Sorry About This One

August 13, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Brooke Averick had spent a month not sleeping. The Today Show appearance she had just walked off was, in her mind, the end of the line. She had said goodbye to her cats. She had genuinely believed she would be the first person to projectile vomit, faint, and die live on national television. Instead, she sat down with Craig Melvin, Dylan Dreyer, and Al Roker, recommended a stack of books, cracked a few jokes, and walked off to hear Craig tell her she was his favorite guest of the day—over Jason Sudeikis. Then Al Roker gave her a big hug. The whole thing lasted about four minutes.

This is the central tension of the episode: the chasm between what Brooke’s brain tells her will happen and what actually happens when she forces herself through the thing she fears most. The conversation, recorded immediately after the segment, is less a recap than a debrief on a lifelong battle with late-onset stage fright that traces back to a single episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno she watched around 2010 or 2011. She was in high school, her mental health was deteriorating, and she saw Leno doing his monologue and thought: Never in one million years could I put myself in that sort of position. The next morning she woke up with a pit in her stomach that never fully went away. For two years after that, she quit all the school plays she loved. She couldn’t even answer a question in class

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What you'll learn

1 Timestamped Outline
2 (00:24) **Cold Open & Banter** - Brooke and Connor start the episode with playful nonsense before Brooke reveals she's just come from the Today Show
3 (03:49) **Brooke's History with Stage Fright** - Brooke explains the origin of her crippling public speaking anxiety
4 (06:31) **Facing the Today Show** - Brooke describes preparing for the segment that terrified her for a month
5 (07:43) **The Beta Blocker Effect** - Brooke explains how the medication changed her experience of panic
6 (08:36) **On Air with the Today Show Hosts** - Brooke recounts the actual segment and her surprising ease
7 (09:57) **Post-Segment Triumph** - Brooke shares the validation she received from the hosts

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

Brooke Averick

Show Notes

Phoebe Berman’s Gonna Lose It out NOW: https://sites.prh.com/phoebe-bermans-gonna-lose-it

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This week, Brooke and Connor talk about Brooke’s Today Show debut, internet deep dives, and some polarizing takes. Plus, Connor takes us through a history lesson and Brooke becomes best friends with Craig Melvin!

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