The episode opens mid-conversation, with the group already debating the evolution of Homer Simpson from an angry early iteration to the lovable dope audiences fell in love with. Nick Kroll uses this as a launching pad for his core argument: animated shows earn their polish because the process demands it. ^{[1] — Nick Kroll "Animation goes through a radio play, then an animatic, then a full color screening — giving writers multiple passes to kill weak jokes befo…" 00:30 Play} A radio play lets the writing room hear what isn't working before a single frame is drawn; the animatic lets them see it rough; the full color screening is the final tuning pass. Live-action productions, by contrast, shoot and pray — banking on improvisation talent like Vince Vaughn or Jonah Hill to rescue material that was never fully written. Tom Segura's frustration with contemporary comedy sharpens the point: when writers stop putting it on the page, the product suffers. Kroll positions animation as the last format that forces comedic discipline, and the reason classics like The Simpsons, South Park, and Family Guy endure.

Bert delivers the Acorns read with characteristic self-deprecation, admitting he has always been a 'shove it in my pocket' guy with money rather than an investor. He credits former producer Halston Ray for introducing him to the app before it was a sponsor — and notes Ray saved enough to leave the job and move to Nashville. The Ethos read is more emotionally grounded, opening with references to Ron Bennington's health struggles and a broader recent pattern of people in Bert's life facing serious medical events, including his own blood clot and a bus fire. The sponsor copy positions both products as tools for protecting the people you love against financial uncertainty.

Bert sets up the segment by noting that only a fellow comedian could truly appreciate the significance of a room containing the four or five people who are the reason most of them got into comedy at all. Kroll walked in late with Santino Fontana and Ronny Chieng, with Louis C.K. behind them, found the stands already full, and seriously considered climbing a tree to get in frame — 'which would be an unbelievable story,' he notes, then adds he doesn't currently have insurance. ^{[1] — Nick Kroll "The annual Ted Sarandos Netflix brunch is the most concentrated gathering of comedy royalty on the planet. Nick Kroll arrived late, nearly …" 18:58 Play} He eventually found a spot in front by chance, bumped into Sandler ten seconds before the photo was taken, and ended up seated next to Chappelle. Bert's parallel story involves jumping into a pool at a previous year's event on request, with Chappelle's vocal endorsement the only thing keeping the room's assembled egos from revolting. The segment doubles as a masterclass in comedy-world social dynamics: the unspoken hierarchy, the silent auditioning for position, and the strange simultaneous privilege and insecurity of belonging to that room.

Tom uses his mid-episode slot to plug Ciccio Bomba — his Austin-based Italian bakery, now at three locations — directing listeners to the new flagship at 1100 South Lamar across from the Alamo Drafthouse. Bert's BlueChew read leans into the brand's new Bluechew Gold product, which combines physical and mental arousal ingredients. The Babbel read is arguably the most personal of the three: Bert frames it around his genuine study of Italian and the practical travel argument for learning a language before you arrive, not after. The promo code BEARS unlocks two-months-get-third-free on BlueChew Gold, and up to 60% off Babbel.

Kroll has a documented history with raccoons: they appear in Oh, Hello, in Big Mouth, and now as the lead character in Mating Season. The night before table reads began, a raccoon sat in his backyard and refused to be dislodged by tennis balls, which Kroll interpreted as the raccoon community demanding respect. ^{[1] — Nick Kroll "Mating Season opens with Nick Kroll's raccoon character stuck in a copulatory tie with Sarah Silverman's skunk after a one-night stand — ph…" 50:15 Play} The show's first episode establishes the tone immediately: Ray the raccoon has a one-night stand with a skunk (voiced by Sarah Silverman), and the two become stuck in a copulatory tie — biologically unable to separate. The comedy that follows is both explicitly physical and emotionally grounded, exploring what happens when your one-night stand literally cannot leave. Bert provides the most detailed audience response in the room, calling out specific scenes — the lesbian truffle hunt, the Gay Moose coming-out reveal — as evidence that the show is measuring its dirty content against emotional truth exactly the way Big Mouth did.

