Pot Pairings for Your Favorite Podcasts – True Crime Edition

Ellen Scanlon (00:00):

This podcast discusses cannabis and is intended for audiences 21 and over.

Kate Friedman (00:06):

Definitely proceed with caution because it’s super, super scary, but the hosts are incredible and I just can’t get enough of it.

Ellen Scanlon (00:16):

Welcome to How to Do the Pot, a podcast helping you feel confident about cannabis for health, wellbeing, and for fun. I’m Ellen Scanlon.

(00:30):

You just heard the California based copywriter Kate Friedman describing one of her favorite podcasts. There’s always talk about which wines go with which foods, but what about pairing cannabis with podcasts? That’s what we’re up to today, talking about two of my favorite things, weed and podcasts.

(00:51):

In this first episode of our new series, stay tuned for more, I’m really excited to share some of our team at How to Do the Pot’s favorite podcasts, and we ask some other great podcasters to share their favorites too. We actually started playing around with the idea of pairing podcast and strains on Twitter a few months ago, and people really seem to have fun with it. So on today’s show, we are giving you podcast recommendations from one very popular genre, true crime.

(01:24):

And with the strains that we’re recommending, it’s because I think it can really help to have guardrails for how you can expect to feel. So by pairing these podcasts with the strains that we’ve chosen, maybe you’ll be inspired to try some new strains and it can help you figure out whether they’re a good match for you and your mood. It’s all to provide you with a few essential strains for your cannabis toolkit, strains you know and love, but also know when to bring them out. Because whether you’re a diehard true crime fan who can listen before bed without bringing on a single nightmare, or you have goosebumps from the moment you press play, the strains we’re talking about today, Gelato and Green Crack, can help enhance your fun and bring on some spooky sensations without veering you toward the most dreaded word in cannabis, paranoia.

(02:20):

Okay, you’re probably thinking, isn’t mixing weed and true crime, just asking to feel paranoid? I hear you, but there are two simple things to know about paranoia and weed. The first is that higher THC strains are more likely to make you feel paranoid. So if you want to smoke strong weed, usually over, I don’t know, low 20% THC, then just try a little, one or two hits, give it 15 minutes. And then, if you feel great, try a little more. Next, CBD is really your friend. The more CBD in any strain you try, the more balance the effects will be and the less likely you are to feel paranoid.

(03:15):

If you want to learn all about paranoia and why it happens to some people, check out episode 103 called Weed Words Paranoia. I’ll link to it in the show notes.

(03:26):

And you want to know what strain pairs with your favorite podcast? DM us at Do the Pot or send an email to hi at dothepot.com with the show and we might match it up in a future episode.

(03:39):

The two strains I’m sharing today are both really popular, widely available, and while cannabis affects everyone differently, they are both unlikely to cause paranoia. The podcasts we’re recommending, well, keep listening to find out.

(04:01):

So let me introduce you to the strains we’re pairing first. If you like that feeling of goosebumps and want to bump it up a little more, but not too much, Gelato could be the strain for you. You’ll get to have a spooky listening experience, but you’ll feel relaxed and calm in your body with good energy. This is a great strain for listening to true crime if you like the stories, but you still want to be able to sleep at night afterwards. It’s a nice mix of thrill and chill.

(04:34):

Mario Guzman is the California-based founder of the cannabis branch Sherbinskis, and he actually created Gelato, which is one of my favorite strains.

Mario Guzman (04:45):

It’s a mixture of that cerebral heady high with the body high, and so, it’s sort of met in the middle. And I think a lot of people, they want that body high, but they don’t want it to be overpowering. They want the cerebral high, but sativa’s giving me anxiety. It’s like drinking a couple of cups of coffee that are really strong, but the balance of the two is what’s difficult. That’s what we were able to do with Gelato, and it’s why women like it. It’s why people like to have it before they have sex. It’s why people like to have it before they go to the gym. It’s why people like to smoke it before they do anything. It creates that balance.

Ellen Scanlon (05:24):

The next strain for today is Green Crack. There are a lot of strains with interesting names, but I do not feel like this strain name matches up to the experience. Green Crack is a great strain for me. I feel clearheaded with calm energy and a mood boost. So if you love true crime and the feeling of being really freaked out, maybe you love haunted houses but don’t have time to go to one, this strain will have you happily dancing like a slinky skeleton. With some of these true crime shows, you really feel like you’re right there where it happened, and with Green Crack, you can enjoy letting these true crime tales really thrill you.

