February 20, 2024 • 29 mins
Ellie and Scott are joined by critically acclaimed actor and producer, Anson Mount. Anson shares his love of pottery! We learn all about the competition show that got him hooked, mug ergonomics, and how he'll never consider himself a true pottery master. Plus, Scott shares with Ellie his love of something "steamy" - a double shower!
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
No, no.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Too.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
Whoa.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
My pipes are in top form today.
Speaker 4 (00:12):
Hi Scott, Hi Ellie. They are always in top form,
but perhaps especially so today. That's true.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm not going
to stop because it's clearly working for me. Scott, everybody,
welcome to our podcast Born to Love. I'm Ellie Kemper,
I'm Scott Eckert and this is a podcast where we
have guests come on the show and talk about something
anything in the world that they love. Scott and I
(00:40):
also talk about things we love, and.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
That's the show. We're especially excited to have our guest today,
Anson Mount Captain Christopher Pike on Star Trek E Strange
New Worlds. I'm excited to chat with him. My son,
who is a huge Star Trek fan, will be especially
excited to hear from him. And he is talking to
us today about his love of pottery. Now, I will
confess I'm not a big pottery lover. Maybe we'll get
(01:05):
into that, but there is something this week, Ellie that
I realized I love. Would you like to take a
guess what it is?
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Yeah? First of all, I want to just add to
your pottery not lover status, because I would say that
you don't know enough about pottery. I wouldn't say that
you don't love it. I would say that maybe you
don't know a lot about it.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
Fair enough, let's buckle up. We're about to learn a bunch.
We're about to get a master class from a master potter.
But not before I share my love. Ellie Scott, what
could it be?
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Did you ask me to take a guess?
Speaker 4 (01:39):
Do I remember that? Correct?
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Guess?
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Yeah, take a guess. Take a guess. Is it an
orange food? You tend to like orange foods?
Speaker 4 (01:46):
Is it's a callback to a couple of weeks ago
mocking my Halloween meal? No, Ellie, it's not orange food.
I love double showers.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Oh what?
Speaker 4 (02:01):
This is the ultimate decadence. L keep it, keep it PG.
No no, no, no, no, no, not double. I'm not
talking about doubling up a shower with another person. No no, no, no,
I'm talking about this is a me centric love. I'm
talking about waking up in the morning, yeah, taking a
shower as I normally do, and then at some point
(02:25):
later in the day saying, you know what, I deserve
a special treat. I'm going to take a second shower.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Say no, more, and Scott, to be clear, I am
so pure and so chased that never in a million
years did it occur to me that you meant two
people in the shower at the same time. I thought
you had been to a resort or something where there
were two showers in a bathroom.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
Ooh, yes, that I have found to those where there's
all of the all of the sprays like horizontals right to.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Me, maybe sprays from every direction.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
That's too much, too much, it's too much.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Spray, every orifice being blasted.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
No, I like to know where the water's going to
hit me. I like to shift around and adjust. I
don't need to be hit simultaneously at all times. But
it's not about me hating that, No, it's about me
loving regular time.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Yes, Scott, I completely understand what you're talking about, because
while it never crossed my love radar, now that you've
brought it up and shone a light on the occurrence
of what we'll call the double shower, I think I
love it too.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
Have you ever taken it to seek to continue? I'm
going to make a guess, because I was thinking about
this before we recorded. Yeah, my guess is that in
the rare occasions that you double shower, Ellie, it's because
you've exercised in some way, so it's very functional, right,
maybe maybe double exercise double run day. I don't know,
I've never done that in my life.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Sure, sure that you rarely do a single run what
I'll just call it like you's true.
Speaker 4 (04:01):
I mean a single run day is a miracle for me.
Double run day, I think I dropped dead. So no,
that's not why I double shower. So it's just sheer enjoyment. Whatever.
The hedonism of feeling the hot, Robert, don't.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
I don't think it's hedonism. I mean, I'm gonna say that,
like to me, it changes my mood. And by the way,
we're not making this up. It's scientifically proven. Not the
double shower per se. But immersing yourself in water changes
your outlook. Does anything prompt you to go in for
a second, A double dip, A second dip, a second
(04:36):
shower depression?
Speaker 4 (04:39):
Okay, okay, no no, no, no, no no, no, I'm
joking there, but just yeah, it's is he though? And
then producers, can we just put in like two minutes
of sad music here?
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Yes, yes, Scott in that song?
Speaker 4 (04:57):
It really is like I think I just serve a
little treat, and I'm trying to resist snack treat because
I would often if I'm in the mood for a
little treat, I will often turn to snack treat. And
you know you shouldn't be snacking too much throughout the day,
throughout the week. So double shower is what I view
as a healthy alternative to that. I get a lot
(05:20):
of thinking done in the shower sometimes if I'm working
and I need to need to, I don't know, get
my creative juices flowing, just hop right back in the shower.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Keep it PG, Scot. I think I'm hosting a morning
drive show. I'm sorry, I don't know what's going on.
Speaker 4 (05:39):
You're simultaneously hosting a morning drive show, but you're also
the most brutish person alive. You sold the word juices.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Try so hard to have a raunchy show, and this
is the best I can do. I'm like juices.
Speaker 4 (06:00):
I mean, at the end of the day, I think
that on some level you're terrified of imagining me in
the shower.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
Scott, it's impossible. During this this description of what you love,
I mean, your description of your love is you in
the shower, two times a day. So all everybody, all
everybody's thinking of is Scott standing in the shower, his
creative juices growing. Excuse me again, thing done.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
Millions of listeners now have that vision.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
In their minds, vision in their head.
Speaker 4 (06:38):
Well, the last thing I want to say about the
double shower is that what one thing that I find
especially enjoyable about it is that no work needs to
be done in the shower.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Well what what?
Speaker 4 (06:53):
Right? Normally? I mean, it's not like I'm doing a
lot of work in the shower, but like I gotta
why my hair, Oh yeah, I gotta wash my face,
Oh I gotta use so right, And not only do
I not need to do those things, I'm aware that
doing those things would be bad for me. It's like
I don't want to dry out my body, my face,
(07:15):
my hair. They don't need more soap. That's the last
thing they need. It's already a little iffy to be
under this much water, so it's really just standing there
enjoying the heat and the steam.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
I mean, honestly, it's relative. I was gonna say it's free.
I guess it's not totally free because you're paying your
water bill, so it's relatively free. As long as you
keep it short, it's not really hurting anybody that much.
