Two Guys, Five Rings: Matt + Bowen at the Olympics in Milan
36 min
•Feb 14, 20262 months agoSummary
Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang attended the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony as special guests of NBC and YouTube, broadcasting from a recreated log cabin studio at the International Broadcasting Center. They provided commentary on the ceremony's themes of harmony, performances by Mariah Carey and Andrea Bocelli, opening ceremony production details, and their experiences at Olympic venues and Italian restaurants.
Insights
- Major media partnerships between legacy broadcasters (NBC) and digital platforms (YouTube) are creating new distribution models for live event coverage
- Celebrity attendance and behind-the-scenes access at major sporting events drives engagement and social media amplification for broadcast partners
- Opening ceremony production values and artistic direction have become as significant as athletic competition in defining Olympic brand perception
- Podcast formats are expanding into visual mediums and live event coverage, blurring traditional boundaries between audio and video entertainment
- Experiential marketing at Olympic venues (Team USA welcome experiences, gifting suites) creates emotional connections that extend beyond athletic performance
Trends
Integration of podcasting into live sports broadcasting and Olympic coverage strategiesCelebrity and entertainment personalities as Olympic commentators and brand ambassadorsVisual podcast production at major sporting events and international venuesExperiential marketing and personalized athlete welcome programs at Olympic eventsCross-platform content distribution (NBC, YouTube, iHeartRadio) for major sporting eventsEmphasis on ceremony production quality and artistic direction as core Olympic brand elementsBehind-the-scenes access and insider perspectives driving audience engagement for sports coverageCollaboration between traditional media networks and digital platforms for event coverage
Topics
Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics Opening CeremonyOlympic Broadcasting and Media CoverageLive Event Production and DirectionCelebrity Appearances at Olympic EventsTeam USA Olympic Experience and Athlete WelcomingOlympic Venue Management and Fan ExperiencePodcast Format Evolution and Visual MediaSports Entertainment and Production DesignInternational Broadcasting PartnershipsOlympic Torch Lighting CeremonyParade of Nations CoverageItalian Cultural Representation at OlympicsAthlete Gifting and Sponsorship ProgramsOpening Ceremony Artistic Direction and ThemesNBC Sports and YouTube Collaboration
Companies
NBC
Primary broadcast partner for Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, brought Matt and Bowen to cover the opening ceremony
YouTube
Co-partner with NBC for Olympic coverage distribution and streaming of the opening ceremony and related content
iHeartRadio
Podcast platform hosting Las Culturistas and providing distribution for Olympic coverage content
Ralph Lauren
Official Team USA apparel sponsor providing opening ceremony outfits and merchandise to hosts
Peacock
NBC's streaming service providing access to Winter Olympics coverage through February 22nd
Skims
Brand with Olympic-themed merchandise featured in Team USA welcome experience gifting suite
Oakley
Eyewear brand with presence in Team USA welcome experience at Milan airport
People
Matt Rogers
Co-host of Las Culturistas podcast, attended Milan Cortina 2026 opening ceremony as NBC/YouTube correspondent
Bowen Yang
Co-host of Las Culturistas podcast, attended Milan Cortina 2026 opening ceremony as NBC/YouTube correspondent
Andrea Bocelli
Italian tenor who performed Nessun Dorma during Olympic torch lighting ceremony, awarded gold medal by hosts
Mariah Carey
Performed at opening ceremony, sang Volare in Italian and Nothing is Impossible from her album Here For It All
Matilda DeAngelis
Italian actress who performed interpretive dance with baton during opening ceremony's artistic segment
Charlize Theron
South African actress who delivered peace speech during opening ceremony, compared to Whitney Rose by hosts
Sabrina Pacharoli
Italian actress from White Lotus who performed in animated segment about Olympic history during ceremony
Adam Rippon
Olympic figure skater and podcaster scheduled as upcoming guest, proving dual career is possible
Cleo Abram
Content creator who created 18-minute explainer video about curling, met by hosts at Olympics
Samuel L. Jackson
Referenced in pre-roll ad for The A-Building podcast about 1969 Morehouse College protest
Quotes
"Only in Milan does legacy media and new media come together like this."
Matt Rogers•Opening remarks
"Listening is a form of love."
Ad Council PSA•Mid-episode
"Nothing was impossible. And it's off of her latest album, Here For It All, which we were there for it all."
Bowen Yang•Mariah Carey performance discussion
"She didn't move at all. That's how I want her. She was truly the doll."
Matt Rogers•Mariah Carey performance description
"Harmony, everyone. Ademonia. Bye."
Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang•Episode closing
Full Transcript
1969, Malcolm and Martin are gone. America is in crisis. And at Morehouse College, the students make their move. These students, including a young Samuel L. Jackson, locked up the members of the Board of Trustees, including Martin Luther King Sr. It's the true story of protest and rebellion in Black American history that you'll never forget. I'm Hans Charles. I'm Menelik Lumumba. Listen to The A-Building on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Ryder Strong, and I have a new podcast called The Red Weather. In 1995, my neighbor, Anna Trainor, disappeared from a commune. It was nature and trees and praying and drugs. No, I am not your guru. Back then, I lied to everybody. They have had this case for 30 years. I'm going back to my hometown to uncover the truth. Listen to The Red Weather on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You know Roald Dahl. He thought up Willy Wonka and the BFG. But did you know he was a spy? In the new podcast, The Secret World of Roald Dahl, I'll tell you that story and much, much more. What? You probably won't believe it either. Was this before he wrote his stories? It must have been. Okay, I don't think that's true. I'm telling you. The guy was a spy. Listen to The Secret World of Roald Dahl on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The more you listen to your kids, the closer you'll be. So we asked kids, what do you want your parents to hear? I feel sometimes that I'm not listened to. I would just want you to listen to me more often and evaluate situations with me and lead me towards success. Listening is a form of love. Find resources to help you support your kids and their emotional well-being at SoundItOutTogether.org. That's SoundItOutTogether.org. Brought to you by the Ad Council and Pivotal. Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring. That was a different melody that we did that time. Well, it was an Italian sort of inflection because here we are. You feel the energy? Siamo qui con NBC e YouTube. Yes, thank you. Grazie mille NBC e YouTube. Let me translate what I think that was. Thank you to NBSkin YouTube for bringing us here to the Milan Cortina Olympics. Give it up. Give it up. Give it up. And we're here with a whole studio full of people. Yes, interact. Only in Milan does legacy media and new media come together like this. If you are not enjoying us visually right now, and podcasts are now a visual medium across all formats, we are in a recreated Cortina-esque log cabin studio. We're in Cortina. Oh, gosh, it's so fun. Everyone at this Olympics is like, I'm going to Lavinio tomorrow. I'll see you later. How long are you in Milan for? Oh, well, you have to go to the Duomo. And that's really all there is. The chicest sentence you've ever said. Well, you have to go to the Duomo. How long are you in Milan? It's like, I never dreamed as a boy that I would ever ask these questions. I grew up next to a water tower in Colorado, in the suburbs. Well, I guess that's kind of Olympics adjacent. My dad used to hang out with his friends at Chili's. And now I'm at the Milan Olympics. Now I'm in Studio B at the IBC. You hear that? This is all jargon. This is all jargon. International Broadcasting Center. That's what I'm guessing it is. Did I nail it? I knew it. You know, Matt, let's talk through our arrival in Milan. Because we really are here. this is not a bit they actually did send us all those threats that we did like oh they better send us it actually paid off we're here i think we're doing good i think we're representing um our lovely collaborators well certainly our country better than others oh we'll get into it we'll get into it um but yeah so we get here and a lot of people are going to be asking the question was this a better italian arrival experience than the last time we came here wherein all of our bags were missing for days and we were bagless in Sicily. We can reveal at this time all our bags made it. All our bags made it and we're absolutely dripping in Ralph Lauren swag. Yes. And thank you, Ralph. Thanks, Ralph. And we had a lovely flight. We got to go to the Team USA welcome experience at the airport. That was cool. We basically walked through exactly, they were kind enough to simulate the experience of a U.S. Olympian's arrival for us. Might we say it's a very, very, very emotional, exciting, personalized experience. I was going to say because it's at the airport. It is at the airport Sheraton. Get into it. Get into it. And we're pulling up going, gosh, if I'm off a nine hour flight and I'm about to have the most high stakes period of my life, last thing I want to do is walk into a suite, into a gifting suite when I'm jet lagged. No, no, no. Then you walk up these escalators, there's like a gorgeous processional sort of bombast playing around you. Everyone is clapping. Clapping. Everyone there at all the installations comes out and claps. And then the coolest part is you stand in front of a screen and they play a video that is personalized to the teams that are arriving. And there are videos from home that surprise the athletes. And that has to be an incredibly emotional experience, not just because they're incredibly tired. Of course. But it's great to see your family, too. It's great to see your family, especially when you're tired on a giant... Yeah. ...sort of LED screen. Yeah. There's my mom, all big, telling me she loves me and is proud. I love that. There's mom next to the Skims Oakley station. And you know we went in there. We went in there. You haven't lived until you've seen the Olympics-themed skim panties. the Olympics themed skims panties, the Olympics themed skims thigh high sock. Yeah. Or I would assume the bedroom in the Olympic Village. Oh yeah. This is the thing. Tell them. They're sticking these giant gift bags that are chic onto these world-class athletes who are staying in a little shoe box