Free Advice

Episode 29 is here, and it's strong. Morgan explains the voicemail she snuck into episode 28 as a post-credits scene. Rob and Morgan discuss the Earthmother, the ways people are similar and different, the Pokemon Movie (correction: this came out in 1998), their sexual frustrations, and subconscious anglerfish with little glowing dicks on hanging off their foreheads. That's just the first ten minutes. Then they get into the NoFap movement, trying to inspire others, and life philosophies. At 20:30, Rob brings up the nobility of flirting as a means of redistributing your excess self-confidence (a reference to this School of Life video). At 21:40, the hosts discuss their interpretations of God, the Devil, Heaven, and Hell. At 29:00, the duo answer's AnonymousWOct19's question about their first time smoking weed. At 39:00, EmilyMarieQ asks how to accept help from loved ones when she knows she needs it, though she keeps resisting it.

In this one, Rob advises Morgan on overcoming her performance anxiety. The discussion shifts to dealing with their parents' varied responses to their creative endeavors, and how to ask for the love they want to receive from them. At 35:24, they tackle the main question from shwingshwang45 about how to ask his mom to visit less often. 

This week, Bobby Joe (Rogan) and Mor(-JoeRo-)gan tackle lightning round questions from Huntman45566 (29:15) about how to cope with his feelings of hatred toward women. Croutons2414 (42:36) about how to stop automatically apologizing when something isn't your fault, and The Big Kahuna question comes from isaacpk24 (55:20), who wants to know how he can connect with his friends when they're on their phones all the time.

The 2009 essay Rob references is called "The End of Solitude" by William Deresiewicz. Some excerpts for Isaac:

"If boredom is the great emotion of the TV generation, loneliness is the great emotion of the Web generation. We lost the ability to be still, our capacity for idleness. They have lost the ability to be alone, their capacity for solitude.

And losing solitude, what have they lost? First, the propensity for introspection... Lost, too, is the related propensity for sustained reading. The Internet brought text back into a televisual world, but it brought it back on terms dictated by that world -- that is, by its remapping of our attention spans. Reading now means skipping and skimming; five minutes on the same Web page is considered an eternity. This is not reading as Marilynne Robinson described it: the encounter with a second self in the silence of mental solitude...

"To hold oneself apart from society, is to begin to think one's way beyond it. Solitude, Emerson said, "is to genius the stern friend." "He who should inspire and lead his race must be defended from traveling with the souls of other men, from living, breathing, reading, and writing in the daily, time-worn yoke of their opinions."

"One can only save oneself -- and whatever else happens, one can still always do that. But it takes a willingness to be unpopular.

The last thing to say about solitude is that it isn't very polite. Thoreau knew that the "doubleness" that solitude cultivates, the ability to stand back and observe life dispassionately, is apt to make us a little unpleasant to our fellows, to say nothing of the offense implicit in avoiding their company. But then, he didn't worry overmuch about being genial. He didn't even like having to talk to people three times a day, at meals; one can only imagine what he would have made of text-messaging. We, however, have made of geniality -- the weak smile, the polite interest, the fake invitation -- a cardinal virtue. Friendship may be slipping from our grasp, but our friendliness is universal. Not for nothing does "gregarious" mean "part of the herd." But Thoreau understood that securing one's self-possession was worth a few wounded feelings. He may have put his neighbors off, but at least he was sure of himself. Those who would find solitude must not be afraid to stand alone."

In this week's lightning round, the Bossy Posse tackles CherryishedTea's question about appearing more heterosexual (at 27:25), goombapez's question about what to ask on a first date (at 35:39), and Thesenateblue's question about getting along better with girls as a guy (at 42:28). The big zamboni this week comes from Orange Archipelago, who wants to know how to sell a significant other on doing psychedelics.

This week, Morgan opens up about a relationship let-down and Rob dissects his relationship with faith. In the precedent-setting, one-question lightning round (pchoo! pchoo!), at 31:48, tossthiswestcoasts seeks creative revenge on a snooping mom for reading their journal. The main question this week comes to us from DarkTalker28, who wants guidance on maximizing his free time after quitting a job and moving abroad.

This week, the "DANG!" Gang shares their morning routines and their souls. At 22:50, BobbyJoeJimJackBillBoy seeks advice on avoiding a World of Warcraft addiction that is completely unrelated to Rob's. At 30:10, Kratom-up-tha-poopa wants to stop being casually racist. And at 42:20, in the last-lightning-round-question-turned-whole-shebang, Dogu189 seeks happiness in an anxiety-inducing family environment.

In this one, Rob and Morgan tell you if your kinks align with puppetry. Then, in the lightning round (BING BANG BOOM) at 16:34, briannamignon asks about how to get through dark times, at 25:30, AlphaArgonian182 wages war on mosquitoes, at 30:35, electrosnout wants to sound more motivated, and at 36:53, tatertot94 wonders if she should give her boss a plant. The final question hits at 43:39 when Munky7 asks how to extend his ability to stay on task.

Rob and Morgan are in the desert burning the man, but don't worry, they prepared a piping hot episode of Free Advice for you to sink your ear teeth into on in their absence. In the lightnin' round, the fire breathers help Talia_alyzah introduce almond milk to her skeptical fam (15:12), Sinnard6 reject an overly enthusiastic stranger (20:53), Juchiha1998 get started on a fantasy novel (34:00) and LeoxGod talk to his female friend about her period (38:58). At 43:58, Rob and Morgan help slapmybulge assess whether he wants to be in an open relationship with his fwb.

In this episode, Rob and Morgan chuckle and stare in awe at some profound things before hunkering down in the lightning round after 18 minutes of mere drizzle round with no perceived electrical danger. At 18:20, Admiral_memevacuum asks about how to find the perfect girlfriend while being slightly overweight. At 29:22 CaseyJones7 asks bird people how to get his bird to stop screaming. At 32:15, WannabeGL asks how to find out the age of a girl he's interested in dating. At 40:10 Hola_soy_dora asks how to tell the difference between an intentional or accidental inappropriate touch from a coworker. At 44:13 Nuggetfaces123 asks what they should watch in the comedy or action genres. At 48:25 the main, non-lightning question comes from Star_sight. They ask about how to become nicer without going back to being a pushover.

In this episode, the gruesome twosome tackles no topics and answers no questions because this is not an episode. See you next week!