All the almond farmers are gonna come after me, but
it's not using that. Well, it's you're taking their water.
But anyway, it's not using.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
That almond farmers are taking my water.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Okay, that is one thing your whole life, unapologetic anti
almond person. Anyway, it seems to me an innocent, indulgent
that harms relatively few people besides the almond farmers. And
you are refreshed when you come out, Scott. You're a
better version of yourself. So I say take it, cherish it,
(08:13):
and revel in the love, which you're clearly doing. And
also I'm curious to know when you do. Have you
ever taken a cold second shower?
Speaker 4 (08:23):
Oh my good lord, Ellie. This is turning away from
the double shower into straight shower territory. Of course, like
a sane human, I detest cold showers, unless, oh I
am coming directly from a hot sauna, or as I
like to call it, sauna. I love the finish sowna.
(08:46):
I think it's cenar, that wood and the bricks and
the dry heat. My very best friend in the world
has finish heritage. I do. My second best friend in
the world has finish hair. His family owns a little
cabin on a little teeny icy pond and they built
a finish sauna. And one of my favorite things in
(09:08):
the world, I haven't done it in years, but is
to go into the sauna and it's a wood fired
sauna and he gets it really hot.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
The bottom line is that that really got me hooked
on going into hot rooms and then running directly from
the hot room into the icy water right. Incredibly invigorating.
Absolutely love it.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Guys, take a page from Scott Eckert's Book of Love
and treat yourself to you a second shower today and
maybe as sauna and a cold dip if you have
the means. Speaking of loves, we have a fantastic guest today.
I'm so excited to talk to him.
Speaker 4 (09:46):
It's not as excited as I am. Anson Mount is
joining us. He is a critically acclaimed actor and producer.
He stars as Captain Christopher Pike in the latest Star
Trek series, Strange New Worlds on Paramount Plus Anson It
also plays the superhero Black Bolt in the Marvel Cinematic
Universe and starred in AMC's historical drama Hell on Wheels.
(10:08):
It's about trains, guys, and it's pretty good. In addition
to acting, Anson has taught at schools such as the
Columbia University's MFA program, and he co hosts his own podcast,
The Well about creative inspiration. He's joining us today to
talk about his love of pottery.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
Guys, we are back with Anson mount Anson. Thank you
so much for being here.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
Yeah, my pleasure.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
You were here today to talk to us about something
that you love, and that thing is earthenware pottery.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Well, okay, so.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
When you say, when you say earthenware pottery, what do
you mean.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
As a great question, Anson, and I had that question
for you. I was okay when it was pottery, and
then somebody inserted into the document earthenware, and I thought, oh,
I'm not so sure about that. I'm going to find
out what it is. To me, earthenware pottery is either
a specific brand or it's pottery that you make using
(11:30):
clay of the earth as opposed to clay from artificial sources.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
That's the very good guess. So earthenware is what is
used to refer to as a low fire clay. One
of the early ways of telling if you have reached
to the correct heat in your kiln is there are
a series of cones that melt at different temperatures inside
that kiln. So earthenware refers to the temperature. But since
(11:57):
the advent of the popularity of midfire or high mid
higher fire clays, which I use, we will say high
fire stoneware clay.
Speaker 4 (12:04):
Okay, So earthenware is for amateurs, is what you're saying,
And you don't you wouldn't be associated with.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
It, not necessarily, No, it's just just if you don't.
If you don't have a kiln that can fire that high,
you use earthenware. Now, it's not going to be a
sturdy The higher you fire a clay, the stronger the
bond on the molecular level, right, And the more water
that you're getting out of.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
It, the more water you're getting.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
Out of yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
If I have a pot of throne that sits on
the shelf until it is apparently bone dry, I mean,
if you crack it it goes to dust, there is
still a surprising amount of water in that.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
Oh. Interesting, before you fired it, you mean it will
shrink about ten percent actually.
Speaker 4 (12:44):
In the kiln.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
Interesting, I guess that makes sense that clay of course
has water in it. And so have we been misled
to think that you love earthenware?
Speaker 1 (12:57):
No, I don't think that most people know what that
term means. I didn't When people say earthenware, I think
they mean that it has a particular style to it.
It seems like it was done in somebody's wood fired
killing out in the woods, right, I.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
Mean, so, Anson, do you tell you explained how experts
in pottery like yourself use cones to tell temperature For
an idiot like me who doesn't know any of this stuff,
what is the range of temperature we're talking about? Are
you cooking these things that eight hundred degrees or like
(13:35):
ten thousand degrees?
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Right?
Speaker 3 (13:37):
First of all, you referred to me as a pottery master.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
That is very far from the truth, okay, And I
think that it's like saying as a yoga master, nobody
ever reaches mastery. But I'm certainly also far from being
able to teach. To answer your question about the heat,
so I believe that cone five six is around I
want to say it's around seventeen hundred degrees.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
Wow, that's very hot.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
Glass melts at twelve hundred degrees.
Speaker 4 (14:04):
Oh wow.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
To give you an idea, so I went out and
I bought a beat up basically fifty seven Lamans convertible. Okay,
like it's a it's a really cool classic car, right.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
You have to remember it is a.
Speaker 4 (14:17):
Fifty seven right right, right, right, So.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
It has a mechanism inside of it coils on the inside,
knobs on the outside. The mechanism by which it shuts
itself off you placing the cone under a pin that
when the cone melts, the pin goes down and the
latch on the outside drops. Does that make sense?
Speaker 3 (14:39):
Yes, so I don't have.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
To stay up with it, right right, right, right right?
Speaker 4 (14:43):
What do you actually make when you're using your kiln.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
I'm not a sculptural potter, And there are some amazing
sculptural potters out there. A friend of mine, he got
me a subscription to Ceramics Monthly, and they do these
showcases and every now and then they'll have like a
sculptural ceramic artists. I mean there are people in there.
I mean there's a guy who made a porcelain dragonfly,
And if you know anything about porcelain, that's almost impossible.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
I don't even understand the first step answen to making
a porcelain dragonfly.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
First of all, porcelain is the most brittle clay you
can work with in its green state.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
So porcelain is a clay.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Yes, porcelain is the finest clay you can get commercially available.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
It's amazing.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
So to see somebody who's making dragonfly wings out of
the stuff, I don't. I have no idea, but I
really am into making usable wear. I like the idea
that my work will not just sit on a shelf somewhere.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
That it will be purposed and to give a personal
style to something that is usually taken in such a
mundane thing as a cup or a mug.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
Right right, Again, I know very little about pottery. What
drew you to it? Is this something that's long been
an interest of yours or did you discover it later on?
