Advertise on podcast: Really? no, Really? with Jason Alexander & Peter Tilden

What does it take to get a dog to Westminster—and what happens when the judge starts checking under the hood? Jason Alexander and Peter Tilden welcome Kimberly Calvacca, a third-generation dog show competitor, handler, and breeder, for a funny, behind-the-scenes look at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Kim explains how dogs qualify, why handlers can spend a hundred days a year at shows, and what it takes to get eight dogs ready to compete. The conversation gets into breed standards, judging, grooming, show business—and whether the whole thing is a bit of a racket. Then Jason and Peter get advice for their own dogs, with pug Tango stealing the spotlight. There’s a lot of work behind those ribbons, but Kim says the bond between handler and dog is what makes them shine: “We’re like a dance team out there.” Listen to the Show on all Podcast Apps "Really? no, Really?" https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-really-no-really-107027693/ Follow us: http://reallynoreally.com https://www.instagram.com/reallynoreallypodcast/ https://www.facebook.com/reallynoreallypodcast/ https://twitter.com/reallynoreally_ Jason's Socials: https://www.instagram.com/jalexander1959/?hl=en https://twitter.com/IJasonAlexander #jasonalexander #reallynoreally #dogshow #podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just because something is going viral doesn't mean it's important but it can be divisive because not everyone is sharing and receiving the same information. But this is how social media platforms can cause us to get in our own bubbles causing serious dangerous divisiveness. Luckily, our guest on this episode of the Really? no Really? Podcast, Ruby Thelon, has been studying digital trends and has some thoughts on how to battle this enterprise of bots pushing the political propaganda and cultural maneuvers. Little background on Ruby: He is a designer, cyber ethnographer and teacher who's been studying the phenomena of of online trending for a while now. He'll explain to Jason and Peter how social media and isolation have to lead to a form of digital speciation creating it's own digital language. So how do we pop these algorithmic bubbles? Rudy will explain how his Tim To Touch solution works. Follow Ruby: https://www.instagram.com/being_on_line Pre-order his new book: In Defense of Being Online https://draw-down.com/collections/new/products/rubythelot Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Auctions are unique psychologically because instead of me putting your product up at a price that you determine, it's determined by the public as a way for the seller to get richer. Whether it's art, livestock or collectible toys, you'll notice that the auctioneer has a certain fast talking rhythm to the job and it's still a trade you can go to college for. Cole Morrison of the Western College of Auctioneering joins Jason and Peter on this episode of Really? no Really? to give us a closer look into the world of auctioneering.Cole is also the Montana Rookie Auctioneer of the year in 2020 and also the 2023 Montana State Auctioneer champion. He'll explain more about the psychological element behind his profession along with the different level of performances required to meet the expectations for different industries. It's all about facilitating the conversation.Cole also explains how learning how to nail the fast talk rhythm of the auction has helped people overcome stutters, stammers and speech impediments. #jasonalexander #auction #auction_techniques #podcast #reallynoreallyListen to the Show on all Podcast Apps "Really? no, Really?" https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-really-no-really-107027693/Follow us:http://reallynoreally.comhttps://www.instagram.com/reallynoreallypodcast/https://www.facebook.com/reallynoreallypodcast/https://twitter.com/reallynoreally_Jason's Socials: https://www.instagram.com/jalexander1959/?hl=enhttps://twitter.com/IJasonAlexander Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New episode next week! In the meantime, in honor of Star Trek: The Original Series turning 60 this year, we’re revisiting Jason and Peter’s 2023 conversation with Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner. If you’re new to the Really? No, Really? podcast—or simply want to hear it again—this is the perfect time to catch up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you had told us to worry about the decline of people having sex fifteen years ago, we would've thought you were crazy. But the latest sociology reports have confirmed these dramatic declines in sexual activity. Sociology Professor, Brad Wilcox, joins Jason and Peter to break down the data and explain how we found ourselves in a sex recession on this episode of the Really? no Really? Podcast. Brad explains there's a number of factors that can explain what's contributing to the decline in adult relationship and human intimacy. The digital revolution, antidepressants and other medications, MeToo, isolation from the pandemic and the economics making it difficult for younger people to move out of their parents house and to afford their own homes, Brad breaks all of this down to prove how it's the perfect storm of causes for a sex recession. The United Nations is now forecasting we're going see a global population decline this century. We'll also cover how what type of impact this has on the world population. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can you build a store nobody can steal from? Jason Alexander and Peter Tilden ask criminologist Dr. Reed Hayes—and his answer challenges the premise that brought him to Really? No, Really. The founder of the Loss Prevention Research Council reveals what he learns from interviewing active shoplifters, why everyday toiletries end up behind locked glass, and how stores use psychology to make thieves think twice. From self-checkout mistakes to organized retail crime, Hayes explains the security decisions shaping your shopping experience. Jason questions the privacy cost of constant surveillance, while Hayes recalls catching a jewelry thief whose disappearing act looked like magic. The conversation also confronts the human stakes of retail theft—and why chasing stolen merchandise can come at a devastating price. Plus, what helps protect your home? Hayes weighs cameras, dogs, and warning signs—including why advertising that you own a gun could attract thieves. Listen to discover what makes a thief think twice—and what might send the wrong message. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last year, Love Island USA got 2.3 billion hours of watch time, creating these huge communities of viewers who watch it together in bars and movie theaters. Especially amongst Gen Z viewers. So how did this show originate from Britain and went to have 8 insanely successful seasons in the United States? Jason and Peter bring in an actual pop culture expert, Doctor and Professor Steven Granelli, to explain what makes Love Island USA different from any other reality TV series on this episode of the Really? no Really? Podcast. For those of you unfamiliar with the show, the premise is to basically take a bunch of hot single people, put them on an island with the goal of them coupling up with somebody else. If you are coupled up with somebody else on this island, you're safe. You get to stay. But if you are single, you are vulnerable. It's sexual musical chairs but it's a manipulated game that airs nightly. The big debate we'll cover is do shows like Love Island USA cause damage to the entertainment industry by dumbing down the audience? Are their serious repercussions to appealing to the lowest common denominator? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since Jason keeps getting George Costanza deepfake memes, we invited back technologist Hany Farid on this episode of the Really? no Really? Podcast. Hany explains that while the deepfake memes are AI generated, social media platforms play a major role in how these deepfakes spread creating the perfect storm for spreading misinformation. Plus, the tchnology has advanced so much that's it's getting harder to determine what's real and what's fake. Hany also explains how the courts and our justice system aren't equipped to deal with the real life consequences under the current state of deepfake technology where it can alter voice and images in police body cam footage. The problem is everything has a digital footprint and countries like North Korea are fueling their economies by stealing our data to create deepfake job interviews through Zoom. Another aspect that Hany touches upon is how AI learns off of Hollywood movies to create deepfake war footage. The problem though is it's not an accurate depiction of how bombs or missiles go off in battle so it's generating deepfake footage based off of fake depictions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here's something may not have known: men's feet are more square and more rectangular and women's feet are more triangular. You'd think companies that design sneakers for women would understand that but instead, what they do is use the anatomy of a male's foot to design a woman's sneaker and then "shrink it and pink it". Creative designer and author of the book, Man-Made, Karen Korellis Reuther, previously served as Vice President of Creative Direction and Innovation at Reebok and Global Creative Director at NIKE, where she led major product, merchandising, and brand strategies. She joins Jason and Peter on this episode of the Really? no Really? Podcast to explain how fashion, clothing and other major industries haven't been accurately designing their products for female consumers through "shrink it and pink it" strategy. She joins us to explain how companies can rectify the lack of gender diversity in the design process to not just make their product serve an actual female consumer base without having to charge them more. It's not just the sneakers industry that's being impacted by the pink tax and the lack of gender diversity when it comes to design. Women firefighters have higher injury rates than their male counterparts because their helmets and uniforms are still designed for men Female surgeons have had to stand on stools because the operating tables didn't go low enough. Even the female dummies created for crash tests and CPR training are just male shrunken versions of male dummies. So how can we solve this problem? Korellis Reuther says the next big movement is to get companies attention to get them to fit their products properly for women to be safe in their professions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here's something may not have known: men's feet are more square and more rectangular and women's feet are more triangular. You'd think companies that design sneakers for women would understand that but instead, what they do is use the anatomy of a male's foot to design a woman's sneaker and then "shrink it and pink it". Creative designer and author of the book, Man-Made, Karen Korellis Reuther, previously served as Vice President of Creative