Quick Question with Soren and Daniel

Two Best Friends and Comedy Writers Soren Bowie & Daniel O'Brien present a passionate defense of Chris Pine as a methed-out white nationalist in Smoking Aces while mourning Toby Kebbell's lost stardom after RocknRolla. Along the way: James Austin Johnson's Trump impression has shades of Ferrell's W; the revelation that Gilbert Godfrey's entire persona was a put-on; why Sebastian Maniscalco's choreographed segues make zero logical sense and the quiet devastation of realizing Oscar season has become a conveyor belt of biopics about men who solved being alive by blowing their brains out. You'll leave armed with warm feelings for Ben Foster, Nicole Kidman, and Michael Stuhlbarg's monologue supremacy.

They say honey, turn the television on—but you can't, because there was no wind.

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This week, Daniel and Soren explore why every legendary composer is essentially a high-level shoplifter, stealing from the same three dead guys who actually knew how to write a melody. We also discuss why the "one in the glasses" is a genius, the specific humiliation of pitching jokes in the Fred voice, and why the most important skill for a professional writer is the ability to produce absolute garbage on purpose.Plus: Soren defends his hollow bird-bones, Daniel avoids an NDA, and we try to figure out why no one in a book can name a fictional band that doesn't sound like a hate crime.

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Thanks to ASPCA Pet Health for sponsoring this episode. To explore coverage, visit ASPCApetinsurance.com/QUESTION.  The ASPCA is not an insurer and is not engaged in the business of insurance.

Chapters
00:00 The "Pecan Sandies" On-Ramp
03:09 The Fred Movie & Professional Humiliation
08:31 Heated Rivalry: Soren Doubles Down
13:00 A Quick Question: Movie Scores on the Radio
15:45 Hans Zimmer vs. 1536 Classical Music
18:58 John Williams and the "Genius" of Shoplifting
24:20 Jon Brion and Piano-Forward Comfort
31:34 Searching for the "Internal Control+F"
34:10 Why Fictional Bands Always Have Terrible Names
39:40 Soren’s Hollow Bird-Bones
41:40 The Generation of Movement: Teaching Kids to Jump
45:30 Roller Skating, Moonwalking, and Golf
51:19 The Professional Craft of Writing "Shitty" Drafts
57:01 Ripping it Down to the Studs
01:01:17 The Toy Story 3 Masterclass

Follow the guys on Bluesky!
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Bonus episodes 2x/month at patreon.com/quickquestion OR Apple Podcasts

The Golden Globes have a Best Podcast now, which leads Daniel and Soren down a familiar path: awards, legitimacy, and how culture decides what counts.

Along the way, they run headfirst into Heated Rivalry—a show that appears to offer exactly one thing, and yet has somehow escaped its niche and entered polite conversation. Parents are recommending it. Everyone is recommending it. No one is being subtle.

Why does some extremely horny media stay contained, while other extremely horny media becomes prestige? And what does that say about taste, awards, and what we’re all suddenly very comfortable talking about?

Also: Traitors. A show for people with no hearts.

00:54 – Welcome Back / Who’s the Real Host?
01:36 – Hypothetical Awards, Hypothetical Fights
03:12 – The Golden Globes Now Have a Podcast Category
04:41 – How Awards Actually Work (Campaigns, Money, Politics)
07:23 – Emmy Swag, Billboards, and the Dropout Problem
09:40 – Why American Dad Never Wins Anything
11:55 – Quick Question: Are You Watching Heated Rivalry?
12:49 – When a Show Breaks Containment
14:24 – Expectation vs. Reality: Is It Even About Hockey?
16:07 – “It’s Just Sex”: The Erotic Fiction Problem
19:22 – Romance Novels and Narrative Foreplay
22:00 – Bad Texting, Bad Dialogue, Bad Screens
26:14 – Why Is Everyone Publicly This Horny?
28:02 – Is This the New Bridgerton?
29:00 – Who Is This Show For?
31:06 – Hockey Bodies, Old Navy Vibes
32:27 – Locker Rooms vs. TV Locker Rooms
35:23 – Pivot: What Is Traitors?
36:39 – How the Game Actually Works
39:26 – Why Normal People Failed Season One
40:50 – The Strategy of Being a Traitor
44:56 – Board Games, Lying, and Emotional Fallout
49:42 – Three-Hour Round Tables (and Crushing Guilt)
51:59 – When Banishing a Faithful Feels Correct Anyway
53:25 – How to Fix Traitors (Among Us, Live Edition)
55:36 – The Conga Line Murder
56:24 – Reality TV Pacing Is Still Brutal
57:53 – Why Heated Rivalry Can Only Be Sex
59:03 – Closing & Thanks