Speaker 3 (15:57):
That's a good question. So my wife and I move
up to the country in Connecticut just.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Prior to the pandemic, and you know lock down, you
find yourself watching a lot of TV, yes, and we
discovered this show called The Great Pottery Throwdown, and we
fell in love with the show. It's a competition show
about pottery. It's a silly setup, but it is a
surprisingly fascinating show. And my wife had done some pottery
(16:25):
in college, and so as a surprise birthday gift, I
got her a starter wheel, and for various reasons, she
ended up not getting back into it, and so I
just found myself tinkering around with it.
Speaker 3 (16:41):
Wow, I said, oh, I like this. I like this,
And then I was like, you know what, I found
a killing for like three hundred bucks.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
I'm going to buy this all kill and I'm i
start doing on fire And that just went from there
and it has been a great escape for me.
Speaker 3 (16:52):
You can appreciate this.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
As actors, it's hard to see the woods for the
force around you sometimes, so pottery for me, it's a
way to explore from a completely different angle where your
medium sits outside of you and is objective. And it's
also something that I can complete that I have control
of it from beginning to middle to end.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
Right, I don't have to ask the network.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
No, and you don't have to worry about what happens
after you've delivered your performance. And it's in the editor's
hands because you're the editor.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Oh absolutely, that makes total sense and it is for me.
I organized my closet the other day and I was like,
this is just so satisfying. I'm in total control. But
it wasn't really very creative. But this is something that's
art and it's bottomless.
Speaker 4 (17:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
One of my teachers he only uses like three or
four kinds of glazes, and he has been working for
decades and he said, recently, you get into this and
you start realizing, God, I need two or three lifetimes
to oh wow, to get to the bottom of this.
I said, there's just there's no mastery too. Right, when
you really get into something that looks so simple, you
(18:05):
see how deep it can go. So many different things
to learn. Just to even talking about glaze, I mean
like chemistry.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
You find yourself getting really consumed with the science of ergonomics.
How do our hands function? Oh? Right?
Speaker 3 (18:21):
What is the perfect handle shape?
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Right? That is fascinating. I think about this every morning
because with a mug with a handle, you're so often
have your elbow up is like a ninety degree angle right,
your arm to your side, And I'm like, why is
my whole arm involved with drinking this muth it's a.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
Bad handle, Yes, it's right.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Yeah, yeah, because I shouldn't have to. That's so fascinating.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
It's probably sticking out.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 4 (18:48):
Yeah, Anson, I have a question for you. The way
that you describe the process of it and the product
as well. There's a seriousness and an artistry to it
that is impressive. I can't imagine that when you've started
with that three hundred dollars kiln that you were there.
I'm imagining myself, you know, starting out and it would
(19:09):
be relentless disaster. So walk us through what that was
like when you were starting out or did you find
that you just had a knack for it? Yeah, what
were the early steps for you?
Speaker 1 (19:19):
Like, first of all, God bless YouTube, especially during the pandemic.
I watched a lot of videos, a lot of trial
and error, and eventually you get something that is well
grown and you managed not to break it.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
There were things that I made in my first year
that at the time I was like, well, it's not bad,
and then I just came back, you know, I come
back and look at it on the shelf a year
later in man, Oh.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
My god my sight.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Can you imagine going back and looking at videos of
your high school plays?
Speaker 2 (19:48):
Oh I know, Oh it's an awful I've done.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Yeah, I don't recommend it, No, don't. And I hope
that I continue to have that reaction for the rest.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
Of my life.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
Yeah yeah, but with grain of salt, so you can
appreciate like former versions of yourself. Maybe am I talking
to myself now? Maybe I'm like, no, Ellie, wasn't all
bad your high school performance of anything goes you were?
Speaker 3 (20:10):
Okay?
Speaker 2 (20:13):
No, but I know exactly what you mean, and it
is interesting. Scott and I used to put on a
lot of two person shows. That's how we know each
other from improv and Scott I wonder, I mean none,
I don't think any of those shows are recorded, but
like it it would be.
Speaker 4 (20:27):
I mean, I think that I would have fifty percent
ashamed fifty percent. They were the best thing in the
history of the world. Do you have a couple of
minutes to stick around and play a quick game that
we like to play with our guests. Of course, fantastic,
All right, so stick around with Anson Mountain. We'll play
a little love It or loath it.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Okay, guys, we're back with antson Mount. We're going to
play a game called love it or Loathe It Anson.
During this game, Scott and I are going to suggest
topics subjects to you, and you're going to tell us
whether you love that thing or you loathe that thing.
The tricky thing is there can be no in between.
You can't kind of like something or feel med about something. Okay, okay,
(21:25):
it's one extreme or the other. Okay, okay, all right,
first it don't love it or loathe it. Decaf coffee, Uh,
love it.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
I can't drink regular caffee of coffee my mother's entire
side of the family. For whatever reason, it hits us
twice as hard. So I can only handle a little
bit of decafe.
Speaker 4 (21:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
And most people think that dcaff means no caffeine, right,
It does not mean that it means the least caffeine.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
I've heard that.
Speaker 4 (21:50):
So a dcalf cup of coffee for you is like
it's four cups of coffee for a normal person.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
Yeah, it's still quite a lot of caffeine.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
I drink a lot of coffee. Answer. Sometimes I'll have
a cup of coffee and feel nothing. A regular coffee
and feel nothing. My barometer is so off now. But
when I drink decaf, that is the one time I
can tell, oh, there's there's not quite as much kick here.
But honestly better for I know people say, oh, coffee,
it's proven to be good. I don't know. The fewer
(22:19):
stimulants the better, probably, right, stick to the right.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
Yeah, probably, I'm thinking about switching over to green tea.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Yeah, there's some green teas out there that will absolutely
blow your air.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
I know you have to be careful.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
All right.
Speaker 4 (22:33):
Love seacaf, all right, love seacaf, love it or love
it anson golf?
Speaker 1 (22:38):
Love it simply because my mother is a former professional
and our way of bonding occasionally is to go out
and hit a few holes. Even though I'm terrible, I
don't golf on my own. I just don't have the
mindset because you know what, I'm going to take out
four hours in my day to morning and go play golf.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
I just don't.