of a room in the Olympic Village. You know what? That ain't right. It gets them out enjoying the city. It gets them out practicing. I almost said rehearsing. I do almost say rehearsing a lot. But, you know, again, an incredible experience. We got to try on the opening ceremony coats and sweaters that the U.S. team, we took videos and photos. We took videos. Don't worry. It was stolen valor because these people were treating us like we were Olympians. And we were like, oh, we're podcasters. It's like the polar opposite. The opposite of Olympic. But we are going to have the great Adam Rippon, who is both an Olympian and a podcaster. Proving you can do both. You can do both. I'm literally motivated to start curling after this trip. You've been talking a lot about it. Well, we met the incredible Cleo Abram. Yes. It's her favorite sport. Yeah. She did a whole 18-minute explainer video that I watched just with precision and in total sort of thrall. That would be the sport for you curling. You're lunging. You're sweeping. You get into a deep lunge. You're shaking hands. You're getting beers after. You get beers after. Really? Beer is a part of curling? The winning team has to buy both teams. Yeah. A beer. What? You shake hands before the game starts and you compliment each other on your plays. Oh my gosh. It's called the gentleman's sport. Was this created in Canada? I don't think so. Where did curling begin? Is Barb here? Where the hell is Barb? Oh, Barb didn't make the trip? Yeah. Not surprised, Barb, you slacker. No. No one's here to check facts? This is... Oh, no, no, no. We're kidding. We're kidding. Barb, by the way, we just got to let people know. Barb is lovely. Barb deserves to run this entire company. No, Barb is lovely. She doesn't deserve any of this flack. Okay. And we can figure someone else can figure out where curling started. It just sounds like a very Canadian thing to compliment someone prior to doing like any meddling or whatever and say, Hey, have a beer. Feels very Canadian. But I think I'm going to say it started in the UK, Scotland, because the stones are made from a granite specifically from an island in Scotland from specific rare earth metals. Was this in the Cleo Abram explainer? She's great. She's amazing. We're having a great time with her. We're taking pictures with her like she's the third guy five ring. She's the third guy five ring if the third guy looks like Julia Roberts. Literally, she looks like Julia Roberts. Yeah. And it's like, you know when you see someone and you're like, I know you look like someone and then you're like, oh, surely I can't be the most famous, most gorgeous woman in the world. That's what she looks like. But then she knows things about protein structure. Yeah, she's like, oh, she was talking in the car very casually about protein structure and shapes of proteins and how learning the shape is everything when it comes to creating new medicine. I was like, you look like Julia Roberts. You don't have to know any of this. No. Just like we should know stuff about something. We should know something. Here we are. They flew us out. You know what we're full of knowledge about because we saw it just last night, which means we haven't forgotten it yet. Like the fish we are. The opening ceremony of the, I'll say it again, Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. Can you believe this? We were there. We were there. And one of the wonderful gentlemen who was in this room earlier, his first name is Mike. You don't need to know his last name. Well, you don't need to know his last name, but you can look this up because he almost traps me. He goes, were we at the opening ceremony last night? I was like, yes. He goes, what'd you think? I was like, it was spectacular. He goes, well, I directed it. Stop it now. And I was like, you, sir, you tried to, that's entrapment. He was the Liz Patrick of the opening ceremony. Because he was trying to get me to say, it was all right. Oh, it was entrapment. That's a very serious crime, Mike. Mike. You better watch it or we'll say your last name. Interpol's gonna come for your ass. Gets you doxxed. Just kidding. Anyway, congrats on an amazing job, Mike. Mike, meanwhile, he's out here working on a Saturday. It's Saturday here in Milan. That's huge. See, on the Olympics, you could be working on a Saturday. Like us? Yeah, like us. Damn it. Now let's talk the opening ceremony. Let's, because so much happened, Bo. When we walked in, I had one thought. Wow, this is like the era's tour. And then I realized how dumb I was. And I quickly corrected myself to be like, wow, this is the most epic production I had ever seen. Yeah, you're not wrong. though it was very Aristor-esque. Did she perform there? Look it up. Barb! Aristor Milan stop venue. Yeah, see if she played at the Spanspiro or whatever the heck. We're not talking to Barb. What's it called? San Siro? San Siro. San Siro, not San Spiro. Earlier, we were listening to this song. We were listening to the soundtrack to Spyro, the video game. Yeah, yeah, we were. No, what were we listening to? Her name is Sienna Spyro. It's like she goes, Say it in my world, say it in my world. You know that new song it kind of like Adele but not I don think so Yes She did She played Makes all the sense in the world If it fit for the opening ceremony it's fit for the Aeros tour. I hope people at the Aeros tour in Milan had the same interesting hot dog that I had at the stadium. You said it. You said it. It's interesting. It was an interesting hot dog. It made me go, maybe it's a good thing that this is like pig brains in the States. because I was missing the extra you know it was too like one thing it was too they're making six million of these you know what I'm saying uh huh anyway we're happy we got to eat we're gonna talk about the hot dogs at San Siro for the rest of the episode and not a single thing about the opening show maybe we'll get to Mariah Carey I bet you thought oh