Pod Insights Personally Discount Dave (and the Fix), Episode 3: I Liked it About this episode Becca is on a mission and The Plant Lady is calling the shots. Unsure of what she really wants, she tries out New York City because, because, because… that’s what actors do. But New York is hot. It’s a hustle. Until she meets a charismatic musician. Obsession kicks in. It’s better than blow.
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Transcript 0:00 Speaker 00 Hi, I just had to tell you that I think your podcast has changed my life.
0:06 Speaker 01 Season one of Sold a Story hit a nerve. It was about teaching kids to read.
0:11 Speaker 02 We have gotten this wrong in New York and all across the nation.
0:15 Speaker 01 Now we're back with a new season. This time, we go beyond reading.
0:19 Speaker 00 I've literally been told by my district that I should not be teaching math. I should be facilitating math.
0:26 Speaker 01 I'm Emily Hanford. Go to your podcast app and follow Sold a Story.
0:31 Speaker 03 This is a CBC Podcast.
0:34 Speaker 04 A reminder that this is approximately 81.4% true. This story handles alcohol and drug use and abuse. I should also mention that there will be some sexual assault stuff that may be disturbing for some listeners. There's definitely nudity. Not that you can hear that. Or can you? Anyway, onwards.
0:57 Speaker 04 Most parents would suggest rehab. My parents suggest the plant lady.
1:07 Speaker 04 Welcome.
1:09 Speaker 04 Hi. Are you feeling self-conscious?
1:14 Speaker 04 I am now. Ah, resistance. Oh, I'm not resistant. I'm just... Let's start with a cup of tea.
1:25 Speaker 04 You've been meaning to come for a long time. Well, my parents have been meaning for me to come for a long time. That sounded resistant.
1:36 Speaker 04 This is amazing tea. It's fresh mint, from the garden. Oh, yeah? Misty mint? What, do you crush it up in a mortar and pestle, a potion for the sickened ailing? I use a grinder.
1:51 Speaker 04 So, uh, what is it exactly that you do?
1:55 Speaker 04 Well, in a nutshell, I look inside you, find what's broken or in a knot, and I, pardon we, untie it. Cool. Have you always done this work? I've always had the sense. But I used to be a nurse, and then I was a therapist, and now I'm exclusively a shaman.
2:22 Speaker 04 That's a lot of hats. Essentially, I communicate with the plant goddess, Artemis. Ah, yeah? What's her deal? Artemis is the goddess of hunting and wild places, and the protector of young girls. So, why are you here? My parents keep telling me to come, so... So, what do you want? What do you mean? What do you want? What do you mean? What do you? We go back and forth on this for a while. I resent the question. I'm supposed to know what I want. I'm supposed to have goals. Like, it just makes me feel like shit about me. So I just pick something, something suitable.
3:07 Speaker 04 Well, I've always wanted to go to New York City. Because, because, you know, if I'm gonna be an actor, might as well do it there, because if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere! I hate myself, God. Oh, there it is. See, there. Can you see? Wow, that was fast. The hairs on my neck are standing up. That's a, that's a good thing. Okay. She pulls out a card and scribbles something on the back of it, pushes it across the table. No alcohol, no drugs, no men. One year?
3:46 Speaker 04 I don't often get to give people good news. Most of the time, it's awful things. You can't imagine the things I have to tell people. But all I have for you are good things. I want good things. The plant lady looks directly at me, on me, through me. When you're faced with something, close your eyes and ask yourself, "Is this working for me?" "Is this working for me?" "Is this working for me?"
4:23 Speaker 04 I'm ready.
4:25 Speaker 04 I'm ready for good things.
4:38 Speaker 04 From CBC's Personally, this is Discount Dave and the Fix. I'm Rebecca Auerbach.
4:49 Speaker 04 Episode Three. I Liked It.
5:09 Speaker 04 I put my faith in plants.
5:14 Speaker 04 I start to wake up in the morning. It feels good to wake up in the morning. I make plans, I'm on time, I keep a schedule, a journal, I take vitamins, I floss, I read the paper every morning. And every morning, I write. I write a critical thought about something that I've read. And, and, and, and I can hold a conversation about what's going on in the world because, because I have a subscription to the New York Times. And the New Yorker.
5:40 Speaker 05 Hey, oh.
5:42 Speaker 04 And I devour every movie that is filmed in New York. Okay, maybe not filmed, but about. Yeah, about. Every movie that's about New York. Okay, every movie that's a love letter. Yeah, a love letter to New York. Okay, mostly just every Woody Allen movie, because every Woody Allen movie is just so New York. And the next thing you know, it's...
6:06 Speaker 04 New York City!
6:10 Speaker 04 It's hot, it's a hustle, and the plant lady's calling the shots.