Speaker 4 (22:56):
So your professional golfer mother takes you golfing to bond.
Do you ever just like do some scene work with her? Right?
Are you like? Let's bond? Mom? This is you force
me to play nine holes? Now? I wanted to act
one of King Lear.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
No, I don't want to give her the opportunity because
one time I was working in Long Island, she was
visiting me. I was doing a play in Long Island
and I had to take the train into Manhattan to
do my taping for Helen Wheels, and my mom she
was with me. I wasn't going to leave her, so
she came with me very very early in the morning,
and I needed to run lines. So I'm getting her
join lines with me. On the platform. You got all
(23:33):
these hungover models and Wall Street guys and it is
seven thirty one. Yeah, and my mother is going Colin Bohannon,
I don't found you and I'm.
Speaker 3 (23:47):
And I'm like, Mom, you don't.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
You don't have to act it out, just just say
the words.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
It's just.
Speaker 3 (23:56):
And then a couple of minutes later, she's back into it.
She's back in the performance, something like it's the last
thing these poor people want to be hearing.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Oh that is like going.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
I like goughing with mom, because my mom is also
a very talented teacher.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
That's hard to be both good at something and teaching it.
Anson love it or load it, singing, loath.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
It, Oh, because I just am not that great.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
If I were to take the time to learn it
and to have a teacher and.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
To get better at it, I probably love it.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
I'm not that confident in my voice unless I'm seeing
country music. I don't know why. I guess because I'm
from Tennessee. I I feel more of an ownership over it.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
Are you how do I say? Are you able to
stay on the tune like you're not toned down?
Speaker 3 (24:41):
Yeah? I think so.
Speaker 4 (24:43):
The reason I put this question on the list answering
is you did an entire musical episode of Strange New
Worlds your you'r Star Trek, and that sounded great to me.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
I had a lot of coaching, and if you'll notice
in that episode they could cut my song off halfway.
Speaker 3 (24:59):
There is a reason for that, all right.
Speaker 4 (25:01):
It's a love it or loathed road trips.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
Oh, you're asking this because across roads?
Speaker 4 (25:06):
Haha?
Speaker 1 (25:06):
You know I love I love road trips. I've driven
across the United States three times.
Speaker 4 (25:11):
Oh wow.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
And my wife and I have actually talked about at
some point with our family doing a coast to coast
trip in Canada.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
I've never done that, but I've heard it's glorious.
Speaker 4 (25:20):
So your three trips across the country, were they back
to back or were they ad different periods in your life?
And I ask because I did a cross country road
trip when I was like twenty three, and then I
did one more recently as as a middle aged man,
and they landed a little.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
Different different points in my life.
Speaker 4 (25:40):
Yeah, which was your favorite?
Speaker 1 (25:42):
The last one was with my co host dwell brandon Edgens.
He's also one of my best friends. I was moving
out to LA and he came and hopped in the
U haul truck with me, and we decided that we
were going to do a culinary road trip. So we're
going to try to make as many meals on the
road as curative as possible. So we were looking for
(26:03):
all the sort of off the beaten path but famous joints.
It was kind of like a Food Network road trip
before the Food Network, and our goal was to take
our time and really treat ourselves. So we stopped in
New Orleans for a few days and it was wonderful,
really good trip, good time bonding with my buddy.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
Oh, I haven't gone on a road trip in a
long time. It's a unique little adventure and maybe I'll
do one soon. All right, Anson, love it or loath it?
You're a little outdoorsy foraging.
Speaker 3 (26:31):
I I guess I love it. I grew up forging
for moral mushrooms with my mom.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Oh wow.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
And I recently got some professional mushroom hunters to come
and give a class to my wife and my mom.
Speaker 3 (26:45):
That was a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (26:46):
Oh wow.
Speaker 3 (26:47):
Really enjoyed that.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
I still don't trust myself enough to really to do
it because there are a lot of look alikes out there.
Speaker 2 (26:53):
Well, so are the stakes seem pretty high?
Speaker 3 (26:56):
They can be, right, So.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Why not have someone who knows for sure doing it?
Or is there? I haven't foraged it. It's like hunting,
I guess for produce, it's.
Speaker 3 (27:08):
Like hiking with a really sharp eye. Yeah. I think
it's a really cool thing.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
And again there are YouTube channels on it.
Speaker 4 (27:16):
Well, I believe you professional mushroom hunters on YouTube find them.
Last one Andson love it or loath It? The Gorn?
Speaker 1 (27:23):
Oh man, I love the Gorn as a staple in
the Star Trek world because the arena in the original
series was probably my favorite episode of Star Trek from
the original hand to hand fights at a death with
Captain Kirk and the Gorn with the William Shattner doing
the double axe handle the back of the head, and
it's just delightful, sol emotion. And I think that the
(27:49):
reintroduction of a Gorn on our show is an idea
that was waiting to happen that we can finally do
with today's technology.
Speaker 4 (27:56):
Absolutely thrilling. People les familiar with Star Trek, the Gorn
very menace seeing villains and the guy to fight them
is in Mount Christopher Pike.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
ANSI you won the game.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
I did?
Speaker 2 (28:07):
Actually, yeah, all right, you won. Thank you so much
for taking the time to chat with us. We wanted
to ask, what would you like to plug right now?
Speaker 3 (28:17):
My podcast? Yay, it's called The Well.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
Unfortunately, after we made it, we realized that there were a
few other podcasts called The Well. Oh but if you
just searched my name, you searched my name on iTunes,
you'll find it. It's about creative inspiration and how we
come up with that. It's just an enormously fun outlet
for us. Yeah, and we have fun doing it together.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
So as thank you so much. Both Scott and I
have learned so much about pottery.
Speaker 4 (28:42):
Thank you Anson my pleasure. Thanks for listening to Born
to Love. We'll be back next week with brand new
things that we love.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
We want to hear from you. Leave us a review
in Apple Podcasts and tell us what you love. We
might even ask one of our guests in an upcoming
love it or Load It.
Speaker 4 (29:01):
Born to Love is hosted and created by Ellie Kemper
and Scott Ecker.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
Our executive producer is Aaron Coffman. Our producers are Sina
Ozaki and Zoe Danklab.