let's listen to the Matt and Bowen Two Guys Five Rings episode of the opening ceremony it's gonna be a lot of Mariah Carey haven't uttered her name until now Not her name until now. That's not because it wasn't deserved, because let me tell you what was extremely amazing. Her performance in Italian. Volare. Volare. And then she sang her song, Nothing is Impossible. And we actually agreed in our seats that nothing was. And it's off of her latest album, Here For It All, which we were there for it all. Yeah. It being the opening ceremonies. Yeah. She was great. She looked amazing. Probably the coolest part of being there, BTS, was watching them slowly walk her out. Yes. And then place her, leave. Three men, both times. Takes three men to get Mariah out. And then afterwards, they all come out. She didn't move at all. Okay? That's how I want her. She was truly the doll. I was expecting a palanquin. To find palanquin and then I can keep going. A thing that you hoist on four guys' shoulders. Yeah, I was expecting that too. For her to sit in a little room. I was going to say Palinquin now that I think about it. Yeah. Welcome to the A-Building. I'm Hans Charles. I'm Menelik Lumumba. It's 1969. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. had both been assassinated. And Black America was out of breaking point. Rioting and protests broke out on an unprecedented scale. In Atlanta, Georgia, at Martin's alma mater, Morehouse College, the students had their own protest. It featured two prominent figures in Black history, Martin Luther King Sr. and a young student, Samuel L. Jackson. To be in what we really thought was a revolution, I mean, people were dying. 1968, the murder of Dr. King, which traumatized everyone. The FBI had a role in the murder of a Black Panther leader in Chicago. This story is about protest. It echoes in today's world far more than it should. And it will blow your mind. Listen to The A Building on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Ryder Strong with a podcast called The Red Weather. In 1995, my neighbor, Anna Traynor, disappeared from a commune. It was nature and trees and praying and drugs. No, I am not your guru Back then, I lied to everybody They have had this case for 30 years I'm going back to my hometown to uncover the truth You can now binge all episodes of The Red Weather on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts You know Roald Dahl The writer who thought up Willy Wonka, Matilda, and the BFG But did you know he was also a spy? Was this before he wrote his stories? It must have been Our new podcast series, The Secret World of Roald Dahl, is a wild journey through the hidden chapters of his extraordinary, controversial life. His job was literally to seduce the wives of powerful Americans. What? And he was really good at it. You probably won't believe it either. Okay, I don't think that's true. I'm telling you, the guy was a spy. Did you know Dahl got cozy with the Roosevelt's, played poker with Harry Truman, and had a long affair with a congresswoman? And then he took his talents to Hollywood, where he worked alongside Walt Disney and Alfred Hitchcock, before writing a hit James Bond film. How did this secret agent wind up as the most successful children's author ever? And what darkness from his covert past seeped into the stories we read as kids? The true story is stranger than anything he ever wrote. Listen to The Secret World of Roald Dahl on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Almost 30 years together, four kids and some of reality TV's most unforgettable moments, We know a thing or two about living life out loud. We're taking you behind the scenes in our new podcast, Between Us, with me, Heather Dubrow. And me, Terry Dubrow. Between Us isn't about perfect lighting or curated Instagram grids. It's the unfiltered, behind-closed-doors conversations you wish you could eavesdrop on. Equal parts smart, funny, and a little bit scandalous. Every week, Heather will bring you an unapologetic take on the headlines, the trends, and the cultural moments everyone's texting about. And Terry will deliver insider beauty, health, and wellness insights you won't find on TikTok. Together, we'll tell the stories, spill the secrets, and share the hacks that keep life, marriage, and everything in between feeling fresh and fun. We may live in a gated community, but there's zero gatekeeping here. And plenty of, did they just say that moments? Listen to Between Us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Ever feel like you're being chased by the marriage police? Welcome to Boys and Girls, the podcast where dating isn't dating. Arranged marriage is basically a reality show, except the contestants are strangers and your entire family is judging. You're sipping coffee with one maybe, grabbing dinner with another, and praying your karmic Ken or Barbie appears before your shelf life runs out. Trust me, I've been through this ancient and unshakable tradition. I jumped in, hoping to find love the right way. And instead, I found chaos, cringe and comedy. And now, I'm looking for healing. Boys and Girls dives into every twist and turn of the arranged marriage carousel. The meet awkward, the near misses, the heartbreak. And let's not forget all the jokes. Listen to Boys and Girls on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Well, let's go back. First, it starts off with this gorgeous, angelic, I want to say like neoclassical interpretive. The theme of the opening ceremony was interpretive dance. Yes. Every two years, maybe, I was going to say every four years, maybe two, the world gets sat down and forced to watch interpretive dance. Yeah. thank goodness we should say the theme literally was harmony but no no no but but the harmonia the the harmonia the harmonia try speaking italian without having a full seizure if you're me harmonia it takes over you um but the theme was harmony and there was harmony in the interpretive dance