Bad Friends is a comedy podcast with Andrew Santino and Bobby Lee. In episode 346, a caller asks for "bad advice" about a hard year, and the hosts drop the bits and get sincere. A clip of that exchange is embedded above.
Clip: Viral Podcast Shorts YouTube Short from the full source linked below.
This article covers only that segment. The caller is anonymous, and nothing is said or guessed here about who he is beyond what he says in his own message.
The voicemail
The caller opens by saying the year has been pretty terrible and that he could use some bad advice. He lists what has happened: he is going through a divorce, he lost his job and has not been able to find a new one in months, and he has gotten himself into some debt because of that. Somewhere in the middle of all that, he says, he ended up in the hospital. He gives no details in the voicemail.
He says it feels like every time he thinks things might start getting better, something else happens. He is trying to stay positive and keep moving forward, but he does not know what else to do. His question is the one that closes the message: what is he supposed to do "when life just keeps kicking my ass"? He signs off with "Love you guys."
"This too shall pass"
The hosts' first response is warmth. They say they love him too and that life can kick hard; both of them, they say, struggle with a lot of different stuff. They tell him they are sorry he is having such a rough year.
Santino, per the Short's description, offers a phrase he likes to use when things are going badly: "This too shall pass." He says it will pass, and adds: "Nothing is forever."
Lee's dark moments
Lee follows with something personal. He says he has had some dark moments in his life, times when he thought the world was crumbling in front of him and that it was the end. He says he realized it was not the end, because things change. "That's the universal truth," he says: things change.
He does not give details about what those dark moments were, and neither does this article.
The note from a flight attendant
The conversation then turns to the idea that things can come back around. One host describes receiving a note from a flight attendant on a flight, and the other says he has also had a note from a woman. The note, as described, thanked them for bringing laughter, said she was glad to see them again after years, and said she had a really bad day and that what they do made it better.
The point they draw from it is gentle. The universe, one host says, has a way of "just kissing you on the forehead sometimes," and things get back around.
Giving the caller a name
The hosts realize the caller never gave his name. They decide to shout him out anyway and settle on a nickname for him: Tobiah. It is their label, not his name. "Tobiah, it's going to get better," they say, and then repeat it.
The clip ends on the line that explains why the segment stands out. One host says there is no way to make a joke out of this because he hears the caller's pain, and the other says: "Sometimes we don't have to make a joke."
A note on sourcing
The transcript used for this article has no speaker labels, so the attribution of the "This too shall pass" and "dark moments" lines follows the Short's own description. Everything here is what was said on the podcast, not outside reporting. The full episode is linked below.
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FAQ
What is the fan's question to Bad Friends?
He asks what he is supposed to do when life just keeps kicking him, after a year that includes a divorce, a job loss, debt and a hospital stay.
What do Andrew Santino and Bobby Lee tell him?
They tell him "This too shall pass," that nothing is forever and that things change, and they say it is going to get better.
Who is "Tobiah"?
It is a nickname the hosts give the caller because he did not give his name. It is not his real name.