This Show is Awkward

After a rare in-person recording, Michelle and Henrique Couto compare their dining-room chemistry with nearly 90 remote conversations. Henrique is also encouraged by how well he handled travel, long days and the 2021 Joe Bob’s Jamboree while recovering from COVID. That reunion was fun, but this episode’s emotional center is the health of his rescue dogs and the people who helped him through an expensive stretch of veterinary care.
Chicano’s planned tumor-removal procedure had been postponed after the veterinary team heard a possible arrhythmia or heart murmur. A cardiology visit brought reassuring imaging and an initial assessment of a very mild, age-related concern, followed by a 24-hour monitor meant to clarify the risk before anesthesia. Those monitor results were still pending when this conversation was recorded, so this episode does not declare Chicano cleared or supply a final prognosis. Henwolf, meanwhile, was responding well to vet-directed care.
Henrique thanks listeners, friends and customers who bought his work or contributed to a personal 2021 fundraiser, easing a financial burden he was prepared to carry himself. More than the totals, he values the messages from people who understood how much pets become family. He also challenges his own belief that helping others is admirable but asking for help is weakness. This is a gratitude story, not a current fundraising appeal, and no old store or donation destination is being promoted.
Michelle has completed her New Jersey home-inspection classes, continues related InterNACHI coursework and is preparing for the National Home Inspector Examination. She worries about failing, the cost of another attempt and the enormous range of material, while Henrique answers with specific confidence in her intelligence and resilience. Her plan to accompany neighbors during their professional inspection becomes another chance to learn. At this point she is still a student preparing for the exam—not yet announcing a passing score, license or independent inspection business.
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Recorded together in the same room for the first time in July 2021, Michelle and Henrique Couto trade their usual remote setup for one microphone, a mixing board and a hastily improvised connection after a USB cable fails. The unusual arrangement follows Michelle’s trip to Vermont and Henrique’s first substantial road trip since the pandemic interrupted their visits between Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Henrique recounts attending the 2021 Joe Bob Briggs’ Drive-In Jamboree at the Mahoning Drive-In in Lehighton, Pennsylvania. He explains why Joe Bob’s work on MonsterVision and The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs mattered to him, then celebrates the venue’s 35mm screenings, VHS Fest and layered nostalgia of watching VHS projected at a drive-in. More than celebrity access, the weekend gives him a welcoming community of horror and cult-film fans.
The event also arrives amid a preservation scare. As Henrique understood the situation that weekend, a proposed solar project that could have displaced the drive-in had been withdrawn, and the venue’s operators hoped to purchase the land. He remembers the crowd turning “the drive-in will never die” into a celebratory rallying cry while small acts of kindness—including help with a low tire—made the gathering feel unusually generous.
Then the conversation moves from movie history to a less glamorous rental-house mystery. After a broken bed, questionable showers and unpleasant bathrooms, Michelle researches the upflush toilets Henrique encountered and describes their macerating pump design while both hosts wonder why anyone would add the extra machinery. Their comic investigation is an anecdote, not plumbing or building-code advice. A closing Vermont update brings frogs, newts, dragonflies and Michelle’s completed home-inspection classes, with her exam still ahead.
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Recorded in July 2021, filmmaker Henrique Couto turns a frustrating industry post into a practical discussion of film distribution red flags. He distinguishes sales agents and producer’s representatives, explains why some partnerships can help independent filmmakers reach marketplaces and describes why requests for large up-front fees make him skeptical. The advice comes from his personal production and distribution experience, not as a guaranteed business formula.
Henrique walks through quality-control work, E&O insurance, artwork, trailers, physical media and platform delivery as examples of costs that may appear in a distribution agreement. He contrasts a company asking the filmmaker to carry all the risk with deals built around recoupable expenses and revenue splits, then emphasizes that percentages mean little without actual earnings. Specific numbers and contract structures are anecdotes from his career rather than current financial or legal guidance.
The episode’s glitches are less consequential but just as maddening. Michelle’s video had frozen during the previous recording even though her audio continued, and an operating-system update leaves her phone behaving strangely. Henrique has his own monitoring mystery: recordings from his audio interface sound noisy through one headphone connection but clean through his AirPods Pro. His anxious troubleshooting offers an honest look at producing Weekly Spooky and other voice work from a home studio.
A personal update places Michelle at her home-inspection training finish line—but not across it yet. She is taking her final class that night, still has three supervised inspection shadows to complete and plans to study before attempting the national exam. Henrique also reports that Henwolf had begun vet-prescribed medication after reassuring tests and that Chicano’s mass-removal surgery was scheduled for the next day. Those July 2021 updates do not establish later credentials, treatment results or surgical outcomes.
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In this July 2021 update, Henrique Couto explains why veterinary appointments for Henwolf and Chicano have consumed his week and his budget. A growth on Chicano’s chest has been examined, with removal scheduled for the following week even though its nature is not yet certain. Henwolf’s growths appear less concerning, but her increasing incontinence is still being evaluated through bloodwork and urinalysis when the episode ends.
