podcast. Hosted by Ronna Glickman and Beverly Ginsberg, the guest is Andy Richter.

## Intro Song

Beverly opens the episode by singing to the tune of "Summer Nights" from *Grease*. She sings the lyrics as "Summer podcast on my podcast. Summer loving … Say goodbye to your summer love. Angry birds.”

## Animated Inanimate Object

At first, Beverly says that if Andy Richter were an animated inanimate object, he would be an angry jack-o'-lantern. However, later in the episode, she changes her mind. He's a mug, from a website with photos. There's a picture of a jack-o'-lantern on the front of the mug. It's like a photo, a Kodak gallery.

## Ronna & Beverly's World

At the beginning of the episode, Ronna and Beverly express their sadness that summer is almost over.

Ronna says that Jordan will be home in a couple of days from France. Then she'll pack him up and send him back to NYU. She hates she only has him for five days, but she goes to New York to visit him.

Beverly says that Lainie is going back to Israel. She's going at the end of the month. She wants to do some sort of Torah study kibbutz something yeshiva program of some kind. She's got friends over there so Beverly can't keep her forever. Ronna asks whether Beverly would keep Lainie if she could. No, Beverly answers, Lainie wouldn't be her first choice. When Ronna is surprised that Beverly is so open about her preferences, Beverly says she doesn't sugarcoat. Her family all knows where they stand with each other. Everyone knows their place. She has an honesty policy.

Ronna asks if Rachelle is going back too and whether she is driving or flying to Arizona. Beverly says Rachelle is not going right away. She hasn't declared a major. She doesn't know her housing. Plus sororities are doing their hazing and dividing everyone up. So she may take a little everything off, or time off, or whatever. Rachelle will do what Rachelle does. It'll be what it'll be.

When Ronna tries to confirm that Rachelle isn't going back to school, Beverly says Rachelle's not going back yet. There's a little suspension incident going on. Rachelle was doing a blog on YouTube. (It's called a vlog, Ronna points out.) Rachelle was telling stories, documenting her life. Right before school ended she was telling a story that got her in some hot water. So they don't want her to come back right away. She had gone to a party and was still drunk from the party. At college, they drink Zima, Beverly explains. Hard lemonade. Like Snapple. Hard Snapple. She says she wants to trademark that. Beverly continues telling her story, that the video got taken down for some legal reasons, but it had been picked up Reuters and other news organizations. Rachelle had mentioned she had been involved with a gentleman who was not age appropriate. It wasn't illegal or statutory or anything, because she was 19, but he is significantly older, like in his 50s. He was a professor at Arizona, but not Rachelle's professor. Rachelle detailed some of whatever they were doing whenever they did it. She may have sadi a couple of slurs. He's a Farsi teacher. He taught her some offensive expressions. She blurted a couple of things. Beverly explains that she thinks he used her as a mouthpiece or a puppet for trying to start some sort of political thing. She said something like "Do me, do me, Saddam" or "Bin Laden wasn't completely off base." The man has some ties to some organizations. He's fled now. Rachelle passed out in her own vomit right after she was done talking about the specificity of the incident. So the school doesn't want her back. Not yet.

She explains to Ronna that Rachelle is a young woman who was taken advantage of, like Jaycee Dugard or Elizabeth Smart. Ronna says everyone has some responsibility, including Rachelle. She's the one who drank and hit record. Rules and rules. When Ronna asks whether Beverly condones her behavior, Beverly says she's terrified of Ronna because of the extreme position Ronna is taking. She feels like she doesn't know her. When Ronna asks Beverly what Rachelle's responsibility is in all this, Beverly pleads the ninth.

The theme music plays as they go to their interview with Andy Richter.

During the conversation with Andy, at one point, Beverly says, "The human condition cannot keep apologizing for itself." [This is the second episode in a row when she's said her "human condition" thing. It's evolving a little.]

After the interview, Beverly concedes that Rachelle may have made a mistake. (Ronna says she did make a mistake.) Beverly says everything is on a computer in our world, like Anthony Weiner for example. (Ronna says he did it to himself.) Beverly explains that we can't all be held accountable because of technology's advancements. It's really the fault of the Japanese. When Ronna expresses astonishment, Beverly says that at the end of the day, Rachelle is taking responsibility and not forcing herself back on the school. (Ronna emphasizes that Rachelle was suspended.) Beverly says Rachelle's taking some time. She'll recoup, she'll sit, watch cable, she'll eat, relax, she'll get her life back together. Then she'll be able to go back and hold her head up high. Or transfer schools, Ronna points out. There are lots of programs, Beverly says.

They thank their producer Michael Constantini and the guys who wrote the theme song, Noah Lebenzon and John Ross Bowie. They screwed around in a garage and came up with this. More of technology's advancements. Ronna says that sometimes we use technology against ourselves as an act of self-sabotage because we don't want to be 14,000 miles away from our mothers. We'd rather be home suckling at her teet and having her make every meal and cutting the crusts off of every sandwich that we make possibly. Beverly interjects to say she never breast fed. That was for poor people. (Ronna says it's a figure of speech.) Beverly says it also makes your breasts sag.