The Tea returns with digital picture frame warfare, musical theater arguments, therapy talk, jury duty panic, and a major life update from Lauri and Star.

Joe announces a possible release schedule shakeup for the network before the conversation immediately derails into stories about Aura Frames, family photo sabotage, and relatives secretly re-uploading pictures to each other’s digital displays. Joe also tells the story of his mom accidentally setting a screenshot of her phone as her lock screen and becoming convinced her phone had stopped turning off.

Later, Joe shares how he used AI to edit a family baseball photo by adding a giant beer in front of his mom — who famously doesn’t drink — and then convinced her to send the picture to friends anyway.

The group also spirals into a full conversation about RENT, Chicago, movie musicals, “singing-through” theater productions, and which celebrities somehow became lifelong obsessions after one good performance.

Jay opens up about starting therapy again following a recent death in the family, leading to a surprisingly sincere conversation about anxiety, coping mechanisms, mental health, and the strange ways people process trauma.

Meanwhile, Lauri gives an update on her ongoing jury duty saga and reveals that she and Star are officially beginning the adoption process, including attending orientation and discussing what kind of child they may eventually adopt.

The episode also includes:

Plus: Russian orphan jokes, AI trolling, baseball stories, and the usual chaos.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices