Episode 3: Justin Kirk

"Episode 3: Justin Kirk" is the third episode of the Ronna & Beverly podcast. Hosted by Ronna Glickman and Beverly Ginsberg, the guest is Justin Kirk, who is frequently referred to in other episodes of the podcast.

## Intro Song

This is the first episode where Beverly sings at the beginning of the podcast (after the theme song). She sings "Welcome to the Ronna and Beverly podcast! Here we are on our podcast!" She and Ronna discuss that she's trying to find a jingle for the podcast. Beverly goes on in later episodes to sing after the theme song to introduce the episodes. She mostly sings to existing songs, changing the words to incorporate the word "podcast."

## Animated Inanimate Object

Beverly reveals that if Justin Kirk were an animated inanimate object, he would be a sliver of carrot cake, frozen and then defrosted, with a little freezer burn on the edge.

## Firsts

This is the first episode where Ronna & Beverly thank their schleps Michael Constantini (who does all the editing and producing) and two poor musicians no one pays any money to -- Noah Lebenzon and John Ross Bowie -- who co-wrote the theme song, (half of it with computers, half with instruments, Ronna and Beverly explain).

This is also the first episode where Ronna expresses her distaste for Kevin James. Ronna and Beverly are discussing that *Witches of Eastwick* was shot in Marblehead when Ronna points out that they also shot that eyesore, that travesty, with "that fat jerk who had the pretty wife, he had a sitcom on CBS." Beverly correctly identifies Kevin James. The movie they're discussing is Grown Ups. When Beverly says she didn't buy that the two leads would have a black friend, Ronna goes on to say, "What I didn't buy is that any of them would spend time with Kevin James. Now he's got Zookeeper. Who cares?" When discussing that Zookeeper was also shot in Boston, Ronna asks whether Kevin James has a brother on the film commission. Her distaste is clear.

## Ronna & Beverly's World

Ronna and Beverly discuss early in the episode that summer has been very up and down already.

Ronna mentions her brother lives in Newton. This is the first mention of her brother.

Beverly shares some dramatic happenings at her house.

Her master bath was being cleaned so she went to the girls' bathroom (her fraternal twin daughters Lainie and Rachelle.) The bathroom was a pigsty. While Beverly was sitting there, she spies a pregnancy test in the trash, and it's positive. She runs outside, where Rachelle is lying out on a towel with baby oil all over her. Beverly tries grabbing her, but her hand slips. She tells Rachelle to get in her Toyota Camry right now, they're going to Planned Parenthood. She tells Rachelle "We're not doing this again." (Rachelle has had an abortion before.) Rachelle is screaming and crying in the car, saying it's not hers. At this point in Beverly's story, Ronna expresses great scepticism that it could be Lainie's. Beverly agrees and points out Lainie is religious. However, Rachelle is hysterical. They go into Planned Parenthood, and they're told that Rachelle isn't pregnant. So Beverly tells her daughter that they'll go home and talk to Rachelle's sister. They get home and sit at the kitchen table and wait for Lainie to come home.

Beverly expresses that despite Rachelle trying to persuade her mother that it's Lainie's pregnancy test, Beverly believe it's a more likely story that a pregnant ghost went in there and took a ghost pregnancy test and got a ghost positive. That's more likely than her fat daughter finding a man who would do that to her. In addition to her size, she's not a good conversationalist. Beverly says she was very irate. She had a plan for the afternoon that she had to cancel (go to tennis with Phyllis). Rachelle wants to watch TV, but Beverly makes her sit there and wait.

Lainie comes home, and Beverly says, "Your sister believes you're carrying a baby." Lainie starts crying. Beverly explains that Lainie said she wanted to know what it felt like to take a pregnancy test. She scared herself into a false positive. Either that or nail polish remover on a cotton ball in the trash can leaked over and made it positive. When Ronna expresses astonishment, Beverly explains that Lainie is very lonely and this made her feel closer to being in a relationship. Ronna calls it psychotic. Beverly says she took her daughters to Baskin Robbins and said bygones, let's have a do-over of summer.

She asks Ronna about Jordan. Jordan is doing great. He is doing an internship in New York and then going on his Lance Armstrong cycling tour in August, visiting vineyards in France, wine tasting, raising money. Beverly asks if he's coming to visit. Ronna says of course, he's coming for the 4th. Beverly asks if he can check Beverly's computer. Ronna says to ask him herself. She mentions Evan could do it also.

They then move into the interview with Justin Kirk, in which they discuss his work on Weeds, his career, the Midwest, and other topics.

During their interview with him, they mention the Barbaras are listening, and they tell a few interesting stories about their lives and histories.

Ronna tells a story about how when Jordan was a small baby, they took him to Mount Washington, and he was bit on the face by black flies. He was bleeding. Beverly interjects that he wears mascara now. Ronna explains that he's artistic.

Beverly reveals that she's temporarily driving a Nissan Sentra rental because she got into a fender-bender with a black guy from Lynn.

Beverly also reveals that she has a condition called synesthesia. It's a condition where you close your eyes, you see numbers and letters in color.
1 is white;
2 is red;
3 is light green;
4 is royal blue;
5 is yellow;
6 is orange;
7 is dark green;
8 is also red but a more orangey red than number 2;
9 is brown;
10 is silver because the zero is always black.

She self-diagnosed herself on the internet. She says this burden has distracted her from her chosen success in life. She says there's a convention in New York for people with this condition, but she doesn't want to go and be around a bunch of freaks.

Similar to what happened in the conversation with Paul F. Tompkins in the previous episode, there is a part of the interview where Beverly becomes hostile with Justin Kirk and then bored by his presence there. It's almost like a flip switches or something, and she turns.

When the interview is over, Beverly proposes a hypothetical scenario that perhaps if Lainie were having a psychotic breakdown (which she's not convinced of) that has not been eradicated by Baskin Robbins, perhaps Ronna could talk to some of her friends who are in psychiatry to see if Lainie could get some counseling or treatment for free. Maybe she could join a test trial. She thinks Ronna has connections at Mass General because of her husband who died snorkeling. Ronna expresses exasperation that Beverly always brings up the manner of her husband's death. Why can't she just say he died? Why must she always say that he died snorkeling? Despite her exasperation, she says she'll talk to some people about Lainie.