Speaker 4 (29:09):
Born to Love is part of Will Ferrell's Big Money
Players Network in collaboration with iHeart Podcasts. Special thanks to
Hans Sonny.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
Rachel Kaplan and Adrianna Cassiano
Speaker 4 (29:19):
Michael Fails, Alex Korl, and Baheen Frazier
No, no.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Too.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
Whoa.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
My pipes are in top form today.
Speaker 4 (00:12):
Hi Scott, Hi Ellie. They are always in top form,
but perhaps especially so today. That's true.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm not going
to stop because it's clearly working for me. Scott, everybody,
welcome to our podcast Born to Love. I'm Ellie Kemper,
I'm Scott Eckert and this is a podcast where we
have guests come on the show and talk about something
anything in the world that they love. Scott and I
(00:40):
also talk about things we love, and.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
That's the show. We're especially excited to have our guest today,
Anson Mount Captain Christopher Pike on Star Trek E Strange
New Worlds. I'm excited to chat with him. My son,
who is a huge Star Trek fan, will be especially
excited to hear from him. And he is talking to
us today about his love of pottery. Now, I will
confess I'm not a big pottery lover. Maybe we'll get
(01:05):
into that, but there is something this week, Ellie that
I realized I love. Would you like to take a
guess what it is?
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Yeah? First of all, I want to just add to
your pottery not lover status, because I would say that
you don't know enough about pottery. I wouldn't say that
you don't love it. I would say that maybe you
don't know a lot about it.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
Fair enough, let's buckle up. We're about to learn a bunch.
We're about to get a master class from a master potter.
But not before I share my love. Ellie Scott, what
could it be?
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Did you ask me to take a guess?
Speaker 4 (01:39):
Do I remember that? Correct?
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Guess?
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Yeah, take a guess. Take a guess. Is it an
orange food? You tend to like orange foods?
Speaker 4 (01:46):
Is it's a callback to a couple of weeks ago
mocking my Halloween meal? No, Ellie, it's not orange food.
I love double showers.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Oh what?
Speaker 4 (02:01):
This is the ultimate decadence. L keep it, keep it PG.
No no, no, no, no, no, not double. I'm not
talking about doubling up a shower with another person. No no, no, no,
I'm talking about this is a me centric love. I'm
talking about waking up in the morning, yeah, taking a
shower as I normally do, and then at some point
(02:25):
later in the day saying, you know what, I deserve
a special treat. I'm going to take a second shower.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Say no, more, and Scott, to be clear, I am
so pure and so chased that never in a million
years did it occur to me that you meant two
people in the shower at the same time. I thought
you had been to a resort or something where there
were two showers in a bathroom.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
Ooh, yes, that I have found to those where there's
all of the all of the sprays like horizontals right to.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Me, maybe sprays from every direction.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
That's too much, too much, it's too much.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Spray, every orifice being blasted.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
No, I like to know where the water's going to
hit me. I like to shift around and adjust. I
don't need to be hit simultaneously at all times. But
it's not about me hating that, No, it's about me
loving regular time.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Yes, Scott, I completely understand what you're talking about, because
while it never crossed my love radar, now that you've
brought it up and shone a light on the occurrence
of what we'll call the double shower, I think I
love it too.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
Have you ever taken it to seek to continue? I'm
going to make a guess, because I was thinking about
this before we recorded. Yeah, my guess is that in
the rare occasions that you double shower, Ellie, it's because
you've exercised in some way, so it's very functional, right,
maybe maybe double exercise double run day. I don't know,
I've never done that in my life.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Sure, sure that you rarely do a single run what
I'll just call it like you's true.
Speaker 4 (04:01):
I mean a single run day is a miracle for me.
Double run day, I think I dropped dead. So no,
that's not why I double shower. So it's just sheer enjoyment. Whatever.
The hedonism of feeling the hot, Robert, don't.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
I don't think it's hedonism. I mean, I'm gonna say that,
like to me, it changes my mood. And by the way,
we're not making this up. It's scientifically proven. Not the
double shower per se. But immersing yourself in water changes
your outlook. Does anything prompt you to go in for
a second, A double dip, A second dip, a second
(04:36):
shower depression?
Speaker 4 (04:39):
Okay, okay, no no, no, no, no no, no, I'm
joking there, but just yeah, it's is he though? And
then producers, can we just put in like two minutes
of sad music here?
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Yes, yes, Scott in that song?
Speaker 4 (04:57):
It really is like I think I just serve a
little treat, and I'm trying to resist snack treat because
I would often if I'm in the mood for a
little treat, I will often turn to snack treat. And
you know you shouldn't be snacking too much throughout the day,
throughout the week. So double shower is what I view
as a healthy alternative to that. I get a lot
(05:20):
of thinking done in the shower sometimes if I'm working
and I need to need to, I don't know, get
my creative juices flowing, just hop right back in the shower.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Keep it PG, Scot. I think I'm hosting a morning
drive show. I'm sorry, I don't know what's going on.
Speaker 4 (05:39):
You're simultaneously hosting a morning drive show, but you're also
the most brutish person alive. You sold the word juices.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Try so hard to have a raunchy show, and this
is the best I can do. I'm like juices.
Speaker 4 (06:00):
I mean, at the end of the day, I think
that on some level you're terrified of imagining me in
the shower.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
Scott, it's impossible. During this this description of what you love,
I mean, your description of your love is you in
the shower, two times a day. So all everybody, all
everybody's thinking of is Scott standing in the shower, his
creative juices growing. Excuse me again, thing done.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
Millions of listeners now have that vision.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
In their minds, vision in their head.
Speaker 4 (06:38):
Well, the last thing I want to say about the
double shower is that what one thing that I find
especially enjoyable about it is that no work needs to
be done in the shower.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Well what what?
Speaker 4 (06:53):
Right? Normally? I mean, it's not like I'm doing a
lot of work in the shower, but like I gotta
why my hair, Oh yeah, I gotta wash my face,
Oh I gotta use so right, And not only do
I not need to do those things, I'm aware that
doing those things would be bad for me. It's like
I don't want to dry out my body, my face,
(07:15):
my hair. They don't need more soap. That's the last
thing they need. It's already a little iffy to be
under this much water, so it's really just standing there
enjoying the heat and the steam.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
I mean, honestly, it's relative. I was gonna say it's free.
I guess it's not totally free because you're paying your
water bill, so it's relatively free. As long as you
keep it short, it's not really hurting anybody that much.
All the almond farmers are gonna come after me, but
it's not using that. Well, it's you're taking their water.