The pivot comes from Tom describing footage of a quadruple amputee who allegedly committed a gun murder — a man shown loading a magazine, pulling the action, and firing out a window, as well as doing cocaine upside down in a tree stand. From this genuine amazement at the human capacity to adapt, Tom and Bert produce their movie pitch: The Quad Squad. Four FBI agents, one ISIS van explosion, four quadriplegics. The mission: find the people who did this to them. ^{[1] — Bert Kreischer "Tom Segura and Bert Kreischer pitched their movie to Nick Kroll live on air: four FBI agents, a van blown up by ISIS, all four left quadrip…" 1:01:18 Play} Nick Kroll says he's in before Tom finishes the sentence, but issues one creative note: the whole thing has to be practical. No CGI. He will go full Daniel Day-Lewis. His character has no arms or legs at all. The casting is resolved in real time — Eddie Murphy is the head in a Voltron configuration, with Tom and Bert forming the lower body inside a large overcoat. The pitch is immediately identified as Bert's best path back to Eddie Murphy.

The conversation starts innocuously: Nick asks whether Tom and Bert had to buy all new clothes after their weight loss. Tom's answer is practical — he overbought and then purged hundreds of items. Bert's answer expands into a full physical and psychological inventory. ^{[1] — Bert Kreischer "Bert Kreischer has lost 50 pounds, dropped 19% body fat, and hasn't had a drink in four months. His shows are objectively better sober. His…" 1:06:20 Play} He is down 50 pounds, at 19% lower body fat, with perfect blood work and 4 months of sobriety. His daughter Isla could suddenly see the bones in his ankles and fingers. His shows are objectively better. He is present, engaged, and clear. He has a confirmed relapse date in July and he is at peace with this. The emotional center of the segment, though, is Bert's description of what sobriety costs him: the hotel room ritual of a 12-pack, dimmed lights, and a solo three-hour session with Joy Division, Radiohead, or hardcore hip-hop. It is, by his telling, a transcendent flow state that he cannot replicate sober. Tom notes that it definitely doesn't sound like he has an issue with it.

The conversation starts innocuously: Nick asks whether Tom and Bert had to buy all new clothes after their weight loss. Tom's answer is practical — he overbought and then purged hundreds of items. Bert's answer expands into a full physical and psychological inventory. ^{[1] — Bert Kreischer "Bert Kreischer has lost 50 pounds, dropped 19% body fat, and hasn't had a drink in four months. His shows are objectively better sober. His…" 1:06:20 Play} He is down 50 pounds, at 19% lower body fat, with perfect blood work and 4 months of sobriety. His daughter Isla could suddenly see the bones in his ankles and fingers. His shows are objectively better. He is present, engaged, and clear. He has a confirmed relapse date in July and he is at peace with this. The emotional center of the segment, though, is Bert's description of what sobriety costs him: the hotel room ritual of a 12-pack, dimmed lights, and a solo three-hour session with Joy Division, Radiohead, or hardcore hip-hop. It is, by his telling, a transcendent flow state that he cannot replicate sober. Tom notes that it definitely doesn't sound like he has an issue with it.

Tom confesses his two favorite characters in Mating Season are the raccoon and the Gay Moose — and that he immediately clocked the raccoon as Kroll. Nick confirms it. He then previews Adults, his FX show about twenty-somethings in outer-borough New York, with season 2 arriving at the end of the summer. The real surprise is Goat: Steph Curry's animated basketball kids' movie in which Kroll plays Modo, a Komodo dragon functioning as the Dennis Rodman of the team. ^{[1] — Nick Kroll "Mating Season opens with Nick Kroll's raccoon character stuck in a copulatory tie with Sarah Silverman's skunk after a one-night stand — ph…" 50:15 Play} The conversation detours through social media — Kroll says he removes the apps from his phone not because of comment toxicity but because the algorithm consumes his time — and into a surprisingly earnest exchange about whether 'Jew' or 'Jewish' is preferred usage, with Kroll firmly team 'Jew' (at least in affectionate contexts). The segment ends when N.O.R.E. calls Bert's phone mid-conversation, gets put on speaker, and confirms Bert's sobriety and planned July relapse date before wishing everyone a wonderful day.

