And now a quick trip down memory lane regarding John and I and the Chive Podcasting days… (Enjoy some original artwork Chivers sent us and a shot of us ball-busting Rob Corddry)

When John approached me to co-host theCHIVE Podcast, of all people, rather than Mac or his brother Leo, or anybody more naturally outgoing, I was absolutely terrified. I said “Yes” when I desperately wanted to run for the hills. But I spent the next two years learning up on great minds in fields varying from NASA astronauts, to famous actors & comedians, to…pornstars. And it was an incredible journey.

We traveled all over the country to sit down with some of our heroes, and we laughed our asses off both on and off the mic. John normally used to fly me out first class with him wherever we went, and the night before we’d always have a few drinks with room service as we prepped for the next day’s interview/conversation. We may’ve laughed so hard in hotels that we more than once were told to quiet down or else be kicked out *coughs — the Ritz-Carlton in Marina Del Rey did NOT love us, and I can promise you we will never go back there again either. I digress.

People always ask who our favorite guests were and honestly, there were no bad guests (OK, maybe one, but that’s a story for private conversation), and my interest levels in each person was a completely singular and unique experience. How one personality thinks and responds to conversation and questions is 100% different from person to person, and I loved finding the right balance as the interviews unfurled. The best feeling in the world was getting to a point where a celebrity, who might not’ve known much about us, went from apprehensive and disinterested to fully engaged and excited to laugh and share thoughts and stories. My extensive research always helped prove that we came there prepared and people always became more interested when they realized we weren’t gonna be asking them the same generic tabloid fodder and movie trivia they heard every damn day. As the conversations proved rich, their eyes would light up, and that’s when conversations really got good.

All in all theCHIVE Podcast did not fade away because of lack of traffic or for financial reasons, as some seem to think. It was a huge success believe it or not. But it was never enough of a core part of our business model to outweigh the daily responsibilities that it was keeping both John and myself away from. And so we had to sunset that wonderful venture. But we will always have a 2-year period of our lives that I consider to be some of the best (and most terrifying at times) in my life.

Thanks for listening.

And Speaking of “Saying Yes,” we would love to help Annabella out to raise the funds to buy her a wheelchair lift for the family vehicle to help her get around and live a better life. Sign up to be notified as the launch of today’s “John Coin” goes live that will be raising ALL funds to help support a Chiver in need!

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