It's a Monday so it will come as no surprise to any regular readers of The Rewind Recommends that we are plugging Conan O'Brien's podcast again this week. It's just so damn good. His latest guest is comedian and host of Last Week: Tonight, John Oliver, so, obviously it was going a funny.
The pair had a great chat but our fancy was particularly tickled near the end of the interview when they somehow ended up discussing Love Island and The Great British Bake Off. Two television shows that are nearly as much adored in Ireland as they are in the UK.
Conan perfectly summed up the cultural impact of Love Island: "I'm told that in England, your economy broke down because all anybody did was watch Love Island," before they got onto Bake Off and Oliver explained to him why he actually can't watch it because it makes him so nervous.
They're so repressed they're all on the edge of breaking down. It's not about the cake. It's never about the cake!
I cannot watch it. It's so tense.
He goes on to delve into the cultural signficance of the show and how it arouses such tension in him as an Englishman, leading Conan to bring up a scenario we can all instantly recognise:
COB: They always come by and ask the person what they're doing. That's the bit that will make you crazy because even I pick up on the tension there. They're like "Well I'm baking a cake but instead of flour I'm going to use figs." And they'll look at them and go...
JO: DON'T USE FIGS! You've never used figs before. You're not a fig person!
COB: They'll [the presenter] always give a look of skepticism and go something like "Well flour is really how most cakes are made.." And the person will go "Well I think I'm guna go with figs." And then you know they're dead.
JO: Don't do it. You're reaching for a life you can't have. Stick to what you know!
The conversation then meanders along until they eventually come up with the idea for a Love Island/ Bake Off mash-up so if that's not worth listening to then I don't know what to recommend to you anymore, quiet frankly.
You can listen to said discussion and indeed, the entire podcast below.