absolutely well oh i think i thought the theme was very well sort of um executed throughout the entire show because... Good job, Mike. The thing was harmony. It was about two things uniting. Later on, we saw two acrobats suspended on rings joining... Oh, that was cuckoo. I think that was supposed to represent city and mountain. What? Milan and Cortina. Is that true? I think that was the poetic read on it. The close read on it. Or harmony and interpretive dance. The world and Italy. The world and Italy. Uh... Anything else? Red and green. Red and green. Red, white and green. Yeah, red, white and green. So then let me just get this right. Okay, was that, then it was... Matilda DeAngelis. Matilda DeAngelis waving around a huge stick. I saw myself in her. You were her. Matt Rogers DeAngelis. Matt Rogers DeAngelis. I really liked her. I thought her lines were beautiful. Formed very beautiful lines. Like I'm a Dancing with the Stars judge. Beautiful lines. beautiful lines she was well first she was assailed by the paparazzi yes an Italian invention oh my gosh I guess yeah no but it's they made it look very chic Lady Gaga thanks you so do we Lady Gaga thanks you so do we then she walks over then she starts waving around this baton three huge paper mache heads of Verdi Puccini and oh the third opera guy oh sure I'm gonna I'm gonna Not Pavarotti. No. Sorry. No. No, hold on. Let me look at my paper. See, this is what it is to know too many things, because then you get caught in a trap. You get caught in a trap. Because I knew zero of the three guys. He knew two of the three. I knew two of them. And now he's in a world of pain. Go ahead. Rossini. Of course. They're running around, and then they remain. Yeah. I think that those three guys were just watching Charlize Theron give her speech about peace later on. Yeah. That was also a whole moment. That was a moment. Well, so then they do that. Then it's... The paint came out of the sky. The paint came out of the sky. Then, okay, so this is where it got a little confusing for me. So the three paint tubes came out of the sky and they sort of filled the world with primary color. Then I thought it was all little pieces of paint or little paint rubles. She has little crayons running out. Turns out, all those guys were supposed to be espresso makers. This was where it got a little Italian from me. Well, this is where we go, oh, wow. I don't think about espresso at all. At all. Now, unless Sabrina Carpenter is involved. She put it on the map in America. We didn't know what it was. Well, espresso martinis. Sure. We knew them from Salt Lake City Housewives. That's right. That happens. Yeah. Then we arrive at what I thought was a tribute to Caprese salad. Turns out it was red, white, and green Italian flag colors. Common mistake. Common mistake. But I went, oh, Italy really, really figured that out with their flag. Bufala. Bufala mozzarella. Basil. Basil. Basil sounds. Basil. More like we're here. Right. I was like, they invented tomato, cheese, and basil. Just to pause the conversation for a second and talk a little bit more about food. We did have lunch yesterday. And I was upset when I realized, again, they don't have chicken parm here. It's an Italian-American invention. And I got over it and I didn't bring it up at lunch. I didn't want to make a scene. Uh-huh. and I ordered my Amatriciana and I was very happy as were you we had the same thing we had a gorgeous Rigatoni Amatriciana where did we go? Ratana that was the name of the restaurant Ratana was another restaurant that we went to the night before Michelin starred risotto and honey our waiter Alex I will remember you oh this was at the other place yes what's that called? that was called Taverna Taverna something else Taverna something I will remember Alex he knew something And then he made us this dessert He made table side like a custard basically It starts with a Z in Italian I blanking on that And then he comes over to us and he makes us this dessert, right, at the table. He comes over to us and he whispers in Bowen and Isaiah and he goes, now that we're friends, I can tell you this is what they used to give the men to invigorize them. To, this is Italian Viagra. Viagra. I said, you better get out of here. You think he was flirting? I don't know. I couldn't tell. And then our friend was like, did you leave your number? And I was like, I don't think he was gay. Gay. Gay. Tutti gay. Tutti gay. We learned that from White Lotus. I feel like here in Italy, you kind of know the guys are gay because they're like, marry me. They are. That's how they are. Now, please marry me. You feel like you know that all the guys in Italy are gay because they all say marry me. This is what I'm told. has this happened to you? Matteo Lane told me this. And then I was like, Matteo, you're so hot. Look at the ass that's so high and round. Matteo has a very different experience coming to Italy than we would. He speaks the language. His ass sits high and round. What more could you ask for? What more could you ask for? Mad at me. Mad at me. He's getting... My ass is... Don't do this. It's been looking incredible. I don't know what to say. My ass is the Tower of Terror. It's a straight shot down. It's not gonna... I'm not getting any proposals. You know, they've changed the Tower of Terror. It now has all sorts of different dimensions, okay? So don't... So just know things... I don't know. Things are moving and shaking. What's my ass? You've got... You've got... You've got a... Not my bestie. Triple Lutz. No, no, I'm so... I celebrate your ass. Thank you so much. You've got a triple Lutz. You've got... You've got a curling ass. Now, opening ceremony. Yeah, right. I was going to say, opening ceremony. So, then the rings come together. That was insane. That took my breath away. That was breathtaking. Because they were not super secure on those things. You couldn't see the wires. Because it made me go, when Rihanna did this at the Super