896. - Chris & Jason

Summary of 896. - Chris & Jason

by Chris Black & Jason Stewart / Talkhouse

58m•January 23, 2026
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Overview of 896. - Chris & Jason

Chris Black and Jason Stewart riff across ~90 minutes of loose, culture-forward conversation while one host broadcasts from New York and the other from Hawaii. The episode mixes travel anecdotes and food talk with pop-culture news — music rollouts (Harry Styles), awards season chatter, celebrity controversies, tech gripes, and plenty of comic tangents — punctuated by sponsor reads.

Key topics & highlights

  • Travel & hotels

    • Chris is in NYC; Jason is on Hawaii’s Big Island. They compare island resort life to city hotel vibes and gripe about hidden resort/hotel fees (Maybox Zoe referenced as a service promising clearer pricing).
    • Jet-lagged, scrambled-feeling travel humor — two beach resorts in short order.

  • Food and fish talk

    • Long riff on fish rebranding: examples include orange roughy (originally “slimehead”), Chilean sea bass (Patagonian toothfish), mahi-mahi (dolphinfish) and how marketing renames creatures.
    • Descriptions of local meals: Jason’s banana-leaf–steamed fish in Hawaii; Chris’s favorite NYC Asian spot “Tolo” (tuna tartare and seaweed fries).
    • Champagne and alcohol price comparisons between island and Manhattan retail.

  • Tech & UX gripes

    • Complaint about a new iOS update (search bar moved to bottom, “liquid glass” UI) and resistance to voice assistants (Siri).

  • Music & live shows

    • Harry Styles album rollout: concerns about an electronic/“deep house” direction and branding imagery; nerves from being a longtime guitar-music fan.
    • 30 nights at Madison Square Garden discussed — Jamie xx as opener and what that means for fees/commitments; conversation about artist-curated openers vs. label/agent-driven packaging.
    • Short mentions of other musicians (Jamie xx, Jamies’ visual DJ vibe, Moby, Jamie xx comparisons).

  • Awards season & industry items

    • Oscar nominations noted (one film received unusually high nominations).
    • Discussion of Timothy Chalamet’s campaign/rollout and cultural authenticity critiques (how actors and campaigns navigate different audiences).
    • Jonah Hill’s movie transformation (paparazzi wig/costume photos) and calls for reassurance via a current photo.
    • Seth Rogen and the ethics of dramatizing real people (Pamela Anderson example).

  • Controversy & cultural commentary

    • Online commentators and alt-right/online personalities (Nick Fuentes, the Tate brothers) — joking about how their Miami nightlife banishment has affected them.
    • Kanye West touring/performing internationally where his controversies may have less cultural resonance.
    • Viral takes about sports/celebrity commentators (Rappaport) and a clip mocking his eating behavior.

Notable quotes & comic bits

  • “New York City is just like a big hotel at this point.”
  • “Slimehead sounds like someone playing at 3 a.m. at Rolling Loud.” (about orange roughy rebranding)
  • “If you walk into a bodega and say ‘the Aki way,’ they’re talking shit about you.” (on cultural authenticity / food etiquette)
  • “I don’t give a f— about politics; I just want to do drugs and talk to bitches.” (reposted clip they react to — used as a humorous prompt about celebrity behavior)
  • “30 Nights at MSG is some real letting my nuts hang type shit.” (on the audacity of Harry Styles’ residency)

Sponsors & promotions mentioned

  • Rocket Money — personal finance app (promo code: howlong).
  • Squarespace — website platform (promo code: howlong).
  • BetterHelp — online therapy (promo: betterhelp.com/howlong).
  • Normal Gossip (podcast promo).
  • Casual mentions: BevMo price checks and Steak ’n Shake employee crypto-equity experiment.

Main takeaways / tone

  • The episode is conversational, informal, and comedic more than investigative. It blends light pop-culture criticism (Harry Styles rollout, award-season campaigning, Chalamet’s image) with travel and food banter.
  • Recurring themes: authenticity vs. marketing (music rollouts, food/fish renaming), cultural context (where controversies matter or don’t), and bemused disdain for modern tech/UI changes and inflated hospitality pricing.
  • No heavy conclusions — the hosts trade observations, jokes, and hot takes more than definitive analysis.

Episode logistics & next steps

  • Hosts: Chris Black & Jason Stewart.
  • Settings: Chris in NYC; Jason on Hawaii’s Big Island (birthday shoutout to Caroline; vacation vibes).
  • Closing notes: They’ll be back next week; Chris will be in L.A. for the Grammys and they plan more Burbank studio cultural rundowns in 2026.

If you want a quick hit: tune in for the travel-and-food storytelling, the Harry Styles/Jamie xx live-show debate, and the hosts’ trademark comic asides about authenticity and modern celebrity.