But anyway, it's not using.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
That almond farmers are taking my water.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Okay, that is one thing your whole life, unapologetic anti
almond person. Anyway, it seems to me an innocent, indulgent
that harms relatively few people besides the almond farmers. And
you are refreshed when you come out, Scott. You're a
better version of yourself. So I say take it, cherish it,
(08:13):
and revel in the love, which you're clearly doing. And
also I'm curious to know when you do. Have you
ever taken a cold second shower?
Speaker 4 (08:23):
Oh my good lord, Ellie. This is turning away from
the double shower into straight shower territory. Of course, like
a sane human, I detest cold showers, unless, oh I
am coming directly from a hot sauna, or as I
like to call it, sauna. I love the finish sowna.
(08:46):
I think it's cenar, that wood and the bricks and
the dry heat. My very best friend in the world
has finish heritage. I do. My second best friend in
the world has finish hair. His family owns a little
cabin on a little teeny icy pond and they built
a finish sauna. And one of my favorite things in
(09:08):
the world, I haven't done it in years, but is
to go into the sauna and it's a wood fired
sauna and he gets it really hot.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
The bottom line is that that really got me hooked
on going into hot rooms and then running directly from
the hot room into the icy water right. Incredibly invigorating.
Absolutely love it.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Guys, take a page from Scott Eckert's Book of Love
and treat yourself to you a second shower today and
maybe as sauna and a cold dip if you have
the means. Speaking of loves, we have a fantastic guest today.
I'm so excited to talk to him.
Speaker 4 (09:46):
It's not as excited as I am. Anson Mount is
joining us. He is a critically acclaimed actor and producer.
He stars as Captain Christopher Pike in the latest Star
Trek series, Strange New Worlds on Paramount Plus Anson It
also plays the superhero Black Bolt in the Marvel Cinematic
Universe and starred in AMC's historical drama Hell on Wheels.
(10:08):
It's about trains, guys, and it's pretty good. In addition
to acting, Anson has taught at schools such as the
Columbia University's MFA program, and he co hosts his own podcast,
The Well about creative inspiration. He's joining us today to
talk about his love of pottery.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
Guys, we are back with Anson mount Anson. Thank you
so much for being here.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
Yeah, my pleasure.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
You were here today to talk to us about something
that you love, and that thing is earthenware pottery.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Well, okay, so.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
When you say, when you say earthenware pottery, what do
you mean.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
As a great question, Anson, and I had that question
for you. I was okay when it was pottery, and
then somebody inserted into the document earthenware, and I thought, oh,
I'm not so sure about that. I'm going to find
out what it is. To me, earthenware pottery is either
a specific brand or it's pottery that you make using
(11:30):
clay of the earth as opposed to clay from artificial sources.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
That's the very good guess. So earthenware is what is
used to refer to as a low fire clay. One
of the early ways of telling if you have reached
to the correct heat in your kiln is there are
a series of cones that melt at different temperatures inside
that kiln. So earthenware refers to the temperature. But since
(11:57):
the advent of the popularity of midfire or high mid
higher fire clays, which I use, we will say high
fire stoneware clay.
Speaker 4 (12:04):
Okay, So earthenware is for amateurs, is what you're saying,
And you don't you wouldn't be associated with.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
It, not necessarily, No, it's just just if you don't.
If you don't have a kiln that can fire that high,
you use earthenware. Now, it's not going to be a
sturdy The higher you fire a clay, the stronger the
bond on the molecular level, right, And the more water
that you're getting out of.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
It, the more water you're getting.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
Out of yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
If I have a pot of throne that sits on
the shelf until it is apparently bone dry, I mean,
if you crack it it goes to dust, there is
still a surprising amount of water in that.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
Oh. Interesting, before you fired it, you mean it will
shrink about ten percent actually.
Speaker 4 (12:44):
In the kiln.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
Interesting, I guess that makes sense that clay of course
has water in it. And so have we been misled
to think that you love earthenware?
Speaker 1 (12:57):
No, I don't think that most people know what that
term means. I didn't When people say earthenware, I think
they mean that it has a particular style to it.
It seems like it was done in somebody's wood fired
killing out in the woods, right, I.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
Mean, so, Anson, do you tell you explained how experts
in pottery like yourself use cones to tell temperature For
an idiot like me who doesn't know any of this stuff,
what is the range of temperature we're talking about? Are
you cooking these things that eight hundred degrees or like
(13:35):
ten thousand degrees?
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Right?
Speaker 3 (13:37):
First of all, you referred to me as a pottery master.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
That is very far from the truth, okay, And I
think that it's like saying as a yoga master, nobody
ever reaches mastery. But I'm certainly also far from being
able to teach. To answer your question about the heat,
so I believe that cone five six is around I
want to say it's around seventeen hundred degrees.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
Wow, that's very hot.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
Glass melts at twelve hundred degrees.
Speaker 4 (14:04):
Oh wow.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
To give you an idea, so I went out and
I bought a beat up basically fifty seven Lamans convertible. Okay,
like it's a it's a really cool classic car, right.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
You have to remember it is a.
Speaker 4 (14:17):
Fifty seven right right, right, right, So.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
It has a mechanism inside of it coils on the inside,
knobs on the outside. The mechanism by which it shuts
itself off you placing the cone under a pin that
when the cone melts, the pin goes down and the
latch on the outside drops. Does that make sense?
Speaker 3 (14:39):
Yes, so I don't have.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
To stay up with it, right right, right, right right?
Speaker 4 (14:43):
What do you actually make when you're using your kiln.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
I'm not a sculptural potter, And there are some amazing
sculptural potters out there. A friend of mine, he got
me a subscription to Ceramics Monthly, and they do these
showcases and every now and then they'll have like a
sculptural ceramic artists. I mean there are people in there.
I mean there's a guy who made a porcelain dragonfly,
And if you know anything about porcelain, that's almost impossible.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
I don't even understand the first step answen to making
a porcelain dragonfly.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
First of all, porcelain is the most brittle clay you
can work with in its green state.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
So porcelain is a clay.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Yes, porcelain is the finest clay you can get commercially available.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
It's amazing.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
So to see somebody who's making dragonfly wings out of
the stuff, I don't. I have no idea, but I
really am into making usable wear. I like the idea
that my work will not just sit on a shelf somewhere.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
That it will be purposed and to give a personal
style to something that is usually taken in such a
mundane thing as a cup or a mug.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
Right right, Again, I know very little about pottery. What
drew you to it? Is this something that's long been
an interest of yours or did you discover it later on?