Bowl, when Beyonce did this at the Christmas show, the Cowboy show. Yes. That was so good. Amazing. but they were making sure that those precious icons were stable yeah these people I guess they're professional acrobats right they were kind of doing it raw doing it raw they were doing um and it was just goes yeah yeah I guess they were sure um but you That happened. By the way, this was after the bop. Who knew the Italian National Anthem back to the drawing board. Back to the drawing board, America. There's like a whole movement shift in the Italian National Anthem. It sounds like a Celine Dion song from the 80s. Early 90s? 90s. It just sounds like it sounds like a song that would win Eurovision. And it's their national anthem. It's amazing. Well, Italy's gotta bring it with the arts in every aspect. You know what I mean? Yeah. I didn't realize Italy was the club in this way. Well, there was a whole disco semi because they gave us disco. Italo disco is some of the best. Yeah. Well, anyway, the music throughout the evening was incredible and I can't get over the national anthem. I'm going to be streaming. Laura Passini is who Laura Passini Did you know of her? I didn't I was very excited to Watch her really slay In front of 60,000 people She definitely did that She definitely did that Then we have our ring moment That was cool Then we have the Parade of Nations That's where I went Canada Canada really brought it I thought you were gonna say And that's where I went I'm getting a hot dog I'm getting a hot dog I did get a hot dog We did take a break then We got a hot dog We got up and, you know, we were told this is the time to get a drink and a snack. So we said okay. So we said okay. But then we made sure we were seeing them. We didn't see a lot of the athletes come in. This was a widespread opening ceremony. Which, that might be my I don't think so, honey, later that we're doing this sort of for a different segment. Widespread kept being said. Widespread was said many times. They're very interested in us knowing all about how the spread is wide. And it makes me go, let's think about the ways in which that word is used. Sure. Lately, it hasn't been great. Widespread. Widespread. Widespread sort of transmission. Widespread. Are you throwing it back to COVID? Unrest. I'm throwing it back to all of my life. We're in Italy. You can't do that. You're going to give everyone PTSD. Listen, this is what being in Milan is like right now. He's fired up, ladies and gentlemen. It is triumphantly saying we overcame so many things. Yeah. Period. We overcame those hot dogs. Barely. Can I just say, San Siro, this bathroom's tough. Oh, that was crazy. It was like prison. Stop. Now, me stop. I wasn't even the one that brought it up. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to silence you. Can I say we had an amazing time in the stadium? An amazing time in the stadium. Would go there again. Good enough for Taylor. Good enough for us. Welcome to the A-Building. I'm Hans Charles. I'm Menelik Lumumba. It's 1969. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. have both been assassinated. And Black America was at a breaking point. Writing and protests broke out on an unprecedented scale. In Atlanta, Georgia, at Martin's alma mater, Morehouse College, the students had their own protest. It featured two prominent figures in Black history, Martin Luther King Sr. and a young student, Samuel L. Jackson. To be in what we really thought was a revolution, I mean, people were dying. 1968, the murder of Dr. King, which traumatized everyone. The FBI had a role in the murder of a Black Panther leader in Chicago. This story is about protest. It echoes in today's world far more than it should. And it will blow your mind. Listen to The A-Building on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Ryder Strong with a podcast called The Red Weather. In 1995, my neighbor, Anna Traynor, disappeared from a commune. It was nature and trees and praying. And drugs. No, I am not your guru. Back then, I lied to everybody. They have had this case for 30 years. I'm going back to my hometown to uncover the truth. You can now binge all episodes of The Red Weather on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You know Roald Dahl. the writer who thought up Willy Wonka, Matilda, and the BFG. But did you know he was also a spy? Was this before he wrote his stories? It must have been. Our new podcast series, The Secret World of Roald Dahl, is a wild journey through the hidden chapters of his extraordinary, controversial life. His job was literally to seduce the wives of powerful Americans. What? And he was really good at it. You probably won't believe it either. Okay, I don't think that's true. I'm telling you, the guy was a spy. Did you know Dahl got cozy with the Roosevelt's? Played poker with Harry Truman and had a long affair with a congresswoman. And then he took his talents to Hollywood where he worked alongside Walt Disney and Alfred Hitchcock before writing a hit James Bond film. How did this secret agent wind up as the most successful children's author ever? And what darkness from his covert past seeped into the stories we read as kids? The true story is stranger than anything he ever wrote. Listen to The Secret World of Roald Dahl on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Almost 30 years together, four kids, and some of reality TV's most unforgettable moments, we know a thing or two about living life out loud. We're taking you behind the scenes in our new podcast, Between Us, with me, Heather Dubrow. And me, Terry Dubrow. Between Us isn't about perfect lighting or curated Instagram grids. It's the unfiltered, behind-closed-doors conversations you wish you could eavesdrop on. Equal parts smart, funny, and a little bit scandalous. Every week, Heather will bring you an unapologetic take on the headlines, the trends, and the cultural moments everyone's texting about. And Terry will deliver insider