7th of 10 children
Robby Hoffman grew up the seventh of ten children in a Hasidic household in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, with an abusive father and very little money.
Snapshot · The Daily
Robby Hoffman Will Always Feel Poor, No Matter How Rich She Gets
Explore episode
Jun 27, 2026
Where this was said
The Raspberry Test: How Poverty Rewires You Emotionally
At 7:40 · chapter starts 5:00
Garcia-Navarro pushes on what has stayed with Hoffman from her years of struggle, sharing that her own mother — a Cuban political refugee — became a hoarder because she lost everything young. Hoffman responds that everything stays: 'The way that I am is entirely informed by how I grew up.' [1] — Robby Hoffman "No matter how much money is in the account, Robby Hoffman cannot bring herself to spend $7.99 on a small container of raspberries. It's not…" 05:00 She explains why she and her wife Gabby Windey are so well-matched — both grew up with 'meager beginnings' and speak the same financial language. The raspberry story arrives almost as a throwaway detail but lands as the episode's most memorable image: raspberries at $7.99 are simply criminal to Hoffman, not because she can't afford them, but because she is not emotionally in a place to justify the expense. She traces this back to her great-uncle in Montreal, who stopped leaving his room once gas reached a dollar per litre — a man whose poverty had so conditioned his behaviour that a marginal price increase became a complete shutdown. Garcia-Navarro, clearly delighted, presses her on what 'not emotionally in a place' means, and Hoffman elaborates on how she handles purchases: take a little off the top for something she loves, be careful with the rest.
Poverty Never Leaves You: The $7.99 Raspberry Problem
No matter how much money is in the account, Robby Hoffman cannot bring herself to spend $7.99 on a small container of raspberries. It's not logic — it's emotional conditioning baked in by poverty, and it never fully goes away.
$7.99 raspberries — still too much
Despite having money in the bank, Robby Hoffman says she is not emotionally in a place to spend $7.99 on raspberries, illustrating how deep class conditioning runs.
Gas hit $1 — uncle stopped leaving the house
Robby Hoffman's great-uncle refused to leave his room once gas in Montreal rose to $1 per litre, a formative illustration of poverty-driven paralysis.
Growing Up With an Abusive Father in Crown Heights
Robby Hoffman describes childhood summers in Crown Heights with no AC, 10 kids sleeping on the floor of a single room, and a father who was physically abusive to her mother. At age 5 or 6, she would spot her father in the kitchen and simply turn around and leave.
Similar snapshots
SF average rent up 18% in 2 years
San Francisco's average rent rose 18% over the past two years to $3,728/month, surpassing New York City as the most expensive rental market in the country.
SF average rent: $3,728/month
San Francisco's average monthly rent now stands at $3,728, surpassing New York City to become the most expensive rental city in the United States.
Bobby walked 7 miles with dicks drawn on face
At a childhood sleepover, Bobby Lee's friends drew penises on his face and he walked 7 miles home on a dirt road before being picked up by Eric Purvis's mom.
World poverty: 60% in 1950 vs 10% today
In 1950, about 60% of the world lived in extreme poverty; today it's about 1 in 10, attributable to capitalist economic growth.
6M US children fell into poverty 2021–24
From 2021 to 2024, 6 million children fell below the poverty line in the US after the expanded child tax credit expired.
Private adoption costs $40,000–$70,000
Private domestic infant and international adoptions typically cost $40,000 to $70,000, while foster care adoption is the most affordable route at $0 to $2,000.
Only 40% of men have ever reproduced
Historically, only 40% of men have ever reproduced — Galloway uses this to argue that romantic success requires effort, not a hall pass.
7th of 10 children
Robby Hoffman is the 7th of 10 children raised in a Hasidic household in Montreal, where the family was poor and comedy was a survival mechanism.
No concept of 'too soon'
Robby's Hasidic community had no concept of 'too soon' in comedy — if it was funny, you threw it, and if you bombed, your sibling told you immediately.