(06:14):

One more thing about strains before we get to today’s podcast. When you buy weed in a dispensary, you will run into terms like sativa, indica, and hybrid. Usually, you’ll see Gelato labeled as a hybrid and Green Crack as a sativa. These labels are not that helpful if you really want to know how you’re going to feel. I go into this a lot more in episode 77. So listen to that episode for the tips that really will help you, and I’ll link to it in the show notes.

(06:46):

Okay, let’s get into the True Crime podcast that our trusted How to Do the Pot team loves. The first is Dark House, hosted by Alyssa Fiorentino and Hadley Mendelsohn, and created by House Beautiful. Our California-based copywriter, Kate Friedman tells us why she loves it.

Kate Friedman (07:10):

One of my favorites is Dark House, which is a podcast that explores famous houses that just can’t seem to escape their dark histories, and it sits somewhere in the middle of true crime interior design and the paranormal as it dives into the stories behind houses like the Watcher house, the Conjuring house, and even the Tate murder house and tons of others. So definitely proceed with caution because it’s super, super scary, but the hosts are incredible and I just can’t get enough of it.

Ellen Scanlon (07:44):

This reminds me of that classic scary movie trope, the podcast is coming from inside the house, literally. If you’re not sure which strain to pair with Dark House, they have sent us a clip so you can decide if you get goosebumps or if you want to amp things up a bit.

Speaker 4 (08:03):

Tell her about the lady who comes after she tucks us in, how she leans over me to kiss me, but I never feel the kisses. It’s not mom. I know it’s not. She smells different than mom does. Mom smells like soap, but this lady smells like flowers and fruit. It always says threes on the clock when she wakes me up, I feel her first. She makes me so cold and then my room stinks. She’s the one who hates mommy. She farted. Yeah, that’s so creepy. And the threes on the clock… I know. I hate when I wake up at 3:33 and now I really will. The witching hour.

Ellen Scanlon (08:38):

Ugh, creepy. I am a bit of a scary cat, so a strain that has a subtle calming effect on the body like Gelato would be my choice.

(08:51):

Next up is criminal hosted by Phoebe Judge and a favorite of How to Do the Pots California based producer Madi Fair.

Madi Fair (09:00):

One of my favorite podcasts of all time is called Criminal. It’s about people who’ve done wrong, been wronged, or gotten caught somewhere in the middle. As a lover of true crime, sometimes I need a break from the very sad, gory stories that come with the genre, but still want that bit of excitement and mystery. Criminal is that perfect mix of thoughtful storytelling and true crime grit, but the focus is really on each episode’s characters. I really, really can’t wait for new episodes every month.

Ellen Scanlon (09:33):

I know that Madi really loves true crime and the happy feelings that Green Crack brings on will help to enhance your love with a little extra energy and focus. Since criminal is balanced in its storytelling and has that intense intrigue that true crime lovers crave, Green Crack would be a fun choice for elevating that tension.

(10:00):

Lastly, our Marilyn-based friend, Diana Krach, host of two podcasts called Your Highness and Getting Personal with Plant Medicine, recommends Rotten Mango, which is hosted by Stephanie Sue.

Diana Krach (10:14):

Rotten Mango is a true crime and all things spooky podcast. The host, Stephanie Sue, tells these horrid stories in such an imaginative and fun way. I know it sounds weird saying that considering that she covers some very disturbing tales, but she does it in such a… I guess fun isn’t the word, but it keeps you engaged, and I love how she uses her imagination to recreate the scene, and she personalizes the conversations that are going on in each story.

Ellen Scanlon (10:57):

For a show that embraces all the gruesome details combined, choose your strain wisely. The deeper into these stories you go, the more anticipation you might feel. Do you like that feeling and want to enhance it? Probably Green Crack. Are you starting to feel a little too stressed? Gelato can help to ease your body and mind so you can finish the episode feeling great.

(11:23):

There are so many eerie true crime podcasts out there, and I hope we’ve given you a good blueprint for pairing Gelato and Green Crack with other crime shows that you love. So just to recap, Gelato will help you feel relaxed in your body and your mind, and Green Crack will be more of an energizing mental boost.

(11:46):

Tune in next time when we are trading true crime for comedy podcasts, and we have the perfect strains to pair with a good laugh. If you want us to pair a strain to your podcast, please reach out. Send us an email to hi at dothepot.com or DMs at Do the Pot.

(12:07):

Thank you for listening to How to Do the Pot. For lots more information and past episodes, visit dothepot.com. Thanks to our writer Devin Andre, and our producers, Madi Fair and Nick Patri. I’m Ellen Scanlon and we’ll be back soon with more of How to Do the Pot.