Direction and Innovation at Reebok and Global Creative Director at NIKE, where she led major product, merchandising, and brand strategies. She joins Jason and Peter on this episode of the Really? no Really? Podcast to explain how fashion, clothing and other major industries haven't been accurately designing their products for female consumers through "shrink it and pink it" strategy. She joins us to explain how companies can rectify the lack of gender diversity in the design process to not just make their product serve an actual female consumer base without having to charge them more. It's not just the sneakers industry that's being impacted by the pink tax and the lack of gender diversity when it comes to design. Women firefighters have higher injury rates than their male counterparts because their helmets and uniforms are still designed for men Female surgeons have had to stand on stools because the operating tables didn't go low enough. Even the female dummies created for crash tests and CPR training are just male shrunken versions of male dummies. So how can we solve this problem? Korellis Reuther says the next big movement is to get companies attention to get them to fit their products properly for women to be safe in their professions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why do smart people believe things that aren't true? Jason Alexander and Peter Tilden sit down with legendary magician, skeptic, and author Penn Jillette for a fascinating conversation about why we're so easily manipulated—and why it's happening more than ever. Penn explains how tribalism often beats truth, why persuasion is more powerful than knowledge, how social media algorithms exploit our need to belong, and why curiosity is disappearing. They explore conspiracy theories, misinformation, Wikipedia, loneliness, AI, clickbait, and the surprising role boredom plays in independent thinking. Along the way, the conversation takes hilarious detours into Joe Rogan, clown college, Siegfried & Roy, magic, wife-swapping jokes, and why Penn believes the greatest illusion isn't on stage—it's the stories we tell ourselves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Norwegian soccer superstar Erling Haaland went viral when he walked off a plane carrying a stuffed taxidermied raccoon holding a whiskey bottle that he bought for $750 from Wild Bill's Western Store. His team went in and bought some other stuff sold out of all of their inventory and apparently taxidermy has gone through the roof. They have since defined this as the Haaland Effect. Ace Alexander, a master taxidermist and co-owner of Bischoff's Taxidermy & Animal FX, in North Hollywood, joins Jason and Peter on this episode of Really? no Really? The store has been around since 1922 and they were considered the taxidermist to the stars. Ace dives in on the lost of taxidermy and clears up a few misconceptions. We'll also reveal which celebrities like to collect stuffed animals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ventriloquist and comedian Jeff Dunham joins us on this episode of the Really? no Really? Podcast. Jeff joins Jason and Peter to discuss his journey from going from getting his first puppet as a Christmas gift to being a smash hit in the comedy clubs to selling out massive arena tours. Jeff also has a lot of great stories about his first time performing on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson to roasting GE CEO Jack Welch. Jeff will also tell us the origins behind his most famous characters and reveal which of his puppets is internationally loved all over the world. He'll also take some time to show us how to finally use our puppets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm looking at a robotic dog that's freaking me out because it's kind of acting like a real dog in the way it looks at you, the way it responds. And I wasn't sure how I would feel about an animatronic dog design. I think specifically for people who have issues, neurological issues like Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and what this dog can do for those people. And is it for those people, or is it for the family who feels guilty that they have to care, take that person, and that is an intense job in this country: Caretaking. I know too many people who are dealing with parents and family members who have all times, and it is it's horrible for the person, but for the caregiver, it's just an endless 24 hour cycle. Will you get no break? So is this dog really helpful for that? I know that the CEO, Tom Stevens, created the dog for his mom, who had Alzheimer's and dementia because they had to take away her dog. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We originally wanted to title this episode "How the worst day of life became the best day of life", but we realized it was better to let Pete Holmes explain everything that happened to him leading up to his stand-up career and the creation of his HBO show, Crashing, that he made with Judd Apatow. On this episode of Really? no Really? Jason and Peter do a deep with Pete on how an incident liking catching your wife in an affair with another man can not only serve as comedic and artistic inspiration, they also delve into how you respond or handle such a situation. That's where factors like therapy and spirituality come into play and emphasizes the need for comedy in our lives. We'll also discuss comedy justice, Simpsons jokes that didn't get cut, those College Humor Batman sketches and why we all need a Larry David in our lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices