Cheers to Friendship | Bromances, Famous Frenemies, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (CLP-Ep.38)

Even if you consider yourself anti-social, you can get all the socializing you need in this episode all about the magic of friendship -- and, yes, we talk about MLP:FIM.

This episode's wine: Frenzy Sauvignon Blanc 2014, New Zealand

This episode's cheese: Cotswold

This episode was inspired from a request on Twitter from one of our listeners, Hilary, who asked how James and I met and became friends! The basic answer is we worked together years ago and got along well because we were both snarky and sarcastic.

James and Emily start off this episode joking around -- probably because of the amazing cheese and wine -- before delving into this week's topic: friendship! Find out the history of James' and Emily's friendship, including James becoming a wine person.

Find out some fan theories about the show "Friends," including calling attention to how unlikable Ross was and how this show was the beginning of the fall of civilization.

James enlightens Emily about how guys' friendships work, including a particularly strange game they play that involves punching someone for looking at an "OK-symbol" made with the hands below the waist.

Have you played this game? Is there a name for this? Let us know!

If anyone wants to start a mild version of Fight Club with James, get in touch with us. We'll make that happen. Find out why all this play fighting is actually a good thing, and how male friendships, although more "violent" can actually be healthier than friendships among girls.

Emily talks about the book, "How to Win Friends and Influence People," and how she uses the book to help identify bad marketers and psychopaths. We also find out that James has been trying to read the book since hearing how Charles Manson used the skills from the book, which he learned from the podcast, "You Must Remember This."

Emily points out how the automatic DMs on Twitter are sometimes so transparent about using Dale Carnegie's 6 techniques to getting people to like you, but how awful it is when they use those techniques in a clumsy way, resulting in the exact opposite effect. We also realize we're pretty much terrible people because we're terrible at remembering names, and Emily makes a case for name tags.

Emily talks about trying to explain to her 5-year-old why The Little Mermaid is a terrible role model for women because she changes herself for a guy she has a crush on. As much as she doesn't like Disney Princesses, she isn't all evil; in fact, she may just be a Brony or Pegasister. Oh yes, that's right -- we're talking "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" in this episode, including why it's an awesome show for young children, as well as adults. Believe it or not, Emily has watched the two documentaries about Bronies (Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans Of My Little Pony and A Brony Tale, and gained more respect for Brony culture.
But, then again, there's always Rule 34.

James talks about how intimate friendship was in the past, including talking about some awkward friend photos. But, if you think Bromances are a new trend, you're wrong! And, we finally decide what we'll do should we ever invent a time machine. Emily also finds out what Log Cabin Republicans are.

Emily talks about the two of the most famous sets of frenemies: Taylor Swift vs. Katy Perry and Nikola Tesla vs. Thomas Edison. We find out how these sets of once-friends became rivals -- and Emily even learns some science for the show!

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Special thanks to our classy sponsors on Patreon: Debt Shepherd, PodUnderground & Jason Bryant from Mat Talk Online and the Short Time Wrestling podcast.

Special thanks to Adam Centamore for his book, "Tasting Wine & Cheese: An Insider's Guide to Mastering the Principles of Pairing," which inspires us to try new wine and cheese pairings in every episode!

Cheers!