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Why Are We Always So Tired? The Exhausted Jewish Life Edition

Somebody had to say it. We are exhausted. All the time. Every single day. And not in a "ran a marathon" kind of way... in a "stared at a dinner menu for four minutes and still couldn't decide" kind of way.

Fresh off their most successful episode ever featuring Allison Blass, Jon, Asher, and Dave are back together- and Asher is fresh off a trip to Israel for nephew Meir Simcha's bar mitzvah. But jet lag quickly gives way to a much bigger conversation: why does it feel like everyone around us is running on empty?

The guys dig into the real reasons modern exhaustion hits differently — the constant connectivity, the WhatsApp messages that start before 7am, the total disappearance of boredom, the dual curriculum school day, the shul commitments, the community obligations, and the creeping anxiety of a world that never really turns off. Plus Dave's infamous half-a-block bike ride that ended with him passed out in a Brooklyn garbage room. And the debut of a brand new segment: the guys go around the room and share what is on their minds this week, from aliens and AI to the Hanta virus and the eternal question of which is scarier: Independence Day or Terminator.

Also: snoring during bar mitzvah speeches, AIM away messages, The Brick app (purchased, never used), Trump's Shabbos proclamation, Dave's "David Days," essential worker pride, and the most important question in Jewish history — which Parsha would you most want to live through?

Question of the Week from Anonymous in Commack: If you could live through any Parsha, which would it be?

We want to hear from you — are you exhausted? What is draining you most right now, and how do you combat it? Email us at carpoolguyspod@gmail.com or drop a comment on YouTube.

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⏱️ Chapters with Timestamps

0:00 — Cold Open: Snoring at a Bar Mitzvah. Avi Was Not Happy.

0:27 — Welcome Back + Shoutout to Allison Blass

2:00 — Welcome to New Listeners + Now on Amazon Podcasts and Podbean

3:47 — New Segment Debut: Around the Room — Naming Rights Contest Announced

17:10 — Today's Topic: Why Are We Always So Tired?

20:26 — The Phone Problem: There Is No Off Button Anymore

23:48 — Is the Jewish Lifestyle More Exhausting Than Everyone Else's?

26:31 — The Anxiety Tax: Always Waiting for the Next Shoe to Drop

27:47 — No Escape From Work: WhatsApp Does Not Have an Away Message

31:22 — Dave Falls Asleep During Bar Mitzvah Speeches — Full Story

33:37 — Asher Falls Asleep on Someone's Couch — Also a Full Story

43:11 — Dave Days: Twice a Year, No Explanation Needed

43:41 — Question of the Week: Which Parsha Would You Want to Live Through?

51:38 — Closing: Comment on YouTube, Email Us Your Exhaustion Stories

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You can email us at carpoolguyspod@gmail.com

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Send us a question, a comment, birthday wish, shoutout, or anything else fun and positive, and maybe we'll feature your addition on the next episode of The Carpool Guys Podcast!

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When Life Takes an Unexpected Turn: Allison Blass on Parenting a Child with Cancer, Faith, and Finding the Funny

Some episodes stop you in your tracks. This is one of them.

Allison Blass — longtime listener, friend of the show, and one of the funniest people to ever sit across from the Carpool Guys — joins Jon, Asher, and Dave to share the story of her daughter Perry's cancer diagnosis, treatment, and remarkable recovery. What begins as a frightening story of a six centimeter mass discovered on a Friday afternoon twenty minutes before Shabbos becomes something else entirely: a masterclass in parenting under pressure, faith in the hardest moments, and the kind of stubbornness that saves lives.

Peri, Allison's oldest child, was diagnosed with one of the rarest malignant tumors on record — one of only twenty cases ever documented. She went through multiple rounds of chemotherapy, a week in the ICU with fungal pneumonia, hair loss, wild food cravings, and a surgery she woke up from demanding a double burger from Smash House. She was walking within hours, home by Shabbos, and is now a completely healthy teenager heading to high school next year.

But this episode is about so much more than the medical story. Allison opens up about what it means to keep your other children grounded when one child needs everything. She talks about the friends who showed up without being asked and the ones who said "let me know if you need anything" — and why that phrase, though well intentioned, puts the burden on exactly the wrong person. She shares how her family turned every moment of the process — the hair donation, the chemo mug, the smash room — into a kiddush Hashem. And she delivers one of the most important lessons this show has ever aired: when someone you love is going through something devastating, it is not their job to comfort you.

Also: gherkins, sushi rolls, an accidental antipsychotic mix-up, a son who slept for fifteen hours, Megan Trainor's Walk of Shame playing in an operating room, Disney turkey legs, and the best shirt ever made.

Allison, thank you for your vulnerability, your humor, and your heart. Peri — you are extraordinary. Ad meah v'esrim.

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⏱️ Chapters with Timestamps

0:57 — Jon Is Back! Welcome Home After Surgery

4:29 — Introducing Allison Blass: Longtime Listener, First Time Guest

6:02 — Meet Allison: Giant Bear, Banned from Little League, Parent of Three

8:32 — Setting the Scene: Who Is Peri and Where Does the Story Begin?