Henrique describes the anxiety of facing two possible procedures close together and the cost of caring for older dogs. He also thanks listeners who responded to his contemporaneous request by buying his movies or tipping Weekly Spooky with notes for the pets. Their help covered one visit and eased some immediate pressure, but this historical account is not a current fundraiser and does not supply either dog’s later diagnosis, treatment result or prognosis.
Michelle’s home-inspection education is also approaching a milestone. After completing two supervised shadow inspections in quick succession, she has three remaining and expects to attend her final class that Wednesday. The national exam is still ahead, and she plans to review her book and recorded classes before attempting it. Licensing, insurance and business formation remain future steps, so the conversation does not establish that she was already credentialed or practicing independently.
A discussion of E&O insurance links Michelle’s new field with Henrique’s filmmaking experience, but both hosts openly explore questions they have not resolved. They compare professional-risk concerns, debate possible company structures and brainstorm intentionally terrible business names while Michelle’s frozen video turns her into a silent reaction shot. Veterinary bills, career-change nerves and technical glitches make this a candid snapshot of two friends managing uncertain next steps.
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Henrique Couto opens with a passionate June 2021 reaction to Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., the U.S. Supreme Court’s student-speech decision issued days before this recording. The Court held that the Pennsylvania school district violated B.L.’s First Amendment rights after she was suspended from the junior-varsity cheerleading squad for vulgar off-campus Snapchat posts. Henrique sees the ruling as a meaningful check on institutional power.
The discussion explores the difference between speech that occurs at school and expression posted elsewhere, while recognizing that the Court did not eliminate every school interest in off-campus conduct. Henrique connects the case to his own school experiences, his work as an artist and his free-speech absolutism; Michelle offers a quieter counterpoint about choosing where to spend money after unpleasant interactions. Their opinions are a contemporaneous debate, not legal advice or a universal rule for student discipline.
Away from constitutional law, Henrique describes the technical side of independent filmmaking: checking sound, preparing master files and assembling deliverables for Blu-ray, DVD and video-on-demand distribution. He also recounts simultaneously shipping a new Devil’s Trail edition and the Babysitter Massacre book while preparing Weekly Spooky story collections. Those products and release plans belong to 2021 and are not presented as current offers.
Michelle closes with a moving-day disaster from helping her mother change homes. A dresser will not fit upstairs, another large piece cannot leave the old house and a particle-board desk breaks during the move. She also reports scratches to floors and walls and several damaged knobs, but the story stays her family’s personal recollection rather than an accusation against an identified company. Even the episode’s underwear joke comes from the stranded dresser sitting in the dining room.
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Recorded in June 2021, Michelle checks in from the fifth of ten planned supervised home inspections. She describes testing outlets and windows while observing an older roof, basement moisture and reported water inside an electrical panel. The unusual conditions give her valuable training examples, but her instructor is still responsible for the inspection and she has roughly three weeks of classes remaining. No property finding is presented here as professional guidance.
Henrique Couto has reached a different finish line: the unnamed low-budget movie he has discussed for several weeks has wrapped production. The final outdoor shoot unfolds under cloudless skies in temperatures he remembers reaching the mid-90s, forcing the cast and crew to rotate through shade, water breaks and rehearsals between setups. He praises their work and says Eric Whiting has begun editing, while admitting that exhaustion and lingering breathing trouble leave him focused on recovery.
That fatigue makes Henrique’s new inflatable hot tub especially appealing. He recounts the 2021 setup, his surprise at fluctuating prices and limited pool-supply availability and his first attempts to balance sanitizer and pH. Rather than a maintenance tutorial, this is the story of an enthusiastic new owner learning through test strips, different floaters and a few avoidable mistakes. Morning and late-night soaks quickly become his preferred routine.
The hosts compare working long hours in extreme heat with ordinary outdoor recreation and acknowledge how badly people can underestimate prolonged exposure. Henrique also reflects on pacing himself after surgery and illness, though his inhaler use and recovery remain personal health history rather than advice. Between Michelle’s halfway point, a completed film shoot and the small pleasure of a backyard soak, the episode captures both hosts trying to recognize progress without ignoring their limits.
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Michelle expects a routine June 2021 visit to install a water-pressure regulator, but a same-day PECO gas-meter replacement transforms the appointment into a water-heater emergency. After relighting pilot lights, utility workers raise a possible venting and backdraft concern, red-tag the unit and shut it off. A plumber returns while the hosts record, leaving Michelle to consider a replacement plan without hot water until at least the following day.
Henrique Couto’s hot-water story is considerably happier: the inflatable hot tub he wanted throughout lockdown has finally arrived. He has researched reviews and watched setup videos, but the box is still unopened and the tub unassembled during this conversation. Henrique talks through his excitement, the financing decision and hopes for a restorative soak after demanding film work. Those expectations are personal enthusiasm, not product, electrical, chemical or health guidance.
The delivery arrives just as Henrique prepares for the last hot-weather shoot on an unnamed low-budget movie. Although his COVID-era breathing problems have improved, strenuous set days still leave him monitoring his energy and occasionally using an inhaler. He plans to rest after the wrap before deciding how to approach Babysitter Massacre 2, a future project that he has begun imagining around the hot tub rather than a production or release currently promised to listeners.
