I didn’t edit this episode. For the first time ever, what you hear is what happened. Full awkward pauses. Long tangents. Technical glitches. Vulnerable confessions. I’m trying to trust that honesty > polish—and if nothing else, I have a day job, y’all, so this one got uploaded late because life is real (but not “real”—more on that below).
Also? Our beloved tech director put the wrong phone number on the screen three separate times. So if you watched live and accidentally called a Domino’s in Ohio: our bad. We’re killing it.
The Episode’s Topic: You Can’t Fake It
Inspired by two separate conversations—one with my cohost Claire and one with my fiancé—this episode dives into that sixth sense we all have for spotting what’s fake. We explore the difference between being real and being honest, why people who “seem real” often aren’t, and how our language is struggling to catch up with what we actually crave: humility and truth, not vibes and filters.
We also accidentally renamed the show in real time:
Landline: The Last Honest Call-In Show
(because if ChatGPT calls you “real,” it’s probably time for a rebrand.)
🎙️ Highlights from the Episode
🔥 Trending Themes & SEO Bait (you're welcome):
AI vs. authenticity: We joked about how ChatGPT always says “you have a real vibe” (is that your emotional support adjective, babe?), but that spun out into something realer—how artificial intelligence is making “being human” a moving target.
The performance of identity: From pretending to be a ballerina to trying to impress a partner by listing our “many suitors,” we unpack what it means to posture—and what it costs.
Sex, self-esteem, and Craigslist Viagra: One listener called in with an unforgettable story involving body image, a sketchy Craigslist doctor, and a cautionary tale about taking a full pill on an empty stomach. It’s raw, hilarious, and kind of perfect.
The fallacy of “faking it till you make it”: Callers weighed in with takes on whether it’s useful, toxic, or just semantics. One even had a boss who banned the phrase in the office. (HR meeting incoming.)
Codependency, control, and Ted Lasso: Claire broke down a powerful moment from Ted Lasso that sparked a bigger convo on how we try to manage how others see us—and why that’s not only impossible, but exhausting.
Pop psych meets pop culture: We touched on Capgras Syndrome, Duchenne smiles, Sherlock Holmes, V for Vendetta, and Grey Gardens. As usual, the references were all over the place—and somehow all made sense.
💬 Voicemails Worth a Listen
A guy fainted after stealing lunch money and lying about it. (Fifth grade villain origin story.)
A listener’s Viagra misadventure ends with him crawling across the floor like Samara from The Ring.
A woman gets banned from saying “fake it till you make it” at work.
Someone pretends to be a ballerina... for 12 years.
And another caller’s childhood confusion about birth control turns into the weirdest (and cutest?) explanation for his own conception.
💡 Big Takeaway
The difference between being real and being honest matters. One is a brand. The other is a virtue. And in a world full of synthetic everything, maybe the rarest thing you can do is show up without a filter—on your face, your personality, or your story.
☎️ Next on Landline
Ring Ring Revolution: A Live American Trivia Game Show
After some back-and-forth at the end of this week’s episode (and a little behind-the-scenes chaos with ChatGPT), we’re launching a brand-new Landline-exclusive game:
🎲 Ring Ring Revolution
The game where Americans find out just how American they actually are—live, on the phone, and slightly unprepared.
Think of it as part trivia, part culture test, part unhinged phone call from a talk show you didn’t know you were on. It’s live, unscripted, and deeply patriotic—in the weirdest way possible.
We're looking for brave, curious, and slightly confused participants to play live on air this Wednesday at 7 PM CST. If you’ve got a phone and even one opinion about ice cream flavors or state mottos, you qualify.
🔗 Sign Up to Play:
Sign up here!!
(Let us call you live on the show. No prep. No pressure. Just vibes and very questionable facts.)
Join the Ring Ring Revolution—only on Landline, the last honest call-in show on the internet.
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