beauty, health, and wellness insights you won't find on TikTok. Together, we'll tell the stories, spill the secrets, and share the hacks that keep life, marriage, and everything in between feeling fresh and fun. We may live in a gated community, but there's zero gatekeeping here. And plenty of, did they just say that moments? Listen to Between Us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Ever feel like you're being chased by the marriage police? Welcome to Boys and Girls, the podcast where dating isn't dating. Arranged marriage is basically a reality show, except the contestants are strangers and your entire family is judging. You're sipping coffee with one maybe Grabbing dinner with another And praying your karmic Ken or Barbie appears Before your shelf life runs out Trust me, I've been through this ancient and unshakable tradition I jumped in hoping to find love the right way And instead I found chaos, cringe and comedy And now I'm looking for healing Boys and Girls dives into every twist and turn Of the arranged marriage carousel The meet awkward, the near misses the heartbreak, and let's not forget all the jokes. Listen to Boys and Girls on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What was I going to say? Andrea Bocelli. Andrea Bocelli. Well, first, Parade of Nations. So many cute outfits. Very much so. It was so lovely to see Italy Italian Italian Italian athletes coming in so widespread so we were cutting from down in Milan where you would have these gorgeous metallic puffered women a la Angie Katzenavis and their giant sunglasses walking with a giant horizontal slab of ice we were not the only ones to say that it was Angie Katzenavis coded either. And that is the second Salt Lake City Housewives reference on the episode so far. There has to be a third now. Oh, I have a third. Great. I have a third. Coming soon. And then that happens and then you would cut to what I want to say was we definitely cut to Cortina. Yeah. A bit. So and then we I think we might have cut to Lavinio. Yes, I think there was a whole lot of cutting between and the white hence the widespread aspect. But it was beautiful. It was beautiful because the athletes got so much applause and it felt incredible and we joined in. And we are very excited to be here like celebrating these American athletes I was watching going like oh God there something really profound about everybody from around the world being here at the same time Yeah absolutely For the same occasion Here's the third Salt Lake City reference. Go on. Charlize Theron comes out looking like Whitney Rose. Ha ha ha ha! Compliments to everyone. Compliments to everyone. Quoting her countrymen, her fellow countrymen. South Africa. Nelson Mandela. Talking about peace. And I go, there's something really powerful about the woman who played Eileen Wuornos, Furiosa, and Miss Atomic Blonde, and Old Guard. She's played violent women. She was in the movie Mighty Joe Young. And people don't remember that. People don't remember that. But this lady who has seen violence up close has enacted violence for the cameras. Yes. For a woman to know violence and say, Guys. From Atomic Blonde. Cut it out. Cut it out. With the war. For C's sake. Made me go, this is impactful. I'll tell you what else was impactful in this sort of cap of the night. The perfect synchronizing of the Olympic torch flame to the beat of Nessun Dorma, sung by literally Pavarotti, who's still able to whip. Pachali. Uh-oh. when you say literally and it's wrong I meant Bocelli okay leave it all in I don't care you think I care you think he cares oh god we find out he's a huge fan of this podcast I was listening to the my favorite podcast and then you're getting on Poverotti is that anywhere near what he might sound like Lord Matt's got a Bocelli slash Lorne now is the time Lorne now is the perfect opportunity put me on um but Shelley perfectly synchronized with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron and Nessa and Dorma it is the most beautiful song from Step Brothers yeah that's where the world knows it that's where the world knows it first Step Brothers now secondarily the opening ceremony and that capped it all off it was gorgeous um I take issue with it being called a cauldron I don't like that. It's like, they're going to light the cauldron. It's too witchy. And like, let's leave witches out of it. Well, I celebrate witches. I celebrate witches too. I don't think, it's stolen valor from witches. You know what I mean? What came first? The witches or the Olympics? Probably the, well, I think Olympus came first. Barb? Olympus came first. The mountain. Okay. Because did witches start in Salem? No. Certainly they've been since the beginning of time. Honey, we've been trying to get women since the dawn of humanity. Get women. We've been trying to get them. That's what I'm saying. Now, we could use one on this podcast. I was going to say, I take issue with it being called cauldrons, because guess what? The word cauldron is in Italian. Go ahead. Calderone. And that is the last name of Lady Gaga's drag persona Joe Calderone. So that's probably why. Joe Calderone. but it makes me go well now I'm off in another sort of thought starter I'm not thinking about the Olympics no more you're thinking about Gaga just call it the Olympic also bowl I can't believe you called him Pavarotti it's time to give out our bronze, silver and gold medal for this episode of Two Guys Five Rinks one of the best episodes we've ever done of this show You think so? Yeah, I think we absolutely tore. I think we ate. Everything we ate at the Olympics. Just us sitting right here. What's the bronze medal of the Olympic opening ceremony? Milan Cortina 2026 for you. I'm going to give bronze to... Oh, what's her name again? Matilda. Matilda. No, no, no. Laura Passini. Laura Passini singing the Italian Ocean Anthem. That was so rousing. What? We didn't even talk about Sabrina Pachatore. Valentina. From the White Lotus. So just to recap. This means she deserves the silver. This does mean she deserves the silver. Go ahead and explain exactly how hard she went. Okay, so here's what happened in the storytelling. She's at home in her sweats, watching the opening ceremony, I think. like what the rest of the world is doing for the people who are not lucky enough to be in the stadium like we were. She's watching at home in her sort of loungewear. Then those two dastardly weasels, Stoats, Tina and Milo, pop up and start haranguing her. Harassing her even. And she said, hey! No, she literally is. Hey! Yeah, yeah, yeah. she goes and then it became something else she goes hey hey what are you doing my favorite italian word gui was we here or qua which is there gui no no qua gui gui gui gui gui gui i q u i i can't stand this whenever i say something exactly the way no and you gui Cui Cui There you go Cui Cui Cui Cui Here here Here here So she gets Cua Cua She gets She gets sort of Manhandled From Cui to Cua From Cui to Cua By Tina and Milo Ugh And then she gets I guess She gets hurtled through Like this AI animated AI You know Oh jeez Whatever she gets hurtled through all of the Olympics the Winter Olympics past over the last 100 years because it's been 100 years of the Winter Olympics wow the Winter Games and you do see the cool emblems of the past yeah and then she lands in this metallic jumpsuit bodysuit bodycon suit and she gets she starts dancing to this contemporary Italian the first Italian rap song called Jack's Notes which is meant to be gibberish I believe improvised text is an invented language that phonetically mimics English written by the iconic Italian singer Adriano Celentano so then there's an amazing again interpretive dance energized but interpretive dance where she's dancing I guess about Olympic history. And then she slays and sells. Just like she did in White Lotus. Just like she did in White Lotus and the paper. Oh yeah. Which don't sleep on the paper. She's very good at the paper. She's very good at the paper. She's very good in everything. She's kind of the Michael Scott of the paper. I would say. We're allowed to talk about this at NBC. This is all why she's earned the silver medal today. Silver medal to Sabrina. And I think we have to give the gold medal to, and I'm going to say this, Andrea Bocelli thank you thank you that's claptor for him and i for getting it right because come on i mean that was truly epic and just gold medal honorary gold platinum medal as it were to mike to mike who directed the stuff yes that was amazing that was amazing and now we get to meet him today we already have no i said we got to meet him today i remember yeah yeah yeah um unforgettable just like the opening ceremony of Milan Cortina 2026. Absolutely. But be careful around Mike because he might ask, you know. He might try to entrap you. Well, I'll be eating something from the commissary. Be like, what do you think of those potatoes? I'll be like, they're good. That's my recipe. I made them. I made them. That was my grandmother's recipe for potatoes. So it's good you like it. Mike, great job. Great job. And great job to everyone here. We've had such a lovely time in the Cortina. cabin. And you'll have to wait a couple days, but right now for us, we're going to be welcoming an Olympian and a podcaster, proving it can be done. Adam Rapunzel, look out for that very soon. Look out for that very soon, but until then, follow the show on the iHeartRadio app or your favorite podcast platform and watch on the NBC Sports YouTube channel. And watch and listen to every moment of the Winter Olympics now through February 22nd on NBC and Peacock and on the iHeartRadio app. We end every one of these episodes with the very same song. Bum, bum, bum, bum, bum. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. No, I just, I love it. So why don't you do the bums and I'll do the blares. Bums and the blares. Us tonight. Bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, Oh, we switched it. Harmony, everyone. Ademonia. Bye. Bye. Yay! 1969. Malcolm and Martin are gone. America is in crisis. And at Morehouse College, the students make their move. These students, including a young Samuel L. Jackson, locked up the members of the Board of Trustees, including Martin Luther King Sr. It's the true story of protest and rebellion in Black American history that you'll never forget. I'm Hans Charles. I'm Menelik Lumumba. Listen to The A-Building on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Ryder Strong, and I have a new podcast called The Red Weather. In 1995, my neighbor, Anna Traynor, disappeared from a commune. It was nature and trees and praying and drugs. No, I am not your guru. Back then, I lied to everybody. They have had this case for 30 years. I'm going back to my hometown to uncover the truth. Listen to The Red Weather on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You know Roald Dahl. He thought up Willy Wonka and the BFG. But did you know he was a spy? In the new podcast, The Secret World of Roald Dahl, I'll tell you that story and much, much more. What? You probably won't believe it either. Was this before he wrote his stories? It must have been. Okay, I don't think that's true. I'm telling you. I was a spy. Listen to The Secret World of Roald Dahl on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Talking to your kids about the dangers of vaping can be hard. Getting them to listen to Hot Gossam is easy. So here's some drama you could share with your kid. Dude, did you hear about Cassie and Jake? No, but did you hear that vaping can cause irreversible lung damage and nicotine affects brain development? Nuh-uh. You don't need to gossip if you want to have an open conversation about vaping. So if you want to get tips on when and how to talk to your kids, visit talkaboutvaping.org. Brought to you by the American Lung Association and the Ad Council. This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.