Michelle also tests a new drone she hopes could eventually support home-inspection work. Her first practice flight stays in the backyard while she learns the controls and navigates trees and overhead wires. A joking tax-write-off debate follows, but neither host claims professional expertise. Gas-meter chaos, a red-tagged water heater, an eagerly awaited hot tub and a tentative drone flight make this a conversation about expensive surprises and the comfort of having a friend on a difficult day.
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Michelle’s plumber visit becomes a full-system project in this May/June 2021 conversation. To replace a corroded, leaking radiator valve, the plumber drains, refills and bleeds her hot-water radiator system, including upstairs units that had not been heating as expected. Michelle also reports an unusually high water-pressure reading and plans to investigate it further. The hosts’ explanations remain homeowner recollections, not plumbing, repair or inspection guidance.
Home-repair anxiety turns into a Simpsons joke when Henrique Couto recalls the “load-bearing poster” from the episode in which Springfield rebuilds Ned Flanders’s house. From there, every doorbell, wall hanging and household object can supposedly be load-bearing. The gag does not describe a structural condition in Michelle’s home; it captures the uneasy feeling that one small repair could expose a much larger problem.
Henrique’s more serious update comes from another weekend directing an unnamed film while rebuilding stamina after COVID-19. The production swings from high heat one weekend to cold, windy conditions the next, and some locations require the crew to carry gear across a pasture. Although the shoot goes well and gets ahead of schedule, Henrique describes hitting a wall afterward: intense fatigue, extra sleep and a low mood reminiscent of his earlier recovery. He is improving, but not declaring himself fully recovered.
The hosts also compare Ohio’s then-ending mask mandate with the rules and habits Michelle still encounters around Philadelphia. Henrique welcomes relief from a mask he finds uncomfortable, while Michelle values both added caution and a year without strangers telling her to smile. A final beard-dye and facial-hair tangent lightens the mood. The public-health discussion is preserved as a 2021 snapshot, not current medical or legal advice.
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Henrique Couto returns to the director’s chair in May 2021 for his first weekend leading a film set after COVID-19. The unnamed production gets ahead of schedule, yet success triggers an anxious scene-by-scene audit to make sure nothing has been missed. Once his producing partner confirms that the apparent gaps are stock-footage shots, Henrique can celebrate doing the work he loves again after a difficult year.
The comeback is physically demanding. Two outdoor days reach the high 80s under strong sun, and both a crew member and Henrique begin feeling unwell despite shade and breaks. Henrique packs a Prius with cameras, lenses, lights, stabilizers and other production gear, then admits that exhaustion makes the drive home difficult enough that he calls Michelle for company. His story acknowledges strain during recovery without romanticizing working through illness or offering heat-safety advice.
Michelle spends the recording waiting for her Pennsylvania car inspection and new front brakes, only to discover a different technical problem near the end. Her microphone is connected and visibly responding, but Zencastr has selected a headset or computer input instead. The hosts commit to the imperfect audio and turn “Is this thing on?” into the episode’s punch line. It is a specific software-setting mistake, not a universal troubleshooting solution.
A spontaneous visit to Caesar Creek gives Henrique a quieter insight. Buying inexpensive beach supplies and spending an afternoon by the water reminds him how little his family traveled when money was tight and how much of adulthood he has devoted to building a filmmaking career. He begins considering more trips and ordinary recreation alongside the work. The historical listener-support appeal and private donor acknowledgment are omitted, leaving the episode focused on creative recovery, limits and friendship.
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In May 2021, Henrique Couto prepares to return to the director’s chair earlier than expected while still rebuilding his stamina after COVID-19. The unnamed Western began filming in November 2020 before weather and coronavirus concerns paused production. Now a deliberately lighter schedule, extra crew support and a favorable forecast give him cautious hope that finishing the movie can restart a filmmaking rhythm disrupted by illness and the pandemic.
Directing, Henrique explains, means being both the decision-maker and the person everyone needs at once. He remembers answering a stream of questions on Babysitter Massacre and discovering that a brief bathroom break could provide a rare quiet moment. For the new shoot, the team plans to handle unloading and reduce his hikes across outdoor locations so he can focus on cameras, actors and the scheduled scenes. The conversation captures creative leadership under pressure without turning personal recovery practices into medical or workplace advice.
Michelle offers a different kind of professional anxiety. Home-inspection school has made her worry about overlooking a serious defect, and new knowledge has changed the way she sees both her current home and a former one. She recently attended the paid inspection of a house her mother was considering, observing the process as a student rather than acting as the inspector. The notes protect the prospective property, its owner and the family’s decision while preserving Michelle’s candid account of learning through uncertainty.
The hosts close by asking the question no standard inspection can answer: how haunted is the house? Michelle initially rates it low, but photographs of one closet have made her sister uneasy, prompting a joke about whether a corpse had been inside. It is playful horror banter, not a claim about the property. Along the way, Henrique’s dog Chicano chases a cat across the street, Michelle offers steady encouragement, and their friendship keeps a stressful 2021 turning point warm and funny.
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