Thanks to Fabric for sponsoring. Apply today in just minutes at meetfabric.com/QQ. Policies issued by Western-Southern Life Assurance Company. Not available in certain states. Prices subject to underwriting and health questions. Thanks to Mint Mobile for sponsoring. Make the switch! MINTMOBILE.com/QQ Thanks to Shopify for sponsoring. Sign up for a $1/month trial period at shopify.com/qq Thanks to Butcher Box for sponsoring. Go to ButcherBox.com/QQ for $20 off, free shipping always, and choose filet mignon, ny strip or chicken breast in every box for a year, new subscribers only.

Follow the guys on Bluesky!
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Bonus episodes 2x/month at patreon.com/quickquestion OR Apple Podcasts

Daniel is fresh off an infant care class and a CPR certification, which leads to a wide-ranging conversation about how much preparation actually sticks when it matters. He and Soren talk swaddling, baby hygiene, circumcision care, and the unsettling reality that newborns are basically loose bags of milk. From there, things spiral into CPR etiquette, AED myths, corporate training videos, and the strange urge to do crowd work during emergency situations. Along the way, Soren recounts helping a lost child at a holiday light show—and the unexpectedly ambiguous text exchange that followed—while both hosts grapple with the question of when to step in, when to back away, and how anyone is supposed to know what to do in a crisis.

Thanks to ASPCA. To explore coverage, visit ASPCApetinsurance.com/QUESTION. The ASPCA is not an insurer and is not engaged in the business of insurance.

Thanks to ButcherBox. Go to ButcherBox.com/QQ for $20 off, free shipping always, and choose filet mignon, ny strip or chicken breast in every box for a year, new subscribers only.

Follow the guys on Bluesky!
https://bsky.app/profile/danielobrien.bsky.social
https://bsky.app/profile/sorenbowie.bsky.social

Bonus episodes 2x/month at patreon.com/quickquestion OR Apple Podcasts

The guys talk Stranger Things Season 5, do the bleak math of middle-aged drinking, and the perverse little happiness spike that follows a truly harrowing puke. Speaking of puke,  the guys discuss the sacred childhood joy of sick-day daytime TV (Judge Judy supremacy, soap operas as emotional concrete) and finally, Daniel and Soren spiral into TV industry doom: Netflix getting into the podcast game, prestige TV existing only as a side quest for tech companies, and the impossible task of ending a beloved show without stepping on an internet landmine—aka Finale School. 
00:00 Introduction and Podcast Dynamics
02:32 Reflections on Aging and Drinking
05:22 Hangover Remedies and Personal Experiences
08:16 The Nature of Vomiting and Its Aftermath
11:06 Parenting and Children’s Fear of Vomiting
14:00 Nostalgia for Childhood Illness and Daytime TV
17:35 Soap Operas and Acting Experiences
26:28 The Unique Challenges of Soap Opera Acting
33:33 The Evolution of Television and Soap Operas
40:43 The State of Modern Television
51:52 The Art of Writing and Ending a Series
Thanks to Rocket Money for sponsoring. RocketMoney.com/qq. Reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money.

Thanks to Fabric for sponsoring. Apply today in just minutes at meetfabric.com/QQ. Policies issued by Western-Southern Life Assurance Company. Not available in certain states. Prices subject to underwriting and health questions.

Follow the guys on Bluesky!
https://bsky.app/profile/danielobrien.bsky.social
https://bsky.app/profile/sorenbowie.bsky.social

Bonus episodes 2x/month at patreon.com/quickquestion OR Apple Podcasts