Tom walks through his Spanish-language stand-up journey: an initial rough set in Burbank, then a grinding series of practice weekends in Arizona and Texas, culminating in a Latin American tour where he announced shows as English-language, then performed a surprise half-hour in Spanish that made audiences lose their minds. [1] Nick Kroll, who speaks conversational Spanish with a working Argentine accent, joins him for a live bilingual exchange that covers Bert's weight loss, July relapse plans, and the relative merits of Buenos Aires versus Madrid. Nick explains his Spanish came from time living in Spain — Barcelona and San Sebastián — then deepened through extensive time in Latin America, culminating in two months in Buenos Aires filming Operation Finale. He offers to open for Tom on the next Latin American tour: 3 in English, 2 in Spanish.

Tom walks through his Spanish-language stand-up journey: an initial rough set in Burbank, then a grinding series of practice weekends in Arizona and Texas, culminating in a Latin American tour where he announced shows as English-language, then performed a surprise half-hour in Spanish that made audiences lose their minds. [1] Nick Kroll, who speaks conversational Spanish with a working Argentine accent, joins him for a live bilingual exchange that covers Bert's weight loss, July relapse plans, and the relative merits of Buenos Aires versus Madrid. Nick explains his Spanish came from time living in Spain — Barcelona and San Sebastián — then deepened through extensive time in Latin America, culminating in two months in Buenos Aires filming Operation Finale. He offers to open for Tom on the next Latin American tour: 3 in English, 2 in Spanish.

The pivot comes when Tom recognizes the Argentina film as Operation Finale and the conversation immediately deepens. Bert attempts to reconstruct what he knows about the Eichmann trial — getting some details wrong (the skeptics of the Holocaust were largely outside Israel, not within it) but correctly identifying the trial's world-historical significance as a moment of documented proof. ^{[1] — Nick Kroll "Sir Ben Kingsley arrived at the Operation Finale table read with a leather-bound script decorated with swastikas — the Buddhist peace symbo…" 1:39:25 Play} Nick describes how the Mossad decided to bring back Eichmann as the singular symbolic trial while consciously choosing not to also pursue Mengele in Brazil. Tom, who had read The House on Garibaldi Street, adds the detail that Eichmann's own son exposed his father's identity by bragging to his girlfriend. The segment culminates in Nick's Ben Kingsley story: Kingsley arrived at the table read with a leather-bound script decorated with a swastika (which Nick clarifies is the Buddhist peace symbol that predates the Nazi appropriation), and delivered every single word of his Adolf Eichmann dialogue entirely from memory — turning the pages with the group but never looking down once. The cast was stunned. The episode closes with a brief debate about Holocaust-themed animated films and a final plug for Mating Season.

The pivot comes when Tom recognizes the Argentina film as Operation Finale and the conversation immediately deepens. Bert attempts to reconstruct what he knows about the Eichmann trial — getting some details wrong (the skeptics of the Holocaust were largely outside Israel, not within it) but correctly identifying the trial's world-historical significance as a moment of documented proof. ^{[1] — Nick Kroll "Sir Ben Kingsley arrived at the Operation Finale table read with a leather-bound script decorated with swastikas — the Buddhist peace symbo…" 1:39:25 Play} Nick describes how the Mossad decided to bring back Eichmann as the singular symbolic trial while consciously choosing not to also pursue Mengele in Brazil. Tom, who had read The House on Garibaldi Street, adds the detail that Eichmann's own son exposed his father's identity by bragging to his girlfriend. The segment culminates in Nick's Ben Kingsley story: Kingsley arrived at the table read with a leather-bound script decorated with a swastika (which Nick clarifies is the Buddhist peace symbol that predates the Nazi appropriation), and delivered every single word of his Adolf Eichmann dialogue entirely from memory — turning the pages with the group but never looking down once. The cast was stunned. The episode closes with a brief debate about Holocaust-themed animated films and a final plug for Mating Season.

Nick thanks the hosts genuinely, and Bert thanks him right back, noting that having Nick on was something he'd wanted since binge-watching Mating Season that morning. The group closes with the Two Bears, One Cave jingle — 'one goes topless while the other wears a shirt, Tom tells stories and Bert's the machine' — and the episode concludes with a ZocDoc ad read dramatizing a runner finding a sports medicine doctor through the app two weeks before a marathon.