Speaker 3 (15:57):
That's a good question. So my wife and I move
up to the country in Connecticut just.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Prior to the pandemic, and you know lock down, you
find yourself watching a lot of TV, yes, and we
discovered this show called The Great Pottery Throwdown, and we
fell in love with the show. It's a competition show
about pottery. It's a silly setup, but it is a
surprisingly fascinating show. And my wife had done some pottery
(16:25):
in college, and so as a surprise birthday gift, I
got her a starter wheel, and for various reasons, she
ended up not getting back into it, and so I
just found myself tinkering around with it.
Speaker 3 (16:41):
Wow, I said, oh, I like this. I like this,
And then I was like, you know what, I found
a killing for like three hundred bucks.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
I'm going to buy this all kill and I'm i
start doing on fire And that just went from there
and it has been a great escape for me.
Speaker 3 (16:52):
You can appreciate this.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
As actors, it's hard to see the woods for the
force around you sometimes, so pottery for me, it's a
way to explore from a completely different angle where your
medium sits outside of you and is objective. And it's
also something that I can complete that I have control
of it from beginning to middle to end.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
Right, I don't have to ask the network.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
No, and you don't have to worry about what happens
after you've delivered your performance. And it's in the editor's
hands because you're the editor.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Oh absolutely, that makes total sense and it is for me.
I organized my closet the other day and I was like,
this is just so satisfying. I'm in total control. But
it wasn't really very creative. But this is something that's
art and it's bottomless.
Speaker 4 (17:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
One of my teachers he only uses like three or
four kinds of glazes, and he has been working for
decades and he said, recently, you get into this and
you start realizing, God, I need two or three lifetimes
to oh wow, to get to the bottom of this.
I said, there's just there's no mastery too. Right, when
you really get into something that looks so simple, you
(18:05):
see how deep it can go. So many different things
to learn. Just to even talking about glaze, I mean
like chemistry.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
You find yourself getting really consumed with the science of ergonomics.
How do our hands function? Oh? Right?
Speaker 3 (18:21):
What is the perfect handle shape?
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Right? That is fascinating. I think about this every morning
because with a mug with a handle, you're so often
have your elbow up is like a ninety degree angle right,
your arm to your side, And I'm like, why is
my whole arm involved with drinking this muth it's a.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
Bad handle, Yes, it's right.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Yeah, yeah, because I shouldn't have to. That's so fascinating.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
It's probably sticking out.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 4 (18:48):
Yeah, Anson, I have a question for you. The way
that you describe the process of it and the product
as well. There's a seriousness and an artistry to it
that is impressive. I can't imagine that when you've started
with that three hundred dollars kiln that you were there.
I'm imagining myself, you know, starting out and it would
(19:09):
be relentless disaster. So walk us through what that was
like when you were starting out or did you find
that you just had a knack for it? Yeah, what
were the early steps for you?
Speaker 1 (19:19):
Like, first of all, God bless YouTube, especially during the pandemic.
I watched a lot of videos, a lot of trial
and error, and eventually you get something that is well
grown and you managed not to break it.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
There were things that I made in my first year
that at the time I was like, well, it's not bad,
and then I just came back, you know, I come
back and look at it on the shelf a year
later in man, Oh.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
My god my sight.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Can you imagine going back and looking at videos of
your high school plays?
Speaker 2 (19:48):
Oh I know, Oh it's an awful I've done.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Yeah, I don't recommend it, No, don't. And I hope
that I continue to have that reaction for the rest.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
Of my life.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
Yeah yeah, but with grain of salt, so you can
appreciate like former versions of yourself. Maybe am I talking
to myself now? Maybe I'm like, no, Ellie, wasn't all
bad your high school performance of anything goes you were?
Speaker 3 (20:10):
Okay?
Speaker 2 (20:13):
No, but I know exactly what you mean, and it
is interesting. Scott and I used to put on a
lot of two person shows. That's how we know each
other from improv and Scott I wonder, I mean none,
I don't think any of those shows are recorded, but
like it it would be.
Speaker 4 (20:27):
I mean, I think that I would have fifty percent
ashamed fifty percent. They were the best thing in the
history of the world. Do you have a couple of
minutes to stick around and play a quick game that
we like to play with our guests. Of course, fantastic,
All right, so stick around with Anson Mountain. We'll play
a little love It or loath it.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Okay, guys, we're back with antson Mount. We're going to
play a game called love it or Loathe It Anson.
During this game, Scott and I are going to suggest
topics subjects to you, and you're going to tell us
whether you love that thing or you loathe that thing.
The tricky thing is there can be no in between.
You can't kind of like something or feel med about something. Okay, okay,
(21:25):
it's one extreme or the other. Okay, okay, all right,
first it don't love it or loathe it. Decaf coffee, Uh,
love it.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
I can't drink regular caffee of coffee my mother's entire
side of the family. For whatever reason, it hits us
twice as hard. So I can only handle a little
bit of decafe.
Speaker 4 (21:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
And most people think that dcaff means no caffeine, right,
It does not mean that it means the least caffeine.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
I've heard that.
Speaker 4 (21:50):
So a dcalf cup of coffee for you is like
it's four cups of coffee for a normal person.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
Yeah, it's still quite a lot of caffeine.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
I drink a lot of coffee. Answer. Sometimes I'll have
a cup of coffee and feel nothing. A regular coffee
and feel nothing. My barometer is so off now. But
when I drink decaf, that is the one time I
can tell, oh, there's there's not quite as much kick here.
But honestly better for I know people say, oh, coffee,
it's proven to be good. I don't know. The fewer
(22:19):
stimulants the better, probably, right, stick to the right.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
Yeah, probably, I'm thinking about switching over to green tea.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Yeah, there's some green teas out there that will absolutely
blow your air.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
I know you have to be careful.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
All right.
Speaker 4 (22:33):
Love seacaf, all right, love seacaf, love it or love
it anson golf?
Speaker 1 (22:38):
Love it simply because my mother is a former professional
and our way of bonding occasionally is to go out
and hit a few holes. Even though I'm terrible, I
don't golf on my own. I just don't have the
mindset because you know what, I'm going to take out
four hours in my day to morning and go play golf.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
I just don't.
Speaker 4 (22:56):
So your professional golfer mother takes you golfing to bond.
Do you ever just like do some scene work with her? Right?