6:16 Speaker 04 I'm sober, I'm celibate, and I'm loving it. I mean, I'm fit, I'm healthy, aside from the cigarettes, but I'm working on it. And who doesn't love New York? I mean, even if you're not doing anything, which most, most, most people are doing many things, but even if you're not doing much, you still feel like you are part of something. You're part of the pumping blood vessel of a city, and, and, and I, I, I am surprised at how lonely it is here.
6:43 Speaker 04 But that's okay, that's okay. I go to plays by myself, and concerts by myself, with myself, because it's working for me. And one night, off I go to see this concert in the park, and I go, and I watch, and god damn it! There is just something about this performer, something about him that I just, just, just...
7:07 Speaker 04 The rest of the world disappears, and all there is is him. Him and his music and his clowning around. It's like the K-hole, but I'm sober, I swear. It's just like that pinprick, you know, that tunnel vision, the rest of the world...gone. I mean, except for the sea of strangers around me. Everyone dancing and laughing, and me, I am also performing, because I have to show them how I am being affected by their performance, so I drop my jaw a lot, and I smack them on the back, you know, the strangers. And I, I even clutch them a lot and widen my eyes, so that they can see that his performance is affecting me more than it's affecting them.
7:51 Speaker 04 I have to meet him.
7:55 Speaker 04 And it's not like he's a celebrity yet, but he is almost certainly, almost famous. He's on his way up, but still attainable, because he still has a Facebook account. So I construct a message to him, telling him how much I connect to what he does, and blah, blah, blah, and it's more than enough, and...and...I don't hear back.
8:18 Speaker 04 A month passes. I read every interview, watch every video. I devour his online presence until there's nothing, nothing left. But I have to know him, and I'm starting to feel like I do. So I message him again. And...
8:36 Speaker 04 Wait. I hear back.
8:46 Speaker 00 Hi, I just had to tell you that I think your podcast has changed my life.
8:52 Speaker 01 Season one of Sold a Story hit a nerve. It was about teaching kids to read.
8:57 Speaker 02 We have gotten this wrong in New York and all across the nation.
9:01 Speaker 01 Now we're back with a new season. This time, we go beyond reading.
9:05 Speaker 00 I've literally been told by my district that I should not be teaching math. I should be facilitating math.
9:12 Speaker 01 I'm Emily Hanford. Go to your podcast app and follow Sold a Story.
9:18 Speaker 04 Now, from here, things escalate quickly. We start messaging every day, and he says, "I like you." And I say, "I like you." And he's kind of a weirdo, like, on the phone, very odd. But he has a dog, and he's creative and charismatic. We text every morning and sext every night. He tells me all the nasty things he's gonna do to me and then cuddles. And he's daddy, and I'm little one. And this is the game. These are the roles. And he's gonna do this and do that, and it's terrifying and exhilarating. And I like being tossed around a little, especially if it's making love and then cuddles. And it's romantic, and it's sexy, and it's dark, and it's smooth. And it's dirty but coy, and I'm his little schoolgirl whore, and, and, and...
10:03 Speaker 04 I can't stop thinking about him.
10:09 Speaker 04 It's like that swift fisting, but this shit is better. This shit lasts months with no come down. It's so great that I start losing weight because I'm so excited all the time. I have these butterflies, and I can't eat because I'm so excited all the time. I'm so excited about this guy. I'm excited, I'm excited!
10:27 Speaker 04 And he's coming back from his tour, like, right away. And he wants to see me. But I'm celibate. Fuck, fuck, fuck! He's not gonna be happy if I can't fuck, fuck, fuck! And I've only got a few more weeks left, and the end of the year means the end of the plant lady, and I'm doing well, man. I'm on a mission, a mission, a mission. Just stay the course, stay the course. And then I, I email the plant lady, asking her if it's okay to dry hump.
10:54 Speaker 04 I don't hear back. And the next thing you know? We're at the airport. We rush each other and pull each other in, like we're long-lost lovers or some shit. And the hug is long and hot and tight. And as I try to soften it, he stays with it. And he doesn't let me go, but he pulls his head back and just holds my face in his hands while he stares into my eyes like I'm some great sculpture. And our lips are this close. I can feel his hot breath on my mouth. And just when we are about to kiss, he uh, uh, uh. Oh.
11:27 Speaker 04 Okay. So he was kind of a weirdo on the phone, right? But in the flesh, magnetic, sexy, scary, bad boy, wrong boy, right boy, good boy, down boy.