9:08 — Allison's Career and Life Before the Diagnosis

10:05 — The First Signs Something Was Wrong: December 2024

15:58 — How Do You Tell Your Daughter She Needs Surgery?

25:10 — Perry's Mindset: Control, Preparation, and a Double Burger From Smash House

29:12 — April 9th: When the World Really Turned Upside Down

30:20 — Hearing the Word Malignant: "Everything Went Quiet"

32:30 — Turning Every Moment Into a Mitzvah: Hair Donation to Chai Lifeline

41:00 — What Allison Learned About Perry She Didn't Know Before

49:27 — NED: No Evidence of Disease — Perry Is on the Road to Survivorship

52:05 — Who Showed Up and Who Didn't: What You Learn About People in a Crisis

54:30 — "Don't Say If You Need Me" — The Most Important Lesson of the Episode

56:33 — How to Actually Help Someone Going Through a Hard Time

1:00:22 — The Hardest Part Is Now: Learning to Trust Again After Treatment Ends

1:08:06 — Allison's Message to Parents at the Beginning of This Journey

1:08:54 — Question of the Week: What Non-Kosher Food Do You Wish Was Kosher?

1:17:45 — Thank You Allison — Closing Brachos for Peri and the Blass Family&<

Please rate and review The Carpool Guys!

You can email us at carpoolguyspod@gmail.com

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Send us a question, a comment, birthday wish, shoutout, or anything else fun and positive, and maybe we'll feature your addition on the next episode of The Carpool Guys Podcast!

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Dave and Asher Hold It Down: Adulting, and the Things We Still Can't Figure Out

Jon's out. The substitute teachers are in charge.

In this episode, Dave and Asher fly solo for the first time in nearly two years of podcasting — and somehow manage to hold it together. Mostly. They spend most of the episode wrestling with one deceptively deep question: at what point did you realize YOU were the adult in the room? And does knowing that actually make you feel like one?

From colonoscopies to root canals and Gatorade-plus-antacid pre-fast routines, Dave and Asher take an honest — and very funny — inventory of what it means to be in your 40s. They talk about watching athletes you grew up idolizing retire and become millionaires while you're still figuring out the thermostat. They talk about mentoring the next generation at work while privately Googling how to hang a picture frame. They talk about laundry — a lot — and the creative workarounds that keep households running when you're too proud to admit you never really learned.

But underneath all the humor is something genuinely real: the weight and beauty of being the generation in the middle. Old enough to be the ones people turn to. Still young enough to remember when we thought the adults had it all figured out.

Plus: substitute teacher stories, a very eventful little Tyke's car incident, a parent-teacher conference confession, LeBron vs. Jordan, a prank from Toys R Us, and the world's most relatable Seder question.

Jon — we miss you. Come back soon.

🎙️ Rate and review The Carpool Guys on Apple Podcasts — it genuinely helps more people find the show!

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⏱️ Chapters with Timestamps

00:00 — Cold Open: Dave Asks His Wife About His Maturity. She Laughs.

00:27 — Welcome to the Carpool Guys Podcast

01:02 — Jon Is Out — Dave and Asher Go It Alone

01:22 — Substitute Teacher Stories: Mrs. Bach, Mrs. Henry, and a Saved Life

05:47 — Dave's Career Started as a Sub — Shout Out to Rabbi Hammer

07:16 — Smart Boards, Coaching Boards, and the HANC Basketball Championship

08:34 — Orange Juice, Decaf Coffee, and the Post-Fast Routine Debate

09:30 — The Bagel, Tuna, Herring, and OJ Breakfast Club

10:49 — The Big Question: When Did YOU Become the Adult in the Room?

12:10 — Colonoscopies, Pillboxes, Gout, and the Reality of Getting Older

14:09 — Root Canals, Dental Inheritance, and the First Cavity at 30

15:00 — When Athletes You Grew Up With Are Now Retired Millionaires

17:36 — LeBron vs. Jordan: The Eternal Debate

18:16 — Taking Pictures WITH Athletes vs. Taking Pictures OF Your Kids With Athletes

19:49 — Adulting at Work: You Don't Need All the Answers

21:00 — Mentoring the Next Generation: The Shift From Sink-or-Swim to Sit-Down-and-Talk

24:30 — Supervising Interns for the First Time: It's a Little Scary

25:47 — The 15-Year Window of Adulthood and What Comes After

27:09 — Taking Care of Your Health Differently: Recovery, Moderation, and Lactaid

28:01 — The Adulting Moment: Adding an Antacid to the Pre-Fast Routine

29:02 — Things Our Parents Did That We Wish We Knew How to Do

29:33 — The Picture That Fell Off the Wall and the Les

Please rate and review The Carpool Guys!

You can email us at carpoolguyspod@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram @carpoolguyspod

Send us a question, a comment, birthday wish, shoutout, or anything else fun and positive, and maybe we'll feature your addition on the next episode of The Carpool Guys Podcast!