Boris Khaykin: My Days as a Teenage Phone Scammer
KEY MOMENTS
0:00 – Intro: Boris Khaykin and dueling stationary bikes
2:58 – Lou's cholesterol and heart-health genetics
6:23 – Johnny Conroy and avoiding the doctor
9:09 – Genetics, shame, and statins as body hacking
10:31 – Smoking uncles, cancer, and going to the doctor
14:24 – Boris produces the New York Sun podcast Sanity
16:04 – Boris worked at the call center from HBO's Telemarketers
17:15 – Calling on behalf of police unions
19:27 – Twice the minimum wage and messing with angry callers
24:59 – Could Lou have done it as a teenager?
26:43 – AI, scam calls, and spam blockers
28:29 – Wasting scam callers' time, and a call that was real
31:05 – Call center accents and elderly scam victims
32:42 – Short-form improv and how these scams continue
36:22 – Old footage and watching kids grow up
38:56 – Nostalgia, Rich Eisen, and finding new music
40:30 – Seeing Herb Alpert at 90 at Jazz at Lincoln Center
43:03 – Tom Jones, A&M Records, and performing into old age
46:58 – Dick Cavett, Groucho Marx, and old TV
49:21 – The Old Grey Whistle Test and live sound
50:37 – Muppet Treasure Island and The Muppet Christmas Carol
52:26 – Boris' upcoming shows and wrap-up
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Lou's good friend and collaborator Boris Khaykin, now producer of The New York Sun's Sanity podcast, returns to talk about his days as a 17-year-old phone scammer at the New Jersey call center featured in HBO's Telemarketers, Lou's heart health, and the great things that make them both happy.
We also get into dueling stationary bikes, Lou's cholesterol and statins as body hacking, calling on behalf of police unions, messing with angry callers, AI scam calls and wasting scammers' time, elderly scam victims, short-form improv, seeing Herb Alpert at 90 at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Tom Jones, Dick Cavett and Groucho Marx, The Old Grey Whistle Test, and The Muppet Christmas Carol.