11:39 Speaker 04 He takes me to a party, and it's a sea of celebrities. And Shonda fucking Rhimes stops me at the door. "Who the fuck are you?" He puts his arm around my waist. "She's with fucking me." And the rest of the world disappears for the evening, and all I can see is him. But I am separate from him, and I want us to be one thing. Because I feel like I know him, but he doesn't know me. So I press my personality into him. Because all we have is this night. All I have is this night to make him fall in love with me, because I think, I think, I think I'm falling in love with him. And then it's... I don't think you understand. I really like you.
12:18 Speaker 04 And that feels gooood.
12:23 Speaker 04 So fuck the plants, fuck the plants! Three weeks shy of my one year, I break my pact, I break my fast on every level in every way. We get very high and drunk. Tequila and blow, he takes off my clothes, and it's... Oh, yeah. Wow. Canadian girls. Wow, this is... I really love fucking with you. Fucking with you? You mean fucking me? Yeah, I really love fucking with you. He flips me over, starts going at me from behind, and he starts getting really intense with it. And I try to turn around so I can look him in the face, but he doesn't want that. He just keeps going at me from behind. And I like it a bit rough, and it's been pent up for a long time. We've been playing the long game.
13:08 Speaker 04 And then, all of a sudden, he punches me in the head.
13:19 Speaker 04 He finishes and falls off to the side. And we breathe heavily for a few seconds. He catches his breath, but not my eye. And my head is spinning from the drink and the punch. And I don't really remember much until he sheepishly goes, "Sorry if I was a bit aggressive." And I go, "That's OK. I liked it."
13:42 Speaker 04 I liked it. I liked it.
13:46 Speaker 04 We say nothing for a while, and those words hang in the air until, "I'm gonna spoon you now." Cuddles.
14:00 Speaker 04 The next morning, I'm so hungover, I can't even get up to go out for a coffee. He goes out to walk his dog, and I sleep longer. I throw up, I shower, I go back to bed. Wet hair, damp skin, too sick to call a cab.
14:18 Speaker 04 He comes back from walking his dog, and the sweet little thing jumps up on the bed and snuggles in between us. He tells me the story of how he adopted her, how she found him, and he cries. I tell him, "I've always wanted a dog. I'm a dog person." And I show him by being very affectionate to his dog, giving his dog the affection that I want to give to him.
14:43 Speaker 04 And then I don't hear from him for a while. He's super busy, and I call, and I text. And... Nothing.
14:55 Speaker 04 Weeks later, he emails me to tell me he's a Gemini, so a worrier by design, and he's not really into commitment. Or was it compromise? And do I have an STD?
15:11 Speaker 04 New York smells like shit. Fuck New York. I leave New York. And back home, yeah, back home, back home smells like shit.
15:21 Speaker 04 And no one will hire me as an actor. And I frankly don't give a shit because... I liked it, I liked it, I liked it. I don't want to pretend anymore. And I don't want to be watched anymore. So I can't be an actor. I'm not an actor. I quit, I quit, I quit, quitting, and I quit.
15:40 Speaker 04 And I get a job at a hip new restaurant. So it's shots, shots, shots. And fuck the plant lady, fuck the plants. Ugh, that wasn't me. Who the hell was that? Phew, I feel like myself again. I'm back, baby, I'm back.
15:57 Speaker 04 And this one night, this one night Talia comes to town. Don't you remember? You know, you know, like he had his fingers, he was like pinching or tuning your tits like the radio. Don't you remember? Shit, do I want to remember?
16:21 Speaker 04 You've been listening to Discount Dave and the Fix from CBC's Personally. The show is written, produced and hosted by me, Rebecca Auerbach. My director, dramaturge and producer is Aviva Armour-Astroff. Original music, sound design and mix by Michelle Macklem. Our senior producer is Veronica Simmons. Anna Ashitay is our coordinating producer. Executive producers are Cecil Fernandez and Chris Oak. Tanya Springer is the senior manager. And Arif Noorani is the director of CBC Podcasts.
16:56 Speaker 04 If you're enjoying the show, consider checking out another series from CBC's Personally. One I really liked is called Sorry About the Kid. Alex worshipped his older brother Paul. But when Paul was killed by a speeding police car at age 14, Alex almost immediately started to forget him. Through a series of intimate conversations with family and friends, Alex begins to explore why Paul's death has become the only thing he remembers. You can find Sorry About the Kid, along with all other CBC Podcasts, wherever you find your podcasts.
17:31 Speaker 04 Tune in next week for an all-new episode of Personally: Discount Dave and the Fix. Or you can listen to next week's episode now by subscribing to our CBC Stories Premium channel on Apple Podcasts. Just click on the link in the show description.
17:46 Speaker 03 For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca/podcasts.
Previous Discount Dave (and the Fix), Episode 2: Sweet Boyfriend Next Discount Dave (and the Fix), Episode 4: Crazy from the Heat Page updated October 30, 2026 · transcript and summary are machine-generated