Are you like? Let's bond? Mom? This is you force
me to play nine holes? Now? I wanted to act
one of King Lear.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
No, I don't want to give her the opportunity because
one time I was working in Long Island, she was
visiting me. I was doing a play in Long Island
and I had to take the train into Manhattan to
do my taping for Helen Wheels, and my mom she
was with me. I wasn't going to leave her, so
she came with me very very early in the morning,
and I needed to run lines. So I'm getting her
join lines with me. On the platform. You got all
(23:33):
these hungover models and Wall Street guys and it is
seven thirty one. Yeah, and my mother is going Colin Bohannon,
I don't found you and I'm.
Speaker 3 (23:47):
And I'm like, Mom, you don't.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
You don't have to act it out, just just say
the words.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
It's just.
Speaker 3 (23:56):
And then a couple of minutes later, she's back into it.
She's back in the performance, something like it's the last
thing these poor people want to be hearing.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Oh that is like going.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
I like goughing with mom, because my mom is also
a very talented teacher.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
That's hard to be both good at something and teaching it.
Anson love it or load it, singing, loath.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
It, Oh, because I just am not that great.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
If I were to take the time to learn it
and to have a teacher and.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
To get better at it, I probably love it.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
I'm not that confident in my voice unless I'm seeing
country music. I don't know why. I guess because I'm
from Tennessee. I I feel more of an ownership over it.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
Are you how do I say? Are you able to
stay on the tune like you're not toned down?
Speaker 3 (24:41):
Yeah? I think so.
Speaker 4 (24:43):
The reason I put this question on the list answering
is you did an entire musical episode of Strange New
Worlds your you'r Star Trek, and that sounded great to me.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
I had a lot of coaching, and if you'll notice
in that episode they could cut my song off halfway.
Speaker 3 (24:59):
There is a reason for that, all right.
Speaker 4 (25:01):
It's a love it or loathed road trips.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
Oh, you're asking this because across roads?
Speaker 4 (25:06):
Haha?
Speaker 1 (25:06):
You know I love I love road trips. I've driven
across the United States three times.
Speaker 4 (25:11):
Oh wow.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
And my wife and I have actually talked about at
some point with our family doing a coast to coast
trip in Canada.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
I've never done that, but I've heard it's glorious.
Speaker 4 (25:20):
So your three trips across the country, were they back
to back or were they ad different periods in your life?
And I ask because I did a cross country road
trip when I was like twenty three, and then I
did one more recently as as a middle aged man,
and they landed a little.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
Different different points in my life.
Speaker 4 (25:40):
Yeah, which was your favorite?
Speaker 1 (25:42):
The last one was with my co host dwell brandon Edgens.
He's also one of my best friends. I was moving
out to LA and he came and hopped in the
U haul truck with me, and we decided that we
were going to do a culinary road trip. So we're
going to try to make as many meals on the
road as curative as possible. So we were looking for
(26:03):
all the sort of off the beaten path but famous joints.
It was kind of like a Food Network road trip
before the Food Network, and our goal was to take
our time and really treat ourselves. So we stopped in
New Orleans for a few days and it was wonderful,
really good trip, good time bonding with my buddy.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
Oh, I haven't gone on a road trip in a
long time. It's a unique little adventure and maybe I'll
do one soon. All right, Anson, love it or loath it?
You're a little outdoorsy foraging.
Speaker 3 (26:31):
I I guess I love it. I grew up forging
for moral mushrooms with my mom.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Oh wow.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
And I recently got some professional mushroom hunters to come
and give a class to my wife and my mom.
Speaker 3 (26:45):
That was a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (26:46):
Oh wow.
Speaker 3 (26:47):
Really enjoyed that.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
I still don't trust myself enough to really to do
it because there are a lot of look alikes out there.
Speaker 2 (26:53):
Well, so are the stakes seem pretty high?
Speaker 3 (26:56):
They can be, right, So.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Why not have someone who knows for sure doing it?
Or is there? I haven't foraged it. It's like hunting,
I guess for produce, it's.
Speaker 3 (27:08):
Like hiking with a really sharp eye. Yeah. I think
it's a really cool thing.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
And again there are YouTube channels on it.
Speaker 4 (27:16):
Well, I believe you professional mushroom hunters on YouTube find them.
Last one Andson love it or loath It? The Gorn?
Speaker 1 (27:23):
Oh man, I love the Gorn as a staple in
the Star Trek world because the arena in the original
series was probably my favorite episode of Star Trek from
the original hand to hand fights at a death with
Captain Kirk and the Gorn with the William Shattner doing
the double axe handle the back of the head, and
it's just delightful, sol emotion. And I think that the
(27:49):
reintroduction of a Gorn on our show is an idea
that was waiting to happen that we can finally do
with today's technology.
Speaker 4 (27:56):
Absolutely thrilling. People les familiar with Star Trek, the Gorn
very menace seeing villains and the guy to fight them
is in Mount Christopher Pike.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
ANSI you won the game.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
I did?
Speaker 2 (28:07):
Actually, yeah, all right, you won. Thank you so much
for taking the time to chat with us. We wanted
to ask, what would you like to plug right now?
Speaker 3 (28:17):
My podcast? Yay, it's called The Well.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
Unfortunately, after we made it, we realized that there were a
few other podcasts called The Well. Oh but if you
just searched my name, you searched my name on iTunes,
you'll find it. It's about creative inspiration and how we
come up with that. It's just an enormously fun outlet
for us. Yeah, and we have fun doing it together.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
So as thank you so much. Both Scott and I
have learned so much about pottery.
Speaker 4 (28:42):
Thank you Anson my pleasure. Thanks for listening to Born
to Love. We'll be back next week with brand new
things that we love.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
We want to hear from you. Leave us a review
in Apple Podcasts and tell us what you love. We
might even ask one of our guests in an upcoming
love it or Load It.
Speaker 4 (29:01):
Born to Love is hosted and created by Ellie Kemper
and Scott Ecker.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
Our executive producer is Aaron Coffman. Our producers are Sina
Ozaki and Zoe Danklab.
Speaker 4 (29:09):
Born to Love is part of Will Ferrell's Big Money
Players Network in collaboration with iHeart Podcasts. Special thanks to
Hans Sonny.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
Rachel Kaplan and Adrianna Cassiano
Speaker 4 (29:19):
Michael Fails, Alex Korl, and Baheen Frazier
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